2013 Aspirations

I am ready to close the book on 2012. It has been a heck of a year - good times with its handful of trials and tribulations. But I do not want to dwell on the past. Here are my aspirations for the future:

• Be less stressed - this is an ongoing battle for I am a worrywart at heart. It is what I do. I hope to try to make my mantra, only do what is within my own control and not worry about the things that are not. I also want to take time to do some things for me during the day - whether is it reading a book, working out for a few minutes, or another little projects I have in mind.
• Be more healthy - it is difficult to do as someone who has an aversion to fruits and vegetables. So when I make my meal plans for the upcoming weeks, I am trying to include at least some sort of bearable veggie (I've made strides with veggies...not fruits...oh well)
• Be a bit more adventurous - in life, in cooking, in general. This year is affording us the opportunity to make a new army home, travel to our new destination, and prepare more adventures in the coming years. So I want to try to be less of a stick in the mud and get out and about. I am going to start by dipping my toes in the world of Indian cuisine (yes, I will chronicle my journey here).
• Be a better me - that includes being a better mom, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, friend, etc. I realize I am somewhat antisocial and it gets compounded by our distance from home but I aspire to be a better communicator in any case.

I am pretty sure only I need to see this list but putting it out here makes me feel accountable for it.

Let's do it 2013!

 

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Seven Fishes Recap

I felt that I needed to recap how our little appetizer type Seven Fishes Feast went down on Christmas Eve.  It was definitely a lot more manageable that last year.  The amount of food was just right.

Dish 1:  Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce

Dish 2: Baked Calamari Rings (we decided to switch out the Salmon dish for the easier prepped dish)

Dish 3: Stuffed Clams

Dish 4: Mini Tuna Melts

I used some leftover water crackers, mixed tuna with mayonnaise, and topped with some Swiss cheese.  Next time, I definitely want to use some big bruschetta type rounds and then add a little bit of pepper to the tuna. It was a good first attempt.

Dish 5: Lobster Raviolis

We had 12 raviolis, leftover sauce from Sunday night, and a new can of pesto sauce.  Decided to let everyone get a taste of each.  The Pesto Sauce was definitely the winner!

Dish 6: Spicy Crab over Polenta

I deviated a little bit from the original recipe I posted. Instead of using whole chilies, I substituted some cayenne pepper - 1/4 tsp.  It cleared out your sinuses but was still good.  Next time I would go a bit lighter on the cayenne pepper.

Dish 7: Fish Tacos

Feast of the Seven Fishes

Last year on Christmas Eve, we had a knock down, drag out Feast of the Seven Fishes.  (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the meal, Wikipedia gives a quick overview of meal.)  We had our last dish at 11 pm.  Don't get me wrong, it was fabulous.  But we were totally unprepared for all the work and the energy to eat all day long.  So this year, I have gone a little away from tradition to try to serve all of our fishes in a "tapas" style - no huge servings and some untraditional recipes.  Below are the courses I have planned:


1.  Shrimp and Cocktail sauce (no more than 2 pounds of shrimp - last year we had something like 10 pounds...to much shrimp)
2.  Lobster Raviolis - a fabulous delicatessen, Dolci and Clemente's, makes Lobster Raviolis (12 in a package), and I plan on letting everyone have 2 raviolis along with either a pesto or cream sauce
3.  Stuffed Clams - okay, the local food store, Hyvee, has some great prepared stuffed clams and all we need to do is drop them in the oven for a bit.
4.  Tuna Salad/Tuna Melts - alright, here is where I went totally off the map.  Mini tuna melts are really in no way Italian at all.  But they are easy, quick to make and already bite-sized.
5.  Salmon Skewers or Lox and Bagels - I figured kid-sized portions of Salmon would make perfect appetizer sizes.  I also couldn't decided if we just wanted to start at breakfast with cured salmon, cream cheese, and bagels.  Get one fish knocked out really early.
6.  Crab Polenta - this one is a little bit more meal like, but I honestly wanted something other than crab cakes or the mess of crab legs
7.  Fish Tacos - I like making these with the added bonus that it is super fast.

What are your Christmas Eve meal plans?

