Random Fact - Eli wins the internets!

Eli's post on Tres Leches has the most all times views on this here little blog. I think that's a sign. We should all try to make it! Beth, Louise - project for Chicago visits!


That is all.

I bregrudgingly present: my weekly menu

This week, looking at food online just isn't interesting. I'm totally uninspired and feel like eating mac and cheese all week long. Which reminds me. Lou - you owe us your mac and cheese recipe!

I'm forcing myself though because we're just coming off of a weekend out and about, and are going to be traveling a lot in April. Need to save calories and money by eating in. So, blah blah blah, here's the menu.

By the way- We should have a Sunday night report card. I guess first we need goals and objectives. Ok, my goal this week is to cook/eat-in 6 times and go to the gym 4 times. I'll announce my grades on Sunday. What do yall think??(Right before hitting publish, I revised my gym goal down from 5 to 4. No judging.)

Mon- Cauliflower Soup and leftover Coconut-Basil Chicken Curry
Tues- Spicy Orange Chicken
Wed- Fajitas. I haven't made these in years, but used to all the time in college. I'll post the recipe after I make them.
Thurs- Yogurt Marinated Chicken with Greek sauce and pita
Friday- Baked Shrimp in tomato and feta sauce

Pickled Onions

I apologize in advanced for the vagueness of this recipe. DEAL WITH IT! Just kidding. It's incredibly easy and fluid and substitutions are welcomed and sometimes necessary and that's ok.

You need an old jam or mason jar with its lid. You also need to make these about a day in advance. They stay good in the fridge forever. They're pickled. Indestructible!

This recipe depends on the size of your jar. You're going to fill it all up.

* Onions, quartered and sliced
* Habaneros
* Apple cider vinegar
* Garlic, minced

- Prep your onions and peppers.
- Add the onions, peppers, and garlic into the jar
- Cover all the way to the top with apple cider vinegar
- Put lid on the jar
- Use the jar as your maracas and dance to La Cucaracha
- Set out in the sun for a couple of hours *you can also microwave for 2 minutes (without lid) or store it in a warm place (above your toaster) for a bit. Or skip the warming phase all together. I do that sometimes too.
- Store in the fridge

Some notes:
1. This is honestly what I do. I use an old Bonne Maman jelly jar, so it's not very big: Cut up one onion, add about a teaspoon of minced garlic, fill to the top with whatever vinegar I have on hand, and add about 10 dashes of hot habanero sauce. Then I leave out on the counter near my toaster for a couple of hours. Feels warm there. Then I put in the fridge and use whenever.

2. Like I said, I have used habanero hot sauce in the past and it works fine! If you need these onions and don't have peppers on hand, don't sweat. Hot sauce also works.

3. I don't always have apple cider vinegar. In fact, I almost always use white vinegar. Any type works.

4. I haven't added amounts because it depends on how big your jar is, how spicy you like it, and many other personal preferences. Perhaps a good place to start is 1:1:1. One onion, one habanero, one garlic clove. Adjust accordingly if you like spicy.
5. Some people add sugar. I never have, but some do.

6. When you're done with the onions, SAVE THE LEFTOVER VINEGAR! That is deliciously pickled and flavored. Just cut up some new onions, peppers, and garlic and top off with more vinegar if needed.

Life.is.good. A pork shoulder recipe

So much to celebrate! Beth is engaged (yay!) Louise is back from Africa (yay!) Elisa is back from Aruba tonight (yay!) and the cat is out of the bag on a surprise with Cristina so I don't have to pretend to be good at secrets anymore (yay!). All the stars seem to have aligned with my loved ones and that makes me happy.

In not-so-yay! news, we put an offer on a house and should hear back any second on whether it's ours to keep or just another heartbreak. I have a feeling that they'll pass, but we're hoping for a miracle.

On to the recipe, which was indescribably good. There are no words. There is only a picture of a hunk of meat.



