Life so busy? Make breakfast for dinner

Life in the Shuman household is insane. I just returned from being on the road for work, 3 out of the last 4 weeks. My husband and children couldn't wait for my return, and while I have been home a full school week, my son is still telling me that he missed me. Don't get me wrong, they are fully capable and self sufficient, but my husband does not come home until after 9 every night, (the life of a teacher/tutor) and two teenage girls cooking dinner, bathing, and putting a 4 year old to bed, while attempting to complete their own homework, is exhausting. Special shout out to my MIL (Mother In Law) for totally saving our hides on numerous occasions during this time.

So here I am, back from the road, ready to make wonderful and complicated dinners for my crew to show them how much I love and missed them, until Thursday comes... Since we keep the Sabbath, and sundown is now at 5:15 on Fridays, we no longer have the luxury of readying meals on Friday. So today was filled with work 9-5 (at least), grocery shopping at 3 different stores, picking up children, and the usual dinner, bath time and homework. So much for a well thought out, sit down dinner. I had no clue what to create for dinner and daughter #2, on her hour and a half long ride from school, says, "oooh, eggs sound really good".

Boy was this a work in progress, but the final product was spectacular!

In our house, as likely most homes, everyone likes their eggs made differently:

• Dinner #1 for daughter #3 consisted of fried egg whites, pita bread and hash browns. 
• Dinner #2 for Daughter #2 needed a little more protein. So we pulled out frozen tofu crumbles, and I cooked them up with scrambled eggs, no carbs in this one. 
• Dinner #3 for Mom was a variation of the above with added onions, peppers and cheddar. 

And then.... and then,,,,, the man of the house came home; hungry and still working. (love you babe) The final product was the best yet, and I knew he would love it. The idea came from a breakfast I had while on the road trip. The culmination of this looong business trip was in Peoria, IL where I was so excited to spend the weekend with my daughter at her Sorority Mom's weekend; shout out to Pi Beta Phi. One of Alex's favorite places to eat is a place called Wild Berries and its a true Mid-Westerner's breakfast heaven. There, I ordered a meatless scramble, that consisted of hash browns, veggies, and cheese culminating with an egg on top. Ok, so the diet started when I got home, I'm not proud, but yum!!! Back to dinner. I had no more hash browns, but was determined to make this hash. Into the freezer I went, and found tater tots, perfect! and thus began to build. The ingredients were so simple, but the result was spectacular. When all were fed and satiated, the consensus was unanimous, this was a great dinner and such Good Food In Good Time.

Tator Tots thawed and smashed make great hash browns

Tofu Crumbles with peppers and onions

Everything is better with Cheddar

Time to Build the scramble

The topper, yolks are ooey and gooey, mix all together and mmmmmm.

Egg Scramble

10 Tator Tots
1/2 cup of Morningstar Farms crumbles
2 Tbs oil
1/4 small onion
1/4 green pepper
1/4 cup cheddar Cheese
2 eggs
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by  placing Tator Tots and 1 Tbs oil in pan. Let them cook on both sides until soft. Smash with a fork or spatula and continue to cook until crispy. Next, saute the crumbles in a pan with the remaining oil. Season with all the spices and cook until slightly crisp. Add onions and peppers and continue to cook until soft.  Remove from pan to bowl. top with cheddar while hot and let melt.

Wipe out the pan and spray with cooking spray, Crack eggs into the pan and cook on medium high, after about 1 minute and set; add a Tbs of water and cover. The steam with make the perfect sunny side up egg, Place the eggs on top of other ingredients in bowl and serve, Break the yolk and mix the custard around with the rest of the dish,

You cook your own Chicken Livers Why!!???

A bizarre thing happened to me this morning as I was shopping at the local butcher for ingredients for the Shabbat meals. I was checking out and a woman from behind me looks at a container I have on the counter and asked "what is that?" I explain it is frozen chicken livers. She looked at me like I was from outer space and asked, "so what do you do with it?" (Now for those that don't know, every Jewish grandmother in their day made chopped liver. You also can find it in Deli's across America, along with pate and many more variations.) I turned and said I make Chopped liver. The next 2 minutes consisted of her asking and me explaining how it is done. Chicken livers do not come to the home already koshered like other meat. It is in its raw form and you need to salt it, broil it on each side, and rinse them before cooking and eventually eating. This is the most natural process to me as I learned it from my Hungarian mother and she from hers. Before I was walking out of the store she says "well... why don't you just buy it ready made?" It was my turn to look at her quizzically, and I said "why should I when I know how to make it fresh and I really enjoy cooking."

