{ musings }

Blueberry Tart

Another delicious, elegant, yet relatively simple summer treat sure to impress your friends!

• 1 oz sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 c heavy (whipping) cream
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 3 tbsp confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 2 c fresh, rinsed & dried blueberries (you could also use raspberries, blackberries, or other...)

1. Heat oven to 375
2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out pastry sheet to approximately a 10x12 rectangle. Don't over-roll or press too hard...it doesn't need to be exact.   Transfer it to the lined baking sheet.
4. Using a sharp paring knife, score (not cutting all the way through) a 1" border around the pastry.  Brush this border lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the granulated sugar
5. Bake 18-22 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from oven, and gently re-score the border with a sharp paring knife, gently pressing down the center rectangle down to flatten it.  Cool.
6. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese (electric mixer) until smooth.  Add the cream, zest and 2 tbsp of the confectioners sugar.  Cream until smooth.  Spread this mixture on the inside rectangle of your cooled pastry.
7. Arrange blueberries in a single layer on top of the cream-cheese mixture, slightly pressing down.  Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

Wednesday Morning Griddle Cakes

As a reward for sleeping in (a bit) on the morning after the sleepover, I rustled up some home-made griddle cakes for the punks and their cute friends.  The recipe is from my Great Grandmother's 1930's Grafton Ladies Lutheran Church Auxiliary cookbook which was passed down from her to my Grandmother to me.  The recipe book has tons of delightful, chicken-scratch notations throughout (by four generations of women in my family!), lots of bent, torn and grease-splattered pages....and I love it!  My girls refuse to eat packaged-mix pancakes or waffles because of this recipe, so be warned: if you try it, you may never be able to look at another box of Bisquick again!

 

• 2.5 c all purpose flour
• 5 tsp baking powder
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp melted butter (in the batter)
• 2 c milk (or a little more)
• 2 eggs
• (add fruit or chocolate chips, if you like!)
• Oh...and did I mention you MUST butter the griddle generously or, if you're really lucky, use the bacon drippings from the bacon you just cooked!!

I just *luuurve* it when the blueberries burst and oooze all over!

Oh, and did I mention that my punks also refuse imitation syrups?  Only pure, 100% maple for them.  Little food snobs!  Wonder where they get that?!

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

This is a great and SUPER easy dinner for those days when you just KNOW the evening is going to be hectic.  Although we *try* to sit down for dinner as a family 5-6 nights each week, there are some days, like Tuesdays, when the after school activities and sports just get the best of me.  For nights like this, I pull out the crock pot and whip this ridiculously easy recipe up!

It also makes for great leftovers...my daughters will come home and dish themselves up a portion for a hearty after-school snack!

Crock Pot BBQ Shredded Chicken

4-6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 small bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
hamburger buns or bakery rolls

(seriously...put the chicken in rock-solid frozen!)

(this is what it looks like half-way through cooking)

Dump all the ingredients into your crock pot, turn it on low and let it sit all day (6+ hours is best).  Occassionally mix it all up if you can, but this step is not necessary.  Shortly before serving, shred the chicken with forks and mix it back into the sauce.   I usually prefer to use fresh, crusty, bakery rolls, but in a pinch, I'll pull out leftover hamburger buns that I've frozen, and toast them up.

* NOTE:  When I make this for adults, I like to use spicier or more flavorful BBQ sauces, such as raspberry chipotle, but for the kids, I just use honey BBQ or whatever is on sale.

There you have it!  Does it GET any easier than this?!  Oh, and you can substitute pork loin for the chicken and it is really good, too.

A Nice Recipe from a Chinese Jewish Goyl

EVERYONE should have a nice brisket recipe in their repertoire.  It's hearty, inexpensive (relatively) and has less than ten ingredients (most of which you've probably already got on hand),  can cook unattended for many hours in the oven or all day in a crock-pot.  My family LOVES to come home to this on busy Fall evenings after Scouts, tennis or other stuff...it makes the WHOLE house smell yummy and makes UNBELIEVABLE leftovers. 

Since I am a nice Jewish Chinese girl  (almost...my Grandma was Jewish and I am surprisingly good at many traditional Jewish faves....and, well, you know about the Chinese thing), I thought I'd share my easy-peasy Brisket recipe with you...maybe you'll add it to your list of regulars.

