Is a meal possible?

Ok, so today is totally busy, busier than normal. I am back at one of my jobs, Jack has a morning agility camp, there is a 3pm showing at our house, Tim has to be at practice at 4pm, Molly at cheer at 5pm, Jack at practice at 6pm and Meg has a birthday party at 6:30.

So far, we went to agility camp (the kids and me), and the kids are at work with me. I picked up bagels and I packed banana bread and breakfast bars. They will be ready for lunch (or something soon-- hopefully, before I get into class or they will have to wait). I can get Tim to the field then go home. Molly can get ready, I plan to make the ground beef for tacos and get that ready for a taco meal after the practices. My hubby can get that warmed and together if Meg and I are not back from the party by then.

What is really lucky for me-- the birthday party is at my friend's restaurant. At least I will have my meal served to me.

Sunday dinner

We did not have a sunny Sunday this week because of hurricane Irene. Luckily, our area survived fairly well. There was some flooding, trees down, and power outages, but not too bad overall. My parents did not have power, so they came for dinner. I tried a new recipe, here it is:

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Sausage

16 oz. pasta

16 0z. sun-dried tomato and basil sausage, sliced

Olive oil

1 leek, sliced and washed through

1 green pepper, sliced

1 tomato, cut in large dice (my neighbor brought me some from his garden)

6 cloves garlic

1 cup dry white wine

Salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

As the pasta is cooking, saute sausage until warmed through and slightly browned. Remove sausage from pan. Coat bottom of pan with olive oil. Add leek, green pepper, tomato, and garlic and saute until vegetables become a little soft. Add sausage back to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Add wine and cook until the mixture is bubbly.

Combine pasta and sausage mixture. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Read the recipe first

I always make a point to tell my students to make sure they read the recipe at least twice before cooking. I should have followed that advice last night--luckily, I did not make a big mistake.

I was having my cousin and his finance over for dinner and made Grilled Pork Chops with Cherry Peppers, Cipolline Onions, and Balsamic Vinegar. After getting some really nice, thick-cut pork chops in the morning, I put them in the refrigerator so I could prepare them later. I did not read the recipe that has the pork chops brine for 8 hours. Luckily, they were good pork chops and I was prepping early so they got to brine for 2 hours. The pork chops were delicious.

I completed the meal with baked potatoes, corn on the cob, roasted asparagus, and a salad. For dessert, remember the banana ice cream cake I made last week? It's gone now.

Still eating late

Have I mentioned that I do not like to eat after the kids' practices? In case I haven't: actually, I hate to eat that late for a few reasons. I am starving (and so is everyone else) by that time and I usually go to sleep soon after so that I will be up early in the morning. It messes up my breakfast pattern. However, if I want most of the family at the table at the same time, it will continue to happen.

I made Chicken breasts with anchovy-basil pan sauce and zucchini-ricotta fritters with a side of risotto. It was a great meal and there are not many leftovers. I really like when risotto is leftover so that I can have it for breakfast- no luck this time.

I have sauce defrosting for tonight. That may last for more than one meal- but, with football players, you never know.

Sunny Sunday and more...

This week for sunny Sunday, I prepared a salad, Cioppino-Style roasted Crab, and an eggplant dish. The eggplant was something I whipped up- I'm still working on refining the recipe. The crab is always a hit. When there is leftovers, I make crab futtucine. There was not any leftovers this time.

As I was prepping for the day, I made Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream Pie. Instead of crushing the cookies (I omitted the coconut), I made a layer of cookies on the bottom and a row up the side of the pan. The rest of the recipe I followed as written. The pie is in my freezer waiting for an event!

Busy, busy

I had to have Molly at cheer pictures at 5pm, Tim was coming home from double sessions around 5pm, and Jack to the same place as Molly for 6pm. Jack was stuck being 30 minutes early for practice so that I could get home to get Tim something to eat. I made pasta and broccoli for him and he fell asleep before he could eat it. That gave me time to get the turkey tenderloins on the grill and have a "proper" meal ready for everyone.

I tried grilled leeks today. I do not expect the kids will like them, but I think they are fabulous!

Here's what I did:

Grilled Leeks

2 leeks, tough green parts cut off, sliced in half lengthwise, and rinsed very well

olive oil

salt and pepper

Parmesan

I brushed olive oil on the leeks, sprinkled with salt and pepper and placed them on a hot grill. Once they were softened and lightly browned, take them off the grill. Sprinkle with Parmesan. I loved them!

Let the fun begin!

My freshman football player started double sessions today so I planned this week's meals around his needs. I usually plan well balanced meals, but for him this week, a vegetarian meal was not going to cut it for his protein needs (he is a meat and potato kind of guy). I need to make sure he is refueled for the next day. Also, my starches are complex whole grains (usually are anyway), and I increased the amount I usually make, just in case.

