Yep. Tonight is pizza night. We're going over to a friend's house and making pizza tonight...and I'm really stinkin' excited. Pizza is so good, and really fun to make!
So, even though we haven't made it yet, which means I have nothing to report, I'm still pumped. Getting together we people we love, cooking, good food and knowing I'll have somehting to post. YES.
Stay tuned!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
it's been a while.
13 days to be exact. Not since we've cooked, though. You see, we've been pretty stinkin' busy the past couple of weeks. It's been good, though. My best friend, Jessica, bought a house a couple of weeks ago and we've been helping her move, paint, lending our mower, you name it. We're so happy we're able to help her! SO HAPPY SHE WAS ABLE TO BUY A HOUSE! That's a pretty huge dea if you ask us. We just bought our's 8 months ago. We love fixing it up!!! It's so fun to "nest". We've also had to make some un-planned trips here and there, thus resulting in less eating at home, and, when we have eaten at home in these past 13 days, it's been things we have already posted on the blog. I know, I know...it's still not an excuse! All this goes to say that, weve been busy. We've been eating at other people's houses (which we love doing), and we've been eating repeat dinners. No biggie. It happens. So, with that being said, we're back to posting. Hopefully we'll have something yummy to post for tomorrow. As for tonight, I'm still unsure. Ha! Just wanted to let everyone know that we haven't dropped off the face of the blogging-planet! We're still very much here, and very much cooking!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
meat loaf, meat loaf, double beat loaf. i hate meat loaf.
Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease tell me you've seen that movie! You know,"Christmas Story"??
Oh man, if you haven't seen it (which would still blow my mind), go rent it today. You know what? You'd better buy it...you'll want to make watching it on Christmas Eve a tradition like it's been for my family and Matt's family for, well, as long as we can remember. In fact, it was such a "must" for Matt, that once we got our house, and we didn't have our own copy of the legend that is this movie, he bought it for me (well, us really) for Christmas. Yep. It's THAT legendary.
Anyway, I'm off my must-see-classic-movie soap box for now. Onto the meal.
Yep, you guessed it, we had meat loaf.
Slow-cooker meat loaf, broccoli & sweet potato mash, to be exact!
I must say, I am all about using a crock pot, but meat loaf? Really?
It's true. And it was delicious. I had to make some adjustments, because I didn't have some things, however, for the simplicity of the blog, I'm going to give you the recipe straight out of the magazine. Oh, by the way, it's from Healthy Cooking.
Here's how to make the meat loaf:
INGREDIENTS
1 C. soft bread crumbs
1 1/2 C. spaghetti sauce
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs. dried, minced onion (this is something I didn't have, so I didn't use it)
1 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 Tsp. black pepper
2 lbs. lean (90%) ground beef (I only had 1.25 lbs.)
DIRECTIONS
~ Cut four 20 in. x 3 in. strips of heavy-duty foil; crisscross them over each other so that they look like spokes of a wheel. Place them in the bottom and up the sides of your slow-cooker and spray each strip with cooking spray.
~ In a large bowl, place the bread crumbs, 1 cup spaghetti sauce, egg, onion and all the seasonings and stir. Crumble all the beef into the mixture and mix together, forming a loaf...thus the term "meat loaf"...it's literally a loaf of meat, people!
Place the loaf in the middle of the strips of foil. Spoon/brush the remaining spaghetti sauce onto the top of the loaf.
~ Cook on low, covered, for 3-4 hours. I did ours a little longer than four!
~ When the meat loaf is done, use the strips as handles to get the loaf out of the cooker and onto a plate. I know, it sounds like craziness, but it actually worked...really well.
Now, for the sweet potato mash! (my recipe)
INGREDIENTS
1 sweet potato, boiled with or without skin (Feeds two people)
1 Tbs. heavy whipping cream
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. butter/SmartBalance
DIRECTIONS
In a medium mixing bowl, place potato (after it's been boiled) & remaining ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until you have the consistency of mashed potatoes.
I kept the skins on. I love potato skins! Matt, no so much. Oh well, he still loved the taste, the texture just threw him off.
