Steals of the Week: FOOTBALL Food!

 This is the first year in a while my husband and I aren't having a party for that game that happens between the two teams that remain after the regular season and the playoffs (apparently any mention or allusion to said game is a huge no-no). He is naturally disappointed because there are a few appetizers  I make that he can't wait to eat. Personally, I am excited to let someone else do the planning and cooking this year. But in his honor, and for those of you interested in game day snacks, here are some oldies but goodies that have been "stolen" for generations. Credit is given where credit can be credited!

VELVEETA Spicy Sausage Dip recipe (follow link for recipe)

• I personally use 1 roll of Jimmy Dean Hot sausage for extra spice
• The can of diced green chiles and tomatoes is a simple way to make this recipe. I have also made it with fresh tomatoes and canned green chiles, which I find makes a thicker dip.
• This dip is great with multi-grain tortilla chips too!

7-Layer Dip 

There are THOUSANDS of versions of this recipe out there so attributing anyone to a version is hard. One of my go-to recipe sites AllRecipes.com has 7 different kinds just on the first page. I will share the recipe my mom gave me. This makes enough dip for a 9x13 dish!

2 cans of refried beans
1 package of taco seasoning
3 cups of guacamole (not the guacamole dip! I've made that mistake!)
3 cups of sour cream
2 large tomatoes diced
2 cans of diced green chiles drained
4 cups of shredded Mexican cheese
2 small cans of sliced black olives

Mix the taco seasoning into the beans and spread on the bottom of the pan. (A little hint that sometimes microwaving the beans for a bit can soften them to make them easier to spread.) layer the other ingredients in order listed being careful to spread the liquid ingredients thinly and evenly. The tomatoes, chiles and olives should be sprinkled to cover and the cheese should completely cover the dip. Serve immediately or chill no more than 2 hours.

Hot Sausage and Cheese Puffs 
(I am 99.9% sure this originated with Bisquick but the recipe on Bettycrocker.com is different! sausage-cheese-balls. My mom gave this recipe to me years ago.

1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, cooked, crumbled, drained and completely cooled
1 pound shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 cups biscuit mix
3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add sausage to a large bowl, then add cheese, biscuit mix and water. Mix with a fork just until blended. The mix will have a paste like consistency. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on large ungreased cookie sheets (I usually use parchment paper just to be safe). Bake 12-15 minutes or until puffed and browned. Remove and cool on wire racks. These can be prepared ahead and frozen or refrigerated and then warmed right before the party in a 350 oven.

Have a great party and enjoy the game!

Leftovers for Lunch

I love leftovers! Seriously, I consider myself the MacGyver of leftovers and love thinking up ways to use leftover food. Periodically on this blog I will share some meals made with leftovers and you'll see me mention the use of leftovers as I delve more into monthly meal planning.

 Last night, my dear hubby grilled us up some beautiful 1-inch thick New York strip steaks which admittedly were large enough for us to have split one versus each of us having our own. However, having leftover steak is WONDERFUL especially on a weekend when you have the time to make a yummy lunch. So today, I made steak sandwiches with our steak, some onion, our favorite cheeses and leftover wheat sub rolls.

I started with half a Vidalia onion sliced into thin strips and the leftover steak also sliced thinly. I sauteed the onions in a little olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. When they became soft and translucent, I added my steak.

I cooked the steak with the onions and to the pan also added about a tablespoon of Worcestershire and sprinkled some of the same steak seasoning we use when we grill the steaks (I'm a big fan of Canadian steak seasoning).

While the steak and onions browned, I turned my oven to 350 degrees and threw in my two wheat sub rolls. It's a personal preference, but I always like to stuff sub rolls when they are already warm and crusty. When they are nice and warm and crusty, I take them out, split them down the center and carefully create a "boat" for the filling. I remember a Rachel Ray episode once when she was making meatball subs that she actually removed bread from the inside. However, I found it just as effective to firmly press into the sub roll and create plenty of space for the filling.

