Fresh Tomato Sauce

January 24, 2013 by

No need to slow-cook this one. Use the best tomatoes you can find. 

6 good-sized, fresh, ripe tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, peeled & diced
1 tsp. minced garlic
Sprinkling of kosher salt
Fresh pepper
Fresh basil leaves

In a food processor, puree and strain the tomatoes. In a large, deep skillet or medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook tomatoes for 15 minutes – until they don’t taste raw anymore. Toss in some trimmed, fresh basil leaves just before serving.

Filed Under: Frontpage, Sauces

Mexican Style Chicken Chili

January 21, 2013 by

This simmers on the stove-top for 5 hours so it thickens and browns as it cooks.  It’s a great meal for when you are either raking leaves, decorating your Christmas tree or you just don’t want to stand over a stove.  Serve with white rice and garlic rolls.

2 Tbs. olive oil (extra virgin is best)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
14 oz. can chicken stock
15 oz. can red kidney beans, undrained
6 cups water
28 oz. can whole tomatoes
1 carrot, peeled & sliced
1 medium onion, peeled & sliced into half-moons
1/2 cup frozen corn (optional)
1 rib of cerely, diced or 1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. black ground pepper

Into a large pot, heat the oil then add the whole chicken breasts; cook for 10 minutes on each side over medium-high heat.  Remove to a cutting board and cut into small bit-sized pieces then put back into the pot.  Place everything else in the pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 hours, stirring occassionally.

Filed Under: Chicken, Frontpage, Soups & Stews Tagged With: ,

Jack & Herb Biscuits

January 17, 2013 by

Monterey Jack cheese and herbs blend together to form these flaky, delicious, savory biscuits. Enjoy these with a dinner, or make your own breakfast sandwich out of them.

4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. dried basil (or McCormick’s makes an excellent basil & garlic blend)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried rosemary
4 tsp. balking powder
1 tsp. salt (kosher salt is best)
1 stick (1/2 cup) cubed, unsalted butter (NOT margarine)
4 oz. cubed, Monterey Jack Cheese
1 1/2 cups cold milk or half-n-half

Topping to brush on:  1 Tbsp. cold water + 1 egg whisked together

Preheat your oven to 475 degrees and get out a sheet pan – set aside.

In a large bowl whisk/stir together the flour, spices, powder & salt. With either a pastry cutter, 2 knives, or your fingers, cut in the butter and cheese until it looks something like uncooked oatmeal. Add the cold milk or half-n-half and mix this gently with a wooden spoon just to get everything moistened.

Flour a work surface and dump out the contents of the bowl and very, very gently knead this only 5-6 times; flatten gently to about 1/2″ thick – it’s not going to be a perfect round or anything like that – dont’ worry. Cut our rounds (you’ll get about about 12) and place on the ungreased baking sheet and brush on the topping.

Place in the oven for 9 minutes; turn oven off and leave biscuits in for 15 more minutes, or  until golden brown.

Filed Under: Breads - Quick, Frontpage

Baked Chicken

January 13, 2013 by

Simple, delicious, and your oven can do the work for you while you relax or do other things.

1 roaster chicken, about 7 lbs.
1 head garlic, peeled cloves kept whole
2 whole lemons, sliced into quarters
4 large, peeled, cut, carrots
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 head fresh broccoli, using only the florets
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Approximately 3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. dried rosemary or poultry seasoning
2 tsps. tarragon
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse, pat dry, and place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Place all of the garlic into the chicken cavity, squeeze the lemons over the chicken and stuff some inside cavity too, others toss around chicken pan, add all seasonings onto the chicken, rub them in then pour broth into pan. Cover with foil, bake chicken for 1 hour, add all the veggies to the pan with another 1 cup broth and bake until cooked through – takes about another 60 – 90 minutes, but test using a thermometer. Occasionally check to make sure it is not too dry; if it is add another 1/2 – 1 cup broth in and around. Take cover off the last 15 minutes or so to let brown.

Filed Under: Chicken, Frontpage Tagged With: , , ,

Broccoli Slaw

January 9, 2013 by

This is what you do with those bags of broccoli slaw found near the bags of lettuce and coleslaw at your grocer. Add a sprinkling of nuts (walnuts, pine nut, pecans) whatever you wish to bump it up another notch.  Oddly, this went quite well with egg salad sandwiches.

1 pkg. broccoli slaw mix
2 pkgs. chicken flavored Raman noodles
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 pkgs. of the seasoning pkgs from the Raman noodles

Into a large bowl add:  slaw mix, broken up raw noodles.  Into a separate small bowl:  mix the sugar, oil, vinegar, and chicken flavor pkgs. – whisk this together thoroughly then pour on top of the ingredients in the large bowl.  Mix and toss well.  Keep in fridge overnight or at least 8 hours.

Filed Under: Frontpage, Salads, Vegetables Tagged With: ,

Smoothie Shake

January 5, 2013 by

Yummy shake.

Combine all these ingredients into your blender until smooth

1 cup skim, low-fat milk, soy, rice – whatever milk you wish
1 sliced banana
1/4 cup orange juice – optional
1 small container yogurt – any flavor

Experiment by adding additional fruits, berries, etc. Make it what you want.

Filed Under: Beverages, Frontpage Tagged With: ,

Mincemeat Bars

January 4, 2013 by

Mincemeat may not be everyone’s favorite ingredient, but you’ve gotta try these bars. The shortbread base and crumbly topping enables the center filling to be something that folks are surprised about. Everybody in my house eats them. You may need to soften up the mincemeat by placing it in a bowl and microwaving it for a few seconds to make spreading easier.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 pan.

Shortbread Base:
1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract (not imitation)
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Filling:
1-1/2 cups mincemeat (Nonesuch makes an excellent 9 oz. box)

Using your standing electric mixer or a hand held mixer, cream the butter for 1 minute. Add sugar and beat for 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture just until its incorporated.

Evenly press 2/3 of this shortbread into the bottom only of the pan. Evenly spread the mincemeat over the shortbread leaving a 1/4-inch border all around.

With your fingers, crumble the remaining shortbread dough over the mincemeat. Gently press the dough into the mincemeat.

Bake for about 40-45 minutes – until golden brown on top. Remove and place on a wire rack. Let set for 10 minutes, then cut. Cool completely in the pan before removing.

Filed Under: Cookies & Bars, Frontpage, Holidays & Special Occasions Tagged With: ,

Polish Pierogi

December 30, 2012 by

img_0029.jpgAnother recipe to share from my Polish friends Marta & Marek. These are really good but they do take time to prepare. It goes faster with 2 people; 1 to roll and 1 to stuff. Make sure you cook plenty because you’ll just keep popping them in your mouth! Delicious!

8 cups flour
4 eggs
8 oz. container sour cream
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Warm water
1 recipe filling – (follows)

Pastry:
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, caron sour cream and salt. Stir in flour and only enough warm water till dough feels like velvet. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead until smooth. Roll out thin – 1/8 – 1/4″ thickness. Cut out 3 1/2 inch circles with something like a biscuit cutter or you can use a cleaned out tuna can. Cover with waxed paper to prevent drying out.

Place a spoonful of the filling (see below) slightly below the center of a circle of dough. Fold the dough over and seal edges with fingertips or a fork. Use enough filling so that you have to stretch the dough over it, but not so much that it squeezes out when sealed. Repeat until filling is all used.

Either boil them by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and dropping them in a few at a time then cook for about 3 minutes after they float to the service. OR you can put about 1 inch of vegetable oil in a large dutch oven and fry on each side for a bout 5-7 minutes – until hot and crispy.

img_0028.jpgSauerkraut Filling:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
14 oz. sauerkraut – drained, rinsed and minced
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. sour cream

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat; add onions and mushrooms, and cook until tender but not brown. Stir in sauerkraut, salt & pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp. sour cream. Let this cool before using as filling.

Potato & Cheese Filling:

4 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or 1 cup cottage cheese
Kosher salt & ground black pepper to taste
(Marta & Marek also add bacon bits/chunks and sauteed onions)

In a large bowl, mix everything together.

Filed Under: Frontpage, Something Different

Creamy Orzo Pasta

December 27, 2012 by

A rice-looking pasta which cooks up quickly – in about half the time as rice. This method is kinda like risotto. Sometimes we add a small chunk of butter and some grated Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan. Try it with my Beef Stew recipe.

2 Tbs. butter (I use only non-salted)
1/4 cup minced onion or shallots
1-2 cloves minced garlic – (of course, more if you like)
2 cups of orzo
1 bay leaf
4 cups of chicken broth, heated
1) Melt the butter in a large skillet; stir in the onion or shallots and garlic and cook slowly for about 5 minutes. Be careful to not brown it.
2) Stir in the orzo and keep stirring, cooking briefly – it will become goldenish colored.
3) Add only 2 cups of the broth and the bay leaf; simmer this uncovered unitil almost all of the liquid has been absorbed – this takes 3 – 5 minutes.
4) Add the remaining broth – cover and simmer for about 8 minutes longer – until most of the broth has disappeared.
5) Season to your liking with salt and pepper.

Filed Under: Frontpage, Macaroni / Pasta

Cranberry Orange Bread

December 20, 2012 by

Quick to make and there is finally a reason to buy those bags of cranberries in the produce section! I wowed myself and family when this recipe creation came out of the oven – it truly is a “best” recipe. Enjoy this with strong tea or coffee. Makes 2 loaves. Mmmmm.

4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups orange juice (try for fresh, do what you can)
2 large or extra large eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp. (1/2 a stick) unsalted, melted butter
2 cups whole cranberries (if frozen, don’t even bother thawing – just toss in)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and take out two loaf pans that are 9 x 5 x 3 and lightly grease them then set aside.

In a large bowl whisk or mix to combine all the ingredients up to the juice. In a separate large bowl whisk or mix together the juice, eggs & butter. Add the wet to the dry and mix with a spoon to the count of 20 (as in 1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, etc.) then add the whole cranberries. With a spatula, fold/mix batter for only about 4 strokes. All this may sound strange, but if you mix too hard or too long a quick bread becomes tough.

Evenly distribute into each pan, sprinkle some sugar on top of each loaf then place in the oven for 1 hour or until a knife comes out clean – should only really take about 60 minutes. Set out on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, invert onto cooling rack then cool completely before diggin in!

Filed Under: Breads - Quick, Frontpage Tagged With:
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