Fresh Spinach Salad

A fairly standard fresh spinach salad recipe, this came from my grandmother's recipe box! I used green onions instead of red, and they worked fine. The dressing makes quite a bit (2 cups!), so be prepared for leftovers!

Fresh Spinach Salad

~from my grandmother's recipe box

1 pound fresh spinach

1 small red onion, sliced

3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

6 slices bacon, cooked, chopped

1 small onion, minced

1 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. vinegar

1/3 c. sugar (or less)

1 T. Dijon mustard

1 t. celery seed

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and tear spinach. 
2. Combine dressing ingredients in a lidded jar: minced onion, oil, vinegar, sugar, mustard, celery seed, salt, and pepper. Shake and chill. 
3. Arrange spinach, eggs, bacon, and eggs on plates and drizzle with dressing.

Recipe card in my grandmother's handwriting

Fresh Fruit Salad

This simple, delicious fruit salad can be made ahead of time and uses fruit that is readily available year round. Fruit amounts are flexible; I added a few more grapes. Note: this is very similar to Aunt Elsie's Fruit Salad, but it uses more natural ingredients and isn't quite as sweet.

Fresh Fruit Salad
~from my grandmother's recipe box

2 small bananas, sliced
2 small apples, diced
1 8-oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
1/2 c. seedless red grapes
1/2 c. seedless green grapes
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
3 T. orange juice
1 1/2 T. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine all fruit ingredients in medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar and cornstarch in small saucepan. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup water, orange juice, and lemon juice until blended. Bring sugar mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, over medium heat. Boil, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Pour mixture over fruit, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 4 hours.

~Makes 6-8 servings

Recipe card from my grandmother's recipe box--in her handwriting

The Breakfast Bowl

My husband cooks on Sunday nights, and breakfast is a recurring theme. This was his latest delicious creation--and it fits nicely with the other "bowls" we enjoy. As with our other "bowls," proportions depend on you/your family. In general, the starch (potatoes, here) is the base. Meat/protein is used more as an accent, and we add in whatever veggies in whatever amounts we like! Incidentally, like our other bowls, this is (or can be) gluten free if that's a concern for you.  [I have to admit that while we thought we invented this, I did see a frozen box at Aldi just this week labeled "Breakfast Bowls"--not sure what theirs are like, but... ]

The Breakfast Bowl
~The Husband

• Home Fries style potatoes (either frozen or fresh potatoes cut up into cubes)
• Browned bulk breakfast sausage (could sub in ham or bacon or other meat of choice)
• Chopped bell peppers
• Chopped onion
• Shredded cheese
• Eggs, fried over easy or over hard
  Condiments of choice (ketchup, salsa, etc.)

Cook all ingredients separately or reheat leftovers (always a plus!). Place potatoes on bottom and then top with desired remaining ingredients. Top with egg cooked to order and condiments of choice.

The "Bowl" Approach

I don't know about you, but sometimes it's hard to think of what to do for dinner. And sometimes, honestly, wrapping little things up in a tortilla is too much work (especially when you have little hands that CANNOT hold their burrito/taco in such a way as to keep the insides, well, inside). Or a stir-fry is just not the right "mood" but you still have lots of rice on hand....

Enter: the "bowl" approach

We've discovered several "bowls" that our whole family loves and they can be customized to suit the family member's taste/needs. My friend Megan, who blogs with me at Redeemed Reader, has been telling me for YEARS to try a Javanese dinner that's the same feel, so I'll be posting her recipe in this same line up. It's going in my try-this-soon-file for sure.

My "plan" is to post some of our favorite bowls regularly in the weeks to come. They're fantastic ways to use up bits and pieces of leftovers, odds and ends from the CSA basket, or ways to vary ingredients for picky eaters and/or food intolerances. So, look for these in the weeks to come:

• The Burrito Bowl
• The Fajita Bowl
• The Sushi Bowl
• The Korean Bowl ("bibimbap"--I actually have a "real" recipe I've used for this one!)
• The Breakfast Bowl
• The Javanese Bowl

While you're waiting for my recipes, have you tried this approach with your family? What's your favorite "bowl" combination?

Chicken and Spinach Filled Crepes

Need something easy but just a little fancy for a dinner party? This is delicious, and much of it can be done ahead of time--bonus when you're entertaining! You can freeze the basic crepes by stacking them with wax paper in between each crepe; I tried the freezing trick with a different recipe and had mixed success--you may want to test drive that feature before "counting" on it.

