Comfort Food

Pizza Party Bread

November 16, 2012 by Rebecca 14 Comments

I know all good food bloggers are posting their best Thanksgiving recipes right now. They have that covered. Believe me, I’m thinking of the big show, too, but there are a lot of days between then and now and a lot of days afterward and it can’t be turkey and stuffing all the time.

This recipe today is for the parties. Obviously we’re party central this time of year. Between mid-October and the first week of January, every one of my five sons has their birthday. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. In other words, from mid-October to the first week of January we are the hap-hap-happiest, most festive household since National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. (Now, let’s see… who is our Cousin Eddie? Come on. You KNOW every family has one.) If it’s not a birthday party it’s a Thanksgiving party. If it’s not a Thanksgiving party, it’s a Christmas party. If it’s not a Christmas party it’s a New Year’s party. We cannot be the only household doing this right now.

See that bread? That’s a total sanity saver. It’s not only mega comfort food -can food get more awesome than bread/cheese/butter/garlic/pepperoni?- but it’s as easy as can be to make. The Pizza Party Bread is everything you love about pizza and garlic bread minus the call for take out or the time involved in making homemade pizza.

It’s party perfection… who can resist ooey, gooey, melted mozzarella on buttery garlic bread in the first place?Not me, I’ll tell ya that. And when you add lovely crisp little pieces of pepperoni? It’s all over but me licking the foil, folks.

To really drive that pizza flavour home, we like to serve this with a bowl of warmed pizza sauce for dipping on the side. And much like the recipe that inspired this one, there are never leftovers. Whether you serve this for a quiet movie night at home or in quantity for a party buffet, you’re going to be a very happy camper.

Pizza Party Bread

Comfort food writ large. Scads of ooey, gooey mozzarella melted onto a pull-apart loaf of tender garlic bread studded with pepperoni. Does it get better than this? Maybe, but I can't see how!

Ingredients

1 loaf Italian bread (16 ounces, by weight)
1 pound grated mozzarella cheese
1 stick (4 ounces by weight) butter
1 large clove of garlic, minced or pressed
1 bunch of green onions (scallions) trimmed and thinly sliced
24-30 slices of pepperoni, cut into quarters
Nonstick cooking spray and foil
Optional: additional chopped scallions for garnish.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (or preheat grill to medium heat). Lay out a double thickness of standard foil (or a single thickness of heavy-duty foil.) Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside

In a microwave safe bowl, or a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the butter until melted and mix in the garlic and sliced green onions. Stir with a serving spoon.

Lay the loaf of bread on the cutting board and cut a ½” grid pattern into it stopping about ¼” above the base of the bread so that it stays connected. Gently pry apart the bread and spoon the butter mixture along the seams. Gently wrap the foil up around the top of the loaf and put on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, open the foil and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top, gently pushing some of the cheese down into the cut bread. Separate and scatter the pepperoni over the top, shoving some into the sliced bread, too.

Leave the foil open and return the pan to the oven or grill and raise the heat to 425°F or HIGH for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Let set for 3 minutes before garnishing with additional chopped scallions, if desired. Serve while still hot or warm.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/16/pizza-party-bread/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy

One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese | Bonus 2-Ingredient Taco Mac Hack

November 2, 2012 by Rebecca 18 Comments

Friends: I’m participating in the 30 Days of Gratitude on the Foodie With Family facebook page. Won’t you join me when you can and share a little or a big something you’re grateful for every day? And if every day is too much in your life right now, how about just whenever you can? Click here to be part of a thankfulness movement!

I’m going to start this post with a confession and spend the rest of it haranguing you into making this my way. Sounds fun, right? Let’s get started.

My confession: I don’t like baked macaroni and cheese. Right now there are two groups of people reading this. Group A is gasping and fanning themselves and ready to storm me and revoke my foodie card. Group B is saying, “Big whoop.” It’s okay. I understand. I often feel like I SHOULD like it since it’s a little of a lot of things I love in one package. I just don’t. It’s a texture thing.

I DO, however, ADORE creamy mac and cheese and I’m OVER-THE-MOON in love with shells and cheese. There’s just something so awfully cute about shells and I love the way they trap all the good saucy stuff. What I didn’t love about that, though, was how ever-loving messy the process was with the bechamel in one pan and the noodles in another and the blah blah blah. Then a few years ago, I read my beloved White on Rice couple’s creamy stove top mac and cheese recipe and the clouds- they parted. They cooked the pasta IN the milk. Well, duh. Why didn’t anyone ever think of that before?

