crafts + recipes + existential dread
As the weather gets warmer, having fish for dinner seems like a logical choice since it is light and healthy. I made crab cakes on Good Friday and wanted to share a delicious sauce that I threw together to complement them. Head over to Sugar & Spice to check it out!
My parents were down earlier this week for a visit and they brought this crazy apple pie! I could not believe how tall and beautiful it was. I mean, this looked like the kind of pie that would have my husband scrambling to look for the best fat burner for men because you just wanted to eat the whole thing. Ah…. but not so fast.
I cut into it, expecting it to be filled to the top with sweet, delicious apples. Whenever I make pies, the crust conforms to the fruit inside. Somehow that wasn’t the case. There were enough apples, but they weren’t piled to the top. Really, there was about the same amount as any other pie. Nevertheless it was tasty, but it sure had me fooled
My little pixie’s first birthday is less than two months away! I planned big parties for both Jake and Noah, but I’m not doing that this time. I’m only inviting the usual cast of immediate relatives. It will make things easier for me, and less overwhelming for Lulu. But I still want to do something special, and lately I’ve been fixated on cakes. I found inspiration in the latest issue of Ladies’ Home Journal (of all places!). I don’t usually read it because it was a substitution subscription when Country Home (sniff…) folded last year and not something I find particularly interesting. But when I thumbed through the recipe section, a couple things caught my eye. First, these simple little cake squares:
Wouldn’t they be just perfect for those tiny, chubby hands to pick up? They make me think of baby blocks. I’d make some lemon flavored and some strawberry flavored, I think. Another bonus: incredibly simple to make.
But then I saw these tiny cakes, too and… goodness, how irresistible are they?
You actually bake the cakes in tin cans (for example, a soup can or an evaporated milk can). They’re a little more elegant than cupcakes. Of course, they’d require more work, too. I can’t decide! What do you think?
So I’ve made it through Day 4 of SB Phase 1. I actually cheated this afternoon, but aside from the lone snack cake I’ve been sticking with the program. I’m very cranky, but it hasn’t been that bad. I’m just being a baby about it. I guess on the upside, at least I don’t have to concern myself with lipozene side effects — just ignoring that box of granola bars in the cupboard 😉 I’ll finish out the two weeks, but it will be nice to have my morning toast back in my diet.
I was away all last week, totally overdoing the breads, pastas, and desserts. While I loved every minute of it, I now feel a little off considering I don’t usually eat like that on a normal basis. (And the scale tells me much the same — eek!). Since Drew wants to lose a few pounds, we decided to start South Beach Phase 1 on Monday. A few years ago I lost about 20 lbs. by following the program! This time I really just want to get rid of the sugar cravings and get myself back on track to healthy eating. I like to think of it as a pseudo cleanse (a carb cleanse that is — watch, now I’ll have all kinds of searches on colon cleanse reviews just because I typed the word “cleanse.”) At any rate, I know how hard it is to find South Beach menus, so I wanted to make a point of sharing mine. Breakfast is the most boring, but I’m going for simplicity. I’ll channel my creative energy into SB dinners. I remember that the first three days are hard, but they got easier after that. Having everything written down will no doubt help. So here we go, with Week 1.
Monday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with peanut butter
L: 15 bean soup, salad, SF jello
S: Turkey pepperoni, sliced green pepper, string cheese
D: Baked chicken oreganata, salad, steamed broccoli & cauliflower, vanilla ricotta creme
Tuesday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Walnuts
L: 15 bean soup, salad, SF jello
S: Cucumber slices with hummus
D: Turkey & bean chili, salad, cocoa ricotta creme
Wednesday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with neufchatel cheese
L: 15 bean soup, salad, SF jello
S: Ham slice and wrapped around string cheese, dipped in mustard
D: Chopped steak smothered with LF cheese, onions, and mushrooms; salad; broccoli, vanilla ricotta creme
Thursday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Walnuts
L: Turkey & bean chili (leftover), salad, SF jello
S: Turkey pepperoni, pepper slices, string cheese
D: Turkey cutlets, sauteed squash & zucchini, salad, cocoa ricotta creme
Friday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with peanut butter
L: Vegetable soup, tuna fish “wraps” (use lettuce leaf), SF jello
S: Hummus and cucumbers
D: Lemon-herb tilapia or cod with herbs, sauteed squash and zucchini, cole slaw, vanilla ricotta creme
Saturday:
B: Western omelettes (ham, pepper, onion, tomato), low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Ham & cheese roll-ups with mustard
L: Southwestern chicken salad (greens, beans, jalepeno, onion, green pepper, grilled chicken, black olives) with fresh salsa and LF ranch dip (LF sour cream + Hidden Valley ranch mix), SF jello
S: Walnuts
D: Grilled filet mignon, steamed asparagus, steakhouse salad, mocha ricotta creme
Sunday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with neufchatel cheese
L: Cobb salad (greens, tomato, onion, hardboiled egg, grilled chicken, avacado, shredded cheddar, turkey bacon) w/ LF ranch dip, SF jello
S: Tomatoes and mozzarella with balsamic drizzle
D: Chicken curry over cauliflower “rice”, vanilla ricotta creme
Well, I started out with a rather ambitious list for my first “baking day” or “freezer cooking day” — however you wish to say it. I didn’t make every item I’d intended to, but I’m happy with the final result. For my final tally I ended up with:
Now, I don’t actually have room in my freezer for the chicken stock, so I’ll be using it up this week. If I can rearrange my freezer I might make another batch. We’ll see about that though.
