Sunny Day Meals

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Laura

As the temperatures rise, I find myself less and less inspired to cook. I neglect the housework until the last possible moment and spend as much time outside as possible. The kids are at an age where I’m bargaining with them on a nightly basis and promising we will be outside as soon as possible the following morning, just to get them inside so I can wash their feet, faces and hands before bed!

With this in mind, I put together this list of my favorite beautiful day meals. Meals I serve because it’s too gorgeous to stay inside at the stove or it’s just too hot to even think about eating a full meal.

Summer Steak Salad: Nothing like a beautiful afternoon to make you want to fire up the grill! This is our summer go-to date night meal.

Dippin’ Chicken Tacos: Quick and easy to eat in between water balloon fights or even poolside, this recipe is one of our family favorites.

Thai Chicken and Vegetables: I made this last night! I recently discovered a wonderful rice pasta that cooks up in about 5 minutes and the kids just gobble down. I love to eat this as left overs, cold, the next day too!

Cheddar-Stuffed Burgers: This is my husband’s pride and joy. And it just takes burger night to a fun new level with the oozy cheese in every bite.

Sloppy Lentil Sandwiches: Sometimes, you need fast picnic-style food that isn’t for the carnivores. This is another one of my cold-leftovers-for-lunch favorites.

Creamy Quinoa and Vegetables: I fully intend to make a large batch of this on a weekly basis and bring it with us as pool-side lunches.

Peanut Butter Fondue: Another poolside option for me. I like this dip as a meal or a quick snack, but either way it’s loaded with protein and good fats, so it’s practically guilt-free… right?

So there you have my summer’s worth of go-to meals. What are your favorites? I’m going to be in need to poolside snacks in another month or so, what do you take with you for the kids to munch on during the lifeguard breaks?

Soup for my soul

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Laura

What is it about these rainy January days that serves to chill you right to the bone? My goodness, everything in my body feels like it’s frozen and it’s dreary out but I can’t drink any more coffee if I want to sleep sometime in the next decade, you know?

Thankfully, Sylvi has inherited my love of soup. Although, she may have been influenced by the alphabet soup in I Stink. Anyone on Facebook knows that my daughter is obsessed with the story… so much so that the entire family and most people who spend time in our presence has the entire thing memorized. This tiny little girl is completely enthralled by garbage trucks and it just makes me laugh.

Anyway, back to the soup. I love potato soup, but I will say that I feel like it’s a lot of work and then I have to stay in the kitchen while the potatoes cook and all the stirring… yeah. Anyway, this is a relatively quick prep meal and can cook slowly all day in a crock pot. The only part that needs to be cooked separately are the onions. If you don’t cook them before adding them to the potatoes, they really, REALLY taste like onions. Otherwise, this is low maintenance and your house will smell so comforting.

I like my soup to be thick enough that it doesn’t immediately drip off the spoon, so I put the least amount of broth in, but you could totally make it thinner. Also, you can adjust the seasonings, the type of broth, even substitute the dairy sour cream for a non-dairy one. This soup can be what you need it to be taste or nutritionally, but it will always be just a simple soup to warm you up on a cold, dreary, Winter’s day.

Crock-pot Potato Soup

1 large onion, chopped
3 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 quarts, chicken broth (plus an additional quart if you want a thinner soup)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
garlic salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. butter

Chop the onion and saute in a large pan with the butter. Cook the onions slowly so that they retain their inherent sweetness. While they are cooking, peel the potatoes and chop them roughly. Add the potatoes, the broth, the seasonings and the onions to the crock-pot and cook on low for 8 hours. When the potatoes are done cooking, use an immersion blender to puree the soup. Add in the sour cream and any additional broth to make it the consistency you desire. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and fresh parsley on top.

The days of soup

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Laura

I’m a huge fan of soup. I’m not always very good at making the soup though. I was spending a lot of money on soup from Panera and Pacific foods up until about a month ago when I got tired of a tiny little Sylvi downing my entire $5 cup of soup before I even got back to the table. She and I had discovered the broccoli cheese soup and I was reduced to eating it either in secret or after she went to bed at night. On one such night, I realized I had a laughable problem: why was I behaving like this when I could just learn to make my own soup for a fraction of the cost?

