Salad, revised

Erik loves to eat salad. His idea of a good dinner is a big salad.

I don't dislike salad, but after eating a 'salad for a meal' I am generally not full. Or, if I feel satisfied, I'm hungry an hour later. They just don't stick with me.

Recently, however, I decided to give it another try. I came across THIS recipe for chicken/squash/chickpea salad w/ tahini dressing and figured I'd give it a try. Go check out the recipe, but let me tell you what I did differently.

• Instead of squash, I used a sweet potato.

• I forgot to add the chickpeas (didn't have any on hand).

• Instead of pita chips, I took plain flour tortillas, cut them up and thew them in the oven after the chicken was done roasting. I let them stay there until they were crisp. Then added them to the salad.

• I added slivers of a red pepper. And also very thin onion slivers.

• For the dressing, I added extra lemon juice.

How was it? Smashing success! I was honestly surprised how much the salad filled me up. Even without the chickpeas. I bet with chickpeas, it would have been even MORE filling!

One of my favorite parts was the dressing ... oh how good it is! I am often scared of recipes with ingredients (like tahini) that I'm like 'what am I going to do with the rest of the jar?' .... but don't be. If you get tahini to make this dressing, you can also make hummus using tahini.

Seriously - give it a try!

Chore chart/meal planning revisited

About 4 months ago, I started a chore chart to help me stay on top of house cleaning. I have also been attempting to do a better job of meal planning.

There were pros and cons to each system, and I've made a revision I hope I will love.

Last week, I was reading a photographer's blog and the post was about being organized in your work space. About half way down the post, it showed a few photos of 'workflow' charts .... which I have several of in my own office. It had the charts behind glass, however, and utilized dry erase markers to show progress. GENIUS!

Here's what I've done ....


I printed a new copy of my cleaning/chore chart. And put it in one of those certificate frames (which perfectly fit a piece of computer paper!). I'll just use a dry erase marker to cross things off when I'm done.

The frames beneath? Remember my meal planning? Well, I left a teensy bit extra room beneath each day/chore for a meal sticker.

I picked up new Post It notes .... they have ones that are sticky on the ENTIRE back. So I wrote some of our favorite meals on them and cut them up into small pieces. I grabbed 2-4x6 frames I previously displayed photos in and grabbed some wrapping paper to spruce it up some. I actually will probably snag a little scrapbooking paper from my sis to use, but this stuff is just filler. It's red b/c while the walls are pretty tan, we will probably bring in some red touches elsewhere in the kitchen. SO, I put the extra meals on these frames when not in use.

The frames before:


So there you have it ... I'm going to give this awhile and see how I like it. I have high hopes. :)

Organizing meal plans?

One of my blog friends, Michelle, mentioned in a blog post that she plans her meals for an entire month at a time. Seriously. I thought she was nuts. Off her rocker. Who on the planet is that organized? Not me. That's for SURE!

Yet I continued to struggle with making things last-minute for dinner.

At one point, I'd tried doing it one week at a time, but it just didn't seem to work. *frustrating*

I *think* I've been able to find a happy-medium. I will sit down and go through the recipes we like and ask Erik what he wants to eat over the next 2 weeks. If he has a special request, I'll make it happen. A little direction is helpful. Then I'll fill in.

Oh, and when Erik is off, he takes care of dinner. And I don't plan for Saturday nights either. So I usually only have to come up w/ about 4 meals/week. Or 3 if I want to make something big and plan for leftovers. :)


(no, the colors don't mean anything, it's just me going through post-its).

Here's the MAJOR up side to things: It has VASTLY simplified grocery shopping.

I'll put meals with fresh ingredients, or ones that will wilt/expire more quickly in week 1. If I have a partial ingredient left over from the first week, I'll find a recipe to use the rest of it in week 2. AND it means we have 2 "big" grocery trips/month. Ahhh, bliss! We will usually have to go for milk on the 'other' week, but it's a quick in-and-out dash and it's over. :)

Previously, we'd go for groceries about every 10 days or so, and would just sort of dawdle. No real plans. With a list of what we're eating, I can be sure I have the specific ingredients which is WAY nice.


Now, here's a question for the peanut gallery. I put the main dish on a little sticky note tab thing and stick it on the day. I do this so I can move it around if I need to. If I write it on the actual calendar, I'd end up moving things around and erasing and using arrows ... it'd get confusing.

