Bite This

That’s it, that is the new title for this weekly segment. It has a bit more punch than Tasty Tuesday don’t you think? Big thanks to reader Rhaea for the title. Rhaea can be counted as an in real life friend, even though I haven’t seen her since the 6th grade. She was in my older sisters class in the little Catholic school I attended. It’s true, we were Catholic school girls. We even wore little plaid uniforms like Brittany Spears only more scrawny, small town Ohio girl than slutty, pop star. You get the idea.

Also new this week, I am preparing a recipe suggested by a reader! Heather sent me a few recipes to try. She also included a challenge (and recipe) to make rice pilaf from scratch. Thanks hussy, you’re awesome. (Relax, she’s a real life friend too so I can call her that. You should hear what she calls me!)

Rosemary Chicken & Rice Pilaf

Ingredients

Rosemary Chicken

Adapted from the Deen Brothers Braised Chicken with Rosemary & Potatos

4 Large Chicken Breasts, cut in quarters

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Black Pepper

3 Tbs. Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 1/2 Tbs. Lemon Juice

1 Tsp. Rosemary

4 Tbs. Unsalted Butter, cut into pieces

Rice Pilaf

This recipe is from AllRecipes.com

2 Tbs. Butter

1/2 Cup Orzo, uncooked

1/2 Cup Onion, diced

2 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 Cup Rice, uncooked

2 Cups Chicken Broth

The original recipe calls for chicken legs and thighs. We do not eat chicken on the bone in this house. I also do not enjoy dark meat. Gross. Heather informed me that you need the skin on the chicken to get crispy or some other BS. I just added half a stick of butter. It worked, and I didn’t have to deal with nasty bird skin and bones in my kitchen.

Anyway.

Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon juice, and rosemary. Place chicken in a dish that is safe for both the oven and the broiler. Pour on olive oil mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle butter tabs on top. Let it sit for 10 minutes on the counter. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

In my family my Uncle Ralph is famous for saying, “MORE BUTTER” I tend to agree. There’s nothing that wouldn’t be better by adding more butter.

Put the chicken in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is cooked through. The time will vary depending on the thickness of your chicken hooters. To check the doneness of the chicken press on it, without puncturing it. If it bounces back it’s done,  if not it needs more time. When it is close, turn on the broiler and leave it in for another 10 minutes.

The rice pilaf is very easy. I even screwed it up a little and it was still delicious. Let me say right now, I will not ever make Rice-A-Roni rice pilaf again. I will, as the twinkies say, “make it out of scratch.”

It’s easy. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the orzo and cook until brown. Add the onions and garlic and cook it for one minute. Add rice and chicken broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.

I browned the rice with the orzo (that’s how the box crap works). To make up for the starches that were released I added about a half a cup of water. No problem.

Sorry, I didn’t take pictures of the rice while I was making it.

I also made lima beans. I love them, so do Reese and Taryn. Buy the frozen ones, baby lima beans if you can find them. Cook them according to the package, but for crying out loud add some salt and pepper to the water while they are cooking!

Season everything, everything. Always. I put salt and pepper on turkey sandwiches. I’m not kidding.

Once they are cooked toss them with a few tablespoons of butter.

This was really good, like really, really good. I highly recommend you try it.

Who has a recipe for me to make next week?

Tantalizing Tuesday

Tantalizing Tuesday? Dinner With Twins? I need a new name for this segment. Thoughts? Ideas? Comments?

Tonight’s dinner is brought to you by the letters D & J, for Dallas and John.

That’s my husband, Elmer Fudd, and my son, the unibomber.

Salmon W/sun-dried Tomato Marinade, Rice Pilaf, and Grilled Romaine

Ingredients

2 Filets of Salmon

1 Bottle of Lawry’s Sun Dried Tomato Marinade

2 Boxes of Rice-A-Roni Rice Pilaf, cooked according to package directions

2 Heads of Romaine Lettuce

Grated Parmesan

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

The bottle says to marinate the salmon for half an hour. I did it for about an hour and a half. Dallas is not a big fan of fish, so I was trying to get it to taste more like sun-dried tomato and less like salmon. It still did not permeate to deeply into the fish, but it was good.

Don’t ask why he went salmon fishing if he doesn’t like fish. He’s an idiot.

The first step is to start cooking the rice. It takes about 20 minutes. I know it’s a shortcut, when I have time to learn how to make rice pilaf from scratch I’ll let you know. Don’t hold your breath.

Next, prepare the romaine. You will want to keep the head intact, so rinse it and then lay it in a strainer with the open part down for a few minutes. Don’t worry if there is still a little dirt near the root, you won’t eat that part anyway. Then cut it in half so that the root part continues to hold it together.

