Now Only $12.99 lb

Save $6 lb

The Husband and I weren’t that creative – we went to a party dressed as Carl Spackler and Danny Noonan.  I was definitely more comfortable as a caddy this year … last year I wore a ridiculous St. Pauli Girl dress that garnered far more attention than I wanted, if you know what I mean.  Let’s just say, there’s something to be said for jeans and sneakers, ahem.

Next topic.

I first made this dish about a month ago and everyone here loved it – except for the mushrooms.  At the end of dinner, the rims of three pasta bowls were lined with uneaten criminis.  Which is why the photo above doesn’t show any fungi!  But I’m giving you the recipe as originally written – obviously, add in the mushrooms if you like.  I like. 

And by the way, anyone who tries to tell you that Viactiv Calcium Chews are a good substitute for Halloween candy is trying to sell you a bill of goods.

RAVIOLI WITH SUN DRIED TOMATO CREAM SAUCE
Serves:  4
Source:  myrecipes.com

18 oz. cheese ravioli (Buitoni Pastas are on sale)
2 t. olive oil
1 – 8 oz. package crimini mushrooms, quartered
1/2 c. diced yellow onion
1/2 t. flour
1/2 c. plus 2 T. half and half
2 T. sun dried tomato pesto (I used Classico)
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 c. grated Asiago cheese
Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Cook ravioli according to package directions.

While ravioli cooks, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat.  Add mushrooms and onion; saute 3 to 4 minutes or until liquid has been released from the mushrooms and they are nicely browned.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until smooth.  Add to pan, stirring well.  Cook over medium low heat 2 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.

Divide cooked ravioli evenly among 4 shallow bowls or plates; spoon sauce evenly over ravioli.  Sprinkle cheese evenly over each serving; garnish with basil if desired.

CALORIES:  306; FAT: 9g; PROTEIN: 13.8g; CARB: 41.5g; FIBER: 3.1g

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m cooking my way through the October issue of Cooking Light - and last night we had this chili-corn chip “pie” thingy.  I’m not sure why they called it a ‘pie’, it’s nothing like a pie at all…kinda weird.  What it’s supposed to be is a healthier version of a “walking taco” – which is (for those who are a long time removed from the grade school hot lunch program), a meaty chili mixture spooned inside a mini bag of Fritos, then topped with cheese and sour cream and smushed around and eaten out of the bag with a plastic sp’ork.  Doesn’t that sound absolutely scrumptious?!  There’s some high falutin’ cuisine at your neighborhood elementary school, I’ll tell you what.

Anyway, I served this in shallow soup bowls and set out a big tray of toppings:  diced roma tomatoes, sliced scallions and olives, sour cream, shredded cheese, and of course the FRITOS.  For five of us, I used nearly two pounds of ground sirloin, doubled the onion, tomato paste and spices, but used only one can of diced tomatoes.  I also used chicken broth instead of beef, because I had it on hand.  I was shooting for leftovers, but what you see in the picture is all that was left!

Have a great week. 

CHILI-CORN CHIP PIE
Serves:  4 
Source:  Cooking Light Magazine, October 2011 issue.  p. 112, recipe by David Bonom and Julianna Grimes.

Cooking spray
1 lb. ground sirloin (**see note**)
1 1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. ground red pepper
1/8 t. kosher salt
1 T. tomato paste
1 c. beef broth
1/3 c. water
1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 hefty pinch of chopped cilantro (optional)

4 oz. Fritos
1/3 c. shredded cheddar cheese (Sargento Shredded Cheeses are on sale)
1/4 c. fat free sour cream
1/2 c. diagonally sliced scallion tops
1 can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
1 large roma tomato, diced (optional)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add beef to pan; saute 5 minmutes, stirring to crumble.  Remove beef and drain well.  Wipe pan clean with paper towels.  Add onion to pan; saute 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add garlic; saute 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Stir in beef, cumin, pepper, and salt.  Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.  Add broth, water, tomatoes with juices, and cilantro (if using); bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

Place 1 ounce of chips(**)  in each of 4 bowls, and top each serving with about 2/3 cup beef mixture, 2 tablespoons cheese, 1 tablespoon sour cream, a sprinkle of scallions, tomatoes and olives (if desired).

