Pancakes are a tradition in our house. When our kids were younger, we used to make them every Sunday. I made them so much, I know the recipe by heart. In recent years, we’ve expanded our Sunday breakfasts and pancakes only happen once every month or every two month. I knew I had to make Martha’s Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes as soon as I turned the page in my May Everyday Food.

This recipe was easy to make, but that being said, I managed to goof it up. You use two cups of rolled oats. One cup you put in the Cuisinart with the other dry ingredients and grind. The other cup you are supposed to leave whole and add to the dough. I didn’t read the recipe carefully enough, so it all went in the Cuisinart. The usual suspects are added to this – milk, egg, oil, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt, as well as cinnamon.

The batter was quite thick and this made a LOT of pancakes. The recipe says it serves 4, but I think it would easily feed 6, especially if you have other food with it.

These pancakes were very heavy and filling. They tasted like oatmeal, which was interesting. I think they would be better with some chopped apple in them. I tend to like fruit in my pancakes. I almost always add blueberries to pancakes when I make them. These are tasty, hearty pancakes though and will definitely fill your family up. In the recipe, Martha suggests freezing them and then heating them up for weekday mornings. My kids refuse to eat frozen pancakes, so that’s not an option here.

Pancakes are a tradition in our house. When our kids were younger, we used to make them every Sunday. I made them so much, I know the recipe by heart. In recent years, we’ve expanded our Sunday breakfasts and pancakes only happen once every month or every two month. I knew I had to make … Read more →

Since I am overwhelmed with just too much leftover Easter ham, I made Martha’s Ham and Egg Fried Rice for dinner (April Everyday Food).  I love fried rice, especially when I make it at home, so this sounded good.

The recipe was easy to put together. You cook up some garlic, ginger and the white parts of scallions. Then you add soy sauce, rice vinegar, rice, ham and the green parts of scallions. Once it’s cooked, you put it in a bowl and put a sunny side up egg on top of it.

I made mine all in one bowl instead of individual bowls and we just put it on plates. The fried rice was good and I loved the big pieces of scallions, along with the ginger, garlic, soy and vinegar tastes. I must admit I was not wild about the ham in this. Maybe I’m just tired of ham, but it was too strong a flavor. I usually make my fried rice without any meat.

As for the egg? I have a friend whose kids regularly eat rice with a fried egg and soy sauce so it wasn’t a foreign concept and I do usually incorporated some scrambled eggs into my fried rice.  Even with all of that in my head, I still couldn’t get into the egg. Maybe I’m off eggs since the asparagus quiche episode that made me so sick. Everyone else thought it was ok though. I wouldn’t make this again though since it wasn’t anything to write home about (although apparently it is enough to write on a blog about).

Since I am overwhelmed with just too much leftover Easter ham, I made Martha’s Ham and Egg Fried Rice for dinner (April Everyday Food).  I love fried rice, especially when I make it at home, so this sounded good. The recipe was easy to put together. You cook up some garlic, ginger and the white … Read more →

I gave Martha’s Tortilla Pie with Chicken a try (from April Everyday Food). I have thrown together tortilla pies in the past, but never followed any particular recipe. Usually I layered ground turkey (that I seasoned with taco seasoning), cheese, beans, chopped tomato, salsa, and tortillas and served with sour cream, lettuce, and avocado on the side.

Martha’s recipe was easy because you put 4 tortillas on the bottom, put in your filling, add 4 more tortillas and top with leftover ingredients. Very simple to assemble with only a few layers. I used shredded chicken breast (which I poached) instead of dark meat as the recipe says. I also cheated and used a jar of salsa instead of making my own.

This was terrific. I loved the shredded chicken in it as opposed to the ground turkey I usually use. I served it with some chopped lettuce and sliced avocado and it made a great meal. I will definitely make this one again. It was great as leftovers also.

I gave Martha’s Tortilla Pie with Chicken a try (from April Everyday Food). I have thrown together tortilla pies in the past, but never followed any particular recipe. Usually I layered ground turkey (that I seasoned with taco seasoning), cheese, beans, chopped tomato, salsa, and tortillas and served with sour cream, lettuce, and avocado on … Read more →

Martha has a recipe for a rolled omelet in the April issue of Everyday Food. It looked like a fun little thing to whip up, so I gave it a try. You start by mixing milk and flour, which I would not have thought to put in an omelet. Then you add your eggs and salt and pepper. Pour the omelet into your pan (I cut this recipe in half and used a small baking sheet meant for the toaster oven) and sprinkle on the spinach.

