I wasn’t sure if this recipe actually was a cacciatore. So I googled the term cacciatore.

chicken casserole prepared with tomatoes and mushrooms and herbs in the Italian style

The recipe does have tomatoes and mushrooms. I skipped the fresh herbs this time and used spinach. And whoa, it was so yummy. Even my kids who ordinarily prefer to eat their pasta plain with butter and cheese (Yes, I know. FREAKS!) could not resist the lure of the cacciatore.

And honestly, I just love saying “Cacciatore!” Go on, you try and say it with a fake thick Italian accent. And then keep saying it until your family begs you to please stop already.
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I made these a few days ago and my children loved them. They raved on and on about these muffins and wanted to know if I would make them again. As in RIGHT THAT VERY SECOND.

Something that gets that much of a good review begs to be shared.

1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix
1/4 cup chopped deli ham (I used Boars Head honey ham)
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a cheddar/colby jack mixture)
1/3 cup milk (I used water because the only milk I had on hand was vanilla flavored soy)
1 egg
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

(I quadrupled this recipe and it made 24 large muffins and 12 mini-muffins)

It’s America’s favorite you know. (For my celiac peeps, here is a link to a delicious gluten free cornbread recipe. Add the ham, cheese, and mustard to this recipe.)

Dice up your ham into small bite sized pieces.

Dump all the ingredients into your bowl and mix well.

It is another recipe that is easy enough for kids to make.

I love my muffin tins, the way that they are worn and well loved.

Grease your muffin tins really well. A word of advice I have, if you have paper liners that you normally use for cupcakes, I would use them. These muffins are notorious for sticking. Also, it would make them better able to be transported intact in a lunchbox.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve these warm or cold.

Be prepared to buy the ingredients to make them again.

My garden runneth over with non-ripe vegetables. And sadly, the warm summer growing days are over. We have had frost a couple of nights now and so I was forced to pick everything.

Remember the movie Fried Green Tomatoes?  I love that movie.  If I had to rank my most favorite movies of all time it would be at the top of the list.  Along with the Princess Bride and the Wizard of Oz.  I am sure that there are others that I just can’t even think of right now.

The movie was what first introduced me to fried green tomatoes.  Before that green tomatoes were something that sat on your windowsill until they turned red or rotted.

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When I find a food that I like I tend to eat it over and over again until I am so sick of it I don’t want to even look at it for another decade or so. Hummus recently joined this illustrious list, which includes foods like stuffed peppers, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and Hot Tamales (the candy).

This is my newest obsession. The sweet potato. No longer is it relegated just to Thanksgiving.

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I have been somewhat uninspired to cook lately. Want to know why? Could it be because I still do not have a working kitchen?

This is pretty much what my kitchen looks like right now, only my husband has finished putting the sink in. And the man making the template for the countertop has gone home. Thankfully, because I don’t need someone else to cook for around here.
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Can you have too many quick and easy pasta recipes?

The answer is no, you can not. And you know what else… this recipe has no meat. Just for you Kristin. I love simple recipes like this that take advantage of the produce that is in season.

You will need:
1 lb pasta
bag of baby spinach
grape tomatoes, halved
olive oil
garlic, fresh or in a jar
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

If your bottle of extra virgin olive oil has an illustration of a young man picking olives, feel free to make all the inappropriate jokes you want about him being extra virginal.

I bought this jar of minced garlic solely because I liked the illustration on this one too. Aww, the little farm where my garlic was grown and then hand minced by kindly farmers, using methods that have been passed down for generations. That is what makes me feel better about being too lazy to mince my own.

Step One:.

Cook your pasta of choice. Drain and set aside.

Step Two:

Pour some olive oil into your big skillet. Then dump in your spinach.

Regarding the baby spinach, if you have never cooked fresh spinach before you need to know you will need much MUCH more of this than you think you will possibly want. The next time I make this recipe I am going to double the amount of spinach. But we are a spinach loving family.

A little side story, when we were eating dinner I mentioned us being like Popeye, and my children were all, “Who is Popeye?” And then I was sad that a cultural icon like Popeye the Sailorman has died a small quiet death. Where is the Spinach council? Although, the whole Popeye and Brutus fighting over Olive Oil was weird. And who was the father of her baby? Oh and there was the whole Popeye smoking like chimney. But see, these are things you have to consider when serving this to your children and promising it will make them strong JUST LIKE POPEYE!

Anyway, back to the recipe.

After a few minutes the spinach will have reduced to this:

After a few more minutes, this:

See? You will be all, “What happened to all my spinach? How will I ever get those freakishly large forearms with only this small amount of spinach.”

