12 posts tagged “in the kitchen”
I enjoy a good slice of meat loaf every now and then. For several years I stuck with one meat loaf recipe out of my Betty Crocker cookbook. It calls for milk, oatmeal, and a egg- along with various spices and so forth. One day my husband pointed out that he didn't care too much for that meat loaf. I wasn't particularly offended. I just never thought of making another type of meat loaf other than the one from loyal Betty Crocker.
I pointed out this dilemma to my friend Ginger who so willingly printed out color copies of meat loaf recipes and mailed them to me. Diner Meat Loaf Muffins. BBQ Meat Loaf. Classic Meat Loaf. Asian-Style Meat Loaves. Iberian Meat Loaf. Italian-Style Meat Loaf. Santa Fe Meat Loaf. One thing that I loved about the recipes she sent is that it contained a section of choosing the right kind of meat and tips on how to properly bind the meat and what form to use.
With the proper know-how and meat loaf education tucked away, I started out by making the Diner Meat Loaf Muffins. That one calls for crushed up saltines. I really liked this recipe and loved the idea that your plate ended up housing one or two cute little portions of meat loaf. After making this recipe several times my husband pointed out that he didn't care too much for that meatloaf recipe either. Back to the drawing board.
From the recipes Ginger sent I made two other kinds of meat loaf. One involved a free form loaf smothered in BBQ sauce. After another few attempts my husband, in words that I can't exactly recall at the moment, leaned over the table and said that maybe we should let the meat loaf idea rest in peace. I was crushed. Not at him. Just crushed that I could not lay my hands on a recipe that pleased all palates at the table and in which we would enjoy the leftovers the following day.
After mulling this over I then shared the dilemma with my friend Ellen. She so kindly thought about the situation and emailed me her take on meat loaf. Sadly, it was similar to the ones at rest in their graves. All hope was lost.
I then started questioning whether or not my husband even likes meat loaf. He says he does but does he TRULY enjoy meat loaf? Perhaps it wasn't me. Perhaps it was him!
I heeded my husband's advice and packed away my meat loaf pan in the bottom of my pan drawer. I abandoned all thoughts about meat loaf as I prepared my weekly menu each Saturday before hitting the grocery store. The thought of making meat loaf was just a distant memory. That was all before I purchased a copy of "Favorites from our Table"- Ethan's school's fundraiser cook book.
As I leafed through the cook book, and got to the chapter titled "Main Dishes", I hadn't even thought that there might be a recipe for meat loaf. On page 67, tucked in between Fettuccine Alfredo and Fajitas, a title called forth my attention. Fiesta Meat Loaf. Before I even finished reading the ingredients I secretly plotted how I was going to create this dish without my husband's knowledge and surprise him with what I knew in my heart of hearts would be THE ONE.
Tonight's dinner time proceeded as normal- boys playing in the other room with dad and me getting dinner on the table. I didn't make a big deal about the night's menu. I acted as normal as possible, not wanting to draw an overabundant attention to the meat loaf staring at my husband. He didn't say much either. He picked at his salad first and then the moment came. He took a bite of the meat loaf. And another bite. And another.
"Do you like it?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes", came his reply.
Oh, how I wanted him to say more! I wanted him to say it was the best meat loaf he has ever eaten and that he was so proud of me. At that point I didn't care that Jack was fussing and Ethan was talking non-stop. I wanted affirmation!
After dinner as we cleared the table and packed up the meat loaf for tomorrow's left overs my husband leaned over and said to me...
"I need to call the National Meat Loaf Association. I think we found a winner!"
Fiesta Meat Loaf
2 lb. ground beef
2 c. picante sauce, divided
1 1/2 c. quick or old fashioned oats
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (I omit due to garlic allergy)
4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
3.8 oz. sliced black olives, drained
4 oz. choped green chilies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine ground beef, 1/2 cup picante sauce, oats, taco seasoning, and garlic powder. Mix well. Press into an ungreased 9x5x3 in loaf pan or 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Combine remaining 1 1/2 cup picante sauce, cheese, olives and chilies. Mix well. Pour picante sauce mixture over top. Bake 30-45 minutes or until center is no longer pink (160 degrees on meat thermometer). Makes 10 servings.