Using a paper towel, dry out any remaining liquid. Drizzle both sides with olive oil and season with garlic powder, kosher salt, and pepper. I like a lot. It’s totally up to you, just make sure you use a lot when you have me over for dinner.

Depending on the size of your filets it will take a little more than 15 minutes to cook the salmon on the grill. You could also broil it.

When you think the salmon is less than 10 minutes from being finished you will want to throw the romaine on the grill. It’s just like grilling anything else, don’t freak out.

Once it is nicely charred, flip it over and grill the other side.

It’s really good, trust me.

When it is finished chop off the stem and pull out the yellow leaves. Unless you like the yellow leaves, just don’t tell me about it because it’s disgusting.

The batch of romaine that I had on the top rack did not cook as well as I would have liked. The upside is that even if it doesn’t cook it still tastes great. The sun-dried tomato marinade was good and very easy. It made a mess on the grill though, so use foil.

I’m really serious about renaming this post, so shoot me some ideas. Also, if you have a recipe you’d like me to try send it my way.

 

Tasty Tuesday

We’re heading down to Texas for a classic that happens to be my husband’s favorite dish. Full disclosure: he prefers the one they make at Luby’s to mine. Yes, I married a man who likes cheap cafeteria food. He also prefers deli cookies to homemade. He would have been a fat loser without me.

Anyway.

Tonight I made King Ranch Chicken. It’s a cheesy, spicy casserole type thing. It’s great for potlucks or to feed a crowd (like I do every night).

King Ranch Chicken

Ingredients

1-2 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cooked and cut into bite size pieces.

10 Oz. Package Corn Tortillas, cut in quarters

1 Large Onion, chopped

1 Large Green Pepper, chopped

2 Cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded

1 1/2 Tsp. Chili Powder

1/2 Tsp. Garlic Salt

1 (10 Oz.) Can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 (10 Oz.) Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 (10 Oz.) Can Rotel (undrained)

I cooked the chicken in some chicken stock and water. Just place the breasts in a skillet with the lid on and boil until one. You’ll want to reserve the cooking liquid. If you cook them another way or buy the already cooked stuff, you’ll need a can of chicken broth for the next step.

My original recipe called for a whole chicken cooked and cut up. As if.

Bring the cooking liquid or your can of broth to a boil and then remove from the heat. Dip the cut up tortillas int he liquid for a few seconds to soften, then set aside.

Don’t let them sit in the liquid too long or they will get mushy.

Place half of the tortillas in a lightly greased 13x9x2 baking dish. On top of that place half of the onions, peppers, and chicken. Repeat with another layer.

It does not look especially appealing. The peppers will be slightly crunchy when the dish is finished. If you’re not a fan of crunchy peppers you may want to sauté them for a few minutes first.

Next, sprinkle the shredded cheese, chili powder, and garlic salt on top.

Combine the soups and spread them on top of the cheese. Pour the entire can of Rotel (do not drain) on top of the cheese.

If it looks like a wet, gloppy mess you got it right. It’s not pretty. Don’t worry about it. This isn’t fine dining, no one cares about your presentation.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until it is cooked through and bubbly.

My friend, Jennifer, told me that she makes this with Doritos instead of tortilla chips. Sounds awesome. Maybe that’s the Luby’s secret? Hmmmm….

I didn’t make anything with this, I probably should have. Maybe black beans or a salad. I was tired today, so this is all they got.

John likes it, Taryn hates it. It’s pretty much the story of my life.

 

Tasty Tuesday

Tonight’s recipe came from my mother-in-law. I have no idea where she got it. It reminds me of one of those Pampered Chef recipes only you don’t need a $65 baking stone to make it. I bought one of those once and it cracked in half in the oven. (Yes, I know it has a warranty. I’m way too lazy for that.) Stupid, overpriced cookware. This recipe (and almost any other one) is made on any cheap-o cookie sheet you have lying around.

Ham & Swiss Cheese Ring

Ingredients

1 Tbs. Butter, softened

2 Tbs. Dried Parsley

2 Tbs. Mustard

1 Tsp. Lemon Juice

6 Oz. Swiss Cheese, shredded

1 Cup Broccoli, chopped and cooked

1 Cup Ham, diced

1 8 Oz. Can Crescent Rolls

Mix together the butter, parsley, onion, mustard, and lemon juice. As you can see I didn’t have any lemon juice so I used lime. It didn’t make any difference in the taste. Make sure the butter is soft or you will wind up with big clumps of it in the mixture.

