Eating Dinner With My Family

Well while tonight's recipe was really yummy, as yummy as it is a bit vague. (thanks Honey:/)  We had some veggies laying around and wanted to use them so my husband took over the sides and I did the shrimp with lemon dill sauce.  (No I didn't make it, some fancy brand that Publix put on clearance because no person who thinks food is worth spending that kind of money on would by sauce premade.  But as they were practically giving it away, my curiosity got the better of me, and I bought it and it has been sitting in the pantry for a few weeks and tonight is it's night to go. It was alright Roasted Root Veggies 4 small rutabaga, peeled & diced 4 small beets, peeled & diced 1 medium Sweet potato, peeled & diced 1/2 medium onion, diced Extra Virgin Olive Oil Dried Basil Dried Thyme Paprika Dried Oregano Toss and roast at 350 for 45 minutes (or until tender)

We enjoyed our last recipe from Happy Valley Chow , so I decided to try another.  The pizza was one I picked out for my husband; tonight's recipe I picked out for myself!  (not that the boys are complaining;)  I did make a mistake; I forgot to buy provolone, so I used the mozzarella I had on hand.  While I do think the provolone would make a better dish, there were no complaints about the one with the mozzarella!  It was comfort on a plate.  I think the idea to use the immersion blender to make the sauce was brilliant.  Now I love my immersion blender and use it quite a bit, but using it on this sauce remind me of an article I read about a chef that thought it "one trick pony" until he was told to use it to beat eggs before scrambling them, and that reminded me that I probably do not use my immersion blender to its full extent.  I am determined to make scrambled eggs in the near future and whip them thusly!  If you are a vegetarian, still make this (omitting meat obviousl

I feel like I am on a roll!  Two nights in a row I have improvised a meal, cleaned up some ingredients and it was good!  I had these frozen chicken leg quarters.  I can't handle chicken: raw or on a bone and this was both.  I couldn't eat the chicken.  It just bothers me, but the boys, who love chicken and in particular dark meat, really loved it.  The really, really , loved it.  I made the beans for me, but the boys put a little on the bottom of their tacos.  I made the chicken ala my family's beloved Enchilada Chicken recipe, but with the plan not save the cooking liquid, so I was going to need to find some way to sauce it up a bit.  The solution was a taco seasoning flavored butter.  You can serve these tacos with whatever toppings suit your family's preferences, but I think what we used was pretty perfect.:) Oh in case you are wondering what the heck Pdoma is, it was something a contractor my husband was talking to at work about where he gets his estimates.  He

This recipe was born out of the ever increasing clutter I find in my refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  I don't know how or why this clutter grows; I cook every night.  I realize I do grocery shop a lot, but I use almost every thing I get.  Occasionally, I will have a portion of meat that was a bit more than I needed (like tonight's ground beef) and I will seal it and freeze it for future uses, but I am constantly astounded at the overflow of ingredients.  Anyways, rant over, this is why I just went in there and started using things to get this recipe.  I am a little embarrassed to say I loved it, not because it was bad, but it tasted suspiciously like a McDonald's cheeseburger.  I have a secret love of McDonald's.  When I am eating it, I think this really is garbage, but my mom craved them when she was pregnant with me and I think it is just something written in to my genes that when I see a McDonald's commercial, I secretly want some.  Now I am proud that I was ab

I have had a lot of fun blogging the past 18 months or so but  I enjoyed trying all these new recipe (and revisiting some oldies), but also I love that I have found a lot of cool people with cool food blogs. (although I am annoyed with my phone for making it impossible to comment on the blogs, and I rarely use the computer) I tried a recipe tonight from a blog I love, and suggest you check out: Happy Valley Chow .  I knew this recipe seemed made for my husband.  With the exception of blue cheese, every ingredient is one he loves, its PIZZA, he went to Penn State and he loves the Rolling Stones.  I am not a fan of sweet and savory (nor apples in particular) but I thought this might be something I would like too.  It was quite good.  My husband and son loved it; I liked it despite the fact it had apples on it.  I personally would have liked a tad more cheese, but I did go light on it for my darling husband.  I will admit that our first crust got burnt; we have never done pizza like this

I am not the biggest fan of chicken.  It's not that I never like it, but I do have issues with it.  The boys love chicken, so I try every now and again to serve them their beloved legs and thighs.  I got this recipe from Food and Wine.  As always, Food and Wine delivered a tasty recipe.  The chicken was really juicy.  I did take out all the pieces but the thighs after the 45 minutes and the thighs I wrapped in foil and cooked a bit longer since they were only at 145.  I make one other deviation regarding the dried chipotle in the Harous recipe.  I couldn't find them and I kept forgetting to order some online, so I used dried chipotle powder.  I went light too just in case; I used a little over a teaspoon.  We all enjoyed the dish.  The boys remarked on how much they liked the skin.  Next time I would use more of the harous (perhaps because of my chipotle switch up??) because it wasn't really spicy.  It would also be nice to use up more than 1.5 tsp of the 1.5 cups the recip

