"Under the Sea" Fricassee

My daughter and I just went to see The Little Mermaid (the musical) at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery.  It was aMAZing!!  I recommend that if you live in the area, with kids or not, get tickets for this production!  The costumes, special effects, acting, singing, dancing...EVERYTHING was simply marvelous!  Check for tickets here: Alabama Shakespeare Festival (The Little Mermaid)

(photo from ASF's Facebook page)

When Sebastian is singing to Ariel about how great it is to live under the sea, he has several food references.  I didn't realize until recently this line in particular:

"Under the sea

Nobody beat us
Fry us and eat us
In fricassee
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We got no troubles
Life is the bubbles
Under the sea" 
Read more: Disney - Under The Sea [From The Little Mermaid] Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

I have heard the word, Fricassee many times but never given it much thought.  When I realized Sebastian was saying that, I looked up the definition.  Fricassee is simply small pieces of meat that are cooked and then served in a stew-like sauce that thickens during cooking.  It can be chicken or seafood.  

I decided to make my own Seafood Fricassee in honor of Sebastian (no crab of course!).

Those poor, unfortunate souls!

(photo from ASF's Facebook page)

I made up my recipe by reading some other Fricassee recipes on Pinterest.  I cooked it in a similar way to the ones I read about, but added the seasonings I like to use.  Here they are:

Ginger

Sea Salt

Curry

Chilli Powder

Turmeric

Cracked Pepper

Lime Zest and Juice

Fresh Cilantro (not pictured)

Under the Sea Fricassee

1 24 oz. bag Frozen Shrimp
2 large fillets white fish (like Tilapia) (cut into bite-sized pieces)
2 cups White Rice
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1/2 a White or Yellow Onion (chopped)
1/2 a Green Bell Pepper (chopped)
Zest and Juice of 1/2 a Lime
1 Shallot (chopped)...(minced garlic would also be great)
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Ginger
1 teaspoon Curry
1 teaspoon Chilli Powder
1 teaspoon Turmeric
Handful of chopped Cilantro
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:  Cook the rice by the directions on the bag.  Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the flour and stir constantly until lightly browned.  Add the onion, bell pepper and shallot (or garlic) and stir for about 1 minute.  Add the diced tomatoes and all the seasonings.  Add some of the cilantro and the fish and shrimp and allow the mixture to cook until the meat is done (maybe about 10 minutes).  Serve the fricassee over the rice topped with more fresh cilantro.

This recipe was so quick and easy to make!  It turned out quite tasty and would be a great recipe to do on a busy night.  Next time, I'm going to cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and make Chicken Fricassee.


We also had an Under-the-Sea-looking dessert:

Dragonfruit 

We had bought this at an Asian market once before.  I saw it while gathering ingredients for the ocean-inspired meal and thought it would be appropriate because of the way it looks.  You eat the white, seedy part.  It kind of tastes like a melon.  It's yummy!


I have a very dear friend who lives in Montgomery.  She is an Anchor for WSFA 12 News.
Meet my friend, Jenn Horton.

We became friends at church camp about 20-ish years ago.  She has been special to me ever since.  We've never lived in the same town, so it was always a long-distance friendship.  During summers, we would go spend a few days at each others' family homes.  You know how things go sometimes...life gets so busy and for no real reason, we lose touch with people as we age.  I haven't seen her in years.  I knew she was in Montgomery, so when we got our play tickets, I sent her an email.  We met for lunch before the play!

It was so wonderful to see her and catch up!  It was just like old times and felt like we had never missed any time together.

After writing this post, I cannot get that song out of my head!  So, until next time...

"The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea
Under the sea"  

 -Sebastian the crab

A Baking Lesson and a Kitten

I think I've mentioned before that I am not a very good baker.  Any time I try to make chocolate chip cookies, they come out looking like one of those Pinterest fail photos (we've all seen those, right? hilarious!).  They look like some kind of not-very-well-defined blob of beigeness with brown spots on them, where the chocolate chips are.  Eek!

Luckily, I have a friend who is a very great baker!  She bakes almost every week, and the treats of her's that I have sampled have been divine!  So I asked her if she would mind giving me a little Baking 101 lesson.

Meet my friend, Jenna!

...with the finished products.

In addition to being my baking friend, Jenna is also my fig tree friend.  Remember a post from last week, when we had fresh figs in antipasto?  That was her tree they came from!  So the treat she decided to bake tonight is a Fig Cake.  I think it's so cool that you make it in a cast iron pan.  

The recipe is here: Fresh Fig and Almond Breakfast Cake (Joy the Baker)

Here she is picking figs to go straight from the tree into the cake!

The treat I decided to bake is wedding cake.  I just really love white cake with white icing.  Any time there is a wedding coming up, I'm excited for the couple and all that jazz....but I'm really excited about getting to eat the bride's cake!  I'm totally kidding!  I love people way more than cake...really!

This is how it turned out!

...with a little, er a lot of help from Jenna, of course!

She's got the icing squirter thingie out!  It just got real up in here!

The recipes I used for the wedding cake are here:
White Cake
Perfect Wedding Cake Icing


This is Tink, the foster kitten.  She is waiting to be adopted.  Jenna and her husband are taking care of her until she has a home.  She's precious!

Baking 101: Lessons I learned from Jenna the Baker:

1.  When making a layered cake, spray all over each cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper and spray again.  This just makes it so much easier to get the cake out and keeps it pretty.

2.  You might be thinking, "okay how do you line a round cake pan with parchment paper?".  That is what I was thinking anyway.  This is how: you place the pan on top of the paper, trace the pan with a pencil and cut out the circle.  Jenna is doing just that, here:

3. If you don't own a flour sifter, you can use a whisk to combine flour, salt and baking powder.

 4.  You can find really cool, old-fashioned flour-sifters at estate sales. Here I am using a wonderful vintage flour sifter!  I think the last time I did that was maybe one time at my grandmother's house when I was a kid.  I'm going to be looking for my own when I go estate sale shopping from now on!

5.  Never use soap and water on your cast iron skillet.  Do a salt and oil scrub instead.  Soap will wear off the coating and interfere with skillet seasoning.  The reason for the salt is to provide abrasive cleaning as you oil it down.  

6.  When making icing, it's good to mix for 4 minutes each time you add an ingredient.  Stop halfway through the 4 minutes and wipe the sides of the bowl down.  It should look like this when you're done:

 7.  Also on icing: Don't ever add multiple cups of Confectioner's Sugar at one time!  It will fluff up into the air in a powdery cloud and choke you when you inhale it.  Add the sugar a little at a time while stirring.

8.  Don't ice a cake until it is completely cool...so that it doesn't melt the icing.

9.  When icing a cake, put a spoonful of icing on the plate before you put the cake down...to hold it in place as you ice the whole thing.

10.  To start an avocado seed, you remove the pit from the avocado, wash and dry it, skewer with toothpicks, and place over a glass or jar filled with water, so that the bottom one-third of the pit is submerged.  For more detailed instructions, google "how to germinate an avocado pit."

Note:  I know that last one didn't have anything to do with baking, but it is still good knowledge.  Who knows, maybe Jenna and I will come up with an Avocado cake!  Who wants the first taste??  Any takers? None? Okay, maybe not.  Haha!



A few more pics from our baking night:

A very old Cook Book.

Slicing figs for the fig cake.

I got to cuddle Tink a lot while the cakes were baking.

I wouldn't call myself a great baker now.  But I was glad to learn a few lessons about baking from a friend...just in case there's ever a cake or bread emergency.  As far as my chocolate chip cookie skills go, I don't know.  I may have to attempt some for the kids soon and let you know whether or not they turn out looking like some sort of mutant postapocalytic creatures!  Until then...Happy Baking!  I'm sure your treats will turn out better than mine! :)

Aldi Gourmet: 5-day Supper Challenge (DAY 5 and Wrap-up)

We have reached the end of the Aldi 5-day Supper Challenge!  For me, it's been fun and a little intense...lots of cooking and writing!  But those are both things I love to do.  I hope you had fun reading about my experiences and that you cook some of the things I cooked this week!  Feel free to tweak the dishes to suit your preferences.  Welcome to the final day of my challenge.

