Today is another day when it seems that nothing is working for me. The washing machine is leaking; the health insurance company is billing me incorrectly; the car is in the shop. But here is something that does work: our favorite emergency dinner. It's for those days when I forget to to take some critical action to actually put the dinner I'd planned ahead of time on the table. Maybe I forgot to defrost a big ol' hunk of beef. Maybe I failed to buy something I need and have no substitute for. Or maybe I just ran out of time.
But we'll always have burritos. Or tacos. Or some combination of tortilla/protein/cheese/condiments. If we ever run out of the main ingredients for this dinner, we're in big trouble.
Tortillas are a must. Flour or corn, your choice. We keep both on hand.
Refried beans are pretty standard. Many people make them from scratch. I like Rosarita brand!
Cheese: pepper jack, monterey jack, cheddar...
Meat is optional. Could be ground beef or turkey cooked with spices or some leftover chicken, pork, or steak. Skip those little packets of taco seasoning mix; use a recipe like this one instead.
Condiments are nice. Sauteed onions and/or red bell peppers (some people like green), jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado,sour cream... I usually have a jar of pickled jalapenos in the fridge and some "fresh" ones in the freezer. (Just cut jalapenos in half, clean out the seeds, flatten them and put in a ziplock bag. This works with any sort of chile pepper.)
Salsa and chips are nice too. I sometimes make chips by cutting corn tortillas into 8ths and baking them. My family doesn't like those as well as commercial chips, but they will eat them all up.
I put the big griddle on the stove and let everyone make their own burrito, quesadilla, or taco the way they like it. Easy.
Even if you don't have a green salad on the side, it can be a healthful dinner if you go light on the cheese and heavy on the veggies.
Stop by We Are THAT Family to see more of what works for people. But first tell me about your favorite emergency dinner.
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Menu Plan Monday: August 23
It's another wild week here so meals are going to be simple. May I just say I am really looking forward to cooler weather? We are not hot weather food people. Everyone is missing soups, stews, risotto, chili... tired of grilled food and other meals designed not to heat up the kitchen.
We stuck pretty well to the meal plan last week; I did swap a few things around but we ate the things I'd planned to. Last week I thought I would add lunches into the plan but I did not. We are all working at our church Vacation Bible School next week so lunch will either be sandwiches or the McDonald's down the block from the church.
Monday: Tuna casserole. This is no one's real favorite but we like it well enough, and it's good to have on a day when I don't have time for something long-cooking. We will be out of the house most of the day so I need something fast. We'll have either cauliflower, broccoli, or salad with this.
Tuesday: Corned beef, potatoes, carrots. A winter dish, to be sure, but one my boy has been craving and asking for. I don't have cabbage but no one will really miss it but me. This meat has been in my freezer since March when this cut goes on sale. So it's time to defrost it anyway.
Wednesday: Greek Chicken - just baked chicken parts with olive oil, garlic, oregano, and lemon juice - along with some sort of vegetable, hummus and pita bread.
Thursday: Grilled salmon if I get to Trader Joe's before then. We really like the wild salmon they keep in their freezer section. But that store is hard to get to, so we haven't had it in a while. I'll try to stock up.
Friday: Pizza. Possibly homemade; more likely a take-and-bake from Walmart or Aldi.
Saturday: Out at a picnic. I don't know what I'm supposed to contribute yet. I hope it's dessert.
Sunday: I don't usually plan for Sunday. I try to get the kids to eat a lot of snacks at church so we can skip lunch and just have a large-ish early dinner. I like the idea of a rather formal Sunday meal but most often it turns into leftover extravaganza. We go to church both morning and evening, so the day is a little compressed for a large meal that entails a lot of work. I don't love doing the roast-in-the-crockpot thing. If I have one in the freezer, or find a good deal this week, I might do a pork tenderloin with mustard sauce.
I just realized I don't have a meatless meal this week. Oh well, better luck next time. Or, if I don't make it to Trader Joe's for salmon, I'll just make pasta with a simple tomato sauce.
Find more menu inspiration at Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie.
Monday, August 09, 2010
Jumping into Menu Plan Monday
Menu planning is probably one of the best homemaking ideas that I rarely follow. My life goes so much easier when I plan, yet I hardly ever do it. I guess I somehow enjoy spending most of my day muttering "what am I going to make for dinner" under my breath and badgering my family for ideas that don't include cheese, and include only ingredients I have on hand - as if they would know what those are. But I don't think so.
