Weekly Menu

I seem to be running either hot or cold in the cooking department lately, which is why I am so glad I made a month of menus again. On those days when I just can't imagine coming up with an idea for dinner, I know I have everything all planned out and there is no thinking involved. I am trying some new recipes this week and in the weeks to come in August, so hopefully they will spark some creativity in the kitchen. Once school starts back I probably will be relying on my same-old-same-old easy recipes while we get in the swing of things.


Saturday
Lunch: Brats on the grill, chips

Sunday
Lunch: Roasted Red Pepper and Avocado Sandwiches
Dinner: Best Backyard BBQ Ribs, Roasted Corn, Southern Green Beans, bread, S'more Bars

Monday
Lunch: Tomato, Bacon and Grilled Cheese sandwiches, fruit kabobs
Dinner: Cheesy Grits and eggs, Canadian Bacon

Tuesday
Lunch: Chicken Strips and carrot sticks
Dinner: Pimento Cheese and Bacon Burgers, potato salad, watermelon slices

Wednesday -- Feast of St. John Vianney
Lunch: Pizza Bread, salad
Dinner: Warm Chicken Cabbage Salad, bread, Creme Brulee

Thursday
Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Grilled Ham Steak, Tropical Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes, Colonial Brown Bread

Friday
Lunch: Bagels and cream cheese
Dinner: Spicy Citrus Tuna Salad, bread, fresh fruit

* Tried and true
* New to me

Italian Roast Beef Sandwiches

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This week I had two meals on the menu that were very similar -- Baked Steak and BBQ Beef -- both are beef dishes with BBQ-style sauces. I do that once in a while because I'm not paying close enough attention when I'm making my menu. Fortunately I had all the makings of an Italian Roast Beef to serve instead of BBQ.

This is the second time I've made this dish and it is especially a man-pleaser. I like it and Faith likes it, but the boys rave about it. I serve the beef on buns or Italian rolls, and they load on the hot banana peppers and dunk the whole sandwich in a dish of au jus. Yum. It's very messy, but we're all friends and family here, so we don't care if you dribble juice down your chin.

I apologize that I didn't get a picture of a sandwich. The buzzards were circling and I had to get it on the table before they ate it straight from the pot!

Italian Roast Beef
serves 6-10 depending on size of roast

printer version

salt and pepper
2 T. olive oil
3-5 pound Rump Roast (aka Bottom Round Roast)
1 medium onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
3 cups beef stock (or 1 can condensed beef consomme and one can water)
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried thyme leaves
1 t. dried marjoram leaves
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried basil leaves
1 t. Tabasco (or other hot pepper sauce)
2 T. Worcesterhsire
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

chewy Italian rolls or sandwich buns
pickled banana peppers, pepperoncini or giardinieri

Dry outside of roast with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Heat oil until hot and place roast in dutch oven, browning and turning until sides are lightly browned. Turn heat down to medium and add broth or consomme, green peppers, onions, spices, Tabasco, Worchestershire and garlic. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for several hours (between 2 and 3 -- the longer the better).

Remove roast from pot and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Slice thinly and place back in pot with juices. At this point you can cover and refrigerate roast overnight to serve the next day or continue to serve the same day (I think it would be even more flavorful the next day, but I've never planned in advance to do that). If serving the same day, bring broth to a simmer again, and, reducing heat to medium-low, cover and allow to simmer for about another hour.

If serving the next day, bring pot from refrigerator and place over a medium- low heat. Heat for an hour until roast and au jus are completely hot throughout.

To serve, place slices of roast on buns or chewy Italian rolls (my favorite). Top with hot banana peppers, pepperoncini or giardinieri. Strain au jus and ladle into individual bowls or cups for dunking.


