Apple Crumb Pie

Last night, the Braves lost their final game of the playoffs, meaning they are out of the running for the World Series.  Will's heart is broken and so is mine.  So today, I decided that if we can't celebrate baseball today, we need to celebrate the second-most American icon--apple pie.

I took this recipe directly from one of my favorite blogs, Clover Lane, so I can't take any credit for it.  But it was easy-peasy and used about 5 or so medium-large apples, which we happen to have a lot of these days.  Will hasn't tasted it yet, but I may have snuck a few out-of-the-oven bites and can say even with my burned tongue that it is delicious.

Enjoy!

Apple Crumb Pie

1 9" pie shell (I used a Pillsbury roll out pie crust.)

6 cups thinly sliced apples

1 TBS lemon juice

2/3 cup white sugar

2 TBS all purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 TBS butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place sliced apples in a large bowl.  

Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Add white sugar, 2 TBS flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Toss together until apples are well coated.

In a small bowl mix together 2/3 cup flour and brown sugar and cut in butter until mixture in crumbly.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes.  Take off foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until top in golden brown.

Tomato Pie

This pie is hands-down one of Will's favorite things I make.  It's best with fresh tomatoes (any kind!).  Make sure you salt them after slicing, let them set for 10 minutes, and then pat them dry--it will keep the pie from being too watery.  Even though I'm including the recipe for the homemade crust, I cheat and use Pillsbury's pre-made piecrust, which has gotten rave reviews from the family pie connoisseur (Will) and saves a ton of time.  I can usually prep and bake this is about an hour - woot!

Old-fashioned Tomato Pie

INGREDIENTS

Piecrust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces 
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 to 4 Tbsp. ice-cold water 
• Filling
• 2 1/4 pounds assorted heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
• 1 sweet onion, chopped 
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 cup assorted chopped fresh herbs (such as chives, parsley, and basil)
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

PREPARATION

1. 1. Prepare Piecrust: Process first 4 ingredients in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, gradually add 3 Tbsp. ice-cold water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and process until dough forms a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding up to 1 Tbsp. more water, if necessary. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill 30 minutes.
2. 2. Unwrap dough, and place on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness.
3. 3. Preheat oven to 425°. Press dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim dough 1 inch larger than diameter of pie plate; fold overhanging dough under itself along rim of pie plate. Chill 30 minutes or until firm.
4. 4. Line piecrust with aluminum foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans. (This will keep the crust from bubbling up.) Place on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
5. 5. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. Remove weights and foil. Bake 5 minutes or until browned. Cool completely on baking sheet on a wire rack (about 30 minutes). Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
6. 
   
7. [This is where I begin the recipe with the pre-made crust.  I don't pre-bake it, either!]

1. 6. Prepare Filling: Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. 7. Meanwhile, sauté onion and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper in hot oil in a skillet over medium heat 3 minutes or until onion is tender.
3. 8. Pat tomatoes dry with a paper towel. Layer tomatoes, onion, and herbs in prepared crust, seasoning each layer with pepper (1 tsp. total). Stir together cheeses and mayonnaise; spread over pie.
4. 9. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned, shielding edges with foil to prevent excessive browning. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Enjoy!  And happy Friday, everyone - have a great weekend!

Honey beets

Beets--you either love them or hate them.  And I'll confess that up until very recently, I belonged to the latter group.  I could never get past the bitter-ish taste, the sort of hard, but equally squishy texture, and the seemingly unnatural color (although as one of my previously white wash clothes suggests, that red-purple juice is indeed found in nature).  So when we got a two-pound shipment of raw beets from our bi-weekly Dominion Harvest delivery, I was underwhelmed.  Until I tried this incredibly delicious (and easy!) recipe:

Honey Beets

 2 cups cooked diced beets (I cooked the raw beets by steaming them whole with a tiny amount of water in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Check half-way to ensure they don't bubble over and create a huge, purple mess!).

 2 tablespoons butter

 1/4 cup orange juice

 1 teaspoon grated orange peel

 1/2 cup honey

 pinch of sea salt

 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Put diced beets in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and mix gently. Cook on moderate heat until liquid evaporates and butter and honey form a glaze over the beets. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Beets pair well with pork chops or pork tenderloin.

