Meatloaf is one of my favorite meals, especially when it’s on my place next to a big helping of mashed potatoes. Everyone makes meatloaf just a little different. I am not a fan of ketchup – seriously, it’s tomato-flavored syrup – and, in my humble opinion, is only really necessary if your meatloaf is a bland little brick of beef. Click through for my meatloaf recipe (which is super easy, but delicious), as well as my method of making some fantastic mashed potatoes.
I had some people over for New Year’s festivities last night. For food, I opted for something easy on me to prepare, but tasty for my guests. I made stewed pork, which served as the main ingredient for some delicious tacos. You really couldn’t ask for anything easier, and the results are fantastic.
I bought a three pound pork roast, cut it in thirds and put it in my slow cooker. To this, I added two packets of taco seasoning and filled the pot half full with water. I cooked the roast on high for about four hours, long enough for the meat to easily shred with a pair of tongs. Served up in warm corn tortillas (double them up because the meat is juicy, even when you try to squeeze the juice out a bit) with cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa and chopped romaine lettuce. Super easy, but everyone went nuts over them. The meat is tender, delicious, and nearly melts in your mouth.
Usually when I make this, I use a roast half that size and only use one packet of taco seasoning, and obviously a bit less water. With slow cookers, you want to use less water than you would when cooking on the stove, as water does not evaporate out of the pot. When doing this, I usually just put enough water to halfway cover the meat, and stir things around about halfway through.
You could probably do this just as well with a beef roast, or even an equivalent amount of chicken breast, but pork is my favorite meat, so I always use that.
I love to cook, especially for other people. So, I suppose it’s only natural that it occurred to me to make tasty treats to give out. Last night, my kitchen (and I) turned into a cookie making factory. It was a lot of fun to make them, all the while thinking of how much the folks who received them would enjoy them. (Yes, there is a little selfish element to this…)
Armed with recipes (and ideas for a little modification), I made (dozens of) three of my favorite kinds of cookies. They’re represented in the picture above. From left to right: Peanut Butter Blossoms, Fruit and Nut Oatmeal Cookies, and Jam Thumbprints. Click through for the recipes. And Happy Whatever Holiday(s) You’re Celebrating.
I love those ridiculously simple foods that always somehow turn out being more than the sum of their parts. To me, baked pasta dishes are included in this category.
Tonight, I wasn’t in the mood for meat. (Don’t get me wrong, I love meat, but I don’t eat it at every meal.) I made some baked rigatoni with a bunch of vegetables, and topped with a ton of cheese. Simple, easy to fix, delicious, and filling.
This is one of those recipes that is a family one, with no written recipe. If any of you know my son Bill, this is one of his favorite dishes from his childhood.
The dish is a staple in Northeastern Pennsylvania where we lived when Billy was young. It is an Eastern European dish, with roots in Ukraine, Poland, and all Slavic countries.
So just what is Halushki? Peasant food, cheap food but heartwarming food. Let me tell you how to make it.
Ingredients are simple, cabbage, onions, egg noodles and butter. Chop your onion, saute it in butter. Shred your cabbage, steam it and then add it to the onions and butter. Boil your egg noodles, drain and after the cabbage fries with the onions and lots of butter, mix it all together. Salt and pepper to taste.
Eat this as a main dish or side dish. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!
We in Western Washington are experiencing a cold spell. And let me tell you, when you’re used to winters where it rarely drops below 40 degrees in the day time, 25 degrees during the day and 18 degrees at night just feels damn cold. (Anyone out there in places that get actual weather in the winter, please keep your chuckles to yourselves.) Nothing is better than a warm bowl of soup on days like the ones we’ve been having around here. (Well, except perhaps for someone cute to cuddle up and keep warm with, but our specialty is food, so we’re sticking to that.)
Yesterday, I had the day off. In addition to being good cold day food, it’s also good day off food because it’s such an easy thing to make. Toss some stuff in a pot, add some water, let it boil for a while, and eat. Nice and simple for a day when you’re not up for much but relaxing.
When it comes to soup, I’m ok with something fancy and adventurous once in a while, but what I really love are the standards. Chicken noodle, navy bean, split pea (extra ham, please), and yesterday’s soup du jour, beef barley.
(Photo from Marthastewart.com)
Okay, Okay, I know many people hold some strong reservations for anything Martha Stewart. I used to be one of those united in Martha bashing. However, I guess over the years my German heritage has taken ahold of me including the studious OCD homemaker genes which were passed on to me from my amazing German Grandmother, in turn leading me to embrace a large portion of the Martha Stewart culture. I will admit that when I want to find one of those tried and true classic recipes passed on down through generations I head to Marthastewart.com. Before I go hide in shame from these confessions, I must first share her recipe for Stuffed Cabbage Rolls which is actually her Polish Mother, Mrs. Kostyra’s recipe and it is mighty good.
This was a group effort cooking adventure by my husband and I. We are vegetarian and we love taking childhood comfort food recipes and transforming them into healthier vegetarian dishes. So, what we did for this recipe is substituted the 16 oz of meat for a 12 oz. package of Morningstar crumbles and 4 oz of TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein, you can find TVP in the natural section of your local market). Instead of butter we used Extra Virgin Olive oil as well. I also included at the bottom of the recipe the few other changes we made.*
The link to the recipe is inlcuded as well as a picture of the final dish from the site above. I decided to not take the time to take a picture because honestly our final dish looked EXACTLY like the picture they included. I hate to admit it, but this recipe was much better than the dish my very own beloved Grandmother made when I was a child. They are deliciously comforting and one of those perfect cold weather meals. I highly recommend making these and they are toddler approved! One more noteworthy addition that only having a toddler can inspire is serving these with goldfish crackers, trust me it’s a good thing (hahah, I couldn’t resist).
I can’t wait to enjoy the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I hope you take the time to make them. Enjoy!
After a day off from my paying job spent doing unpaid work (laundry, cleaning, etc…), tonight I don’t feel like cooking. It’s a rare occurrence, but it happens, even to the food-obsessed. Instead, I wandered over to the store and picked up what has to be the best frozen pizza made.
Our holiday dinner was very nice, but as usual we, ok, I, forgot an item that was on the menu. There were 3 of us for dinner and this item was the favorite of 2 of us, so that was a shame. I forgot to make the creamed onions!
Our menu consisted of: Turkey with sausage stuffing, mashed potatoes, mashed rutabaga, gravy and roasted Brussels sprouts.
I made a no bake pumpkin cheesecake, which was tasty but could have been sweeter. I made a ginger snap cookie crust and mixed cream cheese , butter, cooked pumpkin, spices, and some confectioners sugar. If I make it again, I will add more spice and more sugar, as there was only 1/4 cup of sugar.
All in all, successful, delicious dinner with my family, which is all that matters.
One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is all that leftover food. But if you have a big surplus, it’s easy to get tired of eating the same thing for days after the big feast. Here are a couple of experiments I’ve undertaken the past couple days that yielded good results.
