Multi-tasking

An unwatched pot always boils. And boils. As you play a game with the 5-year-old, build blocks with the 3-year-old, and explore instruments with the 8-month-old and utterly lose yourself on the hardwood floor of family togetherness.

Not that I'm claiming this. My husband did it. But I'm really glad he did because we had a great time.

So I'm signing off for the last time for quite awhile I think. I'm going to redirect my cooking blog energy toward my professional work. Since this blog occupies approximately 10 minutes of my time each day, I am gifting myself an extra hour of time each week to put toward my freelance business. I love late Christmas presents.

Anyway. It's somehow satisfying to conclude with a photo of an utterly scorched pot instead of some perfectly turned out cake that took 16 hours to make. After all, there were enough salvageable noodles in the pot to meet our needs, and the kids found the skin formed by the pasta boiling over fascinating for at least 2 minutes. There is good in all that.

Week 85—Simply Mexican

Mon – Pasta Puttanesca
Tues –  Chicken enchiladas with tomatillo salsa (Simply Mexican)
Weds – Hot ham and cheese with broccoli
Thurs – Chicken cranberry burgers and sweet potato fries
Fri – Pumpkin polenta (Simply Mexican) w/sausage and greens
Alts– Cuban rice; Goulash
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Got a new cookbook for Christmas that I'm looking forward to trying out this week.

Today I tossed a collection of Bon Appetit magazines my husband and I had since the days when we'd spend entire evenings cooking together. I kept a few that were heavily tagged with favorites. An era passed? For now, maybe. But it was nice to look back at some dishes that seemed really challenging at the time to discover that you have improved your cooking skills enough to know when a Bon Appetit/epicurious recipe has really gone off the deep end (e.g. "boil water in a copper-coated pan until the bubbles are the size of euros" = boil water).

Happy cooking.

10-minute dinner

Gotta share this recipe since I'm feeling slightly giddy that it's 8AM and dinner is nearly ready. It's the ideal recipe trifecta: quick prep, easy, good.


Au Jus French Dip
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1 can onion soup
1 can beef broth
1 can beer
3 to 4lb beef roast

Place all in crock pot on low heat for 8 hours. Slice up meat when done and serve on hoagie buns with juice on the side.

Heart Stopper

I'm making the Pasta Carbonara recipe from this week's menu plan, realizing that I didn't read it completely. 6 slices of bacon, USE THE DRIPPINGS in the sauce (all of them), 1/2 c butter, etc. This is going to provide a coronary challenge for sure. Will not be making it again for the sake of our arteries, but I bet it's going to be a tasty dinner.

Week 84--Carbs

Mon – Easy lasagna
Tues –  Au Jus French Dip (Hy-Vee 75th Anniv. Cookbook)
Weds – BBQ chicken
Thurs – Pistachio-Crusted Fish Fillets (Taste of Home)
Fri – Pasta Carbonara (Taste of Home)
Alts– Cuban rice
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9:10PM and I'm running to the store. Will see if I can "shop the list" to get home in less than my usual 1.25 hrs. I get to the grocery store and I seem to zone out looking at all the products. Not exactly at peak efficiency this time of day. Had a great weekend with semi-unexpected visitors from Iowa, Brazil, and Chile. Fun to see people, even though we nearly lost them at times in our house full (and I mean FULL) of half-disassembled Christmas decorations and still-new toys. Happy cooking.