I did a good deal of reading online before I set forth. I wanted a creamy soup and I must tell you that the answer I’d been looking for came in the form of an immersion blender. I had no idea how awesome that tool was when I bought it on a whim 3 years ago. My little red Cuisinart immersion blender had spent a lot of time in the kitchen drawer until I started making soup and realized how valuable it is. You could always make this in a regular blender, but let’s be honest: it’s way more fun with an immersion blender

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, diced
half a stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups chicken stock (I did try this with vegetable broth and while it was very good… the chicken makes it the most like Panera’s soup.)
2 large carrots, coarsely shredded
1/2 pound finely chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded Monterary Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder

Saute the onion until soft in a soup pot. Whisk together the melted butter and flour in the soup pot. Add the garlic and onion powder, whisk well and then stream in the stock. Add the milk, carrots and broccoli and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes and then reduce to a simmer. When the carrots and broccoli are tender, remove 2 cups worth of the vegetables and take the pot off the heat. Puree the remaining vegetables with an immersion blender and stir in the cheeses. Return the carrots and broccoli to the soup, mix through. Serve with crusty bread and revel in how much money you saved making it at home!

*** Are you looking for more soup recipes? I made this Red Bell Corn Chowder from the fabulous Whitney Ingram last week. It’s from her original blog, Rookie Cookie and I’m so excited to find it her cook book that she’s working on right now! Follow the progress and drool-worthy updates here.

Pantry Comfort

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Laura

One of my favorite comfort foods is Stroganoff. I don’t really care what’s in it, I’m here for the sauce. And the egg noodles. My grandmother makes it sirloin steak strips. My father made his with mushrooms while we were practicing vegetarians. Depending on who I plan to serve it to, I now use ground beef.

This is definitely a budget version of my grandmother’s recipe, but it doesn’t alter the flavor. It freezes very nicely and if you don’t like egg noodles, it’s wonderful over rice as well. By the time I make supper tonight, it’s supposed to be in the single digits, so I’m looking forward to this warm meal with a side of green beans. Yum!

Stroganoff

1-2 teaspoons olive oil or butter
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (optional, I don’t like them so they aren’t ever in my home )
1 ½ pounds lean ground beef/turkey, thinly sliced sirloin steak or Portobello mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef (or vegetable if making the mushroom version of this recipe) broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
1 pound egg noodles, cooked

Melt the fat in a large saute pan, add in the onions and garlic and cook until tender and fragrant. Remove from the pan and brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked, remove it as well, but reserve the drippings. Again, in the same saute pan, heat the drippings and stir in the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and flour. Whisk in the flour and sour cream until the sauce is thick and bubbly. Taste and season accordingly. Return the onions, garlic and beef to the pan and stir to combine thoroughly. Serve over egg noodles and top with parsley.

**Note: If you want to substitute in the mushrooms or steak, you’ll still need to cook them separately until cooked to your liking. The rest of the ingredients can remain the same, unless noted otherwise.

If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Laura

You’re supposed to be reading a well thought out post about my home organization. It was going to be great and I was really excited to share how we are taming the daily beast lately. Considering today, though… I’m thinking I’ve goofed.

Sylvi is back to waking up long before my alarm goes off, so I start my day pretty early. I am feeling pretty calm and collected on a regular basis. It’s nice, you know? This morning, I had all our beds made before Matt even left for work, the kids and I were dressed and I had pancakes on the griddle. At 930, I was shocked to walk into the living room and realize I was supposed to be babysitting and the family was here. Uh huh, I tried to be cool and would have never mentioned this, but it definitely sets the tone for how under the bus I was for the rest of the day.

