Vegetarian Meals

Although I do enjoy a nice steak or a pound of shrimp for myself (yes, a full pound), I do enjoy nixing the meat every once in awhile!  We actually have two vegetarian dishes on this week's dinner list!  One is a McDowell family favorite....Spaghetti w/Mozzarella, Basil, Tomatoes and Olives.  The other is a new one from Martha that I can't wait to try out tomorrow....Spicy Bean and Cheese Soft Tacos.  We have all ingredients for the tacos from previous dinners this week or last week - so my excitement level to create this new found recipe is out the roof! :)  I will plan to post the tacos next week, as long as they're as delicious as Martha makes them sound.  For now, here is a super easy vegetarian pasta that is great leftover the next day...and the next day....for lunch or dinner. 

Spaghetti with Mozzarella, Basil, Tomatoes and Olives

Ingredients: 

2 lbs tomatoes, chopped

3/4 lb fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1 1/4 c. fresh basil

1/2 c. halved and pitted black olives

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 lb spaghetti

1/2 c. olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

In a large bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente.  Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.  Add to the tomato mixture and toss.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over moderately low heat.  Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Pour the oil over the pasta and toss again.  

Variations:  Add some drained capers, chopped red onion, or grated Parmesan to the pasta.  **In addition, feel free to switch up the pasta!  I think I will plan to next time around. 

ENJOY!

Do you have any favorite vegetarian dishes? 

So much cooking, so little time!

I can't believe I have completely neglected my blog for months!  I thought I was doing so well!  I am making a vow right now to set aside time on Sunday and (hopefully) one weeknight to maintain my blog.  Without devoting time, it won't happen.  I have numerous recipes and pics I've been saving, so get ready for a blogpost overload! 

On to the good stuff....In honor of a recent purchase, our classic Weber Charcoal grill, I have decided to post a family recipe that I can guarantee will be around for many years to come - Uncle John's Grilled Chicken Wings.  My late Uncle John Stamp to be exact.....may you rest in peace - we all miss you. :)  And yes - we are now a 2-grill family.  As I recently found out, many households within the Stamp Family had 2 grills.  Glad I finally got with the program!  These wings are phenomenal, budget-friendly, and are best fresh off a charcoal grill.  Not the healthiest part of the bird, so we here at the McDowell household try to limit the number of times we grill them each month.


Uncle John's Grilled Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
Chicken Wings
Vegetable Oil (or Canola Oil)
Lowry's Seasoning Salt (you might as well buy the economy size if you don't already own this seasoning)

Directions:
Clean and prepare chicken wings:  rinse under cold water, ensuring all feathers are removed.  Bend "flap" back underneath the drum joint to form a triangle (see the middle wing in the photo for reference).   Sometimes you have to break them at the "elbow" to get the flap to stay behind the joint.  This step allows for easy handling and even cooking on the grill.


Brine chicken wings:  Place all wings in a large bowl with ice cold water and lots of salt for 20-30 mins.  (Brining tenderizes the meat and is recommended for all pieces of chicken and pork prior to grilling.) 

Preheat grill medium (charcoal) to medium-high (gas).

Drain bowl of water.  Pat wings (and bowl) dry.  While still in bowl, coat wings with vegetable (or canola) oil.  (You don't want a puddle of oil at the bottom of your bowl, so don't go overboard).  Seasoning generously with Lowry's Seasoning Salt.  Place wings on aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet.  (I sometimes sprinkle more Lowry's on both sides at this point). :)
 
Grill wings for 30 mins, flipping each wing every 10 minutes. 
*For a gas grill, grill wings on upper grill rack.  If a lower grill rack needs to be used, grill wings on medium heat and watch closely.  Juices will cause the grill to flare up.
*For a charcoal grill, open vent completely on the lid.  The lower the temp, the better.  Monitor every 6-8 mins for some that may need to be flipped early.


Enjoy!

Catching Up! Super Bowl Sunday and Dinner with the Fam

I was a slacker this week on the blogposts.  Nonetheless, I'm getting caught up!
Starting off, this weekend we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day all weekend.  We went out with some friends on Friday night to Lunar.  One of my favorite weekend activities that doesn't happen as often as it used to (and as much as I would like it to!):  shakin' my booty on the dance floor with my husband! We have fun! :)

Saturday night, we went out to an East African restaurant we've been wanting to try - Emanu.  http://www.emanuea.com/  It was true Ethiopian food.  I enjoyed parts of it...but not all of it.  The service was incredibly slow,  and we didn't get the memo that you could BYOB.  I was a bit disappointed we didn't have any wine to help pass the 45 mins it took to get our food.  I'm glad we at least tried it!  Though, not sure we'll go back.
I'll be blogging about our dinner from tonight and tomorrow night later this week!  Stay tuned!

