Wedge Salad

 

We had the most refreshing, crisp, simple, delicious salad the other night at our friends’ house. Perhaps some of you have had this before, but it was new for me! Take a head of iceberg lettuce. Cut it in half.  Cut each half into quarters. Place it on your plate curved side down. You want the sharp angle of the wedge pointing up so that your favorite dressing can be poured right along the top and sort of drizzle down through the layers of lettuce. Sprinkle w/ your favorite salad toppings. Quick! Simple! Delicious!

Breakfast Brilliance: make ahead breakfast sandwich

my sister-in-law rene gave me a great idea for quick, easy, make-ahead, healthy, protein-rich breakfast meal idea to get your kids’ brains working for the morning. what more could a mom ask for?!

1) EGG: warm up a small 8″ omelette skillet over medium-low heat. once warm, add 1 T olive oil. whisk up just 1 egg with a dash of salt in a bowl. pour the egg into the skillet. now don’t do anything for about 2 minutes. let the egg cook through without scrambling or flipping it.  once it’s cooked through, fold in half, then in half again.  now you’ve got a cooked egg the perfect size to fit neatly on an english muffin. remove egg from pan, let cool a bit on a plate, and then transfer to a glass dish in which you’ll store these eggs for the week! repeat with as many eggs as you think your family will need for the week.

2)  BACON/SAUSAGE: cook up a bunch of bacon, turkey bacon, sausage, ham, whatever your breakfast-meat-of-choice is. once cooled, store these also in a glass container in your fridge.  now you’ve got cooked meat all ready to tuck in the english muffin for your quick and easy delicious breakfast.

3)  ASSEMBLY: there are several different ways you can assemble your breakfast sandwich at this point. you’ll need your eggs, meat, favorite cheese and english muffins or tortillas.  i love my toaster oven, so i’ll lightly toast my english muffins in the toaster oven, then layer with egg, cheese, bacon, and place back in the toaster oven for melting and warming through.  my sister-in-law puts her english muffins in the toaster, and puts her egg / bacon / cheese in the microwave for 20 seconds, or until the egg & bacon are warm and the cheese is melted.  she then assembles the sandwich and is able to serve it to her kids in about 2 minutes from start to finish! to use tortillas, heat your tortillas on a skillet on the stove.  place eggs, bacon, cheese across the middle of the tortilla until warm and melted.  serve with salsa, avocado, sour cream. 

any way you prepare it, once you’ve done the up-front work of cooking your eggs and meat, you’ve got a delicious, quick, easy, healthy breakfast meal ready in minutes!

BCR make-ahead Burritos (don’t forget to roll your “r’s”)

can of beans, rinsed & drained (pinto or black)
shred some cheese, i use cheddar, sometimes w/ pepperjack too (hot!)
rice, already cooked – brown or white work great!
burrito size (large) tortillas
olive oil
 
now make a little assembly line:
 
1)  lay out the tortilla on a piece of tinfoil. once assembled, you are going to use this tinfoil to wrap up the burrito and store it in a ziploc bag in the freezer.
2)  now imagine a rectangle in the center of the tortilla. put some rice in that center, some beans and some cheese. (you can either layer these or i mix them all together in a big bowl in the ratio we like — more cheese, less beans, medium rice etc.)
3)  now you’re going to fold it up kind of like an “envelope” or a “pocket”: fold the two ends (the smaller sides of your rectangle) in towards the filling nice and tight. now fold the sides (the longer sides of your rectangle) in on top of each other. (one should cover the other so all filling is enclosed.) now rub 1/2 t. olive oil all around the outside of the tortilla. wrap tightly in the tin foil.
4)  cook one for each family member for dinner tonight, and put all your extras in a ziploc bag to freeze. (the more you can do all at once, the better!)
 
now, time to cook the burritos:
 
1)  preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2)  lay your burritos, still in the tin foil wraps, on a cookie sheet.
3)  put the cookie sheet in the oven, turn the heat down to 400 degrees.
4)  flip burrito pockets over after about 10 minutes if cooking from frozen, only about 6 minutes if cooking fresh. cook another 10 minutes if cooking from frozen, another 6 minutes in cooking fresh. now you’ll want to check for doneness. the olive oil will kind of “grill” or “toast” the burritos to a nice crispiness on the outside while keeping everything moist and hot on the inside.
5) when you serve each person his/her burrito, unfold the “envelope” and let everyone fill theirs w/ their favorite fillings: fresh tomato, salsa, fresh cilantro, sour cream, guac, lime juice, green onions, whatever you have! have them fold it back up nice and tight and each person has his/her own custom-made burrito all contained in one neat little tasty FILLING BCR burrito pocket!
 
enjoy!

The Costco Code (how to stick to your bulk food budget)

my friend catherine gave me a terrific idea for my costco shopping list. here’s what you need to do: plan a time to spend about 1/2 hour at costco, preferably at a time you don’t need to buy too much.  take a sheet of paper and a pencil and walk through costco, writing down all the things you buy on a regular basis.  be sure to note item, quantity and price.  write things down in the order in which you shop through the store.  now go home and transfer this list to your computer.  make sure your list is all contained on one page. (you’ll want to be able to see your entire list at one glance, not having to flip the sheet over for more info on the back.) it’s a good idea to round the prices up, factoring in the price of tax on each item.  print off 10 copies of your list. put your stack of 10 copies in a convenient place near your kitchen and then post one of them on your fridge, on your wall, inside a cabinet door, or on your family bulletin board. just make sure it’s posted in a place that’s easy to access and close to where you do your meal prep. this sheet of paper is going to become your shopping list the next time you go to costco.  when you run out of something, mark it on your list. continue marking your needed items during the week(s) until your next visit. now, it’s time to go to costco. grab your list, and before you even go, calculate the grand total of your shopping trip. take only that amount in cash. there will be no surprises, because it’s all written down. you won’t be tempted to buy yet another book, dvd, toy your kids don’t need, etc. because you didn’t bring the money with you, so you can’t buy them! if it’s not on your list, you don’t need it! you’ll be so happily surprised at how quickly you can get through costco, remembering everything on your list, because it’s written in order, and as you go through the aisles, you’ll be super efficient in your shopping!

Lunch prep tip #457: the sandwich factory

i have two children in elementary school and one little pre-schooler home with me. when i make sandwiches in the morning for my kids’ school lunch boxes, i also make a sandwich for my preschooler and me to share, wrap it up in foil or waxed paper and pop it in the fridge.  when lunchtime rolls around, all i have to do is open the fridge and voila, henry and i can sit down and eat a sandwich. i don’t have to take the cutting board back out, find the cheese slicer, mess up another knife, etc. it’s ready!

i like to make my big kids’ sandwiches for their lunches in the morning, but this would work just as well if your evening routine includes making sandwiches for the next day’s lunch; make one for the kids and your hubby, and go ahead and include yourself and your preschooler(s) as well, even if you’re not planning to leave the house.  this is also a great idea for homeschoolers. even though you’re home for lunch, make your lunches the night before or first thing in the morning and place them all ready and “packed” in the fridge.  that way, when you’re all busy with your morning school work, you don’t have lunch-prep on your mind; it’s ready and waiting for you in the fridge!