Puffy Tuesday

 

Yesterday, we celebrated Fat Tuesday with some Mardi Gras recipes and activities.  It's the only day of the year that we toss the word "fat" around so carelessly.  We usually go with "puffy", as in, I can't button my jeans today because I'm too puffy from the three Paczski and two slices of King Cake I ate yesterday.

We made these fun "Muffuletta Roll-Ups".  I also made some with just ham and cream cheese that were a bit more kid-friendly.  They were a big hit!

The girls and I colored Mardi Gras masks and pictures of bead necklaces.  Aidan couldn't be convinced to join in.  We found all kinds of great printables on Pinterest.  You can find my Mardi Gras page here.

For dinner, we had Red Beans & Rice and our Muffuletta Roll-Ups, along with some "Alligator Juice" that was just light-colored juice mixed with green food coloring.

For dessert, we had our annual King Cake from Sunflour Bakehaus.  They make awesome cakes and we get one every year!  The baby popped up in Annalise's slice so she's looking forward to a year of good luck!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Rollin' in Dough

I know you probably all thought that we must be starving over here since the "What We're Eating" posts disappeared for a while.  What can I say?  We got a dog, I became a Mary Kay lady and we've had colds, croups and ear infections aplenty.

But... I'm going to try to get back on track updating everyone with all of our comings, goings and eatings.

This week, I thought I would share my favorite Pizza Dough Recipe.  It comes from one of my fav cookbooks, Jamie at Home.  I have been making it since Aidan was a baby (along with several other recipes) and it is my absolute favorite.  It's easy.  It doesn't require anything too weird and it always turns out great.  It also makes a big batch so I can freeze few dough balls for another pizza night?

Just so you know:  I ALWAYS use the mix of high-gluten bread flour and semolina they mention.  But, feel free to throw caution to the wind and go with bread flour all the way!

What We're Eating...Well...Ate.

Just a quick post today to share this YUMMY and EASY recipe we tried while Matt was in Japan.  You can find the link here!  I had been trying to clean out some odds and ends in the fridge left over from our last Door to Door box.  I googled pasta, mushrooms and broccoli and this popped up.  I had everything on hand so we went for it!  So glad!  It was a hit, easy to make and delicious!  It reheated well the next day for lunches, too!

Enameled Cast Iron and The Undead

I have been hoarding pans for several years now.  It all started with a dutch oven.  One winter, I decided that I NEEDED one in the worst way.  My dear sweet husband purchased a big, bright, blue doufeu from Le Creuset which we lovingly christened "William Doufeu".  An orange griddle pan soon followed and then lots of bright yellow bakeware.  Eventually, my mom and I developed a system (still in practice today) which suits us perfectly.  It goes a little something like this:

1.  Go to an outlet mall.

2.  Buy a fifty pound pan right at the beginning of your trip so you can carry it through the rest of the outlet mall.

3.  Attach its' sentiment to the nearest available holiday; and,

4.  Voila!  "It's a gift!  How could I  refuse!?!"

Well, up until very recently, I had been sort of "saving" these good pans in the back of my cupboard and using my everyday pans.  However, I do a lot of cooking and the everyday ones were really starting to wear out.  Rather than replacing them; which, I totally wouldn't MIND doing by the way, I decided to just embrace my fancy pans and start using them all the time.  They make ordinary dinners, like tonight's overcooked Tuna Noodle Casserole, seem oh, so chic.  

And, really, what am I waiting for??  Life is just too short not to use "the good pans".  If every show my husband watches is correct, then zombies and vampires are our most imminent threat and we'll soon be forced to start destroying the respective brains and hearts of all of our closest friends any day now.  Our total annihilation is literally right around the corner.  All of this has led me to consider the important things in life...  does the lifetime guarantee on enameled cast iron extend to The Undead; and, if I'm going to have to stab people in the head, I really should upgrade to the Henckels.

