Ham and Cheese Sliders

 

These are a surprise hit with the kids. In fact, they’ve lately become my go-to thing for something easy I know they’ll eat. I usually make 6 to 8 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• Rolls of some kind (we usually use hamburger buns, but you could also use cocktail buns)
• 1/2 pound (ish) sliced ham (I have used deli ham as well as leftover Easter ham)
• Swiss cheese (one slice for each sandwich)
• mayonaise (a little for each sandwich; optional)
• honey mustard sauce (recipe follows)

for the sauce

• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon mustard (yellow or Dijon, as you prefer)
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon dried minced onion (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a cookie sheet with foil (for easy cleanup)
2. Assemble the sandwiches (minus the honey mustard sauce) on the cookie sheet
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and brush on top of each bun (if I have extra sauce, and I usually do, I just lift up the top of each bun and brush some sauce on top of the cheese)
4. Bake, covered with foil, for 10 min; remove the foil and bake another 2 minutes

Perfect Potatoes au Gratin (with Ham)

I had potatoes and I had ham, so that settled it—time to make Potatoes au Gratin. I selected The Pioneer Woman’s recipe, tweaked it a little and doubled it for our small group dinner last night. It was crazy good; as in, two helpings good. Which is saying a lot for me because I usually choose to eat two helpings of dessert, not potatoes. Eat! And enjoy.

8 whole russet potatoes, peeled
2-3 T butter, softened
1 pint heavy cream
2 cup whole milk
4 T flour
8 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 t salt
pepper, to taste (don’t skimp!)
3 C ham, cubed
2 c sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Smear softened butter all over the bottom of a 9×13″ baking dish.

Slice potatoes, then cut slices into fourths (thicker slices will take longer to cook). In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish, then place approximately 1 C of ham over it. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful.

**This modified recipe serves 8 adults easily and allows leftovers for lunch the next day. To make a nice side dish you could omit the ham and reduce quantities of ingredients by half.

Red Lentil Coconut Curry

 

This recipe, from the Simply in Season cookbook, is super easy to make, despite its long list of ingredients. It is as tasty as it sounds. It makes a ton: plenty to share with a friend since I’m not so sure how it would freeze. The boys asked for more cauliflower, and Clara has been gobbling it down for every meal for the last few days.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or, if time allows, place can of coconut milk in freezer for 20 minutes before starting to cook. Open can and remove solidified coconut butter from the top to use in sautéing)
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed
• 5 cups water (or broth or a combination)
• 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into 1 1/2-inch florets
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 head cabbage, cut into  1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1–2 cups peas (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, sauté onion in olive oil or coconut butter over medium-high heat until transparent but not browned.
2. Add garlic, ginger root, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, pepper, red pepper, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly for 3 minutes (do not let onion and spices brown).
3. Add coconut milk, tamari, and tomato sauce and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring often.
4. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, cook lentils and water on medium to medium-high heat for 15 minutes.
5. Add lentils with their liquid to soup pot.
6. Add cauliflower, sweet potato, and cabbage to soup pot and cook over medium heat just until tender. If using peas, add at the end of the cooking time.
7. Serve over brown rice with toppings (optional): Indian chutneys and pickles, fresh diced pears, roasted sunflower seeds, plain yogurt.

Asian-Style Braised Pork Loin

This dish was super easy and delicious. The boys asked for seconds (actually, Simon ate thirds), and I’ve never seen Simon eat so much broccoli. Win, win, win, win. 

I didn’t use the green onions (Simon doesn’t like “yunyuns,” and I am trying to avoid mealtime drama). I didn’t have reduced-sodium soy sauce, so I used regular. It was plenty salty, so I would definitely suggest going for the reduced-sodium version if you can. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 quarter-sized slices unpeeled fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 whole star anise
• 2 pounds boneless pork loin roast
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 8–16 ounces broccoli (1–2  bunches)

Directions:

1. Combine water, 4 green onions, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and star anise in a medium Dutch oven. Add pork and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 40 minutes, turning pork after 20 minutes. Turn pork again and simmer until meat thermometer inserted into center of pork reads 145 degrees (about 12 minutes). Transfer to cutting board and let cool.
2. Pour pot liquid through sieve into glass measuring cup or bowl.
3. To make sauce, combine 3 tablespoons cooking liquid and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil in small bowl. Set aside.
4. Steam broccoli, then toss with 1/2 cup cooking liquid and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil in medium bowl.
5. Cut pork into slices. Transfer pork and broccoli to plater; drizzle with sauce and remaining 2 green onions.

Chicken Biryani

Okay, I’m not going to lie. Biryani is an investment (timewise). No part of making it is difficult, but there are a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps. The good news, though, is that the end result is worth it. This recipe (adapted from this one) makes quite a lot, so invite a friend or be prepared for delicious leftovers (or both, actually). 

