At least the kids ate their veggies!

You might remember this WFMW post from several weeks ago in which I requested help in sneaking veggies into my kids' diets... I received many recommendations for Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook entitled Deceptively Delicious, which I did purchase. After perusing the cookbook, I decided that cauliflower might be an easy veggie to slip in under the radar.

So last night I undertook what will forever be known as The Great Cauliflower Caper of 2008. Planning on making mashed potatoes for dinner, I snuck one whole head of cauliflower into the batch of potatoes. I quickly steamed the cauliflower in the microwave while the potatoes were boiling, then pureed it in the blender with the butter and milk that were already going into the potatoes. After draining the potatoes, I added the puree and mashed it all together.

The result?

In a word- delicious! You honestly could not even taste the cauliflower and my kids were thrilled that I had made one of their all-time favorite foods for dinner. Even more thrilling was that I was encouraging seconds!

I was equally thrilled with the success of my experiment. Until J started vomiting that is. Unfortunately, I forgot that my husband DOES NOT tolerate cauliflower well and as a result, he spent the next 1/2 hour in the bathroom expelling said mashed potatoes.

I guess we won't be doing that again after all!

Chicken Chili Casserole

This week's Works For Me Wednesday is "5 ingredients or less". That said- here is one of our favorite quick, easy, and yummy casseroles... The proportions are guidelines- not hard and fast rules. Like it saucier- use more white sauce. Increase the chicken or cheese if you like it better that way. Trust me- you CAN'T mess this one up!

Chicken Chili Casserole
1 package Corn tortillas
2 cups white sauce
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (Use pepper jack for more oomph!)
2 small cans mild, diced chilies (Rotel would work well too!)

Layer tortillas, white sauce, chicken, chilies,and cheese. Repeat until you use all the ingredients up, ending with cheese as the top layer. Bake at 350 until bubbly and hot (around 1/2 hour). Enjoy!

Now head over to Shannon's for more yummy 5-ingredients-or-less recipes!

WFMW- Fried Rice

Several years ago, my husband's work was having a potluck. So being a dutiful employee, he signed up to bring a main dish... Then he came home and filled me in, because- since J doesn't really cook, guess who was going to make the actual dish?

Yep- that would be me.

It really wasn't a big deal, though- after all I can throw together a pretty good casserole on any given day. And I make a mean gumbo... Then I found out that he had specifically signed up to bring homemade fried rice. That was when I flipped.

Fried rice?!!

J honestly didn't understand why I was so upset- after all my family loves my fried rice... That was when I calmly pointed out to J that many of his co-workers are Asian. And while I do make a decent fried rice, for a white girl, I was not comfortable serving it to his co-workers. It would be like making a batch of spaghetti and serving it to a family in Rome. I guarantee that their worst effort would beat my best effort any day.

So I did what any self respecting wife would do.

I went to our favorite Chinese restaurant and bought 4 family sized orders of shrimp fried rice. Then I transferred it all into my biggest casserole dish and delivered it to my husband's office.

They loved it.

So much so that for the next year's potluck- J's secretary took the initiative to sign me up to make fried rice again. Remembering that the restaurant had since gone out of business, J redeemed himself and saved the day by insisting that I really wanted to make a dessert this time.

So there you go- my deep, dark secret is out. Buying restaurant food and passing it off as my own worked for me once. But in case you prefer to make it yourself, here is my fried rice recipe...



Fried Rice (serves 6 adults as a main dish)

3 cups short grain rice uncooked
6 eggs
1 ham steak
1 bag frozen vegetables (peas and carrots work well as do the 'Asian blends')
garlic
soy sauce
salt and pepper

Cook and cool rice (I usually do this earlier in the day).

Cube ham and brown in large frying pan. Remove with a slotted spoon. Beat eggs and cook omelet style in same pan. Remove from pan. Throw frozen veggies in pan with 2-3 heads crushed garlic. Heat veggies through and remove from pan. Add a little oil to bottom of pan and add cooled rice. Stir constantly and heat through. Return ham, eggs, and veggies to pan. Add soy sauce to taste while mixing all ingredients (and breaking up cooked egg) in hot pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Obviously the ingredient proportions are variable- add more egg if you like, skip the meat if you want vegetarian, etc...

So there you have it, fried rice (restaurant prepared or homemade!) works for me. Now head on over to Shannon's for more WFMW tricks and tips...

