Ana at Sweet Almond Tree has chosen Brie and Ham Sandwich for next week

Ana at Sweet Almond Tree has chosen Brie and Ham Sandwich for next week

My friend Debbie Koenig has a fantastic new cookbook coming out later this month called Parents Need to Eat Too. The concept is that even though you’ve got a baby or toddler, you can still make great food to feed yourself, even if you’re cooking in just quick spurts, or even with one hand. Debbie also has a great web site with lots of recipes there, so be sure to check her out at DebbieKoenig.com.

I’m giving away a copy of this wonderful cookbook to a random commenter on this post, so be sure to leave a comment so you can win!

Debbie’s publisher has sent me a review copy and will send out the winner’s copy. In full disclosure, by running a recipe from her book and posting about it, I’m entered to win a prize from her publisher. Whatever. I don’t really care about the prize, but I do care about the book, which I think is something so many parents are going to need and use often.

I recently made Broccoli and Cheddar Pinwheels, with some substitutions and everyone in my family enjoyed it. Here’s Debbie’s recipe:

1 pound pizza dough

2 1/2 cups finely chopped broccoli or one 10 ounce package of frozen, defrosted and chopped: you can do this in the food processor

1-2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a baking sheet.

Remove pizza dough from fridge 30-60 minutes before you plan to use it.

Steam the broccoli until just tender (5-6 minutes). Cool slightly then combine with cheese, mustard, salt, and pepper.

Roll or stretch the dough to a 10×14 rectangle on a floured surface. It doesn’t have to be exact.

Spread the broccoli mix on 3/4 of the dough, leaving an uncoated portion at one short side. Begin to roll the dough from the short side covered with the broccoli spread and keep rolling until you’ve got a nice, neat log.

Use a serrated knife or pastry scraper to cut it into 8 equal pinwheels. Carefully lay the pinwheels flat on the prepared baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes.

Debbie’s recipe is fantastic as is. I thought I had a bag of shredded Cheddar but when I opened it, it was moldy, so I ended up using a mix of mozzarella, feta and extra sharp provolone.

It made more sense to me to cook the broccoli first then chop it in the Cuisinart with everything else, so I cooked it then dumped it in with the mustard, cheese, and salt and pepper. I also tossed in 2 leftover pieces of deli ham I had floating around. Those were my only changes. Next time I make this I think I will cut the wheel into more and smaller pieces. They were big, like a big cinnamon roll which was fine for a dinner portion, but I might make them smaller so they would work for snacks and lunches.

I loved this recipe. It really was amazingly easy and I can absolutely see being able to toss this together with a toddler underfoot or a between feedings with a newborn.

You must enter by midnight ET on Monday February 13. I’ll randomly and blindly select the winner by random number drawing (numbers assigned in order of comments here). Sorry, offer limited to U.S. addresses only and entrants age 18 and up only. One entry per person. Winners notified by email given when entering, not responsible for email transmission problems. You are responsible for notifying me of your correct mailing address if you are selected as a winner. Contest closes at midnight Eastern time on 2/13/12. Prize is nontransferable and may not be redeemed for cash. MarthaAndMe reserves the right to announce the name of the winner on the blog. MarthaAndMe not responsible for delivery or nondelivery of prize which will be sent by publisher.

My friend Debbie Koenig has a fantastic new cookbook coming out later this month called Parents Need to Eat Too. The concept is that even though you’ve got a baby or toddler, you can still make great food to feed yourself, even if you’re cooking in just quick spurts, or even with one hand. Debbie … Read more →

I was in the mood for something Mexican, but enchiladas have that messy pan to deal with! Instead, I made this great (and easy!) recipe in parchment.

You can either use purchased guacamole or make your own easy substitute:

Lazy Man’s Guac

Smash one avocado and top with the juice of 1/4 a lime and mix. Add half of a 15 ounce jar of mild salsa and 3/4 cups of light sour cream and mix.

