Ham and White Bean Soup

I pulled frozen ham from Easter out of the freezer.
Hmm... 5:54, what to make, what to make-- I started by sauteing some onions and celery in a little oil. I then added the chopped ham, water, 2 cans of white beans and garlic. I simmered that while I mixed up some cheesy drop biscuits.

Creamy Meatballs

Make meatballs out of meat (2lbs), egg and oatmeal (3/4 cup). Fry them in a large skillet, turning frequently. When they are done, drain oil and add water/broth and steak seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add 1 cup of sour cream and you're done. I thought these were just OK but everyone else seemed to really like them.

Chicken pepper soup

 

I made up this recipe so the amounts are just approximations.

Creamy Chicken Pepper soup

1 1/2 cups of chicken
1/2 lb. Beef Polska Kielbasa (or sausage)
2 slices of onion
1/2 small red pepper
2 Tablespoons of oil
3 Tablespoons of flour
1/4 cup of cream (or milk)
1/3 cup salsa
1/3 cup corn
1 teaspoon sweet mesquite seasoning

In a large pot, boil a left over roasted chicken for at least 1/2 hour in several inches of water. This will create a broth and soften the chicken so it is easy to remove the bones. You can also use boneless chicken and broth but it won't taste as good. After the broth is made, remove the chicken from the bones and skim the fat off of the broth. Add the chicken.

In a frying pan saute the sausage, onion and red pepper in oil. Scoop out the sausage mixture into the broth. Skim off any fat in the broth created by the sausage. Add the salsa, corn and sweet mesquite seasoning.

Put some of the broth in a cup and mix in the flour. Add the cream to the flour/broth mixture and pour it all back into the soup.

Serve with shredded pepper jack cheese.

Split Pea and homemade bread

There is nothing special about making split pea soup. Just follow the directions on the bag of peas, plus boil the bone (if you have one) and skim off the fat. I added Italian Seasoning which has garlic and Tony's Chachere's creole seasoning to spice it up plus onion, carrots and ham.

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

3 cups stone-ground whole wheat flour
        (some oatmeal may be included)
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon salt
2 packages of yeast (4 1/2 teaspoons)
2 1/4 cups very warm water (120°F to 130°F)
3-4 cups white and wheat flour

Mix whole wheat flour, honey, shortening, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough all-purpose flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.Grease bottoms and sides of 2 loaf pans.

Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side, to form a loaf. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Press each end with side of hand to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter. Cover and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until double.

Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter; cool.

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki Sauce

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger root
• 1 or 2 cloves crush garlic
• 1/4 cup sweet rice wine

mix and marinate for 1/2 an hour

Minestrone Soup

 

Cook about a pound of hamburger with onions and drain off fat. Add a 16oz. can of tomato sauce and 2 cans of water. Add chopped carrots, 1 clove of garlic and Italian seasoning to cook until tender. Add pasta and more water if needed to cook until tender. Add green beans, kidney beans, olives and more water if needed. Heat through and top with Parmesan cheese (I was out).

Charlie made coconut cookies for dessert, they were so good I had to share the recipe:

Charlie's Coconut Cookies

2 3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
4 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

He mixed them up the usual way: cream butter and sugar, add egg, milk and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture until just blended. Use spoon to mix in coconut-- bake at 325.

Sloppy Joes

I couldn't decide what to have until the last moment. I didn't follow a recipe-- just threw things into a pot. It's important to chop the hamburger into tiny pieces. To do that I use a pampered chef tool- I don't even know what it is called- a six inch chopping blade with a handle? Once the meat was finely chopped I added tomato sauce, ketchup, red wine vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and a splash of red wine.

Usually when I have a drink of wine while cooking, my dishes turn out wrong. But last night it worked for me. After tasting the sauce I knew it was missing something... in went about 1/4 cup of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) and it was perfect!

Roast Beef with mock mashed potatoes

I cooked the beef in a crock pot all day. For the mock mashed potatoes recipe see the post on March 14. Charlie still doesn't know he's eating cauliflower- or maybe he knows but doesn't want to say anything. He had me put the bacon chunk on top for the photo.

Chef Salad (with a little shrimp)

Beef Stroganoff

Chicken Enchiladas

I stuff my enchiladas with chicken or beef, lots of cheese and green chillies. Top them with my very easy enchilada sauce, a little extra cheese and bake them for 20 minutes at 350.

Gordon made "deer and pickle pie"--mincemeat for dessert. I'll probably blog that later after our walk.

Enchilada sauce

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3-4 cups of hot  water
• 1/2 cup chili powder
• cumin and cayenne pepper to taste

Heat a large sauce pan, add first the oil then the flour. Cook for a few minutes until smooth and bubbly. Add some hot water and it will thicken right away-- add more to the right consistency. Add the spices to taste. Pour over rolled and stuffed enchiladas. This will probably make more sauce than you need.

