Posted on 10/01/2011 6:42:45 AM PDT by libertarian27
Welcome to the 43rd installment of the FR Weekly Cooking (Recipes) Thread.
Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great? Please share a 'tried-and-true' recipe or three- for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' Recipe Stack of Family Favorites!
Here's the place to share and explore your latest and greatest favorite recipe.
Here is a quick easy way to come up with breakfast muffins for mornings on the go, for a Sunday Brunch, or if you realize you don’t have enough bread left for morning toast because the guys in your house made themselves too many sandwiches for their midnight snacks.
My oldest daughter actually came up with this idea when she was about 10 years old for a Mother’s Day morning breakfast treat for me several years ago and we have been making them ever since, whenever we want a sweet muffin.
This is more of a method than an actual recipe. It can be a great way to introduce children to cooking, since cake mixes are relatively easy to prepare and are often the first thing we cook with our little ones. Your children may also come up with some ideas for variations all on their own just like mine did.
Quick and Easy Lemon Poppy seed muffins
One lemon cake mix
Poppy seeds to taste
Prepare batter according to the package directions. When batter is fully mixed fold in Poppy seeds. Using an ice cream scoop, put the batter into muffin tins lined with paper muffin cups.
Cook muffins according to the time and temperature for cupcakes.
If you want a glaze on the muffins, you can combine a bit of lemon juice with confectioner’s sugar, but they are good plain too.
We also came up with several variations on this recipe for using this same method, so here are a few of those.
For Banana muffins we substitute a white or yellow cake mix for the lemon one and 1-2 mashed bannanas instead of the Poppy seeds.
For Double chocolate muffins we substitute a chocolate cake mix and add chocolate chips to taste.
For Apple Cinnamon muffins we use a spice cake mix and add about a cup of diced apples. We sprinkle the tops of these with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. (This is a great way to use up apples that are starting to get soft.)
For Pumpkin Spice Muffins we use a spice cake mix and add 1 c of pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin.
LMAO - I wondered about that, too. Arms ached just reading it! :)
Stashing that away. Going to have to try it soon so I can see if it would be good for Thanksgiving.
I have a question though. Do you think I could use green beans, or do you think they wouldn't work so well? I have some left over in the fridge.
Easy Football Party Chili
1 46 oz. can V-8 juice
1 medium yellow onion, well chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, well chopped
other peppers, well chopped, to taste (see note 1)
1 1/2 lbs 80/20 ground beef (or you could use ground sirloin, if you're feeling expansive...)
too much fresh finely chopped garlic or minced garlic in oil
fresh ground black pepper
not-quite-fresh ground cumin (see note 2)
In 4 qt or larger pot, heat V-8 to a boil, then lower heat and simmer until 10-15% reduced. When nearly reduced to desired level, spoon off any tomato scuzz and add several grinds of black pepper, 2-3 cloves' worth of the chopped garlic, and a couple of teaspoons of cumin (trust me, it'll all work out). Stir well.
While simmering, halfway brown the ground beef/sirloin, drain fat, add 1 tsp cumin and 2 more cloves garlic, stir in well and brown for another 2 mins or so.
Add beef to stockpot when reduction to desired level is reached. Again, add black pepper, garlic and cumin as before. Cover and simmer 20 minutes on low heat, stirring once or twice.
Remove cover and taste. **Probably** much of the cumin will have degraded at this point. So, add more. And more garlic. And simmer another 20 minutes.
Remove from heat. If serving immediately (it's better to wait about an hour; the flavours blend much better), do so with bowls of shredded cheese and chopped onions and oyster crackers.
If serving tomorrow (hint, hint...), cover and refrigerate. Reheat slowly, starting about 30 minutes before desired serving. Serve as above.
The relative overuse of garlic and cumin will produce a nice tangy flavour that is not "hot" at all. As a bonus, any vampires in the neighbourhood are guaranteed to be getting out their passports.
The recipe can be multiplied to any quantity with no problems (well, except that you may need a bigger pot).
Note 1: you absolutely can make this w/o any other peppers, but if you want more peppers here, I'd recommend serranos, Fresnos, or Louisiana redstrings (cayennes).
Note 2: if you grind your own spices, which I do, let fresh ground cumin stand overnight before putting into a closed jar. The rind of the seed, when ground, gives off a pungent and sour smell which, fortunately, goes away completely in a few hours.
Go Broncos! (uhh, that's Boise State, not Denver, please!)
I’ve never tried green beans only because we rarely have them in the house. Have used fresh asparagus, Birdseye frozen artichoke hearts, english peas, snow peas or broccoli. I imagine green beans would be just fine.
Thanks. It's sometimes hard to imagine tastes without having already tried it. Glad you mentioned the others you have tried. I'm not a fan of artichoke hearts and never knew what might be a good substitute for them. Asparagus! I must remember that! :)
Ok, I don’t know why putting a pic in my post screwed up everything else. Here it is again for easier reading:
I made this recipe and changed a few things. I baked it at 300 for an hour and then turned off the oven and left it in for an hour. The texture is perfect. I also skipped the topping..
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 14-oz. can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner’s (”powdered”) sugar
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to a 10-inch or 12-inch springform pan and place it in the oven to melt.
Add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and 1/2 way up the sides.
Bake at 350º F. for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined.
Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves.
Beat at medium speed until smooth.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again until the mixture is completely smooth. This may take 1-2 minutes.
Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.
Bake at 350º F. for 60 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool. Run a knife blade along the rim of the springform pan to release the edge of the cake; but do not remove the outer ring of the springform pan just yet.
