Scallion Pancakes with Crispy Turkey and Cranberry Hoisin Sauce

As I was sitting in the Dr's waiting room this past week, which I'm doing a lot of lately, I saw this yummy recipe and thought I'd share it. I'm bummed that there isn't a picture. It looked really tasty on TV and I could just smell it as they made it. I think I'm going to try it with my turkey leftovers this year. BTW, what are you all doing for Turkey day this year?

Scallion Pancakes with Crispy Turkey and Cranberry Hoisin Sauce

Baked Tomatoes

4 ripe tomatoes 1/2 c butter
2 c fresh bread crumbs
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce

Heat oven to 350.
Slice stem ends off tomatoes. Cut them in half and place cut side up in a baking dish.
Melt butter in a skillet. Stir in bread crumbs, cheese, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, thyme and hot sauce. Place 2 Tbl of mixture on each tomato half.
Bake 30 min, until topping is browned.

Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

A Paula Deen recipe.

1/2 c + 2 Tbl butter
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into lengthwise wedges
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Melt butter. Remove from heat and add cinnamon. Add sweet potatoes and toss.
Season with salt and pepper.
Roast about 25 minutes until tender.

Brownies

We need some chocolate on this blog.

Need I say more? In case you were looking for an awesome brownie recipe this one is by far the best in my world. Nestle Toll House Brownies.

Apricot and Pine Nut Pilaf

Now here's a yummy recipe. We make it in our rice cooker a lot and I love it!! Sorry no pictures because I'm not making it right now. But, I thought I'd share it anyway.

First, before you get started saute your pine nuts in butter letting them get a bit brown. This makes a huge difference in the final flavor.

Second, this is a rice cooker recipe. I'll try and give the directions in a way you can make it without one though.

You will need:
1 Tablespoon Veg. oil
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (I use margarine, because that's all we ever have)
1/4 c. diced shallots (I skip these too, but you can add them, if you like them)
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Before starting, I would follow the ratio of water(chicken stock) to rice that is mentioned on your preferred way of making rice. On the back of the bag or box. (Or do like in the recipe if you are using a rice cooker.)

1. Place your oil and 1 TBS of the butter in your pot. When the butter is melted add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times until they are soft (about two minutes). Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times until the rice turns opaque, about 5 minutes. Then add the stock and salt; stir to combine. Then, close the cover and cook the rice as directed on the rice bag or box.

2. While the rice is cooking, melt the remaining 2 TBS butter in a small saute pan. Add the pine nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until evenly browned. (I do this before the rice when I can watch them because they are so easy to burn.) The butter should be richly browned but not burnt. Set aside.

3. When your rice is fully cooked, and you are ready to eat it, add the pine nuts in their butter and the apricots. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice and serve immediately.

You can keep rice warm for 1 to 2 hours but don't add your pine nuts and apricots until 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Here are the rice cooker directions:
1. Set the rice cooker for Quick Cook or regular cycle. Place the oil and 1 TBS of the butter in the rice bowl. When the butter is melted, add the shallots. Cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring a few times, until it turns opaque, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and salt; stir just to combine. close the cover and reset for the regular cycle or let the regular cycle complete.
2. While the rice is cooking, melt the remaining 2 TBS butter in a small saute pan. Add the pine nuts and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until evenly browned. The butter should be richly browned but not burnt. Set aside.
3. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle, add the pine nuts in their butter and the apricots. Close the cover and let the rice steam for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a wooden or plastic rice paddle or wooden spoon. Serve immediately.
This recipe comes from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook.

Review: Moroccan Chicken

Or More Rockin' Chicken as Troy has renamed it. Very delicious and all the boys liked it. Ian had to eat it with ketchup which was weird but if it means he's happy that's okay with me. Can't wait for some other reviews- or at least one from Fran :)

Lemon Tuna and Pasta

Sorry, no picture. I was too busy eating. But here is another quick and tasty meal I wanted to share. I more or less made it up myself (inspired by a few recipes I saw online).

Ingredients:

1 package of linguine
2 lemons
1 cup of heavy cream
1-2 cups of frozen peas
2 cans of white tuna (tastes better)
1 small red onion
2-3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Start boiling your pasta.
2. Next chop the onion and mince garlic and sautee in some oil.
3. Add cream to the onions/garlic mix.
4. Zest your lemons, and juice them and add both the zest and juice from both lemons to the cream mix. Also add some salt and pepper.
5. Just before your pasta is done, add your drained tuna and frozen peas to the cream/garlic/onion/lemon mix. Then add your drained pasta. Mix everything well, and let it simmer for a little bit until the peas are soft enough, but still a bit crunchy (2-4 minutes).

