TOO BUSY

Hi. Just in case you are worried that I stopped feeding my family dinner, have no fear. I am just way too busy this week to blog about dinner. I promise to continue the saga of comfort food next week with Chipotle Mexican Grill burritos, chili dogs, and hot italian sausages.

Tuesday, 4/27/2010

Last night after putting Katie to bed, I made up a batch of chili. We've got a very busy week ahead of us this week and it seemed like a good idea to get that one out of the way early. We found this recipe on the Food Network a couple years ago. We've doubled the beef broth and tomato sauce quantities, but left the rest the same.

CHILI
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds ground beef (we like to use 1 lb leanest beef and 1 lb not so lean)
2 (14-ounce) cans low sodium beef broth (the low sodium is definitely preferred)
2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce

Batch one:
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules (we found bouillon granules on the grocery store isle with the Mexican food ingredients)
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

Batch two:
5 tablespoons red chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

Batch three:
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

In a large heavy bottom pot (we use a dutch oven) heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and drain off the excess grease. Add the tomato sauce and the beef broth and simmer for 1 hour in covered pot. Uncover the pot for the rest of the preparation. Add all of the ingredients from Batch one, stir and simmer for 35 more minutes. Add Batch two to the pot and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring often. Add Batch three and cook for 10 more minutes.

Tonight we topped our chili with shredded cheddar cheese and scooped it with tortilla chips. I tried to serve Katie some chicken and stars baby food, but she would have nothing to do with it. She only wanted our chili. I even attempted to trick her by pouring some of the baby food into my empty bowl, serving it to her with my soup spoon. She was too smart for that. So, she had chili for dinner and loved it! Guess since she only wants to eat what we eat, we better start eating more vegetables for dinner.

Monday, 4/26/2010

This afternoon I drafted my menu and grocery list for the coming week. It must have been the gloomy weather that lead me to plan comfort food for the week. Tonight we had penne pasta with Roasted Garlic sauce, and crumbled hot italian sausage topped with a little fresh Parmesan cheese.

For pasta sauce, my absolute favorite is Ben's family recipe. Since it takes several hours to make, we only have that a few times a year. For our everyday pasta sauce I choose the Classico brand. Every once in a while I branch away and try something else, but they are usually more expensive and don't taste that much better in my opinion. I usually stick with the Spicy Tomato & Basil flavor, but today tried the Roasted Garlic. It was good too, but both Ben and I preferred the spicy variety. In looking at the Classico product line just now, I see that there is a Spicy Tomato & Pesto sauce. I'll have to look for that one too. I LOVE PESTO!

Sunday, 4/25/2010

A couple years ago Ben bought "How to Grill" by Steven Raichelen. We haven't tried very many of the recipes in it, but we love the Basic Barbecue Rub recipe (see below). We actually gave jars of it as Christmas gifts a couple years ago along with the recipe. What I like about this rub is that it is easy to put together, keeps for a long time, and doesn't need to go on the meat for very long to give it good flavor.

Tonight we grilled chicken drumsticks rubbed in this good stuff, finished off with a coating of Jack Daniels bbq sauce. The drumsticks cooked on indirect medium heat for 40-50 minutes- turning at 25 minutes. And before finishing, they were coated with bbq sauce, flipped, the other side was coated, flipped, and then cooked for two minutes. Finger lickin' good:)

BASIC BARBECUE RUB

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sweet paprika
3 tablespoons black pepper
3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon hickory-smoked salt or more coarse salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir to mix. Store in an airtight jar away from heat or light; it will keep for at least 6 months.

A couple notes:
* We have never had the hickory-smoked salt, so have always opted to use more coarse salt.
* The published recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of celery seeds. We didn't have this ingredient the first time I made it and it was great. I bought the seeds later on and tried it again. We definitely DID NOT like it. So, no more celery seeds for us. But, if you find you like them, give it a try.

Saturday, 4/24/2010

Oh Garlic Jims, you make delicious pizza. Ben's brother came over this afternoon and we ordered a double pepperoni & sausage pizza with garlic wings and ice cream for dinner. The pizza was fantastic as always, but the wings were a little disappointing.

