Chopped Dinner: Take 4
08 Mar 2012 1 Comment
in appetizers, at least one kid ate it, beef, chopped dinners, company's coming!, grill, side dishes, vegetables
Whew…this challenge is finally over! No more creative cooking for a little while 
Dinner #4 in the Chopped challenge was Matt’s. His list was longer (because he was the oldest? I dunno.) but overall, pretty easy to work with AND gave me the excuse to try three new recipes!
Ok, so Matt’s ingredient list (which I accidentally leaked for those of you with eagle eyes last week!) was this:
So for the brie, I made these little Baked Brie Bites that were in puff pastry. Simple to make, and they were ok, but I think that Matt and I both prefer to eat brie bites the way I’ve made them in the past, which is these little brie cups. I’m thinking next time I make those for company, I’ll make some with pepper jelly and some with sweet jelly. I just used what I had on hand, which was strawberry jam, and the flavor was good, but so much jam baked out of the inside even though I felt like I sealed them well that the flavor was lost.
However, Luke and Jack Henry loved them and ate a few each, and Bennett had one and thought it was fine.
Moving on to dinner, which was Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes and Garlic Gorgonzola Steak. Oh. My. Goodness. Some of the best food I think I’ve ever made.
I’m not a huge sweet potato fan…not something I’d usually crave, but these were amazing (for the kids, I just used salt and pepper instead of the spice blend). Follow her instructions and you will not be disappointed. I did parboil the potatoes even though mine were fresh, but then they accidentally got left boiling too long when Jack Henry wandered into the kitchen with a fake sore throat and I was distracted away from my job for 5 minutes. Look at this pic compared to the original, and you’ll see what I mean…they fell apart but it mattered not…they were delicious.
The only change I’ll make is cutting my slices of sweet potatoes slightly smaller, about an inch tall. And I substituted regular chile powder for New Mexico chile powder…I don’t know the difference, but I’m thinking it can’t matter much in this recipe. And for the sake of using cashews in dinner per the Chopped list, I chopped them up finely and put the on each side of the potatoes with the spices. But, it really didn’t add anything, and I won’t do it again. (Bennett, however, was elated to see a can of cashews and put those on his plate instead.)
On to the steak. I did not buy ribeye as Matt requested; I got strip steaks, because I found a huge package of them on sale and they were better than ribeye, so I figured he wouldn’t complain. Plus, we almost never grill steaks, and we truly NEVER share with our kids, so this was a special dinner. Luke likes steak; the other two are fine with it, but seriously they’d rather have chicken or a hot dog, so it pains me to hear “how many bites of this do I have to eat?”
I seasoned all of the steaks as recommended in the recipe: rubbing a cut garlic clove over the steaks, drizzling with a tiny bit of oil (I used olive oil), and then sprinkling generously with salt and pepper. Next time, I’ll skip rubbing a garlic clove on them…for me, at least, it did nothing to give garlic flavor. I’ll use garlic salt and black pepper and omit the regular salt so we actually get some garlic flavor.
After that, Matt grilled them to close to medium for me, and as soon as he got them inside, I melted a very small amount of butter on each, and put gorgonzola on Matt’s and my steak and covered them with foil for a few minutes to help the cheese melt. It was recommended that you do this step ON the grill, but it was already dark out, and I was picturing it being too much hassle with falling cheese, etc. Know, though, that tenting foil over the steak will make it continue to cook, so that you don’t accidentally overcook your steaks.
Anyway, it worked for us to put the toppings on inside, off the grill. I topped the gorgonzola ones with the french fried onions, and that was it. Seriously, one of the best steaks I’ve ever had.
The leftovers tonight were great, too.
So there you have it! The kids commented that I didn’t get Chopped on any of my meals, so we need to do something harder next time.
How to Make Roasted Garlic
15 Feb 2012 2 Comments
in bread/muffins, Pasta, side dishes
OK, so during our lots o’ time at home together with my boys being sick, we’ve been watching a LOT of the Food Network. Yesterday afternoon, after the boys all said “hey y’all” several times with Paula Deen, they left the room to play something and I half-watched while making headbands.
It was an old episode where Paula makes Zesty Roasted Garlic Bread and lasagne. And she makes a lasagne sandwich out of a half-loaf of bread…I literally watched this with my mouth hanging open, aghast at what I was watching…you won’t believe the last 15 seconds of this video:
Right.
Ok. Moving on.
I decided after watching, though, that I did want to roast my own garlic, and remembered that I’d pinned a how-to to Pinterest via For the Love of Cooking a few weeks ago. I checked both recipes, and decided on this combination for my first try:
1 head of garlic
1 tsp olive oil
sea salt
Preheat oven to 400. Cut the tops off all the heads of the cloves of garlic (but leave it all together – no need to separate the cloves)…doesn’t have to be perfect, and you can leave the papery skin on it, too.
