Weekday rush...

Mid-week means little or no time to prepare fancy meals. But the family still wants to eat - go figure! My go-to menu when I'm pressed for time is Lasagna rolls and caesar salad. If I really want to get fancy, I throw in a loaf of garlic bread. This is a never-fail, sure-fire kid pleaser.

Lasagna Rolls

14 Lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c grated parmesan
1 c. ricotta
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella or cheddar
1/2 tsp each oregano, basil, garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 can Catelli tomato-basil blast sauce
3 tbs grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 9" square pan. Lay damp dish towel on counter. Transfer noodles to towel. In medium bowl, combine egg, parmesan, ricotta, mozzarell, spices. Spoon equal amounts (about 1 1/2 tbs) onto one end of each noodle. Roll noodles up around filling. Place rolls, tightly packed, in dish. Pour tomato sauce over top. Sprinkle remaining parmesan on top. Bake for 35 minutes.

I like to use the "Et tu" caesar salad mix for a quick fix salad.

Remembrance Day....and anniversary

We're celebrating our 21st anniversary today, along with Remembrance Day, and a lovely day we had! Lots of sunshine, not too cold, and no commitments all day long. Today's menu is quick and easy: shrimp scampi served over tomato wholegrain rice, with carrots and peas. Apple pie for dessert.

Shrimp Scampi

1/2 - 1 pound cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbs butter, melted
1 tbs minced garlic
4 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp each salt, pepper, paprika
1/2 cup chopped parsley

In large bowl, combine butter, garlic, lemon juice and spices. Place shrimp in oven-proof casserole dish. Pour butter mixture over shrimp and toss to coat. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Broil 1-2 minutes until shrimp are golden. Serve over rice.

Back-to-work busy weeknights.....

After a rainy, hectic weekend, followed by a daytrip to Saint John for a medical appt.., it was back to work today. Of course, the family schedule is crazy as ever - mainly centering around Clara these days. She received her Chief Scout award on Saturday and her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award last night. Then there's the venturers' meeting, the hockey, the homework, and the piano and clarinet lessons. And now it's time to sign up for indoor soccer too. Yikes! I need a doppelganger. Anyway, back to dinner for tonight. I'm not really feeling up to going all out and yet I want to serve something reasonably nutritious. Went to Costco in SJ yesterday and found that they're stocking something the Moncton Costco hasn't had for eons - dried cheese tortellini. This, along with Sunday's leftover roast ham provided my inspiration: creamy herb and garlic ham & tortellini casserole.

Creamy Herb and Garlic Ham & Tortellini Casserole

3 cups dried tortellini
1 pkg cream cheese
3 wedges of Laughing Cow lite cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 cup coarsely chopped parsley
3 chopped green onions
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 tsp minced garlic (about 1 large clove)
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 cups diced ham
1 cup milk
Leftover peas, carrots, green beans (approx. 1 1/2 cups)
Seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbs butter
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar

Cook tortellini according to pkg directions. Meanwhile microwave cream cheese and laughing cow cheese in large bowl for 1-2 minutes until soft. Add vegetables, garlic, pepper, ham. Drain tortellini and add to bowl. Toss to combine. Transfer to greased 9 x 12 casserole dish and top with bread crumbs and butter. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 min. Remove foil, top with grated cheese and return to oven. Bake till cheese is bubbly. Remove and serve with tossed salad.

Dreary November needs warming up.....

It's grey and dreary here today and I stayed up way too late watching hockey last night (this morning?), so I feel the need for comfort food. I've been saving broccoli stalks for the past few days with the intention of doing up a cream of broccoli soup - today seems like the ideal time to get on with it.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

5-6 broccoli stalks
1 broccoli stalk plus florets
inner 3-4 stalks of a bunch of celery, including leaves
1/2 a large vidalia onion, chopped
2 tbs butter (or Becel)
900 ml fat-free chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 can evaporated skim milk
pinch of dried basil
pinch of dried summer savoury
ground sea salt to taste
ground pepper to taste

Coarsely chop onions, celery, and broccoli. In large pot, sauté onion, celery and broccoli in butter until onions are translucent. Add broth, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is soft. Purée using either hand blender or food processor.  Add milk, evaporated milk, and seasonings. Simmer for 10 min. to allow flavours to blend. Serve with fresh bread or biscuits.

Note: for Cream of Broccoli Cheddar Soup, add 1 cup grated old cheddar or 1/2 cup of Ragu cheese sauce when you add the milk.

Tonight's menu is baked ham, scalloped potatoes, peas and carrots. Apple crisp for dessert. Hopefully, this will warm things up.

Time to play catch-up....

So, August and September slipped by before I knew it, and I am waaaay behind on this blog....so much for a "daily" account of mealtime on Churchill Row! The guilt has been gnawing at me, so I'm going to combine a few dates into one, backdate the entry, and go on from there. May have to adjust the description too - daily seems to be a little too ambitious for me.

Given that the kids are back in school, I think it's somewhat appropriate to deliver my version of a "bird" course:

Chicken 101

One lovely September Monday, knowing that I had to stop for groceries on my way home from work, I found myself trying to come up with a meal plan for the week. We were all getting a bit tired of BBQ fare (although I must admit it was great having Patrick and Jack work the grill every evening!), so I decided that roast chicken was in order. With that one decision, everything else seemed to fall into place....roast on Monday, chicken stew on Tuesday, tourtiere on Wednesday, chicken pot pie on Thursday, and culminating in dinner out (Yes!) on Friday.

On to the menus:

Monday
Roast chicken, mashed potato, carrots, asparagus, Yorkshire pudding, gravy.

Mustard Roast Chicken
2 tsp crushed rosemary
1 Tbs minced garlic

3 Tbs yellow mustard
1 lemon, halved
1 roasting chicken
1 stalk celery, cut in two
1/2 small onion, peeled
1 cup chicken broth
salt and fresh ground pepper

 

Preheat oven to 375 F. In small bowl, combine 1 tsp crushed rosemary, garlic and mustard. Set aside. Rinse the chicken inside and out and pat dry. Rub the chicken inside and out with one lemon half, squeezing juice as you rub.  Shove the other half lemon, one half onion and the celery stalks inside the chicken. Sprinkle the remaining rosemary inside. Pin the flap of skin over the hole to seal. Now spoon the mustard mixture all over the chicken and place it on a rack in a small roaster. Season with salt and pepper. Gently pour chicken broth into pan. Bake, basting every 15 minutes, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from oven, transfer chicken to a platter and let stand for 10 min. Use stock from pan to make gravy.

UPDATE: Clearly, I didn't do all that I planned to do way back in October. Well, I actually did make the stew, the potpies and the tourtieres, but I never got around to finishing this blog post. I'm just going to publish and move on from here.

Dog Days...

Another lovely sunny day in the 'hood. Days like this are made for taking vacation. After a leisurely coffee reading the newspaper, the dog and I headed out for a walk across the bridge. When we got home, it was time to say goodbye to Son #1 for another week, then on to canning more tomato sauce, doing laundry, and trying  out yet another bread recipe - this one was for a fruit and nut braided loaf. I've been thinking about trying out different types of jellies too - specifically, I'd like to make some clover jelly, but wouldn't you know it, can't find any clovers close to home. So, casting my eye around the garden, I spotted some lovely red and purple phlox and thought to myself...why not? Currently, I'm infusing the flowerheads overnight. Tomorrow we'll see how it all turns out. I've also got my eye on the roadside rosebushes, which I know from past experience yield a really lovely jelly.

Fruit & Nut Braided Loaf

3 3/4 c all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 c milk
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp shredded lemon peel
3 tbs pecan-raspberry butter
1/2 c chopped apricots and figs, soaked in warm water and drained; reserve liquid
3 tbs sugar
1 egg white
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg
1 tbs water

1. In large bowl, stir together 1 1/ 2 c flour and yeast. Set aside.
2. In saucepan, heat and stir the milk, butter, 1/4 c sugar and salt until just warm (120 - 130 F). Add to flour mixture, then add 2 eggs and egg yolk. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then on high for 3 minutes. Stir in lemon peel and as much of remaining flour as you can.
3. Turn the dough out onto floured surface. Knead in remaining flour to make a smooth elastic dough (about 6-8 min). Shape dough into ball and place in well greased bowl, turning to grease surface of ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled (1 1/2 hours).
4. In saucepan, heat pecan-raspberry butter and 1/4 c of drained apricot-fig liquid. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir in chopped fruit, nuts, 3 tbs sugar, egg white and lemon juice. Set aside.
5. Punch down dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and divide in two. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Grease two baking sheets. In small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and water. Set aside.
7. Roll each half of dough into a 12 x 10 inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle into three 10 x 4 inch strips (6 strips in total). Divide fruit mixture evenly, spreading along center third of each strip. Brush edges of strips with egg mixture. Fold long sides of dough over filling and press all edges tightly to seal.
8. Place three filled "ropes", seam-side down, 1 inch apart on baking sheet. Starting in the middle, loosely braid by bring left rope under center rope, then right rope under new center rope; Repeat to end. Turn tray around and repeat on other side. Press ends together and tuck under loaf. Repeat for second loaf. Cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour.
9. Brush loaves with remaining egg mixture. Bake in 350 F oven for 30 minutes in total,  tenting foil loosely over loaf for last 15 minutes of baking to prevent burning. Remove from oven and turn out onto wire racks to cool. Place in airtight container or bag and store for up to 3 days. Can be frozen for up to 3 months - thaw at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

Summer Soccer Season Is At An End --- At Last!!!

Today is the end-of-season BBQ for Clara's soccer team. They had mixed results over the season, but did make it into the provincial tournament, only to lose out in the bronze medal game. Although an enjoyable sport, I have to confess that for my tastes, matches last far too long, especially when compared with the average hockey game. I found that, with matches or practice scheduled four nights out of seven, my summer evenings were consumed by soccer---and I would have preferred a bit more time to lounge about on our patio enjoying a glass or two and some nibblies. That said, it was a fun season and Clara plans to stay with the team as they join the women's winter league. For tonight's event, I will be taking a pesto-cheese ladder loaf and a pan of brownies.

Pesto-Cheese Ladder Loaf

1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 tbs chopped garlic
1/3 cup freshly grated parmeggiano reggiano
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbs flour
2 cups flour
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
2 tbs freshly grated parmeggiano reggiano
1/2 cup freshly grated provolone (I used artisanal swiss beer cheese instead)
1 cup milk

Add basil, pine nuts, and garlic to blender. Puree, then add in parmeggiano and olive oil. Pulse until smooth. Stir in 1 tbs flour. Set aside. Meanwhile, in large bowl combine flour, sugar, and 2 tbs parmeggiano. Cut in butter using pastry knife, until mixture is coarse crumbs. Toss in provolone to coat. Add milk all at once and stir to combine. Turn out onto well-floured surface and knead about 12 times to achieve a smooth elastic dough. Place on wax paper and roll out to 15 x 9 inch rectangle, flouring hands and rolling pin as necessary. Flip rectangle onto ungreased baking sheet. Spread pesto along middle third of rectangle, lenthwise. Cut strips into both sides of dough in about 3 inches and space 1 inch apart. Alternating sides, cross one strip over another working your way down the loaf and pinching together the two strips as they overlap. Bake at 400 F for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.