There are a lot of things to be happy about today. First of all, we are enjoying a windy Autumn day. Although this stint will be short lived and mid-80's will be ushered in once more, I am relishing in all this fall glory. Ethan helped me make some crock pot black bean soup and we also baked two loaves of the most ridiculously delicious pumpkin bread I have ever eaten (compliments to my friend Kat's recommendation). So sweet, savory, taste-bud enjoying, lip-smacking good.
Another thing I'm happy about today is that my friend Gina, and her two daughters, recently welcomed home their husband and daddy who served our country overseas. I have enjoyed reading her blog as they counted the 447 days until his return. I have great admiration for this family, for Gina's amazing attitude and support of her husband, and have been blessed by their journey these 15 months.
Lastly, I am happy that I raked the leaf piles I created in the backyard a few days ago. I confess that I am a professional leaf and weed piler. Unfortunately, this is one of a few things I do/don't do that truly irks my husband and he patiently asked me again to finish what I started. So, I filled up two garbage bags full of fall leaves and weeds and I even put the rake away in the garage (another one of those few things that I do/don't do that irks my husband).
Deep Fried Green Beans...
Surprisingly delicious! After seeing that T.G.I Fridays commercial a few times featuring their version of deep fried green beans I thought I'd give it a whirl. A quick Internet search for a recipe dug up the tasty creation we thoroughly enjoyed this evening. Now, I can't even remember the last time I deep fried anything so I was a little apprehensive about the whole process but it was quick and easy. I would love to give proper credit to the recipe owner but could not find the source so thanks to the person for blessing us with this savory treat. On a side note... I also found a few recipes for wasabi dipping sauce to accompany the beans but since we don't have wasabi we opted for ranch dressing. Nate dipped his in ranch spiked with horseradish.
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
6 to 8 ounces fresh green beans
1 cup flour
1 cup plain or seasoned dry breadcrumbs
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder (I omitted due to allergy)
vegetable shortening or vegetable oil for frying
To prepare the beans:
Place beans in the broth. Bring to a boil and cook 15 minutes, then drain and place in cold water to stop cooking process. (I only boiled for 10 minutes)
Mix beaten egg with milk in a shallow bowl. Measure 1 cup of flour into another shallow bowl. Combine breadcrumbs, salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder into a third bowl.
Take a handful of beans out of the water and shake off excess liquid. Coat the beans with the flour, shaking to remove excess flour. Dip the beans, one at a time, into egg/milk mixture, then dip in breadcrumb mixture. Place the beans on a plate until all are coated.
Heat the shortening or oil to 350 degrees F in a heavy skillet (or use deep fryer). Use enough to cover the beans, about 1 1/2 inches. Fry until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Enjoy!
We had some friends over for dinner last night and for being one who is up for cooking new things, I decided to try Rachael Ray's recipe for stuffed potato skins. (Everyday with Rachael Ray-October 2007-p. 135) These potato morsels are so delicious and they melt in your mouth. Definitely a crowd pleaser. I made these as a side dish to compliment turkey kielbasa, chorizo kielbasa, fruit, and chips. The tasty dinner was then topped off with good old fashioned root beer floats for dessert.
Sinfully Stuffed Potato Skins
12 Servings
Prep Time 20 min
Cook Time 1 hr 5 min
20 small new potatoes (I used red potatoes)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream (I used light)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used coarse salt for added flavor)
1/2 teaspooon pepper
Paprika, for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and brush with the olive oil. Roast, uncovered, until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. (I cut the larger potatoes in half and placed on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil cooking spray. Instead of brushing the potatoes with olive oil I also sprayed with the olive oil cooking spray- to save on calories and fat!)
