Cooking - for a new lifestyle (Our Test Kitchen)

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 br...

So we tried this as it was written. I have altered the recipe (in red) so it is 100% better! Although our first attempt was all eaten. Grease one 13x9 baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. 1 cup of bacon bits (real) 1 1/2 cups canadian bacon cubed 1 (large) slivered onion 1tbsp butter Melt butter in frying pan and sautee onions. Add bacon and cook for about 5 minutes. Set aside while doing the next step. 8-10 eggs beaten 1 cup skim milk (I used 2%) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper (2 tsp) 2 tbsp chives 1/2 green pepper diced or shredded (1 whole) 1 whole red pepper diced or sliced 2 cups shredded cheese (strong flavored like old cheddar) 3 cups of grated potato or thawed hash browns (uncooked) (stick to 3 cups) In a large bowl combine ingredients above, then add bacon mixture to bowl. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. You may choose to sprinkle more cheese on top at this point. Bake another 10 minutes or until the casserole is firm. Serv...

When John announced this was what he was cooking, I rolled my eyes and knew I could always make a sandwich. I immediately thought spicey or fishy. NOT SO! Actually with a little tweeking, this could become a staple at the Shannon house! 2 tbsp cooking oil 1 lb sausage cut up (personally used mild italian & next time would remove casings using just the ground meat) 1 1/2 lb of deboned chicken In a large frying pan heat the oil and add meats over medium heat. Stir often, remove meat when thoroughly cooked and put in large mixing bowl. 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup oil Add to frying pan and make a roux (paste). Do not scorch but cook until a tan color. You will need to stir it constantly. THIS will determine how pale the final product will become! When it reaches the color you like, pour into large pot. 2 cups bouillion liquid (it called for 4 but John misread it) Add to large pot. Keep heat medium to low to avoid the "gravy" from burning on the bottom. 2 cups chopp...

You'll need: 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or about 12 boneless skinless thighs (we used thighs, but I would prefer the white meat next time) 3/4 cup peanut sauce 1/2 cup salsa (I used mild because I wasn't sure how spicy it would be for our little taster, but next time I'd use medium or even hot.  This recipe is great because you can tailor it to your spice preferences) 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil Here's what you do: Preheat oven to 400F. Meanwhile, mix together peanut sauce, salsa and basil; stir to combine.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (or grease with olive oil like I did).  Place chicken into pan and cover with all of the sauce.   Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.  We served it with mashed potatoes and a salad.  The extra sauce was really good on the potatoes!! **Hubby and I both liked this dish a lot.  He went back for seconds, which is definitely a sign that it is good!

This is a great way to make fajitas for a family without having to stand at the stove frying everything up.  You just cut everything up, throw it in a pan and plunk it in the oven for about half an hour.  We added garlic and some chipotle peppers too, to bump up the heat level.  Delicious! Oven Baked Fajitas 2 Tbs. Vegetable Oil 2 tsp each: chili powder, ground cumin 1 tsp. salt 1 lb. chicken, cut into thin strips 1 14oz. can diced tomatoes 1 medium each: green pepper, red pepper and onion, cut into thin strips (I used 2 onions) 10 flour tortillas, Preheat oben to 400. Combine oil, chili powder, cumin and salt in a 9x13 in. baking dish. Add meat, tomatoes, peppers and onion. Mix well. Bake for 30 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Serve wrapped in warm tortillas topped with sour cream and shredded cheese

1 large butternut squash - peeled and cubed 1/2 green pepper 1 large onion garlic (I used garlic oil but minced garlic or dry garlic would work) holiday seasoning (sage, italian seasonings, S&P) 1 cup water I baked the above items in a Pampered Chef casserole dish covered with a cookie sheet to keep in the moisture at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours or until quite soft. (*the smell of garlic through the house was awesome! so I must have used quite a bit.) baked squash cubes 1 can evaporated milk 2 cans water 3 tsp chicken boullion Allow to cool, so you don't crack your food processor bowl or blender, for about 1/2 - 3/4 hour. Then process everything into a puree. Pour directly into a crock pot. It took 2 loads to process all of my squash without making a mess. In the bowl of the food processor, pour 1 can evaporated milk, 3 tsp chicken boullion powder and 2 cans of water * the reason I do this is to ensure I get all the spices and vegetable out of the bowl. Blend and then add to the ...

