On the way home from the shop last evening, I was trying to decide what to pick up for supper. I had not given the meal any forethought, whatsoever, and so my empty stomach and my quick-fix dinner mode was steering me toward a drive-thru. My plan was to pick up three taco salads and three chicken sandwiches, something other than foot-longs or pizza. Oh, it sounded so good.
It didnt take long for my wallet to ask; do you really want to do that? It didnt take long for my cooks guilt to scold; you can do better than that. And so my van, which seemed to be on autopilot, drove one street further west and parked right outside the door at the grocery. (Our family calls these prime parking spaces a Bob Miller. Never fails, he always gets an upfront spot.) This must be the first reward of my new plan.
In my head I listed the needed ingredients to prepare exactly what I was going to order. In my first plan I would have stretched my neck out the car window and spoken into a little box. Just inside a sliding window, our dinner would have been wrapped in foil and tossed into Styrofoam.
In the new plan, I pushed a brand new grocery cart, a limo of the supermarket aisle. It didnt embarrassingly squeak, rattle, or roll away when left unattended. This must be the second reward of my new plan.
Into the sleek black basket I tossed a bag of frozen, breaded chicken patties, a head of lettuce, two cans of prepared chili with beans, a bag of corn chips, and a fresh bag of sandwich buns. (At home I knew I had shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced tomatoes, American cheese and sweet onion.)
It was quick, even if I did have to backtrack in search of canned chili. Soon I would be headed out the door with all I needed to fix what a fast food joint could only style for a photo shoot. We all know nothing looks the same once you take your tray back to the booth for consumption.
I fixed dinner, and there were leftovers for lunches the next day. In fact, there was still plenty of lettuce for another meal, more buns for other sandwiches, and though the snacking of corn chips continued into the evening, I think there might be a few to toss on my salad today. I even found pre-crushed corn chips waiting at the bottom of a curled up bag. That must be my third reward of last nights plan. Now, whats for dinner tonight?
Maple Apple Topping (Ruth Harrow)
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 large tart apples, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts
In a large skillet, melt butter. Add the apples, syrup and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until apples are tender. Stir in nuts. Serve over waffles, pancakes, pound cake, or ice cream.
Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce (Cindy Glancy)
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
4 bone-in pork loin chops (6 ounces each), trimmed
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon pepper
In a large nonstick skillet, sauté onion and garlic in butter until tender. Add pork chops, brown on both sides. In a small bowl, combine the tomato sauce, chicken broth, oregano and pepper; pour over chops. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.
Pineapple Biscuits (Carol Henderson)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated biscuits
In a bowl, combine the brown sugar and butter; stir in the pineapple and cinnamon. Spoon into 10 greased muffin cups. Place one biscuit in each prepared cup. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter.
Flavorful Flank Steak
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
3 tablespoons barbecue sauce
3 tablespoons steak sauce
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 tablespoon liquid smoke, optional
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 beef flank steak (1 1/2 pounds)
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first 8 ingredients; mix well. Add the steak; seal bag and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and discard marinade. Grill steak, covered, over medium-hot coals for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness.
Rave-Bringing Beef Ribs (Karen Leinbach, Greenwich)
1 to 5 pounds beef ribs
1 cup double strength coffee
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Score ribs on both sides between bones. Lay ribs in bottom of roaster with tight-fitting lid. Combine coffee, liquid smoke, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over ribs. Cover and bake in oven 2 hours or until ribs are almost done tender. Remove cover and continue baking until ribs are browned and tender, another 20 minutes or so. Ribs may be turned over after 10 minutes to brown other side.
Mocha Drop Cookies (Merrin Leinbach, Greenwich)
1 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts
Mix butter, sugar and eggs well. Add rest of ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Chocolate Monkey (Ruth Leinbach, Greenwich)
1/2 cup chocolate milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 small banana, cut up
2 ice cubes
Put all but ice cubes in blender. Blend until smooth. Add ice cubes through the hole in the lid one by one. Ready when ice is melted. Serve immediately.
