Grill Talk: Um, well, hamburgers?

Image by Robert S. Donovan

So. Today the Ultimate Recipe Swap topic over at LifeasMOM is Grill Talk.

Oh, dear.

Well, (*taking a deep breath*) sure, I'll give it a go. (*Weak smile*)

Remember, Brianna, the first rule of writing is: Write what you know.

OK, ladies! This post is for all you girls whose husbands always do the grilling. (Like me.) I'm going to tell you what I know about grilling. (It's destined to be a short post.)

Number One:
Before you start the grill up, you should open it and look inside to see if there is anything in it. If you don't check, you might burn up the grilling implements with wooden handles that your husband likes to store inside the grill. Now, don't titter and giggle and ask me how I know this. Just do it, K?

Number Two:
Use a gas grill. At least if you want to use any more information from me. Because with as little as I know about gas grills, I know even less about charcoal. I know nothing about charcoal grills. So, if you want to use charcoal, I can't help you.

Number Three:
To start the grill, you should turn on the propane tank. Then turn the little dial thingies to the "light" position. Then light a match as quickly as you can and stick it in the little hole on the side. What, you say? It took you a while to find the hole and when you finally DID find it and got near it with the match you nearly blew yourself up? Oh, yes. Well, look for the little hole first before turning on all that stuff. Oh, and if your grill has a handy little red "light" button, that works, too. That is, if it works. Mine doesn't. Oh, yes, and it would also help to have your hair pulled back and not care too very much about your eyebrows. Really, you can always pencil them in later, honey.

Number Four:
(We're getting dreadfully close to the end of my knowledge.) Um, well, scrape the grill off once it's burned for a few minutes. Yeah, yeah, do that.

Number Five:
This part is where you put your stuff on the grill. The part where you probably need a recipe or something. Or need to know how to cook the stuff on the grill. But, well, um...I've only ever burned stuff on the grill. *GASP* I know, I know. This whole post you've been under the impression that I'm some sort of expert. Sigh. Well, there you have it. I don't really know much about anything when it comes to grilling. My sweet husband cooks delightful things on that thing, but I never do.

What I can tell you is how I prepare the hamburger meat that he cooks into delicious burgers! *Looking hopeful* Would you like that? (Do I sound desperate?)

Hamburgers
OK, well, I take about a pound of hamburger meat, add an egg or two to it and a little oatmeal sometimes (it makes it stretch a little further and can also help bind the meat together). I add a fair dose of salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, a little hot sauce, garlic salt, and onion powder.

I mix it gently with my bare hands--the patties seem to be tougher when handled too much or mixed with a fork. When well-mixed, I shape it into patties. I take a ball somewhere between the size of a golf ball and tennis ball and flatten it out. I try to flatten it really well, because those little suckers like to shrink all up and turn into fat, thick disks. Not very hamburgerish, you know? So, make them really flat.

Then sometimes I let them sit in the fridge for a couple of hours to really let the flavors blend.

Then I hand them to my sweet husband, who takes them out, does something magical and brings them back inside looking and tasting just right! I have no idea what he does or how he does it. And that's the truth.

I'm so sorry, FishMama. If you want to kick me off of Ultimate Recipe Swap until the end of time, I'll understand...

If you'd like some real ideas about grilling, head on over to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeasMOM!

Rockin' Recipe: Lasagna--A Romantic Dinner for Two

Image by oddsock

There are a few foods in my life that make me, well, drool. I would say "make my mouth water" because it's so much more polite, but it isn't exactly, well, accurate.

Just keeping it real here, folks.

The following recipe is sure to make you and your husband drool. (How's that for the beginning of a post that's about a romantic dinner?)

But, really, if you'd like to plan a stay-at-home-date for a special occasion, this recipe is just the thing.

This recipe is my mom's lasagna recipe--with a few of my own tweaks. Since my earliest memories, it has been one of the absolute favorites of my family. And now I make it for my own family--including my husband, of course. And the drooling continues down through the generations. It's a beautiful thing.

