Cook Everyday and Stay Sane

Quick, good food!

2009-06-11T00:10:00.000-07:00

These are a few of my favorite things...

You know those little peppers in the bag at Costco? I LOVE to saute them in a very hot pan with a little olive oil, until charred, then add a 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar to finish them off... Take them off the heat to cool and wilt, and then... just pop them in your mouth!

sooooo good!!!

My favorite topping for Garlic and Olive oil pasta??? 1/2 inch thick sliced, and charred Zucchini...

Oh man... who needs meat when you can eat these bad boys along with the pasta!

Mmmmm.... fresh Salmon, simmering in a Balsamic glaze... only 3 minutes a side and you are done!!!! Also great in the oven over a bed a veggies!!!

Pasta night!

2009-05-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

My Mama brought me over and HUGE zucchini.

So, it will be tonight's dinner.

I will be slicing it into about 1/2 inch thick round slices,

and putting them into a pan with a little olive oil and salt and wilting them.

In the meantime, I will be boiling water for pasta.

When Zucchini is done, and pasta is al dente...

I will combine the two and sprinkle with Pecorino Romano shaved cheese.

Add a quick salad and come crusty bread... and heaven is waiting!

Home made fries

2009-05-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

I really need to post more often on here...

I cook dinner almost every. single. night...

How hard can it be to post a recipe?

It's not!

I'm just ~~lazy~~ busy!

Okay... who am I kidding... I'm lazy...

I'll be better...

***

We had a friend of the boys over for dinner tonight... a kid from Alex's baseball team.

I WAS going to make my family's favorite pasta dish... Peasant Pasta...

but the last time he ate over for dinner and I had a vegetable stuffed Ravioli for the main course...

the child PUT RANCH DRESSING ON THEM TO MASK THE FLAVOR OF THE VEGGIES...

so... needless to say... I scraped the planned meal and stored it for tomorrow night and tonight

made homemade burgers and fries.

***

I made the hamburger buns too... from my Artisan Bread bucket recipe... see

my other blog for the recipe.

The fries... oh the fries... he loooooved the fries.

I cut a bunch of red butter potatoes into wedges, and sprinkled them with

Pampered Chef Parmesan and Garlic dipping sprinkle and salt...

Oh yummmmm eeeeee!

I wanted to please the kid... I didn't want him to feel he had to eat what we eat.

He loved the bun too.

Just plain ole' salt and pepper is awesome too.

No oil though... makes them soggy, the salt draws out the water so the seasoning will stick.

Enjoy!

Go to Pasta meals

2009-04-16T08:12:00.000-07:00

Holy Cow!

I don't know how you working moms do it!

I have only been running the Snack Bar for 3 weeks, and I'm pooped!

Sometimes to tired to cook!

Me!

I a cook, and I don't wanna do it!

***

Lately, my go to meals have been Pasta based...

Pasta cooks quickly, there are myriad of sauces that can be used, and with some

fresh, crusty bread, and a salad... dinner can be done in a flash... especially if you use

Cappelini... it only takes 5 minutes to cook.

Last night, I had some leftover zucchini, and a tons of onions, so I make a pasta meal out of it.

I sliced up the 2 large zucchini, and a huge onion in to slivers.

Placed them into a piping hot skillet with some olive oil and saute'd away.

Meanwhile, I had my Pasta water going, salted of course, and ready for the Cappelini

as soon as the veggies were done and crisp tender.

When they were both done, I put the Pasta into the skillet with the veggies, added a touch more olive oil and sprinkled with my New Pampered Chef garlic and Parmesan dipping seasoning.

It was good! Not overpowering, but good.

I usually don't use powdered anything in my cooking, but I had this on hand, it's new from the Spring season, and it was good!

I also love making a peasant dish using the same technique except substituting the zucchini for shredded cabbage.

My kids can't get enough of it.

We call it Peasant Pasta... because it's so easy and cheap to make.

My hubby will even make it if I'm away on business!

Quick Taco Salad

2009-04-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

I really need to get on the ball with this blog.

That being said, I'm going to post some recipes that have gotten me through this week.

One is my HUGE BOWL of Taco Salad for 6.

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

1 large onion minced

1 bag of shredded cabbage

1 cup frozen corn

chopped bell pepper

taco seasoning mix to taste

salt to taste

chopped scallions

salsa

shredded cheddar and jack cheese

***

Brown ground beef, drain fat, add onions, peppers, frozen corn and cabbage and taco seasoning mix

and cook until cabbage is just wilted.

Place in a large shallow bowl.

Add a layer of salsa

Add a layer of cheese,

top with green scallions...

DIG IN!

***

The cabbage stretches the meat, and gives it all a great crunch.

Shredded cabbage is almost always used in Mexico for tacos instead of lettuce.

It's much more nutritious and is cheaper than lettuce, and required less

pesticide when growing.

Pantry Raid II

2009-03-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's Spring...

and that usually means Spring Cleaning...

and in my house...

it means cleaning out my pantry and using up all the food that has been sitting

in it for almost 6 months.

Why do this?

Because I spent good money on these items,

and I need to get our hard earned money's worth of what we buy.

~~~

You might be like me, and you might overbuy, say... chocolate chips around Christmas time because they are on sale... and now I have 7 bags of Nestle Chocolate Chips... and they are

taking up valuable room in my pantry.

So... to use them up, so they don't turn grey and taste "off" eventually, I am making a batch of Tollhouse cookies every Sunday Afternoon.

Not only does my family love this... I am saving money on buying sweets, making them myself, and using less butter, adding wheat germ or Flax seedmeal, and making them more nutritious.

***

I also overpurchased fish this winter... so before it gets freezer burn, we will be having

fish every Wednesday.

***

I will only shop for things like Milk, cheese, and condiments as needed, while I am

trying to get creative and make meals with only what is in my pantry.

~~~

It is a great way to develop new recipes, make better use of the money we spend, and

make room in the pantry for new blessings.

~~~

I also over purchased whole bean coffee, that we will happily be using every morning.

~~~

So... what's in your pantry?

Got too many boxed soups, or cans of beans?

Use them up before buying any more groceries that doesn't come from the perimeter of the

grocery store.

You'll be glad you did!

What's for dinner tonight?

2009-03-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

Mmmm What' for Dinner?

Well... I have some ground beef defrosting,

I have some corn tortillas in the fridge...

I've got cheddar cheese,

cabbage,

frozen corn,

taco seasoning mix,

Precooked brown rice I made on my Sunday Prep Day,

I think I'm in business for Taco's!

Oh, and also on Prep Day, I presliced some onions... so I can add those to the beef mixture also to bulk the meat up with some veggie goodness...

Now... the hard part...

How to get everyone home at the same time... to eat around the same table...

Hmmm....

Looks like it's gonna be an after game dinner, kinda late... but togetherness trumps time

any day of the week.

***

After tacos, they can munch on the chocolate chip/peanut butter chip cookies I also made on Sunday prep day.

***

I LOVE ME SOME PREP... LET ME TELL YA!

Time to Pay Yourself!

2009-03-15T23:47:00.001-07:00

Times are tough...

At least that's what the talking heads have been saying lately.

For me?

I have always been of the mind that eating out and spending tons of money on ordering in

isn't a good use of my funds... I'd much rather have great kitchen tools, or a great pair of shoes

for my money, instead of just one meal.

Which is why I started this particular blog in the first place... a little over a year ago.

Since I know how to cook, I do it often, and save valuable money.

We go out to dinner very occasionally, mostly for Anniversary and birthdays. That's it.

I even came up with a great way to save my money and MAKE myself cook more often.

***

When I felt the urge to just chuck it all, and call the hubby and say "We are going out to dinner", I restrained myself, looked in my cupboards for something to put together for dinner,

and made it. I didn't like doing it... I really wanted someone else to serve me that night... but I did it.

Yeah, I know... big whoop. You cooked dinner... I know, I know...

BUT...

I called my hubby back and told him nevermind.. I made dinner... then asked him this question...

I said

"Bill, if we had gone out... what do you think you would have ordered?"

His answer? Prime Rib and all the trimmings.

Then I thought of what the 3 boys usually order and myself.

I tallied up what dinner out would have cost us that night, and WROTE MYSELF A CHECK FOR

$120.00, and DEPOSITED IT INTO A SAVINGS ACCOUNT.

That money was going to be used for ONE MEAL! for ONE NIGHT!

Even if it was only $50 or $25! or even $15!

It still goes into the savings account!

We buy nothing on time or credit. Ever. Except our home and new car.

Now... it's even easier... because whenever I want to do something 'easy' and pay for

something I can already do myself.. I pay myself what it would have cost.

Do you know how nice it was to walk into a store and choose the Front Loading, NameBrand

all the bells and whistles, WITH THE STANDS, brand new washer and dryer set

and PAY CASH, OUT THE DOOR FOR IT?

We don't bat an eye when the boys say they need new baseball stuff, or new shoes for this or that...

our Do It Ourselves Fund is right there and waiting for us.

***

My reason for this post?

Do yourself and favor and look at your finances.

Do you eat out EVERY DAY at work?

Do you bring home dinner in a bag more nights than you care to admit?

Does the Pizza Deliver Guy know you by your number and first name?

Are you a Starbucks or Gourmet on the Go coffee person?

Add those things up for one month. Go ahead... add them up.

When you've done that... look around for what you have to show for the money you spent.

Probably just some burger wrappers, empty coffee cups, and styrofoam containers from a left over lunch sitting in the fridge.

Now... here is the hard part.

The next month... DON'T DO WHAT YOU DID THE PREVIOUS MONTH. At all!

PAY YOURSELF, IN A BIG FAT CHECK, TO YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT ALL THE MONEY YOU SPENT THE PREVIOUS MONTH... and make your own coffee, plan your meals ahead of time, and brown bag it to work... for a month.

I bet you will be more than happy to spend that probably $500 on something other than

paper, styrofoam, and stir sticks.

***

I urge you, my friends... take charge of your finances, and spend the money you work so hard to earn on things of LASTING VALUE!

Purses... shoes... LOL, furniture, tuition, classes, sporting equipment, family trips...etc...

***

No, I am not saying eating out is bad. It's not. Lord knows I want to do it every night...

but... it's just not feasible these days.

Be kind to yourselves... eat around a table, not in the car or on the fly. Even if its only for 15 minutes.

Share the time together.. and spend the money you save wisely.

***

This has been a public service announcement from Saundra...

for

Money Mondays

***

Please comment on how you save money! I love to learn too!

French Toast... oven style

2009-02-05T13:36:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, on the way home from school, I do what I always do, and I ask

my boys if "Blah, blah, blah" sounds good for dinner.

Even if they say no... it's what's for dinner, so I don't know why I ask... I guess I'm a little

bit Sadist...

But yesterday, when I ask if "French Toast" sounded good, my 9 year old Johnny piped in...

"Oh Mamala... it's my fave... breakfast for dinner."

Well... that's all the help I needed.

But I was tired... I'm not sleeping well, due to Hubby incessant snoring.

So what did I do?

I made French Toast... but in the oven.

I had to homemade Baguettes that I baked on Monday, that were on their way to being stale and moldy in a few days if I didn't either use them or freeze them...

I diagonally sliced both up, whipped up a batch of custard consisting of

12 eggs

2 cups nonfat milk

2 T vanilla

Orange Zest of one orange

I placed all the bread into a large 13x9 stone, and poured the entire egg mixture over all the

bread, soaking it. (This is actually best done the night before, so it gets all soggy and gooey)

Then I popped it into a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

It was divine.

I served it with some sliced and cooked Aidells Chicken and Apple Sausage

and orange slices from our oranges out back.

So yummy!

I wish I had pictures... but we devoured it all so fast... when I remember to snap a shot...

Johnny opened his mouth and said...

"This is all that's left Mama!"

Nice.

I am raising them to be such little gentlemen...

Make Ahead meals... or Cook Once... eat twice!

2009-02-03T18:08:00.001-08:00

Let's face it... everyone seems to be panicking these days.

Do we really need to worry about what to make for dinner, on TOP of everything else in life?

NO!

***

I, for one, really enjoy the prep I do to ready myself for the week ahead.

I haven't heard too much of whether this helps YOU or not... but I have decided to continue with my message of doing today to save time tomorrow.

***

One of my bloggy friends heads over to a Dinner establishment and buys dinners she helps prepare at the establishment, so she can have them for those days and times I like to call

Arsenic hours or D-Days.

Going to those places is all well and good, but they can be pricey, and if you count in your driving time, gas, being away from home... it is actually a bit more than the cost of the prepared dinner.

***

But... make that same dinner at home, and split it up into 3 meals to be eaten at a later date...

now you're talkin'!

You'll save TONS of money... you'll actually cook three meals at one time...

AND

when you freeze things they are good for 3 months!

What a great idea!

***

I LOVE to do this with my Enchilada Casserole.

here's the recipe

***

1 large can Las Palmas Green Enchilada Sauce

1 16 oz container low fat sour cream

1/2 cup chunky salsa

1 can diced green ortega chiles

2 cans black olives, sliced

1 lb cheddar cheese

1/2 lb monterey jack cheese (optional)

1 packet or 1 tablespoon of Taco Seasoning

20 green onions, chopped

2 dozen corn tortillas

Cooked Chicken Breast or Shredded Beef, or no meat at all... (optional)

***

Mix the sauce, sour cream, salsa, chiles, 1/2the olives, and 2 cups of the grated cheese together in a bowl.

Get two big stones or casserole dishes with high sides that are at least 12x9

***

Place a layer of corn tortillas on the bottom of the pans.

Put about a cup of the mixture in each and spread around.

Sprinkle with green onion, a little olive and some meat if you are using it.

sprinkle with cheese,

place another layer of tortillas, and start the process over again until you have three

layers in each casserole dish.

Bake one for dinner tonight, and bake the other one and let it cool completely then wrap in foil,

date it, and freeze it for another meal when things are just too hectic.

Enjoy!

Dinner...in a pinch

2009-01-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

Dinner.

The bane of my existence sometimes... when I don't have all the ingredients for

something I planned to make.

The pictures above depict the hodge podge that was dinner one evening.

I had broccoli, chicken, onions, potatoes, a small block of cheddar and some

ranch dressing.

I hadn't been shopping for a while... trying to use up the pantry items again.

So... what you see, is what we ate.

It was good... but kinda strange eating an appetizer as a side dish.

The very next day... I went to Costco and bought the entire warehouse.

Eat a meal TOGETHER...