Preparation time: 20 minutes?

Enjoy your meal.

Balsamic Tomato Soup with Baguette and Zucchini

Here is another delicious and easy meal for you that my family loves. Most of you got to try the soup at Kari and Darcie's little Farewell party at my house.

The bread I just bought (French Baguette). You definitely want a bread that's a bit crunchy for this soup. The zucchini I simply sliced and sauteed in some olive oil with salt and pepper and some finely chopped onions (1 small chopped onion and 4 zucchinis). Only sautee it long enough that it gets tender but still has a bit of bite (about 5-10 minutes).

The Soup:

Ingredients:

2 cans of whole tomatoes (28oz)
1 big onion
4-5 garlic cloves
5-6 oz of heavy cream or evaporated milk
1 cup of beef broth
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of sugar

Directions:
1. Get out a 9x13 glass dish, and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Drain tomatoes and put in glass dish, chop onion into big chunks, and sprinkle over tomatoes, peel garlic and also throw on top of tomatoes.
3. Mix together 1/2 cup of beef broth as well as vinegar, soy sauce, oil and sugar. Mix well and pour over tomato mix. Bake the whole thing for about  45-50 minutes.
4. Blend your baked tomatoes and add the cream and broth after you blended the whole thing. Enjoy the soup now with your crunchy bread and zucchinis.


I'd say the actual prep time for the soup as well as zucchinis is maybe 30 minutes at best...

Another Challenge!

I think we've got a pretty good selection of mouth-watering recipes so I think it's time for a new challenge....Pick a recipe and try it yourself! Just so people are aware, post which you'll be making so we all try different things. It was hard for me to choose but I'm going to make Moroccan Chicken since I have all but one ingredient and buying it will help me out getting all the ingredients for making that Green Chicken Curry.

I know you haven't been cooking lately Darcie, you lucky girl, so maybe you can suggest one to your MIL :)

Moroccan Chicken with Apricots and Almonds

I adapted the recipe from this site: http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/beeflambandgoatrecipes/r/tagine_apricots.htm.

Basically I stuck to all the ingredients (except for using chicken breasts instead of beef or lamb), but tried to imitate the tagine by using my crock-pot. So, basically, I sliced 1 onion, put it in the crock-pot, then threw in my chicken (I did cut it into big chunks and I used 4 breasts. 5 would be fine, too!), then some finely chopped onion, garlic, the oils, 21/2 cups of water, cilantro, all the spices except for the honey, cinnamon, almonds and apricots. I set my crock-pot to high, covered the whole thing, and 2.5 hours later I added the cinnamon, apricots, almonds and honey. I think the only thing I would have done differently is maybe use a little less water (maybe just 2 cups) or let it cook without the lid, so it boils down more. Oh, and I added some cardamon to the whole thing (maybe 1 teaspoon). Anyway, basically, I just threw everything in the crock-pot at once, and added the apricots and nuts half way into it. The result? A super-delicious, richly flavorful and easy meal. Henry wanted to bathe in it. And I ate way too much as well. Sophia liked it, too.

I added couscous as a side dish. Aldi happened to sell it this week, so I had a pre-flavored, ready-in-5-minutes side to go with this. We used garlic and olive oil flavored couscous. I'm sure you can find something like that anywhere, and I highly recommend it as a side. Rice would work, too but it's just not quite as authentic (or flavorful in this case). You can also just buy normal couscous and boil it in whatever broth you like (I'd recommend veggie broth).

White Bean and Chicken Soup

I got this recipes at one of my first Enrichments in the Westland Ward and make it all the time. The boys love it- especially Ian if I put green tabasco in his.

1 Tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
16 oz frozen white corn
2- 15 oz cans Great Northern beans
7 oz diced green chilies
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
3 c chicken broth
2 Tbl lime juice

Saute onion and garlic in oil
Add remaining ingredients
Boil then simmer 20-30 min
Serve with toppings: grated cheese, plain yogurt, salsa, chopped green onion, sour cream, tortilla chips, hot sauce, etc

Green Chicken Curry

As a warning, Mike did not like this dish. I, however, thought it was delicious. It's Indian, so if you like Indian, you'll like this! I served it with naan bread below.

