It's a busy week for us, so this isn't one of my best menu's. But I'm excited to try Tortilla soup after all these years of reading about it and I know that my kids will inhale at least three of these dinners with no problem.
Sunday: Crock Pot Chicken, steamed artichokes, spinach salad and bread
Monday: Roasted trout with quinoa, feta and cucumbers (original recipe uses tilapia, but I was in the mood for trout)
Tuesday: Chicken tortilla soup (using leftover chicken from Sunday's dinner)
Wednesday: Busy night with family, so something easy from the freezer
Thursday: Spaghetti with shrimp and bacon
Friday: Movie night - TBD
Saturday: Out with friends
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Food Rut
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| Remember this guy from SuperSize Me? |
I was inspired (Pinspired?) recently by a recipe I found through Pinterest that looked like it was worth breaking the pizza rut for. I knew my son liked brussel sprouts with bacon as a side dish, so putting it on pizza seemed like an obvious opportunity to enjoy our veggies with a little bacon. The pizza turned out great - but I made so many modifications on the original recipe that I am just going to write it out below. We loved it, but the kids didn't think it was that great.
Oh well, I guess my bacon theory was proven wrong this time. But to an adult, this recipe was a winner!
Bacon and Brussel Sprout Pizza
Inspired by Shutterbean.com
1 batch of No Knead pizza dough
3 slices bacon, chopped and cooked (Reserve bacon fat)
1/2 cup marinara sauce
1/2 onion finely chopped
5 large-ish brussel sprouts, shredded
1 Tbls. balsamic vinegar
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Red pepper flakes to taste
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Fry bacon till crispy and let it cool on a paper towel, crumble bacon when it's cool enough. Reserve a tablespoon or two of bacon drippings in the pan.
Add the chopped onions with salt and pepper and brussel sprouts to the bacon drippings in the pan on medium heat, sauteing till softened - about 4 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and stir to combine.
Spread the pizza dough out onto a oiled cookie sheet, slowly pushing it out to the sides. It takes some time to get it stretched out, so just keep pushing it out with your fingers. Spoon the marinara onto the dough and then sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. (Knowing we might have a revolt on our hands, we made half the pizza cheese-only for the kids). Spoon the cooked brussel sprout mixture onto the pizza and top it with crumbled bacon and then top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Bake until the cheese is browned, about 10 minutes.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Dinners for April 8-14, 2012
Sunday: Easter dinner with family
Monday: Ricotta and chard omelette with leftover scalloped potatoes
Tuesday: Pork chops with apples and sauerkraut and green beans
Wednesday: Pasta with sausage and crispy broccoli
Thursday: Chicken orzo soup from the freezer, bread, salad
Friday: Out with friends
Saturday: Movie night - homemade pizza?
Monday: Ricotta and chard omelette with leftover scalloped potatoes
Tuesday: Pork chops with apples and sauerkraut and green beans
Wednesday: Pasta with sausage and crispy broccoli
Thursday: Chicken orzo soup from the freezer, bread, salad
Friday: Out with friends
Saturday: Movie night - homemade pizza?
Friday, April 6, 2012
Breaking Toffee
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| I do believe I came over my fear of toffee today. |
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
From Passover to Kitchen Disasters
This post veers from left to right and backwards and forward, so bear with me.
Some friends invited us to their Seder this Friday and I am so excited, this is my second Seder in 15 years and I love them. I don't follow any particular religion, but I enjoy learning about other religions and wouldn't mind it if my kids gleaned something from these experiences because they won't be getting anything from me, sadly.
While our friends are very open and honest about the fact that they are a bit lazy when it comes to the details (the husband is Jewish and the wife is Catholic), they still want their children to appreciate the meaning behind the holiday.
I wanted to bring a dish that was appropriate as well as kid friendly and I immediately thought to ask Jenny Rosenstrach if she had any dish suggestions. She was kind enough to send this one to me.
Pretty, right? Well, I have to admit that my heart skipped a beat when I saw it... and not in a good way. I have a PTSD thing going on with making toffee after a pretty disastrous attempt on my behalf about 15 years ago - the same year as my first Seder. Whoa! This idea is sounding bad already - do you think history can repeat itself?
