Spoiled Rotten November 10, 2009

Yup, that is what I have been lately.  Ross is the best ever and has not only been planning meals, but grocery shopping for them and cooking them as well… and even doing the dishes!  I wonder how long I can make this last after  the baby is born?

This past weekend, Ross made a super delicious home cooked, comfort food meal.  He made homemade mac and cheese and oven fried chicken.  They were both so very delicious.  The baked chicken had a delicious flavor and was so juicy and tender.  The baked mac and cheese was awesome – we have almost cleaned off the 9×13 dish of it that was made only 2 nights ago!  Ross said that after reading the reviews he doubled the amount of evaporated milk (adding 1 cup total) and added an extra egg as well.  It was perfect.  I loved it and can’t wait to make it again.  It is different than my Mom’s mac and cheese - just different enough that it is worth keeping both recipes in our repetoire!

Tonight, Ross made Curried Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole.  We both really, really loved it.  The mixture of the curry, tomatoes, raisins and cinnamon sound so random, but taste so well together.  Ross used chicken thighs instead of breasts and it was so delicious – and according to him, fairly easy to prepare.  I can’t wait to make this one again very soon. 

It’s been forever since I posted last, and with a baby joining our family on Wednesday at the latest, it will probably be awhile again.  These were all just too good not to share!

Spicy Three Pepper Hummus July 14, 2009

For the past two years, my sister’s birthday gift to me has been a country concert mega-ticket.  For those of you who aren’t country music followers, this is an awesome gift.  It is a pass to every country concert at Walnut Creek all summer.  The concerts this summer include George Strait, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney.  In addition to being awesome concerts, it is great to have a guaranteed night with my sister every few weeks throughout the summer.  We have so much fun, and count down the days to each concert.  If that isn’t a great birthday gift, I don’t know what is.  I have an awesome sister

 

Of course, one of the highlights of the concerts is the tailgating.  This year, my tailgating is a bit different of course.  The first concert I just had water, but I felt kind of left out.  The second one, I brought bottled root beer, but then I just felt like people were looking at me like “what is that pregnant lady doing drinking beer”.  This past weekend we went to see Toby Keith, who was by far our favorite last year.  This year he didn’t disappoint, he actually surpassed our expectations.  To toast Toby, I had some fake mojitos made from a mix Ross bought me mixed with some club soda.  They are surprisingly delicious and refreshing!

 

Along with the drinks, tailgating obviously includes food.  Kara and I start planning our snack menu days in advance.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to make this time, but I found this recipe for hummus and I thought it sounded great.  I love hummus, and thought it would be fun to experiment with.  I was proud of Sanford, because I was pretty sure I wouldn’t find tahini anywhere locally, but Lowe’s carried it!

 

This recipe is quick and easy to make and tastes great.  Like the reviews said, you definitely need more liquid.  Despite my hatred for bean juice, I did reserve some from when I drained the garbanzo beans and added that.  It wasn’t enough, so I added more olive oil and a little water.  To cut on the spice a little bit, I added a little extra lemon juice.  I added only 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper instead of 1 1/2 and it was perfect, it actually gets less spicy the longer you let the flavors work together.  I brought some garlic Parmesan pita chips to eat along with this and it was delicious!

 

Now that I have a big container of tahini, I am excited to experiment with a bunch of different flavors of hummus!

Ross’ Pizza July 13, 2009

We’ve never been ones to repeat meals too often in our house.  We love experimenting with new recipes and keeping things interesting.  The past few weeks, however, have been an exception.  Ross decided one day to make a homemade pizza, just to entertain himself for awhile on a lazy Saturday.  Since then, we have a few pizzas a week.  They are excellent, and he’s tweaked the recipe each time until we believe that we’ve reached perfection.  We’ve even made calzones with the ingredients and they’ve turned out amazing as well. 

If you are going to repeat a recipe, pizza is a good choice.  A different set of toppings can make it taste like a completely different meal.  The recipe that we use for dough is based on Tyler Florence’s recipes, with a few adjustments that Ross has made along the way.  It makes 3 balls of dough (or 3 medium sized pizzas), so it allows for many variations of toppings.  We’ve tried broccoli, fresh sliced tomatoes, red onion, feta cheese, pepperoni and portabella mushrooms.  All have been delicious, and we’re excited to keep testing.

The sauce is my favorite part, a basic tomato sauce with some herbs mixed in and just the right amount of sweetness.  Other sauces can be used such a pesto, broccoli pesto (see a great recipe for that on my blog), taco sauce, alfredo sauce, et cetera.  The opportunities are endless – and so are the requests for more!

