pork – Cremona's Kitchen

Ham, Leek, and Spinach Quiche

April 12, 2020 No Comments

It’s Easter! Our first Easter with three walking, wild babies, but it was still our quietest Easter yet (thank you, pandemic). With all the restaurants shut down, there was no need to secure a reservation for Sunday brunch. So I opted for a classic, easy, but filling, breakfast for the five of us: quiche.

Ingredients

Pie crust, deep dish
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 leek, sliced
1 cup ham, diced
5 eggs
3/4 cup half and half
1 cup cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup Spinach, chopped

Directions

Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Put the pie crust in the oven and cook for 5 minutes. Take out.
Over medium heat, melt butter. Add in onions and leeks and cook for 3 minutes. Add in ham and cook for another 5 minutes or until onions and leeks are soft. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together half and half and eggs. Combine with cheeses, parsley, pepper, onion/leek/ham mixture, and spinach. Mix well.
Pour into pie crust and place onto cookie sheet. Cook for 50 minutes, or until the egg is well-set (pierce with fork in middle of quiche and if it comes out clean, it’s good to go).
Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

main dishes, pork, recipes

Cheesy Veggie Rice

February 27, 2020 No Comments

Eloise is to the age where she can start eating solid foods. It’s exciting and terrifying. She is just thrilled that she is one of the big kids now. Of course, I am this nervous wreck, constantly worried that she is going to choke. She may be baby number three, but it never gets easier for me.

I’ve read about child-lean eating and we have dabbled in it. But mostly, my babies eat purees because I am scared to feed them more solid food.

my girl loves to eat. and i’m probably over mashing her avocados.

Eloise definitely wants to eat what we eat. She tries to swipe food out of our hands and mostly just wants to be part of the group. So when making dinners lately, I’ve been trying to incorporate foods that Ellie can enjoy too.

One of the first non-puree foods that I feel comfortable giving my babies is rice. It’s mushy, and the babies can grab the pieces fairly easily. I am not a baby food specialist so maybe rice isn’t a great option. I have no idea. But with my babies, they’ve been able to master rice. If you don’t feel comfortable giving your baby rice, don’t. Ask your pediatrician first. But for us, it’s worked. And rice is great staple for us to mix up a variety of dinners without making the boys the same meal over and over again.

This cheesy rice dish is a super quick meal you can make on the weekday. It’s easy to change out the veggies to whatever you have in the fridge. Sub the sausage for chicken breast. Whatever you’d prefer. But Ellie was so happy to be at the table, eating her cheesy rice (no veggies), just like the boys.

forgot to get a photo of Ellie eating tonight, but here’s the most adorable one. Toast is another earlier solid food we give the babies. Eloise is a huge fan.

Ingredients

1 cup white/brown rice
2 cups water
2 heads broccoli, chopped
1/2 cauliflower, chopped
1/2 cup peas
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
2 links of chicken sausage (I used these from Trader Joe’s)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Get someone else to make rice for you. But if you are sucker and can’t, put the water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add in rice and stir. Move to a low simmer and cover. Stir periodically.
Get a skillet and place broccoli and cauliflower in with about a tablespoon of water over medium heat. Cover. Once a little soft, toss in garlic, sausage, and peas.
Cook until veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add in rice and cheese and stir until well-mixed.
Enjoy!

main dishes, pork, recipes

Sausage and Broccoli Rice

February 23, 2020 No Comments

You know those posts where it says these recipes use only 5 ingredients. But then you find out that they didn’t count the olive oil. And salt and pepper. And the photo they posted for the recipe (which looks simply gosh darn delicious) includes all these “optional” ingredients. And the meal just doesn’t seem as hearty without them. Yeah, I hate that. As a working mom, sometimes I want a simple, only two steps, just a couple ingredient meal for those nights where I get home late, work was stressful, and I do not want to order pizza.

This is that recipe. There are only four ingredients. And I mean that.

There are three steps. Two of them are chopping. This recipe is incredibly easy and tastes great. Every time I share this recipe on my Instagram stories, I get flooded with reactions on how delicious it looks. It is.

