Cooking for Consolatte

My aunt and I have gone to the Casting Crowns Concert every year they have been in Nacogdoches since I have been in school down here, and at each concert, they give a short but effective segment on World Vision. Now I have thought and thought and thought about sponsoring a child but I always talk myself out of it saying we can't afford it right now. Especially with one income and me a full time student. With my lent decision and cooking a lot more at home, I broke it down and the little $35 a month commitment that they ask for is usually less than we spend eating out one time at Chili's. Really? How many times a month do we eat out? Surely we can sacrifice one. So beginning now, I will be dedicating one meal a month as my Consolatte Meal. My money is automatically withdrawn from checking account on the 25th of each month so on this day ( or one really close) I will cook for Consolatte.
Consolatte is a young girl in Burundi Africa living with her parents, one brother and 3 sisters. Her parents both farmers struggle to make ends meet and struggle to feed their children. She is also my sponsored child. Consolatte and her family live in a post war country that is also highly influenced by the HIV virus. As I sit here on my laptop, watching TV and eating a sandwich,it is very hard for me to realize, how truly difficult survival is in a country like this. I mean things like not having clean water and food were things of the past right? Surely they don't still happen today? Thinking about my own life and how blessed I am it is hard to imagine a 6 year old, like Consolatte, carrying water 6 miles to support her family, or going to bed hungry because their family can't afford something to eat or draught has caused their crops to die. Again, I thought these were problems of the past and surely technology had caught up to them by now. Well this is not the case and World Vision takes these situations and teaches these families how with God's help they can rise above their circumstances and again become self sufficient. Implementing new farming techniques and installing clean water wells so that the children who drink the water do not become sick and infested with parasites. In Consolatte's village, World Vision provides a clean water well and education on how to stop the spread of the HIV virus. They also provide education both in academics, and how to be self sufficient. Well worth my $35 a month.
On my World Vision welcome video it says that " Everyday American's spend 1 Billion Dollars dining out" can you imagine the type of impact that could be made if everyone gave up just one meal eating out and donated that money to World Vision? I invite you to pray on it and see if your family too could dedicate one meal a month to a sponsored child.Trust me, I think you will find it well worth it!

It's over

Well Lent has come and gone and although we did not do as well as we had thought, which I am sure you can tell by the little ammount of entries I have written recently, we still did pretty well. We cut our eating out by over 80% and have seen both the weight loss and the money gain that we had hoped for. With this in mind, I have decided to keep up with the tradition, and keep things coming, as I find new recipes, I'll continue to post and pass on. With our lives as busy as they are things can get pretty hectic around here so we try and keep them easy and fast. I came upon an article in the Daily Sentinel, our local newspaper,that I thought I would share with you.The article is about using your iphone for mealtime. If you know me at all you know how it is relevent, but for those of you that don't I would say I have a down right addiction to the little contraption. I had never REALLY thought about it until I read this article and saw how many different aps there are and what a great source my iphone is for family meals. So, if you have an iphone, you might want to look up the following aps the next time you are looking for some new recipe ideas: AllRecipes dinner spinner,Big Oven, Betty Crocker Cookbook, Crockpot Dinners,epicurious,McCormick recipe finder,Whole Foods Recipes, and for after dinner, a personal favorite of mine, shakedrink which gives you yummy cocktails.



You can read the article here : http://dailysentinel.com/life_and_entertainment/article_8cedd676-3c57-11df-9bb0-001cc4c002e0.html

Marcotte, Michele. "Use your Iphone for Mealtime Assistance." Daily Sentinel 31 Mar. 2010 [Nacogdoches, TX] . Web. 8 Apr. 2010.

Regrets

I need some help here people!! I must say that these last few weeks have not been very interesting in the cooking department. I have kind of come to a rut when it comes to meal planning and making sure that I actually get everything I need at the grocery store and following through with my menu. It seems as though time goes faster on nights when I have a big menu planned thinking an hour and a half is a enough time to get a meal on the table and then head back out to rehearsal and then it never fails I have used one of the ingrediants for another meal forgetting that I need it for this one and here I am running to the grocery store to try and pick up the ingrediant. Getting home, I then realize I don't have time now to make it anyway and thus PB&J or Mac and Cheese.Or I have bought the ingrediants for a particular meal weeks ago and due to scheduling did not get it made so now the fresh ingrediants that I have bought have not kept so here again running to the grocery store. So although not intentionally, we have nevertheless been in a rut. Trying to avoid this tonight, I bought one of the Wanchai Ferry Kung Pao chicken Box dinners, you know those kind where you just have to cook it all the ingrediants are right there and boy did I regret it! The sauce was wangy and the rice, although cooked to the specifications on the box was mushy. SOOOO hopeing to avoid this in the future, I am calling on all my friends and family to help me out here and give me some good ideas for meal planning by answering the following questions. Please try and comment on the post or if it won't let you, e-mail me and I will post it for you. Thanks so much!!!

