For the Picky Eater, and Easy for the Cook
I made two weeknight meals recently that were a complete hit with my family, even the picky eater. They were both easy, and the goulash was with leftovers, so it was doubly exciting for the kitchen and the checkbook. There was a minimum of prep for each, and it was so great that the goulash is already planned for dinner for Monday night.
Recipes and pictures below the cut:
Continue readingExperimenting in the kitchen can be very freeing as well as inspiring. I sometimes feel very creative in other areas after making a great meal from scratch. For me, “from scratch” doesn’t necessarily mean a two-to-three-hour production. In the third photo below, the rice I used was Minute Rice. Both dishes can be made with leftover chicken. I used baby potatoes, but you could easily take the larger russets or reds and cut them into the smaller pieces, and again it’s a great way to finish your bag of potatoes.
Both meals used one pan and one metal bowl, and the second meal used a pot to make the Minute Rice. As I finished cooking something on its own, I moved it to the metal bowl until the next item was cooked and then everything was combined and simmered for a short time.
Continue readingPassover, Easter, Spring Break, Prom Season. So much to do, including cooking. Holiday cooking plus the regular everyday cooking that we’re expected to do. These last few weeks had me teaching, my daughter working practically every day after school, my son trying to break the world’s record for most movies seen in a month (kidding), my husband’s job is one person short, and no one wants to cook dinner. They also don’t want to pay for take out or fast food, and frankly, I don’t blame them. I thought I would take this Friday Food to share some shortcuts and new things to try.
Everyone knows about cooking two meals on Sunday and then eating leftovers. I try to make one big meal a week, like a roast beef, a pork loin, or a whole chicken. They make a great meal, and then they make great leftovers. All of them can be eaten as sandwiches later in the week with a side of chips and cole slaw. If the first night is mashed potatoes, the next night can be rice. My daughter likes Minute Rice, but regular rice is very easy to make. I got the recipe from The Kitchen Survival Guide by Lora Brody and while I’ve changed some things, the gist of it is the same.
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July is one of those months – aren’t they all, though? We had a graduation, July 4th, the Supreme Court disasters, two funerals, and my husband’s birthday, and I am finally able to sit at the computer and write this belated post. What I’ve decided is to reach into the archives and share with you some of the best summer recipes that I’ve previously posted. Enjoy and Bon Appetit!
Ambrosia Salad – one of my favorite desserts as a child and so easy to make a child can do it!
Fruit with Sour Cream – refreshing, easy, perfect for a summer’s day.
Summer Salad (with chicken) – perfect for lunch or dinner. Put the dressing on the side and bring it for a picnic.
Food for Travel – With the kids out of school and the warm weather across the country, summer is a great time for travel. How do you keep your kids satisfied on long car trips? Here’s one way.
Home or away, whatever your family is doing this summer, no need to cook everyday. Eat healthy, eat fast, eat easy. Have a great July!
My family has made meatballs since I was small-ish. In time, I was expected to mix and cook the meatballs (and meatloaf) which my mother made with jar sauce. It’s okay – we’re not Italian. Her recipe is relatively simple (for either or both although I’ve changed up my meatloaf recipe cooking for my own family).
When I read Stanley Tucci’s 2021 book, Taste, I was a little astonished with how he described his family eating Friday night meatballs (his third favorite meal on Friday). In addition to his spices and bread, typical for his Southern Italian palate, they were rolled in bread crumbs, fried and eaten without sauce. That’s right. NO SAUCE. His family would add a green salad and crusty Italian bread with butter, and that was dinner.
Of course, they made many more meatballs than they needed for that dinner so they had plenty to add to Sunday’s sauce (ragu).
Fried meatballs with salad, no sauce, and Italian bread. Hmm. Okay, I thought to myself (and who else would I think to), maybe we’ll give that a try. And we did. My family wasn’t used to nude meatballs, as Stanley Tucci refers to them in his book, so we added a tiny, just a little bit of sauce for dipping, and they were happy. We’re planning on it again soon,
Other food things to enjoy:
The Kitchen Survival Guide by Lora Brody. I got this the first year I was married, and it was a lifesaver for someone who was a novice in the kitchen. Now that I’m a bit more advanced, I still use her recipes for perfect white rice, homemade cheesecake, cornbread, and other awesome and easy recipes. Ten out of ten would recommend.
Are You Hungry, Dear?: Life, Laughs, and Lasagna by Doris Roberts with Danelle Morton
And of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend The Fresh Market‘s Big Little Meal. It is a full meal that feeds a family of four for $25. A great deal that we avail ourselves to often.
It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to create in the kitchen, but having quarantine foisting Thanksgiving on us let me make the entire Thanksgiving dinner which I hadn’t done in years. Although to be fair, I do a similar meal for Easter, Rosh Hashanah, and Christmas.
