Haluski

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Andrea

Haluski is a Polish dish made with cabbage, onions, and noodles. Like most Polish dishes, it’s simple to make, hearty, and comforting.

I sadly did not get a chance to have my Grandmother’s version of this dish but like with everything she made, I’m sure it tasted amazing.

My first experience with this dish was several years ago, and came from a little food booth at a craft show. I was visiting my mom and we attended a craft fair over in Washington, PA. There was a Polish food booth there and you know I beelined right over as quick as my legs would take me.

Haluski was on the menu and I gobbled some up!

Basically the dish is sauteed cabbage and onions in butter and then tossed with some egg noodles. Very traditional means that the egg noodles are homemade, but now a days most people use store bought egg noodles.

I kick mine up a notch by adding in some peppers, lots of garlic, roasted potatoes, and kielbasa. I also use whole wheat egg noodles.

Johnny Marzetti With A Twist

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Andrea

Recently, my friend John, contacted me and a few other local food bloggers about doing a blog post on the Johnny Marzetti dish. We each would create our version of the dish and then all post about it on the same day.

I immediately said I was in! Then I asked what the Johnny Marzetti dish was. Not being a Columbus, or even an Ohio native, this was completely new to me.

John directed me to this link explaining the dish. I knew exactly what it was once I read the description. Where I grew up, it was called Goulash. Some folks, mostly those from the New England area, refer to it as Chop Suey.

It’s elbow pasta with ground beef in a tomato sauce. We had this all the time growing up and it was one of the few ways I would be willing to eat ground beef. I made it for Scott when we started dating and he fell in love with it.

Spaghetti and Eggs

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Andrea

When one arrives back home from a trip away, I fully believe that a warm and comforting meal is a must. Whatever food is your favorite, whatever dinner makes you content, that’s what you should be eating.

When Scott got back home from being gone for a week, he said he was ready to eat some good food. He said he missed my cooking and couldn’t wait to sit down to a lovely dinner.

Is he fab or what?

And because of my belief mentioned above, I knew he needed something comforting. Scott has a lot of comfort foods and two of them happen to be pasta and fried eggs. I was going back and forth about what to make him.

Breakfast? Or a pasta dish?

Then it occured to me, why not combine them?

The measurements aren’t exact because this is a recipe that can easily be adjusted to serve one or 20.

Andrea’s Spaghetti and Eggs

Skillet Burger Mac

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Andrea

Both Scott and I grew up with those meals that had a big hand as a mascot and wanted to “help” you out with dinner. You know what I’m talking about. The meal ended up looking like runny cat vomit on a plate.

There’s a great image for ya!

But let’s be serious, that is totally true. It was also yummy once you stopped looking at it too closely. In fact it was one of the few ways I would actually eat beef growing up. I wasn’t much of a fan and ground beef was yucksville as far as I was concerned.

But add in some crap pasta and cheap powder preservative laden cheese sauce and I was all over it!

Years ago, when I started cooking full time for Scott and I, most boxed items went out the window. Once I learned the technique for making a basic cheese sauce, making a homemade version of “helper” anything became easy peasy.

2011 Super Bowl Party Foods

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Andrea

Need some party food ideas for your Super Bowl Party? OHC has you covered!

Beer and Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese will definitely be a crowd pleaser!

Spicy Chex Mix is easy to make and even quicker to replenish when the snack attack hits.

Pasta and Lentil salad to get some veggies in on Game Day!

Quick coleslaw, great as a side or as a topping to some pulled pork or a burger!

This Chipotle Glaze would go lovely on some wings!

Chipotle not your style? Try these Garlic Teriykai Wings instead.

Cheddar Beer Bread for carbs so you can party all day long, cheese for staying power!

Just for the Steeler fans, you better get some chipped ham right quick and get a crockpot of Ham BBQ going to make sandwiches. Have some Iron City on ice too while you’re at it!

GO STEELERS!

Beer and Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Andrea

I play around with Mac ‘N Cheese a lot. Scott loves it and really once you get the basic technique down it’s very simple to make. I was talking with my lovely friend, Whitney, on Twitter not long ago and the idea of a beer mac ‘n cheese popped into my head.