Risi e Bisi

Every couple of weeks we try to have several of guys who work with my husband over for dinner (with or without girlfriends - totally up to them).  It has been interesting trying to come up with meals that are filling and hearty for an extra 4 to 8 people.  I have done sauce and bbq pulled pork.  Two days ago, I tried a totally new recipe on for size - risi e bisi - Rice and Pea Soup.  What?!?!?  You can't serve rice and peas to a bunch of guys, that is far from hearty.  Don't worry, it has ham and cheese in it as well.  Here we go:

risi e bisi

from Food & Wine's Quick From Scratch Italian

Ingredients

6 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 quarts chicken broth
1 1/2 cups of rice, preferably arborio
2 tbsp of parsley
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 cups frozen petite peas (1 10 oz package), defrosted
1 1/4 pound piece deli ham, cut into small dice
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp black pepper

Steps

1.  In a large pot, melt the butter over moderately low heat.  Add the onion, celery, and garlic, stirring occasionally until the vegetable start to soften, approximately 5 minutes.
2.  Add the wine and boil until it almost evaporates, about 5 minutes.
3.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Boil until the liquid is reduced to approximately 7 cups, about 20 minutes.
4.  Add the rice, parsley, and salt.  Cook at a low boil, stirring occasionally until the rice is just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.
5.  Stir in peas, ham, Parmesan, and pepper. Set heat to low.  Serve when ham and peas become warm.

The Final Product
This was yummy.  Considering it had just snowed the evening prior and the temps are now considerably colder than what they had been, this felt really good in your tummy.  I do have a couple notes to add.  First, I doubled this recipe when I made it - in doing so, instead of 4 tbsp of parsley, I added another 2 tbsp of Italian herb mix, I just like the herb mix.  I also only used about 2 pounds of diced ham cubes instead of 2.5.  I did use all 4 quarts of chicken broth and 1 full cup of white wine.  There is only one thing I would make a severe adjustment on - salt.  I don't think it needs close to that much salt.  Actually, I would cut it out all together and let people add to their bowl as they see fit.  But I guess it wasn't too much, considering our guests got multiple servings of it.  Definitely a keeper and good for these cold weather months.

Slow Cooker Mac 'n Corn

A lot of times, I focus on the preparation of the main dish of the meal.  To be honest, I have a hard time coming up with side dishes.  Usually my sides turn out to be starches, mostly because I have a thing about vegetables.  A think I am trying to get over, slowly but surely.  But I wanted something different, so I decided to try this yummy little side dish.

Mac 'n Corn

from the Crockin' Girls Slow Cookin' Companion

Ingredients

1 can creamed corn
1 can regular corn, undrained
1 cup macaroni, uncooked
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 stick butter

Steps

1.  Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker
2.  Cook on LOW for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.

The Final Product
Again, I forgot to take a picture.  But this was a yummy side dish.  JT gobbled it up.  I never would have thought corn and macaroni and cheese.  They go very well together.  Note, instead of one cup of macaroni, I had approximately a half box of mini bow-tie pasta.  Through it all in.  There seemed to be more than enough liquid from the regular corn to handle the extra macaroni.  Two, you really do need to stop and stir the mixture at least once an hour.  So, make this recipe when you have a lot of "at home projects" and take a quick break to stir your side dish before dinner.

Waiting For Daddy

Every afternoon we now have a new ritual - the "Daddy opened the garage door, so now I need to scream and bang on the door until he comes in" ritual.  Evidence below:

Slow Cooker Cheddar Vegetable Sausage Casserole

I got around to trying another crock pot meal on Monday.  I pulled this one from the Crockin' Girls Crockin' Cookbook.  This turned out really yummy and I have never really tried putting sausage in the slow cooker.  The casserole is a bit tangier than some of the other dishes I have made because it utilizes Cream of Celery soup.  I am not a huge fan of the taste but my husband really liked it.  I thought the potatoes and sausage were really delicious.  Anyway, here is the recipe:

Cheddar Vegetable Sausage Casserole

from the Crockin' Girls

Ingredients

1 (10 oz) Package frozen mixed vegetables
3 large potatoes diced
2 Packages sausage, browned and sliced into pieces
1 (10 oz) Can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10 oz) Can cream of celery soup
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

Steps

1.  Mix all ingredients together and place in the slow cooker.
2.  Cook on LOW for 6 hours.

Note - I did not have 3 large potatoes.  I did have about 7 small to medium sized potatoes.  I threw them all in.  The mixture was still creamy and absorbed all the liquid well.

Slow Cooker Turkey Tetrazzini

I had a couple of slow cooker planned recipes in my meal plan this week.  One old recipe - BBQ pulled pork - and two new ones - a main meal and a side dish.  On Monday, I tried out the main meal - Turkey Tetrazzini.  I liked it because it was not a chicken dish. Chicken in the crock pot gets over done a bit in recipes.  So this was a nice change of pace.

