incredible corny chowder! 5/5 at least!

this is an easy, flavor-packed soup that tastes really rich and decadent but without any heavy cream! in fact, it's quite a healthy dish and corn is full of antioxidants too. this has a delicious spicy kick that really rounds out the flavors and makes a perfect meal paired with a spinach salad and some fresh (home) baked bread!

SOUTHWESTERN CORN CHOWDER
from martha's everyday food

What You’ll Need
1 T butter
1 scallion, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
½ t chili powder
½ t dried oregano
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into ½ in pieces
1 package (10 oz) frozen corn kernels
1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 c milk

What To Do
In a med saucepan, melt butter over med heat. Add white part of scallion, carrot, chili powder, and oregano; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until scallion is soft, about 2 min. Add potato, corn, broth and milk.
Bring to a boil over med high, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until potato is easily pierced with the tip of a knife, 15-20 mn. Stir in green part of scallion, and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 day.

fancy dinner that doesn't taste as pretty

so this was another one of our "fancy" dinners but it looked a lot better that it ended up tasting. it was good, but for the amount of work and the pprettyness of it we expected a more rich and flavorful meal. tomato stuff would probably have been better with grape tomatoes instead of plum and maybe if we'd used the right cut of steak it may have been a bit better too. anyway, it was still fun to make something that looked so good!


both recipes from martha's everyday food, may 07

spinach-stuffed flank steak 3.5/5
serves 4, time:55m

2pkgs frozen spinach
1/4c parsley
1/4c grated asiago we used italian blend
2T capers, rinsed didn't use these either; tom hates capers apparently
2T balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
1/4t red pepper flakes
s&p
1# flank steak we used a skirt steak by mistake
1t olive oil

heat broiler 4" from heat. line rimmed sheet with foil. squeeze water out of spinach
mix spinach, parsley, cheese, capers, vinegar, garlic and pepper flakes. add s&p and combine.
cut/open steak almost in half horizontally, like opening a book
place mix down center of steak, roll, and secure with twine. cut in half and place seam down on sheet, rub with oil and season with s&p
broil til browned; 8-10m for med-rare, rest loosley covered with foil 10m
remove string and cut into 1/2" rounds, serve

white bean and tomato saute 3.5/5
serves 4, time:15m

1T olive oil
1sm onion, chopped
1/2t dried oregano
s&p
1 can, 15oz, white beans, drained and rinsed
3 plum tomatoes, cut in sm pieces
1-2T fresh lemon juice

in lg pan heat oil, add onion and oregano, s&p. cook til tender, 4-5m
add beans & tomats. cook til tomatoes are tender, 3-4m.
remove from heat and add lemon juice s&p

don't get me wrong, it was a great meal. it just wasn't as good as we thought it'd be. but wow it looked pretty! keep eating...

TERRIBLE! don't make this!

i don't know that much about fish. i know i'm from florida and we have tons of fresh seafood but i just never really got into fish other than tuna and salmon. so i thought this would be a tasty recipe to try. i was SO WRONG! the fish was actually fine but combined with the sauce it was awful! it tasted like rotten poison and was totally inedible. don't make it. ever.

snapper vera cruz
2 servings
1/3c chopped onion
2 garlic cloves
2/3c seeded, chopped plum tomats
2T minced jalepeno
1/4c chopped green olives
1T capers
1/4t salt
3T H2O
2 snapper fillets we had to use flounder because we couldn't get snapper. i have no idea if they are similar in taste and good subistutes for each other
1 whole lime
oil spray

spray pan with oil and heat over med-hi. cook onion and garlic til tender, 3-5m
add tomats, jalepeno, olives, salt, H2O and simmer, covered 7-10m
add fish to sauce and squeeze lime juice over top and then spoon sauce on top. cover, cook 6-10m until fish is opaque and flakes.

this was truly awful. if someone has a vera cruz recipe that they like i'd be willing to try it again but this was bad bad bad. keep eating...

