One of Steve's 2 specialties when he cooks are breakfast sandwiches (his other one is quesadillas). When I saw this recipe in the Back of the Box cookbook, I marked it to make because it sounded good and easy, and I love having breakfast for supper. I threw down my challenge to Steve when he got home last night...it went something like "I hope you have money in your pocket and that you're ready to run." He looked confused. I said "because tonight I'm giving you a run for your money." Still confused. I expounded. "Because I'm making breakfast sandwiches for supper, and that's one of the things that you make." Anyway my throw-down was a total fail. But supper was yummy, despite the fact that Steve didn't look even a little bit nervous...the featured ingredient was Nature's Own english muffins...we had ours on Thomas english muffins from my freezer (and before that, from the bread store).
Morning Melts
4 english muffins, split
1/3 cup peach preserves (I used apple jelly that I had left from a different recipe)
2 tbsp honey mustard
8 slices Canadian bacon (have you seen that movie, by the way? Hilarious.)
8 eggs (I only used 6)
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp butter
8 slices colby/jack cheese
snipped fresh chives (optional)
Place english muffin halves on foil-lined baking sheet. Broil until lightly toasted (like 1 minute). Combine preserves and honey mustard in small bowl. Spread evenly over toasted english muffins; top each with 1 slice Canadian bacon (one of John Candy's last movies *sniff*). Broil 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven; set aside. Whisk eggs, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add egg mixture. Cook, stirring and gently lifting edges to allow uncooked eggs to flow under cooked portion (like an omelet, so that it stays on the english muffins easier, rather than clumps of eggs that will fall off). Evenly divide eggs over each muffin, then top each with 1 cheese slice. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Sprinkle with chives, if using.
Emma had hers without the jelly/mustard mixture. Nathan had his completely deconstructed, with the english muffin (toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar) next to some scrambled eggs and the meat (which I assured him was just ham despite it's unusual name). We had hash browns on the side. Overall a yummy easy meal. For interested parties, Canadian Bacon is available streaming on Netflix. At least it was the last time we watched it.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Grilled Pineapple with Lime and Coconut
As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I love fresh pineapple, and lately I have been loving lime. We had this with the Honey-Spice Drumsticks recipe that I just posted. I found this recipe in an All You magazine that I did not purchase, but was passed to me by my mom.
Grilled Pineapple with Lime and Coconut
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Zest and juice of 1 lime (who has time to zest a lime? Not I. I just used the juice)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges
Place coconut in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden and lightly toasted. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Preheat grill to medium. In a small bowl, combine lime juice and brown sugar. Oil grill. Put pineapple wedges on grill and cook, turning once, until softened and browned in spots, 7-8 minutes total. Transfer pineapple to a dish and dot with lime juice mixture. Just before serving, arrange pineapple on a platter and sprinkle with lime zest and toasted coconut.
This smelled great, and tasted pretty good, too. The pineapple itself wasn't as tasty as it could have been, although Emma and I are forever ruined for fresh pineapple because the last one we had was in Haiti, at the breakfast buffet at the Visa Lodge. It was the yummiest tastiest fruit I have ever eaten. Of any kind of fruit. We kept saying to each other, "I can't believe how good this is." And then when our friend and fellow globe-trotter Jen sat down at the table, we were gushing about it to her, too. So the one I bought at Hannaford for this recipe was just sad. It's like when you want a cup of coffee at work at 3 in the morning and all that's left is instant. Okay wait, maybe it's not THAT bad. But you see what I'm saying. So this was a good recipe. But I was left feeling like it could have been so much better...
Grilled Pineapple with Lime and Coconut
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Zest and juice of 1 lime (who has time to zest a lime? Not I. I just used the juice)
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch thick wedges
Place coconut in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden and lightly toasted. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Preheat grill to medium. In a small bowl, combine lime juice and brown sugar. Oil grill. Put pineapple wedges on grill and cook, turning once, until softened and browned in spots, 7-8 minutes total. Transfer pineapple to a dish and dot with lime juice mixture. Just before serving, arrange pineapple on a platter and sprinkle with lime zest and toasted coconut.
