Egg Success!

Today we had a major breakthrough: Ethan ate eggs! I know, I know, it doesn't seem like much, but this boy hasn't eaten more than a bite or two of eggs since he was born. I even remember the only other time he did; his father and I were sharing a lovely Waffle House omelet and Ethan decided that he wanted to take a few bites of our delicious breakfast. He only had a little bit before he moved on to the banana and orange juice, but I was thrilled with even that minute amount.

Unfortunately, my happiness was short-lived, because that momentous occasion took place over a year ago-- and it's been that long since he's done more than just take one taste of the egg before spitting it out in disgust. I was starting to wonder if he'd end up being one of those people who just never eats eggs, period, when he finally broke the barrier tonight. Maybe it was because of what I made... I beat together three eggs, some finely chopped cooked chicken breast, a handful of leftover cooked veggie penne that I chopped up nice and small, shredded "Mexican" cheese and some milk. I buttered a pan and then threw it all in there, sprinkled on some onoin and garlic powder, salted and peppered it, then covered the pan and cooked it for about five minutes. I folded it in half, and voila! A lovely, complete meal with protein, dairy, grains/carbs, and vegetables. And the leftovers will be perfect for Joel's breakfast before he heads off to school tomorrow morning, too. Betty Crocker, eat your heart out!

St. Pat's Day Menu ideas...

So, right now I'm salivating because the entire house is filled with the aroma of corned beef, potatoes and onions in the crockpot... YUM! I absolutely love corned beef. I could probably eat it once a month without any problems whatsoever, and I have a pretty good number of recipes geared towards ways of making the leftovers into a variety of meals so that we can cook a huge amount of meat and not get sick of it. Not that I think that's even possible, but it's nice to have other options if you don't want a thick slab of corned beef with spicy brown mustard, tender red potatoes and juicy onions, crisp cabbage and perhaps even a slice of Claussen's dill pickle on the side...

Need I say it again? YUM! One of the leftover recipes I like to use is Reuben Soup, which is so rich and flavorful that my mouth waters just thinking about it. I think I actually posted the recipe on my blog last year sometime. This year, I'm thinking about making Reuben Sliders on those small Hawaiian butter rolls. I'll cut open the rolls, then layer on my ingredients: cheese (Monterey Jack instead of Swiss because I'm not a big Swiss fan), corned beef slices, brown mustard, a slice of dill pickle and a little Thousand Island dressing, and a tsp or so of sauerkraut; next, bake it for five minutes at 300 F, until it's a little toasty and warmed through. Add some red potato salad on the side, and you've got the makings of one ultra-tasty dinner. Can't wait!

Vegetables Need Love, Too

Okay, so apparently I'm the last person to actually hear of and buy the "Sneaky Chef" book by Missy Chase Lapine. I've always been a little bit slow catching on to the latest trends. I was carrying a Walkman around into the 21st century, if you can believe it; I think I was actually requested to put it to sleep in about 2003. So I'm definitely not a trend-setter, and it takes me some time to figure out that new doesn't always mean complicated or pretentious. But I'm glad I finally jumped on the bandwagon with Missy's approach to hiding healthy foods in our meals, because WOW-- it's awesome!

Her plan involves bringing healthy fruits and vegetables into our regular meals in such a way that we don't necessarily notice they're present, not only to deal with picky eaters, but also so that we don't lose the flavor of the main dish that we're "sneaking" food into; instead, it is enhanced, both nutritionally and taste-wise. I can't wait to try them out. I've already started by making "Orange Puree" from carrots and yams, and freezing it in 1/4 cup portions. She uses that puree in recipes like Guerrilla Grilled Cheese, Maxed Out Meatloaf, and Fortified French Toast. I think her recipes sound fantastic, and I'm actually excited about working more fruit and veggies into our meals. Look for more recipe reviews on the way!

Recipe: Onion Pie

It's like a quiche, but somehow "onion pie" just sounds so much more homey and Southern. I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com, and adjusted it to what we like and the ingredients we had in the kitchen. Served it as a side dish at dinner, but I can see bringing it to a potluck or brunch. Yum!

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups Panko crumbs (Italian seasoned or onion-garlic)
* 6 tablespoons butter, softened
* 2 cups chopped onions
* 1/2 cup slivered or diced ham
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3/4 cup milk
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup provolone
* 1 pinch paprika
* 1 1/2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil (topping)
* 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (topping)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a mixing bowl, combine Panko and 4 tablespoons butter in a bowl until well blended. Press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of 8 inch pie plate to form a shell. Refrigerate until needed.
3. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute onions slowly until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute an additional 2-3 minutes. Arrange onions and garlic in the cracker crust.
4. Beat eggs, whole milk, chives, and salt in a bowl until blended. Add ham. Pour the mixture over the onions. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Top with basil and Parmesan.
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Food: Garlic Bread Pizza

I had some leftovers to get rid of, and decided to throw together a quick lunch with them. It was a lot faster to prepare because I had already pre-chopped some of the ingredients, which is a little trick I learned that makes it much easier to actually use your leftovers. When they stay in the same form they were originally served, you tend to either eat it the exact same way (boring!) or not use them at all. And since I hate to waste food, that doesn't work so well for me.

