Mexican Rice

The Recipe: Paula Deen recipe from foodnetwork.com.

What You Need:

2 T butter

1&1/2 C rice

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped green bell pepper

2 C water

1 can Mexican diced tomatoes (with green chiles)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Your Turn:
In a large saucepan, melt 2 T butter over medium heat.

Add

· 1 & 1/2 C rice

· 1/2 C chopped onion

· 1/2 C chopped green pepper

Cook until rice is browned and vegetables are tender.

Stir in

· 2 C water

· 1 can tomatoes with green chiles

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 tsp chili powder (Don't skimp on this. I did that the first time, and it did not have enough flavor.)

Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 15-17 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese. (Feel free to add a little more. Original recipe called for 1 C, but I thought that was too much)

Serve hot with quesadillas or tortilla soup.

Ugly Chicken Casserole

The Date: 9 April 2012

The Occasion: Monday night comfort food dinner.

The Recipe: A hodgepodge inspired by various chicken casserole recipes.

How it Went:

This was actually wonderful. This time I layered it into the casserole dish, and I think next time I’d mix it all together and put it in the dish all together. (I'll try to make it again and take a decent picture.)

What You Need:

4 red potatoes, peeled

12-15 baby carrots

1 medium broccoli crown

1 C dry rice

2 cooked chicken breasts

2 T butter

3 T flour

1/2 C chicken broth

1/2 C milk

Thyme

Garlic powder

Coriander

Salt & Pepper

3/4 C sour cream

1/4 C mayonnaise

1/2 onion

Your turn:

Bring 2 C water and 1 C rice to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer until water is absorbed, about 18 minutes.

Chop 4 potatoes, 12-15 baby carrots, and 1 broccoli crown into 1/2-inch pieces. Cook them in an inch of boiling water until tender.

To make cream base, melt 2 T butter in a sauce pan. Add 3 T flour and stir until bubbly. Add 1/2 C chicken broth, 1/2 C milk, 1/2 tsp thyme, a dash garlic powder, and a dash coriander and stir until thickened.

In a medium bowl, combine

· Cooked chicken

· Steamed vegetables

· Cooked rice

In a large bowl, mix

· Cream mixture

· 3/4 C sour cream

· 1/4 C mayonnaise

· 1 tsp salt

· 1/4 tsp black pepper

· 1/2 onion very finely diced

Combine two mixtures and spoon into casserole dish. Bake at 350 about 40 minutes, until bubbly and slightly browned on top.

Lemon Poppy-Seed Muffins

The Date: 8 April 2012

The Occasion: Easter Lunch

The Recipe: Food Network’s website. Original recipe here.

How it went:

I really loved these! They would have been best warm, but I had to bake them Saturday and take them to Easter lunch Sunday afternoon. I still thought they were great, especially zapped in the microwave.

I had poppy seeds in the pantry already, but after reading online that they go bad unless frozen or refrigerated, I went out and bought new ones just to be safe. I put the new bottle in the freezer, so next time I should be OK to use them.

What You Need:
2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butter, at room temperature

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (about one whole lemon, zested)

2/3 C sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top

2 eggs, at room temperature

4 tsp poppy seeds

1/2 C milk

Your Turn:
Preheat oven to 375. Line 12-cup muffin tin with papers, or butter insides of cups. Zest one whole lemon with a fine grater. 

Sift together into a medium bowl

· 2 C flour

· 2 tsp baking powder

· 1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together

· 1/2 C butter (1 stick)

· 1 tsp lemon zest

· 2/3 C sugar

until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 

Scrape sides of the bowl, then add the 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after adding each one.

Stir in 4 tsp of poppy seeds with a spoon.

Now, this is the important part. This will determine whether your muffins rise properly or not. You really have to just barely blend the ingredients; don't overmix it.  Mine didn’t do so well this first time. Using a spoon, gently fold in about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Don’t over-stir it! Then fold in about half of your 1/2 C milk. Fold in another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Don’t overmix! Fold the rest of the milk, then the last 1/3 of the flour mixture.

Divide the batter evenly among your 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with sugar. 

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm, if possible. 

Happy (belated) Easter!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

The Occasion: I just wanted to make something special to add some flair to a Monday night dinner. This is also awesome for any occasion you can think of. Pot lucks, picnics, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, birthday dinners… I’d even have served this at my wedding if I’d known about it then.

The Recipe: From Taste of Home’s 2011 Annual Recipes book

How it Went: Great! I put in too much nutmeg by accident, but it was still fine.

