Food 411

The church I attend, Springdale Community Church, which I will unashamedly plug @ www.springdalechurch.com, put on an event called Food 411 last Thursday. With men not allowed; this is a night for women to get out and enjoy a few hours with other women, watching some live food demos and even more importantly tasting the demoed food. Our evening was themed around Fall Finger Foods. We demonstrated food that you can serve at your fall gatherings or even upcoming Halloween parties. My friend Michelle hosted the event and kept the mood hilarious, yet enlightening. First up was my friend Sheila demonstrating the madness behind her Spiced Apple Cake (modified from William Sinoma) and topped it with a ridiculously delicious Caramel Frosting (modified from our good friend Paula Deen). Next my friend Bonnie made a yummy Pumpkin Spice Latte (www.crockpot365.blogspot.com) and some of her addicting Caramel Corn! Then it was my turn; I demoed a Pumpkin Cheese Ball and Taco Scoops. This was so much fun!
It was just a wonderful evening getting to know, and even meeting for the first time different women who came together to enjoy each other and of course food!

Pumpkin Cheese Ball*


Yield: 16 servings
Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) blocks extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (Remember it's cheaper ounce per ounce to shred it yourself)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) container chive-and-onion cream cheese
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 broccoli stalk**
1 sprig of parsley
Red and green apple wedges
Preparation
Combine Cheddar cheese and next 4 ingredients in a bowl until blended. Cover and chill 4 hours or until mixture is firm enough to be shaped.

Shape mixture into a ball to resemble a pumpkin. Smooth entire outer surface with a frosting spatula or table knife. Make vertical grooves in ball, if desired, using fingertips.

Cut florets from broccoli stalk, and reserve for another use. Cut stalk to resemble a pumpkin stem, and press into top of cheese ball. Serve cheese ball with apple wedges.

Note: To make ahead, wrap cheese ball in plastic wrap without stalk, and store in refrigerator up to 2 days. Attach stalk before serving.

*modified from Southern Living @ www.southernliving.com
**I decided to use a braided pretzel stick as a stem instead; also you can use the remaining pretzel sticks on the platter with the apples, which is a wise use of your pennies. Add a sprig of parsley for added cuteness factor.

Taco Scoops
Ingredients:
1 bag of Fritos Scoops
Fillers for Scoops (here are my two variations):

Variation #1 (Sheila's Idea)
1 lb ground beef, cooked and seasoned with 1 pack of low sodium taco seasoning or your own variation of seasoning-I tend to just go to my pantry and add 1 tbsp of Cumin, a pinch of Cayenne Peeper, a little salt and pepper
1 jar of pickled jalapenos
1 block of cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with wax paper. Spread out Scoops to cover the baking sheet facing up. Fill each scoop with seasoned ground beef, top with cheese and place one jalapeno on top. Bake until cheese it melted; 5-8 minutes.

Variation #2
3-4 cans of seasoned black beans-I cook these in my iron skillet over medium heat. Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil, chopped garlic, the beans, ground cumin, a pinch of Cayenne Pepper, sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Stir, bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Smash up the beans as they cook every so often as you stir occasionally. This makes the beans thicker and more flavorful in my opinion.
Feta Cheese
2 avocados
Cilantro

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover baking sheet with wax paper. Spread scoops to cover the baking sheet facing up. Fill each scoop with seasoned beans and cheese. Bake for 5-8 minutes. Take out of oven and let set for a few minutes. Top with a tiny piece of avocado and a sprig of cilantro.

Serve both variations with sour cream and salsa or pico-de-gallo. Mmmm Mmmm good! O, also you can substitute Fritos Scoops for Tostitos Scoops; I don't know if Frito Lay likes that idea though.
Let me know which variation you like better; think the women at Food 411 liked the black bean version best, but my hubby dug into the ground beef ones like they were going out of style. Tell me what you think!

Also let me know if you want any of the other recipes, actually trust me you do. I don't think Bonnie or Sheila would mind; I know they wouldn't! Have fun hosting your fall parties!

Killer Sale

This week Meijer is having a killer sale, in my opinion. Beans are $ 0.59 a can, green beans & sweet yellow corn are 4 for $1, and 10 for $10 canned tomatoes plus get the 11th item free! Pasta is the same deal, as well as some frozen veggies. My favorite Kashi cereal was even on sale for $2.75 a box. I got my pantry stocked; you should too. Just thought you should know!

