Having a Ball for Thanksgiving

I've not been cooking much lately to be honest. With three kids constantly on the run between dance, piano and girl scouts, by the time we get home the most I can muster is dialing for take out or telling the kids there is cereal in the cabinet.

And when I do cook, it's pasta, or one of my staples from this blog like "Whatsa Matta..Chicken Picatta" or it's redo "Picatta more better dish" and other quick meals I should be blogging about... But it happened last week. I cooked.

It appears that blogs such as this are a thing of the past and going by the wayside.  Being replaced by short 30 second videos on Facebook or Twitter, or some other popular social media site of the minute.  They're videos by Tasty or a quick article by Buzzfeed regarding the latest Top 10 something or another.  Or maybe it was a Pinterest pin.  And thing is, it's catching on.  People are saving them.  People are trying them.  It's getting people cooking.  It's also to get people to click their stuff, and earn money.  And so I've tried a few Tasty recipes.  They've been complete and utter failures.  I've had to tweak, or change, or cook them often much longer than they say to.  So, when tonight's recipe showed up in my Facebook feed as a Tasty video, I knew I wasn't going by the books.  But do I ever?  And man I'm so glad I changed this recipe.  It's so much better to play.  I present to you, Thanksgiving dinner... meatball style.

Ingredients 

• 2lbs Ground Gurkey
• 1 box Turkey Stuffing Mix
• 1-2 Garlic Cloves
• Salt & Pepper
• Parsley
• Basil
• Thyme
• Chives
• 1 Egg
• Splash of Milk

And per usual, you're going to ask, so how much of everything?  And that's really up to you.  How much garlic do YOU like?  Or in my house, how much garlic can I get away with?  Picture to the right shows you how much of everything I dumped in for spices.

So, place all the spices into your bowl, drop in the ground turkey, crack open and put in one egg, then a splash of milk.  If I had to estimate, I would say I put in about 1/4 cup of milk.  The first time I ran this recipe, the meatballs were a tad dry, so I will be considering altering it next time with either more milk, or the original amount of milk plus a splash of chicken stock.  Thing is, turkey is a very wet ground meat, so making meatballs is sticky.
Next up, you have to crush your stuffing down a bit.  I liked having large pieces and crumbs.  So open your bag of stuffing and dump into a plastic bag.  Grab your rolling pin and crush away.




You'll need to add about 1.5 cups of stuffing to your meatball mix.  Go by look and feel as you start mixing your meat.  I prefer to mix by hand, you're able to incorporate all ingredients faster.  If you think you need more stuffing then add more.






Once it's all mixed, start making your meatballs.  I was able to make 20 balls out of the 2 pounds this mixture.  The meatballs were slightly larger than a golf ball.  I wanted something you had to cut into, but also not so large it took forever to bake, and couldn't be considered a meatloaf.








Any leftover stuffing I had, I sprinkled it on top and around the meatballs in the bottom.  Adding additional texture to the plate, not wasting food, and besides the fact that extra stuffing is always a plus.  Into your pre-heated oven they go.  They should bake for about 30-45 minutes on 375 degrees.  I like to turn mine about half way through so that you can an even cook throughout.  If you have any doubt they're not done, you can and should, always take their temperature with a meat thermometer.  Pull them out and let them rest a bit.




While the meatballs are in the oven, it's best to start cooking your sides.  This isn't a blog about how to cooks sides today.  Come back some other time.  So, I made mashed potatoes, peas and gravy.  And honestly, whatever the best looking rolls on sale were that day.  No one has time to bake their own bread anymore, and if you do, I'm all kinds of jealous.  I made real mashed potatoes, not box as these deserved better and I actually had time that day, but I did cheat on the gravy.  What? I never said it was going to be perfect.

I served my kids separate gravy from potatoes from peas from meatballs.  Cause we all know their foods can't touch.  But this was truly plated with the meatballs placed on a mound of potatoes, smothered in gravy.  Peas and roll on the side.

Not the most beautiful plating in the world, I blame the phone and the rush to the table because we were all hungry.  I'd be afraid to send this to Gordon Ramsay's Twitter feed for fear of what he might call it.  But regardless of what it looked like, it tasted AHHHMazing.

