Salmon Stir-fry with Peanut Sauce

A new pat-coction. Threw this together for dinner this evening. Loved it!

2 filets of salmon, cut in 1 inch pieces (you could also use chicken or shrimp)
1 tbsp chili oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 pkg Birds Eye Asparagus Stir Fry
3 scallions, sliced, including green part
1-2 tbsp dry basil
Chopped cilantro
Red pepper flakes

Peanut sauce
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Fish sauce
1/4 lime, juiced
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp honey

Stir fry salmon 3 minutes on each side in chili oil and sesame oil. In the meantime, combine all ingredients for peanut sauce and microwave until peanut butter melts. Stir. Mixture should be somewhat thick.

Add Birds Eye Asparagus Stir Fry (includes a mix of veggies and noodles), scallions, cilantro (reserve a couple tbsp for garnish), red pepper flakes, basil, and stir fry approx 5 minutes (or cover and steam) until veggies are hot.

Add peanut sauce and coat fish and vegetables.

Serve with chopped cilantro garnish.

White Chili

This is soooo easy and yummy. Made this for dinner tonight. Tons of leftovers! This makes great lunch for the rest of the week.

1 large onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 16-oz cans white beans (great northern)
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast or a 2 lb rotisserie chicken diced
juice of 1 lime
1 (4 oz) jalepenos
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
4 cans chicken stock
3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (I used pepper jack today)
Sour cream
Chopped fresh green onions

Heat olive oil in stock pot and add onion and saute for about 10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, jalepenos, cumin, and saute for 10 minutes.

Remove meat from rotisserie chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Add to pot. Add beans and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add lime juice. Reduce the heat and simmer about 30 minutes.

Add grated cheese to pot reserving a bit for garnish.

Ladle into bowls and serve with remaining cheese, chopped green onions, and sour cream. Salt to taste.

Holiday Biscotti

Holiday Biscotti
adapted from GoodThingsCatered

I made these yesterday and my spousal unit loves them.

I always adapt recipes to suit my taste and what I have on hand. In this one, I used mostly whole wheat flour just because I wanted it to be a smidge healthier. I also substituted Penzey's Cake Spice for the spices. Then, because I didn't have brandy, I used triple sec, and instead of just raisins I had dried cranberries and cherries on hand. I also had no pecans so I used almonds. The recipe makes about 2 dozen.

Ingredients:
2 c. whole wheat flour and 1/4 c. unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger (in place of cloves, cinnamon and ginger, I used 1 ¼ tsp penzey's Cake spice.)
1/4 tsp ground white or black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs, plus 2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c. mixed raisins, craisins, dried cherries (or any combo of dried fruit you like), soaked in 1/4 c. brandy (I used triple sec) for 1 hour
1/4 c. pecans, or almonds, chopped

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or use non-stick baking sheet with non-stick baking spray.
-In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt to combine thoroughly; set aside.-In large bowl, whisk eggs, yolks, and sugar until light in color.
-Whisk in vanilla.
-Sprinkle dry ingredients over wet and fold in, add raisins and pecans (and soaking liquor) and fold until just combined.
-Halve the mixture, pat into a ball and turn onto baking sheet.
-Pat and stretch into about 13x3 inch loaf and repeat with remaining mixture, placing loaves about 3 inches apart.
-Place baking sheet in oven and cook until beginning to crack on top, about 35 minutes.
-Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes.
-Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
-Using wide spatula to transfer to cutting board, with a serrated knife, carefully sliced loaves diagonally into 1/2 inch slices.
-Lay slices about 1/2 inch apart on baking sheets (you will need a second to fit them all), cut side up.
-Return to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, flipping biscotti half way through cooking time.
-Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire racks.

Quinoa (keen-wa) and Veggie Bake

Quinoa is actually an herb but behaves like a grain. Use it like you would cous cous or rice. You can find it in the health food section of the grocery store. Dry, it looks almost like barley. It's quite tasty and I've used it in soup but otherwise this is a pretty new ingredient for me. So far, my husband and I both LOVE it. It's got a nutty taste and almost a crunchy-soft texture. You can substitute whatever veggies and herbs you like for this recipe. I just made it up on the fly.

Quinoa and veggie Bake

1 cup quinoa (raw)
2 cups beef or chicken stock
Olive oil or cooking spray
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tsps each of thyme, basil, and tarragon
2 oz cheese (i used half parmesan and half sharp cheddar)

Cook quinoa according to package directions using chicken or beef stock as the liquid. It cooks a lot like rice. It's done when all the liquid is absorbed.

When the quinoa is almost done, saute the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini and garlic in skillet with olive oil or in non-stick skillet with cooking spray until all veggies are al dente to just soft. Add herbs and salt/pepper.

Mix quinoa and veggies. Either transfer to an oven safe dish or keep in skillet. Top with cheese and bake off for about 20 minutes til cheese is melted.