This bakes for about 10 minutes, then you sprinkle cheese on and let it melt. When you take it out of the oven, you’re supposed to roll it. I found this to be a bit hard to do since it was so darn hot! I did finally get it rolled and it really looked pretty cute. My slices looked good too and let me tell you, this really tasted terrific! I love spinach and cheese (as you well know if you’ve been following along with me) so this was a great combo in my book. I even ate it heated up from the microwave the next day and it was just as good. I have to say I was pretty surprised by this dish. It was light and fluffy and baked to perfection. And the fact that you can make it ahead and heat it up again makes it a great thing for a holiday brunch.

Martha has a recipe for a rolled omelet in the April issue of Everyday Food. It looked like a fun little thing to whip up, so I gave it a try. You start by mixing milk and flour, which I would not have thought to put in an omelet. Then you add your eggs and … Read more →

My son, previously known as mini-Martha, has requested that he be referred to as Dude Martha. I will do my best to remember! Dude Martha asked me if there were any Martha cookies he could make and got quite excited about the soft chocolate chip cookies in the April issue of Everyday Food. He made these completely on his own and is quite a proficient little baker!

The recipe is pretty basic and the only way it differs from regular chocolate chip cookies is that it uses corn syrup instead of granulated sugar.

He did a very find job mixing it all up and scooping the cookies. They took a little longer to bake than the recipe said (as always). We put it on convection finally and that got the last batch done quickly.

How did they taste? Really great, actually! They truly are soft and have a very nice flavor. Dude Martha has requested that I save this recipe for him, since he plans to make these again and again. Of course, I’ll need to taste test each batch….

My son, previously known as mini-Martha, has requested that he be referred to as Dude Martha. I will do my best to remember! Dude Martha asked me if there were any Martha cookies he could make and got quite excited about the soft chocolate chip cookies in the April issue of Everyday Food. He made … Read more →

I whipped up Martha’s Asparagus, Leek and Gruyere Quiche when I was stumped about what to make for dinner.

This is easy to make, especially if you cheat like I did and use a store bought crust! You cook the asparagus and leek in a pan. Grate your cheese (I wish Gruyere did not smell so bad! Who wants stinky feet in their quiche?) and put it in the bottom of the crust. Add the veggies then the egg and cream mix. That’s it. Bake for about 50 minutes.

Mine came out very nicely – puffy and slightly golden. I thought it tasted great and was a nice alternative to the quiche I seem to always make, which is spinach and mushroom. It’s a nice way to use asparagus if you have a lot.

How did the quiche go over with the family? Teen Martha wasn’t home. Mini-Martha would not touch it. Mr. MarthaandMe said it was “ok”. He and mini-Martha scarfed down the Polish sausage I cooked up for them happily and ate his one piece of quiche. I guess real mean eat quiche, but prefer Polish sausage.

Now that you’ve read how the dinner went, let me tell you what happened afterwards. I got really sick. Mr. MarthaAndMe was not affected. I didn’t believe it could be the quiche, but all I had with it was bread and melon. So the next day I ate it again. And I got really sick again. Again – Mr. MarthaAndMe not affected. I can’t explain it, but I don’t think I’ll be making this again ever! Now this is not to say I am saying the recipe is bad, instead I’m guessing there was something wrong with one of my ingredients.

I whipped up Martha’s Asparagus, Leek and Gruyere Quiche when I was stumped about what to make for dinner. This is easy to make, especially if you cheat like I did and use a store bought crust! You cook the asparagus and leek in a pan. Grate your cheese (I wish Gruyere did not smell … Read more →

The April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food has a recipe for Broccoli, Tomato and Mozarella Stromboli. In this neck of the woods, we call these pizza pods, which are made at a local restaurant called Pizza Plant. We like to go there because you can custom order your own pod. I usually order one with a spinach dough and spinach and mushrooms inside. Mr. MarthaandMe likes his with anchovies. The kids have always liked it there too because they bring some fresh dough to the table for kids to play with.

So, I was happy to give Martha’s stromboli a try. I bought wheat pizza dough at the grocery store and reserved 1/4 of it for Mini-Martha, who wanted to make a small pizza instead of a stromboli. I rolled the other 3 pieces of dough out, but it was difficult to get them to the right size.