With the leftover garlic bread loaf, I sliced thin baguettes and removed the garlic butter "pats" from inside. I melted it in the microwave and brushed it onto each thin slice of bread. Then, I topped each slice with shredded cheese, bits of cooked Italian sausage, diced red pepper, diced onion, and sliced olives. Tossed it in a pre-heated oven at 425 degrees, and ten minutes later it was perfect. Crispy, not too heavy, and oh-so yummy. Ethan loved it, too! Looks like this concoction will have to go in the recipe folder for future reference. I think it would make a great appetizer, too; they're the perfect size for finger food, and leave no mess at all. And don't they look great?

Food: Southwestern Egg Rolls

One of my favorite recipes for summer is Southwestern Egg Rolls, which I found on AllRecipes.com. I like to mix up the filling depending on what I have around in the kitchen, and have used fish, chicken, ground beef, or no meat at all with great results. I like to serve it with Amy's Cilantro Cream Sauce as a dip... YUM! It's got a very green, refreshing taste to it, especially when you bake it rather than fry it. I'm going to share my modified version of the Southwestern Egg Rolls recipe below. Enjoy! I know we did-- even Ethan went crazy for my fish-filled version.


(PS-- Not my photo, but aren't they gorgeous?)

Southwestern Egg Rolls

Ingredients
* 1.5-2 cups of seasoned, cooked meat (fish, ground beef, chicken), diced
* 2 tablespoons minced green onion
* 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
* 1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
* 1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
* 2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (optional)
* 1-2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers (or 1-2 tsp. hot sauce)
* 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/3 teaspoon salt
* 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
* 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack (or blended, cheddar-jack, pepper-jack, etc.)
* 1 package Egg Roll wrappers (check refrigerated section of the store)

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two cookie pans with parchment paper. (It helps to keep the egg rolls from sticking to the pan.)
2. Mix all ingredients except egg roll wrappers in a large bowl.
3. Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each egg roll wrapper. Follow the package directions to fold up the egg rolls correctly, moistening the closing edge to ensure that it adheres to the wrapper. Repeat until all filling has been used. (At this point, you can refrigerate the egg rolls until you want to bake them; just put them on the lined pans, cover with foil and stick them in the fridge.)
4. Arrange egg rolls on the parchment-lined cookie pans. Spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray, then bake at 425-F for 15 minutes. Turn egg rolls over and cook an additional 5-7 minutes, then remove from oven and cool on wire racks. Serve with Amy's Cilantro Cream Sauce, sour cream and salsa.

Food: Carnitas with Pineapple Salsa

The other day I cooked carnitas from scratch for the first time. It took a lot longer than I expected, but was totally worth it. After the pork was finally ready, I got the rest of the meal together. It involved a whole lot of stuff:

- Carnitas (cooked pork)
- Flour tortillas (we prefer the uncooked ones by Guerrero)
- Fresh limes, chopped cilantro, and diced onions
- Shredded cheese blend
- Habanero sauce
- Spanish rice and refried beans with jalapeno

and, for the piece de resistance, Pineapple Salsa:


YUM! It literally "made" the meal. The tropical flavors of the salsa really enhanced the flavor of the pork, and it was just an awesome meal. The salsa I threw together based on several different recipes and what I had in the fridge, which was basically the following:

- Chopped fresh pineapple
- Diced orange bell pepper, jalapeno, and onion
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Orange-mango fruit mix (flavored applesauce)
- Lime juice, habanero sauce, and salt & pepper to taste

Coffee Cake

I just found a recipe for the most delicious, moist, awesome coffee cake I've had in a long while... It's made using the Krusteaz buttermilk pancake mix in the box, which makes *my* life a whole lot easier. It takes about five or so minutes to throw together, and then around half an hour to bake. PERFECTION! I made it last night, and as you can see, it was a big hit... not much left for today. Guess I'll have to make more this weekend!



The only thing I'll do differently next time is reduce the sugar a bit, both in the batter and in the amount of topping used. To make up for the lack of sweetness, I'll add in some cinnamon to the batter, and maybe some other flavoring (vanilla? rum? tee hee) to help kick up the tastorifficness. Can't wait!

