Day Twenty-five: French Dip Sandwiches

It's another busy Wednesday, but I'm not quite as crazed as I was last week.  Therefore, I was able to set out some dinner for Mike before I left for my afternoon classes. 

Of course we had to rely on leftovers tonight, since I would be gone teaching.  Mike was going to be busy, too, since he was bringing Jack to Spanish class.  We were really excited about this, because I've been feeling pretty jealous watching all these mothers play with their babies in Spanish.  Finally I was going to get to bring Jack to class!  I knew he'd do well since we work on Spanish at home, and since he is exceptionally smart and cute at everything he does.  Slightly biased? Yes!

To our surprise and chagrin, Mike ended up with plenty of time to make dinner.  Jack had to be "excused" from Spanish class after lots of tears and some impressive floor flopping during a tantrum.  It turns out he was only exceptional at being naughty tonight.

By the time I got home I was famished.  A nice, warm french dip sandwich sounded just right on this drippy night.  I warmed the leftover roast in the microwave while the bread warmed in the oven.

A little knife work and it was ready for the sandwich. 

I wasn't sure if the au jus would be any good, since it was the sauce from the crock pot.  It was better than good.  It was warm and juicy and full of flavor.  It made the sandwich heavenly.

That's it, folks.  No side dish, no drink, no dessert.  By the time I was down to my last few bites Jack was hanging on my leg and it was bedtime.  Dinner was over, and dinner had been good.

I'm gladly handing the apron over to Mike for the rest of the week.  He has no idea what he will make tomorrow, so it should be a good surprise for all of us.

Day Twenty-four: A Taste of Texas

Tonight we had a special treat: a visit to Mike's parents' home for some Texas style home cooking.  Mike's parents were raised in West Texas.  Like a true Texan, Mike's Mom, Kay, doesn't let silly little things like butter, oil, or calories get in her way while she cooks.  Tonight she invited us over for one of her favorites: chicken fried steak.

We had to wait for Papa to get home before we could eat.  Jack watched patiently at the window until we finally saw his car.  Hi Papa!

I was ecstatic when I saw that Kay was going to enable my bread addiction.  Texas toast!  Texas toast is a problem for me.  It's just the right mix of soft and crunchy, and every bite just makes me want more.  It requires great will power for me to limit myself to one or two slices of this divine treat.  Please don't ask me to share.  I will go Gollum on you.  I'll snatch and snarl, and you may even hear me hiss my precious!

Kay dished out the chicken fried steak while I made Jack's plate.  Since Kay is a wonderful GaGa who couldn't bear to see Jack go hungry, she made him some mac and cheese.

She is used to picky eaters, after raising three picky boys and caring for six picky grandkids.  She doesn't get offended when someone doesn't care for her cooking.  Ain't that nice?

We had plenty to eat tonight.  Kay and Lowell will be having leftovers tomorrow!  Look at this spread!

Dinner was delicious.  I cleaned my plate and went back for seconds (thirds for the Texas toast... when among family, no need to rein in).

Mike, surprisingly, didn't finish his dinner.  He left a big pile of mashed potatoes and nearly all his chicken fried steak on his plate.  We discovered that chicken fried steak is the only type of meat Mike doesn't like.  This proves that there is an exception to every rule.  True with English grammar; true with Mike's meat affection. 

Of course this didn't bother Kay one bit.  She just laughed as she smiled at him, recalling that his eyes have always been bigger than his stomach.  As a child, she recounted, he would fill his plate.  He piled it with as much food as it could hold, all the while professing his impending doom due to starvation.  By the end of dinner, his plate was still nearly full.   

I have to agree, since I've seen the same thing happen again and again.  I have to remind Mike that this is one reason he's not allowed to do the grocery shopping.  This is also why I have to be on my game when we order at restaurants.  The minute the menu hits his hand I have to start talking him down, gently and slowly, until he has decided not to order those two appetizers and the family-sized entree. 

At least everyone else loved their dinner.  We even got to enjoy some homemade banana pudding for dessert!  I had great hopes for Jack trying and liking this, since he likes bananas and Nilla wafers. 

He preferred to limit his involvement to delivering the desserts. 

We all thought this was exceptionally cute.  I was really excited, though, because I hadn't realized he was old enough or balanced enough to tote full plates across the room and put them on a table.  Mommy's hiring servers for the kitchen, and the position has now been filled.  Jackpot!

We loved our dinner tonight.  It was so nice to get out of the house and eat someone else's home cooked goodness.  Nights with GaGa and Papa are always fun and filling, and we smile all the way home. 