And now?  I love, love, love beets.  I will eat them in a boat.  And I will eat them with a goat.  (Sorry, apparently George's recent love affair with "Green Eggs and Ham" is starting to rub off on me).  The recipe claims that even your kids will love them; but alas, mine did not.  But don't let that deter you from trying them with yours.  What is not to love when you combine butter, honey, and orange zest?

Enjoy!  And happy Monday!

Pasta with White Beans and Arugula

This is such a quick, easy, and tasty recipe that I've made so many times these last two years I thought it was high time I share it.  The arugula gives the dish that classic peppery kick and you can't go wrong with sun-dried tomatoes and fresh feta cheese for just the right amount of sweetness.  I imagine you can add chicken or salmon for a meat-ful (is that a word?) dish, but I usually count this as one of my meatless favorites.  Enjoy!

Pasta with White Beans and Arugula

16 oz package of farfalle pasta (or your favorite kind)

2 (15 oz) cans cannelli beans, rinsed and drained

1 (8.5 oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 (5 oz) package fresh arugula, thoroughly washed

1 block of feta cheese, crumbled (I prefer the block feta over the pre-crumbled, which tends to be dry)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1.  Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

2.  Stir together beans and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in hot cooked pasta until blended.

Source: Southern Living (August 2009)

Happy Friday, everyone!

Two quick recipes

After our loooooooong snow day yesterday, complete with three trips outside to play, two cups of hot chocolate, and one very necessary movie (so that I could regain my slipping sanity) the day finally slowed down.  I began to make the kids' dinner after their much-needed bath time and when they realized I was making green beans for their vegetable, Frances and George both cheered, "Yay! Green beans!!" and did a happy dance in the kitchen.

They really do love these simple beans, which I pretend means they are really good and not just tolerable compared to the steamed broccoli and cooked carrots they get on other nights.  Will likes them, too; he just rarely gets to eat them because they are usually entirely consumed by the time he walks through the door.  Plus, they are ridiculously easy to make:

Roasted Green Beans

• Wash and break in half green beans and put in a square cake pan.  
• Toss with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and add garlic powder and kosher salt to taste.  
• Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes (check at 12 minutes) until tender.  Enjoy!

Honey Mustard Dressing

I must admit, I am not a big fan of honey mustard dressing.  Most store-bought brands (or even restaurant options) are too sweet for my taste.  But when I saw this recipe on one of my go-to food blogs (here) I gave it a try.  I liked that the main ingredient was Greek yogurt (healthy, right?) and it had a fairly small amount of sugar.

Don't worry - it's not actually this electric yellow.

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 T yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 T Dijon mustard
• 2 T honey

Try not to lick the bowl.

Because of the yogurt, this is actually best served as a dip (chicken fingers!) or on sandwiches rather than as a salad dressing where it can taste a little chalky.  But who are we kidding, I also slather it on my salads, too and gobble it up at an embarrassing rate.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Meal planning

It took a good nine months from my first day as a full-time mother, but I finally have a system in place for our family’s meal plan.  Translation: I am finally able to cook on a regular schedule without pulling my hair out from frustration in an attempt to keep yet another ball in the air.

I’ve noticed a lot of articles, blog posts, magazines and even entire books dedicated to the subject of ‘family meal planning’ (which, in all honestly, makes me feel a little less insane; you mean a lot of people out there struggle with this?).  So, I thought I’d share with all of you lucky readers what I do on a weekly basis for our meals.  None of what I do is rocket science (or probably that unusual), but I am surprised at just how much enjoyment I get out of these little domestic puzzles—maybe it’s because I like having the ability to restore some order to our day, to have a routine, to feed my family (and watch them enjoy) food that I’ve made; or maybe it’s just a sign that I need to get out more.

I have to make a rather obvious caveat that my meal plan works for our unique family at this point in our lives—one where the kids eat at least two hours earlier than the adults because one such adult cannot seem to pry himself away from his desk before dark.  I can only imagine this plan will evolve as the kids age and everyone’s daily schedule changes, but right now it is working well.  Whew!

The Plan

Sometime over the weekend (usually Friday night or Saturday), I pick out three recipes to make that next week.  If we are low on food in the house or if it looks like the recipes will make a smaller portion, I’ll choose four; if Will and/or the rest of us will be venturing away from home that next week (and thus eating less), I’ll choose two.  But usually three fits the bill (with leftovers on the ‘off’ nights).  Exciting stuff, I tell ya.