Now is this healthy? Well, the chimichurri rice is prepackaged so I am sure there are more healthy choices than this. But I am going to out out on a limb and say this is healthier than ordering Chinese takeout. At least our family’s Chinese takeover order 😉

Ingredients

Broccoli, chopped
Andouille sausage, sliced in coin-sized pieces
Trader Joe’s Peruvian Style Chimichurri Rice
Water

Directions

Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces
Cut sausage into coin-sized pieces
Put broccoli, sausage, and rice into a large skillet over medium heat. Add in 2 tablespoons of water. Turn to combine. Place lid over skillet to allow the broccoli to steam cook. The entire meal should be ready to eat within 15 minutes.
I toss about a cup per serving.
Enjoy!

main dishes, pork, recipes

Split Pea Soup

December 10, 2019 No Comments

Traditions. If I could sum up November and December in one word, it would be traditions. We have traditions for how we celebrate Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve. All of it. Each day has been specifically calculated to include rituals we have done for years and years. Molding my family’s traditions, with Matt’s family’s traditions, with our own hybrid traditions. I love it. It feels like it is part of what defines what it means to be part of our family. To know, celebrate, understand these traditions means you are a Cremona/Watson.

And after Thanksgiving, we use the leftover ham to make split pea soup (yes, we always have turkey and ham at Thanksgiving). That is this soup. After spending an entire day stuffing our faces with turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie, we stock up on Black Friday deals and make this soup. There is something so comforting about dipping a chunk of crusty bread into this soup as we flip through the big box ads with my sister, dad, and sister-in-law. It’s part of the Cremona/Watson family Thanksgiving weekend. Just doesn’t feel like the holiday without it.

You need to add this to your recipe repertoire.

main dishes, pork, recipes

Sausage and Mushroom Sweet Potato Gnocchi

October 7, 2018 No Comments

I had never been to a Trader Joe’s until I found this recipe. I had this idea that Trader Joe’s was this super crunchy, ultra expensive grocery store. But then I stumbled upon this recipe that seemed like the perfect weekday meal (ie: one that takes 40 minutes or less from fridge to the table). Ok, so turns out that my perception of Trader Joe’s wasn’t exactly on mark. There is more than just granola and organic yogurt.

This truly is a great meal. There isn’t more than a couple of ingredients–all which are very easy to prepare. You toss everything together and bam, you got yourself a fancy meal.

main dishes, pork, recipes

Italian Sausage Stuffed Eggplant

April 15, 2013 No Comments

When it comes to holidays, I love the ones that aren’t hyper commercialized. So yes, that means I LOVE April Fools Day. Playing tricks on people is something I live for. And no, I do not need a holiday for that. But when our nation decides to celebrate it–yeah, sure. I’m in.

My co-worker Amber and I spent our April Fools Day playing tricks on our co-workers. Sure, it was fun switching our boss’s diet coke for lemon juice and creamer. But it only made my thirst for mayhem stronger. I needed more.

So, this year I decide that Matt would be the perfect target for a fake cake. I told Matt that I made him his favorite cake–a black forest cake.

black forest cake...or is it.... — black forest cake…or is it….

But in reality, I took a balloon–blew it up and covered it with homemade icing. Matt was psyched that I made him a cake out of the blue. I gave him a knife and asked him to cut us both a piece of cake. And then….bam! The “cake” exploded in his face and icing went everywhere. It was awesome. I laughed hysterically, and Matt looked at me and said, “So, there is no cake?” And that was the best part. He was all excited for cake. And there none. Bahahaa.

All and all, it was a good April Fools Day. Messing with our co-workers with Amber was fun. Messing with Matt only made the day better. And really, what is was was a reminder that there is no need to take life so seriously. Sure, I definitely get stressed. I have mini-panic attacks at work over nothing. I freak out over little things. But at the end of the day, I need to remind myself that I need to just laugh it all off. And that’s why I love April Fools Day.

Besides making an exploding cake, I made this delicious eggplant dish! I watched this Italian tv show with my father-in-law and memorized the ingredients as well as I could. This recipe is easy to make and delicious to eat. Try it. You will thank me.

main dishes, pork, recipes

Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

March 25, 2013 1 Comment

Remember picture day back in high school? It was such a big ordeal. Picking out the perfect outfit, applying gobs of makeup, and finding a hair-style that’s just right. Yes, very similar to Goldilock’s adventure. Unfortunately for me, every year my pictures turned out the same. Eyes mid-blink. Uncomfortable smile. Messy hair.

Today, we had picture day at work. Well, kinda. See, our firm hired two new employees who needed photos for our website. Since the photographer was already going to be around taking their pictures, I thought, “hey, this is a great opportunity for me to get a better picture.” Maybe I can just sneak in and get a new pic. [no worries. I got the thumbs up from our marketing coordinator].

Why did I need a new picture you ask? Yeah–I’m not the most photographic of individuals. It wasn’t my best work. Meaning I’m that girl who has been complaining about her work picture ever since it was taken.

