Monday, October 27, 2008
Italian Sub Soup (from Rachel Ray)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. mild Italian sausage, fried
¼ lb. pepperoni stick, diced
1 ham steak, diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded, quartered and diced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 c. chicken stock
½ lb. gemelli pasta or other short-cut pasta
In a soup pot preheat to med. heat. Add olive oil to the pan and add the sausage. . Brown the sausage and crumble, drain off excess grease. Then add ham and pepperoni. Cook meats together for two minutes then add peppers and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add diced tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and bring stoup to a boil. Stir in pasta and cook for 8 minutes. Make croutons while pasta cooks.
Croutons
5 c. cubed crusty bread
3 lg. cloves garlic, removed from the skin
½ c. grated Parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 t. crushed red pepper flakes
½ t. dried oregano
In a large skillet heat ¼ c. of olive oil. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add bread to oil, and toss, toast for 5-6 minutes. Season the toasty bread cubes with red pepper flakes, oregano and lots of grated cheese.
Ladle the soup and float several toasty garlic breads cubes in each bowl.
Minestrone
2 medium carrots, sliced thin
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 med zucchini, sliced into rounds
2 cloves garlic minced
2 14.5 oz. cans beef broth
1 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 15.5 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
2 t. dried marjoram
2 t. oregano, dried
2 t. basil, dried
¼ t. ground black pepper
1½ c. cooked rice, optional
Add all ingredients except rice or macaroni in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. Add cooked rice and stir to combine. If using pasta add uncooked during the last half hour of cooking time.
Mushroom Covered Pork Chops "Mushchops"
4-5 Pork Chops
2 eggs
1/3 Water
Flour
3-4 4 oz. cans mushrooms, sliced (do not drain)
salt and pepper
olive oil , about 2 T.
Cornflake crumbs
Dredge pork chops in flour, dip in water and egg combination. Roll the chops into the cornflake crumbs. Pour olive oil into a skillet and heat. Brown the pork chops on each side. Place in a 9x13 foil lined pan When all of the chops are in the pan salt and pepper them, pour mushrooms juice and all on top of the meat. Cover with foil and cook in the oven for three hours at 300. (Make sure the two layers of heavy duty foil are closed well to prevent steam from sneaking out. These are very tender and will fall apart easily when removing them from the pan. The foil makes a quick clean up.)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Mexican Meatball Stew
Mexican Meatball Stew
1 lb ground chuck, or ground turkey
¼ c. soft bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
½ t. ground cumin
¼ t. pepper
Vegetable cooking spray
1/3 c. all purpose flour
2¼ c. water
1 c. frozen whole kernel corn
1 14 oz. can whole tomatoes, untrained and chopped
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 T. chili powder
½ t. salt
1 t. beef flavored bouillon granules
1 t. dried whole oregano
Combine ground chuck, breadcrumbs, egg, 3 T. chiles cumin, and pepper in medium bowl; stir well. Shape mixture into meatballs, using about 1 tsp mixture for each meatball. Arrange meatballs on rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray, broil 5½ inches from heat 5 minutes; turn meatballs, and broil an additional 4 minutes or until browned. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine flour and water in a Dutch oven; stir well. Cook over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Add meatballs, remaining chiles, corn, and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Yield 7 cups
Parmesan Chicken-Lauri's version
Monday, October 6, 2008
Parmesan Rolls and Bread Sticks
Bread Sticks
1 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
1½ c. warm water
Add:
1 t. salt
3½ c. flour
Mix slightly sticky dough. Let raise once. Roll out, cut, and twist. Put on cookie sheet with 1 cube melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and sesame seeds. Let rise until double and bake at 400 until golden brown.
Parmesan Rolls
25 frozen roll dough (preferably the Terrels brand a local Utah Company)
1 c. Parmesan cheese (the powdered kind)
4 t. garlic powder
½ c. parsley flakes
1 1/2 c. butter melted
While you are preparing the rolls, preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a bowl mix together Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and parsley flakes. Roll the frozen dough in the melted butter then the Parmesan mixture. For an even coating place the roll in the butter once again and then again in the Parmesan mixture. Place on greased jellyroll pan. Turn oven off then place rolls in oven. Let rolls rise between 3-4 hours. Remove from oven and preheat to 350. Bake until lightly brown on top 15-20 minutes.
Conference Traditions
3-4 pounds pork cut into cubes
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
2-3 tbsp olive oil
flour
1 lg yellow onion, roughly chopped
1/2-3/4 tsp black pepper
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 4 oz cans green chilies, chopped
3-4 Serrano chilies (depending on your preference)
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven or heavy pan. Put enough meat in the pan to cover the bottom; brown on all sides. When brown put meat into a strainer and drain over the pan. Repeat the process until the last batch of the meat is in the pan. With the last batch brown meat about half way and then add the onion. Stirring until the onion is transparent. Put all of the meat back into the pan and stir, add the minced garlic and stir again; let cook for two more minutes. Add 2 tbsp flour to the meat and onions, continue to add the flour 2 tbsp at a time until the meat looks dry, stir constantly.
Add tomatoes, black pepper, and green chilies, stir in well. Bring up the remnants from the bottom of the pan to avoid burning, and to keep the flavor. Cook on medium heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for an hour. (This will thicken as it cooks.) Add salt to taste and the Serrano chills to your preference. Cook another hour; stirring often to keep from sticking to the pan.
Serve with warm tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese and refried beans.
Guacamole:
2 ripe avocados, peeled and mashed roughly
¼ small onion, chopped finely
1 T. lime juice, fresh is the best
1 small Roma tomato, diced small
garlic salt, to taste
Blend ingredients and serve with tortilla chips or as a garnish.
