Two Timin' Pasta

Theres a time for quality gourmet cooking and there's a time for throwin' it together and shoving it in the oven. This recipe is for one of those times. It's super easy to make ahead and a favorite with my family. With two teenagers who play sports, a part time job and a hubby in grad school, some days we just can't all sit down to dinner. At the very least, I like a home cooked meal that everyone can reheat and eat as they come and go. This recipe is perfect for that. I usually put it all together in the morning and refrigerate. Then the first one home puts it in the oven. Everyone just helps themselves when they get home. And it's good. Really good. Give it a whirl. . .

Cabbage Rolls

One of my favorite winter dishes is Cabbage Rolls. I never get to have them. On the rare occasion that I stumble into an old style deli and they have them, I always get some. The very few times I've found them on a restaurant menu, I've ordered them. No matter what time of day, no matter what time of year, no matter what occasion. I love 'em. I'm not sure where I first tasted them but it was love at first bite. (Anyone remember that hokey George Hamilton movie from the 80's?) The sweet savory combo is one of my favorites. Cabbage Rolls have all the elements of old fashioned comfort food. Hot, hearty, one-dish prep, awesome reheated for leftovers and an entire meal (veggie, meat, starch) all wrapped up in one. Yummy, yum, yum!

I finally decided to take the plunge and try and make them on my own. Unfortunately I don't have a Polish Nana to show me how. No long passed down secret family recipe. I'm totally on my own with this one. So, I researched, and read many, many, many cabbage roll recipes. Wowza, there are about a million different ways to make them. Oven or stovetop? Brown or white rice? Chunky or smooth sauce? Onion? Garlic? Pork? Beef? Sausage? So many variations. What I finally decided to try was the recipe below which I came up with by cobbling together what I liked from 4-5 different recipes. See what you think. . .

Best of 2012 & A Gift

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I've missed you. It was a crazy holiday season and I'm just now getting back to "regular life". Whatever that is. My apologies for neglecting the blog. It's been crazy. 

First, Thanksgiving. . .

then the break in. . .

then my husband was gone for two weeks. . .

then it was Christmas. . .

then my dad visited. . .

then it was New Year's. . .

then I got sick. . .

then I got a sinus infection. . .

then I pulled jury duty. 

Whew, so glad that it's all over. I have just about two weeks to relax (ha ha ha ha) until it's birthday season around here. So, until then, I'm just going to try and take it easy. Not dive into too many projects and just slow it all down for a while. What that means is that I haven't done a lot of cooking this last week and I've decided, for my first post of the New Year, to post a "Best Of". I've also got a surprise for you. See those super cute holiday measuring spoons at the top of the post. To my delight, someone slipped those into my stocking this year. Impractical? Yep, you betcha. Adorably cute, Rightey-O! I thought they were so cute in fact that I'm going to give some away to two lucky blog readers. Check the bottom of the post for more info. In the meantime, check out the most popular posts of 2012:

Chili Cheeseburger Macaroni

So a couple of weeks ago I went fishing around on the web for some easy dinner recipes. Between school, homework, baseball practices and games, homecoming float building nights, my husband's grad school studies and my job search, dinner seems to have become an after thought most nights. NOT OK in my book. I love dinner and us all sitting down together each night. It soothes my soul. BUT, our family is maturing and everyone has their own "thang goin' on". Half of us are zigging when the other half are zagging. Some nights we just can't all sit down. So I went looking for some easy homemade dinners that I could make in the afternoon and we can just heat and eat as we come and go. At the very least, everyone gets a home cooked meal. No frozen dinners, no re-heated take out.

Amongst all the offerings on the ole internet, I found this recipe for Cheeseburger Macaroni. All the ingredients are pantry staples. Nothing obscure, odd or needing a special trip to the store. All things that are easy to keep on hand. Plus, it only uses two pans, easy peasy clean up! That alone will send it to the top of the list. But the very best part of this recipe is that all four of us loved it. The best I ever hope for in a new recipe is a couple of "it's good"s and an "it's ok". I almost never get a unanimous vote. This recipe delivered. I've also shared this recipe with two friends who have confirmed that it was a hit with their families as well. So thumbs up all around. Other than adding a step to blend the Rotel, I only made one other change from the original recipe: I renamed it "Chili Cheeseburger Macaroni".

You can make it with either beef or turkey (I'm showing turkey) and you could swap out the cheddar for some pepper jack to spice it up, or plain old jack to keep it mild. I've made a couple of variations on it but our preference, hands down, is beef and cheddar. See what you think.

Beef Stew

I love beef stew.

I love meals that cook in one pot.

I love slow cooked meats.

I love meals of slow cooked meat that cook in one pot so you can clean up the kitchen while it's cooking and then eat way too much because it's just so good and then fall asleep on the couch watching a zombie movie because the kitchen is already cleaned up and then wake up sweaty from your totally scary zombie dream and go have more ste. . . . TMI?

