Lobster Rolls | Lobster Anywhere

We live in Santa Cruz California. September is our summer. Usually the months of June - August are nice, warmish, and pretty sunny. But September, oh September, September is hot and perfect, just perfect! This is coming from a Brazilian girl of course, who thrives on muggy hot weather.

These days you'll catch us at the pool during hot late afternoons. All our windows are open. We watch the sun set over Monterey Bay, 43 miles away!

When the kids aren't in school they're in swimsuits. If we're not in the pool we're on the slip-n-slide or throwing water balloons at each other, minus Maria. Maria hates water balloons thrown at her although she's pretty good at throwing them at us.

So while the rest of the country is raving about pumpkin lattes we're  here enjoying our Summer - swimsuit, getting soaked, and cold lobster rolls.

Lobster Anywhere sent us a lobster roll kit. We made half a recipe and had plenty for the whole family.

My kids get so excited about getting packages. I get excited about the simplicity of getting a delicious dinner on the table in under 10 minutes.

The kit comes complete with a quick recipe so you can easy make a traditional roll. I dressed ours up with roasted tomatoes and some greens.

If you want to make your own lobster rolls at home here's a recipe you can try.

1 1/2 lbs lobster meat
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
4 split rolls, buttered and toasted

In a bowl combine the lobster meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for 5 minutes to allow the lobster to absorb the flavorings. Fill the rolls with lobster salad and eat immediately. You can also add finely chopped celery to the lobster salad for an extra crunch or chopped parsley for a little more flavor.

What's September like where you live?

Crock Pot Shoyu Chicken Recipe

Serves 6-8
(Printable Version)

3 lbs chicken (thighs and drumsticks)
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 cloves garlic 
3-4 inches of ginger (peeled)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons corn starch diluted in 1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
cilantro for garnish

Mix the soy sauce and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Using a food processer chop the garlic and ginger together. Add the chopped garlic and ginger to the soy sauce and brown sugar and mix well. Rub the soy sauce, sugar, garlic,ginger mixture on the chicken pieces and place the chicken in a large crock pot. Pour the chicken broth and the diluted corn starch on top of the chicken. Drizzle with honey. Cook for 6 hours on high. Use chopped cilantro for garnish and serve with rice.

Sundays are my crock pot days. I know, it's totally Mormon of me. It is awfully nice having dinner ready when we come back from church and I love the smell of warm food, specially shoyu chicken, when we walk in the door.

As with most meats cooked in the crock pot shoyu chicken becomes crazy moist the longer it's in there practically falling off the bones when it's done. My kids are total carnivores and meat that's been cooked in the crock pot is their favorite. It's so easy for them to just remove pieces themselves without having us to cut up their meat for them. They are both at that point where feeling independent is a big deal. 

Maria's favorite way to eat shoyu chicken is wrapped in roasted Korean seaweed (also known as Maria and mom crack at our house) with rice and broccoli. 

 

She makes the cutest little rolls and the biggest mess. I don't complain because if she's chowing down on chicken, brown rice, seaweed, and brocoli I should just be grateful and put up with rice getting stuck under my feet.

Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe?

Brazilian Style Lasagna

There are two traditional types of Brazilian lasagnas. The one I always make, is the ham and mozzarella cheese, red and white sauce lasagna. Sometimes I add ground beef to the red sauce (Bolognese sauce) but more often than not I don't. Mostly because it's an additional step. Also, I love meat but I don't need ground beef and ham together.

I'm a fan of lasagna, specially of Brazilian lasagna because it's kid friendly, and pregnant mother friendly. I work really hard to get my kids to eat everything. On a good day I lovingly encourage them. On a normal day I just lay down the law and force them to eat what's on their plate. But on a pregnant day I don't even try to reason with them or force them, I pretty much leave them to eat whatever they want. So now that I'm slowly feeling better instead of fighting with them I'm trying to make food they'll eat and enjoy. Brazilian style lasagna with loads of ham and cheese is something we all enjoy. Plus it's easy to make and there are always left overs.

And I can find all the ingredients in the little market down the street.

When I get back to fancy California with it's fancy stores where I can find all sorts of good ingredients I'll make lasagna with white sauce made from raw almond milk and I'll sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top for a nice nutty crunch. But for now I'll indulge in homemade creamy white sauce and simple ham and cheese.

