Stock your freezer

Well, I haven't decided if it's embarrassing to share this or not, but I'm going for it.

There have been lots of things that are different about this pregnancy in comparison with Ellen's pregnancy: cinnamon raisin bread vs. smores, swollen feet vs. really swollen feet, and NESTING.

I undertook a number of projects with her, and in particular was recovering furniture just days before she was born, but this time it seems different. I've been working on house projects for over a year, so that doesn't really count in my mind. We already have virtually every "baby" thing we'll need, so there has been less planning and shopping. We have oodles of clothes and blankets, yet to be washed, but I know there is time for that. I guess I feel slightly less worried about bringing baby home and better prepared for what it will really be like.

I do, however, have a compulsion about stocking our freezer.

Our friends and family were so nice last time and we had tons of meals delivered. I'm not expecting the same this time, but I know there will probably be some food, and our parents are sure to step in, too. I didn't put anything in my freezer before Ellen was born (in truth, it might have been on the to-do list and I just didn't get to it because she came early), but this time I just feel like I can't shove enough food in there.

I was always able to scrounge up something to eat for myself during my last maternity leave, but this time I'll have Ellen to feed, too. We often each lunch out while we're running errands on our "home days", but that won't be happening near as much. Erik and I could always eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if we didn't have time for anything else, but I hope I can have something more healthy on our dinner table, at least most of the time.

So ... I'll link here to what I've made / what's on my list to make. A few of the things I've made before and several are grand experiments, which I won't know the outcome of until I  make them at some point. Fall / winter is a great time for "freezer meals" - lots of cozy food. I'm trying to use my crockpot more, but it is sort of hard to find crockpot meals that fit with how I usually cook - few processed ingredients, lots of veggies, low-ish fat/calories.

Generally speaking, Pinterest is a good resource to find recipes. This is my freezer / make-ahead board. Blonde designs is a design blog, but they have a few good lists of freezer meals. You can Google "Martha Stewart freezer meals" or "Everyday Food freezer meals" and get good suggestions. I also came across The Yummy Life and she has some great suggestions for healthy freezer options, breakfast in particular. I've been freezing most everything in ziploc freezer bags laid flat, then I can stand them up in the freezer and they take up less room.

Ina's Lentil Vegetable Soup - makes a ton
Morning Glory Muffins -  to be made this week, lots of good reviews of these
Martha's Salmon Cakes - doubled the batch and used salmon filets from Costco. I'm sure you could use canned salmon, but it kind of gives me the heebies.
Mini Meatballs - I've made these several times before, doubled the batch. Nice to have in the freezer - very flexible. I freeze the bacon before chopping and take out some of the fat.
Spicy Orange Chicken Stirfry - an old Everyday Food recipe that I've made before. Makes quite a bit. This links to a similar version of the recipe, but I use a red pepper instead of water chestnuts. Undercook the veggies if you plan on freezing it - they'll cook more when you reheat. To freeze, cool mixture to room temp and freeze in about 2-3 cup portions. To cook from frozen, put in medium saucepan with water or chicken stock as needed to thin. Or thaw overnight in fridge and reheat in saucepan. Serve over rice.
Tamale Pie - good, made several times. There is a typo in the header - this makes TWO 8x8 pans. Particularly good to make to eat one night and then freeze the second for another time.
Chicken and Artichoke Stew - an Everyday Food recipe. Haven't made it before, but it looked really good. I just used the chicken from one (large) rotisserie chicken from Costco.
Chicken Taco Soup, Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew - both on this gal's list. Haven't tried yet. No cook, freezer to crockpot meals.
Shredded Tex Mex Crockpot Chicken - made this, tasty and flexible to have on hand. I doubled it and used all chicken breast, but you could do some breast, some thigh. If you double the recipe you could probably add even more chicken - there was tons of juice leftover. Doubling it made about 3, 2-cup ziploc containers.
Healthy Egg McMuffins - made these today! How bad could they be? I used a microwave egg poacher I got from Erik's mom and the eggs were the exact right size for the english muffins. I made 17 - the number of slices of Canadian bacon in the package I got.
Make-ahead Oatmeal Smoothies (various flavors) - haven't made these yet, but will soon. For freezing, I think I will double the recipe and then split it in 3 jars. I got wide-mouth pint size Ball jars and separately bought the plastic lids - easier to wash and deal with.
Martha's Vegetable Chowder - I've made this before. It's not outstanding, but it is tasty and healthy and a good way to get some veggies in, with a side of grilled cheese. This time I subbed some cauliflower for some of the potatoes and added some butternut squash I had leftover - pretty flexible recipe. Add green beans just at end - they'll cook more with reheating.
Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - I make these all the time - delicious! It's a half-recipe, which is generally the perfect amount. I doubled it this time and just froze the dough to bake whenever. (Or, let's be honest, eat raw and frozen). I use chocolate chips, but like the raisin/nut version, too. 
Baked Penne with Sausage and Creamy Ricotta - to be made still
Fig Balsamic Chicken - to be made still (lots of recipes on this site)
Slow cooker Chicken Curry - to be made still, lots of recipes on this gal's site
Crockpot Mongolian Beef - made, in the freezer. I doubled it because the flank steak comes 2 per package at Costco. I used more ginger, more carrots and quite a bit less sugar. 
Korean Shredded Beef Tacos - made one recipe, but split the meat and other ingredients into 2 bags.

