Tag Archives: Food

I HOPe

Posted on by

I have always loved IHOP, but my appreciation for it seems to grow in direct proportion to my age.  I have had the privilege of being treated to an IHOP breakfast with my boys for the last two Sundays in a row and both times I have been struck by the wonderful phenomena that exists there.  It is a bouquet of humanity.  One that smells of pancakes and sausage and eggs.  A melting pot of classes running the entire gambit from the very young to the very old and the very rich to the very poor.  It is Norman Rockwell’s America at it’s best – with a complete and utter lack of pretension or judgement.  Wholly sincere and simple.  One table houses a family of 7 and the very next is a table of one quietly sipping coffee while reading the paper.  It is beautiful.  So the next time you visit, don’t just feed your belly, although there’s certainly no doubt you’ll be able to do that well, feed your spirit.  Feast your eyes on the vast array of human goodness and smile.  And trust me, you won’t leave hungry.

Photo taken from pages.suddenlink.net/davew/pickin.htm

A “Little” Dinner Inspiration

Posted on by

There is something about new ideas, even ideas about such mundane things as cooking supper, that can fire me up for days.  Those of you who really know me will not be surprised to learn that making dinner in a muffin cup made me so excited and proud, that I took pictures to share with family and friends.  Roll your eyes if you like, but this supper is just too fun, too adorable, and much too delicious to not share.  So here it is:

I made teeny tiny meat pies in muffin cups!  And they turned out so well.  I was actually really surprised that they stayed together.  You could simply pop them out of their cups and onto a plate to enjoy.

The filling was made just as you would any pot pie recipe (I’ll give the specifics for mine in a minute for those of you who’d like to try it.)  Then I used crescent rolls from a CAN!  I use the reduced fat ones because of my cholesterol, but I’m sure the full fat one’s wouldn’t hurt the recipe :)  I laid each triangle of the crescent roll dough into the bottom of a muffin cup (sprayed of course), filled it with the filling, wrapped the three corners over the top, brushed with olive oil, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning, and baked (at the temp. on the roll package) for about 15 minutes!  Voila!

Let me tell you, it was delicious!  And easy to boot.  And much more fun that a big old casserole pot pie with never enough crust.  I encourage everyone to give it a whirl.  The recipe for the filling is below, but I am VERY loose with amounts so please do everything to your own taste.  These are just estimates.

About 1/2 lb of ground meat (I use turkey for my diet, but you can use beef if you prefer)
1/2 Small onion, diced
Minced Garlic (to taste)
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 Small Bag of Frozen Mixed Veggies
1/2 Bag of Frozen Broccoli Florets
celery Salt, Italian Seasoning Blend, Ground Black Pepper, and additional seasonings as desired (all to taste)
Saute over Med/High heat until meat is fully cooked and veggies are tender.
Add 1-2 cans of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup to desired moisture (Again, I use the Heart Healthy, Reduced Fat kind and you cannot tell a difference.)
Thin with Milk as needed.
Add Mozzarella Cheese and stir till melted.
Fill muffin cups as described above and ENJOY!