**NOTES:  It’s worth noting that if you care more about saving cash and less about saving calories, SENDIK’S GROUND CHUCK is on sale every Wednesday for $1.49 a pound!  That’s a deal!!    And just a side note for anyone who IS counting calories, “one ounce of Fritos” is 32 FRITOS.  I know this because I personally weighed them out on my handy kitchen scale.    No need to thank me, I live for this stuff.

Dinner time has been interesting too - when these sweaty people drag themselves through the door at 5:30, they are flat out STARVING, a little grumpy, and they want something “GOOD” – and preferably consisting of bread, pasta, or potatoes.  Especially potatoes.  Last night I was flipping through this month’s issue of Food Network Magazine, did you see it?  They have a pull-out booklet with 50 preparations for stuffed potatoes – ideas ranging from your basic combo of cheddar and chive; to the dressed up Chicken a la King; to the uh, unusual mango and black bean (really?).

Tonight’s dinner is version #8:  brie & ham.   I just ate one from the photo shoot and it was really yummy!  My apologies for such a basic ‘recipe’ today, but honestly, what’s not to like about a three ingredient main dish?  When you’ve got a famished family and large piles of homework, sometimes keeping it simple is key.

Along with a big green salad, dinner is served.  Have a great week!

POTATOES STUFFED WITH BRIE & HAM
Serves: 4
Source:  Food Network Magazine, October 2011.  Special pullout section.

4 russet potatoes (10 lb. bags of Idaho potatoes are on sale this week, 9/14/11 – 9/20/11**)
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
1+ c. diced ham (Boar’s Head Honey Maple Ham is on sale this week, 9/14/11 – 9/20/11, just ask for a chunk)
1 wedge brie, diced (Sendik’s Brie is on sale this week, 9/14/11 – 9/20/11)
Chopped fresh parsley
Chopped fresh chives or scallions

Bake the potatoes in a 400 degree oven until tender, 1 hour.  Maintain oven temperature.  Split potatoes open and fluff each one with a fork.  Season potatoes with a little salt and pepper.

Cook ham in olive oil until browned.  Spoon onto fluffed baked potatoes and top with cubed of brie (I kind of smushed the ham and cheese down into the potato).  Warm in the oven to melt cheese (about five minutes); top with chopped parsley and chives and serve.

**NOTE:  These potatoes are on the smallish side — I made 10!

“Oh Leah, Cinco de Mayo is not a serious holiday in Mexico (“May-he-co”),” she said.  “It was only a small battle where we crushed the French.  Our real Independence Day is September 16th.  Then we celebrate!”

Pffft, seriously?  While I am slightly embarrassed that I am not up on my history of Mexico, I have to celebrate anyway.  I simply cannot wait until September to satisfy the craving that the current sale has planted in my brain.    On the upside, Fernanda did promise to make authentic posole when September rolls around, and I’m looking forward to that day.

For now, here’s a little recipe I found recently and just had to try.  I used corn tortillas, which I happen to like, but they crack easily when they’re rolled.  If you find these cracks unsightly, go ahead and use small flour tortillas instead.  My kiddos seem to like the flour ones better anyway — either way, both corn AND flour tortillas are on sale through tomorrow night.   We’re going to have these taquitos with a simple salad and a batch of refried beans.

As for Wellness Month, this recipe isn’t ‘diet’ per se, but it’s far lighter than traditional, deep fried taquitos.  Spraying them lightly with oil helps crisp them slightly without the calories (and mess) of deep frying.  I also used light cream cheese and light shredded Mexican cheese to cut down on fat.  Keep in mind that rotisserie chickens will be on sale tomorrow (Tuesday) and would be perfect here.

Enjoy!