Over the past couple of years, I’ve tinkered with the recipe to reflect my family’s preferences. While there are many versions of stove-top creamy mac and cheese out there, this one is our favourite (and if you pile my Taco Mac Hack on top, it’s garner-cheers-at-the-table good.)

I’ve made countless versions of this one-pot mac. I know what DOES work and what DOESN’T. I am giving you my version today: the one that never fails us. But here’s where the haranguing comes into play. This recipe is easy IF YOU DO IT EXACTLY AS I SAY. If you’ve been around here for long, you know I don’t say that often. When I say it, I mean it. Of course, there are still a couple of items up for negotiation (like what milk you use and whether you pursue the taco mac angle or go au naturel. The noodles not the nudie, if you follow my meaning…)

Here are the rules:

Choose your milk: You can absolutely choose to use skim, one-percent, two-percent or whole milk here. That is not going to effect the end texture as much as how decadent the final product is. That’s a choice.
Use small shells: not medium shells, not elbow macaroni, not ditalini, not spaghetti, not linguine… You get the picture. This recipe was refined using small shells. And yes, it really DOES make a difference here. I tried doing this using equal weights of other types of pasta. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. It worked EVERY time with the shells.
Use half Monterey Jack cheese and half extra sharp Cheddar. The reasons are multiple. Monterey Jack is a smoother melting cheese than Cheddar and it’s milder. Combining the two in equal parts gives you the tang of Cheddar and the smooth gooey loveliness of Monterey Jack. Win/win… And while we’re on the subject of cheese.
Grate your own cheese. No, I know. The bags of pre-grated stuff are super convenient. I use them from time to time, too. The thing is, the little shreds of cheese in those bags are coated with powder that keeps them from sticking together. Handy for pre-grated cheese, but not so wonderful when you’re melting it and WANT it to come together. Just hike those socks up and grate the cheese. It’s a one-pot meal, you’re still a head of the game even after you mess up the cheese grater. And speaking of cheese, make sure you have it grated before you start cooking. Why? Because you…
DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE POT. Heck, you probably shouldn’t even stop stirring. You’re using the starch coating the pasta as thickening power in the sauce. As the pasta cooks, that starch goes into the milk (as the milk is being absorbed by the pasta) to make it thick and creamy. Thick and creamy likes to stick to pans. Things that like to stick to pans like to scorch. Scorched creamy shells and cheese is a sad, sad thing. Just keep stirring. It’s a small price to pay for fabulous creamy mac made in just one pot. You’ll be so glad you did.

Alright, that’s it for my brow-beating. Is anyone still with me? If so, let me tell you about my Taco Mac Hack. It’s so simple it hardly counts as a recipe, so it’s a freebie here. Top your One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese with leftover taco meat or browned Mexican-style chorizo and a couple candied jalapeños on top. Ta da! You’ve hacked your mac into Taco Mac. If you’re the ketchup on your mac and cheese type, add a dollop of salsa!

One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese | Bonus 2-Ingredient Taco Mac Hack

One-Pot Creamy Shells and Cheese takes creamy mac and cheese to new heights of decadence and ease while only dirtying one pan. For creamy mac lovers and last minute mac and cheese cravings.

Bonus: 2-Ingredient Taco Mac Hack included in the recipe!

Ingredients

1 pound small shells pasta (Do NOT use medium shells.)
4 cups milk (plus extra, in case!)
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup grated extra sharp Cheddar cheese
freshly ground pepper to taste
Optional for Taco Mac:
Fully cooked taco meat or browned chorizo
Candied Jalapenos

Instructions

Add the small shells, milk, butter, mustard, salt, garlic and onion powder to a large saucepan over medium heat. Stirring nearly constantly and taking care to scrape the spoon across the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking and scorching, slowly bring the mixture to a simmer then drop the heat to LOW. Don't forget this or you'll be sorry!

Continue stirring and simmering the pasta for about 15 minutes, or until the milk is almost completely absorbed. Test a piece of pasta (carefully, though, because this stuff is MOLTEN at this point.) If the pasta isn't fully cooked and the milk is almost gone, add more milk in -1/4 cup at a time- until the pasta is fully cooked. This will add a small amount of cooking time (3-5 minutes) to the overall cooking time.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the grated cheese.

Put a lid on the pan and let it rest, undisturbed for 3-5 minutes. Give it one more stir and taste. Add the black pepper to taste and serve hot.

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a tightly lidded container and heated up with a splash of milk in the microwave or in a saucepan.

To Make Taco Mac:

Sprinkle re-heated taco meat or crispy brown chorizo over bowls of hot Creamy Shells and Cheese and top with candied jalapenos if desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/11/02/one-pot-creamy-shells-and-cheese-bonus-2-ingredient-taco-mac-hack/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Comfort Food, kid food, Main Dish, Pasta, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal, Vegetarian

Chocolate Nutter Butter Cake

October 31, 2012 by Rebecca 16 Comments

For years I had that thin, “shatterproof” tableware because I thought it was easier to care for, cheaper, and whatnot. Over the years, I realized -with the help of my built in high stress advanced material test laboratory that I call my five sons- that those things weren’t shatterproof. Or break proof. Or even remotely capable of standing up to five very energetic and twitchy little boys. Not only were they not sturdy, but they seemed to be built to explode into a million pieces like a Mission Impossible assignment when giving up the ghost.

I carried on, though, because they were dishwasher safe and I already had them on hand. Well-meant gifts of the stuff from people who were weeding it out of their own cabinets kept me going for years although I was becoming disillusioned after cleaning up a bajillion shards of soup/yogurt/spaghetti sauce/ice cream coated, microscopic, razor sharp daggers of shatterproof dishes. Because honestly? Those things never broke when empty and dry. They almost invariably had the messiest most splashy contents to enrobe the little beastly foot jabby bits of glass. I told you we were an advanced materials testing lab.

Yeah. Traumatized? Noooo. Not me. (She says while cradling her poor scarred feet and rocking back and forth.)

A couple of years ago, I slowly but surely started pitching the other tableware: aided by the fact that they kept exploding in the most not-delightful way and replacing them with something ANYTHING other than what I’d had. Salvation Army stores became my haunting grounds. I didn’t care if NOTHING on my table matched… It was better than what I’d had before.

Then, oh mercy, I discovered the joys of pottery. What was mere admiration has grown into a full-fledged fixation that is nudged along by my friendship with a honest-to-goodness potter: Staci Curry of Firefly Pottery in Angelica, New York. Her stuff is beautiful, whimsical, colourful, STURDY, pretty, oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. Did I mention sturdy? Oh Staci… You’re my hero. I want to live in the show room of the store she shares as part of the Three Clay Sisters (including Mud Puddle Pottery and Creek Bed Pottery).

Staci recently made a guh-huh-huh-huh-hooooorgeous cake plate for me. Naturally, I had to make a cake worthy of being on that fabulous cake plate to break (ohdearmedon’tbreak. DON’T BREAK.) it in properly. It had to be an epic cake for an epic cake plate. Enter the Chocolate Nutter Butter Cake… inspired by my perty new cake plate.

Super moist chocolate cake layered and topped with a truly majestic amount of… wait for it… PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM. It combines crunchy peanut butter (for texture and flavour) AND cream cheese AND butter AND heavy cream. Mmmmmm. It’s so indulgent I almost kind of sort of feel like I should apologize. But then I take a little fingerful (or a paw full) of the frosting and that little spark of worry that was showing disappears in a eye-rolling-to-the-back-of-my-head, fluffy, creamy, sugar rush…

Whether you have a fabulous cake plate or not, though, I want you to make this cake. Nay, I INSIST you make this cake if you have one ounce of cake love in your body. I might go so far as to say it’s the best cake I’ve ever made in my life.

Seriously.

I think I did this cake plate proud.

Chocolate Nutter Butter Cake

Super moist chocolate cake layered and topped with a truly majestic amount of... wait for it... PEANUT BUTTER CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM. It combines crunchy peanut butter (for texture and flavour) AND cream cheese AND butter AND heavy cream. Mmmmmm. It's so indulgent I almost kind of sort of feel like I should apologize. I would, but my mouth is full of frosting.

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake:

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup dutch process cocoa powder
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk (can substitute whole milk if necessary)

For the Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 stick butter (8 tablespoons), softened to room temperature
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (if you want super smooth frosting, use creamy peanut butter)
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 pounds (6 to 8 cups) powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
For Garnish:
15 Nutter Butter Cookies, crushed
1 package Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups

Instructions

To Make and Bake the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour three 8- inch round cake pans.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a batter blade, or with a hand mixer in a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, and vanilla until it is fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and cocoa powder until no lumps remain. If you can't whisk out the lumps, push it through a sieve or sift it.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the contents of the mixing bowl. Beat it in on medium low until no dry pockets remain. Add 1/3 of the milk and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue adding the flour and milk alternately, mixing until combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl each time. The last addition should be milk. Mix just until evenly combined.

