Learning To Love My Slow Cooker - Beefy Stuffed Peppers Recipe

A long time ago, in what seems like a previous life , I was one of the marketing managers for Crock-Pot® Slow Cookers. I knew the ins and outs of the slow cooker function intimately, edited a cookbook produced by the company and moderated the recipes and message boards on crockpot.com. Why I left the world of marketing is a blog post for another day, but given my previous job in the world of slow cookers, you’d think I’d be some sort of slow cooker maven with tons of delicious recipes up my sleeve, right? Um, no. Not even close.

My dirty little secret was that I couldn’t make anything that tasted good in the slow cooker. Recipes turned out bland. The Scotsman would hang his head in despair every time I hauled out the slow cooker as he knew another flavorless meal was coming. I wondered what was wrong with me. There are tons of people utterly devoted to their slow cookers. Why couldn’t I get with the program? About a year ago, I gave away my slow cooker. It was taking up valuable cabinet space and I rarely used it. Then, this past Christmas, I had a change of heart. As a busy working mom, I knew the slow cooker could make dinner time so much easier, if only I could find some flavorful recipes that whole family would enjoy. My mom got me another slow cooker for Christmas, and I’m happy to say we’ve found some recipe winners that I’ve been making regularly for the past couple of months.

The first thing we tried was pulled pork. I had a pork roast in the freezer from our meat CSA and I tossed it in the slow cooker with a chopped onion and bottle of on barbeque sauce (any brand will do) and let it go on low for 8 hours. At the end I shredded the pork, put it on whole wheat buns and called it “BBQ Burgers” (it’s all in the marketing where Jake and Ben are concerned.) It was a big hit with everyone.

However, our favorite recipe so far is a Beefy Stuffed Peppers. We kind of made it up based on a (non-slow cooker) dish from our childhoods. I was worried it was going to be bland but it isn’t at all and is so delicious. It’s also super easy – you don’t even have to brown the meat. The recipe calls for your favorite marinara sauce to be poured on top of the peppers, but we’ve been using Simply Balance Organic Squash and Pumpkin Sauce from  Target. It adds extra veggies and is a bit thicker than other sauces, and holds up well in the slow cooker without getting watery.

I’ve been pinning some slow cooker recipes on Pinterest and hope to try at least one a week – of course I’ll share the good ones with you!

The Peppers: Pre-Sauce

Beefy Stuffed Peppers

4 Bell Peppers (any color – we use red and yellow)

1 lb ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

¾ cup cooked brown rice

½ TBS Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

1 jar marinara sauce (about 24-oz but if your jar has a little more or less, don’t sweat it)

Mix together the ground beef, onion, rice, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Cut the tops off of the peppers and scoop out the seeds. Stuff the peppers with the beef mixture (if you have leftover beef mixture, it can be frozen for another time.)

Place the peppers in the slow cooker. Pour the marinara sauce over the peppers and cook on Low for 6-7 hours.

An (Easy!) Dinner For My Valentine

Valentine’s Day is Friday and, as usual, the Scotsman and I aren’t doing anything. It’s not because we don’t enjoy spending time together, it’s just that we don’t need a holiday to remind us to do it. That said, I only need the tiniest excuse to make something special for dinner, so Friday I’ll be making Turkey Sausage and Goat Cheese Lasagna.

The Scotsman has been requesting this a lot lately. I find this odd because he says he hates pasta. How can a pasta-hater love this dish? How can someone who loves this dish write off pasta as a food group? Anyway, since I love it too, I’m just going with it and not asking questions. It’s an Ina Garten recipe that I’ve modified. I love the Barefoot Contessa (many of my “signature dishes” are riffs on hers) but I find she over complicates things. This is my streamlined version of her recipe, which I think tastes just as good, with half the prep time.

It’s not something that’s in our regular meal rotation as four types of cheeses means it has a zillion calories. But it’s my go-to for occasions that call for a special recipe. Serve with salad and garlic bread. I’m going to top off the meal with this yummy looking cake from Modern Mrs. Darcy. Enjoy!

TURKEY SAUSAGE AND GOAT CHEESE LASAGNA

Adapted from Ina Garten (serves 8)

2 Tbs Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 gloves garlic, minced

3 links sweet Italian turkey sausage

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1.5 Tbs Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

1 box “no-boil” lasagna noodles

15-oz ricotta cheese

4-oz goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup Parmesan, grated

1 egg

1 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Preheat your oven to 400®F.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook on medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the sausage to the pan by squeezing it out of its casing, breaking it up with a large spoon as you go. Cook until the sausage is cooked and no longer pink.

Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, Parmesan and egg.

In a 9x13 dish (or 2 8x8 dishes – eat one now and freeze the other for another day. I do it all the time!). Layer as follows, ending with a third sauce layer: sauce, noodles, mozzarella slices, ricotta mixture.

What's For Dinner

Tomorrow starts a new month. So I’m recommitting myself to meal planning which fell very much by the wayside in May. This is what we’re eating for the next week. It’s meant to be hot, hot, hot here in the New England so I’m taking advantage of the grill. What are you eating this week?

Saturday – Steak, potatoes and corn on the cob on the grill. I may decided to marinate the steak in 1 cup creamy Italian dressing, 1 cup “regular” Italian dressing and 1 cup BBQ Sauce. It’s the “secret” recipe from a local restaurant that makes the best steak tips.

Sunday – Grilled Tandoori Chicken (recipe below – from my friend Kelly who served it to us at her house last week. Delicious!) grilled veggies, Naan bread. I may get adventurous and heat the Naan on the grill.

Monday – Taco Night!

Tuesday – Penne a la Vodka with prepared sauce and salad.

Wednesday –  Homemade Turkey Burgers (1 lb ground turkey, 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, ½ cup shredded zucchini, 1 egg. Form in to patties and grill), Maple Baked Beans (recipe in previous post), more grilled veggies.

Thursday – Grilled veggie frittata (I don’t really have a recipe – I’m going to wing it.)

Friday – Grilled Shrimp, couscous, watermelon

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

1 lb chicken (I use random pieces from my meat CSA. Most are bone-in. Boneless breasts or thighs would be fine, too)
2 TBS plain yogurt

1 TBS lemon juice

1 Tbs tomato paste

2 TBS Tandoori spice mix (I purchased mine at Whole Foods, but you can get it almost anywhere)

Mix the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for 2-3 hours. Grill and enjoy!

Inferno - Fire Up the Grill

May has been a busy month. I feel like I’ve always been on the go, whether it be to a soccer game, birthday party or church event. But I’m looking on the bright side; it all involves having fun with my family and the weather has finally turned. Summer is just around the corner!

In a decidedly non-outdoor activity, I finished Inferno, Dan Brown’s latest Robert Langdon Novel. It’s a good book and I enjoyed it. But I think I set my expectations too high. I loved The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. What I loved most about those books was the details of little known history and the insinuation that the worlds great leaders and artists have been protecting a precious secret, generation after generation. And I love that the premise could actually be true (or maybe it isn’t – but that’s part of the fun!).

While Inferno is based on Dante’s work of the same name, the plot and the “secret” are modern. I preferred the ancient of the previous books. This book is more of a modern day thriller. While Brown’s previous works take place in the present day, the plot is very much rooted in the past. With Inferno, not so much and I was a bit disappointed. However, if I had considered this a standalone book and not set myself up for a DaVinci Code Part II I would have been much happier. And it gets you thinking about the future of the human race (I’ll say no more so I don’t ruin it for you!) Think of it more as Nelson DeMille novel (BTW – I love DeMille.)

On a bloggy note: it has occurred to me that I don’t really add pictures to my posts. Would you like me to? Or do you not care either way?

I would be remise if I didn’t leave you with at least one recipe. Grilling season if finally here! Here’s a three step plan for an easy peasy (lemon squeezy, to quote Jake) week night dinner on the grill for four:

1.       Take 1 lb shelled and de-veined shrimp and toss it in ¼ cup soy says and 2 TBS honey. Thread onto kabob skewers. Add some veggies if you’re feeling fancy but don’t sweat it if you’re not – this is meant to be easy and quick.

2.       Throw some ears of corn on the grill and cook for 15 mins. 5 minutes before the corn is done but the shrimp on the grill and cook until pink.

3.       Heat up the below recipe for baked beans. You will have made a huge pot earlier in the week so that you can have super yummy leftovers throughout the week (they taste even better the next day). Or you can cook the them on the same day. Just start them an hour before the corn and shrimp. I recommend doubling the recipe.

Maple Baked Beans

3 15-oz cans baked beans (I use Bush’s Onion flavor – saves me chopping an onion to add)

1 TBS minced garlic

¾ cup maple syrup

2 TBS tomato paste

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

1 TBS chili powder

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large pot (use a cast iron dutch oven and you can cook it on the grill!) Cook for about 45 minutes, until liquids reduce.

