Breakfast bake

Tonight I had planned a pork roast, but it was supposed to use spinach. I thought I had bought enough spinach for the lasagna and this, but I needed twice as much as I thought for the lasagna. So, we looked for something else. I had bought extra sausage to make a breakfast casserole for breakfast, but we are having breakfast for dinner tonight. Brandon found this recipe on the food network.
It was good. Stuck to the pan horribly, but was tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 packages (16 oz each) bulk pork sausage
• 1 medium bell pepper, chopped (1 cup) (we didn't have this so Brandon put in corn)
  
• 1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
• 3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes we used obrein to have some green peppers)
  
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz)
• 1 cup Original Bisquick mix(we have heart smart bisquick mix)
  
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 eggs

Directions

Heat oven to 400F. Grease rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Cook sausage, bell pepper and onion in 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir together sausage mixture, potatoes and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese in baking dish.

Stir Bisquick mix, milk, pepper and eggs until blended. Pour into baking dish.

Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or just until cheese is melted. Cool 5 minutes.

Pizza Bianca

A friend of Brandon's e-mailed him this pizza recipe. Aaron was home with a fever from church again today, so Brandon started the crust and I finished it when I came home from church and switched him places. I really liked the crust - not so much as a pizza, but as a bread. It was yummy. I thought the sauce was way too plain. I like some flavor in my crust. It was an interesting way to make dough though. I just copied and pasted the e-mail from Brandon's inbox. Not sure where it originally came from, but it looks like there may be links in there. It is kind of mixed up directions/ingredients/ then directions again.

Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

Toppings
1	(28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1	tablespoon olive oil
1/8	teaspoon table salt
1 1/2	cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 ounces)
Dough
3	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 2/3	cups water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature
1 1/4	teaspoons table salt
1 1/2	teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4	teaspoons sugar
5	tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. 1. Place 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes in fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let sit 30 minutes, stirring 3 times to allow juices to drain. Combine 3/4 cup tomato solids, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/8 teaspoon table salt. (Save remaining solids and juice for another use.)

2. 2. Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

3. 3. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

4. 4. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

5. 5. One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

6. 6. Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

7. 7. Bake until spotty brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, remove pizza from oven, spread tomato mixture evenly over surface, and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake until cheese begins to brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Secrets to No-Roll Pizza

1. The dough for pizza bianca is far too wet to roll out. Instead, pour it onto a well-oiled baking sheet.

2. Shaping is easy: Press the dough from its middle toward the edges of the pan.

3. To cook the moisture off, bake the crust on a pizza stone on the middle rack of a 450-degree oven.

Recipe Testing

Pizza Water Works To achieve its chewy, bubbly texture, our recipe for Pizza Bianca calls for 9 parts water to 10 parts flour—an almost 30 percent higher level of hydration than in most other pizza dough. Water aids the development of gluten, the network of crosslinked proteins that gives bread its internal structure and chew. Up to a point, the more water in the dough, the stronger and more elastic the gluten strands and the chewier the bread. These strands, in turn, help to support the air bubbles formed as the dough bakes, preventing them from bursting and creating an open, airy crust.

Chicken and pasta skillet dinner

This recipe comes from the Super so fat, low fat, no fat cookbook by Betty Rohde. I've had it for a long time, but haven't tried anything new out of it in ages. This recipe was chock full of veggies - which was great for the family since we ate chuy's for lunch and no one had any veggies other than salsa. For a meal so full of veggies it wasn't bad. 3 star to me. I think it could be tons better without the cabbage and peas. If I left those out, I would not add the additional water. It would still have plenty of veggies, and more flavor with less veggies spreading the flavor thinner.



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pasta (I used rigatoni)
• 6 frozen breaded chicken tenders
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1/2 small onion)
• 3/4 cup chopped celery (I used 2 stalks)
• 1/2 cup chopped green peppers (I used 1/2 a green pepper)
• 1 14 oz can stwed tomatoes
• 1/2 tomato can water
• 1/2 teaspoon basil
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon italion seasoning
• 2 cups chopped raw cabbage
• 1 cup frozen green peas

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cooke the pasta according to package directions. Drain, set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet or dutch oven, brown the chicken tenders lightly. Add the chopped onions, celery and peppers; saute until just starting to soften. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces with a spatula. Add the stewed tomatoes, water, basil, lemon pepper, oregano, and italian seasoning. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and green peas (I actually only added the cabbage and simmered fo a while then added the green peas.) Continue simmering, stirring occasionally until vegetables are desired tenderness. Carefully stir in the pasta and simmer a few minutes longer.