I love this recipe. . .

It's kind of hard to wax poetic about beef stew because, as I write, it is totes sunny out today. Birds are chirping, breeze is blowing and it's Spring. Or is it? Forecast says were due for a rainy weekend and what's better on a rainy weekend that a hearty pot of beef stew. And this dear readers is one of the best darn beef (or pork, or elk, or venison) stew recipes around. The ingredients are simple and inexpensive and the steps uncomplicated. It's all about the cooking order, developing the individual flavors and then gently melding them all together. Seriously, don't skip any steps, no shortcuts. This is serious stew fixin'!

And no potatoes. "What?" you say. "Beef stew without potatoes?", "Sacrilege!" OK, now hear me out. I love potatoes, oh mama, how I love potatoes. But not in stew. They get all mushy, mealy and fall apart. The "stewing" robs all their flavor and they end up gritty globs of bland tasteless starch, completely ruining the silky texture of the stew. 

But. . . you can always serve it over mashed potatoes. Mmmmm, good!

But. . . as much as I love mashed potatoes, oh mama, how I love mashed potatoes, my preference is to serve the stew over creamy cheddar polenta (recipe below). 

Seriously, you've got to try it.

No BBQ Tri Tip Roast

I never thought I'd say it but "I'm never going to barbecue a tri tip again!" There, I said it and although I also say "Never say never." this time it just may be true. Why? Because I've discovered the most delicious way to make tri tip right in my very own oven, in my nice warm and dry house. Don't get me wrong, I love to BBQ or really I should say "grill" but I'm a west-coaster and we say BBQ when we really mean grill. It's a regional thing, get over it. I love hangin' in the back yard, firing up the "Q" and grabbin' a cold one on a hot summer day. What I don't love is schlepping down to the gas station to fill the propane tank, then freezing my keester off in the back yard in the dead of winter. Although we've yet to have much rain here, once that sun goes down, it gets cold and gets cold quick and I don't much feel like bundling up just to go cook dinner. A bit of a hassle, or maybe I'm lazy, whatever, point is, it's easier in the oven.

What you need is a good marinade. Use a bottled one, your favorite recipe or the one I've included here, which came from my good friend Trish, which I pretty much use to marinate everything. You're also going to need a cast iron skillet. At least 10 inches, 12 inches would be better. If you don't have a cast iron skillet then stop reading this blog and get one IMMEDIATELY. They really aren't too expensive and will last you a lifetime. Seriously, get one! Then get to making this delicious No BBQ Tri Tip Roast.

Start with the marinade. Just five simple pantry ingredients: soy sauce, vegetable oil, wine (cooking sherry, marsala, any wine will do.), garlic (Fresh minced is best but you can use garlic powder in a pinch. . .I was in a pinch.), ground ginger. You're also gunna need a tri tip roast.

Whisk together all the marinade ingredients.

Put the roast in a large zipper bag and set it in a bowl.

Pour in the marinade, squish out all the air and zip it up. Let it set in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, up to overnight, turning it over several times.

Set your oven to 400°F. Get a cast iron skillet, at least a 10-inch one, and heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Get it good and hot.

Remove the tri tip from the marinate and scrape/shake off the excess marinade.

Carefully lay it in the hot pan and sear about 3-4 minutes.

Then flip it over and sear the other side, 3-4 minutes again. You want a nice crusty caramelization on both sides. YUM! Once both sides are well seared, put the whole thing (skillet and roast) into the preheated 400°F oven for 25-35 minutes. For medium rare at the thickest part, cook until a thermometer reads about 130°F.  Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil. Let rest 10-15 minutes.

Remove to a cutting board and slice it up. Yummy, yum, yum. Perfect, warm, and pink. Add some barbecue sauce and buns for tri tip sandwiches or slice into strips for quick fajitas. A great way to fix tri tip without the barbeque.

No BBQ Tri Tip Roast


2-1/2 to 3 lb. Tri Tip Roast


Marinade:
1/2 C. soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 t. garlic powder)
1/4 C. wine
1/4 C. vegetable oil
2 T. powdered ginger


3 T. olive oil


Place roast in a large zipper bag. Whisk together marinade ingredients and pour over roast. Squeeze out all air from bag and seal. Place in a large bowl and refrigerate for several hours (or overnight), turning over frequently.


Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast iron skillet (10 inches or larger.) over medium high heat.  Remove roast from marinade and shake/scrape off excess marinade from surface of roast. Sear roast in hot skillet 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place skillet with roast on the center rack of the oven and roast for 25-35 minutes (medium rare), until thermometer reads 130°F in thickest part of meat. Roast longer for medium or well done meat. Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let set for 10-15 minutes before slicing.