Jalapeño Corn Cakes

I didn't have cornmeal. I tried to make my own, using grits and my food processor, but that was a big fail. Obviously, all I needed was a quick grocery store trip, but somehow I kept finding other pressing matters, like chores, that got in the way. Hours after the breakfast I'd planned, I was starving! Finally, I made this beautiful masterpiece and now several days later I'm still in love with it! The pancakes are hearty, so I'd recommend serving 1-2 with a poached egg instead of 3, but I can also tell you there are many other ways to serve this. Try them alone with butter, with butter and honey (thank you, Melissa Cook), in place of a corn tortilla and with taco meat, lettuce and tomato, like a tostada. Save the leftover pancakes and pop them in the toaster to heat them up. Tear them up, toss with a little oil and bake for a few minutes and you will have croutons. Any way you would eat cornbread! Writing about them just makes me want to whip up another batch.

Jalapeño Corn Cakes
Adapted from recipe by Dennis Kum of Big D's Grub Truck in New York City/Food Truck Road Trip A Cookbook by Kim Pham & Philip Shen with Terri Phillips

3/4 cup (75g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (33g) masa
1/3 cup (57g) cornmeal
1/4 cup (48g) sugar
1 Tablespoon (12g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup avocado oil (use the kind you like)
1 cup (151g) corn (I used thawed frozen)
1/3 cup (60g) jalapeños, canned with seeds, chopped

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine milk, eggs, and oil in a small bowl and then pour into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add corn and jalapeños. Heat a large, non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat (you may need to adjust the heat depending on your stove) and when hot, pour 1/4 cup of the mixture per pancake (or any size you like).

Tip from Dennis Kum: Place the cakes on a towel-lined plate, covering with an additional towel to keep warm. (Why didn't I know this tip? I tried it, works GREAT!)

Love,

Langostino Tails and Squash Salad

Dear Lauren, 

This started as a recipe called Saffron Rice Salad (Thomas Keller from Ad Hoc at Home cookbook). I removed the saffron and the rice to make this recipe something everyone in our family could eat while you are on your Whole 30 eating plan, so it is a little different than the author intended, but I do think he would approve! 

Langostino Tails and Squash Salad

A handful of haricot verts (thin green beans, Trader Joe’s sells some delicious ones in a sealed bag)
2 yellow summer squash
1-2 zucchini, depending on size
½ large red onion, sliced
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, sliced (do not remove seeds or membrane)
Langostino tails (Trader Joe’s sells a frozen bag of these already cooked. You could also use cooked and chilled shrimp, crawfish, lobster, or crab.)
Sherry Vinaigrette (see recipe below)
½ lemon, juiced
Salt and pepper

Boil water. Prepare a large bowl of ice and cold water (ice bath). Get out a colander and place a bowl or plate under it.

Blanch the vegetables:

1) Put the haricot verts in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then move the beans to the ice bath to stop the cooking. Finally, move the beans to the colander.

2) Repeat the steps in #1 for the uncut yellow squash.

3) Repeat the steps in #1 for the uncut zucchini.

Cut up the beans and squash into bite-sized pieces and add them to a serving bowl. Add the onion, jalapeno or Serrano, and langostino tails. Add well-shaken sherry vinaigrette. Toss. Add the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss again and serve.

Can be served as an entrée or a side dish with a steak.

Sherry Vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons sherry wine vinegar (do not substitute)
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Put all ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake it well. Taste, add more salt and pepper, shake again. If you have any left over, it will keep in the refrigerator for a month. 

Love,

Ground Bison Empanadas with Fire Sauce and Cilantro Cream

Dear Lauren,

Dad bought ground bison at Costco. Then he just left it in the freezer. I'd say, hey, do you want a bison burger? And he'd say, no. So one day I decided to make some bison empanadas. They were fantastic. The only thing that went wrong with them is the time of day I made them. I'm a daytime photographer. Give me natural light and I can usually make your mouth water. But, I made these at night and I had one chance to take a photo or two before these empanadas were completely gone! What I am saying is, the photos might not make your mouth water, but the empanadas really are incredible. 

