What's for Dinner? Briam,Macaroni and Cheese, Meatloaf, and Cheesecake Marble Brownies

Above is my Summer comfort foods dinner. Our family loves macaroni and cheese, but it wasn't until I made this recipe for Baked Macaroni and Cheese from Alton Brown, that I told myself, even though it's more expensive than Kraft Macaroni and cheese, there is no comparison in how good it tastes. It really is a comfort food.

My husband loves vegetables, and I get tired of broccoli, and green beans, when yesterday Ms. Cellenia posted about Briam a Greek side dish of roasted Summer vegetables. I'm not a huge fan of eggplant and tomatoes, but when roasted in beef broth and olive oil with garlic, it becomes a very satisying and very healthy side dish.

What can I say about meat loaf, as a child growing up there was something about meatloaf I just didn't like. Most of my dinners I use ground beef, beef stroganoff, enchiladas,spaghetti with meatballs, but meatloaf is one of those versatile dishes, that you can add anything to ground beef to make it. In mine I used eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, parsley, dijon mustard, ketchup, worchestire sauce, salt and pepper and onions.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe has the best of both worlds, Cheesecake, and Brownies. What dessert can be better than that. Here's the recipe from Epicurious.com Cheesecake Marbled Brownies.

See if you can eat just one!

Blog Review~La Tartine Gourmet

Besides showing beautiful photos of food, Beatice the author of La Tartine Gourmet ,shares with her readers her original recipes, tips on what she does while she prepares her creations, and some very useful cooking information. It is no surprise her blog won the 2006 Best Food Blog Award.
Take a look at this recipe for her Cheesecake-Marble brownies. They look sinfully delicious. Looking for something a little more healthier, then this post Summer and it's Gifts will give you a feast not only for your eyes, but good for you too.

Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Mark Bittman of the New York Times is brillant. Just what I've been looking for some FAST, EASY Ideas for Meals. Here is his article, Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less . Some of the ideas that caught my attention,

#14 Put a few slices of chopped prosciutto in a skillet with olive oil, a couple of cloves of crushed garlic and a bit of butter; a minute later, toss in about half a cup bread crumbs and red chili flakes to taste. Serve over pasta with chopped parsley.

#28 New Joe’s Special, from San Francisco: Brown ground meat with minced garlic and chopped onion. When just about cooked, add chopped spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted. At the last minute, stir in two eggs, along with grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.

#76 Make a thin plain omelet with two or three eggs. Sauté cubes of bacon or pancetta or strips of prosciutto until crisp. Cut up the omelet and use it and the meat to garnish a green salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

When we were kids growing up, my mom only bought us the healthy for us cereals, like Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Grape Nuts. We didn't get to eat any of the 'FUN' cereals like 'Cookie Crisp' or 'Cocoa Puffs', and although I really did not like Raisin Bran when I was little, as I got older I really didn't care for the Bran Flakes, but I loved the raisins. Surprisingly my son loves Raisin Bran, and I like anything with 'clusters', so when I was asked to review Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters, I thought we'd make a good family to review it, being that Josh is a Diabetic, I wanted to compare Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters to Raisin Bran.

First I compared them nutritionally.

Kellogg's Raisin Bran (1 cup): 190 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 7 grams fiber, 19 grams sugar, 350 grams sodium, 5 grams protein.

Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters (1 cup): 170 calories, 1 gram fat, 11 grams fiber, 13 grams sugar, 250 grams sodium, 4 grams protein.

With Josh's Juvenile Diabetes, I try and (as hard as it is sometimes) limit the amount of sugar he eats to under 15 grams of sugar. The Winner, Fiber One Raisin Bran Clusters, it has less fat, more fiber, less sugar, and less sodium.

As far as taste goes, honestly I liked Fiber One's bran flakes better. They are not as big and they are not as rough textured as Raisin Bran's. They are sweetened with honey. I also noticed the raisins weren't covered in sugar. I would have liked to have seen more raisins. Raisin bran clearly has more raisins. And when I think of 'clusters' I'd expect them to be bite sized. The clusters were really good, but much smaller than I anticipated. I definitely prefer this to Raisin Bran, simply because I like these flakes, and I like how they taste, just sweet enough.

Overall, our family, really liked Fiber One Raisin Brand Clusters cereal and as an added bonus, it's a great way for my family to add more fiber to their diets.

* * *

The product was sent to me for review. I received no payment for this review, other than the box of cereal.

Home made Strawberry Ice Cream

Nothing tastes better on a Hot Summer's Day, than a deliciously cold scoop of creamy ice cream. Just one spoonful of ice cream can instantly cool you down and make you feel better. And ice cream is fun to eat. As kids we would eat it as fast as we could, before it all melted, and hoped we didn't get a brain freeze. You can eat ice cream in a cone or in a cup, with sprinkles or chocolate syrup. Ice Cream is synonymous with Summer Fun. I like a big scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in hot fudge. But today the kids and I had fun making homemade strawberry ice cream. First I went and bought a Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker .When I got home with it, I never expected the thought of homemade ice cream would give this family a little pick me up from this awful heat wave. Then I went to the store to pick up strawberries, cream,a lemon, and some sugar.

Katelyn had fun as I was cutting off the green tops and slicing the strawberries. Katelyn was doing this, " Put one in the bowl, put one in my mouth, put one in the bowl, put one in my mouth."

After the strawberries were all sliced, I then added a 1/2 cup of sugar and the juice of one lemon over the strawberries, and set them back in the fridge to macerate for a few hours.