You will need:
1 bunch cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, 1 1/2 cups
1 bunch fresh mint, leaves, coarsely chopped, 1 1/2 cups (I only used 1/2 cup because we don't really like mint, and added more cilantro)
1 red onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup water, plus 1 1/4 cups
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced (I used one onion instead)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (a little less then a pound)
1/2 teaspoon malt vinegar
1/4 cup greek plain fat free yogurt
Cooked basmati rice or warm naan bread, for serving

Add the cilantro, mint, red onion, garlic, ginger, and salt, and pepper, to taste, to a food processor or blender.

Puree on high until smooth. With the processor running, add about 1/4 cup water, and blend until the mixture is the consistency of a thick paste, a.k.a. “masala”. Set aside.

In a large pot or deep skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallot and cook, stirring often, until golden brown.

Add the spices and cook for 30 seconds. Pour the masala mixture into skillet and cook, stirring often until it deepens in color and aroma. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks shiny, little droplets of oil will appear on the surface, and the masala will hold together as a cohesive mass.

Add the chicken, coating every piece in the masala and stirring often. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, so that the masala really adheres to the chicken. Add about 1 1/4 cups water, just enough to cover the chicken, and the vinegar. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender and sauce has thickened slightly, about 20 to 25 minutes. (I had trouble with the sauce thickening, the water wouldn't mix with the masala. I took the chicken out add added a mixture of cold water and corn starch. I stirred until it boiled, and then stirred for another minute. The sauce turned out great).

Remove the pan from heat and stir in the yogurt. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. Transfer the mixture to a serving dish and serve over rice or with warm naan bread.

 adapted from http://thenovicechefblog.com

Naan

This bread is delicious. If you use fast rising yeast, it only needs 20 min. to rise. Tonight I made it with Green Chicken Curry (which will be posted as well). I double this recipe because it is so good.

You will need:
1/2 cup warm water
2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup greek fat free plain yogurt
1 large egg
olive oil for cooking (you can use butter if you prefer)

In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy.

Stir in the flour, salt, oil, yogurt and egg and stir, then knead until you have a soft, pliable dough. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size; about an hour.

Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces and on a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into a thin circle or oval.

Cook each naan in a nice hot skillet drizzled with oil (just a teeny tiny bit–you’re not frying it) until blistered and cooked, flipping as necessary. (When the surface has big blisters and is golden on the bottom, flip it over and cook until golden on the other side.

 Makes about 8 naan.

Taken from http://thenovicechefblog.com

Biryani and a Book

I've been reading 'Stone Into Schools' by Greg Mortensen, and when I saw this recipe for this Afghani biryani, I knew it'd be the perfect meal to go along with my book. If you haven't read this book yet, you really should. It's very insightful and deeply touching on top of it all. You'll walk away with a better understanding of the circumstances and culture in Afghanistan/Pakistan and a greater appreciation for the people out there. Awesome book. And, the meal was awesome, too. And not even that hard to make. I wish I would have had time to maybe make a little side salad or something. I think that would have made it truly perfect, but at any rate, this will be a perfect meal for a coolish fall day, in my opinion. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons of oil
1 yellow onion - chopped
2 cups of chicken/beef/lamb - cubed (I used chicken)
2 cups of water
1 tsp of salt
11/2 tsp of cumin
11/2 tsp of cinnamon
11/2 tsp of cardamom (if you don't know what this is, you should get it - it's the bestest spice in the world and it will go with any dish that calls for cinnamon, and make that dish that much better)

3-4 carrots thinly sliced
1 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of oil
1 tsp of sugar
2 cups of basmati rice

Directions:

1. Sautee onions in oil until fairly dark. Add the cubed chicken and brown lightly. Then add the water, salt and spices to that. Give it a good stir, and then cover it and let it simmer until the chicken is nice and tender ( I let it cook for about 30 minutes).
2. Heat up your 1/4 cup of oil and then fry the carrots in it, together with the sugar until lightly browned/kind of tender. Remove the carrots, and put in the raisins. Sautee them until they swell a bit, and then add them to the carrots.
3. Check on your chicken. If it's done, remove the chicken/drain it, but save the juice!
4. Boil the rice in the juice you saved. I did this in a rice cooker, and just made sure I added enough juice to match the liquid I needed for 2 cups of rice (I ended up not having enough juice and adding some water, which the recipe calls for anyway). Once the rice is done mix it up with your meat, carrots and raisins.
5. Put your whole mix into a baking dish. Cover it with foil and bake it for 30-60 minutes at 345 degrees. You may want to add a little more water to the baking dish so nothing dries out.

