I know that Paninis were a fad at least a couple of years ago, but I didn’t go there back then.  Why?  Because, I watched some food show where they made one and I said to myself, “That is nothing more than a glorified grilled cheese sandwich.”  While I still believe that the panini is the sibling to the grilled cheese, I am there now!

I had been making my Paninis with two skillets, one to cook in and my heavy cast iron skillet to use as a weight.  For Christmas, wonderful hubby got me the Rachel Ray Sammi Skillet with the Cast iron weight to smoosh (you knew I would figure out a way to use the word “SMOOSH” for something didn’t you???) the sammis (short for “sammich” - that is how you say it, right?).  Now, my daughter wants me to make her panini to put in her lunch for school.  We use ham, turkey or chicken, with different kinds of cheese (her favorite and mine is Horseradish Cheddar!) and then we add sliced cucumbers, arugula, tomatoes, and roasted red peppers.

If you are going to use arugula, please, please, please, do not spend $4.00 on the teeny, tiny package in the herb section of the produce aisle.  I did this and then when I found I could actually buy it in a bunch, fresh by the lettuce and pay less than half, I was horrified!  If my grandfather or father-in-law were alive, they would classify arugula as some weed you must have picked up from the back yard.  But, it really does have a nice peppery bite that goes well with most every meat and cheese combination you can think of.

 Yes, yes, there is a vegetarian reading this say, “hey, what about me?”  You’ll be happy to know that today for lunch I only had veggies on mine, no meat at all.  Did I mention that I really did use Homemade Gourmet for this meal?  I put a different spread on each one of these.  What are the recipes for the spreads?  Hmmmm.  Well we are using the spread for a whole different reason and I don’t want to spoil the Spring Product Launch, so I will keep it a secret for now.

Just remember, after the launch, and you see some great spread recipes designed for something totally different, you can use them to create great paninis as well.

Happy Eating!

Oh dear…I have neglected my promise!  Don’t worry…we have been eating Homemade Gourmet all week…I just haven’t been mindful of writing about it!  So let me catch you up! 

Gumbo was dinner the night I last wrote.  I had been craving it since I had read a comment about one of you serving it and I needed something to make fast and easy after a long day at the office.  It was great!!  I had a friend come over and share, and while she was here I bagged up several 4m4m meals for her to take home and add her meat.  She was so excited! 

One night we had a variety of pasta dishes that we are ‘testing’ for the spring…they were yummy ~ more to tell in March!

Friday night was my daughter’s 18th birthday party (she turns 18 on the 30th…but this was the day we were all in town to have a party).  We didn’t have dinner that night because the party menu was a variety of finger foods.  Let me just say…the hit of the evening was our Enchilada Sausage Dip! (recipe in the front of our old slow cooker cookbook). 

Today was clean the fridge day…I had some cooked pasta bagged up from the earlier  ‘testing’ so I used it in the following ways.  I heated up some of the leftover sausage dip with a little milk to thin it out and had sausage enchilada pasta.  I heated up a can of diced tomatoes, some chicken broth and garlic basil seasoning  and added to it some of the leftover grilled chicken from the ‘testing’. 

It was all good and made for a nice lunch buffet! 

What do you do with your leftovers?

God Bless and Keep You,

Tami

In today’s Food section of the newspaper, there was an article about sneaking all kinds of odd vegetables into sweet recipes.

Now, I must admit, that I have no problem whatsoever with Carrot Cake (in fact, it is my absolute FAVORITE Homemade Gourmet dessert).  Pumpkin bread and zucchini bread don’t cause me any concern either.  I even make a Butternut Squash pie that is quite yummy.  But some of the recipes in this article made me want to scream, “You put WHAT in there???”

The cover had this beautiful chocolate Bundt cake that had pureed beets - EEEKKK!  The other two - Green Tomato Cake and Carrot-Parsnip Cake didn’t make me hungry at all.  But the ickiest sounding by far was the Mocha Sauerkraut Layer Cake with Milk Chocolare Icing.  Heavens, how nasty does that sound???

I must say that while my taste buds have not indicated the slightest interest in these recipes, I think that my natural curiosity may get the better of me.  After all, we have a dog, so if it is really icky the dog will have a treat (am I awful or what?!?!).

I am trying to be open minded here and of course we always want to be healthy and eat more veggies.  Do you have any sweet recipes that use veggies?  By the way, simply “having” the recipe doesn’t count, you must actually have eaten it.  Ha! - Cindy

I don’t want you to think that I have forgotten my goal to tell you what I am having for dinner each night, but I am going to have to tease you a little tonight since Dinner is a Secret! 

