Easy Spinach Dip

This is super easy and quick to make and Gabe loves it.
Saute onion and garlic. Add thawed spinach (1 square package).

Cook to warm through. Add 1 package of cream cheese, a splash of milk, salt and pepper and some asiago cheese. Done!

Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli

Yummy!!! I also added chicken.

Recipe here.

Recipes

Shredded Potato Casserole Recipe

 

 Cozonac - made with Brioche Recipe "5 Min a Day" Book

Chicken Pot Pie - with potatoes, chicken, peas, carrots, home made condensed soup, and homemade crust.

Little Muffin Legs.

Braided Bread crust with feta and spinach inside.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken (homemade sauce)

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

8 oz of Goldcoast crab or lobster spread
16 oz mushrooms (medium)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp melted butter
fresh chives, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place caps in an oven safe dish. Fill each cap with 1 tsp of filling. Sprinkle with cheese and brush sides with butter. Bake for 20 min or until bubbly. Garnish with chives.

Pasta Salad

...with left over rotisserie chicken, tomatoes and German yogurt dressing.
...with garlic & butter croissants.

Sandwiches

Rotisserie chicken, mozzarella, tomato, olive oil and basil sandwiches.

Spinace & Ricotta Stuffed Calzone

This dough I made with my typical bread recipe - here.

Ingredients:

10 oz frozen frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed of excess water.
2 cloves of minced garlic (or more if desired)
2 c whole milk ricotta cheese
3/4 cups fresh mozzarella
1/4 cups graded Parmesan
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for brushing

Directions:

1. In a pan over medium heat, saute garlic and add spinach. Heat through.

2. Mix the spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, and egg & season this with salt & pepper, to taste. Place 1/2 the filling on 1/2lb of the dough leaving a 3/4-inch border along the edge. Fold the remaining dough over the filling until the edges line up & pinch the edges together to seal. Gently roll the pinched edges under to form a decorative rim.

3. Place the calzone on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal & brush the top this with olive oil. Bake until golden brown & the center is hot & melted, 25 mins.

Mushroom Chicken and Rice

Never made anything using condensed soup...ever, until a few days ago. I had a can of Amy's Kitchen Organic Cream of Mushroom Semi-Condensed Soup on hand that I wanted to use up... so good! Since it was only semi-condensed, I didn't add anything to it to thin it out. Some sour cream would have been good, but I didn't have any. I cooked a small onion in pan, add soup and fresh curly parley and voila! Pour it over cooked chicken and basmati rice.

Pfannkuchen - German Pancakes

We have been making these in my family for many years, but I could never quite get them to taste as the ones in Germany, sold at every street corner with applesauce. The latest Food & Wine issue had an interesting twist on them in their 'holiday party issue'. The secret is to use a little bit of baking powder. It makes them puff up and stick together a little better once fried. This one's a definite keeper and repeater.

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/2 pounds potatoes - graded on the 3rd largest setting
1 large onion- graded same as above
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tbsp baking powder
vegetable oil for frying
applesauce for dipping (or sour cream, if that's what you prefer)

Instructions:

1. Once the onion and potatoes are graded set aside for 5 min until all juices are strained. Squeeze dry and add to a clean bowl.

2. Stir in flour, eggs, salt, and baking powder. Mix well and return back to the strainer. Place strainer on top of bowl and keep next to your frying pan.

3. In a very large skillet, heat 1/4 inch vegetable oil until simmering. Spoon 3-4 tablespoons of of the potato mixture to the oil, pressing slightly to flatten.

4. Fry on both sides, until golden and crisp, about 7 min. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot!

Thanksgiving

Organic Turkey - salt and pepper the top, in the oven at 325 for 3 hours. What a difference organic makes. It came out juicy as can be. I stuffed the inside with a head of garlic cut in half, some onion quarters and rosemary. Couldn't taste any of it...

Sweet Potatoes with pineapple and marshmallows

Phyllo dough caps filled with portabello mushrooms

PORTABELLA AND BUTTON MUSHROOMS

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fine diced onions
1 cup small diced portabella mushrooms
1 cup small diced button mushrooms
2 tablespoons small diced roasted red pepper
2 tablespoons white wine
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Dash of salt and pepper
15 Athens® Mini Fillo Shells (1 box)

In a medium skillet, heat oil. Add onion, mushrooms and pepper. Sauté for 8-10 minutes. Add wine and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add heavy whipping cream and reduce by half. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon of filling into each Fillo Shell. Bake in preheated 350°F. oven for 7-10 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 15 Appetizers

Brie with raspberry jam - I got inspired by the recipe below. Instead of fresh raspberries, I used a teaspoon of jam in every cap in between two slices of brie cheese. Big hit.

BRIE WITH FRESH RASPBERRY

Ingredients
5 oz. Brie cheese
15 Athens® Mini Fillo Shells (1 box)
15 fresh raspberries

In a food processor, pulse Brie cheese (including rind) until smooth. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon of Brie into each Fillo Shell. Top with one raspberry. Bake in preheated 350¯F oven for 5 minutes or just until cheese is melted. Serve Warm

Makes 15 Appetizers

Green bean casserole - my mother in law made this

Lingonberries - now, everybody dislikes the crappy cranberry form a can and I didn't have any time or any more hands to make another dish, soooooooo, when we were at Ikea last we purchased two glass jars of lingonberries. Much more tastier!

The Lingonberry, or dry ground Cranberry, is a common wild fruit species found in our northern forests. It is closely related to the bog cranberry, which is the cranberry that is widely used in North America and Europe for holidays and special occasions. Traditionally, northern people around the world have made extensive use of the Lingonberry. People from Northern Europe, Canada, as well as Alaska consider this fruit to be an important diet staple. Historical references suggest that many European explorers, and Native people considered Lingonberries one of the most important edible wild fruits.

Baked Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS
4-1/2 baking potatoes
1/3 cup butter

1/2 chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
3-4 bacon strips - chopped into bits
2 green onions, chopped
3 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese


DIRECTIONS

1. Peel and cube the potatoes. Add to water and biol until cooked through. Once done, drain and mash by hand.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add onion and cook until soft. Add remaining butter and melt. Stir in flour and cook about a minute.

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3. Whisk in milk and broth, a little at a time, stirring constantly until thickened.

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4. Stir in potatoes, salt, pepper, bacon bits, green onions and cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 2 cups, frozen vegetable mix, peas, carrots, corn - steamed
  
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 cups cubed boiled chicken
• 1 package puff pastry

Directions

1. In a saute pan heat 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion and celery.

2. In another saucepan, heat the broth and milk.

3. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the celery mix and cook out the water. Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk mixture and cook until thickened. Add the salt and pepper.

4. Toss the steamed vegetables and the chicken. Pour into a oven safe dish and top with one puff pastry sheet. Cut two slits and fold corners over if they are hanging out.

5. Place into the oven and cook until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes.

This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown. It's supposedly for 6-8 people... my husband and I finished the whole thing alone. I guess it was that good!!!

Chili A La Hard Times

Hard Times Restaurant is a popular chili restaurant in the DC area. My husband loves chili and used to drag me there all the time when we first started going out. We don't eat out any more, so therefore I have to cook a lot of "junk" food at home. Hard Times traditionally serves their chili over spaghetti. Here's where I got the recipe from. PS: I also added corn and garlic to the pot.

3 onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 pounds ground beef chuck
1/3 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (i wish i used less of this)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground mace (none used)
1 bay leaf 3 cups water 1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses (not used)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Spaghetti, kidney beans (used white beans), chopped onion, grated Cheddar, and oyster crackers as traditional accompaniments, if desired

1. In a large heavy kettle cook the onions and the garlic in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are softened, add the beef, and cook the mixture, stirring and breaking up the lumps, until the beef is no longer pink.

2. Add the chili powder, the paprika, the cumin, the coriander, the allspice, the oregano, the cayenne, the cinnamon, the cloves, and the mace and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute.

3. Add the bay leaf, the water, the tomato sauce, the vinegar, and the molasses and simmer the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally and adding more water, if necessary, to keep the beef barely covered, for 2 hours, or until it is thickened but soupy enough to be ladled. Discard the bay leaf and season the chili with salt and pepper.

4. The chili may be frozen or made 4 days in advance, cooled, uncovered, and kept covered and chilled. Serve the chili as is or in the traditional Cincinnati "five-way" style: Ladle the chili over the spaghetti and top it with the beans, the onion, the Cheddar, and the oyster crackers.

Pizza

It was pizza night again. The dough, I made from warm water, yeast, salt and flour. Mix warm water and yeast, let sit for a few min. Add flour and salt until it comes together. Roll out into a thin pie and top with tomato sauce (i used canned organic), mozzarella di bufala, mushrooms etc.... if you like garlic on your pizza you can add finely sliced garlic to it before baking. So simple and good. Heat the oven and pizza stone to 500 and bake for 5-10 min until the cheese is melted. If you have time and you want a fancier pizza crust, try this recipe and let me know how it turned out. I've never tried it, but it looks darn good.

Don't bake the pizza with the fresh basil. Add basil AFTER it comes out if the oven. I turn my brain off sometimes.

The mushroom was the start of the evening.

Eggplant Salad

Eggplant salad, "Salată de vinete" in Romanian mashed eggplant salad made of grilled, peeled and finely chopped eggplants, sunflower oil and chopped onions. The eggplants are grilled until they are covered with black ash crust. The crust is cleaned of and the remaining cooked eggplant is mashed with a blunt, thick wooden knife on a wooden platter. The eggplant mash is mixed in a bowl, stirring continually, with sunflower oil, chopped onions and salt. Crushed garlic and ground pepper may be added too. Instead of oil, mayonnaise can be used.

I used a food processor to blend it all together. This dish is a little messy.... I cooked the eggplants on a oven tray on the grill that way the drippings wouldn't ruin the grill. Traditionally this is eaten on fresh bread. I grew up on this stuff!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds red skinned potatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (no pepper here)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (recommended: McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Coarsely chop potatoes and transfer to a nonstick cookie sheet. Toss with oil, peppers, onions and seasonings and place in the oven 25 minutes, turning twice with spatula. Serve hot. Recipe is from the Food Network.

Chicken A La King

For the biscuits:

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt
2 Tbl. sugar
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. buttermilk (Don’t have buttermilk? No prob, just add 1 or 2 Tbls of vinegar to milk.)

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients. Add butter, milk and form into soft dough. Do not over knead! Pat into a ungreased 6×6 pan. I use a pie pan myself so you can use whatever. Cut into serving size portions before you cook. Bake at 400′ for 15 to 20 minutes or until done and golden brown. This recipe is from here.

For the chicken and Sauce:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons chopped onion

1 cup frozen peas and carrots
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 cups diced cooked chicken

Directions:

Melt butter or margarine in a medium saucepan. Cook onion over medium low heat until onion is tender. Add peas and carrots and cook for 30 seconds more. Add flour and salt, stirring until mixture is smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Continue cooking and stirring for about 3 minutes or until mixture is thick and begins to bubble; stir in chicken..Chicken a la king recipe serves 4.
Top biscuit with it.