Recipe organization made easy

I will bet that you, like most of the U.S. (or at least Pennsylvanians), have some time to kill now that we’re all locked indoors with nowhere to go. Many are using this free time to tackle little things around the house we’d been meaning to do — deep cleaning rooms, washing curtains, etc.

One of the tasks that’s been on my “to do someday” list was to organize the stack (and I mean stack) of recipes that we kept in a drawer that we would have to rifle through every time we were looking for a recipe.

I didn’t want to recopy the recipes onto cards or into the computer. It would’ve taken forever and I’d have lost the personal notes on them. Also, frankly, when I’m looking for a recipe, I often know what kind of paper it is on — a green index card or a printout with the recipe in the top right hand side, etc. What I needed was a binder. Maybe something with pockets that I could just slip my recipes into.

I went online to look around, but all the photo albums were for 4×6 pictures and the recipe binders either had recipe cards, or they were just too expensive.

I finally decided what I really needed was a bunch of plastic sleeves — full sheet and half sheets — some dividers, and a three-ring binder.  I spent less than $20.

It only took me one three-hour movie night to complete this project. I started by sorting my pile-o-recipes into categories. Then, I weeded through them to see which ones I actually wanted to keep. From there, I slipped them into sleeves, added dividers between categories and voila!

P.S. If you do this, leave some empty sleeves in the back so you can just move it forward as you add new recipes to your book.

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The Best Soup I’ve Ever Made: Zuppa Toscana

I love soup and I recently made the best one—hands down—that I’ve ever made.

Let me clarify, I made this recipe which claims to approximate a recipe/soup made by Olive Garden. So, when I say I made it, I mean, I cooked it…I didn’t actually conceive of the blend of flavors/ingredients. That honor probably goes to some snooty chef in New York City who is likely horrified at how us common folks have bastardized his magnificent creation.

For example, I used venison sausage and I didn’t peel my potatoes (because I used red ones and I am super lazy) and I used bacon bits instead of real bacon (because you know bacon is like $5 and a total pain to cook) and I only had like 1/3 cup of whipping cream, so I used half-and-half for the rest. Also, I used a lot more kale because I like kale.

I do things my way. And, in this case, it worked out for me.

If you’re a rule follower, though, here’s the actual recipe I started with from momontimeout.com:

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Ingredients

• 1 lb Italian Sausage (spicy, if you prefer more heat)
• 5-7 slices of bacon
• 5 medium russet potatoes
• 2 c kale, chopped
• 1 c heavy whipping cream
• 1 qt water
• (2) 14 oz cans of chicken broth
• ½ large onion
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the sausage and drain remaining liquid.
2. Cook the bacon and crumble into small pieces. Slice the potatoes and 1/8 inch or so thick. Try to be consistent in size so they cook evenly.  Dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Throw the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and water into a large pot on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through.
3. Chop the Kale into bite-sized pieces.
4. Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. During this time the potatoes will start breaking into smaller bite-sized pieces because they are so tender. Turn the heat to low and add in the kale and heavy cream. Let the soup heat through and serve.

 

10 Ways to Improve Hot Chocolate

It’s hard to believe that you could improve on a hot steaming cup of milk and chocolate, but…turns out you can. ’tis the week to indulge, so check out this awesome infographic for some new twists on an old wintertime favorite:

Recipe: Summer Squash Caprese Salad

I got off the clean-eating/paleo wagon when I trained for a couple of marathons last year. Despite all the running, it didn’t take long for me to pack back on the 10 lbs I’d lost.

I’ve been working to get back to where I was pre-marathon and my new Practical Paleo cookbook has been a source of inspiration. I’ve cooked three or four recipes from the book so far (no, really, I did!) and they have all been fabulous. Even Dan and the kids liked a two of the chicken dishes I made.

I’ve pledged to try at least two new recipes from the book each week. Last night, I made this Summer Squash Caprese Salad and it was surprisingly delish!

I used a zucchini that I cut into “noodles”with my Paderno slicer, but I have to say I find the contraption to be kind of a pain and I wish I’d just bought a julienne peeler.

Also, I  used less oil than the recipe called for. I probably used two tablespoons, at most.

