7 Layer Salad

The only reason I haven't posted a new recipe for several weeks is because we got hooked on the Beer Cheese Soup and have made it 3 times in as many weeks.

This salad is a recipe I got from a dear friend when my girl was little. I thought it was just magical then and we all love it. Perfect to serve on a hot summer day as a side dish with your BBQ. You need to plan ahead by one day, as it needs 24 hours to chill before serving. It will keep 3 days - if it lasts that long. This is also a good dish to share at a potluck.

Layer in order from bottom to top:
1 head of iceberg lettuce, ripped in bite-size pieces
1 frozen bag of sweet peas, cooked and drained
1 bunch green onions, diced
1 1/c cups carrots, diced
1 cup celery, diced
Several hard-boiled eggs, sliced in disks

Finish by frosting the entire salad with Hellman's Real Mayo (about 2 cups). If you are a bacon-eater, sprinkle some bacon over the top. Complete with extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight (or at least 8 hours). Can't wait til tomorrow night when we eat it!

Spot gave this 3 paws because she got to feast on some of the leftover hardboiled egg whites.

Beer Cheese Soup

Yesterday, I had my very first Beer Cheese Soup at a local eatery (I'm a late bloomer... just started watching Seinfeld, too). It was sooooo good I asked for more "to go" so that I could share this yum with "my boys" at home. It was so good I stubbornly decided to try and make it today in honor of our 90 degree weather. After spending time online looking for a recipe to base my experiment on, I found the perfect beginning. My audience tonight: 4 boys (3 teens plus hubby). Results: Victory!! (Why do I keep learning to make things so good at home we do not have a reason to go out?) :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cup white onion
3/4 cup celery
1 cup carrots
3 bottles pale ale beer (minus 1 sip)
7 cups hearty chicken stock (I used 1 Knorr Chicken Stock gel cube + 2 cups water and 1 carton chicken stock)
3 TBSP Dry Mustard
2+ TBSP Kosher salt (or more to taste)
8+ cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup butter
2 cups flour
2 pounds sharp cheddar cheese + 1 cup
1+ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1-2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Using a food processor, puree onion, celery, garlic and carrots in separate batches. Place all of these guys in a large stock pot and saute over medium-low heat with extra virgin olive oil. Slowly whisk in flour, then butter and fully cook. Gradually whisk in the chicken stock(s) and beers. Bring to a boil. Over medium heat add the cheeses and mix until smooth. Then add the cream, mustard and salt, combine well and heat through on a lower temperature. If not zippy enough, just add a dash more kosher salt.

In all the excitement, we forgot to top off with croutons. This would be great with a green leafy salad and bruschetta, but c'mon, it's our first try...

This makes a ton of soup! All the boys had seconds or thirds. I am glad for all the leftovers we will enjoy this week. If I was having a large group over, this would serve everyone a cup along with a brat and salad.

Start-to-finish time when I could sit down and crochet, about an hour. So, for an easy prep I've made something yummy good for several days. Not bad for a first try. :)

Spot was too busy enjoying another bone from last night's feast to care about this delight. Sometimes, Spot is just plain wrong.

Yummy Porterhouse Steak & Sauce

Yesterday we wanted to serve a really special meal for our company. My hubby had been talking about Porterhouse steaks. I had never made them, so why not try? It's fun to not know what you are doing and combine experiences. The result was a fantastic meal!

Here's our Menu:

Brie with Rosemary wafers
BBQ Porterhouse Steak with Merlot Mushroom Sause
Fresh Green Beans
Feta & Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes (posted on New Year's)
Baby Green Salad with our lastest fav Dressing (posted 5/16/12)
Corn on the cob


INGREDIENTS FOR THE PORTERHOUSE AND SAUCE:
1 Porterhouse per person
Kosher salt
Ground Pepper
Newman's Olive Oil & Vinegar Dressing
3/4 - 1 cup Merlot wine
1 lb sliced mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
4+ TBSP Wondra flour
4 TBSP unsalted butter at room temp
2+ TBSP extra virgin olive oil

DAY AHEAD:
Marinate steaks in Newman's dressing. Season both sides well with kosher salt and ground pepper. Seal in ziploc with about 1/3 the dressing. Massage well and put in the fridge. If you think about it, massage again sometime and flip the bag.

THREE HOURS AHEAD:
Bring steaks to room temperature, set on work platter. Reserve juices in bag for BBQ.

GRILLING TIPS:
Salt each side again with more kosher salt. Grill each side about 5 minutes, moving from heated to cooler areas as usual. Press steaks to check for doneness. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

MERLOT MUSHROOM SAUCE:
While steaks are on the grill, prepare sauce. In medium skillet, saute 1 pound of sliced mushrooms and minced garlic in 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil til tender. Whisk in broth, bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Then add flour and butter to form a paste. Bring to boil again, then simmer. While simmering, slowly stir in Merlot in thirds. Add pinch of kosher salt, ground pepper and heat through. Stir frequently. Serve hot.

This was the moistest steak! Our company loved the buttery taste of the meat that just melted in our mouths. Grilled perfectly. The Merlot sauce was the perfect pairing. We couldn't stop praising the taste sensations. In fact, my hubby is having some leftovers right now.

Spot gives this 4 paws, a tail wag and a yip. Not only was she underfoot, she was under the table and was finally rewarded with her very own bone on a tea towel.

Lucy Juicies ... Yummy Sliders

These minis are just the yum! 2 lbs of hamburger makes 10 sliders. If you serve with a salad and our Deep Fried Chips, you could feed more than you think. Since I only know how to cook for 8, that's what I do. Got the idea for this recipe from a friend who gave me a Cook's Country recipe. These would also be great app's for a larger party. Wonderful leftovers for lunch, too. I like mine with dill pickle slices.