Morning: manageable. Then, 45 minutes after my extra charges left absolute insanity hit. Thus far, my philosophy on parenting has been to stay one step ahead of the short people. Oh and remember where I set the dirty diaper. For the most part, this goes well for me. And then, I get overconfident and try to bake a cake while the kids are eating lunch, get distracted by Lord knows what, resume the cake baking and get it in the oven only to realize that the house was silent. I went to investigate only to find my children hunkered down behind the 25 year old child-sized rockers in Sylvi’s room. The overwhelming smell of Burt’s Bees baby powder hit me in the hallway from behind the closed bedroom door. They had managed to dump out at least 50%-75% of the bottle on the floor: Liam was scooping it up to “make art” on the walls and Sylvi was scooping it up to eat it.

I called my wisest mom friend who then told me to call poison control. While on the phone with that kind lady, I herded the kids into the bathroom since they were ghost white from all the powder to prepare to bathe them. She asked for the ingredients on the bottle, so I left the room only to hear a loud crash and Sylvi try out her newest word: “oops”. In the corner of the shower/bath, we have a tension rod with baskets on it. It took two adults to install it 2 years ago. However, the two small children who climbed in the empty bathtub who decided they wanted the shark in the lowest basket managed to yank the entire thing down, which then almost took out the shower curtain.

Listen. When the lady from poison control wishes you a “less eventful” afternoon, it’s a sign you’re not a wimp and it’s ok to take a break. So I dressed both kids and informed them we were all taking a quiet time. This of course did not occur until I discovered a missing bottle of body wash in Sylvi’s room. Said bottle of body wash, has a pump on top. I have visions of the kids bouncing up and down on that pump while I wrestled with the tension rod in the bathroom. Regardless of how the soap managed to get on the floor, it got there. I just stood there and laughed. At least my floors are really clean.

I have a terrible headache, can’t stop thinking about chocolate and am counting the moments until back up arrives. But, I now know beyond a shadow of doubt, silence is certainly not golden and tension rods loosen their hold over time. The point of this quite laughable story from my day is really to myself. Had this kind of a day happened 2 or 3 years ago, I’d have called my husband sobbing and begging him to come home because I didn’t trust myself to remain calm. Today, I called him to ask if he’d mind stopping at the Y to pay our membership fee. Considering the day’s mayhem, it’s probably better if I don’t attempt to take my little hooligans out in public. Yes, today has been hard. Yes, today is not over. But today, I realized that I needed to stop and take a break. My husband won’t be coming home to a tidy house or children in matching clothes, but that cake that kept me from being attentive to my children’s mischievousness was amazing.

Crunch Munch… Lunch

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Laura

Confession: my weakness is the Taco Bell Crunchwrap. It started when I was pregnant with Liam and Mexican style food was the only thing I could sort of keep down. Ever since then, I think it would be fair to say I have a problem. As in, if the thought of a Crunchwrap passes through my head at 10am, I can’t get it out of my head until my belly has been filled with 500+ calories of sodium.

CRUNCH!!!!

For some reason, although I’ve been eating them for years, I was under the impression that there were refried beans in the Crunchwrap . And for this mistaken reason, I put off trying to make it in my own kitchen. It took me quite a while, but I did figure out a fantastic recipe for refried beans. I didn’t take a photo because, well, pureed beans aren’t… pretty.

Crockpot Refried Beans

1 pound dry pinto beans
9 cups chicken broth
1 small onion
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup milk

Put the beans, broth, onion, garlic powder and salt in a crockpot. Set the temperature on low and cook for 12 hours. Remove the onion from the pot and strain the beans, but SAVE the broth. I have always made my beans in the food processor, but this time I used my immersion blender… I’m a convert. Smooth and silky, they were the perfect texture! Add in the milk and as much broth as you need to make it smooth. The beans get firmer as they cool, so make the beans a little bit watery. Season to taste.

To assemble a Crunchwrap, all you need are large tortillas, small crunchy corn tortillas and whatever filling you desire. I made the refried beans, rice, taco meat, cheese sauce made with Monterrey Jack Cheese and 3 slices of white American I also had salsa, shredded cheese, lettuce and sour cream for the sides. Pile and layer your fillings before folding up the tortilla and then grill. We have a George Foreman grill; it’s pretty quick to set up and use. So yes, it’s still not a candidate for nutritious meal of the year, but man is it good. So, amazingly good. I am trying out freezing a wrap and some of the beans to see how well they hold up for advance pre. I am hopeful.

