No Time to Cook

"We love your recipes, Granny, but we work and have kids and we don't always have time to cook.  Do you have any recipes for busy working moms like us?"

But of course!  Let me help you by showing you how to make...

Retro Fabulous Chicken Divan

If you live long enough, you learn that nothing goes out of style.  No food, no fashion, no philosophy -- no matter how fabulous, funky or even ill-advised -- ever goes away for good.

To paraphrase Heidi Klum, "One day you're in, the next day you're out," and twenty years later you're in again!

So today I'm sharing a recipe that was all the rage in the early 80's and is still relevant today.  It's tasty, economical, healthy and easy to make, often using leftovers.  Guys like it, kids like it... Well, I guess I've sold it enough.  Let's see how it's made.

One-Skillet Leftovers Breakfast

This is one of my favorite ways to use up leftovers, especially leftover sauce from making my famous Homestead Company Chicken dinner.  All that is required is one skillet and whatever scraps of stuff you have in your fridge from previous meals.

Fun in Frankenmuth

From time to time, GrandDad Fabulosa and I like to forget for a while that we are grandparents... homeowners... responsible adults... and sneak out of town for a little one-on-one time.  Where we go matters far less than just being alone together and having a little fun. This past weekend we hopped into the car and found ourselves heading up to Michigan.  Frankenmuth, Michigan, to be precise.

The town was founded in 1845 by a group of Lutheran missionaries from what was then the kingdom of Bavaria.  Their mission was "to bring the word of God" to the Chippewa tribal people.  Their settlement in the new world became Frankenmuth.

I've been to Bavaria, people, and if that's too far to travel, this little town is a pretty nice alternative.  Charming, colorful, and family-friendly.  What a super place to spend a weekend!

For starters, this is a great place to indulge in a little "retail therapy."  Everywhere you look are interesting shops:  quality woolen and leather goods, wines and spirits, jewelry, health foods, artisan candies and fudge, clothing, craft beers, toys... you name it.

Frankenmuth also boasts the world's largest year-round Christmas shop.







Like German food?  I do!  But Frankenmuth also has a long tradition of family-style chicken dinners.


As for GrandDad and myself, we enjoyed a hearty meal at the Bavarian Inn, established in 1888 as the Union House Hotel, now a Michigan historic site.  Our dinner included Frankenmuth's famous chicken along with sauerbraten, schnitzel, sauerkraut, potato puffs and stollen bread.  Es war himmlisch!

And the fact that it was served to us by a friendly, handsome young waiter wearing lederhosen was just a bonus.  For me, anyway.





We also attended a wine and chocolate tasting at a local winery.  Our favorite was the Peach and Honey wine.

And yes, it came home with us.  But not that waiter, more's the pity.  (Ach du lieber!)





Are there other things to do in Frankenmuth besides eat, drink and shop?  Ja, auf jeden Fall!







You could visit the local historical museum...

... or the brewery museum.

Take a ride through town in a horse-drawn carriage...














... or along the river aboard the Bavarian Belle.




My love and I had a wonderful getaway weekend in Frankenmuth, Michigan.  I recommend you check it out for yourself.  But before you do, heed this one bit of Granny's advice:

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Homestead Company Supper or How Old-Timers Cooked Chicken

Back in the days of old, dear children... before the internets, before the Food Network, and EVEN before Julia Child dropped that turkey on PBS, recipes were passed from hand to hand by people who prepared food from memory, from experience, and from their hearts... and then tried to reduce all that to a 3x5 index card for their pals.

I remember one sweet, little old lady who knew how to bake the world's greatest sweet potato pie but didn't know how to read or write.  Although we begged her for the recipe, well... she couldn't oblige because there just wasn't one.  So one of us had the bright idea to invite her over to bake one of her pies while eagerly recording her every move.  It started out something like this:

"First you git y'self a saucer and you dip out about 3 saucers of flour..."

Yeah, that was the end of that idea.  I've never forgotten those glorious pies, though...

But I digress.  The reason I bring up old recipes is because I have one to share.

Men can't help it. They're born that way.

Today was a long day.  A fun day, but a long day.  Our daughter has been feeling under the weather, so to give her a break, GrandDad Fabuloso and I decided to take her little boy out for a day of fun so Momma could have a day of peace and rest.



