Linkage

I get all excited like when another perfect cooking blog comes marching forth with intention. Making everyday family favorites like Hawaiian Haystacks that I know my children will love and Chicken Chili Casserole that seems so easy and will likely get devoured.  Salads are right up her alley as well, a cilantro-honey-lime dressing flowing perfectly over a Barbecue Chicken Salad, with an Antipasto Salad shouting for a little more attention in the background.  I'll make you, I'll make you! Even you, Fiesta Ranch Vinaigrette Salad, I'll make you too.

Never forget for the life of you that Jello Salads are indeed her forte, especially when Cabbage Rolls come knockin' on your window, being brazen.  A bite of meat, cabbage, and sauce being addicting to young ones?  Oh, I'd agree.  Mexican crockpot chicken, anyone?  Fine, me.

Boundless

I am just determined to do two important things, and that it's only 2 o'clock both floats my boat and is my cup of tea.  One, is make Ranch dressing.  What with all the vegetables I have cut up, or crudités I guess you could call them...all I need is to get the cilantro and parsley minced and dancing with some light mayo and light sour cream.  Don't leave out the tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice, nor the garlic, green onions or buttermilk, or you'd kill yourself.  I mean what's stopping you from taking a knife and getting your mincing on, is it the granola you just can't get your mind off of?

A skillet toasting of slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds and old-fashioned rolled oats, baked at 325 after mixing with canola oil and honey.  Salt and raisins are the least of your worries when you have to memorize all those measurements, 1/4 cup each, 3 cups those, 3 T, 1/4 cup, 1/4 tsp, and a whole cup.  You know.

Sightless

Toasted walnuts, definitely.  You can't just wander around the house aimlessly, observing task after task that you already accomplished yesterday.  Choosing wisely to start those loads even if it meant emptying the dryer, folding and putting away half a basket upstairs.  My intentions were all good, I'll admit it, to take it one step further each time, never looking back and realizing all I'd accomplished.  So yes, here I am about to make banana bread, two loaves 'cause I'm lucky, actually bought extra bunches for the future, not even knowing what I could've had planned.

Amicable means

Had I not just invented a recipe this morning, combining that dang hot Italian leftover sausage and some mushrooms and peppers that have near literally gone astray.  I'd assume everyone had this good of fortune in the kitchen.  Now I know better, you can't just be anyone and take what was meant to be a calzone and rebirth it into Quick Cherry Cheesecake bars and a Sausage with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Peppers Penne.  Takes Jesus, and three finely minced cloves of garlic AND 2-1/2 cups of chicken broth (and 3-1/2 cups o' water), simmered with as many diced sun dried tomatoes as your fridge is currently providing.  Stir in 6 ounces of baby spinach and 3/4 cup grated parm, until all that liquid's absorbed and pasta's tender.  Salt and pepper your signature all over it, oh and don't forget to refrigerate it topped with cherry pie filling.  Delightful!

Night two

Mel's meatball recipes should be famous, all four varieties satisfy the what's-for-dinner question with a modicum of preparation.  I mean, don't get me wrong, sweet and sour and pineapple are as essential as those with cream sauce, but tonight's teriyaki goodness has got me amped about the process.  I can already hear my skillet sizzling with 2 T oil as I brown the goodness out of 2 lbs of lean ground beef rolled into 1-in portions.  Of course you have to mix together the binder first, nothing more than 2 eggs, 2/3 cup bread crumbs, a teaspoon of salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder and pepper, 1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire, and 3 T milk.  Have that sauce all ready and on the side and simmer the browned meatballs in it for 10-15 minutes.  Cook up some rice in chicken broth, and a delectable dinner have you!

Error code

Not necessarily a flop, but I can't say my Jumbo Stuffed Shells with meat sauce was exactly what I was looking for.  Lightening up the filling with a 20 ounce tub of nonfat cottage cheese, paired with a cup-and-a-half of mozz, a half cup of Parmesan, a half teaspoon of salt, two minced cloves of garlic and two T of basil, and don't forget 12 saltines...may bask in its own perfection.  But to include only 6 ounces of ground beef with an entire onion, two cloves of garlic, two T of paste, 1 T soy sauce and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 3 cans of diced tomatoes later, stirring in 4 T of basil off the heat, a sauce that tasted great but leaned a tad heavily towards meat-free and onion-y.

Already plotting tomorrow's delectable dealing, teriyaki meatballs over rice, makes a school night worthwhile AND divine.

Old school

A girl can't go wrong with a fully stocked fridge, even if a 5 lb bag of Yukon Gold potatoes and a package of fresh basil really are the answer.  They are the beginning, anyway, of a three day shortened school week, one where overnight oatmeal is on hand, a supply of ready-cooked sausage and scrambled egg burritos appealing to my young ones.

A no-bake Eclair cake pairing with Stuffed Jumbo Shells one of those same weeknights, but tonight relax.  A fridge filled with grilled hot Italian sausages, and steaks for the panini grill at the cabin, sliced for sandwiches.

Wealth

Literally, I was just making the sauce of my dreams, you know, easiest sauce ever?  Whipped up garlic bread for my kiddos because what could be literally simpler than cutting up a loaf of sitting- around Italian bread, spreading it with butter then sprinkling it with garlic powder and Monterey Jack, because you were literally out of mozzerella.  Turned out spectacular, have leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and am already grilling chicken in my mind for a white chicken chile enchilada recipe that will literally blow your soul to smitherings.  Only, do I want to literally heat up my house tomorrow with the warm weather that's coming, my expectations are so low, I literally do not know. Only hope is that my future grandchildren will be nourished by the example I set, that I put into place literally everyday of my existence, being home with my young ones, celebrating the value of our family, extended in literally every direction I can imagine, or choose to take part in.

Grains of truth

Having ultimate kids requires looking beyond typical frozen waffle and dry cereal with-or-without milk mornings.  It takes planning ahead, keeping quick oats on hand always, because making this Oatmeal Pancake Mix with only eggs and buttermilk is a sure fire way to keep bellies filled beyond mid-morning.  Of course, being on the fence with regards to making oatmeal itself, leaves me wondering if steel cut oats will be difficult to find at the local grocers, because 6 cups of water added to 2 cups of oats leaves only 1/4 cup each of maple syrup and brown sugar (plus 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp cinnamon) to mix into it, cooking for 7-8 hours on low.  I'm sure there are other overnight crockpot oatmeals on the web, other means to satisfy grain and fruit servings that will rival my morning breakfast burritos.  Oatmeal's goin' into the repertoire, that's all I know.

Flim flam

Errors in judgment are common when mastering new kitchen maneuvers.  For example, when making chicken pot pie, browning 1/4 cup of flour before whisking in that cup of milk, can result in burning if not stirred absolutely constantly.  I mean, medium-high is an awfully hot caliber of fire to be acting nonchalantly with even for a moment, when you've none to spare.  Same thing with toasting panko at 475 for 7-10 minutes.  Go ahead and be an idiot and ignore all signs of browning until the timer goes off at ten, what, fully-dependent on artificial time-keepers now, despite a fine-tuned sense of smelling?  It does make you feel grateful when another seven minutes worth of browning panko later, you read WELL-browned in the directions, salvaging two-inch mozzerella bites about to be dunked in Giada's creamy tomato anytime soon, so get on it.

Note to self

Preheat oven to 425 when you get home from the park.  Pop in your pre-thawed puff pastry dough, rolled into a 9 x 13 rectangle, layed upon a parchment paper lined, rimmed pan.  About 8 minutes, let cool.  You want it puffed and lightly browned.

Toast flour over med-high heat for 5 minutes.  You want it fragrant and lightly golden.  Let cool.

Two teaspoons canola over medium-high, soften and lightly brown onions and celery, 8-10 minutes.  Stir in 3-1/2 cups broth, a T of soy sauce, scraping up browned bits.  Add two pounds chopped chicken and carrots, bring to simmer.  Reduce to low, cover and cook 10-15 minutes.  Let cool, shred into bite-size.

Whisk a cup of milk into flour, whisk into pot.  Simmer and cook, whisking constantly for two minutes, until thickened.  Off heat, stir in chicken, 3/4 cup frozen peas, two teaspoons of God-given dried parsley, 2 tsp lemon juice (thank God I always have these).  Season to taste.