Next, I piled on the ingredients. Mine had broccoli (and can I say this recipe calls for frozen broccoli which I have never in my life bought before – I was brave and bought it), spinach, salami, mushroom, cheese and sauce. Mr. MarthaandMe’s had mushrooms, broccoli, salami, cheese, sauce and anchovy paste (blech!).

Rolling them up was a bit of a challenge because, as you can see,  I may have overstuffed them a teeny bit!

Now we come to the part where things got a little hairy. I rolled them up and put them on the baking sheet, seam side down. The recipe says to line the baking sheet with foil. I was a bit surprised by this since Martha seems to have a paranoia about foil touching food and all of her recipes tell you to put parchment between the foil and the food. Not so in this recipe. It says to put the strombolis on the foil. So I did, then I baked them.

They turned out gorgeously brown and puffy with some filling oozing out. Then I tried to get them off the baking sheet. Right. Not happening. The foil stuck to the bottoms and would not peel off. It was a huge mess. I may have lost my temper and had a few choice words for Martha. Sometimes I get so tired of spending all this time and effort and having things not turn out.

I may have thrown down my spatula in disgust and walked away. Mr. MarthaAndMe valiantly stepped in. He ended up cutting the foil between them, flipping them over and peeling off tiny pieces of foil one at a time. Very frustrating and ridiculous.

I was so upset I forgot to take a photo of the inside, so you’ll just have to use your imagination. They tasted good and I enjoyed the salami, which is not something I would normally have added.  Would I make this again? I don’t know – I think I would rather just have a pizza. Same ingredients and less mess.

The April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food has a recipe for Broccoli, Tomato and Mozarella Stromboli. In this neck of the woods, we call these pizza pods, which are made at a local restaurant called Pizza Plant. We like to go there because you can custom order your own pod. I usually order one … Read more →

I loved the asparagus article in the April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I was excited to discover some new ways to make asparagus, so please join me for my personal asparagus festival, also known as the Festival of Spears.

I make asparagus a lot, and particularly when my father’s crop comes in, I get bored with it. There are a few ways I normally make it. The first is just cut up and boiled with butter and salt and pepper. My preferred method is to roast it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I coat it in panko and pan fry it.

First up is the asparagus with goat cheese. I cooked my whole asparagus stalks in a pan with a tiny bit of water. They cooked very quickly. I sliced the goat cheese into rounds and coated them with flour then panko and froze them and quickly browned them in a pan. I loved the goat cheese on this! The rounds looked gorgeous and brown and so very professional. This is a terrific way to dress up plain asparagus with not a lot of work and I will definitely be making it again. This one is truly fab.

Asparagus experiment number two is Spaghetti with Shaved Asparagus. I was intrigued by this- I had never thought of shaving asparagus. Martha says to take a vegetable peeler and peel shavings off your asparagus. This was a totally weird thing to do and let me just say it is pretty wasteful. You do not use the tops (and as my mother, Big MarthaAndMe will tell you, the tops are the best part, since she and her brother used to fight over them) and you end up wasting a good portion of the spear itself.

You boil some spaghetti (I used whole wheat) and reserve some of the cooking water. Then you add the shaved asparagus and lemon shavings. Drain it and add butter, salt, pepper, lemon juice and reserved water which comes together to make a very light sauce. You shave some parmesan over the top at the end.

This is interesting looking, but the thing is you do not taste the asparagus at all! It just tastes like a mouthful of pasta with something green in it. I was quite disappointed by that. First you waste so much of the asparagus, then you don’t even taste it? Bah! Skip this one – I wouldn’t make it again. Asparagus tally? One yes, one no.

Asparagus with Mustard Sauce

Now for asparagus recipe number three, Asparagus with Creamy Mustard Sauce. This tells you to steam your asaparagus and chill it. Then you mix up a quick cold sauce with mayo, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. That’s it! Pour the sauce over your asparagus and go to town. I thought the mustard sauce had a nice flavor. This strikes me as a summer dish though. It would taste wonderful for a supper on a hot day. At this time of year it was not so terrific as a cold dish, although it had a nice flavor, it just was not palate pleasing to eat a cold vegetable.

Total tally: One definite, one maybe and one no.

