Still keeping cooking fun

Despite me not posting about it in a long time, I've kept my '09 NYE resolution to keep cooking fun for well over a year now.

From a movie night where we watched AND ate Ratatouille, to exploring recipes on the back of the box, I've grown to enjoy cooking more and more.

But to be honest, Mark plays a huge role. He's my best cheerleader. While the kids poke at their plates suspiciously searching for onion, Mark's typically on his second or third helping. Which, according to my grandma is good because she thinks I (and I quote) need to fatten him up some.

Some of my creations have been pretty good and others didn't work out as desired. Here are some snaps of some of the more noteworthy dishes:

Ho-made Bread Bowls:

We filled these diddies with baked potato soup. The kids liked topping their potatoes. Note to self: use less bread per bowl. Each kid got like a quarter of a loaf. (But they gobbled them up.)

Spaghetti-Lasagna:

Just like lasagna, but with cooked spaghetti.

To be honest, I thought the kids would like this one more. They love spaghetti, but aren't fans of ho-made sauce. They prefer their spaghetti sauce free, unless it's Chef Boyardee. (Go figure.)

Grandma's Peanut Butter Rolls:

There was some dispute in my family about who originated this recipe. Some said it was Grandma, others say it was Great Grandma. But I maintain they didn't make Pillsbury Refrigerator Biscuits in G-G's day.

My computer is full of even more pictures. I'll do a part 2 sometime soon. Promise.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille Night turned out pretty well. The dish was easy to make and tasted great.

After work and school, we went to the local farm stand and got a few of our key ingredients - eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. I'll admit, it was weird working with raw veggies that were warm from the sun. Normally I'm using cold produce - straight from my fridge or my grocer's. But regardless, there was something satisfying about using veggies fresh from the farm.

The recipe called for "2 cloves of garlic, or as much as your conscience or social engagements allow."

So, I used 6 cloves. (We're garlic fans.)

You essentially cook everything down for about an hour and then toss in a tablespoon of capers during the last 15 minutes.

Warm and gooey.

I served it with grilled lemon-herb chicken breasts and garlic bread and we ate it while watching Disney's Ratatouille, a story about a rat who proves he can cook by wooing a tough, French food critic with a dish of ratatouille.

It beat the hell out of pepperoni pizza.

MarketingMom vs. Eggplant

My experience working in marketing has served me well as a parent. I've written about how to successfully market healthy, unusual or otherwise suspicious foods to kids and consider myself an expert at creative wordplay to avoid altercations:

Example:

"Mom, can we paint my room tonight?"

"Yes, but only if we have time after dinner, homework, a quick trip to the store and showers."

"All right!"

(Notice how I never said, "no.")

Well I may have soon outdone myself.

We've had Movie Night every Friday for the past several weeks. Generally we get pizza and hunker down in the family room for a flick, but this week, I've got something special up my sleeve.

I'm planning to prepare a special meal for a special movie, Disney's Ratatouille. I'm going to make ratatouille nicoise -- a recipe straight out of the New York Times Cook Book. The kids are totally psyched, but then again, they have no idea what's actually in ratatouille.

Here's the recipe:

Ratatouille Nicoise

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 or more cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 zucchini, well scrubbed
• 1 small eggplant
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 green peppers, seeded and cut into strips
• 5 ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon capers

You basically cook all these ingredients down until they're a thick, bubbly concoction. Sounds awesome, right? My mouth is watering already for the garlic and capers.

We'll see how the kids react when I hand them a steaming bowl of vegetable goo instead of a slice of pepperoni pizza. (I'm totally hoping the veggies are unrecognizable -- and if they aren't, we're dimming the lights.)

If I can pull this off, I may just start myself a little consulting biz on the side. I can see it now:

Quit pandering to your picky eaters. MarketingMom is here to help. Let her turn your least kid-friendly recipe into your family's new favorite meal.

It's probably safest if I wait until after Friday night to print up my business cards.

Cowboy Cookies a la Fitz

This has been another long week.

Work's been as busy as ever, we learned the girls need $4K worth of orthodontics (that may or may not eliminate the need for braces in their teen years) and to top it off, this morning we had to run The Deuce to Urgent Care where she was diagnosed with strep throat.

I need a cookie.

Now, not just any cookie will do. I need Cowboy Cookies a la Fitz. And I need one NOW.

