Leftovers in our house are no accident. I guess that I really shouldn't call them leftovers because it's not simply food that didn't get eaten for dinner - it's food that has been planned for and calculated into the grocery shopping. Ben likes to take the leftovers to work for lunch and the kids even pack it in their lunch boxes occasionally. If we've accumulated a lot of leftovers in the refrigerator, I pull them out for weekend lunches. We make a huge buffet of leftovers on the kitchen island and let everyone fill their plates with whatever they choose. (Almost like being at Golden Corral - sort of.) A lot of the food that I prepare one day, gets turned into something else on another day so no one is even aware that they're eating leftovers. (Remember the skirt steak that became fajitas and then steak salad and then fajita pizza?) The point is that I normally prepare more food that my family will eat in one meal - on purpose. It takes careful planning, precise calculations and more times than not - a whole lot of guess work to figure out exactly how much my family will eat on any given day. Planning for leftovers is not a job for the faint of heart. Even the most careful plans can all be thrown out the window if just one person gets particularly hungry and eats everything all at once. (Teenagers - They have the weirdest eating habits.) I considered doubling this recipe for Broccoli Tuna Casserole from the October issue of Taste Of Home but I was banking on the fact that my family would eat about half for dinner and I could save the other half for lunches. It's especially hard to judge how much they will eat when I make a new recipe because I just never know what they're going to like. It was a gamble but I decided to just make one recipe and hope for the best. Broccoli Tuna Casserole 5 cups egg noodles 1 teaspoon butter 1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup cornstarch 2 cups milk 1 teaspoon basil 1 teaspoon thyme 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 cup broth 1 cup Monterrey jack cheese 4 cups frozen broccoli florets 2 pouches tuna 1/3 cup panko 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
Bake 45 minutes at 350. Turns out - my family really enjoyed this tuna casserole. They didn't eat the ENTIRE pan but they did eat most of it. It was a super yummy meal for a cold winter's night.
Ciao!
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I think December should be declared national coffee month. Even for a non caffeine drinker like myself, coffee is what I crave in the month of December. Sometimes, I just want to wrap my cold hands around a mug of steaming hot coffee simply for warmth. It's also the month that I want to curl up in front of the fire with a cup of coffee and watch a movie. (Honestly, that RARELY happens in December but I can dream can't I?) What goes better with a warm cup of coffee on a cold winter day than a crunchy biscotti? Give me a sweet biscotti and a cup of coffee in the afternoon and I am a happy girl. I found this recipe for Cranberry Orange biscotti on bakerbynature.com. I'm always trying new biscotti recipes and this one sounded like it would be perfect for Christmas morning. Cranberry Orange Biscotti 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons orange zest 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 teaspoons baking powder 2 large eggs, at room temperature 2 cups all purpose flour 1 cup sweetened or unsweetened dried cranberries
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Cut the biscotti into 1/2- to 3/4-inch slices.
Get your coffee pots ready folks - these biscotti are just begging to be dunked. As always, biscotti are freezable so if for some weird reason they don't get eaten for Christmas, you can always them away for a cold January day.
