Cooking with Caity Sue

Sticky Chinese Chicken

2012-01-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered a fantastic recipe that is easy to make and has very few ingredients. It is a HUGE hit with the family! I made this again last night and it reminded me that I hadn't put it on my blog yet!

STICKY CHINESE CHICKEN

1 cup finely crushed garlic & onion-flavored croutons
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
1/4 cup canola oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish, optional

In a large bowl, whisk crouton crumbs and cornstarch. Stir in the soy sauce and mix well. Add chicken and toss until completely coated.

Cover and refrigerate for a least 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat (I like to use my electric skillet for this.) Add chicken and cook, covered, for 20-25 minutes until nice and crispy and cooked through. Turn about 4-5 times during cooking to avoid burning. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with additional soy sauce, chopped scallions, cooked rice and steamed sugar snap peas, if desired.

I know this picture shows some dark pieces...this picture was taken the first time I made this dish, when I didn't use my nonstick pan ;). I wish I would have thought to take the picture of the food last night, when I used my electric skillet and it came out perfect!!

I use a Hot mustard sauce for these that is fantastic!! Here is my recipe:

CAITY'S HOT MUSTARD DIPPING SAUCE
2 tsp dry mustard
2 tsp cold water
1 tsp soy sauce, or to taste.

Mix mustard and water and let sit for TEN minutes. Add the soy sauce and taste as you mix. I am just guessing at the amount of soy sauce. This will be spicy but oh so good when drizzled over this chicken, or just dip the chicken in it. A little does go a long way.

Caity Sue's Turkey Enchiladas

2011-11-29T18:44:00.000-08:00

By now people must be getting pretty sick of turkey, if you still have any leftovers...I know I am getting tired of it! I decided to use the last of it tonight by making a turkey enchilada. I decided to create my own recipe and I hope you like it. The measurements are approximate but I think they're pretty close.

Caity Sue's Turkey Enchiladas

1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husks removed, quartered
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
1-3 jalapenos (depending on your taste), seeded
1/2 tsp salt
water
1-3 cloves garlic (depending on your taste)
2 - 3 TBSP cilantro
Chicken broth
4 cups turkey meat, shredded
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream, separated
1 can cream of chicken soup, separated
1/2 tsp cumin
12-15 corn tortillas
For garnish
Chopped cilantro
green onions, chopped
shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Take the tomatillos, onions and jalapeno(s) and place in a sauce pan with enough water to cover. Add salt and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain off broth and place vegetable mix into a blender; add chicken broth to cover by about 1" and blend well. Add about 1/4 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup cream of chicken soup to the blender with the cilantro and blend again. Reserve 1/2 cup.

In a large bowl add turkey, 3/4 cup sour cream mixed with 1/2 tsp cumin, rest of the can of cream of chicken soup and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese and 1 cup cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce. Mix well. Cook tortillas until they are soft (today I wrapped them in foil and put them in a 350F degree oven for 15 minutes, but other times I will spray them with Pam cooking spray and bake them on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 3-4 minutes; also you can soft fry them in oil OR you can soften them in the sauce....just heat it back up to a low boil and dip the tortillas in the sauce until soft...be careful because it's easy to get it too soft and they will break apart). Put about 1/2 to 1 cup of sauce in bottom of 13"x9" baking pan. Dip each tortillas briefly in blender of sauce and fill with turkey filling. Roll up and place, seam side down, in baking dish.

When they are all filled and in the pan(s), pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and bake, until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Halfway through cooking I place the cheese for garnishing all over and continue baking. When the enchiladas are cooked, removed from oven and garnish with green onions & cilantro. Bon Apetit! NOTE: Next time I won't put as much sauce over the enchiladas as it can make the tortillas too soft...but it was YUMMY!!!

How I made Thanksgiving cooking go so smoothly.

2011-11-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

Ok...I started the day before (with the invaluable help of Beth, Kyle's girlfriend) and made the pies (peanut butter, chocolate and pumpkin). Then Beth and I chopped the vegetables and labeled them and put them in fridge. Then I assembled all the baking pans I would be using and put them on the breakfast table, along with all the dry (non-perishable) ingredients that particular recipe would need into that pan, along with the recipe and a note on each one with the cooking temp and times. I can't begin to tell you how much time and effort that saved for the next day, Thanksgiving. Here is a picture to show you what I'm talking about since I don't often explain things very well.

Since I didn't have anything to do cooking-wise for the first 3 hours or so, I used this time to set my table.

So when it came time to start cooking the side dish, I started to assemble the dish that would take the longest to cook and got that one in the oven. I then set the timer for 5 minutes and started to assemble the next dish. I put that one in the oven and then assembled the next dish and put that one in the oven, so they were all done about the same time. It was made easier by the fact that I have 2 ovens. The top oven I used for most side dishes, and I finished the sweet potato casserole (recipe below) in the lower oven after the turkey came out. Since it needed close to an hour, I started it in the top oven about 45 minutes before the turkey was done. After it had cooked for 30 minutes I took it out, lowered the heat and started on the other side dishes. When the turkey came out I popped the sweet potato casserole back in the lower oven since it was the same temp as the turkey finished cooking on, for the last 25-30 minutes. Beth cooked the sesame soy-glazed green beans last on the stovetop, and while they were cooking I put the rolls in the now-empty ovens. The timing on everything really worked out well!

The food table

The dinner table with everyone around it.

Daughters-in-law Elizabeth and Valerie

Doug and Valerie

Kyle and Beth

My mom and dad

Patrick with our granddaughter, Nevaeh

Jake with Nevaeh

Turkey Cooking Instructions

2011-11-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family. I know we did. My mom and dad come over, and Jake and Elizabeth came over with our precious granddaughter, Nevaeh, who decided to START WALKING! What a treasure that was to witness! Doug and his new bride, Valerie, also came to dinner. Kyle and Beth are living with us now (since August) and so our table was full. I really wish the oldest, Dustin, could have been there with his family, but they had their own wonderful Thanksgiving dinner in Texas, where they live.

I cooked an 18 lb turkey this year and it came out perfect, as always. I have never understood why people get up before the crack of dawn and cook their turkey to death for hours and hours! I will provide you with simple cooking instructions that will turn out a beautiful, moist turkey every time. I also made mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, regular stuffing,

green bean casserole

(I make this under protest every year but my husband LOVES the stuff and insists on it - thankfully, Beth made it for me this year and spared me!lol), sesame soy-glazed green beans (I FORGOT to take a picture but the recipe is below), roasted sweet potatoes with cinnamon pecan crunch (recipe below),

corn pudding (recipe below),

and wheat and white rolls. My mother had brought a roast and her wonderful roast gravy as well, so we had a table full of food! No one left hungry. Now onto the cooking instructions for your turkey:

ROASTED TURKEY (UNSTUFFED)

18 - 20 lb (8.165 - 9.072 kg) Turkey (UNSTUFFED!!)
2 yellow onions, chopped coarsely
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
2 cups (480 ml) water OR chicken stock (I prefer chicken stock)
2 TBSP (30 ml) melted butter

Preheat oven to 250F (121.1C). Place vegetables and broth or water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Place rack over the vegetables and put turkey BREAST SIDE DOWN on the rack. Roast turkey (BREAST SIDE DOWN) at 250F (121.1C) for 3 hours. Turn turkey breast side UP and brush with 2 TBSP (30 ml) melted butter; roast for another hour. (It can be tricky flipping the turkey over - I use 2 wads of wet paper towels...you can also slide a long wooden spoon inside and lift and spin the turkey - this really is a 2 person job) Turn the heat up to 400F (204.4C) and roast for another hour. Make sure the meat in the thigh is at 175F (79.4C). Remove turkey from the oven and cover with foil. DO NOT carve the turkey for at least 20 minutes after removing from oven, to let the juices redistribute!!!!

My honey carving the turkey!

The Gravy!

2011-11-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

This gravy is just fantastic! It goes very fast as everyone loves it!

