Creamed Onions

 A Thanksgiving staple growing up I still love creamed onions. I think that's about the only time we had them. I think the trick this year might be finding pearl onions. I'm sure I've seen frozen ones but these days it's hard to find basic frozen vegetables. I haven't seen fresh ones either. I'll be hitting the grocery stores again probably on Tuesday and will see what I can find. 

Creamed Onions

serves 4

 

1 lb small pearl onions

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/4 c milk, warmed

salt & pepper

If needed, peel the onions then cook in a cup of lightly salted water until tender; drain.

To make the white sauce - melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly until tlhe paste cooks and bubbles a bit but don't let it brown. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste; lower the heat and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes more. Remove from the heat, add the onions, and reheat.

from The Fanny Farmer Cookbook

Roasted Butternut Squash with Baby Spinach & Cranberries

I found this recipe in Wegman's magazine, the Thanksgiving issue. It looked good and since I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner and we both love squash I thought I'd make it tonight. I don't usually do "fancy" side veggie dishes during the week but this was worth the bit of extra effort. It was easy to make and I cooked the chicken as the same time; one way to ensure all the dishes are ready at the same time. I modified the recipe from Wegman's and now it's one of those "use a bit of this, a handful of that" kind of recipes.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Baby Spinach & Cranberries

1 medium butternut squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 red onion, chopped
olive oil
salt & pepper
a couple of handfuls of baby spinach
1/3 c dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 400*. Toss the squash and onion with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned and tender. Put the squash into a bowl, add spinach and dried cranberries then toss to combine.

Stir-Fried Sesame Asparagus

One of our favorite spring veggies is asparagus. There are so many yummy ways to fix it and we eat it quite a bit around here. I was looking for something a little different the other night and found this stir-fry recipe.

Stir-Fried Sesame Asparagus
makes 4-6 servings

2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 lbs asparagus, ends trimmed, cut on diagonal into 2" long pieces
2 tsp sesame seeds

Stir soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl until sugar dissolves. Heat oil in heavy large skillet. Add garlic and stir 15 seconds. Add asparagus and sir-fry until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Add soy mixture and toss until asparagus is coated, about 1 minute longer. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

Thanks to Lynn's Kitchen Adventures, I know now about making baked potatoes in the crockpot. Never would have thought of it, but it sure is a great way to make baked potatoes in the summer. I also think it will be nice in the winter, throw them in at breakfast, eat at lunch.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

Four baking potatoes fit nicely in the bottom of my crock. I'm not sure how it would work if you stacked them, they'd probably need to cook all day. You'll have to figure out how many will fit in your crock.

Wash the potatoes and stab them with a fork a few times. Rub with olive oil, put in the crock and sprinkle with sea salt. You can also salt first, then wrap in foil. Cook on high 6-7 hours.

Steak and Spinach Pinwheel with crockpot baked potato

Cucumber Salad

I'm not sure you could really call this a "salad" since it's really just marinated cucumbers but that's what it was called in the cookbook. It came from a Swedish cookbook my mom has and it's one we've enjoyed for years. The nice, cool, crisp cucumbers really are enjoyable during the hot summer months.

Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 c vinegar
1 1/2 c water
1/2 c sugar
chopped parsley for garnish

Mix vinegar, water, and sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the sliced cucumber to the marinade and chill in the fridge for several hours. You can reuse the marinade.

Baked Potato Casserole

Yes, we've still been eating, just been incredibly busy. Nothing really creative or new about most anything I've been making recently. I'm just happy most days to get a decent dinner made and on the table or into a thermos. I was clipping some coupons this weekend and came across this baked potato casserole recipe. Since Bob is a meat-and-potatoes man and Whitney loves baked potatoes, I knew this would be a hit at our house. After a long day of snowboarding/skiing and working at the grill, they came home to steak and baked potato casserole.

Baked Potato Casserole
serves 6

8 medium potatoes (about 2.5-3 lbs total), peeled and cut into chunks
1 c evaporated milk
1/2 c light sour cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
sliced green onions, optional (I used 3)

Place potatoes in a large pot. cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15-20 minutes or until tender; drain. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 2.5-3 quart casserole dish.

Return potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mash with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 c cheese and half of the bacon. Spoon mixture into casserole dish.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. top with remaining 1/2 c cheese, remaining bacon, and green onions. Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Tastes just like a baked potato, but in casserole form.