Banana Sour Cream Waffles

These are my grand-daughter's favorites. I often make these on Sunday mornings (I did today!)when she visits.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
1 or 2 ripe banana, sliced
1 large egg, separated
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

(Note: Yields approx 6 waffles. This recipe can be doubled. I've doubled it by using 1/4 cup wheat germ and 1/4 cup ground flax seed in place of 1/2 cup of the additional flour.)

Spray waffle iron with nonstick cooking spray (even if iron is non-stick). Preheat waffle iron according to manuf. directions.

In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Whisk the egg white until foamy, then in another bowl, mix together sour cream, sliced banana, egg yolk, milk, and butter breaking up bananas with a fork -- leave some semi large pieces. Fold in egg white.

Make well in center of flour mixture and pour in banana mixture. Mix with spatula with a few strokes to evenly moisten batter, do not overmix.

Pour approx 3/4 cup batter per waffle. Close lid and bake until waffle is crisp and well browned, about 4-5 minutes.

Remove from iron. Serve immediately with a mixture of warmed maple syrup, honey, and melted butter.

Split Pea Soup

Made this today. Yum.

2 tblsp olive oil or butter
1 1/2 cups dried split peas
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 shallot, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp thyme
2 cans low sodium chicken stock
1/2 lb ham, ldiced
1/4 cup real bacon bits

Saute carrots, onion, celery in olive oil or butter til soft. Add chicken stock, peas, ham, bacon (reserve at bit of the ham and bacon for the end), herbs. Bring to boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add more water or stock as needed. Soup is done when the peas are a thick puree. Add the reserved ham and bacon at the end.

Meatball Soup

Also known as "Pasta Soup" or "Spaghetti and Meatball Soup", this soup is to die for. I made it up! It's my own "pat-coction." I make it often and I usually allow for whatever veggies and pasta I happen to have in my fridge/pantry. Most of these ingredients I stock so it's an easy go-to meal. It's awesome. Try it.

Extra Virgin Olive oil
a medium red onion, chopped
Garlic (as much as you like)
a shallot (chopped fine) or a tsp freeze dried shallots
1 carrot and 1-2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
about 16 premade frozen Meatballs (I use schwans but any premade froz or leftover meatballs work)
basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, fennel seed (a lot)
1/4 cup red wine to deglaze
dried bell pepper (or fresh)
1 zucchini chopped coursely
1-2 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes
3 cans of chicken stock (veg or beef will do)
1 cup dry pasta (i use elbow or angel hair broked into small pieces)
shredded parmesan cheese

In a large soup pot, saute the onion, garlic, shallot, carrots, celery and herbs in olive oil til soft. Add meatballs. Cover for a few minutes if you like, to thaw the meatballs but they will thaw in the process. Add the wine to deglaze the pot. Add the remaining ingredients except parmesan and pasta. Bring to a simmer and cook for about half an hour. Add pasta and continue cooking until pasta is done (approx. 10 minutes depending on the pasta). Serve with parmesan cheese.

Sauted Brussel Sprouts

This recipe is awesome... even for those who don't like brussel sprouts! But for those who do, this is habit forming ;). These amounts are approximate. I usually just throw in as much as I like.

olive oil (approx 2 tbsp)
butter (approx 2 tbsp)
1 pound or so of fresh brussel sprouts, cored and sliced
1/2 small red onion, chopped fine
1 clove of garlic, minced (give or take) I used dried minced
1 small shallot, chopped fine I used dried
Salt, to taste
bacon bits

To prepare the sprouts, I slice them in half and cut out the core then juliene.
Add them to butter and olive oil in a shallow skillet along with the rest of the ingredients. Saute until soft.

Edamame Salad

frozen (thawed) edamame
rice wine vinegar
olive oil
bell pepper (finely chopped)
red onion (finely chopped)
shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper

optional: finely chopped raw zucchini or cucumber would be delicioso!

Pantry Risotto

I call this pantry risotto because I throw in a little of this and a bit of that from the pantry. I make risotto a lot and the nice thing about it is you can add whatever you want: ground meat or chicken, veggies, herbs and spices, whatever you like. Here's what I made tonight. These amounts are approximate. I always have dried herbs and aromatics on hand from Penzeys (onion, shallots, garlic, basil, fennel, bell pepper, etc.) but you can always use fresh.

2 tbsp olive or veg oil
2 tbsp butter
2 cups arborio rice
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp or more of dried onion (or use fresh onion)
1 large shallot, chopped, or a couple tsps dried shallots
1/4 cup white wine (or cooking wine)
2 tbsp dried bell pepper (or use fresh bell pepper)
marinated artichokes, chopped (I used a small jar but use canned or froz if desired)
Packaged real bacon bits (or real bacon)
Zucchini or yellow squash
3 large mushrooms, sliced (any kind)
a couple handfuls of fresh basil (or dried basil)
Sun dried tomatoes (2-3 tbsp) or sun dried tomato pesto
ground fennel seed (1-2 tsp)
basil (dried or fresh) a few large leaves or a tbsp dried
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
chicken or beef or vegetable broth (2-4 cups)
Shredded parmesan cheese (a few handfuls)

In a deep skillet saute onions and garlic in the olive oil and butter until soft (about 3 minutes). Add arborio rice and continue sauteing until rice is beginning to become translucent. Add wine to deglaze the pan and cook down til almost evaporated. Add broth and herbs/spices and vegetables and bacon. Simmer until rice and veggies are creamy and soft (about 15-20 minutes) and liquid has been soaked up by rice. Add parmesan cheese.

