The most difficult part about cooking dinner for me is coming up with new and interesting side dishes.  Especially in the summer when we are likely to have guests eating with us.  There is only so many times you can serve pasta salad or potato salad before you bore even yourself.

I came across this recipe last year sometime and jotted it down on a scrap of paper and stuffed it into the bottomless abyss that is otherwise known as my purse.  I found it again last week and knew it would  the perfect accompaniment to the burgers I was grilling for some friends that night.
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I found these adorable ramekins at the grocery store a few weeks ago.  I am a sucker for this color blue and pretty things in general.  For only $1 each, I could not pass them up.  I knew that I would find something to use them for.  So far I have served grapes in them, hummus, dips of all kinds– the best part of course is that no one is concerned about double dipping since they all have their own individual ramekin.

I have yet to find the cure for the unparalleled horror of having a sibling breathing near your food, but should I discover the answer to that I will be sure to let you know. I am here for you, people.

So Fourth of July came and I had them setting out on the counter and I decided that I would make a red, white and blue treat with them. 

The best part? The recipe is so easy that even your youngest children can make this with minimal help.

To make 10* individual cobblers you will need:

2 21oz canned cherries
1 tube of biscuits
1T melted butter
2T sugar
1tsp cinnamon

*Why 10? The biscuits come 10 to a tube and the 21oz can makes 5. So, uh, do the math! Or better yet, make your child do the math and then pat yourself on the back for helping them keep their mind sharp during their summer vacation. Their teacher will be proud of your efforts!

Divide the cherries up evenly between your ten ramekins.

Whack your tube of biscuits open against your counter until you hear that satisfying pop. Then take the biscuits out, flatten them slightly, and stick one in each ramekin on top of the cherries.

Brush the top with the melted butter. Sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake in the 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

 
These taste delicious hot, cold, or any state of cooling from hot to cold. I have already made another batch today since it was easier than listening to the complaints that 10 is not evenly divisible by 7. (See, more summer math work! FTW!)
 

If you have been reading here for any legnth of time, you know that I am all about easy recipes. I do not have a whole lot of patience when it comes to preparing food. My children inhale their food so quickly that I do not think it even has time to touch their tastebuds.

Also, it is now summer and we are often out of the house for the day. I don’t really feel like making big meals every single day. Sandwiches are a working mother’s friend, whether you are working in the home or out.

I had bought some rotisserie chickens from the grocery store for dinner one night. There wasn’t enough left to make a full meal for my family so I decided to make chicken salad. It was fabulous. The kids all loved it. It was da bomb. Did I just age myself terribly with that or what? I don’t even know where it came from, some back cobwebby corner of my brain, I guess.

You will need:

2 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1 small minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup mayonaisse

Step One:
Except for the grapes. Chop all of your ingredients up and toss in the bowl.

Step Two:

Add the mayonaisse, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Stir well.

Step Three:

Add the grapes and gently stir to mix.

Step Four:

Serve on some lightly toasted bread. The bread in the photo is gluten free bread. It is Udi’s brand and so good it tastes just like real bread. And those are salt and vinegar chips. You don’t have to serve it with those, but why not? They just make everything taste better.

And best of all, you don’t have to heat the kitchen all up.

School is quickly coming to an end.  If you are like me, it is coming to an end in the next few days.  Cue the angels singing hallelujah.  

What do you give to your children’s teachers?   I like to make a little something as well as give them a giftcard.  Even thought my daughter insists her teacher loves candles I just don’t think she wants one from every kid in the class.  Unless of course she is going for that Amish theme in her house and shunning electricity.

Coupled with school coming to an end has been my ongoing quest for a recipe to make the cinnamon roasted cashews that I love from Whole Foods.  I could eat them every single day.  And I would if the Whole Foods store wasn’t so far away from me and if they didn’t cost so much money.  For whatever reason, my children want to eat more than a small hand full of nuts for dinner everyday. They are so selfish like that.

As I searched for recipes, some of them were way more complex than what I wanted to do. I had zero desire to put trays of nuts in and out of the oven multiple times. Nor did I want to brush my nuts with egg whites.

(I am resisting the urge to add, That’s what she said.)

And so I came up with this shortcut version of the recipe. It suits me and my short attention span perfectly. Not to mention it is so delicious that I ended up hiding some of it from my children. I just don’t think they appreciated my nuts enough.

(Sometimes I think I am really a 12 year old boy.)

I think that this recipe tastes even better than the version they sell at Whole Foods, if only for the fact that it costs about 1/10th price to make at home.

You will need:

6 cups of Cashews, or really any nut you desire
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2T cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla

Again, this recipe, like most of my recipes, is not an exact science. Add more or less of whatever you like or don’t like. It will turn out perfectly fine. I promise.

Step One:

Put the nuts in a large heavy bottomed pan. Heat them up over high heat, stirring them so that they don’t burn. This will take a few minutes.

Step Two:

Once the nuts are heated thoroughly dump the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla into the pan.

Step Three:

Stir it while the sugar mixture gets all melty and sticks to the nuts.

Step Four:

Turn off stove and let it cool slightly before you remove the nuts from the pan. Resist the urge to taste them right now unless you want to burn the tastebuds off of your tongue. Trust me on this.

Step Five:

Scoop the nuts out of the pan and into a bowl. If you have allowed them to cool too long and they are stuck in your pan like a massive piece of peanut brittle, simply turn the stove back on for a few minutes to loosen the sugar up. it is much easier than hacking at it with a butter knife. Not that I know anything about that.

