FOFC Recipe Box

[terpkristin]

Since I'm always looking for new things to try to cook (or bake), and just today I posted my pumpkin bread recipe on my blog, I figured I'd share the recipe with you guys and gals, too. Feel free to share your own recipes for awesome breakfasts, killer dinners, to-die-for baked goods, or whatever else.

TK's Pumpkin Bread


Dry Ingredients
2.5 cup sugar
3.5 cup flour
1-2 tsp cinnamon (I use 2)
1 tsp nutmeg
1-2 tsp ground ginger (I use 2)
2 tsp baking soda
0.5 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients
4 beaten large eggs
0.5 cup oil (I use safflower oil)
2/3 cup water
2 cup pumpkin (I use one 15 oz. can of pumpkin, NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Grease 2 bread pans (I use glass).
In one bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients so they're well mixed.
In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (I do the eggs first, then add the rest).
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then mix together until everything is just mixed but not overmixed (I do not find it necessary to use a hand mixer, just a sturdy spatula or wooden spoon).
Pour the half the batter into one bread pan, the rest in the other.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the edges are pulling from the sides of the pan and a knife or toothpick in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Cool for about 15 minutes in the bread pans on a cooling rack, then remove the loaves from the bread pans and let them cool the rest of the way (if you can wait!).

This bread tastes pretty darn good fresh out of the oven but it's even better when it's fully cooled.



/tk

[Izulde]

ooh I -love- pumpkin bread.

[Lorena]

Tex-Mex Mac n Cheese

- 1 box of mac n cheese
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 package of taco seasoning (or make your own from THIS recipe)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis
- 2 chipotle peppers chopped (optional - can use more or less depending on how spicy you like it)

1. Make mac n cheese according to directions.
2. Brown turkey, drain, return to pan.
3. Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and chipotle peppers.
4. Combine meat with mac and cheese.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Lorena

Tex-Mex Mac n Cheese

I bet if you were carb-conscious, doing this without the mac & cheese and then adding a bunch of shredded cheese would also taste pretty darn good. Might have to drain the tomatoes, though, otherwise it might be too wet.

/tk

[Bad-example]

The best part of my week is cooking with my father. We have been using our slow cooker pretty regularly. We mostly do basic things like pork and beef roasts and stews. Just tried a Bloody Mary Chicken recipe that wasn't too bad.

4-8 chicken breasts
1 32-oz bottle Bloody Mary Mix
1 Onion
1 Bell Pepper
1 Cup Celery
1 Tbsp. Black pepper

Place chopped veggies in bottom of crock pot. Rinse chicken and place on top of veggies. Pour in Bloody Mary Mix and add pepper. Cook 8-10 hours on low until chicken is cooked through. (8 hours worked for us).

[cartman]

Hopping John

1 Cup black eyed peas (1/2 lb.)
3-1/2 Cups water
1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 dashes Tabasco (or to taste)
Cajun seasoning to taste
1/2 Cup raw rice (not instant rice)

Prepare peas. Either:
a. soak peas overnight, or
b. boil peas in a pan about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and leave
them for an hour.
Fry the bacon in an iron skillet. Remove the bacon,
chop, and reserve when cooked.
To the grease, add the onion, green
pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook until soft.
Stir bacon and vegetables
into the peas. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 1-1/2
hours or until peas are tender.
Add rice and seasonings. Cover and
cook 25 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Serves 6.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I bet if you were carb-conscious, doing this without the mac & cheese and then adding a bunch of shredded cheese would also taste pretty darn good. Might have to drain the tomatoes, though, otherwise it might be too wet.

/tk

Yeah definitely. I don't drain the tomatoes when making mac n cheese though, I feel it might be too dry.

[Raiders Army]

Breakfast Tortillas

4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp milk
3 tbsp butter
8 four tortillas
Bacon, fried and crumbled
Shredded cheese
Diced avocado
Taco sauce
Fresh green chiles, roasted, peeled and chopped or canned chopped green chiles

1. Beat togther eggs, salt and milk
2. Melt butter over medium heat
3. Put tortillas in egg mixture one at a time and drain
4. Fry in butter until golden brown
5. Add condiments

Got this from Seasoned with Sun: Recipes from the Corner of Texas and Old Mexico. Some great stuff in there.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Bad-example

The best part of my week is cooking with my father. We have been using our slow cooker pretty regularly. We mostly do basic things like pork and beef roasts and stews. Just tried a Bloody Mary Chicken recipe that wasn't too bad.