Sadly, my husband took the opportunity to use some of the dozens of stockpiled Taco Bell sauces to add an “authentic” flavor and according to him, the addition made it “perfect”. I made mine with just rice, beans and cheese and a full 2 hours later am still pleasantly sated. Obviously, by making this meal at home, I have control over all the ingredients AND I can make it whenever I’d like… errr… experiment with fillings. Ahem.

And thus ends my tale of addiction to cheap fast food. Have you ever tried

a fast food remake of your own?

Cranberries: food of power!!!

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Laura

Today, I wrote a food spotlight for the Mommy and Me Fitness Blog on Cranberries… gosh I love them! So check out the blog and then go make a batch, or two of these muffins. You’ll thank me, I’m sure of it!

Cranberry-Citrus Power Muffins

3.5 cups flour
¼ cup flax meal
¼ cup wheat germ
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Salt
3 cups raw cranberries
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups plain Greek Yogurt
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp. Orange extract
zest of half an orange

In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients and mix well. Sift together the dry ingredients and stir into the wet ingredients until well mixed. Pour in the cranberries and stir to combine. Fill 3 dozen muffin cups with batter about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

The reason I can’t stop checking the crock pot today…

Posted on November 19, 2012 by Laura

We are going to my in-law’s for Thanksgiving. I know there are going to be lots of amazing side dishes and a huge turkey, but I’m there for the pot roast. Unconventional, I know, but I am here to tell you that my mother-in-law’s pot roast is a revelation and I probably won’t eat a bite of turkey all day. I begged my mother-in-law for her recipe and it turns out that it just involves adding dry french onion soup to the roast.

You know how I am, I can’t just go buy a packet of onion soup, I have to make my own. I mix it up each time I make a roast, so I don’t keep it on hand since I only make one, maybe two roasts a month. My roast isn’t exactly like my mother-in-law’s, but it’s darn close. And the best roast I’ve made since I learned how to cook meat. So it keeps me held over until I can back up to Amish country and avail myself on the comfort of roast beef and mashed potatoes.

Dry French Onion Soup Mix

2 1/2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. dried mustard

Mix all the ingredients together and pour over a 3-5 pound pot roast. Add 1 cup beef broth to the bottom of a crockpot and add the roast. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I mean it when I say low. Don’t rush this, the longer the roast cooks at a low temperature, the more tender it will be. All the better to spoon over a mound of glorious mashed potatoes, right?

October Freezer Cooking

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Laura

This past week was one that I was so grateful for a stocked freezer. Supper prep for the most part involved walking into the kitchen and asking Liam what he wanted to eat. This past week, I needed the ease of a frozen meal, freshly washed lettuce for salads and fruit for the kids. I’m having to make some adjustments with Liam’s routine again and make sure he’s getting a quiet period during the day so he can rest. That boy… just like his mama. Too much busyness and he is a disaster. Thankfully, I’m learning through his needs that I can say “no” to people and activities if it’s just too much. A lesson I really, really needed!

Anyway. I grocery shopped on Thursday of last week. It took hours because I did Sam’s Club, Kroger, Target, bulk food store, Wayne’s and our butcher shop. But again, I will only have to go to the grocery in the next month for fresh fruit and vegetables and milk. Totally worth it. I did a whole food menu for the month of suppers and made sure to account for leftovers to be eaten on the weekends and for lunches. I also calculated in for a few meals that will not be eaten at home due to birthdays, the tri and Boo at the Zoo. Friday morning, I got up with my list of meals and did the crock-pot prep meals. I started working at 930 and did not put the last dish in the dishwasher until about 830 that night. BUT, I took time out of working to play with the kids, assist in the potty, color, serve meals, read stories, change diapers, answer questions and hand out snacks. If I hadn’t done those things, I think I could have been done in about 5 hours.

