Category: food

Meal Plan This Week.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

An easy, summer-y week of meals based around a pork shoulder done in the crock pot on Monday night.

Sunday – Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Hasselback Potatoes with Sour Cream Sauce (I left out the Horseradish), and a Lazy Caprese Salad

Monday – Husband threw the pork in the crock pot this morning. For dinner we’ll have Buddha Bowls with Rice, Pulled Pork, Roast Broccoli, and the leftover sour cream sauce from Sunday.

Tuesday – Crispy Pork Carnitas Tacos with Lazy Slaw

Wednesday – Pork and Sharp Cheddar Croissants with Oven Fries

Thursday – Leftovers – But nachos if we don’t have enough leftovers!

Friday – Pizza, of course

Saturday – Hot Honey Chicken on a big salad

Cocktail – Tequila Spritz

Bake – Berry Pie

Treat – Strawberry Ice Cream

Happy Eating this week, friends!

Warm Grain and Vegetable Bowl.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

If you are in need of a simple and nourishing meal that warms you up from your insides out, you’ve found it here. I found this recipe in Ina Garten’s Go To Dinners (everything in it has been amazing so far), and it’s one that is going to be in heavy rotation at our house. I’m writing the recipe as I made it, which differs from the original. And of course, as always, you can make it your own by using different vegetables and grains, but you really should make the dressing as is. That’s what makes it all so very good. Now, please excuse me while I go add all of this to our shopping cart for next week.

Warm Vegetable and Grain Bowl

1 cup quinoa
Salt and pepper
1/2 red onion, cut into 8 wedges through the stem
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, diced (I used a frozen bag for ease)
1/2 pound carrots, scrubbed and cut into sticks
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 oz greens such as spinach, kale, arugula or a mix
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans
creamy goat cheese, thickly sliced

For the dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Make quinoa according to package instructions, set aside.
  3. Combine the onion, butternut squash, and carrots on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and toss. Spread the vegetables out in one layer and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through until all the vegetables are tender.
  4. Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl with a whisk, or in a jar with a lid. Set aside.
  5. In a large salad bowl, combine your greens, cranberries, and toasted nuts (I just toast them in a cast iron skillet over medium for a couple minutes until they smell nutty and are golden brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.) Pour a little bit on your greens and toss.
  6. Serve the salad into your bowls, add quinoa, the goat cheese to taste and roasted vegetables on top. Drizzle a little more vinaigrette on top and season with salt if needed.
  7. Serve warm and inhale the whole thing.

Lavender Cake.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

I know I’ve talked about Lemon Everything for spring, but you know what else I am in love with this time of year? Lavender. I bought a giant package of food grade lavender for different treats this month. I’m making lavender lemonade, lavender tea, lavender simple syrup for lavender lattes, and a couple weeks ago I started my lavender adventures with a yummy little lavender cake. The thing you have to remember is that lavender can be pretty strong. You have to be pretty into it to really enjoy these treats. Maybe you don’t know if you like lavender! Maybe you should try it! I really love it, and think it’s beautiful, soul filling to cook with, and maybe you will too.

Lavender Cake with Lavender Frosting

For the cake:
1/2 cup milk, plus 2 tablespoons to be used in frosting below
2 tablespoons culinary lavender
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons mild-flavored vegetable oil

For the frosting:
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lavender milk (from above)

Prepare the Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round pan or 9-inch square pan with butter and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
  2. Over medium heat, bring the milk and lavender to a boil. After it comes to a boil, turn off heat, cover with lid and let it steep for about 10 minutes.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together. Set aside.
  4. Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and mix with a fork.
  5. Using mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter for 30 seconds on medium speed and then gradually add the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Continue beating on medium speed for another 4 minutes or until light in color and fluffy.  Add vanilla and lemon zest and beat until combined.
  6. With the mixer still on medium speed, gradually add the eggs. On low speed, add the flour mixture and then the oil and 1/2 cup of your lavender milk, making sure to reserve 2 tablespoons for your lavender frosting; mix until just combined. Don’t overbeat. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 40-50 minutes. When a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake bounces back when lightly pressed, remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the cake to gently release. Invert the cake, peel off the pieces of parchment paper and cool on a wire rack.

To make the frosting:

  1. Cream butter in mixer with paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy.
  2. Add powdered sugar and vanilla.
  3. Add your lavender milk and continue to beat for 3-4 minutes. If it seems too thick – add a bit more milk, if it seems too thin – add more powdered sugar.
  4. Make sure to wait until your cake is completely cooled before frosting or you may be dealing with a slippery, sliding mess.

Let me know if you try it!

Creamy, Lemony, Garlicky Pasta for Spring.

~ emetroka ~ 1 Comment

When you hear the word Spring, what do you think of first? My answer: Lemon. Second answer: Daffodils. I’ll save the daffodils for another day, but the color, the smell, the feelings I get when I close my eyes and taste lemons – it just screams Spring. Don’t you think? I could admittedly go for lemon at any time of year. Lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon tart, lemon poppyseed bread, lemonade, yes, even lemon butter popcorn. Give them all to me. But especially around this time of year, I really crave everything lemon. I made this pasta on Sunday night, and I didn’t really know how much the lemon would come through, but it ended up being so very good. Different than Alfredo or Mac and Cheese, yummier than Pasta al Limone. The lemon makes it zippy and fresh. The perfect meal for a lovely evening in Spring. I highly recommend grilling chicken and trimmed asparagus (wrapped up into foil a foil packet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper) and adding that to your bowl too as we did. And if you needed any more convincing – even my kids ate this one.

Creamy Lemon Garlic Pasta

1 pound angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
zest and juice of one lemon
kosher salt and pepper, to taste
chopped/torn parsley, to garnish

  1. Fill a large pot of water and add a few pinches of salt. Bring to boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Add butter, and whisk until melted. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated. Pour in chicken stock, heavy cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Turn heat to high, bringing liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring often until it begins to thicken ~10 minutes or so.
  3. Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest and juice. Add pasta, mixing into sauce with tongs until all strands are coated. Serve, topping with grilled chicken, fresh parmesan, and parsley.

My Mom’s Breakfast Casserole

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Truly think that everyone should have an easy breakfast casserole recipe in their back pocket. It’s a crowdpleaser, everyone is always impressed, it takes no time at all, can be made ahead and you probably have all the ingredients on hand anyway. Bookmark this one for every brunch for basically the rest of your life. It can be made the night before and baked in the morning, or just bake it up and re-heat it in the morning. My mom made this for every holiday/special event for my entire life, and still does to this day. And now I am her copy cat because she really did know what she was doing.

If we’re having a crowd, I make the full batch, but if it’s just our family of five, I halve all ingredients and bake in a smaller baking dish. I do not deviate with extra veggies or greens thrown in, but you certainly could! Recipes are meant to be played with. We serve with salsa, hot sauce and ketchup for condiments, and always a big bowl of berries and breakfast bread on the side. Enjoy this family favorite!

Breakfast Casserole

1 doz eggs
8 oz shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 c milk
Sliced white bread-crust removed, butter on both sides
1 1b fried bacon or 1 lb fried sausage
¼ t salt
¼ t pepper

Preheat oven to 350°

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with pam and cover bottom with your buttered bread. Sprinkle with ⅔ cup of cheese, ⅔ cup of bacon or sausage.

Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour in your baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining meat and cheese. Bake 50 minutes or until brown on sides. Serves 8-12