4-8 chicken breasts
1 32-oz bottle Bloody Mary Mix
1 Onion
1 Bell Pepper
1 Cup Celery
1 Tbsp. Black pepper

Place chopped veggies in bottom of crock pot. Rinse chicken and place on top of veggies. Pour in Bloody Mary Mix and add pepper. Cook 8-10 hours on low until chicken is cooked through. (8 hours worked for us).

What kind of chicken breasts? Bone-in, skin-on? Boneless skinless? Something else? This looks like something I may try "soon" as I've been trying to find protein dishes to use up all my rice with (when I moved, I realized I had a TON of different rice things, from pilafs to bags of brown rice or basmati to Rice-A-Roni type stuff--I'm trying to use it all up).

/tk

[Bad-example]

I think the recipe called for boneless skinless. That's what I used.

[flere-imsaho]

Basic Spaghetti Sauce

Always good to be able to do this staple.

Required Ingredients

1 lb ground meat (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, bison, etc...)
1 medium yellow/white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (or more/less based on personal preference)
30 oz tomato sauce (or nearest can size)
15 oz diced tomatoes (or nearest can size)
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried rosemary, sage, or both

Optional Ingredients

Various veggies such as sweet peppers, mushrooms, even zucchini (add interest & body)
Diced black olives (adds richness)
Sundried tomatoes (adds zingy flavor)
Dried chili powder - regular, chipotle, ancho, etc... (adds heat and/or smoky flavor)
Red wine - I recommend chianti (adds richness)

1. Brown the meat in a skillet. If using turkey or chicken (i.e. due to personal or cholesterol issues) you can get more taste out of the meat by using ground black pepper at this stage. Also, if using turkey or chicken, it will be harder to break apart than red meat, so start breaking apart early before it sets up.

2. Once meat is browning, add in onion & garlic to soften.

3a. Once meat is browned (i.e. no longer raw) dump in the rest of the ingredients, stir, and simmer for as long as you can handle waiting (but at least until it's been bubbling for 10 minutes).

or (and this is what I'm doing tomorrow)

3b. Once meat is browned (i.e. no longer raw), dump everything from the skillet, and all the other ingredients, into a slow cooker and set it on low for at least 4 hours (all day is better).

4. Cook pasta.

5. Eat.

Serves 4-6. Freezes very well.

[flere-imsaho]

Ridiculously Easy and Awesome Roasted Potatoes

We had a ton of tomatoes from our CSA Share this year, so....

Ingredients:

Potatoes (honestly, it doesn't matter what kind or how much)
Olive Oil (type depends on personal preference, i.e. how much of an olive oil snob you are)
Salt
Pepper

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees (F). If you have a convection oven, use that.

2. Wash spuds.

3. Cut spuds into half-inch pieces.

4. Chuck a single layer of spuds onto an oven pan (any kind of pan will do - the larger the pan, the more spuds you can cook). Drizzle with olive oil. Apply salt & pepper to taste (i.e. how much you like both salt & pepper).

5. Cook for 30 minutes, remove and try one. If it's still too raw inside, throw them in for another 15 minutes.

[terpkristin]

Also posted on my blog.

I made this recipe up tonight, when I was in the mood to get rid of an open box of pasta I had, and when I was wanting a heartier version of my normal pasta bake.

Baked Pasta with Ricotta
Ingredients
1/2 lb pasta (elbows or cavatappi)
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package mushrooms (I used a 4 oz pkg of mixed fancy mushrooms) -- not canned
15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 of 15 oz. tub of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozarella
salt
pepper
basil (I used dried--if desired)
oregano (I used dried--if desired)
thyme (I used dried--if desired)
olive oil (for keeping noodles from sticking)
butter (for saute pan)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F. In large pot, cook pasta (remember to follow The Ten Commandments of Dry Pasta).
While pasta is cooking, saute mushrooms, onion, green pepper, and thinly sliced garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, and some dried basil, thyme, and oregano if desired.
When pasta is cooked al dente, drain, then return to pot (off heat), drizzle a little olive oil into the pasta.
Add the tomato sauce and minced garlic to the noodles, stir so all noodles are coated.
Add the vegetable mixture to the noodles, stir so well combined.
Add the ricotta to the noodle and veggie mixture, stir so well combined.
(Note, at this point, you could eat this and have a great meal!)
Dump mixture into a 11"x7" pan and bake in preheated oven, covered, for 20-25 minutes.
Stir/redistribute pasta when it comes out, cover with shredded mozarella, and put back into oven for 10 minutes (until mozarella melts).
Serve. I've found that it's easier to cut if you let it cool a little bit.