BAKED CREAMY CHICKEN TAQUITOS
Makes:  12
Source:  food.com

1/3 cup cream cheese (Shur Fresh is on sale)
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (Rotisserie Chickens will be on sale on Tuesday)
1 cup shredded Mexican Blend Cheese (Sargento Shredded Cheeses are on sale)
About 12 small corn or flour tortillas (Mission Brand Tortillas are on sale)
Kosher salt
Cooking spray
Pico de Gallo & Guacamole as accompaniments (Sendik’s Brand Pico’ and Guac’ are on sale in the produce department)
Sour cream (Daisy Sour Cream is on sale)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder and mix well. Add cilantro, green onions, chicken and shredded cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

The corn tortillas are harder to roll without cracking. For the corn tortillas: work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges, and roll it up as tightly as you can.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Makes around 12 taquitos.  Transfer to a platter and serve with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream as desired.

Also, at Thanksgiving I confessed to my sister in law Barb that I was scared of yeast, and she looked at me like I had three heads.  And I felt like a total moron.  Because Barb hasn’t bought a loaf of bread in over 20 years!  I decided then and there that it was time to confront my fears.  And I was very, very afraid.

“Are you a man or a mouse?  Or a woman or a wouse?”

Movie line, anyone?  Anyone?  Buehler?

So, earlier in the week was my first attempt at this bread (vegetable soup night).  Sadly, I flunked again.  It tasted fine (good, even), but it didn’t rise the way it was supposed to.  But I was not discouraged!  Yesterday, I was back in the kitchen to give it another go.

Will you take a gander at what I turned out with my own two hands?!  I baked this bread all by myself and it’s awesome, man!  Golly, I haven’t been this proud of myself since I landed a toe loop in the fourth grade.

This bread is supposed to have three minced jalapenos in it, but in the interest of being family friendly, I left them out.  I’m sure they would be delicious though.  This is wonderful served warm with the vegetable soup (or any soup).  It’s also terrific toasted and buttered for breakfast, as we had it this morning.

Fear not the yeast, my friends!  If I can do it, so can you!

CHEDDAR PARMESAN BREAD
Makes 1 large or 2 smaller loaves
Source:  epicurious.com

1 t. active dry yeast
¼ t. sugar
1 ¾ c. plus 1 T. warm water (105-115 F)
4 c. all purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
1 ½ t. salt
¼ c. olive oil
5 oz. coarsely grated Cheddar (Sendik’s Brand Cheddar is on sale)
¾ c. finely grated Parmesan (Sendik’s Brand Parmesan is on sale)
1 egg, beaten

Special equipment:  stand mixer with dough hook

Stir together yeast and sugar with 1 tablespoon warm water in a small bowl; let mixture stand for 10 minutes, or until foamy.  If yeast doesn’t foam, discard mixture and start over.

Mix together flour, salt, oil, yeast mixture, and remaining 1+ cups warm water in bowl of mixer at low speed until a soft dough forms.  Increase speed to medium high and beat 3 minutes longer.  Add 1 ½ c. Cheddar and ½ c. Parmesan and mix until combined.

Coat a large mixing bowl with cooking spray.  Scrape dough into mixing bowl and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) to keep a crust from forming and let the dough rise in a draft free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 2 – 2 ½ hours.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and gently form into a roughly 11×8” rectangle with floured hands.

Fold into thirds (like a letter) with floured hands (dough will be sticky), pressing along seam of each fold to seal.

Put dough, seam side down, in an oiled 9×5” loaf pan (or, divide it into 2 smaller loaf pans).  Cover pan(s) with same clean dish towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough completely fills pan and rises above it slightly, 1 – 1 ¼ hours.

Preheat oven to 400.  Brush loaf with egg, then sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons Cheddar and remaining ¼ cup Parmesan down center of loaf(ves).

Bake until bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 50 minutes to 1 hour.  Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen loaf, then remove from pan.  Return bread (not in pan) to oven and turn on its side, them bake 10 minutes longer to crisp crust.  Cool completely on a rack, about an hour.  Slice and serve.

I’ve made many batches over the years and have found that using a hand mixer works best.  The dough gets pretty thick, and to mix it well by hand you’ll need biceps like my neighbor Jane.  And let’s not kid ourselves, Jane did not arrive at those biceps by hand mixing a lot of pate a choux – but that’s a topic for a different day.

