I Heart Saturday AND....ratatouille

We love the movie Ratatouille!

Matt has been bugging me to make it for months!

We found the real recipe used in the movie, a Thomas Keller recipe, and went for it! It was so yummy. Crazy good flavors.

I think the kids were all disappointed that it was literally ALL vegies.

but fun to assemble and they ate it anyway ;)

I Heart Saturday AND......bria's cooking club

This girl loves to work in the kitchen. But, more than that, she really loves being with friends.

She has been reading a book series from the library about a 3rd grade girl that has a cooking club. We had our first club meeting today and since it was Valentine weekend, we made lovely cake balls.

The recipe we used was from Bakerella

We made them with white chocolate and added pink and red heart sprinkles.

It was fun and the girls cannot wait until the next one!

oil temps

How did other generations of mothers know things without Yahoo?

The higher an oil’s smoke point, the higher the temperature the oil can withstand. As a result, each type of oil should be used for the cooking method that is most appropriate to its individual smoke point and heat tolerance. Here is a quick guide for the next time you reach for your favorite oil.

Heat During Cooking	Oil	Best Use
No-Heat	Flaxseed	Salads
Low to Moderate	Coconut	Baking (low heat) Light Sautéing Pressure Cooking Salads
	Corn
	Olive
	Peanut
	Sesame
	Walnut
Medium Heat	Macadamia Nut	Baking (medium heat) Sautéing Stir-Fry
	Safflower
	Canola
High Heat	Avocado	Deep Browning Deep-Frying Searing
	Grapeseed
	Sunflower
	Soybean / Soy

Note that the above table represents oils that are refined. Most oils we buy are refined. Refined oils tend to have much higher smoke points than their unrefined counterparts. They also differ in nutrition and flavor. Unrefined oils are more nutritious (some of oils’ nutrients are removed during the refining process) and they tend to be much richer in flavor. For instance, unrefined peanut oil will smell and taste just like peanuts, while refined peanut oil will have a lighter smell and taste.

When it comes to extremely high heat cooking, always choose oils which are refined. If, however, you are anxious to have a salad with a rich taste, splurge on the unrefined variety if your palate so desires!

how to eat a cupcake

One of the many, cute, trendy cupcake shops around. This one is in Orange,CA and it is just fun!

Has kind of a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" theme. Loved this poster of Audrey holding a red velvet cupcake.

Matt surprised us all when he broke the cupcake (banana - oh so good!) in half...

took the bottom half and placed it over the top...

so now he has this cupcake perfection - no bite without the frosting and no messy frosting mouth!

I had not taught him that...so I asked "Matt, where did you see that?!!"

"Oh, it was on the Food Network at our hotel on vacation." :)

I'm so glad he did - I feel like this will change my life. Not really, just make me eat more cupcakes! Seriously, I did not even order a cupcake, but of course, after I saw him do that I could not wait to try it.

Have you seen a cupcake eaten like that before? Maybe I have just been in the dark.

Or, you can eat it the traditional way. Ever so carefully and basically, just licking off the frosting!

Ferry Market and Cheesy Giada

I am not a "foodie": someone who mostly cooks gourmet and eats very gourmet and spends $25 for the perfect quality cheese.

I am a Trader Joe's girl. But, I love open markets. Samples of cheese, bread, olive oil with vendors selling buckets of fresh flowers....Love it! One of the stops I really wanted to make in San Francisco was the Ferry Market Building. Various cooks on the food channel and in the Rachel Ray magazine had mentioned it featuring some of the West Coasts premiere gourmet food vendors.

The building itself is worth seeing, as it was originally built in 1896 and was the main harbor stop for immigrants traveling to California. It has its originally clock tower and was one of the only buildings to survive the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. Survivors of the earthquake nestled in this building to receive help and care. Over the years, the market building has been largely unused until the late 1990's when it was renovated and began featuring gourmet restaurants and food vendors.

Now, when you walk in it is an amazing food court of some of the best coffees, teas, cheese, gilato, olive oil around!

One of my favorite stops was here, at Cowgirl Cheese. Awesome, crazy, yummo cheese.

So good! and so expensive! We left with a sample box ($20) that was perfect - a good variety of flavors and a souvenir cheese knife.

When we got home I was still thinking about cheese and this amazing episode of Giada that I saw featuring a few recipes with lots of cheese!

Isn't she just so pretty....

and doesn't she look like she is related to Susan Lucci?

For Giada's Cheesy Baked Farro here are a few of the ingredients I used...

I could not find farro, at least I could not find it at Trader Joe's, so I substituted it for TJ's Harvest Grains. That seemed to work out fine. I did forget that I needed bread crumbs. But, they are really needed for this casserole, so I made my own by toasting bread in the oven, putting it in a zip loc baggy and then hammering it a bit with a rolling pin.