After taking the macerated strawberries out of the fridge, I strained the juice and set it aside. Then I divided the sliced strawberries in half, putting one half in a mixing bowl. Then I mashed them.

To the mashed strawberries, I added the strawberry juice, one cup of sugar, 2 and a half cups whole milk, and 2 cups heavy whipping cream.

After mixing everything together, I then pour the strawberry ice cream mix into the ice cream maker, and use according to the manufacturers instructions.

About 5 minutes before the ice cream became solid I added the set aside other half of sliced strawberries.

Grab a spoon! Hope you enjoy it! Tastes better than any store bought ice cream for sure!

Menu Plan Monday: Fourth of July edition

With Wednesday being the Fourth of July, I thought it would be fun to make some great grilling menus.
Monday-Cilantro Grilled Chicken Breast with Balsamic Grilled Vegetables
Tuesday-Bourbon Barbecued Pork Ribs and Deviled Potato Salad
Wednesday-Happy 4th of July

Beer Brats and Marinated Grilled Steak
Grilled Corn
Baked Grilled Potato
Strawberry Ice Cream Sodas

made with Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

Thursday- Wrigley Field Chicago-Style Grill Cart Hot Dog with Waldorf Coleslaw and

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas

Friday-Key West Grilled Salmon
Saturday-Grilled White Corn Taco with Bbq Pork Loin, Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes and Tomatillo-Red Pepper Relish
Sunday-BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Blog Interview with~Chow Down Phoenix

How appropriate is this for my first Food Blog Interview with Jason of Chow Down Phoenix. Not only is he also from the Valley of the Sun, here in Arizona, but like me grew up in Orange County, California. As I'm browsing through blogs, Chown Down Phoenix caught my attention was Jason's fantastic recommendations for not only restaurants locally like Joe's Real BBQ in Gilbert, Arizona, but his photographs of the food, look just as if I were sitting down to eat at the restaurant. Which is something I find very helpful when it comes to choosing where we're going for dinner. He's also just recently returned from San Diego, and a trip to San Diego wouldn't be complete without visiting Coronado Island. I've found Jason's Chow Down Phoenix very enjoyable and informative to read, I hope you do too. On with the Interview.

What motivated you to start Chow Down Phoenix?

Back in early 2006, a couple buddies from work and I started this really juvenile venture called Project I.C.E. (International Cuisine Expedition). Every two weeks we’d go on a “mission” to a restaurant that represented a different regional cuisine, and then we’d put a sticker on this huge National Geographic map for each country we’d visited. After about a year, we started talking about creating a blog to rate/review the restaurants we’d been visiting.As it turned out, I got really absorbed in the whole idea and kind of took it on as my baby. It’s my hobby now; I truly enjoy it.



Do you have a favorite restaurant that comes to mind?

There’s a tiny Italian restaurant in Huntington Beach called Basilico’s Pasta e Vino. “Mamma” used to run the kitchen and make all the meals from scratch. Every visit was a heavenly experience. The restaurant is still there, although I’ve not eaten there in about five years. I have to get back there next time I’m in Orange County!



At which restaurant did you have your most memorable experience?

One experience that sticks out in my mind was during my high school days when we dared my friend Jerry to eat a “20 by 20” at In-n-Out. That’s 20 patties and 20 slices of cheese between two buns! The manager was so excited about the order that he took over the grill and put the monstrosity together. It didn’t go down easy—Jerry started turning green about ¾ of the way through, but after about 45 minutes he had finished every last bite. He went prepared; he brought a fork, knife, and bottle of Tabasco with him, lol. Before we left, we got a Polaroid of the manager holding up Jerry’s arm like a heavyweight champ after a big fight. The most amazing thing was that when we got back home, I made a thick, jumbo-sized chocolate malt for him (I make good malts), and he downed it like it was nothing. Half an hour later, we hit the pool, and he was doing laps like Tarzan. He was an eating machine.



If you had to choose, which type of cuisine do you like most? And what wouldbe your favorite meal?

That’s a tough one, but I’d have to go with Italian. There’s nothing I like better than excellent plate of fettucine alfredo served with milanesa (thin cut, breaded steak). Wash that down with a cannoli…badda bing!



Where does your love of food and cooking come from?

I think the Food Network is to blame. I quickly became hooked back in the mid-90’s when Emeril started his first show, Essence of Emeril. The show was entertaining and relaxing, and it drew me in to the world of food and cooking. Cooking is a unique and personal art form. When other forms of art are presented to you, you can see them, hear them, or possibly touch them, but with food and drink you can smell and taste them as well. It is highly sensual in the true meaning of the word, and I suppose that’s why dining can be such a romantic experience. To me, a homemade meal that someone puts their heart into is one of the greatest signs of love. Just think of grandma cooking a huge turkey dinner on Thanksgiving or your spouse cooking a special dinner for you on your birthday…food brings us together.



What goals do you have for your blog? Are you considering writing a book?

I want to reach as many food-lovers as possible, and I think the best way to do that is to create a unique experience for the reader so they’ll want to keep coming back. I want my readers to be able to experience restaurants through the blog as if they’re sitting at the table right in front of the food. Ultimately, I want to make people hungry. If I’m making people put down the mouse and head for the pantry, then Chow Down Phoenix is a success. I’d never rule out the possibility of writing a book someday. I enjoy writing, but the idea of a book is a little intimidating. Let me know if you have a good idea for a theme.

Thank you, Jason for taking the time for this interview!