Its a baby shower!

So my sister, who is 9 and a half years my elder is due any day now with her fifth child. The kicker is, her youngest is in the first grade. Needless to say, it was a surprise! She really inspires me. So much so that she inspired me to make my husband get a vasectomy within weeks of her revealing she was pregnant. Seeing how she has long since gotten rid of all things baby, we decided to throw her a shower. However, we insisted that the guests gifts were hand-me-downs. So my sister-in-law, Laurie did what she does best, invite everyone and provide a clean house, and I did what I do best, the food.

I did beef and barley soup, home made rolls, and spinach and strawberry salad, and a lemon berry tart for desert. Also to drink, I did a apple slush.

If you want a nice, earthy, hardy soup, this is the soup for you. Also, this is one of the meals I was tell you about, when you use your leftover roast beef from Sunday dinner.

Ingredients:

3-4 diced red potatoes

2-3 diced peeled carrots

1-2 sliced celery

1 diced onion

1/2 c pearl barley

6-8 cups beef stock

leftover roast beef with gravy

salt pepper

1 t thyme

2-3 bay leaves

Get your beef broth boiling while you prep the veggies. Put the barley in once it is boiling. Add the veggies, thyme and bay leaves, add salt and pepper to taste (remember the beef stock is already salty). Turn to med-low and simmer till veggies are tender, then add leftover roast beef and gravy. Continue to simmer and taste.

Lemon Berry Tart

Lemon curd filling (Paula deans recipe)

3 large lemons, zested and juiced

1 c sugar

1/2 butter melted

4 eggs

Using a food processor, pulse together sugar and zest. Add lemon juice and eggs and blend. Then add melted butter slowly pulsing as you go. Then thicken on the stove over simmering water. (put in a bowl that can sit over a pot of simmering water) Stir often till thicken. Paula's recipe says 5 minutes, but it took me much longer.

Now I used a tart pan which has a false bottom so you can take it out of its tin, but you can use a pie tin or any other shape you want to bake in.

So you use a pie crust( like I said you are going to have to wait for the best pie crust ever) Bake your pie crust, then fill it with the lemon curd. Top most beautifully with berries. Serve with fresh whipped cream (cool whip is a sin in my house).

I also did a spinach salad with strawberries, goat cheese, pomegranates, red onions and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. That recipe will be for another day.

The apple slush, huge crowd pleaser and super easy. Get some fresh apple juice (you know the kind they sell with the produce) and put it in your punch bowl and put it in the freezer. One hour before your party pull it out of the freezer and let it soften. Slice some apples and pour some sprite over it. You'll probably have to smash it with a knife a little as well. Way good.

Now the rolls, two words. DANG GOOD. However they also will be debuting in the "12 days of Thanksgiving" Stay tuned . . . .

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight, the American classic, chicken pot pie. My husband, was a vegetarian when we married. Me, the lover of all foods knew that this just would not do. Although I added many vegetarian dishes to my reptuare I just couldn't cook for a vegetarian; imagine all those amazing dishes . . . . wasted. So, I suggested to him that I'd stop drinking coke if he would eat meat once a month. He choose beef because he had a ethical struggle with chicken, (or something like that, in one ear and out the other, if you know what I mean). So the deal was sealed. I went off the drink, and he started to eat beef once a month.Being the cunning person I am, I knew he would love my meat, and he did. (insert evil, diabolical laugh) Once a month became quite more frequent, and now he craves it. As for me, I fell off the wagon and drink 1 or 2 cokes a day. He threatens vegetarianism occasionally, but I know he could never follow through (insert laugh again). Although, he, to this day will not eat chicken, turkey or pork. But he cannot deny the chicken pot pie . . .

Leftover roasted chicken and gravy

1-2 potatoes diced

2 big carrots diced

1 onion diced

1 big handful frozen corn

1 big handful frozen peas

1 can chicken stock

butter

flour

salt and pepper

thyme

season salt

milk

pie crust

In a sauce pan melt the butter (as much as you are comfortable with 2 T at least) and add the carrots, potatoes and onion saute a little then add a sprinkle of flour (1/4 c ish) then add peas, corn and chicken stock. Simmer till potatoes are almost tender, check the liquid levels add some milk if necessary. Add salt pepper and season salt to taste, and a couple sprinkles of thyme. add the chicken and gravy till all mixed together and tasting good, (doesn't taste like much? add some salt!) You want it kind of soupy and runny, otherwise you chicken pot pie will be dry. That is where the milk comes in.

Put your filling in your desired baking dishes (notice I had some individual size ones for the kiddies) and top with a pie crust. Make it look pretty and add some slits for the steam to escape. Paint the crust with an egg wash, (whisk and egg and use a pastry brush)

Then bake in the oven about 30 min at 350 till nice and browned and bubbly.