Here is Giada's recipe:

Ingredients:

Vegetable cooking spray

Sauce:
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups warm whole milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Farro:
2 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
1 cup grated Gruyere
1/2 cup fontina cheese grated
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups faro or barley, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

For the sauce: In a 2-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 8 minutes (do not allow the mixture to boil). Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the farro: In a large bowl, add the cheeses and stir to combine. Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture and reserve. In a large stock pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the farro, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the faro is tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, if necessary. Add the farro, thyme, and sauce to the bowl with the cheese. Stir until combined and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the reserved 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until the top is golden brown and forms a crust, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

For more recipes that were also very cheesy go to Giada at Home

...and for more recipes go to Jen's site today at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam for

I Heart Saturday AND....ciao bella

Blood Orange is my favorite. We have also had Chocolate Hazelnut and Pistachio and they are way yum too. On sale at Albertson's this week!

low carb breakfast

Anyone else trying to stay away from heavy carb breakfasts? Like my favorite blueberry pancakes from The Orginial Pancake House!! It seems that since blueberry's are on sale alot this month I keep running into food that looks this good!

Of course, we all visit PW's recipes...but I wanted to make sure I documented my new found eggs.

Finding this recipe has made me wake up the past two mornings smiling and looking forward to eggs! If you have been trying to think of all the ways you can have eggs in the morning-

Try these! Huevos Ree-Os

Speaking of breakfast, but definitely off the low-carb mind set.....one of my favorite parts of vacation was that my mom bought these guys..

First, because mom did not buy sugar cereal, so the fact that the pack comes with the good stuff was such a treat! The corn flakes and rasin bran were for the parents- we kids never reached for those first! Plus, how fun that breakfast came from a mini-box!

Im buying them this week for our up-coming - it's finally here - vacation!

I did not need to know I was good at frying

I don't really fry food. I do eat plenty of fried food. I love beer-battered onion rings at a good old-fashioned diner.

I ran across this recipe and had to try it.

Beer Battered Asparagus with Lemon Herbed Dip

Dip:
1/2 c mayo
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of thyme, rosemary or whatever you have fresh
pinch of salt

* Stir together and chill

Asparagus:
1 c of flour
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper
1 tblspn lemon zest (I used less)
1 c of beer (I used a light beer - whatever brand was the cheapest)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
Vegie Oil for the frying

* Heat oil until it reaches 375 degrees
Whisk together flour, salt, pepper, and zest until combined. Stir in beer and whisk until smooth (it gets a little bubbly)
Dip asparagus in batter to coat. Fry until golden. Transfer to baking sheet lined with paper towels. You can keep them warm in pre-heated 200 degree oven while you fry them all.

It was hit and fun to eat along with our BBQ pork chops. Of course we all started to think of what we could beer batter next time....onions, chicken, zuchini, shrimp... mmmm

For other (probably way more healthy) recipe ideas visit Balancing Beauty and Bedlam today!

I Heart Saturday AND.......girl scout cookies

delivered last night in a basket by our favorite neighborhood girlscout....have you got yours?

President's Day Apple Pear Crisp

I don't think it's because it was President's Day. Maybe it was the cold and rain. Nate was home. Oh, it could be because we are reading Farmer Boy. Anyway, we made a really great Apple Crisp today. The recipe came via Costco book, via Mr. Reynolds. His tasted better - no real surprise there.

Here is the recipe:

2 pounds Bosc Pears (4 pears)

2 pounds Granny Smith Apples (6 apples)

1 tspn grated orange peel

1 tspn grated lemon peel

2 tspns orange juice

2 tblspn lemon juice

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c flour

1 tspn cinnamon

1/2 tspn nutmeg

Pre-heat oven to 350

Peel, core and cut pears and apples into large chunks. Place fruit in large bowl and add the grated lemon and orange peel and orange juice, sugar, flour, cinn and nutmeg. Pour into 9x12 baking dish.

Topping

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tspn salt

1 c. old fashioned oatmeal

1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced

To prepare topping, combine all ingrediants in the bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment (I dont have this so I just winged it with reg mixer and spoon) Mix until large crumbles. Top the fruit in baking dish.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

because it's President's Day.....Bria's log cabin.

I Heart Saturday AND.....Pringles Baked Wheat Stix

less than 100 calories per pack and 2 points of perfection - salty and sweet!

we are making these

I don't think these will taste all that great together...ginger snap and peanut butter/choc - but they are just so cute! I think we will end up just taking off the peanut butter cup, lick the frosting and then eat the cookie. Yeah, that works for me :)

thanks Rocks in my Dryer !

fun things

I stopped buying microwave popcorn a while ago just because I did not like the flavor anymore. My mom gave me this old popper that we used when I was growing up.

