Thursday, November 29, 2007

A New Find!

Yesterday I received a catalog in the mail that I have not seen before. It's called 'The Baker's Catalogue' and it's affiliated (apparently) with King Arthur Flour. There are some great recipes, they sell all-natural baking mixes, food-of-the-month and sampler gifts, and my favorite...GADGETS :-)

Potluck Potato Casserole

Potluck Potato Casserole
From Cooking Light

The crunchy topping on this side-dish casserole gives way to a cheesy interior, resulting in a comfort food winner. A bonus with this dish is that you can make the casserole ahead--assemble and refrigerate it until time to bake. Sprinkle the cornflakes over the casserole just before baking.

1 1/2 cups fat-free sour cream
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced fresh onion
5 teaspoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (30-ounce) package frozen hash browns, thawed (such as Ore-Ida)
1 (10.75-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)Cooking spray
1 cup coarsely crushed cornflakes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine first 10 ingredients in a large bowl; spread evenly into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cornflakes over potato mixture.
Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until bubbly. Sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Yield: 10 servingsCALORIES 194 (30% from fat); FAT 6.4g (sat 3.7g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 7.9g; CHOLESTEROL 21mg; CALCIUM 166mg; SODIUM 283mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 27.1g Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005

German Potato Salad

German Potato Salad
(adapted from Boy Meets Grill, Bobby Flay)

3 lbs. new potatoes
1 yellow onion, quartered
½ lb bacon, diced
1 large red onion, diced
¾ cup cider vinegar
1 tbsp mustard seed
¼ cup canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
8 green onions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Place potatoes in a large pot with the quartered onion and cover with cold water. Allow water to come to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Drain, discard the onion. Cut the potatoes into cubes when they are cool enough to handle. Place potato cubes in a large bowl and cover to keep warm.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. Add the red onions to the rendered bacon fat in skillet and cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully add the vinegar and mustard seeds and cook for 2 more minutes. Whisk in the canola oil. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the hot dressing to the potatoes and toss gently to coat. Fold in the green onions and parsley. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste.

Turkey Wild Rice Soup

I made some changes to the recipe, and am posting this as a way to deal with Thanksgiving leftovers.



TURKEY WILD RICE SOUP

1 stick butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 c sliced mushrooms
1 c. thinly sliced celery
1 c. thinly sliced carrots
1 bunch asparagus spear heads
1/2 c. flour
8 c. chicken broth
4 c. cooked wild rice
pinch curry powder
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chervil
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 c. Half and Half
2/3 c. dry or cream sherry (I didn’t use this when making it, I used dry vermouth)
3-4 c. cubed turkey

Melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook until golden. Add mushrooms and celery. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Mix in flour thoroughly. Add broth, stirring constantly until thickened, 5-8 minutes. Stir in rice, spices and turkey. Reduce heat to low. Stir in Half and Half, asparagus and sherry, if using.. Simmer, stirring occasionally. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Meatloaf

Another one from Grandma...one of my favorites!

Meatloaf

1 to 1 ½ lbs. ground beef/chuck
½ cup oatmeal
1 tsp. salt
dash pepper
1 small can tomato sauce
parmesan cheese (to taste)
¼ cup chopped onion
1 egg
½ cup milk

Sauce

1/3 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. yellow mustard
1 tbsp. brown sugar

Combine all ingredients and place in loaf pan. Combine sauce ingredients and spread sauce on top. Bake 1-1.5 hours at 350 degrees.

Adaptation of Quaker Oats recipe from Dixie Brinkman

Tuna Noodle Casserole

This is my Grandma's recipe for 'tuna noodle'. I love it; it's a different flavor than the standard cream of mushroom based dish and a nice twist. A lot of people see the ingredients and say 'no thanks', but then they try it ;-)

Tuna & Noodle Casserole

1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 tbsp. butter
1 can tuna (drained and flaked)
2 cups cooked, drained noodles
1 can tomato soup
½ cup milk
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
2 slices American cheese

Saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Add tuna to skillet and allow to warm. In large mixing bowl, combine onion/celery/tuna mixture and remaining ingredients (except cheese). Place combined ingredients in 1 ½ quart greased casserole dish. Top with cheese slices. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Recipe from Dixie Brinkman

Quickie Paella

Quickie Paella

OK, so it’s really not Paella. What it is…a one-dish dinner. And it’s quick.

8-16 oz. shrimp, sautéed in olive oil and McCormick Sal con Chile y Limon (Chile Lemon Salt, a Mexican seasoning). You can also use cooked chicken, maybe some chorizo thrown in, some of each...

Knorr Arroz Amarillo (Yellow Rice), prepared as directed

1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can diced green chiles, drained

In large skillet, mix all ingredients and cook on low for 15 minutes.

Garden Rice

I came up with this over the summer when I was trying to make something for a family picnic without going to the grocery store, using produce from my/my neighbor's garden.

