Cooking With Emily: Spaghetti & Meatballs

School's out for summer, to quote an old song.  I didn't get around to writing a post last week, although Emily did indeed make  supper.  She made Cauliflower Chowder again, (http://viewfromhere68.blogspot.ca/2015_03_01_archive.html) a repeat from March 24.  It was delicious, although the weather doesn't lend itself to a bowl of soup for supper.  We were in the grocery store this morning and she asked about leek soup, having seen a packet of Knorr's Leek Soup mix. I do like leek soup, and have a great recipe, but it will taste better in the fall, when the weather cools off a little.  She didn't need much help at all with the soup, proof that the lessons, such as they are, are taking hold.  Then again, she had a friend sleep over Friday night and the pair of them wanted to make pancakes for breakfast.  I directed her to my list of recipes I have fixed to the inside of a cupboard door for things I make often but cannot always remember the amounts of ingredients (baking powder biscuits, white sauce, pancakes, my favourite bread machine recipes) Unfortunately these notes are only ingredients & amounts (including half & double recipes) and no directions, since I know the methods, and all my usual variations.  I did suggest they find a recipe in a cookbook, but it fell on deaf ears.  When I stuck my head in the kitchen I discovered a very watery non-batter being ladled into the waffle iron.  I realized later, when Emily made a second attempt at pancakes Sunday morning, they mis-read 1 1/3 cups of flour as 1/3 of a cup.  I stirred in more flour, but the final product was heavy and inedible.  Sunday Emily did make another attempt, with a cookbook as a guide, but again, almost missed the right volume of flour.  Thankfully I was standing there and caught the omission.  We had a brief lesson on how to tell the pancakes are ready to turn -when the surface has had lots of little bubbles rise & burst.  They are done when the cooked side springs back when touched gently.  Much more edible.  I hadn't realized we had not yet covered making pancakes in our lessons.  Shame on me!  I fell into the mother's trap of thinking since she had seen it done so many times she should have somehow just absorbed it.
At least it was not a terribly expensive lesson.
Monday morning Emily unearthed a kid's cookbook we picked up some years ago at a library book sale by the American Heart Association.  She found a recipe in it for spaghetti.  I wondered if spaghetti was the best choice in the midst of a mini heat wave, but she insisted it was what she wanted.  I skimmed the recipe and pointed out it had no meat, knowing she likes meatballs, or, at the very least, meat sauce.  She neatly turned a page in the book and found a recipe for broiler meatballs. It is far to warm for the oven or broiler, but I usually make meatballs in a skillet.  And so the menu was settled.
I helped her mince an onion (we will have to conquer that soon) while she opened a package of ground bison.  She then added bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, a egg and some milk.  The recipe called for Italian seasoning, which we did not have.  I measured in a generous pinch of dried oregano and basil and cut some fresh thyme and parsley for her.  She added salt, pepper and garlic powder and donned a pair of disposable latex gloves to mix everything together.  Once she had it combined I told her to make evenly sized meat balls and place them into the pan where we had a tablespoon or so of oil heating.  I told her not to move the balls until they were done on one side or they would fall apart. It was time consuming, but she did well, apart from a few dropped pieces of onion.
Once the meatballs were  browned on all sides I had her lift them from the pan into a bowl while she prepared the sauce.
She had me chop another onion to be browned in a little oil.  To the browned onion she stirred in a can of diced tomatoes, more dried oregano and basil, as well as garlic powder, salt & pepper.  She let this simmer while she put on water for the spaghetti.  We took some liberties with the recipe, which called for stewed tomatoes and tomato paste, which I had her omit altogether, simply because we didn't have any.  I don't use a recipe when making spaghetti sauce, meatballs or hamburgers either, but following a recipe is still a part of the learning curve.
Once the water was boiling I had her spoon the meatballs back into the sauce while the pasta cooked. I left her to her own devices again, and when I returned she had drained the pasta and stirred it into the sauce as well.  I poured a glass of wine and settled in to eat. It smelled wonderful.  And it tasted great.  Emily added extra Parmesan & grated Cheddar to her plate, I found it didn't need anything extra, except a little more salt & pepper (and a few crushed chilis for good measure!)

