Friday, March 23, 2007
Kinda quiche
They used to say that real men don’t eat quiche. That’s okay though because this isn’t really quiche, but it’s close enough and takes almost no time to prepare and can be modified to use up whatever you’ve got in the fridge. It’s also rather good as a cold lunch if you have leftovers.
Ingredients:
10 oz Frozen spinach, thawed and drained
8 oz Grated cheddar cheese (or any other firm, grateable cheese. I like pepperjack. It counters the richness of all the diary)
2 cups Cottage cheese; curd size and fat content is your choice
2-3 handfuls Diced ham
4 Eggs
6 Tbs Flour
1/8 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
Salt, pepper and other spices to taste
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Take a big-ass bowl. Add the spinach, cottage cheese, ham and grated cheddar and mix well. Make sure you break up all the wads of spinach or you’ll wind up with great soggy gobs of of it in the pie when you take it out of the oven rather than an evenly distributed taste treat. Definitely not a taste or textural sensation, biting into wet, congealed spinach I can tell you.
Beat the eggs and whatever spices you choose to use together and add to the cheese spinach and cottage cheese mixture. Spread your flour over the top of the whole mess and fold it all together with your trusty spatula (note: the original recipe called for adding the flour to the beaten egg and spices before it’s all dumped into the big bowl, but that gave me a disgustingly lumpy mess that might have made a swell wallpaper paste but would have been hell on earth to fold evenly into the spinach/cheese mixture. If you wish to do it that way, more power to you, but don’t come running to me if you have to throw it out and start over.)
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| All done |
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Crockpot BBQ Ribs
These are the easiest BBQ ribs in the world.. and quite tasty I might add. You can make these and everyone will think you busted your butt when infact you laid out and got a nice base tan, got a manicure and played WoW all day.
One crockpot. (I have a Rival 6 quart one. Nothing fancy. $30 at Walmart I think).
3 to 4 lbs of beef short-ribs (and I’ve used pork ones before)
One big onion (unless you don’t like onions)
2 bottles or one BIG bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (I’ll put my homemade BBQ sauce up this week)
as you can see it’s “put whatever you want” in your pot.
Brown the ribs under the broiler until they turn that gray color. You can also just brown them in a pan.
Slice the onion into rings and put into the crockpot.
Dump all of the browned ribs into the crockpot.
Pour all of the BBQ sauce into the crockpot.
Turn crockpot on Low (for a 10 hour cook time) or High (for a 5 hour cook time).
Voila!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Dove Girl Brownies
Hello
Easiest brownies in the entire world and so good you might want to double batch in-case you eat half the batter.
4 eggs
2tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup flour
2 cups mini-mellows
4 squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. Beat eggs until thick and lemon colored (I just guess!). Add sugar gradually, continuing to beat.
2. Melt butter, chocolate chips, squares together over a double boiler (or microwave… it’s easier!)
3. Add mixture with vanilla to egg mixture (nuts if used) and fold in flour- stir together.
4. Place in greased pan
5. Bake for ~30 min @ 350
(top secret family recipe so don’t give it out :D)
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Sesame Almond Chicken
3/4 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/4 cup toasted sesame seed
2 1/4 oz. pkg. (2/3 cup) slivered almonds
1 TBS. dried green onion
1 tsp. bouquet garni* (WTF??? Yeah, that’s what I said too- see below for explanation)
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup melted butter
3-3 1/2 lb. frying chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Heat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except butter and chicken. Dip chicken in melted butter, then coat with crumb mixture. Reserve remaining butter. Place chicken in ungreased 13x9” baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Pour remaining butter over chicekn. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes or until chicken is fork tender. Serves 4
*1/4 tsp. EACH dried parsley flakes, thyme leaves and 1 crushed bay leaf can be substituted for 1 tsp. bouquet garni. Thank god because I searched Publix high and low and the only bouquet I came up with was a bunch of roses and that probably wouldn’t have worked well....