What You Need:

4 C spiral pasta (cavatappi)

1/4 C butter

1/4 C flour

4 C milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash nutmeg

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C cubed Velveeta cheese product

Your Turn:
Cook pasta according to box’s directions.

In a large saucepan, melt 1/4 C butter. 

Stir in 1/4 C flour until smooth.

Gradually add 4 C milk, stirring. Then stir in

· 1/2 tsp salt

· 1/4 tsp pepper

· 1/4 tsp ground mustard

· 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

· Dash nutmeg

Bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in

· 2 C shredded cheddar cheese

· 1 C cubed Velveeta

Drain pasta. Stir cheese mixture and pasta together. Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly. 

Steel Cut Oats with Berries and Pecans

The Occasion: Breakfast

The Recipe: From the steel cut oats package, with tips from my friend Nina about adding frozen fruit!

How it went: This is my favorite breakfast now. I sit right next to the stove while it’s cooking and read while I wait for it to finish, lifting the lid every so often so it doesn’t boil over. It’s a wonderful morning routine.

What You Need:

Country Choice Organic, Irish Style Quick-Cooking Steel Cut Oats (using different oats will mean different quantities and cooking times, but feel free to experiment!)

Chopped pecans

Brown sugar

Frozen berries

Your Turn:
Bring 3/4 C of water to a boil.

Add 1/4 C steel cut oats.

Reduce heat and cover. Simmer about 5-8 minutes, until all water is absorbed. Don’t go too far away! They will boil over if you don’t lift the lid every 30 seconds or so to let the steam out.

In the meantime, prepare your bowl with

· Brown sugar

· Frozen berries

· Chopped pecans (toasted, if you’d like)

(Quantities are up to you)

When the oats are done, stir them into the bowl with your nuts, sugar and fruit. 

Savor alone or with coffee to start your day off right!

Honey Mustard Salmon

The Occasion: My first daring attempt at cooking fish. Ever.

The Recipe: From Cook This, Not That cookbook.

How it went: Well, we liked it! It was easy: only took about 15 minutes total. It was a little tough, I think because I left it in the oven while the risotto was cooking. (Boxed risotto; no recipe for that.) I also added some extra honey to mine.

What You Need:

Salmon

Butter

Brown sugar

Dijon mustard

Honey

Soy sauce

Olive oil, salt, and pepper

Your Turn:
Heat oven to 400.

Melt

· 1 T butter

· 1 T brown sugar

in the microwave for about 30 seconds.

Stir in

· 2 T Dijon mustard

· 1 T honey

· 1 T soy sauce

Heat about 1/2 T olive oil in a skillet over high heat.

Season salmon fillets (I used two, but the sauce will be enough for four) with salt and pepper. Place flesh-side down in the skillet. Cook 3-4 minute, until fully browned, then flip.

Brush with glaze and put in an oven-safe dish in the oven at 400. (If you’re lucky enough to have an oven-proof skillet, cook the salmon in that, then transfer it to the oven.) Cook about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with additional glaze.

Serve with steamed veggies and rice.

Creamy Pesto-Chicken Casserole

The Date: 29 March 2012

The Occasion: Thursday night

The Recipe: From Betty Crocker’s Annual Recipes

How it went: Yum! Loved this. I’d like to try my own version of it with broccoli and a homemade alfredo sauce. I think I could concoct a more from-scratch version that would be really good. I’ll get back to you if I do.

What You Need:

2 cups uncooked “fancy” pasta (Recipe calls for radiatore. I couldn’t find that so I used cavatappi. Campanelle would also be good)

1/2 C roasted red bell peppers from jar (I omitted these)

1/3 C basil pesto

1/4 C milk

10 oz jarred alfredo sauce

12-16 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked

1/4 C shredded Italian or parmesan cheese

Your Turn:
Cook the chicken. As I’ve said before, the best way I’ve found to do this is to cook it in the crock pot all day. For something that’s going to be pesto flavored, like this recipe, cook the chicken in broth with basil and garlic to start those flavors going.

When you get home, or when your chicken is done, cook the 2 C pasta until al dente. Drain.

Mix pasta in a large bowl with

· the cooked chicken

· 1/3 C basil pesto

· 1/4 C milk

· 10 oz jarred alfredo sauce

· 1/2 C roasted bell peppers (optional)

 

Spoon into a square 8x8 baking dish.

Bake 25 minutes at 350.

Cover with aluminum foil, then bake another 10 minutes.

When you remove it from the oven, sprinkle with 1/4 C shredded Italian cheese. (I sprinkled this on before I baked it. Oops!)

Enjoy with steamed fresh broccoli or green beans.