Friday Food Story

Where Shall I Dine?

written by ...daphne

Since my entire life is focused on food, writing these Friday stories is quite fun! Although usually very random! I often joke with my "skinny" friends that I live to eat and they simply eat to live.  Funny how life pairs you up with people who are opposite in personality. I guess if we all liked to eat as much as I do, there would be longer lines at Carraba's!

One thing that my husband and I do on road trips, to make sure we hit all the "hot" spots....no, I do not mean tourist traps...I mean AMAZING food joints...we check out the Diner's Drive In's and Dives map on their website. This map gives you all of the locations that are featured on the show, featuring Guy Fieri.  It also gives you a review on the dish that was prepared specifically for Guy's visit. Usually, it is a house special or top selling menu item. We have NEVER been disappointed.

On our last trip, we stopped in Chattanooga for burgers, Memphis for BBQ and once we made it home to DFW, we hit up another burger joint in Roanoke, TX. That specific restaurant happens to be a favorite of ours and a eatery in which all of our house guests will enjoy. If you are ever in the Ft. Worth area, make sure to try out Twisted Root Burger. (I think they have more than one location)

Our trips are defined by food.  We stay in hotels that are close to the restaurants where we want to eat.  We take day trips to try out a restaurant we read about....it goes on and on. Some of our favorites have been The Blue Marlin in Columbia, SC. Ossorios in Cocoa Village, FL. Mae Lee's Deli in Sebring, FL, The Dish in Hartford, CT, Veritable Quandry in Portland, OR, Urban Stack in Chattanooga, TN. Rudy's BBQ in Round Rock, TX...I could go on and on.  Loving GOOD food is just what we do. Make sure to let us know if you find a hot spot and we'll make sure to check it out on one of our journeys.  Happy eating and living!

Thursday Quickie ~ Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I grew up on this recipe.  My mom used to make it often in the fall and winter, when you wanted to come home to something savory, hot and delicious.  I've only adjusted it a little, but the changes are minimal, just to add some actual veggies to it.  You can prep the onions and mushrooms the night before, then just throw it all in the crock pot in the morning!  It makes a fantastic gravy, and can make a lot, so I recommend a larger crock pot, and definitely a liner will be helpful for cleanup!  And it's a two for one recipe!  I always make the leftovers into something entirely different from the original pot roast meal.  See below for what I do! ;-)

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lb roast
• 1 Family size can of Cream of Mushroom soup, or 3 small cans if you can't find the large one
• 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
• 1/2-1 onion, cut into 1/4 circles and separated
• 8 oz package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

1. Place liner in large crock pot (4-6 quart size).  Pour just a little soup on the bottom to cover, then place roast in the crock pot.  Pour remaining soup on top of the roast.  Do NOT add any water.
2. Sprinkle onion soup mix on top of roast evenly, then place sliced mushrooms and onions on top.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until roast easily falls apart.  
3. Serve with mashed potatoes and veggies of your choice. Be sure to serve some of that delicious gravy on the meat and potatoes!!
4. Before storing leftovers, shred the remaining of the meat and mix back in with the gravy.  Refrigerate.

With the leftovers....

With the leftovers, heat the meat/gravy mixture in a sauce pan.  Cook large egg noodles according to package directions.  Serve gravy mixture over egg noodles and top with parmesan cheese for a delicious version of beef stroganoff!! :-)

Mushroom Challenge ...daphne

Mushroom Challenge ~MAW Steve

Mushrooms are a wonderful ingredient, so when I heard that it would be the challenge ingredient of the week, I was excited.  I also knew that I would need something for lunch because a large dinner party had already been planned for later that evening and so I had to do something quick and easy that wouldn't make too big a mess.  This recipe fit all the criteria, and my Soldier absolutely loved it!

Tuesday Tip

I generally prefer to use fresh veggies in recipes when I can.  But they can get pretty expensive out of season, and sometimes I just don't feel like dicing them all up.  So, for those times when it's cheaper, or easier, I buy them frozen.  Green bell peppers are sold chopped, as are onions, frozen.  There is also a three bell pepper blend in the freezer section that is julienne cut.  The selection can vary by store, but generally you can find them.  Take a closer look at the veggies in your freezer section....you might be surprised! <3 Melissa

Friday Food Story - The Meal Train

written by ~MAW Steve

There is nothing like a meal train.  You know, that train of meals that come to a person's home after a major life event like the birth of a child or the death of a loved one.  Casserole after casserole are prepared and dropped off by those who care to make life a little easier for those who are having to make big adjustments in their lives.  As a military spouse, I have had no shortage of opportunities to prepare meals for families.  I do it proudly.  I have several different go to meals that I can make.  Most of the time I include some cookies.  Who doesn't like cookies?

Last week, the occasion presented itself to prepare a meal for a family struggling through a difficult time.  A drunk driver slammed into a car driven by an 8 1/2 month pregnant friend.  After an emergency C-Section, and 4 days of the best medical care, the baby passed away.  The mother suffered some chipped vertebrae, and other injuries, but survived.  This child was her first baby, and she and her husband were super excited to become parents.  The impact this event had on the family, their church, and their community was evident from the moment the accident happened.  I love this family, and preparing a meal was the least I could do for them.


While I was getting the meal ready, it occurred to me that this is one of those things that most of us do without really thinking about it. If someone in our military Family Readiness Group or in our church gives us a call and asks us for a meal, we are happy to oblige.  Why is that?  Why is it, that something that could take a couple hours out of our already busy days is so easy to say yes too?  The answer is quite simple.  We don't live in a bubble.  We live in a community!

