On cold winter days I crave comfort – a warm fire, a cozy blanket, a cup of coffee, and simple comfort foods. In my house one of those comfort foods is spaghetti and meatballs.
When I make my spaghetti and meatballs I love convenience, but I also like homemade, so I have come up with a combination of convenience and homemade. I would love to boil my tomatoes for my sauce, but in reality that isn’t going to happen. I hope those of you who want easy, but with a touch of homemade love this as much as we do.
Spaghetti Sauce
I recommend that you gather all of your ingredients before you begin cooking. It is always frustrating when you are in the middle of something and you have to go scrounge up another ingredients.
2 cans Diced Tomatoes with Italian seasoning
1 can Tomato Paste
1 can Tomato Sauce
1 clove garlic
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/4 c. Marsala or White wine (I typically use cooking wine, as I do not keep wine in stock, but when I do have wine, I use it.)
2 Tbl. sugar
1.) Blend diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, garlic, basil and oregano in a blender until smooth.
2.) Add in wine.
3.) Put mixture in a crock pot and simmer for an hour.
4.) Add in sugar.
5.) Simmer until you need it.
This spaghetti sauce could be made in a sauce pan on the stove. You want to simmer it for at least 30 minutes to culminate the flavors. I like to simmer it longer so I can relish the smells that permeate my kitchen and house.
Mozzarella Meatballs
2 lbs ground beef
1 pkg (6 oz.) stuffing mix for chicken
1 1/4 c. beef broth
2 eggs
1 Tbl. minced garlic
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare 2 baking sheets with foil and cooking spray.
2.) Mix ground beef, stuffing, broth, eggs, and garlic well. (I find that using my hands is the best way to get the mixture well mixed. Make sure you wash your hands well before and after mixing the meat.)
3.) Fold in the mozzarella cheese.
4.) Form meat mixture into balls that use about 1/4 c. of mixture per meatball. Feel free to make your meatballs smaller or larger.
5.) Place your meatballs on the baking sheets and bake for about 15 minutes
Mix the cooked meatballs and the spaghetti sauce together and serve over cooked pasta. This dinner will make your house smell good. Typically we have left over meatballs that I freeze for a later use. The meatballs and spaghetti are great on a hoagie topped with mozzarella cheese and broiled, for a scrumptious meatball sub.
As I made my spaghetti and meatballs last time I began to wonder about its origination. In college my roommate was Italian, and I remember that her classic take on spaghetti did not include meatballs or a meat sauce. And very recently, my son, a Food Network addict informed me that meat sauce and meatballs were not really from Italy, but originated here. After I did some research I found that his account was pretty accurate. I also found some neat things about pasta and tomato sauce. The history of food is really cool.
With the new year, many people are reflecting on things of the past. It is interesting to see what is no longer around. It is also fun to see the things that came into existence and have become obsolete in my lifetime. No, I am not old, just born before the 80’s. As I have reflected on these things I wonder how many of these things my 20 month old may never know about. In fact, some of these things my 11-year-old thinks are only myths.
** I will not discuss fashion items that are obsolete at the moment, because next week they may reappear. **
1.) Home phones – With wireless technology, more and more families are tossing their home phone service out the window.
2.) Phones with cords – If you still have a phone, I bet it is cordless. I don’t think corded phones have been in much use since the late 90’s. I believe we left that ship behind by ’98. For some reason, I just couldn’t let go sooner.
3.) VHS Tapes – I know when my son was little we had Barney, The Wiggles, Teletubbies, etc… on VHS, but then again we still had a VCR. Now, I barely hang on to DVDs because I can stream most movies we want to watch.
4.) Newspapers – With electronic media, newspapers are really floundering. A lot of individuals now read their magazines and newspapers on their computers, Ipads, phones, Kindles, etc… I recently acquired a Kindle, and would love to have all of my magazine subscriptions digital. The only thing that I wouldn’t mind keeping in traditional form are my cookbooks, which coincidentally take up an entire bookshelf.