Can Working Moms Have It All Or Have We Lost Our Minds?

Hello again! I am so sorry its been so long since my last post. I started this blog hoping to post twice a week (on Tuesdays and Fridays) but you can see how that’s gone! The last week and a bit have been completely crazy. Which has led me to the question  - can working moms really have it all or are we completely insane?

The past week or so has had me in a constant state of feeling like my brain is going to explode. A fiscal quarter ended at work which means I am putting out fires all day, every day as we try to close the quarter. I feel like I don’t get a moment to think.  And I had to leave work early during all of this to attend Jake’s parent/teacher conference and to pick up Ben early from preschool when he was sick on a different day. Jake started Spring soccer which means playing on two leagues, coordinating shuttling him to the practices and games that go with each and finishing up the Winter league which overlaps for a couple of weeks. I had to wrap up the fundraiser for Bens preschool that I agreed to chair. The Never King got some attention that I should have addressed and will, but I’m already behind. The Scotsman suggested I start another blog that includes comprehensive a list of of kid friendly convenience foods that I consider “real food” (see previous post) to make it easier for like-minded parents to shop without having to double the time it takes them in the grocery due to label reading. A great idea and I appreciate his support, but with what time? There was also laundry to be done, dinner to be cooked, and children to be played with. Oh – and blog posts to be written and "binder recipes" (see two posts ago) to try. And last week my seasonal allergies were in full force so I did all of the above (or worried about the fact that I didn’t get to a lot of the above) in a Benadryl-induced fog.

So that leaves me with today’s (lame) post and the question: am I crazy to think I can do it all? Am I putting too much pressure on myself? I want to work at my day job , make The Never King and The Bedwyr Press a success, be involved in Jake and Bens schools and after school activities, have a clean house, clean clothes and a good meal on the table. But is it possible to do all this or do I have to make compromises with myself? Or should I just shut up and stop whining because I know I’m very blessed? Anyone else feel this way?

I did manage to work in a little reading during all of this. Coming up I have thoughts on Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, Gwyneth Paltrows new cookbook (don’t judge) and a cookbook by an author I “met” on an online forum. I’m also looking for my next good read – any suggestions?

Project Recipe Binder

Mitt Romney may have binders full of women, but I have binders full of recipes. Or rather, one binder in particular:

 This binder is probably about 15 years old. I have spent the last decade and a half filling it with recipes snipped from newspapers or magazines, printed from the internet and handwritten gems from friends and family. As you can see, I haven’t exactly been neat about my recipe collecting and truth be told, I haven’t cracked open this binder in well over a year.

Looking through it was a pleasant walk down memory lane. Recipes from my mom and stepmom reminded me of favorite meals from years and holidays past (in particular Spinach Stuffing Balls, Orange Rice and Tandoori Chicken). My friend Kerry’s Eggplant “meatballs”  and Katie’s Cumin Chicken brought me back to delicious meals in their homes. I found recipe clippings from Scotland’s Sunday Express newspaper from when the The Scotsman and I actually lived in Scotland.  Recipes from The Boston Globe reminded me of a time before we had kids and I actually sat down to read the paper most days (it was also so long ago that people actually read the paper rather than surfing the web for their news). And there were also some recipes I couldn’t explain – like  print out from Food Network for “Basic Stuffing.” Why I saved a recipe for something I can find in half a dozen cookbooks that I already own or in a three second google search I will never know.

What also occurred to me is that I have never made at least half of the recipes in this binder. For all I know, they’re duds.

So, I’ve set myself a challenge: I’m going to make at least one of these recipes every week until I’ve made every single one of them. I’ll ditch the duds and put the good ones into our dinner rotation. I’ll keep you updated on my progress and share the good ones with you (no point in sharing the ones I send to the recycling bin – I like you all too much to share mediocre recipes with you.)

When I finish my self-imposed challenge, I think I need to find a better way to store the keepers. The current binder is ugly and has seen better days. And I have soft spot for cute stationary items and need an excuse to buy one of the flowery binders I’ve been coveting in Target. I know someone who transfers all of her recipe clippings and recipe cards/scribbled notes into a Word document that she then then prints out and puts in a plain black three-ring binder.  For me, that takes all the fun out of recipe collecting. Part of what makes my recipes so special to me is the memories the actual paper recipes bring to me; the red wine stain on the Apple Cake recipes reminds me of lunch at a local vineyard with a good friend whom I haven’t seen in a while. Seeing my great-grandmothers handwriting on her Chocolate Peanut Butter Pop recipe brings me straight back to my childhood. Typing recipes and discarding the original may make them easier to read, but it also takes away their character.

I’ll do my meal plan for next week in the next day or two. I’ll work in a couple of recipes in the binder. Until then, I leave you with two of my favorites; my stepmothers Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage and my beloved Gruyere and Mushroom “Breakfast Pie”.

What recipes remind you of happy times long ago?

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage – Serves 6-8 as a side dish

This recipe is from my Stepmother, Susan. I’m not a fan of cabbage so I was quite dubious when this first showed up at Christmas Dinner years ago. I still don’t like cabbage but I LOVE this recipe. I’ll be serving it as part of Easter dinner this weekend.

3-4 lbs red cabbage, shredded (4 bags of the pre-shredded)

1 tart apple, chopped (such as granny smith)

4 TBS butter

1 heaping TBS brown sugar

1 cup onion, minced

6 TBS red wine vinegar

1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp salt

½ cup red currant jelly

Melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar. Add the apple and onion. Cover and cook on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the cabbage, add the vinegar and braise for 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and salt. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours. Stir in the jelly just before serving. Tastes even better the next day! I have been known to eat this cold, straight from the fridge.

Gruyere and Mushroom Breakfast Pie – Serves 4-6 depending on how hungry everyone is

This is adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. Martha’s original recipe is called Bacon and Egg Casserole. I’ve stayed pretty true to the original but I’ve made a couple of changes. I would eat this everyday if I could, but usually bring it out when we have company for brunch.

1 sheet store-bought puff pastry or Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough, depending on your mood

8-oz bacon (about 12 slices) cut into small pieces

1 medium onion, sliced

8-oz mushrooms, sliced

2 large eggs

½ cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cups Gruyere cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400. Press the puff pastry or Crescent Roll dough into the bottom of an 8x8 inch pan or a pie plate.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the bacon until it begins to brown; about 5 minute. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the bacon is crisp and the onions are just starting to brown. Transfer the mixture to a plate and let it cool slightly.

Spread the onion mixture over the pastry/dough. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, heavy cream, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Gruyere over the top. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the filing is set and the top is beginning to turn golden brown.

Reading, Cleaning & Bourguignon

Yesterday I had an unexpected day home from work. Jake, my seven year old, stayed from school with a fever. He spent most of the day napping and watching TV, which left me with a lot of time on my hands since my littlest guy was at preschool.

Normally, an unexpected day at home would send me on a mad cleaning spree, giving myself impossible goals for the day like cleaning out all of the closets in the house. This time, I decided to see if "baby steps" are all they're cracked up to be and assigned myself four tasks; cleaning out my (very messy) car, getting caught up on laundry, cleaning out the fridge and cleaning out Ben's cubby when I picked him up from preschool (it was full of artwork, photos, socks, etc.)

None of these tasks took me very long. I finished them with plenty of time to snuggle with Jake and read a book (God's Lions: The Dark Ruin. I'll write more about it another day. In the meantime, support Indie authors!). I thought that rather than feeling like I'd accomplished something by completing these tasks, I would feel on edge thinking of all the other things I could be doing instead of relaxing on the couch with Jake. The disaster that is Jake's room and the giant dust bunnies under the bed come to mind. I'm happy to report this was not the case at all. Completing these seemingly small tasks took weight off my shoulders and cleared some mental clutter, with not a single thought about the other things I could have taken care of.

That said, Jake's room is truly horrifying. My little man is going to have to help me take care of it sooner rather than later.

Before the day was over I made a pot of Beef Bourguignon. I do a riff on Ina Gartens version from her book Barefoot in Paris. Her version is delicious but too time consuming and wine-y for a family meal. So I've pared down the recipe and make it at least a couple of times a month (recipe below).

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to start the boys bedtime routine an then watch Zero Dark Thirty with The Scotsman. If any of you have any favorite beef stew recipes I'd love to hear about them.

Shortened (and less wine-y) Beef Bourguignon (serves 4 with a little bit of leftovers)
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 TBS olive oil
4-oz bacon, diced (sometimes I get lazy and ditch the bacon)
1.5 lbs beef stew meat, cut into cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1.5 cups baby carrots
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bottle dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
1 TBS tomato paste
1 tsp dried thyme
2 TBS unsalted butter
1.5 TBS all purpose flour
1 cup frozen pearl onions
8-oz mushroom, quartered

Preheat the oven to 250.

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven. Add the bacon (if using) and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Dry the beef cubes with a paper towel (both Ina and my stepmother swear this will make the beef brown better. They're both excellent cooks so I believe them.). Sear the beef in the hot oil (and bacon fat if you used bacon) turning to brown on all sides. Remove the beef and place it on the plate with the bacon.

Add the carrots, sliced onions, salt and pepper to the pan. Stir occasionally and cook until the onions are slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Put the bacon and beef back into the pot. Add half of the bottle of wine (and then pour yourself a glass out of what's left) and the beef broth. Make sure there is enough liquid to just cover the beef. If not, add more wine or broth (your choice.) Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a boil, cover the pot tightly with a lid and cook it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours (because of this, I usually make the Bourguignon up to this step the day or night before I want to serve it, and do the following steps on the day it is to be eaten.)

Remove the pot from the oven (or the fridge if you made it the day before.) Combine 1 TBS of butter and the flour and stir into the stew. Add the frozen pearl onions. In  separate pan (I know, another pan to wash. But I swear this step is worth it,) saute the mushrooms in the remaining tablespoon of butter. Cook until lightly browned and then add them to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Voila! You're done!

 The meat is so dark from the wine. This is  photo of the batch I made yesterday. I decided to add tiny Yukon Gold potatoes because they had been sitting forlornly on the counter for quite a few days. I added them just before I put the stew in the oven.

My Goodreads Obsession and The Peach Keeper

If you are an avid reader and have not yet wandered over to Goodreads.com – don’t. You will not be able to tear yourself away. If you are anything like me it will become a huge time-suck, far surpassing any other social media. Even – gasp – Facebook.

I discovered Goodreads last Spring while researching ways to promote The Never King. What I found was a social media network of book lovers like me who do nothing but talk about books. It’s Facebook for bibliophiles! So why I am poking around Goodreads when I should be doing a million other things? I have met (in the virtual sense) so many like-minded people with which to discuss favorite books, what I’m reading and what I should read next. Looking at the virtual bookshelves of friends (real, live ones) gives me interesting insights into their personalities I didn’t have before. It’s also the perfect place to catalog all the books I’d like to read, but haven’t yet. No more emails to myself when I read or hear about a book I’m interested in or taking a photo with my phone of a book cover in Costco so that I can remember to get the ebook either at the library or on amazon (yes, I really did that). Here’s what I’m reading (don’t laugh, we all need a bit of fluff now and then, right?). What are you reading?

One of the many benefits of Goodreads is discovering books you might not have read otherwise. I just read The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen as part of a “pen pals” read for one of the Goodreads groups I belong to. I was paired with a lovely woman from Australia. She chose The Peach Keeper for us. I probably never would have read it if she hadn’t.   

This the first book I've read by Sarah Addison Allen and what a wonderful introduction it was to her! A nice, light, feel good story about coming to terms with ghosts of the past (both figuratively and literally) and finding true happiness. The characters are well developed and you find yourself caring about them and how their various stories end. It’s a good read about the meaning of true friendship

. It’s basically chick lit, and the story and its eventual happy ending aren’t all that original. What makes this book is Allen’s writing – the story flows seamlessly. And of course, because I love being in the kitchen as much as I love reading, this book got me thinking about what I can make with peaches. It may be snowing up here in Boston but I’m thinking of nice, ripe summer peaches!

Berry Peach Cobbler with Sugared Almonds

From Cooking Light

Filling:

3 6-oz packages fresh blueberries (it’s winter – I won’t tell if you use frozen)

3 6-oz packages fresh blackberries (ditto on the frozen)

3 medium peaches, peeled and sliced (I’m jealous if you can find nice, fresh peaches this time of year. I’m using frozen)

2/3 cup sugar

2 ½ TBS cornstarch

3 TBS fresh lemon juice (I will tell if you try and use bottled)

1/8 tsp salt

Topping:

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar

2 TBS cornstarch

½ tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

6 TBS chilled butter, cut into small pieces

½ cup half and half

1/3 cup sliced almonds

3 TBS turbinado sugar (I have often used plain ‘ol brown sugar in place of this)

1 TBS egg white

Preheat the oven to 350®.

Prepare the filling by combining blueberries, blackberries and peaches in a 13x9 inch baking dish that has been lightly coated with cooking spray.  Sprinkle the 2/3 cup of sugar, 2 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch, lemon juice and 1/9 teaspoon of salt over the fruit; toss gently to combine.

Prepare the topping by combining the flour, ¼ cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with two knives until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the half and half and gently knead the dough until just moistened. Drop the dough by spoonfuls evenly over the top of the filling. Combine almonds, turbinado (or brown) sugar and egg white. Sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350® for 50 minutes or until the topping is browned. Serve with ice cream.

Stuck in a Dinner Rut

I’m stuck in a dinner rut. You know what I mean – trying to plan your meals for the week and having no inspiration. What I don’t understand is that if you told me I needed to plan a dinner party or a holiday meal I’d be able to plan multiple, intricate, yummy, interesting meals in a matter of minutes. Ask me to plan some basic dinners for the family and I’m stuck staring at a blank page. Why, why, why? What is so hard about this?

I don’t know the answer to that question but obviously I’ve been asking it for years. I poked through some old and emails found an email to my husband from November of 2011 listing all the various meals I could think of for lunch and dinner. It must not have been very inspiring to either of us as it hasn’t been looked at since….November of 2011. And looking at it now isn’t exactly getting the culinary juices flowing, either.

I think this issue is a big reason why family dinners are so hard. And I’d like to think I’m not alone. It’s one thing to manage to get the family gathered around the dinner table. It’s a different matter to come up with what your going to serve. I think for me, the issue performance anxiety. I’m afraid to try something new in case someone doesn’t like it. My husband is not a fan of pasta so that’s out (although I’m working on him). The kids surprise me with what they do and don’t like. So rather than taking a chance I do nothing at all.

I still don’t know what we’re going to eat in the coming week. But in the meantime I’ll leave you with a recipe for an old favorite that appeared on that 2011 email. This is the best beef brisket you’ll ever have. I demanded the recipe from my friend Kerry years ago after eating it at her house. It was so good I made it for dinner that same night (it was THAT good). I’ve tried other brisket recipes but none of them have held a candle to this one.

Kerry’s Beef Brisket (aka The Best Brisket You’ll Ever Eat)

3 lbs single cut beef brisket

1 cup ketchup

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup cider vinegar

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

½ cup water

½ cup BBQ sauce

Preheat oven to 375®

Place the brisket in a 13x9 dish. In a medium bowl, mix together the other ingredients and pour over the brisket.

Cover the brisket tightly with foil and bake for 3 ½ hours. Remove from oven and let cool.

Slice the meat against the grain and return to the sauce. Reheat in the over for approx. 20 minutes.

The Culinary Bibliophile - Who The Heck Am I?

I have blog envy. It seems as if everyone I know has a blog except for me. I’m not envious because it’s brought  them fame, fortune or technological skills that far surpass mine. No, I’m jealous because I am told that writing a blog is a great creative release and well, it’s fun.

So here’s my blog. Why did I call it The Culinary Bibliophile? In short because it popped into my brain and sounded good (at least to me). But it speaks to my two passion; food and books. And books that have to do with food (including cookbooks). So I imagine there will be posts about recipes I’ve tried, want to try and my ongoing quest to be more creative with family dinner, a la Dinner: A Love Story. Books will also make an appearance, including the recently released The Never King by George Tyson, published by my tiny publishing company The Bedwyr Press. My quest to promote this book could be the subject of a whole other blog, but one is enough for now.

A little more about me: I’m in my early thirties, married to a Scotsman and live in a suburb of Boston. I have two fabulous little boys, ages 7 and 4. I’m a banker by day and a publisher in my “spare time”. Now that my boys are older and thus a little more independent, I’m trying to get back into the activities I loved pre-kids but didn’t have much time for in baby and toddler years.  Namely reading more, experimenting in the kitchen more, and having more “experiences” that fit in with my passions, such as actually going to book club meetings (I have belonged to two for nearly 10 years, but my attendance has been spotty in the past few years), taking some cooking classes, and finally, FINALLY getting my house at least somewhat organized. Oh – and I want to run a 5k despite being completely out of shape as I write this. A friend wants me to run one with her 10 weeks from now. We’ll see. I’m sure all of these subjects will make an appearance in the blog, too.

So that’s me in a nutshell. I’ll be back soon with my latest kitchen experiment and my thoughts on what I’m currently reading. I’m also in need of some recipes with spinach as the main ingredient (I’ll explain later) so if anyone is reading this and has a great spinach recipe, let me know.