New Inspiration

I bought a new cookbook last week!  (Yes, another one.)  This happens often when I spend more than five minutes at Barnes & Noble.  My new inspiration is The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila.

Funny thing is, though, that my new recipe for today didn't technically come from this book.  She wrote about her mother's use of the Moosewood Cookbook and something about spinach ricotta pie.  From the minute I saw the words 'spinach', 'ricotta', and 'pie' linked together I just KNEW I had to find this recipe!   Thanks to the internet it took less than a minute to find the recipe.  With an overabundance of spinach in the garden, it was easy to whip together the ingredients.

I found Spinach-Ricotta Pie on Mollie Katzen's website.  I'm looking forward to checking out some of her other recipes.  Of course I added a few (four?  five?) cloves of finely minced garlic to the onion in the pan.  I also used Monterrey Jack cheese for no other reason than it was the only thing besides cheddar I had in the house. 

I should have taken a picture.

Oops. 

Trust me, it was fabulous!  Enough to make me think eating vegetarian wouldn't be so bad.  Enough to make me think I might just come home with the Moosewood Cookbook the next time I'm at Barnes & Noble, if it's on the shelf.

Enjoy!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #11

Awesome quick lunch for the grown-ups!

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked salad shrimp (or larger shrimp, chopped)
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons cocktail sauce
• salt to taste
• 2 avocados, halved lengthwise and pitted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Bibb lettuce leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika

Directions
In a bowl, mix the chives, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, and cocktail sauce. Stir in shrimp and season with salt to taste (I don't usually add any salt). Mound the shrimp mixture into avocado halves, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Place avocado halves on Bibb (or Boston) lettuce leaves that have been dusted with paprika.

I didn't have any lettuce leaves on hand yesterday, so I sprinkled the filled avocados with paprika. WAY better this way!

I have one kid who doesn't like shrimp and one kid who doesn't like avocado. So, I cooked two servings of spaghetti and the shrimp hater had hers with butter and avocado (?!) and the other tossed hers with shrimp heated with Ghee.

This is a nice snack, side dish, or light lunch.

Enjoy!

(Not really) Spicy Meatloaf

There's nothing wrong with making comfort food on an 80 degree day in May, right?

The girls asked if Grandpa could have dinner with us tonight since he'll be headed back to Illinois this weekend.  I said sure, as long as they came up with the menu! ;)  Of course, the first words out of Alex's mouth were "Mac and Cheese!"  And what goes better with mac and cheese than meatloaf?

This is the first meatloaf recipe I made as an adult. Back in the days before the internet I used cookbooks.  Two, to be exact.  The New Basics Cookbook by Julie Russo and Shelia Lukins, and Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams.  The former I found on accident and the latter I picked up at Walden Books after watching the show on PBS.  So Spicy Meatloaf is comfort food from a comfort cookbook. :) 

And, for the record, it's not chili pepper spicy, it's just flavorful.  Even my kid who thinks mild salsa is too spicy will eat seconds of this meatloaf!

(Not really) Spicy Meatloaf
Adapted from Marcia Adam's Cooking from Quilt Country

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely minced carrot
• 2 finely minced cloves of garlic

Melt butter in a sauce pan.  Add all of the above ingredients and saute over medium heat until the vegetables begin to brown. 

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 1 1/2 cups fine bread crumbs
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork

While the vegetables are cooking, whisk together in a large bowl all of the above except the bread crumbs, ground beef, and ground pork.  Add bread crumbs and browned vegetables to the bowl and mix into the egg mixture.  Add ground beef and ground pork and combine well.  Transfer into an oiled casserole and form into a loaf.

Bake at 400F for 45 minutes then let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Optionally, you can cook this in the slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

If you like, you can add strips of bacon to the top of the meatloaf.  Since I live in the hot, humid mid-south I like to use my slow cooker in the summer months.  Which is great for keeping the house cool, but no so great for crisping the bacon on top of the meatloaf. ;)

This has been a family favorite for the last 20 years.  It's a bit of work, but all worth it for this tasty meatloaf!

Enjoy!

Lemon Bay Scallops

I haven't finished Operation Clean Out the Freezer because life has been getting in the way.  We've been out and about too much with soccer, church (senior stuff), prom, and dentist appointments.  Hopefully I'll be posting again on Monday with something new and wonderful made from those forgotten bits that were sitting in my freezer. :) 

We were shopping at Kroger this afternoon and Ashe asked if we could have scallops for lunch. Having broken the cardinal rule of grocery shopping - shopping on an empty stomach - it sounded like a great idea to me! This recipe was on the back of the bag of scallops and we thought we'd give it a try since it looked simple and tasty.

Lemon Bay Scallops

Ingredients

• 1 12-oz package frozen bay scallops, thawed
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp. white wine
• 2 Tbsp. (1/4 stick) cold butter, chopped into pieces
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 3 Tbs Basil leaves, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 package spaghetti, cooked

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Thaw scallops and pat dry with a paper towel. Place scallops on foil. Sprinkle on lemon, butter, wine, salt, and pepper. Bake until scallops are opaque white on the inside (approx. 7-9 min.). Toss with tomatoes and basil and serve over spaghetti.

It wasn't anything to jump out at you, but I think that's the point of scallops.  Better to taste the full flavor of the scallops.  Both Ashe and I liked it, but I don't think it would work for the rest of the family.  Maybe with a cream sauce?

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #10

 Nachos with Beef and Beans.

 Beef and Beans

• 1 lb ground beef
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 j, chopped (seedless for less spice)
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (don't forget the stems!)

Brown all ingredients except the black beans in a skillet over medium high heat.  After all pink is gone from the ground beef, add the can of beans and simmer about five minutes.  Add cilantro and continue to cook until all vegetables are soft.

Serve over nachos with cheese, salsa, olives, lettuce, sour cream...  whatever you like to put on your nachos.

I got this recipe from a show Rachael Ray did at least seven years ago about take-home at home.  She made fresh pico de gallo and cheese sauce based on a white sauce,  but that's too much work for us most days.  The show made me SO hungry that I ran out and bought cilantro and jalapeños, the two ingredients I was missing.  From that day forward, for the rest of the summer, I made the full nachos with the cheese sauce for my kids and their friends in our apartment complex every week.  It's easy to make for a crowd.

The beef and beans is also good inside tacos and burritos.

ENJOY!

P.S.  In case you were wondering...  I couldn't get the actual recipe because my cookbooks are being held hostage by a disassembled bunk bed. :p

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #9

Nothing exciting or spectacular today. Just an old stand-by that cooks up quick yet tastes like it took all day.  Dentist appointment this morning and volunteer job this evening meant it was a Hurry Up and Cook Day.

Normally I keep a couple jars of each of the Seeds of Change Indian simmering sauces in my pantry.  I buy them at my local Kroger or at Trader Joe's.  During basketball season I shopped at the Kroger in Gallatin and they carry the brand in the picture.  Okay, but not nearly as good as Seeds of Change.

The cauliflower and broccoli I tossed in were already chopped into bite-size pieces, so adding them and the snow peas didn't take any extra time.  I imagine frozen vegetables would work, too, in a pinch, but I've never tried that with these sauces.

Like Indian?  Give them a try - Seeds of Change sauces are great in a pinch!  Serve over pasta or rice.

ENJOY!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #8

I heart Bethany's Italian Sausage with Bowties.   A lot.  I forgot how much until I ate dinner tonight.

For the Love of Grub:  Italian Sausage with Bowties. 

There was a moment of panic when I thought I only had one can of tomatoes, but thankfully there was a second hiding behind the canned chicken.  (Can you believe I made it through four decades on earth without ever knowingly eating canned chicken?  Yea...  if it weren't for necessity, I'd have like to have made it my whole life. :p)

As always, less is not more when it comes to fresh garlic.  I used about six cloves... maybe 3 or 4 teaspoons.  We do love our garlic!  I think I may have used a whole teaspoon of red pepper flakes (I was sort of, maybe, kind of winging it..) but no one is complaining it's too spicy.  Whew.

If you think this recipe is awesome, check out the others on Bethany's blog.  It's one of my main go-to recipe sites.  I linked above in this post and there's also a link in the sidebar.

ENJOY!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #7

Rather than emptying the freezer, today I decided to FILL the refrigerator.  Grocery shopping day!

Lots and lots of produce to help with Operation Clean Out the Freezer!  We hit the farmers' market, Sam's, and Kroger.   It's been at least six weeks since our refrigerator has seen this much fresh produce and I've seriously been missing it.  All of this sitting on the counter inspired me to Clean Out the Fridge. :p  Rearranged all the condiments and bits, washed down the shelves, and moved the shelves so the summer drink pitchers can sit on the top shelf.  Then I washed and chopped and stored.

And now it looks like this:
(I really should have taken a before photo for comparison. It was a disorganized mess, enough to send Julia Child to Papa John's!)

 

Grapes, apples, pineapple, celery, lemons & limes, cauliflower, broccoli, blueberries, peppers (orange, yellow, poblano, and jalapeño) are in the fridge.  Tomatoes (!), cabbage, zucchini, cucumbers, spinach, green onions, potatoes, and butternut squash on the counter.  This makes me so happy!  And so ready to cook!

For dinner tonight I raided the outside freezer.  Sirloin Strip steaks on the grill, garlic spinach, and broccoli salad (a mix in a bag bought today at Sam's for $2.58 - great deal!)  Still cleaning out A freezer, just not THE freezer. ;)

On the menu for tomorrow - Bethany's Italian Sausage with Bowties.  Can't wait!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #6

Wow!  Only one day shy of a week - how exciting.   On the menu today - slow cooker venison stew with Spiedie Sauce marinated venison.

Spiedie Sauce Venison Stew

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 - 2 lbs venison, cut into stew cubes, marinated overnight in Spiedie Sauce**
1 large onion, chopped in large pieces
1/3 cup flour
2 large potatoes, clopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 - 16 oz bag frozen crinkle-cut carrots
4 cups beef broth

Using a medium skillet, brown venison and onion in olive oil over medium high heat.  Add flour to skillet and mix well with meat and onions, allow to cook for about a minute.  Into slow cooker, add meat mixture, potatoes, and carrots.  Salt to taste.  Pour beef broth over everything and stir, ensuring that broth is fully mixed into the rest of the ingredients.  Cook on low 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

This is great served over buttermilk biscuits on a cold winter evening, but better with a green salad in the warmer months.  Also, this is a great recipe to stretch for company.  I can add as few or as many carrots and potatoes to the main recipe as I need to match the number I'm feeding.  I've also added green beans to the stew.  Today, I kept it heavy on the meat side because I knew we'd all be ready for a hearty dinner after working outside.

**Knock-Off Lupo's Spiedie Sauce

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped or pressed)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper


Hat tip to my friend, Traci for suggesting this recipe.  I am IN LOVE with this marinade and it was a huge hit with the family.   As usual, I did add a little more garlic.  Okay, I added A LOT more garlic...  as in like six?  seven? cloves.  We really like garlic. :)

ENJOY!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #5

Noodles with Broccoli and Meat (Cambodia)

I substituted a bag of Asian mixed vegetables for the broccoli and used imitation crab and chicken for the meat.  As always, it did not disappoint!

Cucumber Salad (Indonesia)

2 small cucumbers (I used one large English cucumber)
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbs sugar
slices of hot chili pepper to taste (optional)

Whisk together all ingredients except the cucumbers and onions in a largish bowl.  Add cucumbers and onions, toss with dressing.  Marinate at least 30 minutes before serving.

I skipped the pepper because my family just isn't all that fond of pepper.  Then I increased the garlic powder because I knew I wasn't going to be using the hot chili peppers but I still wanted some kick.  Lastly, I used about 2 tsps of chili powder in place of the hot chili peppers.  This was a perfect side with the stir fry!