INGREDIENTS
2 lbs 85% fat ground beef (recently learned that this gives the best flavor and cooks to 90% fat - I'm sold!)
1 brick Extra Sharp Cracker Barrel White Cheddar Cheese, sliced into 10 thick pieces
3 slices wheat bread, ripped in small pieces
1/3 - 1/2 cup milk
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 cloves finely minced fresh garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
3 tsp finely sliced fresh basil
1 package mini hamburger buns

One hour before you want to eat... or even 24 hours ahead of time, prepare the burgers.

In large work bowl, mash the bread with the milk and seasonings until smooth. Add the milk slowly. Once this is mashed well, mix in the hamburger meat. When the meat is fully combined with the mash (you will end up using your hands so take off the rings), divide the mixture into 5 even hunks. I used a cutting board as my work surface.

Working with one hunk at a time, divide the meat in two. Taking a piece of cheese, firmly wrap one portion of meat around the cheese. Once wrapped, take the final section of meat and firmly wrap it around the first layer. You should now have something the size of a mini tennis ball. Work this again to be sure it is fully combined, then flatten to about 1/2 inch. THEN, cut this in two and make two small burgers. They will be about the size of the bottom of a juice glass if you traced it. You should have cheese in both sections.

Repeat this with the other 4 hunks. You will now have 10 mini burgers. Thick. Flattened. (Remember - start with a ball, then flatten as usual, it will just be fatter.)

Chill for at least 30 minutes separated by wax paper in a Ziplock, but up to 24 hours. (That's what we did)

TO SERVE
Get out the grill and BBQ til medium rare. Serve in mini buns. When you take a bite, the cheese will come and visit your tastebuds. Add pickles, onions, tomatoes, mustard, etc. Or this new Mayo I made tonite:

MAYO SPREAD and DIP
1/2 cup Hellman's
1 tsp Kosher salt
Juice from 1 1/2 lemons
1 tsp fresh Rosemary

Whisk and enjoy as a dip for Homemade Deep Fried Chips (from my March 19 entry) or on the burger buns.

Spot gives this 4 paws plus a tail wag. She knows that later on, I am even going to use one of these as a treat when I train her on her newest trick!

Get Your Salad Freak On Part 1

I'm on a salad binge and morphed this one from The Chew's Brown Derby recipe. Since I saw this, we've had this many times... confirming my new salad freak. Just in time for summer...

INGREDIENTS
2 heads of red leaf lettuce
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
juice from 1 fresh lemon
1 1/2 + sea salt
1/2 + freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp thick Worcestershire sauce

LATER
1 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil

WHAT TO DO
An hour before you want to nosh, prepare this lovely dressing. Using a (clean and empty) spaghetti-sauce sized jar, add the diced garlic. Then add the red wine vinegar, sugar, lemon, salt, pepper and W sauce. Shake well. Then add the extra virgin olive oil. Shake again and chill. When you serve - shake, shake, shake. This dressing will keep for 12 days in the fridge. Not so true for us. We drank it fast!

SERVING IDEAS
We like it over red-tipped lettuce with either parmesan or blue cheese and croutons. Tonite we used our George Foreman indoor grill to cook up some chicken tenders on sale. The boys diced those up and added them to their salads.

The original recipe calls for iceberg and romaine and cherry tomatoes. This is on the "try it" list, but next I will try making my own croutons out of dry deli bread.

Spot? She's her own freak... thinking blue cheese is safe for babies or doggies

Our New Fav Side Dish

How do you spell Side Dish? One or two words? The other day I watched a show new to me called "Restaurant Impossible". The host is Robert Irvine. Not only does he help restauranteurs evaluate their use of space, he upgrades their menus when needed.

We are all in love with his recipe that we tried tonight along with marinated BBQ T-Bones. I tweaked it a little, but all the credit goes to Robert.

Blue Cheese Spinach Orzo Side

INGREDIENTS:
3.5 TBSP unsalted butter
3 TBSP flour
1 cup low-fat milk
1 pound orzo, cooked and cooled (drain in cold water, fluff to keep from sticking)
2.5 cups crumbled blue cheese
1 TBSP kosher salt
1 tsp ground pepper
2 big handfuls of fresh spinach
1.5 cups diced tomato


DIRECTIONS:
In medium skillet over med-high heat, melt butter. Lower heat and whisk in flour. Once fully combined, reduce heat all the way to low and whisk in milk. Stir and cook til thickened. Then add the blue cheese, one package at a time. Be sure fully combined before you add the next pkg. Season with salt and pepper, blend and remove from heat.

Now stir in the orzo. Then add the spinach and tomatoes, again combine well. The orzo will warm with the sauce and the spinach will wilt.

Start to finish this takes about 30 minutes. Serves about 8 people with one-cup servings or the 4 of us with refills. Chef says this will keep 5 days. Not in our house!

Spot was not around for this part of the meal. She was only interested in the T-Bones on the BBQ and is now enjoying her reward.

Congratulations on the World's Best Banana Bread!

One of my favorite people is Buddy the Elf. I love when he runs into a NYC Cafe and jumps up and down yelping "Congratulations! You did it! You did it!!" All because he saw the sign out front: World's Best Coffee. Well, jump some more, Buddy. This is the world's best no-fail banana bread.

Preheat oven to 350 and grease two glass loaf pans, be sure to get the corners.

1. In mixing bowl, cream together:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 beaten eggs
2 cups bran cereal

2. In a medium size bowl, mix:
3-4 cups rip bananas with 3-4 tsp. vanilla extract

3. In a third bowl, mix:
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2+ cups chopped walnuts

4. Combine:
Add flour and banana mixtures alternately to the main bowl in 3 equal parts, mix well between additions. Stir til blended.

Pour evenly into pans and bake for 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

This is moist and delicious! Eat one and freeze one til later. Or if you have a teenage son, just leave them on the counter, they'll be gone in a couple of days.

Spot gives this 4 paws, silly dog.

Best Chocolate Cake Ever!

I got this recipe off a Hershey's cocoa container, but you can use any chocolate.
Rather than making a frosting, I like to use a container of Buttercream frosting in the middle and on the top, leaving the sides free. Looks pretty and elegant on a cake plate. The picture of my last cake is a bit tipsy, that was because I slipped when I was placing the top layer on and didn't want to make a mess by trying to straightening it. Don't worry, it still tasted moist!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2-3 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat over to 250, grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder and soda, salt in mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. (Batter will be thin) Pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 - 35 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
4. Frost.

Spot loves chocolate and tries to get at it every way she can even though she knows it's not for hounds. Still, 4 paws.

Updated Deep Fried "Chips" with New Dip!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I posted a yum-deli-iscious recipe for these Rosemary flavored deep fried chips. We still love, love, love this.

Since the deep fat frier was full of bacon-y oil (and I'm not only allergic but lazy), I bought one of those cool thermometers you can use in a pot on the stove. Do I have some cool gagets or what?

Come to find out, the chips cook way faster with this $9 technique, and it looks even more gourmet! Here I was thinking I needed to replace our old and slow fryer, but maybe I don't?

Here is the dip I baked to go along with our french fried chips:

1 1/2 cups diced white onion
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup diced Gouda cheese
1 1/8 cup Hellmans mayonaise

Mix in a casserole and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Yum City!

Danny's Favorite Meal: Bacon Bourbon Chicken Wings

It's been so long since I've cooked something new because I am still full from Easter! Last week while watching The Chew, a daytime foodie show I record, I saw a really cool wings recipe. Even though I am highly allergic to bacon (and all pig food), our son's fav food group is "bacon" and I thought it would be fun to make something that he really digs. He had to help me because I can't even come in contact with bacon, but I did the sauce, adjusting the recipe to what we had. My hubby had to go buy some Bourbon, came home with Whiskey Bourbon. Don't know if there is a difference, but when we make this again, that's what we will use.

What a hit! Our son kept thanking me over and over after his first bites. My hubby keeps growling like a happy bear. This is a keeper - even if I can't eat it! "How can this get much better!?! Bacon and wings!!!" - Daniel

INGREDIENTS
24 chicken wings
Vegetable oil and a deep fat fryer
12 slices of thick bacon, cut in half (get 2 short fat pieces)
toothpicks

WINGS PART I:
Cook wings in batches til golden brown (but not fully cooked) at 370 degrees. Depending on your deep fat fryer, this will take up to 11 minutes a batch. (Our fryer does not hold heat well) Place cooked wings on paper towel covered paper bag to cool slightly while you cook the rest of the wings.

SAUCE:
While wings are cooking, prepare and heat sauce in medium sauce pan. Over medium low heat, melt 4 TBSP unsalted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 5 cloves finely chopped garlic, 1 tsp+ horseradish, 1/3 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3/4 cup bourbon, 3/4 cup ketchup. Heat and stir infrequently for 10 minutes. Turn to lowest setting and keep warm til you finish the wings.

WINGS PART II:
Tightly wrap a piece of bacon around the "fat" part of each wing, secure with 1-3 toothpicks. You don't want the bacon to fall off when you cook the wings again. Use enough toothpicks to adhere the bacon. Cook the wings again until bacon is done, approximately 3 minutes per batch.

FINISHING:
Using tongs, dip each wing in the sauce, coat well. Set wings on plates and chow down!

This recipe made 24 wings and served two. My hubby and my son.

Spot gives this 4 paws for sure. She even tripped me on the stairs as I was heading toward the kitchen to cook!

My Daring Easter Feast

I had no idea what I was signing up for when I decided to make Prime Rib for our Easter dinner. Yes, I've had it now and then over the years (and even once at Sardi's as an unknowing 6th grader) but never understood how hard it is to make, how special it truly is and crazy expensive. I was just thinking it was time to have a holiday meal without fowl on the menu.

With my ignorance fresh in hand, I began searching the internet for recipes. When I asked a dear friend who has about 600 cookbooks and is my cooking guru for her suggestions, I got nervous when she told me she had never made Prime Rib. Ack! She sent me a bunch of ideas and they are my bibliography for a recipe I morphed when I casually mentioned to another friend what I was about to tackle. "Oh, you should talk to my sister, she makes this all the time and it's great!" She gave me the confidence to venture forth.

OUR MENU (everything with a # is made from my lov'n kitchen)

* Brie & Bruschetta

* Organic Greens and Parmesan Salad Dressing#

* Rosemary Prime Rib#

* Gruyere & Parmesan Potatoes Au Gratin#

* Fresh Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes# (recipe straight from allrecipes.com)

* Hershey's Chocolate Cake# with Buttercream topping

* And why not a Pumpkin Pie with New York Vanilla Ice Cream while we're at it?


For this entry, I will focus on the main meal. In the next blog, I will share the recipe for the cake. That way, I get points for two entries this week!

Seriously, I broke all the rules by making so many new recipes all at once!