Ground Bison Empanadas with Fire Sauce and Cilantro Cream

adapted from Cowgirl Chef and Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking

This recipe requires preparation and planning. Read the entire recipe through and develop your plan of action and complete your mise en place! First, you will make the empanada dough. Then you will make the bison filling and fire sauce while the dough chills. Next, you will make the empanadas and while they bake you will make the cilantro cream. The cilantro cream can be made up to 3 days ahead. The empanadas can be made to the point of baking and frozen for future use*. Once you make the empanadas, expect all of them to be eaten! They are delicious!

Empanada Dough

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon Slap Ya Mama Hot

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick very cold butter cut into small pieces**

1 egg

1/3 cup ice water (more or less)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

Whisk together the flour and seasonings in a bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture. You can use a food processor if you pulse, but I think it's easier and definitely less of a mess to use the pastry cutter. Your choice. Use the method that makes you happy. You've succeeded in cutting in the butter when your flour mixture has small but visible pearls of butter. Set aside.

Whisk together one egg, ice water and vinegar. Add this to the flour mixture and stir a few times. If the dough seems too dry, add a tiny bit more water until the dough will come together, but is not wet. Dump the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form a disc. Wrap it up and refrigerate it for an hour.

**This is how I cut my butter into small pieces for this dough, for biscuits, for any other dough recipes of this kind. I cut the stick of butter into thirds on the long side. I lay the three planks flat and then I cut each plank into thirds on the long side again. Then I make 1/4 inch cuts on the short side from one side to the other. I end up with 1/4 inch cubes. Then I freeze them right on the cutting board for about 20 - 30 minutes before I need to make the dough.

Emeril's Southwest Seasoning
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons paprika
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano

Mix together. You will not need all of this mixture for this recipe, but isn't that great? Use it in other recipes.

Cilantro Cream
1 cup Greek yogurt (can use sour cream or crema fresca or a mixture of any of the three, whatever is on hand)
cilantro, chopped (I used  1/4 cup or thereabouts, you use to your taste)
juice of one lime
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
water to loosen, if necessary

Mix all ingredients together and adjust ingredients until the flavors are how you like them. Can be made up to 3 days in advance. Serve with empanadas. There is room for improvising in this mixture. For example, some limes are juicer than others. Use your taste buds! If you find this is too limey, add a little salt, maybe even a little more. Keep tasting.

Ground Bison Filling with Fire Sauce
1/2 pound bison, ground (you can use whatever you want: beef, chicken, whatever you like, ground or finely diced)
1 Tablespoon Emeril's Southwest Seasoning (recipe above), divided
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 ears fresh corn off the cob, cobs discarded :-)
1 chopped poblano pepper, or other pepper you choose
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use less if you'd rather have less heat)
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 minced shallots
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups beef stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 egg
2 Tablespoons water

Sprinkle the meat with two teaspoons Southwest seasoning and mix together with hands so the seasoning is evenly distributed.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil and meat mixture and stir fry briefly, until you see some color on the meat. Add all ingredients through and including the garlic and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of beef stock to the skillet and while it comes to a boil, whisk the remaining 1/2 beef stock and cornstarch in a bowl. Add stock/cornstarch mixture to the skillet and stir thoroughly. Cook for a few minutes until you can see the liquid has turned into a slightly thickened sauce. Don't reduce the sauce too much.

Remove skillet from the heat. Drain the sauce into a small saucepan and cook for a few minutes over medium. Turn to low and keep it warm until ready for serving.

Put the remaining meat filling into a bowl. Cool until about room temperature.

Preheat oven to 375°F .

Whisk the egg and water in a bowl to make the egg wash. Set aside.

