Go to the new blog!

Here's the link to the new site for this blog.. hope to see you there!

Multitasking Mom

Soup for a dreary day

Today the weather matches my mood... dreary. It's been a difficult few days. The job opportunity that I thought I had didn't pan out. So it's back to the drawing board. I've been sitting in front of the computer all day sending out resumes, writing cover letters, and stinking up the place because I just realized that I haven't showered as of yet. I need to pull myself out of this funk.

It's rainy and cloudy and dreary outside as well (boy am I a downer!). Tonight my husband has a condo board meeting, so I am going to make a nice warm soup that can great him whenever he gets a chance to eat.

I have to attribute this one to my mother-in-law, and I've never made it before. I've made other versions, but this one is new to me.

I'm going to throw some bread sticks in the oven too, snuggle up on the couch and relax.

Tomorrow for lunch I plan on making my son & I cabbage & noodles with the leftover cabbage. My mom used to make that for me as a child. Simply cook and drain pasta. In a large skillet add butter (I use brummel & brown yogurt butter), cabbage, and garlic salt. Cook until softened a bit. Add pasta, cook through. Yum!


Minestrone Soup

6 slices bacon, chopped
1 c onion, chopped
½ c celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp basil
1 can beef broth
1 can Bean & Bacon Soup
½ soup can water
16 oz canned tomatoes, undrained
½ c uncooked ditalini pasta
½ tsp salt
1 c cabbage, shredded
1 c zucchini, chopped

Cook onion, celery, garlic, basil, and bacon together until tender.

Stir in broth, soup, water, tomatoes, pasta, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

Add cabbage and zucchini. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

~M

The Roller Coaster

Today I am once again unsure about work. The contract that I had moving forward is currently on hold. I am trying to stay positive but it's getting difficult. I had high hopes, and right now they're being smooshed.

I believe that as a Mom, I try to do things a certain way to support my family. I pride myself in a good job, a clean home, nutritious meals, and fun family experiences. When one of those things gets out of whack, I take it pretty hard. So now I feel out of sorts yet again. All I can hope for is the best, however, and believe that it will work out in the end.

They say that some day I'll look back on all of this and laugh. "Remember the layoffs back in 2010? Hahahaha..." Yeah, I'm not so sure about that. I suppose that I should take this as a learning experience. I've gotten more organized, cut more coupons, reduced my grocery trips to once a week, and tried to see this as an opportunity to spend more time with my son.

Tonight I need some comfort food. I watched Melissa D'Arabian a few weeks ago and she made this chicken cassoulet that looked amazing. This also gives me the opportunity to open a bottle of wine to cook with and drown a few of my sorrows at the same time. So tonight Cassoulet is on the menu.

Weekday Cassoulet
courtesy Melissa D'Arabian

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cut in 1/2 through the bone
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound slab bacon, sliced into large lardons (I couldn't find this so I got salt cured pork, found near the ham & bacon ** NOTE - I just tasted salt pork... it's salty.. very very salty. So I might just use regular old bacon)
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cooked Northern white beans
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tomato, sliced very thinly
Garlic Bread Crumbs, recipe follows
1 baguette, sliced, for serving (I have a Pillsbury french bread in the fridge that I'll use)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rinse and dry the chicken well and season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

In a large Dutch oven, over medium-low heat, add the bacon and slowly render the fat. Remove the bacon to a plate when crispy, leaving the fat in the pan (** Note, reviews said to drain some of the grease here). Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken on both sides and then remove to a plate. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with white wine and reduce by half. Stir in the beans, bay leaf and thyme. Nestle the chicken thighs and bacon into the pot. Add the chicken stock, cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the lid and top the cassoulet with sliced tomatoes and the Garlic Bread Crumbs. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes longer. Serve the cassoulet with baguette slices.

Garlic Bread Crumbs

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3 slices slightly stale or dried bread, pulsed into crumbs in food processor
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small saute pan over low heat, add the oil and the garlic. Stir until the oil is fragrant, about 1 minute. Toss in the bread crumbs and cook until the bread crumbs start to turn golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from heat.

~M

Last week of unemployment

As I start the last week of unemployment, I am a bit nervous as to how I'll get it all done once I start working again. I swear I'm busier now than I was while working! It's amazing all the things that need to get done, and how little time we have to do them!

This morning I was armed with my grocery list with food for the week. I went to a great store for produce called Market Place. I spent $40 and had bags & bags of groceries. Of course then I realized some of the simple items weren't there (um... my usual toilet paper & paper towels are necessary!) so I headed to the normal grocery store as well. On a good note, I have the week's meals planned, with a few extra ones too (thanks Barbie for the flank steak recipe I'll be trying soon!!!).