Back to last weekend!!!.....

Last Saturday, Colin's family - including a few Georgians - and his parents were in town to see our new niece, Charlotte.  There were 8 of us (+ the baby).  I decided to make a very crowd-friendly recipe that's been in my family for as long as I can remember...... my dad's Lasagna! 

Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 box of Lasagna Noodles                                        

1 lb Ground Italian Sausage (hot or mild)

1 Large jar of Sauce (whatever you like best - I use Prego original)                                      

1 Large container of Ricotta Cheese                         

1¼ lb. Mozzarella Cheese, sliced thin (I prefer to use the soft mozzarella, but you can use the hard kind from the deli)

1 egg

Fennel Seeds

Parsley Flakes

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350^○

- Boil pot of water for noodles.  Cook noodles until al dente (DON'T OVERCOOK!).  Drain and leave in cold water to keep them soft while you work with them.

- While noodles are cooking, cook sausage, drain, and add to sauce.

- In a medium bowl, mix egg, ricotta cheese, palm full of fennel seeds and a palm full of parsley flakes.

- Coat bottom of large Pyrex dish with sauce.

- Start layering!!....layer of noodles, layer of mozzarella (I usually do 3 slices of soft mozzarella across each noodle), layer of ricotta, layer of sauce, repeat until you fill the dish.  End with noodles, topped with sauce to keep them from curling. 

- Bake Lasagna for 1 hour.

- When Lasagna has about 15 minutes left....

        - Put a loaf of french bread in the oven for 7 minutes

        - Cook link sausage cut up into pieces, and add to a small jar of sauce.

- When Lasagna is done, cut into squares and dish onto plates.  Top with extra sauce/sausage.  Serve with crusty bread.

I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE! :( 

Super Bowl Sunday we went to the Caskey's house for homemade, authentic Louisiana Gumbo (AND to watch football!!).  It was delish!  My contribution:  Peanut Butter Cookies

My mom has always used the original Joy of Cooking recipe.  They're hands-down the best pb cookies I've ever had....

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper, or use a Silpat (my preferred method).
Whisk together:
  1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
  1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
Beat in a large bowl until well blended:
  1⁄3 cup (5 1⁄3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  1⁄2 cup sugar
  1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
Beat in:
  1 large egg
  1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
  1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
Stir in the flour mixture until blended. Shape into 1"-2" balls.
Roll the balls in sugar.
Arrange about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Press flat with a fork two times (criss-cross). Bake, about 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to a rack to cool. They're best when cooked shorter rather than longer.  Don't let them brown too much!

Happy Sunday and Happy Valentine's Day!

Recipe Organization

With the number of recipes we go through, there has to be a method to the organization madness, right?  If the recipe doesn't reside in one of my Martha Stewart Everyday Food publications, my iPad Epicurious app, or Rachael Ray's 2, 4, 6, 8 Meals for Crowds book...

....you will find them in my custom-made ($10) recipe binder.

If we like a recipe enough to call it "a repeat," the proper protocol is to stick a copy in The Binder, complete with tab dividers and sheet protectors that help recipes stay clean.  The binder also includes recipes handed down from family and friends that were initially written on scrap pieces of paper, but have now been typed and printed.  You may even find a few emailed recipes directly from Mom, complete with her comments. :)

One thing's for sure:  I will never use another recipe box again!

My "beef" with recipe boxes:
1)  No one wants to take the time to write on the little lined notecards that are supplied with the recipe card box set. 
2)  The box isn't large enough to house multiple online recipes printed on sheets of paper that are folded into four and stuffed in.
3)  Flipping through all of the cards or folded pieces of paper that you then have to unfold is not an easy way to browse recipes and their ingredients.

To be more earth-friendly, I've thought about browsing for an iPad app for recipe organization, but in all reality, I don't find it as practical.  Not only does the screen get all dirty from my hands, the iPad case also starts smelling like food (not joking!)  The stench makes client meetings during the week interesting....wondering whether or not they can smell my dinner from the night prior on my iPad case while I take notes. :/ 

Organizing our recipes and putting The Binder together did take some time, but it's completely worth it in the end.