Day 5-Friday

The Aldi Loaded Salad with or without Grilled Chicken

Everything you'll need from Aldi:

(not pictured: raw chicken strips-again, who wants to look at a pic of raw chicken?)

The List:

Romaine Lettuce

Baby Carrots

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Tomato

Avocado

Garbanzo Beans (Chick Peas)

Bacon

Unsalted Sunflower Seeds

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Honey

The Recipe:

The only thing precise about this recipe is the vinaigrette.  Other than that, chop everything that needs chopping, wash the Lettuce, drain and rinse the Garbanzo Beans, cook the Bacon, and mix as much as you want of each ingredient in a large bowl for your family to serve themselves from.  Top with the vinaigrette.

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

3 teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar

3 teaspoons Honey

Note:  I'm not a fan of very vinegary vinaigrettes, so I don't add a lot of the vinegar.  You can add more if you like.

Grilled Chicken Strips

For another protein-filled topping for your salad, pan-grill some chicken strips.  Marinate however many you're going to cook in Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper, in a Ziploc bag, in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Then cook in a pan over medium to medium-high heat until done.  No pink Salmonella, please!!  Cut into one when you think they might be done, to make sure.  Add to salad.

One more supper idea:

Remember the Pasta Salad we made on Wednesday?  Throw some in the microwave, spread some more arugula on a plate, top with pasta salad, grilled chicken, more fresh mozzarella, more red onion, and finish it off with a drizzle of the  Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette. Yum!!

My Birmingham friends know about the Pasta Salad Special at Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe!  Good stuff!  That was my inspiration for this supper idea.

My son loves snacks from Aldi!

Almond Butter and Apple Slices

Aldi Challenge Wrap-up and Lessons Learned:

Something I love about shopping at Aldi is, what you see is what you get.  There are not thousands of choices to pick from for basically the same item. (I hope that sentence made sense.)  I don't feel overstimulated and stressed like I do in other grocery stores.  The reason for this is because they don't spend a lot on advertising and attention-grabbing.  That is part of the reason the groceries are discounted prices.  My kids are more well-behaved in Aldi than in other grocery stores as well...the overstimulation thing, I'm sure...I understand!  I realized throughout the week that I was using the ingredients I bought over and over in several recipes.  I was pleased with that because there will be minimal waste.  I still have more ideas for the produce that is left.  Hurray!  That means there will be no slimy Arugula pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten about until next week!  That is cause for celebration!  Haha!  

My main goal in doing this challenge was to show you that discount grocery shopping can be fun and delicious.  We all want to save money, right?  I hope I reached my goal this week!  Love to all.

Aldi Gourmet: 5-Day Supper Challenge (DAY 4)

It is Day 4 of the Aldi Supper Challenge...cooking dinners consisting only of foods or ingredients found at Aldi.  I have tried to provide you with plenty of variety;  Monday-chicken, Tuesday-beef, Wednesday-pork.  Today is meatless day!  Hurray!  Get excited!!  In all seriousness though, meatless meals can be filling and flavorful.  So just hear me out before you dismiss the idea altogether.

Day 4-Thursday

Lean Green Stir-fry with Rice

I've made stir-fry with rice or noodles many times.  It's a great meal to cook on a weeknight because it is not time-consuming to make.

