Month: May 2015

Dinner Club

Okay, so my two year old is potty training and my baby, who can not be set down due to allergies and constant itching is already 5 months old. My nine year old has soccer practice and games at least three times a week and my 4 year old only goes to gymnastics once a week. So, what do I do with all of this free time? I want to start a dinner club! (Oh, and a blog, but that’s another entry).

I have a strong desire to make fun dishes that I know my family won’t eat. So, where’s the fun in that? No where, that’s where. Cooking is a stress reliever after all, and don’t I deserve some time for myself? I think I do. There it is then, I’m starting a Dinner Club. Fortunately for me I have friends that like to cook, bake, eat and share. I knew they’d be down.

Once a month I have decided that a group of my friends and I would each make a dish for a Mommy’s Night Out- Dinner Club (or In, in my case, since I’m hosting it, but Owen is taking the kids out). Each dinner will have a theme. I will send out an e-mailed invite and then those who can make it are given randomly assigned dishes. Dishes are subject to change depending on what seems right for the theme. For example, our first dinner was a Traditional Potluck. I thought it would be a nice way to get our feet wet. Then I literally drew names and dishes from a pile, well two separate piles. Dishes included, a main dish, soup, salad, pasta salad, 2 desserts, (it’s a potluck!) three sides and a drink. It was so fun to see and try what everyone brought!

I made the main dish, slow cooked Orange Glazed Ham. Rachel had salad, which included Brussels sprouts, toasted almonds, Manchego, dried cherries and dried cranberries, etc. Erica made Italian Wedding Soup. Tara made a Butternut Squash, Champaign risotto. Molly made a potato dish with the best crispy fried leeks. Jenn made a slaw type dish with Brussels sprouts and bacon. AnnMarie made a rice pilaf with mushrooms. Bailey made fudge and brownies. Catie made blueberry crumble bars. Brenda made lemonade and brought flavored Perrier’s and coffee. Rhonda brought a creamy cold pea and pasta salad. It was a smorgasbord and delicious to say the least. Next time, I’ll take pictures.

After dinner we put all of our suggestions in a bowl for future themed dinners we’d like to have. Suggestions included ideas like, Breakfast for Dinner, Cheeses of the World (where each dishes would have to include a cheese), Italian, and so on. Catie drew Indian. So, that’s it. Our next dinner will be Indian and will include an appetizer and bread. Indian, what do I know about Indian food? Tempura… Chicken Satay… Curry & Turmeric… Not much! That’s what this is about! I’m so excited!

I’ll keep you posted…

BBQ Lamb Meatballs

I love lamb. It’s meaty, it’s mild, it carries flavor nicely, it’s delicious. So here’s my variation of a classic comfort favorite; which I think of as American, but is more likely Swedish, right? Anyway try it, it’s good.

Serves 8

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
2 pounds ground lamb
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 Tbsp honey
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp dried oregano
Canola oil for frying
Your favorite Barbecue sauce

Heat oil and saute onions until softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and saute with onions for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off heat and move to the side. In a large mixing bowl add lamb, egg, milk and honey. Gently mix just to combine. In a separate small bowl add breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and oregano. (Side note: For some reason which I am trying to overcome, I do not like fresh cilantro. However, dried coriander is completely different.) Mix breadcrumbs and spices, then add to meat mixture. Combine all ingredients, but do not “overmix,” because then your dinner and life as you know it will be ruined forever. Not really, but your meatballs might be a little tougher than they ought. Then again maybe you like them that way, so who am I to stop you?