MARTHA STEWART'S TURKEY GRAVY RECIPE

Roasting pan juices from your turkey (I make me turkey over a mirepoux of carrots, celery and onions and 2 cups chicken stock and I baste my turkey with butter - See my turkey cooking recipe above)
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine (I prefer a Chardonnay, but she prefers a Riesling)
4 1/2 cups (1.08 l) Giblet Stock (I simmer my giblets and the neck bone in about 6 cups (1.44 l) of chicken stock and water (about 1/2 water and 1/2 stock) for about 2 hours)
6 TBSP (90 ml) all-purpose flour
2 TBSP (30 ml) unsalted butter

Remove vegetables from roasting pan and discard. Pour pan juices into a glass measuring cup or gravy separator, and let stand until separated, about 10 minutes. Pour off fat. Place roasting pan over 2 burners on medium heat. Add wine, and simmer, stirring and scraping pan constantly for 2 minutes. Add the reserved juices and 4 cups (960 ml) of the stock (reserve 1/2 cup (120 ml)of the stock), and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup (120 ml) of stock and the flour in a bowl until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly add flour mixture to the pahn. Simmer until gravy is reduced by half and coats the back of a spoon, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, add butter, and swirl pan until it has melted. Pour through a fine sieve, discarding solids. Serve immediately or keep warm over low heat. Now I will add the meat from the neck bone at this point as I love it in gravy.. Enjoy!!

Thanksgiving Side Dish #1

2011-11-27T13:52:00.000-08:00

ROASTED SWEET POTATOES WITH CINNAMON PECAN CRUNCH from McCormick

3/4 cup (180 ml or 0.18 kg) firmly packed brown sugar, divided
2 TBSP (30 ml) orange juice
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract
1 1/2 (7.5 ml) tsp ground cinnamon, divided
1 1/2 (7.5 ml) tsp ground ginger, divided
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) salt
3 lbs (1.4 kg) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 cup (240 ml) dried cranberries
6 TBSP (90 ml) butter, cut up, divided
1/2 cup (120 ml or 0.12 kg) flour
1 cup (240 ml) chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400F (204.4 C). Mix 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the brown sugar, orange juice, vanilla, 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) EACH of the cinnamon and ginger, and salt in a large bowl. Add sweet potatoes; toss to coat well. Spooon into a 13" x 9" (33 x 23 x 5 cm or 3.3 liters) baking dish.

Sprinkle evenly with cranberries. Dot with 2 TBSP (30 ml) of the butter.

Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mix flour, the remaining 1/2 cup (120 ml) brown sugar and remaining 1 tsp (5 ml) EACH cinnamon AND ginger in medium bowl. Cut in remaining 4 TBSP (60 ml) butter with a fork until coarse crumbs form. Stir in pecans. Remove sweet potatoes fromoven and stir gently. Sprinkle evenly with pecan topping. Bake, uncovered, 25 to 30 minutes longer or until sweet potatoes are tender and topping is lightly browned. (I found this to be closer to 25 minutes than 30 minutes for my oven). Makes 8 servings. We so loved this - it was more like a dessert! lol. As you can see it got pretty dark on the top, so I wouldn't cook it for more than 20-25 minutes for the last half of the cooking.

Thanksgiving Side Dish #2

2011-11-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

CORN PUDDING

1 stick butter (120 ml)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (16 oz or roughly .47 liters) cream style corn
1 can (16 oz or roughly .47 liters) whole kernel sweet corn
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 cup (240 ml) sugar

Preheat oven to 350F (or 176.7C). Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat (or 1 minute in a small bowl in the microwave - I almost never have a use for a microwave, but this is one of the few lol). Set aside. Grease a 1 1/2 quart (maybe 20 x 20 x 4 cm or 1.4 liters?) casserole dish and have it ready. In a medium bowl add the eggs, both cans of corn, sugar, Jiffy corn muffin mix and the melted butter. Blend with a fork until well mixed and pour it into your greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I have made this for the last several Thanksgiving dinners and it's always a big hit! If you want to make a more savory corn pudding, you can omit the sugar and add 1 cup of your favorite shredded cheese, some chilies, etc. Mix it up and have fun with it!

Thanksgiving Side dish #3

2011-11-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

SESAME SOY-GLAZED GREEN BEANS
1 lb (.45 kg) green beans, picked, blanched & shocked
1 TBSP (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 TBSP (15 ml) toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 ml) fresh ginger, minced
3 TBSP (45 ml) tamari soy sauce
1 TBSP (15 ml) brown sugar

Blanch the beans in heavily salted boiling water for 1 1/2 minutes or until they just yield to pressure. Shock them in an ice bath and then dry thoroughly. Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and place the dry green beans in the pan, stirring frequently. When you see the skin on the outside just start to blister, add the garlic and ginger and stir until just fragrant. Add the tamari soy sauce and suage and stir to coat the beans. When the mixture is syrupy, it is done!! This takes about 3-5 minutes. This was the first year I made these and they are fantastic and so easy!! I am so disappointed that I forgot to take a picture of this wonderful dish!

Chicken Kiev

2011-11-16T17:28:00.000-08:00

Good evening!!! Tonight I am making something I haven't made in quite a while...Chicken Kiev! It is so yummy! You cut into it and the cheesy butter filling oozes out....wonderful, yummy goodness! Without any more ado, here is my recipe:

Chicken Kiev
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts-
¾ cup fine dry bread crumbs
¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp oregano, separated
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup butter, softened
1 TBSP chopped parsley
8 oz Monterey jack cheese, cut into 8 strips
½ cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place one piece at a time between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound with a flat surface mallet until each breast is about 1/8” thick. In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic powder and salt and 1 tsp of the oregano and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the ¼ cup butter, remaining oregano and parsley. Spread about ½ TBSP of the butter mixture across each piece about an inch from one of the long sides and place a strip of the Jack cheese over the butter. Fold the short ends over the filling and then fold in the long sides and roll to enclose the filling. Dip each bundle into the melted butter and roll in the bread crumb mixture until coated evenly. Place bundles, seam side down and slightly separated into a 10x15” rimmed baking pan. Drizzle with the remaining butter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or over overnight. Bake, uncovered, until chicken is no longer pink when slightly slashed, but be careful not to cut into the filling, about 25 minutes. Serve immediately. Bon Appetit!

Tonight's dinner is...

2011-10-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

A repeat!!! We are having Laura's Chicken tonight. (The recipe can be found on my blog here - if the link doesn't work - February 2011, I think). The sauce is SO good and I will serve it over mashed Yukon Gold potatoes (I mash my potatoes with cream cheese, butter and salt - NO MILK!! I reserve some of the potato water when I drain the potatoes and just add that if it needs to be thinned a bit. A friend of my son's, whom I taught to cook, swears my mashed potatoes are how she landed her hubby lol. I just need to think of a veggie to go with this and we are good to go.

Pea Soup

2011-10-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

My middle son, Kyle, had been craving split pea soup..but instead I made him this homemade pea soup.

Pea Soup
2 TBSP butter
2 cups chopped leeks, white & light green parts (2 leeks)
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 cups chicken stock
5 cups freshley shelled peas or 2 (10 oz) packages frozen peas
2/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, loosely packed
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup creme fraiche
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
Garlic croutons, for serving

Heat butter in a large saucepan, add the leeks and onion, and cook over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until onion is tender. Add the chicken stock, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil.

Add the peas and cook for 3-5 minutes, until peas are tender. (Frozen peas will take only 3 minutes.) Remove from heat, add the mint, salt and pepper. Puree soup in batches: Place 1 cup of soup in a blender, place lid on top, and puree on low speed.

With blender still running, open the vent hole in the lid and slowly add more soup until blender is three-quarters full. Pour pureed soup into a large bowl and repeat until all the soup is pureed. Whisk in the creme fraiche and chives and taste for seasoning.

Serve hot with garlic croutons. Makes 6 servings. NOTE: I bought a ham steak and chopped it up and added it at the end for the extra protein.

Italian Chicken with Cream Sauce

2011-08-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

I was on Facebook and a friend was looking for a boneless chicken crock pot recipe. I realized that not only had I NOT put this recipe on my blog, but that I hadn't made it in a while...and it's now going to be our dinner. Thanks, Steph!

Italian Chicken with Cream Sauce
This chicken dish is rich, creamy and very tasty! The chicken is cooked in the crock pot in a mixture of water and Italian salad dressing mix. The cream sauce consist of cream cheese, cream of chicken soup and mushrooms. It’s delicious served over fettuccine with a garden salad on the side.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
½ cup water
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 can (10½ oz) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can mushrooms, drained (optional)
16 oz fettuccine, cooked and drained

Place the chicken in the crock pot. Mix the salad dressing mix with the water and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and soup until blended. Stir in the mushrooms and pour mixture over the chicken. Cook about 1 hour longer. Serve over the cooked fettuccine.

OK...I was just looking through my older blog posts and I DID post this recipe back in September 2010. Sorry for the duplicate!!

Crustless Quiche

2011-08-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I decided to make a crustless quiche to celebrate Kyle (my middle son) and Beth coming home from West Virginia. I wanted to use ingredients that I had at the house since I was still in pajamas and we were getting hungry. All 3 of us worked together in the kitchen and turned out this amazing dish!!! My hubby told me not to change a single thing about it so it will always taste this great lol!

