Category Archives: Food & Recipes

Chicken Parm with My Sauce

16 Monday Jul 2012

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Chicken Parm
If you’re from Middle America, you might refer to this dish as NY-style chicken parm {I do.} Chicken parm in mid-Ohio is generally breaded and fried. NY-style chicken parm, a’la my Dad’s kitchen on Long Island, has no breading. It’s baked in a tomato sauce of some kind {here I used my homemade sauce} and served atop some sort of pasta.

If you’re making sauce from scratch, you’ll need: tomatoes!! And lots of ’em. I use a mix of vine-ripened and Roma tomatoes. You’ll also need garlic, a white onion, Italian spices, EVOO, salt, black pepper, sugar, a carrot, and a red pepper if you’d like to spice it up a bit.
Prep time is about an hour and simmer time is at least 2 hours; the longer it simmers together the better it will be!
~ Liberally coat the bottom of a large pot with EVOO. While on the lowest possible heat setting add diced onions, Italian seasonings and freshly chopped garlic.
~ Put a small to medium pot of water on and bring to a boil. Fill with tomatoes; as they heat their skin will crack. Once this happens, remove from the boiling water with a slatted spoon and drop into a bowl of cold running water. The skin will pull back farther from the tomato meat and will make peeling SO MUCH EASIER! Just don’t burn your fingers 😦 For a chunky sauce, put the tomatoes into your large pot to boil. For a thinner, smoother sauce, run your tomatoes through the blender before putting into your pot. Repeat as many times as needed to get through your tomatoes.
~ Once you start adding your tomatoes, toss in a pinch of black pepper and salt, a tablespoon of sugar, and a few grated carrot pieces. If you want a kick, add a few small pieces of red bell pepper.
~ Simmer 2+ hours and serve.

To make the chicken parm you’ll need: chicken, sauce, V8, garlic, Italian spices
~ Liberally coat the bottom of a baking pan with V8.
~ Cut chicken into small pieces and spread in the pan; pieces can touch but do not overlap.
~ Cover the chicken in sauce {here I used my homemade sauce}, garlic and spices.
~ Bake at 300 for 30 minutes.
~ After the chicken has been placed in the oven, bring a pot of water to boil and make a pasta of your choosing. Here, I used bow tie. The pasta will be done around the same time as the chicken parm.
TO PLATE: ladle sauce on top of your pasta noodles. Put a few chicken pieces on top, cover with more sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve!

Tasty Tacos

12 Thursday Jul 2012

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Tasty Tacos
Why bring home quickie tacos when you can make your own?! This meal qualifies under the “eat clean” food plan, is quick and tasty. PLUS you might even have left overs for lunch the next day 😉
You’ll need: around a pound of ground beef, 6″ soft tortillas, taco seasoning, Del Monte no salt added corn, La Preferida refried black beans, La Preferida Spanish rice, salsa, your own taco toppings
Prep time + cook time: 20ish minutes
~ Brown the ground beef in a skillet. {It is helpful if the meat is already defrosted.}
~ Put the water on to boil for the rice.
~ Once the ground beef is completely cooked, add the taco seasoning and follow the directions on the packet. Around this time the water should boil for the rice; add the rice to the water and follow the directions on the box.
~ While the rice and meat and cooking, warm up the refried beans and the corn.
~ When the meat is done cooking, immediately remove from heat so it doesn’t burn.
~ Once the rice is done, add a little salsa for an extra kick. I also add freshly chopped onion, grape tomatoes…whatever I’m in the mood for. It’s the fresh additives that make it feel less like a boxed rice and more like a masterpiece!
To Plate: I hold the tortilla in one hand and spoon 1-2 big spoonfuls of meat into the center. I then cover with cheese, onions, salsa…refried beans if I’m feeling funky. Fold the bottom of the tortilla up, then fold the sides in. It looks more like a burrito than anything, but this is a helpful way for small hands to have tacos in their tummies instead of on the floor. Add a spoonful of rice, corn and beans {covered with a little cheese} and you’ve got a winner! This dinner is SOOOO much better for you than drive-thru tacos, less expensive AAAAAND tastier.

Quickie Shrimp and Rotini

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Quickie Shrimp and Rotini
You’ll need: rotini, shrimp, V8, cherry tomatoes, FRESH GARLIC, pasta sauce and shredded cheese
Prep time: 5ish minutes; total cook time 20ish minutes
~ Put water in a large pot; bring it to a boil.
~ Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add the rotini. Set your timer for 10 minutes.
~ While the rotini is cooking, coat the bottom of a sauté pan with V8.* Add garlic, cherry tomatoes and Italian herbs. Slowly heat {do NOT boil or you’ll burn the garlic.}
~ While the sauté pan is slowly heating, I strongly suggest removing the tails from the shrimp. It’s much easier to do BEFORE they get hot. If you’re cooking for small people who need help with their food…trust me…you’ll want to take the tails off before you burn your fingers!**
~ With 5 minutes left on the pasta timer, add the shrimp to the V8 and garlic mix.
To plate: I put a spoonful of pasta sauce on top of the rotini. Add another spoonful of the shrimp and sauce mix. Sprinkle Italian cheese on top. Voila! 😉
Add a lovely salad for a nice side and some color.