5.) Postal Mail – Only a handful of people still write letters. I think my 11-year-old has only written a handful of letters. However, he is proficient with email, and can easily send cards, letter, etc… over the internet. And, with the age of the internet, you don’t even have to mail payments out, now you can schedule them electronically. Maybe that is the reason stamps keep going up?
6.) A life without Starbucks and cell phones – This might date me, but I remember not having a cell phone. However, now I can’t even leave my house without mine, and my heart starts to race if I misplace it. I think it amusing that my 20 month old walks around with a play cellphone attached to her ear. It also makes me aware that maybe I walk around with my cell phone attached to my ear way too much.
And as for Starbucks … my son thought that was my beverage of choice for the first five years of his life. He has never known life without Starbucks, and I am pretty sure my daughter won’t either. As a kid we had drive-thru restaurants, but not drive thru coffee shops.
7.) Drinking Tap Water – I think it has been about 10 years or more since I have drank water out of my tap. I must have it filtered. Back when I was my kids age filtering wasn’t a word, but then neither was the internet, CDs, terabytes, gigabytes, etc…
8.) Encyclopedias – When is the last time you picked up one of those enormous books? I don’t think I have touched one in years, and when my son has to do a report, we quickly turn to the internet. I’m not sure he would really know how to use an encyclopedia and if it is even necessary for him to learn how.
8.) Road Maps – The last time I saw a road map was actually just last month, and a cousin that lives in rural Oklahoma gave us one, so we could find another place in rural Oklahoma. They were afraid our GPS would not get us where we needed to go. So, I say that road maps are on their way out, unless you live in rural America. Since I am a suburban mom with GPS I seriously doubt my daughter will know what a road map is.
9.) Gasoline under $3.00 per gallon – As of today the gas prices in Texas are still under $3.00, but that is quickly on the rise, and as much as I hate to admit it I don’t think we will see it under $3.00 ever again.
10.) Life without the Internet – I have not had the internet all of my life, but it sure feels like it. I do not know what I would do without my internet today. I do know I wouldn’t be writing a blog. Nowadays we use the internet for research, to find addresses, to find jobs, to attend school, to watch movies, to make phone calls, to read books, to pay bills, etc…
11.) Camera’s with Film – I think most everyone I know has a digital camera, but I bet they don’t all have a 35mm cameras. I think I might have one hidden somewhere in my house, but I don’t know where that is. Maybe as I continue with Project Declutter 365, I will find it. I think using a camera that takes film is an art, and a lot more difficult than digital. I know that my pictures I captured on film were not half as good as my digital pictures.
12.) Televisions without remotes – I remember a time when you if wanted to change the t.v. channel you actually had to get up and change it. Now, we are completely lost if we lose the remote. In fact, with the way t.v.s are made today we don’t even have the manual channel changing option. I don’t know about you, but my family has a good 3 remotes necessary when operating our t.v. (yes, we do know that we could get one intelligent remote, but what fun would that be?)
13.) Walkman –With the emergence of mp3 players and smart phones, Walkman have gone by the wayside. The first Walkman made was simply a radio, then they came out with the radio/cassette combo., and then they graduated to the CD Walkman, now we ask – What is a Walkman?
14.) Wires – With everything going wireless, we won’t see as many wires coming out of our electronics. We have wireless phones, wireless computers, wireless printers, wireless headsets, etc…
15.) Life without a Phoenix Seamless Drum Enclosure – This one was a throw out by my husband and you are probably thinking “What In The World!!!” Well, our little girl will never know what life is without one of these – it is her Daddy’s creation. A complete enclosure for drums. You will usually find these in churches with live praise and worship.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this list as much as my family and I had coming up with it. Somethings were really a no brainer, but others took some brainstorming. We honestly could have come up with a lot more, but I really needed to get this posted. Below are a few more we thought of.
Yellow Pages and White Pages
Pagers
Rabbit Ears (antenna)
Typewriters
Dot Matrix printer
Michael Jackson (he will always be the King of Pop)
Black and White TV, or Black and White Movies
Space Shuttle Missions
I would really love your input on this list, what things do you think might be on their way out or already are? Just post to my comments.