Cowboy Cookies a la Fitz are the best chocolate-chip and oatmeal cookie on the face of the earth. Seriously. I should know. I know cookies.

It must be known that I'm a purist when it comes to chocolate-chip cookies. I don't like it when people try to get fancy by using white chocolate or chunks instead of chips. (Chunks are too big and hard.) Also, I become extremely cross when someone tries to sneak nuts into them. Gah!

I tried my first Cowboy Cookie a la Fitz at work one day. My girlfriend, who was married to Fitz, brought in a batch to share.

Naturally I was suspicious.

"Oatmeal?!" I screamed in my head. "Are you joking? Truly great chocolate-chip cookies don't need oatmeal!"

I took a small one -- you know, just to be polite.

Surprisingly, the minute I bit into the delicious cookie, I was in utter and complete heaven. I'd been wrong about the oatmeal.

Horribly wrong.

The presence of oatmeal was not in the least overwhelming. It actually enhanced the cookie. Together the oatmeal and chocolate chips struck a harmonious balance, neither one competing for dominance. When I found myself alone in the break room with the Tupperware of remaining cookies, I took another. And another.

That was four years ago and I haven't had one since.



Every now and then I'd think of those cookies, but each time I'd run into Mrs. Fitz (a job change precludes us from seeing each other much), I'd forget to ask for the recipe. Until now.

So, upon having another stressful week, instead of Franzia, I chose Cowboy Cookies a la Fitz.


Thank you, Fitz. You are my hero.

Cowboy Cookies a la Fitz

2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix the dry stuff and set it aside.

1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar

Cream them together.

2 eggs

Add the eggs to the sugar mixture and beat until fluffy and then slowly add in the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Add 1 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. chocolate chips
2 c. oats

Add the vanilla, chips and oats into the dough. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased sheet. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. (I actually had to bake them a wee bit longer -- could've been my oven.)

Keeping Cooking Fun Rating: 5 Spatulas -- a perfect score!

Bubble & Squeak.

We're still keeping cooking fun over here, trying new recipes and pulling out old favorites.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in January, feasting on a 13-pound turkey Mark's parents gave us. (They emptied their fridge and high tailed it for warmer weather when we hit that arctic cold snap.) We enjoyed roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and all the fixings -- and then nibbled on delicious leftovers the rest of the week.

My Keep Cooking Fun recipe was a twist on an English dish called Bubble & Squeak. Traditionally made with cabbage and sausage, we followed a Food Network tip and used leftover mashed potatoes, turkey and peas.

Basically you combine all your leftovers, patty it up and fry it in a skillet.

While the oil bubbles, the concoction actually makes a squeaking sound.

The English aren't exactly known for cooking light.

The verdict. This was definitely not something I'd make everyday, but overall, it was pretty yummy. Four spatulas.

Surprising sources.

Keeping cooking fun for me means trying new dishes. While there's no shortage of recipes floating around out there, it can be tricky to find ones that are:

1. Inexpensive to make.
2. Healthy, yet kid friendly.
3. Fairly easy - meaning, they don't require more than 8 or 10 ingredients, too many dishes and pans, or take more than 30 minutes to prepare.

Mark and I are addicted to Food Network and love to watch the TV chefs prepare amazing meals - but I wish that just once, I'd see someone make something with ground beef.

My sis-in-law, Bees, is an awesome cook and once, after I went on an on raving about her Greek Cous Cous Salad, she let me in on one of her little secrets.

Look for the recipes on the labels of different foods.

Turns out, her amazing salad was a recipe she found on the back of the cous cous box. She may have varied it a little, but she used the box's recipe as a starting point.

Building on this idea, I now look for different manufacturer's websites for recipes. Many of them have great recipe-builder tools that allow you to check off ingredients you have on hand to find recipes.

My latest find comes from the Rice-A-Roni folks. Their Recipe Wizard tool is pretty neat. I used it to make their Fajita Skillet Supper, which ended up being pretty good. And I paired it with my own ho-made cheese quesadillas.

Fajita Skillet Supper

Toasty quesadillas from the broiler.

The Verdict. In the end, this recipe only earned 3 spatulas because it was a little on the bland side. (Usually rice mixes are salty, but this one wasn't.) I'll definitely make it again, but next time, I'll add some spices and maybe even some diced jalapeno.