Set the head of garlic on a small square of foil that’s big enough to close around the head. Drizzle olive oil over the top, sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and close up the packet.
Put the foil-wrapped garlic on a cookie sheet, and bake for 30 minutes.
Let it cool slightly, and you should just be able to squeeze the roasted garlic from the head and into a bowl.
this was just one clove that i pulled away, but you really don't need to do that...just squeeze the whole head of garlic and all of the delicious, roasted goodness comes right out!
Smash it up.
I mixed mine with half a stick of softened butter (not two sticks, as Paula suggests), about a tablespoon or a little more of parsley flakes (I didn’t have fresh), a little bit of fresh ground pepper, and a little shake of dried basil. I didn’t add salt because I used salted butter, so I think that’s enough.
I just stuck this in the fridge to use in the future. It’ll be great on french bread (just broil it for a minute or two to get it melty and the edges crispy), and I’m even thinking that when I make eggs tonight for dinner, I’ll use just a bit of it either to season the pan or butter toast for egg and cheese sandwiches.
I’ll post more uses for roasted garlic as I try out new recipes!
Martha Stewart’s Creamy Mac-and-Cheese
19 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in casserole, company's coming!, Pasta, side dishes
Holy amazing. This is the best homemade mac-n-cheese I have ever had. Little bit of a spice to it so my kiddos wouldn’t eat it. They did try it though BUT, I’ll still make it again. So good. Some neighbors had a get together with catered bbq and this was great with it.
Serves about 12 so definitely a good recipe for a get together.
- 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for casserole (I actually bought unsalted butter for this and then forgot to use it and it was fine)
- 6 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces (really I just quickly ripped it apart)
- 5 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tspns coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 1/4 cups grated romano cheese
- 1 pd elbow macaroni
Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 3 qt casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a bowl. In a small saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.
Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
While whisking, slowly pout int he hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick 8-12 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 cup romano; set cheese sauce aside.
Boil pasta until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander and rinse under cold running water. Stir the macaroni in to the reserved cheese sauce.
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup romano, and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Cheddar-Chive Turnovers
09 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in appetizers, at least one kid ate it, bread/muffins, side dishes
I saw this in my Food Network magazine and had to give it a try with chives from my garden on my deck! (I’m growing garlic chives and they are delicious!)
Here it is, with a couple of slight changes:
1 package of refrigerated biscuits (the simplest, cheapest kind…Pillsbury sells them in 4-packs, but you can get the Schnucks brand 1 can at a time, so that’s what I did)
2 Tbl butter
pinch of cayenne pepper (not more…I used a bit too much)
~1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
chopped chives (which you can buy at the store in the produce dept, I think, if you don’t have any, or you could use dried chives) – I probably cut about 6 and then just cut them with a scissors into tiny pieces
Mix melted butter with cayenne. Lay out rounds of refrigerated biscuit dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet (this saves you a lot of mess), and press them to spread them out a bit. Brush with the butter; top with shredded cheddar and chopped chives. Fold into half-moons and crimp with a fork to seal, then brush with more butter. Bake as the label directs (for me, it was 400 degrees for about 11 minutes).
i crimped the edges with a fork, but it wasn't completely sealed, and that's ok.
finished product!
Oriental Chicken Salad
14 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in company's coming!, salad, side dishes
When I posted my version of Oriental Slaw, Sonya left her variations to the recipe in the comments section. I made her version a couple of weekends ago, and it was sooooo good that I don’t want it to just be lost in the comments and not have its own post!
Super simple, and great for company or showers, too.
1 (1 lb) bag of broccoli slaw (in the produce section, right by the coleslaw mixes)
Rotisserie chicken, with the white meat pulled off and shredded or chopped (or, you can grill chicken at home and use that, too)
6 green onions, sliced thinly
2 packages Oriental Ramen noodles
3 oz sliced almonds
3 oz sunflower seed kernels
¼ cup vinegar
½ cup oil
½ cup sugar
Mix slaw, chicken and onions in a large bowl.
Crush the Ramen noodles inside the packages. In a skillet, lightly brown the noodles, almonds and sunflower seed kernels over low-medium heat (and keep an eye on them; you don’t want this to burn!). Add to the slaw mixture.
To make the dressing, mix the vinegar, oil, sugar and the flavoring packets from the Ramen. This won’t totally combine, but that’s ok. You can mix this up ahead of time and refrigerate it so that it’s ready when you need it.
Pour the dressing over the slaw about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Feta Potatoes
12 Apr 2011 1 Comment
We don’t eat potatoes around here much; the kids aren’t big fans, and while I do like them, I just don’t buy/use them much because of their calorie content.
However, I saw these baby potatoes in the freezer at the grocery, and I had a coupon, so I got this bag for about a dollar and thought I could do something with them.