I have one vivid memory of the value of planning meals. The day my mother died was a day of chaos. Of course. It would have been the day to rely on takeout pizza or send someone to pick up fast food. I could have asked my husband, a competent cook but one out of practice, to put something together. Skipping dinner was an option for me, but not for my little family. My young kids were freaked out enough by the day; they needed something normal to happen.
So when it was dinner time I was able to look at the menu plan on the refrigerator and say "oh, yes, we're making tamale pie." And my good friend, who had so graciously spent the day at my house with my kids, helped me prepare dinner. It was a normal thing to do on a very abnormal day. It helped me to do something mundane. I think it helped my kids too.
Since then I have done menu planning sporadically, and it has always simplified my life. It's not even unpleasant for me to sit at the kitchen table with some cookbooks, my recipe binder, my menu plan sheet, and some newly-sharpened pencils. Actually it's very pleasant to play with my recipes. Maybe doing this Menu Plan Monday will help to get and keep me on track.
Monday 8/9: Pork roast, sweet potato fries, and either green beans with red bell peppers, or collard greens depending on my trip to the produce store. The pork roast is simple - rubbed with garlic, paprika, salt and pepper, vinegar and olive oil, then tossed in the crockpot.
Tuesday 8/10: Macaroni and cheese, carrot sticks with ranch dressing... my girlie is having a sleepover and that is the proper sleepover food, I'm told.
Wednesday 8/11: A garbanzo bean/tomato curry and rice. Maybe some naan if I have energy to make some or find time to buy some. (Whole wheat tortillas are a decent substitute.) Or maybe this recipe for samosas which I snagged from SmallWorld.
Thursday 8/12: Another sleepover but this time with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, and potato salad. Probably carrot sticks and ranch dressing, too.
Friday 8/13: Pizza or pasta with tomato sauce, salad.
Saturday 8/14: We'll be camping with the Boy Scouts so they'll feed us.
Sunday 8/15: Grilled steak, potatoes, salad or green beans or some other veggie.
A very simple week; lots of easy food as is fitting for summertime and sleepovers. I can't wait for hearty soup and stew weather.
Find more menu plan ideas at I'm An Organizing Junkie. Looks like a good site all around. There are a lot of menu plans up: I am number 205!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Raelene's Beautiful Mushroom Soup
Last night I made the best mushroom soup. I can say it's the best because it's not my recipe. The first time I made and tasted this soup was about 6 years ago at a church dinner. I volunteered to help in the kitchen - I like kitchen work - and was tasked with making the soup. The name on the recipe is "Hungarian mushroom soup" but it is beautiful and Raelene gave it to me, hence my renaming. She was (probably still is) an extraordinary woman who ran our church kitchen. I learned a lot about cooking for large groups from her. (Also about sprinkling apple wedges with lime juice, rather than the more typical lemon, to keep them from going brown. Also many other things.) I think of Raelene every time I make this soup. Maybe someday I'll see her again and can tell her so.
The recipe starts with this note: "The secret to this delicious soup is using real Hungarian paprika - other types don't have the same flavor." I don't remember what brand and type of paprika I used under Raelene's tutelage, but have always used the sweet. (There is also hot paprika.) Just do your best.
6 Tablespoons butter (you could go with a little less, but why? This has no pretensions to being a low-fat food.)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 teaspoons Hungarian paprika.
4 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cup milk
2 2/3 cup water
4 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion, paprika, dill weed, salt and pepper till the onion is tender (don't rush!). Whisk in the flour and then the milk and water. Add the mushrooms and bring almost to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring
And that is where my recipe ends. Somewhere there is a 2nd sheet of paper that says something like:
occasionally. Just before serving, add soy sauce, lemon juice, sour cream, and parsley.
This serves 4, I think. It is a rich soup. But it is so delicious that it's hard to stop eating it!
The recipe starts with this note: "The secret to this delicious soup is using real Hungarian paprika - other types don't have the same flavor." I don't remember what brand and type of paprika I used under Raelene's tutelage, but have always used the sweet. (There is also hot paprika.) Just do your best.
6 Tablespoons butter (you could go with a little less, but why? This has no pretensions to being a low-fat food.)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 teaspoons Hungarian paprika.
4 teaspoons dried dill weed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 2/3 cup milk
2 2/3 cup water
4 cups sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream
In a large saucepan, melt butter and saute onion, paprika, dill weed, salt and pepper till the onion is tender (don't rush!). Whisk in the flour and then the milk and water. Add the mushrooms and bring almost to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring
And that is where my recipe ends. Somewhere there is a 2nd sheet of paper that says something like:
occasionally. Just before serving, add soy sauce, lemon juice, sour cream, and parsley.
