Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Meatloaf in an Onion with Roasted Potatoes

Hi guys! So last night I finished the last two recipes I was planning from the Best of the Best from America cookbook. The meatloaf is from Utah and the potatoes from North Dakota (not home of Mt Rushmore. That's South Dakota. Silly). We also had fresh green beans from "the farm." Emma ate them for the second time--hooray!

Roasted Potatoes
4 pounds potatoes
8 cloves garlic
4 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I used dried, and eyeballed it)
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried oregano
ground black pepper to taste (I just sprinkled some in)
8-12 tbsp light olive oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Peel potatoes (or leave skins on--that's what I did), and cut each potato into 2 inch chunks. Mince garlic (or use garlic in a jar). In lg bowl, combine all ingredients except salt and toss so potatoes are covered in oil (I added some oil, then tossed, then a little more, etc, until it looked right). Spread potatoes in a single layer in 9x13 (or larger) pan (I used a cookie sheet--it would be hard to get all those potatoes in a single layer in a 9x13. More like impossible). Bake uncovered for one hour, or until golden brown and cooked through (mine took 45 minutes). Season with salt before serving.

Meatloaf in an Onion
4 large onions, peeled
1 pound lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup cracker crumbs (I used bread crumbs because I didn't want to crush crackers)
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry mustard

Cut off the root at the bottom end of the onion. Cut onions in half horizontally and remove center part of onion, leaving a 3/4 inch thick shell (reserve centers for another use). In a 1 gallon plastic zipper bag, combine all other ingredients and mix by squeezing. Divide meat mixture into 4 balls and place in the center of the 4 onion halves. Put onions back together. Wrap each onion in foil. Cook on the grill 15-20 mins per side or in a 350 oven for 45-50 minutes, or until ground beef and onions are cooked.

So there are the recipes...now my comments. The potatoes were sooooo good. Definitely a make again. They tasted like from a restaurant or something. The meatloaf is another story. The onions came out very soggy, and the meat flavorless. It tasted like I had added nothing to the meat at all, just a hamburger ball inside a soggy onion. But Steve still ate it! Such a trooper. Now it is on to my next cookbook...I will be doing a few recipes from the Spring 2007 Kraft Foods magazine. I am always excited to end one cookbook and start another. Stay tuned! =)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Hi guys! I know it seems like I'm having a very prolific week, but last night was a spontaneous new recipe. Usually I know like 2 weeks in advance what my recipes are going to be for the next two weeks, because I need to buy ingredients. And because I'm neurotic. Well, we have a high bush blueberry bush out back that Steve picked a bunch of berries from a few days ago, and he asked me yesterday morning before he left for work to make blueberry muffins for lunch. Because he was coming home for lunch. And I said no, but I will make them for supper. So I looked in my cookbooks and found a good one. Now, I could have just called my mom and got her blue-ribbon winning recipe for blueberry muffins, but I had already called her yesterday to see how to cook fresh green beans (our cup runneth way way over fresh produce-wise, and I have like a thimble-ful of knowledge about it). So I found this one in Betty Crocker's New Cookbook. But it's not new. I've had it for a while.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
Streusel Topping (recipe follows)
2 tbsp firm stick margarine or butter
1/4 cup flour
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Cut margarine into other 3 ingredients using pastry blender or two knives, til crumbly
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt 1 cup fresh or canned (drained) blueberries, or 3/4 cup frozen (thawed and drained)

Heat oven to 400. Grease bottoms only of muffin cups or use paper baking cups (I always do). Prepare Streusel (does this really need to be capitalized) Topping and set aside. Beat milk, oil, vanilla, and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once (?) just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each with about 2 tsp Streusel topping. Bake 20-25 mins (mine took 21) or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan to wire rack.

First off, how are you supposed to add 4 different dry ingredients all at once? Probably the best thing would have been to mix it separately in a bowl, but my other mixing bowl was full of
S(capital)treusel Topping. So I just got it all measured then dumped them all in real quick and stirred. It worked okay. The batter was not too sweet like box mixes are, and the blueberries a little tangy, like high bush blueberries are, so guess who didn't like them? Sam ate his and hers. Steve and I had two each. 6 left over. Definitely a make-again. We had them w/ sausage & cheese omelets. I'm so happy for a good recipe after the recent tankers.............

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Thai Chicken Fettucine

This is what we had last night. It's nearing the end of that state by state cookbook I've been working through. This one is from Oregon.

Thai Chicken Fettucine
1 cup picante sauce (I used Pace mild)
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
12 oz dry fettucine, cooked & well drained (I used spaghetti b/c I had a lot of it on hand)
2 cups cooked chicken breast, cut in chunks (about 3 breasts)(according to them)
Iceberg lettuce or savory cabbage leaves for garnish
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper

Combine first six ingredients in small saucepan, cook & stir over low heat until blended and smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup mixture, toss remaining mixture w/ hot cooked fettucine. Mix reserved picante sauce w/ cooked chicken pieces. Line large platter with lettuce leaves, if desired (I didn't). Arrange fettucine mixture over lettuce; top w/ chicken mixture. Sprinkle w/ cilantro, peanuts, and red bell pepper. Cool to room temperature before serving, or serve chilled. Serves 6.