In my opinion, the skin was too chewy. I like crispy skin on my wings. The garlic flavor was ok, but I just didn't care for the texture. Ben thought they were alright, but wouldn't order them again. Spencer thought they were ok, but wouldn't order them either. Guess we'll stick with just ordering the pizza.

Katie ate much earlier than we did. She didn't have a very long nap and was quite whiny thoughout her meal. She ate her mac & cheese & peas in fits and spurts. The fits involved smooshing her food on her tray with her hands and then running them through her hair. Ugh!

Friday, 4/23/2010

Ben's been working late this week, so we haven't eaten together many times. I am thankful that he got home by 6:30 tonight so that we could share our meal. We had left over salmon cakes with a sweet fruit salad. The salad consisted of bananas, mango, pear, and mandarin orange segments. Delicious!

Katie had to eat around 5:30. She had cheese...and 1/2 a salmon cake and a quarter of a pear:)

Thursday, 4/22/2010

I took Katie shopping this afternoon to get new shoes and pajamas. What fun (for me)! Actually, she seems to like the new shoes a lot. We were only half way done with our shopping when dinner time came. Since Ben had a business dinner tonight, Katie and I went to Panera Bread for our meal. I had a Smokehouse Turkey panini and Katie had a grilled cheese sandwich. We shared an apple. My sandwich was pretty good considering it had a mustard based sauce on it. In case you didn't know, I'm not a mustard fan. I was hoping the sun-dried tomato flavor would hide the mustard more than it did.

Her meal came with a tube of yogurt, but I couldn't see how I would have fed that to her without making a huge mess. I didn't think about dinner when I left the house, so we didn't have a bib with us. There was a little mess when Katie spilled her milk all over the place, but we had a pair of extra pants in the diaper bag. So all was good and neither one of us cried:)

Wednesday, 4/21/2010

ZESTY SALMON CAKES

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes (per batch)
Makes 6 large or 18 appetizer size cakes








Ingredients:
14 oz can of wild red or pink salmon (2 cups fresh cooked salmon can also be used
2 eggs, beaten
12 saltine crackers, crushed fine (I like to use 6 crackers and 1/4 cup panko break crumbs)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp chopped capers
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
fresh lemon wedges (optional)

Preparation:

1. Add the salmon to a mixing bowl. (Due to the way it's processed, any bones found in canned salmon are very soft and edible, and should be mixed right in. If you want to take the time you can pick through the meet fairly quickly and remove them.) Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil and butter, and mix with a fork until well combined.

2. Shape into 6 patties about an inch thick (or 18 for appetizers). Heat the oil and butter in a saute pan on medium heat until the butter melts. Saute the salmon cakes for 5 minutes per side until golden brown. Serve hot with fresh lemon if you would like.

I have made this recipe several times, each time using fresh salmon that I pre-baked. This week I bought pre-seasoned salmon, lemon pepper, from the meat counter thinking it would add even more flavor. I won't do it again. The salmon was salted and I didn't think to compensate for that in the recipe. So, the cakes were a bit salty for my tastes. Better to stick with plain salmon. The ingredients in the recipe give it plenty of flavor.

Tonight I baked the salmon just before I mixed it into the other ingredients. I think I should have waited a bit so that some of the moisture could evaporate. The cakes were a bit moist and didn't stay together as well as I would have liked. I also didn't make them as thick as the recipe calls for, so that could have compromised how well they held up against handling and turning. Even though they didn't turn well and were a bit salty, they were still enjoyable. I mixed up my standard fish dip (ketchup, mayo, and worchestershire sauce) and had a small mixed green salad on the side.

Katie had grapes and strawberries along with her fish cake. She likes the dip too:)

Tuesday, 4/20/2010

Tonight I made chicken burritos using the rotisserie chicken left over from last night. I shredded the chicken before I refrigerated it last night. Then I simply put it into a skillet, added a couple packets of Lawry's chicken taco seasoning and 3/4 cups of water. I brought it to a boil and mixed it all together. Once the water evaporated a bit, the chicken was done.

I grated cheddar cheese onto a large whole wheat tortilla, added the chicken and some hot sauce. Rolled it up, microwaved for 45 seconds to melt the cheese all the way, and ate. Spicy and delicious. I had an apple on the side.

Katie ate some of the chicken, cheese, and little of my apple.