I also found that pancakes freeze really well for an easy microwave breakfast. Just cool to room temp, layer between wax paper and put in freezer bag. I have a healthy oatmeal pancake recipe that's good if anyone is interested, but there are a gajillion options.

Ok ... I have 3 weeks left ... what else should I add to my list?
And, it goes without saying, I know this is WAY TOO MUCH FOOD. Just roll with it, OK?

** edited to add this link to Crockpot Meals for Parents via Clementine's Produce via Dinner: A Love Story **

Meal Planning: Rantings of a crazy lady

Two weeks since I've posted here? Gah. Sorry. I am nesting and tackling projects ... not only "projects", but "PROJECTS". You know those things you thought you might get to someday, but they aren't really pressing or necessary and could totally be ignored? Yes, those are the things that occupy my mind these days (amongst others).

I have finished the little girl's room and the big girl's room - at least 98% finished - and I'll put pictures up soon when they are clean enough to photograph. That was a huge relief to get all that done.

Otherwise, I've got about 7 lists of Things To Do in my iPhone "Notes" section that I just add to / rotate / delete from constantly. I have actually started packing my hospital bag at just shy of 32 weeks. Yes, this qualifies as excessive OCD, but in my defense, there was no bag packed last time and it left me frazzled and Erik scrambling. Of course we did just fine, but I'm trying to avoid all things frazzled.

My latest accomplishment was digitally filing about 8-10 years of recipes that I had saved. I am really trying to eliminate clutter / eliminate tasks hanging over my head / go paperless as much as possible. This hit all three goals - hooray! Erik looked at me sideways more than once but, to his credit, only once suggested that I put everything in the recycle bin and forget about it.

In "days before kid(s)" I subscribed to many cooking magazines and loved reading them. I would tear out recipes that sounded good and then file them in file folders - lots of file folders, lots of recipes. After I made something and thought it was worth making again, it would go in a different file box so I could be sure to find it again.

Fast forward to fewer cooking magazines and more mouths to feed and I'm really approaching our meal planning in a whole different way. I think I've got a good system down and I hope I can keep it working, reasonably well, after baby sister arrives. It is not an exaggeration to say that Evernote has completely changed the way I approach cooking, shopping and planning our meals. I'll share my approach to complete the life cycle of my recipe insanity.

I still get Martha Stewart Living (for life!), Cooking Light and Bon Appetit, plus the random recipes in other magazines or newsletters or blogs or whatever. Any recipe that looks promising gets "clipped" into Evernote. You can also type in recipes, or could even scan recipes, and then every document is searchable by word. This is key. If I have basil I need to use, or pork spare ribs, or whatever - I can search by that ingredient and every recipe will come up that includes it. When I first clip a recipe they get divided by folder - Looks Good, or Tried and True. You can also edit your recipes and add notes after you've made them. This way if I search my 1500+ recipes (see - it's a sickness), I will remember if it's something I've made before. If it isn't worth making again, you can delete it.

