buttered up

My carnivore rarely hands out rave reviews of anything, including my dinner experiments. He doesn't put them down or spit them out, but he just dutifully cleans his plate and says thanks. What more could I ask for really? But, occasionally I know I have made something incredible. Now, he doesn't come out and exclaim how fantastic a dish is or anything like that. Instead he drops subtle hints. Like when I made this pasta dinner I knew I had a hit on my hands - he asked if there was enough leftover for the next day. He really knows how to butter me up. Speaking of butter - that may be the real reason he liked this dish so much. Let me explain...

To make these dishes (enough for dinner and leftovers) you will need the following:
1 stick of butter
3 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
2 tbsp of parsely
1 package of linguine or fettuccine
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 pint of grape tomatoes
1/2 cup of kalamata olives
2 organic chicken breasts
garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste
grated parmesan

Start by boiling your water and cook your pasta until al dente. In a small sauce pan melt the butter. Dice the garlic and add it to the butter. Next add in the juice of half of the lemon. Slice the rest of the lemon and set aside. Finally add in the parsley and simmer. Then get two skillets. Add enough olive oil in each to coat the bottom. Salt, pepper, and season the chicken breasts with garlic powder. Saute them in one skillet until the juices run clear and the outside is golden. In the other skillet cook the tomatoes and olives over medium heat until the pasta is ready. Once you drain the pasta, return it to the pot, pour in the butter sauce, and toss until it is coated. Add in lemon slices and toss again. In two bowls heap generous portions of pasta. Top one with a sliced chicken breast and the other with the olive/tomato mixture. Top with parmesan and a bit more parsley.

As with most recipes that call for a whole stick of butter (think anything by Paula Dean) it was delightful. The lemon actually lightened it up a bit. Just a bit. In any case, we both cleaned our plates - that night and the next one too!

cheat sheet

Recently the carnivore and I drove over two thousand miles with our four month old baby omnivore. Let's just say when we got home, we were all exhausted...and hungry. Tired of fast food, I desperately hoped we had something, anything in the house. The problem, as always when you come home from out of town, our fridge was a bit bare.

But waiting way in the back of the freezer was a sad little cheese pizza. Frozen and flat. Well, I thought it was better than nothing so I started preheating the oven.

And then it hit me - that little pizza could be jazzed up a bit. I still have some fresh basil growing in my herb garden out back. And there was one lone tomato still ripening on my counter. And then I remembered the kalamata olives in the door of the fridge. Suddenly I was getting excited about that cheap cheese pizza.

While it cooked, I diced and chopped my add-ons. Once it was ready I covered my half of the pizza with them. Doesn't it look amazing? And it was. It was certainly better than something from a drive though window one more time. In fact, it was as good as going to a gourmet pizza shop. But there was no big bill, no tip to leave, and practically no wait. I felt like I was cheating.

And while the carnivore happily ate his half plain, I think if I had some time and a rested brain I could have come up with some special topping for him too. Like cooking a couple extra pieces of bacon at breakfast and then breaking them into pieces over the pizza at lunch would be nice.

What topping would you / do you add to your basic bland pizza to make it better? Let me know below.

iCrisp

I don't know about your house, but at mine we are apple addicts. We have iPhones and iPods, in addition to our apple computer. If the carnivore could justify it we'd have an iPad too. Oh, and we like real apples too. Really, they can be just as addictive. This apple pear crisp is the latest recipe in my repertoire that kept us hooked for days.

To make this crisp you will need:
4 golden apples, peeled
3 ripe pears, peeled
1/2 cup of sugar
1 package of cinnamon spice instant oatmeal
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of all purpose flour
6 tblsp of butter, diced

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a deep glass baking dish. Dice the apples and pears. Toss them in the baking dish with the sugar. In a separate bowl mix together the oatmeal, brown sugar, flour, and nuts. Cover the fruit with the dry mix. Dot the dish with the diced butter. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes or until the crust browns a bit. Served a la mode with some plain vanilla ice cream while still piping hot. Yum!

Just so you know my family's apple addiction goes beyond me and the carnivore. When my mom, who also has her own litany of iProducts, stopped by the other day to see baby omnivore - even she could resist tasting this crisp. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

set it and forget it

So like many of you I have a slow cooker that takes up a lot of space in my cabinet, but rarely makes an appearance on my counter top. Sometimes I even forget it is in there. Don't get me wrong, I have used it. But, I will admit it has always been for things like Rotel dip or bar-b-que cocktail weenies. And yes, I know you can make everything from breakfast to dessert in it - I just haven't. Well, nevermore...

As I have mentioned before I do cook meat for the carnivore. He has made his dietary choices and I have made mine. So, the other night when I was craving my spectacular spinach patties (that he wouldn't touch), I crawled on my step ladder and got that slow cooker out of that top cabinet to make my meat eater this really easy roast.

To make three servings you will need:
A small beef roast, about 2lbs.
1 cup of veggie broth
1 package of dried onion soup
3 cloves or garlic, peeled
1 large stem of rosemary
1 tblsp of olive oil
salt & pepper

Start by dusting off your crock pot - seriously, rinse it off if its been in the cabinet for awhile. Plug it in and turn it on low. Add in the oil and the garlic. Salt and pepper the roast. Place the broth and onion soup in the pot. Stir until mixed. Add in the roast and use a spoon to coat it with some of the liquid. Finally, top if with the rosemary stem. Cover and let it cook at least six hours.

Can I even tell you how fantastic my whole house smelled? The carnivore was salivating when he hit the door. And when I removed the roast, sliced it and served it with a bit of the juices - he could barely wait to dig in. Bonus - all I had to do was set it and forget it. More time to mix up and make those spinach patties for me!

goodbye gratin

Let's face it. Many of us are past our prime. Or at least we feel that way some days. This is especially true for me on days when baby omnivore has kept me up all night. Unfortunately, many of my favorite vegetables are also about to be past their peak.

When this happens I make my goodbye gratin. I make this every year about this time. Its how I send off my favorite summer veggies in one fell swoop. While I can still get these guys year round - they just aren't the same. So, I like to make this dish to celebrate them one final time.

For this recipe which makes four servings you will need:
1 large zucchinni
1 large yellow squash
1 medium tomato
1/2 red onion
fresh herbs (I chose oregano this time.)
olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2 cup of seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Dice the veggies and place them in a bowl. Coat with the oil, herbs, salt and pepper. Place them in a greased glass baking dish. Cover the veggies with the bread crumbs and cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top gets golden and bubbly.

menu ideas:
Some nights, many nights in fact, the carnivore and I share the same side dishes, but we eat different entrees. It really isn't as complicated as it might seem. This night we both had grilled corn and boiled buttered potatoes. Then he has grilled chicken (which he cooks) and I can make my own main course - this fantastic gratin. If you have a carnivore who does eat these veggies it would make a great side dish.

going bananas

It never fails that when I buy bananas I always buy one too many. It sits there on my kitchen counter in the fruit bowl ripening more and more each day. From green to yellow and then it happens...the browning begins. Like rapid fire age spots, the banana cries out to be used. In case of said emergency in your house, let me recommend this quick fix fantastic breakfast treat.

Start with a good nutty wheat bread. Toast it til golden brown. Slather a generous amount of cream cheese. I like the whipped variety just because it spreads easier, but any kind will do. Slice your banana and add it on top. Usually I uses half a banana per slice of bread. Then drizzle with honey. Sticky, sweet morning yummy!

Now the carnivore doesn't do cream cheese or bananas he can see. So, if I were going to make a version of this for him I would mash the other half of a banana with 2 tblsp. of peanut butter (one of his favorite foods). I would put this on the toast, sprinkle with a bit of granola, and then swirl honey on top. Nutty, crunchy a.m. goodness!

Either way you can't go wrong. And I bet you have all the ingredients on hand already. Plus, that last banana will get used before it has to get tossed - which drives me bananas!

hawaii 5-0

I inherited many cookbooks from the carnivore when we got married. Most of them revolved around how to cook with canned food or how to use your microwave to make a meal. Needless to say, they went away in our first real yard sale. (Please note - others stayed. Many of those had great Italian recipes.) But, the other day I noticed one on the shelf that had clearly missed my inspection and had somehow escaped the great garage sale purge. It was the Four Ingredient Cookbook. The carnivore had dog-eared the pages, circled recipes, even starred some. Of course, even in his book four ingredients were too many if they involved veggies, so those had been scratched out on some recipes. Go figure.

Anyway, on one the marked pages I saw a recipe for Hawaiian Pork. Now, I don't know why everything with pineapple is automatically Hawaiian, but it is. But, the recipe was simple and easily adaptable for me too. I decided I would give it a try. I mean, the carnivore had clearly thought it sounded good...at some point.

I started by placing white rice in our rice maker. While that was going I preheated the oven to have up some fake chicken nuggets for my protein. I then prepped my two main dishes. For the carnivore I salted and peppered some pork chops and dredged them in flour. For me I diced two bell pepper - one yellow, one orange. I then heated two skillets with vegetable oil. I fried the pork chops about 4 minutes on each side (these were pretty thin) - just until the get a bit crispy on each side. I sauteed my peppers at the same time with one teaspoon of chili paste. I like things spicy. Then I opened two cans of pineapple rings. I diced one can and added them to my skillet with a bit of the juice from the can. I then took the other can and topped each pork cutlet with a slice. I poured the juice from the can in the pan, covered it, and let it cook on low heat for another five minutes. In the mean time I heated up some snap peas in a sauce pan and baked my nuggets in the oven. Once everything was ready (about fifteen minutes total) I plated the dishes and we dug in.

The pineapple was so sugary sweet from the heat and a nice compliment to the sticky rice. Plus, I got the carnivore to eat fruit without him noticing! So whether you go vegetarian or porky pig, this "Hawiian" dish is a sure fire hit with just a few ingredients.

the roots

One thing is for sure, I married a meat and potatoes man. I, too, love me some potatoes. Red, gold, white. They are all welcome on our dinner plate. The trick is coming up with different ways to fix them.

Nothing is more comforting in my book than slow roasted potatoes. Add in some other root veggies and fresh herbs and I am in heaven. This dish is simple to make and delicious to eat. Not to mention that it gets the carnivore eat carrots too! What more could you ask for really?

To make four generous servings gather:
3 medium new red potatoes
3 medium yukon gold potates
1 small yellow onion
4-5 peeled carrots
3 tblsp of olive oil
1/3 cup of vegetable broth
fresh herbs (I used thyme.)
salt & pepper

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Chop the potatoes and carrots into bite sized pieces, Peel and quarter the onion. Drizzle one tblsp of oil in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Add in the veggies. Cover with the rest of the oil, broth and seasonings. Toss until they are well coated. Put in the oven for 45 minutes.

Your house will smell amazing as they roast. Feel free to vary things up not only with the herbs, like trying rosemary instead of thyme, but also with the root veggies themselves. For example, sweet potatoes would be a yummy and vitamin rich addition.

series of tubes

Doesn't it seem like a million years ago when we didn't have the internet? Having a new baby has made me realize how much things have changed just in my lifetime. Cellphones, DVR, automated litter boxes...other than flying cars we are practically living like the Jetsons (and if you get that reference you are probably old enough to remember life without all of the other things I have mentioned).

It also seems like forever ago since I started cooking for the carnivore. I will admit at first we did a lot of eating out, but even then I would try to figure out something to make for special occasions. On our first Valentine's Day I made these cannelloni. And while they aren't as revolutionary as the internet, these series of tubes were pretty important in our lives. They are proof that we were going to be able to make it work at the dinner table.

For this recipe you will need:
1 package of cannelloni
16 oz of ricotta
1 egg
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan
assorted fresh Italian herbs
1/2 cup of cooked, chopped spinach
2 cups of mozzarella
1 jar of marinara sauce
salt and pepper

Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then boil the pasta til al dente (remember it will cook more in the oven). In a large bowl mix together all of the other ingredients except the red sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. I used fresh chopped basil and flat leaf parsley, but oregano would also be nice. Once the pasta is done drain it and set it aside to cool. Then lightly sauce a large baking dish. Fill up the tubes with the ricotta mixture with either a pastry bag or a long iced tea spoon. Line them up in the baking dish. Cover the tubes with sauce and the rest of the cheese. Bake covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 5 more minutes until the cheese bubbles.

Even after all these years we still love these cheesey cannelloni...and each other of course!