The Accidental Hausfrau

Menu Plan Monday

accidentalhausfrau — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:58:46 +0000

The Hausfrau is back in the haus and doesn’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. I am very excited to be back, cooking regular meals this week. Yes, I did do a bit of cooking here and there on our staycations but mostly, I let other people cook (in the form of takeout/restaurants). Some highlights included a fresh vegetable pizza, a pizza with langoustine, and broiled tilapia with a roasted vegetable puree. Here’s the plan for the coming week (my farmers market connection is ON VACATION):

8/22 – Pasta with Peas, Baby Lima Beans, and Pesto

8/23 – Broiled Chicken Drumsticks with bread salad

8/24 – Turkey Bolognese

8/25 – Fish Tacos with fresh green tomato salsa

8/26 – Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

8/27 - Chicken Sate Wraps

8/28 – Pizza Night TBD

8/29 – BBQ Chicken Legs

8/30 – Slow Cooker Sunday – TBD (I’m waiting on some new cookbooks)

What’s on your menu?

Get inspired at I’m an Organizing Junkie!

Menu Plan Monday (on Tuesday)

accidentalhausfrau — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:19:53 +0000

As I was “in-transit” Sunday and Monday, this MPM is a bit delayed but bounty from the container garden and Hickory Lane Farm await. I’ll be trying something new with the pizza this Friday – Deep Dish. Of course, I’ll be posting pictures of all the goodies.

7/28 – Pasta with Corn, Zucchini and Tomatoes

7/29 – EOFT (EveryOne For Themselves)

7/30 – Zucchini Herb Casserole

7/31 – Baked Potato Pizza

8/1 – Out (Husband and I are going to see Billy Joel and Elton John!!!)

8/2 – Grilled Chicken Legs with sides of cucumber and corn salads

8/3 – Eggplant Caponata

8/4 – EOFT (I’ve got a Moms Night Out)

What’s on your menu this week?

Check out the menu planning madness at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Various Eats from our “Staycation”

accidentalhausfrau — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:08:04 +0000

Back from our first ever “Staycation” and I have to say, it was very relaxing and I am definitely looking forward to part II in mid-August. I had said that I wasn’t planning on cooking at all but I did anyway. Everything was just so chill that a few quick meals just happened. I made Thursday night pizza night and did Summer Squash Pizza.

I felt this pizza just called out for grilling and so I used the grill pan and finished it off in the oven. I featured fresh yellow squash from Hickory Lane Farm and tomatoes from my very own container garden. Light, fresh and super summery.

Friday was spent in Baltimore watching and eating fish and then back home on Saturday for a day at the pool and evening BBQ with my husband’s parents. I didn’t want to be doing anything in the kitchen during the heat of the day and so I chose to make a couple of cold sides and marinate some flank steak to grill. The result: Korean Barbecued Flank Steak with Hot and Sour Slaw Salad (served as a sandwich on fresh sesame seed rolls) and a side of California Roll Salad (#21). The link to the salad features 100 other great summer salads besides #21. Oh, and I decided that we needed to “get our drink on” and Bon Appetit Magazine was more than happy to oblige with directions for a “tipsy Arnold Palmer” – Sweet Tea with Vodka and Lemonade. Let’s just say, this is going to be a staple in my fridge for the rest of the summer!

I’m looking for inspirational cucumber salads and corn salads, so please feel free to leave me links.

Chicken Shawarma with homemade Tzatziki

accidentalhausfrau — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:43:47 +0000

Would you believe I forgot to take pictures until half the food was gone from my plate? That’s what company and good bottle of wine will do to the brain. Let me create a picture of the meal for you – here’s the recipe for the chicken and for the tzatziki. Imagine if you will, chicken skewers that have been marinating in curry and cumin for for hours, grilled and then placed on flat bread with fresh romaine lettuce and heirloom tomato slices. Top it with rich, garlicky yogurt sauce and enjoy. I know I did, I’m still tasting the garlic. There was a neat little vegetable salad recipe that accompanied the chicken recipe that I would definitely make again. It featured bell peppers, cucumber, tomato, and red onion with parsley and a red wine vinegar dressing. Silly me forgot that one of our guests doesn’t really eat vegetables (that guest being a 3o-something father) so much of the meal was lost on him but overall, the meal was enjoyed by all present. One final thing, a giant shout out to fresh from the farm garlic – I am officially spoiled rotten!