Lasagna

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (sometimes I'll use mild sausage for a bit of a different flavor--both are yummy)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. basil
1 1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 c. canned diced or crushed tomatoes (just depends on your family's texture preferences)
2 6 0z. cans tomato paste
16 oz. lasagna noodles (you could make these whole wheat if you wanted)
4 c. cottage cheese
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
2 T. parsley
2 beaten eggs
2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
24 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions:
Brown meat slowly and drain off excess fat. Add the next five ingredients. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cook noodles in large pot with boiling, salted water. Remove from heat while still quite firm (a little firmer than al dente). The noodles will continue to soften when you cook the dish. You don't want them to be so soft that they fall apart when you try to place them in the pan or to taste mushy in the final product. I drain and rinse these noodles and then cover them with cold water. This ensures that the noodles won't dry out and stick together before you put them in the pan. Otherwise, you'll end up tearing noodles to pieces and grimacing in frustration. (Ask me how I know.)

Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl (except mozzarella cheese).

Place noodles carefully in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. You may need to trim them a bit to get them to fit evenly. Add a third of your cottage cheese mixture, a third of your meat mixture, and a generous sprinkle of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers till you have a total of three layers--EXCEPT don't put the mozzarella cheese on your last layer yet!

You want to save that mozzarella and put it on in the last 20 minutes of baking or so. Otherwise your cheese will burn. (Ask me how I know.)

This lasagna will be best if you cover it and refrigerate it overnight. Oh, the flavors will be so beautifully blended if you do this! But it's not absolutely necessary.

When you're ready to finish it up, cover with foil and bake at 375 for at 25 minutes. Remove foil, add cheese and bake for at least another 15-20 minutes. It will take longer if you had it in the fridge beforehand. When the the cheese is nicely melted, edges are bubbling, and the center is heated through, it's ready! Let it stand 10-15 minutes before cutting into squares.

This will actually make more than enough for a small family, so it's definitely too much for a twosome. But the leftovers are great, it freezes well, and you can also cut the recipe in half and bake it in an 8x8 pan if you like.

To round out this fine recipe you could serve it with a tossed green salad and Italian salad dressing, some yummy breadsticks, and some chocolate or raspberry sorbet for dessert.(Chocolate for me and raspberry for my husband!) Oh, and don't forget the candles, special dishes, and sparkling grape juice served in those flutes you got on your wedding day and haven't used since.

Enjoy!

For more ideas for a romantic dinner, please visit the Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeasMOM!

Rockin' Recipes: Mother's Day Menu and Loving My Husband

Image by smoorenburg

Mother's Day. Valentine's Day. My birthday. Our wedding anniversary.

You know what all these days have in common? They used to represent collectively the worst days of my year. Days that represented disappointment, frustration and resentment. I know. That sounds terrible! But it's the truth.

Almost inevitably, these days would leave me feeling angry with my husband. If he really loves me, why doesn't he do "xyz" for me on days like today? Anyone been there before? Now, don't get me wrong. I've got an awesome husband. But he has a few quirks. Want to know what they are?

a) He's completely different from me.
b) He's never learned to read my mind.

Weird, right?

OK, you're probably chuckling by now. At me and at yourself. Because we've most likely all been here at one time or another in our marriage.

I'm not usually miserable on these days any more. In fact, I usually really enjoy them! Would you like to know what changed? No, he didn't "figure it all out". Instead, I figured a few things out. And here's what I've done differently:

1. I set my expectations really low.
Now that might sound like another slam on my sweet husband, but I really don't mean it that way. I've just learned that when I don't expect much, I'm almost always very pleasantly surprised. I let him be who he is, and I plan ahead of time to be happy with very little. I think this makes him feel more free to go an extra mile instead of worrying that he isn't going to live up to my high expectations. I think the pressure of that made him resent me, actually.

2. I tell him exactly what I want.
Instead of expecting him to read my mind, I lay it all out there. I tell him what I want him to give me. I tell him what I want to do. I tell him what I'd like to eat. And sometimes I tell him that I'd like him to come up with something, however small, that he thinks of on his own. This might sound funny, but it's made us both much happier. No more guessing games on his end, and no more disappointment on mine.