With those recipes in hand, I write my grocery list.  I don’t purchase a lot in bulk mainly because we are short on storage in this house and because I hate clutter and it drives me crazy not knowing what’s at the far depths of my pantry, so I usually just buy what the recipes call for that week, plus our other staples (milk, yogurt, cheese – does anyone else sometimes wonder if it would be more productive to just get the dairy cow?).

I also have about 5 or 6 vegetables sides and 3 or 4 breads that are quick and easy.  Depending on the recipes, I’ll usually do 2 or 3 veggies and 1 or 2 bread sides for each week.

The Prep

As much as possible, I grocery shop on Sundays during naptime or any other day I can do it alone.  The kids are great on quick trips for forgotten items, but I like being able to really focus on what I’m buying, particularly if it’s for a new recipe (has anyone ever bought buttermilk instead of heavy cream because by the time they got to the dairy aisle the kids were on a mission to kill each other?  If not, I can assure you that while they may look the same, they taste very different).

And have you met my husband, Mr. Martha Stewart?  He created these fantastic grocery list templates that match our closest Kroger’s layout.  It is a huge timesaver for me.

After I return from the store and put everything away in its designated spot (another thing I love to do.  Seriously, I may need professional help soon), I layout when I will make each recipe:

I didn't take the picture very well to show this (what we may or may not need at Sam's this week takes precedent, no?), but I put the meal I am making that day at the top of the calendar day.

Once I know when I’ll be making each dish, usually every-other day, I can figure out when I can start the prep work—chopping the veggies, defrosting the chicken stock, preparing a part of the recipe ahead of time.  I find that once I do that tedious stuff, the cooking part isn’t nearly as arduous and I enjoy it much more.

The Fixing

So, when do I cook?

In all honestly, it still varies from day-to-day.  Some days, I cook during naptime to be reheated later.  Other days, I start around 5pm when Gram-E comes over to play with the kids.  Still other days, I wait until closer to 6pm, after the kids have eaten and had their bath and are (gasp!) watching Curious George or something else that won’t damage too many brain cells.  Yes, we limit screen time in this house, but one exception is when I need to cook.  I would love for one of my kids to cook with me … one day.  But they are too small and that stove/oven is just too hot for two wiggly little bodies and four little hands to ‘help’ at this point.  And I'm not quite up to juggling that ball at this stage.

I have been known to start the prep work in the mornings (chopped onion for breakfast, anyone?) for the recipes I’ll be making that evening, but sometimes I can’t get to that until midday or even shortly before cooking.  The better I can layout my week, the better I am at determining when (which I think is the hardest part of meal planning, but maybe I’m alone?).

Okay, and I’ll stop talking nonsense at this point.  My type-A personality has officially bled into the domestic field of meal planning and I won’t subject you lovely readers to any more of my structured schedule.  I will say that I have found my need for mental organization (calendars, to-do lists, etc.) has been a huge asset in meal planning—because for me that’s really what it is all about.  Organizing my time as well as possible.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Trial and error

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about cooking and I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats with anticipation to see if I’ve made anything as dreadful as the roasted kale chips recently.  Thankfully, no.  Will, Frances and George are equally thankful (and for the record, yes, they looked bad, but they tasted great.  Marshall, Max and I couldn’t get enough of them).

I am somewhat reluctant to admit that I’m starting to love this new domestic enterprise of feeding the family.  I have yet to bake my own bread or roast my own red peppers (for the two tablespoons of soup you can garner from a dozen or so peppers), but I am taking on more food challenges and am finding the process (*deep breath*) relaxing.

My latest zen-like project?  Making my own chicken stock.  I know, I know; I just may have gone off the deep end.  But crockpot chicken stock after using an entire roast chicken’s meat for another recipe is about as easy as it gets.  And an added bonus?  It fits right in with my new simple lifestyle buzzword (are you tired of me using the term simple yet?  It’s okay to say yes; Will is considering banning the word and all of its derivatives from our house).  I used quite literally the entire bird, which I have never done before and I sit writing this post with nearly 8 cups of delicious chicken stock waiting to use for … something?  Please tell me I am not the only thirty-something-year-old who does not know what in the world to do with chicken stock.