Do you have a sufficient way to organize your recipes?

I Heart Grocery Shopping!

Grocery shopping is one of my favorite activities each week (surprise, surprise!).  In order to be health- conscious and cost-conscious, putting together the perfect grocery list takes quite awhile to perfect. 
At this point, Colin and I have been living together for almost 4 years now.  We generally cook every night, Sunday through Wednesday.  Thursday through Saturday, we'll either pick something up at the store on the fly, or dine out.  My grocery list starts with a notecard and my favorite recipe books and/or websites pulled up on my spiffy iPad.  On one side, I write down our menu for the week, taking into consideration any after work time-consuming activities that will limit the amount of time we have to cook.  And the other, the actual grocery list. (This process, for me, averages 30-45 mins). Working an 8am-5/6/7pm job, the last thing I want to do is come home and think "what should we have for dinner tonight?"  Situations like these frequently end up in quick, not-so-healthy, and (quite frankly) boring meals.  Plus, I get to plan everything ahead of time (yes, planning...another one of my addictions).

This planning activity also allows me to scope out the fresh ingredients I can reuse.  If I find a recipe with a fresh ingredient that's not normally on the list (as are yellow onions, bell peppers, garlic and CLEMENTINES!), I'm able to get the most bang for my buck by finding more than one recipe (oh how fun!) 

EXAMPLE:  Arugula

Arugula has a rich, peppery taste, and has an exceptionally strong flavor for a leafy green. It is generally used in salads, often mixed with other greens in a mesclun, but is also cooked as a vegetable or used raw with pasta or meats in northern Italy and in coastal Slovenia where it is added to the cheese burek. In Italy, it's often used in pizzas, added just before the baking period ends or immediately afterwards, so that it will not wilt in the heat. Thanks for the info Wikipedia!   

*Generally $4ish/box, found by the baby spinach.

Here's how I used it for two dinners this last week (and we STILL have some left!)

Meal #1:  Chicken Milanese with Arugula Salad <--click!
Meal #2: Grilled BBQ Salmon w/Red Smashed Potatoes and Arugula Greens w/Italian Dressing
Because this meal is rather self-explanatory, here are a few tips....
   1) We prefer Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce (or any other sweet BBQ sauce) for this dish.
   2) Boil New Red Potatoes for 20 mins, smash with a bit of milk and butter, salt & pepper your liking.
   3) We prefer Good Seasons Italian Dressing.  Toss with Arugula and serve along side of potatoes and salmon - all on the same plate!  The best bites are the ones with a little bit
of everything!  Mmmmm......

Both are courtesy of Martha Stewart Food.  A reference you will see I use for 90% of our creations. 

Hope my post has inspired you to plan your meals for the week, try a new recipe or two, and maybe even one with Arugula!

Stay happy my friends, it's the weekend! <3

PS...Working on my food photography skills so I can provide our own meal pics. :)

Live to Eat, or Eat to Live?

The one thing in life that a person cannot survive without is food - so why not make each meal as delicious as possible?  Life is too short for subpar meals.  My husband and I cook more nights out of the week than not.  Cooking is my "outlet" when I get home from work.  It's relaxing, then indulgent.  Not only is it (usually) cheaper than eating out, it's comforting knowing the ingredients in your food, and incredibly exciting to prepare something new to taste each day.

If I could, I would prepare the most delicious meals for my family and friends everyday.  Entertaining is a drug to me.  (Yes, a little extreme, I know).  But there's nothing better than having a cocktail, chopping vegetables, throwing a bunch of fresh ingredients together, and seeing guests smile when they take their first bite. I often hear, "this is so good, Jess!" and I generally reply with, "I KNOW!"  Not that I'm trying to boast or anything - but I agree!  I choose recipes and follow them.  It's that easy.  I can't take all the credit.

At this point in my life, I have no idea what I want to do with my foodiness.  (A newly-created word you may frequently hear me use as I journey through blog-creation).  Maybe this blog will help me get there?  Since I logistically and financially can't share every meal with all those I love, I'm hoping this will be a way for you to enjoy and learn about the delicious food in our life until the next time you and I can enjoy a meal together.


Stay hungry my friends. <3