Ciao! I just want it to go on record that Amy Davis actually made a granola bar WITHOUT chocolate chips! Surprised? Me too. Granola bars are my new favorite go-to-snack and I've been scouring through Pinterest in search of new recipes lately. I admit that I'm pretty particular when it comes to granola bars. I've learned (the hard way) that there are several things that I DON'T like in my homemade granola bars. First of all, I don't like peanut butter in granola bars and that alone eliminates a LOT of the recipes right off the bat. I also don't like raisins but those can be easily swapped out for another fruit so that isn't a deal breaker when I'm looking at recipes. Lastly, I prefer the granola bars that don't have rice cereal in them. It's not that I don't like these bars. As a matter of fact, I've made them before and I really quite enjoy them but they make me feel more like I'm eating a rice crispy treat dessert than a healthy snack. I prefer a more simple combination of oats and nuts. This recipe came from bluejeangourmet.wordpress.com and with a few minor tweeks, I made a perfectly delicious (and chocolate free) granola bar. Even though it was never my intention to create a totally chocolate free granola bar, I decided that the ingredients in this granola bar were good enough to stand on their own. I think my hunch was right on this time - these granola bars are awesome. Cherry Almond Granola Bars Ingredients: 2 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup sliced almonds 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut ¼ cup golden flax meal ¼ cup wheat germ Return to the bowl and stir in: 1 cup dried fruit, chopped ½ tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. nutmeg pinch of salt Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper. Drop the oven temperature down to 325˚. Press the granola mixture into the pan, using your fingers to get an even layer and pressing down hard. Use the back of a metal bowl or small water glass to smooth out the top. Bake the bars for 10 minutes, just to help them harden. Cool thoroughly (at least two hours) before lifting the parchment-lined bars out of the pan. Cut into desired size using a sawing motion with a sharp serrated knife. I like to put my granola bars in the refrigerator for about an hour before I try and slice them. (Just a suggestion.) These granola bars are the perfect breakfast treat with a cup of peppermint tea. I am definitely packing some of these up to take to the soccer tournament this weekend too. I really liked these granola bars. (Even without chocolate.) I think I will leave out the nutmeg next time because it was a little overpowering but otherwise - this recipe's a keeper.
Ciao! Anyone else needing a sugar detox this month? Seriously, I think I've consumed more sugar in the past 30 days than I've eaten all year. I need a serious sugar intervention. I'm not about to take this sugar addiction lying down - it's time to get some healthy food into this body. My brother first told me about this recipe for Salmon Cakes from Giada. He described them to me over the phone and made them sound so good that I looked up the recipe for myself and decided to give them a try. (Thanks for the tip bro.) Salmon Cakes Ingredients Salmon: 1 pound skinless salmon fillet Olive oil, for drizzling Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Patties: 1 large egg, beaten 1/3 cup (1/2-ounce) chopped fresh chives 26 saltine crackers, crushed, divided 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 3 tablespoons mayonnaise, plus more, as needed 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Carefully coat the patties in the remaining crushed crackers and refrigerate for 1 hour. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until golden and crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels. Turns out, my brother was absolutely right - these are delicious. My family gobbled them up and they were super easy to make. You could even make it with leftover salmon. Super easy and sugar free - Win, Win. I also baked a couple of the patties in the oven instead of frying them. They were really good baked too. They didn't get the nice crust from the oil but they were still really tasty. I'm think I'll be making these again really soon.
Ciao! Like so many moms out there, I say "I love you" to my kids, multiple times a day. (If I say it enough maybe one day they'll understand just how much they're loved.) But, I also want them to know that I like them. I genuinely like spending time with them, having fun with them, getting to know their friends and just acting silly with them. I want my kids to know that they are some of my very favorite people. We got to spend lots of time together this year on the kids Fall break. It was a opportunity to just hang out as a family so we took full advantage of the kids being out of school and made a quick trip to Savannah. It was a great place to get away - and to preview a few colleges in the process. Sometimes, spending time with the kids comes at the expense of making dinner. On those nights, we opt for a super quick meal and quite honestly, the kids would rather have family time than a gourmet dinner. I made these steak pizzaiola one night that I was in a hurry and I didn't have much time to get dinner on the table. It turned out to be one of the kids favorite meals. (Who would have guessed?) Steak Pizzaiola 1 pound boneless sirloin steak 4 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 2 teaspoons garlic, minced 1/2 Tablespoon oregano 15 ounce can diced tomatoes 8 mini ciabatta rolls 2 ounces fresh mozzarella, shredded 16 torn basil leaves
Top each with a fresh basil leaf. My son actually said to me "As soon as wrestling season is over - I want you to make these for me again." That is a HUGE compliment in my world so it looks like I'll be making these again in February.
Ciao! |
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