Italian Meatballs

1 large onion                         1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning*

1 pound ground beef             1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs     salt & pepper

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese      1/3 cup milk

1 egg

Mince the onion and combine with remaining ingredients.  When well blended shape into meatballs 1 1/2-2 inches in diameter.  Place in a large skillet and brown thoroughly on all sides.  Don't over crowd the pan, you may have to do 2 batches, or use a second pan.  Alternately, place meatballs on a broiler pan and broil for 5 minutes before turning and broiling another 5 minutes.  

Remove meatballs from pan and set aside to prepare sauce, 

*We used a combination of dried oregano, dried basil, fresh thyme and fresh parsley.  Dried herbs have a more concentrated flavour, so you will need more fresh herbs than dried. (About a 3:1 ratio)

Spaghetti Sauce

 1 large onion                                    1-6 oz can tomato paste (opt)

2 tablespoons olive oil                      2 teaspoons dried basil

1-14 oz can stewed tomatoes*          1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup water                                        1/2 teaspoon pepper

                                                           3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Chop the onion and cook in hot oil (or meatball drippings) until onions are soft & translucent (about 5 minutes).  Add remaining ingredients and simmer over medium low heat about 20 minutes.

*We used diced tomatoes (roasted garlic & olive oil this time) instead of stewed tomatoes.  Tomato blends change the flavour of the sauce, so you can make it suit your taste

           

At this stage you can gently return the meatballs to the sauce, or serve them separately, over cooked spaghetti, or stir the pasta into the sauce as well and make it a one dish supper. 

Cooking With Emily: Cowboy Lasagne

What a week it's been.  School is almost done for the year so there are concerts and recitals and plays piling up on every side.  Emily divided her weekend between a slumber party (I am quite sure her social life far outstrips mine) and her dad's.  I did find time in the midst of all that to begin negotiating screen time limits for the coming summer days.  Of course I use the term negotiating loosely.  I asked her to outline what she felt was reasonable and fair for time spent on TV, computer & tablet.  She wasted little time in a schedule that would block off a great deal of her days for her devices, but I do have to give her credit for some limitations.
I sat down and devised my own offering, which received no complaints when I asked her to review it. I suggested no screens until all her chores are done, limited TV & computer to two hours a day (not each, which was her plan) allowing an hour or two for her tablet as well, with exceptions for long drives, and extra time available to be earned.  The tricky part now will be for me to monitor her time. But she has a bike and a swim pass and a library card.  There is no need to stare at a box all day.

In any case summer will be full.  She has swimming lessons and camp, and will be spending a couple of weeks with her grandparents.  Our cooking lessons could become a lot more hit and miss as the summer wears on.  She has learned to light the barbecue, and Peter has taught her to build a fire, reliving his scout master days teaching her survivalist type stuff.  She loves it, mostly because she loves having his undivided attention.
She starts grade 6 in the fall, Junior High as it is measured now.  Seems like just the other day I was worrying about how she'd navigate kindergarten, since she was stuck to me like glue, having a melt down every time I left her anywhere.  Where, oh where, has my baby gone?  But I no sooner wonder that when I see my two year old having a melt down now disguised as pre-pubescent angst.  It's going to be a bumpy ride I think.

A couple of months ago this particular recipe was floating around on Facebook.  Emily thought it looked good, so I made it one evening when I was babysitting for a friend.  It was not too bad, easy, and kid friendly, so I kept the recipe on hand.  Sunday night when I asked Emily what she was making for supper she saw it still stuck to the fridge and decided she wanted to make Cowboy Lasagne again.  Monday was supposed to be cooler, so I agreed, knowing if there were too many leftovers I could always deliver lunch to my friend who runs a day home.  Busy moms rarely argue about someone taking one chore off the list, and feeding hungry, fussy kids can be daunting.