Monday, 4/19/2010

Boy, today I just could not plan a menu for this week. After writing down the staples we needed and looking after dozens of recipes, I decided Katie and I just needed to go to the store. Thankfully I wasn't indecisive at the store. For tonight's meal I got a rotisserie chicken from the Fred Meyer deli and made the following salad to go with it:

BALSAMIC & PEAR SALAD

Ingredients
3 cups spring mixed greens
1/2 pear- diced
handful of craisins

Dressing
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper

The recipe makes enough dressing gor 3-4 salads. So, go lightly when you pour it on your salad and save some for another day. Tip: If you warm the honey a little, it will mix with the other ingredients easier.

My mom sent me this recipe...not sure where she got it, but I love it! Katie was a big fan of the chicken and did a fair job eating the pear pieces we gave her. Although she did have a good number of goldfish crackers today, I'm pleased that I didn't have to give her any cheese today:)

Sunday, 4/18/2010

We left Spokane at 2:09pm. Katie had not napped yet and was asleep within 3 minutes of leaving the driveway. She slept until Moses Lake when I needed to stop to take a nap. Ben kept her occupied with cheese so that I could sleep. After a 20 minute nap, a bathroom break, a cookie and milk shakes, we were back on the road. Katie got really whiny around Ellensburg, but finally fell asleep and let us get to North Bend before waking up for dinner.

We ate at the North Bend Bar & Grill. There are lots of fast food options right off of the freeway, but if you go just a mile or so into town you will find this great restaurant. Ben had the Black & Bleu Caesar Salad- a caesar salad with blackened tender loin steak and bleu cheese crumbles. I had a Northwest Blackened Salmon Sandwich with a side caesar. The sandwich had a delicious dill sauce on it. Katie had a little bit of my salmon, a few bites of honeydew melon, and...cheese:) Oh, and she really enjoyed drinking water from to-go cup with a straw. The straw was definitely the highlight for her. If you need to stop for a meal in North Bend, take the time to sit down and enjoy it at the North Bend Bar & Grill.

Saturday, 4/17/2010

Mom and Dad had their community dance this evening, so we were invited to Matt & Jenna's for dinner. They ordered pepperoni pizza and beer buddies. The beer buddies were little rolls of pizza dough rolled in garlic butter and parmesan cheese. Dipped in a little pizza sauce...soo tasty! We brought the girly drinks (for Matt) and beer.

After dinner we took a long walk around their neighborhood. Braelyn got a 2 seat radio flyer wagon for her birthday. Katie and Braelyn got strapped into the wagon facing each other, and Matt towed them. The girls had a blast! They didn't stop smiling, reaching out to each other, chatting, and playing peak-a-boo. Oh, it was heart warming to see them enjoying it so much.



We finished the evening with big servings of Tillamook Udderly Chocolate ice cream. White Chocolate and Milk Chocolate ice creams swirled together with chocolate flakes. YUM!!! Thanks for a fun evening Matt, Jenna, and Braelyn:)

Friday, 4/16/2010

What a busy day our family had today.

5:45-6:55 Sarah & Ben get ready for the day,pack, breakfast. Ben off to work.
6:55-8:00 Sarah continues to pack
8:00-9:00 Katie wakes up, gets ready for the day, has breakfast, and plays. Sarah continues to pack.
9:00-10:30 Sarah works. Katie plays.
10:30-11:15 Sarah finishes packing and loads the car. Katie plays and tries to help.
11:15 Sarah and Katie are out the door, heading downtown Seattle to Pike Place Market
12:15 Four beautiful bouquets of tulips purchased, Sarah and Katie head back to Ben's office.
12:30ish With the tulips stowed securely in truck, we hit the road for Spokane.

We hoped that by keeping Katie up all morning she would sleep for most of the trip. Nope. 1.5 hours into the trip she woke up and needed attention/food/cleanup the remaining 4 hours. We were definitely glad to get to our destination. Thankfully, we were just in time for dinner.

Mom and Dad made a lovely roast with cloves of garlic poked into it. Gotta love meat with garlic in it! On the side we had rolls, potatoes and carrots, and a beautiful fruit salad. The strawberries in the salad were a hit with Katie. She couldn't get enough:)

Matt, Jenna, Braelyn, and our friends, Charlene and Vera, joined us for the meal. How nice to spend the evening with our family!

Thursday, 4/15/2010

Well, it was supposed to be left over flank steak tonight, but neither of us was in the mood for it. I rummaged through the fridge and found a container of already cooked up breakfast sausage from earlier in the week. A couple tortillas, some shredded cheddar, 4 scrambled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper, the crumbled sausage, hot sauce for me, and tobasco for Ben and...Ta-Da...breakfast burritos for dinner. We washed them down with glasses of milk...exactly what we were in the mood for!

We'll be out of town for a couple days, so I'll post about our weekend food early next week.

Wednesday, 4/14/2010

One of our favorite restaurants in Belltown (the neighborhood in Seattle we used to live in) is Black Bottle. They have great small plates of food that are easy to share and their wine prices are pretty reasonable. Tonight I tried to replicate, at least in part, their local sausage plate. They serve three different kinds of sausages on the same plate, braised in a delicious sauce.

I chose to grill up 4 different sausages (cajun, pesto, mediterranean, and one I can't remember)from the Safeway meat counter and then served them with 5 different dipping sauces (bbq, ketchup, cajun ketchup, chipotle ranch dressing, and spicy brown mustard). Ben's favorite was the cajun sausage with the cajun ketchup. I liked the mystery one best with the bbq sauce. Katie had a little of the mediterranean and the pesto sausages. Her comment was "yum, yum".

Tuesday, 4/13/2010

I tried a new marinade last night using Weber's Southern Whiskey marinade mix. I took a 1.5 pound flank steak, poked a bunch of holes in it with a fork and then placed it in the marinade mix (which I prepared with oil and water per the directions). I think it marinated about 8 hours. Ben grilled it while I prepared the caesar salad we had on the side.

It tasted just fine, but wasn't as good as some of the other marinades we have used in the past. Katie liked the flavor. We cut her some small pieces of the steak and she kept asking for more. She was probably swallowing the pieces whole, but she did seem to enjoy them.

Monday, 4/12/2010

Left over pork with red pepper bacon sauce tonight. Instead of a salad, we grilled up some asparagus. Katie loves the asparagus tips- begs for them in fact.

Katie's appetite has been a little strange the past couple of days. She hasn't eaten much for breakfast, but has snacked all morning long. Thankfully, today after lots of snacking, she took a four hour nap (yes...4 hours!!!) and then was a cheerful delight all afternoon and evening. And, all of the dishes are done from last night with the exception of the cookie sheets. Thanks for your help Ben!

It's been a good day for this momma:)

Sunday, 4/11/2010

Just realized, again, that today is Sunday. And, although I am sad that the weekend is ending, I am pleased to say that it concluded with a delicious meal. It even included a salad;) Here's what I made: Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Red Pepper Bacon Sauce, Caesar Salad, and Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies.


PAN FRIED PORK TENDERLOIN

1 pork tenderloin- cut and flattened
flour
kosher salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper
vegetable oil

Cut tenderloin into 1/2 in slices. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter, place a slice on it, and fold plastic over the pork. Using a meat mallet, flatten the slice of pork until it is approximately 1/4" thick.

Dredge each piece in a mixture of flour, salt, and peppers.

Heat oil in a medium pan (don't use non-stick). Put pieces of pork into the oil and leave alone until slight browning occurs. Turn and leave alone until slight browning occurs and pork is cooked through. You may need to do this step in batches. Move cooked pieces onto a paper towel covered plate until ready to serve and keep warm.

The pork was tender and moist, but lacked the crispy outside I hoped for. Next time I might try leaving more of the flour on or dunk the pieces in an egg bath before dredging in the flour.

ROASTED RED PEPPER & BACON SAUCE

1 1/2 cups jarred roasted red peppers, drained (10-ounce jar)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons red wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper

1. Puree red peppers, tomatoes, oregano, cayenne, wine, and oil in food processor or blender until smooth.

2. Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 7 minutes (took me longer). Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to plate lined with paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from pan and return to medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add red pepper mixture to skillet and bring to simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until flavors meld, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream and half the bacon. Season with salt and pepper.

I found this sauce recipe in a magazine- not sure which one. Credit goes to Patricia Lohrey of Port Ludlow, WA. It was intended to be a pasta sauce. We tried it with spaghetti a couple months ago and loved it! Seemed like it would go well with the pork tenderloin I had in the fridge. I ladled some of the sauce onto the plate, placed a couple pieces of pork on top, a little more sauce and then sprinkled with the remaining crisp bacon.

The caesar salad was one from the store...everything included. I just add more parmesan cheese and black pepper.

And, the Butterscotch Oatmeal cookie recipe came straight off the butterscotch chip bag. I started making them earlier this year when I realized it gave an option to use either vanilla extract or orange zest as flavoring. The orange zest gives them amazing flavor. Much more interesting than vanilla. They are now a household favorite!

Saturday, 4/10/2010

We celebrated our friend Julie's birthday tonight at the West Seattle Bowl. Katie had to eat before we left, but Ben and I waited until we were there to have our dinner. We ordered a pepperoni and sausage pizza from Garlic Jim's. I know it isn't very sanitary to eat pizza while bowling, but I'm sure I won't get deathly ill from it;) And, in fact, my bowling improved significantly when I started to eat pizza. Maybe it was the pizza grease?

Happy Birthday Julie!

Friday, 4/9/2010

We have been looking forward to this evening for months. We had tickets to see The Wailin' Jennys in concert tonight. They did not disappoint. We were blown away with the performance. Super tight harmonies, fantastic instrumentation, great song writing...fantastic!!!

In our rush to get Ben home from work, Katie over to Ari's house for the evening, and on to the concert, we drove through the Arby's drive thru. I got my usual Regular Roast Beef sandwich. Ben tried the new Bacon Cheddar Roast Burger. He said it was ok, but not as good as having a regular Bacon Cheddar Burger.

After the show we stopped at Anthony's for wine and appetizers. Our group of four enjoyed garlic bread, calamari with lemon aioli, baked crab, shrimp, and artichoke dip, and a kind of bbq prawn and potato dish. The plates were empty:)

Katie had a great time at Ari's. They played, ate dinner, and took a bath together. I'm sure there will be some blackmail photos soon!

Thursday, 4/8/2010

Tonight I shared left over Foil-Wrapped Ginger Chicken, garlic rice, and spinach salad with Ben. He got home from his business trip to Huntsville, Alabama after midnight last night. It is a great meal to have left over. Still moist and great flavors.

Katie was not interested in having the mac & cheese & peas I gave her for dinner. Again with the dropping of food off the tray. We have decided to remove her from the high chair when she starts to drop food. After she was down, she would wonder off and then come back to beg for bites of our rice and chicken. So cute:)

I had a meeting at church and choir practice after dinner, so Ben was in charge of her for the evening. He tells me that she insisted on having cheese before she would go to bed. I guess there is always room for...cheese.

Wednesday, 4/7/2010

FOIL-WRAPPED GINGER CHICKEN

Prep & cook time: 1.5 hours, polus at least 1 hour of chilling time

Makes 4 servings

1 tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
One 1-in. piece ginger, peeled and cut into thinnest possible slivers
1 lb. boned, skinned chicken thigh meat, cut into bite-size pieces and strips
2 green onions, finely sliced
Ground black pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, brown sugar, and ginger. Add chicken, toss to coat, cover, and chill for at least 1 hours and up to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Lay out 8 pieces of aluminum foil, 6-8 in. long each. Put 1/8 of the marinated chicken in the middle of each. Top chicken with green onions and sprinkle with pepper. Fold 1 side of foil over the chicken to cover, fold opposite side of foild over first fold, and then fold in each end once to seal and create a little packet.

3. Lay packets on a foil or parchment lined rimmed baking sheet (packets will lead while cooking, and the marinade is difficult to clean up once it cooks onto a pan). Bake until chicken is cooked through and marinade is reduced and starting to carmelize in each packet, 45-60 minutes. Serve hot or warm.

I served mine with a simple spinach salad and white rice, flavored with chicken broth and minced garlic.

Garlic White Rice

1 cup white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Heat the vegetable oil in the bottom of a pan on medium. Add garlic until fragrant. Add rice; stir to combine with the garlic and oil. Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. Cook for 20 minutes...don't remove the lid.

I got this recipe from a magazine, but am not sure which one. The recipe said it would yield 8 servings. I don't know about you, but 2 oz of meat is not enough for me. I think 4 servings is more realistic. It also called for 1 tbsp of regular soy sauce and 1 tsp of dark soy sauce. I only had the regular kind so I just upped the amount I put in to cover for my lack of dark soy sauce. The dish tastes great without the dark variety...save yourself the trip to the store:)

I was thankful to share this meal with my good friend Sydney. She came over to watch Katie for me while I went to a meeting at church. What a treat for both of us!

Tuesday, 4/6/2010

Ben and I joined a PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) group when Katie was just over one month old. We spent 12 weeks with a facilitator and have since then gathered every other week on our own. There are 5 couples in our group, each with one child about Katie's age, and we rotate between our 5 homes.

Tonight Katie and I went over to Oliver's house for Zeeks Pizza and homemade apple crisp w/ice cream. I had a slice of pepperoni and a slice of Cherry Bomb which has Italian sausage and sweet-hot roasted red peppers on it. Soo tasty! Katie ate some pork and spring vegetable w/pasta baby food before we left our house. Once at Oliver's house she had a little of my pizza, lots of cheese, and a few random crackers dropped by the other kids. It is so much fun to watch these 5 little people walking around, playing, eating, chatting near each other. They don't interact with each other much yet. There were a couple outbursts when food or sippy cups were returned to their owners, but all in all a very fun night.

Ben is out of town on a business trip and told me he had some okay Thai food. Huntsville, Alabama is probably not the best place for good Thai.

Monday, 4/5/2010

With Easter dishes still to be done, I wasn't up for cooking or even reheating tonight. After picking up groceries for the week, I decided to get some food to go at Panda Express. For my 2 entree plate, I chose Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef with steamed rice. It is a generous portion of food for just $6.33.

Now, I got the Orange Chicken because I had enjoyed a bite or two off of Ben's plate a couple months ago. I enjoyed it again tonight, but realized that each piece has very little chicken in it. Mainly batter covered in a yummy sauce with little bits of chicken in it. The beef was tasty, but seemed overcooked. All in all the food is good, but I think I will try different entrees next time.

Sunday, 4/4/2010

HAPPY EASTER!




















Christ the Lord is risen today. Let's celebrate with FOOD!

Our Easter menu today: Pork Roast, Mini Potatoes with Brie and Smoked Bacon, Grilled Asparagus, Corn & Carrot Muffins, Peppercorn rolls, Lemon Cake, and wine:)

I am blessed to have had my loved ones and friends with me today to share this meal: Ben, Katie, Jennifer, Spencer, LeeAnne, and Ken. Thank you all for helping to prepare it!

PORK ROAST
1 Boston butt or pork shoulder roast (anywhere from 2-6 pounds)
1 large onion, quartered and layers separated
Kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder

Coat the bottom of a crock pot with a generous amount of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set the pork roast inside and apply a generous sprinkling of the same three ingredients to the other sides of the roast. Don't worry, it would be hard to put too much on. Cover the roast with the onion layers. Set the crock pot to cook on low for 9-11 hours.

Pull out of the pot and enjoy! Just try to get it to the table without having a nibble;) This is how we start our bbq pulled pork. We just stopped before we added the sauce and cooked for another hour.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS
Preheat grill to Medium.

Prepare asparagus by cutting off the ends of the stems or by popping them at the natural break points. Wash and then toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cook on Medium Direct for 8 minutes, turning to avoid burning. A little charring is ok.

MINI BAKED POTATOES W/ BRIE AND SMOKED BACON
kosher salt
20 new potatoes (we learned that new potatoes are not a certain variety, they are just young potatoes that have thinner peels)
5 slices thick-cut bacon
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup spring onions, chopped
4 oz. Brie
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 425. Place a thin layer of kosher salt on a baking tray. Place potatoes on top and cook for 30 minutes.
2. Allow to cool slightly. Slice off the tops of the potatoes lengthwise, and scoop out the middle with a teaspoon or melon baller.
3. Dice and fry bacon. Remove bacon, add diced onions to the pan and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the reserved bacon, to the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Mix in with scooped-out potato.
5. Spoon into shells. Serve warm.

