Teaching Michael Mondays (1/11) -- Meal Planning and Pantry Essentials

Meal planning is important, but can be daunting. However, I find that it's less daunting if you make a plan to have "options." Let me explain: A balanced meal needs to have protein, carbs, and vegetables. So, something that's helped me is to make sure that I always have "options" for each in my pantry and fridge.

(Michael keeps kosher, so those who don't observer these dietary restrictions should use these tips as guidelines and add their own healthy favorites.)

• Protein options: 
• Hebrew National Hotdogs -- I stick with the 97% fat free ones which are 1 sp each. I recommend buying a few packs and storing them in the freezer. They're fully cooked, so you can cut open the frozen pack, remove two links, microwave them to thaw, and either sear them in a pan, or chop them up to add to pasta.
• Chicken breast -- buy a pack of three boneless/skinless breasts and cook the entire pack on Sunday afternoon/evening. Store cooked chicken in tupperware and add to meals as needed during the week. 
• Tuna -- not just for lunch anymore. Crack open a can of tuna, and throw it on top of salad with other components for a heartier salad.
• Beans -- Make a healthy fajita bowl, quick chili or toss onto salad. 
• Beef -- This tends to be a "treat" in my kitchen, but if you're living alone, I recommend looking for packs that have 4 ounce portions and separating into freezer bags when you unpack after shopping. 
• Tofu -- I go with extra firm, and add to stir fry or bake as a "steak." The catch here is that you need to use the package within a week.

• Carb Options: 
• Pasta -- Make sure you measure out a portion because living alone can EASILY lead to engorged portions.
• Rice -- I HATE cooking rice. I do. I can't stand it. Luckily, there are these "minute rice ready cups" at the grocery store that you can microwave for a minute to add to stir fry, fajita bowls, or pair alongside beef or chicken.
• Potatoes -- Keep a few on hand (they do spoil, so be careful). To prep baked potato -- wash, and pierce with fork or knife and then microwave for 5-8 minutes depending on the size of potato. 

• Veggie options:
• Frozen veggies -- ABSOLUTE LIFESAVER. YES, they are not as flavorful as fresh, but they're cheaper and more convenient. You can do a "quick roast" in the oven on a sheet tray, or saute in a pan with different spices
• What's in my freezer:
• Brussels Sprouts (MULTIPLE Packs)
• Stir fry blends, including one that's broccoli heavy and one that's peppers and onions
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Green Beans
• Asparagus (they have this at trader joes, for sure)
• Pearl Onions (Add to a crockpot)
• I also keep fresh veggies on hand. Note: THEY SPOIL so use quickly. They're also more expensive. I recommend:
• Bell peppers
• onions -- I go back and forth about whether its worth it to buy a 3-5 lbs bag or individual loose onions. While I go through the individuals faster,  I often find that the bag always has 1-2 bad onions which spoil the rest of the bunch.
• Mushrooms
• Broccoli
• String Beans
• CARROTS -- Can eat raw, throw on tray for quick roast, or toss into crockpot.
• Celery

Teaching Michael Mondays (1/4) -- Pasta in an Olive Oil Bath

Michael's second cooking mishap started out innocently enough: a harmless recipe for "Pasta with Garlic and Oil" (from How to Cook Everything: The Basics by Mark Bittman). It seemed simple: boil pasta, lightly toast garlic, toss together with parsley and red pepper flakes.

Michael is in the habit of eating lunch with a friend, and offered to bring in some for her prior to cooking it.

Said friend (who we're told is NOT a girlfriend) is not a fan of red pepper flakes, so Michael ignored the direction to add them to the recipe. He was out of parsley, so he ignored that direction as well.

Now, despite leaving out two ingredients, Michael, who was very worried about the recipe's end result, continued to "follow the directions exactly."

He didn't have minced garlic in water from a jar, as instructed. Instead, Michael decided to chop up a fresh garlic clove. But how much? The recipe instructed 2 TBS, but Michael had some idea that one was suppose to use a lesser amount of fresh spice "rather than dried or pre-packaged spices" -- and so he halved the amount, thinking that the fresh garlic would be stronger than the jarred kind.

In his retelling of the saga, Michael added:

It's been a while since I did this, and I don't remember exactly how I made it. But I keep thinking of the recipe as calling for 3/4 cup olive oil, so there's a chance I accidentally used 3/4 cup instead of 1/3 cup when I first made it.