Monday afternoon I asked Emily how long her chosen recipe was going to take to make.  She glanced at the page and told me "35 minutes."  I knew that was merely baking time, so explained she needed to calculate actual cooking time.  She looked again and informed me she thought about 10 minutes.  For a seasoned cook, with prepped ingredients that may have been an accurate guess.  I told her the meat was not completely thawed and she had best allow 30 minutes.
It wasn't long before she appeared in the living room, snuffling that she needed me to chop the onion.  We'll have to work on that.  I put the still partly frozen ground bison in a large skillet with a tablespoon of water to start browning before mincing a few tablespoons of onion for her.  I stowed the rest of the onion in the refrigerator and retuned to my book.  She then informed me we had no tomato soup.  I buy it by the case and don't use it for much other than casseroles so I was fairly sure we did indeed have some, but came back to the kitchen to check.  We did have time for a bicycle trip to the store if needs be.  I moved a can of tuna and unearthed several cans of soup.  Something else to work on-looking for things in the pantry.
I gave the meat a stir, breaking up some bigger chunks and added the onions by way of efficiency, before she asked me to cut her some parsley and show her where the dry mustard was.  I handed her the tin and collected my kitchen shears.  Once I chopped the parsley for her she assured me she had things in hand again, so I again retreated.
Next I was informed we had no Tater Tots.  Again I assured her we did, I had seen 2 packages while I was digging out the meat earlier in the day, and I led her out the the deep freeze to locate them.
I did help her pour the meat mixture into the casserole, it was going to take forever for her to spoon it into the dish.  Once it was in the oven she even decided to wash the dishes-or most of them anyway. She left the frying pan for me!

Dinner was good.  Better actually than when I made it.  I had had several varieties of cheese in the fridge leftover from a party when I made it, so I used a blend of cheese rather than simple Cheddar, the flavours may have been a little overwhelming for a basic casserole.  It may not make my rotation, but all things considered was tasty, and easy to put together.  Even fairly quick to make.  I think it would freeze well, to bake at a later date.  A salad would be all you would need to round out the meal.
Incidentally, this recipe is very much like another casserole I make (and prefer) with egg noodles instead of Tater Tots.

Cowboy Lasagne

1 lb ground beef                                          1 can corn
4 tablespoons minced onion                       3 tablespoons dried ground mustard
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce        1 package Tater Tots (32 oz)
3 tablespoons chopped parsley                   salt & pepper
1 can tomato soup                                       4 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese*

Brown meat with onion and seasonings, drain off any fat.  Add soup and corn, simmer about 10 minutes.  Arrange Tater tots in a greased 9x13" baking dish in a single layer.  Cover with 2 cups of cheese.  Pour ground beef mixture over, top with remaining cheese and 1 tablespoon chopped parsle.
Bake 30 minutes at 350F.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

* Emily used about 2 cups of Cheddar, instead of Mozzarella, because that is what was on hand, and I suspect she didn't note the actual volume of cheese required.  It was not so rich and heavy with less cheese, and it was not missed at all.

