Ease on Christmas Eve

If the holidays are anything like my family's then the last few days before Christmas are a mad rush to finish shopping, baking, wrapping, decorating, and futile attempts to keep your mind on straight especially on Christmas Eve. The last thing that we need is another kitchen explosion-type mess that is sure to occur when so many family cooks are in the kitchen. So in order to avoid this I made a freeze-ahead meal a few days beforehand. Lasagna and casseroles are good choices for this type of occasion. The entire meal can be assembled way in advance with little prep the night of except to press preheat on your oven. The recipe below is adapted from the box of barilla no boil noodles. These are a fantastic invention. I absolutely abhor the step in lasagna where you boil noodles that you aren't immediately smothering in tomato sauce and devouring. These also really reduce the prep time for lasagna. My only tip is to make sure you provide lots of sauce and cheese between the layers as these noodles need extra moisture since they'll be cooking during the baking process. This recipe is really easily customizable and you can add in other meats or cheese of your choice as well as any vegetables of your choice. The next time you are fraught over what to make the day before a big meal use this option to keep your cooking and clean-up stress free!

Artichoke & Sausage Lasagna

1 package no boil lasagna noodles
2 jars prepared tomato sauce
1 container ricotta cheese, 15 oz
4 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 package hot Italian sausage, 1 lb
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 cup red wine
1 egg, beaten
Salt & pepper to taste
1. Brown sausage in a skillet, breaking up into small pieces. Drain on paper towels.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine two jars of tomato sauce, and quartered artichokes. This will be your sauce layer.
3. In another large mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, beaten egg, 2 cups mozzarella and 1 cup Parmesan. This will be your ricotta layer.
4. Begin assembly in an 11 x 15 x 3 inch greased or non-stick sprayed casserole dish or lasagna pan. When layering lasagna spread fillings to outer edges. Also, it's okay if the noodles overlap!

To Assemble:
1. Spread 2 cups sauce mixture on bottom of pan.
2. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, 1/3 ricotta mixture, half of browned meat, 1 cup mozzarella and 1.5 cups sauce.
3. Layer 4 uncooked sheets 1/3 ricotta mixture and 1.5 cups sauce.

4. Layer 4 uncooked sheets the remaining of the ricotta mixture and browned meat, and 1 cup of sauce.
5. Layer 4 uncooked sheets, the remaining sauce and the remaining mozzarella.

Bake at 375, covered with foil, for 50-60 minutes until bubbly. Remove foil and continue to bake until cheese is browned and melted about 5 minutes.

Serves 8

Savory Sides

The holidays are a time when we gather with family and friends to enjoy food, wine, laughs and memories. Our family has suffered a great loss this Christmas with my grandmother. Talk about an interesting cook! I say interesting in a good way but as a 7 year old child being told to eat your cabbage rolls and czernina (duck blood soup) you really don't have an appreciation for such epicurian delights. So until I can pay homage to my wonderful grandmother with a polish feast fit for a krol I will supply you with some sides I created for you to share with your family. Na zdrowie!

Balsalmic Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

1.5-2 lbs green beans, ends trimmed
2 tblsp olive oil
2 tblsp butter
2 tbl good balsamic vinegar
1/4 sliced almonds
salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds on a nonstick baking sheet or a baking sheet covered with foil.
2. Bake 10 minuted stirring occasionally until almonds are browned on both sides.
3.Meanwhile,heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add green beans once melted. Use tongs to stir until all beans are coated. Add salt and pepper.
4. Cook beans covered for 10 minutes.
5. Remove lid and increase heat to medium - high. Be sure to stir frequently so beans do not burn. Add in vinegar tossing beans to coat.
6. Remove from heat and add in toasted almonds, mix well.

Serves 4-6

Pesto Roasted Tomatoes & Potatoes

6-8 (depending on size) red or new potatoes, quartered
1 package or10 oz cherry tomatoes
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup prepared pesto

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss potatoes with olive oil, salt and garlic in a deep baking dish.
3. Bake for 15 minutes uncovered, stirring once.
4. Add in cherry tomatoes. Cook 5-10 additional minutes until potatoes are tender and tomatoes are are blistering.
5. Remove from oven and stir in pesto.

Serves 4.

Entertaining with Ease

It's one thing to cook for your husband who has at one point spent 9 months straight eating cold, pre-packaged MREs. It's something totally different to cook for guests who you haven't met and potentially may not eat anything as long as it's not still living. In these situations I gravitate towards chicken dishes with some sort of lemon-butter sauce. It appears fancy but is easy to make and there's no possibility that someone likes their chicken a little less done (enter salmonella poisoning) and doesn't violate any of the usual food dislikes or allergies (nuts, shellfish, etc). Timing is a difficult issue when it comes to entertaining also. I try to juggle only two items that are made stove stop and one item in the oven. Anything more and I'm a sweaty, stained, scary looking mess by the time company arrives. Having "sauced" dishes allows you to cook the meat in advance and for your guests to arrive see you in a photo finish, whisking in wine and zests and butter. All of the dishes I make are served family style since plating is not one of my strong suits and it allows guests to take as little or much of certain side without asking for more or feeling guilty leaving a lot of one dish. So the cat's out of the bag. If you come to my house for dinner and are served an eerily similiar dish you've learned my entertaining secrets. Feel free to steal them for your own.

Chicken with Artichokes, Sun-dried Tomatoes & White Wine Lemon Sauce

For the Chicken
8 thin style chicken breasts (or4 regular sliced in half)
1 packet zesty herb marinade

For the Sauce
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, sliced into quarters
1/2 jar sundried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced thin
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 lemons
2 tblsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Prepare marinade according to packet directions. Marinade chicken breast for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
2. Pour 1 tblsp of oil from sundried tomato jar into a large nonstick skillet.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Cook chicken breasts in oil about 3 minutes per side until no pink remains and juices run clear.
5. Remove chicken and place on plate/platter. Cover with foil to maintain warmth.
6. Reduce heat to medium and sautee garlic in chicken juices and remaining oil for 3-4 minutes until soft.
7. Turn heat back up to medium -high and deglaze the pan with the chicken stock, white wine, and juice of two lemons. Stir frequently to get all the yummy brown bits up left from the garlic and chicken! Continue to cook until liquid has reduced in half, about 5 minutes.
8. Whisk in butter.
9. Add artichokes and sundried tomatos, stirring until warmed through.

To serve, uncover chicken and pour sauce over chicken. Serves 4.

Healthy Habits

The holidays are always a rough time of the year on the waistline. I try to cook healthier meals if I know we're going to be stuffing ourselves at a holiday party or family get together. This weekend marks both Brett's AND my Christmas party for work not to mention the stay of a close friend of his, ergo, a weekend of nonstop eating and drinking. I made a quick, easy, and healthy recipe last night in hopes that enough green vegetables will combat the aforementioned onslaught of lipid laden appetizers and booze.

Chicken with Broccoli & Carrots

For the chicken:
2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 packet mojito lime marinade (any citrusy marinade will work)

For the stir fry:
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
2 carrots, sliced thin
2 tblsp oyster sauce
2 tblsp peanut sauce
3 tblsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tblsp canola or peanut oil

1. Marinade chicken according to package directions 30 minutes - 1 hour.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok or frying pan.
3. Add chicken and carrots and saute for 3-4 minutes, turning occasionally.
4. Add broccoli and saute for 3-4 minutes more.
5. Whisk all liquid ingredients and ginger in a bowl. Add to veggies and meat and stir to coat and continue to cook until sauce is warmed through.

Serve over brown rice.

Serves 2

The Other White Meat

The Scull's Spread and associated authors almost met an untimely end this week. First, let me explain by describing the day we had. The booming metropolis of Jacksonville, NC only houses one shopping mall of say, oh, 20 stores? And with the largest population of single males in the entire United States this makes for quite the crowds. After being pelted with sling-shotted angry bird in the Barnes & Noble by a group of boisterous boy scouts, wading through what my excellent observations skills deemed 10, 000 other people at Walmart, and spending 30 minutes just finding an associate at Sears what I needed was a good meal and an even better drink. Unfortunately, after the sensory overload of Christmas music, spirit, shopping and madness I was not on top of my game. Fortunately, anything that I cooked on TOP of the stove proved magnificent; it was the homemade garlic bread that stayed on broil for 45 minutes that met an untimely end. After finishing the main dish with all doors and windows open, fans on, and smoke alarms ripped quickly out of the walls we were able to enjoy one of my favorite meals.
I really enjoy cooking pork for a myriad of reasons. I like that cuts are lean and the price is absolutely unbeatable. Pork, mustard, and maple are a common combination in recipes. Like most of my other dishes, I've combined aspects of 3-5 different recipes and tweaked to add some additions of my own. This is a perfect weekend or date night meal, just don't forget the garlic bread in your oven ....

Mesquite Marinated Pork with Mustard, Maple Glaze and Caramelized Onions

For the Pork
4 boneless pork chops
1 packet mesquite marinade

For the Sauce
1 cup sugar free syrup (or maple syrup if you prefer)
1/4 cup whole grain mustard (I like sweet, hot)
1 tsp mustard powder
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tblsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

For the onions
1 large vidalia onion, sliced thin
1 tblsp butter

1. Prepare marinade according to package directions. Marinade pork chops for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
2. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium heat.
3. Grill pork chops over medium heat until they reach your level of doneness. We like well done pork so about 4-5 minutes per side.

4. Meanwhile, combine all sauce ingredients into a saucepan and whisk vigorously. Place plan over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until sauce reaches a simmer. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then reduce heat to low while preparing onions.
5. Heat 1 tblsp butter over medium heat until melted. Add sliced onions and cook until onions are browned and caramelized about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve place onions on top of pork chops and drizzle with maple mustard sauce.

Serves 4.

Good Things Come To Those Who Bait

One of the perks of living near the beach is the (potentially) endless supply of dinner right there at your front door. However, on the weekends I would certainly prefer to stay warm in my bed regaining the school-induced lack of sleep than to wake up at 5 to "hit the good spots" as my husband says. I am certainly on no road leading to expert angler anytime soon. And, until recently neither of the Scull men were either. They would trudge out early in the morning and kayak or boat over around Queen's Creek in hopes of reeling in "the big one." I was pretty convinced that a curse stronger than the bambino plagued the Scull patriarchs. With favorable conditions and some new found contraption called a jig hook it seems that the curse was finally broken which made me glad for a number of reasons. First, my husband and father-in-law didn't come home in a fowl, cussing-laden mood but more importantly was the food that followed.
Brett gave me the treat of taking the night off from culinary experimentation and instead grilled up the freshest and most delicious trout I had ever tasted. Lucky me!

Brett's Lemon & Butter Trout

2 filets of trout, deboned, skin left on

2tblsp butter
1 lemon
Cajun seasoning

1. Melt the butter in a large grill pan (or regular frying pan if not possible) over medium-high heat.
2. Liberally season the trout on both sides with the Cajun seasoning.
3. Pan fry trout for about 2-3 minutes per side.
4. Add the juice of the lemon 1 minute before finished.
5. Serve with additional lemon wedges

Serves 2

The Perfect Snack- Take Two

I love Christmas. I love Christmas more than I love Thanksgiving, which is saying a lot. Since I was little I've been obsessed with the tradition of Christmas. Even as 21 year old college student I cried when my parents put up their first fake Christmas tree and Biochemistry exams prohibited me from decorating it. I've made my poor mother cook the exact same recipes as my Grandmother since I was in grade school. Good luck if she'd like to stray from spiral glazed ham, scalloped potatoes and crescent rolls.
It's time now, though, to start building traditions of our own and maybe, accidentally we've created one. Last Saturday Brett and I geared up for an entire day dedicated to decorating, which incidentally is the perfect opportunity for snacking. Tack up some garland-snack. Stick on an ornament-snack. Wrap a present-snack. And what goes better with the ancient tradition of tree trimming than ye old Mexican?
We love guac in the Scull household but I'm ridiculously and potentially OCD'ly picky about said condiment. When its shade of green isn't possible in nature or its texture more closely resembles baby food, odds are I'm not going to touch it with a ten foot pole. I've tried many different recipes and combined all of my favorite parts of each into this delicious recipe. And who knows? Maybe this appetizer will help your decorating day be quite the fiesta.

Not Your Mamma's Guacamole

3 avocados, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 onion, diced fine
1/2 red pepper, diced fine
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 lime
1/2 tsp dried cilantro (use fresh if available)
1/4 tsp cumin
Hefty pinch of salt
Pepper to taste

1. Roughly chop peeled and pitted avocados and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the zest and juice of the lime to the avocado.
3. Add all other ingredients and use a potato masher to mash. Do Not over mix! There should be some texture left in this guacamole.
4. Serve with pita chips or tortilla chips.

Serves 4-6

Date Night

Married life brings a new dynamic to date night. Okay, well not actually the married part but the I-teach-and-coach-110 know-it-all-teenagers part definitely does. When 6 o'clock Friday hits and I don't have a basketball game to monitor so cheer brawls don't break out I am exhausted. Too exhausted to come remotely close to date night appearance precedents so Friday nights (if free) are spent making dinner together and watch Jeopardy. I know. I know. I promise I have not instantaneously morphed into a late-aged retiree. Brett and I enjoy the competitive nature and well, let's be honest, making slight fun of the quirky contestants. This Friday we popped a few delicious bottles of wine, tried a new recipe, and screamed our answers at the television in hopes that one day Alex, our favorite game show guru, will someday hear us.