Well, it is freezing here in Florida tonight, and by freezing, I mean "Florida Freezing" and that is mid forties.  Since there is a chill in the air, I thought of soup, and I decided to try my hand at french onion soup.  I like that this recipe called for toasting the crouton instead of broiling the entire bowl of soup with the cheese over it.  Now I love a bubbling cauldron of cheese, but I simply don't have the crocks.  It wasn't a fast dinner, (25 minutes for caramelizing onions alone!) but it was a tasty dinner.  Next time I would make homemade broth; I felt that the cartons I used took a bit a way from the end result.  However, we all enjoyed it.  Even the three year old ate heartily.  French Onion Soup   1/2 Cup unsalted butter 4 onions sliced 2 garlic cloves chopped 2 bay leaves 2 fresh thyme sprigs Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Cup red wine about 1/2 bottle 3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 Qt beef broth 1 baguette sliced

This recipe was a bit of a disappointment.  The meatballs were very plain.  I admit, I forgot to add the scallions and parsley, but I don't think that would have saved them.  The sauce was quite good,  but since it was thin, not a lot of it stuck to the meatball.  I did add scallions to the sauce to make up for my oops, but other than that, I followed the recipe.  I thought the Korean Style Meatballs I made had a better sauce and unbelievably, the frozen meatballs were even better than these.  So, I deleted the recipe but kept the sauce that my husband and son loved, and I really liked.  To go with it, I quickly sauteed some carrots, bok choy and broccoli that I had blanched.  It was my favorite part:) Hoisin Cocktail Meatballs 2 Tbl hoisin sauce 1 Tbl reduced-sodium soy sauce 1 Tsp sesame oil 1/4 Cup dry bread crumbs 3 Tbl chopped green onions 3 Tbl minced fresh parsley 2 garlic cloves minced 1 Tsp minced fresh gingerroot 1 -1/2 pounds lean ground beef SAUCE 1/4

I had some Mascarpone I had bought and didn't use it for what it was purchased for, so I found this recipe in the ever growing to try file. I love asparagus and I love Mascarpone so I was pretty sure I would like it; the boys were an entirely different matter. It was a fairly easy process to make and it came together in a reasonable amount of time. Also, I'm pretty sure it could be prepared ahead of time up until the baking and then baked when you want to eat. You would need to increase the cook time. I would cover it with foil and bake 15-20 minutes, remove the foil and bake like the instructions say. The boy, did not care for it. Asparagus is not something he enjoys. My husband, also not a huge fan of asparagus, loved it. He went back for thirds! The lemon was nice and that was the only thing I worried might be off with the fish. The only thing we thought less then great was the consistency of the sauce. It was not like a sauce; it was more like a thin coating stuck on th

Ok, tonight's pizza was an improv and not resounding success I had hoped.  It tasted good, but while the picture at the top of the post is showing the pizza in its best possible light, the entire pizza was a bit of a monstrosity. (the pizza in all it's grotesque glory can be seen at the end of the post)  Why?  Well, let me start at the beginning.  My son has a friend over tonight as we have an early date with a ropes & zip line course.  I always try to not suffer the little children to eat what is not friendly to most kids palates, and this particular friend likes things plain to boot, so I was making the boys a plain cheese pizza.  For the second, adult, pie, I decided to try and clean up some of the stuff I had floating around the fridge.  I decided to use up the rest of the ricotta from a lasagna I made recently.  Also because it was the grown up version, I decided to try making it flat bread thin.  That began my journey down the path of many errors.  It was way bigger t

I was very excited for this recipe despite two prejudices I have.  1) I think crockpots are, well, a crock.  I think they are a one trick pony but since my old girl still works, I haven't tossed her.  2) Yes, short ribs are amazing, but their fatty, connective tissue laden selves give me the willies, but despite my issues, I was looking forward to the dish.  Why?  Korean, taco, sriracha, homemade pickle, hello?  I don't know what the recipe for ambrosia is, but I bet it reads similar.  I halved the meat amount you see below, as we are only 4, but I kept the rest of the amounts the same.  I now have a container of beef fat (separated from the liquid) and the cooking liquid in the freezer to take up space until I think of a use for it or I go to war with my kitchen again.  These tacos lived up to their promise.  I did to the "optional'  liquid reduction the author did.  I think it is necessary! (oh and I halved the amount for the reduction too)  My mind failed me; I boug

