When I last left you, I had such high hopes of celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day with my family. I was busy relishing in the fact that I was going to be able to share some of my cultural heritage with my beauties while enjoying an Irish-worthy feast. Saint Patrick’s Day started off normal enough. A morning trip to the grocery store and then quickly home again so I could begin preparing our dinner of Corned Beef & Cabbage and Irish Soda Bread. Fresh from the confidence of having the bread made and the corned beef in the crock pot, I went about my day. A family lunch visit, some general weekend cleaning and a trip to the park all filled my beautiful Saturday. And then it hit. A 12-hour stomach bug that didn’t really hold up its end of the bargain. I am now on Day 3.5 of still not quite feeling right. A stomach bug that not only prevented me from eating my Saint Paddy’s Day feast, but may very, very well prevent me from eating Corned Beef & Cabbage EVER. I have a stronger than normal smell/nausea association that I can honestly say still prevents me from eating a certain pasta dish that encountered my flu bug when I was in high school. I’m just saying.
God Bless Beau. In the midst of feeding the kids and, without getting into the dirty details, running some much needed interference for me, he managed to snap this shot of supper.
Irish Soda Bread. Check! Corned Beef. Check! Cabbage. Umm…Cabbage? Has anyone seen the cabbage in this Corned Beef & Cabbage???!?? Unbeknownst to any one other than me, the recipe called for adding cabbage an hour before eating. But since I was too sick to even speak, that certainly didn’t happen. And so I present kinda, sorta, a Saint Patrick’s Day supper. No offense to Corned Beef but I get a little nauseous just glancing at this photo.
On to much more pleasant things. Like many of you, we find ourselves on Spring Break. And with the insanely warm last few weeks paired with the smattering of spring storms, one of the trees in our front yard has begun to bloom.
I’ve been told this is a tulip tree. And my non-landscaping self just nodded my head in agreement. In fact, I’m nodding right now.
Whatever it is, it sure is a beauty. It first blooms into beautiful flowers, then it buds and turns into a lovely green-leaved tree that we enjoy all summer. Thank you tulip, or whatever you really are, tree.
Another sure sign of spring. Today we woke up to a refreshing, morning shower. And spring showers around this fishing family mean one thing…earthworm hunting!
Beaut.two is eyeing a fresh one and trying to decide if he should scream now or when he touches it. Side note: He went with now.
Beaut.one is fearless. She loves to fish and knows this long, wiggly one bring her one step closer to the big catch.
After the little one sees big sis hauling in the squiggly things without injury, he gives it a whirl!
Check out that earthworm slime! Nothing freaks this angler out.
My bevy and their earthworm gold. At least that’s what they call it. Me? Well, this photo makes my still-reeling tummy a bit queasy too.
What does the arrival of spring mean for you?
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day ( a day early!) from our Irish family to yours. Well, partially Irish family. We’re a lot Irish (me), a lot Danish (Beau) and a little bit country.
This picture is the sum total of our Saint Patty’s Day celebration last year. Yes, those are ‘Lucky Puffs’ Hostess Sno Balls in my children’s hands. Yes, I am the mother who realized on the day of that it was in fact Saint Patrick’s Day and had absolutely nothing planned. Yes, I am the one who haphazardly threw green shirts on my beauts and headed to my local Target store on a mission to find a St. Patty’s-type treat. And yes, in a sad and desperate attempt to not let the holiday that celebrates my heritage pass by without mention, bought my beauties green Hostess Sno Balls for our ‘Irish’ fare. I swear to you, it was all I could find.
The wee ones bravely nibbled on the coconut, chocolate and marshmallow culinary mystery. My very Irish one (Beaut.two) is silently wondering if this is in fact edible or some sort of sick preschool prank.
Beaut.one is giving our ‘Irish’ sweet treat a thumbs up. But if you look really closely her mouth is full and she isn’t swallowing. I’m just saying.
So this year I was looking to totally redeem myself. I think I’m off to a better start. After all, I bought the beauties these very festive socks. Well, at least my daughter’s socks are festive. I couldn’t find a Patty’s Day pair for my son that didn’t have rainbows or pink on them so I settled for these green Oscar the Grouch ones. In no way does Oscar the Grouch refer to my son’s demeanor. In no way can a red-headed, independent and commanding young boy occasionally appear grouchy. It was just a coincidence really.
