5:01 Dinner Club

Me In My Favorite Place!

Soooo- Somehow, I have the mental fortitude to take 2 lbs of frozen ground beef and put it on the counter on Tuesday morning.  Thank god because then at 4:30pm, when I am nearing the end of my work day- when I am hot, sweaty and tired and it occurs to me that I haven’t given dinner one thought all day at least there’s that:  2 lbs. of ground beef waiting to be the star in the big Dinner Show.

Only…What’s the show?  Hamburgers?  No, we do that every week and we are not sure how much gas is in the grill.  Spaghetti?  No, we don’t have Marinara and I don’t have the time or energy to make home roasted marinara.  Meatloaf?  No, that’s too boring.  Or is it?  I have the power (and so do you!) to make meatloaf exciting, right?  I have an herb garden, I have garlic, I am thinking “Rustic Tuscan Meatloaf”.  (You can put the words Rustic and Tuscan with anything and make it sound good!)

Simple, Versitile & Inexpensive!

Serves 4 People in about 1 hour (20 min prep-40(ish) minutes cooking)

• 2 lbs Ground beef
• 2 Eggs
• ½ C Seasoned breadcrumbs
• ½ Sweet onion, chopped fine
• 3 Large cloves garlic, minced
• ½ C Chopped rosemary & basil (or Oregano)
• ½ Tsp Salt
• ¼ Tsp Pepper
• ¼ C Ketchup (forgive me, I am southern, you can’t have meatloaf without ketchup!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In a large bowl, gently mix 1^st 8 ingredients and form into a symmetrical loaf shape
3. Place loaf on a greased broiler pan (this way grease will drip off of the meat loaf)
4. Place loaf in the oven and bake until loaf has an internal temp of 150 (medium-ish) degrees (about 40 min)
5. Pull meatloaf from oven and allow to rest for 5  minutes before slicing

This salsa also makes a great appetizer when served with chips!

At first, I paired this recipe for salsa with a nut coated chicken breast and it didn’t take me long to realize after I began to eat this light & lively dish that the salsa was the super star-that really just about any grilled meat would make a great summer time companion for the salsa. 

For the fastest preparation, pair with a rotisserie chicken and canned black beans.  If you do choose to grill your meat at home, grill it simply with olive oil, salt & pepper-just make sure the grill is hot -400+ degrees, don’t overcook, and allow the meat to rest before cutting into it-

Mojo Chicken & Pineapple Salsa

Serves 4 people in 10 minutes

• 1 (2 if you have all white meat loving guests) Store bought “Mojo” rotisserie chicken (or 4 pieces of grilled chicken, 4 grilled tilapia fliets, 2 lbs grilled shrimp, 1.5 lbs of grilled pork tenderloin…)
• 2 C Fresh pineapple, cut into ¼ “cubes
• ½ C Sweet onion, chopped fine
• 3 Jalapenos, seeded & chopped
• ¼ C Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Salt & pepper to taste

1.  In a medium bowl, mix last 5 ingredients
2. Arrange chicken on platter and garnish with salsa

Long time no blog, huh?  All I can say is that suddenly I have a much greater appreciation for what it is I have been trying to help people with for over a year now.  You see when I started the 5:01 Dinner Club, I was on professional sabbatical -errr-not working full time.  So really, it was pretty easy to get lost at the grocery store, in the kitchen and on the computer as I developed and tried new recipes and NOW, since April actually, I am working hard at a new job that I love so the is very little time to nurture the foodie within. 

Soooo, the 5:01 DC as it has been will just no longer cut it.  I don’t know who I have been kidding over the past year but if you are out there working full time, I wouldn’t blame you for laughing at me as I have suggested that even if you don’t  think about dinner until after 5, you can still get a good dinner on the table by 5:30.  Ha!  The reality is, for me now, if I haven’t given thought to what’s for dinner by the time I leave in the morning or told my husband what to do to prep for dinner, it is not on the table until after 6:00pm-if at all.

My new goal is to simply provide some sort of easy, time saving tip or recipe once a week.  And I am really, really going to try to deliver helpful info to all the people that wish dinner would just magically appear on the table most every night!

Plain wheat bread becomes fancy toast with no crusts and a brush of olive oil!

This is another recipe that utilizes one of every last minute cook’s best friends:  the rotisserie chicken!  It is so easy and so delicious when fresh- and even better when left over.  Use is as an appetizer on toast points (as I have pictured above) or on the end of an endive leave for a fresh serving tool that will leave you virtually carb free!  Or serve it up on the bread of your choice for a lunch, brunch, or dinner sandwich.

 Makes 4-6 sandwiches or appetizers for 6-8 adults in about 10 minutes

•  1 Rotisserie chicken cut into cubes
• ½ Medium sweet onion, chopped fine
• Heaping 1/3 C Mayo
• ¼ C Sour cream
• 2 Tsp Dried tarragon
• Salt & Pepper to taste (I use very little salt and a ton of fresh cracked pepper)

 In a large bowl, mix all ingredients and serve!

This quick & easy side just screams Spring-time!