With the steak and onions nicely browned, it's time to fill the sub rolls. I like extra cheese, so I always put down a layer of cheese in the bottom of the roll first. Today's selection was reduced-fat Havarti. Husband is a cheese on top kind of guy, so I just piled the meat and onions in, before topping his with pepper-jack cheese.

Before topping with cheese.

After in the oven.

And as he was looking over my shoulder, he said "did you mention that if we had any peppers, those would have been in there too?" Of course, you can add peppers to the onions, omit onions, add mushrooms, whatever. Just make sure you saute` your vegetable(s) of choice before adding the steak so they aren't too crunchy.

The next step, is putting the sandwiches back into the 350 oven until the cheese is melted. I always preferred this over broiling because I never have to worry about the bread over-browning.

I will also mention that this simple use of steak is interchangeable with chicken leftovers. I have made a very yummy Mexican twist using taco seasoning, onions and peppers and Mexican cheese too!

So Easy...I can't even do it!

I do 99.9% of the cooking in our house but their is one dish everyone loves but that only my husband can make. it sounds a little crazy, but the dish is so simple, every time I have tried to make it, the kids and him say, it doesn't taste the same! So my dear husband is the recipe sharer today and below are the instructions, in his own words with my help!

2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing (this is the key according to him!)

Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place small amount of dressing in a skillet on medium to medium-hi heat. Place chicken in skillet and saute` until most of liquid in pan is cooked off and the chicken is slightly browned. Add more Italian dressing (approx a 1/2 cup but eyeball to see that the chicken is coated thoroughly). Continue to saute` until chicken completely browned and covered well in dressing.

We serve this over steamed rice. I have used leftovers to make wraps with spinach and mozzarella.

Quick, easy, and yes...I can't make it as good as my husband does!

If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Some recipes are just perfect...so much so, you use it again and again and can recite it backwards if necessary! These meatballs are a family and a company favorite. Courtesy of The One-Dish Bible  Publications International (January 2005)


MEATBALLS IN BURGUNDY SAUCE


60 frozen prepared fully cooked meatballs
3 cups chopped onions (less than this doesn't change the recipe much if you're not an onion person)
1 1/2 cups of water
1 cup red wine
2 packages (about 1 oz each) beef gravy mix (I use the brown gravy mix from McCormick)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 package egg noodles (if serving as a family meal)


Slow cooker Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except the noodles in a slow cooker and stir to blend.
2. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 hours or set to low and cook 8-10 hours
3. Cook noodles according to package directions and serve meatballs with them OR serve as an appetizer with cocktail toothpicks and remaining sauce as a dip.

Specific Menu Based on Sales Ad!

Hey everyone. On my daily survey of all things blog, food and recipe, I came across this on one of my favorite money saving sites. She links to a blogger who makes specific recipes out of what's just in the sales ads! Enjoy!
Recipes Based on Harris Teeter’s Sales Ad | A Frugal Chick

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

Certainly anyone can plan a meal and go out and buy all of the ingredients. Yet in my experience, that method corners you into buying something not on sale and even worse, something you might never use again (so says the rice flour I bought for one recipe and have yet to use again...although I am determined to do so !)

However, I have found one of the big advantages of monthly meal planning is the ability to grocery shop more efficiently and save time and money down the line. If you can see the larger picture of how you will be using the food you buy, you tend not to waste what you have and you buy what you only truly need. It's been a long time since I have thrown out something I bought that got forgotten in the fridge.

Here's my method. Most grocery stores publish at least one weekly circular that is in the newspaper, mailed to a home or available online. If you're like me and have one favorite store, check what that store has on sale that week in their produce, butcher and dairy sections first. These tend to be the building blocks of your meals and are the key ingredients to start with when planning a meal. In my post on cooking chicken 3 ways I mentioned I took advantage of a sale on chicken to plan some meals. It's as simple as that, ESPECIALLY when it's a great deal. Once you know you have chicken, you can look for recipes that have chicken as a main ingredient AND take advantage of what you already have on hand or look closer at what's on sale in produce and dairy and choose some of those items. The beauty of the Internet is you can Google "chicken and cheese and rice" and come up with about 1,000 options!