As it turns out (after five minutes of internet research), chicken stock can be used in pretty much any recipe calling for chicken broth (although broth and stock are not exactly the same.  And there ends my total knowledge on broth vs. stock.  Please visit Google or another equally reliable cooking resource for a more comprehensive explanation).  Apparently, it is particularly good in recipes looking for a heartier flavor, like chicken noodle soup or casseroles and can be added to rice, risotto or other grains (couscous would be delicious, I imagine).

What it looks like during.  Don't worry, it cleans up nicely.

10 hours later

I think my first test run will be on an incredibly good chicken ‘n dumplings recipe that uses almost 48 ounces of chicken broth.  All four Homillers loved this dish (a small miracle), likely because is it chock full of nutritiously-void food (Grands biscuits and cream of celery soup – yum!).  The homemade stock has a much stronger flavor than store-bought broth, so I will probably substitute at least a cup of water for a cup of stock in the recipe:

Easy chicken n’ dumplings

46.5 ounces of chicken broth (32 ounce container + 14.5 ounce can)

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (about one whole chicken)

1 (10.75 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of celery soup

¼ tsp. poultry seasoning

1 (10.2 ounce) can refrigerated jumbo buttermilk biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grands)

1.      Stir together first 4 ingredients in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes

2.     Place biscuits on lightly floured surface.  Roll or pat each biscuit to 1/8-inch thickness; cut into ½-inch wide strips.

3.     Return broth mixture to a low boil over medium-high heat.  Drop biscuit strips, one at a time, into boiling broth.  Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking.

From: Southern Living magazine

Makes about 4-6 servings

___________________________________________

And just in case anyone else is interested in making crockpot stock, all I did was the following:

Crockpot chicken stock

Place all bones and any other unused part of the chicken into crockpot

Add any/all of the following, to taste:

-         Celery

-         Carrots

-         Onion

-         Salt

-         Pepper

-         Parsley

-         Thyme

-         Sage

-         Anything else that sounds good!

Add cold tap water up to about ½ inch from the top of the crockpot.

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.  Let cool.  Strain stock completely from bones and other ingredients.

Makes about 8 cups of stock.

___________________________________________

I decided to freeze all of the stock this time around since none of my meals this week call for chicken broth/stock (I’m not sure how long homemade stock lasts in the refrigerator, but I would guess 3-4 days?) and because I was still in the, "holy cow, what do I do with all of this chicken stock?" moment.

So, now I close what is probably the world’s longest post on chicken stock, particularly from someone who hasn't a clue what she is talking about.  I’m foreseeing a new banned phrase from the household in the coming days.

Happy Thursday everyone!  I hope it is as beautiful where you are as it is here.

This and that

Frances tried out her new bike this incredibly beautiful weekend:

George was not to be outdone:

I suppose it’s never a good thing to get spring fever in January.  We definitely got a taste of good things to come in mid-March.

Garlic cheddar drop biscuits:

Daddy is much more patient with helping hands than I am:

Nothing melts my heart faster than seeing Will cook with the kids.  They love their father and they love their food – what more could they want?

And because I know you’re all dying for a potty training update, George is doing remarkably well.  It’s hard to imagine that a week ago today I was sick to my stomach with anticipation over how this process would go.  He certainly has his ups and downs but we are all doing 1,000% better today than last Monday—Frances, George and my frayed nerves.

Happy Monday everyone!

Wrapping up

Is everyone ready??

Me neither.  In fact just looking at that number “4” makes my eyelid twitch; thus, I am going to make this post short and sweet so we can all get back to what is really important—eating more Christmas chocolate!

We finally completed our “Holiday Activity List” that I previously mentioned by going out in style with Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s garden festival of lights. 

It was as beautiful as always, but much more crowded than I remembered in years past.  Thankfully, the masses did not seem to faze Frances and George who spent most of the night oooo-ing and awwww-ing on cue.

Inside the conservatory - model trains, Santa and a huge Christmas tree. 
I'm not sure George noticed anything after he saw the trains.

Outside - peacocks, unicorns, candy canes and igloos just to name a few.

I have no idea how the garden does this every year (or how any of the plants survive all of the predictable stomping in and out of the flower beds by curious children), but I am very happy they do.  It really was the highlight (so far) of the holiday season.

Looking over the lake to the fully-decorated tree house.

