Eating Dinner With My Family

We have another first for me in my Front Porch Pickings basket, tatsoi.  I have had it mixed in to a variety of organic salad greens I have gotten from the store, but never all by its self.  So, I turned to my trusty Field to Feast book, and found this recipe for Potato and Tatsoi Pizza.  I didn't make the dough that was in the book, we were at a corn maze all day, but other than that, I followed the recipe exactly even though it cooked the pizza very differently than I do.  The result, the crust was a disaster, but the potato/tatsoi/ricotta combination was really great.  I think if I sliced the potatoes just a tad thinner on the mandoline, I could bake it for less time at 550 like I normally do and the potatoes will get done and crust would be better.  Then this would be really excellent!  We enjoyed dinner despite the uber crunchy bottom crust (the ends of the crust were hard like stale bread).  Also there was plenty of potatoes left....

My husband choose this throwback Thursday dish.  I followed the sauce recipe, but the meatballs I played around with a little bit.  Mostly, I just made my life easy by getting the meatloaf package of ground beef/pork rather than get a package of both meats and most likely have odd bits I didn't need for tonight's dinner.  As always, if you don't eat beef or pork, you can switch out the meat for other ones, but the beef & pork combo is traditional and I think the tastiest.  I totally am loving the greens in the meatballs.  I don't know where I first saw this idea (and it was most like spinach that was in the original recipe), but I have used collards and now bok choy with fantastic results.  (my next experiment will involve the leavings from my juicing, but that is for another time:)  I also love coating the meatballs in bread crumbs. This coating absorbs the juices (and fat) cooking out of the meatball and adds a lot of flavor and a nice crisp...

I had some butternut squash from my Front Porch Pickings basket, and I was browsing Pinterest for ideas. I came across a pin for butternut squash stuffed shells with a lemon sage brown butter sauce. I planned on using the recipe as a guide, but I kind of just made it up as I went along. The main thing I used the recipe for: the brilliant suggestion of adding lemon zest to the filling. I also took the sauce and cooking time from the pinned recipe. They were pretty similar in the end. The main thing I did really different, was I mashed the squash.  I liked the texture better that way.  Next time I would change the sauce.  The butter sauce didn't do anything really, so I think I just might make my sage cream sauce and put a dollop on top of each shell next time.  The best thing about this dish is the squash;  I thin I will replace 1/2 the ricotta in my stuffed/layered pastas from now on with roasted squash.  It was tasty and it adds some vitamins and lightens ...

I need to clean up the food I have accumulated.  I buy frozen, scallops in this instance, on sale and forget about them.  I need to make a serious attack on the freezer!  So, I pulled this Bay Scallop Pan Roast out of the to try file.  I also had a Spaghetti Squash from Front Porch Pickings I should use as I am getting another one Friday!   My darling husband offered to cook, and I totally took him up on it as I was tired from a long hot day of ropes course and ziplines at Zoomair!   I had put the squash in earlier, so dinner came together pretty quickly too.  I like that about this squash recipe; it is nice that the roasting can be done way in advance if necessary since the strands get warmed up in the sauteed shallots.  The scallops were pretty awesome too!  I was thinking 4 mushrooms were going to be too few, but they gave it flavor without overpowering the scallops.  A solid 4 all way around. Bay Scallop Pan Roast ...

So, I have made this dish before and have a post on them.   Why am I making another post about them?  Well to highlight not only how yummy they are, but how versatile they are at cleaning up random produce!  If you follow the link above you will see the original recipe (calling for broccoli and cauliflower), and what produce I put in that batch I made. (red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash among others).  This time I made the recipe below.  I doubled it, and added a bit more veggies.  (of the 4 cups I would have needed, I used 5)  So yummy!  Now I know that deep frying your veggies does kind of defeat the purpose of them, but I got several servings of veggies for this meatless Monday recipe.  (and I am ignoring the several servings of fried food I got;)  We had been on vacation for several days, and I needed to make a dent in all the wonderful veggies I had in my fridge, but hadn't cooked yet.  I had some Kopan Masala (Tibetan Garam ...

