The Dress-Up Dress Down

 

Groceries. You can't live with them and you can't live without them.

Well, more like you can't live with the price of them and you can't live without them.

Potato, Potahto.

Speaking of potato . . .

I learned a lesson in relinquishing control during the height of Covid. I ordered my groceries online for pick up. At first, I ordered most of my staples, but still needed to pick out the meats and fresh vegetables myself. Doing it this way meant still going into the stores, but for much less time.

Then things got worse, vaccinations were just being developed, people around here would not follow social distancing rules and didn't wear masks. I had to order all of my groceries. It was difficult for me, but when balanced with trying to stay alive, a no brainer.

Sometimes the vegetables were very close to what I would have picked out myself. Sometimes, not so much. A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post about a sweet potato in my order that would feed a small country. Just after that, fully vaccinated, I went back to shopping just for my produce and meats, I'd gotten too used to the ease of ordering everything else.

Recently, though, I started ordering more and shopping for less. Yes, you guessed it, I ordered sweet potatoes. Two, one for me and one for College Boy. Oh, I got two sweet potatoes, I also got a lesson in perspective. That one I got a few years ago? That was small compared to the two I got this time. I think 50% of my bill was sweet potato. It's a wonder I could lift them. They were the size of pumpkins. I could carve them up, put a candle in them and stick them on the front porch. 

Figuring out what to do with one was a challenge. I cooked it, shared it with College Boy at dinner, but we didn't even put a dent in it. The leftovers provided lots of recipe development inspiration. I made Ginger Snap Sweet Potato Cake, Apple Pecan Sweet Potatoes, and Sweet Potato Blinis.

Sweet Potato Blinis

 

And I still had one left. 

So, working with that whole turn it into a jack-o-lantern vibe, and in honor of today being Halloween, I decided to share. In a Halloween meets politics meets produce. In a Mr. (Sweet) Potato Head kinda way. 

For instance:

I hear Ron DeSantis likes to talk a lot about drag performers and drag shows, seems sort of obsessed, actually. I bet he'd love to be gifted his very own queen.

Or perhaps Greg border-buoy-death-trap-in-the-Rio-Grande Abbott should get a look at what those of us with a moral compass see when we look at him.

And there are at least 19 defendants in Georgia who may be drastically lowering their clothing and barber shop budgets. I could give them a helpful glimpse into their future fashion style options.

Whether you're spending this Halloween partying, giving out candy, or dressing up your vegetables, I hope you're having fun.

Probably not as much fun as I'm having. That is, unless you order your groceries online too.

Sweet Potato Blinis         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
about 2 medium sweet potatoes

2 oz cream cheese

1 packet instant maple and brown sugar oatmeal

1/4 cup quick oats

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

1/2 cup mini marshmallows, halved

3 TBSP butter

maple syrup 

Directions:

*Cook the sweet potatoes in the oven or microwave until fork tender. Discard the skin and refrigerate the rest to cool.

*While the sweet potato is cooling, allow the cream cheese to soften in a medium sized bowl.

*Once the sweet potato has cooled and the cream cheese has softened, measure out 1 1/2 cups of sweet potato and add it to the bowl with the cream cheese. Beat until smooth, then beat in the oatmeal packet, quick oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Add the egg and beat again. Mix in the mini marshmallows. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

*Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

*Spray a large skillet with cooking spray, melt 1 TBSP butter over medium heat. Add some of the sweet potato mixture (about 1 heaping TBSP per blini) to the hot pan. Leave space between each blini. Form into about 2 - 2 1/2 inch circles.

*Cook for 2 minutes, then lower the heat to just above low and cook until the bottoms start to brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. Flip over, pressing them down gently, and cook the other side, about another 8 minutes. Repeat this process with additional cooking spray, butter, and sweet potato mixture.

*Place the blinis on the prepared baking sheet and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

*To serve, drizzle with maple syrup. Provide more maple syrup for dipping.

Pro Pumpkin Pride

 

Pumpkin shaming. 