I do our grocery shopping for the week on Sundays. With rare exception, we don't visit the store more than once a week. I sit down with our calendar and plan meals for Sun - Thurs nights, accounting for evening meetings and such. I often put leftovers on the schedule so I'm not cooking every night, and I don't plan anything for the weekend to account for leftovers / eating out / whatever. I will usually plan something for lunch, too, and rarely breakfast (usually muesli).

Evernote has really helped me with picking what to put on the grocery list. I search our pantry / fridge / freezer to see what we need to use up and then can search for those ingredients to find a good recipe. We were getting our Door to Door Organics box every week, which I used in a similar way - searching by fruit or vegetable for recipes, but I've temporarily suspended our box to see if I can save some money in our food budget. I really liked the service and was generally 90% happy with the produce, but a box of food showing up every week that needs to be cooked with a newborn in the house probably isn't going to fly. So, now I use our local grocery store ad in a similar way if I'm looking for ideas - see what's on sale and build my grocery list from there.

Most weeks we hit the sweet spot of having most dinners cooked at home, brown bagging most lunches, and ending up with an empty refrigerator on Sunday so we can start all over. I really hate wasting food and I find that we rarely do (also because Erik will eat any leftovers, hallelujah). If I'm being really smart I'll even build in a meal to our week that is more or less a "pantry" meal - something that is made with mostly non-perishable ingredients and can be skipped if something else more exciting shows up during the week. The Dinner: A Love Story cookbook has some great ideas for these kinds of meals.

The process of filing and purging recipes was also interesting to see how my cooking has changed over the years - I'm much more confidant in the kitchen than I used to be, we eat many more vegetarian meals, and they mostly need to be quick to prepare. I had files and files of dessert / sweets recipes, but I rarely bake and likely won't be starting anytime soon.

Also, I'll let you in on a little secret ... it's not only recipes that I horde, but tear pages from magazines for "inspiration". I can fully blame my mother for this - she does it too, but probably not to my extreme. Decorating things, kid things, gift things - all sorts of stuff. I'm slowly trying to transition a lot of this to Pinterest, but that is a story for another time ...

Celebrity and chocolate!

Forgot to add the link to this cute video of Ellen on the news. The local TV station stopped by her school and asked a few kids about what makes their dad special ...




Also, consider this a public service announcement regarding chocolate. I don't really even like chocolate that much and this dessert is AMAZING. I found it on the Girls' Gone Child blog a while back, but just made it for our Father's Day dinner.

Here it is:

Chocolate Mousse Pie

(from Cooking with Trader Joes)

28 Joe-Joe’s cookies with vanilla bean filling

(or any other chocolate sandwich cookies)

¼ cup melted butter

12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

14 oz can light coconut milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Crush the cookies in food processor. Pulse cookies until fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumbs in an oven safe pie dish. Bake crust for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

2. Melt chocolate on the stovetop on low, stirring well until completely smooth and melted. (Don’t scorch.) Pour coconut milk in blender and add the melted chocolate. Immediately blend until completely smooth (20-30 seconds).

3. Pour filling into crust and chill for 4 hours or overnight in the fridge. (Prep and cooking time: 15-20 minutes, not including cooling/chilling time.)

 

I melted the chocolate in the microwave, but otherwise made it as written. It's simple, but unfortunately uses both a food processor and blender - such is life. It is crazy rich - like a 9" pie plate can easily feed 12 people and I think must be served with berries to cut the richness. And, to make it healthy.

Easter weekend

Well, better late than never!

We had a great Easter weekend - spread out the festivities, which was nice for a change. We had McKnight family dinner on Friday night and Ellen was gifted lots of toys and BUBBLES! She is a fiend for bubbles, though generally she "assidently" spills them all on the ground. We were in dire need of some reserves. She got a cool bubble wand that makes big bubbles, as evidenced below. Fun for the whole family!