Roll out the empanada dough (if it is too cold to roll smoothly, wait a few minutes and try again) to 1/4-inch thickness, adding flour to keep it from sticking when necessary. It might crack a little here and there, just smooth it with your  damp fingers, it will be fine. Decide on the size of your empanadas. I cut little 4-inch ones with a biscuit cutter, but you can divide the dough in quarters and just make 4 large ones in a more rustic shape, it's up to you and your needs and creativity. Discard extra dough.

Brush the tops of the rolled and formed empanada dough with egg wash. Do not overfill with the meat filling. Fold the dough over the meat filling and crimp with a fork. Brush the tops of the empanadas with egg wash and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake until the edges are browned. Baking time will depend on the size of the empanadas. Mine took about 13 minutes, larger ones could take up to 30. Just watch them and use your eyes and nose!

Place empanadas on a plate, drizzle with fire sauce, and serve with cilantro cream.

Love,



*P.S.  Having empanadas in the freezer, ready to use whenever the mood strikes, is such a wonderful gift to yourself or someone you love. Try it.

Smoky Sautéed Shrimp

Dear Lauren,

We just got back from our big, amazing trip to Italy! We didn't want to stop eating amazing Italian food but it had to end at some point (sob), so I decided to cook a recipe from my current cookbook I have from Cook My Book. I am SO glad I did! It was so much more than I thought it would be, the flavors rich and complex, and for simple and quick to make. Dad says it's a keeper and I agree.

Smoky Sautéed Shrimp
adapted from The Pollan Family Table

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 large cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, cleaned, deveined, peeled (you may leave the tails on if you prefer), patted dry
2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 lime
*serve with Jasmine rice or cauliflower rice

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When oil shimmers, add garlic and stir until garlic becomes fragrant. Add all spices and stir. Increase heat to medium high and add shrimp in one layer. Cook shrimp without stirring for about 3 minutes. Stir vigorously, turning the shrimp on the other side and cook for about 3 more minutes. Remove pan from the heat, add lime juice and stir. Plate with rice, sprinkle with half the parsley, add shrimp and all contents of pan, sprinkle with the rest of the parsley and serve.

Love,

Greek Lemony Grilled Chicken (that's Not Grilled) with Summer Peach Salsa (in the Winter and with Plums instead)

Dear Lauren,

It's nice to think we always have just exactly what we need on hand when we're ready to cook. But often, it just doesn't turn out that way. Dad and I shop almost daily and by that I mean, I make lists and Dad stops on the way home from work and shops. He likes it, I swear! It's always such a wonderful thing when I come upon a recipe I really want to make and I realize I already have everything here! Or mostly everything. Or enough that I can improvise. And I really love it that I've cooked enough and gained the confidence to try things off the cuff. I credit Dad, prolific cooking on my own, and the various cooking groups to which I belong for this extra bit of confidence. Also, I've eaten at a lot of great restaurants in many difference cities. Also, there are great cooks in the family. I have quite the imagination to boot. Etc.

All of this to say that I wanted to make some peach salsa but I only had plums. I needed jalapenos but alas, no fresh, hot peppers to be found. The salsa wanted a red onion but I had a sweet, white one. Dad was out of town! So, I decided to wing it and I'm so glad. This salsa is delicious and perfect with this chicken. I'm sure many people already know that a tiny bit of salt with plum is incredible but I didn't. Now I do.

Lemony Grilled Chicken (that's Not Grilled)

adapted from It's All Greek to Me cookbook

Marinade:

2 lemons, juiced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

5 green onions, white parts only, sliced thinly 

extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds chicken breast (about 3-4 breasts), sliced lengthwise in thirds like "chicken tenders", rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel, sprinkled with kosher salt and finely ground black pepper

Place all marinade ingredients directly in a gallon size Ziploc. Zip it and shake it until combined. Or you can use a whisk to combine the ingredients. It's up to you. Drop in the chicken tenders. Squeeze out the air from the Ziploc before sealing it. Place the bag in the refrigerator overnight.

