WhyMomWhy

Summer Veggie Pasta Dinner

2011-06-29T13:21:00.005-05:00

Swiss chard

Onion

Yellow squash

Sugar snap peas

Edamame

Green pepper

(I was going to add in some frozen cooked broccoli but I forgot!)

Pasta

You could seriously make this with ANY type of “ethnic” dressing – Greek, Italian, Mexican, etc. I made it with an Asian twist last night.

Cook the edemame.

Saute the onions in a little oil until nicely browned. Add in squash. Turn off heat.

Cook pasta to al dente. Since I was doing Asian – I threw a slice of ginger into the pasta water.

When pasta is just about ready add chard and peas.

Add in pepper and edamame to bowl.

When pasta is ready, drain, add hot pasta to bowl with dressing and toss. Add in rest of veggies and toss well. Serve hot, warm or cold.

I THOUGHT I would have enough for lunch today but Scott thought otherwise. A big hit.

Dressing

Juice of one lime

Fish sauce

Rice wine vinegar

Soy sauce

canola

Minced ginger – hello Penzey’s!

Peanut butter

Brown sugar

Aleppo pepper – I heart Penzey’s!

You could also swap out the sugar for honey and also add garlic. Hmm – proportions? I just don’t know. About the same amounts of soy and vinegar. More soy than fish sauce. A tablespoon of peanut butter? 2 T brown sugar. Maybe. 1 tablespoon canola. Sure! One large slice of ginger minced and several good shakes of pepper. Put everything in a mason or screw top jar, shake it shake it shake it baby. Taste. Adjust as needed.

Pretty, vegetarian, light. I ate with some chili garlic sauce. I love that stuff!

Lunch for LW

2011-05-19T09:27:00.005-05:00

Sorry LW!

So I eat lunch fairly often in the library break room with my friend and co-worker LW. I often bring leftovers and she often gets “mad” at me because I rarely follow a recipe or shop for special ingredients. I am a huge fan of using what’s on hand!

This one is for her – I laughed as I made it thinking of her reaction and she did not fail me today at lunch today.

4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (from freezer)

2 T olive oil

Some flour

Penzey’s Greek spice – a sprinkle

Cut the chicken into chunks, sprinkle with flour and the Penzeys and sauté until nicely browned. Do two batches. It’s a pain but it ALWAYS comes out better.

Deglaze the pan with ¼ bottle of (Your Last) bottle of Two Buck Chuck.

Add in:

Frozen artichokes (1/2 a bag)

Leftover sautéed onions from Sunday

Leftover chopped green onions

Sliced green olives

sliced jarred red peppers

Discover you have no more grape tomatoes or black olives – shrug and move on

Add in about a cup of the pasta water if it seems too thick (you are cooking your pasta right now - correct?!)

Cook till heated through.

Add

¼ cup whipping cream leftover from Passover. (I sniffed! It was still good!)

4 slices provolone

Serve some to your children (over pasta)

Then add in 3 handfuls of spinach. Cook spinach down and serve to the grownups.

This made 4 servings for dinner and two for lunch!

It's That Time of Year Again!

2011-04-21T09:51:00.001-05:00

Cause let's face it - Passover is really all about the butter and the chocolate....

Matzo Brittle
5 squares matzo (the goyim can use saltines)
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

line cookie sheet with tin foil, spray with Pam. Line with matzo, breaking to fit the pan. Preheat oven to 300.

melt butter and sugar together and heat until boiling over medium high heat. stir constantly. boil for 5 minutes. CAREFULLY pour over matzo and spread evenly. Bake for 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let chips melt and spread evenly. Get all fancy and sprinkle with kosher salt or fleur de sel.

Chill then break into pieces.

New Notes: My friend Sarah suggests using toffee bits instead of chocolate chips. YUM!

Broccoli Soup!

2011-03-27T17:13:00.004-05:00

So - it came to light recently that Maya likes steamed broccoli. We will do ANYTHING to encourage veggies.

Any. Thing.

So - that's a lot of broccoli.

Since the Lawyer and I have sandwiches on tap for this week's lunches - I thought broccoli soup would be just the thing after his Sam's broccoli binge.

2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1 large onion - chopped
1 square frozen garlic (you know - from Trader Joe's)

saute onion and garlic for a while on low heat. Probably as long as 1/2 of a half in an NCAA basketball game.

add in 2 T flour and cook the raw flour taste out. Every time I cook with flour like this I hear my grandma and my mom telling me to cook the raw taste out! Add in some salt and pepper.

add in 1/3 cup white wine and about 1 cup chicken stock. Stir until everything is combined and cook the wine for a couple minutes.

add in the rest of the stock - I used a carton of low sodium stock. Add in a bunch (a ton) of broccoli. Cook the broccoli until it's tender.

add in 4+ slices of Swiss cheese.

remove a ladle of broccoli, chop it up and and set aside. (I put it in a teacup and used a knife to cut it up.) Remove a smallish ladle of broth and set aside.

using your immersion blender - blend up the broccoli. Put the blender right on top of the stalks and blend away. Or? Use a potato masher. Add back in chopped broccoli.

add 1 T cornstarch to reserved broth and stir until very blended and not at all lumpy. Add broth back to pot and stir well while heating.

That's it! You are done!

This might seem like a lot of steps - but they go quickly and results are pretty and delicious!

You are Great

2011-03-14T20:29:00.006-05:00

So - I was reading an acquaintance's cooking blog today (NOT YOU LISA - you are my friend and you are the bees knees!). She was very very disparaging about what one uses in recipes. Really? Cause I work full time and there is no way I'm ever not going to use convenience foods. I use bottled spaghetti sauce almost every time. I use other "convenience" foods, store brand shredded cheeses, cream of celery soup, bottled salad dressing. You name it. The horror.

I am more and more about whole foods, foods that don't have tons of ingredients, healthful, real foods.

But you know what? If you are working, running a household, cooking for your family? If maybe you are a single mom? If money and time are tight? BUT. BUT.... You are cooking for those you love. You are doing your level best with what you have and what you can do RIGHT NOW? You are wonderful. You are my hero. Do NOT ever let anyone get you down because you don't make your own stock. Because, yeah, you use packaged foods for dinner. Because you'd rather use lean ground sirloin but you are using ground chuck.

You are great. You are providing for your family. They love you for just who you are.

And I think that's awesome.

ahem. Off the soapbox.

Spaghetti Pie

2011-03-13T12:41:00.003-05:00

I know we eat a LOT of pasta at our house! Here is another dish that was a big hit with everyone and a tasty warm homey meal on a cold Saturday WITH leftovers for weekday lunches. Yay me!

For Pie crust

12 oz pasta - if you are using long pasta, which I recommend - break into thirds before cooking. Whenever I make pasta for a dish that is going to be baked - I cook it very al dente so it doesn't get mushy while baking. Remember to salt your pasta water well.

1/2 cup sour cream - full fat, low fat, fat free - whatever does it for you. I used low fat

1 egg

1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook pasta. Meanwhile mix last 3 ingredients in a sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Add in pasta and combine well. Set aside.

For sauce:

one large jar of your favorite prepared red sauce. I used Prego with mushrooms cause that's what we like and what I had
1 onion minced
mushrooms - sliced
1 T olive oil
1 t Italian seasonings
1-2 cloves minced or pressed garlic
1 lb ground turkey (or chicken or beef or pork)
1/2 cup red or white wine or beer (I used beer - pour it into the jar after you've added the sauce to the pan and give it a good shake to get all the leftover sauce out.)
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t Worchestershire sauce
1/2 t sugar

Saute onion, seasonings and mushrooms until browned. Add in turkey and cook well until turkey is nicely browned. Add in alcohol and sauce, vinegar and W. sauce.

Simmer for a good while to cook out some of the liquid. You should be left with a very thick sauce. (I get to the simmer stage and then work on the crust.)

Dump the sauce over the crust and spread evenly. Top with cheese - I used an Italian blend but cheddar would also be really nice.

Cover and bake at 350 for about 1/2 hour. Uncover and increase heat to 375 and cook for another 20 minutes or so until nice and browned and bubbly. Cut into squares and eat.

This makes a TON of food. Definitely 2+ meals for us plus a lunch or two!

Pantry Dinner?

2011-02-24T09:44:00.001-06:00

Is this what your pantry dinners look like? Seth requested curry a few days ago. What? Your 11 year olds don’t ask for curry??

Lamb chops - Scott got little tiny lamb chops on sale a while ago. I re-discovered them rooting around the freezer
½ onion – all that was left in the house
Trader Joes Thai Green Curry simmer sauce – just about the last thing from our run to TJ in Dayton on our last trip – good thing we are going again in a couple weeks – I’m out of Two Buck Chuck too!
Chick Peas
Rice
Frozen basil & garlic squares – also from Trader Joes. I have the basil, garlic and cilantro squares. I LOVE these things! So convenient and easy!

Heat 1-2 T olive oil over medium high heat

Add in sliced onion and let brown – this goes quickly. Add in a garlic square.

Lay down the lamb chops in the pan and let get very brown on both sides. Leave out two chops for your daughter who doesn’t want curry.

De-glaze pan with the last of your Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay

Dump in the simmer sauce, rinse jar with a little water to get all the goodness out

Dump in the drained chicken peas

Reduce heat.

Simmer until your husband gets home.

Meanwhile – you’ve made your rice with turkey stock you had in the freezer – right? Add in a basil square for color and flavor. I always start the rice as soon as I get home. It stays warm and ready if you don’t remove the lid and keep the pan on the stove.

Serve curry with rice. Serve plain lamb chops with rice for Maya.

I was this was a tiny bit more spicy but the sauce is so flavorful and wonderful. I rarely use items like this but I’ll definitely be using this one again! I didn't think this was going to be so good - so I didn't take a pic! Next time!!

Loaded Potato Soup!

2011-02-17T09:29:00.003-06:00

one onion - chopped

2-3 stalks celery - chopped

1 clove garlic

White parts of green onions (about 3 onions) chopped

1 T olive oil

3 medium potatoes - washed and chopped but not peeled

24 oz chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

1/2 - 1 cup white wine

4 oz cream, milk or 1/2 and 1/2

4 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 strips bacon (I use turkey bacon) - cooked until crisp and chopped (optional)

green parts of green onions

cheddar cheese

salt

Saute first five ingredients until nicely browned. Add in pototoes. Brown a bit more. Add in stock and wine. Boil gently until potatoes are cooked through (10-15 minutes?). Mash with a potato masher or use your immersion blender (fancy!). Add in cheese and stir until melted. Add in diary and gently simmer until warmed through. Taste for seasonings and add salt if necessary (I added about 1/2 t.)

Serve topped with bacon, green onions and more cheese. YUM!

Molten Chocolate Cakes for Your Sweetie(s)

2011-02-17T09:28:00.000-06:00

So easy yummy Valentine Dessert for your honey(s) YOU can make this!

Melt 8 oz best quality chocolate (or semi sweet chips). Let cool.

4 T butter
1/3 c sugar
Cream together.

Add 3 whole eggs in one at a time and beat thoroughly each time.

Do this before dinner. Put bowl in fridge.

After dinner: Preheat oven to 350.

Butter and sugar 4-6 oven safe dishes (I used my Fiestaware mugs. I wished I had used the teacups!) (to sugar: butter container then add in some sugar. Swirl around until butter is all coated with sugar.

Add 1/3 c flour and ½ t salt to butter/egg/ sugar mixture. Beat until just mixed.

Stir in melted chocolate.

Divide between serving dishes.

Bake for 8-14 minutes watching closely. We like ours not *so* molten so I baked for about 14 minutes.

Remove from oven and immediately run knife around the edge of the dish. Invert over serving plate.

YUM! *You* can make these!* They are so easy and look spectacular!

*Well – maybe not Monica – but definitely Anisa!

No Name Stew?

2010-10-18T10:00:00.002-05:00

What to call this? Certainly not a soup, possibly a stew? It's very thick and satisfying. Chock full of delicious healthy stuff! This is another effort to cook from my pantry. The only thing I bought was the ground turkey!

1 large onion diced
1 medium butternut squash diced
1-2 cloves garlic - minced
2 red potatoes - diced
canola or olive oil
1 t Italian seasoning
1 t Italian Sausage seasoning

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 can chicken stock (or 2 if not using beer or wine)
12 oz beer or wine
1 can cannellini beans

spinach 3-4 ripped up handsful

pasta - 2-3 servings (I used angel hair and broke it into about 1.5" pieces.)

Brown onion over fairly high heat. Add in butternut squash and brown that as well. Then add in potato and brown that. Add in ground turkey and brown that!

Add in liquids and beans and simmer for 1/2 hour or so.

Add in the spinach and pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente. Taste and add salt if necessary. Top with parmesan cheese and get all warmed up through your whole body!

Peach Chutney and more!

2010-07-30T14:06:00.002-05:00

The canning bug has bitten. I feel like between the sewing, baking and canning I really do belong out here on the prairie (albeit 100 years ago).

A recent weekend yielded peach chutney, tomato jam, and 8 lbs. of tomatoes "put up" in the freezer. I also canned 3 pints of peaches in a lovely honey water recipe I found online. I am going to link to the recipes as I only very slightly modified the chutney one. (I didn't have allspice or mustard seed, so I omitted the allspice and put in ground mustard - about 1 1/2 T. I didn't put in quite as much brown sugar and only used about 2 1/2 cups vinegar and 1/2 cup water and no pickling spices.)

For the tomatoes I got some fancy Ball Brand freezer jars from Farm and Fleet - a BARGAIN!, cooked down the tomatoes a bit, and filled 4 jars (including what I spilled, darn it…) I got 10# of canning tomatoes for $10 from the lovely Amish tomato ladies at the Farmers Market in Urbana on Saturday. They were in wonderful condition and we ate several. I have gotten "canning" tomatoes before that were pretty rough looking. I am planning to go back this Saturday and get 20# as I have beautiful visions of making chili and spaghetti sauce this winter with delicious summer tomatoes. I think I will make some more tomato jam in 1/2 pint jars as well. I used 4 oz. jars this time which are actually quite tiny in retrospect. My mom LOVES tomato jam and these days we can only find it at Curtis Orchards which is only open from the end of July through December.

I also made bread salad (it has a fancy Italian name which I am sure Lisa knows!) which is one of my favorite things. I love mushy bread, always get my Italian Beef in Chicago "dipped".

Bread Salad

1/2 baguette - mine was nice and stale so much so that I could only crush it. That was fun! If your isn't so stale, toast it slowly in the oven until hard then coarsely chop
2 medium to large fresh tomatoes skinned and chopped - I do this over the bowl so I don't lose any juice (I will use 3 next time.)
1/2 sweet onion minced
1-2 T lemon juice
1-2 T good quality olive oil
parsley
oregano
garlic
salt
freshly ground pepper

Mix up the dressing and let sit while you are peeling and chopping the tomatoes. Mix everything together and let the bread soak up the juices. Yum. I love this the next day but you REALLY have to like mushy bread!

As I said above, next time I will use even more tomatoes. You could also add sun dried tomatoes, or do this with halved cherry or grape tomatoes. Other additions that would be nice are fresh mozzarella, feta, pitted black olives, capers, or anchovies.

BLUEBERRIES!

2010-07-06T19:44:00.004-05:00

The Lawyer, the kids and I went blueberry picking at Pontius Farms on Saturday. If you haven't been - this is a lovely place owned by very friendly folks. I highly recommend it. We spent about an hour picking - luckily Maya and I found some bushes in the shade as she had a sunburn from daycamp. We found that the straggly looking bushes usually had the best berries and the lush ones with many green leaves not so much. I don't know a THING about growing blueberries. Maybe folks before us just didn't want to check out the straggly looking ones?

We were amazed to find we had picked 5 pounds (EXACTLY) of berries between the four of us. I took them home, washed the ones the kids didn't eat in the car, made a pie and still hadn't made a dent in them. I summoned up my courage, headed for County Market and got pint jars and Sure-Jell (I got the "less or no-sugar" type). The insert in the Sure-Jell package was great! Full of tips and hints and recipes. I followed their recipe and process exactly and ended up with 4 pints of delish blueberry jam. I've always heard that canning is a HOT process and oh my yes it is! Everything went relatively quickly though - I only had to process two batches.

I also picked some rhubarb from the Lawyer's garden and made freezer jelly with that. That was SO easy! Slice up the rhubarb, let it sit overnight in sugar, cook briefly and add some (lemon) jello. I am skeptical about the Jello but I couldn't find any recipes with plain gelatin….. We haven't dug into that yet but I'll keep you posted.

Next time I will get 1/2 pint jars and probably invest in a larger pot to process them in. I used my dutch oven which fit 3 pint jars at once. I may, GASP, even get a canner cause I really want to do some veggies too.

Summertime.....

2010-06-29T09:06:00.003-05:00

Wow - I have been cooking but it seems like the same stuff over and over…. grill grill grill. I did make some YUM sweet potato fries the other day though:

3 large sweet potatoes cut into fries
2 T olive oil
1+ t Chili 3000 (or your favorite chili powder)

The timing was kind of odd because I was cooking other stuff at the same time. I think if you did these at 400 for about 45 minutes - stirring about every 15 minutes - it would approximate what I did. MAN were these good!

My latest obsession is Cherry Republic. We recently returned from Leland, MI and this was one of the highlights of the trip. It's a lovely compound full of blooming flowers and contains a café, a store, a fudge shop and a wine shop. The store was paradise for my children. Seemingly every item they sell was out in sample form. I got the cherry pepper jelly and the cherry salsa. Maya got a cherry soda and the kids both got candy. We got a big bag of dark chocolate covered cherries for Scott and he has, I'm pretty sure, hidden them away so he can enjoy them by himself! The wine shop has continuous tastings of both wine and cherry sodas. I think we will be ordering cherry peanut butter and lots more jellies and salsas. The barbeque sauces were very tasty too!

If you ever find yourself in NW Michigan, do yourself a favor and head to Cherry Republic. Afterwards, toddle down the street to Art's Tavern and treat yourself to a whitefish burger and onion rings for lunch.

Happy Travels!!!

More Penzeys!

2010-05-08T13:00:00.002-05:00

I'm hooked. I admit it. Check it out.

My latest package had Italian Sausage spice, Greek spice, MORE Breakfast Sausage spice, Grey Sea Salt, Buttermilk Dressing mix and a sample (free!) of Southwest Seasoning.

Today I made:

Turkey Italian Sausage

1 lb. lean ground turkey
1/2 large sweet onion diced
1 T olive oil
1 heaping T Italian Sausage spice

Brown onion in oil with spice. I also had some fresh mushrooms to use up so I threw those in too. Add in turkey and brown well. I snitched and this is sooo wonderfully good.

Also:

Stuffed Zucchini

5 small-ish zucchinis
1/2 sweet onion diced
1/2 T Greek seasoning
2 t olive oil
1/8 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded cheese - I used asiago

slice 4 zucchinis in half lengthwise and in half. slice a small strip off the skin side so they sit flat. Make V cuts and hollow out the middles to make boats. Reserve what you take out.

Salt and bake boats @ 375 for about 20 minutes in a sprayed pan.

Meanwhile, saute onions, spice and the remaining chopped up zucchini and the reserved middles until nicely browned. Add in bread crumbs.

When boats have cooled a bit, stuff with zucchini onion mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 10 minutes.

Serve warm or hot.

Easy recipes for a Sunday

2010-05-02T15:43:00.002-05:00

I do like to cook a lot on the weekends. It really frees up my weeknights for more fun things - you know - like laundry!

This is what I made today:

Turkey Meatballs - we will have pasta and meatballs with lots of onion and mushrooms in the sauce later this week

Corn and Bean Salsa
1 can corn drained
1 can black beans drained
1/2 yellow pepper chopped
1/2 Vidalia onion chopped finely
1/2 jalapeno seeded and minced
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t chili powder (I'm in love with Chili 3000 from Penzey's)
juice of one lime

mix, let sit and eat as a salad or use to top burritos or tacos.

Beef Taco filling
This is my new favorite way to make taco filling.

1 lb ground sirloin
1/2 chopped Vidalia onion
1 t Chili 3000

saute until onion is cooked and beef is nicely browned.

Add in:

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup salsa - I use medium hot

simmer for 1/2 hour on very low heat. Use for tacos, burritos, enchilada bake. So yum. This is also so good with chicken thighs: Use four boneless skinless thighs and brown well with onion and chili powder. Double stock and salsa and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and shred. Reduce liquid and add back in shredded chicken.

Beans Like My Mama Makes

1 can vegetarian baked beans
1 can butter beans (drained)
1 can kidney beans (drained)

1/2 cup catsup
1/4 cup mustard (I used grainy and yellow as I am running low on both!)
1/4 cup brown sugar
several shakes of hot sauce - I love Louisana hot sauce

Put in crock pot and cook all day. We will eat these tonight with grilled turkey tenderloin and roasted potatoes.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Seth's Mussels

2010-04-13T19:59:00.001-05:00

Scott and Maya took off for Indy this past weekend and I told Seth he could have whatever he wanted for dinner - he wanted us to cook something together.

He is SO my son. He got on Tastespotting and came upon a recipe for Mussel Curry. He thought about that and decided he would rather have mussels like he had when he was in France with his grandmother two summers ago. So - here it is:

Seth's Mussels

½ bottle dry white wine
chicken stock (in about the same quantity)
½ large white onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - smashed through press
1 t olive oil

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil until nicely browned. While we did this we discussed:

* adding the garlic last so that it doesn't scorch
* how browned food equals flavor

Add in the liquids and simmer for at least an hour. Here we discussed how reducing liquids makes them have a more concentrated flavor. We debated adding some tomatoes but decided against it.

Add in 2 lbs* mussels (in the shell). We found some frozen ones at Schnuck's that turned out quite nicely. Cook for just about 5 minutes. Not too long!

Serve with slices of baguette, goat cheese and sliced tomatoes. Use the bread to sop up the juice. While in France Seth learned how to use an empty mussel shell as pincers to remove the mussels from the shell (hmmm - I feel a song coming on!)

* I forgot to check the weight of the mussels. These were vacuumed packed on one layer - about 10x5 inches?

This was a lovely spring meal with WONDERFUL company!

old recipes

2010-04-02T19:09:00.001-05:00

I haven't had too much time to post lately - but enjoy this and the following recipes next winter please!

Italian Pot Roast

1 small shoulder roast - well trimmed

1 diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup sliced mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic - put through press
1 t olive oil
parsley
oregano
1 large can good quality crushed tomatoes
red wine ~ 1 cup

Saute veggies and spices in olive oil until nicely browned. Add in tomatoes and wine and simmer until wine cooks through.

Meanwhile, heat dutch oven and brown roast well on all sides. Top with sauce and roast at 300 for 3+ hours - checking about every ½ hour. I couldn't find my lid so I just covered with a piece of tin foil. The house smelled amazing Friday afternoon!

Remove from oven, shred beef and serve with a hearty pasta shape such as rigatoni or ziti and topped with good quality Parmesan.

The leftovers for this are delicious. Since Maya loves baked pasta I made that with this sauce last night and it was just heavenly on a cold snowy night.

Shrimp Gumbo

2010-02-13T17:40:00.002-06:00

I love any type of gumbo - I think it's cause of the okra - I love "seedy" things....

Here's a good one for WW AND Mardi Gras!

Shrimp Gumbo

2 T olive oil
2 T flour

1 t olive oil
one large onion diced
1 bell pepper (any color - I used red) diced
1 c + celery - diced
1 c + carrot - diced
3+ cloves garlic - put through press
salt
pepper
thyme

cook olive oil and flour over slowly, over medium low heat until nicely browned to the color of peanut butter.

Meanwhile, saute veggies and spices until browned.

Add in:

1 can diced tomatoes
1 carton chicken or veggie stock
1-2 T hot sauce depending on taste and strength of sauce. I put in about 2 T - we have been using the hot sauce from Aldi of all places! It is nicely spiced - but not too much and has a great taste.

Simmer for 1+ hours.

Add in:

1 bag frozen okra

Simmer for another hour or so.

Add in:

1 lb raw peeled shrimp

Increase heat and cook until shrimp is pink.

Taste - adjust seasonings and serve over rice (traditional) or corn bread (what my kids like!)

Happy Lent. What are you giving up? My brothers always give up whiskey and bald women.

Two Posts in One Day!

2010-01-31T10:20:00.001-06:00

stay tuned for more. I've injured my shoulder and am down for the count today!

This is the best dinner ever. And I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I didn't eat it until 8 pm after a full day, 30 minute workout and 11 points up to that moment!

Tortellini Soup (serves 4)

3-4 cups chicken stock (I dug into my freezer supply)
1 bag dry tortellini to yield about 4 cups cooked
kale
roasted garlic (I roasted a bunch of veggies this past weekend and this was from that stash)
1 t oil

Heat oil and add in garlic. Smoosh the garlic around so it breaks up. Tear kale off thick stems and add to oil.

Cook the tortellini and drain.

While the tortellini is cooking, add chicken stock to kale and let simmer.

When tortellini is ready, ladle 1 cup into bowl and top with kale/stock. Top with good quality parmesan if you wish (for 1 more point).

This yields a huge bowl of satisfying soup for 5-6 points!

