Phabulous Phi Phood!

Today I went back to work, back to my home away from home....Phi Delta Theta.  This is where I get paid to spend all day looking for new recipes, experiment with new ingredients, and preparing it all for the always surprising bunch at Phi Delta Theta.  I had the great fortune of getting this opportunity just after deciding to close my cafe.  We closed the cafe due to my husband needing to travel more for work.  And when I went into it, it was always understood that family comes first.  An alumni member of PDT was one of my catering clients and he had called the cafe inquiring about catering for the fraternity.  Well, after some good discussions I wound up with a great job that allows me to have summers, spring breaks, and winter breaks off! Perfect for our big family. 

School actually begins next week, but we always go back a week prior for inventory, menu planning, ordering, and some cooking.  I have a wonderful young assistant, Miss Aubrey, who is part of the Pro Start Culinary program at Manhattan High School.  She is wise beyond her years when it comes to cooking, baking, and putting up with me.  She and I will be sharing our delicious recipes, fun pictures, and helpful cooking tips with our fabulous Brazen Bloggers all semester.  I have a few photos of great food we cooked this past semester. 

My Grandma's Snickerdoodle Recipe!

Spaghetti and Homemade Meaty Marinara!

A Frat Halloween Treat!

Meatball Subs with our fabulous homemade meatballs! Yummy!

Aubrey's AMAZING homemade sopapillas!

A close up of the ingredients in my super easy to make Roasted Tomato Sauce!

Cinnamon Rolls that will impress your Grandma!

My husband's spicy chili recipe.

Homemade potato soup.

If any of these tasty dishes interest you, make a comment and I will be happy to share the recipe.  But I intend to add them all eventually. 
Check us out tomorrow for our full menu for next week.  So many people keep telling me, that it's the menu planning that seems to paralyze them when it comes to cooking...one friend asked if I would just plan her menu so she didn't have to think! Well, friends, I am going to share my fraternity menu with you each week!  I will share the recipes and the grocery list.  Sometimes, you might want to substitute an ingredient with an pre-made item to save time. For example, we might be making homemade meatballs for subs, but if you want to buy the meatballs, go ahead...you and I both know, as busy as we are, just getting the food on the table is often the biggest challenge.  When you can, try to make your meals from scratch or as close to it as possible. You will most likely be preparing a meal that is very flavorful, colorful, delicious, nutritious and made without lots of artificial yuck! 

• Use real butter! Margarine or any fake thing is not healthy, I don't care what media says. 
• Use real sugar! Unless you are a diabetic or have a medical reason to restrict sugar, real sugar is best.  And did you know that 'raw' sugar is just sugar that has not gone through as much of the 'cleaning' process as white?  Yeah...just learned that.
• Use unbleached flour
• Low fat and sugar free foods can actually send signals to your brain that release insulin, but since your body isn't getting any fat or carbohydrate, it still feels hungry and unsatiated. 
• Fresh veggies and fruits are always best, but can be expensive, so get frozen rather than canned if you have to choose.
• The outside of the eggshell is where the 'bad bacteria' is!
• Why is it better to not eat rare hamburgers and it's okay to eat rare steaks?  Anyone? The hamburger has to go through a grinder, thus being exposed to machinery that has processed other meats and could not have been cleaned properly.  The inside of a steak hasn't been touched by anything.
• Putting eggshells down the garbage disposal sharpens the blades.  Says my Mom!

Okay, some fun tidbits to get you thinking. Stay tuned for more to come!
See you soon!