Strawberry cheesecake pancakes

This recipe is from the Taste of Home website. We used strawberries instead of blueberries because I had bought Stawberries at the store. Unfortunately we didn't have extras for topping. They were tasty though. Brandon made the cream cheese and I guess didn't pay attention and used the entire 8 oz package of cream cheese then kept adding the cool whip until it was a good consistency. This would be tasty with jam or triple berry sauce - or make a sauce like triple berry or blueberry sauce with strawberry or whatever fruit you are using. We did need a second batch of pancakes.
Ingredients

• 1 package (3 ounces) Kraft Philadelphia® - Cream Cheese, softened - we used 8 oz
  
• 3/4 cup whipped topping -we used most of a container
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (we used strawberries)
  
• 3/4 cup maple syrup, warmed
• Additional blueberries, optional

Directions

• For topping, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and whipped topping until smooth. Chill until serving.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, cracker crumbs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine the eggs, buttermilk and butter; add to dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
• Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until the second side is golden brown. Spread topping over pancakes. Top with warm syrup; sprinkle with additional blueberries if desired. Yield: 12 pancakes (3/4 cup topping).

Classic Italian Lasagna, Marinara Sauce

This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis' book everyday italian cookbook. The cover says 125 simple and delicious recipes. I have to disagree with the simple business. This has to be the most complex lasagna I have ever made. I had looked at the recipe and knew that, so I had planned ahead, but it was a lot of work. I had to make 2 seperate sauces from scratch one of which had to simmer for an hour. Anyway, at least it was good - probably not my favorite lasagna on the planet, but it was pretty good. I just like my lasagna the way I'm used to lasagna. This had a creamier flavor.



Ingredients

• salt
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 15 dry lasagna noodles (about 12 oz)
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 cups Bechamel Sauce (see below)
• 1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce (see below)
• 1 1/2 pound ricotta (I only had 15 oz. Was going to buy more but didn't. It was fine like this, and I can't imagine it being fuller)
• 3 eggs (I used 2 since I used less ricotta)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (I used 1 16 oz. package and can't image having used more)
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the vegetable oil. Cook the lasagna noodles until almost al dente, about 6 minutes. (This isn't fully done.) Drain, then rinse noodles under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.
2. Brown beef - I used my pre-cooked.
3. Position rack in center of the oven and preheat to 375
4. In medium bowl, mix bechamel and marinara sauces to blend.
   
5. In anotehr medium bowl, mix the ricotta, eggs and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to blend. Set aside.
6. Spread the butter over a 9 X 13 pan. Spoon 1/3 of the red sauce over bottom of the dish. Arrange 5 noodles on the sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the noodles. Top with spinach. Arrange 5 more lasagna noodles on the spinach, then top with ground beef. Spoon 1/3 red sauce on top. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining 5 noodles. Spoon remaining red sauce over noodles, then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese.
   
7. She put it on a lined cookie sheet, but since I was lacking a few things, I didn't.
   Bake until lasagna is heated through and the top is bubbling, about 45 minutes.

Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients

• 5 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 cups warm whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• pinch of white pepper
• pinch of nutmeg

In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add teh warm milk whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy about 10 minutes (do not allow the bechamel sauce to boil). Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper and nutmeg. Season with more salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. (I did a great job making this with no lumps, but as it cooled and formed a skim then when I stirred it it was lumpy - didn't make the lasagna taste bad, I was just sad I stirred for so long for nothing.)

Marinara sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 32 oz cans crushed tomatoes (I had 2 28 oz cans and used 8 oz from another can)
  
• 2 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves. SEason the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.
Marinara Sauce

Fired-up Mac & Cheese

This recipe is from The food Nanny Rescues Dinner book. I doubled it and used the lesser amount of spice because my kids aren't big on super spicy. I didn't think it was spicy at all. It did have a decent flavor. I wasn't a fan of the parmesan combined with the sharp cheddar. It was a bit too sharp for me. Next time, I think I would use cheddar and another cheese -not parmesan - maybe part cheddar, part colby jack, or part sharp cheddar, part regular cheddar, and try a bit more spice.
I actually made this one exactly like the book said, so I'm only including my picture. It is on page 36 in the book.