And it wouldn’t leave.

Because really, how delicious does that sound? Exactly.

I had to make it and once I told Scott about my idea then I couldn’t not make it because that would be teasing.

I’m no tease kids.

I made this and knocked it out of the park.

Andrea’s Beer and Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese

12oz of Dark Beer

1/2C Chicken Broth

4TBSP (Heaping) of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1C Shredded Cheddar (good cheddar please!), plus extra for garnish

1C Shredded Pepperjack Cheese, plus extra for garnish

3/4 of a Green pepper, chopped

3/4 of a Red Pepper, chopped

1/2-3/4 of a Large Onion, chopped

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Andrea

Tuna Noodle Casserole is a new one for me. I didn’t eat it growing up. My mom might have made it once but eating warm tuna sort of threw me for a loop and I didn’t dig on it. At all. No one must of liked it because she never made it again. My previous tuna experience was tuna salad which of course is cold, that I can handle. Warm tuna, not so much.

I know it’s a staple and source of comfort food for many though and that includes Scott. They apparently had it in their dinner rotation and somehow a box with a giant hand on it was part of the equation.

I never made it for him because I couldn’t get past the idea of warm tuna.

Then a few months ago I decided to give it a try. Hey I’m eating lots of new stuff I never liked before, might as well hit up tuna noodle and see what it has to say for itself.

Pad Thai

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Andrea

Pad Thai is a relatively new to me dish. I’m not a huge pasta eater and so the idea of the dish never really appealed to me. Then one fateful evening I decided to order some and was blown away. I loved it! Sure it was a little lacking on veggies but the sauce, oh man, the sauce is what sealed the deal for me.

I am such a sucker for spicy sweet combo. I like my BBQ sauce that way, I like salmon done that way, and I certainly enjoy Asian dishes that way. Pad Thai totally fits that to a T. I tried recreating it on my own many many many times.

Many. Times.

It was alright but it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I saw several recipes using coconut milk and peanut butter. Yes this created a nice sauce but it wasn’t even close to a Pad Thai sauce. It was way too heavy and creamy, closer to something like a satay sauce.

Pasta and Lentil Salad

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Andrea

This past summer was a hot one here in Columbus. Extreme humidity and high temperatures. The kind of heat where even sitting indoors with the luxury of air conditioning, you still don’t want to eat anything hot. Or heat up the kitchen. This left me seeking out meals that we could eat cold. A lovely cold meal that I could make ahead and pull out of the fridge when supper time rolled around was exactly what I wanted.

I am a huge fan of pasta salad despite the fact that I’m not a huge pasta eater. However, I’m extremely picky when it comes to pasta salad as well. So much can be done with pasta salad that using a store bought mix or bottled dressing is unnecessary. Pasta salad is not only easy to make using ingredients you have on hand but it’s quick and the longer it sits the better it gets.

That is my kind of meal!

Late Night Pasta Toss

Posted on August 14, 2010 by Andrea

Scott: I think you should post about this.

Me: Post about what?

Scott: Dinner.

Me: What? Like what we’re eating right now?

Scott: Yes.

Me: But it’s nothing, just some veggies and pasta.

Scott: Right.

Me: ‘Splain yourself.

Scott: Well, what did you do?

Me: I made an easy and quick dinner because it’s crazy late and we need to eat.

Scott: Exactly. Maybe people would be interested in this. Maybe folks want to know how to just put something together quickly when they don’t have a lot of time. Or when it’s late and they are hungry but still want something healthy. This is a good example of that.

Me: Well I’ll try. I did just toss this together, no exact measurements or anything.

Scott: That’s the point!

This was the conversation that Scott and I had last Wednesday when it was late, we were hungry, and I needed to put some food in our bellahs. I attended that canning class and my original plan was that we would eat dinner before class. That didn’t work out and I didn’t have a Plan B. So when we got home and it was after 9pm, I needed to put something together quickly to feed us.