Dinner Highlights

So.  I know there are some people out there that are able to menu plan like champions.  They're organized and make lists of what they're going to make and what they'll need for the next week or two of meals.  Some of them even prep all their meals on one day and then pull things out of the freezer... or make more of one meal so they can use the meat in the next nights meal, or maybe even two nights.  I know there are people out there like that.

I am not like that...

I wish I were like that, I wish I could plan ahead and know what I'm going to make... and I've tried it.  I had one week where I planned out everything we were going to eat... but by day 3 or so, I was way off from the list, and just ended up doing what I always do... which is throw a meal together with whatever I have in the fridge/freezer and hope it goes well.

And I've gotten pretty darn good at doing that.  I don't look at recipes (generally) I just rummage around in the fridge and see what I've got.  Usually the meals turn out ok, sometimes they turn out amazing.

Here's some of the highlights:

This meal did not turn out as well as it looks.  The chicken recipe was from ringaroundtherosies.net - it's the Teriyaki chicken recipe... I think it would have been alright with chicken thighs instead of breasts, because the meat turned out really dry after cooking in the crockpot. I generally have some rice sitting around from another meal, and I'd just made hard boiled eggs earlier that day, so this was a pretty easy meal to put together (especially since I went through that phase when I liked making Bento lunches and bought some rice and egg molds from my local Asian market).

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I have to give some thanks to Trader Joe's for this meal. It's pretty much from there, except for the nut pesto on the pasta (the nuts and oil came from Costco).  So, the meat is the Chimichurri Wild Pacific Salmon from Trader Joes - I don't usually like cooked fish (I'll eat Sushi, but not cooked fish, I know I'm weird) but this fish is AWESOME.  I've bought it quite a few times, until my local TJ's ran out, but they promised me it'll be back in the fall... it better be back in the fall...  The lettuce and tomatoes are from TJ's (I love the mini heirloom tomatoes).  And the pasta is the linguini they sell at TJ's.  Yeah... it was a good meal.

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One night I decided to make fried chicken nuggets, mostly because I'd just made chicken fried steak and I had the oil out already... I had also been watching Paula Dean fry some bacon wrapped macaroni and cheese... yes, that's right... go look at it and feel your arteries clogging.  But from that I learned that you can use crushed up crackers instead of bread crumbs.  And what did I have sitting around?  Crackers.  And of course chicken and eggs and flour.  Anyway.  This chicken was amazing.  I think I could have done bigger pieces... I ended up coating some of them in Frank's RedHot Wings Sauce and put them in a salad with blue cheese dressing... mmm... I'm drooling just thinking about it.

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This was another fish meal.  Weird, I know... but since TJ's was out of the Chimichurri Salmon, I ended up trying their Wild Marinated Soy Ginger Cod Fillets.  And I have to say... they did it again.  It was delicious, and I might add very easy to put in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.  I didn't think I liked fish, but I am a changed woman.  The noodles are based on the Korean dish Japchae.  The first time I made it was a while ago (mostly because I found the mung bean noodles at my local supermarket) and it's delicious.  This time, I used whatever veggies I had sitting around, some in the freezer and some in the fridge.  It all went together really well.

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Well, I think that's about all for now.  If any of these sound really good to you, then leave a comment and I'll try to remember the recipe so I can post it :D

Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

I was just wandering around the farmer's market near me, gathering the usual things I buy... onions, tomatoes... you know, the normal stuff.  Then I saw them.  The most beautiful dark purple, almost black, eggplant... aubergine if you prefer.

When I had a BBQ at my disposal, I used to love marinating slices of eggplant in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and grilling it.  Some of my friends would make it into baba ganoush - there is nothing like homemade baba ganoush.  My mom makes an eggplant caponata that is amazing.  And of course, there's always eggplant parmesan.  Eggplant is just so versatile.

I will also mention that when I was in Scotland with some dear friends, there was an Indian restaurant below our flat that made the most amazing eggplant recipe... I only wish I could remember the name or find the recipe, because it was a taste of heaven on a fork... I'm not kidding... absolute heaven.

Now... with all those wonderful ideas running around my mind, I bought 2 aubergines to take home and cook.  After a couple days of not being able to make up my mind about what I would turn these beautiful purple nightshades into, I finally decided to make up my own recipe.  So I give you The Lazy Wife's Grilled Eggplant Lasagna.

Normally, I have more pictures, but I wasn't really sure the recipe would turn out that great, so I didn't take pictures till I had the whole thing assembled.  Oh well. 

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Grilled Eggplant Lasagna

Asian Food Kick

I've been craving Asian food recently.  I don't know why... but I want everything with rice, soy sauce, and all those other "typically" Asian tastes and flavors.  I got a jump start on the week when my friend had us over for dinner and served Vietnamese spring rolls.

