Roasted Beef and Veggies

I had some steak that had been cut into cubes and didn't know what to do with it. So I made something up. And it was amazing.

Steak cut into bite-sized cubes
2 large carrots, coined
2 potatoes, cut into slices
4 sections of garlic, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped
Olive oil
Parsley
Oregano
Put meat, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in a pan. Pour in some olive oil. Mix it all up so the oil coats all the meat and veggies. Sprinkle in parsley and oregano (a large pinch of each). Mix again. Cover with tin foil and cook at 350 for 45 minutes, then remove tin foil and cook for another 15 minutes.

Spaghetti Sauce

I've managed to spoil Alex, and he no longer likes anybody's spaghetti sauce but mine. He'll eat others, of course, and they're good, but he loves how I do it (and frankly so do I).

1 lb ground pork
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 green pepper, chopped
3 or 4 portions of a garlic clove, chopped
1 can sliced mushrooms (or several fresh mushrooms, chopped)
1 can of Hunts Thick & Rich Mushroom and Basil spaghetti sauce
Red pepper flakes
Oregano
Parsley

Cook ground pork in skillet until no longer pink. Add onions, green peppers, garlic and mushrooms, cook for another few minutes. Add can of spaghetti sauce, red pepper flakes, oregano and parsley and mix thoroughly. Get it nice and hot and then let it simmer while you cook the pasta. It will be a nice, thick, hearty sauce.

I use our wok as the skillet so this is a one pan thing. As for the spices, I don't measure them, I just do a pinch of each for flavor. We use ground pork instead of ground beef because we find it makes the spaghetti sauce taste lighter and overall better than ground beef.

Mushroom, Cheese and Haddock Bake

This was the first new fish recipe we tried in recent months (found on www.allrecipes.com). You wouldn't think that mushrooms would go with fish very well (or at least I wouldn't think they would) but they really did, and this is a great recipe if you are looking for something new to do with your haddock!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 (6 ounce) package button mushrooms, chopped
• 2 pounds haddock fillets
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon dried red chile peppers
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/8 teaspoon dried parsley (oregano also works)
• 3/4 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (I used old cheddar)
• 1 lemon - cut into wedges, for garnish (optional)
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. 
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add green onions and mushrooms; cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Season haddock with salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried chile pepper and place in the baking dish. Top with green onion and mushroom mixture, then dot with butter. Sprinkle parsley on top.
• Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and top haddock with cheese and return baking dish to the oven. Continue baking until the fish flakes easily with a fork and the cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cheesy Bacon Fish

My mother found this recipe online and passed it on to me. Alex wants me to cook all fish this way now, ha ha. And I'm happy to oblige (good thing we don't eat fish that often?)!

Fish filets
6 slices of bacon (or more if you have more fish)
Sliced onion
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp flour
Shredded cheese

In a baking dish, lay 3 slices of bacon. Cover this with sliced onion. Lay the fish filets on the bacon/onions. In a bowl, mix margarine and flour, then spoon the mixture onto the fish and spread it all over. Sprinkle it all with the bread crumbs. Cover with another 3 strips of bacon. Sprinkle the whole thing with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered at 450F for 30 minutes.

When Mom made this recipe, she used trout filets and didn't put the cheese on it. When I tried the same recipe, I used haddock filets and put the cheese on it, and it was phenomenal. I also used more bacon because I had more fish than my mother did when she made the recipe.

Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken

I actually got this recipe off my favorite recipe website, www.allrecipes.com not long ago. I was looking for a new recipe to use when we had company, and this one totally hit the nail on the head. It was delicious and exactly what I was looking for.


1 clove crushed garlic

• 1/4 pound butter, melted
• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 whole cut up chicken
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a shallow glass dish or bowl, combine the crushed garlic with the melted butter or margarine. In another small bowl mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.
• Place coated chicken pieces into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Baby-Led Weaning

Taking a break in the recipes briefly (I'm still trying to get caught up in posting them here) to talk about feeding my son.

