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Cooking

Warm Up: Roasted Red Pepper Soup

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This time of year things are quite busy. Every night there is something to do in the way of holiday preparation. Add in the regular busy schedule with school, activities, and meetings, and it doesn’t leave much time for dinner prep.

With my meal planning for the next few weeks, I have put together a few freezer meals, pulled out some 30 minute meal recipes from the arsenal, and got the ingredients for a one pot meals so that we can spend more time enjoying holiday fun and less time cooking and cleaning up.
A few nights ago, the weather was pretty chilly and very cloudy, and I thought it would be the perfect night for soup and paninis. So I whipped up some creamy roasted red pepper soup with ham and swiss paninis.
This recipe is simple, and is so much better than soup from a box or can.
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 – 15 oz jars of roasted red peppers drained and chopped
2 Cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup half and half or cream
2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large pot over medium heat at butter and olive oil. Then, add onions and garlic and cook until soft, about 2 or 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Next, add red peppers, salt, and pepper, and continue to sauté for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 – 15 minutes.
Turn off heat, and let the mixture cool slightly. Using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender, blend the soup until desired consistency.
Finally, stir in cream, and serve.
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Apple & Onion Stuffing: Technically It’s Dressing

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I am continuing my week of Thanksgiving preparedness by sharing one of my all time favorite recipes. The first time I saw it was probably seven years ago on Rachael Ray’s Thanksgiving in 60 Special. The original is Apple and Onion Stuffin’ Muffins, but after making it over and over and over again, I have made a few alterations.

I made it this past weekend and doubled the recipe up for a little Autumn party I was having. I think everyone enjoyed it. While it isn’t real stuffing, it is technically dressing, I am pretty sure that this stuffed inside a turkey would be delicious!

 

Apple and Onion Stuffing
2 large sweet onions chopped
4 or 5 large ribs of celery chopped
2 large Honeycrisp Apple chopped
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 loaf Challah bread cubed
2 Tbs. ground poultry seasoning
32 oz Vegetable Stock
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a very large bowl toss poultry seasoning and cubed Challah and set aside.

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add butter. When butter is melted add onions, celery, apples, salt and pepper and cook until softened about 10-12 minutes. Stir occasionally. When the ingredients are softened add vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. Remove mixture from heat.

Pour the apple and onion mixture over the bread and toss until well coated. Put in the greased baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes until the stuffing seems set and the top is golden brown.

Enjoy!

For a printable version of this recipe Download HERE!

If you liked this recipe or for more Thanksgiving fun, here is last year’s recipe for Corn Bread Stuffing, my Williams and Sonoma Roast Turkey, or yesterday’s Thanksgiving placemats. Can you tell I like Thanksgiving?

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Commence My Yearly Organizational Freak Out Oh and I Made Mason Jar Salads

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If this post seems a bit spastic, I want to apologize. This is the time of year that I start organizing drawers, cabinets, and closets. I also try to purge what we are no longer using and start making list upon list of things that need to be bought and organized.
Why all the craziness? School is starting soon. I have always treated the beginning of the academic year as my own personal January 1st. I will sometimes still make New Year’s Resolutions in January, but I have always felt that September is a great time of year to start with new routines.
Last day of school last year.
Last year, I panicked a little bit about our entry storage. I knew that with kids starting school and sports they would be bringing home all kinds of things that would need to be storied. I did some major organization in our front hall with converting our closet to one with hooks and a bench and baskets for the kids to easily put away their things. I also created like a command center by using an old dresser.
This year, I started to panic about the kitchen.
I was filling out the calendar with some upcoming events and schedules, and I realized there are going to be a lot of nights that we will be eating dinner in a hurry. Then, I looked at the pick up schedule for the day, and I realized that there will be a lot of running around in the middle of the day too.
That is when I decided it was time I organize every kitchen cabinet, clean out the fridge and freezer and start some batch cooking.

 