• 3-4 pound Brisket (trim about 80% of the fat off)
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 jar Heinz Chili Sauce
• 1 bottle beer (don't use anything you don't enjoy drinking)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown will do in a pinch)
• Garlic powder
• S&P
• Optional:  bag of baby carrots, 8+ small (golf ball sized), red-skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into halves

Note:  Brisket has a nice, lean, but well-marbled side (the side you see in the package when you buy it) then a yucky fatty side on the bottom.  I trim about 80-90% of the fat off the bottom of mine before I even begin.  Even though they *say* it adds flavor, I'm just not a fan of the texture of fat even after it has braised for over three hours.  Blech.  So ...I cut it off, and if I'm feeling REALLY nice, I fry up a bit for my dog, Sam, and then he loves me the best for the rest of the day!

(can you believe this is AFTER trimming 80% of the fat off?!?)
 

Preheat oven to 325
Liberally season meat on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Dump the meat into a large glass pan or dutch oven.
Layer the sliced onions on top of meat

Mix beer, chili sauce and brown sugar in a bowl, then pour over the top of the meat and onions.

(ok...I really prefer to use a nice dark or full bodied beer, but we were out...so this had to do)

Cover the pan tightly with foil, or use the lid if you are using a dutch oven and bake 3 hours at 325 or 8 hours on low in a crock-pot. Leave it ALONE.  No peeking.  No stirring.  Just let it cook...and enjoy the yummy smell.....

If oven baking, uncover at about the 3 hour mark and toss in carrots and potatoes...mix and allow to cook another 1/2 to full hour until the veggies are fork tender.  In the crock pot, let it go another hour.

Remove & serve.  Feel like a queen among women!

(P.S.  this tastes WAAAAY better day two...my girls BEG for it as soon as they get home from school on the second day!!!)

What's For Dinner???

Gotta love Trader Joe's.  If you DON'T have one near you, I'm sorry, but if you do...look what YOU can make!!

Lemon Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad

1 bag TJ's Organic whole wheat penne pasta
1 container TJ's Lemon Artichoke pesto
1 container TJ's "Just Chicken" breast meat
1 bag TJ's Organic Arugula (or baby spinach, if your family doesn't like arugula)
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped into halves or quarters, as you wish
1 lemon (the juice)
S & P
Oregano

1. Dump pasta into boiling, salted water and return to boil.  Cook 10-12 minute at full boil until al dente.
2. Drain & rinse pasta.
3. Mix in artichoke hearts, pesto and chicken.
4. Season with the juice of 1 lemon,  salt, pepper and a few dashes of oregano.  Mix well.
5. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Right before serving, mix in arugula

There you have it!  An easy-peasy, refreshing, cool summer salad courtesy of Trader Joes!  The ONLY cooking I did was boiling the water - ha!  Obviously, you COULD do all this from scratch, but why when TJ's makes it SO SIMPLE?!?!?   

Another benefit???  You can do it all the way up through step #5 then let it hang in the refrigerator for a few days...busting out a few scoops here and there as you need it, mixing in the greens as you go (so they don't wilt).  My family LOVES these kinds of hearty, healthful pasta salads!

Easy Dinners 101: Volume #4

Ok...so I know I will forever be mocked by my true Mexican amigas (you KNOW who you are) and I KNOW any good, self-respecting Chinese-Mexican girl such as myself has NO business making an "easy" version of a staple "leftover" dish (which is pretty darned easy to begin with) but this recipe rocked my world.  It is spicy, yessiree, but deliciously so in that magical, smokey way that only adobo can do!

(Note:  I couldn't snap a good photo before The Hubs dove into it, so this is my leftover portion...mmmm...can you say huevos, frijoles and a cold Modelo Negro for breakfast?!?!?  ha!  Just kidding...kinda!)

Chicken Chilaquiles
(adapted from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food)

• 1 tbsp oil
• 6 garlic cloves, mashed and chopped
• 2 14.5 oz cans chopped tomatoes in juice
• 1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 4 large, cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 1/2 c lightly packed, fresh, chopped cilantro + more for garnish
• 1/2 c crumbled queso fresco or queso anejo (Martha had the NERVE to use Feta!  Humph!)
• Sour cream for garnish
• 1 bag of good corn tortilla chips (I prefer white corn) (and no...don't use the flavored kind like Tostitos...use good, plain tortilla chips!)

1. If they aren't already cooked, boil the chicken breasts for about 20-25 minutes until opaque throughout.  (I put salt, pepper and an chopped onion in the cooking water.)  Cool and shred.
2. Put oil in large pan (4 qt) and cook garlic over medium heat till sizzling and fragrant (1-2 minutes).
3. Add in tomatoes and juice, and add 1/2 can of water.  Finely chop two of the chiles from the can and add them to the mix, along with 1-2 tbsp of the adobo paste (reserve the rest of the chiles and paste in the freezer for later use).  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat a bit to simmer for about 7-10 minutes.
4. Take half of this mix and puree in blender (be careful when blending hot liquids!).  Add back into pan and mix.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.
5. Add chicken and heat through for a few minutes.  Remove from heat.
6. Mix in the chopped cilantro.
7. Put a hand-full of tortilla chips into each bowl, then spoon chicken and sauce over each bowl of chips.  Sprinkle a bit of the queso and a few more cilantro leaves for garnish.
8. Top with a glob of sour cream if it is too spicy for you!

Enjoy!

Easy Dinners 101: Volume #3

OK..I'm no Pioneer Woman, but I'm following her lead and adding "sort-of" step-by-step photos for this recipe!  (I hope I did OK, Ree.  I just haven't figured out how to whisk AND hold the 25 pound camera AT THE SAME FREAKIN TIME, yet!)

Here's one I make about every other week, especially when it is hot out.  The great thing about it is that unlike most pasta salads which you dress and let "marinate," I leave this one undressed until ready to serve so it can sit in the fridge and be "snacked on" for 3-4 days without getting soggy. I guess you could dress and "marinate it" but you'd porbably need to eat it all up much quicker!  This recipe was inspired by something we bought at Costco, but I jazz it up according to my family's likes and tastes.

Kim's Greek Chicken Pasta Salad

• 1 package penne pasta (about 1lb dry)
• 2 c grape tomatoes (washed, but NOT cut..if you cut them, the juices will make the salad get soggy faster)
• 2 c chinked cooked chicken (use rotisserie chicken if you wish, or boil 3-4 large breast halves)
• 1 can (unmarinated) artichoke hearts, well-drained and halved or quartered
• 1 small container crumbled feta (I use reduced fat)
• 1 small/medium red onion, VERY thinly sliced (I use my mandoline)
• 10-14oz pitted Kalmata olives (I buy the good, bulk ones in the deli section of the market), drained
• salt & pepper
• dried oregano
• Greek salad dressing (I prefer the taste of scratch, but in a pinch, use Ken's...it is yummy!)
• OPTIONAL:  fresh baby spinach leaves and/or sliced red bell peppers.

 

1. Boil the pasta until slightly more al dente than you would for a warm, sauced pasta dish.  Drain and rinse it well, then allow to cool.
2. Toss all ingredients (except dressing!) in a large bowl, season with oregano, salt and pepper.
3. Cover and cool several hours before serving.
4. When ready to serve, we like to serve it over a small bed of baby spinach leaves, then lightly dress it.

Oh, and before you start envying me that my kids actually eat this like I serve it, they don't.  They pick out the olives and most of the onions.  Alexis eats the 'chokes but not tomatoes, Olivia eats tomatoes, but not 'chokes.  Sometimes I can sneak in a few spinach leaves, but the always smother everything in Light Ranch Dressing, so they don't have to taste much of anything.  But guess what?  I don't care, 'cause I am not a short-order cook and they can eat what's served and deal with it!  ;-)

Easy (Breakfasts?) 101: Volume #2

This is from my beautiful, skinny friend Kendra, who a) really needs a blog of her own, b) loves her new Na-Na-Na-Na-Navigator, and b) obviously never eats this in real life since her thighs are about the diameter of my wrists (on a low water-retention day).  But I love her anyway and since anything with THIS MUCH cream, butter and sugar MUST be good, here goes:

Creme Brulee French Toast a la Kendra

• 1 stick (1/2cup) unsalted butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• an 8 to 9inch round loaf country-style bread ( I use challah)
• 5 large eggs
• 1 & 1/2 cups half & half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13 by 9 baking dish. Cut six 1 inch thick slices from center portion of bread, reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts.  Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish on top of butter/sugar mixture, squeezing them slightly to fit.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half & half, vanilla, Grand Marnier & salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350 and bring the bread to room temp. Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot French toast immediately. Serves 6

Easy Dinners 101: Volume #1

Sitting down to a family dinner at least 5 nights a week is important to me.  I know that this will become increasingly difficult as the girls grow older, but for now, I place a high priority on this time with my family.  I like that we can all CONNECT for at least this half-hour every evening, and I also value the manners and skills my kids are learning at these family meals.  Everyone shares in the work:  One girl sets the table, one pours the drinks, both often help in the preparation, and the Hubs is a big help with the dishes (and also with the prep!).  After my new Bosch dishwasher arrives later this week, Alexis will get dish-washing lessons, as well!

If you're like me, however, the weeknight dinners roll around far to quickly (and frequently) and I often find I am unprepared to offer a tasty and/or reasonably healthy option to feed my family.  Lucky for me, I am fastidious (ok, ridiculous) about having a VERY well-stocked pantry, and am trying to plan my weekly (or twice a week) fresh food shopping trips a little more efficiently.   

This post will be the first of several where I can hopefully share some of my family friendly, easy-schmeasy recipes and/or meal plans.  Another fun part of this is that I am going to TAG  couple of my blog pals to share THEIR favorite recipes as well!

Baked Ravioli

• 1 family-sized package of fresh-prepared raviolis (in the refrigerated section of your market, near the crescent rolls and packaged cheeses).  Buy whatever your family likes.  You can use two of the smaller packages if you can't find the big ones.
• 1 jar pasta sauce (again, your preference)
• 2-3 cups home-made meat sauce (which I make in ginormous quantities, then freeze in 2-3 cup serving containers - I'll share my recipe in a later post) OR another jar of store-bought.
• 1 package pre-shredded skim mozzarella (skim melts a little "rubbery" for my kids' tastes, so I often skip this part and add more Reggiano)
• 1-2oz freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (yes, the really good, really expensive stuff. I always have a hunk of it in the fridge...a tiny bit of this good stuff makes a HUGE difference in flavor in almost every recipe!)
• dried Italian herbs (basil, oregano....or buy a pre-mixed jar of "pasta sprinkle" herbs...I love Penzey's)
• Optional:  If your family is adventurous, try chicken raviolis with jarred Alfredo sauce and a package of frozen (defrosted, drained) spinach mixed in!!

Pre-heat the oven to 350.  Dump all the raviolis (uncooked!) into a 9" x 13" Pyrex dish, then dump in sauces.  Stir to mix well...making sure all the raviolis are well coated.  Sprinkle with mozzarella, then grated Parmesan.  Sprinkle with dried herbs and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for appx 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes till cheese is browned and bubbly.  Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes (perfect timing to broil garlic bread!).  When you add garlic bread (recipe below) and a nice tossed salad, this will serve 6-8, or make a nice second (left-over) dinner for your family of four (like mine!).

Kim's Garlic Bread

• 1 loaf good artisan french bread or sourdough bread (I buy the two-packs at Costco, and freeze one for later use) sliced into 1" thick pieces.  Don't skimp here...the better the bread, the better your end result will be.
• 1/4 c melted butter (the salted variety)
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise (yes, don't freak out here....it is DELISH!  oh, and light mayo is totally ok)
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (yes, from the jar is great...but fresh is awesome too!)
• 1/4 c freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• a few shakes of dried Italian herbs

Arrange slices on a cookie sheet and smear evenly with the garlic mixture.  Put in oven (which is still at 350 from your ravioli) on the lowest shelf for 3-4 minutes.  Ratchet heat up to HIGH (Broil) and carefully watch your little beauties brown up.  If they are on the bottom rack, it should take a bit longer (allowing for the centers to also become golden brown, not just the edges) but you still need to watch them closely.

Garbage Salad

(I mix in whatever I have on hand...which is NOT always ALL this stuff.  If I do have ALL this stuff, I often serve it with bread as THE meal, not as a side!)

• 1 bag salad greens (we like Mesclun mix and/or baby spinach)
• 1 can hearts of palm, chopped
• 1 can artichoke hearts (not the kind that is marinated!), quartered
• 1 fresh avocado, cubed
• 1 bunch scallions, chopped OR a few slivers of finely sliced red onions
• a handful of shredded or 1/2" diced carrots
• 1 large tomato chopped or a handful of grape tomatoes
• 1 chopped hard boiled egg
• 1/2 can rinsed garbanzo or kidney beans
• a few ounces of shredded or crumbled cheese
• chopped up chicken breast (leftovers)
• raisins or Craisins
• sunflower seeds
• matchstick cut peppers (I like red, yellow and orange for their bright colors!)
• croutons

When we make this salad, it makes at LEAST two meals worth for our family, so we dress only individual servings at the table.  In order to get the kids to eat it, we only allow them to have croutons (which they LOVE) if they have salad and of course, there is ALWAYS a lake of light Ranch dressing on each of their plates for smothering the healthy stuff!

NEXT TIME:   Kim's Meat Sauce

Ok....so now that I've given the first dinner to you all, I am TAGGING these people to share their family friendly, easy-schmeasy recipes.  I'm selecting them because I KNOW they have the some major kitchen skills....this shouldn't be a strech for these gals: Teresa, Chris, Marilyn, Pam and Carol .