cooking for the fire deparment

lieutenant dan (he he... i still laugh when i say that) invited me to cook for the greenfield fire department. talk about pressure! i spent hours menu planning for these guys. i knew it had to be good and there had to be a lot of it. the menu consisted of meatloaf with a beer gravy, homemade mac & cheese, creamed corn, jalapeno & cheddar biscuits and carrot cake. (yep, i baked.... ) here's just a few of these handsome men.

so nicole and i headed to the station around 2:00. i asked nicole if she was planning on helping me (she doesn't cook... ever). she replied that she would help if the task was simple enough. well here it is. the simple task of mixing cream cheese frosting for my yummy carrot cake. she told me to document it as it probably won't ever happen again. mission accomplished. best cream cheese frosting i've ever had.

the guys were not quite sure of me at first. one in particular went out of his way to make me feel at home. his name was tai. when i asked nicole if she knew how to cut the butter in the biscuit dough, he chimed in with "use the back of the fork!" i fell immediately in love with him. (in case you were wondering, nicole did not know what cutting in the butter meant so i had to do that).
i also took a special liking to brian. brian came into the kitchen while i was prepping the mac & cheese and asked, "wait, like you're cooking that from scratch? like cheese sauce and stuff?" i was so confused. he thought i would make a special trip to whip up a blue box of kraft? i don't think so.
after convincing him that i was in fact making homemade mac & cheese, i rolled up my sleeves and got to work. after a couple hours dinner was served to 15 hungry dudes. i sat next to scott. scott was great. he appreciated my meatloaf, which in turn, made me appreciate him. this is scott.

after scarfing down dinner and a hearty helping of carrot cake i peeked and saw this. this my friends, you will never, ever, see again. like a billion guys in the kitchen cleaning. they did all the dishes and then some. it was a dream come true.

funniest part of the day came immediately after this. i put my camera down and caught a glimpse of dave. dave had a quart of ice cream in front of him. i looked at him with confusion knowing we all had a very large meal complete with dessert. he responded with, "what?! don't judge me!". well then. i will not judge you dave. you go right on with your bad self.
aside from the grossness of their refrigerator i was truly impressed with the set up they had going on there. they had flour, vanilla and i think i caught a glimpse of garlic powder. they even had a lazy susan. the day was truly fantastic. i love cooking for people that appreciate it. i didn't have a chance, however, to tell them how much i appreciate them and the work they do everyday to keep our community safe. i hope fattening them up a bit showed just a token of that appreciation.

meatloaf & beer gravy
1 lb ground pork
1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
1/2 c bread crumbs
1 egg
1 small onion, minced
1 tbs tomato paste
3 tbs fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

beer gravy
2 c beef broth
1/4 c flour
1/2 amber beer (for the record i used o'douls for these guys knowing beer isn't necessarily welcome in the firehouse)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper 

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. combine all meatloaf ingredients in a large bowl using your hands. be sure to break up the pork and sirloin.
3. form a "loaf" in a bread pan and bake for 45 min to 1 hour or until your meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.
4. in the meantime prepare beer gravy by bringing beef broth to a boil in a saucepan.
5. combine beer and flour in a small bowl using a whisk. pour into saucepan with salt and pepper.
6. turn heat down to a simmer allowing gravy to thicken stirring often. (about 5 min)
7. pour gravy over meatloaf.

squash mac & cheese

i promised myself i'd try this "pureed veggies" cooking concept for years, however the truth of it is- it just didn't sound appealing. now that i have a tiny being who throws her veggies on the ground followed by an "uh-oh", i had the perfect reason to give it a shot. to my surprise you couldn't taste the squash at all! this is my perfect blend of ina garten and jessica seinfeld. comfort food + sneaky little veggies. your kiddos won’t know what hit them.

squash mac & cheese

1 lb elbow noodles, cavatappi or gemelli pasta
4 cups skim milk
8 tbl butter, divided
1/3 cup flour
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz mini babybel swiss cheese, diced
2 cups squash puree*
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 cup breadcrumbs

1. cook pasta according to directions.
2. melt six tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. add flour and cook on low heat for two minutes. slowly whisk in milk and cook on low heat until sauce thickens.
3. add cheeses, squash puree and salt and pepper. stir until melted. add cooked pasta to sauce and stir until combined. pour into a casserole dish.
4. add breadcrumbs to two tablespoons melted butter and sprinkle on top of the pasta.
5. bake pasta at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly.

* they do sell squash puree in the freezer section nowadays, however, if you feel ambitious, you can do it yourself. simply cube a butternut squash or three of the smaller yellow squash, roast with olive oil, salt & pepper at 400 degrees for 25 minutes and puree in a food processor.

pretzel crusted chicken tenders

so proud that milwaukeemoms.com is featuring my recipes weekly. i'm sharing family-friendly ones specifically catering to the younger generations. here was my first recipe shared a month ago on their site.

pretzel crusted chicken tenders

1 1/2 lb chicken tenders
3 cups pretzels
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 egg whites
salt & pepper
3 tbl canola oil

mustard cheese sauce
1/2 cup honey mustard
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup skim milk