Chicken and Spinach Filled Crepes
~Heart and Soul, a Memphis Jr League Cookbook

• 1 pound fresh spinach or one 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach (thawed)
• 10 T. butter or margarine, divided
• 8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms (3 cups)
• 1/2 c. flour
• 2 t. salt, divided (or less--to taste; if you use Parm instead of Swiss, you'll need less salt)
• dash pepper
• 2 c. milk
• 1 c. chicken broth (we use low-sodium)
• 1 1/2 c. finely shredded Swiss cheese (6 ounces), divided (can also use Parm)
• 2 T. cooking oil
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 2 T. pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 t. finely shredded lemon peel
• 1/2 t. dried chervil, crushed (I leave out)
• 3 1/2 c. chopped cooked chicken
• 12 Crepes

1. Wash fresh spinach; remove stems. In a 3-quart saucepan, cook spinach in a small amount of boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, squeezing out excess liquid; chop. (If using frozen, simply thaw and squeeze out water--I go this route!).
2. For sauce, in a 10-inch skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add mushrooms; cook and stir over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and set aside. In a 1-quart saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the remaining butter. Stir in flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Add milk and chicken broth. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Stir in 1 cup of cheese until melted. Stir in mushrooms. Set aside (can also refrigerate at this point if making early in the day; reheat gently before proceeding).
3. For filling, in a 12-inch skillet, heat remaining 4 tablespoons butter and cooking oil. Add onion and cook over medium heat until tender. Stir in pine nuts, if using, the remaining salt, lemon peel, and chervil, if using. Stir in chicken, cooked spinach, and 1 cup of the sauce. (Again, you can make this earlier in the day and reheat gently before proceeding).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the filling down the center of the unbrowned side of each crepe. Roll up crepes. Place crepes, seam side down, in a buttered 12x7.5x2-inch baking dish. Spread the remaining sauce over the top of the crepes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is lightly browned.

~Makes 6 servings.

Chicken Curry with Zucchini

Of course this won't appeal to you if you don't like curry. But if you DO like curry, then this might be a good way to help get that zucchini down! This is a Southeast Asian style curry with fresh basil and coconut milk. Mmmm.... It's also quite easy. It's Aldi friendly as long as you have curry powder and coconut milk on hand (which I always do ☺). If you don't grow basil, I'd just leave it out. Dried won't work, and it will be good without--just a little different.

Chicken Curry with Zucchini
~from coconut milk can!

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 T. curry powder (yes--2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 c. chicken broth (about 1 can)
• 1 1/2 c. lite coconut milk (about 1 can)
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 c. chopped almonds (we didn't use)
• cooked white (or brown) rice

1. Combine chicken with curry powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium-medium high heat. Cook onion and zucchini until crisp-tender (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from skillet.
3. Heat remaining oil in skillet and cook chicken until browned, about 5 minutes. Add broth, coconut milk, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 5-7 minutes). Add zucchini mixture back in for last minute or so to heat through.
4. Serve over rice and sprinkle with basil (and almonds, if using).

 ~Serves 4

Fruit Compote

My husband is in charge of Sunday night dinners, and he always comes up with something amazing! Breakfast is a familiar theme, and this week he made pumpkin waffles (from a delicious Trader Joe's mix) topped with a fruit compote and a touch of whipped cream. YUM. YUM. YUM. Here's his fruit compote, based largely on one from myrecipes.com.

Fruit Compote

• 2-3 apples, chopped (and cored)
• 1 can pear halves or slices in light syrup, drained and chopped
• 1/2-1 cup frozen berries, any combo*
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 t. cinnamon**
• generous pinch ground cloves**
• generous pinch ground nutmeg**
• 1/2 t. vanilla
• 2-3 T. vanilla*

*depending on tartness of berries (and we think cranberries would also be good), you may want to use less lemon juice or omit altogether

**this makes a fairly spicy mix; if you have sensitive palates in the house, you may want to use less

1. Stir together all ingredients except pears and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for a few minutes (3-4). Add pears and continue to simmer until desired tenderness. Berries will nearly disintegrate and turn the sauce purple!
2. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. May be served hot or cold. Excellent warm over waffles!

~Makes enough for 6 servings of waffles ☺.

Tray-Baked Chicken

We had this at a friend's house this weekend; it's DELICIOUS. (My picture does NOT do it justice.) One of those simple recipes using basic ingredients that everyone likes. She pulled it out of a Parade issue a while ago; it's a Jamie Oliver recipe. In true Jamie Oliver style, it uses plenty of real ingredients (bacon, butter, heavy cream,...). But it's not difficult. You do, however, need to plan this a day in advance so you have time to brine the chicken.