Hope you enjoy! I know I did.

And, for those of you who don't want to click-through to get my normal pasta bake recipe, here it is:
Generic Pasta Bake
Ingredients
1 lb. pasta such as penne, elbows, or fusili
1 24-26 oz. jar of sauce (the large size of Barilla, Prego, Classico, or whatever you like)
1 jar of water
2 cups of shredded cheese (Italian Mix or Mozarella)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In 9"x13" pan, combine UNCOOKED pasta, jar of sauce, and jar of water (use empty sauce jar, fill it up with water, and dump that in). Mix well so everything is coated and consistent.
Cover pan and bake for 30 minutes (35 if using whole wheat pasta).
Remove from oven, stir up contents, cover with cheese, and put back in oven to bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Variations
If you want to add meat, brown up some ground turkey, chicken, or beef and drain it. Add the ground meat to the sauce and then add all that to the noodles and water.
You can also add onions, celery, green pepper, mushrooms, or whatever else you like. Saute it up, and add it to the sauce, before combining with the noodles.

/tk

[DanGarion]

Ok growing up my mom and dad made this chicken macaroni salad that we named Crazy Chicken Salad, the normal vegetables it calls for are diced carrots and celery. I’m not a fan of big pieces of carrots and I hate celery so I made my own interpretation.

DanGarion’s Crazy Chicken Salad

1 1/2 Pounds of Chicken Thighs (Bone in)
1 lb. package of mini elbow macaroni
1 package of Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
1 1/2 cups of Mayonnaise
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Milk
3 Carrots peeled and grated
1 Head of Broccoli cut into small pieces
3/4 lb. Monterey Jack Cheese, cubed
5 strips of bacon cooked and crumbled
Salt and Pepper

Lightly salt and pepper chicken in a large casserole dish. Place chicken in microwave and cook on high for about 20 minutes turning chicken over every 5 minutes. Let chicken cool, once cooled get all the meat from the chicken and dice it up, cover and place in refrigerator. Cook macaroni as described on label, run under cold water and drain. In a large bowl mix together package of dressing, mayonnaise and milk make sure consistency is slightly thicker then regular dressing. Mix in broccoli and carrots. Mix in macaroni, cheese, and chicken. Once salad is thoroughly mixed cover and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Before serving sprinkle salad with crumbled bacon. Enjoy!

[cartman]

The Hopping John recipe above is a great New Year's Day dish. Here's a little something for desert:

Chocolate Flan Cake

1 box Devil's Food cake mix
11 oz. cajeta (goat's milk caramel. If this freaks you out, Smucker's caramel works as well)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz can evaporated milk
1/2 cup fresh milk
8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla
5 eggs (in addition to what the cake mix needs)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Spray a large, 12 cup bundt pan with non-stick coating (very important to use a 12 cup bundt pan)
3. Soften the cajeta and pour into the bundt pan
4. Prepare cake mix according to directions
5. Pour the cake batter into the pan, covering the cajeta
6. Put the remaining ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth
7. Very slowly and carefully pour the flan mixture over the cake batter
8. Spray a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick coating, and cover the top of the bundt pan tightly (very important)
9. Set the bundt pan into a larger pan, one large enough to hold two inches of water
10. Pour hot water into the pan, enough so that it comes up two inches on the side of the bundt pan
11. Bake the cake for two hours
12. After two hours, remove the cake from the water, and let it cool, still covered with the foil, for 15 minutes.
13. After 15 minutes, peel the foil back.
14. Invert the bundt pan onto a large plate with a rim
15. When you pull the bundt pan off, the cajeta will drip down the sides of the cake
16. Let the cake cool completely, then refrigerate

The cool thing about this cake, is that when you remove the bundt pan at the end, the cake and flan have switched places during the cooking.

[DaddyTorgo]

somebody should keep track of what is listed for recipes in this thread - it'd be way more useful that way

[Lorena]

good idea DT

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah idk if TK wants to do it or something - turn that first post into a series of links to the individual posts with the recipes listing what they are/whose they are, and then put her pumpkin bread in a later post, or if someone should do a separate thread collecting it all and maintaining it.

