clean-out-the-fridge pizza

A couple months back, I posted about grilled pizza. We love it and are constantly trying new toppings. After Gourmet Night, I had some leftover filling from preparing the entree, so after ignoring it in the fridge for a couple of days, we did this:

The oohs and ahhs from the dinner table confirmed my suspicion: perfection. The Italian fontina cheese, salami, breadcrumbs, fresh parsley, and olive oil softened into an incredibly aromatic and inviting topping. For the other half, I drizzled olive oil over leftover mozzeralla and tomatoes. This combo satisfied all the foodies and cleaned out my refrigerator. The moral of the story: anything’s possible with a ball of dough.

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lunchbox snacks

My son has a lunchbox; not a lunch sack or cooler or pack. An actual metal lunchbox. And I love it. Because his lame mommy never bought him a lunch sack back in the fall, W brown-bagged it for most of the year. But in the spring, he saw this and had to have it.

I (and my guilt) felt it was worth the $12 and was duly rewarded twice a week as his beaming face brought his “real” lunchbox to preschool. He felt like the MAN carrying that box of tin into his classroom.

As for what goes into that lunchbox (and the three others), the contents don’t always elicit a smile. Being a foodie, it pains me to send junk food to school with my kids. Once in a while, I don’t mind them eating Doritos, Oreos, or cheese puffs, but I just cannot bring myself to pack those for lunch everyday. And because my foodies would rather bring lunch than buy (a good thing, right?), we’ve had to get creative.

In addition to half a sandwich (they only have time to eat half), a piece of fruit, and a water bottle, here are some ideas for healthy and tasty snacks:

• Trail mix

I just recently stumbled across this trail mix. It was sent home (along with oodles of candy!) with my two little foodies after a visit with their grandparents in NH. Trail mix that has chocolate and no raisins = delicious to me. I assume this mix is available at grocery stores. These little packs are handy, or just repackage a large bag into the smaller snack-size baggies. Trader Joe’s has an excellent assortment of trail mixes at reasonable prices.

• Rubbermaid must-have container

With this or similarly sized containers, the possibilities are endless. We have used ours for ranch dip (with carrots, cukes, red peppers), peanut butter (with apple slices or a banana), honey (with sliced fruit or graham crackers), homemade pudding, and yogurt.

• Apple slices with cinnamon sugar

The foodies love this snack. They often don’t finish a whole apple, so by slicing two apples, tossing with some cinnamon sugar, and packaging in zipper bags, we get four snacks.

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no-repeat gourmet night

Being a foodie household, we have a few foodie friends. And when the foodie friends get together, you can bet we eat well.

A few years ago, friends invited us to their summer dinner party. That tradition morphed into a semi-annual Gourmet Night. We usually pick a date and theme (last Fall it was “Tapas”), delegate the courses (appetizers, entrée, desserts, sides, etc.), then eat ourselves silly. This year, we came up with No-Repeat Gourmet Night. Translation: make something you’ve never made before. And instead of running screaming from the unknown, these dear friends dove head first into their projects. Here’s the menu:

Starters:

• Fried Polenta with Tomato Basil Sauce
• Sage Sausage Bites with Balsamic Apricot Dip
• Bruschetta with guacamole and tomato
• Beer-Battered Asparagus with a Lemon Herbed Dipping Sauce

Entrée and Sides

• Beef Braciole “Pinwheel-Style”
• Potato Rosettes (not the exact recipe used, but pretty close)
• Colorful Corn Salad
• Marinated Summer Beans
• Green salad with everything in it

Desserts

• Butterscotch chocolate brownies
• Peanut butter chocolate Bundt cake
• Chocolate espresso cheesecake with blackberry glaze

That last photo is a real teaser, isn’t it? My darling daughter made that (I helped with the glaze). Stay tuned for a cheesecake post in the near future.

To see more cooking action from Gourmet Night, click over to Jennifer’s site. For more tips, check out Works-For-Me-Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

the birthday plate and the art party

I love birthdays. It’s hard for me to understand how some households don’t work themselves into a frenzy when birthdays roll around. Between planning parties, pursuing the perfect gift, and preparing the food, our lives are a little hectic the week before a family birthday. And because all that excitement is worth WAY more than one day, we celebrate birthday week in our home.

And last week was a doozy. We had two birthdays – O turned eight, and I turned…older. I could not cram all of the festivities into yesterday’s post, so I’ll continue birthday week with O’s special day.

This is how O’s actual birthday began:

Years ago, a friend of mine told me about (and gave me) the Birthday Plate – a plate that is only used on birthdays. Each family member gets their birthday cake (and some meals) served on this plate. O wanted breakfast in bed, so that’s what she got. Her sister and I mixed cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla, then spread it onto Pillsbury crescent rolls. After we rolled them up, we brushed the rolls with melted butter, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and baked them as specified. Yum.

Although every year, we celebrate birthdays with family, every few years, the kids get a big friend party (the party is big, not the friends). This year, O wanted an Artist Party where everyone would talk about their favorite artist and maybe do a little art creation. After discussing that not every 7-soon-to-be-8 year old has a favorite artist, she decided on just an Art Party. And here are some highlights.

