Chipotle Pork and Low-Fat Creamed Spinach

I love Cooking Light magazine. It's one of my must-buys at the grocery store, and I have both Apps for my phone and iPad :-). Tonight I had two recipes from them that were a hit!

Anyway, when I saw this Chipotle Pulled Pork recipe in the February 2012 issue, I had to try it. My family doesn't like things super hot, though, so I only used two chipoltes, instead of the three in the recipe. It's one of those recipes that you have to plan ahead for--it marinates for an hour and cooks for 2 1/2 but it was great. If you can't find a Pork Shoulder that small, just cut the one you buy and freeze it (I got a 3-pound one and put half away for another dinner). The recipe says 300-odd calories a serving, but I found it made enough servings for 6, not four, so I get less than that calories per serving.

I also love Creamed Spinach--when it's homemade, not in a can or from a freezer package (eww). I've made a low-fat version before (that I used to make high fat, LOL) but this one looked awesome. And it definitely didn't disappoint! It's only 102 calories a serving, so not bad at all!

I served this with mashed sweet potatoes--just baked them and mashed them with a little honey, some cinnnamon and a dash of salt--a healthy, really good dinner all around :-) I can see using the Chipotle Pork to make pulled pork nachos...though that might undo all the low-cal goodness I had tonight! ;-)

Enjoy!

Shirley

Thanksgiving Success! Rerun

This has been my Thanksgiving plan for three years in a row, so I thought I'd rerun the tips. I have changed this slightly--in that I bought the brining bags at the store instead of using a pail (Farberware makes them and they were in the aisle with the roasters and kitchen twine, etc.). I have had success every time I use this recipe. Buying a fresh bird makes life ten times easier, but I have in a pinch defrosted a frozen bird and then brined it.

(and as an aside, for those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, on Monday I posted a link to my blog and a friend who is a professional chef shared his tips for brining, so check that out!)

Thanksgiving was a HUGE success in my house. Brining the bird was DA BOMB and I highly recommend it. I mean, HIGHLY recommend it. I have never had a juicier, more delicious turkey--it was beyond simple to cook, and twelve people devoured nearly an entire 21-pound bird. Lots of going back for seconds and thirds that day!

Take notes if you want for next year, because here's how I did it (and managed to have a LOT of relaxation time on the big day, too):

Wednesday Night: Brine the Bird (in the fridge by 8pm)
Equipment needed: 5-gallon pail from Lowe's or Home Depot
Alton Brown's recipe for Brining from I'm Just Here for the Food
(which involves essentially cooking some water, brown sugar, peppercorns, bay leaves and kosher salt, then cooling and adding to the bucket).
Plus: 3 gallons ice water and 1 1/2 cups kosher salt

Thursday Timeline:
7:00 a.m.: Remove bird from Brining Liquid
Preheat oven
Dry bird, stuff with an onion, celery sticks. Brush whole bird with melted butter, then tent with foil, stick a meat thermometer in it, then put the bird in the oven.

8:00 a.m.: Cook sausage for stuffing, chop vegetables for stuffing (celery, carrots and onions), then cook when sausage is done. Add dried cranberries, leave to cool and set aside

8:15 a.m.: Peel 8 pounds of potatoes and start boiling them for mashed potatoes

8:45 a.m.: Start simple syrup for kids' Floating Island Punch
Put Frozen raspberries, pink lemonade and sugar in bowl to thaw for Poinsettia Punch for grownups :-)

9:30 a.m.: Mash potatoes and put in crock-pot--done till 11:15 a.m. (take a nap, read the ads for Black Friday shopping...I do all my house cleaning on Wednesday, so I'm chilling for these two hours)

11:30 a.m.: remove foil tent from turkey, baste with more butter and turn oven temp up to 425 degrees
Start green beans (I made a healthy version, which I can post later)
Start Citrus-Glazed Carrots

12:15 p.m.: Assemble stuffing

12:30 p.m.: Remove turkey from oven and let set
Put rolls in oven
Put stuffing in oven
Make gravy

1:00 p.m.: Serve and eat ;-)

My MIL made the pies, and I had baked cookies on Wednesday night, so all the rest was done ahead of time. I usually make the pies a day or two ahead of time, but this time someone else did them, so I was saved that chore. This turkey was SO SO good, though. I just can't even tell you ;-)

How was your Thanksgiving? Was it a huge success? I do dishes as I go, and run the dishwasher about halfway through so that everyone can eat on real plates. Clean-up is still a lot of work, but it's not AS bad as it could be.

And if you want to read about my Black Friday adventures, I posted on RTB today about them!

Shirley

In a Word...YUM

I've been hooked on this new show, "The Chew," which airs in my region of the world at 1pm EST on ABC. It's got style and fashion god Clinton Kelly, super chef Mario Batali, Iron chef Michael Symon, Dr. Oz's daughter Daphne (who is so sweet, you can just see why Dr. Oz adores his kids) and new kid on the block chef Carla Hall.

Lots of the recipes they've run in the first week have appealed to me (my poor printer is burning through the pages, LOL) but I happened to have the ingredients for Clinton Kelly's Eggplant Parmesan on hand, so I decided to make that for dinner.

All I can say is YUM. It was awesome. Totally awesome. The recipe recommends jarred sauce but Clinton said he always uses homemade (I wish he'd share his recipe...it sounded great), and I did, too. The last layer, I ran out of homemade sauce, so I did add a tiny bit of Ragu ;-) but you couldn't tell the difference. The fresh sauce--made from tomatoes in my garden and frozen a couple weeks ago--really added that extra depth of flavor to the sauce.

Eggplant parm is a lot of work (anything breaded is) but it was worth it. I could have eaten the whole pan myself ;-) The recipe really does use all those cups of bread crumbs and all those eggs, so don't skimp when you're laying it out. Also, I always use a set of pie plates for my breading steps, because they are shallow but edged, and they are easy to clean in the dishwasher. Use one hand to bread and let that be the goopy hand, while keeping the other hand clean to flip the fying eggplant. I did fry the eggplant in two pans, so that moved the process along a lot faster. I pulled it out of the oven after about 32 minutes and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. DH LOVED it and said this recipe has to be on my must-serve list ;-)

Recipe is here. Check out the site while you're there--there's lots of great, easy, and cheap recipes to choose from!

Shirley

Grilling Tonight :-)

I know, I know, I haven't been here in a while. Sorry! In the summer, I don't cook as much--it's mainly just easy stuff on the grill (we travel a lot in the summer too, so it's simply a matter of not being here either :-) I had a couple favorite recipes that I wanted to share today. Simple, easy, and uses some of the bounty from the garden :-)

I made grilled chicken tonight--did a dry rub on it and let it set for a half hour, then cooked it and basted it at the end with barbecue sauce. Totally delicious. If I get a chance, I'll post that recipe another day (I forgot to take a picture of it). I served it with this cilantro-lime grilled corn and a tomato salad. The corn is really yummy and super easy, and good even off the cob :-)

Cilantro Lime Corn

1 stick butter (or margarine)

1/2 lime, zested and juiced

1 teaspoon salt

dash cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

8-10 ears of corn, shucked

Tear off enough pieces of foil for all your corn and either preheat the grill or the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix the butter, lime juice and zest, salt, cayenne and cilantro in a bowl. Reserve a couple tablespoons of the butter for after the corn is done. Take the rest and rub it all over the corn, then wrap each ear tightly in foil and either grill or bake for about 25 minutes. Delish!

Tomato Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon oregano

Salad:

1 cup lettuce

3 tomatoes, sliced thin

1/4 cup minced red onion or Vidalia onion

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1/4 cup feta

Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk. Assemble the salad, then drizzle with the dressing. Serve immediately. Easy and delicious...and super healthy!

Enjoy! Tell me, what's your favorite thing to grill?

Shirley

Chicken Canzanese and Marmalade Carrots with Candied Pecans

I'm a huge fan of the show America's Test Kitchen. It's on PBS and is filmed in a kitchen in Vermont. Kind of quirky people, who test everything to death, ensuring you get a pretty darn foolproof recipe in the end.


I've made this Chicken Canzanese twice now and I have to say, it's one of my favorite chicken recipes. My mouth waters just thinking about it, no kidding. It's made with chicken thighs, which makes it economical, too :-)


It uses a technique called braising--which is basically searing, then simmering in the oven in a sauce. The chicken stays tender, the sauce gets thick and everything gets all yummy. The recipe is here (and has a video and everything). One of the things the recipe doesn't tell you is total cooking time. It usually takes me a little over 2 hours (there's an hour and 15 in there of in-oven time). So don't start this one late in the day ;-) It makes a great presentation, so it's on my guest menu, too.


You do need to have a Dutch Oven for this one. I have the Martha Stewart one, which is okay and cheaper than the Le Creuset, which I covet ;-).


Registering for America's Test Kitchen is free, and I definitely recommend that. Also, try to catch the show on your local PBS channel. Mine runs on either Saturday or Sunday mornings (I forget; the DVR just tapes it automatically for me). I have bought a few things they recommended on the show--a chef's knife, a vegetable peeler, a garlic press. Love them all.


When I made this tonight, I used center cut bacon since I was out of prosciutto. I never seem to have whole cloves on hand, so I use ground. I've been growing rosemary in my kitchen (I truly have no green thumb, but have yet to kill the rosemary) so I had that fresh. It does make a difference to use the fresh ingredients, particularly things like garlic--chopping your own is a HUGE difference in taste over using the jarred stuff. I served it with Marmalade Carrots with Candied Pecans, which were delicious. :-)


Marmalade Carrots with Candied Pecans

For the pecans:

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

dash salt

For the carrots:

2 pounds baby carrots

4 tablespoons butter, divided

3/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons orange marmalade (I made my own today; look for it in a future blog post)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

dash kosher salt

In a small saucepan, prepare the pecans. Melt the butter and add the sugars. When the sugar melts, stir in the pecans and cook until syrupy, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool in a dish or on a plate.

In a separate large saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add orange juice, marmalade, brown sugar, salt and carrots. Cook 12-15 minutes or until carrots begin to soften. Remove from heat, toss with pecans and serve.

This one was a huge hit with the whole family (my son calls it his favorite chicken). The vegetarian teen only had the carrots and liked those :-) So it's all on my keeper list! :-)


Shirley

Vegetarian "Chicken" and Dumplings...w/o the Chicken ;-)

My daughter has become a vegetarian, which has made for alittle bit of a challenge in cooking. For a lot of my recipes for her, I've been using the Cooking Light Vegetarian cookbook. (Except for tonight's recipe, which came from Rachael Ray's magazine...more on that recipe in a minute).


I love the Cooking Light cookbook because it not only has the "what is it" info (like what is tempeh) but also step-by-step directions that go straight back to the basics of cooking. It shows you how to prepare tofu, what to do with lentils, even slicing tomatoes (perfect for my child, who needed help making a three-ingredient panini, LOL). When she goes off to college, I'm packing this for her...and hoping she cooks from this instead opening a can of raviolis ;-)


Anyway, before the vegetarian days, her favorite soup was Chicken and Dumpling. I couldn't do that, so when I saw a vegetarian version in Rachael Ray Magazine, I had to try it.


I followed the recipe to a T...except I mixed in a mixture of parsley and this new freeze-dried dill (have you tried these? They're nearly as good as fresh, better than dried) into the dumplings. I also made double the amount of dumplings because I knew my family would love them.


Verdict--EVERYONE in the family loved it and no one noticed the chicken wasn't there. My daughter had the biggest bowl of soup I've ever seen her eat, LOL.

Shirley

Spicy Tomato Crab Bisque-ish

I'm calling this soup a "bisque-ish" because I did add some cream to it, but not enough to push it into the bisque category. More to give it a bit of depth, without pushing it into the heavy-on-your-thighs department. I made this for lunch today (as part of my New Year's commitment to eating healthier after a LOT of cookies over the past month, LOL).

Anyway, I LOVED this soup. I had come across another recipe for it, and then read a few reviewer's comments on the soup, and decided on a few changes of my own.

Spicy Tomato Crab Bisque-ish

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fennel bulb, fronds removed, bulb diced
2 onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder

1 6 ounce can crab meat (or fresh if you can get it)

1/4 cup half and half
chili oil, for drizzling

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium. Add onions, fennel (reserve the fronds for later) and garlic. Saute 10-15 minutes, until softened. Add the tomatoes (do not drain them; add the sauce too) and broth. Season with salt and pepper, then add cumin and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add more broth if the soup is too thick.

I pureed the soup a bit at this point; just to make it smoother but not to totally mush up the vegetables. Then I added the crab meat, cooked it for a couple minutes, then stirred in the half and half (and FWIW, I used reduced fat half and half). Taste and season again wtih salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve with minced fennel fronds and if you like it spicy, a light drizzle of chili oil. (LIGHT, because that chili oil is spicy stuff :-)

Shirley

Mom's Zucchini Relish

My mom has been gone for almost 5 years now but I still miss her like crazy. I also miss her cooking. She was a fabulous cook, particularly of those basics that most everyone craves--chili, baked beans, baked ziti, homemade bread. And her famous Zucchini Relish, which I haven't had in years and years.

So when I came across the recipe, and had a huge number of zucchini from the local farmer's market (one of these days, I'll plant my own garden, LOL), I decided to try this. It turned out EXACTLY like I remembered my mom's. It was my first time canning, too, and all the little jars sealed perfectly. I was quite proud of myself, LOL.

Mom's Zucchini Relish (makes 5-6 pints)

6 cups or 4 medium zucchini, chopped (FYI, I used a food processor for all the veggies)

4 cups or 4 big onions, chopped

5 tablespoons table salt or 3 tablespoons kosher salt (I always use kosher salt)

4 green peppers, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped (optional; and I had already used my red pepper so I didn't use one)

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

6 cups sugar (I know, I know, but it's not like you eat the whole jar of relish at once)

1 tablespoon dry mustard (that's the spice, not the stuff you throw on a hot dog ;-)

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon tumeric

1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed

black pepper to taste

green food coloring (optional) if you want the relish to be really green

In a large bowl, mix the zucchini, onions and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight. The next day, drain the zucchini well (I also squeezed out as much liquid as I could). Add all the remaining ingredients and stir. Adjust seasonings as needed. This makes 5-6 pints (I got 6), depending on the size of your vegetables. For canning tips, here's a website with lots of info. It was way easier to can than I expected, so count on me to do more of that in the future!

Shirley

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce and Eggplant Parmigiana

My mom made the best spaghetti sauce ever, at least to me :-). I've made lots of different kinds over the years (Ina Garten's Marinara, Giada's tomato sauce, Mario's quick one) but when I want real, thick, homemade goodness, I turn to Mom's. I do just a couple things different--my own little touches--but more or less, this is Mom's.

Tonight, I served it with Eggplant Parmigiana, which my kids refuse to touch, but I love. So I'll freeze the leftover and have it whenever I'm in the mood for a multi-step dinner :-)

Mom's Spaghetti Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 pound button mushrooms, sliced

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes (San Marzanno are the best but tough to find)

2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or about 1 tablespoon fresh)
salt (I use about a teaspoon)

pepper (to taste)

1 tablespoon brown sugar (that's my addition; Mom didn't use the sugar. I think it cuts the acidity of the tomatoes)

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add peppers, onion and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are softened. Add whole tomatoes, crushing each one in your hand as you put it in (this yields chunkier tomato bits (and tastier, because they've been processed less) than if you use diced), and all other ingredients except sugar. Simmer for up to an hour, tasting and adjusting seasoning as necessary. Add sugar and simmer another 10 minutes.

Eggplant Parmigiana

olive oil

1 eggplant, peeled and sliced thin

3 eggs

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

dash ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I use seasoned)

6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups spaghetti sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat about 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet (enough to coat the bottom thickly). Mix the eggs, Parmesan, garlic powder and pepper in a pie plate or bowl. Put bread crumbs in another. Dredge the eggplant first in eggs, then in bread crumbs, then fry in the olive oil until golden brown on each side. Remove eggplant and let drain on paper towels. I refresh the olive oil after each batch, to keep the frying even.

Spread 1/2 cup of sauce in the bottom of a 13 by 9 baking pan. Lay eggplant in pan, in one layer. Top with more sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella. Layer another layer of eggplant, sauce and cheese (one eggplant made just two layers for me). Bake at 350 until cheese is golden brown and bubbly--about 20 to 25 minutes.

This was so darn good, I had THREE (!!) servings of the eggplant parm. I couldn't keep myself away from it, LOL. DH is on his second helping. I'm thinking he'll end up having three too :-)



Shirley

Thai Mango Chicken, Glazed Carrots and Coconut Rice

I must be in an Asian mood lately because I've been making all kinds of Thai-inspired meals lately (my oldest, who loves Asian food, is in heaven). I made the Spicy Thai Shrimp and Mango Salad twice this week (sooo good that I want to have that one every day) and tonight I made Thai Mango Chicken, Glazed Carrots and Coconut Rice. A hearty thumbs-up from the the kids and me (DH won't be home till later).

I've made the Thai Mango Chicken before, and my son (who loves the recipe) requested it when he saw I had mangoes in the kitchen. This time, I got to take a picture before everyone ate ;-)

Thai-Mango Chicken Stir-Fry

Chicken:

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Mango Sauce:

2 fresh ripe mangos, chopped

3/4 teaspoon chili sauce

1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce
juice of 1/2 lime
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 thumb-size piece ginger, minced (use a microplane)

3 cloves garlic, diced
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
zest of 1 lime

Also:

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 to 1 mango, cut into chunks (to finish the dish)
Optional: 3-4 Tbsp. coconut milk OR water

Put the chicken pieces into a zip-type bag. Sprinkle with rice vinegar, then cornstarch. Close bag and shake until chicken is evenly coated. Set aside.

In a food processor or blender, mix all the ingredients for the mango sauce and blend until mango is pureed. Set aside

Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet, over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry, a few minutes per side, until cooked on all sides. Take chicken out and put it on a plate or paper towel. Clean out wok/skillet, then reheat it and add the mango sauce and red pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let simmer for about 5 minutes, until red pepper is softened. If it's too thick, add the coconut milk (I did). Put in the chicken and extra mango chunks and cook until heated through. Top with cilantro and serve on top of coconut rice.

Coconut Rice

2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice
1 cup good-quality coconut milk
2 cups water
2-3 Tablespoons dry shredded unsweetened coconut (baking type)
1/2 teaspooon salt

Put all ingredients in a rice cooker. Stir to mix. Then cook until done. When the cooker switches from Cook to Warm, let it cook a couple minutes more to thicken and make it stickier. Stir before serving.

Glazed Carrots

3 cups carrots, chopped on the diagonal into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

Put all ingredients in a pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 10-15 minutes, until carrots are cooked and sauce has caramelized. If you're in a hurry, you can microwave the carrots for 3 minutes with a little bit of water, then cook with the sauce...it only takes about 5 minutes then.

None of this was much work--a little prep, but with Chinese food, the key is to chop everything in advance. I did that earlier today, put everything in baggies and then just had to assemble and stir. Not bad at all :-)

Shirley

Penne with Zucchini and Marinara Sauce

The other day, my daughter told me she had a newfound love for zucchini. She's already a huge fan of pasta and marinara sauce, so I thought...hmmm...why not combine the three? The result is a pretty darn good Penne with Zucchini and Marinara Sauce. I served it with fresh-from-the-farmer's market green beans that I put in a foil packet to cook at the same time. It all worked out great :-)

Penne with Zucchini and Marinara Sauce

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 ounce pancetta or bacon, chopped (my store was out of pancetta so I substituted bacon)

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 medium zucchinis, chopped (I cut them in quarters, then made 1/2 inch slices)

16 ounces penne, cooked and drained

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded Swiss (or provolone...whatever you have)

1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray cooking spray on a 9 x 13 pan. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Cook the bacon until crisp, add the onions and garlic and cook 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add basil, oregano, red pepper, canned tomatoes and diced zucchini. Cook about 10 minutes, until zucchini is slightly soft (not all the way...it'll cook the rest of the way in the oven).

Mix the penne and tomato mixture, then spread in 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle with mix of mozarella and Swiss. In a small bowl, mix the grated parmesan and Panko bread crumbs, then sprinkle evenly on top of the casserole.

(see below for green bean directions if you want to cook those at the same time).

Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is browned and crisp. Remove and let stand for five minutes before serving.

Foil Packet Green Beans

Take two pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil and lay them in opposite directions over each other (creating a cross shape). Put green beans in center, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and kosher salt. Seal the foil packet, then put in the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

This meal was a hit with the kids, which made me happy since it's loaded with veggies :-)

Shirley

Hosting a Crowd

This weekend, I had a bunch of friends over, from Thursday till mid-Sunday (with people arriving at varying times), which meant lots of cooking for me (I TRULY enjoyed it). I wanted a menu that would appeal to lots of people, work for large crowds (at the height of everything, we had 20 people here total between adults and kids), and not be too much work. I think it all worked out (even my friend who eats gluten-free was able to enjoy a few things, though I wished I had more on the menu for her).

I planned my menu about a week ahead of time, choosing things I have cooked more than once (several of which are on this blog) and made a pretty extensive grocery list (though I still ended up running out for a few forgotten things). I also tried to create menus that were flexible--meaning if I didn't feel like making one dish one day, I could substitute it with another from the next day.

I also gratefully accepted all offered help. My friends were FABULOUS and cut vegetables, boiled water, shredded cheese...all kinds of helpful jobs (including helping me keep up with the mountain of dishes!!). It became a truly fun event to cook, with everyone standing around in the kitchen enjoying munchies like mango salsa and homemade hummus in between preparing a meal.

Here are some of the recipes I made:

For snacks, we had Hummus (I only used 1/2 cup of the Tahini, more of a to-taste thing) and Samantha Hunter's Mango Salsa. This is SOOO yummy and easy. Use the fresh ingredients for sure.

Samantha Hunter's Mango Salsa

2-3 mangoes, peeled and diced

2-3 cups chopped and seeded tomatoes

2 shallots, minced

1/2 big bunch cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 T. ginger, minced (I use a micrograter to get it tiny)

2-3 T lime juice (about 2 limes)

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and let sit for a couple hours before serving

Here are some of the other recipes I had:

Giada's Lasagna (pictured here). With this one, I substituted cooked Italian sausage and mushrooms for the ground beef. This was an AMAZING lasagna, if I say so myself. Simply delicious.

Served with: Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese (yummy and pretty easy). For dessert, we had Fruit Pavlova (pictured above).

For breakfast the next day, I did baked apple pancakes (basically, you layer apples on the bottom of a pie plate, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, then top with pancake batter. Bake at 350 until done; about 10-15 minutes).

We went out for lunch, then for dinner, prepared Giada's Baked Fettuccini, Insalata Rustica (read my notes here for the changes I've made to the recipe), Pan Roasted Chicken Breasts with Chausser Sauce, and for dessert, DH's favorite dessert, Ina Garten's Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.

On the last day, I made an egg bake for breakfast, then had burgers and homemade potato salad. I tried to make the last day's dishes far lighter in prep work because we'd all been staying up WAY too late talking and laughing :-)

All in all, I think everyone had a great time, and I know they left with full bellies! One of my friends brought along these AMAZING peanut butter truffles. Loved them. I think spending time in the kitchen with good friends is one of the best things in life :-)

Shirley

Spicy Butternut Squash Bisque

I love squash. I think I'm one of the only people in my family who loves it, but hey, more for me ;-). So when I read this recipe for a Butternut Squash Bisque, I thought yum. I mean, who doesn't like bisque?

Okay, maybe some people, LOL. I love it personally.

I should have been smart and read the reviews/comments first for this bisque. As I was making it and adding the chipolte peppers, I was thinking, "man, this is going to be spicy." But I figured, hey, it was a Better Homes and Gardens recipe, how spicy could it be?

FIRE. That's how spicy. I mean, I like spicy food. Love buffalo wings, love salsa. But this soup, even after I REMOVED the chipoltes halfway through was FIRE.

So, if you're going to make this, I recommend only using one or a half of a chipolte pepper or using some cayenne pepper instead. I ended up tempering the fire (some) with extra cream and sour cream. But it was still SO spicy.

Spicy-good, though, I do have to say. This was a DELICIOUS soup, even with the super spicy part. I added smoked applewood cheddar to it, and had, uh, five bowls over the course of two days ;-) So it wasn't intolerably hot (but boy, was I glad I removed the chipoltes early on. If I had left them in and blended them in...it would have been inedible, IMO) but VERY spicy.

I used 1 fresh butternut squash, 2 honeycrisp apples (since those were what I had in my kitchen), apple juice (didn't have any cider) and the only-added-for-a-few-minutes chipoltes. Other than that, I used all the ingredients listed in the original recipe.

This is REALLY yummy, so I will be making it again. Just with less heat ;-)

Shirley

Cinnamon Honey Roasted Butternut Squash

I love butternut squash--love all kinds of squash, actually--but my family (especially the kids)...not so much, LOL. Same with asparagus. I could eat it every week, but my kids would rather not.

Then I saw a recipe for cinnamon honey roasted butternut squash, and thought about adding asparagus and pecans to that recipe. How yummy would that be? VERY, it turns out. I loved it, DH loved it and one of the two kids did (the other one was just being grumpy, I think, because she's getting a cold). Anyway, it's SUPER simple and would make a good Thanksgiving side dish.

Cinnamon-Honey Roasted Butternut Squash

1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 bunch asparagus, chopped (I don't use the last three or four inches of the stalks; too bitter, IMO)

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I microwaved the squash chunks until they were fork tender (because otherwise this dish would bake for an hour). Drained them, then added the asparagus and pecans. Mix the sauce ingredients, then mix with the vegetables. Roast for 20 minutes (or until everything is tender).

That's it! Very easy, and I loved it so much, I had more for lunch today :-)

Shirley

Parmesan Crusted Chicken & Ginger-Honey Carrots

Just typing that subject headline made me hungry again. :-). I wish I had enough leftovers from this meal to have had it more than once, that's for sure. Although if I do it again, I think I might add just a bit of a kick to the chicken. Maybe a teeny bit of cayenne pepper, just to take it up a notch.

The Parmesan Crusted Chicken Piccata was a little bit of work (and don't get me started on how one of my dogs stole two pieces after I was done cooking it. If he was going to pick a meal to do that to, choose one that isn't that much work, for Pete's sake).

Now, according to Rachael Ray, this is a 30-minute meal. Uh, not exactly. It took me about 45 minutes. And I needed more like 3 cups of finely grated Parmesan (I used fresh, BTW) not, 1 1/4 cups. I did the Rachael trick for pounding the breasts thin--put them between two pieces of wax paper and whack the heck out of them with a heavy pan (I had a small cast iron pan for the task). MUCH faster than a meat pounder. So here's the recipe, if you want to try it. It was very yummy. :-)

I served it with Carrots with Ginger-Honey Glaze, which were insanely easy and VERY good. I'm not a big fan of carrots in their natural state. You know, just steamed. I like them sweetened up. Usually I cook them with butter, a bit of brown sugar, some cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. But this was a nice change.

Carrots with Ginger-Honey Glaze

1 pound baby carrots
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped and peeled fresh ginger (and it makes a difference, so buy this and use it)
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Cook carrots until just tender, either in the microwave or in boiling water. Drain. In a large saucepan, melt the butter, then add the honey, fresh ginger and ground ginger. Stir in carrots. Cook for a couple of minutes over medium heat, until the glaze coats the carrots. Serve.

I served this with Crisp Garlic Oven Fries, a recipe I found over on SparkPeople. My husband really liked these, so did the kids. I thought they were pretty good, but I wasn't as raving about them as the rest of the family. Maybe it was just me. Or my mood that day. :-)

And yes, those are new plates in the photo. I was so tired of the ones I had bought like 15 years ago that I went and bought the new Food Network ones they have at Kohls. They're pretty cool, and nice and white. So far, I really like them--and love how deep the bowls are. Now to get the rest of the accessory pieces :-)

Shirley

Two Quick and Easy Side Salads

I forgot to take pictures of these two before I brought them to a party. Sorry! Anyway, these are two quick and easy side salads, that you may have tried before.

Red Onion Broccoli Salad

1 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
5-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup Miracle Whip
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons vinegar

In a large bowl, mix broccoli, onion and half of sunflower seeds, along with half of bacon. In a small bowl, stir together Miracle Whip, sugar and vinegar. Toss dressing with broccoli mixture. Sprinkle remaining sunflowers and bacon on top of salad. Chill for one hour before serving.

Oriental Cole Slaw

1 pound package shredded cole slaw
1/2 of a small package sliced almonds
3 scallions, sliced
1 package ramen noodles, chicken flavor (or oriental works, too)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive, BTW, and it worked out great)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons soy sauce
seasoning packet from soup


Break up the noodles into small pieces and mix in a large bowl with cole slaw, almonds and scallions. In a separate bowl, mix oil, sugar, vinegar, pepper, soy sauce and seasoning packet. Taste the dressing and add more soy sauce or sugar to taste. Toss dressing with cole slaw mix. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour to let all flavors come together, before serving.

Both of these went over well at the potlucks I had to go to this week. And best of all, they were inexpensive and easy to put together :-)

Shirley

A Quick and Easy Stir-Fry

At this rate, I'm going to have to get a second wok, I swear ;-). I've been a Chinese food cooking fan lately, making tons and tons of it.


This picture definitely doesn't do the dish any justice. I had to rush to grab a snapshot before the family dug in. They were hungry, and the scents of this dish were very tantalizing. Oranges, plum sauce, soy, beef...


Plus I had homemade fried rice, a recipe I've posted before on the blog. This time, I also roasted a boneless pork chop with some hoisin sauce, putting it on an oven rack over a pan of water (if you look up how to make Chinese barbecued pork on Google, they recommend that to dry it out), and chopped that up to add to the fried rice. Carnivore heaven that night, I guess ;-).

Anyway, this Orange Beef and Broccoli recipe was another one of those Rachael Ray recipes. I did everything, except I cut the jalapeno chile in half, and only added half of what the recipe called for, because my kids aren't big on really spicy food. And I used frozen broccoli that I defrosted in the microwave first, because...that's what I had on hand. :-)


I also used peanut oil to cook with, because that's what I tend to use when I make Chinese food.

I think that's all the substitutions I made :-). Either way, both my kids had seconds, and got mad that there weren't any leftovers. Geez, can't please everyone. ;-).


Shirley
PS: Don't forget Writing Advice Mondays, with your chance to win a copy of one of my books!

Healthy Veggie Side Dishes

In my quest to get my kids to eat veggies that they'll actually like, I'm getting more and more inventive ;-). This week, the recipes are all about healthy sides and meals that I tried and had success with (well, there was one that didn't go over so well, and for the life of me I can't even remember what it was, but whatever meal that was, I didn't save the recipe). So, today I've got a zucchini and a potato recipe, but coming up this week I've got a pasta with broccoli, mushrooms and black olives, a really YUMMY baked apple recipe, a bit of a twist on macaroni and cheese, and a turkey burger that had fruit toppings (and that my kids actually ate!) so look for those recipes later on this week.


Both of the recipes I have for today are SUPER easy, BTW:


Parmesan Garlic Zucchini


2 medium zucchini, cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Kosher salt (my preferred cooking salt)
3/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded

Heat oil and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. Add zucchini and cook for six or seven minutes, or until squash is tender-crisp. Add garlic and spices, and cook another two to four minutes, or until zucchini is done. Just before serving, top with cheese.



This second recipe is from a recent issue of the Rachael Ray magazine (I love this magazine, though I probably only make about a third of the recipes. Some are just too odd, at least in my opinion).

Italian Smashed Potatoes (original recipe linked here)

2 pounds red potatoes (the recipe says to halve them, I didn't do that, because my potatoes were small)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (the original recipe calls for adding more EVOO to each serving of potatoes. These were yummy without oiling up people's potatoes on their plates, so I didn't do that either)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In large saucepan, cover potatoes with enough cold water to cover them by one inch. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Smash them with the back of a large spoon, then stir in the olive oil and salt and pepper.

I served these two sides with cod, which my eldest hated, but DH and I loved :-). Can't please everyone. The kids did love both these side dishes, though, and we had very little leftovers!

Shirley

An Appetizer with a Little Work...

Sometimes reading Bon Appetit gets me into trouble ;-) It makes me all ambitious.

I got invited to play cards (euchre for those who live in the Midwest and know what that is. For those who don't live in the Midwest, it's kind of like bridge) at a friend's house. It's a potluck event; the host makes the main meal, everyone else brings a side dish or a dessert. So I'm reading this month's Bon Appetit and I come across these Individual Zucchini, Lemon and Ricotta Galettes.

I had great success with an apple and plum galette (did I post that recipe already? I can't remember). So I think how hard can this one be?

Well...this wasn't hard. Just...involved. At least for me, someone who likes a recipe that has like three steps. Mix, bake, serve ;-).

The picture here, BTW, doesn't do them justice. The lighting wasn't all that good and the countertop they were on was the same color as the crusts, so it's hard to see them against the glass serving platter. But trust me, these were yummy.

Bon Appetit tells you to make your own crust. I can make ANYTHING except pie crust. I know, I know. But for me, that's just my one thing I can't do. So I buy ready-made ones. The recipe says it makes six but it made more like six hundred, so I cut it down here and made it more regular cook friendly:

Easier Zucchini Lemon and Ricotta Galettes

2 ready made pie crusts
1/2 pound zucchini, shredded (just shred it on a coarse cheese grater)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic (I buy the stuff in a jar a lot)
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
kosher salt


(One thing about ingredients...I'm not anal about anything unless I'm baking. I kind of have a Rachael Ray approach to cooking. I taste as I go, and if it looks good, and tastes good, that's what goes in. So this is approximately what I used).

Place shredded zucchini in a colander over a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let it drain for 30 minutes. Then press it between paper towels or a kitchen towel until as much liquid as possible is removed. In a saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter, add oil, and then saute onion until clear and translucent. Add garlic, saute 30 seconds. Then add zucchini and lemon juice. Cook until zucchini is tender, about 10-12 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out the pie crusts and cut into 3-inch circles with a glass (unless you're one of those people who has a cookie cutter for every occasion). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats and put the pie crust circles on the sheets. Melt remaining butter in a separate pan. [see, I told you. Lots of steps!]

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 2/3's of the Parmesan, the egg and lemon rind. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the zucchini mixture. Spoon in the center of the crust, leaving a 1-inch to 1 1/2-inch border all the way around (enough to fold it in). Pleat the edges and fold them. Brush the crusts with the melted butter (Bon Appetite said to drizzle the remaining butter over the centers, too, but I had a butter incident when the dog got under my feet in the kitchen, so there was no remaining butter for me to do that with. Ah well, I didn't need the calories anyway. And they were yummy without it). Sprinkle crusts with kosher salt (FYI, Bon Appetit called for fleur de sel, a specialty sea salt. Yeah, right. We have already heard my frustration with trying to buy SHALLOTS, folks. I'm not going to try to buy that. Kosher salt works just fine). Then sprinkle galettes with reserved Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then Bon Appetit recommended reducing the temp to 375 for another 25 minutes. I ended up baking them at 425 for 25 minutes total because I was late for cards ;-). They say you can serve these warm or at room temp. Personal experience -- way better warm. They were a huge hit, and in the end, worth the effort. Will I make them again? Definitely. :-)

Shirley

Chinese Restaurant Brought Home

Three new recipes tonight...and all three were a huge hit. :-)

First, a mango chicken that my son had asked me to replicate from the My Thai restaurant we ate at. I couldn't quite replicate that, but I came close, and actually liked this version WAY better. I did have to altar the recipe a little. Those kaffir lime leaves are not exactly all over the place in Indiana stores, so I did as the reviews suggested and used lime zest instead. And, because my kids are not super fans of heat, I tripled the brown sugar in the recipe. I also cooked the cashews just a bit to soften them. I used peanut oil for cooking, too, to add a bit more flavor.

I had been looking and looking, and trying several different fried rice recipes before I came across this one. Truly the best one yet. Easiest, and closest to real Chinese restaurant versions. I don't use ham, and used a bag of frozen peas and carrots, plus skipped the egg (my kids won't eat it anyway). I doubled the recipe and it came out just fine. I also go a little heavier on the soy, but my family loves soy, so that worked out well here because we're fans of the soy sauce :-).

Then I made my teen daughter make this Thai Broccoli Salad. We ended up heating it more at the end, and adding a tad more soy and sesame oil, just to thin out the sauce, but it was a HUGE hit. It's definitely better warm than cold (at least in my opinion) and went off the plates so fast, we should have made more.

A lot of work involved (honestly, I have no idea how those Chinese restaurants that do those buffets do it), but it was WELL worth it. And here I thought that ambition to quit cooking was going to end.

I also made for breakfast these INCREDIBLE banana-peanut-butterscotch pancakes. You were supposed to bake the pancakes and make them from scratch. Yeah, well, it's a tad too early in the morning for all that. Instead, I made box pancakes and did the sauce from scratch. I'll see if I can find the sauce and post that tomorrow or the next day.

Shirley