It’s Monday, which means it’s interview day on the podcast. Today’s guest is none other than the great Bakerella! Angie Dudley is a food blogger at the website Bakerella. She shares all kinds of wonderful baking recipes on her site, like these Toffee Bit Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies, and inspiration for all kinds of cake pops, like these Elephant Cake Pop Valentines. By the way, Angie doesn’t just make awesome cake pops, she actually invented them. She’s a genius! I love Angie dearly and it was such a treat having her on the show. Be sure to listen in. We talk cake pops, kidney transplants, her grandma’s pie recipe, and the plight of aspirationally-organized (i.e. disorganized) creative types (i.e. us).

Shownotes:

• Bakerella.com
• Kidney Cake Pops
• Mama’s Pecan Pies (with pictures of Angie’s grandmother)
• Photos of Angie’s drawers of sprinkles
• Three Many Cooks
• Sodium Girl
• Here are all of Angie’s great books!
• Cake Pops: Tips Tricks and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats
• Cake Pops Kit: New Projects and Old Favorites
• Cake Pops Holidays
• Cake Pops: 20 Notecards and Envelopes

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

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Hello, friends! I’m traveling again for work this week, so it’s a mishmash of mom meals, dad meals and eating out! And, yes, I have a few carry-over items from last week’s menu…it’s been one of those weeks and I’m glad it’s over! 😉

MONDAY:
– Taco Night

TUESDAY:
– Naan Pizzas

WEDNESDAY:
– Chicken Tortilla Soup

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– I’m traveling for work AGAIN, so Dad is in charge of dinner for a few nights.
-Hot dogs with baked beans and cole slaw

SATURDAY:
– Eat out

SUNDAY:
– Eat out

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

Your turn – please post your meal plan for the week! I really can’t tell you how grateful I am for all the menus that are posted each week, it is so helpful! Thank you!

Happy Friday! Today I have just a couple things to share for Show and Tell today.

First, here are some articles I wrote for Cool Mom Eats. (The fries are awesome, by the way.)

• How to make homemade freezer French fries
• The best stir fry recipes for kids and parents too

And, a few quick Netflix shoutouts! Happy Valley has a second season (woohoo!) and it will be on Netflix on March 16. And DAREDEVIL. Season 2 is almost here, coming March 18! We can’t wait!

That’s it! Short and sweet! Have a great weekend and, as always, if you have something to share please leave it in the comments!

I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team, which means they send me cool stuff from time to time. For the record, I would be addicted to Netflix in spite of said cool stuff.

It’s Thursday! Recipe & a Tip Time!

Shownotes:

• Kitchen Sink Quesadillas
• How to Keep Pasta Water from Boiling Over

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

February is American Heart Month. To raise awareness, the Salmon Council reached out to see if I would create a salmon recipe, which I was most happy to do! So, today we have Southwestern Salmon Orzo Salad, and it is quite tasty, if I do say so myself.

Currently, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for every 1 in 4 deaths. While that sounds dire, the good news is that a healthy diet and lifestyle can significantly help fight heart disease. When I interviewed Lisa Oz last December, one of my biggest takeaways from our conversation was how her heart surgeon father was an early adopter of using diet to help his patients’ health, an approach that then influenced Dr. Oz (Lisa’s husband). It can be quite miraculous what nutritious eating can do for our bodies.

Today’s post is specifically focused on heart-friendly salmon. Salmon is filled with omega-3 fatty acids, and it is recommended that we eat food high in omega-3s at least twice a week. But in addition to those omega-3s, salmon is also rich in protein and Vitamin D, a highly nutritious combination that can help lower cholesterol and reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third.

The Salmon Council challenged me to incorporate DeLallo’s organic whole grain orzo into my recipe. I immediately thought of an orzo salad that my mother-in-law makes that has a Greek flavor to it. I decided to change things up and give the salad a southwestern flare, using a cilantro dressing and adding some heat to the salmon. I have to admit that I’m not normally a huge fan of whole grain pastas strictly for taste reasons, but this whole grain orzo was awesome – just as delicious as regular orzo but with a nice nutritional boost. And the salad overall is sooooo good. The spicy sweet salmon pairs beautifully with the fresh-tasting cilantro dressing and the crunchy veggies. And, if you want to add just a bit of cheese, queso fresca or cotija Mexican cheeses are PERFECT in this salad. If you’re trying to cut back on cheese, though, the salad is just as good without it!

