Ravioli in Fresh Ginger Sauce

Trying to come up with something different for lunch reminded me that ravioli are not just for tomato sauce.  It was time to put together a meal that was unexpected.  I wanted something that was substantial yet easy to prepare.   I remembered I had a some fresh ginger and decided to make the Fresh Ginger Sauce and serve it over some ravioli. Checking on the other ingredients on hand it was a go.

We serve pasta with many meals and ravioli is one of the easiest as it freezes well and is fairly inexpensive.  Simply take a handful or a bag out of the freezer, heat it in boiling water for a few minutes and plate with any number of sauces or toppings.  Add some sliced mushrooms or fresh spinach at the last minute to enhance the meal.  Your family will think they are at an expensive restaurant, your budget will like you and the smiles you receive will brighten your day.

Grilled Portabella Sandwich

Our company arrived in the rain and the rain stayed most of the weekend.  We decided that we would have something a little different from the usual fare for lunch on one of the days.  As I don’t mind grilling in the rain and cold; I decided to do grilled veggie sandwiches.  This is a really easy to prepare lunch and always gets a smile from the guests as it is unexpected and visually attractive.

We grilled portabella mushrooms, red peppers, onions, yellow squash and asparagus.  I peeled the asparagus, I always peal my asparagus.  It is amazing that this is such filling and satisfying meal, even without meat.

Cuban Paninis

Football is back; the weather is getting cooler and the corn is almost gone for another year.  Chef Teresa has put together this great combination to help celebrate great food geared to the yearly practice of being a couch potato.  We welcomed the baseball season with the Recipe of the Week Hot Dogs . It is only fitting to begin the new sports season with a delicious new sandwich.

Here is a note to those of you who like the idea of Pininis but don’t have the pan or press to make them.  Don’t let marketing ploys sell you yet another electric gadget that only does one thing.  Use a grill pan, and you should have one of these for all kinds of foods, with another heavy pot or pan placed on top.  Flip the sandwich over halfway through the cooking cycle and you will get the same results.  This is precisely the way Chef Teresa made this sandwich… see you couldn’t tell the difference.  This method works really well on those grilled cheese sandwiches the kids love and they will love you for the new look and increased flavor.  GO BEARS!!!

Cuban Paninis

Layer thinly sliced pork roast, ham, cheese slices,and dill pickle slices on four pieces of bread. Spread other pieces of bread with mustard. Butter both sides of sandwich and cook on panini grill until cheese is hot and melted.

Note: no panini grill; use a grill pan with a heavy pan on top to hold the panini down.

French Lunch

Color me a romantic.  We have always enjoyed an easy, eat what you want lunch.  Whether strolling, well you can’t just walk, in Paris or just as a quick Saturday late lunch thing; you really can’t beat the creature comfort of this take-with-you or buy-it when-you-get there meal.  The photo above actually was taken when we returned from the Findlay Market, the oldest under-roof farmers market in the country.  We arrived a little early, by Findlay standards, on Sunday.  The vendors where still putting their wares out and we were on a mission to get some ground chuck from the local butcher shop.  I guess it might have been because we were strolling (walking aimlessly) around to kill time that we began to think of lunch.  Why don’t we pick up some cheese, olives , a baguette and some salami for lunch? Let’s get some grapes as well.  Great idea!!!

So we had our “French Lunch”, not on the Rive Gauche but on our coffee table.  Even though we had been together for the last 3 hours it was still special to take the time to eat the good food and talk the good talk.  We have these lunches whenever the mood strikes us, usually in our busy lives we are not stuck enough so I guess that is why they are so  special.

There are certain dishes or meals that key fond memories from an early time… for me chicken salad is all about Jane Nardoni.  In our early twenties, many moons ago, the group would get together at one house or the other and have a party.  When it was Bob’s turn we somehow would always wind up at his mom’s house.  Mrs Nardoni was a wonderful cook and Bob was a little, shall we say lazy?  So there we would be at the Nardoni house with Mrs Nardoni putting out all kinds of wonderful food, mostly Italian, for us.  While all the food was great, her chicken salad was legend.  No amount of pleading could pry the recipe from Jane.  Running into her years later we still laughed about the chicken salad, and still, I might add, try our best to get that recipe.