Optional: I added cashews to my mix before I baked it, which fit really nicely with the whole dish.

Corn and Poblano Chowder

Voila, the result of my fist chowder. I have to say it was a rather traumatic experience including burning the food - twice, cutting my finger pretty badly, and splattering myself with chowder, and then burning myself as a result. But, if you skip all those incidents when you make this, you will have a very delicious chowder. The recipe may look a bit intimidating, but I really think it's not that time consuming or hard to make. The worst part is probably that you can't really leave the soup unattended for too long.

My main recommendation for this dish would be to chop everything that needs to be chopped BEFORE you start cooking! I think that was my downfall. And I wouldn't leave the soup unattended for too long. I left it for 10 minutes or so without stirring, and it burned pretty bad. Anyway, here goes:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter
2 medium sized onions - chopped
4 cloves of fresh garlic - minced
3 chili peppers - chopped finely, seeds and stems removed
5 tablespoons of flour

4 cups of frozen corn (you'll need about one big bag of frozen corn total
2 cups of vegetable broth

3 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of cream
4 cups of cubed red potatoes (about 1/2-inch cubes, about 5 average size potatoes)
2 poblano peppers - chopped, seeds and stems removed
11/2 cups of diced carrots (about 3 big carrots)
11/2 cups of sliced celery (about 3 big ribs)
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups of corn

Directions:

1. Make sure you have all your veggies chopped, minced, whatever.
2. Blend 4 cups of corn with 2 cups of broth - make sure it's really well blended, so it's pretty much a smooth, thick liquid. Let it sit. You'll add it to your chowder later on.
3. Melt your butter, sautee onions, garlic, and chili peppers with it. Don't chop other veggies while doing it because you'll burn your onions, which will turn your chowder into a brown mess...
4. Slowly add your flour to your onion mix once everything is sauteed well. Mix everything well, and sautee the whole mix for a few minutes.
5. Now slowly stir in the remaining broth. Make sure you keep stirring while you do that so you don't get any lumps. Once you have it all in there and smooth, add your corn puree stuff. Mix in well, and bring it to a full simmer for a few minutes, then add the cream.
6. Now you'll add the potatoes and poblano peppers, and stir/simmer for 5 mintues, then add the carrots and celery, stir and simmer for 5 minutes, and then add the corn, and stir simmer for about 5 more minutes.
7. Once everything is in, you just want to stir the chowder regularly so nothing burns, and taste the potatoes to make sure nothing overcooks. Once the potatoes are tender enough you're ready to eat.

Cabbage Casserole

And one more...because I'm on a roll tonight. This is what we had for dinner. I think it's pretty tasty.

This is pretty much the only way I like cabbage. Nice, soft, and smothered in tomato sauce. I got this recipe from my Grandma while I lived with her, who got it from her friend. So, I guess you could call it a grandma recipe, one that's all healthy, like those recipes with lots of beans.

Shred 1/2 head cabbage into an 11x13 pan

Brown 1 cube margarine, 1/2 onion and hamburger in a skillet. You decide how much hamburger. I used 1 lb.

When all that is nicely browned put it over the cabbage.

Then over all that pour 1-1/2 cups of boiling water and 2 cans of tomato sauce. You can use regular tomato sauce or go for one of those seasoned varieties, those would be good too.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 for 1 hour. That's it. After waiting an hour for it to cook, you'll be nice and hungry too. =)

Spinach Salad

Now here's something really yummy and tasty! This was first shared at a recipe club and I have loved it ever since. Maybe you even already have the recipe. I made it today for lunch and have already eaten half of it or more.

1 bag baby spinach

1/4 c. pine nuts

1/3 c. craisins

1/3 lb. cooked, crumbled bacon

Dressing - (use only 1/3 of the dressing if you are mixing it directly with the entire salad.)

1/4 c. sugar

2 TBS green onion

1/4 c. salad oil

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard

Apple Almond Granola Bars

This is for those of you who love granola.

1 c. Apple Almond Granola (I'm sure you can use any granola you have...I just happen to have a bag of this from Grandpa's Cellar in CA.)