Taco Soup (2 batches)
Tuscan Mac and Cheese (2 batches)
Meatloaf (2 batches, meatloaf made and shaped then frozen)
Greek Casserole (4 batches… this was a mistake, should have only been 2, but they are in the freezer for a quick meal when needed)
Pizza (2 batches of dough made and then frozen.)
Chicken Tikka (ingredients in a bag that will easily dump into the crockpot whenever I’m ready)
Chicken Parmesan Meatballs (not prepped and recipe to be shared… eventually)
Meatballs (2 batches, one for stroganoff and one for bbq meatballs with orzo)
Cheeseburger Mac (meat and seasonings cooked, and in a bag with the cheese and pasta… will take 10 minutes to finish)
Dippin Tacos
Sloppy Janes with ground turkey (not sure how great this will be… I was tired by the time I got to this recipe, so this could wind up being a pb&j sort of night.)
Pot Roast with mashed potatoes (Meat will go in the crockpot and the mashed potatoes are made and ready to bake.)
Spicy Apple Glazed meatballs (new recipe that I can’t wait to share!!)
Beef Pot Pie (this will be made with the leftover pot roast meat so it’s not even prepped)
Confetti Chicken Pasta (new recipe, not freezer friendly)
Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole (new recipe and I’m not certain how freezer friendly it will be… we’ll see)
Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
Panini
Falafel (not prepped, but the garbanzos are cooked and waiting in the freezer)
Sloppy Lentils (also not prepped, but the lentils are cooked and in the freezer)
Bread (4 loaves made and 3 frozen)

To be entirely fair, the beans and lentils were already cooked and in the freezer (which is how I picked those meals) and I baked the bread Wednesday. I also decided to bake the meatballs instead of frying them and I may never go back. I made 2 pounds of meatballs and then just baked an entire pan full while I continued to work. In the next few months, I won’t do as many freezer meals because of the holidays, but I do plan a turkey for next month and look forward to some fun casseroles or quesadillas with the leftovers!

So my freezer is stocked and I’m free to spend my afternoons playing in the still pleasant weather or baking. Although… now that I’m not training for something, I probably shouldn’t bake so much. I hopped on the WiiFit this morning and it yelled at me for snacking. I wonder who told that nosy thing?!

Visual appeal… for soup

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Laura

For some reason, when I first started cooking, I was just desprate to figure out a fantastic recipe for Chicken Tortilla soup. And then, I got scared, but I only sort of like Chicken Noodle soup so I quit trying for a while. I’m going to be honest here and tell you that while I was looking for a reliable recipe, I was also looking for a result that looked appealing. I’ve seen a lot of tortilla soups in my search and not one of them, no matter how yummy it sounded, it didn’t look good to me.

As the weather here chills, I find myself wanting to spend my afternoons curled up with the kids, instead of in the kitchen cooking. This recipe is something quick and easy and makes your home smell comforting. I will warn you though, my kids don’t eat soup (I suspect the texture wierds them out a bit in addition to the fact that it takes an awful lot of coordination to get a spoon of liquid from a bowl to your mouth…). Therefore, this is more of a date night or dinner guests sort of meal for us. I made my own tortilla chips from whole wheat tortillas, but they did not keep well at all. Oh well, at least we tried!

Hearty Chicken Tortilla Soup

3 large chicken breasts
1 small onion, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, halved and seeded
1 quart tomato puree
1 quart chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups black beans (optional)
1 cup corn (optional)

Put all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and set it on low for 4-6 hours. When the chicken is tender, remove it from the pot and shred. Set it aside. Remove the bay leaf. I did not add the black beans and corn, so at this point, I used my immersion blender to carefully puree the onions and peppers into the brother. (You could still do this step if you waited until the very end to add the black beans and corn if you like as well.) Add the chicken back into the pot and stir to mix it through. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips.

*Note: This soup is good for up to 1 week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. If you choose to freeze the soup, leave adaquate headspace or it will expand and blow the top off your container. It’s messy.