tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54688573029294470432024-03-05T20:07:19.275-05:002nd Day GourmetA food blog dedicated to the yummy.<br>
Ideas and demonstrations of how to use leftover food to create gourmet meals that are as tasty and appealing as the original meals that have been refashioned.Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-19278075945598116712014-12-27T11:24:00.000-05:002014-12-27T20:43:47.277-05:00Ham n Cheese Potato SoupMy, how time does fly! I can't believe how long it has been since my last post!<br />
<br />
Anyhow, we had a lovely Christmas along with a lovely ham. So that meant leftovers! I'm proud to announce that I had all of these ingredients on hand, so this is a true 2DG special. Let's get to it...<br />
<br />
Peel and chop 5 or 6 medium red potatoes. Put them in a stock pot with 2 cups of boiling water. Cook until tender. Mine only took about 8 to 10 minutes. While that's going on, chop an onion and dice about a cup or two of that yummy leftover ham.<br />
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When potatoes are done, reserve the starchy cooking water. You should have almost a cup left. Add enough water to it to get a cup of water. Put it aside.<br />
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Here's the decadent part.<br />
In the now empty stockpot, melt 2 T bacon fat & 1 T butter. Saute the onion until it's tender. When it is, add 3 T flour. Stir and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.<br />
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Now slooooowly add the reserved potato water, whisking as you go. Put in the cooked potatoes. Slowly stir in 3 cups of milk. Soup will thicken up as you do this. When all the milk's in, add the diced ham and stir. Now grate in 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and a tiny bit of sugar, about half a tsp. Grate in a little fresh nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer on low for about half an hour. Stir it occasionally. It will become silky smooth and delicious!<br />
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Enjoy!Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-89078439519068132762012-02-23T20:49:00.000-05:002012-02-23T20:49:43.817-05:00Il Popeye BenedictoI love spinach. I also love poached eggs. And I love them in a combo. <br />
<br />
So tonight, I had some fresh spinach, some eggs, some salami, a few pieces of whole wheat bread and some salami in the fridge.<br />
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The result? Il Popeye Benedicto!<br />
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I fried the salami a little bit in a hot cast iron skillet with just a little bit of olive oil. Removed them. Mike used the same skillet to make some excellent home fries. When they were removed, I wilted the spinach in the same hot skillet, in a little olive oil, with the burner off. There was enough heat to wilt it. Meanwhile, I boiled a little bit of water in a pot, plunked in a little bit of vinegar when it was at a boil, put in two eggs and let them float for about 4 minutes. Toasted some of the whole wheat, topped each slice with half of the spinach. Then placed two salami slices on that, and then one egg. Topped the whole thing off with a few small slices of Monterrey jack cheese, and voila...Il Popeye Benedicto served along side of home fried potatoes.<br />
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It was so yummy, I forgot to take a picture!<br />
<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-30159280284855002642012-02-05T13:27:00.000-05:002012-02-05T13:27:37.151-05:00Super Greek Giardiniera Dip<div class="mobile-photo"></div>Here it is, Super Bowl Sunday, and I have no idea what to take to any Super Bowl parties. I want to be team-neutral, so my choices can't include anything specific to New England or New York/New Jersey (Trust me, if the Ravens were playing today, we'd be having Crab Wings!). Plus, as much as possible, I want to use what I have on hand. What to do, what to do...?<br />
<br />
I took a quick inventory of my pantry and found 2 boxes of unopened Triscuits, so I think some sort of dip is in order. I see cans of tuna and clams in there, but I don't really want to take either of those. Tuna is just too odd, I think, and clams are too New-England-y.<br />
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Then I check the fridge. There's some Greek yoghurt in there, so that'll do. OH! There's my favorite new thing, right there, staring at me, ready to be put in this dip! <br />
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It's no secret that I watch the Food Network. Last season's winner of The Next Food Network Star was Jeff Mauro, the Sandwich King. On one of his shows, he made a "Hot Giardiniera" that I made that is just to DIE for. I don't think I'd ever even had Giardiniera, but I made his version, and I gotta tell ya, I am totally addicted to it. It's a yummy blend of cauliflower, carrots, red bell peppers, a little serano, and onion, marinaded in vegetable oil. Plus, he's from Chicago, so that's about as team-neutral as I can get today.<br />
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So...here's my creation:<br />
Super Greek Giardiniera Dip!<br />
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Combine almost equal parts of Greek Yoghurt and Giardiniera, with a little less yoghurt than giardiniera. I used abour a cup of giardiniera and about 3/4 cup of yoghurt. (Start with about half a cup of yoghurt and add til you get the blend you want.) You can make your own giardiniera, or use store-bought. Chop up a green onion and toss it in. Calamata olives would probably be good in there too, so I chopped up about 10 - 12 and added them. Hmm...maybe even some sundried tomatoes...yeah, about 1 - 2 T of chopped sundried tomatoes. Now for some feta cheese, just diced up and tossed in. And then finish it off with some green onion and fresh flat leaf parsley, marjoram, oregano and rosemary.. Combine. Let it sit and blend for a few hours. Serve with whole grain crackers.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
-J<br />
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<div id="datepicker"><div class="hd"></div><div class="bd"></div><div class="ft"></div></div><div id="hitCountIframeContainer" style="display: none;"></div><div id="datepicker"><div class="hd"></div><div class="bd"></div><div class="ft"></div></div><div id="hitCountIframeContainer" style="display: none;"></div><div id="datepicker"><div class="hd"></div><div class="bd"></div><div class="ft"></div></div><div id="hitCountIframeContainer" style="display: none;"></div><div id="datepicker"><div class="hd"></div><div class="bd"></div><div class="ft"></div></div><div id="hitCountIframeContainer" style="display: none;"></div><div id="datepicker"><div class="hd"></div><div class="bd"></div><div class="ft"></div></div><div id="hitCountIframeContainer" style="display: none;"></div><div id="datepicker"><div class="hd"></div><div class="bd"></div><div class="ft"></div></div><div id="hitCountIframeContainer" style="display: none;"></div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-33667953210059378852012-01-08T17:19:00.000-05:002012-01-08T17:19:33.310-05:00Ham and Cheese PuffsIt's not totally accurate to say that I made Ham and Cheese Puffs yesterday. Actually, Kati made them and I "directed". And they came out good!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxfYzdTG-tGQdhSWv7Rx-c4KSlAXOKhtpkEs0qmPLBEIvNmgWWs2d0KaNSj3e_VPbmRbWg5lZYeyqWOC4Y8dYqcbgdC4SlZ0XQQDsAQscnksrTDLBhlGodpu0EHMgap0BJ1b1ex1g-wsI/s1600/2012-01-08_13-56-11_229-781912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxfYzdTG-tGQdhSWv7Rx-c4KSlAXOKhtpkEs0qmPLBEIvNmgWWs2d0KaNSj3e_VPbmRbWg5lZYeyqWOC4Y8dYqcbgdC4SlZ0XQQDsAQscnksrTDLBhlGodpu0EHMgap0BJ1b1ex1g-wsI/s320/2012-01-08_13-56-11_229-781912.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I used Elise's Simply Recipe method for <a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/cheddar_cheese_puffs/">Cheese Puffs</a>. But I thawed out a little less than a pound of Christmas Ham from the freezer, diced it while it was still a little bit frozen and added it in with the cheddar cheese and fresh chopped rosemary. <br />
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It seems a little labor intensive when reading the recipe, but it's really not. <br />
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Heat oven to 425 degrees.<br />
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Place 1 cup of water, 1 stick of butter and 1 tsp. of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. When it's at a boil, turn it down to medium and add 1 cup of flour, all at once, and stir like mad with a wooden spoon. It will get really thick and pull away from the side of the pot. That's fine, just keep stirring and cook for a few minutes. <br />
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Next you need to let it cool for a few minutes, stirring to make sure it cools evenly. I put it in my mixing bowl and let the mixer go on "stir" (low speed) for a few minutes. While it's still slightly warm, but not so warm that the eggs get cooked upon entry, mix in 4 eggs, 1 egg at a time. When they're in and it's looking creamy, add in 1 cup of cheddar, 1 cup of diced ham and about 1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary. Stir to combine.<br />
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Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Using a pastry bag or a scoop (I prefer the scoop method), dish out onto cookie sheets about an inch apart. Bake in the 425 degree oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes, until nicely brown. <br />
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Cool slightly and devour!<br />
