I am baaack! A Man of Principle

We saw a lot family at Christmas and someone said, "We haven't seen a blog post for a long time."  What's that old adage, if one person says it 10 people were thinking it?  I guess that means there is a demand for me to post again.  (Or there was a significant lull in the conversation and the blog happened to come to mind...)  In any case, why not?  We will see how long this restart lasts.

I am a man of principle.  I try to plan the Sunday meal no earlier than Saturday afternoon (Procrastinator's Principle) and no later than 8:55pm (Practical Principle) since Trader Joes (TJ) closes at 9:00pm.  So yesterday afternoon, I asked my two daughters (the only children left at home since the older two have gone to college, sniff, sniff) what they would like for Sunday dinner.  You may recall from previous posts that it is particularly difficult to please Burrito-girl.  She immediately volunteers, "Risotto"; sigh..I like risotto as well but it does not come out of a can and seems tricky to make.  My wife is a risotto expert so even if I try to make it, the risk of "this tastes funny" or "this doesn't taste like Mom's" is very real.  Next suggestion, "Whatever TJs is sampling," offers the 17 year-old.  Not a bad idea but risky on number of fronts.  I press more and she comes up with grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Aahh, now we're talking.  I could breakout the "GRILL for that one.  So, I set myself a deadline to pause the Ravens vs. Broncos game on the DVR at 3:00 and head off to TJs.

Soup is on the end aisle display.  I grab that and then head to the taster's table since it doesn't look too crowded.  I noticed another lady headed in that general direction,but she pauses to look at the meat section and I make my move and get the last plate!  Hmmm, pretty good.  Simple recipe of Trader Joes Breaded Chicken Tenderloin breasts (with cheese optional) and TJ Frozen Penne Pasta covered with TJs Tomato Basil Marinara.  Not bad; easy to make and, potentially something everyone including Burrito girl would like.  Being a man of principle, I decide to cook the pasta myself rather than buy the frozen pasta (Tightwad Principle). 

So today, I got my 17 year-old to make the pasta, my 8 year old to make the caesar salad (Share the work fun Principle) and together we made dinner.  I put 8 tenderloins out for baking, but I figured there was no way Burrito girl would eat two; I would be lucky if she ate one.  So, I put one back in the freezer.

Dinner is done.  I call the girls and we start with the salad.  "Where's the chicken?" asks, guess who, Burrito girl.  I get a tenderloin and cut it up in small pieces (Make the food look as much like McDonald's Principle) and give to her.  Before I finish my serving, she asks, "Can I have another one?"  Dinner was a success and being a man of principle paid off in discovering one more item to add to Burrito girl's diet, chicken tenderloins!

March 11 and 18 Highlights

Highlights only for this post

March 11 Polenta in a tube..this dinner requires pictures which we forgot to do.  Stay tuned for the next time that I make it.

March 18 Another day off!  A kindly church member/neighbor delivered Jambalaya and cheese bread for dinner just because!  A great feast.

Sunday, March 4 Hot Dogs + Ricotta stuffed chicken breast with marinara sauce

It is Saturday night and I take my seven year old (a.k.a. frozen burrito girl) shopping with me to TJs.  Believe it or not, I have a list and a plan of what to buy and what to make.  After searching high and low (fortunately it is a small store), I can't find the main ingredient.  In the meantime, my daughter has talked me into Chocolate Covered TJ Os and she working on other impulse purchases to which I am famous among my children of saying No!  Obviously, my will is weakening so I break down and decide to ask an employee.  I go to my favorite area of the store, the samples table, and ask.  First, the guy offers me a sample of delicious Ricotta-stuffed chicken breast with marinara sauce (all sold in the same package) and then proceeds to tell me that they no longer have the item I am looking for!

I quickly transition from "I have a plan" mode to "seeking inspiration" mode.  Of course, I am quite familiar with the latter mode, and that Ricotta chicken was pretty good.  However, I don't think everyone would like the chicken and it's not a risk I want to take at $6+ a pound.  My very perceptive seven year old notices some hot dog buns and says, "I like hot dogs."  From the mouth of babes...  One problem, I am not a big hot dog fan.  Normally, I only eat hot dogs twice a year; at the Walk Against Drugs event where my daughter and I get a free hot dogs thrown out by Kiwanis club members (btw. you also get a free shirt) and when I buy the Angel baseball game family pack deal of 4 tickets plus free hot dogs plus free drinks all for $44 (btw. it's a great deal especially when you go on free t-shirt day). 

However, in this situation, I put two and two together (not difficult for an accountant) and I get relatively inexpensive (though not free) hot dogs for the kids and (relatively expensive) Ricotta-stuffed chicken breast with marinara sauce for Dad and others while supplies last!  I feel a tinge of guilt; then I remember an old can of chili I found in the pantry, so it's relatively inexpensive (though not free) CHILI dogs for the kids and (relatively expensive) Ricotta-....you get the idea. 

The hot chili dogs were a hit and the chicken breast as good as at the sample table.  Everyone was pleased with the meal including, believe it or not, frozen burrito girl!

Sunday Feb. 26 Frozen Burrito Girl meets Gamble

To the practical cook, the can opener is a friend.  I decided to go with an old (in the sense that I am old; not ancient in sense that my parents are, well, old) family recipe that involves no less than 6 cans.  I loved it as a kid, loved it as an young man and still love it (at least like it a lot) as an older (not ancient) adult.  The whole family loves it except for the seven year old who I will call "frozen burrito girl" for the remainder of this post.  So I asked frozen burrito girl, if she could get the required 6 cans of ingredients.  She does this enthusiastically because 1) she doesn't know what it is for and 2) she gets to use the cantation (cantation=can+rotation) system she and I (with the help of the teenage son) set up a couple of weeks prior.

Here is how it all comes together..

Gamble
Qty	Measure	Item
1 1/2	lb	hamburger
1	each	onion
40	oz	tomato sauce (5 x 8oz. Cans)
1	can	mushroom soup
1/2	lb	cheese, shredded or 8 oz. cut up cheese
1	Tbl	chili powder or more
		salt and pepper
3	cup	dry elbow macaroni

Brown hamburger and onion, drain.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Add tomato sauce, soup, cheese and chili powder.  Heat, stirring to melt cheese.
Cook macaroni according to directions.  Drain and stir into other mixture.

So...open the cans, dice the onion, brown the meat, shred the cheese directly in to the pot (I forgot to do it earlier), enlist help to make the TJ caesar salad, and the meal is served.  Everyone sits up and frozen burrito girl says with alarm, "That's what's for dinner? Its got meat in it."  "Well, you can just have the noodles."  "Nooo, I don't want that..."  Wife to the rescue, "How about a frozen burrito?" Of course frozen burrito girl is happy with that idea because it is one of her staples, right up there with quesadillas and pita bread with hummus (she has particular tastes).  Microwave a frozen burrito and we all enjoy a most excellent dinner.  Highly recommended especially if you have can opener and a family with most members willing to venture beyond frozen burritos!

Sunday, Feb. 19 Day Off + Homemade Bread

Making homemade bread could be considered the opposite of a day off.  But, not for this practical cook.  First, the day off part....I was fortunate this weekend to have my daughter visit from college (great to see her) and to have my wife organize a service activity with the young women in our church and to have that activity be making two yummy wild rice chicken casseroles and to have the recipients of said casseroles to be a family who is moving and a former young women visiting from college, my daughter.  We had the casserole Sunday and it was yummy as advertised.  It is definitely on the list for a future Sunday dinner.

Since I knew that the dinner was covered, I decided to make homemade bread.  Earlier in the week, I cut out an article in the paper about a lady who, as a child, would bake bread every Saturday with her Mom after playing penny poker with her grandfather.  Her article included a recipe for Italian bread.  As I was thinking about the recipe and the mixing, kneading, letting rise, etc. related to making bread, I noticed the Sunbeam Model 5891 Breadmaker sitting on the counter.  (Hard to miss since it takes up a good portion of counter although it is dormant for most of the year.)  After a quick mental pro/con analysis of down-to-earth, hands-in-the-flour bread making vs. throwing a few ingredients in the Sunbeam 5891, the practical cook in me said, "Go for the Sunbeam 5891."  So, I did.  The most complex part was putting the ingredients in order so I could make a well in the flour at the top to keep the yeast away from the water.