Chicken with apples and cheddar

This recipe comes from Saving Dinner. (P. 93) It originally used turkey cutlets. We used chicken breast and flattened them. We also forgot the cheese. It was still very tasty. It looks a lot like the pork in the previous picture, but they taste nothing a like. We served it with brown rice. Next time I would double the sauce. It was really good with the brown rice.


Ingredients

• 1 lime, juiced
• 5 chicken breasts (flattened, then chopped in 1/2)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 cup chili sauce (pretty much the whole jar)
• 2 apples, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. In a bowl, toss together lime juice and chicken; salt and pepper to taste. Set aside while preparing the rest. Preheat broiler.
2. In a saucepan, combine remaining ingredients except the cheese. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Place chicken on a broiler pan and broil on both sides - 3 minutes or less, depending on thickness. Serve hot apple/corn sauce over chicken and top with a little shredded Cheddar cheese.
   

Mexicali pork chops

This is another one from the plaid betty crocker cookbook. I have notes all over it, so I guess I have to write it out again. Mostly I was just doubling and making up for the fact that cans seem to be different sizes nos. The original recipe is on p. 252. I think I need to get back to writing these down on the day we eat them, not later. It makes it harder for me to remember if they were any good. It seems like this one was just OK. Aha, I just looked at the picture and remembered this a bit more. The rice took a long time to cook. I usually have that problem when I cook rice with tomatoes. I cooked it longer, but really didn't have time to cook it too much longer. I also thought the flavor wasn't much better than just cooking it with some salsa, and I even added chili powder, garlic salt and taco sauce. I would have liked more cumin or taco seasoning or something. I also cooked it differently. They cut the fat off the pork, cooked it, and saved the drippings too cook in. #1, I don't cook with that much fat. #2 - I don't think I even had that much fat on my pork chops.




Ingredients

• 6-8 pork loin chops cut 3/4 inch thick
• 1 chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1/2 onion)
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 15.5 oz can corn, drained
• 1 15.5 oz can kidney beans, drained
• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 7 oz can green chilies
  
• chili powder (I think I used a teaspoon)
  
• garlic salt (1 tsp ?)
  
• taco sauce a couple of tablespoons - should have used more.
  

Directions (oven at 350)

Trim excess fat from chops; Spray pan with cooking spray (or heat 1 tsp - 1 Tablespoon oil in pan and fry pork chops. Season with salt and pepper. Set chops aside. Add 1 Tablespoon of butter to the pan (unless you have some nice pork drippings - I didn't.) Sautee green pepper and onions in butter till tender. Stir in tomatoes, corn, kidney beans, uncooked rice, water, chili peppers, seasonings. Bring to boiling. Turn into a 9 x 13 pan. Arrange pork chops on top. cover and bake in a 350 oven for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more or till meat is tender.

broccoli salad

This is just regular broccoli salad. I think I first got the recipe from someone at work. I know it is in my ward cookbook, so that is where I looked for it this time. It is the same everywhere I've seen it. I like it. We actually didn't let it chill this time - it is better with the 4 hour chill to let the flavors mix. We didn't have sunflower seeds so we used pecans this time. The picture is pretty sad. I didn't take it. It was way shadowy and I did my best to lighten it to be viewable.


Ingredients and directions:

Mix together

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. sugar or 5 Tablespoons Splenda (I've always used splenda)
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar

In a large bowl, combine:

• 2 bunches broccoli, trimmed and chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, sliced or chopped
• 6 to 8 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional - didn't use it this time, but I have.)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts (I usually use sunflower seeds, this time it was pecans. We're not as big of a fan of walnuts, so we rarely use them.)
  

Stir all ingredient together. Chill 4 hours

Oven Steak and Vegetables

I wasn't going to write this recipe out, but I went and changed things again. I have to stop doing that. The original recipe is from the plaid betty crocker cookbook page 236. I altered types and amounts of ingredients, and a bit in the directions as well. I thought this was good. I really liked the steak. It was tender and tasty. The veggies were good, but nothing spectacular.




Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin steak cut 3/4 inch thick
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1/2 medium onion)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
• 1 bag baby carrots
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced (2 cups)
• egg noodles

Directions (Oven at 350)

1. Trim excess fat from meat. Cut meat into 6 serving-size pieces. In a plastic bag, combine 1/2 of the flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Shake meat in flour mixture to coat.
2. In a skillet brown meat in hot oil. Transfer to 2 quart casserole.
3. In same skillet, stir remaining flour into pan drippings. (I had very little drippings using sirloin and trimming the fat, but it seemed to work just fine.) Stir in tomatioes, onion, and dillweed. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.
4. Pour mixture over meat. Add carrots.
   
5. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Add zucchini. Cover; continue baking 15 to 20 minutes more or until meat and vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with noodles.
   

Feb menu

Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
28			27 Tex-Mex Casserole LF p.215	28 Crock pot Italian chicken Saving D. p. 94 Potatoes and carrots	29 Classic Italian Lasagna E.Italian p. 92	3 Chicken & pasta skillet dinner LF p. 136 (45 min) (peas, celery, green pepper, cabbage)
31 Smoked pork loin in a pasty case German p 62	1 Fired up mac & Cheese Food Nanny p.36 broccoli	2 Balti Chicken Vindaloo Indian p. 90	3 Penne w/ sausage, red potatoes, and green bean Food Nanny p69	4 Lil cheddar meat loaves Tof healthy RC p.26	5 Pork Milanese E. Italian p. 158	6 Cod with potato crust German p. 112
7 Chicken pot pie Mom’s	8 Pork Medallions with Asian flair TOF –health RC p.27	9 Chicken Pilau Indian p. 218	10 3 cheese Manicotti S&D p 50 use Everyday Italian marinara and beef.	11 Slow cooked caribbean pot roast TOH hc p. 34	12 Chicken with cranberry Sauce TOH health RC p.34	13 Enchilada Lasagna TOH hc p. 48
14	15 Southwest stuffed turkey breast TOH health RC p. 14	16 Lime carrots Maple pork chops TOH S&D p. 25	17 Easy Chicken cordon Bleu F Nanny p 179 Rice Pilaf p. 213	18	19	20 Roasted Red Snapper with Rosemary E. Italian p. 163
21	22	23	24 Chicken Tostada w/ mango salsa TOH? RC p 16	25	26	27

Mongolian beef

I found this recipe on your homebased mom's website. It is supposed to be like PF Chang's. I don't know how much it is like PF Changs, but it was delicious. I loved it. Not the greatest picture. I let Brandon take it, and I don't think he looked at it after snapping it to see if it looked OK. I also made broccoli salad, but cropped it out of the picture because it was so shadowy. I'll add that one later because it is a nice side.

So I remade this recipe yesterday 9/23/2010 and I'm posting myself some notes because had I just made it yesterday it wouldn't have got a 5 star - at least not from me.  Here is what I did differently - I had twice the amount of meat called for so I just doubled the recipe.  Not sure why, but I guess that was a bad idea.  

Problems today

-cornstarch coating came off all over my spoon and then didn't thicken up the sauce - I had to add corn starch and water at the end to make it work.  I'm thinking this is because there was just too much meat in the pan.  Probably should have just done 2 batches, but it didn't look like it was that much.  I also added oil so it would fry better with the extra meat, but I just ended up with a mess.

-It was also way too salty today.  I did NOT use reduced sodium except for maybe 1 Tablespoon at the end when I ran out of the regular I had in my fridge.  I definitely suggest using reduced sodium.  I've actually checked the recipe on the site I got it from to make sure I had no type-o.  I also may have over boiled the sauce because I boiled it for 2 minutes, not just cooked it for 2 minutes.  Probably wouldn't do that again either.  I also subbed a tiny bit of splenda for brown sugar, but that should not have made any difference.  However, saltiness was a total issue for me today.  Didn't seem to bother anyone else. 

