Oh the weather outside is frightful...but the some soup would be delightful. Okay, I just made that one up, but it's totally true! Taco soup is one of our favorites because it's easy and tasty and it freezes pretty well if you make too much. Also, it only takes one pot!
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
1 can black beans drained
2 cans diced tomatoes drained
2 package of taco seasoning
1 46 ounce can of V8 juice
1 can white shoepeg corn drained
Brown the meat with a little bit of oil in the bottom of your soup pot. Drain the excess liquid. Open all your cans and dump everything in the soup pot including the taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Salt to taste. I serve this with corn bread or tortilla chips depending on how much time I have.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Wow-Your-Friends-at-the-Holiday-Brunch quiche
It's that time of year where we get invited to countless Christmas brunches, parties, and shindigs. And every time, we go through the, WHAT DO I BRING TO THIS THING dilemma. Take this easy quiche recipe and morph it into a fabulous take along.
Ingredients:
1 package of Pilsbury pie crusts; thawed - the kind in the tins in the freezer section; there are 2 per package
4 large eggs
1/2 mayonnaise or sour cream
1/2 whole milk
1 cup cheese - get creative with it! Gruyere and cheddar are good choices, but swiss or parmesan can also be brought into the mix
1 cup cooked bacon or chopped ham
1 cup cooked veggies - I like asparagus or spinach, but you can do onions, broccoli, or red peppers too; DRAIN THEM WELL
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pre bake both pie shells for about 15 minutes to keep them from being gooey. While the pie crusts bake, place all four eggs, mayonnaise or sour cream, milk, and cheese into the blender. Blitz until just blended. Remove the pie crusts from the oven and raise the temp to 400. Evenly divide bacon/ham and veggies evenly between the two pie shells and then evenly divide the egg mixture over the veggies. Gently wrap the edges of your quiches with a strip of foil to keep the crust edges from burning and place into a 400 degree oven. Bake them for 25-30 minutes or until the middles are set. Cool for about 15 minutes and serve!
Ingredients:
1 package of Pilsbury pie crusts; thawed - the kind in the tins in the freezer section; there are 2 per package
4 large eggs
1/2 mayonnaise or sour cream
1/2 whole milk
1 cup cheese - get creative with it! Gruyere and cheddar are good choices, but swiss or parmesan can also be brought into the mix
1 cup cooked bacon or chopped ham
1 cup cooked veggies - I like asparagus or spinach, but you can do onions, broccoli, or red peppers too; DRAIN THEM WELL
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Pre bake both pie shells for about 15 minutes to keep them from being gooey. While the pie crusts bake, place all four eggs, mayonnaise or sour cream, milk, and cheese into the blender. Blitz until just blended. Remove the pie crusts from the oven and raise the temp to 400. Evenly divide bacon/ham and veggies evenly between the two pie shells and then evenly divide the egg mixture over the veggies. Gently wrap the edges of your quiches with a strip of foil to keep the crust edges from burning and place into a 400 degree oven. Bake them for 25-30 minutes or until the middles are set. Cool for about 15 minutes and serve!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Roasted pork and lentil salad
This is another recipe I took from Real Simple magazine; I modified it only slightly, of course. Lentils are a great way to get fiber into your diet, plus they are tasty :)
2 lb pork tenderloin roast
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 honeycrisp apple cut into 1/2" pieces
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs salted butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs brown sugar
kosher salt
black pepper
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the lentils and 1 tbs of salt and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20-30, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender. While the lentils cook, heat butter in a dutch oven or heavy, oven proof skillet. Pat the pork roast dry and season it with salt and pepper. Place the pork roast in the skillet, fatty side down, and cook on medium high heat for 6 minutes (leave it alone; it won't burn). Turn the roast over, and cook for another 6 minutes. Cover it and place it in the oven for 20-25 minutes to finish cooking through. If you have a meat thermometer, the approved internal temperature for pork is 140 degrees, but I like to go to about 150. Mix up the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a little bowl. Baste the meat with it twice in the last five minutes of cooking.
Once the lentils are tender, rinse them with cold water and drain. Place them in a medium bowl with the chopped apple, celery, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Toss until mixed.
Slice the pork and serve with the lentil salad. Sweet tea also makes a fabulous accoutrement ;)
2 lb pork tenderloin roast
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 honeycrisp apple cut into 1/2" pieces
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
2 tbs salted butter
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs brown sugar
kosher salt
black pepper
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the lentils and 1 tbs of salt and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20-30, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender. While the lentils cook, heat butter in a dutch oven or heavy, oven proof skillet. Pat the pork roast dry and season it with salt and pepper. Place the pork roast in the skillet, fatty side down, and cook on medium high heat for 6 minutes (leave it alone; it won't burn). Turn the roast over, and cook for another 6 minutes. Cover it and place it in the oven for 20-25 minutes to finish cooking through. If you have a meat thermometer, the approved internal temperature for pork is 140 degrees, but I like to go to about 150. Mix up the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a little bowl. Baste the meat with it twice in the last five minutes of cooking.
Once the lentils are tender, rinse them with cold water and drain. Place them in a medium bowl with the chopped apple, celery, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Toss until mixed.
Slice the pork and serve with the lentil salad. Sweet tea also makes a fabulous accoutrement ;)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Poached Tilapia and Jasmine Rice
I took this recipe from REAL SIMPLE magazine and completely changed it up; it turned into a really flavorful way to cook tilapia, which doesn't have too much flavor of it's own. I highly recommend using an electric skillet for this, but if you don't have one, it's okay.
16 oz of coconut water - NOT coconut cream or coconut milk
4 6 oz tilapia fillets
1 lemon, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh thyme
dash of kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
Jasmine rice
Combine all ingredient except for jasmine rice in an electric skillet, or a large skillet on the stove if you don't have an electric skillet. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until fish is tender. While the fish is cooking, cook the jasmine rice according to the package directions. Serve with a green salad!
16 oz of coconut water - NOT coconut cream or coconut milk
4 6 oz tilapia fillets
1 lemon, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh thyme
dash of kosher salt
pinch of black pepper
Jasmine rice
Combine all ingredient except for jasmine rice in an electric skillet, or a large skillet on the stove if you don't have an electric skillet. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until fish is tender. While the fish is cooking, cook the jasmine rice according to the package directions. Serve with a green salad!
Warm Barley Salad
Hi! I apologize for the LONG space in between posts. But I am back!
We recently discovered barley! (I know. It's been around awhile.) I love rice and potatoes, but Dustin gets bored, so I have to keep finding new side dishes. This warm barley salad is a fabulous substitute for plain old rice or potatoes. Plus, it's healthy :) This application (to steal a term from Alton Brown) is very similar to risotto. I typically serve this with chicken that I roast in the oven while the barley salad cooks.
1 cup uncooked quick cook barley
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
8 oz asparagus cut into 1" pieces or fresh green beans
32 oz of heated Kitchen Basics chicken stock or beef stock or vegetable stock (it depends on what you decide to serve this with)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
In an 11" or 12" skillet, saute the onion and carrot in olive oil over medium heat until slightly tender. Stir in the barley and one cup of chicken stock cook until the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the asparagus or green beans. Cook until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed by adding one cup of broth at a time and stirring frequently. Once the barley is tender and liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the cheese, thyme, and pepper. Salt to taste.
We recently discovered barley! (I know. It's been around awhile.) I love rice and potatoes, but Dustin gets bored, so I have to keep finding new side dishes. This warm barley salad is a fabulous substitute for plain old rice or potatoes. Plus, it's healthy :) This application (to steal a term from Alton Brown) is very similar to risotto. I typically serve this with chicken that I roast in the oven while the barley salad cooks.
1 cup uncooked quick cook barley
1/2 cup chopped white onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
8 oz asparagus cut into 1" pieces or fresh green beans
32 oz of heated Kitchen Basics chicken stock or beef stock or vegetable stock (it depends on what you decide to serve this with)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
In an 11" or 12" skillet, saute the onion and carrot in olive oil over medium heat until slightly tender. Stir in the barley and one cup of chicken stock cook until the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the asparagus or green beans. Cook until barley is tender and liquid is absorbed by adding one cup of broth at a time and stirring frequently. Once the barley is tender and liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the cheese, thyme, and pepper. Salt to taste.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Tempura asparagus fries
If you hate asparagus but love tempura, I think you should try these! I could eat asparagus anyway but boiled, so I may be biased. You can also use this batter to coat pretty much any vegetable you like, so feel free to try other things and share your preferences.
Tempura batter - it's finicky stuff so pay attention to what you are doing
3/4 cup of AP flour
1/4 corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup COLD water
1 egg separated - save both parts; you'll be using them
1 lb asparagus washed and patted dry - I recommend the fatter stalked variety. The thin stalks got a little soggy on us
Mix together the flour, corn starch, and baking soda. Then stir in the cold water and egg yolk. In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it's frothy and add to the batter. Salt to taste, but go easy because you'll want to sprinkle the fries with salt when you're done too.
In a deep skillet, pour in about two inches of oil and get it very hot. If it's not hot when the asparagus goes in, they will just get greasy and not crispy. Dust your asparagus in flour before dipping them in batter. Fry them a few at a time until they are golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel. Dust with salt and enjoy!
If you fry more than you can eat in one sitting, you can reheat them in the oven later. They are a little less than crispy, but still pretty tasty.
Tempura batter - it's finicky stuff so pay attention to what you are doing
3/4 cup of AP flour
1/4 corn starch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup COLD water
1 egg separated - save both parts; you'll be using them
1 lb asparagus washed and patted dry - I recommend the fatter stalked variety. The thin stalks got a little soggy on us
Mix together the flour, corn starch, and baking soda. Then stir in the cold water and egg yolk. In a separate bowl, beat the egg white until it's frothy and add to the batter. Salt to taste, but go easy because you'll want to sprinkle the fries with salt when you're done too.
In a deep skillet, pour in about two inches of oil and get it very hot. If it's not hot when the asparagus goes in, they will just get greasy and not crispy. Dust your asparagus in flour before dipping them in batter. Fry them a few at a time until they are golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel. Dust with salt and enjoy!
If you fry more than you can eat in one sitting, you can reheat them in the oven later. They are a little less than crispy, but still pretty tasty.
Mexican Chicken Stew
This is a great recipe to make for large parties or to share. You can also freeze it for about a month without the beans getting too mushy. It's fairly inexpensive and it goes in the crock pot! I'm giving you the regular size recipe, but you can double, triple, whatever as needed. You can also add an extra can of tomatoes if you like yours with more broth and less chunk.
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can pinto beans drained
1 can black beans drained
1 can white shoepeg corn drained
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
Dice and cook the chicken in a skillet and drain. Put all the other ingredients into your crockpot. Add the chicken and simmer on low for 4-6 hours. I serve this over brown rice, but you can serve it with cornbread or tortilla chips too. Add some sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese if you like!
1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can pinto beans drained
1 can black beans drained
1 can white shoepeg corn drained
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth
Dice and cook the chicken in a skillet and drain. Put all the other ingredients into your crockpot. Add the chicken and simmer on low for 4-6 hours. I serve this over brown rice, but you can serve it with cornbread or tortilla chips too. Add some sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese if you like!
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