Food: Taco Salad

This salad is a combination of a couple of recipes, one I "borrowed" from a close friend (T, you know who you are!) and one I "adapted" from an issue of Taste of Home magazine (Simple & Delicious). Combined and modified just a bit, the two make for an awesome taco salad that is filling and scrumptious. You can spice it up more by using hotter chips or tossing in diced jalapenos, but we usually just serve El Mexicano jalapenos (with the seeds and membranes removed, of course) on the side for those who want more heat in their meal. We also tend to serve with pan-warmed tortillas that you roll up and eat on the side. Anyway, without further ado, here it is!


Taco Salad

1 lb. taco-seasoned ground beef
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup canned pinquitos (pink beans), rinsed and drained

1 can (11 oz.) Mexicorn (corn with bell peppers) or corn relish

1/2 cup chopped sweet bell pepper (red or orange)
1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup salsa or 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 cups Spicy Nacho Doritos, crushed
1/2 cup cup French Dressing


1) In a pan over medium heat, cook seasoned ground beef until done. Set aside until cool.
2) In a large bowl, mix cooled ground beef, beans, corn, bell pepper, green onions, cilantro, and salsa. NOTE: At this point, you can cover and refrigerate until serving time.
3) Just before serving, add crushed chips and 1/4 cup of the French Dressing, and mix until well-blended.
4) Add remaining dressing slowly, only until mixture is coated but not overly wet. Serve with additional chips on the side to use as scoops. You could also add sliced olives at this point if you wish.

TIP: If you have any of the mixture from Step 2 (before adding chips and dressing) leftover, you can save/freeze it and use it for making chili at a later date. And don't forget to add the best, crunchiest, most flavorful canned jalapenos around!

Luck o' the Irish... Food, that is

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, earlier this week I cooked corned beef with cabbage, potatoes, onions and carrots.

YUM! Joel and I dearly love corned beef, especially with a spicy specialty mustard for dipping; pure heaven! One of our favorite dishes to eat in San Francisco is a corned beef hash at a little diner in the theater district. So delicious, especially after you just danced your hiney off at Ruby Skye for several hours.

I don't make it at home all that often, but when I do, it's always a large brisket or round so that we can have leftovers for days. Corned beef sandwiches with thousand island and sauerkraut, plus Claussen's dill pickles on the side... to die for. I also make a Reuben Soup with the leftovers that is delectable, if I do say so myself. We just had some last night and I can't wait for more!



I got my recipe from allrecipes.com, and then added a few extra secret ingredients to our taste. You know, ultra-secret stuff like celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard. And we also tend to use Havarti or Dill Havarti in place of the Swiss cheese, as I'm not a huge fan. Either way, it's one of my favorite recipes. I love food!

Food: Rustic Settlers Beans

I found this awesome recipe in the Save Mart "cookbook" magazine called INternational Good Taste, in the Winter 2010 issue (p.13). I adjusted it and made some changes to our tastes, and included the adjusted recipe below. We absolutely loved it, and can't wait to bring it to summer barbecues, camping trips, and Burning Man later this year. Yeah, it leaves you a little "fragrant" later that night, but it's worth it!

Rustic Settlers Beans, by Barb Dosh

1 lb. ground beef chuck, seasoned (we used cumin, garlic, chili powder, oregano, ground red pepper, and paprika)
1 lb. EACH apple-smoked bacon AND mesquite bacon
1/2 cup sliced lil' smokies
1.5 cups cubed steak (rub with salt, pepper, and garlic before cooking)

2 tbsp. Butter
1 onion, chopped, plus 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup chopped yellow/red/green bell pepper
1 can diced green chilies

1 can EACH Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Pork & Beans, Butter Beans
1 can Lima Beans (optional)

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup EACH BBQ sauce (we used Jack Daniel's Original #7) AND Ketchup
2 tbsp. molasses
1 tbsp. EACH chili powder AND stone ground mustard
2 Tbsp. carrots en escabeche (marinated carrots)
1/3 cup cooked, diced carrots