Anniversary dinner, part 2 (marinade and zucchini)

We really enjoyed our dinner yesterday. I had planned to use our "usual" marinade for the steak but I was out (usually have plenty of McCormick's meat marinade on hand); I found this one that we liked. The zucchini sticks were from a recipe that I found on Pinterest (that came from the King Arthur Flour website). They also had a sweet onion dip with them that I didn't make but was told I need to make the next time I make the zucchini sticks. Maybe for a football afternoon snack.

Meat Marinade
marinades 2 lbs(ish) of meat

1/2 c vegetable oil
1/4 c soy sauce
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Use to marinade any cut of beef.


Baked Zucchini Sticks
about 3 dozen sticks

3 medium zucchini, unpeeled, cut into 3" long ticks
1 Tbsp salt
1 c panko bread crumbs
scant 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Place the zucchini in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Let the zucchini drain for at least an hour; rinse and pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 425* and line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the panko, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning on a large plate. Have the eggs in a bowl (suitable for dredging the zucchini sticks). Dredge the zucchini sticks a few at a time in the egg, then roll in the crumb mixture. Place the sticks on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potatoes

Last night's dinner almost falls into the category of epic fail and I was looking forward to it, too!  It was spicy pasta with sweet potatoes and I saved it for last night because it was supposed to just be Rosie Jane and me home for dinner.  As it turned out the other two were home as well and Bob doesn't like spicy and Sweet Pea doesn't like sweet potatoes.  They ended up with leftovers as I still made this.  The spicy pasta part just didn't taste that great.  I don't like peanut butter and the pasta had a peanut butter/cream cheese/Sriracha/soy sauce sauce.  I figured I'd give it a try since overall it sounded good but the sauce was too creamy, I think.  Neither one of us really liked it.  On the other hand, the sweet potatoes were good.  We decided that we'd try them again, maybe as sweet potato fries or even like this again.

Sweet Potatoes

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes or sticks
1/2 tsp each sugar, chili powder, and cinnamon
1 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 450*.  oil a rimmed baking pan; set aside.  Place sweet potato cubes in a bowl.  Toss with the other ingredients.  Spread in prepared pan; bake 20 minutes or until tender.  May need longer or shorter if you do something besides the cubes.

Bubble and Squeak

No, I'm not writing about bubble baths or dog toys.  Bubble and squeak is a British dish that I found a while back that uses cabbage and potatoes.  It's a simple, tasty dish.

Bubble and Squeak
serves 4

5-6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
1/2 small head of cabbage, sliced, then cut crossways (you'll end up with squares)

Put the cabbage and potatoes into a pot and cover with water.  Boil until potatoes are tender.  Drain.  Heat a cast iron skillet and melt some butter in it.  Add the potatoes and cabbage.  Lightly mash the mixture and cook until lightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper.

Sunday dinner

We usually try to have Sunday dinner sometime early afternoon.  Bob and the girls head back to church mid-afternoon for youth group. Depending on what they're doing and how much they chat after youth, they get home at a different time each week so it doesn't really work to have a family dinner later.  It's always a meal we sit down to together, sometimes "fancy," sometimes not.  Supper on Sunday nights is get what you can - leftovers, cereal, sandwiches, anything I don't have to fix for you.

Today's dinner was easy, but nice.  I was thinking of grilling but Rosie Jane didn't want her pork chops grilled plus she said it would take too long for the grill to be ready (true).  I did make her eat outside on the deck since it's a lovely day.  We had boneless pork chops (seasoned with salt, pepper, and sage, cooked in the cast iron skillet), red potatoes, and Brussels sprouts fresh from the farmer's market.  For the Brussels sprouts, I cleaned them, cut them in half, and put them in a shallow roasting pan.  Drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, and chopped/minced garlic; gave it all a toss and cooked at 425* for about 20 min.  When they were done I put them in a serving dish, gave them another light drizzle of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar, another toss and served.

Menu planning = saving money

Since I don't really have any great recipes to share today and my brain is getting overloaded with apple thoughts, I'll share a few tips that I hope will help my girls when they're on their own in a few years.

First off, make a menu plan for the week.  Or month.  One way to plan for the month is to designate each day a specific type of meal then you can pick from that.  A few examples, Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday (anything Mexican works), Fish Friday (I think I'd have a revolt on my hands is I did this).  This way, if you know on Wednesdays you cook a pasta dish, it takes a bit less thinking to menu plan since you only need to think through pasts dishes.  I don't tend to plan this way.  I usually try to sit down on Sunday and plan the meals for the week.  I made up a chart in Excel that had each day down the left side and Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner across the top.  I found a really cool one online but couldn't find it again so I had to make my own (which isn't as pretty).  I do pretty good getting stuff for dinner, I just forget about breakfast and lunch which is why they're on the menu.  Since the girls and I are home for lunch most days, I need to remember to plan for this.  Plan the weekly menu, then only buy what you need. 