Cooking with Emily:Penne with Bacon & Peas

Summer finally arrived.  These past several days have been gloriously warm, and I will hear no complaints about the heat.  All too soon there will be a minus sign alongside those numbers and winter will again be upon us.  I spent the last 6 months freezing, I am thrilled to be warm again.  I may have to move to Tahiti after all.  Of course warm weather means barbecue season, and lighter foods.  I barbecue all winter long, but not to the same degree I do in summer.
I spent the weekend with Peter while Emily went camping with friends.  Not only was this unexpected alone time a treat, but I was able to sink my teeth into preparing several dishes for a barbecue for Peter to share with his coworkers this week.  I was not able to join them, needing to return to maternal responsibilities, but all accounts were that the meal was a success,  I prepared lamb kebabs, honey mustard chicken & teriyaki ginger pork chops in addition to vegetables in foil & corn on the cob.  (If you are interested in any of these recipes, please let me know in the comments, I'd be happy to share).
Emily got home Sunday a couple of hours after I did, hot, tired and sun burned.  I asked if she still planned to cook the following day, advising her to opt for something light.  She agreed but was too busy catching up on her screens (Heaven forbid they not have electronics for a few days!) to choose something.   I was paging through the magazine Wal-Mart offers its customers before tossing it into the recycling bin when I came across a recipe that looked appealing.  I suggested it to Emily, who took a brief look at it before agreeing.  After all it had bacon.  And pasta.  The girl does love her pasta!  I tore the page out, tossed the magazine, and returned to my book.
Monday was a scorcher (+33) and Emily came home from school determined to learn whether or not the pool was open.  It was and she found enough change for admittance and changed into her suit, confirming she would cook when she got home.
Shortly after five she returned and changed into yet another outfit (because I love doing laundry) and started amassing her ingredients.  Soon she had a pot of water boiling and was asking to light the barbecue for the pork chops I had thawed.  I told her it was still early and began mixing soy sauce & butter together to coat a couple of ears of corn to grill with the chops.
Once the pasta was cooking she began chopping a few slices of bacon, remembering I had once recommended using kitchen shears instead of a knife.  She opted to cut up a couple of extra slices, since the bacon we had had not come out of the package in full strips, and was quite fatty, so there wouldn't be much actual bacon once it cooked.  And, as she pointed out, you really can not have too much bacon.
She lit the barbecue with my supervision; last time I let her do it she didn't open the lid first & the accumulated propane startled her when it did ignite (the electric ignition doesn't always engage at first click).  She did well, and returned to check on her noodles.  As I went out to collect the last of my laundry from the clothes line I heard a frustrated shout, but as she didn't sound hurt I left her to cope with whatever she had done.  As it turned out the peas had poured out of the bag too fast and had spilled all over the floor, and she was busily trying to sweep them up.  No easy task that.  I'm still finding a few this morning!  I advised her to get the bacon started and went to check on the pork chops and corn.  When I returned I took her tablet away, telling her she was not yet an experienced enough cook to attempt multi-tasking, suggesting if watching water boil and bacon fry was not amusing enough she could finish putting the dishes away.  Needless to say this was not appreciated.  After all I can take a turn at Words with Friends or read a page or two of my book while I cook dinner.  I've also had a lot more practice.
I peeled the garlic for her, to some protest, although she did accept I was just trying to help.  She wanted to squeeze the garlic press herself, but quickly returned it to me.  I have no doubt she could have squeezed it hard enough if she had really tried, but I didn't press the issue.  I helped her toss everything together before retrieving the chops and corn from the grill.  Dinner was served.

It was very good, although I think she may have miscalculated the amount of peas.  Still having a dish more vegetable and less pasta is not necessarily a bad thing.  A cheese lover, Emily added grated Cheddar to her plate, feeling the Parmesan alone was not enough.  She ate it heartily, who am I to argue?

Penne with Bacon & Peas

225 grams penne pasta                         3 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups frozen peas                                1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 slices bacon

Cook pasta according to the package directions, until tender, 7-9 minutes, adding frozen peas to the water during the last 2 minutes of cooking time.  Drain & set aside.

Chop bacon and cook in a large frying pan until crisp, spooning off any excess fat.  Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the penne & peas along with the Parmesan cheese and toss gently.

*I brushed the corn with a mixture of softened butter & wasabi flavoured soy sauce (2 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons soy) and wrapped them in foil, grilling over low heat. 

Cooking With Emily: Garlic Cheddar Chicken

June already...it won't be long and summer break will be here.   Emily has begun anticipating starting junior high (grade 6) in the fall.  She is growing up so quickly, and although I am the first to confess I enjoy my children more as they mature and can do more grown up things, and have more grown up conversations, there is a part of my that wants my baby back.  It seems like just yesterday she was hanging on my shirt tails, never letting me out of her sight for a moment.  Every once in a while I look at her and can see the teenager she will soon become.
We had a wonderful weekend away, enjoyed camp fires, roasted marshmallows and other camp fire treats Peter & I recalled from our childhoods, played an Australian board game (Squatter) and late breakfasts.  Emily and I got home late Sunday in time for her to have a quick supper and a shower before bed.
Monday morning she started poking around online for a recipe to make for supper that evening.  Searching recipes online is risky business, because you can quickly find yourself down the rabbit hole.  She found a pasta recipe that looked quite good, but it involved making pesto from scratch, which is not a beginner task, and I really didn't want a pasta dish, since I am still trying to keep carbs at a minimum.  A few more mouse clicks and she found a chicken recipe which satisfied us both.  I thought it looked easy enough-and you can never go wrong with garlic, or with cheese.