Pretty Pictures of Some Subpar Mac and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese is something of a mystery in this house.  It used to be the ONLY convenience food that all three of my kids would eat.  Then, one day, when Aidan was four, I made a terrible mistake.  I bought a box of dinosaur mac and cheese that was deemed "scary" and that was the end of that.  He has literally never eaten it again. He is older, wiser, braver and even a fan of dinosaurs; but, he will have nothing to do with mac and cheese of any kind.

The girls are another matter.  They love macaroni and cheese.  They like it in restaurants, made from scratch recipes at home and in a box.  The only problem is that they only like it in SOME restaurants, made from scratch at home SOME of the time and in SOME boxes.  This sounds like it would be easy enough to solve:  just make or buy the kind they like, right?  The only problem is that the macaroni they like (and don't like) doesn't seem to have ANY definable qualities or common traits.  It seems to be one giant game of hit or miss and I literally have no idea how to play this game.  I can buy a three pack of boxed mac & cheese and Addie will like two of the boxes, while Annalise only likes the third one.  In a restaurant, I will only let one of them get it now so that there will be another meal to share if things should go awry.  Annalise loves the mac and cheese at Zingerman's Roadhouse; but, it is just way too "real" for Ads.  And at home, who knows?  I think I might have stirred it with the wrong spoon and ruined the last batch??

So... I'm always on the hunt for the PERFECT Macaroni & Cheese that will satisfy everyone.  Coupled with my hunt for the ideal stuffing, it is kind of my eternal quest.  It has to meet these requirements:  the girls will eat it, there will be enough noodles left for Aidan to have them plain, it has enough of a gourmet feel to make me happy; and Matt, well, he doesn't care, he's just happy we saved him some.

I had high hopes for this one I found in Honest Pretzels.  It's a kids' cookbook I found at the library.  I had hoped it would be kid-friendly; but still tasty.  It turned out to be neither. Mostly, it was just mustardy.  Very, very mustardy.  It was rather photogenic, though.  It also makes a nice big batch and because no one likes it, the leftovers last quite a while!  

Fried Dough and the Punic Wars

I know I'm supposed to provide you with some educational insights on Thursdays for "What We're Learning"; but, instead I thought I would share this randomness I found when I was searching through unfinished posts from last year.  It was already entitled "Fried Dough and the Punic Wars"(???)  I hadn't actually written anything, just posted pictures of the kids making elephant ears in their pajamas.  I think it had something to do with Hannibal going... somewhere???... on an elephant and I had planned to tie all of these things neatly together in some witty essay.  But I didn't.  And I forgot where Hannibal was going anyway.  So...think of this as a jumping-off point for your own research.  Or just go make some elephant ears with this handy, graphic tutorial.

What We're Eating: The Inaugural Edition

Mondays at Youngstown Bread are going to be all about the FOOD!  On Mondays, I'm hoping to share some fun recipes that we try, meals that we're planning to make, yummy ingredients we discover and even some kitchen failures along the way!  

First up:  our DIY Nutella Heart Tarts!

We found the inspiration for these here; but, ours are a bit simpler.  We just rolled out two refrigerated pie crusts a bit thinner.  The kids used a large heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out their tarts.

For the tart tops, we used a tiny heart-shaped cookie cutter to give them a little flair.

Next, we laid out our bottom hearts and spread each one with a teaspoon of warmed Nutella.

We added their decorative tops and crimped the edges with a fork.

Next, we brushed the tops with a little mixture of egg yolk and water.

We sprinkled some raw sugar on top and popped them into a 350* oven for about 14 minutes.

They were a really fun breakfast treat and the most realistic Pop-Tart knockoff that I've tried.  All three kids had seconds and we finished them up for dessert that night after dinner.  We would definitely make them again!  I think they would be cute for just about any holiday with the right cookie cutters!  

Cookie Masterpieces

I thought I would share a project we did a few months back for Adelaide's fifth birthday.  We had an art themed party with rainbow layer cake, paint glob cake balls and some "creative juices".  I found a lot of inspiration on Pinterest.  There were tons of rainbow party and art party boards that were full of great ideas.  For activities, we did a few fun arts and crafts projects like homemade rainbow dough, pipe cleaner name bracelets and these fun "Cookie Masterpieces.

