Tag Archives: cooking

Aloha Friday: What’s Cooking?

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It’s time for another Aloha Friday, the day that you take it easy and look forward to the weekend, in Hawaii and blog land anyway. As you should know by now, over at An Island Life, Kailani decided that on Fridays she would take it easy on posting and ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

My husband has gotten REALLY into cooking lately. At this point I’ve pretty much given into the obvious and accepted that he is a much better cook than me – and he LIKES it. These days he does all the cooking for dinner, yes even on week nights. Don’t hate me because I hit the marriage jack pot. :) Anyway, he loves to cook and does a great job but he still asks me to plan the menu for the week / month – as in, give him an idea and let him run with it. It’s the laborious task of deciding WHAT to cook that he doesn’t like, at least not on a daily basis and he loves my monthly menu plans. So I’ve continued making the menus and he cooks the ideas I come up with, occasionally changing things up entirely when he gets inspired.

But… I’m running low on ideas and I’d really love to give him some new recipes to try. So my questions for you are…

  • What is your favorite dinner recipe? (Feel free to include a link if it’s online)
  • Do you like to cook? How about your spouse / significant other?
  • Who does what in your household (I’m guessing my grandmother and I aren’t the only ones with aspiring chefs for husbands)?
  • What’s for dinner tonight in your household?

Independence Day Weekend

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This weekend was my first time celebrating the 4th of July without going to the town parade, fireworks, visiting family for cookouts, etc. We spent the entire weekend celebrating with just the 3.5 of us and I have to say it was a pretty nice weekend. Our original plan involved going to the beach on Saturday and making a huge feast on Dan’s tabletop grill, but those plans were rained out. So we decided to go to the beach on Sunday with a modest feast and cook the majority of it at home that day.

Saturday July 4th went a little something like this…

After a french toast with powdered sugar, strawberries and blueberries breakfast (so festive!) we spent Saturday morning mulling around Walmart spending a lot more money than we intended to, but on things we needed (we got the sleeping bag for MM and a great nursing gown for me and BB). That afternoon we had bratwurst cooked over a George Foreman grill (hot dogs for the picky three year old), homemade pasta salad and deviled eggs. I’m going to admit right now that Dan did almost all the cooking this weekend.

(We were talking last night about our culinary interests and what we thought they’d be etc. I always assumed I’d become this perfect homemaker who cooked amazing dinners, desserts, etc. and basically owned the kitchen. But apart from desserts and the occasional lucky recipe, most of my culinary prospects have been lackluster. I can do a quick, easy main dish like it’s no one’s business but when I try to get fancy, I rarely feel my efforts have been rewarded by an amazing dish. It never feels worth it – you know? Just stressful. Then somewhere in the middle, Dan got interested in bread making, which turned into pizza making, which, with the help of Food Network in the past month and a half, has turned into – he loves to cook. And his food is good, ladies. I am spoiled rotten and I’m not complaining. I actually feel relieved. Sometimes I’m a bit jealous but since I can still kick his butt in the dessert department and I still mostly own the rest of the homemaking gig, I think it evens out and I’m proud of him. So in general, the kitchen belongs to Dan during the weekends especially and more often on weeknights than I care to admit to – but I can play the pregnancy card for now.)

Anyway, this has very little to do with the weekend – so I’ll get back to my little recap. After lunch we spent some time doing MM’s favorite thing – playing with toys. Every day (several times a day) he will come over to one of us and say, “Do you want to come play in my TOY ROOM?” and you know I feel terrible when I am too busy which seems to happen a lot – even more so for poor Dan. So that afternoon we both said a whole hearted YES and spent awhile doing just that. MM was in his glory.

For dinner that night we continued our original menu plan with the second half of our feast – Dan made homemade beef teriyaki – complete with the wooden skewers just like at a Chinese restaurant and oh mylanta, it was Good. We had that with leftover pasta salad and celery with peanut butter and cream cheese and for dessert – lemon bars, homemade right of a Betty Crocker box. I always go back and forth between strictly homemade and “times-a-wasting” and to be honest, this lemon craving of mine is still so new to me that I wanted to try a couple of box recipes first – that I know I can’t likely screw up – so that when I try homemade later when my energy levels return to “normal” I’ll know if it tastes close to right and what things should look like. These came out pretty good – and Dan kicked it up a festivity level with his “plating skills” (all husbands should be required to watch Iron Chef America – I think he secretly scores each of his meals by flavor, plating and originality).

(this picture doesn’t do it justice, I am still working on my food photography and meanwhile the ice cream and whipped cream were melting so I gave up early and got to eating!)