It's a thing. And you know it.

Fall is the only season I can think of, when it comes to food, and pumpkin the only tasty target, in which bigotry is widely accepted. Not only accepted, but prevalent everywhere, embraced by many as indisputable.

I'm here to represent. Show support. Solidarity. Not that I am one, a pumpkin, but you don't need to be a member of a group, any group {{hint, hint}}, to stand against blatant, widespread bigotry.

And really, it affects me, this constant attack starting as early as August (no judgement, but even I admit that timing is a bit rushed), but running rampant in October. Affected because I do post a few pumpkin recipes in this Halloween month. And I hope that rather than be discriminated against due to the color of their ingredients, that they will instead be judged simply by what they have to offer society. And your holiday menu. It's only fair.

Even if this gourd chooses to identify as a fruit, it is not our place to criticize.

And if these lovely cookies are brave enough to identify, loud and proud, as pumpkin, then who are we to shame them without even giving them a chance I say support them, embrace them. Foster and environment of inclusion when it comes to your holiday baking schedule. Proudly share then with your friends and neighbors. Be a voice of reason.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Rugelach

 

After all, they make the ultimate sacrifice. We carve them up like a turkey, light them on fire from the insides, roast them, mash them, and turn them into delicious side dishes and desserts for our holiday festivity pleasure.

The least we can do is show some respect. Stop the public shaming, the prejudice, and the discrimination. 

It's Fall, and it's holiday season, ride the tide, embrace the taste, join team Pro Pumpkin Pride.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Rugelach         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
6 TBSP butter, softened

1/4 cup speculoos cookie butter

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup flour

powdered sugar for rolling

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pepitas

Directions:
*Cream together the butter, speculoos, and cream cheese until smooth. Carefully beat in or stir in the flour until incorporated. Form the dough into two equal sized balls, enclose separately in plastic wrap, flatten, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

*Press the pumpkin puree between paper towels to release as much as the moisture as you can, leaving you with a firmer pumpkin pulp.

*Mix together the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar. Set aside.

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, sprinkle a rolling surface with powdered sugar.

*NOTE: it's easiest to place plastic wrap over the dough for rolling. Roll each dough round, separately, into about 8 to 9 inch circles.
*Remove the plastic wrap from the top and spread about half of the filling onto each round to within about 1/2 inch of the edges. Sprinkle with the pepitas.
*Cut each dough round, like a pizza, into 12 long triangular shaped slices. Run a spatula under them to losen and start to separate them before, starting at the outside, rolling up to the tips to form 24 crescents. Place, point side down, on the baking sheet.

*Bake for 18 - 22 minutes, or until they start to brown. Allow to set for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to cool completely.

Working and Class

And just like that, it's Labor Day. For us, most of us anyway, it's a celebration of the unofficial end to the summer, the beginning of a new school year, and a nod to the coming cooler weather.

But, of course, Labor Day was not created for any of those reasons. It's not just about acknowledging societal achievements brought about by our work force, but more than that, it was created to address a serious issue, their rights in the workplace.

I'm not going to debate the issue of unions. There are pros and cons, but I'll leave that issue alone.

Mostly.

I do want to tell you a story, though.

My grandfather and some of his brothers owned a company. They started a factory and made a product. They were hands on bosses. My grandfather could and did do many of the tasks, work the machines, from the ground up. He was well liked, and I know this not only because of stories passed down in our family, but from, many years after his retirement, when he died at the age of 99 years and 9 months, how many people who knew him through that company crowded his funeral.

Grandpa was a little naive at the start. Remind me some time, to tell you the story about him building credit. But that's a story for another day. Today's story is about character, it doesn't take much more than character to make a man do the right thing. Not the least of which is appreciation of the worker who keep their company running.

Some of the specifics of what happened are either not retained in my memory, or maybe I never knew them to begin with. Some of what I do remember may be a little fuzzy as well. I'm not sure whether the entire work force: front office, sales, manufacturing, shipping . . . but I do know that union representatives began approaching at least some level of the workers.

