Creammy Broccoli soup

Big hit here with this soup Alexandro has already asked me to make it again twice (He loves soup and fresh bread). The only change I did was to sauté the onion and Garlic in olive oil before adding the rest of the ingredients and I also decided to use my commercial grade blender instead of an immersion blender. They are very powerful and easy to clean, they also keep the food hot. I may be making this soup again this week.

Gumbo Time

I decided to use fresh Okra for my Gumbo as a result I had to wait a couple of weeks since it was a bit too early in the season and the grocery stores were still waiting to get some in. I am glad to report that it was definitely worth the wait….. I have to say this is the best gumbo recipe I have ever made. I made a few minor changes though. In Brazil when cooking Okra we usually sauté it in olive oil until all the slime is gone before preparing a dish. I highly recommend this method , another method used is to add lime juice (I don’t like doing that because it changes the flavor of the meal but it does work in reducing the sliminess). I also like sautéing the garlic and onion first and browning the chicken before hand. We are not huge fans of cooked celery so I just added 1/2 cup chopped. Everyone enjoyed it very much over steamed rice. Hummmmmmm so goooooooooooood.

Ingrid's Bowtie Tuna and Arugula Beet Salad

Oh, my arugula is growing and growing my herb garden is doing really good with all the rain and scattered sunshine days.
I LOVE the salad what an amazing combination of flavors!!! The only things I changed is that I decided to use fresh beets and navel oranges (got a huge box at Costco) The oranges were so sweet….perfect for the salad.
Now the pasta was amazing….I however disagree with the author and highly recommend grilling (or broiling) the Tuna. In my opinion if you are going to the trouble in spending the money on buying such a nice piece of tuna to boil it, you may as well use canned tuna. As you can tell we had our tuna grilled and oh boy that was amazing….Definitely making this dish again.

Jacki’s Review of Bowties with Tuna and Beet-Arugula Salad.

Tonight I prepared “the meal” as it is known around our house.  I really liked both the pasta dish and the salad but Rich was a little unsure.  He said he didn’t really like to “chase his food around the plate”. I guess the pasta was a little slippery.   He did suggest some cheese might help and I agree that a good sprinkling of parmesan cheese would be a nice addition.  We both agreed the tuna was excellent.  I thought the dish had a really good flavor – I prefer it over a traditional tuna noodle casserole which I am not a big fan of.  I followed the recipe pretty much as directed with a couple of minor changes.  I used center cut bacon instead of pancetta and artichoke quarters in water (drained) since that is what I had.  I bought a couple of nice yellowfin ahi tuna steaks which were very good.  It had a much fresher taste than canned tuna.  I thought the dish was easy to prepare.  I didn’t use a whole pound of the pasta and next time I would use even less than I used so I could have artichoke and tuna in every bite.  I would probably only use 1/2 a pound instead of a whole pound.  As for the salad – I used a combination baby lettuce package which had arugula in it.  I really liked the flavor combination of the lettuces with the beets and mandarin oranges.  I used a bottled blue cheese dressing that we had on hand because I forgot to buy the buttermilk and I wasn’t sure that the ol vinegar in the milk trick would work very well with this recipe.  I thought the meal made for a beautiful presentation and was light and tasty, just as a spring time meal should be.

Don’t these beautiful pics make you want to cook these recipes up right now?!  Yummm!

Leslee's Bowties with Panceta & Tuna

I wanted to try out this recipe on Tuesday before we left for Arizona on Wednesday so I kind of just used what I had.  Instead of Tuna Steaks I used the suggestion to substitute chicken breast and used a little ham and bacon instead of pancetta.  I didn't have any artichoke hearts so I just used a different veggie that I did have which was green beans.  When I was dishing up my pasta I thought it needed a thicker sauce but it acutally had plenty of flavor and tasted great. I topped my bowl with a little cheese and it was quite good.   Both Sean and I liked it and would eat it again!

Audrey's Shrimp and Couscous

Just Brock and I tryed these two recipes and found the glaze a bit strong, so I would make some changes with that. I used the shrimp that I could find at the store which was medium, deveined and no tail. Next time I would get the larger shrimp, deveined with the tails on. They were both very easy recipes, which was what I wanted. We had some fresh asparagus along with the meal and all three tasted pretty good.

Shrimp, Couscous and Green beans in Oregon

Grilled Shrimp with Ginger-Hoisin Glaze served with Garlic-Herb Couscous and Green beans with pineapple vinaigrette

I decided to marinate and grill the shrimp and oh boy that was delicious. I mixed the ingredients for the glaze added some garlic in it and let it sit in the refrigerator all day. In the evening grilled the shrimp and simmered the glaze. When the shrimp was cooked I transferred to a bowl and pour the glaze over it and sprinkled the scallions on top, really good!!!!
We love couscous in our home so I didn’t cook the way Robin had it on her recipe. I like to cook it in chicken broth and add the herbs before serving. It was delicious with the shrimp I was impressed with the combination.
After reading Jakie’s review of the green beans I decided to change the recipe a bit and it was very tasty. I sautéed the shallot and garlic in olive oil until golden brown and cooked the green beans in it with a bit of salt, pepper and powder chicken bullion. Then I added only half the amount of pineapple (4Oz) – I only had crushed pineapple in my pantry - and added the Dijon mustard. My family loved it. I would definitely make this meal again

Recipes for week of May 3rd 2010

Bowties with Panceta & Tuna Pg 75

1 lb Farfalle(bowtie) pasta
2 teaspoons Olive oil
1/2 cup diced pancetta, bacon, or ham
2 tuna steaks (5 to 6 Oz each)
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
1 cup reduced-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup quarted oil-packed artichoke hearts
2 tableshpoos chopped fresh parsley

1-Cook the pasta according to the package direction. Drain and Transfer to a large bowl.
2-While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Season both sides of the tuna with salt and pepper, add the hot pan and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add broth and the artichokes, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the fish is just cooked through and fork tender, about 5 minutes.
3-Remove from the heat and stir the mixture into the pasta, breaking up the tuna into bite-size chunks. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.



Beet-Arugula Salad with Buttermilk-Blue Cheese Dressing Pg 270

4 cups fresh arugula leaves
1 cup jarred or canned sliced beets
One 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained

Buttermilk-Blue cheese dressing
2/3 cup buttermilk
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1-Arrange the arugula on a serving platter. Top with sliced beet and orange segments
2- In a small bowl, Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and serve.

Ok, Leon and the boys helped to pick this week’s recipes, we have been talking about tuna casserole and the boys are very curious about that so I think that’s the reason they selected this recipe. I love arugula and have a lot in my garden right now that I want to use it. I am sure you can use spinach and it will be just as good. I love having arugula with sea food and perhaps you will enjoy it too.

Jacki and Leslee’s Review of Ginger Shrimp and Couscous.

I am here at Leslee’s still helping out and I made these two recipes a couple of nights ago.  Only Sean and I tested them because Leslee doesn’t care for shrimp and the couscous wasn’t gluten free.  We both liked the recipes but had some suggestions.  We would add less fresh garlic to the Ginger-Hoisin sauce.  Probably only 1 tsp – it had a very strong ginger flavor.  This would be a good glaze for chicken or beef too.  I ended up buying already cooked shrimp because the store didn’t have any peeled shrimp and I didn’t want to peel them.  I tried to just barely cook them enough to heat but they did seem a little tough but they turned out well enough.  I had the scallions all chopped and ready to go in a little ramekin – just like the pros – but I forgot to sprinkle them on the shrimp so that is why you don’t see any.  The couscous was good.  I even bought the salt free garlic herb spice so I could follow the recipe exactly.  Sean had never tried couscous and liked it.  I had made it once before a few years ago but didn’t add any seasonings so it wasn’t very good but I really did think this recipe was tasty and so fast and easy to prepare.  With a side of broccoli,  this was a tasty meal.

 

New Recipes for week of April 25th-May 1st

Since we have a busy weekend, I decided to get the new recipes up today for those who are weekend shoppers for the coming week. We all like shrimp, so this recipe looked simple and tasty. Hope that it tastes good :)


Grilled Shrimp with Ginger-Hoisin Glaze pg 217

Serves 4

Ginger-Hoisin Glaze
2 Tbl. hoisin sauce
1 Tbl. rice vinegar
2 tsp. peeled & finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce


2 tsp. peanut or olive oil
1 1/4 lbs. large or jumbo shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/4 cup chopped scallions (white & green parts)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the glaze ingredients and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to the hot pan and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over, add the glaze, and simmer until the shrimp are opaque and just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, top with the scallions, and serve.

Garlic-Herb Couscous pg 262

serves 4

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup couscous, regular or whole wheat

1 tsp. garlic-and-herb seasoning (preferably salt free)

2 Tbl. chopped fresh herbs, such as cilantro, mint, parsley, or basil, or a combination of any of these herbs.

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the couscous, garlic-and-herb seasoning, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper and mix well.
2. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Jacki and Leslee’s Review of BBQ Meatballs and Green Beans with Pineapple Vinaigrette.

I am visiting with Leslee and family and helping with new baby Knox.  We made this meal last week and thought it was “ok” but I don’t think I would make either one again.  It was definitely edible but didn’t totally impress me.  The BBQ sauce had too much chili powder in it for me and I like the bottled kind better – especially Sweet Baby Ray’s – yummmy.  The meatballs were good though.  We served it over steamed rice.  I actually liked the green bean dish but I thought it was a bit labor intensive.  It had a good flavor.  I used frozen green beans and  heated everything together for a warm dish.  It made a good accompaniment for the BBQ  meatballs.  I think everyone here felt about the same as I did regarding these recipes.  Interesting to try but probably would not make again.  If any of you have tried these two recipes let us know. 

Meatballs in the pan and ready to brown.

Audrey's Broccoli Soup & Calzone

As you can see Mother and Dad were at our place for a visit, so I decided that it was a good time to try out the new recipes. I followed the recipe for the Broccoli soup closely, but didn't use as much milk as it called for, since we like our soup somewhat thick. I used fresh broccoli and chicken broth instead of vegetable broth. I didn't have an immersion blender, so I had to blend the mixture in batches, which can get a little tricky since it is a hot liquid. I would highly recommend getting an immersion blender if you can :) Most of us really liked the soup and would fix it again. In fact, we had extra so I froze it in single serving containers for future use. We did sprinkle some grated cheese on top of the soup before eating and we really liked that. It was a pretty easy recipe. I thought that this was a good recipe and would fix it again. It is a very filling soup. We had it another time and we had grilled cheese sandwiches with it, which tasted real good.

I did make some changes with the Calzone. We aren't fans of Ricotta cheese, so Mother and I decided to go with cottage cheese, which we all like :) We couldn't find fresh or frozen pizza, so we got the refrigerated in a can, which worked just fine. We tried several different ingredients: pepperoni, spinach and cheese mixture; pepperoni and cheese mixture; spinach and cheese mixture. I think that the favorite was the original spinach and cheese mixture. We also felt that it needed some pizza sauce, so we heated that up and used it for dipping. We all really liked the Calzone and I would definitely fix it again. There are so many different ingredients that could be used. Thanks for the good choice on recipes :)

catching up!!!!

Ok, so this last week we had some of the dishes we missed while we were out of town for Spring Break I am hopping to be able to make the other dishes this next couple of weeks…
The spinach cheese calzone was really good. I just added ½ cup cream cheese, onion and garlic powder. It sure makes a lot we had 2 meals out of this recipe!!!


















































The chicken and sausage sandwiches were a big hit!!! Alexandro had a friend over and he liked it as well. The boys added pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, sliced avocados and jalapeños. They also had mayo and mustarded on the buns. I had mine over rice and some salad on the side and that was delicious!!!!!




















































I loved the stake and shitake fried very easy to make and so, so good. I used Korean rice and added frozen green peas and sesame oil.















































For the Pan-grilled chicken with Orange-ginger sauce I added garlic, rice wine, green onion, soy sauce and marinated over night. I served the orange sauce on the side and cooked some Jasmine rice to serve it with, the chicken was delicious!!!! But nobody liked the orange ginger sauce L For a vegetable we had the Garlic-Roasted Asparagus with almonds the boys said it was ok and they prefer not to have the almonds.

As expected the mixed fruit tart with Vanilla cream was a HUGE hit. So easy to make and so, so tasty!!!! Great recipe for Oregon Summers can’t wait until my marrionberries are ready!!!

Recipes for Week of Apr. 11-17, 2010

Since I love all things BBQ, I chose the following recipes:

Meatballs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce  (pg 164)

1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
2 tsp salt-free garlic-and-herb-seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tblsp olive oil

Root Beer BBQ Sauce

One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
One 12-ounce can or bottle root beer
2 Tblsp cider vinegar
2 Tblsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dry mustard
Dash of hot sauce

1.  In a large bowl, combine the beef, garlic-and-herb seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Mix well and shape into 16 to 20 meatballs, each 2 to 3 inches in diameter.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the meatballs and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients, then add to the meatballs and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Green Beans with Pineapple Vinaigrette  (pg 243)

4 cups green beans, ends trimmed
2 medium shallots, minced
One 8-ounce can pineapple tidbits or chunks in juice, drained and
                                     juice reserved
1 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the green beans in a colander set over simmering water, cover, and steam until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes (or steam in the microwave in a shallow dish with 1 Tblsp water, covered with plastic wrap or a paper towel, on HIGH for 2-3 minutes).

2. Transfer the beans to a large bowl, add the shallots and pineapple, and toss to combine.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the reserved pineapple juice, oil, mustard, onion powder, salt, and pepper.  Pour over the beans, toss to combine, and serve.

Jacki’s Review of Coconut Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce

We had another fine meal at our home tonight with this recipe and we both liked it.  I made the Coconut beef as directed and let it marinate all day.  I used some stew meat I had in the freezer and sliced it a little thinner.  I skewered the pieces but ended up taking it off the skewers because it wasn’t cooking very evenly on the grill pan.  (I have a cheap grill pan).  I made the peanut sauce as directed but I have to agree with Leslee – it was too bitter – so I added some brown sugar too.  I served it over steamed rice and spooned the peanut sauce over the top.  Sauteed zucchini and sliced mango completed our meal.  Soooo delicious and very easy to make!

Ingredients gathered and ready to prep the meal.

How good does that look?!  A mighty tasty meal.

Jacki’s Review of Chicken Gumbo

Tonight we had the Chicken Gumbo and man-oh-man it was good.  I like anything tomatoey though.  Rich took one glance at it and said it looked like heartburn.   He seemed to like it too and ate it without complaint.  I followed the recipe as directed.   I felt like I was making a nice, healthy meal with all the slicing and dicing  of veggies.  It was pretty easy to make.  I didn’t add all of the chicken broth called for because my pan wouldn’t hold anymore and I was shy about 4 oz of tomato juice for the same reason.  Robin hit it spot on with the combination of all the spices because I thought it had a really good flavor.  I served it over steamed rice with a side dish of sliced mango.  I think the leftovers will be even better!  I would like to try it with shrimp next time.

Most of the ingredients assembled. 

Simmering on the stove.

Final product served over steamed rice.  Even the okra was tasty.

Two Meals

I hope I am not the only person trying out all these recipes lately! I have been enjoying having new things to cook as my old stand-bys have gotten a little boring.  Anyway we have tried both of the recipes Nika chose so I will report on them.

The Coconut Beef Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce
I have been wanting to try this one for a while so I was excited that it was finally picked.  I really like things with peanut sauce and we usually have it with lettuce wraps.  I cut the steak into strips and marinated it in the coconut milk mixture for several hours before it was grilled.  I put it on squewers for the grill.  Sean did the grilling and although he is usually an excellent griller, the meat got a little burnt this time.  It was probably the marinade that made it cook a lot quicker and chare up on the outsides.  It might work better to cook it on a grill pan if you want to retain the coconut/curry flavor.  I followed the recipe for the peanut sauce but it was a little bit bitter for my taste so I added some brown sugar and garlic powder.  We liked this meal and when you dipped the meat into the sauce you couldn't even taste the burnt flavor:)  I might try this again with chicken. 

Chicken Gumbo

I ended up making several adjustments to this recipe but it turned out very tasty. I looked at the recipe and wrote down the necessary items on my shopping list but apparently I missed a few things so I made some accomodations.  Instead of the green pepper I added about a cup of chopped carrots along with the celery and onion.  I used all the spices but only put a small amount of thyme in and added a little curry powder.  I couldn't find any frozen okra at the store I went to so I just decided to skip that although I think it would change the texture and consistancy quite a bit! For sausage I used some leftover turkey sausages I had in the freezer from the sandwiches a few weeks ago.  It wasn't precooked so I gave it some time to cook with the chicken before adding the broth.  I only used about 2 1/2 cups of broth and eliminated the tomato juice.  I am sure this didn't turn out anything like it was suppose to but we thought it was really good.  It reminded me a lot of the Mulligatawny Stew that we made a while ago. 

Leslee's Soup

A few nights ago I decided to try out the garlicky broccoli soup. Since we were going to have it as a main course I decided to add some potatoes to it for a little more substance.  I peeled and chunked three potatoes and added them in the beginning with carrots and onions.  I didn't realize it called for celery until I was cooking so I just eliminated it.  For some reason I thought I should add more liquid because of the potatoes but that made the soup too runny so next time I would probably add less then it called for.  I used my little food processor to blend up the soup in batches and then added the milk.   The soup had a very nice flavor and I sprinkled a little cheese over mine.  It was a litte runny as I mentioned but not too bad.  Sean ate his with left over calzone from the night before which made a nice little meal. I have heard mixed reviews of this so far so I will be interested to see how it works out for other cooks...

Leslee's Calzones

We like pizza over here and have homemade pizza quite often so I was excited to try these out.  I made two different kinds of homemade pizza dough, a regular one for Sean and Summer and a gluten free one for me.  For the filling I made a mixture of mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, olives, pepperoni and spinach.  Both calzones cooked up nicely although I could probably a little work on the looks of them! Sean really liked it and both he and Summer dipped theirs into some red pizza sauce.  I liked mine too although I am not a huge fan of the ricotta cheese taste and texture.  I also decided that I didn't really like the spinach in there.  We both decided that next time we would like to try them with more mozzarella cheese and less ricotta.  I also would probably use some more different pizza toppings inside.  Very tasty and a nice change to traditional pizza! I am planning to try the soup tonight so I will give a report on that soon.

Sean's

Mine (please excuse the Hello Kitty Plate!)

Summer enjoying her's with her crazy hair!

Selections for the Week of April 4th

 

Here are my selections for next week. I am posting early because I probably won’t get a chance for the next few days.  These both look like they could be main dishes to me so I guess you can have dinner for two nights.

Chicken Gumbo  page 24

Robin likes to serve this over rice.  See the cookbook for other suggestions. 

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper,seeded and chopped

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into  2 inch pieces

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

one 10-ounce package frozen sliced okra, thawed (about 1 1/2) cups sliced

2 links andouille sausage or any seasoned cooked sausage, such as chorizo (2 to 3 ounces) diced

4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups tomato juice

 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, celery, and belle pepper and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Add the thyme oregano,salt, bay leaves, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard, cayenne, and black pepper and stir to coat.  Cook for 1 minute, until the spices are fragrant.  Add the okra, sausage, broth, and tomato juice and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves before serving. 

 

Coconut Beef Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce  page 182

serve with rice or noodles

cooking spray 1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon chili oil

1 1/4 pounds lean beef steak (such as sirloin, rib-eye, or round) cut into 2 inch cubes

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

metal or wooden skewers

 

Thai Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

 

1. coat large stovetop grill pan or griddle with cooking spray and preheat over medium-high heat

2 in a shallow dish, whisk together the coconut milk, curry powder, coriander and chili oil.

 

3. Season the beef all over with salt and pepper.  Add the beef to the coconut milk mixture and turn to coat.  Thread the beef on skewers and place in the hot pan.  cook until browned and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes, turning frequently.

 

4. Meanwhile, in a small pan whisk together the broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. 

5. Serve the beef skewers with the peanut sauce on the side in small bowls for dipping.