Monday, November 2, 2015

Favorite Chili

This recipe is from my friends Mary and Danny and it is my favorite chili recipe!

1 lb ground beef
1 onion
1 green bell pepper
1 large can tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
2 medium cans kidney beans
1 Tb. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 bay leaf

Brown meat. Add onion and green pepper. Combine with other ingredients. Mix well and simmer 1 hour or 2-3 hours in crock pot. Remove bay leaf and serve.

Sausage Tortellini Soup

Sausage Tortellini Soup (Katie Christensen)
1 lb Italian sausage, browned and drained
1 c. coarsely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 c. beef broth
1/2 c. water
1 lg. can crushed tomatoes
1 med green pepper chopped
1 c. thinly sliced carrots or baby carrots sliced lengthwise
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 c. sliced zucchini
1 (10 oz) pkg. cheese tortellini
Brown sausage and drain. Sauté onions and garlic in sausage pan. Add all ingredients except zucchini and tortellini. Simmer until carrots have cooked some. Add zucchini and continue to simmer just until barely tender. In a separate pot, prepare tortellini as directed on package, but undercook a little. Drain and add to soup. Thin soup with more beef broth if you would like. Makes 6-8 quarts: ten to twelve big servings. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. This tastes even better the next day!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Tuxedo Salad

This is another yummy salad and also makes a lot! I got this recipe from my friend Miquelle's blog.

Tuxedo Salad

16 oz bowtie pasta (farfalle)

The dressing:
1 cup oil
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
6 Tbs sugar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together to create the dressing. Cook the pasta the night before and add it to the dressing so that the pasta can soak it up.

10oz baby spinach
6 oz craisins
2 cans, 11 oz mandarin orange segments, drained
3 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
6 oz honey roasted peanuts
2-8 oz cans water chestnuts, drained (I left these out because I don't like them :)
Teriyaki chicken, cooked, cubed, and cooled (made using the following recipe)

Teriyaki chicken marinade:
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ginger
2 Tbs lemon juice

Place chicken and marinade in crockpot cook on low for 3-4 hours until cooked through and tender. Turn several times while cooking.
Assemble in a large, large bowl and enjoy!

Asian Noodle salad

This salad is so yummy. I got the recipe from my friend Alyson's blog. The recipe is originally from The Pioneer Woman. I made a few changes (less noodles, more veggies) but you can play around with it to see what you like best.


SALAD INGREDIENT
1/2 package Linguine Noodles, Cooked, Rinsed, And Cooled
½ heads Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
½ heads Sliced Purple Cabbage, Or More To Taste
½ bags Baby Spinach, Or More To Taste
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
1 bag Bean Sprouts (also Called Mung Bean Sprouts)
Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
3 whole Scallions, Sliced
3 whole Cucumbers Peeled And Sliced
1 can (about 10 Oz.) Whole Cashews, Lightly Toasted In Skillet



FOR THE DRESSING:
1 whole Lime, Juiced
8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons (up To 3 Tablespoons) Sesame Oil
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Chopped
2 cloves Garlic Chopped 1
whole Hot Peppers Or Jalapenos, Chopped
chopped Cilantro

Directions: Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix and serve.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Cinnamon crusted doughnut muffins



I made these this afternoon and thought why not throw together a ham and cheese omelet and make it dinner. They were really good and since I've been craving an old fashioned coffee cake type doughnut these were perfect!
Next time I think I'm going to try making them in the mini cupcake pan and using a crumb topping* instead of dipping them in butter and rolling them in the cinnamon sugar. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Makes 12
1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

For the Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

-Preheat the oven to 350º. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
-In a separate, large bowl, combine oil, sugar, egg and milk.
-Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
-Coat your muffin pan well with nonstick cooking spray and divide the batter evenly among the cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

-Run a knife around the sides of the muffin and shake them out of the pan while still hot.
-Melt the butter in a bowl.
-Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.
-Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.

*For crumb topping instead of cinnamon sugar topping:
Mix together 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Vegetarian meatloaf/burgers


I got this recipe from my friend Alyson's blog she is an amazing cook and always makes the yummiest food! I am never disappointed when I make something from her blog. This is one of our new favorites. Sometimes instead of making it into a loaf I add extra BBQ sauce (1/4-1/2 cup total) and make them into burgers and bake (I made about 10 burgers from this recipe). Then for leftovers I pull them out and warm them up on the george forman grill.
I have also frozen them. That way when I want an easy dinner I pull some out in the morning to defrost in the fridge. Then when dinner time comes I warm them on the grill, pop them in a roll with some toppings and viola you have a delicious veggie burger! (Even Josh will eat it and that's saying something ;)

Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1 cup mushrooms (optional)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cups grated cheese (any flavor, vege cheese is good too)
1 egg, beaten (or vegan egg substitute)
6 tablespoons BBQ sauce (or tomato sauce or ketchup or any combination)
1 tablespoon grill seasoning (grill seasoning has salt, pepper, garlic and other yummy stuff)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Glaze:
2 tablespoons each of BBQ sauce and ketchup.

Directions:

Bring 2 cups of water to boil, add salt and lentils and simmer covered until lentils are soft, 25-30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils are cooking, food process the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms until finally diced. Heat olive oil over medium heat and cook vegetables until soft about 10 minutes. season with salt and pepper.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (at this point add more sauce, ketchup is fine or seasoning if you think it needs it.)

Dump mixture into a greased loaf pan and smooth top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

mix glaze together, spread over cooked loaf and bake for another 10 minutes.

cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

* This should not be mushy or too dry when it is done cooking. If it is too dry, then oops, it needed more sauce before you baked it. It it is too mushy, try cooking it longer to dry it out.

*This recipe really is pretty versatile. For example if you want an Italian flavor, instead of the BBQ sauce and grill seasoning, use marinara sauce and Italian seasoning. Or you could do Mexican with salsa or tomato sauce and Mexican seasonings and pepper jack cheese. yum!

*For leftover sandwiches, I love to take the slices of meatloaf and fry them up in a hot lightly oiled pan.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lasagna (meatless)

This is an easy but really good lasagna recipe. I have tried it with cooked ground turkey and chopped mushrooms and it was great!
Recipe is from Betty Crocker
Serves 8

2 cups ricotta cheese or small curd creamed cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
2 jars (28 ounces each) tomato pasta sauce (any variety)
12 uncooked lasagna noodles (I used the ready bake, no cook noodles)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Additional shredded mozzarella cheese, if desired

-Heat oven to 350°F. Mix ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, the parsley and oregano.
-Spread 2 cups of the pasta sauce in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches; top with 4 uncooked noodles. Spread ricotta cheese mixture over noodles. Spread with 2 cups pasta sauce and top with 4 noodles; repeat with 2 cups pasta sauce and 4 noodles. Sprinkle with 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Spread with remaining pasta sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
-Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake about 30 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with additional mozzarella cheese. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

I like to make this ahead of time so I adjust the cooking 45 minutes covered and 15-20 minutes uncovered.

1 Serving (1 Serving)Calories 515 (Calories from Fat 180 ),Total Fat 20 g(Saturated Fat 9 g,Cholesterol 40 mg;Sodium 1340 mg;(Dietary Fiber 4 g,Protein 24 g;Percent Daily Value*:Calcium ;Exchanges:4 Starch;1 Vegetable;1 High-Fat Meat;2 Fat;*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.