I think if it was organized that way it'd get some actual use probably, ya know?

[Lorena]

Ant doesn't like Ranch Dressing, but loves this one:

Ranch Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

From: Ranch Dressing 2

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

somebody should keep track of what is listed for recipes in this thread - it'd be way more useful that way

Sounds like something that could easily be tracked on the Wiki...

[Lorena]

Okay, I can add these on the wiki

[Lorena]

Done - FOFC Recipe Box - FOFC Wiki

Also as part of my signature.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Lorena

Done - FOFC Recipe Box - FOFC Wiki

Also as part of my signature.

Oooh sweet!
I totally would've just edited the first post everytime, but this is much more convenient! I love it how while I'm at the gym a "problem" shows up as does a solution!

/tk

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Lorena

Done - FOFC Recipe Box - FOFC Wiki

Also as part of my signature.

You rock!

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Also posted on my blog.

I made this recipe up tonight, when I was in the mood to get rid of an open box of pasta I had, and when I was wanting a heartier version of my normal pasta bake.

Baked Pasta with Ricotta
Ingredients
1/2 lb pasta (elbows or cavatappi)
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package mushrooms (I used a 4 oz pkg of mixed fancy mushrooms) -- not canned
15 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 of 15 oz. tub of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozarella
salt
pepper
basil (I used dried--if desired)
oregano (I used dried--if desired)
thyme (I used dried--if desired)
olive oil (for keeping noodles from sticking)
butter (for saute pan)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F. In large pot, cook pasta (remember to follow The Ten Commandments of Dry Pasta).
While pasta is cooking, saute mushrooms, onion, green pepper, and thinly sliced garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, and some dried basil, thyme, and oregano if desired.
When pasta is cooked al dente, drain, then return to pot (off heat), drizzle a little olive oil into the pasta.
Add the tomato sauce and minced garlic to the noodles, stir so all noodles are coated.
Add the vegetable mixture to the noodles, stir so well combined.
Add the ricotta to the noodle and veggie mixture, stir so well combined.
(Note, at this point, you could eat this and have a great meal!)
Dump mixture into a 11"x7" pan and bake in preheated oven, covered, for 20-25 minutes.
Stir/redistribute pasta when it comes out, cover with shredded mozarella, and put back into oven for 10 minutes (until mozarella melts).
Serve. I've found that it's easier to cut if you let it cool a little bit.

Hope you enjoy! I know I did.

And, for those of you who don't want to click-through to get my normal pasta bake recipe, here it is:
Generic Pasta Bake
Ingredients
1 lb. pasta such as penne, elbows, or fusili
1 24-26 oz. jar of sauce (the large size of Barilla, Prego, Classico, or whatever you like)
1 jar of water
2 cups of shredded cheese (Italian Mix or Mozarella)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In 9"x13" pan, combine UNCOOKED pasta, jar of sauce, and jar of water (use empty sauce jar, fill it up with water, and dump that in). Mix well so everything is coated and consistent.
Cover pan and bake for 30 minutes (35 if using whole wheat pasta).
Remove from oven, stir up contents, cover with cheese, and put back in oven to bake for another 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Variations
If you want to add meat, brown up some ground turkey, chicken, or beef and drain it. Add the ground meat to the sauce and then add all that to the noodles and water.
You can also add onions, celery, green pepper, mushrooms, or whatever else you like. Saute it up, and add it to the sauce, before combining with the noodles.

/tk

This is very similar to the pizza casserole recipe I found online a while ago with the exception of using pizza sauce instead of tomato sauce and cooking the pasta beforehand. My wife makes some good macaroni and cheese casserole with the uncooked macaroni like you did it.

[Lorena]

Forget packaged taco seasoning, make your own and you'll never go back:

Taco Seasoning

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

This makes 1 regular packet of taco seasoning. I use this when making crockpot chicken with beans, corn and salsa.

From - Taco Seasoning 1

[DaddyTorgo]

DC - I'm totally going to use that taco seasoning recipe!!

[Mustang]

Seasoned Spinach (Not my recipe, but a common item that we eat. Usually serve it with fish and rice)

1 lb spinach
1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame salt
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced scallion
1 1/2 tsp hot pepper paste or chili pepper paste
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar

Cut off any roots of spinach.

