Dinner for Fourteen

We have family in town from Alabama and Wisconsin to see A dance in The Nutcracker, so everyone is coming over tonight for dinner and to decorate cookies.

Here's what we're having:

Taco Soup (I doubled this recipe)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 can RoTel tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, rinsed
1/2 can corn, rinsed
1 can diced green chiles
1 package taco mix
1 package ranch dressing mix

Brown ground beef and saute onion along with it.

Add remaining ingredients and heat through or until you are ready to eat!

Top with sour cream, tortilla chips and cheese.

Chicken & Dumplings (I doubled this, too)
4 bone-in chicken breasts
4-8 cups of water
1 onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped

Boil chicken in water with onion and celery until cooked through. Remove chicken from bone and put back into broth.

Dumplings (I used one batch of dumplings to go with double broth & chicken)
2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten together with milk

Mix dry ingredients & cut butter in.

Add egg & milk and stir with fork.

Put in gently boiling chicken broth by teaspoon quickly.

Cover immediately and turn to low.

Do NOT lift lid for 30 minutes.

Lemon Whippersnappers

We joined family for dinner tonight and my only responsibility was to bring dessert. I made J's favorite cookies to go with the pasta and salad that was served.

1 box lemon cake mix
1 egg
2 cups cool whip
confectioner's sugar

Sift cake mix into large bowl.

Add egg and cool whip, stirring as you go. This will yield a very stiff batter.

Roll spoon-sized balls of the batter in confectioner's sugar and placed on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Yields about 3 dozen cookies.

Pot Roast

I'll start by saying that Pot Roast is really J's Specialty, not mine. When we married 12 1/2 years ago, he told me one of his favorite meals was pot roast. I pretty quickly told him that he needed to learn how to make it because I don't like pot roast. Growing up, I can't remember eating roast that didn't have carrots in it. I hate cooked carrots and, to me, the entire thing tasted like carrots - the meat, the potatoes, all of it. Yuck. J took my experience to heart and started making not only carrot-free roast, but added zucchini part way through the cooking to have a veggie I like in there. He has changed my opinion of pot roast. One of our guest tonight doesn't eat zucchini, so it's absent from my effort for tonight (you'll note that carrots are also conspicuously absent!).

2 pot roasts, totally about 5 lbs.
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cartons mushrooms, halved
8 large red potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 packet onion soup mix
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
Basil
Parsley
Salt
Pepper
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, cut into chunks

We're having 5 family members over for dinner tonight, in addition to our family of 5, so I decided a double batch of pot roast would get every fed and happy.

I mixed the onion soup mix, worcestershire sauce, water and parsley and poured enough to cover the bottom of a large roasting pan.

Then I put the two roasts in side by side and coated both sides of each with mustard.

After chopping all of the veggies, I put them around the sides and put a layer of potatoes underneath the roasts.

I topped with basil, salt and pepper and put it in the oven at 300. We don't eat for another 8 hours and my theory on beef is that long, slow cooking at a lower temp yields a better tasting end product.

About 1 hour before removing the roast, I'll put the bell pepper in. I like for it to retain some of its texture so that everything isn't entirely soft.

I'll pull the roast out about 45 minutes before we eat and put in yeast rolls and green beans to have with the roast.

Veggie Bread Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, shredded with potato peeler
8-9 roma tomatoes, diced
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. basil
1 bay leaf
4-6 cups of water
left-over hard rolls

Saute onion & celery in olive oil until soft.
Add water, carrots, tomatoes and spices.
Simmer for 30 minutes (or several hours as I did).
Cut hard rolls into cubes.
Serve soup over bread cubes.
Top with parmesan cheese.

J was out tonight, so the girls and I had this after A's performance in the Greek Mythology play at school. If I had red or white wine on hand, I would have added it. It might also benefit from a bit of tomato sauce - it felt a bit thin. In spite of that, I think this was a good use of day old hard rolls. I'll probably doctor it up a bit tomorrow with one of the aforementioned ideas or a bit of beef bullion for tomorrow night's dinner.

