Garlic Clam Sauce Recipe

My friend's father has tried several diets over the years and she claims the best thing that has come out of those diets is this clam sauce.  I'd have to agree that this dish is incredible tasting and quick to make.  

Garlic and Clam Sauce:

2 T fine olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 1/2 t. dried thyme leaves

2 T chopped fresh parsley

Dash cayenne

2 6-7 ounce cans chopped (or minced) clams

1/2 cup chopped green peppers

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Saute onion, green peppers, and garlic in olive oil until translucent (add a little water and cover if necessary during this process). Add mushrooms and continue heating in the covered saucepan for about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, including all the liquid in clams, heat until hot in covered saucepan.

Makes 4 piddly little dieter's servings or 2 decent servings.

Serve with spaghetti or linguini. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

The Miracle Martha

Every once in a while, a recipe or food technique comes around, and people who read recipes recreationally and cook as a hobby (not always the same people), get excited.  A few years ago the recipe that was "revolutional" was Jim Lahey's no-knead bread technique.

Last month, Martha Stewart Living published a recipe for one-pot spaghetti.  Within days, almost every food blog I read had mentioned it.  I saw the recipe several times on Pinterest and got a little excited.  A recipe with fresh ingredients that you throw in a pot, boil and get spaghetti?  Well, I tried the one pan pasta recipe and yes, this is something that everyone can make, and the recipe tastes great.  The pasta cooks simultaneously in broth which cooks down to make a richly flavored sauce.  The recipe takes about 15 minutes to make and the ingredients are all ones I had in my garden or can easily be purchased at the grocery store.

From http://www.apronstringsblog.com

One Pan Pasta Recipe:

Grandma's Carrot Pudding

I'm not the biggest cake fan.  I think cupcakes are fun, and I like tres leches cake but I'd rather have a birthday pie, bars or even birthday cookies.  So this year when my mom suggested my grandmother's carrot pudding for my birthday today-I said, "great"!  This recipe was perhaps my grandma's signature dessert and I remember eating and loving it as a kid and adult.  In fact, I only found out recently that this recipe is actually English-and there's not much modification from the English recipe that was handed down to my grandma.

Carrot Pudding
1 cup grated apples
1 cup grated potatoes
1 cup grated carrots
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
Lemon Clear Sauce

Shred apples, potatoes and carrots into large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well.  Dust raisins with flour to prevent sticking together.
Fill four pint bottles 2/3 full with batter.  Cover loosely with lids.  Place on rack in pan.  Fill pan with water about 2/3 up on bottles.  Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until done.
Serve warm with Lemon Clear Sauce.

Lemon Clear Sauce

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine sugar, cold water, cornstarch and lemon peel.  Boil until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Add butter and lemon juice.  Serve hot over Carrot pudding.  Serves four.

My mom decided to serve our carrot pudding with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup from "Our Best Bites" , otherwise known as "liquidy crack" in my world.

My grandma True Feild in 1986 looking at a monument in Wyoming. 

(Lentil) Sloppy Joes!

I mentioned to my sister in law that I had a decent lentil sloppy joes recipe so she asked for it.  I then realized I took pictures of the recipe way back this Spring with the intention of blogging it.  So here it is.  It's really quite good and don't let the amount of ingredients intimidate, the recipe comes together in a flash!  Easy enough for a weekday dinner!  These are so good, my dad would love them (he has a thing against lentils).

Sloppy Lentil Joes

Adopted from JamieOliver.com and tastyeasyhealthygreen.com

•                    1 cup French lentils

•                    1 tablespoon olive oil

•                    1 small onion, peeled and diced

•                    1-2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

•                    ¾ cup tomato puree

•                    2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

•                    1½ tablespoons light brown sugar

•                    ½ tablespoon honey

•                    2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

•                    ½ teaspoon spicy chili powder

•                    ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

•                    Salt and pepper to taste

•                    Whole wheat tortillas/wraps

•                    Lettuce or baby spinach for garnish

Place lentils into a medium-sized pot.  Fill pot with water and stir in a good pinch of salt.  Cook the lentils for about 15-20 minutes or until they are cooked through.  Drain remaining water from the pot and set aside.

Heat oil in a medium-sized skillet.  Add onions and cook until they just turn translucent.  Add carrots cook until they are tender crisp. Add the cooked lentils to the skillet and then stir in the tomato puree, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, mustard, chili powder, and smoked paprika.  Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until the sauce has thickened up a bit.

http://tastyeasyhealthygreen.com/?p=1453

S'mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Above is pictures of the cookie that ate all the other cookies.  Seriously, this is cookie monster, if he were a cookie.  Anyway, I decided to make S'mores stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies because I was curious, and wow, these cookies are amazing.  However, I'm kind of scared to give these bad boys away so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them as I can only eat 1/2 of a cookie in one sitting.



