Prep for Menu Planning

I'd like to address menu planning soon, well, in a little while.  I'm building the post a little at a time.

In the meantime, read this article.  It addresses some of the things I will be saying later on.  You can put it into practice by having a leftover smorgasbord supper one day.  Nothing goes beyond safe keeping time, in the fridge or freezer.  You have little bits of this, one piece of that hanging around in your fridge.  Give your pickiest eater first dibs, heat it all up and spread it on the table.  The fridge gets cleaned out, you get to put your plastic containers in circulation again, you've saved cooking a meal and saved money too.

I will be incorporating "cook once, eat twice" into the menu planning, but this is besides that and often isn't planned - there are just many little bits in the fridge and you're going to eat them instead of throwing them out.  Always keep in mind food safety though, if you're not sure, toss it.  Better safe than sorry.

Do you have any specific questions or issues you'd like me to address when I post about menu planning? 

If you'd like to do a bit more to prepare for this, start jotting down what you actually do eat (I keep track on my family calendar), ask and make a list of favourite meals the people in your family like (you might be surprised what some of the answers are, this is fun), and broach the subject of other members prepping, cooking and working with you in the kitchen.  No need to make changes yet, just bring it up and plant the seed.

The Motherload of Mango

My parents are visiting from Out West and it has been a wonderful visit.  The Middle Kids are really kinds smitten with The Grandfather and seem to be able to take or leave The Grandmother.  The Wee One still just wants me.  The Big One has been The Grandfather's for a while now, he's lost to me when he's here!  The Man finally got a few minutes with my Dad last night.  Something we miss since three more kids came along is just sitting and enjoying all of our parents.  After the kids are in bed, we are so tired we just pass out.  No more cigars, card games, late-night chats, midnight meals.  Although, the three Big Boys did get out yesterday for an amicable game of bowling, all were happy.

Anyhow, they skipped out for a trip to Costco yesterday and came back with a surprise for us.  The Motherload (or mother lode, I could not confirm the correct spelling, seems both are used and perhaps Motherload is more correct?).  A big box of oranges, fresh mangoes - the kind my Mum just had in Mexico last week, mango juice, chips, batteries and a charger, three chickens and big bag of flour!  Yeah, baby!

Mangoes! 

Many mangoes!

Box of oranges - fresh squeezed anyone?

Quick, what can I do with fresh mango (keep it clean, kids)?  Other than the obvs mango coconut smoothie, I got that one covered.

Buttercream Icing

Your search is OVER!  I have searched far and wide for the best (in my opinion) recipe for butter icing or frosting.  I wanted one that would pipe, that sprinkles would stick to and that, above all else, tasted great... awesome really... I have high standards... well, I like to think so.

I will search no more, I may now rest.

Oh. my. god. 

You can make this to go on chocolate cake, white cake, cupcakes, crepes, waffles, a spoon... you get the idea.  Store it in your fridge or freezer if there are any leftovers but I doubt there will be, you'll take care of it.

Here, The Kitchen Magpie titles it the Best Buttercream Icing and she's right.  I'm not going to dispute this at all.

Geez, isn't it just gorgeous?!  Like a cloud!

I made it white with vanilla beans and butter being the flavours.  To what was left of that, I added cocoa.  You can make this vanilla or chocolate butter icing to suit your needs.  She talks about adding lemon, but I rarely think of lemon.  You go right on ahead.  In fact, icing is the place to play with your cake combinations and you can seriously go CRAZY!  These guys do, why not you?!

Just beautiful...

The secrets here are whipping your butter and resulting icing until it is super light and fluffy.  Don't be afraid, let 'er go on high!  The other secret is cream, 18% or higher.  Don't be cheap, buy the good stuff, find a reason to use the rest.  She also stresses the importance of fresh icing sugar - I go through it so fast I think it's always fresh.

If you look carefully you may see tiny black flecks in the white... yep, that's real vanilla seeds my friend. 

I was at the end of my vanilla bottle and that's the yumminess that's left.

Here goes.  Write this one down in your recipe book, bookmark it, Pinterest it, print it, whatever you gotta do to keep this one forever, I kid you not.

The Best Buttercream Icing
from The Kitchen Magpie

1 cup of salted butter (trust me on this one and use salted butter in this icing)

1 Tbsp vanilla

4 cups of icing sugar

4-5 Tbsp coffee cream (18% and up)

- whip that butter, with a paddle beater if you have it, if not, don’t worry

- add in the icing sugar

- add in the cream.

Stiffer icing = less cream.

Whippier icing = more cream. 

- keep mixing it until fluffy and thoroughly combined

Chocolate Butter Icing

to the above recipe, add up to 1/2 cup cocoa, to taste

These were made for a 3 year-old's birthday party today.  I think he liked them.

Quick spaghetti supper

After a busy day of cooking, you turn around and ask yourself "What's for dinner?", or your partner asks, or the kids are asking. 

Huh...

Enter Quick Spaghetti!  I don't know about you, but at our house spaghetti sauce is a sure-shot.  Everyone eats.  Many take second servings.  All are happy and full afterward.

Ingredients lined up, beef browning in the pot.

This is what I threw together tonight and called it supper.  You can put just about whatever you have in the fridge in it (even bacon!).