Peach, Prosciutto, and Goat-Cheese Pizza

accidentalhausfrau — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:40:03 +0000

It was too hot to turn on the oven for more than a few minutes tonight, so I had planned to grill outside but a torrential rain put the kibosh on that plan. I took out the grill pan and grilled the dough for this pizza, topped it accordingly, and put it under the broiler for a few minutes. The toppings didn’t stay on all that well when the slices were picked up but the taste was spot on – I just love warm stone fruits and adding prosciutto and goat cheese made it heavenly.

FFOF – #83

accidentalhausfrau — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:58:37 +0000

First, an early morning confession: I’m eating fiber added Pop-Tart right now. I don’t “make” breakfast for my family, it’s more of a “what do you want me to stick in the toaster” kind of experience. I’ll make it up to them tonight with the planned pizza…

#1. TheSaladCaper’s question. Give me one weird food combination which has always been your comfort food.

Egg noodles with ketchup – my husband says the smell makes him want to vomit.

#2. Name a food that begins with B.

Bibimbap – I’ve never made it but it seems like a great idea.

#3. Name a drink that begins with B.

Bombay Saphire

#4. Share a recipe for something that calls for broccoli.

I like my broccoli really simple: Cut into florets; Steam; Serve with butter.

Pies and More-Vegetable-Than-Egg Frittata

accidentalhausfrau — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:35:36 +0000

I had to figure out something to do with some of the peaches from yestrday’s market (they got a little bruised) so, I went to the Fannie Farmer cookbook and found a recipe for peach turnovers. They featured a sour cream dough which was totally the wrong recipe to try on a day as hot as today. Maybe if I had a marble slab in my kitchen, I could have worked with the dough but since I don’t it didn’t work. I went to the fridge and dragged out a roll of crecent dough and turned that into circles to make handpies. Then, I used a little of the dough and make tartlets out of it. I’d like to attempt these again, maybe in the winter months (with apples??).

Since my husband was out with his dad for dinner tonight, I was on my own for dinner. This was a grand opportunity to clean out the fridge. Peppers, squash, onions, potatoes, broccoli – all of it went into frying pan with some eggs and Parmesan (guided by this recipe). This was so good and made me very happy – and not that much cleanup. Score!!!!

Farmers Market Goodies

accidentalhausfrau — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:33:18 +0000

Tonight our family attended the local JCC BBQ so there are not pictures of dinner but I do have the picture of what I got from Hickory Lane Farm. I ordered berries and peaches. Berries for snacking and peaches for the pizza on Friday (plus some extra that I’m going to turn into turnovers tomorrow). Fresh garlic and squashes for grilling this weekend.

Forgot to add, yesterday’s dinner featured gorgeous beets from Highland Orchards - if I were a better poet, I’d write an ode to those beets because they were just that good.

Anyone care to contribute some food related poetry/haikus?

Grilled Vegetables with Mixed Greens and Blue Cheese Dressing

accidentalhausfrau — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:58:22 +0000

Tonight was the perfect night for grilling (according to my husband) – nice and cool so standing in front of the grill was no big deal. This recipe features many of the beautiful vegetables available this time of year. I chose to omit the fennel (just not a fennel fan) and the mushrooms (for my husband as payment for services rendered). I added grilled eggplant, used Vidalia onions, and regular beets instead of baby beets. Then, there is the dressing – my husband declared that he could take a bath in it, he liked it so much. I wouldn’t go that far but it was definitely a highlight of the meal. Shout out to Claire for inviting me back to her house last night after mahjong to pick lettuce – can’t get much fresher than that.

Is there one food that you love so much, you’d want to take a bath/swim in?

Vegetable Ribbon Pasta

accidentalhausfrau — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:29:12 +0000

This recipe would have been a lot easier if I still had a mandolin but I’ve got a halfway decent vegetable peeler so I made do. I really liked the flavors and it was very easy to put together for a R.R. meal (one pot, one pan). Pappardelle is one of my favorite pastas, probably because the texture is so much like egg noodles.

Any other suggestions for pappardelle out there?