Giving in and getting lunch

We are waging a battle of control around my house. It's me versus a nearly 3-year-old. And some days, he is on top of his game. But who gets the upper hand is a constant struggle because the decision-making just doesn't stop when you're a toddler.

Can you throw your rock collection down from the top of the stairs? Of course not. Is it OK to jump on the couch? Depends on Mom's mood. Is picking your little brother up in a headlock OK? Not a chance. Can you pee on my leg? Um, no. Will Mom feed a baby doll breakfast, too? You bet.

See what I mean about the battle? This is his response when I say, "Look at the camera."

That last one is so tough for me to say no to even though it means another three minutes before I get to sit down and eat my own breakfast. I'm always the last at the table anyways, so what's it going to hurt to pull out another plate, cup, spoon, bowl and do NOT forget the napkin?

When I was Jasper's age, I had an imaginary friend named Lucy. And she truly looked like Lucy, the Peanuts character. Yep, she was a cartoon, which is perfectly acceptable given her imaginary state. I know, it's not that unusual for kids to have a vivid imagination, but to what extent the parents play along is the bigger question. My parents went all the way, or out of their way may be the better way to say it. They stopped our car in front of the same stranger's house daily and honked the horn. Then, we'd all sit in the car and wait for Lucy to hop in.

I think I turned out all right, my own neurosis aside. And so will my little guy.

Here's a nice nibble for mom that comes from most of the same ingredients you can make a kiddo lunch from.

This pic isn't that great, but you get the idea. The kiddo spilled a full cup of milk while I was taking this.

Mom's Quick Sammie

Sliced bread, preferably a crusty loaf
Grainy mustard
Honey
Apples, thinly sliced
Cheese, try sharp cheddar, Swiss or Gruyere
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Mix roughly equal parts mustard and honey in a small dish and spread onto one side of the bread. Put the bread on the baking sheet. Place the apple slices on the bread next. Top with cheese. Pop under the broiler until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly. Remove and cool for a couple of minutes. Top with salt and pepper and serve.

My 3-year-old could do this

If there is no one in your house who would think this looks like a perfect meal, please, go to Fandango, buy tickets to see a documentary and hit the wine bar before the show. You are clearly too cool for me or for these cut up hot dogs in corn bread.

I'm a big fan of anything that makes my life easier. I've also become a fan of picture books. My oldest is now able to look at the pictures and tell me the story. We read him "The Poky Little Puppy" for bedtime last night. It's a Golden Book I remember from my own childhood. In my mature age, the story just seems drawn out in a way that can only mean one thing: No one edits those books.

The pictures were good enough cues, though, for Jasper to retell it this morning while I made mini corn dog muffins. Here's to hoping I can tell a story, or a recipe, through (mostly) pictures.

I cut eight hot dogs into six equal pieces each to make 48 mini muffins.

I made my usual cornbread batter. Any recipe would work. Mine typically makes a 9x9 pan of bread, and it was enough batter for four dozen mini muffins. If you need a good recipe, try this one.

Fill greased mini muffin tins about 1/3 full. Place a hot dog slice in the center of each. Bake at the temperature your recipe directs, but the time will be far less. Mine took about five or six minutes to bake.

Let them cool in the muffin tins for a few minutes, then gently remove and place on a wire rack for further cooling, or serve immediately. After cooling, I transferred this rack straight to the freezer. Once frozen, I tossed them all in an airtight bag. Reheated for about 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Easing back into the apron

Whew. It's been a whirlwind around here. Or there. Or wherever. We returned a few days ago from a 10-day adventure to Oklahoma, a trip we managed to plan during a sun-baking heat wave that radiated temperatures no less than 100 degrees daily. We had fun, saw lots of family, spent a fair amount of time in swimming suits and drank a lot of beer.

Then, like all vacations, we returned with a thud. Cranky kids, empty fridge and parents left with a jet-lag hangover that offers no mercy when the alarm goes off on Monday morning (For the Hubs it is an annoying bell on his iPhone, and for me it's the baby's early-morning babble.).

So, here's a bit of what I've been cooking this week. We've still got screaming kids and the swimsuits just aren't the same when the high around here is 75, but it does feel good to be back in our house. Now, if I only had an excuse for a beer with lunch. On vacation it seems like the relaxing thing to do, but for a stay-at-home mommy on a routine Wednesday, it just feels worthy of a call to CPS.

Soba noodles in a puree of coconut milk, sweet potato, caramelized onions, ginger and garlic. Topped with peas, edamame (both frozen) and lightly sauteed cabbage. Topped with veggies last, and the kids had theirs without green things.

I had salmon patties but no buns, so I decided to make it a wrap. They're nestled in the wrap with a slaw made from cabbage, carrots, mangoes, avocados and jalapeno. The slaw dressing started with basic mayo and vinegar, and I added a bit of cayenne for heat, lemon zest and honey to balance the heat.

Feed my family

There's bread rising on my kitchen counter, and I'm about to start boiling some pasta for tonight's Tuna Casserole dinner. I'm back in the kitchen, and it feels good.

About a month ago I came down with some very strange virus that started with a swollen knee and terribly painful muscles and joints. I couldn't grip a toothbrush much less a chef's knife. I couldn't lift my 7 month old from the crib nor a pot of water to boil, and my hands cringed with pain when I'd wring out a wet washcloth to wipe down the table. The muscle and joint pain was followed by intense fatigue until finally one day I just couldn't make it all the way up the stairs. A trip to the emergency room turned into a three-night stay in the hospital where doctors performed dozens of tests on me, many of which were uncomfortable and some quite painful. When I returned home, I began to get my strength back but still had a few days of shuffling around as I healed from a procedure done to fix my spinal headache.

The entire ordeal was about three weeks. It was very scary not only for me, but for my family, friends, and, I'm sure, my 2-year-old. Thankfully, they found nothing terribly wrong with me. Just an exhausted, dehydrated, sleep-deprived mama who got whacked by a strange bug.