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Good job, Kati!<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-50234902129962531722011-12-29T20:16:00.000-05:002011-12-29T20:16:15.390-05:00My Hammy Mac'n'Cheese and Garden Fresh Tomato SoupHam. Mac and Cheese. Tomato Soup.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfe2XHIdXOz3ErbNYklQT7b9VkLzHzV_gnmAXAeYlqAkVY5R8LHJpvk_2-RQpewc-inxbmyyKgRQt8Z57W_7rR5HwDH2IBXbmH7smzZrZntqbQH4nLygnUZ0pNIQpKfExhYdqXvkijR09/s1600/macncheesensoup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfe2XHIdXOz3ErbNYklQT7b9VkLzHzV_gnmAXAeYlqAkVY5R8LHJpvk_2-RQpewc-inxbmyyKgRQt8Z57W_7rR5HwDH2IBXbmH7smzZrZntqbQH4nLygnUZ0pNIQpKfExhYdqXvkijR09/s400/macncheesensoup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The trifecta of yummy. They harmonize like a bunch of carolers, don't they?<br />
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I had lots of leftover Christmas ham, some elbow macaroni, milk, and lots and lots of tomatoes from the garden. Picked up a block of medium cheddar cheese, and a great 2DG experience was on the way!<br />
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Now, I need to 'fess up here. I made the Hammy Mac'n'Cheese Tuesday night using the leftover Christmas ham. I used Elise's Simply Recipes version of <a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/civil_war_macaroni_and_cheese/">Macaroni and Cheese</a>, and it calls for a really interesting way to make it. Basically, you cook the elbow macaroni in milk, using about 2 cups of milk for each cup of macaroni. Sounds odd, I know, but I brought the milk just to a boil, put in the macaroni and simmered it for about 12 minutes, and diced up about 2 cups of ham. At about the 10 minute mark, I melted about 4 Tbs of butter and then added about 2 cups of shredded cheddar and grated some nutmeg and a little pepper. When it was good and melted and gooey, I added the ham and the cheese mix to the macaroni and stirred it all together. A good sprinkle of bread crumbs on top, then into the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. It was quite tasty!<br />
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On Wednesday, I worried that the cold snap we are having here in Orlando would be bad for all the tomatoes still on the plants out in the garden, so I went out and picked any that were at least beginning to turn pink. I came in with 1.25 lbs. of Juliets and 5.50 lbs of Romas. So...the ripest ones from that batch and the ones I already had in the house became soup, to go along with the Hammy Mac'n'Cheese.<br />
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I diced a medium/large onion and about 3 cloves of garlic. Browned these in some olive oil until they were soft, added the diced tomatoes. I didn't dice all of them...maybe a few pounds. I added about a cup of chicken stock, and then dissolved about a Tbsp of cornstarch in about a half cup of stock and set it aside. I let the soup simmer for a little while, then stirred in the reserved stock/cornstarch and some chopped fresh oregano, marjoram and basil. (I saved a little basil for a garnish.) I let it simmer on low for half an hour or so, then turned it off and let it cool a little bit before carefully purreeing it with a stick blender. I thought I'd need to strain it, but I didn't, so it was a slightly thickened.<br />
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I served it garnished with some ribboned basil and diced tomatoes. And the Hammy Mac'n'Cheese, of course!<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-65752030469848670692011-12-17T21:20:00.002-05:002011-12-17T21:23:15.867-05:00Fried 'Mater SammichTomatoes. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. <br />
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There are not many things on this planet I love more than fresh homegrown tomatoes. Yesterday I had a tomato sandwich for lunch. Just slices of a fresh ripe tomato on toasted whole wheat bread slathered with mayo. Mmmmm...<br />
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So tonight, it was Fried Tomatoes for dinner. Now, I know southerners use green tomatoes when they make Fried Green Tomatoes, but that's not for me. My mom used to make fried tomatoes using ripe tomatoes from our huge garden (usually about 200 tomato plants every summer, among all the other veggies), and she just dredged hers in flour seasoned with salt and pepper and fried til the outside was a little crisp. <br />
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I did that tonight, but I also took a different approach. After I dredged them in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, I dunked them in an eggwash and then coated them with panko breadcrumbs mixed with Mrs. Dash Seasoning. <br />
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Then I fried them in a hot skillet with vegetable shortening, and served them on a Martin's Potato Roll topped with shredded Mexican cheese mix. And allow me to add...Michael, who does not share my affinity for the tomato, ate his entire sammich, loved it, and said it was like a burger!<br />
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BTW...this does qualify as 2DG...the tomatoes were fresh from our garden, but the rolls were left from burger night, and the cheese from some fajitas.<br />
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Plate up and enjoy!<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-12284828688270603132011-12-02T18:15:00.000-05:002011-12-02T18:15:22.156-05:00Cheesy Biscuit Turkey Pot PieHere's a really excellent way to use up two types of leftovers...Thanksgiving turkey and last night's <a href="http://2nddaygourmet.blogspot.com/2011/12/baked-potato-soup.html">Baked Potato Soup</a>.<br />
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First off, let me just say that the turkey I used for this dish was from Thanksgiving, but Michael had frozen it on Friday. I did not use turkey that was just hangin' out in the fridge for over a week for this dish! <br />
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Secondly, this is one of those double 2DG wins! I used last night's <a href="http://2nddaygourmet.blogspot.com/2011/12/baked-potato-soup.html">Baked Potato Soup</a> in the filling for this dish. <br />
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Here's how it went...<br />
Similarly to last night's soup, I cooked some chopped carrots, onions and celery in 3 T butter for about 10 minutes to soften them. I added some chopped fresh parsley, rosemary and oregano from the garden while the veggies were cooking. Then I sprinkled about 1/4 c. flour on them and stirring constantly, cooked the mix for about 2 minutes. I gradually stirred in 2 c. chicken/turkey stock combined into a nice gravy. then I added about a cup of last night's soup, and stirred it and let it thicken up. While that was simmering, I chopped up the remaining turkey and got about 3 - 4 cups out of it. This got added to the filling, along with a few handsful of frozen peas. Let the bubble away while the oven preheats and you work on the cheese biscuits.<br />
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If you don't have buttermilk on hand, make your own "sour milk" by putting 1 Tblsp vinegar or lemon juice (I used lemon juice) to a cup, and fill the cup with milk. Stir and set aside for about 5 minutes so it can "sour". Meanwhile, combine 2 c. flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese and 1/4 c. parmesan cheese and toss to coat cheese mix with flour mix. Dice 3/4 stick of cold butter and combine with flour/cheese mix, using pastry knife or fingertips until mix is course.<br />
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Before you add the sour milk to the flour, get your filling into your baking dishes. I managed to get 3 good sized individual servings and 1 deep dish pie plate out of mine. When that's done and you're ready to put them in the oven, go back and finish the biscuit dough. I recommend this because the acid in the sour milk will activate the leavening power of the baking powder and soda, so I always wait until the last possible second to add the milk to the mix, since I don't want all the rising power of my biscuits to be used up before I even get them in the oven.<br />
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To finish the biscuit dough, add the sour milk to the flour/cheese mix and stir until just combined and a loose dough forms. Drop the dough by spoonsful (I use an ice cream scoop) onto the fillings in the dishes.<br />
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Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 35 - 40 minutes until the biscuits are nice and brown. I rotated mine front to back and top to bottom after 20 minutes to ensure even baking.<br />
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Mike asked me to make a few individual pies so he could give them to his grandmother and 2 friends, so I did that and also made a bigger one for the two of us. I filled all of the dishes at the same time, using a big ladle, to make sure I'd have them all relatively even. I also did all the biscuits at the same time too, to make sure they were all fairly even.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPVffBDFfOqei50Bk3AIGfNewJSg1r2TjEbjs5J8Kl4VNM-YL9UU5Wiiy7sccElTUPUFcUVfD8eXTALDo8Kz2LseZ26qXKMQr01dHINl_rZwhID0VltSRGQSgFHySUMnSbwrATZ3Ekj8i/s1600/3+T++pies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHPVffBDFfOqei50Bk3AIGfNewJSg1r2TjEbjs5J8Kl4VNM-YL9UU5Wiiy7sccElTUPUFcUVfD8eXTALDo8Kz2LseZ26qXKMQr01dHINl_rZwhID0VltSRGQSgFHySUMnSbwrATZ3Ekj8i/s200/3+T++pies.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0P2JEW3whxUpg1OSCMNt0X1jiOgNztg4dOxFtCIynJ1no5ah3Ajr8rXO9xzTLcs6hqNSo3U0gr3P6Rrg-H0zY-3qjfA4Ea7CnCdt0i6jJljwqKlPhPp7Hf7HYeZCnlc6pnKPuDopSa0a/s1600/Our+T+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0P2JEW3whxUpg1OSCMNt0X1jiOgNztg4dOxFtCIynJ1no5ah3Ajr8rXO9xzTLcs6hqNSo3U0gr3P6Rrg-H0zY-3qjfA4Ea7CnCdt0i6jJljwqKlPhPp7Hf7HYeZCnlc6pnKPuDopSa0a/s200/Our+T+pie.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<br />
If you have any leftover cranberry relish, serve it up with this!<br />
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Enjoy!Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-29823717083360449652011-12-02T08:24:00.003-05:002011-12-02T08:29:38.653-05:00Baked Potato SoupIt's a cold night. I have potatoes, celery, carrots and onions to put to use. So...Baked Potato Soup it is!<br />