You could take this simple little side dish in so many directions-it’s not even funny.  Simple (and cheap!) instant rice becomes an elegant side dish in no time.  I see this preparation with seared seafood or grilled or roasted (store bought rotisserie chicken for a 15 minute dinner) chicken.  Add halved grape tomatoes and crumbled feta and you have got yourself a fabulous summer side dish that would probably even taste great as a cold summer side salad…

Serves 4 in about 15 minutes

• 2 C Instant rice prepared according to package directions
• Zest of 2 lemons
• ½ C Fresh, chopped herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil, thyme…)

 Mix hot rice with lemon zest and herbs and serve!

Lunch!

Glenn caught this redfish on the 1^st day of our Spring Break.  A big, beautiful fish that we promptly, cleaned, cut up, battered and fried for lunch!  Funny thing is (for the past 3 years anyway) that we catch 1 “keepable” redfish a year and it’s always at the beginning of our trip.  I think of it as the fish that ensures (on behalf of all of the other grubby little bait stealers) that we are feeding all of the other fish around the dock for the entire week.  Because once we catch our 1 keeper, it’s fish stealing our bait everyday for the rest of the week!

Serves 4 in about 20 minutes

• 4- 6 oz Firm white fish filets (to be most cost effective, I cut up 3-4 tilapia filets into about 6-8 pieces)
• 3 Eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt & pepper to taste
• 1 ½ C Finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

1.  In a large sauté pan, heat canola (or olive or vegetable oil) over med-high heat until bubbles form around the end of a wooden spoon when placed in the hot oil
2. Dip fish pieces in the eggs and then evenly coat in the saltine cracker crumbs
3. Place fish in hot oil and watch carefully as they brown-adjust oil temp is necessary
4. Flip fish pieces after about 4-6 minutes and cook another 4-6 minutes on the other side
5. Drain fish on paper towels or a wire rack
6. Garnish fish with fresh chopped parsley or tartar sauce… and serve!

Make that quick, cheap & EASY!

Serves 4 in about 20 minutes

• 1 -10oz package yellow rice mix, cooked according to package directions
• 1 Rotisserie chicken, pulled & shredded
• 1 C BBQ Sauce
• 2 -16oz cans black beans, drained (or 4 C  cooked black beans )you can cook & freeze yourself if you want))
• For garnish:  Any or all of the following-2 Sliced jalapenos, ½ C cilantro, chopped, 3 green onions, chopped, sour cream, hot sauce, cheese

1.  In a medium saucepan, heat black beans
2. In another sauce pan mix the chicken and BBQ sauce and heat through
3. Arrange yellow rice on a serving dish
4. Top the rice with the black beans
5. Arrange chicken on top of the black beans & garnish as you wish!

This is GFC! Good enough for company!

Serves 4 in about 25  minutes

•  6 Roma tomatoes
• 1 ½ lb. Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 ½“pieces
• 4 Shallots, (or 1 medium sweet onion, chopped) quartered
• 4 Tbs Olive oil, divided
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1-1   lb Box angel hair pasta (I like the whole grain), cooked in salted water according to package directions but not drained
• 1-4oz Package goat cheese, divided into 4 rounds
• 1 C Fresh basil leaves, washed and shredded just before serving

1. In a large bowl, mix 1^ST 3 ingredients with 2 Tbs olive oil and salt & pepper to taste
2. Heat a large, deep sauté pan (preferably nonstick) or pot over high heat
3. Add vegetables and stir periodically as the tomatoes break down and other veggies caramelize for about 10 minutes
4. Remove vegetables and then use about 1 C of the hot pasta water to “deglaze” the pan (pull up the brown bits that are stuck to the bottom) while stirring constantly
5. Return vegetables to pan, add 2 Tbs olive oil, and a little more pasta water if the sauce is too thick
6. Taste and add salt & pepper if you want
7. With tongs or a pasta spoon, pull hot pasta straight from water and put directly into serving bowl or plate, top with ¼ of the sauce, 1 slice of goat cheese, and ¼ of the shredded basil

You’ll want to let the goat cheese si out at room temp after it’s sliced.  Being room temp allows it to sort of become an important component of the sauce as everything mixes together on the plate.

My helpers!

One of our greatest culinary traditions as a family is pancakes (or waffles) and bacon.  At least once a week, we race to the kitchen in the morning and we all take part in cracking eggs, stirring and getting all of the food ready.  And let me tell you, I have over the years perfected my pancake batter recipe and I can make some kick A** Pancakes/Waffles (even better waffles now thanks to Pops & Goose)!

  So last night as we were winding down for bed, we saw that a Bobby Flay’s  “Throw Down” episode was coming on where the featured dish in the competition  was blueberry pancakes so, of course,  we had to watch.  And this morning when we got up, there was no question about what we were going to have for breakfast:  Pancakes (blueberry for me)!  Watch out Bobby Flay!

 We raced downstairs like we always do and began to assemble the ingredients.  I turned on some music, turned on the oven (for the bacon) and started mixing.  Then the most amazing thing happened.  I looked around at everyone taking part in the process.  Owen hovering over the flour insisting that he be allowed to crack eggs (I don’t think so!), Chloe helping to set the bar (we never sit at the table) and Glenn leaning on the bar drinking coffee.  And it hit me that I sooooo hope that my kids remember this.  Everyday every parent has an opportunity to create good memories for their kids-something that they will describe to others as they get older as a favorite part of their childhood.  Now, just in case my kids don’t remember, I have documented the experience-for me and the kids!  So I ask, what do you want your kids to remember?  And what are you doing to make sure that they do?