I believe that initially Grandpa was unhappy, maybe a little insulted by the union interference, didn't want outsiders dictating the personnel policies of their heart and soul, this company they built. 

Whether you like unions or you don't, they are designed to function as protection of the rights of workers. And in the end, the union did, of course, address the employees. They promised a minimum number of sick days, vacation days, holidays, breaks during the work day, pay levels.  

Unionization was voted down, all they offered was resoundingly declined.

Why?

Because the benefits Grandpa's company provided their employees exceeded what was promised by the union.

The man had class.

Whether it comes from the intrinsic benevolence of management, is mandated by law, or acquired via the strength of unity, this is what I know: safety matters, health matters, the ability to afford shelter, nourishment, it all matters.

No one should worry about their safety, a place to sleep, where their next meal will come from.

Quick Ramen Chicken

 

So, what you do, how and where you do it, unions, labor laws, workplace rules and regulations, all of that aside, it is humanity that should be guiding us.

Humanity dictates that every worker earn, at the very least, a living wage.

Quick Ramen Chicken         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 packages Ramen Soup, soy or chicken flavor

1 tsp dried ginger

1/8 tsp dried chili flakes

2 tsp cooking sherry

2 green onions, sliced, divided

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded, room temperature

1/2 cup snap peas

1/2 cup broccoli florets

1 carrot, shaved

2 radishes, sliced thin

Directions:
*Break up the noodles from both soup packages in a large bowl with 3 cups of water. Microwave 5 minutes, until the noodles are soft.

*Mix the flavor packets, ginger, chili flakes, sherry, and one of the sliced green onions into the bowl with the noodles.

*Once incorporated, add the chicken, snap peas, and broccoli florets.

*Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 5 minutes, until most of the broth is absorbed.

*Serve topped with the remaining sliced green onion, the shaved carrot, and the sliced radish.

Pizza Party, 14 Unique Recipes

 

Labor Day is right around the corner. If you're not sure how that happened so quickly, join the party.

Actually, it's a party I wanted to talk about. Specifically, a pizza party.

Pizza is versatile in so many ways. It's a party food, yet an everyday food as well. Lunch, dinner, even cold leftovers for breakfast (yes, I went to college too). In fact, one brilliant pizza shop hired students to drag a huge box full of pizzas through the dorms at about 11:00 at night, when everyone would be hungry from a night of studying {{wink, wink}}. As the pizza shop employee dragged his box through the halls yelling "hot pizza, 2 dollars," students would pick a friend, count their pennies (sometimes literally) and split a pizza.

These days you'd be lucky to get a slice of pizza for $2. Yeah, we still buy them now and then, but making them at home is a great option. And you can really get creative.

So, for any occasion: first day of school, last day of school, sports parties, family get-togethers, a lazy weekend watching sports, if you want to start a party, pizza's a great way to go.

It doesn't have to be complicated, that's the thing about pizza, anything goes. Use a frozen bread dough, a premade crust, a homemade no yeast crust (like my rosemary infused crust), or a completely unique crust (you have to try my spaghetti crust). Use my homemade marinara, or your favorite store bought. And the toppings? There's where you can really have fun, the options are endless.

And don't just think of pizza in its traditional configuration. There's pizza inspired casseroles, and even soup.

Today I want to share with you, 14 of my most fun, interesting, and unique pizza recipe creations. Check them out, click on the name of the recipe below and you will magically jump to the post featuring the recipe at the end.

Classic pizza reinterpreted, dessert pizza, pizza imposters, and pizza inspired, something for everyone:

Top row, left to right:

~ Rosemary Infused Shrimp Scampi Pizza

The rosemary infused crust adds even more flavor to this classic dinner inspired pizza. 

~ Spaghetti Crusted Pizza

Can't decide between spaghetti and pizza? Have them both. This is one of my most popular pizza recipes.

~ Pizza Party Boat

Take a large Italian loaf, season the "crust," and fill it with pizza favorites.

