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.
Chopped Dinner, Take 2
23 Feb 2012 3 Comments
in chicken, chopped dinners, dessert, there's chocolate in this!, vegetables
Bennett was up second…and his list was a little harder to work with.
Oh boy.
So my first thought, again, was chicken…though, I promise, the next two meals will not involve chicken. I looked and looked for orange chicken recipes that I thought would be eaten by my children, and when I came across this one, I thought immediately of my Balsamic Garlic Chicken (which we all eat and love), so I thought I could modify my recipe to include orange instead of lemon.
The french fries…really, again? Inspiration for that was from the episode of Chopped viewed right before writing down ingredients, so I have those fries to work with again. I bought Ore-Ida Fast Food Fries in hopes that they’d bake up really crispy. They did, and made a perfect little “nest” for the chicken…get it? A bird in a nest?
food thrown on a plate. this dinner took forever to make and i didn't plate it very creatively, did i?
*crickets*
I also made Roasted Broccoli, which I’ll post on here soon, as it’s a keeper. And, I made these orange rolls, which were really yummy and almost dessert-like. I didn’t have Grands biscuits; I had regular Pillsbury ones though, so I just rolled each of those into the rope she describes instead of cutting the biscuits and rolling them. I halved the rest of the recipe (for one can of biscuits) and had more than enough for the amount it made.
Now for the chocolate syrup. No way was I going to ruin dinner with chocolate syrup, so I just made dessert. I used an allrecipes recipe for Chocolate Orange Fondue, using semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips + some Hershey’s syrup – the orange liqueur because we didn’t have any. I served it with marshmallows, strawberries and banana slices. Delicious! It was the kids’ first time eating fondue (I just put their chocolate in a bowl and cut up their fruit, and let them dip using a toothpick), and they were fans for sure! Matt and I had a couple of bites, but otherwise, they polished off nearly a pound of strawberries and a couple of bananas!
yum!
New Year’s Day Dip
01 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in appetizers, company's coming!, holidays, snacks, vegetables
It’s tradition in some parts of the country to kick off a new year by eating black-eyed peas in some fashion, and for many years, we’ve tried to do this!
I know lots of people call this Texas Caviar, but I kind of think that’s a dumb name, so I call it New Year’s Day Dip. This particular recipe came from my parents!
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can red kidney beans
1 can shoepeg (sweet white) corn
1 jar diced pimentos
Put all ingredients in a colander and drain; transfer to a large bowl, and to that add:
1 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly (I use the light green part, but not the stalk part)
In a small saucepan, combine:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Pour liquid over the bowl of vegetables, and refrigerate for a couple of hours. STRAIN BEFORE SERVING (so your serving bowl should not be full of liquid).
this is what it looks like before it's strained.
Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos – Scoops work best!
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
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.
Butternut Squash Bake
22 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in company's coming!, side dishes, vegetables
When my brother Zach and his wife, Michon, recommend a recipe, we have to try it…they both love to cook and make some goooood food! They’d both talked about how good this was, so we had it tonight with dinner, and Matt and I thought it was delicious. The kids, not so much, but that’s ok!
1 (4 lb) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, & cubed (pretty small, bite-sized pieces) (also, helpful tutorial here for peeling/cutting squash)
1/3 yellow onion, minced
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 c. Italian bread crumbs, divided
1 tbsp. minced fresh thyme (I have used 1 tsp of dried before)
6 oz. crumbled blue cheese or feta (I use feta b/c I don’t love blue cheese)
sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss the squash, onion, garlic, olive oil, 1/2 cup of the Italian bread crumbs, thyme, and blue cheese in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a large baking dish (I use 9×13 or 9×9 if using only a 2 lb squash). Sprinkle remaining bread crumbs over the squash.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 35 to 40 minutes.
I halved the recipe and used a 2-lb squash and I’d say it made 4 adult servings.
Mexican Street Corn
07 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in company's coming!, grill, vegetables
A friend gave me this recipe a couple of summers ago. This corn is delicious! And a discussion last night at small group about grilled corn made me think of it.
6 large ears fresh corn, husks and silks removed (leave stalk for handle)
1 T olive oil
1/2 c mayo
2 T fresh minced cilantro
1 T fresh lime juice
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2-1 tsp garlic powder
1 oz feta cheese (1/4 cup) – I’ve read you can use cotija, too, but I think feta is better!
Adjust oven rack 5″ from broiler and heat broiler. Brush corn with oil and transfer to foil-lined cookie sheet. Broil corn until well browned on 1 side, about 10 minutes. Turn corn over and repeat.
**It would be perfectly fine to grill the corn without oil if you want…the result will be the same.**
While corn cooks, mix remaining ingredients.
Remove corn and roll in mixture. Return to broiler until cheese is warm and slightly toasted, about 1 minute (of course, you don’t want to do this step on the grill). Season with salt and pepper and serve with any remaining mayo mixture.
Ravioli Veggie Soup
27 Feb 2010 1 Comment
in at least one kid ate it, company's coming!, soup, vegetables
I was blessed with this recipe from my wonderful friend, Sarah. I love that it is a no meat recipe. I don’t have a ton of those, and this is a nice change every once in a while. There are a lot of estimates in this recipe, but I tried hard to keep track of everything last night so that I could give a little more detail to this recipe Two out of three kids ate at least parts of the soup….I call that success!
Start with about 4-4 1/2 cups of water in a big pot.
Cut up carrots, celery, and onions. Add those to the pot. Amounts depend on what you want. I do about two big handfuls of each.
Boil this until carrots are soft.
Add a can of petite cut diced tomatoes and a 15oz can of tomato sauce.
Add in 2-3 bay leaves. Remember to take these out when finished before eating!
Add in a can of corn, drained, and a can of green beans, drained.
Add in a couple big handfuls of frozen peas. (This is the ONLY way I will eat peas. Not a fan of them, but they are good here!)
I then taste the base of this soup and usually add in a couple teaspoons of sugar for what we like. You can also add in tomato paste/more tomatoes for the flavoring.
The best part? Little cheese ravioli from trader joe’s! You’ll find them in the dry pasta section – not refrigerated. I usually add about half the bag to the pot. Let those cook for about 16 minutes.
You can also add a can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed. This is optional. Sometimes I add them, sometimes I don’t. Depends on the mood! Definitely add these at the very end, though.
I sprinkle shredded parmesan on top and serve with bread. Enjoy!
** This is a great meal to make when you are having a couple people over as it makes a LOT. I’ve also made this when I need to make a meal for someone else. It definitely makes enough to give to another family for dinner and still have enough for ourselves to eat!
Beans for Supper
31 Aug 2009 3 Comments
I promised my brother Zach, who I got this recipe from, that I’d title the post that way. It’s in reference to an old song that our brother, Jake, and cousin, Eric, made up on our electronic keyboard when we were kids. As you may imagine, given the title of the song, there were incredible sound effects. I’m not sure my mom liked this song, but I really wish there was a recording of it somewhere.
Michon made these beans on Saturday evening and they were soooo good. Zach claims that he made up this recipe; Michon is pretty sure her sister Jackie gave it to her. We’ll go ahead and call its origins “unknown.”
Soy Sauce Green Beans
1T olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1T sugar
3T soy sauce
1 lb bag frozen green beans
2T whole flax seeds
Combine first 4 ingredients into a pot, stir together, then add frozen green beans to the mixture. Cook covered on medium heat until green beans are soft (roughly 15 minutes of cooking time). Be sure to stir beans occasionally while cooking so that all of the beans absorb some of the sauce. Stir in the flax seeds for the last minute or two of cooking time.
