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I give you the final recipe from my Mother’s Day Dinner Menu!

Oh boy these were amazing.  I know these aren’t the healthiest version of green beans out there, BUT it is okay to indulge every so often!   The beauty of this recipe is that you can use as little or as much of the fattening ingredients as you would like.   If you are being cautious about your caloric intake you can make the proper adjustments (center-cut bacon, turkey bacon, Canadian bacon, reduced fat cheese, etc.) to meet YOUR needs.   You don’t have to follow the recipe exactly.   It still tastes good even if you use less cheese or omit the bacon.  I just thought that this was the perfect compliment to my Rosemary Pork Tenderloin.

Does my plate look good?  Trust me, it was amazing.  So make this meal, savor it, and then go relax on your porch, deck, or couch.  I went on my parents’ deck….

My husband, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and I all went to Temple University for undergrad so of course there is a TU flag at my parents’ house!  Even though my Mom and Uncle went to different colleges, they still have pride for the Cherry and White.

Just had to throw that out there

Nutty Green Beans with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Source: Claire Robinson of 5-Ingredient Fix
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
2 pound green beans, trimmed (frozen are fine, just thaw them before using)
4 slices bacon
4 ounces blue cheese, cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cups toasted whole pecans, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

I hope all of the Mommies in the food blog world had a FABULOUS Mother’s Day!!  I can envision your sweet, little children bringing you breakfast in bed or making a darling card out of construction paper and stickers and the grown up children giving you a phone call or paying you a visit that simply made your day.

You deserve it, Mommies.  You have worked so hard all of our lives to bring us the best that life has to offer and we thank you!

In case you didn’t already pick up on this – I absolutely adore my mom.  And honestly, she makes it very easy for us to love her.  The Mommy is such a giver and is literally the strongest, most loyal and loving woman that I have ever met.  Growing up she braided my hair, ironed my clothes, wrote me cute notes in my lunch box, drove me to dance lessons, cheered me on at field hockey games (which she still does even though I’m all grown up), and much, much more.  I don’t know what I would do without my mom.  I love you, Ma!  You’re the most beautiful woman on this planet, and I thank God for you each and every day!

Bearing this in mind, this Mother’s Day was very bittersweet this year because it was so exciting to celebrate the many accomplishments of my mom but we were missing another mother of equal importance.

My Mom and her Mom (Mom Mom) in 2007.

As you  learned from this post, our amazingly wonderful Mom Mom passed away less than a month ago.  In the few weeks since then we have been fortunate enough to have much to celebrate – my mom’s birthday and my sister’s wedding.  We are so thankful to have many joys in our lives at a time that can often be overwhelming.

Even though Mom Mom wasn’t physically present at our Mother’s Day Dinner we made sure to honor her by using her dishes.

Small things such as preparing a loved one’s favorite meal or using his or her every day dinnerware brings about a sense of comfort and love.

Are the dishes adorable?!  I think so!

This Mother’s Day, The Mommy and I made a simple but fabulous dinner.  It wouldn’t be a family meal without The Mommy and I in the kitchen cooking together!

Normally when I’m cooking a family dinner, I make a detailed schedule of when to prepare and cook each dish and inevitably wind up behind schedule for some reason like talking too much or forgetting something like BAKING A CAKE.  Yes, I forget to bake cakes.  I’m that bad.

Thankfully, this meal was very relaxed in terms of preparation and cooking.  Maybe I’m getting a knack for cooking family meals.

We made very low maintenance dishes that required few ingredients and minimal active prep time.  For once I didn’t have every last detail written down and wouldn’t you know it – everything came out PERFECTLY and ON TIME.

Sometimes I look back on past meals and wonder why I feel the need to make things so complicated.  I’m truly learning that less is more.  I know I keep saying that over and over again in this blog, but I cannot stress it enough!  LESS IS MORE!

I’m going to give you the run down of our menu and will post individual recipes in the near future.  I’m just too excited about this meal that I want to show you what we made!

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Pumpkin Hummus with Semi-Homemade Pita Chips

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Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

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Scalloped Potato Gratin

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Nutty Greens with Bacon and Blue Cheese

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And we had vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate syrup for dessert!

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It was delicious!  I loved being able to spend more time with my family without having to constantly pop into the kitchen to check on the food.  After dinner, we sat around with coffee and chatted around the table until 10pm!  It doesn’t get any better than that.

This dish is simplicity at its finest.  If you follow my blog at all you know how much I love recipes that consist of only a few ingredients.  Being the horrible multitasker that I am I need to have each and every ingredient prepared and right in front of me (and sometimes I put them in order of when I use them) before I start cooking or baking otherwise I will forget something.  This is especially true when I bake.  I have been known to forget key ingredients like eggs and milk in a cake.  I know.  It’s pathetic!  I blame it on the fact that I typically make vegan cakes that don’t require eggs and milk, but that’s not actually the truth.  I just get going and grab what’s in front of me – and if the eggs and milk aren’t in front of me, they ain’t goin’ in the cake.  Oops.

This recipe comes from a fellow foodie, and when I saw how simple the recipe is to prepare I leaped at the chance to make it.

I think what really makes this meal stand out is the homemade breadcrumbs.  They only take minutes to make and really add depth to the pasta.  This classic Italian dish is a good reminder that less is more. Recipes consisting of too many ingredients can get awfully expensive, and quite honestly I end up with far more dishes in the sink than I would prefer.  Stick with simplicity.  It never fails us.  Bearing that in mind, I really wish that I had doubled the recipe so I could share it with my friends and family.  This is definitely one to show off.  Bookmark it, friends!  This one is a keeper.

Pasta with Garlic Breadcrumbs
Source: Minimally adapted from Las Vegas Food Adventures
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh homemade breadcrumbs
2 large garlic cloves, very finely minced
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
4 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine or capellini

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two. Remove from heat; add the cheese, parsley, bacon pieces, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente. Drain and add to pan with breadcrumbs. Toss over low heat until pasta is coated. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan cheese.

These ribs are always a huge hit with our family and friends, and I cannot take one ounce of credit.  These are made by my grill master husband, Jay.   If something needs to be grilled, he is always ready to go, beer and cigar in hand.  It’s so funny because on our teeny, tiny patio outside we have a huge Weber grill, a charcoal grill, and a smoker.  Do we have enough??  Apparently not because we’re thinking about getting a tailgate grill for when we go to sports events, too.  Ha.  We love our food in this house.

We pretty much always get our meats from the super wholesale store, Costco.  Their meats are outta this world.  Honestly, a lot of Costco’s stuff is pretty amazing.  (Their birthday cakes are unbelievable!)  If we don’t go to Costco, then we go to our local Amish farmer’s markets for meats.  They, too, have great stuff for great prices.  And I have to just give a shout out to Trader Joe’s because it’s my favorite grocery store.  I can’t talk about good food and prices without mentioning TJ’s.

So…. the superbowl is about a month away and you need a great recipe for a party, don’t you?  I suggest you try these ribs.  They can be cooked in the oven, on a grill, or in a smoker.  Does not matter.  We’ve done it all and they are always a huge hit.  HUGE hit.

My only critique is the price of the food to make this meal, but it is important to know before you get to the grocery store.  Bobby Flay uses 2 different types of chili powder both of which are expensive (and hard to find) in addition to a whole lot of maple syrup, which is also expensive. It’s totally fine to use any chili powder and syrup you have in the house.  Yes, the specific kinds that are chosen do make these ribs particularly yummy, but using any chili powder and syrup still tastes amazing and you will still rock the house in grilling.

For New Years we served these babies with Sauerkraut with Bacon and apples (recipe follows).  Mmmmmmm…..

Spice Rubbed Smoked Ribs with Maple-Horseradish Baste

Source: Bobby Flay

Serves 8

Prep Time: 15 min

Inactive Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min

Ingredients:

Maple-Horseradish Glaze:

2 cups pure maple syrup
1/2 cup prepared horseradish, drained
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Ribs:

1/3 cup Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
3 tablespoons New Mexican chili powder
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 cups wood chips (hickory, mesquite, or applewood)
4 racks pork ribs (3 pounds each)

Directions:

Glaze:

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ribs:

Stir spices together in a medium bowl.

About 1/2 hour before cooking time, soak hickory chips in enough water to cover. Drain chips. In a covered grill, place slow burning charcoal in both sides of a drip pan. Sprinkle coals with wood chips.

Rub top side of each rack of ribs with about 3 tablespoons of the rub. Place ribs, bone side down, on grill. Close cover or place cover on the smoker. Grill about 1 1/2 hours, adding chips every 20 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of grilling, brush liberally with the Maple-Horseradish Glaze.

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SERVED WITH:

Image courtesy of Simply Recipes

Sauerkraut with Bacon and Apples

Source: Simply recipes

Serves 8-10

For Christmas my parents got me this awesome cookbook – Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler.  Now my Ma knows that I LOVE when my cookbooks have pictures to go with each recipe.  Lucky for me, these cookbooks tend to be less expensive than the ones without pictures.  Not sure why, but it works for me!

Perusing this book, I had no idea that it would be an inspiration for using up MORE of my leftover ham.  The recipe calls for pancetta, which is a dry cured meat that reminds me of bacon.  Instead of buying pancetta, I just used my Christmas ham.  Ham doesn’t create the same drippings in the skillet as bacon when you cook it, but a little olive oil solves that problem.  You still get the flavor, you just need a little assistance from the oil.

We had this salad right after church.  It hit the spot!  We wanted something light, but we wanted something that felt like a meal.  We served this salad with my homemade Ham and Cheddar Biscuits.  Home run, I tell you!  Never thought to warm wild mushrooms and place them on a salad.  Good call, Jennifer!

Warm Wild Mushroom Salad

Serves 4 for a meal or 6 for an appetizer

Source: Simply Salads by Jennifer Chandler, pg. 128 (& pg. 106 for salad dressing)

Ingredients:

Salad:

1/4 cup Sherry Vinaigrette – *recipe follows
1/4 pound pancetta, bacon, or ham ** if using ham, add 1-2 Tbs. olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1/2 lb. assorted wild mushrooms (I used oyster, porcini, and shiitake), ends trimmed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 bag (8oz) Field Greens

Sherry Vinaigrette:

(I doubled this recipe for my salads)

1 shallot, minced
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbs. sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
6 Tbs. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare the Sherry Vinaigrette - In a small bowl whisk together shallot, mustard, and vinegar.  Slowly add the olive oil in a stream, whisking to emulsify.  Season with salt and pepper.  (Makes about 1/4 cup)

In a medium skillet, over medium-low heat, cook the ham (with olive oil) or pancetta/bacon without oil.  Cook until outside is crisp, about 4 minutes.  Transfer ham to paper-towel lined plate to drain, reserving the drippings in the pan.

Increase the heat to medium.  Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until tender, 3-5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.

Add the ham and pine nuts to the mushroom mixture and toss.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large salad bowl, toss the Field Greens with the vinaigrette to taste.  Divide the salad among individual plates. Top with mushrooms.  Serve immediately!  (Otherwise the greens will get droopy!)

Egg McMuffins from Mickey D’s rock my world.  I can eat one in a matter of moments.  I TRY to savor the taste of each bite but it never works because no sooner I bite the sucker, it’s gone.  My excitement is over.

I try to make “Egg McMuffins” at home but they are always so dry – even with the cheese.  I’ve sprayed/slathered the English Muffin with butter to try to moisten it, but nooooo, the sandwich remained disgustingly dry.  After making my Blue Stilton Cheese Sauce, which is essentially blue cheese with milk, flour, and butter (simple), I decided to use it to alleviate the over-crustiness of my sandwich.  Over-crustiness?  You get my point.

Since I’m “off” from work this week to focus on my thesis for grad school – being “off” is a whole other story in itself – I’ve been making heartier breakfasts.  This particular sandwich is for Jay because it’s really spicy, but the heat can easily be turned down for a heat-sensitive palette.  All that I did was add XXX hot sauce to the cheese sauce recipe.  It was really good but my mouth was on FIRE.  Perfect for Jay.  Then I threw some hot peppers on top.  He loved it.  I should call the sandwich Jay’s Inferno or eat this and your tongue will fall out.  Like I said, don’t do the hot sauce or the hot peppers, and there is no heat.  You’ll survive.  And so will your tongue.

Bacon Egg, and Spicy Cheese Sandwich

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 english muffins
2 eggs
4 slices reduced sodium, bacon (I like center-cut)
Blue Stilton Cheese Sauce + hot sauce stirred in it (hot sauce optional)
hot peppers (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook bacon in a medium/large skillet.  When it’s almost done, push bacon to the side of the skillet and cook the eggs.  If you want to saute your peppers, throw them in the skillet as well.

While eggs are cooking, toast your english muffins.

Place your toasted english muffins on your serving plate and spread the top half with the cheese sauce.  On the bottom half add the egg, bacon, and peppers.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Close them, arrange them so they look pretty on your plate, and enjoy!

Today we had a heat index of 105 degrees F.  And I was outside pretty much allll day looooong.  Needless to say, I wasn’t about to have anything hot for dinner.  I needed something cool and refreshing.  It was a night for salad.  I did it a little differently.  Instead of throwing it all in a bowl, I decided to make a platter out of it and put the lettuce on the side.  So go ahead.  Make a salad platter.  It makes the simplest of meals look beautiful and fancy.

My platter from Left to Right:

Red bell peppers
Green hot peppers
Avocado
Bacon
Chicken
Eggs
Scallions
Mushrooms
Roma tomatoes

I used endive lettuce and ranch dressing.  I know I should have used blue cheese, but I just love ranch!

ENJOY!