2009-01-22T09:53:00.000-08:00

It is time to get cookin' people!

Families are in need of an hour a day of 'downtime'.

Dinnertime should be that time.

We all really need to set aside a dinner hour, for conversation, table manners,

catching up, venting, laughing, solving the worlds problems, and

enjoying breaking bread together.

***

It seems like the buzz words these days are...

"But our lives are so busy, we don't have time to eat together..."

I beg to differ.

We all have time and make time for what is important to each of us.

Some people watch countless hours of TV a night... time was made for that...

Some people clean their house at night... time was made for that...

Some people... like me... are chauffering their kids to and from activities...time is made for that...

Why can't dinner or any meal, for that matter, be scheduled in?

Can't do an hour?

1/2 hour is fine too!

Just make sure to sit down somewhere, where the TV is off, and the family has to engage in conversation. That's the key. No distractions.

Together means just that... together.

It breaks my heart to have heard and seen that some families will cook the meal together,

then scatter to different parts of the house to eat it, either in front of the TV, computer, or with earphones on, in their room.

NO! STOP THE MADNESS!

We are only together for a short period of time... then the kids grow up... and then what?

Do you want your grandkids eating in their rooms?

No.. of course not.

Buy a bag of salad, buy a Costco Roasted Chicken, and microwave some frozen corn in a bowl

and dinner is served.

You don't have to be a gourmet cook to eat dinner with your family.

Just make it a point to sit together.

You'll see how much you will want to please your family and yourself with

new things to cook, taste and do for the table.

Go on... give it a try...

Tell me what your family eating experiences are like.

If you would like help or suggestions on how to get them around the table... post the comment

here and I will answer it either publicly on the blog, or privately if you so wish.

Thanks for reading.

How to stretch food.

2009-01-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Feeling the grocery crunch?

Want to eat out more but just can't justify the expense?

Want to know some tricks for stretching food to feed more people

while adding nutrition?

Step into my kitchen.

You all know we rarely go out for dinner. It makes me cry to see $100 or more,

being handed over to a mediocre restaurant for 5 meals.

My boys don't eat from the kids section anymore...

so it can be pretty daunting what they can pack away.

So many times, I am looking at the dish saying "I can make that." or

"Holy Crap... $20 for THAT!"

Don't get me wrong... I do love eating out.

My favorite meal is any meal I don't have to cook and clean up after...

It's just with the boys in private school, the cost of everything going up, and my

need to have nice things and several homes, eating out is one luxury

I can give up and feel okay about.

We eat out on special occasions, so maybe about 10 times a year.

That is a LOT less than the 1-2 times per week most families eat out.

So I have come up with things that taste fabulous, add nutrition, and stretch the food

so if the kids want leftovers, there will actually be some.

The red, yellow and orange beauties are sweet peppers from Costco.

The are absolutely delicious poured into a screaming hot pan of olive oil and about 1/4 cup of good balsamic vinegar. Cook until browned and they are a fantastic side dish.

Add a pinch of salt.

Taco meat. I add onions, shredded cabbage, and sweet peppers to it, then the taco seasoning.

It turns a pound of ground beef into 2 lbs, with out fat or too many calories.

I buy the leanest ground beef, so there is no fat to drain.

Fries...

I slice up sweet and regular potatoes, toss them in Olive Oil, salt and seasoning,

and bake them

I sprinkle Romano Cheese over them just before they are done...

So yummy.

I hope this was useful.

More to come.

New Year's Day

2009-01-09T16:28:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day Fare

Homemade Guacamole

Watching USC pummel whoever they played... and eating. Nacho fixings...

and Hot Taco Dip

Get organized to relieve holiday stress...

2008-12-17T17:51:00.001-08:00

Yes... I actually practice what I preach.

We are going away for a week soon, and I have been prepping for the last 5 days for it.

Just made all the lists, did the shopping, and now it's time to assemble the food

I am going to prepare during our stay.

Here is my menu, and how I am prepping...

Chicken Enchiladas & Rice

I am making them all ahead of time, cooking them, then we will reheat on site.

To make it easier for when I actually assemble... I've preshredded the cheese, and pre cooked the chicken. Easy Peasy.

I've precooked the rice, and all I have to do is add the seasonings and the frozen corn and it's done! It freezes really well.

***

Salmon Spread

Pre cut the green onions, drained the canned salmon.

***

Hot Dogs

(Hebrew National, pricey... but the ONLY ones not made with butts or noses)

I chopped all the onions and bought a can of chili to top them with.

***

Corn Chowder

Cut all the onions, made the chicken stock, bought the potatoes.

***

Corn Bread Bake

Chopped all the onions, peppers, bought the chicken and apple sausage, and the best cornbread mix ever, Trader Joes brand.

***

Tuna Salad

Chopped all the onion

(see a pattern here??? I did all the onions ALL AT ONCE. saved me a lot of time.)

Chopped the sweet pickle

Mixed the mayo with Dill mix, grainy mustard, and salt and pepper so it is flavorful.

***

When I actually begin to do the cooking and assembling... all I will have to do is grab the items out of the fridge, and do it. It won't take me hours and hours, just maybe about 1-2 hours,

and I will have 7 days worth of meals, for pennies on the dollar.

These are just the main meals, and we will have fruit, lunch meats, salads etc...

to round out the meals.

It sounds like a lot of work... but when it is done over days and spread out into manageable parts, you hardly feel it!

The last thing I want to do is do all kinds of cooking and slaving over a stove just before leaving for a holiday... that's too much torture.

Breaking it down into bite size pieces is much more fun, and it doesn't feel so overwhelming.

More tomorrow!

2008-12-17T14:30:00.001-08:00

Going to go back to the archives and get some of the basics for ya... stay tuned...

Get ready... get set... DON'T STRESS!

2008-12-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost upon us.

Are you overwhelmed by all you have to do?

Are you wondering how you are going to get it all done?

Are you stressed about how you are going to be able to afford to buy the food and

specialty items you want and need?

***

Please don't worry about such things... and let me help you.

But first... remember this...

No one ever died because the table wasn't just so, or someone forgot to make a certain dish.

Breathe.

It's gonna be okay...

***

Oh! Just had an earthquake! A little one... but I felt it... Oh.. there are the kids yelling to let me know we had one...

***

Okay where was I...

Oh yes...

let me help you.

***

Are you the baker?

Get those pie doughs made and FREEZE THEM NOW! Yes, they are freezable,

and turn out lovely!

***

Are you responsible for side dishes?

Stock up on frozen veggies and create your own medley when the time comes to cook!

I microwave my frozen veggies in my Rice Cooker Plus for about 8 minutes

Drain the water that accumlates, and add a little butter and my favorite

Seasoning... All Purpose Dill Mix. Yum! and SO EASY AND QUICK!

***

Need to bring or make something sweet?

here is the Pampered Chefs Recipe for

2 step Fudge.

Ready?

1 can chocolate frosting

1 12 oz. bag chocolate chips.

Melt the chips on low heat in a non stick pan... take off the heat when they are all melted.

Stir in the frosting...

I SWEAR YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO TELL YOU DIDN'T SLAVE OVER THE THAT FUDGE! I PROMISE!

Love nuts in your fudge?

Stir them in with the frosting!

Spread it all out on a baking sheet or casserole pan (8x8)

Put it in the fridge to set and cut the pieces in the size and shape you want.

***

You can make peanut butter flavored fudge by stirring and melting 1/2 cup peanut butter

into the chocolate chips!

Try different flavors and colors!

White chocolate chips and white frosting!

Pink Frosting and White Chips

or swirl them!

TOO EASY AND DELICIOUS!!!

***

I know.. I know.. you love me...

Send money. No coins please.

Applause is good too...

PREP 101 AGAIN....

2008-12-08T12:30:00.001-08:00

So many people feel the crunch of the Holidays... and get a case of the Have to's and Need to's.

You know... the

Have to... shop, wrap, visit, shop some more, cook an 8 course meal, clean, blog, knit, sew,

and on and on and on...

And all the Need to's ... I need to lose weight, cut my hair, do all the laundry, clean out the cupboards, iron all my clothes, etc...

CHILLAX!

The only NEED TO'S AND HAVE TO'S ARE THESE...

***

Love our family...

Be kind to yourself and others...

Do what you can/want to do, and don't stress the rest!

***

Dinner is NO EXCEPTION!

LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of people hate to cook.

I get told this by at least 2 people at every single show.

They, inevitably, buy the most products.

Every time.

Here's what I believe...

A lot of the hatred of cooking is really the stress and worry of not knowing what to cook and not having the ingredients at the ready.

Really, it's all the steps leading up the to the actual cooking that people don't like.

Cooking is the easy, less time consuming step.

Well... if you have been reading this blog for some time, and you haven't taken my advice and haven't been trying to look at cooking from my perspective... well then... I don't know what to tell ya. Hop on board.

Prep is the way to Kitchen Nirvana.

I promise.

Meal planning is great.

It's a great first step.

You MUST go one step further though... to really get in the swing of things.

You must PREPare yourself ahead of time.

Let's face it... you wouldn't go for a drive without your car... would you?

Or go shopping without your wallet?

or play baseball without a bat? would you?

No... of course not!

So why enter your kitchen every night and start from scratch every. single. time?

Why do that to yourself!

Right now...

Go get an onion.

Go on... I'll wait...

Tick tock... tick tock, tick tock... tick tock...

Okay... now get a knife. Hurry!

Chop it up or slice it now. Now! Go on!

Put those bits into a zip lock bag and put it in the fridge. Go ahead... it won't hurt.

DONE!

Now... got grab some frozen chicken or ground beef from the freezer.

Defrost it and cook it up, and place THAT into a zip lock bag.

Now... how long did that take you?

You are now free to cure cancer and promote world peace.

See what I mean?

It does NOT TAKE UP YOUR WHOLE DAY to prep food for another day or 6.

The first time is ALWAYS the hardest. ALWAYS!

You have just prepped the beginnings of either

Tacos

Chilimac

Sloppy Joes

Meat Sauce

See what I mean? Once you PREPare yourself, the possibilities are ENDLESS!

No go on...

Get your prep on... and report back here and tell me what you chopped, sliced, diced or precooked.

I'll post my menu in a bit.

Letti, this one was for you.

I know you hate to cook... but girl... you need to make it easy on yourself.

You live 2 doors down from me.

Get your butt over here and watch what I do... and do it at home.

I don't enjoy cooking either... believe me.

I just like buying the tools and selling the stuff.

I'm waiting...come on now...

USE ME!

Stock up on Frozen Goodness

2008-12-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

Make mealtimes quick and easy...

I shop at Smart N Final or Costco for almost all my groceries.

I stock up on

frozen corn

peas

strawberries

blueberries

and

chinese type veggies.

That way... in a pinch, I can add... oh I don't know... say...

Frozen strawberries to my blender with a little fruit juice and make my own

"syrup" for pancakes. It only takes a second and it TASTES FABULOUS over pancakes or a white BOX cakes mix, instead of frosting.

The frozen veggies can be plopped into a microwave safe bowl, and nuked for a few minutes.

Add a pat of butter and a little salt... and viola! Veggies side dish!

***

I love the Pacific Sea boxed soups from Smart N Final, but they are boring for the kids...

so while it's cooking, I throw in some frozen veggies and it bulks the soup up.

Add some crusty bread and a beautiful salad... and Yummy Yum Yum!

Easy supper!

***

With all the running around, shopping, kid parties, soccer tournaments, practices, school functions etc...

Dinner needs to be quick, easy and delicious!

Frozen FRESH foods...

They are a Great Thing!

Stock up lists for Christmas

2008-12-03T14:01:00.001-08:00

Man... I have really got to get on the ball here, and get to posting on this more often.

Things are crazy!

***

I'm cookin' just not posting!

Allow me to rectify the situation...

***

Prep for Christmas...

Start buying now and freeze if you are not Italian...

Cranberries

Turkey

Frozen Veggies

Pie Crusts (if you don't bake)

Make your own crusts and freeze it too.

Butter

***

Non frozen goodies include...

Stuffing mix

Celery

Powdered Sugar

Flour

Sugar

Food coloring

Sprinkles

Cookie Cutters

Canned or homemade frosting

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you are Italiana and do the Feast of Seven Fishes...

Stock up on these now and buy a little each week because it can get really expensive...

Shrimp

Baccala

Mussels

Clams

Swordfish

Crab

Lobster

Nutella

Panettone

Reggiano Parmigiano or Pecorino Romano Cheese

Good Olive Oil

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Crush Tomatoes (no seasoning)

Eggplant

Carne

***

Last minute

Buy your bread or make your bread fresh no more than one day before the feast.

More later!

Prep for Thanksgiving meal

2008-11-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is upon us!

Are you cookin' for 25 or are you keeping it simple with under 10!

No worries either way!

TODAY IS THE DAY TO PREP FOR THURSDAY!

***

Yeah... I know... I harp on prep ALL THE TIME! But do you see where that simple habit could have gone far by now? uh huh?

Today you can...

1. Chop your onions and celery for stuffing.

2. Get that frozen turkey in the fridge to defrost slowly.

3. Make that homemade cranberrie sauce, and get it in the fridge...

SOOOO EASY!

1 CUP WATER

1 CUP SUGAR

1 BAG CRANBERRIES

BRING TO BOIL, COOK FOR 10 MINUTES...LET SET A COUPLE OF HOURS, THEN REFRIGERATE!

4. Make your dough for bread and put it in the fridge!

5. Wash, clean and store your veggies and just cook them the day of!

See?

Simple!

All you'll need to do on Thursday is make a salad, buy a pie or two ( I would... I don't bake)

and mash some potatoes!

It's the little things that turn into huge jobs if left till the last minute...

Enjoy our holiday...

grab a glass of wine... and sip and cook for your family with ease!

More prep steps

2008-11-13T21:27:00.000-08:00

Oy!

It's been a while...I know!

I have been cooking and taking pictures galore...but the upload isn' working.

***

Are you doing you prep?

Are you spending 5-10 minutes each night getting ready for the next day's meals?

Even if you pre cut an onion... you'll be pleasantly surprised how much time that saves you tomorrow.

***

I have been setting out the breakfast dishes and utensils the night before, to cut down on the morning rush. We have to take the freeway to school each morning... and it is becoming increasingly more jammed each day... so saving a few minutes of bowl and spoon getting really saves precious minutes the next morning.

If you can stand it... set the table for dinner in the morning either before you get ready for work, or just before you leave for the day.

I swear, you will thank me!

One more thing you won't have to worry about doing just to get dinner on the table.

Hope this helps!

Breakfast for Lunch

2008-11-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

Todays lunch... French Toast. I always get these backwards. The men wanted pancakes this morning, and I just didn't want to spend the time, so I had a leftover, going stale, loaf of homemade bread just sitting there looking pitiful and ready for the breadcrumb heaven it was destined for, and made a lovely french toast instead. I paired it with fresh mangoes and juice, and OF COURSE! I forgot to get a picture of the finished product... and they inhaled them so fast, the plate was empty before I remembered. Tonight is chicken with my Apricot/Pineapple glaze.

Fake out Enchiladas

2008-10-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Made "enchiladas" last night, with some unorthodox ingredients.

Crud... I did this backwards.

After this layer, the cheese went on.

chicken and apple sausage, onion, peppers and taco seasoning whole wheat tortilla, beans on the first layer and a sour cream and green sauce mixture on top

Broccoli Salad Simple

2008-10-25T17:23:00.000-07:00

I know, it LOOKS like just a plain ole' bowl of broccoli...

But NNNOOOOO it's not!

It is so much more, and so tasty, my kids and I fight over it!

Saundra's Broccoli Salad

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8 quarts of water

2 tbs salt

1/2 huge bag of fresh broccoli florets

or 2 big heads cut into smaller florets.

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Salt

Pepper

***

Boil the water with the salt. When it is boiling, throw in the broccoli.

Cook for only 2-3 minutes.

Take them out and plunge them into a large bowl of water filled with ice cubes.

(So they stop cooking instantly)

Drain and dry well.

Dress with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste...

and ENJOY!

I made Homemade Veggie Stock!

2008-10-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday Prep has just gotten even more money saving!

Last week I made my famous (to my family) 2 bean veggie soup.

It's hot, spicy, topped with cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro... mmm.mmm good.!

But to make it, I needed chicken stock. Lots of it!

So, like any other wifey poo, I send Bill to the store to get some.

Those cans were so expensive!

4 Flavored cans of water for $12!

Yikes!

Just for soup?

Yeah. I had to say yes, because I had everything else ready to dump into it.

That was one expensive soup that night, with all the veggies, beans and all.

***

So today... I was making my regular prep ahead things... the salmon spread, dough, slicing onions, chopping celery, julienning roasted red peppers etc...

when I had a light bulb moment.

I'll make my own stock.

How hard can it be!

Water and bunches of herbs and veggies and that's it! Right? Right.

So I did, and here's what I got.

It maybe cost me $5 for this entire 24 cups of veggie stock!

It'll last me 2 full weeks!

Here's what I put into it...

***

6 quarts of water

3 cut up carrots

Leafy ends of celery stalk

Handful of parsley (from my garden)

Handful of Rosemary (garden)

Handful of Lemon Thyme (garden)

Oregano (garden)

onion chives (garden)

5 huge garlic cloves cut into two halves

20 whole peppercorns

4 dried tomatoes

4 bay leaves

1 cut up onion

broccoli florets

cut up green peppers (garden)

Bring to boil, then simmer for 2 hours until the veggies have given all they can.

If you want to make your own stock, and live close by, come to my herb garden and pick till your hearts content.

Otherwise, instead of buying them from the store, use dried herbs the last 10 minutes of cooking the stock.

Strain well, discard the veggies, cool the stock and refrigerate until you need some!

I have never made stock before. I love it! It tastes awesome, not salty or oily like the store bought brands, and it made a ton!

I'll be making rice, soup, lots of other things with it!

Try it! It makes the house smell divine!

Our Pizza Parade Night!

2008-10-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to put the toppings on...

This is the cream cheese/powdered sugar one, with Apple pie filling on it.

Ready to bake, and afterward, drizzled with powdered sugar icing.

My favorite "sauce" Olive oil and Garlic.

Johnny is very proud of the Pizza Parade!

With toppings on, waiting for their date with a 500 degree oven and a super hot stone.

The green and red one was done just like that. With Sundried Tomato Paste I made by rehydrating sundried tomatoes in water, and whizzing them in my mini food processor with a drizzle of olive oil.

Make your own Pizza night!

2008-10-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

Boule dough rolled out for pizza

I like "white" pizza's, (no sauce) this is pesto... mmmmmm

Everyone made their own pizza last night. I just got all the dough ready.

This pizza was the dessert pizza. Same dough, spread with light cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture, and topped with apple pie filling, then baked.

Johnny did this all by himself. Looks good huh?

Now it just needs toppings.

Pictures of meals.

2008-10-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

My version of Pasta and Alfredo

My kids LOVE this.

It's the Mockfredo recipe in my archives.

I always forget to take pictures of the food I prepare.

A LAVASH I unwrapped to show the ingredients. It wrapped up like a burrito and looks much nicer when wrapped. Ingredients include, turkey breast, roasted red peppers, spicy hot honey mustard, romaine lettuce, pepperoncini's, campari tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Cream Cheese Mix ins

2008-10-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever run out of cereal at your house?

Is your house is like mine... when that happens, it's like the entire world has come to a screeching halt!

I'm tired of buying cereal. I wanted to shake things up a bit and get a little creative with breakfast for my men.

No... nothing extravagant... just maybe some pre made on Sunday night pancakes one day,

or an super easy scone recipe I have.

Lately it's been my Cinnamon Raisin Bread that gets 'em out of bed in the morning.

I don't mind being creative... I just don't want to have to get out of bed to make stuff for them all the time.

So that's where prep comes in really handy.

Absolutely everything that can be done ahead...is. Then it isn't a drudgery to make.

So... this weeks homework is...

***

MAKING FLAVORED CREAM CHEESES FOR TOAST, RAISIN BREAD OR BAGELS.

Well, of course I know you can buy a tub of flavored bliss in the stores... but those containers are expensive and my kids would go through one a day! They cost almost 4 bucks a pop!

No thank you... I'll just do it myself.

***

So... might I suggest you purchase a large block of cream cheese from either Costco or Smart n Final. WWWAAAAYYY cheaper than the little 8 oz. things. It's either 2 bucks for 8 oz, or you can spend 6 bucks for 48 oz.

Let it sit out for about 20 minutes to take the chill off, and cut 4 oz blocks for each flavor.

I like to use my PC Prep Bowl Set for storing the mixed cheese.

Then just mix away.

***

Brown sugar and cinnamon

Fresh strawberry preserves

Blueberry preserves

Onion and Chives

Fresh Chopped Veggies and Dill

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

***

My favorite mix in? Sweet/Hot Chili Sauce from Trader Joes!

Sunday Lunch

2008-10-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

I wrapped Hebrew National Hot Dogs with a thin layer of my Boule Dough and made my own Hot Dog Buns! Yum! This was yesterdays lunch after cleaning and winterizing the back yard.

Then I got a little bit creative. I had an apple, and some fresh Mozzarella Cheese.

I sliced the apple really thinly, and layered cheese and apple in a thin piece of rolled out Boule Dough, (enhanced with whole wheat flour and Flax Seed Meal)

Sound gross? No way, this is pretty popular in France. I had something like it when I was in Paris, many years ago.

I sliced up a little piece for each of us to try. It tasted okay. Next time, a sharper cheese, like a sharp Provolone, or a Chevre (goat) cheese or Feta will be better.

My men all still asked for more, so it wasn't THAT bad.

I guess I should have posted this on my Bread Blog.

We included celery sticks, carrot sticks and cucumber slices as a side dish.

Every plate was empty when it was all said and done.

10 MINUTE PREP... 101

2008-10-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

I know most of you ladies and gents work full time, everyday... and to me,

that makes your life ten times as stressful as mine.

YOU have TWO full time JOBS!

Parent AND worthy employee!

I have also personally heard from many of you that you would love to do some sort of prep

to ease the burden of getting a meal on the table.

***

I might have solution for you. Why not break up prep time into 10 minutes spurts every morning or evening?

For example... Sunday evening, jot down a rough list of "Dinners for the week", just some things you know you have food on hand for, that won't require a long shopping trip for multiple things.

Then, set a timer for 10 minutes and do something that will prepare you for the next meal. Don't stop prepping until the timer beeps. Then... PUT DOWN YOUR UTENSILS, and put things away, and WALK AWAY FROM THE KITCHEN!

Do the same thing the next evening.

You are already in the kitchen making dinner anyway, so use 10 minutes to do something for the next day. Chop an onion, peel potatoes, defrost something, pre cook something, set the table, gather all ingredients and put them within reach for the next day, make the Sangria, Make the iced tea,

just DO SOMETHING TO EASE THE TIME CRUNCH THE NEXT DAY! in only 10 minute spurts!

I hope this helps you!

I have been doing this with breakfast for my men.

I set out the bowls, spoons, cereal, toaster, oatmeal, pre mix eggs, pre chop veggies or prep all ingredients for scones, and have the wet ingredients in fridge, and all I have to do is mix the dry and wet and bake them off in the morning.

OH! and NO! They do not eat all that stuff every morning. They usually have one from that list, but I prep what they want the night before, or I have them do it.

TRY IT... YOU MIGHT LIKE IT!

LOVE TO ALL YOU MAMA'S THAT WORK SO HARD!

Corn Chowda

2008-09-28T22:42:00.001-07:00

This week is soup week. I don't care if it is still 100 degrees outside.

I WANT SOUP!

It's Autumn! It is supposed to be a little cooler! But NO!

Johnny went swimming today!

***

My favorite "go to" soup is my Corn Chowder.

I make a HUGE vat of it. It is great the next day cold, or hot off the stove.

Sometimes I keep it simple and sometimes I add Chicken N Apple sausage, or baby shrimp, or asparagus to the soup.

***

Here it is...

Corn Chowda

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8 red potatoes or 5 russet potatoes, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

3 cups frozen corn

1 Large onion, chopped

1/2 cup chicken stock

***

Cook potatoes and corn with stock until onions are translucent and potatoes are tender.

add 1 tsp salt.

***

Add 8 cups Chicken stock to the pot and heat through.

Then mix 1 cup milk and 2 Tbs flour to a cup and stir until it is a slurry.

Add to the pot.

Add another cup of milk or cream.

Continue cooking until it starts to thicken a little.

Get a hand held blender and start pulverizing the soup into a thick creamy yellow soup.

You can keep some chunky, or all of it chunky and not blend it at all.

Add a pat of butter to it at the very end, and sprinkle some Dill Mix over the top

Stir and serve hot or cold the next day.

So yummy.

***

You can add hot dogs, sausage, shrimp, veggies, lobster, crab, clams.... whatever you like!

I love it sprinkled with fresh green scallions or chives.

Buon Appetito!

William's Favorite Salad~~ Carrot Raisin

2008-09-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Start with crunchy, bright, beautiful orange carrots.

Peel them and...

Cut them into manageable pieces so they fit into the barrel of a food processor

and...

Shred like nobody's business...

Add raisins and touch of mayo and store.

Shiny happy chef!~

2008-09-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

I realized something the other day, after reading a comment on this blog.

First I had to stop laughing!

I, apparently, gave the impression that every night in my kitchen is filled with

blissful inspiration, laughing and dancing around to the delightful smells and sounds of gourmet food cooking in a timely, orderly fashion, with smiles and witty quips galore!

Thanks Adrian!

That was really, really funny!

Then I read some past posts and... OMG... SHE WAS RIGHT!

It did kinda sound like that!

I would like to officially dispel the rumor.

I don't actually enjoy cooking all that much.

Don't get me wrong... I like it okay, but my passion lies in the teaching of cooking, and not so much with the having to come up with a dinner every night.

My passion lies in the needing to give my family the very best I can in their meals, without breaking our budget, and while making sure the meals are healthy and preservative free.

Having to figure it all out ahead of time is a real drag, which is precisely why I had to come up with a way for me to continue my quest. I had to come up with the Prep Day, or I would be in a looney bin by now!

All the chopping, mincing, slicing, dicing, shopping and such gets me down... so doing it all at once free's up my mind for the week.

***

It was so funny thinking about Adrians comment. It made me literally imagine us all laughing, floating from task to task blissfully, smiling all the while.

It would be so nice if it were that way!

I'm just a Mama, trying to save a lot of money, feeding my hungry brood, trying to teach them manners, help their palates become international, and teach them to cook for themselves, and do it well. There's nothing sexier than a man that can cook!

So there you have it.

I cook because if I don't someone else will, and I just won't have that.

I am a control freak...hear me roar!

Love ya Adrian!

I so appreciate the eye opener!

Eat in

2008-09-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

I heard, on a talk show today... someone said...

"Cooking for your family is a tough job. Mom's are responsible for what the family eats, and it's tough to make it all matter."

Or something to that effect.

I AGREE!

I take it as a an important aspect as my job as Mother.

My families health and well being begins and ends with me.

If I were a lazy woman, my kids would be eating take out every night.

I don't always enjoy cooking. Sometimes it is a downright drudgery.

Sometimes I hate it.

But I do it.

Why?

Because if I don't, someone else will, and I know what goes into the food I prepare.

How do we know if the guy making the burgers at the burger joint just picked his nose, or sneezed? I know... gross, but oh so true!

When I was taking a food handling course, we were shown a film of actual workers in a busy restaurant setting being filmed by hidden camera.

Cured me from eating out for a lllooonnnnng time. Don't be fooled by an "A" grade on restaurant window.

***

It's time we sat around a table together and ate as families again.

It's time we see the value of breaking bread together.

I had a friend once who invited me over for dinner, just a few years ago.

She ordered in, which was fine, but I was so surprised to see that she made her three childrens plates, and they got them, and carried them into their rooms or family room and ate the meal on their laps.

I assured her they didn't have to leave the table just because I was there, and she said

"No, are you kidding? We eat dinner like this every single night! We can't do the Leave it to Beaver way like you do at your house. My kids like eating while playing video games."

I wanted to cry. Not because she offended me, nope, I'm proud of the way we eat around our table every night, together, TV off, and nothing but our conversation as noise.

I wanted to cry because she was missing a huge opportunity to get to know her family, to connect with them, to learn about their days.

Their memories of mealtime would be reduced to which video game they remember playing while they ate pot roast.

***

Mom's job is hard.

Let's face it. Most Dad's just aren't going to cook every night, so it is our cross to bear.

Learn to delight in it.

Get excited about the amount of money you can save, get glad that your family still lives at home and wants to be there!

Get excited about finding some produce at a great price and make the most of it for that nights meal!

Try a new recipe and give the naming rights to the first one to try it without whining, so if little Edgar tries it and names it

Edgar's gross, squishy, Barbie Cake, then that's it's name in the recipe file!

Even if the recipe has fish and it's not cake!

Eat with your family this week!

The stock market sucks,

Everyone wants us to be scrambling for our lives and yelling doomsday...

but as long as we have our families...

WE ARE RICH!

Fillable cake pans

2008-09-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

I own these pans. They are such fun!

I haven't done many desserts in them, but I have done chili in cornbread, and Corn chowder.

They also make wonderful ice molds. You can hang shrimp over the edge, make a mold out of Jello...

I bought them online.

They are a hassle to clean, but a small brush does the trick.

Something different!

Easy Sausage Dinner

2008-09-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Yummy quick meal.

Cut up any and all veggies you have,

slice up some Aidells sausage

sprinkle with Olive Oil, salt, your fave seasoning and toss it all together.

Roast veggies in oven at 400 for 20 minutes, then add sausage on top for last 10-15 minutes.

Make a side salad and cut some bread and you are in business!

I used 2 HUGE onions, baby carrots, broccoli florets and baby red, yellow and green peppers.

I do veggies like this about twice a week in the fall and winter.

Enjoy!

Lock n Lock

2008-09-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of hits recently on my blog about Lock n Lock containers.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THEM!

They are excellent value, and so darn sturdy!

***

I own so many pieces, I am starting to give them away as gifts with food in them.

I order them exclusively from QVC because they sell them in sets that you can't get anywhere else. I just recently bought a set that will not be sold mass market for 1 full year, and my delivered today. I got the new Stack n Go containers for my lunch making extravaganza's every night. It will make it much more streamlined for myself.

***

Soo, if you are thinking about food storage containers... think Lock N Lock. Those imitations are not the same. I've tried them. Lock N Lock's do not come apart unless you open them, and I am hard on them.

They are perfect for camping, storing, everything.

Ants and other weebles can't penetrate them, and neither can rodents.

Enjoy!

Saundra's Risorta!

2008-09-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, so yeah, I'm sorta starting a trend in my house where all the food is Mock this, or Mock that. I have only one reason why...

I HATE GROCERY SHOPPING!

So...I use what I have in my house to make what I want for dinner, no matter if I have the right ingredients or not.

So... I really wanted to make Risotto one night. We hadn't had it in a really long time... and it sounded good.

I didn't have have Orzo. Ya kinda need Orzo Pasta to make Risotto... or so I thought!

I ALWAYS have brown rice around, either cooked or dry... so I decided to try it, and give it an American twist.

It was sooo yummy!

The kids LOVED IT!

Now, I can't truly call it a Risotto, so I will call it a Risorta. Get it? Risotto sorta? Risorta?

Oh whatever!

So here's the recipe for Risorta Saundra Style.

1 recipe of Bechamel Sauce (that's fancy words for white sauce)

{{{5 tbs butter, 1/2 cup flour, 4 cups milk = melt butter, add flour and cook it down for 2 minutes stirring constantly, add milk slowly while whisking, stir until thickened and bubbly... that's Bechamel!}}}

To the thickened Bechamel Sauce add

3 cups cooked Brown Rice

1&1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shrimp (or not if you don't like 'em)

1 cup chopped broccoli

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Stir until all thickened a bubbly and hot.

That's it! Serve with green salad!

***

You can add anything you like... mushrooms, peas, chicken, Parmigiano cheese, gruyere cheese,

Salmon, the sky is the limit!

School? I'm READY!

2008-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

I went ahead and did Prep yesterday, even though tonight is technically my "Sunday Night".

I have to say, I feel almost prepared for the onslaught of lunches I have to make again.

My main goal with school lunches is to make them UNTRADEABLE.

SO awesome, they wouldn't THINK of trading their lunch!

Mine swear they have never done that, and so do the lunch attendants at the school, but I don't know. Once in a while I'll spot a wrapper of some forbidden snack in their lunches.

When will they learn you have to trash the evidence?

This weeks bevy of menu items are as follows:

***

Macaroni Salad

Salmon spread w/ crackers of choice

Cuke spread/ w/ crackers of choice

Nutella Sandwich

Sandwich skewer

Fruit skewer

Wrap

Pita

Stuffed breadstick

Granola bars

carrots n dip

ants on a log (Johnny)

Pb&J

Lunchmeat sandwich

Green Salad

Carrot/Raisin Salad

Tuna

So, I feel prepared for the week.

New lunch pails at the ready, new clothes, new backpacks, pens, pencils, folders, coloring pencils, 3 ring binders and copious amounts of paper.

The lunch pails I got them this year are awesome.

I got them from QVC, and the entire thing is lined with pillows of water, so the entire lunch pail gets frozen, no messy gel packs to take out, just stick the entire thing in my back freezer everynight, and lunch stays cold and healthy all day.

Now Bill wants one.

I'm going to go enjoy our last day of summer...by doing laundry...

Yeah, I know... I'm one wild and crazy girl!

Picky Eaters Part 2

2008-08-31T06:11:00.000-07:00

Let's turn picky eaters around.

One day a week, if the child is small, bargain with the child.

Say something like... "Little Suzy, if you promise Mommy to try one new food and not say Ewwwww! or NO! or Gross! and act like a big girl at the table, you can choose a new hair goodie from the store this week (or whatever will motivate the child).

Yes, it is bribery, but bribery can be weaned.

If the person is older, just make a deal with him/her. "All I ask is that you act like an adult for one night and try the food. If you don't like it... practice your skills at not letting me know, and politely disregard the food."

You see. It's not the "Not liking the food" that bugs me. It's everything that goes with it that bugs me. Kids that are allowed to say EWWWWW, and Yuck! and Gross! at the table grow into adults that tend to say and do the same things at dinner parties and business meetings. Ask me how I know!

Case in point. I abhor mayonaisse. I mean... even the sight of it makes me gag.

BUT! If it is in a food when I am at someones house, or they used it in huge amounts in a food, I will just politely way 'No, thank you'. If I am asked why, I will just say I don't care for Mayo.

I avoid like the plague buffet tables full of mayo based salads.

***

I have a friend that absolutely hates shrimp. I didn't know this, and when she came over for dinner, what was I serving? Shrimp Scampi. Of course. I said I didn't know!

Anyway... she made a HUGE deal over it. I mean... tons of guffaws, tsks, literally stamping her foot, and telling me she is starving and can't eat that.

I. Was. Dumbfounded.

I was so embarrassed for her. I wanted to slap her mother!

No one taught her how to refuse food or how to eat around the unsavory food!

I quickly asked her if she was allergic, and she nearly shouted and sounded like a 5 yr old and said..."Noooo, I just can't staaaannnd Shrimp! and I'm so hungry!"

I almost dropped my drink.

I made her a nice sandwich, we all ate our Scampi happily, while she kept making faces and squishing her nose.

Thank God I wasn't married or had kids then, although it would have been a great lesson for my kids after she left.

Needless to say, I never cooked for her again, and my boyfriend at the time just about kicked her out the door.

So being a picky eater can actually be curbed just by curbing the attention the whining gets.

Teach them to refuse food gracefully, from a very early age.

Their future employers, in laws, family and everyone else they eat with in the future will thank you. The food is secondary to the manners.

Thank you and Good Night.

Soup Recipes Request

2008-08-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

I know it hasn't cooled down yet... but I am so excited that Autumn is near.

Why?

Because I LOVE to make soup.

All kinds of soups.

Hearty soups, thin soups, quick soups and soups that take forever and a day to make.

I could eat soup every single day and be happy.

I am always happy to add to my soup making repetoire.

Sooooo...

I would like you to e mail me your favorite soup recipes, and I will post them!

Sharing is Caring! lol!

I'm going to try and post each Saturday or Sunday under the heading Saturday (or Sunday) Soup.

I think soups are a great way to start a meal.

Don't you?

Yummy Cucumber Spread

2008-08-29T13:10:00.000-07:00

I over purchased on the Cucumbers this week.

I didn't realized I already had 3 in my backyard fridge, and just bought three more.

I really hate it when they get all soggy and slimy if I can't use them fast enough, and I really hate throwing money into the trash.

SO...

I decided to make a Cucumber Dip with one of them.

I looked up a bunch of recipes online, and I didn't have one ingredient or another, and most of them had Mayo as an ingredient, and we all know how much I ADORE (yuck) Mayo, so I came up with my own little recipe...

***

Saundra's Cucumber Spread

*********************

1 whole hot house cucumber,

grated and pressed between layers of towel to rid excess water.

1 cup low fat cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup low fat sour cream

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Dill Mix

1/2 tsp celery seed

Fresh cracked Black Pepper to taste

3 garlic cloves, pressed or grated finely

***

Mix all ingredients until well blended, and place in an airtight container.

Refrigerate 1 hour or more before serving.

Can be molded into pretty designs or in cupcake molds for individual servings.

Serve with whole grain crackers, veggie spears, or spread on toast points for appetizers.

Bon Appetito!

Picky Eaters... Part 1

2008-08-26T09:12:00.001-07:00

I am a firm believer that picky eaters are made...not born.

Oh sure... there are always things that each of us inherently hates to eat... my particular choice of food to despise is Mayo, Will will eat raw Cauliflower, but won't eat it cooked, Alex loves raw spinach and not cooked, and Johnny likes raw carrots, not cooked.

I'm sure there are a host of other things they would choose not to eat, but if I am serving it in a dish, they wouldn't dare complain. Why? Because I am a mean Mama, and don't take any crap from my kids.

I know... I know... I should be sweeter, kinder, more tolerant....more willing to go with the flow...

EEEHHHHH!

Not gonna happen!

I just don't have that kinda time!

I'm the Mama, I'm the one cookin', it's my way or the highway.

***

Now... don't get me wrong... I don't just make food I know they will dislike,

but I do reintroduce

foods into our meals that they may have disliked last year,

that their palettes may enjoy this year. I refuse to make Pasta every night

just because I know Johnny will eat it and he asks for it every night.

When William gets all bent outta shape because he sees me buy a huge head of cauliflower, what he wants to do is say he won't eat it... then he sees my eyes and chooses his words wisely and says instead "Are you going to try a new way of cooking it for us?" To which my reply is

a resounding "Yes, I'm going to roast it this time, not steam it and make a salad" (OOOHHH! you should try Cauliflower Salad with fresh Lemon Juice!!! So yummy)

***

So, I cut the Cauliflower into thick breadlike slices, slather a little olive oil on them, sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper and my favorite steak rub or other seasoning, cut up a huge onion into rings, throw on some baby carrots and roast them at 400 for 20 minutes or so.

Voila! Cauliflower William now fights over for the last piece!

Why? It's taste profile completely changed when it was roasted. It took on a sweet

flavor and was mixed with the sweet onion and carrots.

Do the same with Broccoli, except instead of a rub, sprinkle grated Italian hard cheese over the top the last 5 minutes of roasting.

(Broccoli Salad with Lemon Juice is awesome too!)

***

So... todays lessons were as follows...

***

You are the Mama/Daddy.

You decide what and how your family eats.

You don't have time to be a short order cook.

Don't beg your kids to eat a food they don't like.

Be in control... just expect them to eat it... with a smile.

Refuse to let them make you think you are doing it to egg them on...

Realize it is your responsibility as a provider to give their palettes chances to bloom as they grow.

Introducing foods that aren't the norm is OKAY!

More another time!

Go Mom! Rah! Rah!

Sandwich on a stick.

2008-08-24T14:22:00.000-07:00

" Mamala! Can I eat the blog lunch?"

"Hmmm, which do I eat first?"

Time for Fun Food for School!

2008-08-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

Okay... so Back To School is either here, or just around the corner... depending on the school and district. Either way... kids are goin' back some time.

Time to dust off the lunch pails, skewers sticks, pretzels, cheese cubes and 2 oz cups for dips!

Make lunch fun and nutritious!

Those Lunchables are the Devil.

Have you ever read the labels?

62 grams of fat!

No kid needs that!

I have NEVER purchased them, but I did read the labels and it was scary.

One Mom, last year at my kids school, gave 2 to her son every day.

He was about 60 lbs overweight and only in 4th grade.

Make your own!

Press N Seal is the best stuff ever invented!

Cut a large plastic ice cube tray into 6 compartments or buy a smallish tray, fill with fruit, veggies, small meats, cheese etc... and cover with Glad Press n Seal and voila!

Wholesome, nutritious, homemade lunchable!

(I haven't seen this anywhere else... but I thought of this when I saw a bunch of metal trays with lunches on them for home use, and was thinking of a way to make it lightweight and easy for lunchpails.

6 inch wooden skewers are the best!

You can make an entire "sandwich" on a skewer! See Above!

Use your imagination!

Fruit,

assorted cheeses

fruit and cheese

veggies

the list goes on and on and on!

Kids love these!

You can even string them on thread or unflavored dental floss.

They will have kids BEGGING them to trade... and all the other Mama's will hate you!

Fun Fun Fun!

Cherry tomatoe Pasta Sauce

2008-08-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

Pasta with Cherry Tomatoe Sauce & Mozzarella Chunks

2 cups halved Cherry Tomatoes

1 small onion chopped

3 garlic cloves pressed

Olive Oil

Saute all of the above in a skillet until tomatoes are soft and onions are translucent.

Set Aside

***

Cook 1 lb pasta al dente

When done... add to tomatoe sauce

Cut up Fresh Mozzarella (It won't work with the hard stuff from the grocery store.)

or eliminate it all together.

(I would actually prefer the recipe without the cheese, but my men ADORE cheese... so...)

Serve hot with bread and salad...

Sooooooo good and soooo simple!

I made Monday's dinner on Saturday... Sue me.

2008-08-18T12:37:00.000-07:00

Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella Cheese and Onion Sauce with Spaghetti.

Yeah... I inadvertantly made a bollo tie with a few strands. Of course... Johnny notices and says... 'Hey Mom, get a picture of this!!!"

This is called... "Hey Mom, take a picture of me stuffing my face!!!"

Yes, he really did say that... this IS Alex we are talkin about!

Not to be outdone, or out eaten... Will HAD to join the fray. I am so proud all my manners training is working so well with my men. My daughters in law will be so thrilled with me!

My oldest (LOL)... enjoying his meal like a good boy. Elbows off the table and everything!

Isn't he cute? And so mannered!

Meatball Sandwiches for Friday Night Olympics

2008-08-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

The fresh, homemade Rosemary Bread. My Mama's meatballs, cut up ready for the bread.

Ready to go into the oven to melt in broiler. Topped with freshly grated Pecorino Romano Cheese, and Fresh Buffalo Milk Mozzarella.

My salad maker extraordinaire!

Roasted Veggie and Haddock Dinner.... in a flash!

2008-08-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

My boules rising this morning... 2 for the dentist office and one for us at dinner.

I slashed them just before I put them in the oven... they turned out lovely...

The specks on them are the Flax Seed Meal I add to the dough each time.

I forgot to take the picture with the Haddock fillets on top of the veggies, after the veggies were cooked for 20 minutes.... but still....

Yummy! I roasted the veggies in my outdoor oven at 400 for 20 minutes, then added the marinated fillets for another 10 minutes in the oven... on top of the veggies.

Our salad.

TIME TO START STOCKING UP FOR LUNCH!

2008-08-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

OOOOH! School is just around the corner in our house...

so it must be close, if not already happening in yours!

***

I am already starting to stock up on lunch staples, a little at a time, every time

I shop.

So is what I have so far...

Granola Bars

Pretzel sticks

Dry Ranch Dressing Packets

Bags of Granola clusters

Beef Jerky

3 oz clear plastic containers with lids

Plastic Forks

Mini Packets of treats such as 100 calorie M&M's, & other chocolates

100% juice boxes (when they are on sale only)

So, I have lots more to get... but I find that buying a little at a time helps the weekly

budget better, because this stuff can get expensive.

Now that Will is a big bad High Schooler, I thought he was going to want to buy lunch everyday

and go out with his friends that drive and such... but... he knows how much we

pay for tuition, and he already told me he knows he needs to take his lunch.

He said he calculated what $5 a day for lunch came out to in a month, and even he felt it was a waste. He said he could think of other ways for us to spend that money.

He HATES that we are the only family left on the planet that doesn't have a big

screen TV and is mortified that our TV is so small (27") that we can't even see all the scores

for the Olympics, and he informed me that he would love to forego buying lunch to save up for a Big Screen TV.

I tell him all the time we can get one anytime we want... cash... but I just don't see the need.

His reply was ... "Oh, it's a CHOICE? AWWW MAN!" I just smiled and laughed.

***

So, Will will be taking his lunch to school everyday, whether he likes it or not. Whether we get a TV one of these days or not. I refuse to allow him to use any of his Ref money on

food. He is only allowed to buy things with lasting value.

***

Closer to the beginning of school, I will be stocking up on

Baby Carrots

Celery

Peanut Butter

Jam

Cheddar Cheese blocks

yogurts

string cheese

melons

apples

grapes

or whatever fruit is on sale that week.

I love Prep!

2008-08-10T23:32:00.000-07:00

I was so very excited to hear one of my dear friends is

using this method of madness... prep.

Kathy, in a sweet email, mentioned to me, that while she may not be cutting and chopping,

and mincing and slicing one day a week, SHE IS setting aside time to get her shopping

and other kitchen duties done. She noticed a difference when she didn't do her

particular prep routine, and it hit her that planning ahead makes for a much

more relaxed and enjoyable experience in the kitchen.

HALLEUJAH!

***

It is such a treat to have something work out!

***

Prep can be anything you deem important.

I read a comment that Dee Dee posted on another blog recently, and she quoted

the Flylady. I LOVE THE FLYLADY! She says we should "Shine our sinks" "Put on our shoes and be ready for the day, everyday" "27 fling boogies" and all sorts of cool things.

Way back when... a few years ago, when I would visit her website and get email alerts, it really helped me with getting a routine down, a much needed thing in my house when I had 3 under 5.

***

Prep is meant to be a helper to you. To help you "just get it done" so you don't have to worry about it during your busy week. Whether your prep is paying your bills up, ravaging the freezer for items that will expire soon, shopping for staples and food needs for the week,

or cutting and chopping all my dinner and lunch items for the week, so all I have to do is dump and cook it, as long as it creates peace for you...IT'S PREP!

***

Since my job is about food prep, and my kids are human garbage disposals these days,

my food prep has become my "peaceful place". When it's done... I feel like all I have to do for dinner is put it together... all the brain work is done on Sundays.

I just don't fret anymore. I rarely ask myself... "What am I going to make for dinner tonight?"

And now... I frequently have an answer for my men when they ask "What's for dinner?"

***

I have taken the whole prep thing to other parts of my life too.

If I know I am going to do lots of laundry the next day... I will sort EVERYTHING the night before, and just eliminating that one little step ahead of time, so all I have to do is

place the clothes in the washer and press start.

Sometimes... I'll even pre measure 10 loads worth of detergent and put it in an egg crates I cut up into individual little cups on the top of the washer, again, eliminating a step, so all I have to do

is dump the cup into the appropriate area of my washer and press start.

Okay, that's a rarity, but it works great when you are gone and you want the person watching your house to use the specified amount of detergent for your new fangled washer and make it easy as pie for them.

***

Onward and upward with prep... IN ALL AREAS OF OUR LIVES!

Have stress free day!

Thursday things

2008-08-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

Staters had Chuck Roast on sale yesterday... so I bought a couple of them and promptly

deposited them into my Crock Pot with 4 sliced onions

a bag of preshredded cabbage, a tablespoon of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and splash

of Worcestershire Sauce.

I nuked some red potatoes in my Rice Cooker Plus and made a killer green salad

with, of course, some freshly made bread.

Angela came over with Cole to deliver a uniform, and she left with a warm slice with butter

on top.

***

Today I am baking up the Pumpernickel I stirred together yesterday, for sandwiches

this weekend.

We'll see.

***

Tonights dinner will be Mockfredo sauce.

What are you having for dinner?

Tonights impromptu dinner

2008-08-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Thank GOD I had my prep done!

***

I have been sooo lazy to go grocery shopping this week!

Tonight was the first Soccer practice for 2 of the kids and I had to get William from

football practice at 6:45... and still, I had no idea what I was making for dinner.

I hate when that happens!

It was my own fault for not going shopping!

So...

I improvised and perused my fridge and pantry.

***

I found a box of cornbread mix from Trader Joes...

I already had peppers and onions chopped up,

I found 2 Hebrew National Hotdogs, a small box of cheddar cheese,

and some fresh lunchmeat.

I know... it doesn't sound too appetizing.

***

So here's what I did...

I made the cornbread just like the box said...

but added a tablespoon of Flax seed meal to the combined mixture.

I saute'd up the onions and peppers I had already chopped and added 1 cup of frozen corn to it.

I seasoned it up with a little salt, pepper and some PC Southwestern Seasoning Mix.

I chopped up the hotdogs and lunchmeat and heated them up in the onion/pepper mixture.

I had Will grate some Cheddar... about 2 cups.

***

I put half the cornbread mixture on the bottom of a 12x9 baking stone (with sides)

layered on the onion/hotdog/pepper/corn mixure.

Put about half the cheese over that,

put the rest of the cornbread mixture in dollops over the filling and sprinkled with left over cheese.

Baked it at 350 for 25 minutes.

My family LOVED IT!

I'm gonna call it

"Mom is too lazy to go shopping, use whatever you have in the pantry"

Casserole.

Enjoy!

New Bread Blog

2008-08-04T14:41:00.001-07:00

Okay... so today was my very last Bread Blog.

At least on this blog.

***

I have opened up a new blog...

Dedicated to baking bread

called

"OH! FOR THE LOVE OF BREAD"

It's at

www.ohfortheloveofbread.blogspot.com

***

I have invited other authors to post on this blog too.

So far I have invited Andi and DD, and if they take me up on it... they can post all they want on it and it will show up on the front page...not the comment section!

Adrian... I would love to invite you too, but I don't have your personal e mail address to invite you with. If you would like to be included, just e mail me at

iamchefsaundra@yahoo.com

and I will invite ya!

***

I want all my bread buddies to be involved with this particular blog!

Post pictures, successes, failures etc...

I want this to be interactive!

I am not the only one with enthusiasm for holes in bread... giddiness about crumb and just

being a bread baking cheerleader!

There are others like me... and it feels great!

Bread Nerds Unite!

Love ya!

Weekend Food Pictures!

2008-08-04T12:17:00.000-07:00

Bill was putting up rain gutters yesterday... so I made quick Pizza with Boule dough, Sun dried tomatoes whizzed in my mini food processor, and saute'd onions, outside in my backyard kitchen oven. It kept the house cool, and they could eat it as soon as they smelled it was done!

The black thing it's on is a Stoneware Bar Pan.

What my containers look like, and what 2 hours rising on the counter does! Yum!

I decided to try quick cinnamon rolls with the left over dough from the huge pizza. So I slathered rolled out dough with butter, generously sprinkled brown sugar and cinnamon over it, added raisins, and rolled it up. This picture is before I cooked it.. while they were rising. I baked them outside too, so when they were done, I didn't get a chance to take a picture... I frosted them, and then they were GONE! I just used boule dough again. They said they were fantastic.

Ooey... Gooey... 2 hour dough. I like using it more after a refrigeration.

I add Flax Seed meal from Bob's Red Mill, in every batch now. 2 Tablespoons.

I got these containers from Smart n Final. 2 for 8 bucks.

Saturday Food

2008-08-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

So today... I'm going to attempt to make Panetonne.

I can't wait.

I love that fruit studded bread. Especially as french toast.

I want to perfect it now, so by Christmas, when it is typically given,

I can have it down to a science.

***

Dinner last night was Chinese, and my ankles are paying the price this morning.

Too much salt!

Yikes!

***

Dinner tonight will be Roasted Veggies on the Grill,

and Brown Rice patties made to be 'burgers'.

I'll be making them myself... and no I don't have a recipe yet, because I haven't made it up yet.

I'll let you know how they turn out.

Trying to limit meat.

***

It's hot outside...

Make some Sangria or Lemonade and enjoy the day!

Freeze some of your favorite beverage as ice cubes so your drink doesn't get diluted!

I love adding Iced tea cubes to my Lemonade, or frozen Grenadine cupes to

Sprite for a fizzy Shirley Temple!

Bread buddies are poppin up everywhere!

2008-07-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

I have so many more Bread Buddies than I knew I had!

Tonight, I got a funny phone call from Andi saying

"I don't know whether to thank you or smack you!, I love bread and this 5 minute bread is delicious!"

I was at a Famous Dave's waiting for my friend Mari to meet me for dinner, and there I was, with my ear bud still in my ear, laughing and talking about BREAD! with Andi!

She bought the book today at Barnes N Noble, and she too, can't believe how easy and doable it is! She was just as giddy as I am! I found a soul mate!

She gets me! It is ridiculous how excited I get over holes in my bread. The more and bigger holes, the better my day! Totally nerdy... but oh so satisfying!

Then I get home... and I just read that DeeDee, too, is a Bread Buddy! She made the master recipe into PIZZA DOUGH!

She is going to accompany me on my whirlwind tour of the world teaching this method! Hee hee!

***

So, now I have Adrain, Andi, Dee and myself in my lovely bread world.

Who else is going to join the HOLEY club of boules, bialys, bagels, and brioche?

Hmmmm?

Any takers?

Our club can handle lots more!

I ought to start a bread blog.

What do you think?

Yo Adrian!

2008-07-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

YO ADRIAN!

***

Girl... your bread turned out P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

If there were holes in it... it was perfect.

My first loaf looked and tasted like a hockey puck!

***

For all you readers... Adrian is a new friend I made on the blogosphere, and she has become my newest Bread Buddy!

She too, is now addicted to the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day way of making and baking bread.

What FUN!

I comment on the authors blog a lot, and Adrian, they would be thrilled to hear about your results! They are so nice, and they respond to everyone!

I want to work for them and show the world how to do this!

Then you and I could go to Italy, Adrian!!!, and show all my people!

***

I am so happy you are enjoying the book the way I do!

Whenever I empty a bucket of dough, I immediately make a new batch... right in the old dough bucket.

Lately, I have been adding Flax Seed Meal to all my loaves to help fortify it and add lots of fiber and nutrition. You can't taste it at all, and it gives it a really great whole grain look.

***

I love ya for trying the book Adrian!

I am just giddy about it!

I know I go on and on about it!

You'd think I wrote the book!

Zoe and Jeff... if you are hiring...I'm available... Adrian can be my travel buddy!

Brown Rice Fajitas

2008-07-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last nights dinner was brown rice fajitas.

I'm trying to prepare at least 2 totally vegetarian dishes a week.

Since I already had cooked brown rice and sliced onions from Sunday night's prep,

all I had to do was

slice up some home grown green peppers from out back and heat everything through.

Add in some taco seasoning mix and a pinch of salt and pepper, warm up some tortillas,

and we were almost in business!

***

A quick transfer of grated cheddar from the fridge to a plate, some sliced

home grown tomatoes from Letti's garden and it was

Dinner Al Fresco by the pool.

***

Watermelon was dessert and swimming immediately

after dinner was preferred over plopping down on the couch for TV.

(no, we don't wait 30 minutes after eating to swim, NEVER HAVE... it a MYTH!)

;)

They never missed the meat. Brown rice has a meaty texture and it is chewy and delicious.

I cooked it all ahead of time for only 25 minutes on Sunday in my Rice Cooker Plus. in the microwave! It was a cinch!

Food for unexpected guests...

2008-07-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love drop in guests?

No?

Why?

I know why I don't. I never feel like my house is clean enough and I don't always have

something to knosh on for them... until now.

***

I have decided to develop a few staple "guest" friendly items on hand all the time, for just the occasion for drop in guests... since I have them so frequently.

They are...

Kalamata Olives

Sicilian Olives

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Tomatoes

My bread... of course

Roasted Red Peppers

Marinated Mushrooms

***

All those items can be purchased

(with the exception of the bread, in my case)

from Trader Joes. They are relatively inexpensive,

jarred, and delicious.

They make a wonderful Antipasti Platter in minutes, and

at least one of the items is something someone would like.

Pair it up with some fresh fruit on hand, nicely sliced, and

it becomes an appetizer or knosh that is unparalleled!

Add a great glass of wine and everything will sing!

***

Your guests will feel special, and think you are putting on quite a "spread", and you

will know that you are honoring them by welcoming them to stay and enjoy

breaking bread with you, without breaking the bank or slaving in the kitchen.

With the above items... a little goes a long way since they are so savory.

***

So unexpected guests are going to be a treat for me now.

Now... about keeping my house spotless... that's another story all together...

hmmmmm.

Bread... the saga continues.

2008-07-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

I made my own cocktail type bread.

Save about 8 bucks in bread... those little loaves are exceedingly expensive.