Works for me Wednesday- The Cookie Scoop

We're leaving at 8 am tomorrow morning for an impromptu trip to Southern California. So I should be packing right now. Instead I am baking cookies, because I am a big fan of denial... That's right my friend, it's not just a river in Egypt anymore...

Honestly, it's unusual that I bake at all, but when I do- I usually make cookies. And when I make cookies this tool is my best friend-



It's the medium sized Pampered Chef scoop. It makes a nice size cookie- but the best part is this there is no fighting over who gets which cookie because they are all exactly the same size! Brilliant!

The cookie scoop works for me. Now head on over to Shannon's for more Works For Me Wednesday tricks and tips! And as a bonus here is the recipe for the cookies that I am making today, compliments of cooks.com...

Favorite Molasses Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
extra sugar for coating cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, shortening, and sugar. Beat in molasses and eggs. In separate bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in sugar. Bake for 13 minutes. Removed baked cookies from oven and cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

WFMW- My Favorite Punch Recipe

It seems that whenever there is a bridal or baby shower at our church- I am asked to make the punch... Know why? Because I make killer punch... Seriously- I have a no-fail-you-can't-mess-it-up-super-easy recipe. And in honor of today's Works For Me Wednesday, I'm going to share it with you...

For each batch of punch you'll need-
2 two liter bottles of lemon lime soda (generic brand is fine)
1/4- 1/2 gallon of sherbet (use more or less according to your taste)
ice

That's it! Just pour the soda in your punch bowl, add some ice, and scoop the sherbet into it. The sherbet will melt and color your punch, plus it gets a little foamy. It's pretty and yummy too! (I have actually had people ask if they could take leftover punch home after an event).

The other great thing about this recipe is that you can use whatever flavor sherbet you like- except rainbow sherbet (it turns a very unappetizing brown...). If you are having a baby shower for a baby girl, use raspberry sherbet for a pretty, pink punch. For a boy I use lemon-lime. You could also go with pineapple for yellow. I have also matched with the brides colors for a bridal shower... Anyway- you get the picture.

So that's what works for me! Head on over to Don't Try This at Home where Melanie is guest hosting while Shannon blogs from Uganda for more Works For Me Wednesday tips and tricks...

Got Garlic?

I have a hangover....

A garlic hangover, that is. Since I gave J Jersey Boys tickets for his birthday, last night we went to the city for a special evening out. We planned to start out our evening in North Beach where we had reservations for dinner at The Stinking Rose. This was our first visit to this particular restaurant. I had heard about it from my good friend Llama Momma and had seen it profiled on The Travel Channel as well.

Never knowing how bad traffic in the city is going to be, we left early. It turned out that traffic was non-existent and we arrived in the North Beach neighborhood at least an hour before our dinner reservation. After briefly exploring the neighborhood, we decided to get some coffee while we waited. We stopped in at this cool little espresso place and ordered an americano (for J) and a latte (for me). While sitting at our table near the window we noticed a number of people stopping to take their photo in front of the establishment. Curious, I googled Caffe Trieste when we got home and discovered that it was the first place to serve espressso on the West Coast. In addition it had been used in the filming of several movies and TV shows. It was also where Frances Ford Coppola wrote much of this obscure little screenplay. Anyway- after enjoying our coffee in ignorance, we walked over to the restaurant for dinner.

After being seated at a cozy table for two, we ordered the bagna calda appetizer- whole garlic cloves roasted in olive oil and butter with anchovies. As yummy as that was, it was all over for me when I discovered the garlic rose relish. Our meal then progressed to prime rib (for J) and the chicken asparagus pasta (for me). We finished our evening off with the garlic ice cream sundae and more coffee. Yes you read correctly- garlic infused ice cream. And it was yummy!

After dinner we drove to the Curran Theater to see the show. This was the second time I've seen Jersey Boys, but a first for J. I have to say, I think I liked it better this time around... The one bad thing was that I kept burping garlic up (hmmmm.... I wonder why that was!), I pretty much spent the entire evening sucking on altoids non-stop, in order to avoid offending those around us. I hope I suceeded...

We arrived back home around midnight. After waking Teenage Son to let him know that we had returned safely (Yay- no babysitter to pay!) and taking a couple of tums to prevent a middle-of-the-night-heartburn attack. We hit the sack and I awoke this morning with... the worst morning breath ever! Oh well, I guess that's the price you have to pay...

And you know what? It was totally worth it!

The easiest, most bizarre, yummiest treats ever!