Because we have a few favorites/staples, I re-use some of the stickies. But they're starting to lose their stick. Or peel or whatever ... I'm looking for a solution to this. Help? I'd like to be able to put on/take off the tag. I really only need to write on it once, but I'd like to be able to move it around as much as possible. On paper.

Anyone have a good idea/solution for me?

Christmas Cookie baking, 2011

Remember yesterday's post? How little Theodore was. Well, this is the 2011 version of him:


What a change, eh?


The morning started as every does at my parents' house. With coffee. And Papa teaching Theodore how to make a good pot of coffee.


Cookie cutters make FUN NOISE when you bang them on the counter. Just ask Theodore. :)


The FIRST cookie.


Adding a little pre-baking decor.


Working on those fine motor skills.


AHA!


I'm not gonna lie: eating the cookie dough is the best part. I get sort of sad when it goes into the oven to cook.


"Q: What's in there?"
A: The best part, kid!




He finally caught on!


This is a cute little series of photos.






... see, disassembling the rolling pin is just as much fun as using it!


Waiting for cookies to bake.



iTheodore. :)

Papa Wayne is showing him the joys of technology. Next year, the kid will be able to re-program my cell phone.

Chocolate

I recently found THIS incredibly tasty recipe for bread pudding w/ dark chocolate and cherries. It's heaven on a plate. And not with too, too, too much sugar.


This is before, but the after is so, so, so good!

Oh, how I'm glad it's cooled down so I can turn my oven on to bake!

Apricot-Sage Cookies

As I said yesterday, I have been organizing my recipes.

Originally when I was pulling recipes, I grabbed things that looked good to me. Now, with my limited allowance of sugar and trying to stay away from yeast, I look a little more closely at things before I pull them.

I pulled THIS is the yummie recipe a few years ago .... and rediscovered it this week. I'd never made it before, but with only 1/3 c. sugar, I figured I'd give it a try.


Y-U-M-M-I-E!!!!!!

Boy are these tasty. I might use a little less dried sage than is called for. It gives an amazing flavor, but is a touch strong for my taste. Still, they're amazing.

I haven't actually added jam between the cookies yet ... just eaten them plain. I actually sprinkled a little more sugar on them before baking. :)

One thing I wonder about ... as I listen to a book relating to cooking, I'm wondering if you could refrigerate the dough for a bit ... then roll it into a log, chill more ... then slice these, as opposed to rolling them out and cutting out the cookies, if that makes sense? Maybe I'll try it next time and report back.

Easter cookery

Oh Easter! I have to admit, it was chaos. I agreed to host my sis, then got asked to sing at Mass, then all of a sudden, it was a both sides of the family coming, and I was still singing at Mass. And then I got a skin rash and my sis bails and here I am, left with cooking for this big batch of people I hadn't intended to have over in the first place. Ugh! What a mess. I would have to leave cooking instructions with the moms because I'd be at Mass, leading song. Crike!

Regardless, things turned out well. Let's walk through the menu.

Awhile ago, I saw Paula Dean make these brunch peppers, and ran across the recipe. I though it sounded like breakfast in a pepper, so I decided to make it. :)


HERE is the recipe for Paula's brunch peppers.

Let me say, they're pretty darn tasty! They even refrigerate and re-heat fairly well.


French Toast Casserole, how I love thee!!!! Oh goodness, where to even start???!!?!! This stuff is heavenly. I want to have it all to myself and not share a bite with anyone else, which doesn't work when you have guests over to your house. But it means you get the hoard the leftovers and not share (or "share" but throw dirty looks at your husband when he eats some after you've gone to bed).

Ok, so HERE is the magical recipe. I made a few little changes.

1) I didn't use French bread. Instead, I used Irish Soda Bread, which does not use yeast. And I don't put sugar in mine.

2) I used 2 loaves of the soda bread, and 1 of them was a raisin loaf. I alternated the "plain" bread with the "raisin" bread to make it a little more fancy. I love that it added a little pop to the recipe. It was sort of like having sweet rolls, but without all of the sugar IN the recipe. There was about 1 c. of brown sugar on top, but divided over 8-10 servings, it's a very small amount per person. :)

3) I would suggest cutting the bread into smaller pieces than 1-inch slices. Maybe 1/2 inch slices? WIth 1-inch slices, it was difficult to get them submerged in the batter. I had to make more batter to cover it completely.

ALSO, this recipe must be put in the fridge overnight, so it's not something you can whip up in an hour. Just FYI, it takes a day's worth of lead time.

As I said at the beginning of the post, we were having "brunch" at 1 p.m., but I was singing at Mass at 11:30. Um....I had to leave directions with the moms, who came over early. They did a superb job of getting everything into the oven and cooking so we could eat. It was a bit chaotic (read: I would have gone to an earlier Mass if I wasn't obliged to sing at the late one), but my team really pulled through!

Our "big sister"

Last night, I made THIS RECIPE (using jelly in place of Nutella), then called up my sister and said "I just tried one of Melissa's recipes and it's AMAZING!!!"

Who is Melissa?

I think of her as our surrogate big sis: Friendly, approachable, kitchen goddess. I even showed Dad how to make Melissa's grilled corn on Labor Day. See, she's part of the family.


When I left home for college, I don't really think I thought much about cooking. How much I enjoy it has been a large surprise for me. But I do. I like throwing things together and seeing what happens. I don't know if I'd go as far to say that food is an artistic expression for me, but I see how it could be.

But back to Mel (I can call her that because, after all, she IS our "big sis"!). We "met" a year or so ago. One Sunday afternoon, Erik and I were flipping through channels and ran across the marathon of all episodes leading up to the season finale (for the record, this is my favorite way to watch a show/series). We were excited when she won, and I DVR her show so I can watch it when I have time.

What I really like is her practical approach to cooking. Nothing too fancy. Well, for ingredients, I mean. The dishes seem fancy when you put it all together, but the ingredients are things I keep around.

A few weeks ago when I saw her made the pastry recipe (first link on the top of this post), I freaked out. Because it's a recipe of hers that I can actually make and EAT. It's SOOOO easy! Butter + cream cheese + flour. That's the pastry. And let me tell you .... it's heaven. The cream cheese makes it so tasty!

See, because we're family, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Mel. I love her approachability and charm. I hate that she uses red wine vinegar and sugar with a high degree of regularity in her recipes. And sugar includes using bacon to add flavor to a dish b/c it's cured in sugar, so it's off limits for the likes of me.

So Mel, big sis, let's have some recipes that are more digestive friendly!!!!!

The spice hoarder

Erik enjoys an A&E show called "Hoarders" about people who compulsively keep JUNK.

And he tells me he's considering turning me in for being a spice hoarder.

Here's why:


But let me tell my side of the story, OK?

I think having fresh spices and herbs around rocks. Right? Are you with me, ladies? And when I see them go ON SALE at the grocery store, well I can hardly resist spending a QUARTER when they're regularly $2.99. ARE YOU WITH ME??!??!???


So, I get them, then stash them in the freezer.

I will, however, admit that it was getting a bit out of control. There were tons of little plastic packages and it was becoming a freezer hazard. So I consolidated them into baggies and we're all much happier.

Oh, and IN MY DEFENSE, I used TWO of these items just this week in my soups ... so I use them ... OK!

:)

Cooking isn't for the faint of heart

Yesterday, I was picking up tickets (going to see Second City tonight with my friend, Juno!). And the lady selling me the tickets made a comment, asking if I'd just come from a restaurant. Nope, from my house, I said. Evidently the cumin in my white chili lingered on my jacket. :)

She commented that she wished she could cook. She just "doesn't know how or have the time." I assured her I threw everything into the slow cooker and let it do all of the heavy lifting. But she seemed unconvinced.

It really makes me sad how many people float through life saying "I can't cook." Frankly, I think it sucks to be them. And I think they're wrong. Really, if you can read and follow directions, you CAN cook. Or at least in my opinion.

No, what I think it is is that people aren't BRAVE enough to cook.

Sounds silly, doesn't it? But hear me out.

I think people are afraid of trying something new, and failing. Then being hungry on top of that. ;) The other struggle is if you live alone ... and don't like what you've cooked. Then you're stuck with it (I just hate throwing things out!).

But seriously .... following directions is NOT all that difficult.

But being brave ... well that's another story entirely.

Here's a great example. I purchased some ginger on sale. I don't know what to DO with ginger. Instead of being a good girl and looking it up, I just sort of made it up. I mixed it with Tarragon and olive oil and rubbed it on pork chops. We'll see if it works! But I will say it certainly SMELLS good as it cooks just 3 feet away from me. :)

I'm SURE there are some of you out there who know what I'm talking about!

And now I'll confess there are certain things *I* have not been brave enough to try.

1. Couscous. I ate it at my friend, Erin's house, and LOVED it, but have I made it at home? NO. I need to work on that.

2. Lentils. Yeah, cheap protein, so why not? But I just haven't.

There are some things i was scared to try, such as dried beans and dried chickpeas, but now just LOVE using them in and around the kitchen ... so be brave, friends! Because cooking does NOT take talent, it just takes bravery.

Cooking adventures!

So, yesterday I tackled a recipe involving a whole chicken. Yup. I've never seen it done. Mom cooked turkey, but never chicken. And never in a slow cooker. So it was quite an adventure!

I thawed the bird overnight, but wasn't sure it was 100% defrosted. This will become important later.

I had to de-skin the bird, which was an interesting experience. I'd never seen anything like this done, so I just faked it. Me and my BIG kitchen knife. :) Next, I wrestled the foul into the slow cooker ... and started adding the veggies and whatnot. But after the bulk of the veggies were added, I realized I was supposed to cut the chicken apart first. Oops. I tried to do it from inside the slow cooker, but now luck. Oh well.

So, then I started it on low. The recipe said low for 6-8 hours or something like that.

But remember: the bird wasn't totally defrosted? And it was all together, not in parts. So, for the last few hours, I kicked it onto high and we let it simmer. There were TONS of juicy juices and it just looked and smelled WONDERFUL!!!

When it was time to eat, I just looked at it. And then at Erik. I wasn't sure what to DO with it. Do I carve it? Let us pull the meet off with our teeth? Hmm...

I pulled the bird and put it on a tray ... and Erik grabbed a leg to add to his plate ... and ALL of the meat fell OFF the bone and back onto the serving plate. :) I was concerned about undercooking the bird, but I guess I over-did it a big. ;)

In the end, it wasn't the most aestetically pleasing chicken, but the meat was supple and juicy. PLUS I'm going to use the extra for Rosemary-Rice-Chicken soup on Thursday. :)

Cookie party!

Yikes! Somehow I got behind on blogging. Let's get caught up.

Growing up, Christmas cookies were a big deal for us. Probably because with 3 diabetics in the house, it was the only time we really got to have cookies around. ;)

Since we've gone to college, etc, the cookie tradition has become less formal. But this year, Robin decided we'd make an official party. Now, I think she's had unofficial parties in the past. Heck, they might have even been official, but I wasn't a player in them.

So here goes.


Some of the cookie cutters were a gift from the ring bearer + flower girl at our wedding. :)


Mom always says the Christmas Tree cookies taste the best, so we are sure to make LOTS of them.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was not around for the baking. I saw the first few cookies go into the oven, but had a bridal consult, so I missed a portion of the festivities.


Sometimes cookies get decorated before they go into the oven.


Here, Miss Susie gets her groove on. I think she's adding green hair ....


Kristine, Susie and Robin in production!

How to cut a pineapple

Since moving to Salina, I've tried all sorts of interesting culinary adventures. This week, I saw whole pineapples on sale at the store. Hmmm .... why not, I figured. But then I got home and had NO CLUE how to cut the darn thing.

Thank goodness for YouTube!


Fortunately, I picked a rip pineapple from the start!

But I really would have liked some tips on how to set a pineapple UPSIDE DOWN in the fridge .... because it was no easy task.

Beans coming out of my EARS!!!!!

Yesterday, I wanted to make White Chicken Chili, but a portrait session bumped all of my time back, and it didn't happen. That was OK, though, because when I went to the store to get the beans, I realized I could get the dry variety and soak them over night (cheaper thataway).


Well, I soaked the amount the recipe said .... and you more seasoned cooks can just guess what happened. The recipe called for 3 cans of 15 oz beans. Well, they're already bigger and expanded. The 35 oz of beans I soaked became ENORMOUS. So much, in fact, that I couldn't put all of the beans into the crock pot to cook them.


Rats.

So, I figured what the heck. Might as well make some Ham and Bean Soup, too. Right? So I've got that going on the stove with the chili in the crock pot. Sheesh! We're going to be freezing A LOT of soup in the next day or so.


SPEAKING of freezing soup .... a month or so ago, I read an awesome way to do it in Better Homes & Gardens Magazine. Let it cool off some. Then pour it into those BIG freezer bags. Close the bag, get rid of the extra air. Then, put it into the freezer ON A COOKIE SHEET. That way it will freeze flat. The cool benefit to this is it freezes flat, taking up less freezer space. Cool, eh?

And for those of you who want links to the recipes: Ham and Bean Soup and White Chicken Chili.

Oh, on the Ham and Bean soup, I steam a head of cauliflower, then puree it and add it to the soup to make it nice and THICK! :)