This smelled great, and tasted pretty good, too. The pineapple itself wasn't as tasty as it could have been, although Emma and I are forever ruined for fresh pineapple because the last one we had was in Haiti, at the breakfast buffet at the Visa Lodge. It was the yummiest tastiest fruit I have ever eaten. Of any kind of fruit. We kept saying to each other, "I can't believe how good this is." And then when our friend and fellow globe-trotter Jen sat down at the table, we were gushing about it to her, too. So the one I bought at Hannaford for this recipe was just sad. It's like when you want a cup of coffee at work at 3 in the morning and all that's left is instant. Okay wait, maybe it's not THAT bad. But you see what I'm saying. So this was a good recipe. But I was left feeling like it could have been so much better...
Honey-Spice Drumsticks
This is last night's dinner, from Back of the Box Cooking. The thing they want you to buy is Heinz ketchup (which I won't, because I listen to Howie Carr...I buy Hunt's) and worcestershire sauce (which I already have, and is the Walmart brand). Steve is not a huge fan of dark meat, but it is easy to get off the bone for the kids, so I like that. I got a package of 12 drumsticks and I froze the other 4 to throw in next time I make homemade broth.
Honey-Spice Drumsticks
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used 2 tsp dried)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp pepper (that's a lot of pepper)
8 chicken drumsticks, trimmed
Stir ketchup with honey, orange zest, orange juice, worcestershire, rosemary, garlic, cumin, and pepper. Divide in half. Toss one half with the drumsticks and marinate for 30 minutes. Reserve remaining sauce mixture. Discard the marinade and grill the chicken, turning occasionally, for 15 minutes (I used the broiler pan in the oven...I would have used my Foreman grill but I used that for the pineapple recipe we had with this which I am posting separately). Brush chicken all over with reserved sauce and grill for 5 minutes more or until no longer pink near the bone.
Okay so making this in the oven took way longer than 15 minutes...it took closer to 45. That made me mad at the chicken before I even tasted it. And it wasn't that great. Too much of a weird mix with the sweetness of the honey, and then the cumin, and the rosemary. Just wasn't a good combination. Not keeping.
Honey-Spice Drumsticks
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used 2 tsp dried)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp pepper (that's a lot of pepper)
8 chicken drumsticks, trimmed
Stir ketchup with honey, orange zest, orange juice, worcestershire, rosemary, garlic, cumin, and pepper. Divide in half. Toss one half with the drumsticks and marinate for 30 minutes. Reserve remaining sauce mixture. Discard the marinade and grill the chicken, turning occasionally, for 15 minutes (I used the broiler pan in the oven...I would have used my Foreman grill but I used that for the pineapple recipe we had with this which I am posting separately). Brush chicken all over with reserved sauce and grill for 5 minutes more or until no longer pink near the bone.
Okay so making this in the oven took way longer than 15 minutes...it took closer to 45. That made me mad at the chicken before I even tasted it. And it wasn't that great. Too much of a weird mix with the sweetness of the honey, and then the cumin, and the rosemary. Just wasn't a good combination. Not keeping.
Friday, September 7, 2012
"Black Gold" Black Bean Soup
This was our meatless recipe for the week. I don't do it faithfully, but do try to have one meatless meal per week (for cheapness and for healthness). We have a few things that I make often, like Corn & Black Bean Quesadillas. And lots of times we have breakfast for supper and have scrambled eggs and some kind of muffin or other bread. And then once last month we had blueberry pie and ice cream. That was fun. I have tried a lot of meatless recipes, but so far I only have 6 in my keeper book. Those are recipes that we really liked and will make again (not counting breads). So I need to boost my repertoire. My vegetarian sister in law has been passing me a lot of recipes, which I always give her credit for when I try. So far her banana bread has been awesome, and it's in the keeper book along with her black bean burgers. She also gave me a recipe for dairy-free corn chowder, so stay tuned for that when it gets a bit more fallish. This soup came from Back of the Box Cooking. I'm not sure why it's called "Black Gold." Sam and I figured it could be a Texas recipe (since "black gold" was a nickname for oil when they found it in Texas); or that it was such a tasty soup it tasted as good as gold (ummm, how does gold taste?). The recipe offers no insight into the name, so you can make your own conclusions there. The featured items in the recipe are Hain (never heard of them) chicken broth and canned corn, and Garden of Eatin' blue tortilla chips. Which I did not purchase.
