Tag: dinner

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.

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.

Cozy and Bright Red Lentil Soup.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

A soup that I crave year round, but crave in these quiet, cozy weeks between holidays most of all. It’s healthy, hearty, and bright. Basically it’s fall sunshine in a bowl.

Red lentil soup

Olive oil
1 white onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
5 cloves minced garlic
8 cups veggie or chicken stock
2 cups red lentils
1 cup corn
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
zest and juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste.

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or other soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté until the onions are soft and translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 more minute or so, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock, lentils, corn, cumin, curry powder. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are completely tender.

At this point, you can either blend the soup or not. I always do using an immersion blender, but you could use a regular blender too. Or just eat it as is! All equally yum.

Next, stir in the lemon zest and juice until combined. Taste and season the soup with a generous pinch or two of salt (I prefer Kosher) and black pepper.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon, grind of pepper, sprinkling of shaved warm, and a couple slices of fresh sourdough.

Meal Plan This Week.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Well, it’s starting to seem like I don’t put anything but meal plans on here! But oh well, here it is! The week ahead. May it go smoothly for us all!!

Sunday – Chili. My husband makes a very classic version, and it’s so good. We pile on corn chips, cheese and onion. I’ll get him to type up his recipe someday.

Monday – Grilled Chicken, Cheesy Butternut Squash Casserole, & Kale Salad. The butternut squash recipe is from Feeding a Family by Sarah Waldman.

Tuesday – Burrito Casserole. Bit of a casserole theme going, huh? I saw a recipe on Diane Morrisey’s Instagram account that gave me an idea so I’m running with it! Will share the recipe if it’s any good.

Wednesday – Homemade Chicken Strips with Za’atar Ranch, and Mac & Cheese. One for the kids! The chicken strips and ranch recipe is from The Modern Proper cookbook which I highly recommend. If I have time, I’ll make the Mac and Cheese, but I have a box on hand just in case.

Thursday – Leftovers always!

Friday – Pizza night!

Saturday – Dinner in a Pumpkin. For Charlie’s birthday! Last year I made Ballerina Farm’s recipe, and this year I might switch it up a bit. You can really make any soup, and just transfer it to a pumpkin.

Bake – Charlie’s Birthday Cake. He’s gone from bat to witch to dinosaur, but the last week or two he’s seemed pretty set on dinosaur. I’ll probably make a layer cake. My favorite white cake recipe comes from Simple Cake by Odette Williams. Look for the Very Vanilla Cake.

Treat – Halloween Sugar Cookies. So excited for these.

Cocktail – Shrunken Apple Punch. We made this last year, and the apple carving was so fun.

That’s it! Can you believe we’re over halfway through October? I could cry!

Meal Plan This Week.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Monday – Crockpot Carnitas Rice Bowls. We’ve gotten a carnitas roast from Aldi a few times before and it is SO good and so easy. You just toss it all in the crockpot and cook like a normal roast. I’ll make rice and a side of black beans when I get home from school and we’ll top with fresh salsa, guacamole, cilantro, drizzle sour cream thinned with lime, and a few dashes of sriracha and a dash of tajin on top if we’re feeling snazzy.

Tuesday – Carnitas Tacos. Kind of like yesterday, but on soft tacos that have been warmed in the oven and with pickled onions and a heap of taco slaw on top. Oof, yum.

Wednesday – Creamy Chicken Ramen Soup. Like a hug in a bowl.

Thursday – Leftovers always!

Friday – Pizza night! Plus family movie after, obviously

Saturday – Charcuterie Board. My favorite kind of dinner. I’ll pick up whatever looks good, but I do have a pinterest board for inspiration! It only has six pins, so I really need to go add some more. I think I’d like to master the fine art of charcuterie board building.

Sunday – Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup. Grilled Cheese on my sourdough, tomato soup from a can because call me crazy – that’s my favorite tomato soup. I think it just takes me back to my childhood! I’d be happy to hear suggestions for your favorite tomato soup – but don’t be offended if I don’t try it.