Over medium high heat, add a little oil to a cast iron skillet. When hot, add each tender after shaking off as much of the marinade as you can. Leave about an inch between the tenders so they don't steam. Cook for about 4 minutes. Don't move the tenders around during that time. Then cook them on the flip-side for about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan to a serving plate and enjoy with the salsa (see next recipe). You can serve both the chicken and the salsa over a mixed greens or you can serve it over rice. You can also take warm pitas and make yourself some Greek-style tacos.

Summer Peach Salsa (in the Winter and with Plums instead)
adapted from It's All Greek to Me cookbook

2-3 ripe plums, pitted and chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 sweet white onion, chopped

1/2 bunch of Italian flat-leafed parsley, chopped

1/2 lemon, juiced

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix the first 6 ingredients together and then season with the salt and pepper to taste. Serve over or along side chicken or fish or anything you like. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients.

Love,

Carne Guisada - Love in a Bowl or a Taco, Your Choice

Dear Lauren,

This Carne Guisada is better than homemade. I call it Williemade. You can call it Dadmade. I really hope this recipe will duplicate what he made today. He just cooks and he never really follows a recipe unless he's baking. I've tried to write up his recipes before and sometimes some of the magic is missing. He assures me he's given me all the magic this time!

Carne Guisada
by Willie

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds top round roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 cups beef broth made with Better than Bouillon*
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon Penzey's Crushed Jalapeno Peppers*
1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 sweet white or yellow onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

flour tortillas
cooked white rice
guacamole
pico de gallo

Brown meat in 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat to sear. Place meat in a slow cooker along with bouillon, garlic powder, cumin, crushed jalapeno peppers, black pepper and can of tomatoes. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or until the meat is tender. 

Heat oil in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir constantly for 8-10 minutes until dark brown, but not burned. Add onion and green bell pepper and stir until the onion is soft or translucent. Add mixture to the slow cooker. Cook for an additional 2 hours on high heat. 

Serve meat in tacos or serve the meat and broth in a bowl over rice. Garnish with guacamole and pico de gallo.

*You can substitute products other than those named here, but it won't be the same. Just sayin'.

Love,


P.S. I ate this on a cold day and it warmed me to my core.

Vacation Fish

The salmon shown here is served with rice grits.

Dear Lauren,

Most years we have a family get-together somewhere in North America with my parents, my sister and her family, my brother, and my family. This year's trip will include Flagstaff, Sedona, and the Grand Canyon. We have all taken part in the planning this year and my part was to plan the menus. You'd think that would be a no-brainer for me, but apparently that is just what I have this year - no brain. So, with very little time left, here I am again, trying to get the meals planned.

This fish dish is a winner for an occasion such as ours, but I really cannot think of any occasion for which it wouldn't be a winner! It takes so little prep and cook time and it tastes delicious! 

Vacation Fish
Adapted from Trout David from Secrets of the Best Chefs
Serves 2

1 large fish filet, skin intact, about 1/2 pound (I've used salmon, the original recipe used trout, you can use whatever fresh fish that you like)
Salt and pepper
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon, cut the lemon into wedges for serving
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (Whatever you like and have available. The author suggested oregano, sage, and basil. I had all of these in my herb garden and they were delicious with this dish!)
1/4 cup olive oil

Put your oven rack 1 inch from the broiler and preheat the broiler. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Place the fish on the baking sheet, skin side down, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl, and top the fish with this mixture. Let the fish marinate on the counter or in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

Cook the fish for about 5 minutes, until the fish is firm and there are a few bubbles in the herby olive oil. You can take two knives and make a small separation in the herbs and into the fish to see if it is done to your liking.

Serve.

