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Thank Goodness for Small Favors: Crustless Spinach Cheese Pie

Meal Monday

I look back fondly at the "Terrible 2s." I think that is because my triplets are in the "Thoroughly Frustrating 3s."

The kids are coming into their own, which is great…in theory. In reality, it is a battle of wills in our house…on three fronts.

Parenting our crew is more exhausting than ever. I can say that with confidence as I have blocked all memories of their infancy. At the end of the day, pretty much all I can do is make dinner and collapse.

So when we have people over for brunch on Sunday morning, preparation begins on Sunday morning. That's why this Crustless Spinach Cheese Pie is a go-to recipe for me.

Super Bowl? What Super Bowl? The Day After Celery Salad

Meal Monday 

In case you haven't heard, there was a football game yesterday. For those of us who live in Boston and grew up in New York, the Patriots-Giants Super Bowl matchup was a tricky one. My husband, conveniently out of town, rooted for the Pats.

My son, who had nine other 5th grade boys over to enjoy the game with him (are you feeling for me now?), rooted for the Giants. Fortunately, there were at least two other New York fans in the room. There's safety in numbers.  My daughter cheered for the Patriots. And I was too busy serving Doritos and pizza to worry about a silly old game. 

The preparation for our Super Bowl party (remember, male 11-year-olds only) was fairly straightforward. We bought mylar balloons to spread around, taped some pennants to the wall (both teams were well represented) and loaded up on some game day junk food and soda. For the record, I did put out grapes and water as well.

It was all pretty easy until the kitchen faucet broke off in my hand on Friday night as I was doing the dinner dishes. Not particularly auspicious. I called our plumber, and after briefly thinking I could just use the laundry room sink downstairs for the entire weekend, recovered my sanity and had him come Saturday at double the hourly rate. It was worth every penny.

Just Like Mom Used to Make -- The Benefit of Baking Mixes and Easy One Dish Chili Dinner

 

Meal Monday

Let me begin by saying my mother is an excellent cook. And her mother was an excellent baker. But one key lesson I learned from them and from my own experience is that sometimes, a mix is better than scratch.  We already know that using prepared foods can save lots of time. I do think that in cooking, for the most part, making it yourself is almost always better -- though I have no problem with "homemade" being essentially an assemblage of store-bought ingredients. 

But when some guilt-inducing commercial comes on and waxes rhapsodic about something (usually cookies or pie or cake) that tastes just like "mom used to make," I have to laugh. My mother, for all her gourmet meals, always stocked cake mixes, brownie mixes and cans of frosting. And she came by that habit rightly. 

One afternoon, about 25 years ago, my cousin and I set aside several hours to spend time with my grandmother to learn how she made such delicious matzo balls. We were just learning how to cook and we were very excited about the tradition we'd be carrying on once we learned what went into this time-honored recipe. We put on our aprons, washed our hands and looked at her expectantly as we stood in her warm kitchen. 

"Okay," Nana said, "first, you pour the box of Manishewitz mix into the bowl." My cousin and I burst out laughing. Really? This was it? No big secret? How disappointing, and yet so liberating. The Great Matzo Ball Lesson took all of ten minutes. And the product was delicious. And I think of Nana every time I dump the matzo ball mix into the bowl. 

Shortly after my husband and I got married, and I was still looking for a job (read: had lots of extra time), I decided to make brownies. From scratch. Because of course, they'd be more authentic and better than brownies from a mix. The recipe was reasonably labor-intensive and involved a double boiler and a considerable amount of standing and stirring. I thought they were quite good, but the deflating comment from the Husband was "these are okay, but I like the ones from a mix better."

There you have it. Sometimes, not only does a mix save time and probably money, but the result is actually better. I say this for certain items only (see my pantry staples above). I mean, who would ever make fruit flavored gelatin dessert from scratch? Maybe someone, but not here. My 11-year-old son is quite the expert Jello maker. 

Gadgets Galore -- Easy Panini

Meal Monday 

I am what is known in business school case studies as a late adapter (see Luddite). I cannot be convinced (no matter how hard my husband tries) to give up my traditional date book that I mark in pencil. I got an iPhone last spring from my children as a birthday present, primarily so they can play games on it. I was perfectly happy with an old fashioned cell phone.  

