As I shared my cravings for a meatball sandwich, and a really good Reuben with my family recently, I realized that in the dinner world, “Sandwich Night” gets a bad rap. It definitely has its place in the week, and can provide as much of a well-rounded, healthy, hot meal as “meat and potatoes”, and often can be more convenient.

Adding good sandwich rolls to your weekly shopping list can open up a world of possibilities. Or, if you have time to bake, and keep Smart Ingredient RED STAR yeast on hand, you use our recipe for Italian Gondola Bread to  make great dinner rolls any day of the week.

In addition to meatball sandwiches and Reuben’s, some of our other favorite weeknight sandwiches include:

Baked Shrimp or Crab Cake Po’ Boy, Monte Cristo, and Chopped Salad “Pocket” sandwiches. See recipes below:

Baked Shrimp Po’ Boys

Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches)

• Four rolls
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ cup cornmeal
• ½ cup flour
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (or see recipe below)
• 1 cup mayonnaise (or ½ cup mayo, ½ cup Greek yogurt mixed together)
• 2 cups lettuce, finely chopped

* You can make your own Creole seasoning with a mix of garlic powder, salt, paprika, oregano, thyme, black pepper and just a touch of cayenne.

Dust shrimp with 1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning. Combine flour and cornmeal, and dredge shrimp. Grease baking dish with olive oil. Place shrimp on baking sheet and put in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes each side. Combine mayo (or mayo and Greek yogurt) with remaining Creole seasoning. Top bread with mayo, lettuce and shrimp or crab cakes.

Monte Cristo Sandwiches

This sandwich provides a sweet savory combination of meat and cheese between two slices of french toast. Turkey is often substituted for the ham.

Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches)

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 8 Bread slices (we often use Rosen’s potato bread for these, but any bread will work)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 8 slices deli ham
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• Maple syrup (optional)

Chopped Salad “Pocket” Sandwich (copycat recipe of Pockets restaurant salad sandwiches in Chicago)

Ingredients (for 4 sandwiches)

• 4 ciabatta rolls, homemade gondola, pita or other hearty bread
• 1 heart Romaine lettuce, finely chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 tomato, seeded, cored, and diced into small pieces
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 3 slices cooked bacon, crisp and crumbled
• 1 cup small pasta noodles, such as Conchiglie

Cook pasta according to package directions, and rinse in cool water. Drain pasta. Mix all ingredients together, chill and serve on large rolls or homemade bread. Serve with your favorite dressing on the side.

. . .for Thanksgiving or anyday.

I had a lovely cooking demo at Geneva Library this week. Geneva, IL is one of those destination downtowns with all the great specialty shops and fantastic restaurants. I always enjoy a trip there, and this was no exception. I presented “Cook Once, Eat Twice”, where we discussed unique ways to use leftover Thanksgiving Turkey and Cranberry Brisket. We also discussed other Thanksgiving cooking strategies such as what you can plan and cook ahead to reduce stress (people shared many ideas for what can and has been done already… fruit pies prepped and frozen, rolls frozen, stuffing frozen, etc.). Another highlight was when my guests shared unique dishes that their family makes for this holiday. I was intrigued, and recreated some recipes here for you to try:

Onion Bake

This one seemed straight out of the 70′s, but with ingredients my family loves (Swiss. Worcestershire, Pumpernickel) I had to try. It had a very unique presentation, and was packed with flavor. 

• 1 large vidalia onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 can cream of mushroom soup
• A few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices pumpernickel bread

Lay the onions in a baking dish, top with soup and Worcestershire sauce. Lay cheese and then bread on top. Bake for 30 minutes in 375 degree F oven, covered.

Corn Casserole

Spinach Squares

Got one to share? We’d love to hear about the unique dishes that will make it to your table this holiday. Tell us via a reply to this post, or on our Facebook page.

Ready to restart the school year, activities and all that means for dinnertime in your house? Perhaps you made a resolution to become more successful at dinnertime? Make more meals and eat less take-out this school year? Organizing Dinner is dedicating this entire month’s blogs to providing you solid solutions and delicious recipes for weeknight cooking success.

This post is going to cover Organizing Dinner’s Smart Ingredients way to plan your meals. As you may recall us saying in the past, it does not take a “plan” as in any sort of written-out schedule. Why this doesn’t work: there is little flexibility. You need to be able to make what you have a taste and time for on a certain night… and on a moment’s notice. Our plan is also more like a lifetime plan than one week-at-a-time plan… which can fly by and leave you, again, without a plan.

Here’s how to start your Smart Ingredients plan:

Define your family’s three “go to meals”. For this week, buy the ingredients you need for these three meals in bulk. This is not confining you to a year of eating these three meals over and over. Rather, this is a groundwork. In addition, the “Smart” shopping style of buying in bulk is not one where you are spending an excess amount of money, and buying more than you can store at home. Rather, you are buying just the Smart ingredients that add up to dinner in your house. Eliminate the “random” ingredients you may buy as an “Oh, I might use this someday”, and for this week, just focus on success.

With this first step, the pressure of wondering what’s for dinner is over…. gone from your year. Next we’ll show you how to expand the variety of your meals. 

To give you an example, any night of the year my family would eat pizza, pasta or tacos. Therefore I always keep on hand the following ingredients: tomato sauce or ingredients to make it, tortillas, ground beef, chicken, and yeast and flour to make homemade pizza dough. Yeast, pasta and flour are easy to buy in large quantity and ground beef, chicken and tortillas can be frozen. On my weekly shopping trip, I always grab cheese that can be used for my tacos, pizza and pasta dishes, and some of my family’s favorite vegetables, such as peppers, spinach and onions.

Now, looking at the ingredients mentioned above, consider what can be made for dinner. I can make traditional pasta with noodles and red sauce, OR I could use some of the chicken and whatever vegetables I have on hand to make a chicken pasta with a cheese sauce. I could make a traditional cheese or vegetable pizza OR I could make a taco pizza. I could make ground beef tacos OR I could make chicken tacos or fajitas. You see by learning to mix and match Smart ingredients, I have expanded a simple 3 “go to” weeknight dinners to 6 without having to buy any more ingredients.

There is so much information out there in the grocery world. Hundreds upon thousands of ingredients we are told by advertising and pretty packaging will make our dinners successful. To win the game, you need to be in charge of what you’re buying. Casting a net on hundred of random items at the grocery store doesn’t always add up to dinner at home. Shopping Smart does.

This shopping plan is a mini excerpt of the 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store cookbook. Click here for the Chicken Fajitas recipe from 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store.

I am not a fan of make-ahead meals. You know the whole, freeze-and-eat for a month idea? I much-prefer a fresh-made meal, and would rather use the convenience of prepared ingredients to combat the challenge of making one every night. Even one step of a meal prepared ahead of time is one step closer to dinner. These prepared ingredients are gifts we can give ourselves. When utilizing the strategy of Cooking as a Sport, and playing offense, you need to be playing to win when you’re in the kitchen. Make the most of your time there, and give yourself a gift whenever you can squeeze it in.

The other day, I was making chicken soup. For it, I needed to season and roast 2 chicken breasts. The package held 6. So I seasoned and grilled all 6 chicken breasts.  I cubed and ziploced the remaining 4, and stuck them in the freezer. These can go in chicken pot pie, chicken fried rice. fajitas, BBQ chicken pizza, salads, tonight’s fajitas, and more.

Tonight I am making chicken fajitas and as I mentioned, I already have the chicken seasoned and cooked. What a gift! I also got the peppers and onions sliced during some kitchen time this morning, another gift. After work, all I have to do is sear the meat and vegetables and dinner will be done in a flash.

Day 20

Menu: Homemade Mushroom and Mozzarella Pizza

Game plays applied:

Gifts to self

When I was making the chicken soup mentioned above, it called for about a cup of mushrooms, which was only half the package. Since mushrooms don’t have a long shelf-life, what I do when I have a half package left over is to make a mushroom ragout by cooking them up with some butter, onions, red wine, salt, pepper and cream. I then freeze this in ziploc bags to use on top of steaks, in omelets, or like tonight…. on top of pizza. Another gift was the pizza dough, already made. Pizza dough is one of those things that is just as easy to make 6 as it is to make 1, so I always do.

Day 21

Menu: Paninis and Homemade Soup

Game plays applied:

Having the right equipment

I was just given a panini maker, and I was SO excited to use it. Having good equipment you are excited to use brings some joy and ease to the dinner process.

Flexibility

I do not ever short-order cook for my family, but paninis are one item that is easy to personalize for each person with different meats, cheeses and other ingredients that we have on hand.

Day 22

Menu: Chicken Fajitas

Game Plays applied:

Gifts to self (see above)

p.s. the leftovers from Fajitas make a great tortilla soup when cooked up in some hearty broth, and topped with tortillas strips and cheese.

My apologies for being behind on this post series. On the downside I have been consumed with taxes (ugh!) and on the upside, had a great guest appearance on Milwaukee Channel 4′s The Morning Blend. View the segment here:

http://www.themorningblend.com/videos/119855929.html

It’s always a matter of timing….