A note about the salmon – as much as I loved it in the orzo salad, it was also really delicious all by itself. The preparation is super simple, making it a great meal on its own. 

Southwestern Salmon Orzo Salad

 

Print

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked whole grain DeLallo orzo
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 to 1-1/2 pound salmon filet, skin on
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup canned corn
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 8 ounces salsa verde
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup water
• About 3 ounces queso fresca or cotija cheese, crumbled (optional)

Instructions

1. Add 2 tablespoons salt to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil.
2. Add orzo. Return to boil then cook for 9 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain and set aside.
3. Preheat outdoor grill to medium heat, so internal temperature of grill reaches 500º F.
4. While the pasta is cooking, rinse and dry the salmon filet. Brush both sides of the salmon filet with olive oil.
5. Place skin down on a large piece of foil, folding up the sides, leaving a couple inches between the edge of the salmon and the edge of the foil all around the filet.
6. Mix together the brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, cumin, cayenne pepper and garlic. Spread evenly on the top of the salmon filet. Place salmon on the foil on the grill and cook with the lid closed for 10-15 minutes, until salmon is fairly easy to flake apart. You may see some white stuff as well. Remove from grill.
7. Remove salmon from the skin in very large pieces. Set aside.
8. In a large bowl mix together the cooked orzo, bell pepper, black beans, corn.
9. Add salsa verde, chopped cilantro, sour cream and water to a blender and blend well.
10. Add ½ cup of the green sauce you just made to the orzo mixture and stir well. Add salmon pieces and stir carefully.
11. Serve with extra green sauce and top with queso fresca/cotija cheese if using.
12. Serve immediately or chilled.

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This post is sponsored by the Salmon Council. DeLallo provided me with the orzo I used in this recipe.

Hey everybody. So, uh, I was on NBC Nightly News tonight. No biggie. Lester Holt and I are like this.

Okay, not really. And it is just plain crazy and fun that I was on NBC Nightly News! My cousin just texted and was like, “I just saw you on NBC News! That’s crazy! It blew my mind!!”

I didn’t want to say anything until it aired, because you never know if things will air with network news, but it did and the story is great. Tom Costello reported on the “natural” food label and how it is a non-verified term, i.e. companies can say something is natural and there is no checklist to follow for what that word means. In response to the public, the FDA is considering making natural a verified term. If you want to let the FDA know what you think, the open comment period is happening right now until May 10, 2016. Click here to make a comment (I did!). Right now the word natural is most often misleading and manipulative and, quite honestly, doesn’t mean a darn thing. I don’t even care that much how the FDA ultimately defines the term (although I certainly have opinions on the subject), I just want them to define it so everyone is on the same page. ANYWAY…here’s the news report if you want to see me in my kitchen with my cute kiddos!

For this week’s podcast interview I sat down to talk with Hank Shaw from the food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Hank is a wild foods expert who has written several books, keeps a beautiful blog and now hosts his own podcast. Hank’s food world is fascinating to me and I couldn’t wait to get him on the phone and ask him whatever questions I wanted! The resulting show is filled with all kinds of cooking tips and general food knowledge that I hope you’ll enjoy and learn from as much as I did.

Shownotes:

• From Hank’s website: How to Cook Duck Breasts
• Hank’s new podcast Hunt Gather Talk
• Ludivine (restaurant Hank recommends in Oklahoma City)
• Hank’s first book: Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast
• Hank’s second book: Duck, Duck, Goose: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Waterfowl, Both Farmed and Wild
• Hank’s upcoming book: Buck, Buck, Moose: Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Deer, Elk, Moose, Antelope and Other Antlered Things
• Unrefined Canola Oil
• Fargo (I told Hank he should watch it…and so I’m linking to it because I will not rest until everyone has watched it)

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Hello, everyone! We just pulled in from a weekend in Santa Barbara. Nate and I ate at Tupelo Junction Cafe for lunch, The Lark for dinner and Scarlett Begonia for brunch and all three restaurants were AWESOME, in case you’re in Santa Barbara any time soon!