This serves 4, I think. It is a rich soup. But it is so delicious that it's hard to stop eating it!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Making your own
Every time I see someone in the grocery store picking up a bag of frozen chicken [nuggets, strips, fingers, whatever] I just cringe. We have bought more than our share of those - everyone likes 'em, in theory - but the frozen ones are always so nasty. But it's easy, though not instant, to make your own. You can even do it in steps to save time here and there.
First, make sure you have bread crumbs. Not those things in the cardboard canisters. Make your own. Save all the bread that's too stale to eat, but not moldy yet, in a ziplock in the freezer. When there is enough to make it worth the effort, dry it out in the oven and make it into crumbs. I use a food processor but a blender works too. If you get the bread really crispy you can bash it with a kitchen mallet or rolling pin. Put it in a plastic bag first.
Now, the chicken. Boneless breast is easy and most healthful; boneless thighs are tastier (because they have more fat, of course). I pound them too. Flatter is better. Then, cut them into strips or chunks. If you like them crispy with lots of coating, cut them smaller. But not tiny or they're more work.
Put them in a bowl and mix up a little marinade to pour over them. We use buttermilk - we almost always have it around but not everyone does. You can mix up milk with some vinegar to sour it. Or lemon juice. Then add some seasoning. We use Tabasco or Cholula hot sauce. The bottle of Frank's you keep in the fridge for impromptu Buffalo wings would work too. Of course if you don't like spicy you can leave that out. Or put in some thyme, or tarragon, and a little mustard. Don't forget salt and pepper. Mix the buttermilk mixture up well before putting it over the chicken. Then toss the chicken around a bit (don't spill!) so the chicken is all wet. You'll probably be throwing away a little of this marinade. Don't worry about it.
That can sit around for a while on the counter, or all day in the fridge. The next step is to coat the chicken. First get your pan ready - a cookie sheet will do. I put aluminum foil on mine and spray it with Pam. If I had olive oil spray, I'd use that. Or you can just lightly coat the pan with oil. You don't have to use foil, but it helps with cleanup, especially if your pans are old like mine.
Put the bread crumbs on a plate. Take your chicken, piece by piece, out of the marinade and press it into the crumbs. Make sure you get enough coating on there to completely cover it. Press down a little so it sticks. Then put it on the baking sheet. Don't crowd your sheet - the chicken pieces should not touch, or they won't be crispy. You can spray or brush the tops with a little oil if you like.
Oh, you should turn your oven on to 425F.
Put the pans of chicken in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken over and put it back in for another 5. Test for doneness. Now if your chicken pieces are really thin you have to be careful not to overcook them. A kitchen thermometer is an indispensable tool but if you don't have one, cut into one of the pieces. This is where it really helps if they are all close to the same size. Hard to do with an irregular-shaped chicken breast, but do your best. (This is another good reason to pound the chicken, so it's a uniformish thickness.)
If you want to make a dipping sauce, you could mix up some mustard (honey, or Dijon would be better than yellow) and mayonnaise. We usually don't bother with that.
You notice this is not a real recipe with amounts. That all depends on how many people you want to feed and your opinion of leftovers. I have a family of carnivores, including one who is growing fast. I use 3 chicken breasts (takes 2 cookie sheets to bake them all) so we have leftovers. These make great sandwiches a day or two later (don't keep them around more than 4 days!).
But, here is a real recipe that you can use to start. It has more, and different, ingredients than I use. But, that is one of the beauties of knowing how to cook: you can start with someone else's recipe and change it around.
These are certainly more work than a bag o'frozen nuggets, but they are not so much work and are much, much better in taste and healthfulness. Next time we make them, my kids are going to do all the work.
UPDATE: Sandy asked a good question. I go through the bread and breadcrumbs pretty quickly so freezer life is not a problem. A couple places said 2 - 3 months; here is one.
I tend to keep chunks of bread frozen and make breadcrumbs as needed, so I can use the stale bread for bread pudding. Actually most of the time I have bags of both bread chunks and bread crumbs. I like not throwing away bread. This works with hamburger buns too. Really any kind of bread. Um, you might want to be sure you don't accidentally make chocolate bread pudding with garlicky bread!