1. grind pretzels in a food processor to a breadcrumb consistency. add thyme and a generous amount of salt and pepper.
2. prepare 3 shallow bowls: one with flour, one with pretzel crumbs and one with whisked egg whites.
3. pat chicken tenders dry and season with salt and pepper. using tongs, coat a chicken tender with flour, followed by egg white and then pretzel crumbs shaking off excess. repeat coating process with all chicken tenders.
4. heat canola oil in a saute pan at medium to high heat. cook chicken tenders 7 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
5. combine mustard and milk in a small sauce pan. heat until warm. add cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

comfort meatballs

my coworker has been talking up the "pioneer woman" for some time- a city girl who fell in love with a cowboy and now lives in oklahoma on a ranch. (yeesh) she has a cookbook, a blog and some mighty fine looking recipes. i gave this cowgirl a shot and made her comfort meatballs. definitely not an italian recipe. the meatballs are made with beef and oatmeal- sounds bizarre but very yummy. i served with egg noodles, but you could always serve with mashed potatoes.

comfort meatballs

1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
3/4 c quick oats
1 c milk
3 tbl minced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper
4 tbl canola oil
1/2 c flour

sauce
1 c ketchup
2 tbl sugar
3 tbl distilled white vinegar
2 tbl worcestershire
4 tbl minced onion

1. combine beef, oats, milk, onion, salt & pepper in a bowl.
2. roll meat into tablespoon size balls, place on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 min.
3. dredge meatballs in flour. heat canola oil in pan and brown meatballs until light brown. place in a glass baking dish.
4. combine all sauce ingredients and pour over meatballs.
5. bake meatballs at 350 degrees for 45 min.

adapted from ree drummond

healthy chicken fried rice

everybody has a soft spot for fried rice. it's my favorite part of chinese & japanese restaurants. this is a healthier version. you won't feel the least bit guilty.

chicken fried rice

1 1/2 c cooked brown rice
2 chicken breasts, diced
1/2 c celery, diced
1/2 c carrots, diced
1/2 c frozen peas
5 green onions, diced
2 egg whites
4 tbl soy sauce

1. cook egg whites as you would scrambled eggs and set aside.
2. saute veggies (except for peas) in 2 tbs olive oil until soft (about 10 minutes). add peas in last few minutes of cooking. shift all to one side of the pan. add diced chicken to the other side cooking till cooked thru.
3. stir together. add cooked egg whites, rice and soy sauce.

rosemary chicken burgers

how sweet it is. thank you yet again, giada, for this amazing recipe. i added a bit of lemon juice which really made a difference. top with spinach or arugula.
p.s. my daughter gobbled this sucker right up so i would consider this very "kid friendly"

rosemary chicken burgers

mayo
1 cup light mayo
1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbl fresh lemon juice

burgers
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 buns

1. combine mayo ingredients.
2. combine burger ingredients and add half of the mayo mixture. form into 4 patties and place on a plate. place plate in freezer for 15-20 minutes making it easier to work with.
3. grill burgers at med-high heat on grill for 7 minutes on each side. toast buns for 3 minutes on grill.
4. spread mayo mixture on the the tops of toasted buns. place chicken on bottom half and top with spinach or arugula.

adapted from giada de laurentiis

"i really likes this"

guest blog with liz girsch
it is an honor to be stacy’s first guest blogger. it was a lot of pressure to deliver a recipe, and i think i spent a bit too much time obsessing about what would be the right fit. should it be kid-friendly, delicious for grown ups, easy to make, a soup, one of our house’s standard favorite, slow cooker fare? i could go on and on – ask stacy, i did.  and after all of my analysis, i’m sharing with you something brand new to me. i made this for the first time last night. my four-year-old announced “I really likes this” and a friend of my seven-year-old walked in our house and asked “what smells so good?” so that answers that… kid-friendly, check… easy to make, check.

i served with rice – sticky chicken and sticky rice are always a great combination plus a salad on the side. martha stewart served a napa cabbage slaw on the side. i didn’t want to push the envelope with my under 8 audience too much. next time around we’ll try that.

honey-teriyaki chicken is now in our family’s regular dinner rotation and i hope it will be in your’s too.

honey-teriyaki chicken

½ cup honey
2 tbs rice vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs peeled and finely grated fresh ginger (actually I say buy the stuff in the jar. it’s much easier than grating fresh ginger.)
coarse salt and ground pepper
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds total)

1. preheat oven to 475°.
2. line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. in a large bowl, mix honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and 1 tbs salt and ½ tsp pepper.
3. add chicken and toss to coat. transfer chicken and sauce to baking sheet.
4. bake chicken, skin side up, until well browned and cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

adapted from martha stewart

kid tested

so i'm a mac & cheese connoisseur. i've ordered it many a time at restaurants. i have yet to come across anything better than my grandma's (minus the icky spam she put in there... i know, gross). i'll post that one later. i like this recipe because it uses broccoli and anytime you can sneak those veggies in there is a positive in my eye.
my friend macie mae indulged in this dish and i thought it was important to mention that she approved. she called the noodles "nu nus". she was a bit confused about the broccoli as this was the first time she tried it!

mac & cheese with broccoli

2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb cavatappi
2 1/2 c broccoli florets
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
3 c milk
1 c chicken stock
3 c sharp cheddar
1 tbs dijon mustard

1. heat a medium pan over medium to medium-high heat. add olive oil and onion and cook 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender. add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. whisk in milk and stock and raise heat to bring the sauce to a quick boil. simmer until the sauce thickens about 5 minutes.

2. add pasta to boiling water and cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

3. add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, a minute or so. stir in mustard and seaason sauce with salt and pepper. pour sauce over broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine.

4. bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

adapted from rachel ray