hash brown casserole

You know when you need a simple breakfast meal for a potluck?  Well a friend of mine made this and it was so good I HAD to make it for my potluck.    Unfortunately it was early in the morning so I did not take pictures. :) 

Ingredients

• 2 (10 3/4 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 lbs frozen hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. 1

2. Preheat oven to 350 or 375. 
In a very large bowl, combine the soup, sour cream and garlic powder. Add potatoes and cheddar cheese, mix well.

3. 2

   Pour into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish. Bake, covered for 40 minutes, then top with Parmesan cheese and bake for another 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and cheese is melted.

Crack Dip

I found this recipe on a board a couple years ago - tried it once, thought it was good, and forgot about it... Until my BFF's baby shower ... So I made it.  It was literally one of the first things to go.  I got quite a few requests for the recipe.   It is really known as "Buffalo Chicken Dip" but many people refer to it as "Crack Dip". 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained OR 2-3 boneless breasts, cooked and shredded 
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
•  OPTIONAL: Bleu cheese.  Either itself or Bleu Cheese Dressing

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all and bake in a 350 oven for 20-30 minutes.  If you need to keep it warm - transfer to a slow cooker and leave it on "warm". 
2. Serve with celery sticks and crackers (Tostito scoops work great).

Traditional Thanksgiving

Just a few photos from Thanksgiving 2008... Enjoy! 

Menu

Appetizers 

~Salmon wraps

~Muffalettas 

~Chips and dip 

Dinner

~Turkey

~Cornbread stuffing

~Sausage stuffing

~Artichoke Casserole

~Mashed Potatoes

~Sweet Potatoes

~Rolls 

~Cranberry Sauce 

Dessert

~Sweet Potato Pie 

~Cookies 

~Pumpkin bars 

Individual Beef Wellingtons

For Christmas, we tried making a huge beef wellington - while it was good, it completely fell apart.  

So one day, I decided to try making individual beef wellingtons because my grandmother had given us some filet mignons.  Minus my overlooking the part to cut the steaks 1" thin and thus having it very very very rare, it was actually pretty good!!! 

I found the recipe from Rachael Ray. - However, I did make a few modifications for one reason or another.  

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 1-2 onions, chopped 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tournedos of beef filet mignon, 1-inch thick
• 1 sheet frozen prepared puff pastry, 11 by 17, defrosted
• 1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
• 
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add oil, butter, shallot and chopped onions. Saute 5 minutes. Remove from heat

In a nonstick skillet over high heat, sear meat 2 minutes on each side in a drizzle of oil. Remove skillet from the heat and season meat with salt and pepper.

Spread the puff pastry sheet out on to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Quarter the dough with a sharp knife. Roll each piece of dough into a 10 by 6-inch rectangle. On each rectangle of dough, place 1/4 of the cooked onions. Top with 1 tournedo of beef. Wrap dough up and over the meat. Seal the dough with egg wash and trim excess. Use leftover dough bits to make decorative garnishes for the tops of your Wellingtons. Turn the wrapped Wellingtons over and cover with egg wash using a pastry brush. Affix dough garnishes with egg wash. For a simple decoration, roll dough bits into a long, thin spaghetti like string and make swirls on each Wellington. Bake beef Wellingtons 10 minutes or until golden. Let stand 5 minutes, then serve.

Time to catch up!!!

How could the last 8 months have flown by?   Ahh that's a story for another time.  

I will be spending the next few hours trying to post everything I have pictures of/recipes I have tried recently... Enjoy! 

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

There is nothing better than having your husband and his best friend cook you dinner...

Except for these garlic mashed potatoes made by the above-mentioned best friend! :)

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Roast a head of elephant garlic (cut off the top, put some E.V. Olive Oil on top, sprinkle it with a bit of seasoning, and bake at 350 for about 45 - 1 hour).

Cut up red potatoes (about 2.5 lbs should do it) and boil in water (just enough to cover potatoes) along with 3 beef bouillion cubes until fork tender.

Drain potatoes, being sure to reserve a cup of liquid from the potatoes, and mash up potatoes. Add roasted garlic (minus the skin, of course), a brick of cream cheese, a stick of butter, milk (about just under a cup - depending on the consistency you want), and add the reserved liquid (again, depending on consistency - it might be between 1/2 c to 3/4c worth?) ... Mix well together... Season to taste.

Enjoy. :)

Peanut Butter Crispy Rice Bars

I found this in a blog (can't remember who right now.. sorry!!! let me know and I'll give you a shout out and a link :) ) ... and it is YUMMY!!!

No pictures- gone too fast to take a pic!

Recipe can be found at: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=226033

or below...

Ingredients
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine 1
(10 1/2-ounce) bag miniature marshmallows
6 cups oven-toasted rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies)
Cooking spray
3/4 cup peanut butter chips

Preparation
Combine the peanut butter and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 45 seconds or until mixture melts. Add marshmallows; microwave at high 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Add cereal to peanut butter mixture; toss until well-combined. Pat cereal mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.
Place peanut butter chips in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high 30 seconds or until chips melt. Spoon melted chips in a small heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Snip a tiny hole in 1 corner of bag; drizzle melted chips over cereal mixture. Cool slightly; cut into 24 pieces.

Yield
2 dozen
writeNutrient();
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 118(30% from fat); FAT 3.9g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.8g); IRON 0.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 1mg; CALCIUM 9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19g; SODIUM 93mg; PROTEIN 2.6g; FIBER 0.7g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2000

Whoopie Pies!

For as long as I can remember, the recipes for Whoopie Pies has been an important part of my mom's culinary collection. I never much liked them considering my dislike for chocolate. Matt and Michael (Matt's oldest friend) got into a "debate" about the difference between moon pies and whoopie pies one day... So I decided to make the Whoopie Pies! Without any further ado, here the recipe is:

The "bread" part:

2 cups flour

1 1/2 TSP baking soda

1/4 TSP salt

1/2 C margarine

1 C milk

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C cocoa

1 egg

1/2 TSP vanilla

Preheat oven to 425.

Sift dry ingredients together. Cream margarine and sugar then add egg and vanilla. Add the milk alternately with the dry ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Drop by TBSP onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake for 7 minutes.

The filling:

1/2 C butter

1 C granulated sugar OR 2 C confectioner's sugar

1/2 C Crisco

6 TBSP flour

1/2 C warm milk

1 TSP vanilla

Cream shortening and butter together. Gradually add sugar and flour.

Add milk and vanilla- keep beating until it is airy and there is no sugar particles remaining.. (to do this you basically have to take a finger and feel it!)

Put pies together. YUMMY :)

California Rolls - Yes Really!

For my first attempt at making sushi, I wanted to try something simple... and here are the results!!
Really - it's not hard. Make the vinegar mix for the rice per directions - mix together - let cool - create sushi. Enjoy sushi. :)

Update: here is the recipe! Thanks Tiff for asking!

A) Prepare sushi rice by doing the following:
4 cups short grain white rice/sushi rice
1.1 liter water
1. Start by washing the rice.
2. Cover with cold water and gently massage with your hand. This will release bran and cleaning compound into the water as evidenced by the milky color.
3. Tip most of this off, leaving about one cup.
4. Now, gently stir the rice for about 10 seconds.
5. Repeat steps two, three, and four 3 more times.
6. The water should look almost clear. Drain well.
7. Place the rice in the rice cooker with the water. Switch on. Leave the lid on the whole cooking process!

Create the vinegar dressing.
100 mL Japanese rice wine vinegar
60 gm sugar
20 gm salt
Prepare by dissolving sugar and salt in the vinegar over low heat. Immediately remove from heat and allow to cool.

Combine the rice with the vinegar dressing.
1. Empty the hot rice into a wide shallow container. Do not allow to cool.
2. Add the dressing by pouring it evenly over the rice.
3. Briefly run the spatula through the rice from top to bottom and left to right in slicing motions in order to spread the rice.
4. Continue to gently toss the rice until it starts to feel just tight. Spread the rice out in an even thin layer. Using a fan, cool the rice to body temperature. Make sure you turn the rice over so the other side is cool as well.
5. To keep the rice from drying out, cover with damp cloth.
This will yield 12 cups of prepared rice. Feel free to cut in half if you do not need that much.

B) Prepare the ingredients for California rolls by gathering the following:
-2 sheets nori seaweed
-5 cups prepared sushi rice
-1/2 avocado, sliced into strips
-1/2 cucumber, sliced into thin strips (optional)
-cooked crab meat (about 1 cup)
*make sure you comb through the crabmeat well to remove any remaining shells
-1 TBSP Japanese mayonnaise
*if you cannot find this in the store, use regular mayonnaise mixed with rice vinegar

2 TBSP flying fish roe or sesame seeds (optional)
-plastic wrap
-bamboo mat

C) Begin making the rolls.
-Cover the bamboo rolling mat with a sheet of plastic wrap.
-Place a sheet of nori on the mat and spread half the rice on the entire sheet, from edge to edge.
-Turn the rice-covered nori sheet upside down onto the sushi mat. The rice will now be facing down while the nori sheet is facing up.
-Spread some mayonnaise across the middle of the nori sheet. ALTERNATIVELY, you can mix the crab with mayonnaise.
-Place half the avocado, cucumber, and crab meat on top (in the middle of the sheet).
-Start rolling the mat up over the ingredients and roll almost one complete turn, stopping to press and firm, until the sheet is completely rolled.
-Be careful to not let the plastic wrap get rolled in!
-Take off the plastic sheet and add the roe or sesame seeds, if desired.

D) Serving
-Using a good knife, wet it and cut the roll in the middle. Wet the knife again and cut in the middle of each half and continue until you have 8 pieces.

E) and...
-Use the remaining ingredients to assemble one more roll.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

"GCC" has been popular for at least a year now on the forum I check out... Someone found the recipe on "allrecipes.com" - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garlic-Cheddar-Chicken/Detail.aspx

Original recipe follows:

INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup butter 4 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 cup dry bread crumbs 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon salt 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt. Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.


My changes:
Since Matt doesn't like cheddar as much - I use mozzarella instead.

I also halve it since it is too much for the two of us.

Finally, I put a cookie rack on top of a baking pan so the breading will get much more crispy instead of sitting in the butter and being soggy on the bottom.

Roasted Garlic Bread

Tired of the same old garlic bread? I certainly was! So I set out to roast garlic: quite very simple. Take an entire head of garlic, cut the top 1/2" off - drizzle with Extra virgin olive oil - wrap in foil. Bake at 350-ish for about 45 minutes.

(You can see the results of the garlic in the foil packet) - Spread it on a loaf of bread - it's just like butter! (Oh and you may want to let the garlic sit for a minute or two after opening the foil. intense heat! )
Tah dah.. ready for the oven.
I popped it in the oven for about 15 minutes. We loved it but will add cheese next time!

California trip - the food part!

Matt and I lived in the San Fernando Valley for at least 5 years - so naturally, when we went back for a memorial, all we wanted to eat was food we missed. Here is a glimpse of our favorites.


Half-priced sushi from Shogun on Reseda Blvd in Northridge. The BEST.
Kevin (my fave sushi friend) & I ordered BSCR (baked scallops on california rolls), spicy tuna, monkey brains (deep fried mushroom with ..??), dragon roll, scallop roll, salmon, and octopus?? (can't remember what the white one is..) SO GOOD!


We also went to Claim Jumper where we had Irish Nachos, drinks, and I had a burger. YUM. (in the picture you can see my pink drink and burger.)

In n Out.. I love it. Obviously Matt doesn't agree..

Because Matt loves his Carl's Jr 6 dollar burger, fries, and zucchini.

Erika also had a deep dish cheese and tomato pizza from BJ's brewery. Delish!

While it was great to eat delicious food, it was also great to see our friends again.

Cheesy Loaf

You know when you're growing up and you have this ONE favorite thing you always want to have... for me, it was "cheesy loaf"!

The recipe was originally found on a bag of dough. So not good for you, but oh so delicious ;-)

1 pound dough (let rise for a few hours beforehand)
~1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 TBSP parmesan cheese
1 TBSP basil
1/2 TSP garlic powder


After letting the dough rise, separate into pieces (I can usually get at least 16 out of it) .. flatten a piece and put a small handful of cheese in the middle.
Roll dough into a ball and place on ungreased baking sheet.
Continue until all dough has been rolled.

Let dough relax for about 30-45 minutes. (I've skipped this step once or twice, not quite the same.)


Mix remaining ingredients and brush over dough balls.

Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Mozzarella-stuffed Meatballs

This recipe was floating around the cooking forums I visit on a regular basis. I believe it was originally from Rachael Ray - http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/pizza-pasta-recipes/spaghetti-with-mozzarella-stuffed-meatballs/article.html - Someone on the forums (so sorry I can't remember who!!) made some modifications which I follow ... it is definitely a goodie!!

1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 pound lean ground sirloin
2 TBSP parsley, chopped
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated for me works better, but some people do shredded)
1 large egg
1/2 block of mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes

1. In a medium bowl, soak the bread crumbs in the milk.
2. Add the beef, parmesan, egg and 1 teaspoon of salt to the soaked bread crumbs and stir with a fork until combined.




3.Place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture in your hand and press a mozzarella cube into the center. Shape the meat around the cheese, forming a ball. Repeat with the remaining meat and mozzarella.

4. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes..

and don't be like me and letting it go for a little too long.. OOPS!! it was still delicious anyway ;-)

serve with pasta and sauce.

Zucchini & Summer Squash Casserole

Not the most healthy side, but oh so delicious!!

1 green zucchini, sliced into rounds
1 summer squash, sliced into rounds
1 onion, sliced into strips
2 tomatoes, sliced (I have to leave this out for Matt.. but I love it either way!)
2 TBSP butter
1/4 TSP basil
1/2 TSP garlic salt
dash of pepper
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup croutons
(note: since leftovers are so good, I double everything)

Melt the butter and cook zucchini, summer squash, and onion until medium crisp & tender

add tomatoes and spices - cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until tomatoes are tender

remove from heat and add cheese and croutons - enjoy! ** matt prefers his croutons completely crispy, so I only put croutons on my half before serving so it soaks up some juice and becomes "soggy".. YUM!**

(What it looks like after we've eaten!)

Japanese curry

Anyone that lived in the valley has to have been to E.E. Cafe on Reseda and Nordhoff. Well, these people know what I am talking about when I say their curry was to die for. Imagine my surprise and sadness when the restaurant closed!! Never had I found a curry that I liked ... until E.E. Cafe! After a couple years of missing the curry, I set out to find a recipe and try to re-create the magic! I daresay I did pretty damn well!! The only thing was that this recipe wasn't as sweet as E.E. Cafe's was. Other than that, the smell, the texture, etc was right on!!

Notes:

-You have to make "curry roux" for the recipe. (recipe is below) I suggest making this after you've started the curry recipe and it is in the 40-50 minute cooking stage.

-This is the chicken curry recipe. If you want to use beef (hamburger), just exchange the soup boullion for beef and put in beef instead of chicken. Easy enough.

-I also love crispy chicken in this curry (pan fry chicken coated in panko crumbs)!


Recipe found at japanesefood.about.com


INGREDIENTS:
4 cups steamed Japanese rice (I used regular white rice. Next time I'll try Japanese rice!)
1 onion
2 potatoes
2 carrot
1/4 lb Japanese curry roux* (I used the entire pan full of roux.. what else was I going to do with it?)
3 1/2 cups water
1/2 lb chicken (I used 2 large chicken breasts)

PREPARATION:
Cut potatoes, carrots, and pork into bite-sized pieces. Slice onions.Heat a deep pan and saute the pork. Add onion, potatoes, and carrots in the pan and saute together. Add water in the pan and bring to a boil Turn the heat down to low and cook for 40-50 min. Add curry roux in the pan and simmer for 10 min. Serve the curry over rice.



*Japanese curry roux

INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp curry powder
2 onion
2 tbsps flour
3 cups water
2 cubes soup bouillon
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp grated garlic
1/2 tsp garam masala
2 tbsps butter

PREPARATION:
Heat water in a pan and add soup bouillon to make soup.
Slice onion thinly.
Heat butter in a pan and saute onion slices slowly until they are brown for 15-20 minutes.
Add garlic and ginger in the pan and saute well.
Add flour and curry powder and saute over low heat.
Pour soup in the pan little by little, stirring quickly.
Simmer the curry roux until thickened, and add garam masala last.

Curry Roux

The first stage of the curry

The final stage of the curry.

Try it!! It's different but sooo good!

Enchiladas. Yummy.

One of my college BFFs shared this recipe with me after Matt and I had gone up to her family's house one weekend and Matt fell in love with the meal.

I've stayed true to the recipe with a little modification. I shred the chicken and mix it with the rice before filling. It makes for a much easier prep.

Ingredients:-
1 box mexican rice
3-4 chicken breasts cooked and cut into 1/2 inch strips or bit-sized pieces
Grated cheese (about one big package)
Ggreen enchilada sauce - a big can, short and fat, 30 or so oz-
Tortillas (I buy the 8 pack - big burrito size)

9x13 pan
Tin foil

Cook rice as instructed to.
Cook chicken and cut into pieces when done.
In an ungreased 9x13 pan pour green enchilada sauce, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan a thin layer.
Roll in tortillas cheese, rice, and chicken.
Place in pan.
About 6 should fit.
Pour remaining can of sauce over enchiladas.
Sprinkle cheese on top of enchiladas.
Cook in 350 degree oven until it bubbles around the edges and cheese is melted on top.
Last few minutes take off foil.

Boiling chicken..

Cooking a box of Mexican rice (I use Rice a Roni Spanish Rice and make sure my tomatoes have jalapeno in it!)


The chicken has been shredded up and mixed in with the rice.

The bottom of the pan has been coated with green enchilada sauce.

My prep station is set up and ready to go!
Filling the tortilla..

Look at them all folded up!

Sauce and cheese on top.. yum yum. Cover with foil at this point and bake!

After 30 ish minutes in the oven!

After the last 10 minutes without foil in the oven

Stuffed Chicken

This isn't my favorite, but it's good to have every once in a while. I found the recipe from allrecipes.com and tweaked it after trying the original.
(The original was pretty good!)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Stuffed-Chicken-Valentino/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 (6 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
4 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slice a chicken breast in half lengthwise, leaving the halves attached on one side: opened and laid flat, the chicken breast should resemble a butterfly. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap, and pound flat. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
Combine Parmesan cheese with Italian seasoning and chives, and sprinkle over chicken breasts. At one end of each breast, place 3 strips of roasted pepper. Top with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Roll each breast up, starting on the side with the peppers and cheese. Insert a toothpick in each roll to prevent unrolling. Place in prepared baking dish. Season rolls with salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Set oven to broil, and continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, slice to display the colorful filling, and serve.

For this version, I replaced the roasted red peppers with proscuitto and basil.





Tah-dah! A bit salty - so be sure to have something sweet afterwards!