Serve with Potato Salad, or Fried Potatoes, and a Cucumber Tomato Salad. For a good homemade bun recipe, try this one. Or you can use this Italian bread recipe to make rolls.
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Madeleines

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Last week, for the feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I baked my first batch of Madeleines (the name Madeleine is the French form of Magdalene). I had always been a little intimidated by these sweet treats, thinking they would be difficult to remove from their pan, and I would end up getting five whole cookies from a lot of work. I'm happy to say I was wrong and these yummy little French cakes could not have been easier to make. What a lovely little tea-time treat, or for a dessert -- we enjoyed them with a small dish of frozen vanilla custard. My niece said they tasted like little cloud cakes and she meant that as a really good thing.

I used the recipe found at Catholic Cuisine, and I would not change a thing (but I may go looking for more varieties now that I have a pan). I bought a tin plated steel pan and besides having to wash it between batches (because I only have one pan) it was great to use. I can't wait to make a batch for my son's French teacher when school begins.

Madeleines
makes 24

Printer version

2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Brush each mold with melted butter and dust with flour.

In a medium bowl, beat eggs, vanilla and lemon zest with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar. Beat for 5 to 7 minutes or until thick and satiny.

Sift together the flour and baking powder. Sift one-fourth of the flour mixture over the egg mixture, gently fold in. Fold in the remaining flour by fourths. Then fold in the melted and cooled butter. Spoon batter into the prepared molds, filling 3/4 full.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the top s spring back. Cool in molds on a rack for 1 minute. Loosen cookies with a knife. Invert cookies onto a rack and cool. Sift confectioners' sugar over the tops or melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and dip the tips in the chocolate. Store in an airtight container.

Source: Catholic Cuisine

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

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I'm still working my way slowly through all of the scone recipes in the world. I know it's not a very healthy collection, but I'm doing it slowly. This Blueberry Buttermilk variety was wonderful. I liked them, the kids liked them, even the pediatrician liked them (hey, we had an appointment and what better way to stay in the good graces of your doctor than with warm baked goods?)

This recipe, which came from Brown-Eyed Baker, makes a tender and slightly sweet scone with a hint of vanilla that goes so well with blueberries. I skipped the egg wash and sanding sugar because I don't find it a necessary addition, but other than that, the recipe is unchanged. I'm posting it the way I made it.

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones
Makes 12 scones

Printer-friendly version

1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake flour (not self-rising)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (½ pint) blueberries
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers, until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal. Stir in blueberries.

Whisk together buttermilk, egg, and the vanilla. Drizzle over flour mixture, and stir lightly with a fork until dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in the bowl.

Turn out dough onto a work surface, and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Pat dough into two 1-inch thick round. Cut each into 6 wedges. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer scones to wire rack to cool.

Note: I freeze leftover scones and pop them (frozen) into a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Source: modified from Brown-Eyed Baker


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A Month of Menus -- Volume 2

Another month of menus -- lots of grilled food to keep the kitchen cool, and salads, and, if I'm not mistaken, a lot of Mexican it seems, and Mediterranean. I must be in the mood for bright flavors and fresh produce. I'm trying a lot of new recipes this month and I'll be sure to let you know if they are winners.


Char Sui Crock Pot Pork Roast, stir-fried vegetables, rice

Crispy Baked Chicken Teriyaki, steamed broccoli, rice

Bacon and Egg Muffin Melts, Fried Potatoes, fruit and yogurt

Smoky Spanish-Style Pan Roast, Pan de Horno, fresh fruit

Grilled Ham Steak, Tropical Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes, Colonial Brown Bread

Dirty Rice, green vegetable, Corn Bread

Grilled Rosemary and Garlic Chicken, Tabouleh Salad

Lamb Kebabs with vegetables, Tzatziki sauce (something like this), rice

Baked Beans and weiners, Corn bread

Pimento Cheese and Bacon Burgers, potato salad, watermelon slices

Spicy Citrus Tuna Salad, bread, fresh fruit

Sloppy Joes, tater tots, Root Beer floats (no veggie night!)