I scoured the internet looking for lunch ideas and I of course found the crazy popular phenomenon of Mason Jar Salads.
They are EVERYWHERE, and now they are in my fridge too!
I decided to try my hand at these delicious looking and healthy lunches (and in a pinch dinner).
I was able to find Mason jars pretty easily. This is a great time to buy them as people are harvesting from their gardens and pickling all kinds of veggies. I got a box twelve 32oz jars at Target for ten bucks.
I washed them thoroughly and made sure they were COMPLETELY dry. Nothing wilts a salad faster than added moisture.
Next, I prepped all of my veggies. I wash, dried, sliced and chopped everything I would need.
Then, I poured about one or two tablespoons of my favorite dressings in the bottom of the jars.
Next, I started stacking. I hunted around the internet looking for the best way to stack, and here is what I found:
– Hearty veggies first. Carrots, cucumbers, unsliced grape tomatoes, or peppers. These veggies will hold up in the dressing, also will taste delicious as they have been marinating in it for awhile.
– Next comes proteins, grains or cheeses. These will help to create a barrier for the lettuce to keep it dry.
– Last is the lettuce or in my case spinach.
– Last put a tiny piece of paper towel on top of the lettuce and close up the jar. The paper towel will help to draw out any extra moisture, but don’t forget to remove it before you shake up your salad to eat it.
I made a few of my favorite salads for the week. I made Mexican quinoa salad, which didn’t really need to be stacked as it contains no lettuce and hearty veggies.
Then, I put together a basic garden salad with balsamic dressing.
Next, up was strawberry vinaigrette, chicken, goat cheese, cucumbers, whole strawberries and spinach.
Finally, I made a more elaborate Caprese salad with extra veggies and fresh mozzarella and mixed in some basil with the spinach.
Put the jars in your fridge. The next time you are hungry, grab a jar and a fork, shake up the salad with the dressing and have a delicious and healthy lunch.
This is a routine I can get used to!
Anyone else freaking out about the start of school?

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LINKING UP AT SERENITY NOW FOR WEEKEND BLOG READING!!

Quaker Oats Keep Us Going All Summer Long

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I am thrilled to be writing a sponsored post on behalf of Quaker and their amazing line of breakfast foods.While I was
compensated for this post by Quaker, the opinions are my own.
This summer has been pretty active. Between soccer, ballet,
swimming, baseball, and all of the other fun activities that summer entails, I
am always trying to think of new and creative breakfasts that will keep us full
until lunch. 

 

I have
been eating Quaker oatmeal for a long time, so I was thrilled to be a part of
their ongoing commitment to fueling active and healthy families. Also, because
I have three little soccer fans in my house, I was excited to learn about
Quaker’s ongoing partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) club, The Chicago
Fire.  As part of the partnership, Quaker serves as the title sponsor of
the Chicago Fire Juniors, the club’s youth player development program that
supports more than 10,000 soccer kids and families in Chicago and nationally.

On
August 9 through August 11, Quaker and The Chicago Fire will team up to host
The Quaker Invitational, which brings together hundreds of Chicago Fire Juniors
teams from around the country for a weekend of soccer, community and fun.
The two winning youth teams will earn a chance to play on The
Chicago Fire’s home field, Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL on Sunday, August 11,
and each player in the tournament will receive a free game ticket to attend the
Chicago Fire vs. Montreal Impact MLS game at Toyota Park on Saturday, August
10.
Luckily, I only have to feed my family of five, and I cannot
even imagine fueling all of those active little bodies that will be at Toyota
Park. However, I think I have come up with the perfect summer breakfast using Quaker
Oatmeal that does not involve hot cereal. Let’s face it, in the summer, cold is
where it’s at.
Brian and I will often eat a Quaker Chewy Granola bar for
breakfast as we chase the kids out the door to an activity. The kids on the
other hand, enjoy smoothies and love anything with yogurt. I like making them
parfaits, but, often times I have to leave out the granola because of their
food allergies. This is when I came up with the awesome idea to make my own nut
free granola with my favorite Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal. 

 

Erin’s Nut Free Granola with Quaker Oats

3 Cups Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
1 ½ Cups Rice Cereal (I used Rice Chex)
1 Cup dried berries
2 Tbs milled flax seeds
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup honey
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, mix together oats, cereal, and berries and
until well combined. Add brown sugar, syrup, honey, oil, vanilla, and salt and
fold together gently. 

 

Put on a greased baking sheet, and bake for 20-24 minutes
stirring occasionally (about every 6 minutes). Remove from oven, and let cool
before serving. 

 

This recipe is great, and it would be great with a little milk poured over it as a cereal or as an afternoon snack in the car. So far though, we have already made yogurt and
berry parfaits. 

There almost as many things to do with Quaker Oats as there
are activities to do in the summer. Almost!


Check out my other recipes using oatmeal HERE and
HERE.
For more information about Quaker and their partnership with
Chicago Fire, click HERE.
If you would like to read more recipes or enjoy gardening, DIY, Cooking, Baking or all other things domestic you can check me out on Facebook or become a follower of Home Everyday here. 
 
 

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It’s Getting Hot in Here: Spicy Vegetable Stir Fry

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In the past few weeks, I have been eating a lot more vegetables. Maybe it is because of the trips to the farmer’s market (popcorn and lemonade) or because my vegetable garden currently looks like this:

 

Crazy right?!