Ross’ Famous Pizza

Crust:

• 1 package active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
• Teaspoon of maple syrup

In the bowl of a stand mixer using a dough hook, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water; stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast starts to foam, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and teaspoon of maple syrup.   Add the flour, a little at a time.  Mix at the lowest speed until all the flour has mixed in. When the dough starts to come together, change the speed to medium.  
Feel the dough, if it’s crumbly, add more water; if it’s sticky, add more flour – 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the dough gathers into a ball.  This should take about 5 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times; kneading until it’s smooth and stretchy. Form the dough into a large ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turn it over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spotuntil doubled in size, about 1 hour.  Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Roll and stretch the dough into a cylinder and divide into 3 equal pieces. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes so it will be easier to roll out.

Roll or pat out a piece of dough into a 12 inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Brush the crust with a thin layer of olive oil, and top with your favorite sauce and toppings.

Basic Pizza Sauce:

• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• ½ teaspoon of onion powder
• A pinch of sugar (more or less to your liking)

In a medium bowl, Mix together tomato sauce and tomato paste until smooth. Stir in seasonings.

Sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom of a cookie sheet (as in upside-down cookie sheet -we’ve found that this works even better than a pizza stone).  Bake at 500 (or as high as your oven goes) for about 7-8 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Mom’s Mac and Cheese July 9, 2009

This one was in the Herald yesterday, but with a mistake by me.  It’s 16 oz of cheese, not 8.  Sorry!

It’s no secret that food is one of my favorite things in life.  When I plan my meals, I have to make sure it is going to be something really tasty.  One of the biggest disappointments to me is eating a meal that just isn’t that good.  It feels like such a waste to me, a missed opportunity for something I love. 

The thing is, for me it isn’t just about the taste.  Sure, I want it to taste good – but it also has to feel good.  I’m a texture person.  It took me well into my teenage years to be able to stomach peas – not because of how they taste, but how they felt in my mouth.  The pop of the outside followed by the mush on the inside was just more than I could handle.  I’m not sure what made me finally get over it, but I’m fine with peas now. 

Often times when planning meals, I plan more around the texture I am craving than the taste of the food.  One of my favorite textures is smooth and creamy.  Whether it is a dessert made of cool whip and pudding or a pasta dish with a rich creamy sauce, these foods are just as satisfying to the soul as they are to the palate. 

Like most children, mac and cheese was one of my favorites growing up, and it still is.  The good ol’ box will work in a pinch, but Mom’s homemade mac and cheese is better than anything else.  My favorite part has always been the fresh sliced tomatoes layered on top with the crunchy breadcrumb mixture finishing it off.  A bite of warm, creamy pasta with the slight tang of tomato and just a tiny crunch is the perfect texture recipe for me.  And just to top it off, it tastes incredible as well.  This is one that you just can’t go wrong with.

Mom’s Mac and Cheese

1 box macaroni (elbows or shells are best), cooked al dente or a tiny bit less

1 tomato, sliced

16 ounce box Velveeta, chopped

¼ stick butter

¼ cup flour

2 to 2 ½ cups milk

1 tablespoon minced onion

Parsley to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup breadcrumbs

¼ cup parmesan cheese

 

Over low heat, melt butter.  Whisk flour into it, and then add milk slowly.  Before boiling, add cheese, bring to a slow boil.  Add minced onion, salt, pepper and parsley.  Stir in macaroni.  Place in a 13×9 inch baking dish.  Top with parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and sliced tomatoes.  Bake for 30-45 minutes.

Tomato Pie June 14, 2009

At least, that’s what I call it.  I can’t remember the real name, but I know it was from Southern Living magazine.  I think.  My mother-in-law made it a summer or two ago and I loved it.  I kind of forgot about it, but I’ve really been craving it lately.  We’re going to a cookout tonight, so it seemed like the perfect thing to bring along.  I tried to find it on the website but I couldn’t… maybe because I am way off on the name.  Anyway, I finally found it scribbled on a piece of paper.  Here’s the recipe.  It is so tasty, fresh, and healthy too. 

Tomato Pie

 1 frozen pie crust

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 medium plum tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon pepper

 

Saute the zucchini in the olive oil until tender.  Drain.  Poke holes in the bottom of the pie crust with a fork.  Place the cooked zucchini on the bottom, place the sliced tomatoes on top.  Mix together the rest of the ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls on top of the tomatoes.  Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes.

 

One of the meals I am going to make this week is a variation of this that is more like a quiche, including eggs and ham along with the tomatoes and cheese.  I’ll post that after I make it!