2. Halve the potatoes; using a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out most of the flesh into a bowl. Return the potato skins to the baking sheet. Coarsely mash the potato flesh in the bowl and stir in the cheese, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Sprinkle the insides of the skins with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; stuff each with the potato-cheese mixture and sprinkle paprika on top. (After mixing the potato-cheese mixture I placed the mixture in a quart sized ziploc bag to act as a "piping" bag. This made it easier to squirt the mixture in the small potato shells).
3. Bake the stuffed potato skins until golden-brown on top, 15 to 20 minutes.
Happy eating!
It's been hit and miss with this quest for non-boxed snack foods. A sure loser- Quick Apple Bread. A sure winner- Honey Milk Balls (Ruth Yaron- Super Baby Food). There are only four ingredients and it's a no bake item as well. I believe they taste similar to the yummy middle of a Buckeye. It yields 25 balls and I store them in a container in the fridge. Before you eat let them sit out for a few minutes!
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup ground rolled oat flakes (oatmeal)
Mix all ingredients (very well) and shape into balls. It's that easy!
This morning I asked Nate what I should do with the boys today. He said to do body drawings with a roll of butcher-like paper he has in the garage- and that is what we did this morning. Jack wasn't too excited about the whole project. He was more interested in pouring the crayons out of the bag. Ethan loved having his body outlined on the paper and proceeded to color in blue legs and green hair. A few tears were involved in our arts and crafts time but overall we had fun.
We celebrated Ethan's fourth birthday yesterday! Although Ethan's "Do-It-Yourself" Workshop birthday party is this upcoming weekend we did a little family celebration including a box cake with homemade chocolate frosting. I didn't intend to make my own but after I realized that the frosting I had in the fridge was somewhat expired I set out to allrecipes.com and found a very simple, and very tasty, chocolate frosting recipe. I just love how this frosting "set" on the cake.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup margarine, melted (I used salted butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I added a bit more for added chocolate flavor)
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
In a large bowl, beat margarine and cocoa together until combined. Add milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Adjust with more milk or confectioners' sugar if necessary.
Yesterday we made good ole' fashion peanut butter cookies and threw in some milk chocolate and peanut butter chips for good measure. Ethan made most of the cookies- you should see his fork technique when making the criss-cross pattern on top! He is becoming quite the little baker and big helper.
Peanut Butter Cookies
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
Cream sugar and margarine. Blend in peanut butter. Add egg. Stir in rest of ingredients. Roll into 1 inch balls, dip in sugar, and place on cookie sheet. To flatten, use a fork. Bake 350 for approx. 10 min. or golden brown. Yields 40ish cookies (depends on dough consumption!)
I am trying to be more intentional and purposeful with the children's activities throughout the week. We have a good daily routine and I do love being "on the floor" with them playing but sometimes I feel like we do the same old thing and I also don't just want to fill the days up with "fluff". I am a firm believer that "fluff" days are ok but I just don't want that to become routine. We have been rather busy with fun summer activities but I am trying to be more creative in the home front and provide meaningful and engaging activities at home- thus a good reason we started Tasty Tuesdays and now a new addition... Creative Corner- an experiment of sorts!
Before I go on any further with today's experiment, I just wanted to say that I enjoy sharing our home moments with you. Many readers of Knight and Pumpkin are moms like me who perhaps are trying to come up with creative things to do with their children too- so that is one of the reasons I share these sometimes silly but always memorable "tidbits" with you! We are in this together!
Without further ado... the unveiling of today's Creative Corner...brought to you by Ethan, Jack, and their mamma....
Milk Rainbow
What you need: 2% milk, saucer, food coloring, liquid dish detergent
1. Pour enough 2% milk into a saucer to cover the bottom
2. Add 4 to 8 drops of different colors of food coloring to the milk, placing the drops on separate areas of the milk. Nothing happens yet.
3. Add 1 drop of dish detergent. Watch as the food coloring swirls and mixes. (it is actually pretty cool!)
The oily fat molecules in the milk won't combine with the watery food coloring. When the detergent is added, the oily molecules break up, and the food coloring can move and spread.