Divide the cake batter evenly between the three pans. Smooth the tops of the batter and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan a bit and a skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

To Make the Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Buttercream:

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, peanut butter and vanilla extract on HIGH until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the powdered sugar to the mixture and combine, starting the mixer on low and stopping it a couple of times until most of the sugar is moistened to prevent a big pouf of sugar. Again, beat on HIGH until smooth and combined. Turn off the mixer and add 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream. Beat on high until smooth. If you want thinner frosting, add more cream, 1 teaspoon at a time.

To Frost the Cake:

Lay 1 of your cakes on a cake plate or large platter (make a square of 4 pieces of parchment paper to lay your cake on to keep the plate clean while frosting if you want.) Add about 3/4 to 1 cup of frosting to the middle of the cake and spread to the edges. Lay another cake on top and repeat with the frosting. Lay the final cake on top and go to town with the rest of the frosting. Spread it thickly over the top and sides. Rim the cake top with mini-Reese's peanut butter cups then sprinkle the crushed Nutter Butters into the center.

Remove the parchment, if you used it, and refrigerate for an hour or so before slicing.

Enjoy!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/31/chocolate-nutter-butter-cake/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Cakes, Comfort Food, Desserts, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: dessert, family-friendly, special occasion

Cuban Sandwiches | Pressed Toasted Sandwiches

October 27, 2012 by Rebecca 11 Comments

Check below the post for an update on the Harry & David giveaway.

I had the chance to tour the college town where my baby sister, Airlia, has been for the last two years with my mom and another of my sisters last weekend. We went up one side of Ithaca and down the other in sensible shoes (thank HEAVENS for sensible shoes when walking through a town that is essentially planted on the side of a cliff.) One thing Airlia really wanted us to see was the Ithaca Farmers’ Market. The market was beautiful. It was full of vendors selling seemingly everything; vegetables, meats, potted plants, pottery, jewelry, clothing and ready to eat food. Oh, that ready to eat food…

It was ethnic food heaven.

My mom and sisters parked themselves in front of a Japanese food vendor to get tofu pockets stuffed with sushi. I glanced around… I really, REALLY wanted to go to the Cambodian food vendor, but the line was snaked around the corner and the market was going to close in less than half an hour. I doubted I’d get to the front of the line and my stomach was doing the talking. After mom, Jess and Air got their tofu pockets, we started strolling toward the end of the market we hadn’t explored yet and then the heavens illuminated and angelic voices sang in a glorious choir while pointing at the place I was destined to eat my lunch: the Cuban sandwiches vendor.

“OH CUBANS! THEY HAVE CUBANS. I LOVE CUBANS!!!!!” I hollered as I ran toward the table. I saw my mom and sisters looking around in the background, trying to figure out what I was talking about. “She loves Cubans? What is she talking about? Where are the Cubans?”

Oh, Cuban sandwiches, how I do love thee. It’s a meat lover’s sandwich. This is why my mom and sisters didn’t understand my reaction- they’re all vegetarians. Not only is it for meat eaters, but it is unapologetically so; it’s crammed full of ham, shredded pork, salami (in Miami, but not in Cuba), pickles, cheese and yellow mustard, then slathered with butter and pressed between two hot pans or on a spiffy non-ridged panini kind of thingy. (That is the technical term for the apparatus.)

The bread gets squished around all those magical porky fillings and pickles and mustard and becomes DEAD crisp and buttery on the outside. Oh my gosh, people. A sandwich just doesn’t get any better than this.

Sandwich PSA: Now I want to address something super important about sandwiches. Do not just lay that meat flat on the bread, for the love of all that is good, don’t flop the meat on the bread and call it a day. Please. I beg you. Take some time with the placement of meat on a sandwich. It’s the difference between a SANDWICH and meat on bread. Yes, I realize that I sound crazy and picky right now, but give this a try the next time you make a sandwich. Hold the meat by one end so that it hangs down. Place the bottom edge of the deli meat against the edge of the bread and then let the meat fold -almost accordion like- as it falls onto the bread. I’m telling you, it’s fah-hah-habulous and makes all the difference in the world. Trust me. I worked in a deli in high school.

Let’s have a little chat about how we achieve ultimate Cuban Sandwich-ness, because it doesn’t require all kinds of fancy equipment, but it DOES require a little advance planning and faithful use of oven mitts. Here’s what ya do. You line a nice baking sheet with heavy-duty foil and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Butter your future Cuban sandwiches top and bottom (as in on the very top of the top half of the roll and the very bottom of the bottom half of the roll. Lay them out with a couple of inches between each sandwich.

