Deep Freeze

When we first moved to our current home, we decided to buy a chest freezer.  Considering that the freezer in the kitchen is kind of small, this has been really helpful.  Until I opened it up last week and found it to be mostly empty, save for some cookies, a loaf or two of quickbreads and some chicken wings that I am almost certain made the move two years ago.

The freezer is empty and Winter Is Coming.

Well, perhaps winter isn't coming today.  I mean, it's only October.  But perhaps it's time to "realize the dream" of actually filling the freezer with meals.

I've always been one of those types that realizes that keeping ready-made food in the freezer is a good idea.  That the concept of bringing up a meal and defrosting it for dinner, therefore not having to really "Cook" that night but still having a great meal, is a huge time-saver.  I'm just not quite good at putting it into action.  And I really want to be one of those people.

So last weekend, I made meatballs, enough for two meals.  And I froze all of them.  This weekend we're having a roast chicken that I scored for just $4.23!  (hooray for approaching expiration dates.)  After we have a lovely meal paired with cornbread and vegetable sides, I am going to boil the carcass and make chicken stock for a future soup date.

As for the rest?  I'm already combing Pinterest for ideas.  This is my "Year of the Freezer."

New Cookbook in the House!

Last week was Brian's birthday and Will picked out a new cookbook for his gift.  Since  Dad is a big fan of the Food Network show "Chopped" why not a cookbook from that show?  He loved it and we tried two recipes this weekend.

The first was a warm banana pudding with caramel sauce.  I love that I'm married to someone who, on a Saturday night will spontaneously decide to make treats from scratch.  :)  Let me tell you, it smelled incredible.  The taste was good too, though it felt weird to be eating pudding that hadn't "set."  And if you are eating hot banana and caramel topping, watch out!  My tongue and throat are still slightly scorched. 

Next up was grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch, with a parsley pesto spread.  I had a ton of parsley to use up on the deck so this recipe seemed like a no-brainer.  I'd never had anything other than basil pesto, and clearly I've been missing out!  This also had a great way of toasting the bun using an egg white instead of butter or just dry in the toaster oven. 

This cookbook has a lot of potential.  And obviously,  since I've marked it up, it's here to stay. 

Eggs Aren't Just For Breakfast....

...they can make for a pretty tasty lunch, too.  I come home for lunch most days and reheat leftovers.  No leftovers in the fridge....and neither pb+j nor canned soup looked appetizing.  This was quick and delicious paired up with some leftover grilled potatoes.  Add a small chocolate milk and the latest Webs catalog and it's a very fine lunch indeed!

Either Way You're Only Getting Half a Pan

I learned a hard lesson......you don't leave cast iron items in the oven while baking.

For one thing, they make it so that the oven takes forever to heat up.  I left a skillet and a grill pan on the bottom shelf when I was making banana "snack cake" and later on in the week I made magic bars for the karate picnic.  Yes, I made this mistake twice.

The edges were the only cooked pieces on the banana cake, I was able to salvage this much and throw the rest away.  The boys loved it, though.  Will asked for a taste, and then took the piece from me with a big smile and a "Mine!"  :)  It's going to be the first recipe I write into The Notebook in a while.

 Good Cake.

Bad Cake.

The magic bars edges were destroyed.  Not only because of the cast iron roommates hogging space in the oven, but because I thought that the first step of melting butter in the pan would be enough to grease it.  Yeah.....not so much for the sides.  This is how much I had to throw out, and I despise throwing out food.

So....lessons learned and shared from me, so you don't have to learn them for yourself.

Peachy Keen

This past weekend we decided that it was high time to bring the ice cream maker out again.
This time, we went for a summer favorite that we'd never tried:  peach ice cream.  And whose recipe was the obvious first choice?  That's right, Alton Brown....who just hit a million Facebook "likes" last week and celebrated with some live videos!

Alton Brown's Burned Peach Ice Cream

This was fantastic, though we did have to melt it and re-churn so it wouldn't be rock-solid.  No pictures, it didn't last long enough.  I would definitely do this again.

Flavors of Summer

We're trying all sorts of salads this summer....this week's is a corn and tomato salad.  Fresh corn, tomatoes from my garden, fresh basil,  a little onion, olive oil and vinegar and salt/pepper to taste.  Taste?  Delicious!  I think I'll be doubling a batch to go to a picnic later this month.

Additionally, I never "got" people that eat tomatoes like an apple.  Now I know the joy of it....only a fresh-off-the-vine tomato will do!!

Summer Lunchin'

This week's recipes are all things that I've wanted to make for awhile.  Everything's on Pinterest! 

We started with this salad:  chicken and watermelon.  It was quite good, and surprisingly, all flavors that play together nicely.  I was a bit apprehensive about blue cheese crumbles and watermelon but was pleasantly surprised.  It also calls for chicken breast, balsamic vinegar, fresh spinach and sliced almonds.  Note:  the balsamic boiling on the stove smells terrible, but the reduced vinegar at the end of the boiling really works here.  Just don't  soak it all over the salad, a tablespoon is plenty. 

It also clocks in at 342 calories and I have enough ingredients to make it for lunch again tomorrow.  Bonus!