3. I try to remember that he loves me more than life itself and wants to show me love.
Even when I'm feeling unloved, the truth of the matter is that I am deeply loved. I give him the benefit of the doubt that he is trying his best to please me.

So, isn't this post supposed to be about recipes?

Oh, yeah.

Actually, I'm not having a pregnancy moment. This is all fitting together, trust me. Because of the things I've just mentioned, this is what I'm doing this year for Mother's Day: I'm giving my husband a menu (telling him exactly what I want). I'm keeping it really simple--I'm even making some of it up ahead of time and putting it in the freezer (keeping my expectations low). And I'm telling him I want it served to me in bed (telling him exactly what I want).

Maybe some of you feel like this is just wrong! But it works for us and keeps our marriage happy. So there.

Here's the menu:

Whole Wheat Pancakes (that freeze super-de-duper well) with sucanat syrup
Strawberries and cantaloupe (these have been soooo good here, lately!)
Tea (I love black tea and don't indulge in it very often when pregnant.)

You can probably figure out how to cut up strawberries and cantaloupe all by yourself. So, I won't say much more about that.

You can learn how to brew the perfect cup of tea here. I'm telling you, there is a world of difference between a proper cup of tea and an improper cup of tea!

And here is my recipe for my very delicious pancakes:

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 1/2 cups of freshly ground soft white wheat flour (OK, I know. Most people don't have a wheat grinder in their cabinet. So, if you want these to be light and fluffy, maybe do half white and half whole wheat if you can't grind it yourself. Otherwise, they'll be too heavy and dry.)
1 t. salt
3 T. sugar (I use sucanat)
1 3/4 t. baking powder
1 egg
3 T. melted butter or coconut oil
1 to 1 1/4 c. milk (I've actually been using water since my youngest son has to be dairy free, and they still turn out deliciously. Cheaper, too!)

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add the egg and oil/butter. Gradually add your milk or water until you get the consistency you want. Thicker batter will mean thicker pancakes and thinner will mean thinner pancakes.

Heat your skillet over medium high heat. The heat will be right when water droplets sprinkled on the skillet dance and then disappear. Spoon your batter on with a ladle slowly and uniformly to get nice little circles. Flip your pancakes when bubbles appear on top and the edges start to look dry. The second side won't take as long as the first.

Serve with sucanat syrup, maple syrup, fruit, peanut butter, or whatever!

Once cooled, these can be stacked and frozen. They make great quick breakfasts. You can reheat them in the microwave (my preference) or in the toaster (my husband's preference).

This recipe is adapted from Joy of Cooking.

Sucanat Syrup

1 part sucanat
1 part water

Combine in saucepan over medium heat. Heat till dissolved and boiling. Pour into mason jar and store in fridge. Easy peasy!

Feel free to steal my ideas. Maybe you'll smile your way through Mother's Day this year!

For more great Mother's Day recipes, please visit LifeasMOM for the Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Rockin' Recipe: Falafel

Image by brighterworlds

Be still my heart.

Falafel makes me smile. Laugh. Sing. Dance.

It is hands down my favorite food. Well, right up there with Thai food. And my mom's lasagna recipe. And the perfect Southern macaroni and cheese.

What can I say? I do love to eat.

Are you feeling the need for some culture? How about a little Mediterranean food? Why don't we hop on over to Israel and get us some yummy, nummy falafel? (Oh, my mouth is watering!)

The Stuff You'll Need:

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 large onion
1 bunch parsley
4 cloves of garlic
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
½ t. cayenne pepper
1 t. baking powder
½-¾ c. flour

How to Make 'Em:

Soak your chickpeas overnight. The next morning, drain chickpeas. In a food processor, combine ¼ of all ingredients at a time and pulse till you get a coarse paste. Add enough flour to hold the mixture together. You should be able to form a ball in your hand with the paste. Repeat till all of your ingredients have been made into a paste and combine in a large bowl.

Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oil in skillet or deep fryer. (I use coconut oil in a skillet as it's a more stable oil for cooking purposes--especially at higher temperatures.) Form one ball (about 1 ½ inches) and test fry. If it falls apart, try adding a little more flour to your paste.

