Our "Special" Meal

I must have told Summy I was making a special meal tonight because when we sat down she said "oh special meal!" 
I really like risotto even though it takes quite a bit of work to cook up! I cooked it up as directed but used much more liquid...probably close to 5 cups.  I didn't get the short grain rice so I probably used a bit more because the type of rice. 
While I cooked the risotto Sean grilled up the steak.  We used a london broil and I marinated it for about an hour and a half.  For the marinade I just chopped everything up but didn't use the food processor as directed.  It probably would have been better to marinate the steak for longer especially with the type that we used to get a bit more flavor. 
Instead of doing the roasted asparagus I made roasted green beans.  We have a big bag in the freezer and I thought they would be a perfect replacement. 

This whole meal was so good! The risotto was nice and creamy and the zucchini was a nice addition to it.  The steak was tasty although it didn't have a strong lime or chile flavor.  I could only slightly taste the spiciness from the seranno chili pepper.  The green beans were also good with the slivered almonds and garlic flavoring.  It all went together very nicely.  Sean also liked the meal and packed up the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow.  Summer decided to cooperate with this meal and told me it was " 'licious" which I will gladly take since last night she told me the chicken I made was "yucky."

The Lazy Fruit Tart

We tried the fruit tart with vanilla cream from last week tonight.  I decided to make it without the crust since I wouldn't be able to eat it and make a smaller amount.  I made up half the sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla mixture.  We ate it in cups with some homemade freezer strawberry jam on top.  It was quite tasty and all three of us enjoyed it! Mine seemed a little runny to make into a pie but it might have been because I used fat free cream cheese.  It was quick and easy!

Recipes 3/1/10

Well I guess it is my turn to choose again!
Chili-Lime Marinated Skirt Steak pg193
*For best flavor let the steak marinate for atleast 15 minutes or up to 24 hrs.  The marinade is also perfect for chicken and shrimp.
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh serrano chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 tsp. ground coriander

1 1/4lb skirt or flank steak
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
cooking spray

1. In a blender or small food processor, combine the marinade ingredients and process until smooth. Transfer to a shallow dish or plastic bag.  Season the steak all over with salt and pepper and add to the marinade.  Turn to coat both sides.  Let marinate for at least 15 minutes (or up to 24 hrs).
2. Coat a stovetop grill pan or griddle with cooking spray and preheat over med-high heat until hot, 3to 4 minutes.  Add the steak to the hot pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side for med doneness.  Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. 

Zucchini Risotto with Gorgonzola pg.78
2 tsp. olive oil
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup Arborio (short grain) rice
2 1/2 -3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, or more if needed
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgozonla or other blue cheese
salt and pepper
2 Tbs.  chopped fresh chives

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the zucchini, onion, and garlic and cook, stirring until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the oregano and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the rice and cook, stirring until translucent and coated with the oil, about 1 minute.  Add 1 cup of the broth and cook until the liquid is almost entirely absorbed. Continue adding broth in 1/2 cup measurments, waiting until the liquid is almost entriely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup, until rice is tender (about 20 min from start to finish).
2. Stir in the gorgonzola and cook until the cheese melts.  Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the risott into warm bowls, top with the chives, and serve immediately.

Garlic-Roasted Asparagus with Almonds
cooking spray
2 bunches asparagus (about 2 lbs), ends trimmed
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup slivered almonds

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Arrange the asparagus on the prepared sheet in a single layer and coat with cooking spray.  Season with the garlic powder and salt and pepper.  Roast for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the almonds over them and continue to roast until the asparagus spears are tender and th almonds are golden brown, about 5 minutes. 
**You can also sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese for an added zing.
**This recipe also works great with broccoli and cauliflower florets, or brussels sprounts. 

Leslee's Stuffed Peppers

I have been eyeing this recipe for awhile so I was glad to give it a try.  Sean has been wanting me to make stuffed peppers for like a year too so it worked out nicely to make this recipe! I used ground chicken instead of ground beef (because that it was we had), used pre-cooked regular rice that we had leftover and I omitted the beans because we have had a lot lately.  I used two red peppers and a yellow pepper because they are so much more tasty then green peppers plus they were on sale.  I stuffed them and then spread the rest of the rice mixture around them in the pan and sprinkled the cheese on top.  I probably didn't cook them the full 30 minutes because I was quite hungry and couldn't wait that long.

Here is my plate:

Sean wasn't quite sure how to eat them...

We both thought they were very tasty.  I was a little surprised that they didn't have any sort of tomatoes in them since the kind my mom used to make did but I really liked them.  I almost mixed a little salsa into the mixture but we didn't have any but we decided next time that would be a good addition.  Overall good and I will make them again.  I need to get some fruit to make the dessert, so hopefully I can report on that soon too!

Jacki and Nika’s Review of Tacos and Rice

We all loved these two dishes and would definitely make them again.  The testers here were Sterling, Nika, Isabelle, Max and me.  I did make a few changes.  For the tacos I used chicken instead of pork since we had plenty of chicken (Nika stocked the freezer when they were in season :)).  I ended up adding a little water as the chicken cooked to keep it moist.   We also used corn tortillas instead of flour since that is what was in the freezer.  You could easily adjust the “heat” by adding a little less of the chipotle chilles but we didn’t think it was too terribly spicy.  The chipotle chiles in adobo sauce did give the meat a nice smoky flavor.  For the Beans and Rice I used a can of black beans and a can of pinto beans.   We didn’t have any instant brown rice so I used 1 cup of regular white rice and added more liquid.  I also omitted the dried Thyme since Nika didn’t have any (I am visiting at Nika’s).  Again, the “heat” of this dish could be adjusted by adding less of the cayenne.  I didn’t feel it was too spicy though.  We served the two dishes with a moist cornbread type side dish from a packet I bought at the store (it is like that corn mix stuff they serve at Chevy’s) lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese and sour cream.  The whole meal made for excellent leftovers.  I liked Leslee’s idea of cooking the meat in the crockpot but I didn’t get it started soon enough to do it that way. I hope the rest of you get a chance to try these two recipes.

Heidi's Stuffed Peppers and Fruit Tart

Tonight I fixed the stuffed peppers and fruit tart. I fixed the stuffed peppers pretty much according to recipe except that I left out a few things. I didn't add any cumin because I didn't have any and then I didn't add any beans because I forgot to buy them. I also didn't put any cilantro in the mix because it is a pretty strong flavor that I didn't think my family would like. Kenton, Ashley and I really liked it. We mainly just at the "stuffed part" although I did eat about 1/4 of my pepper. It had a really good flavor. Connor thought that it was too hot... but he was exceptionally whiny tonight and he almost feel asleep while eating so I am going to exclude his opinion. :)
The fruit tart was very good. I used frozen peaches because I was too lazy to buy fresh fruit and slice it up :) It was good; but it would have been really good with the fresh fruit.

2.21.2010 Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers and Mixed Fruit Tart with Vanilla Cream

This week I picked the stuffed peppers and a fruit tart. I am anxious to try the stuffed peppers since it seems to be a meal in one! Hope that you all get a chance to try them out.

Tex-Mex Stuffed Peppers (page 168):

Cooking Spray
1 cup instant rice (white or brown)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teason dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 15-ounce can Santa Fe corn, Fiest Corn, or regular can corn, drained
One 15 ounce can pink beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 large red or green bell peppers, stems ends neatly cut out
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a shallow roasting pan with cooking spray.
2. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked rice, corn, beans and sour cream and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
4. Stuff the beef mixture into the bell peppers and arrange them side by side in the prepared pan. Top with shredded cheese. Bake until the peppers are soft and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Mixed Fruit Tart with Vanilla Cream (page 290):

One 9-inch refigerated piecrust
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups assorted seasonal fruit, such as pitted and sliced peaches, plums or nectarines; hulled and sliced strawberries; blueberries, blackberries or raspberries; and/or peeled and sliced kiwis.
1/2 cup apricot preserves

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Press the piecrust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes.
3. Beat together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. When the tart shell is cool, spread the cream cheese mixture over the bottom and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. To with fruit.
4. Place the preserves in a small bowl and microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds, until warm and thin, then brush over the fruit. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Heidi's Chicken with Orange-Ginger Sauce and Veggie Pot Stickers

We had this meal earlier this week. I did actually had Kenton grill the chicken instead of a stovetop grill pan since I don't have one. We thought that the chicken was good. The sauce was a little thick; but I don't think that I had quite a cup of orange juice so I should have cut down on the cornstarch. It did have good flavor though.
I also fixed the pot stickers. Ashley and I really enjoyed them. Connor took one bite and declared that he didn't like them and Kenton suffered through eating one of them. He doesn't like cabbage which was a main ingredient of them; but he ate it with a smile (plastered) on his face.
Pot Stickers getting ready to go in the pan.
After product.

Complete meal.

Leslee’s Tacos and Rice

Mmm this was one tasty meal! I made a few changes to both recipes to fit our likes and the available ingredients but they turned out great. 

For the pork I decided to use a pork roast and cook it in the crock pot.  The recipe looked very good but I am not a huge fan of chunked meat in tacos and prefer shredded so that is what I did.  Summer and I had gone to the store in the morning to get the supplies, including the chipotle chilies.  After I got home and started dumping things in the crock pot I noticed that the chilies had wheat flour in them so I couldn’t use them.  Because I didn’t want to go to the store again I added some brown sugar to make it sweeter along with the spices called for.   I also used a bigger can of tomatoes instead of the sauce since it was going to be cooking for a while.  Later Sean went to the store for me and found a different kind of chipotle chilies and we added some in after the pork was shredded up.  Sorry for the long story on that recipe!

I usually don’t cook with instant rice so I used regular white rice and cooked everything in the rice cooker.  For some reason I kept thinking I needed tomato paste instead of sauce (not sure why) so in the end I mixed some of the paste with a little water.  I used frozen corn and just one can of black beans.  I also added in some extra water.  It took a while for the rice to cook all the way and after the cooker thought it was done I added a bit more water and cooked it for longer. 

Sean ate his taco style with corn tortillas:

I ate mine like a salad with chips:

We both really liked it and would definitely make it again.  I often make sweet pork in the crock pot like this but I thought the chipotle chilies added a nice smoky and spicy flavor.  I will probably use these again next time which is good since I have plenty in the freezer to use up! The rice was very tasty…basically Mexican rice. 

Jacki's Choice

Chipotle Pork Soft Tacos (pg144)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 1 1/4 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed of silverskin and cut into 1-inch cubes
One 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
eight 6-inch flour tortillas
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco or shredded Monterey Jack cheese
ADDITIONAL TOPPINGS:
sourcream, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the pork and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce, chipotles, and oregano, bring to a simmer and let simmer until the pork is just cooked through (still slightly pink in the center) and the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 5 minutes.
2. If desired, for warm tortillas, wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and warm them in the microwave for 30 seconds on HIGH.
3. Arrange the pork on the tortillas, top with the cheese and other toppings as desired, and serve. 

Black & Pink Beans with Rice (pg257)
2 cups instant brown rice
One 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup prepared salsa
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne
One 11 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
One 11 oz. can pink beans, rinsed and drained
One 11 oz. can corn, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, combine all the ingridients except the salt and peper, and set the pan over medium-high heat.  Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover, and summer until the rice is tender and the liquid absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Orange-Ginger Chicken

Tonight we had a lovely meal including the pan grilled chicken with orange-ginger sauce.  It was very delicious and easy to make.  I cooked the chicken in the my electric skillet which keeps it nice and juicy. For the sauce I used fresh squeezed orange juice because we didn't have any orange juice on hand.  This took a while but I am sure it made it extra tasty! I also used fresh ginger that I have been keeping in the freezer for these types of recipes. We ate it along side white rice and sauteed green beans.  Note to Ingrid: I got the big bag at Costco that you have been cooking for us and they were very good!
For this meal we had my mom here along with Chelsea and Brandon so we had plenty of reviewers.  Everyone really enjoyed it and gobbled it right up.  My mom liked it and felt that it was lighter and fresher than a typical terriyaki sauce.  I would maybe try the sauce with some veggies in it too sometime.  We didn't try the egg rolls tonight, so we will have to get to those!

Better (WAY) late than never!

We tried the 5 ingredient Salmon a couple of weeks ago and I just now downloaded the pictures from my camera. My family really liked it and I bet that we fix it again. I didn't fix the cabbage with it since I knew that would be a no go with my group.
Ashley enjoying her dinner. My plate before consumption.

New Recipes

 

Here are a few Asian inspired dishes that look good to us.  If we weren’t  snowed in, I’d run to the store and make them tonight.

Pan Grilled chicken with Orange Ginger Sauce  page 102

cooking spray

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Orange ginger Sauce-

1 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

 

1. coat a stovetop grill pan with cooking spray and set over medium heat.

2. brush the sesame oil all over the chicken and season with salt and pepper.  Place on the hot pan and cook until cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side.

3. meanwhile, in a small saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients until blended.  Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.  Spoon the sauce of the chicken and serve.

 

Veggie Pot Stickers

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded red or green cabbage

1/4 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium

16 Wonton wrappers

1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

1. heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the carrots, cabbage, and scallions and cook, stirring, until the cabbage softens, and bout 3 minutes.  Add the soy sauce and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 1 minute.

2. arrange the wonton wrapper on a flat work surface.  Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of the vegetable mixture onto the center of each wrapper.  Fold over the wrapper, making a triangle, and, using wet fingers (dip your fingers in a small bowl of water), press the edges together to seal.

3. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the wontons, in the batches if necessary to prevent crowing, and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.  Serve warm.

Jacki’s Review of Chocolate Caramel Fondue

We both really liked this rich dessert.  I followed the recipe as directed except I only made a third of the recipe.  I could have cut it down to a 1/4 th.  It was very good and fun to eat.  I used what I had on hand – strawberries, bananas, hazelnuts, walnuts – but there are all sorts of food items that could be enjoyed with this dip.  My favorite was the banana.  Your kids are going to love this dessert!

Jacki’s Chicken and Twice Baked Potatoes

I made  this meal a few nights ago and it turned out pretty good.  I followed the recipe for the roasted chicken breasts pretty closely except I used the lemon juice in a jar instead of fresh and lime zest instead of lemon zest because I had a lime I needed to use up.  I also used dried Thyme instead of fresh rosemary because that is what I had.  Oh, yes, I sprinkled it with lemon pepper instead of salt.  It tasted good but I agree with Leslee – it would be better marinated first.  I think Ingrid has suggested that for all meat and poultry.  I didn’t even think about it but I will likely make this dish again with the marinating.  The chicken was moist and tender.   I followed the Twice baked potatoes recipe exactly and I thought it was really good and made a good pairing with the chicken.  I have not made the dessert yet but I plan to make it tomorrow night.  It sounds really good. 

Bison Burgers and Lime pie!!!

We had the burgers last week and it was a perfect meal for our crazy day!!! I use ground buffalo for my ground beef recipes.
At our home bison burgers is a must so this was not a very unusual meal for our family. The mesquite flavor was very good. I really loved using the sweet Maui onions. We grilled the burgers and I just sautéed the onions in a frying pan with a bit of good quality olive oil.
The black bean salad I am afraid was not so successful no one really cared for it including myself. I used the roasted frozen corn that we like since is very sweet and has a bit of a smoky flavor but still was not appreciated.
NOW the Key lime pie was gone in 20 minutes flat!!!! What an easy recipe and how delicious. I used low fat condensed milk, low fat cool whip and low fat graham cracker and boy what a guilt free desert that was!!!!

Salmon and Pears ... So good!!!

Finitely here is the final product!!!
I loved the risotto for this recipe I decided to cook the Salmon and also the cabbage since I didn’t have time to make those on another time. It was wonderful. My family really loves Salmon so that was a no brainner but the risotto was so creamy with all the mushroom (I doubled the amount) It was a perfect meal, definitely making this again.

The pears were amazingly easy to make and I loved the citrus taste versus the grape (wine recipe) I make. I decided to add a dollop of whipped cream on top for presentation. We ended up only having half of the pears since we were all stuffed from dinner. Can’t wait to make this in the summer!!!

Roasted Chicken Breast with Twice Baked Potatoes

This meal was quite good and we both enjoyed it.  I followed the chicken recipe except for putting Italian Seasoning on instead of Rosemary, since that is what we had.  I wished I would have marinaded the chicken before hand to get extra flavor but I didn't think about it.  For the potatoes I just baked them in the microwave and then Sean helped me to dig out the insides.  The potoates we had were pretty small and it probably would have been easier with some bigger ones.  When mixing up the insides, I just added a bit of sourcream and cheese until it looked about right.  I didn't put any bacon on them.  Both things were very good but I liked the potatoes the best! We will have to try the dessert soon too!

(since the potatoes were small, I decided I need two:)

Jacki’s Review of Poached Pears

I almost felt like a gourmet chef making these with the simmering and reducing, the pear stem attached  etc.  We both thought they tasted good and it smelled heavenly while it was cooking with the orange and vanilla and cloves.  I didn’t have whole cloves so I just sprinkled some ground cloves in.  My pears were still a tad firm (not overly ripe)  so it was a little hard to cut while eating.  I ended up cooking it about 10 minutes longer that it said  to get the sauce reduced down.   Good flavor combination with the pear and orange and chocolate – yummy.

Jacki’s Risotto

Last night I made the risotto and it was absolutely delicious!   In fact, after Rich ate his and wanted a second serving he asked “is this good for me? …..must not be if it tastes this good!”  I followed the recipe as written with asparagus and mushrooms etc.  I had never cooked a shallot before that I can remember.  It was time consuming with all the slicing and dicing prep work and then all the stirring but it was definitely worth it.  I did end up cooking it for about 30 minutes instead of the 20 Robin estimated.  I was worried the asparagus would not get cooked but it did.  I served it with pork chops and a fruit salad.   I really enjoyed making this dish.  We ate dinner rather late and I was too full to make the poached pears plus the pears I bought were not totally ripe so a day or so to soften will be good.  Maybe I will make the pear dessert tonight.  I hope the rest of you will get a chance to make the risotto because it is really good. 

Recipes for Next Week

We are going pretty simple this next week.  Here are my choices:

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Garlic, Rosemary & Lemon on page 107.

Cooking spray
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste'1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 to 3 cloves garlic, to your taste, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

1.  Preheat the oven to 400*F. Coat a roasting pan with cooking spray.
2. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and place in the prepared pan.  Brush the top of the chicken with the oil.  Drizzle over the lemon juice, then sprinkle with the lemon zest, garlic, and rosemary.  Roast until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through, 25-30 minutes. 

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Cheddar & Bacon p. 253

4 baking potatoes
4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1. Preheat the oven to 400*
2.  Place the potatoes in the oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour. (Or, you can microwave them on HIGH for 10 minutes.) Leave the oven at 400* F.
3. When cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half lengthwise, scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4 inch thick shell, and transfer the flesh to a large bowl.  Add the bacon , sour cream, and Cheddar and mix until blended.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture back into 4 of the shells and discard the remaining shells or save them for another day.
4. Arrange the stuffed potatoes on a baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Chocolate-Caramel Fondue p. 300

1 16oz. bag chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk (not skim)
1 cup store bought caramel sauce

Assorted ingredients for dunking
bananas, apples peaches, cubed angel food cake, marshmallows, graham crackers, etc.

1. Melt chocolate in double boiler or microwave for a few minutes on HIGH stirring every minute.
Stir in the caramel sauce and milk until blended and smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl.  Arrange the fruit, cake and other goodies around the chocolate mixture and start dunking!

I hope these selections will make Beau very happy.  :-)

Risotto Success

Last night Kelly and I tried out the risotto recipe with great success.  In order to accomodate all the different tastes we were cooking for we eliminated the mushrooms and asparagus.  I cooked it up in my electric skillet because I didn't have a good pan big enough to accomodate it all.  Kelly had made rissoto before and watched it being made on a cooking show so she knew the process and that you have to just keep adding all that liquid.  A few suggestions would be to not let the liquid totally absorb as the recipe states and to have some extra broth on hand because you might need more.  I made a little bit bigger batch but still used much more liquid than anticipated.  Don't be afraid to keep adding more!! We served it with Grilled Terriyaki Marinaded Tri-Tip Steak, fruit salad, and a green salad.  Everyone really liked it and it was well worth all that stirring and babysitting:) We will probably try the pear dessert tonight.

Recipes for week of January 17 2009

I have been looking at these two recipes for quite some time, I am not sure most people enjoy risottos as much I do.
I sure hope you guys will enjoy this dish. I love risottos because you can have one delicious meal in one dish just add a salad and you are done. Here at home we love seafood risottos and also sausage and spinach so this is a new one for my list.
HMMMMMMMMMM…….. I LOVE POACHED PEARS usually I make it with Port wine and I serve it with pistachio gelato or vanilla ice cream, This one caught my attention when I saw the picture on page 106. Sounds sooooo good, served warm on a cold winter night.
Bom apetite!!!

Ingrid


Asparagus – Wild Mushroom Risotto with Parmesan Pg. 76

Ingredients
2 tsps Olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups sliced wild mushrooms (any combination of porcini, cremini, shitake, chanterelle, oyster, etc)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 cup Arborio (Short grain) rice
2 ½ to 3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth or more if needed
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen (no need to thaw) asparagus spears 91-inch pieces)
½ cup freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley

1 – Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring a few times, until they soften, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and cook for 1 minute, untill fragant. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until translucent and coated with the oil, about 1 minute. Add a cup of the broth and the asparagus and let simmer, stirring, until liquid is almost entirely absorbed. Continue adding broth in ½ cup measurements, waiting until the liquid is almost entirely absorbed before adding the next ½ cup, until the rice is tender (about 20 minutes from start to finish).

2 stir the parmesan and cook until the cheese melts. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the risotto into warm bowls. Top it with parsley and serve it immediately.

Orange Poached Pears with Fudge Sauce Pg. 294

Ingredients

1 cup Orange juice
1 orange, left unpeeled and cut into 14 inch thick rounds
¼ cup sugar
5 whole cloves
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 pears, peeled with stems intact
1 cup prepared fudge topping or sauce

1 - In a medium saucepan, combine the orange juice, sliced orange, sugar, cloves and vanilla. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a simmer. Add the pears, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the liquid thickens and reduces and the pears are tender, about another 20 minutes.

2 – Warm the fudge topping in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave for 1 minute on high, until warm.

3 – Remove the pears from the liquid and transfer to shallow dessert bowls. Remove the cloves, from the poaching liquid and spoon the liquid over the pears. Spoon the warm fudge sauce over the top and serve immediately.

Jacki’s Review of Salmon and Red Cabbage/Mandarin Oranges

This meal was a big hit at our house.  Yes, you read right – a big hit.  Rich even said at the end of the meal “I have to admit I really liked everything about this meal”  The lemon pepper and balsamic vinegar were perfect with the salmon and the cabbage and mandarin oranges were absolutely delicious.  I followed both recipes exactly but I think I ended up cooking the cabbage and mandarin orange dish a little longer than recommended due to trying to get everything done at the last minute plus I added a 15 oz can of mandarins, not 11 oz since that is what I had. Both recipes were quick and easy to prepare.   I served  Saffron rice as a side dish.  Everything was healthy, delicious and nutritious.  I loved this meal!  Thanks Claudia.

Our Version of the Meal

Last night we enjoyed this delicious meal.  We aren't huge fish eaters so I just decided to use chicken instead of the salmon.  I followed the recipe and it was quite easy to cook up.  While that was was cooking I got out my new electric skillet to cook up the cabbage salad.  I didn't think any of my pans would contain it so the skillet worked out perfectly.  I let it cook a while longer then suggested before adding the remaining ingredients.  I didn't see the part about salt and pepper so it was just sweet.  I served these two with a baked potato and it made a nice meal.  Both Sean and I really enjoyed both dishes.  The salad was not like anything I have made before but it was very good and fun to try.  Excellent choices Claudia! Glad that you are able to join our little cooking group!

We finally did it!

Choosing the salmon was easy, because I knew how much Charles (my husband) enjoys it. Because it was only he and I, I decided to used only half of the ingredients in the recipe.

So we went to the market to pick up the ingredients, and we took some Chilean Salmon (I'm from Chile), and it was funny when we noticed that on the bag it read " Atlantic Salmon", when Chile is on the Pacific Ocean. Anyways, back to the recipe...

I'm not so used to the dolce-salato combination, but I thought the combination of Red Cabbage- Mandarin Orange was interesting , and I wanted to try for the very first time the lemon pepper seasoning.

I love how easy and tasty this recipe is!. The balsamic vinegar and lemon pepper gives the salmon a wonderful taste and appearance, and the cooking time she suggests is perfect. The only thing I might suggest would be some fresh lemon juice on top when served. We also enjoyed the red cabbage-Mandarin orange mix. It is pretty tasty and colorful. But you have to be careful with the cabbage juice, because it might stain. I followed the instructions, but for the next time I would prefer not using salt on the cabbage and just leave it sweet. And maybe use some fresh Mandarin oranges, to give the preparation some citric flavor.

But in general this is a great recipe, in fact my husband and I eat everything.

My husband took the picture.

And for this week...

This is my choice for this week, hope we all like it.

5-Ingredient Lemon Pepper Salmon (pg. 236)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

4 Salmon fillets (about 5 ounces each)

Salt to taste

Lemon pepper seasoning to taste

1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the salmon with salt and lemon pepper. Add the salmon to the hot pan and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Add the vinegar and cook until the fish is just cooked through and fork-tender and the liquid evaporated, about another 2 minutes.

Sautéed Red Cabbage with Mandarins (pg. 247)

2 Teaspoon olive oil

6 Cups cored and shredded red cabbage

One 11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage and cook until it wilts, about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the mandarins, vinegar, and sugar and cook for 1 minute, until the liquid reduces and evaporates. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Jacki and Leslee's Meal

Last night my mom and I made the meal for ourselves, my dad and Summer. We had most of the ingriedents on hand but earlier in the day we picked up some steak and pre-mashed sweet potoates.  We defintely took the easy way with the potatoes but I have made them in the past and they turn out quite delicious.  Because they were already mashed up with a few things added we just heated them up and mixed in some of the chipotle peppers into half the potatoes.  We chose not to mix in the cilantro. 

We used a different cut of steak but followed the rest of the recipe and cooked them up in a grill pan. It took a while for them to cook through.

We completed the meal with a green salad and some corn.  Everything was very good and everyone liked it.  Summer didn't try the potatoes but enjoyed the steak.  Even my dad said, "I liked it." which was impressive.  I felt that the rub on the steak was a little strong for me but it had a nice flavor.  I do prefer to the homemade mashed sweet potatoes to the ones we got but that wasn't a big deal. 

On to Anita's Impossible Buttermilk Pie.  I mixed up to batches of this.  The first was made following the recipe exactly and poured into a pie tin for my parents.  Next  I made one with a gluten free baking mix instead of the bisquick for me but made it a smaller amount and put it into a smaller pan.  Mine turned out very tasty and moist.  I sprinkled a little powdered sugar as suggested and really enjoyed it.  It would also be good with some cut up fruit on top! Summer gobbled it up and asked for more! My parents' pie didn't quite turn out as well.  It took a very long time to cook (atleast an hour) and it still never firmed up in the middle. My mom reported that the outter part that cooked had a very nice flavor.  I am not sure if I filled the pan up too much or what was the problem. 

I will be trying these recipes again next week with a few minor changes when I get back to Utah for Sean.  I will let you know how they turn out!

January 4th-9th Recipes

Sean helped me pick out some might tasty looking recipes for this week. I am excited to give them a try! Our schedule says Claudia will be choosing, but she won't be able to do that this week so we will have her do it in the next few weeks.  If you have not made the recipes from last week I would definitely recommend them, especially the Frozen Key Lime Pie! I know lots of people were traveling or busy last week but we will look forward to some reviews when you get a chance to try them out.

Chili-Rubbed Steak

2 Tbsp of Chili Powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 boneless rib-eye steaks
1 Tbsp olive oil
1. In a shallow dish, combine the chili powder, coriander, salt, and pepper. Add the steaks and turn to coat both sides evenly, pressing the mixture into the meat.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook for 3 to 5 minutes perside for medium doneness. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
 

Mashed Chipotle Sweet Potatoes with Lime

2 Large Sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
1/4 cup of Sour Cream
2 tsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (canned)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Lime, cut into wedges

1. Place the sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and pour over enough water to cover. Set the pan over high heat, bring to a boil, and let boil until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Drain and return to the pan. Mash the potatoes with the sour cream and chipotle chiles until almost smooth (or smooth, if that's your preference). Stir in the cilantro and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the lime wedges on the side.
 

Anita's Impossible Buttermilk Pie

Cooking Spray
1 and 1/3 cups of sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup Bisquick
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs
-Confectioners' sugar and/ or unsweetened cocoa powder (optional) "I like to dust the top with powdered sugar or cocoa".

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
2. Combine the sugar, buttermilk, Bisquick, melted butter, vanilla, and eggs in a blender and process until smooth. Pour into the prepared pie plate and bake until browned and still a little Jiggly (30 to 40 minutes), yeah that's right, I just said until it is still a little JIGGLY, (the pie with set as it cools).
3. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing into wedges. If desired, sift powdered sugar or cocoa (or a combo) over the wedges before serving

Jacki’s, Nika’s, Leslee’s Review of Burgers, Bean and Corn and Lime Pie

This is what we all thought of the recipes – Absolutely, clean-your-plate, delicious!!

We had the above three families trying out the recipes this week at our house.  We made a New Years Day feast out of it and all three of the recipes were very well received. (Even by all the males!)  This whole menu would make a really good summer time meal.   Starting with the burgers – I mixed the mesquite in with the ground beef and formed the patties the day before.  I offered the option of the Provolone cheese or Pepper Jack cheese and served the usual condiments with it. I cooked them on a grill pan on the stove because it was VERY cold outside (and I don’t have a BBQ grill right now:).  Everyone thought they were delicious.  The corn, black bean and red pepper salad was also very good and made an appropriate side dish for the burgers.  We followed the recipe exactly but we decided that when we make it again we would use frozen corn as most of us prefer that to canned.    For dessert we had the Key Lime Pie and everyone agreed it was absolutely wonderful!  We just used regular limes though since that is what the store had.  It was very easy to prepare.  I really hope all of you get a chance to try out these recipes because I know you are going to love them!

Belle and Summer enjoying the feast.

Yes, it tasted as good as it looks…

A gluten free option….

Key Lime Pie before serving… trust me, you will love it.