Cold Fusion

OK, not really cold. But not completely hot all the way through as leftovers... But the Fusion part is true enough. This is a twist on Italian Lasagna - I'm not Italian, so really any version I make would be a twist on the classic...

Last night my good friend and her son came over for dinner, and as always we had a great time together. I decided to make my "famous" Mexican Lasagna for dinner, which was a big hit. My hubby's favorite part about it is that there's always leftovers for the next night. My mother-in-law came to stay for a few days, so we warmed it up for tonight's dinner, and it was just as good!

Mexican Lasagna
Ingredients
1 package of Whole Wheat Tortillas
1 lb ground turkey (I used ground turkey breast)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 medium red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 small to medium zucchini, sliced in half rounds
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large can of plain tomato sauce
1 medium can of tomato paste
1 lb shredded cheese
Chili seasonings

Brown the ground turkey in a sauce pot, add in 1/3 of the garlic. When browned, add Worcestershire sauce and mix well. Add in the tomato sauce, paste and spices. You can use a store-bought package of Taco seasoning, or mix up your own blend, to your taste. I use a mix of Chili Powder, Cumin, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Oregano and Black pepper. Simmer the meat for about 10 to 15 minutes. While it cooks, saute the zucchini and half the onion in a tbsp of vegetable oil for about 10 minutes, until slightly browned and tender. Mix together the beans, corn and the rest of the onion.

Preheat the oven to 350, and put about a 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in the bottom of a lasagna dish. Using the tortillas as lasagna noodles, layer all the ingredients together, reserving cheese to top with. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Something's Fishy

Tonight's dinner was quite popular with the family. We made Fish en Papillote (in Parchment) and Brown Rice with shallots and lemon. It was so popular in fact, that I couldn't get a picture before it was gone! Here's how we did it.

Fish en Papillote

Allllll gone!

4 Flounder fillets
1 bag of shredded carrot
2 zuchini, julienned (I used a mandoline slicer)
1 onion, sliced thinly in half rings
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
thyme
slices of lemon
salt & pepper

Mix the vegetables with 2 tbsp each of lemon juice and olive oil, the garlic and salt & pepper, and let it marinate together for 10 to 15 minutes.  Take a large sheet of parchment paper (twice the length of the pan) on a sheet pan and lay the veggies down leaving about 2 inches around on 3 of the sides. Lay the fish fillets on top of the veggies and sprinkle them with the rest of the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Lay a sprig of thyme over each fillet, and place a few slices of lemon over the top. Fold the rest of the parchment over the top, and fold over the edges to seal the paper over. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Brown Rice with Shallot and Lemon
1 shallot, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1cup brown rice
2 1/4 cups water
2 tbsp butter
Saute the chopped shallot in the oil until tender on medium heat. Pour in the rice and coat well with the oil. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice starts to toast a bit. Add the lemon juice and cook for about a minute. Pour in the water, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes. Add the butter at the end, and serve.

Domestic Bliss

My hubby has been home for a couple of days now, he's taking Paternity Leave to be home with our son for a couple of months. I go back to work on Tuesday. As that day draws nearer, I find myself daydreaming about living in the 50's, when we could've afforded for me to stay home.

Let me be clear. I absolutely feel that women and men are equals, and that domestic responsibility lies with both partners. I just wish I didn't have to leave my son for so many hours of the day. I guess, if I could still work/earn money AND be with him, I'd be happy. I dread missing out on the coo-fests, and squirm-a-thons that happen during the day. I know he's going to be fine, and it's a great opportunity for the boys to bond. I just feel like I'm going to be missing out.

I really have enjoyed being home though. I've done a fair bit of creative cooking, and I've been able to maintain our home's cleanliness, instead of scrambling to do it on Saturdays. The past few days of all being home together, going to the park, playing on the floor have been wonderful. I'm going to have to remember how great this is when I'm back at work, and make sure our evenings and weekends are full of cuddles.

The Four Diapers of the Poopocalypse (or something for my kid to talk about in therapy someday)

My 3 month-old son is an endless source of indescribable, never-ending joy and pride. He is also endlessly amusing. Sometimes, he makes sounds and coos that have us laughing - I think he's trying to tell us jokes. Sometimes, he does funny things - licking the plush puppy heads sewn onto the strap covers of his car-seat because he lost his binky. Other times, the source of amusement is of a scatological nature. Allow me to tell the tale of the Four Diapers of the Poopocalypse.

The first diaper was when my son was only days old. He spent the first two weeks of his life in the NICU because he was preterm, so we weren't the primary diaper-changers yet. During one of our visits, he pooped, so we immediately jumped up to try our best. We got out a clean diaper, and the wipes, and undid the tabs of the diaper he was wearing. My husband took point and started cleaning our baby's bottom, when we discovered that he wasn't really ready to be cleaned up yet. He started to poop again, and my husband looked at it in horror. I flipped the diaper back up in front and we agreed to wait until he was done. My husband says it looked like a piping bag, and now giggles if I watch anything with cake decorating on TV. The lesson we took away from that is ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL HE'S DONE!