dinner with friends

so another dinner with friends! we started off with some fresh-baked, still-warm yogurt wheat bread and butter along with a cuke, tomato, feta salad that brent threw together after they got here. tom and i made the pot roast and maggie baked a delicious cobbler that i think came from a cooking light recipe. overall a lovely meal that was only better with friends!

skillet pot roast with mushrooms and cherries

from better homes and gardens

Start to Finish: 30 minutes

we actually cooked this in the crock pot, 10h on low, while we were at school

Ingredients
1 12-oz. pkg. frozen unsweetened pitted dark sweet cherries we used 16oz
8 oz. fresh button mushrooms, halved (3 cups) we used 12oz
1 medium red sweet pepper, cut into bite-size strips (3/4 cup)
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh herb, such as sage or thyme or 2 tsp. dried sage or thyme
1 Tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
2 16- to 17-oz. pkg. refrigerated cooked beef pot roast with juices we used 2# fresh
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
we also added red potatoes

Directions
1. Place frozen cherries in colander. Run cold water over cherries to partially thaw. Set aside; drain well.
2. In a 12-inch skillet cook mushrooms, sweet pepper, onion, and 1 tablespoon of the herb in hot oil until tender, about 7 minutes. Add pot roasts and juices, cherries, and balsamic vinegar to skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until heated through and juices thicken slightly, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with remaining herb; stir to combine.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition facts per serving:
Calories 420
Total Fat (g) 17
Saturated Fat (g) 5
Monounsaturated Fat (g) 3
Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1
Cholesterol (mg) 104
Sodium (mg) 1174
Carbohydrate (g) 31
Total Sugar (g) 23
Fiber (g) 3
Protein (g) 40
Vitamin C (DV%) 95
Calcium (DV%) 6
Iron (DV%) 20
*Percent Daily Values are base on a 2,000 calorie diet

although our pot roast was really good, i was expecting more out of the cherries. i even added 1/2 them towards the end to hopefully have more flavor but they didn't add what i was looking for. really great, easy meal though. keep eating!

moist, yummy zucchini muffins 5/5

martha's a hit again! this was an "experiment" in baking for me since it's been a while since i've made much from scratch to throw in the oven. the muffins were amazing and i made the fabulous frosting to go with it too! since i don't have a "normal" muffin pan i had to settle for sharing every one with tom since each on was 2 servings! it's fun to share desserts with someone you love though, so it's ok. maybe someday i'll breakdown and buy a regular cucpcake pan!

IAN’S SWEET ZUCCHINI CUPCAKES
from everyday food
What you’ll need
1 ½ c all-purpose flour
1c packed dark-brown sugar
2t baking powder
½ t ground cinnamon
½ t salt
½ c coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
1 zucchini coarsely grated (1 ½ c)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ t pure vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting (below)



What To Do
Preheat oven to 350. Line cups of a standard (12 cup) muffin tin with paper or foil linesrs. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in nuts.
In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, and vanilla; add to flour mixture, and mix just until combined (do not overmix)
Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 40-45 min.
Cool in tin on a wire rack for 1- min; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely. Meanwhile, make Cream Cheese Frosting. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, spread frosting on cupcakes. The frosted cupcakes are best eaten within 1 day.
***Cream Cheese Frosting***
In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat 4T room temp unsalted butter and 4 oz room temperature bar cream cheese until smooth. Add 2 c confectioners’ sugar and ½ t pure vanilla extract; beat until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes!







keep eating!

have a ball with 5/5 meatballs

woo hoo! this is an awesome meal! the meatballs we absolutly fantastick! the gratin was really good too, but only a 4/5. the meatballs were 5+!



both from martha's edf may 07
zucchini and yellow squash gratin
serves 4, takes 30m

