Cooking for three growing boys has its challenges.  They may always be hungry, but having been raised up to this point on primarily convenient foods, they have a very limited idea of what is acceptable to eat.  Unfortunately for me, just about any vegetable that I consider to be amazing is not currently on that list.

After months of trying to accommodate their wants with a real need to get them to eat in something like a healthy manner, it has come time to put on my “Dad” hat and just start making the right foods, regardless of the amount of noise coming from the dining room when something green comes out of the larder.

What do you do to get your kids to eat better?  Do you have tricks for sneaking healthier alternatives into the mix, or do you just sit staunchly by until they finally cave in and eat what they should eat?  I’d be very interested to know what other parents are doing here, especially since I’m starting with kids that haven’t been eating my food for the last four years.

I’ll grant that the only nod towards health that this particular dish shows is the spinach itself.  This is not the world’s healthiest pasta dish, but I’m using sausage, butter and garlic as gateway foods to introduce healthier items like spinach and fresh basil. (They loved the basil… Not so much the spinach, but they ate some of it, so it’s a start!)

Another trick I’ve begun using is to decrease the amount of “the good stuff” in the dish.  While I more than likely would have made this a year ago with a pound of sausage and simply saved the leftovers, now I’ve cut it down to 1/2 pound, knowing full-well that the two older boys will not leave even the smallest meaty bit in the pan or on their plates, regardless of how little they touch the vegetables.

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One of my goals while my wife is away is to perfect my skills with fish.  It’s one of two banes of my culinary existence, the other being duck. It seems no matter how hard I try, it is always too overcooked, undercooked or incorrectly paired for my wife to enjoy it.  since we should be eating more lean proteins, I’ve charged myself with mastering this deficet in my culinary skills when I am the only one who needs to tolerate my mistakes.

In this case, I wish my wife could have been here.  This dish was nearly perfect.  The fish was flaky, moist and incredibly light.  The salad brought a fullness to the dish that the Sole could not have managed on its own and the sauce was wonderfully savory and tangy at the same time.  In short, aside from being a little plain in presentation, it was heaven on a plate.

This success has bolstered my drive to perfect my skills with fish.  I’m hoping that by the time my wife returns from Turkey we can make fish a once-a-week part of our diet.  not only is it healthy, but it’s quick, tasty and light.  Something we both need every few days or so.

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If you’re thinking to yourself that the above photo looks like a very rare steak on top of some greenery, you’d be just about right, and that is what it looks like, only that’s not steak, that’s American bison in all it’s rare glory perched happily atop a salad of spinach, mushrooms and grape tomatoes that have been touched ever so gently with just a  bit of vinaigrette and a sprinkling pf Parmesan cheese. The bison itself is unadorned as any new thing should be when first tried, so that it’s true flavors shine through.

If you’ve never tried bison, I urge you to go ahead and splurge a little for a good cut of this wonderful meat.  you won’t be disappointed, I assure you. The flavor is much like beef, but mild and slightly sweet, without much of the fattiness that an inexpensive cut of beef can (and should) have.  bison is naturally lower in cholesterol and saturated fats as well, making it the perfect choice in red meats for anyone who needs to watch these components in their diet.

This combination was good.  Very good. Unfortunately I found that the salad fought the flavor of the meat slightly and I’ll be looking for other accompaniments in the future.  A mild addition is needed for this, as the bison’s flavor is subtle and easily overshadowed by other flavors.

In the end, I love this meat.  I’m glad that it’s stocked at our commissary and will be buying it again (slated for the grill this time) before we leave Texas.  I should have no problems finding it in California either, so I’ll continue to muck with combinations well into the future.  this was good, but this could be great, and I’m looking for that recipe.

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There are times when you just want something quick, simple and delicious. If that’s the case, this recipe isn’t going to let you down.  It packs a bit of Mediteranean flair in a slightly Italian-esque package that is just about as satisfying as it gets.  The real plus:  It’s fast, inexpensive and pretty darned good for you in the process!