Garden Rice

4 bags quick-cook 10 minute rice, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ small onion, minced
1 small-medium zucchini, grated
2-3 diced fresh tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 packet powdered Italian Dressing
Pinch kosher salt
Pinch fresh-ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese, to taste (I use a palm-full)

Heat butter, oil, minced garlic and onion until slightly sizzling. Add zucchini and tomatoes. Cook until just getting soft. Add remaining ingredients, stir and allow to simmer at very low heat until flavors combine. Stir together with cooked rice and allow to stand so sauce soaks into rice.

Pan-Poached Salmon Piccata

Pan-Poached Salmon Piccata
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 (4 ounce) filets salmon
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons capers
ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS
Bring wine and lemon juice to a boil in medium-sized skillet. Stir in chicken bouillon granules. Reduce heat to a simmer and place salmon fillets in pan. Cover and simmer over low heat, 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part; or until fish flakes when tested with a fork. Remove salmon from pan; keep salmon warm.
Boil remaining liquid in the skillet until it is reduced to approximately 1/4 cup. Whisk in butter and stir in capers. Spoon sauce over fish. Season with pepper and sprinkle with parsley.

Beef Stroganoff

I've tried several recipes for this. I made some changes to 'create' this one, and it's by far my (and Jon's) favorite.

Beef Stroganoff

2 lbs. beef top round steaks, cut into strips
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 stick butter
1 small onion, minced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 14.5 oz can beef broth
1 beef bouillon cube
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup dry white wine
Salt and pepper to taste

Season steak strips with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the beef strips quickly, then remove from pan and set aside. Add the onions and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Stir the flour (on tablespoon at a time) into the pan juices. Pour in beef broth and wine, and add bouillon cube. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and stir in mustard. Add the beef back to the pan. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.

Ten minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, peas and sour cream. Heat briefly and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over buttered egg noodles or rice.

Crab Quiche

Crab Quiche

½ lb. lump crabmeat (picked/checked for shells)
4 large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp. each fresh chives, parsley, cilantro
1 tbsp. Paul Prudhomme’s seafood seasoning
½ tsp. each salt & pepper
½ cup each grated Monterey Jack & Swiss cheeses

Whisk together eggs, cream, herbs, seafood seasoning, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in cheeses and crabmeat.

Pour into pre-baked crust and bake until filling puffs and is no longer wobbly in center when quiche is gently shaken (40-50 minutes) at 375 degrees.

Adapted from epicurious.com

Chili Verde

Chili Verde
adapted from Cooking Light recipe by Melissa Saville Murray
serves 6

1 tbls vegetable cooking oil
12 ounces Goya Mojo Criollo marinade (found in Mexican/Latin American food section)
2 – 1 pound boneless pork tenderloins, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 cups chopped onion
2 pounds tomatillos, husks and stems removed and quartered
4 poblano peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chipotle in adobo pepper, finely chopped (found in Mexican/Latin American food section)
3 cups water – use 1 can beer as part of water
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 + teaspoon cumin
1 + teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt (kosher)
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Marinate pork cubes in marinade, preferable overnight. Heat vegetable oil in large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add pork; sauté for 5 minutes or until meat is browned on all sides. Add onions, tomatillos, poblano peppers and garlic to same stockpot; sauté for 5 to 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add pork and all remaining ingredients to stock pot; stir and bring to a simmer. Lower heat to low-medium and allow mixture to cook for 2 hours until pork is tender. Stirring occasionally.

Mediterranean "Handful" Chicken

Mediterranean “Handful” Chicken
Serves 2

2 fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup white wine
1 tsp minced garlic
1 handful kalamata olives
1 handful cherry or grape tomatoes
1 handful feta cheese
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a dash of olive oil in a skillet. Add white wine. Allow chicken to poach in liquid with lid on skillet until nearly done. Throw in the ‘handful’ ingredients and allow to cook through.

Sometimes I add fresh basil or pinenuts…parmesan or romano cheese…easily adaptable…also good for salmon or tilapia or shrimp to serve over pasta.

Inaugural Post

OK, this is not just a copycat blog, I promise (although thanks for the idea, Pioneer Woman, and to Kate and Jaime for being the people I know who did it first). More than anything, this will serve as a filing system/method of scrapbooking that is very effective for me. I have a jump-drive full of recipes, my favorite place in my house is my kitchen...I just love food. I love finding new recipes, tweaking them, making them and then hearing that the people I love have enjoyed them. I love to go out to eat--when we travel, I'm usually most excited about the culinary adventures we might have. I love all kinds of food...I appreciate everything from a dripping basket of buffalo wings to a five-star-chef-prepared meal. When I'm at home, I love finding opportunities to cook for family and friends. I have dreams of winning the lottery and clearing out Williams-Sonoma. Hopefully this is a good explanation of what this will be...not just a bank of recipes, though right now that will be the case. I just need to get what I have uploaded and then maybe will add photos as I remake the recipes, but I can't guarantee that I'll be as organized as my friends who've gone before me. I'll also talk about food reviews, kitchen gadgets, etc. Because I can :-)