Everything you'll need from Aldi:

(minus the rice-we had a lot already so I didn't buy more-Aldi does have it)

The List:

Broccoli

Zucchini

Cabbage

Green Onions

Vegetable Oil

Soy Sauce

Eggs

Fresh Garlic

The Recipe:

Handful of Broccoli Florets (however much you want)

1 Zucchini (chopped)

1/2 head of Cabbage (chopped)

2-3 Green Onions (chopped)

4 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 Tablespoon plus 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce 

2 eggs

1 or 2 cloves minced Fresh Garlic

1.  Heat 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil over medium-high heat, in a wok or large skillet. Once hot, add the chopped veggies and garlic.  Pour 1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce over the veggies and stir.  You want the wok to get really hot so that the veggies will become seared.  Think Hibachi man.  He always has a really hot surface (sometimes real flames included), and he stirs frequently, and takes up the veggies when they are browned.  Stir your veggies frequently.  I covered mine for about 5 minutes so they could cook evenly.  Uncover and stir for a few more minutes.  When they are ready, they will look something like this:

Transfer the veggies to a plate.

2.  Return the wok to the stove (medium high heat) and add 2 more tablespoons of Vegetable Oil.  Crack two eggs into the pan and let them fry on both sides.  When they are done, chop them up with the spatula.  It will look about like this:

3.  Add the rice to the wok and stir frequently for about 2-3 minutes.  Add more soy sauce. I think I did about 1/4 cup.

4.  The last step is to add the veggies back in with the rice and stir all together.  Serve immediately.

If you want to get your kids in the kitchen to help you cook, this is a great book to read along with it. There is also a fried-rice recipe at the end.  You might prefer to use that recipe instead of mine.  That's okay with me.  I just hope to inspire some creativity in the kitchen. :)

We all know that green vegetables are good for us, and that we should be eating them often.  I'll be honest and say that I have the most trouble with Broccoli.  It's just not my favorite.  Today's stir-fry recipe is a tasty way to get those greens into your diet.  And hey, broccoli's not so bad once it has been seared in soy sauce!  Haha!  Happy dinner time, friends!

Aldi Gourmet: 5-day Supper Challenge (DAY 3)

So here we are at the third day of the Aldi Supper Challenge...cooking dinners consisting only of ingredients that can be purchased at Aldi.  So far, it has been a really fun experience.  I've enjoyed trying new recipes and making up some of my own (with a little inspiration from others of course!).

Day 3-Wednesday

Pan-fried Pork Chops topped with Black Bean Salsa, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Greek-inspired Pasta Salad

Everything you'll need from Aldi for the Pork Chops:

The List:

Thin cut Pork Chops

Vegetable Oil

Flour 

Black Bean Salsa we made on Monday (Recipe in Day 1 Blog post)

*Note: Almost every recipe I've done calls for Salt and Pepper to taste. I don't mention it here because I'm assuming everyone has Salt and Pepper.  Aldi does sell it!

The Recipe:

This recipe is very quick and simple.  My husband is good at making Pork Chops this way, so I always ask him to do it.  You simply place about a cup of flour in a plate and mix in salt and pepper.  Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a flat pan over medium to medium-low heat.  Wash the meat and towel dry.  Then coat both sides of each pork chop with the flour mixture.  Add to the pan and cook until done...about 7-10 minutes on each side...just watch it.  It doesn't take long, but varies depending on meat thickness.  When it is done, transfer to a plate and top with the pre-made black bean salsa.

Everything you'll need from Aldi for the Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

The List:

Sweet Potatoes

Fresh Lemon

Fresh Garlic

Olive Oil

Dry Oregano

The Recipe:

3-4 small sweet potatoes (sliced thinly)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Oregano

Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 to 2 minced garlic cloves

*You'll want to get this going well before you cook the Pork Chops.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  After you slice the sweet potatoes, toss them in a large mixing bowl with the other ingredients.  Spread in one layer on a roasting pan or cookie sheet and bake for about 35-40 minutes.

Everything you'll need from Aldi for the Pasta Salad:

The List:

Penne Pasta (or whatever shape of pasta you like)

Arugula

Red Onion

Dry Oregano

Fresh Garlic

Fresh Lemon

Grape Tomatoes

Feta Cheese

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

1 large Zucchini

Greek Olives

Olive Oil

Plain Greek Yogurt

Honey

The Recipe:

For the sauce: 1 cup Greek Yogurt

Half a container of Feta Cheese

1 Teaspoon Honey

1 Teaspoon Oregano

Zest and juice of half a Lemon

1 clove Fresh Garlic

Salt and Pepper

Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth.