Crustless Quiche

12 slices bacon
12 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
1 cup cheddar cheese (I used Canadian Black Diamond Cheddar Cheese - amazing stuff
1 cup mexican 4 blend shredded cheese (You could use Monterey Jack Cheese as well)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Fry bacon until crisp. Cut into pieces. In a large bowl break 12 eggs; add the sour cream. Mix well with whisk. Slice green onion bunch and set aside 2 TBSP for garnish. Chop the tomato and set aside 2 TBSP for garnish as well. Pour egg mixture into a greased 13 x 9" pan. Sprinkle bacon evenly over mixture. Do the same with the green onions and tomatoes and cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes or until set in center. Garnish with the reserved 2 TBSP of tomatoes and green onions. Serves 6-8.

Chicken Piccata

2011-02-26T22:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner I made Chicken Piccata. YUMMY!!

Chicken Piccata

8 boneless chicken breasts halves
6 TBSP butter, room temperature
2 TBSP all-purpose flour, plus additional flour for dredging
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2/3 cup chicken broth
¼ cup drained capers
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Mix 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP flour in small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Lightly pound chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap to ¼” thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place additional flour in shallow baking dish. Dredge chicken in flour to coat; shake off excess. Heat 1 TBSP oil in large heavy skillet. Add 2 chicken breasts and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a platter; tent with foil to keep warm. Cook remaining chicken breasts, two or three at a time. Bring wine, lemon juice and broth to boil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in butter-flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in capers, parsley and remaining 4 TBSP butter. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Sausage Gravy

2011-02-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

This morning I was inspired to make my honey biscuits with sausage gravy. He just loves this for breakfast and it's something I almost NEVER make because it's something I just don't eat...but hubby LOVES it! I got this sausage gravy recipe from The Noble Pig website and they got it from Cuisine at Home. It was declared a success by all who partook in it this morning! I'm sorry that I forgot to take a picture of this meal :(

Sausage Gravy
From the Noble Pig who credits Cuisine at Home for the recipe

4 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
1 lb breakfast pork sausage
1 TBSP minced fresh sage
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3-1/2 cups whole milk
Black pepper to taste

Cook bacon in saute pan over medium heat. When bacon is nearly crisp, stir in sausage and sage breaking up any chunks with a spoon. Cook sausage until browned, 8-10 minutes. Transfer bacon and sausage to a bowl; reserve drippings.

Sprinkle flour into hot drippings while whisking to remove lumps. Whisk until mixture thickens and begins to brown. Whisk in milk. Cook gravy over medium-high heat, whisking until thickened and flour taste is eliminated, about 15 minutes. Season gravy with pepper to taste. Stir bacon and sausage into gravy; serve with buttermilk biscuits.

Grillled Asparagus

2011-02-09T15:44:00.000-08:00

Grilled Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus (the thicker stalks work better for ts dish)
Olive oil
Sea salt

I use a grill pan that goes right over my gas burners on my stove to make this delicious side dish. Thoroughly oil your grill. Heat grill to medium high. Wash and dry asparagus and trim off woody ends. Coat asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and then place on grill. Grill approximately 5 mintues and then turn to other side and grill until just fork tender. Bon appetit!

Laura's Chicken

2011-02-09T15:31:00.001-08:00

One of my co-workers made this for me for my birthday dinner last October and it was SO flavorful that I just had to have the recipe. I made this last night and it was a huge hit.

Laura's Chicken

4 - 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, each cut into thirds
2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped (optional)
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning
5 packages McCormick's turkey gravy mix
6 cups water

In a large skillet heat olive oil (I use my electric skillet for this dish). Add veggies and sauté over medium to medium-high heat until tender, about five minutes. Remove veggies from skillet. Season chicken pieces with Tony Chacheres Creole seasoning and brown in skillet. While meat is browning mix the 5 packets of McCormick's turkey gravy mix with 6 cups of water (I use my 8 cup glass measuring cup for this). Add the celery, red pepper and onion to the gravy mix and stir well. When chicken is browned on both sides add the turkey gravy/water/veggie mix. Cover and simmer approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. This is good with rice, mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Serves 6.

We had this with rice and grilled asparagus last night.

Oriental-Style Vegetable Medley

2010-12-06T20:30:00.001-08:00

I came up with this recipe today when I was trying to find something I could fix in a hurry. They had the BEST flavor and my 93 yr old VERY PICKY mother-in-law LOVED them, as did the rest of us.

Oriental-Style Vegetable Medley
1 zucchini, julienned
1 yellow squash, julienned
2 green onions, sliced on the diagonal in 1- 1/2" pieces
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
1 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped (optional)
Olive Oil
1/8 cup white wine (a good white wine that you would drink)
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup water

Toss vegetables in salt, pepper and garlic powder. Heat olive oil over moderate heat. Toss vegetables in and stir quickly. After 2-3 minutes add the white wine, soy suace and water. Cover and cook 3-5 minutes more.

Chicken Breasts with Herb Sauce

2010-12-06T20:29:00.001-08:00

Chicken Breasts with Herb Sauce

4-6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt, pepper and garlic powder (optional) to taste
All-purpose flour for dredging
2 TBSP olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock or water
¼ cup chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, and chives
2 TBSP capers (optional)
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP flour

Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder and coat lightly with flour. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over moderate heat and sauté the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides and firm to the touch. Transfer the chicken to an oven-proof platter and keep warm in a 200° oven. Add the wine and chicken stock to the skillet and reduce it by half, being sure to scrape up all the brown bits in the skillet as you stir. In a small bowl cut up butter into small pieces and add the flour and mix well. Addthis to the sauce and mix well. Stir in the fresh herbs and the optional capers, and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Toffee Bars

2010-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

I received this recipe from a former co-worker many years ago. This is SO yummy and SO easy to make! People can't get enough of this tasty treat!

TOFFEE BARS

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup butter
Graham crackers - enough to cover bottom of pan
Hershey bars
Sliced almonds - as much as you’d like

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a baking pan with a single layer of graham crackers. Set aside. Combine butter and brown sugar in a pan and let melt together, then allow t boil for 2 minutes (stir occasionally). Pour mixture onto graham crackers and spread to cover crackers equally. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top. Place on Hershey bar over each graham cracker (you may have to shorten the length of the Hershey bar so that it fits squarely on the cracker. Place baking pan in oven and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in the refrigerator.

Totally Awesome Brownies

2010-10-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

This is my ALL-TIME favorite brownie recipe!! These are sinfully delicious!! I was devastated when I thought I had lost this recipe! I've been going through my old recipes and entering them into the computer. I will then back them up onto a thumb drive. This way I can purge all my old cookbooks and recipes that take up too much space! Also, my middle son (the one that recently graduated from culinary school) wants me to scrapbook a recipe book for him for his birthday, so that was part of my inspiration to go through the old recipes.

Totally Awesome Brownies
These are made in three parts: Brownie, Cream Cheese mix, and Frosting.
Cream Cheese mixture:
8 oz cream cheese
2 eggs
½ cup butter
2 TBSP flour
½ cup sugar
¾ tsp vanilla extract

Soften cream cheese and butter, and cream together with sugar. Add eggs, flour, and vanilla and mix well. Set aside.
Brownie Batter:
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extracct
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
2 cups flour
2 ½ cups sugar
1 ¼ tsp salt
5 eggs

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt chocolates and butter. Stir in sugar and mix well. Beat eggs and add to chocolate mixture, blending well. Add vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt. Removed from heat, and mix in flour. Batter will be stiff, almost like dough. In a greased (bottom only) 13 x 9” pan, spread half of the brownie batter. Spread the cream cheese mixture in a layer on top of the brownie batter. Drop remaining half of brownie batter by spoonfuls on top of the cream cheese. Marbleize all three layers with a table knife, mixing according to your taste (less mixing creates more contrast between chocolate and cream cheese). Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes.
Frosting:
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
¼ tsp salt
1 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup milk
3 TBSP Crisco shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioner’s sugar

While brownies cool, melt in a small saucepan the chocolates and the Crisco. Remove from heat. Add the salt, milk, and vanilla extract. With an electric mixer, blend in the confectioner’s sugar. Continue to beat until the frosting cools and becomes glossy. (You can submerge the bottom of the pan in a bowl with ice water while beating the icing to minimize the time needed to cool). Frost brownies IMMEDIATELY -- before they cool. This is VERY IMPORTANT! It keeps the brownies chewy and moist without being undercooked. Remember that these are twice as thick as other brownies. Cut at least 48.

Modeling Dough

2010-10-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Modeling Dough

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 TBSP oil
½ cup salt
1 tsp cream of tartar
Food coloring

Mix ingredients in a pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and becomes doughy in consistency. Knead until cool.

Model different colros of clay into any shape you can imagine.
THIS IS NOT EDIBLE! Can be used over and over again. Keeps 3 months unrefrigerated.

Enchilada Casserole

2010-10-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

I went to a dear friend's house over the weekend for a mini scrapping retreat and offered to cook dinner for the ladies. This is what I made:

Enchilada Casserole

3 lb ground beef
1 pkg (2 tubes) beef Chorizo (remove casing)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 pkgs taco seasoning
1 28 oz can Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce (+ small can, if needed)
2 dozen corn tortillas
1 8 oz pkg Velveeta Cheese
1 8 oz pkg Velveeta Cheese, Mexican variety hot or mild
1 16 oz sour cream
Vegetable oil for frying
1 8 oz can kidney beans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Darin grease (for additional fat drainage you can rinse with warm water). In a separate pan fry chorizo until cooked. It is hard to tell when this happens but when chorizo is watery it is done. Mix chorizo into ground beef mixture. Add taco seasoning and ¾ cup of enchilada sauce. Let simmer as long as possible, stirring frequently, anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour. Add kidney beans if desired. In 6-8” frying pan, fry tortillas in about ¼” vegetable oil. Fry soft (3-5 seconds per side). Place on paper towel and blot excess oil. (I actually put 6 tortillas on a baking sheet and spray each side lightly with Pam cooking spray and bake in oven for about 6 minutes - this softens the tortillas up nicely and saves you the mess of frying). Set aside. Cut cheese into cubes ½” x ½” and set aside. (Cut only 10-15 cubes of each style cheese as needed). Pour enchilada sauce into a flat pie plate.
To Layer: You will need a 10” x 13” x 2” baking dish. Spoon a small amount of meat mixture into pan to cover bottom. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce. Layer tortillas on top of mixture to cover - up to 6 tortillas - 2 across and 3 down - they may overlap a bit. Layer meat mixture and then about 10 pieces of cheese (5 of each type), 3-5 dollops of sour cream. Continue layering until all the mixture is gone. I prefer to end the casserole with the cheese and sour cream on top. Cover with foil and bake until dish is hot and cheese is melted, approximately 20 - 30 minutes.

Lazy Jane Casserole

2010-10-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

This was always one of my favorite dishes when I was a child. My mother had gotten the recipe from her sister, who was my favorite aunt. She passed away in the 70s at a very young age and I loved her so much. She also gave my mom the Eastern Beef Casserole recipe that is available in my archives (and has become a favorite of my hubby!).

Lazy Jane Casserole

1 lb beef stew meat
1 can beef broth
3/4 tsp salt
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup burgundy or dry red wine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together (I brown the stew meat first, but that is not part of the original recipe); place in casserole dish and cover and bake for 3 hours.

I love and miss you, Aunt Gail!

Lasagna

2010-10-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

My lasagna dish has always been in high demand in my family, so I thought it was high time I added the recipe.

Traditional Lasagna

1 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBSP olive oil
1 lb ground beef
2 cans (15 oz each) Marinara sauce (I like Golden Grain) OR your own spaghetti sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pkg (8 oz) lasagna noodles
1 lb Mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese, sliced thin
4 - 6 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated - PLEASE DON'T USE THE CRAP IN THE GREEN CAN!!

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil; add ground beef and brown. Season beef with salt and peper. Drain off excess fat. Stir in Marinara sauce and simmer for 15 minutes. Cook Lasagna noodles as directed on package. Layer in 2 quart (11 x 7") baking dish: sauce, Lasagna, sliced cheese, eggs and Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers; top with sauce and cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with a nice green salad and garlic bread...and of course, a full-bodied red wine. Maybe a nice Cab or Merlot? Enjoy!

Three-step Country French Chicken - CROCKPOT

2010-10-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Today is a nice, cool day - perfect for cooking something in the crock pot.

Three-step Country French Chicken

2 TBSP butter
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup water
1 pkg Knorr's Spring Vegetable Soup Recipe Mix
2 TBSP flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Brown chicken breasts in butter over medium-high heat. Transfer to a slow cooker. In a bowl, stir together water and vegetable soup mix. Pour over chicken. Cook on low heat for 8 hours. Remove chicken to a platter. Stir together flour and sour ccream and add to mixture in slow cooker, heating for 15 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serves 4.

I use a cube of butter to brown the chicken and I add about 1 TBSP of the browned butter to the crock pot when I add the chicken. I serve this with steamed rice and steamed artichokes.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2010-09-14T18:28:00.001-07:00

OK...we are going to try eating healthier in our household so I have been on the search for tasty recipes. I just refuse to give up taste to save calories. So I am making a lower-calorie Chicken Cordon Bleu, Sesame Green Beans and Parmesan Sage Potato Wedges. We are also having a nice green salad made with red leaf lettuce, cucumbers, celery, carrots, radishes and green onions. I made the homemade Herbed Ranch Dressing (see prior entries for recipe) but we'll be sparing with it - and I used 1% buttermilk instead of the wonderful, full-fat stuff! I found all 3 recipes through the 3fatchicks.com website.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 oz smoked ham, thinly sliced and divided into 4 portions
2 oz reduced fat Swiss cheese, thinly sliced and divided into 4 portions
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
2/3 cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a baking rack with cooking spray, then place the rack on a baking sheet and set aside. Butterfly each piece of chicken by slicing into the breast horizontally so you can open it like a book. Lay one quarter of the ham and cheese on one side of each breast, leaving 1/2" at the edge uncovered, then close each piece. (Here's what I do next: I tightly wrap each breast in cling wrap, twisting the edges and then refrigerate for 30 minutes...this should help keep the cheese from melting out). In a medium bowl combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Gently dip each piece of chicken in the crumb mixture, then into the egg white mixture, then again in the crumb mixture. Set on a baking rack. Bake 30 to 35 minutes (or longer if the breast are quite thick) or until crisp and lightly browned, and the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve with lemon wedges.

This was actually very tasty and everyone enjoyed it very much.

Parmesan Sage Potato Wedges

2010-09-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

For our starch I made these, which also came from 3fatchicks.com

Parmesan Sage Potato Wedges

1 large (6 oz) potato, well scrubbed, cut into 1/4" wedges
2 cups cold water
1 tsp oil
1 TBSP parmesan
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sage
dash pepper

Bring water and potatoes to a boil until crisp-tender (4 or 5 minutes). DO NOT OVERCOOK. Rinse with cold water until cool. Pat dry. Heat oil in non-stick pan. Saute potatoes until lightly browned. Sprinkle with cheese and seasonings.

These were pretty tasty as well. The photo is under the Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe.

Sesame Green Beans

2010-09-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

The side dish for tonight's dinner is Sesame Green Beans. I found this recipe online from 3fatchicks.com as well.

Sesame Green Beans

1 lb green beans
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 TBSP rice vinegar
1 TBSP reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Heat 1" water to boiling in 2 quart saucepan. Add beans. Boil uncovered 5 minutes. Cover and boil about 5 minutes longer, or until crisp-tender. While beans are cooking, heat sesame seeds in 6" skillet over medium heat about 2 minutes, stirring frequently until browning begins, tehn stirring constantly until golden brown. Stir in remaining ingredients; heat through. Drain beans. Pour sauce over beans; toss until evenly coated.

I will let you know how we liked this and what I did a bit differently.

We liked these and I used regular soy sauce instead of the reduced-sodium. the photo of these is under the Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe.

Italian Chicken with Cream Sauce CROCKPOT

2010-09-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Hey there bloggers!Tonight I'm making my creamy Italian chicken and the smell is making me crazy. This is a super-simple easy-breezy recipe that I'm sure will become a quick family favorite!

This chicken dish is rich, creamy and very tasty. It is delicisou served over fettucine with a garden salad on the side...but tonight I'm cooking artichokes.

ITALIAN CHICKEN WITH CREAM SAUCE FOR THE CROCKPOT

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
1 cube butter
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/2 cup water
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 can (10 1/2 oz) condesned cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms, drained (optional - I never use these)
16 oz fettuccine, coooked and drained

Season chicken with salt, pepper & garlic powder. Melt butter in saute pan (don't use non-stick for this) and brown chicken breasts over medium to medium high heat...just a few minutes per side - only long enough to make it a nice, golden brown. Place the chicken in the crock pot. Drain the butter but leave all the beautiful browned bits in the bottom of the saute pan. Making sure the saute pan is still on the heat and pour in the 1/2 cup of water and scrape up all the browned bits. Turn off heat and add the package of Italian salad dressing mix. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for about 3 hours. In a glass bowl, beat the cream cheeese and soup until well blended. Stir in the mushrooms and pour mixture over the chicken. I will stir this into the liquid already in the pot as good as I can. Cook about 1 hour longer. Serve over the cook fettuccine.

Ranch Dressing Recipe

2010-05-04T11:10:00.001-07:00

OK...I know it's been FOREVER since I posted. Sorry - life has been hectic beyond belief...but I'm glad to be busy, quite frankly. I just wish I had more time for my hobbies.

Recently a co-worker had brought some homemade ranch-style dressing to work. I took one taste and fell in love. She told me she got it from the Food Network. Well, when I went to their site there was a few recipes. After looking through them, I decided to try this one - and it was the correct recipe. SO yummy - very little work and great payoff!

Ranch Dressing

1 clove garlic sliced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 TBSP minced fresh chives
1 scallion (white and green parts), thinly sliced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Smash the garlic clove, sprinkle with the salt, and, with the side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Scrape the paste into a small bowl, add the remaining ingredients, and whisk well to make a creamy dressing. Use immediately or refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days. Makes about 1 1/3 cups.

My new feature for this blog

2010-02-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well....I'm in Lake Tahoe!! Patrick and I came up here to spend Valentine's Day weekend ALONE together. It has been so wonderful !! Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to debut my new feature in my blog - restaurant reviews. We'll start with Friday Station on the 18th floor of Harrah's Hotel and Casino in South Lake Tahoe. We ate there on Friday, February 12th, 2010. This is your typical "surf and turf" restaurant. We didn't have reservations and they were pretty full, but we were seated immediately. 2 points. Then the busboy came over immediately with bread and our ice waters - another 2 points. Then we sat there close to 10 minutes with NO ONE coming to take our drink order - minus 5 points. That was inexcusable in my opinion. In the meanwhile, a different busboy than the one who had brought the bread walked by our table and glanced down and continued on his errand. On his way back past our table he stopped and said "No one has taken your bar order yet?". We indeed told him that, alas no, no one had taken our bar order. He said he would get someone immediately. 5 points to the busboy for his powers of observation. Someone finally showed up (a male waiter) and apologized profusely for the delay. I ordered a lovely Pinot Noir and it was delivered right away. I then decided to check out the ladies room (something I do often at restaurants - they should always be clean). The restrooms passed inspection. 3 points. When I came back to the table Patrick told me that a female server had come by to apologize and said she didn't that our table was part of her station. Minus 2 points - a server should know their stations!! Patrick ordered the Filet Mignon with Blackened Cajun Shrimp and I ordered Chicken Lyon. Both were delicious! 5 points. The steak was cooked to perfection and was melt-in-your-mouth yumtastic! Both orders came with garlic mashed potatoes (I would have preferred regular mashed or a choice of baked potato) and sauteed vegetables, which came crisp-tender. Patrick gave our busboy a $20 tip for being so helpful, and also another $20 for the busboy who noticed that no one had ever come by to take our drink order. Well, the word must have gotten out, because they first male waiter who came by to take our order was all over us. lol. We didn't tip him anything as he wasn't our server and I'm pretty sure he was just looking for a tip as well. We ordered the Chocolate Lava-style cake for dessert. It came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled in chocolate sauce and some banana sliced sauteed in butter - so good! We split this dessert as we were already pretty full. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

The next review is for the Driftwood Cafe in South Lake Tahoe, CA, which we ate at on Saturday morning, the 13th. This was one busy, hustling-bustling joint!! We opted to sit at the counter to avoid a 20 minute or so wait for a table. The lady behind the counter was quick to take our drink order (2 points) and she also went ahead and took our meal order as well. The food came out in a timely manner. I ordered the 2 egg breakfast with bacon and opted for the potato pancake instead of home fries. It came with applesauce and sour cream on the side. I didn't care for the potato pancake but Patrick liked it. The eggs were cooked over-medium (just like I ordered it - 2 points) and I asked or white toast - my choice for white was sourdough bread or English muffin. I chose the English muffin. This came barely cooked and drenched in butter. I like my Engish muffin well-toasted...granted, this can rip up the roof of your mouth when biting into it, but I'm a girl that likes some crunch and texture wit her meal! Patrick ordered the chicken-fried steak, potato pancade and 2 eggs, over-medium. He liked it all and had no complaints. We'd definitely eat here again. They were serving LOT and LOTS of Bloody Mary's an Mimosa's for breakfast to the skiers who were getting ready to head out on the slopes (this restaurant is next to the gondola loading zone). Made me glad I wasn't hitting the slopes this weekend. Drunk skiing is a pretty dangerous and stupid thing to do.

Our lunch was at the Chinese buffet-style restaurant (think Panda Exress) located in the Cafe Court (basically a food court with a hamburger stand, italian food and Chinese food). i *think* it was called Wan Chu, but I can't be sure. This meal was so not worth mentioning here. The fried rice had NO flavor whatsoever. The bbq pork was large chunks instead of nice slices. The black pepper chicken was just okay.

Our dinner on Saturday night was at Kalani's restaurant in South Lake Tahoe, at the Heavenly Center. One of the cocktail waitresses at Harrah's had recommended the place as she knew the executive chef. We had called ahead and put our name in and was told it would be 45 - 60 minutes wait time. We stayed at Harrah's for a little while and then walked over to the restaurant, where we were seated immediately, even though it probably hadn't been 30 minutes. 3 points!! Patrick ordered the rib eye steak, which came with wasabi-garlic mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus. Everything was very tasty. The steak was also cooked to perfection and tasted SO good. I ordered the spare ribs in a sesame-soy sauce glaze and there were so tasty. Apparently these ribs have been written up on Bon Appetit magazine! My dish came with grilled Bok Choy and the wasabi-garlic mashed potatoes. I'm not a huge fan of Bok Choy so Patrick was kind enough to share his wonderful asparagus with me. I do love this man! lol. We were too full to take advantage of dessert.

For breakfast on Valentine's Day we headed to Palapa Patio for breakfast (it's in the famous Cabo Wabo Cantina). I have decided that I am putting on WAY too much weight, so I opted for fresh fruit and a mimosa for breakfast. Patrick ordered the 2 egg breakfast (over-medium) with bacon and home fries and white toast (for me as he knew I'd be all over his plate lol). He said everything was good but nothing special. The home fries were loaded with onions and bell peppers, making me glad that I didn't order them!!

We took a drive partway around Lake Tahoe, on the Nevada side. On the way back we stopped at Zephyr Point Cove restaurant. As soon as we were seated we were asked for our drink order - coffee for Patrick and a Mimosa for me. 2 other servers came by and asked for our drink order as well (word must have gotten out! lol) Since they serve breakfast until 2:00 pm (and since nothing on the lunch menu did anything for me) I decided to order a 3 egg omelette with Jack cheese and bacon....and a side of avocado....along with an English muffin (which was toasted PERFECTLY - 2 points) an home fries. As we were eating the food I realized that Patrick was enjoying his coffee...but no one ever brought me my Mimosa - minus 3 points - 1 for each person asking us for our drink order! My food was good except for the large slices of red peppers and onions in the home fries. The omelette almost had a sweet taste to it - I like it very much. Patrick ordered the cinnamon French toast with bananas sauteed in a rum sauce and toasted nuts...and a side of applewood smoked bacon. Everything was very tasty and we had a great time. tonight our dinner reservations are at the Sage Room, which is located at Harvey's Casino, right across the street from Harrah's. That was the best I could do on short notice as I didn't book our trip until Friday morning. We peeked at the menu last night when we were at Harvey's and it looked pretty good. I will let you know how everything was soon!

Put a fork in me because I'm done (for now!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

My Thanksgiving table

Well, I woke up this morning at 5:30 and couldn't go back to sleep! That just made me so unhappy as I will probably be very tired come early evening. Maybe I'll catch a second wind. :). We don't eat until 6:00 pm so there is no need to get up early and start cooking. Yesterday I got the house all cleaned and last night I set the table. I also set out the dishes I would be using in the cooking process, and put the non-perishable ingredients in those dishes along with the recipe so it's all ready to go. ANOTHER TIP: This is one of my all-time favorite tips for making a large meal. Mash your potatoes early in the day. Yes, hours before you need them. Take out your handy-dandy crockpot and rub the bottom and sides (inside the crockpot, not outside ;) ) with butter. Put your mashed potatoes inside the buttered crockpot and set it on low and leave it alone. Your potatoes will be nice and hot and no worries about trying to get them mashed at the last minute! You can do this with sweet potatoes, too. I'm all about getting it done early so you can avoid the stress of trying to pull everything together at the last minute.

Okay, now for the dish I have made for today. It's a new recipe from BHG and I haven't tried it yet since it is still chilling, but I'll let you know how it went over when it's all said and done. I'm actually making a couple of other new side dishes as well, and I will share those as well.

ORANGE-APPLE WALDORF SALAD

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained (juice pack)
2 TBSP sugar
1 3 oz package orange-flavor gelatin
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened and cut up
1 medium apple, cored and chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 of an 8 oz carton frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed
Orange sections and green grapes (optional)

In a medium saucepan, combine undrained pineappleand sugar; heat to boiling. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Stir in cream cheese until melted and well combined. Remove from heat. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Chill about 1 hour or until meixture is slightly thickened. Stir in chopped apple and nuts. Fold in dessert topping. Transfer mixture to a 2-quart baking dish or 1 1/2 quart bowl or mold. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. To serve, cut into squares, or unmold onto serving plate. If desired, garnish individual servings with orange sections and grapes. Makes 9-12 side-dish servings.

Ok, here is what I did different: Along with the apple and walnuts, I added half of a large can of mandarin oranges (drained). I will use the other half to garnish when it's ready to serve. I also quartered large green grapes and threw them in there as well. As always, I will let you know how it turns out. I will also try to remember to take pictures and upload them as well. *******This was VERY yummy! Everyone really liked it and was so easy to make!****** Looks like I forgot to take photos :( Sorry :(

I hope everyone out there has a warm, safe and wonderful Thanksgiving. I'd love it if you would drop me a line and let me know how yours turned out!

TTFN!

Some tips

2009-11-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

Ok...I'm feeling chatty tonight and happy to be blogging again, so I thought I'd throw out some helpful hints. Eating out is expensive and fast food is bad for you. I know cooking a meal at home can be time consuming, so I thought I'd pass along some helpful tips.

USE YOUR CROCKPOT!! There are SO many recipes that can be made in the crockpot that are tasty and easy to make. Most of the meats, especially red meats, benefit from being browned before going into the crockpot. SOOOOOOOOO I do this the night before and put it in the fridge. In the morning it's ready to go. I also chop the veggies up the night before and put it in a baggy in the fridge. Also, if there are any other ingredients that can be measured out, do so the night before. It is really so much easier. Put the crockpot out the night before, and any utensils you will need. In the morning, gather your ingredients and layer them in the crockpot. Make sure to remember to turn the crock pot on and you are set! It is such a good feeling to be at work or the gym or shopping or scrapping and know that your dinner is handled. Also, if you have time, wash up before you leave. If you don't have time, at least rinse them off.

If you use onions a lot in your cooking, chop up several at a time and seal tightly and refrigerate. This also works for carrots and celery.

Like fresh berries in your smoothies? When they are in season place them single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze them. When they are frozen, place them in a large, plastic freezer bag and put back in the freezer. Grab a handful when you need them.

How about bananas? Freeze them when they are beginning to get overripe. They can be used later in smoothies or banana bread.

Frozen grapes make an AWESOME snack...try them sometime. Kids LOVE them, too!

Stir fry dishes are another fast meal. Again, having sliced veggies done ahead of time really help. You can slice them and they will keep for several days. Just be sure to seal them tightly. If they are starting to wilt, use them in a stew or soup before they go bad.

That's all I have for now. More later. Promise. I've missed this blog!

Chili Verde

2009-11-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

For tonight's dinner I made Chili Verde in the crockpot. It was another new recipe that I also got from BHG.

CHILI VERDE

1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" pieces
Nonstick cooking spray
1 TBPS olive oil
1 lb fresh tomatillos, husks removed and chopped (about 4 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
3 tsp finely shredded lime peel, divided
2 TBSP lime juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow or red sweet pepper, chopped
12 6" corn tortillas
2 TBSP snipped fresh cilantro

In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper; set aside. Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 1" pieces. Sprinkle cumin mixture over meat. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook half of the meat in a hot skillet over medium heat until brown. Remove meat from skillet. Add oil to skillet. Brown remaining meat in hot oil. Drain off fat. Place meat in a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker. Add tomatillos, onion, 1 tsp of the lime peel, lime juice and garlic. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 6 - 8 hrs or on high-heat setting for 3 - 4 hrs. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting at end of the cooking time and add the swett pepper to cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Fill corn tortillas with the meat mixture; sprinkle with cilantro and remaining lime peel. If desired, serve with green salsa (store bought or premade). Makes 6 servings.

I warmed up the corn tortillas in my cast iron skillet under medium-high heat. I then put hot, cooked rice on the bottom of the tortilla and then the pork mixture on top and ate it like a soft taco. SO yummy!!

Hot & Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken

2009-11-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

Hello hello hello! Last nights' dinner was cooked in the crockpot. I got the recipe from BHG. It was pretty tasty but not hot at all. With no further ado, here is the recipe:

HOT & SPICY BRAISED PEANUT CHICKEN

2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges (I only used one)
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots (3 medium)
1 small red sweet pepper, cut into bite-size strips
2 lbs skinless, boneless thighs, cut into 1" pieces
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 TBSP creamy peanut butter (I porbably used closer to 4 TBSP)
1/2 tsp finely shredded lime peel
2 TBSP lime juice
2 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP quick-cooking tapioca
1 TBSP grate4d fresh ginger
2 - 3 tsp red curry paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
Hot cooked rice
Chopped peanuts (optional) (I used this)
Snipped fresh cilatro (Optional) (I used this - I LOVE cilantro)

In a 3 1/2 or 4-quart slow cooker, place onions, carrots, and sweet pepper. Top with chicken. In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, tapioca, ginger, curry paste, and garlic until smooth. Pour over all in cooker. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. Stir in coconut milk and peas. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice If desired, sprinkle each serving with chopped peanuts and cilantro. (I really recommend this - it made the dish POP). Makes 6 servings.

Now, this was very tasty but not spicy at all. Next time I will add more curry paste and maybe even red pepper flakes.

2009-11-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon Crispas

2009-11-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I have SO many recipes I have been wanting to share and no time to do it in. I'm hoping to get several recipes out to you this week.

Do you remember when Taco Bell carried Cinnamon Crispas? Goodness I LOVED those things. This was probably in the early 80s. Anyway, they replaced them with the cinnamon crisps which were never as good, in my opinion. Anyway, I came across this recipe tonight and I thought I would share it with my readers.

Cinnamon Crispas

Tortillas cut in 4-8 pieces, depending on how big you want the crispas. Canola oil Cinnamon sugar

Heat approximately 2-3 inches of oil in a skillet or use deep fat fryer per instructions.When hot, carefully place 3-4 pieces of tortillas, being careful not to crowd the wedges. Fry till slightly brown. Carefully remove to paper towels to absorb oil. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over wedges while still warm. Best eaten while warm, but delicious anytime!

Submitted to MckLinky by:
Cathy Parker - Visit their blog ~ Mine is a site dedicated to the exploration into the increased paranormal/psychic happenings experienced by everyday men. women, and children as they go about their everyday lives.

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Spicy Peanut-Crusted Chicken

2009-09-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

This morning was the orientation for my son's culinary school. Oh how I wish I were going!! When I say that people will ask my why in the world do I need to go lol. BUT I love learning and I love cooking - what could be more perfect!!

Tonight's dinner is going to be Spicy Peanut-Crusted Chicken. I will let you know how it goes but the recipe sure looked yummy.

Spicy Peanut-Crusted Chicken

2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 TBSP cilantro (coriander leaves), finely chopped
1 TBSP fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 lbs or so chicken, cut up, skin left on
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts, finely chopped
2 scallions (spring onions), fgreen and white parts, finely chopped
1 TBSP soy sauce

Combine the garlic, cilantro, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Rub the mixture under the skin of the chicken pices and placed them, skin-side up, in a broiler pan. Place under a pre-heated broiler about 8" from the flame and cook until the skin is nicely browned, about 12 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and broil until the juices run clear. The wings and legs will be done before the thighs and breasts, so you'll want to remove these first. Turn the chicken skin-side up again and bate with a little of th pan juices. Combine the peanuts, scallions and soy sauce in a small bowl and sprinkle over the chicken. Return to the broiler and cook until the topping is golden brown, about 3 minutes.

OK...this was SO good! Here is what I did a bit different. When I mixed together the mixture that goes under the skin, I added just a little bit of olive oil to make it more "pliable". Not sure that's the word I wanted lol. Now, if I would have had peanut oil or sesame oil I would have added that instead. I also made almost twice as much of the peanut mixture, so I added about twice as much soy sauce. Other than that I stuck to the recipe. The stuffing mixture was the PERFECT amount just as it was for a whole, cut up chicken. Every body love this and I will definitely make it again. I am sorry that I forgot to take a photo of it so I will photograph it next time I make it.

Mom Brag Moment

2009-09-06T19:51:00.001-07:00

My middle son, Kyle, recently got out of the Air Force and moved back home. On September 28th he starts culinary school at The Kitchen Academy! It's a 9 month program and I just couldn't be more proud. I'm only sorry I can't join him as my husband complains he doesn't see me enough as it is. He really wants me to go and I want to as well, but I need harmony in my home. My husband is a hard-working, wonderful man, so I'm not going to push this issue.

Lacon Asado (Roasted Pork Shoulder)

2009-09-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Ok...it has been WAY too long since I've blogged here - and I've missed it. I became inspired again by going to the movies to see Julie and Julia. I truly enjoyed the movie!

Tonight's dinner is Roasted Pork Shoulder.

Roasted Pork Shoulder (Lacon Asado)

1/4 cup olive oil
6-8 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
3 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TBSP paprika
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tsp fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4-6 lb pork shoulder
1 cup dry sherry, white wine, or water (I used Dry Sherry)

Combine the olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in an electric blender or food processor (I used my Bamix - I LOVE that thing!) and puree to make a paste. Prick the pork roast all over with the tip of a sharp knife and rub the herb mixture into the meat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 12 - 24 hours (I did mine for about 22 hours). Place in a roasting pan and bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes per pound. Pour the sherry (or white wine or water) over the roast about 30 minutes before it is done, and allow the roast to rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

It is resting right now. I will let you know how it tasted later this evening!

Ok...This was given a HUGE thumbs up by all at the table. Knives weren't even needed, the meat was so tender. This is a definite do-again! I'm only sorry my dear friends, Jahn and Deb, weren't able to make it to dinner tonight.

Check out CincyCandyBar's blog

2009-05-03T09:38:00.001-07:00

For those of you that LOVE baking, you must go to this site and check out her baked goodies. She is also giving away The Lady & Sons Just Desserts cookbook. Here is the link to her site: http://www.cincycandybar.blogspot.com/

I must apologize for not blogging lately but life has gone crazy. My youngest son became engaged to the adorable Miss Elizabeth on April 4th, so we are in wedding planning mode. Plus I just haven't been cooking as much. I do have another recipe to post and I will try to get to that a little later today if I can.

Today I hope to get some scrapping done and maybe, just maybe, a fabulous dinner knocked out! BUT it's hard for me to do both...if I'm making some great headway on a project in my scrapping room, it's just too hard to tear myself away! lol

Hugs!

Shrimp Jambalaya

2009-04-03T16:45:00.001-07:00

Here is yet another family favorite!!

Shrimp Jambalaya

2 TBSP olive oil
3 lbs andouille sausage (kielbasa if you can't find andouille), halved lengthwise and sliced about 1/2" thick
1 yellow onion, minced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
77 oz Chicken Broth (about 2 of the 32 oz cartons + 1 14 oz can)
1 large can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 lbs shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/4 tsp hot sauce
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add kielbasa and cook for about 5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper and saute for another 5 minutes. Add rice; saute 2 minutes. Add salt, thyme, black pepper and red pepper; saute 1 minute. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Stir in shrimp and hot sauce; cover and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.

Caity Sue's Saucy Chicken

2009-04-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

This is probably my signature dish!! It is a favorite of my family and mine. It is actually pretty quick to throw together. It's my definite "go-to" dish!

Caity's Saucy Chicken

4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt and garlic powder, to taste
1 cube butter
Zest of one lemon
2 TBSP lemon juice
2 TBSP dry sherry (I use San Antonio Sherry - DON'T USE THE CHEAP STUFF!!)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4-6 butter slices
Parmesan cheese (FRESH GRATED!)

Melt the cube of butter in a skillet (do NOT use non-stick as you went to have yummy browned bits on the bottom of the pan later)on medium to medium high heat. Season both sides of chicken with salt and garlic powder. Add chicken to pan and brown well on both sides. Meanwhile zest the lemon in a small bowl and add the lemon juice and dry sherry; set aside. When chicken is browned remove to a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Add the lemon-sherry mixture to the butter mixture in the pan and deglaze the pan, scraping up all those yummy browned bits. Add the heavy whipping cream and stir until mixed well. Pour sauce over the chicken. Place a pat of butter on each piece of chicken and liberally sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Place under broiler until well-browned. This is excellent with steamed white rice. The sauce over the rice is so good.

Tonight I served this with the steamed rice and steamed artichokes. Not a single morsel was left on anyone's plate!

Tonight's menu is a repeat

2009-03-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

I apologize for my lack of posting but had major computer problems (nasty virus)that took 2-3 weeks to get cleared off completely. Those of you who follow my other blog can read all about it (http://www.caitysuescraps.blogspot.com)

Tonight I am making the beef tips in the crockpot again. It really was so good last time and I was on call today for work, so if I had been called in I could've thrown it together before going to work. BUT so far I haven't been called in but I'm sticking with the beef tips since I'm hungry for them now :). I'm going to cook them on low this time since I have all day.

Well, I have it all cooking in the crockpot now and it looks like it needs more meat so I'm sending Patrick to the store (Nugget Market - the best place on earth to shop - I also refer to it as Mecca :) ) to pick up some more beef tips. Actually I'll have him get stew meat since it's going to cook all day. We must have the proper balance of sauce to meat :). And Patrick voted to serve it over egg noodles instead of rice...so egg noodles it is...and he gets to pick those up too!

This is the Beef Tips in Mushrooms sauce but my houseguest has requested I rename it Drunken Beef Tips because of all the red wine I put in it :) I also made a salad and my homemade Green Goddess dressing. It is actually a light green in color, which doesn't show up very well in the photo.

Yesterday was my spagetti. I would post that recipe but I never make it the same way twice! lol It turned out very good though.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

2009-03-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

OK....tonight is a night to try yet another new dish. Tonight's experimental dish is Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake. I will let you know how it goes....it's almost ready to come out of the oven.

CHICKEN FLORENTINE ARTICHOKE BAKE

8 oz dried bow tie pasta

1 small onion, chopped

1 TBSP butter

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

1/4 to 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)

1 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered

1 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained

1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

1/2 tsp paprika

1 TBSP butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a small skillet cook onion in 1 TBSP butter over medium heat for approximatey 5 miutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Removed from heat and set aside. In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning, salt, dried Italian seasoning, black pepper and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half of the Parmesan, cooked pasta, and onion. Transfer to a 13x9x2" baking dish or 3 quart rectangular casserole dish. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over mixture. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden. Makes 6-8 servings.

UPDATE: This was another hit! DH had 2 helpings and my MIL ate it up (after picking out the spinach bits lol). I used quite a bit more chicken than 2 cups - I bought a rotisserie chicken and cut that up, as well as used the leftover chicken breasts from the Baked Excelsior Chicken dish I made the other day. I also used 12 oz of quartered & marinated artichoke hearts instead of the canned plain artichokes - I LOVE the flavor of the marinated hearts. Let me see what else I changed...oh, I forgot the Italian seasoning - and didn't miss it lol; I also probably used closer to 3/4 cup of dried tomatoes, and I added an extra egg and about another 1/4 cup milk since I had so much more chicken then the recipe called for. Oh, and I forgot to cover it so it baked uncovered and didn't seem any worse for the wear.

Tonight's menu is a toss up

2009-03-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Today is my first day off of work for this work cycle and I'm kicking around ideas for tonight's dinner. I was thinking of Shrimp Jambalaya or maybe Italian Sausage Soup as it's a rainy, blustery day, which is perfect for either one of those dishes. Of couse, that's going to require me getting in the shower and getting dressed and heading to the store! lol. I've been fixing computer problems and working on billing my clients for my auction business today. Not fun but a must-do! I'll let you all know later about dinner!

Hugs!

And the winner is....

Italian Sausage Soup!!! And it was fantastic :). Here is the recipe.

Italian Sausage Soup

1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage, cut in 1/2" pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium green pepper, finely minced
1 medium onion, finely minced
28 oz can Italian style pear tomatoes
3 cans (14 oz ea) regular strength beef broth
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1/2 tsp basil leaves
3 TBSP chopped parsley
2 medium zucchini, sliced approximately 1/4" thick
3 cups uncooked bowtie noodles
Parmesan cheese, to taste

In a 5 qt Dutch oven or soup pot, brown sausage well over medium heat. Drain fat and remove sausage from pan. Add garlic, onions and bell pepper to pan and "deglaze" pan...scraping up all the browned bits; cook until limp. Stir in tomatoes (including liquid), beef broth, wine and basil. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add parsley, zucchini and pasta and cook, covered, for approximatley 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls and sprinkel Parmesan cheese over top. Enjoy!