Ingredients

• 1 lb steak
• 1/4 C cornstarch
• 3 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger or minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C soy sauce (I used low sodium)
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 3 green onions, sliced into 2-3″ pieces

Directions:

Dry off meat with a paper towel and slice into 1/4″ thick slices against the grain. Add to a bowl with the cornstarch and coat thoroughly.
Add 1 1/2 tsp oil to a wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant. Add soy sauce, water, rice vinegar and brown sugar. Cook for about 2 minutes and remove from pan.
Add remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil to pan over high heat. Add the meat and cook until brown on all sides and slightly crispy. Pour sauce back into pan over meat. Add green onions, stir and remove from heat. Serve with rice. EnJOY!

Salami-Bean Casserole

This recipe came out of the plaid Betty Crocker Cookbook. It wasn't my favorite, but the older boys loved it. I doubled it for the most part, but sizes of cans seem to have changed. I also didn't have space (or want to) fully double the salami. I also chose the microwave directions to make it quick. This is what I did.




Ingredients

• 1 large can pork and beans (whatever one is 28 -32 oz. I can't remember what size.)
• 2/3 cup catsup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 cups frozen hashed brown potatoes with onion and peppers
• 6 oz. sliced salami

Directions
Combine all ingredients except salami. Put into a 2 quart casserole. Cover and cook in microwave for 5 minutes. Stir. Roll salami slices into logs. Arrange on top of casseroles, pressing into bean mixture slightly. Microwave covered about 5 minutes more or until potatoes are done. (I think I added 2 or 3 minutes, but I also forgot to stir it when I took it out.)

Blueberry sour cream pancakes

This recipe comes from the Taste of home website. They were good, but I've had better blueberry sauces. I'd like to try this again with loganberries. What I did like was that the batter was nice and thick, so the blueberries didn't just burn on the griddle while the rest of the pancake tried to cook. I'd make the pancakes again, but use another one of my sauces like this blueberry sauce.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup cold water
• 4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 
  PANCAKES:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water until smooth. Add blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cover and keep warm.
• For pancakes, in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the eggs, milk, sour cream and butter. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
• Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until the second side is golden brown. Serve with blueberry topping. Yield: about 20 pancakes (3-1/2 cups topping).

Sausage and Corn Bread

This recipe came out of the plaid Betty Crocker cookbook as well. I had to do some modification in sizing because #1 I wanted to make more than 4 servings, and #2, they don't seem to make cans in the same size as they used to. It was OK, but it wasn't my favorite, but I liked the concept and wouldn't mind trying the concept again with some changes. I liked the sauce/sausage part except for the fact that the tomatoes didn't have a lot of flavor. That could easily be solved by letting them simmer for a bit to combine the flavors. I also thought the cornbread part had a bit of a bitter flavor. Not as sure how to solve that problem. Maybe I need new cornmeal, maybe I just need to add a bit more sugar. Those are my ideas for next time if we try this one again. Here is the recipe how I made it since I had to make lots of notes on sizing.




Ingredients

• 1 28 oz can of stewed tomatoes (or 2 14.5 oz cans) cut up
• 1 4 oz can of green chilies - (could use the 7 oz can with no problem)
• 1 Tablespoon minced dried onion
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 5 Tablespoons cold water
• 1 3/4 Tablespoon corn starch
• 1 pound sausage
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 3/4 Tablespoons baking powder
• 4 beaten eggs
• 1 14.75 oz can cream-style corn
• 3/4 cup milk
• 5 Tablespoons oil (I used 3 Tablespoons oil, 2 Tablespoons apple sauce)

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine the undrained tomatoes, chopped geren chilies, minced onion, 3/4 teaspoon sugar, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. (Here I'd suggest lowering the heat and simmering for 20-30 minutes to give the tomatoes more flavor.) Sire cold water into cornstarch; stir into tomato mixture. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. REmove from heat and set the mixture aside.
2. In a skillet, cook sausage till brown, breaking into pieces as cooking. Drain. Stir half of the tomato mixture into sausage. Set both aside
   
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, the 3 1/2 Tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine eggs, cream-style corn, milk, and cooking oil; add to cornmeal mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spread half of the batter in a greased 9X13 inch pan. Spoon sausage mixture on top. Spread remaining batter over meat. Bake at 375 about 30 minutes (it took more like 45-50 with this bigger size) Let stand 5 minutes. Cut into squares. Heat remaining tomato mixture and spoon over corn bread squares.
   