Try this basic recipe, but feel free to swap in different combinations of cheeses, herbs, and savories.  Today I had a chunk of prosciutto and a bunch of fresh parsley hanging around, so I minced them up and tossed them into half the batch.  I’ve also used crumbled bacon and minced scallions, and I’ve played around with the cheeses too – while Gruyere is traditional, I’ve changed things up based on what I’ve had on hand – crumbled blue and shredded fontina are also amazing!

Prepare yourself for guests effusing with compliments. 

Enjoy!

CHEDDAR GOUGERES
Makes 48
Source:  Food & Wine Magazine, January 2011, p. 102.  Recipe by Veronica Pedraza.

1 stick butter (Land o’ Lakes is on sale)
1 c. water
½ t. kosher salt
1 c. all purpose flour
4 large eggs (Sparboe Large Eggs are on sale)
1 c. shredded, good quality Cheddar Cheese (I used the Sendiks 1 Year Sharp Cheddar)

Preheat the oven to 425 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, water, and salt and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat.  Add the flour and whisk until smooth.  Let cool slightly, then using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat in the eggs 1 at a time, beating thoroughly between additions.  Beat in all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese.

Using a 1-tablespoon ice cream scoop (or melon baller), scoop level mounds of the dough onto the baking sheets, 1 ½ inches apart.  Sprinkle with the remaining two tablespoons of cheese and bake for 28 minutes, until golden and risen.  Shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking time.

Lower the oven temperature to 400.  Pierce each gougere near the bottom with a skewer and return the pans to the oven.  Bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until crisp and deeply golden.  Transfer the gougeres to racks to cool.  Serve warm from the oven.

To freeze, cool completely then transfer to freezer bags.  To re-warm, place frozen gougeres on a baking sheet and recrisp at 325  for 5-10 minutes, then serve.

I made this pizzetta as an experimental appetizer this past Friday night.  The hub and I liked it so much, I made it again for company on Saturday!  You won’t believe how something so simple can taste so elegant and delicious…it’s the perfect cocktail hour fare.

Enjoy!

CAMBOZOLA PIZZETTA WITH ROSEMARY AND ROASTED GARLIC
SERVES:  4-6 as an appetizer
Source:  foodnetwork.com, recipe by Michael Chiarello

1 package fresh pizza dough, divided in half (I used dough from the Sendik’s bakery)
½ c. olive oil
3 T. chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus additional sprigs for garnish
2 T. minced garlic
1 c. grated Parmesan
1 wedge Cambozola Cheese, cut into pieces
1 head roasted garlic (see below)

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Press each piece of dough into an 8-10” round on a lightly floured surface.  (It doesn’t have to be perfect.  Rustic is good!)

In a bowl, combine the olive oil, rosemary, and garlic.  Brush some of the olive oil mixture on the pizzettas and sprinkle with some of the Parmesan.  Bake the pizzettas on the pizza stone until golden and crispy, about 12 – 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cut into pieces.  Serve with a piece of Cambozola and a bit of the roasted garlic.

For the Roasted Garlic:

Place a head of garlic on a cutting surface and slice off the top part of the bulb, exposing the tops of the cloves.  Place the bulb on a square of aluminum foil.  Drizzle garlic with some olive oil (2 teaspoons or so), a little bit of dried thyme (a pinch, crumbled), and some fresh black pepper.  Wrap tightly in foil and roast in the middle of a 400 degree oven until soft (about 45 minutes).  Open foil and when garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze it out onto pizzettas.

“Go chase yourself.”

“Go play in traffic.”

“Take a long walk off a short pier.”

“You wanna know what’s for dinner?  Two choices:  take it or leave it.”

“Eat your (fill in the blank).  It’ll put hair on your chest.”

“If you stick that bottom lip out any farther, a bird’s gonna come along and poop on it.” (actually, that’s something my mother would always say)

“I may not always be right, but I am never wrong.”

My dad had his own favorite phrases; the first one that comes to mind is “Things without remedy should be without regard” – meaning, don’t fret about stuff that’s out of your control.  My mom never liked to hear that one.  Whenever Dad pulled it out she would roll her eyes and huff around.  What’s funny is that I was always under the impression that my dad had concocted the saying; it wasn’t until a college level Shakespeare course that I discovered it was actually Lady MacBeth who first uttered the phrase.  That didn’t change my mom’s opinion.