This year we did a few things differently. For several years my sweet potato pie became sweet potato casserole, so I went back to the pie version, and it was really good and brought me back in time. We ate it both as a side dish and a dessert (on different nights).
Another dish I made was a new take on my mother’s candied carrots.
Here are the basics, but use your imagination.
The second dish I made just last week. We had cooked chicken tenders in the fridge and because my son cooked them, there was no spice whatsoever on the tenders.
I cut them each into threes or fours and threw them in a wok on medium, adding about half a small jar of Korean BBQ sauce.
I trimmed the ends off of fresh green beans and broke them in half, and added them to the wok, mixing the chicken and the beans until they were hot and incorporated with the sauce.
This was also a way to heat the cold chicken without the microwave. I spooned them over jasmine rice (although any type of rice that you like is the perfect rice).
One thing I noticed in looking back, I didn’t cook either dish with oil. Oil has its place in the kitchen especially in sauteeing, but I just used the juice for the first one and the Korean sauce for the second.
As the year comes to a close, start the new year with experimenting with your food. In January, I’ll have some basics to share with you – resources that everyone can use and adapt to their own style and family.
Yesterday, in the White House Rose Garden the CEO of Goya spoke in praise of President Trump. He can believe and say anything that he wants. This is America. By the same token however, the people can do the same, and what happened on Twitter yesterday from many prominent Latinx people was a call to boycott Goya products. Even if you don’t traditionally cook Latinx and Hispanic food, you will still know the Goya section in the supermarket: rows and rows of cans and dried beans and spices and sweets and drinks.
As part of the call were many people providing their own recipes for seasoning mixes that can be made at home rather than spending money on Goya products.
The first and most important thing I want to mention that should be remembered in any food boycott: Do NOT throw away food you have already purchased. If you simply can’t have it in your house any longer, donate it. Contact your local regional food bank or your local church, synogogue, or masjid food pantry.
You have tremendous privilege if you are even considering discarding food that is perfectly fine to eat for a political message.
I’ve personally used Badia Spices and they are very good and very inexpensive.
Although they’re not Latinx in particular, my primary spice source is Penzeys Spices. They have stores around the country (most currently doing curbside) and online as well, and their politics matches my own. I’ve used their herbs and spices to mix my own taco seasoning, Italian seasoning and Masala for Chai Masala.
[Graphics of recipes below the cut.] If you have any of your own recipes or resources that you’d like to share, please add them in the comments and I will include them in a future post.
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Being home in isolation has given many of us the opportunities to cook more, enjoying old favorites, trying out some new recipes, maybe experimenting a little. Before pork became less available, we had a delicious pork loin. For some reason, I like chutney with my pork. It works as a chunky sauce or spread on a sandwich, like that. We had some oranges that needed eating, so I made an orange chutney. It was lovely even if I was the only one who ate it.
A week or so later, we had some extra ground chuck, a blessing that is not happening this week, so I made some homemade meatballs for the next time we had pasta, an old standby for our family. After following the recipe below, I froze the meatballs, and will cook them as described at the end of the ingredient list after thawing them.
A friend of mine in Oklahoma is sending me (in about ten days time) a culinary chain letter. She’s making a starter, sending it to me, and I will be feeding it and then sharing it as well as making my own Friendship Bread. I’ve never worked with starter before, so I expect that I’ll be sharing the process with you once it arrives here.
Lastly, if you go on Twitter and follow the hashtag #RecipesForThePeople, Chef Jose Andres and his family cook very good, very simple recipes. Our family made the Angel Hair Pasta with Sauce that you can find in my COVID-19 Food post. On the Twitter hashtag, you will also see regular people like you and me (not internationally known, popular chefs) offering their own Recipes for the People.
One note: Cooking is not Baking. Baking is a science. The measurements of baking soda, powder, salt are specific for a reason. You really need to be a professional level of baker to experiment with baking in my humble opinion. I am not a baker. Cooking however can be very experimental. You’ll notice in the two recipes that follow that there aren’t any measurements. For something like these two recipes (and my meatloaf that I can share with any request at a later time) is generally a pinch, equivalent to a tablespoon. How much garlic do you like? Use a tiny bit less. If mistakes are made, it’s still good. You’ll learn what you like.
Enjoy!
Orange Chutney (see photo)
2 medium oranges, sliced, diced and crushed
Add juice from the plate to the bowl
Dried shallot powder
French peppercorns, ground
Ground cumin
Honey (about 1 TB, maybe a bit more)
1 TB Blackberry preserves
Nutmeg, grated on a microplane
Mix.
Serve over pork or chicken or spread on bread for a tasty sandwich!
Meatballs
Bread crumbs (about 1/2 cup)
Garlic
Pepper
Onion Powder
Penzeys Frozen Pizza seasoning (or use a mix of Italian spices)
In a ziploc bag, thoroughly mix these ingredients. Add fresh ground beef and mix it into the meat.