In today's day and age we are all working and running from place to place, and I understand not everyone enjoys being in the kitchen, but I have to say the best meals I have had, were ones made from scratch with love. Maybe I sound like too much of a romantic, but let me finish with this. My daughter Alex calls me from college and says "Mom, you and Dad spoiled me: the food here is so bad, you should not have cooked so well for us growing up". This is to us both, an incredible compliment, and today she is our #1 ravioli maker and yes she makes the dough from scratch.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! OH AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY

The new year comes so fast it seems now. Time has sped up and life seems to be going by so quickly. I love seeing my children grow and become adults, and yet at the same time it means that we are getting older. I so enjoy the holidays; November and December are months filled with family, food and fantastic traditions. Whats not to love?? But, it is January that brings the most fun to our household.

 It starts every year at New Years. These days there is no giant party, no going drinking or dancing. Mostly our evening consists of a special dinner, and games with the kids, culminating in watching the ball drop and listening to the neighbor kids shoot off fireworks, likely one day to set my house on fire. It's the strike of midnight when the fun begins, you see my husband Mike's birthday is January 1. So in an instant we turn to birthday mode, singing and celebrating his life and accomplishments. Traditionally, we go to Brunch or lunch out somewhere, and he then hunkers down for the remainder of the day watching football and hockey, happily relaxing in front of our 50 inch television. Dinner on the other hand is where we can show our love for him and those things he enjoys most. This year he asked for an ice cream cake and thus the bar was set. We love ice cream cakes from Carvel as much as the next guy, but we recently watched a Kelsey Nixon show where she created a Raspberry, vanilla ice cream cake and I knew Carvel would not be getting my money this year.

The recipe for Kelsey's cake is in this link. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/ice-cream-birthday-cake.html While raspberry's are a favorite of mine they are not Mike's flavor of choice, so I took her recipe and changed it up a bit, using a different crust and ice cream flavors. I would say you could mix and match any flavors you like and this would be a hit. The number one key item in this recipe is the layer of pound cake. It is the perfect cake as it holds up so nicely frozen, yet melts in your mouth.

I went shopping with my youngest daughter Samantha for the flavors and here is what we came up with in the end:

Crust: Chocolate Graham Crackers
Ice Cream: Chocolate and Mint Moose Tracks (Mint Chocolate chip works great too!)
Fudge: Chocolate Fudge
Cake: Sponge Cake
Icing: Whipped Cream

The chocolate crust was just enough crunch to add some nice texture to each bite and the way the cake layered each person had chocolate and mint in every bite. The sponge cake has a way of dividing the cake and keeping it from being too much ice cream and not enough....cake. :)

Come up with your own flavors, try this for your next birthday cake, I assure you you will not be disappointed. Let me know what you have made post it here and take a picture.

I neglected to take pictures along the way this time but will do so next time and add them.

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Mike!!! 

What can I do with this Leftover Chicken

Ever since our oldest Alex came home from college, we apparently do not know how to buy enough food for a household of six. Add to that the kids are done with school and trolling the house and fridge during the day. There is nothing left in my refrigerator and it is Wed night! Here is what I have; roasted chicken, and the standard ingredients for a mirepoix ( french for a trio of carrot, celery, and onion). OK, first thoughts are I can make Fajita's. That became moot when I looked and found only 5 tortillas. Next thought, chicken tortilla soup. No.... not hearty enough for my husband as a meal. What to do what to do? I started looking online and found no inspiration. Then it hit me, I have been cooking long enough I can create something. (Note: I am not a big creator of something from nothing, I generally create a recipe based on the foundation of many recipes for one dish and tweak it from there) I started chopping, slicing, dicing and asked my assistant Samantha (youngest female child) to make a yellow rice. The sizzle from the pan and aroma emanating was teasing me, I was not yet sure if this was going to work. My family walked through the door and my daughter say "wow it smells so good I am soooo hungry". It smells like Chicken Parikash.( A Hungarian dish passed on from generation to generation in my family). My heart sunk, I love Chicken Paprikash as do two of my kids, but my husband and Samantha are not big fans. Did I just create another version of the same dish? Ugh! However, I used completely different ingredients and did not use any Paprika, which is a major part of Chicken Paprikash. At this point there is not much to do but serve and hope they like it. Table is set and it is the moment of truth......and OMG everyone loved it.Yippee!

Does anyone have a recipe they made up that is a big winner?

You too can use ingredients meant for something else in many ways...

I have not found myself to have been very inspired lately with our food, so there has not been much to write about. That all changed this week when it was fish night and I was buying Salmon. My youngest daughter asked if we could make pesto since we had Basil in the fridge. I looked again and saw that we had Parmesan cheese and agreed to make a side of Pasta Pesto. We try very hard to not make a meal out of Pasta, so having it once in a while as a side dish is a treat!