Results

• The almost 2 year old picked at it. What's she's two.. and had already snacked all afternoon.
• The 6 year old gobbled it down well enough.  
• The soon to be 10 year old gave me a 9.5/10 points.  When asked why the 1/2 deduction, I was told "just because" although I suspect it was because she doesn't like gravy.  Weirdo.  <3
•  The husband made it disappear pretty damn fast.
• Safe to say, this will be returning to our table.  Kids even had leftover meatballs for the lunches the following days.

Also, what kind of Thanksgiving meal would this had been had I not served cranberry sauce/jelly?  Served correctly, perfectly popped out of the can.


Enjoy!

It's the Chicken and Corn Chowder Bowl

Football. Food. People. Must be the Super Bowl
And the Patriots were playing.  There was no way we weren't having a party.
Cooking for a crowd.  Something I love to do.  No matter how tired, this was going to happen.  It didn't matter that the weekend was full of Girl Scout Cookie booth sales, Sunday School teaching, house cleaning and whatever else my kids threw at me.  I was catering for a crowd and I would rally.

For playoffs I went with Chili and loaded nachos.  Clearly I had to up my game this time.  The return of loaded nachos was a must and a given, they were requested, by a friendly 7 year old even, so how could I say no?  But what else could I make for the crowd?  It was pot luck so I knew the staples would show up; wings, cupcakes, sliders.  All good.

But I wanted another soup.  And then it hit me.  Corn Chowder.  But not just any corn chowder.  My great grandparents' chicken and corn chowder.  A chowder I didn't have a recipe for.  A chowder I hadn't tasted in over 25 years.  Could it be done?  Called my dad, he certainly didn't have it.  So I dialed up Nana, she longer had the recipe, never wrote it down. "Oh I never liked that" she said.  Remembering that Nana really only eats food smothered in pepper and hamburgers burnt to hockey pucks.    Searching the internet?  Forget it.  Results showed up like "Easy Corn Chowder" and "Quick Chowder" and "Crock Pot Chowder" all including ingredients I knew weren't in it, and in reality should not be in it.  There was no recipe that could even come close to the flavors I knew were in it.  Just a 25 year old memory of the best soup I have ever had.  Challenge accepted.  It was time to play.  It's chicken.  It's corn.  It's soup.  What could go wrong?

Ingredients Pre-Game

Remember, I'm cooking for a crowd of people here, this is going to make a LOT.

• Celery, 1 bunch/heart
• Carrots, 4-6 depending on thickness and length
• Vidalia Onion, medium (i only ever use Vidalia)
• Garlic cloves (i used 3, would probably consider 4 or 5 next time but i LOVE garlic so yeah)
• Olive Oil
• Salt/Pepper
• De-glazing liquid (pick one: water, stock, brandy, Marsala wine -> I used Marsala wine, my absolute new favorite cooking ingredient in the whole world)
• Chicken Stock (64oz)
• 8-10 small red potatoes (mine were little bigger than golf balls)
• 1 Rotisserie Chicken cooked (easy peasy from your local deli)
• 16oz can yellow corn
• 8oz can white corn
• 16oz creamed corn
• Whole Milk or Cream

First Quarter

Step 4, looks like a lot! It cooks down.

1. Dice celery, carrots and onion all the same size.
2. Peel, Smash and finely chop the garlic.
3. Set your stock pot on med-high to high heat and drizzle bottom with olive oil
4. Once heated, toss in your mirepoix (celery, carrots, onion)
5. Salt and pepper
6. Saute on medium heat, continuously stir.  Keep going until onions become translucent and then start to caramelize a bit.
7. While you're doing this, if you can multi-task, dice up your potatoes.

Second Quarter

If you notice the bottom of your pot turning brown.. THIS IS NOT A BAD THING.

• Black, black is bad, but brown is good!  Brown is called "fond" which means flavor!
• Get out your de-glazing liquid at this point and toss a splash or two in, stir around and scrape off the brown from the bottom of the pan.  You may need to do it twice depending on size of splash.