For this recipe you'll need 8 cups red sauce and 6 cups of white sauce. You can use store bought but I recommend making it at home because it tastes better and it's easy. No news there right?!

Red Sauce or Plain Tomato Sauce

I love homemade tomato sauce that's simmered for hours and hours, the one I dream about but rarely make. Usually if I want to make tomato sauce I'll just throw some tomatoes in the blender with water and vegetable broth, warm it up and we're good to go. This sauce was just that with a couple cups of left over pumpkin puree.

Here are some excellent tomato sauce recipes you can try
Fresh Tomato Sauce from Smitten Kitchen
Marcella Hazen Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter from Steamy Kitchen
Basic Tomato Sauce from Simply Recipes

White Sauce
(printable version)

1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup flour
6 cups milk
1 teaspoon nutmeg
100 grams shredded parmesan cheese


Warm up the butter in a medium sized pan until it's melted. Sprinkle the flour on top.

Mix until the flour and butter comes together.

Then Slowly add the milk and the nutmeg and stir constantly over low heat until it becomes creamy. If the flour and butter mixture isn't dissolving then use a whisk. When the sauce starts to thicken up (about 8-10 minutes of constant stirring) add the parmesan cheese and mix.

Now, on to assembling the lasagna

Brazilian Lasagna
(printable version)
prep time: 30 minutes
cooking time: 40 minutes
rest time: 15 minutes
Makes about 10 portions

500g of dried lasagna noodles
8 cups tomato sauce
6 cups white sauce (see above for recipe)
500 g of sliced ham
700 g of sliced mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. In a large rectangular sauce pan pour 2 cups of tomato sauce and then layer dried lasagna noodles on top. 
3. Add 1 1/2 cups white sauce and then layer cheese and ham and another 2 cups of tomato sauce. Repeat with noodles, white sauce, cheese, and ham, red sauce.
4. Make a last layer of cheese on top of the lasagna. Cover with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes.
5. Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes.
6. Serve warm.

Pulled Pork Fried Rice

I've been craving fried rice. More specifically I've been craving that fried rice above, the one I made way back when I had a cast iron skillet and a crock pot. The fried rice is made with left over pulled pork. In my world pulled pork is made in a crock pot. I have no crock pot in Brazil but if you have a crock pot in your side of the world then you should make this recipe. It's a really good recipe and I'm not just saying that because I made it, believe it or not I'm kind of shy about the food I cook.

But I did make this! And I wrote the recipe down! And now I want to make it again but first I need to figure out how to make pulled pork via another method that does not require a crock pot. Any suggestions? If you tell me I should make it Hawaiian style in an imu I'll just have to roll my eyes because that is seriously more work than I can dream of though I would have enough left over pulled pork to make fried rice for a very long time, no doubt. Oh well, at least the recipe is now documented and when I return to the land of kitchen-appliances-a-plenty I'll make this again, unless of couse you have a pressure cooker recipe for pulled pork. If that's the case I may end up loving you forever.

Pulled Pork Fried Rice

(printable version)

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 bunches green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• ½ lbs cooked pulled pork
• 2 carrots, shredded
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1. In a wok or large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce to combine.
3. Add eggs to wok and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook, without stirring, until almost set, 1 minute, then fold in thirds with a spatula. Transfer cooked eggs to a work surface and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
4. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and swirl to coat. Add garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook, stirring constantly for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
5. Add pulled pork,carrots, peas, and rice and stir to combine. Add cooked egg, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and vinegar and cook, stirring constantly, until rice is coated, about 1 minute. Let cook, undisturbed, until warm, about 1 minute.
6. Top with scallion greens and serve.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

There is no elaborate story to go along with this post. In fact there is no story at all. And there's only one shot, the one above taken a millisecond before the kids rushed to the table to eat. It's a simple post, because it's a simple recipe, the kind of dish I make when I need to act fast and put dinner on the table.

Pasta is a gift. Bless the Italians and their pasta making contribution to the world. Pasta is a comfort food on so many levels. One, it tastes good. Two, from what I gather most children enjoy pasta which means that parents get to eat in peace, and peace at the dinner table is the ultimate comfort.

