What's for dinner?

Thought of the Day...When you you’re fixing dinner and the little voice inside says, ‘Does this really make sense?’ LISTEN! ~me

My day doesn’t feel complete unless I’ve read my favorite blogs... I’ve been incomplete a lot recently... I’m still trying to get caught up from working long days and vacation...

...I’m closer each day... But I am cheating and reading current entries along with older ones... This morning’s The Pioneer Woman’s Cooking feature was Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil. It made my mouth water...

I didn’t follow Ree’s recipe to the letter... She marinated her chicken, I didn’t have time - I wanted to fix it for dinner tonight, before I was asked What’s for dinner?

I stopped at the store on my way home from work and bought fresh chicken breasts, lemons, half-and-half and heavy cream. As I was driving home, I called and asked for someone to light the grill so that it would be ready when I got home. Fortunately, I made perfect timing and got the chicken on the grill literally as I walked in the door.

If you recall from my Coleslaw recipe post, I mentioned the slicer/shredder attachment for my mixer. I also have a juicer attachment and you wouldn’t believe all the juice a lemon has in it!

Remember that voice mentioned in the Thought of the Day quote above? Well, I knew better when I was juicing the lemons that I had too much juice. I make a great Lemon Loaf recipe at Christmas. The first time I used my juicer attachment, I had sooooo much juice the lemon loaf was WAY-WAY lemony.... almost to the point of too much (can you have too much lemon?)...

Well, although I quickly read Ree’s recipe this morning, I only printed the recipe in full-page using her link... it was missing the pictures...

...I usually do OK making other people’s recipes, well....

The printed recipe read “Squeeze in the juice of 4 lemons.”***... So as I said, I juiced my lemons with my juice attachment.... OOOOPS! BIG OOOOOPS! If you look at Ree’s full post with pictures you’ll see she HAND squeezed the lemons into the pot! OOOOOOPS!

Hubby said, “Did you taste this?” I stopped and said, “Dang it! NO! Chef Ramsay (Hell’s Kitchen) would yell at me for not tasting!” I then said, “It’s too lemony, right?” The Offspring said, “Yep.” I tasted it and it wasn’t too bad... LOL! It was REALLY lemony. Not terrible, but not really palatable... actually... yeah... it was not good enough to eat ... :(

So, my instincts kicked in... I still had half-and-half, cream, butter and cheese... I dumped it all in and tried to dilute the sauce... it worked, well... it was better, but not perfect. The Offspring and I thought it was good. As I was eating dinner I exclaimed, “You donkey!” The Offspring and Hubby chuckled... (it’s another Chef Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen quote) The Chef calls people that when they make stupid mistakes, especially when they don’t taste their food before serving it.

Note to self... when that voice is in your head saying... this is toooooo much lemon.... it IS too much lemon!

Do you ever hear that voice, too, when you’re cooking? If so, what does it say to you?

***UPDATE: Ree’s blog post (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/grilled-chicken-with-lemon-basil-pasta/) listed FOUR lemons, the TastyKitchen recipe lists THREE (http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/grilled-chicken-with-lemon-basil-pasta/). I made this from her BLOG POST. It's possible that at some point the blog post will be updated. I noticed that someone had made the comment that she only used 3 lemons. Leads me to believe that the recipe was updated on TastyKitchen.

Homemade Coleslaw

Thought of the Day...Food is an important part of a balanced diet. ~Fran Lebowitz

Cast of characters

Cabbage, carrots (in this case I used baby carrots), white vinegar, celery salt, black pepper, sugar or Splenda (as you can see I used Splenda), mayonnaise (I love Kraft’s reduced fat mayonnaise made with olive oil* - if you haven’t used it... go out and get it now -- well, I supposed you could wait until you’re finished reading this post)

I (oops, We) received an Oster mixer/blender/food processor as a wedding gift, but after 22 years the slicer/shedder part was broken, food processor part worked, but not so great and the mixer part was acting up.

Costco had the KitchenAid* Professional HD mixer on sale just after Thanksgiving in 2008, I begged (OK, didn’t really beg) for it...

Hubby said, “Now, I don’t want to have it thrown back in my face that I bought you a kitchen appliance for Christmas.”

I replied, “Nope, never! Won’t do it... I’m asking for it. Remember, I never complained about getting my Cuisinart pots and pans for an anniversary gift. I ASKED for them!”

So, we decided on grey (we have a stainless dishwasher and fridge so it works with the rest of the appliances - but I really wanted red)..

I fell in love. Can a human be in love with a kitchen appliance? I’m weird, I know (Rafael and Chris, no snide comments ya hear me?) Still after all this time, I don’t know how to adjust my recipes though... we’ll discuss that another time...

...I used to use the Salad Shooter that Nana and Papa (what The Offspring calls Hubby’s folks) gave me. It is great for salads, but not so great for coleslaw. So when I made coleslaw, I reverted to hand cutting or shredding and when super lazy (yep, it happens) I would buy pre-shredded in bags at the grocery store.

Amazon had a sale going on that Christmas... I was able to get the food grinder, the slicer/shredder and the fruit/vegetable strainer with their discounted price and rebate rebate with what ended up being 75% off! I was in kitchen appliance heaven!

The slicer/shredder is GREAT. If you don’t have this attachment set... RUN, don’t walk, and get it... WAIT... let’s finish this recipe first!

Here, you see the shredder in action... Finely grate/shred the cabbage

...Yeah, this doesn’t look “finely grated”... I messed up and didn’t use the right attachment blade... Forgive me, please!

Finely grate/shred carrots; OK, again, not so “finely grated”... like I said, I messed up...

In medium bowl add the following to make the dressing:

Mayonnaise

Vinegar

Celery salt

Pepper (wow... I was messy)

Splenda (you can use sugar, but I use Splenda for sugar-reducing dietary needs)

It starts out looking nasty... really nasty now that I’m looking at it again while writing this... keep wisking...

...but after several swishes of the whisk...

... you get a nice smooth dressing...

In large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots and dressing. Mix well.

Slaw will appear dry at first, but continue mixing scraping sides of bowl. When you think it is done, keep going. You will likely find more dressing that needs to be mixed in.

Continue until all the cabbage is coated and looks "wet".

Place slaw in refrigerator for at least an hour, overnight if possible. This will enhance flavor. It is best served cold, especially since it contains mayonnaise.

...Now for the dreaded clean-up...

...Slicing/shredding carrots STAIN... I nearly freaked the first time I saw this... my beautiful white attachment was stained ORANGE! UGH!

...Well, KitchenAid had a very useful hint... add a drop (or several in this case... I poured too much) of olive oil to stain...

...with your fingers, rub stain completely...

...then wash with warm/hot soapy water... and...

VOILIA! It’s white again!

This hint works well with the Pampered Chef scrappers, too! :)

How do you make coleslaw? Post a link to your process in the comment section.

As for my recipe... a printable recipe can be found here. (If link fails it is because the recipe post is still pending approval)

Cole Slaw made with Splenda (or sugar)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serving Size: 16

Ingredients:

32 ounces cabbage, grated

12 whole baby carrots, grated

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/3 cup Splenda, pourable (not baking) OR sugar

2 cups mayonnaise

Directions:

1. Finely grate/shred cabbage.

2. Finely grate/shred carrots.

3. In medium bowl add the following to make dressing: mayonnaise, vinegar, celery salt, pepper, Splenda (or sugar). Mix until smooth.

4. In large bowl, combine cabbage, carrots and dressing. Mix well. Slaw will appear dry at first, but continue mixing scraping sides of bowl. When you think it is done, keep going. You will likely find more dressing that needs to be mixed in. Continue until all the cabbage is coated and looks "wet".

5. Place slaw in refrigerator for at least an hour, overnight if possible. This will enhance flavor.

6. Best served cold, especially since it contains mayonnaise.

NUTRITION FACTS from MacGourmet:

MADE WITH SPLENDA

Servings: 16

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 108

Total Fat: 8.05g

Cholesterol: 8mg

Sodium: 245mg

Total Carbs: 8.27g

Dietary Fiber: 1.75g

Sugars: 4.36g

Protein: 0.80g

MADE WITH SUGAR

Servings: 16

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 125

Total Fat: 8.05g

Cholesterol: 8mg

Sodium: 245mg

Total Carbs: 12.44g

Dietary Fiber: 1.75g

Sugars: 8.53g

Protein: 0.80g

*Not a paid endorsement; just the product(s) I use.