1 c. oats

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. flaked coconut

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the apple almond granola, oats, flour, coconut, nuts, raisins and brown sugar. In a smaller bowl, combine the egg, honey, butter and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until all is moistened. Spread in a well buttered 12 x 9 inch cake pan. Bake until light brown on the edges. Cut in squares and serve.

That's the recipe from bag of granola I have from Grandpa's Cellar. I cooked it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and it seemed done to me. In all honesty, I think next time I'll use some other granola and take out the raisins and add chocolate chips and peanut butter.

Grilled Quesadillas

In case you've been wondering what I've been snacking on lately...I know, you're just itching to know...it's grilled quesadillas. You probably already know how to make them yourself. So, just for fun, here are the directions ... and pictures!

1. Get out your ingredients. Tonight mine happen to be flour tortillas, cheddar cheese, salsa and sour cream.

2. Put your tortilla on a warmed up frying pan and add lots of cheese.

3. Put your topper tortilla on. Flip when it's getting nice and brown and crunchy on the bottom.

When the other side is finished cooking, take it out of the pan and put it on your plate. (You needed that last direction didn't you...)

4. Spread salsa and sour cream on top. You can also put it inside, but for some odd reason I prefer mine on the outside, then the sour cream doesn't go all saucy.

And then, after you make yours, don't forget to make another one...because your husband is sure to want one too. I added spinach on his and put his salsa on the side. Just like he likes it. yum yum.

Chickpea Salad

Here is another recipe that I love. It's also healthy, fairly inexpensive, and easy to make.

Ingredients:

1-2 cans of Chickpeas
2 cans of tuna
1 nice fresh big bunch of parsley
3-4 tomatoes
1 small red onion (or bigger if you like red onions)
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Get out a big bowl. Open your chickpeas and tuna, drain all of them well and toss it in the bowl.
2. Chop up your parsley and add it to the bowl.
3. Chop your tomatoes and red onion and add it to the bowl.
4. Add some olive oil and salt and pepper to taste (it usually needs a fair amount of salt, but taste first and then add more)

Toss it all up, and you're done. You can also add some chopped cucumbers if you like.

Mexican Lentil Stew

I don't know what to say about this dish. It's healthy, it's cheap, and it's easy. I can't say I love it, but every time I eat it, I end up surprised that I do enjoy it. The main reason why I'm posting this recipe is because this is one of Sophia's favorite dishes. She'll seriously eat easily 3 bowls full of this stuff. I figure if one child likes it, it just may be a hit with other kids.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry red lentils (I use whatever lentils I have on hand)
2 cups water
1 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 T minced garlic (or less, but I like a lot of garlic)
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chile powder
1 can diced tomatoes (sometimes I add more, or just add plain tomato sauce - not pasta sauce though)
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp. green Tobasco sauce
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (you can do less lime, but I often use more - it's really what makes this dish any good in my opinion)
1/2 - 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Boil lentils in 2 cups of water, until they're somewhat tender.
2. In another pot, sautee onions, garlic and celery until mostly tender, then add all the spices.
3. Now add to the onion stuff the broth and tomatoes as well as lentils (which should basically have no liquid left in the pot). Oh, and don't forget the tobasco.
4. Cook on low heat (simmer) until everything is tender. Chop up your cilantro in the mean time, and squeeze our limes. Add the cilantro and lime juice when the stew is ready to eat.

We often add a spoon of sour cream and some grated cheddar cheese on top of our bowls, which I think is delicious, but it's good either way.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Orange-Butter Sauce

Well, I can't turn down a challenge, right? So, here is a picture of the ravioli we made a week ago. All from scratch.

For the dough, you can just look up any pasta recipe. I don't have much advice. Our ravioli were a little tough after cooking, which, after some reading, I think is due to the dough being a bit too dry. I guess you really want to make sure to keep it moist enough and not add too much flour. Other than that the dough worked out well. We used our little kiddie IKEA cups to 'cut out' circles to make into ravioli. Sophia helped with that and loved it.

And here is the recipe we used for the filling:

9oz winter squash puree ( I used the frozen stuff in a box from Meijers)
1 oz grated Parmesan
3 tbsp hazelnut flour (I couldn't find hazelnut, or hazelnut flour, so I used 3 tbsp of chopped pecans)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp fresh sage leaves (I think I may have used a little more than that)

If you use frozen squash, make sure it's fully thawed and squeezed out before you use it. Put all the other ingredients in a food processor (blender) and mix well. Then stir it into your squash puree. This will be your ravioli filling. I doubled the filling, and it makes plenty of food.