Chicken with Guac

For each serving, place one boneless skinless chicken breast on a piece of parchment (see Technique page of this blog for parchment and folding instructions). Season it with salt and pepper. Place 1/2 cup of the guac on top then 1/2 cup arugula. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons Mexican grated cheese mix (or just use Cheddar or Jack). Fold the parchment and bake at 400 for 25 minutes. 5 minutes before the timer goes off, spray a taco tortilla with cooking spray and set it on the baking sheet or rack next to the packet. When you take the chicken out, slice the tortilla into thin slices and top the chicken with it once you open the packet.

My family loved this and no one even knows there is arugula in it which is great if you’re trying to sneak more veggies into your kids.

I was in the mood for something Mexican, but enchiladas have that messy pan to deal with! Instead, I made this great (and easy!) recipe in parchment. You can either use purchased guacamole or make your own easy substitute: Lazy Man’s Guac Smash one avocado and top with the juice of 1/4 a lime and … Read more →

Tiny Skillet chose soft pretzels for our project this week, which worked out well with the Super Bowl. I’ve made soft pretzels before, but these were really good. The pretzels had a fluffy texture that I really, really liked and I think it is because you cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter. Genius. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for half of the flour in this and was fantastic. I put salt on half and cinnamon sugar on the other half (my kids like them this way). I also made cheese dip to go with these:

2 tbsp butter

3 slices American cheese

4 tablespoons skim milk

pinch ground mustard

pinch pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon light cream cheese

I dump it all in a pan and heat over low to medium, stirring until it is completely melted.

Tiny Skillet chose soft pretzels for our project this week, which worked out well with the Super Bowl. I’ve made soft pretzels before, but these were really good. The pretzels had a fluffy texture that I really, really liked and I think it is because you cut the butter into the flour with a pastry … Read more →

Tiny Skillet has chosen soft pretzels for Monday’s project. Sounds like fun.

We are still dealing with a very serious situation with my father-in-law, in fact he is having open heart surgery tomorrow morning. If you don’t hear from me on Monday with my results, it’s because things were complicated or I’ve been busy managing everything.

Tiny Skillet has chosen soft pretzels for Monday’s project. Sounds like fun. We are still dealing with a very serious situation with my father-in-law, in fact he is having open heart surgery tomorrow morning. If you don’t hear from me on Monday with my results, it’s because things were complicated or I’ve been busy managing … Read more →

I forgot to post this – sorry for the delay. My father-in-law is suddenly seriously ill and there’s just too much going on to keep everything straight.

Perfecting Pru chose our recipe this week, Whole Wheat Pasta with Arugula, Lemon, and Pistachios. I admit I was skeptical about this!

I had to make a couple of substitutions. I thought I had whole wheat spaghetti, but I was out, so I used a basil pasta instead. I also could not find Meyer lemons (in fact, I’ve never had them) so I used a regular lemon. I thought this was pretty good and I enjoyed it. I know a Meyer lemon would not have been as bitter as the rind from a regular lemon, so it’s a shame I can’t seem to get them. I admit, I added cheese to this after putting it on my plate. I really did like it though. It was very different and also very fresh tasting, which I enjoyed very much. Mr. MarthaAndMe and TeenMartha also enjoyed it. Did you make it?

I forgot to post this – sorry for the delay. My father-in-law is suddenly seriously ill and there’s just too much going on to keep everything straight. Perfecting Pru chose our recipe this week, Whole Wheat Pasta with Arugula, Lemon, and Pistachios. I admit I was skeptical about this! I had to make a couple … Read more →

Naan bread is very familiar to people who enjoy Indian food. I admit I am not a big Indian food fan. I don’t know what is spicy and what isn’t, so it makes it hard for me to figure out what to order. I do love tandoori chicken, however. Naan, though, is an Indian food I just love. Naan bread is a flat bread, similar to pita bread. It is usually cooked in a tandoor oven.

My grocery store now sells naan and I’ve been buying lots of it. I really love it for making pizzas. The bread is just thick enough that it works quite well (I find tortillas and pitas to just not give me the consistency I want). I like the whole wheat variety. My son likes the white variety and eats it plain, with nothing on it.  It’s great with dip or to make an open face sandwich you’re going to eat with a knife and fork. Have you tried it?