Saucy Steaks for the Grill
Penzey's Spice Catalog

4 Steaks
Steak Rub:
4 tsp mustard powder
2 tblsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Basting Sauce:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tblsp vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tblsp course grain mustard
1 tsp paprika
2 tblsp ketchup
1/2 tsp hot sauce

1. Rinse steaks and pat dry. Combine all steak rub ingredients and apply to both sides of steak. Let sit for 45-90 minutes.
2. Combine all basting sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
4. Place the steaks over the hottest part of the grill for 2-3 minutes per side then move to a less hot part of the grill and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes per side.
5. Baste with sauce while on less hot part of the grill.
6. Remove and let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Serve with extra sauce.

Serves 4. (I would recommend lessening the paprika. The addition to the sauce and rub was just a little too much)

Pomegranate Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed
1/2 cup dried pomegranates
2 tblsp pomegranate red wine vinegar (or regular)
1 clove garlic, minced
drizzle olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a sheet pan. Make sure asparagus is evenly covered.
3. Bake 10-12 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Serves 2-4.

The Perfect Snack

I love to snack. Seriously, who doesn't? And let's be honest, anything consumed while standing or driving really doesn't count. My guilty pleasure of choice is usually potato chips. Their fluffy, slightly greasy, thin, crispy and overly salty nature are just too tempting. And yes, Pringles, you are correct. Both your clever marketing ploy and tube-o-chips are too delcious that once you pop the weight-inducing fun doesn't stop. I've experimented with making my own before but have finally developed an absolutely winning recipe. Mind you, one of my pet peeves is that store-bought sweet potato chips are usually extra dry and lack flavor. These are the antithesis of such bland, painfully crunchy morsels, and I betcha' can't eat just one.

Sweet & Salty Sweet Potato Chips

2 sweet potatoes, ends removed, sliced thin (use a mandolin!)
1 tblsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp McCormick smokehouse maple seasoning (optional)
dash cayenne pepper
dash parika
oil for frying - enough for about 1.5 inches of oil in your pan.

1. Slice potatos thinly using a mandolin. Use the gaurd at the end or, you too, can chop part of your hand off (friends will laugh and think of August 2010 when I did that very thing. 20 stitches later I learned my lesson!)
2. Heat oil on med-high in a deep, large pan such as cast iron skillet. Here's a trick. When a wooden skewer is placed in the oil and small bubbles radiate out - the oil's niiice and ready.
3. Mix the sugar, salt, and spices in a bowl until well combined. Use as much cayenne or paprika as you like.
4. Fry the sweet pototoes in batches, 1-2 minutes per side. Don't crowd the pan! You want every square inch to get some greasy goodness. Another tip - use a pointed end skewer to flip the potatos.
5. Remove from oil when chips are medium-dark brown. Place on paper towels to drain. Season with spice mix immediately while hot!

Sick as a (sausage) Dog

One of the pitfalls (besides the cringe-inducing salary) of being a teacher is the sheer number of germs we battle in a single day. Between my three classes and 20 hormone-raging cheerleaders I face about 110 different hygiene-challenged high schoolers and whichever bodily fluids they decide to leave on my desks, lab tables, door knobs, and bathrooms. It seems that the onset of cold weather has brought an onslaught of some sort of barrage of respiratory infecting bacteria. With a slight fever, intense headache and nasal passage so clogged that I resemble Pee-Wee Herman, the last thing I wanted to do was spend 60 exhausting minutes cooking dinner. Usually in my disease-infected state wouldn't cook at all and would be content to enter to a codeine-spiked cough syrup slumber but I do have 220 lbs of husband to feed on a daily basis. Ergo - a few of the world's easiest and FASTEST recipes of all time.







Shelly's Polish Kielbasa

1 package turkey polish kielbasa, cut into 3-4inch pieces, split almost in two (see above)
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
Non Stick Spray

1. Heat pan over medium -heat heat. Spray with nonstick spray.
2. Place sausage cut side down in pan. Cook 3-4 minutes turning once browned.
3. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add barbeque sauce and stir, turning sausages to coat. Cook for 5 additional minutes.

Lemon Pepper Broccoli

2 small heads broccoli, stems removed and florets separated
1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 lemon, zested and juiced
dash salt
drizzle of olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Spread on a metal sheet pan.
3. Bake for 15 minutes turning once.

Serves 2.