After school, a report on the "meet our pen pals" field trip and a small snack (and several reminders to unpack her back pack) it was time to start supper.  While Emily re-read her recipe I pounded several chicken breasts into thin fillets.  Pounding the breasts between sheets of cling wrap (it doesn't splatter this way) is a great way to work off any aggression or frustration too.  Once that was done I helped her mince four cloves of garlic; mincing them takes a bit of careful handling with a knife-she was only slicing the cloves.  She sautéed the garlic in butter while shooing me out of the kitchen, assuring me she did not need my assistance.  I found the container of bread crumbs and retreated to collect my laundry from the clothes line.  I hadn't been outside long when she called me in to find the Parmesan cheese for her.  Admittedly it was hiding at the back of the fridge, behind the orange juice and yoghurt.  Again I was dismissed.  And again, minutes later she appeared in the yard, telling me we had no Cheddar.  "Yes, we do," I told her.  "No, we don't," she insisted.  This went on for a minute or three, because it amused me.  We very rarely run out of cheese.  Cheese, milk & eggs are staples.  Finally I finished rehanging the still damp jeans and followed her back inside.  I opened the refrigerator and handed her a block of cheese, cutting off a good sized wedge to shred before returning to my laundry.
When I came back in several minutes later there was grated cheese all over one counter top, the island looked like my pantry exploded and my chef in training was no where to be seen.  I called to her and discovered she had gone into the front yard in search of me and parsley.  She told me she decided finding me would take to long (!) and so she was trying to figure out which plant in the herb garden was parsley.  At least she knew it was indeed growing out there.  I took the kitchen shears from her and snipped a few sprigs.  I was informed she only needed a quarter teaspoon, but I explained the measurement given was for dry parsley, with fresh you can use considerably more.  I cut the parsley into her bread crumb mixture and found her a baking dish while she lined up the chicken, melted garlic butter and crumbs.
I had prepared some Brussels sprouts earlier and I slid the pan into the oven to roast while the chicken baked, while she began dipping the chicken breasts in the butter and then in the crumbs. Once the chicken was in the oven she set a pan of water on to boil for the pasta she wanted as a side dish.  She wanted to make a sauce for the pasta so I gave her a few options.  She choose a pesto flavoured one.
I walked her through making a basic white sauce again.  She seems to be grasping the method, although I did assist in the stirring as the pouring and blending at once is still complicated.  Once the sauce had thickened I spooned in a generous couple of tablespoons of jarred pesto.  When the pasta was drained she poured the sauce over it.  It turned out to be a nice compliment to the baked chicken.

As we sat down to eat Emily took a look at my glass of wine and asked when she could have some.  I told her to get a wine glass and pour juice into it.  That satisfied her.
Dinner was delicious again, and apart from not being able to find the required ingredients (although I can't say she looked very hard) Emily is getting better at managing meals on her own.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

1/2 cup butter                                               1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

4 cloves garlic, minced                                1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 cup dried bread crumbs                          1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese                             1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese           8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded thin

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Melt the butter in a shallow sauce pan and cook the garlic until tender.

In a shallow bowl mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan & Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper & salt.  

Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter then press into the crumb mixture.  Arrange the coated chicken in a 9x13" baking dish.  Drizzle with remaining butter and top with any remaining crumbs.

Bake 30 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear.

*Roasted Brussels sprouts  (Believe it or not Emily loves Brussels sprouts....I wonder if she's mine sometimes.  I've learned to like them, but at 10 I had long, drawn out dinner table battles with my mother over them, among other vegetables)

I trimmed the sprouts and halved them, arranging them on a foil lined baking sheet.  I sprinkled them generously with coarsely ground salt & pepper and drizzled them with olive oil.  I tossed them to coat them evenly then put them in the oven until they were tender, and a little crispy on the outside.