We had a fun time and even Jack seemed impressed!
Cereal Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup rice crispies
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup chopped nuts
Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Add flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in rice crispies, oatmeal, coconut and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350F until lightly browned. Approx. 8-10 minutes.
Tasty Tuesday was kind of a dud again. Ethan didn't want to help. I battled ants in the kitchen. Our digital camera no longer works so I can't even capture the deliciousness of the cookie for you. Take my word- they are good. I am a sucker for coconut. Do you know there are people out there that gag at the taste of coconut? I have a friend that does. The cookie is almost like a glorified oatmeal cookie- the twist is the rice crispies. I ate three tonight after I went on a walk with my friend Ellen. There will be no T.T next week since we will be off to the Sunshine State! Yahoo!
Tasty Tuesday can be summarized in one word: dud. I was so excited about this cereal cookie recipe only to find out that I only had a 1/2 cup of flour instead of the scant 1 cup that it called for. Betty Crocker to the rescue! I found a blueberry muffin mix in the pantry and once again the ole' standby proved faithful. Later in the day I was talking to my friend Ellen about the whole flour thing and I mentioned cutting the recipe in half since I did indeed have 1/2 a cup of flour-and it would be scant. I was nervous to do that since it only called for 1 egg and how do you half an egg? Anyway, I mustered up the courage and conquered my fear only to end up with amazing cookies glued to the cookie sheet. The recipe didn't say to drop the dough by teaspoonfuls on a "greased" cookie sheet- it just said plain old cookie sheet. I should have known better. My only saving grace is that I'm still a novice at this whole cookie thing. However, I was able to rescue some of the cookies, scraped knuckle and all, and have a little ziploc baggie full of cookie parts that I think would taste mighty fine on vanilla ice cream. Cereal Cookie Take 2 will be coming back to another post at another time.
Remember how I went on and on about the whole Smokey Bones thing and about utilizing customer service- more specifically about the weird looking coke can that sparked this whole "Customer Care Campaign?" Really cute and funny thing happened. My dear friend from high school and college posted a comment on my blog that the coke cans were blue. Not only did her comment help solidify I wasn't making up the story, or got my facts wrong, but that she still has one of those Coke cans! Ha- how funny is that? Here is her sweet daughter holding that mysterious Coke can. Thanks Jennifer.
For my birthday my friend Cristina got me a subscription to the Real Simple magazine. I received my first issue today and it is really and simply fantastic! Thanks Cristina. One section caught my eye about summer memories. I loved reading what those little authors of their own memories had to say. It drew such deep thoughts out of my own storage box of memories spent as a child. It's funny to think how my own children have sort of revitilized summer for me- more specifically this summer so far. I think it has to do with Ethan being "of age" to do more summer-type things and that SA is overflowing with children's activities at all times. I feel as an adult before children the essence of summer lost its meaning. I can't recall watermelon, mosquitos, swimming, or anything for that matter the past couple of years of my life. I really am excited about this summer and that magazine article made me not only reflect on my past but also on this present and future tales to be told.
If I were asked, "Gretchen, what is your favorite summer memory?" It is a tie. The first, not necessarily the first-place memory, but just the first memory I'll share with you, is a family car trip to Illinois. We lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at the time so just envision a map of the United States in your head- you will quickly realize a trip from the Sunshine to Prairie state is no easy task. Now envision a white Buick, mom, three lanky teenage boys, and little ole' me. The setting: the 80's. I believe my oldest brother drove most of the time. I was either stuck in the middle of the front seat or the middle of the back. We did make pit stops along the way- we weren't that ambitious! I remember Six Flags in Atlanta, Dolly Wood, and pink lip gloss in a red lipped shape case that melted in the car. The best part of the trip- the most vivid as if we did the trip today, the one memory that takes me back to that white Buick is singing "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)" by Annie Lennox. I often play that song on my iPod today- that 1983 hit always makes me feel nine years old.
