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What's Cooking: Volume 5

So I really have no idea where the heck the past week went. I worked on that project a lot, that's for sure. And when it was done, I slept quite a bit. I worked out pretty much not at all.

The weekend, like all others, was gone in a flash. We did make the loaded potato soup (meh.) and fried rice (what's not to love??) and on Thursday when I went to Bunco, I roasted the sweet potatoes and just tossed the salmon in the oven with some seasoning on top. I understand it was all palatable. The kids devoured the sweet potatoes and out of 4 pieces of salmon I made, only 1 and a half were left.

Over the weekend, well I can't remember what we did on Friday. We went to the mall, so maybe we ate out, but I don't recall that … I think we just ate leftovers. Sunday was the only day we cooked. We made Ricotta Gnocchi when we had my uncle, aunt and cousins over for dinner. It did not go as well as planned, chiefly because Tabby woke up cranky from her nap and demanded held the ENTIRE TIME we were making the gnocchi. This slowed the entire process down and it was not piping hot when served. We also have to remember to do TWO pots of boiling water when we're doing that for a crowd. They cook fast, but not THAT fast.

This week is a helter-skelter week. Last night we had to run an errand and ended up eating at the food court. I sent Matt to get what I imagined to be lovely healthy lean meats, vegetables and rice from the “Japanese” vendor and he came back with the greasiest, grossest mess of junk (not his fault … that's what they had and we didn't really realize how bad it was until we'd tasted it). I ate just enough so as not to gnaw my own arm off and then stared longingly at our neighbors salads and soup from Paradise Bakery. Lesson learned.

I've still got Broccoli Cheese soup to make from last week and Matt made Chicken Tagine after we got home last night so we can get to gymnastics on time this evening. Wednesday we have a dinner invite and I'm (supposed to be) heading out of town on Friday, so Matt and the kids will probably order some pizza up or go visit my parents.

Luckily the freezer is stocked up with a few things and I have some good sandwich and salad makings. We will definitely not starve. Still trying to find that camera …

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A Funny Thing Happened …

So remember the time when I screwed up Tabby’s preschool registration and she landed on two waiting lists instead of in preschool? Whoops. Bad mommy.

Well hopefully I’ve redeemed myself. Our “backup” preschool was registering last week and so we called to see if we could at least reserve a spot for Tabby for fall. Not only did the have a spot for Tabby for fall, but since she is potty trained and very nearly 3, she could start … well, Monday (TODAY).

Of course we found out about this last week, and so we had a little time to prepare. Tabby was (and still is) hugely excited. The school is an excellent one (with accolades from practically everyone I know) and was only our back-up for $$ reasons – it is just 2.5 hours 2 days a week and does not replace our sitter … just adds to our monthly out-go. But it is a lovely program. They have a barn with many animals that the kids can go visit and it is a lovely homey setup with math and play and art stations and circle time and snack.

Tabby has a class of about 18 kids (mostly girls!!) and two teachers who are very nice and patient ladies. She wasn’t a bit shy, just commented that she couldn’t decide what to play with first and immediately asked to go potty (yay!). She listened to a story about Kangaroos and made Mexican Pinch Pots and apparently knows how to recognize her name (when did that happen??).

It was a momentous day in our little girl’s life and I was so proud watching her out in the big world. She met it head on with style. It is so amazing to see her make this transition. I cannot believe we’re here already.

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The Latest and Greatest

What I'm Digging
After having about 3 pairs of wireless headphones BREAK on me after about 18 months of use, I have replaced them with a bluetooth transmitter and bluetooth headphones. They are very light and nice to run with and hopefully when the headphones give up the ghost, I'll only have to replace one piece (at half the cost?).

Have y'all seen Craigslist Desktop? It is so cool! It's a desktop application (run on Adobe Air) that you can use to browse Craigslist … visually … like Amazon. It also allows you to save your searches, so you can come back day after day and look for new listings. Awesome!!

What I'm Watching
Make it or Break It is currently just about the only show I'm watching on a weekly basis. I find it to be very motivating while I run on the treadmill. It's an excellent mix of athleticism, catty girl-fights and good music.

As I work, I been catching snippets of The Winter Olympics. I love the cheesy drama of it all, and the possibility that Russian skaters might fall and cry. That, my friends, makes for fine TV.

I also picked up Big Love Season 2 from the library yesterday. Hopefully I will find time to watch it instead of letting it sit around 3 weeks and eventually start accumulating late fines (sorry Pushing Daisies Season 2). Continue reading “The Latest and Greatest”

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What's Cooking: Volume 4

Since Matt was out of town last week, my cooking was kinda lame, but I managed to take it up a notch over the weekend and even planned all of our meals by Friday morning and had shopping done by Friday afternoon. It was strange (and kind of nice, especially since it was a snowy day) to not have to go to the grocery store on Sunday. I doubt I can manage it every week, though!

Everything from last week turned out fine. Thursday night I ducked into Target on my way home from work and picked up just a couple of ingredients that we needed to make some absolutely delectable Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Tabby and I tackled them after dinner while we waited for Daddy to get home. Ben played with his trucks and cruised around the kitchen.