Frances and George have also been helping me with some holiday baking.  Yes, I know; that statement sounds completely unfathomable and invented for the sake of a good blog post.  But there is a holiday recipe out there that a two and a four-year-old can actually help make and where the end product is edible (and in fact requested many, many times by those who have tried them)—Pretzel Hugs.

I found this recipe on another blog (thank you, Erin!) and experimented with just Frances initially (while George was still napping).

The next batch included George's help by creating an assembly line—Frances unwrapped the hugs and George put them on the pretzels.  I did the final steps of putting them in the oven and putting the M&Ms on, but I’m fairly certain they would have been fine helping me with that part, too.  I always get nervous with the kids, especially George, around a hot oven; but I have no doubt in a year’s time the children will be making these entirely on their own.

George's "soldiers" as he calls them.  Frances and I just call them good.

And with that, I will sign off because I have more pretzel hugs waiting to be made and a million other little things to be done in the next 96 hours.  Gulp.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Learning as I go

Today was a hard day.  Nothing specifically bad happened, although George was his most-defiant self and both kids whined a little more than average.  But otherwise I had a great day on paper – a cloudless 70 degree day, George and I had some alone time this morning, F&G played the afternoon away at their favorite playground, and a family dinner with Daddy.

But in spite of this perfect looking Tuesday, I am grumpy and exhausted and just tucked my beautiful daughter in for the night whispering, “I’m pushing the ‘restart’ button tonight.  Tomorrow will be better.  I promise.”  (To which my curly-haired angel replied, “it’s okay Mommy.  I had a good day!”)

In replaying how I got here tonight, I think it started with my notion to cook a family dinner (which I define as one that we all sit down at the same table and eat at the same time – a near impossibility in our house).  I love cooking now that I have the time and so many incredible recipes at my fingertips; but for the most part I cook something well in advance knowing that Will and I will simply heat it up later at our usual dinner times long after Frances and George are in bed.  But for whatever reason I wanted to try a true family dinner.  The result?  Dinner was ready when Will walked through the door and no less than 10 minutes later the four of us were sitting down to a new recipe.  But to get to that point took more effort than I care to admit—and much more sniping, impatience, frustration and edginess than my children deserve.  In fact, just knowing that I wanted to try this penetrated my mood all day long and made me a less-than-desirable candidate for “Mother of the Year.”

So, my lesson for today is – regular family dinners at this stage in our lives are too hard.  I don’t have the heart to push my children aside as I’m trying desperately to lug scalding dishes out of the oven or manage boiling pots on the stove when all they want to do is play, read books or just be with me.  I don’t want the time pressures and mental fluster that planning a big meal from start to finish necessarily requires intruding in our daily lives.  The kiddos enjoyed the family dinner tonight, but I know what they really want at the end of the day is for me to be patient, understanding and happy.  And I was none of those today.

There are undoubtedly many (or most) mothers in my position who could handle what I am griping for paragraphs about—but I know that I cannot and I am okay with that.  Or at least, I want to be okay with that and I am just trying to plead my best case.  Either way, I am convinced that Frances and George are better off with a simple, stress-free dinner and a simple, stress-free mother (who will eat dinner later with her always calm and patient husband).

So, as I told Frances, I am pushing the restart button tonight.

And I’m feeling better already.  Happy Tuesday everyone!

Cooking 102

I cannot believe I wrote an entire blog post yesterday about my cooking (boring!) and utterly failed to mention my sweet girl’s latest adventure – a cooking class with her Gram-E and Mr. Pyles.

The Pyles generously signed her up for four age-appropriate cooking classes through a program called “Kids in the Kitchen.”  It sounds adorable and I have no idea what goes on and I love that!  I love sharing my children with others and I am so honored that they have many wonderful friends and family in their lives that adore being with them (almost) as much as I do.

Frances and Gram-E before her first class:

They made applesauce that day and France came home tickled pink with her finished product.

Mr. Pyles couldn’t resist coming to the next class and was able to take some pictures of our own Julia Child in the making:



A good chef always tastes her food before serving it, right?



Post-class, pre-lunch trip to Wal-Mart to scope out potential birthday gifts. 
Apparently the unicorn bike helmet is a hint to me.

Two classes remain, one of which is a “Holiday Cookies” edition.  I can only imagine some serious tasting will be going on that Saturday morning.

Happy Tuesday everyone!