I made this soscuisine.com recipe up the other night. It is supposed to make 4 servings but it actually seems to be enough to feed a small banquet. Hal didn't like it, but Hal doesn't like zucchini or eggplant. I loved it. The recipe won't freeze well and I didn't want it to go to waste, so I took the leftover ratatouille and some red quinoa to Ladies Day Out. All the ladies seemed to enjoy it. So, here goes . . . 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, pressed 1 cup green beans, cut into 2 cm pieces 2 zucchini, diced into 1.5 cm squares 1 eggplant, small, diced into 1.5 cm squares 1 yellow or red pepper, cut into 1.5 cm squares 1 carrot, cut into 1.5 cm squares salt and pepper to taste 300 g firm tofu, cubed 1-1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes 1 tsp Herbs aux Provence 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper Heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Saute the crushed garlic and chopped onion, taking care not to burn. Cook 4-5 minutes until the onion ...

1 large cheap pork roast.....a good one does not shred as easy. Boil your roast, this will remove some of the salt and then roast in the oven at 350 for 2 hours with 2 cups of water (for moisture). Pull roast out of oven and let cool to be able to handle by hand. Remove any visible fat, and then with a fork shred the meat off the roast. Place into a crock pot. Add onion, peppers, pineapple, S&P, and 1 bottle of your favourite BBQ sauce. Fill the bottle with water and add to the crock pot too. Stir well, if you feel it is still too thick, add another bottle of water or tomato juice. You can add more spices or chilli's if you'd like. Cook at high for 3 hours. Stirring occaionally. Serve on buns, with a salad. This is lovely at backyard parties. Easy and filling. "Bon Appetit!"

I seen this on tv last night! As you would normally do, prepare 4 slices of bread (4 per burger) to make 2 grilled cheese sandwiches! Over the cheese on one sandwich lay sliced cooked bacon or sprinkle crumbled cooked bacon and close. Set aside. Over the cheese on the other sandwich, add jalapenos or onions, or leave plain. Close and set aside. Cook your hamburgers as you would normally. When they are 1/2 cooked, make your grilled cheese sandwiches. Use the sandwiches instead of buns! Top with traditional toppings. ***We found lettuce a little too hard to handle, and we all removed it, as it made the burgers slide too much. "Bon Appetit!"

I love this recipe because it is sooooo easy. In a large pot: 1 whole green pepper 1 whole onion 1/2 bag mini carrots 4 stalks celery s&p 8 cups water boullion cubes or chicken soup mix Bring to a boil. Puree veggies with soup using an emulsion blender (or blend this after it cools down in a blender), making a slightly thicker soup base. (you can hide lots of veggies in there!) Put back into large pot. Add 4 tbsp of curry powder if you want. If someone doesn't like curry, sprinkle on individual bowls at serving time. Add cooked chicken (boneless/skinless) or leftover chicken/turkey....I plan to try this with sausage removed from the casings and fried up too. Bring to a boil. Add 3 cups of rice to pot. Stir until rice is edible.....THIS WILL HAPPEN! the soup part disappears! I just keep adding water. LOL This dish reheats well in the microwave and warms tummies when it is cold. "Bon Appetit!"

So everyone has been there. You open the fridge after Thanksgiving or Christmas and find all the bits no one has finished off. This is what I did. 1 cup of gravy or whatever is left over 1 cup parsnips/turnip/carrots 1/2 cup cream/regular corn 1/2 onion 4-6 cups of mashed potatoes 4-6 cups of liquid water/broth/consomme (equal to the amount of potato)OR milk for creamier S&P Now I put everything in the pot on med heat and mashed together (I used a emulsion mixer)be careful if you have used milk as it burns easier! i mixed in: 1/2 head of par cooked cauliflower florets or brocolli florets 1 cup of peas and 2 cups of ham cubes or turkey cubes Stir and pour into a crock pot. Now take the leftover stuffing (if there is any) and cut into cubes. About the size of croutons! Place on a cookie sheet and bake until crispy. Serve your turkey day croutons with your cream of leftovers soup! "Bon Appetit!"

