Beef Stew in a Pumpkin

I was at a friend's house for dinner last weekend, and she made a beef stew that she prepared IN A PUMPKIN!!  Yeah, my friend's name is Ina Martha Garten Stewart, by the way.  (Just kidding, her real name is Mo.  Ina Martha Garten Stewart is my imaginary friend.)  Anyways, I didn't get the exact recipe from her but if you're interested, I found a few recipes you could try here, here and here.  What a perfect dish to prepare for friends and family on Halloween night!  Do it!!

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Cheeseburger Stuffed Shells

You read that right, Cheeseburger Stuffed Shells.  If classic Italian stuffed shells and good ol' American cheeseburgers made sweet love and had a baby, it would be this dish.  A perfect, family friendly, crowd pleaser.  Make it ahead, pop it in the oven, freeze the leftovers.  I apologize for not writing in full sentences but I'm so tired.  The second week of school is WAY more intense than the first.  But, my delirious state of mind aside, it was so much fun cooking with Hoda and Carson this morning on Today!  If you missed the segment, you can check it out here.  Enjoy the weekend!

(Photo credit: the lovely Director of Culinary Production at the Today Show, Bianca Borges)

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Pinon (or Puerto Rican Lasagna)

I love sweet and savory combinations, but I usually only think of them in terms of desserts.  Well, a reader sent me this main dish that combines layers of salty meat and veggies with layers of sweet, fried plantains, and I was very excited to try it.  Apparently it's very popular in Puerto Rico, and often referred to as their "lasagna."  So last weekend, with my mom in town, we decided to make a traditional lasagna as well as Pinon.  

The reader, as she will be known, sent me this recipe, as well as some very helpful tips that I completely ignored because I was running short on time.  BAD IDEA, SIRI.  We (my mom, I love you mom) cut the plantains too thick, resulting in not enough for the multiple layers.  The reader even suggested flattening them in between foil with something heavy, like a can of soup, which would have thinned them out nicely and assisted with the layers, but... we ran out of time!  Our plantains were also pretty green and unripe, hence, not sweet enough?  Does that make sense?  I know nothing about plantains.  (By the way, do you say plan-TAIN or plan-TIN?  Major topic of debate in our household.)  In general, I think I failed the reader with this otherwise marvelous recipe.  I will make it again with more time and better listening ears.  Can you tell I have small children?      

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Meaty Quesadilla

We almost always acknowledge Taco Tuesday's, because what else are Tuesday's for?  They aren't for humps, no no no, or for posting old, adorable photos of ourselves on Instagram.  They are for binge eating tacos and nothing else.  But sometimes I get into a taco rut, producing the same old recipe week after week.  That was until my neighbor made these Meaty Quesadillas one SATURDAY (I know, she be crazy), and I lost track of how many I ate.  They are simple, and delicious.  The spices and flavorings lend so much to the meat which is then paired with creamy Monterey Jack cheese, sandwiched in a crisp tortilla and topped with avocado, sour cream and salsa.  It's perfect.  And definitely not too spicy for the kiddos!  My children didn't even notice the green onions.  Success.

Try shaking up your next Tuesday!  I'm a commercial.       

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Company Pot Roast

Now that it's officially fall, with October looming around the corner (already put up Halloween decorations, yup, can't be stopped), I have been cooking more hearty meals.  After all, it's time we start thickening up our bear fur for the long winter!  Am I right, my fellow lumberjacks?  My fellow woodsmen?  Sarah Palin?  I'll stop.  Anyway, a Pot Roast is one of my favorite cooler weather meals.  And who is the queen of PERFECT comfort food?  Ina Garten, of course.

  

I love the title of this recipe.  It sounds so proper.  So Ina.  I imagine her saying to her husband, Jeffrey, "Jeffrey darling, I'm going to whip up some Pot Roast for our company, go get some good wine" and then effortlessly throwing this together in her black button-up shirt.  Well, I recently had company (my sister Hannah) so naturally I had to make this.  It was delicious, for real, I can't count the number of times Carson said, "this is good, this is really good."

  

A few notes: instead of removing half of the sauce and blending it, I used my handheld immersion blender and lightly blended everything right in the pot, making sure to leave some of the carrots in tact.  The sauce is the best part about this meal... extremely flavorful and the perfect consistency.  I made buttery egg noodles and also roasted some vegetables on the side (butternut squash, brussel sprouts and mushrooms) and served them alongside the pot roast and on top of the noodles.          

And while this meal was prepared in a Dutch oven verses a crock pot, here are some of my favorite slow cover recipes for your weekend enjoyment...

starting top left, going clockwise...

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Stew

Slow Cooker Squash Stew

Crock Pot Ribs

Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

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Cheddar Topped Shepherd's Pie

Did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day yesterday?  I like any excuse to drink Guinness and wear my favorite color.  But best of all, I am a huge fan of hearty Irish cuisine, like Corned Beef & Cabbage or Shepherd's Pie.  Is Shepherd's Pie actually Irish or British?  No matter, wherever it officially derives from, it's bloody delicious (see what I did there?).  My 5-year-old wouldn't go near it with a 10-foot pole, but he also doesn't like green beer so his taste buds don't matter.   

After a lot of digging around online, I found this recipe that sounded the best to me, although I did still adapt it slightly.  My alterations: the recipe called for 2 pounds of ground beef but I substituted half of that with ground lamb, when the recipe called for 1 cup of water, I used Guinness instead (isn't that Irish for "water" anyway?), I threw in about 1/2 cup of frozen peas to the meat mixture at the very end, as well as some ground nutmeg and Worcestershire Sauce and I generously seasoned everything as I went with salt and pepper.  

This was comfort food at it's best and I can't wait to eat leftovers.  A perfect meal for the remainder of this very looooooooong winter (as in, eat it every night until bikini season seems near).   

Doesn't the Irish flag look something like this?

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Beef Stew in Red Wine Sauce

Have you ever moved?  Like, REALLY moved... far, far away?  Did you find yourself taking naps on piles and piles of packing paper in between unpacking box after box?  So my friends, we just moved straight across the country from California to New York.  Here is my new kitchen window view...  

Brrr.  I spent a lot of my childhood in Connecticut and then MINNESOTA.  My college years were spent in Wisconsin.  Therefore, I should be used to cold weather, yes?  Nope.  Ten years spent in California were enough to turn me into a HUGE baby.  But I'm still enjoying the view of the fluffy white stuff, and I'm ready to savor every budding moment of spring with the rest of the townsfolk who have been enduring this crazy winter for months.  Am I allowed to do that?  I'm going to.  

We were supposed to get yet another big snow storm on Monday and I was excited.  I bought stuff to bake cookies, I bought stuff to make stew, I was going to listen to music and stare at my kids out that window as they built snowmen.  Aaaand, we barely got a dusting.  Oh well!  I still made stew!  And it was delicious.  I like really hearty, rich sauces to accompany my beef, and this red wine sauce did not disappoint!  I skipped the whole pancetta/lardon step because it freaked me out and I didn't miss it.  (I know, I didn't miss bacon).  Can I eat leftovers for breakfast?  WHAT, it's cold??!

Recipe here.

*Sorry for the iPhone photos, but I can't locate the box that has my camera in it.  Or my car phone charger.  Or that one hoodie that I really want to wear.  Or...

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Baked Ziti

In this week's edition of "Random Things You Should Know About Me" (that's not a thing), I love pretending that I'm an Italian grandmother.  I like to imagine myself slaving away in the kitchen all day, making family favorite recipes I know by heart, adding my secret components that I'll only tell one deserving grandchild before I die (the one who sends me the most text messages).  Until I reach that status, I will try out recipes online that only take an hour from start to finish.  Like this Baked Ziti, made with love and tons of cheese.  If you're ever cooking for a crowd, check out The Pioneer Woman's recipes.  She often times cooks for small armies, and her food is divine.  I made this with just sausage, and otherwise followed the recipe to a T.  My one note: go splurge on good cheese at a local cheese shop or Italian market, you won't regret it.

Now get out of my kitchen before I spank you!  

(That's how they talk, right?)      

Oh, hello Ricotta and Parmesan and Mozzarella and Egg.

Leftovers for days...

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Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

I can't believe how early school starts these days.  Mid-August and summer is over for kids.  What happened to Labor Day buttoning off the season??  I suppose when my kids are grown and bored, I'll be anxious to send them off to school early.  But for now, I'm trying to cling on to every last minute of warm weather and lazy days outside.  Durrrr, except for this meal I made the other night that SCREAMS fall and was absolutely delicious...

I'm a short ribs girl.  If they're on a menu, I will order them.  So when a reader sent me this recipe for a Short Rib Ragu that you throw in the crockpot and forget about, I instantly bookmarked it.  I was trying to wait until fall to make it, but I am not a very patient person when it comes to food.  Listen, whatever month of the year it is, make this recipe.  Very few ingredients, simple as can be, and a total crowd pleaser!  Now go to school.  (Recipe here.)

p.s. If you can't find boneless short ribs like the recipe calls for, use bone-in ones like I did.  The meat will just slide off the bone once it's done cooking and it only adds to the flavor : )

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