For the sauce you'll need:

juice of two large oranges
2 oz butter
a pinch of ground mace
salt and pepper to taste.
1 tsp potato starch

You melt the butter, and stir in the juice as well as your starch. I don't know what mace is, so I didn't use it. Stir the sauce well throughout. It should thicken some. Mine got pretty thick.

Anyway, so...as I said, the ravioli ended up a bit tough, but the filling with the sauce was actually really tasty I thought. However, be warned - it was very rich, and quite sweet somehow. The sauce is also way more buttery than it's orangey. If you add any sides/veggies I would highly recommend something light, not sweet, and inconspicuous flavors (maybe green beans or zucchini?).

And so you'll know what you can expect from me this week: I'm planning on making a corn & poblano chowder, as well as an Afghani Biryani. Both looked superdelicious on foodgawker. I'll post pictures and recipes if they turn out well.

A Challenge

This week I'm issuing a challenge- take a picture and post the recipe to at least one meal that you've made during the week. I'll say we begin the challenge tomorrow and go through next Saturday. And make sure this blog is on your blog roll to see all the new recipes coming in.

I also think it would be cool to post when you've tried something and how it worked for you.

Potato wedges

A slightly modified version of the recipe I got from Emily Hansen.

Several potatoes, sliced into wedges
Olive oil
Seasonings (chili powder, BK seasoning or seasoned salt, etc)
Mayo
BBQ sauce

Oil cookie sheet
Mix a couple of Tbl of oil with seasonings (I did 20 shakes of BK and 10 or so of chili powder)
Arrange on cookie sheet
Bake at 400 for 30 min
Mix mayo and BBQ sauce for dipping

Ranch coleslaw

Bag of coleslaw
1/4-1/2 c Ranch dressing
A few slices of crumbled bacon

Mix and serve

BBQ Pork

This was Troy's birthday dinner this year and I must say it's pretty awesome.

5 lb pork shoulder/butt roast

1/4 c water

salt

pepper

40 oz BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays)

Season meat with salt and pepper

Place in large crock pot with water

Cook on high for 1 hour

Turn to low and cook 7-9 hours

Remove roast and discard fat and juices

Shred pork and add BBQ sauce

Cook on low 1 hour

Top with coleslaw

Spicy Meat and Cheese Stromboli

This is a favorite at my place and also with all of my family members. And...missionaries love it. It so happens they are coming over tonight, so I decided to make this for them. I wish I had a picture of it, because it is so tasty!! I think we might have had it with the Cline's too.

The recipe actually comes from Rachael Ray so you can link right to it here. The only 2 changes I make are 1. changing the Italian hot ham to canadian bacon, and 2 leaving out the crushed red pepper. But if you like it hotter (Danny and Darcie) all the better. =) This can also be made in one long roll instead of cutting the dough up into 4 separate stromboli's. That way it feeds more and you eat less...although, it really is yummy and it will fill your belly full.

Racheal has a recipe for a sauce to use, but I have never used it. I have used a simple Basic Pizza Sauce instead. Which I use when making pizza too. It's really easy and yummy and you can freeze what you don't use.

Basic Pizza Sauce:
1 TB Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
Table salt - ground black pepper

Cook oil and garlic in med.saucepan over low heat until fragrant; about 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, increase heat to med, and cook until slightly thickened, 10-15 min.
Season with salt and pepper.

Easy peasy...and so yummy!!

Bestest Blueberry Muffins Ever

Because I love you guys, I shall no longer withhold this wonderful recipe from you. We went blueberry picking the other day, and had all those fresh, frozen blueberries. So, before I knew it, I, Fran, was suddenly baking in the kitchen. Best decision ever. These are fantastic. So much so that I made them twice in like less than two weeks. Yup. The original recipes had grams and stuff, so I converted it for you guys as good as I could. Should work fine.

Dry Ingredients:
2 absolutely full cups of plain flour (they don't have to be heaped but definitely full to the edge)
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp baking powder
6 oz sugar (normal sugar, and I think that's a 3/4 cup)
5 oz blueberries (I think that's about 2/3 cup of blueberries...)