Carrying On! Stick your hands in that meat mixture (use food safe gloves if you’d like) and form little balls of meat about 1 1/2- 2 inches thick in diameter. I place mine on a parchment lined baking sheet. You should get approximately 44 meatballs. Then stick those babies in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes. When ready, pre-heat your oven to 350. Heat canola oil (just enough to coat the bottom of your pan) on med-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides, in batches (to not over-crowd the pan, again causing major damage). We are not really cooking the meatballs here, just getting some flavor on them, so this should go quickly- 1, maybe 2 minutes a side depending on the heat of your pan. Watch them, so they don’t burn, and as they finish browning on all sides… place them in a 13 x 9 baking dish or roasting pan, what have you. Smother with the BBQ sauce of your choice, gently toss (or slowly move around) to coat the meatballs. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 20-25 minutes more, until bubbly and sticky. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice pilaf, yum.
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Eating Organic

Growing up, I lived in a somewhat rural area. I often passed corn fields, most people I knew fished (this is Michigan after all,) and both sets of my grandparents had gardens. So, I had no idea that anything was different from what it said it was. A pea is a pea; a potato is a potato, etc. It wasn’t until my time at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, that I had friends who talked about notions of being self-sufficient and growing their own food, when I began to realize that the food in the grocery stores I shopped at may not be what I thought. I began to learn about crazy things called Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s). A tomato, for example, might not do very well in the rain, so a gene from a fish that is water repellent could be introduced to the genetic make up of the tomato, which would make it superior in wet conditions. And they can even call this process “all natural,” and label your food as such; because after all tomato and fish are natural! Of course, there are all kinds of these experiments going on out there. For another example, let’s talk about soy. Soy is mass produced and in just about everything from peanut butter, to protein bars and tofu. Well, how does one grow large quantities of soy without the fields being overtaken with weeds? Easy! You just modify the soy bean with an anti-roundup gene. (You know, roundup, like the poison that you spray on your driveway. The chemical linked to all sorts of serious health issues, that warns on its own label for pregnant women not to use.) That way when the crop dusters spray the fields with large quantities of roundup, the soy is saved! Hurray! Uh, wait a minute… So, you start to think, what am I eating? What are they doing to people?

Since Owen and I were married and had our own place, we’ve been eating organic, not 100%, but a fair amount. I started with the basics, like meat and dairy. Then it was fruits and vegetables, especially those where you eat the skin, because I’m not into eating pesticide. Gradually we converted our spice cabinet and pantry items, and voila! I’m not going to pretend we don’t eat at McDonald’s on occasion and order in from our local pizzeria. But when it comes to our home we do the best we can for ourselves and our children. It just makes sense, right? I think of it as a good investment. What I am paying now, I hope to save with medical bills in the future. I strongly urge you to do the same.

If you were two, and you liked apples, you would!

If you were two, and you liked apples, you would eat fake apples…

ryan

tech support (aka ryan)

thank you ryan!!! for your hours of help, your creativity, and your enduring patience; because of you, i can have a blog.

much love,

your appreciative sister-in-law

(no caps, just for you)

Jambalaya -Mine

Ok, so I don’t know about your family, but mine isn’t big on seafood (it’s a work in progress). So this is Jambalaya sans (without) the seafood, but to the purists out there, you’re going to love it! …And if you must, think of it as awesome beans and rice… And to gluten forgoers this recipe works for you too, (just check your sausages)!

Serves 6

As organic as possible…

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 yellow onion diced

3-4 garlic cloves minced

1 15 oz can diced tomato (or jar of salsa)

8 oz andouille sausage (I like chicken andouille) cut into bite sized pieces

16 oz smoked sausage cut into bite sized pieces

1 15 oz can red beans (drained and rinsed)

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp chili powder

t tsp cumin

3/4 cup dry rice

1 1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Bay Leaf

salt & pepper to taste

Heat Oil. Saute onions and garlic. Add tomato, and scrape the yummy bottom bits! Add sausages, broth and spices. Stir and bring to simmer. Add rice and stir; this is a great recipe to use brown rice because it is so flavorful and colorful your picky eaters won’t know the difference.) Add beans, salt & pepper to taste (I do about 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of freshly cracked pepper.) Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, about 25-45 minutes depending on type of rice (brown takes longer). Take off the heat and discard bay leaf. Let cool slightly before serving.

Side note: Sometimes I add green/yellow pepper depending on what I have… It looks pretty 😉

Dream A Little Dream

I have a dream that when I look back at old posts I see the aspiring writer I think I am. I dream that when I am trying to revamp an old hobby, and accidentally repost old blog posts, they are full of profound wisdom and beautifully articulated ideas.

A girl can dream.