Pork shoulder was on sale the other day at Peapod. I didn't have any plans to use it, so I threw it in the freezer and forgot about it for a while. When I decided to cook it, it took about two full days to thaw. That's a lot of meat so it just needed some time. I popped it in around noon on Sunday, and let it cook all day until dinner time. Definitely a good recipe for lazy weekends when you're not planning on going out or if you're working from home during the week. Below is the loose recipe I followed. I'm sure a pepsi can or two thrown in would be amazing too. I'll try that next time.

* Pork shoulder
* Minced garlic
* Olive oil
* 1 small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
* 3 lemons' juices

- Preheat oven to 450*
- In a bowl or a jar, mixed together garlic, olive oil, and peppers (I was at the end of my minced garlic jar, so I used the remaining garlic and it's juices and threw the other ingredients into the jar, shook it up, and voila!)
- In a dutch oven, place the pork shoulder, fat side up
- Pour the marinade over the pork. Get all up in its bidness. Don't be shy. Really rub it in.
- Squeeze the lemon juice over the pork.
- Pop the pork in the oven, sans lid, and let it cook on high heat for 20 minutes.
- Drop the temp to 250*, put the lid on the dutch oven, and let it fly. I cooked it for about 5.5 hours and it was perfect. No peeking.

We shredded it up and ate tacos - corn tortillas, greek yogurt, pickled onions (recipe to follow). I can see this going in many different directions though. Put some bbq sauce on it and make pulled pork sandwiches. It made a crazy amount of pork, so either call your friends or be prepared for leftovers. Beth, stock up on eggs.

Turkey meatloaf sammy

I made turkey meatloaf last night and it was so good that we needed to eat the leftovers for dinner again. We never do that! Leftovers are strictly for lunches (or 1am snacks in Ryan's case) in this house. So I was thinkin and thinkin about what to do with this meatloaf besides a regular sub. And then BAM! Best idea ever...

- Leftover turkey meatloaf
- Rye bread
- Spicy mustard
- Swiss cheese (freshly sliced, not in a plastic package)
- Caramelized onion

We assembled this goodness and panini pressed it and O. M. G.

Ryan made an Asian cole slaw to go with it. But my sammy was the star of the show.

Updated: Chicken Sausage Pasta Bake

This chicken sausage pasta bake has been in the rotation for years. I honestly don't remember where the recipe came from or when we first made it. A google search led me to this Ra-Ray recipe which could be it. As I've mentioned before, it's one of our trusted go-tos and it makes so much, the leftovers are great to have around. 


Because of the busy week I wanted something super easy, and I realized I had on hand all the ingredients for the Chicken Sausage Pasta Bake, except for the ricotta. I did have goat cheese leftover from a long time (I'm to embarrassed to say how long ago, but the expiration date was still good!!). It was so much better with goat cheese. It turned it into something different, and a little high brow, even? If casseroles can be high brow.... Whatever I love casseroles. Just keep me away from the mega-Walmarts if that's where my love of the casseroles will take me. They're just so good. So go make yo'self some. 


PS- HAPPY BETHDAY EVE!!!


Below again is the recipe and I've added in the goat cheese substitution. 


* One onion, chopped
* One bell pepper, chopped (I use green bc they're more nutritious, but red are sweeter)
* One package of chicken sausage like Aidelle's, cut into bite size pieces
* One can of diced tomatoes (I use the kind with peppers)
* Red pepper flakes, to taste (I use a lot)
* Ricotta cheese, approx 1/2 cup OR 1 package of crumbled goat cheese
* One package of short pasta like Fusili
* Parmesan cheese for topping

- Preheat oven to Broil
- Put water to boil and cook pasta per packaging instructions to al dente
- Saute onion and bell peppers until soft
- Add chicken sausage. Cook until heated through
- Add in tomatoes and red pepper flakes and stir to heat through
- Add in ricotta/goat cheese and stir to combine
- Prep baking dish with cooking spray
- Pour in al dente pasta, then cover with the sausage/tomato/cheese mixture, and top off with parmesan cheese
- Broil uncovered for 10 minutes

Weekly Menus - Week of 2/27

Hey hey hey! I was cheated out of a real weekend. I was in DC, and weather delays didn't put me back in Chicago until around 11pm on Friday. Amelia was sick all day Saturday and Sunday and only now is starting to look better. All led to a pretty restless weekend. I demand a re-do!

Anyway, the bar is set pretty low this week for my kitchen. Will is traveling so between that and class, I'll wing it most nights. Below is what I have going on though:

Monday - Leftover Shepherd's Pie with Cauliflower soup
Tuesday - Winging it. Probably Veggie Burgers
Wednesday - Chicken Sausage and Peppers Pasta Bake (an oldie, but a goodie)
Thursday - Winging it. Probably leftover pasta bake
Friday - Homemade Tilapia Fish sticks
Saturday - Date Night! Going to The Publican with Will. Can't wait!

Papi's Skillet Steak with Repochetas

Hi Everyone!

I have finally added the steak and repochetas dinner my dad taught me. Hopefully I can explain everything right!

*WARNING* Contents may contain high amounts of butter :)

Part I: Skillet Steak

First things first, you need to go to the supermarket/butcher and get some beef tenderloin. But you don't want just any beef tenderloin... you want a center cut beef tenderloin with the side muscle cut off. Be very specific because they will look at you and think they can "screw you" as my dad says. They did it to my mom apparently. Picture of what you're looking for below. (minus the string... you dont need string)

Get as many as you like -one that size will feed two easily-

Rest of the ingredients: (No measurements listed because dad doesn't speak in measurements)

- Salt and Pepper

- Butter (at least a quarter stick)

That's it!

Directions

1. Wash your hands (you use your hands a lot)

2. Get one of your sharpest knives and butterfly the steak. The way my dad showed me is like this: Lay the beef down, put your knife on the side where the steak was cut (not the round side), push the knife horizontally against the beef while you do slow cutting motions, the beef will "roll-out," it should be less than 1 inch think but not flimsy thin. (closest video of what it's like below- thanks Michelle! - disregard the fat cutting off part and the fact that it's pork.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggLP60GMXeQ

3. Pound down the steak with your fists to tenderize the meat.

4. The steak should fit in your standard skillet so if you have to cut yours in half (which I do every time) do it now.

5. Grab butter and pat it onto the steak (both sides) - use as much as you want but know that the secret to my dad's steak is a lot of butter

6. Pepper both sides of the steak. If you used a lot of butter, use a lot of pepper.

7. Place steak on skillet and cook on Medium heat. Flip to other side when needed.

8. Use whatever method you normally use to see if steak is ready. (thermometer, fingerrareness test, guesstimation, etc.) I'm pretty bad at this part and just hope it's done, slice the thickest part and if it's not ready I throw it back on the skillet.

9. Remove steak from skillet and set aside. Finish second steak half if you have it.

10. Salt steak sides. (Again, as much as you want)

11. **Your choice step** This is where my dad will use the leftover juices from the skillet, add a little more butter (of course), brown it, and then pour that over finished steaks. Because everything can use more butter... However, you don't need to do this. It tastes fine without it.

And you're done! (Finished product below)

Part II: Repochetas (aka Nicaraguan Quesadillas)

Ingredients

- Smoked provolone

- Corn tortillas

- Vegetable oil

Directions

1. Lay out 1 corn tortilla and over it place some smoked provolone, cover with another corn tortilla (literally, like you're making a quesadilla)

2. Place repocheta on a skillet that has a few dolops of vegetable oil (not a lot, we're not deep frying it..)

3. Once cheese has started to melt and the bottom tortilla has a golden brown rim and patches, flip to other side.

4. Once both sides look the same, remove from skillet and set aside.

Make as many as you want!

(Finished product below)

You can serve with rice and veggies and if you want a sauce for your steak- chimichurri and a spicy vinegar taste the best.

Enjoy!

Poblano and Mushroom Tacos

MMmmMMMMmMMmmMmm i just had such a good dinner! i'm trying to do more meat-free meals and it's NOT EASY. but so far today I've been meat free. breakfast was granola, blackberries, almond milk. Lunch was a toasty tortilla, hummus, and tabbouli. and here's dinner:


Poblano, Mushroom, Onion tacos
- 2 poblanos (seeded) sliced
- 3 oz mushrooms
- 1/2 onion
- 1 can fat free refried black beans (see here)
- 1 tsp cumin
- cilantro
- tortillas
Optional: (I opted out to be supa low fat)
crumbled cotija, avocado, sour cream, tomatoes

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add poblano chile, red onion, and mushrooms; sauté mixture until brown, about 7 minutes. Mix in ground cumin. Season to taste with salt.
While this is cooking, heat the beans in a sauce pan.
Toast tortillas on burner. Spread beans on tortilla. Spoon mixture onto beans. Top w/ cilantro. ENJOY.

Weekly Menu 2

Yayyy LOUISEEEEEE'S BIRTHDAYYYYYY!!!!!!!! Happy, happy day :)

I really need to go get Hunger Games from Melissa's house. Everyone loves them!

Here's my menu for the week:

Sunday: Pecan/jalapeno stuffed chicken with salad
Monday: Work happy hour at my house. I'm making crunchy chicken bites (panko and pecan crust) and bruschetta. The bruschetta is grilled bread, then a pancetta/white bean spread that I made yesterday, then tomatoes/basil with smoked salt sprinkled on top. YUM. Other people will bring apps too. No real dinner.
Tuesday: Greek night! Greek chicken (or possibly baked falafel), Greek salad, tabbouli, hummus, pita, tzatziki
Wednesday: Going to Dock n Roll for lobster rolls
Thursday: Tom Kha-Gai soup (I will use chicken instead of tofu)
Friday: Out for dinner before a bday partayyy

Greek night might get scrapped for Family Dinner with taylor and melissa b/c taylor leaves soon to go back and record in Nashville. We've done whole fish on the grill a lot w/ them and I looove that. So fun/easy/fresh.

Weekly Menus!

First things first - Happy Birthday Lou!! Hope your day is filled with love and packing for Africa :)

Second, best news ever. My sisters are reading Hunger Games and are loving it. I love sharing books and hearing that people like them. Reading makes me happy, so it feels like passing on some happiness.

Finally, I took a sewing class that was so much fun and informative. I can't wait to keep practicing. Here's the finished product. It's just a 16x16 pillow, so pretty basic. But there's a hidden zipper, and I hope to keep practicing so I don't lose my skills. In a few months if I'm still going at it, perhaps I'll treat myself to a sewing machine.

And so without further ado, here's my menu for this week. I've learned that I really only cook 4 times. The rest of the week, we either eat leftovers or we eat out/order in. I think a good strategy is to plan on 4, but I keep things in the freezer (eg- meats that were on sale or *gasp* frozen pizzas) that I can whip up if we're staying in and cooking. So here are my meals for the week:

Monday - Zuppa Toscana
Tuesday - Buttermilk Roasted Chicken with steamed carrots with ginger butter
Wednesday - Shepherd's Pie (it's been a while!)
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - White fish special
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Steak and Sage-butter sweet potatoes

Side note- We're having brunch on Saturday with a couple that we met at Bubbles! So excited the classes introduced us to people!

Spicy Stewed Beef Review

 

Picture from PWs Recipe - link at the bottom

How could you not want to devour this immediately?? It was just as good as the picture too. A few things:

- I used short ribs because they were on sale. We essentially had 4 strips of boneless short ribs, and it perfectly fed the two of us.

- Cooking time ended up being approx 4 hours. I think this is a case of the longer the better. Just make sure heat is very low. It was one of the easiest recipes, though!

