Sunday Night

Know what I just did? Made a lunch for the husband. It's sitting in the fridge; ready for him to grab before work in the morning. See it there? Right in front of the lemonade? That there's lunch.

The husband recently had a bit of a schedule change at work, and now he's brown bagging it as opposed to dining a la cafeteria. Usually I take lunch-making as an opportunity to show him how much I love him in the middle of the day. Last week, though, I was feeling under the weather, and I neglected my lunch-making duties. He was very understanding, and I just assumed he was thinking outside the bun and eating some fast food for a few days. Once I was back on my A-game, the husband looked at me sheepishly. "Can I tell you a secret?" he asked, shuffling his feet with obvious guilt.

"Of course."

"I didn't eat lunch all week."

He is such a sweetie pie, but making himself lunch isn't one of the husband's strong suits.

So this evening I tried to prepare a few items to make it easier for lunch-making throughout the week. To help keep the husband's arteries unclogged, I sliced up a bunch of carrot and celery sticks. I'll pop a couple in a baggie each day, and voila! Veggies.

Then, I cut up some fruit. It's just not lunch without fruit. And since it's prepped for me, it'll make it easier to feed the husband fresh melon instead of fruit roll-ups. (Are fruit roll-ups part of the food pyramid?)

That's what I did to get ready for lunches this week. How about you? What do you do to make lunch prep easier? Comment below, or share your ideas on our Facebook page.

Butterscotch Cashew Bars

Every time I visit my family in Buffalo (hi, family!!), my mom and I find an excuse to make these glorious Butterscotch Cashew Bars. They sound fancy (cashews always sound fancy), but they're pretty darn easy to make.

 My mom has discovered only one problem with these bars: If you bring Butterscotch Cashew Bars to a church potluck, you will be expected to bring Butterscotch Cashew Bars to every subsequent church potluck. Be warned.

Also, Mom recommends cutting the bars into teenie tiny squares. This way, they go farther at the aforementioned potluck. And if you happen to have any leftovers, the petite portion is a perfect excuse to eat about 10 of them.

Enjoy!

Butterscotch Cashew Bars
From: Taste of Home

Bars:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2.5 cups flour
1.75 teaspoons salt
Topping:
1 package (10-11 ounces) butterscotch chips
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons water
2.5 cups salted cashew halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed butter and sugar until just combined. Line a 15"x10"x1" baking pan with parchment paper. Press crust mixture into pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, combine butterscotch chips, corn syrup, butter, and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, just until chips and butter are melted.

Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with cashews, and press down gently so cashews adhere to the butterscotch.

Bake for another 11-13 minutes, until topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack and cut into bars.

fig & stilton pizza or something like that

Cooking inspiration tends to strike me at odd times. To be honest, I'm pretty useless when it comes to menu planning, grocery shopping, and just generally having a handle on what's in my pantry and fridge. But every once in a while, a rare burst of culinary genius manages to emerge, and it's usually due in large part to a temporary love affair with an ingredient. On Sunday night, I fell in love with these gorgeous figs at Whole Foods, and it was the start of something beautiful.

I was downright delighted with the results, so I thought I'd share my recipe. Here's what you'll need...

-one packet of lavash bread or plain naan bread. (I used Whole Foods 365 brand of plain naan.)

-figs, thinly sliced

-baby shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced

-mozzarella (the wet stuff) thinly sliced

-Stilton blue cheese

-good olive oil

-salt & pepper

-pecans finely chopped (I added these to my second "pizza" and it was exactly the crunch I wanted.

Steps...

-preheat your oven to 450, and if you're the proud owner of a pizza stone, make sure it's in the oven when you turn it on

-first brush your naan or lavash bread with a little olive oil

-salt & pepper

-top it with a few slices of mozzarella, and crumble some Stilton in the spaces between. Go easy on the Stilton--it's stinky!

-next throw on your mushrooms, figs and sprinkle the pecans lastly

-pop it in the oven for about 5 minutes. I stuck around and watched my pizzas closely, as I wanted all the ingredients to taste really fresh, and be just slightly cooked.

-chop this into little bites and serve as an hors d'oeuvres, or eat the whole darn thing yourself like I did

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }

A Dinner Recipe from Lady of the House!

It's probably no surprise that I have a thing for parchment paper. I love the zing it makes as you rip it from the roll, the crisp folds it allows, and there's nothing quite like its sweet smell while it toasts in the oven. The other night I had a few fillets of salmon and some vegetables that were on their way out, so I reached for my parchment paper.

This one's easy, and you'll have a really lovely meal in no time.

Here's what you'll need...

-salmon fillet(s)

-zucchini

-carrot

-ginger

-scallion (spring/green onion--whatever you call it) 1/2 per fillet

-red skin potatoes (about 2-3 per fillet)

-fresh sprig of parsley

-fresh sprig of tarragon

-white wine (whatever's in the fridge or cheap at the store will do)

-salt & pepper

-parchment paper

And here's how to do it...