Tray-Baked Chicken

For the Brine

• 1 quart water
• 2 T. kosher salt 
• 1/3 c. honey
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs fresh sage, leaves only
• 1/4 c. apple-cider vinegar
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon

For the Bake

• 4 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on*
• 2 slices smoked bacon, finely chopped
• 3 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
• 4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 sprigs fresh sage, leaves shredded
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 2/3 c. chicken broth
• 2/3 c. heavy cream
• 1 c. grated Parmesan
• a few pats of butter 

*my friend used a mixture of bone-in and boneless; both were good

1. For the Brine: mix brine ingredients in large bowl; add chicken. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 2-8 hours.
2. For the Bake: remove chicken from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Drain chicken, discarding brine, and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a roasting pan, toss the bacon, veggies, garlic, and sage with olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour in broth. Cook 30 minutes.
4. Remove veggie pan from oven; pour in cream and sprinkle with pepper and Parmesan. Add chicken, dotting pats of butter on each piece. Cook 35 minutes, or until chicken is golden.

~Serve 8

Chicken Continental

An old recipe of my mom's. (Not hers originally, but from back in the day, maybe my grandmother....) It's basically a chicken casserole with vegetables and white sauce.

Chicken Continental

• 6 chicken breasts
• 1 pound mushrooms
• 4 T. butter
• 2 T. minced onion
• 4 T. flour
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1 c. sour cream
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 packages frozen asparagus or broccoli

1. Boil chicken breasts in small amount of water until tender. Saute mushrooms in butter, add onion. 
2. Mix flour in heavy cream. Add sour cream and salt. Blend well. Add to mushrooms. Heat slowly.
3. Line baking dish with partially cooked asparagus or broccoli. Top with chicken and cover with sauce.
4. Bake at 325° for 25 minutes.

~Serves 6

Grandmother's French Herbed Chicken

A recipe from my grandmother. Enjoy. It's on my list of "recipes-to-make" for sure! (I'm posting it untried because she's a GREAT cook and doesn't need my verification ☺). In fact, I think this will go on my "make-for-company" list!

(Note: these older recipes assume a lot more background cooking knowledge than contemporary cookbooks do. See below the recipe for some helpful tips from a reader--thanks, Amy!)

Grandmother's French Herbed Chicken

• 1 cut-up chicken (about 3 pounds)
• 1 T. butter
• 1 (8-oz) can small whole onions, drained (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped carrot
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 T. snipped parsley
• 1/4 t. dried thyme, crushed
• 1 (2-oz) can sliced mushrooms
• 1 c. sauterne
• 2-3 branches celery, cut up
• 1 medium bay leaf

In skillet, brown chicken in hot fat. Season with salt and pepper and place in a 2 quart casserole. Drain excess fat in skillet; add remaining ingredients except celery and bay leaf. Heat, scraping up browned pieces. Pour over chicken. Tuck in celery and bay leaf. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours. Remove bay leaf and celery, if desired, before serving.

~Serves 4-6

Notes:

1. Cut your chicken up into roughly four pieces (2 breast halves, 2 leg/thigh pieces); use the rest for stock making or discard.
2. Use the butter called for as the "hot fat" in which you brown the chicken, brown the skin-side.
   She also said the carrots were so good that next time she'll use more! 
   
    

Cherry Tomato Focaccia Topping

YUM. YUM. YUM. That's all I have to say.

That and, when the Lord bestows abundant numbers of cherry tomatoes on you for free, you find numerous ways to consume them. ☺

You can use really any focaccia bread dough here--or even storebought pizza dough from a can if you'd like. I use Bittman's pizza crust/focaccia dough recipe here because I always use it and it's easy. We like this with a hearty entree salad, but it also makes a great first course, would go well with soup, would work well in a lineup of homemade pizzas, etc. It's good hot and at room temperature, and reheats tolerably well.

Cherry Tomato Focaccia Topping
~adapted from Simply in Season

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• olive oil
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
• handful fresh basil leaves, snipped (if you have it)
• salt and pepper
• 1 recipe focaccia dough

1. Prepare dough per directions through the patting out part (I use a jelly roll pan to bake this in).
2. About 30 minutes prior to the dough being ready (my dough has to rise 30 minutes on the pan itself, so I start this step when I get to that part of the dough), toss halved cherry tomatoes with about a teaspoon sugar and about a teaspoon salt. Let sit for 30 minutes or so. Then spin tomatoes in salad spinner off and on for about 30-45 seconds, or until most of the seeds and juice have spun out. (This is a handy trick I learned from America's Test Kitchen.)
3. Drizzle olive oil onto dough.
4. Sprinkle with minced garlic.
5. Place cherry tomato halves around dough, cut side up.
6. Sprinkle cheese over (this is a light sprinkling--this is not pizza).
7. Sprinkle basil leaves over top.
8. Add salt and pepper if desired (but remember the tomatoes have a wee bit of salt in them, the cheese adds salt, etc.).
9. Bake according to focaccia bread dough directions (mine bakes at about 375 degrees for about 1/2 an hour).
10. Enjoy!