I loved the asparagus article in the April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I was excited to discover some new ways to make asparagus, so please join me for my personal asparagus festival, also known as the Festival of Spears. I make asparagus a lot, and particularly when my father’s crop comes in, I … Read more →

Ok you get two for the price one in this post. I made Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair and Asian Carrot Slaw for dinner (both from the March issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food).

First I made the slaw. You are supposed to take carrots and shave them with a vegetable peeler. No problem. Now picture yourself trying to do this with baby carrots. Not that easy. Please envision me holding on to the tip of the baby carrot with my finger tips, getting little miniature shavings off. I didn’t make a lot of this since it was taking me forever to shave the baby carrots! Thinly sliced scallions, toasted sesames, rice vinegar, oil, salt and pepper complete the recipe. I added a dash of sugar since I find Martha’s dressings too tart.

This was very good. The scallion gave it just a little kick. I loved the subdued Asian dressing on it and the sesame gave it some nice flavor. I like shaved carrots like this. Somehow a whole raw baby carrot is just too crunchy sometimes, but when it is shaved like this, it’s very mild and nice.

Next up is the Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair. Full confession – I cheated a bit (a lot) on this. First you dredge your chicken pieces in flour then cook them in a little oil. No problem. You are supposed to remove them and add some chicken stock. I had none and I couldn’t even find my emergency jar of boullion. My solution? Open a dusty can of chicken noodle soup and use the broth from it.

Next you add artichoke hearts and capers. Small problem – no capers in my pantry today. So this is where I got creative. I thought this dish sounded a little bland anyhow, so I added some mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Then I put the chicken back in the sauce, added a little butter and served it over the angel hair pasta.

Here is where I get to pat myself on the back. I ate it without any parmesan cheese. Now look, as far as I’m concerned, pasta and parmesan are meant to go together. I held back from adding it to see if I could focus on the flavor of the ingredients. And I have to admit it was good without the cheese.

I would add something else to this to liven it up – some herbs. It was a little bland, but it was still good.

Ok you get two for the price one in this post. I made Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair and Asian Carrot Slaw for dinner (both from the March issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food). First I made the slaw. You are supposed to take carrots and shave them with a vegetable peeler. No problem. … Read more →

Well that title dates me doesn’t it? It sounds like something a 70’s DJ would have said to describe something he was about to spin on his stacks of wax.

Coming back to the current era, I made Martha’s Smoky Beef Tacos (March Everyday Food).  First I had to make a trip to the store. I needed a chuck roast. I’ve never made tacos with anything other than ground beef, ground turkey or sliced chicken breast, so this was a departure already. I also had to buy chipotles in adobo sauce. I am not wild about super hot things, so I was a little frightened by that. My grocery store also had only one can, teetering on the edge between the Mexican and Asian sections, which I thought a to be little dysfunctional.

Fortunately, I read this recipe the day before and knew I needed 2  1/2 hours for the meat to cook! This is not a quick last minute meal like most tacos are.

Ready to cook

This was very easy to put together. Cut the meat into 4 pieces and add it to a pot with ketchup, the chipotles, 8 garlic cloves, oregano and salt and pepper. That’s it! You cook it on the stove until it boils then stick it in the oven.

I assembled my tortillas, cheese, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sour cream as toppings. When I took the meat out of the oven, it was not what I expected. I thought it would fall apart more as it cooked. No problem though – I put Mr. MarthaAndMe on it with a fork and it shredded nicely. I kept the sauce separate and served it in a bowl on the side.

This was really, really good. I loved having pieces of meat rather than ground meat. It had a nice flavor by itself, but I did sprinkle a little sauce on (Mr. MarthaAndMe dumped some on and said it made it very spicy – no kisses for his chipotle breath tonight). I have a lot leftover, so I’m going to freeze it for

Shredded

another meal.

The worst part of this? The pot! It came out of the oven totally gross, with sauce burnt all around the edges. I have not even attempted to scrub it – I’ve got it soaking. It’s going to be ugly. Mr. MarthaandMe wanted to know if Martha would come over to do the dishes.  I should get him to watch that Whatever Martha episode where she teaches how to load the dishwasher and how to wash dishes.  I think his head would explode!

My taco

Well that title dates me doesn’t it? It sounds like something a 70’s DJ would have said to describe something he was about to spin on his stacks of wax. Coming back to the current era, I made Martha’s Smoky Beef Tacos (March Everyday Food).  First I had to make a trip to the store. … Read more →