Thinking of Grandma B

Thought of the Day...Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just you all day and now the day was complete. ~Marcy DeMaree

If you’ve read my CSA posts, you know we’ve received quite a bit of cabbage over the last four weeks... one each week. All this cabbage makes me think of two things... my Grandma B and coleslaw.

Today I’m going to talk about the former...

Grandma B knew I didn’t like cooked cabbage, so she introduced me to a cabbage wedge sprinkled with a bit of salt. Just about every summer dinner at Grandma B’s included a fresh cabbage wedge...

...fond memories....

Eventually, I migrated to Lawry’s Seasoning Salt...

...YUMMMMMMM!!

P.S. Come back tomorrow for the coleslaw recipe. :)

Steel Cut Oats with Orange Cranberries and Flax

Thought of the Day...Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first. ~Josh Billings

I really like oatmeal, but sometimes oatmeal can be really boring. In this case I chose to have steel cut oats. I like adding flavor; this time orange flavored cranberries (as you can see, I got mine at Trader Joe’s - Thanks, Nancy, for introducing them to us- they are GREAT!).

Cast of characters: water, steel cut oats, flaxseed meal and orange flavored cranberries.

Pour 3 C water and 1/4 C cranberries into saucepan, cover and bring water to a boil. (If you have a cast iron saucepan, I recommend using it. Please don’t tell Rafael I recommended this - I’ll never hear the end of it!)

When the water is boiling the cranberries will be much plumper and some will even be floating.

Add 1 cup oats and 6 T flaxseed meal to the water. You may get clumps of flaxseed meal and need to smoosh (how’s that for a technical term?) it along the side of the pan.

Stir oats, cranberries and flax...

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir frequently...

After 20 minutes, breakfast (or dinner) is ready. If desired, add sweetener of choice and serve...

Printable recipe can be found here. (If link fails it is because the recipe post is still pending approval)

Steel Cut Oats with Orange Cranberries and Flax

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serving Size: 3

Ingredients:

3 cups Water

1 cup Steel Cut Oats

1/4 cups Dried Cranberries, Orange Flavored

6 Tablespoons Flaxseed Meal

Directions:

1. Pour water and cranberries into saucepan, cover and bring water to a boil.

2. When the water is boiling the cranberries will be much plumper and some will even be floating.

3. Add oats and flaxseed meal to the water. You may get clumps of flaxseed meal and need to smoosh (how’s that for a technical term?) it along the side of the pan.

4. Stir oats, cranberries and flaxseed meal.

5. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir frequently.

6. If desired, add sweetener of choice.

7. Serve warm/hot.

NUTRITION FACTS (per MacGourmet) Servings: 3

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 277

Total Fat: 4.10g

Cholesterol: 0

Sodium: 9mg

Total Carbs: 48.32g

Dietary Fiber: 8.58g

Sugars: 6.57g

Protein: 10.34g

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Smart Balance

Thought of the Day...Anybody who believes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach flunked geography. ~Robert Byrne

When I found this recipe I was surprised at the simplicity. It became an immediate family favorite. It takes maybe 3 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook. It smells awesome and tastes even better.

The original recipe calls for butter, but to reduce the saturated fat I substituted Smart Balance. (Rafael, I *know* I shouldn’t substitute for butter, but wanted to make it healthier.) The first time I made it I used butter. Both ways are super good!

Cast of Characters

28 ounces Canned Whole Tomatoes (Roma/Plum are best) - YES I cheated and used “diced” - I was out of the whole ones.)

Smart Balance

Medium Yellow Onion (this is a large onion as I was doubling the recipe)

Parmesan Cheese (not pictured, but you probably figured that out on your own)

1. Heat a heavy (cast iron is perfect), medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. (Didn’t I make a cute happy face for your viewing pleasure? LOL!! I crack myself up sometimes!)

3. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until fat float separate from the tomatoes. Stir occasionally to break up tomato. As it cooks, you’ll notice the onion starts to swell.