Step Three:

Toss in your pint of halved grape tomatoes and some garlic. I used about 1/2 tsp of the minced from the jar. I’d probably use 4 little cloves of the fresh garlic. You can use more or less depending on your personal taste and vampire repelling needs.

(Didn’t these used to be called cherry tomatoes? Why do all the stores and recipes call them grape tomatoes now? Is there some PC reason why they aren’t cherry tomatoes anymore? Are cherries offensive? Or are they different tomatoes? We could call them baby tomatoes, but that sounds so violent. Vegetarians don’t like that. Maybe we should be calling them those tiny little tomatoes.)

Step Four:

Heat thoroughly. The tomatoes will get soft and start to leak their tomato juice. After about five minutes it will be done.

Step Five:

Dump your pasta into the skillet . And mix well.

Note: I am STILL cooking on a camp stove.

Step Six:

Serve pasta. Grate cheese over each individual plate.

Enjoy!

Oh my. When I die and go to Heaven, shut-up you in the back, this is going to be served everyday.

Back in the days before I had to go gluten and dairy free this was one of my most favorite summer meals. I think out of all the foods I have had to give up, it is the only dish I truly miss.
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What was it I said earlier this week about the best chicken marinade? This is the steak version.

For a long time I was very into using Montreal Seasoning.  I used it on every kind of steak-like meat that I made.  I think my family rejoiced when I decided to move on to something new.

You will need:

1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon-style prepared mustard
1 onion, sliced *
2 cloves garlic, minced *

*I was in a rush today and so I used dried minced onion and garlic powder. It came out just as delicious.

Dump all the ingredients into a large ziploc bag. Squeeze the bag to mix the ingredients thoroughly.

I did use fresh squeezed lemons though, my children wouldn’t have it any other way.

Put the steak into the bag with the marinade mixture. Put it in the fridge and allow to marinate all day. The acidic ingredients tenderize the meat. The longer you allow it to set, the more tender it will become.

Put on a hot grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side.

I served it with some crusty rolls and a side salad.  The photo is blurry because I had to take it quick before someone stole the food  right off of my plate.

I love this recipe for a few reasons. It is easy to make. The kids love it, but seriously who doesn’t love ice cream. And it is a project that kills some time. Perfect for when the kids are driving you up the wall on those long summer days or when they have friends over and you hear the dreaded, “We’re bored.”

Aside from the rock salt, you probably already have everything you need at your house right now.

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Fire up your grill. Grab your slabs of meat. Summer is here.

Does that chicken make your mouth water? All you vegetarians can just pretend it is some sort of chicken shaped tofu.

You will need:

2 cans coconut milk
2T curry paste (I only had powder so I used that instead and it was fine)
4 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups of orange juice

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 mangos cut into 1 inch chunks (I cut up 4 mangos)
1 pineapple cut into 1 inch chunks (I used canned)
Mix of salad greens

Mix together the coconut milk, curry paste, orange zest, and orange juice together in a small bowl with a lid.

Take the chicken breast and fillet it. That means cut the thickness in half. If you don’t do this when you grill your chicken it will be raw on the inside and burned on the outside. When you reduce the thickness it will cook evenly and still be tender.

Put the chicken into a large ziploc bag. Pour about a third of the coconut milk mixture into the bag. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes. Mine actually sat in the marinade for over 24 hours since we had a huge thunderstorm roll through and I didn’t feel like standing out in the storm waving my grill tongs like a lightening rod.

The rest of the marinade you will reserve for dressing the salad. Cut up the mango and pineapple. Or open the can if you are also using canned. Dump these into the bowl with the marinade. The recipe I had followed suggested grilling the mango and pineapple and I tried that the first time I made this recipe and decided that it wasn’t really worth the effort.

Here is a fun trick for cutting up mango. Slice the mango in half to the pit and pull it part. Cut the mango in a criss cross pattern down to the peel, without going through the skin.

Then flip it inside out.

This is a great way to give mango to the kids to eat. They can eat it right off of the peel like watermelon. And doesn’t it look cute enough to serve at the breakfast table?

Cover the bowl and put it in the refrigerator.

When you are ready cook your chicken on the grill.

After it is done cooking, slice the chicken into strips.

Cut up the salad greens. Toss with the reserved dressing. Add the grilled chicken.

Delicious. The perfect combination of grilled meat and sweet fruit, perfect for summer. I serve this with a nice bread. My kids like to eat the chicken and lettuce on bread like a sandwich.

And best of all? The kitchen has not been heated up by using the stove.