Right now dinner for my family is all about research and development.  That means I am testing recipes for the Spring Kitchen Connection Magazine using products that are not for sale right now but will be available in March.  Thus….the secret!  I really wish I could tell you what was on the table…but I can tell you some comments heard from hubby, 2 of my sons and 2 of their teenage friends:

Friend: “I really like this one…and I don’t usually eat tomatoes”

Son: “that chicken is great…can I have another one?”

Other friend: “this potato salad is good…what is in it?”

Hubby:  “I feel like I am in Tuscany!”

By the way…I must send out a special kudo to my sweet hubby.  You see, it is raining / sleeting and blowing a cold 30 degree wind here today…but I am testing recipes for a summer magazine ~ so….  Dear Hubby fired up the grill and stood in the cold weather all for the sake of research and development.  What a guy!!! 

I did get 11 pounds of ground beef steamed and 15 pounds of chicken breasts steamed and diced and then bagged them all in 1 pound portions for the freezer. I talked to Nanci Smith in St. Louis today and she got her ground beef steamed and in the freezer too! What about you…what’s in your freezer?   

I’m in the office tomorrow, which means no time in the kitchen for R&D, so tomorrow will be something in the slow cooker.  I’ll let you know when I decide what it will be.  There are so many quick and easy choices…not sure where I will start! 

God Bless and Keep You,

Tami

Well, you did not hear from me yesterday simply because I did not eat HG.  It was church night and work went late…so burgers from Dairy Palace was our solution.  Hey…this is all about being real…so this is real life meal times with the VanHoys! 

However, last night was YUMMY!  In fact, this meal caused my sweet hubby to say ‘this is so good…I love this!’ AND sent all 4 of my kids back for seconds.  So what was on the VanHoy dinner table last night?

 Skillet Burritos!  I had put the mix and canned goods on the counter with every intention of being home by 6:30 so I could make and serve that meal no later than 7.  Well, I saw the clock strike 7 from my desk at the office, so I picked up the phone and instructed my daughter to get our last bag of cooked ground beef from the fridge and to follow the instructions on the Skillet Burrito bag so we could have dinner when I arrived home. I had a homeshow to call to give away a toaster and then I would be out the door and home by 7:30.  “No problem Mom” she said.  Sure enough, I walk in the door and dinner smells fabulous.  I get to the kitchen and see our skillet burritos cooked in a soup pot, thus a little soupy (cooking in the skillet allows for more of the liquids to cook out).  As we sat down to eat she asked ” are these supposed to be this soupy?” and I explained to her the issue with using a soup pot.  She said “well, the instructions need to be more clear” to which my son said “how much clearer can it be…they are called SKILLET burritos”.  She laughed and we enjoyed our soupy burritos with sliced veggies to dip in the dipping sauce that comes with them. 

Loving your comments…so keep up the meal time chatter!

 God Bless and Keep You,

Tami

Ok…I said yesterday I would try to keep you informed of my meal time moments…so here is last night’s menu.  I put a Tejano Pork Tenderloin in the slow cooker (that’s chicken enchilada soup mix, orange juice and diced chilis…smooshed!), so I came home to that being ready to go.  I served it with steamed red potatoes seasoned with Garlic Basil Seasoning (yes…I used the microwaveable steamer bags again!) and salad.  The family consumed the potatoes, raving about how great they were!!!  You will hear more about those steamer bags in the future! 

 My daughter insisted on adding another starch to the menu because she wanted rice to mix with the sauce that came from the tenderloin.  It was a good idea cause the sauce was great! 

That’s it!  Nothing profound…just dinner for a family of 6 that was easy and delicious!  What are you making????

God Bless and Keep You

Tami

Ok…I see that Cindy has gone MAD with meal trails!  Quite amusing I must say and I look forward to seeing all of the comments and who will ultimately win.  I may toss in a trail here and there myself! For example…a week ago it was Gumbo pork chops from the slow cooker with mashed potatoes.  The next night it was left over pork, diced and mixed with bbq sauce and served warm on a bun.  The next night it was shepherd’s pie with precooked ground beef and the first night’s leftover potatoes.  So this will be fun for us all to chat about. 

