Dreaming of vegetables...

So while it's snowing and snowing outside (seriously, do I live in Boston or something?!), Alex and are poring through the Burpee catalog and planning our summer garden. Did you know they have a tomato called the Salsa tomato that is IDEAL for, you guessed it, salsa?! We learned a lot with our first garden last summer.

1. We have a better idea of what we want to plant (tomatoes and lots of them, corn, peas, beans, onions, burpless cucumbers, cilantro, peppers, strawberries, raspberries...) and what we don't want to plant (pumpkins, gourds, sunflowers, swiss chard).


2. We want to plant a bigger variety of stuff and maximize our space.


3. We want to start composting and Alex is going to build us one. Yay!


4. We want to make a rain barrel too and decorate it with fun, bright paint (that was my idea).


5. We want to make sure we stay on top of weeds this year. They really got the best of us last year, but the crazy thing is that we still had a lot of produce!


6. We don't want to waste any food. When the tomato plants kept giving and giving to us generously last year, we got lazy and a lot of tomatoes fell to the ground and rotted. Shame on us. This year, I will use or give away every last tomato. Guess I'm going to make a lot of salsa and pasta sauce and bruschetta. Sounds good to me.

Hoppin' John

Hoppin' John

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 50 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 10 servings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large ham hock
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 pound black-eyed peas, soaked overnight and rinsed
1 quart chicken stock
Bay leaf
1 teaspoon dry thyme leaves
Salt, black pepper, and cayenne
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onion
3 cups steamed white rice

Directions
Heat oil in a large soup pot, add the ham hock and sear on all sides for 4 minutes. Add the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic, cook for 4 minutes. Add the black-eyed peas, stock, bay leaves, thyme, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the peas are creamy and tender, stir occasionally. If the liquid evaporates, add more water or stock. Adjust seasonings, and garnish with green onions. Serve over rice.

*I usually make some kind of black eyed peas for New Year's day. Usually in a soup with ham. This year, I thought I'd go all Southern and make the classic Hoppin' John. I actually had to ask the butcher for ham hocks. Weird. But he was a nice butcher and he knew exactly why I wanted them...for good luck, of course. I'll let ya'all know how this dish turns out. I think I may add some kale or collard greens to it. That means another trip back to the store. Here's hoping for a prosperous New Year! :) Oh and here's what Wikipedia says about Hoppin' John's origin:

Hoppin' John is the Southern United States' version of the rice and beans dish traditional throughout the Caribbean. It consists of black-eyed peas (or field peas) and rice, with chopped onion and sliced bacon, seasoned with a bit of salt.[1] Some people substitute ham hock or fatback for the conventional bacon; a few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia; black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere.
Throughout the coastal South, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck,[2].[3] The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.[4] Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, chard, kale etc. along with this dish are supposed to also add to the wealth since they are the color of money. [5] On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny," and further demonstrates one's frugality, bringing a hope for a even better chance of prosperity in the New Year.

Meal Plan Monday!

Well, it's back to work, back to reality! It was nice while it lasted. :) Here's the plan for this week:

• Monday: Leftovers from Christmas dinner (shrimp, ham, corn casserole, apple pie)
• Tuesday: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, tater tots, veggies
• Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs, veggies
• Thursday (New Year's Eve): Still working on this one...if Alex is home, we may have a special appetizer dinner/movie night after Ben goes to bed. Will post what we had later if we like it!
• Friday (New Year's Day): Hoppin' John for good luck! Will post the recipe later...
• Saturday: Leftovers
• Sunday: Roasted chicken (5 weeks and running and we still haven't made this!!)

Apple Pie

Crunch Top Apple Pie

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 55 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

Dough and Filling:

Dough for a double crust 9-inch pie (see recipe at the bottom for Paula's perfect pie crust)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt
3 1/2 cups peeled, chopped cooking apples
1 (16-ounce) jar applesauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces
Crunch Topping:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Dash salt
1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of dough. Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Stir in apples, applesauce, and lemon juice. Spoon apple mixture into pie pan and dot with butter. Cut remaining crust into strips; arrange in a lattice design over top of pie. For crunch topping, combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Using a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over top of crust. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes, or until crust and topping are golden brown.

Paula's Perfect Pie Crust

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2008
Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 30 min
Level: Easy

Serves: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold
12 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the shortening and break it up with your hands as you start to coat it all up with the flour. Add the cold butter cubes and work it into the flour with your hands or a pastry cutter. Work it quickly, so the butter doesn't get too soft, until the mixture is crumbly, like very coarse cornmeal. Add the ice water, a little at a time, until the mixture comes together forming a dough. Bring the dough together into a ball.
When it comes together stop working it otherwise the dough will get over-worked and tough. Divide the dough in half and flatten it slightly to form a disk shape. Wrap each disk in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. On a floured surface roll each disk out into a 10 to 11-inch circle to make a 9-inch pie.