The smell at this point is wonderful!

As I continued to stir it, the onion started to call apart.

4. Remove the onion. If you desire to eat the onion with the sauce, cut each half into fourths and return to sauce. Otherwise, discard onion.

(I didn’t take a photo of this, but suspect you get the idea.)

5. Pour over cooked pasta. As you can see, I left the onion in.

6. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy (roughly 1/2 ounce).

Printable recipe can be found here. (If link fails it is because the recipe post is still pending approval)

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Smart Balance

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Serving Size: 4

Summary:

Adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. The original recipe calls for butter, but to reduce the saturated fat I substituted Smart Balance. Additionally, the original recipe calls for discarding the onion before serving. We prefer to have the onion included.

Ingredients:

28 ounces Canned whole tomatoes, Chopped or diced, with their juices. (Roma/Plum are best)

5 tablespoons Smart Balance

1 Medium yellow onion, peeled and halved

2 ounces Parmesan Cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Heat a heavy (cast iron is perfect), medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer.

3. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until fat float separate from the tomatoes. Stir occasionally to break up tomato.

4. Remove the onion. If you desire to eat the onion with the sauce, cut each half into fourths and return to sauce. Otherwise, discard onion.

5. Pour over cooked pasta.

6. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy (roughly 1/2 ounce each).

Notes:

5 T = 1/3 Cup - 1 teaspoon

1. NUTRITION FACTS (per MacGourmet) Servings: 4
2. Amount Per Serving
3. Calories: 209
4. Total Fat: 14.99g
5. Saturated Fat: 5.92g (if you use butter, this is 11.63g)
6. Monounsaturated Fat: 5.77g (if you use butter, this is 5.01g)
7. Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.30g (if you use butter, this is 0.74g)
8. Trans Fat: NA
9. Cholesterol: 10mg (if you use butter, this is 48mg)
10. Sodium: 637mg (if you use butter, this is 526mg)
11. Total Carbs: 10.99g
12. Dietary Fiber: 2.45g
13. Sugars: 5.89g
14. Protein: 7.22g

Grandma B's Banana Bread

Thought of the Day... Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. ~Author Unknown

My Grandma B was a wonderful cook. I have so many of her recipes. I want to share with you one of our favorites - her Banana Bread (with one small twist).

Cast of characters


½ cups Shortening
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
3 whole Bananas, Mashed
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Salt (OPTIONAL, I don’t use it)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190.5 degrees C).

Cream shortening and sugar


Add eggs and beat well.


Add bananas and mix. As you can see, I didn’t mash them beforehand. This is the first time I’ve made this bread since I got my KitchenAid mixer and I wanted to see how it did on mashing them.


Sift flour, baking soda and cinnamon together (and salt if you use it). Add to above mixture and beat well.


Pour mixture into 1 large loaf pan or 2 small ones. I didn’t grease the pan. Grandma didn’t say to on the recipe card so I didn’t.


Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until toothpick in middle comes out clean. I had to use a knife to loosen the loaf, but it still came out cleanly.


Delicious alone or with butter on it. (By the time I got the photos off the camera and started writing this post, HALF the loaf is GONE!)

To get a printer friendly copy of the recipe, go here.

Grandma B’s Banana Bread
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Serving Size: 18     Yield: 1 large or 2 small loaves

Ingredients:
1/2 cups Shortening
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
3 whole Bananas, Mashed
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons Salt (OPTIONAL, I do not use it)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cream shortening and sugar
3. Add eggs and beat well
4. Add bananas and mix
5. Sift flour, baking soda and cinnamon together. Add to above mixture and beat well.
6. Pour mixture into 1 large loaf pan or 2 small ones.
7. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until toothpick in middle comes out clean.

Delicious alone or with butter on it.


NUTRITION FACTS with no salt (from MacGourmet)
Servings: 18
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 170

1. Total Fat: 6.13g
2. Cholesterol: 26mg
3. Sodium: 78mg (if you add the salt, then 110mg)
4. Total Carbs: 26.26g
5.     Dietary Fiber: 0.86g
6.     Sugars: 13.62g
7. Protein: 2.26g