January 2009 – Page 3 – Feed Your Kids

Slow Cooker Chipotle-Lime Chicken Thighs

I recently spotted this recipe on Food Network’s home page while I was searching for something else. We had a busy day and I hadn’t used the Crock Pot in a long time, so I thought it was worth a shot. The verdict? No. Just no. I didn’t even take a photo. Stay away. Very … Continue reading “Slow Cooker Chipotle-Lime Chicken Thighs”

I recently spotted this recipe on Food Network’s home page while I was searching for something else. We had a busy day and I hadn’t used the Crock Pot in a long time, so I thought it was worth a shot. The verdict? No. Just no. I didn’t even take a photo. Stay away. Very far away. It wasn’t terrible, but it was just weird, and the payoff wasn’t nearly worth the amount of effort for this dish. I don’t recommend it AT ALL.

Rachael Ray’s Pumpkin Penne and Spinach Garlic Bread

I watch a lot of Food Network. Really, a lot. So, consequently, I’ve seen Rachael Ray’s show pretty often (and moderately enjoy it), but I’d never (until now) tried one of her recipes. Now, Rachael will be the first to tell you that she’s not a chef, but her recipes (at least when she prepares them on TV) look OK: fresh produce, fresh herbs, etc. And, of course, the “30 minute” idea appeals to me, at least for busy weeknights. She may not be professionally trained (and, my personal pet peeve, seems to have NO awareness of using what’s in season), but I also think that her recipes, for the average American home cook, are at least a step up from frozen meals or takeout and I don’t think that she deserves all of the criticism that she receives. So, anyway…this pumpkin penne recipe and this spinach garlic bread recipe looked like it had good potential, so we gave it a try recently. The pasta was…meh?…okay, but the subtle flavors of the sage and shallots were completely lost. All you could taste was pumpkin. Not a big hit with any of us. It wasn’t offensive or awful, just…not great. This is not something that I’m inspired to make again. If I’m in that much of a hurry and need a meal in 30 minutes, I’d rather open a jar of good quality tomato sauce or even make a quickie tomato sauce with canned tomato sauce.

The garlic bread, on the other hand, was delicious. It looked pretty weird, but the kids LOVED it, so if you have picky eaters that are hesitant to try spinach on its own, they might be willing to try this. The spinach flavor is completely buried in the cheese and garlic, but, again, if you have picky eater kids, that might be a good thing. We prepared the bread as slices, rather than chunks, so there was probably a good 1/4 cup of spinach in each slice.

So, for us, the jury’s still out on Rachael Ray. I’m willing to give her recipes one more shot, but this one didn’t impress us.

Pasta Fazool (Pasta e Fagioli) Casserole

Casserole, served with Sauteed Spinach

I recently made the ultimate “Costco rookie” mistake: I bought a too-huge package of something (Italian sausage) and then had to scramble for creative uses for all of it. So, I was searching around on epicurious for suitable recipes and came across this one. Here’s a direct link to my saved epicurious “recipe box”, if you’d like to see some other sausage recipes (some are old favorites and some are ones that I’m planning to try soon):
Lara’s epicurious recipe box

This casserole was good: hearty and warm; a perfect cold-weather comfort food. Both kids liked it and the Italian sausage (as opposed to lots of other baked pasta casserole that only call for ground beef) gave it a wonderful flavor. If I make this again, though, I will probably substitute mozzarella for the fontina; the fontina was just a little bit too rich and buttery for us. This would be a great casserole for a crowd, because it makes a TON; in fact, the whole casserole wouldn’t fit into the suggested 9 X 13 pan and I had to use a larger one (be forewarned). If you have a smaller family, or don’t want to eat this for two days in a row, you could prepare it in two smaller, separate dishes and freeze one (cover with plastic wrap) before baking (I do that with baked ziti all the time) for later use. WARNING: it will take a long time (36 hours to 2 days in the fridge?) to thaw, so plan ahead.

