Ma Whats For Dinner?» cheese

Baked Eggs

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:00:07 +0000

Sometimes you just have to throw logic out the window.

Today is one of those days.

It’s a breakfast for dinner kind of day.

This is a great and delicious recipe for breakfast or dinner.

The kids like to crack the eggs into little ramekins to make their own.

And they love to dip the bread!

Serves 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

WHAT YOU NEED:

½ t minced fresh garlic

½ t minced fresh thyme leaves

½ t minced fresh rosemary leaves

½ t minced fresh oregano leaves

2 T minced fresh parsley

2 T freshly grated Parmesan

8 extra-large eggs

4 T heavy cream

2 T unsalted butter

S&P

Whole Wheat Toast for dipping

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, oregano, parsley and Parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 2 eggs into each of 4 small bowls or teacups without breaking the yolks. You aren’t going to bake them in these, you just want to have them ready to go.

Place 4 individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour 2 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren’t cooking evenly.) The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to cool a bit and serve hot with toasted bread.

Noteworthy Nugget: I leave off the herbs for my pickiest eater. I give him extra cheese. You could make this with cheddar cheese too or any other kind of cheese your kids really like!

These are an ode to a recipe I made with my mom when I was a kid out of my favorite kids cookbook. Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Cookbook. These were sort of like Smee’s Baked Eggs. I think I made everything in that book when I was a kid. Wish I could find it!

It’s been a rough week around here for us. I promise to be back on schedule next week. Be sure to enter our Disney Princess – Ariel contest by midnight tonight. Winners of this and the Cinderella contest announced next week!

Back to School Week – Totem Poles

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:00:31 +0000

Brady is not a huge fan of the bread on the sangies.

I’d make them for him but he always just strips off the meat and eats it plain.

He loves roll ups so I came up with a new way to serve him lunch…

Voila, the Totem Pole…

WHAT YOU NEED:

8 slices deli turkey

8 slices deli ham or salami

12 1 inch cubes cheese (any variety)

8 whole yellow cherry tomatoes

1 apple cubed

4 chopsticks

WHAT TO DO:

Lay out your turkey and ham in two piles on a cutting board. Cut each pile into 4 even long slices. Lay out the rest of your ingredients around your cutting board so you can build your totem poles in a little assembly line. You have 1 set of strips of turkey and ham to work with for each totem pole.

Take your first chopstick and push a tomato down over one end. Slide it all the way down leaving about 1 ½ inches from the bottom. Then slide down an apple followed by a piece of cheese. Take the first set of turkey strips, roll them into a pinwheel shape and push the chopstick through the meat. Then add another apple, a piece of cheese, etc. Do the same pinwheel process with the first set of ham and add it to the chopstick followed by a piece of cheese, apple, and finally top it off with a tomato. Repeat process for other totem poles.

Serve these with veggie chips or some couscous cooked up quick with chicken stock…Yummy!

Noteworthy Nugget: You can get creative with these totem poles and give them faces by adding peppercorns for eyes or even using condiments like mustard to draw on faces. Your kids will get a huge kick out of them.

Fiesta Week – Ole Taco Casserole

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:00:04 +0000

My attempts to liven up

Fitz Family Taco Night continue…

I decided to try another taco casserole.

But I don’t like my chips mushy or my veggies warm in any way.

Sooooo….

I kept ‘em separate.

Perfect combo of crunchy chips…

Hot and spicy filling….

Cool and crisp veggies.

Can I get an ole???

Ole Taco Casserole

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 lb gound beef

1 packet taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

1 onion chopped

1 can low fat refried beans

1 can black beans

2 cups low fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup Spikes Santa Fe Black Bean and Corn Salsa

1 large bad tortilla chips

1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

1/2 red onion chopped

1 can sliced olives

1 avacado chopped

jalapeno slices

sour cream

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. When skillet gets hot, add beef and brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add in onions and cook until soft, about 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a 13×9 inch baking pan, spread our refried beans in an even layer on the bottom. Top with 1 cup black bean and corn salsa, then a layer of black beans.

Once meat has browned, add in taco seasoning and water. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add meat on top of the black bean layer.

Top with 1 1/2 cups cheese and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

While the casserole is baking assemble your plates.

Spread out some chips as the bottom layer.

Top with lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado, and remaining cheese.

Scoop a dollop of meat on your fixings and top with sour cream and jalapeno.

Tell me how you like this version….

Kids Fun Food Week – Chicken Surprise Bundles

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:00:03 +0000

I say it all the time…

The easiest way to get a kid to eat,

Is to involve them in the process.

These little bad boys are so much fun to make…

And even better to eat.

Check out our Chicken Surprise Bundles…

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated dough

1 cup grilled chicken, diced

1 cup shredded swiss, cheddar or mozzarella cheese

8 sliced cooked chopped bacon

1 cup baby spinach

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Spread out your dough on a cutting board.

Cut it into 8 equal squares

Place the rest of your ingredients in an assembly line and call the kids into help.

Let them decide what goes into the center of each of their bundles.

Keegan built his with bacon and cheese and chicken.

Brady and Cooper loaded up on the spinach.

You can get creative and add whatever you think your kids will like!

Next wrap up your bundles.

Take each corner and pull it up towards the center.

Pinch together at the top and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.

Serve with a side salad or soup or veggie sticks. Make a bunch, these bundles go fast!

Mexican Fiesta Week – Cheese Enchiladas

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:00:39 +0000

Hope you all had a great Cinco de Mayo!

I decided to feature one of my favorite dishes of all time to bring the week to a close.

This is a quick and easy way to make enchiladas inspired by a recipe I saw over at Mommys Kitchen. She had a great idea for making the sauce super quick!

If you ever need a monthly meal plan…go check out her stuff!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 T butter

1 T flour

1 cup chicken stock

1 t cumin

1 t corriander

1 t chili powder

S&P

1 can chili with no beans (I’m a Hormel girl)

1 can red mild enchilada sauce (I like Ortega)

1 package white or corn tortillas

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups monterey jack cheese

1 small sweet onion diced

1 can mild green chiles diced

Optional toppings:

Sour cream

Guacamole

Sliced olives

Chopped red onion

Chopped tomato

Chopped scallions

WHAT TO DO:

In a large skillet heat butter over medium high heat and whisk in your flour to create a light golden roux. Add in your chicken stock, spices and S&P. Let this bubble a bit til it’s thickened up a bit and then add in your chili and half of the enchilada sauce. Let this simmer for 5 minutes or so and get your tortillas ready.

Microwave each tortilla for about 20 seconds or so each to get them nice and soft. Pour a few ladles of your sauce into the bottom of a baking dish. Dip the tortilla in the sauce mix and then fill the tortillas with a combo of the cheddar and jack cheese, onions and chiles. Roll the tortilla up and place in the dish. Continue to fill the remaining tortillas until your dish is full.

Ladle more of your chili sauce mixture over the top of your enchiladas then top with the remaining enchilada sauce. Sprinkle with more cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve.

Ole!

Mexican Fiesta Week – Cheesy Corn Rice

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:00:26 +0000

It’s May!

I can’t believe it…

It’s actually May.

Hopefully that means we’ll be warming up here in the Northeast soon.

Want to know why I love May?

First, it’s my wedding anniversary tomorrow…

8 years! Seems like yesterday.

It’s also my son Brady’s birthday later this month…

Can’t believe he’s going to be 5!

But want to know what I really really really love about May?

Well other than remembering my wedding day and the birth of my child…of course.

CINCO DE MAYO!!!!

You all know about this So. Cal girl living in the Northeast with terrible mexican food so I know must take it upon myself to get my fix.

So I hereby dub this…

Mexican Fiesta Week!

First up…

Cheesy Corn Rice

Back in LA, growing up one of my brother’s good friend’s family owned this great chicken restaurant called Chick’s.

If you’re in the west San Fernando Valley you know it and love it…

If you don’t…GO CHECK IT OUT!

Anyway, Josh’s friend created this dish called Cheesy Corn.

It was insane!

Literally, corn, cheese, mayo and spices.

It was hardly good for you, but man was it worth it.

This is an ode to the cheesy corn!

All hail the cheesy corn!

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 cups cooked rice (white or brown)

1 T butter

1 small onion diced

2 cups corn kernels (either fresh or frozen)

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded white cheddar cheese

1 small can mild diced green chiles

1 1/2 t chili powder

1 t cumin

S&P

WHAT TO DO:

In a medium sized saucepan heat butter over medium high heat. Toss in your onion and let them cook for a few minutes. Then toss in your corn kernels and let them sizzle a bit til they start to soften. Season with S&P.

Turn the heat down to low and add in your mayo, cheese, chiles and spices. Stir to allow everything to come together and melt. Fold in your rice and season with more S&P if necessary.

Best thing about this dish is LEFTOVERS!

