Well, Here's the Experiment..... Clean out the Kitchen!!

I decided this week to do everything I could to use up the things I have in my house, rather than go to the grocery store.  So, except for soy milk, I am not going to the store this week.  It's a week of experimenting.

I went through all the cupboards and the freezer and the refrigerator to figure out what I have and it's going to be an exciting week.

Oh, using stuff from the garden is totally acceptable.

I've been thinking about doing this for a time, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity.  

the first dish that came from my experiment, was a bit of a mix.  We had Vietnamese pho the other night and I had some rice noodles left over that I wanted to use.  

Chicken, Mushroom, and Eggplant Saute over Rice Noodles

3 tbs. olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced thinly

8 oz. of crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly

6 large cloves of garlic sliced thinly,

1 small eggplant, (about 1 1/2 cup), diced

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 chicken breasts diced in 1 inch cubes

3/4 c. of white wine

8 ounces of medium width rice noodles

1 1/2 tsp of smoky paprika

salt 

pepper

grated romano cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, and add the onion and the crimini mushrooms, saute until the onions are golden and the mushrooms have started to give up their liquid.  Add 1/2 tsp of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper, or 1/4 tsp of pepper.  Add the garlic, and let it saute until it takes on a golden color as well. Stir in the chicken pieces and cook until done, Add the eggplant and the cherry tomato halves and saute until the tomatoes have broken down and the eggplant is tender.  

Meanwhile, boil water in a large saucepan, turn off the heat and soak the rice noodles until they are tender.  

Once the eggplant is tender, add the smoky paprika, and adjust the taste by adding any salt or pepper.  

After you drain the rice noodles, add them to the chicken and vegetable mix.  

Place about 1/4 of the mixture in a pretty bowl, and sprinkle with grated romano cheese.  Serves 4

My husband who was skeptical really enjoyed it.  

Today's dish from the stuff in the house is a green bean gratin.  

Green Bean and Tomato Gratin

2 tbs. sunflower oil

1 lb. of green beans washed and trimmed

1/2 small yellow onion, finally diced

1 shallot, sliced thinly

5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly 

3 roma tomatoes, sliced thinly

salt

pepper

1 tbs. Trader Joe's Every Day Seasoning (This is the best stuff in the world. It contains sea salt, mustard seeds, black peppercorns, coriander, onion, garlic, paprika, and chili pepper.)  It's super on everything.  

1 c. panko 

2 tbs. olive oil

Heat the sunflower oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the green beans and saute until they are tender, but still have a bite to them.  Add the onion, shallot, and garlic and continue to saute until they are tender.  Add 1 tbs. of the TJ's Every Day Seasoning, and saute for another minute.  

Adjust with salt and pepper and then place into a lightly greased casserole dish.  I use an oval dish.  Take the roma tomatoes and layer them over the green beans.

Heat the olive oil in the same medium skillet and add the panko.  Toast the panko lightly and then spread over the top of the tomatoes.  

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes until the tomatoes are bubbly and the panko is golden.  

Hash Again.

I think I've done hash in this blog more than once, but my husband is a big fan of hash.  I had some left over potatoes from a meal we did at my friend's bakery, so I brought them home and used the venison from last night's venison tacos.  Now me, I'm trying to lose some weight, I didn't go the has route I went the taco salad route.  

Venison Hash

1 serving.

6 ounces of pulled venison roast, mine is spicy because I like it that way.

1 cup of diced fully cooked potatoes

1/4 red onion diced

Put all this in a medium skillet with a tbs of olive oil on medium heat.  Let it sizzle until the potatoes are nicely browned and the venison has bits of char.  Pull this off the stove and in a small saute pan, crack open two eggs. I get mine from a friend who has a friend who has chickens.  I always thought chickens didn't lay much in the winter, but this guy's birds are extraordinary.  Cook them over easy.  The eggs, not the chickens.  

Slide them on top of the hash and you have one tasty (I mean tasty meal).  

Taco Salad

1 small head romaine lettuce, chopped or sliced, or diced.

4 ounces of pulled venison roast that has been warmed in it's juices

4 tbs. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of cooked black beans

3 tbs. of good quality pico de gallo, or Roy's salsa if you live in Elko.  It is the freshest and the best.   

Put it all together in a bowl and toss.  If you'd like you could add guacamole or sour cream. I didn't have any and it's just added fat.  So there, weight loss fairy.  I told you.