2T butter
2 med zucc sliced 1/4" thick
2 med yellow squash sliced 1/4"
2 minced shallots
2 minced garlic cloves
s&p
1/2c heavy cream tom actually used more...
1c panko bread crumbs (japanese)
1/2c grated parm cheese

oven to 450F. melt butter in pan with zucc, squash, shallots, garlic, s&p til crisp-tender, 4-6m
add cream, cook til thickened, 5m. remove from heat, stir in 1/2c panko and 1/4c parm
spoon into shallow baking dish (2qt) and sprinkle with remaining parm and panko, s&p. bake til golden, 8-10m

ROSEMARY MEATBALLS

What You’ll Need
8 oz ground beef chuck
8 oz ground portk
1 ½ c panko
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
1 t finely chopped fresh rosemary of ½ t dried plus more for garnish (optional)
1 T lemon zest, plus 1 T fresh lemon juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1T olive oil
4 c homemade or store-bought tomato sauce

What To Do
In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, panko, egg, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest and jucice, ½ t coarse salt and ¼ t pepperMix just until combined (do not overmix). Using a level ¼ c measure for each, form mixture into 12 meatballs (see note below)
Heat oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium high. Add meatballs; cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 10-12 min.
Tilt skillet away from you, and pour in tomato sauce. Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high reduce, heat to medium. Cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, 8010 minutes. Serve meatballs and suce, garnished with more rosemary, if desired.
***Have a Ball***
Use a ¼ c measure per meatball to ensure uniform size. For easy cleanup place n a sheet of parchment waxed paper

this was a fairly easy meal (i've never made meatballs before) and came out great! we froze the meatballs and would have 2-3 for lunch with veggies while we were at the hospital. i think they tasted even better after being frozen! really good stuff. keep eating...

scallops with mint pesto are awesome! 5/5

so here's a really fancy dinner that i never thought would be so good. the ingredients are simple but are fairly exotic when combined. i never thought i'd enjoy a mint pesto nor did i ever consider how delish cooked carrots could be. even though this meets my definition of "fancy" (=s more work than a salad) it was quick to make and was even tasty the next day. we saved the pesto that was leftover for almost a week and spread it on crackers or toast; all about the goodness!

all from martha's edf, may 07

scallops with mint pesto
serves 4, takes 15m

2c packed fresh mint
1/4c + 1T olive oil
1/4c pine nuts, toasted
1T fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove
s&p
1# lg sea scallops (about 12)

pesto: food-process mint, 1/4c oil, 3T pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic and process til smooth, + s&p, thin with water as needed
pat scallops dry, s&p. heat oil in pan at med-hi and cook scallops on 1 side til browned, 3m. flip and cook til opaque, 1m. transfer to plates and top with pesto and nuts


carrot puree
serves 4, takes 40m

2# carrots in 2" pieces
s&p
1T butter
1/4c red fat sour cream

put carrots in pan and cover with water, add salt, boil then simmer til tender, 25-30m
drain and transfer to pood processer, + butter and sour cream, s&p. process til smooth, serve.

mexican ice-cream sundaes with cinnamon chocolate sauce
serves 6, takes 15m

3/4c sweetened flaked coconut
2/3c heavy cream
6oz bittersweet chocolate, broken up
1t ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1.5pints dilce de leche (carmel) ice cream
1/4c redskin or unsalted pnuts

350F oven to toast coconut on a sheet til brown and fragrant, 10m
med pan over med-hi, boil cream. add chocolate, cinnamon, salt. let stand 1-2m then wisk til smooth and shiny.
scoop icecream and top with sauce, pnuts and coconut



here's a funny thing; so i caught the toaster oven on fire! i was toasting the coconut at the same time as making the sauce and wasn't paying attention and then WOW! it got really bright! so i'm like "tom, the toaster's on fire" and he gets off the phone and wanders in and is like "SHIT!" and hopped around all crazy. apparently i didn't sound paniced enough so he wasn't expecting a REAL fire! but no one was hurt and nothing was damaged and i just had to toast some more coconut (in the big oven) and spent the next day scrubbing upp soot. but it was totally worth it! this was a fantastic, decedant dessert! the chocolate sauce was my favorite and was so spicey and rich and dark. mmm... good... keep eating! and safety first!