Leave the cheesecake on the wire rack until it is completely cooled.
Remove the outer ring of the springform pan and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Shortly before serving, prepare the whipped cream. Simply beat the whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar until stiff peaks form.
Spread the whipped cream over the cheesecake. This will hide any “cracks” in the cake’s surface, too!
Chill again until you’re ready to serve.
Well if you stop by my house today you will only get some kind of dish made with chicken breasts, have not decided what to do with them yet. The Short Ribs are for tomorrow as the recipe calls for an over night in the fridge and then a reheat and reduction of the sauce tomorrow. My wife is working today and will not be home until after 8:30. She is off tomorrow, so the prep is today and the eatin’ is tomorrow.
Anybody have an idea of what to do with the chicken breasts? I have a half bottle of zinfandel to use up in some kind of recipe. Do people cook chicken in red wine?
RIVERBEND CHICKEN
2 -4 chicken breasts
1-2 jars alfredo sauce (I like 5 brothers)
1/2 package frozen artichoke hearts - thawed
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 table spoon chopped rosemary
Enough Italian bread crumbs to coat the chicken
Diced fresh tomato
One package fresh linguine (for two people)
Coat the chicken well with the bread crumbs and place in a large skilled with 1/4” olive oil. Sprinkle with the chopped rosemary. Fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides.
While the chicken is cooking, pour the alfredo sauce in a sauce pan, add artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and mushrooms. Heat until simmering.
Put linguine in boiling water and cook for 4-5 minutes.
To plate:
Put some of the linguine on a plate and top with chicken breast.
Spoon some of the alfredo over the chicken and top with fresh tomato.
This is very filling and not diet friendly, but is soooo gooood.
You can always make it marsala style..
Cut each chicken breast into two thin pieces. Dip in flour and coat the bottom of a frying pan with butter and olive oil. Fry on both sides and then add wine and simmer. Top with sauteed mushrooms and garlic and serve. You can also try wrapping the breast with prosciutto before frying it. That turns out pretty delicious as well.
Yummy piece of art there!
Cheese Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 package sliced Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
¼ c white wine or apple juice
1 package stovetop chicken stuffing mix (can use herb instead)
1 stick melted butter
In a small bowl, mix soup and wine. Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Lay chicken in pan. Add one slice of cheese to the top of each breast. Pour soup mixture on top of cheese. Cover all with dry stuffing mix. Drizzle top with melted butter.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.
One thing I forgot to mention—I only use low sodium, good quality soy sauce. While I am an admitted salt-a-holic, regular soy sauce is simply way too salty for me. Lower sodium, good quality soy sauce is divine, and well worth the extra pennies over the cheap grocery brands. We have a chinese restaurant distributor locally with a retail shop that sells all sorts of soy sauce brands not available in grocery stores. Makes a big difference.
Here is a Chicken and White Bean Chili that I make as a change of pace from regular Chili from time to time.
White Bean and Chicken Chili
1 lb. dry large white beans such as Great Northern Beans or Cannelini Beans or 2-3 cans of beans rinsed and drained
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves minced
1-2 pounds ground chicken or chicken cut into bite size pieces
2 cups frozen or canned corn
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
pinch of crushed red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons flour (I like to use masa flour for my chili but regular flour will work fine.)
4 cups of liquid including the liquid from cooking the beans if made from scratch and chicken broth. If using canned beans use all chicken broth.
Fresh Parsley, chopped
Parmesan or Pecorino Cheese, grated
Soak beans overnight in 6-8 cups of water and then cook until tender the next day for faster cooking, or simply bring the beans and water up to a boil and boil for about 2 minutes and then reduce to a simmer and cook until tender if you want to eat the chili the same day. Do not salt the beans or they will take longer to cook and perhaps never get tender. This takes 1-4 hours depending on the method used and the type of beans you are using. Drain beans, reserving the liquid from cooking them and set aside. If you decide to use canned beans instead simply drain the beans and rinse them with water and you will use all chicken stock for your liquid in the recipe that follows.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, but not browned. Add the garlic and cook briefly just to bring out the garlic flavor. Add the chicken, cumin, oregano, and chili powder and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture and cook for about a minute to get the flour taste out of it. Then add the liquid and scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add in the beans, corn, crushed red pepper and salt and pepper to taste (I use just a pinch of salt here as the flavor will intensify as the liquid cooks down and it can easily become overly salty). Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about one hour until the chili has thickened. Taste the chili to see if is needs more salt or seasoning and adjust according to your own taste.
Serve in large bowls garnished with some of the parsley and the grated cheese alongside some crusty French bread or some corn bread!
Notes: Some people add some kind of dark green leafy vegetable to their white bean chili such as spinach or Swiss chard, but since my hubby and stepson won’t eat cooked leafy greens of any kind, I don’t add it any more to mine. If you like them add either one box frozen that has been thawed and drained of all liquid, or about 1 pound of fresh. I like to add them during the last 5 minutes of cooking so they still have lots of vibrant flavor in them.
I also sometimes use leftover chicken or even cooked shredded chicken and just shorten the cooking time accordingly.
Apparently they do. A quick search on the Internet and I found this recipe, for Chicken braised in a red wine sauce. I read through the comments and they all seemed to like it, however, it sounded like most reduced the amount of sugar in the sauce.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chicken-and-red-wine-sauce/detail.aspx
That is absolutely gorgeous! Will definitely try the bacon weave. Thanks!
Did you use a generic meatloaf recipe?
Since I made meatloaf earlier this week and a couple of sirloin roasts Friday it will be a while before I can do it but I NEED THIS!
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