This was the dinner bread at the party. We sliced it all up for dinner.

This was dinner on the 23rd. We also had pasta... but the tomato salad was the favorite.

*******

I know... it seem like the BREAD BLOG these days... but it is SO satisfying making bread.

Yesterday, during Alex's party, I taught my Mom and sis in law how to make the dough, it was so satsifying teaching the technique too!

IT IS SOOO SIMPLE THIS WAY!

***

That tomato salad is awesome. So easy.

Cut up tomatoes, some onion and oil, balsamic and salt and pepper and you are in business!

Make it a greek salad by adding chunks of cucumbers and crumbled feta cheese.

Make it Italian Panzanella salad by adding fresh mozzarella cheese chunks and

cut up chunks of day old Artisan Bread.

Yum!

Lock N Lock My favorite storage containers

2008-07-25T22:42:00.000-07:00

My Mama and I are obsessed with these containers.

We buy them for each other all the time.

I don't actually own any round ones, but it's the only picture I could find online.

I USE THEM FOR EVERYTHING!

I store my bread flour, cereal, cornmeal, nuts, honey, chips, baking stuff, salt, peppercorns,

leftovers, fruit, veggies, EVERYTHING IN THEM!

I MUST own 100 pieces... and I never get tired of buying them!

You can fill them, and throw them across the room and it won't spill, or crack or open.

Ask me how I know!

I buy them from QVC.

Try them... you will love them!

Favorite Thing 7... Cooling Rack

2008-07-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

PC has the BEST cooling racks. I use them every day to cool my bread off.

The legs fold in... they stack, and they clean up like a breeze.

My favorite thing to do with it is to make a bunch of peanut butter cookie balls, and instead of pushing each one down with a fork to make the cross hatch design on them, I just

turn this thing upside down and press them all at the same time!

The small grates make it nice so the cookies don't crease in between the wires.

Pampered Chef Stackable cooling racks...

One of my favorite things.

Tuesday Dinner... late, but good.

2008-07-23T06:33:00.000-07:00

Last night... I had a show... and came home around 8:30.

The kids still hadn't eaten, because Bill needed to go next door and help our

neighbor install a new air conditioner.

Normally we eat around 6 ish.

I have learned, in my newly acquired age, to pick my battles.

So I just cooked dinner really quickly.

***

I already had a bunch of onions cut up ahead of time, so I started sauteing them to a golden brown in a tiny bit of Olive Oil, and added 2 cups fresh frozen peas to the mix.

When they were heated through... I added 1 1/4 cups chicken stock and a cup of couscous to the pan, covered it, and let it sit off the heat for 5 minutes.

***

I marched hubby outside to BBQ some chicken really quick and I had baked off a great big boule

of bread earlier in the day, so we were ready to eat in 15 minutes.

***

Whew... crisis averted! Those poor kids were starving. Normally, they cook for themselves when in a pinch, but they knew all the fixing for a dinner was just waiting.

My heart broke when I saw how ravenous they were.

Bill felt bad too, but our neighbor needed air... it's HOT outside, and my guy is a heating/AC guy... who do you call? Bill!

Tonight, before Bill's meeting, I'll have him BBQ a nice Top Sirloin and cook off some potatoes in my Rice Cooker Plus, add a salad, and baked another bread this morning.

What are you having for dinner tonight?

Pasta with Garlic and Olive Oil

2008-07-21T06:47:00.000-07:00

After my shows... the very last thing I want to do is cook.

Saturday... after the show with Johnny, he fell right to sleep in the car.

When he woke up, he said... "Mama, that was WORK having to smile and be nice for 3 hours!"

I almost died.

Being 'on' takes a toll on ones psyche... for sure.

There is a certain 'high' right after the show... then a crash. It's all good, it's just part of the job.

I used to get the same way after being on stage, just more so!

So my 'go to' dinner of choice, when I haven't done my prep for the week yet...

is Garlic and Olive Oil Pasta.

***

1/2 cup Olive Oil

4 crushed cloves of garlic (or more if you like)

red pepper flakes (optional)

1 lb of pasta, cooked, not rinsed, and hot.

Heat oil and garlic together so the garlic doesn't burn. Add pepper flakes if using them.

Add immediately to cooked and hot pasta, and toss like you've never tossed before.

Make sure to have your salad and garlic bread done before all of this. Pasta cools quickly, and is best served hot!

Mangia!

Favorite thing 6

2008-07-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

I LOVE TO ENTERTAIN!

This is my 3 tiered stand that I use all the time for a multitude of things.

I love it filled and overflowing with fruit for parties, or daintily studded with mini cupcakes and muffins for brunches.

Sometimes I just use it for forks, spoons and knives when we have a buffet set up.

It used valuable vertical space and is simply lovely just alone.

Yes, it's from PC.

Duh!

Favorite thing 5

2008-07-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

I. LOVE. THIS. THING!

What is it?

A Rice Cooker PLUS.

Pay close attention to the PLUS part.

This sucker does EVERYTHING you want it to do in a microwave.

Yes, it cooks rice... in the microwave... but it does SOOOO much more!

***

4 chicken breasts in 10 minutes

salmon in 4 minutes

Fresh veggies in 5-10 minutes

Frozen Veggies in 8-12 minutes

A cake in 9 minutes

Ground beef for tacos in 6-10 minutes!

Potatoes in 10 minutes

THE BEST PART IS YOU ADD NO WATER TO ANY OF THESE THINGS!

Ever!

***

The ONLY ITEMS TO ADD WATER TO IN IT ARE RICE AND PASTA OR ANY BOXED ITEM THAT CALLS FOR WATER, LIKE RICE A RONI OR MAC N CHEESE!

***

I use it every single day. I sell TONS of them. It is my highest seller by far.

You can even pop popcorn in it dry!

***

So there you have it... another one of my favorite things in the kitchen.

Taco dip for dinner

2008-07-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last night dinner was a family favorite.

Not exactly an actual dinner, but an appetizer that we make into dinner, by simply

not having anything else but it.

***

It's a Pampered Chef Recipe from way back called Touch Down Taco Dip.

Can you say YUM!?!

It a twist on the seven layer dips of the 70's but the twist is this one is

hot.

Oh yeah.... !

***

First you mix together

8 OZ CREAM CHEESE SOFTENED

1 16 OZ CONTAINER SOUR CREAM

3 CRUSHED GARLIC CLOVES

2 CUPS SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE

2 TBS TACO SEASONING MIX

Set aside.

***

OPEN 2 CANS REFRIED BEANS

and spread them on the bottom of a microwaveable stone with sides

or something that is at least 9x13.

Then pile on the cream cheese mixture.

Top with more shredded cheese

and chopped black olives

***

THEN MICROWAVE FOR 5 MINUTES OR UNTIL ALL THE CHEESE HAS MELTED.

Take out of microwave

then add chopped tomatoes or salsa, avacado or guacamole,

cilantro, or anything else you love in a dip.

***

Grab some tortilla or bagel chips and have at it!

***

Of course you can add or take away anything you don't fancy.

Try it with a layer of seasoned ground cooked beef or turkey to give it a more

main dish appeal.

It's even better the day after. Just re heat and dig away!

It's cinch to make as long as you have all the ingredients,

and I make it all the time when we camp.

It is just so yummy!

Bill grabs me and kisses me when he knows I am making it.

It is so funny, it's like he thinks it's difficult or something!

I'll just let him keep thinking that.

Alfredo... Mockfredo... Tomato, Tamato

2008-07-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

I made my very first BAGELS today.

Yes, from my favorite new book

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day!

They are a little lumpy and bumpy, but they taste great with mustard and honey

mixed in a bowl and dipped.

One batch made about 22 bagels. So we have bagels for a week!

***

Last night I made Penne with Pea Alfredo Sauce, green salad and homemade bread.

Juan enjoyed the meal, and told me he was flattered that I made fresh bread dinner.

I was touched.

Like I keep saying... it's easy to buy a meal for someone... but when you cook for someone, it's like giving them a huge hug right in the gut!

***

Here's my recipe for my Mockfredo Sauce.

I would have made real Alfredo Sauce

(no it would never occur to me to buy it... I'M ITALIAN! THAT IS A CARDINAL SIN!")

BUT I didn't have any marscapone or asiago cheese on hand.

***

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

10 oz cream cheese

1 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

(no green cans please, it will NOT turn out)

1/2 - 1 cup milk

(we only have non fat in the house, so that's what I used,

you can use regular milk or cream)

2 cups FROZEN peas (OPTIONAL)

***

Dump first four ingredients into a pot and stir until smooth and creamy. Add peas (or sundried tomatoes, or basil, or lobster, or shrimp, or crab, or chicken) and stir until temperature is hot again.

Pour over al dente cooked pasta... any shape and serve immediately.

REMEMBER...NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER rinse your pasta after cooking it.

***

Maxine... no raisins should ever see this recipe... :)

Enjoy!

My Favorite Things #4

2008-07-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

My stones... No... not rocks or the band... buy my baking stones!

There is NOTHING better to bake bread on. Or cookies. Or EVERYTHING!

***

Of course I love my Pampered Chef ones the very best. They are lead free and clean up great!

They don't harbor odors and are virtually non porous. ***

They are versatile, easy, and make food brown and taste better.

The worse they look, the better they cook!

2008-07-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

OH I FORGOT TO SAY THAT ANGELA GETS A FREE COOKBOOK! SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE TO POST HER QUICK MEAL IDEAS... I WOULD HAVE SENT OUT DOZENS... BUT DOZENS DIDN'T POST!

WAY TO GO ANGELA... IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THIS SEASONS, I'LL BE GETTING NEXT SEASON'S SOON!

Prep!

2008-07-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

It was a nice weekend... Not too much mayhem, got some things done...

But it is time to prep again for the week.

***

Since I have been baking my own bread, I have saved about 150 bucks on Artisan Bread I used to buy for 4.99 a loaf, and now make about 8 loaves for that same price.

I have a batch of regular and a batch of bagel dough all ready to go in the back fridge. I made the dough 3 days ago.

***

Today's prep involved the usual onions, peppers, pasta salad making and such, but I noticed that William's appetite has doubled since football training started, and he needs more sustainable food in the morning to keep him going the 4 hours until lunch. Cereal just isn't cutting it.

So tonight, when it gets cooler, I'll be making a big batch of pancakes with wheatgerm and flax seed, and boiling up a dozen eggs or so. The protein should help him not feel so hungry before lunch and help build the muscles he is building on a daily basis. He will be limited to one a day because of the cholesterol content.

***

I was at the little 99 cent store here in town buying clear plastic for my tables and chairs out back and I noticed the bags and bags and bags of shelled and roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds on a bin. I bought a bunch of them, put them into my favorite Lock n Lock containers and will be using them to fortify my homemade bread by adding them to the dough when I shape it.

I love bread with chunks of seeds and nuts in it.

***

Have any of you jumped on the Prep bandwagon?

Or are you just laughing at me every time I post this?

If you are laughing... laugh away... dinner takes me 15 minutes to make now, from start to finish, and all the time consuming stuff is done in one day!

I have given myself more time to swim or read!!!

Hardee har har!

FAVORITE THINGS #3

2008-07-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

COLANDERS

I AM ADDICTED TO THEM!

I think they are as pretty as they are functional.

I have them in all sizes, and my new favorite is the kind that expands to fit over the sink.

I use them for everything!

Pasta, of course, and sweet pickle relish, and tuna, and veggies, and just about anything and eveything that has water in it.

I recently purchased one that is all silicone, collapses down,

and is dishwasher safe, exact one shown above.

That one isn't as pretty as the stainless steel holey ones, but it sure is easy to clean!

I do so love my metal ones too. They make great impromptu steamers, expecially for mussels and clams.

Colanders also make great beach toys in the sand. I relegate my old ones to the motorhome storage bins for just such a purpose.

Kitchen Tongs

2008-07-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

TONGS!

Gotta love 'em!

I use them like an extension of my hand. I must own 20 pairs. Short ones. Long ones. Skinny ones. Fat ones. Some with grip, some with scallops, some are metal, some are silicone.

They are absolutely indispensible in the kitchen.

Grab a pair and see what I mean!

These are a few of my favorite things...

2008-07-08T10:30:00.000-07:00

I am a total kitchenware geek. I know, I know, I sell the stuff too,

but I just can't get enough! I am starting a series for the next few weeks of my

favorite things in the kitchen. In no particular order. I am in LOVE with my mini food processor. I love Cuisinart and KitchenAid products.

Since Pampered Chef doesn't sell anything that plugs in,

I can say this and be totally unbiased.

I enjoy the mini so much because of the ease of cleaning.

It's small, perfect for quick jobs and it's so easy to clean. Just a rinse or put it on the top rack of your dishwasher. I also am not a fan of having absolutely everything

I own on my kitchen counter, so I love that it fits into a cabinet on a shelf. I used it last night to make Salmon Mouuse for the boys for a nice snack with whole grain crackers this week. It took seconds to whiz it up,

and it turned out so creamy and light!

I use it all the time to make quick pestos, chop nuts, or carrots and

I love it for whizzing around frozen fruit. It only costs about 30 bucks and it is truly one of my favorite things.

Clearing the air.

2008-07-08T06:43:00.001-07:00

You know what?

I have gotten some e mail about my "prep" day and it hasn't been understood.

So I am going to clear it up a little bit today, and this will be the only time I do so. I'd rather focus on positivity and not negativity.

First of all, I am not doing this blog to "make" anyone do anything.

Please know it is completely your choice if, when, how, what or where,you prep.

No one is the Prep Police, and no one is going to come over and check up on you.

It is completely up to you if you choose to do things this way.

This is just how I exist in my little world in my home, and I had a lot of people ask me over the years, how I am able to get meals on the table every night, with all I have going on with my business, family, lifestyle etc...

Okay there, I hope that dispells any myth that I am trying to ram anything down anyones throats and make everyone come on over to the "dark side" that is prep in a few peoples worlds.

A couple of people also don't appreciate that I say things like "here in America" or "The Europeans do it this way". These people say I sound anti American.

Remember, I was raised by new immigrants. My home was little Italy, in America. I didn't even feel like I was born here until I moved out and got married!

Those of you that came to my party understand now with all the Italians in the room!

It was like a Godfather movie... only the people were nicer!