Chicken Quesadillas on the grill, Guacamole and salsa

Stuffed Peppers, mashed potatoes, buttered corn

California Chicken Sandwich (a la Red Robin), steak fries, watermelon slices

Chicken Kebabs, grilled potatoes and vegetables

German Style Bratwurst, German potato salad, Roasted Corn

Best Backyard Pork Tenderloin, House Salad, Grilled potatoes

Steak burgers with sauteed mushrooms, Wedge Salad, Roasted Garlic and New Potatoes

Chicken Gyros, Greek Salad

Grilled Chicken Legs, Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad, bread

Grilled Chicken Tacos, Black beans

Scrambled Egg Tacos, Fried potatoes, salsa and avocado slices

Mediterranean Veggie Pita, Greek Salad

Mexican Roasted Corn, Cucumber Tomato Salad, bread

Bella Bruschetta Salad, bread

Warm Chicken Cabbage Salad, bread

Salisbury Steak, mashed potatoes, vegetable

Steak, Saturday Night Vidalia Onion, baked potatoes, Wedge Salad

* Tried and true
* New to me

Weekly Menu

We have a busy weekend ahead and I'm not even planning a menu for it because we may or may not be home, and we may or may not eat. Just kidding, I suppose I have to feed the kids anyway. On Monday we have a ball game to go too, so I guess we'll "enjoy" hotdogs for dinner!

This is the last week for my Month of Menus meals, so I'll be posting the next month soon.

Tuesday
Lunch: Hamburgers and chips
Dinner: Shrimp, Peppers and Grits, bread, fruit

Wednesday
Lunch: Cheese pizza
Dinner: Cincinnati Chili, spaghetti

Thursday -- Feast of St. Martha
Lunch: Coney dogs, carrot sticks and Ranch dressing
Dinner: Baked Steak in Tangy Tomato Sauce, mashed potatoes, buttered corn

Friday
Lunch: crackers, cheese and fruit
Dinner: Appetizers for supper: Kansas City Hot Wings, Potato skins, Cowboy Caviar

* Tried and true
* New to me

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Tostada Pizza

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If you have followed this blog for long you probably have noticed that we eat a lot of pizza. The funny thing is, I really don't like pizza that much. At least not the "plain" kind with sauce and cheese and maybe some pepperoni. I'll eat it, but it's not my fave.

Now, take the same dough and spread some pesto, or spicy barbecue sauce or even a layer of tasty black beans, add some grilled chicken or fresh tomatoes or, how 'bout some lettuce? Then we're talking. That's not really pizza to me, it's just a meal on a flat bread. That I love.

This last weekend we had Tostada Pizza. I've made it a few times and I think I'm finally ready to share. I mixed it up a little on Saturday and made it on the grill instead of heating up the house, but I'm writing the recipe as if I made it in the oven, because the other times I made it, I baked it in the oven. (If you'd like to learn how to make pizza on the grill, be sure to let me know.) I have also made this pizza without the chicken for a meatless Friday. It was just as yummy, but my guys, they like meat, so I usually add chicken.

I originally enjoyed this pizza at CPK, but it's such an easy dish to make at home -- there's no reason to pay high restaurant prices. You can also find a similar recipe in the CPK Pizza cookbook, but like many of their recipes, it's kind of long and involved and uses many ingredients that I feel are unnecessary to the finished product. Just keep it simple. I happened to have some black beans in my freezer left over from this dish, but if I hadn't, I would make my own with canned beans. I'm posting the recipe below.

In the pizza pictured above, I forgot to use the tortilla strips. They would normally go on top of the lettuce before you drizzle the Ranch dressing. They are a yummy addition, so don't forget them. While you could certainly fry your own, I don't find it's worth the time and mess involved and I use these.

Before topping with salad ingredients.