While I was down, though, my friends and family were there to help. My mom came to help with kids, laundry and generally keeping my house running without me. My dad and, later, my sister-in-law came to play with the kiddos. And my friends and neighbors kept us all fed. It's truly an amazing gift to know you are so loved that someone will take time in their day to roast chicken for you, bake cookies or cook a casserole. Odds are that most of us know someone or will know someone who needs a few meals or treats delivered to them. I've written about the power of cooking for others here and here, but in an era where we feel connected to people a gazillion miles away through Facebook and email, I welcome the reminder that nothing replaces family in your home and friendly neighbors at the ready.

Because I'm always looking for good ideas for meals to deliver to friends, I thought I'd offer up a list of a few I received. Offering a meal that can go straight to the freezer is another good idea. And if you don't have the time or desire to cook, a gift certificate to a local pizza joint or another restaurant with take out or delivery service is a way to help without cooking.

Here are a few of the meals and food gifts we received, and all of these are meal ideas I'll keep in my rotation to send to friends!

• Sausage and Mushroom Lasagna
• Roasted Chicken Thighs and Veggies
• Homemade Mac 'n' Cheese
• Chicken Curry and Basmati Rice
• Minestrone Soup and Beer Bread
• Quiche and Green Salad
• Jars of Homemade Red Sauce and uncooked Spaghetti noodles
• Chicken Enchiladas, prepared and ready for the oven
  
• Spanakopita
  
• Black Bean Hand Pies, unbaked and ready for the oven or freezer
  
• Grilled Chicken and Asparagus Couscous
• Tamale Casserole
• Borscht, frozen in individual portions for a quick meal later
• Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
  

If you're looking for a great way to coordinate meal delivery for a friend, the web site Take Them a Meal is very helpful for scheduling.

Tortillas, tortillas

I've eaten a lot of tortillas in my life. It's hard to drive a mile in Oklahoma and not pass a Tex-Mex restaurant. You know the kind, where they bring you basket after basket of fried tortilla chips, little bowls of salsa and queso, and, at the good places, they bring you those tortilla warmers filled with soft, fluffy flour tortillas.

I know I'm not alone when I say that on more than one occasion I've eaten so many tortillas and queso that I wasn't even hungry by the time by enchiladas arrived. I have now stumbled onto something so fantastic and dangerous -- I've made them at home.

During a recent afternoon conversation with my friend Erin, she told me she'd planned on making tortillas that night for her family's dinner. I told her to let me know how it went and pass along the recipe. She said it was simple enough, so, today, while my boys napped and I chatted on the phone I made tortillas. I was shocked just how easy it was and excited just how delicious it was.

If you don't believe me, pull out the flour and shortening and get to work.


Flour Tortillas

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup hot water

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter. Add hot water and mix with a wooden spoon. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and work into a bowl. Let the dough rest about 15 minutes, then, cut the dough into 16 equal pieces (I use a bench scraper to cut the dough in half, and then the halves in half and so on). Roll each piece into a ball. Flour a work surface and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a thin round, roughly 6 inches in diameter. Set aside and repeat with remaining dough balls. Use a hot, dry skillet or griddle to cook until the tortilla puffs slightly and lightly browned spots appear underneath. Then flip and cook on the second side. Serve immediately or let cool on a cooling rack, wrap tightly in plastic once cooled and reheat for service later that day.

Simple Roast Chicken

Taco night is one way to use roast chicken. I love to throw the bite-size pieces into soups, casseroles, stir fry, quesadillas or chicken salad.

My husband is constantly harping on me about cleaning out the fridge. He doesn't understand why I want to keep that quarter of a lemon with all the zest scraped clean, or the pork fat I trimmed off of the pork chops. Or the tortillas he's convinced have been in there since the Reagan administration.

Well, I may be slow, but I like to organize at my own pace. That is why it is a minor miracle I actually did some organizing around here. I'm pretty excited to share that I have started a recipe index for this site. (Update, May 18, 2011) The index seems to have been lost during a recent Blogger problem. I'm working to restore it.

Now, one with a new recipe.

Unless you cook for a houseful of vegetarians, knowing how to roast a whole chicken is right up there with spaghetti, scrambled eggs and pancakes. That is, if you cook at all, you should know how to cook these things.

I suppose the whole bird can be somewhat intimidating, what with the neck, liver and heart stuffed inside, reminding me of the random things my 2-year-old stuffs into the tightest cracks and crevasses. But all you really need to know is this: Pick up a decent meat thermometer, and you can roast the perfect chicken every time. It really is that simple.

Let the chicken rest before carving.

When I roast a chicken, I usually use one breast for that day's dinner. Then, once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the remaining meat and tear it into bite-size pieces.

Portion the meat into freezer bags. I like to do about a cup to a cup and a half per bag. That seems to be a good amount for a soup or casserole to serve about four people. The bags thaw quickly under running water or can be placed directly into soups to thaw.

Sure you'll read plenty of recipes about stuffing the bird with herbs, lemons and the like. There's nothing wrong with any of that, but just know, all you really need is some salt, pepper, olive oil or butter. I'm a big fan of doing anything that makes the weeknight dinner easier, and that's where the roast chicken shines. I recently bought a chicken that was a little over seven pounds and yielded meat for six meals for my family. Not bad considering that conventional birds start at about a buck a pound.

I roast a bird (or two), we'll eat it for dinner that night. Then, I'll remove all the remaining meat, tear it into bite-size pieces and freeze, portioned to be the perfect addition to soups, casseroles and noodles.

So, mastering this recipe is a must-do. You can present a handsome whole bird for a big Sunday dinner or parcel out leftovers for several nights. The best part is that the same technique translates to the tiny game hens or a 20-pound holiday turkey.