I served this with medium-boiled eggs (a hit with the kids), a simple raita (minus the cayenne, per personal preference), and even simpler roasted tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 6 (or more) pieces of chicken, skinless (I used bone-in thighs this time, but you could use drumsticks or a whole cut-up chicken)

Marinade

• bunch of cilantro, leaves only, chopped fine
• ¼ cup mint, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons ginger and garlic paste (in a tube in the produce section; I couldn’t find the two combined, so I used a tablespoon of each)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon coconut milk (from a can; you’ll need more for the curry)
• salt to taste

Curry

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-inch chunk of ginger, minced
• 1 large bunch of cilantro, chopped fine
• ½ cup mint, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 6-7 whole cloves
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 6-7 whole peppercorns
• 3 whole star anise
• 3 dry bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2  tablespoons garam masala
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 2 cups chicken broth (could also use water)
• salt to taste

Rice

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 cardamom pods, cracked
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ small onion, julienned
• 3 cups Basmati rice
• 5 ½ cups of water or chicken broth
• salt to taste

Garnish

• handful of cashews, roasted in ghee
• lime wedges

Directions:

1. Combine the marinade ingredients. Make slits in the chicken, coat with the marinade, and let rest for a few hours or overnight.
2. To make the curry, saute the onions, garlic, and ginger in oil until translucent. Remove from heat and cool. Mix together the cooked onions, cilantro, and mint. In a deep skillet, roast the whole spices (cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, star anise, and bay leaves) in ghee until their aromas are released. Return the onion mixture to the pan and cook until the oil starts separating. Add the dry spices (cumin, tumeric, and garam masala), sauté for a few minutes. Add the coconut milk and brothand bring to a boil. Add the marinated chicken pieces and cook on medium until the meat is fully cooked. Let the curry cool until just warm.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the rice. Roast the whole spices (cloves, cardamom, and bay leaf) in ghee, and the sauté the onions in the same. When the onions are soft, add the Basmati rice and roast for a few minutes. Add water and salt and cook the rice until just done. Let it cool to warm. (I cooked the rice in my rice cooker.)
4. When ready to assemble, spread the rice in a deep, oven-proof pan. Little by little add the curry and gently tossed until the rice is just wet. For 3 cups of raw rice, you will need about a cup and a half of the curry (and you’ll have about that much left over). Arrange the chicken pieces around the dish, cover with a bit rice, so they don’t dry out. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Check halfway through to see if the biryani is drying out. If so, add more curry and gently toss.
5. To serve, scoop out the rice into a platter, arrange the chicken around and sprinkle roasted cashews over.

Chicken-in-the-Pot

Based on Dorie Greenspan’s Chicken-in-the-Pot (her food blog is a favorite), this is an extremely versatile dish. You can modify it based on what you have in the fridge and on how much time you have. It smells amazing to boot.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 heads of garlic, broken into cloves, but not peeled
• 4 onions, peeled, trimmed, and quartered
• 1 pound baby carrots (or 8 carrots, peeled, trimmed, and quartered)
• 4 celery stalks, trimmed and quartered
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme*
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley*
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary *
• 10 or so mushrooms, halved
• 16 prunes
• 1 chicken, whole or cut-up
• 1/2 small cabbage, green or red, cut into 4 wedges
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine, or another 1/2 cup chicken broth

* The original recipe calls for fresh herbs but I have yet to have them on hand. I have no doubt they would make the recipe just that much better.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Heat about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Toss in the garlic cloves and all the vegetables, EXCEPT the cabbage and mushrooms (in 2 batches if necessary), season generously with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are lightly browned on all sides.
3. Stir in the herbs, prunes, and mushrooms. Transfer vegetables too a Dutch oven.
4. Add another tablespoon or so of oil to the skillet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown the chicken on all sides. (You can skip this step if you’re short on time.)
5. Put the chicken in the casserole, nestling it among the vegetables. Fit the cabbage wedges around the chicken.
6. Stir together the chicken broth, wine, and 1/2 cup olive oil and pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables.
7. Cover the pot with a sheet of aluminum foil and the lid
8. Bake for 70 minutes.

Spinach & Spaghetti

(Originally published February 2008) Marlene Lehl (from Zion Church) brought me this as a mercy meal (I think it was when Liv came home) and it was delicious. I passed it on as a mercy meal last night and wanted to share this meatless main dish with the rest of you.

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces spaghetti
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 teaspoons minced dried onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded monterey jack cheese
• 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain well.
2. Combine egg, sour cream, milk, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, onion, salt and pepper; add monterey jack cheese and mix well.
3. Add spaghetti and spinach and mix well.
4. Turn into a 8 x 8-inch square pan. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake covered at 350 for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15-20 minutes more or until warmed through.