Next week I will be traveling for work for 4 days, so I've been busy filling out contracts, booking flights & hotels & cars, and worrying ahead of time about how my boys will do without me.

One fun note... this blog will soon be moving! I have purchased a domain and am having someone help me with the new site. I'm super excited and hope that the transition goes well and the new site is up soon! Will keep you all posted.

So now I have to start thinking about dinner, and a shower would probably be a plus. I haven't worked out yet today so I was waiting to shower. Thank goodness no one is around to witness this "situation"!

Dinner tonight will be the grouper that we got last week. I have 2 recipes, both simple, that I want to try. So I am going to try a fillet each way! One in the oven, and one on the indoor grill pan. I'm going to serve it with cous cous & parmesan stuffed tomatoes (just bake them with the fish).

So after I'm done typing away here I'm off to prep the cous cous and parm and stuff some tomatoes. I'll stick them in the fridge and bake them later.




Grilled Grouper

2, 6 oz fillets of grouper
1 oz melted butter (fatty solids removed)
2 pinches Montreal Steak Seasoning
2 pinches seasoned salt
2 lemon wedges

Oil a hot grill pan liberally to prevent fish from sticking. Lightly season both sides of the grouper with seasoned salt, and place on the grill pan. Cook for approximately 4 minutes per side per 1 inch of thickness.

When they are fully cooked, baste the top of the fillets with the melted butter and sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Squeeze a bit of lemon over each immediately before serving. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Herb-Crusted Baked Grouper
from www.FL-Seafood.com
serves 4
WW points: 6 per fillet

4, 6 oz Florida grouper fillets
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried rosemary
4 tbsp butter, melted
1 small yellow Florida onion, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat grouper liberally with olive oil. In a flat dish, crumble the herbs and mix well. Roll each filet in herb mixture, lightly coating each side. Season the filets with salt and fresh ground pepper. Place filets in a baking dish with onions; drizzle the melted butter evenly over the herbed filets. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes until opaque in the center. Remove and serve fillets topped with onions.

~M

Stone Crab

If you've never had stone crab claws, I'd highly recommend them. The shells are pre-cracked because of how hard they are. However, people also use a mallet to crack the shells as well. When harvested, the claw is actually taken and the crab is put back into the sea, where he'll grow a new pair of claws.

These claws are served cold with a mustard sauce that is to die for. This time we had the mustard sauce shipped with the claws. However, I've tried the following "copycat" recipe before.

Joe's Stone Crab Mustard Sauce

1 tbsp Coleman's dry mustard
1 c mayonnaise
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp A-1 steak sauce
1/4 c heavy cream or milk
salt to taste

Whisk all ingredients together until blended and creamy. Cover and chill until serving.

We had these last night and they were amazing. A friend of my husband had them shipped in and we put in an order for some as well. I felt spoiled!

~M

'Shroom Spaghetti

I'm up super early due to a toddler who thought 4am was the time to get up. I got him back to sleep, but now I'm up for good. Today I plan on cleaning the you-know-what out of my house. It's not often I have a day at home with no 2 3/4 yr old running around (he'll be at daycare), so I need to put it to good use.

Looks like I'm starting work too! I will be starting a contract position (probably 4-6 months or longer) with the same team that basically laid me off. It's from home, and I'll be learning more about SAP Time configuration, so I'm thrilled! The only bad part is that I have to travel for 4 days this month for some peer to peer training. My husband will have to jump through hoops to do his job and get my son to & from daycare, and I will be in hysterics without being with my boys for 4 days. Not to mention I won't be cooking so this blog will be nothing but me whining about being homesick!

Oh, speaking of cooking, tonight I was going to make 'Shroom Spaghetti. I think I got the recipe from Parenting magazine, or Parents magazine. I forgot and it's ripped out of the magazine and now I've forgotten.

However, my husband is now bringing home stone crab claws.. I think I'm in heaven. So we're having those tonight but since the mushrooms might go bad if I don't use them, I might make the following as a side dish and we can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow and such.

Oh, I've also considered customizing this blog and hosting it and all. I got a quote so we shall see. So spread the word and let's get more followers and maybe it'll seem worth it to do! I think it might be fun!

Ok, on to food...

'Shroom Spaghetti
serves 4
WW points: 8

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs mixed mushrooms, stems removed, sliced (about 8 cups sliced - I bought button, cremini, and shiitake)
2 leeks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c low-salt chicken broth
1 c Greek style plain yogurt
2 tsp flour
1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese


Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil oer medium-high in a large skillet or saucepan. Saute the sliced mushrooms until golden and tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the leeks, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook about 3 to 4 minutes until the leeks are tender. Add the chicken broth; cook 30 seconds. Stir together the yogurt and the flour; add to the skillet and cook just until bubbly. Serve the mushroom mixture over the cooked spaghetti. Top with Parmesan cheese.