Another recipe from my free Bobby Flay iBook, Bobby Flay's Bold Flavors.  As a cobb salad fan, I loved this burger.  My boys, not lovers of blue cheese or avocado, liked it (which is a win unto it's self) but didn't love it.  The dressing for the lettuce is worth keeping alone, much less the magical blue, avocado and bacon blend:).   My daughter, who never eats much, or eats many carbs, ate almost an entire burger.  We did change hers up a bit.  She is three and we figured the pungency of blue cheese wouldn't work for her, and she won't eat anything green, so she had a plain turkey burger with some plain ole American Cheese.  However, let me reiterate, she ate almost an ENTIRE burger! Something to be said for the inherent yumminess of a turkey burger that I find many turn their nose up at.  Now I love a beef burger, but turkey is no slough in the burger department, as long as you use ground turkey , not ground turkey breast .  I know that this blog has many a burge

Ok, confession time.  I have an embarrassing secret.  I have hijacked my son's brand new PS3 and play Skyrim all day.  I am not even exaggerating about all day.  I will start when the boy goes to school, and find that he is home the next minute.  Not being a totally irresponsible parent, I make sure everyone eats, they get to and from school and all their activities,  that there are clean clothes and dishes, but only the bare minimum.  It started the week I was really sick and there wasn't much else I could do, but having returned to health, I have no excuse.  Needless to say, I have neglected not only the blog but the new recipe thing.  I am going to do better, as soon as I rid Skyrim of all evil and tyranny! :)  While I may have cobbled together leftovers for dinner, I do have a new discovery to share with you, a totally yummy cocktail or shot depending on you proclivities.  I used diet lemonade, and I hate diet drinks, and I still thought it was good.  It tasted remarkably l

I was so excited to get Romanesco Cauliflower in my Front Porch Pickings basket!  I have seen pictures before and always wanted to try it, but could never find it.  Chalk up yet another reason to get a local produce delivery company or join a CSA.  The vegetable is striking!  I would find my self staring at it whenever I opened the fridge.  I found several recipes I wanted to try, but ended up deciding on this one for two reasons.  One, I wanted to make sure we didn't cover up the cauliflower's natural flavor since it was the first time we were trying it, and two it would be a crime to make anything that called for us to cut the head up into anything smaller than florets!  Now I could have just plain roasted it (or steamed it for that matter) and would have been happy, but my less that cauliflower loving boys wouldn't have taken so kindly to that.  In fact, cauliflower is one of the two veto ingredients I allow my boy.  He usually gags if cauliflower passes his lips, but I

Tonight's recipe was a hit in every way but one, and that one miss only really bothered the particular aesthetics of my husband.  His complaint was that the beet greens imparted an unnatural color to the goat cheese and that the resulting tint of sauce and pasta was a color not to be achieved in nature.  And while it is true that it looked unnatural, as a good wife, I refrained from pointing out that nature did achieve this color. (well refrained until he reads the post ;)  It was pretty easy too.  The steps were a bit many: two roastings in the oven at two temps, boiling pasta and sauteing the veggies and the prep work, but it still wasn't every time consuming.  If you plan it right, it comes together very quickly.  It takes some knowledge of you equipment.  For example, the pot I was using to boil the pasta in seems to take forever to come to a boil.  It is the only one but it was also the only appropriately sized vessel that was clean so it had to be used.  To keep it effic

My darling husband is cooking again tonight even though I am on the mend.  He is anxious to return to the kitchen and cook like he used to.  I kind of think of his kitchen technique as a cross between jazz improv and mad scientist.  He just like to go in there and chop and toss and add until every dish is dirty and kitchen is thoroughly trashed and then he pronounces dinner done.  (I am waiting for the day I hear maniacal laughter coming form the kitchen and hear him say "SHE IS DONE" (ala Frankenstein's "he's alive")  I stayed out of the kitchen. (I believe that is one of the reasons we are still happily married because if I saw what all he does in there I might have a heart attack) As I wasn't watching, I cannot verify the perfection of his "measurements" but the idea is sound.;)  The most notable thing about the the dish is the way it came by it's name.  Our 3 year old daughter was running to the kitchen and asking for carrots as dad cho

I have been miserable, unable to move with an extremely painful headache.  I thought perhaps I was finally finding out how terrible a migraine was.  It had gotten steadily worse over a week; it was to the point all I could do was lay down with a cold cloth over my head and no pain medicine made a dent in the pressure and pain.  I tell you this to explain my absence from blogging and to warn you that even if you have only a headache, it could be a sinus infection!  I went to the doctor today and was given an antibiotic.  It has totally made an incredible difference in the first 24 hours!  I also tell you so you can again appreciate my wonderful husband who not only took care of me and the kids, but cooked a new recipe so there would be an entry for tonight.  Needless to say, I wasn't very hungry, but the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen were awakening the beginnings of an appetite.  The only change we made was we used a jalapeno pepper because we had one we needed to use up.

