Sunday, August 14, 2011

New Format, ready... set... GO!!!

I know, I know, I've not posted in weeks because A.) our budget simply can't support my cooking habit! Ha B.) I was preparing for my first race (yea, me it was awesome!!), I had talked about in one of my first post C.) Dummy me spilled water (better than milk- yeah I've done that too) all over the computer. finally D.) We were having problems with the internet and router, so we ended up replacing both the modem and router....OK, Lord I'll take a break!!
I've decided with my busy schedule and limited funds I'm going to post a handful of recipes a month, I'm going to try to fix them before hand so I can post a picture with the recipe so you have an idea what you're fixing!! Again any suggestions or ideas to make it better and easier to follow, please send my way!!
Here we go!!

Better-than-ever-Cheesy Meat Lasagna

3/4lb extra-lean ground beef (can sub turkey too!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2tsp dried oregano
1 jar (26oz) spaghetti sauce (or make your own!)
1lg tomato, chopped
1 egg
1- 16oz container cottage cheese
1/4cup grated Parmesan Cheese
9 lasagna noodles, cooked
1 pkg (7oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 375
Brown meat with garlic and oregano in large saucepan. Stir in spaghetti sauce (I used tomato sauce added, some chopped onion, very little oregano (since meat has it already), some basil, little salt and pepper and fresh garlic, simmered while meat cooked); simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes.
In separate bowl, mix egg, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Spread 1/2 cup meat sauce (I just used enough to thinly cover bottom of pan) onto bottom of 13x9 baking dish; top with layer of 3 noodles (I don't think I cooked my noodles before hand, and I took the broken pieces to fill in the gaps on the end!!), layer 1/2 cheese mixture (be careful here, I used a small scoop to keep it from sinking into the noodles and making a mess, easier to spread from a bunch of small scoops), 1/2cup mozzarella cheese, and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce.
Bake 30-40 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and brown. let stand 5 minutes before serving!

This boast 320 cal servings, however making your own sauce can cut down on the salt and using whole wheat noodles can add a nutty flavor as well as bring the cals down too!!

Kraftrecipes.com


Chicken and Apple Pot Pies

2Tbsp EVOO
2 1/2lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
salt and pepper
3Tbsp butter
3 Empire, Gala or Honey Crisp apples, peeled and chopped
3-4 small ribs celery, chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
2Tbsp fresh Thyme, or 2tsp dried
2Tbsp flour
1cup apple cider
1cup chicken stock
1 sheet puff pastry sheet, thawed (I didn't have any so I just used bisquick like making dumplings)
1 egg beaten with water

Preheat oven to 400
Heat EVOO in large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and brown 7-8 minutes then remove.
Add butter to skillet and melt. Add apples, celery, onion, bay, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook to soften, 8-10mins. Sprinkle with flour, stir 1 min then whisk in cider and stock. Slide chicken back into pan and simmer a few mins to thicken sauce.
Place in casserole dish or individual casserole dishes arranged on baking sheet to catch drips. Cover with parsley, brush with egg wash and bake until golden.

rachaelrayshow.com



Smokey Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Crust
31/2 cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
5tsp quick-rise yeast (it equals out to be a little more than 3 pks, I stopped at 3pks and had not problem)
1 1/2tsp salt
1tsp honey
1 1/2- 1 2/3 cups warm water

Mix flours, yeast and salt in a blender with a kneading attachment. Add honey, mix well, gradually add water until a ball forms. Once ball has formed process 60 seconds more to kneed dough.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; shape into a ball, let rest for 10 minutes. Divide into quarters (I did ours into 3rds to make a bigger pizza.) Use immediately or freeze for later use.

Toppings
1 1/2cups (6ozs) shredded Colby/ Monterey Jack cheese blended, divided
2cups chopped cooked chicken (we prefer shredded!!)
1/2cup barbecue sauce (working on our own recipe w/ a little heat!!)
1/2 cup diced green bell peppers (I did thinly sliced)
1/2cup thinly sliced red onion (can use regular onion, if that's all you have)

Preheat oven to 450.
Lightly brush Pizza stone with EVOO.
On a lightly floured surface; shape and stretch 1 portion of dough to form a 12" crust; transfer to prepared pan.
Combine cooked chicken and BBQ sauce, toss to coat. (We prefer grilling chicken with dry bbq seasoning, adding to BBQ sauce, should be kinda soggy, to give pizza more sauce.)
Top crust with about 1 cup cheese (this keeps crust from getting soggy). Top with chicken, peppers and onions. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake 15-20 minutes until crust is crisp and cheese is browned. (To use frozen crust let thaw in fridge overnight)

Crust from Tasteofhome.com
Pizza from Pampered Chef



Blueberry Ice Cream Pie
Crust:
11/2cups slivered almonds
2Tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3Tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. In a food processor (or blender, or food chopper), combine almonds, sugar and salt. Pulse until coarsely ground. Transfer to bowl and stir in melted butter. Turn into 9" pie plate. Press onto bottom and sides with fingers, till form a firm even layer. Bake 8-10 mins until lightly golden. Don't over brown or crust will have an overwhelming flavor!!!
Allow to cool completely on a rack. Transfer to freezer until ready to use, may be made up to a week in advance, frozen and tightly wrapped.

Blueberry Sauce:
3cups blueberries, rinsed, well drained and carefully picked through for damaged berries
1/3cup granulated sugar
1tsp cornstarch
1/4tsp salt
1tsp grated lemon zest
2tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
few grates of nutmeg (about 1/8tsp)
1Tbsp water

In large, wide skillet combine berries, sugar, cornstarch, salt- stir well with a spoon to distribute sugar and cornstarch. Add zest, lemon juice, water and few gratings of fresh nutmeg. stir again to blend.
Cook and stir over med heat until berries begin to pop, give off juice and come to a full simmer. Simmer, stirring gently for 1 min until sauce is lightly thickened and cornstarch is well cooked.
Set aside to cool; refrigerate sauce until completely chilled before proceeding.

Assemble:

1qt homemade or purchased vanilla ice cream
3/4cup blueberry sauce, chilled
1/2cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1/2cup heavy cream
1Tbsp sugar
2cups fresh blueberries, rinsed, picked over, and well drained on paper towel-lined baking sheets
Remaining Blueberry sauce, heated

Transfer ice cream to a mixing bowl and let stand in fridge for 30 mins or until just soft
Spoon 1/2 into prepared crust. Spread even layer and top with chilled sauce. Spoon remaining ice cream and spread to edges.
Cover surface of ice cream with plastic wrap and freeze at least 8 hours or overnight until firmly set.

Serve:
In chilled mixing bowl, whisk creams, and sugar until just thickened to spreading consistency. Do not over beat, will go from smooth to grainy. Spread cream mixture over pie; top with blueberries. Serve heated sauce on the side.

10 servings
bhg.com (june 2011)

**Will post a picture as soon as I can!!!**



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