We had an Easter Egg hunt at our house on Sunday morning at o'dark thirty. I only have pictures of the back of Ellen's head because she was moving too fast! Again, the Easter Bunny went overboard and there was plenty of candy, small gifts, book and a balance bike! More evidence of the bike to come ... will take some (a lot) of practice. She kept saying, "Gracious! The Easter Bunny was TOO nice to me!" Also, I didn't notice till' mid-morning that she didn't ask to eat any of her loot?!? She opened it all and put it in her basket. I told her she could have some and she almost fell out of her chair. I felt simultaneously proud / concerned about my candy dictatorship around here. Also, she was totally not sure about peanut M&Ms (the only kind the Easter Bunny could find the day before).

We had a delicious Easter dinner with the Lund / Graham families and another easter egg hunt - this time with money! and Tootsie Rolls! Again, fast moving children does not equal great pictures.

This was the best attempt at a nice Easter picture and, alas, no family portrait this year. Tough to do when Aunt Betsy isn't there! Just look at the one up in the corner from, oh, two years ago. Eeps.

Sidebar: I made some pretty tasty asparagus, if I do say so myself, for our family dinner. In case you are interested:

- I had 6 pounds of medium asparagus from our local grocery store. I think the too thin / too fat variety cook less reliably.
- Trimmed, dried well, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Lay in single layer on big sheet pan.
- Set broiler to "high" and move your top oven rack to the top position. When the oven is nice and hot, put your asparagus in and leave for 4 minutes, maybe shaking the pan once or twice.
- They should be perfectly cooked, or may need a bit more time if your pan is crowded. You can even turn off the oven and move them to a lower rack and just let them sit in the oven until your meal is ready - they should be fine.
- Optional, but tasty: I tossed some panko bread crumbs, shredded parmesan cheese and lemon zest (1-2 lemons) in a bowl and then added to the top of the asparagus in the last 1-2 minutes of cooking. Yummers.
- And, worth pointing out, I love asparagus, but try to mostly eat them in the spring when they are in season. Seasonal vegetables, no matter what you to do them, will always taste better!

Kale Salad

(true story ... when I typed that title, it aut0-filled in 'Ke$ha & Lund' ... who does Blogger think we are?)

Back to my point .... KALE SALAD.

Are you into it?

I am. Seriously. Game changer. (Life changer seems dramatic, but may, in fact, be true).

I first heard of this mysterious "kale salad" from Erik's mom and our sister-in-law who had lunch at Unforked in OP. (Photo courtesy of The Making of a Foodie).


I didn't know I liked kale until it started showing up in our Door to Door Organics box. (Braised kale and spaghetti and tuscan kale chips are some of our favorites - see right hand side of the blog for recipes). I was kind of afraid to eat it raw, though, due to the - let's be polite - digestive issues. Ahem.

Anyway ... they raved about the salad and it sounded so simple: kale, parmesan, pine nuts, panko and a lemony vinaigrette. My sister-in-law, Darla, started making it at home and then I asked her to bring it to our Christmas dinner. Her version was a little different - she added roasted red peppers and balsamic vinaigrette - and it was good. So. Good.

But ... here is the really great part ... I ate the leftover salad for about 4 days and it was PERFECT. Already dressed the first day and then I didn't do anything else to it. The kale continue to wilt a little bit, but was still crunchy even 4 days later. This is truly about the only way I can take salad for lunch at work without having to make it each morning. Because, let's face it, Never Happening.

I attempted it on my own over our New Year's weekend and the result was OK, but could be improved. (To be fair, we were working within the limitations of the Ozark kitchen). I sort of used a technique I found in this video from Girl's Gone Child (scroll down and watch the video). Cutting the kale pretty small and kind of massaging in the dressing worked well for the salad the first night, but it wasn't as good leftover, which is really the beauty of kale salad.

Since then I've made it two or three times and my basic formula is:
- 1 head of curly leaf green kale or Dinosaur/Lacinato kale. Wash and dry thoroughly. Cut out ribs/stems and slice kale into fat ribbons, then roughly chop, so you end up with about 1 inch pieces of kale.
- 1 red pepper, roasted over gas flame on stove. I find this to be a huge pain in the ass, but I love the flavor and the jarred just doesn't cut it. Chop/slice roasted red pepper.
- 3-4 carrots, either diced or cut into ribbons with carrot peeler
- handful of grated parmesan cheese
- balsamic vinaigrette (I just mix a smidge of dijon mustard, a little olive oil, a little balsamic and salt and pepper. Probably less than 1/4 cup for the whole salad.)
- I skip the panko and nuts because I don't think they last well beyond the first day, but by all means add them if you want.
- Toss everything together and portion out for several days. Will probably make 3-4 servings depending on amount of kale.