~ Skillet Buffalo Chicken Naan Pizza

This Buffalo Chicken inspired pizza is made in a skillet with a naan crust.

Middle row, left to right:

~ Peanut Butter and Jelly Dessert Pizza

Pizza as a dessert, as a snack? Yes, please.

~ Crockpot Pepperoni Pizza Soup

We just love this pepperoni pizza inspired soup on a cold fall day.

Bottom row, left to right:

~ Grilled Steak and Pepper Pizza

Grill your pizza. It adds so much flavor. This one is pepper steak inspired.

~ Pepperoni Pizza Casserole

Have your pizza in casserole form, a comfort food family favorite dinner.

~ Italian Sub Pizza

I used a purchased prepared pizza crust for this one, and added all of our Italian sub favorite ingredients on the top.

~ Garlic Bread Pizza Casserole

Garlic bread gives so much flavor to this pizza casserole.

And just for fun:

~ Celebration Dessert Pizza

Serving as a treat, an educational tool, and a project, I made this one for Earth day with my son. But it can easily be decorated for any occasion.

~ Chocolate Pizza with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

I guess I don't have to tell you that this recipe was created for the boys and their friends for a Halloween party.

~ April Fools Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza Cookie

This peanut butter and jelly flavored giant cookie looks like a pizza, right? April Fools!

~ Down the Drain (April Fools) Pizza Cookie

OK, ewwww. But really, April Fools is a perfect day for ewww jokes, right?

Which ones will you try? And which one will you try first?

Even the Breathing

 

It appears we need some clarification in this country, of the definition kind. Specifically of the term "pro-life."

And, at this moment in time, this angry, divided, religion bastardizing, self-absorbed, moment in time, I feel compelled to separate the lies from the truth. 

Listen, pro-life is a noble sentiment. But in order to claim the title, you cannot pick and choose. Which, just so you know, is what has me so angry, the use of the term without a commitment to the entirety of what it actually means.

If you are pro-life, you are for:

~ supporting the LGBTQ+ community in hopes of lowering their suicide rate.

~ ceasing the sale of assault weapons to citizens. Period.

~ enacting federal basic gun safety laws, prioritizing lives over all else.

~ ending forced unwanted, unsustainable, and maternal life-threatening pregnancies.

~ disavowing the stigma forced on those suffering from mental health conditions, and providing them with the medical care they need.

~ rejecting bigotry and bullying, especially from those we elect to represent us. There are NOT good people on both sides. 

~ programs that provide basic life sustaining needs to those unable to attain them on their own, like low-income housing, medical care, and nourishment for the food insecure.

Stuffed Taco Pork Tenderloin

 

If this is not your pro-life stance, all of it, not just cherry-picked issues, you are not pro-life. Quite simply, it is not just about pregnancy versus abortion. 

And while we're at it, let's go there: the pregnancy versus abortion issue is not at all simple. There are nuances, extenuating circumstances, a whole lot of grey areas that necessitate evaluation by, and consultation with, a medical professional. It is not an issue that can be mandated with the broad brush of "allow or disallow." Not if you are a compassionate human being. Not if you are truly pro-life.

In order to be pro-life, you must believe that there is an inherent societal responsibility towards those who are actually . . . you know . . . out there breathing.

Stuffed Taco Pork Tenderloin        

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
about 1 3/4# pork tenderloin

salt and pepper

3/4 cup brown rice

2 TBSP salsa

1 TBSP chopped onion

1 TBSP chopped jalapenos

2 TBSP oil

1 tsp taco seasoning

OPT: serve with my fresh Pico de Gallo

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover the bottom and sides of a 9 X 13 baking dish with heavy foil.

*Trim the tenderloin, butterfly it, and pound it to about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

*Cook the rice according to package directions. Mix in the salsa, chopped onions, and chopped jalapoenos. Spread onto the pork to about 1 inch from the sides.

*Using the long sides, roll the pork up and secure with either cooking twine or toothpicks inserrted at 45 degree angles to form an "X" along the seam.

