Virtual Running Date No. 47: That's where he gets it from...

Good morning, Crushers!

If this was a running date, please allow me to say I'm really sorry if I gave anyone high hopes for the weather over the weekend. It was all lies. You would have needed at least 2-3 layers to run. It never really got warmer than 40 degrees. Tonight's forecast calls for an inch of snow and a high of 22 tomorrow. Ick!

If this was a running date, I would tell you that no less than 5 strangers and 3-4 non-strangers have asked me, "When are you due?" Either I look really pregnant or I've started to walk funny. I hope it's the former and not the latter. I am refusing to waddle. I'm still wearing (low) heels for goodness' sake! Anyway, I think the kiddo should wait to make her arrival until we get some solid 40-50 degree weather. No need to rush into the cold!

If this was a running date, I would have to tell you about one of my new favorite shows. If you live in Wisconsin, you know that we take our cheese seriously. In fact, the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association sponsors the World Championship Cheese Contest. Although no American cheese maker has one the top prize since the 80's, Wisconsin earned the most gold medals of any American cheese maker - a whopping 33 gold medals! Anyway, I found this new show called Wisconsin Foodie and they were featuring a grilled cheese cook-off. Doesn't this sound like something fun to do with friends on a weekend? 

If this was a running date, I would tell you that I'm not sure if this kiddo will take after me or her dad in the kitchen. Only time will tell. So far, she match us in active nature, but we are two very different cooks. As you know, nothing Steve ever makes turns out the same. It usually always tastes good, but he never finds a reason to use a recipe. I like recipes and will veer off course to add an ingredient or try something new, but using recipes is like doing good research. Research is something that I preach to my students every week!

If this was a running date, I would tell you how Steve's parents dropped off about 10 jars of "hot beans" which are now taking over our fridge. Fortunately, these things are delicious. It's like pickled green bean with dill, vinegar, garlic, and a few other things I can't quite determine. You know why? NO TWO JARS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME! I even saw part of a cinnamon stick in one of them! Now I know, that's where he gets it from. Steve made chili over the weekend, and despite some identifiable items like beans, beef, and tomatoes, it's as random as the hot beans. In fact, some hot beans made it into the chili.

There's two reasons I needed to take a few antacids on Saturday night - the chili and the Badgers' exciting win.  Seriously, I do not even have to watch the game. I could just sit upstairs and listen to Steve and the guys yelling at the TV in the basement man cave. "WHERE'S THE FOUL?" "DID YOU SEE THAT?!" "OHHHHHHH!" Nothing boring around our house!

Meatball Subs - Steve Cooks

Alright Crushers,

Today I'm going to do my best to write out how to make meatball subs the Steve way. This is a little difficult for me because he doesn't really measure anything. Instead, I will try to give you approximate amounts. 

Chef Steve
Isn't he handsome?

Note: Steve has full ability to edit this, so you might want to come back later and see what he's changed. In the meantime, he's got long days ahead of him this week with parent-teacher conferences!

OK, so here is what he did:

Meatball Subs
Ingredients (approximate):
1 ground pound mild Italian sausage
1 ground beef (at least 85% lean)
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (maybe? I have no idea - he just sprinkled them in there)
1 cup-ish spinach, cut into small bits (two handfuls?)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 jar marinara sauce
1/2 sliced peppers
about 8-9 hot beans (his dad's recipe, which also is never quite the same)
4 deli brat buns

In case you're wondering what hot beans look like, that's them.
Some people call them dilly beans.

Instructions:
In a large bowl, you combine one pound each of the sausage and ground beef. Add the diced spinach, garlic, and onion until it looks about right. You can add more or less of these items, but be careful that you don't add too much or they could get soggy and break apart.


Oh, you should probably preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (You may want to enlist your wife or someone else to turn on the oven for you if your hands are covered in meat mix - see next paragraph). Take a large baking sheet and line it with aluminum foil (I'm adding the foil part now since we forgot to do it on Sunday - easier clean up!). Then take a baking rack and place it on top of the foil-lined pan. Spray it with some cooking spray so the meatballs don't get stuck. This way they bake nicely and a lot of the grease drips off.