What are some of your ideas that work for successful Meal Planning?
What are some kitchen staples that you keep on hand for dinner in a hurry?
Do you buy groceries per meal everyday or do you buy and stock up at one time?

No Worries!

Just wanted ya'll to know I am still cooking just nothing too interesting trying to get rid of some groceries and clean up some cabinet space! I'll let ya know once I get some interesting recipes I'll start posting again

Wednesday

With all these new dishes this week, my fridge has filled up pretty fast with left overs. In fact I had to go buy more gladware just so that I would be able to store the leftovers. So tonight we had leftovers. So here is little light reading on some cooking opinions since there are no new recipes for tonight.







Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of an ice cream cone to prevent ice cream drips.


Just suck the ice cream out of the bottom of the cone, for Pete's sake! You are probably lying on the couch with your feet up eating it, anyway!



To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.



Buy Hungry Jack mashed potato mix. Keeps in the pantry for up to a year.


When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead and there won't be any white mess on the outside of the cake.



Go to the bakery! Hell, they'll even decorate it for you!


If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato and it will absorb the excess salt for an instant 'fix-me-up.'



If you over-salt a dish while you are cooking, that's too bad. Please recite with me the real woman's motto: 'I made it, you will eat it and I don 't care how bad it tastes!'



Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator and it will keep for weeks.



Celery? Never heard of it!



Brush some beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful glossy finish.



The Mrs. Smith frozen pie directions do not include brushing egg whites over the crust, so I don 't.



Cure for headaches: take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go away.



Take a lime, mix it with tequila, chill and drink! All your pains go away!



Don't throw out all that leftover wine. Freeze into ice cubes for future use in casseroles and sauces.




Leftover wine??????? HELLO!!!!!!

Day 13

I can't believe it is already day 13...granted we had a little time gone with SFASU choir tour, we are almost half way through lent and I think this will definately be a tradition once Lent is over. It really is fun doing this and is even more fun realizing how little effor it really takes and how much money we have already saved! With well thought out meal plans and grocery lists, the money we have saved not eating out is worth it in itself. Well with this week being family week, I went the Carollo Family Cook Book by Aunt Diane for tonights meal. One of her own recipes, these barbecued sandwiches were great! Fast, easy, delicious, what more could you want!


I took at 3 lb pork tenderloin and cut it in half. I froze half for another meal since it is was just the two of us. I then sprinkled some brisket rub on the pork roast, combined with some beef broth, it all went into the crock pot on low for about 6 hours. Once it was done and fully cooked, I took it out put it in a bowl and shredded it and mixed in about a cup of Stubbs barbecue sauce. Mix it all together throw it on a bun and WAHLAH great tasty barbecue sandwiches!

Thanks Aunt Diane!!!

A Little Late

We have recently gotten involved with the Nacogdoches Police Explorers Post. This program allows high school students in Nacogdoches who are interested in becoming law enforcement officers a chance to get involved with the local police department. It is basically like boyscouts for people who want to be police officers. They hold by monthly meetings and participate in yearly competitions. It is a really great program and we really enjoy working with the kids. Well, with our meetings on Monday night and with Opera rehearsals running until right at 5 it makes getting dinner on the table in time to leave for our meeting at 6 a real impossibility. This being the case, I try to put something in the crock pot that will be ready and we can snatch and grab and run out the door. Last night however, I forgot to finish the slide show, and we didn't have time to grab the fajitas out of the crock pot before leaving so we had a VERY late night dinner last night. This is the best thing about Crock Pot Cooking though, you can set the crock pot on warm and when you finally do get home, you still have a hot fresh meal. This recipe from my cousin Jill was GREAT and the meat worked great for fajita nachos for lunch today. Thanks Jill!!