Another example, let's say steaks are on a super sale. It's easy (and I often do it) to write "steaks" on the menu and pick a good day for indoor or outdoor grilling. Lettuce is on sale and so are potatoes so...great steak, salad and baked potato. But since you are planning for the month think about what else those steaks could be used for in another week or sometime else during the month: fajitas? steak sandwiches? a mixed grill?  Or maybe you can't think of anything right at the moment so you buy the extras and freeze them. Then wait until the next planning session and say, "hey I have steaks in the freezer!"

The key, and it takes practice, is to take advantage of the sales AND what's in season, especially when you are talking about produce. Not only are they more flavorful, but they're cheaper too! Try this link for a quick guide to seasonal fruits and vegetables. Happy shopping!

Meal Planning Preview

Stay tuned...tomorrow I am covering using the grocery store ads and flyers to help with your meal planning!

Meal Planning - Cooking "Ahead"

One of the important parts of meal planning is what I call "cooking ahead". There are actually two ways to "cook ahead": 1) cooking in a large quantity and freezing leftovers for future meals and 2) making meals that will be cooked or reheated and eaten later.

I actually stumbled upon cooking ahead out of my inability to cook any meal that would only feed 2-3 people. I would freeze leftovers in individual containers that could be used as lunches for me and my husband later. However, as I began to use the meal planning calendar and our schedules became more hectic with the birth of our son, I realized freezing the entire quantity of food could equal an "emergency meal" if we weren't able to do what was planned or would work in a pinch for a very busy night in which I couldn't cook a meal from scratch and we didn't want to do take-out. The first few times I pulled a meal from the freezer for a dinner, it was so liberating I started thinking about actually preparing meals just for the purpose of reheating or cooking later.

There are tons of "do-ahead" recipes out there and many of them are the stand-bys like lasagnas and casseroles. However, I got creative and did things like enchiladas, pulled chicken and pork and sausage and peppers. My only advice is the following few points:

1. Label your meals with a date and a name. Nothing worse than a huge container of unknown food slowly becoming a fossil in your freezer or going to thaw a meal past its prime.
2. Use proper containers. I ruined a few lunch meals early on thinking I could re-use that Hillshire Farms  Ham Glad container!
3. Pay attention to what can be frozen safely and properly. The USDA tends to know what it's doing. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/focus_on_freezing/index.asp

Also, not everything has to be frozen. Some of my friends make meals on Sunday that can be used during the week and they go right into the fridge. Find out what works for you and even better...share it with us here!

Finally, now that I am really trying to stick to South Beach, the idea of cooking ahead has been expanded to include breakfast. Breakfast for me has always been my diet killer. All it would take is one morning getting out the door late to work on an empty stomach and through a Chick-Fil-A/Hardee's/McDonald's drive-thru I would go. So tonight, I made a breakfast casserole that I can eat on the remainder of the week and freeze in containers for next week. Kalyns Kitchen is my go to South Beach recipe site right now and below is the link to her basic breakfast casserole. Tonight's creation was turkey Italian sausage, fresh spinach, canned mushrooms and reduced fat Italian blend shredded cheese. And I can attest to its tastiness since I have already cut it up into servings for the week and of course enjoyed a little knife nibble! 

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/01/breakfast-casserole-many-wayswho-knew.html

Steals of the Week: Fried Ravioli by request and "Faux-tatoes"

I named this blog The Cook Crook because the cornerstone of my culinary "expertise" is truly the recipes and ideas of others. I consider myself creative with food but I still need a starting point and direction on what things can truly go together. So every week as a part of this blog I will highlight a recipe as my "Steal of the Week". This week I am including two since I received a request for the fried ravioli recipe I shamelessly stole from Rachel Ray and discussed here. The second is my own version of the South Beach "faux-tatoes" that I referred to as smashed cauliflower in my previous post. Enjoy!