It is super good. You could use any ingredients that don't soggy or aren't too wet (like cucumbers/celery would get weird, I think).

Share the recipe you come up with!!

All I can muster

I am a pooped penguin.

I can only muster the energy to aimlessly peruse the iPad before I fall asleep each night. Here are two things I came across that you might find interesting? Sorry, this is the best I can do for right now.

Serious Eats: 10-minute No Bake Lime Cracker Pie

Sounds strange but, at the same time, kinda good? Right? Make it for me.

Also, I heard a really interesting story on NPR one night this week amidst runs to Lowe's and Home Depot. It was about face blindness and they did a test of the live audience on celebrity faces and I was shocked at the results. There were a few hundred people in the audience and fewer than 10 got all the celebrities correct (out of 10) and a handful didn't get any correct at all. And, this was just a normal audience - very surprising how many people have some degree of face blindness and may not know it.

You can take the Famous Faces Test here. I got all 30 correct, confirming my suspicion that I was pretty good with faces. Nice to know I have a skill to fall back on in case this house-fixing-uping does me in.

Thanks, Oprah

Well, I'm totally late to the game on this one, but go on and make yourself a Moscow Mule. You'll like it. I promise! (Well, not if you don't like ginger, but who doesn't?) (Well, I think Betsy, for one, but who else?)


I had my first one of these in Fort Worth and it was tasty, but SO strong that I could only drink about 1 inch of it.

My second attempt was last weekend at R Bar in the West Bottoms. It was SO refreshing and, lo and behold, I sucked it right down. (By the by, our meal there was fantastic, but the chef left last weekend, so sorry about that for the rest of you).

My version of a Moscow Mule
- juice of 1 lime (the best tool to squeeze a lime is kitchen tongs - put half a lime between the arms of the tongs and squeeze away)
- vodka (I don't add much, and you could even make this sans vodka and it would still be great)
- ginger beer (this is non-alcoholic and VERY ginger-y. R Bar uses Cock & Bull, but our store only had another kind)
- sugar or simple syrup if needed (judge this based on the sugar content of your ginger beer. Mine is full of sugar, so I don't add any)
- Top with ice and stir.
- Say it with me: Mmmmmmmm.

(Just realized this is remarkably similar to The Paloma, our poor-man's version of a margarita that we serve at Cinco de Mayo. Sub tequila for the vodka and grapefruit soda for the ginger beer and there you have it. Plus a pinch of salt.)

What is your favorite refreshing summer beverage?? Do tell.

FROSTY beverage

If these last few days of 114 degree heat index didn't call for a frosty beverage, then I don't know what does.

I read a lot of blogs and several of them linked to these Beer Push-Up Pops this week. Then, there was a recipe. And, then I thought we should try them. I wasn't really sure if it was OK to make beer popsicles for just us, but Erik was meeting some boys for a smoked meat extravaganza, so I totally felt OK with making them for that occasion. And I even felt OK keeping one in the freezer for me. Just to make sure it wasn't poisonous.

The in-the-can method is much more attractive, but something about Erik + hacksaw + tin cans + alcohol = bad idea.

Lime juice and a little simple syrup in the bottom ...

A can of Tecate and DIY popsicle sticks/holders ...

Freeze overnight ...

Indulge!

Oh yes, it was good

One night about two weeks ago we were watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and saw a meal that we thought we instantly had to make. (In case you didn't know, Erik is a big fan of Guy Fieri. Even the faux version.)

The restaurant was Momocho in Cleveland and they had some amazing looking Mexican dishes. In particular, I Googled the machaca beef and found the recipe here.

So, I present to you, Coffee and Chile-Braised Beef Brisket Tacos

Erik made a field trip to A Cut Above Natural Meats to pick up the brisket. There are surprisingly few ingredients, the rest of which we mostly had. (By the by, I'm a big fan of the Big House wines in a box. We use them for cooking, of course, with just an occasional drink. Wait, reverse that.)