Simple Roast Chicken

1 whole chicken
Handful of kosher salt
Lots of black pepper
A few tablespoons of olive oil or melted butter

Tools: meat thermometer, kitchen twine, aluminum foil, rimmed baking sheet or baking dish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside. Cut a string of kitchen twine about 15 inches long and set aside. In a small bowl combine salt and pepper (and any other seasonings you like). In another small bowl pour oil or melted butter.

Place the chicken on the baking sheet, breast-side up. Working from the leg-end of the chicken, remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. Set those aside for another use or discard. Take each wing, one at a time, and extend it, then give it a little twist inward and tuck the lowest portion of each wing behind the chicken. It sounds silly, but it should look like someone basking in the sun with arms folding up behind their head.

Next, working with you hands, rub the oil and seasonings all over the bird, including in the cavity, and, if you like, between the skin and meat. Then, using the twine, tie the legs together. Insert your meat thermometer into the thigh, making sure the tip is well-surrounded by meat and not touch a bone (which heats more quickly than muscle tissue). Then place the chicken in the oven. Roast until the thermometer reads about 155 to 157 degrees (about an hour for that seven-pound bird). Remove from the oven and tent with foil. Let rest about 15 minutes. The temperature will continue to rise and must reach 160 degrees for food safety, when the juices should also be clear.

Budgeting for food

Being charged with a family's food budget may be one of the biggest jobs of running a household. We can wear dirty socks if we must; a bath will be given, no matter when the last time it was scrubbed, and the floors will indeed still make perfect paths for our feet even when dotted with dust bunnies and toast crumbs.

But without those key items in our pantry, we simply cannot cook. For one month I gave it my best shot to spend as little as possible on groceries. I aimed for a $25-a-week budget and missed the mark on all but the first week. What I discovered was that food isn't cheap, and the whole thing just ticked me off. A stop in the dairy aisle alone could easily account for $25 worth of groceries.

I firmly believe I can help cut costs by changing the way I cook and shop, but I'm not willing to do it at the expense of my family's well-being. And that's where I drew the line. Next time I see someone stacking 20 boxes $2 pizzas in their grocery cart, I'm not going to assume they can't cook. Perhaps they can't, but, what I now know is that even though a homemade pizza is more cost effective than the traditional carry-out variety, it isn't cheap to stock a pantry with flour, yeast, cheeses, sauce, meats and veggies.

My revised goal, and one I hope can be more long-term is to spend $75 or less a week. Our family only eats a meal from a restaurant once a week, if at all, and we eat very few prepackaged, processed foods. I think this is doable and still quite frugal when I consider that even if my family ate some of the cheapest fast food for nearly every meal, we'd likely spend more than that in a week.

If you're interested in learning more about building a pantry for this type of cooking, here are a few tips. And I'd love to hear some of yours!

• If you have a minimally-stocked pantry, try to pick up one or two items a week to add to it. For example, buy a 10-pound bag of flour one week and a few pounds of pasta. You likely won't burn through all of those items in one week, so you will gradually build your stock without spending $100 alone on one trip for pantry basics.
• Teach yourself to turn to your pantry first instead of cookbooks. It's so frustrating to pick out a recipe only to learn that you are fresh out of the main ingredient. Open the pantry and pick an item to start with. Lots of eggs? Make a scramble, a quiche, egg salad. Pasta a plenty? Toss it into a tomato-based soup, make it a casserole, serve it up with red sauce, toss with mayo and tuna for a quick salad, make a pasta bar for a family full of picky eaters.
  
• Be realistic when you shop. You probably have less time than you think to prepare meals, so take shortcuts when you can. If the pre-sliced mushrooms mean the difference of getting dinner on the table without a meltdown or not, and your budget can handle the increased cost, do it. There's no medal of honor out there for slicing all of your own veggies.
  
• At the same time, be smart, though. If you buy whole carrots instead of the baby carrots, you could easily shred them, cut them into sticks, slice them for stir-fries, etc. Take your shortcuts elsewhere such as skip the step of peeling carrots and just give them a rinse.
  
• Unlike Rachel Ray, my food doesn't come home from the grocery store prepped. But I do find that taking a few minutes to prep things at home when I'm not pressed against the clock for a meal, saves me time later. I shred an entire 2-pound block of cheese and store in an airtight container. I rinse and dry salad greens and store them in an airtight container lined with paper towels. I portion out raw meats and freeze individually, so I'm not forced to use an entire package of pork chops at once.
  
• If you really get the hang of this prep business and do much baking, you can easily make up your own mixes of dry ingredients for items such as muffins, quick breads, pancakes, etc. This can save some time and make the task of baking less daunting. I always do this if I have overnight guests or early-morning entertaining.
  

Remember, you are that kind of friend

I'm not that great at a lot of things. I don't know when to stop talking. I have ideas of grandeur and the motivation of a snail. I collect a thousand recipes and never organize them.

One thing I am good at is spending time in the kitchen. Read closely, I didn't say I was a good cook. I just cook a lot. I feel good with my apron on, singing along to some terrible country station on the radio and kids begging me to take a break from the stove.

Someone's having a baby; I cook. A neighbor is getting married; I cook. My friend is sick; I cook.

On Tuesday we had our friends Ryan, Dina and their boys over for a pizza night. We've hung out and played with them a thousand times before, but last night was special. It was the first time Dina had been to our house since a ski accident in January left her with a brain injury. Before that, the last time she was here, we sat in my basement and drank wine and watched a TV show just before Christmas.

After her accident, a steady train of dinners started arriving at her home. It's one thing nearly everyone feels they can do to help out. Drop off a casserole, a rotisserie chicken or, as some of her out-of-town friends did, have a pizza delivered. Since returning home, Dina has said she was overwhelmed with the amount of support her friends offered her and her family while she recovered.

