My life will never be the same...

After nearly 21 years of marriage, I was finally talked into buying an electric griddle.  Granted, it was seriously on sale at Kroger or I never would have even considered it.

 

Do you see what I see?   There are SEVEN grilled cheeses being made at the same time.  Dinner for all of us in ONE batch rather than seven.  This is seriously life altering!  I made pancakes for four this morning in only three batches instead of nine.

I'm so hooked I used the griddle for all three meals yesterday. The grilled cheese was dinner.

PANCAKES ala Nourishing Traditions

Soak overnight 2 cups of fresh ground whole wheat flour in enough buttermilk to make a loose paste

In the morning, add 3 small (2 large or xlarge) eggs, 2-3 Tbs sugar or honey, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.  Mix together and add a water to make the batter pancake consistency.

Cook on the griddle set at 350F.

PORK QUESADILLAS

Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine p. 138

Layer the following on half of a 10" tortilla:

• Swiss or provolone cheese
• Thinly sliced deli ham
• Thinkly sliced dill pickles (or dill pickle relish)
• Onions (sauteed in butter until translucent)
• More swiss or provolone cheese
• Sliced pork roast (I used leftovers from the day before)
• Spicy brown mustard

Toast on the griddle set at 375F until tortilla starts to turn brown.  Flip and toast the other side.


As Julia would say - Bon appetite!

Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed-Pea Salad

Roasted Pork with Black-Eyed-Pea Salad
Everyday Food: Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine p. 137

I actually followed these recipes exactly. Amazing, I know. :p Both the pork and the salad were AWESOME! I didn't think the teens would like the black-eyed pea salad, but both girls loved it. Flower Child even had it for lunch today.

I tossed the asparagus in olive oil and sprinkled it with parmesan cheese, then roasted it under the broiler for about 12 minutes.  This is also from the Martha Stewart cookbook, but I don't know the page number.  We've been roasting our asparagus for years, but the parmesan made it oh-so-much more yummy!

This one is definitely a keeper!

New cookbook!

Everyday Food:  Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart Living Magazine

I really wanted a new Rachael Ray, but when faced with the rack of her books I couldn't remember which ones I already own.  I'm all about FAST so I decided to pick this one up and flip through it while I was killing time.  I swear I did not intend to leave that store with a cookbook!

Now I'm supercharged excited to start cooking again.  LOVE this cookbook.  Not your everyday food, really, but every recipe is so simple to make and most don't require odd ingredients I don't keep in my pantry.  I liked it in the store, I love it now that I've had time at home to sit and page through it.  And I'm only through spring and summer!

Oh yea!   The book is divided into sections by season rather than type of dish.  In each section are soup, main dish, sides, and desserts that are perfect for that season, taking into account the type of cooking we do in that season and the produce that's available seasonally.  For example, many of the summer recipes are for grilling and are lighter fare than the fall and winter dishes.

I've decided to cook my way through this cookbook.  This is something I've never done before and have been thinking about for the last couple of weeks.  I would have started sooner but I couldn't decide which cookbook to use.  This one dropped into my lap (right off the shelf ;)) just in the nick of time!

Greek-Style Garlic Shrimp over Rice

I modified this from the Greek-Style Garlic Shrimp and Orzo in Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats -- A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners; It is #149 on page 133. I didn't have orzo or enough cherry tomatoes to make the recipe as written, so I improvised with GREAT success.


1 lb shrimp, deveined and peeled, tails removed.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 Tbs dried oregano or 2 Tbs fresh, chopped
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Cooked rice

Add the 1/4 cup EVOO, onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes to your skillet.  Turn on the heat to medium high and cook until the onions are translucent. 
And the shrimp to the skillet and cook for a minute or so - make sure you stir and coat the shrimp with the mixture.
Add the can of diced tomatoes, olives, and oregano to the skillet.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until the shrimp are firm and pink, then turn off the heat.

Serve over cooked rice (I started with about 2 cups of dry rice) and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.

This was INCREDIBLE!  And so easy.  I think it's good enough to make without the shrimp.  I think I would let it cook longer, though, to give the juices some time to reduce.

Bento obsession...

Today's lame attempt at bento for dinner.  I see progress, though.  Notice the star-shaped peanut butter sandwich?

I'm not sure if this is going to be enough for her to eat after practice, but I'm thinking we might eat out afterwards and this will be enough to tide her over until we get there.  Or if we have Mexican, it will be her dinner and she'll have dessert while we eat.