Tuna Melts My Heart

            Hello readers!  I apologize for being MIA for the past week, sometimes life throws us circumstances and stressors that make it nearly impossible to find the time to update one’s blog.  However, I did find time to continue to prepare meals for Chris and I, so prepare for some yummy new ideas!

            I know that I have mentioned previously in my post about tuna melt pie that I enjoy a good tuna melt.  With that said, when I saw this recipe for tuna melts in “The Illustrated Kitchen Bible,” I had to make it.  It looked so tasty and similar to the ones I love from Lazlo’s.  The preparation was not difficult at all, and I actually threw these together for a Sunday lunch!

            Chris, who is also a super fan of the tuna melt, LOVED these!  I think he would love for these to become a Sunday special, followed by pancakes and eggs in the morning, and prior to pizza for dinner!  We shall see about that as we don’t want to have too much of a good thing.  Try these for yourself soon!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-4 English muffins

-1 tbsp olive oil

-1 red bell pepper; seeded and finely chopped

-4 scallions (I omitted these as I forgot to buy them!)

-2 shallots finely chopped

-2 x 6oz. cans albacore tuna, drained

-2 tbsp ketchup

-2 tbsp mayonnaise

-grated zest of 1 lemon

-4 large, thin slices of sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation:

-Turn the oven to broil; split the muffins, and toast

-Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat.  Add the red pepper, scallions, and shallots.  Cook, stirring often, about 3 minutes.  Add the tuna, breaking up the chunks.  Cook for about 1 minute until the tuna is heated through.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the ketchup, mayonnaise, and lemon zest.

-Spread remaining mayo over the cut slices of the muffins.  Spread 4 muffin halves with the tuna mixture and arrange the cheese on top.

-Broil until the cheese melts.  Top with the remaining muffin half, and serve!

Enjoy!

When Things Get CHILLI...

            Even though the temperature has been dropping outside, this week I warmed things up in our home by preparing my mom’s long-standing chilli recipe!  Now, I think that it could be argued that we each love the chilli we grew up with best, but I can say that I have never tried a variation that I like as well as this one, biased or not. 

            I must say that if you are a fan of a spicier version this recipe would not be your cup of tea, err, bowl of soup.  The brown sugar gives it a sweeter taste, which in my opinion, makes it yummier than other versions.  One bite brings me back to toasty nights spent inside watching the snow fall on our farm, and I was excited to try it for the first time in our home.

            Now, just in case I haven’t bragged up this recipe enough, I must tell you that it is quite possibly the easiest thing I have made to date.  In fact, Chris called me when he got into his car to leave work and was shocked to come in the house to find me ladling it into his bowl! 

Slainte!

Recipe:

-1 pound of hamburger

-3 cans of diced tomatoes/chilli style (I found “chilli ready” ones at HyVee; my mom finds hers at WalMart)

-1 can Pinto Beans

-1 can Pork N Beans

-1 can black beans

Preparation:

-Brown hamburger

-Over medium high heat, combine the 6 cans of tomatoes/beans and brown sugar

-Add the hamburger

-Warm until ready to serve

Enjoy!

Meet "Brooke the Family Cook!"

            When people meet my sister, Brooke, their reactions vary anywhere from how she looks “just like me” to disbelief that we are blood relatives.  I like to think we lean more towards being very similar, as being like her is such a compliment.  She is beautiful, kind,  funny, thoughtful and most of all a wonderful wife and mother.

            Unfortunately, our genetic similarities included until recently a ridiculous fear of cooking.  Since starting my blog in August, Brooke has been giving some thought to her own desire to prepare home made meals for her family and rid her older son, Carson, of his pickiness, while simultaneously engaging in pickiness prevention efforts for her younger son, Griffin.  Luckily for all of you Mom’s out there, she has decided to chronicle her efforts on her new blog “Brooke the Family Cook.”   There she shares stories of her beautiful family, and their reaction to her meals.

            I have a dream that one day my nephews will say things like “my Mom and Aunt Heather make the best____” or “Christmas isn’t the same without Heather’s _____.”  Hey, a girl can dream!

Please check out her blog ASAP as I assure you that you will not be disappointed!

http://www.brookethefamilycook.blogspot.com/

Slainte!

Taffy Apple Pizza!

            This past Sunday evening Chris and I played host to some very special guests, my brother, Brent, his wife, Abbie, and their son, Kale.  We don’t often get to play host to them as they live in my hometown, which is about 2 hours away so we were thrilled when they made a dinner pit-stop on their way to Omaha.

            I will digress here to discuss why the three of them were headed to Omaha.  If you go back in the blog, or if you have been following it for awhile, you will remember I posted once about a meal I took the three of them in the hospital following Kale’s first open heart surgery.  I will not even attempt here to go into the details of Kale’s diagnosis and treatment to date as Abbie writes so poignantly about it on Kale’s caring bridge site.  So, if you would like the specifics, I would encourage you to visit his site as she does a wonderful job of keeping all of the many people who are praying for Kale up to date on how he is doing.