Huevos Rancheros
Corn tortillas, 1 each
eggs, 2 each
2/3 cup chili sauce (homemade if you have it)
2 heaping tablespoons salsa
1 heaping teaspoon green chilies
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
grated cheddar cheese
Avocado wedges
Heat chili sauce, salsa, and green chilies in a small skillet until mixture begins to boil. Make small indention in center and crack two eggs into it. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until eggs are set to the desired stage.
While eggs are cooking, microwave corn tortilla for 15 seconds. Slide eggs and sauce out onto the corn tortilla, top with grated cheese and 3-4 avocado wedges.
The Pantry
As I have made meals over the years I have stocked up on things that are common in my recipes so all I have to do is shop from my shelves. It is easy to come up with things quickly when you have supplies on hand. It may seem like a lot to have on hand but these are some of my pantry/storage staples and if you build slowly it isn't oppresive to purchase. Watch the ads and sales in your local stores.
Canned/Storage:
Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
chicken broth
beef broth
tuna
chicken
corn
olives
beans- kidney. canellini, black, refried
dried beans, red, white, pinto, split peas
creamed soups, mushroom. chicken. celery
tomato soup
bean with bacon soup
rice
flour
sugar
favorite spices
variety of pasta's
peanut butter
Freezer:
chicken breasts
bone in hams
chuck roasts pork roasts
pork chops
lean ground beef
ground turkey
Itailian sausage
vegetables
Refrigerator:
milk
eggs
butter
Tillamook cheddar cheese
Lowfat mozerella cheese
sour cream
cream cheese
mayonnaise
miracle whip
ketchup
mustard
half and half
cucumber
lettuce
celery
carrots
apples
limes
Pantry Shelf:
onions
avocados
tomatoes
garlic
potatoes, red and Idaho russet
Home Canned Items: (I love to can!)
tomatoes
chicken breasts
green beans
salsa
chile sauce
Favorite From the Pantry Recipes
Lauri's Italian Sauce
3 bottles whole tomatoes (4cans approx. 1 lb size)
2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 8 oz. cans mushrooms
3 T. dried Oregano
3 T. dried Marjoram
3 T. dried Basil
1 ½ T. dried Thyme
T. Fennel (optional)
dried onion or two chopped fresh onions
2 T. minced dried garlic or 5 cloves fresh garlic minced (if using fresh onion and garlic sauté them in olive oil until transparent and then add the remaining ingredients)
Combine all of the above ingredients and bring to a boil, simmer on low heat until thickened. (I usually simmer it for several hours)
Meat Sauce
4 lbs, lean ground beef
2 chopped onions
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Brown the meat and add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add to the marinara sauce and simmer.
Sour Cream Enchilladas
Mix
4 lb. hamburger
2 onions, chopped
6 carrots, grated or chopped
1 or 2 green pepper chopped
2 T. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. garlic salt
Brown beef and drain, add prepared vegetables. Cook until tender and drain, cool.*
Add to hamburger mixture
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/4 oz. can green chili's chopped (more if you want a little more spice)
1 c. sour cream
1 c. milk
Monterey jack and cheddar cheese grated (to your taste)
corn tortillas
Fill corn tortillas with meat mixture. Place seam down in a 9x13 baking pan. Layer with sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 25 mins. This can also be served lasagna style in a casserole dish. This saves time rolling the enchiladas. It just depends on how you want the dish to look on the plates.
*This meat mixture is great to use for other things as well, it can be used to make sloppy joes, tacos, or with other ground beef recipes. It is a great way to add more vegetables to meals with out children or picky eaters even knowing. Just freeze into portions in a zippered bag and thaw when you need a quick meal.
Tips
When you fix rice for a meal make extra and freeze some of it in a zipper bag. With this premeasured rice it is easy to do a quick thaw and serve or add to other ingredients for a quick and easy meal.
Post a shopping list where you can find it, when you run out of something simply write it down and teach your family to do the same. You are less likely to be caught off guard when you are making your favorite dish.
Make a menu and include your shopping list. You spend less time in the store when you have a plan. When you make more trips to the store you simply spend more money. Having worked with a large grocery chain I learned some of the tricks used to get you to buy more. Be prepared when you go!
Shop the Ads. Make your menu out with the ad and use the shopping list. Most people don't have time to run from store to store getting the best deal on just a few things. When you compare and find the best prices it saves you time, money, and gas.
When making dishes like lasagna, manicotti, chicken pot pie, and many casseroles make two at the same time and freeze the second one for rainy day or a sick friend. It takes little effort to make the extra and it can be a big bonus in your freezer.
Tomatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator but on your counter top. The cold causes them to break down and turn mushy.
If you need to ripen your avacados faster place them in a small paper bag with a banana or apple. The gas that they put off causes the avacado to ripen faster.
Don't store onion and garlic together because the garlic goes bad faster from the gas emitted from the onions,
Applesauce Spice Cake
1 c. shortening
2 c. thick unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs
2 t. cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1 t. salt
8 t. baking powder (that's right)
3 c. flour
1 c. nuts chopped (optional)
5 c. powdered sugar
2½ t. Mapleline flavoring
3 T. milk
This is good to take to Pot Luck dinners or large gatherings. I would also freeze leftover cake in individual servings for my kids after school or when they needed a quick, small snack.
Zucchini Blues
When it was planted
That I had just enough
Now during my days
I'm trying new ways
To use up all this stuff
My basement is crammed
It's been jellied and jammed
Make into bread and cake
It's been chopped and sliced
And grated and diced...
There's nothing else to make!
I've baked it and planned it
Boiled and canned it
And frozen all I need
I have had my fill
There's too much... and still
It's growing like a weed.
(After going away for a week I came home to find six zucchini that were bat size in the garden. Seems like the kids didn't look as hard as they said they did! So I thought of this poem. Anyone need some Zucchini?)