<br />
"Bake" 4 - 6 medium potatoes,about 1 1/2 pounds, in the microwave oven (pierce them all over with a fork first). <br />
<br />
Chop about 1/2 cup each of carrots, onion and celery. Melt 1/2 stick of butter in a large pot over medium low heat. Put in chopped veggies, cover and cook until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. <br />
<br />
When potatoes are cool enough to handle,reserve two, peel the remaining potatoes, or leave some peel on, as desired, add to veggies and mash with a potato masher. <br />
<br />
Stir in 1 c. chicken stock and 1 1/2 c. milk to veggies and potatoes, salt and pepper to taste. I also added a pinch of nutmeg. Let simmer for about 20 minutes.<br />
<br />
While soup is simmering, cook 4 or 5 pieces of bacon in the microwave, covered with a paper towel, for 1 minute per slice. When cool, drain and crumble. Add about 2/3 of the bacon to the soup, along with about a Tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary and the reserved baked potatoes, chopped. Continue to simmer until you are ready to eat, which should be fairly soon after smelling all of this! You may need to add about another 1/2 c. of milk prior to serving. (I did.)<br />
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Serve topped with a little more crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar.<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-68420815341656825602011-11-26T22:09:00.000-05:002011-11-26T22:09:15.346-05:00Caprese Pasta - Italian Mac n CheeseI'm taking a break from my Thanksgiving turkey leftovers to use up some fresh tomatoes and basil from our garden and some mozzarella that's been hanging out in the fridge for a while.<br />
<br />
The result...Caprese Pasta! I like to think of it as Italian Mac n Cheese.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDS8XWET1ijDF9_PSyB2QSCMZuWhkpj8dDmCY-6YJRBwgvIS9mnGInMkpo6SiULC2lBGMV0hUuElNAjmlhIqMvCJN2_GYqSfv9X0vUnvvbjVb1E0V6WPWIkdRRPa3uNZPTKvo-BuYdrDV1/s1600/cap+pasta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDS8XWET1ijDF9_PSyB2QSCMZuWhkpj8dDmCY-6YJRBwgvIS9mnGInMkpo6SiULC2lBGMV0hUuElNAjmlhIqMvCJN2_GYqSfv9X0vUnvvbjVb1E0V6WPWIkdRRPa3uNZPTKvo-BuYdrDV1/s400/cap+pasta.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Put a pot of water on to boil for the whole wheat penne. While that's heating up, lightly brown some garlic in some olive oil. Chop up some tomatoes (I used our Juliets) and toss them in and let them sizzle a while. Sprinkle a little bit of sugar in just to cut any acidity from the tomatoes, and sprinkle a little flour in to serve as a thickener. Stir occasionally and let that go while the pasta cooks. Cut some fresh basil into ribbons (chiffonade) and toss some in, reserving some for the final plate. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When the pasta is finished cooking, reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta. Then toss the drained pasta into the sauce and work it all together. Put in a little water, a little at a time, until the sauce gets to your desired thickness. Then mix in some cubed fresh mozzarella and mix that in to melt. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Plate, toss on some more fresh basil ribbons for garnish and salt and pepper to taste. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Enjoy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-J</div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-43944934788712596802011-09-11T18:14:00.002-04:002011-09-12T07:02:50.920-04:00MMMM Pie!I had some leftover egg whites in the fridge, some leftover Nilla Wafers from some banana pudding, a mango and cantaloupe from my <a href="http://wwww.orlandoorganics.com/">Orlando Organics</a> delivery, and I wanted to use them up for a pot luck dinner tonight...so I pondered...and then I thought MMMM Pie!<br />
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So here it is...Mango Melon Mint Meringue Pie!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6bZNh9ETjQo3N8KJ73_ZpCGr1SDjSJklP7ygkj8qU0fkR6jgfqsnlvp1KhgKEd-ZlUHSjHhmTQUpn8GdXnJ8LXYoNVoU6Teg2eZzSlIiZMG9HHGpc4ii6PTmD3BHIu32IoD3cSyNSylM/s1600/MMMMPie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-6bZNh9ETjQo3N8KJ73_ZpCGr1SDjSJklP7ygkj8qU0fkR6jgfqsnlvp1KhgKEd-ZlUHSjHhmTQUpn8GdXnJ8LXYoNVoU6Teg2eZzSlIiZMG9HHGpc4ii6PTmD3BHIu32IoD3cSyNSylM/s320/MMMMPie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mango Melon Mint Meringue Pie<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cookie Crust:<br />
4 cups finely crumbled vanilla wafers<br />
3/4 cup white sugar<br />
14 tablespoons butter, melted<br />
1 ½ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>teaspoon ground cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Crush cookies in zip top bag. Divide between 2 10” pie plates. Add half of the melted butter, sugar and cinnamon to each plate. Mix by hand and press into pie plates. Bake in 350 degree oven, 7 minutes. Set aside.<o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Filling:<br />
1 mango diced<br />
1 cantaloupe, diced<br />
1 T chopped fresh mint<br />
½ c orange juice<br />
2 T lemon juice<br />
lemon zest from half a lemon<br />
6 oz Greek yogurt<br />
1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour<br />
3/4 cup white sugar<br />
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
4 eggs, beaten<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Puree fruit with juice and zest. Blend in Greek yogurt. In separate bowl, mix flour, sugar and cinnamon. Add to puree and blend until well mixed. Blend in eggs. Pour into prebaked cookie crust. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.</span></div><ul><li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Meringue:</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> 6 egg whites</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">12 tablespoons sugar<o:p></o:p></span> </div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mix egg whites and cream of tartar on low for 1 minute. Add sugar one spoonful at a time and beat on high until stiff peaks form. Don’t over beat!<o:p></o:p></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Top pies with meringue and bake for 15 additional minutes until brown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-40533172383937809592011-07-20T19:36:00.002-04:002011-07-20T19:42:19.885-04:00Cream of Celery Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa1WxBvcG-ZHHFLmZ9v87Aa90pztnkKvC4DQhHUug2YXIbSUfyq9CKM6NOJt29GCTuVgjsA6ADW3nNarVeeVqqprhWc6wZTzQ4ErH4JPZnLc0LpRhRe6rtU7QyI2s2f6Dpj6b1_fss-Dn/s1600/celery+stalks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfa1WxBvcG-ZHHFLmZ9v87Aa90pztnkKvC4DQhHUug2YXIbSUfyq9CKM6NOJt29GCTuVgjsA6ADW3nNarVeeVqqprhWc6wZTzQ4ErH4JPZnLc0LpRhRe6rtU7QyI2s2f6Dpj6b1_fss-Dn/s320/celery+stalks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I have a surplus of celery. Really. In the fridge, I had almost a full bunch and another completely full bunch. Then today, in our <a href="http://www.orlandoorganics.com/">Orlando Organics</a> delivery, I got another full bunch. <br />
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<br />
So what could I do with bunches of celery? Cream of Celery Soup!<br />
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I rough chopped the nearly full bunch and sliced a medium onion and sauted these in about 2 Tbsp. butter. I let them go for about 10 minutes because of the large amount of celery. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>To that, I added about 3 cups of a combination of chicken stock and veggie stock. (I had these in the freezer. I made them some time ago.) Let them simmer for about 15 minutes or so.<br />
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After straining the broth, I put it back in the now clean pot and added 2 cups of milk, and another half cup of milk in which I had dissolved about 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. I let this simmer for another few minutes, and voila! <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyp1645ekuXL5WKV1CFdzV71fXyn0MVchCTlxOD-ki9Los1umo-LM_Pctkt5-KFE4SJ_OKbmVDlkvTzuzlTFzPDLrBwDD0H7BgyP9FJ9vSQ5QX2bMO630_VO37AFT47jtNi2t_-QUE6tA/s1600/bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyp1645ekuXL5WKV1CFdzV71fXyn0MVchCTlxOD-ki9Los1umo-LM_Pctkt5-KFE4SJ_OKbmVDlkvTzuzlTFzPDLrBwDD0H7BgyP9FJ9vSQ5QX2bMO630_VO37AFT47jtNi2t_-QUE6tA/s320/bowl.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Cream of Celery Soup.<br />
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In the picture I garnished it with some fresh ground nutmeg and parsley flakes. Whatever doesn't get eaten will be frozen to be used later in sauces, soups, casseroles, whatever. The perfect 2DG dish!<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-26141375376520416452011-07-15T21:08:00.002-04:002011-07-15T21:41:05.820-04:00Steak MonaVie<img align="left" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_cZV_EVgVnyHosaUe3x6WT5tAwXhY2XU6wLZw5WYmZC9jOt3w87QQUNteSzgSuIpi-OB9EFfV-ynhWE92gCuUwD0N04-Y3xwqkfEzv6UqD4-3vZuLRIosjFB7Xbsj3phVS_me0duvn2B/s320/SMV+Finished+plate.jpg" width="239" />Well, 2DG has spent the last few months settling into our beautiful new kitchen and saying goodbye to the old one. I've been too busy with everything to let you know what's going on! Well today, I tried a meal based on Beef Burgundy, but using a top sirloin steak and MonaVie Essential. I figured since it's fruit based, I could use it in place of the burgundy wine.<br />
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First I cubed 1 pound of boneless top sirloin steak and marinated it in 2 oz. of MonaVie Essential juice for about an hour. While that was sitting, I sliced a medium onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks and minced 1 large garlic clove and put that aside with some sliced baby portabella mushrooms.<br />