We were actually a bit apprehensive about this recipe. Ben and I have never been fans of Brie. But, we were willing to give it a shot. It was a recipe Ben's mom found in People magazine. It is an Irish dish made at the Clarence Hotel in Dublin, owned by U2's Bono and the Edge. The potatoes looked beautiful when done and were not bad, but lacked the strong flavors we expected. The Brie definitely wasn't a problem.

We had two breads and two wines with our meal. I bought peppercorn foccocia rolls and Ken and Lee Anne made yummy carrot and corn muffins. We opened another bottle of the Bogle Petite Sirah. And, Ken and Lee Anne brought a delicious bottle of 2003 Rosé of Sangiovese by Barnard Griffin. They said it was supposed to pair well with pork. We were all very thankful that it did!

And for dessert, a Lucious Lemon Daisy Cake. The recipe came with a beautiful Daisy Bundt Pan we received as a wedding gift. It has cream cheese in it which makes the cake very moist and creamy. The whole cake is glazed with a sugar, lemon juice, butter drizzle.

Happy Easter!

Saturday, 4/3/2010

We ran a couple errands in Tukwilla this afternoon and stopped at Duke's Chowder House Southcenter for dinner. We've been to that location twice and so far we have not had to wait to be seated. That is a really good thing when dining with a 15 month old. All four of us, Ben's mom and brother joined us, had a fish & chips & chowder combo. Ben and his mom had halibut and his brother and I had the cod. His mom had a cup of the Dungeness Crab & Bourbon Chowder while the rest of us had the Cajun Chicken Corn Chowder. Those chowders are delicious. We only wish we had the time to figure out how to make them. YUM!

We ordered chicken fingers for Katie with a side of ranch dressing. She seems to really like dipping her food into sauces and purees, so I thought it would be fun to let her dip her chicken in it. NOT a good idea in a restaurant setting. First the hand holding the chicken was dipped in so far that her fingers were coated with it. And when that wasn't good enough, the empty hand was plunged in. Thankfully we brought a washcloth and were able to get her cleaned up and the ranch removed before she made a real mess of the place.

If you live near Seattle and like chowder, I highly recommend you check out Duke's. The chowder truly is the best I've ever had.

Friday, 4/2/2010

Ben's mom Jennifer drove up from Portland this afternoon to spend the Easter weekend with us. She arrived just after 6pm, just in time for dinner. I made Chili Macaroni Hamburger Helper. It was my first time making that flavor of H.H. Knowing that flavor is usually pretty mild, I added extra chili powder, cayanne pepper, and cumin to the hamburger. Thanks Ben for the suggestions;) Turned out they were good choices and the flavor was better than your average H.H.

Now, I must say that I made the H.H. around 5:30 in order to feed Katie. I left the skillet on low with the lid on in order to keep it warm for myself and Jennifer. I think the hamburger dried out a bit and the macaroni was a little too soft as a result. But in the end, Katie was happy because she got to eat when she was hungry. And, at least the flavor was good:)

Thursday, 4/1/2010

It was left over Chicken Carbonara for us, same story as last night. But it is a different night...it's Maundy-Thursday. I'd like to say a little bit about the food my soul received this evening.

I played the piano for our church service tonight. I probably would not have gone if there hadn't been a need for someone to fill in. I'm so glad I went. During the service, we shared the sacrament of communion and the practice of feet and hand washing. We took turns pouring water over each other's feet or hands and drying them with towels. Each of us who wanted to participate had an opportunity to pour the water and dry the feet as well as have our feet washed. Each of us was served. Each of us served.

As the water was poured from a pitcher into a basin, these are the words that were said:

Leader: Bless this water, that it may be a sign of your cleansing forgiveness.
ALL: Bless me with this water, O God, that I may be immersed in a grace deeper than my sin.

It is quite a scene to imagine....Jesus during the last days of his life, taking the time to be a servant to those who followed him; his friends; his disciples. Washing dirty feet...what a lowly chore. But he did so to set the example for us to serve others as he did.

Here is the Prayer of Thanksgiving we read together:

O God, we give you thanks for the gift of Christ Jesus, light of your own light, Word of your very own Word. We thank you for the splendor of his life of service. We thank you for symbols of love and humility that remind us of him and his gift to us. Strengthen us as we pray for the service to which you call us. May we find in serving others, in acts of mercy, the fullness of life that we have in Christ Jesus who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives in holy light forever, Amen.

Again, I'm so glad I went.