I made my favorite sugar cookie recipe ahead of time.  I rolled the dough a little thicker than usual and cut it into rectangles.  I iced them a day ahead with thick white royal icing and let them harden for the party.  On the day of the party, we set them up on these tiny easels I found on the cheap and set out some new paintbrushes.  For paint, I mixed powdered sugar with water and lots of food coloring and the kids got to work painting their abstract masterpieces.  They had a great time and everyone got a sweet treat to take home.  

Monday Meal Plan (A Day Late)

This weekend, my mom and I went away for a girl's shopping trip.  I spent yesterday getting the house together and catching up on laundry... so, I'm just getting around to our meal plans today.  I've actually got a pretty easy week in the kitchen.

Tonight, I'm making Beef & Mushrooms over Brown Rice to use up some leftovers.  We'll have Steamed Broccoli, Biscuits and a Pumpkin Roll for dessert.

Wednesday, we're having Chicken Noodle Soup, Grilled Cheese and Fresh Fruit.

Thursday, we're headed to a cookout and bonfire so I'm off the clock.

On Friday, I'm making Fried "Uncle Bill" Fish, Carrots and a Tomato Basil Salad.

Saturday,  we're making DIY Homemade Pizzas, a Salad, and maybe some Cupcakes if I've got it in me.

Sunday, for "Fancy Dinner", we're having Lobsters,  Brussels Sprouts and some sort of Butternut Squash and Quinoa Gratin (recipe TBD???) and Apple Dumplings for dessert.

I don't have much of anything exciting planned for breakfasts and lunches this week, just the usual, I guess!  Saturday, there is lots happening all day at the farm market so we might just get breakfast and lunch while we're there!

What are you cooking this week???  Let me know in the comments below! I'm always looking for inspiration!

Monday Meal Plans...

I'm trying to get back into meal planning around here now that all the summer fun has passed.  We're busy with school, church, cub scouts and music lessons and dinner seems to creep up quickly without a plan.  I started up our Door to Door subscription again for the fall; and, I want to make sure that I take advantage of all the goodies in our boxes... it definitely takes some planning to use all that kale!

So... here's my plan for the week:

Monday:  Pulled Pork Tacos with Corn Salsa (I just put a dry-rubbed pork shoulder in the Crock Pot and made some salsa with all our leftover odds and ends from the weekend:  corn, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro and lime.  I've got corn tortillas, cheese and plain yogurt to go with.  Matt's in charge of dinner on Monday nights while I take Aidan to CCD.  I try to at least have a plan for him and a few things started.  For dessert, I made a yummy Chocolate Ganache Raspberry Tart.  We had tons of raspberries left from our picking this weekend and I already had the tart dough in the freezer so it seemed like just the right choice!

Tuesday:  Dinner Out

Wednesday:  Spaghetti and Meatballs, Steamed Broccoli, Garlic Bread and a Salad.  We have four different activities Wednesday evening; so, I wanted something quick and easy.

Thursday:  Beef Brisket Sandwiches with Homemade Rolls and Green Beans... I may make some French Fries for Ads so she won't suffer too greatly.

Friday:  Baked Chicken, Buttered Noodles and Broccoli and Carrots (I'm headed out of town for the weekend so I'm planning to make big batches of everything all week so that Matt and the kids will have plenty to eat!  Little Caesar's is pretty close though, so I think they'll be just fine!)

For lunches this week, I'm planning to make Stir Fried Veggies and Rice, Turkey Noodle Soup (with leftovers from last night's "Fancy Dinner") and some Kale Chips.  The other days we'll fill in with leftovers.  Nothing super exciting on the breakfast front; but, I do want to make biscuits one morning to have with the Crock Pot Apple Butter I made last night.  It is delicious!  I was a little worried that it made such a huge batch; but, now that I've tasted it, I think we will have no problems polishing it off!

If you are looking for recipes, I pin most of my weekly recipes and inspirations here.