Spice-y ... nice-y.

The recipe says to simmer in a stockpot for several hours. Erik's brother also happened to Google this recipe at the same time we did and he made it a few nights before us. He put the pot in the oven at 300 degrees for about 3 hours, so we did, too. I think you could also use a crockpot after you sear the meat on the stove top.

Corn tortillas are MUCH better than flour for this dish.

Cilantro and chopped white onion and call it a day.

We ate leftovers for several nights and took the Dreiling's lead and made a Mexican pizza of sorts: refried beans, meat, jack cheese, veg and salsa-sour cream drizzle. Delicioso.


Miss Ellen continued to be sick ALL week, so has been subsisting on a diet of fruit and Sesame Street. She totally missed out.

Date night

Erik, Ellen and I helped with an event last Thursday night and had a few leftover hot dogs and brats from Fritz's. We invited Marie and Preston over on Friday for an impromptu dinner (husband/father Clint had previous plans and was missed!).

Ellen and Preston have 'played' together before, but this was probably the first time they actually had a few moments of playing together, along with a lot of chasing and general mischief.

We were hoping to eat outside, but it was just hot. hot. HOT - so , we changed our plans. We moved Ellen's little Ikea table to the 'bistro' (aka - the front entry) and the kids ate while the adults sat at the table. Worked very well!

Ellen and Preston played a good game of push-and-pull-the-table while they were eating, but generally seemed to enjoy themselves.

We did too!

*We also had some mac n' cheese. I haven't always been a homemade mac n' cheese person, but I find that I always have whole milk and shredded cheese in the house for Ellen. Aaah, the pluses and minuses of having children. I use garlic salt and often use whole wheat pasta and veggies, but this time we had good ol' elbows.

Uno de Mayo

We had our annual Cinco de Mayo party again this weekend. I think (hope!) a good time was had by all ... we certainly enjoyed ourselves.

Last year was the first year we included kids - since we had our own, and all. We continued the family-friendly theme this year and, while it is so much fun to see all the kids together, it really isn't relaxing for anyone. And, everyone is gone by about 7:00pm. (Which might be for the best since everyone is exhausted from chasing their kids!) Maybe next year we'll have a parents-night-out theme.

I had grand intentions of posting pictures of all the food but, alas, no time. (See: above). So - the beverages will have to do.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I would call that a success, no?

I did have time to take a picture of our leftover lunch today. A torta sandwich with refried beans, chicken taco meat, avocado, radishes, cilantro, queso fresco and onions. Ummm, YUM.


For those of you who want to plan your own celebration on the actual Cinco de Mayo, here is what we ate:
Avocado Salsa
Jicama sticks with chili lime dip
Layered Mexican Dip
Carne Guisada (cooked in a crockpot for about 8 hours)
Slow Cooker Chile Chicken Tacos (used 10 pounds of meat; 6 pounds thighs and 4 pounds breasts)
Corn and flour tortillas
"Traditional" toppings - cilantro, sliced radishes, chopped white onion, queso fresco
"Familiar" toppings - guacamole, shredded cheese, tomatillo salsa, avocado salsa, sour cream
Salad of chopped romaine, sliced fruit and avocados with poppyseed dressing
Peruvian Sarsa Salad (subbed edamame for lima beans, and used less onion and garlic)
Choco Tacos
The Paloma (a lazy man/woman's margarita)

Ellen thoroughly enjoyed the party and all her little friends. Maybe next year she can be in charge of the whole thing?

Delish!

Our friend, Andrea, has given us numerous wonderful gifts. This recipe, though, ranks up there at the top. It is SO GOOD.

In order to give some perspective to our obsession: I love to make new recipes and, even if they are really good, they rarely get made again because I have so many new things to try. This Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri, though, has already been made about 6 times. With many more to come!

It's great with pork and flank steak. And probably chicken. And with bread and veggies. And, frankly, probably on a spoon.

And, Erik's mom clued me in to a new way to make asparagus. Toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Broil about 4 inches from the broiler for 4 minutes. No tossing or fussing needed. Perfect! You could even jazz them up with lemon zest or parmesan cheese if you are fancy.