This was an interesting experiment for me. I’m not sure a designated “baking day” really works for me, but I think I will attempt to make a few extra things here and there when I have the time and ingredients and consistently fill my freezer with easy meals I can just toss in the oven or Crock Pot.
A few of you e-mailed me with a couple questions, so here are those answers:
Q: How do you make your French Toast sticks?
A: For the French toast sticks, all I do is make french toast my usual way and then I slice each piece into strips (a pizza cutter works great for this). Then I line them all up on a baking sheet and flash freeze them. Then I store them in a ziplock freezer bag.
Q: How do you make the breakfast sandwiches and how long do they last?
A: For the sandwiches I use a roll of turkey sausage (it comes packaged in a roll like Jimmy Dean sausage so it’s easy to make patties). I cook the sausage patties and let them cool. Then I use a muffin tin and crack an egg into each cup and
lightly scramble it, add salt and pepper and bake at 350 degrees until they are cooked. I pop them out and slice each egg cup in half (since they are a little smaller than the English muffins) and let them cool. Then I assemble the sandwiches and wrap each one individually in foil and store in a freezer bag. To reheat, I just pop the sandwich (in the foil) in the toaster oven at 300-350 for about 20-30 min. You could also pull a sandwich out and defrost it in the fridge overnight. You could also unwrap the sandwich and microwave it in a paper towel, but the toaster oven just works a little better for me. I am not sure how long they last because in our house it is not very long,
LOL! I think after 2 or 3 months they’d start to lose a little, but I only make 6 at a time.
Quite a few of you requested recipes, and I am happy to oblige. Here you go!
Baked Oatmeal
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup plain yogurt
fresh, dried, or frozen fruit of your choosingIn a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Combine the eggs, milk, butter, and yogurt in a separate bowl and then add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the fruit. Pour into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares.
TO FREEZE: After cutting into squares, either wrap squares individually with foil, or wrap as an 8×8 square in doubled foil. Place into freezer bag and label before freezing. To thaw, simply unwrap a square and pop it in the microwave. Serve with additional milk or yogurt if desired.
Chicken Oreganata*
3-4 chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch chunks
4-5 red potatoes, quartered
1 tomato, cut into eighths
1 medium onion, cut into medium chunks
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
salt, pepper
olive oilCombine chicken and vegetables in a large bowl. Add oregano and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over mixture and stir to combine until all ingredients are coated. (I didn’t measure the olive oil, just added more as needed.) Place all into a freezer bag. Seal, label, and freeze.
TO SERVE: Thaw completely. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken and vegetables into a roasting pan or Pyrex baking dish. Cook for approx. 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through.
Pineapple Lemon Chicken*
2 chicken breast halves
10 oz. crushed pineapple (1/2 a 20 oz. can) + 1/4 cup reserved juice
1 small lemon, thinly sliced
1/8 cup ketchup
1/3 cup honey
1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried rosemaryPlace chicken breasts in freezer bag. For marinade, in a large bowl combine pineapple juice, ketchup, honey Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and rosemary. Stir in crushed pineapple and lemon slices. Pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and freeze.
TO SERVE: Thaw completely. Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Grill, turning once and brushing with 1/4 cup reserved marinated, until chicken reaches 170 degrees and is no longer pink.
* These recipes are new to me and I haven’t tried them yet, so I really can’t vouch for how good they are. I adapted them from the book “Don’t Panic: More Dinner’s In The Freezer.”