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Next I browned the steak cubes in about 2 T of butter just to sear them on all sides, reserving the marinade, and put them in a casserole dish. Then all the veggies went into the skillet to soften for about 5 minutes, then they went into the casserole dish. Now I deglazed the pan with the reserved marinade and another 2 oz. of MVE. After that bubbled a little bit, I sprinkled in 2 or 3 Tablespoons of flour and stirred til it thickened. Slooowly I added about 2 cups of beef stock, stirring to thicken. Then into the casserole dish with the sauce. The covered casserole dish went into a 350 degree oven for an hour. Then I put in another 2 - 3 oz of MVE and put the dish back into the oven for another hour, uncovered this time.<br />
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Served on a bed of mashed potatoes, it was very tasty and the steak was nicely cooked and tender. I was afraid it would be over cooked and dried out, but that wasn't the case at all. <br />
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I will be incorporating more MonaVie juice into my meals from time to time, and will let you know how it turns out.<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4J29i-RMGq1gHIf1e4rQjpdgTRLZQO5kY3hKf-X5gVaswFjPlQWGrOSRxLMaV_WRenfQrWZZTO5qS73VfEkTkJ8g0xYg_crPybnrVRw57VAPrwOEl-70ukctKI4pmZYFKmN7U_83m_f8/s1600/SMV+MEP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img align="right" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF4J29i-RMGq1gHIf1e4rQjpdgTRLZQO5kY3hKf-X5gVaswFjPlQWGrOSRxLMaV_WRenfQrWZZTO5qS73VfEkTkJ8g0xYg_crPybnrVRw57VAPrwOEl-70ukctKI4pmZYFKmN7U_83m_f8/s200/SMV+MEP.jpg" width="149" /></a>-J<br />
<br />
p.s....now I can hardly wait for some homemade peach/plum pie!Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-59895178349478933652011-03-20T10:36:00.000-04:002011-03-20T10:36:06.371-04:00Tamale Pie2DG is preparing to move to a new home, so my mission for the past few weeks is to use stuff up rather than move it, so I've been trying to clear out the pantry and the freezer. My philosophy is "I'm gonna carry this stuff one way or the other, so I may as well enjoy it!"<br />
<br />
I've had a bag of masa harina in the pantry since I made enchaladas a while back, so this time I'm going to use it to make a dough for something similar to a deep dish pizza. I also used the remaining chicken sausage, ham and sliced portabella mushrooms I got to make Chicken and Wild Rice soup on Friday. I'm sure there's a better name for it, but I'm calling it a Tamale Pie.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJ1_zQi3Phi6olTbblrFSJ3AHoIpDZgIiwBa_9rrzyUlU2uvQrq5KJaYkIdBxb3o6eqNoyaP2AVwhBFFpVjd1oJU6irF_opldAQwizsqjUH4fZIQ7JH2uzNJSgbgT0-SS994MQC1u-dRU/s1600/2011-03-19_19-50-51_561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJ1_zQi3Phi6olTbblrFSJ3AHoIpDZgIiwBa_9rrzyUlU2uvQrq5KJaYkIdBxb3o6eqNoyaP2AVwhBFFpVjd1oJU6irF_opldAQwizsqjUH4fZIQ7JH2uzNJSgbgT0-SS994MQC1u-dRU/s320/2011-03-19_19-50-51_561.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left">To make the dough, I took 2 cups of masa harina, mixed it with 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, 2 tsp. Adobo seasoning and 2 tsp. baking powder. I added 2 Tbsp of olive oil, and slowly worked in almost a cup of water to form a dough. Once it held together, I tried to knead it a little bit, but it wasn't really cooperating, so I put it back in the bowl to rest while I prepped the rest of the ingredients. </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat about a Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet. Crumble the sausage in a skillet without the casing and let it brown. Be sure to tend it and stir it occasionally to prevent it sticking. Chop half a green bell pepper and a small onion. When the sausage is nearly browned all the way, put about half a cup of sliced mushrooms, half the chopped pepper and onion in with it to brown, reserving the rest to go in the pie au natural. Chop about half of a medium tomato and set it aside. When the sausage and veggie mix is pretty well cooked, I put about a cup of diced ham in just to warm it up a bit. Once that's done, turn off the heat and let the mixture hang out and wait til you're ready for it. </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3YRGRDDH0GgSX03-HGLkG3MMU65oKaU1vKu_aJTVZMimQYJ7rC7UxXRyDKPKjx-qABk70SK_8D73So1GQ8dytAnrLYAV8H4I7Ud7LfoxtXwQHtVm0QA9O3FyjrkvogSfqe-jyMAoDh1k/s1600/2011-03-19_19-13-46_253.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3YRGRDDH0GgSX03-HGLkG3MMU65oKaU1vKu_aJTVZMimQYJ7rC7UxXRyDKPKjx-qABk70SK_8D73So1GQ8dytAnrLYAV8H4I7Ud7LfoxtXwQHtVm0QA9O3FyjrkvogSfqe-jyMAoDh1k/s200/2011-03-19_19-13-46_253.jpg" width="200" /></a>Lightly oil a deep dish pie pan, and sprinkle with some masa harina and/or some cornmeal. I tried to roll the dough out, but it wasn't really roll-able, so I put it in the pie pan and pushed it with my fingers to shape it. </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpzCTT_SO2S4CDyFVkX9QdtU99MnfyQzEYHyH2x7oaNm__ZJBUZSff82ewklT3HPEuVOohfvcGbZ8IXt8koVmWeSjaxbL5vZaYHbF0fnWuVcKYSynXhXzcwuCUUDxKtvKJxPaEnms7W0c/s1600/2011-03-19_19-21-44_715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBpzCTT_SO2S4CDyFVkX9QdtU99MnfyQzEYHyH2x7oaNm__ZJBUZSff82ewklT3HPEuVOohfvcGbZ8IXt8koVmWeSjaxbL5vZaYHbF0fnWuVcKYSynXhXzcwuCUUDxKtvKJxPaEnms7W0c/s200/2011-03-19_19-21-44_715.jpg" width="200" /></a>I put about half a can of enchilada sause down next, and then put in the sausage/veggie/ham mixture. Now it's time for the remaining chopped veggies. Put in the rest of the sauce and now it's oven ready! </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhpbrh06jFkjPb2p1NDuL4zkljpUNmmtZ49tfAmP4WOeBrGPprmVMB8I1zloW2O1xl6rQNOblxBg8ErA-E3vGWdHrRPmQn3Ml6lP7DXkUuCfvSE_IvtMTNitBHb1rvhvUAODRtd2z0j7B/s1600/2011-03-19_19-37-45_796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhpbrh06jFkjPb2p1NDuL4zkljpUNmmtZ49tfAmP4WOeBrGPprmVMB8I1zloW2O1xl6rQNOblxBg8ErA-E3vGWdHrRPmQn3Ml6lP7DXkUuCfvSE_IvtMTNitBHb1rvhvUAODRtd2z0j7B/s200/2011-03-19_19-37-45_796.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Let it bake for about 15 minutes, then pull it out and top it off with a mix of Mexican cheeses, and put it back in for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is all nicely melted. </div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Pull it out when the cheese is melted and the crust is brown. Let it rest for 10 - 15 minutes, then dig in!</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left">Enjoy!</div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><br />
</div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-27285001061784041062011-02-18T14:41:00.001-05:002011-02-18T15:05:37.044-05:00Grilled Shrimp SaladFor Valentine's Day, Michael made Shrimp Fra Diavolo and a Ceasar Salad for dinner. It was delicious!However, he didn't grill all the shrimp he got for it, so that meant that lunch today was all about 2DG!<br />
<br />
He put them in some really good Citrus Sesame dressing to marinade, so they were already very nicely seasoned. All I had to do was heat up the cast iron grill pan, put in some olive oil, and then put in about half the shrimp. After about 2 - 3 minutes, I turned them and let them go another 2 minutes or so.<br />
<br />
Next, I put some of the leftover romaine lettuce, chopped, and some of our homegrown tomatoes, sliced, some leftover onion and sliced black olives in a bowl. Topped it off with the grilled shrimp, salt and pepper, and then added a little catalina salad dressing to mimic cocktail sauce a little bit. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr6z9SODwansG80DA7OOqcbRdrQAIWmDfBT86koPmd5OlE2vDlBWu6Ts5gbFmvAoFC-3cMVgE4ePLJzcjkYTFhZApUFwhecALMm4hfTwF8AMENTRojKclTxty-Chzj-dDyZ-qactcR66p/s1600/shrimp+salad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr6z9SODwansG80DA7OOqcbRdrQAIWmDfBT86koPmd5OlE2vDlBWu6Ts5gbFmvAoFC-3cMVgE4ePLJzcjkYTFhZApUFwhecALMm4hfTwF8AMENTRojKclTxty-Chzj-dDyZ-qactcR66p/s320/shrimp+salad.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Yum! Lunch!<br />
<br />
Enjoy...<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-46450109345013377292011-02-04T15:00:00.006-05:002011-02-04T15:07:34.531-05:00Pasta Primavera with Chicken Sausage<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Tuesday I was jonesing for some pasta. I've cut back on carbs since the beginning of the year. Not totally doing the Atkins thing, but cut way back on 'em. So since we were getting another produce delivery from Orlando Organics on Wednesday, I decided to use up all the remnants of our produce and use a half box of whole wheat penne on the shelf. For the first time in as long as I can remember, I went to the grocery store and actually only bought TWO things! I got some of Publix's Greenwise Mild Chicken Italian Sausage and a grated cheese blend with Romano, Parmesan and Asiago.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>First, I browned the sausage on all sides in a cast iron skillet. When that was done, I took it out and using the same skillet, browned some chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper, all sprinkled with salt, in olive oil. Put in some chopped carrot and parsnips. When they were somewhat cooked, I sprinkled about a tablespoon of flour over the whole thing and mixed it in to make a little bit of a roux. Then in went some frozen chicken stock. I sliced the cooled sausage, which was mostly cooked, but not quite thoroughly, and put that back in the skillet with the veggies and stock.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>While the sausage was cooling, I put on a pot of water for the penne. Salted it. When it boiled, I put in the half box of penne and cooked it for a minute less than the box said. When it's done, save some of the pasta water. You can use it to add a little juice to the sauce if necessary. Drain the pasta and put it back in the pot.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Dump the veggie/sausage/sauce in with the pasta, and toss. Add some of the pasta water if it's too dry. Sprinke on some of the grated cheese blend, salt and pepper to taste, and serve!</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Enjoy!<br />