Anybody who knows me, knows I'm exclusively breastfeeding my son. Meaning whatever I eat, he gets through my breast milk later on (anybody know how long it takes for the taste of what I eat to go into my milk?). I'm planning on breastfeeding exclusively (as in it's the only thing he's going to eat) until at least 6 months of age.

I am *not* planning on doing any type of cereals or purees or any of that, because I like the idea of baby-led weaning.

What is baby-led weaning? Well, in short it's where you give baby pieces of whatever you're eating and let them play around with it and try it. Is it messy? Sure. But so is feeding purees and cereals. Heck, so is breastfeeding, from time to time!

http://www.babyledweaning.com has some information if you'd like to know more.

I have a feeling that we're going to start pretty close to the six-month mark though. I'd like to wait longer, but I don't think he'll let me. The other night, I had him sitting on my lap while I was eating orange jello. He watched that spoon of jello go from the bowl to my mouth every single time. He was absolutely interested! For fun, I put the spoon towards his mouth to see what he'd do and he opened his mouth as if he expected me to put the spoon in and give him the jello!

I admit I was pretty tempted to give him a tiny bit, just to see what he thought of it, but I'm adamant that he not get any "real" food until he's officially six months old (and that won't be until September 18). I mean I freaked out on Alex when he put a bit of chocolate ice cream on Charlie's lip a few weeks ago. I don't want to be a hypocrite, ha ha!

Because this blog is about food, I'll probably include posts of our adventures in baby-led weaning when it happens as well.

Pulled Pork

This is one of Alex's and my favorites. I found the idea for it online and we love it. It's really, really easy too, since you use a slow cooker and it's really no work at all. Great if you're like me and dealing with a child (or children) who hates to have you out of his sight...

Pork tenderloin (or boneless pork chops)
Root beer (go with the cheap stuff)
Barbeque sauce (we use Diana sauce)

Put pork into slow cooker. Pour in root beer (cover the pork or not, it's your choice). Cook on high for 3 hours. Drain root beer. Shred pork with a fork and then mix in some barbeque sauce (as much as you want). Cook on low for 2 hours (or more...the longer it's in the barbeque sauce, the better it is). Serve on toasted hamburger buns (or kaiser rolls, whatever you want).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe online and it's one of my favorites for chocolate chip cookies. The best, of course, is the one on the back of the bag of chocolate chips I use, however, this recipe is a close second for me.

1 cup butter (or margarine), softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F
Cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. 
Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips and nuts. 
Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are nicely browned.

Tuna Casserole

This recipe is mine. I made it up a couple of years ago and have been making it ever since. Alex loves it, so I don't change a thing.

Shell pasta, cooked (as much as you want to use)
1 regular can tuna, drained (I use flaked)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Marble cheese, shredded (as much as you want to use)
Put soup in a casserole dish, set aside
Cook pasta and drain 
Mix in tuna then pour into casserole dish and mix well with soup
Cover with shredded cheese
Bake uncovered in 350F oven for 20 minutes
Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving and serve with vegetable of your choice
I have also done this casserole with bite-sized pieces of chicken instead of the tuna. If I do it with chicken, I also add fresh chopped garlic. It's quite yummy this way as well.

Five Star Bars

Okay so this recipe is NOT my mother's! Shocking, I know! I think it's from our friend Penni, but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is these things are delicious. I haven't actually made them myself, but have had them several times.

2 cups coconut
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can eagle brand condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
Mix and bake 10 min. in 350F oven in an 8x8 slightly greased pan
Melt 4 aero or jersey milk bars and 1/4 oil in microwave. Pour over squares
Chill in fridge until chocolate sets
Cut into squares

Meat Loaf

Mom's recipe? You betcha! I get a lot of recipes from her, and would be posting a lot more of them here if I knew where my recipe box was...This is my favorite meat loaf ever. She also does a stuffed one, but I am a weirdo and hate stuffing, so...you get the one I like. :)

1 lb. (roughly) hamburger
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 stalk celery, chopped fine (optional)
1 egg, slightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
Combine together and place in loaf pan
Topping: 3/4 cup ketchup
              2 tbsp. mustard
              1 tsp. corn startch
              1 tbsp. vinegar
              1/4 cup brown sugar
Combine all ingredients together in small dish, then cover meatloaf using pastry brush or back of a spoon. Bake covered with foil for an hour in 350F oven (maybe less depending on weather and altitude).

