Lessons...

Lessons can be fun. Frenchie is teaching me plenty! There are so many that it is hard to decide which one I would like to share. I think I would like to share an evening that we had last week. This will get around to food, in a very roundabout way! Last Thursday night my son was competing in the school district's Spell Bowl. This was a huge honor and we were sooooo proud of him! He is so smart, but sometimes I have to wonder if spelling is his thing! HeeHee! His spelling partner was a very good friend of his who is an excellent speller. They were given 5 words, and the audience doesn't know which one of them misses which word. At the end of their 5 words I knew that one of them had missed the word "beet". I totally figured it was my son... but come to find out, he got them all right!!!!!! That's my boy!!!! Ok, I have bragged enough! Back to the subject. This night I had not really planned dinner. There were 2 crabcakes left over from the night before. So Frenchie and I put together a wonderful salad and she was going to eat the 2 crabcakes. Yum! Afterward she says to me... Do you want to learn how we eat cheese in France? "Ummmm... Do bears poop in the woods????" I want to learn everything about French foods! Especially if it has to do with cheese! So she takes a loaf of sourdough bread and slices 2 pieces... Asks me what kind of cheese I want to use.... and takes me on an incredible journey. She is doing hers with blue cheese and I am having camembert. I take the camembert and start to put it in the microwave to soften it a bit. She yells "what are you doing? NO!" She slices thin slivers and puts them on the bread. She spreads the blue cheese on her bread. Tells me that it is actually bad manners to spread it on the bread, but for our purposes, this is what she does. We then stand around the chopping block, eating our cheese. Loving it, eyes rolling into our heads, enjoying! I have 3 1/2 more months to learn sooooo much!!!! LOVE IT!

Ohhhhh MY!

Have you ever made one of those meals that makes you moan with delight??? Let me tell you about last night's dinner. I will start by saying, there was nothing healthy about it, but you occassionally have to have these types of meals. I found this recipe in the Deen Bros Good Cooking magazine and it was called Company Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta. It was a meal that had my daughter going to get a spoon to make sure that she got every last drop of the cream sauce... It was awesome!

Company Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups heavy whipping cream (I warned you!)
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup fresh spinach (we'll talk about this later)
1 (16 oz) package penne pasta, cooked according to boxes directions and kept warm
1/2 cup shredded 6-cheese Italian blend cheese

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender. Stir in cream, wine, lemon juice and oregano; simmer for 8 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add shrimp, salt and red pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add spinach; cook for 1 minute.
2. In a large serving bowl, combine shrimp mixture and hot cooked pasta, tossing gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese.

We all loved this dish. It was pretty and tasted wonderful! I know that it calls for the spinach... I forgot to buy it, so we steamed some asparagus. Served the asparagus with Frenchie's wonderful vinegarette, but then cut up the leftovers and added them to the pasta. It was perfect!

I want to cry... but I may drink instead!

I am a procrastinator! There, I admit it! Hello, my name is Kate and I am a procrastinator... Being a procrastinator gets me in all sorts of trouble too. Here is a great example. Sunday we are having a 7th Birthday party for our daughter. Tomorrow I am having an all day crop at my house. Tonight I decided that I should start my daughter's bday cake... Of course that was after 8pm. So I am preheating the oven... My hubby walks into the kitchen and at the same time we both smell gas... Then hear a loud poof and we have a small (thankfully) explosion in the oven. This is the second time that this has happened with this oven. I am all for buying a new oven, but he says I need to get it fixed AGAIN. It isn't even 4 years old. I of course in the heat of the moment tell him "Fine, let them fix it again. But when it blows up for real and takes me with it, make sure and sue them!" I could just sit and cry.... So I just loaded my unbaked cakes (4 layers) into my van and sent them with my hubby to bake at his friend's house, while they drink in the driveway. I don't have high hopes for this turning out well. To anyone who knows my husband... you understand.

Happy baking and creating everyone!

Beef makes me HAPPY!!!!

I have told you that we are doing meatless dinners with Frenchie. It's really going pretty well. Our kids are easy eaters. They pretty much eat whatever we put in front of them... Though I will admit, last night Frenchie wasn't going to be here for dinner... We had Swedish Meatballs! They tasted sooooo good! Heehee! When she got home from her track dinner she eyed them wistfully. Only a week and a half to go, and she says she doesn't care if she sees another piece of fish for the rest of the year! Haha! I am enjoying discovering new types of fish that I like to eat, but I will admit that sometimes it makes me a little crabby. Today was a good day after having beef last night! LOL!
I am going to share the Swedish Meatball recipe. I have said before that I love recipes from loved ones... This one comes from my Dad's cousin, Sally. Just the thought of her and her family brings a smile to my face and makes it a happy dinner table! Enjoy!
Swedish Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs (yep, I use store bought)
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 can beef consume (I use Campbell's)
2 T. flour
Combine first 7 ingredients and form into meatballs. Brown in fat (I use olive oil). In a small bowl, mix consume, 1 can cold water and flour. Add to meatballs. Simmer for 1 hour. Serve over egg noodles.
Family favorite! Very easy! Enjoy!

