Impromptu Dinner

At 5:03pm on Friday, I was making pizza for dinner.  My parents happened to call at about 5:05 and I said, "wanna come over for pizza"? They had previously planned to go out for sushi, but they said, "sure".  So, with my pizzas in the oven, I also threw together a salad, put out a jar of pickles and figs from our tree.  I stuffed some pears with a streusel topping and popped them in the oven.  Perfect impromptu Friday night dinner at home!

My new favorite pizza - sweet peppers and sliced onions.  I added lots of dried seasonings, all of the cheese I had on hand (parmesan, mozzarella, and Sargento's shredded 5-blend italian cheese), sliced onions, jarred sweet peppers, and jarred marinara. I should also add that while I've had success in the past with homemade dough, this was a frozen version I buy for 99 cents each.  Can't beat the ease!

No picture of the pears - they were in the oven when I snapped these pics, but.....

here is the recipe! Perfect for fall. 

Baked Pears

4 Whole Pears (a bit underripe)
oats
flour (I happened to have oat flour and used that)
cinnamon
brown sugar
butter

1. Half and core pears (I left the skin on).
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon, flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter (in that order).
3. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Baked Chocolate Doughnuts

I have always wanted a donut pan.  I pictured myself making those delicious pumpkin cake donuts with the sugary topping.  I thought we'd immediately disavow ourselves of commercially-prepared donuts, scoffing at the hordes of people at Dunkin Donuts every morning. 

The reality?  I don't think we're ready to take over the title of best donut ever. 

I found a donut pan at Target one of the times I shopped there this summer [and spent $100, even though I had two things on my list].  It's been sitting on my counter waiting to be filled.  I found a recipe for a chocolate cake donut a few days ago and finally tried it just now.  Totally disappointing. 

I should have known better.  The past few times I've tried to add yogurt to baked goods, the results have been rubbery.  Blech. 

I'm going to keep trying - I'll keep you posted if I find a winner!

Dinner Tonight, 9.4.12

I have pinned quite a few recipes to try (via Pinterest).  I have actually made several of them, with varied degrees of success. 

I saw a recipe for a philly-cheesesteak stuffed pepper.  Before I actually read over the recipe, the picture has been taunting me for a few weeks.  I'd already had some ideas in my head about how I would make it for dinner.  After I read the recipe this afternoon, I realized I was missing several ingredients, but that I wanted to try my version first anyway.  The original recipe calls for sauteed mushrooms and onions and deli-style roast beef. 

I love to buy minute-steaks from the butcher and so I combined the sauteed beef with onions and then added cooked rice, a cheese sauce, and some crumbled bacon.  The addition of the bacon was a last minute decision and it was a winner!

before baking

Philly-Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers 

6 red peppers, halved with seeds removed
1 lb. minute steak, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
3/4 cup cooked white rice (you could also use brown)
4 slices crumbled bacon
3/4 cup shredded cheddar, divided
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt, pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1.  Saute beef and onion in canola oil until browned and cooked through.
2.  In a medium bowl, add sauteed beef and onions to cooked rice.  Add crumbled bacon. Set aside.
3.  In a small saucepan, make your cheese sauce.  Melt butter and sprinkle flour over.  With a spoon, stir and cook until mixture thickens and boils.  Slowly add milk and stir until thick.  Add 1/2 cup of the shredded cheddar and remaining ingredients.  Stir until completely melted. 
4.  Combine cheese sauce with rice/beef/bacon mixture in bowl.  Stuff peppers with as much filling as possible.  Sprinkle remaining cheddar over stuffed peppers.
5.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

**I would not describe myself as loving red peppers, but this was totally delicious. I added pickled jalapenos to mine and it was so, so good.  The only problem is that I only made one for each of us (two for Rob).  I could totally have eaten another one.  The good news......I made dessert.


Apple Crisp!!

I'm so happy right now.  :)

First Day of School, 2012

Today is the first day of school for the kids in our district.  My kids were definitely ready to head back and even though I miss them a bit today, it was time for another year to start.

The obligatory first day of school pictures!

Josh is in 9th grade this year, which means (gulp), high school.  He's playing JV soccer for the high school and aiming for great grades so he can attend Penn State and room with his buddies.  Stay tuned.  :)

This is the first year the girls have been in school together since preschool - and they are so excited!  They're riding the same bus and hope to meet in the hallways.  Kate is in 5th grade and is playing soccer this fall for one of the girl's teams.  She absolutely loves everything about school!

Emma is in 3rd grade this year and we're so happy that she has the same teacher that Kate did at her age.  I think we lucked out, for sure!  Emma loves school, too, and can't wait to see her friends at recess.  She's hoping to do gymnastics this fall, but for now she'll probably race home to play with her Barbie's!

I'm looking forward to a cleaner house, less fighting, and watching my kiddos grow and learn. 

Smoked Salmon Spread

I made this spread for my lunch event last week and it was so delicious!  I love smoked salmon on crackers with all of the accoutrements, but it tends to be a little messy and hard to pile on one cracker.  This is perfect, because all of the flavors are mixed into one convenient dollop.

I found the recipe via Ina Garten, and as usual, her recipe did not disappoint.  The only addition I made was to stir in some capers as a finishing touch. 

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 pound (4 ounces) smoked salmon, minced

Directions

Cream the cheese in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until just smooth. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill, horseradish, salt, and pepper, and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudites or crackers.

Corn and Black Bean Relish

As I was writing my last post, I was planning to embed the link for the recipe for corn and black bean relish.  I discovered that I've never shared the recipe for this little gem!

Like so many of the recipes I use, the ingredients are few, but the flavor is mighty! 

This recipe: eight ingredients. 

This dish, like all others, tastes best when corn is in season, straight from the cob - but use what you have.

Corn and Black Bean Relish

2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 can black beans, drained
1 small jar pimientos, drained
1 lime, juiced
1-2 T olive oil
pinch salt
pinch ground pepper
dash of cayenne or tabasco

mix together



It's that easy! This is perfect with grilled fish or chicken, as a side for enchiladas or tacos or served as a light lunch with fruit.  Try this and you'll be adding it to your summer repertoire - promise!

Cleaning out the Fridge

I had a cooking job last week - lunch for 70.  It seemed like I had to go to the grocery store(s) about fifty times, but it was probably only about 7.  Either way, I was looking forward to cleaning out my refrigerator.  I had lots of odds and ends sitting around and for some reason, this is very entertaining for me.  I love to see what I can make out of nothing.  The second best part is that my fridge is now looking much less cluttered!

So, after about two hours of cooking, this is what I've made

Blueberry galette, stuffed shells, applesauce, corn, and beef vegetable soup.  It's hard to believe that I started with 10 cooking apples, beef tenderloin ends, a half can of tomato paste, a partial container of cottage cheese, five ears of corn, a sad looking red pepper, four mushrooms, and about three cups of blueberries that were creeping towards the other side.  Now, obviously I had to add a few other staples to create these dishes, but I'm a little bit proud of myself! :)

This is what I'm most excited about!  I tried a new recipe, basically scouring the internet for a recipe using  3 cups of blueberries.  Here is the recipe I used.(except I made my own crust)

We're having leftovers for dinner tonight, but these stuffed shells will taste great tomorrow night!  I sauteed my one red pepper and four mushrooms with diced onion and some bacon.  I stuffed the shells with the cottage cheese, an egg and some parmesan and mozzarella.  

I'll probably use the corn to make corn and black bean relish and we'll eat that with the soup and tuna melts for a quick and easy dinner.  The applesauce is something the kids look forward to every summer.

And the galette?  I'd expect that to be history by this evening!