ROSEMARY PRIME RIB
I bought a boneless 5 lb Prime Rib Roast, so adjust as needed... (I wanted leftovers cuz COLD PR is wonderful!)

Night before cooking: season with Kosher Salt, Ground Pepper and Paprika on all sides. Place in a jumbo Ziplock and refrigerate. Turn the bag whenever you are near the fridge. No stress, even if you just flip it twice - great.

3-4 hours before cooking: take the PR out of the fridge and set on a plate on the counter and bring to room temperature.

When ready, preheat oven to 450. Remove meat from bag, brush all sides with Kitchen Bouquet. Shake on Garlic salt, more ground pepper, paprika and generously cover all with fresh Rosemary. All sides need to be covered. Insert Meat thermometer into a side. Place on roasting rack inside roasting pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Then reduce the oven temp to 275 and continue baking until temp reads 133 for medium rare. (This took us 2 1/2 hours)

Remove and cover loosely with foil and let sit for 20 minutes, (now you can finish up your side dishes and get that gravy going) then slice and serve.

AH MAZE ING!!


MADERIA GRAVY
In large saucepan, melt 3 TBSP of unsalted butter. Whisk in 2-3 TBSP Wondra until thick paste is formed. Boil briefly, continuing to whisk. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of Maderia red wine, in small quantities. Be sure fully mixed before adding more. Slowly add a 32-oz carton of low sodium beef broth. Whisk in enough Kitchen Bouquet to tint gravy a medium-dark brown. Go crazy with ground pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered for about 20 minutes til slightly thickened.


GRUYERE & PARM POTOS Au GRATIN
I will never use cheddar cheese again!

1. Wash and slice 5 baked potatoes as thin as you can without harming yourself
2. Place slices in 5 quart pot with enough water to just cover potatoes (you will add more water as you slice)
2. Thinly dice 6+ cloves garlic, add to pot
3. Add generous pinch of Kosher salt and ground pepper to pot - bring to boil.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and cook @ 8 minutes more - just don't let them get mushy
5. Drain in colander, add ice cubes to keep potos from sticking
6. When ready, layer 1/2 of the potatoes in a 9 x 13 baking pan
7. Drizzle 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream over all, generously cover with ground pepper, sprinkle 1 cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese over all
8. Layer the rest of the potatoes, drizzle 3/4 cup more of heavy whipping cream, cover with pepper and 1 cup freshly shredded Gruyere cheese, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup more of the freshly shredded parm
9. Bake at 350 for 1 hour... or as we did, 30 minutes in the oven with the P R at 275 and then 30 minutes alone at 375 til cheese just bubbles


GREEN BEANS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES
Surprise... I pretty much followed this allrecipes.com recipe except we did not chop up the beans or halve the tomatoes.

Not only did Spot give this 4 paws, so did my hubby, my son and our other son! This is our new Special Dinner. Now I just need to watch for the meat sales in order to find out when we can have it next.

My First Panko Chicken

Drool! This is going to be a regular go-to dinner. Low fat and fast. You can't beat that combo! Inspired by being a faithful watcher of The Chew (a daily food show on TV), here's my version:

INGREDIENTS
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1+ cup flour in a gallon ziplock bag (enough to lightly coat each breast)
2 eggs, whisked in a pie plate
2 cups Panko in a gallon ziplock bag (again, enough to coat breasts)
3+ TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
3 large lemons
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Take each breast, coat with flour, dip in eggs, then shake with Panko. Place in large skillet with the heated olive oil and cook until golden on both sides.

Place cooked breasts on serving platter, remove oil residue from skillet and melt butter over low heat. Squeeze in the fresh juice from 3 lemons. Drizzle over all breasts, sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley to taste.

We served this with our favorite rice (see earlier blogs), but Fettucine would be another option. Leftover breasts would also make a terrific chicken sandwich if you use gormet bread.

Spot gives this a solid 4 paws... and loved her tastes!

Homemade Chips N Dip

Thank you Michael Symon! Last weekend I was channel surfing and on a cooking channel found he has a new TV show. After he showed a pork recipe (I am allergic), I froze. He was making homemade poto chips with a blue cheese fondue complete with rosemary. Hold the phone!

To make the CHIPS:
We used a deep fat fryer, and once the oil was hot tossed in three whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed a bit. Use one and a half large russet potatoes for each eater. Since we made this as our dinner, we made even more. Slice them thin and chip-like. Toss into a large bowl of water to keep fresh til frying. Keep the outer skin on.

Cook chips til medium brown. We have an older deep fat fryer so that meant about 9 minutes.

Layer paper towels over a flattened paper bag. Once the chips come out of the fryer, pat them dry with another paper towel and generously salt with Sea Salt. Move the chips to a larger pasta-style bowl lined with paper towels and toss with 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (pictured). Continue this until all potato pieces are cooked and tossed.

In order to make this recipe, I needed a new kitchen implement! This is the thing I've seen in other people's houses and on the "gadget wall" in cooking sections for years and just wondered about.

Still don't know what it's called, but it worked great tonight and I want to kiss it.

Okay, the recipe Symon mentioned called for a Blue Cheese Fondue dip. My son and I love, love, love the nip of Blue Cheese, so that's what I made. My hubby shudders at the idea, so I bought him some salsa and chilled it. He loved the chips and his version of the dip.