* Note – If you have followed my other blog Living Beyond, this post will look familiar. I stole it from there. I thought it was relevant for the New Year. I hope you can relate.*
Okay, answer honestly. How many of you have thought about doing something but decided against it because it was too much trouble, too difficult, or simply not in your comfort zone?
I know for me that I have done this a lot in my life. I have always been confident when I am in my zone – my comfort zone that is. I love comfort – my house, my friends, my family, my stores, my restaurants, my streets – I do not deviate from what I know, and because of this I am quite familiar with my house, my friends, my family, my stores, my restaurants, my streets and I am not so familiar with the unknown. I do not like to venture into new territory by myself, and sometimes I don’t even want to do it with someone else. But, that is all about to change.
I remember fondly a time when God challenged me. It was when my son was about three years old and God said, “Teach.” “Ha!” was my response. “Teach? Uh-uh. No way!” In my eyes I was not reasonably qualified, nor did I have the desire to teach. After all my background was in business and writing. However, God had other ideas for me.
In January 2004 I reluctantly applied for a teaching position in a small private school, all the while asking God if He knew what He was doing. Amazingly, I got the position of a 4th grade teacher. All I can say six years later, is that God knew exactly what He was doing. Was I terrified of those 9 and 10 year-olds? Yes! I was worried that I just might ruin them for life, or they might ruin me, but that didn’t happen. I found that I loved teaching and it was by far the best job I had to date. I blossomed in so many ways while I was a teacher at that small school.
That experience was a fine example of following God’s challenges, but that doesn’t mean I still run headlong into them. I struggle when He presents a new challenge for me to embrace, I question Him, I stonewall Him, and eventually I give into Him. After all, He does know what is best for me.
I realized that my fear of the unknown is just me letting Satan have his way with me, and God has called me to greater things. Every time I have reluctantly stepped out of my own personal space God has been my comforter and has never led me into harms way. However, I have been evaluating my comfort zone and have realized that Satan has had his thumb on me and I have not blossomed as God has intended. So, to Satan I say “Unhand me, you vile creature! I am a follower of a mighty God who wants great things for me. So Back Off!” With that said I can’t wait to see all of the magnificent things coming my way.
So, I am off to write more blogs and follow God’s latest challenge to me. Thank you for coming along on this adventure.
I absolutely love the green leafy herb called cilantro!
If my husband had his way, he would put it in everything. It is definitely one of those items that is a staple in my refrigerator. It would be even better if I would grow my own, but I don’t. In fact, I don’t grow anything.
As the holidays have come to an end, so has our incessant eating. No more 12 Days of Christmas goodies, no more 7-layer dip, No More Junk!!! Now on to Operation Lose Baby Weight!! And, that goes for my husband as well. I believe when I got pregnant with our Little Miss, he had some sympathy weight gain. I am going to try hard over the next month or so to bring you some wholesome, healthy foods. The first one covers my love of cilantro – I hope you enjoy it.
Cilantro Pesto Chicken
2 Tbl. pine nuts
1 Tbl. minced garlic, approx. 2 medium cloves
1 1/2 c. cilantro, leaves and stems
1/2 c. flat leaf parsley, Italian parsley
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. pepper, fresh ground is the best
1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 lbs chicken breasts
1.) In a food processor or blender, chop pine nuts, then add in garlic.(You will notice I use a blender because I have one of those heavy-duty 6 blade blenders, which is more efficient than my food processor.)
2.) Add cilantro, salt, pepper and parsley to the processor and blend until noticeably chopped up. You will need to scrape the sides a few times between blending, to get the leaves off of the side of the bowl.
3.) As the processor is going, slowly add in your olive oil, until it is well mixed.
4.) For easy clean up, place your chicken in a gallon size bag and add in the cilantro pesto. Move the chicken around in the bag to coat. Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.
No, I didn’t use the bag, I didn’t think it was photogenic.
