Not much time, so here are some notes for winter that I can expand on later:
* Pizzas continue to be the #1 food at our house. Now I am making the crust w/ part whole wheat flour. Breakfast pizzas are my favorite: sauce, light on cheese, 1 strip of cut up bacon, and crack some raw eggs on top before baking.
* Overnight oatmeal. Just throw some rolled oats and water (ratio is 1 part oats to 4 parts water) into the crockpot before you go to bed at night. Add some dried fruit: apricots, cherries, dates, cranberries, rasins, etc. and some flax meal, then put the crock pot on "low." In the morning you have this super-chewy yummy hot breakfast. I am going to experiment w/ corn grits this week.
* Mac & cheese with add-ins. Sorry, but its a childhood favorite. I tried making my own, but frankly I like the boxed kind better. I use Annie's Whole Wheat Shells & Cheese. Add-in's include: sliced tomatoes & green peas (throw frozen green peas in with the cooking pasta 3 minutes before its done); pureed butternut squash (the kids will never know!); turkey bacon & mushrooms (sauteed together first); and of course, plain w/ a side of fish sticks & ketchup.
* Ham & Swiss on a baguette. Or if you are feeling fancy--hot ham & cheese on a potato roll.
* Saurcraut & weiners cooked all day together in the crock pot. Use a can of beer for your cooking liquid.
* Sides: sweet potato fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, romaine & avacado salad, raw baby carrots, spinach & hard boiled egg salad, deviled eggs, sliced apples & pears, baby arugula w/ lemon juice and olive oil.
* Smoothie: pineapple/coconut juice w/ 1 banana, protein powder, & 2 leaves of raw kale. Just whizz it up and ignore the texture of the kale :)
Aaron's picks:
Aaron has continued roasting various meats, of course. Favorites this winter include: boston butt (pork shoulder--one of the cheapest meats per pound sold out of the case), whole chicken or turkey, pork loin roast, brisket, and chicken drumsticks. He roasts them slowly usually after marinating for 12-24 hours or applying a dry rub. The meat keeps great in the fridge for up to a week and makes an excellent cold lunch served with cheese, bread, broth, and fruit.
Showing posts with label menu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label menu. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Sunday, November 30, 2008
More Fall Favorites
Ok, just some notes to make on fall dinners to archive.
Homemade Pizzas
We are having them 2-3 times a week now! Aaron makes a big batch of dough that keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days with no problem. He makes the crust in one of 2 ways:
* Very very thin, pressed into an 8 or 9" cake pan (sprinkle bottom w/ cornmeal so it won't stick).
* Fried first. This method can be found in Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook Jamie at Home. You basically take the dough, press it round, then throw it into a frying pan with heated olive oil till the dough puffs up. Then you add your toppings and place it under the broiler for just a few minutes. Keep the toppings very light and vegetable-y because the fried dough makes the pizza a bit heavier than you might be use to.
Toppings have included the following: cut up, canned artichoke hearts that I have marinated in olive oil and red wine vinegar. Just cut them up and put them in a tupperware in the fridge w/ oil & vinegar. They'll keep for at least 2 weeks that way. Olives, sausage, and roasted red pepper/eggplant spread.
I've also changed pasta sauces for the pizza. This one is more of a light marinara and is more suitable for pizza rather than pasta. Here are the easy instructions:
Throw some olive oil in a pan, and add 1 chopped garlic clove, dried red pepper flakes, & dried oregano. Slowly fry till the garlic starts to turn golden. Add one 24 oz. can of either diced or whole peeled tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then turn all the way down to a tiny tiny simmer for about 45 min-1 hour, stirring occasionally. If you are using whole peeled tomatoes, don't break them up till the very end. After 1 hour, add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Get out that immersion blender and whizz it all smooth. Check your seasonings and that's it. Freezes beautifully.
Chicken/Goose/Turkey Broth
Aaron likes to roast whatever kind of bird is on sale at the store about once a week. It's a very economical & convenient thing to do, because he can just eat the meat all week during lunch (for those of you who are stay at home parents, you know how hard it is to remember to feed yourself sometimes when you are focusing on the kid) with a small salad, slice of bread, and some cheese or fruit. Anyway, we are now taking the carcus at the end of the week and making a nice broth to freeze. It's a sure-fire way to get rid of an oncoming cold.