We had a little leftover sourdough from Wheatfields in Lawrence. (Contrary to the belief of some, Wheatfields is not a dirty hippy McDonald's, but rather one of the best independent bakeries in the country). Sopped up every bit and will have some tasty leftovers tonight!

Good Eats

We've done some good eating in the last week ....

1. BRGR Kitchen and Bar in Corinth at 83rd and Mission.
Ellen and I rushed up there to meet Erik last Tuesday evening when the weather was so nice. They have an outside patio and a big garage door and windows that open on nice days. Lovely. Erik had the Jucy Lucy and I had the BRGR and both were tasty. We shared the fried-stuff combo of skinny fries, sweet potato fries and onion rings. I liked the skinny fries best. Ellen had roast chicken and mashed potatoes, which was good, but she mostly ate a plate full of sweet potato fries.

Then, Ellen and I met Betsy there for lunch on Friday. I had the chicken sandwich, which was very tasty and we shared the veggie chips with green goddess dressing. This time Ellen had the mac n' cheese with peas, but again preferred the fries.

2. Avenues Bistro in Brookside
Erik's mom was nice enough to watch Ellen on Sunday afternoon so we could get out to a movie and dinner. We saw The Ghost Writer and had an early dinner at Avenues. We don't get to this place often, but have consistently had good meals. They have an early bird special on Sunday-Thursday before 6pm - an entree and salad/soup for $15. I think you could even take young kids if you go early enough and if you are adventurous enough.

3. "Red Snapper" at home
Red Snapper on State Line is one of our favorite neighborhood places - both for dine-in and take-out. We almost always split the Thai Coconut Red Curry with chicken and shrimp. So good! I found a Chicken Curry recipe in Cooking Light this month that sounded similar. I used red peppers and added edamame, and next time will add asparagus and a little basil like the real deal. Not as creamy and delicious as the original, but very tasty and easy and I'm sure healthier.

4. Candy overload
Between movie treats and the jelly bean fest going on at our house, my teeth are about to rot out of my head. I do advise, though, that you get yourself some Russell Stovers Pectin Jelly Beans. I had these growing up from my Aunt Susan's store in Wichita and they truly are the best. Well worth the dental bills ...

5. And, just because I can't post without a picture ... happy sunshine this week!

Can you say ribollita?

If it is cold where you live, so, for all of you, this will warm you up. I got the recipe from Cookie Magazine (R.I.P.) and instantly thought of it as the first snowflakes fell. I made a mad dash to the grocery store before I picked Ellen up from school, and now my tummy is warm. If only my feet were ....


Tuscan Ribollita

serves 6

20 min active time, 1 1/2-2 hours total

3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 oz pancetta or ham, chopped (Our deli didn't have pancetta, so the deli guy sliced me a thick piece of ham)
1/2 cup olive oil
1, 15oz. can whole peeled tomatoes (I just used a whole 28oz. can because that is what the store had)
3, 15oz. cans cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken broth (or one can)
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped
1/2 cup toasted bread crumbs (I used fresh breadcrumbs and toasted them. Don't think store bought bread crumbs would work as well).
grated parmesan

1. In a large pot over medium heat, saute the first 5 ingredients in 2 Tbs olive oil for 5 minutes. 2. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with beans, broth and rosemary. Simmer, covered, until the beans break apart, about an hour to an hour and a half.
3. Add the kale and cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in bread crumbs and serve, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with cheese.


This is our neighbor's house across the street. Pretty. You can see our yard, then her yard, and her house. What's that? Where is the street? Exactly. We're going to be staying inside for awhile ...

Twenty Ten

We had a great meal with great friends at Potpie last night and were home and in bed well before midnight. Ellen slept until 7:45 this morning, which is just about the best way to start the new year that I can think of.

Ellen continues to be ambivalent about hats in this New Year ...
And the cook had boundless energy this morning after sleeping in, so we all ate pumpkin pancakes!
The recipe is from the November issue of Tastebud. It is by the pastry chef / owner of Dolce Baking Company in Prairie Village (where you may recall that I got some delish cupcakes!)