Yesterday I happened to be home for an hour in the afternoon, so I turned on the Martha Stewart Show. Martha had a guest on who was showing how to make these...

Mint chocolate covered Ritz crackers...

Martha was raving about how good they were and how much her staff loved them. Thinking that they had to be either fabulous or bizarre (maybe both?), I made a quick run to Michaels before picking up Teenage Daughter from school.

So last night, Young Son made a batch to give to his teachers for Christmas gifts. Teenage Daughter made a batch as well to give to her friends. We bagged them in cute cellophane treat bags. They were super easy, and are sooooo good! The combination of salty crackers with the minty chocolate is a great combination!

Here are the ingredients... (Martha says that one 14 oz bag of chocolate will cover 2 sleeves of crackers)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler (I used a glass pyrex bowl over a pot of simmering water). Drop the crackers in coat on both sides (Young Son used a fork to lift the crackers out of the chocolate).

Put the crackers on wax paper (Young Son used my silpat) to dry. See how some of the crackers look "messier" than the others? No problem- when they dry you can just break off the excess chocolate on the edges.

I kid you not- these are so good and easy enough for kids to make... Let me know of you try it! If you want to read Martha's official recipe, you can check it out here.

WFMW- Chicken and Rice Bake

Shannon's challenge for this week's WFMW is to post your favorite quick-fix recipe for a meal on those nights when you've been running ragged all day. For this challenge take out is not an option! Teenage Son's favorite dinner is straight from the back of a Campbell's cream of mushroom soup can. It also happens to be one quick-fix meal that I usually have all the ingredients on hand for...

One Dish Chicken and Rice Bake

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup water

3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

MIX soup, water, rice, paprika and black pepper in 2-qt. shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season with additional paprika and pepper. Cover.
BAKE at 375°F. 45 min. or until done.

Other quick fix dinners at our house include quesadillas (if we've had steak or chicken recently, I'll shred leftovers and put them in with the cheese), spaghetti or another quick pasta, or even pancakes.

Well, that's what works for me. Check Rocks in My Dryer for more quick meal ideas.

WFMW- Orange Biscuit Ring

I used to bake cinnamon rolls from scratch for holiday breakfasts. Three kids later, I switched to the refrigerated, pull apart kind. Last year we had Costco muffins. I really did want to make a special holiday breakfast, but just ran out of energy.

This year, I had the urge to bake on Thanksgiving morning. I had run across this recipe on the Better Homes and Gardens website last week while scoping out recipes for our turkey dinner, so I decided to try it for a holiday breakfast treat... Not only was it super easy to make, but it was really yummy! It works for me and I'll definitely make it again on Christmas morning! Check out Shannon's site for more WFMW posts...

Orange Biscuit Ring

(Note- the photo is from the Better Homes and Gardens website)

Ingredients
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon finely shredded orange peel
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 12-ounce packages refrigerated biscuits (20 biscuits)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a bundt pan
2. Combine sugar and orange peel. In another small bowl, combine orange juice and melted butter.
3. Separate biscuits. Dip each biscuit into the orange juice mixture, then roll in the sugar mixture to coat. Place biscuits on edge in the prepared pan. Pour any remaining orange juice mixture over biscuits.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 1 minute. Invert pan onto a serving platter with slightly raised sides; remove pan. Cool for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 10

Pumpkin Surprise

This is one of my kid's favorite desserts. I usually start making it in the fall, but they love it year round. We call it pumpkin surprise- it's an easy twist on the pumpkin pie theme... And since there's no baking required, it's right up my alley!

Pumpkin Surprise

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix (6 oz)

2 cups milk

15 oz canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

whipped cream or cool whip for topping

Combine pudding mix, canned pumpkin, pie spice, and milk. Follow directions on package to mix.

Spoon pudding mixture into dessert dishes. Serve immediately or chill. (Top with whipped cream before serving.) Makes 8 servings.

Enjoy!

Check here for more WFMW posts...

Variations- Reduce pumpkin to 1/2 can for a milder flavor. Crush graham crackers and sprinkle on top for added texture.

Thankful Cookies...

I believe I've already explained my lack of baking from scratch here, but all this month Young Son's class is running Mr Beans Cafe (basically a mini bake sale with a couple different treats and coffee for staff and parents to purchase during recess). The kids run the cafe each day with the proceeds going towards their week-long Gold Country trip next spring.