And I bought these fun gel clings from Michaels. Man, I am really going for it this year!
And here is the aforementioned Irish kiss in action, so we are firing on all cylinders now. Seriously though. I have been diligently researching corned beef and cabbage recipes so I can delight my family with that deliciousness this year. Oh, and some much, much, much more Irish-than-green-Sno Balls-soda bread is on the menu too.
Here’s wishing you and yours a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Don’t forget to be pinch-free and sport some green.
Popcorn. Delicious popcorn. So simple and yet so amazing! Popcorn has never been the same since I learned how to make it myself. I know I am beyond late to the make-your-own popcorn game. But since I didn’t see the popcorn light until much too recently, I figured maybe some of you haven’t either. If you haven’t, read on and welcome to a lovely and simple world where popcorn is always made to your exact liking. If you have, read on because…well, just because. 🙂
Ellie Mae’s Popcorn. There are many, many different types of popcorn out there but I am a huge fan of white and local so I snagged this bag for a whopping $1.72. Get out!
Measure 1/2 cup of that popcorn gold and pour into a paper bag. A simple, paper lunch bag will do.
Once you pour the popcorn deliciousness into the brown bag, roll the top down and place in your microwave. I usually cook for 2 minutes and 30 seconds but cooking times in microwaves vary greatly. Just stay close and enjoy the yummy aroma rolling outta your ‘wave. Once the popping stops, pull that baby out!
Carefully open the bag. It.will.be.hot. Pour your bounty, season and enjoy! I love that I get to decide how much salt and butter are on my favorite snack. The kids even enjoy it plain. My simple, seasoning strategy? I melt 2 tablespoons butter, pour over the popcorn and season lightly with salt.
Around here there is something special about popcorn. As soon as that first kernel starts popping, my bevy of beauties come running. Especially my canine beauty, Tag.
We don’t let Tag eat ‘people’ food. Except for all the food the kids drop at breakfast. And at lunch. At supper. And come to think of it, at snack time too.
Oh, and popcorn. I can’t even remember how it started but started it did. And now he lies in wait as soon as that first kernel pops, preparing to do this to score him one.
My boy has got serious hops for the pops. Tag jumps for two things and two things only: popcorn and bubbles.
“Please. Please. Please. Blow more lovely bubbles my way. I can’t talk so my steely stare will have to do. I need to jump and eat those floating balls of magic. Now.” -Tag
Back to the poppy corn. Your homemade popcorn is not only for ingesting, it is also a great food for packaging and gifting. Here Beaut.two fills a clear cellophane bag of the corny stuff.
If I’m going to package it, I usually keep the popcorn naked. No salt. No butter. Just the corn. Then you don’t have any grease or sogginess issues. And your lucky recipient can season it themselves.
Simple raffia.
A pretty bow and jelly beans scream Easter.
On this bag ‘o goodness, I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped some twine from my local hardware store. Rustic yum!
On this bag I added a ribbon I had in storage, pulled from one of Beaut.one’s birthday gifts. May Day anyone?
I am definitely including popcorn in the Easter baskets this year. Not this popcorn. I mean that would be stale and gross. No. New, freshly popped corn. But you probably already got that. (More on those baskets in a future post.)
How do you like your popcorn? Do you make it yourself? Do you own a popper? I don’t. But since I bought Mr. Cuisinart my budget won’t allow for any more small appliance purchases in the near future. Bummer.
Happy popping!
For many, longer days are a welcome guest…a certain sign of spring. And if it weren’t for Beaut.two’s uncanny ability to sense the first sign of morning light, seemingly anywhere in the contiguous United States and then proceed to wake the entire house, it would be welcome here too. After all, we are huge fans of longer days. We prefer our drive home from work to not be under the dark of night. We enjoy yawn-free dinners and actually reading a book without nodding off two pages in. Plus, when the days are longer it gives us more time to go on bike rides and long walks. You know, stay in a vertical position past 7:00. So we certainly are not anti-longer days. But we are definitely anti-dude, you just woke me up way too early again folk.