Happy Friday!
~M

Years ago my husband took me to a small French restaurant on Taylor St. in Chicago where we had this amazing crab salad as an appetizer. I picked & poked at it with my fork, trying to figure out what it was comprised of so that I could make it at home. I had to ask about the wonderful drizzle on top, which turned out to be a balsamic reduction.

So, I came up with the recipe below. Because I have to admit tonight that I have NO idea what I'm making for dinner (we might order sushi!), I thought I would post this recipe and the picture that I used when I created my family cookbook.

If you're interested, you can actually purchase my book. It's been sitting out there for ages, and I created it and bought copies for my family members for a Christmas present. I am quite proud of it, and it was such fun to make (note that I put on a few pounds doing so that year!)

No pressure to buy, this blog isn't meant to be a commercial, but I thought I'd share since I haven't before. You can see it at the link below.

Margo's Family Cookbook - A Fusion of Families



Crab Salad with Balsamic Reduction

16 ounces imitation crab
3 - 4 green onions
1 1/2 stalk celery
1/2 red bell pepper
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/3 - 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
baguette of french bread, sliced

Chop crab meat and place in a medium mixing bowl. Finely chop green onion, celery, and bell pepper. Add to mixing bowl.

Squeeze lemon juice over crab mixture. Add a large pinch of kosher salt, and several grinds of fresh black pepper. Add mayonnaise and mix well to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, place bread slices on a pan and spray with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 5 - 10 minutes or until browned.

Boil balsamic vinegar in a pan until it reduces by half and has a syrup-like consistency. Serve crostini slices topped with crab salad and drizzle balsamic syrup over the top.

~M

Ribs & Potatoes

Today was a busy busy busy day. I went on a 3 mile run this morning, then went to a job fair, ate my weight and then some at a sushi place, shopped for one of many birthday gifts for my son, and then came home to clean my messy house and prep dinner.

One thing that I don't like about my condo is the lack of outdoor space. At my old apartment in Chicago on the first nice day of the year I'd be outside with my little grill, cooking up dinner and drinking a glass of red wine with a big smile on my face. Here we don't have a grill so I've learned to improvise.

Thanks to my sister-in-law I can now make great ribs indoors.


Fall-off-the-bone ribs

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Season 1 or 2 slabs of back ribs with your choice of seasoning. (my sister-in-law uses garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and onion flakes). Wrap in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Take them out, slather them with barbeque sauce (note, refer to my mom's which is great and is right here!), and broil them under the broiler for 20 - 30 minutes or until browned/crisp; turning every 5 - 7 minutes and adding barbeque sauce as needed.

I'm going to serve this with a recipe from a dear friend & fellow blogger, Jenn. She has "introduced" me to the Pioneer Woman's cooking site which is amazing, and she has this recipe for potatoes. I think my husband might think tonight's dinner is heaven!

The Pioneer Woman Cooks Crash Hot Potatoes

~M

Drumsticks with Vegetable Skewers

I'm up early today and once again hoping for good news. This job hunt seems to occupy all of my thoughts & energy and I'm growing tired of it. Every day I talk to someone who says how they know someone else who's been unemployed for some obscene length of time. It's a sad state of affairs. But, once again I need to stay positive so I'm up early, sending out my resume, and have a list of things to do today a mile long.

I have a ton of leftovers from last night too so I think a taco/fajita salad is my lunch today.

For dinner it's chicken again, but this recipe was from Self Magazine. I had chicken legs in the freezer and thought this looked amazing.


Drumsticks with Vegetable Skewers
Courtesy of chef Hoss Zare of the Zare at Fly Trap in San Francisco
Serves 4
WW points per serving: 8

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 c lowfat plain yogurt
1/2 c plus 3 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
3 tsp salt, divided
2 tsp black pepper, divided
8 skinless chicken drumsticks (about 2 1/2 lbs) - I'm still debating if I should use 1 pack of 5, or 2 packs of 5 each... but then we'll have even more leftovers...
1/4 tsp saffron threads (this I can't seem to find in my cabinet so I might omit)
4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
8 cipollini onions, halved (very small purple onions)
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares
1 tsp ground cumin
4 metal skewers
2 ears fresh corn, halved crosswise

Combine yellow onions, yogurt, 1/2 c lime juice, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Add drumsticks. Toss to coat and chill 1 to 24 hours, turning once. Remove chicken from bag; pat dry.

Heat oven to 475 degrees.

Dissolve saffron in 3 tbsp warm water. Whisk in remaining lime juice, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper.

Line a baking sheet with foil; place a roasting rack on sheet. Place chicken on rack and baste with lime mixture every 10 minutes, until cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.

