Dishwasher Lasagna

Holy cow. Now I've heard of everything.

Perhaps this is better served in my blog on thrifty living, since it capitalizes on using the dishwasher while you're washing dishes, but it also looks like a definite dinner disaster in the making.

Apparently it's possible to cook fish, and now lasagna, or anything else that can be cooked via a steam packet of tin foil, in your dishwasher.

Am I bold enough to put this on a future menu? I might just have to try it out.

Here's the step-by-step recipe on cooking lasagna with a dishwasher, and here's a video about it.

This is the penultimate dishwasher poached salmon recipe by Bob Blumer on Salon.com.  

Speaking of Bob Blumer, it seems his complete set of "Surreal Gourmet" articles are no longer on Salon, so here's a link to one of his books, "Surreal Gourmet: Real Food for Pretend Chefs."

Menu Plan Monday 2 - Week of July 26

Yummy Healthful Meals from All Over the World 

Most of these recipes are relatively fast. They're all fresh and healthful.

This is what our family will be eating this week:

Special Notes: Some links point to the book that I'm getting the recipe from with page number after.

Monday: Asian Salmon, Brown Rice Pilaf, (both adapted from "You on a Diet" p. 285 - adaptation: no garlic) Sautéed Spinach

Follow Up Note: Super easy to cook. Used leftovers in salad the next day. 

Tuesday: Rice Noodles with Vegetable Chili Sauce (p. 170 The Detox Cookbook)

Follow Up Note: Ended up cooking on Thursday night. Took about 20 minutes of prep, 45 minutes total. Very easy and delicious.

Wednesday: Crockpot Sweet Potato Andouille Sausage Stew from Gabi Moskowitz's Mom at Broke Ass Gourmet (leftover vegetable chili sauce over leftover brown rice pilaf for me)

Follow Up Note: Cooked on Tuesday. The children wouldn't eat it. Fortunately there were lots of leftovers (that's sarcasm). Froze to serve in a few weeks. Had about 5 extra servings. Husband wants more sausage next time.

Thursday: Roasted Chicken with Carrots, Onions and Potatoes from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Follow Up Note: Cooked on Wednesday. Used extra vegetables. Served Thursday night for children. I always forget it takes 1.5 hrs to cook. Whoops. 20 minutes prep, started at 5:30. Must remember next time that I need to start prep at 4 if I want to serve it at 6.

Friday: Indian Rice with Tomatoes and Spinach (p. 176 The Detox Cookbook)

Follow Up Note: This was DELICIOUS - everyone in my family ate some of it. Very quick to make (10 min prep, 30 cooking). I added a few teaspoons of sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. I used fresh tomatoes, as per the recipe, and it's a great meal to make to use up super ripe tomatoes (though they don't have to be super ripe - it's just that when they're past salad or sandwich ripeness it's harder to find uses for them). This recipe could be more cookie cutter by using a can of diced tomatoes and frozen spinach.

Saturday: Bean Salad with Tuna and Red Onion (p. 158 The Detox Cookbook) Saved!!! Got an invite to dinner at a friends house! We are OUTTA Here! :-)


Sunday: No idea. Again. I'm thinking "leftovers."




Further Inspiration:
Looking for more menu planning ideas? Check out "Meal Plan Monday" on OrgJunkie.com.


Some of the recipes come from these sources, all of which I find inspiring and have simple, relatively quick, very healthy and diverse recipes:


The Brokeass Gourmet


The Detox Cookbook (don't follow the "program" outlined - it's aggravatingly complex, but the recipes are great)


The Barefoot Contessa (not exactly healthy... somewhat fattening, but will teach you how to roast like nobody's business)


You On a Diet (every recipe I've tried has been delicious and easy)



 Info on Who I Feed:

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our preschool daughter and toddler son. Everyone has different food preferences. I love onions, garlic and peppers and flavors like stir-fries. I'm not fond of meat, but eat it sparingly. I don't ever eat pork (no, not even bacon), lamb, rabbit or veal. I love carbs. My husband is directly opposite - no garlic, onions or peppers, lots of meat. Our children fall in the range between us. 


