roasted vegetable and meatball pappardelle (a Jess post)

It was the world's most perfect spring day today and I think I made the world's most perfect spring dinner. Earlier today we stopped at Rocky Plains Meats to stock up. I did get the grass fed beef for this recipe there, but they also started selling local pasta so we got some wonderful Pappardelle's pappardelle too. Bonus!

I originally found this recipe in Sunset Magazine (which I am currently obsessed with). The only changes I made were to allow for the specific ingredients I had on hand and personal tastes. So here it is:

Ingredients:

for the meatballs-
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 T Dijon mustard
1/2 c finely chopped flat leaf parsley (I DID actually break down & use fresh this time!)
3/4 tsp each salt & pepper
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 T bread crumbs
1 large egg

for the pasta & vegetables-
1/2 red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, quartered
3 T olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
8 oz dried pappardelle pasta
1/2 c frozen peas
1/2 c dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 c roughly chopped flat leaf parsley

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all meatball ingredients. Scoop into small portions and roll into approximately 1 1/2 inch balls. Chill on a baking sheet until ready to use. In a large bowl, toss onions, potatoes, garlic, salt & pepper with oil until mixed and coated. Arrange potato mixture around meatballs.

Bake until potatoes are tender and meatballs are cooked, approximately 30 minutes. While the potatoes & meatballs are baking, cook pasta according to package directions. Add peas during last two minutes of cooking. Drain, reserving some pasta water and return pasta and peas to pot. Stir wine into cooked meatballs & vegetables.

Pour mixture into pasta. Add remaining lemon zest & parsley. Stir to combine, adding pasta water if necessary. Serve & enjoy the warmer, longer days!

Everyone LOVED this. Including Drew despite of the vegetables! And Griffin loved it so much he kept begging for extras from my plate! I really loved the light, fresh flavors. This is a new warm weather favorite!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Cory

In my swan song to sugar, I made the ultimate in deliciousness: oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies.  The things turned out the size of baseballs. This *could* be because I used double stuff oreos (I thought: go big or go home).  I did refrain from triple stuffed, which I did not even know existed before my trip to the devil store (oh, oreo...what will you think of next?)  These aren't even "Newman O's" - I went with the HFCS, god knows what else, chemical-laden, worth-the-cancer legit oreos.  And...man, are they good.  

I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone looking to get diabetes, a tummy ache, or is just serious about their desserts in a nearly competitive way (my BFF Suzanne and Steve had a cookie-off, which they both likely regretted later).  So, for all of the HARD CORE cookie lovers out there, he's how it went down:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar• 1 cup granulated sugar• 2 large eggs• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract• 3 1/2 cups flour• 1 teaspoon salt• 1 teaspoon baking soda• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips• 1 package Double Stuff Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In medium bowl mix the flour, salt, and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.

Then, make 2 fairly flat chocolate chip cookies by mashing the hell out of the dough between your palms.  Place a delicious, delicious Oreo cookie on top of one cookie and place the other flat-ish chocolate chip cookie on top.  Seal the seams of the two chocolate chip cookies, engulfing the Oreo in even more goodness.

Place onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets and bake cookies for approximately 13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

potato-leek hash (a Jess post)

Tonight I made potato- leek hash. It is one of my favorite things ever. I originally got the idea from this recipe in Cooking Light, but I have made it about a million times since then in many different iterations. Sometimes I substitute spinach for the chard. Sometimes I use red potatoes or yukon golds instead on fingerlings. Sometimes I use onions or shallots instead of leeks. And I've played with all different kinds of spices and cheeses. Tonight, however, I kept it simple and close to the source.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 large leek, sliced
about 1 lb. fingerling potatoes, sliced lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, divided
salt & pepper
1 bunch rainbow chard, stems removed & thinly sliced
4 large eggs
1/4 c shredded swiss cheese

heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add leeks. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes or until leeks have softened significantly & are just starting to brown. Add potatoes and garlic and cook approximately 15 minutes, or until potatoes have become tender. Stir in 1 tsp paprika and salt & pepper to taste. Add chard and cook, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes. Form 4 wells in the potato mixture and crack an egg into each well. Sprinkle the eggs with the remaining paprika and some salt & pepper. Cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes. Remove lid and sprinkle entire dish with cheese. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until yolks have set. Serve each person an egg with some potato-leek mixture alongside biscuits or toast. Make sure you scrape up all the good browned bits from the bottom- its where some of the best flavor is!

I love how the creamy egg balances the slightly bitter greens and warm spices. Griffin is lukewarm on this one though. I'm not sure he likes the paprika. And Drew likes it too (at least he always HAS) though now he's claiming he's not a fan of the chard. Such a liar!!

Totally in Flames

They say bread is life. And I bake bread, bread, BREAD.

But - I have been sucking hard core at this whole anti-inflammatory diet business.  I've been doing pretty well about limiting the meat.  But, limiting my delicious, delicious homemade french bread is HARD.  And, don't get me started on my success with limiting dairy and sugar.  Oh, chocolate, sweet nectar of the gods...why must you torture me with your creamy goodness?