So with the days growing longer, my daffodils peeking out of the soil, and daylight savings making its bi-annual appearance (and by the way, stealing a precious hour of my sleep) all reminding us spring is right around the corner, we knew now was the time for us to get our act together and do something to trick our son’s sunny sixth sense. (Try saying that three times fast.) We are shameless around here when it comes to the sleep.
As you can see, Beaut.two’s windows were previously covered with just wooden blinds. No match for his well-honed and supreme sense of light.
So we went shopping…looking to bring a little, scratch that, a lot of darkness to this space.
First, we headed to Pottery Barn Kids and scored two 63″ navy, grommet canvas panels and two 84″ ones. Bonus: there were having a 20% off sale! Someone in that marketing department is very, very wise. And has likely had a child with this extreme light sensing ability too. Bless you and your understanding, tired self! Now we would normally purchase the same size panels for all the windows in the same room, but my son’s bedroom has a window seat/toy box directly under one of his windows. The 63″ panels fit perfectly there, while the 84″ would have been too long.
Then off to hunt for some drapery rods. My son’s ceiling has a pretty sharp slant so we didn’t have much clearance for the rods, much less fancy finials. Small and simple was going to win the race today. At Target I bought two of these Room Essentials Ball Cafe Drapery Rods in black, about $17 each. Affordable and attractive, yes please!
On to the installation. Beau gathered some tools…
…and the cutest assistant ever…
…and got about the business of bringing us one step closer to some much needed sleep. As you can see, Beaut.one was happily on board with this plan too. She has fallen prey many a morning to the early rising, raring to go, seriously, why are you awake right now? phenom that is her brother.
With installation well on its way, we are one step closer to sleepy, sleep.
Beau is standing on the window seat/toy box to install rod #2. And bless his heart, he is working so diligently and professionally even while his head is stuck to the ceiling.
And all I have running through my head is, “Tall guy in a little space. Tall guy in a little space.” Think Chris Farley singing “Fat guy in a little coat.” while wearing David Spade’s jacket in Tommy Boy.
And we’re back…to the installation…
20 short minutes later we gazed upon this glorious sight. The 84″ panels installed.
And the 63″ ones too!
I would show you what they look like in action, all closed up, but it was too dark in there to get a good shot. My first positive sign that this was a great investment. And the verdict? Let’s just say that when we first heard the pitter-patter of Beaut.two’s feet this morning, there was nearly a seven on the clock. Miraculous seven! And his nap this afternoon? Three beautiful hours. My only question now…what were we waiting for?
What are you looking forward to most as the days grow longer?
So here we find ourselves on the final day of my experience cooking through Everyday Food magazine’s ‘The $50 Week‘. Ah, $50. You were the hopeful promise that drew me to these delicious recipes in the first place. Well, that and the freedom from menu planning for five glorious days but I digress. Sweet, $50, a dollar amount that both my budget and my stomach totally got on board with. Blessed, $50, that quickly morphed into much…oh, so much…more when I came to Day 5’s recipe.
So here’s what happened. In preparing for today’s yumminess, I began reviewing the recipe again so I could figure out timing, make sure I had all the ingredients I needed and see if there was any prep I could start ahead of time. I know. So responsible, right? And it was during this very process that (insert large ‘GULP!’ here) I realized I had made a pretty major mistake. Imagine my surprise when a food-processorless (totally made-up word alert!) individual like me realized that a food processor was a necessary appliance to make this dish. Oh boy. Now I had had a lovely food processor at one time. It was a hand-me-down and had processed its last more than a little while ago. Up until this point, I had managed to use my trusty blender or my good ol’ knife to handle all food processor-type tasks. But there was no circumventing the processor this time. It finally had my number. And it knew it had the upper hand because time was not on my side. It is at this point I realized that I had but two options. Option #1: Ditch the recipe and call four days under my belt good enough and live with the eternal regret of never knowing the sweet taste of victory. (O.k., so that may be a wee bit on the dramatic side.) Option #2: Blow my $50 dream week budget and go get me a food processor.
Blog friends, meet Mr. Cuisinart.
Mr. Cuisinart, meet blog friends.
