French Onion Soup--Sept. 30,2011
4 T butter
1 tsp salt
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1 48-oz can chicken broth
1 14-oz can beef broth
1/2 c red wine
1 T Worcestershire sauce
2 sprigs fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
8 slices Gruyere or Swiss cheese slices, room temp
1/2 c shredded Asiago or mozzarella cheese, room temp
4 pinches paprika
Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in salt, red onions, and sweet onions. Cook 35 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized and almost syrupy.
Mix chicken broth, beef broth, red wine and Worcestershire sauce into pot. Bundle the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf with twine and place in pot. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, mix in vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep over low heat to stay hot while you prepare the bread.
Preheat oven broiler. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet and broil 3 minutes, turning once, until toasted on both sides. Remove from heat; don't turn off the broiler.
Arrange 4 large oven safe bowls or crocks on a rimmed baking sheet. Fill each bowl 2/3 full with hot soup. Top each bowl with 1 slice toasted bread, 2 slices Gruyere cheese and 1/4 of the mozzarella. Sprinkle a little paprika over the top of each one.
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Really Good Meatloaf with Brown Mushroom Gravy---September 2, 2011
2 lb ground round
1 large egg
3/4 c quick oats
3/4 c milk
2 T grated onion
1/4 c ketchup
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried herbs such as sage or thyme (I use Litehouse freeze-dried Poultry herb blend found at Ingle's in the produce section)
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 tsp ground pepper
Gravy:
1 T vegetable oil
1 T butter
12-16 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 T flour
1 1/2 c beef stock
1 tsp Gravy Master (or Kitchen Bouquet)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
Combine ground beef with all other ingredients. Blend well by hand and pack into a greased 9x5x3-in loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.
During the last half hour of baking, prepare the gravy. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with the oil. Saute the mushrooms, stirring, until tender and browned and the liquid has evaporated. Stir in flour until well blended. Add the beef stock and continue cooking, stirring, until thickened. Add the gravy browning sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Continue simmering, uncovered, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve over meat loaf slices.
Great with fresh green beans and fluffy mashed potatoes!
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Turkey Burgers with Feta and Spinach with Tzatziki Sauce--May 29, 2011
The sauce should be made first and chilled. Then make the burgers. Yes, the sauce takes a few hours, so start it in the morning and refrigerate until you serve your burgers. The sauce is the best I've ever tasted. Don't let the time keep you from trying it!!
For sauce:
2 cups Greek yogurt
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 c chopped fresh mint leaves
3 small seedless cucumbers, peeled and shredded
To make sauce, place a coffee filter in a strainer and strain the yogurt over a bowl for 2 to 3 hours, until most of the water has drained. THIS IS ESSENTIAL!!
Press excess liquid out of the shredded cucumber. In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumber and strained yogurt. Mix in the garlic, salt, pepper and mint. Chill for at least 1 hour.
For burgers:
2 eggs, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced, and sauted in 1 tsp olive oil
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled
1 10-oz box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 lb ground turkey
Preheat outdoor grill for med-high heat and lightly oil grate.
Mix together eggs, garlic, feta, spinach and turkey in a large bowl until well combined; form into 8 patties. (If you like, add chopped sun-dried tomatoes to mixture before making your patties.)
Cook on grill until no longer pink in center, 15 to 20 minutes.
Serve with Tzatziki Sauce, sliced red onion, leaf lettuce and fresh tomato slices on whole wheat bun.
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The Best Pasta I've Eaten Lately!--May 11, 2011
(4 servings)
2 6.5 cans clams
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 box tri-color garden penne pasta
2 T butter
1 c heavy cream
1 c grated parmesan (use the Kraft grated stuff in the green container)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp pepper
dash of salt
Boil water and cook pasta according to directions on box.
Meanwhile, drain clams, reserving 1/2 c clam juice. If you don't have bacon already cooked, cook bacon until crisp. (I put mine on 2 paper towels, covered it with 2 more paper towels, and put it on a chinet plate in the microwave on high power for 2 minutes. Mine needed 1 additional minute to make it crumble perfect. Plus, all the grease had drained into the paper so that it wasn't so greasy.)
Put butter in large saucepan along with garlic, parsley, oregano and pepper. Add clams and reserved clam juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add cream and parmesan and cook for 3 minutes or until heated through and slightly thickened.
Add bacon and drained pasta.
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Grilled Pork Tenderloin--April 14, 2011
1 2-2.5 lb pork tenderloin
1/4 c soy sauce
2 T dry red wine
1 T honey
1 T brown sugar (dark or light)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 green onions, chopped (green and white parts)
Place tenderloin in a big ziplock bag. Place all other ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Pour over meat and seal bag. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Remove pork from marinade, pat dry, and reserve marinade. Preheat an outdoor grill or preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grill for 35-40 minutes over medium heat, or roast in oven for 45 minutes. Allow meat to sit for about 10 minutes before cutting into 2-inch pieces for serving.
While meat is grilling, gently simmer the reserved marinade in a small saucepan until it is reduced to about 2 T, stirring occasionally. Drizzle a small amount of marinade over each serving of meat.
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Chicken and Broccoli Casserole--March 30, 2011
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 pkg frozen broccoli
1 can cream of something soup (celery, chicken, mushroom, whatever you have on hand)
8 oz sour cream
1/2 c mayonnaise
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper
Pepperidge Farms herb flavored dressing mix
several pats of butter
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil chicken in pot of salted water 20 minutes or until no longer pink. While chicken is cooking, mix together soup, sour cream, mayo, and cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.
When chicken is done, drain and set aside to cool. Cook broccoli according to package directions. Drain very well.
Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place chicken in bottom of 9 x 13 casserole dish. Layer drained broccoli over chicken. Spoon soup mixture evenly over broccoli.
Sprinkle stuffing mix over top and scatter a few pats of butter on top of stuffing mix.
Bake for 40 minutes or until edges of casserole are bubbly.
Serve with rice!
(You can adjust the amount of soup, sour cream, and cheese used according to how much sauce you like...I sometimes use 2 cans of soup depending on how big the chicken breasts are.)
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Tilapia with Grilled Veggies--March 28, 2011
4 Tilapia filets
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 T butter
2 T lemon juice
2 tsp fresh parsley flakes
1 yellow squash
1 zucchini squash
1 small sweet onion
8 grape tomatoes
olive oil
Weber Veggie seasoning
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes (optional)
Start grill. Slice squash and zucchini at an angle into 1/4 inch slices. Slice onion. Put in bowl and toss in olive oil to coat. Add
1-2 T veggie seasoning and toss well. Put in grill pan and grill for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Saute the minced garlic in the butter in a small pan. Add lemon juice and chopped parsley.
Rinse and pat dry the filets. Lightly salt and pepper them and put in baking dish. Pour butter mixture evenly over fish. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes (if desired.) Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
While fish is baking, stir veggies on grill, add the tomatoes and continue to grill until fish is done.
Serve together and enjoy!
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Stuffed French Toast--March 20, 2011
1 loaf French or Italian bread, diagonally sliced 1" thick
1/2 8-oz block cream cheese
4 eggs
1/4 c flavored creamer (Irish cream, French vanilla, etc.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 T butter
Make a slit in each slice of bread through the crust to form a pocket. Slice the cream cheese and put a slice into each pocket.
Combine eggs, creamer, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat. Dip each bread slice in the egg mixture and place in pan. Brown on both sides.
Serve with maple syrup, fresh strawberries, or orange marmalade.
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Penne Pasta with Chicken, Greens, and Feta...March 17, 2011
8 oz whole wheat pasta
When the chicken is done, chop or slice chicken and add to bowl. Drain the pasta well when al dente and add it to the bowl. Toss all ingredients and enjoy!
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Penne Pasta with Chicken, Greens, and Feta...March 17, 2011
8 oz whole wheat pasta
2 boneless chicken breasts
4 oz crumbled feta cheese with peppercorns
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 small tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 handfuls mixed field greens
1/3 c + 2 T olive oil
sea salt and coarsely ground pepper
Cook pasta according to directions on box. Meanwhile, rub chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill. (I use my panini maker to cook the chicken.) Chop the tomatoes, mince the garlic, and put them in a large pasta bowl. Add the greens, 1/3 c olive oil, and feta cheese. Toss these together with salt and pepper.
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