Summer Squash Caprese Salad

• 2.5 cups zucchini/ yellow squash (julienned)
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes (quartered)
• 1/8 cup basil (thinly sliced)
• 1 clove garlic (grated or finely chopped)
• 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt

Chop the ends of the squash and peel off the outer skin. With a julienne vegetable peeler, peel the squash into thin fettuccine “noodles.” You can also you a standard vegetable/potato peeler and get a similar effect.

Combine cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper into medium mixing bowl.

Toss the peeled squash noodles with the tomato, basil, oil mixture in your other bowl. Mix well and serve chilled as a great summer side dish.

* If you prefer a hot dish, steam the zoodles for two minutes before adding to the tomato/oil mixture.

Recipe: Baked sweet & sour chicken

A friend shared this recipe with me in an email with the subject line: Too good not to share.

After reading through (and recognizing) all the ingredients (yay! It’s passed Heather’s first cooking test), I decided to pick up some chicken and give it a try. And, even though making it required dirtying two bowls, a frying pan AND a baking dish, it was totally worth it.

This dish is fantastic.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

*3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I always buy tenderloins)

* Salt and pepper to taste

* 1 1/2 cup cornstarch

* 3 eggs, beaten

* 1/4 cup canola oil

* 1 cup granulated sugar

* 4 tablespoons ketchup

* 1/4 cup whitevinegar

* 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

* 1 tablespoon soy sauce

* 1 teaspoon garlic salt

* Pineapple chunks, fresh or canned (drained)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.

2. In separate bowls, place cornstarch and slightly beaten eggs. Dip chicken into cornstarch, then coat in egg mixture.

3. Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken until browned. Place the chicken in a 9×13 baking dish. (I used a smaller one). Add pineapple chunks, if desired.

4. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine sugar, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic salt. Pour over chicken and bake for 1 hour. (I stirred the chicken every 15 minutes so that it was coated in the sauce.

Serve over rice, if desired.

Worth Reading — 9/25/13

A random collections of blog posts, articles and other things I think are worth sharing.

Huffington Post: The Habits of Supremely Happy People (Yep, pretty much)

Hands Free Mamma: That Happens to Me

imgur: You can’t just remake The Breakfast Club

BlogHer: 20 Signs Your Pop Culture References Are Falling Flat

Simple Bites: 7 Fall Soup Recipes (mmmm….soup)

Plan ahead to eat right (What Working Moms do on Sundays)

I couldn’t decide whether to post this blog here or at my Runner’s Notes blog, so I decided to post on both and cover my bases.

Eating “right” — whatever that is for you (vegetarian, vegan, Paleo, etc.)– is hard to do if you don’t plan ahead. It’s even harder to do when you’ve got a full life.

I’m  a full-time working mom who also maintains two (count ’em two) daily blogs and does a variety of freelance work in addition to daily workouts (running three to four days, weight training three days, with some Pilates and other stuff thrown in there).

Did I mention I also have a bunch of living things depending on me — two kids, a husband, a dog, two cats, a guinea pig, a goldfish, and a tankful of creek minnows that are “wintering over” in Lauren’s room?

So, yeah, I can be stretched for time. Who isn’t though, right?

Eatin’ clean requires prep work

When I started trying to “eat clean” (or going Paleo/Primal…whatever you want to call it…no label really fits what I’m doing), I didn’t think I could do it because hello?, I do not have time to make freakin’ eggs in the morning and meat and vegetables for dinner every night.

One of the bad things about giving up grains and all processed foods is that, well, there’s no such thing as grab-and-go. No “quick” meals or snacks to tear into when you’re starving or pressed for time.

But I was committed to giving the new way of eating a go,  so I started doing what all those Working Mother magazines had tried to get me to do for years and I started cooking ahead on weekends.

I’ve found, through trial and error, that most foods keep really well when cooked ahead, including salads (providing you don’t put any wet stuff in there).

Now I spend an hour or two every weekend cooking up a bunch of stuff to get me through the week (or at least most of the way through).

Here’s what I did last Sunday (took less than 2 hours):

* Hardboiled a dozen eggs for snacks and to put in my lunch salad (but not until it’s time to eat the salad….remember, no wet stuff in the salad or it will rot quick).

* Made Jello for snacks for Lauren, who, for some reason, loves the wiggly stuff.

* Baked kale chips to snack on during the week.