Dinner in a Hurry

On Wednesdays, my husband I have a friend who comes to dinner! But life is crazy and complicated and I am always in a rush. I teach high school and during my free period I walked home (small town living) and put some dinner in the crock pot.


Last October, Rob shot a deer, so we have venison galore in our freezer. It's such nice lean meat. No fat to speak of. When we butcher the meet, and I mean WE, I like to make smallish roasts. I took a 2 lb roast out of the freezer and decided that would work perfectly for venison tacos.


Ingredients:

1- 2 lb. venison roast
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
5 small cloves of garlic
1 lime cut into quarters
1 tomatillo cut into quarters
1 14.5 ounce can of stewed tomatoes
1.5 tsp. cumin
1 tbs. chili de arbol
1 tsp salt.
1/2 tsp. black pepper
14 ounces of water
1 good handful of chopped cilantro, stems included.

In a regular sized crock pot, place the onion on the bottom, place the frozen venison roast on top. Throw in the rest of the ingredients on top and cook on low for five hours.

When you finish cooking, the meat should literally fall apart. I remove the meat from the sauce and shred it. Take the remainder of the sauce and put it in the food processor. You will find this makes a lovely spicy salsa to serve with your tacos.

I serve mine with corn tortillas that have been heated in a non-stick pan with canola spray, lime, non-fat greek yogurt (because we don't use sour cream), cheddar cheese, and the salsa from the cooking. I serve black beans and rice as a side dish. And last night I served a modified Waldorf salad made with green apples, celery, a dab of mayonnaise, green onion, and walnuts to counteract the spiciness of the tacos.

I should have taken pictures, but didn't decide to publish the recipe until I tasted it. So good!

Meat in the Freezer

This fall my husband shot a deer, which is great, because we don't buy a lot of red meat.  Venison is the best meat you can eat if you are worrying about your health.  Or your weight.

Today I made a stew in the crockpot:

6-1 cup servings

1.5 lbs of venison stew meat, or venison roast

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 package of dry lipton onion soup mix

1 bottle beer, preferably dark

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths

1 lb of baby carrots, cut the carrots in half or leave them whole for a rustic look

1 large yellow onion, cut it into eighths.

8 ounces of trimmed brussel sprouts

1 tsp corn starch

In a skillet, heat the olive oil on high, and then add the meat.  Sear it.  Add a bit of the beer to scrape up the good bits.

In the crockpot, mix the onion soup mix and the beer, add the vegetables, and then set the meat on top of it.  Cook on low for six hours.  The meat should be falling apart and the vegetables should be fork tender.  

Strain off the liquid, put it back in the skillet with the good bits, and on high heat, add the 1 tsp of corn starch mixed with 2 tbs. of the broth from the crockpot.  

Bring it to a boil, and then return it to the crockpot, heat the vegetables and meat through one last time, and then serve with crusty baguette.

So good, and so easy.  

How I Won My Husband!

Years ago, I had to fix a dinner for my boyfriend (now husband), his mother, and my parents.  What to fix that would please everybody was a dilemna.  Hence, my chicken enchiladas.

I still make these today, and will make them tonight to take to a Mexican potluck.  Here goes.

Serves 4, 2 each 

Preheat Oven to 375

In a large saute pan, cook 4 medium sized chicken breasts in 1/2 bottle of a Mexican beer of your choice. When they are cooked through, (no pink), take them out of the pan and let them cool.  Shred them, or cut them into small dice.  

Ingredients:

4 medium sized chicken breasts

5 medium tomatoes diced with the skin and seeds 

1 yellow onion diced finely

2 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tbs. cumin

1 lime

1 bunch of cilantro

1 small container sour cream or plain yogurt

1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese

8 - 8 inch flour tortillas

1 can of el pato red enchilada sauce, that has been heated on the stove.  

Heat the olive oil in the saute pan and add the onions, cook until they are translucent, then add the tomato and cook until they have broken down and it looks saucy.  Add the chili powder and the cumin, the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Add the chopped up chicken and 1/4 cup cilantro.  Cook just until the chicken is heated and take off the stove.

To assemble the enchiladas, take a tortilla, spread 1 tbs of the sour cream on it, add 1/8th of the filling to the tortilla, 1 tbs of cheese, and roll it up.  Place in a square casserole dish and then repeat with the rest of the tortillas.  

Cover with the heated red sauce, and the rest of the cheddar cheese and bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown, and the sauce is bubbling.

Variation:  I use this filling to make a great appetizer.  Use puff pastry squares in place of the tortillas.  Place the sour cream on one corner of the pastry square add the chicken filling, sprinkle it with cheese, and fold the square to make a triangle.  Dip a fork in an egg and water mixture, and press around the edges to seal them.  Brush the puff pastry with the egg wash and then put into the oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until they are golden brown and have puffed up.  

Leftovers!

My husband is an attorney, which makes for lots of long nights at the office.  Tonight was no exception.  We had leftovers.  Last Monday we drove back in from Reno and we had a roast chicken from the grocery store.  There is nothing better than roast chicken, Brussel sprouts with sauteed onion, Peruvian purple potatoes, and garlic.  It was so tasty.  

Brussels' Saute

1 lb of Brussel sprouts, trimmed and washed, and cut into quarters

3/4 lb of Peruvian purple potatoes (We got these from our friend Shannon.  She and her husband Rob, grow them out on their property.) Peeled, and quartered and then sliced.  

1 yellow onion, quartered and then sliced

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

2 tbs. olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Never heat olive oil at a high temperature, it burns too quickly.  Add the potatoes and start them cooking, when they become slightly tender, add the onion, brussel sprouts.  Cook for eight to ten minutes until the brussel sprouts are tender and then add the garlic.  Cook for an additional two or three minutes, and then use a seasoning mix like Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute to add a dash of flavor.  

We had our friend Shannon over for dinner on Tuesday and I made pizza.  I love to make a good vegetarian pizza.  

When I make pizza, it's usually whatever we have in the refrigerator.

Crust:

1 cup hot water

2 tsp. yeast 

2 tbs. olive oil

1.5 tsps of kosher salt

2-2/3 cup of flour

MIx the yeast and hot water together and let the yeast get foamy on top of the water.  This usually takes about 5 minutes or so, then add the salt and olive oil.  Blend with a wisk and then add the flour.  Knead for 5 minutes, put in an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let sit for 30 minutes until it rises.  

Sauce:

1 can of garlic and onion tomatoes, 14.5 ounces

1 can of Italian style stewed tomatoes

1 tsp of sugar

1.5 tsp of italian seasoning.

Using a hand blender, puree the two cans of tomatoes.  Put them in a sauce pan on medium heat and let them reduce.  When there isn't a lot of liquid left, add the sugar and the Italian seasoning.  Let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Toppings for the Pizza:

2 cups mozarella cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of cheddar cheese

1 can of artichoke hearts marinated in water

15 pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half 

1 lemon sliced very very thinly

8 ounces of sliced mushrooms

1/2 purple onion, sliced very thinly

4 cloves of garlic sliced very thinly

Saute the onion and garlic, add the mushrooms and saute them until the mushrooms lose their water.  Add the artichokes, the olives until they just are warm.  

Roll out the dough, place it on a pizza stone or a pizza pan.

Cover with the sauce, top with all the veggies, the mozzarella and cheddar cheese, and then the parmesan cheese.

Bake at 450 for 25 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown and the crust is crispy.  

Wednesday was left over roast chicken and Brussels saute.

Save those chicken carcasses and put them in the freezer.  When you have enough, you can make a great chicken stock for the freezer.  

Thursday, Rob worked until almost 10:30 so we had a great Pad Thai from Costco.  What an easy meal.  Add a little bit of chopped cashews and some lime juice and you are set.  

Dinner out on Friday.  Rob brought home part of the huge prime rib that he  had for dinner.  

Saturday we had our friend Jeri over.  Her dad passed away on Monday and we wanted to see her to make sure she was doing all right.  

I made chicken pot pie.  I don't mess with chicken pot pie.  Ree Drummond's pot pie recipe is the best and that's what we had for dinner with a salad. I made an apple galette for dessert.  Pie crust dough laid flat, covered with two apples, unpeeled and sliced thinly.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, ginger and sugar.  Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. 

So, that leaves us with leftovers on Sunday!  A great meal with my sweet husband.  Nothing could be better.  

"I love it when we are all together at your house, Grammer!"

It's Sunday, and I am at my mom and dad's house in Abilene, Kansas.  The whole fam damily is here.  

Shawn, (that's me), Meriam and her husband Tate, their three kids, Hogan, Jadyn, and Tiger, Mom and Dad, Nancy and her son Keil, (Kolby her oldest was in Wichita, and Kane the middle one was in Kearney), Heather  and her husband Kevin, and their three kids, Malorie, Audrey, and Miller were present and accounted for.  

The night before we had decided on Beef Stroganoff for dinner.  I could eat this with a spoon, a fork, a knife, or any implement you have.  I love (that is not too strong a word) my mother's beef stroganoff.

Recipe:  (Although, it never tastes as good as when my mother makes it.)

This recipe is for 15 people with hearty appetites and very few leftovers.

4 lbs of tenderized top round.  Cut this into strips, and dredge it with flour that has been mixed with salt and pepper.  Brown this in canola oil in the largest skillet you have.  Don't crowd the meat, or you will get gray meat instead of that carmel brown color you want.   Take the meat out, but don't get rid of the oil.  

Slice three large onions and add them to the canola oil.  Cook until tender and then add the meat back into the skillet,  add 3 cups of water and 3 tsps of beef bullion granules and let come to a boil.  Back the heat down to a simmer and let cook until the meet is so tender you can cut it with a fork.   

Now not all of my family likes mushrooms, so we cook them separately and people add them when they are getting ready to eat.  

Some people serve Stroganoff over egg noodles, not here, we are rice people, and we serve it over a big bed of white fluffy rice.  5 cups cooked with 10 cups of water for this big group.  

The vegetable was a big bowl of steamed broccoli and we had Garlic bread to sop up whatever stroganoff gravy that was left on the plate.  

Dessert was Nanaimo Bars with Vanilla Ice Cream.  The recipe for these luscious bars can be found at the Food52.  

The most excellent thing about the whole day was that we were together and having a great time.  My dad, who has Alzheimer's was chasing the kids around the house and actually remembering their names.  He had a super time, even though it is hard for him to keep everybody straight.  My niece Malorie who is 16 told me that she loved spending time at Grammer and Papa's house.  It was a great day.  Full of laughter and fun.  

Family

I went to visit my family in Abilene this week.  It has been a week of awesome days and challenging ones too.  I showed up last Friday at my parents' house.  When I got there Mom had made the classic pot roast, carrots and potatoes.  I love this meal. It's totally comfort food.  

Saturday was when the festivities began.  My sister Meriam, her husband Tate and their three kids got to Abilene Friday night as well, and we all decided to meet up to plan the meal for Saturday.  We had gone over to Heather and Kevin's, that's my other sister and  her husband to greet them.  Saturday's menu consisted of corned beef sandwiches on rye  bread, with swiss and homemade sauerkraut that my sister Heather made.  

(insert picture of rueben sandwich right here. )

It may sound crazy, but we don't worry about what we have for a meal, it may not sound like it goes together, but usually it is awesome.  My sister Meriam makes these wonderful egg rolls.  Usually, she makes them with pork, but since I don't eat pork, she made them with shredded chicken.  

Meriam's Egg Rolls

1 package of egg roll wrappers

1 package of pre-shredded coleslaw mix, without the dressing

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

garlic salt

onion powder

salt and pepper

soy sauce

mirin ( japanese rice wine vinegar)

and a dash of hoisin sauce

Mix the coleslaw mix, the chicken and all the seasonings together to form the filling.  

Wrap the mix in an egg roll wrapper and there you have it.  Awesomeness!  

Fry the egg rolls in canola or peanut oil that has been heated to 350 degrees.  When they are golden brown they are ready.  

So dinner Saturday consisted of Grilled Rueben Sandwiches, Meriam's Egg Rolls, Potato Chips, Welton Onion Dip, (1 container sour cream, 1 packet of dried onion soup mix, and 1 tsp of  worstershire sauce), and wilted lettuce salad.  My mom puts green lettuce leaves from two heads of lettuce and 1/2  cup of chopped green onions in a bowl, she  cooks up about  10 slices of bacon, leaving the fat in the frying pan.  She  breaks up the bacon and adds it to the salad, and then in the grease, she adds 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar, along with 1 tbs of sugar  and it sizzles in the bacon fat, and then she adds the whole shebang to the salad.  It wilts the lettuce and makes a great dressing.  

We had Blackberry cobbler and ice cream for dessert.  The cobbler was made with two of my mom's pie crusts (2 cups flour, 1 cup shortening cut to resemble small peas, add 5 - 6 tbs of water and mix with a fork.  Divide into two disks and put in fridge to chill.  Roll out and use. )  I put one crust in the bottom and another over the blackberries ( 3 pints of blackberries, rinsed, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tbs cornstarch.)  Sprinkle the top with sugar and bake until the berries have released their juice and the cobbler is bubbling.  

Well, It Wasn't Really Dinner

The night before last, I cooked some of the venison that Rob had shot in the fall. It was the really tender blackstrap and we had decided to slice it rather thinly before we froze it. You have to be careful with venison because it is so lean it will dry out into leather very quickly. Because of this I have taken to marinating it with all kinds of wonderful spices, oils, and acids. I drizzled this batch of meat in olive oil, garlic, a seasoning mix called 21 season salute that you get from Trader Joe's, and the juice of a lemon, this was probably a pound of meat. I let it sit for a while and then put it on the grill. You have to watch it very carefully so it doesn't burn or dry out. 

 The meat was amazing! It had great flavor and I served it with sautéed onions and zucchini. So I had leftovers for my lunch the next day. I hate eating leftovers the same way twice so this is what I came up with. 

 A VENISON TACO

 This makes four tacos, enough for two people. 

 4 ounces of the cooked marinated blackstrap, this is the primo part of a deer.  The piece that is so tender you can cut it with a fork.  

1 very small zucchini

1/4 onion.  I had sautéed these with some garlic the day before.  

1/4 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp cumin

1 very thin lice of brie per taco

4 corn tortillas

and 1/4 tsp salt.

Cook the meat and the zucchini just to the point they are hot.  Remember they were cooked yesterday.  If you are not using leftovers, sauté them and cook the venison on the grill until pink in the middle.  

Pile it on a corn tortilla that has been grilled, or cooked in a little olive oil in a frying pan.  Add the brie, fold the taco and enjoy.  

Here We Go Again, Once Again, And Again!

It's been a year, I know it, well almost a year since I've put anything in here, and I want to start up again, you know school is going to start up again, and it's going to get crazy, and so let me add one more thing to my plate.

Last night we had salmon for dinner. I love it when we grill out and then eat in the back yard. I love my backyard. It's green and filled with birds, and it's cool.

Friday and Saturday Rob and I were in Reno. We were looking through all the things we have from his mom's house in the garage. I don't think we'll ever be through with this stuff, but someday. I'm digressing. We went to Costco and they had wild sockeye salmon, not the filet, but the whole fish. I had to have one. We bought it and headed home to Elko.

There are probably 100 ways to fix salmon, but sometimes, the easiest is the best. I cut two or three hand fulls of thyme and put it in the cavity of the fish with slices of lime, salt and pepper. I slathered the skin with oil, and put it on the grill. Cook at about 350 - 400 for 30 minutes.

I served that with roasted eggplant, red peppers, and asparagus. (This is called escalivada in Catalan). Cut them in strips, (not the asparagus), douse it with olive oil and kosher salt and grill until they are soft and a little charred.

The final side was a rice blend sauteed with onions, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes. When you have finished, the saute, add a little parmesan cheese. It's quite good.

So think about the leafy green backyard, the cool sound of water running from the sprinkler next door and enjoying life with your husband in the backyard.

Roasty Toasty

I have to admit it. I am the luckiest girl in the world. My husband, Rob, got me the best gift for my birthday this year. He got me an oval 5 quart Le Crueset dutch oven. It's gorgeous, and I use it all the time.

Yesterday, I made a venison roast in my new pot. Oh was it easy.

1 22 ounce venison roast
1 packet of lipton onion soup mix
1/2 cup red wine
1 onion sliced thinly
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 lb. of carrots
3 tbs. olive oil.
your favorite seasoning blend
s and p to taste

rinse and dry the roast and then season with s and p.
In your dutch oven, heat the oil very hot, and sear the outside of the roast. Remove it from the pot, and then add the onions, and garlic cloves. Saute and then add the soup mix, the wine, and your favorite seasoning blend. Return the roast to the pan and put it in a 275 degree oven for a couple of hours, or until the roast is done to your satisfaction.

I served this with comfortable rice from Sunday and sauteed asparagus.

Comfortable Rice

I've always loved rice-based dishes. I think it's because my dad loves rice. I guess you can't be from Arkansas and not love rice, since they have many rice fields there. On Sunday, I grabbed a roast chicken from the grocery store. What a great thing they do, to roast a chicken so you don't have to. Frequently, I have to stretch to come up with a side dish that isn't potatoes. Here's Sunday's.

Comfortable Rice

1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
2 tbs. olive oil.

Saute the veg in the olive oil until the onion is translucent.

Add: 1 cup rice

2.5 cups of chicken stock, and the seasoning blend of your choice.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the liquid is all absorbed.

I then cut up a tomato in small dice, and garnish.

Rob said it was like a comfort food, so it became comfortable rice.

2011: Off to a Flying Start

1/11/11: What a cool date! It's really cold here. The computer says 21 degrees, but I'm not buying it. Maybe 2 degrees, but the cold I got me thinking today about my family and I thought that Chili would be the perfect meal.

When we were kids we knew it was winter because the chili pot came out. My mom is famous for her chili. People come from near and far for it, and I can't count the times the pot was licked clean in the coach's lounge at a wrestling tournament in Goodland or Garden City.

I think the best thing about my mom's chili is that it won't blow the top of your head off. It's rich and hearty and oh so good with saltine crackers or on a piece of toast for breakfast. That may be one of my most favorite breakfasts. I think it ranks right up there for my sister Heather too! My dad loves a chili cheese omelet made with Mom's leftover chili.



I have to say it's one of the easiest things you can make. Here goes:

Mom's Rich and Hearty Chili

2 14.5 ounce cans of kidney beans in chili sauce
1 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 chopped onion
1 small can of diced green chilis (mild)
1 lb of hamburger
1 - 2 tsps of chili powder
1 - 2 tsps of cumin (this is my addition)

Brown the hamburger in a pot and drain off the grease, then add the onion and saute it until it is golden. Add the kidney beans, the tomato sauce, the green chilis and the seasonings.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and let cook for a couple of hours to make the flavors meld.



Saltine crackers! A must have for this chili, or a good loaf of crusty white bread if you are out of saltines. Oh, you can top this with diced raw onion and cheddar cheese and it's just great that way too.

The Hunting Widow!

I was a hunting widow last week. It was fun. Rob went out to fill his bull elk tag. This is a once in a lifetime hunt and it's amazing how in to this he is.

He left last Friday and I went to the football game with some friends and then came home and had a sandwich. I know so exciting, but it's not always fun to cook for yourself.

On Saturday I had a bunch of friends over for appetizers and beer and that was fun too. We had elk tenderloin on crackers that I made. Recipe forthcoming in another post. My friend Dave Meisner made the tenderloin. It was soooooo good. He served in on the crackers with sourcream/horse radish sauce and pomegranate seeds. His kids call it a Rudolph. I thought it was funny.

On Sunday, I had Talmud study with some of the people from the JCEC. I made raspberry and pear pie with a streusel topping. It turned out well.

2 cups of fresh raspberries, three sliced pears, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 c. sugar, 1/8 tsp. ginger, and 2 tsp. corn starch. Mix this all up and put into a pie crust.

Cover with streusel topping.

2/3 c. flour
2/3 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp. cinnmon
5 tbs. melted butter.

Mix together and then crumble on top of the fruit.

Bake at 350 until the filling is bubbling and the crust is brown.

Rob likes Lasagna!

I know I say it all the time, but gees, life is so crazy. Two weeks ago (I think that was the week of Halloween) was unbelievable and the week before this one wasn't any better. It started off with some weirdness and I think it may take an award.

Last Monday I went to the doctor and when I got home I didn't really want to deal with cooking, so much so I can't remember what we had a week later. Obviously memorable. Tuesday Rob had class and I don't remember what I made for dinner for that one either. Something with artichokes I think, but who knows. Wednesday, I made spaghetti. Here's mom's spaghetti sauce with a little tweeking.

Oh, I have so many tomatoes and I have to can them, and I really should do it tonite, but I need to go in and bake, and, and, and, and.

So, anyway.

1.5 lbs. of ripe tomatoes cut into quarters
2 small green, red, or yellow peppers. seeded and quartered
1 large onion, quartered
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbs. of italian seasoning
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. red wine
1 small can of tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of tomato sauce if you don't think your tomatoes are juicy enough. Mine were juicy enough.
1 lb. ground meat. (I used venison.) Put all of the above, except for the wine in a food processor or blender and combine until liquid.

Brown the meat in a pan and then add the tomato mixture. Let the whole thing simmer, simmer, simmer.

Cook some pasta and then serve with salad. Right on the plate, I can't tell you how good the pasta, salad and sauce is together. OMG! I love it. Oh and you need really crusty, great awesome bread with it.

I can make that too!

So you are asking, then, why does Rob like Lasagna if you had spaghetti? Well, of course spaghetti and leftover sauce lead to lasagna. So on Halloween we had just that. Our friends Jeff and Trinity came over. They are not a couple, Trin's husband Michael was working and her step-daughter was at friends for the evening and Jeff doesn't get any trick-or-treaters in his neighborhood, so they came to our house.

Lasagna

1 box of no boil noodles
2 quarts of spaghetti sauce
1 package of sliced swiss cheese
1 cup of grated parmesan
1 16 ounce container of small curd cottage cheese


for this lasagna, Isauteed some mushrooms and some asparagus before they went bad and created a layer of this too.

Heat up your spaghetti sauce, spoon a thin layer on teh bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Add a layer of noodles, another layer of sauce, a layer of swiss cheese and cottage cheese and then a layer of the mushrooms and asparagus and then repeat this three times. finish with a layer of noodles covered with a layer of sauce and the parmesan cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes at 375. or until bubbly.

Let it set for five or ten minutes before you cut into it.

OK, Enough, Enough, Enough.

It's time to get with the program again. I've been awful as far as putting things on the blog. So, here we go.

Monday for dinner!

We had cod on the grill it was great. Easy, peasy, lime squeazy. Douse it with olive oil, seasoning, grill about 4-5 minutes per side.

I also steamed some brocollini. Yummy and we had a rice blend that I love. It's called Organic Harvest Medley from SunWest it has CalMati Brown rice, Wild Rice, Sweet Brown Rice, and Heirloom Red Rice. I sauteed one onion, three cloves of garlic in olive oil and then added one cup of rice, let it cook in the olive oil for about 5 minutes and then I added 2.5 cups of chicken stock and a handful of grape tomatoes from the garden, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let it cook for 30 - 40 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated.

Tuesday: I went out for a hike with my friend Cody in the Ruby Mountains so I wanted something easy when I got back. Rob shot a deer two weeks ago and when we butchered it, we had a lovely 2.5 lb. roast. I took the roast, covered it in salt and pepper and then browned it in a skillet. I peeled and cut up 6 medium sized potatoes and half a dozen carrots. I cut up 1 onion into quarters.

In a crock pot place the potatoes, carrots and onions on the bottom and rest the browned roast on top of them. Add 2 - 3 cups of water, you don't want to cover the meat, just have the water touching. Add a packet of beefy onion soup mix. Turn the crockpot on low and let it cook for six hours. That's what I did and it was an awesome roast.

Wednesday:

Beef Potpie the Easy Way

Take the left over roast from the night before, cut into chunks, add the potatoes, carrots, and gravy that was left over. I have a bag of peas in the fridge so I'm using that, too. Heat the mixture, cover with crescent roll dough and put in the oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

We are eating artichokes with this meal, or as the appetizer. Trim the stem from the artichoke, put it in water and cook until tender, about 40 minutes, depending on the size of the artichoke.

We dip it in a sauce made of equal parts soy sauce, butter, and lemon juice. It's great!

Grilled Flat Bread

Here it is, my favorite flatbread, pizza crust, etc. Marta Stewart: Thank you!

Serves 4

1/2 cup warm water (100 degrees to 110 degrees)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Directions
Heat a grill or grill pan until hot. Place water in a medium bowl, and sprinkle yeast on top; stir to dissolve. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add olive oil, flour, and salt; combine. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, 1 to 2 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into four equal pieces, and roll out each into a 1/8-inch-thick round. Lightly brush both sides of each round with olive oil, and place the rounds directly on the hot grill. Grill the flatbread until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from grill, and season with salt.


Martha Stewart Recipes

School Started!

I did, I used an exclamation point in the title. Go figure, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel because I have had such a fun time baking in the bakery that it's hard to get back into the swing of things. But, it's almost one week down and we have had some interesting meals this week.

On Monday, Rob cooked Salmon on the grill. It was quite good, he used a lemon-pepper
mix on the fish and a ton of garlic. I thought it would be too garlicky, but it wasn't. He cooked it on my new grill. I leave for a few days and I get a new grill! Yeah!!!!!!!! Anyway, we had that with a salad made from lettuce from the garden and a mixed rice and green bean (from the garden) pilaf. It was very healthy.

On Tuesday we had leftovers. Wednesday, Doug Day! Out to dinner!

Last night, I was sick of fish so I made stuffed zuccini. This is a great way to use those really big zuccini that you have.

Stuffed Zuccini

1 really large zuccini (you know, the ones your friends give you), cut in half. Scoop out the seeds and discard, and then scoop out the rest of the flesh and chop fine leaving a hollow zuccini shell.

1 medium onion chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes cut in half
2 chicken breasts, sauteed and then chopped finely
2 tbs. of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp of dried.
1.5 cups of cooked wild rice mix, or wild rice, or any kind of rice you like.
1/2 c. chicken broth
3/4 c. parmesan cheese

Saute the onion, garlic, tomatoes and thyme until onion is translucent. Add the already cooked chicken breast and the wild rice and heat.

In a casserole pan, oil the bottom and put the zuccini halves down. Fill the zuccini halves with the chicken mixture. Pour the broth into the pan around the zuccini and then cover the halves with the parmesan cheese. Cook for 25 minutes at 375 degrees until the zuccini is cooked and the parmesan is melted.

I think we are having dinner at home tonight for Shabbat. That will be nice.

At Mom and Dad's

Last week I came back from my parents in Abilene, Kansas. We had great meals while I was there, and one we had was called Chicken Milano. I loved it.

1 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. chicken breasts, chopped
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped and drained
1 c. chicken broth
2 tbs. chopped fresh basil
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 pkgs. ramen noodles with 1 seasoning packet

1. Heat oil in a skillet; add chicken and garlic and cook until chicken is done, 10 - 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, basil and pepper. Simmer over low heat 5 minutes.

2. Cook noodles in water according to package directions drain. Add 1 seasoning packet. Serve the chicken mixture over the noodles.

We also had Enchilada Torte. I have to get the recipe from Mom for this one. She's made this one since we went to Casa Bonita Restaurant in Denver. She made sure to figure out the recipe and she made it for years. This one reminds me of my childhood.

It All Hits At Once

It happens, doesn't it? School starts, tutoring starts
the bread business starts to go gangbusters, and there doesn't seem to be enough time during the day to do it all. I'm training for a half-marathon in September, and that has suffered also. But today, we'll get out there again and keep at it.

I haven't blogged about food lately, because to be honest, I just haven't had the time. Now that I'm back on a regular schedule, I'll get more done. I hope.

Anyway, Lili went back to Santa Cruz, which is a sad day, but I have a couple of left over vegetarian recipes I want to add to the page.

Vegetarian Rice Enchiladas

1 small onion, diced
1 large clove of garlic, diced
1 small grated zucchini
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tbs. olive oil

Saute the onion, garlic and cumin in the olive oil until the onion is translucent.

Find a rice blend that you like, mine has four types of rice: calmati, wild rice, sweetbrown rice, and heirloom red rice. Cook up 1.5 cups of the stuff and add it to the sauteed onion mixture. This is the filling.

12 corn tortillas
1 - 14.5 ounce can tomato sauce
3 chipotle peppers in adobo, diced finely
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
8 ounces of jack cheese

Mix tomato sauce, chipotle peppers and cumin in a saute pan and heat.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet.

Dip the tortillas, one at a time, in the tomato sauce, and then fry them quickly in the olive oil. 1 minute per side. Place on a plate.

Once all are fried make a series of stations, tortillas, filling, shredded jack cheese.

Place the filling and 1 tbs. of jack cheese in each of the tortillas,roll up and place in a casserole. Grease the casserole pan, 8 x 8. Cover the twelve enchiladas with the remaining jack cheese, bake at 375 for 35 minutes. If you have left over sauce, cover the tortillas with it before you cover it with the cheese.



Spaghetti with Leeks and Tomatoes

This is a really easy dish.

2 leeks washed and green part trimmed off, cut into small rings
1.5 tbs. minced garlic
6 - 8 roma tomatoes cut into sixths
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste


Saute the leeks, garlic and tomatoes in the olive oil until tender, add the italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over capelini pasta.