First, make sure you have bread crumbs. Not those things in the cardboard canisters. Make your own. Save all the bread that's too stale to eat, but not moldy yet, in a ziplock in the freezer. When there is enough to make it worth the effort, dry it out in the oven and make it into crumbs. I use a food processor but a blender works too. If you get the bread really crispy you can bash it with a kitchen mallet or rolling pin. Put it in a plastic bag first.
Now, the chicken. Boneless breast is easy and most healthful; boneless thighs are tastier (because they have more fat, of course). I pound them too. Flatter is better. Then, cut them into strips or chunks. If you like them crispy with lots of coating, cut them smaller. But not tiny or they're more work.
Put them in a bowl and mix up a little marinade to pour over them. We use buttermilk - we almost always have it around but not everyone does. You can mix up milk with some vinegar to sour it. Or lemon juice. Then add some seasoning. We use Tabasco or Cholula hot sauce. The bottle of Frank's you keep in the fridge for impromptu Buffalo wings would work too. Of course if you don't like spicy you can leave that out. Or put in some thyme, or tarragon, and a little mustard. Don't forget salt and pepper. Mix the buttermilk mixture up well before putting it over the chicken. Then toss the chicken around a bit (don't spill!) so the chicken is all wet. You'll probably be throwing away a little of this marinade. Don't worry about it.
That can sit around for a while on the counter, or all day in the fridge. The next step is to coat the chicken. First get your pan ready - a cookie sheet will do. I put aluminum foil on mine and spray it with Pam. If I had olive oil spray, I'd use that. Or you can just lightly coat the pan with oil. You don't have to use foil, but it helps with cleanup, especially if your pans are old like mine.
Put the bread crumbs on a plate. Take your chicken, piece by piece, out of the marinade and press it into the crumbs. Make sure you get enough coating on there to completely cover it. Press down a little so it sticks. Then put it on the baking sheet. Don't crowd your sheet - the chicken pieces should not touch, or they won't be crispy. You can spray or brush the tops with a little oil if you like.
Oh, you should turn your oven on to 425F.
Put the pans of chicken in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken over and put it back in for another 5. Test for doneness. Now if your chicken pieces are really thin you have to be careful not to overcook them. A kitchen thermometer is an indispensable tool but if you don't have one, cut into one of the pieces. This is where it really helps if they are all close to the same size. Hard to do with an irregular-shaped chicken breast, but do your best. (This is another good reason to pound the chicken, so it's a uniformish thickness.)
If you want to make a dipping sauce, you could mix up some mustard (honey, or Dijon would be better than yellow) and mayonnaise. We usually don't bother with that.
You notice this is not a real recipe with amounts. That all depends on how many people you want to feed and your opinion of leftovers. I have a family of carnivores, including one who is growing fast. I use 3 chicken breasts (takes 2 cookie sheets to bake them all) so we have leftovers. These make great sandwiches a day or two later (don't keep them around more than 4 days!).
But, here is a real recipe that you can use to start. It has more, and different, ingredients than I use. But, that is one of the beauties of knowing how to cook: you can start with someone else's recipe and change it around.
These are certainly more work than a bag o'frozen nuggets, but they are not so much work and are much, much better in taste and healthfulness. Next time we make them, my kids are going to do all the work.
UPDATE: Sandy asked a good question. I go through the bread and breadcrumbs pretty quickly so freezer life is not a problem. A couple places said 2 - 3 months; here is one.
I tend to keep chunks of bread frozen and make breadcrumbs as needed, so I can use the stale bread for bread pudding. Actually most of the time I have bags of both bread chunks and bread crumbs. I like not throwing away bread. This works with hamburger buns too. Really any kind of bread. Um, you might want to be sure you don't accidentally make chocolate bread pudding with garlicky bread!
Friday, October 09, 2009
Cooking improv
Last week we were in the mood for fall-ish food so we made some pumpkin scones. They turned out really badly. Very bland and dull. It is not often any sort of baked good is disliked in this house of carbs, but these were not going to be eaten.
Still, I wrapped them up and put them in the freezer, thinking there had to be something I could do with them. I hate throwing out edible food, even if it's not very good.
Don't know where the inspiration came from, but tonight we enjoyed them as pumpkin bread pudding. It was pretty simple: just a basic bread pudding recipe with scones instead of plain bread, the usual eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla, and the rest of the can of pumpkin I opened to make the scones.