*I made this pie today for my family's Christmas dinner. We have yet to eat it, but it smelled divine. Unfortunately, Ben and I had to leave for church before it was done and I had to leave it all to Alex. When Alex discovered it wasn't browning very much, he decided to turn the broiler on. This is my first pie (unless you count jello pie with cookie crust), but I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea to broil it! He only burnt small parts that he tried to scrape off before I got home. Ah well. What are you gonna do? The guy has only gotten like 8 hours of sleep the last several days.

Meal Plan Monday

I'm home with the munchkin all week! I did a lot of cleaning today so we'd have plenty of time for fun and cooking. Here's the plan for this week:

Monday: Leftover chili and cornbread (slight alteration to last week's plan since I didn't think to thaw the chicken in time)
Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner (Fiber One pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit)
Wednesday: Grilled sandwiches and/or soup
Thursday: Christmas eve dinner at Alex's parents' house
Friday: Brunch pizza for breakfast (a new Christmas family tradition, perhaps?); Christmas lunch at my mom's - bring apple pie for dessert (my first time making a crust all by myself...think I may have a back-up store crust just in case!)
Saturday: Some kind of ham/bean soup
Sunday: Roasted garlic chicken, mashed potatoes (Yes, I've had this on the list for like 3 weeks...maybe this Sunday I'll actually do it!)

The mother-load

The mother-load of all non-cook freezer cooking recipes. I don't have time to explore right now because I'm "working", but will check them out this weekend! I feel giddy.

Meal Plan Monday!

You'll see lots of repeaters from previous weeks because we either had too many leftovers from earlier days, I was too exhausted to cook, or we got take-out...by the way, I am in love with KFC's grilled chicken. It's fantastic!

Monday: Lemon Olive Chicken, rice, veggies
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Mexican Casserole, fruit
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Turkey burgers, tater tots
Saturday: Boys fend for themselves since I have a tea party with my neice, sister, and Mom followed by my Posse's Christmas dinner.
Sunday: Roasted Chicken (I'm using the crispy garlic recipe I posted on here earlier), mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies (maybe squash?)

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Espresso-Chocolate Shortbread CookiesAdapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours

Makes 32 cookies

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon boiling water

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate (plain, or a toffee variety), finely chopped, or 3/4 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips (used Hershey's milk chocolate with toffee and almonds)

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

1. Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water, and set aside to cool to tepid.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and espresso, then reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it disappears into the dough. Don’t work the dough much once the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chopped chocolate with a sturdy rubber spatula.

3. Using the spatula, transfer the soft, sticky dough to a gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Put the bag on a flat surface, leaving the top open, and roll the dough into a 9 x 10 1/2 inch rectangle that’s 1/4 inch thick. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so it doesn’t cause creases. When you get the right size and thickness, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, or for up to 2 days.

4. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

5. Put the plastic bag on a cutting board and slit it open. Turn the firm dough out onto the board (discard the bag) and, using a ruler as a guide and a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2-inch squares. Transfer the squares to the baking sheets and carefully prick each one twice with a fork, gently pushing the tines through the cookies until they hit the sheet.

6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be very pale–they shouldn’t take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack.

7. If you’d like, dust the cookies with confectioners’ sugar while they are still hot. Cool the cookies to room temperature before serving.

*I made these for the first time this morning for my 2nd annual cookie exchange party (at 4 PM today!). I don't know how you could do this without the bag/refrigerate technique. It made it so much easier to deal with the sticky dough. They turned out delicious! I love how the espresso and the chocolate toffe bits give them a little bit of texture. The 2 sticks of butter make them absolutely decadent!

Roasted Chicken with Garlic, Garlic, and MORE Garlic

Yet another recipe I want to try with one of the two chickens currently in our big freezer. I'm interested in getting a nice cripsy skin on my next roasted chicken. Hopefully this recipe will get me there!

Crispy Roasted Garlic Chicken Recipe
(Original recipe, with method adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients:

•1 (3-4 pound) whole chicken (giblets removed and discarded, if included)
•10 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
•2 Tbsp. butter, melted
•salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:

Thoroughly rinse the outside and inside of the chicken. Gently pat try with paper towels.