Tostada Pizza
serves 6

printer-friendly version


recipe for pizza dough (below)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
juice of one lime
1/2 t. Worchestershire sauce
1 1/2 t. Soy sauce
1 t. honey
pinch cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
2 T. olive oil
recipe for black beans (below) or your favorite recipe -- you'll need about 2 cups (more or less to taste)
2 cups cheese (I use 1 cup Monterey Jack and Cheddar blended and 1 cup Mozzarella)
4 cups shredded Romain lettuce
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup diced red onion or scallions
1/3 cup creamy Ranch dressing (I use this)
1 cup fried tortilla strips (I use these)
salsa for serving (optional)

Combine lime juice with Worcestershire, soy sauce, honey, cumin, cayenne and olive oil. Pour over chicken breasts in a shallow dish and allow to marinate at room temp for about 30 minutes. Preheat grill, then grill chicken until done (you could broil it as well). Remove chicken from grill and allow to cool slightly. Cut each piece into 3/4-inch dice.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large round pizza pan or a large jelly roll pan. Press pizza dough on pan to edges. (My technique can be seen here. If dough doesn't give easily when you first begin, let it rest for five minutes and try again. If you try to force it, you'll just end up ripping it.) Spread beans from edge to edge, using as much of the bean mixture as you like (I like a lot). Top with chicken pieces and then cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bottom of crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Cut into squares or pie-shaped pieces. Then, top with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and tortilla strips. Drizzle with Ranch dressing. Serve with salsa, if desired.



Quick Black Beans

printer-friendly version

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilies, drained (I use original flavor and save a little of the liquid for cooking)
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic and heat until garlic is warm and fragrant. Add beans and Rotel tomatoes, and a little of the tomato liquid or water. Simmer for about ten minutes, adding more liquid if necessary to keep beans from drying out. Add cumin, oregano and salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes until beans are rather soft.


Pizza Dough

printer-friendly version

1 cup warm water
1 T. olive oil
1 T. sugar
1 1/4-ounce packet yeast (or 2 t.)
2 ½ cups flour
1 t. salt


Place water in a bowl and add sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the surface and allow to sit for 10 minutes (until it foams). Add the oil, 2 cups of flour and salt, and mix until smooth. Knead with dough hook for 3-5 minutes (or 7 minutes by hand) adding flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Place in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes to an hour, until doubled.


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Caramel Ice Cream Sauce

Yesterday my family celebrated the lives of the Blessed Carmelite Martrys of Compiegne, sixteen sisters of the Carmelite Order who were captured and guillotined during the French Revolution for holding fast to their Catholic faith. They sung hymns to God and the the Blessed Virgin as the were taken to their death and as they faced the guillotine, and never wavered in the face of evil. They were put to death just one day after the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, which they celebrated in prison. (You can read the complete story here.)

With their beautiful faith in God, these sixteen Carmelite sisters took the ugly, unjust death by guillotine and turned it into sweet martyrdom. Likewise, I took plain, white sugar and heat, and turned it into sweet, rich caramel sauce. Just a few moments before the heat turns the sugar into a bitter, acrid substance, it turns it into sweet, molten caramel.



About caramel sauce -- there are a few things to know. This sauce, with the addition of water instead of butter and cream, yields a pure caramel flavor. A richer sauce can be made by adding butter and cream to the sugar/water syrup after it caramelizes, but I love the simplicity of this sugar and water sauce. The Joy of Cooking says, "Caramel is simply sugar cooked to the point where it melts and begins to burn. Old cookbooks refer to it, appropriately enough, as burnt sugar. Butterscotch is similar, except butter is added to the sugar as it caramelizes, resulting in a characteristic nutty taste. To convert caramel and butterscotch into sauces, a mixture of butter and cream, water or some other liquid is added to while the syrup is still hot. Otherwise, the syrup, once cooled, will become hard candy."

This syrup is just two simple ingredients, but it does require a little bit of patience. The syrup takes time to go from simple sugar syrup to caramel, and of course it requires heat. Once you have achieved the desired color (deep amber) of your syrup, you will turn off the heat and add a small bit of water -- to keep the syrup from turning into hard candy. As you prepare to do this, take one giant step backward and cover your hand with a towel, because the syrup will spatter and you could be burned.