Ingredients

•2 pounds skirt steak/Flank steak – I usually get like 1.5 lbs cause that is how the sell it
•2 packets (1.27-ounces each) fajita seasoning
•1 onion, thickly sliced
•2 green bell peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
•1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
•1/2 cup beer or water
Directions

Slice steak into strips (cut against the grain). Season both sides of steaks with 1 packet of fajita seasoning (I usually just dump the strips into a pan and sprinkle packet on top and mix with my hands). Add vegetables to a 5-quart slow cooker. Toss with remaining packet of fajita seasoning. Add steak strips on top of vegetables. Pour in beer. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours.



I cut up and season the steak all at night and then throw everything in the crock pot in the morning.

Sunday Tradition

These past few years I have received several priceless recipes, a cookbook from Nick's mom which contains most of their family recipes, partiularly Nick's pappa's side, another from his Grandma that contains a lot of recipes from her side, particularly her mother, a recipe from my grandma for my Grandpa Phelps' Barbecue Sauce, and perphaps one of the most special, a cookbook that my Aunt Diane made for each of us for Christmas this year. With the passing of my Aunt Kathy, a lot of our family recipes were, for lack of a better word,lost. However, My Aunt Diane compiled what we all had and took other recipes from new family members and made a wonderful commemorative book with family photos, family history and the Recipe for Carollo homemade spaghetti sauce. I find family recipes facinating and love researching my families history through cooking. The recipes which are not written down unless asked for by a younger family member create a family legacy and tradition. These are the things that are present at every family function, prepared by the same family member. Recipes endearingly called "Aunt Pat Cookies", "Auntie Char's Kolaches" ,"MA Ma's pie crust", or "Grandpa Phelp's Barbeque Sauce" Recipes not known by any other name than by their preparer. These are the recipes which I hold the most dear and which I will be cooking from this week. Sorry you won't get the recipes for these, not because I don't want to share....ok well maybe. But these recipes are as much a part of my soul as they are a part of kitchen

The first question asked when you walk into a Carollo household is usually, "Can I get you something to eat?" It didn't matter if we got there at 9am or midnight whenever we would walk into my grandma's house, she would always ask.... "Do you want something to eat?" And of course it was rude to turn anything down and usually by the time we got to Chicago, we were so hungry for Italian Beef we were salivating walking in the door KNOWING Grandma Carollo would have some in the freezer. In fact, for us her question usually turned into "do you want something to eat, I've got some beef in the freezer" and she would get up from the kitchen table, where she had usually fallen asleep waiting for our arrival,and in her night gown and slippers,walk to the refrigerator, get out the pots and pans and begin to prepare our meal. it made you feel special that she was there, waiting, ready to spoil you and take care of you. But of course, my dad was "her precioius" so she always went extra special out of her way to take care of him ( or at least that is what Aunt Kathy would say when she was giving him a hard time) This tradition has become such a vivid memory for me, I often catch myself doing it to our guests. Food was always a very important tradition for our family and our family functions usually revolved around it. So, tonight I started with the best, Carollo's Spaghetti sauce. From the boiling of the neck bones to the fresh oregano, basil and parmesean. This recipe was just as tasty as I remember it. Although it took all day to make, it was worth the wait, and I have lots left over to freeze for another meal. Not only was the meal tasty, it was great to reminesce and remember my family members who used to make it for us. So often, we take for granted the family recipes and memories that people forget to write down until it is to late, and tonight it was great to make something that has been a part of our family for so many years.

Saturday's Dinner

The Day After Thanksgiving Shopping is one that we never miss, however normally we wait until about 7 or 8 to get up and go. This year, although in Illinois, I felt it was still good to keep with tradition and my mom and I got up and went out about 7 or 8. However, my sister- in -law is one of the CRAZIES ( and of course I mean that in the most loving way possible since she is probably one of the most "normal" relatives I have) who was out at 4:30 or actually I think it was earlier to get something at Toys R Us. Which I guess if we had kids maybe I would feel more compelled to get out and fight the crowds, but normally 7 or 8 we can still get some pretty good deals. Well this year, Kohl's had a fry daddy that was on sale for $5 and I just knew they would sell out quick. Normally they only keep like 10 or 15 at that price and you have to be one of the first ones in to get that deal. Well, never having one but wanting one I decided to play into the After Thanksgiving Sale and get one. Lucky for me, my wonderful sister-in-law said she would pick one up for us so that we didn't have to get out and I am soo glad she did. We have used it for everything from french fries to homemade donuts and it has been well worth our $5. Saturday was a lazy day for us and one thing that we love and were really not looking forward to giving up was Wing Stop, so Saturday I decided to try it. Although the lemon pepper were WAY to lemmon peppery, the regular wings turned out pretty good. I used the Hooters wing batter and sauce and cooked some french fries and although not particularly healthy, it was pretty tasty and about 10 times cheaper than Wing Stop. Nothing will compare to Wing Stop or their French Fries but it is nice to know we have an alternative option.