At least, I've always heard them called Vietnamese spring rolls, they are also known as fresh spring rolls, Vietnamese salad rolls, and sometimes summer rolls.  They look very pretty and are really not so difficult to make.  Ingredients vary based on what you want/like.  My friend made vegetarian rolls, using vegetables she had on hand.  I made mine with chicken.  They make a great meal and can either be pre-made, or you can have your guests make them for themselves.  It would be really fun to have a roll making party, and everyone can put in or leave out whatever they want.

My friend generously gave me the rest of the rice paper and rice vermicelli that she had left over, so I decided that tonight was Spring Roll night.  Really, the only mandatory ingredient is the rice paper, everything else is up to your taste and what you want to put in, quantities are also flexible for whatever size group you have.

Chicken Pot Pie

The other day I went ahead and bought a 25lbs bag of flour at Costco. I also bought some boneless skinless chicken thighs. I had been buying chicken breasts, but the thighs were so much less expensive... and then I cooked with them and discovered how much more flavor the thighs had, I'm very pleased that I bought them.

It's cold and damp where I am right now, and it felt about the right time for some good old fashioned comfort food.

I've never made Chicken Pot Pie before, and so I set out to make one. I started with the 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, the plain paste recipe, to be specific.  Then I just sort of thought about what is normally in chicken pot pie and went from there.

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The Lazy Wife's Chicken Pot Pie

Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter, cut in cubes

2 Tbsp vodka

2 Tbsp cold water

My crust ended up being a little thin, but very flaky and delicious, next time I'd probably double the pastry recipe, then again, I did end up making two pies. 

Put flour in a medium bowl and cut in the butter cubes.  Add vodka and water until you can form a smooth ball (sometimes it requires a little more vodka or water if your flour is dry).  Place the smooth ball in plastic wrap and chill for about 15min.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface, and place in pie pan.  Cover with wax paper and pie weights (I use beans).  Prebake for about 10 min with the weights, then remove them and bake another 5-10min until it just starts to get a light brown color.  Remove from oven and fill with chicken filling.

 

Pie filling:

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

8-10 cloves garlic, minced

3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed

1/2 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup mixed vegetables (I like the "hodgepodge"  mix from Trader Joes)

1 carrot, chopped

1 can condensed potato soup

1 Tbsp Herbed Poultry (from my spice rack, I think it's Sage, Rosemary, Thyme and Marjoram)

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp butter

Salt & Pepper

In a medium pot, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, on low heat, until soft.  Add herbs, salt and pepper (about 1 tsp of each), add chicken and continue cooking, turn up to medium heat, stirring occasionally.  When the chicken is cooked, add vegetables and soup (as well as 1 can of water).  Stir until all ingredients are combined.  Add flour and butter and stir until incorporated.  Cook down to thicken.

When the pie crusts are ready (prebaked/just starting to brown, you can use scraps of pie crust to put on top for a cute decoration, bake them with the crusts but on a separate baking sheet) add the chicken filling to the pie shells and bake at 350 for 20min until the crusts are brown and the filling is bubbling.

Take out of oven and serve.

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Well, that's about it for the recipe.  It tastes pretty darn awesome (the Husband even went back for seconds, despite the pie containing peas).  Chicken breast would obviously work as well, but I really do think the thighs have better flavor.

Also, I'm working on a pair of socks now... but I'll post about those later, when I have pictures and such.  That's all for now!

Marinara Sauce

Cooks aboard Napolitan ships invented marinara sauce in the mid-16th century after Spaniards introduced the tomato (a New World vegetable) to Europe. This meat-free sauce was easy to make and resisted spoiling due to the high acid content of tomatoes. This made it ideal for lengthy sea voyages hundreds of years before refrigeration methods were invented. (Wikipedia: Marinara Sauce)

Everyone has their own recipe for Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce.  I picked up a few ideas from my mom's recipe, and my husband's mom's recipe.  I added some touches of my own, and am happy to now share it with all of you.

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Ground Turkey Marinara Sauce (in a crock pot)

1 Onion, Chopped
10 cloves garlic, minced (more or less depending on how you feel about garlic)
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1 package Lean Ground Turkey (1.25 lbs)
1 Red bell pepper, chopped
3-4 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp fennel seed
3 large cans of crushed tomatos
1 small can tomato paste (if the sauce is not thick enough)
salt and pepper to taste

To a crock pot on high heat add onion, garlic, and olive oil.  Sweat the onions (I usually add a little salt to them) stirring occasionally.  Add the ground turkey, stir to break into small pieces.  Add bell pepper, basil, parsley, oregano, fennel, and pepper.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked.
Add the crushed tomatoes, stir and cook on low, stirring occasionally.