Omelet bar

I made up omelets for dinner and set out fillers so everyone could make them up as they wanted. The secret to making a good omelet is to not cook it too hot. That makes the egg puff up and crack when you fold it over. That's OK but doesn't look pretty! The pan needs to be hot enough to melt the butter but not make it sizzle and brown. Thoroughly whip the eggs with a fork until foamy. A 2 egg omelet is the best size for a small pan.

My omelet: cheese, bay shrimp, spinach, bacon, salsa, and avocado...

I had trouble deciding so I put it all in.

Gordon's: everything but the kitchen sink!

Charlie's: pepperoni, cheese, jalapenos, salsa, fresh onions, avocado.

Marielle's: cheese, shrimp and a little bacon with a side of spinach.

Timmy the Cat: shrimp-- hold the egg and cheese!

Beef Stir-fry

I totally cheat on this meal because it is almost as easy as fast food. I buy the thin cuts of beef (is it skirt or flank?) at Costco. Chop it into stir-fry slices and stick it in the freezer. Then when I need an easy meal I pull out the frozen beef and the frozen stir-fry veggies from Costco. I microwave the meat for 1 minute on full power- just enough to be able to break it up. Heat up the pan, add the oil and cook the meat. Take the beef out, add more oil if needed and cook the veggies (about 12 minutes?). While that is cooking, pour some rice wine (1/3 cup?) and soy sauce in a bowl. Add about a tablespoon of cornstarch and chopped garlic to the liquid. When the veggies look like they are almost done put some chopped ginger in. Cook for a minute or two and add beef and liquid. Stir to cook the cornstarch and you are good to go.

Salad bar

Well, it was going to be Chef Salad but I had to take Grandma to the doctor. I didn't get to finish my shopping so we made do with the veggies/ meat and cheese we had. It was fine.

Sloppy Joes

Actually, I pulled some left over Sloppy Joe from the freezer, added some more hamburger and chili powder. It tasted as good as fresh made. I topped my Sloppy Joe with fresh mozzarella. I don't remember how I made it originally but I'm sure it had beef, onions, beans with some flavorings. It looks like the beans were S and W Caribbean Recipe.

Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs
4 to 4 1/2 pounds beef short ribs (2-3lbs. boneless)
1/4 cup green onions, chopped, with tops
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
rice or linguine pasta, hot, cooked
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted
Directions

1. Place ribs in the Crock-Pot. Combine green onions, soy sauce, broth, brown sugar, ginger, garlic and pepper in medium bowl; mix well and pour over ribs. Cover; cook on Low 7 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours or until ribs are fork tender.
2. Remove ribs from cooking liquid, cool slightly. Trim excess fat. Cut rib meat into bite-sized pieces discarding bones and fat.
3. Let cooking liquid stand 5 minutes to allow fat to rise. Skim off fat.
4. Stir sesame oil into liquid. Return beef to stoneware. Cover; cook on Low 15 to 30 minutes or until mixture is hot.
5. Serve with rice or pasta and garnish with sesame seeds.

Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Grapes

Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Grapes:
4 cups cubed (1/2 inch) cooked chicken (about 1 1/2 pound)
1 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1 celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2-4 tablespoons chopped red onion
1-2 cups halved seedless red grapes
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper


Marinate chopped onion in a mixture of vinegar, honey and olive oil in a medium sized bowl. Broil walnuts in oven until toasted about 15 minutes. While the nuts are broiling combine all the other ingredients except the mayo and onion mixture. Don't forget to check the walnuts frequently.  Let walnuts cool while you thoroughly mix mayo into onion mixture. Stir all ingredients together and serve with chopped lettuce.

Roast Chicken

You can buy roasted chicken just about anywhere. I like to do it myself because the commercial chicken has added "broth". Oh sure, it makes it taste good but what's in it?

True Cod

My sister Marcia taught me how to cook true cod: Simply put it in the oven with butter, garlic and maybe a little wine (I'm not sure if I added that last bit or if she did!). Bake it at 350 until it flakes.

I make my own tartar sauce, mostly because I'm cheap:
mix: Mayo, dill relish (1-2 tablespoons), a large squirt of creamy dressing (ranch, Caesar etc.) a small squirt of mustard, add onions if you like them.

Company Meatloaf

This meatloaf is so good you can serve it to company. I served it with baked butternut squash and salad.
The meatloaf wasn't spicy enough for Charlie so he added his own jalapenos and sour cream.

Timmy the Cat liked the meatloaf just fine without sauce:

Sniff...sniff, any sauce?

 

Nom, Nom, Nom

Company Meatloaf

Several strips of bacon cooked crispy
1.5lbs. hamburger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4+ cup of chopped onion
1 cup mozzarella cheese
3 slices of bread
1 cup milk
1 egg

With hands mix bread with 1 cup milk and egg until homogeneous. Add the beef and spices and mix thoroughly. Put half of the beef mixture into loaf pan. Layer with cooked bacon, onion and cheese. Top with remaining beef. Cook at 375 degrees until the center reaches at least 160. Towards the end of the cooking time top with catchup or BBQ sauce.