We had projects planned for the Seurats, Van Goghs, and Pollocks in the group, but Van Gogh and his sunflowers didn’t see the light of day – we ran out of time because the Pollock gene in everyone clearly dominated. No sooner were paper plates of paint refilled then the girls were flinging gobs of color at each other. Some even abandoned the dainty paintbrushes and scooped the paint up with their hands, looking to slop the closest victim. Their shrieks of delight and cackles of laughter made me smile (while standing a safe distance away with my camera). The day was a hit. And my baby girl had the “best birthday ever.”

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bacon smell

Bacon sizzling on the stove – I know the smell. It can rouse me from a sound sleep (although, who am I kidding – I’m the one cooking it). One whiff and my mind has run away with thoughts of crusty bagels with butter, scrambled eggs sprinkled with cheddar, and a steaming cup of black coffee.

But there is another kind of bacon smell. The one where you unwrap those last few pieces that were leftover from a couple of weeks ago, and you know when it hits your nostrils: it’s rank. Then the disappointment sets in – there will be no bacon this morning.

This scenario has happened countless times in our household. In fact, I can remember G and I as newlyweds hovered over leftover packages of bacon trying to determine if they were “bad.” Chances are if the pink has turned a shade of brown, and the enticing smell is “a little off,” then throw it out. But I’m happy to say that there is not a slice of bacon wasted in our house anymore. And it’s not because we have increased our serving sizes. It’s because of our freezer. We wrap those precious slices o’ fat in plastic wrap, and put them into a deep freeze. It’s a simple idea that many others probably have employed for years, but we’ve just discovered this past year. And our lives (or at least our meals) are better for it.

(This is what the slices look like in the freezer – squeezed in amongst the ice cream.)

Here’s how those oft forgotten slices transform some meals:

• Baked potatoes (the picture says it all)
• Pasta with sauteed bacon and onions
• Meatloaf
• Omelettles
• Pizza
• BLT

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stuffed mushrooms and where to put them

Ever heard of a hen sitting on her mushrooms? Maybe not, but here she is:

Of course, this is a deviled egg plate, but it’s also perfect for those slippery little mushrooms.

Seriously easy and seriously delicious – this is how I like to cook. For years, I’ve made stuffed mushrooms – crammed with sausage, piled with crabmeat, or just mounded with a veggie-breadcrumb sauté. But these are the best. The herb cheese actually puffs to resemble a soufflé filling. Did I mention they’re easy?

One word of warning: napkin. Use one.

Check out more Works-For-Me Wednesday tips at We Are THAT Family.

Simple Stuffed Mushrooms

• 1 package of regular white button mushrooms (not the huge stuffing ones)
• 1 package of Alouette Garlic & Herbs Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Wash and de-stem the mushrooms. Pat dry with paper towel.
3. Using a small spoon (a baby spoon works well), pack the cheese into the mushroom caps and place them on a baking sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
5. These suckers are hot, so let them cool a minute before popping one into your mouth!

blender soup: advocado and cucumber with shrimp

July is the perfect time for blender soup. And this is my favorite. It’s cool and smooth with a bit of a kick – even some of the little foodies look forward to this warm weather soup. The colors also are fabulously summery – not sure if that affects the taste for everyone, but I eat with my eyes first. Serve with a crusty baguette and/or a green salad and call it a meal!

It’s Works-For-Me Wednesday summer recipe week at We Are THAT Family, so click over and check out the many recipes. Enjoy!

Avocado-Cucumber Soup with Shrimp

from Everyday Food

(Note: Because of the young palates in our household, we usually do without the shrimp. Another variation is to use crab instead of shrimp.)

• 1 English cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
• 2 avocados, pitted and peeled
• 1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 minced small jalapeno chile (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
• 1/3 cup sliced scallions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 12 medium shrimp (about 6 ounces), peeled and deveined

1. In a blender, combine half the cucumber and 1 avocado with the yogurt, lime juice, jalapeno, scallions, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 cup ice water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Puree until completely smooth. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Cut remaining avocado into 1/4-inch cubes. Stir avocado and remaining cucumber into soup. Thin with1/2 to 1 cup ice water, as desired. Season again with salt and pepper. Chill, about 1 hour.
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp, turning once, until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with shrimp and remaining tablespoon cilantro.
4. Serves 4 adults.
   

works-for-me wednesday: green bags as seen on tv

I am not a sucker. I don’t usually run out and buy products just because the happy lady on television tells me to. Word-of-mouth recommendations, however, are golden.

After my foodie cousin told me about these green bags and gave one to me to try, I was sold and sought them out at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Little did I know that the packaging said in a bold red and white graphic, “As Seen on TV.”

Now, I knew these bags worked, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit self-conscious on my way to the register. Buying something with “As Seen on TV” stamped on it implies two things: first, that the buyer has watched the infomercial on TV; and second, that she believes that infomercial. But in the quest for crisper lettuce, I swallowed my pride and am happily enjoying our garden greens for much longer than I thought possible.

We picked our last spinach harvest more than a week ago. G washed the leaves in cold water, dried them in the salad spinner, and we put them in the green bag. This is what the spinach looks like today:

Pretty amazing.

A few things about the bags:

• they are expensive ($9.99 for 20 bags).
• they are reusable.
• they work on salads, any greens, grapes, celery, carrots (these are what I’ve tried – they are supposed to work on other produce as well).

I’m no scientist and cannot explain how the bag works, except that somehow it slows down the ripening process. Seeing is believing – and we’re believers.

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