<p$1>-J</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-81564742521282905182011-01-23T09:53:00.000-05:002011-01-23T09:53:47.085-05:00Hall of Shame: Kiwifruit JelliesI have to admit that not all of the things we try here at 2DG are raging successes. I have had my share of culinary disasters. All the way back in the mid-80s, when I was but a mere child (well it seems that way now!), the first, and for a very long time ONLY cake I ever made was an Oreo Cake, from scratch of course. The recipe called for about a cup of crushed Oreos, as I recall. Well to my way of thinking, if a cup is good, a POUND is BETTER! So in went way more crushed Oreos than it called for, and into the oven went my cake. What came out later was not a nice fluffy tasty Oreo cake. Nope. I got crumbs. Lots and lots of crumbs. Evidently all those crushed cookies soaked up every drop of moisture. Oh well, live and learn.<br />
<br />
Years later, I made one of those "impossible pies" for dinner, using canned salmon. I also used fish stock. And probably one other fishy ingredient. What I got was "impossible", all right...impossible to eat! But Mike, being the wonderful and smart man that he is, while I was grousing and scraping my plate down the disposal, was saying "No, Honey, it tastes good!" What a guy. <br />
<br />
Well my most recent less than successful endeavor was a few weeks ago, when I was trying to use up about 8 or so kiwifruits that had accumulated in the fridge from our produce deliveries. I found a recipe for something called Kiwifruit Jellies, that sounded like they'd come out like those Spearmint Leaves or Orange Slice candies. The puree gels and you can cut it into whatever shapes you want. Sounds great!<br />
<br />
I also read that kiwi fruit contain an enzyme that will prevent gelatin from setting up unless the kiwi puree is cooked to a certain temp, but that shouldn't be an issue here, since this was a recipe for jellies, and it called for cooking the puree for several minutes. Sooo...off I go.<br />
<br />
I prepared the kiwifruit, pureed and cooked it as directed. I poured it into an 8 inch square pan, lined with wax paper, as instructed. I chilled it in the fridge for the prescribed amount of time. It looked like it was nicely set. With great anticipation, I picked up the wax paper edges to move it onto a cuting board and...instead of nice little wiggly jellies, it was still runny! So I put it back in the fridge for a while and tested it. No good. OK. So I transferred it to a sheet pan and put it in the freezer overnight.<br />
The next morning, nope now I had slush.<br />
<br />
I let is sit in there for a while longer, then I was tired of playing this game, and I rolled it up and wrapped it in plastic, and if I need some sort of sweet jelly/paste fruit type thing, I'll slice some off and put it in. <br />
<br />
But at least I got a 2DG post out of it!Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-63875834843489428482011-01-22T10:40:00.005-05:002011-01-22T11:03:00.693-05:00Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing, Poached Egg and Clam Chowder<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>The title says it all. Mmmmm!</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Along with nearly everyone else, I've resolved to drop some pounds this year. I've found that carbs, while they pretend to be my friend because they taste soooo good, are actually the thing that makes me heavier than I want to be. So we're trying to live a reduced carb lifestyle. One of the benefits of that is that we get to use things like bacon! I don't know about you, but I think it's a pretty fair tradeoff...less bread or potatoes or pasta, more bacon! I also love spinach, so I'm sure you see where this is heading. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Mike wanted a nice soup to go with our spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, so he made a delicious red clam chowder. It's not exactly Manhattan Clam Chowder, but it sure is good. He started with cooking some bacon, which we'd use in both dishes. When that was done, he reserved some of the browned bacon and some of the fat for me for the hot bacon dressing, and then he put in some chopped carrot, parsnip to cook them down some. He browned some onion, celery, and green pepper in the same pot. Later he added tomatoes (from our garden!) and his spice blend of thyme, fennel, and all kinds of assorted goodies that he won't tell me and let them simmer for an hour or so in 2 cups of our homemade chicken stock and 2 cups of water. He did reserve some extra chopped carrot, parsnip and tomato to add later so that there would be some "less cooked" veggies in there too. Then he put in 2 cans of whole clams and 1 can of chopped clams and the liquid, reserving a tiny bit for the cats who'd become his best friends when he opened the cans. That all simmered for a while longer, then I added the rest of the chopped veggies about a half hour before we were ready to eat.</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>After putting the rest of the veggies in, I started on the Spinach Salad. After thoroughly cleaning the beautiful fresh spinach we got in our Orlando Organics delivery, I took some of the leftover bacon drippings, 2 T or so, and heated that in the top of my double boiler. (You don't have to do it in a double boiler, but Mike mentioned that's how the restaurant he worked in had heated up their dressing, so I thought I'd give it a try, and it worked well.) </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>While that was heating, I mixed together 1 T of flour and 2 T of sugar, and separately mixed together 1/4 c. cider vinegar and 1 c. water. Then I added the flour mixture to the hot bacon fat and whisked it for a minute to make a light roux. Still whisking, very slowly add the water/cider mix in small batches, only adding more when it looked like it was thickening up nicely. Next time, I think I'll add the vinegar and water separately so I can control the thickness and amount of each a little better, but this time it still tasted great. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>While that was keeping warm, I put a small skillet with about 1 1/2 inches of water on the burner and added about 1 T of white vinegar to it. While that was heating, I tore up some spinach and put it in salad bowls. Then I thinnly sliced some red onion and added them and some chopped pecans to each salad, along with the remaining crumbled bacon. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Now the water was about to boil, so I turned it down a little to just about a simmer. Break each egg into a small bowl and then carefully add it to the simmering water. Do this one at a time! One egg in the bowl at a time, into the water. Let them simmer for 3 minutes, slightly less for a softer egg, longer for a harder cooked egg. While they're cooking, spoon some of the dressing on the spinach salad and toss to coat. Add a little more as you go if you'd like. When the eggs are done to your liking, fish them out with a slotted spoon and let them drain off all the water for a few seconds, or hold them over a towel for a few seconds. Place them on the salad, and season with a little pepper. </p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><br />
<p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1><p$1>Serve along with the clam chowder and enjoy a reduced carb dinner!<br />
<p$1><p$1>-J</p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1></p$1>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-73494908284525353512010-12-31T09:23:00.002-05:002010-12-31T09:27:21.674-05:00Spinach Sausage Mushroom FrittataAh, now THIS is what 2DG's all about! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u4wl11kOzs0VE0FUvX548tX9JD834TSQuGnXPzPtnrKCNKPvtYrFqUpswXuqvdr8tBh7TCBzGGXECUS-i3mgeYl7tyacBHqI0LfmFY_LEUQU7Iip44CxoyJdpITsgk846VGA3v5ikg7m/s1600/spin-saus-fritatta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3u4wl11kOzs0VE0FUvX548tX9JD834TSQuGnXPzPtnrKCNKPvtYrFqUpswXuqvdr8tBh7TCBzGGXECUS-i3mgeYl7tyacBHqI0LfmFY_LEUQU7Iip44CxoyJdpITsgk846VGA3v5ikg7m/s320/spin-saus-fritatta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This Spinach Sausage Mushroom Frittata was made from the leftover Spinach/Sausage/Mushroom mix I had leftover from the Deep Dish Pizza I made two nights ago. I just warmed the leftover mixture in a small skillet, beat 3 eggs with a little bit of milk, salt and pepper and poured that over the warmed filling. Be sure to lift the filling some to allow the beaten egg to get underneath. Let that cook for a few minutes til the eggs are set, then sprinkle on some leftover mozzarella cheese, and put the whole thing under the broiler for a minute or two.<br />
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Enjoy with your morning coffee...or drink of choice...<br />
<br />
Success be yours in the New Year!<br />
<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-60773483190211089482010-12-30T16:57:00.001-05:002010-12-31T09:26:54.825-05:00Deep Dish PizzaMan o man, where has the time gone?? No posts since the beginning of December and here it is the end of the year! My new year's resolution will be...to be more dedicated to 2nddaygourmet!<br />
<br />