Funny story about the potato, actually. I put the potato on to boil. Then I proceeded to step outside to make a call. I was talking to my friends mom, Paula, about wedding showers and this and that. I was so involved in the conversation that Matt finished mowing the back yard, came inside, noticed that the water was about to boil over. So, he then flew threw the front door, tries to get my attention, and finally comes up to me on the phone and mouths "the water was boiling over...I turned it down". Of course, I couldn't read his lips. So, he actually voiced it this time. First I said "what water?" That's right, I had 99% forgotten about the potatoes! Not good. So, I then proceeded to tell Paula who then said "I better see this on the blog, Meg!" And here it is :-)
Moral of the story? Don't put something on to boil and go outside to make a call!
All in all, a great meal. Matt loved it so much he took the rest for lunch today!
Ah, the joys of cooking.
Oh man, if you haven't seen it (which would still blow my mind), go rent it today. You know what? You'd better buy it...you'll want to make watching it on Christmas Eve a tradition like it's been for my family and Matt's family for, well, as long as we can remember. In fact, it was such a "must" for Matt, that once we got our house, and we didn't have our own copy of the legend that is this movie, he bought it for me (well, us really) for Christmas. Yep. It's THAT legendary.
Anyway, I'm off my must-see-classic-movie soap box for now. Onto the meal.
Yep, you guessed it, we had meat loaf.
Slow-cooker meat loaf, broccoli & sweet potato mash, to be exact!
I must say, I am all about using a crock pot, but meat loaf? Really?
It's true. And it was delicious. I had to make some adjustments, because I didn't have some things, however, for the simplicity of the blog, I'm going to give you the recipe straight out of the magazine. Oh, by the way, it's from Healthy Cooking.
Here's how to make the meat loaf:
INGREDIENTS
1 C. soft bread crumbs
1 1/2 C. spaghetti sauce
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs. dried, minced onion (this is something I didn't have, so I didn't use it)
1 Tsp. salt
1/2 Tsp. garlic powder
1/2 Tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 Tsp. black pepper
2 lbs. lean (90%) ground beef (I only had 1.25 lbs.)
DIRECTIONS
~ Cut four 20 in. x 3 in. strips of heavy-duty foil; crisscross them over each other so that they look like spokes of a wheel. Place them in the bottom and up the sides of your slow-cooker and spray each strip with cooking spray.
~ In a large bowl, place the bread crumbs, 1 cup spaghetti sauce, egg, onion and all the seasonings and stir. Crumble all the beef into the mixture and mix together, forming a loaf...thus the term "meat loaf"...it's literally a loaf of meat, people!
Place the loaf in the middle of the strips of foil. Spoon/brush the remaining spaghetti sauce onto the top of the loaf.
~ Cook on low, covered, for 3-4 hours. I did ours a little longer than four!
~ When the meat loaf is done, use the strips as handles to get the loaf out of the cooker and onto a plate. I know, it sounds like craziness, but it actually worked...really well.
Now, for the sweet potato mash! (my recipe)
INGREDIENTS
1 sweet potato, boiled with or without skin (Feeds two people)
1 Tbs. heavy whipping cream
1 Tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. butter/SmartBalance
DIRECTIONS
In a medium mixing bowl, place potato (after it's been boiled) & remaining ingredients and beat with an electric mixer until you have the consistency of mashed potatoes.
I kept the skins on. I love potato skins! Matt, no so much. Oh well, he still loved the taste, the texture just threw him off.
Funny story about the potato, actually. I put the potato on to boil. Then I proceeded to step outside to make a call. I was talking to my friends mom, Paula, about wedding showers and this and that. I was so involved in the conversation that Matt finished mowing the back yard, came inside, noticed that the water was about to boil over. So, he then flew threw the front door, tries to get my attention, and finally comes up to me on the phone and mouths "the water was boiling over...I turned it down". Of course, I couldn't read his lips. So, he actually voiced it this time. First I said "what water?" That's right, I had 99% forgotten about the potatoes! Not good. So, I then proceeded to tell Paula who then said "I better see this on the blog, Meg!" And here it is :-)
Moral of the story? Don't put something on to boil and go outside to make a call!