I will NEVER, EVER apologize for my heritage, and for how I was brought up. I had the BEST time in my formative years, and wouldn't trade it for anything! I have been to Italy twice and my kids have been there once. Going abroad changes you. It really makes you see the "big picture", and my kids and family are changed forever by having experienced a completely different lifestyle and immersed ourselves in it happily. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I think Europeans live a MUCH better lifestyle than we do here.

Sorry, just my opinion.

They really know how to take life and live it to the fullest!

I re read my posts, and I know I don't come across as preachy, just informative.

Those of you who "get me", thank you... those of you who don't, I hope this clears things up, and I thank you too for emailing me personally and airing your opinions, but please know that this is my blog, and I am entitled to say and post whatever I feel.

This week has been a banner week for people really not liking my way of doing things

and telling me so.

To all my readers, thank you so much for comments, input, teaching me new things, recipes, ways you do things in your kitchens, and just reading! I really appreciate you!

Onward and upward we go... shall we?

Compound Butter

2008-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Don't you just hate all those fancy names chefs use for ordinary food?

***

Burre Blanc = White butter sauce

chiffonade = cut into ribbons

duxelle sauces = mushroom sauce

compound butter = butter with stuff mixed in it

***

Here in America, we love our butter. We have 4 states dedicated to making our beloved dairy products, they even have funny hats made of wedges of cheese and such.

So it doesn't surprise me at all to see lots of different types of butter being shown on Food Network, for us, the lowly home cooks.

***

I love making compound butters.

No, it doesn't have to be intricate, keep it simple, and jazz it up with presentation.

I am all about presentation.

Whoever said we eat with our eyes first was dead on accurate.

***

Here's a list of my favorite mix ins.

Each these butters are mixed when the butter is at room temperature.

Honey butter = 1 cup butter to 1/4-1/2 cup honey. Use this butter for up to one week.

***

Herb Butter = 1 cup butter and 1 tsp each of your favorite herbs. If using only one herb in the butter, use 1 tbs of herbs. Use this butter the same day and only for 2 days after its made.

***

Jalapeno Butter = 1 T chopped jalapeno into 1 cup butter

Use within 2 days.

***

Marmalade butter - 3 T marmalade to 1 cup butter

Use within 1 week

***

Cinnamon butter = 1 tsp cinnamon to 1 cup butter

***

You get the picture!

Now for making it extra special.

On the day of your dinner or lunch, make your butter mixture.

You can now lay it out on parchment paper and refrigerate it slightly and use small cookie cutters to make lovely shapes of the butter. Then freeze the shapes and put them on the table when you set it.

***

Or, you can put it into a pastry bag or Easy Accent Decorator from Pampered Chef (wink)

and make lovely little dollops of butter on a pastry sheet or parchment, refrigerate or freeze.

***

Roll it into a long tube in the parchment and refrigerate the log. When it's time to serve, cut the log into butter coins.

***

Use any type of cookie type form or silicone form to make elegant shapes.

The sky's the limit!

Tri tip & Beer Chicken

2008-07-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

From Angela!

***

Summertime easy and yummy meats are steak and beer chicken.

We use tri-tip from costco and Lawry's beef merinade.

It is the best.

That merinade even makes cheap meat yummy!

We also like to take whole chickens (usually the seasoned ones)a can of any kind of beer, sit the chicken all the way on the can and bbq until meat is done.

Usually about 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Go to Recipes

2008-07-02T14:29:00.001-07:00

I really love entertaining.

I don't do as much as I used to with the kids schedules and everything, but I really love

making dinner for friends and family when they come over.

***

Anyone can buy someone a meal at a restaurant, but cooking a meal and breaking bread with the ones you love under your own roof makes it even more special in my opinion.

***

Everyone should have a "go to" meal that would be equally at home with just your kids and hubby or for your hubby's boss and colleagues when you want to make a good impression.

If you were to think about that... what would your 'signature' dish be?

Steak?

Chicken?

Pasta?

Tofu?

***

I invite you to share your "go to" knock 'em dead meals with me and my readers.

I will post them as they come in on comments, and if you could include a quick list of ingredients and simple instructions, that would be great!

We can all use some new recipes these days, since many of us aren't eating out as much as we used to.

You can also email me directly at iamchefsaundra@yahoo.com and I will post your recipe!

It is so cool to see your name in print!

So please, post away, and each comment with a recipe, will recieve a free Pampered Chef Season's best cookbook mailed to their home(limit one per household) Please only include your address in a personal email to me and it will be kept private.

Dinner in a hurry

2008-07-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

I have a new dilemma in the cooking department.

I had to figure out, last night, a bunch of dinners that were easy to prepare, transportable, and yummy, so we can take them along with us to Will's football practices.

Okay... here's why...

I'm cheap.

I just can't see spending the money eating out every night,

even though it would be much more convenient. Since I am really watching what I eat,

I also really don't want to

eat food that I didn't prepare myself. I would much rather drop that money at

a department store than a restaurant or fast food joint. Catch my drift?

SO!!!

I came up with a few things that I think will fill us up, be tasty and still not break the calorie barrier I set for myself.

***

Egg White Burritos, brown rice and salad

Lavash Wraps, watermelon slices

30 minute Chicken, Couscous, salad

Goat Cheese and Baguette and cucumber salad

Chicken Taco Salad, fruit kebobs, tea

Tuna Sandwiches, veggies and dip, melon

Cheeseburger Salad, oven potatoes, melon

Sweet N Sour Pasta Salad, homemade bread, fruit

***

We love melons, can you tell?

Each meal will be serve with their choice of either unsweetened green iced tea or water.

***

I own a TON of the storage containers called Lock N Lock, and let me tell you...

THEY ARE THE BEST ON THE PLANET!

You can throw a full container on the floor and it won't open for anything!

So I will be using only those to put our food into.

Gonna try and save some trees while I'm at it.

***

So... if you are ever in Redlands from 3-7 p.m. and are hungry, give me a jingle and come eat dinner with us! I'll always have plenty!

Pick a Peck of Pestos!

2008-06-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

Pesto...Does that word sound difficult to you? To make, I mean?

If it does, fear not.

It is so easy, so yummy, so forgiving, to freezable, just so versatile, you'll be addicted!

Now, to make good Pesto, you need a few key ingredients, most of them the freshest you can find. No canned stuff here.

You'll also need a couple of key appliances and tools, but most people have these items at their disposal, so no worries, nothing too exotic.

Here goes... Pesto perfection is just around the bend...

***

Pesto is traditionally made with Basil, Pine Nuts, Extra Virgin olive Oil, Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and garlic.

I do not happen to like Parmigiano cheese and LOVE Pecorino Romano, so I substitute that.

BUT! Nowadays, tradition is thrown to the wind, and you can make Pestos out of just about anything! AS long as it's high quality and fresh.

So... Regular Pesto has the above ingredients,

but you can sub out the Basil for Spinach, Parsley, Arugula, Mint, Sun Dried Tomatoes,Cilantro, you get the picture.

You can switch out the Pine Nuts for Walnuts, Seeds, Almonds, No nuts, etc... I wouldn't use Cashews, too sweet and too much oil.

Don't switch out the EVOO. It's too fantastic to switch.

Switch out the cheese for any hard grating cheese. Not soft cheeses. Stick to Romano, Parm, Ricotta Salata etc...

Garlic... there is no suitable substitute in my opinion. I know... spoken like a true Italian.

So, here is the Master Recipe.

2 cups Basil

1/2 - 3/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 cup Pine nuts

1 cup grated cheese

2 cloves garlic

Whiz this around in a FOOD PROCESSOR on pulse for a minute or so.

When it starts to turn opaque, you can now freeze the pesto in an ice cube tray and use it to flavor soups, use later for pasta, almost anything!

I use about 2 TBS for a pound of cooked Pasta, and toss it around with a little of the pasta cooking water. I freeze the rest for later use.

It's also great spread on bread, sprinkled with cheese and broiled like garlic bread!

Don't be alarmed when you notice that after it's frozen, it turns black in the basil version.

That's what happens when basil leaves are bruised. It will still taste great.

Enjoy!

Goat Cheese Appetizer

2008-06-27T06:36:00.000-07:00

Our French toast dinner was awesome last night with the Brioche I made.

I even cooked it out back in my patio kitchen. So much cooler!

***

I forgot that I have a log of Chevre Goat Cheese from Trader Joes in my fridge that I need to use, and since my tomatoes are finally ripe, I am going to make my families favorite,

favorite, favorite appetizer tomorrow night.

***

I already have a bunch of onion chopped, so I just throw about a cup and a half into a bowl,

Dice up about 5 tomatoes with my Nicer Dicer

Chop a handful of parsley

and about 4 cloves of garlic.

Mix them all together.

***

Take the cheese carefully out of the package so it all stays intact

and place it in a stone with sides or in a pan with sides.

pour the tomato mixture over the entire log of cheese.

Bake @ 300 for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is soft and spreadable. or microwave it for 2 minutes.

***

Slice two long baguettes into cute little slices.

Slather on the cheese/tomato concoction and eat!

YUM. YUM.

Go on... tell me you love it...

My new bread!

2008-06-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is to Adrian...

Enjoy the great outdoors...

2008-06-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that everything seems to taste better when eaten outside?

We have been having dinner out back since about March. The boys get giddy about it!

We could be having grass and dirt and they wouldn't care... we'd be eating outside!

Eating Al Fresco doesn't have to be a drudgery.

Just a little planning is all that's needed to have a lovely outdoor experience.

***

1. invest in food tents. They only cost a couple of bucks and are really helpful in keeping the bugs off your food.

2. Plan ahead. Cut up watermelon into manageable pieces or cubes, make your salad in the morning and just cook the meat part of your meal just before dinner.

3. Keep it simple. Paper Plates, cups, skewers, etc... just have fun and breathe!

4. Make one big trip. Find a great funky tray that can hold everything all at once and set up in record time!

5. Watch your kids beam! Mine love to go play in the yard right after so we can "watch" them.

They get so silly when we are out there with them!

After dinner is done, get out some cards or a board game and

PLAY WITH YOUR KIDS!

You are all they really want anyway!

Time = love.

Tuesday Tastings

2008-06-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Okay so my new book, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day, is the absolute best cookbook I have ever read. Last night, after it cooled down, My hubby sat at our island while I stir together

the ingredients for regular bread and another of Brioche.

***

He was mesmerized by how simple it was to do. He was waiting for me to knead the dough, get all messy, scrape my counter, and NONE of that took place. I just mixed the ingredients in the big plastic tub, put the lid on, and let them sit on my counter for 2 hours, then just put them in my backyard fridge! That's it! Today, if I need fresh bread for dinner, I just pull out a piece, form it, let it rise and pop it in the oven! Voila!

***

Okay, off the bread subject. My men are all home, and are always hungry it seems.

It's a full time job keeping them fed.

So now my prep involves cutting veggies into strips so they can have them for dips or salsa as an alternative to chips, which I don't buy.

I am also making a ton of cooked brown rice on prep day too. It is a great go to snack in a hurry.

You can mix it with salsa for a mexican style cold rice salad, or mix it with a little sugar and cinnamon for a quick rice breakfast, or you can heat it up and wrap it up with salsa, and cheese and a slice of roast beef or two for a quick burrito.

I'm also keeping hard boiled eggs around.

Packed with protein, they are a great grab and my kids love em. If they want two, I let them eat one whole and one without the yolk, unless they are having practice or a workout that day, then I let them have another yolk.

***

Tonights dinner is the 30 minute chicken recipe. Too hot to turn on the oven. I will be baking my bread in my back patio oven this summer.

I'll serving it with couscous seasoned with Pineapple Salsa and a tomato and onion salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Stay cool today!

Margherita Pizza the easy way

2008-06-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

You know what? To heck with the great Tomato Scare!

I made a great quick pizza-ish bread a few weeks back that is so tasty and easy, I wanted to share!

Take one large baguette or french bread loaf, white, wheat whatever you like,

and split it in half lengthwise.

Then slice up some fresh mozzarella (Costco sells a nice, moderately priced one)

and slice some tomato thinly. You can also slice up some basil if you like.

Light toast the bread under a broiler for a quick 15 seconds just to get the bread lightly crusty,

and drizzle with olive oil and brush with some crushed garlic.

Lay the cheese and tomato all over the bread and pop it back into the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly, if you sliced basil, now you add it, after its cooked.

Do this all just before you intend to eat so you can have the sensation of the oozy cheese during dinner. Serve with a lightly dressed salad and listen to your taste buds sing!

Thank me later... go make some now!

Go! Now! Yum is waiting!

Prep 101

2008-06-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

** I thought this deserved a re post. The weather is hot, all the kids are home, make your life easier with Prep!

***

The key to cooking a hot meal every night or at least some nights is...

ADVANCED PREPARATION!

In my household, it is key to success.

I set aside about 2 hours every week, usually on Sunday Evenings when Desperate Housewives is on, to cut, chop and cook whatever I can ahead of time.

I, ideally, like to plan what I am cooking ahead... but sometimes life gets in the way, and I have to rummage through my freezer and pantry and plan from there. THIS is where real recipes come from.. necessity.

90% of the time... I know I will need at least a few onions, some peppers and celery, and some ground beef, chicken or turkey browned up.

So here is a typical weeks list of dinners. Now... I don't set aside which day each dinner is going to be on... I just do all the prep for the 5 or so dinners I know I have ingredients for...

Enchilada Casserole

Pasta and Quick Pea Sauce

Roasted Chicken

Ravioli

Tacos

Okay... so I know what I am making... I look at the list and decide what I know I won't have time to prep the day of and do that in my prep time.

For example... for the Casserole...

I will grate the cheese, chop the olives,

slice the green onions and pre cook the chicken and pre shred it.

For the Pasta dish, I will just chop up the lettuce for the salad and all carrots, cucumbers and purple cabbage we like in it. Pasta takes only 10 minutes or so to cook, and the Quick Pea Sauce is just that... quick.

Roasted Chicken is 30 minutes so I do that the day of, but if I have some brown rice in my pantry, I will cook it up with some stock and put it in the fridge during my prep time on Sunday. When its time for making the meal, I just take it out, reheat it with a little Olive Oil in a big skillet, throw in some frozen corn, maybe some frozen peas and top it off with some fresh grated Romano Cheese.

For the Ravioli, that Costco Mozzarella and Spinach one is AWESOME, so that takes just a few minutes to cook the day of, and during my Sunday prep, I might make the garlic spread for garlic bread. Make a quick salad of cherry tomatoes and onion, and maybe a little feta cheese and a little olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar and you are in business!

My goodness I am a wordy girl. I need to learn to be more concise!