Tonight, I started with his favorite: steak and cheese. Corn on the cob, salad, and sweet potato to accompany the meal. I also felt like making spinach and artichoke dip. I combine frozen spinach and a jar of artichoke hearts in a saucepan, cover with water and boil for about 10 minutes. I drain the spinach and artichokes very well. Then I add them pack to the saucepan and add cream cheese (about 8 oz) and Parmesan, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. I heat that combination until it melts together. The recipe is a variation from Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.

I also made Pesto. I started with the traditional ingredients; basil, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and pine nuts. I also had Piave cheese, which is a hard cheese. I added some of that to the food processor. Two containers of pesto are sitting in my freezer for a later meal. I have the ingredients to make gnocchi, maybe later tonight. The gnocchi will go well with the pesto.

What tastes better?

Do you have foods that just taste better when someone else makes them? Sandwiches, to me, taste better when someone else make them...except for this one.

Barbecue Chicken, Pineapple, and Marinated Red Onion Sandwich

3 chicken breasts, sliced into semi-thin pieces
chili powder
Adobo powder
Salt
Pepper
Barbecue sauce

After the chicken is sliced, sprinkle with the seasonings on both sides.

3 slices red onion
Adobo powder
balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle Adobo powder over one side of sliced onion. Pour a small amount of balsamic vinegar over the onion. (If it is fruit fly season, I recommend covering the onion with plastic wrap- the balsamic really attracts them.)

6 slices of pineapple (or one can), no prep needed

When all components are ready, place on a hot grill (and if it is raining, like it is for me today, this can be done on an indoor griddle). The chicken will take the longest time, so start with it. Baste the chicken periodically with barbecue sauce.

Assemble the chicken, grilled pineapple slice, and grilled red onion on a bun. Enjoy.

Shrimp and Black Eyed Peas

I had shrimp ready for after football and cheer practice tonight. There is a big advantage to planning shrimp for dinner- it does not take long to cook. I can put the shrimp over heat once the car pulls in the driveway and by the time uniforms are unloaded and clothes changed, dinner is ready.

I thought Garlic Shrimp and Chickpeas sounded interesting. One little problem, I did not have chickpeas. I substituted Black-Eyed Peas and the recipe came out great. I thought the spices were perfect for the shrimp. The rest of my family still used cocktail sauce. Old habits are hard to break.

Lemony Summer Couscous

I prepped for dinner early today because my husband was working late and I was the parent in charge of driving to practice. I tried the Carolina-Style Barbecue Chicken
. I needed to marinate the chicken longer than the recipe suggested so that I could put in on the grill after practice. Because of the longer marinating, I did not use any of the marinade as the sauce, I just reserved some before I put the chicken in for basting and serving.

I also made couscous. Try my new recipe:

Lemony Summer Couscous

2 cups couscous
2 cups chicken stock
1 zucchini, diced
2 ears corn, shucked
1 red pepper, cubed
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cook the couscous according to package directions, substituting chicken stock for the water (I would also eliminate the salt).

Coat pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Over high heat, saute zucchini, corn, and red pepper until tender crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fluff couscous and transfer to a large bowl. Add vegetables. Combine 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the lemon juice. Pour lemon juice mixture over couscous and vegetables. Serve warm.

Mona's Grilled Potatoes

The trouble with jr football and cheerleading practice is that we either have to eat dinner early, about 4pm or late, about 8:30pm. I prefer to eat dinner between 5:30 and 6:30. Those of you with busy kids know that you are not in charge of you dinner time. Last night, the kids came in starving. I had turkey burgers ready (and they loved them!) and Mona's potato packets. The potato packets got their name because of my neighbor's mom. I had been making potatoes on the grill like this for quite a while. One night, my neighbor noticed them and asked my if his mom gave me her recipe. She did not, but I used the name.

Mona’s Grilled Potatoes

6 white potatoes, sliced
½ red onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stick butter
Aluminum foil, preferably heavy duty

Place the potatoes, covered in water, in a leak proof container. Place the onions, green pepper, and garlic in ziptop bags (one bag for all will work fine). Place all food and butter in a cooler.

When ready to grill, drain the potatoes very well. Layer the potatoes, onions, green peppers, and garlic on top of a large sheet of aluminum foil. Dot the butter on top. Fold the foil into a packet that seals the potatoes.

Place the foil packet over indirect heat on the grill. Do not test the potatoes for at least 25 minutes. Be careful of the steam that will escape when the foil packet is opened.

one week- already?

It has been a week since I posted last. I am sure my family has eaten in the meantime. Allow me to rethink the week...

Monday I was away so I had pasta in the refrigerator for everyone to eat. I also had a pork tenderloin marinating, so that got cooked on Tuesday. Wednesday was my hubby's birthday, so we had his favorite meal; steak, baked potato, broccoli, apple pie (in lieu of birthday cake). Thursday is always leftover buffet and the weekend flew by. Saturday, I prepared chicken enchiladas, ready for my husband to put into the oven for the evening.

We just cooked and ate the enchiladas for lunch today, Monday. It is amazing how fast time flies. Tonight, burgers, potatoes cooked on the grill, and maybe something else. I will have to get back to you once the menu is finalized.