Tomorrow is our turn to send in a treat to sell. Needless to say refrigerated cookie dough is not going to cut it. I've been pondering making oatmeal cookies with J's special oatmeal that I order online for him. Here's what I came up with... They turned out pretty good!

Thankful Cookies

Named in honor of next week's holiday-

you can call them whatever you like...

3/4 cup butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 & 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup canned pumpkin

10 oz package peanut butter baking chips

2 cups Coach's Oats (regular rolled oats would also work)

Using an electric mixer- cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix in baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, and pie spice. Mix in oatmeal and chips.

Drop cookies onto baking sheet and flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes for med size cookies

(I use the med pampered chef scoop). Cool on wire rack.

Sneaky Chili

Since it's starting to feel a little like fall, I was in the mood to make chili last night. While shopping for ingredients at Safeway, I pondered adding a can of pinto beans to the mix. It seemed like a good idea (extra fiber!), but at least two of my kids would have picked out the beans- or refused to eat it all together.While pondering this dilemma, I came up with the perfect solution.

Hide the beans!

It's true, they all ate their chili happily, not knowing that I had hid a can of pinto beans... In case you're feeling a little "sneaky" tonight- here is the recipe...

Sneaky Chili

2 pounds ground beef (I used 93% lean)

Carroll Shelby's Chili Mix (or your preferred seasoning)

8oz tomato sauce

1-2 cans pinto beans

shredded cheese, sour cream, and diced onions for topping if desired

Brown ground beef and remove from pot to drain (I usually just dump it all into a metal colander in the sink). While meat is draining, drain beans and put them in the pot. Use a potato masher to smash beans into a rough mash. Add meat back into pot. Add tomato sauce and 2 cans water. Add seasoning packet and salt to taste. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

Pumpkin Cookies

I read this article in the food and wine section of our local paper today. Suddenly I was in the mood to make cookies. That may not seem like such a big deal to you, but trust me- in my house it's a rarity. To put it mildly- I am not a baker. It's not that I can't bake, and there was a time (before I had three kids) when I even enjoyed baking. But now it's gotten to the point where my kids think these qualify as baking from scratch.

It's a sad state of affairs indeed.

So when I started baking today, my kids were understandably confused. The following exchange occurred while Teenage Daughter was tasting one of the finished pumpkin cookies-

T.D. "So who are these for?"

Me "Who do you think they're for?"

T.D. "Missionaries"

That shows you how often I actually bake for my own family! Anyway, they turned out pretty good. I tinkered with a recipe I found on QuakerOats.com adding whole wheat flour and replacing 1/2 the butter with applesauce. Here's what I ended up with...

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/3 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter
1/2 cup thickened apple sauce (see below)
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup raisins

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add applesauce, egg, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add dry ingredients. Mix well.
5. Add raisins and walnuts

Drop batter onto greased cookie sheet (for easier dropping, and consistent cookie size I used this scoop). Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for approximately 16 minutes (14 if you make smaller cookies). Cool on pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Thickened apple sauce- put a fine sieve over a bowl (or line a colander with cheesecloth). Put 12 oz applesauce in and allow to drain for 1/2 hour. Yield 1/2 cup.

Quick comfort food...

I was feeling under the weather today... Headache, fatigue, nausea. The only thing that really sounded good to me all day was soup. So J made a run the to store to pick up the ingredients for dinner.

I know it's blazing hot across most of the USA, and soup is probably not high on your list of likely dinners. So make it now- or file it away and save it for the future...

Quick Sausage Soup-
1 Polsa Kielbasa (reduced fat works just fine)
1 yellow onion
Olive oil
2 cans black beans
1 large (49 oz can) stock (I like chicken or beef, use the one you like best)
Salt to taste
1 lemon

Chop the onion and saute in a little olive oil in a soup pot. When the onions are translucent. Cut the kielbasa into bite size pieces and add to the pot. Cook until sausage is heated through. Add stock. Drain and add black beans. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Just before serving squeeze lemon into soup (the lemon juice balances the richness from the sausage).

That's it! We usually have a big loaf of crusty french bread with it as well...

As a variation you could easily make this into potato and sausage soup. Go ahead and make the soup above (leave out the black beans if you like) and add some instant pototo flakes (I like Yukon brand). Add as much potato as you need, until you get the thickness you like. Skip the lemon. Even better, throw in some finely shredded cheese or Velveeta too for cheesy potato soup. Yum!