Then on Sunday, our holiday weekend continued…

The weather was gorgeous so we were thinking it would be the perfect beach day. But we set out first thing that morning to Target (which was closed on the 4th) to buy one very special item – Baby Blueberry’s infant car seat and stroller. We got the Graco Mulberry style travel system I’ve had my eye on for months now despite going back and forth a bit, wanting to be sure it was the one, we can now safely say – yes it is, and it’s ours! We had a cheap Cosco travel system with MM that we loathed so much we actually donated it shortly after he outgrew the car seat, vowing to get ourselves something nicer for the next baby. I was worried that wouldn’t happen after Dan got laid off, but with the help of the $100 Rent.com visa we got, the price was cut in half and we decided to do our sanity a favor and go for it. We’re very happy with it from what we’ve seen so far. By the time we got home the weather was too beautiful to wait any longer.

So we packed up our beach gear and the food we had planned for that day’s lunch and headed to our new favorite beach (not that we’ve checked out any others yet). Dan got to work immediately cooking the rest of the bratwurst and some more hot dogs for MM while MM got to work immediately playing on the beach’s playground.

Then after lunch we headed to the beach. Unfortunately the algae levels were too high or something so the department of health mandated the water be “closed” so we didn’t get any swimming in but the boys still had fun playing in the sand. After a couple minutes building sandcastles Dan taught MM the age old fun of being buried in the sand which he thought was just terrific!

That night we made homemade pizza with pretty much everything but the kitchen sink thrown on top, leftover pasta salad and some watermelon that was leftover from another culinary feat this weekend – we made this delicious watermelon lemonade that I saw on Smitten Kitchen last week. Everything was delicious, making a terrific end to our holiday weekend.

Again with the picture not doing the meal justice.

I couldn’t NOT be festive if I tried…

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We may not go to any parades this year. And I might have grumbled and groaned all night as the teenagers blew off firecrackers across the street all night last night (to be fair, they’ve been blowing fireworks across the street every night for a month now – this was hopefully their long awaited grand finale? And btw, I think firecrackers being legal is just absurd, but maybe that’s just the mom in me talking – akin to, “You’ll poke an eye out”?). But this morning we are making french toast and I am planning to top it with blueberries, strawberries and either powdered sugar or whipped cream. Because gosh darn it, today’s America’s birthday – and I don’t ignore birthdays!

If the rain doesn’t interfere, we’re going to bring Dan’s little tabletop grill to a local beach (or maybe park) and make some homemade beef teriyaki and bratwurst to serve with pasta salad, celery and green beans and lemon bars. Our version of a “cook out” and everyone we know is invited. Except we don’t know anybody here so nobody is invited. ::shrugs:: I hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July and to all my international readers, have a fabulous weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five: June 12th

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This is my first time participating in the Friday’s Fave Five meme hosted by Living To Tell The Story, but the basic concept is pretty easy – list five favorite moments from the week, things that made you smile, things that were gooooood. A little power of positive thinking, anybody? Here are mine:

  1. Getting my latest ultrasound yesterday was awesome, if only because now I now that despite my total lack of weight gain, BB is apparently a little fatty at just over 5 pounds and all is well!
  2. The maintenance guy came and fixed our dryer today! I’m looking forward to normal dry cycles for next week’s laundry!
  3. My spaghetti bolognese came out awesome on Tuesday – it’s all about cooking the onions until they are golden brown so they are sweet and do their thing without being all in your face and oniony.
  4. The rousing success of teaching MM song and dance numbers like Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and the Hokey Pokey – we also all played hide and seek yesterday after dinner which was too much freaking fun and involved a lot of time being silly with cardboard boxes! :)
  5. Meeting my new OB on Tuesday and scheduling the birth of little Baby Blueberry (July 21) could not be more exciting! And it’s such a relief to know where the new doctor’s office is, how to get there (I even went there without my GPS on Thursday!) and that the nurses and my new OB are really nice and helpful (not to mention that apparently my new health insurance just rocks) is all told, probably the best thing ever.

You know what’s really awesome? I could go on! But now it’s your turn – what were the best moments of your week?

Daybook: Monday June 1st

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Today…

Outside my window: is blue skies with white fluffy clouds – high in the 70s with a supposed chance of rain – again. The weather here seems to be largely predictable these days: drizzly and windy / cloudy in the morning; Then building heat throughout the day and afternoon before it hopefully cools down again for the evening. Most of the rain I’ve seen has been in the early morning / late evening. If it wants to keep going that way, that’d be cool with me.