In boiling water, dissolve 1 tsp of salt and blanch the spinach for no more than 1 minute, turn over once in boiling water and strain immediately under cold water rinsing and cooling throughly

In bowl, add all ingredients for season. Add spinach (press out excess water beforehand, just give it a firm squeeze in a ball shape). Toss spinach in sauce and refrigerate before eating.

Note : 1 minute seems rather long on the blanching.. I typically go < 30 seconds. You just want to soften it up, you don't want a dark green limp mass.

[ISiddiqui]

After terpkristin noted a tweet of mine, I'm obliged to share a recipe I like:

Imran's Famous Slow Cooker Chili

1 lb ground beef (or buffalo or lamb)
1 lb hot italian sausage (sliced in bite size pieces)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3-4 jalapenos (or 2 habaneros, or mix 'em up)
half of a beer
4-5 cloves of garlic
chili powder
red pepper flakes
1 tbpn cumin
salt & pepper

Ok, get your slow cooker ready (I have slow cooker bags, highly recommended). Brown the beef, drain, and put it in. Then cook the sausage and put in the slow cooker. Then throw the drained beans (yes, my chili has beans, so deal) on top of the meat.

After that, take the chopped onions and put it on top of the meat. Then the jalapenos and/or habaneros. Follow that by the bell pepper. Put the garlic on after the that. Put the crushed tomatoes and the diced tomatoes over it all.

Then put the cumin and as much chili powder and red pepper flakes as you can handle. Pour the beer over everything.

Cook for about 8-10 hours on low.

Feel free to experiment (I've used buffalo, lamb, etc, and this time I bought a can of chile verde to throw in as well).

[terpkristin]

Alright, before I go to Google...my mom just stopped by with a pound of carrots. Anybody have any carrot-y recipes?

Also..

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

This is very similar to the pizza casserole recipe I found online a while ago with the exception of using pizza sauce instead of tomato sauce and cooking the pasta beforehand. My wife makes some good macaroni and cheese casserole with the uncooked macaroni like you did it.

Would you (or your wife) mind sharing the mac & cheese casserole recipe?

/tk

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Alright, before I go to Google...my mom just stopped by with a pound of carrots. Anybody have any carrot-y recipes?
/tk

I don't have any recipes, but maybe a carrot cake or carrot/raisin salad?

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Lorena

I don't have any recipes, but maybe a carrot cake or carrot/raisin salad?

Carrot cake or carrot bread are definitely on my radar. Was wondering if there was any other main dish type thing. Found a recipe for a carrot casserole but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try it.

/tk

[SnowMan]

Anyone have a good chicken wing crockpot recipe?

[terpkristin]

I've used a couple of recipes for slow cooker chicken wings. Are you looking for more BBQ, teryaki, buffalo? Well, I've never tried any buffalo in the crock pot.

/tk

[SnowMan]

All of the above! I'm a wing...freak.

[Lorena]

Mexican Lasagna

- 1 lb. ground beef/turkey
- 1 package taco seasoning (or THIS recipe)
- 1 can diced tomatoes w/ chilies
- chipotle peppers to desired spiciness (omit if you don't want it too spicy)

- about 12 corn tortillas
- 1 can of beans (pinto or black)
- 1 can of corn
- Salsa
- Shredded Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the meat. Once brown, stir in taco seasoning. Drain and return to pan, add tomatoes and chipotle peppers, stir until all combined.

3. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with half the tortillas. Spoon half the beef/turkey mixture into the dish, then layer w/ half the beans and half the corn, salsa and cheese. Top with the remaining, tortillas, meat, beans, corn, salsa and top w/ cheese.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

I made it a little different today by adding onion, garlic, celery, bell pepper, and cilantro to the meat. Makes about 8 generous servings.

[Bad-example]

Stumbled across a super simple, tasty marinade for chicken. The original recipe calls for grilling the chicken but 40 minutes at 350 in the oven was fine.

1 bottle balsamic vinaigrette
1 bottle italian dressing
1 bottle honey dijon dressing
2 tsp lemon pepper

Pretty easy. Mix ingredients, throw in ~3 lbs chicken (I used boneless skinless breasts). Marinate overnight. Grill or cook as above. Makes great sandwiches.

[Peregrine]

I got this recipe from a neat food blog and have made it a couple of times. The Pillsbury product they mention is like the crescent roll dough but it comes in a flat sheet, so it's very quick to use.

Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy: Super Simple Cherry Cheese Danish Braid

Cherry Cheese Danish Braid Ingredients:
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cherry pie filling
1 tube Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Method:
Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a baking sheet with a little non-stick cooking spray.
In small bowl, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla extract and set aside.
Unroll dough onto baking sheet and press into 13x7-inch rectangle.
Spoon cream cheese mixture lengthwise down center third of the dough. Then, carefully spoon pie filling on top of the cream cheese.
On each long side of dough rectangle, make cuts about 1 inch apart from the outer edge up to the edge of the filling. Fold opposite strips of dough over filling and cross in center to form a braided appearance. Seal the ends so that the filling doesn't leak out. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top.
Bake 22-24 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool for about 15-20 minutes and dive in!

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Alright, before I go to Google...my mom just stopped by with a pound of carrots. Anybody have any carrot-y recipes?

Also..

Would you (or your wife) mind sharing the mac & cheese casserole recipe?

/tk

Ack. I just saw this as I was searching for a bread bowl recipe. Will ask and post.

[Raiders Army]

BTW, anybody have a good recipe for bread bowls?

[MizzouRah]

My Aunt's cream corn:

1 bag of frozen corn
1 package of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
salt, pepper to taste

Place in a small crock pot until heated throughout Very simple and delicious!

[Raiders Army]

We made bread bowls and put cream of broccoli soup in them yesterday. Yummy.

Anyhow, my wife told me that she cooks her macaroni prior to putting it in the cassarole, so it wasn't that similar to tk's recipes.

She combines the macaroni with butter, milk, flour, cheddar cheese, soy sauce, and either hot dogs or lil smokies into a cassarole dish and bakes at 357 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

[MacroGuru]

My addition to this...I have it up on my facebook, but thought I would share here as well...

Shrimp Bisque

1 lb Cooked Shrimp in the Shell
2 tsp Olive Oil
2 Large Onions, halved and sliced
1 carrot, grated
1 stalk celery, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
6 1/2 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. butter
6 tbsp. white rice
1 tbsp. tomato paste
Fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper

Alright, I like to make my own stock so this first part is for my own stock.

1. Peel the shrimp, setting aside the shells for the stock. Set the Shrimp Meat aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the shrimp shells and cook over high heat stirring frequently until they brown. Reduce the heat and add 1/4 of the onions, the celery, carrot and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add the water and bay leaf with a pinch of salt.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.

Then strain the shrimp stock.

3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the remaining onions. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until they soften and just begin to color. Add the shrimp stock, rice and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and ssimmer for about 30 minutes or until the rice is very soft.

4. Allow the soup to cool slightly, then transfer into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, if you have to work in batches you can do it. Puree the soup solids with enough cooking liquid to moisten them, then combine with the liquid.

5. Return the soup to the saucepan and place over a medium-low heat. Add the shrimp meat and a few drops of lemon juice or to taste. Simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the soup is reheated.

Serve in warm bowls and you can garnish with fresh dill or parsley.

We serve this with sourdough bread and it is great!

[MacroGuru]

Alright I am going to be making a soup tonight for dinner...so we are debating between my bisque posted above and a new recipe Roasted Corn Soup with Chilies...

I love a lobster or shrimp bisque for the holidays but this corn soup sounds really good...

1 dried ancho chili
4 tbsp. Butter
1lb 2oz of Sweet Corn Kernels
1 Large Onion, finely chopped
1 Large Garlic Clove, finely chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
2 1/2 cups Whipping Cream
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
Chopped Fresh Cilantro

1. Put the Chili in a bowl and soak for 15 minutes with Boiling water.

2. Melt the butter in a frying pan add the sweet corn and turn to coat. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently until it starts to brown slightly. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper and cook for 7-10 minutes stirring frequently until the onion softens and the mixtures starts to stick.

3. Transfer the mixture to a blender or processor, add the stock and puree until smooth.

4. Put the cream in a large saucepan and stir in the pureed mixture and bring almost to a boil. add the cumin and season with salt. Adjust the heat so the soup bubbles very gently and cook until the mixture reduces by 1 qtr.

5. Remove the chili from the liquid, discard the core and seeds. Put the chili in a blender or processor with 5 tbsp. f the soaking water and puree until smooth. Stir the puree into the soup according to taste and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

6. taste the soup, adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve in warm bowls and garnish with cilantro.


So now the vote is on.....Bisque or Roasted Corn Soup.

[terpkristin]

I vote for roasted corn soup. Then again, lobster will kill me.

