Tomatoes, Squash and Fresh Mozzarella with Creamy Polenta (Or without, whatevs)

I don't want to sound like a loser or anything but I've never had polenta before.  I've never cooked it before and I've never even seen it at the grocery store before.  I was wondering if I would even be able to find it but Bob's Red Mill came through for me.

If I'm being honest, I would have to tell you that I almost didn't even make the polenta.  I almost decided that it wasn't worth buying something I knew I wasn't going to like.  Then, I realized that I'm not a five year old and that this is the reason for the cooking group to begin with.  To learn new things.  To try new things that I wouldn't normally try.  To cook new things.  To eat new things.  To not be a 5 year old.  

After a pep talk in the mirror, I tried the polenta by itself and was less than impressed and wondered if maybe I was a 5 year old after all.  Determined to try everything together before I wrote off polenta forever, I dished everything up and took a bite.  And was pleasantly surprised.  All the flavor combinations really worked together.  The juices from the vegetables mixed with the polenta and it was really good.   It's almost like America's Test Kitchen knows what it's doing.  Weird.  And the texture of the polenta was completely lost in the vegetables and flavors.  I actually really liked it and would maybe make it again.  

 If you leave the polenta uncovered, it turns into a rubbery brick of cornmeal so make sure to serve it right away. 

And this is how the rest of the family ate their vegetables. Okay, fine.  This is how Tyler ate his and the kids pretty much had noodles with parmesan cheese.  (I forgot to add the mozzarella to his plate before the picture. oops)

I know what you're thinking, I should have just made them eat the polenta.  If they get hungry enough they'll eat it right?  Well, let's just say that all of my ideas about eating from my younger years have been blown out the window.  Like with a hand grenade.  I usually make them taste it and if they don't like it, they don't have to eat it.  When an autistic kid can't handle the texture of something, I don't make him eat it.  Or he will throw up.  Yeah.  And Tyler's decided he's pretty much autistic too so he got noodles.  And I can't punish Hadlee for being the only 'typical' one around here so she got to have noodles too.  (I learned that's what you call your normal kids when you have an autistic one, 'typical'.)  Maybe now that I'm more of a polenta eater, I will convert them in the future.  Like when all their taste buds have grown up a bit. :)  And Tyler did actually try a bite of the polenta with veggies and said it was pretty good.  He liked his noodles better though. :)

If you'd like to try the recipe you can get it at Janet's blog.  She was our host for the week and chose the recipe.  Thanks for making me try something new, Janet!

Here's what I did differently this week:

Not much.  I didn't have cherry tomatoes, but we have a lot of tomatoes in our garden so I used about 4 medium tomatoes, sliced them and roasted them in the oven.  Then, cut the slices into 4 quarters each and added them to the recipe like they were cherry tomatoes.  I didn't have fresh thyme so I used 1/4 tsp dried.  Other than those things, I followed the recipe pretty closely this week!  It's almost a record for me!

P.S.  I think I said 'polenta' 3000 times in this post.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Walnuts (and how I lost my mind)

When I was about 5 or so, my mom made me eat a beet.  I had the kind of parents who made you clean your plate and we were having beets that night.  I am pretty sure they were the canned variety and I sat there with a beet in my mouth, refusing to swallow it, for at least a half an hour.  I thought they were so disgusting, I couldn't imagine letting it go down the hatch.  If I would have been thinking less like a 5 year old, maybe I would've just hurried and swallowed it and not savored the horrible taste for quite as long.  Instead, I turned it into a traumatic moment and have steered clear of beets, in any form, since that day.  

Bake 52: Deep-Dish Pizza (Pepperoni and Veggie)

I am not really keen on picking the recipes, I just like to make what everyone else picks.  So when my week rolled around again, I decided to choose a recipe that was recommended by Courtney.  She made the pizza and said it was good and we should try it.  And I do whatever Courtney tells  me to.  And I also kinda like to have a week once in a while where the baking group counts as dinner. 

Bake 52: Cheddar Cheese Bread

 Much like the Irish Soda Bread we made for TWD (I think I liked this one better because unlike the soda bread, it's baked in a loaf pan), this bread is leavened without yeast and doesn't need any rising time.  This is the kind of bread that would come in handy if you were having a meal that would benefit from bread and didn't have to time to mess with the yeast.  Or if you hate yeast, this is the perfect bread for you.  I reminded me of biscuits and I think I am going to use the left over bread to make breakfast sandwiches tomorrow.  And I think it's going to be delicious.  

Bake 52: Caramelized Onion Tart with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

I was excited for this one.  It sounded Fancy-Schmancy to me.  And I like to pretend I am Fancy-Schmancy sometimes.  I figured my kids wouldn't with me on this one.  I think their taste buds are less refined than mine.  *Mine are very refined.  

Leftover Extravaganza

Is anyone else swimming in left over ham?  Just mounds of it?  I hope that was a nice mental picture for you.  Me, hopefully in a swimming suit, swimming through mounds of ham.  I am partial to turkey, myself.  Never been much of a ham person but of course, Tyler is all about ham.  If there is a holiday that specifies ham to be made, I can't pull a fast one on him.  He has them all marked on his calendar.

TWD: Pizza Rustica

I know what you are thinking.  That doesn't look like pizza AT ALL.  That's exactly what the munchkins said when I took this out of the oven.  Maybe it was slightly misleading to tell them we were having pizza rustica for dinner.  Especially since they had no idea what that was and just heard pizza.  Especially since I had no idea what it was and thought it was some kind of pizza.  I did have complete faith in this recipe since I love Nick Malgieri and everything about him. (Here are four reasons to love him)  

Lasagna

Tyler has a list of recipes he keeps requesting I write down.  In case I die.  Romantic, right?  I think he is only half joking when he says it, but he says it a lot.  