Other than salads, I am never really sure how to cook up vegetables where they will still be healthy and delicious. I walked down the aisles of the grocery store trying to think of something, and I saw dozens of different kinds of stir fry packets. Little pouches of different flavorings for stir fry. While I am no stranger to seasoning packets (check out this Indian Butter Chicken), I am sometimes leery of the ingredient list and am afraid of anything that says MAY CONTAIN NUTS on the package due to my kids.

That’s when I had a brilliant idea. I decided to recall everything I know about food (from my Mom, Grandma, and Food Network) and came up with a wonderful and TASTY Spicy Vegetable Stir Fry that contains only fresh ingredients and made a Spicy Vegetable Stir Fry.

Spicy Vegetable Stir Fry

1 medium sweet onion sliced
1 large or 2 medium bell peppers sliced into strips
3 or 4 large carrots cut into strips
1 bunch bok choy cut into chunks
1 1/2 cups snow peas
1 small bunch broccolini cut into small florets
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 inches of ginger minced
1 or 2 jalapeño peppers minced (I used two and it was REALLY spicy)
2 limes zested and cut into wedges
1 bunch of fresh cilantro chopped
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup prepared rice

 

In a very large skillet on medium to medium high heat add vegetable oil. When the oil is rippling, add onions, peppers, carrots, and broccolini and sauté until just tender. This should take about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, jalapeño peppers, lime zest, and salt and pepper and cook for another 3 minutes. Finally, add bok choy and snow peas and continue to sauté stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

 

Serve over prepared rice and garnish with lime juice and cilantro.

 

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Summer Treat: Banana Chocolate “Ice Cream”

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When the kids are watching Disney Channel, I sometimes watch with them. Ok, ok, you caught me sometime I watch without the kids. I cannot help it, I think Good Luck, Charlie is pretty funny for a kids show.

Anyway, sometimes in between shows there is this little cooking segment. I’m not really sure who hosts it, but I do take notice anytime anything cooking related comes on television.

A few weeks ago, I saw them make banana “ice cream.” I couldn’t believe how healthy and simple this “ice cream” was to make. The reason I keep putting “ice cream” in quotes is because there is no cream, milk, eggs, or sugar in this ice cream, but I’m not really sure what else to call this treat. In the thirty second spot on TV, I pretty much got the gist of the recipe and and I could not wait to try it as a summertime treat.

 

As you can see, I did make one change though, I added some chocolate syrup, because let’s face it… everything is better with a little chocolate. However, the chocolate is completely optional, and I think would be great with all kinds of other toppings or mix ins.

Chocolate Banana “Ice Cream”

4 large ripe bananas cut into sliced
2 Tbs chocolate syrup

Put the sliced bananas in a freezer safe container or freezer bag. Put in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight.

 

Next, put in a food processor and begin to blend until fluffy consistency is formed.

 

Add chocolate syrup and blend for 10 seconds until well combined. Serve.

 

Suggestions for Other Toppings or Mix Ins
– Sliced strawberries
– Sprinkles
– Chocolate chips
– Almonds
– Pineapple chunks
– Nutella
– Peanut Butter
– Blueberries
– Sprinkle of Cinnamon

Do you think you could get any healthier than whipped frozen bananas that taste like Ice Cream for dessert?

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Delayed Steak Fajitas

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This is the infamous recipe that I was working on the day I cut my finger. Now, that I am over the trauma (it wan’t the bad, unless you’re a baby, which I am), I think it is ok for me to share the recipe finally.

Fajitas are a family favorite here because I always have guacamole with them. While the kids aren’t that crazy about the actual fajitas, they do love guacamole. If they really aren’t having the fajitas, I will grill up some quesadillas (cheese between two tortillas thrown on a low grill for less then a minute on each side) for them to dip in the guacamole too.

I personally like this recipe because it is quick, and Brian likes it because well, he likes steak and Mexican food, so for him it is the best of both worlds.

Steak Fajitas
1 lb flank or skirt steak
3 limes zested and juiced
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tsp for cooking.
1 pinch of Cayenne pepper
1 large sweet onion thinly sliced
2 mediums sized bell peppers thinly sliced (I used yellow)
I bunch of Cilantro
Flour Tortillas shells
Salt and Pepper to taste

In refrigerator safe dish add lime zest, lime juice, 1 Tbs of olive oil, cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper and whisk together. Add steak, cover and refrigerate to marinate for about 4 to 6 hours.

Preheat grill (around 400 to 425 degrees).