Wraps

Ham
Turkey
Salami
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sliced Pepper Jack Cheese
Cream Cheese
Tortillas

Spread <1 Tbsp cream cheese on tortilla, layer ham, turkey, salami in any combination. Top with shredded cheddar and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and tortilla is crispy on the edges.

We had diced apple and dried mango on the side.

This was truly a thrown-together meal using our left-overs from yesterday because I thought I was going out with friends and found out at the last minute that I actually had to eat with my family!

Down Home Day

J and I had some friends over for lunch after church today and it was down home day for J. I frequently attach emotion to food, especially food surrounding the holidays and steeped in memories. Unlike me, J doesn't have a favorite Christmas menu or many foods that really resonate with him. Except for ham and hard rolls. This was a frequent Sunday meal for his family, so he recreated it faithfully yesterday.

Ham & Hard Rolls
12 hard rolls
sliced Italian bread
1 lb. ham
1 1/2 lb. turkey
3/4 lb. salami
mustard
medium cheddar cheese
pepper jack cheese

Everyone assembled their sandwich as desired.

Sides included:
Cottage cheese
Pasta salad (from a friend)
Vegetable soup (from a friend)
Potato chips
Chip Dip (recipe below)

Chip Dip
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese
1-2 tsp. dill
1/2-1 tsp. onion powder (if available)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all together and eat with a substantial potato chip like Ruffles. As a friend who was here said, this dip is "sin on a chip." I'm thankful J only makes it about twice per year because it's as addictive as it is caloric.

Good to Share Granola

8 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups pecans, chopped
1 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup peanuts, chopped
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups cried cranberries

Mix oats and nuts in large bowl. (I used a bowl that hold 24 cups.)
Heat oil, sugar, honey, syrup and spices over medium heat until melted through.
Pour over oats & nuts and stir thoroughly.
Spread onto 2-3 cookie sheets and bake at 325 for 20 minutes, stirring half-way through.
Let cool on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes.
Stir in cranberries.

We packaged this granola in bags with ribbon and are using it for teacher gifts and others who bless us throughout the year like our mail carrier, Sunday School teachers, etc.

A said to be sure and include in this post that my children love this granola and think it is yummy! They are thrilled that we ran out of bags before using up the 3 batches of this granola that we made.

Two Way Pasta

Cooked spinach and ricotta tortellini
Cooked macaroni noodles
Leftover pasta sauce from baked ziti (regular spaghetti sauce with ground beef, peppers and onions, mixed with sour cream)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Heat olive oil, garlic and basil over medium heat. Slice cherry tomatoes in half and add to pan. Heat through until just before tomatoes begin to burst.

Each family member got to choose one type of pasta and one type of sauce. This easy meal was a big hit because everyone enjoyed actually having a choice (not something I generally offer at the dinner table). All but one child tried a different combination for their second servings and B actually ate four bowls(!)

Birthday Dinner

Scrambled Eggs
Hashbrowns
Pepper Bacon
Biscuits with Nutella
Blueberry Scones for dessert

J prepared the above for me for a birthday dinner tonight. We had originally planned to go out to eat, but we went to a concert on Monday (The Muckrakers) and had dinner at Park Cafe beforehand. That more than covered the cost of a birthday meal, so we opted for this on the actual birthday night!

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef (left over from 2 lb. package defrosted for baked ziti)
1 can sloppy joe mix
baby carrots
cherry tomatoes
ranch

OK - this was a really easy meal, which was nice because I went grocery shopping after school and didn't arrive home with A, B and K until after 5:30. Since the meat was defrosted, this came together really quickly and made for an easier night since J was out playing basketball.

Baked Ziti

I used the same recipe as the one posted previously, except that I couldn't find sliced provolone, so I used swiss instead. I also forgot to buy sliced mozzarella, so I used shredded instead.

While I made a double batch (one to freeze, one to take to a friend), I didn't eat any because J and I went out to dinner. There was enough left after freezing one and sharing one to make a small casserole dish. Our sitter and girls ate every bite of it, leaving me to think it was a successful meal!

Meatball Soup

16 oz. frozen turkey meatballs
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours until meatballs are cooked through. Turn down to low or warm until ready to serve. Top with parmesan cheese and serve with cheese toast.