Fifteen years ago a work colleague asked if I would cat sit for her while she and her husband traveled to New York for the holidays. They owned a beautiful flat in Nob Hill which featured a newly remodeled kitchen. Coming from my dinky two bedroom apartment that I shared with a roommate in the Richmond District, this place was like the Taj Mahal. But then when I saw the kitchen, the Rolodex in my head started to spin with recipes that I just had to make in that kitchen.
Their kitchen featured a new wooden floor, a Viking stove, gorgeous gray marble countertops with brand new appliances from their recent wedding. I am pretty sure the tags has been taken off the stove about three weeks prior to my arrival. After they left for their flight, I pulled out my a Williams-Sonoma cookbook that I brought with me and decided to make chocolate toffee for Christmas presents. I imagined myself wearing a clean white apron, bopping along to music on the stereo while happily bagging treats all day. I had plans that night to meet some friends at the Red Room (RIP).
As I read through the recipe, I realized that I didn't have a candy thermometer. "Meh," I thought, "It doesn't seem like that big of a big deal. Rather fussy if you ask me," I said to myself. I knew how to bake for god's sake, so making candy seemed the same. I mean, how hard could it be, really?
I got to work and as the sugar started to boil, I watched it like a hawk trying to figure out what they meant by the color description "Honey Amber." It went from the color of honey to dark brown so fast that I grabbed an oven mitt and the pan and poured the boiling sugar onto a buttered cookie sheet that I had placed on the counter. The heat from the toffee warped the cookie sheet and it tipped over onto the new stove and quickly oozed its way into the burners and down the new cabinets, spilling onto the new floor. Ifreaked out and screamed dropped the pan of boiling sugar and it crashed to the floor, splattering burnt sugar all over the kitchen (fortunately I was spared). I didn't need a candy thermometer to know that the sugar had hit the hard ball stage by the time it reached the floor because I could not get it off.
Sobbing from this potentially expensive mistake, I started soaking some of their beautiful new dishtowels from their wedding in hot water and slowly sponged the toffee off bit by bit. I spent the next six hours working my way around the kitchen, picking, sponging and pulling toffee out of areas I didn't know it could reach - under the fridge, behind the toaster, inside the stove burners, it was everywhere! After that I ordered take out and cancelled plans with my friends at the Red Room. I just sat there, stunned from the days events and watched the cat and counted the hours till they came home. Fortunately the only items I had to replace were the pot, the cookie sheet and some dishtowels.
Needless to say toffee and I don't have a good relationship.
In case I have a panic attack prior to making the matzo toffee, I offered to make Matzo s'mores as well. Surely I'll win Dinner Guest of the Year if I bring fire, sharp pointy sticks and gooey marshmallows for small children to play with. I can just see our invitation being revoked for next year.
For Easter we are sticking to the favorites: Baked ham, asparagus, rolls and deviled eggs. Who says I am not a stickler for traditions?
Some friends invited us to their Seder this Friday and I am so excited, this is my second Seder in 15 years and I love them. I don't follow any particular religion, but I enjoy learning about other religions and wouldn't mind it if my kids gleaned something from these experiences because they won't be getting anything from me, sadly.
While our friends are very open and honest about the fact that they are a bit lazy when it comes to the details (the husband is Jewish and the wife is Catholic), they still want their children to appreciate the meaning behind the holiday.
I wanted to bring a dish that was appropriate as well as kid friendly and I immediately thought to ask Jenny Rosenstrach if she had any dish suggestions. She was kind enough to send this one to me.
 |
| We meet again, Toffee |
Pretty, right? Well, I have to admit that my heart skipped a beat when I saw it... and not in a good way. I have a PTSD thing going on with making toffee after a pretty disastrous attempt on my behalf about 15 years ago - the same year as my first Seder. Whoa! This idea is sounding bad already - do you think history can repeat itself?
Fifteen years ago a work colleague asked if I would cat sit for her while she and her husband traveled to New York for the holidays. They owned a beautiful flat in Nob Hill which featured a newly remodeled kitchen. Coming from my dinky two bedroom apartment that I shared with a roommate in the Richmond District, this place was like the Taj Mahal. But then when I saw the kitchen, the Rolodex in my head started to spin with recipes that I just had to make in that kitchen.
Their kitchen featured a new wooden floor, a Viking stove, gorgeous gray marble countertops with brand new appliances from their recent wedding. I am pretty sure the tags has been taken off the stove about three weeks prior to my arrival. After they left for their flight, I pulled out my a Williams-Sonoma cookbook that I brought with me and decided to make chocolate toffee for Christmas presents. I imagined myself wearing a clean white apron, bopping along to music on the stereo while happily bagging treats all day. I had plans that night to meet some friends at the Red Room (RIP).
As I read through the recipe, I realized that I didn't have a candy thermometer. "Meh," I thought, "It doesn't seem like that big of a big deal. Rather fussy if you ask me," I said to myself. I knew how to bake for god's sake, so making candy seemed the same. I mean, how hard could it be, really?
I got to work and as the sugar started to boil, I watched it like a hawk trying to figure out what they meant by the color description "Honey Amber." It went from the color of honey to dark brown so fast that I grabbed an oven mitt and the pan and poured the boiling sugar onto a buttered cookie sheet that I had placed on the counter. The heat from the toffee warped the cookie sheet and it tipped over onto the new stove and quickly oozed its way into the burners and down the new cabinets, spilling onto the new floor. I
Sobbing from this potentially expensive mistake, I started soaking some of their beautiful new dishtowels from their wedding in hot water and slowly sponged the toffee off bit by bit. I spent the next six hours working my way around the kitchen, picking, sponging and pulling toffee out of areas I didn't know it could reach - under the fridge, behind the toaster, inside the stove burners, it was everywhere! After that I ordered take out and cancelled plans with my friends at the Red Room. I just sat there, stunned from the days events and watched the cat and counted the hours till they came home. Fortunately the only items I had to replace were the pot, the cookie sheet and some dishtowels.
Needless to say toffee and I don't have a good relationship.
In case I have a panic attack prior to making the matzo toffee, I offered to make Matzo s'mores as well. Surely I'll win Dinner Guest of the Year if I bring fire, sharp pointy sticks and gooey marshmallows for small children to play with. I can just see our invitation being revoked for next year.
For Easter we are sticking to the favorites: Baked ham, asparagus, rolls and deviled eggs. Who says I am not a stickler for traditions?
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Dinners for April 1 - 7, 2012
Sunday: Roast chicken with cauliflower and carrots
Monday: Chicken fried rice (using leftover chicken from Sunday's dinner <-- that's a Twofer!)
Tuesday: Hoisin salmon with broccoli and roasted potatoes (Source: Time for Dinner cookbook)
Wednesday: Grilled sausages and rainbow salad
Thursday: Leftovers tossed with cheese tortellini
Friday: Passover Seder at a friends house
Saturday: Turkey burgers and sweet potato fries
Monday: Chicken fried rice (using leftover chicken from Sunday's dinner <-- that's a Twofer!)
Tuesday: Hoisin salmon with broccoli and roasted potatoes (Source: Time for Dinner cookbook)
Wednesday: Grilled sausages and rainbow salad
Thursday: Leftovers tossed with cheese tortellini
Friday: Passover Seder at a friends house
Saturday: Turkey burgers and sweet potato fries
What Happens in Disneyland Stays in Disneyland
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| I did stifle a scream when I saw these two walking down Main Street. |
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| Peanut Butter Dreamin' |
I'll spare you a picture of the chili fries, because I have yet to see a picture of chili fries that doesn't look like it was found in a garbage can. But yum yum.
It has been 23 years since I've been to Disneyland and it was great to go back as a parent. I appreciated the little things like the cleanliness of the place, the seemingly unjaded characters that enthralled my 2 year old and, surprisingly, quality of food and the availability of fresh fruit around the park. It was great to get a bag of fresh grapes to munch on rather than french fries.
Honestly, I expected to see french fries around every corner (and they were certainly not hard to find!) but in addition to fried potatoes the park offers a nice array of healthy options. One of my favorites was the Power Pack we bought for the kids in Tomorrowland - string cheese, yogurt, applesauce, sliced apples and milk. It wasn't cheap, but it wasn't deep fried and the kids inhaled it.
However, our favorite food that we went back for all three days was deep fried. I am not ashamed to admit this, but we were regular customers at Cafe Orleans all three days we were there for their delicious Mickey Mouse shaped beignets. They were deep fried to perfection and served with an overly generous amount of powdered sugar on top. I think my husband and I ate my son's portion while he was jamming to the live music. Sorry, kid.
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| Always eat the ears first! |
I can't say I'll be making these anytime soon, but just in case I feel the need to laissez le bon temps rouler, I found a great Disneyland Beignet recipe from Just Spotted.
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