Birthday Bugs!

My daughter turned 7 recently! She isn't a girly girl and she loves bugs. Ladybugs are very near and dear to our hearts, so look what Frenchie and I created for her school Birthday treat! They were soooo easy and very cute! I love that her teacher allows fun Bday treats, rather than carrot sticks! Heehee! This coming weekend we will have the friend party and continue with our bug theme! I am going to have so much fun doing that cake!

Last night was Monday Night Michigan Matt night... and I made the worst fish! Grouper! YUCK! EEEWWWW! GAG!!!! Ok, I have that out of my system. I guess I should mention that at our dinner table you aren't allowed to say "yuck". You have the right to not like something, but you have to respect that someone else at the table likes it. Frenchie, my hubby and MNM Matt were able to eat the fish, but not me or the kids. (though the kids were able to choke down more than me!) The saving grace of this meal was the salad, Roasted beet and arugula salad with goat cheese and avocado. It was a salad that dreams are made of! Try it!

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar

3 T. finely chopped shallots

1 T. honey

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 medium beets, peeled, and cut into 6 wedges

6 cups arugula

1/2 cup toast walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

3 oz. goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar, shallots and honey to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In another medium bowl, toss the beets with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the foil lined baking sheet. Top with another piece of foil and crimp all sides to seal tightly. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork, 30-40 minutes. Uncover beets and continue to roast and carmelize about 25 minutes longer. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl toss the rest of the ingredients with enough dressing to coat. Arrange beets on each salad plate.

Yummo! I got this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, Giada's Family Dinners. It was a very memorable salad!!!!

Arty the artichoke!!!

I think that my favorite veggie is a steamed artichoke. Most people have never had the pleasure of meeting one, but it is a favorite around here. They do take a little tender loving care, but are so worth the work. First you have to be careful that you don't get poked by one of their little pokey things. (don't you love my technical terms?) Best to use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut off the tips, then put them in a couple of inches of water and with the lid on steam them for at least 40 minutes. You then peel off each little leaf and scrape your teeth along it to get the "meat". My kids like them dipped in mayo. Tonight I discovered artichokes dipped in Frenchie's vinagarette. I was in pure heaven!!!!! It was amazing!!!! Served with the artichokes we had Dover sole and couscous. The Dover sole I dredged in flour then pan fried in a little butter and lemon juice. After the sole was cooked through, I took it out of the pan. To the skillet I added more lemon juice and some dry vermouth and scraped all the goodness from the bottom of the pan. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I will say that the artichokes were the star of the dinner though. Yummo!

I know that I said we would be having soy products tonight, but I wasn't in the mood. So keep checking back, cause they will appear! Frenchie and I spent some time in the hot tub tonight, discussing all the goodies we will make once Lent is over. She doesn't eat meat or sugary things during Lent. I can't wait!!!!!!

Kitchen companions!

I loved this evening! Tonight we were having a veggie lasagna, store bought garlic bread and a tossed salad. Everything was pretty much ready to go when Frenchie got home from track practice, except the salad. I asked if she would help with that... Little did I know how great she would make it! First we scavenged for goodies to put in the salad. We found cukes, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, red pepper and blue cheese. Then she offered to make "her vinagarette dressing". YUM YUM YUM! I would have been happy to just eat salad. My daughter came in to help chop veggies and we all just enjoyed being in the kitchen together. I can't stress enough how much fun it is to have others in your kitchen and cook together. It doesn't matter if they are good cooks, or not. Kitchens are a place that pulls families together... I am a firm believer of this. Tonight I watched the bonding process happen! I love it!!!

Stay tuned for tomorrow night's dinner. We will be using a soy product! You'll be amazed!

Hmmmm...

Well... I tried a new recipe tonight. It was called Eli's Asian Salmon. There were very mixed reviews. I think what I will do is give you the recipe first and then talk about it.
I took this recipe from an episode of Barefoot Contessa.
Eli's Asian Salmon
2 1/4 lbs center cut fillet salmon, 1 1/2 inches thick
1 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T. oyster sauce
1 T. fish sauce
1 T. dark sesame oil
1 1/2 t. chili paste
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. fresh grated ginger
1 1/2 cups panko, japanese breadcrumbs

Line an 8 x 12" baking dish with foil. Place salmon in the pan.
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients except salmon and panko. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over salmon. Sprinkle panko evenly over the salmon, then pour rest of the marinade over top, soaking the panko. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Roast 18-20 minutes to 120 degrees. Remove and wrap tightly with foil for 15 minutes.
I served this with fresh steamed green beans and roasted red potatoes.
It was good. My kids weren't crazy about the topping, but thought it was good once they scraped it off. I sort of agreed with them, I thought it to be a little strong... Frenchie and I discussed what could be done differently and I am sure that we will try it again.
Stay tuned for tomorrow, it will either be a soy based casserole or a veggie lasagna... Who knows! We'll see what feeling hits me tomorrow! Send me your favorite fish recipes!

