Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pineapple Whips

2- 20 oz cans crushed pineapple with juice
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp lime juice
1/3 C sugar
1 1/2 c heavy whipping cream, whipped

Drain pineapple; reserve 2 Tbsp juice. Set aside. Place pineapple, lemon juice, lime juice, and sugar and reserved pineapple juice in blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into two 1 qt. freezer zipped bags and store bage flat in freezer for 1 1/2 hours or until slushy. Stir pineapple slush gently into whipped cream until slighted blened. Return to freezer until cmpletely frozen- about 1 hour.

Homemade Fruit Leather

48-64 oz applesauce
1 small box jello- any flavor

Puree this in blender or food processor. Pour out onto plastic wrap lined baking sheet. Place the plastic wrap as close to the edges as possible. Spread the mixture all the way to the edges as evenly as possible. It will shrink when the moisture evaporates. Bake for 6-8 hours in a 170 degree oven until no longer tacky in the middle. After it has colled, separate from plastic wrap and put onto wax paper to cut and roll. Store in airtight container.

Country Club Chicken

Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti
4 chicken breasts
1 large onion
7 oz mushrooms
1 can concentrated cream of mushroom soup
4 or 5 slices bacon
1/4 cup dry white wine
2/3 cup sharp cheddar
1 apple
butter or oil
salt & pepper

Directions:
Mince the onion. Clean and slice the mushrooms.
Peel and mince the apple (or wash it well). Mine was a golden delicious.
Season the chicken breasts with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
Cook the bacon and don’t clean out the pan. Cleaning the pan is a venial sin. Drain the bacon on a paper napkin.
Add a bit of butter and quickly brown the chicken breasts on both sides. Transfer them to a casserole.
Cook the onion for a minute or three.
And add the mushrooms. I love this shot, no idea why.
After a minute or three you add the minced apple and cook it all for another 3 to 4 minutes.
Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and crumble the bacon in there. Pour in the white wine.
I’m sure you can replace the white wine with chicken broth or plain water, but I’ve never cooked it like that.
Add the soup. For the Dutchies: this is not your average mushroom soup but it’s the thick, concentrated version!
Sharp Cheddar. You just can’t go wrong with cheese. Never. I’ve added roughly 2/3 cup.
Okay, so maybe it was a bit more. Sue me! Stir it into the sauce.
And pour it all over the chicken breasts.
Until you can almost hear them scream “Help me, I’m drowning!“.
Put the casserole in a preheated oven at 350F (175C) for 25 to 30 minutes. Until the chicken is super tender and the sauce is all hot and bubbly.
Gives you 25 minutes to cook the spaghetti according to the directions on your package. Now that’s doable.

White Chili

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white onion, diced
6 to 8 small garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans,undrained
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup sour cream, plus additional for topping
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro
Chopped tomatoes

1. Cook the chicken by the desired method. Cool and tear into pieces.Set aside.2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic,and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Addthe chicken, chiles, beans, broth, chicken bouillon, cumin, oregano, andcayenne. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes. Chili can be made ahead to this pointand refrigerated or frozen for serving later.3. Add the 1 cup sour cream and cheese, and continue cooking until thecheese is melted. Keep warm until serving.4. Serve in bowls and pass cilantro, tomatoes, and additional sour cream.Serve with ciabatta bread. Broil it a couple of minutes until crisp. Let your familyor guests tear the bread instead of serving it sliced. Pass the butter.Variation: For a thinner chili, the consistency of soup, add more chicken broth,up to 6 cups total

Grilled salmon

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat grill for medium heat.
Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Nutella Brownie cups

1 C nutella
2 eggs
10 Tbsp flou
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 and line a 12 hole muffin pan with liners

Mix together Nutella, eggs, flour and salt until combined

Divide batter evenly in 12 muffin hols. Sprinkle each bronie cup with a few chocolate chips

Bake for 12 minutes

Kool Aid play dough

2 C flour
1 C salt
2 Tbs oil
4 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 C water
Food coloring/scent (unsweetened kool aid)

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, Comine the oil and water in a microwave safe bowl until almost boiling. Add the food coloring or kool aid powder. Mix the liquid and the dry ingrendients together. Once the mixture has cooled, knead the dough intil it becomes smooth and soft.

Braised Beef tips

2 tbsp. oil
2 lbs. beef sirloin tips or cubed round steak, cut in 1 inch pieces
2 cubes beef bouillon or 1 can beef broth
1/3 c. cranberry juice
2 tbsp. soy sauce1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp. onion salt or powder, or instant onion
1 sm. bay leaf

Brown meat in oil and add rest of ingredients. Cook until tender over low heat or in crock pot. Blend cornstarch and water. Add and stir until mixture thickens and boils. Serve over rice or potatoes.

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

Ingredients:
1/4 cup(s) Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoon(s) butter softened
1 tablespoon(s) and 1 1/2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon(s) fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon(s) dried basil
1/8 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon(s) onion powder
1/8 teaspoon(s) celery salt
1 pound(s) tilapia fillets

Preparation
Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the filllets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the fish.

Broccoli and Cheese soup



Ingredients:
Cooking spray
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1 cup chopped onion
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2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
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1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
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2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
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1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)



Preparation
Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook

Hot rolls

The ingredients you will need:
1 1/2 cups of milk
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 cups of warm water
about 9-10 cups of all purpose flour
at least 1 cup of butter

To start out: Scald 1 1/2 cups of milk, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of butter, in a microwave safe bowl, for about 2 minutes. Cutting the butter into pieces helps it melt faster. There will probably be some little cubes of butter still floating in the hot mixture, they will melt.
We are going to add yeast to this hot mixture, but it will be too hot to just dump the yeast straight in (it would kill it!). To cool it down stir in 1-2 cups of flour, then add 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon of salt, and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup dissolve 2 Tablespoons of yeast in 2 cups of warm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit for a couple of minutes until it is bubbly.

***Keep track of how much flour you are adding!!!

Make sure your milk mixture is just warm, not boiling and add the yeast mixture!
Using a fork or wooden spoon, gradually stir in 9-10 cups of flour (counting the flour you have already added to cool it earlier). I would recommend only adding 2 cups at time and stirring in between. These rolls turn out so much better when they are mixed by hand.
At the end the dough will be dense and sticky, and may be hard to stir, you can use your hands to incorporate the rest of the flour if needed. Be sure not to add too much flour. Then smooth the dough out and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place and let it raise.
When your dough is close to raising completely, butter 2 cookie sheets and set them aside.

Let the dough raise until it has doubled in size.

Cover your working space with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Dump your dough out and divide it into 4 balls. Eyeball the sizes, then lift them up and feel the weight of each ball. Try to make them even, but they don’t have to be perfect.
Using one ball of dough at a time: roll the dough into a circle on a floured counter. Once it is rolled out spread the top with butter from edge to edge. You will use about 2 Tablespoons per circle of dough.

Cut the dough into quarters using a pizza cutter.

Then cut each quarter into 3 pieces. You should end up with 12 triangles from each circle of dough.
Make sure you spread plenty of butter when using these notes, It will prevent them from sticking!
Whether or not you include a thankful note, you will roll the dough starting with the wide end of the triangle.
Tuck the tail of the triangle under the roll and place it on the buttered cookie sheet. You will make 3 rows, with 8 rolls per row. This will give you 24 rolls per pan. Two balls of dough will fill 1 pan. You will get a total of 48 rolls!
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the pans of rolls in a warm place (on top of the oven if possible) to let them rise. Once they are touching and full in size, cook (one pan at a time) in the oven ’till they are golden brown. About 10 – 15 minutes, It may take longer depending on how hot your oven cooks. Keep a close eye on your first pan to get the right time for the second.
While they are still hot and fresh out of the oven run a stick of butter over the tops of the rolls for a delicious buttery glaze.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Roasted Lemon Garlic Shrimp

1/3 cup olive oil
1 lemon, zested then half cut into thin slices and other half into wedges
3-4 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves removed
sea or kosher salt and fresh black pepperspaghetti/pasta, couscous or rice for serving
1 pound fresh shrimp, medium-sized, deveined with tails off5 cloves garlic, minced

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9×13 baking pan combine olive oil, lemon zest and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 12 minutes. Meanwhile cook pasta, couscous or rice.
2. Remove pan from oven, add shrimp, garlic and the thin sliced lemons (don’t squeeze them), toss to coat with oil mixture. Bake for 8-10 more minutes or until shrimp turn pink and start to curl. Serve over pasta, couscous or rice tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh-squeezed lemon with additional lemon wedges for serving

Pizza Pasta Casserole

Servings: 10
Calories 254.3 Fat: 8.4 g Carbs: 24.5g Fiber 1.9 g Protein 19.7g
*If using 8 servings instead of 10, it is 9 points.
Points Plus: 6

1 lb ground lean turkey sausage
1 medium onion , chopped
1 clove garlic , minced
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
8 ounces rotini pasta , cooked and drained
2 cups shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese (20 oz)
32 slices of turkey pepperoni

Directions:
1. Brown ground beef, onion, garlic and seasoning in oil.2 .Drain.3. Stir in pasta, spaghetti sauce and 2 cups cheese.4. Place mixture in 2 greased 9x13x2 inch baking pans or 4 square pans.5. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.6. Top with pepperoni.7. Cover and freeze up to 3 months.8. To cook now: Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.9. To bake frozen casserole: Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, till hot.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Apple pie filling

4 1/2 c sugar
1 c corn starch
1-2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg (optional)
1 t salt
10 c water
30 or so apples
3 T lemon juice
yellow food coloring

Mix all ingredients together (except the apples) well. Cook over med. heat until it thickens, let cool. Then add 3 T lemon juice and a few drops of yellow food coloring for a pretty color.

Peel, core and slice apples. Pack with filling into quart jars. It's easiest if you put a little sauce and then some apples the then more sauce etc. Cover with new lids and rings. Process in steam canner for 20 min.

Makes 7 quarts