Paprika Stew

Seeing a trend here, as this is another of my mother's recipes. This is a great meat stew that Mom often serves with mashed potatoes (or rice) and peas.

1-1 1/2 lbs. stewing beef
2 tbsp. oil
2 onions, sliced
1 1/2 tbsp. paprika
 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste (or ketchup)
1 tsp corn starch
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste 
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cup water
Cut meat into bite size cubes
Brown meat in oil in 2 lots
Saute onions for 5 min. on low heat
Add: paprika
        corn starch
        salt
        pepper
        ketchup (tom. paste)
        sugar
STIR
Add water. Stir again and bring to a boil
Add browned meat
Simmer 1-1 1/2 hours on low heat

Banana Loaf

Another of my mother's recipes. Who doesn't love banana bread (besides people who don't like bananas...)? This is a tried and true recipe that we've been using for years.

2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3 bananas (mashed)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased and floured loaf pan (9x5). Bake at 350F for  approx. 60 min. or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 min, then place on wire rack.

Broccoli Salad

This recipe is actually my mother's (I think...) and it is phenomenal. I don't like broccoli, but I love this salad...it's actually one of only two ways I will actually eat broccoli. So that has to be saying something.

1 lg or 2 sm broccoli bunches, chopped into small pieces
1/2 med onion, chopped
5-6 slices bacon, cooked and broken into pieces
1/2 pkg slivered almonds
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Dressing: 1/2 cup mayo
               1/4 cup (or less) sugar
               2 tbsp vinegar

Mix all main ingredients together. Mix in dressing just before serving to prevent it from going soggy. As is, recipe feeds 3-4 people as a salad to go with the main meal. The hardest part is chopping the broccoli up, as it's time consuming and messy. But it's well worth the effort.

Patty-Melts

It's only fitting that the first recipe post is for what Alex and I call "Patty-Melts", because we make them every Monday night without fail.

In case you're curious, they're cheeseburgers. But they are the best cheeseburgers on the planet and have spoiled us completely for any other burger. Anywhere. Ever.

1 lb hamburger
1/2 raw onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Diana barbeque sauce
4 slices of processed cheese

Mix the hamburger, onion and Diana sauce together. Separate and make into 4 1/4 lb patties. Cook in an already hot cast iron frying pan 7 minutes per side (add the cheese slices during the last few minutes on the second side so it melts all over the top and sides of the burgers...hence the name "Patty-Melts"). Serve on toasted hamburger buns. Garnish as desired.

If you want, you can make smaller burgers (and more of them), however the cooking time will be different. We had to experiment a bit to figure out the exact perfect time for the 1/4 lb burgers, so if you make smaller burgers, you'll have to experiment yourself to find out the perfect cooking time for them.

Welcome!

I've been thinking for quite some time that it would be cool to have a blog where I can post the recipes I use, so others can use them as well if they want (because frankly, they're awesome, and I want to share them...even the ones that aren't mine, ha ha). So this will be that blog.

For the most part, each post will be a recipe, but I imagine sometimes I'll just post about food or ask for suggestions of new recipes to try and stuff like that. The title of each recipe post will be the name of the recipe, for easy searching. :)

I will try to include pictures with the recipe posts, but sometimes they won't have pictures (particularly if it's a recipe I haven't used in awhile or didn't take a picture of).

Also, feel free to tweak the recipes to your own liking (that's what I do with recipes I find online anyway) and let me know if you did something different to one of my recipes so I can try it out too!