Spring Food 2014!

 "Fancy" Baked Eggs

• Eggs - cracked into muffin tins (to prevent sticking, butter the tins)
• salt & pepper the tops
• Bake until set halfway on 350
• Add toppings - combinations we like are:
• leftover asparagus & blue cheese
• avacado, tomato, and cheddar
• leftover spinach, tomato, & swiss
• Finish baking in the oven until set to your liking

Sweet Crab Slaw: (sorry! No picture available)

• 1/2 package cole slaw mix
• Package of surimi "crab" meat
• Beans (for extra fiber & protein) - black or white northern beans (rinse thoroughly)
• Slaw dressing
• salt, pepper & old bay
• Directions: Combine in a bowl and enjoy!

Tomato & Cucumber Salad (with a spicy sweet dressing)

• Tomatoes (whatever is on sale and in season)
• Cucumber (I like English because they last longer)
• Red onion or shallot
• Dressing: brown mustard, horseradish, honey (or sugar), balsamic vinegar, garlic, oil
• Note: if you use a prepared balsamic vinaigrette, you can leave out the oil
• Directions: combine in a bowl and let marinate for a few hours for best flavor. 

Asian Vege Noodle Soup: (sorry! No picture available)

• cooked noodles (long ones, but it doesn't matter what kind really) - I like using leftover spaghetti or linguine
• broth base - onion, garlic, ginger, soy, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, pepper, chicken or vege stock optional: fish sauce (if you want a thai flavor), chili paste or a fresh thai chile (be careful!)
• veges - carrots, celery, mushrooms (shitake or some other kind with actual flavor if you can), brocolli (for bulk and fiber)
• optional meat - leftover roast/london broil (sub in beef broth)
• garnishes - cole slaw mix (put on top of the noodles and pour the boiling broth over the top to cook), soft boiled eggs, cilantro (if you're going thai), matchstick shredded radish or jicama, hot peppers
• Directions: create the broth base and bring to a boil. Add the veges and cook until done. Build your soup bowl with noodles, optional meat, and slaw mix. Pour over the boiling broth mixture. Top with garnishes of your choice

Cold Beef Salad:

• thinly sliced roast beef, cucumbers, and red bell pepper
• Dressing - garlic, onion (shallot if you have it), brown mustard, vinegar, sugar, dash of Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper, oil
• Garnish: spring onion
• Directions: arrange beef, peppers, and cucumbers and top with the dressing. Let it marinate and cool in the fridge.

Amazing Guacamole: (Sorry! No picture available)

• 4 not-to-overripe avacados, big dice
• 1-2 spring onions OR 1 shallot OR small amount of a very finely diced onion
• lime juice (lemon in a pinch, but lime is better)
• salt & pepper
• cilantro (optional...although it hurts my heart not to put it in)
• garlic
• Directions: smash it all together to the consistency of your liking. Eat it up immediately cause it will turn a yucky brown color overnight (though it still tastes good).

Rainbow Black bean Salad:

• two cans of black beans (thoroughly rinsed)
• variety of small dice "cold salad" veges -  red & yellow bell pepper, cucumber, leftover cooked corn (fresh, please), red onion
• dressing: oil, lime juice, fresh garlic, cumin, coriander, salt & pepper
• Directions: Mix in a bowl and enjoy!

Edemame &Squash Salad: (sorry! No picture available)

• Bag of frozen unshelled edemame beans (which are called mukimame...I don't know why)
• 4-5 yellow squash
• Boil the edemame according to the package directions - usually 3-4 minutes in salted, boiling water - add the squash in for the last 2 minutes of boiling. You want the squashed cooked, but not soggy. Al Dente, really.
• Drain well and pour into a serving bowl. Mix in your favorite italian dressing - Good Seasonings is my favorite, hands down. Do this while it is hot, the dressing will be absorbed by the veges.
• Serve hot or chill and serve cold - great picnic food. High in protein, dairy free, gluten free, vegetarian (if not vegan).

