Author: Debbie

Julie Kohl – Celebrate Working Better Together In The Kitchen

Celebrate Cooking Together

I can be a bit of a control freak. (Okay, a LOT!)

Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it backfires on me.  

When it comes to the kitchen, I am a MAJOR control freak.

Early on in my marriage that backfired on me.

I come from a family that spent a lot of time together in the kitchen. We cooked and cleaned together. We hung out in the kitchen. Most family gatherings revolved around food and meals. Making food and eating food together was an important part of our lives.

My husband’s family was not into cooking and gathering around food like my family.

When we spent the first night in our home just after getting married, I planned an elaborate special breakfast. Holidays are always big affairs with menu planning for weeks in advance even if it’s just the two of us. I’ve been known to go all out for special dinners in the middle of the week.

Richie, who would have been happy with fried chicken every night when we first married,  always thought this was a bit strange, but smiled and went along with it. 

He enjoyed the chaos (and the food) from the comfort of his living room chair.

I expected Richie to step into the kitchen with me.  To help cook. To help clean. Or at the least, offer to do the dishes if I did all the cooking.  

Richie had never cooked more than a piece of toast, and his lack of understanding how things worked in the kitchen wasn’t entirely his fault. So, I invited Richie into the kitchen to help.  We were still in “honeymoon” phase, trying to please each other, attempting to figure out how things worked.

But things didn’t go as expected.

I expected more. I expected knowledge. Basic understanding of how to slice an onion. How to load a dishwasher.

I got angry when that didn’t happen. There was frustration. There were words. Ugly words. There were tears.

It did not go well, to say the least.

Sixteen years later, the kitchen is still a place where we don’t quite jive yet.  Recently, we’ve tried to rectify that.  

Here are five tips to work better together in the kitchen.

  1. Start Simple
    If you’re working with someone who is new to a kitchen don’t throw Beouf Bourguignon, at them the first time out of the gate. Start simple with things like sandwiches or breakfast.
  2. Learn Together
    Take a cooking class together. Watch some kitchen technique videos on YouTube. Watch a show on the Food Network and then recreate the recipe together. 
  3. Swap Jobs
    If you cooked, your spouse/significant other should do the dishes.  But this should also be reciprocated. 
  4. Meal Plan Together
    My husband seems more excited about helping in the kitchen if it is a meal he is excited about.
  5. Release Control
    There really is more than one way to slice an onion and more than one way to load a dishwasher.  The dishes will still get clean and the food will still taste great even if the pieces of onion are sliced into 37 different degrees of thickness.

 

#ARWB MEMBER @eggsandherbs shares guidelines for cooking together as a family. #FoodieFriday

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Jacqueline Presley: Healthier Peanut Butter-Banana Ice Cream

Celebrate Cooking Together

Whether you are an ice cream lover, but can’t handle the lactose or you just want to cut fat and calories of your favorite sweet treat, I’ve got you. You can celebrate carving about 150 calories off your midnight snack if you make it my way.

Here’s what you need:

Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream Ingredients Smaller

Chop up your banana.

Chopped Bananas in Processor Smaller

Add it and a tablespoon of peanut butter (I used chunky.) to your food processor.

Peanut Butter Banana in Processor Smaller

You will process it for a bit. Keep going until you get this texture:

Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream Texture Smaller

Top with your favorites. I used chia seeds, but could also use sprinkles, peanuts, or chocolate chips.

It’s pretty delicious and it makes a great healthy after-school snack too!

Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream Hero Smaller

Celebrate with this healthier peanut butter banana ice cream. #ARWB

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Jacqueline PresleyI am a work-at-home-mom of two little crazies: Katie (almost 7) and  Jackson (almost 5) and wife to Spencer for 12 years. I blog at CreativeOutpour and I am a Social Media Manager for Rockwell Global.

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Lyndi Fultz: Family Taco Night Celebration

Celebrate Cooking Together

multi-family taco night nwafoodie

What’s holding you back from entertaining more? Opening up your home? Planning a brunch date? On your porch? In your living room? Or, in your backyard?

What’s holding you back from picking up the phone, sending out an invite, texting, or sending a message? Is it too much effort? Too much money? Too much pre-cleaning? Or, post-cleaning? Too much to even think about?

These are questions I often ask myself. I mentally kick myself when another week goes by and seven days skip along without breakfast/brunch/lunch/dinner/coffee and dessert guests. Excuses? Oh, I’ve got them. Tons of them. Some of them are perfectly legit.

Yet.

Yet… I still hold back.

One way to ease back into entertaining mode with friends and family is to just pull that Band-Aid off. Pick up that phone, get your fingers typing, and just do it.

Taco night is a family favorite of ours. Whether at our home, my in-laws, or my brother and sister in-laws house, tacos are a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Everyone knows what to expect and everyone can find a combination that fits his or her dietary needs.

Ready to jump in with me and get this party started?

Let’s talk through the logistics. Taco night is a great get-together where everyone can jump in at the level they feel most comfortable with.

Not sure where to start?

Here are my seven tips on hosting a multi-family taco night.

1. Identify your foodies. Do you have a family member or friend that likes food exploration? Great, they will be the one who will bring that extra-special touch. Assign them salsa. Yes, salsa is also great for the bachelor in the group, but trust me, a foodie is the one who will make their own salsa or shop to find just.the.right.one.with.the.great.story. Don’t have a foodie friend? Okay, give the task to your bachelor friend. He’ll know what to do.

2. Moms. Got a mom on the invitation list? She is going to be your shredded cheese hero. And sour cream. Check and mate. She’s going to bring the Sams Club size, guaranteed.

3. Veggie Prep. Ouch, this one is not everyone’s favorite. Save the messy tomato job for you, no one wants that job. Besides, tomatoes and avocados are the two things you want to save for last due to juiciness and spoilage. Ask for volunteers for lettuce shredders, onion mincers, jalapenos slicers, and cilantro choppers. If you have a mid-life no-children couple, they will take this challenge on with relish. Relax, they’ve got this covered.

4. Beef. This is where you come in. Make the event easy and pre-cook these an hour before guests arrive and keep it in the warmer or crock-pot. No one will complain and that’s more time for margaritas. Speaking of….

5. Margaritas. Seems about the right time to mention this. Set up a station and let it work for itself. Assign the first person that walks through the door to get their blender on. Just make sure they are twenty-one. And eager to help.

6. Chips and Dip. You’ll want some chips and dip with that margarita. Cue your bachelor friend. Generic salsa will work just fine for this. If your foodie person wants more on their to-do list, assign them this. Who knows? Maybe you’ll end up with sweet potato/chili/lime/vinegar/cilantro flavored tortilla chips.

7. The Tortilla Station. Last but not least… the most dreaded assignment of them all… the tortilla station. If you are a purist, plan for an hour at the stovetop cooking corn and flour tortillas over the stovetop with olive oil. Plan half that time grilling tortillas on the grill. Do these two hours before and wrap them in tin foil and place in the warmer. That way all you have to do is when guests arrive is to kick back, enjoy chips and salsa, and let that eager beaver first-arriving-guest make you a margarita. See how easy this is?

You see, the moral of this story is simple… humans need other humans. We want, no we need, each other. We need to connect, to laugh, to eat, to drink, and to just goof off a little bit. We don’t need to worry about complicating everything.  We can do this.

You in?

Happy taco night.

Lyndi Fultz nwafoodie (c) Sweet PortrayalLyndi Fultz, nwafoodie

Arkansas Women Blogger member Lyndi Fultz writes about living and eating well from her life in beautiful Northwest Arkansas at nwafoodie. Much of her blogging inspiration comes from this gem of a place, which she refers to as the proverbial land of milk-and-honey. Read more related to cooking, entertaining, gadget suggestions, ingredient explorations, local finds, local restaurant treasures, kitchen tour spotlights, and always with a healthy and simplistic approach.

 

Renee Birchfield: Throwing a Tapas Party {Foodie Friday}

The idea of throwing a tapas party has always appealed to me because I really like experimenting with new and different foods. A tapa is not a particular type of food nor is it always Spanish as many people probably think. Paella, bruschetta, shrimp toast – truly anything can be a tapa.  Chinese and Moroccan cuisines are also known for their tapas-style dishes. In Mexico, they are known as botanas. Typically, as long as they are small and served with your drink it is tapas.

Throwing a Tapas Part

Tapas (plural) are not a starter in the same way as appetizers. Whenever you are eating these small  plates, you plan to make them your meal. And it is not a large variety of dishes brought out on a large platter and intended as your main meal. A tapa (singular) may be as simple as a slice of cheese or ham. They are especially nice for cocktail parties or larger gatherings since they are designed to be eaten while standing if desired.

It is not uncommon to have 8 to 12 different kinds of dishes available in a tapas bar. Usually, they are strongly flavored with garlic, paprika, cumin, chilies, saffron and/or olive oil.  Sometimes there will be seafood choices including anchovies, sardines, squid  or mackerel covered in olive oil or fresh tomato sauce. It is rare to see tapas that do not include several types of olives and breads.

During college, I spent a lot of time collecting unique dishes  thinking I would throw a fun small plates party. I never actually got around to that party exactly, being the broke college kid that I was, but I had a good itme serving mini plates on occasion to my boyfriend.  It was a lot of fun but I still have wanted to throw a full-blown tapas celebration.

For our first effort with a tapas celebration, Hubby and I invited some friends who were in college (synonymous with “without funds”) to join us for party on the condition that they were to bring the makings of margaritas. Tapas and margaritas seemed like a perfect combination to me!

Since most dishes only feature 1 or 2 ingredients that are simply prepared, hosting a tapas party is easy. Many tapas are meant to be served cold so those may be prepared ahead of time.

A few recommendations when throwing a Tapas Party:

  • Have 5-6 dishes. Choose ones that are simple and can be made ahead of time.
  • Have a few cold tapas and 2 to 3 hot ones.
  • Have at least 2 drink options in addition to water. Wine typically accompanies the dishes in
    a tapas bar, but you might prefer margaritas or sangria.
  • Allow enough for each person to have 5 to 6 bites per dish.

For our tapas celebration. I wanted simple recipes with big flavors. Here are a few for you to try:

Spanish Bruschetta: The Spanish take on bruschetta is a little different than the more familiar Italian version . Check out the recipe for Spanish Bruschetta found on Married and Hungry. 

Common Spanish Tapas: Stuffed olives, marinated olive, goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers, marinated mushrooms  and  Marcona almonds can usually be found in your market deli or salad bar and relieve you of making everything from scratch.

 

roasted tomatos

Roasted Rosemary and Garlic Tomatoes
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Ingredients
  1. 3 Roma tomatoes
  2. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  3. 2 sprigs of rosemary, stems removed and leaves minced
  4. 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Cut the tomatoes into ½ inch slices and place into a baking sheet or large casserole.
  3. Brush tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Sprinkle with minced garlic and rosemary.
  4. Bake for 10 minutes.
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meatballs and sauce

Meatballs with Mojo Picon Sauce
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Sauce
  1. 4 dried red chilies
  2. 1-2 slices of stale white bread or use ¼-½ cup bread crumbs
  3. 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled, sliced and quartered.
  4. 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  5. 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  6. ½ teaspoon salt
  7. ¼ cup water
  8. 1 cup extra virgin Spanish olive oil
  9. Sherry vinegar to taste ( I used 2 teaspoons.)
Meatballs
  1. Use a preprepared 20-ounce bag of frozen meatballs or make your own:.
  2. 2 6-ounce tubes of chorizo
  3. ¼ cup bread crumbs
  4. 1 egg
  5. ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  6. 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sauce
  1. Soak the dried chilies for 10-15 minutes until softened. Drain; remove the stems.
  2. In a food processor add in peppers, cumin, pepper flakes, garlic, and salt. Process until a paste forms. Drizzle with olive oil while blending.
  3. Add bread and water alternately until the sauce is thick but no longer pasty. Add the vinegar to taste.
Meatballs
  1. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Roll into small balls of about 1 tablespoon each.
  2. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees;set aside.
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/

Renee Birchfield

ARWB member Renee Birchfield shares her favorite things in life at Married and Hungry hoping that her newlywed situations and thoughts will be of help to other new wives. A self-proclaimed food nerd with a degree in Food and Culinary Science, she enjoys sharing her recipes and other kitchen experiments. She and her husband call Central Arkansas home. You can often find her  making a mess in the kitchen a mess, trying to cross stitch or playing with their dog and cat. Keep up with her over on Twitter, Instagram and Married and Hungry’s Facebook page.

 

Stacey Valley: Swedish Meatballs {Foodie Friday}

Celebrate Celebrations

swedishmeatballsMy philosophy is that every meal should be a celebration. Food is life-giving. It is the fuel for our bodies. And it’s pretty awesome that our fuel can be beautiful and yummy too.

I recently made a traditional Nordic meal for my family including Swedish Meatballs and Potato Herb Gratin with Pepparkakor (Nordic Ginger Cookies) for dessert. These were all new recipes for me, so I was pleased when they turned out not just edible, but delicious. The entire meal was a hit with the Valley bunch. 

I found the Swedish Meatball recipe on the food blog Damn Delicious. Meatballs look fancy, but are easy to make. You can substitute ground chicken or turkey for the ground pork if you would like cut some calories from the recipe (but I wouldn’t suggest it). It’s perfect just as it is. 

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Stacey Valley: Swedish Meatballs {Foodie Friday}

Ingredients

    Meatballs
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/2 cup Panko
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    Gravy
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 3 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With clean hands, mix until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
  3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 5 minutes for each batch. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  4. To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
  6. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/stacey-valley-swedish-meatballs-foodie-friday/

I served the meatballs over cooked egg noodles. My sauce wasn’t quite as thick as I hoped, but the leftovers the following day were perfect. Based on that new information, I will make these a day in advance next time. 

Don’t be afraid to try new recipes for your next food celebration. Experimentation and discovery are part of the fun. And believe me: your family will love slurping up these creamy, meatbally, sauce-covered noodles. 

 StaceyValley

Stacey is a wife, mom of four girls, and public health professional. She adores her interracial, real-life modern family, and is thankful that her husband Anthony loves her kind of crazy. Cooking is her therapy. She dreams of moving to Italy one day, so you can often find her binging on House Hunters International. Stacey’s life motto is “Live big. Love deep.” You can find her online at…

Blog: http://www.staceyvalley.com/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/staceyvalley

Instagram: http://instagram.com/staceyvalley/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacey.mcbryde

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/staceymvalley/