As you can see, I went with Option #2. With my fridge already full of the recipe’s ingredients and four days of meals under my belt, I wasn’t going to stop now. So I went online, researched the best food processor for my needs, headed to Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon in my hands and bought the Cuisinart Prep Plus 11-Cup Food Processor. When I did my initial research I had decided on the 9-Cup but Bed, Bath & Beyond didn’t carry that beauty in the store. Man! My $50 budget is now but a very distant memory.
You may be wondering why I call my new food processor Mr. Cuisinart. Well, this thing is serious. I mean anything that comes with a 45-minute instructional DVD needs a proper name.
On to today’s recipe, creamy shells with tuna and spinach!
Ingredient List
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced small
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
4 cups whole milk
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 hamburger bun, torn into large pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess liquid squeezed out
2 cans (6 ounces each) light tuna in water, drained and flaked
6 ounces jumbo pasta shells (about 20), cooked according to package instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high.
Add onion and cook until softened, about 6 minutes.
Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
Gradually add milk, whisking constantly, and cook until slightly thickened and bubbling, about 3 minutes.
And we’re still whisking…
Season with salt and pepper and let sauce cool slightly.
In a food processor, combine bun…
(My hamburger buns fell prey to some hungry family members so I improvised and used 1 and 3/4 pieces sandwich bread instead.)
…Parmesan,
…Italian seasoning and red-pepper flakes.
Process until fine crumbs form. (I used the Pulse feature on the processor so I could prevent the crumbs from turning into dust. That little appliance is powerful!)
Transfer half the mixture to a large bowl and combine with spinach,
tuna,
and half the sauce; season with salt and pepper.
Fill each shell with 2 heaping tablespoons spinach mixture and place in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Top with remaining sauce and breadcrumb mixture.
Bake until sauce is bubbling and breadcrumbs are golden, about 20 minutes.
Now for the salad. In a large bowl, mix 1 tablespoon each of red-wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil,
1/2 teaspoon sugar, (Isn’t it just plain ‘sweet’ that the sugar is being measured by a heart? Nothing gets by me.)
and 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper.
Whisk to combine.
Add 3/4 head iceberg lettuce, chopped, and 1 tomato, cut into wedges. Toss to combine.
Imagine roaring applause as you bring today’s meal to the dinner table. O.K. now that’s enough dreaming. If you don’t stop, the applause may drown out the kitchen timer. And if you miss the timer and leave the pasta in the oven too long it’ll burn baby! Burn.
Seriously though. Relish in the fact that you fed your family dinner all week for $50…unless of course you are like me and had to go and buy a small kitchen appliance. Then deny yourself relishing and quickly get about the business of coming up with clever ways to use your new food processor.
Welcome to Day 4 of my Everyday Food magazine’s ‘The $50 Week‘. Tonight’s dinner deliciousness? Vegetable frittata with roasted potatoes and garlic. Umm..yum! And if you’re wondering what in the world a frittata is you (and my son) can be rest assured that it is just a fancy word for egg dish. Since eggs are on Beaut.two’s unfortunately short list of things he’ll actually eat, I had my fingers crossed all the vegetables wouldn’t get in his way. Until of course I had to do some chopping. Then I uncrossed my fingers for safety reasons. And then promptly re-crossed them once the chopping danger passed.
Read on for your step-by-step guide to bringing vegetable frittata with roasted potatoes and garlic to your table tonight!
Ingredient List
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 medium red onion, diced medium
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
reserved roasted broccoli from Day 3
1 tomato, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with racks in upper and middle thirds. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes and garlic with 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on sheet and roast on middle rack.
Roast until potatoes are golden and crisp, about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sour cream and season with salt and pepper.
In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium.
Add onion and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
By this point, you may be saying to yourself, “It seems as though the green beans referenced above are missing.” And you, my very astute friend, would be correct! Blame it on winter, blame it on groceries traveling from far off places, blame it on my fridge, blame it on anything but the sad looking green beans that were supposed to be a part of this deliciousness. They had seen much better days and so I put them out of their misery and replaced them with an extra tomato. Tomatoes to the rescue!
Add broccoli and (extra) tomato and season with salt and pepper.
