Handy Tip #4

The other day, my husband told me that even when there doesn't seem to be much food in the house, I always seem to make it work.

So, here's my handy house wife Tip #4 for you: Make use of what you have available.

Often times, I'll find myself in a pinch, unable to make it to the grocery store.
When this happens, I go through (mentally and/or physically) the food items we do have, and decide what I can make from them. (Which is also ironically how I end up with a lot of the recipes I post.)

I find the easiest way to figure out what to make from what you have is to think in themes.

If I have a jar of spaghetti sauce, I think: What can I put this with to make an Italian dish?
If I have salsa or taco seasoning, I try to think Mexican. I've also been known to make lo mein or stir-fried rice on occasions when I find I only have a few eggs, some rice or spaghetti noodles, a bag of frozen veggies, and seasonings from my spice cupboard (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and sugar).

(These are all kind of stereotypical, and definitely the "American" versions of each culture. But it helps.)
Thinking in themes gives your brain a framework to put all your random ingredients into.

It's also smart to keep certain staples stocked whenever possible. I don't know what I'd do if I found myself without a bag of brown rice, a jar of spaghetti sauce, eggs, or noodles of some sort. I also like to have soy meat and fish in the house whenever possible (though we go through that stuff pretty quickly, and it's pretty expensive). And spices/sauces can make all the difference in the world!

As long as you have something and you stay creative, you can rest at ease knowing there's something you can whip up for your family for dinner tonight.

Wisdom from Middle Earth

I fell in love with this part of the movie [The Hobbit] the first time I saw it, and I still find it inspiring.
Tell it how it is, Gandalf! So much truth in this short clip.

Of Birds and Jellybeans

Married life isn't all about recipes, so I thought I'd share one of the cute moments. 

My husband and I have a "rescue" parakeet that I named Dread Pirate Roberts. He's a quirky little fellow, but he fits in well with us. At first, my husband tried constantly to get me to give him back (he's not used to having animals in the house, whereas I can't remember a time in my childhood when we didn't have some animal or another). But now I think he's warmed up to DPR. 

Facebook status from a few days ago:



I found a jellybean in the bottom of Dread Pirate Robert's cage today...
   
[Texting my husband while he's at work]


Me: Birds generally don't eat jellybeans, mi amor.
                              
My husband: It was a treat........!

I love our little family. 

Easy Meat and Cheese Calzones

Shout out to my friend Amy, the ZMBS, who requested me to post this recipe. 


All righty, now that I'm back at it, I've got another ridiculously easy recipe for ya. (Fair warning: This one is not at all healthy.)
Vegan/vegetarian substitution: I made this using real meat, but I'm sure that soy/tofu could be substituted without a problem. Anything like crumbled soy sausage, soy pepperoni, sliced soy hot dogs, etc would probably be good in this recipe. I haven't yet tried it this way, but I hope to soon!

You'll need:

• 1 pckg. frozen yeast rolls
• Marinara spaghetti/pizza sauce
• Dairy-free cheese (I used Daiya*)
• Turkey lunch meat
• Non-stick cooking spray
• I didn't use anything else, but feel free to add your favorite add-ons--peppers, fresh herbs, olives, whatever you like!

Set out however many rolls you want to use and allow them to thaw (depending on how warm it is, you can probably start working with them in as little as 1-2 hours). I used four rolls per calzone.

(I just used some from a pack of frozen rolls I got at Kroger. If you want to feel less like you're cheating, you're welcome to make your own dough from scratch--but who has the time?) 



Once the dough has thawed, spray the surface you plan to work on with the cooking spray, to keep the dough from sticking. (I just worked on a piece of foil.)

Using your fingers, work the dough balls together and flatten them, stretching out your dough as you do. (You'll probably notice that the dough has some elasticity, and won't stay flattened out as round and large as you originally roll it. Just keep working it, and make sure to stretch it back out before you put the filling on.)

On your "dough palette," (we're really getting fancy now!) spoon some of the sauce and spread it out over the whole thing, like you would for a mini-pizza. (Leave some edges.)
The amount of sauce really depends on your preference. I spooned on two small spoons of sauce, and found that it wasn't really enough. Experiment and figure out what you like. Just don't over-fill, because you still have to close the calzone!

Cut the lunch meat into strips, and place the strips on top of the sauce. Be a little liberal; the dough will rise a bit in the oven, and you don't want there to be too much bread and not enough filling.

Over the meat, sprinkle a liberal amount of the vegan-friendly cheese.

Now, fold the "dough palette" in half, and press the edges together. To ensure that the edges stay together, roll them ever so slightly. Then flip the calzone over (carefully!), to help keep the edges from un-rolling.

Set your oven to 375 degrees. Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray, place the calzone(s) onto it, and pop it into the oven.

The main thing you're waiting for is for the dough to bake, and the cheese inside to melt (you won't be able to tell about the cheese inside by looking, but it's safe to say that it's melted once the dough is baked).

I think it took maybe 15-25 minutes to bake the ones I made, but it might take a little longer.
Also, for reasons I won't go into now, I had to cover mine with foil, and they didn't really brown. However, if you bake them uncovered, they should (hopefully) turn out more golden brown.

Voila! Enjoy.
(Sorry there aren't pictures of the finished product--I hope to rectify this eventually!)


*This was the first time I'd actually eaten this cheese, and I was really impressed. The flavor is great, and--unlike regular cheese--it doesn't get hard and solid when it starts to cool off. It stays melty and delicious. 

She's Baaaaaaack!

Hello!

I know I've slacked off on posting, but I'm planning to get back in the swing soon--starting with a delicious recipe with vegan modifications! Stay tuned.