I came up with this one day after watching Wolfgang Puck on Fine Living Network.  I was joking with my wife about his start in California making gourmet pizzas when I noticed that we still had a package of pizza crusts hanging out.  A quick rummage through the fridge yealded some goat cheese, greek vinnaigrette, spinach, mushrooms and a tiny bit of sour cream left over from some tacos we’d made earlier in the week.  While she went off to the office to do whatever it is that she does in there when I’m not looking, I dove into the kitchen and got my Wolfgang on.  It was time for Californian Pizza!

So, bad Austrian accent and all, I tossed this together.  In all it takes about 20 minutes to prepare, and costs very little to make, which also makes this a perfect candidate for the Frugal Fridays Blog Event. (I’m a day late, but hey, we’re not picky over there yet.)

I don’t have an exact cost on this recipe.  In fact, the components, if purchased just for this dish, are probably more than $10.00.  since only the pizza crusts and the cheese are used completely, the overall figure is undoubtedly less and if I had to make a guess, I’d put this in at about $8.00 in ingredients.

I made three mini-pizzas, but if you’re making this for a family, just go ahead and make it on a full-sized pizza crust.  You’ll be just fine for four people at about two slices each.

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If you’ve spent any time at all hanging around this blog you’ll know that I love frittata. Just like the omelet, frittata’s offer a nearly unlimited choice of ingredients and variations on a theme. Anything this versatile should be celebrated, and I do every time I’m offered the chance. This time was no different.

This dish features some of the ingredients I had lying about the fridge in need of usage. The spinach was nearing the end of its days, the feta was getting close to expiration and the bacon… Well, let’s just say what wasn’t used here went to the local trash collector. They say that necessity is the mother of all invention. In this case necessity was the mother of inspiration, and I thank her profusely for the nudge.

Regardless of the nudge from my cooking muse, I wasn’t too sure this particular combination ws going to work well. I shouldn’t have worried. The salty taste of the bacon played incredibly well with deep rich flavor of the feta and the spinach just served to tie everything together into something amazing. If you happen to have this combination of ingredients around, I highly recommend you give it a shot.

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We are lucky enough to live very close to the school where my wife works, so on most afternoons she just pops home fo lunch.  After two months of pretty hefty holiday meals, we’ve both been feeling the need to go a little lighter.   Even with my inherently carnivorous nature, there are times when I do not feel compelled to have a large meal with proteins as the primary ingredient, or in fact to have them present at all.  Last week was one such afternoon.

Lunch time was rapidly closing in on me, and I needed something on the table that we could both enjoy.  A quick rummage through the fridge provided the perfect simple light lunch that would still be full of flavor, texture and at the same time be satisfying enough to get us both through to dinner.

While we had this dish as a meal in itself, it could definitely play a supporting roll to any chicken, pork or beef entree that you choose to pair it with, and would be just as wonderful served chilled on a hot summer day as it was served warm on a chilly winter afternoon.

Enjoy!

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Sometimes plans change at the drop of a hat in my kitchen. I’d planed on making a few omelets on Sunday morning for a nice sit down brunch with my wife, and then it happened. I reached into the fridge to pull out the basic “eggs/milk/butter” and some mushrooms I wanted to use up, and there was a half wedge of Parmesan Reggiano, just staring at me, all dried-up and neglected looking.

I couldn’t have that cheese looking all pathetic like that. I could tell that the Romano had been making fun of it, what with its wrapper intact and still looking like the prettiest girl at the harvest moon ball. (We’ll be fixing that in a day or so!) And then I remembered that Shawnda of Confections of a Foodie Bride had just posted on frittata and my path was set.

I don’t know why I don’t make frittata more often. They’re simple, versatile and oh-so delectable. Any combination of ingredients that you’d use for a regular omelet can be tossed in, and you never have to worry about getting the bugger to flip properly. The other added benefit is that it’s very difficult to under cook a frittata, so the whole “runny eggs” issue simply isn’t a problem either.