A new journey!

Today my family begins a new journey! We have a foreign exchange daughter for the next 4 months. This is an amazing opportunity for our entire family, and something that we all have been looking forward to! She is 17, from France and loves to cook! What could be better? To top it off she is kind and fun!
To add to this experience, I have been given a challenge. Frenchie, (as I will refer to her... I hope she doesn't mind!) is not eating any meat during Lent. I am lucky, my family is not picky, so we have decided to follow this with her for the remaining days of Lent. Now I will admit that my little meat and potato son has asked if he can eat meat at school. Of course! So join me in this culinary adventure as I keep it fun and meatless. We will be eating plenty of fish, shellfish, beans, and soy products. I will share as much as possible. I am excited! Check back tomorrow!

A big pot of goodness!

Mmmmm... My house smells of simmering soup and baking bread! What could be better??? Did I mention that the sun is shining too???

A friend/co-worker of Scott's had surgery on Monday and we wanted to take him a meal. He is a food lover, so it was hard to decide what to take him... I finally decided on Minestrone and homemade Dilly Bread. I wish I could convey how good my house smells as these things are cooking. The recipe calls this soup "minestrone", but I'm not so sure that is what it is. I would say it is more of a beef, barley and bean soup... Whatever it is, it's YUMMY! Then don't even get me started on the Dilly Bread... It is soooooo good! I could easily eat the whole loaf! (but that would be bad for the diet) I have debated if these are recipes that I want to share, and I think it is time...

MINESTRONE

3/4 cup navy beans, I use canned

1/2 cup barley

3 lbs beef short ribs

2 medium onions, chopped

1/4 cup parsley

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. basil

1/4 tsp oregano and pepper

1 - 16 oz can tomatoes

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup chopped cabbage

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1 carrot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

In soup pot put beans, meat, onions, parsley, seasonings and 8 cups of water. Heat to boiling then lower heat and cook covered for 2 hours. Remove meat bones and cut up meat into small pieces. Add meat to soup with remaining ingredients. Cook covered for 45 minutes!

DILLY BREAD

1 package yeast

1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 cup cream style cottage cheese, heated to lukewarm

1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. instant minced onion

2 tsp. dry dill weed

1 egg

2 1/4 -2 1/2 cups flour

Soften yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes. Combine in a large bowl the cottage cheese, butter, sugar, salt and baking soda. Then add the onion, dill weed, egg, and softened yeast. Beat well to blend thoroughly. Add flour gradually, beating well after each addition.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (at least an hour, maybe more!) Stir down dough, turn into well greased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Let rise in warm place until light, 30-40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Take out of casserole to cool! ENJOY!!!!!!!

Memory Lane.........

Today we are going to take a walk down my memory lane and end up with a favorite recipe...

I had to have been around my daughter's age, maybe 6 or 7 and I was at grandma's house. That right there could say it all. I loved going to grandma's and being with my cousins... There was lots of land to discover, woods and corn fields to play in, snipe hunting, a B B gun, good food and just plenty of joy. There were also apple and pear trees that brought us all together every fall. So many memories of those trees... but that is another story!
There was a day when grandma's neighbor and good friend showed up at the door with a Mason jar full of beautiful creamy soup. It was a small jar. I remember my grandma, mom and I are standing around that jar with spoons. It might be the best soup ever. We had to make Thelma go home and get us the recipe right then! It was Potato-Leek soup and it was wonderful. Creamy, without being heavy, savory, just the right amount of smooth and chunky... Every time I think of the soup, it takes me back to Grandma's kitchen and that moment. I hope for all of you, that you have something like this that can take you back to a place where there is joy and peace...
One last note, I have a sign in my kitchen that reads "Kitchens are made to bring families together". So true...

THELMA'S POTATO-LEEK SOUP
1/4 lb bacon, diced
3 leeks, white part only thinly sliced
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups chicken broth
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
In a 5- quart dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown bacon lightly. Remove bacon and set aside. Add leeks, celery and onion. Saute for 10 minutes or until golden. Add broth and bacon. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and parsley and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Beat flour into milk and then stir into soup. Add salt and pepper, stirring over medium heat, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

Enjoy!!!