For the rest:  Half a package of pasta (boiled by instructions on the package and drained)

(Don't make the mistake of not drizzling the pasta, while in the strainer, with olive oil!

You don't want it all sticking together!)

2 tablespoons chopped red onion

handful of Arugula

handful of Grape Tomatoes split in half

handful of Olives (chopped)

roasted Zucchini ribbons (see note below)

Sliced Fresh Mozzarella

*Use a carrot peeler to make the Zucchini ribbons.  Once you reach the seeds, stop.  Put core of the zucchini in a ziploc bag to throw in the freezer.  That way, you'll have it for zucchini bread, or something equally delicious later.

*Throw those fancy ribbons on top of the sweet potatoes in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, just like this:

Can't get much easier than that, right?

In the same large mixing bowl you used to coat the sweet potatoes, mix the pasta with the other ingredients (including the roasted zucchini that you removed once done) and the sauce.  

Transfer to a plate, place the mozzarella slices beside it, drizzle with olive oil, add more tomatoes, olives, red onion, and arugula, if you want to. and top it all with a little more pepper.

*A note on Olives.  As a past Olive-Hater (i've mended my ways), I understand there are mixed feelings about olives out there.  There is a lot of Greek inspiration in my cooking and therefore, a lot of olive use.  So from now on, in my recipes, I will call them Optional Olives (Don't you love alliteration?  I do!).  Just to show you that you can make the recipe with or without olives...totally your preference.

For some strange reason, while I was making the pasta salad, this song played on my Ellie Goulding Pandora station:

George Michael, anyone??

I started to name my recipe the Careless Whisper Pasta Salad.  But then decided against it.  But it reminded me of a hilarious Youtube video that my friend, Jay, shared with me a few years ago.  It's called Sexy Sax Man and features a guy named Sergio Flores randomly serenading people out in public with his Saxophone...playing the general tune of this song over and over and over.

I will warn you.  It's a tiny bit risqué, and I try to keep my blog PG rated.  But it's also really really hilarious in a strange strange way.  View with discretion. :)

Wrap-up Statement:

I'm not going to say a lot to close this post, because, I mean what can I even say after Sexy Sax Man? I was happy with how this meal turned out.  I think it's my favorite so far.  It's not too time-consuming to make either.  The black bean salsa was pre-made and the pasta salad can be pre-made as well.  I would say this would be a good combination to make for a busy weeknight.  So, until next time....(insert Careless Whisper tune!).

ALDI Gourmet: 5-day Supper Challenge (DAY 2)

So as you know, this week I have challenged myself to cook dinners made only of foods that can be purchased at Aldi.  Welcome to Day 2 of the challenge!  Aldi is a discount grocery store chain, and I know we have saved money on groceries since we started shopping there.  Now, that said, if you're looking for a thorough breakdown of savings, comparisons, and prices per meal, you won't find that here.  I am not a number girl!  Ask any one of my past math teachers or my Dad, who, bless his heart is probably the reason I made it through the required math courses throughout the school years.  He helped me with my math homework every night!  Sorry Dad!  Haha!

I even make my daily smoothie from all Aldi ingredients!

Aldi Smoothie

Recipe:

Handful of frozen blueberries

As many spinach leaves as will fit in the blender carafe

1/2 cup of Kefir

1/2 cup of milk

Day 2-Tuesday

Meet my friends Madoline and Mandy.  They are my taste-testers tonight!

Madoline works in PR and journalism, is an excellent writer, and has a food blog of her own...find the link here:  www.maplemacaroni.blogspot.com
Mandy is a personal trainer and a real inspiration for your personal fitness journey.  She knows a lot about the Whole 30 diet...which I may have posts about to come.