Tower of Power

Ok, some of you who know me well may be surprised that I would refer to a dish by a rhyming name. But it is that. good. I am on day 4 of the Whole30 Challenge (if you don’t want to click through, the gist is that it’s 30 days of whole foods with several further restrictions, but it’s actually worth a look if you have time). Although I generally avoid making two complete meals, for various reasons I made an exception tonight and made a pizza for the rest of the family. I couldn’t have a single thing in the pizza, and boy, did it smell amazing. I consoled myself with this dish, and when all was said and done, I would totally choose the Tower of Power again.

I got the recipe here (note that it is actually called Veggie and Egg Tower of Power) via Pinterest (adapted ever so slightly to reflect how I actually made it). The original post (and indeed her whole blog) is very much worth your time for her pictures and information about eggs, including interesting things I did not know about lecithin and easy instructions for how to soft boil and how to poach an egg. 

This recipe is actually a little on the tricky side, but simply because of timing. The ingredients are simple and so is the preparation. And, believe me, it’s worth it. Just read through all the directions first and make sure you have enough time (for example, there are caramelized onions, and that takes at least 30 minutes, though most of it is unsupervised), and you’ll be fine.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions
• 1–2 tablespoons butter or ghee
• pinch of salt
• 1 giant sweet potato
• 1–2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
• 10–15 cherry tomatoes
• 4 generous fistfuls of spinach
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil (optional)
• salt and  pepper
• chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel and slice the onions into rounds. Heat some ghee or oil in a skillet; add onions and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally (not too often, or they will not brown) until dark, soft and sweet – approximately 30-45 minutes. Set aside onions in the pan.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice sweet potatoes across their width into quarter-inch discs. Coat with a little coconut or olive oil (or ghee), place in a single layer on 2 baking sheets, leaving one sheet with a little space for the tomatoes. Wash and slice tomatoes in half. Place on one baking sheet with sweet potatoes, and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until everything is soft. Keep in the oven until ready to serve.

3. Once the onions, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes have all finished cooking, put a shallow saucepan of water on to boil, stir in 1 tablespoon of vinegar.

4. Wash spinach, but do not spin dry, as the water will serve to steam the leaves while cooking. Add spinach to the onion pan on low heat and stir occasionally until wilted (3-4 minutes).

5. While the spinach is wilting, poach the egg.

6. While the eggs are poaching, assemble the plate: place 6-7 slices of roasted sweet potato on the bottom, followed by the wilted spinach and caramelized onions. Scatter the roasted tomatoes around the base with a drizzle of good olive oil. Place the poached egg on top of the stack, sprinkle with chili flakes if desired, and a generous grind of sea salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

 

Velvety Vegetable Soup

I was in the mood for something seasonal and came across this soup in my Simply in Season cookbook. They weren’t kidding about “velvety,” and although I was skeptical about velvety as a soup texture, it was great. I served it with a green salad and these adorable little bread bowls. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil (or less)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 4 cups leeks (diced, white part and 1 inch of green)
• 1 cup celery (diced)
• 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon (chopped; or 2 teaspoons dried)
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (chopped; or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 cups potatoes (diced)
• 1 bunch spinach (chopped)
• 1/2 cup milk (optional)

Directions:

In olive oil over medium heat, sauté onion, leeks, and celery until wilted, about 15 minutes.

Add tarragon, thyme, salt, and pepper and stir well.

Add broth and potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add spinach and simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove soup from heat. Purée with hand blender in pot or in small batches in blender or food processor.

Return soup to pot and place over low heat.

Add milk, if using, and heat through. Add additional water or broth if you prefer a thinner consistency.

Fresh Mint Tabbouleh

 

When I visited Kate in Minneapolis, she took me to the Birchwood Cafe, where I had their Mint Tabbouleh. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so I emailed the cafe and they graciously gave me the ingredient list. I’ve been eating this for lunch for over a month. Here’s how I’ve been creating it.

1 cucumber, peeled, finely chopped

1 red pepper finely chopped

1 bunch  parsley (flat leaf or Italian) finely chopped. About 1/2 cup ish

1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

juice of one fresh lemon

2 tsp olive oil, or your other favorite oil (I’ve been using sesame seed oil)

salt and pepper

Almonds, at least 1/2 cup, however you like them, chopped big.

1 cup uncooked quinoa (then cook it as directed). You can use bulgar as well, but I couldn’t find it easily, and I’m lazy when it comes to shopping.

Optional: add chickpeas if you want even more protein.

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, except the quinoa. Once the quinoa has cooled a bit, then mix it in.

Stick it in the fridge so it gets cold. Eat it.

Nutrition Facts (this isn’t exact, but it’s close)

Serving Size 149 g (based on 5 servings per recipe)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 212

Calories from Fat 78

Total Fat 8.7g

Saturated Fat 0.9g

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 6mg

Total Carbohydrates 28.2g

Dietary Fiber 5.0g

Sugars 2.8g

Protein 7.5g

Vitamin A 20%	•	Vitamin C 69%
Calcium 6%	•	Iron 15%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet