John's Dreams of Spring Pasta

John (my almost 5 year old) and I were looking at a magazine and saw a toddler pasta we decided to give it a try for dinner with a few family twists. I hope that you try it and enjoy.

1 cup of diced broccoli
1 cup of diced red pepper
1 cup of diced carrots
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of frozen corn
3 cups of ruffles pasta
1 tablespoon of butter
1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 pound of steamed shrimp
3 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon of lemon zest

Bring water to a boil and cook pasta for 10 minutes. Drain and add all other ingredients to pan. cook for 5 minutes, add pasta, stir in cheese, add lemon zest, and serve. This is a quick, healthy, and light meal that cooks up in 15 minutes, and is super kid friendly. I hope that you enjoy your dinner, I know that we did.

Teriyaki Beef with Rice and Garlic Walnut Broccoli

For dinner last night we were going to grill up the tri-tip that I had been marinating in the best teriyaki sauce ever Soy Vay for the past three days. I was willing to brave the 20 degree weather, but the grill was out of gas. So I decided to cut up the meat in chunks and stir fry it instead. The meat came out nice and tender which I was worried about since stir fried meat can get a little tough. As for the broccoli, I blanched it, then added it to the pan after the meat was cooked and mixed in some chopped garlic and walnut pieces. I cooked this on a lower heat setting until the walnuts were toasted. In retrospect, I should have added the walnuts first as I normally do when I make broccoli this way. In my defense, I was tired and just wanted dinner done. I hope that you give Soy Vay and the broccoli a try. I hope you enjoy your dinner.

The only Rachel Ray Recipe worth Trying

I must say that I cannot stand Rachel Ray. She is annoying, laughs at her own jokes, uses cheesy abbreviations that for some reason other people have decided is a good idea (I am talking to you Restaurant Secrets Lady), and uses the strangest flavors in her cooking. However a few years ago I happened to catch an episode that made for the first and last time want to cook something I saw on her show, Beef and Black Bean Chili with Green Onion Corn Cakes. I do not follow her recipe exactly for anything but the corn cakes. I add in more meat, more beans, more chili powder, and use tomato paste instead of sauce to thicken the chili. If you are willing to give this recipe a try I promise that you will not be disappointed. Here is the link to the Food Network site: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/beef-and-black-bean-chili-with-green-onion-corn-cakes-recipe/index.html

The Joy of Rotisserie Chicken

Since my lazy cooking night I picked up a Rotisserie Chicken and have made two meals out of it so far. I can think of 101 things to do with a rotisserie chicken and here are two of them:

Our first meal was a nice breast of chicken with roasted potatoes and one of my favorite products, Green Giant Digestive Health steamers. The range of Green Giant products in the little boxes makes life easy when you need a veggie and do not feel like cooking one. Take a look at http://www.bettycrocker.com/Products/Green-Giant/Products.aspx to see all of the different varieties. Most take less than three minutes took cook; which I think is great since this is normally the time it takes me to plate everything else.

The other meal was a simple Chinese Chicken salad made with Broccoli Slaw, a blend of soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and teriyaki sauce. I added some left over chicken, toasted peanuts, and chow mein noodles and enjoyed.

Bourbon Steak Sauce

I have been in a lazy cooking mood since my steak got overcooked on Sunday night. Thankfully the Bourbon Mushroom sauce I served with the steak saved the meal from being a disaster. The Bourbon Sauce is easy to make and would be great with chicken too. Heat a cast iron skillet on high, add a tablespoon of butter, before butter brown add in steaks and brown on both sides. Place skillet in a preheated 400 degree oven and finish steak to desired doneness. Remove steaks from skillet and let rest. In the same skillet add 1 cup of mushrooms and 1 chopped shallot, cook until mushrooms have absorbed all of pan juices. Add 1/4 cup of Bourbon and 1 tablespoon of butter, cook until Bourbon has reduced by half, add in about 1/8 cup of half and half or heavy cream, stir and serve over meat.

3 Cheeses from Spain

We decided to have a pre meal snack the other night and tried three cheeses from Spain. The first was a Mahon, the second an aged Mahon, and the third was Drunken Goat. I have had Drunken Goat a few times and love the subtle red wine flavors. The Mahon, from the island of Menorca, is one of a few cow's milk cheeses from Spain. Mahon reminds me of a Swiss or farmer's cheese, it has a light tangy and salty flavor. The Aged Mahón is a new and intriguing experience for most Spanish cheese lovers. The Aged Mahon was great, this is a cheese that I would use in place of Pecorino Ramono in cooking or serve as a tapa with olives and wine or beer. You can also eat it the traditional way, sliced, then sprinkled with olive oil, black pepper, and fresh tarragon. We enjoyed trying something new and hope that if you are looking for a different cheese from Spain to try I highly suggest the Aged Mahon.

Farm Trip

Today we went and saw where some of our food comes from. We took about an hour drive out to Suffolk and visited the awesome folks at Full Quiver Farm. I cannot begin to tell you how neat it was to see not only where our food comes from, but to get the opportunity to meet our food producers. The family who works Full Quiver was on hand to answer any of our questions, such as why chickens are available in the warmer months of the year. We got to see a two day old cow, some goats, pigs, tons of chickens, and the new chicks that had recently arrived. Our trip was worth the time and really helped us see the relationship that we have with the land, the farmer, and our food. This was a great lesson to teach our 4 year old and one that I hope he appreciates.

Dinner was the pork stir-fry that I wrote about a few days ago. Pictures will be coming soon. For the sauce, I combined about 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce, a tablespoon of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of honey. The sauce was great, my son ate as much as he could and my husband drank some Gewürztraminer with me. It was a nice and relaxing night. I hope that you enjoy your dinner.