Salt & pepper to taste

Optional garnishes: Green onions, thinly sliced; shredded cheese; crumbled bacon

1. In large skillet cook ground chuck until no longer pink; drain and set aside. Repeat with steak, then lil' smokies, then with bacon. Crumble bacon and set all meat aside.
2. Melt butter in skillet. Add onion; sauté until translucent, then add diced chilies, chopped bell pepper, and garlic. Saute an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add BOTH types of carrots (cooked/diced AND en escabeche).
3. In large Dutch oven [or slow cooker] combine beef, bacon, and drained
beans. Add vegetable mixture (onions, peppers, chilies, etc. from Step 2). Place over medium-high heat [or set slow cooker on HIGH].
4. In small bowl mix sugar, BBQ sauce, ketchup, mustard, molasses, seasonings, if
desired; stir into mixture.
5. Reduce heat and cook 1 hour on medium-low on stovetop [or 2 to 3 hours on HIGH
in slow cooker].
6. About 15-20 minutes before serving, prepare sourdough bread rolls. Slice off top of sourdough roll and scoop out centers; set centers aside. Place all bread on a baking sheet and lightly toast at 350-F for about 5 minutes, or until golden and lightly crispy. (Center pieces can be offered as sides or dusted with garlic-parmesan butter and served as toast.)
7. Scoop bean-meat mixture into the sourdough "bowls" and garnish with shredded cheese, green onion, and additional crumbled bacon if desired. Place toasted bread alongside bowls and serve with a fresh green salad.

Serves 12

Food: Turkey Tortilla Soup

So, can you still call it tortilla soup if you make it sans tortillas? Either way, I had to come up with something to use up at least a little of our Thanksgiving leftovers. The soup was so simple to make, and so flavorful-- a bit spicy, even. Here's what I did: I heated up a pot at medium heat on the stove, then sauteed about half of a chopped onion (plus ~1 Tbsp. minced garlic) in butter. After the onion was translucent, I added 4 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup of hominy, about 1 cup of shredded turkey, 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, 1-2 Tbsp. of diced jalapenos, some salt, and 1-2 tsp. cumin. Then, the secret ingredient: a packet of dry enchilada mix. You could have used the wet enchilada sauce in the can, but my pantry is sadly lacking and the dry mix was all I had available. I let all of that simmer for about half an hour, then added about 1/3 cup chopped cilantro and about 1/4 cup milk.

Side note: You may have noticed the number of times I say "about" in this recipe; that's because so much of what I do while cooking involves just eyeing the measurements and making do with what I have in the cupboard or fridge. It would be great to have every ingredient necessary at all times, but that's more of a "Someday..." type of scenario. For right now, our motto is MAKE DO!-- and make it good.

Anyhow: After about 5 minutes, just long enough to heat everything through and make sure the flavors were melding, I took the soup off the stove and served it with shredded cheese and some more fresh cilantro on top, plus a generous squeeze of lime. It was so delicious! Spicy, kind of creamy, and full of the earthy warmth only tomato-based sauces seem to impart to a dish. I can't wait to try it with maybe a green and a red enchilada sauce, this time the liquid kind, and some additional toppings: crunchy tortilla strips, avocado slices, sour cream. I'm salivating already!

Food: Calico Clams

One of my *favorite* things in the entire world is appetizers. Baked, cold, frozen, room temp, fried... pretty much anything that is bite-size and can be eaten without using utensils, if at all possible. I love hors d'eouvres, I thrill to tiny, kid-sized bites, I get ecstatic over finger food. Do you get the picture? It's my not-so-secret weakness. In fact, I recently told my husband that I'm going to be making appetizers for dinner for the rest of the month. There are two reasons: One, we're already planning on a huge, regular meal for Thanksgiving, so why not spice it up with some small meals before then? Two, I want to start trying out possibilities for parties and potlucks, and isn't it better to test it out at home *before* you have to bring the dish to a big group of people? Joel is now my guinea pig and assistant taste-tester. And our first big success this week was an adaptation of a recipe I found in a 2009 Taste of Home publication called "Appetizers for Every Occasion." (It's also my new favorite "cookbook" by the way.)

Here it is!

Calico Clams
Ingredients:
- 3 cans (6.5 oz each) minced clams
- 1 cup (4 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella
>>> Note: I substituted creamy havarti for the mozzarella.
- 1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar
>>> Note: I substituted colby-jack for the cheddar.
- 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
- 3 Tbsp seasoned bread crumbs
>>> Note: Being without bread crumbs, I instead crushed some seasoned croutons and also added about 2-3 tsp. of the garlic-lemon-rosemary "Crusting Blends" seasoning. Yum!
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp *each* diced onion, celery, and sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, green-- any combo)
- 1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:
1) Drain clams, reserving 2 Tbsp. juice. (You can freeze the rest of the juice and use for making clam chowder, later.) In large bowl, combine clams and remaining ingredients; stir in reserved clam juice.

Option 1: Spoon into small ramekins and place on baking sheets; bake at 350-F for 10-15 minutes or til heated through.

Option 2: Spoon into hollowed cremini (brown or small portabella) mushroom caps and place on baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper; bake at 350-F for 10-15 minutes or til heated through.

This concoction was a huge hit at our house, but we prefer the idea of Option 2 above; scooping the clam mixture out of the ramekins was just extra work (and made for extra clean-up, too!). Can't wait to have this one again!