Greek Chicken and Pasta

2010-01-31T08:24:00.002-06:00

This is a great company meal. Very easy to make (in fact Seth did most of it as I have done something unfortunate to my shoulder) and sooooo tasty. We had it with Maya's Cheese Triangles which she made with only a little help from my mom!

Greek Chicken and Pasta

5 boneless skinless chicken thighs - cubed
1 large onion - diced
1 clove garlic or garlic powder
1 T olive oil
1 container grape tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts - cut up
1/2 - 3/4 cup roasted red peppers (I used jarred ones)
1/2 cup white wine or chicken stock
juice of one lemon
1/2 chunk feta cheese
oregano
black pepper
1 box pasta (I used rigatoni - prepared al dente)

Saute onions in oil with garlic. Add in chicken and brown well. Deglaze with lemon juice and wine. Add in other ingredients except pasta and cheese, simmer over low heat until chicken is done and you are ready to eat. This is why I recommend chicken thights instead of breasts - they will not dry out like breasts do.

When ready - put in serving bowl and top with cheese. Serve with pasta.

Tasty with the cheese triangles! A romaine salad would be nice and some crusty bread. (we did not have these - but it sounds good!)

7-8 pts/serving - serves 6 (you will have leftover pasta)

So..........

2010-01-12T19:02:00.000-06:00

so.... sigh.... you should have seen this coming.....

Weight Watchers.

I did Weight Watchers about 6 years ago with lots of success. Unfortunately, I am back again. One of the things I love about WW is eating real food and still being able to cook.

So - here was dinner last night and lunch today. It was frankly better today at lunch - next time I will TRY to make the teriyaki sauce a day ahead.

Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and Veggies

Sauce:
½ t canola oil
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T rice wine vinegar
1-2 crushed cloves of garlic
1 t crushed ginger
couple shakes hot pepper flakes
3 T brown sugar
1 T honey
1/4 cup water
2 T corn starch

Heat oil and add in garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Add in everything else except 1/4 cup water and corn starch. Let simmer while you cook the chicken and veggies.

20 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bag "stir fry" veggies - frozen (make sure to get them with NO noodles)
1 onion
1 t canola

Slice onion and brown in oil. Add in chicken and get a nice sear on both sides. Add in some water or stock if it seems dry. When chicken is almost cooked - add in veggies and cook until they are hot and the chicken is done. Add about 1/4 cup of the sauce and heat through.

Serve with rice. I would have made brown rice but everyone refuses to eat it but me. So I suck it up and eat white. I made 1 ½ cups of uncooked rice. Not sure how much that ended up being when it was cooked

This a was a GREAT dinner, very filling and satisfying. I managed to get it on the table well before I had to leave at 6:30 for PTA. Did I wish I had fresh veggies? Yes - but it's January and a weeknight.

Three of us ate dinner from this and I was able to make three nice 8 point lunches with the leftovers. It was even better today at lunch. Sometimes i make the mistake of not eating enough at lunch - but this was perfect. Very filling and I think it would have been fine too with a little less rice. This was SO easy and beats those frozen dinners with a stick!

So...

2009-12-19T11:13:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in a while. Our Hanukkah celebration had me cooking, but no time to post. Here are a few things I whipped up!

Latkes

A traditional Hanukkah meal. Serve with applesauce or sour cream, or both!

5-6 large potatoes such as Yukon Gold - peeled
1 sweet onion
flour
3 eggs
salt (I use a lot of salt in this recipe - for me. Probably up to 1 T kosher salt.)
oil for cooking

I tried for the first time the double grating method with the potatoes. Grate all potatoes with the shredder blade of the food processor. Set 1/2 in colander to drain while you grate the other 1/2 with the "swirly" blade. Grate the onion right in with the potatoes.

Drain all the potatoes and squeeze until quite dry. Sometimes I put them in an *old* tea towel and Scott and I get on both ends and twist and twist out all the moisture.

place drained potatoes in bowl. Start heating your pan and then oil - start with about 2 T. Mix potatoes/onions, eggs, about 1/3 cup flour and salt.

Flatten out about 2 T batter into pan and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Often you will find the first time around your oil isn't hot enough. Let it get really hot (over medium heat) before you start.

Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt and enjoy! We never have leftovers.

French Onion Soup

This is something the Holcombs (my family) have every year on Christmas Eve accompanied by an appetizer dinner.

2-3 large sweet onions
3 T butter
1-2 T oil (canola)
3 cans Campbell's beef Bullion
water
1/2 to 3/4 cups white wine
2 T (ish) Worchestershire sauce
1 t sugar
1/2 t salt

slices of toasted french loaf
provolone

Thinly slice onions while melting butter and oil in pan. Toss in onions, sugar and salt. Cook verrryyyy slowly (about 2+ hours) over low heat until beautifully wilted down.

Add soup, and 3 cans of water, wine, and Worchestershire sauce. Simmer for at least an hour but long simmering makes it great.

When ready to serve, turn on broiler, ladle soup into ovenproof bowls. I use my Fiestaware but my mom had special crocks just for this! Top with bread and cheese and broil until brown and melty. Enjoy some Christmas memories!

2 for 1

2009-11-19T21:07:00.001-06:00

Two breakfast pies.... why two? Read on.

Breakfast Pies The First

1 can refrigerated biscuits
1 carton Eggbeaters
8 strips turkey bacon (or whatever), cooked and crumbled
1/3 c milk
hot sauce - 1-5 dashes to taste
cheese

Spray muffin tin well. Separate biscuits (if using Grands or the like - I would use ½ a biscuit). Stretch them out and line each cup with a buscuit. Mix eggs, milk and hot sauce. Ladle egg mixture into muffin cups and top with bacon and cheese. Make sure not to fill too full as these will puff up very nicely.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes - start checking at 20. Bake until firm.

These were delicious and made enough for 2+ days of breakfasts. HOWEVER, someone (who may or may not have a law degree) left them out on the counter all day after Day One. We were all very sad. But it led to:

Breakfast Pies The Second

5 eggs (yes - we are now out of eggbeaters)
1 can cream of celery soup
8 strips turkey bacon (or whatever), cooked and crumbled (or 8 link breakfast sausage - yes I use turkey)
stale bread - cubed
½ t dried mustard
hot sauce as above
cheese

Line muffin tin with papers and spray. Put a few dried bread cubes in each cup. Mix soup, eggs, mustard and hot sauce. Ladle into cups and again top with bacon and cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes checking at 20 minutes.

Both are good - I think we liked the second one better because it is very reminiscent of the famed and loved Paul's Breakfast Casserole.

I baked both these the night before and nuked them in the AM. If I was a more of a "get up early" kinda girl I would have assembled the night before and baked in the AM. But I'm not.

Cranberries!

2009-11-16T10:38:00.001-06:00

We are on somewhat of a cranberry kick here at Why Mom Why. The Lawyer is the only person I know who eats (whole berry) cranberry sauce year round. Now that the stores are full of fresh ones - he is in heaven. He made cranberry sauce this weekend and I made (a small test recipe of) cranberry chutney.

Cranberry Chutney
½ bag fresh cranberries washed and picked over
1 apple - chopped with skin on - Honeycrisp preferred
10 dried apricots
handful golden raisens
½ small can pineapple (not crushed but in small slices)
½ minced red onion
2 t canola oil
1 t cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 t dried ginger
1/8 to 1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 to 1/4 t ground cloves
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup orange juice

Saute the onion in the oil until very soft. Add rest of ingredients and simmer until the dried fruit is moist and the mixture is thick, 20+ minutes. I had planned to put sugar in this but I seriously forgot. It was perfect without for us as we like tart. You could also add 1/4 to ½ cup white or brown sugar. I am planning to make this as gifts and I will definitely put in some sugar. The lawyer loved this. I think it is already gone.

Apple Cranberry pie

1 pie crust (I DO use Pillsbury - I hate making pie crusts!)

3-4 apples (honeycrisp preferred)
½ bag fresh cranberries washed and picked over
3 T butter (which I will omit next time)
1 t cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 to 1/4 t ground cloves
approx. ½ cup white sugar (although I think brown would be good too)

thinly slice apples and layer with cranberries. Dot with butter and sprinkle on sugar and spices. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

This was VERY soupy. I will omit the butter next time or only use 1 T. The "soup" was delicious though. This makes a small pie - just right for a smaller Thanksgiving or if lots of other desserts are being served.

NEWSFLASH

2009-11-12T21:11:00.004-06:00

Mah Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies are WINNERS!

My recipe took first place at the Champaign Public Library healthy recipe smackdown! (The events committee has a catchy name which is escaping me right now.)

OH! Did I mention there were TWO "sweet" entries. But HEY - I WON!

ahem. What did I win? A $10 dollar gift card to Latte Da!, the cafe in the library.

and. Since you asked. The ingredients set me back $12. But hey! I WON!

Too Easy

2009-11-07T09:31:00.000-06:00

This one is almost too easy and was a surprisingly huge hit.

Italian Wedding Soup

meatballs (one batch - see below)
1 ½ cartons of chicken stock or equivalent homemade
pasta - small shapes cooked
cheese
spinach - optional

Simmer the meatballs in the stock for as long as you have time. I simmered for about ½ hour while I was cleaning up the kitchen and running Maya to choir.

If using spinach - right before serving, add to broth.

Place pasta in bowl and ladle soup over pasta. Top with cheese. Compliment yourself on a quick weeknight supper.

Meatballs - I usually make a triple or quadruple batch of meatballs whenever good ground beef is on sale. Here is the basic recipe.

1 lb ground beef (90/10 is good for flavor)
1 medium minced sweet onion
garlic or garlic powder to taste
oregano
parsley
salt
pepper
spicy seasoned salt (just a couple shakes)
1 egg
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup grated hard cheese, parmesan, asiago, whatever you have in the fridge

Combine everything and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. I usually add in some white wine if the pan gets too dry.

These freeze extremely well. If you have these in the freezer, your life on weeknights will be so much better! Add your favorite pasta sauce and have spagetti and meatballs, or meatball subs. Or make this soup with pantry items and your family will love you.

Sweet and Sour Sausage Bites

2009-10-30T09:37:00.001-05:00

This is an old recipe of my mom's. I really need to ask her where she got it. Likely clipped from a magazine. She has a whole notebook full of those that I still look at when we visit Dayton. When she first started making this in the 70's, the crazy breakout ingredient was soy sauce! So daring and unusual! This recipe tastes like childhood to me.

My kids love love love these. Sometimes I use turkey breakfast sausage cut into chunks and sometimes meatballs. Kielbasa would also be good. This time I used turkey breakfast sausage for our Halloween party tonight.

1 cup brown sugar
3 T flour
2 t dry mustard

Mix these well (to avoid lumps) in a sauce pan. add:

1 cup pineapple juice
½ cup white vinegar
2 t soy sauce

cook over medium head until bubbly and thick. Pour over "bites". Make a day or two before your party then heat and serve in a crock pot. Sometimes we have these as a main dish over rice. The leftovers, if any, are always gone by the next day. Seth loves these so much - he asked for them for breakfast this morning. Poor kid had to make do with plain turkey sausage. His life is so hard!

White Chicken Chili

2009-10-24T20:51:00.002-05:00

Maya had her first performace with the Central Illinois Childrens Chorus Friday. My folks came from Ohio to see it. Let me tell you how THRILLED she was to have them at her performance.

We planned on dinner after the performance. I wanted to do something in the crockpot - it was cold and yucky and this perfectly fit the bill.

White Chicken Chili

chicken - rotisserie or 4 cooked breasts - I FORGOT to buy a rotisserie one so we did the four breasts
3 cans chicken broth or equivalent homemade
2 cans white beans - one whizzed up in the blender
1 can chopped green chilis
1 sauted onion (sauteed in 1 T olive oil)
1 cup frozen or canned corn

dump everything in the crockpot and go to a lovely performance of wonderfully talented children. ( cook on high about 4 hours)

When you get home, take out about 1 cup liquid and mix in 1 T cornstarch still smooth. Stir in slurry and continue to cook on high while you set the table and get drink orders. Serve with avocado, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream on the side and let everyone pick their toppings. We also had corn muffins.

this was a HUGE hit. Maya was starving and ate two bowls full. My dad and mom loved it as did Seth and I. Scott liked it okay but soup is not his favorite thing. I will so be making this again and I think my mom will too. My folks, who are retired, get into ruts with their lunches, which they hate. I am thinking this might kick them out of a rut this winter!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2009-10-18T20:51:00.002-05:00

This time of year - I want to use pumpkin, sweet potatoes or squash in EVERYTHING! Therefore:

1/3 cup oil (canola is preferred)
14-15 oz canned pumpkin (there are rumors of a canned pumpkin shortage but I found tons at County Market on Kirby this past weekend)
1 egg
3/4 cup white sugar (or a mixture of white and brown sugar)
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
1 T vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 T pumpkin pie spice (or 2 t cinnamon and ginger, allspice, ground cloves or nutmeg to make up 1 T)

Mix egg, oil and sugar(s). Add in spices and flour. Mix until completely blended. Add in chocolate chips.