Now throw in some grilled chicken on top of your pasta and you've got yourself a success story for sure. As part of the Foodbuzz Testmaker Program I received a coupon to sample Tyson Grilled and Ready, that lovely grilled chicken you see on top of my Fettuccine. I've had ready made grilled chicken before and the texture is so off and the moisture is so gone I have a hard time eating it. Tyson Grilled and Ready rocked this dish, the texture, moisture, and smoky flavor of the chicken really brought out the flavor of the Alfredo sauce. Thank you Italians. And thank you Tyson.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
(printable version)


1 10-ounce bag of Fettuccini
1 bag Tyson Grilled and Ready Refrigerated Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips 
2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons white flour
3 cups whole milk (you can also use heavy cream)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
thyme for garnish (optional)

1. Cook the Fettuccine following the manufacturer's directions.
2. While the Fettuccine is cooking, make your Alfredo sauce. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter is fully melted add the flour and stir until it forms a thick paste. Add the milk and stir frequently over medium-low heat. The sauce will begin to thicken. Once the sauce is thick remove from heat and add the parmesan cheese and mix gently. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
3. Drain the pasta and immediately add the Alfredo sauce on top. Warm up the Tyson Grilled and Ready Refrigerated Fully Cooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips  over medium heat on a skillet for 3 minutes. 
4. Add the chicken strips on top of the pasta and garnish with thyme.

Broiled Tilapia with Pesto and Parmesan

I've been thinking a lot about a good recipe to share for Mother's Day. I basically wanted a good tasting easy recipe where you could either email your partner and say, "here, make this" or if you're cooking for yourself it would still be a treat because it takes less than 15 minutes to make, yet it is full of flavor. I think broiled tilapia with pesto and parmesan is the perfect fit. The pesto, butter, parmesan mixture on top of the fish is splendid. The aroma of warm pesto is just so right, and the way melted parmesan forms a subtle crispy coat around the fish is also pretty fantastic.

My friend Melissa introduced me to this great dish.
She's kind of great like that.

Melissa is an amazing cook. She doesn't think she is, but really she is. She is also one of the most beautiful, kind, radiant woman that I know. I love being around her because she is always genuinely positive and because she is a very good mama to her kids. She creates a good balance between discipline and leniency. She is such a good example of the type of mother I'd like to be.

For a while we used to get together at least once a week, either at the gym or at the library. But then life got crazy with soccer, swim lessons, T-ball, and all those other lovely things that come with kids, Spring, and organized sports. Oh, and I started working part time too. Duh! That takes up all of my time these days.

A couple weeks ago I was craving Melissa time and we miraculously were able to get together for a quick lunch at her house. We had less then an hour before the both of us needed to run off and drive/pick-up our kids somewhere. In no time at all Melissa made the most incredible broiled Tilapia I have ever tasted.

Tortilla Pizza

Easter left us with leftovers -- dyed eggs, ham, potato casseroles, and a lot of chocolate. It also left us with 20 million plastic eggs that hurts to the point of taking you breath away when you accidentally step on it. Easter left us with an all around messy house, and a messy house just hurts my soul.

The rolling pin, for example, wasn't even used to roll out the pizza dough, because there was no pizza dough to roll out. The rolling pin was just there, a reminder that I need to put things away. The grapes were also just laying around but those got put away in Enzo's stomach very quickly after he ate his slice of tortilla pizza.

Speaking of Enzo and Easter can I please show you pictures of him in his green bow tie that matches his green eyes and his sister's dress AND the grass outside? If you think Enzo is handsome raise your hand. I'm raising both of them right now!

Butterflied Chicken with Lemon and Basil

No matter how much I try to improvise or be creative, I always go back to whole chickens for an easy family dinner. In my life the definition of easy is completely correlated to how much prep time a meal takes. Making a whole chicken involves little prep time. It takes a while to bake but I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about how much actual time I physically have to be in the kitchen, because the more time I am inside the kitchen the more time baby Maria is outside of the kitchen trying to open up the baby gate that separates her from the pot of boiling water on the stove, or the chicken that's inside the hot oven.