Tip #2, use coupons judiciously.  Don't buy stuff just because you've got a coupon, buy it because you need it/eat it/will use it.  If you need more tips on couponing, there's lots of websites/blogs out there.  I'm not a fanatic about it but I do try to coupon.  I run into problems because of tip #3, buy store brands.  For most things, I find store brands to be indistinguishable from national brands.  There are some things I like store brands better, like boxed mac & cheese.  There are a very few things that I only buy the national brand.  Chocolate chips are one, must have Nestle, Cheerios are another; the store brand just isn't as good. 

I try to shop at Aldi when I can although I don't try to go out of my way to shop there.  You need to be careful shopping at places like Aldi and BJs/Costco.  Sometimes although Aldi is inexpensive overall, you can sometimes find better deals at the grocery store.  For example, pasta on sale is always cheaper at the grocery store than Aldi.  You just need to be price aware and know what's a good deal and what may not be.

OK, I lied, I do have a a quick recipe to share.  My girls love veggies, all sorts of veggies.  I had bought a really nice head of cauliflower at the farmer's market on Sunday.  I fixed a roast, roasted cauliflower and apple sauce for dinner.  For the cauliflower, I cut it into thick slices, drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper, and cooked on a baking sheet for about 20 min. in a 425* oven.  Yum!

Spaghetti squash

This is one I saw in a magazine that I'm reading through to send to the recycle bin.  Just wanted to get it here before I lose it.  It will make a good side in the cool months coming up.

Spaghetti squash

Cut squash in half; scoop out seeds.  Place cut-side down in a roasting pan with 1/2 inch water; cover with foil. Bake at 350* for 1 hour or until tender.  Using a fork, pull squash into strands.  Stir together with 1/4 c. chicken broth, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, chopped parsley and salt and pepper.  Top with Parmesan cheese.

Summer pasta salad

This is one I make quite often, an easy, pretty quick summer pasta salad.  I almost always serve it with bread of some sort, usually either biscuits or sourdough bread, tonight I served it with cornbread.  This is a recipe that is so easy to expand to serve more as needed.

Summer Pasta Salad

8 oz. pasta
tomato
green pepper
cucumber
carrot
whatever other raw veggie you have around
smoked sausage
vinaigrette dressing

Cook the pasta according to the directions.  Use something big, like bow ties.  Cut the tomato and pepper into chunks, cut the cucumber in half then slice, slice the carrots.  Slice the smoked sausage; cook in a skillet until warm and crispy on the edges.  When the pasta is done, run it under cool water.  Toss everything together.  Enjoy!

More recipes to try

So in trying to find something to occupy my time with yesterday while the hurricane rained and blew outside, I decided to read through some magazines that I hadn't gotten to yet.  Much more fun then the cleaning I should have been doing.  The end result is that I need to cook more!  I now have a new pile of recipes to try.  Then I was reading one of my new cookbooks by Ellie Krieger that I got at Border's last week  We found some great breakfast things that Sweet Pea was interested in trying.  I'm happy about that since she doesn't really like most breakfast foods, no cold cereal, no eggs, no berries or melons; makes it hard to make sure she eats before school. So we're looking forward to trying some of those.  Besides finding some great breakfast recipes, I also found some for lunch as well.  And I have her other cookbook to re-look through...and Rosie Jane and I watched two Food Network shows today that we recorded and found some more things we wanted to try.  Now I just have to remember all these great sounding recipes and get them on the menu!

Today being Sunday, we ate dinner early.  We usually eat dinner at 1 or 2 on Sundays then have a light supper later.  It just makes it easier and we can all eat together for one meal on Sundays since the rest of the gang is so busy and doesn't always have the same schedule.  They all head back to church for youth group or Venture Crew mid-afternoon and after the chit-chatting when they're finished, it's pretty late for a big meal when they get back.  So big meal in the middle of the afternoon and supper (whatever anyone can find/feels like eating) later after youth or whatever they're doing.  Today's meal was pretty easy, ham steak, zucchini (slice in half longways, sprinkle on some olive oil, salt and pepper, shredded Parm, bake at 400* for about 20 min), and cheesy-broccoli rice.