Day 8

Fish Fillets with Garlic-Kissed Spinach, and Stuffing

Today is a Tuesday, and one of our busiest days. I got home at 5:30, and needed to find something I could start prepping, pause and go pick up my daughter at choir, and then serve fairly soon after returning home. I chose tilapia on a bed of garlic with a side of stuffing. I sauteed spinach in garlic salt and olive oil for 3 minutes, placed this in a baking dish, topped it with the fish, drizzled the fish with 1 tablespoon melted butter, and sprinkled with bread crumbs. I covered the dish and placed in the refrigerator, turned on the oven to preheat and headed out. When I returned home, the fish went in a hot oven for 20 minutes while meanwhile I prepared the stuffing.

Game Plays:

70 Meals, One Trip to the Store: Based on the 70 Meals cookbook, there are 3 types of meat I always have on hand: ground beef, chicken and fish fillets (usually Tilapia). This recipe is on e of the many fish recipes in the book.

2/3 Rule: Fish and Spinach were prepared fresh, stuffing was from a package.

Day 9

Crab-Stuffed Shrimp, Sliced Cucumber Salad and Brown Rice

My family loves shrimp, and I am always trying new ways to prepare the prawns. Inspired by a recent demo by Paula Deen, I decided to try one of her shrimp recipes. It called for a crab salad rolled inside shrimp, and then wrapped in bacon. I chose to avoid the bacon to reduce the fat in the recipe, and ended up “placing” the crab on top of the shrimp as a sort of crab cake-topped prawn. While prepping the shrimp, brown rice went in the cooker, and I sliced up some fresh cucumbers with onions, Greek yogurt, hot sauce and garlic salt for a quick side salad.

Day 10

Grilled Bratwursts and Lentil Soup

I have to work tonight, but was home during the day, so I made the soup ahead of time, and all hubby had to do was grill the brats to get dinner served.

Game Plays Applied:

Gifts to self: A week or so ago, when making soup, I made a large portion of “soup starter” which for me is a roux (butter and flour) sauteed with onions, black pepper, and then brought to a boil with my favorite soup base, Vegeta. I transferred this into 2-cup portions in large Ziploc bags and placed in the freezer. All I needed to do was warm this on the stove, add a few cups of water to hydrate the lentils, and the lentils.

Click here to see the game plays.

30 Days of my play-by-play dinner, continued. For game play definitions, see previous post.

Day 4

Homemade Butternut Squash Soup and pasta salad.

Game Plays applied:

Multimealing: I made a large batch of squash soup to bring some to my Dad who just had surgery, and keep some at home for dinner.

Flexibility: I love the flexibility of pasta salad. Using noodles and basic pasta salad seasonings I always keep on hand (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic salt and Italian Seasonings) I can make a pasta salad using any number of add-ins I may have on hand. Tonight I used blue cheese, avocado, cucumber, onions and tomatoes.

Day 5

[Tonight I have to work. My sitter knows she can make anything in the 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store cookbook as I have all the ingredients on hand. Here's what she chose. The kids loved it.]

Lemon Honey Chicken and Brown Rice

Game Plays applied:

70 Meals, One Trip to the Store: Lemon Honey Chicken

Day 6

Herb-Crusted Beef Roast and Roasted Potatoes

While this may sound like a complicated meal, it is actually one of the easiest, elegant dinners I make. I use and Eye of Round cut, which I find extremely reliable in both cut and preparation. The crust is made by cooking up some onions, garlic and mustard in red wine. Rub this on the roast with some tarragon, salt and pepper, and put it in a roasting pan surrounded by one cup of beef broth, and cubed potatoes, and into a preheated 350 degree F oven until it reaches 140 degrees F. This roast is also typically sold in a 4-pound quantity, which is a perfect amount to feed 5 for dinner one night, and make Beef Stew the next.

Day 7

Beef Stew

Game plays applied:

Cook once, eat twice: last night’s lovingly-prepared roast and potatoes became an extremely flavorful beef stew by just cubing leftover beef and placing it and the remaining potatoes in a crock pot with the remaining beef stew recipe ingredients. This can be done at any point of the day, which worked well with the day’s busy schedule, work and after-school activities. [From the 40 Dinner Duos; Cook Once, Eat Twice cookbook.]

It’s an expression my Dad used to use when we were kids, referring to something being garbage. Today I’m talking about something that’s anything but garbage — chickpeas! Chickpeas are popping up in more and more dishes. One friend served them to me recently in tomato soup, another in a fantastic chili.

This is great because this super food is high in protein, fiber and minerals and a hearty, delicious addition to any diet. I’ve been stocking up on them more and more myself, and using them in the following recipes.

Chick Pea Salad with Mangoes and Rosemary

from the 30 Spectacular Salads cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 pound garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cooked or canned, drained and rinsed
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
• 1 mango, peeled and cut into small cubes

Combine all ingredients and chill.

Chana Masala

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 28 oz. canned diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped plus more for garnish
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Two 15 oz. cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 5 oz. spinach leaves
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups cooked Basmati rice

Heat oil in a large pan on stove over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring often for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, spices and seasonings, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring for 3 minutes.  Add 1/4 c. water and scrape up the brown bits. Cook until the water has evaporated, and then add tomatoes, beans and spinach. Continue cooking, adding water as needed to achieve a thick stew-like consistency, for 15 minutes. Serve over rice with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Do you have a favorite way to use chickpeas that you want to share?

Stay tuned, the winner of this month’s cookbook giveaway will be announced on Sunday, January 30!

At New Years’ seafood is priced right, and with everyone’s goal at resolution time to eat lighter, here is another of our great, lowfat seafood recipes to ring in your New Year.

Grilled Scallop Kabobs with Peach Salsa

Serve this dinner over rice for a delicious, healthy and easy dinner. Ingredients

Happy Holidays. We hope you are enjoying the season! To help keep it Merry, these are our gifts to you:

1 Specials through the holiday season, including free cookbooks with purchases, and free upgrades to expedited shipping to get you your cookbook gifts before Christmas.

2 One more FREE groceries winner, chosen at the end of December.

3 Holiday recipes. Need some recipe help for the holidays? Just ask. In the meanwhile, we’ll be sending you make-ahead recipes that you can start right now to take some stress off the cooking on the holiday. We’ll start with make-ahead desserts. These desserts hold up great in the freezer. But another reason they are the best things to make ahead is that when you realize at the last minute, that you forgot to get a gift for, say, the bus driver, the garbageman, etc, and the truck/bus happens to be on its way to your door. Well, you can just give them the make ahead holiday dessert, packaged with a big bow, and still have time to make yourself another. We’ll start with an awesome peppermint freezer cheesecake that adds fresh taste and chocolate to the delicious holiday favorite flavor of peppermint ice cream.

Peppermint Freezer Cheesecake

Make today, and freeze until you eat.

Ingredients

2 cups chocolate wafer cookies
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup crushed Peppermint candy
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon Peppermint extract
2 cups whipped cream
red food coloring (optional)

Combine cookie crumbs and sugar. Add butter and mix well. Line a 9-inch cake or springform pan with foil. Press crumbs firmly on bottom and halfway up sides of pan. Chill.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, condensed milk and extract until smooth. Add food coloring one drop at a time, and continue to blend until pink. Fold in whipped cream and one half peppermint candies. Pour filling into pan. Top with remaining peppermint candies.

Cover tightly and freeze.

If you’ve never made a homemade pizza, I encourage you to try. It is easier than you might think. It’s also fun for the kids, versatile, and much cheaper and quick than placing on order for delivery tonight!

Red Star Yeast packets are one of my favorite “Smart Ingredients”. I keep these on hand at all times. Due to the vaccum-seal, the yeast is always fresh, and this brand makes a perfect dough every time. Once you have these, the remaining ingredients are basic kitchen staples… flour, olive oil, salt and water. With that, you can make a homemade pizza any night of the year using ingredients you have at home. Don’t have red sauce and Mozzarella? No problem. I encourage you to try many other toppings to create your signature homemade pizza. You saw my recipe last week for potato pizza? My family’s other favorites include Mediterranean grilled vegetables and goats cheese, Chicken Caesar Salad pizza (cook the crust with chicken and cheese on top, then add cold Caesar salad with dressing), and Barbecue Chicken Pizza (recipe on our website, and in 70 Meals, One Trip to the Store). For further inspiration, check out the pizza menu from California Pizza Kitchen.

The following recipe is for 2 – 14″ pizza crusts, or enough for 5 individual pizzas. You can use one and freeze the other, or reserve in refrigerator for 2 days. I also recommend doubling this and freezing a few for future pizza nights.

Perfect Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 1 packet (1/4 ounce) Red Star Active Dry Yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup very warm water
• 1 tablespoon oil

Mix yeast, salt and half flour together in large bowl. Add water and stir until blended. Slowly add remaining flour and knead with hands until dough forms. Rub mound with oil, cover, and let rise at least 15 minutes. Punch down dough, separate into two or five equal portions. Let sit for a few minutes. Using extra flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking, roll out dough onto baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8 minutes for a prebake (if you will be returning it to oven with toppings), or 10-12 minutes for a finished crust (to be topped with ingredients and served as-is).