To make the Blue Cheese FONDUE:
In a heavy bottomed pot, cook 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil with 5 minced cloves of garlic, one minced shallot and 2 sprigs of rosemary, removed from the stem. Add a nice fat pince of Kosher salt. Cook til garlic and shallot are softened. Just a couple of minutes. Whisk in 1/4 cup white wine and reduce. About another minute. Then add 3/4 cup heavy cream, stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat. Add a generous dose of ground pepper to taste and stir in 8 oz. crumbled Blue Cheese. Let sit a minute.

If there are any chips left, serve this with them.

Cast Iron Skillet Pizza Casserole

Yesterday I was watching the TV show The Chew and got inspired by a skillet pizza that Iron Chef Michael Symon made. I followed his template, but changed most ingredients. Made it tonight. Drool!

INGREDIENTS
1 12" cast iron skillet
2 Pillsbury Thin Crust Pizza Dough tubes
1 lb. extra lean hamburger, browned
1 large white onion, diced and sautéed
1 pkg. fresh mushrooms, sautéed and sliced in thirds
1 jumbo jar of Classico Four Cheese spaghetti sauce
2+ cups shredded parmesan cheese
8-10 slices deli-packaged Gouda cheese

PREPARE
1. Brown meat, sauté veggies and set aside til ready to cook pizza (this will take 30 min.)
2. Preheat oven to 400
3. In cast iron skillet, unfurl pizza dough to cover bottom, press into sides and let drape over edges
4. Layer parmesan, spaghetti sauce, meat, onions, mushrooms, gouda and repeat. End with more parmesan sprinkled on top
5. Twist dough to form a crust
6. Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy

Here is the salad I was planning to serve with the pizza, but never got around to it. Also, due to my excitement about this recipe, I put everything together and forgot the sauce so had to dig tunnels and infuse. Not to worry, this tastes amazing! Our son was sleeping over at a buddy's house and wanted to know "what food" he would miss. And if there would be some left tomorrow.

Spot hid upstairs I'm sure because of the onions, so alas, no paw rating

Mac N Cheese N Meat!

"Mom, this crap -- I mean stuff is really, really good," said our 16 year old son tonight. And it truly was a compliment.

Here's a variation on the traditional Mac N Cheese if you take just 20 more minutes. And dig Blue Cheese...

INGREDIENTS
1 box interesting open tube short pasta, cooked al dente
1 cup+ blue cheese, crumbled
2 TBSP unsalted butter
3 cups heavy cream
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
1 generous TBSP minced or squished garlic
1 petite top sirloin per person, salted, grilled and sliced in strips

COOKING
1. Melt butter and garlic in medium skillet, cook slightly about 2 minutes. Add cream, whisk. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir often.
2. Heat coals.
3. Bring 3 quart pot of water to boil, add pasta, cook al dente.
4. Season meat, go out and grill!
5. Add cheese to skillet, whisk til smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm til everything else is done.
6. Toss cheese mixture with pasta, serve with yummy meat!

The blue cheese gives this an unexpected nip. This recipe can serve 6 with 1-cup pasta servings...although my boys had more! In the past I have added fresh Italian parsley to the pasta, but it was the nasty Daylight Savings day so I rebelled.

Spot? She is so self-serving! She only gives this 4 paws because when we slice the meat, we toss tidbits into her bowl

Daylight Savings Luscious Meatloaf

This recipe is morphed from the Lost Summer, the one where I had two broken feet and had to learn to walk again, and my hub had emergency appendicitis surgery. It's a blur to us but we were well-fed by many church friends. This meatloaf recipe was from the famous "Cooks" recipe. At that time, we gobbled it up. De-lish! Haven't tried to make it since then, and that's back in the day when I thought lots of cooking was complicated.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs mixture of extra lean ground beef and low fat turkey
1 large red onion, casually diced
8 cloves of garlic, minced (less if you fear garlic breath)
3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Ground pepper
2 large eggs
Up to 1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 - 6 TBSP whipped butter
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 cup fresh Cilantro flakes
1/3 cup mayonaise (Hellmanns!)
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups Italian bread crumbs

COOKING:
1. In large skillet (to be be used later when you make your gravy), cook onion and garlic in olive oil with pinch of salt til soft. Cover and stir every once in awhile. Leave some of the onions to flavor your gravy...

2. Preheat oven to 350.

3. While onion mixture is cooking, set up large bowl with the following: Big smatter of Kosher salt, ground pepper to taste (we like lots), eggs, Dijon, Mayo, Worcestershire, Cilantro, 1/3 cup Whipping cream - whisk well

4. When onion mixture is cooked til soft, add contents to big bowl, whisk - then add the meat (This is where I ask my hubby to mash up the ingredients b/c his fingers hold less water than mine = ring comes off easier)

5. Hand-mix all to fit baking dish. Pat firmly. Bake until instant temp reads 160, approx 1 hour and 10 minutes.

6. While meatloaf is cooking, prepare side dishes. We like mashed potos and gravy. Tonite I made the potos with heavy cream and whipped butter. Very smooth!

Spinach-Cream Cheese Dijon Chicken AND Lemon Spinach Tomato Orzo

This recipe is from my daughter Anne who came home last weekend and prepared us this feast! It has gone on our short list, and takes just 25 minutes start to finish (unless you double it).

INGREDIENTS
For the Chicken
8 - 10 chicken tenderloins (we use the flash frozen ones, thawed. If you have a 75-lb-dog like our daughter does, thaw on top of fridge)
A few handfuls of fresh spinach
1 cup whipped cream cheese at room temp
Salt
Pepper
Grey Poupon Mustard
Toothpicks

For the Orzo
1.5 - 2 cups uncooked Orzo pasta
4-6 TBSP butter, to taste
1 full lemon juiced (do not use prepared juice, it makes a difference)
1 - 2 diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
A few handfuls of fresh spinach
Salt
Pepper

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat broiler to high. Move rack about 6" from top. Also put medium pot of water on high to boil for Orzo.