Makes enough for one focaccia dough recipe

Aldi and the Rising Cost of Groceries

Are grocery costs rising? Or is it just that we're getting lazy, buying more prepared foods, have kids who are eating more, ....?

For my family, it's both. Groceries are costing more and more, and my growing family is eating more and more. And, as we get busier, ready made foodstuffs are more and more appealing. ☺

Still, I was appalled at what our grocery costs were running this spring. A few years ago, I first ran my family's grocery costs against the USDA estimates for family grocery costs--and we came out at or under the "thrifty" level which was then around $450/month. Well, let me assure you our monthly grocery bill is no longer under $450. Could I bring it back? Probably. Will I? I don't now--there's certainly a time tradeoff.

But what is sort of half encouraging/half discouraging is that the same "thrifty" level for my family according to the USDA is now around $680/month!!! That's more than $200 increase A MONTH in the past few years. So, while it might be possible to bring my food budget closer to its former $450/month, it's going to be a LOT more work than it used to be (and I have kids now, not babies, so they are definitely eating more).

Enter Aldi. I've shopped at Aldi for about 10 years. It doesn't have everything, true. When I had three babies/toddlers, I didn't bother. I needed a more one-stop shop (i.e. Kroger). But as groceries go up, and since I pass right by our local Aldi on my way to/from school, and as Aldi's produce gets better and better, you better believe I'm picking the Aldi habit back up.

With that in mind, partly to help myself and partly for you readers' benefit, I'm going to try to label Aldi friendly recipes. What's an Aldi friendly recipe?

• most of the ingredients can be found at your local Aldi store

Sometimes, Aldi runs seasonal deals and stocks items that aren't there all the time (Parmesan cheese, red-white-and-blue popsicles, certain candies, less popular produce items like kiwi are good examples). Still, many of those items keep a while, so I tend to stock up when I do see them at Aldi.

What you won't find at Aldi (and what I stock up on at Kroger):

• whole wheat flour
• many herbs/spices
• niche yogurt types/flavors
• English muffins
• certain cuts of meat
• certain kinds of produce like green onions, cilantro, less popular items like turnips, greens, etc.
• Ethnic ingredients (soy sauce, etc.)

What you will find at Aldi (usually their own storebrand):

• basic dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, butter, margarine, etc.)
• eggs
• boxed cereals
• white flour
• cornmeal
• sugar/brown sugar/powdered sugar
• chips/crackers
• produce (the usuals + some seasonal specials)
• basic cuts/types of meat
• lunchmeat, hotdogs, sausages, bacon, ...
• canned fruit/veggies/beans
• tortillas and a few other "Mexican" items
• ice cream/popsicles/frozen fruit/desserts
• frozen entrees/veggies/meats
• some basic spices
• basic condiments
• puddings/cake mixes/etc.
• specials each week
• pie crusts
• Greek yogurt

As you can see, you can a LOT of the basics there. I've by no means listed all. Essentially, with some spices and quirky condiments on hand, you can use Aldi to whip up incredibly cost effective, delicious meals.

Simple Summer Stew with Herb Butter

Mmm.... I think I could eat this every night this time of year. I'd forgotten about this gem until I flipped through an old, trusty vegetarian cookbook of mine this past week. And the perfect use for those CSA leftovers came to me.... I've simplified the original recipe; if you'd like to use fresh green beans, simply break them into 3-inch pieces and blanch first; for fresh corn, shuck about 4 ears' worth. This is good with some flat bread or focaccia (and maybe some grilled chicken) for a simple dinner.

Simple Summer Stew with Herb Butter
~Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

• 1 1/2 T. each chopped fresh basil, marjoram, and parsley
• 1/2 t. lemon zest
• salt and pepper
• 4 T. butter, softened 
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. green beans (frozen are fine)
• 8 oz. small summer squash, diced or sliced into rounds
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into squares
• 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 3 c. corn kernels

1. Combine herbs, lemon zest, pinch of salt, and the butter. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
2. Saute onion and garlic in the oil over high heat for 1 minute; add 1/2 cup water, cover, and reduce heat--simmer for 5 minutes. Add vegetables. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in herb butter, taste for salt, and season with pepper.

 ~Serves 4 as a main course; 6 as a side dish