a Stefani Hood Blog

This is what they call the dog days of summer here in Texas.  It is 150 degrees here in August and honestly the last thing I want to do is cook, but these little (I guess 6’3″ not so little anymore) people always want to eat.  So, I cook in August.  We have about 2 weeks left until school starts and that is when I will kick it into high gear. But, in the mean time I am trying to get a few family dinners in during the week just to get my kids off the damn x-box! It is so nice to just have a few minutes to see their beautiful faces without head phones on and to talk to them while they are looking me in the eye and not side-eye while they are looking at the screen.  Plus they need actual food in their growing bodies-Flaming Cheetos, gummy bears, yogurt, goldfish and Dr. Pepper aren’t exactly healthy:). But, we go back to the issue of its hot and I don’t want […]

Ah the Instant Pot-the new kitchen appliance that is taking the cooking world by storm.  Is it worth it?  Well, yes and no.  If you like to play with new kitchen tools and like “crock-pot” dinners then this is for you! It is very easy to use and does move the cooking process along, but it does not go without some hands on time so if you are looking for a dump and walk appliance then this is probably not for you. It’s not a set it and forget it type appliance.  You do have to “cook”.  You have to sear and reduce liquid….But, with that being said I do use mine fairly often-I would say a few times a month and everything that I have tried has come out great.  I plan on trying homemade yogurt and I will post my results.

For today we are talking about Crispy Pork Carnitas! YUM!  This recipe turned out so delicious that I have made it several times in the last few weeks and all my sons […]

It is grill season! Living in Texas we can pretty much grill all year, but something about summer just screams it’s time for easy, light, quick grilled dinners. There is usually very little or no clean up with grilled dinners and everything tends to be rather light and healthy with the exception of ribs. Last night we had two of our three boys home for dinner-during the summer I let night family dinners slide and only require Wednesdays and Sundays for full family sit down dinners.  I found some beautiful tuna steaks at Central Market and decided to use a bright flavorful summery Tuscan rub on them and throw them on the grill. I served them with Trader Joe’s mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Easy summer dinner!

If you don’t have a grill you need to get one, but if you aren’t able to have a grill you can absolutely place the tuna steaks in a cast iron skillet or baking sheet and bake in oven at 450 degrees for about 8-12 minutes depending on […]

Being a Texan means we eat A LOT of Tex-Mex food! Its just in our blood to crave a margarita, chips, hot sauce (that’s what we call salsa), fajitas on a Friday evening… And we like it spicy, but not Cajun spicy! It has to have a tang of lime along with the heat of the jalapeños.  To give you an example of what I mean when I say “in our blood”, my oldest son would sit in his high chair starting when he was about 9 months old and eat, with a spoon, a bowl of “hot sauce” at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Mi Cocina. It was the damnedest thing! He still to this day LOVES spicy- I ship him jars and jars of his favorite salsa, chips and pickled jalapeños to school. Thank God for Amazon!

So what does this have to do with the following recipe?? Well, when we have a busy weeknight and don’t have time to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant I make Mexican Lime Chicken with warm tortillas (we […]

Happy Monday! The sun is finally shining here in Texas! And when the sun is shining in Texas in the Spring that means pollen, ugh!!!  I don’t know about you but I am dying!  My car is green and I cannot stop sneezing, but the sun is shining!!  So let’s get cooking!

I am back in the kitchen after a lot of travel and I have a fantastic healthy, quick weeknight dinner for you, Healthy Cajun Jambalaya!  YUM!  It is a little spicy and very flavorful and I serve it over Trader Joe’s cauliflower rice. Now, you can definitely serve this over traditional rice, but I thought I would give this a try and you know what the family LOVED it! My youngest son did ask, “What is this kind of rice is this?”, but I just said its rice that I toasted in the oven and he said “oh, ok I like it!”  Who said you are not supposed to lie to your kids? Had I told him it was cauliflower I can guarantee he would have […]

This recipe is what I call a cheat dinner! It is SUPER easy and very comforting and takes about 20 minutes to get on the table. And it can sit on the stove until everyone is ready or you can serve it in shifts for those busy sports nights.  I remember my mom making this when I was a child and I always loved Sloppy Joe nights (and chip beef on toast, but that is another topic).  It just meant it was a casual, easy, quick dinner night. It didn’t mean we didn’t have placemats and napkins, but it was just a casual night. Not many dishes to clean up and it was yummy and filling. And as a mom now yummy and filling are what I am needing for 3 teenage boys!

My mom always used the canned sloppy joe sauce and it was delicious, but I thought I would try to recreate it without using the can. It turned out pretty darn good!  And it really was just as easy. This is one of those […]

Can you tell I am on a spring kick?!  For some reason I am just wanting fresh and light dinners and lunches.  Don’t worry I will get back to the fattening, yummy dishes soon enough:) But, in the meantime here is another delicious, quick and easy recipe that you can have on the table in 30 minutes with about 10 minutes hands on time! Caprese Chicken is all the fabulous flavors of the traditional Italian salad of mozzarella, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and olive oil, but stuffed into a chicken breast then roasted in the oven until the chicken browns and the mozzarella becomes ooey and gooey. YUM!

This is a great recipe for using your tomatoes that aren’t quite ripe or your basil that is not quite in full bloom. Since they are going to be cooked their natural sweetness will come out in the roasting.  And this is also a great recipe for using the standard grocery store mozzarella.  You want low moisture mozzarella so that it melts gently when cooking. So dont waste your money […]

Ok this Teriyaki Quinoa Bowl is another copycat of the fabulous True Foods recipe. I used to get this dish every single time I went to True Foods until I branched out and started ordering other things off the menu.  It is so good and so filling and honestly most of the time I get it without chicken, but my family likes protein so I put it in it when I am making it at home.

This is not a complicated recipe, but it does take a few pots which kinda drives me nuts (I hate to clean pots), but it is worth it.  It doesn’t take much time so that is pretty much all I am looking for on a weeknight. And I always put my pots in the dishwasher anyway (not my cast iron or non-stick) because I am lazy and ready to watch whatever show I am in the middle of after dinner. I tell ya now that I have a teen driver my carpool days are over at night and we have […]

Meatballs are one of those very versatile recipes that everyone should have in their repertoire. Once you learn the basic recipe you can change up the ingredients to make Italian, Asian, spicy, turkey, chicken…. the combinations are endless. These are my Rosemary Meatballs that are super easy. They are baked in the oven and can be frozen raw or cooked.  They go great with mashed potatoes, in tomato sauce, in a hoagie roll, or on a platter with toothpicks… They make a great weeknight dinner or dinner party appetizer.

These meatballs are a combination of pork and beef which is pretty traditional for Italian meatballs, but the addition of rosemary takes it in a different direction. You can still serve these with pasta and tomato sauce and it will be AMAZING, but they are amazing on their own as well. Another benefit of making this recipe is it calls for a lot of garlic so your house will smell amazing while it is cooking. There are a few things that make people come running to the kitchen, […]

Ah the comfort food classic, Shepherd’s Pie! This is one of those casseroles that I used to love as a kid. It is meaty, savory and just delicious! And as a mom I now serve it because it is meaty, savory and EASY:) And my boys love it!

The traditional Shepherd’s Pie originates in the UK and Ireland and is made with lamb and vegetables and topped with mashed potatoes or a pie crust. However, since beef is eaten more than lamb in America we have altered the dish to be made with ground beef.  In Europe a Shepherd’s Pie made with beef is called a Cottage Pie so why do we in America call it a Shepherd’s Pie? Who the hell knows, but I believe it has to do with a mistaken cookbook translation in the late 1860s.

Anyway, it is a classic, hearty, easy, delicious recipe that your family will love, especially if you love casseroles. If you want […]

I probably cook flank steak about once a week. My kids LOVE it!  Its flavorful, beefy and chews like a STEAK-perfect food for boys. Many, many times I just season it with whatever I can find in my spice drawer because I forgot to marinate it before.  But, If I am on my game and can remember or if I do as I preach and make my weekly meal plan then I marinate it and it is SO good.

I am sure most of you have most, if not all, of the marinade ingredients in your pantry and fridge so that makes this especially easy. Now, finding flank steak can sometimes be hard-no idea why. And it used to be SO cheap but the price keeps creeping up on beef but still this cut is fairly cheap for how many people it feeds. As you all know I am a HUGE fan of Costco (angels singing) and they always have flank steak in packs of 2 so when I buy it I come home and freeze one piece […]