One of these days, if I give her enough time, that baby gate will swing open and Maria will demand total domination of the kitchen.

So I have to work fast.

Lately I've been using a lot of recipes from the new cook book Deliciously Organic by Carrie Vitt. I'm surprised by how little prep time her recipes involve. Carrie is a mom, so I guess that explains some (or all) of why that is. I met Carrie at Food Blogger Camp back in January and I liked her immediately. Even though she's a very strong advocate and a real life example of the benefits of using organic and unprocessed ingredients in her cooking, she is not preachy at all. At least not in the sense where you feel inadequate if you're not buying organic everything.

Organic everything is expensive, and Carrie understands that. Her philosophy is that every little bit helps. That's what I do, I buy what I can. Chicken, for example, I only buy organic. It's an expense I'm willing to fork out for my own mental sanity. I hate thinking about excessive hormones in meat. Yuck!

A couple weeks ago I made a variation of Carrie's butterflied chicken.
Mine had a lemony-basil kick to it.

Quick Frittata using Kerrygold Cheddar and Sun Dried Tomatoes

The first time I had frittata I was on the plane to Hawaii. It was this past Christmas and all four of us were packed into three seats and we were lucky enough to be on Hawaiian airlines, the only airlines I know that still serves food on domestic flights. Surprisingly, the frittata was edible, almost good. I figured that anything that could still taste good on an airplane had to be totally delicious on the ground. Once I started researching frittatas I found out that it is basically a quiche without the crust. We are huge quiche fans so I figured the frittata would go over well with the entire family. Also, since most of the work for making a quiche is making the crust it would be a quicker recipe.

Once I made the frittata, I realized that the texture is something of a cross between a quiche and an omelet. And like both of those you can add all sorts of veggies, cheeses, or meats laying around in your fridge. I made it with Kerrygold cheddar, palm hearts, and sun-dried tomatoes. Most of the flavors were mild which brought out the nice rich taste of the Kerrygold cheese. Feel free to mix and match fillings based on your own preferences. Next time I make it I will try it with some spinach, mushrooms, and sausage. 

Kerrygold is the sponsor for this month's cook off and I'm grateful for them for their willingness to sponsor and for the quality products they make. Hawaiian airlines should use Kerrygold cheese and butter in their airplane food, don't you think?

Frittata

(printable version)
6 eggs
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, drained
1 jar palm hearts, drained and diced
1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat the oven to broil.
2. In a large bowl whisk the eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper.
3. Add the grated cheese and sun-dried tomatoes and mix.
4. Heat the olive oil in a 10 inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add garlic cloves and palm hearts and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour in the egg mixture and cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Put it in the broiler and cook for 3-5 minutes until the center is firm. Be careful with broilers because they can burn things quickly. 
7. Once you remove it, it will set a little more as it cools down. Serve for breakfast or as an entree for lunch or dinner with a side of green salad.

Family Fondue Night

Fondue is spontaneous. It's messy and unorganized. It makes you react quickly so the cheese doesn't burn, so the chocolate doesn't get too hard, so the piece of crusty bread that's held by a skinny spear won't dissapear in the pool of melted goodness. Luckily, if that happens and you can't rescue the piece of bread for yourself there is always someone there to help -- fondue calls for good company. It's the ultimate sharing where in order for it to work there needs to be a consensus, often times unspoken and sometimes totally hashed out before hand, about who's turn will be first and how many of the spears can be in the pot at the same time. Fondue is messy, so incredibly messy, to the point where in the end eveyone is cleaning up each other's drops of chocolate on the table, or cheese off their chin, bread crumbs on the floor, and smashed fruit on the chairs.

Fondue is like my family

 no rhyme or reason

but delicious to the core.

baked spaghetti and mozzarella

Everyday Food

is king!

Martha Stewart's recipes really work for my family. I don't know what it it about them but we just click. Is it the simplicity of ingredients? Is it how fast everything takes? Is it how clear the recipes are written out? Is it that she plans out weekly menus and gives you an organized grocery list and would take your hand and help you stir just-so if she wasn't too busy being in NYC? 

YES!

My friend gave me a subscription for Everyday Food magazine last Christmas and in case she's wondering if she got her money's worth the answer is yes. I read every single page Mariko, and try out every single recipe except the naughty alcoholic ones. We all know Martha has a naughty side.