Use some grilled or rotisserie chicken the next day for an amazing two night meal a ala Dinners On A Dime.

What’s your favorite mexican dish?

And in other news…

Anything interesting happening lately?

What a remarkable day.

What a service of justice.

Thank you to our special forces…

Thank you to all our military serving, past and present, far away from loved ones to keep us safe.

What a day to be an American.

What a day to be a human.

To witness the destruction of a monster.

Mark and Erica, and the thousands of others who were murdered on 9/11…I hope you’re in a better place and raising a glass today that your deaths will never be forgotten but I’m thrilled that Bin Laden was brought to justice.

photo credits: Tina Fineberg/AP and American Special Ops.com

Superbowl Countdown – Fitzpatrick Irish Nachos

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:00:34 +0000

How do you make nachos Fitz style?

With potatoes of course!

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried

1/2 T olive oil

S&P

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 lb bacon bits, cooked and drained on paper towels

scallions, chopped

jalapenos, sliced (optional)

sour cream

I like to think of this as a healthier version of potato skins, since you bake them and not fry them, but round these parts we just like to call them good! Here’s how you make Fitzpatrick Irish Nachos….

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Slice your potatoes into either round disks or long planks depending on what your favorite shape is. Just make sure the slices are about 1/4-1/2 an inch thick.

Put the slices on a sheet pan and douse with olive oil, and S&P. Mix with your hands to coat well.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese.

Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Top with bacon, scallions, jalapenos, and sour cream.

Enjoy at kick off!

These are soooo easy and sooo good!

Very Good Tomatoes

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:00:18 +0000

If you haven’t noticed yet, my boys LOVE tomatoes.

Let me rephrase that…

THEY LOVE TOMATOES.

And sadly they all have sensitive skin so lots and lots of tomato in any fashion be it raw, sliced, sauce, etc. cause their little faces to get all kinds of red.

Don’t even ask what it did to their diapers.

Anyway, back to something more appetizing.

I got a recipe in my inbox from Allrecipes and it was for something I had never heard of…

Vera Cruz Tomatoes

So I made my own OCD version and now I call ‘em…

Very Good Tomatoes

Check ‘em out…

4 large beefsteak tomatoes
4 slices thick cut bacon diced
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 cups baby spinach
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack
4 dashes hot sauce
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
S&P

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tops off the tomatoes and scoop out the insides leaving a nice sturdy cup for you filling. Place the tomato shells into a greased baking dish. Set aside.

In a medium skillet cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour off all but 1 1/2 T of the bacon fat. Add in your onions and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Toss in your garlic and cook for an additional minute. Toss in your spinach and cook until slightly wilted. Remove from heat. Stir in you cream cheese, jack cheese, hot sauce and season with S&P. Stir. Scoop into tomato shells. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Take out of oven and top with cheddar cheese. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.

Delish!

And don’t forget, whenever possible…

BUY LOCAL!

Our New York Minutes

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:00:42 +0000

If you Don’t live in the New York area don’t fret…you can still check us out on New York Nonstop’s Moms and the City and a Dad named David.

Check out our NY debut here…

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/video.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the Connecticut Style piece.

Cheesy Macaroni Surprise

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:00:26 +0000

Yes I’ve been on a casserole kick.

I can’t help it.

I just love the fact that they can be made in advance!

And with school starting and activities heating up I just like to know that a yummy dinner the boys will like can get on the table fast.

There is nothing not to like in this dish.

I toss in some protein and veggies to make it a complete meal in one.

Not to mention the fact the boys like all the stirring help they get to do.

Now let’s get to the good stuff!!

Cheesy Macaroni Surprise

Serves: 8 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook time: 35 minutes

1 lb wagon wheel pasta

3 T butter unsalted

3 T all purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

1/2 t fresh grated nutmeg

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded swiss cheese

1/2 kielbasa link, diced

1 10 oz box frozen peas

S&P

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set a large pot of water over high heat to boil. In a large saucepan melt butter over medium high heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk, and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly. Once the milk has thickened add in nutmeg and season with S&P. Reduce to medium low heat and melt in cheddar and swiss cheeses. Allow to cook on low for a few minutes.

When water is boiling season water with salt and add pasta. Note package cooking time and reduce by 2 minutes, the macaroni will continue cooking in the oven later. Once pasta is cooked, drain and return to pot.

Add your peas and sliced kielbasa to your cheese sauce and pour over the pasta. Mix well. Transfer to a greased 13×9 baking dish and top with additional cheese if desired. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.