This might be the least appetizing picture in Tasty Tuesday history.

Next, add the cheese, broccoli, and ham. I steamed the broccoli until it was just tender. The original recipe said that you could use frozen, but that’s gross. Don’t do it.

Now comes the fun part. Arrange the crescent rolls (on your crappy baking sheet) in a star shape. It should look like this:

Once that is done spoon the mixture onto the large end of each triangle.

Pull the tips over so that it forms a ring. It’s easy.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the crescent is golden brown.

Tasty looking isn’t it? It tastes a bit like a hot ham and cheese sandwich. When the entire herd is around I make two. I’ve tried making it in a 9×13 pan with a tube of crescents on the bottom, the filling in the middle, and another tube of crescents on top. Don’t do that, its gross.

Before you serve it you’ll want to cut off the crusty brunt cheese from the edges and the pan. And eat them.

Tonight I served it with salad. If you make it for lunch, fruit would be great too.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Tasty Tuesday

I guess I am on a pasta kick, last week we had baked ziti. Tonight it’s penne pasta with sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chicken, and alfredo sauce. That’s a long title, but it’s not a difficult meal. The hardest part is roasting the peppers. Don’t stress, I’ll walk you through it.

Chicken Penne Alfredo

Ingredients

2-3 Red Peppers, roasted and chopped (yellow or orange peppers work fine too)

1 Jar Sun Dried Tomatoes, drained and julienned

2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped

2 Jars Alfredo Sauce

1 Box Penne Pasta, cooked according to package directions.

The first step is to cook the chicken. I like to season it with salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, and basil. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and place the chicken in it. Cook until the chicken is heated through and set aside to rest.

Roasting red peppers is fairly simple. Spray them with a little olive oil and either grill them or broil them. I usually broil them.

You will want to turn them often so they get cooked on all sides as well as on the top and the bottom.

Scary.

The next step is important. Immediately after you take them out of the oven put them into an air tight container. The steam helps the skin pop off so that you can peel it later.

Try to wait about 20 minutes to peel them, otherwise your little fingertips will get burned. However, if you are like me you probably don’t have much time to spare, so keep a damp cloth hand to cool off your fingers.

First, pull off the stem. Do it over a bowl (or like I do, over the container they were in to cool) and tip it over. The juice and seeds should drain out easily. Cut it in half so you can lay it flat. Then peel off the skin, you can use the edge of a knife for the stubborn bits.

They should look like this. I cut them into 2 inch strips. You could sew them together and make a dress. Just make sure people know it is made from peppers and not people.

Roasted red peppers are also sold in the jar. They are not completely gross, but these are better.

That being said, I use alfredo sauce from a jar. I always plan to make it from scratch and buy the jar sauce just in case my homemade batch breaks. You can probably guess how that turns out. Honestly, if you get the jar stuff boiling hot and add lots of pepper you can hardly tell.

Once everything is cooked and chopped combine the pasta, chicken, peppers, and tomatoes. Then add the sauce. If you add the sauce first the pasta soaks it up and the dish winds up dry.

If time allows I heat the whole thing up for a few minutes. If not my family eats it coldish. They always survive.

Dinner is served, friends.

How about a recipe idea/challenge for next week?

Death By Cupcake

Feeding a family this size is a big undertaking. We spend a small fortune on food. In this household we go through about 7 gallons a milk a week. We also power through an average of four loaves of bread, two dozen eggs, three boxes of cereal, and one jar of peanut butter. That’s just the basics.

Food is important. When we travel I have to carefully plan out meals and snacks so that no one is hungry. I don’t care so much if my family is a little hungry. I care that when they are hungry they are grumpy. All of them, including Dallas.

He’s probably the worst one. If he is hungry, watch out. He’s a monster. I don’t know how he made it through Ranger school. If I was in the class with him I probably would have tripped him on a march so that he broke a bone. That way I would not have had to deal with his hungry, grumpy self.

His sister Autumn gets grumpy-hungry too. She’s female though, so she’s smart enough to understand her faults and deal with them like a grown-up. She packs her own snacks.

I pack snacks for Dallas.

And my other kids.

I cook a lot. It’s fine, I like cooking. Cooking is one of the things that I can always do to help out friends. Have a baby? I’ll make you a meal. Surgery? Here comes a baked ziti. Potluck? I’ll make an entrée and a dessert. I can cook in my own house, no extra childcare needed. Done.

I have to do nice things, otherwise no one would put up with me.

Yesterday I made cupcakes for a meeting. I put them in the freezer overnight.

The YOU in this note refers to Dallas.

The kids know to ask, “Are these cupcakes for us?”