I got all the ingredients needed for the Pesto together and began making the sauce. If you like Pesto but don't want to have to buy all of the ingredients, and purée them, you can buy it ready made. For those of you that are kosher Pesto comes in a kosher version as well, and is a great staple to keep in your pantry.

As I completed the Pasta I had some Pesto left at the bottom of the food processor. My plan was to make the Salmon with some Panko on top. So in the moment I grabbed the leftover pesto and extra Parmesan cheese and tossed it together with the Panko. After sprinkling the crumbs on the fish I popped it in the oven and that was that. I have to say that unlike myself as a kid, my children all eat fish,but the surprise and satisfaction on their faces when they took their first bite was awesome, as a matter of fact I believe the next thing I heard was Mom are you going to Blog about this dinner? So here we are.....I am so predictable, but its still Good Food in Good Time. Check out the recipes below. Oh and if there are any leftovers it makes a great salad for lunch.

                                          My girls... the healthy glow is from fish oil!
Pasta Pesto

1 box of any pasta
Bunch of fresh Basil about 1 Cup
Pine Nuts 1-2 Tbl
Olive oil 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Salt/Pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Wash the basil,rip in half and toss into food processor. Add Pine Nuts,garlic,salt and pepper, and Parmesan cheese and chop. As processor is running stream the oil in to emulsify. Pesto should not be a paste nor should it be to liquidy. Set aside about 1 to 2 tablespoons of pesto. Cook pasta per directions on the box. Drain and add pesto to toss.

Salmon

1 3/4 lbs Salmon
1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
4 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
Salt/pepper to taste
1 to 2 Tbsp Pesto

Place Salmon on a cookie sheet or in an oven proof dish. Salt and pepper the fish. In a separate bowl add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle the crumbs on the fish to create a pretty thick cover. Place in 400 degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. Salmon should be just opaque when it is done. If it is too light pink inside it will be dry.

Cuban Heritage

Growing up in the Midwest I did not have much opportunity to taste foods from Latin America. We stem from Eastern European descent and the closest I came to eating Latin food was Taco night. :) In 1993 I married the love of my life, and as his lineage is 1/2 Cuban I began on a journey through uncharted food territories. Dishes like Black Beans and Rice (Frijoles Negros), Plantains (2 ways), Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, and Ropa Vieja just to name a few, lit up my taste buds in ways I never imagined. What is even more surprising is the misconception that Latin food is spicy, (It's not) or that it is complicated (its simplicity is its draw).

Let's begin with the Plantain. This comes from the Banana family, but has a starchier meat and needs to be cooked to eat it. Plantains can be eaten many ways, but I make it two ways. Ripe Plantains are black on the outside likened to a very old banana. It is at this point in its ripening that you will get a very sweet result. The sugars have completely blossomed and by just frying these in a medium heated pan sliced on the bias with oil, the fruit caramelizes and turn sweet and soft. Almost taking on a brown sugared flavor.
The second way to cook plantains, as I am generally partial to savory, is to cook them in their ripe stage"green". Using a mandolin or your knife cutting very thin pieces lengthwise and frying them in oil, salting them as they come out and serving with a dip of garlic lemon oil. My mouth is watering.

                                            Garlic Sauce

4-6 Cloves of Garlic Chopped Fine

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 cup Lemon Juice 

1/8 cup Orange juice

(Some people use Lime juice only)

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together an dip your fried plantains in sauce or pour sauce on plantains.
Note: I have seen this made healthier by baking the chips with Pam until crispy.

My favorite of all the dishes is very similar to Pepper Steak. It is called Ropa Vieja. Crudely translated it mean old clothes. There is an old fable that tells of an old man that had family coming for dinner but did not have enough money for food. So he took old clothes and imbued them with love. When he cooked the clothes, his love for his family turned the clothes into this beautiful stew.

Ropa Vieja is made with Peppers, Onions, Tomato sauce, Tomato Paste and Chuck roast. It is a very slow cooking braise to allow the fibers in the meat to completely break down so it can be shredded later on. In my particular situation this week, I had a roast that was made during the weekend my daughter Sammi celebrated her Bat-Mitzvah. We have a pretty large immediate family of around 50 and we all lovingly fly around the states celebrating simcha's "joyus occasions" together. We had prepared Brisket for the Friday night "Shabbat dinner" but my mother was concerned there may not be enough. So, we defrosted a silver tip roast, I slathered it in a rub of chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and threw it on the grill to roast. The end result was beautiful, and I sliced it and put it in the oven to keep warm. Unfortunately from there it was forgotten as we did not need more meat during the meal. By the time I removed the roast from the oven it was overdone and dry. It broke my heart to waste a 4 LB silver tip so I threw it in the freezer figuring it would be great in soup. (which by the way I used some for a Mushroom Beef Barley soup). Fast forward a month and now I am ready to use this meat. I defrosted the package and prepared the recipe as required. Every so often we have what we like to call girls night in my house, which used to entail Daddy being out and the three girls and myself would watch a chick flick. Now that we have some toddler testosterone at home, girls nights are a lot more difficult to come by. However, every so often the planets align and we can enjoy a shortened version of girls night. Last night was one of those nights. We set up the family room with our little tables and watched Once upon a Time (weekly one hour drama) while enjoying our Cuban dinner. Served alongside this dish we make white rice and black beans. As the name of my blog suggests none of this is very time consuming as a matter of fact, I use canned black beans and just Dr. them up a bit. Tastes like the real thing, but takes no time at all. In the end its just Buena Comida a Su Debido Tiempo or "Good Food in Good time".

Buen Provecho!!!

Ropa Vieja

1 2 LB Chuck Roast                                             2 small cans of Tomato Sauce
2 Onions sliced                                                      1 can of Tomato Paste
1 Bell Pepper sliced                                              1 1/2 cups of Beef Broth
4 cloves of Garlic Sliced thin                                Cilantro (Optional)
1  Teaspoon Cumin                                               Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a pot, add onion and peppers to sweat. This would be softened but no color. Just as these are done add garlic and saute for another minute. Add Chuck Roast, Tomato sauce and Paste as well as Broth. bring to a boil and season with Salt, Pepper and Cumin. Turn pot down to simmer and cover. Simmer for 2 hours depending on the roast. Check after 1 1/2 hours to see if the meat is beginning to come apart. Once the meat is done take the pot off the stove. Remove roast to a big bowl and using two forks shred the meat pulling outward as you go. Once the roast is completely shredded add the meat back into the sauce and heat through. Serve with white rice.

Black Beans

1 Onion                                                         1 Tsp Cumin
1 Green Bell Pepper                                   Salt and Pepper
1 Can Black Beans                                      1 Tbl Canola Oil

Chop onion and Pepper and saute in oil until soft. Add a can of Black Beans not drained and mix. Add salt, pepper and Cumin and heat through. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes and serve on white rice.

The Legacy lives on...

My mother called me yesterday and asked if I had seen the Facebook post of my second cousin who lives in Hungary. My response, "I saw the picture, but she writes in Hungarian, kinda tough to know what she is saying". Turns out she was posting that she had made her favorite, chicken paprikash, which here in the states is Hungarian chicken and dumplings. My mother asked her if she was cooking it the way her grandmother and aunt made it, and she said "it was the first thing my grandmother ever taught me to cook" I can relate.

A little over two years ago we lost my grandmother Ilona. She was 92 years old lived a long full life and left a legacy to us in the way we cook and eat in many ways, among so many other things. This week it was supremely cold by Florida standards, and I could not decide what to make for dinner. I had a Chuck steak in the freezer, and a bunch of fresh and frozen veggies. So, I decided to make a veggie beef soup. It's quite easy and so hearty. Most of the time I just add barley to give it a little more body, but instead I asked my girls if they wanted it like bubbie made it, with little dumplings. Consensus YES!!! Now my kids love love love chicken paprikash and the dumplings are made the same way but, Samantha only likes the dumplings in the soup not by way of the chicken and dumplings. I defrosted the meat and away we went. It was a big warm up on such a cold evening and made a perfect lunch the following day.

I promise one day to provide the family recipe for chicken paprikash but for now here is the veggie soup. Serve it with some great bread and a salad on the side if you like.

Vegetable Beef Soup

1 Onion                                    2 Zucchini Chopped
3 Carrots Chopped                 7 Mushrooms
3 Stalks of Celery Chopped   1/4 pack frozen Spinach
3/4 lb Chuck Steak                  3 TBL  Tomato Paste
Fresh Basil                               6 cups Water
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped        3 TBL Beef Stock Bouillon
Salt and Pepper                       1/4 cup barley (optional)

Chop onion, carrots, and celery and saute in olive oil. Salt and pepper and cook until soft. Add meat cut into dice sized pieces and saute until brown. Add zucchini, mushrooms, basil, and garlic and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add water, bouillon and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Add barley. Turn heat down, and add spinach. Season again to taste. Simmer for an hour. Enjoy.

I am sure that everyone has a legacy like our in our family, and I can say for certain that my grandmother was the matriarch of "GOOD FOOD IN GOOD TIME"

                                           Alex and my grandmother Ilona 2006