* Put “breakfast” together. Explained further below, but …suffice to say that all I need to do in the morning is crack three eggs into a bowl, mix it up and microwave.

* Steamed some cauliflower and sauteed some zucchini so that it’s cooked and ready for quick serving on weeknights.

* Pan fried some thing steaks for quick dinners.

* Opened and separated a pomegranate for snacking.

* Packed three salads for lunches.

My lunch salad: Romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, sliced olives, almond slivers, mushrooms, onions, and feta cheese. All of this keeps for days in the fridge (provided nothing is wet).  Tip: Don’t use iceburg lettuce, it rots fast and it’s nutritionally void anyway. I recommend Romaine. It tastes good (not bitter) and it keeps for several days to a week.

My breakfast: I chop up mushrooms, green onions, black olives and fresh basil. In the morning, all I have to do is add eggs, salt and pepper and microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave for another minute and voila – breakfast is served.  (I mix in a little Colby cheese, too.)

Quick dinner: These little steaks (I have no idea what cut of meat they are…do I look like a butcher?) are great to pan fry in a little butter and keep in the fridge to eat as is or to cut up and put into fajitas, stir fry or a steak salad. I also routinely cook up chicken breast or Dan smokes a turkey, sausage, or seafood and we store in the fridge and eat it all week. (We ❤ our smoker!)

Essential ingredient: Pyrex bowls — I can’t even tell you how much I love Pryex bowls. They look so nice stacked up in my fridge and I can easily see what’s inside. They  are made of sturdy glass and can be used for storing and reheating food. (You know you should never heat anything in or on plastic now,  right?).  By the way, this is the time of year to stock up on Pyrex as they practically give it away for the holidays. I’ve seen 12+ piece sets for less than $15.

 * Do you ever cook ahead?

* Are you in love with any inanimate objects, like me? Do tell what makes your heart swoon!

* Any idea what the mystery meat is that I keep buying?

* Ever tried paleo/primal/eating clean? It’s changed my life

Three things — 4/12/12

Three things I’m loving this week

1. S.I. Mobile. I was on Sports Illustrated magazine’s website looking for a link to a story I wanted to share, and I discovered that my print subscription not only gives me full access to the website, but also allows me to download each issue to my Smartphone or tablet (which I would totally do if I had one).

Yes, I subscribe to Sports Illustrated (It’s not Dan’s subscription). While I don’t generally give a crap about most sports and breeze right through the sports section in the paper every day, S.I. always has at least one (if not two or three or more) really well written, in-depth human interest stories. Sometimes the storytelling manner annoys me (they let their writers play with a lot of alternate story-telling formats), but, in general, the articles are worth the effort required to read them (keeping track of who’s who, following the flashbacks, etc.).

For the record, I opt out of the swimsuit issue. Blech.

2. The playhouse’s new season.  The Erie Playhouse has some good shows lined up for the 2012/2013 season including Les Miserables, The Sound of Music, Sense and Sensibility, Legally Blonde, and more.  And, the Youtheatre is doing some fun stuff, too, including The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley Jr., Godspell, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

I always buy the 10-show Youtheatre choice card. It’s just $83 and allows me and the girls to go to every Youtheatre show.

 

3. Squash. Where have you been all my life? I know, I know…quietly sitting there in the produce aisle, looking attractive, but hard to cook (Do I peel it? Do I eat the skin? How do you cut through that tough exterior?).

But, the dietary changes I’ve made in my life mean eating a lot more vegetables, so I decided it was time to put on my apron, fire up the big-girl oven, and try something new.  And, thanks to the power of the “Interwebs” (inside joke), I can learn how to cook anything in minutes, often with helpful, step-by-step photos and/or video.

So far I’ve tried butternut and acorn squash, and I loved them both. Spaghetti squash is on my shopping list now. I hear it’s delish.

Three things I’m not loving this week

1. The school’s automatic call system. At first, I loved this system because it was an effective & useful way for them to let us know about things like 2-hour delays, school cancellations and other important school news.

But, now? Well, now they are just abusing the system. They are calling us five and six times a week (often twice in one day) to remind us about the school play, Scholastic Book Fair, sports boosters meetings, and when the PSSAs are so that we can be sure to put our kids to bed on time and feed them a good breakfast (because normally I just let them party all night and go to school hungry).

 

AP photo

2. The annoying I-must-insist-on-anonymity lottery winner trend. Apparently, the lawyers have gotten to the big lotto players because now those who find themselves a few hundred million dollars richer are insisting on anonymity. As if. (Can you hear my eyes rolling?)

I used to routinely thank God I wasn’t born into money because I’ve seen first-hand that wealth (beyond what you need to live comfortably) will mess you up for life (jealousy, anger over who has more, fear of losing it, wondering who “really” likes you, etc.).

Call me a little black rain cloud, but I don’t see how winning that kind of money would be good for anyone (unless, of course, they spend it on other people and, one would assume that if they want to stay anonymous, that’s not their plan).

 

3. Kids after 8:30 p.m. I’ve discovered that on weeknights, there’s a time limit on how long I can be a good, patient, kind, and compassionate mom. After 8:30 p.m. (on a good night 9 p.m.), I begin to lose my s@#$ and, while I manage to stay calm, cool and collect on the outside, the dialogue in my head goes something like this: Go to bed. Get in bed. Go to bed. Get out of my face. Go to bed. Why are you still here? Get away from me. Stop talking. Go to bed. Get in bed. Stay in bed. Go. To. Bed.  AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Three things — 3/29/12

3 Things I’m loving this week

1. JR’s Last Laugh Comedy Club. We went to Jr’s to celebrate our anniversary on Saturday night and I was, once again, reminded how much I love that place. Not only are the comedians always hilarious, but at least one of the owners of the place are always there to greet you, sing to all the audience members celebrating special occasions, and introduce the guest MC. And, when you leave, one of the owners stands at the door, shakes your hand and asks you if everything was good and if you had fun. There’s not another business in town that even comes CLOSE to that kind of customer service.  Don’t forget to support them on your next date night.

Photo: Romulo Yanes & Randy Mayor Story by Ann Taylor Pittman and Tim Cebula

2. Cooking for idiots.  Finally some easy-to-understand explanations to the basic cooking mistakes I’ve been making. I do, or have done, almost every one of these, including the one illustrated above.

3. Buffalo ranch salad dressing. If you like it when your salad makes you sweat a little bit, this is the dressing for you. Delish!

 

3 Things I’m not loving this week

1. This Vogue article makes me sad/angry/irate/disgusted on about 15 levels. Jezebel calls it the worst Vogue article ever and, I couldn’t agree more.

To be honest, I’m not all that familiar with any articles Vogue writes because I could care less about fashion and anorexic models. But, when you start dragging SEVEN YEAR OLDS into it, well, then, I start to care. A lot. This is a mother projecting her deepest fears (getting fat) onto her daughter. And, in my opinion (and as a former little fat girl, I feel I’m qualified to say this), screwing her up for life.

As Charlotte points out over at The Great Fitness Experiment, it would seem there is a silver lining here: Bea won’t have to explain a lot of the background to her therapist in a few years, she can just hand over a copy of her mom’s article in Vogue…or the book…and say, SEE WHAT I’VE HAD TO DEAL WITH!?!

2. Shopping. Before I had kids, back when I was in my 20s and 30s, I had gobs of money and plenty of time to kill. I loved to shop and would spend entire weekends at the mall, wandering around and finding killer deals here & there. Now, I’m short on time, money and, apparently, patience.

I don’t have time to look for the perfect pants and I sure as heck don’t have time to look for the perfect pants at a bargain price. So I pay whatever price is on the item I need (yep, even FULL RETAIL), whether it’s precisely what I want or not because I don’t have time to mess around.

And, somewhere in the last 10 years, I’ve lost all tolerance for crowded stores, meandering window shoppers and people who stand too close to me in line.

3. Broccoli. I give up. I love it, but it hates me. Do me a favor…if you ever see me in any store and I have broccoli in my cart, just take it out and beat me over the head with it because it be less painful that what will happen to me if I actually eat the $#@#*($ stuff.

Undie rugs, itty-bitty love stories and drop-crotch jeans

* Who would buy this (aside from pedophiles, I mean)?

* What I am absolutely making for desert tonight.

* When the 4th of July rolls back around, I’m SO making these.

* Where you can find bite-size love stories.

* Why? Just simply why?

* How to make overnight oatmeal.