Bake –Apple Crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream. Nothing says mid-september best.

Treat – Molasses Cookies. I think I’ve put this on a couple past plans and haven’t gotten to them. I’m committed to them this time!

Cocktail – September Heatwave. I also had this on last week’s, but we switched to our pumpkin beer date night instead. Having this alongside a big fall puzzle on the coffee table for our weekend date & cocktail pairing.

Make anything good lately? Please share, so I can drool!

Meal Plan This Week.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

Monday – Flank Steak, roast brussels & crispy potatoes. My husband makes the best flank steak marinade. I dream about it! Doing Labor Day right and wrapping up summer with all the good stuff.

Tuesday – Chicken Enchiladas. We don’t really follow a recipe for this one. Put the chicken in the crock pot in the morning with taco seasoning, and use canned enchilada sauce for ease. All you have to do is shred the chicken and heat up some black beans on the side. To assemble – shred the chicken, spread a bit of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish, into each tortilla shell put chicken and some shredded cheese (we like either Monterey Jack which melts really well, or taco cheese here), roll up and place seam side down into the dish, top with more enchilada sauce and shredded cheese. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes. Serve with sour cream, sliced avocado, tajin seasoning, cilantro, and a side of black beans.

Wednesday – Harvest Skillet. But with chicken sausage instead of bacon! But also looking at this recipe that I think I’ve used before, my recipe is actually not all that similar to this one. 😂 I usually do Brussels sprouts, bite size potatoes sliced in half, sweet potatoes diced, chicken sausage all cooked up in the cast iron skillet. Top with fresh parm and serve with a side of sourdough.

Thursday – Leftovers always!

Friday – Pizza night! Plus family movie after.

Saturday – Pulled Pork Tot-Cho’s for husband and I, pulled pork sandwiches for the boys.

Sunday – Whole roast onions, pork chops and mashed potatoes. Excited about this one. I’ve been thinking about those onions since I found them on Pinterest.

Bake – Salted Maple Pie. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Treat – Apple Chips. The boys will love these! They’ll be the perfect after school snack.

Cocktail – September Heatwave. Feels appropriate.

Make anything good lately? Please share with everyone in the comments!

Meal Plan This Week.

~ emetroka ~ 3 Comments

Monday – Beef ragú over egg noodles. We’re having this today over parmesan polenta with Caesar salad and garlic bread. We’ll have the leftovers on Monday with egg noodles and more bread for the boys.

Tuesday – Taco Soup. A recipe from my mother-in-law. I’ll post the recipe this week on Instagram, but the recipe I’m linking to looks identical! Liz (my mother-in-law says “It is very forgiving…. can substitute anything…. I just give it a shake or two of ranch powder… I use 2 fire roasted tomatoes and 1 stewed… and I add about a can of water. It’s so easy. The hardest part is opening cans!”

Wednesday – Sheet pan salmon and tons of veggies (zucchini, squash, broccoli, onion). Mixed with lemon pepper seasoning, garlic, oil and lots of butter. Spread in a single layer and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Thursday – leftovers always!

Friday – Pizza night! I’ve confessed that we’ve been picking pizza up from our favorite local spot lately and I have zero regrets as we’re still getting into the swing of being back in school!

Saturday – Date Night! Our anniversary is the 30th, so we’re hitting the town and the boys will most likely have hot dogs or chickens nuggets.

Sunday – Spaghetti Bolognese. A Sunday favorite, and the perfect weekend cooking project. It’s not hard, but it takes a long time.

Bake – Sourdough. It’s happening! I’m getting my poor languishing starter revived this week. I use Tartine’s country bread recipe and it’s not the fastest, nor easiest, but it’s easily the best.