*OMG…V8 is kitchen wonder juice! It’s seriously the best cooking/baking juice ever invented. I use it all the time! It’s kinda my secret kitchen ingredient 😉 It’s packed with all kinds of vegetable juices {I think we can agree that we all need more vegetables} and it does an excellent job of keeping meats moist while they cook. It also adds the ~zing~ of tomato which, personally, I love.


**If you love shrimp as much as I do, you HAAATE having to leave that last little succulent morsel in the tail. GET IN MA FACE, little shrimpie! Here is the trick you’ve been looking for. Once the shrimp is thawed, all you have to do is pinch and pull. Hold the body of the shrimp, pinch down on the part of the tail that covers that last little piece of shrimp meat and pull. So easy! If I’m using shrimp in a recipe where it will be hot, I take the tails off before I cook them. If you don’t, you’re going to burn your fingers :/

Speaking of shrimpies! Something fun while dinner is cooking itself!
Sweedish Chef makes Shrimpies

USDA Guidelines for Keeping Food Without Power

05 Thursday Jul 2012

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If you live just about anywhere on the eastern half of the United States chances are you’ve been without power this last week. We were dark for three days {thus my lack of postings} :/
So the power comes back up — HURRAY — and you go from room to room setting clocks…and then you gingerly open the refrigerator door…
Nothing smells weird. Nothing is oozing its way down the walls. Is it okay to eat? The USDA says that food will stay safely cold in the fridge for about 4 hours. They also say that a full freezer will keep for 48 hours while a half-full freezer will keep for 24 hours. To help keep things cold, DON’T OPEN THE DOORS!*
If you should find yourself with an ice box full of perished perishables and you have American Family insurance, GIVE THEM A CALL! My AmFam agent informed me that you can claim the contents of a fridge, up to $500, without a deductible, in the case of a power outage. All I have to do is make a list as I toss and clean. #LOVE

*Day two of the power outage: as soon as we got home {it was 102 outside, SERIOUSLY, so we spent the day at the pool}, my daughter ran into the house, straight to the fridge and opened the door. “YEP! The light’s still off,” she announced.  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
“I wanted to check and see if the power was still out.”
Apparently she thought all of the dark traffic lights and neighbors sweltering on their porches were playing a giant small-town joke on her and the only person she could count on to tell her the truth was the trusty ol’ fridge :/ Ooooooh, Sophie…

Dressing Up a Plain NYC Cheesecake

28 Thursday Jun 2012

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Dressing Up a Plain NYC Cheesecake
You want something sweet and are staring at the cheesecakes in the grocer’s chilled case…do you go with the disgustingly sweet turtle cheesecake? Chocolate chocolate chocolate cheesecake? Or do you go with the little ol’ plain one? GO PLAIN AND GO HOME…and then dress it up a little bit! It’s not a salad, but by creating your own sweet, you’re saving calories.
In the above photo, I used one slice of cheesecake, a sprinkling of coconut, a sprinkling of mini chocolate chips and a strawberry* on the top. DEEEELISH!

*To create a fancy, fanned strawberry, use your egg slicer! Wash the strawberry, place into the egg slicer stem-side down, bottoms-up 😉 Slice through until you nearly touch the stem. Remove from egg slicer, fan the pieces apart and delicately garnish your dish.

Savory Salmon and Couscous

28 Thursday Jun 2012

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Savory Salmon and Couscous*
Another amazing dinner in 30ish minutes!
You’ll need: salmon, EVOO, black pepper, a lemon, tin foil, and couscous
~ Cut the lemon into slices and place onto the tin foil; you’re making a bed for the salmon to lay on.
~ Lay the salmon on the lemon bed and drizzle with EVOO; sprinkle black pepper on top
~ Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 300
~ While the salmon is baking, prepare the couscous per the instructions. I used Near East Basil & Herb couscous and it was AH-MAZEBALLS!!
~ The salmon and the couscous will be done about the same time — BE CAREFUL WITH THE COUSCOUS! It gets sticky and can clump if it gets done too far ahead of the fish :/ Add a veggie! You’re done. And your special someone will call you, “Martha Freaking Stewart.” And you will throw your head back and laugh because you know it’s totally true!