I happened to really like this, the boys were like, meh a 3.  I'm not saying I wouldn't like to tweak it to my liking a bit, but  spicy fish and creamy grits,  yum!  I like it way better than shrimp and grits.  I also adore mushroom cream sauces.  (the boys don't care much for mushrooms)  It wasn't a pretty dish, but it was fairly easy, and I liked it a lot.    Spicy Grilled Tilapia With Creamy Grits And Mushroom Scallion Sauce Mushroom Scallion Sauce: 1 Tbl butter 2 Cup sliced baby portobello mushrooms (cremini) 1/2 Cup sliced scallions 1/4 Cup white wine 1/2 Pint heavy cream 1 Tsp garlic powder 1/2 Tsp Cayenne pepper Salt and black pepper Grits: 5 Cup milk 1 Cup quick-cooking grits 2 Tbl butter 1/2 Tsp salt 1/2 Tsp black pepper Grilled Broccoli and Carrots: 1 large bunch broccoli sliced lengthwise (with stalks and flore 1 Bunch whole carrots tops removed, sliced lengthwise 1/4 Cup olive oil 1 Tbl garlic powder Sal...

This recipe is from the wonderful book Field To Feast .   It was given to me by the lovely folks down at Front Porch Pickings .  It is a book that features local (Florida) farmers and chefs and what they like to do with some of Florida's wonderful produce.   This particular recipe comes to us from Superganic Farm of Pensacola .  The owner calls the farm superganic because of his biodynamic method of treating the soil like a living organism.  That kind of information is what I love about this book. I am not sure we got these particular kohlrabi from this farm, but I know that FPP does use some of these farms, but it makes me so happy to see farmers who are committed to being responsible stewards of the land they work.  Not to mention that local food always taste better and has more nutrients as it has minimal processing and transport time.  The environmental benefits exceed just reducing chemical use, and include lessening the use of the ...

My family was not happy about this dish! I had some beets to use and have been wanting to try this, so they were out of luck tonight. My son hates beets but deemed this acceptable. My husband, who was cringing at the thought of tonight's dinner was pleasantly surprised! I liked them a lot. 4 stars for me, 3.5 for the boys. They were super quick, as I roasted and made the cheese mixture earlier, so when dinner time came, I needed only to toast the bread.  Roasted Beet Sandwiches With Herbed Goat Cheese 8 medium beets trimmed 1 Tbs. vegetable oil 1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 small cloves garlic minced 1/4 Cup thinly sliced chives 1 -1/2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh tarragon Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 Oz fresh goat cheese softened 3/4 Cup (one 7.5 oz. container) crème fraîche 1 Tsp chopped pink peppercorns 6 Four-inch pieces soft-crusted ciabatta bread 3 Cup baby arugula Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375F. Arran...

I love most greens.  Chard, beet, you name it, I love them with two exceptions: Mustard and Collard.  I am not saying I don't like them, but I have never eaten them and been wowed. (well except for the Cornbread Dressing with Sausage and Collard Greens , that was amazing)   I got some collard greens this week in my Front Porch Pickings basket, and decided to try this recipe out.  I had just shy of a pound of the collards, so I cut off the beet greens off my beets I also received in the basket and used them to make up the difference.  The only other change I made was I used dried ancho chiles since I couldn't find any dried chipotle. And guess what?  I loved them!  The boy didn't care much for them; I remember being very sensitive to certain flavors as a kid so I kind of understand, but the adults really dug it!  Since I knew the boys would need something besides this dish, my husband fried up some chicken.  (keeping with the ...

I am making my Easter dinner tonight since my mom will be here but is leaving Easter morning to drive home. As I am looking in my fridge that is bursting at its seams, I discover I haven't used my kale from Front Porch Pickings ! I love kale, how did I miss it?! I was worried it might not be usable since I got it in my basket a week ago Friday and greens aren't known for their long shelf life. But they were perfect. My mom even said what beautiful kale. Just one more benefit to getting local produce. Since it had only recently left the ground, the produce lasts longer. But I digress! I decided to make it a simple meal of ham, colcannon and salad. I used a bit more kale than was called for in the recipe and liked it so much, I will in the future too. We had had a late lunch and my mom pointed out that the colcannon was a starch & a veg so we even skipped the salad. It was a simple but very tasty meal. I am totally in love with the kale & potato combination of flav...

I thought this soup was wonderful!  But the amazing thing, my son who hates cauliflower, who used up one of his two veto ingredients on cauliflower, loved it too.  He rated it a 4!  Lets just let that sink in; the boy who gags when he puts cauliflower in his mouth, loved cauliflower soup.  Wow!  It was easy and fast to make, with most of the time spent largely inactive cooking time.  While it uses chicken stock, it could easily be made vegetarian with veggie broth.  With the chicken broth, does it count as meatless for meatless Monday?  I did have a bit of a problem with the Parmesan crisp.  It didn't break off the sheet of aluminium in large peices, it crumbled off.  Next time I won't spread it so thinly.     Silky Cauliflower Soup With Parmesan Crisps 1 head cauliflower 2 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil 1 small onion chopped 2 Clove garlic minced 1 Qt low-sodium chicken stock 1/2 Cup finely grated Parmesan Salt and...

It's meatless Monday again, and my plan was for veggie fried rice.  Then, I realize I haven't used the beautiful carrots I got from Front Porch Pickings this past week.  I hated to relegate them to virtual obscurity as a small part of the fried rice, so I pull up the to try file again.  There I see these Miso Glazed Carrots.  I have red miso in the fridge, so it seemed like fate;).  (I had 1.5 lbs of carrots so I halved the recipe)  I still made a fried rice with some shredded carrots I had from a while back, a half of red onion, some leftover spinach from a lunch salad, ginger and garlic, but I also made this recipe.  The mistake I made was I cut them wrong.  I did carrot coins on the diagonal not cutting them length wise in to long strips as I later was on the original recipe's picture and that may have caused my only complaint: they were overcooked to my liking.  Next time I make this, I would reduce the roas...

This week for meatless Monday, I used some of my Swiss chard from my Front Porch Pickings basket.  I really loved this recipe.  My husband, who hates chunks of tomato and olives, wasn't as impressed as I was.  I did slightly change how I made it.  First of all, I had huge onions, so I only used one.  It was most likely just shy of two onions.  I also only had one bunch of chard.  Next time, I will make sure I have two.  I missed having more.  I was doubly impressed that I not only liked it, but it was reasonably low calorie. I think the nutritional information at the end of the recipe said 1/4 of it was just under 400 calories.  It was pretty quick to throw together too.    Whole-Wheat Spaghetti With Swiss Chard And Pecorino Cheese 1 Tbl olive oil 2 onions thinly sliced 2 Bunch Swiss chard trimmed and chopped (about 14 cups) 3 garlic cloves minced 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices 1/4 Cup dry white win...

This is a recipe everyone should know.  It is a perfect recipe because: it's economical, easy, doesn't make a mess and can be tailored to any diet, taste preference or ingredients on hand. (for example: I have left out mushrooms out of the boy's packet or no meat and vegetable broth for a vegetarian friend)  I have made this before with a variety if ingredients, but this is how I made it tonight.   If you click on the title and to to the original Alton Brown recipe, you will see the way I made it the first time I cooked it.  I personally really like the addition of the cabbage and would include it always.  We had a pound of shrimp and there were 7 or 8 in each packet, so we ended up with a more than the recipe calls for, but even with the extra, the meal, for 4, was less than $10.  I have made it with just veggies and its really good that way too.  I don't use the "flavor" packets that come in the ramen for the broth, but ...

I found this recipe while working on one of my newsletter for Front Porch Pickings .  They are a local and organic produce company.  We had cabbage this week and I wanted to find something really different to do with it.  I looked at this originally for a laugh.  Cabbage and marmalade sounds like a recipe for disaster. (LOL no pun was intended but...)  Once I looked at it, I thought it looked good and was excited to try it.  I loved the marmalade, but thought the "pizza" was just ok.  I also used it in place of butter as the author recommended and I thought it was good, better even that way. Cabbage and Onion Marmalade   2 Tbl olive oil 1 to 1 1/4 pounds onions quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced a 1 Lb cabbage shredded or finely chopped Salt and freshly ground pepper 3 garlic cloves minced 2 Tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 Tbl capers drained, rinsed and mashed in a mortar and pestle For pizza: 1/2 recipe whole-w...

I try to have each week a variety of proteins for my family.  I try to have chicken, seafood, beef, pork and a vegetarian meal and fill in the rest of the days with either vegetarian, chicken or seafood.  It doesn't always work out that way.  Sometimes the family makes a request, sometimes there is a good sale at Publix and sometime I just get lazy.  I didn't really have a plan when I bought a whole chicken but I knew there was plenty I could do with  it.  I decided to cook it like the 40 Cloves and a Chicken recipe we all love, but change it a bit.  It was well received, but next time I think I will double the herbs.  I originally planned on a full tablespoon, but it looked like a lot when I got half way through it and stopped.  As always, this method of cooking delivered juicy meat and crispy skin.  I didn't have a baguette and wasn't going out to the store, so I made some rice using some of the drippings from the chicken.  While...

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)

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 ...

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 n...

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...