Turkey and Red Pepper Roll Ups

This is a take off of one of Rachel Ray's recipe. Next time I will not make them with phyllo dough. Phyllo dough gets on my nerves. I'm sure it's delicious and all, but by the time I've torn those thin little sheets of dough apart and tried to get them back into one sheet by applying gobs of butter, I pretty much just want to throw it out the window. Next time I will try with pie shells or something. Pretty much anything but phyllo dough.


Turkey and Red Pepper Roll Ups
1 lb ground turkey
3 scallions, chopped
1 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 or 2 large roasted red peppers, chopped
salt and pepper
phyllo dough (if you have the patience for it)
2 tblsp melted butter
Mix together ground turkey, scallions, cheese, garlic, tomato paste, red peppers, and salt and pepper. Put in a ziploc bag with one corner cut off. Lay down one thin little piece of phyllo dough. Brush with melted butter. If you're as bad at this as I am, you then need to fix the dough. Put one more piece of phyllo dough. Brush with melted butter. Repair tears. Curse phyllo dough. Top with one more piece of phyllo dough. Butter. Repair. Curs. Threaten to order carryout. Then one more piece. Squeeze turkey mixture out along long edge of phyllo dough - approximately 1/2 inch from edge. Roll up the phyllo. Brush with butter. Repeat to make a second roll up. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.

They Danced in My Head

Who knew that sugarplums were real?? They are real. And they're stinkin' delicious. And, when you hand someone a whole bag of cookies, you can point out that they are loaded with fruit and nuts and therefore are healthful. Hey, it works for me!


Sugarplums
6 ounces slivered almonds
5 ounces prunes (dried plums, if you're convinced that prunes are only for old ladies)
5 ounces dried apricots
5 ounces dried figs
1/4 cup powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
In a dry pan over medium heat, toast almonds for 5 minutes. Let cool. Place dried fruit and toasted almonds in food processor. Pulse 20-25 times until fruit is in small pieces. Mix powdered sugar and spices in a bowl. Add dried fruit and honey. Mix with your hands until well blended. (I warn you people, it's sticky stuff. I wore gloves. I suggest you do the same.) Form 1/2 - 1 tsp size balls and sprinkle with additional powdered sugar.

Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

I never would have put these flavors together, but it turns out it works. And it's delicious. Kevin was pretty excited that it was healthy food that tasted like food he shouldn't be allowed to eat.


Sweet Potato Peanut Soup
4 sweet potatoes
2 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups turkey stock
1 14 oz can diced tomato
1/2 cup peanut butter
crushed red pepper
dash ground ginger
salt and pepper
Microwave sweet potatoes 5-7 minutes, until cooked through. I peeled the potatoes first so that I wouldn't have to let them cool. I was in a rush trying to get the soup on the table. If you're not in a rush, you can cook them in the skins and then let them cool before you peel them. Either way, once you can handle the potatoes, cut them into 1" chunks.


Meanwhile, heat oil over medium heat. Sweat onions and garlic. Add potatoes, turkey stock, tomato, red pepper, and ginger. (As a side note on the ginger, the next time I will use fresh garlic.) Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Add peanut butter. Taste and season to taste. Using a stick blender, puree soup until smooth.

Mom's Birthday Dinner

A couple of years ago my mom had the brilliant idea that I should cook dinner for her instead of trying to find a birthday gift for her. Most years involve quite a bit of "What do you want me to make?" - "I don't know, what do you feel like making?" conversations. This year she surprised me by immediately suggesting this dish. She thinks it's from Better Homes and Gardens. The original recipe calls for walnuts, which I omitted because they're not really my thing. I served the green onions on the side so that everyone could dole out what they wanted. I'll skip them altogether next time. They didn't add a whole lot to the dish.


Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash
1 box pasta
1 large butternut squash
1 bulb garlic separated into cloves and peeled
1/4 cup butter
4 slices bacon, crumbled
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
shredded Romano cheese
sliced green onion
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cook pasta. Peel squash and chop into 1 inch pieces. Coat squash and garlic with garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook at 425 until squash is fork tender. In a small pan over medium heat, cook butter until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Toss squash, bacon, and nutmeg in serving bowl with 1/3 of the butter. Add pasta to serving bowl and toss with remainder of butter and cheese. 

Spiced Ice Cream

This is just a little twist on the cinnamon ice cream I usually make. I was aiming for something that tasted kind of Christmasy. It was quite tasty!


Spiced Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup heavy cream
pinch salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon 
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
6 squares of large Hershey's Special Dark bar, chopped


Mix milk, half and half, heavy cream, salt, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, and vanilla together until frothy. Prepare according to your machine's instructions. Remove from machine when soft serve consistency is reached and stir in chocolate. Stick in the freezer until you're ready to eat it.

Chicken with Gravy

I based this on Rachel Ray's Chicken with BLT gravy. I made a few substitutions based on what was in my pantry and the fact that I simply refuse to buy tomatoes in the winter. She made it in 15 minutes. I, however, encountered a little issue with my new meat thermometer and ended up taking just a bit longer. 


Chicken with Gravy
4 tblsp olive oil
1 package chicken thighs (Mine were bone in, which led me to need the meat thermometer, which led to this recipe taking longer than expected.)
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tblsp flour
1 cup stock (I used beef because that's what I had in the fridge, but chicken would be recommended.)
1 tblsp tomato paste
1 cup frozen peas
2 tblsp heavy cream
3/4 cup white wine
salt and pepper


Split the olive oil between two skillets and heat both over medium high heat. Salt and pepper chicken thighs. In one skillet, place the chicken thighs. Cook on approximately 7 minutes on each side, until the meat reaches 165 degrees. In the other, place the bacon. Brown the bacon. Add the onions and cook until tender. Sprinkle flour over bacon and onions and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, tomato paste, and peas. Stir and bring to simmer. Add heavy cream and stir. Remove from heat. Move the chicken to a serving platter. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the wine to the gravy and mix well. Pour the gravy over the chicken and serve.

Kevin's Breakfast Potatoes

This recipe has been contributed by guest blogger, Kevin Holler, my loving husband. He’s been working on this recipe for years. Literally. It’s taken a lot of work, so I should be understanding about the length of his post, but really? Did it need to be this long? It takes longer to read than to cook and eat the potatoes. What a dork! ~J

I’ve been on a breakfast potato quest for many years now.  Really an embarrassing amount of years.  And I make potatoes every weekend.  So really I should have had a perfected recipe after about 8 weeks, right?  My problem is a combination of wild technique changes, and poor (or no) record keeping.  I also concentrated on ease of preparation, which isn’t always helpful.  I also experimented with par-boiling for a while, and decided that it is unnecessary.  Makes for yummy potatoes, but very mushy.  This recipe is good - maybe even really good -  but for as long as I have been working on it, they should really be the world’s best potatoes.  Honestly though, the best potatoes can be purchased at Ms. Shirley’s on Cold Spring Lane.  I don’t know what they do there, but I am a big enough man to admit they are better than mine.  I am also a big enough dork to admit I have contemplated getting a job there, just long enough to learn how to make them.  It finally took a pow-wow with a professional cook to figure out the last couple of “tricks” I needed in my recipe, so thanks to him.  Also, he recommended a “drawn” (or clarified) butter-margarine mix, and they’re probably even better that way, but I haven’t tried.  My second favorite (also better than mine) potatoes are McDonald’s.  I swear. They’re amazing.

 Anyway, onto the recipe!  (I have duplicated these consistently, so I feel comfortable with the recipe and process.)

Breakfast Potatoes

Equipment  and ingredients:

Round breakfast skillet, I use cast iron

Two baseball sized white potatoes (you know the ones, not russet, but more or less the same shape as a red potato, but not red). Other potatoes can be used, but the results are a little different, not better or worse, just different.

Bowl of salty water

Salad spinner or colander

One med-large onion

2 TBS Butter

Delicious fat from breakfast meat

Peanut oil as necessary

Salt and pepper

Spatula that you know and trust

Shred potatoes into salty water, and let soak, anywhere from 1-15 min, I don’t think it makes much difference. Drain, rinse well, and drain again. Spin with a salad spinner if you have it, but squeezing out into a colander works well, it’s what I did this morning.  This step is important, because it removes some of the starch from the potato.  Not doing this step yields really tangy, weird, and not so good potatoes.  You can do this right before you cook, or any time before. (Refrigerate or freeze if you do it more than a few minutes before.)

Cook whatever breakfast meat you are cooking and leave the grease in the pan. Add two tablespoons of butter and enough peanut oil to completely coat the bottom of the pan.  If the butter does the job, no additional oil is necessary.  Chop more onion than you think is necessary.  Add to the fat/butter mixture. Add a heavy pinch of salt and cook on low until the onion is soft and lightly  browned.  I think of this as flavoring the fat as much as cooking the onion. Remove the onion from the pan, but leave as much fat as possible. Turn the heat up to medium.  Mix the onion into your shredded potatoes. The oil is ready when you drop one shred of potato in and it immediately starts sizzling. Drop your potato and onion mixture right into the middle of the hot oil, and enjoy the sizzling deliciousness for 2 seconds, then gently spread the potato out so it completely covers the bottom of your pan.  Wait a beat or three, then use your spatula and pull the edge in all the way around the rim of the pan, about an inch or so, until you have a more or less a round patty of potatoes.  I’m always impressed with how perfect of a circle this makes. Pinch of salt and grind of pepper on top, to taste. 

Flip the potatoes when the bottom is a beautiful golden brown.  Try to flip this perfectly - like a pancake.  If you pull this off kudos to you - I never do. I always end up flipping one half at a time.  Reassemble as gently as you can back into a patty.  Salt and pepper this side also.  When the second side is golden brown, you are finished.  I usually take a couple of sample tastes before I remove, to make sure I have the crunch-to–soft potato ratio right, as well as enough salt.  Take a few more bites that you pretend are test bites, then remove and serve.  

If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you!

Spicy Cheese Topped Tilapia

This is a modified version of my Aunt Joanne's southwestern fish, which I will surely make and post at a later date. It's a very tasty dish and it is on the table in a flash. I served it with couscous and broccoli.

Spicy Cheese Topped Tilapia
3 tilapia fillets
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 jar Harry and David Pepper and Onion Relish
1 tblsp horseradish
1 tblsp brown mustard
salt and pepper
Salt and pepper fillets. Place under broiler for 10 minutes. Mix together remaining ingredients. Remove fish and top with 1/3 of the mixture. Return fish to broiler and cook until cheese is melty and lightly browned.

Turkey Stock and Soup

My mom decided to give me the carcass this Thanksgiving. There was still a ton of turkey on it, so I picked it as clean as I could and made soup with the meat.

Turkey Stock

1 carcass, picked over

2 huge carrots

4 stalks celery

1 onion

handful peppercorns

salt

Add everything to a stock pot. Don't be shy with the salt. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Cook for several hours. The longer you cook it, the more flavorful it will be. I cooked mine for about three hours. I'm not patient enough to do it for longer than that. Let cool and then transfer to storage containers. I ended up with 5 1 qt freezer bags, 1 tray of ice cubes, and 5 cups to start a pot of soup.

Turkey Soup

2 tblsp olive oil

3 medium carrots chopped

4 stalks of celery hearts chopped

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

2-3 cups chopped turkey

5 cups turkey stock

2 cups water

1/2 head cabbage cut into 1" squares

frozen or leftover veggies (I used corn and peas)

Salt and pepper

Crushed red pepper

Chopped parsley

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until tender. Add turkey, stock, water, cabbage, and any additional veggies. Season to taste. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, and cook for at least 30 minutes. Add parsley just prior to serving.

Apple Pie

I had this bright idea to make an apple pie for Thanksgiving. I had never made one, but I had a pie crust in the freezer and a bunch of apples from the farmer's market. My confidence faded fast after I stated out loud that I would bring a pie to dinner. It worked out, though, and the pie was quite tasty. Next time I'll take a stab at making the crust too.

Apple Pie

1 frozen pie crust

3 apples (I used stayman winesaps), peeled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1/4 cup sugar

3 tblsp lemon juice

2 tblsp AP flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Topping

3/4 cup AP flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar (Or just use 1/2 cup brown sugar. I ran out.)

1 tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

1 stick cold butter cut into small pieces

Precook pie crust according to package instructions. Put apples, sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss until apples are coated and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix flour, oatmeal, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Cut butter in by hand and until small lumps form and set aside. Arrange apples in the pie crust. I tried to place them in a nice circle. It looks really easy when they do it on TV. It wasn't so easy for me. I went with a rough circle and decided that the topping would cover up anything that didn't look perfect. Drizzle any remaining juices over the apples. Top with the oatmeal mixture. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

Combine in a chilled bowl. Beat with hand mixer until stiff peaks are formed.

Mac and Cauliflower

I saw cheddar cauliflower at the farmer's market and felt certain that I could get Natty to eat it... Especially when I pureed it and stuck it in some mac and cheese.

Mac and Cauliflower
1/2 box whole wheat elbow macaroni
2 tblsp butter
2 tblsp AP flour
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pureed cheddar cauliflower (steam then puree in food processor)
Cook macaroni in salted water to desired tenderness. Drain and set aside. Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour to make roux. Cook to a light brown color. Add milk and cook, stirring frequently, until milk thickens. Remove from heat. Add cheese and cauliflower puree. Stir until melted. Add macaroni and combine.

Stuffed Cabbage

Have you ever noticed how gigantic the heads of cabbage are at the farmer's market? I'm always amazed, but can't stop myself from buying them. Having already used my standard cabbage accompaniment (ham steak) in another dish, I decided to try my hand at stuffed cabbage instead.

Stuffed Cabbage
1 package boil-in-bag brown rice
1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 egg
squeeze of tomato paste
10-15 large cabbage leaves
14 oz can diced tomato
1/2 cup white wine
salt & pepper
Cook rice according to package directions. Mix ground pork, beef, onion, garlic, egg, salt, pepper, tomato paste, and cooked (and cooled) rice in a mixing bowl. Blanch cabbage leaves until they are limp enough to bend, but not fully cooked. In the bottom of a baking dish, mix can of tomato, 1/3 can (approximately 1/2 cup) of white wine, and salt and pepper. Lay a cabbage leaf flat on the counter, mound pork mixture in middle, fold in sides, and roll. Place seam side down in sauce. Continue until all mixture is used. Cook at 400 degrees for one hour or until internal temperature reaches 160.

Ideas for next time - spice up meat mixture, add spinach and cheese to meat mixture, make more sauce, etc.

Mmm Mmmm... Shepherd's Pie

I don't know what the policy is on reposting recipes created by known chefs, so I will abstain. But, I will direct you to go to the Rachel Ray daytime talk show site and search for the stretch a buck shepherd's pie. You will not be sorry. Especially if you are feeding an army! It literally overflows our large cast iron pan and makes enough for us to eat it at four different dinners.

Cheesy Potato Sticks

These were supposed to trick Natty into eating something, but they didn't work. Luckily, they are tasty, so we'll just have to eat them with dinners.

Cheesy Potato Sticks

2 large potatoes

milk

butter

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk

pinch coriander

flour (for dusting)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Peel potatoes, cut up, and boil in salted water until fork tender. Mash potatoes, adding milk and butter to taste. Add cheese, egg yolk, and coriander and mix. Turn out onto floured surface and flatten to about 1". Cut into finger width strips. Flour hands. Pick up each piece of potato mixture and form square. Coat in breadcrumbs and place on lightly greased baking pan. Cook in a 400 degree oven until lightly browned.

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot

Chicken Pot Piiiiiieeee! This is my second favorite comfort food. 'Nuff said.

Chicken Pot Pie

1.5 lbs chicken breast

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic

2 tblsp butter

2 tblsp all purpose flour

2 cups chicken stock

1/2 bag frozen green beans

1/2 bag frozen corn

1/2 bag frozen peas

1 frozen pie crusts, thawed

salt and pepper

olive oil

Cut chicken breast into bite size pieces and brown in a two count olive oil over medium high heat. Moved cooked chicken breast to baking dish. Lightly brown onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil. Add garlic and stir. Push veggies to the side of the pan and melt butter in skillet. Add flour to butter and cook until light brown. Add stock to pan and stir gravy together with veggies. Add frozen veggies and simmer for five minutes. Add veggies and gravy to chicken in baking dish and mix. Cut and stretch pie crust to cover chicken and veggies. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until crust is brown.

Dressing up Ham Steak

After a crazy day, I had about 5 minutes to make dinner before everyone in my house, including me, had a breakdown about how hungry we all were. Ham steak to the rescue! I also made another attempt at getting Natty to eat veggies, but apparently rice isn't his thing... Stinker.

Ham Steak with Mustard Sauce
1 ham steak
1/4 medium onion sliced
1/4 cup white wine
1 heaping tblsp course ground mustard (by tblsp here, I mean one of the regular spoons out of the drawer, so it was probably more like 2 tblsps if you're actually measuring)
Cook ham steak in skillet over medium high heat until browned. Remove from skillet. Toss in onions and let brown for a minute. Add wine and deglaze pan. Add mustard and combine. Remove from heat.

Cheesy Rice
1 package instant brown rice
1 large carrot chopped into 1 inch chunks
milk or water
1/4 medium onion chopped
1 handful shredded mozzarella cheese
Cook rice according to package directions. Add carrot to water while rice is cooking. Drain rice and carrot. Place rice in serving dish. Puree carrot in food processor with a small amount of milk or water to help it along. Saute onion. Add pureed carrot, sauteed onion, and cheese to rice and stir to combine.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Don't be fooled by the appearance of broccoli in this dish. It should not be filed under heart or waist friendly. In fact, Kevin tasted it and said, "Yumm. This is not good for me." It is delicious and super easy. Many thanks to Jen (and Terry) for the recipe. Send me more! I'm totally in love with casseroles right now.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole
1 head steamed broccoli
1 package chicken breast cooked and cut up (I actually used a half of a leftover rotisserie chicken. The mix of white and dark meat was delicious.)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (Jen's recipe calls for 1/2 cup, but we really like cheese around here and tend to indulge.)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tblsp melted butter
Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange broccoli in an even layer and top with chicken. Mix chicken soup, mayo, and lemon juice in a small bowl. *Top chicken with soup mixture. Top soup mixture with cheese. Mix melted butter and breadcrumbs and then sprinkle on top of cheeses. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

*This is a bit different from Jen's original recipe. I needed to make the baking portion as simple as possible so that my injured husband could take care of it while I was out. Jen's original recipe calls for you to top the casserole with the breadcrumb mixture and then cook for 20 minutes. Then remove the casserole from the oven, sprinkle with cheese, and return to the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.

Thin Mint Ice Cream

I stole the idea for this from John, but since his recipe required patience (something I'm not known for) I opted to create my own, more immediately gratifying version. John's recipe can be found here. Either recipe gives you the chance to put cookies in a bag and bash them with a rolling pin and that's good stuff! Especially if you're having a bad week, which I was, which is probably why my cookies were more pulverized than crushed.

Kevin dubs this the best ice cream ever - high praise from a guy who claims not to like mint chocolate combinations.

Thin Mint Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
1/2 sleeve thin mint cookies, crushed
Mix everything but cookies together and whip with a wire whisk until foamy. Add mixture to ice cream machine and run machine for 15 minutes. Add cookies and continue according to your machine's instructions. Serve immediately or place in freezer until it reaches desired consistency.

Fall Salad

I made this for dinner at a friend's house this weekend. There are not a ton of what I consider to be "normal" salad vegetables available at the farmer's market in November, so I opted to roast all the delicious vegetables I found. I also found some very spicy arugula. This recipe also marks the first time I successfully purchased, cooked, and consumed beets. I'm not convinced of the greatness of the beet, but it was up against some stiff competition in this salad.

Fall Salad
1 bunch arugula, chopped
3 radishes, sliced
1 purple potato, sliced into thin disks
1 yellow potato, sliced into thin disks
1 head kohlrabi, peeled and sliced into thin disks
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin disks
8 beets, scrubbed and trimmed
olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine arugula and radishes and set aside. Put all remaining vegetables, except for beets, in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread in an even layer on a baking sheet and place in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until veggies are tender. Toss beets with olive oil, salt, and pepper and place on a separate baking sheet in a 400 degree oven until fork tender. (I put the beets separate so that the other veggies would not turn red. After removing beets from oven, let cool for 10 minutes and then peel and slice (I actually served them whole, but probably slicing them would have been prettier). Vegetables can be served on the salad hot or cold (I went with cold). Serve with mustard vinaigrette.

Mustard Vinaigrette
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
4 tblsp balsamic vinegar
1 heaping tblsp coarse ground mustard
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/8 tsp dried thyme
pinch salt
fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
Mix all ingredients except olive oil in a small bowl. Add olive oil while stirring with a fork. Transfer to serving container.

The Simplest Things

Sometimes the simplest things end up being the most delicious. Finding myself with so many apples that my fridge is overflowing and an abundance of cheddar cheese, I decided to just have apples and cheese for lunch. But since I was cold, I decided a warm lunch would hit the spot.

Grilled Cheese and Apples
2 slices whole grain bread
cheddar cheese
thinly sliced apples
butter or margarine
Butter one side of both slices of bread. Assemble sandwiches with apple and cheddar to your taste. Grill until bread is golden and cheese is completely melted. Enjoy!

Tacos on Crack

To start, big thanks to Jen for this recipe! And, thanks to Jen's mom for giving it to her!

This casserole is all of my favorite things about tacos in the exact right proportions. I have to admit, I went back for seconds despite my no seconds rule. For his part, Kevin stopped himself before he ate the whole casserole. Simple recipe and damned tasty!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
2 tblsp oil
1 medium onion (I managed to be out of onions this week. Boo.)
4 cup pulled chicken
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 package taco seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
jalapeno
6 whole wheat tortillas (cut into quarters)
1 block monterey jack cheese shredded
(Jen suggests a few other optional ingredients including black beans, spanish rice, or corn)

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions (if you aren't an idiot and forget to buy them). Add chicken, tomatoes, tomato sauce, spices, jalapenos, and any other optional ingredients that make you happy. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Layer tortillas, topped with chicken mixture, then cheese. Repeat until you're out of chicken mixture. Mine only made two levels, but rumor has it you can get to three layers. Bake on 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is melty and deliciously browned.

Grilled Fennel

Kevin fell in love with grilled fennel at a restaurant near us, so I thought I'd try to recreate it. Way too easy to make, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

Grilled Fennel
1 fennel bulb
olive oil
salt and pepper
Remove leaves and stalks from fennel bulb. Cut bulb into quarters and clean. Toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on hot grill pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.

So That's What a Turnip Tastes Like

In my mission to try more things from the farmer's market, I picked up turnips this week. I had to do a little research to figure out what to do and it turns out you can pretty much treat it like a potato or just eat it raw. I did try a bite raw, but with no salad greens available, I opted to cook all the turnips I picked up.

Mashed Turnip and Potatoes
3 turnips
4 medium potatoes
2 tblsp butter cut into chunks
1/4 cup half and half
4 pieces crispy bacon chopped
salt and pepper
Peel turnips. Cut turnips and potatoes into 1" chunks and place in medium saucepan. Cover with cold water. Add a generous amount of salt and bring to boil. Cook until potatoes and turnips fall off the fork. Drain and return to saucepan. Add butter, half and half, bacon, and pepper. Mash to desired tenderness.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

Roasted vegetables... yummy... Soup... yummy...

I'm also hoping this will get Natty to eat some veggies. It's not green and he can use his new found spoon skills, so I have my fingers crossed.

Roasted Vegetable Soup
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 quart chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want to go totally vegetarian)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cumin
Plain yogurt or sour cream
Prepare vegetables, coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast in 400 degree oven. Veggies are done when you they slide easily off of a fork. Transfer veggies to soup pot and add chicken stock. Bring stock to a simmer and then puree vegetables with a stick blender. Add cumin to taste. Bring to boil. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve topped with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

If you don't like cumin, leave it out. The soup was delicious before I added it, but I couldn't stop feeling like cumin would give it a really nice taste, so I threw it in.

If you don't have a stick blender, I would put the veggies in a food processor or blender before adding the chicken stock. Or if you want it to stay chunkier, you could just use a potato masher to chunk it up.

Crock Pot Chicken

I've had a crock pot for over a year and never once turned it on, so I actually had to look up a recipe in the owner's manual. Pathetic. I know. So, while I was surprised to find out you can cook a whole chicken in a crock pot, it turns out if you cook the hell out of a chicken for 11 hours while you're at work, the whole thing falls apart. Really, when I tried to take the chicken out of the crock pot, the entire breast came off. But it still got positive results from the boys, which is all that matters.

Crock Pot Chicken
1 3-4 lb chicken
3-4 medium potatoes (I used a mix of white sweet potatoes and russets) cut into large chunks
1 yellow onion cut into large chunks
6-7 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
Put chicken, potatoes, onion, and garlic in crock pot. Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook on low all day.

Brown Sugar Ice Cream

After a week of no ice cream, I took a stab at a new recipe. It didn't come out as brown sugar-y as I would have liked. I'm not sure what to do about that without putting a ton of sugar in it... Or omitting the vanilla... Anyway, it was delicious!

Brown Sugar Ice Cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup whipping sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Combine all ingredients and beat with a wire whisk until sugar dissolves. Make according to ice cream maker instructions.

Pizza

Nothing better than homemade pizza! I toyed with the dough recipe included in my bread machine to bump up the amount of whole wheat allowing me to pretend that pizza is healthy. It worked, but the dough was too wet and needed extra flour when rolling out.

Pizza Dough
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
I'm not sure how to translate the recipe to be made without a bread machine, but the machine kneads for 25 minutes and then rises for an hour.

Pizza Sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomato
2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tblsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
dash onion powder
dash crushed red pepper
pinch salt
Combine all ingredients in saucepan. Bring to simmer then reduce to low. Cook 20-30 minutes to reduce. Use stick blender to puree. Let sauce cool in refrigerator before topping pizza.

Stewed Apples... kinda

Have you ever tried to recreate something that you last had when you were five? No? That makes you waaaay smarter than me! I've been trying to recreate my great-grandmother's stewed apples for years. Failure after failure plagues me. Luckily, when you fail on stewed apples, you end up with applesauce, which is also awesomely tasty!

Chunky Applesauce (version 982)
5 stayman winesap apples, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1 cup apple cider
2 tblsp brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan and cook over medium low heat. Stir gently every couple of minutes. Cook approximately 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Risotto

It's rainy and cold. It's been rainy and cold for days. Risotto has become one of my favorite comfort foods and it is perfect for cold, rainy days. I don't think risotto is as difficult as some people would like to make it sound, but it's also not the kind of thing you should make if you don't have time to be in the kitchen for a good 45 minutes to an hour. Also, once you have the method down, you can use any combo of additions you like. Leftover veggies are great to use - just add them at the end (where I added peas).

Mushroom and Leek Risotto
2 tblsp olive oil
2 leeks sliced
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 portobella mushrooms sliced
1 pt button mushrooms sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper
1 cup arborio rice
1 cup white wine
4-6 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup parmesan cheese
Heat chicken broth over low heat. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and cook until tender. Add garlic, mushrooms, and thyme. Cook until mushrooms are tender. Salt and pepper. Add arborio rice and cook until coated with the liquid from the mushrooms. Add white wine and stir until wine is absorbed. Add broth one cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Stir periodically until broth is absorbed. The rice will develop a creamy texture as it cooks. Stirring is important to developing the texture, but it is not necessary to stir non-stop. Once the rice is cooked through, add the peas. Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan. Serve immediately.

Cheap Mushroom

I had a craving for mushrooms and the mushroom lady was selling her "old" mushrooms for cheap. She gave me twice the amount I asked for at half the price. Who am I to complain? I figured I would wing it and try a cream sauce.

Mushroom Cream Sauce
1 tblsp butter
1 pint mushrooms sliced
salt and pepper
1 tblsp flour
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup half & half
2 oz fontina cheese
Melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Add flour and stir to coat mushrooms. Add milk and half and half. Heat slowly until sauce thickens. Add cheese and heat until it melts. Remove from heat.

I used my sauce in a casserole, but I think it would have been delicious over chicken. I just wasn't able to make anything right away, so casserole seemed the best option.

For Kevin

I'm posting this for Kevin, who once made fun of his uncle for not being able to remember "/ethan" but can't remember this simple recipe.

Chipotle Mayo
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
3/4 cup mayonnaise

Blend until smooth.

Stuffed Squash

This week was apparently new squash week at the farmer's market - even the farmers had not tried all of them! I asked about the different kinds and one was supposed to be good for stuffing. I've never stuffed a squash or, to the best of my knowledge, eaten a stuffed squash, but I figured it couldn't be too much different than stuffing a pepper and since I had leftover white rice from Chinese food the night before, I took the chance.

Stuffed Squash
1 black fuji squash (it looks like an acorn squash, which are also apparently good for stuffing)
1/2 lb. ground turkey
1 sliced onion
3 cloves garlic
14.5 oz can diced tomato
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup cooked rice
2 tsp dried basil
crushed red pepper
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half, brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Once oven is preheated, put squash in while the stuffing is cooking. Over medium heat, cook turkey, sliced onion, and garlic until turkey is cooked and onion is soft. Add diced tomato. At this point, I realized that I would end up with enough stuffing for at least two squash (four halves). Whoops! Add peas, cooked rice, and basil. Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste. Remove sqash from oven and stuff with generous portions of stuffing. Return squash to oven and cook until squash is tender, approximately 30 minutes.

Happy Accident Dinner

I don't normally cook pork, but Kevin really likes it so I picked it up at the farm. I didn't really know what to do with it, so I checked out Missy's recipe blog to see if she had any good ideas and came across a pork and eggplant stir fry. I had eggplant in the fridge (1st happy accident), so I was set. Missy's original recipe can be found here, but I made some adjustments according to my pantry. Thank you Missy for the great idea!

Pork and Eggplant Not-Really-Stir-Fry
2 tblsp peanut oil
2 pork chops cut into cubes
1 red onion sliced
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 eggplant sliced (shoestring)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tblsp oyster sauce
1 tblsp hot pepper and garlic sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 tblsp corn starch
1 cup edamame (in the shell, 1/2 cup if not in shell)
10 leaves basil
brown rice

Heat oil in large stir fry pan until shimmering. Add cubed pork chops and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir and cook until browned. Remove from pan and return pan to heat. You can add a little more oil if you need it. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Stir and cook for a minute. Add eggplant. Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, hot pepper and garlic sauce, and 3/4 cup chicken broth in a dish and add to pan. Mix corn starch and remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth in a dish and add to pan. Return pork to pan and bring sauce to a simmer. Look at sauce and determine you've made too much sauce and realize that you forgot to make rice to sop it all up. Turn around and notice that your frozen edamame are still sitting on the counter. Add edamame to the pan and rejoice in this happy accident that gave you five minutes in which to make instant brown rice, which coincidentally takes five minutes! Quickly make brown rice. Chiffonade basil and throw it in the pan at the last moment. Serve the not-quite-stir-fry over rice.

Notes for future: cut eggplant into cubes instead of shoestrings, add in extra veggies.

Mom's Chicken Casserole

Kevin was actually the cook on this one. He made it for friends who just had a baby and then came home and made it for us. This is actually something that I remember my mom making often when I was little. I loved it and asked her to make it for me a few years ago and discovered how easy it is to make! As a parent, I love how easy and inexpensive it is. Plus, Natty loved it!

Mom's Chicken Casserole
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup brown rice
1 envelope onion soup mix

Spray baking dish with Pam. Preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle rice in dish. Add water to soup to make two cups liquid. Stir soup into rice. Lay chicken over rice. Sprinkle with one envelope onion soup mix. Cover and bake about 1 hour (or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 170).

Maryland Crab Soup

There were a whole bunch of crabs left over from dinner at my parents the other night, so I brought them home and spent an hour picking crabs and trying not to eat them. I had already decided that I would make soup, so I kept the backfin meat separate because I think it's too good for soup. I've seen plenty of recipes that would disagree with this, so hey, to each his own. I guess it depends on how much cash you want to drop on your crabmeat. Since I was actually picking the crabs and not buying packaged crabmeat, I also kept some of the crab legs since there was really no meat coming out of the cold crabs and I tend to like seeing crab parts in my crab soup. It also gives some extra flavor to the soup from the delicious seasonings.

Maryland Crab Soup
2 tblsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
28 oz can diced tomato
3 cups water
8 oz frozen corn
8 oz frozen okra
8 oz frozen cut green beans
4 medium red potatoes, diced
1 lb crabmeat (plus any crab pieces you might have)
Old Bay seasoning
salt & pepper

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large pot. Add onion and sweat until tender. Add tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add water, corn, okra, green beans, potatoes, crabmeat, and crab pieces. Add 2 tblsp Old Bay and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for at least 30 minutes. Taste and season to your taste. Be sure to allow the soup to cook for a few minutes and taste again after seasoning.

Note: Although I knew I was going to make this soup, I failed to be sure I had carrots or potatoes before I started. If I had carrots, I would have sliced 2-3 carrots and added them before the onion. I happened to have a few potatoes in the pantry, but it's ended up not being very much compared to the size of the pot of soup I made. If you have large potatoes, 4 might do, but if you really like potato in your crab soup, 4 mediums might not make you happy.

Mint Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream

I really fought this ice cream. Twice it went into the canister and wouldn't freeze. After a little nervous breakdown, Kevin convinced me to start totally over (thaw the canister and then refreeze) and see what happened. Thankfully, the third time was the charm and I finally made ice cream! This is for a 1 quart machine.

Mint Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream
1 1/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup half and half
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/2 leftover brownie (or 2 if you're able to keep yourself from eating the other half)

Heat whole milk, half and half, heavy cream, and sugar over low heat until sugar melts. Refrigerate mixture for at least two hours, but preferably overnight. Add peppermint extract to mixture and mix with wire whisk. Prepare according to your machine's instructions. Crumble brownie mixture* into machine once the mixture is soft serve consistency and finish mixing to your preferred consistency. Freeze, serve, and enjoy.

* Next time I will wait until I remove the ice cream from the maker and fold in the brownie pieces so that the brownie stays in larger chunks.

Potato Topped Tilapia

So, the plan tonight was to make fish cakes from one of the baby cookbooks I was given as a gift and have not yet used. However, a series of events involving getting home late from work, a screaming hungry baby, and a husband that was not home when expected resulted in something a little different. This serves two. It uses tilapia because my original intent was to share with Natty and mild fish is easier to get a baby to eat. If I had been making it for just me and Kevin, I would have used a fishier fish (salmon, trout, etc).

I would have served it with a salad and steamed broccoli, but I was hungry and it was getting late, so I scrapped it. Hmm.. Next time, maybe I'll put the broccoli in with the potatoes...

Oh, and if anyone can give me a tip on how to peel potatoes without either a) potatoes slipping out of your hand and into the trashcan or b) accidentally peeling my fingers in the process, go ahead and lay them on me!

Potato Topped Tilapia
2 tilapia fillets
4 medium white potatoes
3 cloves garlic
2 tblsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1 small bunch scallions (whites and 1" of greens)
1 tblsp chopped chives
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2" chunks. Place them in medium saucepan with three whole cloves of garlic and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until they fall off the fork. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add butter, milk, scallions, and chives and mash to desired consistency (I like lumps).

While the potatoes are cooking, sprinkle salt and pepper on tilapia and place under broiler for 10 minutes or until flaky. Place a mound of mashed potato on top of each fillet and top with cheddar cheese. Put the fish under the broiler until cheese is lightly browned.

Greens

I was pretty lazy with dinner tonight and opted for hot dogs, which were ridiculously delicious by the way. If you're local to Baltimore, I would highly suggest going to Springfield Farms and trying everything. Anyway, I did decide on doing some simple greens (chard in this case, but you can use any green) as a side. When I picked the greens up at the farmer's market, one of the workers overheard me telling my friend that I discard the stems and interrupted us to tell me the stems are delicious too. I have to agree - they are quite tasty!

Chard with Onion and Tomato
2 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch chard
1 small sliced onion
1 chopped tomato
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil over medium heat in deep sided skillet. Cut the stems from the chard and cut the leaves into 2 inch strips. Add stems and sliced onion to olive oil to skillet and cook for approximately 5 minutes, until stems soften. Add chard leaves and toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until leaves wilt. Add chopped tomato and toss to warm tomato.

Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

Thursday night. Pasta night. Yum!

Since Kevin came home early tonight, I actually had time to make my own sauce, which has become a bit of a rarity. I took the opportunity to whittle down the basil bush.

I actually made an effort to measure things, but only after I put in almost all the spices... Just as well. You should adjust to your taste anyway.

Tomato Basil Sauce
1 small onion chopped
4 large cloves garlic chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomato
1 6 oz can tomato paste
6 oz water
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sugar
3 pattypan squash
2/3 cup basil

In medium saucepan, sweat onion until translucent. Add garlic and sweat for two minutes. Add diced tomato, tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, red pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, prepare pattypan squash to your taste. Normally, I would saute the squash in 2 tblsp olive oil for a few minutes, but since Natty has decided recently that he will no longer eat vegetables, I opt to steam them and then puree them in a mixer. Kevin prefers it and thinks it makes the sauce just a touch sweeter. Add squash to sauce.

Chiffonade basil and add it to the sauce at the last moment. Serve with pasta of your liking cooked according to the package directions.

Pesto Steak and Smashed Chive Potatoes

Last night I pulled a steak out of the freezer with no plan. I also have a basil plant in my garden that has turned into something of a monster. I decided to put them together and see how it went. I got a bit lazy with the pesto because it was getting late and I had a baby and a husband to feed. And what goes better with steak than potatoes?!

(Measurements are estimates. I'm not big on measuring when I cook.)

Pesto Steak
four single serving pieces of skirt steak
1.5 cups basil
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Salt and pepper steak and place on hot grill pan. Cook for four minutes on each side to medium. While the steak is cooking, put the basil, cheese, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a blender and combine. Add olive oil as necessary to reach a paste consistency (or whatever consistency you like). Serve steak topped with a generous dollop of pesto.

Smashed Chive Potatoes
6 medium potatoes - skin on (I used a mix of red and russet)
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped chives
salt

In a large saucepan, boil potatoes in salted water until they fall off the fork when poked. Drain and return potatoes to saucepan. Add butter, milk, and chives. Smash to desired consistency (I prefer a lot of chunks).

I served this dinner with a tomato fresh from my garden and fresh mozzerella. As a side note, I realized while we were eating that this dinner was totally local (well, I guess mostly local because of the salt, pepper, and butter).

First Day

So, in an effort to combat my laziness about organizing my recipes, I've decided to jump on the recipe blog bandwagon. I'm hoping this will get me typing and give Kevin and me a place to look when we're having one of our endless, "What do you want for dinner tonight?" conversations.

If you're curious what we're eating here in the Underwood household or trying to find something to do with that random steak you just pulled out of the freezer, read on!