Take your carcus and throw in into a pot full of water. Add a couple of carrots, celery, an onion, and a few cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cool, then strain the broth completely--you don't want any chunks of anything in there. Season with salt and pepper and freeze.
To Serve: This comes from an irish recipe called Michaelmas Broth that I found on the internet. Just take your broth, add 2 tablespoons long grain rice, and simmer for about 20 minutes. The rice will kinda thicken the broth a bit. Serve in bowls with some finely cut up pieces of meat and slivers of green onion. I suppose you could throw some other veggies in there as well--baby spinach would be great, and probably mushrooms too.
Extras:
I've also been making quick breads: pumpkin, banana, and applesauce. And breakfast has been either oatmeal, or swiss style museli with heated soymilk and honey. Yum.
Homemade Pizzas
We are having them 2-3 times a week now! Aaron makes a big batch of dough that keeps in the fridge for 3-4 days with no problem. He makes the crust in one of 2 ways:
* Very very thin, pressed into an 8 or 9" cake pan (sprinkle bottom w/ cornmeal so it won't stick).
* Fried first. This method can be found in Jamie Oliver's latest cookbook Jamie at Home. You basically take the dough, press it round, then throw it into a frying pan with heated olive oil till the dough puffs up. Then you add your toppings and place it under the broiler for just a few minutes. Keep the toppings very light and vegetable-y because the fried dough makes the pizza a bit heavier than you might be use to.
Toppings have included the following: cut up, canned artichoke hearts that I have marinated in olive oil and red wine vinegar. Just cut them up and put them in a tupperware in the fridge w/ oil & vinegar. They'll keep for at least 2 weeks that way. Olives, sausage, and roasted red pepper/eggplant spread.
I've also changed pasta sauces for the pizza. This one is more of a light marinara and is more suitable for pizza rather than pasta. Here are the easy instructions:
Throw some olive oil in a pan, and add 1 chopped garlic clove, dried red pepper flakes, & dried oregano. Slowly fry till the garlic starts to turn golden. Add one 24 oz. can of either diced or whole peeled tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then turn all the way down to a tiny tiny simmer for about 45 min-1 hour, stirring occasionally. If you are using whole peeled tomatoes, don't break them up till the very end. After 1 hour, add 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Get out that immersion blender and whizz it all smooth. Check your seasonings and that's it. Freezes beautifully.
Chicken/Goose/Turkey Broth
Aaron likes to roast whatever kind of bird is on sale at the store about once a week. It's a very economical & convenient thing to do, because he can just eat the meat all week during lunch (for those of you who are stay at home parents, you know how hard it is to remember to feed yourself sometimes when you are focusing on the kid) with a small salad, slice of bread, and some cheese or fruit. Anyway, we are now taking the carcus at the end of the week and making a nice broth to freeze. It's a sure-fire way to get rid of an oncoming cold.
Take your carcus and throw in into a pot full of water. Add a couple of carrots, celery, an onion, and a few cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cool, then strain the broth completely--you don't want any chunks of anything in there. Season with salt and pepper and freeze.
To Serve: This comes from an irish recipe called Michaelmas Broth that I found on the internet. Just take your broth, add 2 tablespoons long grain rice, and simmer for about 20 minutes. The rice will kinda thicken the broth a bit. Serve in bowls with some finely cut up pieces of meat and slivers of green onion. I suppose you could throw some other veggies in there as well--baby spinach would be great, and probably mushrooms too.
Extras:
I've also been making quick breads: pumpkin, banana, and applesauce. And breakfast has been either oatmeal, or swiss style museli with heated soymilk and honey. Yum.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Tips for season change
Suddenly its Fall!
And suddenly, we have to figure out what to eat all over again. Gone are the cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers from the backyard. Now we are craving warm food, and turning on the oven is fun again.
Aaron had a great idea of how we should stay on track with our good eating habits. We made a list of all the Fall staple dinners that we like to eat over and over again & that are affordable (and included a category for sides). So each Sunday we sit down and look at the list and see what looks good for about 3-4 nights for the upcoming week. We have 1-2 nights of new recipes, and if any of them stick we add them to the "staple" list for the season. We usually eat with A's parents 1 night a week, and don't really have any kind of formal meal on Saturdays. So, here's the list w/ notes:
Red beans & rice (one of my signature dishes from my grandmother)
Pizzas w/ block mozzerella--we make a dough, divide it into 4 balls, and freeze 2 of the balls. You can also keep the dough balls in the fridge overnight.
White beans w/ sage & ham--this recipe changes every time I make it, but it makes me love my crockpot.
Midnight breakfast--this term was taken from Chef Jamie Oliver. It's basically a frying pan with all your breakfast stuff cooked together (eggs, sausage, tomato slices, mushrooms, etc), kinda like a traditional "English" breakfast fry.
Garlic & Olive oil over pasta--just as plain as it sounds, with a light protein on the side + veg.
Jumbalaya--another one from my grandmother.
Baked beans & hot dogs--now that I can make baked beans from scratch, this one is great to freeze.
Red sauce pasta--there are so many varieties of red sauce to make from canned tomatoes, and the leftovers can be used as pizza sauce the next day.
Sides:
pureed butternut squash, roasted acorn squash, ceasar salad, sweet potato fries, apples & pears, roasted roots & tubers, quick pickles, spinach/feta/pea salad.
Aaron also spends sunday or monday roasting/smoking some variety of meat such as pork shoulder, a whole chicken, chicken quarters, bone in pork chops, or ribs. We also buy meat on sale and freeze it to make hamburgers, bacon, and sausage. He also makes sandwiches: rubens & hot ham & cheese.
Noah and I have a few staples of our own including: quesadillas, sandwiches & tomato soup, baked potatoes, w.w. mac & cheese w/ peas and tomatoes, eggs, turkey bacon, quick fried tofu w/ dipping sauce, french bread pizza (when i'm really feeling lazy).
We are also making focaccia bread to subsitute for crackers, and you can use the leftovers for croutons--yum!!
I might add more as the season moves on.
And suddenly, we have to figure out what to eat all over again. Gone are the cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers from the backyard. Now we are craving warm food, and turning on the oven is fun again.
Aaron had a great idea of how we should stay on track with our good eating habits. We made a list of all the Fall staple dinners that we like to eat over and over again & that are affordable (and included a category for sides). So each Sunday we sit down and look at the list and see what looks good for about 3-4 nights for the upcoming week. We have 1-2 nights of new recipes, and if any of them stick we add them to the "staple" list for the season. We usually eat with A's parents 1 night a week, and don't really have any kind of formal meal on Saturdays. So, here's the list w/ notes:
Red beans & rice (one of my signature dishes from my grandmother)
Pizzas w/ block mozzerella--we make a dough, divide it into 4 balls, and freeze 2 of the balls. You can also keep the dough balls in the fridge overnight.
White beans w/ sage & ham--this recipe changes every time I make it, but it makes me love my crockpot.
Midnight breakfast--this term was taken from Chef Jamie Oliver. It's basically a frying pan with all your breakfast stuff cooked together (eggs, sausage, tomato slices, mushrooms, etc), kinda like a traditional "English" breakfast fry.
Garlic & Olive oil over pasta--just as plain as it sounds, with a light protein on the side + veg.
Jumbalaya--another one from my grandmother.
Baked beans & hot dogs--now that I can make baked beans from scratch, this one is great to freeze.
Red sauce pasta--there are so many varieties of red sauce to make from canned tomatoes, and the leftovers can be used as pizza sauce the next day.
Sides:
pureed butternut squash, roasted acorn squash, ceasar salad, sweet potato fries, apples & pears, roasted roots & tubers, quick pickles, spinach/feta/pea salad.
Aaron also spends sunday or monday roasting/smoking some variety of meat such as pork shoulder, a whole chicken, chicken quarters, bone in pork chops, or ribs. We also buy meat on sale and freeze it to make hamburgers, bacon, and sausage. He also makes sandwiches: rubens & hot ham & cheese.
Noah and I have a few staples of our own including: quesadillas, sandwiches & tomato soup, baked potatoes, w.w. mac & cheese w/ peas and tomatoes, eggs, turkey bacon, quick fried tofu w/ dipping sauce, french bread pizza (when i'm really feeling lazy).
We are also making focaccia bread to subsitute for crackers, and you can use the leftovers for croutons--yum!!
I might add more as the season moves on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)