So...I was cleaning out the fridge, again, and came up with this little beauty...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaJOHb3Hu-UNyNexP-p8rBQOeq3QMm4F92uBCCK0Ybo_MiY96lIPyOQGYwUXbXbBCWTBIdWGMNYre7Ry-4YB5d5A2Sou8Bt0-Q2oURmnIOQfoeYluieVOkN_xV9mgEXnpwJmVPLaxfkTn/s1600/deep-dish-pizza_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeaJOHb3Hu-UNyNexP-p8rBQOeq3QMm4F92uBCCK0Ybo_MiY96lIPyOQGYwUXbXbBCWTBIdWGMNYre7Ry-4YB5d5A2Sou8Bt0-Q2oURmnIOQfoeYluieVOkN_xV9mgEXnpwJmVPLaxfkTn/s320/deep-dish-pizza_800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I picked up a multi-grain pizza dough at Publix bakery. It's the same dough they use for their multi-grain Italian bread, and it's yummy! Oh another resolution...I will make my own pizza dough in 2011.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I got some plain breakfast sausage, some mozzerella and provolone cheese and used stuff from the fridge for the rest of the fillings. I browned the sausage and doctored it with some of Mike's seasoning mix that he makes, added some fennel seeds and some garlic to the sausage as it browns. Then I added the remenants of an onion, some spring onions and some leftover sliced portabella mushrooms to the skillet. Finally I added, a little at a time, a bag of fresh spinach that was in the fridge and let that cook down.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After the dough had risen for an hour or so, I put it in the 10 inch deep dish pie plate that I had coated with olive oil and sprinkled with cornmeal. Then I added provolone slices and mozerrella on top of the dough. The point is to build a pizza backwards from what you would normally do, so you're adding stuff in the reverse order of what you would typically do for a pizza. Next I put in the sausage/spinach/mushroom/onion combo. You can add these one at a time in layers if you want. I found the last time that cooking the sausage and spinach together worked really well, so I add the rest of the stuff this time too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next I added a grated carrot and a half zucchini that I'd cubed, and salted and peppered everything. At this point I'd use a can of crushed tomatoes, but I had a bunch of grape tomatoes and some roma tomatoes (Romas from our GARDEN!) so I chopped them up and put them on and sort of crushed them with my hands when adding them. Then I sprinkled some chopped fresh oregano, marjoram, parsley, thyme and basil on top of the tomatoes, and some more salt and pepper.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally I sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese and put it in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. I added a little more mozerrella after 20 mins and put it back in for 3 - 5 minutes til it got all nicely melted and gooey.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After sitting for a while, this is what a slice looked like...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivLrs4df6bX3ukuIwYaZ-G6MSjuGO_0NXr71a2Bur3N2tRsutvTgl-q6IbZGm7gekaIM_M6domxL0cdZi62Jmdj3z43aIh570fOIMHz_FyiBaD5O1QMRSpmxzivSh467Oy9ZjUfVHFXuW/s1600/deep-dish-slice_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivLrs4df6bX3ukuIwYaZ-G6MSjuGO_0NXr71a2Bur3N2tRsutvTgl-q6IbZGm7gekaIM_M6domxL0cdZi62Jmdj3z43aIh570fOIMHz_FyiBaD5O1QMRSpmxzivSh467Oy9ZjUfVHFXuW/s320/deep-dish-slice_800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Enjoy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-J</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-41515022928268197522010-12-04T12:56:00.004-05:002010-12-04T13:51:33.339-05:00Turkey Mushroom Veggie RisottoI actually made this earlier in the week, Tuesday, I think, but haven't had time to post this. The base for this was on <a href="http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/turkey_mushroom_risotto/">Simply Recipes</a>, but I added some more stuff to it. Oh, about the rice...I picked up a short grained rice at the grocery store for about 77 cents. I compared this to the special "risotto rice" that I saw that was priced much much higher, and it looked the same to me! It works just fine for risotto. And you need to know, risotto is a very "mindful" dish! You will need to give it almost constant attention, and I use the time to "meditate" a little bit! Hee hee...<br />
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I used: Turkey Broth I made from our Thanksgiving turkey, veggie stock I had in the freezer, a chopped onion, and sage I had on hand, leftover sliced portabello mushrooms, a zucchini I had in the fridge that I needed to use, chopped, some leftover creamed spinach that I made for a pot luck dinner on Monday, most of the remaining turkey in the fridge, and some grated parmesan cheese.<br />
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I mixed 2 c of Turkey Broth, 1 c. of veggie broth, and 2 c. of water and heated this to a boil. Turn this down and keep it at a simmer. You want the liquid to be hot when you add it to the rice. <br />
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Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a big skillet until it stops foaming a litte. Add onion and about a cup of sliced mushrooms to the butter. Salt them a little and let them sweat until the onions are translucent. Add 3 cloves of garlic, minced, about a Tbsp of fresh sage, and 1 1/2 cups of short grained rice. Stir it a few times and let it cook for about 2 - 3 minutes.<br />
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You will now add the stock slowly, a little at a time. I use a ladle that holds a half a cup, so I know how much I'm putting in. First add a cup of the hot stock. Stir it with a wooden spoon until most of the liquid is absorbed. Get used to doing this. You'll be doing it for quite a while!<br />
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When most of that liquid has been absorbed, add another half cup of hot stock. Stir again until the rice absorbs most of the stock. The short grained rice will release starch as it cooks, and this will make the dish nice and thick and creamy. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. <br />
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When you get about halfway thru the 5 cups of stock, you can start adding some of the additional veggies you have on hand. At this point, I added the chopped zuchini. Stir stir stir, again until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add another ladle of stock and stir some more. When you've got about a cup of stock left, add the chopped turkey and a half cup of stock. Stir until it's mostly absorbed. I added the last 1/2 c. of stock and stirred that until it was absorbed. Then I added the rest of the creamed spinach, about a cup, and stirred that in until it was heated thru. This thickens it up a lot! <br />
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Toss in a good sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese, and if you want, about a Tblsp. of butter, but that's not really necessary for this risotto, even though I think finishing with butter is a LAW of risotto making! Stir it in and marvel at the creaminess.<br />
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Serve and enjoy!<br />
-J<br />
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ps...no pix of this one, sorry! And be sure to sample this when you're almost out of stock. You want to check the rice to make sure it's cooked enough. If you run out of stock and feel you need more, heat up some water before adding it a ladle full at a time.Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-62584507955000514632010-11-29T09:02:00.000-05:002010-11-29T09:02:22.335-05:00Crab WingsI'm making my "soon-to-be-famous Crab Wings" for a pot luck dinner tonight. Yesterday I put two big packs of wings in two zip top bags to marinade in some vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, Old Bay Seasoning, parsley flakes and black pepper. <br />
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This morning I made the CrabWing Sauce. Two sticks of butter, two bottles of Frank's Hot Sauce, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and a good healthy dose of Old Bay in a pot on the stove. Put in the Old Bay to taste. I go by color! When the sauce is "almost brown" that's usually enough Old Bay...but sample it often to check. Use crackers, tortilla chips, anything, to sample the sauce.<br />
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When it's time to make the wings, I use my Showtime Jr. Rotisserie. (Remember "Just set it...and forget it!"? I tell you, I love this thing! I even made our Thanksgiving turkey in it.) I put the wings in the rotisserie basket and let it spin for about 45 minutes. The really cool thing is...I use the whole wings, tips and all, so when they get brown and are kinda sticking out of the basket...they look a little bit like crab claws. :-)<br />
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When they're done, I toss them with the wing sauce and serve with more sauce on the side and some celery sticks and ranch dressing.<br />
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Mmmmmmm....Crab Wings....<br />
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Enjoy!<br />
-JJackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-10917521378449148222010-11-19T08:55:00.001-05:002010-11-19T08:59:25.937-05:00Ratatouille and Brunswick Stew<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This seems like an odd combination, but I have to do a double post today. Mike and I recently took a trip up to Charleston SC and Savannah GA, so when we got home we needed to clear out the fridge and took some inspiration from the trip...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQ5neXTXhWHkW9H8RqbHE1mzAvAJ8wWfC8AncgFZaIrE5xbkY-k8hHWzvNeTr0H_i7eibuT2uHrqwuU0cIh21dMPhADdPEDrMXP03oY7gZTT9SF-ijaE5QTX9GzDnBap2H5DnuyETwpRj/s1600/ratatouille-served.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrQ5neXTXhWHkW9H8RqbHE1mzAvAJ8wWfC8AncgFZaIrE5xbkY-k8hHWzvNeTr0H_i7eibuT2uHrqwuU0cIh21dMPhADdPEDrMXP03oY7gZTT9SF-ijaE5QTX9GzDnBap2H5DnuyETwpRj/s200/ratatouille-served.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><strong>Ratatouille</strong> - not the movie </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This is one of my favorite ways to use eggplant and squash. I made some variation of it several times before I learned it really was ratatouille!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTXMX57jy9xfFkwEnkPQed_PMpsGEaQDrsNPFzGlTmbHnu7wiSdLzk2BfSYn7TzZpAQ2QVXRKr9No730rrXB-_4MZRMeF8hHo04G-4zcFAgwqeGcQ0Ro1jpDYUG02-uNjTggzPSw6zg9U/s1600/prebake-ratatouille.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMTXMX57jy9xfFkwEnkPQed_PMpsGEaQDrsNPFzGlTmbHnu7wiSdLzk2BfSYn7TzZpAQ2QVXRKr9No730rrXB-_4MZRMeF8hHo04G-4zcFAgwqeGcQ0Ro1jpDYUG02-uNjTggzPSw6zg9U/s200/prebake-ratatouille.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Brown some eggplant (sliced or cubed) and place in a casserole dish. Layer on the other veggies...zuchinni, yellow squash, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cover with parmesan cheese and bake at 400 degrees for 40 - 45 mins. </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I like it served with some cheesy bread that's been toasted under the broiler. Mmmm! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Brunswick Stew</strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Mike made Brunswick Stew, named after Brunswick Georgia.</div>He smoked a chicken out on the patio, and while that was going, made the stew from chicken stock, lima beans, peas, corn. While that was stewing, he made the red sauce from crushed tomatoes, a little hot sauce, onions. <br />