Layered Enchilada Casserole

This is a recipe from Saving Dinner. It has to be the vaguest recipe I have ever tried to follow. It just said 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 can diced green chilies etc. No mention of the size of tomato sauce. I had a tiny can and a super large can. I actually planned on adding 1/2 of the large can to equal 1 medium can, but ended up adding the whole thing. I also added some extra spices. It definitely needed them. I think that next time I would add even more cumin (not in the original recipe) and maybe some more onion - possibly even the larger can of green chilies. So, here is the recipe with more detail, and changed to the way I made it. It was delicious, and easy. Can't beat that.



Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef - I used my precooked ground sirloin - 1 package
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 2.5 oz can sliced black olives
  
• 1 29 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin (add more possibly add a bit of taco sauce or chili powder as well)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon corriander
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup Ricotta cheese
• 1 4 oz can diced green chilies (wouldn't be bad with the 7 oz can if not adding taco sauce or chili powder)
• 1 bag baked tortilla chips
• 1 cup low fat cheddar cheese - I'm pretty sure I used more - maybe even double this. I just covered the top.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Fry up hamburger (or defrost if using pre-cooked and put into a frying pan.) Add oats and stir well to incorporate. Add garlic powder, cumin, corriander, olives, and tomato sauce. Simmer while making sour cream mixture.
2. Mix sour cream, Ricotta cheese and green chilies.
3. Crush tortilla chips and place 1/2 of them on the bottom of a 2 quart casserole dish (I'd us a 9X13 next time. I had to leave out some chips because it wasn't going to all fit, and it was to the very top.) Add half the meat mixture, then half the sour cream mixture, then cheese (here I just covered the top with cheese - both times. I didn't measure.) Repeat the layers. Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.

• 
  

menu Jan 20

This week I already have 3 rfecipes left from last week. I just found a couple of pancake recipes I wanted to try this morning, but I didn't have time, and/or ingredients to make them.
Blueberry Sour Cream Pancakes, Blueberry Cheesecake Flapjacks,

Since I had good luck with the Betty Crocker cookbook last week, I am making some things from it again this week.

Tuesday-Oven Steak and Vegetables (tomato, carrots, zucchini) rice, Betty Crocker 236
Monday-Mexicali Pork Chops (tomato, corn, green chili, kidney bean) Betty Crocker p. 252
Thursday -Salami-Bean Casserole (pork and beans, potato) corn Betty Crocker p. 261

These 3 left from last week + 1 from the next page in the book
Friday-layered enchilada casserole (beef)- saving dinner p 92 corn or green beans)
Sunday-Turkey with apples and cheddar-saving dinner p. 93 (sweet potato)
Saturday-Apricot fish - saving dinner p. 91 (zucchini)
Wednesday-Crock-pot Italian chicken (potato, carrot) p. 94

Oven-fried chicken monterey

This was super tasty. I loved it. It is from the plaid Betty Crocker cookbook (which I never use for some reason - I think I'll have to start using it more often.) This reminded me of Enchiladas. I thought I wouldn't like it on top of lettuce and actually had planned on making a salad instead, but Brandon made the meal, and he served it on the lettuce. It was wonderful that way. I also loved the sauce, but we seemed to have more chicken than sauce, so I think that I would double the sauce next time.


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 packet taco seasoning (we used a mild one)
• 16 chicken thighs (4 pounds) we used 3.25 pounds of chicken breast which we cut into smaller pieces
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 13 oz can evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon bottled hot pepper sauce (we left this out for the kids)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced olives
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• lettuce

Directions

1. Combine the 1/4 cup flour and taco seasoning in a plastic bag. Add 2 or 3 chicken pieces at a time and shake to coat. Melt butter in 10 X 15 inch baking pan. Place chicken in pan, turning once to butter surfaces. Roll each thigh in crushed chips and return to baking pan.
2. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or till tender. (Pretty sure we did less time, and it was still a dry. Meanwhile, for cheese sauce, cook onion in oil till tender but not brown. Stir in the 2 tablespoons flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add evaporated milk and pepper sauce all at once; cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Add cheese, olives, and lemon juice, stirring just till cheese melts.
3. To serve, line a serving dish with leaf lettuce. Top with some shredded lettuce and chicken. Spoon cheese sauce over chicken.
   