It most definitely worth the time and effort, however. The taste is so pure and decadent. My husband loves this sauce so much, I have to hide it from him!

Use this Caramel Sauce over chocolate or vanilla ice cream -- or go all caramel and use caramel swirl ice cream. Top with whipped cream, cherries and chopped nuts, if desired. It would be a wonderful dessert to celebrate any Carmelite Feast day. You can find a list of Carmelite saints here.

Caramel Sauce
printer-friendly version

1 cup sugar
water


In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1/4 cup water and place over medium-high heat. Without stirring, very gently swirl the pan until a clear syrup forms. It is important that the syrup clarify before it boils, so move the pan off and back on the heat if necessary. After the sugar dissolves, raise the heat to high and bring the syrup to a rolling boil; cover the pan tightly and boil for 2 minutes. Uncover the pan and cook the syrup until it begins to darken around the edges. Gently swirl the pan by the handle and cook the syrup until it turns a deep amber and begins to smoke -- stop before it becomes red or mahogany. Remove from the heat. Standing back (take one giant step backward and cover your hand with a towel or hot pad -- it's going to spatter) add 1/3 cup water, then stir until smooth. If the caramel remains lumpy, stir briefly over low heat. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then serve over ice cream. Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to six months. Reheat over low heat if needed.

Source: modified from The Joy of Cooking

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Weekly Menu

It's been almost a month since I made my month of menus, and I must say I have enjoyed not thinking about meals, and I plan to do it again. We have not eaten all the meals I planned, so we still have a fairly full freezer. I cook every night (well, at least that's always the plan) so I'm not sure why we have more than anticipated. There were a few occasions (like July 4th weekend) when we did not eat off the menu, but still that was only a few nights. Hmmm. A mystery.

Unfortunately, I have not accrued 20% off my groceries at Giant Eagle like I did last month, so I'm going to have to plan more budget-friendly meals. Even when we can afford to eat lavishly, and we are fortunate that we could if we wanted to, I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars every week on food. I consider it to be a waste of resources. It's not usually healthy either.

Saturday -- Feast of the Blessed Martyrs of Compiegne
Lunch: Skyline chili
Dinner: Tostada Pizza, Caramel Sundaes to celebrate the lives of the sixteen Carmelite martyrs

Sunday
Lunch: Grilled Turkey, Cheese and Chili Mayo, fruit
Dinner: Meatloaf and Mushroom Gravy, mashed potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts Amandine, Brown Sugar and Sour Cream Panna Cotta

Monday
Lunch: Taco Salad
Dinner: Chicken Drumsticks and Thighs with Hoisin Molasses BBQ sauce, Broccoli Salad, bread

Tuesday
Lunch: Grilled hot dogs (going to try these)
Dinner: a dinner date

Wednesday
Lunch: Burgers
Dinner: Greek Pasta topped with Grilled Chicken Breast, bread, fruit

Thursday -- Feast of St. Mary Magdalene
Lunch: BLTs
Dinner:Slow-Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches, Cabbage slaw, chips, Madeleines

Friday
Lunch: Nachos
Dinner: Church festival

* Tried and true
* New to me

Misto

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I've been a terrible food blog host lately, I know. Besides having my head stuck in this book, I've been preparing freezer meals for my mother-in-law who is having hip surgery today. I do, however, have a kitchen gadget to chat about with you today.