I try to be budget-minded and healthful, but some weeks are easier than others. Every now and then I get on a diet type of kick. I'm going to label each week's meal plan according to the overall healthfulness of it. 


At the end of the week, I will make notes about whether or not we stuck to the plan, adaptations and how the meal went over.

Freshening Up Our Toddler Snacks

Here's a word you hear all too often as a parent: "snacks," or "'nacks" as my son says it. On the one hand, I think it's adorable how my son says it and how my two little ones light up with delight at the sheer prospect of something as simple as "snack time." On the other hand, I cringe almost every time snack time rolls around because we're definitely stuck in a rut.

My son will eat blueberries until his poops are blue, literally. Both of them will knock back peanut-butter pretzels, cheddar bunnies, raisins or cut up apples, but that sort of brings us to the end of the line. We need more snacks to choose from!!!

This is especially important because my two year old essentially lives on snacks. G-d forbid the boy would deign to eat more than a single bite of a meal, especially dinner. Tell him something is a "snack" though and he'll power it back!

I've been troving for snack ideas and came across a few really good ones. Wholesome Toddler Food lists some great ideas like Energy Balls with grated carrots, yogurt cereal bars and baked apples with muesli.
This site, Alli 'n Son, lists waffle sandwiches as a lunch idea, but I think it would make an equally good snack. Also, I like the simplicity of the idea of Kix and raisins as a to-go snack that's listed on the "Snacks for Toddlers" site.

Do you have any other ideas?

MOTW: Gouda Turkey Cheeseburgers with Fennel Relish and Sweet Potato Fries

This was the big hit last week (Jul 11-17). I got the relish and fries recipe from Real Simple, but opted for turkey burgers instead of beef (much leaner). The fennel relish is extremely fast and easy to make, but sounds delightfully gourmet. When I relayed the meal to a friend last week she stopped me when I mentioned the relish and said "you made all this?"

Instead of sweet potatos, I accidently bought yams (the white fleshed ones - I always get the two confused). They were delish!

I pulled a quick turkey burger recipe off the web which worked great. The trick with turkey burgers is that, if they're from 100% breast meat, they'll dry out very fast. Thus, adding egg whites plumps them up and the minced onion adds some flavor. I skipped the garlic because it really does bother my husband, though I'm sure it would have tasted great. The only thing about the burger recipe --- it didn't state the obvious that you need to either put butter or cooking spray in the pan. That's not necessary with beef burgers because of their fat content, but with turkey burgers... well... let's just say they stuck to the pan really well!

This meal was a hit with the whole family.
Real Simple Recipe for Burgers (minus turkey part), Fries and Relish:

Serves 4 Hands-On Time: 30m Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

• 2 pounds medium sweet potatoes (about 4), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/2 small fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 pounds ground beef chuck
• 4 ounces Gouda, sliced
• 4 hamburger buns
• Arugula, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450° F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, 2 tablespoons of the oil, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until golden brown and tender, 22 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the fennel, onion, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper; set aside.
3. Form the beef into four ½-inch-thick patties and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. During the last minute of cooking, top the burgers with the cheese and cook, covered.
4. Place the burgers on the buns with the fennel relish and arugula, if desired. Serve with the fries.

Turkey Burger recipe at AllCooks by Trudi Davidoff:

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 4

"Turkey burgers are a delicious change of pace. Slap these moist patties on the grill for a special summer treat!"

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon seasoned bread crumbs 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon finely diced onion 2/3 egg whites, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley 1/3 clove garlic, peeled and minced 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

You have scaled this recipe's ingredients to yield a new amount (4). The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield (12).

1.	In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 12 patties.
2.	Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C).