What kind of pie crust should I use do you ask? Well you could use a store bought crust, or you could use the easiest, yummiest, fool proof pie crust recipe. My friend Lori taught me this pie crust and its perfection. However, you will have to wait for my, "12 days of thanksgiving" for the recipe to be revealed . . . . stay tuned.

Kitchen tool of the week

The mandolin


When I was in high school all my friends played the guitar, they all had this cool "indigo girl" vibe, so I thought I would have a go at the mandolin. It turns out, music really isn't my thing, but this kind of mandolin I can play. . . .
So mandolins are used to slice and/ or julienne food. They are great not only for the recipe below, but when you are cooking big stir fry, and they will also cut this criss-cut. Be warned, don't buy a cheap one, I bought a cheap one and it didn't work well, so I took it back and bought this one at William's and Sonoma. Of course, a good old sharp knife can always do the trick, but like I said, the mandolin is much more fun to play!
Last nights dinner was salmon, broccoli, watermelon, salad and cheesy scalloped potatoes. After many attempts and many read recipes, I have mastered the scalloped potato. So here it goes . .

2 or 3 large potatoes thinly sliced


1 small onion; fine diced
1 garlic clove; minced 
1 c milk
1 c heavy cream
1 t salt
1/2 t fresh gound pepper
1 c shredded cheese
1 T oil or butter

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. In a cast iron skillet, or cast iron pot (something that is can go on the stove and the oven).  Saute the onions and garlic until fragrant on stove.  Add the cream and milk, and season with the salt and pepper.  Add the potatoes.  Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the potatoes, barely.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil.  Once its to a boil, remove from the head and add the cheese.  Give it a little taste, do you like the taste? Good put it in the oven.  Is a little bla still?  Add a little more salt.  Put in the oven uncovered and about for 35-45 minutes.  Until the top is nice and brown and the potatoes are tender.  

Your body is screaming for this!

Have you ever heard people say that after you add all the toppings and dressing to a salad that its not even that healthy? That is a defamation of character, and the salad should sue! Put all the ranch dressing you want! Getting those raw, whole foods into your belly makes your body so happy, who cares how you got it down. Make a big salad and serve every night of the week at your dinner table. Even if you your kids won't eat it, they will watch you it and one day their body might just get the salad itch. . . .

Tonight, I served my green salad with the meal that probably millions of American families sat down to tonight. Spaghetti and meatballs!

Spaghetti is the classical meal that is quick and a kid pleaser. This was the first meal I ever learned to make. My family still recounts me at 5 years old making spaghetti for the family. It was the meal I requested on my birthday, to be eaten on the "you are special today" red plate. To this day, I make it at least twice a month and I love it. I make extras for lunch leftovers. When I was five, would cook the ground beef then pour in the jar of spaghetti sauce.(along with a few extra spices, including sugar) . Now, in my adulthood, I have upgraded to meatballs.
I will say, I'm not sure I have mastered the meatball (so any comments of the masterful meatball would be great, I am always striving for perfection!) but here is what I do.
1.5 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
1 clove garlic minced
2 t salt
1 t pepper
few dashes basil
couple dashes oregano
dash cayenne pepper
2 or 3 T Parmesan cheese
handful of bread crumbs
I mix it all together with my hands and shape into balls. I brown them a little, then I pour the bottled spaghetti sauce over the meatballs and simmer them for about 15-20 minutes.

I can't wait for my leftover lunch.

Surprise guests on sunday

First call of the morning was from my brother-in-law, t-dog, "you got any room for us at Sunday dinner?" Despite having to get out of bed to answer the call, I cheerfully said, "of course." During church I got a text message from my next brother, "wife out of town, have enough food for us?" to which I text back, "come on up."

So that was a total of 12 extra guests up for Sunday dinner. No biggie. I relish in it. Good thing I always put plenty of meat on.

The roast, the foundation of the Sunday dinner, and the building blocks to countless other meals (of which you will learn on this blog). So read on to learn how to do a fool proof, tasty roast. . . .

First, buying the roast ( do I even need to say it? costco). I buy the round eye roast, but I call it the triangle roast, because it is shaped like a triangle with fat on one side. I always buy this roast because I like the the fat on one side, so you can roast it with the fat to make it moist, but you cut off the fat before you serve it. Second, (1) Put you roasts in your roasting pan (one with a lid) with fat side sideways. Salt and pepper the crap outof it. Put in the oven at 450 and get in nice and browned (2). Once it is browned add, two or three crushed garlic cloves, a healthy sprinkle of dried onion, five or six bay leaves, 2 or 3 tablespoons of beef base, and enough water to half way- 2/3 covering the roast (3). Put it in the oven at 275 for 5-6 hours ( don't have that kind of time? aka 9 am church-- 325 degrees for 3-4 hours)

(4). You will have a nice dark broth that you will not have to add anything but a thickening agent to for gravy (5). It will be super moist and fall apart, just waiting to be scooped up with mash potatoes and gravy (6).