I love it - but I am needing to buy the middle cardboard piece and its only available on-line and I have been lazy.

but, Jen shares this super fun, easy, cheap way to make microwave popcorn

Urban Chick Gone Hillbilly

we are trying it today as we sip our hot chocolate and play scrabble - yeah! Nate is home from school this week! that is fun for me, I am so thankful for that big kid....

another fun thing - computer cameras that distort

I Heart Saturday AND......french onion dip

drunkn' chicken

Got this cool piece of pottery as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago from my mom-in law. I had no clue what it was when I opened it - which was really quite fun :) It is a drunkn' chicken cooker......

just by adding beer to the center of the pottery.....

a little rosemary and garlic to the center of the chicken....(hopefully no blond hairs )

the chicken goes right on top of the liquid center.....cook for about 1 hour and you get this super moist chicken - every time - I use this all the time and it makes a great gift.

you can get them here http://www.ceramiceggs.com/retail2.php

This is also known as "beer can chicken" and this cute girl shows how to make grilled chicken with the beer can in the center.

http://greenlitebites.com/2008/08/25/beer-chicken/#more-291

Now we can never go back

It's the Lady not the Sauce

Thursday night at our house is Spaghetti Night.

Because of this lady:

I have worked with Doreen for over ten years. She started out as a part-time typist and is now the office manager. She is British and she is oh so funny! She is 73 years old and walks over five miles every morning! She loves the Lord and always makes my time in the office fun. I only see her a few times a month since I am not in the office very often, but when I am, she makes it a day I can look forward to.

Over the years, when I am at the office we ask each other "so, what are you making for dinner tonight?" If it is a Thursday - I already know. Its Spaghetti Night at her house and she will likely get company. Widowers in her neighborhood, her son, her sons friends from high school (now adult men who are hoping her spaghetti is still there) and people from church. She has a huge pot that has been cooking for days.

Of course I had to inquire about her famous spaghetti. At first she was very vague. I kept bugging her and she finally caved - sort of. I made it for a few months - and served it on Thursday, but I was never sure I was getting it right since I had not had hers.

Recently I got a call from her, inviting our entire family over to her house for Spaghetti dinner - even though it was a Sunday afternoon! She had never really met the kids and had wanted to.

Here is Matt setting the table

Nate cutting the garlic bread

Here is the sauce:

It was delicious! She packs in meatballs and Italian sausage. Other ingredients are standard - cans of tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, lots and lots of garlic, bay leaf, peppers, hot pepper flakes (not too much), basil, salt and pepper. I was expecting the sauce to be tasty and it really was. But, she also made homemade apple pie. It was the BEST apple pie any of us had ever had.

So , the Rennicks have Spaghetti Night on Thursday nights ( come over you want) and everyone is happy with making my sauce as close to Doreen's as I can - but we all love her and know that its the lady not the sauce that we will always remember! well....and the apple pie.

Pumpkin Latte Time

Dear Emily at Chatting at the Sky says it best and so funny it made me smile real BIG!

Mystery Meat

In an attempt to be creative with our finances (lack of) right now, we have adjusted our parts of the budget that we can be flexible with. Such as food. Although I have never been a big spender at the grocery store, using coupons often and buying what is on sale, I saw a flyer from the Angel Food ministry that was providing a box of food for $30. They listed the items that would be in the box. I decided to give it a try.

I just picked up my box a few days ago. Something kinda did not sit right with me. The lables on all the meat have just the "angel good ministry" sticker on them with a brief title of what the meat is, but no expiration date or other FDA sticker labels. The quanities were also pretty small. Because I am feeding 5, a 2-4 serving meal does not really work. It did include rib meat and meat seasoned for fajitas and the above bag of chicken nuggets (my kids told me it was really popcorn chicken which made me feel a little better.)

But really what bugged me was that I think because of being a frugal shopper, I can maybe get better quality food (and know exactly what it is) at Trader Joes or with coupons for sale items, for $30. We are not in a dire situation with our budget, just trying to be creative. I know the Angel Food ministry is attempting to meet the needs of families, but I think if its not really the best deal for me, it is not for them either.

Anyway, here is our mystery meat lunch.

With the various sauce options, it wasn't that bad, but there was soooo much more fried breading than meat it was crazy! :)

On a side note, Nate and I went to Trader Joe's on a mission to spend only $30. Because they have such tempting food items and we are so weak when we see Gouda and baguettes, we got salad (two bags), frozen bags of asparagus, corn, potatoes, bread, cheese, shrimp, chicken tenders, milk and yogurt for $46. Won't last a week, but for about $20 more at Staters I can be set for the week. That is $66 of healthy food that does not include eating mystery meat!