Went to Giant yesterday for the first BIG shopping trip in a few weeks. The kids all needed stuff for their lunches, and it seemed we were out of fresh produce of any kind. My DH mentioned he was craving steak, so I picked up some nice looking sirloin to marinate and cook London broil style. Half of the left over pork roast from Sunday night, went into homemade BBQ last night with coleslaw. We had gotten some really yummy sauce from the East Carolina BBQ company when we were down there in November. I love the vinegary flavor it adds to the shredded pork. Then just some good old fashioned KC masterpiece finishes the sandwich.

The rest of the pork leftovers will go into these great little tacos – here’s the recipe

Shredded pork roast (shoulder is best, but loin will do)
Thinly sliced radishes
Sliced avocado
Cilantro with stems
Plenty of salt and pepper
Corn tortillas cooked in a little oil until they’re mostly soft with a few crispy places.

Just roll the stuff up inside the tortilla – very different and very yummy. You can add sour cream if you like, but I find that the subtle blend of flavors is great without.

They had beautiful ground beef, so I made some chili for Wednesday night. And picked up some sirloin to marinate and grill Thursday. So, my weeknight meals are done! Happy happy!

I also picked up the January issue of Bon Appetit - lots of yummy ideas in there to try - I'm especially excited about the sweet and salty dessert ideas.

Looks like my oldest daughter and her best friend will be studying for midterms tonight. The friend is a vegetarian, so I'm re-thinking tonight's dinner. I had a wonderful pasta dish at CD Cafe with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and feta cheese. I actually have all that stuff on hand, so I'm going to give it a whirl. This recipe from Epicurious looks like a good start.

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 8-ounce package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, hearts cut in half
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives

12 ounces linguine
1 7-ounce package crumbled feta cheese (about 1 1/3 cups)
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, rosemary, and oregano. Sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add diced tomatoes with juices, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Season sauce to taste with pepper. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sauce; toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten if pasta is dry. Mix in 3/4 cup cheese and 1/2 cup basil. Transfer pasta to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and 1/4 cup basil.


We can have the chicken and sweet potatoes later in the week.

Back to life as we know it

It always seems that I never cook over the holidays. And yet, we always have plenty. How can this be? Maybe it's just that I'm so caught up in holiday business that I don't remember cooking - except for Christmas Eve, which is our big celebratory meal. There's always a ham, from which we usually get several meals, then bean soup.

So here we are. Inventory at the shop is over, and I can almost breathe again. What's for dinner this week? Hmmm. My wonderful husband picked up hamburger and buns at Giant today, so dinner was easy after a long day at the shop. He wants a meatloaf and a London Broil later this week. I'd like to use up the sweet potatoes in the pantry. And we have a 2-lb. bag of shrimp in the freezer. Pasta one night appeals too, but not with a tomato-based sauce. What though? Hmm. I'll have to take a look at Giada's site.

Here's the recipe line-up so far. This will get the last of the ham out of the fridge, keep me from having to cook up a big meal after the last of inventory, and stave off a big-deal grocery trip until maybe next week when more stuff is on sale!

Monday - grilled ham and cheese paninis

Tuesday - Pasta with sundried tomatoes, feta, and artichoke hearts

Wednesday - Shrimp with pesto linguini

Thursday - London Broil and sweet potatoes or baked potatoes

Friday - Pizza night!

Saturday -

Sunday - Meat loaf, baked potatoes, broccoli

Christmas Baking

The Post Food Section got me inspired today - that's the plan, of course - so we'll be baking and making candy for Christmas this Sunday. I love plain sugar cookies cut in all sorts of holiday shapes, and gingerbread men. The kids are going to want to decorate a gingerbread house, but I'm not sure that's on the agenda this year. Perhaps rolling and decorating the cookies will be enough.

My favorite sugar cookie recipe comes from Martha Stewart. I know, I know, she's cliched, and phony, and so 1990s, but you can't argue with this recipe. It's delicious, easy to work with, and it stays fresh and yumy for a week or more.

4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter (I always use regular butter)
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cream together sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs. [I add to vanilla here too] Slowly blend in flour mixture. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes or more. I like to form the dough into several smaller flat rectangles and chill separately. You can only work so much of the dough at a time, and it's better not to rework it several times.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes and transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes. While the cookies are chilling, preheat oven to 325. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until edges just begin to brown.

Cool on wire racks.

Buttermilk Pecan Chicken

Here's a recipe I got from my friend, Sandy, at the Gym. It's not flashy or new, but it's good and the kids like it all around. It's also handy because you make extras and freeze them uncooked. Then when you need a quick meal you can just pull them out, drizzle with a little melted butter or olive oil and bake.

1/3 c butter
1 c flour
1 cup pecans, ground up in food processor
1/4 c sesame seeds
1 T paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

Melt butter in 13x9 baking dish. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Combine egg and buttermilk. Dip chicken in egg then in flour mixture. Place in pan and turn to coat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Apples a plenty

We brought back apples from our trip to North Carolina last month. Here's the recipe we used to scallop them in the oven - delicious warm or cold.

12 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thick slices
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 T lemon juice

Melt butter. Add sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Put apples in a baking dish and pour butter mixture over. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until apples are tender.

Busy week ahead

This week coming up is so busy, I can't believe it. The two middle school kids have Christmas concerts - one Monday night, and one Tuesday night. I can't decide which is worse: a single 3.5-hour torturous concert where every group in every grade performs on the same night, or a week-long marathon of 2-hour concerts. Hmmm. I guess that depends on whether I have my knitting with me or not.

So, this week we'll have swordfish on Monday. It's not a big deal to prepare, and I'll cook some brown rice to go with, so there's something for anyone who hates fish. They can put leftover chili verde on the rice. Maybe some cooked carrots. I can do those ahead. Then off to concert number one


Tuesday - Rogan Josh. I love this Indian dish. It's traditionally made with lamb, but equally good with beef, and I have two smallish roasts in the freezer that ought to be used. Tuesday will be tough because the shop's open late, and there's concert number two. Serve with Basmati rice - love that stuff, and plain yogurt. Maybe some fruit too. I'd love to try this recipe for Naan if there's enough time.

Wednesday - Busy busy day. Special shopping night at the shop, plus I have to work from 2-5. Something fun - made ahead? Hmmm. I have Schwan's frozen breaded chicken in the freezer. I'll do a homemade Wendy's chicken sandwich. I'll sneak in some lettuce and tomato. Maybe some coleslaw too. My favorite is Marzetti's bottled coleslaw dressing and the packaged coleslaw shreds. So much better than the deli variety, and it doesn't get any easier than that.

Thursday - I'm going to try to make this soup that's a winter version of a salsa I make in the summer. Black beans, corn, mexican tomatoes, cilantro, and lime. I'll cook some chicken breast and cut it up in there too. Top with a little sour cream and serve it with chips or flour tortillas. Gonna have to make it ahead too. It would probably go nicely in the crock pot. Then off to dance class.

Friday - birthday party for daughter. Requested paninis. Panini sandwiches for 15. Anyone know a good way to keep the first ones crisp while I cook the rest?? And instead of cake, she's requested a triple chocolate semifreddo. At least I can make it ahead...

Giant has boneless chicken breast and butter on sale this week, so I'll stock up on those. I already have the chocolate for the semifreddo, but I'll need the turkey and ham for the paninis . Last week IQF swordfish and tuna and jumbo shrimp were on sale. I just love Giant.