Cuban Black Beans:

• veges - celery, onion, fresh garlic, bell pepper (not green)
• 2 cans of black beans (rinsed)
• spices - salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, coriander
• stew with 1 c. of water for about 15 minutes (hard boil)
•  smash them up a bit
• 2 "good squirts" of lime juice or red wine vinegar
• Optional: for a super tasty and hearty breakfast, serve them with poached eggs on top. Bring a sauce pan of water to a low boil/simmer, add a big squirt of vinegar to the water, crack and egg into a little dish/cup, stir the water to get a vortex going, gently pour the egg into the center of the vortex. Let it poach for about 4 minutes - you can usually tell by feel whether it is "done" enough for you.

Summer Corn Recipes

In the summer, fresh corn is always a blessing. Not just because it's delicious, which it is, but also because it's cheap. SUPER CHEAP. Right now, my grocery store has it on sale for about 30 cents an ear. So as a result, I'm finding anything and everything that I can put corn into or on the side of.

Now, everyone likes a good ear of corn, roasted or boiled, with butter and salt. Certainly, my son would never turn that down, but there's only but so many nights you can go eating ears of corn before it's time to branch out.

Here are some of my favorite corn recipes this season:

Jalapeno Corn Bread
I'm not a baker, not even a little, so this isn't so much a recipe as it is a semi-homemade modification.
I love the Jiffy Cornbread Mix, and it's never more than $1/box at the store. To fancy it up a bit though, use two boxes of cornbread mix and add the required number of eggs and two seeded and minced jalapenos. 

Instead of adding all the milk, add one small can of evaporated milk and the kernels of 1-2 ears of corn to the batter instead. You may have to loosen it up with a few splashes of regular milk to get it to a thick batter consistency, but don't overdo it. As the fresh corn cooks, it will release some moisture into the bread.

Follow the directions for baking on the box - pour it in a greased baking dish and bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. I also suggest taking several large pats of butter and letting them soak into the top of the bread once it comes out of the oven...commence drooling now.


Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 can of black beans (drained, thoroughly rinsed, and allowed to dry a bit)
1-2 ears of corn
1 red bell pepper - small dice
1 jalepeno - seeded and minced (unless you like heat, in which case, leave the seeds in)
Large pinch of fresh cilantro - chopped
1 lime
1 T. olive oil or vegetable/canola oil
Salt, Pepper, Cumin

Blanch the corn for a few minutes in boiling salted water. You're not trying to cook it through, just knock some of the "raw" flavor out of it. Remove it to a ice water bath and shock it to cool. Cut the kernels off of the ears.

In a mixing bowl, combine the beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno, and cilantro. Zest the lime and add it to the bowl, then juice it and add the juice it. If it's particularly juicy, you may want to start with just the juice from one half and adjust later to taste. Add a large pinch of kosher salt, several grinds of pepper, the oil, and about 1/2 t. of cumin.

Toss it together, taste and adjust the seasonings as you like. It is best once it's had an hour or so to marinade and chill in the refrigerator.

This goes great over light fish like garlic broiled tilapia or lime marinated chicken breast.


Simply Amazing Corn Chowder

Vegetable/Canola Oil
1 stalk celery - small dice
2 carrots - small dice
1 red bell pepper - small dice
1 onion - small dice
2 cloves of garlic - minced
6 small or 3 large potatoes (I like yukon gold because you don't have to peel them) - large dice
Salt & pepper
1/2 t. each coriander & thyme 2 "tubs" of condensed chicken or vege stock - I like the Knorr brand, but to each their own
       w/ 5 cups of water (the condensed stock cups make 3 cups of stock each, but by using 2 tubs and  only 5 cups of water, you intensify the flavor. You could also just do "stock in a box," but it's more expensive in the long run.)
Kernels from about 6 ears of corn
1/2 c. heavy cream

Saute all of the veges (except the potatoes and corn) in oil over medium-high heat until softened.  Add the potatoes, a very large pinch of salt and fresh pepper, the coriander and thyme, and the tubs of condensed stock (if you are using liquid stock, don't add it yet). Stir to combine everything and distribute the seasonings. Let the potatoes cook down a bit, though they will not soften completely. Now add the water (or fresh stock) and let it come to a low boil. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are done through.  Pull the pot off of the heat and taste test. Adjust the seasonings as needed. Add the corn kernels, stir to combine, and then recover and let the pot sit on the hot eye for several minutes. You don't need to bring it back to a boil, the heat of the soup is enough to cook the corn through on its own.