Scoop out in small scoops. I used an actual scooper for aabout a 1" diameter cookie.

Bake at 350 for approx. 15 minutes. Make sure these are nicely browned. Start the first batch at 10 minutes and check thereafter.

Devour. These are fairly healthy due to the pumpkin which allows you to use very little oil. These are a cakey cookie that are even better the second day (if there are any left.) My kids love these. I plan to make them again this weekend for my parents - sans chocolate as my mom is strictly no caffeine (and I wonder how she EVER makes it through life....)

Pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotenes which are antioxidants that are converted to vitamin A in the body. They are thought to boost the immune system and help to repair free radical damage to cells. Beta-carotenes are being studied to determine what role they play in the prevention of various disease states. These healthy, bright orange pigments are also found in carrots. This is one reason your mom always pushed you to eat your carrots. She would have wanted you to eat pumpkin too. Pumpkin is also a rich source of vitamin C and potassium which may help to prevent heart disease and normalize blood pressure.

Johnny Marzetti - Elementary School Flashback

2009-09-26T13:40:00.001-05:00

Do you know Johnny? If you grew up in Ohio and ate in the school cafeteria I'm sure you do!

I had some ground turkey and couldn't think of what to do with it. In the recent past we have had meatballs, lasagne, tacos and sloppy joes. Hmmmm..... Then it struck me! Let's have Johnny over to dinner! Most of the recipes I found (on Allrecipes) called for egg noodles, but we here at Why Mom Why only had about 1/4 of a bag. But - a whole box of Mostacolli. It also usually calls for green pepper (which we didn't have) and olives - but um - yuck. I like 'em - but not here.

So - here we go!

Johnny Marzetti comes to Why Mom Why

12 oz pasta - I would use shapes - cooked

1 lb ground turkey or beef
1 diced sweet onion
1 T olive oil
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can diced tomatoes whizzed in the blender
1 can mushrooms or sliced fresh mushrooms
2 T worchestershire sauce
garlic or garlic powder
1/8 cup sugar
cheddar cheese

Brown and thoroughly cook turkey and onion in olive oil. Add in all other ingrediants except pasta and cheese and simmer for a bit. In a large sprayed dish mix pasta and sauce and bake for about 30 minutes. (again - we like the crunch factor - if you don't - use a smaller dish.) Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Most of the recipes said to prepare the night before so I did. I had Seth sprinkle with cheese and put in the oven before I got home. I think he put about 1 teaspoon of cheese on it! I added more cheese and broiled until nice and melty.

Verdict: The kids liked it okay. Maya asked for leftovers the next day. Scott and I liked this. It's a nice change of pace from something like lasagne and a flashback to my childhood at Edwin D. Smith School in Oakwood Ohio!

Baked Rice

2009-09-21T18:45:00.002-05:00

Do you know Tastespotting? I'm addicted. This rice dish is loosely based on a Tastespotting recipe.

1 cup long grain rice
1 T olive oil
1 finely chopped sweet onion
1 can or some fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cups chicken stock or a mixture of stock and water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
grated sharp cheddar cheese

saute onion in olive oil. When it is nicely brown (I WAY over browned mine!) add in rice and toast until golden.

Cook rice as you usually do. I use a Pampered Chef microwave rice cooker. I love it. It's a no brainer - you can stick the rice in the microwave and forget it until your food is ready - even up to 1 hour before! Just cook it for about 13 minutes and leave it in to steam until you are ready.

Mix in mushrooms and place rice in a 9x13 sprayed pyrex pan. Dot top with undiluted soup and bake at 350 for about ½ hour. Top with cheese and bake for about 15 more minutes. I use a large pan for maximum crunchiness. If you don't like yours so crunchy - cook for about 15 minutes the first go round and use a smaller dish.

I am not really one for making side dishes, even though I love them, usually more than the main dish. Everyone liked this. We had it with some boneless beef ribs at what may be our last grilled meal of the season.

I explored some baked rice dishes in which you do not cook the rice beforehand. I smell a yummy experiment coming up!

Maya's Fav

2009-07-08T18:35:00.004-05:00

Maya LOVES Cheese Triangles. She used to get them at Papa George's before it sadly closed..... So we have to make them at home!

Cheese Triangles

1-ish cup cottage cheese
1/2 brick of Feta crumbled
1 sweet onion finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 egg
spinach - thawed and squeezed of liquid
Phyllo dough - thawed
pepper
melted butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Gently saute the onions in the oil until transluscent. Cool. Add in cheeses and egg and spinach, pepper to taste.

cut phyllo into quarters - I use a pizza cutter.

Place a scant 1 T filling in the end of a quarter of two phyllo dough layers. Fold into a triangle. Place on cookie sheet. When the cookie sheet is full, brush with butter. Maya started making the triangles when she was barely 7 and I was sorry I didn't let her try before then. She is way better at it than I!

Bake for 15 minutes - watching carefully after 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm. This recipe made 2 cookie sheets full and the kids and I ate almost all of them almost immediately. No one said a word about EATING SPINACH!

Watermelon Lemonade

2009-07-06T20:02:00.010-05:00

So - pretty crappy 4th of July. Maya was NO candidate to go to the fireworks in Monticello Friday night, so stayed home with her.... RAINED. ALL. DAY. Saturday. Craptacular Sunday. Did some cooking though! Yay me.

First off - Watermelon Lemonade - recipe courtesy of Here's my version:

juice of two lemons
1 small watermelon chunked
1/2 cup simple syrup

Whirl chunks of watermelon in food processor. Strain and put in pitcher. Do in batches. If your kids are weird - let them eat the pulp. Mix in simple syrup and lemon juice. Serve super cold. Wow - pictures and everything

Seth LOVED this.

Summer Cooking

2009-06-01T20:01:00.002-05:00

In the summer I get the urge to eat little, often Mediterranean bites of things. Last summer, you may remember I spent quite a bit of money at the Schnuck's grocery store olive bar.

This summer, in the name of economy (and fun!), I'm trying to make the little bits myself.

Roasted Grape Tomatoes (I can't wait to make these with our own homegrown grapes!)

1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 T+ olive oil
several cloves of garlic - skin on
kosher salt

preheat oven to 400, line baking sheet with foil, spray, toss tomatoes, olive oil, salt and garlic in the pan and roast for ½ hour or until they are done to your liking. The garlic imparts flavor and you can pick it out and use with other dishes like...

Tzatziki Sauce!

1 cup or one container plain yogurt
Drain yogurt through a coffee filter and a colander into a bowl (try to set it up so the yogurt isn't sitting in its own juices) I just set it up and leave it on the counter for several hours - about ½ cup of stuff (whey??) will drain out depending on the type of yogurt.

½ of a cucumber, seeded (VERY IMPORTANT) shredded and squeezed of much of the moisture as possible.

1-2 cloves roasted garlic

kosher salt

Blend all ingredients together and use as a topping for falafel or as a spread for baguette.

Balsamic Onions

Pearl onions or 2-3 large white onions sliced- Vidalias are DELICIOUS!
½ t sugar
1 T butter
kosher salt
Balsamic vinegar

Slowly slowly slowy cook the onions with the butter, sugar and salt. This will take an hour depending on how many and what type onions you are using. Do not brown too soon, let them carmelize. When nicely carmelized, add in a couple shots of vinegar and let cook. Cool and eat with the Tzatziki Sauce or add to pasta salad. Try not to stand over the sink and just eat the whole batch plain. :-)

Roasted Chick Peas

2009-05-31T16:21:00.003-05:00

Gawd I love these. I only make them in the summer and am never sure why I don't ever make more at one sitting? Because Scott and I usually eat them all quite quickly? Possibly...

Roast Chick Peas

1 can chick peas rinsed and drained and drained on paper towels
1 T olive oil
1-2 roasted garlic bulbs (I roasted a bunch this morning for various recipes)
salt
chili powder

In a ceramic pie plate combine oil, garlic and spices. Mush up the garlic a lot so it will be evenly spread. Add chick peas. Roast at 350 for 1+ hours. Usually when the hour is up I just leave these in the hot oven for another hour or two.

I should say this makes about 1 cup of the finished product.

delicious. Perfect with a drink about 4 on a Sunday afternoon. Hmmmm... guess what I'm doing RIGHT NOW?!

Enjoy!

Clean Out The Fridge Pasta Salad

2009-05-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

3 oz dry orzo - cooked
1 ½ cups chick peas
3-5 handfuls (handsful) baby spinach
3 T minced onion (red or vidalia)
1 pint roasted grape tomatoes (see note)
feta (or whatever cheese you prefer - I only had about 1/3 cup but it was fine.)
2+ T olive oil
juice of ½ large lemon
lemon zest of 1 large lemon - chopped finely

Place spinach and onion in bowl. While orzo is still hot - pour into bowl. Stir to partially "cook" spinach. Add in oil, lemon juice, zest, tomatoes and feta. Eat warm or cool.

Roasting grape tomatoes. I tried this both ways this weekend and prefered the 2nd.

1. Line cookie sheet with foil. Spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle w/ kosher salt. Roast at 250 for 1+ hour.

2. Line cookie sheet with foil. Spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle w/ kosher salt. Place in a preheated 450 oven and turn off heat. (I had just made tortilla chips - so my oven was nice and hot.) Leave in oven until they are roasted and slight caramelized.

In either case - as soon as they are done - put into a bowl to save all the yummy juices. You could also sprinkle a couple garlic cloves in with these and then have roasted garlic!

Greek Casserole

2009-04-20T12:32:00.000-05:00

This is loosely based on a WW recipe - if the queen is coming to dinner you could likely call it Pastitso

1 large onion chopped (why do most of my recipes start this way?) I had a ½ of a HUGE red one so I used that
1-2 stalks of celery (optional but I like a little crunch)
1 t garlic powder or two cloves garlic
salt
pepper
½ t cinnamon ( I have to admit I am OUT of cinnamon so used some pumpkin pie spice and some extra nutmeg. Things just go CRAZY when Scott is out of town.)
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
3/4 lb ground meat, ground beef, sirloin, turkey. This time I actually used chicken thighs I ground in the food processor - because I wanted the ground texture, not a cubed one.
1 can diced tomatoes (fresh in season are wonderful)
1 glug white wine

3/4 lb (dry) pasta - cooked - used ziti this time

3 cups skim milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup cornstarch (does this stuff go bad? I've had the same box for *quite* some time now...)
nutmeg
salt
pepper
4 oz shredded white cheese - whatever you've got - I used an Italian blend this time

Brown onion, celery, garlic & spices until onion is soft. Add in ground meat and brown completely through. Add in tomatoes. Simmer while you make the rest of the dish.

Cook pasta. Set aside

Make white sauce. Simmer milk, eggs and cornstarch until thick. Add in seasoning. Add in cheese and stir until smooth. NOTE: I had about 1 cup extra white sauce and a DEEP layer of it on top - I think next time I will make about 1/2 of the recipe for it.

Spray casserole dish with Pam. Add in pasta. Layer in meat sauce. Top with white sauce. Bake at 350 until top is brown and bubbly. About 45+ minutes?

Seth and I loved this. Maya had plain pasta. Scott is away - I think it would not quite be his thing due to the white sauce.

Enchilada Casserole

2009-04-19T08:40:00.002-05:00

This is a hit any time I make it. It has endless variations.

9+ corn tortillas (let me tell you the amusing story of how my husband bought 3 lbs of these babies...)
1 lb ground beef, turkey, whatever
1 large can mild enchilada sauce (if this were for grownups only I'd use medium) Green is good too but the store didn't have the brand of green I like
1 onion chopped
1 t garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1+ cups cooked rice - white brown whatever
4 oz sharp cheddar grated

Brown beef, onion and garlic until onion is nicely browned and meat cooked through

spray your favorite casserole dish with PAM.

Coat bottom of dish with some enchilada sauce. Layer with tortillas to cover in one layer.

Layer 1/2 meat, rice, beans, 1/3 cheese and sauce. Add another layer of tortillas and repeat. End with one more layer tortillas, sauce, and cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until nice and bubbly.

I made this last night and everyone also had some for breakfast today!

Passover Roast

2009-04-15T09:41:00.001-05:00

By Sunday of Passover, which started on Wednesday, we were dying for meat. We tend to eat a TON of poultry this time of year. This is wonderful anytime though.

So - without further ado - Passover Roast!