Spray another piece of heavy duty foil and lay it spray-side down on the sandwiches. Lay another baking sheet on top of the foil. Be sure the pan you have chosen for the top will not rest on the rim of the bottom pan. For instance, use a flat pan on the bottom with a rimmed one on the top (rim facing upward) or use two pans that can nest inside each other for storage. This will allow maximum squish-age on the sandwiches. You can definitely double decker the pans if you’re feeding a regiment like I am. You WILL have to rotate the pans, bottom to top or vice versa midway through cooking.

When that goes into the hot oven, lay seriously heavy pots or landscaping bricks that preheated with the oven on top of the top pan. This is the only tricky bit… the goal is to evenly weigh the top pan down so you get even squashing of the sandwiches…

Then, when all is said and done you get these.

Oh man. Oh goodness. Oh heavens to Betsy. How badly do you want to eat these? As badly as I do? I’ll fight ya for ‘em.

Cuban Sandwiches | Pressed Toasted Sandwiches

This Cuban (and Miami) classic sandwich pairs sweet, baked and shredded pork with garlicky dill pickles, tangy yellow mustard, spicy salami and gooey melted Swiss cheese. The sandwich is pressed as it is toasted making it super crispy on the outside. Sandwiches just don't get better than this.

Ingredients

Per Sandwich:
1 Portuguese roll or ciabatta roll
2 tablespoon yellow mustard
2-4 slices baked ham or ham off of the bone
2 slices salami
1/2-3/4 cup of shredded, fully cooked pork. I prefer homemade Cuban Pork , of course
1 slice Swiss cheese
2-4 thin slices garlic or kosher dill pickles
1 tablespoon softened butter
non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500°F with a heavy cast iron skillet or landscaping bricks in it.

Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Halve the roll and lay it cut sides up on a cutting board. Spread the mustard evenly over the insides of the roll. On one side, pile the ham then the pickles then the cheese then the salami. On the other half, spread the shredded pork and lightly press it into the bun. Turn it over onto the other half of the roll. Spread half of the butter on the top of the top roll and half of the butter on the bottom of the bottom roll. Position it on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with as many sandwiches as you're making, being sure to leave enough room between the sandwiches for them to spread as they're squashed.

Spray another piece of heavy-duty foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray and lay it -sprayed side down- on the sandwiches. Put another pan on top, put into the oven and weigh it down with as much oven-safe heavy stuff as you can muster. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, the bread is toasted and golden brown and the whole sandwich is hot through and through.

Serve immediately.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/27/cuban-sandwiches-pressed-toasted-sandwiches/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

In news unrelated to sandwiches, I’ve picked a winner for the Harry & David Bear Creek Gift Basket. Scoot right over here and see if you were the winner!!

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Main Dish, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy

Hearty Kielbasa, Bean and Vegetable Soup

October 23, 2012 by Rebecca 3 Comments

Soup is the frugal cook’s best friend. It doesn’t take much of anything; a little bit of meat, a little bit of broth, a little bit of vegetable, a little bit of onion, and a judicious hand with spices and herbs come together to stretch and create a pot of mind-bendingly good soup big enough to feed a crowd.

You and I both know meat is expensive, but it’s oh-so-good… I like my cold weather soups to have the oomph and fullness of taste that meat provides. In order to get that without breaking the bank, I use highly flavourful meats like kielbasa or smoked beef sausage in my soup. To make the meat go further, I use one of my dad’s tricks; the smaller the amount of meat I have, the smaller I dice it and the further it goes. The goal is to get a little bit of meat in every bite and this works like magic.

Now you can fool your tastebuds with the little bitty meat trick, but you can’t fool your belly into thinking its full. To help bulk up the soup and make it more satisfying you have to add STUFF. I like beans (the perennial meat substitute) and lots of ‘em, greens of some sort (spinach or kale are my preferences), carrots, celery and onions. Will the soup fail if you’re missing one of those things? Oh gosh no, it’ll just be different. I’m a food blogger, though, it’s my job to tell you how to replicate what I like best.

…And this soup is what I like best. It’s what my hubby likes best. It’s what my kids (minus the “EW! No green stuff!” crowd) like best. It’s just plain good stuff and it comes together so quickly that you’ll miss it if you blink. Unless you’re in a household of one or two people, I don’t advise reducing the recipe. Yes, it DOES make a lot. Okay, if I’m being really honest, it makes a vat. Here’s the thing, though. It is a universal truth that soup tastes better on Day Two. On Day Three? Forget about it. It’s better yet! Odds are the soup won’t make it past Day Four, but if it does, pop it into the freezer in microwave safe, resealable containers. There it will sit happily waiting for you to have a soup craving.