Treat – Molasses Cookies. Feels very end of August-y. A follower shared this recipe with me and I have to try it! I have so many cookie suggestions from a story chat the other day, so I’m going to share a blog post with all of the links because I need to try them all.

Cocktail – Coffee Old Fashioned. Can you tell I’m already easing into September?

Make anything good lately? Please share with everyone in the comments!

Your Favorite Cookbooks.

~ emetroka ~ 1 Comment

A few months ago, I put a little question box on Instagram and asked for cookbook suggestions from you guys. I’d like to build up my little cookbook collection, but I’d rather not have cookbooks sitting on my shelf that I don’t use. I knew you guys would have the best suggestions, and wow. You all came through. I had hundreds of responses of books you all say you use over and over again. I had to get all of this crowdsourced cookbook knowledge down here. I’ve separated by Baking, Weeknight cooking, Weekend/Date Night Cooking, Cooking Basics, and special dietary cookbooks. Each cookbook is listed by title, author, and then if you click on it, it will take you to amazon to look at the description. They are affiliate links so if you choose to purchase, I will get a little kickback (like 10 cents. just trying to put dinner on the table here. lolol.) This list makes my librarian heart sing! I’m going to start requesting one from the library every week and I’ll browse through, pick a couple recipes to try and see if it’s worth purchasing to have and to hold forever and ever. I thought you guys might like to see the list if you too are looking to beef up your collections! As always, I’ll share reviews on Instagram, and I’ll share any I decide to buy too. Side note: can’t believe the number of vegetarian cookbooks suggested!

Baking

Sister pie, Lisa Ludwinski
The Book on Pie, Erin Jeanne McDowell (This is my suggestion! I very much love this cookbook!)
Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook, Kathleen King
Bake the Seasons, Marcella DiLonardo
Flour Water Salt Yeast, Ken Forkish
Flour and Grace, Valerie Kuhns
Tartine Bread, Chad Robertson (I have and love this book. It’s my sourdough bible!)
Midwest Made, Shauna Sever
100 cookies, Sarah Kieffer
Flour, Joanne Chang
Bread Toast Crumbs, Alexandra Stafford
Dessert Person, Claire Saffitz
Sweet, Yotam Ottolenghi 
Sally’s Baking Addiction, Sally McKenney

Cooking Basics

Betty Crocker Cookbook
Fat Salt Acid Heat, Samin Nosrat
How to Cook Without A Book, Pam Anderson
Americas Test Kitchen Cookbook
Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child
The Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters
Small Victories, Valerie Turshen
The Joy of Cooking, Irma Rombauer
Minimalist Kitchen, Melissa Coleman

Simple, Everyday Dinners

Skinnytaste One and Done, Gina Homolka
Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, Tieghan Gerard
Half Baked Harvest Every Day, Tieghan Gerard
Jamie Deen’s Good Food, Jamie Deen
Feeding a Family, Sarah Waldman
All About Dinner, Molly Stevens
The Modern Proper, Holly Erickson
Dinner, Melissa Clark
Vietnamese Food Any Day, Andrea Nguyen
Local Dirt and Dishing up the Dirt by Andrea Bemis
Taste of Home Cast Iron Cookbook
Let Me Feed You, Rosie Daykin
Magnolia Table, Joanna Gaines
100 Days of Real Food, Lisa Leake
Everyday Dinners, Jessica Merchant
Huckle & Goose, Anca Toderic
It’s All Easy, Gwyneth Paltrow
Everyday Dinners, Jessica Merchant
Hope’s Table, Hope Helmuth
Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree Drumond
Ottolenghi’s Simple, Yotam Ottolenghi
Dinner: A Love Story, Jenny Rosenstrach
Grains for Every Season, Joshua McFadden
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Deb Perlman
Scrumptious, Christy Denney
Comfortable Kitchen, Alex Snodgrass
A Year of Simple Family Food, Julia Busuttil Nishimura
The Complete Slow Cooker, America’s Test Kitchen
Once Upon a Chef, Jennifer Segal
Milk Street Tuesday Night, Christopher Kimball
Prairie Homestead Cookbook, Jill Winger