Back to real life…menu time!

MONDAY:
– Rachel Sandwiches

TUESDAY:
– Taco Night

WEDNESDAY:
– Naan Pizzas

THURSDAY:
– Leftovers

FRIDAY:
– Sausage, Pepper & Onion Sandwiches

SATURDAY:
– Takeout night

SUNDAY:
– Pat’s Asian Chicken Salad

Click here for the free printable of this week’s menu plus the shopping list!

My dear friend Michelle had the opportunity to live in Hyderabad, India for a year and is, therefore, well versed in Indian cuisine. One day when we were hanging out, she was ranting and raving about curry powder. Her complaint is that Americans think that curry powder makes curry, when in fact curry powder totally isn’t Indian. Sure enough, if you look up curry powder on Wikipedia you’ll see this: “Curry powder and the contemporary English use of the word “curry” are Western inventions and do not reflect any specific South Asian food.” Michelle explained that “curry” basically means a saucy dish with tons of spices, and there are lots of different kinds of curries in India, and that none of them have curry powder.

Basically, curry powder isn’t Indian. The end.

Michelle was feeling bad, however, once she realized that there is a recipe she has from an Indian cookbook that actually does use curry powder. It’s called Curry in a Hurry and it’s her favorite non-Indian Indian food recipe. I’ve had this recipe sitting in my “to-try” pile for years and we finally made it last week! It was very good, even if it is fake curry. 😉 Nate commented that it actually tastes more like a North African dish, which is kind of true. Whatever it is, it’s delicious. All of my kids liked it, too, especially my 8-year-old Anna. (Here’s a link to the cookbook the recipe came from originally – Michelle likes this book a lot!)

As for which curry powder to use for this recipe, just use whatever you find at the store. I used McCormick’s curry powder. Michelle said that since she first shared the recipe with me, she has discovered Penzey’s curry powders and she likes them better than the standard grocery store versions. The Sweet Curry Powder is milder and Michelle says her kids really like that one, but her favorite is the Maharajah Curry Powder, which has really good flavor.

Thank you, Michelle, for giving us a way to use curry powder that doesn’t make you want to yell at us. 😉

Curry in a Hurry

 

Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Originally from "Indian Home Cooking" by Suvir Saran (I modified the measurements slightly on a few things and wrote the directions in my own words.)

Author: Jane Maynard

Ingredients

• 1½ tablespoons oil
• ½ of a small onion, chopped
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 dried red chilies (I just used 1 so it wouldn't be too spicy for my kids)
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (original recipe was 2 chicken breasts, but I added more)
• 3-5 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent.
2. Add curry powder, garam masala, garlic and red chilies. Stir for one minute.
3. Add coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato paste and simmer until thickens, stirring regularly.
4. Add chicken; simmer until chicken is fully cooked. (Alternatively, you can add already cooked chicken if you have it, just cook until heated through.)
5. Add spinach, stir and cook until spinach as wilted.
6. Serve over rice.

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Happy Thursday! Today’s podcast features a recipe tip inspired by my visit to Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont this week. I’ve got frozen dessert on the brain! 😉

Shownotes: 

• How to use xanthan gum in homemade frozen yogurt
• Curry in a Hurry (click through for links to good curry powder options)

It’s easy to listen to the show!

• Via the web: Just click play below!
• Via an app: For iPhone and iPad, subscribe to the This Week for Dinner Podcast on iTunes and listen to it through the purple Podcasts app. For Android devices, use the Stitcher, Podcast Addict or Pocket Casts apps. In all cases, launch the app, then search for This Week for Dinner Podcast. The benefit of using an app: once downloaded, you can listen to the show without an Internet connection.

Other Stuff!

• If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a rating and/or review on iTunes!
• Big thank you to d&m for providing the music for the podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS