Roll With it Baby...

So, there is a problem with recipe surfing. Sometimes, when you have surfed several recipes on an item, say veal stew meat, you get confused and forget cooking times. I spent a great deal of time yesterday perfecting the perfect combination of veal stew recipes. Cara’s Cravings would be the base, and I would add and subtract other stuff.

I really liked her use of lemon and not wine. I LOVE to cook with wine, Mark on the other hand, always the gracious husband will usually curl his nose and say, “Oh, you used wine.” Not the response I am looking for. I, on the other hand love to use wine when cooking. I love the tangy, rich and deep taste it adds to a dish. However, I am cooking for others not always myself.

I digress. So, today at 3:30 I went to look up the base recipe and low and behold it was a 6 hour crock pot version. Whoops. Veal is defrosted, what to do? Thank you HEB quick-sale beef pinwheels stuffed with feta and spinach.

Defrost beef: Check; Veggie: LOTS of fresh spinach; Starch? , I just happened to have purchased a box of Mac and Cheese for the kids at random. (Pantry staple)  HELLO SUPER MAMA!

Since Mac and Cheese from a box is NOT gluten free, I abstained. The kids on the other hand, thought it was Christmas dinner. Every once in a while, I find digression is fun.

HEB Beef Pinwheels Stuffed with Feta and Spinach

Grill on George Forman or regular grill. Babysit till done, about 5-7 minutes.

Sautéed Spinach

1 pound fresh spinach washed ends trimmed

3-4-5-6-7 garlic chopped (Stop chopping garlic when you get tired)

7-8 dried Japanese chilies chopped.

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Heat wok till searing hot. Add garlic and chilies; cook till crispy, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and sesame oil. Toss till spinach is wilted.  

Box Macaroni – Nuf said.

The end result of this shifting of dinners was GOLD. Everyone loved everything and I win. The kids did not eat the spinach. I did not offer it to them. There are some things I like spicy and do not want to alter for their delicate palate. They got raw chopped red bell. 

Veal stew tomorrow! I promise.

George Forman ROCKS!

Yum

Fresh Spinach

Cooking Garlic and Peppers

Helping Mom

Spinach Stir-fry

I LIKE dinner. (Usually hates dinner but eats)

I always eat whatever Mommy makes with a smile.

Coming Soon

Sarah Hart called me today and gave me some great feedback about the blog. Specifically, she gave me ideas for future posts. They were brilliant! I have a sneaking suspicion that the envelope, I wrote said ideas on, will travel from the desk, to the counter, to my bedroom, back to the desk and eventually end up in the trash or stashed into some random opening in my bookshelf. Instead I will write ideas on blog thereby killing two birds with one stone. I can dispose of agonizing envelope and hold myself accountable to writing future posts.

Please comment and let me know what YOU would like to read about.

Envelope Future Blog  ideas:

Good Bones - A discussion about how to pick recipes online or in cookbooks; How to tailor recipes to your ingredient list, cooking skill and time frame. 

Kitchen Staples - What consistent ingredients do I purchase every-time I run out, even if I do not have a specific recipe in mind?  What can you find on a daily basis in my freezer, refrigerator and pantry. What key ingredients do I think EVERY person needs in their kitchen to cook on the fly.

Leftover ReCreations - How to turn yesterdays leftovers into today's new creations.

Gluetn Free - A discussion about my journey; commercially the options are getting better, but the general public are still uneducated insensitive to food allergy ; how it is not as difficult or limiting as you might think!

How I Shop - My mind and budget in the grocery store. How do I feed my family on budget serving gourmet and gluten free.

Favorite Appetizers - I cannot WAIT to write this one, I will be gleaning from many sources, as this is my favorite thing to eat, period.

So, there you have it, the future. Let me know what interests you. These will all take time and some research, so in the meantime keep your eye out for how my veal stew turns out tonight.

Arise from the Dead and Make: Gluten Free/Dairy Free Italian Turkey Sausage Pasta with Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette

No big deal, it has been 5 years since my last post, lets just pick up where we left off.

Holy Mother of all things good to cook. I hit one out of the park. I thought this would be good, I had no idea it would GREAT, like no leftovers great. (I would have doubled had I known)

One of my very favorite things to do is purchase quick-sale or reduced meats. I know there are a few categories of people that find that practice abhorrent. I, on the other hand, have cooked many meals that I could not otherwise afford to eat using this method, and I can add other fun stuff when I get a deal on things I purchase all the time. We have never gotten sick, and I always cook by the date it recommends, even if that means cooking it that night. Germaphobe category people, avoid this practice.
The real reason I like it? The thrill of the hunt. I then go home, look up dozens of recipes online and proceed to mash them up into what I think is the best flavor combination and based on my ingredient list. What to look for when surfing? Recipes with good bones. Uber Meal Planners, another category of people, this practice may not be for you.
If the meat is super weird, and you are a HEB zealot like me, ask the chefs at the Cooking Connection. They always have great ideas and good tips.
Side note: I do have my limits to "super weird". Yesterday took a big, I mean BIG step away when the reduced for quick sale item was sweetbreads..

So, this brings us to dinner tonight. I bought Italian turkey sausage links for $2 yesterday at HEB. All HEB turkey sausage made in house is MSG-free. After much perusal, and very little options online, this is what I came up with.

PREP!

Gluten Free Turkey Sausage Pasta

1 pound of Italian Turkey Sausage Links
3 Cups of Chicken Broth
1 Red Bell Pepper cut as strips
1/2 red onion cut as strips
4 cloves garlic crushed
3 heads of Broccoli, cut florets from stem
1 can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil (Fresh would be AMAZING too)
salt and pepper to taste, be generous.
1 box of gluten free pasta. (shells, rigatoni, macaroni shells) cooked to instructions.
1 cup Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette (Recipe to follow)


Place sausage in crock pot on high. Add enough chicken broth to cover. Slow cook for 4 hours. You can do this step ahead if needed.

When 4 hours are up, remove sausage and cut into rings. Reserve chicken broth for later use. Heat dutch oven with a few tablespoons of olive oil, when oil is hot add sausage rings. Cook until they are a nice crispy brown. Remove and set aside. You can eliminate step one and two and put sausage on grill. The added steps adds juice to the meat and insures no drying.

Add a bit more oil and add onion, garlic and red bell. Cook at a medium heat for about 15 minutes. You want them to cook slow and long so they are soft.



Add broccoli and turn up the heat. After you have sauteed the broccoli for a few minutes, 3-5, add a few tablespoons of chicken broth and a few tablespoons of Vinaigrette. Cover and let steam for 3-5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add canned tomatoes, oregano and basil. Deglaze pan and let simmer for 3 min. Add reserved veggies, meat and 1/2 cup of Vinaigrette. Toss and heat, add cooked noodles and toss more. Add more Vinaigrette if you feel you do not have enough sauce.
Yummy, cheap, gluten- and dairy-free, definitely NOT flavor free

Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup Cooking Sherry
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lime
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic
1/2 finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon oregano
1 pinch white sugar (optional)
1/2 cup olive oil
Blend the red wine vinegar, honey, mustard, lime juice, pepper, salt, paprika, garlic, onion, oregano, and sugar together in a blender until thoroughly mixed. Drizzle the olive oil into the mixture while blending on low. Chill at least 1 hour before serving

*This makes TONS. Use as marinade for fish, shrimp chicken or beef. Or, novel idea, salad dressing.

Breakfast with the Kids 2

If there is something that brings my children joy, it is helping me "cook". Here is a great image of Sunday morning. We were cooking French toast, on real french bread by the way, and Eggs Florentine! Yum, yum. I have had to alter my cooking in the morning in order to allow small hands and clumsy arms to help. It is great. I feel like a wonderful mother on these days. They are in Zen states when I let them climb on the stool. I am happy to have them, my darlings.

Not the best picture of me, but who cares, it is about my bambinos and cooking! Don't you love Lola in the tights? They are for 3-6 months, she LOVES them. So, what the heck? It is Sunday morning and it is not like we are expecting the president or anything.

Love you all.

Chipotle Shrimp = A party at Laura's

There are 3 things I am fairly obsessed with right now; Rick Bayless, chipotle and shrimp. Rick, my man, the man, has never steered me wrong when creating something out of his cookbooks. His brilliant, vibrant recipes are always amazing and fairly easy to prepare. I rarely have to buy something in the ingredient list that is not already a staple in my kitchen.

As far as chipotle, if you have yet to dive into the craze, please, I beg of you, join the crowd. There is a good reason EVERYTHING these days is chipotle. The rich spice and tangy burn are heaven to the taste buds. Of course if you have an aversion to spicy foods, this recipe is definitely not for you. But, I have found when making other recipes with chipotle you can use the adobo sauce and it still gives you the rich chipotle flavor minus the heat.

Shrimp, well, that is a life long obsession!

This past weekend Laura's sisters and mother came into town. She called me days in advance to talk about the menu for Saturday night's get-together. She had already scoped out the chipotle shrimp recipe from Rick's Mexican Everyday cookbook. So, while on the phone with her, we both opened our identical cookbooks and reviewed options. She decided to make Green Chile Chicken Soft Tacos as an accompaniment; the shrimp was to be the crowning glory of the night.
So Saturday night came, we got a late start, but that was not to detour her, the shrimp would get made! Shrimp were ready for preparation, everybody was starving (and a little tipsy); when she went into the pantry to get the chipotle chiles...they were gone. Turns out I had ganked them from her about a month ago. (Yikes, sorry Lar.)

A look of devastation crossed her face, what were we to do? There had been so much build-up about the chipotle shrimp, so much anticipation of the dish; it was if the entire night was pulsing toward the heat of the peppers. Well, as all good new boyfriends do, Tom came to our rescue! Quick as lighting, he hopped in his car and jetted to WalMart at 9:30 at night for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Props Tom, you saved the day. After his swift return, as about as swift as one can be at WalMart, Laura finally finishes the dish.

It was all we had anticipated and more, so much more. The flavors satisfied our craving for newness and for comfort. Laura was able to share her culinary genius with her family and we were blessed to partake in not just a meal, but also a work of art.

This is the first of my blog recipes I have not actually made myself. But I trust Laura as I do myself in the kitchen. Besides, all that were present that night feel as if we were in some way participants in the nights events.

The shrimp is spicy hot, the kind of hot that leaves the corners of your mouth burning just a bit. Worth every single bite, and 10 more if you have enough shrimp for everyone.

Rick suggests you serve over white rice. I suggest you serve with a very cold very dark ale!

Chipotle Shrimp

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice (preferable fire-roasted), drained
2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo
1-tablespoon chipotle canning sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press
About 1 ½ cups fish or chicken broth or water
Salt
1 to 1 ¼ pounds medium-large shrimp (21 to 25 shrimp per pound) peeled and deveined, tail on if you wish
About ¼ cup roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish

1. Pour the drained tomatoes into a blender. Add the chipotle chiles and chipotle canning sauce. Process until smooth.

2. In a very large skillet heat the oil over medium. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute. Pour in the tomato mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Add enough broth or water to achieve a light tomato sauce consistency. Taste and season highly with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon.

3. Add the shrimp to the pan. Cook stirring nearly constantly, until the shrimp are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in a little more broth or water if the sauce has thickened too much.
4. Scoop out onto dinner plates and sprinkle with cilantro.

Breakfast with the Kids

As an adult, I have never been a breakfast maker. I say maker because I LOVE to go out and have breakfast. To be served eggs, sausage, and pancakes at some un-godly hour of the day is luxurious beyond imagination. A treat that is usually only worthy when out of town.
As a parent, as with all aspects of life, things change. I now find myself wakened at 6:30-7:00 am by 2 hungry toddlers asking for eggs, wowa joes (that is Lolanese for cereal), and bacon. I pry myself out of bed, and with my kiddos go searching the fridge for new and exciting ways to fill their tummy with food.
I have found myself exploring nutritious ways to feed my family in the morning. My kids love eggs, boiled, scrambled, fried and poached, anyway I fix them they will devour them with out any regard to the usual finicky nature of toddlers. Eggs are easy, quick and can usually be fixed while the much-needed coffee is brewing. The problem is, I can't morally feed them eggs everyday. So, as I said before, I have stared exploring new things to feed them in the morning.
Pancakes! That’s the ticket! Right!? Wrong. They have no nutritional value, basically demoralized, flat, box birthday cake. Doused in sugary syrup and served half cold they serve no purpose for your digestion other then to distract it long enough to create an even more ravenous hunger pre-pancake.
Alas, I have discovered the Hodgson Mill brand of pancake mix. They sell whole wheat (the real kind), bulger wheat, flax pancakes, all with a wonderful taste that excites the very buds that get high on maple syrup. Plus the pancakes they create are hearty and filling. Add frozen blueberries, nuts, and applesauce anything your heart desires, and they are always good.
Just yesterday morning Moses ate 4, yes count them 1-2-3-4 pancakes. Mark could only stomach 3, and he had a slight tummy ache after that. We like to cover them with fresh strawberries and honey, a perfect substitute for syrup.
Having said all that, I come to the posted picture. I am a sucker for the kids. When my parents call on Saturday morning and say they are bringing dounuts and chocolate milk for the kids, I melt. I remember so fondly those days when my dad and mom would throw us in the car early Saturday morning and we would drive to Shipley’s and eat chocolate covered dounuts and chocolate milk till we were sick. Hannah loved the cinnamon twists, a dounut I have grown to love more then any other.

Lola loves dounuts, Moses does as well, but he has a more sophisticated pallet, Kolaches are his favorite.
As much as I want healthy kids, I want happy kids, so Mon-Fri feed your kids Bulger Wheat pancakes, but when Grandma and Grandpa call and want to bring over Shipley’s, say, "Bring it on!”

Musing About a Night out to Dinner

The other night we went out with some friends to dinner. After ordering our catfish and hamburger I was amazed at the price of the meal. I was stunned frankly to be spending $30+ on something that I could not only re-create far better at home, but far less expensive. I had two beers for the price of an entire 6 pack!!!
I know this sounds cheap and silly; after all we did get to go out with friends. And there was no cooking or cleaning. Yet for all the fun we had, I was kicking myself for not spending the $30 more wisely and inviting our friends over to our house for dinner. There is nothing more satisfying then entertaining for your friends at home with a deli shish meal of whatever you happen to feel like cooking. (Of course not everyone believes that Hannah!) I love to cook; I do not find it to be a chore in any sense of the word. I lose myself in my kitchen after a long day of chasing after children and cleaning up tiny toys. It is my time to be alone with my thoughts and my creative juices. They tend to be stifled when changing a foul diaper. In my kitchen my "self" comes alive. To cook for my darling husband is wonderful, but to cook for friends, to share my table, that is my greatest joy.
That same night, after chiding myself for not just living in the moment, enjoying the fact that I was work free, my darling said the most amazing thing. We were asked where we like to go out to dinner. To anyone else it would have been an easy answer. Even for people that rarely go out to dinner, they could have picked their favorite places to eat. But we looked at each other in puzzled silence. "Well", I started, "we like Thai..." I wracked my brain for our favorite places to frequent dinner. Mark, perfect match to me, piped in, "I never feel the need to go out to dinner, my wife is a gourmet chef." He is said it so matter-of-fact, there was no question in anyone’s mind that I was a gourmet chef, least of all mine.
Yea! for my Darling.
I love to go out to eat, but I love to go in to eat even more.
Cheers to all my darlings!