While it bakes, coat tomatoes, cipollinis and bell pepper with cumin; season wiht salt and pepper; thread onto skewers. Place skewers and corn on rack and roast until tender, 15 minutes. Serve with drumsticks.

*** Note - Ever wonder how to get that skin off of a chicken leg or chicken wing? Grab a paper towel! You can use a paper towel to grip the skin and pull it right off.

I'm off to defrost the chicken in the microwave since I forgot to set them out last night and then marinate them. Have a great day everyone!

*** Review - This was really good. I thought it'd be too citrus-y... but it was really good. So I'd totally recommend! And the chicken is so moist from marinating!

~M

After a "brilliant" day - Chicken Fajita Tostadas

After blogging about my "brilliant" grocery list and "superb" organizational skills, I headed off to the gym this morning and then to my favorite large market (called Fresh Farms in Niles, IL) ready to get my produce... and I realized I'd left my shopping list sitting on the counter at home. "Way to go, super-blogger", I thought to myself. Ah yes, the best laid plans...

Anyway, turns out I remembered everything for the week except for leeks for Friday's meal, which I might substitute onions for anyway since they were on a great sale. So, I was lucky... later than I wanted... but lucky.

I ran a few more errands, applied to 3 jobs, proofread my new resume, and even had lunch with a close girl friend of mine and her son. We had dim sum, which I used to have every Saturday when we lived in Chicago, pre-baby. It was delish.

Tonight for dinner I'm going to thank Disney and make these Chicken Fajita Tostadas. I'm too lazy to type it all out, so feel free to click on the link! I will be using some frozen cooked chicken I had from an old rotisserie chicken, and I found real queso blanco on a great sale at the market which my husband and I both love. I might serve with some rice from Goya, but I'm still a bit full from lunch so we'll see.


I will also be using fat free refried beans, which I think taste better than the real thing. Also, I like to take a baggie, cut the tip, and squeeze reduced fat sour cream over the top before serving.

Now if I only had a margarita!

~M

Planning Strategies

Yesterday I sat down at the computer for about 15 minutes to plan out the week's recipes. I will tell you that I promise this can be done this quickly. Now, I admit to having a bunch of recipes on hand between cookbooks, Cooking Light magazine (a true favorite), recipes stored in MacGourmet (my recipe software on our computer), and other pages torn from a newspaper or bookmarked on a website. I usually go into it knowing what I have in the freezer (and keep in mind I have the smallest freezer known to man).

This week I knew I had baby-back ribs that I got on a sale a few weeks back, a whole chicken that I got for 99 cents a pound, some frozen cooked chicken that I had chopped up from a rotisserie chicken (I love them for flavorful chicken to use in dishes that call for cooked chicken!), some chicken legs that have been in there a while, and I knew that on Friday I wanted to not eat meat for lent.

So I got out my spreadsheet. It's an excel sheet with 2 columns, and 15 areas with headers, all on one page. I'd be happy to email a copy of it out if you'd like to request it, or you can make it yourself.

It has the following headers:

• Fruits & Veggies
• Meat
• Bakery/Bread
• Canned Foods
• Pastas & Mixes
• Condiments
• Baking (like flour, sugar, etc.. unlike the bakery one above)
• Snacks/Beverages
• Paper Products
• Pets
• Dairy
• Frozen
• Cleaning
• Pharmacy
• Recipes for the week

I have this up on my computer and I get out usually 5 recipes to make that week. I like to print them out (much to the dismay of the environment, and my printer ink supply). That way, I can just have them in the kitchen when it's time to cook.

I go through each recipe, adding what I need in the appropriate column. I'll make some substitutions when I can (like last week when I used proscuitto I had in the freezer instead of buying pancetta). And I always have a pen in my purse when I'm at the grocery store. You can't follow a toddler around and remember if you just got that clove of garlic you have here on your list.

My pantry usually has items that are for other days, like spaghetti & sauce or chicken breasts & my favorite Bakin' Miracle breading, etc.

This week, as I wait to hear about jobs, I'm quite lucky. I'm making several dishes that require something from the freezer, and I really just need to buy produce today more than anything else.

I'd like to say that I'm so organized I also base my recipes off of what is on sale that week... but I don't. I wish I could though, and sometimes I'll see that steak is on sale and I think of a recipe that I really want to make with steak and it works out. However, I believe that is my downfall, and if I could somehow link that in, I'd save us more money. But, that might require "super mom" or possibly a mild case of OCD.

I've also tried apps for my iPhone for meal planning as well, and a grocery store app too. But after dropping my iPhone one-too-many times while fumbling to cross off an item while reminding my son not to poke a hole in the saran wrapped meat items that we aren't buying, I always end up using this spreadsheet and a good ol' pen.

I will post tonight's dinner & such later today! Happy Monday all, and here's to a good week!

~M