All in all, a great meal. Matt loved it so much he took the rest for lunch today!
Ah, the joys of cooking.
Monday, April 12, 2010
panzanella
I know, it's such a weird name...and to be honest, I'm probably not spelling it correctly. And to be even more honest, I'm not sure anyone expects me to spell it correctly. Ah, I love my friends. No judging. Just laughs and good food...and so many other things...all good of course.
So, Saturday night we had lamb chops. Yep, the same recipe posted under the "lamb chops" entry. So, the new addition? Well, two changes. One, Matt grilled the chops this time. SO. STINKING. GOOD. (Thanks again, baby!)
Two, we had panzanella salad with it.
If you like Italian food, and if you like tomatoes and cucumbers...this recipe is for you. Literally. I'm giving it to you. :-)
This time, I'm going to combine the "INGREDIENTS" & "DIRECTIONS" portions of the entry.
Here goes:
Chop 1 cucumber, 2 roma tomatoes, 2 Tbs. fresh parsley, 2 green onions and put them into a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar & 2 Tbs. olive oil. Finally, add salt & pepper to taste. Mix together and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, serve.
No lie. I used to eat this all the time as a kid. I never knew it was called panzanella. In fact, that word kind of gets on my nerves. For the sake of this blog, it is now called "hey, make that good salad with the tomatoes & cucumbers & stuff!"
That's more like it.
For the record, when I hit the trusty spell check, "panzanella" is, of course, unrecognized. Spell check offers suggestions like "Pensecola" and "penninsula". Nice.
So, Saturday night we had lamb chops. Yep, the same recipe posted under the "lamb chops" entry. So, the new addition? Well, two changes. One, Matt grilled the chops this time. SO. STINKING. GOOD. (Thanks again, baby!)
Two, we had panzanella salad with it.
If you like Italian food, and if you like tomatoes and cucumbers...this recipe is for you. Literally. I'm giving it to you. :-)
This time, I'm going to combine the "INGREDIENTS" & "DIRECTIONS" portions of the entry.
Here goes:
Chop 1 cucumber, 2 roma tomatoes, 2 Tbs. fresh parsley, 2 green onions and put them into a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar & 2 Tbs. olive oil. Finally, add salt & pepper to taste. Mix together and refrigerate for about 20 minutes, serve.
No lie. I used to eat this all the time as a kid. I never knew it was called panzanella. In fact, that word kind of gets on my nerves. For the sake of this blog, it is now called "hey, make that good salad with the tomatoes & cucumbers & stuff!"
That's more like it.
For the record, when I hit the trusty spell check, "panzanella" is, of course, unrecognized. Spell check offers suggestions like "Pensecola" and "penninsula". Nice.
vindaloo, part two
So, part one would be an entry titled "givin' the people what they want, they tell me it's vindaloo". the only reason I'm doing a re-post, if you can even call it that, is because this time around we added something. Something REALLLLLY tasty. Sweet potatoes!!! Yep, that's right. The cinnamon stick in the vindaloo brings out the sweetness in the, you guessed it, SWEET potatoes. They're called that for a reason, folks. :-)
So, in addition to the normal recipe, cube one or two sweet potatoes and place in the crock pot with everything else. The result? One big pot of sweet and spicy goodness. Oh my, I could eat that everyday!
Enjoy!
So, in addition to the normal recipe, cube one or two sweet potatoes and place in the crock pot with everything else. The result? One big pot of sweet and spicy goodness. Oh my, I could eat that everyday!
Enjoy!
Friday, April 9, 2010
steak and cheese.