The second diaper happened one night when we were staying at my parents' house. My husband is a wonderful dad, so he tries to pitch in and cover the night shift on weekends. He woke up to do the 2am feeding, and began by changing the baby's diaper. As he describes it, he thought he saw a shadow as he took off the diaper, but found something much more terrifying. He yelled for me, sounding panicked. I dragged myself out of bed, and came out to see why he was so upset. Our son had done an amazing job of redecorating his pajamas. My husband asked me to hold the baby's legs up and out of the way and tried to clean him with the wipes. It seemed hopeless to me, so I suggested washing him off. We were both still half asleep, and not thinking very clearly. I started running the water in the sink, trying to get it to the right temperature, but my husband thought the shower would be better. He tried to turn on the water while holding the baby away from himself, but that wasn't working, so he put the baby down on the floor of the stall shower. Of course it was cold, so the baby started wailing, so we brought him over to the sink and washed him down. He calmed down immediately, and even sighed happily as the water ran over him. My husband washed him as I swept the pajamas and receiving blanket into a trash bag. The lesson from this incident was BATH TIME CALMS OUR SON DOWN NO MATTER WHAT.
(Footnote to this story: the next morning, when we were fully awake, I said to my husband "You know, we could probably salvage the blanket and pajamas and just wash them." He walked past me holding the offending garbage bag and said "If you want to dig through this bag and get them, be my guest.")

The third diaper was a multisensory event. Our son had pooped, so we both went to go change him. He tends to cry when he's having his diaper changed, so when it's messy, we like to help each other out. One parent will run binky interference, and the other will be on clean-up. This particular day, our boy was actually calm and cooing as we changed his diaper. We looked at each other as if to say "Can you believe it? He got past the stage of crying when we change his diaper!" but our triumph was short-lived. As we threw the dirty diaper into the trash, before we could get out a clean diaper, the baby started to pee. Everywhere. We grabbed a clean diaper and put it over him to block the spray, and saw that he was also spitting up. The lesson here: NEVER LEAVE THE BABY UNCOVERED. You never know when it might go off...

Now, it might be hard to believe, but our son actually has a little trouble in the poop department sometimes. The fourth diaper happened this past weekend, and my poor boy was painfully constipated. I looked up online for suggestions from other parents to help their constipated babies out and discovered a lot of people used a time-honored method. Taking the baby's temperature... So we thought we'd try it before calling the pediatrician. We put the baby down on his stomach and loosened the diaper. I dipped the thermometer in petroleum jelly, and pressed the button to turn it on. As I waited for the reading, the baby squirmed only a little, and didn't cry at all. My husband looked at me and looked at the thermometer. "How long is this going to take?" It did seem like it was taking a long time. 98.4... 98.5... 98.5.... 98.6.... when all of a sudden, I felt my hand being pushed back. I thought the baby was clenching so I looked over, and heard a squelching sound. Let's just say the thermometer worked. I yelled "Catch it!" and my husband flipped the diaper up to cover the baby's bottom. My husband and I began to laugh hysterically. I started coughing, I was laughing so hard. The baby just kicked his legs and cooed.

The lesson we learned from this one... POOP HAPPENS.

Does this mean we can just call it "Marriage"?

First, let me say that Andrew Cuomo would have my vote if he ever decides to run for President.

Yesterday, New York State finally passed the Marriage Equality Act, and then Gov. Cuomo signed it, legalizing Same Sex marriage. (I can't believe how much time was wasted by the delay in voting, the posturing and politicking - not to mention tax payer dollars or the other issues that the Senate needs to take care of too... but I digress...)

I'm proud to say that this is an issue I've always had strong support for, but 9 years ago, when I began to date my now-husband, it also became a personal issue for me. My mother-in-law and her partner have been together for more than 20 years. They are absolutely wonderful, warm, loving people. Before I became part of the family, they celebrated their relationship with a Commitment Ceremony. When New Jersey allowed Civil Unions, my husband and I, and two of their close friends were the guests at their "Unionizing", but there was still a distinction between Civil Partnership and Marriage. Now, at least in New York and 5 other states, any two PEOPLE who love each other, can get married.

Now, let me get out my soap box... I find it painfully ignorant when people argue that Marriage Equality is not a Human Rights issue. How could the denial of the right to marry the person you love be perceived as anything but a HUMAN Right? We're Humans, and therefore our rights are Human Rights, no? If the right to marry were denied to any other distinct group of people, I wonder if these opponents would still say the same thing?

I also get upset when I hear people say that they want to protect the "Sanctity of Marriage." Maybe they should focus their attention on adulterers or people who choose a spouse as nonchalantly as they would a pair of socks, and view divorce as an easy fix if it doesn't "work out". When I hear the "Sanctity of Marriage", I think "Sanctimonious" instead. When two PEOPLE love each other and are committed to each other, the love and respect they share should be celebrated, not shunned.

