day 29 = you asked for it greek pasta salad!

sarah:
i made this a few months ago for a bbq and it went over so well it was requested again for tomorrow's labor day party. nancy, this one's for you -- my secret is now yours!

i doubled the recipe and the total cost today (without the dressing ingredients because i had them on-hand) was $18.71.  

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 12 oz rotini pasta, cooked
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 (4 ounce) can whole black olives
• 3/4 cup sliced pepperoni sausage, cut into strips
• 1/2 jar pepperoncini
• 1 head broccoli

in a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper, and sugar. add remaining ingredients. toss until evenly coated. cover, and chill overnight.

(if you don't like a lot of dressing and want to see what it tastes like first, reserve 1/2 to 1/4 for later use. you can pour it over the pasta salad the next day or keep it for your dinner salad!)

don't be fooled. it won't taste very well the day you make it. it really needs to marinate overnight to get the full effect.

charley:

if you are looking for something lite and refreshing i would highly recommend this.  it is perfect for a bbq or picnic.

enjoy!

day 24 (part II) = nothing like matzo ball soup to kick a cold!

sarah:
on our way back from barcelona, i came down with a killer cold. i had no energy to leave the house or eat much of anything (which is shocking because we both put on a ton of weight on the cruise). all i wanted was matzo ball soup. so, sweet charley picked it up from a restaurant for me the night we returned and then went to the grocery store the following morning to buy me the ingredients so i could make some for us at home. it came out fantastic, i knew i married him for a reason :)

since i was exhausted, i took the easy way out on this. here's what i did:

to start:
- boil water in a large soup pot
- slice 1/2 a large onion and throw it in
- dump in a 16oz bag mini carrots
- cut and dump in 2 celery stalks
- add a few sprigs of chopped parsley
- toss in 6 chicken legs
- add 3 bay leaves
- dump a bunch of salt, pepper, basil, and oregano
- add the soup mix from a package of "manischewitz matzo ball and soup mix"
- set to boil and then simmer

after 1-2 hrs:
- mix the matzo ball mix package with: oil, water, and eggs as directed on the box
- put in refrigerator for at least 30 mins
- bring the water back up to a boil
- drop into BOILING water (essential for fluffy matzo balls)
- season further if needed
- reduce to simmer for 1/2 hour or more

that's it!


charley:
it has been two days of eating this and i am not tired of it.  in fact, i am looking forward to having it again for lunch tomorrow.  i don't feel guilty about eating it as it is lite and filled with healthy things that taste great.  sarah wanted it as she was not feeling well and it must have made a difference as she is feeling better now!

enjoy!

day 11 = super easy grilled cheese and tomato soup

watch it's progress...

and for the finale...



sarah:

last week i came home to a "present." charley got me a new cookbook and he's been drooling over it ever since. today i got an email from him -- this is the entirety of the email:

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 celery stalks
4 garlic cloves
1 carrot
2 red peppers
1 28oz can plum tomatoes in juice
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf

1 tsp spanish paprika
salt and fresh ground pepper

Grilled Cheese:

Grab bread and whatever cheese you wish! (Typically American)

ok... i think charley wants grilled cheese and tomato soup. so, i picked up the ingredients (but i grabbed cheddar cheese because i don't like american) and thought i am in for a long night. much to my surprise, this took very little time and was super easy to clean. here's what i did:

soup:

1. turn on broiler; put peppers into oven and let broil until skin blackens, turning frequently
2. meanwhile...
3. heat oil in a saucepan over med-low heat
4. chop onion, celery, and garlic; throw in saucepan and stir until softened
5. chop carrot; throw in saucepan for 1 min
6. add tomatoes with their juice, the stock, sugar, and bay leaf
7. add salt and pepper
8. bring to boil at high-heat, then turn to med-low
9. cover soup and simmer for 45 mins
10. good time to check on the peppers :) place in a ziploc or plastic bag to capture the steam and let cool (this will allow for easy peeling of the skin)
11. pull red peppers out of bag and peel off skin; discard seeds
12. add red peppers and spanish paprika to the soup
13. puree in blender
14. adjust seasoning (add lots more salt, pepper, and spanish paprika) and serve!

grilled cheese:

1. heat a saucepan on med
2. butter both sides of bread slices you are using
3. add cheese to cover one side of each sandwich
4. assemble the sandwiches
5. place in the saucepan letting each side grill and the cheese melt
6. repeat making as many sandwiches as you need!

the grilled cheese came out great! the soup is really healthy (it's all vegetables), but i didn't think it had a lot of taste. i'd bump up the vegetables some to give it more than just a tomato taste.

charley:

let me be completely honest as i was the one who requested this and yes it was mainly for the grilled cheese.  you can't go wrong with tomato soup and grilled cheese (we will be having it at our wedding) and this was no exception.  the soup was light and i could taste everything that went into it.  very tasty and was a great addition to the sandwich.  the only problem with the meal was sarah would only allow me to have one grilled cheese (has to do with her wanting me to live forever!)  in the end she did let me have half of her sandwich.

enjoy!

day 6 = not supposed to happen "stoup"

well, it only took 6 days and i royally messed-up our dinner. if you know me, this will come as no surprise....

charley picked out a recipe he wanted me to make and we went to the grocery store yesterday to pick-up the ingredients. it's a recipe from "Ad-Hoc at Home" (Artisan) by Thomas Keller and we were really looking forward to trying it. being that it was sunday night, i took my time preparing all that was needed to make the dish. i pre-made the chutney, chopped all the vegetables, and made the brine. this morning, i woke-up and stuck the meat in the brine (which it needs to sit in for up to 10 hrs) and left home really proud of myself for actually prepping a dish to the fullest!

walking to the car after work, i called charley to ask him to pull the meat out of the fridge and let it come to room temp by the time i got home. this is how the conversation went...

charley: "it's not in the fridge"

sarah: "ok, charley, it's in a large red pot in the fridge. just pull it out of the liquid and let it sit out to rest until i get home"

charley: "i'm pretty sure the pot is sitting on the counter with the meat in it"

sarah: "what do you mean!? it's not in the refrigerator?"

charley: "yeah, i was wondering what you were doing!"

"yeah, i was wondering what you were doing????" why didn't he just put it in the fridge... oh well, there went all my prep and the hours of "love" i gave the dish yesterday. scrap that so tonight we had leftovers! don't worry though, i stopped at costco on the way home and picked up some more meat for tomorrow... we'll try round two. (i have all this chutney and prepped vegetables i need to use!!)

not supposed to happen "stoup":

sarah:
every time i have leftovers around (pasta, herbs, chicken bones, vegetables, wine --- yes wine!.....) i throw the leftovers into a large ziploc bag, put it in the freezer, and save for a rainy day. then, when the bag gets full (actually, it's usually 2 bags), i throw it all into a large soup pot and make us some "stoup". i did this last night since it took quite some time to prep all the ingredients for my botched meal so it was our dinner tonight. it's a great way to use up leftovers and makes a really hearty meal!

(if you have leftover wine, pour it into ice cube trays and freeze. it will be a little slushy, but throw it into your ziploc bag and it gives a great flavor to your stoup!)

charley:
the great thing about this soup is that it comes out different each time she makes it.  because it is made up of leftovers from previous meals it always has a little different flavor and is always spiced differently.  to clarify I enjoy things spicy and this version of the soup was a little mild for me, but it had enough flavor to carry the dish so that I didn't need to add any pepper or other spices.  i was very happy with this meal, now I am off for my dessert (the remaining pineapple cake!!!!!)

enjoy!