Okay so nobody liked this. Well, Steve said he did, but he always says that and always eats anything. Sometimes I will look back at the recipe for something and think, "Why on earth did I think this sounded good?" This was one of those times. I skipped the lettuce, and put the noodles on each person's plate (except not Emma's), then chicken, then cilantro. I skipped the peanuts & red pepper because I didn't want to spend the money on ingredients that needed such small amounts, plus Steve hates plain peanuts. Emma said of the cilantro: "It looks like leafs on your plate." Sam was very good about eating it but said he didn't really like it. That was the camp I was in, too. I ate it but didn't think it was very good. I think it was because of the sauce. Just not very tasty, or at least not what I was expecting. Or something. And anyway, what are people in Oregon doing making Thai food and claiming it as their state recipe? Unless they have a large Thai population there that I am not aware of. So now I've had two bombs in a row (and 3 if you count the dessert). I'm hoping next week will be better....it has to be!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Creamy Lemon Squares

So for dessert this week this is what I made. It's from the kraftfoods.com cooking magazine (spring 2007) that I get (for free) in the mail every couple of months. You should get it too. Just go to the above mentioned website and sign up. It's a lot of easy yummy recipes that use some pre-packaged items for the recipes, so they are faster to make. All that being said, I didn't like this one. I love lemon bars in the box, like really love them, so I thought this way I could make them from scratch. Nope. The filling was way too thick & creamy for my liking, and the lemon more tart than it is in the box mixes. So I guess it's back to the box for me. BTW, I almost never like cream-cheese based desserts, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Steve really liked them, Sam liked them but said they were "a bit too sweet for my kind." But maybe you'll like them....

Creamy Lemon Squares
20 reduced fat nilla wafers (I used regular fat), finely crushed
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cold margarine
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp grated lemon peel (I used McCormick in a jar)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I used lemon juice from a bottle. But it says its the same on the bottle as fresh lemons. It's probably not, but I already had it in the fridge)
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp powdered sugar

Combine wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour, and the brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; press firmly onto bottom of 8x8 inch pan. Bake 15 minutes @ 350. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and sugar w/ electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs and 2 tbsp flour; mix well. Blend in 1 tbsp of the lemon peel, lemon juice, and baking powder; pour over crust. Bake 25-28 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with remaining lemon peel if desired (I didn't desire). Store leftover squares in refrigerator.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

So this is what we had last night...from North Dakota in that cookbook from Mom...

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
4 cups stuffing mix (I used Hannaford chicken flavor from the canister)
1 cup butter, melted
4 cups chopped cooked chicken (I cooked 3 breasts & chopped and didn't measure them. I think it was about right, though)
2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) cream of chicken soup
1 13 oz can evaporated milk (at the Walmart they only had 12 oz cans, name brand or otherwise. so that's what I used)
1 10 oz pkg frozen peas, thawed (yes, I did use these. Did I actually eat them?)
1/4 cup minced onion
1 2 oz jar chopped pimento, drained (I did not use this)

Combine stuffing mix with butter in bowl, mix well. Press half the mixture into 9x13 pan. Combine all other ingredients in separate bowl, mix well and spread over prepared dish, top w/ remaining stuffing mix. Bake @ 350 for one hour.

Okay this definitely did not take and hour. I checked it after like 34 minutes and the stuffing on top was almost black. So obviously I took it out. But the recipe didn't say to cover it. Anyway, it was still done even after only 34 minutes. It did turn out pretty good. Emma of course did not want the peas or stuffing and only ate the chicken. Sam ate all of it and had seconds. And of course, trusty Steve did, too. As for me...I picked out the peas and ate the rest!!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Black Forest Cake

Historically, this is one of my dad's favorite desserts. He always raves about how good it was when he was in Germany. So when we decided to have our somewhat monthly family dinner, I thought I would make this, even though I'm sure it's not the same as the original, but hopefully a reasonable facsimile. From that same cookbook with the states, from Wyoming, of all places...