The answer would have been, “No, but I’ll bring you leftovers.”

Seriously, he would have eaten six. At least. They were really good cupcakes. And of course, he would have been STARVING. Kind of like how when he is sick he is DYING. He’s never just hungry, he’s on the verge of third world starvation.

If he had eaten them I would have jammed one all the way down his esophagus while he slept.

Death by cupcake. I can’t think of a better way for him to go.

Tasty Tuesday

Tonight I made one of our family favorites I call it Top Chef Stir Fry. Do you watch Top Chef? I love it, it’s easily one of my favorite shows on Bravo. I love Bravo, so that’s really saying something. I don’t think I could compete on the show though, I’m no good under pressure. Also, Tom Colicchio is cute, so I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.

Everyone here loves this dish, except John. John is not a fan at all. I made his favorite meal last night. We are usually in a stir fry/shepard’s pie rotation so neither of the big twins can complain. Whatever.

It’s one of my healthier dishes. I was recently accused of cooking less-than-healthy meals. Eat this.

A friend of mine was over visiting while I cooked. That’s my excuse for not taking my normal picture of the ingredients. It’s all her fault. Well, that and the boxed wine we were drinking.

Top Chef Stir Fry

Adapted from Antonia Lofaso’s Top Chef recipe

Ingredients

1 head of bok choy, chopped

1 large red pepper, halved and sliced

1 onion, sliced

2 chicken breasts, sliced thin

1 cup of cooked edamame, cooked

1/2 bag of whole wheat noodles

Teriyaki sauce

Salt & Pepper

Slice and season the chicken. You’ll want it very thin, so it cooks easily.

Combine the bok choy, red peppers, and onion. Season to taste.

Place the chicken in a wok or large skillet add the vegetables on top.

Finally, an in process picture that does not look like vomit! You’re welcome.

Cook on medium/high heat until the chicken is cooked through. You may cook it on low heat if you forget to start the noodles. Of course, only someone who is busy gabbing and drinking wine would do that.

These are the noodles I used tonight. Sometimes I use another brand, I can’t remember what it is called. I’ve also used broken fettucine, it’s all about what the commissary has the day I shop. These are fine. I use about half a bag and it makes plenty. We had 3 adults tonight, the twins and the twinkies and there were leftovers.

I use these cheap soybeans. They’re great. The twinkies like to eat them as a snack or a side at lunch. I cook them in enough water to cover for 5-7 minutes in the microwave. Easy.

This is important, so listen. Once the edamame is cooked and the chicken and vegetable mixture has cooked through drain them in a colander. The bok choy holds a lot of water. A FREAKING LOT! If you don’t drain it your teriyaki sauce will drown. It’s really all about the sauce.

This is the best teriyaki sauce ever. If you can find it, use it. It’s a little spendy, but totally worth it. (If I can find it up here in stupid Alaska, you can probably find it wherever you are!)

Combine the noodles with the edamame, vegetable, and chicken mixture. Add in about 1/2 the bottle of sauce, or to taste. We like a LOT of teriyaki. It’s your choice.

These are the best frozen egg rolls I have ever eaten. I assume that one could actually make their own egg rolls, but it would probably cut into my wine drinking time. When you have a million children, making dinner is wine drinking time. The clock starts at 5 PM. If I had to make my own egg rolls I would have to start at 3 PM. That would mean I would be drunk by 5 and then no one would get to eat. So, buy some frozen egg rolls.

Word of warning: the package says these take about 10 minutes to cook. It is a bold faced lie. Plan on 17-20. Cut them in half to make sure they are cooked through.

Please to enjoy.

Tasty Tuesday

So we’re going with Tasty Tuesday then? Sounds great.

Tonight we did a pretty traditional meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans. A little comfort food for my hungry mob. Of course, I don’t make anything exactly as the recipe says, so here are the meatloaf ingredients.

Pretty standard, except for the parmesan cheese. I love it. I add it to everything. Go ahead, put a half a cup or so in your meatloaf, you won’t regret it. I use breadcrumbs not crackers. Cracker meatloaf is icky.

You’ll also need this.

That’s right we are making moose meatloaf! So, come to Alaska. Get a hunting license. Shoot one. And continue with the rest of the recipe.

You could use hamburger. But that’s kind of wussing out if you asked me.

Incidentally, this moose (not the one in the picture, the one in the bowl) was shot by one of the 14-year-old girls who came to stay with us for the exchange program. That’s how we roll up here.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I make the best mashed potatoes in the world. The trick is skipping the milk. That’s right, put the jug away and use sour cream instead. None of that fat free crap either. Also, ick.

