Free Organization Tools

Have you checked out organizedhome.com yet? Staying organized is one of the ways that you can save money. That's why I plan our meals each week and do my best to stick with what's on the plan. Organized home has a ton of free printable lists, from shopping to freezer inventory and menu planning. These are a great way to help keep your home organized...now if only there was a printable house cleaner!

Deluxe Chicken Caesar Salad

We adore Caesar salad at our house. We serve a Caesar almost every time we have friends or family over for dinner. What makes our Caesar so good? It's homemade and absolutely delicious. We use this beautiful seasoned wood salad bowl, shown below, in which we mix up the dressing. It's really easy and once you do it, you'll never want to eat another store bought dressing again.

The best part about a Caesar is that it's excellent on its own but then you can also add meat or another veggie to it and make it a one-stop meal. I added French's onion chicken to this one but we also like grilled chicken, salmon or steak. The versatile salad!

Dressing:

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg* or you can substitute 2 tbls mayonnaise
2/3 to 3/4 cup good olive oil
1 medium lemon
1/2 cup parmesan cheese plus 1/4 cup for garnish
1 tsp dijon mustard

Using a garlic press, press the garlic into a large bowl. We then press the garlic further by using the back of a spoon until garlic "oil" coats the sides. Sprinkle in salt and then crack egg into bowl. Whisk the egg and then slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Squeeze lemon juice into mixture and continue to whisk, adding olive oil 1/4 cup at a time until dressing is thick. Whisk in mustard, then cheese. Add 1-2 heads of chopped, washed romaine lettuce to the bowl and toss thoroughly to combine. Add croutons and your choice of topping for a healthy, lite dinner.

Gayle's Grocery Cart Challenge is always chock full o' recipes and meal planning ideas. She generously hosts the recipe swap each Friday so go check it out and see what other creative cooks are dishing up this week!

*Those with salmonella concerns or other health concerns should not consume products made with raw egg

Puree and Freeze 101

It takes some planning and some freezer space but over the past year, I have become a great believer in not letting any of the wonderful organic produce that we get from a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm go to waste. Here is a step-by-easy-step method to steam, puree and freeze those veggies for future use as baby food or just added nutrition to everyday meals.

We got a load of garnet yams over the last 2 deliveries. I've experimented with different yam dishes outside the holiday realm and haven't found anything that the family is wild about. So I just steam and then puree them to use later.

First, cut each yam in half. No peeling necessary!

Place halves in steamer and cook for approximately 35 minutes:

I should have taken a picture of how easy it is to scoop the yams out of the skins. I love it when I don't have to peel something. Scoop it all in to a food processor and blend until smooth:

Then load the puree into ice cube trays. I got these at the Dollar Store and they come with a cover! I only use these trays for food freezing:

Freeze for 1-2 hours or overnight. Remove from freezer and let sit for about 5 minutes. Loosen the cubes and place in to zippered freezer bags for long term storage:

I did a bunch of spinach after the yams and just started feeding my 6-month old the spinach - she is loving it. I am loving not spending money on expensive organic baby food and knowing exactly what my kids are eating. I also love adding a few cubes to spaghetti sauce, mac n cheese or any other casserole. It saves time and adds valuable nutrition to your meals. Here's to a healthy 2009!

Thanksgiving Bakes

Have a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers? We did and every year I try to come up with something new to do with them all! I'm not sure why, but this year I had a lot of the green bean casserole left and that was even after I sent all guests home with some. These little dishes are a little bit of everything from your Turkey feast. I thought it would be cute to put them in these little ramekins but you can make it on a bigger scale in a casserole dish.

I sprayed the ramekins with a touch of Pam just to prevent sticking. Then add chopped turkey:

Then add some green bean casserole. It's already got mushroom soup mix and milk that will blend nicely with the turkey:



Then I topped them off with mashed potatoes and a really delicious artichoke stuffing that my Dad made from a Sunset magazine recipe:


Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes. I added some cheese to the tops - it was fabulous. The stuffing got nice and crunchy on top. This is a delicious way to use up some leftovers!

JD Pecan Pie

*Photo by Josh Weisberg

Have you ever noticed that people have their "things" for the holidays? "Things" are something that a person absolutely has to have on that particular holiday to make it feel like that holiday. My brother-in-law John is originally from Alabama and his "thing" for Thanksgiving is Pecan Pie. So I learned how to make a killer Pecan Pie for him! It's so easy and the ingredients are usually on hand but I have to admit, I really only make it once a year. Although this year, I'm hoping to make it more often because it's just so good.