Chicken with Broccoli and Rice

{photos updated 8/22/2013}

 I didn't intend to put this on the blog.  It's one of those recipes for a day when I don't feel like cooking.  Do you ever have those days?  Where you're inches from saying let's go get pizza or Chick-Fil-A?  (I love that place, judge if you must!)  And if I don't think of anything easy to make I might give into the craving.    I usually don't feel like doing a huge pile of dishes on those days either.  Not that I want to do dishes any other day.  But you get it, right?  I was having one of those days and threw this together.  It's so easy, few ingredients and only uses one pot.  Yay for not having tons of dishes!!!

Bake 52: Cheese Pizza

I knew this would be a hard sell as soon as the recipe was chosen.  You see, I am very loyal when I find a recipe that I love.  It's not that I won't try a new recipe, but it has to be pretty darn good for me to leave something I love for something else.  Especially when the pizza that I love is also super easy.  Super easy and super delicious, that's a hard combination to beat.  

Mozzarella Bites (on a stick) with Chutney and Marinara

Last chance to share recipes for the Super Bowl and if we were having a party, these would be on the menu!  They were so good, I kept eating them!  After a new batch would come out, I would each  another one.  It was to the point that I wouldn't let myself eat any after I sat down at the table since I had scarfed so many already!  And I wasn't even eating them with the sauce.  I am including the recipe for 2 sauces and you can decided what kind of person you are.  Our family was

5 1/2 layer dip

We had a little family New Year's Eve party last night (I guess since it's past midnight, it was technically the other night.)  Me, Tyler and the kiddos.  And what does a party mean?  Food!!  We had 5 1/2 layer dip, (extra pico de gallo) with chips, some chocolate chip cookies I will share at a later date (probably tomorrow) and some virgin margaritas (strawberry and plain).  The kids got to stay up until 10:30!  We played Mario Kart, watched Tron, painted toenails and fingernails (the girls, anyway) and ate, ate, ate.  I hope you guys all had a wonderful Holiday season.  I guess it's time to get back to reality although I am not looking forward to it.  

I know this dip isn't a new notion.  You have probably made it before but I like when I can take recipes I already have and turn them into something new and delicious.

Chicken and Broccoli Puff Pocket

 I realized the other day that I only had 3 chicken tenderloins in the freezer and usually it takes 6-8 to feed my family.  I was trying to decided how I could dupe them into thinking they had their full meal while only using half the meat.  Whenever I am in this predicament, I always land on something wrapped in bread, some kind of soup or gravy type meal.  I had been eyeing the puff pastry recipe and wanting to try it anyway.  And what's better than something wrapped in bread?  Something wrapped in puff pastry.

Herb and Cheese Bubble Loaf

 

Over 10 years ago, my husband had recently joined the air force and we were in San Antonio for a month.  He couldn't live with me for that month, but he could come visit for a few hours everyday.  After loading up our Pontiac Sunbird with whatever I could shove into it and driving for 2 days straight, I found myself in a city that I didn't know, without any friends and no possibility of a job because of the short duration of our stay.  What is a girl to do?  I really don't know what I did honestly, I really can't remember much of it.  What I do remember?  This bread. 

4 Cheese and Spinach Ravioli

This is my second vegetarian meal for the week (unless you count the second night of pizza then it was 3 vegetarian meals for the me).  I am not surprised that I fell back on Italian food to help me in my time of need.  When I was trying to think of another vegetarian dish, of course, I came up with some kind of pasta.  I have mentioned previously that I have been seperated from a lot of my kitchen tools and recently reunited with them.  Since being reunited, I have been planning to use my ravioli maker.  Once I started thinking about pasta tonight, it didn't take long for my mind to wander right on over to ravioli.  My grandfather was Italian and when I was young we used to have homemade ravioli every Thanksgiving.  This is my take on what homemade ravioli should be (if we are talking about meatless, anyway).

Pizza X 3 (thin crust)

We don't usually eat a lot of homemade pizza.  I have never really found a recipe that I loved and Tyler is more partial to the Papa Johns type of pizza.  We had dinner with some friends this week and I left feeling a little inspired.  She does most of her cooking without meat!  Not that they are vegetarian, but she said she doesn't really know what to do with it.  I was a bit baffled, because I feel like I, more often than not, plan my meal around the protein.  One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog was to have a reason to challenge myself and try new things.  Before I left her house, I told her I was going to try at least 2 meat-free meals this week.  I also recently bought a new cookbook that included a pizza section and it called to me.  I decided that my first meat-free meal was going to be a pizza. 

I am now in love. 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I have been wanting to make a potato soup for a couple weeks.  It's been rolling around in my mind and today when I was at the grocery store, they had 10 lb bags of potatoes on sale.  I think it was a sign that tonight was the night.  I went into my kitchen, annoyed by the thought of trying to find a recipe, and decided to just go for it.  I wanted a potato soup that was good and cheesy and comforting.  Some days, when I go into my kitchen without a plan, it can end up being disastrous, but today, luckily, was not one of those days. I asked Tyler after we ate if he thought the soup was blog-worthy and he didn't hesitate at all before saying, "Yes!"  (I thought it was, I just wanted a second opinion.)