But I actually got online to write because I had an ah-ha moment the other day and decided that I would start sharing my mealtime moments with you on a regular basis.  I have always looked at the blog as a place to only post profound statements, ideas or commentary…but I realize that it is actually the perfect forum for sharing how Homemade Gourmet is Everyday Gourmet for me and many others.  Would you like to know what I am having for dinner each night?  Here’s a glimpse at the VanHoy dinner table last night…

Chicken breasts that had been marinated in KC rub and orange juice (as featured in the 4 meals in 4 minutes planner in the January Kitchen Connection Magazine).  I grilled them on my George Foreman grill and served some veggies that had been steamed in the new microwaveable steamer bags that are so popular.  I served sliced carrots steamed with some Spiced Dip Mix, Broccolli steamed with some Garlic Basil and sliced apples steamed with some Spiced Dip Mix.  Ya…that is a lot of sides, but I got a little carried away last night!  BEST PART…my picky eater was heard saying “mom…I LOVE THIS CHICKEN AND BROCCOLI” as he made his way to the kitchen for a second serving. 

By the way…lunch yesterday was Hearty Beef and Vegetable soup with Basic Bread made as muffins. However…the picky eater wanted taco soup but has an issue with the tomatoes.  SO…I put the diced tomatoes in the blender and hit puree.  I then made a second pot of soup for little Micah and we were all happy.  Micah gave me a hug and said “thanks for making my soup without tomatoes”.  (PS…we are not telling him the secret!!!)  I just love that the soups are soooooo easy I could accomodate his request.  Afterall…I had been out of town for 5 days and I was needing to score some mommy points to make up for being gone.  Thank You Homemade Gourmet!!

So…I am inspired to keep sharing.  And God willing that I can get onto the computer on a daily basis to type out a quick blurb…I will keep telling what I had for dinner. 

By the way…What are You Having????

God Bless and Keep You,

Tami

I am noted in my family for not letting food go to waste.  Even if we went out to dinner and had great steaks, I bring home the doggy bag of meat and cut it up for Steak and Eggs for breakfast.  Left over Chinese rice gets dumped into soups and casseroles.  I am forever making “Clean out the Fridge” Soup - what ever is in those little plastic bowls from the week gets dumped into the pot!

But I thought I would try a new game on you for those interested.  I am even willing to post a little prize for the best Meal Trail Madness.  The prize will depend on what mixes your Meal Trail includes.

Here is my example.

Monday is Garlic Lemon Chicken, rice and broccoli, Tuesday is Chicken Taco Salad with remaining G.L. chicken, greens, olives, tomatoes, chips and topped with Catalina Dressing (saving half of dressing in fridge).  Wednesday is Catalina Pork Chops (using other half of dressing), hash browned potatoes, corn and fruit.  Thursday is soup day using remaining pork chops (diced) and the left over rice, broccoli, potatoes, corn, water, can of diced tomatoes and some Sunday Roast seasoning.  Friday I take what is left of the soup, drain off all the liquid and mix with a can a cream of chicken soup and put that into a prepared pie crust, topping with another for a great pot pie.

That’s my Meal Trail Madness week.  Can you top it??

I am always on the lookout for new and different side dishes.  Rice, pasta, potatoes and cous cous revolve constantly in my house (yes, there are veggies as well, but we must have our starches here!).

Susie Bohanan, our new staff Nutritionist, suggested that I try Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa).  I had never heard of the stuff, but off to the grocery store I went.  It took me a while to find it, but I did over by the cous cous.  I have read that while it is most commonly referred to as a grain, quinoa is actually a relative of leafy green vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard.

I’m reading off the package now and even before I cook the stuff, I am impressed.  These are the benefits that the package touts: 1.  The National Academy of Sciences calls Quinoa one of the best sources of protein in the vegetable kingdom.  2.  Quinoa provides all the essential amino acids in a balanced patter, set by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.  3.  Quinoa is a delicate grain which is less filling that other grains or pasta making it light, tasty and easy to digest.  4.  Quinoa has a variety of cooking options - side dish, in soups, in salads, as a pilaf or GET THIS even as a nutritional breakfast cereal.  5.Quinoa is 100% whole grain, so is good for people who follow a wheat-free/gluten free diet.  6.  Quinoa has a lower sodium content and is hight in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc than wheat, barley or corn.

All of the above sounds good and well, but I will tell you that it could be the healthiest food in the world able to cure all my ills, aches and pains and if it doesn’t taste good, my family will firmly reject it.  Tonight we are having Grilled Round Steak Spirals, Quinoa with Sunday Roast Seasoning and I am making a large pot of greens (combination turnip, mustard and collard).  The Grilled Round Steak Spirals are an experiment.  I mixed feta cheese, cream cheese and Garlic Basil Seasoning and spread it on the Round Steaks and then rolled them up like a jelly roll and sliced them into spirals for the grill (I secured them with toothpicks).

I’ll let you know how it turns out.  But in the meantime, do you have some new food that you would like me to try?