At times since, she has been left searching for the person she was before that January day. She said a few weeks back that she hoped she was the kind of person who would cook for friends in need. I assured her she was. Last night, she said the last memory she had of being at my house was back in November when she came by to drop off a lasagna. I had a two-week-old baby, and even though she probably didn't have any more free time than usual, she had baked a lasagna for my family to enjoy during those rocky, sleepless first weeks of a newborn in the house.

She was that type of friend, and I am so blessed that she still is that kind of friend. The kind of friend that, despite the fact that simple tasks such as writing have become the culmination of months of therapy, she is sending out hand-written birthday cards.

I hope that you have a friend or two like Dina. If you do, you're blessed. And don't forget to tell them just that. And take them a plate of warm cookies. Or a dinner, or some homemade jam. Anything, really, whether you're a good cook or not. Food nourishes memories in a simple and solid way that sometimes even our minds can't quite replicate.

Snickerdoodle Cookies Saveur, Jan. 21, 2010

3 cups flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt

1 3⁄4 cups sugar

16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat 1 1⁄2 cups sugar and the butter together in a medium bowl until pale and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add 2 tsp. cinnamon and the vanilla; beat for 1 minute more. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add reserved dry ingredients; mix on low speed until just combined. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 375°. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove dough from refrigerator and, using a 1-tbsp. measure, spoon out 48 portions, rolling each portion into a 1" ball as you go. Roll each ball in cinnamon–sugar mixture to coat. Arrange dough balls 2" apart on 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

MAKES 48 COOKIES

Dinner in 10

I made a ton of humus over the weekend, and come Monday, I was staring at the fridge thinking I had too many leftovers not to use them in my dinner plans. What to do with the humus, what to do. I tried mixing it with some lentils for some kind of a salad. It was no good. Or maybe I'd just had my fill of humus and nothing with garbanzos would have tasted good.

Whatever, it didn't matter. It was 6:05 pm, and I did not have dinner on the table. Or the stovetop. Or the oven. That's when I had to rally, a term that Seth finds hilarious to use in the context of the kitchen, but the man has never had to cook dinner for the family, so he may not understand quite how fitting it really is.

I had leftover tortillas and grated cheese, so it was quesadillas for the kiddo. But what to do for the grown-ups who expect just a little more from their meal? I turned to another leftover, hard boiled dyed eggs from Easter. In about 10 minutes I'd put together a salad that Seth and I could call a meal.

Greens, grated carrots, corn, avocado, roasted red peppers tossed in Ranch Dressing, topped with a hard-boiled egg and quesadilla wedges

After I posted this picture of it on my Facebook page, I was surprised by reader reaction. So, for those who liked it, here's a couple of tips from that meal.

• I buy whole heads of lettuce or bunches of greens. Bring them home, core them and drop the leaves in a large bowl filled with cold water. A little swish around and I toss the leaves into a strainer to drain (don't pour the water back over them, as all the sand and grit falls to the bottom). Then, if I had a salad spinner, that's where I'd send them next, but I don't. So I either fan them out in a single layer on kitchen towels and let them air dry, or I toss them into a pillow case, go to my backyard and swing the holy heck out of them* (think salad spinner before the days of the salad spinner). Then, I pack the clean, dry leaves into an airtight container with some paper towels to absorb any excess moisture. They keep for about a week, and are ready for a quick salad when you are.
• I buy whole carrots by the 5-pound bag. A whole carrot turns into a shredded carrot in about 15 seconds on the box grater.
  
• Frozen corn, defrosted in the microwave is a perfect addition to a salad right alongside some roasted red pepper from the jar, chopped. I would have added some whole beans to the salad if I had them.
  
• Ranch dressing doesn't have to come in the bottle. If you've got mayo, milk, S&P and some dried dill, you can have Ranch in about two minutes. Drop a spoonful of mayo into a bowl. Add a dash of milk and whisk. Add more milk to thin, mayo to thicken. Once you get the right consistency, add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch or two or dried dill. You can use buttermilk instead of regular milk if you like. This keeps in an airtight container for several days in the fridge, and it actually tastes better the next day.
  
• Lastly, instead of croutons or crackers with this salad, I used my last two tortillas to make one quesadilla. Then I split the six triangles between the two salads.

* It's best to introduce yourself to the neighbors before trying this technique. Otherwise, they may get the impression you're a little off if you're flinging around a pillowcase. My neighbor laughed when she first saw me doing it. She hollered over the fence, "If you want to throw the thing, you've got to let go."

Budget Blues

I have this habit of coming up with an idea, running around telling everyone about it and then, a week or so later, thinking I'm the biggest idiot for ever thinking that would work.

You'd think that since I'm aware of this trait of mine, I wouldn't be so pissed off at myself about now for committing to the free world on this blog that I would spend only $25 a week on groceries. For a month.

It's ridiculous. And if I wasn't so stubborn, I'd just throw in the kitchen towel now. But I said I was going to do it (or try my damnedest), so I'll do it. That's why I'm so annoyed to tell you that I spent close to $40 last week. And, despite my efforts, I feel that I really saved nothing by driving to a separate store to pick up 2 pounds on mild cheddar for $3.99. Yes, it was indeed cheaper than usual, but the extra trip seemed outrageous if I consider the kicking and screaming meltdown we had in the parking lot over which side of the car my 2-year-old was going to climb into. I wouldn't dare bribe him with that precious cheese, either.

Here's what I really want: Parmesan, avocado, mushrooms, buttermilk, sour cream, three kinds of pasta instead of one, pineapple, beets, sliced deli meats and cheeses, delicious coffee and nuts.

I'm learning a lot about what my family will tolerate and what they won't. Jasper has been asking for avocado, the one veggie he's loved since his baby food days. And I groan at Seth that he's now taken to eating peanut butter on toast in the mornings. And when I pulled the last few raisins out and placed them on the counter for Jasper to snack on, I got frustrated when, after cleaning up dinner, I found them, uneaten, but probably handled for hours. To the trash they went. What a waste, I thought.