S’mores Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 12 large cookies (These are like three cookies in one!)

2 sticks (8 ounces) softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I strongly recommend using mini chocolate chips. Minis makes the dough easier to work with)
24 graham cracker quarters or 12 full sheets separated at perforations
3 Hershey Bars, broken into rows of 3 bars
12 large marshmallows cut in half lengthwise


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silpat liner. (Parchment Paper makes cleanup so easy!)
2. In a stand or electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, continue to beat until well combined.
3. Place flour, salt and baking soda into a bowl; mix to combine then add slowly to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips.
4. Layer a graham cracker quarter with 3 Hershey chocolate squares and 2 marshmallow halves. Close with another graham cracker. Top s’more with a large scoop of cookie dough. Place in hands and place another large scoop on bottom then front and back sides as needed. Form dough around s’mores. Will get messy, but stick with it, it does not have to be perfect. S’mores will move around but it’s no big deal. Place large cookies onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes or until edges are golden and centers are cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack or serving plate.

(You can view the original post of this recipe on Picky Palate)

Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe last week and it was a hit!  I took them to a church function and then to work the next day and was told the recipe is a keeper.  Enjoy!


Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Makes 4 dozen cookies.

2½ cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks, or chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, add the flour mixture, and mix just until blended. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chunks. Drop by tablespoons  onto sheet pans, 2 inches apart. Bake  for 12-15 minutes. Via "Memories in the Baking." 

Note: Don't refrigerate this dough.  

Cherry Chews (BYU Bakery Recipe)

The BYU Bakery is known for two desserts-their mint brownies and Cherry Chews. Personally, the mint brownies are far inferior to these cookies (and I'm a fan of mint brownies).
I’ve seen people online and in cooking magazines looking for this recipe. Once you take a couple bites, you’ll understand why these cookies have a cult following. There’s no pictures of the cookies because they go too fast, but they should look pink (light pink, unless you use a little food dye). Taste-wise, they taste like cherry almond happiness. Yes, happiness is a taste.

Cherry Chews
1-9x13 pan
6 egg whites

1.75 cups flour
1.75 cups sugar

½ t salt
1.5 t vanilla

1 cup glazed cherries
½ cup shortening

¾ cups chopped nuts

Beat egg white until form peaks. Fold in sugar. Mix in vanilla. Whip in shortening. Reserve 2 tablespoon flour, fold in remaining flour. Dust cherries & nuts with 2 tablespoons flour & fold into batter. Baked in greased & floured 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Emergency Dish?

My ward is doing an Emergency Preparedness Olympics tonight. I didn't have any intention of going, but a friend e-mailed a few days ago asking her friends to prepare dishes for the activity. I asked to see if she had people lined up for each dish, but she hadn't so I got tagged with the recipe below. Now, I'm not sure how practical this dish is during an emergency, but I'm about to try my hand at it just now.

Curry Simmer Sauce and Vegetables

1 16 oz can Potatoes

1 16 oz can Chick Pea

1 16 oz can Green Bean

1 12 oz can Chicken Breast (in water)

1 12 oz jar Trader Joe's Green Curry Simmer Sauce

1 1/2 cup Basmati Rice

1 cup water

Boil 1 cup water then add Basmati rice. Lower temperature, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

In a large sauce pan, pour simmer sauce, chick peas, green beans and warm. Fold in potatoes and chicken and cook to a simmer.

Serve the simmer sauce over rice.

Almost Vegetarian Lemon Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

Somehow, we’ve got three full bags of powdered sugar in our 2 bedroom apartment. I have a suspicion they are leftovers from cupcakes never made, but I couldn’t tell you for certain. Anyway, when I happened upon a recipe that would use the leftover summer squash in my fridge and powdered sugar, I was sold. Luckily, these little cookies taste great too and are fairly healthy for you too. Well, healthy enough that I didn’t feel too guilty about eating them for breakfast and Kelli triumphantly called them “Vegetarian Cookies!” (Somehow she’s embraced my almost-vegetarianism as much as I have). When Kelli ate them, she said that she loved them so much she wanted to get them pregnant. Now, if that’s not a voucher for these cookies-I’m not sure what is. Enjoy!

Adapted from Everyday Food

Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 1 medium summer squash or zucchini, grated on small holes of a box grater (about 1 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar with a wooden spoon until pale and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add flour and cornmeal and mix until mixture is crumbly. Add zucchini and stir until a thick dough forms.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are light golden brown at edges, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 25 cookies.

Notes: I only had summer squash in my fridge so I used it. The cookies were delicious, and although the green specks of a zucchini would make the cookies a little less yellow or orange-feel free to use what you have.

The next time I make these I may add a little bit of spice, but they aren’t lacking for flavor at all.

CSA Week 2

Here's what we got this week. I gave Andrea (we share the CSA with our neighbor) the catnip so we didn't get as much veggies as we got last week. We learned that you break the scape of right before it gets "woody" and cook the tender part (the squigly part of the scape). We got another bok choy which hopefully I'll get the hang of cooking, because my first bok choy experiment didn't turn out great.

CSA Scramble Week One

Our first CSA delivery came yesterday. After going through what we had, I realized I didn't just have a parcel of vegetables, I'm in a creative race against time.
This week we received:
Garlic Scapes
Cauliflower
1 basil plant in pot
spearmint
Mixed lettuces
Bok Choi
chives
I've never cooked with garlic scapes or bok choi. I need to use the garlic scapes tonight, and haven't figured out what to make quite yet. The cauliflower will either be roasted or cooked with marinara sauce. Bok Choi? Luckily one of my cookbooks is obsessed with this stuff.
I think the spearmint will be used in ice cream. The mixed lettuces is already being eaten (yum, arugula) and the chives will be pretty easy to eat.
All I can say, is thank heavens for the Googles!

Definition of CSA: A farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Mason Salad (originally salad de maison--)

Dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¾ cup vegetable oil
3 Cloves of garlic crushed

Salad:
2 heads romaine
1 cup grated Swiss Cheese
1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup almonds toasted

Combine lemon juice (no seeds), garlic and salt and pepper. You can mix it with a fork, adding the vegetable oil last, mixing well, combining the ingredients in a mason jar, place the lid on tightly and shake well or simply use a mini food chopper (what I do). Let stand for 3 hours, knowing the longer the ingredients have to marinate and blend the better the dressing will be. The dressing keeps for 2 weeks.

Once the romaine lettuce has been washed and dried and the salad dressing has had some time to marinate, combine lettuce, cheeses and then add salad dressing to taste. There will be left-over dressing which could be used over any salad greens or vegetables. I sometimes cheat and just use pre-made salad .

I’ve nick-named this salad dressing, “Salad-Crack” as I will eat it any time, and crave it when I have it in the fridge.

Armando Bars

Armando and a glimpse of his bars.

In July, I made "Smore's Bars" for my roommate's birthday. I took several of the bars to work to share and one of my co-worker's was smitten. We're talking, asking about them a month after the fact, asking me to make them again almost every day for a couple of weeks, randomly telling me several days about how good they were in love. His birthday was today, so I decided to make him a batch. In honor of the Birthday boy, the treat was renamed, "Armando Bars."

Here's the recipe:

Armando Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars*
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)*

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
Use about 2/3 to
Place chococolate bars (or bar) over first layer of graham crackers. If you use two bars, lay them side by side. If you use chocolate chips, just sprinkle them over the first layer of dough. If you use one king size bar, just break it up and lay it over the dough in a single layer.
Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.
Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.

*3/4 cup crumbs is approximately 7 full-sized graham crackers, put in the food processor or food chopper until ground into crumbs.

*1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips can be used instead of the chocolate bars. You just want enough chocolate to cover the layer of chocolate. I used 1 king sized bar for this batch, and I think it worked out just fine. There still was enough chocolate to cover an 8 by 8 pan.

*Marshmallow creme is a pain to smooth onto the layers without everything sticking to it. It's also a pain to measure. I've found microwaving the jar for 15 seconds aids in spreading the creme onto the layer. If you have a hard time measuring the creme, you want about a half inch or so layer over the bars, or measure it to what you prefer. 1 1/2 cups is most of a jar of marshmallow creme I've found, if that helps.

Adapted from Baking Bites

Recipe: Blueberry CheeseCake Bars

Last weekend, I had a couple of pints of Blueberries that needed to be used up. The only thing that appealed to me after eating blueberries for a week was cheesecake and pie. The recipe below for Blueberry Cheesecake Pie fitted my tastes perfectly.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blueberry-Cheesecake-Pie/Detail.aspx
However, after starting the recipe, I realized that it lied. This recipe wasn't a pie, there was no way that this pie would fit in even a deep-dish pie tin. No, this recipe was a bar recipe. So, I made a few changes and clarifications as the recipe was fairly vague and came up with the recipe below. Enjoy!

