Sunday, March 7, 2010

Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash
Butter
water

Cut squash in half. Take out seeds. Place squash in baking dish skin down. Place butter in center of squash. Fill bottom of dish with water. Cover tightly with foil and bake on 375 degrees for 1 hour.

*My Notes:*
-Do not eat skin!
-This is so good, easy to make and perfect with almost any dinner! It adds a change to the normal vegetables during the week!

Tender BBQ Ribs

Sheet Spare ribs
BBQ sauce of your choice
Water
Garlic powder

The best way to tenderize ribs: Place serving-size portion of ribs on a broiling pan or rack in shallow baking pan. But water in bottom of pan. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour; drain.

After tenderizing, sprinkle ribs with garlic powder and glaze with BBQ sauce. Cook on 375 degrees for another hour or until done. Turn and brush as necessary.

*My Notes:*
-This is my mom's trick for the most tender ribs!
-I highly recommend Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce. Someone in the grocery store isle told me to try it and since then I haven't gone back. Give it a try and I bet you won't either!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Creamy Onion Vegetable Dip

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
2 tablespoons onion soup mix
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash seasoning

Thoroughly combine all ingredients. Cover and chill before serving.

Spinach Ranch Dip

1 package (1 oz.) ranch dip mix
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

Mix together and serve.

*My Notes:*
-This is my mom's mix, it is wonderful!
-To add a twist, add some chopped water chestnuts! I have never tried it, but it might add some texture!

Tomato Basil Sauce

1/2 stick margarine
1 large onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon chicken soup base
1 cup hot water
Fresh basil, chopped
1 can diced or whole tomatoes
Pasta

Saute onion and garlic in margarine. Add soup base, water, and basil; simmer.

Add tomatoes. Simmer. Pour over pasta.

Ham and Cabbage

1 stick margarine
Chopped onion
Ham
Cabbage
Water
Potatoes
Carrots

Saute margarine and onion. Add water to cover ham. Cook 20 minutes.

Add cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. Cook until tender.

*My Notes:*
-This is my gram's recipe. There are no measurements, so you get to put how much of each ingredient you like! I personally put a lot of potatoes (and a just a few carrots for color)!

Cranberry Chicken and Wild Rice

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1-1/2 cup hot water
1 package (6.2 oz.) fast cooking long grain and wild rice mix (Uncle Ben's)
1 can (16 oz.) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Place chicken in a baking dish coated with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, combine water, rice mix and seasoning packet. Pour round chicken.

In a small bowl, combine cranberry sauce, lemon juice, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; spoon over chicken. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and rice is tender.

*My Notes:*
-Thanks Andrea!
-I can't wait to try this! It sounds so good!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Creamy Herbed Pork

3-4 large pork chops
Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons oil
1-1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
3 fresh basil leaves, diced
Pepper to taste
1 can (7 oz.) mushrooms stems and pieces, if desired
1 beef bouillon cube
2 tablespoons water

Cook pork in oil in large skillet. Sprinkle with garlic powder before flipping. Remove from heat when only slightly pink on inside. Drain skillet, do not rinse.

Mix milk and flour. Pour into skillet. Add pepper, basil, bouillon cube, and water. Heat on medium heat until mixture bubbles. When mixture starts to thicken, add mushrooms. Place pork in pan and cook until done.


*My Notes:*
-I made this tonight after classes and it was so quick and easy! I served it over pasta, but rice would be good too.
-Next time I am going to use boneless pork chops, cut into cubes, so that the pork could be over noodles too!
-The full 7 oz. can of mushrooms is a bit too much, so I suggest just 3/4 of the can or less.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Chicken-Broccoli Casserole

1 (10 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup milk
1-1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
Fresh broccoli
garlic powder
Worcestershire sauce
Parmesan cheese

Cut up fresh broccoli and steam.

Cook one cup of rice as directed on package.

As rice is cooking, cut chicken in into medium size cubes and cook in skillet on medium heat until done. Sprinkle garlic powder over chicken while cooking. Set aside.

Heat soup with milk and cheese in pot over medium heat until cheese is melted and mixture starts bubbling.

Stir in rice and mix well. Add chicken, steamed fresh broccoli. Add Worcestershire sauce (not too much!) and Parmesan cheese as desired. Heat well.

*My Notes:*
-Make sure to only steam broccoli slightly, or it will get mushy!
-This recipe is all up to interpretation. But don't worry, you can't mess it up! What I did with the Worcestershire sauce was to put in a few drops and then mix it and try it.
-I am sure you can substiture the fresh broccoli for frozen, just make sure it is thawed well!
-This was a hit in my house! And made enough for some left overs!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Cream Cheese Cookies #2

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
6 oz. cream cheese
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add flour and beat well.

Drop by teaspoons onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until edges aer golden.

*My Notes:*
-Thanks Anna!
-This recipe is really good, it has a little different texture than the other cream cheese cookies recipe on my blog.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Roasted Prosciutto-Wrapped Scallops

GREMOLATA:
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely grated zest of a lemon
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

24 large scallops
12 slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise
Ground black pepper

In small bowl, combine the ingredients for the gremolata. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 hours before serving.

Line a baking sheet with paper towels and place all the scallops on the towels. Place another layer of paper towels over the top and top with another baking sheet. Place in refrigerator for up to 30 minutes before assembling.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Lay the prosciutto strips on a work surface and place a scallop in the center of each, enclosing them completely. Transfer scallop bundles to a dry nonstick baking sheet and cook or put in refrigerator for up to an hour before roasting.

Roast scallops for 7-10 minutes, or until prosciutto is crisp and golden and the scallops are cooked through.

Serve with Gremolata.

*My Notes:*
-One of the library patrons gave me this recipe from the book Tavern on the Green, after the famous restaurant in NYC that unfortunately had to close it's doors this past December.
-The paper towel step is for ensuring the scallops are perfectly dry in order for them to become golden brown.
-For those of you (like me) who didn't know, prosciutto is basically ham....only in Italian...

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Onion Soup Mix Cheese Ball

1 packet onion soup mix
1 (80z.) package of cream cheese
Walnuts, chopped
Sharp Cheese, grated

Mix soup mix and cream cheese together. Add shredded cheese to taste. Roll into a ball and coat with walnuts. Serve with crackers.

*My Notes:*
-This was a perfect holiday treat! My family loved it!
-After experimenting with different crackers, my family voted for the Town House Toppers Garlic and Herb! With a coupon they were pretty cheap!
Custom Search
Hit Counters