1 medium size roast (I forgot to check the poundage)
2 large sweet onions sliced
2 -3 handfuls of baby carrots
½ c. red wine
½ c. water
2 T red wine or balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic through the masher
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 300.

Get the oil very hot in an oven proof dutch oven. Salt and pepper the roast. Brown the roast on all sides and add the onions in about ½ through this process to get them a little browned too. Add in the garlic & carrots. Add in all the liquids. Cover with an ovenproof lid.

Roast for 3-4 hours. I really don't think you can roast this too long. Try not to peek too often. After 2 hours check for liquid level and add another ½ cup wine if necessary.

Remove roast and let rest. Reduce pan gravy. Slice roast and serve with pan gravy, mashed potatoes and horseradish sauce. Be shocked if you have leftovers!

Breakfast Casserole

2009-03-02T11:52:00.004-06:00

We actually had this for dinner Monday night. There were no leftovers....

5 eggs
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can milk
1-2 t good mustard
4-5 shakes hot sauce
½ - 1 lb sausage (you can use turkey breakfast sausage as I do, pork breakfast sausage, turkey or pork Italian sausage
5 slices good bread - cubed (My sister in law Sherry uses tomato rosemary focciacia sometimes)
1 cup shredded super sharp cheddar

Cook and crumble sausage. Drain well. Spray casserole dish and put bread cubes and then sausage in dish. Wisk eggs, soup and milk. Add in mustard & hot sauce. Wisk. Pour over bread & sausage. Top with cheese. Spray foil with Pam (or use no-stick foil) and cover tightly. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for at least 1 hour if not 1 ½ hours. Uncover for last 15 minutes. Yum.

You could also add sauteed fresh mushrooms, or canned , finely diced onions or celery or all three. If you used Italian sausage, you could top with Mozzerella or provolone.

This will puff up and look awesome. It will also look like way too much food. People always love this and I rarely have leftovers. But it re-heats very nicely.

Pot Roast Stew

2009-03-02T11:51:00.002-06:00

So - I didn't have pot roast but I did have beef stew meat.

2 onions - sliced into sixths lengthwise
carrots - I had baby ones on hand - used about ½ bag
4 stalks celery - sliced into thirds
1 T olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves
1 lb beef stew meat
salt
pepper
sugar
wine
flour

Heat oil in a dutch oven until it is very hot. Meanwhile pat beef chunks dry and season with salt, pepper and sugar (the sugar gives it a GREAT carmelized sear). Sear the beef in two batches. Set beef aside. Add in wine - white or red - your preference. I used about ½ bottle of rose for this - cause it's what I had on hand. Using your garlic press, press garlic into wine. Add in veggies and beef. Cover with tin foil or ovenproof lid of dutch oven. Roast at 350 for 2+ hours. Remove meat and veggies. I use a big wok slotted spoon. Add more wine depending on how much is left and start it boiling. Make a slurry with 1/3 cup wine and 2-3 T flour. Add some hot wine into slurry and then add the whole thing into the dutch oven. Wisk to keep it smooth. Add back in meat and veggies and serve over mashed potatoes (as I did), egg noodles, good bread (for a pot roast hot shot), rice, whatever you have on hand!

I realized in the middle of the night - when I have all my great realizations - that the recipe I was cribbing off of called for a can of whole tomatoes - crushed. Totally forgot but this was great anyway. Scott loved it. There were no leftovers.

Whole Wheat Bread

2009-02-24T11:04:00.004-06:00

So - a slight whole wheat bread obsession - compliments of my husband - has overtaken me. He doesn't like the white bread I make. It's too dense and too white for him. (one of his solutions? Yellow food coloring. Really.)

So - I started with this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Six or so loaves later I think I've got it.

I used this yeast. I had the thought on about loaf 4 to use more yeast. This caught my eye at the grocery and I like the brand.

I proofed the yeast according to the package (1/4 cup warm water, 1/4 t sugar) BEFORE I added it to the flour mixture.

I used this whole wheat flour and added it first so that I would be sure to get the full amount in the bread.

I used this white flour and only added about 2 1/4 cups. But that always varies.

Wow - a whole wheat dough that actually rose! It responded to the second rising (a problem I'd been having) and baked up wonderfully. The loaf is almost gone - I made it Sunday and it's Tuesday.

Success!

Kale Soup

2009-02-23T12:40:00.002-06:00

Lisa's making Kale soup on the WILL show and I've been thinking about it ever since she mentioned it. At Wal-mart on Saturday they had HUGE bags of triple washed kale. HUGE. about 16x12 inches. And I had a turkey kielbasa in the freezer so....

Smoked Turkey Kale Soup

1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic - mashed
1 T olive oil
3 medium potatoes diced
1 cup white wine
2 cans chicken stock
1-2 cups water
1 Turkey Kielbasa (1 lb?) chopped
a lot of kale
salt
pepper

saute onions and garlic in olive oil. Add potatoes and saute the whole mess for a while. (I don't know why - but sauteing the potatoes in soups first makes them more palatable to me.) Add kielbasa and brown a bit.

Add white wine, and start ripping up and adding kale (I had about a 6" long piece of kale in soup at a restaurant recently and it was NOT GOOD.) Let kale cook down a bit. Add some more kale, the chicken stock. Cook down. More kale. Water. Cook down. More kale. I would guess I used about 1/3 of the bag of kale. Let kale simmer and cook down. It really doesn't ever get mushy (a la spinach).

I just had some for lunch. Tasty.

Exciting pieces of news:

2009-02-12T08:58:00.004-06:00

Scott reports that Papa Del's now has signage up & equipment inside at their long-awaited restaurant at Village at the crossing.

Secondly - Seth won! Seth Won!! Seth will be cooking live on WILL TV, 3/9/09. He submitted his beef stew recipe and was the only child selected. I have never seen him so excited! Details to follow.....

DARN! Taco Filling

2009-01-25T09:54:00.002-06:00

This was a huge hit and I really wasn't paying attention when I was cooking it.... I *think* this is pretty close.

1 lb beef stew meat (I get ours from Marketday.)
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 onion - diced
4-6 diced pickled jalapenos
1 cup chicken broth
½ -1 t sugar
salt
pepper

saute onions and peppers in olive oil. Season meat and brown in two batches. Add tomatoes & chicken broth. Simmer for 2-3 hours until the beef shreds. Use as taco, enchilada, mexican lasagna filling, etc.

And - I'm working on more pictures!

Chicken Tetrazzini

2009-01-20T15:57:00.000-06:00

This was an attempt to get everyone to eat the same thing for dinner. If I make something very very basic (chicken breasts or steak with [plain] pasta) everyone will eat it. But really - how often can you eat that....

Everyone did eat this. Maya, Scott and I loved it. Seth tolerated one serving and filled up on Clementines. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when that season is over.

Adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe

8 oz. pasta ( I used angel hair broken into thirds) cooked al dente
2 Market Day chicken breasts - cubed
1 onion - chopped fine
2 stalks celery - diced large (the better to pick it out...)
2 T flour
1 cup skim milk
3-4 oz sharp cheddar - separated
Potato Chips [because Seth will eat ANYTHING with potato chips]

Saute chicken in a bit of olive or canola oil. Set aside. Saute veggies and add flour. Cook flour for 3-4 minutes. Add milk and ½ the cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Pam a casserole dish. Mix everything together. top with chips and the rest of the cheese [grated]. Bake at 375 for approx. ½ hour. I made this the night before and once again - was SO happy to have a dinner to pop in when I got home.

What are YOU doing tomorrow?

2008-12-12T13:26:00.002-06:00

I'm making these two recipes. I counted and I have 24 small and 12 large goodie bags to make!

Puppy Chow

My kids love this stuff. It goes for $4 for about a 3 cup container at our County Market grocery - and it's so easy to make at home. My friend Maggie calls it Trash because she coats it with powdered sugar in a trash bag. I have my eye on a 1XL Glad bag to do my mixing this year. I'll likely make 4x this recipe in two batches.

1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
9 cups Crispix cereal
1-1/2 cups Powdered Sugar

1. Combine peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Microwave for one minute then stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Stir well.

3. Pour over cereal. Coat with powdered sugar.

Buckeyes

My friend Judy from Chicago calls these diabetic coma cookies. When I was growing up in Ohio these were a standard at holiday parties. Once my girlfriends and I made a game of counting how many one of the mom's at the party ate. It. Was. A. LOT. These freeze perfectly.

1 lb. box powdered sugar
1 1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
1/2 c. soft butter
3 c. Rice Krispies
dark chocolate or whatever you prefer

Put peanut butter and powdered sugar into bowl. Melt butter, blend into peanut butter until smooth. Add Rice Krispies and combine. Cool for a bit for easier handling. Coat hands with butter and form mixture into "small" balls. Return to refrigerator to re-cool.

Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave. Once balls are cooled, insert a toothpick as a "handle" and dip 1/2 of peanut butter ball into chocolate. Place onto waxed paper and allow to cool. I have NO idea how many batches of these I'll make, probably at least three.

Perhaps I need to get out more?

2008-12-10T12:32:00.004-06:00

Two cool things I came across at lunch today.

One - from a children's Hannukah cookbook - grate the potatoes for your latkes over a colander and let them drain. Amazing! I just never thought of this.

Two - from a co-worker's plate of holiday goodies - she took a picture of the plate then put on labels for all the items, printed it out and taped it to the cover. Amazing again! Like a map of a box of chocolates.

Two cool cooking things in 1 hour! Fun!

Three (or more!) Cheese Lasagna

2008-11-20T17:25:00.000-06:00

This is a hit at potlucks with kids.

12 pieces dry lasagna (NOT the "no-boil" kind)
2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce
1 medium container cottage cheese
1 medium container ricotta cheese
shredded mozzerella, provolone, maybe a little cheddar to make 8-16 oz. - depending on how cheese-y you are feeling.
1 egg

These are the bare bones ingredients. I usually doctor up the sauce with by sauteing some onions, garlic & mushrooms in olive oil first, and adding some wine or balsamic vinegar.

Mix all the cheeses except for about 4-6 oz of the shredded, with the egg. You could add a little parsley too if you wanted.

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Ladle in one cup sauce (A 1 cup ladle is a MUST in any kitchen!) Line pan with uncooked lasagna, breaking pieces to fit as necessary. Top with ½ of the of the cheese mixture. Top with 2 cups (approx) of the sauce. Repeat with lasagna, cheese & sauce. Add one more layer of lasagna and sauce and top with reserved cheese.

THIS IS THE KEY TO THIS RECIPE: Spray a large piece of foil with cooking spray. Tightly and completely cover the pan with the foil. You can make ahead and refrigerate at this point.

Bake at 350 for 1 1/4 to 1 ½ hours. Remove foil and broil a couple minutes if you like your cheese browned.

For potlucks - this is a nice non-meat dish that kids love. If just the family is eating - I would add some ground sirloin to the sauce - browning with the onions, etc.

yum.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

2008-11-14T16:02:00.000-06:00

Just thinking about cooking for them them is fun for me. This is what I typically make - recipes to follow throughout the next couple weeks:

Cheddar Jalapeno Crackers - from my single days

Poor Girl's Turtles
This is what the kids love to make - although Seth wants to try something "real" this year. Cover a pan with mini pretzel twists. Top each with a Rollo. Put in oven for 3 minutes on 300 - watching very closely. Remove from oven and carefully press a pecan half into each one. Cool and enjoy! Make WAY more than you think you will need. Unwrapping the rollos is a highly recommended activity for kids ages 4-ish on up. Just give them a limit of how many they can eat while unwrapping.

Buckeyes - cause you know, you can take the girl out of Ohio but you can't take the Ohio out of the girl.

Sugared Walnuts - both this and the fudge are recipes my mother and I always made

Fudge - always always dedicated to my maternal grandpa Ray Wheeler

Potato Latkes
potatoes
onion
carrots
oil
egg
salt & pepper
flour

grate potatoes, onion and carrot. If you want to get all fancy, place them all in an old dish towel and squeeze the moisture out. This involves help from your husband and makes him feel all strong and macho. If you don't want to be all fancy, just add into bowl and use the technique described later. Add in egg(s) salt & pepper, and a little flour.

Heat oil. Fry one latke first to ensure the oil is hot enough. This is one for the trashcan. It never turns out right. I find that smaller latkes work the best. Fry latkes and place on an oven-proof plate in layers of paper towels. Place on low/warm in the oven. Serve with applesauce and sour cream. We like to have horseradish in our sour cream.

If you do not remove moisture from the potatoes, quite a bit will accumulate in the bowl. I tilt the bowl and try not to get too much of it in the latkes when I scoop out the potatoes.

Puppy Chow also known as Trash - a delightful combo of chex mix, peanut butter, chocolate and powdered sugar. A recent discovery and a new fav of the kids.

Seth and I are looking for cookie recipes to add to our holiday favorites. Any ideas?

Sick Mom Crockpot Chicken

2008-11-13T10:46:00.000-06:00

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - frozen is okay (of course we use Marketday)
1 box rice pilaf
several splashes of your favorite zesty italian dressing

spray crockpot with Pam
put in chicken and splash with dressing
add 1 cup water
put in pilaf and seasoning packet
add another cup water and splash again with dressing.

Cook on low all day. Splash with some more dressing if it seems to be getting dry.

This was a hit with the kids and not just cause I served it with whole cranberry sauce. I used the dressing to keep the chicken moist - mostly cause that's usually what I marinate it in and the kids love it. The pilaf comes out sort of risotto-y. Very comforting when you are sick.

After I put this on to cook I took some Nyquil and slept all day. I was SO HAPPY to have dinner all ready to go!

A Small Preview of the Halloween Party

2008-10-20T13:52:00.001-05:00

When I saw these on Suburban Bliss I knew we had to make them. Scott already found me the arms.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2008-10-12T15:59:00.004-05:00

I had some at the new Houlihan's a month or so ago and knew it was something I could re-create at home. Both the kids love this.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 large onion - chopped
1 small can of those little peppers found in the hispanic food aisle (the real name is TOTALLY escaping me at the moment.)
2 T olive oil
3-4 ribs celery chopped
1 pattypan squash (I threw this in cause I had some on hand from the farmer's market - totally optional)
2-3 cloves garlic - put through press

brown onion, celery, garlic, peppers in olive oil. Add in cubed chicken about 1/2 way through.

Add: 1/4 - 1/2 c white wine and a squirt of lime juice

Add: 1 of those huge cans of chicken stock - or homemade stock (which I am out of - guess what I'm doing NEXT weekend...)

Simmer for 1-4 hours.

Add in: 2 large flour tortillas sliced into thin strips.

When ready to serve slice up two more tortillas, lay on baking sheet and spray with olive oil spray. Cook at 375 until brown (watch closely).

Ladle piping hot soup into bowls or mugs. Add in: 1 T fat free 1/2 & 1/2 (Optional - again - I had it on hand). Sprinkle with tortilla crunchies and shredded cheese (if you like!)

This is going to be great later this week when it gets cold here. The leaves are changing, fall weather is almost here. This is why I love the Midwest and will never leave.

Obsessed

2008-10-12T15:50:00.002-05:00

I know - I've made challah 3 times in the past 5 weeks or so.

This is the original recipe I've always used and it's really the best one I can make. This is "Scott's" recipe - from the News-Gazette and it pre-dates me - so it's from before 1995!

Scott's Challah
7 - 7 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 T active dry yeast (I use 2 packets)
2 c water
1/4 c sugar
1/4 margarine
2 t kosher salt
3 eggs
1 egg
raisins, popppy seeds, sesame seeds (optional)

Combine water, sugar and margarine in a saucepan and heat until just barely over body temp (a tip from Alton Brown I recently tried. Apparently I had always heated my water too hot!)

Meanwhile - mix 3 c flour and yeast in stand mixture with hook. When water mixture is just hot enough add to flour and mix well. Add in 3 eggs. Add in flour 1 cup at a time until the dough is moderately stiff and elastic - mixing for 6-8 minutes.

Place in clean oiled bowl and let rise until double. Divide dough into thirds and each third into thirds again. Work in raisins at this point if you are using. Braid into three loaves. If it's a holiday - make into a round loaf. Otherwise you may leave straight. Let rise until double again. Brush with beaten egg and top with seeds if desired. Bake in 350 - 375 degree oven for about 28 minutes. Knock on loaf when it looks done - if it sounds hollow - it's done (a tip from Cathy Holcomb.) Cool on wire rack.

This is delicious. My kids could eat nothing but this with butter for days when it's fresh. It also makes wonderful french toast when it's not so fresh. (mix egg, 1/2 & 1/2 or milk, vanilla, a splash of oj. Soak slightly stale slices of challah and grill until golden brown.)

The Weekend & Baking for Rosh Hashanah

2008-09-29T12:40:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I hosted my parents in for a quick trip from Ohio. The kids love to see them and it was all the more fun because Seth won third place in the state-wide Town & Country Art show. We were all thrilled.

Sunday they left early as is their habit. I spent the day baking for Rosh Hashanah and doing laundry. I made two recipes from the Smitten Kitchen, Challah and Honey Cake. Deb is my new hero. Next time I am putting either raisins or chocolate chips in the honey cake - just to see. Maybe do a loaf with both? It would also be tasty with apples, as in one of her comments.

L'Shanah tovah.

Have a sweet new year.

Isn't This What EVERYONE Does With Their Saturday?

2008-09-21T12:42:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I bought 5 lbs of ground sirloin. HOW FUN!

I made:

Meatballs
2 lbs. ground sirloin
1 large chopped onion
2 cloves pressed garlic
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 T Italian seasoning
salt
pepper
1/4 cup milk
1 cup bread crumbs (I threw some pieces of almost stale french bread into the blender)
2 eggs

Mix well and form into balls. I baked mine this time b/c the stovetop was full. This made approx. 70 meatballs.

Chili
1 1/2-ish lbs ground sirloin
1 large onion chopped
3 pressed cloves garlic
3 stalks celery chopped
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large can whole tomatoes
3 cans of beer
1/4+ cup chili powder
1 can kidney beans (I would have put in another if I had one on hand!)

Brown meat with onion, garlic & celery. Drain any grease.

Add everything into dutch oven and simmer the heck out of it for 3+ hours. Mash whole tomatoes with potato masher after 2 hours.

We eat Cincinnati style - spaghetti, grate super sharp cheddar, crackers. Maya just has the pasta and cheese!

Empanadas
1 1/2-ish lbs ground sirloin
1 large onion chopped
3 pressed cloves garlic
3 stalks celery chopped
2 T chili powder
1/3 cup dried fruit - I had cranberries. You could also use raisins
Shredded sharp cheddar
refrigerated biscuit dough

Brown first 4 ingredients. I actually did the chili meat and the empanada meat together.

Add chili powder and cranberries.

Fancy way (for when the queen comes to dinner) roll out rounds of biscuit dough. Place small amount of meat and cheese and fold over. Seal with fork. I did about 10 of these, got bored and placed the rest of the biscuit dough (I used almost all of 4 small cylinders) into muffin tins (the tin I used is somewhere between mini & regular sized). Smash meat mixture with fingers. Top with cheese. Bake @ 350 for about 20 minutes. I had 10 regular and about 24 muffins. We ate the regular and I froze the muffins.

Now I have a bunch of meals in the freezer! Yay for me!!!

Dinner Tonight

2008-09-16T10:14:00.003-05:00

I'm home with Seth, who is sick. You may have heard me whine about this already today.

So tonight for dinner - what are you making? Here's mine

Beef & Bean Enchiladas

1/2 lb of some kind of cheap steak. I'm marinating it in olive oil, garlic and red wine (WHINE) vinegar as we speak. I'll cook this slowly in the oven with some onion and then shred
1 can black refried beans
1 large can red enchilada sauce (I would prefer the green but the store didn't have any today)
2 cups cooked brown rice (Since Scott is not home to see me cook - I'm sneaking in the brown that he doesn't like as much of the white) Cooked in microwave in a Pampered Chef rice cooker - BEST. EVER. RICE. COOKER.
salsa - I have like 1/2 jar in the fridge.
grated cheese - we like sharp cheddar
whole grain tortillas

Mix together shredded steak and onions, beans, rice & salsa. Maybe add in some chopped pickled jalapenos. Stuff tortillas with bean mixture and cover with enchilada sauce. Bake for about 1/2 hour and then add cheese and back for another 10 minutes or so and broil at the end.

Serve with: sour cream - Maya, avocados - the rest of us.

Not too fancy but I know everyone will eat it! We some great honey crisps - so I'll serve those on the side.

Kids & Food

2008-09-12T10:09:00.001-05:00

Is your child picky?

Read this. And the comments. I find them so interesting. I am a bad mother. I don't push things I know my kids won't eat. I ask occasionally.

Seth - I started to write a list of what he *will* eat and then realized it was pretty comprehensive. He will not eat most veggies however. I try to fill in with fruit and he will eat raw veggies over cooked. He refuses anything "fuzzy" (soda) and love milk and lemonade. He loves sushi, pate (a direct result of his trip to France this past summer). He is not big on sauces (on his chicken nuggets, pasta sauce, etc.) He will eat beans in any form: chili, hummus, black beans with his tacos, you name it. Often he tells me he LIKES something (such as mushrooms) but he's just not in the MOOD for it right now....

Maya - would willingly live on mac & cheese (she likes Easy Mac the best! Better than Stouffers!!), grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, cheese pizza. You get the picture. She would rather die than drink milk, however. She LOVES soda. Ugh. She does realize when she has eaten too much cheese or sweets and will self ration at times (No more sweets today, Mom. No cheese until Tuesday!) HOWEVER, she will eat other standard things we have a lot, with not *too* much fuss. And, she will always pick the apples at a fast food restaurant over fries. She also loves Greek food.

They will both eat Chinese, Thai - any Asian. We took them for Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and they were both in heaven. They love any type of berries and will pick those for a treat over candy at the grocery .

SO - I know I need to push the veggies more. When I was growing up, we always had carrot and celery sticks and if you didn't eat the vegetable served with dinner, you ate those. I need to start doing that!

Scott and I eat Indian, Greek, Asian, sushi, lots of veggies, spicy food, a broad range. I love to cook (obviously) and try new recipes and we love to try new restaurants. In the winter we eat a lot of soup. I think this food electicism (is that a word) is rubbing off on my kids. They are always willing to at least try new types of foods, or foods they like cooked in a different ethnic way, and for that I am happy. This is not to say they don't eat pasta with butter & cheese at least once a week. Cause they do. And they love it.....

Trader Joe's

2008-08-29T09:09:00.002-05:00

Who can tell me why we don't have a Trader Joe's in Champaign? That, in addition to the rumored SuperTarget off the new Curtis Road interchange, and I could die a happy woman. We are reduced to gigantic shopping trips at the one in Kettering, OH, minutes from my folk's house. Here's what I usually get:

Annie's Organic easy mac
roasted red peppers
pitted calamata olives
roasted red pepper dip
orzo (SO MUCH CHEAPER)
dried tortellini (again with the cheap-ness)
frozen pot stickers
frozen artichoke hearts
Two Buck Chuck - 6+ bottles (I use the white for cookin' and the red for drinkin')
dried fruit
dark chocolate - if in bulk
marinara sauce
feta cheese
goat cheese
frozen tuna burgers
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
peanut sauce
mango chutney
Indian shelf stable entrees
Laughing Cow garlic & herb light
various chicken sausages (last time I got chicken andouille which is so hard to find)
some type of fun beer.

Since we go so rarely - I buy in bulk - usually at least two of everything but the vinegar & oil.

health?

2008-08-27T08:51:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had vertigo? I hadn't until Monday. All I can say is yuck. I thought there was something SERIOUSLY wrong with me. Luckily (?) the verdict came back inner ear infection. The really really FUN part is the medicine they give you for the vertigo. Knocked me on my ass for about 32 hours.... Am finally coming out of the haze. Back to work tomorrow? We'll see. Oh! and the OTHER fun part, if anxiety makes your already borderline high blood pressure go up, you should see what it does to you along with feeling like crap. I suspect the doc visit today is mostly a BP check. I am not vertignous (?) anymore. I don't think. It's so hard to tell when you've been sleeping practically since Monday night. And when I say sleeping, I mean in a coma.....

Cheers!

Summer Cooking

2008-08-21T10:19:00.002-05:00

This summer I feel like I've been making the same things over and over.

Dish #1
Potatoes, squash or eggplant, onions, sometimes tomatoes
chop 'em all up
drizzle with olive oil
garlic or garlic powder, maybe some salt and pepper
cook on grill in cast iron skillet.

Dishes #2 & 3
Potato Salad & Baked Beans - I almost always make these at the same time
See potato salad recipe in post below.

Baked Beans
1-2 large cans of Bush's Vegetarian Beans
catsup
mustard
hot sauce
brown sugar
cook in crockpot for a good long while (doesn't heat up the kitchen!)

Dish #4
Little Bits of Things on Baguette.
Go to Schnucks olive bar. Purchase the onions, the mushrooms, feta & olives, buffalo mozzerella, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, maybe some artichoke hearts. Serve with hummus
Eat on deck - take a long time to finish.
This is actually a huge hit with everyone. Seth loves hummus. Maya loves feta. Scott and I love everything else and we ALL love baguette!