After about ten minutes, add the heavy cream, stirring to make sure that it doesn't overheat. From this point on, you cannot bring it back to a boil - even to reheat it - or the soup will "break" (the fat from the cream will separate and make ugly little white globs in your soup). If you do need to reheat it, do so gently over low to medium heat and stirring constantly.

Serve with crusty bread for dipping!

Broccoli Salad

Southern Broccoli Salad
If you're from the South, you've probably had some variation on this classic picnic salad. It goes great alongside sandwiches or steaks and it keeps very well in the fridge all week as a go-to side for lunch or dinner.

What You Need:
3-4 heads of broccoli - washed and chunked into bite sized pieces
2 bell peppers - washed and chunked into bite sized pieces (Again, I was using up crisper ingredients - Any kind salad veg that isn't going to be easily waterlogged will work here - cherry tomatoes, sliced carrots, radishes, etc...)
6 pieces of bacon - crispy and chopped up
small tub of blue cheese (or gorganzola) - crumbled or cut in small pieces
1 cup of toasted, chopped walnuts
*1/2 onion - small dice
*1/2 c. raisins (golden, preferrably)
        * = optional ingredients
Dressing:

1/2 c. mayo
1/2 med. tub of sour cream (about 1 1/2 c.)

 2 t. of white vinegar
3 T. of white sugar
2 t. salt
1 t. pepper

 I had broccoli and a head of cauliflower to use up, so we went that direction. Put all of your veges and bacon in a large bowl. Combine the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl - taste and adjust seasonings. Pour dressing over veges and toss to coat. Serve chilled.

This makes a very large bowlful - cut the recipe in half if you are just making it as a single meal for a small number of people.

Pesto Sauce, Gazpacho, and Chicken Cutlets...I should have been Italian!

Why I have never made these meals before, I will never know. It's insanely easy and requires almost no actual cooking.

Pesto Sauce
This classic Italian pasta sauce can also be used as a flavorful dip for chicken, topping on wraps, or even as a replacement for tomato sauce on pizza. It's packed with "good fats" and anti-oxidants, so despite the high fat content, you can still feel good about eating it too! This recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce (which is A LOT because a little goes a seriously long way), but it can be frozen in smaller containers and pulled out or gifted when needed. If you have a green thumb and can grow basil, this is a must-have recipe:

What You'll Need:

1 1/2 c. shelled walnuts (that's one of the "chocolate chip" size bags)
             if you want to use pine nuts, go ahead, but walnuts are cheaper and easier to find
 3 c. basil leaves (limit the number of woody stems that get in there)
1 c. olive oil (maybe more if you think it needs to be thinned out)
1/2 avacado
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Put everything EXCEPT the oil in a food processor (or blender - I had to use a blender). Pulse a few times to make a walnut-basil slurry and then let the processor run as you drizzle in the olive oil. The sauce should come together on its own, but you can always stop and use a spatula to scrape down the sides and make sure it's combined. Taste and adjust the flavors - adding more salt, pepper, or cheese. You may also want to thin it out some with a little cold water (a couple tablespoons at a time - don't go nuts!). That's it! By the time I was done, the pasta had finished boiling and was ready to come off the stove.

Gazpacho
When it's summer and your crisper is full of cucumbers or your counter has a small den of tomatoes, I frequently find that a lot of them end up rotting before I get the urge to eat a salad. Gazpacho is an easy way to use up some of those leftover salad veges AND it's healthful. Oh, and it's also ridiculously easy to make:

What You'll Need:

3 c. -ish of tomatoes (whatever kind you have lying around and if they are close to death a/o already there, just trim off the bad spots and chuck them in - it actually helps the gazpacho out)
1 stalk of celery
1 clove of garlic
handful of herb of your choice (I had extra parsley to use up)
1 cucumber skinned and de-seeded
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 avacado (leftover from the pesto!)
1/4 red onion (leftover from the guacamole and black bean salad earlier this week)

Other summer veges of your choice: I had 1 1/2 ears of corn leftover from a few night ago, so I threw the kernels in, but bell pepper, radishes...really anything that is either a really "watery" vegetable or one with a very clean flavor would do nicely)

Other additions: Depending on the sweetness of your tomatoes and the sourness of your lime, you may want to add a tablespoon or so of either a mild vinegar or sugar to balance things out. WAIT UNTIL YOU TASTE IT THOUGH - #1 rule of cooking: you can always add, but you can never take it away.