Cook down for several hours to get a thicker consistency, or add tomato paste if the sauce is too watery.  Taste, add salt and pepper if needed.  Serve on pasta or use in lasagna or anything else that uses marinara.

This sauce can be made vegan by just removing the ground turkey from the recipe.

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Tomatoes were originally found only in the New World (South America), but now are eaten freely throughout the world.  Their consumption is believed to benefit the heart among other organs.  They contain lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant.  Preliminary research has shown an inverse correlation between consumption of tomatoes and cancer risk, lycopene has been considered a potential agent for prevention of some types of cancers, particularly prostate cancer. Lycopene has also been shown to improve the skin's ability to protect against harmful UV rays. Tomato consumption has also been associated with decreased risk of breast cancer, head and neck cancers, and might be strongly protective against neurodegenerative diseases (like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s Diseases).
Some tomato varieties are available with double the normal vitamin C, 40 times normal vitamin A, high levels of anthocyanin (resulting in blue tomatoes), and 2 to 4 times the normal amount of lycopene. (Wikipedia: Tomato, Lycopene)

Vegetable Soup

Do you have vegetables slowly wilting in your refrigerator?  Don't know what to do with those chicken bones left over from your Friday night dinner extravaganza?  Well, it's time to make some delicious Vegetable Soup!

We had friends over Friday night last week, and it being the first time we'd seen them since the beginning of summer, I decided to roast a chicken.  I thought about killing a fatted calf, but I didn't happen to have one on hand.

The roasted chicken (with sliced vegetables) was a little on the bland side, but once we had finished picking the meat off the bones, I through all the rest of it (bones, skin, and all) into a pot and covered them with water and added some "Poultry Seasoning" from my spice rack.  After simmering for most of a day , I decided that it was done, and strained the broth.  It sat in the fridge for 2 days.  I skimmed off the fat that solidified on the surface.  I left some smaller pieces because we all know that's where the flavor comes from.

Thus I had created: Chicken Stock. 

Now you may be wondering (like I was just a moment ago): What is the difference between Chicken Stock and Chicken Broth?  Aren't they the same thing?

The answer is no.  Chicken Stock is made from the bones and stuff you wouldn't normally eat on the chicken.  Chicken Broth is usually made from the meat.  Stock tends to have a richer flavor because some of the gelatin is released by cooking the bones.  (Thanks, Food Network). For more go here: Wikipedia.

But enough about chicken.  We're making Vegetable soup today!

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Vegetable Soup
Recipe by The Lazy Wife

1/2 Onion, chopped - I used red, but you could use any kind
1 TBsp Olive oil
4-5 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 medium Potatoes, small cubes - I left the skin on and made the cubes small, potato skin is good for you!
2 stalks Celery, chopped
4 cups Chicken Stock - Chicken broth should work, or make it vegan/vegetarian friendly and use vegetable broth
1/4 cup Sherry
1 large Leek, cut lengthwise and then in strips
2 Mushrooms, diced
10 baby carrots, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
1-2 cups water
1 Bay Leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste

You know you love the pretty colors!

Wash and cut up your vegetables.  Sauté the onions in a pot with the olive oil and some salt and pepper, add the garlic after the onion is soft.  Then toss in the potatoes, celery, chicken stock and sherry (you could leave this out, but I like the flavor it gives) add water at any point if the broth does not cover the vegetables enough.  After the potatoes are soft (about 15min) use a potato masher to break the potatoes into smaller pieces and give the broth more texture.

Then add the bay leaf, leek, mushrooms, carrots, bell pepper, peas and corn (as I said, empty your refrigerator... you could use whatever vegetables you want in this).

Simmer until the vegetables are soft and serve with some toast or croutons.  You could even put a little bacon on top, or add ham, chicken, rice or barley to it.  It would be very delicious with barley.

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 Now let's talk about the potato.  Not only is it fun to say... but it's a very nutritious tuber.

Potatoes are in the same plant family as deadly nightshade (belladonna).  But don't worry too much, because so are Tomatoes and Eggplants.  This family also includes Mandrake, Paprika, Chili peppers, Tobacco and Petunias.

this image is in the public domain

Potatoes have vitamin C, Potassium, vitamin B6, as well as a good amount of fiber.  With it's skin on a potato has about the same amount of fiber as whole grain bread, cereal or pasta.

Most people worry about the starch/carbohydrate content of potatoes.  But some of the starch in potatoes is actually resistant to digestion in the stomach, and has similar beneficial effects to fiber.  The amount of this resistant starch is related to how the potato is prepared.  Potatoes that are cooked and then cooled (such as in potato salad) have more insoluble starch than hot potatoes (by nearly double).  Maybe next time we'll be making Potato Salad.

(citations: Food Network, Wikipedia, potato image, Recipe inspired by Suzanne Welsh)