Super Easy Peach Cobbler
15 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in from the freezer, recipe Tags: peach cobbler, recipe
The problem with *knowing* that I just put up a whole heck of a lot of peaches last month is knowing that they are just sitting there in the freezer . . . waiting for me to have a cobbler craving.
In my family, there are as many cobbler recipes as there are salsa recipes. No joke. And, they are all good. I’m an equal opportunity cobbler fan – peaches and crust with a bit of vanilla ice cream and I’m in heaven.
This recipe, however, is the absolute easiest of them all! More
Mastering Leftovers: Spinach Pizza
19 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in from the freezer, from the pantry, leftovers, recipe Tags: cheese, leftovers, pizza, recipe, spinach
This week, we ran short on some leftovers and a bit over on others. I ended up with about a cup of leftover spinach. It could have gone into a lunch for work, but I had an aha! moment and figured it could make an excellent pizza.
Ingredients:
- 2 sweet Italian sausages, casing removed and browned
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced with as much juice drained off as possible
- about 3/4 cup shredded mozarella
- roughly half a little log of garlic herb goat cheese, crumbled/diced
- about 1 cup leftover creamed jalapeno spinach, drained (or any cooked spinach)
- pizza dough
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
Directions
Heat oven to 400. Form the size pizza that you’re wanting, let rest for about ten minutes.
Evenly spread the tomatoes, spinach, sausage, and goat cheese over the dough. Top with the mozarella. Sprinkle with oregano.
Bake for 25 minutes, until cheese starts to melt and the crust is just browning at the edges.
Let rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting to serve.
This recipe is linked to Real Food Wednesday 5/19/10
Menu Plan Monday: Quick Meals in 30 or Less
10 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in from the freezer, from the garden, from the pantry, making life easier, menu planning, organization
This week is a busy one, which means meals need to be quick and easy! I used Sunday evening to prep a two-fer meal for the beginning of the week, and then the remainder will be super fast start-to-finish meals. Friday will be a bit of an indulgence, and the weekend is going to be all about being outside.
Monday — Baked Pork Chops with potatoes and zucchini.
- I made these Sunday evening in anticipation of a busy week. To reheat, I’ll add a bit of stock to my gravy and pop them into the oven to reheat gently while the potatoes boil and I saute the zucchini in a touch of olive oil. The potatoes are also in the fridge, already peeled and quartered, in a bowl of water to prevent browning.
Tuesday – Leftovers
Wednesday — Chipotle Cream Chicken with broccoli florettes over fettucine
- Yeah, it wouldn’t be my house without some sort of Mex-inspired meal.
- The chicken is from the freezer. The last time we grilled chicken breasts, we made extra that I sliced before freezing.
- The broccoli is also from the freezer. I toss it into the boiling pasta water about 3-ish minutes before the pasta is going to be done and then drain it all together. Quick tip: You can also do that with shrimp for a pasta dish!
Thursday — Herb-Roasted Chicken Cutlets with mashed potatoes and a side salad.
- This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman’s recipe of the same name in How to Cook Everything. His recipe calls for dill, which my husband was not too fond of the first time I made it. Therefore, herb replacement happened.
- Prep ahead for this: peel and quarter the potatoes the night before and store in the fridge in cold water to prevent browning.
Friday – Pan-Seared Salmon with faux green bean casserole
- This is super easy and super quick. I can’t believe that I used to have a phobia about cooking salmon!
- The green beans are from the freezer. My supermarket’s home company has its own line of organics that includes frozen veggie combos, one of which is green beans with a mushroom sauce. I zap the beans in the microwave and then stir in a few drops of Louisiana-style hot sauce for flavor. If I happen to have them in the house (not often), I’ll top with french-fried onions.
Saturday — Grilled Burgers and Dogs
Sunday — Smoked Brisket with rice, beans and potato salad.
Menu Plan Monday: Mastering Leftovers & Make-Aheads
03 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in from the freezer, leftovers, making life easier, menu planning Tags: freezer staples, leftovers, menu planning
Leftovers have always been a part of my meal planning. However, rather than eating the same thing reheated, I look for ways to re-work the leftovers into a new meal. I’ve also, in my quest to make dinner prep easier, started including what I call Make-Aheads in my meal plan. Quite simply, they’re recipe components that keep well and take a step or two out of the prep work. And often, losing those few steps does wonders to reduce kitchen stress for me!
I’m going into this week with grilling leftovers: ribs, fajitas, garlic sausage, zucchini, baked potatoes, and red bell peppers.
Monday – Slow Cooker Ribs and Steakhouse Salad
- The ribs I’m using for this are what we call thin-cut short ribs (and I’ve seen described elsewhere as “flanken ribs”) leftover from grilling this weekend. They really benefit from the slow cooker the second time around as they tend to be a bit tough off the grill despite if more than medium done.
- Steakhouse Salad is just our fancy way of describing a basic iceberg lettuce salad with chopped tomatoes, cucumber, green onions, olives, and shredded carrots. The trick to making it awesome is keeping the lettuce super crisp, and dry!
Tuesday – Tacos al Carbon, Pico de Gallo, Green Salsa (not Salsa Verde), and Asparagus.
- “Al carbon” literally means that the meat has been grilled over charcoal. The favorite accompaniments for these tacos, made over from fajitas, are a mild and tomato-y pico de gallo and a very spicy-hot green salsa.
- Asparagus is in season now, and the price per pound makes it incredibly difficult to pass up. Our green veggie is going to be very simply prepared asparagus, and I’ll reserve the cuts to toss into a light lunch soup for later in the week.
Wednesday — Twice Baked Potatoes stuffed with grilled garlic sausage and Roasted Veggie Gratin.
- Since the grill was going anyway, I wrapped up some nice baking potatoes in double layers of foil to stick in the coals. The potato stuffing will include the leftover grilled garlic sausage (made locally by our very excellent meat market).
- The gratin recipe lends itself incredibly well to using any leftover squash and vegetables. Since the veggies are already cooked, all this needs is heating time!
Thursday — Made-Ahead Meal: Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
- I went to a cooking demonstration a few years ago given by a former Navy White House chef, and he explained how he prepped pasta to be used later on. It made so much sense that now I rarely need to boil pasta the evening of a meal. How to: boil pasta as usual, but after draining, spread on jelly roll pan to cool; then, when cool, drizzle with no more than a tablespoon of olive oil and store in a large zip top container, and it’s ready for later in the week!
- The meat sauce is actually going to be a combination of ground beef I have in the freezer already browned up with onions and garlic and a tomato sauce from the freezer as well.
Friday — Leftover Buffet
- If there aren’t any leftovers, we’ll make breakfast for dinner!
Saturday — out of town
Sunday — out of town
- I won’t be cooking at home on Mother’s Day, but I’ll be responsible for an appetizer and a side dish at my parents’ place. As I have absolutely no idea what the main dish(es) will be, I have no idea what I’ll make. Happy Mother’s Day!
