Bento the Bento

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Tamale pictorial tomorrow!

Sidedish Shortcuts--Baked Mashed Potatoes

After a group playdate yesterday afternoon, I ducked into the "new" Whole Foods on North and Kingsbury. For any Chicago resident who hasn't visited yet, it's a delight to the senses once you've navigated thru the massive space.  For a Sunday afternoon, it was packed--three parking lots, ALL FULL but since I was already there, I was determined to pick up dinner and get out of there--with two kids still bouncing off the walls in tow.

The hot food bar was my last stop, just before the express checkout lane.  Kids were melting (so was mom) and I eyeballed the first row of selections quickly, settling on mashed red potatoes with a side of bacon bits to accompany our frozen pizza (pesto, goatcheese and tomato). It was simple and I had no idea what I was going to do with the bacon (aside from maybe snack on it) but when I got home, I managed to get inspired and do what I do best, improvise.

Preheat oven to 400.

Place potatoes in a baking dish. Sprinkle bacon bits and shredded cheese on top.

Bake for 15 minutes (with the pizza in my case) until cheese is melted and the top of the potatoes are slightly browned.

You can do this with any mashed potato--out of the box, home made, or in my case, picked up on the run.

Quick, simple, and tasty and dinner was under $15 for a family of four with fresh fruit rounding out the menu.

Entertaining--Easy NYE

We are a cheese loving family to say the least. Brie, cheddar, bleu cheese--we'll happily consume any cheese put in front of any of us.

I've found with kids especially that putting out a plate of cheese, crackers and cut up fruit makes for an easy, healthy snack any time of the day and tonight before mom and dad leave the house for a few hours of adult celebrating, we'll definitely do it up.

One place I've found for great recipes and easy inspiration, President Cheese.  Their brie logs can be found at any Trader Joes and other grocery stores and are yummy and reasonably priced. Check out the photo below--yum! For the recipe, visit Fig Brie.

(photo from the President Cheese website @ www.presidentcheese.com)  

Entertaining doesn't have to be complicated or fussy or expensive.

For more ideas check this handy guide out: Download President_Recipes_Book Final

Enjoy and Happy New Years!

Entertaining--Strata Three Ways

I've spent the last week cooking it seems, despite the fact that everyone at my house (aside from me thankfully) has been sniffling and wheezing.  Cooking makes me happy and trying out something new that my finicky family will eat is always a bonus.

I found inspiration in two places this week. Melissa Graham, a mom and former attorney turned caterer extraordinaire posted a recipe for a scrumptious looking strata on her site,

Little Lovacores and I couldn't help but try it and tweak it a bit.  You'll have to check out Melissa's site for the actual recipe, but here are my tweaks...photos included

Mexican Chorizo & Challah Strata

In tweaking with Melissa's original recipe, I did the following:

1. Halved the recipe (with the exception of the meat)
2. Used heavy cream instead of milk
3. Substituted (2) tbsp of Tomatillo Salsa for the tomatoe
4. Used 1lb of Mexican Chorizo since it breaks down a bit more than regular sausage does and cooked it in 1/4 cup of beer to keep it moist and keep the flavor in
5. Used challah bread instead of brioche or cornbread
6. Baked the strata for 20 minutes

 

  Apple Sausage Strata

Again, I halved the recipe since it was just for the four of us but added a twist--indvidual sized servings, inspired by Amy Karol (aka Angry Chicken)'s post about holiday gifts. Canning jars are made to withstand heat so I used 250 ml jars that I had used previously for making freezer jam.

Other tweaks:

1. Left out the tomatoes
2. Cooked the sausage in apple juice, again to keep them moist and elimnate the need for adding oil to my pan
3. Used challah bread
4. Jarlsburg cheese for a lighter taste
5. Baked these mini stata for 12 minutes (lightly oil or butter the jars first for easier cleaning afterwards)

No matter which variation you use, it's a great recipe for New Year's Morning, Sunday brunch or made ahead, weekday breakfast.

Enjoy!