This is not the first draft of this post. The other versions were so much sweeter. Talking about how I'm learning a lot about being frugal. But then I deleted that BS. I'm frustrated, ticked off. I'm ready for May to roll around, so I can go back to my usual habits, which, by the way, weren't outrageous to begin with.

I wouldn't want to suggest that I would turn to food in such an emotional moment (I refuse to reveal exactly how many M&Ms I've eaten while writing this). But, should you need something to comfort you when you're feeling dumpy, this isn't a bad way. These biscuits are delicious. And lucky for me, they're cheap.

Biscuits
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cold
2/3 cup milk

In the work bowl of a food processor, combine all of the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and dump into the work bowl. Pulse about 10 times or until the butter is well incorporated with no pieces larger than a pea. Be careful not to over-process. If you don't have a food processor, combine the ingredients in a bowl and cut the butter in with a pastry cutter or fork.

Next, add the milk all at once. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold the dough just until it comes together. Dump dough onto a floured work surface and gently work into a ball. Working quickly, roll out dough until it is about 1/2 inch. Use a sharp biscuit cutter to cut circles or work with a knife to cut squares. If using a biscuit cutter, just push it straight down and pull up. Do not twist, this will make the biscuits to rise unevenly.

Then, place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet. Brush the tops with melted butter and place the entire tray in the freezer for at least 10 minutes. At this point, you could continue to freeze and transfer to a plastic bag once they are completely frozen, or you could bake at 450 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops are golden.

To bake frozen biscuits, remove however many you want, place on a baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for about 14 minutes. Do not thaw before baking.

Variation: Add 1 additional tablespoon of sugar and the zest of an orange or lemon to the dough. After biscuits are shaped, use your thumb to create a well in the center of each. Fill well with jam. Proceed with recipe as directed for freezing and baking. While biscuits are baking, juice the orange or lemon and combine with enough powdered sugar to create a think glaze. Once biscuits are done, use a pastry brush to brush glaze on warm biscuits.

Find me on Facebook

It's been nearly five years since I started this blog. It's start came about in part because of an ending. An ending to my career as a newspaper reporter, that is. Since then, my life, and my kitchen, have changed. I've gained experience in commercial kitchens. I've learned a lot about recipe development and writing, and I'm cooking daily for my toughest critic ever -- a 2-year-old, and his baby brother will soon follow him to the table.

So, it's about time that I got around to having my own Facebook page. It's been a fun new adventure. I don't always have time to blog, but it seems more manageable to post a quick status update and photos. It's also a more appropriate way to pass along little cooking tidbits, you know those things that don't always need a lengthy description.

I hope you continue to come around here, and also stop by on Facebook. I'm also working on a few new projects for the blog that will help make it easier on you to find past recipes, which is exciting, too.

And please, drop me a line. The thing that gets me energized the most is hearing back from readers and fans. Some of you live a few doors down and some of you are in other countries. Wherever you are, I am so excited to share my love of food, cooking and, best of all, eating with you!

Our happy hour

If you've spent any time around here, you know that I've been a bit frugal lately. I'm trying to limit my weekly grocery bills for the month of April to $25 a week, which I blew last week by $10.

The first week was stressful. It seemed like every day I was reaching for something from the pantry that I just didn't have. This week, however, has been a bit more sane. That is to say we've eaten well. I'll reserve the judgment on our sanity for those who care to visit.

These Pork Fingers were a dish I came up with when I found myself with pork chops in the freezer when I was craving chicken fingers. So, off I went on a chicken finger crusade with the Other White Meat. There are plenty of times when I start cooking with a craving and the wrong ingredients that simply turn into sub-par dinnertime disasters. This, however, was (thankfully) not one of those times. It's become part of our steady rotation.

I love this meal. It's kid food that feels dolled up just enough to take to a happy hour menu. But since we won't be ordering $2 pints and sliders any time too soon, this is a hearty consolation.

Pork Fingers

2 thick-cut pork chops
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups bread crumbs (see note)
1 cup all purpose flour
3+ tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper

If the pork chops are more than an inch and a half thick, cut them in half, crosswise, so that you end up with two mirror-image portions from each chop. Lay out plastic wrap on a baking sheet and place all four chops on the wrap and cover with another sheet of wrap. Using a rolling pin or some other non-breakable, heavy object, pound the heck out of your meat, the goal being to increase your surface area by at least half or so.

Next, cut each chop into strips, roughly three-quarters of an inch wide. Toss the strips along with the buttermilk in an airtight container and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the pork chops from the buttermilk and place in a strainer; reserve the buttermilk and place in a medium bowl. Set aside. Season the flour with salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside. Put the bread crumbs in another medium bowl. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with foil (for easy clean up) and place a cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. Set aside. Line up, in this order, the strainer full of pork, the bowl of flour, the reserved buttermilk, the bread crumbs and the baking sheet.

Working in batches, lightly coat the pork strips in flour and then place them in the buttermilk. Next, dredge the in the bread crumbs and then place them on the wire cooling rack. Repeat until all strips are positioned on the rack. Drizzle melted butter over the strips and bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until meat is done throughout and breading is golden.

Note: If you've got a food processor, making your own bread crumbs is simple, and the taste is so much better than the store-bought stuff. Here's how: Save your bread heels and leftover stale slices and let them hand out on the counter, uncovered overnight (or pop them in a low oven or toaster to dry them out quickly). Then, pulse in the food processor until crumbs form. I keep a zip-top bag full of bread crumbs in my freezer for use anytime.

And the budget is blown

Here I am, a bit sheepish, to tell you that today I broke my own rule. I knew I'd gone over my $25 budget, but I thought it was by a couple of dollars. I was writing down prices, and keeping an average total in my head. While soothing a baby in a front carrier and entertaining a 2-year-old (who also needed one trip to the bathroom). Clearly, one of my next goals should be a remedial math course.