Mmmmmmm… soup. It’s good for the soul AND the pocketbook.

Oh! Be here tomorrow! There will be a giveaway and it’s a doozy! You want a hint? It rhymes with Mary & Play-vid. Ahem.

Hearty Kielbasa, Bean and Vegetable Soup

This hearty, super soup is chock full of garlicky kielbasa, beans, spinach, carrots, celery and onions. This will warm you straight through and keep you going!

Instructions include how to maintain the flavour of the soup and reduce the amount of sausage to make it very budget friendly.

Ingredients

8 ounces to 2 pounds of Beef or Polska Kielbasa
1 to 2 onions, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 to 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 to 2 ribs of celery, washed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced or minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 quart home canned whole tomatoes in juice or 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
8 cups chicken broth or stock
3 cups of cooked cannellini or Great Northern beans with their liquid (or 2 cans, with liquid)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 pound of spinach (you can use chopped,frozen spinach or fresh baby spinach leaves)
salt and pepper to taste
Optional for serving: grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and hot sauce

Instructions

Begin by cutting the kielbasa. If you are using a smaller amount, dice it into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces. If you're using the larger amount, slice into 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick rounds.

Place a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium heat. Add the kielbasa pieces and cook, stirring frequently, until the kielbasa has rendered quite a bit of fat and taken on some brown colour. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the kielbasa to a rimmed plate or bowl. Drain all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the kielbasa fat from the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add the onions, carrots and celery. Add a pinch of salt and stir to coat all of the vegetables. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, stir well, and cook for another minute.

Use your hands to break up the whole tomatoes over the pan. They don't have to be perfect, but should at least be broken down to bite size. Add the juice from the can along with the chicken stock, beans and their liquid, bay leaf, and thyme leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup until the carrots and celery are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Return the kielbasa to the pan and add the frozen or fresh spinach to the pot. Cook just until heated through.

Serve hot. We like ours with a little grated Parmesan cheese and hot sauce.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/23/hearty-kielbasa-bean-and-vegetable-soup/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Comfort Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Soups & Stews Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, quick and easy, seasonal

Mexican Poutine | Sweet Potato Fries with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

October 16, 2012 by Rebecca 7 Comments

You know those nights when you walk into the kitchen and feel like the last thing you want to do is put spatula to pan and do anything? I had a serious case of kitchen funk a couple weeks ago. The good thing (or bad thing, depending on your perspective-du-jour) about having kids is that I don’t have the option to sit out a meal. For a couple reasons -all equally valid- that just is not going to happen.

My kids don’t skip meals (or mid-morning, mid-afternoon, mid-anytime snacks) lightly. There is much moaning, weeping, gnashing of teeth and rending of hair if we even approach missing one of their fifteen daily repasts.
I have such an acutely developed sense of maternal guilt that I can’t short shrift them on any food. From the time that my eldest child was born, my pediatrician has given me the business about every one of my kids being underweight at every visit. I started getting a complex that she thought I wasn’t feeding them.
I’m a hungry person. Even if the kids weren’t here, I get downright surly if I don’t get at least two decent meals a day. Oh sure, at nearly forty years old, it’s starting to catch up with me, but I can eat just about everyone I know under the table. Feeeeeeed me!

All those reasons are explanations of why I don’t skip meals, but that doesn’t prevent me from phoning it in from time to time, and I don’t mean takeout. Living as far out from civilization as I do, any takeout beyond a sub or sub-par pizza isn’t a reality. Besides, even when I’m feeling at my laziest, that little frugal angel on my shoulder thwaps me upside the head and says, “Are you kidding? For the price of ONE of those subs, you could buy the deli meat and rolls for two sandwiches each and a bag of chips to boot.”

So when I walked into the kitchen last week and drew a blank, the well-stocked freezer and pantry that I cultivate in my finer moments came to the rescue. I grabbed a bag of homemade chorizo from the freezer, blankly shoved it in the microwave to defrost a bit, because when all else fails, chorizo wins the day. Then I stood staring into my pantry. Nuttin’. I had no idea. In a moment of pique, I whined to myself, “What I wouldn’t give for a plate full of poutine.” At that moment the proverbial lightbulb went off in my head. I didn’t have the goods or the fortitude to make a real poutine -with fresh fries, gravy and melty cheese curds- but I did have the stuff to make a riff on it.