I found this cool gadget at World Market the last time I was there. I have always wanted one of these, but never bothered to find one. I brought it home and filled it with canola oil (as opposed to olive oil) so I could use for baking and cooking and I love how it takes just a couple pumps to spray all the oil on need on a baking sheet or casserole dish. I also use it on the grill. It's just like store-bought baking spray (maybe not quite so fine a mist) but without the added ingredients and the expense. Because the Misto is brushed metal, and matches my stove, I just leave it sitting on the counter with my salt and pepper and garlic bowl -- extra convenient.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

My college boy came home last week and brought me a loaf of my favorite bread, Cinnamon Raisin Bread, from his employer, Panera. There is just nothing like this lightly crumbed, lightly sweetened, studded-with-raisins bread toasted for breakfast in the morning. It never fails to bring a "yum" to mind. But, as much as Doug and I enjoy it, the kids won't touch it because of the raisins. Picky, picky, I say, but I don't buy it for that reason (because that would be selfish, right?). Which means I don't get to enjoy it very often either.

After a fairly extensive search on the internet, I did not find a copycat recipe for Panera's current Cinnamon Raisin Bread, which surprised me (I thought one could find just about anything on the internet). I did, however, find what looked to be a pretty good recipe for a Raisin Cinnamon Bread they must have served in the past. The recipe I found does not call for rolling the bread out and sprinkling it with cinnamon and sugar, which is why I know it's not the current recipe. And the bread they sell today does not have cinnamon chips in it. I decided, however, to at least try the dough (and modified it) and use my own technique for swirling it with cinnamon.

Yum! It is tender, light, just the slightest bit sweet, and cinnamony. And after being toasted and buttered -- it is it! (without the raisins) The kids love it, Doug loves it and I really love it. I made two loaves last week and two more today. I'm going to slice and freeze one, so it's not so tempting to eat two loaves of bread in a few days!

I have a tip below for placing the bread on its side hot out of the oven so that it gets nice indentations from the racks to use as guides for slicing. This only works if your cooling rack is similar to mine (see pictures below).

Cinnamon Swirl Bread
makes two loaves

Printer-friendly version

Starter
1 cup warm water (baby bottle warm)
1 package yeast (or 2 teaspoons)
1 cup all-purpose flour

Dough
3/4 cup warm water
3 T. honey
2 packages yeast (or 4 teaspoons)
1/4 cup shortening
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt

3 T. butter, melted
1/2 cup white sugar
1 scant T. cinnamon

1 T. butter
1 T. honey

Combine the water and the yeast in a small mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast. Add the flour to the bowl and stir until the ingredients are fully incorporated. Cover with a cloth and ferment the starter at room temperature for 30 min.

Combine the water, honey, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the shortening, flour, salt, and starter. Mix the dough on low speed with a dough hook for 3 to 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Remove from bowl. Grease bowl and place dough back in bowl, rotating to grease all sides. Cover with a towel and let rise for 30 to 60 minutes.

After dough has just about doubled in size, punch it down and divide in two. On a floured surface, roll each half out into a large rectangle -- about 20 by 9 inches. Mix white sugar and cinnamon thoroughly. Brush the surface with half the melted butter and sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar.

Roll up starting at short end, tightly, and pinch seam closed and place seam side down. Press heels of your hands onto rolled ends to press closed and fold ends under. Place in greased bread pans -- 9 x 5 inches. Cover with a towel and let rise 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake for 30-40 min., until the crusts are a deep golden brown.

Meanwhile, melt 1 T. butter and honey together.

Remove from pans immediately and brush with melted butter/honey mixture. Place loaves on their sides (if you want to make indentations for slicing guides). Cool completely.

After cooling -- see the guides? Just cut on the lines.

Text and pictures © Bless Us O Lord.



Dough source: modified from thathomesite.com

Frozen Fruit Smoothie

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I mentioned on my other blog yesterday that I recently developed the bad habit of stopping at McDonald's for a Caramel Frappe whenever I was out and happened to pass by the golden arches. They are very yummy, and as I was standing inside a McDonald's once (before I ever tasted one) watching the staff make them, it looked like they had authentic ingredients. The frappes are very addictive, and I decided if I was going to continue to indulge I was going to first research the ingredients. Click away now if you don't want to know: "water, cream, sugar, milk, high fructose corn syrup, coffee extract, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, mono- and diglycerides, guar gum, potassium phosphate, disodium phosphate, carrageenan, carob bean gum." I was apparently fooled by the "authentic" whipped cream from a can that goes on top -- not so authentic after all. And a small size has 14 grams of fat! No wonder I was starting to feel a little bloated after running errands in the afternoon. A couple of those a week and you have seriously increased your fat intake.

