Planning to Make

As we enter what is simply the greatest time of year, I am looking forward to long hours spent in my favorite room of the house...the kitchen, of course.  Besides the heartier fare that the cold weather necessitates (Chicken Pot Pie, anyone?), I am looking forward to baking Christmas cookies, giving in to the kids' daily request for hot chocolate, and working soup into our menu as often as I can.

For snuggly breakfasts:
Perfect Hot Chocolate
Granola
Pumpkin Pie Muffins

For warming our bellies: 
Cornbread Muffins to accompany our favorite Beef Stew
Mom's Tortilla Soup
Roasted Tomato Soup

For gifts: 
Ina's Jam Thumbprint Cookies
Chocolate-Peppermint Thumbprints

What are you craving this Christmas season?

Another tip (or two) that might change your life

I can't really handle Anne Burrell.  I admit she has a vast knowledge of food however, her attitude completely turns me off. I find that I can sometimes handle watching her show if I mute it and read along with the closed captioning.

By doing so, I have gained two pieces of knowledge that have changed the way I do a couple of things.  They both have to do with beans.

When cooking dried beans and testing for doneness, do what she calls the "ten bean test."  Spoon out 10 beans and taste them all.  If they are all tender, the pot of beans is done.  If one or two of them are still a bit tough, give the pot another 20-30 minutes or so and check again.  It works!

Secondly, when blanching green beans (or any vegetable, really), salt the boiling water well, but also salt the ice water you use to shock the vegetable after cooking.  I did this to the last batch of green beans I made and was shocked at the boost in flavor!

A tip that might change your life

I listen to old podcasts of The Splendid Table on a regular basis.  Yesterday, Lynne mentioned that on the side of your box of plastic wrap and foil, there are little tabs that you can press in to secure the roll and prevent it from coming out!

Life changer.

Were you aware of this phenomenon?

A Few Questions for YOU

What kinds of recipes are you looking for?

Is there a technique you want to try (bread making, baking, meal-planning, etc.) but are intimidated by?

Which recipes here do you gravitate towards?

Which ones have you tried?

Were they successful? Any that weren't successful?

Are they easy to follow?

What's something you buy pre-made but want to make at home?

Your feedback is much appreciated, friends!

The Witching Hour

My friend Katherine, whose blog will inspire you, asked a blog-post worthy question:

"When do you do your dinner cooking? A friend of mine once referred to that 5:00 hour as "suicide hour". That's when I'm waiting on Russ to get home (by 6/6:30) and it is 50/50 as to whether the kids will be playing contentedly or hanging on my legs to be held. So- said friend recommended I do my dinner prep at nap time, so as to avoid the "suicide hour" stress. Also to decrease any resentment toward Russ for not being in a home-by-5:00 job.Enough about me- when do you fix dinners? Do you freeze much ahead of time? You seem like a "cook it all fresh" kind of girl. Discuss."

I hear you. Oh, how I hear you. I've never heard it referred to as "suicide hour," only "witching hour," but perhaps your friend's description is more accurate. I have one night a week that I know my husband will be home at a decent hour. Not only decent, remarkable. (We're talking 1:45 or 2!!!) On those nights, I might try something new or make something that requires a lot time and attention, like Stew. Every other night, I never know if he'll even be home before 7. So I do a lot of cooking with whiny children running around like crazy and/or pulling on my pant legs.

Some strategies:

*Don't be too high and mighty to just plop those kids in front of the TV while you cook.

*If you're trying to eat all together as a family, and therefore pushing back dinner time until 6:30 or 7 (like we do around here), don't be afraid of a small late afternoon snack to sustain them.

*For the littlest ones, put all the Tupperware in one low cabinet and let the kid go to town.

*As for prepping ahead, I do sometimes. Stir-fry ingredients can be chopped, measured, etc. and stashed away until supper. Pasta and rice can be cooked ahead of time and reheated (especially handy if you make brown rice, which takes close to an hour to cook).

Dredging stations can be made and set aside until needed. (Like for Parmesan Chicken)

*I've mentioned my love of garlic and onion powders before. Not only do they serve as one less thing to be picked out of food, it also saves time- no chopping required.

*Implement a leftovers night. We called it "clean out the refrigerator" night when I was growing up. It was always a random smorgasbord of food, and I still love it.