I am hearing: trucks driving by the road outside. Our balcony overlooks the main road that our street is just off of so you can see the traffic driving by most of the day. If you walked out the door though, you’d the smaller, suburban road the apartment complex is on, with lots of houses to the left and a couple stores and restaurants to the right.

I am thinking: that the dryer in my unit is probably broken or else just awful. It took about three hours for one load of laundry to dry and even then, I’m thinking it just sort of air dried as it tumbled around in there. That can’t be normal, right? The back of the dryer gets awfully hot but my clothes do not. I thought the problem was fixed, but I’m thinking no. I’m also thinking I’m lazy and don’t feel like dealing with it today – maybe tomorrow?

I am hoping: to get this whole doctor / health insurance thing figured out quickly and get an appointment with a local OB lined up soon.

I am reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown – now that the movie has come out I figured I’d better get around to reading it, not that we’ll be seeing it before it comes out on DVD. It’s been kind of slow going, much like The Da Vinci Code was for me, but I am enjoying it.

I am creating: calm inside the chaos of our new apartment, slowly unpacking those last pictures and finding homes for things. We started hanging shelves a shelf yesterday and I hope to get pictures hung soon.

I am wearing: pajamas – that’s the main reason I haven’t called maintenance yet to come fix the dryer. I don’t feel like getting dressed. Is that sad?

In the kitchen:
Monday: Grilled BBQ Chicken w/ baked potatoes and mixed vegetables
Tuesday: Spaghetti and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Italian Bread
Wednesday: Hot Dogs & Macaroni and Cheese
Thursday: Grilled Cheese and Clam Chowder
Friday: Chicken Parmesan

Around the house: We finally unpacked our Wii so we were able to get back to our Wii Fit – I was really proud that I hadn’t gained an enormous amount of weight (or any really) after almost two weeks away from calorie counting / daily weigh ins.

Plans for the week: get new doctors / doctor appointments, finish unpacking, get the dryer fixed, finish the laundry

One of my favorite things: Bigelow’s Spiced Chai Tea – another chai find! This is a bit milder and sweeter than Tazo and cheaper than Yogi and all around delicious!

A picture thought:

Check out the awesome train table my dad built for MM!

Simple Woman’s Daybook: May 4th

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Outside My Window: It’s been nice and cool and cloudy. The heat wave seems to be over and I’m content as I can still get by with my summer-ish wardrobe and maybe a light sweater. We’ve had a bit of rain but nothing remarkable.

I am hearing: Curious George on tv – we’re headed to my grandma’s for dinner soon but MM insists he finishes watching his show before his diaper change, after which we will leave.

I am thinking: Too many things at once – my brain is still pretty muddled with all the same things, trying to plan the upcoming weeks but pretty much completely unable to.

I am hoping: that Dream Company gets back to Dan soon! So far nothing, although we did hear from his old boss that they contacted him for a reference this past Friday, so we know they are still doing something and hopefully we hear soon. Not that I’m getting impatient or anything. :P

From The Kitchen
Monday: dinner at my grandmas
Tuesday: Spaghetti with mozzarella stuffed meatballs – yum!
Wednesday: Hot Dogs & Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Thursday: Hamburger Night
Friday: Chicken something or other

This menu is staring to look awfully repetitive but the price has been working well for us, so it will do for now. I look forward to being able to expand our menus even just a little bit…

I’m now reading: Lioness Rampant, the last book in the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce. I started reading Influence a couple of nights ago, only to realize it was absolutely nothing like what I thought it would be – you know, a memoir. It’s actually a coffee table book style collection of interviews with 20 famous-ish people who have “influenced” the Olsen twins. I really didn’t care for it at all and had no interest in the 20 people they interviewed so I abandoned it. I hope they do a real memoir someday, although I guess I’d expect that kind of book to come much later in their lives, which is fine.

I am creating: Nothing at the moment – I did take some pictures for my review of the Amazon Kindle 2 and shot the video for this week’s In My Opinion video meme (click the link for this week’s questions if you want to play along), so that’s sort of creative… I guess.

Around the house: We’ve been cleaning up clutter mostly, it’s been nice to see a lot of old junk go but we have a lot more left to do!

One of my favorite things: We’ve been teaching MM to spell a bit. Still very early on in the process but it’s been really cute. We got a book from Frecklebox (to review for Mommas Review) that has his name splashed all over it and we’ve been loving using that to help him learn to spell his name and dude it works and he loves it!