Ok, I'll get down off the Soap Box now. I feel better, getting that off my chest. Now, I want to send out Big Congratulations to all the Brides- and Grooms-to-be in New York who are happily planning their weddings. And more importantly, to my Mothers-In-Law, I want to say that I love you both, and I'm so happy/proud/excited that you can finally make it legal! And I can't wait to dance at your wedding!

Not Your Mama's Carbonara

I hope I can maintain this momentum...

Dinner tonight was another experiment, and also a huge success. My hubby couldn't stop raving about it... And the picture came out great!

Not Your Mama's Carbonara

Ingredients

½ box of dried pasta (spaghetti, linguini or fettucini)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 slices of bacon or ham, cut into bite size pieces

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

2 large eggs

1 cup Parmesan or Pecorino grated cheese, plus more for serving

2 tbsp heavy cream

Handful of fresh basil, chopped

Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente, then drain well, reserving 1/2 cup of the water to use in the sauce if needed. It’s important that the pasta is still hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

In a large skillet, sauté the chicken (season with salt and pepper) then remove. In the same pan, over medium flame, heat the olive oil. Add the bacon and saute for about 3 minutes, until crisp. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and sauté until garlic is softened. Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss well. Add the chicken back in. Beat the eggs and cheese together separately. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the egg mixture pouring slowly and mixing quickly so the eggs don’t scramble. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Stir in most of the basil, keeping some for garnish. Top with more of the grated cheese, and the basil garnish.

One of the Many things I love about being on Maternity Leave

I love to cook. I love to make up my own recipes for things too. Well, not really recipes because I hardly ever really measure unless I'm baking. This week, I had two very successful dinner inventions that I'd like to share with you. Keep in mind that these are all approximate measurements, so feel free to adjust!

Monday Night
Balsamic Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Mushrooms and Arugula
Ingredients
1 store bought pizza dough ball, prepared per package directions
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks and marinated in Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 medium onion, cut in half, then sliced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
8oz Provolone cheese
Baby arugula to top with
Olive Oil for sauteing
Salt & Pepper


Marinate the chicken in a Balsamic Vinaigrette. I made my own by combining Balsamic Vinegar, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, garlic, salt & pepper. While that marinates, put the slices of onion in a small saucepan on a low flame with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Stir regularly, and cook until soft and golden in color. Mine took almost half an hour. 
Roll out the dough and bake for 5 to 7 minutes. I docked it with a fork, brushed it with Extra Virgin olive oil, and sprinkled the top with salt. In a skillet, saute the marinated chicken until just cooked so it doesn't dry out when you bake the whole thing. In the same skillet, saute your mushroom slices until browned. Add the minced garlic, and saute until the garlic is done. 
Layer the pizza crust with the onions, mushrooms and chicken, top with the cheese and bake until the cheese is melted to your liking. 
Slice and serve topped with a few arugula leaves on top.


Tuesday Night:
Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Veggies in a Roasted Garlic and Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
For the Sauce
2 quarts Cherry, Grape or other little Tomatoes, halved
8 cloves of garlic (more or less, according to your tastes)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Preheat oven to 300, and combine the ingredients together. Spread out on a cookie sheet (I line mine with parchment so they don't stick) and slowly roast until garlic is tender, about 30 minutes. Puree in a blender or food processor, leaving it slightly chunky.
For the Sausage and Veggies (and Pasta)
1 lb Italian Chicken Sausage (or any sausage you prefer)
1 large zucchini
1 medium onion
1lb mushrooms
A handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 lb cooked and drained pasta
In a large skillet, crumble and cook the sausage until browned. Remove from the pan, and add the veggies. Saute until tender with some browning on the zucchini and mushrooms. Add the sauce, and sausage. Cook for another 10 to 15 minutes for the flavors to combine. Add the basil, and serve over pasta.

So with all this creativity going into my dinners, and a bunch of arugula sitting in the fridge, I decided to amp up my lunch today.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese?

Fancy Schmancy Grilled Cheese
Whole wheat bread
Butter
Ham - sliced
Cheese (I used provolone)
Arugula
Honey or Maple Mustard (that's the sauce on the plate with the spoon)


I melt some butter in a frying pan, then assemble the cheese and ham on the bread and drop it in (bread side down, of course) and let the bread start to get crisp. I covered it with a lid to let the cheese melt too. Once the ham was heated through and the cheese was nice and melty, I piled a bit of arugula on one side and flipped the other up on top of it. Then I took a piece of foil and put it over the sandwich, and took a pot with handles and used it to press the sandwich. I flipped it over and did the same on the other side, so it came out nice and crispy. Then I took it out, cut it, and dipped it in the mustard (I used Maple Mustard) and it was so yummy!

I hope if you try any of these "recipes", that you'll write a comment to let me know how it turned out for you, and what you did differently that worked.

Thanks for reading!

Who I am

I'm a lot of things. A new mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister... and I have 2 jobs (hey, it's NJ...) In my spare time I love to cook and bake, draw, sing, read... and now I plan to blog about my little world too.