Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Suggestions?
I'm in need of suggestions as to what meals I should try to remake. Though I'm considering doing something with meatloaf, budget and time are a major factor. So, hit me with your best shot. What should I work on? What would you like me to try?
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Spaghetti Joes
Now I'm a firm believer in reusing leftovers. Since I run a small daycare, I often bring the leftovers in for my kids at the center. Last night we had spaghetti so I brought the leftover sauce in for lunch. What I forgot to bring however, was the box of spaghetti noodles sitting in my cabinet. So, when I got here and realized I didn't have time to go back out, I started thinking of other ways to serve the kids.
In our house, spaghetti is almost always served with some form of garlic bread. One of mine and Richie's favorite things to do is eat the bread with the sauce over it a la biscuits and gravy. From those thoughts the concept for Spaghetti Joes was formed. Now, I usually use canned spaghetti sauce but if you want to make it from scratch, go for it!
1 can of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground beef or italian sausage
4 hamburger buns
3 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup italian cheeses of your choice
Preheat over to 350. In a skillet brown the ground beef or sausage. Drain. In a medium sauce pan combine browned meat and can of sauce. Heat sauce on low until hot. In skillet melt the butter then add the garlic. Sautee garlic until it browns slightly. Lay hamburger buns open in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Brush a tsp. of the garlic butter over each bun half. Bake until they begin to brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and sprinkle cheeses over each half a bun. Return cookie sheet to the over until cheese melts. Scoop 2tbsp of sauce and meat mixture onto each bun. Enjoy!
In our house, spaghetti is almost always served with some form of garlic bread. One of mine and Richie's favorite things to do is eat the bread with the sauce over it a la biscuits and gravy. From those thoughts the concept for Spaghetti Joes was formed. Now, I usually use canned spaghetti sauce but if you want to make it from scratch, go for it!
1 can of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 lb ground beef or italian sausage
4 hamburger buns
3 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup italian cheeses of your choice
Preheat over to 350. In a skillet brown the ground beef or sausage. Drain. In a medium sauce pan combine browned meat and can of sauce. Heat sauce on low until hot. In skillet melt the butter then add the garlic. Sautee garlic until it browns slightly. Lay hamburger buns open in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Brush a tsp. of the garlic butter over each bun half. Bake until they begin to brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and sprinkle cheeses over each half a bun. Return cookie sheet to the over until cheese melts. Scoop 2tbsp of sauce and meat mixture onto each bun. Enjoy!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Not So French Toast
Let me start by saying, I'm not a sweets person. First thing in the morning I could be starving to death and if all there was to eat was something covered in sugar, I'd most likely starve. However, the boys in my house, including the big one, love french toast and pancakes. A box of donuts is not safe in our home, neither are cookies. My kids and Donnie think if it even remotely resembles a muffin, it's breakfast food so cupcakes are even acceptable.
As I am trying to get our family to eat better, I try not to even purchase things I know the boys will devour without thought. Which leads we to my first "do over" experiment: not so french toast.
Tacos are a family favorite in our house so I thought I'd play on that. You see, our oldest will eat almost anything wrapped in a tortilla covered in taco sauce. This had me considering a way to make something similar to french toast but more on the savory side. So, instead of mixing cinnamon and nutmeg into my egg batter, I mixed in chili powder and garlic. The results were a hit! Hunter took a look at my plate and at first insisted on having regular french toast but, one bite of mine had him asking for what I was making. For the first time in I can't remember how long, both of my little boys cleaned their plates.
The recipe for not so french toast is as follows:
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of paprika
5 slices of bread
taco cheese
taco sauce
1 whole bell pepper
1 small onion
butter
Dice bell pepper and onion. Set aside. Mix together eggs, milk and spices in a cereal bowl. Melt butter in a skillet. Dredge bread through the egg mixture and cook until golden brown on both sides. Lay cooked bread slices on flat surface and sprinkle with cheese. Sautee bell pepper and onions in skillet, adding butter as needed. Divide bell pepper and onions evenly over toast. Top with taco sauce as desired. Enjoy!
I hope some will try this, I know we'll eat it again!