A few plans for the rest of the week: That totally depends on when Dream Company gets back to us and what they say. If it’s a yes, we’ll be calling moving companies and packing, etc. If it’s a no, hubby has a couple companies lined up to apply to via recommendations from some friends. Oh and tv of course, because you know I run my life by the tv schedule.

A Picture Thought: Here’s a cute picture of MM eating dinner with one of his new favorite bedtime / all the time stuffed animals – a little stuffed Westie that follows him everywhere, even to the breakfast table apparently. Picture captured by daddy.

Simple Woman’s Daybook: April 20

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I almost never do this meme but my thoughts and life are so all over the place I thought this might help me to get all the miscellaneousness out into blog form. Plus Jean does it, so clearly it’s cool.

Outside My Window: Spring has finally sprung. Warmer weather has prevailed for the most part, although the wind has kept today pretty cool despite supposedly high temperatures. And it’s only supposed to get warmer from here on out. The trees are also starting to bud which is good to see, after this winter’s ice storms I was a bit worried as to how many trees would actually survive but the cycle of life seems to be carrying on okay.

I am hearing: Sweet silence. The boy is napping and Dan is working on a presentation because…

I am thinking: HURRAY! Dream Company is flying out Dan and I for an in person interview. We’ll be getting there the day before the interview to “sight-see” around the area. We’re planning to go apartment hunting and look at the five places I’ve narrowed my list down to thanks to internet searching. Assuming that they can give him a yes or no answer by the time he leaves the interview, we may be able to put down a deposit before we fly home. ::fingers crossed::

I am hoping: That Dream Company gets back to us tonight with flight plans. I’d love to be able to start planning for that ASAP. I already have my doctor’s written seal of approval to fly and as soon as I have dates I can arrange child care for MM and set up some appointments to look at apartments while we’re there. I’m not jumping the gun on this, I don’t think. I want to have anything planned that I can in the event that they are smart and hire him.

From The Kitchen – This whole menu is subject to change if we find ourselves traveling really soon.
Monday: We’re having dinner at my grandma’s tonight – yay for not cooking!
Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese – my husband is very excited, he loved this dish the last time I made it. I’m excited to have him home to sauté the onions for me.
Wednesday: Cheesy Chicken & Vegetables thing – I’m trying to make mac & cheese look healthy basically
Thursday: Burger night – I’ll be putting BBQ sauce and sweet pickle relish on mine – oh and cheese obviously
Friday: I’ll have the hubs make pepperoni pizza

I am reading: The Host by Stephenie Meyer – finally, I know. I’m about 200 pages in and mostly loving it. It’s long dude, but the story is very riveting and I’m definitely in it for the long haul. I’m occasionally loathing half the main “character,” Melenie. Sure I feel sorry for her, but sometimes her dumbness just annoys me. And I’m pretty curious to see how their little love triangle could possibly work out, although right now them surviving seems to be top priority over any love connections that might work out. I’m liking it, it’d be easier if I weren’t always exhausted by the time I sat down to read at night.

I am creating: A cookbook – I’m reviewing the bookmaking website blurb.com for Momma’s Review and making a book of all of our favorite family recipes. It’s been quite a task gathering all those recipes, since they are currently all over the place in various forms of “organization” but I love their software so far and all the control they give you creatively. I look forward to seeing / using the final product.

Around the house: I’m trying to get laundry done but more people seem to be home during the week than normal and the laundry room “schedule” seems to be  a bit crazy. I got one load in and I’ll try again tomorrow, unfortunately I wasn’t able to battle for my territory since I had other things to do today, too. Oh well. In the meantime, I’m now looking around the apartment, picturing everything in boxes, which it might be soon if we get this job. I wonder how quickly we’ll be able to move…

One of my favorite things: Having that sweet husband of mine home to help with cooking and playing with the boy. Also getting to visit family a lot more often than usual, trying to squeeze it all in now while we can in case this Really Does Happen.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Look for a new pair of maternity pants – preferably something non-denim and inexpensive; Get Dan’s hair cut for the interview, likely start packing for the flight soon & all that jazz that I mentioned above.

A Picture Thought: How cute are my boys in this adorable shot? I don’t think I’ve posted this one yet, but my appologies if I have. Pregnant brain and all.

Six Dishes I Wouldn’t Kick Off My Breakfast Table

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Today’s Small Talk Six topic is “6 breakfast foods that you love or hate.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc . . .

  1. Pancakes – I grew up on Bisquick pancakes and love them dearly, but we just tried this simple recipe from scratch and yeah, they might be better. Dan will tell you they are a ton better. I love pancakes – so versatile, you can put blueberries, chocolate chips, whatever in the batter, top with fruits or syrup, etc. No two pancake dishes need be alike.
  2. Waffles – I know, I’m copping out right off the bat by separating pancakes and waffles, but I’m a bit worried I’m going to run out of steam shortly after this, so I’m covering all my bases. We especially love making waffles with our new Calphalon waffle maker – makes the whole waffle making process a breeze. For the most part, I like my waffles plain – no mix ins, but I do love topping them with fresh fruit, especially if it’s a whole wheat waffle, which I don’t like as much as the regular less healthy stuff.
  3. Southern Biscuits and Gravy - It doesn’t get much better than this for me and I don’t get to eat it often. There is a small little breakfast place near the college I went to that makes the world’s greatest southern biscuits and gravy, at least the best I’ve tried. And I am picky – I’ve had a lot of people’s lame attempts at this dish and it’s not always pretty. But a good southern biscuit and gravy breakfast will have me on cloud nine. Dan has made it for me at home a few times and has pretty much mastered the recipe, but it’s a bit of work, so we don’t do it often.
  4. Corn Bread – I’m even pickier about my corn bread than I am southern biscuits and gravy. Go figure, that breakfast place I mentioned in #3 makes a killer corn bread, too (there isn’t anything there that I’ve tried that wasn’t amazing though). I don’t like it too dry or too crumbly. It should be moist and sweet and hold up at least fairly well. “Bad” corn bread (i.e. not moist and sweet) is pretty much disgusting so it’s a bit of a crap shoot.
  5. Cinnamon Rolls - Pillsbury pretty much has the market on cinnamon rolls and I don’t deviate with that much – it’s good, it’s easy, it’s so horrible on my diet – but it’s always worth it.
  6. Muffins - I think blueberry is probably my favorite, but I like most basic muffins. I like baking them myself especially so that I get a normal serving size muffin and not some gigantic 1,000 calorie muffin. I don’t like that hardened sugar stuff on my muffins and none of that bran junk. I do love chocolate chip muffins and apple streusel muffins, etc. but for the most part I like to stick to blueberry.

Serve me any of these dishes with a bowl of fresh fruit and some delicious breakfast sausage or bacon and I am one happy woman. Thankfully for my diet, I rarely eat any of these things, although with Dan home from work, we have had pancakes and waffles a bit more often than normal. Such sacrifices… ::sigh::

What are your favorite breakfast foods?

6 Green Things I Love

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This is my first time participating in a Small Talk Six on Saturdays. It’s hosted by the lovely ladies at MomDot. This week’s topic is to name 6 things you love that are green. Here are mine:

1. Money - I wouldn’t mind having more of it, in fact. It might be the root of all evil, but it’s also the route to most of my favorite things like food, shelter, Internet access and magazine subscriptions.

2. Grass – When the grass isn’t green, it’s pretty depressing. Then snow usually happens. But when you open the door one day to find the grass is not only visible but green – it’s a great feeling.

3. Kiwi Fruit – One of my favorite fruits, since I was little. My grandma actually has a kiwi fruit plant and I’ve always loved raiding her garden and picking a fresh snack.

4. Marzipan – It comes in lots of colors that all taste the same but for some reason the green is usually my favorite. Inexplicable, I know.

5. Being Green - I had to say it – I love all ways that I’ve found to be green, like shopping with reusable grocery bags – that’s probably my favorite green habit.

6. Spinach – It’s true. I’m one of those weird freaky people who loves spinach – cooked or fresh in a salad, etc. It’s good stuff!

What things do you love that are green? Be sure to link up your responses at MomDot if you play along!

Recipe: Easy Shepherd’s Pie

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This is another recipe adopted from one found at KraftFoods.com. You can find the original recipe here.

Prep Time: 10 minutes   Total Time: 30 minutes   Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 2 cups hot mashed potatoes (I used 2 large potatoes, cooked and mashed them, adding no ingredients yet)
  • 4 oz (1/2 of an 8 oz package) Neufchatel cheese (less fat and calories than cream cheese)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like, really)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 cups frozen corn, thawed (you can substitute for vegetable of your choice)
  • 1 cup beef gravy

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Brown meat in large skillet; drain.
  3. Mix potatoes (cooked and mashed) with Neufchatel, 1/2 cup of cheese, and garlic, until well blended.
  4. Combine meat, vegetables and gravy; Spoon into 9 inch square baking dish.
  5. Cover with potato mixture and remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.