Several hours later, mix them all together and serve! <br />
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</div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-83252313056419231012010-10-17T23:26:00.002-04:002010-10-18T19:20:01.482-04:00All Greek to me<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I love Greek food. I especially love pita bread and tziziki sauce. And rotisserie chicken. And roasted veggies...and potatoes...</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2six8hJxUxlmUDzit6_j_0efHTrWHeQ7hypkeVCXNtJIst3gC-fABvZvf1zGeRZf1fNOlmOR8Qonq6Rpuer0GxMvCs14EtAclhZcEqIDrJzq15jePfbbirqTTiuWswUa7_WU7xKPCtJy1/s1600/finished-gr-plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2six8hJxUxlmUDzit6_j_0efHTrWHeQ7hypkeVCXNtJIst3gC-fABvZvf1zGeRZf1fNOlmOR8Qonq6Rpuer0GxMvCs14EtAclhZcEqIDrJzq15jePfbbirqTTiuWswUa7_WU7xKPCtJy1/s320/finished-gr-plate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlIvcgBqm-5NvDONvBBzIIprEGbwu8C_1dqak2GRos977JIXpkfNEXIm1Rfq3HFaa7WGXcSUh7kWOAObduQK0IEaSmDDipuS6LMu1rZiJSwuMhxLomCiOyMwFNm129MLtCZ4tWFmzIODF/s1600/pitas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlIvcgBqm-5NvDONvBBzIIprEGbwu8C_1dqak2GRos977JIXpkfNEXIm1Rfq3HFaa7WGXcSUh7kWOAObduQK0IEaSmDDipuS6LMu1rZiJSwuMhxLomCiOyMwFNm129MLtCZ4tWFmzIODF/s200/pitas.jpg" width="200" /></a>I found a <a href="http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/pitabread">great recipe for pita bread</a> and tried it for the first time a few months ago. That time, they came out good, but not knowing what I was doing, I over baked them a little bit. Not so this time...they came out perfect! </div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I made the dough by hand by hand mixing 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour with 1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour, 1 pkt. rapid rise yeast, 1 T. honey, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2T olive oil and about 1 1/4 c. lukewarm water. Mixed that by hand until it came together, then kneaded it by hand for 10 minutes. It's possible to do this in a stand mixer, but I did it by hand. After 10 minutes, it was nice and smooth, and I put it in an oiled bowl, covered it with a towel and let it rise for 90 minutes.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After it was nicely risen, I took it out, and cut it in 8 equal portions. Next I rolled these into little balls by sort of cupping my hands over them and rolling them lightly on the board. These got covered with a towel and allowed to rest for 20 minutes. You can see how much they rose in just 20 mintues!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgBZP3YPKcJZG-js5R57NqELVRciI8QqyVAJ7Mmr-CWjJOUk9gk5iiSFkUthFLJfoqWqiPsqTyQnaqjpLLUjsrXkC3hJ-7r6GZ4FS1AMQwCo7SMjupvU1gfnEQ4qzxF5xizLl3S1iLlbs/s1600/dough-eighth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgBZP3YPKcJZG-js5R57NqELVRciI8QqyVAJ7Mmr-CWjJOUk9gk5iiSFkUthFLJfoqWqiPsqTyQnaqjpLLUjsrXkC3hJ-7r6GZ4FS1AMQwCo7SMjupvU1gfnEQ4qzxF5xizLl3S1iLlbs/s200/dough-eighth.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Z0NKcGcc6EGVmOqLfQFEyb-LMeRdYCG9vV985gyzZ-sTsnknoVry0V40OcOBgP3uWAhLFpx5_TzCqYpyPZqWvPAMXZ2K_XkJQPLBazjcysrFPaudVjcOMyhlcLA7Ua7sigqnKf_qVZU_/s1600/risen-rolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Z0NKcGcc6EGVmOqLfQFEyb-LMeRdYCG9vV985gyzZ-sTsnknoVry0V40OcOBgP3uWAhLFpx5_TzCqYpyPZqWvPAMXZ2K_XkJQPLBazjcysrFPaudVjcOMyhlcLA7Ua7sigqnKf_qVZU_/s200/risen-rolls.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4SjafMtk4K_aasSB4TE4ccGJFgFBDPfOYAi1XIBoj0b_On6W7ir-MiaTDavAWAxdWSdw7UOgd3FL8r60mVF614oqHwlcwMiLwn0H8tMJo87E2qeeDbLbCXX0KuNavPUBymaAnO3CzH7_/s1600/rolled-pita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf4SjafMtk4K_aasSB4TE4ccGJFgFBDPfOYAi1XIBoj0b_On6W7ir-MiaTDavAWAxdWSdw7UOgd3FL8r60mVF614oqHwlcwMiLwn0H8tMJo87E2qeeDbLbCXX0KuNavPUBymaAnO3CzH7_/s200/rolled-pita.jpg" width="200" /></a>While they were resting I put a cooking sheet upside down on the middle rack of the oven and heated the oven to 400 degrees. Then the pitas were rolled out to about 1/8 in. thick. When they were all rolled out it was time to bake them. I did them two at a time right on the inverted cookie sheet. About 30 seconds before I put each pair in to bake, I spritzed the oven and the sheet with a few sprays of water. Not exactly sure why, but the recipe said to do it, so I did. I put two of them on the inverted cookie sheet and baked them for 3 minutes.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFItnAb_tLtxfyGFEjYROH_DLENxZ455IEvAvnqLFIpGUitEiLt1Xgjq1AxdsTXU2yafp9vKsCx4s3bbqirhx5l0zqWUf4fnZ9j5BZdCqj2IKUdUkSvG5TJYFEDs7VZbiK7nAjWSCTfDH/s1600/puffed-pita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFItnAb_tLtxfyGFEjYROH_DLENxZ455IEvAvnqLFIpGUitEiLt1Xgjq1AxdsTXU2yafp9vKsCx4s3bbqirhx5l0zqWUf4fnZ9j5BZdCqj2IKUdUkSvG5TJYFEDs7VZbiK7nAjWSCTfDH/s200/puffed-pita.jpg" width="200" /></a>It amazes me how much they puff up in only 3 minutes! If you want them crispy you can flip them over and let them bake another 2 or 3 minutes. As I said, I did that last time, and they were good, but I like a soft pita so I prefer to take them out after 3 minutes. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">These got served with rotisserie chicken, homemade tziziki sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes and veggies, and homemade herb butter. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnwmnEKSZ70L9PVcTMPRk8OQ7Ng4sHheXC_tx-U3h0tpb2GzlrE6RN5wiU6xZp8esx0BOxBHCU_dH1SMIzNxS6Xx_zm8v8VYNh7lIXQAp90dWLEOorkpy3xmZBumxk4c6CLCpKBWNN4G_/s1600/finished-feast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnwmnEKSZ70L9PVcTMPRk8OQ7Ng4sHheXC_tx-U3h0tpb2GzlrE6RN5wiU6xZp8esx0BOxBHCU_dH1SMIzNxS6Xx_zm8v8VYNh7lIXQAp90dWLEOorkpy3xmZBumxk4c6CLCpKBWNN4G_/s320/finished-feast.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Mmmmmm.....enjoy!<br />
-J<br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Z0NKcGcc6EGVmOqLfQFEyb-LMeRdYCG9vV985gyzZ-sTsnknoVry0V40OcOBgP3uWAhLFpx5_TzCqYpyPZqWvPAMXZ2K_XkJQPLBazjcysrFPaudVjcOMyhlcLA7Ua7sigqnKf_qVZU_/s1600/risen-rolls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-68433613488955865532010-10-10T17:28:00.006-04:002010-10-10T19:44:51.029-04:00Chicken stock<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">If it's Sunday, and I don't have a million other things to do or places to go, and we happen to be out of stock, I love making stock! We've used up all the chicken stock we had in the freezer, and it's a beautiful fall day in central Florida (highs in the low-mid 80s), and I don't have to be anywhere at all, so there is stock on the stove. It makes my little 2nd day gourmetish heart smile to use this stuff up!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzStTz1oCrzrko2zOaETTM0BhyhuAuCP22KZpFRQ4OJmI_38vemEnTbqsim7ieZXzweFdUVIxIFP-tQ63NK-9cZjk_Ojn6xIr5sxi2cau7TwP2dMkl3u83IFnolvPplV04z31wUwtp36W/s1600/chcken-ingreds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzStTz1oCrzrko2zOaETTM0BhyhuAuCP22KZpFRQ4OJmI_38vemEnTbqsim7ieZXzweFdUVIxIFP-tQ63NK-9cZjk_Ojn6xIr5sxi2cau7TwP2dMkl3u83IFnolvPplV04z31wUwtp36W/s1600/chcken-ingreds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwaX95XxZ6zJhbMNN2B0epVDyPh-ss73If5nfyqGKaaHCSfVJEfLVTeeCsA9WhztjhOUgP3j3-5Pu50wASP9K2TBSs-p2Xgqm2vF5PcMdw9ssCFMk4I7X1zyOorsC3qp2wreL-OQaCJ7Cv/s1600/stock-bowl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwaX95XxZ6zJhbMNN2B0epVDyPh-ss73If5nfyqGKaaHCSfVJEfLVTeeCsA9WhztjhOUgP3j3-5Pu50wASP9K2TBSs-p2Xgqm2vF5PcMdw9ssCFMk4I7X1zyOorsC3qp2wreL-OQaCJ7Cv/s320/stock-bowl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">OK, I admit. We use a LOT of stock. I make chicken, vegetable and beef stock. We use it in gravies, sauces, casseroles, rice, prima vera, even egg drop soup! In fact, we're out of veggie stock too, so I'll be making more of that fairly soon too.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Whenever we have chicken, whether it's fried, wings, rotisserie, whatever, I always throw the bones and the "extra bits" in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. When we're out of frozen stock or I have 1 or 2 full bags of bits, it's time to make more. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzStTz1oCrzrko2zOaETTM0BhyhuAuCP22KZpFRQ4OJmI_38vemEnTbqsim7ieZXzweFdUVIxIFP-tQ63NK-9cZjk_Ojn6xIr5sxi2cau7TwP2dMkl3u83IFnolvPplV04z31wUwtp36W/s1600/chcken-ingreds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzStTz1oCrzrko2zOaETTM0BhyhuAuCP22KZpFRQ4OJmI_38vemEnTbqsim7ieZXzweFdUVIxIFP-tQ63NK-9cZjk_Ojn6xIr5sxi2cau7TwP2dMkl3u83IFnolvPplV04z31wUwtp36W/s200/chcken-ingreds.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Get your biggest pot and a collander. I put the goods in the collander so that when it's time to remove the bits from the stock, it's really easy. No fishing required! Put the collander in your stock pot. Dump most of your chicken bits in the collander. Grab some leftover raw onion and toss that in on top of the chicken. Get those inner stalks of celery you weren't going to use for anything else. Also get the leafy tops or the big tough bottoms you weren't going to use either. Put them in with the chicken and onion. Got baby carrots or regular carrots taking up space in the produce drawer? In they go. Now put in the rest of the chicken bits. Add some salt and pepper.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Pour enough water over the bits and pieces in the collander to come about halfway up the stock pot. You can pick up the collander to see how much water you've got in there. I tend to over fill the pot and then when it comes to a boil it runs over a bit. If that happens to you, no big deal, just wipe it up as best you can and clean it up later. </div><br />
Turn the burner to high heat until it comes to a boil, then turn it down and simmer for about an hour. I like to stir things around once in a while, turning things up from the bottom just to make sure everybody gets some time in the spa. Enjoy that lovely smell wafting thru the house!!!<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoEuxUfVZM0gUjbVNLE60F2tzJuA8HT9l4u67ahSP__rgXt9BOcoVianQkLDqiuqBC_KESx8Oz-qohINvQWaVodzRFHpJa3eKWHkT9x7u8oTw-Kg04bVdcE5EuOs4c_uzRSWv5KKVeoMs/s1600/garni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXoEuxUfVZM0gUjbVNLE60F2tzJuA8HT9l4u67ahSP__rgXt9BOcoVianQkLDqiuqBC_KESx8Oz-qohINvQWaVodzRFHpJa3eKWHkT9x7u8oTw-Kg04bVdcE5EuOs4c_uzRSWv5KKVeoMs/s200/garni.jpg" width="138" /></a>We have some great herbs growing in pots out on the patio, so while the stock is cooking, I'm going shopping in our own herb garden! Whoo! I cut some parsley, some thyme, some sage and some rosemary. After giving them a good wash, I tie them together with some kitchen string, making a "bouquet garni" and set them aside. Don't put them in yet!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">After about an hour, remove the collander and place it to drain in a small bowl or pie pan. After it's drained, you can add the stock in the bowl back to the pot. At this point, I like to turn up the heat and vigorously boil the stock for a while to let it cook down and condense some. Use your judgement as to how much you want it to cook down. The longer you let it go, the stronger and richer the flavor but you may need to use some extra water later when you use the stock in your recipes.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzOa5FTbxnRO_Ro8rV0uP_JAbNP_GuWOxPRjD_8GOeCjcqYEXXWqAcki2szyf7cROnUAupv-8zbZlAHBfRbi_BLAG_tPMXKFvI2sV_zfL2YyMH0HEvCEZz7PLgBCGY-pv6P0abD_3UMpT/s1600/rolling-boil-stock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzOa5FTbxnRO_Ro8rV0uP_JAbNP_GuWOxPRjD_8GOeCjcqYEXXWqAcki2szyf7cROnUAupv-8zbZlAHBfRbi_BLAG_tPMXKFvI2sV_zfL2YyMH0HEvCEZz7PLgBCGY-pv6P0abD_3UMpT/s200/rolling-boil-stock.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">When you're satisfied with how condensed your stock is, turn off the heat. Now drop in your bundle of herbs and let the stock sit for a while. You don't want to put the herbs in while you're cooking the stock at high boil or the poor little guys will be destroyed and the flavor won't have a chance to develop. Just let the whole thing cool. The residual heat will be enough for the herbs.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVZE1W38Ua6yJcexLVna1BBX8JFt-3vzYi42myNSPOF4wbhZCxRUVCw24_ZY2VbMOADFGl52pqX2OYlsQPqmH4XnX9zhr5gxE00wEgcnQDz4DVHBNFyI5eSjA6HcGSNgyj9FEsCWg9Nv7/s1600/herbs-in--stock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLVZE1W38Ua6yJcexLVna1BBX8JFt-3vzYi42myNSPOF4wbhZCxRUVCw24_ZY2VbMOADFGl52pqX2OYlsQPqmH4XnX9zhr5gxE00wEgcnQDz4DVHBNFyI5eSjA6HcGSNgyj9FEsCWg9Nv7/s200/herbs-in--stock.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Once it's cool, take out the bouquet garni and set it aside. Strain your stock into a medium sized bowl. Now put your little herb bundle back in and place a paper towel over the top. Put the bowl in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to really let everything blend together and devlop flavor. When you're ready to use or freeze the stock, remove the paper towel, which will help you to remove the chicken fat that has risen to the top of the stock. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Use the stock as you'd like, either now or put it in the freezer for later. I like to freeze my stock in plastic ice trays so that they're easy to use later. Ladle the stock into your ice trays and put them in the freezer overnight. Label a freezer bag with Chicken Stock the date,put in the frozen stock cubes and stash in the freezer for another day. In this pic, I'm using 2 cups of the stock in the brown rice we're having for dinner. The rest is freezer-bound.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYoV1RAuA9OsvqS7ay_vcy2vacbHhmlKrVJ7N_wiISkKfLRDgIaO2K_qqSMuCgv0oUVH3Rs_qyTutumyWeKf3ZqwVre7F-etke2X9M0OKN0ISrhH9S4BwI5IGg20Ajc40h-9LmStOSTf3/s1600/stock-cup-cubes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIYoV1RAuA9OsvqS7ay_vcy2vacbHhmlKrVJ7N_wiISkKfLRDgIaO2K_qqSMuCgv0oUVH3Rs_qyTutumyWeKf3ZqwVre7F-etke2X9M0OKN0ISrhH9S4BwI5IGg20Ajc40h-9LmStOSTf3/s200/stock-cup-cubes.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Enjoy!</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-J</div></div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468857302929447043.post-42500727179469777592010-10-08T11:20:00.003-04:002010-10-12T11:27:24.968-04:00Kiwi Bread<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0vfQCtBeSrtJbQUwD-Ise9qcbSFkr7rDso7TjlxCp_AZ6Wo1ZHP536ghtLmRJUw5SrovYmTJ2EAlwoyZr9iKbCG5EUEXEY0rvroreMI3XUGtyaPdmS8EdFlFEogoPUYATX3dhdY830qj/s1600/dryish-batter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Every other week, we get a produce delivery from a great company, "<a href="http://www.orlandoorganics.com/">Orlando Organics</a>". It's great because they deliver right to your door, and they have a number of options for you to choose from. The really great thing, in my opinion, is that they very often include things either I like and don't get a lot, like kiwi, or things I've never even seen before, like persimmons. This week we got about 4 kiwis in our delivery and we still had one in the fridge from last time. Now, I like kiwi as much as the next person, and I've made my share of kiwi smoothies, strawberry kiwi jam and used kiwi in salads, but I needed to find a diferent way to use up these kiwis.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSHw8bYnywpVn_B3dHT8s9ZQujLk9ICUvKeiLk7F6Nk-y0lt5X1-Amueq9DlRVI8fHdHNabDWKasqPUKYRcXzzqOoQsYr3456Tr_A3FlFatzsjkPgKlIFp1MROE358kN0qcv38Q0_i8qQ/s1600/finished-kbread-on-board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSHw8bYnywpVn_B3dHT8s9ZQujLk9ICUvKeiLk7F6Nk-y0lt5X1-Amueq9DlRVI8fHdHNabDWKasqPUKYRcXzzqOoQsYr3456Tr_A3FlFatzsjkPgKlIFp1MROE358kN0qcv38Q0_i8qQ/s320/finished-kbread-on-board.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So a web search turned up this recipe for <a href="http://www.kiwirecipes.org/kiwifruit-bread.html">Kiwi Bread</a>. I made just a few changes along the way.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHcMHQ_ornko401SuYPjhiB7Spmj9cd24c0vJeu1q5vQdlYnuOabxDqbdOD6mEG1zqSFkh7l_l18Ssu1ssYHgt-3UwDsVxydawoFMoS7WwQEe1pArSZs7SoJS2tBSAT2ppzZWGj9Atxnc/s1600/kiwi-bread-slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzRwC5cezVFiCo5WHTlY19swEwv4eYg0L7s05lEpXtHoIYqzvNx-YM3e3kVNu9bg2FL5HgUgizk4c2PhgkyBs8vhyphenhyphenrkxRgD1j-QlvPA7CaelGZx4tXiLBWdCKloBPNPjZ5jWXpwALoF5E/s1600/kiwi-puree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzRwC5cezVFiCo5WHTlY19swEwv4eYg0L7s05lEpXtHoIYqzvNx-YM3e3kVNu9bg2FL5HgUgizk4c2PhgkyBs8vhyphenhyphenrkxRgD1j-QlvPA7CaelGZx4tXiLBWdCKloBPNPjZ5jWXpwALoF5E/s200/kiwi-puree.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>I peeled 5 kiwi fruits, and using my hand blender, pureed them. Recipe called for a cup, and I got about a cup and a half out of them.<br />
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In my stand mixer, I combined 1/3 c. vegetable oil, 1/4 c. honey and 1 egg. Then I added 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour with which I had sifted 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. baking powder, about 1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg instead of cloves called for in the recipe, and 1/4 tsp. salt.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0vfQCtBeSrtJbQUwD-Ise9qcbSFkr7rDso7TjlxCp_AZ6Wo1ZHP536ghtLmRJUw5SrovYmTJ2EAlwoyZr9iKbCG5EUEXEY0rvroreMI3XUGtyaPdmS8EdFlFEogoPUYATX3dhdY830qj/s1600/dryish-batter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO0vfQCtBeSrtJbQUwD-Ise9qcbSFkr7rDso7TjlxCp_AZ6Wo1ZHP536ghtLmRJUw5SrovYmTJ2EAlwoyZr9iKbCG5EUEXEY0rvroreMI3XUGtyaPdmS8EdFlFEogoPUYATX3dhdY830qj/s200/dryish-batter.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">At this point, the batter was looking pretty dry, but that's ok. To that, I added the kiwi puree, 1 c. of chopped pecans (a replacement for the walnuts in the recipe. I hate walnuts too.) Since I had added more kiwi, it was now a little on the wet side, so I added about 3/4 c. of rolled oats to the mix.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXJIv35K9-m7ZpjOef2wjsLpyhv_PWoIzPTNKhVTjfsk5KCTz79WvJji6C7kOa4YJK_iFTLaALb_MjFJB6BPcsLOJGfi5HWzwICEMhOERCMe8nMmtB5TcPFdALsvJmUK1O8bAzgaqO6BO/s1600/oven-ready+kbread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXJIv35K9-m7ZpjOef2wjsLpyhv_PWoIzPTNKhVTjfsk5KCTz79WvJji6C7kOa4YJK_iFTLaALb_MjFJB6BPcsLOJGfi5HWzwICEMhOERCMe8nMmtB5TcPFdALsvJmUK1O8bAzgaqO6BO/s200/oven-ready+kbread.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">All this went into a 9 in. loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Again, the recipe called for an 8" pan, but I'd added enough stuff that I thought I should use the bigger pan. Then I sprinkled some oats on top and put it in a 350 degree oven. Checked it at 45 minutes, but it wasn't quite done yet, so I put it back in for another 10 minutes.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHcMHQ_ornko401SuYPjhiB7Spmj9cd24c0vJeu1q5vQdlYnuOabxDqbdOD6mEG1zqSFkh7l_l18Ssu1ssYHgt-3UwDsVxydawoFMoS7WwQEe1pArSZs7SoJS2tBSAT2ppzZWGj9Atxnc/s1600/kiwi-bread-slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHcMHQ_ornko401SuYPjhiB7Spmj9cd24c0vJeu1q5vQdlYnuOabxDqbdOD6mEG1zqSFkh7l_l18Ssu1ssYHgt-3UwDsVxydawoFMoS7WwQEe1pArSZs7SoJS2tBSAT2ppzZWGj9Atxnc/s200/kiwi-bread-slice.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Pulled it out and let it cool for a few minutes. Couldn't resist trying a slice with my last cup of coffee...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Not bad!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Enjoy...</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">-J</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div>Jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05642372741114680793noreply@blogger.com0