*Couscous: {per Wikipedia} “is a North African Berber dish of semolina traditionally served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. Couscous is a staple food throughout Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.
Couscous was elected as the third favorite dish of French people in 2011 in a study by TNS Sofres for magazine Vie Pratique Gourmand and the first in East of France.”
UGH! you might be thinking…it’s green…you said it clumps…it looks weird. WHY DO I WANT TO EAT IT?! Because it’s amazing, filling, easy to make and good for you! It’s just like eating rice. If Scott likes it, you’ll like it! And, you can totally make your friends jealous with your high-brow cuisine 😉 C’est Française!

Shrimp Spaghetti with Garlic and Lemon

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

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Shrimp Spaghetti with Garlic and Lemon
You’ll need: shrimp, a lemon, EVOO, basil, oregano, thyme, grape tomatoes, garlic, spaghetti and Parmesan cheese
Total cook/prep time: 30 minutes
~ Put a pot of water on to boil {for the spaghetti.}
~ In a large skillet, liberally coated with EVOO, saute minced garlic, lemon zest, basil, oregano, thyme and grape tomatoes.
~ Once the pasta water has come to a boil, add the spaghetti to the water and the shrimp to the saute pan.
~ Saute the shrimp for 2-3 minutes on each side until tender; cook the spaghetti for 8-10 minutes until al dente.
~ Plate the spaghetti; top with the shrimp mixture and garnish with the Parmesan cheese.
Voila! You’re awesome 😉


Smooth and Fantastical Mashed Potatoes

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

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Smooth and Fantastical Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Fancy Moses! These babies are restaurant quality and SO EASY TO MAKE you’ll never go back to instant potatoes. Ever.
You’ll need: potatoes {russet, yukon, red skinned…whatever you feel like and/or have on hand,} green onions, garlic, dill, butter, milk, salt and a good mixer
TOTAL PREP+COOK TIME: 40 minutes
~ Wash your potatoes and put them in a pot of water; bring to a boil. Once boiling, continue to cook in the boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain.
~ Put cooked potatoes into mixing bowl and slice into pieces.
~ Thinly chop the green onions, garlic, dill and add to the potatoes.
~ Start up the mixer and slowly add a slice or two of butter, a splash of milk and a dash of salt. Pretty much, you want to add the milk until you get a nice consistency and the butter and salt to taste. Once you have a nice consistency, VOILA, you’re done!
A friend told me several years ago that she made her mashed potatoes in her KitchenAid stand mixer. What?! This was a ground-breaking idea to me. I’d grown up watching my mom boil her potatoes, peel them, and then hand-mash them. It took forEVER and they were usually lumpy. Sorry, mom 😦 Not only does putting the potatoes into the mixer save time, it gives you a nice, smooth consistency every time. If you’re trying to eat clean like I am, this is a much more desirable {and tasty} option than using potatoes from a box. Actually…I’ve got boxed potatoes in my cupboard that are about a year old. I don’t think I’ll be needing them 😉

Fall-Off-the-Bone Turkey

20 Wednesday Jun 2012

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Fall-Off-the-Bone Turkey
Yes, you read that right! This recipe will give you a turkey so succulent and juicy the meat literally falls off the bone. Your children will gobble {ha!} it up without gravy or ketchup because it’s really that good!
You’ll need: a turkey, EVOO, salt, lemon juice, carrots, celery, an onion, rosemary and thyme
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 4 hours, depending on the size of your bird
~ Pre-heat oven to 400
~ Remove fully-thawed turkey from packaging; then remove innards, neck, face, etc from the turkey cavity. Rinse with cool water and pat dry. Place in roasting pan. I got this succulent bird from Bowman Landes: free-range, grain-fed and HORMONE FREE!
~ Splash lemon juice into the empty turkey cavity. Toss in a little salt.
~ Chop the celery, carrots and onion; fill the center cavity with the veggies. Close the legs and position the bird breast-side up in the pan.
~ Drizzle the bird with enough EVOO to coat all the surfaces, then lightly sprinkle with salt, rosemary and thyme. Turn the bird over in the pan {breast-side down} and repeat. Put pan into oven. {The key to amazing turkey is to cook it breast-side down, against the pan – no rack. Yes, it looks a little backwards, but once you taste it you won’t care!}
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS, from Simply Recipes
For a 15lb turkey, start the cooking at 400 for the first 1/2 hour. Reduce the heat to 350 for the next 2 hours. Then reduce the heat again to 225 for the next hour and a half. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DOUBLE-CHECK THE COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR TURKEY’S PACKAGING. If your turkey is smaller, the above instructions will over-cook it. If your turkey is larger, you’ll need to cook longer.