The grand total was $35.28. I bought 24 items. The most expensive award is split between a 32-ounce tub of yogurt and a 28-ounce jar of peanut butter. Both rang in at $2.88. My impulse buy was a bag of English muffins because we used the last of our bread for toast this morning, and it was going to be a PB&J kind of day.

I bought mostly produce and bulk items. Fresh fruits, veggies, dried beans, rice, flour, yeast. The big ticket items were cheese, yogurt, milk, peanut butter and granola bars.

There are a few staples that I don't buy at the store, which should be noted. I make most the bread we eat, and we have backyard chickens, so I don't buy eggs.

I'm still aiming for $25 a week or as close to that as possible. No matter what, I'm learning some valuable lessons that go way beyond the scope of my kitchen.

• If you truly had only $25 in your pocket to spend on a week's worth of family groceries, you would easily spend 1/5 of your budget on a block of cheese or two gallons of milk. Although my family doesn't need it, it gives me a new perspective on why programs such as WIC are crucial to feeding our families.
  
• The way Americans have been trained to shop is just to accept that things like flour and sugar come in 5-pound bags. Breakfast cereals, just about anything from the snack aisle and frozen foods are where portions are chosen for us by the manufacturers. And since their goal is to make money, they find creative ways to make you feel good about your purchase. Just being aware of this goes a long way.
  
• If you have access to a store with bulk items, shop there. I bought 47 cents worth of bread flour and 70 cents worth of rolled oats.
• Buying such small amounts really makes me question the validity of bargains from warehouse stores. The pricing may be slightly cheaper, and I've been buying several things is large quantities. But buying the large portions didn't keep me from my weekly journey to the grocery store. And every time I go in, I always buy a few things I didn't plan on.
  

Pantry pickin'

We're one week into my Pantry Challenge.

So far, we've spent about $23. Things have been a little more challenging than usual, but given that we're potty training one kiddo and dealing with a baby around here, there's hardly a day that doesn't feel like a challenge.

The numbers:
$5.50 at the Farmer's Market last weekend on apples and pears. I was a bit frustrated to see three softball-sized apples. Commence a discussion with The Hubs: "Thank you for getting fruit. Next time when you're paying a high price-per-pound, look for smaller fruits to help make them last longer."

$18.53 at Freddy's on odds and ends. Picked up a few more apples, bananas, broccoli, lemons, peanut butter, tuna, milk and some bulk flour. Major tip from that trip: I went sans-kids and used a hand basket instead of a huge cart. When my basket was full, I'd hit my limit, and it was a handy reminder not to make any more impulse buys (the bulk flour wasn't a must have, but it was a good price, so I went for it).

Total of $24.03.

The food:
We've had oatmeal, eggs, biscuits and lemon ginger rolls for breakfasts. Lunches have been pastas, leftovers or sammies. For dinner we've had grilled pork chops, an Asian chicken dish, pasta, split pea soup and a neighborhood potluck.

Whatever you do, make this

A couple of weeks ago I stood in my quiet kitchen while the boys napped talking on the phone with my friend Kim. It was one of those conversations that would have left the husbands wondering was wrong with us. Our conversations range from her No. 1 reason to not push potty training on her youngest son (Porta Potties at big brothers' baseball practices) to me describing the way I split and freeze the Costco pork chops.

But we also talked through a good way to braise some beef for pasties. A pasty is basically the old, old school version of a Hot Pocket, only way better. The meat-filled pastries were sent in the lunchboxes of mine workers from Wisconsin to Wyoming, and it just so happens, I've got friends from all of those states who have introduced this regional dish to me.


A few days later I got to try Kim's beef pasty and was blown away by how delicious it was. I'd suggested she use some red wine or beef stock to braise, but this woman doesn't come from wine country. She's a beer gal to the heart, so she popped open a bottle of dark beer.

Once I heard that, I knew I had to make one soon, and just because I didn't want the work of the small, hand pies, I decided I'd make one large one. No one in my house was disappointed, and even though the calendar says we're into spring, we've still got some cold weather lingering around here. That's enough of an excuse to keep this recipe around for a little while longer before I store it up for the fall.

Beer Braised Beef Pot Pie
makes one 9-inch pie, serves 5 to 6 adults
1 pound beef, trimmed into 1-inch cubes, patted dry (choose stew meat or some other cut intended for slow cooking)
12 ounce dark beer
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 large carrots, sliced
1 medium union, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
olive or vegetable oil
About 3/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
pastry crust (click here for a recipe)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the beef and flour in a bowl just enough to lightly coat. Using a large heavy-bottomed pot (preferably one that you can transfer directly to the oven), heat a couple of tablespoons oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the beef. Add a generous pinch of salt and dose of pepper. Let beef brown and begin to develop a slight crust on all sides by stirring only occasionally. Do not constantly move the meat about with a spoon, this won't allow the meat to caramelize. Once the meat is browned, turn heat to low and add beer. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned bits. Add the carrots, potatoes and onions. Stir to combine.

Place a tight fitting lid over the pot or wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Put the pot in the pre-heated oven for one hour. Check meat and vegetables for tenderness and cook longer, if needed. If the meat seems tough, cook it longer, as that will break down the connective tissues and make it tender. Remove from oven once meat and veggies are fork tender. Add peas and corn. Pour the mixture onto a large sheet tray or glass baking dish and refrigerate, uncovered until just cooled (this first step of cooking could be done a day ahead and refrigerated, covered, overnight).

Pour the cooled mixture into a prepared, unbaked pie crust and top with a second crust. Bake at 425 degree for about 30 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned and pie is hot throughout. You may need to cover the edges of the crust with a pie protector or aluminum foil to keep them from burning. Let set 15 minutes before slicing for service.

Can I make it on $25 a week?

I've been feeling like a slave to the grocery store lately. You know, where I can't think of what exactly I need to buy, but it's Friday, and I always go on Friday, so I rush to change diapers, pack snacks and load kids in the car.

So today we're starting something new around here. For the month of April, I'm going to be more resourceful with my pantry. My goal is to spend no more than $25 a week on the essentials. Dairy, fresh produce, some meats and coffee. I do, believe it or not, still have my sanity, but given the baby's nighttime feeding demands and my 2-year-old taking the "Up 'n' at 'em" phrase literally with 5:45 am wakings, coffee is considered essential around here.

Here are a few of the ground rules I've given myself. And one more thing to note, you can now find The Dinner Hour on Facebook. This blog will still be the place to come for stories and recipes, but on Facebook you can find out more about what I'm cooking that day, links to food news and other fun kitchen tidbits.

Back to those ground rules:

• The purpose of my one-month challenge is to be more resourceful with what I've already got in my pantry.
  
• I love saving money. No doubt about it. But this challenge is not about finding the cheapest thing possible. I will absolutely shop sales and use a coupon, but I will not spend my Sundays clipping coupons.
• I last made a trip to the grocery store about a week ago. I spent about $80, our usual weekly bill. I did not do additional stocking up to prepare for this.
• I shop at regular grocery stores, no Whole Foods, New Seasons, $10-a-pound-cheddar-cheese stores.
  
• My pantry is well stocked. I've got pastas, rices, dried beans, at least eight types of flour and a few pork chops and cooked shredded chicken in the freezer.
  
• I don't typically buy many processed foods, and that will continue.
  
• I serve three meals a day and snacks to my family of two adults, one kiddo and one baby has just started to spit oatmeal all over the kitchen.
  
• We treat ourselves to a restaurant meal about once a week.
  
• I'm not perfect, and I can't vow that I won't break my own rules. If I do, I'll tell you.
  

If you've got a great meal idea, shopping tips, similar strategies, let me know. I already admitted I'm not perfect. I might as well also tell you I don't know it all.

Pasta and pizza, it's like a broken record

It seems I can't get away from noodles lately.

We had these sesame noodles for dinner tonight, and The Boy was in love. Peanut butter + pasta equals a happy boy.

And on St. Patrick's Day I fed a crowd of little boys some Irish Cheddar Mac 'n' Cheese. Really, it was a sharp white cheddar and orrechiette. It was so good that the moms on duty, my friend Kim and I, ate seconds and then shoveled one last bite over the sink while cleaning up.

How to: Start with a basic white sauce. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a medium sauce pan. Add three tablespoons of flour while whisking and cook a few minutes until it smells nutty. Add 2 1/2 cups of warm milk and increase heat to medium-high. Stirring often, watch for the mixture to bubble, but do not let it boil. Turn heat off and add about two cups of grated cheese. Stir until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with cooked pasta and either serve immediately or for the baked variety, pour mixture and pasta into casserole, top with cheese and bake until brown and bubbly.

And if there was one thing I cooked as much as pasta, it may be pizza. This dish, well, it's just a combination of the two. On a recent weeknight I found myself staring at a bowl of leftover spaghetti noodles and wondering what I could do with them. I found this recipe for Pizza di Spaghetti and went with it. I just used plain, cooked spaghetti and not one covered with her tomato and olive sauce. It worked out just fine, and I went ahead and topped mine like a regular pizza. The Boy loved it. I thought a grown-up version topped with a warm salty mixture of sauteed mushrooms, pine nuts and maybe some goat cheese would be yummy.

I should also mention that I did this in two stages, cooking the spaghetti "crust" first, cooling, and refrigerating until dinner time. Then, I fired up the oven, topped it like a pizza and baked. I think the crust probably lost a little crispness, but overall, it worked out just fine and prepping dinner early keeps me a little more sane.

Noodle, noodle, every meal

I'm a little embarrassed to admit just how much pasta we eat around here. If I were Italian, I suppose I could blame it on my heritage, but nope, just a mama who grew up in Middle America charged with feeding a toddler three meals a day.

We switch it up, and instead of feeling guilty about all of the semolina flour headed down the gullet, I pat myself on the back that my kid will eat anything from orecchiette to orzo. Well, almost anything.

I've made homemade noodles for most of my adult life and before that I watched my mom make them for holidays, special dinners or when I was sick. My mother learned to make them by watching her grandmother, a rural Oklahoma farm girl named Lucille who went by the name "Peach."


In my family, it's tradition to make the egg noodles short, wide and fat. They're cooked in a creamy chicken soup we always called Chicken and Noodles. While I do still make the original dish from time to time, I enjoy making them longer and thinner and adding them to my Chicken Noodle Soup.

Anytime I dust the counter with flour, The Boy drags his kitchen stool over, shouting, "Let me bake with you!" And while he always winds up covered in flour helping me make the noodles, it wasn't until just recently that he had a bite of one. Then he wanted more. And the leftovers the next day. And the uncooked ones in the freezer. I don't blame him, I'm kind of addicted, too.

Don't pass this recipe by because making homemade pasta sounds too difficult. It's not. And I don't have a pasta machine or any special tools. A pizza cutter makes things go quickly, but even a paring knife will do the trick. The batch makes quite a few noodles, so I use half of it for that night's chicken soup and then I freeze the rest for later.


Grandma Peach's Homemade Noodles

3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 t baking soda
2 to 3 cups flour, plus more for dusting

Combine the salt, soda and 2 cups of flour in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine the milk and eggs, beating eggs slightly. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix with a wooden spoon, adding enough of the remaining cup of flour to form a shaggy dough forms. Dump the dough onto a lightly-floured surface and knead just enough to make a ball. Pat down, add more flour to the surface and begin to roll, using a rolling pin. If the dough seems to tough, let it rest for about five minutes and return. Roll dough until it is slightly thinner than a chopstick (so a little thinner than pie dough), making sure that the surface is even. Then, dust the top of the dough with flour, and using a pizza cutter or small knife, cut the noodles to the size and shape you'd like. Next, transfer the cut noodles to a cookie sheet, laying them out in a single layer so they do not touch. (See note.) Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least two hours. If you want to freeze the batch, do the same process, but place in the freezer until completely frozen then transfer to an airtight bag.

To cook, add noodles, either directly from the refrigerator or freezer to a near-boiling pot of chicken stock or soup. When the noodles float to the surface, they are done, about two to three minutes. Remove from heat and either serve immediately or cool for later. These noodles are tasty when first cooked, but they benefit from a day in the broth as well.

NOTE: If you don't add enough flour, the noodles will be very sticky to work with. To help alleviate some trouble, you can place the dough on a well-floured cookie sheet and cut them directly on the cookie sheet, so there is no need to transfer them.

Eat pizza, not crow

For this post, I will surely owe a few friends a slice of pizza.

A group of my girlfriends have had a long-running discussion about whether or not to par-bake a pizza crust. To be honest, I'm probably the only one still interested in the conversation, but others' lack of interest has never stopped me from talking before.

I used to think that par-baking, short for partial baking, a homemade pizza dough was for amateurs. And then I had to make 20 pizzas for one event, and in the name of practicality, I had to find a quicker, easier way to bake 20 pizzas in an hour -- no big deal for the pizzeria down the street but a major feat for a home kitchen. It turns out that par-baking was right, and I was wrong.

And somewhat sheepishly, I've gone on par-baking pizzas and not saying a word. When I've served pizza for a birthday party, par-baked. When I made heart-shaped Valentine's Day pizzas for a kitchen full of boys, par-baked. And when I made a pizza to deliver to some friends, par-baked.

It's fairly simple. Prepare the dough as the recipe states and then form your pizza crust and bake it on a pizza stone just until the crust is firm enough to hold together and be easily lifted off the stone. Then remove it from the oven, cool on a cooling rack and top later. But just recently I took it one step further, and I made two individual pizza crusts, par-baked and then froze.


I would call myself a genius except that it's taken me years to figure this out.

With Daylight Saving Time, today was riddled with wonky naps, a constantly crying baby and a mom who couldn't take a 2-year-old drumming his set of pots and pans another beat. And then came the dinner hour, creeping up more quickly than I'd anticipated. "What to cook, what to cook?" I mumbled, foraging the the pantry, fridge and freezer.

The pizza crusts! They thawed within 10 minutes, and after another five they were topped and in the oven. Take that, Rachael Ray.

If you need a good crust recipe, this is my go-to. You can even sub half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat and still get a good result. Here are a few more tips for the best par-baked pie.

• To ensure good browning, use a pastry brush to baste the outer edge of the crust with olive oil just prior to par-baking.
  
• Once a par-baked crust has been removed from the oven, cool completely on a cooling rack before freezing or storing for later use.
• If your freezer is as full as mine, you might be best trying to freeze individual-size crusts. Actually, this is best, though, because then you could choose to bake as many, or as few, pizzas as you want.
• If freezing, place a sheet of wax paper between stacked crusts to ensure they don't stick together and place in an airtight bag or container to freeze.
  
• To finish a par-baked crust, thaw (if frozen), top with sauce and additional toppings and return to the oven either on a pre-heated stone or directly on the wire oven rack and finish baking until cheese is browned.
• Par-baking is a fantastic way to take the edge off of entertaining with pizzas. You'll have time to clean up yourself and your kitchen from a fine dusting of flour, and you won't stress about shaping dough in front of an audience.
  

Yogurt, plain and simple

Mommy likes hers with some oats on top.

Much like I have a rule about not buying kitchen tools that have only one use, I hate buying food or stray ingredients that work in only one dish. Come on, that bottle of fish sauce stinks and big, so if you're not going to use it but for the one time, don't buy it. That's how I feel about those small cherry-berry-blasted yogurt cups. What else can you do with them other than eat super-sweet yogurt?

I don't mind berries in my yogurt, although the idea of anything tasting like a Key Lime Pie other than a Key Lime Pie creeps me out ever since I read Fast Food Nation. (I don't have anything against Key Limes, it's those tasty "Key Lime" chemicals that are a turnoff.) That's why I go for the big tub of plain yogurt. Sure, all by it's lonesome, it tastes like, (drumroll) yogurt. But did you know that much like buttermilk, it can add tang to baked goods? And imagining an gyro without the Greek yogurt sauce tzatziki is kind of cruel. And a yogurt smoothie is this sleep-deprived mama's go-to quick breakfast.

An immersion blender makes quick work of a yogurt smoothie with blueberries, banana and spinach, sweetened with honey.

Breakfast for two.

My 2-year-old loves yogurt smoothies, or smoovies as they're known around here. Maybe it's merely the fact that he gets to slurp his meal through a bendy straw, but I don't really care. Usually while he's running around the house playing trucks, I toss in frozen blueberries, banana, a handful of spinach leaves and honey in yogurt and buzz it with my immersion blender. The brilliant purple is cool enough that he never presses me about what else is in the smoothie, and I feel like a decent mom for getting a few veggies in before 8 a.m. (And let's be honest, there won't be many other veggies at all unless we've got sweet potato fries on the dinner menu.)

Here's another smoothie idea that includes avocados and bananas, which couldn't be a more perfect marriage in my book. If that sounds too strange for your tastes, check out this recipe for chocolate chip banana muffins. And yogurt doesn't stop at breakfast. Swap it for sour cream in dips or mayo in dressings. It's blank canvas makes it an excellent baby food, too.

And should you find yourself staring at a tub of plain yogurt and craving a berry-sweetened cup of yogurt, mix a few spoonfuls with some of your favorite jam. You'll be surprised how much it tastes just like the stuff in the store-bought cups. Only better.