Because I try to limit my food to real food, I decided I was going to have to substitute something nutritious for my frappes. I know myself well enough to know I can't just "forget about it," and so I started making myself and the kids a fruit smoothie a couple times a week. They are so tasty, and so healthy, not to mention so much less expensive, it's really not hard to stop the frappe habit and start a smoothie habit.

During the summer we eat fruit salad a couple times a week for dinner, but we rarely finish the bowl. I use the ice cube tray trick and fill ice cube trays with leftover fruit salad, juice and all. Leftover tidbits of fruit in the fruit drawer, not enough for mess with? They go in the ice cube trays, too. I use strawberries, cherries, red grapes, blueberries, peaches -- almost anything seasonal except watermelon which does not freeze well. Bananas make a great natural sweetener so those go in too.




When the fruit is frozen, I pop it out into a ziploc bag and keep adding more each time I have a frozen tray. Unless you have a really juicy salad the fruit pretty much freezes individually.



For each fruit smoothie I use about 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt, about 1/2 cup frozen fruit and a little bit of milk -- just enough to get it blending. You can use juice instead of milk, but I use milk to keep the acid low. Blend until smooth. If your fruit is on the tart side, add a tablespoon of honey.

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Weekly Menu

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Saturday
Lunch: Skyline Chili

Sunday
Lunch: Blueberry Buckle, scrambled eggs with cheese, yogurt and fruit
Dinner: Baked Steak in Tangy Tomato Sauce, mashed potatoes, buttered corn

Monday
Lunch: Chicken Fingers and carrot sticks with ranch
Dinner: Overnight French Toast, sausage patties, fresh fruit

Tuesday
Lunch: Chicken Corn Dogs, tater tots
Dinner: Skillet Stroganoff, Summer Succotash

Wednesday
Lunch: Cheese Quesadillas
Dinner: Grilled Burgers, Onion Rings, Chocolate Malts

Thursday
Lunch: Pizza Rolls
Dinner: Homemade tacos , fruit

Friday
Lunch: Taco Salads (leftover taco ingredients+frozen chili)
Dinner: Chicken Drumsticks and Thighs with Hoisin Molasses BBQ sauce, Broccoli Salad, bread

* Tried and true
* New to me

Chipotle Beef Stew -- Summer Version

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A few months ago I shared with you this yummy spicy beef stew recipe which we thoroughly enjoyed pretty much the way the recipe was written. But trying to serve this dish in the middle of the summer was not as easy. Winter squash is apparently only available in the winter around here. I made a snap decision at the grocery store, bought some very large sweet potatoes and then decided to prepare them on the grill -- making this a summer-friendly meal. The stew cooked on the stovetop, keeping the kitchen fairly cool (as opposed to heating the oven), and the potatoes and corn roasted on the grill.

My family enjoyed the flavor and texture of the sweet potato much more so than the squash (which is saying something because they really raved over this dish originally), and I really enjoyed preparing much of it outdoors.

I am re-posting the recipe with my summer changes. I altered the method of cooking the stew only slightly, braising the meat first and then cooking the stew on the stovetop, as well as using sweet potato halves instead of squash halves for the boats. If you would like to serve roasted corn with this dish, you can find the recipe here.

Chipotle Beef Stew and Sweet Potato Boats

Printer-friendly version

2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. beef for stew
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 chipotle pepper minced and 1 T. adobo sauce
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
3 large sweet potatoes, halved

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 small ripe avocado, cut into cubes, optional
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat and braise beef until browned. Season with salt and pepper as beef cooks. Add water, tomato paste, sugar, vinegar, chipotle pepper, cumin. Cook stew over medium low heat for 2 hours, or until beef is tender and sauce is slightly thickened. Add water if necessary to keep sauce from cooking up.

