Posts

Showing posts from January, 2014

Meatball soup

Image
20-30 mini meatballs (about a cereal bowl full) precooked 1 can of diced tomatoes 4 stalks of celery chopped 2 carrots diced 1 large onion chopped 1 green pepper chopped 1/2 L of *vegetable cocktail (or tomato juice) 1/2 L of water 1L of soup boullion (I used some I had in the freezer) 2 tsp italian seasoning 1 tsp minced garlic Put all items in a large crock pot stir and let simmer for 5-6 hours on high with lid on. 500g  of rings, penne or spiral pasta cooked Add pasta to sauce and stir well. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired. Serve with fresh bread, and salad. "Bon Appetit!" *vegetable cocktail will add an unexpected sweet flavour

Chicken Enchilada Pasta Casserole

Image
Enchilada Sauce As I could not find this premade, I followed this easy recipe. In a pan heat: 1/4 cup of oil 2 tbsp flour 1/4 cup chili powder (I used Pam's homemade blend on this site) Stir constantly until it is thick (a rue). Reduce heat to medium. Add: 1 1/2 cups of water 8oz can of tomato sauce 1/4 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp onion powder (I used flakes) salt to taste. Cook mixture, stirring often over medium heat for 10 minutes. Set aside. Prepare a 9x12 rectangular baking pan. **As I use a pampered chef pan I do not have to grease but if using a cake pan or corning ware, grease and set aside. 2 large peppers (red and green) cut up into the size you prefer 1 large onion cut up into the size you prefer 2 tbsp oil 1 fresh jalepeno (optional) seeded and chopped 2 cups of diced cooked chicken 3 tbsp taco seasoning 1 can refried beans 2 10oz cans enchilada sauce (or the amount in recipe above) 1 cup green oni

dry pasta measurements

pasta: measuring chart Use the chart below to determine how much dry pasta to start with and to see the final volume of the cooked pasta. Note: Chart below based on four servings (2 oz. each) for a total of 8 oz. long pastas uncooked cooked Bucatini 8 oz. 4 1/2 cups Cappellini 8 oz. 3 3/4 cups Fettuccine 8 oz. 4 cups Linguine 8 oz. 3 3/4 cups Pappardelle 8 oz. 4 cups Spaghetti 8 oz. 3 1/2 cups Spaghettini 8 oz. 3 1/2 cups Tagliatelle 8 oz. 4 cups Vermicelli 8 oz. 3 1/2 cups short pastas uncooked cooked Cavatelli 8 oz. 4 cups Farfalle 8 oz. 4 1/3 cups Fusilli 8 oz. 4 1/2 cups Macaroni 8 oz. 4 cups Medium Shells 8 oz. 3 2/3 cups Orecchiette 8 oz. 3 1/3 cups Orzo 8 oz. 3 1/2 cups Penne 8 oz. 4 cups Rigatoni 8 oz. 4 1/4 cups Rotelle 8 oz. 3 1/2 cups Ziti 8 oz. 5 cups

Banana Bread in the breadmaker

Image
The recipe actually calls for the bread to cook IN the bread maker. My experience with my bread maker is I end up with VERY heavy and dense bread. So I chose to mix as a dough and bake in the oven. In a bread maker: 1 cup milk 2 ripe bananas chopped 3 cups of flour (2 1/2 cups white and 1/2 cup brown) 4 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp salt pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon 3 tbsp margarine (or butter) 1 1/2 tsp fast acting yeast nuts are optional *****one of my 2 loaves will have 3/4 cup peanut butter added to it. I set it on mix dough as I said earlier my bread machine bakes very dense bread. Because there is yeast in it you have 3 options 1:  let it rise in the machine before moving it into 1 or 2 greased loaf pans and bake 2:  let the machine bake the loaf 3:  divide mixture into 1 or 2 small greased loaf pans and set aside to rise, then bake Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. "Bon Appetit!"

Pasta Fagioli Soup

1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey breast 1 large onion, chopped 1 large carrot, peeled, halved and sliced 2 large stalks celery with leaves, thinly sliced 2 cans (1 pound each) unsalted tomatoes, crushed  tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tap crushed fresh garlic 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 3 cups beef broth 1 can (1 pound) navy or garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 6 ounces elbow macaroni or ziti pasta Place the ground meat in a 4-quart pot and brown over medium heat, stirring constantly to crumble, until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain off any excess fat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, seasonings and beef broth to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the beans and pasta to the pot, cover and simmer for 7 to 9 minutes or just until the pasta is al dente.  Be careful not to overcook as the pasta will continue to soften as long as it remains

Bread (known as challah, houska or chalka)

Image
Jewish challah bread is a rich, slightly sweet yeast bread that is typically braided and eaten at the Sabbath evening meal on Friday nights and at ceremonial dinners.  I just wanted a nice sweet egg bread to go with the tuscan pork dish I made from this site for dinner. Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Rising time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes Ingredients: 2 large eggs (+ 1 large egg white later) 5 ounces warm water 2 1/2 tablespoons oil 2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey) 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar 3 cups bread flour 1 package active dry yeast (1 1/2 tsp) Preparation: Put 2 eggs, water, oil, honey and vanilla into a bowl (I use a bread machine to mix as I over mix)  Add salt, sugar and flour.  Make a well in the flour and add yeast.  Mix until JUST combined, and let rest for 10 min. Knead more and let rest for 10 more min. (or Run bread machine on doug

Crust Free Pizza (Gluten Free)

Image
NO DOUGH PIZZA!!!!!!!  This one is a WINNER!!!! Gluten Free, Low Carb, Diabetic Friendly!!!!!! For when you absolutely want pizza but not all the carbs!!!!!!! Crust 1 (8 oz) package of full fat cream cheese, room temperature 2 eggs 1/4 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp garlic powder 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese Topping 1/2 cup pizza sauce 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese toppings - pepperoni, ham, sausage, mushrooms, peppers Garlic powder Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spay a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.  With a handheld mixer, mix cream cheese, eggs, pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese until combined. Spread into baking dish.  Bake for 12-15 minutes, our until golden brown.  Allow crust to cool for 10 minutes. Spread pizza sauce on crust.  Top with cheese and toppings.  Sprinkle pizza with garlic powder.  *Add toppings as desired Bake 8-10 minutes, until cheese is melted. "Bon Appetit!"

French Toast Breakfast Muffins

Image
French Toast Breakfast Muffins.  These are amazing!! Taste exactly like French toast!!! Made with skim milk and light butter was only 121 calories a muffin if you make 12!  1/3 c. butter  melted  1/2 c. sugar 1 egg (preferably room temperature)  1 1/2 c. all purpose flour  1 1/2 tsp. baking powder  1/2 tsp. salt  1/4 tsp. nutmeg  1/2 c. milk  Topping (option: cut topping in half*)  1/2 c. sugar  1/2 c. butter melted  1 tsp. cinnamon  Preheat oven to 350F.  In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined,  but still a bit lumpy.  Do NOT overmix; overmixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins.  Scoop batter into muffin tins that have sprayed with cooking spray.  Using a large ice cream scoop, I got 8 medium-large muffins out of this batter; I think you could get 10-12 muffins by distributing the batter a little less generously.  Bake for 2

Coconut Ginger Rice (Gluten Free)

Image
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) reduced-sodium chicken broth 2/3 cup (150 mL) reduced-fat (lite) coconut milk (not cream of coconut) 1 tbsp (15 mL) grated ginger-root 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt 1 1/3 cup (325 mL) uncooked regular long-grain rice 1 tsp (5 mL) grated lime peel 3 medium green onions, chopped (about 3 tbsp/45 mL) 3 tbsp (45 mL) flaked coconut, toasted Lime slice Method: Heat broth, coconut milk, ginger-root and salt to boiling in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed; remove from heat. Add lime peel and onions. Fluff rice, lime peel and onions lightly with fork to mix. Garnish with coconut and lime slices.

Homemade Chili Powder

Image
One of the things  I made for my friends  at Christmas was homemade chili powder. I haven't used it yet but it sure does smell good. 1 tsp paprika 2 tsp cumin 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp oregano 2 tsp garlic powder Mix everything together and store in a glass jar.

Veggie and cheese Tray Casserole

Image
Its that time of year when you open your fridge and find remnants of cheese and veggie trays! No dip, no cucumbers just the stuff everyone left. What do you do, most of us stick it back in the fridge and find it ready for the garbage 1 week later and throw it out. I just found a recipe that could change that. Pull out the crockpot, and lightly coat with non stick cooking spray. Add: 1-10oz can of cream of ___?___ soup OR 1-10oz can of gravy 1 cup sour cream 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese ( gruyere, swiss or old cheddar or whatever happens to be left) 1 cup milk 1 tsp italian seasoning 1 tsp black pepper 5-6 cups of cubed red skin new potatoes (we used white - red would have been prettier) This sauce turns out rather yummy! **Note: we used the can of turkey gravy and old cheddar ________________________________________________________ This is the moment when I looked to the veggie tray! Dice up and add any RAW celery, onions, carrots, pars

Maple Almonds

Image
I will say these are DELICIOUS and I am usually not a fan of maple taste. 1 packet Maple Cheesecake Bake Mix from Sunset Gourmet 1 tsp vanilla 1 Tbsp cinnamon 2 cups whole, natural almonds 1 egg white 2 Tbsp water Combine Maple Cheesecake Bake Mix and cinnamon.   Add egg white and vanilla, stir in almonds.   Spray crock-pot and pour almond mixture in.   Cook on low for 3 hours, covered, stirring every 20 minutes.   After 3 hours add water, stir and cover; continue stirring every 20 minutes.   Cook for 45 more minutes.   Line a baking sheet and scoop almonds onto it; unclump the almonds, let cool and serve.  

Broccoli & Cauliflower

Image
Mum has been using this recipe for years and has been enjoyable each time we've had it. Ingredients 20oz (600g) frozen broccoli cuts 20oz (600g) frozen cauliflower 8oz (250g) cheddar cheese 1 can of Cream of Celery soup 2 tsp Horseradish 2.5oz (70g) canned fried onions Directions Lightly grease a 2quart casserole dish. Cook the broccoli and cauliflower according to package directions. Drain and run under cold water. Place them in the casserole. Cube the cheese if it is in a block. We made it a little easier and shredded the amount needed. Conventional Method - In a sauce pan heat the soup over medium heat. Add the cheese. Stir until it has melted completely. Stir in the horseradish. Stir the sauce into the vegetables until they are completely coated. - Bake the uncovered casserole in a preheated oven at 350F for 20 mins. Sprinkle on the topping. Bake for 5mins. When it comes to the topping, we generally just sprinkle it on. A container is 76g an

Carrots Au Gratin

Don't know how long we've had this recipe, but it is always a delicious addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Ingredients 3 cups cooked sliced carrots, drained 1 10 1/2oz can condensed cream of celery soup 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs 1 Tbsp melted butter Directions Combine carrots, soup and cheese in a 1quart casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle atop the carrot mixture. Bake at 350 for 20-25mins or till heated through and crumbs are browned.