Easy Cheesy Beer Bread

Easy Cheesy Beer Bread
Ingredients:
2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar
12 oz. bottle of lager or stout
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan for baking.
-In large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder.
-Whisk to combine well.
-Add cheese and whisk to combine.
-Slowly add beer to dry ingredients and stir lightly until combined.
-Knead dough lightly until it just comes together.
-Place into prepared loaf pan and pour melted butter over top.
-Place in oven to bake for 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup

This is awesome!

Yield: 9 cups

Three 15 1/2 ounce cans black beans (about 4 1/2 cups), rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup minced shallot
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
4 cups beef broth
a 16-ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup dry Sherry
1/2 pound cooked ham, cut into 1/8-inch dice
3 to 4 tablespoons Sherry vinegar

Garnish: sour cream and coarsely chopped lightly toasted pumpkin seeds (optional).

In a food processor coarsely puree beans and tomatoes.
In a 6-quart heavy kettle cook onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened and beginning to brown. Stir in bean puree. Stir in broth, pumpkin, and Sherry until combined and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Just before serving, add ham and vinegar and simmer soup, stirring, until heated through. Season soup with salt and pepper.
Serve soup garnished with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Salmon Stir fry

This is a totally made up recipe I made last night and it was really good! It took about 10 minutes. We had a small window of opportunity to cook and eat before the hub had to leave for a class so here's my newest pat-coction:

Two salmon filets, sliced thin (about 1/2 inch)
2 cups of broccoli flowerettes (I used frozen)
Kraft Ceasar Parmesan dressing - this is the key ingredient
2 cups of cooked brown rice

Toss the raw, slightly frozen salmon slices in a few tbsps of the dressing (it's soooo much easier to slice salmon when it's frozen-and-not-quite-thawed all the way).

In a wok or skillet, add the broccoli to one side and squirt a bit of dressing on it. When the skillet is hot, add a few of the salmon slices at a time. It's done pretty quickly. Don't over cook it. In fact, it's best a little underdone, promise!

Add to cooked brown rice. YUM.

Squas-age

Every fall and winter I make this at least half dozen times. It's so easy and so tasty.

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
.75 - 1 lb pork sausage (I often use turkey sausage for less fat)
2 pats of butter (optional)
2 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

Slice the bottoms off each squash half, if desired, so they sit flat. Put a pat of butter and tbsp of brown sugar inside each squash half. Divide sausage between each half, pressing into the cavity of each squash half.

Place squash halves (sausage side up) in a 9 x 13 pan filled with about 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 350 for about 1.5 hours, more or less depending on your oven, until squash is squashable and sausage is cooked through.

It's beautiful, easy, and tasty.

Apple Pumpkin Chili (the original recipe)

I think I'll try this next. Looks tasty, healthy, and of course seasonal.

1 pound ground turkey or chicken, browned in a skillet
2 cans (15 oz each) white beans
1.5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, cleaned, and sliced
4 slices bacon, browned and crumbled or chopped
one medium shallot, diced
1 granny smith apple, diced
1/2 can pumpkin puree
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried sage
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon thyme
(optional) equal parts cornstarch and chix broth, for thickening
grated gouda cheese, for topping

Combine all except cornstarch/chix broth and cheese in a crockpot or large soup pot. Stir to mix ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 or simmer for 2 hours on low. Add thickener if desired and heat on high for a few minutes to thicken sauce. Serve, topped with grated gouda.

The Pickle Soup (my version)

Ok, i did it. I made the pickle soup today for lunch. My husband gave it two thumbs up. I thought it was pretty good too! Here's my variation:

3 cans low salt chicken broth (14.5 oz each)
2 largish russet potatoes, peeled and diced
a whole mess of dill pickles, grated. Approx 3 Cups
8 oz low fat sour cream
2 oz (give or take) Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
a tsp or so of dill weed (why not?)

In a large soup pot, add chicken broth, potatoes, and pickles. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes til potatoes are done. Add cheese, sour cream and dill. I simmered for a bit longer on low for another 45 minutes or so.

Dill Pickle Soup (the original recipe)

DILL PICKLE SOUP
2 qts. meat stock
2 c. diced raw potatoes
1 c. sour cream
2 c. peeled, coarsely grated dill pickles
2-3 tbsp. flour

Add potatoes and grated dill pickle to meat stock in saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Fork blend flour into sour cream to form a smooth paste and slowly add sour cream mixture into simmering liquid. Continue to heat soup thoroughly but do not boil.

I might try adding celery and carrots.

The beginning

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