Superbowl Eats!

Mi madre-in-law requested ideas for Superbowl snacks in her non-cookie-dough-cookie-dough comment today...I was going to do a Superbowl post laster this week, but let's get the ball rolling! Time to share your favorite foods and recipes for the Big Game! Sweet, salty, fancy, easy...anything you've got! (Although, Pat, the mom-in-law, is looking for yummy and easy or make-ahead ideas...so that would be good too! Help me keep her happy...she's a bear of an in-law. hee hee.)


My favorite sweet treat is the Sweet Chex Mix recipe. Yum.

Cookie Dough 101 Pop Quiz

Way back when I made these amazing chocolate cookies (thanks to my blogger friend Lindsey who created this perfect recipe). If you haven't made these cookies yet, you really should. This recipe is a keeper. The best chocolate cookie recipe I've used. Awesome, delicious, perfect. Enough gushing? Okay.

Now for today's POP QUIZ. A simple True or False question for you.

When you make cookies, you should cook all the dough at once.
T or F?


Get out your red pencils...here comes the answer...I would put it upside down at the bottom of the post, but I don't want you hurting yourself lifting the big heavy computer monitor...FALSE!!! Unless you have 13 children (which I was nearly forced to have thanks to Pottery Barn, more on that another day), when you make your cookie dough, simply cook one tray of cookies. Stick the rest of the dough in the fridge for later. Why, you may ask? Well, what is better than fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies? Why fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies day after day, of course! :)

If you got the answer right, A+. If you didn't, you fail...but it won't go on your permanent record. Promise.

Week 53 Menu

I think food can be really beautiful. As an artist and designer, I definitely enjoy looking at food more than preparing it (of course, I don't mind eating it!). This week, an onion won the "pretty prize." I know this sounds cheesy, but I really enjoyed chopping this onion - the colors were especially striking to me. I loved looking at this onion. I didn't even mind that it made me cry. And, no, I wasn't crying because it was so beautiful...I'm not THAT bad. Seriously, though, I couldn't wait to take a picture and share it with all of you.


Thank you all for your menus every week. Participation is growing and I love getting ideas from you. Please keep the menus, recipes and comments coming!!

MONDAY:
- Sausage sandwiches w/pepper & onion
- Salad
- Chips

TUESDAY:
- Chicken Piccata
- Mashed potatoes
- Veggie or Salad

WEDNESDAY:
- Baked French Toast
- Hashbrowns
- Fruit

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Ravioli & leftover lasagna (not quite enough lasagna for full dinner for all of us, so a combo)
- Salad

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Quiche (bacon & cheese...yum!)
- Crusty bread
- Veggie

Recovering Grapefruit Junkie Lapses

I went through a phase with two good friends where we ate red grapefruit ALL THE TIME. That was a super healthy phase in my life: everyday we ate grapefruit, spinach and cottage cheese for lunch and worked out together after work. Those were the days...what happened?!?! I'll tell you what happened...TJ's chocolate covered pretzels, that's what.

While I may not eat grapefruit every day anymore, I still LOVE LOVE LOVE red, sweet grapefruits (and Ruby Red juice, which I can chug, chug, chug). As I was enjoying an especially tasty grapefruit today (even Cate ate a few pieces!), I decided I needed to share some pictures of it with you (yes, I went picture crazy today) as well as the most killer technique for eating it.

The BEST WAY EVER to eat a grapefruit:

1. Get yourself a red flesh grapefruit - sample varieties are Ruby, Rio, or Star.


2. Peel the grapefruit.


3. Break it in half (the only reason it's cut in my pictures was because it was pretty...you don't have to cut it) and peel off the rind from the grapefruit flesh. The rind pretty much stays together while you peel off the flesh from each slice.


4. Enjoy!!!


Forget a spoon. It's only going to massacre your fruit, destroying the texture. Trust me - it is so much better this way and worth the extra 5 minutes it takes to peel. Yum.

GO PATS!!!!!!!!

I know that whenever I show open support for a sports team on the blog I risk alienating a few readers (case in point, my own dad, who is a yankees fan for some sad reason)...and I especially take that risk today, seeing as how I'm in San Diego and may be attacked...but I gotta say it...

GO PATS!!!!!!!!!