3 large eggs

1 cup corn syrup

2 tbls butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup Jack Daniels whiskey

1 1/4 cups pecan halves



1 pie crust - I make a couple of whole wheat at a time and keep in the freezer but you can use the premade ones



Beat the eggs slightly then stir in corn syrup, sugar, butter, vanilla and JD. Pour in to pie crust and arrange pecans on top. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes until pie is set - it shouldn't jiggle when you touch the pan.



I have also used chopped pecans, not as picturesque a pie but tastes just as good. This year I got really creative - used extra pie crust and a mini leaf cookie cutter to decorate the pie edge.

**Thanks to Josh Weisberg for the awesome photo - that is the actual pie we had on Turkey Day!

My Chipotle Grill Carnitas Burrito Bol

The Chipotle Mexican Grill near my work is one of my favorite lunchtime hotspots. It's super delicious and depending on what you get, fairly healthy fare. Unfortunately, the one close to me has no parking! It's cutthroat-mall-parking-lot-at-Christmastime-vicious competition for any spot, let alone one close to the door. I have seen arguments over parking spots in the small lot that also serves the also popular Jamba Juice. Rather than risk my sanity on a daily basis if the lot is too crowded, I just find somewhere else for lunch. This lack of parking and an extreme craving for my favorite Chipotle combo led me to this creation:

2-3 lbs pork tenderloin
1 small onion, sliced
1/2 cup tequila
1/4 cup chicken stock
2-3 limes, juiced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt/Pepper to taste

Pat the tenderloin dry and season with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Place in the crockpot with the onion and pour in the tequila and lime juice. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. If I am leaving it for more than 6 hours I will add an additional 1/4 cup of water or chicken stock to make sure the pork does not dry out. If you don't want to use the tequila* you could also use all chicken stock. I use forks to pull the meat apart and then let it sit in the juice while I prepare the rest of the dish.

*Don't be concerned about this tasting like alcohol - the alcohol cooks off throughout the day and you get a sweet-spicy meat.

2 cups cooked white or brown rice
2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups grated cheddar/jack cheese
Corn Salsa
Sour Cream

The corn salsa is really simple to make: I combine one regular size can of corn, one regular size can of black beans, 1/2 a small chopped red onion, 1 small chopped jalepeno pepper. Stir it all up, pour the juice from a lime over it and let sit for 15 minutes.

To assemble the "bol:" Take 2 scoops of rice and top with pork, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream and top with shredded romaine lettuce. If you are watching your carbs, skip the rice and put the lettuce down first instead.

Ole!

As always, thanks go out to Gayle from The Grocery Cart Challenge who hosts an awesome recipe swap every week. I always enjoy seeing what others are cooking - a great inspiration for trying new meals!

Cucina! Cucina! Lentil Soup

I was never a big fan of lentils until I tried this soup at a Cucina! Cucina! restaurant. Sadly, the Cucina chain is defunct but since I love replicating my restaurant favorites, I knew I had to figure this one out. This is an awesome cold weather crockpot recipe that I prep ahead and just pour into the crockpot in the morning before I take off for work. I have used either chicken or italian pork sausage, both come out delicious. If I have it, I will also add chopped spinach for extra nutrients. For this soup, chopping finely is key - no one even realizes how many great veggies they are getting in this soup. I have also added a creamy option, which was how the original was served.

1 cup carrots, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
11/2 cups chopped spinach
11/2 cups dried lentils
1 lb sausage, chicken or italian pork
32oz chicken stock
1tsp dijon mustard
Red wine vinegar

Optional: Fresh Basil, parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half

Brown the sausage in a skillet, breaking into small pieces. Toss all vegetables into crockpot, add browned sausage, stock, mustard and 2-3 splashes of vinegar, salt and pepper (all to taste). Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Creamy version: After cooking on low for 8-10 hours, add 1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half and turn heat to high for 30 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkling of chopped fresh basil and parmesan cheese.

Mangi!

Grazie to The Grocery Cart Challenge for hosting a terrific recipe swap every Friday!

My Version: PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I really like going to PF Chang's - usually for lunch. My colleague and I often will just order a meal of appetizers and one of our favorites is the Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I tried making them at home and they were immediately my husband's new favorite meal. They are easy to make ahead and easy to prepare.



I don't think Chang's has vegetables in theirs but I add them for nutrition value and since I grate them pretty finely, I don't think my husband even realizes that there are carrots in there.



***Warning - raw meat discussion ahead for those averse to such talk. I use chicken breasts for this recipe but plan on experimenting with buying less expensive thighs and just taking the meat off the bone. Not sure if this is more hassle than it's worth but willing to give it a try since it all just gets ground up in the food processor anyway.



Note about sauce-y-ness: This sauce can be thickened with corn starch if you like a thicker sauce. We like topping variety with this dish, often using Thai chili sauce (Srichi) and Mae ploy sweet chili sauce for the wraps so I tend to keep the main sauce level low. If you or your kids don't like so spicy, you can do more of the simple soy sauce. You can also do the sauce that they do at PF Chang's: soy sauce with spicy chinese mustard and chili paste.



Make ahead tip: If prepping veggies for another meal, I will cut additional carrots/celery/onion and put them in the fridge to make this meal. If I drag out my old school (seriously, it's circa 1980) food processor for whatever, I will prep the chicken/chestnuts, add the soy sauce and let it marinade overnight.



2 chicken breasts

1 small onion, finely diced

1cup carrots, shredded or grated

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1can water chestnuts

1 1/2 tbls wok or other vegetable oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tbls red pepper, or less if you like less spicy

1 head iceberg lettuce

1 cup chow mein noodles



Cut chicken breasts into medium pieces, place in food processor and process until meat is coarsely ground. Add can of water chestnuts and process until combined and chestnuts are ground. Heat oil in a wok or large sauce pan over med-high heat. Add chicken mixture and saute until meat is no longer pink, breaking up any large chunks. Put chicken into a heat proof bowl and set aside. Add remaining 1/2 tbls of oil to wok/pan with onion, carrot and celery. Cook until just soft, then add chicken back to the wok/pan. Pour soy sauce over mixture and simmer 5 minutes.



While chicken is simmering. Separate individual lettuce leaves and wash over a colander or put in a salad spinner. Place individual leaves on a platter and put chicken mixture into a bowl. Assemble wraps by putting chicken mixture on to lettuce and top with sauce and chow mein noodles. De-lish!

Grocery Cart Challenge hosts a great recipe swap every week - thanks for the wonderful ideas!

Cooking Ahead Pays Off

I always try to make more than just one batch of certain things - lasagna is one of our family's favorite "Make-Aheads." It's really easy to make a really large batch of tomato sauce (with and sometimes without meat), cook a full box of lasagna noodles and super simple to assemble. A recipe note: I don't use the "no-cook" lasagna noodles because we prefer the texture of the cooked ones. It may be that my recipe is not super sauce soaked, which may be the difference. I have also used spinach in place of the zuchinni - both make this a pretty healthy dish. I originally planned to give one of these away so I used foil lasagna pans from the Dollar Store. You actually get 2 for $1. I price compared these at Target and it was .97 each so a good deal for these pans at the Dollar Store. If making just for us, I use a Pyrex dish and a cake pan. I usually try to stretch this recipe to make 3 pans.

I let them cool and then just put them in the freezer until we need one. Since the ingredients are fully cooked, it's really easy to just pop in the oven and cook quickly. On weekends like this one, where we decided last-minute to go to a potluck Halloween event, it really comes in handy! Here's my recipe:

1 box Lasagna noodles (you'll need 6 noodles for each pan so you may want to count)
1 28oz. can of tomato sauce
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 6oz. can of tomato paste

1lb ground turkey or beef

1 tbs minced garlic

1 small onion

Basil, oregano to taste

1tbs olive oil

1 27oz. container of ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 large zuchinni, grated or shredded
6 cups mozzarella cheese

Boil a large pot of water and add lasagna noodles, cook according to directions and then drain. While noodles are cooking, brown beef/turkey in skillet. Add garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes. Then add tomatoes, paste, sauce and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes. In another saute pan, add olive oil and shredded zuchinni, saute until just cooked.
Empty container of ricotta into a bowl and stir in egg. Add zuchinni and stir together.

To assemble: Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of the pan just so the bottom noodles don't stick to the pan. Lay 3 noodles down. With a spatula, spread a layer of the ricotta-zuke mixture on the noodles and then add another layer of 3 noodles. Cover the top layer with the tomato sauce and then spread two cups of the cheese on top. It really is that easy!

Cook at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly on top.

Sweet-Tart Pluot Crepes

My son Michael wanted pancakes this morning but I realized that we took our griddle on the boat this summer and did not bring it back. So I decided to make crepes instead. I like an egg-y crepe rather than a flour-y crepe so this recipe has a lot less flour than a lot of recipes that I have seen. The pluots were from our CSA box, Full Circle Farm in Carnation, WA. If you don't know, and I didn't until I started writing this and "blingo'd" it, a pluot is a cross between a plum and an apricot. I have been eating these almost all summer and did not know that. These pluots had a LOT of watery liquid with what seemed like very little juice but don't worry, it all cooks off and combined with the brown sugar, it makes a wonderful thick syrup. They are deliciously tart and combined with the sweetness of the crepes, make a savory breakfast for a Saturday morning.

Elizabeth's Crepes

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

Combine and whisk the dry ingredients. Mix in the eggs and slowly drizzle in the milk, whisking it all together. Batter will be very runny.