Awards Banquet

Friday was a cheat day for us. My husband, a Nacogdoches police officer, was nominated for the Officer's choice award and last night was the banquet. Although sick and doped up on conjestion medicine, I still could barely taste the menu, which was from a local restaurant. So although we ate out, we didn't pay for it so it doesn't count right??????

Back in the Habit

So after being gone for 4 days, singing 11 concerts, staying in a "non-smoking" room, which really probably was only a non-smoking room for that weekend, I have become sick and REALLY did not feel like cooking last night. However after talking to one of my very dear friends, surrogate "step-mom", she talked me into cooking last night and I am glad I did. After telling her the only thing that I really had to cook were Chicken breasts, she reminded me of something easy, quick and tasty. Oven fried chicken breasts. Although I didn't have any corn flakes like she suggested, I did have Ritz crackers, which is the way my mom used to always make it. So here is basically what I did.....an original, collaborative concoction. Despite not being plated very attractively, all in all it was a great meal with Sliced Carrots, and rolls and took less than an hour to make and was extremely easy to prepare.

Lemon Pepper Oven Fried Chicken Breasts

Boneless Chicken Breasts
Milk
Ritz Crackers
Lemon Pepper
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder

Mix milk, lemon Pepper, Garlic Powder , Onion Powder in a small bowl
Crumble Ritz Crackers and put in another bowl( I mixed in a little lemon pepper here for extra flavor)
Dip chicken in milk mixture
Dip in Ritz Crumbs
Bake in Oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes, I ALWAYS cut open one of the chicken breasts to make sure it is throughly cooked.

Day 3....Disappointment

Okay so the meal that I was sooo excited about turned out to be a total flop. If you remember right I made a REALLY GREAT roast on day 1. Well the recipe is supposed to be 2 fold and you can make pulled pork tacos with it the next time around, which is what I attempted to do on day 3. Although not utterly disgusting I really just felt the recipe sort of bland. I guess this is what this is all about trial and error right? and experiementing with new recipes and techniques so I don't call it a complete failure but I will say it is good we had chips and queso!

So basically here is what I did.....

Shredded the rest of the roast.
Sauteed onion bell pepper,green pepper, and Jalapeno until the vegetables were pretty much done.
Added the roast at the last minute just to reheat it (remember it was already cooked)

So again although not a total failure, it was disappointing.

Day 2: Buon appetito!

My family is half Italian so we eat a lot of traditional Italian food. Homemade red sauce, Italian sausage and when we are lucky we get Italian Beef from some great family members who still live in Chicago. I felt it necessary to start with something traditional, Lasagna. YUM O!! It was GREAT! It's hard to go wrong with Lasagna though. I mean you put pasta, red sauce, Italian sausage and 3 different kinds of cheese together failure is almost not possible right???? Although I did cheat and used a jar sauce that I had left over from before lent, it was still pretty great! I found the recipe on the back of the Barilla lasagna noodles and was not disappointed. I have recently discovered pre boiled lasagna noodles, and while not the most authentic, I would definitely recommend them. It cuts out half of the time and makes in my opinion just as good of a Lasagna. We finished the night with Aunt Kathy's mini chocolate chip cheesecakes, and now that I can no longer move because I am so full....I think I will finally get a hold on this cooking thing..... Now if only someone would come do the dishes and figure out how to put all the leftovers in the fridge! Ohhh well at least I'll have room for lunch tomorrow right?