Fried Ravioli 
(This recipe can easily be doubled for more than 3 people or smaller ravioli can be used to make a great appetizer)
1 Package Large Fresh Ravioli with any filling (I use the Organic spinach ones BJs sells in a 2-pack)
Canola Oil
1 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
Jar of favorite pasta sauce

Set up two large dishes as your dredging stations (I use deep dish pie plates). In one, beat the eggs and mix in the milk. In the other, mix well with a fork the breadcrumbs and the Parmesan making sure to break up any of the cheese that may be clumped. In a large deep skillet or an electric skillet (which is what I use), heat at medium-hi enough Canola oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Working in batches, coat the ravioli in the egg mixture and then being sure to shake off any excess, completely cover each one in the breadcrumb and cheese mixture. Place them one by one in the pan being sure you note where you lay the first one in. In the electric skillet, I start in the far left-hand corner and work may way up in a row and back down then back up again, repeating the pattern until as many ravioli as possible are in the pan. Be sure they are not touching. By the time I get to the last ravioli in the pan it's about time to flip them (about 3-4 minutes if you need a time). I have found a good set of tongs does the trick nicely.You will notice the ravioli will puff as it cooks, if they cook too long, they will burst although it's not unusual for a little filling to sometimes leak out even during normal cooking.

The ravioli should be nicely browned as you turn them. Be sure to stay true to the order you placed them in the pan which ensures each cooks evenly .When they have completed browning on the other side, remove them from the pan and place on top of a metal cooling rack positioned over some paper towels. This is a trick I stole from Alton Brown that prevents fried food from becoming soggy. If you are making a lot of little ones for appetizers or making them ahead of time for the family, place the ravioli on the cooling rack set in a backing pan and keep warm in a 350 oven. Serve with your favorite jarred sauce warmed up!

Smashed Cauliflower
I use frozen cauliflower because fresh is sometimes expensive, frozen is convenient and the husband hates the smell of a head of it steaming on the stove!

1 large bag of frozen cauliflower (16 oz.)
4 oz of cream cheese (I use reduced-fat)
salt and pepper to taste

*Note this is the basic recipe. You can mix in any of the typical toppings you might expect in potatoes: chives, bacon, shredded cheddar, etc. I made it the first time with crisped prosciutto and shredded Havarti cheese on top and I just read a recipe online where someone mixed in goat cheese!

Cook the cauliflower according to the package directions. Drain any excess liquid. In a large bowl, smash the cauliflower with a potato masher. Add the cream cheese and continue to smash together. Once combined, you can continue to smash until they reach your desired consistency or use a stick blender like I do to make them as creamy as possible. Mix in salt and pepper and any additional items like cooked crumbled bacon. Place in a 2-quart casserole dish, add shredded cheese if desired, and bake in a 350 degree oven until edges brown and cheese melts and bubbles.

3 Chicken Breasts, 3 Different Meals, 3 People

Last week my local Harris Teeter had Buy 1 Get 2 free of their boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3 to a pack). I bought a few packages and then took a look at the calendar to see where I needed chicken so I knew what needed to be frozen, and if I needed to break up any of the packages into individual breasts before freezing. Then I received my first issue of Cooking Light and was inspired! 25 ways to cook chicken? My husband could eat chicken every night so sign me up! I portioned out some of the chicken and kept two packets intact leaving 3 breasts together.

So tonight, the menu said "Chicken and Goat Cheese". Usually that means I make marinated and grilled chicken  and herb goat cheese sandwiches on wheat baguettes toasted in the oven. However, having recently hopped back on South Beach, no bread for me. So to the Cooking Light issue I went and found the recipe for stuffed chicken breasts with spinach and blue cheese located next to a recipe for stuffed chicken breasts with bacon and goat cheese. Naturally I was all about making some stuffed chicken with spinach and goat cheese! However hubby was still wanting a sandwich and the 3-year old was of course not having anything stuffed in his chicken. The solution? I was going to make those 3 chicken breasts into 3 meals.