A neat feature of Sunbeam 5891 bread is that the machine tells you exactly how long the process will take.  So, I timed the pressing of the start button to result in a two-pound loaf of fresh bread to be done minutes before we would arrive back from church.  Worked like a charm.  We came home from church, walked in the door and the whole house smelled like fresh baked bread!  Wonderful!  For few fleeting seconds, the squabbles about "No texting in church", "Don't irritate your brother", and my favorite, "when you are old enough to drive, you can correct your sister", are all forgotten because Dad is the MAN!!!  Being a practical cook does have its advantages.  Thanks, Sunbeam 5891.

February 12, 2011 Chili Cook-off

Our pantry is a Harry-Potteresque, under-the-stairs closet that is not made to be a pantry.  To get more efficient use from the space we have, I ordered some "Cantation Shelves" on-line. The day after they arrived, I was home early having attended my older daughter's water polo game. My wife had just that day cleaned the floor of the family room next to the closet. Clear floor, full pantry...my seven year old and I came to the only logical conclusion, pull everything out of the pantry and sort it on the family room floor. It was quite the adventure for my daughter: "Do the cut green beans go with the french style ones?" "What is canned milk?" "Look at all this corn-it's winning." (29 cans). Surveying the family room floor, we were amazed by how much stuff came out of that little closet. Just as we finished pulling the last of the cans out, my wife came home. You can imagine her surprise when my daughter said, "Mommy, come and look what Daddy and me did!" Quickly I added, "This was a Daddy/Daughter project and she helped a lot." (Sometimes it is all about the spin....)

Among the purchased 12 years ago/expired 10 years ago dried mushrooms, unlabeled home canned mystery gels, and 13 jars of peanut butter (whenever I shop at Trader Joes, I buy one because I am always afraid we will run out; as it turns out, 10 of the 13 were buried in the closet), there were some treasures like 3 boxes of Kindereggs and two, yes, two giant Tourist bars from Switzerland (one of which is not quite as giant anymore). Ever on the lookout, I also found the inspiration for Sunday's dinner. Inspiration from a can? Yes, from 14 cans of pinto beans in chili sauce. I have a favorite chili recipe from my Mom. You see, like I am now, my Mom was a very practical cook. With six kids, you had to be practical. So she had many practical and good recipes. Now she has moved on to more exotic fare-too complicated for this practical cook. My wife tends to go for fancier dishes as well like risotto, asparagus quiche, TJ's specials, etc. So Sunday is home cooking practical day and the kids generally like it.

Mom's chili recipe is the best for a practical cook. It is also good so I entered it into the Finance Chili Cook-off at work. My home-cooked, down-to-earth, Mom's recipe chili did not win. Well, I have to admit that those fancier chilis are pretty good. So, I am not too bitter about the loss. Besides, now was my chance to redeem the loss by using this hand-me-down recipe with my family.
Chili

Qty	Measure	Item
1.5	lbs	hamburger
2	8oz	cans, tomato sauce
1/4	cup	dry onion OR
1	cup	fresh onions
4	16oz	cans, Bush's Chili Hot Beans
1	Tbl	chili Powder

Brown hamburger and, if using fresh onions, add them when the meat is almost done.  Pour off grease.  Mix everything together (if using dry onion just throw them in).  Simmer 1/2 hour or 45 min. or longer.  Stir occasionally.

Like all good cooks, I modified the recipe slightly, only one pound of ground beef (I used extra lean so I figured it had more meat and I didn't want to open the other pound package to use only half of it) and, remember those 29 cans of corn, well there are only 28 now! The corn added veggies and color.

How did this Chili rate with the home crowd?:

Three thumbs up and a fist.  The fist is from my youngest who didn't want to give a thumbs down because she doesn't like any chili. Did she not get any dinner? Oh she did, one of the 12 cans of Bean with Bacon soup.

The favorite line of the recipe that I have from Mom is this: "There are a lot harder ways to make chili.  This is easy & good." Very practical.

Sunday Feb. 5, 2012 Breakfast for Lunch/Dinner

So Saturday, I consult my seven year old on what we should have for dinner on Sunday. "Waffles!" "Sounds great, so breakfast for dinner?" "No, breakfast for lunch..but now that we get out of church later, it could be breakfast for dinner." (She is very particular about this lunch/dinner thing on Sunday.) I run through my mental checklist, easy to make-check, easy to get ingredients-check, healthy-well not terribly but not bad either. "Great idea," I tell and the plan is in place.
My Sunday dinner planning involves shopping the night before (that is about as far in advance that I can plan something like a dinner.) Usually, it is Trader Joe's although that can be challenging since they close at 9. Target to the rescue with their new "Fresh Grocery" section. I need to go anyway to pickup 104 photo prints for my seven year old's project. The week before I was also in Target but in that case, I cruised the aisles looking for dinner inspiration (a can of tuna caught my eye so we had tuna melts.) This time I had a plan.
I am a very practical cook. Pancake mix, just add water, I'm in. Waffle mix, add eggs, oil AND water, I can handle that. Quick call to home to check on the egg status and expiration date. Pick up some syrup and turkey bacon and we are in business.
Sunday morning I enlist the help of my seven year old sous chef and the preparations begin. The goal is have everything ready so that after church, I get to cooking. Egg, oil, water and mix measured and ready. Then I pull out the GRILL. I like the GRILL; my wife hates it (maybe because I took it on vacation with us or maybe because it is hard to clean??) The GRILL is a gift from my in-laws. I can cook several pancakes, grilled cheeses, bacon slices etc. at once on the GRILL. What is not to love about that? Have you ever tried to cook pancakes for a family of six in a frying pan. It takes forever (half are eating, half are waiting and, most importantly the cook (me) misses most of the dinner); but, not on the GRILL. There is one little problem though, the GRILL sits at an angle so all the fat will run off into a catch basin. Well the first time I tried scrambled eggs-you can guess what happened, straight to the catch basin. The GRILL doesn't differentiate between fat and uncooked scramble eggs. So, I take some of my other daughter's gum packets placing them under two legs to level the GRILL; practical, right? Now, I pull out the heart-shaped waffle iron from the other in-laws (I am lucky guy with two sets of in-laws). And we are all set.
Come home from church, add water, oil, eggs, enlist my wife to prepare some eggs (scrambled) and off we go. Turkey bacon and pancakes on the GRILL, heart shaped waffles cooking and I noticed some peaches in the pantry, a little fruit to go with everything else. (Of course, I include the peaches just like "planned".) The kids bring home a couple of friends from church who must have heard about the breakfast for lunch/dinner since one shows up with whipped cream for the waffles.
Everything moves along pretty well until I put the scrambled egg mixture on the GRILL. Yes, the gum packets were in place; however, they are apparently a little higher than the last ones the I used. Instead of the eggs flowing into the catch basin, they flowed over the opposite lip of the pan, onto the counter top eventually dripping to the floor. A situation officially declared "Gross" by my daughter.
So I change my technique; a little egg mixture at a time so that it mostly cooks before it hits the rim of pan. By now the troops with friends are getting hungry so I call everyone to dinner, serve up the waffles, pause for the blessing of the food and the feast begins - except for me who is cooking the eggs a little bit at a time on the GRILL.
The dinner (we are definately past the lunch hour by now) is a hit with all. Even the turkey bacon, which my son informs me is less healthy than regular bacon, is quickly gone. Eventually, I am able to join at the table although the GRILL (and surrounging area) is a "bit" of a mess.
After dinner, everyone helps clean up. The kitchen looks pretty good except for one area. "Honey," she says, "the GRILL is yours to clean up."