First we went to a local park to play in their "children's discovery garden."  What a lot of fun that was, with water features, sand play areas, a topiary maze and an outdoor "music garden" with features that make cool sounds when children play there.  We had a difficult time getting him to leave, but...











Next we went to a nearby children's "hands on" science museum, where he saw live animals, rode simulated amusement rides on other planets, and learned how to pierce an ordinary balloon with a bamboo skewer without popping it.  (It freaked him out a little, but we're going to kill with that trick at the next family birthday party!)



Then on the way home, we found ourselves pulling into a food truck rally for a special treat.  They had so many tempting offerings:  authentic fish tacos, slabs of barbecued ribs, fancy gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, and tantalizing vegan dishes made from organic greens and squashes...  He had a hot dog.  He liked it.

Great day!  But Granny sure was tired!  Later at our house (sleepover!) Grandson asked if he could play with my Kindle for a while.  I keep all kinds of fun puzzles and educational games (and Angry Birds.  OKAY!  Also Angry Birds!) on my Kindle, and I encourage the kiddos to have at it.  This time the conversation went something like this:

Grandson:   Granny, can I play with your Kindle?
Me:              Okay, but Granny is tired, so you have to go get it yourself.  It's in my bedroom, on the

                     nightstand next to the bed.

After about five minutes of rustling around:

Grandson:    Granny, I can't find it.  Come help me?
Me:               Did you look in my bedroom....?
                     On the nightstand next to the bed....?
Grandson:    Yes, and it's not there.  Come help me?

So off I went, heaving my old, tired, garden-chasing, museum-going bones up those stairs, and I found my Kindle.  It was in my bedroom.  On the nightstand next to the bed.  EXACTLY WHERE I SAID IT WOULD BE!  I handed Grandson the Kindle, he said, "Thank you, Granny," and off he skipped, happy as a little bird.  And then suddenly it dawned on me:

Okay, I'm joking.  The thing I have learned from observing this and other baby boys throughout the years is that men are men from the day they are born.  I knew he was a man the first time I pulled a pair of his dirty socks from between my couch cushions.  And again the first time he passed gas in my face and chuckled like it was proof of his bodacious wit.  And all the times he walks around my house with his little box of toy tools looking for something to "fix."

So, what was I thinking, asking him to find something for himself?  He's a man; he couldn't find his own elbow if I drew him a map and had a neon sign pointing to it.  These guys are lucky they're adorable, because if they weren't, who in the world would put up with them?

As for this little man, God willing, I hope to live long enough to see him grow up.  I want to dance at his wedding.  And then I want to commiserate with his poor wife because he is going to drive her bat-plop crazy!

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Zoodles

I'll bet you can guess what's been in my CSA box lately.  'Tis the season for zucchini.  Lots and lots and lots of zucchini!  Don't get me wrong; it's one of my favorite vegetables.  I love...

• slicing it horizontally into thin strips and marinating it in a little olive oil, garlic and lemon juice, and then grilling it ever so lightly.  Delicious!
• grilling skewers of round zucchinii chunks, cherry tomatoes and onion wedges.
• zucchini breads and muffins...

But what I really love is making zoodles,  Zucchini noodles.  Healthy, low-calorie, gluten-free... and really, really fun to make if you have one of these...

This is my spiral slicer.  There are many like it, but this one is mine.  My sprial slicer is my best friend.  It is my... oops.  Got carried away there for a second!

My slicer is a Paderno World Cuisine Tri-Blade Plastic Spiral Vegetable Slicer that I bought off of Amazon for about 35 bucks, as a matter of fact.  And I like it.  

You most definitely can make zoodles without one.  (But what fun is that, I ask you?)

I'm not going to belabor this.  You pop a zucchini into the slicer, turn the crank, and watch the magic happen.  Children love to help with this, and what better way to get them interested in eating a vegetable?  (Just keep little fingers at the handle end and away from the blades.)

In no time at all, you've got a huge pile of perfectly-sliced -- and may I just point out, really pretty -- zoodles.


So, how do you cook these things?  Well, actually you don't.  I've tried lightly boiling them like noodles, and they just go all limp and soggy.  I recommend "warming them" in a pan with a bit of salt and a little butter.  Maybe some sauteed garlic.  Some fresh basil is really good.  A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese or whatever.

And voila!  This just might be the healthiest, tastiest and prettiest veggie side dish ever.  No, really.  You have to try this.  Granny says eat your zucchini.







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