Here's how:
The grocery store packaged chicken usually still has the tenderloin attached which you usually want to remove when making a stuffed breast or any dish only calling for the breast itself. I removed the tenderloins and trimmed the breasts and then marinated all of the chicken in a light bottled olive oil and garlic dressing. After a few hours in the fridge I started making dinner. First for the 3 year-old, I cut the tenderloins into large chunks and set them aside. In two of the breasts, I cut large slits into them to make the pockets for the stuffing. The last breast went on the indoor grill to cook.













For the little guy I rolled the chicken chunks into Panko breadcrumbs mixed with a little flour and pan fried them in a little Canola oil. The remaining oil was used to saute` some garlic and wilt about 2 cups of spinach for a side dish for husband that I set aside. Then I cooked the spinach I needed for my stuffed chicken, mixed in the goat cheese and prosciutto and stuffed that chicken! While the chicken was cooking its first 4 minutes, I sliced the grilled chicken and made the sandwich with the remaining goat cheese. It got popped into the oven with the stuffed chicken and the last few minutes of cooking, the nuggets just to warm them up. Add a side of smashed cauliflower, and Voila! 3 different meals!

Meal Planning - How it Began

The picture you see is from my actual fridge. Most folks who come into my kitchen glance at it and assume it's our family calendar of activities (not that it doesn't sometimes show those soccer games and school programs). But upon closer inspection they see I have information on what the dinner plans are for every day of the month. Then usually they look at me and say "I could NEVER plan meals by the month. The week maybe, but the month?"

But the thing is they can and you can too. My monthly meal planning came out of necessity. Both my husband and I work, we have a young son and we co-parent his daughter who is with us every Tuesday and every other weekend. He is a volunteer EMT, both of us are prone to a work trip here and there, both kids play soccer...and well, our evenings after getting home would go like this:

ME: What do you want for dinner?

HUBBY: I don't know. What do we have?

ME: Frozen chicken I think. Not sure what else.

HUBBY: Takeout?

ME: Sure. What are you in the mood for?

(And anyone with a significant other knows how this merry-go-round goes)

So a few years ago, after reading various articles online about menu planning and family scheduling and having my own childhood recollections of the Family Circle monthly meal calendar, I decided to create a calendar for our meals to eliminate the nightly confusion (and frankly also stress), cut down on our eating out and hopefully, in the end even save a little money. Now it's such a part of our routine that the 11 year old checks to see what meals are coming up and offers her own input on upcoming days.

The best part is, it's a PLAN. Notice this thing isn't carved into a stone tablet. It's on a dry-erase board for a reason. Kid #1 has a program at school now on Tuesday? Maybe that's a better night to have had something that's been in the crock-pot all day versus the chicken tenders I had planned. Did we just get invited to a grown-up party? Sweet! No cooking for me and now just need to make sure kid#2 has a meal planned for him and the babysitter. London Broil showed up on sale at the local store? That sounds like a very nice dinner to have on Sunday and we'll save the roast that is already in the freezer for another day.

So along with sharing recipes, cooking tips and tricks and the occasional culinary observation, I will also be sharing how I create and use the monthly meal calendar, how to grocery shop, use sales and try out new dishes on your family without anyone batting an eye. I will welcome your questions and also invite you to share your experience if you decide to start your own monthly plan.

For now, if you like the calendar I use, you can get one here:

Monthly Wall Calendar - Magnetic Dry Erase Board : Biggest Sale of the Year! | Organize.comTax Time! | Organize.com

The Cook Crook returns...for real this time

A good idea can only be seen as such if it's acted upon.

I am either the author of that quote or unintentionally reworded someone else's words but the sentiment is what matters. I believed in the idea of this blog, thought it would be fun, thought I would get other people interested...and then I lost my way. Life happens. Jobs change. Kids get sick. You hate your boss. You love your company. You had free time. You have no time. A knee gets operated on. I could make a list a mile long. But in the end, I came back because I have something to share. I can find a good idea in bad food, good food in 3 okay recipes and great food in a good idea. All I have to do is make sure I share it with you.

So, lets do a Batman Begins reboot of this franchise shall we? Everything from here on out will be what I hoped it would be and hopefully, even more.