Saute meatballs in olive oil in a saucepan until brown. Add sauce (or ingredients to make your own sauce) and cook for twenty to thirty minutes.
Add to your pasta, then add a salad and a loaf of fresh bread, and you’re all set for dinner!
Some people on Twitter, like Luis Miranda, Jr. and Chef Jose Andres have been sharing recipes online, and I will be sharing the two that I have plus adding to this post with others. I have several of my own recipes on the website; just put “recipe” in the search box and see what comes up.
First some tips that we are using in our house.
Wash fruits and vegetables really well. You should also wash the fruits that have peels that you won’t be eating because it still may have something on the outside that you don’t want on your hands or in your body.
Wash your utensils before food preparation.
Wash your hands, and then wash them again. It is equally important to dry your hands thoroughly. This is also a good year round practice.
Separate your meat, vegetable, and bread cutting boards. This is something you should do year round when there isn’t a global pandemic going on.
Grocery Stores are the Coronavirus Tipping Point
How You Should Get Food During the Pandemic (published by The Atlantic on March 14, 2020)
No, You Don’t Need to Disinfect Your Groceries. But Here’s How to Shop Safely
How to Freeze Vegetables While Preserving their Best Qualities
Hot to Make Substitutions for Spices, Herbs, Dairy, and Meat in Your Everyday Cooking
How Long are those Condiments in Your Fridge and Pantry Supposed to Last?
How Long Your Fresh Produce Will Really Last
Clicking graphic takes you to the source link.
Luis Miranda’s Mother’s Recipe for Pound Cake
Chef Jose Andres’ Recipe and Video for Fried Rice
“A Little Snack” from Chef Jose Andres using seaweed, rice, and Spanish anchovies
Chef Jose Andres #Recipesforallofus: 3 1/2 minute angel hair pasta in tomato sauce (I’m making this later in the week!)
Chef Jose Andres #Recipesforallofus: Sugar Omelettes
Chef Jose Andres Chicken and Cauliflower
Chef Jose Andres Brisket & Eggs (leftovers in the Andres’ house)
Chef Jose Andres Canned Green Pea FrittersChef Jose Andres Pasta, Eggplant, and Chickpeas
Chef Jose Andres Vegetable Lasagna (onions, eggplant, zucchini)
Chef Jose Andres’ Sausage and Cabbage
Chef Jose Andres’ Leftover Chicken with Vegetables
Chef Jose Andres’ Tuna Melt (of Sen. Mark Warner)
Chef Jose Andres Classic Spanish dish – “Migas” that uses old bread. Chef has added chorizo and grapes
Crock Pot Lemon Italian Chicken with Capers
Chicken, Potatoes, and Green Beans Dinner (one pan. I made this and it was delicious!)
How to Cook a Ronto Wrap (Galaxy Edge at Home. YouTube Video)
Ikea’s Swedish Meatball Recipe
Three Ingredient Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (perfect for lockdown)
Armadillo Cheesy Garlic Bread from Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings Cookbook [posted with permission]
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Found this on Facebook when my sister shared it. It’s meant for camping and to do over a campfire, but I’m planning on doing this with my kids in the oven next week! I’ll show you how it turns out after! (c)2020
If you don’t have yeast, this seems like a good substitute. I got this from a Gish group on Facebook. If you know who to credit, please let me know. (c)2020
With New Year’s just past and the Super Bowl coming up in a few short weeks (Feb. 2), I thought I’d share some of my family’s easy to prepare foods. For New Year’s this past week, we actually cooked very little. Most of our food was simple, store-bought, easy to prepare, easy to clean up, and best of all, yummy.
1. Dip. We love the dill dip from Marzetti. It can be found in the refrigerated area of your grocery’s produce section. We like to pair it up with a variety of items to dip, including: pretzels, crackers, bread chunks, raw snow peas, raw green beans, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, potato chips. If you want to dress up your table, scoop out the insides of a round bread loaf and put the dip inside. Looks great, no clean up!
2. Hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough. You can buy these premade (we like the Hebrew National ones) or you can make them yourself. I’d recommend cutting the hot dogs in three, and cutting each crescent roll triangle in two. You get twice as many little dogs and it’s not over doughy.
3. Mini quiches or mini potato puffs. Again, you can buy these premade or make them yourself. For either of these, use a mini muffin tin. Put in a puff pastry square and add your ingredients. For quiches: eggs, cheese, onion, bacon. For potato puffs: mashed potatoes, bacon, cheese. Delicious.
4. Cheese and crackers. In addition to cheese cut in chunks, there are also cheese spreads that are very good on crackers. Add pepperoni to the platter for a little extra.
5. Dessert. Break and bake chocolate chip cookies. Brownie bites. Ice cream. Mini cheesecakes are also an excellent option. Use those mini muffin tins again. Put some crushed graham crackers in the bottom, use your favorite cheesecake recipe, add whipped cream when serving.
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 