I do feel bad for my San Diego friends out there - REALLY! But not that bad, I suppose. It's what we Patriots gotta do to reach PERFECTION. Seriously, a 19-0 season?!?! (And you all know it's gonna happen.) Can New England sports get any better? Besides breaking the curse, of course.

For all the non-sports readers out there, I'm done. Well, until the Superbowl in 2 weeks!

Week 52 Menu

Our good friends (remember Nikki, Christmas cookie extraordinaire?) recently got back from a trip to Nikki's home state...Hawaii. Can you imagine growing up there?! Anyway, they brought us a beautiful, deliciously ripe pineapple. I don't know how they got this dangerous-looking fruit through security...but I'm glad they did. It was so good and sure did make for a pretty picture (in fact, I think she brings me beautiful foods just so she gets mentioned on the blog...keep bringing it, Nikki!).


Here's my menu. I can't wait to see what you're all eating this week!

MONDAY:
- Beef Stew
- More of that good Trader Joe's bread

TUESDAY:
- Pasta of some kind...I just cleaned out the pantry a bit and discovered MANY bags of open pasta. Any suggestions for something easy and yummy that isn't boring spaghetti & red sauce?

WEDNESDAY:
- Orange Chicken (different from Costco & TJ's...be sure to check out this delicious recipe from Nate's grandmother)
- Rice
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Letovers

FRIDAY:
- Chicken Parmesan

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Beef Stroganoff
- Salad
- Rolls

The Goods: Costco's Orange Chicken

I've been meaning to write about this forEVER...but I would always forget to take pictures of the food! Finally got my act together.


Today I want to discuss frozen orange chicken options. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you know I always sung the praises of Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken (in the freezer section). It's yummy, we loved it, ate it all the time. Then one day we tried Costco's version (also in the freezer section and comparable in price). I never thought Costco would trump TJ's, but in this case it did.

Reason #1: The Meat. I mean, just look at those yummy frozen chicken pieces! It's all white meat. TJ's isn't. Seriously, the first time I poured the Costco version on the baking sheet, I was shocked at how much more appetizing and yummy that chicken looked.


Reason #2: The Sauce. I don't necessarily agree with this reason...but Nate does. The sauce is different. I actually kind of like TJ's sauce better because it has a little kick to it, but Nate definitely likes the Costco sauce better. It's more orange-y and fresher tasting. Despite my affinity for the TJ's sauce...I agree the Costco sauce is dang good. And the quality of the chicken in the Costco version definitely makes me willing to give up the TJs sauce.

So there you go. Orange Chicken review finally done. I feel like I've cheated on Joe, but hopefully he'll forgive me.

Super Baby Food

I have a few friends right now who are starting their babies on solid foods. I was talking to Nate about it and he suggested I do a quick post! Sorry to the non-baby people out there...although, the book I mention below is a great baby gift idea!

Tip #1: When it's time to start your baby on rice cereal, use Earth's Best brand. Trust me...not to get too graphic on a food website, but it will keep your baby's system happy, if you know what I mean. :)

Tip #2: Super Baby Foodby Ruth Yaron is a GREAT resource. If you want to make your own baby food, it's a must-have. If you don't want to make your own baby food, it is still a very handy book to have around. I used it a lot in the beginning. It really helped me to know what foods I could feed to Cate at what stages, etc. Despite eventually giving up on making my own baby food, I'm still very glad I had the book at my fingertips. You gotta get it, mommies!

So, that's all I have to say on the subject...well not really, I've got plenty to say on the subject. I'm just giving you a break for now. :)

Week 51 Menu

Tonight we had Costco's Chicken Corn Chowder (remember from last week's picture?). It was awesome. Nate and I both really liked it. Two thumbs up! Add a slice of Trader Joe's yummy bread (previously featured here), and you've got yourself a nice cozy dinner for a frigidly cold San Diego winter's night. ;)


Time for a menu. Hmmmm...what to eat...maybe some real cooking this week? Maybe not...

MONDAY:
- Orange Chicken (stay tuned this week on commentary on my new favorite orange chicken...sorry Trader Joe)
- Veggie Stir Fry (Trader Joe's freezer section)
- White Rice

TUESDAY:
- Waffles
- Fruit

WEDNESDAY:
- French Bread Pizza
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Sausage Alfredo Lasagna (Thank you, Isa! She brought this last week and we were able to freeze half of it - so nice.)
- Salad

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Beef Stew
- More of that good Trader Joe's bread

Now, bring on the menus!