5.) Grill chicken over direct heat for about 3 to 4 minutes per side. You want the chicken to be firm to the touch and the juices to be clear.
Cilantro Rice
2 c. water
1 Tbl. butter
1 c. long grain white rice
1/2 c. cilantro
2 Tbl. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1.) Combine water and butter in a medium saucepan over medium-hi heat, bring to a boil.
2.) Add in rice, cover the pan, reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender and the water is absorbed. Stir the rice periodically to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
3.) After the rice is cooked remove it from the heat and let it stand for a few minutes, then fluff it with a fork.
4.) Add in the cilantro, lime juice and salt, mix well. Serve with the Cilantro Pesto Chicken.
Zesty Refried Beans
For a completely convenience-food side dish, this one works well.
1 can fat-free refried beans
1/2 c. salsa, or chipotle enchilada sauce
1/2 c. shredded cheese, I use whatever cheese I have handy
1.) Place refried beans in a microwaveable bowl, mix them up so they are not can shaped.
2.) Add in the salsa or enchilada sauce, mix well.
3.) Top with shredded cheese.
4.) Microwave until the beans and warmed and the cheese is melted.
This particular side dish is so easy. We have this with many of our Tex-Mex dishes.
I hope you guys enjoy your All About Cilantro Dinner. Eventually I will post about my Chimichurri Flank Steak – more cilantro! Yummm!
This post is linked up at the following sites. I hope you enjoy browsing these sites as much as I do.
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
So … I really thought I would not do a New Year’s Resolution list, but then I thought better of it. After all how in the world am I supposed to remember what my resolutions are if I don’t list them, and what better place than here? I mean, I can’t lose the list, it will be forever linked to my blog.
Now, I will say that it will not be a complete list, because I will continue to add things to the list. But, I am hoping after blogging about it, I will be diligent in seeing my resolutions through, after all everyone will know what they are.
So here goes – my 2011 Resolutions
1.) Post at least 3 blogs a week, at least 1 new recipe.
2.) Lose 60 lbs – I was thinking 2 lbs a week would be good. If I did that I could get back to my pre-baby, pre-marriage, and pre-30s weight. Do I need to lose 60 lbs? Probably not, but I want to leave room for some fluctuation.
3.) Wake up an extra 5 minutes early every day until I reach my desired time. (See, I want to do this so I have more time with God, exercising, and quiet blog time.)
4.) Be a bit more patient with my sweet young son, on his way to teen-agerdom (which requires much patience.)
5.) Teach my daughter a new sign a week, so she can talk and sign. She is not deaf, but I like the idea of her being able to communicate pleasantly while still learning to talk.
6.) Participate in project Declutter 365 from www.WhoIsLaura.com – I will focus on one area of my house each week and de-clutter it. I will then immediately sell or donate the de-cluttered items.
7.) Spend a more time with God.
8.) Scrapbook my daughter’s 1st year of life, and finish the first 11 years of my son’s. (Quite honestly, if I could just open the scrapbook and do a page or two I would be happy.)
9.) Get in more cardio. I mean, get in cardio, since currently the only cardio I get is walking from the car to the store and back, and chasing an energetic toddler.
I could keep on adding things, but at some point I have to say enough. I would really like to see the list completed, and not just for January but for all of 2011.
Every year after Christmas, I think to myself – “Self, it is time to lose the baby weight. After all the baby is 1 1/2 years old, and those extra pounds over Christmas are not from the baby. Well … maybe her leftovers.”
So after I perused my cookbooks (which is my favorite pastime. Really, it is.) I found a lovely one for a healthy easy dinner.
I threw out the question to my son if he liked salmon patties, and to my surprise he thought they sounded good. It could be because I actually asked if he liked salmon cakes, and all he heard was cakes, but no matter, off to the store I went for the ingredients.
We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner of salmon patties, salted potatoes, and steamed veggies. Below you will find the wonderful recipes for this super easy, fairly healthy dinner.
Salmon Patties
As I always say … gather your ingredients before you begin.