Now you can package these nuts up into little decorative containers to give to the teachers. Or you can just eat the nuts yourself and tell yourself that you need it, no, you deserve it, because soon enough the kids are going to be home all day and sometimes you just need to sneak into the pantry and have a little snack to susatin you while you think of ways to burn daylight.

Miles approves.

With the warm weather approaching, or if you live on the face of the sun like I do, the warm weather has already arrived, entertaining demands to be made easier and more casual. Afterall, who wants to slave over a hot stove on a sweltering day? No one that’s who.

This dessert is perfect for the casual entertaining of summer. It is easy, ridiculously so. Your children can make this entirely by themselves. And it is delicious. As a matter of fact, I hid the leftovers so that I could have it all for myself. What? Don’t judge me! You have done the same thing.
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My kids prefer dark meat to the chicken breasts.  I used to think that it was because the dark meat was more moist, but to be honest I now think that it is because they can pick up the legs in their hands and not have to bother with those pesky utensils.

I like to buy chicken legs because they are insanely inexpensive. Also, if you have any children who are picky and like bland food, once the skin is removed after cooking the spiciness disappears. (I am going to admit to you all right now that I had to look up how to spell spiciness. That just doesn’t look right. But then again, neither did any other way I tried to spell it.)

 
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This bread was always a tradition in my house growing up. The Italian Braided Easter Bread. What made it particularly Italian, I do not know. I think the my step-father’s family liked to attribute everything that they did as being uniquely an Italian tradition.

And so even though I can no no longer eat bread, I carry on the tradition.

I do not, however, dye the eggs.

This is what happened the last time we dyed easter eggs. The child in the photo has just turned 11. I have yet to recover from the experience.

You will need:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 packages active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
6 tablespoons butter
3 eggs

***
4 eggs* for putting in the braids of the bread

***

Mix in a small cup:
1 egg
2 tablespoons cold water

Brush this over the bread before putting in the oven to give the bread a nice sheen. This is optional and purely aesthetic.

Step One:

Put the milk and butter into a sauce pan and heat on low just until the butter melts. Do not boil it. If it gets too hot it will kill the yeast when you add this to the dry ingredients.

Step Two:

In your mixing bowl combine half the flour and the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well.

(Not shown, my son turning the measuring cup upside down and pour most of the flour NOT in the bowl.)

Step Three:

Pour the milk/melted butter mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix well.

Step Four:

Add the three eggs to the mixing bowl. Mix until it is smooth.

Step Five:

Slowly add remaining flour until the dough forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. You may need less than the full six cups of flour, or you may need slightly more.

Step Six:

Dump the dough out of the mixing bowl and knead it on a lightly floured surface.

Don’t afraid to really work the dough.

Dancing on a chair while you do it is optional, but seems to add something to the experience.

Make the dough into a nice round ball, and place it into an oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and put somewhere warm to rise.

You will know it is done rising when it doubles in size.

Once that happens you are going to beat the dough back down.

Again, chair dancing while kneading is optional, but you only live once, so why the heck not. This is the fun that money can’t buy. Which is good, because who has extra money in this economy.

Break the dough into three equal pieces.

Form each of those pieces into a long (24″ maybe?) snake.

Loosely braid the three pieces together and form them into a circle. Pinch the ends together. Then tuck the eggs** into the spaces of the braid.

Now set it aside and wait while it rises again.

And wait some more. To quote Tom Petty, “The wai-ai-aiting is the hardest part.”

After it has finished rising, feel free to shout, “It has risen! It has risen, indeed!” Just to get into the Easter spirit.

You are then going to brush the top of the bread with the egg/water mixture. Unless after all that waiting you forget, like I did.

Put your bread into a 375 degree oven and bake for about 30 min. You will know your bread is done when it has turned a golden color and when to tap on it you hear a hollow sound.

Perfect for eating with your Easter ham.

*The eggs that you put in the braids of the bread can be dyed and hardboiled. Or you can just use raw eggs and they cook inside while the bread is baking. I have never had a problem doing it that way.

**I discourage eating the eggs that are in the bread anyway because the bread sits out of refrigeration for so long. Yes, my step father’s family always used to eat the eggs and they all lived to tell the tale, but they also gave all of us kids coffee to drink with shots of Zambuca in it and called it an Italian tradition. So, you know, use your own, probably superior, judgement.

Who doesn’t love french fries? Crazy people that’s who.

So if  you are a crazy person just stop reading right now.  Then go and find yourself some medication.  Come back once you are sane.  Trust me, you will want to.

I have to confess right here that I had never made french fries from scratch before this. The thought of slicing up all of the potatoes seemed like way too much work when I could just open up a bag of already seasoned fries and dump it out onto my baking sheet. But a couple weeks ago I was making dinner and thought, ‘Oh what the heck, let me try.’
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This is what my children call it.  And really who am I to argue with it.  They are so stingy with their praise that I take it wherever I can get it. Last week when all my kids were sick with the coughing plague they requested I make this.  In fact, my 9 yr old was upset that his siblings had the audacity to eat the bananas and not let them go “bad.”

I have used this recipe since before I had kids.  When I was pregnant with my first child I brought it as a snack for my lamaze class and it recieved rave reviews from everyone. And I don’t just mean the pregnant people who would eat anything.
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When you think of pork chops what is the first thing that comes to mind? Applesauce, right?
or if you are a child of the 70’s the Brady Bunch episode where Peter is imitating Humphrey Bogart and says, “Pork chops and applesauce. That’s swell.”

In fact every single time I make pork chops I have to say this. And every time my kids ask me why I am saying in a weird voice.

So when I found this recipe I thought it was perfect, apples and pork chops cooked together!

I really liked it.  My kid were kind of meh, whatever. They are such party poopers sometimes.
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