Monthly Archives: April 2010

Tuscan Style Pumpkin-White Bean Soup

This is a favorite soup in our house. It is hearty and rich and full of fiber. It is enough for a meal in itself. It is also a great soup if you are watching your weight. The fiber will help big time. Pumpkin is so versatile and most people just think of pumpkin pie when cooking with it. I use garbanzo beans in my recipe but you can also use white cannellini beans or any other white bean. I also use one of those hand-held immersers (or boat motors as we call them) to mix/blend the ingredients rather than a blender. It’s easier for me. But feel free to use a blender. The richness and creaminess of this soup comes from the beans. There is no milk or cream added which makes it so much healthier for you! So make a pot and enjoy!

Tuscan Style Pumpkin-White Bean Soup

INGREDIENTS:

olive oil cooking spray or just enough olive oil to coat bottom of large pot

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

15 oz. canned pumpkin

3 ½ cups fat-free chicken broth

15½ oz. can garbanzo beans (or whatever size can is closest), rinsed and drained

¼ teaspoon ground oregano

1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Coat a large soup pot with cooking spray and set over medium-low heat. Add onion, cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.

2. Stir in pumpkin, broth, beans and oregano; simmer for 8 minutes.

3. With an immerser* blend soup until smooth.  Be careful as it may splatter. You can leave a few of the beans whole if you like also. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve with ladle and top with 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese.

Serves 6 (1 cup servings)

*If you wish to use a blender transfer soup in batches being careful not to overfill the blender. Return to pot and reheat.

**Coming next Monday: Layered Salad!

Basic Chili Seasoning

Just as promised, here is a basic chili seasoning mix you can make at home! It’s easy and as with the taco seasoning you probably have these ingredients at home. About ¼ cup of the mix is usually good for chili, but add more if you want. I never buy the pre-packaged mix from the store anymore! Again if you don’t like it too hot put in less of the chili powder. Have fun with it!

Andrea's Black & Red Chili

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup paprika

3 tablespoons seasoning salt

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground cayenne pepper (red pepper)

2 tablespoons seasoned pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons  dried oregano


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: About 1 cup of seasoning.

Homemade Pigs in a Blanket

Yet another party snack that nobody can resist. Pigs in a Blanket are a staple at all  our parties and there are never any leftover. I started making my own once I saw how expensive they were to buy already pre-made. It was insane to say the least. So I started making them myself. They are so simple to make and you can make them the morning of your party and keep in the fridge till you’re ready to bake them. I now use the lower fat crescent rolls as the blanket. I have tried the store brands and they are fine, but Pillsbury still tops them all. I sometimes even get the garlic ones. They are delish! Now Pillsbury has the ‘sheets’ of crescent roll dough without the lines also. But as with anything that makes life easier they cost more. So I stick with the regular crescent roll shapes.

Pigs in a Blanket

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of mini beef hot dogs (Nathans or Hebrew National are the best)

1 tube of Pillsbury Crescent rolls

mustard

non-stick cookie sheets

DIRECTIONS:

1. Open the hot dog package and drain the liquid away from the dogs. It’s better if they are dry for this.

2. Open the crescent rolls and separate the dough into four rectangles. Keep two of the triangles together and press the seams together so they form the rectangle. It’s easier to flip over too and press both sides so there are no gaps. Then slice the rectangle lengthwise in the middle and then make five slices the other way. You should have 10 small pieces of dough for each rectangle.

3. Take a mini hot dog and roll it in a piece of the dough. The dough stretches so don’t worry that it looks too small. It’s better if there isn’t too much dough anyway.

4. Place dogs on a cookie sheet and bake according to the directions on the package. You should check them and maybe cook a little longer till they get to the color you like. If you aren’t going to use them right away, cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge till later!

Makes about 40

Sgroppino

Well it’s the weekend once again and with the temperatures being a bit on the warmer side this week I thought this would be a nice refreshing way to start the weekend! It’s an Italian milkshake of sorts! Just keep it away from the kids!

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup limoncello

¼ cup citron vodka

¼ cup sparkling wine (Prosecco)

1 cup vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS:

Place everything in a blender and blend! Serve in a tall champagne type glass!



Serves 2

**Next Friday- Italian Margaritas!

Friendship Bread Starter

Some of you may remember doing a “Friendship Bread” years ago. I know I did it and passed it on and it was fun even though the idea of this stuff sitting on my counter bubbling away was strange to say the least. It is a nice throwback to days when we spent the time to bake and share with our friends, before we were all so busy with work, kids, school, life… If you’ve never tried this before give it a shot. It does take commitment so make sure you have the time to put into it. It takes 10 days for the ‘starter’ to be ready.

Friendship Bread – which is often called Amish Friendship Bread, is something that you can do with your friends or family members. In fact, it is a way to continue doing something for others, even if baking bread is something that not a lot of people do today. Giving bread and other gifts to your friends can show them what they mean to you, and Amish Friendship Bread is a great place to start. It melts in your mouth, and is something you’ll crave as you run out of it!

INGREDIENTS TO START:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1 cup granulated sugar

INGREDIENTS TO FEED:

2 cups flour, divided

2 cups milk, divided

2 cups granulated sugar, divided

Friendship Bread Starter

DAY 1

Place 1 cup each of the flour, milk and sugar into a large glass or plastic bowl/container with a lid and stir with a wooden spoon. You can use a ceramic crock also. If you use a bowl just cover with plastic wrap. (I used to use those 2 lb deli containers but any container that is glass, ceramic or plastic is fine. And yes for some reason you have to use a wooden spoon.)No metallic bowls or utensils!

DAY 2, 3, 4

Stir mixture with wooden spoon.

DAY 5

Stir mixture with wooden spoon and add 1 cup each of the flour, milk and sugar. Stir well.

DAY 6,7,8,9

Stir mixture with wooden spoon.

DAY 10

Stir mixture with wooden spoon and add remaining 1 cup each of the flour, milk and sugar. Stir well. Remove 3 cups of the ‘starter’ and place each cup in a separate non-metal container. Give to three friends! There will be 2 cups of ‘starter’ left. One is to bake and the other is to keep and start again if you like! (You can bake both if you don’t want to start again!)

**Friendship Bread Recipe Coming Next Thursday!!**



Mom & Grandma’s Arroz Con Pollo

Mom and me at 4 months (May 1962)

My mother and grandmother used to make this recipe quite a bit for us when we were growing up. Nothing I tried in restaurants ever compared to their cooking! It has been years since I’ve had this or even attempted to make it myself. It’s a Puerto Rican recipe and always brings me back to those days growing up. We had all kinds of different ethnic dishes in our house. Our mom wanted us to be well-rounded when it came to food. Maybe that’s why I’m obsessed with food!

Grandma with me (23 months) and Billy (11 months) Christmas 1963


INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon salt

2 peppercorns

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 onion, chopped

1 green pepper, diced

1 teaspoon capers

1 cup uncooked rice

1-2 packets Sazon

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 ½- 3 lb. chicken pieces

¼ cup butter

6 pitted green olives, chopped

1 tomato, peeled and chopped

½ cup tomato sauce

1 can green peas

2 tablespoons achiote for color (Sofrito)

slivered pimentos (from a jar)


DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine oregano, peppercorns, garlic, salt, oil and vinegar. Crush together. Rub mixture over chicken.

2. Brown chicken pieces in butter in large skillet.

3. Add onion, green pepper, olives, capers, achiote, sazon, tomato  and tomato sauce to chicken in skillet. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Drain peas, reserving liquid.  Add enough water to liquid to make 2 ½ cups.

5. Add the water to skillet and bring to a boil. Sprinkle in rice. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

6. Add peas. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with pimento strips.

Meatloaf in the Round

One of the all time favorite comfort foods, meatloaf. I could make meatloaf every night for John and he’d be so happy! But after a while the same old loaf gets boring. So to change things up a bit I have made them in muffin tins or as today’s title says, “in the round”.  All I do is take a round casserole dish and invert a small bowl in the center and put the meatloaf mixture all around the small bowl. Ta da! Meatloaf in the round! Still tastes exactly the same just in a different shape! The muffin tin is great too because you get little mini meatloaf muffins, though the pan is a pain to clean so I don’t do that too often!

Meatloaf in the Round

Meatloaf in the Round

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef of choice

1 cup bread crumbs of choice (I like Italian Panko)

2 eggs

1 small onion or half of a large onion chopped

3 cloves garlic chopped

½ cup parmesan cheese of choice

¼ cup milk of choice

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon dried basil

Meatloaf Ingredients

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

few dashes Tabasco hot sauce, optional

tomato sauce or tomato paste for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix till everything is evenly mixed in. Don’t over mix though.

Meatloaf Ingredients in Bowl

Meatloaf Ingredients in Bowl

2. Place small bowl upside down in center of round casserole dish. Place meatloaf mixture evenly around small bowl in casserole.

3. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spread tomato sauce or tomato paste over top of meatloaf if you wish.

4. Return meatloaf to oven and continue to bake for 15 more minutes.

5. Let sit 5 minutes before serving so it can set up a bit.

6. Enjoy!

After 30 minutes at 350 degrees

Meatloaf after cutting

Easy Pasta Fazool (Pasta Fagioli)



Pasta Fagioli

This is one of my all time favorite soups. There are so many versions of this but this is mine. I have done the trial and error and found what is best for me! Try some tonight! It is a simple and hearty soup that is great any time of the year!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1- 15 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes w/basil, garlic & oregano (or 1- 8 oz. can tomato sauce)

1 cup chicken broth (this gives a great flavor)

1-  15-16 oz. can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

½ uncooked pound ditalini or elbow macaroni

1 tablespoon dried parsley

grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a saucepan, fry the garlic gently in oil until golden brown. Add the canned tomatoes or sauce and chicken broth and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the beans, stir gently and continue to cook on simmer until pasta is ready.

2. Meanwhile cook the pasta al-dente, drain and add to the bean mixture. Stir gently. If soup gets a little too thick add a little more chicken broth or water. Add parsley.

3. Serve immediately otherwise the pasta will absorb all the liquid. The recipe can easily be doubled if you like. Serve with parmesan cheese on top and good italian bread. It is even good cold the next day!

VARIATIONS: You can omit the tomatoes or sauce and have a ‘white sauce’.  You can also replace the cannellini beans with a can of chick peas, sweat peas, black eye peas or lima beans, whichever you wish!

Basic Taco Seasoning

I don’t know about you but I really don’t like to use the packaged seasoning mixes much anymore. They are too full of preservatives and secret ingredients that make me uneasy. So I’ve started to make my own. You will probably have these spices on hand anyway so might as well put them to good use! I’ve researched many recipes for this and came up with a good combination that I like the best. This recipe also makes about 2/3 cup of seasoning. This way you don’t have to keep making it every time you need it! It’ll be on hand and you will know exactly what is in it. Store it in an airtight container. You can even save the old spice bottles and use them. If you like hotter spice you can always add more of the chili powder or if you find it too hot, cut the amount of chili powder. It’s your choice! Have fun!

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons paprika

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1 ½ tablespoons crushed sea salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: About 2/3 cup


**Coming Next Sunday: Basic Chili Seasoning

Slow Cooker Party Meatballs

Who doesn’t like meatballs? Nobody that I know anyway! These party meatballs are one of the easiest recipes for a party! There is no real cooking involved other than turning on the slow cooker and stirring! If you feel the need to make your own little meatballs be my guest but using the frozen pre-made ones is so simple, especially for a party when prep-time is precious. There are only five ingredients so how hard can it be! They are so good and the guests will love them!

INGREDIENTS:

1 oz. brown gravy, dry mix

¼ cup whole berry cranberry sauce

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 ½ pounds of small frozen meatballs

¼ cup cream (you can leave this out if you like)


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a slow cooker, mix gravy according to package directions. Stir in cranberry sauce and mustard.

2. If using the cream, stir it in now. This adds a nice finish and mellows the flavor.

3. Add frozen meatballs and stir to coat.

4. Cook 3-4 hours on HIGH power or 6-8 hours on LOW.

5. At party time, lift meatballs from gravy and slotted spoon and serve in a dish with toothpicks. OR, for a more casual party, serve meatballs directly from slow cooker. (This is what I usually do as it keeps the meatballs hot.)

6. Eat!

1 2 3 4
Blog at WordPress.com.
Dining with Donald

Cruise Ship Recipes at Home

How do I Make That?

Rachael Ray

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Joanne Eats Well With Others

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Garlic Girl

It's Not Just Popcorn!

BuzzFeed - Tasty

It's Not Just Popcorn!

An Edible Mosaic™

It's Not Just Popcorn!

StephenKing.com - Latest News

It's Not Just Popcorn!

The Penny Hoarder

Food52

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Big Bear's Wife

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Ocean of Games- Free Download PC Games

It's Not Just Popcorn!

John Heald's Blog

The Weekend Gourmet

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Skinnytaste

It's Not Just Popcorn!

What's Cooking at the Genua's?

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Marla Meridith - MarlaMeridith.com

Chef in Training

A great place to find easy, delicious and family friendly recipes.

The Pioneer Woman

Simply Recipes

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Budget Bytes

rasamalaysia.com

It's Not Just Popcorn!

Homemade In The Kitchen

Small Batch Recipes and Recipes For Two

overdeepblueseas

OVER DEEP BLUE SEAS BLOG @ WordPress.com

Sluggo's Escapades

What's Sluggo up to today?

Not Rachael Ray Blog

My Bizzy Kitchen

RavieNomNoms

A Girl, Her Blog, and Lots of Food Pictures!