But the girl can cook! 

This is my variation of  Martha Stewart's baked spaghetti and mozzarella recipe that came out in the September 2010 Everyday Food issue (I teach undergraduates, I'm a stickler for citing sources, heck I should give you the MLA version of this citation)

Baked Spaghetti and Mozzarella

(printable version of this recipe)

• 2 cans whole peeled tomatoes (28 ounces each can)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
• 3/4 pound spagetti
• 2 cups diced mozzarella
• Italian seasoning
• salt

1. Preheat oven to 400*
2. Set a large pot of salted water to boil.
3. In a food processor, pulse tomatoes until chopped.
4. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high and add garlic and cook until fragrant.
5. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil.
6. Add Italian seasoning and salt to taste.
7. Cook until sauces starts to thicken
8. Meanwhile, cook pasta for 5 minutes. Drain pasta and return to pot.
9. Add tomato sauce and half of the mozzarella and toss to combine.
10. Transfer mixture to a 3-quart baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
11. bake until cheese is golden. About 20-25 minutes.

fish wrapped in bacon

I feed my family fat so that if we go down

we all go down together

Except for baby Maria who is one month short of her first birthday. Let's keep her litte heart un-clogged at least till then. Instead of the fish wrapped in bacon she had fish steamed with green beans; no salt no butter. Don't feel too bad for her though, she can make a party out of anything. 

As for the rest of us bacon-eating-people, we savored the grease to our heart's content. It even tasted good with mozzarella and honeydew. High-five for skewers!

But hold that thought.

Don't think about the skewers just yet. Focus on the fish. This will take you tops 15 minutes to make. Wrap bacon around fish and broil for 10 minutes. In recipe terms...

Fish Wrapped in Bacon

(printable version of this recipe) 

yields 8 medium sized pieces- serves 2

• 2 large fillets of talapia cut in fourths. You need to have 8 pieces total.
• 8 strips of bacon

1. Turn oven to broil
2. Raise oven rack so that it's 3 inches away from the broil
3. wrap a slice of bacon around each piece of fish and place on a cookie sheet that has sides so the grease won't drip.
4. Broil for 8-10 minutes
5. Remove and serve warm.

The broiler is like that high school friend you once had. You were tight but you always had to watch your back because the moment you forgot about her she back stabbed you big time.

I've been back stabbed by the broiler many-a-times. Once in Hawaii making garlic bread and then 10 times again after that, making garlic bread. Basically the broiler will cook your food very fast so just stay close and watch for it. One minute it's raw and the nest it's burnt. Stay on the safe side and boil for less time than you need to then turn off your oven and lower the fish to the middle rack just so it stays warm.

Really, you can't mess this up.

and if you want you can even cut the pieces in half, throw in some honeydew, some fresh mozzarella, and put it on a skewer.

Now you can give me that high-five.

post-edit: just to be clear the melon and cheese does not go in the broiler. the end.

Cod Pie with Gruyère Cheese

Martha doesn't lie, except for that one little incident. Her cook book  Everyday Food: Great Food Fast is indeed pretty great. The cod with leeks and tomatoes recipe on page 61 is simple and delish. If it wasn't plagiarism I would post the recipe, dang my moral standards. However, I will say that it's simple as baking cod, leeks, and tomatoes together with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can figure it out, specially if you bake at 450* for 30 minutes...o.k... my lips are sealed go get yourself a copy of the book already.

However, I will share a recipe I made the next day with the left over cod.

Cod Pie

• baked cod with leeks and tomatoes
• 8 sheets of phyllo dough cut in half
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese 

1. preheat the oven to 400*
2. cut the sheets of phyllo dough with kitchen shears. 
3. place 4 sheets on a cookie sheet and sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil on top. Layer with cod and gruyere cheese.
4. Add 4 more sheets on top and sprinkle with olive oil. Layer again with cod and cheese. Repeat one more time.
5. bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

enjoy!

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Everyone has a favorite type of sandwich. My husband likes eggs in all of his. My mom likes olives. My son likes butter and jelly. I'm a fan of warm over-the-the-top melted cheese sandwiches. A couple weeks ago when it was chilly and everyone was cranky for a very good reason, I'm sure, I decided to make some melted cheese and ham sandwiches in the oven. This is the ultimate comfort food.

Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwich

• 12 slices whole wheat white bread
• 2 cups alfredo sauce
• cream cheese
• 8 slices chedder cheese
• 8 slices thick cut ham
• freshly grated romano cheese

1. preheat oven to 350*
2. Place the Alfredo sauce on a large casserole pan with the slices of bread. Make sure the bread absorbs the sauce well.
3. On a medium casserole pan layer a slice of bread, cream cheese, a slice of chedder cheese, a slice of ham and another slice of bread. Repeat a second time and add romano cheese on top. 
4. There is enough to make 4 large sandwiches.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese if fully melted. 
6. serve warm.

enjoy!

Saint Paddy's Pesto Pasta

The only thing Saint Paddy about this pasta is that it's green. I made it a couple days ago and it is easy enough to make again on Saint Patrick's day to call myself festive.

Pesto Pasta
yields 6 servings

• 1 package bow-tie pasta 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup pesto
• 6 ounce package frozen chopped spinach (defrost and then squeeze dry) 
• 1  freshly squeezed lime
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 cup frozen peas (defrosted)
• 1/3 cup toasted pignolis
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook the bow ties in a large pot for 10-12 minutes, until al dente. 
2. Drain and toss the pasta with the olive oil.
3. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, lemon juice and mayonnaise.
4. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta.
5. Add the Parmesan cheese, peas, and pignolis. Mix well and season to taste.
6. Serve at room temperature.

enjoy! 

Mayo and Mustard Chicken with Veggies {sometimes things just turn out alright}

 

• 8 chicken breasts
• 4 sweet potatoes
• 16 asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons of your favorite mustard

1. preheat oven to 350*
2. peel sweet potatoes and cut into medium sized cubes
3. Place the chicken on a medium sized casserole pan.
4. In a medium sized mixing bowl mix the sweet potatoes with mayo and mustard.
5. Place the seasoned sweet potatoes on top of the chicken and layer the asparagus on top.
6. drizzle with olive oil and salt.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes until chicken is done.

For the past month I have been going from one (1lbs) of Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate bar to the next, often needing 2-3 a week to keep up with my mood. Feeding 6 people is not easy especially when you're so tiered but so far this week has turned out alright.

I finally took the time to come up with a weekly menu. In the past this was a no brainer and every Sunday night after Enzo was asleep I would spend a couple hours pouring over my cookbooks and the internet to decide a weekly menu. But now when Enzo is alseep Maria is awake and I feel like I never have enough time (I hate the phrase "I never have enough time" I hate it, hate it, hate it) to sit down and actually plan the way I used to. However, this week I forced myself to do it. At one point everyone left the house leaving baby and I to ourselves, and then she slept, and then I decided to not do the dishes or the laundry or a million other things and I just sat and read recipes and planed a doable menu that so far has worked out.

I've been using the Made in Napa Valley  spicy apple mustard with ginger and cinnamon. It seems like they are all out on their website (WHAAAAT?!). I've recently started experimenting with different mustards and this oe is for sure my favorite, time to ration...

Spicy apple with ginger and cinnamon sounded good with sweet potatoes so that's the veggie that I used but try experimenting with different vegetables.

Menu of the week

I only plan dinner and hope that there is enough left overs for lunch as well. It needs to feed 5 people and has to be something that my 3 year old will at least try.

Saurday- Mayo and Mustard Chicken with Veggies

Sunday- White bean soup with salami and French baguette

Monday- Lentils, rice, and potato salad with peas.

Tuesday- Chicken stroganoffe and green salad

Wednesday- goat cheese, grilled eggplants, and grape tomato quiche with steamed green beans

Thursday- Pasta with pesto and peas

Friday- Grilled salmon sandwiches

Desserts- I (Christian actually) usually make 2-3 desserts a week. On Sunday he made chocolate eclairs, on Monday he made snicker-doodles  and yesterday he made pumpkin pie. No matter how much I slave over on the stove top Christian had this family wrapped around his finger tips with his baking skills.

ps. I am so glad we are finally getting our cooking groove back on. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and quesadillas were grossing me out.