Both of these recipes are from Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook by Joetta Handrich Schlabach, 1991, Herald Press. (It's also available from Amazon.)  My number one, absolute favorite cookbook. Ever. I can't recommend it highly enough to my ethnic food loving friends.

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #4

This morning I made biscuits and gravy with the pound of Old Folks breakfast sausage.  Yum!  I even made biscuits from scratch.  Did you feel the earth move? ;)

Sausage Gravy

• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1/4 heaping cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups milk

Brown sausage in skillet over medium heat, breaking into crumbles as it cooks.  Slide cooked sausage to one side of the pan then tilt the pan (while holding back the sausage with the spatula), allowing the grease to collect on the opposite side.  Add flour and stir it into the grease with a fork.  After flour and grease are mixed, stir the sausage into it with the fork.  Brown for about 30 seconds.  Add milk to pan and turn up heat, continually stirring with the fork until the mixture starts to thicken.  Lower heat to simmer and stir occasionally until read to serve over buttermilk biscuits. 

Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter 
• 2/3 cup buttermilk 

Stir together dry ingredients; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add buttermilk, stirring until dough forms ball. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead 5-10 times (do not overwork!). Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut into biscuits. Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, and serve hot!
~ from Whole Foods for the Whole Family


Notes from me, because y'all know I'm not good at following a recipe. :)

1. I used white flour in my biscuits and in my gravy because my hands were too sore too pull the wheat out and grind it.
2. If there isn't enough grease in the skillet from the sausage (this will vary from brand to brand), add a little coconut oil, butter, or olive oil.  There should be about 2 Tbs in the pan before you add the flour.
3. Feel free to use less milk or add more milk to make the gravy the thickness you prefer.  My family prefers a moderately thick gravy, but not so thick it won't come off the spoon.
4. I used 1 tsp of salt because my butter is unsalted.
5. When I use a bland brand of sausage for gravy, I add pepper to the the pan right after I add the flour into the grease.  I've also been known to add a pinch (or three) of onion powder.

These biscuits are good, but not as light and fluffy as the frozen Pillsbury biscuits we all grew so fond of back during that awful year of 2007.  Now that I'm not traveling for basketball all the time I am Determined to learn how to make a decent biscuit.  Good thing the sausage gravy always turns out yummy or my family may starve in the meantime!

Enjoy!

Operation Clean Out the Freezer - Day #3

For the first time in AGES we had the WHOLE family at the table for dinner.  It's much more common for this to happen at breakast.  On Friday.  But this is a Tuesday and it's dinner.  What a special treat!

Given the monumental event, I decided to thaw the pork tenderloin roasts.  My friend Bethany posted the recipe for Jen's Chicken in the comments of my first post.  I just happen to know Jen, too. How cool is that?  As fate would have it, my Scramble buddy, Angela (who also knows Jen AND Bethany :p), also posted online that she'd used this marinade on pork chops the same day Bethany posted on my blog.  Fate?

I served this with potato pancakes, sour cream cucumber salad, and roasted asparagus.  Most awesome dinner!

Jen's Chicken marinade (which I used on Pork Tenderloin)

6 T. olive oil
6 T. soy sauce
6 T. honey
3 T. vinegar
1 1/2 t. thyme
1 1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. cayenne
1/2 t. allspice
1 t. pepper
2 - 1 lb (ish) pork tenderloin roasts.

Preheat oven to 425F.
Whisk together all ingredients except pork tenderloin.
Brown pork tenderloin roasts in a heavy pan over medium high heat.  (I coated my pan with coconut oil.)
Place browned pork tenderloin roasts in a baking dish and pour about half of the marinade over them.  Bake for 15-20 mins (until internal temp is 145F) basting every five minutes.  Before the final five minutes (it took 20 for mine to cook), poured the rest of the marinade over the top and turned the meat.

Jen used a whole tablespoon of pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne in her recipe, but my family isn't too keen on pepper or spicy so I cut those down to suit our tastes.

Everyone loved this!  Next time I'm actually going to use it over chicken, like the recipe was intended. :)