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Southern Sweet Cornbread
I am not a fan of cornbread but this recipe is pretty darn good. I got it a couple of years back when I participated in one of those annoying recipe chain letters where you are supposed to receive like a 100 recipes in several weeks but only receive maybe 5 if you’re lucky. Yeah. Anyhoo.... It’s a great addition to barbecues and pig pickin’ parties. When you’re done laughing at the thought of a pig pickin’ party (all you stuck up northern folks need to c’mon down and have yourself some- don’t knock it, til you’ve tried it), go ahead and try this recipe.
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup milk
2 cups white cornmeal (for less gritty) or yellow cornmeal (for a more traditional taste)
2 cups flour
1 TBS. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with shortening.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Mix sugar, butter, eggs, milk, honey and water together in a large bowl.
Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl: cornmeal, flour,baking powder, and salt.
While stirring, add dry ingredients to sugar, egg, and milk mixture and mix thoroughly.
Mixture will be slightly lumpy.
Pour into greased rectangular pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Serve with butter and honey (if desired)
Mac ‘n’ cheese for a crowd
I got this recipe from a friend years ago and have tweaked it a bit to suit my tastes. I don’t make it too often because it’s not only incredibly rich and kind of expensive to make, but it also makes enough to feed a small army. It goes over well with adults at pitch-ins and family gatherings though. Little kids are kind of hit or miss. Some like it if it’s not too far removed from Shells and Cheese, but if you’ve spiced it up, you might want to play it safe and have some boxed Velveeta on hand. I definitely recommend using a disposeable pan since all that baked-on cheese is a killer to scrub off a regular pan.
1 lb Elbow macaroni
1/2 lb cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 lb jack or mozzarella, grated
1/2 lb pepper jack cheese, grated
2 cans cheddar or nacho cheese soup
1 can evaporated milk
2 eggs
pepper
garlic powder
celery salt
hot sauce (to taste)
1 or 2 tubs grated parmesan or romano cheese (not the kind that comes in a cardboard tube) to taste
Put on some cooking music (I prefer Sonia Dada, Aretha, or O.A.R. but whatever yanks your crank) and a big pot of water on the stove to boil. Pour yourself a glass of wine and groove to the tunes until the water is boiling then dump the noodles in, removing them before they reachal dente . They’ll finish cooking and pick up the rest of their liquid when it’s in the oven. Speaking of which, preheat the oven to 350.
While the macaroni’s cooking, crack the eggs into a bowl and add about half the can of evaporated milk. Use more if you like your mac a bit runnier. Save the rest of the can for pouring into your coffee tomorrow morning. Beat the bejeesus out of the eggs and milk, then add the pepper, garlic powder, celery salt and hot sauce. Don’t be shy with the spices. You’re seasoning a big ass mess of mac & cheese so it’ll absorb alot of spices before it gets overpowering.
Take another sip or two of wine and drain the noodles. Put them back into the pot. Add the two cans of cheese soup and mix them in to coat the noodles. Toss in a handful or two of the parmesan or romano and keep mixing.
Pour the egg and milk mixture into the pot an cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring like crazy the whole time.
Spread a layer of the macaroni mixture over the bottom of a big disposable aluminum baking pan and cover it with a layer of the grated cheddar and mozzarella or jack cheeses. Repeat the layers, making sure that the top is really covered with grated cheese. Put it in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the top is all brown and bubbly. If you haven’t finished off your glass of wine, do it now so you can bake along with the mac ‘n’ cheese. Toss the pepper jack on top along with another handful or two of the grated Parmesan or Romano and bake for another 10 minutes or so, until it’s brown and bubbly again.
Take it out of the oven and let sit for around five minutes, then serve it up hot and chow down.
Variations:
It’s mac n cheese--a tabula rasa for your creative experients, but here’s a few that have worked for me. Add a layer of spinach between the first and second layers of noodles.
Stir some diced ham, peas or chopped asparagus into the pot of noodles before putting it into the baking pan. Diced hot or sweet peppers peppers work really well when layered in also.
Add some strips of bacon on top of the cheese before baking.
Use italian spice blend and top with prosciutto, throwing some sun-dried tomatoes on top towards the end of the baking time.
Or--if you want to go the opposite direction and be healthy, substitute egg beaters or lowfat/nonfat cheese. You won’t notice the difference, honest.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Fried Chicken Paillard
1 1/2 cups nonfat buttermilk
3 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
8 slices bread- no crusts
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup oil
In an airtight container, combine buttermilk, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. black pepper. Place a chicken breast between two peices of plastic wrap and using a meat pounder, pound chicken until just more than 1/4 inch thick. Lather, rinse and repeat with each chicken peice. Place in buttermilk marinade and chill for 20 minutes in fridge. Place bread, remaining 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper and cayenne pepper in food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs form- about 10 seconds. Transfer mixture to a shallow bowl. Remove breasts from marinade and dredge both sides in bread crumbs and place on a plate. Line a baking sheet with double thickness of paper towels. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When hot, put in chicken and fry until golden brown and cooked through- about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper toweled pan.
Sea Shell Salad
8 oz. package of shell pasta
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 TBS. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1 tomato- diced
1 cup diced celery
3 TBS. chopped pimiento
2 TBS. chopped green pepper
Salad greens
Cook pasta as directed; drain. Rinse with cold water, drain. Mix mayonnaise with lemon juice, salt and sugar. Combine with pasta, celery seed, tomato, diced celery, pimiento and green pepper. Serve on salad greens.
Lemon Tea Bread
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
Grated rind of one lemon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Glaze
Cream shortening- gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed. Add eggs- one at a time, beating after each. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture (don’t ask me why but this makes a difference). Stir in lemon rind and pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Pour glaze over bread.
Glaze:
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 TBS. lemon juice
Mix well. Pour over bread.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Easiest Cheesecake Ever
My husband calls this ‘ghetto cheesecake’ but he loves it. It’s a good choice for a quick fix when you’re in the mood for cheesecake, but not in the mood to spend and hour making it.
1 Graham cracker crust pie shell
2 - 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 large size tub of Cool Whip
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Throw the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl and beat it for a couple of minutes until it’s creamy. Slop the cool whip in and beat it until it’s all combined and kinda fluffy. You don’t need to do silly stuff like ‘folding in’ the cool whip. No delicate handling required. Add the vanilla if you want. If you leave it out, it doesn’t matter.
Spread that stuff in the crust and refrigerate until it’s cold.
That’s it. If you want, you can throw some berries on top or even add a drained can of crushed pineapple into the cool whip/cream cheese mix.
It’s actually really good. Yum doesn’t alway mean slaving away in the kitchen.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Black Forest Cake
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us and some of you may be looking for a little romantic dessert and maybe a present too. Black Forest Cake might seem hard to make but it’s really not. The hard part is in the decorating decisions! I’ve got a great recipe below.
If you happen to be on the lookout for a little something for your valentine, why not try iGourmet.com? They have gorgeous boxed chocolate candy gifts and baskets. Right now Coupon Chief is offering an iGourmet 5% off coupon code good for any purchase you make. Click on the Coupon Chief link to get the coupon code for this offer. iGourmet has a ton of other yummy things too. You’ll need to eat before you surf that site though!
Now let’s bake a delicious homemade cake!
For the cake:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup Schwarzwaelder Kirschwasser, any brand.
For the filling:
1 cup confedtioner’s sugar, sifted
2 jars pitted cherries, drained, reserve liquid
2 pints heavy whipping cream or heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (if you can get clear vanilla, all the better)
1 tablespoon kirschwasser
Shaved eating chocolate for decoration, optional
Cooking:
==========
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Grease two 8 inch round cake pans. I use heart-shaped pans.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla. Add flour mixture, alternating with milk, beat until combined.
Pour into pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely.
Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making 4 layers total. I find that freezing the cakes and using a long, sharp bread knife makes them much easier to cut.
Sprinkle each layer (including the top layer) with some of the reserved cherry liquid and 1/2 cup Kirschwasser...total. Not 1/2 cup per layer or you’ll have a drunken, alcoholic cake. That might not be a bad thing, especially if your parents are coming for dinner. Don’t make them soggy wet though.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks.. Add confectioner’s sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon Kirschwasser and beat again. Spread first layer of the cake with a relatively thin layer of the filling, keeping in mind that whipped cream melts and top with some of the cherries but don’t go all the way to the edges. Leave 1/2 inch space. If you choose to do just 2 layers instead of 4, use 1/2 of the filling and cherries between the layers and the rest on top. Repeat with the remaining layers.
Spread a thick layer of the whipped cream filling only on the sides of the cake. Add remaining cherries to the top of the cake in the middle. Kind of pile them up, then pipe dollops of cream around the edges. I usually have a bar of Godiva dark chocolate (not baking chocolate) around so I use a microplane grater and shave some of it to sprinkle over the cream on the top and sides. My mother used to use a potato peeler to make chocolate curls and put them on top of the cherries.
Experiment with the amount of cherries per layer and for the top. If you like more, buy and extra jar of cherries.
You’re done! You’ve got a delicious and beautiful cake for the ending of a romantic dinner!
(This is a partially sponsored post)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Chocolate Truffle Cookies
I can’t remember where I found this recipe, but after my regular food tasting monkeys Grocery Ranch™ co-workers gave them their seal of approval, I took them to a christmas party where everyone was asked to bring in desserts and vote on their favorite. The winner was Gavyn’s peppermint cheesecake, but quite alot of people asked for the recipe for these incredibly rich chocolate calorie bombs.
Tips:
1) Melting chocolate in a microwave sucks balls. you cant constantly stir it, and if you’re not careful, you wind up with a dried out, burned crust on the edges. If you’re like me and don’t have a double boiler you can make your own half-assed one using a glass bowl that fits over and into your pot-o-water.
2) A friend turned me onto a technique that makes recipes with chocolate taste about a hundred times richer and more chocolatey. Add a bit of ground cayenne pepper to your recipe. You don’t need much--just a pinch in your hot cocoa or, in this recipe, I wouldn’t add more than 1/8 tsp to the dry ingredients.
3) No music tips on this one.
Ingredients:
4 squares unsweetened chocolate (1 ounce each)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine (use the butter… this is such a calorie bomb that it doesn’t really matter, does it?)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract (I use a splash more since vanilla and chocolate are just too good together)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbs baking cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Powdered sugar
Directions:
Melt usnweetend chocolate, 1 cup of chocolate chips and butter in double boiler or microwave. Cool for ten minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and eggs for two minutes. add vanilla and chocolate mixture and beat till well-mixed.
Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder. beat into chocolate mixture.
Stir in remaining chocolate chips, cover, and refrigerate for at least three hours.
Remove dough about a cup at a time. After flouring your hands to minimize sticking, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are puffed up and set. Don’t worry if they develop crinkles or cracks. It adds to their charm. Allow to cool on pan for several minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
load a small wire strainer with powdered sugar and sprinkle with just enough to give a snow-like effect before serving.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Potato Cheese Soup (not for the diet impaired)
Potato Cheese Soup (not for the diet impaired)
4-6 medium potatoes (chopped into medium size chunks)
1 onion (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
5-6 celery stalks (chopped)
3 medium size peeled carrots (chopped)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon season all
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 cup butter
1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
2 cans chicken broth
Chop your onion, celery, garlic and carrots and saute in the butter in a 5 quart pan. When your celery is just about done, add the two cans of chicken broth, your spices and chopped potatoes (I leave the peels on, feel free to peel yours). Add the cream and bring to a boil. Once it is rolling, put on a lid, turn it down to a simmer and let it go for about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 2 hours. Bring to a slow boil once more and thicken with the cornstarch (mix cornstarch in 1/2 cup cold water add slowly to the soup). Once thickened, remove from heat and slowly stir in the shredded cheese. IMPORTANT - add cheese AFTER you thicken otherwise it will all go to the bottom and not blend correctly. Walla, you are done. Enjoy!
Freezes well also. I store it in ziplock bowls for about a month. It will look something awful when you’re reheating it but once you stir it, it is just as good as the day you made it.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Cinnamon Swirl Yeast Bread
6 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 packages quickRise Yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a fork
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Raisins if desired
1 egg white, lightly beaten
more cinnamon sugar
Grease a large bowl with butter. Set aside.
In large mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour with 1/3 cup sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.
Heat milk, water, and 1/3 cup butter until very warm -120 to 130° F - (VERY IMPORTANT!! Do not overheat or underheat. Use a quick read thermometer!!) Add into dry ingredients. Using your dough hook, with mixer on low, stir in eggs and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. You may have to turn the mixer to medium. When it forms a nice ball, let the mixer go at it for a few minutes then remove and knead on lightly floured surface with floured hands until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Add more flour to the board if necessary to keep it from sticking. Put it in the greased bowl cover loosely with plastic wrap and drape a clean kitchen towel over it. Let rest in a draft-free area about 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Roll each half into an approximately 15 x 8 inch rectangle. Brush each rectangle with 3 tablespoons melted butter but not all the way to the edges.
Combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and raisins (if using.) Sprinkle evenly over dough.
Beginning at short end of each rectangle, roll up tightly like a jelly roll; pinch seams and ends to seal. Place, seam sides down, in 2 greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pans. Brush tops with butter. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 to 45 minutes.
Brush loaves with melted butter and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar, as much as you like. Bake at 375°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. A good way to test doneness is to knock on the bread. If it sounds hollow, it’s done.
Remove from the pans and brush with more melted butter. You can sprinkle on more cinnamon sugar if you want. Cool on wire racks....but not too long. It’s the best when you eat it warm. If you want to toast it later on, slice it on the thicker side and toast it in the oven, about 350°, right on the bare rack. Keep an eye on it and remove when it’s toasted to your liking. It tastes so much better when you toast it this way. Don’t forget the butter!
You’ll never use that crappy bread machine ever again. If you have a heavy duty mixer with a dough hook, this couldn’t be easier if you tried. It’s just that easy and just that delicious!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Gotta have it
I was given the Pink Artsian KitchenAid mixer for Christmas...well not really...I got a gift certificate and bought it myself. KitchenAid was donating $50 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, part of their Cook For The Cure program. I’ve wanted one of these mixers for a long time. When I saw the pink one, I knew I had to have it, not only because I love girlie pink stuff but because I fully support that cause. Isn’t she pretty?
I bought mine through amazon.com. Well, I didn’t know it at the time but if I had bought it on Amazon through FreePledge, I could have had another 5% of the cost donated to The SGK Foundation. With that 5% I could have donated an extra $15.00. That really makes a difference. Every dollar counts to help find a cure. FreePledge - Shop, Donate, Feel Goodhas over 150 retailers to choose from. I would have paid the exact same amount and my donation could have been $65 rather than $50.00. Now that I know about this great program, all of my future purchases will go through them. You should definitely check them out. (See link image below.)
So, back to the mixer. I can’t believe I waited so long to buy one of these. Years ago I had some Sears brand mixer and it was ok but there is simply no comparison. I like to make my own bread frequently...no not the machine kind...and this mixer saves a ton of kneading time. I get my bread that much faster using it. I am totally in love with this appliance.
If you don’t like pink, and shame on you if you don’t, they come in a ton of colours. Colour is a matter of appeal. I’m sure they all work equally as well. If you are in the market for a heavy duty mixer, you need a KitchenAid. It’s a little on the heavy side but I keep mine on the counter since I use it so much. The price might be a little daunting, but it is soooo worth it.
I love mine!
Anyway, if you want any new appliance or kitchen gadget, make sure to go to FreePledge and access your favourite merchant through them. You have the ability to pick your own charity and you won’t pay more. Now that’s just cool. I’ll post my favourite white bread and cinnamon bread recipes next week. I know you’ll love that!
(Part of this post is a sponsored post. The KitchenAid mixer is not a part of the sponsored post.)
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