Form the rest of your paste into 1 ½ inch balls. Fry for a few minutes on each side or until golden brown. Be careful not to overfill your skillet.

Serve warm with tahini sauce, pita bread, sliced or diced tomatoes and cucumbers. Oh, yum!

This recipe will serve about eight--but it also freezes beautifully, so you can pop leftovers in the freezer for another day.

My recipe is a combination of Sally Fallon's from Nourishing Traditions and this recipe.

For more yummy meatless maindish recipes, please visit the Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeasMOM!

Do you like falafel? Have you ever tried it?

Rockin' Recipe: "Dad" Oatmeal Cookies

Image by brighterworlds

So, Jessica over at LifeasMOM is hosting a cookie throwdown this week on her Ultimate Recipe Swap. I must admit--I'm pretty competitive. So all you cookie bakers? Prepare to be throwed down. Er, I mean thrown down. Ahem. I must be spending a lot of time with small children or something.

But really. These cookies are So. Dang. Good. As they say in the South, they'll make you want to slap your mama. Don't actually do that, though, OK? It's just a saying and I don't want to be held responsible for anyone really slapping their sweet mother. Sheesh.

Dad Cookies (A.K.A. Oatmeal Cookies That Rock Your Socks Off)

What you'll need to make these super yummy cookies:

1 c. brown sugar (I usually use sucanat)
1/2 c. shortening (I use butter or palm shortening since it isn't hydrogenated)
1 egg
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. vanilla
1 c. flour (I use whole wheat)
1 c. rolled oats

How to make these super yummy cookies:

Cream butter or shortening together with sugar. Add egg, baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir till well blended. Stir in flour and oats. Drop cookies by spoonful onto cookie sheet and bake at 325 for about 10-12 minutes.

Recipe makes 2-3 dozen.

Yummy additions to make these super yummy cookies even more super yummy:

• Chocolate chips
• White chocolate chips
• Raisins

How to eat these super yummy cookies:

• With milk. Yum.
• With supervision. Or you'll eat them all by yourself in one sitting.
• Away from your mother. See above.

Rockin' Recipe: Strawberry Trifle

Image by clairity

This recipe is one that is requested from me for our big family get-togethers--Christmas, Easter, and so on. And you know why? Because it is so darn good!

This strawberry trifle is a light, fruity, and refreshing dessert. I'm going to be craving it by the time I finish writing out the recipe. Wait. Nope, I'm already craving it. It is perfect for Easter dinner.

Just a note: This is not a dessert you can make ahead. In fact, it probably isn't a dessert you'll be able to enjoy if there are leftovers. If it sits for too long, it tends to get soggy and yucky. So, if this recipe looks like it would be too much for your crowd, cut it down to an amount you think will be eaten up!

Here's what you're going to need:

Trifle dish
1 Angel food cake, cubed
1 5.25oz packet of vanilla pudding mix (plus milk--make according to directions)
1 16oz tub of whipped topping
Strawberries--fresh sliced mixed with some strawberry jam, or frozen sliced, sugar added berries. (I've got a 24 oz frozen container for this time.)

Keep in mind, I've got a large trifle dish--you may need to adjust if you have a smaller one or are making this in a bowl of some kind.

Layer your ingredients in the trifle dish in this order: Cubed angel food cake, vanilla pudding, strawberries, and whipped topping. Continue till you run out, but end with the whipped topping. Throw a couple whole strawberries on top if you're feeling Martha Stewart-ish. Refrigerate till ready to serve.

Warning! This recipe is neither frugal nor healthy. It cost me about $10 for the ingredients this time around. Whew. But it does feed quite a crowd, and it's not often that we have it. As far as the unhealthiness--again, we don't have it but a couple of times a year, so it's a special treat.

Enjoy!

For more great Easter dessert ideas and recipes, please visit the Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeasMOM.