Beef and Feta Patties with Beet and Arugula Salad 
and Roasted Parmesan Oregano Potatoes

Beef and Feta Patties

Everything you'll need from Aldi:

The List:

Ground Beef

Red Onion

Feta Cheese

Bread Crumbs

Fresh Garlic

Milk

Fresh Lemon

Olive Oil

Dried Oregano

Beef and Feta Patties Recipe:

*I have a next-door neighbor who is from Australia.  I will refer to him as the Awesome Aussie, and I'll tell you why later.  He and his wife are dear friends of our's.  Donna Hay is the Australian version of Martha Stewart.  They loaned me some of her magazines to look for recipe inspiration.  Well, it didn't take long to find it!  This is my Aldi version of her recipe for Beef and Feta Patties.

1 cup Breadcrumbs

 1/4 cup Milk

1 heaping tablespoon of finely chopped red onion

1 or 2 minced cloves of garlic

the zest of 1 lemon

1 Teaspoon dry Oregano

1 container Feta Cheese

Mix all these ingredients together in a large bowl and then add about 1.5 lb.s ground beef.  Work all the ingredients into the meat (this happens best when I just use my hand to mix).  Form the meat mixture into patties (don't make them too big or too thick).  Heat 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil in a flat pan over Medium heat.  Cook the patties until cooked through (5-8 minutes on each side, at least). Turn the heat down some if your's start to get too brown like mine did.  After you flip them, you might want to cover for about 5 minutes or so to encourage even heat, and center doneness (is that a word?).  When you think they may be done, cut into the largest one and make sure there is no pink!  Some things, like tuna steaks, are delicious rare or raw...but not ground beef!!  When they are ready, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and put in a warm place while you prepare the Beet Salad. 

Roasted Parmesan and Oregano Potatoes

Everything you'll need from Aldi:

The List:

Golden Potatoes

Butter

Parmesan Cheese

Dried Oregano

 Olive Oil

Fresh Garlic

Fresh Lemon

The Recipe:

4-5 Potatoes, cut into 1/4 wedges

2 tablespoons butter, melted

The juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Oregano

1 or 2 minced Garlic Cloves

handful of Parmesan Cheese

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Cut the potatoes in half, then half of that, than half of that...so you have 1/4 wedges.  Place in a large mixing bowl and pour over Olive Oil, Butter, Oregano, Lemon Juice, and Salt and Pepper.  Spread out on a roasting pan or cookie sheet, so that the largest side of white part is down on the pan (so that the soft part can get softer and soak up the juices).  Bake for about 45-60 minutes (ovens may vary).  About halfway through cooking, cover with Parmesan cheese.

Beet Salad with Arugula and Goat Cheese

Everything you'll need from Aldi:

The List:

Fresh Arugula

Goat Cheese Crumbles

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Canned Beets

Chopped Walnuts

The Recipe: 

A small handful of Arugula for each plate

5-6 Beets per plate

A sprinkling of Goat Cheese on each plate

A sprinkling of Walnuts on (you guessed it) each plate

A Drizzle of Balsamic Vinaigrette (exact recipe below)

On each plate, arrange the handful of Arugula, handful of beets, goat cheese, and walnuts.  Mix together in a measuring cup, 1/2 cup Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar.  Drizzle over the top of the salad.

I'm ready to serve dinner to my friends!

*The reason I call my neighbor the Awesome Aussie, is because he is a very inspiring person.  He invented and patented the Ninety-Net, a tool for soccer practice that improves goal targeting.  I'm probably not explaining that exactly right, so read more about it here: http://ninetynet.com.  Some time soon, I will be doing Australia-Inspired dishes with this sweet family.  So stay tuned for that.

I was pleased with how the Day 2 recipes turned out.  The beef patties tasted substantial, like you could eat them after a day of chopping wood or working in the fields, but with a burst of gourmet freshness from the lemon zest.  Beets are always tasty paired with goat cheese and arugula, and parmesan potatoes can never be too bad, right?  I think Madoline and Mandy were pleased by the flavors too.  This meal was actually not too time-consuming to prepare.  So you could realistically make it on a weeknight.  The potatoes do take a little while to soften and cook appropriately.  But you just put them in the oven and walk away.  I hope I've provided you with a doable weeknight meal idea today.