Add egg mixture and stir to combine.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and cook, undisturbed, until edge is set, about 2 minutes. I’m instructed to leave the eggs completely alone for 2 minutes. Can someone pass those same instructions along to my beauties? Most days I would give just about anything if I could get 2 precious minutes undisturbed. 🙂
Transfer iron skillet to upper rack in oven and bake until slightly puffed and almost set, about 8 minutes. Heat broiler and broil until cheese is browned and bubbling, about 1 minute. Run a rubber spatula around edge of frittata and transfer to a plate. Cut into wedges and serve with potatoes and garlic.
Sit back, enjoy and say the word frittata repeatedly. How often to you get to use that fabulous word in your everyday conversation? Not nearly enough so here’s your chance.
The review on Day 4’s meal? The roasted potatoes and garlic were a hit! I ate my first helping with just salt and pepper. For my second helping, I ate them with a little Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Really good move on my part. Really good.
The frittata was fabulous too. The Parmesan cheese gave it a richness I really wasn’t expecting. Beau and Beaut.one agreed and proceeded to devour it. Beaut.two? Well, let’s just say that there were some very ‘hands on’ moments of meticulously removing all the vegetables from the frittata. Hey, I figure it is a great opportunity for him to work on his fine motor skills. Once all that veg was out of the way, I am happy to report that he enjoyed his eggs & cheese.
Tomorrow wraps up ‘The $50 Week’. See you then!
Here we are on Day 3 of my Everyday Food magazine’s ‘The $50 Week‘. Tonight’s recipe? Stuffed chicken with roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes. This family is full of pro-chicken folk so I felt awfully confidant heading into the kitchen with this little number. The beauts were all aglow with the excitement that they finally recognized something I was cooking. And I was more than relieved to have passed the preschool test.
Here’s how the preschool test shakes down around here: Whenever I am cooking, Beaut.two will come into the kitchen, casually but with great intention, stroll by the counter and look over all the ingredients. He will then ask to see the recipe. Then a concerned look will cross his face and he will proclaim, “I don’t like it.” Come on man! You haven’t even tried it yet. I think I may just live with the toughest food critic in America. Nevertheless, I soldier on. Convinced that someday he will move beyond grilled cheese, pancakes, peanut butter & jelly, eggs (in a number of varieties) and chicken. My son has such refined tastes.
Welcome Day 3!
Ingredient List
2 hamburger buns, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, diced small
2 celery stalks, diced small
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 bunch broccoli (1 pound), cut into florets
1 sweet potato, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 lemon, quartered
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), patted dry
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut hamburger buns.
On a rimmed baking sheet, arrange bun pieces in a single layer. Is it just me or does the word bun make you giggle? Oh, it’s just me? Moving on.
Bake until dry and light golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium heat.
Add onion, celery, garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. It was right about now that it started to smell a lot like Thanksgiving around here. Why, oh, why do I typically only make stuffing at Thanksgiving? That’s just plain wrong.
Season with salt and pepper and transfer to bowl with bread. Add egg.
Add 2 tablespoons water. Toss to combine.
On rimmed baking sheet, season chicken inside and out with salt and pepper.
Loosely fill cavity with stuffing. I adore stuffing so I may or may not have heeded the loosely fill warning.
And because of my love of stuffing, I was devastated to find this much left in the bowl after I filled my chicken chock full of the bread-y goodness. So I did what any sane girl would do. I cooked it…all of it.
Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Roast chicken 25 minutes.
In a large bowl, toss broccoli and sweet potatoes with 2 teaspoons oil; season with salt and pepper.
Remove sheet from oven and place vegetables and lemon around chicken.
Roast 30 minutes, turning vegetables halfway through, until chicken is golden brown and juices run clear when chicken is pierced between breast and thigh (an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of a thigh, avoiding bone, should read 165 degrees).
Let chicken rest 10 minutes; scoop out stuffing and carve bird. Refrigerate 1 cup broccoli for tomorrow’s meal. Serve chicken with stuffing, lemon and remaining vegetables.
The verdict on Day 3’s meal? The chicken was moist and delicious and preschooler approved. Not many recipes can claim that. Not many at all. The stuffing was just plain yummy and my daughter announced that it was her new favorite…so that’s a plus. We had mixed reviews on the roasted veggie front. I thought they were seasoned nicely and had that classic roasted flavor but then again I rarely encounter a vegetable that I don’t enjoy. Beau wasn’t a fan simply because he didn’t like how they picked up the flavor of the roasted lemons.
