Septemeber 5, 2014

Oh my...I almost missed posting this week!  That is one of the good parts about the fall...getting back on a regular schedule.  Certainly it is tough to get back in the swing of things - athletic schedules resume, homework piles up, the sunlight fades quicker and quicker each evening.  But a schedule and some organization...that helps the whole house run smoother.   Typically I draft the keeper recipes as they are found and then on Fridays I write my musing and it is easy to post.  But when I get behind I feel the pressure to get it published...it is "due" Friday evening.  Ha!

In any case, this week we had one keeper: crispy potatoes.  We had them with dinner and everyone enjoyed them.  As I mentioned in an earlier post all the kids discovered breakfast potatoes while we vacationed out east.  These potatoes were outstanding and would be good for both breakfast or dinner.

Soccer gets underway this weekend, and our little Lima Bean is playing on a team for the first time!  It should be really fun to watch and the weather is predicted to be fantastic!  The O-man also has his first game, and Miss Banana is reffing a rec game tomorrow.  We'll be at the fields all morning!

Not sure what we're cooking this week, but hopefully we'll get at least one keeper!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipe
Crispy Potatoes

Crispy Potatoes

Ingredients
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 1 small onion, finely diced
* kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 3 tbsp water
* 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large saute pan heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the potato cubes and onion and season with salt and pepper.  Saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
3. Turn up the heat to high and add the water.  Stir and then cover with a lid.  Steam the potatoes until the water evaporates about 4 minutes.  TO ensue that the potatoes don't stick (or don't stick too much) open the lid and quickly stir every minute or two while the water is evaporating.
4. Lower the heat to medium, remove the lid and allow all, or nearly all, the remaining water the evaporate.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter to the potatoes. Toss to coat.  Spread the potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake in the oven for 25-40 minutes, checking to see when they have reached your desired level of color and crispness.  Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and enjoy!

Notes
These were outstanding potatoes.  I did think they were a bit messy when I turned them onto the baking sheet - definitely not all of the potatoes had retained their cube shape during the course of this cooking, but they were all fabulous when it was time to eat!  So while they were a little involved, I do believe they were worth the effort as they were so incredibly scrumptious!)

August 29, 2014

Another week, another taste test!  You know me...I love to try out several versions of a recipe and try to find the best.  Because our garden is producing so many tomatoes this year that I decided to make 3 fresh tomato sauce recipes.  One was based on our usual sauce, one was from Giada, and one was based on a quick marinara that we make.  Hmmm...we didn't really love them; no keepers among them.  But, we still have more tomatoes coming so perhaps we'll still find one.

We did make scratch meatballs to use with the sauce taste test dinner, and they were an amazing hit, voted to unanimous keeper status.  They are made the way my mom makes them, though I had never made them this way before.  Now I doubt I'll make them any other way again!  Super easy, and super delicious.  They are fall apart tender without falling apart...you'll have to make them to see what I mean!

A few new recipes in the works for the week ahead...we'll see what pans out!

Happy Cooking

New Recipe
Mom's Meatballs

Mom's Meatballs

Ingredients
* 1 lb ground beef
* 1/4 cup tomato sauce
* 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
* 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
* salt and pepper

Directions
1.  Place a piece of tinfoil on a cookie sheet and then place a rack on top.  Spray the rack with cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. 
3. Form small meatballs from the mixture and place them on the rack.  Bake the meatballs for approximately 12 minutes or until browned and coked through. 
4. Use with your favorite pasta sauce or for meatball subs, or however you want to! 

Notes
Talk about easy and delicious!  The absence of egg in the meat mixture creates a more tender texture to the finished meatball.  The breadcrumbs and cheese help bind the meat, and cooking them in the oven ensures they get cooked through.  Add more or less of the ingredients as you desire, or change the ground beef to chicken, turkey or venison.  This recipe can be your jumping off point!  Enjoy!

August 22, 2014

The summer is fading away.  Dusk is arriving earlier, school supplies are taking over my guest room, and all of our vacations are now excellent memories.  I cannot believe school is about to begin (though in previous years it had always started by now!).

We actually got home today from our trip out east.  What do you make for dinner on the night you arrive home and have very little in the fridge and pantry?  Breakfast for dinner, of course!  Hannah and Liam fell in love with diner home fries while we were away.  I had a recipe for home fries and actually had all the ingredients on hand!  We made them and loved them so we actually have a keeper this week!

This weekend we are going to defrost our freezer so we shall see what ends up on the dinner menu - some new chicken dishes, I am sure.  And a few loaves of bread, perhaps...you should have seen how much bread flour I had in the freezer! I am hoping we'll turn out some keepers in the days ahead. Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipe
Home Fries

Home Fries

Ingredients

* 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

* 1 tbsp butter

* 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped into small pieces

* 1/2 cup sweet pepper (any color), seeded and chopped into small pieces

* 2 medium-large baking potatoes, skin on and cubed

* salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.      Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a heavy 12” skillet over medium-high heat. Do not let it smoke.

2.      Add the onion & pepper and cook until browned about 8-10 minutes. Do not let this burn. Stir frequently. 

3.      When done, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

4.      While the onions and peppers are cooking add the potatoes into a large sauce pan.

5.      Add just enough cool water just until the tops of the potatoes are covered and they float slightly.

6.      Place the pan over high heat.

7.      As soon as the water begins to boil, remove from the heat and drain the potatoes in a colander for approximately 5 minutes.

8.      In the pan the onions and peppers were sautéed in, place it back on the burner to medium-high and add the butter and remaining oil.

9.      When the butter foams, add the potatoes in a single layer, making sure each potato is touching the surface of the skillet.

10.  Allow to cook for 4-5 minutes without stirring. You want the sides to brown.

11.  Once browned on one side, carefully flip and brown the other sides.  You will need to do this a few times and it will probably take about 15-20 minutes total.

12.  Once all the sides are crispy brown, add the onions and peppers back in and gently stir.  Then add in the salt and pepper; stir once more then serve.

Notes

Wow!  Hannah was interested in adding home fries to our breakfast for dinner menu, and we had all these ingredients on hand the night we got home from vacation.  We loved this!  We had an orange pepper in the fridge so we used that; use whatever you have on hand.  Delish!

August 1, 2014

Really?  Really?  August 1st?  Yikes!  Where is the summer going, or better question, where is the year disappearing to?  As Liam likes to say, "Holy jalapeno!"

This week we had one dinner voted to keeper status.  We all really loved the Cuban shredded beef that we made.  The kids and I saw it on an episode of America's Test Kitchen on PBS and added it to the meal plan for the week.  It was fantastic!  As we at dinner Liam announced that he loved it most of all!  This was quite the pronouncement since these days Liam barely eats any dinner.  He eats a huge breakfast and decent lunch but very little dinner.  So when he asked for seconds we all knew it was a unanimous keeper.  I will warn you that it takes a while to make, but the first part the meat is just cooking itself and you check on it every now and then.  If you have the time and the recipe looks good to you I wholeheartedly suggest you make this!

Happy Cooking!

New Recipe
Cuban Shredded Beef