Weekly Cooking Thread Ping List
Recap Recipes from the Jan 8th thread:
Bread* 16 French Bread - Bread Machine
Dessert* 32 Moist Chocolate Cake
Dessert* 32 Quick Caramel Frosting
Dessert* 40 Baked Custard Pie
Meal* 7 Chicken Parmesan
Meal* 24 Chicken Parmesan II
Meal* 29 Osso Bucco
Meal* 39 Dairyland Casserole
Pets* 14 Homemade Liver Treats for Pets
Soup* 31 Chicken Barley Stew
Soup* 35 Baszcz (Kielbasa Soup)
Soup* 38 Italian Chicken Soup
Soup* 43 Cowboy Soup
Soup* 13 Hearty smoky bean soup
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2653452/posts?page=45#45
(Each week’s recipe recap links can be found through my profile page)
(to be added/deleted to the list please just drop a FReep Mail or post on this thread)
GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN PENG TENG
4 Chicken legs with thighs
1/2 c Soy sauce
1/2 c Distilled white vinegar
1 cl Garlic; minced
1 ts Ginger root; Peeled & minced
1 ts Cornstarch
1 lg Egg; beaten lightly
1/3 c Corn oil
4 Dried hot chilis; seeded (use only 1 or 2 to keep the spicy heat down)
Bone the chicken legs, including the thighs by scraping the meat from the bone, working downward and keeping close to the bone. Pull the meat down over the bone (pulling it inside out like a glove) and cut it free from the bone. Discard the skin and cut the meat from each leg into 6 pieces.
In a bowl combine the soy sauce, vinegar, 1/2 c water, the garlic and ginger root.
In another bowl, combine the egg and cornstarch and dip the chicken pieces. Heat the oil in a wok or deep, heavy skillet until very hot, add the chicken and fry it for 4 to 6 minutes, or until it is crisp. Transfer the chicken with tongs to paper towels to drain and pour off all but 1 T of the oil from the wok. Add the soy sauce mixture, the chili peppers and the chicken and cook the mixture over moderately high heat for 2 minutes, or until heated through.
Transfer it to a heated serving dish. Serves 4.
Shrimp Chowder
6 slices bacon
20 oz bag loose or cubed hash brown potatoes (plain or seasoned)
2 T flour
1 T seafood seasoning (or to taste)
3 C chicken broth
1 or 2 cans corn
2 C half & half or cream
1 lb bag frozen salad shrimp, rinsed
Cook the bacon and crumble. Cook the hash browns in the bacon grease. Sprinkle in the flour and seasoning. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and heat through. Enjoy.
Found this recipe last week in the grocery ads. Everyone LOVED it, even those who at first turned up their noses. Hubby said it’s a keeper and Miss Doesn’t Eat went back for seconds. Sent some over to the neighbor and she said it was the best. I’m going to try it this week with a couple cans of clams that need to be eaten.
BABOOTIE - an easy-to-make South African delight...
2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, grated or chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 16-ounce can stewed tomatoes, chopped in small pieces
1½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon garam marsala (optional but recommended)
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
2 firm bananas, sliced
2 apples, peeled, cored and diced
½ cup raisins
Tomato paste as needed to thicken
Brown the beef, onions and garlic in a large skillet. Drain off excess fat. Add all other ingredients. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes. Serve over rice (serves 4 to 6 people).
Excellent when served with butternut squash coleslaw:
8 ounces fresh creamy goat cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large butternut squash
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup toasted walnuts
4 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
In a large mixing bowl, combine goat cheese, honey, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice and season with salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir well with a whisk until fully combined and creamy.
Remove the top narrow portion of the butternut squash and peel. Discard or use the bulb portion for something else. Using a mandolin or sharp knife, julienne the peeled cylinder into fine long matchsticks. This should yield about 4 cups. Fold into the cheese dressing along with dried cranberries, walnuts and chopped fresh parsley.
This is probably a bad idea, and illegal under the new Food Safety Act, but please add me to your list.
| Ham and Asparagus Bake |
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| 2 cups cooked ham, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces 1/2 cup green onion, chopped 2 cups fresh asparagus, cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces 2 tablespoons butter 8 eggs (egg beaters)* 2 cups skim milk 1/2 cup flour 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated |
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme** 1/2 teaspoon cracked rosemary 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2-1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded |
| Preheat oven to 425°F Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan. Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat; add the asparagus and green onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. If you like, add the ham to saute for the last 2 minutes. When the vegetables are tender, add them to the baking pan along with the ham. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, milk mixed with flour, Parmesan cheese, salt, thyme, rosemary, garlic and pepper. Beat until smooth and pour over the ham mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake an additional 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Let set a few minutes before cutting and serving. * I used the Southwestern egg beaters. One carton equals 7 eggs, so I added 1 egg, or add additional 1/4 cup of egg beaters. ** I used the smallest pinch of basil, 1/2 tsp of granulated garlic and 1 T of Mrs. Dash original. I didn’t use the salt. |
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This recipe can be varied according to personal tastes. I usually use some frozen zucchini (thawed for a minute in the microwave, then quarter the slices with cooking scissors) on the bottom of the dish, then add diced ham, sometimes I use a spicy chicken sausage. This last time, I tried eliminating the flour to reduce the carbs. It was ok, but seemed a bit moist. Maybe I'll try it with half the flour next time.
BTTT
Being a bit on the prep side, I’ve been searching for recipes featuring beans, particularly garbanzos. This one has proven to be excellent! The combination of spices, and ease of preparation has made it a staple during the long winters here in Utah. Warning: Should be shared with those you love and love you!
Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup
Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 0 hr min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
* 1 large onion, medium diced
* 6 to 8 cloves garlic, pressed
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
* 3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
* 1 quart vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 (5-ounce) package pre-washed baby spinach
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent; lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices and saute a minute or so. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, broth, and sugar. Season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds fresh pepper. Stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered.
Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.
Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let heat through until wilted, just a couple minutes.
Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Serve soup, drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.
Now that the holidays are over and there don’t seem to be quite as many recipes shared, I thought I would ask if anyone on the list has any good recipes for various kinds of beans, split peas, lentils, etc. that are cooked from scratch (dry beans instead of canned beans)that they would be willing to share?
With food prices on the rise many are going to need to be cooking more things from scratch since it is much more economical and most recipes today use canned beans. While most of these can be adapted for using dry beans, many younger cooks have no idea how to cook dry beans, so it might be helpful as well as fun.
Many more varieties are available now too, so it might be fun to buy some different varieties of legumes for our families to try as well. I will pull out some of my favorites and post a favorite or two of mine later this week.
Thanks for this thread. I get lots of ideas from it. Here’s a recipe that I improved last week that turned out great.
Chicken Lasagna
2 lb chicken thigh
2-3 cups of salted water(or enough to cover the pieces)
Put chicken thighs into a small pot. Put the salted water into the pot with chicken. Bring it to a boil, then set the heat to low, put a lid on it then let it go for about 5-10 minutes.
After that take the chicken pieces out, let them cool and then take the meat off the bones. Do what you want with the bones, but keep the meat.
4 Roma tomatoes
1-2 shallots, or one small white onion
1 stalk celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium green pepper
Chop all of that to about the same size and sautee it on low - medium heat until tender but not browned...Hell you can brown it a little if you want to.
And then add 1/2 teaspoon of Sage, Thyme, Oregano, Basil and 2 teaspoons of Paprika. A bit of lemon or lime juice would be nice in this too, right now.
Combine the chicken and veg mix in a bigger pot with a nice amount of heavy cream, and reduce it until nicely thickened.
After this mix cools add one egg and mix it in very well. And now use it as you might for any other lasagna recipe. The egg is added to help the finished product retain it’s structure when it’s cut and served.
I like to substitute cheddar, or pepperjack cheese because mozzarella doesn’t seem to add any flavor. I’d love to try smoked Gouda in this recipe.
I’m in a Baker’s Dozen group that meets once a month. This month we’re all supposed to make kolaches. I had to look it up on the web - it’s a Czech sweet dough with a filling. If anyone reading has experience with these, maybe you can post your favorite filling. It will be fun to try something new.
What are they good for? Any meat or veggie dish where you would use fresh lemons. They have an intense lemon flavor and best of all you can buy lemons when they are cheap and preserve them for when you want to use them.
What you will need.
Lemons
Kosher salt.
Oil (Olive works nicely but any oil will do)
A wide mouth jar
Put salt in the bottom of the jar.
Cut the stem end off the lemons, quarter and cover with salt.
Stuff lemons in the jar.
Put in a layer of salt.
Keep doing this until the jar is stuffed full.
Add the juice of one lemon to get the process going.
Gently add oil to the top of jar until you have a thin layer.
Close the jar and store in the fridge.
Turn the jar every 12 hours or so for a week.
Presto preserved lemons!
To use remove lemon, rinse, scrap the fruit and pith off and use the skin.
Add to rice pudding along with bay leaves and cinnamon for a bright taste of summer in the middle of winter.