Monday Meal

I love trying new recipes and expanding my food repertoire. There's just one tiny obstacle: the reality of time. In reality, I have a job that generally requires me to leave my before 7:45 in the morning; during a typical week I don't ever get home before 6:00 and often walk in the door after 7:00. 

This is not an unusual dilemma.....most of my friends, acquaintances, and colleagues also work (or study) between 40 and 60 hours a week.

I refuse to eat dinner out for the sake of time. If I am spending time with friends over a meal, fine. But I have fully boycotted eating out or relying on fast food simply to save effort. Among other reasons, eating out tends to be both less healthful and more expensive than cooking. 

So how does one balance a desire for healthful, beautiful food with the reality of a crazy work week? Building an arsenal of quick yet healthful recipes takes time, but there are many healthful, creative, lovely meals that can be prepared with a minimum of time and effort.

For a while, Mondays around here will be dedicated to these kinds of recipes. I'm determined to build my repertoire and I hope you'll share in my search! For now, I'm going to share one of my go-to week-night meals.

Pasta with Veggies and Basil

1/2 a bell pepper

1/2 a red onion

Fresh basil leaves

Garlic

Pepper

Olive oil

Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta

Mozzarella cheese

Tomatoes

Fill a small pot with hot water. Add 2 tablespoons (all measurements are approximate) of olive oil and stir. Let the water come to a full, rolling boil and then add pasta. Let the pasta boil for about 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Wash and chop the bell pepper, red onion, and fresh basil leaves. Place the chopped vegetables and basil in a medium frying-pan with about 1/8 cup of olive oil. Sprinkle generously with garlic and pepper. Saute on a medium-low heat until onions are transparent and peppers are pliable. 

Meanwhile, chop tomatoes. Place in a cereal-size bowl. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese over the tomatoes. When the pasta is done, drain well and add to the bowl. Add sauteed vegetables. Stir. (The vegetables and pasta should be hot enough to melt the cheese.) Enjoy!

A Summer Feast

When I stepped out of the airport late the other evening, a blast of muggy warm air hit me. Warmer weather is upon us to stay, it seems, and the change in the weather demands a different kind of food, a lighter food, meant to be eaten as the golden summer air fills the evening sky.

So this weekend, I tackled Crusted Parmesan Chicken, halving the ingredients. Then I modified this recipe to create a delicious vegetable dish. I sprinkled Parmesan cheese on bread and toasted it briefly in the oven. Finally, I added some fresh fruits to the plates and my roommate and I sat down to a colorful, delicious summer meal.

Crusted Parmesan Chicken

1 package of chicken breasts (I used chicken tenderloins)

3/4 cup Progresso Italian seasoned bread crumbs

3/8 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Olive oil ( add additional oil if needed when sauteing the chicken)

Whip the eggs, milk, garlic, and pepper until thoroughly combined. Mix the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese together on a large plate.  Heat the oil on medium in a skillet.

Dip each chicken breast in the egg-milk mixture and then dredge the breast in the bread crumb-cheese combination. The original recipe says to do this step twice. I only did it once to save time, but a second coating would have been beneficial, although not necessary.

Place the breaded chicken breast in the heated olive oil and saute until both sides of the breast are light golden brown.  Repeat with all of the breasts. 

After each breast is sauteed, place it on a foil-lined baking sheet. Once all of the chicken is sauteed, place the baking sheet in the oven on 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

Brussels Sprouts with Carmelized Onions

1 lb. Brussels sprouts

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

2 tbls. butter

2 tsp. sugar

Garlic

Olive oil

Pepper

Place the onions in a pan with the butter. Sprinkle the sugar over them and saute on low heat until they become transparent, soft, and begin to delicately brown. Meanwhile, trip the stems from the Brussels Sprouts and steam until tender.

Thinly slice the Brussels Sprouts. Add garlic and Brussels Sprouts to onions and continue to saute for 5-7 minutes.

*Photos taken by Cassandra McCray

Cupcakes!