First we need to get the potatoes chopped, drizzled with a bit of oil, salted and peppered and popped in the oven at 425 for a good 20 minutes. Make certain to check on them at the half way mark, and give them a toss so they cook evenly.

Next, prep your other ingredients. Chop the tarragon and parsley finely. (You'll need just a healthy sprinkle per fillet.) Peel the carrot, then chop it in half and cut it into thin strips. Same with the zucchini, but leave the skin on. Peel the ginger, and aim for about 6 little strips per fillet. With the ginger you're cutting discs, then strips. Ya dig? Half, then quarter lengthwise the scallion. Think LONG and skinny with all these vegetables. They have to fit in the suitcase.

Ding ding! The potatoes are done and the kitchen smells ah-mazing! Grab those guys and set them aside.

Take each fillet individually, and skin them if you didn't manage to get the frazzled fish monger at your grocery store to do it for you already. Fetch the parchment paper, and "zing" a sheet per fillet. Take your sheet (about an 18 inch tear) and fold it in half. Wiggle the fillet in that fold.

Grab your veggies and pile them atop the fillet. Don't forget the potatoes, salt and pepper, and fresh herbs--this is a complete meal in one little parcel. Do your best to get three sides of the parcel stable and packed, then grab the white wine and give it a drizzle. Then fold, fold, fold so everything's sealed and safe. (As you can see from my photo, I made sure to sample the white. It's only wise! And the chef deserves a tipple, eh?)

Hopefully you left the oven on. Pop your parcel in at 425, just on a cookie sheet, and wait about 20 minutes. When you smell the salmon, and that sweet toasted parchment paper, you'll know they're ready. Unwrap the steamy goodness and plop it on the plate. Enjoy!

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }

There are plenty of things I'm good at. For example, smiling, being cautious, and making a killer PB&J are some of my skills. One thing I'm not good at? Gardening. 

One look at the withered geranium on my front stoop, and you'll know I'm hopeless. I lack the discipline to water regularly. I try to outsmart the garden center people and plant "full sun" flowers where the sun don't shine. It's just not my thing. 

In the past, I have managed to keep a bucket of herbs alive in my backyard. Yes, I fully believe this is an annual summer miracle, and I praise the good Lord when I pluck a stem of basil from my bounty. This year, things got real crazy, and I planted green beans. 

Hold the presses.

Did I say PLANT the green beans? I meant I bought a friendly plastic bin labeled "patio garden!" at the Home Depot and stuck it in my yard. So, yeah. I planted it. 

Anyway, I am proud to announce that the husband and I have harvested two full crops of green beans. The first crop had six beans, but by the second, we were up to 12! Now, there's a chance that I missed the most recent crop and spent a few minutes this evening picking deflated bean pods from my plant, but I've learned my lesson. Crop #4 is in my sights. 

So, if you're hopeless in the garden, consider growing green beans next year. And if you want to make an actual meal of your veggies, maybe think about planting two.

Any other easy veggies I should try in my garden? Comment away!

Technical Difficulties

The Lady of the House is having a bit of trouble with her trusty computer this week. The poor machine is, well, not working.

I'm taking advantage of this opportunity to share a public service announcement:

Don't forget to back up your photos on an external hard drive.

I think that's all I need to say about that.

Send happy thoughts to the Lady of the House as she brings her computer into the good folks at the genius bar. And look forward to her triumphant return next week!

Helpful hint: Lenovo coupons are always available for external hard drives.

Chicken Salad with Feta & Fruit

Lately when I get home from work, the last thing on my mind is cooking dinner. I want to take a walk, spend time with the husband and our friends, watch the fireflies, water the plants, read a book, watch TV...but I'm not in the mood to slave over a hot stove. (The scorching temperatures could have something to do with that!)

I was still in this mindset when my gal pals came over to cook dinner last week. Also, admittedly, I was looking for an easy meal so we could focus on gabbing and drinking wine instead of a complicated ingredient list. I stumbled on this gorgeous salad recipe in an old issue of Eating Well, and it was just the ticket. Using chicken from a rotisserie bird I picked up at the grocery store made it even simpler.

So next time you don't feel like cooking, give this a whirl. It looks fancy and tastes unbelievable.

Chicken Salad with Feta & Fruit
Adapted from Eating Well magazine
Serves: 4 (as a main dish)

1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
3 tablespoons fruit-flavored vinegar (I used strawberry balsamic)
4 teaspoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and pepper
8 cups salad greens
2 (cooked) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cups cubed cantaloupe
1 pound strawberries hulled and halved (or quartered, if large)
1/3 cup toasted chopped pecans
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Whisk together sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and poppy seeds. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In a large bowl (or on individual plates) combine salad greens, chicken, cantaloupe, strawberries, pecans, and feta cheese. Drizzle with dressing and serve.