Turkey Tetrazzini

from the Crockin' Girls

Ingredients

4 Cups shredded, cooked turkey
1 Small sweet onion, chopped
1 Package fresh sliced mushrooms
1 Cup frozen peas
2 1/2 Cups chicken broth, fat free less sodium
1 Can cream of mushroom soup, fat free
1 Cup dry white wine
1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (16-ounce) Package whole wheat thin spaghetti

Steps

1.  In a 6- quart slow cooker, combine turkey, onion, mushrooms, peas, broth, soup, wine, and mozzarella cheese.
2.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
3.  Once cook time is complete, add cooked and drained spaghetti.
4.  Top with cheddar cheese. Cover with lid for about 30 minutes to an hour for cheese to melt. Serve and top with additional cheese if desired.

Sorry for the lack of picture.  Long Mondays produce very hungry people.  It was very tasty and cheesy.  I did do a little modification because I didn't have cooked turkey (this would be great post Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner).  I just sliced up some turkey cutlets and browned them in my insert prior to combining everything together.  I think it allowed some of the turkey juices to shine a bit more.  At step 3 you might be come worried when you lift the lid (I sure did), there is a lot of liquid in there.  But just trust in the recipe gods.  The cooked through spaghetti will in fact absorb a lot of the liquid.  For step 4, I left my slow cooker on warm for approximately 30 minutes.  It was enough to get the cheddar cheese all melty and yummy.  Enjoy!

Sausage Balls

Part of my volunteer work involves attending a monthly board meeting.  Each month we rotate who brings scrumptious breakfast item to eat.  Well, I got November and I decided to make something I had always wanted to try:  Sausage Balls.  They are super easy and quite yummy - a great morning tailgate type food.

Sausage Balls

from The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose baking mix, i.e. Bisquick
1 lb hot ground pork sausage
1 10z block sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Steps

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, pressing mixture together with hands.  Shape into 3/4-inch balls, and place on lightly greased baking sheets.
2.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sorry for the lack of pictures.  But I will mentioned that I decided to use mild pork sausage.  While it was tasty, next time I will definitely use hot sausage for the full flavor.  Also, I think I only ended up using about 2 1/2 cups of Bisquick.  Though the meat is juicy there didn't seem to be enough moisture in the meat to soak up all 3 cups.  Use your judgement as you add the Bisquick.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cake

I decided I would make a cake for Andy's birthday at the beginning of November.  I didn't want to just make him a plain old cake and then play with my fondant skills so I looked for something new.  I found this in Paula Deen's Holiday Baking 2012 magazine. I thought it was fantastic and not super difficult to make.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cake

from Paula Deen's Holiday Baking 2012

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
10 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs separated

Steps

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with nonstick cook spray.  Line the pan with parchment paper, letting the edges of parchment hang over the side of the pan.
2.  In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, chocolate, and peanut butter over medium low heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.  Remove from heat.
3.  Whisk sugar into butter mixture for 2 minutes.  Add egg yolks, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.
4.  In a medium bowl, beat egg white at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.
5.  Bake for 1 hour.  Let cool for 1 hour.  Cover and chill for 4 hours.  Serve with Peanut Butter Sauce.

Peanut Butter Sauce

(I have not actually made this yet)

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cup creamy peanut butter

Steps

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine cream, brown sugar, and egg yolks.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer for 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened.
2.  Add peanut butter, whisking until smooth.  Serve sauce warm.

Jam Session

A little taste of who is sure to be an elite drummer someday :

Falling Off The Horse

Wowie, did I fall of the horse!  And bad too.  The month of November goes down in the record books as nonexistent.

I have been super busy.  I did manage to squeeze in a couple of new recipes.  I plan to at least try to get them laid out here in the next couple of days.

Somethings that happened in November, well I am not at liberty to discuss until a later date.  But that is totally cool.  Other things, well, the hubby and I received some big awards from his branch in the army.  He received a St. Barbara's award and I received a Molly Pitcher Award.  I am very proud of him for his achievement.  Added bonus, we got to go out for the evening and I wore a pretty dress.  :o)

I know we have moved into December and I am thankful that the hubby helped me greatly with the Christmas decorations.  I was so overwhelmed in November I feel like I had no energy to do anything.  But we have decorations - indoor and out - up, presents purchased (still need to wrap), and cards ready to go out into the mail.  I know in just a few short days I will get to relax and do what I like best - make yummy dinners and desserts and enjoy the holidays.

I'll be coming back in force - at least I hope so!