            Because Brent, Abbie, and our entire family were anxious as to what Kale’s Monday appointment would bring, not to mention the looming possibility of another surgery and weeks spent in the hospital, I hoped to create a nice mix of comfort food followed by a tasty dessert.  So, I prepared the Runza casserole featured on the blog previously, followed by my friend Amber’s recipe for Taffy Apple Pizza.  I had tried this recipe before when it was lovingly prepared by Amber and knew that Brent and Abbie would love it.  I knew my hypothesis was proven true when people Abbie had told about it asked me for the recipe at the hospital on Tuesday…mission accomplished!

            The recipe is super easy and hard to mess up.  I do think that next time I will bake the cookie on a cookie sheet as my pizza pan has holes in the bottom, which resulted in little burnt brown dots in the bottom of the cookie!  Try this one for your family and friends, as they are sure to love it!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated sugar cookie dough

-1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup packed brown sugar

-1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

-2 medium granny smith apples

-1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

-1/2 cup peanuts, chopped

Preparation:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Shape cookie dough into a ball and roll out onto a round pizza pan: about ¼ inch thick.  Bake 16-18 minutes, until light golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

-Combine cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.  Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over sugar cookie.

-Core and slice apples.  Arrange evenly over cream cheese mixture.

-Drizzle caramel ice cream topping over apples.  Sprinkle chopped peanuts over apples.  Cut into wedges.

Enjoy!

For updates on Kale go to:

http://caringbride.org/visit/kalesoneson

Please keep Kale, Brent & Abbie in your prayers.  Kale is incredibly strong and such a fighter.  I am so amazed at what is tiny body can handle and so proud of how strong Brent and Abbie are for him, and their tremendous faith in this most difficult of times.

I'm Stuffed!

            Stuffed and satisfied we were, after enjoying this tasty cranberry stuffed pork chop served with roasted carrots.  To date, I have not yet prepared a stuffed anything, so I was a bit nervous that this dish would be a bit outside of my scope of practice.  That’s therapist language for “Wow, I have no idea how to help you with that!”  While I previously had no knowledge of how prepare a stuffed meat dish, I decided to go for it in the sake of research.

            Well, the results are in, and my hypothesis that I could probably work this out, was confirmed.  Chris loved the pork chops, and the roasted carrots were a fantastic side dish.  I was super irritated with myself because I was trying to do too many things at once and let one side of the chops get a little “blackened,” if you will.  This is really just a nice way of saying I scorched one side of the pork chops because I wasn’t paying attention!

            Why is it that we can never just be present in the moment and focus on the task at hand alone?  Well, good thing this isn’t a blog devoted to solving the problems of busy Americans, because I certainly have not found that answer in my own day to day living!  Perhaps if I had an assistant or personal secretary…

Slainte!

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cranberry-stuffed-pork-chops-with-roasted-carrots-00000000021002/index.html

Enjoy!

A Real Simple Pasta Dish!

            How simple, you ask?  Real Simple!  Because I think we have fully established that I LOVE pasta, I do not need to explain why I am sharing yet another pasta dish with you.  However, I have not yet shared that I am also a huge fan of artichokes.  Being a member of the artichoke fan club, of course, led me to select this recipe and assume it would be nothing short of amazing.

            Truth be told, I must admit that the end product on this one tasted a little too simple.  Not horrible, by any means, but just a little blah.  Chris and I discussed what might be missing, and decided that some chicken would be a welcome addition.  I also thought some cherry tomatoes might be nice, but Chris wasn’t sure about that.  A little salt and pepper did go a long way in making this dish more flavorful, but I wouldn’t make it again without trying one of the above-mentioned ingredients.

            If someone tries this and switches it up a bit, please let me know!

Slainte!

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cheesy-baked-pasta-spinach-artichoke-00000000031335/index.html

Enjoy!

Shrimp and Corn Chowder!

            Last night, while waiting for trick or treaters, I quickly whipped up this delicious soup for Chris and I.  The preparation was very simple, and our home smelled so delicious when it was finished!  To me, there is nothing better on a chilly night than enjoying a warm soup with your husband cuddled up in front of the fireplace.  The experience was made even better by the interruption of the adorable kids seeking candy.

            The primary piece of advice I would give with regards to recreating this recipe, would be to only squeeze half of a lemon into the soup.  My version was very lemony, and almost took too much away from the overall tastiness of it for Chris.  Perhaps even adding it earlier would help, as it would have more time to blend with the other flavors.  Try it out and get back to me! 

Slainte!

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/shrimp-and-corn-chowder-with-fennel-recipe-00000000028079/index.html

Enjoy!