Day Twenty-three: Crock Pot-tastic

I've been watching a recipe appear and reappear on Pinterest over the past couple of weeks.  I've wanted to try it for a while, but have an inherent distrust of recipes found on Pinterest.  I mean, who actually knows if that recipe is good or completely disastrous!  I felt adventurous today, though, so I'm giving it a go.  Best Ever Crock Pot Pot Roast, here we come.

http://mariescookingadventures.blogspot.com/2011/10/best-pot-roast-ever.html?m=1


As soon as Jack and I got home from story time at the library this morning, I settled him on the floor with his cars and garage.  He was happy as a clam.

I had to move fast, since his attention span is just a few minutes.  Luckily, this recipe didn't require much on my part.  I just had to slice some carrots and potatoes and plop them in the crock pot.

Next, I topped the veggies with a big hunk of meat.

Here comes the difficult part.  Empty a package of dry Ranch mix, dry Italian dressing mix, and brown gravy mix on top.  I wasn't really sure if I should shake this over everything or just the meat.  I figured with a recipe this complex you really couldn't make a mistake.  I just shook it around while Jack clung to my leg- attention span over.

Jack got my full attention for the rest of the day, and when Mike came home from work dinner was ready. 

I served dinner in a bowl tonight, with a little salad on the side.  Good thing we had some croutons for the salad, because that was the only thing Jack ate. 

I found the roast a little tough and too salty.  Next time, I'll try cooking it on low for longer, and hopefully that will keep it from getting tough. I'll also add some more water to hopefully keep it from being too salty.  Mike didn't have any objections to the dinner, and told me several times how much he liked it. 

As proof, I offer exhibit A.

 
Mike ate vegetables! Success!  Now if I could only find a way for Jack to do the same...

Day Twenty-Two: Disappointing Chicken

Tonight I am newly motivated and ready to cook a great meal.  I'm also willing to leave my comfort zone and try something new.  I haven't cooked any Barefoot Contessa recipes yet this month, so I turned to her newest book to find some inspiration.

Everything I've tried out of this cookbook has been great.  Tonight I picked Chicken with Shallots.  Supposedly, it was "easy and quick."  First you fry one side of the chicken in a skillet.

If I had read the recipe in advance, I might have skipped it.  I really hate frying in a skillet.  The little grease balls fly all over the counter, the floor, my clothes, and possible into my sweet baby's upturned face.  No me gusta.

After the frying, the chicken gets flipped over and roasted in the oven.  This worked fine, since I was already roasting cauliflower. 

The cauliflower recipe also came from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  I took a lot of shortcuts, so I wasn't sure if it would turn out right.  For instance, instead of peeling and boiling an entire head of garlic, I just threw in a few teaspoons of minced garlic.  Purists might lose some respect for me here, but I love buying already minced garlic.  It's the greatest thing since bagged salad.

While the caulifower and chicken baked, I made the sauce.  I had to simmer some white wine, shallots, and lemon juice.  Once this reduced, I needed to add cream.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the cream in the fridge.  I know I had cream on the grocery list, and I'm pretty sure I picked it up at the store.  My memory is pretty doubtful, though.  Let's consider the parcel pickup incident.  When I checked out at the grocery store they offered me parcel pickup.  This is when you drive your car around and they load your groceries for you.  It's a nice service, and very helpful.  Unless you get in your car and drive home.  Without the groceries.

So... instead of cream I had to use Jack's whole milk.  Close enough, I told myself. 

The chicken turned out good.  After all that work, however, I wanted amazing.  The cauliflower was amazing.  I loved it!  I had to plead with Mike to take one bite.  He did, and admitted that it wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be.  He just didn't feel like he could stomach another bite, though.  Jack sided with Mike, and shouted "NO!" each time I tried to give him a bite.

Unfortunately, once I got the dinner on the plate I realized that everything was white.  I like to have a colorful plate, and this tabula rosa really put a damper on my mood. 

Add to that the so-so chicken, vegetable-refusing boys, and a toddler who wouldn't even eat the noodles cooked specifically for him, and you get a pretty disappointing meal. 

On the plus side, Jack got some good practice with his fork. 

We were happy to watch him experiment to see which foods were best eaten with a fork.  Oranges are not a fork-friendly food- unless you like the taste of orange peel. 

This dinner was a swing and a miss, but I'm not letting it get me down.  I'm ready to try another new recipe tomorrow which is sure to be a homerun!

Day Twenty-One: A Little Cheating

Let's revisit the origin of Home Cook Challenge.   Mike wanted to try eating only homemade meals for 30 days, thinking of all the mouth-watering bacon he could grill in 30 days.  I agreed, thinking of how much money we could save in 30 days.  I also had the secret objective of gradually and sneakily transfering more of the family cooking responsibility to Mike's broad shoulders. 

We are 21 days into this challenge, and we are fatigued.  We've had some unexpected obstacles, such as Mike leaving town for a few days, my suddenly very busy work schedule, and some parties.  There have been a few transgressions.