*I rely pretty heavily on "steam-in-the-bag" veggies as a side dish. Green beans are our favorite. 5 minutes or so in the microwave, no pots to babysit, no thinking required.

Who else has suggestions? Feel free to leave them in the comments section!

Food Goals

Do you ever make food goals? I realize I'm a food-obsessed gal, but I can't be the only one who thinks about food constantly, peruses cookbooks for fun, constantly tries new recipes (or at least plans to), etc. Right?

I'm also a list maker, especially around my birthday. It's coming up in a few weeks, and I've been compiling a list in my head of "food things" I want to accomplish.

Strange?

Probably. But here they are-

Eat French Onion Soup. I've never had it, and I find that odd, considering that it's smothered with cheese and topped with bread.

Make and eat French Toast. I've eaten it once. I've never made it. Crazy, no? And I'm somewhat obsessed with the idea of it. I probably have 10 recipes that I've ripped out of magazines over the past few years.

Make and eat a Croque Monsieur. I think this is the last french food goal. Again, how have I never eaten this sandwich?

Make a new dessert every month. I have a huge binder filled mostly with dessert recipes, most of which I've never tried (I tend to make the same things over and over again). I want to remedy that, because there's something satisfying about trying something new and not just continuing to wonder about it. Even if it ends up not being that great and I get rid of the recipe, it's still satisfying.

Make a 7-layer cake. This is on my list of things to do before I'm 30. I'm turning 29 this year, so...the clock's ticking.

Round 2 voting and another exciting link!

Click here to send me to the next round of Project Food Blog!

Click here to enter a giveaway for an adorable apron from Anthropologie, hosted by the lovely cake designer, Erin!

Thanks, friends!

Mindless Meals

I'm asking for your help.

We've been eating out WAY too much lately, as a result of my total lack of desire to cook. Triple digit temperatures, exhaustion by the end of the day, stir-crazy, cabin-fevered kiddos...whatever it is, cooking is the last thing I want to do at the end of the day.

But we had to break the cycle. Our boys both had a bit of stomach trouble as a result of the endless corn dogs, pizzas, and sausage biscuits. (Does that officially make me the worst mom ever?)

So last night's grocery trip included a few of my "mindless meals" that I'm pretty sure I will at least have the energy to concoct. Spaghetti, Spanish Rice, Buitoni Tortellini. I even grabbed tons of fresh veggies to have on hand because most nights even making a salad takes too much effort. But I need more meals in my arsenal.

Can you help? Any mindless meals you're willing to share with me? My family thanks you!

Happy Things

I've been tagged by Ashley to list 10 things that make me happy.
So far today I've accomplished two loads of laundry and tons of yelling at my two boys.
So, I could use some happy today.

In no particular order, these 10 things make me happy.

1. Alone time at Barnes and Noble (with nothing but coffee and magazines to keep me entertained)
2. Date days
3. Dark chocolate chips and almonds in the afternoons (or evenings...or mornings...)
4. Watching Phineas and Ferb with N
5. Seeing grey-blue walls in our house instead of khaki walls
6. Colorful cookbooks
7. Down comforters
8. S blowing kisses (his new favorite thing to do)
9. A good head rub from my husband
10. Headache free days

Happy Accidents

Last night's dinner was one of those "happy accidents" that just...happened. One of those, "Well, I've got this in the freezer and this in the fridge and these are going to go bad if I don't do something with them soon" kind of accidents. I was prepping my husband for the worst on the drive home from work. I assured him that we could hop in the car and go for a burrito if my scheming didn't work out.

The reaction? "Accident or not, you can add this to the rotation." Success!
The accident?

1 lb of chuck stew meat, thrown the crock pot with 1/3 of a beef bouillon cube and water to cover (because I had no beef broth). Cooked on high for about 4 hours, until it was tender and easy to shred. Shredded it, and added it to a hot skillet coated with a smidge of oil to get some color on the meat. Deglazed the pan with some of the "broth" from the crock pot then poured over the remainder of this sauce I had saved in the freezer from the last time we had pepper steaks. It always makes too much sauce and I rarely save it, but I certainly will from now on!

I served it with green beans and brown rice (which I also thought I had ruined, since I turned it off with 12 minutes to go on the timer because we had to go fetch the husband from work!).

How about you? Any happy accidents you can share from your own kitchen?