Friday was date night and we saw Avatar (meh.) and then came home and cooked dinner. Most of it was your typical fair, but we made really great potatoes to go with it, sort of baked fries, loosely based on a Martha recipe.

Saturday I worked on my freelance project pretty much all day, so I made the incredibly easy Cinnamon Lamb Stew for dinner when my parents, sister, grandma and brother in law joined us for dinner. It was a huge hit with everyone. Mom and Tabby brought MORE cupcakes (funfetti) to share for dessert.

I got a good deal on LOTS of blueberries when I stopped in at Whole Foods, so I made a couple of batches of blueberry waffles on Sunday to tuck away in the freezer. The kids eat them like crazy and it has become increasingly difficult to find good ones (Kashi) for them. Tabby taste-tested them and was something of a fan, preferring them over the dinner we planned, though she ate some of that too (look for me to buy longer pants soon).

For dinner, we had Chicken Gyros, which I would make again absolutely anytime. Super easy and pretty quick, if you take out the marinating time. Incidentally, you might have noticed that two of the recipes I made recently came from the same site: Annie's Eats. It's beautifully photographed and has really yummy recipes … and it's a new favorite! Most of the recipes are a bit of a departure from my everyday eating philosophy, but I will be headed here in search of cupcakes and party food for sure!

Weekend over, we have not gotten off to an auspicious start for the week. I am still in project completion mode (this close, really!) and we had to finish getting the house picked up so our cleaning people can clean it today, so we decided to hop over to our neighborhood pizza joint for a pie. For the rest of the week, we are (theoretically) having: loaded potato soup, fried rice, broccoli-cheese soup, and walnut-crusted salmon with roasted sweet potatoes.

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Crispy Oven Potatoes

from: loosely adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch strips
1/3 grated hard cheese (parmesan, for example)
2 tsp herbs and seasonings (as you like)

Directions
Place the potato strips in a bowl of cold water. Heat oven to 375. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Mix cheese and spices in a large bowl. Drain potatoes and pat dry. Place potatoes in bowl with cheese mixture and toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes, turn and then cook another 20 minutes.

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Whole Grain Blueberry Waffles

from: Mr. Breakfast

Ingredients
1 cup fresh blueberries (or frozen if unavailable)
1 and 1/2 cups reduced-fat milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 large egg – lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Heat waffle iron to preferred setting and prepare with a generous coating of cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together flours, oats, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, vegetable oil and egg.

Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until large lumps disappear. Don't overmix. Fold in blueberries.

Make waffles according to your waffle iron's instructions. I make mine at medium-high heat (I like them a little crispy on the edges) and it usually takes about 4 minutes until steam stops coming out of the machine and the waffles are golden brown.

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And The Moral of the Story Is …

• Matt arrived home safely Thursday night. I was very glad to see him.
• Friday was super-busy with a playdate and a bunch of other stuff.
• My parents took the kids Friday night so we could have a date.
• We went to see Avatar in 3D. From a story standpoint, it kinda sucked. The graphics were amazing though.
• We picked up steaks at Whole Foods for dinner … they were OK, but the potatoes were awesome (more on that tomorrow).
• Sans kids, I skipped my “long run” Saturday morning and spent the whole day working on my freelance project while Matt worked in the basement.
• We hosted my parents, grandma, sister and brother-in-law for dinner on Saturday Night. It turned out well (more on that tomorrow too).
• I made the kids mix CDs with new bedtime music on them for Valentine's day (plus a couple of other little treats).
• We went to the gym and scratched the surface on weekend indulgences.
• We came home and had lunch and playtime and then NAPS (for the whole family).
• In the evening, we had a nice dinner, a bath (the kids), and folded laundry.
• I watched the Olympics and worked on THE PROJECT until they were over. Making excellent progress, but need more time!
• Unfortunately, due to excellent afternoon nap, could not fall asleep until after midnight.
• Was NOT able to get up at 4:30 AM for Monday run … this is a reoccurring theme with me.

So the moral of the story is … No Naps on Sunday!!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

from: Annie’s Eats

Ingredients
For the filling:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the cake:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
½ cup creamy peanut butter
3¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

To make the filling, combine the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract in a bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls (at least 24) and set aside on a baking sheet.

To make the cake batter, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; whisk together and set aside. In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the sour cream, milk and vanilla extract. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar, and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just until incorporated.

Spoon a tablespoon or two of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Place a ball of the peanut butter filling in each cupcake well and top with the remaining batter so that all the cups are filled. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter and peanut butter until smooth. Slowly mix in the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth and well blended. Mix in the whipped topping until smooth and fluffy. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

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Chicken Gyros

from: Annie’s Eats

Ingredients
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (use greek to skip the straining time)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible. If you use Greek Yogurt, though, this step can pretty much be skipped as it is already drained.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add it to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. If you like your onions cooked a bit (I do), broil or cook them along with the chicken. Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes.

Assemble pitas, sauce, tomatoes and chicken together and ENJOY.