I am a huge believer in the theory that food should not only taste good, but be beautiful. I have been pleased with the taste of my recent culinary endeavors, but not as satisfied with the visuals. So I've set off on a mission to produce prettier food.

Cupcakes seemed to provide a dependable canvas from which to start the journey. So, on Saturday, I made lemon cupcakes, modifying this recipe slightly.

Then I made raspberry frosting, using this recipe as a foundation.

Using the basic Wilton frosting set available in the Target baking aisle, I set out to make my cupcakes at least a little prettier than former attempts. The frosting set was actually remarkably easy to use.

I'm not hugely impressed with the results, honestly. While they are a far cry from my original attempts to paste on frosting with a spatula, I still have a long way to go. The frosting looks a bit wet to me and I need to practice a bit with the frosting tips. However, I'm reasonably happy with my results as a beginning.

Lemon Cupcakes

1 box of white cake mix
1/4  up lemon juice
1 cup milk
3 whole eggs
6 tbl melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the cake mix, lemon juice, and water. Blend. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add melted butter. Mix on medium speed for two minutes. Line two cupcake pans with cupcake liners and fill liners with batter. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Raspberry Frosting

4 cups of powdered sugar

8 tbls softened butter

1 tbl shortening

1/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp raspberry extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

Blend butter and shortening in a mixer until smooth. Add sugar slowly, blending after each addition. Add milk slowly, blending. Add food coloring. Add additional milk and powdered sugar as needed to get the right consistency. Beware, though, that the frosting should seem too stiff. Don't overdo the milk!

After the cupcakes have cooled completely, frost as desired. Enjoy!

Pizza Perfect

Pizza is always a good idea. I tackled my mom's pizza recipe the other night. Of course, I can't really eat three pizzas by myself. So I halved the recipe and made just one pizza with a fluffier-than-expected crust. But really, is fluffy crust a bad thing?

I was surprised at how easy and quick this recipe really was. The end result was terribly satisfying. Bonus: leftovers for a substantial portion of the week.

Pizza

5 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tbl. salt
2 tbl. sugar
1/4 tsp sugar
1 3/4 cups water
1 1/2 tbl yeast
1 tbl olive oil

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup or very warm water. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp. sugar over the yeast mixture to proof it. Let it sit until the mixture foams and increases to 3/4-1 cup.

Combine flour, salt and the 2 tbls. of sugar in a mixer. Add yeast mixture. Mix on low speed. Add remaining water and oil and mix again. I often add an extra 1/4 cup of water at this point.

When flour and liquid are acceptably combined, knead dough for 15 minutes. Place dough in a large greased bowl and cover. Allow it to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled.


Grease a cookie sheet. Now, lightly sprinkle the pan with flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle just slightly larger than the pan. Place the dough into the pan, stretching and reshaping as necessary. Avoid tearing.

Add sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and vegetables as desired. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until the bottom of the pizza is golden brown.

Enjoy!

One Chili Night...

One recent cold Saturday night found a group of people at my house for dinner. All of us were nearly strangers to each other and to the city. We came together over warm chili and soft bread and tangy lemon cupcakes to relax, to share, and to connect.

 
We laughed a lot about our persistent and often awkward attempts to feel at home in this sprawling strange city. We compared notes about work and friends and our homes far away. And after a few hours, we parted ways feeling much less like strangers and much more like co-wanderers and friends.

Gather some family, or some friends, or some friends-to-be together over a warm pot of chili this February.  When I used this familiar recipe, I halved the large quantity and still had plenty for six people as well as leftovers that lasted well into the week.

Chili

2 lbs. hamburger (extra lean)

1/2 large minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 28 oz cans tomato sauce

1 6 oz tomato paste

2 16 oz can red beans (I used kidney because that's all I had on hand, but red are definitely preferable)

1 16 oz can white Northern beans

3 tbl chili powder

3 or 4 large fresh basil leaves (1 tsp crushed dry basil)

1 tsp ground pepper

½ cup Merlot or equivalent red wine (white is an acceptable substitute. Again, all I had on hand...)