NOTE: My girls loved this last night! Even K, who rarely finishes dinner, ate every bite. The other two girls each had seconds and B asked for thirds. Since this soup uses pantry and freezer ingredients, I think it will become a fall back quick and easy dinner for cool weather.

When I served it last night, A asked, "When are you going to make Pumpkin Soup?" So I guess that will have to make an appearance soon...

Jambalaya

We had some new friends over tonight for dinner, so I served an old favorite. Few dishes taste more like home than this one:

2 1/2 lbs. peeled shrimp
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut in semi-circles
1 can beef consomme
1 can french onion soup
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
16 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 1/2 cups parboiled or converted rice, uncooked
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Tony Cachere's Seasoning

Mix all ingredients together in greased roasting pan and cover tightly. Bake at 350 for 2 hours.

To go with this, we had roasted brussel sprouts, bell peppers and green beans in a mustard sauce. I roasted them at 400 for 20-30 minutes in 3/4 cup beef broth. Then I drained the broth, added 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 2 Tbsp dijon mustard.

Hummus, Pita and Veggies

Tonight, I'm looking for something light and easy to balance last night's consumption of pasta, sauce, cheese and bread. While yummy, it wasn't the healthiest fare I offer my family. Here's what I'm thinking:

Hummus from Trader Joe's
Pita bread
Celery sticks
Baby carrots

Surprisingly, this is typically one of my daughters' favorite meals. A & B feel like it's a treat because the hummus is sort of like a dip in their minds (which is clearly a snack food, not a dinner item!) K may object (as she often does), so after one bite, she may be having an apple for dinner... we'll see.

Baked Ziti

My dear friend Misty makes this yummy pasta dish, so I tried out her recipe. Here it is:

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red, yellow and green bell pepper, chopped
  
• 2 (28 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp basil
  
• 6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
• 6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions and peppers; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce, sugar and spices; simmer for about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.

Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

We had this with left-over Italian Broccoli from a few nights ago and toasted focaccia bread. I doubled the recipe to take 1/2 to a friend. One recipe's worth was enough to feed our family for at least two nights. Of course, I'll have to wait a night or two to re-introduce the dish because my children refuse to eat the same thing more than one day in a row!

Sweet & Spicy Meatballs

Tonight's a date night for us, so I wanted to put something really easy together that we can eat before heading out to a movie when the sitter arrives.

I concocted the following sauce:
4 oz. cranberry juice/sauce, leftover from making the cran/mango fruit crisp on Saturday
3 T red wine
3-4 T sweet barbecue sauce
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped

I poured this over frozen turkey meatballs and put them in the crockpot on low for 2-4 hours. Turn them to warm after that, so that they don't dry out.

To go with it, we'll have roasted green beans and baked potatoes. I'll throw the potatoes in the oven after dropping A off at ballet and have the green beans ready to throw in for the last 10-15 minutes.

UPDATE: I didn't feel like making baked potatoes, so instead we had fruited rice, which complemented the sweet and spicy meatballs well. I diced an apple and put that in about 5 minutes before the rice finished, along with about 1/4 cup dried cranberries, blueberries and raisins. We also had spinach salad with apples, grapes and feta cheese instead of green beans. Even when I plan ahead, I can't quite stick to the plan!

Thanksgiving Favorite

Cranberry Apple Dressing

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
9 cups bread cubes (about 14 slices of bread)
3 cups apple, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Melt butter in dutch oven. Saute onions and celery until soft. Add apples and cranberries, cooking until apples are soft and cranberries begin to burst. Add broth and spices. Mix in bread cubes. Pour into greased 9 X 13 pan and bake at 325 for 30 minutes covered, 15 minutes uncovered.

Crescent Wraps & Italian Broccoli

Tonight will be simple fare. K is not feeling well and I think early bedtimes are in order for all three girls. In order to get dinner on the table as soon after ballet as possible, here's what's on tap:

Crescent Wraps
Sliced ham and roasted chicken
Shredded cheese

Layer 3-4 pieces of ham and/or chicken.

Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Italian Broccoli
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Shredded mozzarella
Oregano
Basil

Steam broccoli in microwave for 5 minutes.

Add cherry tomatoes and cook 1 minute more.

Top with oregano, basil and cheese.

(This is a favorite with my girls.)

Pork, Potatoes & Pasta

Dinner Tonight:

My brother-in-law and his wife came over for dinner tonight. I found out late last night that they were planning to come and decided to cook a Boston Butt that was in our freezer.

Pulled Pork
3 lb. Boston butt
1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1 T worcestershire sauce
2 T bottled barbecue sauce
1 tsp adobo sauce
2 tsp barbecue spice (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder)
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix all ingredients and put frozen or defrosted pork into crockpot on low for 8-12 hours. Shred with fork and serve on hamburger buns with barbecue sauce (a sweet, hot one worked nicely).

Crispy Potatoes
6 baking potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Wash potatoes well and slice thinly. Place in one layer on greased cookie sheets. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle salt & pepper and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Pasta Salad
Provided by my brother-in-law!

Cranberry Mango Fruit Crisp
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (or a bit less)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cook cranberries on stove top over medium low heat with 1 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup sugar until berries start popping. Remove from heat and drain, reserving liquid for use in another recipe.

Mix mango and cranberry and place in greased casserole dish.

Combine other ingredients and sprinkle over fruit.

Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.

This was a really easy Saturday night meal that was somewhat more elaborate because we had others join us. For just our family, I would have skipped dessert and made a green salad instead of pasta salad. The rest was easy enough that I'll probably do it (or something similar) again on a Saturday.

Chicken Pockets

My children are monsters of my own making and don't want to eat left-overs that are just like what they had the previous night. I, too, crave variety in food, so I've really trained them to expect something different every evening for dinner. While that's generally OK, it sometimes feels like a lot of work!

When I made yesterday's pot pies, I had about 1 1/2 cups of pie filling left over. Tonight, I'll put the filling into crescent roll pockets and bake those up for the girls while J and I eat what's left of the original pot pie. Here's what I'll do:

Can of cresent rolls
1 1/2 cups chicken pot pie filling

Smooth perforated line between two crescent rolls to create 4 crescent "squares."

Distribute filling evenly amongst squares.

Fold together by pulling corners together in the center.

Bake as directed on crescent roll package, but for 2-5 minutes longer.

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight's Dinner

1 medium onion, choppped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 T butter
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
3/4 cup frozen english peas, thawed
1 large potato, peeled and cut in food processor
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
2 T cornstarch
2 T cold water
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
frozen pie crust

Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter.

Stir in chicken through bay leaf.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 15-30 minutes. (My chicken was pre-cooked and frozen, so I let the mixture simmer for 30+ minutes to make sure the chicken was fully defrosted.)

Remove bay leaf.

Combine cornstarch and cold water & stir until smooth.

Add cornstarch & water to chicken mixture.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add soup, cheese and sour cream.

Place in greased pie plate and cover with defrosted pie crust. Cut slits in pastry to vent.

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

It used to be really easy - and rewarding - for me to make a meal for a new mom or someone else who needed a bit of help. I was sharing with my husband this morning that it's a lot more difficult for me to serve in this way now. He asked why and I think the reason is that the hours from 3 to 7 are the busiest time of day for me now. Between art club, ballet and sports, we have activities going on all over the place. While I do still cook, it's a bit more catch as catch can instead of planned in advance and executed completely from scratch. On a day like today, when I am "off" and not working for pay, it's a bit easier to do a meal for someone else. But it still means that I'm not doing other work that needs doing, like laundry and grocery-shopping, which will both have to wait until tomorrow.

It's amazing how different each season of our life is...

Spinach Egg Casserole

Tonight's Dinner:

8 oz. chorizo (1/2 mild, 1/2 hot)
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. chopped spinach (frozen is OK)
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 - 1 cup milk
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheese
5 slices of bread, cubed

Spray 9 X 13 pan with non stick spray.

Place bread cubes in pan.

Saute chorizo, onion and peppers until cooked through and veggies are soft.

Mix spinach, eggs, milk and cheeses with chorizo mixture.

Pour mixture over bread cubes.

Cover & refrigerate overnight or for 4+ hours.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes and top with room temperature salsa.