Wow, I managed to accomplish a lot more than I thought I would today. The grocery store was a bit frustrating and I wasn’t sure this was the right day for it, but everything came around. I decided to switch up a few things. I opted to not make the Salisbury steaks because ground beef was a little to pricey this week. I also opted to cook and shred the BBQ chicken before freezing it instead of freezing it raw with the sauce.
So. Let’s talk about what I got done, shall we? In the freezer I currently have:
Right now I have applesauce cooking overnight in the Crock Pot, so that will be ready in the morning (my four-year-old is thrilled about this!). I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it or not, but they had apples on the discounted produce rack. So since they were the deal of the day, I knew I had to make applesauce with them. Tomorrow I’ll tackle the baked oatmeal, French toast sticks, apple handpies, and chicken stock. I might have to put off the pea soup; my freezer is looking a little packed already.
But now I’m off to wind down with a cup of tea and a paczki. I think I’ve earned it!
Just a few more days until Christmas — hard to believe! Today I finished up grocery shopping (except now I’m not sure I have everything for my cheesecake) and ordered the flowers for the table. Back in November I was tipped off about how to get a $40 gift certificate to 1-800-Flowers.com. I thought it would be nice to use it toward holiday flowers. Originally I wanted to order this centerpiece, but it wasn’t available for delivery here in the boonies:
I wasn’t in love with any of the other centerpiece options, so I finally decided on 30 stems of tulips in a red and white theme:
There was free shipping on this item, so all I paid was tax — $3.24! Not bad for a nice bouquet that will dress up the table. I’ll just put votives in clear glass holders around it.
After quite a bit of tweaking, I think our menu is finally set, as well. Last year I did beef tenderloin, but my MIL wanted to make that for Christmas Eve this year. I opted to do a brunch, which I’ve done several times in the past. Here’s my plan:
Appetizers:
Brunch:
Dessert:
Beverages:
Originally I’d planned to make a spinach-Gruyere strata that I’ve made in the past, but let’s face it: I’ve got three kids. I can take the easy way out and just scramble some eggs. The boys will eat those. They won’t eat the strata and I don’t want to be fighting over eating on Christmas day.
As for the Bloody Marys/Bloody Danes, if someone asks we’ll make them (or any other drink, naturally), but I think the Mimosas will go over with more people. Oh, and if you’re curious, a Bloody Dane is made with Acquavit instead of vodka. We’re going to taste-test during the week.
So this should be an easy meal to pull off. I’m going to make the pancakes ahead of time and heat them up in the oven. The ham is a no-brainer, and the eggs will only take a few minutes. My goal is for a no-stress, no-fuss relaxing day with my family 🙂
This is one of those weeks where I really should have a menu plan. If I did, it would make my life a zillion times easier. And naturally, I’m stumped. My husband will be in Virgina for three days. My seven-year-old has both a den and a pack meeting for Cub Scouts this week. And my baby is not feeling well and is very needy. I hope I can make it to Saturday!
Well, I’m not making any promises about sticking to my meal plan, but here it is anyway:
Sunday: Pasta and Italian sausage with Drew’s marinara
Monday: Tacos, baked french fries
Tuesday: Make-your-own pizzas
Wednesday: Take-out
Thursday: Quesadillas, fruit salad
Friday: Chicken piccata, pasta salad, green beans
Saturday: Steak, au gratin potatoes, salad
Not the most inspired menu ever, but good enough and easy enough and that’s all that matters this week.
Yesterday we finished our Thanksgiving leftovers, so unlike many people out there, I’m not scrambling for ideas to use up turkey. In fact, I ended up buying a little more! When I was grocery shopping yesterday, the supermarket must have divided up the rest of their fresh turkeys to sell. I bought a package of two turkey drumsticks for all of 57 cents! I’ll use those to make a little turkey soup during week. I wish I bought another package or two for the freezer, at that price.
All in all a very easy week cooking-wise. Don’t get too excited about the butter chicken. Really, I’m just throwing the meat and vegetables into my Crock Pot with some butter chicken simmer sauce I purchased. I won’t be making that totally from scratch. I hope it will be good. Here’s my plan:
Sunday: Fish sandwiches, french fries, salad
Monday: Slow cooker roast beef, potato salad, carrots, salad
Tuesday: Tacos, rice & beans
Wednesday: Slow cooker butter chicken with peas and cauliflower, rice
Thursday: Turkey soup and sandwiches or leftovers
Friday: Dinner out (hopefully!)
Saturday: not sure yet
For other great meal ideas, check out the Menu Plan Monday feature on Organizing Junkie.