- The chipotle peppers are SPICY! I added about 2 tbsp of sugar towards the end of the cooking time to tone down the heat a bit. Eating it with the cheddar grits also made it a perfect spicy/creamy balance.

- Apart from the oil used to sear the meat at the very beginning, this dish is pretty fat free. Granted, the cheddar grits are not fat free (cheese, I added some butter, half and half) but I felt ok with indulging in the grits.

- Speaking of the grits, it was my first time making them. They didn't look as voluminous as they do in PWs picture. Mine were more liquidy. I'll have to give them another shot because there were delicious!

Full recipe over at our friend PWs: Spicy Stewed Beef with Creamy Cheddar Grits

Weekly Menu. Off to a bad start.

Hellooooo! Hope everyone had good weekends! This week is already off to an unproductive start. No gym, no cooking, no leaving the apartment except to get bagels. I think I need a juice cleanse. Anyway, provided the rest of the week makes a turn for the better... this is my food plan! I like posting because during weeks that I'm in a rut I can look back at these menus for inspiration.

Monday: Delivery from the Chicken Hut. Ridiculously good and fast rotisserie chicken. Will and I sit at the table and don't speak for 10 minutes while we devour an entire bird.
Tuesday: Valenduck! Dinner out for our annual Peking duck feast at Sun Wah BBQ
Wednesday: Salmon and Brussel Sprouts. I'm trying to eat more salmon. I've heard it's good for your skin, but I'm starting to feel boring.
Thursday: Spicy Stewed Beef with Cheddar Grits. I never made this this weekend, so I gotta do it. Looks so good and I don't want the ingredients to go bad. Nothing overcooks my grits more than letting food go to waste. (See what I did there?)
Friday: Dinner out with my friend Julie! Can't wait.
Saturday: Zuppa Toscana
Sunday: Spaghetti and Meatballs. The frozen kind from Costco.

Your turn! xo

Cauliflower Soup version 2.0

I've been making this cauliflower soup for years and years. Generally it's great, sometimes it's not as awesome, yet I still always come back to this recipe because it's just so easy. And really, you can substitute any vegetable and still get a great soup. But I think I just hit this recipe's sweet spot.

I took a page from the white sauce recipe Eli posted last year. I added just a splash of sherry and some white pepper and it has made ALL the difference. It's so delicious. The recipe is now:

Cauliflower Soup
* Shallot or small onion, diced
* Garlic clove, finely diced
* One head of cauliflower, chopped
* Approximately 6 cups of chicken broth
* Splash of sherry
* Generous amounts of white pepper (might want to start off not so generously, and adjust on taste)
* Salt to taste

- Saute onions in a bit of olive oil until soft, but not browned
- Add garlic and stir until fragrant, do not let brown
- Add cauliflower and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then simmer until cauliflower is super tender
- Puree as if your life depended on it. Gets rid of the gritty feeling.
(*If you're feeling naughty, which I often am, I add a pat of butter before pureeing. Just a pat is all you need to make this feel decadent. Plus I rationalize it because this is virtually a fat-free recipe anyways. A pat of butter never hurt anyone. Don't judge me.)
- Stir in the splash of sherry and white pepper
- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Weekly Menus. Let's do it!

Oh heyyyy. Heyyyy! I feel totally confident that I'm back in the weekly menu planning. I dropped the ball for the last 9 months-ish. But we're back! I'll post, and then you guys post. I'm circling around the same go-to dishes these days, so I need yalls inspiration. Here is what I've got going on this week:


Sun: Will made the Ranch Chili . It was bomb.
Mon: Out for a work event.
Tues: Roasted Salmon with goat cheese and balsamic reduction.
Wed: Coconut Basil Chicken Curry
Thurs: Roasted Chicken and potatoes
Fri: Leftovers or out
Sat: Spicy Stewed Beef with Creamy Cheddar Grits. PW. Love her.

What are you guys doing??