Today was the third time I’ve had my picture professionally taken for work. Move over, Beyonce. There’s a new diva running this town. But, channeling my inner celebrity paid off. I got to look at my new work pictures, and while I won’t be auditioning for America’s Next Top Model anytime soon, I no longer looked frazzled.

Photographing soup has always been a bit of a challenge for me. If it isn’t full of chunky ingredients, a creamy soup looks bland. What I should do is buy some cute, unique bowls from Goodwill to jazz it up. But its so easy to get lazy when it comes laying out colorful and eye-catching backdrops for my website. Thankfully, this recipe is full of delicious chunky ingredients, so my fiestaware bowls sufficed. This spicy soup was delicious, easy to make, and can be ready in twenty minutes. The perfect meal after a long day of work!

main dishes, pasta, pork, recipes

Pizza Pasta Bake

August 15, 2012 5 Comments

This weekend my in-laws came to visit. It’s a 6 hour drive from their place to ours so they usually do not get in until around 9 or 10. The visit always starts out with my father-in-law suggesting we get pizza. But because it’s around 9, all the places around us only do delivery and Matt and him debate whether delivery will take too long. And after discussing it for 20 minutes, a delivered pizza would likely already be on its way. So this time I decided to skip the whole first act and make something. This pizza bake was a huge hit. My father-in-law got his pizza fix, and Matt got his bake fix.

main dishes, pork, recipes

Pale Ale Braised Greens with Sausage

May 22, 2012 No Comments

It’s been a while. The last few weeks have been busy. First, I graduated from law school. Yep. I have a doctorate in law. Feel free to call me Lindsay Cremona, J.D. or Dr. Cremona. Or Lindsay Cremona, Esquire. Your choice.

I have wanted to be a lawyer for most of my life. When most kids were dreaming of becoming movie stars or astronauts, I just wanted to be Atticus Finch. It was a relatively simple life choice for me. When I graduated from undergrad, I started an internship at the Wisconsin Public Defenders. My job was simple: I interviewed. Every morning I walked to jail and interviewed individuals who were arrested the night before to find out if they were eligible for our services. My afternoons were spent interviewing victims or witnesses in their homes to get their perspective. Most interactions with witnesses and victims were the same. Either the door was slammed in my face or the interview lasted no more than 15 minutes. Announcing that you represented the defendant didn’t make you many friends–especially when it came to the victim.

But then one day I was assigned with interviewing an alleged victim of a domestic assault charge. It started out typical. She answered my questions about the events that transpired to our client’s arrest, and after 15 minutes, I had gotten all the information needed and was about to leave. But she got up and came back with a box of photo albums. And for the next couple of hours, I looked through her photo albums with her. Saw pictures of her child, her family, her dogs, her childhood. And that’s when I knew I wanted to be a lawyer.

Everyone has a story to tell. I want to help tell that story. I want to do more than just write an article about it–I want to do something to enrich the story-help someone’s situation. Give them an opportunity to be heard while giving them an opportunity for change. And that’s what I do all day now. Provide an outlet for people to tell their stories and get some resolution. Yeah, I’ve heard my fair share of lawyer jokes. And to be honest (and not at all bias), they are misdirected. There are gonna be those that give the profession a bad name, but at the end of the day, I see my job as giving the voiceless a voice. I like that.

So last weekend I graduated from law school and immediately went on vacation. After three years of minimum sleep and stress and cold calls, it was time for a break. So I went with my husband, my parents, and in-laws to Savannah, Georgia.

Outside our Bed and Breakfast ready to explore the city!

Matt and I went to Savannah on our honeymoon and fell in love with the city. I love the old mansions, city squares, and slower place of life. Matt loves the southern comfort food. Since I try to make healthier food at home, Matt took full advantage of the fried chicken, collard greens, and sweet potatoes. When we got home, I promised Matt I’d try out a Southern-style recipe for him. Lucky for him, my friend Kelsey had gone to a beer festival and had collected several recipes that included beer for me to make and one of them had Paula Deen written all over it. So here is a not so healthy but insanely delicious meal that is worth the indulgence.

main dishes, pork, recipes, slow cooker

Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork Sliders

April 9, 2012 2 Comments

Finals are right around the corner which means more slow cooker dinners. This pulled pork sandwich is a great meal after a study-filled day. There is only a little bit of prep work, and the slow cooker does the rest! Matt loved this meal so much that he ate two pork-stuffed sandwiches. That’s my piggie! For 11 Weight Watcher points per sandwich, it’s so filling that it’s worth every point!