I literally do not know how to turn on the television in our house. Once there is more than a single remote control, I give up. I do not have the extra brain space to devote to something that's supposed to make my life easier, but carries what I consider a steep learning curve.  

So it came as a surprise to my family and to myself, that I have gone slightly gadget crazy in the kitchen recently. Last year, I gave us all an ice cream maker. And we have used it quite a bit to make sorbets. The insert takes up a lot of space in the freezer, and falls on someone's foot on a regular basis, but overall, it was a good purchase.  

It has since been supplanted, however, by the as-seen-on-tv Yonanas machine. This simple blender-like contraption turns frozen bananas into a creamy soft-serve dessert. It's really good and guilt-free, because after all, it's only a banana. Of course, I am not counting the Nutella or chocolate chips we add in ("just a little") to dress it up.  Pretty soon, I fear, the ice cream maker will be relegated to the basement shelf next to the bread machine. 

My other new favorite is my Cuisinart Griddler. It does everything. I suspect it bears more than a passing resemblance to that perennial favorite of gadgeteers everywhere, the George Foreman Grill, but I found this one at Costco and I love it. It takes up about the same amount of counter space as a laptop (we cram it into the cabinet when not in use). It has two inserts -- one side is a grill/panini device and the other is just a flat griddle. It would have been my savior a couple of years ago when we renovated our kitchen and had the refrigerator and single electric burner from Walgreens in the dining room, but alas, I am a late adapter (see above), and did not have it then. 

Now, despite having a fully-equipped kitchen, I am an enthusiastic proponent of this widget. I favor the grill side and use it mainly as a panini press, but I did make some awesome French toast the other day on the griddle side. BUT, when I tried to scramble the remaining egg mixture ("why waste it?"), at least half the mixture rolled right off the griddle and into the handy-dandy drip pan. Not a big success. 

The paninis, though, have become a staple for us -- great easy dinners and weekend lunches. I stock individual focaccia rolls (my kids love them) and cold cuts, along with cheese and avocado and tomatoes and can always whip up a panini or two. The other day, I made my daughter a panini with sliced turkey and black olive tapenade. Rave reviews ensued. 

I guess we can file this in the progress column. I will continue to use my date book ("OMG Mom!") and be frustrated with the television, but the learning curve was worth all the effort for a good panini.

 

Multicultural Chicken Soup: Cold Comfort Shortcut

Meal Monday 

There are many wonderful things about living in New England: history, education, culture, foliage, etc. The perennial nasty winter viruses do not make the list. We have been battling a head cold in our house and in order to expedite its exit, I turned to that time-honored panacea: chicken soup.

I know, I know, you're supposed to use a whole chicken and let it simmer for hours and hours and then strain it and reduce it and basically take the home culinary equivalent of WAY TOO MUCH TIME to make some soup. And in my experience, I always need to add salt or even a bouillon cube after all that effort anyway. Sooooo embarrassing.

Last night, in a burst of sniffly Sunday night coziness, I "cheated" and made a delicious chicken soup that I'm dubbing "multicultural." The cheating part is the store-bought organic low sodium chicken stock I used as a base. I also used boneless chicken breasts that I oven roasted, cut up and added to the soup. 

Those two steps saved countless hours. I consider it multicultural because I added pasta (Italian), fresh ginger root (pan Asian), scallions (everywhere) and cilantro (Mexican or Vietnamese). Next time, I may sub in matzo balls (Jewish) for the pasta.

Regardless, this is very satisfying comfort food that comprises a meal accompanied by a salad and bread or breadsticks. Sniffles begone. 

 

Multicultural Chicken Soup 

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

3 quarts chicken broth

1 cup Acini di Pepe pasta

1 carrot, sliced into small rounds

1 stalk of celery, sliced 

three scallions, thinly sliced (whites and about three inches of the green)

1 1/2 tbsp peeled and sliced fresh ginger root

fresh cilantro

salt and pepper

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and roast until done, about 30-40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the meat. 

2. Remove chicken from the oven and let cool. When ready, cut into bite size pieces.

3. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the chicken broth to boiling over medium heat. 

4. Add the pasta and let cook for 8 minutes, then turn heat down to medium low or low and keep at a simmer. 

5. Add the carrot slices, celery, scallions and ginger and let simmer for another 10 minutes. 

6. Add the chicken.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

8. Top with sprigs of fresh cilantro.