This recipe appealed to Judy who is currently on a squash kick, but not being a big squash fan, Ididn't expect much. This was lovely. She loved it even more than the squash I stuffed with marshmallows a couple weeks ago! I will give you the easy way and at the end, give you a quick "presentation" idea we did. So peel and seed the squash (we used a butternut but the recipe actually called for acorn). Dice and boil cubes. Drain squash and mash. Now for each squash you have used add: 3 tbsp of brown sugar 1 tbsp butter/margarine 1/2 tsp grated orange rind 3 tbsp orange juice Mash and bake in oven at 350. Top with toasted nuts (they called for pecans, I used almonds....whatever) What we did was hollow out the Squash and used the shell as a serving dish. It looked lovely on the table. "Bon Appetit!"

The idea of this is you can prep everything ahead of time and clean the kitchen. You will only have a few bowls to wash in the end. In a pot boil enough rice for your diners. When rice is done to your taste, rinse quickly in cold water **This will stop further cooking (and cut down on stach and stickiness). Set aside until dinner time. In same pot you cooked rice, on med heat 2 tsp vegetable oil about 1/2 cup of thin soup noodles 1"ish (or broken spaghetti) about 1/2 cup chopped almonds, cashews, pecans or pistachios Essentially you are going to fry these noodles creating vermicelli! Watch carefully and when you start to see colour, remove from heat or you will have VERY well done noodles....) and cool/drain on a paper towel. Set aside until it is dinner time. On a large plate dice up a cheap steak into small cubes **You can use chicken, pork or sausage as well Set aside until it is dinner time In bowl #1 diced carrots, corn, water chestnuts **Any hard core veggies that need extra...

Made these for supper tonight.  Super easy and super delicious!  Next time we make them we are going to customize them with different filling items.  Suggestions were red peppers, pepperoni, meatballs...... Ingredients Tomato Sauce: 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary leaves 2 ounces diced pancetta 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Pizza Pot Pies: 3 cups Tomato Sauce 2 cups diced roasted chicken 2 cups broccoli cut into small, bite-sized pieces 1 1/2 cups diced mozzarella cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 pounds pizza dough  ** Homemade or store-bought, whichever you prefer/have time for/can muster the energy for 1/3 cup olive oil 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan **Note that the recipe calls for six 10-ounce ramekins.  We didn't have those, so we used small French onion soup bowls. They worked perfectly!...

This meal went over so well that Cameron cleaned his plate and Hal actually went back for seconds.  If you know Cameron and Hal you will know that this is nothing short of a miracle. Swedish Meatballs "Kottbullar" (meatballs) is a Swedish dish, traditionally served with boiled potatoes and a "lingonberry sauce", similar to a cranberry sauce.  The spice used here is the berry of a pimiento tree.  It is aptly named "allspice" because it tastes like a combination of spices, mostly cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 1/2 potato, peeled 2 tsp Italian parsley, fresh, minced 1/4 onion, finely chopped 1 large egg 400 g ground beef, lean 1-1/2 tbsp milk, 2% 1/4 tsp allspice powder 1/4 tsp salt ground pepper to taste 2-1/2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp apple cider 2 tsp canola oil 2 tsp olive oil Peel the potatoes, boil them until very tender, 20-25 minutes.  Drain well, then put them in a bowl and mash. Mince parsley, add half to the bowl of potatoes ...

Supper was delicious tonight -- we both LOVED it . . . and I love trying new recipes.  Can you tell? Lettuce and Tomato Salad 1 tomato 2/3 curly leaf lettuce 2 radishes 1 green onion Salt and pepper Cut the tomatoes into segments and place them in a salad bowl.  Add lettuce leaves.  Finely slice radish and green onion then add them to the bowl.  Pour in 2 tbsp Classic Vinaigrette.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Toss and serve. Pasta with Sausage and Cauliflower ½ onion, coarsely chopped 1-1/4 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets 1/2 tbsp olive oil 2 Italian sausages ¼ dried chilli peppers, minced ¾ cup chicken broth, warm 2 cups penne rigate or other short pasta Salt and pepper 2 tbsp parmesan Keep the serving dishes in the oven at the lowest setting so they are warm when you serve.  Put a colander in the sink to drain the cooked pasta so that it will be ready when needed.  Prepare vegetables.  Heat the oil in a frying pan over m...

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED these recipes and I was sure Hal would too.  Wrong again.  The man likes tomatoes, fruit, rice, curry and he has unwittingly eaten tofu many, many times in Thai food.  But apparently I'm wrong.  He liked the rice and the strawberries . . . sigh . . . well I won't give up!! Tomato Salad with Oregano 2 tomatoes cut into quarters 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil Salt & pepper to taste ¾ tsp dried oregano Put all ingredients into a bowl and toss well. Makes 2 servings. Tofu Curry with Fruit ½ onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced ½ apple, peeled and cut into quarters 2 slices canned pineapple, cut into bit-size pieces 1 banana, cut into bite-size pieces 150 g watermelon, cut into bit-size pieces 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp curry powder ½ cup vegetable broth 220 g firm tofu, cut into 1.5 cm cubes ½ tbsp canola oil ¼ cup cream 15% Salt and pepper to taste Heat half of the butter in a pan over medium heat.   Add the onion and garlic, t...

Believe it or not, I got this recipe from my two-year-old daughter's Sesame Street cookbook, called C is for Cooking:  Recipes from the Street .  What I like about this cookbook over most of the other cookbooks I've seen geared toward kids is that it's not full of junk-food recipes or recipes for food that is "dumbed down" to appeal to kids.  I don't believe in kid food.  If we can eat it, so can she, unless of course it's ultra-spicy, in which case I'd just simply tame hers down.  I don't cook a separate meal for her.  Now, as I step down off my soapbox, I present a cutesy-sounding recipe that was actually very tasty and worthy even of being served to company.  That Grover, he knows what he's talking about. Enjoy!!! :) Grover's Chicken and Couscous with Juice-Juice Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 1 cup orange juice 2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 cloves garlic 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast 1 cup low so...

Menu: Beet and Green Apple Salad Italian-Style Sausage in a Tomato Sauce Potato Puree Beet Greens Sugared Peaches   Beet and Green Apple Salad 3 beets 1 Granny Smith apple 2 tbsp Classic Vinaigrette (recipe below) salt and pepper to taste Prepare the beets:  boil or steam them about 25-30 minutes.  Let the beets cool down a few minutes, then peel them and dice into 1.5 cm pieces.  Place the pieces in a salad bowl.  Cut the apple into 1.5 cm cubes, without peeling them, but removing the core.  Add the apples to the salad bowl.  Pour in the Classic Vinaigrette, then season with salt and pepper.  Toss well, then serve. Makes 2 servings. Classic Vinaigrette Whisk together 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3-1/2 tbsp wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar) and 1 tbsp Dijon mustard. I LOVED THIS SALAD.  HAL DOESN'T LIKE BEETS APPARENTLY.  HE ONLY LIKES BEET RELISH.  FIGURE THAT OUT IF YOU CAN. Italian-Style Sausage in a Tomato Sauce ...

Taylor and I really enjoyed taste-testing this recipe. I used Unico Scoobi Doo macaroni for a little extra excitement. And it is soooooo simple to make. Macaroni and Beef 6 servings 6 oz elbow macaroni, cooked 1 pound extra-lean ground beef 1 cup chopped onion 1 cup chopped red bell pepper 1 cup tomato sauce 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp thyme 1/4 tsp pepper 4 oz (1 cup) reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, grated (I substituted 1/4 cup of homemade pesto for the basil) In large skillet, brown ground beef, onion and bell pepper until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are softened. Add tomato sauce, basil, thyme and pepper, Stir frequently over medium heat until heated through. Remove from heat. Add macaroni; stir to combine. Sprinkle cheese over top. Per Serving: 292.2 calories; 10.3 g fat; 21.3 g protein; 28.3 g carbohydrates; 43 mg cholesterol Le dîner est servi . . .