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
6 fl oz canola oil (3/4 cup)
6 fl oz soured cream (3/4 cup) - I substituted with fresh plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
a little less than 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
grated zest of 1 small lemon

1. Mix all the dry ingredients well in a bowl.
2. Mix all the wet ingredients well and then pour them into the dry ingredients and mix it all until you have a nice smooth batter. This worked fine with a spoon.
3. Put your batter into your muffin baking dish, and bake for about 20-25 minutes at 395 degrees.
4. Eat all the muffins in 10 minutes.

French Peasant Bread

I got this recipe from Marianne Gessel.

1 pkg dry yeast
2 c warm water
1 Tbl sugar
2 tsp salt
4 c flour
oil
cornmeal
melted butter

Mix yeast, water, sugar and salt in a warm bowl and stir until dissolved.
Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead.
Cover and rise 1 hr or until doubled.
Flour hands and remove dough. Divide into 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Let rise 1 hr or until doubled.
Brush with melted butter.
Bake 10 min at 425.
Decrease temp to 375 and bake 15 min.
Remove from oven and brush with more melted butter. Serve warm.

Baked Spaghetti

The leftovers multiply in the fridge- seriously this lasts sooo many meals!

16 oz spaghetti
1 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
26 oz pasta sauce
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
2 eggs
1/3 c grated Parmesan
5 Tbl melted butter
16 oz cottage cheese
4 c shredded mozzarella

Cook spaghetti and drain
Brown beef and onion, drain. Add pasta sauce and salt.
Whisk eggs, Parmesan and butter. Mix with spaghetti.
Spread out half of spaghetti in greased 9 x 13 pan.
Top with half the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella. Repeat layers.
Cover and bake 40 min at 350
Uncover and bake 20-25 min

Fancy Quesadillas

Here's another pretty simple and cheap recipe for those who like Mexican food, or American Mexican, or whatever it would be. I guess for those who like tortillas, refried beans, cheese, salsa and the like. :)

Ingredients:

1 pack of tortillas (flour/whole wheat...whatever, as long as you can fold them)
1/2 can of corn
1/2 jar of salsa
1/2 can of refried beans
fresh cilantro chopped
1 lime
grated cheddar cheese
some chopped, fried/baked/out of the can or whatever else works for you chicken (optional)
enchilada sauce (optional)

1. Mix your corn with your salsa, and add the chopped cilantro and lime juice. You can adjust the quantities to your liking and to your family needs. Basically you're just jazzing up your plain bought salsa.

2. Take a tortilla and spread some refried beans on one half of the tortilla. Next, spread the salsa on top of the refried beans. Then add the chicken if you're using any, then the cheese. Fold the 'clean' half over the covered half and fry the baby in a frying pan until both sides are slightly crisp and browned, and the cheese has melted.

3. Pour some heated enchilada sauce over the tortilla when it's done (do that on your plate not in the frying pan).

4. Eat. Repeat the whole process until you have enough. I can usually only eat 1, maybe 2 of those.

This meal can actually really be quite healthy if you use whole wheat tortillas, fat-free beans, and find a good salsa that's low in sugar (and don't overload on the cheese). We really love these, Sophia included, and it's one of my favorite things to make on a Friday night or so. I should mention that these don't really taste good re-heated later. And even though it may sound a little complicated to make them, it really only takes 10 minutes, maybe 15. Unless you struggle with opening jars and cans...

Kay's Whole Wheat Bread

This recipe is super easy, and really yummy. The texture of this bread is better than other homemade breads- it doesn't fall apart when slicing. You can find soy lecithin in the organic section of the supermarket.

3 c white bread flour
2.5 c wheat flour
1/4 c. sugar
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 Tbsp instant yeast
2 quarter sized circles of soy lechithin
2.25 c hot water

Mix dry ingredients. Add soy lecithin and waters. Mix for one minutes and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add more water. Dough should be very sticky. Mix for five minutes (do not add flour to the dough after it's done mixing.) Spray counter and pans with Pam. Shape loaves and cover with a dish towel. (It makes two loaves). Let raise 25 min. Bake at 375 for 25 min.

For whole wheat bread, use the same recipe, but add 1/2 cup of applesauce, 1.5 c hot water, and 1/2 additional quarter size of lecithin. Mix for ten minutes. (I have not made this version, so let me know if it works out!)