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

INGREDIENTS
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
8 tablespoons butter, melted (1 stick)
1/2 cup white sugar

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2/3 cups white sugar
3 eggs

1 quart fresh blueberries
1/2 cup water
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs and 2/3 cups sugar. Beat until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture over crust.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 20-25 minutes. Don’t take it out of the oven until the middle has set. Cool for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile For the blueberry filling: In a large sauce pan, combine blueberries, water, corn starch and 1 cup sugar. Cook and stir until thick. Cook for about 10 minutes at medium-low heat until you can draw a line in the back of the spoon coated with the mixture.
Spread blueberry filling over baked cream cheese mixture. Let cool. Once cool, refrigerate overnight before cutting into squares and serving.

Corn Chowder Nirvana

I love corn chowder.  Corn chowder is one dish that has it's place in the dead of winter and the heat of summer.  In winter, it serves as the ultimate comfort food using frozen corn.  However, in summer the dish showcases fresh corn just off the cob.  I've been in search for the perfect corn chowder recipe for over a year now, one that's not too time consuming but tastes like I've slaved over the stove all day. 

Today, I decided to try the recipe found in the July/August edition of "Everyday Food."  Because I seem to improvise every recipe I make, I didn't do it exactly as follows.  The results though?  Best attempt at Corn Chowder yet!  Corn chowder nirvana!

 

 

Corn and Shrimp Chowder with Bacon
July 2009 Everyday Food

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings .

• 6 ears corn, husks and silks removed
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch strips (I used 3 slices)
• 8 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced (I used 1/2 yellow onion)
• 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used 3 medium red potatoes)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning (I used 1 TBSP of Old Bay.  That might've been a tiny bit too much)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (I used some fresh thyme and rosemary)
• 1 pound large peeled and deveined shrimp (I didn't have any shrimp.  I put in a cup of frozen cooked kidney beans which tasted great)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Crackers, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Cut off tip of each cob. Stand corn in a wide shallow bowl; using a sharp knife, slice downward to release kernels. Scrape length of each cob with a spoon to release pulp. Discard cobs. (After I finished removing the corn from the cob, I used my immersion blender on the corn for about 20 seconds, just enough to blend about a third of the corn.  Mark Bittman uses the corncobs to create a stock while you're boiling, and then discard before you serve.  I threw in a couple of cobs in as it gives the soup more of a corny flavor. )
   
2. In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium-high until crisp and browned, 4 to 6 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels.
3. Add scallion whites and potatoes to pan; cook, stirring, until scallions have softened, 1 to 3 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add milk, seafood seasoning, thyme, and 2 cups water.
4. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add corn, shrimp, and scallion greens. Cook until shrimp are just opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Season chowder with salt and pepper. Serve topped with bacon, with crackers alongside if desired.

 

Anyway, this recipe doesn't take too long to prepare, tastes great and is hearty enough that you're not feeling hungry 20 minutes after the meal. 

Skillet Potatoes and Onions

 

One of my favorite comfort foods of all time is skillet potatoes and onions.  However, I can never get the potatoes perfectly crispy and my onions are on the burnt side of caramelized.  A couple of weeks ago I read a post from Taste Spotting claiming to have found a great way to make skillet potatoes and onions.  I tried the recipe and was pleased with the results.  I tinkered with the recipe the second and third time I made it, and am happy with the results.  Here's the original recipe with my modifications. 

 

Skillet Potatoes and Onions

Here’s what you need for a large single serving or 2 smaller servings:

1 Small onion cut in 1/2"-1" rings and then cut the rings in half

-5 or 6 small or 2-3 medium red potatoes

-1.5 TBSP vegetable or olive oil

-salt and pepper

-fresh herbs (I usually use rosemary since my rosemary plant is thriving)

1) Place a skillet (large enough so each potato slice has room to cook) on medium heat, add the onions and cover.  Cook for 5 minutes undisturbed.  Check the onions that they aren't burning, stir a bit, and then cook another 5 minutes undisturbed.

2) Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into wedges the last 5 minutes you're waiting on the onions.  Rinse and dry the wedges.

3)  Remove onions onto plate.  (You can eat the finished dish with this plate).

4) add the oil, give the oil about 30 seconds or so to heat up, and then add the potatoes making sure they are wedges cut-side down.

5)sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, and then put the lid back on the skillet.  Cook for 10-12 minutes, checking to make sure the potatoes aren't burning.  Adjust heat accordingly.

