Lasagna Toss (taken from the Berne Heritage Cookbook)
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 C. chopped onions
1 (14 oz) can of spaghetti sauce (although you'll need a bit more than that)
6 oz. spiral rotini, cooked and drained
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C cottage cheese
2 C mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese
- Brown beef with onion and salt. Stir in spaghetti sauce and simmer about 5 minutes. Remove 1 cup of meat sauce and set aside. Stir pasta into remaining meat sauce. Place noodle/meat mixture into greased 2-quart casserole dish. Cover with cottage cheese; then cover with 1 Cup of mozzarella cheese. Add remaining cup of reserved meat sauce and top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Chicken with Olives (crock-pot)
3 large potatoes, peeled & bite-size
1 large green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 Cup dry white wine
1/2 Cup pimento-stuffed olives
1 1/2 Tbsp. each minced garlic & olive oil
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
6 each chicken legs & thighs (about 3 lbs.)
- Combine all ingredients except chicken in crock-pot. Add chicken, stir till mixed. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or 8 hours on low until chicken is cooked. Discard bay leaf.
Country Ham Quiche
1 9-inch pie crust
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 Cup half-and-half or light cream
1 Cup finely chopped country or smoked ham
1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese (2-oz)
1/2 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2-oz)
1/2 Tsp. cracked black pepper
1/8 Tsp. ground red pepper
- Preheat oven to 350. Arrange crust in pie plate. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, and half-and-half. Stir in ham, cheeses, and peppers. Pour into pie plate. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
Slow-Roasted Garlic And Lemon Chicken
*This is a recipe taken from Nigella Lawson's cookbook, Forever Summer. It's a great book, I suggest everyone get it!
1 Chicken (approx. 3 1/2 to 4 lbs.), cut into 10 pieces
1 head garlic, separated into unpeeled cloves
2 un-waxed lemons, cut into chunky eighths
Small handful fresh thyme
3 Tbs. olive oil
10 Tbs. white wine
Black pepper
- Preheat over to 300 degrees.
- Put the chicken pieces into a roasting pan and add the garlic cloves, lemon chunks, and the thyme; just roughly pull the leaves off the stalks, leaving some intact for strewing over later. Add the oil and using your hands mix everything together, then spread the mixture out, making sure all the chicken pieces are skin-side up.
- Sprinkle over the white wine and grind on some pepper, then cover tightly with foil and put in the oven to cook, at flavor-intensifyingly low heat, for 2 hours.
- Remove foil from the roasting pan, and turn up the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the uncovered chicken for another 30-45 minutes, by which time the skin on the meat will have turned golden brown and the lemons will have begun to scorch and caramelize at the edges.
Mussels in Sailor's
Sauce
-taken from Food & Wine 09/04
1/4 Cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 large tomato - peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, lightly crumbled
Large pinch of Spanish saffron, lightly crumbled
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as an Albarino
2 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 Cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
2 Tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Crusty country bread, for serving
- In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, and
jalapeno and cook over moderately high heat, stirring until softened, about
3 minutes. Add the tomato, oregano and saffron and cook for 1 minute,
stirring. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir it in. Add the
wine and mussels, cover the pan and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the
fish stock, parsley and lemon juice and cook over high heat, stirring, until
the mussels open, about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open.
Transfer the mussels and their sauce to deep bowls. Serve at once with
crusty bread to soak up the sauce.
*This is a super easy recipe. And it only takes a few minutes to
make. The total time (prep & and cooking) is about 20 minutes. I also
whipped up some linguine to serve with the mussels, the cooking fluids make
a yummy sauce.
Seared Chicken with Sriracha Barbecue Dipping Sauce
-taken from Cooking Light 07/04
1/4 cup chopped shallots
2 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 Tbs. fish sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil, divided
8 (2oz) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3 Tbs. ketchup
1 Tbs. Sriracha (hot chili sauce such as Huy Fong)
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
4 tsp. rice vinegar
-Combine first 5 ingredients, stir in 1/2 teaspoon oil. Place shallot mixture in a large zip-top plastic bag, add chicken to bag. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 3 hours to overnight, turning bag occasionally.
-Combine ketchup and next 4 ingredients (through vinegar).
-Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 8 minutes or until done, turning twice. Serve with ketchup mixture.
aleximoon note: I bought the Sriracha sauce at a local Indian food store. It is very good with a sweet and spicy flavor that lingers for a while on the tongue.
Tortellini
-Mom's recipe
Pasta Dough (makes 1 lb.)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 cups water
1 Tbs. olive oil or salad oil
1 tsp. salt
Filling:
2 whole chicken breasts
3Tbs. minced parsley
2 Tbs. parmesan cheese
1 egg
pepper
Filling:
-In a skillet over high heat cook chicken breasts until tender.
-Discard skin and bones; cut chicken into large chunks. In food processor, mix chicken, parsley, cheese, egg, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper.
Dough:
-In food processor, mix dough ingredients. Knead a bit until smooth and not sticky. Put into fridge.
Together:
-Cut dough into 3 pieces. On floured surface, roll one dough piece as thin as possible (or use a pasta squisher-thing). Cut 2-inch round pieces out of dough.
-Place 1/2 tsp. filling onto dough circles. Brush edges with egg. Fold circle in half and bend around finger. Let tortellini dry 30 minutes.
Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
-Mom's recipe
1 large head of cabbage
1 lb. ground meat (1/2 hamburger & 1/2 sausage)
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 Tbs. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 egg
1 large onion
1 can tomatoes (med)
1 medium can sauerkraut (mom usually gets the bag)
4 slices of bacon
-Wilt cabbage leaves in boiling water. Cool and Core.
-In bowl combine meat, rice, egg, salt & pepper, and 1/2 the sautéed onion. (use your hands, you know you want to!) Place 1 Tbs. of the filling in each leaf and roll. Tuck in sides.
-In large pan fry the bacon and crumble into bits. Sauté 1/2 the onion. Add 1/2 can kraut and 1/2 can tomatoes. Place rolls on top; then cover up cabbage. Add water to cover cabbage rolls. Cover and cook about 2 hours. (stove or oven)