1 (14.75 oz.) can pink salmon
1/2 c. egg substitute
1/2 c. crushed saltine crackers
2/3 c. thinly sliced green onions
1 Tbl. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1.) Drain salmon – discard as many bones as you can, as well as the skin.
2.) Mash the salmon into smaller pieces.
3.) Combine salmon, egg substitute, crushed crackers, green onions, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
4.) Measure 1/4 c. of mixture, form into a patty, and repeat until you have used up all of the mixture.
5.) Spray a non-stick pan with olive oil, place over medium-high heat until hot.
6.) Add patties. Cook for 3 minutes per side, or until lightly browned.
These salmon patties are fantastic served with dill tartar sauce.
Dill Tartar Sauce
1/3 c. prepared tartar sauce
2 Tbl. fresh dill, chopped
1.) Mix the prepared tartar sauce and the dill together.
Salted Potatoes
I had never heard of Salted Potatoes (mind you I am in Texas), until I was perusing some other blogs, and found these. We are a meat and potatoes family, so if I can find others ways to make potatoes, I am excited.
These potatoes are almost identical to some I already make, except the salt. These call for insanely amounts of salt. So if sodium is an issue for you, you may want to pass on these.
3 lbs small new potatoes
1 c. salt
4 c. water
1/2 c. butter, melted
1.) Thoroughly wash your potatoes, and place in a medium sauce pan.
2.) Cover potatoes with the water, mix in the salt, and boil until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork.
3.) Drain the water from the potatoes.
4.) Drizzle 1/2 of the butter over the potatoes, and serve the remainder of the butter as a condiment for your potatoes after they are smashed.
I hope you guys will enjoy this very simple dinner. By the way, the veggies pictured are simply ones you find in your freezer section. They are the ones that are steamed in the bag with the sauce.
I have too many to list, so I am going to list the only one that is relevant at this exact moment. I am going to take part in a blogging challenge issued by WordPress – and we had the option to Post Everyday, or Post Once A Week.
I would love to say I would post everyday, but I think that would be a huge let down for me when …. the baby is sick, the boy needs a lot of extra help with school, I have an extra-large cooking load – you get the picture.
So … I am going to commit to one post a week (which translates into as many as I can in a week, but no less than one a week.)
I hope other bloggers enjoy the challenge as much as I am sure I will, and I look forward to learning lots.
When I started Kitchen and Kids, I thought long and hard about the name of my blog, and I really planned on letting you guys in on the secret to it long before now, but the holidays took precedence. So, as I was introducing this blog to my clients I was giving them a recount to why I liked the name so much, and I wanted to share it with you.
My blog offers an insight into my kitchen! The good, the bad, and the ugly! It is called Kitchen and Kids: And Everything In Between, because almost everything of importance happens in my kitchen.
In my kitchen – I –
1.) cook for my clients
2.) cook for my family
3.) teach my son to cook
4.) work with my son on his school work (as, the kitchen table is his classroom)
5.) play with my daughter
6.) write my blog
7.) assist my husband with his business
8.) do crafts with my kids
9.) have heart to heart talks with my husband
10.) sit around the table and have family game night
11.) have much sought after family dinners
12.) dance (even though I am not very good, but if I can’t dance in the privacy of my own kitchen, where can I?)
13.) have my morning coffee and blog time
14.) chat with friends
15.) solve world problems (maybe not.)
And, so much more that has yet to come to my mind. My kitchen is my haven – it might not be big, it might not be fancy, but it sure is functional. I hope you guys enjoy what comes out of my kitchen.
As you visit Kitchen and Kids you will find funny stories, cute photos, easy crafts, as well as recipes for some of the things my family and friends enjoy.
A family tradition! When my son was very little we started taking him every Christmas to a neighborhood near us that a unique holiday tradition, that we absolutely love.
The week before Christmas we hop in our car, drive by our local coffee shop for some hot cocoa, and make our way to this wonderful display. The entire neighborhood participates in displaying Twas The Night Before Christmas – Texas Style.
I thought I would share this awesome display for those not close enough to drive it.
Twas The Night Before Christmas – Texas Style
Twas the night before Christmas,
In Texas You, you know,
Way out on the prairie
Without any snow.
A sleep in their cabin
Were Buddy and Sue,
A dreamin’ of Christmas,
Like me and like you.
Not stockings, but boots,
At the foot of their bed,
For this was in Texas,
What more need be said?
When all of a sudden
From out of the still night,
There came such a ruckus
It gave me a fright!
And I saw ‘cross the prairie
Like a shot from a gun,
A loaded-up buckboard
Come on at a run.
The driver was ‘Geein’,
And ‘Hawin’, with a will,
The bosses (not reindeer)
He drove with such skill.
“Come on there Bucko, Pancho,
And Prince, to the right!
There’ll be plenty of travelin’
For you-all tonight.”
The drive in Levis
And shirt that was red,
Had a ten-gallon Stetson
On top of his head.
As he stepped from the buckboard
He was really a sight,
With his beard and moustache
So curly and white.
As he burst in the cabin
The children awoke.
And both so astonished
That neither one spoke.
And he filled up their boots
With such presents galore
That neither could think
Of a single thing more.
When Buddy recovered
The use of his jaws,
He asked, in a whisper,
“Are you Santa Claus?”
“Am I the REAL Santa?
Well, what do you think?”
And he smiled as he gave
A mysterious wink.
Then he leapt in his buckboard,
And called back, in his drawl,
” To all children of TEXAS,
MERRY CHRISTMAS, you-all!”
Along with this wonderful display, there were some other wonderful scenes, so I have included those as well.
And, my favorite of all –
Have a Very Merry Christmas!!! From Our House to Yours!!!
What in the world is Baklava, you ask? That is easy it is an absolutely heavenly dessert made of phyllo dough, nuts and a honey syrup. My husband and I fell in love with Baklava when we visited a Greek restaurant close to our home.
After dessert, the cook in me thought that surely I could make the Baklava. After all it couldn’t be that hard. And, guess what? I was right, it isn’t too difficult, so I decided to share it with you as my final Christmas Goody. I know for some it might be too late to add to your Christmas dinner, but I thought it would be great for New Year’s Eve as well. What better way to bring in the new year, than trying something new.
Baklava
1 (16 oz.) pkg. phyllo dough (Athens) 2 c. water
1 lb nuts, chopped or pureed (we used pecans) 2 c. sugar 1 c. butter 2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 c. honey
** Phyllo dough can be found in the freezer section of your local grocery store, near puff pastry dough, frozen pies, etc…**
1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare a 9 x 13 glass pan by buttering the bottom and sides.
2.) Either chop or puree the nuts (we puree the nuts into almost a powder) and mix with the cinnamon.
3.) Carefully unroll the phyllo dough, you want to try to not tear it. Carefully cover the bottom of the pan with two sheets of dough and butter thoroughly. Continue to add two sheets and butter, until you have a base of 8 sheets of dough.
4.) Sprinkle 3 to 4 tablespoons of nuts on the base, then top with two sheet of dough, butter and repeat with the nuts, dough and butter. Continue this until your nut mixture is gone.
5.) Layer two sheets of dough then butter and continue the process until you have about eight sheets topping your last layer of nuts.
6.) Using a very sharp knife, cut into squares all the way to the bottom of the pan.
7.) Bake for 50 minutes until the Baklava is golden and crisp.
8.) While the Baklava is baking, use a medium sauce pan and bring your water and sugar to a boil, dissolving the sugar. Add in the vanilla and honey, simmer for 20 minutes.
9.) As soon as the Baklava comes out of the oven, spoon 1/2 to 3/4 of the sauce over it. Reserve the remaining sauce until the next day. Let the Baklava cool at room temperature, uncovered. If covered the Baklava will become soggy.
10.) Before serving, spoon the remaining sauce over the Baklava. (If you would prefer it to be a little dryer do not add more sauce.)
This dessert would make a nice presentation in holiday cupcake wrappers.
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