Day 3 is in the books. After having taken a peek at tomorrow’s recipe, I have a pretty strong feeling I’ll be hearing that oh-so-familiar phrase. No matter what tomorrow holds, that’s not going to stop me from relishing today’s culinary victory.
On Day 2 of my Everyday Food magazine’s ‘The $50 Week‘, taco burgers with cucumber salad was on the menu. I was looking forward to this dinner chiefly because it had the shortest cooking and prep time of any meals this week. However, I don’t think my family was sharing my sentiment. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Beaut.one and Beau were engaged in a conversation while I was cooking that went a little something like this:
Beaut.one: “These burgers had better taste better than the last ones Mom made. You know, the ones with the beans.”
Beau: “Yeah, those weren’t very good.”
Beaut.one: “Why did you lie and say that they were?”
Beau: “Well, it wasn’t that I didn’t like them. It’s just that I wouldn’t chose to eat them (ever) again.”
Beau engaged the semantics tactic. Beaut.one wasn’t buying it.
A little background: A few months ago I made a valiant, but obviously unsuccessful, attempt to inject fewer meat-driven menus into my carnivorous brood’s lives. One of my first attempts was a black bean and brown rice ‘burger’. As evidenced by the above conversation, it did not go well. To the defense of the ‘burger’, I did enjoy it and would certainly eat it again, albeit next time alone.
On to Day 2’s black bean and brown rice burger-free menu!
Ingredient List
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup sliced pickled jalapenos, plus 2 tablespoons liquid*
1 large tomato (I used two medium ones.)
1 cucumber, thinly sliced into half-moons
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 hamburger buns, split
1/4 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
*I had never bought pickled jalapenos before. I found a jar of Mission brand jalapeno peppers that didn’t say pickled anywhere. But when I read the ingredients they had vinegar in them so I figured they were pickled but just too proud to admit it. 🙂
In a medium bowl, add sugar to jalapeno liquid.
Whisk until sugar is dissolved.
Cut 4 slices of tomato and reserve for burgers.
Cut remaining tomato into 3/4 inch pieces and add to dressing.
Slice cucumber into half-moons.
Stir in cucumber and onion. Don’t touch the salad and then your eyes. Just don’t.
Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, combine beef and chili powder.
Form into 4 patties and season with salt and pepper. In a large, non-stick skillet, cook burgers over medium heat (the recipe calls for medium-high heat but on my stove I found that to be too hot.) until cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes total, flipping once.
Shred lettuce. Isn’t lettuce just plain lovely?
Serve burgers on buns with tomato slices, pickled jalapenos, and shredded lettuce, alongside the cucumber salad. Enjoy!
What did my bevy of beauties think of this meal? The taco burger was a winner because, let’s face it, anything would have been better than their last ‘burger’ experience. We left the jalapeno peppers off the little ones’ burgers and I only put one sad little one on mine. I am a spicy lightweight. I am sweating just typing the words jalapeno and spicy.
I really liked the cucumber salad. The jalapeno juice dressing gave it a nice kick and anything with vegetables is going to get a thumbs up from me. The only real downside of this quick and easy and affordable meal? Red onion breath. I think it was worth it. Then again, I am the only one who would eat the black bean and brown rice burger again. On second thought you just might want to decide for yourself.
Day 2 done!
Hello. My name is Stacey and I am an Everyday Food magazine subscriber. I have been for a few years. I really enjoy trying out new recipes on my unsuspecting bevy and I find many worthy candidates to run through the gauntlet of preschool pickiness in this little monthly.
As I was browsing through their latest issue (March 2012), I was intrigued by the title of an article called ‘The $50 Week’. The glorious sub-heading was: Five Delicious Family Meals for $10 or Less. They had me at delicious. And then the good news just kept coming. $10 a meal to feed my growing family of four? Yes, please. And I don’t have to menu plan for an entire week? Now you’re speaking my language. And you’ve even provided a tear-out grocery list with everything I need to buy to make all five recipes, organized by grocery store category? I am freaking out I’m so happy! Freaking out.