Master this and you will be able to make many meals to please your family, not just the sunday dinner.

this makes me happy

So Fridays and Saturdays I don't cook, I give the kitchen a break. So tonight it was good ole' boxed mac and cheese. My children love it when I don't cook! This child does not do this when I cook.



One night my husband put hot dog slices in the mac and cheese, I literally gagged. My children have officially deemed fairb (my husband) the best "chef" in the family. If it isn't totally obvious (sense the sarcasm) I am a total food snob. So instead of cuddling up to the fire with a bowl of mac and cheese, I had this . . . .



Creamy tomato basil soup and artisan bread from . . . (wait for it) . . . .COSTCO! where else. It was really tasty.
Anyhow, so yes I make boxed mac and cheese, but no, I do not eat it!

Pizza for Porter

Yesterday was my son's birthday. So for his birthday, I made pizza to take to his class for lunch (don't have a heart attack, he only has 8 kids in his class). But first I must tell the story of the pizza. So I have tried pizza before many times. Each time the pizza came out just ok. To me it was sub par and I was better off calling the pizza guy, and the only reason I ever did it was to do something fun with the kids. I had searched recipes and tried different varieties and techniques, but nothing was impressing me. Then I saw the light . . . .

I was down in Popeville (the neighborhood where all my siblings live) and my brother's family was making their usual weekend pizza. I decided to go see how my sister-in-law does her pizza. I tasted it . . . . best stinking pizza in the valley. Seriously.
Being the lover of all things created in the kitchen, I had to know exactly how it is done, and this is how . . .

First, you must know there are things you have to purchase, and its the only way. You have to get a thick baking stone (the pampered chef ones are just ok . . ), and you have to get high gluten flour (not just bread flour). I bought mine online here.

My sister-in-law told me you could get the flour at lehi roller mills, but I ordered my flour online here.

The flour needs to have at least 14 percent protein content.

You can also get pizza screens here. But the second time I did pizza I just used a wood peel which you can also get at the same site.

I am not saying this is going to be easy folks, but you will make the best pizza you have ever had and it is going to cheaper than going to Brick oven.

The dough (this is a doubled recipe 4 12 inch pizzas)

1 c warm water

1 t yeast

2 t sugar

1 1/2 c cold water

2 t olive oil

2 1/2 t salt

6 to 7 c high gluten flour

( in a stand mixer) dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Mix salt in 2 c of the flour. Add proofed yeast mixture, cold water and oil and mix (should be like pancake batter). Switch to dough hook and start adding more flour. Add enough flour till you have a stiff dough. Knead for about 5 min, till dough is elastic. When you roll in into a ball and pinch the middle between your fingers, it should only relax a little when you let go, if it goes right back to form, keep kneading. Now here is where you must have patience. Cut the dough into two pieces, roll them into a ball and put them into pam sprayed ziplock and put them into the fridge for TWO DAYS MINIMUM! They have to raise in the fridge for two days! The dough should get to about double is size.

So you have waited, your pizza day has come. Hopefully you have already gone to costco and got their perfect pizza cheese blend, is mozz, provolone, and cheddar. Sauce time:

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

3 t salt

2 t sugar

1-2 t pepper (your preference on spice)

1/4-1/2 t cayenne pepper

2 garlic cloves minced

2 t basil leaves

1/2 -1 t oregano

Mix that all together in a sauce pan and heat to mix all the flavors together, what you don't use you can save for next week.

Your pizza stone should be on the bottom rack of the oven. Turn you oven to its highest setting, mine is 500. You need to heat the oven for a least 30, so the stone is nice and hot.

Time to shape the pizzas, best to use you hands. Hard to describe really, but know that it isn't easy, and you pizzas probably won't be too pretty. If you use the pizza screens, they are helpful in stretching out the dough. My sister-in-law only uses the individual screens because the dough is difficult to stretch. The warmer the dough, the easier it is to shape, so pull the dough out of the fridge about an hour before shaping.

add sauce
add cheese

add toppings

If you are using a screen, set right on the stone and after about 7 minutes remove the screen and let the pizza sit on the stone. If you shaped you pizza on the pizza peel, (make sure you use corn meal) then shake the pizza right onto the stone. They take about 10-12 minutes to cook. Check them to see when the crust is browned.

It is good, I don't know if I will ever buy a pizza again. My sister makes dough every week and always has dough in her fridge ready to go for when her family craves pizza. I know this post was way to long, any questions, just post them on the comment board and I will answer them.