A Great Day with Summer Deliciousness April 17, 2009

Today was a great day.  “Spring Break” this year hasn’t felt like much of a Spring break since I’ve had some work to do everyday so far.  Today was the first day of the week that I didn’t have any work to do (well, I had to clean the bathrooms, but that’s just life).  I had a good morning at home getting things cleaned and organized.  I got 4 bags of clothes to Haven which I have been meaning to do for months.  They are so appreciative there, it makes you feel like you’ve really done something helpful!  After that small errand, I headed to Emily’s to meet up with her and her girls.  We had a great lunch at Fresh Choice.  Hailey and Leah were little ladies and entertained me with their napkin artwork and silly stories.  After lunch we headed to Dairy Queen.  Emily and I have been taunted for weeks by the ad for the Midnight Truffle Blizzard.  It was sooooooooooo good, but very, very rich!  After dessert, we all headed to get our hair cut which was so much fun and felt so good after 5 months without one!  On the way home, we stopped at Consign Design Boutique and I purchased my first 2 maternity outfits, for just $37!  I can’t wait to wear them!

After a busy but wonderful afternoon, I headed home to fix dinner.  Last week at the grocery store, I grabbed a pork loin roast just because it looked good.  I figured we’d throw it in the crock pot with something or other and call it a meal.  Well, when Ross suggested grilling it, there was no way I was turning him down!  I started my morning with searching for a good marinade recipe and starting the process.  The recipe I found was on cooks.com and is called Grilled Marinated Loin of Pork.  We loved it.  The honey and cinnamon add just the right amount of sweetness, and it came out perfectly tender.  Along with it we had a pasta salad that we first made and blogged about last summer, Spicy Vegetarian Peanut Noodle Salad.  It was even better that we remembered, and went perfectly with the pork. 

Today was a fun, beautiful day, and the sunshine, the carefree schedule and the awesome summer meal made me feel like summer is finally on its way.  I am so happy!

Broccoli Pesto February 1, 2009

During the holidays, I pulled out the Southern Living Christmas 2007 cookbook that my mother and father-in-law gave me for Christmas last year.  As soon as I pulled it out, I regretted that I had it stashed away during the year.  Yes, this cookbook (and I am assuming each year’s edition) has many holiday recipes in it suitable for entertaining a large crowd on a special day, but it also has tons of great recipes that could be used all year round.  As I looked through it for my cookie recipe that I needed that day, I flagged some pages that had recipes on them that I wanted to try.

Today, I pulled it out to look for a cookie bar recipe.  Although I didn’t end up choosing a cookie bar recipe from the book, I did run across one of my flagged recipes, the one for Broccoli Pesto.  I love  pesto.  I love it on bread, tossed with pasta, on my pizza, as a condiment, etc.  This variation, using broccoli instead of basil, really intrigued me.  I love basil, but thought the idea of using broccoli was interesting.  It has the same pretty color and is even healthier than regular pesto.  I made it to bring to a Superbowl party this afternoon, and I plan on stashing some aside to make pizza with this week.  The cookbook suggests either spreading it on a crusty baguette, tossing it with hot, cooked pasta or using in place of (or in addition to) red sauce on a pizza.

Although I am taking it with me this afternoon, I felt it was my responsibility to give it a taste test before I subjected everyone to it.  Oooooh, it is yummy.  This one will be served at my house often.  It was very quick and easy to make, too (as long as you have a food processor).

 

Broccoli Pesto

12 oz fresh broccoli florets, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1/3 cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (to toast, I just put them in the skillet after I emptied out the garlic mixture and cooked over medium heat for a few minutes, stirring now and then. As my food network junkie husband told me, they’ll let you know when they are done… when they become fragrant).

1/3 cup chicken broth (or veggie to make vegetarian)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Garnish:  toasted pine nuts

Toasted or grilled baguette slices

 

Place broccoli in a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 8 minutes, or until tender.  (Be careful of the steam when you take it out!  Pierce the plastic wrap first to allow the steam to escape.  I have burnt myself on steam before and hurt worse than any other burn I’ve given myself).  Drain and transfer to a food processor. 

While broccoli cooks, heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and crushed red pepper; saute 2 minutes or until garlic is lightly browned.  Add garlic mixture, Parmesan cheese, and next 4 ingredients to food processor; process until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.  Garnish, if desired.  Serve pesto with baguette slices.

Yield:  2 cups

1 tablespoon = 49 calories and 3.4 grams of fat

Catching Up January 30, 2009

I am supposed to be doing work right now, but I am really not interested so I figured it would be a good time to catch up on my blog. 

 

We’ve had some very random meals lately.  Many were not at all bad, but just not really worth mentioning.  Here are some of the highlights (some good and some not so good).