"Black Gold" Black Bean Soup
2 (14.5 oz cans) chicken broth (I used 4 cups of homemade vegetable stock)
5 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot (I bought matchstick carrots so no prep work)
12 cup chopped red or green pepper (I used red)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained (I used 1 1/2 cups frozen)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Tortilla chips for serving
In a blender, puree 1 can (or 2 cups) of chicken broth with 3 cups of beans. Set aside. In a large saucepan (I used a dutch oven), heat oil. Add onions and carrots and saute for 3 minutes. Add red pepper and garlic and saute additional 1 minute. Add coriander and cumin and cook another 30 seconds. Add remaining broth, pureed beans, remaining black beans, corn, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Sam and Steve decided they wanted to put shredded Mexican cheese on theirs. The little ones and I did not. Nathan laboriously picked only the corn and carrots out of this soup, and he wanted his with Ritz crackers instead of tortilla chips. Emma ate it but didn't really like it. Steve and Sam both liked it. I thought it was good, not great. Not good enough to keep, anyway. Also, Emma was rating on a 5 star scale, where the soup got 3 stars, and the tortilla chips got 4.5 stars. Then Nathan wanted to rate his meal too. He told me that the lower the number of stars, the more he liked it, and "remember, more stars is worse I like it." So he gave the Ritz crackers 1 star, which means he REALLY liked them. He gave the soup 50 stars (bad). And he gave the one tortilla chip he tried 100 stars. So bad.
"Black Gold" Black Bean Soup
2 (14.5 oz cans) chicken broth (I used 4 cups of homemade vegetable stock)
5 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot (I bought matchstick carrots so no prep work)
12 cup chopped red or green pepper (I used red)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 (15 oz) can whole kernel corn, drained (I used 1 1/2 cups frozen)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Fresh cilantro for garnish
Tortilla chips for serving
In a blender, puree 1 can (or 2 cups) of chicken broth with 3 cups of beans. Set aside. In a large saucepan (I used a dutch oven), heat oil. Add onions and carrots and saute for 3 minutes. Add red pepper and garlic and saute additional 1 minute. Add coriander and cumin and cook another 30 seconds. Add remaining broth, pureed beans, remaining black beans, corn, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.
Sam and Steve decided they wanted to put shredded Mexican cheese on theirs. The little ones and I did not. Nathan laboriously picked only the corn and carrots out of this soup, and he wanted his with Ritz crackers instead of tortilla chips. Emma ate it but didn't really like it. Steve and Sam both liked it. I thought it was good, not great. Not good enough to keep, anyway. Also, Emma was rating on a 5 star scale, where the soup got 3 stars, and the tortilla chips got 4.5 stars. Then Nathan wanted to rate his meal too. He told me that the lower the number of stars, the more he liked it, and "remember, more stars is worse I like it." So he gave the Ritz crackers 1 star, which means he REALLY liked them. He gave the soup 50 stars (bad). And he gave the one tortilla chip he tried 100 stars. So bad.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Chocolate Chip Sweet Cream Scones
We had this for dinner last night, with scrambled cheesy eggs. I already have a scone recipe that is very yummy, but it starts with a pancake mix, and then for the chocolate you are supposed to use chopped Hershey bars. Of course that is yummy, but also expensive. So when I saw this one I wanted to try it to see if it could replace my expensive(r) scone recipe. To make Nathan want to eat these, I told him they were breakfast cookies. They are really more like biscuits, but I couldn't tell him that. This is from Back of the Box Cooking. The thing they want you to buy is the half and half, butter, and egg, all from Land O' Lakes. Well, I get my butter from the Land O' Sam's Club, I get my half and half from Walmart (the cheapest brand), and I get my eggs from my neighbor. So I didn't have to buy anything special to make this recipe, I already had everything.
Chocolate Chip Sweet Cream Scones
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter (5 1/3 tbsp from a stick)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)
1 egg, slightly beaten
4 to 6 tbsp half and half
Preheat oven to 400. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips, egg, and just enough half and half so dough leaves sides of the bowl (I had to use like 8 tbsp before that happened). Knead dough lightly 10 times on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 9-inch circle; cut in 12 wedges. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining egg (but...you only told me to use one egg...I brushed mine with melted butter). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove immediately from baking sheet and serve.
So, yummy and easy. Definitely replacing my old one with this one! The kids all liked these. We had the rest this afternoon for an afternoon snack (great with a cup of coffee, although I was the only one who wanted one...). They definitely tasted better fresh and warm, rather than warmed up in the microwave for a few seconds like we did today. But still good.
Chocolate Chip Sweet Cream Scones
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cold butter (5 1/3 tbsp from a stick)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips)
1 egg, slightly beaten
4 to 6 tbsp half and half
Preheat oven to 400. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips, egg, and just enough half and half so dough leaves sides of the bowl (I had to use like 8 tbsp before that happened). Knead dough lightly 10 times on lightly floured surface. Roll into a 9-inch circle; cut in 12 wedges. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining egg (but...you only told me to use one egg...I brushed mine with melted butter). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove immediately from baking sheet and serve.
So, yummy and easy. Definitely replacing my old one with this one! The kids all liked these. We had the rest this afternoon for an afternoon snack (great with a cup of coffee, although I was the only one who wanted one...). They definitely tasted better fresh and warm, rather than warmed up in the microwave for a few seconds like we did today. But still good.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Beans and Rice (Diri ak Pwa)
Finally I attempted Haitian beans & rice. I do have a beans and rice recipe that I make and we all love, but it's not Haitian. It has smoked sausage, chicken broth, and ketchup, among other things. We've had beans and rice several times on our various trips, and it has a certain flavor and texture that I wasn't sure I could duplicate. But I thought it was time to try. Thursday night we had people over for dinner from Corinth that are going to Haiti in February. Steve told them I would make Haitian food. I have made a few main dishes so I decided to go with Koden N (Haitian Turkey) except I made it with two whole chickens, cut up, this time, instead of Fred Flintstone turkey parts. I thought I should do better than minute brown rice for a side dish. So I took the plunge. This is from A Taste of Haiti.
Beans and Rice (Diri ak Pwa)
1 cup dried kidney beans
3 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups long-grain rice
2 whole cloves
1 green scotch bonnet pepper (I used a jalapeno)
1 thyme sprig
1 parsley sprig
To cook dried beans, wash beans and drain. Place in saucepan with 6 cups of water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and boil on medium-low heat, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. When skins wrinkle, taste to see if they are fork-tender. Drain and reserve liquid for cooking the rice. This gives the rice a nice color and lots of taste.
Heat oil in cast iron pot (I don't have one...I used a Dutch oven) on medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, scallions, 2 tsp salt, and pepper to 2 minutes. Add and stir the cooked beans and fry for 5 minutes until the beans are crisp. Add 4 cups of liquid (reserved bean liquid plus enough water to make 4 cups) and bring to a boil. Add rice and cloves. Stir and boil and until water (mostly) evaporates. Lower heat, stir rice, and place the whole pepper, thyme, and parsley on top of rice. Cover and let cook on low for 30 minutes (mine only took like 15). Remove pepper, thyme, and parsley. Stir before serving.
I just saw another recipe for this that added a tablespoon of butter when adding the rice, which I think is a good idea because the rice did stick together more than I liked. But that is my only complaint. Steve and I both thought it was similar to what we have had in Haiti. It made a lot. We had 6 adults and 3 kids eating it, and we still have about half of it leftover, and everybody had good-sized servings, and some people had seconds. So definitely enough for a crowd, which you always have in Haiti.
Beans and Rice (Diri ak Pwa)
1 cup dried kidney beans
3 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups long-grain rice
2 whole cloves
1 green scotch bonnet pepper (I used a jalapeno)
1 thyme sprig
1 parsley sprig
To cook dried beans, wash beans and drain. Place in saucepan with 6 cups of water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and boil on medium-low heat, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours. When skins wrinkle, taste to see if they are fork-tender. Drain and reserve liquid for cooking the rice. This gives the rice a nice color and lots of taste.
Heat oil in cast iron pot (I don't have one...I used a Dutch oven) on medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion, scallions, 2 tsp salt, and pepper to 2 minutes. Add and stir the cooked beans and fry for 5 minutes until the beans are crisp. Add 4 cups of liquid (reserved bean liquid plus enough water to make 4 cups) and bring to a boil. Add rice and cloves. Stir and boil and until water (mostly) evaporates. Lower heat, stir rice, and place the whole pepper, thyme, and parsley on top of rice. Cover and let cook on low for 30 minutes (mine only took like 15). Remove pepper, thyme, and parsley. Stir before serving.
I just saw another recipe for this that added a tablespoon of butter when adding the rice, which I think is a good idea because the rice did stick together more than I liked. But that is my only complaint. Steve and I both thought it was similar to what we have had in Haiti. It made a lot. We had 6 adults and 3 kids eating it, and we still have about half of it leftover, and everybody had good-sized servings, and some people had seconds. So definitely enough for a crowd, which you always have in Haiti.
Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad
This was another meal we had this past week, maybe on Tuesday. It's from Back of the Box cooking, and for this one they wanted you to buy a certain lettuce, mandarin oranges, and green onions (all Dole). But I didn't. I just buy (and mostly, just do) what I want. For lettuce I bought a Romaine mix. I mostly like iceberg lettuce, but I know that doesn't really help you much. I have made great strides in the last year and can now tolerate romaine. I still do not want leaves and grass (or sprouts...ew) in my salads, but at least my lettuce is mostly green now, rather than transparent.
Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad
12 oz pkg salad blend
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup pea pods or bean sprouts (I left both of these out)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (I left these out, but wish I had some to put on there...I just overlooked it when I was making my list)
1/2 cup asian salad dressing (I bought Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame...but not because they wanted me to. It was a Dole recipe, not a Kraft...but I bet they are in league together...)
1/2 cup chow mein noodles (that is not enough...I must have used at least 3 times that much)
Combine lettuce, chicken, oranges, green onions, and almonds in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with chow mein noodles. 4 servings.
This came out so great! It was just enough for the 5 of us. Of course Nathan only liked the chicken out of his, and Emma didn't like the dressing. But Sam asked for extra dressing and ate all of his. Steve and I thought it was great. And it was very easy; I made the chicken ahead of time, so all I had to do was throw everything together and dinner took like 5 minutes to get ready. Definitely making again!
Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad
12 oz pkg salad blend
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped or shredded
15 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup pea pods or bean sprouts (I left both of these out)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted (I left these out, but wish I had some to put on there...I just overlooked it when I was making my list)
1/2 cup asian salad dressing (I bought Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame...but not because they wanted me to. It was a Dole recipe, not a Kraft...but I bet they are in league together...)
1/2 cup chow mein noodles (that is not enough...I must have used at least 3 times that much)
Combine lettuce, chicken, oranges, green onions, and almonds in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with chow mein noodles. 4 servings.
This came out so great! It was just enough for the 5 of us. Of course Nathan only liked the chicken out of his, and Emma didn't like the dressing. But Sam asked for extra dressing and ate all of his. Steve and I thought it was great. And it was very easy; I made the chicken ahead of time, so all I had to do was throw everything together and dinner took like 5 minutes to get ready. Definitely making again!
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