Family Dinners

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Adam White — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:50:07 +0000

Simple, but always enjoyable. Open some chicken breast and stick folded spinach wrapped around artichoke hearts inside the fold. Cover with olive oil and season, then place in a pan of Marsala wine and bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. I served this along with a split pea soup that was delicious.

My First SPAM Slice

Adam White — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 04:35:56 +0000

I have never, in my life had SPAM until tonight. When I told my boss at work, he volunteered a slice. If you have ever eaten spam, you probably would say, it’s not much to write home about, and you are right. It definitely would require some “getting used to” if you had to eat it all the time. What got me started on it was when I heard a podcast from Josh and Chuck of Stuff You Should Know, a podcast from howstuffworks.com, and the way they described it, it didn’t sound half bad. I had always written off SPAM as a nasty thing made from something resembling meat. It is actually just a processed type of ham, much like other processed ham products which I do eat. So after getting educated on it and realizing that this was a canned product that would be safe for my allergic child if we were out camping or as part of an emergency preparedness kit, I decided I needed to give it a real try. I set this slice of SPAM on the shelf for a few weeks waiting for a good opportunity to cook it up right. Finally on “chicken nugget” night, which I can’t stand chicken nuggets, I decided to break it out. I fried it in olive oil with garlic. I tried to scortch it fast to give it a firm exterior since it comes out of the package pretty soft and moist.

First bite, automatic thought was this is cat food. My son said “Gross, you’ve eaten cat food?” It just had that smell and texture, but only for the first couple bites, and then it was more like a ham that had been through a blender and then pasted back together. It wasn’t bad, and I’m sure the more you eat it, the more you will be used to the taste and texture. I’ll be on the lookout for some spam recipes. But in a pinch, if you had to eat this in an emergency, it may be best to already be acclimated to it. Because in a real emergency, you would probably have to eat it cold.

Hobo Dinners

Adam White — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:40:57 +0000

This is a summer camping trip family tradition. If you are out camping you can easily prepare the ingredients and since it cooks right on the coals of the fire, you can cook it anywhere. We were not camping, but this made for a unique dinner experience. And with the heat this summer it was nice just not to heat up the house cooking. The basic ingredients are ground beef, seasoning, potatoes, onions and whatever other vegetables you have such as carrots, peppers, and squashes. You have each person make their own meat patty and assemble their vegetables under and on top of the meat. Season and wrap in foil. Toss it on the fire for about 30-45 minutes depending on how hot the coals are. You will also want to either turn them half way through or cover them with coals so that it cooks evenly. Simply unwrap and eat. If you are out camping then the foil makes for a fine plate.

My first risotto

Adam White — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:04:25 +0000

I have to admit, I like all the Gordon Ramsey cooking shows. The ones where Gordon tears into people about how they can’t cook. It’s always the risotto that everyone claims is so simple, but everyone messes up. I have never even eaten risotto at a restaurant, so cooking it was a little tricky. But I watched a few YouTube videos to get the technique down and then gave it a try. Honestly, it’s a simple thing to make, but I can see how making it with exact timing could be tricky. I’ve cooked it twice since the first time and I’ve determined that it’s best to cook it with patience. Much like cooking rice it takes the time it takes. Only with risotto you have a much more hands on feel for how it’s cooking and how tender it has become. The longer it takes, the more flavor you are cooking into the risotto.

Broccoli Beef Balls with Gravey

Adam White — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 03:36:04 +0000

This was one of those meals when you are trying to stretch every penny and you want to serve ground beef three nights in a row, but you don’t want the kids to notice that you are severing ground beef three nights in a row. So one night I did a meat loaf, and then another night I did a beefy pasta dish and then on the last night I whipped these up and they were a hit. I made biscuit dough (egg and milk free) and then rolled it super thin and sliced it into squares. Much like making pot stickers but I added cooked ground beef (cooked and seasoned as meatballs) and steamed broccoli. I would spread the steamed broccoli onto the dough and then drop the meatball in the middle and wrap it up. I baked it and used the excess fat and juices from making the meatballs to make a garlic gravy.