All you do is put everything in a food processor and chop to your desired consistency. Serve it chilled with some warm, garlicy croutons on top! Yummmmmmm.....

 Italian Fried Chicken
This is one of those dishes that you make for people when you're not sure what they like. EVERYONE likes breaded, fried chicken. And this is so cheap and easy that it's a great "look at me cook" weeknight meal. It's also EXTREMELY kid-friendly - even Gabe likes this one!

What You'll Need:

B/S Chicken Breast (you can, of course, debone and deskin your chicken breasts in order to save money. However, it's never seemed like THAT much of a savings to me when you take into account how much you are paying in weight for those bones and that skin)
Seasoned Italian breadcrumbs (I used Kroger's "garlic seasoned" crumbs - they were on sale for a dollar)
2 eggs + a splash of water
frying oil (I like Canola, but it really doesn't matter)
Salt

First, butterfly the chicken breasts all the way through so that you have nice thin cutlets. If you don't have knife skills yet, or you just don't know what I'm talking about, then go ahead and just buy chicken cutlets instead of breasts - they're slightly more expensive, but not nearly so much as the bill you'd get from the ER when you sliced your hand open. Use a food mallet (or in my case, a heavy ramekin inside of a plasic bag), and beat out each cutlet so that they are of even thickness, about 1/4" thick each.
Crack the eggs into a pie plate (or similar vessel) and beat together with the water. Pour the breadcrumbs in another similar dish. Heat about 1/2" of oil in the bottom of a high sided frying pan over med. high heat. Don't get it too hot or it will burn the chicken before it can cook through. 
Start the assembly line: dip chicken in egg wash, roll around in bread crumbs, place in oil. Fry on each side for a few minutes (2-3) until it is a deep golden brown. Transfer them to a paper towel lined baking dish and set them in the oven on warm until you're done frying. While they are warm, sprinkle them with a nice pinch of salt.

That's it! Tonight, I ate mine over a mixture of rotini with cherry tomatoes and chunks of mozzerella cheese and drizzled with pesto sauce. DE-LI-CIOUS.

mmmm....Pork chops....

Pursuant to the rules, any weeknight meal additions must take 20 minutes or less to prepare.

Night #1: Simple Porkchops

Who knew pork chops were so easy??? I never buy them because they always overcook and become tough and dry, but this time around, I followed the advice of a local chef and they turned out perfectly and with no trouble. Bonus: they're super cheap. I got a nice pack of four for about $4. It was a great change of pace from chicken, and they're just as versatile.

What you need:

Thick cut pork chops (not super thick, just not the thin ones)
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. seasoning of your choice (I chose cumin tonight because we were doing a Mexican theme)

Mix the spices together. In a skillet, heat a few tablespoons over med-high. Season the pork chops with the spice mixture (don't over season, just give them a nice dusting). Sear them, one or two at a time (don't crowd the pan), for 2-3 minutes on each side (so that they have a nice brown crust) and then transfer them to a baking dish. Place them in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Check for the temperature or cut one in half to see if it's done. Unlike chicken, pork can be a slight pink color in the center and still be done!!! I can't stress this enough, DO NOT OVERCOOK THEM.

These were served alongside the black bean salad and some quick cook rice. Annie LOVED it. Gabe is still being a brat and won't eat anything except fruit and sweets.

Guacamole, Black Bean Salad, and Napolean Quiche

OK. This is what I made today. If I hadn't forgotten to soak the beans last night, it wouldn't have taken long. I did take pictures, but I will have to add them in later as I'm not sure how to upload here.

Snack: Easy Guacamole

Truthfully, any guacamole is easy. Just chunk up some avocados and throw in a little lime juice and voila! You've got guacamole. This version takes advantage of some leftover ingredients for a second recipe.

You need:
-->

5 avocados - halved, pit removed, giant dice, and scooped out

1/4  red onion

1 clove garlic minced

1 lime - juiced

handful of cilantro – chopped

salt & pepper - to taste, but I usually do a "big pinch" of salt and several grinds of pepper

½ 7oz.  jar diced pimentos (drained)

Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and use a potato masher to pulverize it to a chunky dip consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings. To store, squeeze more lime juice on top put a piece of plastic wrap directly on the dip (do not leave it exposed to air).  This will last several days (though probably not once you start finding an excuse to snack...)

Cold Salad: Black Bean Salad

This can really be made with any bean you have; I just think it's pretty with black beans.

You Need:

-->

1 lb. black beans – cooked by directions in heavily salted water

½ red onion

½ 7 oz. jar of diced pimentos (drained)

1 clove garlic

3 T. oil

1 T. stone ground mustard (I already had this, but you can use a dijon too)

¼ c. vinegar (white balsamic, apple cider, or really anything you would make salad dressing out of)

heavy pinch salt

heavy pinch pepper

1 cucumber seeded and diced

2 bell peppers diced (any color, but I prefer red/orange/yellow over green)

1 handful of italian parsley – rough chopped

Mix the onion, pimentos, garlic, oil, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in the bowl first to make the dressing. Add the vegetables and beans. Mix to coat and chill in the fridge. This is great to eat as a side dish with some chicken or as a salad to take to work. 

Main Course: Napoleon Quiche

Quiche is easy and makes a great breakfast too. It doesn't seem very filling (especially to men), but when served with a nice bowl of soup or a side salad, it makes a great dinner. This makes two quiches (I needed to get rid of a dozen eggs hovering on extinction), but if you don't eat both in the week (unlikely), they freeze really well (or you could always gift one out to a friend or coworker to brighten their day!

You need:

-->

12 eggs

2-pack frozen pie crusts (I don’t bake)

¾ c. ranch dressing (or any other creamy salad dressing)

1 c. ricotta cheese

2 c. shredded cheese (any kind you have on hand)

1 sliced tomato (each slice cut in half)

1 c. fresh basic leaves – rough chopped

salt & pepper

Beat the eggs and dressing together (props to Katrina for teaching me this trick!). Ladle in the mixture until the shells are 1/2 full. Dot the quiche with ricotta cheese and top with chopped basil. Add the rest of the egg mixture. Top with pieces of tomato and salt and pepper. Top with cheese (as much or as little as you like). Place them in a 375 degree oven until done; it usually takes about 45 minutes for both. (*to make putting the quiche in and taking them out easy, put them on a baking sheet for easy handling)

 Coming Later This Week

Gazpacho (uses up cilantro, parsley, and some stock veges I have lying around)
Pasta Pesto (uses up basil) 

The Rules:

1. No specialty ingredients. If it isn't a staple, won't be used in its entirety in one dish, won't be used in at least one other dish this week, or doesn't have a shelf life of a few months, I'm not buying it.

2. Fresh is better, but price is king. Whenever possible, I will choose fresh, unprocessed ingredients, but if it's cheaper to buy it frozen or shelf stable (like frozen green peas or juice), then sorry, my wallet wins the day.

3. Waste Not, Want Not. Put simply, my goal is to NEVER throw away good ingredients just because I never got around to using them up. No more 1/2 cartons of strawberries or mushrooms. No more mold ridden blocks of cheese. No more random pints of sour cream or bags of mushy herbs or blackened bananas.

4. Cook on Sunday. I have a job, a house, a husband, a dog, and two kids - I don't have time to cook during the week. Anything that is made on a weeknight must be able to be made in less than 20 minutes (take that, Rachel Ray!); otherwise, my only goal is to dish, heat, and serve.

5. Use what you've got. This is more of an extension of Rules 1, 2, & 3 rather than its own rule. The basic idea is that I don't live and die by recipes. If I'm supposed to use balsamic vinegar, but all I have is red wine vinegar, oh well. Cheese is cheese. Oil is oil. Pasta is pasta.

6. The kids have to eat too. These aren't supposed to be "grown-up" meals, but they aren't so flavorless and simplistic that only someone with the palate of a 2 year old could enjoy them. My daughter has always been good about eating variety of foods, whatever is put in front of her. I love that, and I want it to filter over to my son (who is the very definition of 'picky' right now!).

7. Keep it square. Vegetables, proteins, and carbs. I strive to provide a balance of flavors, colors, and ingredients. This is a little bit of everything kind of cooking. 

And that's it. Of course, not everything I make will be from scratch, and a lot of this experiment will be a learning exercise for me on how to make this concept work. But, in the end, I'm just happy that I'm doing one of the things that I love to do and that I get to share it.