While this chicken salad is not Jane’s, it is damn good.  Give it a try and perhaps your kids’ friends will remember it for a long time.

The kids stopped in yesterday with their kids, Avery is almost 3 and Alexis is just 5 weeks. After a trip to the playground in the heat it was time to figure out lunch. I guess i could have called this, “Too Hot to Cook but Not to Thaw”. As we talked about in Meal Planning – Winning the Trifecta it pays to cook batches of food and freeze them for later use. I microwaved a frozen container of pulled pork, made a quick coleslaw, added pickles and chips and everyone was happy. Side note here… I usually like my coleslaw directly on top of the sandwich, unlike my photo above.

P.S. For dessert we had carrot cake, also frozen in individual packets and thawed as needed. The carrot cake is the Featured Recipe this week at www.emealsforyou.com.

Pulled Pork

Rub dry rub (recipe follows) all over pork roast. Place in oven-proof pan and cook in oven at 275 degrees for 4-5 hours or until meat pulls easily off the bone. Remove from pan and shred meat with two forks. discard the bone. Pour water, vinegar and ketchup into pan and stir to remove all fond (the brown bits) and juices. Pour over meat and stir.

Note: You may choose to serve pork with additional store-brand barbeque sauce.

Black Bean Burritos

Warning, this post gets close to being a Rant. Beyond the cost savings of planning and cooking meals for your family there is the “healthier food” aspect to consider. Take for instance the Black Bean Burrito shown at the bottom left side of this post. Even if you don’t like or think you don’t like black beans you have to give me it looks pretty appetizing. This is especially true when you compare it to the “Taco Hell” burrito above the made-at-home burrito. Is this, the one on the top, what you want your family eating a couple of days a week? Think of all the time you will save on “wash day” not having to get the grease stains out of the kids’ shirts, ’cause you know it is impossible to eat a greasy taco in the car without a little spillage.

I knew the “Taco Hell” burrito was going to be bad for me; knew it like you know it is going to rain just after washing your car. What I didn’t expect was just how bad. Here are the numbers: The bean burrito has 350 calories but more importantly 1190mg of Sodium, just under half your daily recommended amount. If you step up to the plate to the Grilled Stuft Burrito- Chicken, as I did; then you are looking at 640 calories with 2160 mg Sodium; add a diet coke and you are over the limit.

The made-at-home bean burrito comes in at 192 calories with only 293 mg of Sodium.

Planning and cooking at home allows you to take charge of what you are eating. You can control the ingredients; want less salt, just read the label on the beans and buy the no or low sodium brand. Want low fat, get the low or non-fat sour cream. Don’t like white flour buy the whole wheat tortillas. See, it is about just re-directing your hand in the grocery store to foods that are better for you; and if it is better for you, you will feel better about feeding it to your family.

Italian Hot Dog

Chicago-style Hot Dog

Indulge me. I can’t help myself. BASEBALL is back; well the first game of the season was played this morning in Japan at least, Oakland at Boston. Not that I am a fan of either of these teams; but if they are playing then my beloved Cubbies can’t be far behind. Cubs fans are unique; each year we wake up in the spring and think, “This is the year” only to see our dreams disappear in the fall.In honor of baseball my choice for Recipe of the Week is the hot dog, but not just your ordinary hot dog, special hot dogs from three areas of the country. I present for your dining pleasure: The Italian Hot Dog, The Chili Dog and the Chicago-style Hot Dog. Each of these representing a variation on the steamed, boiled or grilled dog of our youth. Why not step up to the plate, as it were, and give the guys something to really sink their teeth into. Who knows; you may just hit a home run.

Before the “hate mail” starts let me say that I know last week I preached about reducing sodium intake and now I am advocating hot dogs. Again, everything in moderation. The lowest sodium content I found in hot dogs was Hebrew National Fat Reduced Hot Dogs. (380mg) Also, if you check with some of your local butchers I am sure you can order low sodium hot dogs and sausages made to your specs. Lastly, if you want some sites that sell low or no-salt condiments send me an email and I will forward the sites.

Italian Hot Dog