Naan bread is very familiar to people who enjoy Indian food. I admit I am not a big Indian food fan. I don’t know what is spicy and what isn’t, so it makes it hard for me to figure out what to order. I do love tandoori chicken, however. Naan, though, is an Indian food … Read more →

I’m definitely in my cozy winter cooking mode and craving warm, comforting dishes. This cooked up quickly for a great weeknight dinner. I heated up a loaf of bread and cooked some carrots and dinner was done.

1 1lb pork tenderloin, cut into 8 pieces

1 cup sauerkraut

sage

1 apple, cored and cut into 8 slices

cinnamon

salt and pepper

1/4 cup cider

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400. Spread the sauerkraut out on a large piece of parchment, in a space large enough for the pork. Cover with the pork. Season pork with a pinch of sage sprinkled over it. Top with apple slices. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Mix cider and cornstarch and pour over and around the food. Seal the packet and bake for 20-25 minutes until a meat thermometer says the pork has reached 145 degrees. Allow the packet to rest about 5 minutes before opening and serving. Serves 4.

I’m definitely in my cozy winter cooking mode and craving warm, comforting dishes. This cooked up quickly for a great weeknight dinner. I heated up a loaf of bread and cooked some carrots and dinner was done. 1 1lb pork tenderloin, cut into 8 pieces 1 cup sauerkraut sage 1 apple, cored and cut into … Read more →

It’s been quite a while since we have attempted a major home project. I have a bedroom set that I got when I was about 16. The headboard for the bed will hold a full or queen size bed. A couple of years ago we upgraded to a king mattress and box springs (when you have 2 golden retrievers sleeping with you, you don’t have much choice). We could not attach that to the headboard, so we just stood the headboard up between it and the wall, but you could tell it was too small, so it looked a little funny.

The headboard was curvy, with different carvings and panels in it, so whenever I sat up in bed to read or watch TV, my head was against some uneven part of wood. It drove me nuts. Pillows did not do the trick. I wanted a padded headboard. There are some out there, but none of them are in colors I would choose. So, we decided to make our own. This project was actually pretty inexpensive (in contrast to buying a pre-made headboard) and was accomplished in one day.

First we measured how big we wanted it to be. Then we bought fabric, batting, a piece of wood and a big piece of foam. We cut the wood an inch smaller all around than the foam, so that the edges would be soft. We used a spray adhesive to attached the foam to the wood. We covered it in batting and then covered it in the fabric. We used an air compressor stapler gun which makes it quick work.

We worked slowly and carefully because the pattern is linear. The hardest part was the corners. It took some trying, but we came up with a technique that had some very small folds/creases at the corners so it wasn’t too lumpy.

Mounting it on the wall was very easy because Mr. MarthaandMe bought these fantastic self-leveling mirror hangers. You attach one piece to the wall and the other to the back of the headboard. They catch each other and hold the headboard up (each one will hold up to 75 lbs and we used 2). It was easier than I ever imagined.

Total cost: under $300. The fabric and batting were both 50% off at JoAnn Fabric. Wood was from Lowe’s for about $8. The foam was from a special foam store. We would have had to use 2 pieces if we bought it at JoAnn and were worried the seam would show. Mr. MarthaAndMe used to repair office furniture and used to buy foam for chairs from this store. We got a professional discount since they remembered him (it still was not cheap – $78).

It took us most of the day but we kept getting interrupted for other things, so this could really be done in just a few hours.

I am THRILLED with how this turned out. I will be going to bed early from now so I can spend some time reading, leaning against it!

It’s been quite a while since we have attempted a major home project. I have a bedroom set that I got when I was about 16. The headboard for the bed will hold a full or queen size bed. A couple of years ago we upgraded to a king mattress and box springs (when you … Read more →

Perfecting Pru has chosen an interesting looking spaghetti dish for next week’s project. I hope you’ll join us in cooking it!

Perfecting Pru has chosen an interesting looking spaghetti dish for next week’s project. I hope you’ll join us in cooking it!