With renewed enthusiasm, I broke up the chorizo in a hot pan and started browning it. While that browned, I tossed the innards of a bag of good frozen sweet potato fries onto a sheet pan and into the oven. I fetched a jar of my favourite salsa from my basement shelves and a brick of queso blanco from the refrigerator.

When the fries came out of the oven, I piled them in a bowl and threw obnoxious amounts of crispy chorizo and queso blanco on top, hit it with a few well-aimed dollops of salsa and a shower of chopped cilantro and sat down to congratulate myself on making my doldrums pay dividends. Don’t ever let anyone tell you nothing good can come of self-pity and laziness.

Just please do me a favour, don’t tell my kids I said that.

Mexican Poutine | Sweet Potato Fries with Chorizo and Queso Fresco

This Mexican flavoured riff on the above-the-border Quebecois classic, poutine, replaces the traditional French fries with sweet potato fries, below-the-border spicy, crispy, garlicky chorizo, and crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco. Spicy, salty, sweet, crispy, soft, cheesy, simple, and utterly satisfying!

For Game Day munchies, movie night and hectic days!

Ingredients

1 bag frozen sweet potato fries (or a large batch of homemade sweet potato fries.)
1 pound bulk chorizo, preferably homemade
1/2-3/4 cup crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco (or shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese if either of those is unavailable.)
Optional: salsa and chopped cilantro, to taste

Instructions

Bake the frozen sweet potato fries according to package directions. While they bake, break up the chorizo in a hot skillet over medium to medium high heat. Stir while cooking and continue breaking it up with a spoon.

Fry the chorizo, stirring frequently, until it is fully cooked and has taken on some deep brown, crispy areas.

As soon as the fries come out of the oven, use tongs to transfer them to a serving plate, use a spoon (use a slotted one if your chorizo is very greasy) to pile the hot chorizo on top of the fries. Scatter the crumbled cheese over the top. If using the salsa and cilantro, add immediately before serving.

Dig in!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/16/mexican-poutine-sweet-potato-fries-with-chorizo-and-queso-fresco/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, kid food, Meat, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, kid friendly, quick and easy, quick meal

Cheesy Spinach Puffs

October 12, 2012 by Rebecca 17 Comments

Today has been a Monday kind of Friday. I overslept, didn’t get to my tea until ten this morning, then dropped and broke a plate. I started writing this post earlier, got about two-thirds of the way through it and then somehow or another, the internet pixies deleted it. I know I didn’t hit that delete button! So, after standing up, hiding in the bathroom and eating a very large chocolate bar, I’m making another attempt at finishing it because this recipe is just too good not to share. Maybe Popeye snuck in and botched my post while I was cleaning up the broken plate, the greedy Spinach hoarding twerp…

Or maybe I was overcomplicating things -as I am wont to do and this was divine intervention. It was a rather long-winded draft and a rather convoluted morning. Either way, here I am and here you are and here is one of our favourite snacks. Obviously it’s heavy on the spinach (read: Popeye reference above) which TOTALLY cancels out the insane amount of cheese (three different kinds!) and butter in it, right?

Of course it does! Besides, cheese does a body good and it makes spinach an easier sell to my anti-green-veg-contingent. In fact, the first time I made these, my most anti-green-veg of the bunch said, “What’s da green stuff, Mama?” I responded, “Try it and tell me how you like it.” He took a tentative nibble, smiled, and ate the rest while bouncing away from me. “Wait!” I called, “Didn’t you want to know what the green stuff is?” “Don’t care anymore! Dese are tasty!” he called from the other room.

All things considered, at least it is Friday. Around here, that means movie night. At this point in the day, I can’t think of anything I’d like to do better than fire up the wood stove to eleven, pop in a movie, cuddle with my kiddos and eat my weight in these Cheesy Spinach Puffs. The beauty of this is that my kids munch right alongside me, eating scads of spinach without even thinking about it. I call that a win.

Oh, I know I’ve shared more than one cheese plus spinach plus egg combo before… Yes, I clearly have a thing for it. Obviously. Today’s recipe, however, is just about the best thing you can do with that wonderful combination, and that is saying something. It’s just plain crave-able. Moist, spinach-studded, cheese and egg puffs get toasty, crispy bits around the edges and taste great alone, but they really sing when dunked in warm marinara or pizza sauce. It’s enough to turn a Monday-feeling-Friday into a Friday-all-the-way.

I can’t even wait for tonight. Cheesy Spinach Puffs, here I come!