The second memory are those summers spent in Georgetown, Delaware where Marnie, my grandmother, lived. We never called her grandma- it was always Marnie. Sweet woman she was and tiny too! 5 foot perhaps on her best day! My mom would always buy me an "airplane" suit, if you will. I always traveled in style to see Marnie. I usually would wear a skirt, blouse, hose, and nice sandals. I wore it there- never wore it during my stay- and would wear it back home. Marnie meant to me egg salad sandwiches at the beach, home-made cookies, watermelon, the boardwalk at Rehobeth Beach, and fire flies. Those summers meant Grotto's pizza, Dolly's salt-water taffy, and Paratrooper (a wild ride I would never dare ride now!) I loved the way the salty water would cling to my permed hair and I loved the smell of Marnie's front "parlor" room that I don't ever recall ever "parloring" in much.
Those are my summer memories. More to be added to that storage box!
Today's recipe comes from my friend Jan Gordon's cookbook called Growing up in the Kitchen. The practice of receiving this extraordinary book is as a wedding shower gift. Well- it was the practice of the time I had my wedding shower- I don't know if Jan gives the cookbook on other occasions. Anyway, at the time eight children are pictured in the book... they now have eleven. Jan and her husband Matt are very dear friends of mine- having known them now for 15 years. Matt was my pastor in Gainesville, Florida and they welcomed me as one of their own. Jan is an amazing home keeper and cook hence why the recipe I will share with you for Tasty Tuesday is quite yummy. One of my first memories of Jan is trying to make guacamole out of very unripe avocados! Thus our friendship was born right in her kitchen!
Cracked Sugar Cookies
1 egg
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup margarine
2 cup flour
2 t. soda
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. vanilla
Cream margarine and sugars. Add egg and beat until fluffy. Add flour, soda, cream of tartar and vanilla. Roll in 1 inch balls and dip in sugar. Bake 350F for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown.
These cookies are so simple and addictive. The boys and I had fun making them until they started swordfighting with the beaters and Jack kept popping the 1 inch balls into his mouth and not the sugar... oh, but these are what memories are made of, right?! One more thing... this recipe yielded 49 cookies- probably more if the dough didn't land in Jack's mouth!
And now... two for the price of one... another post and I'll title this one:
The 10,000 Dollar Dinner
Nate and I signed up to be a part of Visa Rewards. Basically each time we use our Visa debit card as a credit card we get 1 point for each dollar spent. After a few years we accrued 20,000 points- yeah, I know... that means we spent that much to get those points. Anyway, I decided to cash them in for two $25 gift cards- one for Fridays and one for Smokey Bones. You see, Nate and I love Smokey Bones. We would often visit the one at Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Florida. Nate usually gets the ribs and I usually get chicken and brocolli or a salad. Their brocolli is really good but don't order the cheese with it because they charge a buck for a little dab of cheese. Not only were we excited to use our gift card for SB but there just happened to be a buy one get one entree free coupon in the Sunday flier. Now, that is a great deal. We decided to cash in on this goodness this past Sunday and upon driving into the parking lot of SB we realized something was out of place. There were no cars. No BBQ smell wafting in the air. No sign of life. Nothing. Smokey Bones was no longer in business. Rather discouraged we went to Red Lobster and used our gift card there since the gift card was for any Darden restaraunt. Thus our 10,000 dollar Visa Rewards dinner was spent on coconut shrimp and salmon- not sticky ribs and brocolli. I emailed Smokey Bones to inquire why the close down but have not received a reply yet. If I do, I'll let you know.
On the way back from our 10 grand dollar shrimp fest we got some new kicks for me. I haven't had a new pair in over 3 years and since I'm biking a walking a lot my tootsies needed a new scene. I am a Nike girl by heart but I couldn't pass up the luxurious feel of my new Saucony sneaks- AND they happen to be decked out in my favorite color combo- blue and brown!