~ ~ ~

PS - I know I've been bad about updating Seriously Skinny blog, but it's not because I haven't been doing well. I've actually been working out and have kicked a bad habit. You can read about it here if you'd like.

Keep Cooking Fun Recipe: Cocoa Ripple Ring Coffee Cake

Keeping my resolution to make cooking more fun, I pulled out a recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid. It's a basic coffee cake, but the secret ingredient is a packet of hot chocolate mix.

As a kid, I totally loved it. So, I was excited to make it for my family this past weekend. What made it fun was I made the kids guess what the secret ingredient was. When I told them it was hot chocolate, they were pretty impressed.

Cocoa Ripple Ring Coffee Cake

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bundt pan. Cream together the following ingredients until they are light and fluffy:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs

In a separate bowl, mix together:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

You'll also need 1 packet of hot cocoa mix (to be added later).

I only had cocoa mix that had marshmallows, so I had to sift them out.

Next, you need to combine the wet and dry ingredients, along with 2/3 cup of milk. It's best to add them alternately. (A little dry and then mix, next add a little of the milk and then mix, then a little more dry, etc.)

Once combined, spoon 1/3 of the batter into the bundt pan. Sprinkle in some hot chocolate mix, then layer on more batter, using the spoon to spread it around. Try to get 2 layers of cocoa. Smooth the top with the back of the spoon.

Bake for 35 minutes and then let it sit for 5 minutes before turning the cake out of the bundt.

Viola. The finished product.

Crowbar, enjoying a slice.

The verdict: It was good, but I think it could've been sweeter. I seem to remember it tasting more chocolaty when my mom made it. Next time, I'll do 2 packets of hot chocolate and see if it's better.

So, on a 5-spatula rating scale, this recipe earned a 3.

Resolutions. For realsies.

A few weeks ago, Mark volunteered to make dinner on a busy weeknight. I was thrilled to take him up on his offer because I had a ton of other stuff I had to take care of - homework to check, baths to give, laundry to fold.

When he entered the kitchen, he rolled up his sleeves, cranked the radio and began to sing and dance as he prepared our meal.

Normally, the sight of a grown man singing his heart out to CCR and chopping onions would make me laugh, but to be honest, it annoyed the hell out of me.

I know. I'm a total bitch.

Instead of being appreciative that he was helping, I was resentful. I thought to myself, "Oh, how cute. Cooking is still fun for you. A special occasion. Try doing it every night. See how fun it is then."

I kept my nasty thoughts to myself, but stewed over it for the rest of the night. Still feeling sour, I mentioned the incident to my good friend, G, the next day at work.

I was all, "...and he was dancing around, having a blast. Try cooking 7 nights in a row. I'll bet it's not so much fun then."

I fully expected to get an "Amen, sista!" G's a busy single mom who has often commiserated with me on the stress of working all day and then coming home to cook and clean all night. I knew I was being petty and whiny, but if anybody would understand where I was coming from, it'd be G.

Instead, she turned on me.

"So what's the matter with you?" she asked. "Why don't you turn on some music? Why don't you make cooking fun too?"

Damn.

"Girl, quit your boo-hooing. You have to cook every night, right? You owe it to yourself to make it as fun as possible."

G was totally right. Why not turn cooking into a fun activity instead of a dreaded chore? So, thanks to G, here's my big New Year's resolution:

In 2009, I will make cooking fun again.

Here's how:

• Reorganize my kitchen/supplies (and then keep them neat and tidy).
• Crank the tunes.
• Try new recipes and dig up oldies but goodies from the past.

I jump started my plan immediately. I restocked staple ingredients, reorganized my cabinets and rearranged my spices. Before, everything was a mess, making it tough to even see what I had on hand. Now it's all nice and neat and I know exactly where everything is.

Another big change is that I moved my computer near the kitchen, so I can listen to Pandora while I work and have quick access to AllRecipes.com, one of my favorite recipe sites. And, if one of the kids wants to use the computer while I'm making dinner, I'm close enough to supervise and be part of the action. Before, I felt like I was in solitary confinement, all alone in my galley-style kitchen.

These little changes have already had a big effect. Instead of feeling confined to the kitchen, it's beginning to feel like a special room to me.

I promise to share some of my fun recipes and stories with you. And if you've got some fun/tasty/semi-kid-friendly recipes for me to try, lemme have them. I'll give them a whirl and will post the results here.