They are yummy ...

Erin's Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour (or just use 2 c. all-purpose)
3 T. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. ground allspice
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. milk (2% or whole)
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. vinegar (she uses apple cider vinegar)

In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine all the dry ingredients in another bowl. Stir in the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour or scoop the batter on to the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown and flip. Serve hot! (It makes about 16 pancakes if you use a 1/4 measuring cup).

Housekeeping

Hoping everyone had a relaxing Labor Day weekend.

The best thing about working three days a week is that my usual work days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. So, when a Monday holiday comes along, it's a 5 day weekend for me!

I had grand plans to accomplish A LOT, but Ellen didn't necessarily comply. Such is life.

We did accomplish "flip this house", as Erik would say - rearranged every bit of furniture to make more living space, more play space, more strategic storage and, most importantly, fewer places to bonk one's head.

I also discovered a life changing storage solution!

Evernote!

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For those of you who are list-makers, page-clippers, and note-takers, WOW! I have an unhealthy obsession with food magazines, and more than that, used to spend an embarrassing amount of time clipping and filing recipes. Which never got used. Now, I can read a magazine, find the recipes I want to keep, and click and file them away online. Then, I can search online from anywhere, or on my desktop, or on an iPhone if you are fancy like that. This is a good description of using Evernote for recipes.

Don't limit yourself, though. This application can be used for almost anything. Take pictures of wine labels and file them away. Make gift lists of things you come across on the internet. Organize notes and to-do lists, even handwritten. You can take a picture of any piece of paper with words on it and the technology will file it away and make it searchable. Like I said - WOW!

Happy Birthday!

My mom had her 60th Birthday this week, so we had a Happy Hour party last night to celebrate! A good time was had by all ... sadly, I neglected to get a picture of the birthday girl, but she was chatting up a storm, as you might imagine.

Dolce Baking Company in the Village has great little cupcakes - the perfect bite!

Also, I always like to try new recipes for parties. That stresses some people out, but otherwise, when can you try them?

These were two particularly yummy ones!

Parmesan Thyme Crackers (Betsy says they are too "cheesey" ... umm .. that is the point)

Garbanzo Spread with Artichokes and Tuna (I modified this Giada recipe - just used baguette toasts with the spread and marinated artichokes on top, sans olives. Delish!)

It's Monday already?

We broke in the deck with our first al fresco meal ... good food and better friends! We also introduced Brian and Natalie to dominos - a bonus!
The dinner was tasty enough that Erik and I had a re-do on Saturday - grilled shrimp cocktail, crusty bread, salad with lemon dressing and good parm. Life is good.

Ellen would like to participate in the cooking next time...

Doesn't she look like the princess and the pea here? (Dad and daughter camera time while mom was away).

Finally ... we broke out the Jumpster this weekend. It got crazy!

Mmmmm .... caffeine

Erik ...

I see your Enchiladas, and I raise you Vietnamese Iced Coffee.

Delightful on the new deck in the Summer! (Not quite as delightful at 6am, but that is Ellen's fault)

2 parts cold coffee concentrate (we love our Toddy coffee maker)

1 part water

1 part sweetened condensed milk (can use low fat - still has plenty of sugar!)

dash of cinnamon

Pour over a full cup of ice and blend.

Turns out, those Magic Bullets do come in handy.

The Whole Enchilada

Daddy got the green light to Blogville...buckle up!

Remember this childhood Public Service Announcement?



Well, THIS is your brain rubbed with taco seasoning and slow cooked for 4 hours in a Dutch oven with sauteed onion, green chilies, and garlic. Yep...Mexican Pot Roast filling!

The made from scratch flour tortillas from Mexican Price Chopper (Roeland Park) serve as the perfect little envelope for these enchiladas straight outta Juarez.

All tucked in a row atop a thin layer of taco sauce.

Smother with remaining taco sauce and cheese blend...equal parts Cheddar & Monterey Jack.

Dinner is served! Yep, I got so carried away that I threw on my Mexican national team soccer jersey for the occasion. I know what you're thinking...wow, is that the same one he got during his senior trip to Cancun in March of 1996? and holy Jesus, is it still big on him? Umm...yes and yes...