So, I am seriously buckling down.  I even called my doctor for a referral to a nutritionist to help me meal plan (as would be expected, she hasn't called me back...the only thing worse than doctors are dentists).  I have been eating my way through all the delicious foods I have in the house so I can restock with anti-inflammatory foods (I'm talking to you, super yummy brownies I had in the freezer).  Steve is not as committed. He goes, "can't we just eat the good stuff now and then die of cancer later?"  William is pretty much OUT.  I told him what was allowed on the anti-inflammatory diet, and he goes, "I'll just drink water."  So, William will clearly be do a modified version.

As a last hurrah before really going at it, I am making chocolate chip cookie covered Oreos for a friend's birthday tomorrow.  I will report the hell out of how good those are.  Then, you should expect sad, sad posts about vegetables and fish....and tears.

Oatmeal Pancakes

My quest for a relatively healthy, hearty breakfast has kicked off to great success!  I made a double batch of oatmeal pancakes yesterday and reheated a couple for breakfast this morning, along with some fruit.  SO GOOD!  And, I think pretty darn easy! I'll share the regular recipe - it doubles nicely....

1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 cup oats
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole milk (or buttermilk, but I didn't have any)
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP canola oil
1 egg

Put the oats in a food processor and whir the crap out of them until it's the consistency of flour.  Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Pulse to combine.  Pour in milk, vanilla, oil, and egg. Process until smooth.

It was pretty runny, so I poured it into a liquid measuring cup for easy pouring.  It was so runny, I was actually a bit nervous.  It may be thicker if you used buttermilk?  In any case, they ended up turning out perfectly.  A breakfast to look forward to all week!!

broccoli cauliflower macaroni & cheese (a Jess post)

I am a HUGE fan of comfort food. Almost every week I try to slip something in that is either creamy or cheesy or rich. It's good for the soul even if it isn't always good for my hips. That's why I usually try to slip some kind of vegetable in and/or lighten the recipe a bit with extra flavor as opposed to extra fat (not that fat is always a bad thing). This broccoli cauliflower mac & cheese is one of those comfort foods for sure. Even after a super busy day, one bite in and I immediately heaved a sigh of contentment. And there really isn't THAT much cheese in it, so I don't have to feel bad about my GIANT serving (or the servings I'll be eating every day for lunch this week...)

This mac & cheese is VERY loosely based on this Real Simple recipe. When I've made it in the past, the only veggie I used was cauliflower (which I actually prefer). Drew HATES cauliflower though so I figured I'd throw him a bone and balance it with broccoli, which he does like. So here's what I ended up with:

Ingredients-
12 oz elbow macaroni
3 c roughly chopped cauliflower and broccoli
1 T olive oil
salt & pepper
1 T onion flakes
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
1 T dried Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c milk
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c seasoned breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 400. Cook pasta according to directions, adding cauliflower & broccoli during last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain. Toss pasta mixture with oil, salt, pepper, onion flakes & onion powder. Mix in cheeses, sour cream, milk & mustard. Transfer to 9x9 baking dish, top with breadcrumbs & bake until browned (12-15 minutes). Makes apprx. 6-8 servings.

Like I said, I adore this recipe. Griffin loved it too! Drew, on the other hand, despised it. He said he couldn't pick out the cauliflower and the taste made his stomach hurt. He literally had to go eat pretzels to "wash the taste out". SO looks like Griff & I have lots of leftovers to ourselves and it will be BROCCOLI mac & cheese next time. Sigh. He's lucky he's cute and handy.

Meal Plan & Pancakes (a Jess post)

Well, it's been quite an adventure around here lately. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have some idea what I'm taling about. So in the midst of all of these tiny crises, running errands, and just living life, I somehow managed to misplace the meal plan I wrote out. Luckily I already went shopping so I can recollect most of it from the ingredients (insert smiley face).

So here it is. Or what I think it was and so by default is now:

Sunday: cauliflower mac & cheese
Monday: grandma's vegetable beef soup & biscuits
Tuesday: fingerling potato-leek hash & toast
Wednesday: roasted vegetable and mini-meatball pappardelle & salad
Thursday: pan fried lemon caper pork chops (I was supposed to make them this week but never got around to it) & rice
Friday: Greek mahi mahi & salad
Saturday: Chinese take out & Easter egg coloring!
A few of these are family favorites so it should be a fairly easy week... fingers crossed!

I also wanted to post about the pancakes I made the fam for breakfast this morning! I know Cory is planning to share her oatmeal pancakes and I don't want to over-flapjack you, but I figure they're different enough that it's ok and I was so excited about mine, I had to share!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes (adapted from this recipe at Brown Eyed Baker)

Ingredients:
1 c white all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
2 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c buttermilk
1/4 c sour cream
2 eggs
3 T melted butter (cooled)
cooking spray for greasing the pan

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Gently stir until batter is combined and slightly lumpy. Allow batter to sit for 10 minutes before cooking.

Coat skillet or griddle with cooking spray and heat over medium-high. Using a small cup or ladle, portion apprx. 1/4 c batter into 3 or 4 areas on skillet. Cook until sides look dry and bubbles form on the top. Flip pancakes over and cook until second side is golden brown. Remove to a warm plate. Repeat until batter is completely used.

These were so good- nice and fluffy- and the whole wheat flour makes it just slightly healthier. Pancakes are hands down Griffin's favorite food so he was thrilled... and even Drew said I am "an amazing cook". I make this shit look easy. Ha! We had lots of leftovers so I think Drew is going to heat them up before work this week. Two birds with one stone!!