Indoor Pulled Pork

Hello blog. It's been such a long long time. My life has gone from crazy to crazy-chaos. In the last couple of months I went from feeding 3 people to now feeding 6 people with complicated eating habits.

My mom works at a factory from 6:00am-2:30pm. She takes her own lunch every day, so I have to keep her in mind when I cook. I have to keep my picky 3 year old in mind and my 17 year old sister who is skinny beyond belief and desperately needs some fat on her bones, in mind. I think of myself because I could literally have 10 meals a day and still be hungry. I blame it on nursing. My husband is easy, but he's just not around that much these days to help.

Cooking has gone from fun to work. blagh. Oh well, it is what it is and no matter what we gotta eat whether I like to cook these days or not.

My friend Mariko showed me how to make indoor pulled pork this and I love how a) easy it is and b) how many people it can feed and c) how many different things you can do with it.

My favorite was sandwiches.

• 4lbs pork butt
• liquid smoke
• rock salt
• Hawaiian sweet bread
• cream cheese

1. Rub down the pork with liquid smoke and rock salt and place in a crockpot on low for 8 hours, or until the pork pulls apart with a fork.
2. Spread cream cheese on Hawaiian sweet bread and place some pork inside. I buy Hawaiian sweet bread at Costco in California. I'm not sure if you can find it in other states.
3. Serve warm.

Enjoy

Macadamia Nut Chicken

• 8 fillets of 4 ounce chicken breasts or thighs
• 2 cups of Teryaki sauce
  
• 1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 2 cups of panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs

1. Marinade chicken in Teryaki sauce in a large mixing bowl for at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350*
3. Warm up oil in a frying pan.
   
4. Whisk the eggs with the milk in a small bowl.
5. Mix the panko and the chopped macademia nuts in a shallow plate.
6. Place the flour on another  plate.
7. Coat the chicken in flour then dip it in the milk and egg mixture and then put into the panko mixture.
8. Deep fry each side for approximately 1 minute then place in the preheated oven for an additional 15 minutes so the inside will cook through.

I ate macadamia nut chicken for the first time in Hawaii. It was New Years eve 2008 and my friend Mariko made an elaborate dinner. I've been seriously craving this chicken ever since that first dinner but am way too cheap to buy macadamia nuts in California. This past vacation I brought some back from Hawaii. This recipe is a variation of her recipe. I didn't want to make my own marinade so I took the easy route of using the Teryaki that I already had. If Teryaki isn't your favorite you can experiment with all sorts of different marinades. The nutty flavor of the chopped macadamia with panko is what makes this chicken recipe so delicious. If deep frying freaks you out you can just bake it on a large pan with a bit of olive oil on the bottom and rotate after 10 minutes so both sides get crispy.

Enjoy!

Lamb Stew with Green Onions

I've been loving lamb specially lamb stews because they're easy to make and they make my entire house smell good.

I am chronically anemic. It's a real drag and I've been taking iron supplements for years now.  I eat meat but for some reason my body just doesn't absorb all the iron that I need. Any suggestion?

Anyway, I've been trying to eat healthier meats and I think lamb has become my new favorite. The thing about lamb is that they (the huge-o food indurty folks) haven't figured out a way to feed lamb grains and plump them up in inhumane ways so for now all lambs are grass fed. I get my lamb at Costco because it's inexpensive, compared to other places, and the quality is just as good.

If you haven't tried lamb yet or if you're unsure how to cook it I suggest making this stew because all you need to do is throw everything in the crock-pot and it's easy to make variations to this recipe adding ingredients that you like. I made this a couple nights ago after taking care of 2 kids solo all day. So I just added 2 of everything that I had in my fridge. This is what happens when I'm exhausted and can't think complicated things like measurements beyond 2. This is also when I bust out my crock-pot.

Lamb Stew with Green Onions

• 2lbs lamb chopped into cubes
  
• 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 2 large potatoes
• 2 large green onions
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1 large onion chopped
  
• seasonings (use what you like. I used salt, pepper, and ground sumac)

throw everything in the crock-pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Stir after 3 hours just to get some of the juices from the bottom to the top. Serve warm with rice.

Enjoy!