Sausages in Cider Sauce

This is the last recipe I have marked to try from my birthday cookbooks from Becky. I looked at this several times, and went back and forth if I should try it or not. But ultimately I decided to because it has rice, which we have to get used to, and it just sounded like it was going be tasty. I had to make a couple of adjustments which I will tell you as we go...

Sausages in Cider Sauce
1 lb boneless pork chops
8 pork link sausages
2 tbsp lard (gross...I used oil)
1 large onion
1 carrot
1 stalk of celery
4 large tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup dry hard cider (no more cider at the store...hard or otherwise...I used apple juice)
salt and pepper
2 tbsp butter (or more oil, if you are dairy-free)
1 1/2 cups long grain rice
1 quart chicken broth (this is 4 cups...I used homemade vegetable broth)
3 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Cut the pork chops into bite-sized pieces. Twist each sausage in half to make 16 small sausages. Melt the lard (or pour the oil) into a skillet and fry the pork and sausages gently, turning frequently, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion and carrot. Trim and chop the celery. Quarter the tomatoes. Peel and crush the garlic. Add the vegetables to the skillet with the cider (juice) and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the rice and fry, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil, stirring. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes (this took longer than that--like 30 minutes...maybe in the early 80s rice was thinner or something) til rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

Remove the rice from the heat and stir in the cheese (as I reread this I realize I forgot to add the cheese. I was just so excited once the rice was done). Taste and adjust the seasoning and fluff with a fork. Pile into a warmed serving dish and arranges sausages and pork on top. Spoon cider sauce over and serve immediately with a mixed salad (we skipped the salad ha ha).

Due to the plague descending on our house, Nathan and Emma didn't eat this. Nathan had ice cream, which he also had for lunch, and Emma had apple juice. Sam did eat a little bit then said he was full. Steve really liked it, but then he is a fan of sausage-type things. I thought it was good too. And since not much was eaten, there is a lot left over too, which is always a good thing. So, another keeper. I did find quite a few recipes out of these old cookbooks. Almost everything I tried, we liked. Good job, Miss Becky ;)

Boston Baked Beans

I love baked beans. They're so yummy. Plus I have fond memories of my mom and grandmother making them and making the kitchen smell SO good. Plus my mother in law made them for me quite often when they lived up here. I already have a baked bean recipe but it's for the crock pot. So this one is in the oven all day. Steve suggested digging a hole and waiting 2 days but obviously he is ridiculous. This recipe is from one of the birthday cookbooks from Becky, The New Family Cookbook.

Boston Baked Beans
1 2/3 cup dried navy beans
1 bay leaf
8 oz salt pork
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
2 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock (I used beef broth because it's all that I had)
salt and pepper

Rinse the beans, cover with cold water and leave overnight to soak. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans, cover with cold water, and simmer with the bay leaf for about an hour. Drain and place in deep oven-proof dish.

Cut the salt pork into fork-sized cubes and add to the beans with the onion. Mix the remaining ingredients and add to the dish. Add a little more broth or water if necessary to cover. Put on the lid and cook at 300 for 6-7 hours. Check from time to time while it is cooking, adding more liquid if necessary. Uncover the pot for the last 40 minutes to let the top brown.

These smelled SO SO good. Love that smell. Yankee Candle should make a candle of it. I should totally be a Yankee Candle consultant because I have lots of great ideas. Also the beans taste fabulous. It is only 3:25 but they are done. I tried some. So so good. The beans are the perfect texture, you know how sometimes they get mushy if they are overcooked or something? Maybe in 2 hours when we eat these for a meal that will be an issue, but right now they taste great! Hooray, I love when it turns out well. Especially since half of these beans are going to a family for a meal tonight...Steve thought it was risky to bring baked beans to a family for a meal, because they might not like them. So, I texted my friend and I was all "do you like baked beans? Because I can easily make something else if you don't, just be honest." And she said they would happily eat anything I brought. I took that as a yes. Ha ha. If someone wanted to bring me something with mayonaisse and they called and asked me first I would be honest and say "please don't bring that to me." So hopefully they will like them.

I wasn't sure how to categorize this recipe, but decided on meatless, because if you leave out the salt pork, it will be. Also it is dairy-free, so there you go.

Italian Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Last night was my second attempt at a Deceptively Delicious recipe. I will say it was not as successful as the first, but maybe the kids are hip to me. This one was a meatloaf made with ground turkey instead of ground beef. I have a love/hate relationship with meatloaf. That is to say, I love my mom's meatloaf and I love when she makes it by her recipe. I request it every year for my birthday. I have tried many meatloaf recipes at home, including her recipe, but it never tastes the same. I did have one I liked several months ago, but it was not like my mom's. So I thought I would try this one, since it is a bit different. When Emma heard me tell my sister on the phone that we were having "Italian Meatloaf" she started crying. Not a good sign, but she was tired. And the mashed potatoes are hiding cauliflower. I thought I would try that because the broccoli went so well...

Italian Meatloaf
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup carrot puree (I didn't cook the carrots first, just put them raw into my Tupperware choppy thing and pureed them to smithereens)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup bottled tomato sauce (I used chili sauce because I had it already and didn't want to buy something else)
4 slices turkey bacon (I used regular bacon because I already had that too)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in milk.

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray (why coat it when it's a nonstick pan? I don't know) and set it over medium high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, 7-10 minutes. Add the celery and cook 3-4 minutes longer. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Add the turkey, Parmesan, carrot puree, ketchup, salt, and pepper, and stir to combine.

Turn the mixture into the loaf pan and smooth the top. Spread tomato sauce over the meatloaf and lay the strips of bacon on top. Bake until the center of the meatloaf is no longer pink (hard to tell when it's in a loaf pan...I just used my PC meat thermometer and the guidelines on there said 170 for turkey breast, so I cooked it to that temperature) and the bacon begins to brown, 45-50 minutes. Cut into slices and serve.

Mashed Potatoes
1 lb baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cauliflower puree (I followed the directions in the book to make the puree, which is steaming the cauliflower, then grinding it up in my Tupperware choppy thing)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup buttermilk (I just used regular milk...I never have buttermilk just lying around)

Put the potatoes and salt in a large pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes by about 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, 15-20 minutes. Drain well. Add the cauliflower puree, butter, and buttermilk, and mash with a potato masher until the potatoes are smooth and creamy.

Okay. Once both of these things were done, I was pretty skeptical about both of them. But, the meatloaf was actually very good. Everyone ate it and I will keep the recipe to make again. Emma was looking very unsure about the meatloaf, but once I told her the ingredients, she ate it all (I didn't give her or Nathan any of the bacon). You could see little specks of carrot in it, and I didn't chop the onions and celery small enough, but it was still really good. Maybe a bit too salty. Sam said it was one of the best meals ever, because of the bacon and mashed potatoes (he was the only one who liked the potatoes; read on). So the meatloaf recipe is a keeper.

The potatoes, on the other hand...before I had even taken a bite, Steve said to me, under his breath, "I think you got the ratio wrong." Of course I just did what Jerry Seinfeld's wife told me to. I tried them and almost gagged. It had a very strong flavor of cauliflower, which I don't like, and the puree didn't really come out as smooth as you would think a puree should, so there were little tiny hard bits of cauliflower all through the potatoes. I did try a second bite just to be sure. Same result. Samuel, the would-be cruciferous vegetable hater, ate them all and never said a word about them tasting funny. Nathan, who loved the green potatoes, did try a big bite of these, and then told me, nicely, "I don't like the potatoes." I said "that's okay buddy, I don't either. Thank you for trying them." Emma had a few bites before she decided she didn't like them either. So definitely not keeping this recipe. One of my friends said she makes her potatoes with cauliflower in them all the time, even for company, and no one has ever noticed. I don't know how she does this. I did send her a facebook message asking her, but no reply yet. Maybe her ratios are different. Maybe if I had cooked the cauliflower with the potatoes and then mashed them all together (like I did with the broccoli) it would have been better. I don't know and I never will, ha ha. I did steam the whole head of cauliflower, and have enough puree to make two more recipes containing it in the freezer. I'm skeptical though.

Parmesan Crusted Turkey Breast

Another Rachael Ray recipe. You will be shocked when you read the ingredient list, that I actually made this the way it says to. Even the broccoli. I knew before I started that the kids would HATE this, but that Steve would like it. I don't like broccoli either, so I thought if I told them that we are all going to try something new, they would try it...ha ha.

Parmesan Crusted Turkey Breast
4 baking potatoes (about 2 lbs) peeled and quartered
1/2 head broccoli, stems discarded and florets coarsely chopped
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
1 pound boneless skinless turkey breast, cut into 4 pieces and pounded thin (at Walmart they had turkey breast chops, so that's what I bought)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
2 tbsp olive oil

In a medium pot of salted water, bring the potatoes to a boil and cook halfway to tender, about 7 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until the potatoes and broccoli are tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and return to pot. Add the butter and smash; season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, season the turkey with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs and parmesan. In another shallow bowl, beat the egg. Dip each cutlet into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, pressing to coat.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 cutlets and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Repeat with remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 cutlets. Serve the cutlets with the broccoli smashed potatoes.

Okay. The first thing I did is tell the kids that these were St Patrick's Day mashed potatoes. Do you want to know what? EVERYBODY LIKED THESE. NATHAN HAD SECONDS. I am not kidding. Sam ate them all. I wouldn't tell what was in them until they were all done. Then I only told Sam, in his ear. I thought if I told while they were still eating them, they would suddenly say they didn't like them. Once I told Sam, he felt betrayed. He told Steve he was mad at me for tricking him. I pointed out that I didn't trick him. I told him "don't worry, this doesn't mean you like broccoli now. It just means you liked it in this one recipe. You don't have to go taking it off the salad bar or anything." I thought these were good too. How weird. Also, the turkey was very very good too. I like how panko bread crumbs stay crunchy no matter what. I guess that's the point of them. Anyway, an unexpected hit!

Apple, Cheddar, and Bacon Monte Cristos

Remember the Count of Monte Cristo? Maybe he invented this sandwich, I don't know. I don't know anything about him, except that there is a sandwich with the same name. The sandwich is kind of like a french toast sandwich. I've seen them on the menu at Governor's before but never tried them. This is another recipe out of the latest Every Day with Rachael Ray mag...we love breakfast for supper. Also I love bacon. So.

Apple, Cheddar, and Bacon Monte Cristos
12 slices good-quality bacon
8 slices good-quality peasant or round-loaf french bread
1/4 to 1/2 lb extra sharp white cheddar cheese (I bought Sargento pre-sliced white cheddar)
2 golden delicious or gala apples, cored and thinly sliced
3 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk or half-and-half
Nutmeg
Warm maple syrup

Bake the bacon on a broiler pan or a rack set over a baking sheet at 375 until just crisp, about 20 minutes (is baked bacon healthier than fried bacon? Ummm, maybe. Regardless, it is certainly less effort and less mess than frying it). Arrange 4 slices of bread with some cheese and apples on top. Beat the eggs with the milk or half-and-half and a little nutmeg (I guess you just pick how much). Heat a large griddle pan over medium heat. When ready, arrange 3 slices of bacon on each sandwich and top with a little more cheese and 4 more slices of bread. Coat each sandwich in the egg batter. Grease griddle with butter and griddle the sandwiches (can griddle really be a verb? I would prefer "grill" in this case, but maybe that is improper, I don't really know) until deep golden on each side and the cheese has melted. Halve the sandwiches and drizzle with a little warm syrup.

These were SO GOOD!! Really really good. I didn't even try one with Nathan, because he doesn't like bacon. Sam and Emma weren't crazy about them, but did eat them. Steve and I loved them. Definitely a keeper. The first recipe I've ever tried and kept out of EDWRR.

Meatball Soup

This is my first recipe from Deceptively Delicious! We had this on Thursday night. I was very sneaky, I didn't tell the kids anything...Steve knew we were having something out of that cookbook, and he was trying to figure it out the whole time...he didn't though, I had to tell him, because it blended in so well...So this cookbook had like 45 pages of intro, about pureeing and stuff, which I will not tell you, but you just have to cook the vegetable and then puree it in a food processor. Which I do not have. But I can use my Tupperware choppy thing for small quantities and it does the same thing. But I am going to look at yard sales this summer for food processors. Not just for this cookbook but there have been some other things come up as well...

Meatball Soup
3 oz pasta, such as bowties or wagon wheels (we used Wacky Mac)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
1/4 cup carrot puree
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
3 cups beef or chicken broth
3 slices whole-wheat bread, cubed
1 large egg, lightly beaten (all my eggs are always the same size, so...)
1/4 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 lb lean ground turkey

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander and set aside.

Coat a large pot with cooking spray and set it over medium-high heat. When the pot is hot, add the oil and then the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes (my onion pretty much browned instantly, but oh well).

Puree the tomatoes and their juice with the carrot puree in a food processor or blender (I used a blender--it leaked--now I also need a new blender--I told Steve but he didn't agree--hmmmm), then add to the pot along with 1/2 tsp salt. Add the broth, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the bread in a large bowl. Add the egg, sweet potato puree, milk, Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp salt, the pepper, and paprika, and let soak until bread is very soft. Stir to break up the bread, add the ground turkey, and mix until smooth. Form into mini meatballs 1/2-inch in diameter (this was hard...it was too soft to make meatballs they way you should be able to...I ended up just using my PC cookie scoop, getting a scoop of meat, and plopping them into the soup pot...it was fine, I got 19 meatballs using this method).

Add the meatballs to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the pasta (which might be all stuck together, because mine was...it came apart when I added it to the soup though). Serve sprinkled with Parmesan (I used shredded Parmesan for this part).

Okay so amazingly amazing, is that Nathan liked the meatballs, and Samuel didn't. "What??" you may be asking yourself. But it's true. Nathan even took another one out of my bowl because he liked them so well. Steve said it was the best soup he's had in a while. We've had soup 3 times this week, so I'm not sure if I should be offended or not, ha ha. So overall it was a success. Obviously 1/2 cup of vegetable puree isn't going to equal much for each person, but hey it's better than adding that much fluff to it, right? And, the recipe was pretty healthy to start with anyway. On to the next one!

Chicken and Banana Fried Rice

I thought this would be something fun to try, because it seems like something we would eat in Haiti, since they grow bananas there and have chickens there and eat rice there. This came from the latest issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray, which my mom has a subscription to and gives to me after she reads it. Usually I (sorry to say) don't find much in there to make. I want to find more but we just don't usually eat that way. But there were, surprisingly, several in this one that I want to try. There is no picture for this recipe, which makes me wonder if they did that on purpose, because it did look kind of weird. Also, they printed the recipe in paragraph format, which is always hard to follow. For example, instead of having a list of ingredients and then the directions, they have it all in one paragraph...first sentence "heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil...halve 3 bananas lengthwise..." like that. I am not writing it like that for you...too hard to read and follow...and I am a full-service recipe provider.

Chicken and Banana Fried Rice
2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
3 bananas, halved lengthwise
3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced scallion whites
2 finely chopped serrano chilies (left these out)
3 cups cooked and cooled rice
3/4 cup thinly sliced scallion greens
2 tsp soy sauce
chopped salted peanuts

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over med-high heat. Add the bananas to the pan, cut side down. Cook until deep golden, 2 to 3 minutes; transfer to cutting board and cut into bite-sized pieces. Wipe out the skillet and heat remaining oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper; add to the skillet and cook until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to cool slightly before slicing thinly. Lower the heat to medium and add the scallion whites. Cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the chilies and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the rice, increase the heat to high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice begins to toast, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the banana, chicken, scallion greens, and soy sauce. Sprinkle with the peanuts.

So we all unanimously agreed that cooked banana tastes weird. We all gave it a go, but none of us liked that aspect of it. The chicken and rice were actually very very good, and I think would be yummy to make by itself as a side dish or something. But I won't make the bananas again...

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies

What a long name for cookies. I guess you can figure out what's in them, ha ha. I had every intention of making these as part of my Christmas baking line-up, but then for some reason never made them. I guess I wanted to stick to tried and true favorites for the season. Or something. Anyway these came from Oct/Nov '09 Taste of Home I had been working through, but it's actually not a TOH recipe, it's an Ocean Spray ad in the magazine. But they looked really good. Nathan is crazy about what he calls "white chips," and not so crazy about oatmeal. I thought I could make them and maybe he would eat them. Also I told him the cranberries were red raisins.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats (as opposed to quick oats, which are, apparently, new fashioned)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 6 oz pkg original craisins (as opposed to flavored ones, which they do have...orange flavored, etc)
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Preheat oven to 375. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add to butter mixture slowly, mixing well. Stir in cranberries and white chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Makes approx 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

For once, their estimate on their yield was correct. Usually it will say something crazy like "6 dozen" and to get that amount you have to make the cookies the size of a quarter. These were really quick to throw together. Everyone except Nathan really liked them (of course). So it's a keeper. It's already in my keeper book, even.

Sausage Surprise

Wow, the first recipe of 2011. Crazy that we are here already! So we start the year off with a bang...did you know that in England sausage and potatoes are called "bangers and mash?" So really when I said "start the year off with a bang," I was using a pun. But you almost couldn't tell because you don't know what the recipe is yet. So...

When a recipe has "surprise" in it, you never know. But I read this one all through and seems not-too-surprising. This is from the other cookbook that Becky gave me for my birthday (see the post "Chicken Corn Soup" to see how I got these), copyright 1982, called The Cook's Color Treasury, edited by Norma MacMillan. This book was even more fun to read through than the other one, and there are only a few things I am venturing to try out of this one. This recipe seemed pretty benign, even if it's something I've never heard of or thought of doing before. Also not many ingredients, which is usually a good thing.

Sausage Surprise
2 lb potatoes
Salt & pepper
1 lb pork link sausages
1 1/4 cup milk (this seemed like it was going to be too much milk but it really wasn't)
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups grated cheese (it doesn't say what kind; I used cheddar)
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat the broiler. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Cook in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, broil the sausages for about 15 minutes (mine only took 10, and make sure you spray your broiler pan first!), turning occasionally until well browned. Drain the potatoes. Add the milk to the pan and bring just to a boil. Return the potatoes to the pan with the butter and mash til smooth. Beat 1 cup of the cheese into the potatoes with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture into a flameproof dish and push the sausages diagonally into the potato so that the tops are just showing. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and broil for about 5 minutes till golden.

I called Steve at work, and in the course of conversation, told him that supper tonight was "Sausage Surprise." He quickly replied, "isn't sausage always a surprise?" Ha. He is so funny. But really once the cheese was sprinkled on top you couldn't see the sausage, so I can see where the name comes from. Sam didn't like the sausage, but he still ate it. If the other 2 didn't like it, they didn't complain. Steve really liked it. So I'll keep it. On to the next one...