So last night, with our inaugural burgers-on-the-grill night, I baked half the bag of them, and then coarsely mashed them. Then, I added:
a little garlic salt
a little bit of dill weed
a drizzle of olive oil (probably a tablespoon or so)
crumbled feta cheese (around 1/4-1/3 cup)
black pepper
I just stirred this up, microwaved it for about 45 seconds to make sure the cheese got warmed up a bit, too, and served. And they were delicious!! The kids didn’t like them, but, no one gagged on the one bite I made them take, either, so that’s nice.
Soul Sweet Taters
30 Dec 2010 Leave a Comment
in company's coming!, holidays, side dishes, vegetables
Or, that’s what The Pioneer Woman calls it! I would call it sweet potato casserole. Either way, it got RAVE reviews at our Christmas dinner.
I followed her recipe to the T.
Recipe: Sweet Potatoes
| | |
Ingredients
- 4 whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- 2 whole Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 cup Pecans
- ½ cups Flour
- ¾ sticks Butter
Preparation Instructions
Wash 4 medium sweet potatoes and bake them in a 375-degree oven until fork tender, about 30-35 minutes. When they are finished cooking slice them open and scrape out the flesh into a large bowl.
Add 1 cup of (regular grandulated) sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. With a potato masher, mash them up just enough—you don’t want to be perfectly smooth.
Now, in a separate bowl, add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup pecans, chopped (that means measure a cup of pecans, then chop them), ½ cup flour, and ¾ stick of butter. With a pastry cutter or fork, mash together until thoroughly combined.
Spread the sweet potato mixture into a regular baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture all over the top.
Bake in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
***I did use whole milk because somewhere in her long description she recommended it. I also mashed the potatoes completely because I did it before I read the recipe. Other than that, I followed it to a T
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
21 Dec 2010 2 Comments
in appetizers, apples, at least one kid ate it, company's coming!, dessert, fruit, holidays, side dishes, snacks
So, I was making my grocery list for hosting Christmas this weekend via this website. I didn’t realize I hadn’t posted this much requested recipe. Here it is! Great for holiday gatherings, bridal/baby showers, etc. So good!
2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2 golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and diced
8 oz rasberries (I’ve used frozen)
1 pound strawberries
2 tbspn white sugar
1 tbspn brown sugar
3 tablespoons fruit preserves, any flavor (I’ve used all different, really whatever I have here at home)
10 10-inch tortillas
Butter flavored cooking spray
2 cups cinnamon sugar
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix kiwis, apples, raspberries, strawberries, white sugar, brown sugar, and fruit preserves. Cover and chill in fridge at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Cut into wedges and arrange in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle wedges with desired amount of cinnamon sugar. Spray again with cooking spray. Bake in oven 8 – 10 minutes. Serve with fruit salsa!
New Twists on Old Favorites
16 Nov 2010 2 Comments
in at least one kid ate it, Pasta, sandwiches, side dishes
The other night I made a new pork chops dish that I wasn’t sure would go over big with the boys (and I was wrong, thankfully…they loved it! I’ll post it soon). I wanted to make a side dish that I thought would get eaten, but didn’t really have anything in mind, and I was running out of time.
Being that necessity is the mother of invention…
I cooked up the rest of a box of orzo pasta, drained it, and added some butter, some grated parmesan (I would have shredded some if I’d had time), a little garlic salt and some black pepper. It was really good – the older two boys gobbled theirs right up! We called it garlic bread pasta because, well, it tasted like garlic bread. Quick, easy, and eaten – hooray!
—-
Our new favorite grilled cheese sandwiches, which go well with soup or just about anything, are made like this:
Slices of some kind of good, white bakery bread
Slices of provolone cheese (or muenster would be good, too)
Butter
Garlic salt
Lightly butter the bread and lightly sprinkle with garlic salt.
Make a grilled cheese!
These are so amazingly delicious you won’t believe it. They are also really good cut up into small cubes and thrown INTO soup like croutons.
Cuban Black Beans and Rice
12 Oct 2010 2 Comments
in Cooking for 2, side dishes, vegetables
YUM! This is a great meatless meal (though Matt *did* mention that it seemed more like a side dish, which it would be fine as, as well) that I will definitely be making again. The recipe halves very easily.
From Real Simple, with my small changes.
1 cup long-grain white rice (I used jasmine)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (I only used this because we had some from our neighbor’s garden; it would be fine without it)
2 cloves garlic, chopped (I just ran them through the press)
kosher salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 15.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (BUMMER! I forgot to put this on top of it tonight!)
Cook the rice according to the package directions (I cooked the rice in chicken broth).
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cook for 1 minute.
Add the beans, oregano, and 1 cup water. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
Add the vinegar. Smash some of the beans with the back of a fork to thicken. Serve over the rice. Top with cilantro, if you remember that it’s in your fridge.