Look at the casserole I made for this family.  It had onions, beef, tomato sauce, cheese and several other ingredients that make it downright tasty.  Each ingredient has to be prepared the right way, and combined in the right order to optimize flavor.  When it is taken out of the oven, it is a delicious combination of awesomeness all rolled into one dish.  That casserole is a community, and without each ingredient doing its part, it just wouldn't taste right.

Our communities are like that as well.  Each of us have an important role to play in the lives of the other people in our circles.  We prepare meals for those going through life changing events because it allows us to, in some small way, make their lives a little easier.  We know, that if they aren't right, then the community isn't right, and we will do whatever needs to be done to bring that recipe back into perfection. 

Our participation in the meal train allows those of us in a certain community the opportunity to celebrate with those who celebrate, to grieve with those who grieve, and to act in a real, tangible way.  We cook because we care.  We feed because we feel.  We bake because believe in the responsibility we have to bear at least some of the burden for those who need a little take off of their shoulders.  And food is a great way to do that.

Next time you have the opportunity...GET ON THE TRAIN.  I promise, it's a great ride.

In memory of JLH 6 Sept 2012 - 10 Sept 2012. 

Thursday Quickie

This recipe was passed to me from another Army wife several years ago. I have tweaked it a bit and even tried it with peach jam instead of apricot.  Every time I serve it to guests it is a HUGE hit. This is a very easy and QUICK recipe that is perfect for the upcoming holidays!


Cranberry Chicken

4 med-large chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
1/2 bottle french dressing
1 jar apricot jam
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 can cranberry sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed

Preheat oven to 350*

Place chicken in sprayed glass pan. Salt and Pepper chicken. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix dressing, jam, soup mix, cranberries and garlic. Pour over chicken.

Bake 350* for 40 minutes. Serve over white rice.

Sweet Potato Challenge ...daphne

Sweet Potato Challenge ~ Melissa

Even though you get the soldier's review on the recipe, here's what I think about this dish!  When Steve chose sweet potatoes, he said we couldn't use brown sugar or marshmallows, which was fine by me because I never make them that way.  Something weird about using marshmallows, I dunno.  But anyway, there aren't too many things made with sweet potatoes, so I started thinking of what is made with regular potatoes I could use sweet potatoes instead.  I came up with gnocchi!  After doing a little online inspiration searching, I realized my idea is not original, there are many recipes out there for sweet potato gnocchi.  So I found one that sounded pretty easy for a first-timer, and then tweaked it for the flavors I wanted to use.  I also found the sauce recipe online, again tweaking it for my flavors.  I must say this turned out pretty dang good!  I think all the flavors worked well, and the sweetness of the sweet potatoes brings it to another level, not just pasta with a yummy sauce.  I can probably use some more practice on my actual gnocchi making, but they weren't too rubbery, and weren't undercooked, so I think it was a nice first time success!  We'll be making this again for sure!  Fair warning though, this takes a long time to make, so make sure you have a few hours to devote to it before you start! :-)

Prep Time = Less Time

I love "Good Eats."  I am not talking about different foods that can be qualified as worthy of consuming.  Nope, I am talking about the TV show hosted by the one and only Mr. Alton Brown.  It is a staple of the Food Network and the Cooking Channel, and while they are no longer making new episodes, it is one of those shows that I can watch over and over again, learning new recipes and tips that help me each and everyday I am in the kitchen.  Some of those hints come straight from the mouth of Alton Brown, but some don't.  One of the tips I gleaned from Alton was never talked about on the show, but it has become a huge time saver for me.

Here it is...Prep, prep, prep.   When I first started cooking I would just go after and recipe in the order it was written without thinking about organizing the recipe first.  Therefore, I made multiple trips to the pantry, to the refrigerator and on some occasions the grocery store because I didn't think to do a simple thing like lay out all my ingredients first.  Now, I am an expert at prep work, because I want to make the actual dish in as little time as possible.  Therefore, I take these simple 5 steps to make sure the amount of time from the fridge to the table is as little as possible.

1.  Take meat out of fridge first, open and add salt and pepper to both sides.  This does two things.  First, it allows the meat to come closer to room temperature so that cook time is reduced.  Second, by salting, the meat will release some of the water content which you can pat off with a paper towel.  Less water equals more flavor.

2.  Clean and chop veggies all at one time.  Check the recipe and prep whatever veggies are called for before starting to cook.  This will ensure they are ready for the pan, when the pan is ready for them.

3.  Measure out everything before you start. I have 3 sets of measuring cups.  Why?  Because they are cheap, take up very little space, and because sometimes recipes call for 3 different 1/2 cup measurements.  I want them to be ready so I am not constantly leaving my dish to get more ingredients.

4.  Combine like ingredients that will be added together anyway.  Spices can be measured and combined.  Usually liquids can as well.  Heck, for most cakes, this is how it is done anyway.  This can save some serious time.

5.  Place ingredients on the side of your dominant hand in the order they will be used.  For me that is on the right side of my pots.  This will make sure you add the right ingredients in the right order in the most efficient way.  Like I said it is all about the prep.

I leave you with this one last piece of advice that was probably never meant as a cooking reference, but it fits.  "When you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail."  Don't let your recipe lack for more when you can prevent it.  I bid you Good Eating.

~MAW Steve