Once I pulled myself together, I headed off to the grocery store, magnificent, pre-printed list in hand. Isn’t it just so pretty?
And here are all the groceries my handy little list told me I need for this culinary adventure.
Menu for the week…check!
Recipes for the week…check!
Groceries for the week…check!
Here we go! Wish me luck.
Dinner #1: Chili-braised pork with green beans and mashed sweet potatoes
Ingredient List:
1 1/2 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, patted dry
course salt and ground pepper
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
chili powder
2 sweet potatoes (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons sugar
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 pound green beans, trimmed
Season pork with salt and pepper.
In a large straight-sided skillet, heat one teaspoon oil over medium-high.
Add pork and cook on high until browned on both sides, about 7 minutes total.
In a medium bowl pour the broth,
add the flour,
and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder.
Whisk together and add to skillet of pork deliciousness.
Bring liquid to a boil; reduce to a rapid simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes. Uncover and cook until pork is tender and sauce is thickened, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium pot, bring sweet potatoes to a boil in salted water over high. Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until tender when pierced with a knife, 20 minutes. (This happened a few minutes faster for me. I must have chosen high-achiever sweet potatoes!)
Drain potatoes and return to pot; mash until fluffy and almost smooth.
Stir in sour cream and sugar, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm over low heat. Taste just to make sure they’re safe for Beau to eat. Taste again to make sure they’re safe for the children to eat. Taste to make sure your first two tastes were accurate. Move on before mashed sweet potatoes don’t make it to the dinner table.
In a large skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Add green beans and 1/4 cup water, cover and cook 3 minutes.
Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender and water is evaporated, 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with pork, sauce and sweet potatoes sprinkled with chili powder. (As you can see I more than ‘sprinkled’ my sweet potatoes. The lid to the chili powder was set to the large opening and out poured the spiciness. Whoopsy!)
What did my bevy of beauties think of this meal? The kids loved the ‘chicken’. Hey, I wasn’t going to correct them. As long as they were eating it, they can call it whatever they want. The mashed sweet potatoes were my favorite and may very well find their way on our Thanksgiving menu next year.
Night one a success!
Today when I woke up I knew there would be some grown-up, important tasks for me to tackle. The first of the month is always a busy time for a self-described nerd like me. Budgets, bills to pay, this…
…mess to clean up. Hiding in all those piles are school papers to sort, coupons to clip, mail to open, and catalogs to peruse and then promptly recycle (Before I can remember to buy fabulous this or fabulous that.). I have systems in place so this counter issue, well, doesn’t become an issue. But said systems don’t work when I don’t use them…or when life happens. Like a spontaneous bug capture by Beaut.one (daughter). A bug, now pet!?, capture that comes with a very detailed list of instructions for Mom to handle while she’s at school. I especially love the go online list item. You know…online. Where you go to find out everything, including what this new pet of ours eats.
Beaut.two, my son, also had a very different idea of how our today would transpire. Nowhere in his young mind was the word budget or bills. But saving our house from certain bad guy destruction was…
And so was playing with Play-Doh. (Caution: even though ice cream pictured is made with inedible materials that still didn’t stop me from craving its very real counterpart. Watch yourself!)
As we were playing today I was contemplating the depths of Play-doh. Are you a Play-doh purist like me? And by that I mean…do you open one Play-doh container at a time, play with it and then put it away, never allowing it to co-mingle with other Play-doh colors?
Or are you more like my Beau who thinks Play-doh was meant to be enjoyed in community? Colors bleeding into one another to eventually form, in this case, something resembling sherbet. But in many other cases, the melding of the colors causes the Play-doh to resemble something much less pleasant.
No matter the color, Play-Doh is just plain fun.
And a beautiful distraction from all things grown-upy.
On a related note, here are the buckets that hold our Play-doh stash and all our P-D tools. (Hey! Here are two more buckets I forgot I had. Click here if you have no idea what I’m talking about.)
Can you believe one family has that much Play-doh? A few years ago I threw out Play-doh as a birthday gift idea and boy, oh, boy did my family respond to that call for action! They are lovely that way.
Now that I’ve played…I’m off to pay!
beauty in the midst 