HINT: Use the remaining of your can of tomato paste to make a Quick Pizza sauce for make-your-own pizzas the next night. I use a little less water and oil than this recipe calls for, but it’s a good jumping-off point.

Here’s a gratuitous photo of Boy, who wanted his picture taken with the casserole.

Blue Bell “Nutty Coconut” Clone Recipe

My grandparents have recently moved to town and are living nearby. We go to visit them and have dinner occasionally at their new home. They are living in a retirement community that serves lots of Blue Bell ice cream. The other day, my grandfather mentioned that he hasn’t been able to find his favorite flavor, … Continue reading “Blue Bell “Nutty Coconut” Clone Recipe”

My grandparents have recently moved to town and are living nearby. We go to visit them and have dinner occasionally at their new home. They are living in a retirement community that serves lots of Blue Bell ice cream. The other day, my grandfather mentioned that he hasn’t been able to find his favorite flavor, Nutty Coconut. Unfortunately, a quick trip to Blue Bell’s website told me that it had been discontinued, so I decided to try to make some on my own, for my Pappaw.

This turned out pretty darned well, if I say so myself. Disclaimer: I have never tasted the original Blue Bell Nutty Coconut, so I don’t know how “authentic” my version is.

Coconut Pecan Ice Cream
(inspired by Blue Bell “Nutty Coconut”)

1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 tsp good vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 7-ounce bag sweetened, flaked coconut
3/4 cup coarsely chopped (good quality – Texan, if possible) pecans

Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 350 degrees.

Spread the coconut in a very thin layer over a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until lightly golden brown. Watch it carefully – it can burn very quickly. Set coconut aside to cool.

Toast pecans in the oven, using the same procedure as with coconut (above). Set pecans aside to cool. Turn oven off.

Warm the milk over very low heat in a medium-sized saucepan until warmed through, but not boiling. Whisk the sugar and eggs together in a separate medium-sized bowl. Pour a small amount of the warmed milk into the egg/sugar mixture, whisking immediately until thoroughly combined. Add the remaining milk, a little bit at a time, whisking quickly after each addition, until all of the milk has been blended into the eggs and sugar.

Pour the egg/sugar/milk mixture back into the pan and heat it very slowly until thickened, stirring slowly and constantly (this can take a while). Do NOT let this come to a boil. When custard looks like slightly liquid-ish pudding, it’s ready. Remove from heat and let the custard cool to room temperature. Stir in the whipping cream and extracts.

Pour custard into a Tupperware-type container and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Freeze in your ice cream maker, according to manufacturers’ directions. When ice cream is almost done (almost completely frozen, but still slightly soft, like soft-serve ice cream), stir in pecans and 1 cup of the toasted coconut. Pour ice cream into a freezer container and freeze until completely set up. Serve topped with remaining toasted coconut, if desired.

Nigella Lawson’s Pomegranate Ice Cream

Thanks for your patience, guys, and I’m sorry (again!) for the dearth of postings; life just got in the way. I have been (of course!) cooking (although a lot of the things that I cook over the holidays are traditional things that you’ve seen here before) and there will be a flurry of posts and … Continue reading “Nigella Lawson’s Pomegranate Ice Cream”

Thanks for your patience, guys, and I’m sorry (again!) for the dearth of postings; life just got in the way. I have been (of course!) cooking (although a lot of the things that I cook over the holidays are traditional things that you’ve seen here before) and there will be a flurry of posts and photos today, but then I’m headed out of town for a while. I hope to get back to more regular posting in the next couple of weeks.

Here’s something that I whipped up while I was away:

I found myself with a lot of fresh pomegranates on hand recently and have been looking for new ways to use them. I came across this recipe in my online trolling and decided to give it a try. It was VERY quick and easy (especially when compared to my usual ice cream method). The kids loved it, but it was a little too rich and “one note” in flavor for my taste. It tasted more like very cold, flavored whipped cream (which I guess it ws, really) than like flavored ice cream, if that makes sense. It was VERY easy, though. Almost ridiculously easy.