Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Tempting Turkey Tetrazzini

1 package (7 ounces) spaghetti
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
2 cups half-and-half, or milk
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cut-up cooked turkey or chicken
1 cup sliced ripe olives
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 ounces)

1. Cook and drain spaghetti as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain.
2. Heat oven to 350ºF.
3. Mix broth, half-and-half, flour, butter, salt and pepper in 3-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
4. Stir in spaghetti, turkey, olives and almonds. Spread in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

We tried this last night and really liked it! I used chicken, and actually, I used canned chicken - for convenience mostly. I would probably like it even better with regular chicken. I also think this would be a good freezer meal, but I haven't tried freezing it yet so I won't label it as such until I do.

Vegetarian Variation: Omit Turkey/Chicken, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and add broccoli.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Pasta Fagioli

(A hearty Italian soup)

1/2 Onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, chopped
2 cans italian-style Stewed Tomatoes, undrained **
3 cans Chicken Broth
2 cans Cannelini Beans (white kidney beans), undrained
1 T Basil
1/4 t. Pepper
8 oz Tomato Sauce
8 oz. tiny Shell Pasta
8 - 10 sprigs Cilantro

In food processor,blend onion, garlic, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and cilantro until smooth. Heat in large pot; add, chicken broth, beans, basil and pepper. Heat to a boil; simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta and cover for 10 - 12 minutes or until pasta is done.

Vegetarian Variation: Substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Zesty Grilled Chops

· 3/4 cup soy sauce
· 1/4 cup lemon juice
· 1 tablespoon brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon chili sauce
· 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
· 6 bone-in pork loin chops (8 ounces each)


DIRECTIONS

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, chili sauce and garlic powder. Remove 1/4 cup for basting and refrigerate. Add pork chops to the remaining marinade; turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight, turning once.

Drain and discard marinade from chops. Grill, covered, over medium-hot heat for 4 minutes. Turn; baste with reserved marinade. Grill 4-7 minutes longer or until juices run clear.

Pot Roast

A really good Sunday Pot Roast is super easy to make, especially if you have a crockpot. Here is my favorite way to make it:

2-3 pounds chuck roast (boneless)
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 cups water
Vegetables like carrots, onions, potatoes

Dump all in crockpot and cook on low 6-8 hours. You can cook on high for 4-6 hours, but I get much better results by cooking slowly.

When roast is done, use juices to make gravy.

Often, instead of using potatoes and making a gravy, I only put carrots and onions in for veggies, then a couple of hours before it's done, I add uncooked rice (about 1 1/2 cups). The rice cooked in the meat juices and onion soup mix is oh, so good. :)

Shepard's Pie

It seems like everyone has their own version of this dish, so here is mine! :)
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp Flour
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
2 cups water
1 can EITHER green beans or corn (whole kernel or creamed) OR 10 oz frozen vegetable of your choice
Mashed potatoes

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Brown the ground beef, drain the fat. Add flour to meat and allow flour to coat meat, add soup mix. Slowly stir in water. Stir often and bring to simmer. Reduce heat. Season to taste.

Put in bottom of casserole dish, add vegetable, top with mashed potatoes. (I like homemade, but you could use instant if you like.)

Bake for 20-25 minutes

*VARIATION... for Tater Tot Casserole, I make the meat mixture the same, then layer canned corn, then a layer of shredded cheese, and top with tater tots. I bake it either a little hotter or a little longer - until tater tots are crisp. :) (And the Tater Tot Casserole freezes well, just defrost completely first.)

Quick and Easy Spaghetti Dinner

An easy skillet spaghetti dinner recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
· 1/2 pound lean ground beef
· 1/4 cup chopped
· pinch ground hot pepper
· 1 teaspoon dried leaf basil, crumbled
· 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
· 2 1/2 cups water
· 2 cups marinara sauce or your favorite spaghetti sauce
· 12 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
· freshly ground black pepper
· 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION:

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, combine the ground beef, onion, cayenne pepper, basil, and oregano. Cook, stirring to break up meat, until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess grease.

Add 2 1/2 cups water, the spaghetti sauce, and spaghetti; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently, until the spaghetti is just tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let pan stand, covered, 5 minutes. Season with pepper to taste and serve sprinkled with the cheese.

Vegetarian Variation: Omit ground beef, add one chopped zucchini when onion is mostly cooked.

Oatmeal Strawberry Bread


· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
· 1 cup white sugar
· 1 cup brown sugar
· 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 cup applesauce
· 1 cup egg substitute (or 4 eggs, scrambled)
· 4 cups sliced strawberries, divided
· 1/4 cup rolled oats

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two loaf pans.

2. Stir together the flour, 1 1/2 cups rolled oats, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle strawberries lightly with sugar. Mash half of the strawberries. Add the applesauce and eggs to mashes strawberries; whisk. Stir mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in remaining strawberries. Pour into the prepared loaf pans, and sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/4 cup of rolled oats.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool the strawberry bread in the pans for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.