Date Night/Weekend Cooking

Cravings, Chrissy Teigan
Jerusalem, Yotam Ottolenghi
The Little House Cookbook, Barbara M. Walker
Cook Beautiful, Athena Calderone
Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet, Padma Lakshmi
Nothing Fancy, Alison Roman
Ina Garten cookbooks
How Easy Is That Is
Eating Out Loud, Eden Grinshpan
Giada’s Italy, Giada Di Laurentiis
A Love of Eating: Recipes from Tart London
Cook this Book, Molly Baz
Williams Sonoma Brunch and Breakfast, Norman Kolpas
Simply Julia, Julia Turshen
Williams Sonoma Comfort Food
The Lost Kitchen, Erin French
The picnic, Marnie Hanel ( I NEED this book)
Cooking With Nonna, Rossella Rago
Molly on the Range, Molly Yeh
Sprouted Kitchen, Sara Forte
Let’s Stay In, Ashley Rodriguez
Dishing Up Maine, Brooke Dojny

Special Dietary

My New Roots, Sarah Britton (vegetarian)
Cook Once, Eat All Week, Cassy Joy Garcia (gluten free)
The Nourished Kitchen, Jennifer McGruther (traditional foods lifestyle)
Ruffage, Abra Berens (vegetarian)
Love and Lemons, Jeanine Donofrio (vegetarian)
The Forest Feast, Erin Gleeson (vegetarian)
My Darling Lemon Thyme, Emma Galloway (vegetarian, gluten free)
Little Green Kitchen, David Frenkiel (vegetarian)
Run Fast, Eat Slow, Shalane Flanagan (for athletes)
Love Real Food, by Kathryne Taylor (vegetarian)
Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon (traditional foods)
Lexi’s Clean Kitchen, Alexis Kornblum (paleo)
Mostly Plants, Tracy Pollan (vegetarian)
Simple Green Suppers, Susie Middleton (vegetarian)
Whole by Natural Harry (vegetarian)
Oh She Glows, Angela Liddon (vegan)
Elsa’s Wholesome Life, Ellie B (vegetarian)
No Crumbs Left, Teri Turner (whole30)

The ones I’ve requested from the library – Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, The Modern Proper, Sister Pie, Hope’s Table

Pizza Friday. (And Our Favorite Pizza Dough Recipe)

~ emetroka ~ 4 Comments

Pizza night begins on Thursday night for me. After the boys are in bed, the house is cleaned up, the dishes are being whirred clean in the dishwasher, the laundry is tumbling, but generally just before I step into the shower, a little reminder goes off on my phone. *MAKE PIZZA DOUGH*. Yelling at me really. Telling me not to forget or else I’ll have to make an unwanted Friday stop at the grocery store for dough and 20 other things not on my list (though I wouldn’t mind some fresh flowers and a few bottles of Topo Chico). I’m always happy to do it after I get over the initial shock that I almost forgot again. I first trudge to the kitchen, and (most important step) I turn the lamp on that sits on the counter for extra coziness. I may pour myself just a splash more wine and then out of the pantry I pull the flour, the olive oil, the salt, the yeast from the fridge and a mason jar from the shelf to measure out my warm water. It’s a ritual that tells me – the weekend is almost here! All you have to do is just lean forward and momentum will take you right up to that moment you walk through your home’s front door on Friday night. On pizza night! The best family tradition that rolls around every single week with the predictability of clockwork. Wanted to get our favorite recipe down here because I’ve tried so many in the decade that we’ve done Pizza Friday (even before we had kids!) and this one truly is the best. It freezes well if you want to make it in bulk, it comes together in 10 minutes, you can make it the day of, or (if you’re a working mom like me) you can make it the night before and it goes into the fridge for an overnight rise. It tastes even better for the extended rise.