Tacos are the easiest if you prep ahead. Chop all the onion, tomatoes, cabbage or lettuce, shred the cheese, and cook the meat with your seasonings and bag it all up. The day of the meal, it is all ready to go with just the reheat of the meat and the shells! You can even jazz up some of that brown rice you made in advance and make it Mexican Rice with some black beans, salsa, cilantro and corn! Yummy!

I know, I know it sounds like a lot of stuff. But you would be amazed how much you can get done on one stove at one time. If all the veggies are right there in front of you and you have a bunch of either bags or containers to use, prep is a breeze and will make life SOOOO much more livable! You can have the meat going at the same time the rice is cooking and the chicken in cooking in the Rice Cooker Plus ,for those that know what that is, or your skillet!

I will be going into more detail about prep and how I do each thing, but I wanted you to get a general overview.

Even if you get all your onions and veggies done for the week, you are that far ahead of the game!

More soon!

Ciao!

OOPS!!!

2008-06-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

O.M.G.!!!

WHAT A HOT MESS THOSE LAST FEW POSTS WERE!!!

I WAS ON VACATION, AND THEY WERE SCHEDULED POSTS SO THERE WOULD BE SOMETHING EVERY DAY!!!

Dee, ha ha!!! You ARE fabulous!

So sorry! I was at the beach all week escaping this horrendous heat!!

Looks like Blogger doesn't know how to "center space" for easier reading!

Thanks for reading anyway!!!

Deep Dish BLT Pizza

2008-06-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

DEEP DISH BLT PIZZA

*** 2 packages of refrigerated bread sticks 4 oz. deli turkey - chopped 4 oz. moz. cheese - shredded 8 oz. bacon - crisp and crumbled 1/3 c. slicked green onion 3 plum tom. 2 c. romaine lettuce 2 T. ranch dressing Oven 350 Cut a 15 inch circle of parchment paper; place in bottom of deept dish baker. Remove bread stick dough from cans; do not unrl. Separate one roll into 6 coils unroll into strips Starting in center, and working outward, completely line bottom of baker. Roll top of dough with roller to seal. Slice second roll of rough lengthwise in half using bread knife. Lay each half, flat side down, and slice crosswise into 12 half moon, for a total of 24 pieces. Form decorative edge by arranging pieces of dough next to each other, standing on end, against bakker. Seal. Chop turker place in bowl, add 1/2 graded cheese, 1/2 bacon and onion Mix well and spread over dough Bake 30 min. Lift pizza out Slice lettuce toss with dressing and arrange around edge of pizza Enjoy! Slice tom. and arrange over filling. Sprinkle with other 1/2 of cheese & bacon

Cappuccino Freeze

2008-06-17T06:18:00.000-07:00

CAPPUCCINO FREEZE ¼ CUP INSTANT COFFEE GRANULES 1 CAN SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (NOT EVAPORATED) 2 ½ cups WATER Microwave ½ cup water until boiling Dissolve instant coffee Pour in remaining cold water Mix in Sweetened Condensed Milk Pour into three tubs. Freeze 8 hours or until firm Shave

***

Use decaf if you don't like caffiene, but love the taste coffee! Just as yummy without the buzz!

It also makes great ice cubes that you can whiz in a blender for a frozen "Starbucksesque" kind of drink, without the $5 price tag!

The Great Tomato Debacle

2008-06-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you... but I thought we lived in America!

The richest country on the planet.

The "go to" country for the worlds questions.

The land of the free, and the home of the brave!

If that last line is correct, we HAVE to be brave to eat vegetables anymore!

I am SO tired of this contamination stuff!

***

Many years ago, we couldn't take Tylenol because it was tainted by some madman.

A few years back, they said "Oh! Don't eat Alfalfa Sprouts, they'll kill ya!"

Then Lettuce, spinach, and now tomatoes! Are they kidding?

Do you realize how many products tomatoes are in?

Do we... as a nation... not understand the concept of quality control?

Maybe we should stop buying all our stuff from other countries and start becoming a nation that

builds things again! What a concept!

We are supposed to be smarter now than we were 100 years ago!

This is the INFORMATION AGE!

We can't even keep our own food supply safe, and we want to feed other countries?

I don't want us to kill innocent people!

Our babies aren't safe from their TOYS!

There is something terribly awry here!

***

In Europe, they grow all their own food. They don't import much of anything except cars and electronics. They certianly don't import their fresh food, and they have bans on

High Fructose Corn Syrup. We should do the same. We would all be much happier and healthier.

I, for one, will only be buying Organic from now on, Yeah, they say those aren't considered safe either, but at least the food is mostly grown locally, and sometimes, hydroponically.

I don't care about the price right now.

It makes me so mad that a bag of chips goes on sale for $1.69 and peaches are 4.99 a lb.

WHY! It should be the other way around!

Why are soda's 69 cents a 2 liter bottle, and real juices 5 bucks?

It makes NO sense!

***

I'll shut up now. Oh, I am so glad I have a place to vent.

USDA... GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!

HIRE MORE PEOPLE TO CHECK THIS STUFF OUT!

We are going backwards instead of forwards!

Sheesh!

***

Apparently it's okay to buy tomatoes on the vine, or grow our own and eat them.

We'll see if they'll change their tune about that too.

Be careful with jarred tomato sauces and salsas.

I usually buy canned tomatoes imported from Italy, so I know they are safe.

But all my other stuff in the cupboard and fridge?

I may have to hire a food taster until our Gov't gets their heads out of their butts!

Prep!

2008-06-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

When we go camping, I like to make everything ahead of time,

then only re heat when we are there, so as to avoid too much hassle

and impede my picture taking, crotcheting, reading time.

Everyone can just serve themselves, heat up and we can all sit around the fire

and enjoy each others company.

So today, I major prepped.

I made...

***

Enchiladas

Salmon Mousse

Macaroni Salad

Carrot Raisin Salad

Tuna Salad w/o Mayo

(we add the Mayo as needed, don't like it gooey) blah!

Chopped up a bunch of carrots, celery, and radishes for dipping

(way better for us than chips)

Oh! and my FAMOUS Goat Cheese Appetizer!

My families absolute favorite thing to eat!

So now, I'm done, we just pack it up and head on out!

Easy as pie!

Now I just have to drive that behemoth and make sure I keep the shiny side up!

Quick Pizza

2008-06-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

I've been baking bread about every other day lately.

That book is a God Send!

I didn't know what to do with a huge loaf I made. I was watching Giada on Food Network while cleaning my kitchen an she made awesome cheesy Bruschetta.

Of course, I added some stuff to make it my own little pizza instead.

I sliced up the entire loaf crosswise and rubbed fresh garlic all over one side and drizzled some olive oil over all of them, broiled them for 3 minutes in the oven until toasty.

I looked for all the cheeses I could find in my fridge, and came up with

Romano, Cheddar, Asiago, and Feta.

I shredded them all, mixed them up and set them aside.

I sliced up some tomatoes, shredded some fresh basil from my yard and saute'd up a huge white onion until golden brown.

Then I just layered them all on each slice, tomato, cheese, onion, and a little more cheese,

and put them back under the broiler for about 2 minutes and the cheese was all melted.

I sprinkled the basil right out of the even so the oil could permeate the air and flavor the pizza slightly.

They were delish!

MUCH easier than making regular pizza!

Hope you try it!

Salsa... simple, sassy and sensational!

2008-06-10T17:52:00.000-07:00

My family LOVES salsa.

I think most people do.

I sometimes buy it, in the winter when tomatoes aren't in season, and

it tastes pretty good.

***

Last weekend, my Father in Law was over and he and Bill drove those Nascars on June 1st for Bill' Birthday and John's Father's day gift. After the races, Bill got a hankering for some salsa.

I thought I had some in the fridge... I didn't.

But I DID have a bunch of tomatoes on the vine, onion, cilantro and a lime.

I didn't have a jalapeno, but I have since bought some.

***

Can I just say that homemade Salsa tastes SO MUCH BETTER AND DIFFERENT than that

bottled or container stuff!

Holy cow! I had forgotten!

I used to make Salsa ALL THE TIME!

I just got out of the habit!

Well, I'm in the habit again!

So here's my recipe for a very simple Salsa.

I don't process it, I like a chunky salsa, but you can do whatever cooks your taquito!

***

SAUNDRA'S SIMPLE SASSY SALSA

**********

6 firm tomatoes finely chopped

(I use my Nicer Dicer)

1 finely chopped onion

1 jalapeno

1 bunch cilantro finely chopped

the juice of 1 whole lime

***

Stir it all together and get out your tortilla chips!

I store all leftovers (if there are any) in a Lock n Lock container.

***

Here are some great applications for Salsa...

Mix with softened cream cheese for a great spread or dip

Use as a topping for a baked potatoe

Stir some into Mac N Cheese

Use some in a layer for enchiladas

Mix it into cornbread mix.

Use it over eggs!

Tell me what you do with Salsa!

Salmon Spread

2008-06-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

Do you know how GOOD canned salmon is for you?

No?

It's great! Tons of protein, tons of Omega 3 fatty acids, great brain food for kids and adults,

and it's very economical! Costco sells a wonderful brand, and it's all wild caught not farmed, and it's Alaskan, the absolute best!

I make a batch of Salmon spread every week end for the coming week, and my boys LOVE it.

Here is the Master Recipe.

Feel free to add and take away at will.

Recipes are only guidelines, you provide the inspiration.

***

1 CAN SALMON

1 8 OZ PACKAGE CREAM CHEESE (SOFTENED)

4 GREEN ONIONS OR 10 CHIVES, FINELY CHOPPED

5-10 DROPS TABASCO SAUCE

FRESH CRACKED BLACK PEPPER

***

Drain water from can of salmon. Place salmon, cream cheese and tabasco in a small food processor and process until smooth

Add onions and stir with scraper

Refrigerate well.

Use on toast, bagels, spread on tortillas wraps, pipe into tomatoes or celery boats,

or any which way you can think of!!!

Enjoy!

Friday's food feast!

2008-06-07T08:17:00.001-07:00

We went to Famous Dave's BBQ yesterday for lunch,

and they had these pickles they called

"Hell Fire" chips.

O.M.G.

Yum!

They were hot and sweet and oh so good, I asked the server if she could bring me

over a little bowl full so could try to duplicate 'em. She did!

So I am going to try, and she said that they make them there on the premises every day.

They start with regular bread and butter pickle chips

and add garlic, red hot pepper, black pepper, onions and just let it sit!

They have the perfect amount of heat.

***

My bread in 5 minutes a day has been going over great!

I even have orders for loaves!

So cool!

Tonight, I am going to make Brioche dough, so that tomorrow morning I can bake it and slice it up for French Toast!

***

Last night I went over to a friends house and she made us the

MOST delicious salads for dinner!

She put chicken, lettuce, strawberries, walnuts, mozzarella cheese, onion, cherry tomatoes,

avocado and croutons. Truly, one of the best salads I 've had...

And she used a new product I have never seen for the dressing...

Kens Steakhouse SPRAY dressing.

So delicious!

One calorie per spray or something like that, and it was just ridiculously flavorful!

The entire salad was! We paired it with some Stella Rosa wine I brought over and it was just a lovely way to spend the evening. Good food, great friends

and my fave almost non alcholic wine.

Thanks Mari!

It was wonderful!

Foods in season and what to do with 'em!

2008-06-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Okay... the kids are out of school soon (at least mine are)

and they'll be saying stuff like...

"Mom, I'm hungry and bored"

everyday.

Well, you handle bored, I'll handle hungry.

Here are some hunger busting ways to keep those little darlings from starvation this summer...

FRUIT IN SEASON

***

Peaches

Nectarines

Cherries

All Melons

Pineapple

Apricots

Plums

***

VEGETABLES IN SEASON

***

Eggplant

Peppers

All tomatoes

Zucchini

These are all great grilled on skewers or put on sandwiches with a light cheese like Mozzarella then grilled.

***

REMEMBER! With kids, everything on a stick is great! So get creative!

Fruit Kabobs

Cheese Kabobs

Mixed fruit, cheese and veggie kabobs

thinly slice sweet potatoes, regular potatoes and purple potatoes and spray them lightly with olive oil and place them on a hot stone and bake your own root veggie chips,or deep fry them if that tickles your fancy.

Grill your fruit too, for a fancy, gourmet alternative to just having a side dish of rice!

Plums and Pineapple are my fave, but you can even grill Watermelon!

More another day!

Enjoy!

Chicken Stir Fry Salad

2008-06-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Today, from yesterday's dough I made, I am baking Pain D'Epi, or Wheatstalk shaped bread.

I'll get better at it, it doesn't look THAT bad, but as you can plainly NOT see, I am

not posting a picture.

Still edible with dinner tonight.

***

I am really enjoying this new cookbook, and method of making bread. PERFECT for busy working moms who love to serve fresh bread with meals from time to time.

***

Here's a recipe for a fantastic salad for the summer!

Remember, cook the chicken ahead of time and chop all that needs chopping, and one day during the week, all you have to do is assemble the salad!

Chicken Curry Stir-Fry Salad A cool salad composed of crisp apples, dried cranberries and a delicate curry flavor is topped with a warm chicken mixture for one outstanding salad. Dressing

****** 3/4 cup ranch dressing

1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon curry powder

1 garlic clove, pressed Salad

1 large Granny Smith apple

1 medium carrot,

peeled and cut into julienne strips 1 package (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach leaves 1 small red bell pepper, diced 1/2 small red onion, sliced into thin wedges 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries *** Chicken Mixture

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts,

flattened and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds, coarsely chopped 1. For dressing, in Classic Batter Bowl,

combine salad dressing, lime juice, curry powder

and garlic pressed with Garlic Press;

whisk until well blended and set aside. *** 2. For salad, using Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer, core and slice apple, leaving peel on;

cut into small pieces.

Cut carrot into julienne strips using Julienne Peeler;

cut strips into 2-inch pieces.

Place spinach, apple, carrot, bell pepper, onion and cranberries in a large bowl; refrigerate until ready to serve. *** 3. For chicken mixture, flatten chicken to 1/2-inch thickness using flat side of Meat Tenderizer; cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Heat Stir-Fry Skillet over medium-high heat. .

Add chicken to skillet in a single layer.

Cook without stirring 2 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.

Stir-fry 2-3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink;

remove from heat. Add cilantro and 1/4 cup of the dressing; toss to coat. 4. To serve, toss salad with remaining dressing; top with chicken mixture and almonds and serve immediately. Yield: 8 servings