Tossed macaroni

This is another recipe out of the kitchen aid recipe book/manual. Again, not my favorite recipe, but better than the last one. Duncan really liked this one. It was actually pretty good if you got a bite of bacon, but I thought it needed more bacon. We actually fried up the rest of the pound of bacon for people wanting seconds. I did up the peas a bit because my package was either 12 oz or 16 and the recipe called for 10. I also had to laugh at the recipe's instructions to crumble the ricotta with a fork??? Does ricotta crumble? Never in my experience. I just mixed it. I took a few extra pictures of this one because I actually made my own macaroni noodles using the pasta attachment for my kitchenaid. I'd never used that attachment before, so that was kind of fun. The noodles by themselves were pretty good - a little salty for my tastes, but not salty at all in the recipe. I've included the noodle recipe here as well.



Noodle ingredients

• 4 large eggs (7/8 cup but I didn't measure mine - probably should have because I had to add water.)
• 1 tablespoon water but I needed 2 maybe a little more
• 3 1/2 cups flour

Directions

1. Place eggs, water and flour in bowl. Attach flat beater. Turn to speed 2 and mix 30 seconds.
2. Change to dough hook. Mix at speed 2 and knead for 2 minutes. (at this point mine looked like bread crumbs, so it didn't really knead. I went on to hand knead, and could get it to stick together, but decided it needed more water, so put it back in the bowl and added water until it would actually stick together in the bowl.
3. Hand knead 30 seconds to 1 minute. Cover with dry towel and let rest 15 minutes before extruding through Pasta Maker.
   
4. For Macaroni I put it through the machine, and stopped it when it was 6 to 8 inches long. I then layed those noodles on towels and tried until I could break them apart.

Tossed Macaroni instructions

• 1 1/4 pounds ricotta cheese or small curd cottage sheese.
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces - definitely use 1 lb.
• 1 package (10 oz.) frozen green peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (I totally forgot this. It probably would have been way better with it in. That's what happens when you cook with your spouse I guess. You forget steps and/or think the other guy has done them already.)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 pasta recipe of macaroni or flat noodles, cooked and drained

Directions

1. Place ricotta cheese in a serving bowl and crumble with a fork. Add butter and noodles; toss two or 3 times -we stirred the ricotta, and stirred in the butter and noodles to coat.
2. Cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Add peas and saute 2 minutes. Drain fat.
3. Add bacon and peas to noodles and toss (stir.) Add Prmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Toss again and serve immediately.
   

Chickne noodle amandine

Made a chicken cacciatore in the crock pot this week that was a mess because I managed to have a bad piece of chicken in the bunch. It got tossed and I ended up using the noodles to make something I had planned for this week where I was going to use homemade noodles. It came from the kitchenaide manual/cookbook. I didn't have the mushrooms it called for either. It really wasn't my favorite food. Edible, but not great. I needed more orange peel, but didn't have the 2 Tablespoons it called for even after using 3 oranges. I also think the homemade noodles would have been a bit better, and it probably needed the flavor of the mushrooms. I also forgot to take a picture. It wasn't much to look at though- white noodles in white sauce, with white chicken and white almonds on top. On the plus side, the almonds toasted in the butter were quite tasty.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
  
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced (didn't have these)
  
• 2 Tablespoons grated orange peel (I think I ended up with about 1 1/3 Tablespoons)
  
• 3 teaspoons salt (quite sure I didn't use this full Tablespoon of salt)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 4 cups cooked chicken, cut into cubes (I used 2-3 cups pre-cooked)
• 3 cups sour cream
• 1 past recipe of flat noodles, cooked and drained (I used the linguini I had cooked for the Chicken Cacciatore that didn't turn out.)

Directions

1. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add almonds and stir until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Melt remaining butter in a clean saucepan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes. Add orange peel, salt, pepper, chicken broth, and chicken. Continue cooking an additional minute. Stir sour cream into chicken mixture, heat through, but do not boil. Server immediately over hot noodles. Sprinkle with almonds.
   

Pork Lo Mein

Hey, I just found out I've already done a pork lo mein recipe. This is a different pork lo mein. It came from a Betty Crocker magazine from Jan '03. I used a lot more pork than it called for. 1 1/2 lbs. The recipe called for only 1/2 lb. So, I pretty much doubled everything else except the ginger. It was still a little too gingery for DH - he'd probably only give it a 2 star, but it has to be one of the favorite things of the baby. I thought he would pop he ate so much. Listed are the ingredients and amounts I used.



Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds pork loin - I used chops. They were quicker to cut into pieces
• 3 cups snap pea pods
• 1 package matchstick cut carrots
• 9 ounces linguine broken into 2 inch pieces - I broke the sticks in half, then in half again.
• 2/3 cup chicken stock
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons corn starch
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped gingerroot (I grated it.)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• sesame seed, if desired (I was going to add these and forgot. Oops)
  

Directions

1. Trim fat from pork. Cut pork with grain into 2 X 1 inch strips; cut strips across grains into 1/8 inch slices. (I just cut my chops into 1/4 - 1/8 inch strips, then cut those in half if they were longer than 2 inches.) Remove strings from pea pods. (mine didn't have any)
2. Cook linguini according to package directions addind pea pods and carrots during last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking. Drain.
3. Mix broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, garlic and gingerrot.
4. spray nonstick wok with cooking spary; heat over medium high heat until cooking spray starts to bubble. Add pork and onion; stir-fry about 2 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. Stir broth mixture, stir into pork mixture. Stir pea pods, carrots and linguine. Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
   

Barbecue Chicken pizza

We have made this type of pizza before. I got some extra ideas from my Food Nanny book - like trying smoked Gouda on the pizza. I thought that was good the first day, but definitely didn't reheat well. I also tried her pizza dough recipe. While the kids really liked it, I prefer the Reinhart's doughs that we normally make. The pizza did look pretty though, but the one I took a picture of was under cooked. I ended up putting it back in the oven on the pizza stone for a few extra minutes.



Pizza Dough

• 1 Tablespoon yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3-4 cups flour (I used 1 cup and a partial cup of wheat, then finished out with white.)

Pizza

• pre-cooked chicken
• barbecue sauce
• shredded smoked Gouda
• 3 1/2 cups mozzarella
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

Directions

1. Mix yeast and water in a small bowl, cover and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Mix oil, honey, salt, and yeast in mixing bowl. Mix in 3 cups of flour. If dough seems too wet, mix in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is moderately stiff and somewhat firm to the tough. (I'm bad at explaining this, I just know what it should look like. Directions in the book say to mix with a wooden spoon, then knead by hand - I didn't. I mixed it in my mixer with my dough hook until it looked and felt right.)
3. The recipe says to grease pans and cook the dough on pans, but I don't like that. I actually made one on a pan because it stuck to the pan I was going to use as a pizza peel, but it stuck - it ended up not cooking all the way through. I cooked mine right on the pizza stone. Roll out the dough to the thickness you want. Put on a pizza peel covered with cornmeal.
   
4. Spread barbecue sauce on pizza. Sprinkle with mozzarella, chicken, onions and gouda.
5. Bake at 425 for 8 to 10 minutes on a pizza stone.
   

Chicken and Potato Wedges with Lemon-dill sauce

This comes from a Pillsbury Fast and Healthy magazine that I had from Jan/Feb '99. I remember it being really good which is why I picked it again, but I wasn't nearly as impressed by it this time. I overcooked the chicken by following the recipe, and I overcooked the potatoes. If I make this again, I will use a thermometer to monitor the temp of the chicken so it doen't overcook because I like the sauce that goes with it. I also may just make mashed potatoes. No one was a huge fan of boiled potatoes - or I could bake the slices in the oven, but then I don't think they would go with the sauce, and I like the lemon sauce.




Potatoes

• 1 lb. red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, if desired

Chicken and Sauce

• 4 boneless ckinless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley (I didn't use this)

Directions

1. Combine 6 cups water, potato wedges and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes or until poatoes are tender. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, to flatten each chicken breast half, place boned side up between 2 pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Working from center, gently pound chicken with flat side of mallet or rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick; remove wrap.
   
3. Melt 1 teaspoon butter until bubbly. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes.
4. Turn chicken; sprinkle with dill. Cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet; set aside.
   
5. In the smae skillet, combine remaining 1 Tablespoon and 2 teaspoons butter, water, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
   
6. To serve, place potatoes on serving paltter. Arange chicken around outer edges, spoon sauce over top. Sprinkle with parsley.
   

4 servings.