Pizza Dough

2 teaspoons/5 grams dry active yeast
1 3/4 cups/ 420 ml lukewarm water
4 ½ cups/625 grams all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
2 teaspoons/5 grams kosher salt
2 tablespoons/30 milliliters olive oil

Put the warm lukewarm water in a mixing bowl (use a stand mixer or food processor if you prefer – I always use my kitchenaid mixer). Sprinkle yeast over water and let dissolve, about 2 minutes.

Add flour, salt and olive oil and mix well until flour is incorporated and dough forms, about 5 minutes. It may look a little rough or pockmarked.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Turn dough out onto surface and knead lightly until it looks smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Coat a bowl in oil and place your dough in the bowl and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. You can skip this rise in the refrigerator and use the dough right away, but this cool, slow rise makes it easier to stretch and gives the pizza a crisper texture and more nuanced flavor.) You can also freeze it for future use.

To make your pizza: preheat oven to 475. Get bowl out of fridge (I usually let it sit out for a couple hours first to make it easier to stretch) and pour out onto on a lightly floured surface. Split dough into either two pieces for large pizzas or into four for small. Form each piece into a smooth, firm ball. Flour lightly, cover loosely with plastic wrap and top with a kitchen towel. Leave to rest for about 15-30 minutes. Now is a good time to get your toppings ready, make your sauce.

Now, to bake pizzas stretch into your desired size. If you like thick pizza – make it thick. If you like thin – make it thin! You can do this with your hands or a rolling pin. We use cookie sheets to cook ours but you could anything. You can use either olive oil or fine cornmeal on your pan to ensure that it doesn’t stick. We like a crispier crust so we pre bake the pizza at 475 for about ten minutes before putting any of our toppings on. If you like a softer pizza – just add your toppings before you put it in. Baking time will depend on the thickness of your pizza, so it can vary from 10-20 minutes. Just keep watch the first few times you make it and make a note. We also like to broil for a couple minutes at the end for yummy cheese.

I’ll make another post soon with our pizza sauce recipe and topping ideas! Enjoy!

The Best Green Beans I’ve Ever Made.

~ emetroka ~ Leave a comment

I know, I know. Green beans. Decidedly un-sexy. When I think of green beans, the canned version generally comes to mind. A dull, lifeless grayish green with mystery liquid somehow deeming itself “fresh” for decades to come. Now, let it be known that I’m not above canned green beans. My kids love them. We throw them in casseroles and soups and anything that needs a little veggie oomph. These green beans, though, are not to be confused with those green beans. These, my friends, are the best green beans I’ve ever made. They’re flavorful, fancy enough for a dinner party, un-fancy enough for an easy weeknight. They’re in season at our farmer’s market right now, so I plan to get them again this week and make them this exact way to solidify what I’ve already decided – everyone needs these in their life.

You’ll find with most of my dinner recipes that I’m extremely unprofessional and don’t give exact amounts. I am just a mom who likes to cook after all. Treat these as an idea, or a shopping list. These are the elements, make with more or less of each of the elements as you prefer. That’s the fun part of cooking after all – the throwing things in with abandon and making it your own.

Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

1 lb green beans
sliced mushrooms
butter (1 – 2 Tablespoons)
olive oil
minced garlic
salt
pepper
1 lemon
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 cup roasted shaved almonds
goat cheese crumbles (or shaved parmesan if you prefer)

Wash green beans and snap off both ends. Boil until fork tender (10-15 minutes). Meanwhile, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms and garlic and cook until tender goodness. Strain green beans and add to skillet. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes to let the flavors combine. Turn the heat off, add the cherry tomatoes, squeeze lemon over the mixture and mix together. Quickly transfer to a pretty platter (you don’t want the tomatoes to cook, just warm slightly). Top with almonds and goat cheese (or parmesan) and enjoy!