Through the steam, the bottom has "fond"

• If it happens again, de-glaze again.

Half Time

You're going to be tempted to go watch Gaga, don't. You need to stay on top of the mirepoix to make sure it's only browning and turning translucent and not blackening the bottom of your pan.  If it starts to get black and burn, you're going to just taste burning at the end.  Turn the heat down if you're worried about it.  Keep stirring.


Third Quarter

1. When the mirepoix is translucent, add just a touch more olive oil and toss in your garlic.
2. Saute until garlic is soft.
3. Pour in all 64oz of your chicken stock + an additional 32oz of water
4. Add the potatoes.  Cover, turn up heat, and bring to a boil.
5. ... take a breath, the hard part is over.

It's just vegetable soup at this point, with raw potatoes.

Fourth Quarter

1. Open your cans of corn.
2. Shred the chicken into pieces.
3. Once the potatoes have been boiling on high for 10 minutes, add the chicken, add the corn.
4. Return to boil.
5. Use an 8oz can of the creamed corn and fill with whole milk/cream and pour into pot.
6. if you want a creamier chowder, double this to 16oz milk/cream
7. Bring everything back up to a rolling boil, then back off to a simmer.

Overtime

 Ladle it out, grab a spoon, sit back, relax and enjoy.

So my sister asks me "So, how'd it come out, as good as you remember?
Oh yeah, that and better I would say!
Roger That.

Piccata More Better Dish

Since first making this recipe some time ago, I've served it now over rice, over egg noodles, over nothing, with breading and without.  It's become a staple in our dinner menu; something I can now whip out in 30 minutes or less and the family gobbles it down, capers and all. Tonight is just a revisit of this recipe simply because I killed it, it was amazing.

 

Here's a few adjustments I've made over the years:

• Chicken, not always breaded.  This cuts calories, and minutes.  Tastes the same. Been sautéing in olive oil instead of all that butter.
• Sauce, bouillon has been working great! Fresh chives out of my garden instead of scallions. Onion powder when I have neither. Garlic, 2-4 gloves, minced and sautéed first. Oregano, dried, sautéed with the garlic. Butter, not always stocked so margarine has worked just fine. Thickening agent, flour/water or cornstarch/water. Fresh lemon and the entire jar of capers since my kids love them so much!
• Sides, have been over rice, usually, but tonight I served over spaghetti, and it was awesome.

My kids have been watching a lot cooking competition shows lately so I was also being judged.  This has become a nightly routine.  Tonight, I was given a 4/5 stars, with the chicken losing points because I offered dark meat in addition to breast meat. The capers were of course a huge hit and my pasta was cooked "nicely." Overall the 5 and 8 year old voted to let me stay. Phew.

And here's the cool part.  I made extra chicken and doubled the sauce. Freezing it all for a second meal.  It's gonna be great.

Last Minute Easy Spicy Squash Soup

It's been a year since my last update.  So much going on.  New baby (ok not so new at this point, 10.5m old) and two older children taking up all my time.  Husband adding on to the house, me juggling trying to get the kids here, there, and everywhere.  I've had very little time to cook, let alone actually play with any recipes I've found.  There have been a few successes and a few failures.  None of which I have pictures for, but I'll attempt to get you caught up over the coming weeks.

It's my favorite time of year to cook.  It's crisp outside, so heating up the kitchen isn't quite as big a deal as it is in the summer.  I baked an apple pie yesterday.  Middle child is begging for a slice with every single meal.  Always a good thing, and I can validate pie for any meal with a variety of reasons.  Last week we went to the orchards; Russell's Orchards to be exact.  That's where the apples came from for aforementioned pie.

While there, I selected an acorn squash.  Just a small one, knowing full well I would be the only one consuming it.  However, middle child said she'd try it with me.  This is not my first time with an acorn squash, I ADORE acorn squash.  Roasted in the oven, then served with butter, maybe a smidge of maple syrup.  So much yum.  But, it sat all week.  One dinner went by, two, then three, then pizza take out, followed by Chinese take out.  Which got me where I am today.  Knowing I was going out tonight I wanted to make the squash, for myself, for lunch.  So I set the oven at 350 to pre-heat.  Sliced the squash in half, scooped out the guts, gave it a good spray of cooking oil (so it doesn't dry out), and placed them on a middle rack.  45m later out they came.  And that... is when I decided to do more with it.  Remembering back to a Spicy Pumpkin Soup recipe I received from a friend, I started to pull spices from my cabinet and decided to play.