Rockin' Recipe: Spanish Rice

Image by brighterworld

I'm almost 25 weeks pregnant now. Yep, I've really popped out there. (I think I've popped in more places than I really should have, but anyhow. . .) I'm starting to think about freezer meals. I'd love to have a freezer jammed full of meals that can be pulled out and easily reheated for when I'm the mother of three little boys. Wow.

This recipe is another one of our family favorites. My boys gobble it and my husband likes it, too. Two reasons I like it: 1) It's another cheapie. 2) It's easily doubled or tripled and freezes beautifully! In short, it's a good candidate for the "Cooking for after baby list".

Spanish Rice

1 lb ground beef
2 T. finely chopped onion (you can used a bit of minced dried onion if you prefer)
2 t. brown sugar (you can do a little molasses or sucanat if you prefer)
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper (I usually throw more in, because I love pepper!)
1/2 t. chili powder
4 c. canned diced or crushed tomatoes (depending on your family's texture preferences)
1/2 c. ketchup (use this recipe, if you're looking for one made with natural sweeteners)
3/4 c. uncooked brown rice

Brown the ground beef and onion. Drain if you like. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Cover and simmer until rice is tender (at least 45 minutes). Stir occasionally. You may need to add a little water.

Super easy!

Cost for this meal:
Beef--$1.49
Onion--$0.05
Spices--$0.05
Tomatoes--$1.00
Ketchup--$0.50
Brown rice--$0.25
Total--$3.34 (Cha-ching!)

This is yummy served with a salad or green beans or both. Enjoy!

By the way, if you need an awesome apron to wear while you make this rockin' recipe, don't forget to enter the Marie-Madeline Studio apron giveaway if you haven't done so already!

This recipe is linked to Ultimate Recipe Swap at LifeasMOM.

A Rockin' Recipe: Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Image by Stuti ~

I absolutely love this soup! Here in Georgia, it's just starting to be on the edge of too warm for soup. But I think it's still do-able, and there are plenty of you who don't live so far south as I do. So, I thought I'd share. Because no one on the planet should be without the luxury of this recipe.

There are three things about this soup that make it one of my all-time favorites. First, it tastes fabulous! It's really one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth. Second, it's made in the Crock Pot. And I love me a good Crock Pot recipe. Last but not least, it's a frugal make. See what I mean? Complete winner.

The original recipe comes from the blog A Year of CrockPotting, which should definitely be on your favorites list if it's not already. The link to the original recipe can be found here.

I'll type it out for you here the way I made it (which is pretty similar), plus give you the cost breakdown.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 small chicken breast (I used less that the original recipe called for--$0.75)
• 1 1/2 cups dried black beans (I used more than the original recipe called for--$0.75)
• 4 cups of chicken broth (I try to make my own from leftover chicken bones--free!)
• 1 cup frozen corn ($0.30)
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin (You could probably reduce this a little if you're afraid of too much spice--$0.05)
• 1 jar prepared salsa, 16 oz (I used mild so it wouldn't be too spicy for the little ones--$1.00)
  
• 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.25)
• 4 oz shredded cheddar cheese ($0.75)
• Salt and or pepper to taste
  

The grand total is $3.85! (Note: Those prices are what I pay at the grocery store for items on sale, etc.) If you wanted, you could pay a little more to buy your broth from the store and add in extras like cilantro, avocado slices, and fresh lime. Those definitely add a nice touch!

Directions:

Start the night before. Cover your dried beans with plenty of water and leave them overnight. In the morning, drain and rinse them well. Remove any funky looking beans.

Combine the first five ingredients in a 4 quart or larger Crock Pot. Do not add the salsa at this point! If you do, it will take much, much longer for the beans to cook due to the acidity of the tomatoes. So, don't do that.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours--the original recipe says that you need to cook it on high for nine hours! I found this completely unnecessary if the beans were presoaked and the salsa was added later. Once your beans are softened, remove your big hunk of chicken breast and chop it up. Then return it to the pot. Now add your salsa. Cook for one more hour or so on low.

When ready to serve, stir in the sour cream, ladle into bowls, and top with cheddar cheese.

Dig in and enjoy!

This post is linked to Ultimate Recipe Swap.