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tsp olive oil, sliced onions and peppers. Stir occasionally and cook until tender by still crispy, about 7 minutes. Keep warm.

Put the marinated steak on the grill, and cook for about 12-15 minutes flipping about halfway through. When the steak is finished, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes.

While the steak rests warm tortillas shells (I usually heat them in a dry skillet on medium low heat).

Slice the steak against the grain and at an angle in VERY thin slices. Assemble fajitas with pepper and onion mixture, steak, and a few sprigs on cilantro.

Enjoy, just please don’t cut your finger!

I Think I Have a Caprese Problem

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If there was a Caprese Addicts Anonymous group, I think that I would immediately have to join. I know that it was only a few weeks ago that I shared with you my portable caprese salads, but I cannot help it. There is just something about tomatoes, basil and mozzarella that makes this gal think summertime.

Last week, in order to help out some dear friends of mine, I made lunch. With the help of another friend, I made a huge batch of Italian pasta salad, baked cupcakes, and put together a bunch of turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, and for the vegetarians, some Caprese sandwiches. To be honest, I could have made some pitas with hummus and veggies like I did a awhile ago, but with all the vegetable garden planning, I already had tomatoes and basil on the brain.

 

Caprese Sandwiches
1 loaf ciabatta bread
1 vine ripened tomato sliced thin
1 large bunch basil
3 or 4 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
2 Tbs balsalmic vinegrette
Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Slice the ciabatta bread lengthwise. Drizzle balsalmic vinegrette on both sides of the bread, spreading with a basting brush if necessary.

 

Arrange tomatoes, mozzarella, basil leaves on the bread, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

 

Cut into slices, and serve immediately.

 

Brian who claims he hates tomatoes, devoured it. I cannot wait to bring this on our next picnic.

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Quick Dinner and Reminiscing: Indian Butter Chicken

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When it comes to making dinner for my family, there are days where I just want to prepare something fast and not do a ton of prep or cleanup.

The other day, it was so nice outside we spent a lot of time outside, and I knew we probably would be making our way out again after dinner too, so cleanup should be at a minimum too.
Then, I remembered I had purchased this:

 

The first time Brian and I had ever had Indian butter chicken was when our friend, Sunita, had us over for dinner a few years ago. We spent a lot of time chatting and hanging out, and eating. Brian kept asking for more. Since then, whenever I have butter chicken I think of Sunita.
While we enjoy this type of cuisine, I have to say I am a teeny bit intimidated by it, so when I saw this simmer sauce, I thought it would be fun to give it a whirl. Kind of a way to get me going. Also, it was fast and easy. Only 20 minutes. 

 

Normally, I like to give every detail of a recipe, but I honestly feel kind of weird doing that when all I did was follow the directions on the back of a package, and all packages might be different. However, I did jazz it up with some roasted pineapple for fun. I thought that if the butter chicken was too hot the pineapple might cool us down. It worked.
First, I made basmati rice. While the rice was cooking, I sauteed some chicken and followed the directions on the butter chicken package. Finally, I sliced up some pineapple into spears, placed the slices on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and put it in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes.It only took 20 minutes for this:

 

Brian had seconds, which means it was good.

Now that I have my feet wet, I’m ready to dive into some Indian cooking. It look like I will have to start trying recipes in my fellow ChicagoNow blogger, Anupy Singla’s book, Indian as Apple Pie.

A Blast from the Past: Recipes

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There seem to be few things that can take you to the past like food. While I agree, old photographs and mementos can remind of you certain moments of you life. The smells and tastes of certain foods can immediately take you back in time to experiencing a moment again.

Sometimes, I like to think of food as a time machine.

There are certain recipes that I make to remind me of certain people. There are recipes in my family that come to be known by the person’s name, simply because it reminds us of them.

We have a recipe for baked chicken that has come to be known as Nano’s Chicken. My Grandma Nano made it quite a bit. While it is a common recipe and can be found pretty easily, I make it from memory and think of eating dinner with my family at her house.

I have been trying to master zucchini frittata for years, as it reminds Brian of his own grandmother. When I first made it for him, he immediately started telling stories of sleepovers and stopping by his Grandma’s house after work.

A few weeks ago, my cousin emailed and asked if I had any old recipes. I am so glad she did. I asked my Mom and one of my Aunts if they had anything, and they had a few things for me.

 

After sending them to my cousin, I cannot wait to try some of them.

Perhaps, I will be transported back in time.

What are your favorite family recipes? What do they make you think of?

Home Everyday continues to send concern and thoughts to those affected by the events at yesterday’s Boston Marathon.