Spicy Squash Soup

1 acorn squash, guts scooped, roasted to tender, cooled
1-2c chicken broth (I keep jars of Better than Bouillon in my cabinets should the need ever arise, I use it in everything)
Onion Powder
Ground Ginger
Curry Powder
Cumin
Coriander
Cinnamon
Salt/Pepper
Cream

1.) Scoop the squash into a blender, add to it 1c chicken broth
2.) Start adding spices, how much?  Come on, you know me better than that by now. If you don't like Curry, add less curry.  Don't want onion, don't add any.  Start with "less is more" and add some later.  But add a little bit of everything.
3.) Whirl it all together on puree setting.  If you like a thick soup, add less broth, if you like a thinner soup, add more broth.  I tend to go about 1.25 to 1.5c of broth.
4.) TASTE, adjust spices
5.) Whirl more, finish with a splash of cream, whirl again.
6.) Pour into pan to warm on stove, bring to simmer.  Let simmer for 15 minutes.  This is where the spices will really come into their own.

Serve.  Enjoy.

And then realize, that, you purchased this for your middle daughter try with you, and now that it's soup, she's not going to touch it.  Thankfully, this made just two servings.  Lunch today, and lunch tomorrow.  Win.

Sweet Tooth Dinner

This past grocery shopping trip I picked up a pork tenderloin, not exactly knowing what I wanted to do with it, but figured it would be a nice long roast I could start before my daughter's dance class and come home to dinner already cooked.  Or maybe turn it into a crock pot meal.  Well, a beautiful pork butt was put in the crock pot on Monday and the lazy mother than I am, it wasn't clean by today (Wednesday) so the tenderloin needed an alternative.  A quick search online for a new recipe produced quite the variety of options.  Decisions, decisions, what to do, how to play?  School bus was coming and I had very little time to get to dance once it did... so off to the pantry I went to find what I could to toss in, cover and drop in.  Results were real good and the kids gobbled it up, with dipping sauce and all!

Ingredients
2lb pork tenderloin
salt
pepper
spicey brown mustard
honey
brown sugar

Remember, I don't measure, just toss it all in until it tastes right to you.  Heavily salt and pepper the pork.  In a bowl, combine the dijon mustard, honey and brown sugar.  Equal parts mustard and honey, then add brown sugar to make a thick paste.  Once combined well, smother pork well and coat all sides.  Place into baking dish and cover with tin foil.

Now, since I was leaving the house early, I decided to use the timer function on my awesome ovens.  I set the oven to start at 4:30 and cook for an hour at 350 degrees.  Placed the pork in the oven and headed off to grab the kid and get to dance.  After which... I stopped at a friend's house to pick up the other kid and we gabbed for an additional hour before I made it home.  Of course by then, the oven had long turned itself off.  Take note here, the pork was already in the oven as the oven warmed up to 350 and stayed in the oven until it was almost completely cooled down.  I am attributing the juiciness and tenderness that resulted to the cool down extra hour.  Checked the pork once I got home and it was at a PERFECT 165 internal temperature.  The mustard/honey/sugar paste had cooked down to an awesome juice, so I basted it a few times and let it sit while making sides.

Sides, I chose a boxed shells and white cheddar and then made candied carrots.  Yep, more brown sugar.  There's where the sweet tooth came in!  I had also mentioned carrots in conversation earlier in the day, so they were on my mind.  So what are candied carrots?  Carrots with brown sugar and butter, in a saute pan, cooked until tender.  That easy.  And I use frozen carrots, just easier.

Not a single picture did I take, sadly.  Never even crossed my mind until we sat down to dinner and the kids gobbled up the pork.

Pulled Pork

I made the most amazing pulled pork last night.
 Too bad for you that I failed to get pictures of it.

Crock pot.  Pork Butt.  Various Spices (heavy handed).  Beef broth.
8 hours later, total yummy goodness.
NO SAUCE REQUIRED (shocker right?)

Even my picky eater 7 year old went back for 3rds.  Mom win.

Soup is Easy

I recently signed up for a weight loss challenge at work.  What my actual weight is, is none of your business, but I have to lose 5% in the next 8 weeks.  I had to pony up $20 and all those in the pot who reach the 5% goal get to split the pot.  It's at $460 right now.  I'll take those odds.  Losing weight is not a first for me.  After the birth of my oldest child I joined Weight Watchers (WW) and lost 75lbs on the program in one year and kept it off for 2 years after that until the birth of my second daughter came along.  And I haven't been able to lose the baby fat since.  So I know my limits, I know my pain points and I know what I'm up against.  I can do this.

I dug deep into my memory bank to try and remember how I did it 7 years ago and remember starting in the first month and going WW recipe crazy.  I pulled out all the stops and measured and counted and followed all the rules.  In WW land, today those have all changed.  But one thing I remember that helped me jump start was by making soup.  WW has this soup recipe that's all broth and vegetables and it's REALLY GOOD.  But you think I could find that again?  I remember what was in it so I planned to just wing it.   Although, the grocery store had other plans for me, they didn't have 1/2 the ingredients I needed in the vegetable aisle.  So.  Ok.  I'll change it up and use intuition and play.  And here's what happened.

Ingredients
All amounts are relative to how much soup you want to make!

• Carrot
• Onion (I use vidalia, i like 'em sweet)
• Celery
• Rutabaga/Turnip
• Chicken/Vegetable Stock (low sodium)
• 1-2 cloves Garlic
• 1 Bay Leaf
• Caraway
• Coriander
• Basil
• Salt/Pepper
• Ditalini Pasta (optional)
• Olive Oil

Seriously?  Rutabaga (aka Turnip)?  Yep.  I didn't want to use potato, all that starch.  I recently made boiled dinner which got the flavor of Turnip/Rutabaga in my brain, and I really like that root vegetable.  (See it used with Beef Brisket boiled dinner)  And I started to research it after I bought it.  Granted, you can only trust half of what you read on the Internet, but most of what I found seemed to all corroborate these results.  They are low carb.  And calories in a Rutabega are much less than calories in a Potato.

"Mise en Place" aka Preparation

I heard Chef Anne Burrell use this a lot on Worst Chefs in America on the latest episode and I like it.  Basically, it's "get your stuff ready before you start cooking"

• Carrots - peel, slice down middle lengthwise and chop
• Onion - peel, slice off ends, slice in half, chop into 3rds
• Celery - trim dirty ends, chop
• Rutabaga - peel, slice dice into 1/2" cubes
• Garlic - smashed and finely chopped or pressed in a garlic press

Play

1.  In a large stock pot, drizzle the bottom with olive oil, turn heat to medium, add onions
   
2. Salt and Pepper heavily
3. Keep onions moving and saute until they start to soften and become translucent
4. Add carrots and celery
   
5. Add bay leaf, basil, carraway and coriander
6. Continue to saute until carrots become soft
7. Add garlic and saute long enough for the garlic to soften
8. Add stock, you're going to want at least 4cups, I used 6 as I had more veggies
   
9. Add Rutabaga
   

At this point, you need to decide if you want to add the pasta or not.
And if so, are you going to eat it now, or store it for later?
If you're not going to use pasta, you're done, serve and enjoy!

       10. If you're going to add pasta and eat tonight
             - let stock boil until Rutabaga is almost soft
             - add pasta and serve once pasta is at desire texture.
       11. If you're going to add pasta and eat the soup next day
             - let stock boil until Rutabaga is completely soft
             - add pasta and get soup into your containers.
             - As the pasta sits in the soup as it cools down, it will cook.

And of course, if you find yourself home the next night, alone, after the kids went to bed having had their own dinner, you can always have soup.  With grapes (NOT olives.  Ew)