Cut tenderloins in half as if you are butterflying them. (8 tenderloins will make 16 pieces) Salt and pepper to taste.

Lay cut tenderloins on foil wrapped cookie sheets. Spread each with as much cream cheese as you like. Press 6-8 spinach leaves onto the cream cheese side of the tenderloins.

Roll up the tenderloins starting with the fat end, rolling toward skinny end and secure with a toothpick. Dollop each rolled tenderloin with Grey Poupon to taste. The rolled up chickens should be about 2" apart.

Broil about 8 - 10 minutes til tops are browned and chicken cooked all the way through. (Cut into one piece before removing from oven to be sure it is not pink)

Add Orzo to boiling water with 1 tsp salt.

While pasta is cooking, dice tomatoes.

When Orzo is cooked, drain and return to pot. Add butter, Parmesan and tomatoes and stir until cheese and butter are melted. Add salt and pepper and fresh squeezed lemon, mix.

Serve with chicken and enjoy! Big eaters will enjoy 6 tenderloins so plan accordingly.

Spot gave this 4 fat paws and sat under her big sister's chair the entire dinner

Lov'n Valentines Din-Din

It took a few days to recover from the flu, but we did it, we finally celebrated!

Our annual dinner is verrrry time-consuming but well worth it. I forgot that my recipe meant what I said tonight, so we did not eat til 10 p.m. Seriously, plan that your day is just about this meal and start after lunch. This menu is so good that we now cross Caesar Salad and French Onion Soup off our restaurant options. Bet you will, too.

Menu
The Best French Onion Soup
Caesar Salad
Bread of Garlic

Serves 6-8 depending on soup bowl size
Prep Time: 5 minutes the day ahead of time, and 5 hours the day of

CAESAR SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 baguette, cubed and broiled til light brown (drizzle with Olive Oil first)
5 cloves of garlic, diced + ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil: place in Mason jar with lid and refrigerate at least 24 hours ahead of time
2 large heads (or 3 small) Romaine
½ tsp dry mustard
1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
Grated black pepper to taste
Place 3 TBSP red wine vinegar and 6 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil in another Mason jar with lid and chill while preparing meal
1 egg
¼ to ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese


FRENCH ONION SOUP INGREDIENTS:
10 large onions – 5 red and 5 white – sliced thin and separated into rings
1 cup unsalted butter
2 – 3 TBSP Wondra
2 ½ cans chicken broth
2 ½ cans beef broth
½ cup white wine
1 tsp pepper
6-8 slices of your choice of gourmet bread, sliced to fit oven-proof bowl
12 slices mozzarella cheese
Grated hard Parmesan cheese (almost entire block)
Grated Gruyere cheese (entire block)


BREAD OF GARLIC INGREDIENTS:
Loaf of choice, sliced (this works with Tuscan, Rosemary, 3 cheese & more)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 – 1 ½ cups shredded Parmesan
5 cloves minced garlic

DAY AHEAD:
Prepare garlic and olive oil for Caesar Salad, refrigerate.

DAY OF (Begin 5 hours before you want to serve, I’m not kidding):
Dice baguette and broil til lightly browned, set aside.

Prepare Garlic Bread: melt butter, mince garlic, mix with Parm. Spread each slice with mixture, wrap loaf in foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour (or longer).

Peal and slice the onions, place on a platter or bowl(s).

When almost done slicing onions, melt 2 sticks of butter on medium in large skillet. Add onions to skillet in about 4 batches, keeping onions in skillet, just rotate more cooked ones to the top. This will take the most amount of time – about 2 hours. Sauté til onions are clear, but don’t burn.

While onions are doing their thing, prepare romaine: wash and rip into bite-size pieces, chill. (I also like to chill my salad bowl)

Place 3 TBSP red wine vinegar and 6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil in covered Mason jar and chill til serving time.

When onions are clear, add Wondra and stir in both broths, wine and pepper. Bring to boil, then simmer 15 minutes.

While soup is simmering, prepare part of the salad: Place croutons on bottom of salad bowl, pour over them 2 TBSP of the overnight garlic/olive oil mixture and toss. On top of this, place romaine and toss with the salt and dry mustard and pepper.

Set oven-proof soup bowls on a jelly-roll type tray (rimmed). Place a piece of bread on the bottom of each bowl and sprinkle with shredded Gruyere and purchased shredded Parmesan. Ladle soup over bread. Top with fresh shaved/shredded Parm and 2 mozzarella slices per bowl. Remove your bread and keep it in the foil. Place soup tray under broiler and heat until cheese melts, remove immediately. Watch it carefully.

While soup is broiling, finish salad. Cook egg in gently simmering water for 90 seconds. Pour about 80% of the red wine vinegar/extra virgin oil over the romaine and toss with Parmesan. Crack the egg over the salad and toss once again.

Feast!

Spot gave no paws. At first she was excited to hear the chopping, but promptly left the room when she smelled onions. Besides that, cooking cut into her nap time...

Our Annual Valentine's Din-Din

Oh my gosh! All I was going to post tonight was the count down to our annual Valentine dinner (French Onion Soup and Caesar Salad)...

I record "The Nate Show" every day and today's playback featured a celebrity chef and her French Onion Soup and Salad --- suitable for Valentines! While I dig this show and the people, my recipe is heartier and just plain... uh... better.