For this particular dish, I decided on spinach and mushrooms, sautéed with onions and garlic. Add in some fresh Parmesan and you’ve got a simple meal in about 30 minutes that tastes heavenly and looks like you’ve slaved over it for hours, which makes it perfect to serve guests as well. This is one of those meals that you really should have in your “go to” file.

Note: The list of ingredients below looks pretty daunting, but this is probably one of the simplest recipes you’ll ever find. Feel free to substitute whatever you’ve got on hand, it’ll still be great!

Ingredients:

7 eggs
1 10 oz package spinach (either fresh, or if you’re looking for instant gratification, a defrosted frozen spinach works just as well here.)
Approx 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 small (8oz) packaged sliced button mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced (or 4 tsp minced garlic, if you prefer)
1 good handful chopped parsley (Flat leaf would work best, but I haven’t been able to find it lately)
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp sage (fresh is best, chiffenade about 5 leaves.. Again, I didn’t have any, so dry works)
Salt and pepper to taste
7 tbsp milk
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Sweat onions and garlic in 2 tbsp olive oil until just translucent and softened. Add Mushrooms, breaking up any very large pieces. Allow to cook until well browned. Add salt, pepper and spinach. (If using fresh spinach, cook until completely wilted. If using frozen, cook until heated through.) Remove from pan and place in strainer to remove as much liquid as possible.

Wipe pan clean with paper towel, add remaining olive oil and return to heat.

In large bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Add 1/2 of the cheese and all remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour mixture into skillet and allow to sit over flame until eggs begin to bubble. Place skillet in oven and cook until eggs are set (approx 20 minutes).

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of the frittata and return to oven until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Let rest for 5 10 minutes and serve.

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

Nuffin… This was wonderful, and I’ll be pumping out other variations on the theme over time. Enjoy!

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An omelet can be a cook’s signature dish or worst nightmare. When everything goes properly, the result of a simple mix of beaten eggs, milk and seasoning becomes something more than the sum of its parts. A lighter than air collection of flavors and textures that can make any true foodie cry.

Of course, tears can be shed if things go wrong as well.

That’s my story for this morning. Something went wrong. I’m going to blame my dishwasher, which obviously left a residue in my normally reliable EmerilWare. Instead of sliding gracefully from the pan onto the plate, the otherwise perfect omelet slid gently out of the skillet to right about the half way point , then skidded to an abrupt halt and folded all over itself, leaving me with something that definitely did not look as appetizing as it should have. (I won’t blame the fussy baby, though he was distracting me just a bit at the time.)

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Spaghetti squash is one of those vegetables from childhood that I don’t remember very fondly. This dislike was probably due more to the fact that somewhere in my mind I expected it to taste like pasta, and the reality is that, well, it doesn’t. It might also stem from my childish aversion to squash in general, a malady I no longer suffer from.

As I grew older, I discovered that I really enjoyed squash. I frequently make zucchini and yellow squash sautéed in butter and garlic, and the thought of butternut squash soup makes me tingly. I even add butternut squash to my chili. (I know. I know. That ain’t Texas Red… but it’s my chili, and I don’t call it Texas Chili, so Nyah!)

As I walked through the produce section a week or so ago, I spied some spaghetti squash and thought “Why Not? I can make this!” And bought it I did.

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Now there’s a mouthful. A healthy, tangy and slightly off-beat mouthful.

I came up with this because we’ve had the dilled Havarti siting around for a while and I wanted to use it up. You’ve probably seen it paired with pears, and I’m sure that would be wonderful… If I didn’t hate pears.

In all actuality this is two recipes in one. The Chicken & Havarti can be made with anything at all, and the spinach is great as a side, so I’ll have to make it next week and add it to the veggies category as well. In the sense of fairness I’ll lay this out as one recipe, since that’s the way I prepared it. Read more…

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