With the shelter-in-place orders, Caleb working from home, and our favorite bars and restaurants all shutdown, we’ve been cooking now more than ever. COVID-19 has made Caleb cook more than ever – I have 4 extra pounds on my body to prove it! He makes the best meals which makes portion control very hard! I am okay with it, I love food and I love my husband. 

I only cook strictly for sustenance, but Caleb cooks for fun! And I am so lucky because I love to eat, but I hate taking the time to prepare food. It has been keeping him entertained and my belly full of deliciousness! 

I have a stack of Food and Wine Magazines that I am finally able to take the time to read through and I’ve bee tearing out pages when I see something that looks tasty. I show them all to Caleb and he picks which ones he wants to make.

It has been a fun way to meal plan for the week and gives us something to do together every evening. I am truly thankful for this time together not only enjoying dinner together but also being able to make it together, or at least watch him make it. 

The stay-at-home order has been so strange for us because we are always on the go-go-go. I have hockey on Sundays & Tuesdays, Caleb has Volleyball on Mondays, and Fridays and Saturdays we photograph weddings. Wednesdays we reserve for in-person consults. So, basically what I am trying to tell you is that we have plans every evening, every day of the week. 

This time at home has given our bodies and brains the rest we’ve probably needed for years. I am healthier and more organized than ever, and the dogs have never had as many and as long of walks. 

We also have spent more time in our kitchen than ever before. The kitchen was one of the big reasons why we bought our home. It is so open and easy to cook in because there are so many surfaces and it is organized well. 

I don’t know about you, but my Pinterest feed has been filled with recipe ideas and inspiration. And my Instagram story feeds are filled with my friends and family showing off the dishes they’ve been making: simmering stews, elaborate lasagnas, and so much sourdough bread!

It is so fun seeing what everyone else has been cooking, so I wanted to share what we have been cooking! And, this is a great way for me to keep track of the recipes we’ve tried!

Here’s What We’ve Cooked While We’ve Been At Home 

Alton Brown – Skirt Steak (Just the Marinade)

Caleb added ketchup to the recipe and did his in our lodge skillet with butter. It was the softest meat he has ever made. 

After cooking the steak, he added some frozen spinach and cooked it in the leftover juices from the steak in the skillet. Wow. Just wow. If you are looking for a way to spruce up frozen spinach – this is the way to do it!

We got this amazing cut of skirt steak from Buddy’s Meat Market in Bayview, Wisconsin.

 

Slow Baked Boneless Beef Short Ribs

Yumm Yumm Yum!!!

The Kitchen Whisperer says, “Truly the best way to make boneless, fork-tender, fall-apart beef short ribs. These Slow Baked Boneless Beef Short Ribs will melt in your mouth with a luscious gravy that just begs for creamy mashed potatoes!” 

She is exactly right! They did melt in our mouth!

We did a baked cauliflower dish from Ina Garten we found in Food and Wine Magazine for our side and the gravy was perfect!

Crusty Baked Shells & Cauliflower

My only suggestion would be to add more capers for more acid and maybe more spices. Although when we drizzled the gravy from the baked boneless beef short ribs on top it was perfect!!

Pinot Noir-Braised Pot Roast with Root Vegetables – Ben Dailey of Cebo

Caleb did everything entirely in a stainless steel pan (except for boiling the potatoes) because we do not own a dutch oven. I think parsnips are highly underrated and so delicious. I love how the veggies took on the color of the pinot. 

 

Cajun Shrimp Tacos

These are seriously the best shrimp tacos I’ve ever had! And, trust me, I have eaten a lot of tacos in my lifetime! I love it when Caleb cooks in his lodge skillet. 

Isn’t our little taco tray adorable?? 

 

Spicy Glazed Meat Loaf in a Bundt Pan

Baking meatloaf in a Bundt pan creates lots of crispy surfaces and keeps the inside tender and moist. What a great idea!?!?!

• I used Avacado Oil instead of Canola Oil. 
• We used fresh bread crumbs from the loaf of Italian bread we had at home. We pulsed it in our food processor to make fresh panko bread crumbs
• I added a few splashes of soy sauce to the onions while they were cooking in the pan and then a little more low sodium soy sauce when I was mixing all of the ingredients together in the meat. 

 

Chef John’s Creamy Mushroom Soup

It was incredible! There were no leftovers. The only recommended change for next time would be just to cut up the mushrooms smaller and then do not puree the soup so that it has more texture. 

 

Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi – Cafe Delites

Her garlic butter shrimp scampi is so quick and easy! I think Caleb whipped this up in less than 30 minutes. 

 

Plays Well With Butter Vanilla Cream Cold Brew

Vanilla Cream Cold Brew, an upside-down whipped coffee for the coffee-obsessed! So tasty!!

 

Steak & Brocolli

Fun fact: Brocolli is my favorite food. We eat broccoli on average 3-4 days a week. Don’t believe me? Make sure to watch my Instagram  – I usually share my broccoli addiction on in the stories. 

My favorite way Caleb cooks broccoli is slightly blanching it and then moving it to his lodge skillet with olive oil, salt paper, and whatever residue and juice is left over from the meat he finished in the pan. 

 

Lemon & Jalapeno Guacamole

We didn’t have any limes, but lemons worked out just fine… maybe even better than limes!

 

Smash Burger

Caleb always does regular burger patties but he made Smashburger-style for the first time and they were phenomenal! 

 

Airfryer Buttermilk Fried Shrimp

We made our own butter and then made these shrimp with the buttermilk with a side of broccoli, my favorite. 

I know it doesn’t look the prettiest, but oh dang… it was incredible to eat!!

 

8-Hour Smoked Pork Butt

I don’t have a recipe for this. Caleb just winged it. 

All of the meat we eat comes from Buddy’s Meat Market in Bayview, Wisconsin. We walk with the dogs to the meat market at least once or twice a week. 

 

Slow-Cooker Shredded Chicken Tacos

CrockPot Chicken Tacos are an easy family favorite meal! A handful of ingredients tossed into the slow cooker makes the most tender flavorful chicken for tacos (or for Chicken Enchiladas, burritos, loaded nachos and more)!

 

Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream French Toast

No recipe for this one, just put the cream in the french toast batter. 

 

Campbell’s Tomato Juice Bloody Marys

This Bloody Mary Recipe is truly classic! Caleb makes it in a shaker over ice and then strains it. I love it so much!

 

Spinach Lasagna with Homemade Noodles 

Homemade noodles are super fun to make and taste 100x better than boxed noodles!

 

Charred Chicken With Sweet Potatoes 

 Roasted chicken, capers, sweet potatoes, feta cheese, and chickpeas? It sounds crazy, but tastes amazing!