And not the kind you think. Well, unless you already read our menu for the week and you know that we're having Steak with Bleu Cheese & Steamed Broccoli one night. I must say, we switched it up. The menu, that is. We weren't supposed to have it until Friday or Saturday. However, life throws us for a loop sometimes, in this case, the "loop" was getting off of work late and still having to run errands AND hit the gym. So, the chicken vindaloo that cooks in the crock pot will have to wait. In fact, we're having it tonight. I know this FOR SURE. :-)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Matt. Is. The. Grill-Master. He loves grilling, and I am so thankful. I know it's hard to believe but, sometimes I'm not up for cooking! I'm pretty sure we've all been there, and if you haven't, I assure you, it's coming soon!
I think Matt was secretly happy we got to have our steaks earlier in the week.
Nothing wrong with that!
I'm just going to set a couple of things straight:
1) I used to never, I repeat NEVER eat steak before I met Matt. I used to not watch baseball either (gasp!). I do both now, and enjoy it!
2) Bleu cheese, schmoo cheese. used to hate that, too. However, I found that buying "lite" bleu cheese is so much milder and less blue? I don't know. I'm just saying that it's growing on me...well, the reduced fat kind anyway. Hey, baby steps, you know?
Enough rambling on my part. Here's how to make it!
Grilled Steak & Bleu Cheese with Steamed Broccoli
INGREDIENTS
Desired amount of ribeye steaks (obviously, we had two)
1 Tsp. Kroger Grill Time Steak Seasoning
2 Tbs. Worcestershire
1 Bunch broccoli
1/2 Cup water
2 Tbs. reduced-fat bleu cheese crumbles
DIRECTIONS
Heat grill to high.
Place seasoning & Worcestershire onto steaks and grill to desired doneness.
(We did ours medium to medium-well which is about 6 minutes on each side)
Meanwhile, place water and broccoli into a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, immediately reduce heat to Low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Place cheese crumbles onto steaks, serve.
That's it.
So good.
Side note: tonight will be our fifth consecutive night to cook at home. I can't believe it. It's so fun to cook together. We're loving this!!!
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Matt. Is. The. Grill-Master. He loves grilling, and I am so thankful. I know it's hard to believe but, sometimes I'm not up for cooking! I'm pretty sure we've all been there, and if you haven't, I assure you, it's coming soon!
I think Matt was secretly happy we got to have our steaks earlier in the week.
Nothing wrong with that!
I'm just going to set a couple of things straight:
1) I used to never, I repeat NEVER eat steak before I met Matt. I used to not watch baseball either (gasp!). I do both now, and enjoy it!
2) Bleu cheese, schmoo cheese. used to hate that, too. However, I found that buying "lite" bleu cheese is so much milder and less blue? I don't know. I'm just saying that it's growing on me...well, the reduced fat kind anyway. Hey, baby steps, you know?
Enough rambling on my part. Here's how to make it!
Grilled Steak & Bleu Cheese with Steamed Broccoli
INGREDIENTS
Desired amount of ribeye steaks (obviously, we had two)
1 Tsp. Kroger Grill Time Steak Seasoning
2 Tbs. Worcestershire
1 Bunch broccoli
1/2 Cup water
2 Tbs. reduced-fat bleu cheese crumbles
DIRECTIONS
Heat grill to high.
Place seasoning & Worcestershire onto steaks and grill to desired doneness.
(We did ours medium to medium-well which is about 6 minutes on each side)
Meanwhile, place water and broccoli into a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, immediately reduce heat to Low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Place cheese crumbles onto steaks, serve.
That's it.
So good.
Side note: tonight will be our fifth consecutive night to cook at home. I can't believe it. It's so fun to cook together. We're loving this!!!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
hollywood
Don't ask me how Hollywood relates to the dinner we made last night. Trust me, there was nothing glamorous (or expensive) about it! However, I grew up calling burgers that had lots veggies on them "Hollywood" burgers. Who knows!
So, last night we had Hollywood-style Turkey burgers with Baked Zucchini Fries.
Mmmmmmmm...So tasty. Matt did the honor of making the burgers on our trusty George Foreman Grill. That thing is amazing. I'm not sure why we don't use it more. It cooks so evenly, we're amazed every time!