As I am trying to get our family to eat better, I try not to even purchase things I know the boys will devour without thought. Which leads we to my first "do over" experiment: not so french toast.
Tacos are a family favorite in our house so I thought I'd play on that. You see, our oldest will eat almost anything wrapped in a tortilla covered in taco sauce. This had me considering a way to make something similar to french toast but more on the savory side. So, instead of mixing cinnamon and nutmeg into my egg batter, I mixed in chili powder and garlic. The results were a hit! Hunter took a look at my plate and at first insisted on having regular french toast but, one bite of mine had him asking for what I was making. For the first time in I can't remember how long, both of my little boys cleaned their plates.
The recipe for not so french toast is as follows:
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
dash of paprika
5 slices of bread
taco cheese
taco sauce
1 whole bell pepper
1 small onion
butter
Dice bell pepper and onion. Set aside. Mix together eggs, milk and spices in a cereal bowl. Melt butter in a skillet. Dredge bread through the egg mixture and cook until golden brown on both sides. Lay cooked bread slices on flat surface and sprinkle with cheese. Sautee bell pepper and onions in skillet, adding butter as needed. Divide bell pepper and onions evenly over toast. Top with taco sauce as desired. Enjoy!
I hope some will try this, I know we'll eat it again!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Top Chef Action
So, as most people know, I'm a huge reality tv fan. One of my very favorite shows (to Donnie's dismay) is Top Chef. Don't get me wrong, I love Hell's Kitchen; Gordon Ramsey is amazing! Still, I like the Top Chef approach so much, I can't get past it. To my misfortune, the cable at our house doesn't allow me to watch when the episode actually airs so I have to watch online or wait for it to rerun through the following week.
This week's episode was one they do every season. The Cheftestants as they are called are each given a classic dish to recreate. I love these episodes because I always get some really awesome ideas. You see, I can't exactly relate to an issue where they are cooking with squid or eel, we don't eat that in our house. Shoot, I'm not a seafood person at all so that's not something I'd be particularly good with. However, I've made my fair share of meatloaf so coming up with a new approach to it seems like a great idea.
Each week when I watch the episodes, I love to think about the things I'd make if it were me in that Top Chef kitchen. Some times, my poor family gets to sample my inventions. Other times, the kids at the daycare become my test subjects. Sadly, neither are really a group I could measure public opinion by. Donnie and the boys are picky but the daycare kids are pickier.
Be that as it may, I'm starting an experiment of types. Each week, atleast once during the week, I'm going to take an old meal and make it new. There are many things to help push me on my way through this. Our oven is broken, which means regular meatloaf is out of the question. We run til late every evening with football, which means meals that can be made in a crockpot or in 30 minutes on the stove are what we serve through the week.
Each time I try something new, I'll let everyone know how it goes. I'll try to include a recipe for anyone who might want to try my "do over" as I'm calling it. I'll also welcome suggestions for meals that might need a new look. If you try a recipe, please let me know how it turns out!
This week's episode was one they do every season. The Cheftestants as they are called are each given a classic dish to recreate. I love these episodes because I always get some really awesome ideas. You see, I can't exactly relate to an issue where they are cooking with squid or eel, we don't eat that in our house. Shoot, I'm not a seafood person at all so that's not something I'd be particularly good with. However, I've made my fair share of meatloaf so coming up with a new approach to it seems like a great idea.
Each week when I watch the episodes, I love to think about the things I'd make if it were me in that Top Chef kitchen. Some times, my poor family gets to sample my inventions. Other times, the kids at the daycare become my test subjects. Sadly, neither are really a group I could measure public opinion by. Donnie and the boys are picky but the daycare kids are pickier.
Be that as it may, I'm starting an experiment of types. Each week, atleast once during the week, I'm going to take an old meal and make it new. There are many things to help push me on my way through this. Our oven is broken, which means regular meatloaf is out of the question. We run til late every evening with football, which means meals that can be made in a crockpot or in 30 minutes on the stove are what we serve through the week.
Each time I try something new, I'll let everyone know how it goes. I'll try to include a recipe for anyone who might want to try my "do over" as I'm calling it. I'll also welcome suggestions for meals that might need a new look. If you try a recipe, please let me know how it turns out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)