See? We forgot the foil. Oh well, they still turned out great!

Add in the egg and bread crumbs. Then, use your hands to mix everything up and make sure it's all well incorporated. (Steve made a point to note that while his hands were washed, he did this all without taking off his wedding ring). Mold the meat mix into balls that are a little big bigger than golf balls and try to make them a consistent size.

Place them on the cooking rack with about 2-inches between them. Put the whole pan in the oven for 20 minutes or until they're fully cooked. They will shrink a bit, but not that much!

All ready for sauce!

While those are baking, go wash your hands and start on the sauce. Heat the contents of a jar of marinara sauce in a sauce pan along with some ground pepper, a little salt, your sliced peppers and hot beans. Heat it until it bubbles and then turn down the heat or it will splash all over the place.

When the meatballs are done, place about 3 of them on a bun and cover in the marinara sauce. Make sure you get a few peppers and hot beans on there, too. Sprinkle your favorite cheese on top. Then try and eat it without splashing marinara sauce all over the place!

Feel free to add as much or as little sauce as you like.

Enjoy!

VIrtual Running Date No. 45: Steve Cooks

Good morning, Crushers!

If this were a virtual running date, I would be telling you all about the delicious meatball subs that Steve made this weekend. However, he wants to tell you about it in his own words. Seriously, all I did was tell him how long to bake the meatballs for and I chopped up a few veggies. He did all the hard work including, "forming the meatballs with my hands - wedding ring and all!"

Please check back later for Chef Steve's meatball subs!

Steve Cooks

Good morning Crushers!

I am back at teaching this week, so Steve has been awesome and made dinner every night this week so far. INCLUDING starting chili in the slow cooker this morning. He's a pretty amazing dude.

Now, there's always one thing that cracks me up when Steve makes his "howlin' mad chili", it's never the same! No two times are. He just buys similar ingredients and then looks through the cupboards to see what else he can add in. This will be interesting!

I'm just so thankful that he's willing to help out and make meals. Otherwise, we'd have the same old boring chili every time... ha!

Virtual Running Date No. 23: Steve cooks

Hello Crushers!

If we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you that I'm so full of potato pancakes that I couldn't possibly eat another. Remember that post where I tried to make them and failed miserably? No? Me either!

Anyway, if we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you that Steve is the potato pancake man of the house! He came up with the recipe himself and it was delicious! My parents invited everyone over for a fish fry to eat up all the fish we caught up north. We tried. Oh how we tried. My parents still have fish in their freezer!

I'm hoping this means there will be another fish fry soon...

Anyway, Steve used his Grandma's secret pancake recipe and added about 4 potatoes (grated), 1 tsp thyme, 1 medium onion (diced), salt and pepper to taste and that's it. Oh, he omitted the sugar from the pancakes. I can't tell you the whole recipe, but I bet if you made some Bisquick batter and added the ingredients I mentioned above, you would come up with something pretty close.

Here are the Steve Cooks photos:

On the griddle

The batter

The first couple of complete pancakes ready to go!

The happy chef!

 Isn't he cute?

Anyway, if we were on a virtual running date, I would tell you that we have a new niece! She is adorable. Our newest family member, Natalie, will get spoiled just like all the other little ones. I can't wait! We have one more little family member to welcome, and that's the nephew we have due in October. One from each side of the family! Does anyone know if Toys R' Us has a rewards program? Just kidding...

Burger bash

Good morning, Crushers!

Inspired by Tina's blog post today about burgers on Carrots 'N' Cake, I decided to share with you two of my favorite burger recipes. If I'm going out to eat, I love burgers with swiss cheese and mushrooms or avocado and fresh onions and tomato (I'm looking at you AJ Bomber's!). Ugh! I'm hungry now and it's only 10 a.m. I know that most people think that burgers are either with cheese or without (at least here in Wisconsin!), but there are so many variations on toppings that you can do. I'm not talking about toppings here, though. I'm talking about about what's in the actual burger patty. You can argue over ketchup and mustard later.

First up is Steve's recipe for burgers. The second that he made me one, I thought to myself, "For the rest of our lives, you are in charge of making this amazing burgers." His secret? Mushrooms and a little Worcestershire sauce. Second, is the Greek burgers that I learned to make from the Wildtree Freezer Meal party I went to. We love them and eat them all the time! I posted it just a little while ago, but I thought I'd post it again just in case.

Steve's Burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (at least 80% lean)
1/3 cup finely diced mushrooms
1/3 cup finely diced onions (you might want to pat them dry so the juice doesn't make the burgers fall apart)
2 slices of cheddar cheese crumbled
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Lowry's seasoning to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together in a big bowl (feel free to use your hands). Makes 6 small patties or 4 large patties perfect for the grill or griddle! Note: if the mix is too wet and it starts to crumble on you, you can  reduce the amount of mushrooms and onions.

Greek Burgers
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1 heaping Tbsp Opa! Greek Seasoning from Wildtree (oregano, garlic, pepper)
2 ounces (half of a small container) of crumbled goat cheese or Feta cheese
1/2 onion, diced in tiny bits
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
Burger buns
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Dice up the onions and then put the first six ingredients in a big bowl and squish together using your hands. I know you could use a spoon, but it's so much easier to just squish it up. Form the meat mixture into burger patties. Wash your hands before giving the frying pan a light coating of cooking spray. Cook the burgers about 4 minutes on each side. Serve on a bun (or bun-less) and enjoy!

The weather here is gorgeous for grilling! Maybe we'll make a few tonight?

Steve made dinner last night: leftover edition

Good morning Crushers!

One huge benefit of Steve being a teacher is that he has offer during the summer (when he's not in class). This means that he is able to help in the family garden making sure all the weeds are gone and the veggies are growing (eggplants, radishes and onions, oh my!). He is also available to help with running errands and getting all his lesson plans ready for next year. My favorite is when he decides to make dinner!

Don't get me wrong, I love to cook. But sometimes it's nice when someone else cooks for you. Steve is a great cook, too!

Last night Steve whipped up some spaghetti with leftover Italian sausage and plenty of veggies. He did, however, throw in one surprise veggie. We had some cucumbers that needed to be used up, so he tossed those in the sauce with some onions and other things. Much to my surprise, it was really good! The cucumbers were a nice crunchy element to the sauce and they held on to some of the spice from the sausage. Who knew?

How about you? What surprise ingredients have you found lately? Please share in the comments!

Steve's Homemade Pizza

For a little while now, we have been using free meal planning printables that I found on The Nest Effect. Tiffany is a very organized gal! It has been helping us plan our meals around nights out, meetings and the holidays. It also helps us organize when to pull things out of the freezer and in making grocery lists.

Last night, Steve was up for making dinner. He has been wanting to make homemade pizza for a while, but we had never seemed to come home from the grocery with pizza dough. Well, thanks to our handy meal organizer, we remembered to buy toppings and thaw out the dough!

Steve's Homemade Pizza:
Ingredients:
1 loaf of freezer pizza dough, thawed
1/2 cup of pizza sauce (to taste)
1/2 pound pizza sausage, browned (save the other half for your wife to use in stuffed mushrooms and on her salad for lunch)
18 slices of pepperoni
5 white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 a large onion, diced
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
Knead dough to warm it and make it pliable. Spread dough on a lightly greased, non-stick cookie sheet until it reaches all the edges. While you are working on this, brown the pizza sausage on the stove top. This should take about 5-7 minutes. Spread pizza sauce over the dough. You can add as much or as little as you would like. Just make sure it is even. Sprinkle the browned pizza sausage over the sauce so it is even. You don't need it every where, just evenly spread out. Place the pepperonis over the sausage so they are spaced out. Do the same with the onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle cheese over the entire pizza. You can use whatever other pizza toppings you choose, but these are what we used. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the cheese and crust edges are a golden brown. Enjoy!

Slice and serve!