Quick Spaghetti
from ME
1 lb ground beef, chicken or pork (or 1 pkg firm tofu or alternative mentioned below)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1 bottle prepared spag sauce (I used Ragu, it's what I had in the house today)
Italian seasoning, S&P to taste (may need a tsp or two of sugar to taste)
- brown beef and drain if needed
- add onions and garlic to pan for a few minutes on medium heat
- add tomato paste and let cook for a minute or two
- shake on italian seasoning, S&P, sugar if needed
- simmer as long as you can (may be 10 minutes, may be an hour - stir and don't let burn)
- serve with your favourite pasta shape

Note on meat and alternatives for this dish: you can use 1 lb ground meat of choice, 1 pkg firm tofu broken up very small with your hands, 1 can green lentils or 1 can beans of choice, mashed a bit (black, kidney, romano).  They do sell a soy product (in my grocery stores it's found at the end of the produce refrigerated section) that imitates ground beef.  I have found that this particular brand (Yves) upsets my stomach intensely.  I'm not saying you can't try it, obviously it's working for someone because they keep selling it. Anyhow, after repeated attempts I have narrowed it down to this brand and I simply avoid it.

What are some of your quick go-to meals out of the pantry?

Today

We had crêpes for breakfast.

Leftover smorgasborg for lunch.

I made party cupcakes for a three year-old.  Found and made the best whipped vanilla butter frosting I've ever made so far and sprinkles stuck to it! 

Made a batch of homemade vanilla.

Made a batch of Lazy Granola.

Made this for snack.

Going to a birthday party for supper.

Drinks tonight?

Bad coconut milk

This afternoon I opened a can of coconut milk that was bad.

How did I know it was bad, you ask?  Good question, class.  Let's review the clues that led to this conclusion:

1) Before I opened it, I gave the can a shake and I didn't hear anything (I always shake the can, I think it may just be reflexive or a habit, not sure what the difference is).

2) When the can opener pierced the can, it kind of hissed at me which is unusual.

3) The solids in the can were not happy-looking and rimming the top.  Instead, there was a mass in the middle and the liquid was all around, like grey, dirty water.

4) The smell was only a tiny bit off, just didn't smell sweet and rewarding which I was looking forward to.

5) Yep, I tasted it.  I don't recommend this, but it didn't hurt me.  Not yet anyhow.  The taste was metallic and lingered for minutes in my mouth.  Blech.

6) Upon pouring it out, said mass glopped into the sink.  That doesn't happen with a good can of coconut milk.

Nope, I did not get one picture, didn't cross my mind 'til I decided to tell you about it, of course.  My apologies.

Thought you'd like to know.

Plan B for supper, sigh.  This was my last can of coconut milk in the house.

Chowder - Corn, Potato and Bacon

There's nothing like a steamy, hot bowl of chowder to heat you up on a... sweltering hot... summer-like day... hmmmm. 

I didn't plan that one very well, did I?! 
Today was the second record smashing day, tomorrow it'll be slightly above normal - but what's normal anyhow?  (I think that's content for another blog entirely.  I could write that one too actually.)

Nonetheless, this is what I made for supper tonight and it was great.

BBQ may have been more appropriate or a cool, crisp salad, but I had a hankering for chowder.

This is the recipe I based supper on tonight, completely omitting the cream.  It was still delish.  I've included a second recipe that I have used many times with good reviews.  There is a link to a third recipe at a local (to me) site and the fourth is a site I refer to often. 

I usually add about a quarter of the volume of potatoes in sweet potatoes or carrots.

Recipe #1
Chowder like Gramma's (not either of my Grammas, just a generic Gramma)
adapted from AllRecipes
1/2 cup diced bacon
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups water

3 cups cream-style corn (note below)

2 tsp salt, pepper to taste

- in soup pot, cook bacon to crisp, but not burned (after coocking in the soup it will not remain crisp)

- add potatoes and onion, cook for about 5 minutes to a bit tender

- add water and corn, bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer

- simmer about 20 minutes to potatoes are tender and then enjoy

- works well for leftovers and freezes well too though it is much creamier (mushier) after freezing but not in a bad way

Note: corn can be canned creamed corn or niblets or frozen kernels that you have puréed slightly with a hand blender or food processor

Recipe #2

Old Fashioned Corn and Potato Chowder

cannot remember source, it's been a while

2 1/2 c corn (canned or frozen)

2 c diced potatoes

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 c diced onion

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 1/2 c boiling water

2 c hot milk

1 Tbsp flour, mixed with

1 Tbsp cold water

- combine in a large pot all ingredients except milk and flour/water

- cook to potatoes fork tender

- add mik and flour/water, stirring well

- bring to a boil and allow to cook for 10 minutes

- serve topped with chopped green onion and shredded cheddar cheese

Recipe #3
Fresh Off the Cob Corn Chowder
I have not tried it yet, but I fully trust her to send you the best.  Click here.

Recipe #4
Creamy Corn Chowder (vegan)
In case you've stumbled here and are embracing the vegan path, she won't steer you wrong.

The great thing about all of these recipes is I have found they can both be bulked up to increase the volume of soup made.  Add a couple of carrots or sweet potato or turnip or broccoli florets or frozen spinach.  Purée some cooked cauliflower and throw that in (about half cup to 1 cup). 

What would've been a better idea on a summer day in March?  What did you have today?