Two important notes:

I emphasize generously greasing the muffin pans for a reason. Eggs like to stick. Melted cheese likes to stick. Put the two together and you’ll be weeping a thousand salty tears unless you have massive amounts of non-stick cooking spray and/or non-stick mini-muffin liners. Trust me. That’ll totally mess up the Friday-all-the-way vibe!
Make extras! These freeze well, reheat beautifully and are great to have on hand for last minute snacks.

Cheesy Spinach Puffs

Rating: 51

Cheesy Spinach Puffs

Moist, spinach-studded, cheese and egg puffs get toasty, crispy bits around the edges and taste great alone, but really sing when dunked in warm marinara or pizza sauce. This is a favourite movie-night snack at our house and has won over even the most ardent anti-green vegetable protesters in our family. The smaller you chop the spinach after squeezing it dry, the easier it is to get it past picky eaters.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped or grated on a cheese grater
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
3 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese
½ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 pound frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed hard repeatedly to remove as much liquid as possible (*See Note Below Instructions)
½ teaspoon salt
Optional: warm marinara or pizza sauce or Ranch dressing for dipping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously -and I DO MEAN GENEROUSLY- spray 48 mini-muffin wells with non-stick cooking spray. Eggs are culinary glue. If you don't grease the tar out of those mini-muffin wells, they will stick!

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan or frying pan. Stir in the grated or finely chopped onion and cook on low, stirring frequently, until the onions are very tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute. Remove the pan from the burner and set aside.

Put the squeezed-dry spinach on a cutting board and chop a few times with a knife to separate the spinach and make the pieces smaller.

In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Whisk in the ricotta cheese until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon, add the remaining ingredients –including the cooked onion mixture and the chopped spinach- and mix until evenly combined.

Divide the mixture between the mini-muffin cups. Bake the puffs until set in the center and lightly browned around the outside edge (begin checking at 20 minutes.)

Let them rest in the pans for about 3 minutes before trying to remove. If any of them stick, run a butterknife around the edge to loosen them.

Serve warm or room temperature with marinara or pizza sauce.

*Note: To get the most liquid squeezed from the spinach, put the spinach in a colander over the sink. Grab only as much as you can comfortably fit between your hands, cup your hands around the spinach and squeeze flat repeatedly until almost no more liquid can be squeezed out. Put that handful of spinach on the cutting board and repeat until you've finished squeezing all of it.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/10/12/cheesy-spinach-puffs/

Recipe printed from Foodie With Family | Rebecca Lindamood http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

This post is my contribution to the efforts by Hidden Valley Ranch and the Chef & Child Foundation. According to their website: “The Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) and the makers of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® dressings & dips are partnering to host the Lunch Break for Kids fundraiser to showcase how simple, good food can make healthier bodies and stronger family connections, as well as support CCF’s national Childhood Nutrition Day in its mission to promote healthier eating to kids and their families through community-based initiatives.” Please take a moment to visit their website and look for opportunities to help in your area!

The Hidden Valley® Original Ranch®, dressings & dips has provided me with free product to help with my review, but anything I receive from Hidden Valley does not affect my thoughts on its company or their product.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian Tagged With: budget friendly, family-friendly, Frugal Food, kid friendly, party food, quick and easy, Snacks, Vegetarian

Big Batch Crisp Topping and Any Fruit Crisps | Make Ahead Mondays

October 8, 2012 by Rebecca 12 Comments

Desserts are the big to-do. The thing over which you slave for hours or -in some cases- even days and present with a flourish to ooooohs and aaaahs. I’m as guilty of that as the next food-obsessed gal, from time to time.

But really? Desserts are supposed to be a relaxing thing. Grab a spoon or a fork, a plate or a bowl of the good stuff, plop down somewhere comfortable and give a good ahhhhhhhh. They’re supposed to feed your soul without taxing it first. In fact, ‘DESSERTS’ are ‘STRESSED’ spelled backwards. Tell me if this has ever happened to you.

I’m going through my day getting done what needs to be done. I make dinner and think to myself, “Oh, we don’t need dessert tonight. We have a big dinner and that’ll do the job.” Then after dinner, when it’s just me and my honey sitting on the couch, I think, “I wish I’d made dessert. I could go for something a little sweet right now.”

Is anyone with me? I know it can’t be just us with should’ve-made-dessert regrets. ‘No desserts’ backwards is ‘stressed on’. See?

I have a solution.

Make a big batch of crisp topping -essentially, this is sugar, oats, flour, a little spice and a lot of butter- drop it into canning jars or other airtight containers and pop it in the freezer.

When you hit the dessert-regret stage of the evening, fill a little ramekin or two or a big pan with fresh fruit or even canned pie filling. In a pinch, you could put jam in the ramekins.