Bake w/ puff pastry on top, after slitting four steam vents along center...15 minutes, until pastry is deep golden, sauce is bubbling around the edges.  Cool slightly before serving.

Daytime drama

Could've killed the cashier girl, AGAIN charging me for cilantro when I really bought parsley.  Had to check the actual bag AGAIN making sure I was right that it was indeed parsley.  $1.58 a bunch is much different than under a buck seasoning (going in tonight's chicken pot pie under puff pastry). Not that I couldn't find a use for cilantro if I tried to, but to have accidentally bought it instead of parsley makes a difference.  It means it was MY fault, my thoughts were perhaps elsewhere, focusing not intently upon the leaf shape, imagining the future wrong, misleading myself intuitively toward a recipe, like blacked out.  Irony was, the bunch actually was cilantro.  I'd thought, perhaps she sees all these tortillas I'm buying, both corn and similarly small-sized flour, the two limes, Nicki's Salsa (bought at a nearby Hugo's).  Plus my jumbo shells, two packages I'll lighten up (simple comfort food, again!) and serve with meat sauce throughout the school year. But back to the cilantro, and having to get used to dried parsley.  I'll adapt my expectations, follow through with my rice crispie bars (two layers tall, always), plan ahead for no-bake Eclair cake (Hugo's had my French vanilla), and get on chopping my vegetables...three carrots to peel and halve lengthwise, to slice 1/4 inch thick, and a stick of celery to MINCE, an entire onion chopped fine.

Affairs of the heart

I was completely obsessed with corn tortillas last night and into this morning, but now I'm brooding over chicken potentials, such a journey.  Mixing a can of rinsed black beans with some diced onion and a teaspoon each of cumin and paprika, meets my every basic need.  Leaving behind Arizona and the cuisine we enjoyed there, makes warming a corn tortilla upon a vegetable oil sprayed skillet, filling it with beans and shredded pepper jack before folding it in half, frying each side for three minutes, fully aware now of all I'd been missing.  Like, instead of PB&J, or a toasted ham and cheese, we can have these now.  Of course, two pounds of raw chicken are beckoning me rather loudly, begging to be cut up, marinated, and Panko-crusted into baked nuggets.  On the other hand, chicken pot pie with puff pastry atop longs to be sautéed into being, in fact the entire method of roux-making, softening onions and celery, and simmering chicken and carrots in broth, well it's just the kind of digging in I'm up for.  So true.

Calzone-mania!

When you know the perfect calzone dough recipe, and have a never-fail cheesy filling, grilling your own Italian sausage and steaming bite-sized broccoli for three minutes in the microwave is only the beginning. Willing to throw caution to the wind, you'll happily sauté 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms in a tablespoon of olive oil for five minutes, adding two minced cloves of garlic and one-half teaspoon of oregano for another minute-long sauté, AND four cups of packed spinach leaves for another sixty seconds thereafter.  All this knowing full-well you're the only mushroom-lover in the family, a champion of spinach, doesn't really matter.  Experimenting with new flavors YOU love is the ideal way to run a kitchen, returning time-and-again to the tried-and-true basics that keep you moving forward, especially where perfect calzones are concerned.

Nothing better

This last week was a dream, I hardly could've planned it.  Determined to make oven-nachos w/homemade chips that have become a tradition, followed by lightened up calzones, oh-the-possibilities with 2 cups of bread flour mixed with 1 tsp rapid-rise, 1 tsp salt, 1 T olive oil and a 3/4 cup of warmed water, and at least an hour rise.  After assembling any medley you'd dream of, but especially the lowered-fat cheese sauce, freaky easy homemade specialty that can be served up in my house weekly.  Now on the agenda, after success with Grandma's raisin cookies and a ready batch of Freezer Peanut Butter cookies, is an attempt, different than a try at Crispy Chicken nuggets lightened up with vegetable oil spray and Panko.  Of course I'll have to pick up two small boxes of French vanilla pudding, cool whip, and a box of graham crackers for some unpredictable night's no bake (refrigerate overnight!) Eclair cake.  Oh man, yum!