I use a non-stick small skillet and non-stick spray, heat on medium. Add about 1/4 cup of batter and swirl around the pan until batter coats pan evenly. Crepes cook very quickly, so using a small spatula, turn after about 20 seconds. If there's still runny batter in the middle of the crepe after 20 secs then you may need to turn your heat up a bit. Transfer crepes to a small plate.

Pluot Filling

3 small Pluots, cut into small slices

1 tsp butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

Place Pluots and butter in a small saucepan and heat on medium until simmering. Add brown sugar and simmer until sauce is thickened. Serve sauce on the side and let everyone assemble their own.

I also like to have small lemon slices for drizzling and powdered sugar for the crepes. Of course, my son thinks they are just a thin pancake so he likes regular maple syrup on his

How do you like your crepes?!!

The Bounty Slows but Continues Nonetheless

The garden has slowed production somewhat - we are pretty well done with green beans. The last batch were fat and not very flavorful. I checked them again just to be sure but there was nothing but a few stragglers, not worth picking even.

The carrot department has ramped up its area, however and these were good pullin! They are so sweet when compared to even organic store-bought carrots.

Talk about planning ahead - I started making mental lists last night of what to plant next year. Definitely zuchinni, definitely green beans. Corn may be interesting, although it seems to take up a lot of space. Spinach may be a better lettuce variety.

Definitely not regular tomatos. Sources tell me that it just doesn't get hot enough in the Seattle area to grow decent tomatos. My neighbor (who has fabulous fruit trees) suggested cherry tomatos and I remembered that I wanted to do those this year but could not find the plants at the nursery.

What I planted that didn't grow well - sweet peppers, cucumbers, lettuce. Peas grew but as I mentioned in a previous post, they didn't last long and didn't yield a whole lot. Overall, it has been a really fun project and I highly recommend it for everyone who is trying to eat more local foods - this is the ultimate in DIY!

Lavender-licious

Lemon Lavender Scones were the baking adventure upon which I embarked recently. We planted (ok, my mom did it - she plants, I reap) several different varieties of lavender last year and this year, including a couple that were labeled "culinary." I did not, however, keep track of which ones were which so I just guessed for this recipe.

I like to use a 1/2 and 1/2 combination of unbleached white flour and whole wheat pastry flour. I have a special place in my stomach for Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, it is a finer grained species of wheat flour. If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it - much healthier for your family.

My original was not lavender-y or lemony enough so I modified the recipe so that more of the lemon and lavender flavor comes out. I glazed the scones with a lemon-powdered sugar glaze.

A word about flour prices: At my local Fred Meyer, prices for Bob's are actually comparable to the regular flour in the bakery section. This includes the bulk section where you can also find whole wheat, albeit not the "pastry" kind that Bob does.

Lemon Lavender Scones

1 cup flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 stick of butter (cut in small cubes)

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon dried lavender

Preheat oven to 425. Place dry ingredients and butter in food processor and pulse until pea-sized lumps form. Whisk egg and milk together and stream into dry ingredients until sticky dough forms. Turn dough out onto generously floured surface and knead approximately 12 times. Shape dough into a disk about 1/2 inch thick and cut into wedges. Place wedges on baking sheet (greased if you like) and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. Cool on rack

Glaze:

Mix 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice and stripe glaze on scones.

These are a great breakfast treat or perfect for an afternoon of tea with the ladies! Enjoy!

Summer Harvest

Over the winter, after an awesome conversation with one of our cabin partners and inspired by Michael Pollan's writings, I solidified my plans to plant a garden. This is only the second time I've attempted vegetable gardening. I figured that since I would be on maternity leave for the WHOLE summer, I would have plenty of time to tend to this venture. Reality check was that I didn't even really have to "tend" it at all - it tended itself. Ok, my mom and Michael [DS] planted it when I was too huge to do it and she watered it most days but after that, the weeds have been minimal and easily pulled at the first sign. There wasn't much to do except let the harvest roll in.

Since we did not use any fertilizers or anything on this garden, I consider it organic.

We've had more zuchinni and green beans than we can count. Not so successful were the peas, which, according to my parents, peaked quickly and while we were on vacation. Romaine lettuce never grew quite as large as expected and did not yield but one good head, which we mixed with some store-bought for a fantastic Caesar salad.

Where are the savings you ask? Well, I looked at my local Safeway store and they sell organic Italian squash for .61 per squash. They don't list organic green beans except the frozen variety, which sell for $3.50 per pound.

Technically, if you add up the materials used to get the garden started, including the seeds and building the raised beds (thanks to my trusty and oh-so handyman husband), I'm probably not saving a lot this year. And I didn't add up my total yields for each vegetable. But let me tell you how absolutely THRILLED Michael has been to go out to our garden to watch the progression of the veggies as they have grown and now that we actually have something to show for it - as the cliche ad goes, "Priceless."