I was lucky enough to grow up with a mom who was a fabulous cook. Of course as a kid, I didn't always appreciate all of her culinary creations. As an adult, I often wonder how in the world she managed to teach preschoolers all day AND come home and get hot meal on the table for us every night. Simply amazing. I struggle to get dinner on the table even on the days that I'm home all day! One of the meals that I can remember really enjoying as a child was porcupine meatballs. I used to loved those spiky little balls of meat. I had completely forgotten about porcupine meatballs until I saw a recipe for them in my new Cook's Country magazine. I was was really hoping that they would taste just like I remember them from my childhood. Here goes nothing... Porcupine Meatballs 3/4 cup long grain white rice 2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, mined 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 cups chicken broth 15 ounce can tomato sauce 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar 1 Tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon thyme 1 bay leaf 2 slices hearty white bread (I used hamburger buns instead) 1/2 cup whole milk 12 ounces bratwurst, casings removed 12 ounces 90 percent lean ground beef Bring 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Add rice and return to a boil. Simmer, covered for 8 minutes. Drain rice through a strainer and rinse with cold water. Heat oil in skillet. Add onion and cook until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, paprika and red pepper flakes. Cook 30 seconds. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, sugar, thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Add bratwurst, beef, rice, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Cover dish with foil and bake 1 hour. Here's the verdict - they didn't exactly taste like I remember my mom's tasting. They were a bit on the spicy side for my daughter - but still good. I liked the sense of nostalgia that I felt when I at this dish from my childhood. There were plenty of porcupine meatballs leftover so I tucked the leftovers away in the freezer for another day.
Ciao!
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Ever have one of those days when you're just so busy that you end up doing something really stupid? I had one of those days - not so long ago. I was getting ready to send the kids off to their first day of school and I had 10 errands to run and 1 hour to get them all in. I had my morning all planned out - the stores I had to get to early in order to avoid long lines and the stores that I had to run through last so that I could pick up cold food on my way home. I set out on my mission to conquer my errands - quickly. My first stop - the UPS store. All I had to do was pick up an envelope and mail a package. (I had already planned ahead and preprinted my address label at home to save me time at the store.) I know what your thinking - "she's an errand whiz." Not so fast. I quickly took the envelope from the girl behind the counter, shoved all of my things inside, sealed it and handed it back to be weighed. The friendly UPS employee took my money and tossed the envelope into a large bin with hundreds of other envelopes to be delivered. I walked out of the store feeling confident about checking my first errand off the list in under 5 minutes UNTIL I reached in my purse to get my keys. I spent the next several precious minutes digging through the depths of my purse desperately searching for the keys that were in my hand no less than 5 minutes before. All of a sudden I realized what had happened to my keys - yes, I had MAILED THEM! Feeling completely embarrassed, I had to go back into the UPS store and ask the very nice girl behind the counter to retrieve the envelope that had been tossed into the large bin. It didn't take her long to find my package and fortunately she did a pretty good job of hiding the smirk on her face when she handed it back to me. I opened the envelope and sure enough - there were my keys! Lesson learned - that was the signal that I needed to slow down. It ended up taking twice as long to finish the rest of my errands BUT I did manage to make it home with my keys. I tend to get in a hurry when I fixing dinner too. I love these basil pesto chicken sandwiches because I don't need to be made in a hurry to make them because they come together so quickly. Roasting the chicken in the oven is quick and simple and really makes these sandwiches a snap to put together. (Even for an overambitious person like me.) Basil Pesto Chicken Sandwiches Basil Pesto Sauce 2 Tablespoons basil pesto 2 Tablespoons light mayonnaise 2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts salt and pepper oregano avocado baguettes Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and oregano. Bake 20 minutes in a 350 oven. To assemble sandwiches, spread pesto sauce on top bun. Add chicken to bottom bun. Arrange avocado on top of chicken and replace top bun. Ben and I really enjoyed these chicken sandwiches. Neither of the kids are big basil fans so I swapped their basil pesto out with a little honey mustard. It was a simple way to make a dinner that everyone could enjoy.