It came out custardy and rich and very delicious. Perfect for a night when half the family is a little sickly. The kids convinced me that it's healthful enough for breakfast tomorrow - as long as we leave off the whipped cream. Perfect, since the seminarian is having breakfast out tomorrow, and we need something special too.
Still, I wrapped them up and put them in the freezer, thinking there had to be something I could do with them. I hate throwing out edible food, even if it's not very good.
Don't know where the inspiration came from, but tonight we enjoyed them as pumpkin bread pudding. It was pretty simple: just a basic bread pudding recipe with scones instead of plain bread, the usual eggs, milk, sugar, and vanilla, and the rest of the can of pumpkin I opened to make the scones.
It came out custardy and rich and very delicious. Perfect for a night when half the family is a little sickly. The kids convinced me that it's healthful enough for breakfast tomorrow - as long as we leave off the whipped cream. Perfect, since the seminarian is having breakfast out tomorrow, and we need something special too.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
This is how Saturday should be spent
OK, in my opinion.
Up early-ish, long leisurely breakfast (see previous post) with lots of conversation.
Then outside to work - dig, mow, weed, prepare planting holes... whatever.
Quick lunch, dinner prep.
Quick run to the nursery to buy some more plants: a hydrangea, basil, cilantro, red bell pepper, thyme, a maple tree!
Come home and don't even go in the house: just get those plants in the ground. Plant those seeds that you've saved from 2 summers ago. (They might grow.) While planting, discuss the concept of 6 days of work, 1 day of rest each week. Though how anyone can consider planting work is beyond my comprehension.
Clean up and relax: read, sew, play with the dog (who does not like shovels or the tiller), a new computer game, whatever.
Put away the mountains of clean laundry generated by multiple loads of wash. Really away, in the right drawers and everything.
Simple dinner: beef roast rubbed with cinnamon, cumin, paprika and red pepper, browned and put in crockpot early in the day with some chicken broth and red wine. Tunisian carrot salad made early in the day. Brown rice in the cooker. Don't forget that open bottle of wine.
More sewing, more reading, more playing.
Then sleep for those weary muscles.
Aaah......
Up early-ish, long leisurely breakfast (see previous post) with lots of conversation.
Then outside to work - dig, mow, weed, prepare planting holes... whatever.
Quick lunch, dinner prep.
Quick run to the nursery to buy some more plants: a hydrangea, basil, cilantro, red bell pepper, thyme, a maple tree!
Come home and don't even go in the house: just get those plants in the ground. Plant those seeds that you've saved from 2 summers ago. (They might grow.) While planting, discuss the concept of 6 days of work, 1 day of rest each week. Though how anyone can consider planting work is beyond my comprehension.
Clean up and relax: read, sew, play with the dog (who does not like shovels or the tiller), a new computer game, whatever.
Put away the mountains of clean laundry generated by multiple loads of wash. Really away, in the right drawers and everything.
Simple dinner: beef roast rubbed with cinnamon, cumin, paprika and red pepper, browned and put in crockpot early in the day with some chicken broth and red wine. Tunisian carrot salad made early in the day. Brown rice in the cooker. Don't forget that open bottle of wine.
More sewing, more reading, more playing.
Then sleep for those weary muscles.
Aaah......
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Not cooking on Thanksgiving?
This will be the first year since 1995 that I will not cook Thanksgiving dinner. I am only contributing a sweet potato dish and some wine.
I'm not sure I can handle it, having Thanksgiving dinner at someone else's house. Three years ago we had dinner for 24. Two years ago it was about 20. Last year it was family only and boy were we lonely.
This year we are in a new city and planned on an "orphans" Thanksgiving. Lots of seminary students would need a place to go, we figured. But we were invited to another family's house.
So. I'm not cooking. I have to decide on only one dish. But there are so many sweet potato recipes! Do I want to go goopy and sweet, or savory? The twice-baked with sage, or the butter-pecan? I can't go too goopy and sweet. I just can't. No marshmallows, please.
I'm not sure I can handle it, having Thanksgiving dinner at someone else's house. Three years ago we had dinner for 24. Two years ago it was about 20. Last year it was family only and boy were we lonely.
This year we are in a new city and planned on an "orphans" Thanksgiving. Lots of seminary students would need a place to go, we figured. But we were invited to another family's house.
So. I'm not cooking. I have to decide on only one dish. But there are so many sweet potato recipes! Do I want to go goopy and sweet, or savory? The twice-baked with sage, or the butter-pecan? I can't go too goopy and sweet. I just can't. No marshmallows, please.
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