Halfway through stew's cooking time, cut sweet potatoes lengthwise in half. Brush cut sides with olive oil. Place sweet potatoes on a preheated grill over low heat and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until tender when poked with a fork.

Place each sweet potato half onto serving plate. Top with equal amounts of beef mixture. Top with tomato and avocado, and sour cream, if desired. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Source: modified from the Food Network

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Kitchen Tip: Chipotle Peppers

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I use quite a lot of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo in my cooking. But even using quite a lot I could never use a whole can of these spicy little mamas. One pepper and a tablespoon of sauce is plenty in most recipes. So what to do with the rest of the can?

Take each pepper and place it in the recess of an ice cube tray. Then spoon sauce on top to fill. Freeze and when they are frozen, pop them out into a ziploc bag and back into the freezer. Then when you need one, take out a cube, and with a sharp knife, chop while frozen -- no need to thaw. Works great!

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Weekly Menu

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Coming out of my sugar coma here to figure out what's for dinner this week. Just kidding, I only had one piece of Cherry Pie and not a bite of anything else. Still, I had a stomachache from that, so I'm trying to stay away from sugar today. We have got a buttload of leftovers so I'm forcing them upon my family for the next two days -- until it's all gone.

This week are softball playoffs, so we could have three games at dinner time -- plans are flexible.

Monday
Dinner: Sausages, Beans and hot dogs, fruit salad, pasta salad, bread

Tuesday
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Pulled chicken (leftover BBQ chicken), with sauce over baked potatoes, watermelon

Wednesday
Lunch: Cheese pizza
Dinner: Denver Fritatta, muffins

Thursday
Lunch: Turkey and herbed cream cheese wraps
Dinner: Slowcooker Carnitas, Black beans, rice

Friday
Lunch: Bread, fruit and cheese
Dinner: BLT and C Salad, bread, fruit

* Tried and true
* New to me

Fourth of July Sugar High

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I love creating a dessert table -- something for everyone, a bit of this and a bite of that. Yum! This year's Fourth of July dessert table included four pies that I served with vanilla ice cream (two shown here -- one Apple Crumble and one Apple Blueberry -- just like Apple Crumble but with half blueberries, one Cherry, and one Very Berry -- like this, but with four berries), Whoopie Pies, Fudge Krispies (recipe below), along with Good 'n' Plenty, Good 'n' Fruity, red fish, and M 'n' M pretzel candies. See something you like?



These Fudge Krispies are a treat my mom used to make. They have the yummy flavors of butterscotch, peanut butter, and chocolate all in one "krispie," crunchy treat. I use Sunbutter to replace the peanut butter because of allergies, but they tasted almost identical to the treat I remember from my childhood. I made them a couple days ahead and stored them (wrapped tightly in the pan) in the fridge -- you could even put them in the freezer. I cut them once with a bench knife (or a strong, sharp knife) before I chilled them and then just gave them a quick cut along the same cuts when I got ready to serve them. I added some little red, white and blue cake decorations using some icing glue for the Fourth.

Fudge Krispies
makes 24

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12 oz. bag butterscotch chips
1 cup peanut butter
8 cups Rice Krispies
12 oz. chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)
6 T. butter
1 c. powdered sugar

Melt together the peanut butter and butterscotch chips (I use the microwave, but a large saucepan over low heat could also be used). Stir until smooth. Add Rice Krispies and stir to coat. Pour half the Krispies into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Place in the refrigerator. Reserve the rest of the krispies. Meanwhile, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir in powdered sugar. Spread over the bottom layer of krispies. Top with the remaining krispies and press down with buttered palms. Cut with a bench knife or strong, sharp knife. Chill until ready to serve.


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