Dish #5
Chicken Breasts (boneless skinless from Marketday)
Marinate in italian dressing, Soy Vay Teriyaki sauce, whatever. For some reason my kids are LOVING these this summer.)

Dish #6
Pudding Cups (not very highbrow!)
2 packages instant pudding - we use chocolate & vanilla
bunch of oreos
2 cups cool whip
2 cups milk
Make pudding with 1 cup milk and 1 cup cool whip per package.
Let each of your 2 kids smash 8-10 oreos in a zip lock bag
Put one oreo in medium sized dixie-type cup. Layer with pudding and crushed oreos - 2 layers of pudding - three of oreos.
Freeze until firm. Let your kids go wild. Bath children or at least wash faces. With these I figure they are getting SOME calcium, etc. It's a good thing to have in the freezer on hot summer nights.

I'm off to the farmers market this weekend. Inspired by the folks @ Sweet Juniper!

First Family Pic in a Looong time!

2008-08-21T10:02:00.003-05:00

All gussied up for MIL's 70th b-day party at Jupiters on 8/17/08.

Curry/Chinese Chicken Salad

2008-06-19T19:06:00.002-05:00

In an effort to save money, i've been trying NOT to purchase expensive "special ingredients" which is HARD for me! I get our usual "pantry" items and go with those. (Hence the Pantry pasta salad, etc.)

Also this weekend we bought a smoker at a garage sale ($5! Friend price from my dear friend and neighbor Jenny - came with delivery too!) For our first experiment we did: a brisket, some salmon and a whole chicken. Okay, THOSE were "special ingredients" but so worth it, we've used, or have plans for every single delicious bite! Most of the brisket (w/ BBQ sauce) and salmon were eaten Saturday night along with another batch of pantry pasta salad and grilled potatoes (done in my new lovely square cast iron skillet with "grills" on it. $4.98 on clearance at Bed Bath & Beyond!) We even had enough to provide my jet-lagged MIL her friend with dinner.

So - here is Pantry Chinese Chicken Salad
2 cups shredded chicken from a smoked chicken. (a store done rotisserie one would work well too)
1/4 cup mayo ('cause that's all that was left!)
1 T lime juice
1 T honey
1 T soy sauce
½ t curry powder
1/4 cup water
4 interior stalks of celery with fronds - sliced thin
1/4 of a large vidalia - cooked until brown in 2 t canola
1/4 cup sliced almonds½ cup sliced red grapes (green would be fine or dried cranberries or even mandarin oranges)
cilantro for garnish
So - these were all things I had on hand. I made the dressing in the mayo jar to get every last drop of the scant 1/4 cup I had left - shook it up and dressed the salad.

How do you say delicious in Mandarin?!

My Parents....

2008-06-12T11:09:00.002-05:00

This is what I think of when someone says "Potato Salad". My mom is a good cook with some core recipes - this is one. She didn't really learn to cook as a child and didn't have the time raising the three of us, working (usually FT) and getting her masters when I was in high school (ahem - ALL A's!) My dad came later in life to cooking as well. With the scientific things (like perfect eggs), he is the master!

Marjie’s Potato Salad

5 large Yukon gold potatoes (or your preference) scrubbed well
2 T salt for boiling water
½ Vidalia onion very finely minced
3-4 stalks celery finely chopped
¼ to ½ c. dry white wine
2 T butter or margarine
½ - 1 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman's Olive Oil mayo lately)
3-4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
Paprika to garnish

1. Bring large pot of water to boil and salt liberally. Chop potatoes into large chunks and cook on a low boil until a fork slides into one easily.
2. Drain potatoes, place in large bowl, and immediately (while the potatoes are HOT) dot with butter and sprinkle wine over them. Let wine and butter soak in.
3. Add rest of ingredients in bowl and mix well – taking care not to mash the potatoes. Add ½ cup mayo and see if it’s wet enough. If not – add ¼ cup at a time until it’s how you like.
4. Sprinkle with paprika if the queen is coming to dinner. You can also save one egg and scatter the slices atop the salad & then you will be very fancy.
5. Serve hot if you like (we do), warm or chilled.

Paul’s Hard Boiled Eggs
Put eggs in cold water and bring to a boil. Let boil about 1 minute and then turn off heat. Let sit in pot on burner for 15 minutes. Douse eggs with cold water and peel. These will be beautiful (no green ring) every time.

And no, Linda, probably not too points-friendly. Sorry!

Susan's Hot Sauce

2008-06-11T11:10:00.002-05:00

1 medium Vidalia onion
2 large (or 4 small) roma tomatoes (I would probably get regular red tomatoes with the stems on about now!)
1 green jalapeno
1 red jalapeno
3 cloves garlic
Cilantro (if desired)

Chop onion into quarters and skewer all the veggies. Spray or coat garlic with olive oil.

Grill for 10-15 minutes.

Peel peppers (and de-seed if you wish) and throw everything into blender or food processor. Blend until chunky. Add in ¼ - ½ cup white vinegar and pinch salt. Blend and taste to correct seasonings. Add cilantro and blend again.

YUM! We like on eggs and hash browns, chips, with guacamole, on just about anything!

Pantry Pasta Salad

2008-06-11T09:28:00.002-05:00

½ package dried cheese tortellini or more if you have a whole package!
1 cup orzo (cooked separately)
1/4 chunk feta crumbled
3 green onions chopped
1 roasted red pepper chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives
20 slices turkey pepperoni sliced
½ cup salad dressing (I used light ceasar)
1 T brown mustard

Mix cooked hot pasta with all ingredients. Eat warm or chilled, as you prefer.

Add in whatever catches your fancy in your pantry or fridge - cubed cheese, chopped ham or turkey, fresh or sundried tomatoes, Vidalia onion, Parmesan, artichoke hearts ( I meant to put these in but forgot!)

Great for lunches when you are sick of sandwiches - LIKE ME!

10 Things to Like Today

2008-06-10T10:03:00.003-05:00

1. I'm off Friday afternoon.
2. The Lawyer slept last night
3. The kids L*O*V*E their new day camp
4. Fern has been sleeping with me (she hates the C-PAP)
5. We are having a garage sale on Saturday, even though it's a lot of work
6. Monica and I remain friends through everything
7. My new library friends too! And Jenny!!
8. I'll be with my family at the Holcomb Adventure Weekend & Kelly & Fred, etc. on 7/3.
9. *I* slept last night!
10. My new allergy pills seem to work - at least until I get home from work.

Kinda boring - but some days it's the little things......

cookie pizzA

2008-05-29T09:23:00.001-05:00

102_0972
Originally uploaded by srhlerner

someday I'll figure all this out!

Cookie Pizza

2008-05-28T18:56:00.002-05:00

Happy Memorial Day!

The kids and I made this delicious cookie pizza. It is from a Betty Crocker kids cookbook. It was a huge hit at our BBQ!

Okay - I know my picture links are not working - but this old clunker computer isn't very cooperative! Click on them to get to flickr.

French Onion Soup

2008-05-28T18:44:00.002-05:00

This is a family favorite - traditionally had on Christmas Eve. Credit my SIL Cathy for asking for seconds.... (WHY didn't We think of that!)

I now make several pots a year. I'm the only one at my house who eats it so I eat it every meal for several days. Good crusty bread, smoked provolone, Fiestaware dish and a few minutes under the broiler. Heaven...

Marjie's French Onion Soup
3-4 cans Campbell's Beef Buillone
2 cans water
1 can dry white wine
5 large sweet onions
a buncha butter
worchestershire sauce
pinch of sugar

Slice onions into rings. Over low heat sweat the onions in the butter & sugar until they are soft and transluscent. Seriously, the last time I made this it took 2 COMPLETELY WORTH IT hours. Add in liquids and simmer for a couple hours.

To serve - put in ovenproof bowl, top with crusty bread and smoke provolone and broil. I like my cheese broiled to brown spots!

Merry Christmas!

where to begin?

2008-05-28T18:43:00.004-05:00

I've been inspired by Lisa at Champaign Taste to start blogging again. So stay with us and see where we've been. Thanks Lisa!

What have I been cooking lately you ask?

2007-10-23T19:21:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati Chili - yum. I was in college before I realized you could have a bowl of chili plain - without spaghetti!

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 large onion chopped
3 ribs celery chopping
2 cloves garlic
1-2 T chili powder
½ t cumin
½ t cinnamon (yup, cinnamon)
1 square unsweetened Bakers Chocolate (you heard me - chocolate!)
Olive oil - just a little
Sauté the vegetables and add the spices and chocolate. Add in meat and brown completely.

Add - 1 large can tomato puree, 1 large can diced tomatoes, 1 or 2 little (drinkable) cans of tomato juice or V-8, 1 beer, 2 cans red kidney beans, undrained

Stir and cook for several hours - at least 2. Taste and adjust chili powder as needed - I always need to add more at this point. Add hot sauce at this point if desired and more liquid if it seems thick.

Cook a while longer - one hour at least.

Serve "five ways"
chili (the beans make it a "way")
spaghetti (long and thick spaghetti!)
grated cheddar
oyster crackers
shredded onion

Bread - quite a success. Made one recipe of whole wheat bread. Added home-roasted sunflower seeds, mashed flax and separated into two loaves. One loaf - savory - green olive and sun-dried tomato. The other loaf - sweet - dried cranberries & cinnamon. This was a total experiment and worked out really really well!

Meatballs. Pretty standard for me. Good to have in freezer.

Burritos. Made my own filling: chicken, corn, refried beans, enchilada sauce, rice, onion, garlic. This was kind of a clean out the cupboard & fridge dish. Made one meal and probably have enough filling left for 1 ½ more meals! Kids loved them as did Scott. I like them well enough. I was initially thinking Mexican lasagna but I might do that with the leftovers.

The kids love all this stuff. Chili, tacos or burritos, and meatballs are standard fare for us! I always have canned tomatoes, all sorts of beans, enchilada sauce and pasta sauce in the pantry.

Sunday Dinner (last Sunday)

2007-09-24T09:21:00.000-05:00

Sunday Dinner
(no pictures!)
Braciole – idea by Champaign Taste

Recipe by Alton Brown – Food Network
Twists by Susan
3 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups flavored croutons 1/3 cup grated Parmesan 2 eggs 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano 1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme 1 clove garlic 1 pound flank steak, pounded to 1/4-inch thick Olive oil, for brushing Salt and pepper Vegetable oil, for searing
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the tomato sauce in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and place in the oven to heat.
In a the bowl of a food processor mix the croutons, cheese, eggs, herbs and garlic until it forms a paste.
Brush the pounded flank steak with the olive oil and season generously with the salt and pepper. Spread the filling evenly over the meat. Roll tightly and tie with butcher's twine.
In a large saute pan heat 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and sear all sides of the rolled meat. Remove from the pan.
Add to the hot tomato sauce, cover with a tin foil tent so that the foil is not touching the meat. Braise for 35 minutes or, up to 3 hours.

Twists – I used Prego sauce – no inclination to make my own! I didn’t heat the sauce first. I also used Asiago cheese. Used about 1/3 cup chopped parsley and no other herbs. I used about 3 large cloves garlic. I sprinkled with flour and salt and seared in olive oil and deglazed the pan with about ½ cup dry white wine. I did this all in a big oven proof dutch oven and roasted it in that too, covered with the lid for the pan. I roasted for about 1 ½ hours at 325 and 1 hour at 300 – turning about every ½ hour. I added some more wine and sauce about ½ way through the roasting as it seemed to be getting low and thickening up quite a bit. I served with fettuccine and more grated asiago.

This was delicious, tasty, wonderful! Scott liked it. Seth and I LOVED it and Maya merely tolerated it (as it bore no resemblance to macaroni and cheese).

Thoughts: The flank steak shrank quite a bit. If I was serving more than four, I would make two rolls. I would also use the garlic press or roast the garlic first (I just minced it this time). It was QUITE garlicky! I would also crush the croutons by hand and not use the blender at all. Just mush everything up in a bowl and go from there. Definitely use butcher’s twine. I made the roll early in the day and pan seared it about 2:30 pm. I think chilling the whole thing for a couple hours really helped it maintain its shape. This is a long fairly involved recipe. I love making this type of thing on a Sunday afternoon!

Kids’ reactions: Seth loved it! It tasted like “mushed up meatballs”. Maya tolerated it.

I will definitely be making this one again!

What did YOU do Thursday night?

2007-08-19T10:33:00.000-05:00

For Linda

2007-08-14T18:56:00.000-05:00

http://www.publicradio.org/columns/marketplace/thejuice/2007/08/youll_still_have_to_go_out_for.html#comments

I l*o*v*e when you hear stuff on the radio and it just makes you think of one person and one person only. This made me think of my Mommy friend - Linda. (and I don't even DRINK coffee!)

Indian Feast

2007-08-12T11:17:00.000-05:00

I don't have time to transcribe the recipes and you probably wouldn't make them anyway! Had a huge Indian feast last night. Naan, samosas, curry chickpeas and tandoori-ish chicken & of course basmati rice. Delicious! Here are some progress pics - once we got close to dinner, everyone was too hungry for me to snap many of the finished products!

Chicken in first marinating stage.

Potatoes for samosas.

Partially completed chick pea curry.

Onions and red hot peppers for samosas.

Onions and Jalapenos for chick peas.

Naan grilling.

Change in Direction & Some Gumbo

2007-08-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

I've been very very into cooking lately, so I've decided to blog about that for a while.... I don't generally use recipes or measure unless baking. Who knows where the wind will take me next with this blog.

Here's the Gumbo I made last weekend.

Susan’s Gumbo
2 T olive oil
2 t flour
On medium low heat, cook the olive oil and flour together to make a roux. This will take 15+ minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning and stir every couple minutes. It will turn a lovely peanuty color. Take off heat when done.
1 large onion diced
same amount of carrots diced
same amount of celery diced (I didn’t have any and so left it out this time.)
about 2/3’s the amount of green or red pepper diced
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
1 T olive oil
½ t thyme
salt
pepper
hot sauce – to taste
Saute veggies and garlic and seasonings in olive oil until sweated down and slightly brown.
2-3 cups chicken stock
½ cup dry white wine
water
1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
6-9" smoked turkey sausage
Add roux.
Add liquid and meats. Cook for about ½ hour until chicken is done. Remove chicken, cube and return to soup. Cook soup for 2-3 hours. Add water as needed. If it seems too thin, towards the end combine 1-2 T cornstarch with some of the broth in a small bowl and add to the end of the cooking time.
20-30 pieces of okra cut in ½" slices
Add okra IMMEDIATELY after cutting (or it will get gummy). Cook soup for an additional ½ hour or so until okra is tender.
This freezes very well. Serve with hot rice (leftover is okay). This time I made corn muffins from a Jiffy mix with some cheese added and crumbled them into the soup.

Hey - where ya been?

2007-02-19T12:27:00.000-06:00

I've been missing you! More later... Things are good - new gig is good. Snowdays however, bad.... very very bad!

It's a good day

2006-11-21T13:50:00.000-06:00

Last Day at the Old Job.

big fat smiley assed face.

My best laid plans...

2006-11-20T13:11:00.000-06:00

Have gone astray once again... If the weather warms up anymore I won't be able to use my table on the deck as an extension of my fridge on Thanksgiving. You know - what with the old one CATCHING FIRE and all...

Seriously - I'm so excited about Turkey Day. My boys love it - I think it is probably their second favorite holiday... Or maybe third. (Halloween and their birthdays may take the lead - but they are ALL OVER this one.)

My parents are coming! To Illinois! For a major holiday!

I get to cook. I Loves Me Some Cooking. Been planning for weeks.

Add all that to the fact that I will be unemployed for the holiday and I am like a little pig in you-know-what.

Hooray!

Gobble Gobble.

S

WHEN???

2006-11-16T11:03:00.000-06:00

When Oh When Is It Going To Stop RAINING?

What I would rather be doing....

2006-11-14T13:08:00.000-06:00

It is raining.

It is cold.

Maya has gymnastics.

This is likely the last time I personally get to (have to) take her.

De-light-ful.

A cold drafty gymnasium. Sitting on cold bleachers.

Then there is the little boy who obsessively throws a tennis ball up in the air and catches it. I almost had to be restrained from him once.

Then there are the multiple pop machines with which they are both obsessed. Already made sure I have my crisp dollar bills.

Then there is the freaky looking mom who I have a hard time not staring at for a solid hour. Bad Manners Much?!

Then there are the little little kids with Leappads. Nothing like dueling Disney Princess leappad books to brighten your afternoon.

Seth loves gymnastics. There is an older boy there who apparently doesn't have a gameboy and likes to watch Seth play Pokemon. Makes Seth feel like a rock star... Sometimes if he is feeling particularly benevolent, he lets him PLAY it.

What would I like to be doing? Sitting on my fanny on the couch watching me some Judge Judy and drinking cheap Pinot Grigio from the grocery store.

3 things

2006-11-10T13:17:00.000-06:00

Starting the new gig the Monday after Thanksgiving. I know things happen for a reason and this just confirms it, yet again, for me.

I'm going shopping in Indy tomorrow with: Monica, Nita, Mona & Sharon. Should be a total blast. It always is! The lawyer just doesn't understand. It's fun to watch him try to puzzle it out.

My parents are coming for Thanksgiving. I'm making this salad:

Apple Raspberry Salad
Serves: 8 person(s)
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Extra Time: 2 hrs (for refrigeration)
Yield: 8 x 1/2 cup servings

Suggested apples to use include Empire, Ida Red, Jonathan, McIntosh, Red Delicious and Rome.
Ingredients:
1 package (3 oz) raspberry flavored gelatin *
1 cup boiling water
1 package (10 oz) frozen raspberries or 1 cup fresh raspberries
1 1/2 cup chopped unpeeled apples
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup broken pecan pieces
1/2 cup sliced celery

Directions:
In a 2-quart mixing bowl dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add frozen raspberries and stir gently until raspberries are thawed. Stir in apples, applesauce, pecans and celery. Pour into serving dish or mold.
Refrigerate about 2 hours or until mixture is set.

Other than that - the menu is all traditional - for the Holcombs... Oyster stuffing, mashed and sweets, pumpkin and pecan pie, brocolli, 7 layer salad, etc. etc. etc.

What are YOUR Thanksgiving traditional foods?

Peace in my soul

2006-11-06T10:36:00.000-06:00

Here is the quote from this week's Hobby Lobby ad:

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Emerson

This is exactly the feeling I am going for today and this week. I was in such turmoil on Friday. Reacting to events instead of trusting myself to move forward. I think I am over it.

Sorry to be so cryptic - don't wanna to get dooced.

S

PS - Emerson also said "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" another favorite quote.

PPS - Hobby Lobby rocks.

Sneaky and underhanded is no way to go through life...

2006-11-03T09:33:00.000-06:00

grrrrr...

neither is stupid AND a bitch.

'nuff said - at least here on the internet.

S

This'll cure what ails ya'!

2006-11-01T11:37:00.000-06:00

Susan's Minestrone

Easy and freezes well. Add some Italian sausage or chicken if you like meat. I don't measure. sorry!

Carrots – 2-3 large
Onion – 1 large
Celery – as much as you have carrots
Olive Oil (2 T??)
Garlic – 2-3 cloves
Italian seasoning (1 T??)

Chop the veggies. Brown in oil. Add in the garlic last so it doesn’t burn. Saute until onions are cooked through.

Add: (without draining)

2-3 cans crushed tomatoes (or whole tomatoes crushed up, or diced. Whatever you have on hand will work)
1-2 cans white beans (navy or canellini)
2 cans chicken stock

Rinse the tomato cans with water or wine to add more liquid and get all the tomato bits into the soup. Add more water or chicken stock if soup seems too thick. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for at least 1 hour. At the end of the cooking process add:

1 block frozen chopped spinach. Still frozen is fine.

Serve with cooked pasta (if you want) and (absolutely) parmesan cheese!

Life is fast and furious

2006-10-30T08:39:00.000-06:00

Things are nutty lately.

Went to California... (F*A*B*U*L*O*U*S)
Came back sorta sick (stinkin' airplanes).
Busy busy busy week in the life of a mom last week.
I got sick for real Thursday
Maya spent a day puking Friday (as only Maya can)
Halloween party Saturday.
Suit shopping and general mommy-ness Sunday.
GLAD to be able to sit down today!

More nuttiness to follow this week. Stay posted for details.

wish this was more funny or interesting... Unfortunately - it's just my life!

Californ I A

2006-10-13T12:43:00.000-05:00

I'm off on Sunday for Palm Springs. Oh my...

Will be interesting there and in Illinois to see how the beasts and the lawyer do without me...

Back on Wednesday late.

Another List

2006-10-10T14:46:00.000-05:00

Things I love (in no particular order)

The Weather Channel
WXRT Radio Chicago streaming
Making cards with Maya
Watching Jon Stewart with Scott
Vince Vaughn
Andy Garcia (for totally different reasons)
Lame Disney Halloween movies
Pictures of my friends' kids
Kettle Korn
Hearing Seth & Maya do the "twenty-five" scene from Spongebob and cracking themselves up
Snuggling
Lighting Hannukah candles and listening to the kids sing the prayer

What do you love?

Micro....

2006-10-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

Microdermabrasion
Microphone
Microplane
Microcephalus
Micronesia
Microscope
Microprocessor
Micromini
Microbiology
Microeconomics

Kathy's thoughts on friends...

2006-10-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

um. Sorry Kath - this was too funny not to share.

"I am glad that I still meet the criteria to be your friend and share similar 'issues' even if we never actually talk and I live in a 3rd world country. I totally agree with your criteria, but beg to differ with the happy hour hour. Down here in Mex-eee-coh, any time after noon is acceptable for starting happy hour, and there is not specific end time required. And, PAH-Lease, if you want to bi*ch about not fitting in with the women who live near you, you have hit the jack pot with me. Try to be an over-5-foot-tall blond person with an actual education and job who does not paint her fingernails with pictures of little flowers or believe that a child's diet should be made up in equal parts by candy, pop, cheese, and chili powder and live in MY neighborhood. Oh, yeah, I totally blend in..."

More thoughts on friends....

2006-10-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

Someone who would take a picture of a dead plant - JUST TO PROVE A POINT.
Someone who e-mails me to check up on me. And knows I do the same for them.
Someone who e-mails me a reaction to something - the same exact time I am e-mailing them the same thing. Jinx! Buy me a coke! (uh... Linda? Mags? Monica?? I'm talking to YOU girls!!!)
Someone who knows it's funny when someone else falls. Even if it's me falling.

This is not about work

2006-09-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

In an effort NOT to write about work (don't ask) - here are some thoughts.

Why does it seem that my long distance girlfriends (and I) have problems finding other women like them close by? Similar age, kid status, interest, work status, etc. I've long thought that there MUST some woman in my sub-division or close by who could be my friend. But short of going door-to-door begging for a friend in the neighborhood, I'm at a loss to figure out how to find her. There needs to be a "dating service" for moms...

I can only imagine that this is harder for SAHMs. At least at work - I get out - meet people and have internet access all day long. Many of my friends here in Champaign I met or got closer to because we all sent our kids to the hospital daycare.

My requirements for a friend:
Someone who has sent their 7 year old to school with a peanut butter and KIWI jelly sandwich - hoping he doesn't look inside to see the green goo...
Someone who has dosed up a kid with tylenol, sent them to school and prayed for the best.
Someone whose floors are worse off than mine (although that is a tall order).
Someone who loves their husband, even likes them too, but is continually exasperated by them.
Someone whose DIY home improvement projects take way longer than on HG TV.
Someone who would rather read a good book (or People magazine) than clean.
Someone who thinks cocktail hour starts at 4.
Someone who thinks PTA is not the end-all and be-all of life.

So - that's it. But I *am* flexible!

What are your requirements (uh- Linda? Since you are the only one who reads my blog!)

Almost there in the dining room

2006-09-15T10:45:00.000-05:00

The little things...

2006-09-11T10:27:00.000-05:00

It's my mom's birthday - now a very bittersweet day. Just one more little thing that has changed in the last 5 years.

Happy Birthday Mom. You are the best.

Hit me now

2006-09-05T14:50:00.000-05:00

Just in the last 2 weeks:

the dishwasher broke
the washing machine broke, right after
the toilet flooded the basement
the downstairs fridge caught on fire (WTF??)
we ran into a $325 hitch with the dining room hardwood floors

what else? really - hit me now - I'm numb.

Now I think I'm Cool

2006-08-23T14:13:00.000-05:00

hee hee...

linda said it was easy...

2006-08-23T11:11:00.000-05:00

Darn - she was right! Course *I* uploaded the wrong pic.... But you get the idea.

Baby

2006-08-16T18:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Julia.

writing

2006-08-15T19:09:00.000-05:00

good g-d I need to spend more time on my writing. My BIL Fred once asked me if I thought I had a book in me. I confidently said I did. Silly me - I think I only had one child at this point. But, I still think I do. Lilyan and that whole thing.... Scott and I want to do it together. And we should - it really being his story and all. The thought of research with him in dusty stacks at the Chicago Public Library totally does it for me. What to do, what to do, however, with the pesky kids....

HOWEVER (my favorite word) in the short term I need to focus on humor, conciseness and good grammer, much less so than OTHER THINGS.

later.