Barilla Lasagna:

I box of Barilla Oven Ready Lasagna Sheets
2 Eggs
15 oz ricotta cheese
4 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 Lb of Italian Sausage (Cooked Crumbled and Drained)
2 Jars of Sauce

Preheat oven to 375
Spray baking pan with Pam (13x9)
In Medium bowl beat eggs, stir in Ricotta, 2 cups of the Mozzarella and the Parmesan

Layering:
spread some sauce on the bottom of the pan
Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 of ricotta mixture, half of Italian Sausage 1 cup of Mozzarella and 1 Cup of Sauce
4 uncooked sheets, 1/2 of ricotta mixture and 1 1/2 cups of sauce
Layer 4 uncooked sheets the remaining of ricotta mixture and browned meat and 1 cup of sauce
4 uncooked sheets, remaining sauce and remaining mozzarella
Cover and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly
Uncover and bake another 5 minutes until cheese is melted
Serves 12

www.barilla.com

DAY 1

Well here we go!!! Ash Wednesday has come and gone and we are off with the first recipe. This recipe comes from a wonderful book I received as a gift for my wedding from some very dear friends and colleagues of my mom's at Above and Beyond Incentives. The book is the Better Homes and Gardens Bridal Edition cookbook! This book has proven itself invaluable as I consistently refer to it to look up measurment conversions or a simple recipe for basics such as Apple Pie, Chicken Fried Steak, or Chicken Noodle Soup. It has sections on freezing dishes, canning and preserving, cuts of meat, how to pick produce, and even a whole section on cooking for two. It is something I as an inexperienced but enthused cook refer to practically everyday. So it was no surprise when I started my receipe search here. I came across a duo recipe that gives one dish two lives. As I smell it cooking throughout the day I could not wait to try it! Although the roast in this recipe is meant to be shredded and used as barbequed sandwiches, I cut the roast in half and actually used half of it as a roast meal with Green Beans, gravy and rolls and the other half I shredded per the directions and saved in the refrigerator for Saturday's Meal, which I am equally excited about so be sure and check back everyday for a new recipe and to see how I am doing! Thanks again for everyone's support!!!

The Recipe: Better Homes and Gardens Shredded Pork

1 3-lb Pork Shoulder Blade Roast
8 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of onion powder
2 teaspoons of dried oregano, Crushed
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup of Beef Broth

1. Trim fat from meat. In a bowl combine garlic coriander, cumin, oregano, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and red pepper; rub into the meat. Place meat in a roasting pan that has a cover ( or like me cover with aluminum foil) add beef broth. Cover and roast in a 325 over for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender.

2. Remove meat from liquid with a sloted spoon; discard excess fat from cooking liquid, reserving the liquid.when meat is cool enough shred using 2 forks to pull through it in opposite directions.

Darling, Jennifer, ed. New Cookbook Bridal Edition. 12th ed. Des Moines: Meredith Corporation, 2005. 349. Print.

40 Days 40 Recipes

I was raised half in the Catholic church and half in the Methodist church. I went one Sunday to Sunday school and the other to Catechism classes, I had my first communion and then chose to be confirmed in the Methodist church. So while most of my fellow Methodist friends practice giving up something for Lent, I am not sure it is as much a part of tthe Methodist tradition as it is for the Catholic church. However, my Catholic roots still hold close and I have every year since I can remember given up something that I really love for the 40 days preceding Easter. I agree with the principle and what it stands for. Lent usually falls right around Girl Scout Cookie time here in Texas, so I usually give up chocolate, sweets or something along those lines. This year I have chosen to do things a little different , I have chosen to give up Eating Out! COMPLETELY!!!! Now for those of you who know me know that this will be a very difficult task. I am consistently going from school to rehearsal, have a husband who works nights and usually eat out between 2-5 times a week! However, I have made my choice and beginning this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, I will be cooking and preparing every meal that my husband and I eat. Although I know this is very "Julie & Julia" I have decided to blog about it simply to "keep ritual" , keep myself on track, and hopefully get some feedback. So here are the rules I have set forward for myself:

1. Try a new Dinner Recipe Everyday
2. Use only Fresh ingrediants, No jar Spaghetti Sauce, No Pasta Roni, No Pre Mixed Marinades NADA Everything Made Fresh
******Exceptions: Bread, Dried Pasta, Yogurt, Salsa, Hot Dogs********
3. Use one NEW Ingrediant per week (yes for those who know me this one will be tough to follow since I am such a picky eater)

Ok so if you have a great recipe you would love to share that would be GREAT also I look forward to your feedback! I think this about sums it up! Happy Cooking right? YIKES Here goes nothing!!!

******Disclaimer Due to SFA Choir Tour Feb 21-24, I will have to eat out these days since I will not have a kitchen so I will extend 4 days( and hopefully longer) after Easter!********