Watch for my "Not So Famous Excellent Valentine Menu" coming in a few days. It's in queue after we try our daughter's Dijon-y Cream Cheese Chicken Tenders with Orzo.

We have a big week on our hands!

Parmesan Chicken

This is the reason why my husband won’t go to Italian restaurants anymore. It is absolutely wonderful and every time I make it, I add something new or give it a twist. Sometimes I miss going to restaurants, though.


Prep Time: 40 Min.
Cook Time: 50 min.


INGREDIENTS:
5 - 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 medium red onion, minced
5 cloves garlic, squeezed
Sea salt
Ground pepper
Onion salt
½ bag fresh spinach
Extra virgin olive oil
1 – 1 ¼ cups Italian bread crumbs
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 can tomato paste (14 oz)
2 cans herb seasoned diced tomatoes (14 oz each)
1/2 - 1 pkg fettuccine


In large skillet, sauté onions and garlic in Extra Virgin Olive Oil til soft over medium heat. When nearly done, add the fresh spinach and cook til wilted. Remove and place on plate.

MULTITASK: While sautéing, prepare chicken. Set out two pie plates and another plate. In first pie plate, place beaten eggs. In second pie plate, place bread crumbs, adding salt and pepper. Dip each breast in egg, then cover with crumbs. Place coated breast on plate til ready to brown.

When skillet is empty of the onion mixture, add enough Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat bottom, place all 5 breasts in pan and cook til brown on each side.

Using 10 x 13 baking pan, arrange browned breasts so that they do not touch. Dollop the onion/spinach mixture on each. Then add generous TBSPs of tomato paste. Sprinkle with onion salt. Cover breasts with the 2 cans of the diced tomatoes. Then add the Parmesan, followed by the mozzarella. Tent with foil and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Check doneness.
Pause and boil water for fettuccine and cook according to package directions.

Continue baking chicken for another 15-25 minutes, uncover last five minutes. You want the chicken cooked through and the cheese melted. Cooking time depends on how thick the breasts and how much you pile on.
Serve over fettuccine.

Spot gave this a NO PAW because she was upstairs mourning her boys who had the nerve to go to the other brother's house

Roast Beast

This is my "go to" meal when I want to serve something yummy and more than a casserole. I actually thought I had already posted this, so here goes.

MENU
Roast Beef
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Veggie Choice

INGRED'S
Roast Beef
1/2 cup Newman's Lite Balsamic salad dressing
Kosher Salt
Ground Pepper
Refrigerator Basil
Red Potatoes
@ 1/2 cup Buttermilk
1 32-oz carton of low sodium beef broth
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 stick unsalted butter
Wondra
Kitchen Bouquet

Either a day ahead of time or at least 3 hours before cooking: salt, pepper and basil your roast. Place it in a Ziploc with the Lite Balsamic and refrigerate. Rotate/shake as you think about it.

Preheat oven to 350. 30 minutes before you want to cook it (and it will take 1.5 hours at least), put roast on counter to sit at room temp. Place beef in roast pan, lower oven temp to 325 and bake for 1 hour. When timer rings, take temp and continue to cook until meat is at 150 for rare or 160 for medium.

When the 1 hour timer rings, bring large pot of water to boil. When water is a rolling boil, add desired amount of red potatoes, halved. Bring to boil and cook til tender, about 20 minutes but check at 15. You don't want soggy potos. It's okay if they are done earlier than the meat, just drain and mash with enough buttermilk to your desired consistency, then cover.

The gravy takes about 15 minutes. Place the cubes of beef bouillon and the stick of butter in a large skillet on medium. Cook til butter is melted. Bring to boil. Whisk in Wondra, 1 TBSP at a time, til butter is absorbed. (About 2-3 TBSP) Boil about 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the beef broth. Add some pepper, some salt, and some Kitchen Bouquet if you'd like the gravy more brown. Bring to boil again for 60 seconds, then simmer until everything else is ready.

We use a version of this gravy with all kinds of menus. If chicken, the cubes and broth are...chicken! Wondra is our gravy friend. You could also add drippings from what you're cooking to the gravy. Just promise you won't use canned gravy anymore.

Leftovers? Try this! Slice chilled Roast Beast on a wooden platter with Tuscan bread, Brie Cheese (or Cream Cheese) and make mini sandwiches. Throw in a sliced cucumber or sprouts. Serve with Tomato Soup.

Spot was not near the kitchen tonight, so NO PAWS. :( She was busy plotting ways to meet the neighbors by pacing underneath a window. Go figure.

Almost Home-Made Spaghetti

This recipe has bloomed over the years on nights when we want a yummy dinner but don't want to spend the night in the kitchen. Based on Classico Spaghetti Sauce, we personalize it with sautéed onions and mushrooms. It even passes the diet test, that is if you are on one and control your portions. Our recipe serves two teen boys, one man and one mom, so adjust as needed. It was especially good on our (finally) cold winter's night in Minnesota (now, if we just had snow...)

MENU
Meaty Spaghetti
Cheesy Tuscan Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs lean ground beef (or turkey)
2 jars Classico Spaghetti Sauce (we use Four Cheese)
1 package frozen spinach, microwaved for 4 minutes
1 red onion, diced
1 pkg fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 pkg spaghetti noodles
1/2 loaf sliced Tuscan bread from Target
1 container or pkg shredded parmesan cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
Extra virgin olive oil
fresh or refrigerator basil

Prepare cheesy bread first. Melt stick of butter in microwave. Add enough shredded parmesan cheese to make thick paste. Spread on one side of Tuscan bread. Wrap in foil and bake at 375 for 65 minutes. (If you want to make this GARLIC, add a good 5 cloves, smooshed up well.)

In large skillet, sauté onion in 2 TBSP olive oil. When onions are partially done, add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add more olive oil as needed, just don't get it soggy. While skillet-ing, go ahead and nuke the spinach. Combine spinach with skillet items, stir well, then put contents on dinner plate. Use same skillet to brown meat, adding basil to taste.
Add Classico sauces and onion mixture. Stir well, bring to boil. Cover and simmer while you cook the pasta.

Easy, healthy and full of good stuff! We like to sprinkle more fresh parmesan on top once we've plated. In fact, we pretty much like to put some form of cheese on anything.

Spot was just underfoot the whole time! Must be a 4 paw-er.

Incognito Spinach Potatoes

So the other night when I made our good ol' Roast Beast, I thought I'd jazz up our mashed potatoes. Mostly because I meant to make Cauli Mashed Potos, but didn't have any cauliflower. Ahhh, but I did have frozen spinach! Rachel Ray says that frozen spinach has even more spinach in it because of how much it takes to get one package. Not well summarized, but basically it's more nutritious. The cool thing about putting spinach in the potatoes is that you have a hidden vegetable that gives texture. There are lots of things I've been hiding spinach in... but back to these potatoes:

INGREDIENTS
Red potatoes
1 pkg frozen spinach
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
Kosher salt
ground pepper


Boil potatoes, drain and cover back in pot. Microwave spinach about 5 minutes. Squeeze out all moisture using paper towels. Add spinach to potatoes. When combined, slowly add buttermilk until potatoes reach desired texture. Salt and pepper to taste.

These potatoes would go well with any meat, chicken or fish dish.

Spot gave 4 paws for the Roast we had, but was not really interested in anything to do with spinach.

Drink This!

This salad dressing is so good, you will think about drinking it! I have been so full since my Fondue Marathon last week that I have not cooked much lately. Someone pop me and let in some air.

My great-aunt made this recipe about 100 years ago. Or maybe 80. If you think you like French Dressing, you will love this one.

Aunt Eda's French Salad Dressing

1 can Cream of Tomato Soup is the secret
Use can to measure 1/2 can vinegar and 1/2 can extra virgin olive oil
6 TBSP sugar
3 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp kosher salt
1 medium onion, minced

Combine the above ingredients in a large jar (I repurpose empty spaghetti sauce jars). Shake well to combine and chill. Can be made a day ahead of time and keeps 4 days. If serving the same day, make a couple of hours ahead of time. Part of the flavor is how cold it is. Serve over Iceberg lettuce along with Fondue or steak.

Spot gives this 4 paws because everything we eat along with this smells so good.

Three Day Fondue

Okay, I only title this like that because we already enjoyed this two days in a row! Yes, I make too much because I always want enough for everyone. Must be some big feeder grandma type in my ancestry? We made this for New Years, and invited a friend to join us tonite for 'leftovers'. Yikes, there is still another dinner in the fridge! My hubby loves this but doesn't know if "he can take another night of this". Me? I just smile, pat my head and rub my belly. This would work for a large table of guests, or you can eat it three days in a row like we did.

Menu:
Sirloin and Chicken Breast Fondue (marinate in Balsamic Vinegar and Lite Soy Sauce overnight, or 3 hours)
Dipping Sauces (See below and drool)
Onion Rings with the best Batter ever (2 large white onions, sliced and separated into rings will feed me)
Bib Lettuce and homemade French Dressing with homemade croutons (Recipe to come... maybe... (it's an old fam secret)
Tasty Mini Baked and Stuffed Red Potatoes
A1 and Heinz 57 too

Tasty Mini Baked and Stuffed Red Potos
8-10 large red potatoes, baked 60 minutes at 380
3/4 pkg frozen, steam-able broccoli,micro'd 5 minutes
2 small pkg of reduced fat Feta OR Blue Cheese, crumbled
Lemon juice
Kosher Salt
Ground Pepper

After potos are baked, slice the "top" 1/8 off, discard. Using small (melon ball) scoop, cut out 1-2 scoops from each potato and place in medium bowl. Microwave broccoli, chop finely and add to bowl. Add salt, pepper, 4 generous squeezes of lemon juice, and cheese. Mash well. Repack ingredients from bowl into potatoes using scoop. Cover with foil and keep in oven on warm until ready to feast.

Fondue Dipping Sauces


Japanese Steakhouse White Sauce (not my own creation)

INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ cups Hellman’s Mayo
¼ cup water
1 tsp tomato paste
1 TBSP melted butter
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp paprika
dash pepper

Whisk all ingredients together til well mixed and sauce is smooth. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Bring to room temp before serving.


Sour Cream Dip

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup sour cream
2 TBSP finely chopped onion
Salt and Pepper
(try adding chives)


Garlic Lemon Dip

INGREDIENTS:
1 ½ cups mayo
1 ½ TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP crushed garlic
½ tsp Tabasco Sauce
Salt and Pepper
(try adding chives)


Onion Ring Batter

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
2 TBSP Wondra
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 ½ TBSP EVOO
2 eggs
1 beer
salt
3-4 onions, sliced and separated into rings

Mix all ingredients except beer, in large bowl. Add beer and stir til lump free. Add more Wondra if needed to thicken. Dip rings in batter and fry til golden (3-4 min.). Drain on paper towels. Salt. 


Spot gave ALL of the above 4 paws. Not only did she enjoy hovering under our feet while we prepped, she even sang some songs while we slowly dined and loved each bite.