I liked this sandwich, but I did think that the apples were a bit superfluous.  There were bites I never noticed them, there were bites where they were overwhelming, and there were bites were perfect.  I know that is pretty useless critique, but it is the truth.  I would make it again, and I would probably include the apples.  I tried it with out the apples and only the mustard and it wasn't as good.  It was a nice and different sandwich, and because it is warm and filling, it makes a great fast dinner. Oven-Toasted Ham, Brie And Apple Sandwiches 1    large baguette (about 1 lb.),cut into 4 pieces 7 oz brie,most of the rind trimmed off and thinly 2    Tbs. unsalted butter 1    -1/2 medium Granny Smith apples,cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick 3/4 lb ham steak,thinly sliced on the diagonal 2    Tbs. whole-grain Dijon mustard 1    Tbs. honey 1 t  chopped fresh thyme Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F. Split the baguette pieces lengthwi

It is cold out, so I opt for a soup tonight.  Other than the chopping (which was minimal), this dish was a breeze! I know I have said it before in the blog, but when a recipe calls for a small bit of tomato paste, I use a 1 tablespoon scoop to portion out the rest of the can on to a plate and freeze.  Then I pop those frozen portions off and put them in a plastic bag.  Easy and give you a simple way to store all that extra paste.  I wasn't expecting the dish to be anything less than good, but I was also not expecting an OMG moment.  It was an OMG dish!  I used a baguette instead of chibatta because I didn't read the recipe well before my trip to the store, (blush) but I it is a mistake I will make again.  The  whole dish was wonderful, but I think that bread was what took it from good to great.  If you make this, I would suggest you do what I did, use 4 cups of stock.  I think that if I hadn't used that last cup in the carton (just to clean up) the dish wouldn't have ha

I wasn't sure what I would think of the end product.  I like all the ingredients that went in to the dish, but I thought something was missing and was leery of what I would end up with.  Turns out, it wasn't missing anything.  The greens and mushrooms we perfect with the lentils, and the spices, while hinting at Indian, were very light and let you enjoy the flavors of the greens and mushrooms without drowning them in seasoning.  It isn't quite a soup, but it isn't a side either.  I did make one small change.  There was only one package of fresh shiitakes at Publix, so I got that one and a second package of "baby bellas".  I would have liked it so much better if I could have used all shiitakes since they are my favorite.  The mushrooms, greens and lentils make for a very meaty flavor despite the lack of any meat in it.  All in all a win for me:) Spiced Lentils With Mushrooms And Greens 1/2 c  brown or green lentils 3 T  extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 lb shii

I really liked the glaze for the salmon, and a runny egg on hash.... heaven.  My only issues with the dish, not enough of the bacon and apple to potato, and the salmon was a bit over done and annoying to cook on the grill.  I did use wild salmon, and those filets are much thinner, and the fillets didn't have skin on them wich also made grilling even more annoying.  We all liked the dish well enough and will make it again but with some small changes.  I think next time we will reduce the amount of potato.  That way, we have more of the tasty bits with the potato.  I really got out of the blogging groove, and now that there is a new year, I need to get back in to the groove.  Alas, tonight is not that time, so anothere short and sweet post:) Salmon, Bacon And Potato Hash 2 lb baking potatoes Salt 4    thick slices of bacon,cut into 1-inch pieces 1/4 c  vegetable oil 1    onion,cut into 1-inch dice 1    small Granny Smith apple cut into 1/2-inch dice Grilled Glazed Salmon b

I happen to be one of those people who love Brussels sprouts, my husband didn't think he did until I made a shredded version for him.  I was excited to try this, and I loved it, but the most pleasure I got out of the dish is that my 11 year old has changed his veto ingredients.  They were cauliflower and mushrooms (two of my favorites) but he decided that Brussels sprouts will replace mushrooms.  Callo-callay, oh frabjous day!!! MUSHROOMS ARE BACK ON THE MENU!!!!  So chalk up another reason to endear this recipe to my heart!  He had to eat them tonight.  No veto change occurs on the night its requested;  that prevents miss use;).  If you are a cabbage hater, you may not love this recipe for texture reasons alone, but the caramelizing does temper the bitter and what doesn't taste better with bacon (or pancetta).  If you are leery of these sprouts, and are willing to give them a shot, maybe build to them in their whole form. (like in this recipe)   Shred the sprouts and saute in