Using your fingers, carefully lift up the skin on top of the chicken (near the neck) and pull up gently. With your other hand, gently separate the skin from the breast and thigh meat. Then take half of the garlic and stuff it in between the skin and meat, so that it is fairly evenly spread out. Take the remainder of the garlic and spread it all over the cavity inside the chicken.

Then take the butter and baste the entire outside of the chicken. Sprinkle generously with freshly ground pepper and salt.

(Optional: Cover and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.)

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat to 450 degrees. Place foil loosely in large roasting pan. Flip chicken so breast side faces down, tucking the wings under, and set V-rack in roasting pan on top of foil. Roast chicken 25 minutes.

Remove roasting pan from oven. Using 2 large wads of paper towels, rotate chicken breast-side up. Baste briefly with pan juices or additional melted butter. Return to oven and continue to roast until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 135 degrees, 15 to 25 minutes.

Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. Continue to roast until skin is golden brown, crisp, and instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees and 175 degrees in thickest part of thigh, 10 to 20 minutes.

Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Carve and serve immediately.

Possible Lunch Recipe

I'm posting this recipe so that I'll remember to try it later! I think it would make a nice lunch dish with some chicken.

Sesame Noodles Recipe(Adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
1 lb. (16 oz.) linguine or spaghetti, cooked according to instructions
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger)
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 teaspoon hot chile sauce or hot chili oil
1/2 cup green onions, sliced thin
lots of freshly ground black pepper

Method:
To make dressing, combine soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili sauce and canola oil in a small bowl until combined.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, and toss with the dressing. Sprinkle with green onions and toss.
Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Ali’s Tip:
I opted to make these without peanut butter or peanuts this time around. But if you’d like to turn these into “peanut-sesame noodles”, just add 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter into the dressing. And then if you’d like, add in some extra peanuts with the green onions at the end.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs

1 can pumpkin

2/3 cup water

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves

Cream sugar and oil. Add eggs and pumpkin. Add dry ingredients alternately with water. Add to greased and floured 8 or 9 inch pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*This is Mom's recipe (not sure what the source is) for pumpkin bread...we had lots of this growing up. I don't think Ben has ever had pumpkin bread. He's in for a treat tonight!

Meal Plan Monday (er...Saturday)

So I was making my meal plan this afternoon and thought, hey, Ben's quiety eating some Cheez-its. Why not post it now?

Monday: Chimichangas, beans

Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs, veggies

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Lemon Olive Chicken and rice

Friday: Leftovers or turkey burgers and veggies

Saturday: Cookies, snacks, and some kind of Christmas cocktail because it's Cookie Party 2009! (Ben will be at Nana and Opa's...Alex will be anywhere but here)

Sunday: Breakfast for dinner

French Onion Beef Soup

This is a slightly altered version from Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil with a pat of butter

1 cup sliced yellow onion

1 cup sliced red onion

2 leeks (white part only) rinsed well (also soak in cold water to get the grime off) and chopped

1 lb beef (can use steak or stew meat)

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups beef broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Baguette sliced in 1-inch slices

1 cup shredded swiss or mozzarella (or a combo of both)

Heat the oil and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, leeks, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. While onions are cooking, heat some oil in another pan and cook lightly seasoned (salt/pepper) beef until just browned. Add the broth, beef, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes (or more if you have time). Remove the bay leaves and add any additional salt/pepper you'd like.

When soup is almost done, take baguette pieces and top with cheese. Put under the broiler to melt. Top each bowl of soup with baguettes and enjoy!

*We love this one. I could so do without the meat, but Alex is insistent! It does make it more of a full meal.

Gold Medal Sizzling Fajitas

Gold Medal Sizzling Fajitas
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

8 servings

Ingredients
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash hot sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds meat (boneless, skinless chicken breast, skirt steak or peeled and deveined shrimp)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced lengthwise
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 lime, juiced, for topping
Sour cream, for topping
Salsa, for topping
Guacamole, for topping
Cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping

Directions
In a heavy duty resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, hot sauce, salt, pepper and your choice of meat. Seal and toss the bag around to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator. *Cook's Note: 15 minutes for shrimp, 20 minutes for chicken and 1 hour for skirt steak.

Heat the outside grill or a large indoor grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and place it on the hot grill, discard the marinade. Cook chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side, skirt steak about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare and about 2 minutes for shrimp. Slice the chicken and steak into strips if you are using.

In a large skillet heat up the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and fry the onions and bell peppers until crisp-tender with some salt and pepper.

Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven with the servers for 15 minutes.
Serve sizzling immediately with the warm tortillas and other accompaniments.

*I have another similar Alton Brown recipe for fajitas that we've also used, but just with steak. I'll post it in the future. Both recipes are delicious!