Dinner that the hood interrupted

Even with the slight delay of plans, along with the saddening fact that guests had to be canceled due to my husband coming down with a cold, by golly I was not going to be held back from this visionary dinner I had imagined and already begun to create! So after my husbands temporary-ingenious invention to cheer-up Bella (that's what I named her; my oven that is), I was ready to cook with her help again whether she was in the mood to or not!
So here's the visionary menu:
Jenny Mini-Shepherd Pies
Autumn Waldorf Salad with Vidalia-Honey Vinaigrette**
Made from scratch Banana Pudding**

I can't take full credit for these Jenny Mini-Shepherd Pies, thank you Jenny (hence the honorary title of the dish), your idea and comment was enlightening. My husband and son thank you as well; I've never seen a meal disappear so quickly! Seriously, when they saw the dinner I had to tell them to calm down, stop hyperventilating, and wait till I at least set down with them.
As I've mentioned before, I bought 2 pounds of ground-turkey for $5 at Mejier. This was the second pound of ground turkey and it was put to good use let me tell ya.

Jenny Mini-Shepherd Pies
Ingredients:
Vegetable non-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup Panko/plain bread crumbs
1/3 cup finely, chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup roasted chopped tomato garlic-herb marinade*
2 cloves finely, chopped garlic
2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons of milk
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 pound of ground turkey (I use lean)
1/2 cup mild shredded cheddar (buy the block; shred it yourself ahead of time. It's cheaper ounce for ounce and tastes better)
Mashed potatoes

Directions:
*Prepare roasted chopped tomato garlic-herb marinade. This may seem annoying and you may be rolling your eyes just thinking about making your own marinade, instead of buying roasted tomatoes in a jar, but just trust me on this. This is cheaper in the long run because you can make a big batch and keep it in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. This is also delicious tossed in pasta, on a pizza, or simply on toasted bread. Make it ahead and save on prep time work, plus the longer the flavors mingle together the more your taste buds will dance happily around and chant, "thank you, thank you!" in a glorious chorus.

For this marinade you'll need:
1 large can of diced tomatoes (a staple in our household)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (also a staple)
1 tbsp garlic (again a staple; I just keep a jar of it in our fridge)
Fresh herbs, chopped-sage, basil, and thyme (yep, staple again, sitting on my window ceil in pots)
salt & pepper (obviously)
This is all you need to do:
Place oven on broil. Drain can of tomatoes and place on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on tomatoes and cover in salt and pepper. Broil for 8-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the oven, take out as soon you see a brown bits forming on top . Take out, let cool, and remove any chard skin with a sharp knife. Place in a jar or air-tight container with another drizzle of olive oil, garlic and handful of chopped herbs combined. Add more salt and pepper and another drizzle of olive oil. Cover and shake to combine. Place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Ok now to the meaty goodness of the recipe.....
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.

Grab a large bowl, stir together bread crumbs, tomato marinade, garlic, eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Add the turkey and stir gently. I use my hands, I know gross, but their clean and you just have better control on gently combining. Just try it, it's weirdly therapeutic to me. Make sure you don't overwork the meat.

Now it gets really exciting. Grab a handful of the mixture and place in one of the muffin tins. Help it to form the shape of the tin, until it reaches to almost the very top and gently place a thumbprint indention in the middle of each. Repeat this until all or most of the muffin tins are full. This recipe yields about 10-12 depending on how full you make each little meat loaf muffin/pie. Bake for about 45 minutes and keep a close eye on it the last 5 minutes or so. Internal temperature should be 165 degrees. While the meatloaf is cooking prepare your mashed potatoes. Let rest for about 5 minutes. Top with creamy mashed potatoes and sprinkle with cheese. Pop back in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is just melted.

Serve with Autumn salad-a mix of greens, dried cranberries, and chopped apple with Vidalia-Honey Vinaigrette and rolls. O good golly! You don't even know! And then to top it off with banana pudding for dessert. I didn't even know you could make vanilla pudding from scratch, with basically all staples you have in your pantry! It made my arm a little tired whisking, but it was worth it, plus burned a few calories before adding about a thousand. Made the dessert the night before to let the cookies soften, but after a couple of days make sure the pudding is completely eaten; it's just not as good but for one or two days. But O the bliss of the first two days.

This dinner, especially the Jenny Mini-Shepherd Pies has quickly made it to the #1 spot in the McDougal household. According to my husband it's his favorite meal he's EVER had. Now, he's biased; so let me know what you think.




**These were recipes from www.southernplate.com; check it out. It's part of my inspiration!

The Hood: Continued

The hood is still hanging there (see post below), my husband Matt, propped it up with just a wooden spoon and it held there throughout the night without so much as a budge. And I thought my invention was so much better, then in he comes with all his skills and gets it to stay. This just is not going to go over very well though, if it is not fixed soon.
Here's the whole thing, the hood was screwed in by two of the oldest screws I've ever seen in my life on the right hand side. They are incredibly rusty and bent up. Then on the left hand side it was held up with three of the other oldest screws I've ever seen. Plus it was screwed into the particle board on the edge of the cabinet, instead of directly into the actual wood of the cabinet, which just couldn't hold the weight of the metal hood. I'm not an expert in cabinet/hood installation, but I do know it just wasn't going to stay up there for the long haul, obviously. I don't know how it's stayed as long as it has.
The stove just looks so sad, don't you think? It's almost like she's going through a season of depression.
Anyways, telling you about this is sending me into a slight depression; so on another topic we did end up having the dinner I planned, and I can't wait to share it with you! As my son would say as he rubs his cute, little belly, "yummy in my tummy!"

The Hood

The hood above my stove fell off today! Not kidding! Pushed the button on the hood to start the fan and BOOM! The right side just fell. A complete mess. So I tried to fix it, the "pennyless" way of course, by first trying to nail it back up; nope that didn't work. Then, you'll be really proud of me for this invention; I took the longest wooden spoon I could find and my biggest bowl, turned the bowl upside down and the spoon on top of the bowl to prop up the hood. Voila! It's working! I don't know how long this is going to last I think.
So I leave the kitchen because it is giving me a complete panic attack, mainly due to the fact that we are having guests over tonight for this big dinner that I have been joyfully anticipating (using the second pound of the ground turkey, I might add-see post below).
I go to the bedroom and start to make my bed, Martha Stewart style, and then from the kitchen I hear CRASH! Yep, you guessed it, the entire hood has now fallen off. This is awesome.
I'll keep you posted on this current "Pennyless Cook" adventure.

Meatloaf used 3 ways

This week Meijer is having a sale on ground turkey....buy 2 pounds for $5. Pretty stinkin' good deal if you ask me. So I took them up on their offer and scoured my pantry for what I could whip up. Then it came to me! Meatloaf! I hadn't made meatloaf in I don't know how long, and plus this is a healthier version because of the lean ground turkey.
Serve a salad on the side like we did and you've got a healthy, WAY inexpensive meal for you and your family.

Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes*
Ingredients:
-Vegetable cooking spray
-1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
-1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
-1/4 cup chopped garlic and herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
-2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
-2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
-2 tablespoons whole milk
-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
-1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
-1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
Directions:
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, if using, eggs, milk, feta, salt, and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat.

Carefully pack the meat mixture into the prepared pan and bake until the internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice. Put on a serving platter and serve.

This recipe is delicious, but I didn't have chopped garlic and herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes. So I added garlic to the meat and made up my own concoction of roasted tomatoes and sweet onion.

Roasted Tomatoes and Sweet Onion
Ingredients:
-1 fresh garden tomato finely chopped
-1/4 cup of sweet onion finely chopped
-A drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-1 pinch of sea salt
-fresh ground black pepper
Directions:
Turn oven on to broil. Spread out the onion and tomato on a baking sheet. Drizzle on olive oil; add salt and pepper. Broil for about 7 minutes or until a the vegetables get a bit browned. Remove from oven and take off any browned skin on the vegetables

I also didn't have plain bread crumbs, so I used Panko bread crumbs from my pantry instead. And I didn't have feta cheese on hand so I left that out, but I know adding the cheese would make it even yummier.

This meatloaf was fresh, simple and delicious without the exact ingredients it called for, so basically this is my take. Don't be afraid to try out different recipes even if you don't have the exact ingredients; you could miss out on a fun, creative spark that may come about as you make a meal, and you never know, yours may turn out even better then the original!

The other great thing about this particular meatloaf is it made a an amazing sandwich for lunch today on whole grain bread with mayonnaise, and even better then that is I already have a completely different dinner made for tonight using the leftover meatloaf!

Meatloaf to Spaghetti
-1/4 or 1/2 of leftover meatloaf, finely chopped (recipe above)
-1 large can of tomato puree
-1/4 cup sweet onion, finely diced
-Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
-1 tbsp chopped garlic
-1 tsp of fresh sage, chopped
-1 sprig of fresh thyme
-1 tbsp of fresh basil, chopped
-1 bay leaf
-1 pinch of red pepper flakes
-sea salt
-fresh ground black pepper
-5 roasted tomatoes, diced (see recipe Roasted Tomatoes and Sweet Onion above-just leave off onion of course)
-1 pound of whole grain spaghetti, cooked
Directions:
On medium heat add olive oil so it covers the bottom of a large sauce pan. Add garlic and onion, saute till tender. Add can of tomato puree and leftover meatloaf that has been finely chopped. Simmer for 5 minutes and continue to stir; then add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better as the flavors will combine. Taste, add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve over spaghetti! Add some more more fresh herbs on top. Ciao!




*Recipe courtesy of www.foodtv.com Giada De Laurentiis

Chef Cooks 'Dream Omelet'

This is an incredible recipe and so inexpensive you won't believe it!