Eating Dinner With My Family

I got my Front Porch Pickings basket today, and the ingredients make me think of broccoli cheese soup.  This week's basket is particularly exciting as we can now customize our baskets with extra of a particular produce or remove something we don't use.  This week's basket included: broccoli, carrots and onions;  all three of these are in this broccoli cheese soup.  I loved this soup.  Yes the half and half makes it a bit decadent, but milk breaks down if it boils and this soup tried to often:).  I think this soup would also be super tasty as a sauce on a baked potato.  The only alterations I made to the recipe were that I used beef stock instead of chicken.  (I had like 3 beef cartons in the pantry thanks to bogo sales and obviously I don't use beef as much as the chicken)  I also didn't move the soup to a blender; instead I used an immersion blender.  It was tasty and fairly easy.  It requires making a roux and a lot of stirring i...

Well as we had other plans for dinner tonight, I decided to make my lunch the post.  I am the only one in the house that appreciates tuna and olives so I wouldn't make this for dinner for everyone.  It does, however, make a great lunch for me:).  It is a tuna salad as much as it is a tapenade, but that doesn't make it bad.  I liked it a lot and it was ready in like 7 minutes.  (crostini took a little longer)  It would be a nice appetizer addition to a cocktail party. Tuna Tapenade 1/2 c  canned pitted black olives 1/2 c  jarred pitted green olives 4 T  capers 1    lemon,zested and juiced 1    garlic clove,minced 1 T  olive oil 1    (5 to 6-ounce) can tuna,in oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Crostini,recipe follows Blend all the ingredients, except the tuna, in a food processor until smooth but still chunky. Transfer to a medium serving bowl. Drain the tuna but do...

Well the good news is I liked this as much, if not better, than the fish picatta.  The bad news is grilling fish is a total pain!  The thinnest part of the fillet fell through the grate when I flipped it; the big pieces fell apart.  I almost used the veggie/fish basket, but there was no mention of it in the recipe.  I figured Bobby Flay wouldn't lead me astray.  Oh Bobby!  You have never disappoint in recipes, and in all fairness this one didn't either, but the mess in the bottom of my grill!  You could have warned me; taught me a better way, something:(.  Its ok, I forgive you. Some of our all time favorite recipes come from you so I won't hold a grudge.  My husband, however, when he starts cleaning the grill may;).  The orzo was awesome.  The boy devoured his portion and some of dads. Grilled Tilapia With Lemon Butter, Capers And Orzo  1    lemon,finely zested  2    lemons,juiced ...

 I have no idea where I got this recipe.  I'm pretty sure it came in one of my recipe of the day emails, but when I googled the recipe, none were quite like this one.  I thought the idea of whipping the whites and then nestling a yolk in them was intriguing and my whole family is a huge fan of a runny yolk! I honestly don't see how anyone can't be but I'm sure there are some out there.  The dish is pretty good and we all liked it, but it could have been a great dish with some changes.  The most important change would be a sauce.  We suggested, hollandaise, cheese, and even just a compound butter would have helped.  I also would have cooked it less than 15 minutes; the yolks were almost completely set.  The only thing that was a bit odd, and that can't be changed unless you change the whole dish, was the texture of some of the whites.  My son hated it at first, but the inside part wasn't so bad and he declared he liked it better once he got u...

For meatless Monday, I decided to do a mushroom version of the usually pork bahn mi.  I had made this once before for a friend who doesn't eat meat.  I like the mushroom as much as the pork one.  This one did have a small problem, the bread.  It was too crunchy on the outside and to soft on the inside.  I had taken a short cut with the bread; rather than buying it the day of, as I usually do, I bought frozen baguettes at my weekly shopping trip.  Mistake! They were still delicious, but the bread did take away a bit from the finished dish.  We took pity on the boy, and gave him a small potion.  He hates mushrooms:) Mushroom Bahn Mi 6 oz Portabella Mushrooms, Thickly Sliced 1    Baguette,Or Two Small 4 oz Daikon Radish,Julienned 2 lg Carrot,Julienned (about 4 Ounces) About 1/2 c  Mayonnaise Cilantro 1.5 T  Soy Sauce 1.5 T  Mirin Wine Jalapenos,Or Hot Sauce 2 T  Butter 1/4 c  White Vinegar 1...

I had some things I wanted to say so, if you just want the tasty recipe and my thoughts on it, skip down to the last paragraph:). I started this blog over a year ago for several reasons. These reasons, in no particular order, were to: share recipes with friends, push myself out of my comfort zone recipes, keep myself on track with a year of different dinners, and to promote eating meals together.  That last reason, while extremely important to my family and myself, seemed to be missing from the blog posts.  I found a page on facebook called the Shared Meal Revolution , and I was glad to be reminded of this vital part of the meal: the companions.  Until the last few years, our family meals were not a priority.  My husband works odd hours sometimes and not available for dinner. (I'd say 50% of the time.)  Even when he was home, we often "ate like Americans" (which was what we called it) in front of the TV.  One day, I saw a documentary fi...

I have an absolute addiction to the Blue Diamond Wasabi and Soy almonds!  I could eat them until my eyes water, and then eat some more.  They are not the cheapest snack, especially when you eat them like I do.  I need to limit myself to the one ounce portion size recommended for heart health;).  So, when I saw that blue diamond had a recipe for wasabi almonds, I couldn't wait to try them out.  (my previous attempts to recreate them have never lived up to the original!)  The first thing I saw was that I had been seriously under portioning the wasabi powder.  This recipe called for 2 whole tablespoons!  I liked the fact it called for an egg white; I individually freeze egg whites whenever I need just a yolk.  I am always looking to thin out the bulging pantry and fridge/freezer.  When I reached the stir part in the baking, I noticed that the almonds were stuck in a giant chunk.  So when I "gently stirred" I actually beat the almo...