Creamy Chicken Chowder

1.5 c half and half
1 c. chicken broth
1 can cream of potato
1 can cream of chicken
2 c. cooked cut up chicken
1/3 c. chopped green onions
1 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
1.5 c. shredded cheddar cheese
white, black and cayenne pepper to taste

Combine first nine ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Once mushrooms are softened, about 20 min, add cheese. Stir until melted. Add peppers to taste.

Sweet Potatoe and Spinach Gratin

This is also vegetarian, fairly easy, fairly cheap, and surprisingly yummy. At least I was surprised when I made it. Kari and Darcie both liked it. Sarah, you never got to try it.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter (you'll need a total of 4 tbls)
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 pounds frozen spinach, thawed and liquid pressed out

2 cups whole milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons of butter

2 pounds medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6-8 ounces shredded Swiss cheese

1. Peel and slice your potatoes. In the mean time sautee your thawed, drained spinach with about 2 tablespoons of butter and your chopped onion in a frying pan. Season your spinach with some salt/pepper.

2. Make a bechamel (white) sauce by melting your 2 tablespoons of butter in a pot. Then whisk in your flower until it all gets lumpy. Then slowly add in your milk constantly whisking to get a smooth sauce. Then add some salt, pepper, garlic and a pinch of nutmeg to spice it up.

3. Get out a 9x13 or whatever-that-average-casserole-size-is dish, and cover it with a layer of sweet potatoes, some salt and pepper on the potatoes as well as some of your chopped parsley, then your spinach mix, then your white sauce, then sprinkle some cheese. Repeat the whole thing and make one more layer.

4. Bake the baby at 400 Degrees for about 50-60 minutes. Let it stand for about 10 minutes after you pull it out.

P.S. The orginial recipe layered this differently. I've never tried it, but you could. Basically you do the potatoes, then cheese, then spinach, then cheese, then potatoes again, cheese, spinach, and then the bechamel sauce. I think I didn't do that because I didn't have enough room or something. Also, you can stretch your sauce by simply adding more milk, and then a bit more flour if it gets too runny...

Bean and Rice Salad

I told Kari about this recipe the other day, so I'll just post it here. It's pretty cheap, healthy, yummy and vegetarian.

1 can of black beans
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of corn
2 chopped avocados
2 chopped bell peppers (I used red and yellow but whatever you like/can afford works I'm sure)
5-6 chopped tomatoes
1 small red onion chopped up
2 cups boiled rice (I use instant brown rice - healthier) mostly cooled
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro

3 limes

Throw all of that stuff in a bowl, and don't forget to drain your beans and corn before you do that. Then squeeze in the juice of the 3 limes, add some olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. You could also add a bit of crushed red pepper to add some kick, if you so wish. Mix well. Tastes best right after. Serves about 5 I'd say.

Arugula Salad

1 Box of Arugula
1 chopped Avocado
1/2 can of corn
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 of a hothouse cucumber, sliced and halfed (or you can use one whole funky, short normal cuc)
4 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 chopped onion if you like - I usually left it out since Kari and Henry are opposed to fresh onions

Throw all that in a bowl, and mix it. Done.

For dressing I'd usually just pour some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over my salad and then some salt and pepper.

Grandma Linnie's Dressing

This is what I always made for the Westland Ward Thanksgiving Feast. It's my Grandma's recipe so there aren't exact measurements. You just kind of taste it as you go. You'll get better at it each time you make it.

9 x 13 pan of cornbread (bake 2 days prior and allow it to dry out)
1 bag of stuffing mix (I like Pepperidge Farm)
Half an onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
Whole chicken, cut up or 6 dark pieces and 6 white pieces
1 can chicken broth
celery salt
salt and pepper
sage

Cover chicken with water and boil with salt, pepper and celery salt.
Boil celery and onion with water in a small pot for 10 min. Drain.
Crumble cornbread. Mix with dry stuffing, celery and onion.
Remove chicken and shred. Save stock.
Add stock to cornbread mixture until "juicy." Add canned chicken broth if necessary.
Season with salt and sage to taste.
Add chicken.
Spoon into a deep 9 x 13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 2 hours, stirring after first hour.

Finally!

Before I moved several of us talked about swapping recipes but of course we never did. I've often thought about starting a blog for this very purpose but I never did that either....until now. The purpose of this blog is to share those recipes we love, ask for the ones we never got around to getting and sharing new recipes that we think others will enjoy. If you think of any buckeyes who might like to contribute just let me know!