Kitchen Tips: Cutting Brownies

Cate and I made some chewy brownies together this afternoon, which we both enjoyed thoroughly, of course. (We'll see if there are any for Nate when he gets home - just kidding - mostly.)


As I was cutting our brownies today, I thought I should share my brownie cutting trick with you: use a plastic knife. Works like a charm. Don't know why it's better than any metal knife you might try, but the brownies just don't stick to the plastic. Granted, if the brownies are piping hot when you cut (which mine were because I can't wait for them to cool), you'll still get a little stickage, but not much (see below). Trust me - the plastic knife is AMAZING.


I have a special edition of Fine Cooking called Chocolate. They give the following tips for cutting brownies into neat squares:
1. Line bottom of greased pan with parchment paper - grease the parchment paper.
2. After baking, run a sharp paring knife around the edge of the pan. This helps ease the whole baked brownie out of the pan. (Jane edit - plastic knife would be better...I'm sure of it...dude, I should be writing that magazine)
3. When the pan is cool enough to handle, flip out the whole brownie and then peel off the parchment.
4. Now invert the whole brownie onto a rack and let cool completely before cutting.

I think their method is handy for getting nice, even squares...but they didn't mention the knife. Go plastic!

Week 50 Menu

Wow, 50 weeks of menus...which means I've been at this for almost a year. Crazy!


This week marks my first as a mother of two without ANY help. Yes, last week we didn't have family staying with us, but at least friends brought dinners all week - which were awesome by the way! And I was able to freeze a few meals from what our moms cooked and friends brought to us...that will be a big help over the next week or two.

Anyway, back to REAL meal planning. Hope I remember what I'm doing. Still no big promises, folks...this is definitely a transition week!!

MONDAY:
- Leftovers...of which we have many from last week

TUESDAY:
- Nachos, mini tacos and guacamole (the mini tacos were brought by a friend last week)

WEDNESDAY:
- Chicken Tetrazzini (in the freezer, thanks to Nate's mom!)
- Salad

THURSDAY:
- Leftovers

FRIDAY:
- Spaghetti
- Salad
- Bread of some sort

SATURDAY:
- Eat out

SUNDAY:
- Chicken Corn Chowder (in the freezer, thanks to my friend Emily!)
- Good bread
- Salad

Okay, now it's your turn...what are you eating this week?

Having a Baby = Paper Plate Week

When I had Cate, a friend who gave us dinner also brought a big stack of paper plates, which ended up being one of the best baby presents we received! We made sure this time around we had some paper plates and plastic cups in stock. This is a must for any family with a new baby...it is SO NICE not having to worry about dishes, especially when people are bringing you food and you don't have to cook either!


I went out to the playground the other day and was talking with my friend Emily, who was bringing us dinner that night. We were talking about meals that we make for people. She said I should do a post about the topic, so here we are!

What's your "go-to" meal when you have to take dinner to someone? Here's mine...and I've gotta say, it's pretty awesome for the giver AND the givee.

Jane's Dinner That She "Makes" When Someone Has a Baby:
- Costco Chicken (at $4.99, it's a steal..plus it's delicious)
- Mashed potatoes - I make these myself - it's the only thing I have to cook on the menu!
- Gravy - I either make gravy using juice in the Costco chicken container and some broth, or I swing by Boston Market and buy a container of gravy
- Bag of microwaveable veggies from Trader Joe's
- French bread/Rolls from Trader Joe's
- Bucket of Trader Joe's mini chocolate chip cookies

For those of you who don't have Trader Joe's, you could easily substitute similar products from another gorcery store. Here's why this meal is awesome for taking to people.

1) No dishes to return. The potatoes are the only item that need a container. I just put them in a disposable ziploc tupperware thingy.

2) Good food. Most people like this assortment of food, it tastes pretty homemade and it isn't spicy for nursing mothers.

3) Low cost. It's not expensive for the giver.

4) Easy. Not much cooking involved, and it's easy to double up to have dinner for yourself the same night.

Leftover potential is another thing to consider...this is one aspect that my meal plan falls a bit short on. When Cate was born we received a homemade lasagna that was not only delicious, but froze well into individual servings...it was so nice to have that yummy lasagna waiting for us in the freezer when we needed it!

Now it's time for you to share your great ideas!