*Mix together the oil and taco seasoning. Pour over the meat and, using your hands, rub into the top, sides, and bottom.

*Place the tenderloin into the prepared baking dish, seam side down, and bake for about 45 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before removing the twine or toothpicks and slicing.

*OPT: serve with my fresh Pico de Gallo.

Recipe Remix

Repurpose is not just for furniture any more. With increased frequency, and out of economic necessity, we are being forced to be more mindful of using every bit of whatever it is we can afford. 

Yes, I'm talking food.

I grew up in a time where you might often hear the words "eat your vegetables, there are children starving in Africa." 

Truth is, there are children starving everywhere. And although eating our vegetables would have done nothing to change that, the sentiment, both to appreciate, and to not waste what we have, is a salient one. 

These days we call it "food insecure," which not only widens the umbrella to include those who are actively hungry but those who live in a constant state of not knowing where the next meal may come from. And then the one after that.

Moving from the macro to the micro, and from catastrophic global issues to the situations we're all facing in our grocery stores and our homes, my current focus on repurposing foods is not based in humanitarianism, but on scarcity and economy.

A FB friend, when recently viewing my recipe for Grilled Skirt Steak, told me she can't find skirt steak anywhere (you can use flank steak or flat iron steak, btw). I can't find bone in chicken breasts. And I think at this point sriracha is being considered for the EPA's endangered list.

When we do find some of the foods we want, the prices are astronomical. Many essentials have doubled in price, and then doubled again (eggs, I'm looking at you). Which moves more and more people towards becoming food insecure.

Those of us fortunate enough to be able to afford the ingredients we want or need, are now giving more thought to "waste not want not."

I'm not wasteful in general, but I do admit to forgetting about ingredients specifically, but even leftovers sometimes, until they reach the point where they're eligible for use in penicillin production. 

Not any more. I've become much more vigilant in my quest to be cognizant of what I have, and to use it all. I stay on top of freezing unused vegetables, and miscellaneous leftovers may end up as a buffet dinner, or in sandwiches. I've also focused on repurposing leftover foods in a more diverse and creative way. A recipe remix. When I add ingredients I already have in my pantry to make something completely different, it feels less like we're having the same dinner we'd just had.

Like, I made Greek Chicken Pot Pie from leftover Crockpot Chicken Soup. And even for dessert, I made Blueberry Maple Glazed Strawberry Cake from the Blueberry Maple Syrup I'd used on our Key Lime Pancakes.

I'd recently made a few new appetizers to try while Hubs and I had drinks on the deck. The recipes, of course, created way more food than we could eat. I later turned the leftover meat from one, Barbecued Pork Corn Chip Nachos into Barbecued Pork Enchiladas. 

I had also made Sweet Hot Mango Dip, and was trying to work through what to do with the 3/4 cup of dip I had left. I thought about using it as a sauce for Cod. Or maybe over vegetables, like snap peas.

The chicken sitting in the fridge made my decision for me. 

Sweet Hot Mango Chicken

 

I liked the idea of cooking the chicken in the dip (adding a few more ingredients) as opposed to just using the dip as a sauce. 

And, although we enjoy leftover buffets and leftover sandwiches, there's something really satisfying about the creativity, the accomplishment, of turning one (yummy) food into another, completely different but just as yummy, recipe.  

P.S.: There are charities, global and national, that could use financial assistance in any amount. On a more local level, food pantries in all communities are grateful for all nonperishable donations. Help, if you can.

Sweet Hot Mango Chicken         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt, pepper, garlic powder

3/4 cup Sweet Hot Mango Dip (recipe HERE)

1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp minced garlic

5 oz grape or cherry tomatoes

Directions:

*Grease a 8 X 11 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

*Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Place in the baking dish.

*Whisk together the Sweet Hot Mango Dip, lime juice, and garlic. Pour evenly over the chicken.

*Slice the tomatoes in half, and sprinkle over the top.

*Bake for about 40 - 45 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked.