Rainy Day Recipe

Turkey Pumpkin Lentil Chili (Serves 4-6)

(Yes, I know we are looking for meals for two on this blog...however, this was terrific, we each had two bowls at dinner since we didn't do bread or sides, and that left a bowl each for lunch today)

1 lb ground turkey meat thawed

2tbs dried onions

1tbs garlic powder

2tbs Cajun seasoning blend

2tbs dried crushed sage

2 cans petite diced tomatoes (one with green chilies)

1 can pumpkin puree

1.5 cups beef broth

1 tomato can of water

1 cup brown or yellow lentils

1/3 bag frozen veggies (optional)

In a large stock pot over medium heat, brown the turkey with the onions and the garlic. Once browned, add the broth, tomatoes, pumpkin, water, lentils, veggies, and other seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 1 hour.

So I fell off the map...

Sorry about that! Life has been...special.

Anyways, I made it through big cooking for Thanksgiving (having roasted a duck for the first time), and now I am moving back into the "Just the Two of Us" cooking vibe. Last's night's meal for the win? Beef and Veggie Garlic Sesame Stir fry. I didn't think to take a picture at the time, but I promise I will when I make this again.

1/2 lb flank steak, sliced thin
3 tbs cooking oil (I used two of vegetable and one of garlic infused)
1 bag stir-fry veggies of your choice
2 tbs hoisin sauce
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs minced garlic
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Over medium high eat, add steak and quick fry until browned. In a separate bowl, mix the hoisin and soy sauces, the sesame oil, garlic, sesame seeds, and ginger. Add to the beef and toss well. Add the bag of stirfry vegetables, and continue cooking over medium heat until they are warm and infused with the sauce. Serve alone or over rice.

Playing with Left-Overs...and Dessert

First off, I apologize for my absence this past week. First week is classes tends to be a busy time in the jet setting world of academic advising, as students come to us about changing majors, changing schedules, or just generally freaking out about the transition back to school. So there was cooking in our house, but it wasn't exciting cooking, and not something I figured anyone would want to know about.

Sunday, however, I had some friends over for dinner, and I cooked German food. I had a package mix for Sauerbraten (German Pot Roast) gravy. Unfortunately, I have no idea what brand it was. So I made this roast and the gravy (with mushrooms) and in a second pot, a mix of potatoes, yellow onion, and carrots boiled in butter water with herbs. Well, my guests demolished the meat and the sausage sampler and most of the veggies that made it to the table, but we had a lot left in the pan. And Gravy. Hmmm.... So I turned the heat up to mid-low, and added the gravy and then let the pan simmer for a while. The results? Tasty tasty beefy vegetable soup for lunch today. There was just enough for two of us.

The lesson here isn't the soup itself, but to take a look at what you have left over and see if it can be re purposed in someway. Having the leftovers be different from the meal can make all the difference in wanting to eat them the next day. And sure, left over lasagna may be hard to re purpose, but other things aren't. Left over spaghetti in Sauce? Layer it on top some sauteed Italian vegetables in a cooking spray coated pie pan, and then top with cheese and bake until you have a cheese crust. Ta-Da- Spaghetti Pie! Remember, half the battle in the kitchen can be won with a little creativity.

And now, because I like to leave you with a tasty recipe, here is a quick and easy dessert.

8 shortbread cookies crushed
10 ripe strawberries, hulled and cut up
3 tbs sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tsp lemon extract or the zest of one lemon

In a large bowl, toss the strawberries with 2 tbs of the sugar. Let them set out for 20-30 minutes so the sugar can draw the juice out and make them good and goey. In two large wine goblets, split 1/2 of the cookie crumbs into two equal portions. Add a layer of strawberries. Repeat with the other 1/2 of the cookies and the other half of the strawberries. In a bowl, use and electric mixer to whip the cream with the rest of the sugar and the lemon extract or zest. Top the goblets with the whipped cream. Enjoy.

Slow Cookers and a great set it and forget it meat dish...

Slow Cookers (AKA- The Crock Pot) are one of my very favorite things on earth. So much so, my husband and I own five of them (three smalls 1.5 quart sized, a 3 quart size, and a 5 quart sized). Slow cookers let you make things ahead and keep them at a food-safe temperature for later service. Small crocks are also great for doing dips for parties and gatherings. Crocks aren't expensive and can be used for a ton of different dishes. Again, it's one of those things I don't mind taking room in my kitchen.

One of my favorite things to do in a crock pot is pulled pork. The following recipe came about entirely by accident. I was in need of something I could set to cook while I ran errands all day. Looking in the fridge and the pantry, I tried a little experiment and came up with the following. It's a delicious twist on traditional pull pork, and is great over some boil-in-bag rice with a side of steam veggies.

Thai Peanut Pulled Pork

1 lb of pork tenderloin roast
1/2 bottle of House of Tsang Peanut Pandang Sauce
2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter
Water to cover

Poke the pork roast all over with a fork. Place it fat-side down in a crock pot (3 or 5 qt). Pour 1/2 bottle of House of Tsang Peanut Pandang sauce (I reserve the other half for the veggies). Add two heaping teaspoons of peanut butter and enough water to barely cover the pork. Give it a stir. Set the crock pot to low and let cook 6-8 hours. The pork should pull apart easily with a fork. If you want to, a 1/4 of chopped peanuts makes a nice garnish on top of the pork and gives it a nice crunch.

Bon appetite!

Thoughts on Gadgetry, A Fun Sizing Trick, and Make Ahead Enchiladas...

I have a confession to make. I am a little addicted to kitchen gadgets. Okay, a lot addicted. I actually own an apron that says "The Chef Who Dies with the Most Gadgets Wins!". That being said, I have also come to realize that one gadget that can do six things is frequently better than six gadgets that do one thing each (or all the same thing). However, there are four or five gadgets that I love, and which make cooking so much less of a chore.

* Good knives. Really, these will make all the difference. Jobs on the kitchen that used to take me forever (slicing meat, chopping hard vegetables), go so much quicker with a good set of knives. They don't have to be the $1000 block. You can usually get a good set of Hinkles on sale at Macy's a couple of times a year.

* An apple corer. Need to rough-chop onions? This will do it. And core apples. It makes work so much faster.

* A good grater. I like one that will do a fine grate up to a large grate. This doesn't mean you can pry my microplane away from me for the small jobs.

* Pyrex measuring cups- Clear measurements, microwavable, dishwasher safe. What is not to love.

* Silicone Spatulas. You can stir, scrape, pour, and leave sitting in a hot pan. They don't melt. Either on the stove or in the dishwasher.


While we are on helpful tricks and tips, the next time you are searching for recipes online, check to see if they have a serving adjuster. These handy tools let you size recipes up or down, depending on how many you want to serve. Just watch cooking times, because those won't change, but it will probably take less time to roast a 1 lb pork roast as opposed to a 4 lb one.


Finally, here's a recipe that makes for a good make-ahead meal. Chicken Verde Enchilada Casserole

This recipe is based on one from Old El Paso, with some alterations.

1 Small can pre-cooked chicken, drained OR 1 large chicken breast, boiled, drained and shredded
4 oz Cream Cheese
1 Can Green (Verde) Enchilada Sauce
1 small can green chilies
1 diced roma tomato
2 diced green onions
4 burrito sized flour tortillas
1 cup shredded fiesta blend cheese.

Spray a load pan with non-stick cooking spray or cooking oil. In a boil, mix together the chicken, cream cheese, chilies, tomato, and green onion until well mixed. Put 1/4 of this mixture down the center of one of the tortillas, roll it up, and place in the bottom of the loaf pan. Repeat with a second tortilla. Cover these two with 1/2 the can of Enchilada sauce and 1/2 the shredded cheese. Now, repeat with the other two tortillas, layering them on top of the first two. Finish with the other half of the sauce and cheese. If cooking right away, bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

If freezing, cover with plastic wrap and tin foil, or place in a large freezer bag. Freeze until ready to use. Take out of the freezer, and bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and golden. Stick a knife into the middle, and check internal temperature (or use a kitchen thermometer).

This dish is great with beans and rice, or, if you don't care for beans, try "Fiesta Corn" by DelMonte or "MexiCorn" by Green Giant. Enjoy!

In Which our Heroine....

Introduces herself, tells you what this blog is and isn't, and starts off with a quick recipe to give you a taste of what we are going for here....

So who am I? I am a 28 year old, recently married Academic Advisor, living in Northwest Arkansas. By day I work to help undergraduates get through their degrees and into their professional program. By night and on the weekends, I can frequently be found in the kitchen. I grew up in a restaurant family, and I love food (the hours of that life can kill you, though). I do a lot of different things with food, including researching food history, cooking for family, friends, neighbors, and now, my husband. As a notorious over-cooker (much to the delight of the undergrad who lived downstairs from me last year), I have been working to pair down serving sizes and limit my left overs. Which brings us to...

The point of this blog. While I am comfortable with food and cooking, a lot of people aren't anymore (I blame fast food and the death of home-ec as a required course). So once I have a recipe down to the point when it is good for two people (either as a single meal, or with leftovers for lunch the next day), I will pass it along. I'll also give tips on kitchen gadgets I find handy and what is probably superfulous on a registry, and point you to sites that help you meal plan.

So, putting my money where my mouth is, let's talk Quiche! Quiche is one of those dishes that seems to mystify people, when it's really pretty easy. A standard quiche will feed 6-8 people, depending on how big you slice it, so what you want to do is pair down. Here is my simple quiche for two recipe.

1 package of store bought tart pie shells (look in your grocer's freezer- these come in packs of 6-8)
2 eggs for every two tart shells
1/2 cup filling for every two tart shells (filling is your choice of cheese, meats or veggies...common combos are cheddar and ham for quiche Lorraine or cheddar and broccoli, but be adventurous)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Freeze any shells you don't plan to use right now in a zip-top freezer bag. In a bowl, beat your eggs together with your toppings. Consider adding a little salt and pepper, and possibly some parsley or even Italian seasoning for flavor. Pour the mixture in equal parts into your tart shells. Place the shells on a cookie sheet, and put into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the shells are golden brown and the top doesn't jiggle. Check with a tooth-pick, which should come out mostly clean. If the crust is browning too quickly, consider putting a ring of tinfoil around it.

Quiche is great served with either a soup or a simple green salad. It's also great for breakfast.

So there you have it. Recipe numero-uno. More to come shortly.