While Mike was out of town we all know he relished in fast food and barbeque.  In the meantime I held true to the challenge, but was later derailed at my dad's retirement party.  I didn't want to be rude, and who has the iron will to turn down a free meal at Metropolitan Grill when the 30 other guests are chowing down?  Since I had cooked a homemade dinner and eaten it already, I didn't feel that the infraction was grave.

We attended a benefit party for Springfield Little Theatre tonight, which was catered by Ocean Zen, Flo, and 5 SPice.  Again, what was the sense in being rude?  The open bar weakened our resolve and we weren't an hour in before we were hitting the buffet lines.  We love all three of those restaurants, so we ate like starved hyenas. 

Honestly, we weren't even hungry.  We had made a homemade meal, which we enjoyed as a family, before the party.  Tonight we made my very favorite meal in the world: pork tenderloin sandwiches.  All you need to start this meals is a warm loaf of french bread.

I used the second loaf of homemade bread our friend Jane gave us.  It smelled glorious as it warmed in the oven. 

Next step, thinly slice a red onion.  Add the onion, warmed leftover pork, and some lettuce to the bread.

Here comes the most important step, so read carefully.  You must pour on a boatload of Newman's Own dressing.

If you have done it properly, the dressing will run down your arms and drip off your elbows as you eat. 

Now you have the perfect sandwich.  Mmm... I want another right now!

In the interest of full disclosure, you now know about our indescretions. Our cards are on the table.  We know we're not perfect.  After 21 days, though, it would silly to give in.  We are resolved to venture forth with contrite hearts, making the final 9 days of Home Cook Challenge the best yet. 

Day Twenty: Back to Normal

Finally this week is over, and we are back to normal... mostly. 

Mike got home this afternoon, leaving me just enough time to run to the grocery store and pick something for dinner.  I chose on of our old standbys, pork tenderloin.  Mike loves to grill pork tenderloin and eating way too much for dinner.  I love making sandwiches with the leftovers the next day.

It's a win-win.  I wanted to try something different and fun, so I googled a recipe for baked apples.  I cored the apples, filled them with cinnamon, raisins, and brown sugar, and popped them in the oven.   I wanted everything to be ready at the same time.  I tried to pin Mike down to an answer on when the pork would be finished.  His answer?  15-45 minutes.  Helpful, Mike, very helpful!

The apples were supposed to bake for 40 minutes, so I popped them in the oven.  Not surprisingly, they ended up being finished before the pork.  This means they sat on the counter and got cool and saggy while we waited on the rest of dinner. 

I nuked some baked potatoes and they were ready right on time.

By the time we got everyone's plate filled and sat down, we had forgotten all about the apples.  It had only been a few days since we'd been sat down at the table together, but it already felt foreign.  We all commented on how long it seemed since we'd sat at the table together, except for Jack, who repeatedly demanded that we "watch this!" as he stabbed various items with his fork.

We lingered at dinner, unwilling to leave our cozy table.  When we started to clean up, I noticed the apples.  They could be salvaged for dessert, surely.  I sliced one open and scooped some ice-cream on top.  Mike and I both had a few bites.  The apple was too firm, and too cold, and so we just tossed it out.

Even though the apples didn't turn out, we loved our dinner.  It was so nice to be back to normal!

Day Nineteen: Dinner on the Run

Tonight I taught all day and night, and Mike was still out of town.  Jack spent the evening with my mom, where he enjoyed a lovely meal of Spaghetti-Os and raspberries.  My mom actually had to hide the raspberries because he was eating them so fast she couldn't even get them rinsed off first.  She proudly told me that she even got him to eat a few green beans.  He caught on pretty quickly, however, and that was the end of that!

By the time I got Jack home and in bed, I was exhausted myself.  I had lots more work to do before I could turn in, though, so I had to rustle up something warm and satisfying. I had nowhere near enough energy to cook something.  After a long time looking in the cupboard, I finally found the right meal.

Oatmeal!  I used to think oatmeal was only for breakfast, and for old people.  After college, though, I worked as a graduate assistant at Drury.  My boss worked so hard every day, she only spent about 5 minutes eating lunch.  I worried about her a lot (this was before I became a teacher and a speed eater).  Starting at noon, I used to pop in her office every five or ten minutes and remind her that it was lunchtime.  After a few reminders she would finally acquiesce.  She would get up, walk across her office to the microwave, and make a bowl of oatmeal.  This did not allay my worries, since oatmeal was clearly a breakfast meal for old people, and not sufficient to sustain a working adult. 

She seemed to thrive on this thin fare, and I began to wonder if oatmeal might deserve another glance.  Soon after, I began eating it, and loving it, on cold winter mornings.  Bare cupboards gave me
the opportunity to break oatmeal out of its breakfast confines and invite it to the dinner table.

My oatmeal was a great dinner tonight.  Plus, I got to eat while I worked.