Want to know how to make the meal? Ya, I thought so! :-)
Hollywood Turkey Burgers & Baked Zucchini Fries
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. 93/7 Lean ground turkey
1/4 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese (because the meat is so lean it needs something to hold it together)
1/4 Cup Worcestershire (I'm sure I butchered that spelling)
1 Tsp. Kroger chicken grill seasoning (you knew we'd use that, didn't you?!)
Cooking Spray, to coat baking sheet and grill
2 Fresh zucchini, quartered and sliced lengthwise into "fries"
1 1/2 Tbs. plain bread crumbs
Dash of salt & pepper
Dash of garlic powder
3 Large slices red onion, separated into rings
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Slices provolone cheese
4 Leaves romaine lettuce
1/2 avocado, sliced
Red onion (use the rings from one of the slices listed above)
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat the grill to high, and oven to 350*
Place zucchini, 2 parts of the red onion, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder & olive oil into a mixing bowl. Stir and place onto a greased baking sheet. I almost always line mine with tin foil to avoid a mess! Bake @ 350* for about 20 minutes. Then broil @ 500* until they start to sizzle.
Place ground turkey, Worcestershire, grill seasoning & mozzarella into a mixing bowl. Mix together and form 2-3 large burger patties. Place onto grill and cook until completely done throughout...probably about 10-15 minutes.
Place two leaves of lettuce onto a plate. Place the burger patty on top and top the patty with a slice of provolone. Place the rest of the toppings (all those yummy veggies) on top. You can eat the burger wrapped in the lettuce, or you can just use a fork & knife to cut it like a salad, that's what I did!
We served the zucchini fries in ramekins...SO CUTE!
Sure, you're dirtying two more dishes but, when the sink is full of them and you're just going to have to load it after dinner anyway, what's two itty-bitty ramekins?
I'm all about presentation. I promise, one of these days, we'll start taking pictures of the meals before we go crazy over them...one day.
I love Hollywood.
So, last night we had Hollywood-style Turkey burgers with Baked Zucchini Fries.
Mmmmmmmm...So tasty. Matt did the honor of making the burgers on our trusty George Foreman Grill. That thing is amazing. I'm not sure why we don't use it more. It cooks so evenly, we're amazed every time!
Want to know how to make the meal? Ya, I thought so! :-)
Hollywood Turkey Burgers & Baked Zucchini Fries
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. 93/7 Lean ground turkey
1/4 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese (because the meat is so lean it needs something to hold it together)
1/4 Cup Worcestershire (I'm sure I butchered that spelling)
1 Tsp. Kroger chicken grill seasoning (you knew we'd use that, didn't you?!)
Cooking Spray, to coat baking sheet and grill
2 Fresh zucchini, quartered and sliced lengthwise into "fries"
1 1/2 Tbs. plain bread crumbs
Dash of salt & pepper
Dash of garlic powder
3 Large slices red onion, separated into rings
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Slices provolone cheese
4 Leaves romaine lettuce
1/2 avocado, sliced
Red onion (use the rings from one of the slices listed above)
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat the grill to high, and oven to 350*
Place zucchini, 2 parts of the red onion, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, garlic powder & olive oil into a mixing bowl. Stir and place onto a greased baking sheet. I almost always line mine with tin foil to avoid a mess! Bake @ 350* for about 20 minutes. Then broil @ 500* until they start to sizzle.
Place ground turkey, Worcestershire, grill seasoning & mozzarella into a mixing bowl. Mix together and form 2-3 large burger patties. Place onto grill and cook until completely done throughout...probably about 10-15 minutes.
Place two leaves of lettuce onto a plate. Place the burger patty on top and top the patty with a slice of provolone. Place the rest of the toppings (all those yummy veggies) on top. You can eat the burger wrapped in the lettuce, or you can just use a fork & knife to cut it like a salad, that's what I did!
We served the zucchini fries in ramekins...SO CUTE!
Sure, you're dirtying two more dishes but, when the sink is full of them and you're just going to have to load it after dinner anyway, what's two itty-bitty ramekins?
I'm all about presentation. I promise, one of these days, we'll start taking pictures of the meals before we go crazy over them...one day.
I love Hollywood.
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