I've spent all day cooking with my mom. The one drawback to a Polish Christmas Eve is that most of the food is yellow/white/brown (pierogi, blintzes, kugel/noodle casserole...). We'll also be having some green bean casserole and homemade bread. And, in my dad's family tradition (my mom's side is Polish), we're also having a meat pie (which kind of breaks the Polish tradition of being meatless but that's what family is all about, blending traditions).

/tk

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I vote for roasted corn soup. Then again, lobster will kill me.

I've spent all day cooking with my mom. The one drawback to a Polish Christmas Eve is that most of the food is yellow/white/brown (pierogi, blintzes, kugel/noodle casserole...). We'll also be having some green bean casserole and homemade bread. And, in my dad's family tradition (my mom's side is Polish), we're also having a meat pie (which kind of breaks the Polish tradition of being meatless but that's what family is all about, blending traditions).

/tk

I put the vote to the kids and they chose the Roasted Corn, it is just finishing up and it is an amazing flavor, just from the tasting of the soup I can tell it's going to be one of my favorites!

[digamma]

Speaking of soups, we made Ribollita for our Christmas Eve meal. Subby turned me onto this recipe. Fantastic. Use Kale and not a substitute green.

[Senator]

30
Classic Tortilla Soup
54 Serves 6 $%
If you’re in a hurry and you just can’t wait to make the Rich Chicken Broth, you can use a grilled chicken breast
or pull the meat from a rotisserie chicken and use ready-made chicken broth. Heck, if you’re
in that much of a pinch, your favorite tortilla chips can also be used instead of deep-frying the
tortillas for the Tortilla Crisps. But honestly, once you make this all the way through, we bet
you’ll never do it any other way.
Rich Chicken Broth
Makes abo ut 2 quart s
(Make a bunch and freeze som e for later.)
5 chicken legs and thighs
Water
4 shallots, peeled
1 whole head garlic, peeled
2 carrots
1 tablespoon fresh black peppercorns
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Place the chicken in a large, heavy stockpot with
a lid. Add the water, shallots, garlic, carrots, and
peppercorns. The liquid should just barely cover
the chicken, so adjust the depth of the water, if
needed. Heat over medium-high heat and bring
the mixture to a boil. As the liquid begins to
heat, skim off the foam that rises to the surface,
and discard. When it begins to boil, lower the
heat to a constant simmer. Continue skimming
as needed. Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly
ajar, and continue cooking for 90 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, and leave the
chicken in the broth for 30 minutes, until thoroughly
cool. When the chicken is cool enough
to handle, remove the skin and the bones and
discard. Shred the remaining chicken, there
should be about 3 cups, and reserve in a covered
container that can be reheated at serving time.
Strain the remaining broth, there should be
about 2 quarts, and return to a clean saucepan.
Skim off any fat that has accumulated on the
surface. Season with salt and pepper.
Tortilla Crisps
6 corn tortillas
Peanut oil, for frying
Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet or deep fryer to
approximately 350 degrees F. Cut the tortillas
into 1⁄4-inch strips. Fry the strips for about 1 minute
on each side, until they’re crispy and lightly
toasted.
Assembling the Soup
3 cups cooked, shredded chicken (reserved from
the Rich Chicken Broth)
6 to 8 cups Rich Chicken Broth
1 to 2 limes, cut into generous wedges
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
2 to 3 avocados, ripe but firm, cut into 1⁄2-inch
cubes
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1⁄3 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Reheat the chicken and the broth separately,
until the chicken is warm and the broth is hot.
continued

32
For each serving, place approximately 1⁄2 cup
of the shredded chicken in each bowl. For each
serving, top the chicken with 1 teaspoon of the
chopped jalapeños, the juice from at least 1 lime
wedge, 1 heaping tablespoon of the cubed avocados,
and 2 heaping tablespoons of the shredded
cheese. Finish with a generous helping of the
crispy tortilla strips and a sprig of cilantro.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by digamma

Speaking of soups, we made Ribollita for our Christmas Eve meal. Subby turned me onto this recipe. Fantastic. Use Kale and not a substitute green.

Ooh, that looks good, a bit like this one that I like: Chicken Stew Provencal Recipe Details | Recipe database | washingtonpost.com

I usually double the recipe when I make it and instead of using potatoes, I use white beans.

/tk

[MacroGuru]

Crock Pot Ham today, I don't know if it's going to be good...so I will post the simple recipe tonight if it is...