 Regardless if Michael used 3/4 a cup of oil or 1/3 a cup, the resulting dish was pasta swimming in oil with a slight garlic flavor only noticeable "when you managed to find a piece [of garlic] to crunch into." Michael's friend was reportedly amused by the fact that he needed to follow a recipe for something so easy -- and still managed to screw it up.

Stephanie's "Expert" Recommendations:

There's no doubt that cooking is difficult, so I do give credit to Michael for consulting a recipe first.

In this scenario, I wouldn't have cut ingredients out completely. Instead, when Michael didn't have parsley, my recommendation would've been to stay within the Italian flavor profile, but substitute a different spice, such as oregano or basil, instead. Perhaps instead of red pepper flakes, Michael could've added fennel seeds, which would give an added depth of flavor.

As a healthier cook, I also would've used less than the prescribed amount of olive oil. Even if the original recipe called for 1/3 of a cup, that seems like quite a lot, when you figure the serving size is 1 TBS. To create more of a "sauce," I would've reached for part-skim or fat free ricotta, which would've added a creaminess to the dish -- and -- (added bonus) boosted the protein for the overall meal.

Kudos for trying, kid.

To those who are curious, the original recipe does call for 1/3 cup of olive oil. We will never know how much Michael ACTUALLY used, but as a very wise and slightly snarky older sister, my money's on 3/4 cup.

Teaching Michael Mondays (12/28) -- Launch

I have three siblings: two older sisters and a younger brother, Michael. Michael is a recent graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and has recently moved to his own apartment in CT... and has since been having issues cooking for himself.

To illustrate, Michael attempted to make himself a tuna melt for dinner a few weeks ago. However, he didn't have cheese..so Michael decided to top off the tuna with a fried egg (because one animal byproduct is completely interchangeable from another... right?) For the first egg, Michael didn't use any oil at all; for the second, he used too much.

His recent difficulties have prompted the launch of this mini-series: "Teaching Michael Mondays" in which I will provide readers who, like Michael, may be new to cooking, with easy recipes and tips. I have no doubt that I will also be regaling everyone with Michael's kitchen mishaps.... because what are older sisters for?

The Homemade Pasta Experiment

I've wanted to make fresh pasta for awhile. In honor of the Cutthroat Kitchen Superstar Sabotage finale (airing tonight), I attempted to make ravioli tonight with neither a pasta maker nor a rolling point.

Yep, things got interesting. Luckily for you, I live-snapchatted the whole thing! 

Pictures below, compliments of my excellent sous chef, Trevor.

To explain the process, the dough was flour, salt and eggs. I mixed it and rolled it out flat with a bottle of barbecue sauce. I cut out circles, put ricotta in the center, and sealed the raviolis with egg wash. In the spirit of full disclosure, I gave up after 25 raviolis, and made the rest into linguini. Then cooked the pasta in small batches in boiling water and topped with a creamy tomato sauce that I whipped up.

I think the experiment was a mixed success. The flavor of the pasta was good, but the whole process was very labor intensive and took about two hours.  It was also difficult to gauge done-ness on the ravioli.

Next time, I think I'll be investing in a rolling pin or a pasta roller (maybe both) and I'll stick to noodles rather than filled ravioli. 

Calphalon Self-Sharpening Knives

I've seen this commercial playing frequently on (where else) The Food Network.

Now, I'm sure Calphalon has made a great product -- they're known as gold standard among home chefs. That being said, is no one else alarmed that this woman has chopped vegetables, and then put the soiled knife back?!?!

Some fun for Monday -- Have a good one, fellow foodies!

Food Network Fan Girl

It's official: The Food Network has retweeted me. Naturally, the tweet in question has a grammatical mistake, because such is life.

I'm not going to lie, the sound that came out of me when it happened was a cross between a squeal and gasp. #Fangirl for life.

My Sharing Network 5K

Today, I completed two 5Ks (one running, one walking) to show support for the NJ Sharing Network, a non-profit, federally designated organ procurement organization, that is responsible for the recovery of organs and tissue for the nearly 5,000 New Jersey residents currently awaiting transplantation.

Donations from the race raised over $1 million to support organ donations in NJ. If you're interested in supporting the NJ Sharing Network, please visit http://www.njsharingnetwork.org/.

For those tracking my running progress, I finished the race in 35:40. Of that time, I ran for 33:50, which means my total time walking was less than 2 minutes!

Post race picture

Two 5Ks means noms for days