Just have some red wine with dinner to cancel out the cholesterol.

That’s about 6 potatoes, 16 oz. of sour cream, a stick of butter, and salt and pepper. Worth. Every. Calorie.

The green beans were from a can, cooked with a little lemon and Goya brand Adobo. I made brown gravy from a packet. I can’t make gravy. I’ve tried and it is always a gloppy mess.

Everyone was happy tonight. Anyone who has kids knows that making all of them happy is nearly impossible. Yay, me! I rock.

I realize John is not smiling in the picture. But his plate is clean, so I’m taking the win.

 

Tasty Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday? Is that lame? I’m trying to post one recipe a week, but I need a tag so tell me if that one is lame-o. (Also, thinking of a better one for me would be swell.) I was inspired to do this by my friend Leslie who does “Make My Meal Monday” on her blog. I thought of just stealing that name, but it seemed a little rude.

Tonight I made “Carrie Chicken” I chose the name because my friend, Carrie, gave me the recipe. Also because it comes out blood red. It reminded me of the movie Carrie.

That might not be the best plug for a recipe, but you guys have faith in me right? Ahem … right?

Anywho, Carrie Chicken is super-easy. It has a sweet/savory flavor that makes it appealing to kids. Also, as Carrie said it, “looks really pretty on the plate.” It really does.

Here are the ingredients.

It looks crazy, but trust me it is delicious.

Just pour the whole bottle of Catalina into a pan. Empty in the can of cranberry sauce. Add one packet of the onion soup mix. Stir. Bring to a boil.

Okay, that looks like vomit. Go with it.

Once it has come to a boil put about half of it in a 9 x 13 pan. Add some boneless, skinless chicken. I used breasts, but I assume you could use thighs too.  Pour the rest of the sauce mixture on top.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.

I did not take a picture of this step because it is not that appealing to look at. Also, I forgot.

I served it with white rice and roasted brussel sprouts.

See, it does look pretty on the plate! I probably should have used a plate without a chip in it, but I have 4 kids so I doubt there is one.

The kids really liked this. Taryn, who is a persnickety teenager even had seconds. SECONDS! Anyone who has a teenage girl knows that is a very big deal. The twinkies even ate it.

Sort of.

They ate the rice and the sauce and peeled apart the brussel sprouts. Then they started running in circles playing a shooting game with guns they fashioned out of tinker toys.

But in my house, that is a win.

Beans & Boobies

I’m thinking of doing a weekly post that includes our dinner recipe. Having not planned ahead, tonight’s dinner was a simple, but tasty family favorite of beans, rice, and cornbread. Dallas’ paternal side of the family is from the mountains of North Carolina, this is how they do it.

I make the pinto beans in a crock pot with bacon and onion. The rice is just white rice, browned in olive oil and then cooked with water, diced tomato, cumin seed, salt, and pepper. The cornbread recipe is from the trusty Betty Crocker cookbook and can be found here. The key to making good cornbread is to grease a cast iron skillet with Crisco (I use butter flavor) and then put it in the oven while it warms up. This allows the oil to get nice and hot so it sizzles when you pour in the cornbread batter.

As seen here:

Our family eats this in many ways. I like to have the beans served over my rice. (I also put an unhealthy amount of table salt on it. It’s your choice) The steam made this picture crap-tastic. Sorry, geez.

John likes to mix up the beans, rice, and cornbread. It looks like vomit.

Dallas eats the rice later and adds lots of raw onions to his plate. This gives him what I like to call ‘feces breath.’ It lasts several days. The bad breath not the food.

This is easily one of our families favorite meals. Even the twinkies eat it. However, tonight no one was happy.

That’s the thing about teenagers, you never know if they are coming or going. Tonight they were either worn out, worried about something they refused to tell us, or plotting to murder us in our sleep. It’s hard to tell.

Some nights we are smart and just ignore their little hissy fits. Tonight we chose to engage. The twinkies left the table to play some sort of imaginary shooting game. We ignored them and asked lots of probing questions like; What’s wrong?, How was school?, Anything you want to talk about? We almost gave up. It reminded me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

“Bueller?”

“Bueller?”

“Bueller?”

Dallas and I got a little punch drunk. Well, I was a few glasses of Pinot in, so probably more than “punch” drunk on my part.

I said, “What do we have to do to get a smile out of you guys?”

SILENCE

Finally Dallas said, “Say boobies.”

I smiled immediately, because I’m still in the 6th grade.

It took a minute, but pretty soon John smiled too.

Then Taryn.

It only lasted 40 seconds, but it was worth it.

Beans and boobies, the key to a perfect family meal.