Foodmomiac

Meal Plan, week of March 16

I'm going through a weird time lately. Work is crazier and more stressful than ever (there are over 16 of us now involved in Sway Group - I need to invent a word that conveys that weird mix of stress, pressure, pride and overwhelmedness). I haven't been exercising and I haven't been cooking. These are usually the signs that I'm heading into a hard time, yet there are other aspects in which my life is so in control.

I've been taking vitamins daily for well over a month now. I floss every night. I love where we live and I watch less TV, read more, and just really appreciate the amazingness of everything that is around me.

Yet, I know I need to bring the cooking and activity back into my world. This week I am starting with the cooking. Dylie and I headed to the San Rafael Farmer's Market this morning and stocked up. Here's the plan:

Sunday (tonight): Grilled Atlantic salmon, Baba Rice, grilled asparagus

Monday (St. Patrick's Day!): Corned Beef (I usually like making my own corned beef, but I bought a corned brisket at the Farmer's Market, and it looks AWESOME), cabbage, butter ball potatoes

Tuesday: Chicken on the grill, melted fennel and onion (making this up - not sure of the recipe yet), cauliflower rice

Wednesday: Spaghetti All' Amatriciana, salad, garlic bread

Thursday: Grilled Pork Chops, roasted beets and brussels, macaroni salad

Friday: PIZZA NIGHT!

 

Our Favorite Crockpot Meal: Red Beans with Smoked Turkey

We didn't have a good morning. It's day four of the Chicago teachers' strike, so the routine we were so happy to return to last week is shot. Additionally, Michael is oversees on a business trip, Dylan insisted that she had no pants available to wear, Max wouldn't eat breakfast, no one could tell me what they wanted for lunch, and I'm having one of those weeks where I'm just super stressed about having a start-up and all of the uncertainties that entails.

By 8:30am, all three of us were crying hysterically. Not my proudest moment.

I finally got the kids out to their "strike camp" and headed off to my annual dermatology appointment. Now, I pride myself on having crazy low blood pressure. It's so low that when I went in to get Lasik surgery eight years ago, I wasn't allowed to take a valium as it would have made me too loopy. So, anyway, there I am at the doctor, and they pulled out the blood pressure cuff. I was soon informed that my blood pressure was a bit high.

Yeah. A morning like we had can do that to a person.

Once I got back home, I decided I needed to so something to calm myself down a bit prior to jumping into my work day. I needed to do some chopping. That's when I pulled out the crockpot and the smoked turkey legs. I love this dish because it is hearty, and delicious and easy and makes the house smell fabulous. I also love that it uses (cheap) dried beans but doesn't require overnight soaking. I made things a bit more complicated this morning because I added vegetables. As I said, I needed some time with my chefs knife. The food is now happily cooking away and I'm quite sure my blood pressure is back to its freakishly low self.

Red Beans with Smoked Turkey Legs

One large or two smallish smoked turkey legs (the ones I used today were purchased at Whole Foods, but they often have these at our grocery store as well)
One bag red kidney beans, rinsed and picked through
Veggies, chopped (optional) - today I used one onion, three stalks of celery and a few peppers including one jalapeno

Put the turkey legs into your crockpot. Top with the beans and veggies. Cover everything with water and cook on low for 6-8 hours. About an hour before it's done, pull out the turkey legs, remove the meat from them and put them back into the crockpot. (Be careful with the bones -the legs have these really weird spindly needle bones throughout.)

Serve with rice.

Note: we also like to top ours with a healthy sprinkling of Tony Chachere's creole seasoning. 

 

Baba Rice (a weeknight lifesaver)

This is my dear friend Lisa. Our husbands have known each other since Kindergarten (!!) and when we lived in Toledo, Lisa was a constant in my life. I remember calling Lisa and Todd just a couple of days after they brought their oldest son home from the hospital to tell them that we, too were going to have a baby! Now Ty is almost 11, and Dylan is 10, and I feel like an elderly woman, but that's a story for another day.

Lisa is the friend who introduced me to Bunco (which I greatly miss - why don't people play Bunco in Chicago??), and the person who brought over food after Dylie and Max were born. And the one dish that was ALWAYS included with this delivery was Baba Rice. Baba was Todd's grandma, and she was from Bulgaria. I love Baba Rice, but I could never make it properly no matter how many times Lisa walked me through it over the phone.

This has always been a source of frustration for me, so when we visited Todd and Lisa Thanksgiving weekend, I watched her make it and took very detailed notes. I am happy to report that I have now made Baba Rice twice and was successful both times. Woot!

And now I am sharing with you. Enjoy.

Baba Rice
2-1/2 cups Uncle Ben's rice (the brand is important here, so don't try to get all fancy. You need the original Uncle Ben's converted rice)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
5 cups chicken broth
freshly ground black pepper
1 Tb. dill
1 Tb Spike seasoning or summer savory (Chubritza is the Bulgarian word for this)
1 tsp chicken bouillion paste (I use that Better than Bouillion stuff from the supermarket)
1/4 cup canola oil 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put the rice in a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Add the celery, onion, broth and spices. Break the bouillion paste up into smaller pieces and distribute throughout the dish. Pour in the oil and mix everything well. Cover the pan with foil and place into the oven for an hour. Remove from the oven and mix up a bit with a fork. Enjoy!

FoodKIDiac: Guest post by Dylan - Baked Acorn Squash

My favorite dish lately has been baked Acorn Squash it is SO delicious! It is fun and easy to make! I was able to make it all by myself, actually. Today we had it with chicken and a nice little salad! It is such a great comfort food and it adds a little sweetness to your dinner! I guarantee that you will LOVE this dish! Acorn squash is probably the best fall dish you can ask for! Today my Dad built a fire in the fireplace so it was really nice and cozy in our house.

I could eat acorn squash forever! You HAVE to try this dish!

Here is the link to the recipe I used:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/classic_baked_acorn_squash/