6) When nicely browned, take the lid off (you don't need to use it again, flip the potatoes and add the onions on top.  Cook until the potatoes are nicely browned on the other side (about 5-6 minutes).  Add your herb of choice.  I've got rosemary, thyme and basil growing in pots so I use a combination of the three. 

7) You should have nicely browned outsides and fluffy potato insides with carmelized onions.  Enjoy with your favorite salsa, condiment or naked as they are!

Thanks to Torta te Bukura for the original recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

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Recipe Review

I found this dish on the Hunger Challenge Blog a little while ago. I'm all about cheap, healthy recipes, this looked worth trying out and I had all of the ingredients in the fridge. Anyway, I made some adjustments to it, since I wasn't participating in the challenge (and I can't seem to ever follow a recipe exactly) and thought it was good. The recipe passed the leftover test for lunch the next day too. I was feeling charitable so I told Kelli she could have the rest, and she told me I needed to blog the recipe, it was that good.

I did use shredded purple cabbage, and it looked a little weird, but it was still good.

Hunger Challenge Recipe: Cabbage and Potato Casserole
Serves 6,
Recipe by Vanessa Barrington

1/2 pound potatoes
2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
2 slices bacon, diced (I accidentally used 3 slices)
1/2 pound onion, chopped (about 1 cup) (I used 1/2 chopped yellow onion)
4 cups green cabbage, chopped
3 eggs, slightly beaten (I might've used 2 eggs)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup grated Jack or cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

If the potatoes are small, leave them whole, otherwise, cut them into quarters or halves. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the potatoes. Simmer the potatoes until tender and remove with a slotted spoon. Add the chopped carrot pieces to the boiling water and cook them until tender. Drain. I diced up a Russet potato, cooked it for about 5-10 minutes, then added the carrots until they were all tender. Then I drained it all.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the bacon until all the fat is rendered but it has not yet started to brown. Add the onion, the mushrooms and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and a pinch of salt and sauté until thoroughly wilted. Add the potato pieces the carrots , stirring and breaking up the potatoes into smaller pieces with the edge of a spoon. Transfer to an 8 by 8 inch casserole dish.

Whisk the cottage cheese into the beaten egg and add salt and pepper with the basil. Pour it over the casserole and top with the grated Jack or cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes, or until the eggs are set and the top is beginning to brown. Cool slightly before cutting into portions and serve immediately.

Nothing Says St. Patricks Day like Chili

I've been meaning to post a recipe once a week this year--its March and this is my first. Most the time when I cook I don't really follow a recipe, its just throw things together etc. I'm not much of a red meat eater, but when I get a chest cold, I crave beef. Here's a recipe I've tried twice with great success both times. Kell is a big fan of this.

I don't cook the chili in a dutch oven, I use my cast iron skillet.


As adapted from Cook's Country

Cincinnati Chili
Serves 6 to 8
Use canned tomato sauce for this recipe-do not use jarred spaghetti sauce.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 onions chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 and1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
salt
3/4 teaspoon peeper
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups canned tomato sauce
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 pounds 85 percent lean ground beef

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Cook onions until soft and browned around edges, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, vinegar, and sugar.

2. Add beef and stir to break up meat. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chili is deep brown and slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and serve. (chili can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.)

Cincinnati Chili is rarely served by itself (one-way); there's five ways to serve it. Personally I like four and five way.

Two-way: Served over spaghetti. (just cook spaghetti noodles and put the meat on top..like spaghetti)

Three-way: served over spaghetti and topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

Four-way: Served over spaghetti and topped with onions and then cheddar cheese (raw, finely chopped--I prefer red because they are milder)

Five-way: Served over spaghetti and topped with onions, red kidney beans (drained canned work fine, they don't need to be reheated), and cheese.

Select NPR

I select, you listen...or whatever ...

Frank DeFord: I adore Frank's columns each week but the one on Wednesday about the rediculousness of pitch limits in mlb? Classic. If you aren't giggling, then you have no soul or don't like baseball which is really the same as the former. click here

Cooking Guide for New Grads: This article is practical for anyone who is just out on their own for the first time, simply doesn't think they can cook or think its too much of a pain cooking for one. The recipes? Just check them out...personally, she definitely called me out as I am a cook who makes pasta or stir-fry at least once a week. click here

American Idol: Oh, the final was last month but just listening to Steve Inskeep give the highlights of the finale is priceless. Just listening to his dripping sarcasm, I have a hunch his feelings about the show are similar to mine. click here

Crooked Cops in Tijuana: Drug wars in Mexico has killed more than 1,000 people so far this year and the stories coming out in relation to these wars are sobering to say the least. This segment focuses on Tijuana's police force. click here