Cooking In The Chaos

Finding joy in food in the midst of a busy life.

[cookingchaos]

Roasted Sweet Potato Rainbow Salad with Lime Crema

Recipe from Budget Bytes. https://www.budgetbytes.com/2017/03/roasted-sweet-potato-rainbow-salad-lime-crema/

I was just introduced to her site a few weeks ago when a friend brought this salad to dinner. I’m hooked. Everything on her blog looks absolutely delicious and I want to eat it all.

Only things I did different was skip the red pepper and red onion (which made it not really a rainbow anymore) and keep the crema on the side so it would keep better leftover.

I could eat this every day.

[cookingchaos]

Tonight's dinner Roasted sweet potato salad with lime crema and grass-fed beef burger topped with caramelized onion, wilted spinach, and crumbled cheddar (Trader Joe's uncommonly good cheddar) on a homemade sesame bun

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Veggie Stir Fry with Noodles and Beef Teriyaki Skewers Last night's dinner. Noodle recipe from https://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/09/snap-challenge-vegetable-stir-fry-noodles/ and Teriyaki recipe from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/231664/sweet-teriyaki-beef-skewers/?internalSource=amp&referringContentType=amp%20recipe&clickId=amp_directions Noodles don't look great but taste amazing. Original recipe looks nicer with red cabbage, but I had green so that's what I used. I doubled the sauce but halved the siracha so it won't be to spicy for the kids, and added an additional package of ramen to feed my giant family. The stir fry is more than half cabbage and other veggies, so I don't feel too bad about serving ramen (plus it doesn't use the seasoning packet). It's my second time making this and it was devoured both times. I had never made Teriyaki Skewers before. We have tons of steak in the freezer that I usually just cook up whole. This made a nice change. It was raining so I cooked under the broiler instead of grilling. Just finished leftover noodles for lunch. So delicious.

[cookingchaos]

Spaghetti squash and marinara with mushrooms and black olives

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Smoked brisket and caramelized onion pizza with a barbecue style sauce. Half olive and cheese (because picky kid) and half roasted beet, caramelized onion, and feta pizza with plain olive oil instead of sauce. So delicious.

[cookingchaos]

Raspberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

I usually just buy salad dressings, but store bought versions of raspberry dressings are always too sweet for my tastes. Last summer, I looked around online for a recipe to make my own, but couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. I used the general ideas from several recipes to make this dressing. In the summer, I use fresh raspberries from berry picking, but the rest of the year I just defrost frozen raspberries to use in the recipe.

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup raspberries

1-2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup, to taste

Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse until the raspberries are smooth and the oil and vinegar is well combined. That’s it!

I like to serve this dressing on a simple strawberry and spinach salad. It's is a family favorite.

[cookingchaos]

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I made a cake for no reason for the first time today. After @holsteinki posted about making this cake, I just had to try it too. So delicious and so worth it. The recipe is at http://www.crunchycreamysweet.com/cinnamon-roll-cake-scratch-recipe-card/.

The kids helped a lot in the making of the cake, so it didn't come out looking perfect, but that is a trade off I am always willing to make.

Thanks for sharing the recipe @holsteinki!

[cookingchaos]

Dark Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel

These were time consuming to make, but worth it. I made these for a gift and will make them again to give out at Christmas. The orange peels are very sweet, like a gummy candy, and dipping them in dark chocolate makes a decadent treat. If you like orange flavored chocolate, these might be worth trying.

I peeled the oranges with a knife (like this: https://youtu.be/KqsPuCF7br4?t=14s), segment out the orange and save it for eating plain or another use. I flattened each chunk of peel and filleted off most of the white pith, then I sliced the peel into 1/4 inch strips.

Put the peels in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and drain off the water. Repeat 3 times. This cooks down the peel and removes any waxy coatings.

After the peel has been boiled 3 times, make a simple syrup in the pan using a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water. I used 4 cups of each because I made a large batch (around 15 oranges). You need enough syrup to cover your peels.

Bring the syrup to a boil and add peels. Simmer for 45-60 minutes without stirring, until peels are translucent. If some peels are poking above the syrup, you can poke them down with a wooden spoon or swirl the pot to make sure they are covered, but try to avoid actually stirring the mixture.

Using a spoon with holes, ladle out the peels onto waxed paper, draining off as much syrup as you can. When they are cool enough to handle, cover the peels with sugar. Leave them out to dry for about half a day, stirring occasionally.

To add chocolate to the candied peels, just melt chocolate in a double boiler and dip the peels in. Dry on waxed paper. Store peels in an airtight container.

[cookingchaos]

Italian Sausage Seasonings

I’m making lasagna for dinner tonight, and wanted to use Italian sausage. As I’ve mentioned before, we raise our own meat on our farm. I have a giant deep freezer full of meat, but the only bulk sausage that we have pre-seasoned is breakfast sausage. By adding some different spices, bulk breakfast sausage can easily be turned into Italian sausage. Knowing this makes it easy to be able to make dinner out of what you have on hand instead of making an unnecessary trip to the store.

I never measure spices, but using about a teaspoon of each of these seasoning is enough to season a pound of pork.

fennel

basil

oregano

garlic powder

onion powder

parsley

rosemary

red pepper flakes (I use less red pepper because my kids don’t like food that is too spicy.

Just mix into your pork and it is ready to cook!

[cookingchaos]

Tamale Pie

I had never heard of this until someone (I forget who, sorry!) on Tumblr posted a recipe a few months ago. Now it is a favorite! I love how quick and easy it is to make. My kids have never cared for cornbread, but this cornbread is perfectly moist and they devour it. I love that this recipe can also be easily converted to be vegetarian by skipping the meat and adding an extra can or two of beans.

Recipe is adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp cumin

1 cup frozen corn

1 15-oz can beans (your choice- kidney, black, garbanzo)

1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup water

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup cilantro, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

4 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter

2 eggs

¾ cup sour cream

½ cup milk

In a large oven proof skillet, brown ground beef with onions and garlic. Add chili powder, cumin, corn, beans, tomatoes, and water. Bring to a simmer, then add cheese and heat until cheese is melted through. Remove from heat and add cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.

Melt butter. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, eggs, milk, and sour cream. Whisk until well combined. Add cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and mix until moistened. Pour batter on top of the filling in the skillet and spread. (or alternatively, put the filling into a 9x13 glass pan and then pour batter on top).

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, until crust is cooked and begins to crack.

[cookingchaos]

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

While I have a traditional meatloaf recipe passed down from my grandmother that I love, I came across this recipe in a magazine years ago and it became a favorite as well. I have made this recipe for dinner guests and they always rave and ask for the recipe. Even my friend that does not usually like meatloaf is a fan of this one. There are hidden vegetables in the meat mixture (for those with picky kids) and the center is stuffed with cheese. I usually serve it with a side of roasted broccoli.

I made this for dinner a couple nights ago, and last night we polished off the leftovers. I would have taken a better picture if I had known I was going to post it. I always make enough for leftovers. I like cooking, but I also like having a break some nights!

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray

3 pounds of ground beef

2 carrots

2 celery ribs

1 onion

2 eggs

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup ketchup (or 1/4 cup tomato juice)

1 tsp salt

8 oz block of cheese of your choice (cheddar or Monterey jack are my favorites to use)

Use a food processor to finely chop carrots, celery, and onion.

Mix together ground beef, chopped vegetables, eggs, breadcrumbs, ketchup, and salt in a large bowl.

On a large baking sheet (or a 9x13 glass pan) pat the meat mixture into a large rectangle. Cut the block of cheese in half lengthwise, basically just making it thinner. Place the two halves of cheese across the middle of the meat, and shape the meat around the cheese. Make sure all of the cheese is well sealed into the meatloaf.

If desired, cut potatoes into wedges and place around meatloaf. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for about an hour, until meat is cooked and cheese begins to ooze.

[cookingchaos]

Inner Warmth Peanut Stew

If I had read this recipe without trying it first, I would have never made it. The recipe sounds awful. So many strong flavors-cilantro, garlic, ginger, peanut butter- all mixed with tomatoes and squash? No thanks.

Thankfully, I was coaxed to try this when I friend made it to bring to a soup/stew swap last winter. It doesn’t even look pretty, but it tastes amazing. This peanut stew is now one of my favorite foods.

The recipe can be found at Epicurious.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil 1 medium onion, diced 1/2 cup minced garlic 1/2 cup minced ginger 1/2 tablespoon black pepper 2 to 3 pounds winter squash (butternut or acorn), peeled, cubed 1 quart tomato juice 1 can (20 ounces) diced tomatoes 1/2 tablespoons salt 1 medium bunch of cilantro, stems removed, chopped 1 cup plain peanut butter

The most time consuming part of making this stew is all the chopping. I recommend using a food processor for the garlic and ginger. I like to dice the onion by hand to keep the pieces larger, but you could throw it in the food processor too to save time.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, and squash for  about 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, tomato juice and diced tomatoes and simmer until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in peanut butter and cilantro and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve over white rice if desired, or eat as is.

This makes a large pot of stew. Epicurious says it only makes 4 servings, but I would say it would serve at least 8-10 people. It tastes just as good reheated, so I don’t mind having leftovers!

[cookingchaos]

Getting Started

Food has always been something that makes me happy. I try to use fresh foods and cook items from basic ingredients, but as life has become busier, that is not always possible. I am working on finding a balance between cooking food that I love and feel good about and using a few convenience foods that save my sanity.

My tastes run mostly vegetarian, but I have a husband that would live solely on meat. I try to find a balance between our preferences. My children will eat almost anything.

I live on a small farm where we raise cows, pigs, and chickens on pasture, so I know the meats we are eating are raised humanely. I have a vegetable garden, but our growing season is short. I try to eat foods that are in season and local when possible, but I also have a limited food budget, and food costs are high where I live. I do the best I can with what I have.

The meals I make are not fancy, but they are usually delicious. I love to take pictures of food, so I thought I would start sharing my love of food through a blog.