• Chicken Pot Pie.   I originally wrote about this recipe in this post.  I love this recipe.  The thyme is very tasty and the wine adds a very nice flavor.  I made this one day last week when we were stuck home in the snow.  I decided to switch it up in a few ways.  First, I made it in the crock pot.  I made up the sauce on the stovetop and poured it over 2 large chicken breasts in the crock pot.  I added carrots, celery and onions and cooked it on low for about 6 hours.  Once the chicken was cooked through, I removed it from the crock pot and shredded it up with a fork. While I was shredding, I added a cup of frozen peas to the sauce in the crock pot and let them heat through.  I mixed the chicken back in with the sauce and put it in an 8×8 baking dish.  Now – here comes the special trick that made it extra tasty -  a few Sunday’s ago, Ross made homemade biscuits for breakfast.  He makes awesome biscuits and I always beg him to make them for me.  I think this was the second time, so hey, I can count on them once every couple of years or so.  Anyway, he froze extra dough.  I thawed it out and rolled it into an 8×8 square.  I placed it on top of the chicken mixture and baked it at 350 for about 25 minutes.  It was awesome.  I don’t know his recipe for biscuits, but any recipe would work.  It is much tastier than a pie crust, I  promise you that!
• Tonight, we had another crock pot meal (I’ve been on a crock pot roll lately).  I was in a hurry this morning, so I just put some chicken in there and poured Lawry’s Caribbean Jerk marinade over it.  It was horrible.  I hardly ate any.  It was the saltiest stuff ever, so salty that I couldn’t even taste any of the flavor of the sauce.  I will definitely never buy that again, or probably any Lawry’s marinade.  It was that bad. 
• In addition to the chicken (thank goodness we had something else with it) we had a Southwestern Corn Chowder.  I didn’t make it; this one came in a box.  Yes, a box.  It was a V8 soup.  Who knew V8 made soups?  I don’t think I could force myself to drink a V8 juice, but soup I could try.  It was great!  As advertised on the box (looks like an overgrown juice box) there is a full serving of veggies inside.  That along with a great flavor and hearty, thick texture, you can’t go wrong!  Apparently there are several other flavors.  I want to try the Butternut Squash and the Garden Broccoli!

•   I have one other random note, and I add this only  because Amy Burns of Amy’s Confection Company isn’t making cakes so much as her other sweet treats anymore.  After finding out that Amy couldn’t make my wedding cake, I went on a long and difficult search for someone to do the job.  We ended up going with Once in a Blue Moon Bakery in Cary.  I am pretty sure that other than “congratulations”, the comment I heard most on my wedding was “where did you get that amazing cake?”  Not only did it look beautiful, but it was the best tasting cake I have ever had (again, only saying this because I’ve never tasted one of Amy’s!).  I mention this because I just ordered another cake from there for a gathering I have this weekend.  I ordered the same flavor as my wedding cake, chocolate with hazelnut mousse and cream cheese frosting.  I can’t wait to eat it.  They are also super cool because you can place your order online if you do it 72 hours in advance.  If you ever need a great cake for a special event, I highly recommend them!  They also have a really cute little cafe where they offer breakfast treats,  lunches and other sweet treats.  Check them out!

This isn’t the best picture of our cake, but it was the most convenient one for me to put here. 

OK, now I am off to go do my work!  Yay for tomorrow being Friday!!!

Tomato Gorgonzola Soup January 24, 2009

My sister and I had this for dinner last night and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.  This may be my new favorite soup.  It was such a very tasty combination of flavors, easy to make, and fairly inexpensive (Kara bought it and made it for me, but I was there when she did it, so I can attest to the easiness of it, and she said it was cheap!).

 

I love cheese, so anything with cheese automatically sounds good to me.  I like Gorgonzola (tastes a lot like Blue Cheese) but I can only take it in small amounts and if it is mixed in with something.  This was the perfect  amount of cheese, and the flavor blended so well with the creamy cream cheese.  It was more subtle than I thought it would be, which was perfect. 

 

I also really loved the sweetness of the chopped red peppers and the fresh taste of the basil (the recipe calls for dried basil, but Kara bought fresh and it was wonderful).  The chunks of tomatoes were perfect for the texture.  Some reviews of the recipe said that people used and immersion blender, and you could, but it was thick and creamy without doing it.  Personally, I liked the chunkiness of it.

 

Here is the link to the recipe.  It is calculated to serve 4, but Kara and I finished off the whole pot. I would definitely double it.  We had it with a nice crusty loaf of bread and it was a heavenly meal.

 

Thank you to my wonderful sister for a delicious meal and the best company a girl can get.

Quiche January 20, 2009

Tonight we had a meal that I made for the first time on Mother’s Day.  I wrote about it here.  I made it right this time and did puree the spinach with the nutmeg before putting it in the egg mixture.  It was definitely better this way, and it was prettier, too.  I love this quiche for several reasons:

• using puff pastry as a crust tastes way better than a pie crust
• layering the sauteed onions and sliced tomatoes on the bottom gives it a unique flavor, and makes it pretty
• the pureed spinach, nutmeg and cottage cheese added to the egg mixture make it distinct from other quiches
• it is super delicious!

I served this with the Pasta, Bean and Pepper soup leftover soup from last night.  It was filling, but left just enough room for the chcolate chip cookie sundae that I am about to indulge in.  I had to celebrate having a snow day tomorrow!!! Hooray!