PS: If you ever get a set of keys in the mail from me, please send them back. Ciao! The kids have been back in school for a little over a month now and I'm happy to report that we've settled back into a more consistent dinner routine. We still have practices and games and evening activities to juggle but we're managing to sit down and eat dinner together most nights. The biggest challenge to getting back on schedule was getting myself in the habit of starting dinner at 4:00 in the afternoon so that it's ready to eat by the time everyone walks in the door. I have been on the lookout for weeknight meals that I can make quickly so that I won't have to start dinner preparations quite so early. I love this recipe for grilled skirt steak because I was able to reheat it and use it in three different meals! I had it on a spinach salad on the night that I grilled it and Ben and the kids ate it plain. I used it a couple days later to make a fajita pizza and then I used it again to make fajitas for Sunday afternoon lunch. Now that's what I would call a versatile piece of meat! Nobody even suspected that we were eating leftovers and it cut dinner prep time in half because I didn't need to spend time grilling every night. Grilled Skirt Steak Salad 4 lbs. skirt steak salt & pepper 1 liter (33.8 oz. bottle) Coca-Cola 1 cup ketchup 3 oz. bourbon Season steak with salt and pepper. Place on a HOT grill. Stand back and listen for the sizzle.
I ate my steak over a spinach salad with pistachios, dried cranberries and a sprinkling of blue cheese. Ciao!
I think if I had to pick a favorite spice (Is it weird that I have a favorite spice?) it would be cinnamon. I just love the warm, spicy smell of cinnamon. Especially when it's oozing from a loaf of fluffy white bread. Cinnamon rolls and cinnamon bread - forget it - resistance is futile. I don't make cinnamon rolls or bread for breakfast very often because most recipes take a minimum of 2 hours of rising time. (Oh yea, and because I would eat them ALL.) I ran across this recipe from Pinch of yum and it has only 1 rising time instead of 2 which means that I can make them in just under an hour and a half. (Totally doable on a Saturday morning.) I better start working out twice a day if I'm going to be eating this every weekend. Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread 2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup warm water 2½ teaspoons yeast 2½ cups high gluten bread flour (add extra as needed) 1 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons cinnamon ½ cup white sugar Mix the sugar with the warm water in a very large bowl. Add the yeast and do not stir. Let it sit until creamy, about 5 minutes.
It’s up to you and it tastes great either way. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over each loaf. Be generous. Bake on a cookie sheet or baking stone for 30 minutes, or until it sounds hollow. Slice diagonally and eat plain, toasted or french toasted. The general conciseness was that this bread is perfectly french toastable. We all really enjoyed the warm gooey, cinnamony, buttery french toast. (Not so sure cinammony is a word but lets just go with it.)
Ciao! I happened to be pulling these slider buns out of the oven right as the kids were walking in the door from cross country practice. I don't even really have to tell you what happened next. Lets just say - they were ravenous. I pulled 18 rolls out of the oven and by the time we sat down at the dinner table, there were only 6 left! I'm chalking it up to a great roll recipe AND an extra tough practice. I used my buttermilk yeast roll recipe for these little buns. It is totally worth the extra time that it takes to make fresh rolls for these little sliders. It just makes these little turkey burgers taste all that much better. But, it you don't have time to make your own slider buns, I just saw a package of the cutest little slider buns at Kroger this morning. It's entirely possible that they have been on shelves for months and I just never noticed but today was the first time that I'd seen them - super cute. Nothing better to refuel after a long run than a little lean protein and what better way to eat protein than in a burger? This recipe for turkey sliders came from the July 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. I love all the chopped spinach baked right inside the burger. (Super secret way of getting my kids to eat more vegetables.) Turkey Sliders 1/2 bunch flat leaf spinach, chopped 4 scallions, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 pound ground turkey 3/4 teaspoon cumin kosher salt and pepper slider buns
Grill. Serve on tiny slider buns. Dress with your favorite condiments. I didn't even feel the need to add lettuce to my burger because it already had all that yummy spinach in it. I added ketchup, mustard and a pickle to my little slider and it was perfect. These are really tasty and since I made so many, I put a few in the freezer for another day.
Ciao! |
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