Italian Sausage Soup History

2009-03-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

I have been making this Italian Sausage soup for years now and it's always been a huge hit with all who try it. It's especially appreciated on cold, blustery days. I really wish I could remember where I first came across this recipe. I would love to credit the creator if I knew who that was!

Caity Sue's Garlic Chive Carrots

2009-02-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

Caity Sue's Garlic Chive Carrots

1 bag baby carrots
1/4 cup butter
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 green onions, sliced thin

Steam carrots and set aside. In pan over medium heat, melt butter, add garlic and green onions and saute for a few minutes. Add carrots to the mixture and toss thoroughly.

These have always been a HUGE hit with the family and anyone who tried them. Even people who don't like carrots love these!

2009-02-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Trying yet another new recipe tonight!

2009-02-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

Tonight we are going to have Baked Breast of Chicken Excelsior. It's another new dish we are trying. I've been in a mood lately to try new things. Here is the recipe - I'll let you know how it turns out.

Baked Breast of Chicken Excelsior

8 oz chicken breast halves, boned & skinned
1/2 cup butter, melted
garlic salt, to taste
1 tsp paprika
3 TBSP lemon juice
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/2 cup sherry or broth (I use San Antonio Winery sherry)
8 oz canned mushroom pieces
dash of pepper

Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt to taste. Mix together melted butter, paprika and lemon juice. Brush chicken well with butter mixture and place in shallow baking pan. Bake, tented with foil, for about 30 minutes or until tender, brushing with remaining butter mixture occasionally to keep chicken from drying out. In a bowl, blend together sour cream, sherry or broth, mushrooms and pepper. Pour over chicken and back for 15 more minutes.

UPDATE: This was FANTASTIC!!! My MIL and DH raved about it - it was just the 3 of us tonight for dinner. I think when Doug gets home and eats dinner, this dish will move into his "Top 5". His "Top 5" favorites are constantly changing anymore! lol I like dishes that taste like you spent a lot of time cooking when in reality, they are pretty simple. Next time I make this I think I will add thin slices of Monterey Jack cheese to the top of the chicken for the last 15 minutes as well.

Trying another new recipe!

2009-02-21T17:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am going to try another new recipe!! I will post the recipe and then, after dinner tonight, I will let you know how it turned out!

Pork Diane

1 TBSP water
1 TBSP white wine Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
4 boneless pork top loin chops, cut 3/4 - 1" thick
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 TBSP butter

For sauce: In a small bowl stir together the water, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, and mustard; set aside. Trim fat from chops. Sprinkle both sides of chops with lemon-pepper seasoning. In a 10" skillet cook chops in hot butter over medium heat for 8-12 minutes or until chops are done (160 degrees F), turning once. Remove from heat. Transfer chops to a serving platter; cover and keep warm. Pour sauce into skillet. Stir to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Pour sauce over chops. Makes 4 servings.

UPDATE: The family LOVED this meal!! I got many, many compliments on it, so it's definitely a "do again". Doug kept raving about it, as did my MIL. My hubby said he really liked it as well. Too bad Jake wasn't home to try it. I actually doubled this recipe because I made 7 chops. AND I added another 2 TBSP of butter to the sauce at the end.

Eastern Beef Casserole

2009-02-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well I have been a TOTAL slacker. I should probably give you several recipes to make up for my lack of posting. I have just been CRAZY busy. Actually, I should be doing other things right now, but I have missed blogging and really wanted to get to that today.

This first recipe is a childhood favorite of mine! My mother got the recipe from her sister, who was my FAVORITE aunt! So this recipe is extra-special. It couldn't be simpler and my husband just LOVES it, as do the boys...and my very picky 91 year old mother-in-law!

Eastern Beef Casserole
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups celery, chopped
3/4 cup rise, uncooked
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
2 3/4 cups boiling water
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1 lb ground beef
3/4 tsp salt

Add 3/4 cup rice and 3/4 tsp salt to 2 3/4 cups boiling water (DO NOT COOK RICE!!). Cover rice and turn off the stove. Brown ground beef with onions and celery. Mix everything together in a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish and bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. ENJOY!

Lazy Jane Casserole

2009-02-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

The next recipe came from the same wonderful, loving aunt. I miss you Aunt Gail! It is another childhood favorite!

Lazy Jane Casserole
1 lb beef stew meat
1 can beef broth
3/4 tsp salt
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup burgundy

Mix together; place in casserole dish and cover and bake for 3 hours at 250.

Chicken and Pork Adobo

2009-02-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here is another favorite recipe!! I made this for a co-worker and now she's always wanting me to make it for her! lol

Chicken and Pork Adobo

1 package drumettes or 2 lbs legs and thighs (I really prefer the drumettes but you can use chicken thighs & legs - but they're just too big for this dish, in my opinion)
1 boneless pork roast, cut into 1" cubes
1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 TBSP salad oil

In a bowl, combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the salad oil. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, turning meats occassionally.

Remove meats from marinade and pat dry; reserve marinade. Heat the oil in a 5-quart kettle (DO NOT USE CAST IRON) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, turning until browned on all sides; remove from kettle and set aside. Add pork to kettle and cook, stirring occassionally, until browned. Pour in marinade. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2o minutes. Return chicken to kettle; simmer, covered, until meat near thighbone is no longer pink when slashed (40-45 minutes). Transfer both meats to a platter. Skim and discard fat from sauce; also discard the peppercorns and bay leaf. Increase heat to high. Bring sauce to a boil, then simmer rapidly until sauce is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Pour over the meats and serve with rice.

I will sometimes marinate the meat anywhere from 4-24 hours, if I've planned my dinner well enough in advance. When you reduce the sauce the flavor gets so much richer. So good!!

San Francisco Style Pork Chops

2009-02-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

San Francisco Style Pork Chops - A HUGE hit with the family!!!

4 pork chops
black pepper
garlic powder
1 tsp oil (I use vegetable oil)

SAUCE
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsps oil (I use vegetable oil)
4 TBSP dry sherry - Use a good sherry - I use the San Antonio winery brand
4 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP water

Mix sauce ingredients together and set aside. Season pork chops with pepper and garlic powder. Saute in hot oil until brown on both sides. Pour sauce over chops. Cover tightly and simmer of low heat until chops are tender and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. Add a little water, 1 TBSP at a time, if needed, to keep the sauce from cooking down too much. Turn once, about halfway through the cooking time. This sauce is SO good over mashed potatoes!!

TGIF!!

2009-02-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Well it's time for my weekend!! I will try to catch up tomorrow with a couple of recipes. Needless to say I don't cook on the days I work and don't have time to blog. I am going to the Dentist first thing in the morning, then to my hairdressers (goodbye gray hairs! lol) and then a pedicure!! On Saturday I will spend a few hours working at the Fill the Boot for the Burn drive and then off to dinner at Ruth's Chris!! We have late reservations (8:15). I have not eaten there before but have been told it's most excellent!! I can't wait! I will post all about it this weekend.

Crock Pot Beef Tips

2009-02-08T15:16:00.000-08:00

Today's recipe is for Crock Pot Beef Tips. I am cooking this as we speak although I haven't tried it yet. It is smelling SO good....so here is the recipe:

Beef Tips

Stew meat (I'm probably using 2.5 lbs or so)
1 envelope onion soup (I am using Mrs. Grass's)
1 can golden mushroom soup
1/2 cup red wine
1 can mushrooms (I'm omitting this but would rather use fresh than canned)

Mix all together in crock pot and cook all day on low. Serve over rice or noodles.

Now, here are the changes I made. I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder and browned them in oil first to bring out the flavor of the meat. I also used the red wine to deglaze the pan before adding it to the crockpot. I also doubled the soup & wine but not the soup mix because I had seasoned the meat when I browned it. Also, I didn't start this until 1:00 pm so I am cooking it on high for about 6.5 hours. I will update this post later this evening to let you know how it went!

Update: It was very tasty!!! Everyone agreed that this recipe was a keeper. Next time, I will season the meat just a bit less and I will use 3 cans Golden Mushroom soup and 2 cups wine, and stick with one package of the onion soup mix (I think more than 1 pkg would be overpowering). I used 2 cans soup and 2 cups of red wine, but there was hardly any leftover!!