My wonderful father-in-law also had some good ones in his day; most of them clean, but some (the funniest ones, naturally) he obtained during his Army years and can’t be repeated here.  Two Dad Damron phrases we pull out all the time are:  “Ice cream fills in the cracks!” (‘cause he always had room for ice cream) and “There’s no such thing as a bad mac and cheese.” (‘cause he never met a macaroni and cheese he didn’t like).  I’m glad we have his phrases.  Because we don’t have him anymore, which makes me sad.  I think he would have liked the punks.  I’m sure he would have gotten a lot of laughs out of testing some of his spicier dad-isms on them, too.

And with that we’ve come to the topic at hand (you knew I’d come to food eventually, right?).  If you saw the current sale ad, you probably noticed that March is National Nutrition Month.  When the punks requested macaroni and cheese for dinner last night, I wasn’t sure I could blog about it with a clean conscience.  But I found a recipe that lightened things up considerably.  I’m not sure I would call it nutritious, but at least it’s not as bad for us as a traditional mac and cheese.

Four ingredients are on sale… and most dads I know usually have a thing or two to say about saving money.

Some notes:  I doubled the entire thing without a problem.  The block of cheddar I had was slightly more than what was called for (maybe by ½ cup or so), but it worked out fine.  Also, don’t worry if you think the whole dish seems a little loose when it’s all tossed together; it thickens up in the oven and works out well for leftovers.

MACARONI & CHEESE
4 Servings (as written; again, I doubled it)

Source:  eatingwell.com

• 8 oz. elbow macaroni (Creamette brand is on sale)
• 1 ½ c. low-fat cottage cheese (Dean’s brand is on sale)
• 1 c. non-fat milk (Golden Guernsey gallons are on sale)
• 1 T. flour
• 1 T. Dijon mustard
• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper
• ¼ t. paprika
• 1 c. shredded sharp cheddar (Sendik’s 2-year sharp cheddar is on sale)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 T. panko breadcrumbs, or regular breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375.  Coat a shallow 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 8 minutes.  Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water; set aside.  Puree cottage cheese in a food processor or blender until smooth; set aside.

Heat ¾ c. milk in a large saucepan over medium heat until steaming.  In a small glass measuring cup, combine remaining ¼ milk, the flour, the Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, and paprika and whisk until well blended and smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.  Whisk this mixture into the hot milk and cook, whisking, until sauce is smooth and thick, about two minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the pureed cottage cheese and Cheddar cheese.  Stir in the cooked macaroni.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Spoon into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese and the breadcrumbs.  Top the macaroni and cheese with the breadcrumb mixture.  Bake until bubbling and brown, about 35 minutes.

• 1 cup Butter
• ½ cup Flour
• 2 quarts Whole Milk.
• 1-2 Tbl Tabasco Sauce*
• 2 Tbl Worcestershire
• ¼ cup Chicken Soup Base
• 12oz Beer**
• 1cup Heavy Cream
• 1 Tbl Onion Powder base
• 1 Tbl Garlic Powder
• White Pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• ½ lb Shredded Wisconsin Colby
• ½ lb Shredded Swiss
• ½ lb Shredded Pepper Jack

In a large skillet or saute pan, melt butter. Add flour and whisk until incorporated. The consistency should be like wet sand.  Cook over low heat, stirring, until just golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside. Heat milk in a large soup pot and add Tabasco, Worcestershire, soup base and beer. Incorporate well with a whisk. Add the cream and seasonings, then heat to almost a boil. Make the roux by slowly incorporating small amounts of the butter & flour mixture until it reaches your desired consistency. Cook for 10-15 min.

Gradually add the cheese in small handfuls making sure to thoroughly melt and incorporate each handful before adding more. Do not let soup reach a temperature of more than 150 degrees or it will separate. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, then Serve immediately with crusty bread.

* The Tabasco is optional. I used 1 tbsp, but I really liked 2 tbsp.

* * I use Fat Squirrel, a delicious nut brown ale from New Glarus Brewing Co.