Biscuits and Boys!

So, today started at 5:40...am, as wrestling days often do. That's right, I voluntarily shipped my boy off for the day to be twisted, tossed, and thrown down... by a bunch of big boys... and I hate myself for it! To make up for all the guilt, I will make all his favorites for dinner when he finally gets home! Starting with these warm, flaky, delicious buttermilk biscuits! Now, biscuits are actually one of the quickest, easiest comfort foods that exist! Once you see how easy they are to make.... and how much everyone loves them... you'll make them all the time! I started with King Arthur Self-rising Flour, 4 cups. Add to that one super cold stick (8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter, cut into pieces. I cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter, until the butter and flour combine to look like course meal. You want to combine the butter and flour, without overworking it. Next, I added 1 and 1/3 to 1 and 2/3 cups of low-fat buttermilk. Make sure to shake the buttermilk because it can separate. When the dough comes together, dump it out onto a floured counter and kneed together about 8-10 times. You want to combine the dough but not overwork it (it will get tough). Next, I shape the dough into a big rectangle with my hands and use a pastry scraper to cut it into little pieces. Plop those biscuits onto a big sheet pan and brush with a little egg wash (one egg, beaten with a fork and a few drops of water). Pop your biscuits into a 425 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown! Now, try and keep everyone away from those delicious biscuits until dinner... or not. We had our warm flaky biscuits with chicken and roasted carrots tonight, but, you could have them with anything, at any meal, and everyone will gobble them up! Lots of love... made with love...courtesy of the power of the buttermilk biscuit!!

Winner, Winner Chicken Swimmer!

What could be better than succulent, juicy, oven roasted chicken? How about your favorite hungry swimmer to join you? Now, she's so darn cute I didn't even notice all that delicious chickeny-butternut juiciness pouring off her plate, but that didn't matter! The chicken and the swimmer got their close-up! So... back to the chicken! Tonight we made this easy-peezy super delicious oven roasted chicken... just in time for a surprise post-practice visit... and we LOVED it! Now, this couldn't be any easier! If you think roasting a chicken is hard... it's NOT! The hardest part is... actually touching the raw chicken... if you can handle that, the rest can be done in your sleep! First, wash and clean your roaster. This was about a 5 pound chicken that I popped in the sink and rinsed with cold water, then blotted with paper towels to get nice and dry. Now, there's all kinds of fancy things I could do to this chicken, like make a compound herb butter and rub under the skin, but I was way too busy for that tonight, so in less than 5 minutes, I got a head of garlic, a lemon, an onion, and that was it! I set my oven for 425 degrees and cut my lemon and my onion in quarters. Then, I just chopped the head of garlic in half. I added kosher salt and pepper to the inside of the chicken, and then just stuffed the lemon, onion, and garlic to the inside of the chicken! Too easy to be this good... but it is! Last, I rubbed the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkled with more salt and pepper and also added dried oregano! Now, some will say "truss" the chicken, tie the legs together... but I didn't bother, and it was totally FINE!! Now, pop into that hot oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. You'll know the chicken is done when the juices from the leg run clear (not pink). If the breast gets too dark while cooking, pop a foil lid on her (nice and snug) while she continues to cook (easy)! So, we're keeping it super simple tonight, so we simply cut up a butternut squash and boiled in salted water. When fork tender, I drained all the water and mashed with my potato masher with a little salt, pepper, and a pat of butter! Super simple and super delicious... cue swimmer... Now, I usually have a house full of eaters, but tonight it was just Stevie and I... so we were glad swim practice ended, and in walked our favorite, hungry swimmer! Great night made even better with super simple, tender, juicy, oven roasted chicken! Now, go make it tonight and see for yourself how easy it is!!

Roasted Beef... Sunday Dinner Style!!

So... I dropped my little 8th grade wrestler off at the high school so he could have a long fulfilling day of getting thrown, choked, twisted, and man-handled by a bunch of juniors and seniors. And... Yup... I hate myself! AND... this sport, and things in a boy's life I can't control!!!! Seriously... so, I decided to do something I CAN control... make some delicious, amazing food, courtesy of this 4 and a half pound spoon roast of beef! Along with some roasted carrots (my lil' wrestler's favorite....) and some garlicky roasted potatoes... I can't control his world.... but, perhaps I can control his dinner... and keep him safe and fed... just a little bit longer... So here's how it started! I took my big ol' spoon roast and liberally coated her with salt, fresh pepper, 6 cloves of chopped garlic, rosemary and thyme! Then, I parked her on the counter for a while so I could cook the carrots and potatoes. The meat will be completely fine sitting there at room temperature! It's actually better! So, knowing I have one oven and a big plan for potatoes and carrots, I set that girl to 375 and planned to roast my carrots and potatoes first. As usual I peeled and cut these beautiful carrots so they were mostly the same size and thickness, then dressed them in olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and a little thyme! Then, I popped them in that 375 degree oven, for about 30 minutes... WITH... My washed and chopped Yukon gold potatoes! Also dressed in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and thyme... with a little rosemary as well!! Toss the carrots and the potatoes in those spices and pop them all into that oven together. They will get a head start, and be delicious! While the carrots and potatoes start to cook, I seared the roast beef so it would be ready for some oven space after the carrots and potatoes are cooked. I also added about 6 shallots peeled and halved, and about 12 oz. of button mushrooms... I mean, how bad can shallots and mushrooms be with roast beef??? Right? After those potatoes and carrots have been in your oven for 30-40 minutes, jack the heat up to 400 degrees and put in your seared beef! I let the carrots and potatoes park on top of the stove, and will heat them up when the meat is done! Using your handy-dandy thermometer, test the temp of the beef. I had a 4 and a half pound piece of meat. It will be medium rare when the center reads about 125 degrees. I tested after about 1 hour, and it read 90 degrees. I popped it back in for another 10 minutes... and then my thermometer read 130... and I was so bummed!! Did I overcook this beautiful piece of meat? I always go for a medium rare... and was disappointed. But then, I cut into it, and it was fine, juicy and delicious, and all the carnivores were happy! Including my battle weary, exhausted, hungry sleepy wrestler! This is one amazing Sunday Dinner for family and friends... or one fabulous dinner for some very worthy, hard working, athletic boys! We don't do red meat that often, but when we do, we do it right! ENJOY!!

Snow Day! Pork Tenderloin Power!!

So... first , this happened today! And, I'm usually ready and waiting, but this caught me totally off guard! How AWESOME! And then... with the snow day and all.... this happened! And then, THIS happened! Granola... and a house that smells like heaven full of oats and cinnamon and maple syrupy goodness! And then.. You didn't think all that fresh baked granola was safe from hungry boys... did you? (Boys infiltrating the granola Christmas Goodies....) Like we didn't see THAT coming!!! And, of course, there was a little bit of this.... new songs to learn, and some Christmas classics to try... John Denver and the Muppet's style... just sayin'!! BUT, this is a food blog! Not a "Snow Day" blog.... And with all this time on my hands... and with this unexpected day off... there was pork tenderloin and another power salad! And it started with the salad!! ONE Heck of a salad! Fresh greens, a can of garbanzo beans (rinsed), grated carrots, cucumber (chopped), 2 chopped scallions, and a handful of radishes chopped! Crispy, crunchy, tastiness!! Now, I wanted to add some feta cheese, but the wrestlers and protien-obsessed calorie counters said NO! So, I refrained.... for now... And, because we're total carnivores... we added some pork tenderloin to our power salad tonight! And we loved it! After seasoning up these two tenderloins with salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary and thyme, I seared them off in a medium hot pan with some olive oil! Just roll them around until all sides are brown and seared! Your house smells like a French Bistro.... and your mouth is watering.... your welcome!! Now, pop those pork tenderloins into a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until a thermometer reads 137 degrees. Using my favorite kitchen gadget, I took the temp on my pork, and it read about 130, so I gave it another 5 minutes... and it was perfect!!! Now, here's the part Joe hates... that pork smells freakin' delicious.... killer good... and... it has to rest! WHA'???? Yup, rest, covered in foil, for at least 10 minutes! A disgruntled Joe refused to appear on the blog tonight... but here is his disgruntled plate... waiting for pork to rest... tic, toc, tic, toc (serious pain, food waiting, meat smelling pain, in the waiting)! AND Finally!!! Delicious pork tenderloin and power packed salad! Delicious tasty protein and sweet greens and creamy garbanzo beans (full of even more protein)!! Dinner Joe's way! Dinner Stevie's way... protein power packed salad and pork tenderloin as well... but with a little dressing and crunchy croutons! The way it should be! Thank you snow day!

Power Salads!!!

Can you say lean, mean, veggie and protein? Power salads, courtesy of "Meatless Mondays"!! That's our new mantra at least 2 meals a week. Super lean, lightly dressed salads full of veg and protein... and we hope you like it! Tonight, Stevie's salad started with romaine, shredded carrots, chopped pepper, cucumber, sliced lean turkey (not so meatless... what ev'), fat free crispy croutons, and his favorite ranch dressing, but only a tiny bit... maybe 2 tablespoons (to all THIS veggie and salad... pretty lean)! To make it a "salad event", and not a boring salad dinner (yawn!!) we added some cheese tortellini and edemame, and it was spectacular! Truly a prom queen kinda salad! We tossed it all in a big bowl (so we could get that small amount of dressing and flavor onto all the players in the salad) and then, served it in a regular bowl! You can add any of your favorite veggies, tasty sides, and minimal amounts of tasty dressing! We added croutons (fat free) for crunch, and we loved it! My power salad included avocado... because I believe avocados could save the world... one salad at a time (but everyone here doesn't agree with the super power of the avocado, so, it's all mine)! The secret with power salads like this is to bulk up on healthy proteins and veggies, keep it clean (by adding small amounts of dressing for flavor, but tossing in a super big bowl to really distribute), and fresh (local) seasonal veggies!! Sometimes nuts and seeds can boost a power salad too.. so stay tuned for more super powers in our protein packed salads!

Chipotle Chicken!!!

In honor of tonight's UGLY win by our N.E. Patriots... I present some STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL chipotle chicken! Now, we did this chicken dinner two ways tonight... you know, to make everyone a happy protein, veggie eater! I started with my big, bad-ass Idaho potatoes. I scrubbed them, scored them with a few pricks of a sharp knife, and popped into a 375 degree oven. They went in first, because they will take the longest! Next, our favorite side... roasted carrots! Simple,sweet, super healthy carrots! Peeled, sliced and and drizzled with olive oil. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme on those tasty carrots and pop them into that 375 degree oven with your potatoes. I pushed the potatoes in a row in the "way back" bottom rack, and put the carrots on the bottom with the potatoes. Next, I prepped my chicken thighs with one of my favorite seasonings... this smoky chipotle seasoning with paprika, and added garlic powder and some salt and pepper. If you don't have this, you can sprinkle with the garlic powder, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and crushed red pepper.... that would be super smoky and delicious! Then, I popped those smoky chicken thighs into my 375 degree oven with the carrots and baked taters for 30 minutes.... and that was enough. I usually grill my chicken thighs, but the Patriots were on, and they were exercising their NEW ROUTINE... you know... the crappy first half routine, and wait till the last minute of the game routine, to make something happen offensively, routine... (sorry, my blood pressure is still racing after witnessing Gronk's low blow tackle, and Vereen's redemption worthy second half...). Oh.. so, back to the food... So, after 30 minutes this is what our chicken thighs looked like! Like I said, grilled would have been better.... but let's see YOU pull yourself away from a 4th quarter game like today's Patriots win over (a very deserving) Cleveland Browns... still in shock! So here's dinner Stevie's way... Delicious, smoky chipotle chicken with his favorite side, roasted carrots and baked potato! Delicious! And dinner my way... Soft chipotle chicken tacos with fresh crispy greens, carrots, scallion, creamy avocado with some fresh cilantro! Topped with a little Chipotle Ranch dressing and a fresh squeeze of lime, and you have MY tasty dinner choice!