Taco Tuesday, July 20

Tacos work great as a family food because my children get a thrill out of "making" their own tacos - adding all the condiments on top.

Tonight's variety was ground turkey breast with raisins, a mix of the Whole Foods organic southwest seasoning and Bearitos' regular seasoning, along with shoepeg corn and black beans. For toppers we had peach salsa, avocado, onions, cheese and tomatoes.

Meal of the Week - Introduction

Sometimes I find myself in a rut with food, especially because my husband and I are on opposite ends of the taste spectrum. He likes meat and simple, unadorned vegetables. He enjoys dairy-based sauces and abhors stir-fries. I love stir-fries and lots of vegetables. I love garlic, onions and peppers. These things make my husband ill.

Between the two of us, my husband is the far superior cook. However, I am the homemaker, so the onus is upon me to figure out what to serve the family on a regular basis. I won't even try to factor in our children's tastes, which vacillate to wildly to dictate a menu -- my daughter used to love vegetable lasagna, but the second I made a batch big enough to have extras frozen as last resort meals, she declared that she couldn't stand the stuff.

The whole endeavor is more greatly complicated by the fact that we both try to eat relatively healthful meals. We usually fail, but rather than serving everything in a cream of mushroom sauce slathered in butter and cheese (hello Paula Deen!), which would taste awesome but cause our hearts to explode, we strive for healthy at least.

I often find myself in a pinch and come up with blanks as to what to plan for a week of food. I'll forget how, six months' prior, I'd tried a great and simple recipe that everybody loved (or at least ate) that somehow fell off the list.

Thus, I thought it would be handy to write up bits about meals that go over well each week. This is my intro to myself to remember why I started this "label" category.

Menu Plan Monday 1 - Week of July 19

A Week of Home-Style, "Comfort*" Foods My Children Might Eat
*Just like "charming" = teensy in realtor-speak, "comfort" = not healthy in menu-speak


This is what our family will be eating this week:

Special Notes: My husband will be out of town Wed - Fri, so mid-week is oriented to more child-friendly fare.

Monday: Country Style BBQ Short Ribs (adapted from a pork rib recipe), Roasted Potato "Fries," Romaine Salad

Tuesday: Taco Tuesday

Wednesday: Fish 'n Chips style fish sticks (Whole Foods, mix of potatoes and fish), salad

Thursday: Annie's Mac and Cheese with Bush's Vegetarian Baked Beans, Carrots

Friday: Pizza - Trader Joe's pepperoni pizza, salad

Saturday: Cheddar and Cracker Chicken, Steamed Baby Broccoli, Roasted Potatoes


Sunday:No idea. I'll let you know when I get there!

Further Inspiration:

Here are some other inspired menus I liked this week and want to remember for future weeks.
Alli 'n Son's Toddler Lunches look great, as do the meals
Food on the Table's meals look very yummy and adult-oriented
The Common Room has a great week of meals to prepare with children. The page took forever to load, but it looks worth the wait!
Finally, Life as Mom's Menu Plan Monday post isn't so inspiring from a food perspective, but has some interesting links to other posts about meal planning.


Looking for more menu planning ideas? Check out "Meal Plan Monday" on OrgJunkie.com.

Info on Who I Feed:

Our family consists of myself, my husband, our preschool daughter and toddler son. Everyone has different food preferences. I love onions, garlic and peppers and flavors like stir-fries. I'm not fond of meat, but eat it sparingly. I don't ever eat pork (no, not even bacon), lamb, rabbit or veal. I love carbs. My husband is directly opposite - no garlic, onions or peppers, lots of meat. Our children fall in the range between us. 


I try to be budget-minded and healthful, but some weeks are easier than others. Every now and then I get on a diet type of kick. I'm going to label each week's meal plan according to the overall healthfulness of it. 


At the end of the week, I will make notes about whether or not we stuck to the plan, adaptations and how the meal went over.