In a large stock pot, brown hamburger, minced onion, and minced garlic cloves. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly. Simmer for at least 45 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Chicken Fajitas

This recipe, I'll admit, almost feels like cheating because it's so quick and simple. But that's the heart of this blog, I suppose...carving out a satisfying, beautiful meal in a short space of time.

Saturday night, a friend came over rather spontaneously. With this recipe, I was able to quickly and easily prepare a wonderful meal for us to enjoy without too much forethought or preparation.

Chicken Fajitas

1 rotisserie chicken (or any leftover chicken you may already have on hand)
2 bell peppers
1 onion
Olive oil
Flour tortillas
Pepper

First I purchased a rotisserie chicken from the store. The rotisserie chickens that every grocery store sells really are miracles. You can barely buy an uncooked chicken for the price of a cooked one.

I poured a little olive oil in a pan (1-2 tbls. should be sufficient.) Then I sliced up the peppers and onions thinly and added them to the pan. Next, I added small pieces of chicken. I sauteed the combination on low-medium heat, stirring constantly until the onions were transparent and malleable.

Meanwhile, in a shallow frying pan, I poured about 1tbl. of olive oil. I tossed a flour tortilla into the pan and turned the heat on low. Sweep the tortilla around a bit to be sure that the entire bottom is lightly covered in olive oil.

When the tortilla begins to warm and soften, flip it over, covering the other side in oil. Continue to flip the tortilla at intervals until it is soft and most of the oil has been absorbed. Avoid allowing the tortilla to become crispy.

Once the vegetables and chicken are done, place the tortilla on a plate and add the vegetables. Wrap, adding cheese if desired. Voila!

Cinnamon Roll Success

Once I felt confident in my ability to work with bread dough, I became a little braver. I decided to try my hand at Mom's cinnamon rolls.

I did a few things a little differently, though.

I halved the recipe, since kneading such a large quantity of dough by hand is a little daunting. However, I did use 3 eggs. I did the initial mixing in the mixer, allowing the ingredients to thoroughly combine. Then I kneaded the dough by hand for about 15 minutes, until the dough was soft and malleable.

I actually started with butter that hadn't thoroughly softened, so combining the filling was initially problematic. To create the filling paste, I cut up the butter into small pieces. Then I dropped the butter into the dry filling ingredients and continued to chop the butter into tiny pieces until the mixture became paste-like. 

Next, I microwaved the mixture for 30 seconds to soften the butter and continued to mix until the paste was created. Since I forgot to halve the filling segment of the recipe, my filling was quite thick. I also used vanilla flavoring rather than almond.  

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

1 tbl. yeast

1/4 cup water

1 cup milk

3 1/2 tbl shortening

1/2 tsp salt

3 3/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

Filling:

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbl cinnamon

1/2 cup softened butter

Glaze: 

1/2 tbl. brown sugar

1/3 cup evaporated milk

2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Grease a large cookie pan and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add 1 tbl. yeast to 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle sugar on top and stir. Allow yeast mixture to proof. Scald 1 cup of milk in a small pan. (Tiny bubbles will form around the edges...do not allow the milk to burn.) 

Melt shortening into milk then allow mixture to cool. Combine dry ingredients in a mixer. Add eggs. Add proofed yeast mixture and scalded milk mixture.

Knead. (Be careful to clean your surfaces carefully...remember that the dough contains raw eggs.) Let the dough rise in a covered, greased bowl in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

While dough is rising, combine ingredients for filling in a small bowl. After dough has risen, let rest for 10 minutes and then, on a clean, lightly floured surface, stretch into a 9" x 12" shape. Spread filling. Roll dough from the long side. I made 14 rolls. Spread rolls on cookie sheet and let rise again for about 20 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes. (Mine took 25.)

While rolls are baking, combine 1/2 tbl. brown sugar and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a sauce pan. Dissolve the sugar in the milk (occurs at a low boil). Add 1 tsp vanilla extract. Combine with 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar in a bowl or mixer. Drizzle glaze over rolls immediately after pulling them out of the oven.

Mission: Lasagna

I am currently on a cooking tear. But the recent changes in my life mean that I only really have to time to savor cooking on the weekends. On the weekends, then, I'm trying to prepare food that I can use and enjoy throughout the week.

The French Bread was a wonderful example of this. But man cannot live by bread alone. So yesterday, I set out to make one of my favorite meals in the world.

First I cut the recipe for this wonderful marinara sauce in half. Note: I didn't include meat in this sauce this time.

Then I started to build my lasagna. I covered the bottom of a 9" x 13" glass baking dish with a layer of sauce. Then I covered the sauce with a layer of lasagna noodles. I spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese on the noodles and then covered the noodles and ricotta cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. After creating three sauce/noodles/cheese layers, I added a final layer of sauce and sprinkled Parmesan cheese generously on top.

I covered the top with foil, sealing the edges tightly. Then I baked it at 400 degrees for 75 minutes. (I checked the lasagna after an hour, testing the texture of the noodles with a fork. Since the noodles seemed a bit stiff still, I let the lasagna cook for another 15 minutes. The cooking time would probably vary between 60 and 90 minutes depending on the oven.)


My roommates and I tackled the result. The lasagna, paired with white wine, French Bread, Butterfinger ice-cream, and a lot of laughter, was divine. The second positive: lunch and dinner for part of the week is already prepared.

 Lasagna

1 4 lb. bottle of Traditional Prego
15 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup white wine (The original recipe calls for red wine, which is probably a better choice. I only had white available)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 tbl. dried oregano
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 tbl. olive oil
2 tsp pepper

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil in a large stock pot until the onions become transparent. Add the remaining ingredients and adjust amounts to taste. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Layer sauce, noodles, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese. A regular baking dish should be able to accommodate three layers of each. Cover the result with a final layer of sauce and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 60-90 minutes, until noodles reach desired texture. (Test with fork.)

Home Is Where the Bread Is

Home, for me, has always had an intricate connection to food. So when a sudden chain of events transported me away from the Midwest, away from the Michigan woods, away from my family and everything familiar,  to Washington, D.C. amidst a sea of new faces and places, the urge to cook set in immediately.

At almost every gathering of friends or family, at every holiday meal, acting as indispensable support to the main dish, my mom's French Bread played an iconic role. Mom has baked countless loaves of French Bread over the years. In many ways, the bread encapsulates everything I love and know. And so, at a moment when I needed to hold on to old ties and create new ones, when I needed to both feel the connection to home and forge my own way, I turned to French Bread.

Following my mom's recipe, I proofed the yeast. I mixed the flour, sugar, and salt. By hand, I kneaded the stiff dusty mixture into soft malleable dough. I held my breath while I waited for it to rise, hoping I hadn't killed the yeast. Finally, I slid the two loaves into the oven.

A short time later, my roommate and I cut into the soft warm bread. As I quietly savored the familiar taste, a feeling of total satisfaction washed over me. In that warm bread, I knew I held onto a little piece of home.

French Bread

2 1/2 cups warm (almost hot) water

2 tbl. yeast

2 tbl. melted butter

2 tbl. sugar (plus an extra sprinkle to proof yeast)

1 tbl. salt

7 1/2 cups flour

To 1 cup of very warm water, add two tbl. of yeast. Sprinkle a little sugar on top and stir. Allow yeast to proof. (It will foam and expand to 1 1/2 -2 cups.) Grease a bowl with butter. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Combine melted butter and 1 1/2 cups water. Add to flour mixture. Mix. Add proofed yeast. Mix until doughy. 

Knead (try to avoid tearing the dough....rather, stretch the dough with the palms of your hands; then turn the dough 90 degrees, flip over, fold, and stretch again) on hard, non-porous surface (a granite counter-top works well) for 15 -20 minutes. Dough should become softer and more malleable as you knead.

Let the dough rise in a covered bowl in a warm place for 45 minutes. Separate the dough into two equal parts. Gently shape the dough into smooth elongated loaves. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 420 degrees for 25 minutes.