Black Forest Cake
chocolate cake mix (I used Betty Crocker chocolate fudge)
1 21 oz can cherry pie filling
3 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
1 4 oz choc bar or chocolate chips

Bake cake mix according to pkg directions in 3 8x8 inch cake rounds (which I just happen to have) or in a springform pan and cut into 3 layers (that seems harder). Have cake layers ready and cooled. Transfer one layer to cake platter and spread with pie filling. Beat whipping cream until thick (turns out, this is like impossible to do by hand. Good thing my mom has her trusty Oster mixer); sift powdered sugar and dry pudding mix over whipping cream (I did not sift. I sprinkled) and continue beating until cream makes stiff peaks (I think I waited too long to do this step, because instantly when I added the sugar & pudding it was thick. Like buddah)(Not Buddha, the false god in India). Put second layer of cake on top of cherries and spread w/ 1/3 of the whipped cream. Add third layer and frost whole cake w/ remaining whipped cream. Use potato peeler to grate chocolate on top, or use chocolate chips (I used mini choc chips).

So, this was quite tasty. The cake was very moist and light and the frosting, while not very sweet, was light and tasty. Problem was, Jon & Jess were so stuffed from mom's chicken, they didn't try it. So I said, next time I don't want dessert, because 1/3 of the people there didn't try it. I want either main course or side dish so that at least everyone tries it. Sheesh. I left the rest of the cake there for my dad because I didn't think it would travel home very well. But this was a good one.

Potato Pepperoni Hot Dish

I made this last week. It was in my plan to make this anyway, and then when I was asked to make a meal for Helping Hands, I decided to make it in two 8x8 pans rather than one 9x13. Read on to see how THAT turned out. Anyway this is from North Dakota...

Potato Pepperoni Hot Dish
1 1/2 to 2 lbs hamburger (oddly enough, I used 1.75 that I had in the freezer)
1 small onion, diced
1 10 3/4 oz can cheddar cheese soup
1 10 3/4 oz can tomato soup
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
6-8 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 pkg pepperoni slices
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Brown hamburger and onion. Mix the soups, milk, and seasonings (apparently they are counting sugar as a seasoning here). Mix together the hamburger, potatoes, and soup mixture (in like a huge bowl). Place in a 9x13 inch pan and bake @ 350 for one hour, or until potatoes are tender. Top w/ pepperoni slices & bake for 5 more minutes. Top w/ cheeses and bake until cheese melts.

Okay. So I thought (wrongly, apparently) that having it in two dishes would cook the potatoes faster (increased surface area, ya know?), so I thought 45 minutes would probably be enough. But I was wrong. It took over an hour even in a divided dish. And I don't like how they don't say to cook covered or uncovered. I was afraid it would dry out too much if I left it uncovered, because it wasn't very saucy to begin with. So I covered the casserole dish with it's glass cover and the foil 8x8 pan with...foil. After it seemed to be taking forever to cook, I did uncover them. Finally I had to take them out of the oven or be very late for church and risk the other family not getting their meal before they had to leave for church. If they were even going. Which they didn't, but I didn't know that at the time. So the potatoes still weren't done. They had that still-slightly-raw crunch to them. So that's the cooking fiasco. And then, it wasn't even that good. I don't know why I didn't notice this when I was looking at the recipe, but it's like this dish can't decide what it wants to be. Do you want to be pizza-y? Hamburger Helper-y? I don't know, but the combination of all these things was a little much. Maybe in North Dakota they do this often, and that's why it's called a "hot dish" instead of "something casserole." (Steve often calls me a hot dish, too.) So don't make this one, unless you like underdone potatoes and mixed up taste buds.

Friday, August 3, 2007

French Toast Casserole

Hi guys! This is what we had on Wednesday night. Very tasty. I had extra ingredients, so I made one for Jessica, and they liked it too. This is yet again from the Best of the Best cookbook (almost done this one) from New Jersey....

Cape May (?) French Toast Casserole
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 apples, peeled and sliced
1 loaf french bread, cut into 3/4 inch slices
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla

Cook sugar, butter, and corn syrup until syrupy. Pour into 9x13 dish. Spread apple slices on syrup. Place bread on apples. Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Heat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes. Serve w/ maple syrup. 8 servings.

So what I did instead was make it Wednesday morning and left it in the refrigerator all day, then cooked it for supper. But I'm sure the other way would work, too, esp if you had company. But, although it says 8 servings, I was hard pressed to fit that much french bread in the casserole dish. So you might have to make 2 pans if you had a lot of people to feed. The caramel sauce, although very thick when you pour it into pan, after it cooks it is all mixed in, and it has such a yummy caramel flavor when you eat it. Even my b-i-l liked it, and he is hard to please. Food wise. And hey--did you know they have wheat french bread? I saw it at the Wal-mart but didn't use it this time because I wasn't too sure about it. But maybe next time I'll try it. So that's this week girls. Talk to you soon!

P.S. I feel at this juncture it would be prudent to mention an inadvertent omission. My dear friend Terri has also been following New Recipe Night since the beginning, and has actually made many of the recipes that I said were good (unlike the other 66% of my readership)(ha ha), as well as given me some of her own recipes, which have now become staples in our house, such as "chicken pot pie the way her mom makes it" and "shepherd's pie the way Terri makes it." =)