Weekly Cooking Thread - Jan 15, 2011

FreeRepublicCooks | January 15, 2011 | libertarian27

[libertarian27]

Welcome to the 6th installment of the FR Weekly Cooking Thread.

Looking for something new to make or made something new that came out great?

Would you like to share a tried and true recipe for fellow FReepers to add to their 'go-to' recipe stack of Family favorites?

Here's the place to share and explore your next favorite recipe.

[illiac]

Another really good Chinese recipe for you...

Scrunchy Sweet and Sour Chicken - serves 4
Preparation - 20 minutes, Cooking time - 15 minutes

2 egg yolks
2 tbsp cornstarch
salt and ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
vegetable oil

For the sweet and sour sauce:
1 onion, sliced
1 small red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small orange pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb can pineapple cubes in natural juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
handful of fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish

Mix together the egg yolks, with a tbsp of water, the cornstarch, and some salt and pepper.
Heat 2 inches of oil in a wok or deep frying pan. Toss the chicken in the cornstarch mixture and deep-fry in batches for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.
Empty the oil from the wok to leave a thin coating in the pan. Stir-fry the onion and peppers over a high heat for 3 minutes.
Drain the pineapple cubes (reserving the juice), add to the pan, and cook for a minute ot two.
Mix together the cornstarch and a little of the pineapple juice to form a paste, then stir in the remaining juice, the ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, and 1/2 cup water. Pour this into the pan and bring to a boil, stirring until the mixture thickens.
Stir the chicken pieces into the pan and simmer for 5 minutes until cooked through. Check the seasoning then divide between bowls.
Scatter the cilantro on top and serve. Enjoy!

[illiac]

Thanks....I love scampi and will try this tomorrow...

[libertarian27]

Corny Corn Bread

1 can Drained Corn
1 canned Creamed Corn
1 cup Sour Cream
2 Beaten Eggs
1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
1 stick Butter (melted)
(Mix all together and pour into casserole dish)
Bake 45 minutes in 350’ Oven

Serve Hot

[earglasses]

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.

[illiac]

It sure can...I like to use boneless/skinless breats cut into large cubes...

[bgill]

Thanks! Of course, now I’ll have to freeze the leg quarters and unfreeze some breasts but this is even better since I have some bell peppers that need eating and a can of pineapple. Or maybe just use the thighs.

[Track9]

How does it get a lemon taste?

See post #8

[libertarian27]

The butternut squash coleslaw sounds neat!
I never thought you could eat butternut squash raw - but why not!

[Darth Reardon]

This is probably a bad idea, and illegal under the new Food Safety Act, but please add me to your list.

[libertarian27]

LOL - You’ve been added - and Reported Comrade :)

[Netizen]

Ham and Asparagus Bake
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.

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.

[JDoutrider]

BTTT

[handmade]

I really appreciate having the calorie count, and the fat/protein etc breakdown.

Thanks

[RnMomof7]

Excellent thanks

[earglasses]

Recently served this coleslaw to a crowd at a dinner party. It was the one recipe everyone asked me to send them.

[kalee]

White Chip Orange Divine Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups (12 oz.) white chocolate chips
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tablespoon minced orange zest

Additional white chocolate chips, melted with 3/4 teaspoon orange extract for dipping cookies, if desired

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, soda & salt in small bowl & set aside. Cream butter with sugar. Add egg & orange zest. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in white chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.If desired, dip one edge of each cooled cookie into additional melted white chocolate chips if desired.

[hotshu]

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.

[Flamenco Lady]

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.

[perfect stranger]

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.

[ChocChipCookie]

Please add me to your list!