Love,


P.S. Lauren, I am looking forward to the day-trip you planned for us with All-Star Canyon Tours. Will Carson overcome his fears and get on the helicopter? Will any of us survive the Grand Canyon hike? Will the VIP treatment really be VIP? We will soon see!

Cucumber Quinoa Salad Toast

Dear Lauren,

I joined a new cooking group. The group is based on cooking out of all of the Ottolenghi cookbooks.I like to call him Otto. When I joined the group, I did it to lurk. To see what the other cooks liked out of Otto's books. But the very first day, I changed my mind. No lurking for me! The group posts a page number and the name of one of the cookbooks and asks us to consider making that recipe. We can share photos and make other recipes but when I realized they were going to tell me what to make? Well, I develop recipes and answer questions and think (up all sorts of nonsense) all day long, so I quickly realized after being added to this group that I LIKE being told what to cook! I really do!

One of the cookbooks I have really enjoyed this year is Keepers and I've made every "toast" in that book and then some! When I saw the recipe the Otto group chose for this week, Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad, I immediately thought...TOAST! I put a little olive oil on some sourdough and plopped it in the toaster and the rest of the salad I made as Otto ordered. I was able to use tomatoes from my garden and try out my new rice cooker to cook the quinoa, so even if this recipe hadn't been amazing, I would have enjoyed the process. But it IS amazing!! Yum, yum! Off to a good start!

Cucumber Quinoa Salad Toast

adapted from Quinoa and Grilled Sourdough Salad in Plenty

serves 4

1 cup cooked quinoa (use this method and save the leftovers for another use)
4 tomatoes, cut in bite size pieces
2 cucumbers, ends cut off, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed, cut in 1/4" slices
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil, plus additional to brush the bread
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

4 slices sourdough bread

Place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. In a second bowl, whisk next 5 ingredients until combined. Put the dressing over the salad and toss. Set aside. Toast the bread in the toaster and brush with a little olive oil. Place a piece of toast on each plate and divide the salad equally on top of each toast. Serve.

Love,

P.S. Lauren - "Listen Linda!"

Diet Mac and Cheese with Zucchini Ribbons

Dear Lauren,

You have been cooking up a storm lately. I noticed you cooked a lot whenever we were home together. You'd ask me question after question and then get me to help you. Then you'd tell me how you cooked this or that, here or there. You'd say things like...is this or that recipe on my blog, Mom? 

Recently, Dad and I went out of town and you stayed behind to take care of our cats, Max and Catarina. And you cooked even then. You cooked out of books and you cooked based on what was in the freezer and you cooked and you cooked and you cooked. 

Then last night, you cooked for Dad and me.

As a recent college graduate with a marketing major, I figure you'll approve of the marketing title of this recipe. This is not really diet mac and cheese. We named it so because of the bread crumbs you used that were in the freezer...crumbs I made with bread Dad and I use when we're on Weight Watchers. See? Diet!

Diet Mac and Cheese with Zucchini Ribbons
by Lauren
Adapted from Sweet Paul and his cookbook, Eat & Make

Try these. So easy.

3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
3 cups whole milk, heated
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup Gruyère*, grated
1/2 cup Jarlsberg*, grated
1/2 cup Monterey Jack, grated
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil (I think we have every single variety of Sciabica, it's amazing)
2 zucchini, thinly sliced or spiral cut into ribbons with this tool like Lauren uses
1 pound dry pasta (Lauren uses cavatappi, any similar shape is fine)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (Lauren uses Personalized Bread Crumbs)
2 Tablespoons butter, melted

*Gruyère and Jarlsberg is tasty, but can be expensive. If your budget doesn't allow for it, substitute 1 1/2 cups grated Swiss.

Preheat oven to 425°F. You will need a 9 x 13" baking dish.

Boil a large pot of salted water, and while you make your cheese sauce, cook your pasta.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Whisk in milk slowly to prevent lumps. Add the cream and continue to whisk for a few minutes, until the mixture is heated through. Take your time with this. To prevent scalding, do not heat the mixture too quickly. Add the cheeses. Turn the heat to low and don't allow the mixture to heat above a simmer.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook until golden brown.

Lauren made Ina's Jalapeño Cheese Crackers 

while we were out of town.

Stir together the drained pasta, the cheese sauce and the zucchini and pour it into your 9 x 13" baking dish.

Stir together the bread crumbs and the melted butter in a bowl until combined. Sprinkle it over the mac and cheese in the baking dish. 

Put the baking dish in the oven and bake until the bread crumbs are golden and crispy and the cheese is bubbly, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool 5-10 minutes and serve.

Love, 

Carnitas

Dear Lauren,

When someone gives you a hug and says you have a beautiful soul, it's a tear-jerker. When that someone is an oncologist, you never forget it. I saw Dr. Tolbert yesterday because I have some weirdnesses in my blood and we had to make sure that I don't have cancer, and I don't. But, the experiences I had the two times I was in Dr. Tolbert's office will stay with me for a long, long time, and so will his advice.

Here's the short list of advice I received (at least this was my take-away from both of my visits.) Maybe he didn't say it exactly this way. Maybe he didn't say it at all. I still think it's worth you reading and adopting into your life in one form or another.

1. Treat people really, really well. Depending on your personality and your own personal habits and values, you might want to treat others even better than you treat yourself.
2. Hire people that reflect who you are (see #1.) Dr. Tolbert did. He hired Troy. Troy made me not care about stepping on the scale or giving up vial after vial of blood. He's funny, he's smart, he cared about me. He taught me about my median cubital vein and he showed me a new GPS app on my phone called Waze. Now I'm a Baby Wazer.
3. Love your job.
4. It's sobering sitting in a cancer center when you don't have cancer. Count your blessings.
5. Doctors want to help you. They want to heal you. Be judicious in the treatment you accept. Try to take the least amount of medicine and accept the most conservative treatment plan possible. They won't ever mean to, but the more treatment that you accept, the more the possibility of you being accidentally injured. I'm not explaining this as well as it was explained to me, but I got the message loud and clear. Stay out of the doctor's office whenever possible.
6. Don't discount Eastern medicine. There IS a mind/body connection.
7. Reduce the stress in your life. Figure out where it's coming from and eliminate it as much as possible.

We also talked about carnitas. Dr. Tolbert is a cook like me and right now I am obsessed with the best carnitas recipe I've ever made. He asked me for the recipe and since you love these carnitas too, I decided to post the recipe here. (Have fun, Dr. Tolbert. Thank you for being you. You also have a beautiful soul.)

Blue Apron

Dear Lauren,

I know this is going to look like an ad for Blue Apron. But it's not. Nope, they have not sponsored this post in any way unless you count that I got a first time customer discount that is available to every other first time customer out there! At least it was when I bought it. Like I said, this post is not sponsored by them so I'm not in communication with them and I have no idea what their specials are. I just wanted to post this because you had fun! I had fun! The food was great! And we took pictures! LOL! There ya go!

I ordered the box and it was delivered to the front door. It was so heavy! I put the food away and I made the recipe for some quesadillas (delicious) served with a spinach apple salad (amazing - will make again and again!) and another day I made the Blood Orange Roasted Salmon (incredible - will make again and again!) and the chickpea and cucumber salad (delicious). Then came your turn. That's what this post is really about.

Here you are in action! Prepping onions!

Toast

Dear Lauren,

I am in love with the cookbook, Keepers. I am pretty sure you will be getting one in your Easter basket this year. Yes, the recipes are yummy, but there are a lot of tips in this book that I sure wish someone would've shared with me when I first started cooking! Like getting tomato paste in a tube instead of a can - that's a good one! It took me years to figure it out! I'm slow, ok?!

When I got to the page about toast for dinner, my jaw dropped open. Of course! Why not?! So simple! Sounds great!

The book had 10 varieties of toast for dinner and I made six of them. I chose those six because, remarkably, I had most all of the ingredients in the house. I did omit an ingredient here or there, like mango, radishes and smoked salmon. And I substituted an herb here and there. But that's the beauty of toast! Use what you have! All six varieties were excellent and I will definitely make the tomato and goat cheese toast (see below) and the mushroom with cream and thyme toast again and again.

My friend Tracy is going to have a Girl Scout night for her daughter based on different toasts and she plans to include dessert toasts. Yum! And my friend Linda (who doesn't drink) has a whole list of alcoholic toasts! Haha! You could build an adult party based on this theme, no? My friend Jessica thinks so. Or you can do what I am planning to do, make toast for dinner when you're on your own. It's such an easy dinner to make for one, and so delicious.

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

Dear Lauren, 

I have so much to say! Where to start?! Do you remember I told you I am going to be doing some cooking for Good Cook? Well this is the first post! OMG! I am so excited!!!! They sent me a Sweet Creations Mini Loaf Pan (it's nonstick!) and some White Snow Flake Parchment Paper and right off the bat I had about 16 ideas what to use it all for! Luckily for me, one idea stuck out and so Dad and I made Sweet and Sour Meatloaf.

Before I tell you how to make this recipe, I want to tell you a few other things. 1) This pan is perfect for portion control. 2) It's also a great pan to use to split up your full-size recipe in half, freeze overnight (like I am doing with this recipe) and then pop out the loaves and freeze them. 3) You can make banana bread and other sweet concoctions in with this pan! But I rebelled and went the savory route!

Do you remember Susan Whempner from when we lived in California? Well, she and I have been working together on 37 Cooks and guess what? She started a blog for empty nesters. She is going to LOVE this pan. I sent her one today! Merry Christmas, Susan! Lauren, what Susan does is pare down her favorite recipes for two people, which of course is great for empty nesters. But it's also good for single people like you! Anyway, you might want to follow her blog. I am (on Bloglovin).

When I got this pan, I also thought about our friend Al. Now, because he is a widower and travels for work often and is just learning to cook, I've been trying to think of things he can make and easily freeze the leftovers. He's always on a diet too and the more I think of it, this pan is a must have for him. So I bought one for him too. Merry Christmas, Al!

I hope they aren't reading this post. The element of surprise is now gone.

Oops.

As for the meatloaf, everyone has their own favorite recipe and so do I. It's a recipe my mother used to make when we were growing up and I still love it. It's so easy to make and I am thrilled that it also works well with this Good Cook pan.

Sweet and Sour Meatloaf

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup crackers, crushed (use the food processor or just smash 'em)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 can tomato soup

1 beaten egg

Mix all ingredients together with your hands. You can either use a dish and make a mound of the meat mixture in the center with all of the meat OR you can divide it - half of the mixture in a baking dish and half in the four openings in the mini loaf pan. The mini loaf openings should not be filled more than 3/4 of the way.

1/2 can tomato soup
2 tablespoons mustard
1 cup water
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix all ingredients and divide and pour over your meat mixture in your one baking dish OR half in your main baking dish and half split between the four openings in the mini loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for  about 45 minutes or until a thermometer reaches 160 degrees. 

The higher the fat content in your ground beef the more this meatloaf will fall apart. We ate this growing up and we never knew that meatloaf was sliced until we were adults and tried other recipes! Serve with your favorite veggies. We had some roasted asparagus with ours.

Love,

P.S. I bought a pan for you too. Merry Christmas, Lauren! 
P.S.S. If you or anyone reading this post wants to buy this pan, use the code: SWEETLOAF to get 25% off! Merry Christmas, everyone!
P.P.S. Follow Good Cook on Twitter or Facebook. 

Chimichangas

Dear Lauren,

When I talked to you the other day and you told me you'd had a bad day, were overwhelmed with school work, and all you had in your pantry was pasta and olive oil, I had a bad day too. When you have a bad day, I do too. I called Dad at work and told him about your bad day and my bad day and he said, no worries, he would fix it. And then he drove to see you at school. He took off work early and just drove over.  He took you to the store and got everything you needed and wanted and more. Plus he bought you socks.

Bad day fixed. For all of us.

Later, I was thinking maybe you might want to try keeping some other things on hand, besides pasta and olive oil, so you can make this quick dinner I recently made when you're out of groceries and when you're really busy.

Here's the tip - I've been buying rotisserie chicken. I take the skin off, then take the meat off the bones and break it into bite-sized pieces and then I measure out one cup of meat and put it in a Ziploc. I label it and I date it. Then into the freezer it goes. It's been great for quick dinners like I made tonight. I just mix up a few things and heat it and dinner's done.

You can also use this recipe with leftover Thanksgiving turkey! I'm obsessed with cranberry sauce so I plan on trying  to substitute the tomatillo salsa with cranberry sauce. I'll report the results back to you, ok?

Chimichangas
adapted from this recipe

1 cup chicken breast, cooked, torn or cut in bite sized pieces*
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar but Monterey Jack or Queso Fresco would be lovely.)
1 green onion, sliced, all parts (cut off the root)
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1-4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles
1 can fat free refried beans
4 8-inch flour tortillas
cooking spray
a jar of tomatillo salsa
sour cream

Preheat the oven to 500. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Stir together the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. Spread about 2-3 tablespoons of refried beans down the middle of each tortilla. Divide the chicken mixture between the 4 tortillas, also down the center of each tortilla. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam side down on the baking sheet. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Cook for 6-7 minutes. Watch them the last minute so they won't burn.

Put two chimichangas on two plates and drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons of tomatillo salsa on each one. Serve with a little sour cream on the side. Serve with steamed or roasted broccoli or cauliflower. Or to make it interesting, you can always add the vegetables inside the tortillas with the meat mixture and beans.

Love,

P.S. I love you. I'm really looking forward to you being home for Thanksgiving. xoxo.

P.P.S. You can freeze shredded cheese in cups or half-cups. Call that Great Tip #2.

The Killer Menu

Dear Lauren,

When Dad and I were dating, blackened redfish was regularly served and extremely popular in restaurants. We loved it; everyone loved it. We went to New Orleans during the "craze" and could only get a very early dinner reservation at K-Paul's because Chef Paul Prudhomme was so in-demand at the time. He was known for either inventing or popularizing blackened redfish (depending on whom you talked to) and everyone was talking about his recipe or copying it. We could not wait to go! We were far more excited about that reservation than any other I can think of.

Peanut Butter Chicken

Dear Lauren,

No one ever tells me they have a great new recipe anymore. Except Willie. Not our Dad Willie, the Willie we got from our friend Michele. That Willie. Anyway, THAT Willie tells me about recipes. But not just any recipes, nope - only awesome recipes.

And she is a cool mom like me. She snapchats and everything.

Bad Mood Food

Dear Lauren,

One day, we were in a bad mood. Ok, I was in a bad mood. Dad wasn't. He was smiley. And it was because of his smi-ley-ness that I wanted to cook something for him that he'd like. Which would put me in a good mood.

I am his sunshine.

He likes beef. He likes pasta. I always have pasta in the pantry. I had ground beef in the freezer. I didn't want to think. I wanted to follow a recipe, so I did. I can always count on Elise Bauer's recipes at Simply Recipes, the first blog I ever read.

Cashew Garlic Chicken and Tofu with Sugar Snap Peas

Dear Lauren,

Loved having you and Brooke here these last couple of days. Look, I'm glad you are in summer school and all but have missed having you here all summer. And Brooke, well, she is a treat! She is welcome back any time! I'm so glad she will be joining you, Becky and Caysie as your 4th room-mate at school this year.