Category Archives: Lunch/dinner

A different kind of baked potato

2 March 2014

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Growing up, the only kind of baked potato my family ate was a russet potato. I saw a lot of recipes for baked sweet potatoes on Pinterest last fall, but never tried any. Last week, I had two that I needed to use, so I decided to try baking them.

When I’ve had sweet potatoes in the past, they’ve involved some sort of sweeter flavor and ginger; while baked potatoes have had sour cream and chives. I decided to find a happy medium, so I stirred a bit of powdered ginger and maple syrup into some sour cream to top these baked potatoes. They were delicious. Next time, I might add either some arugula, chives or chopped green onions for some color. But for a first attempt, I was pleased with my creation. It complemented the steak I had with it.

What do you put on your baked sweet potatoes?

Ingredients
Two medium sweet potatoes
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Scrub the dirt off the outside of each sweet potato. Pat dry. Pierce each potato with a fork five times. Wrap each potato in foil. Once the oven has preheated, set potatoes on the rack and set timer for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, check potatoes for doneness. Mine took another 30 minutes before they were done.

Once potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile combine sour cream, ginger, syrup and salt and stir until just combined.

Using a knife, cut potato just through the skin on the length of the long side. Peel skin and toss. Cut potato halfway through with three lengthwise cuts, then make five cuts crosswise. Spoon two tablespoons of the sour cream mixture and one tablespoon of feta over each potato.

Taking a gamble on taquitos

23 February 2014

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I like taquitos. You know those boxes of them that are sold in the frozen food aisle? Yes, those. But I had never thought to try making them from scratch until a few months ago. I had a bag of tortillas and some chicken that I needed to use, so I went forth without looking up any recipes online, just to see what I could conjure up without any guidance.

I knew I needed to cook the chicken so it could be easily shredded, so I chose to bake it just until it hit 165 degrees then let it rest for 5-10 minutes before mashing it with a wooden spatula. Then I added flavors I wanted to be included in the mix, filled the tortillas and baked them. That’s it.

They turned out better than I hoped. While I could have used a couple more tortillas so the six I made weren’t so over-stuffed and hard to keep closed, the flavors were perfect. I’ll definitely be making these again, perhaps trying them with another meat next time.

2taquitos022314Ingredients
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped into small squares
1 package boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.25 pounds)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons jalapeño sauce
8-10 white corn tortillas
Dash of white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of garlic powder or 1 clove minced garlic
Canola oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rinse chicken and put in a dutch oven or oven-safe dish. Cook in oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through and temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Remove from oven and let cool. Keep oven on.

Line a cookie sheet with foil.

Once chicken is cool enough to handle, use a wooden spatula to mash it, until it is nearly completely shredded. Add red pepper, cheese, jalapeño sauce, white pepper, salt and garlic and mix together until blended.

Heat a bit of canola oil in a small frying pan on medium-high heat and briefly cook tortillas, one at a time on each side, until they are soft enough to fill and roll.

Take each tortilla and fill it with about 1/4 cup filling or more, if desired. Roll the tortilla around the filling and put each one seam-side down on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until tortillas are slightly crispy. Serve warm with sour cream or salsa.

A fresh take on French onion soup

16 February 2014

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French onion soup is never something I’ve craved. I think I may have tasted it once at a restaurant years ago, but hadn’t given it much thought since. I’ve been eating a lot of soups and stews this year, and I wanted to expand my repertoire. I wanted to go outside my comfort zone.

I browsed the Food Network site, as I so often do when looking for inspiration, and chose Alton Brown’s French Onion Soup recipe at the recommendation of a friend. I had never heard of French onion soup with Cognac and apple cider. I was intrigued.

Cutting onions always makes me tear up, so I wanted to slice them in the fastest way I could. I took out my mandoline slicer and did it quickly — and without tears. The mandoline made it a much easier process than it would have been otherwise. If you have one, I recommend using it for this soup.

After slicing the onions, cooking the soup became a slower process, but it was completely worth it in the end. It made about six servings, so I had lunch all set for the work week.

Many of the reviewers said the soup was a bit too sweet. The first time I made it, I agreed with them. But the second time around, I used two red onions instead of two sweet onions, and I used a less concentrated cider. It helped tremendously. Smoked fontina also addedI wouldn’t change anything else because, at the end of the day, I’d learned a new recipe and had something to warm me up as the snow fell outside.

Ingredients
3 sweet onions (like Vidalias) and 2 red onions (about 4 pounds total)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine (sauvignon blanc and dry riesling both work well)
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (Tree Top works well)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional)
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes. After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler.

Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven-safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute.

Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac. Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Asparagus soup that will warm you up

2 February 2014

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I’ve never done much with asparagus other than cook it on a stovetop or bake it. Since the weather has been freezing, I’ve been coming home to make dinners that will warm me up.

This cream of asparagus soup from Joy is a great way to use the vegetable. It takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and has a nice consistency — it has cream, but doesn’t become too thick. I didn’t have chicken broth, so I used bullion and water. It was saltier than I wanted it to be, so next time I’ll use less than 1 tablespoon of bullion per cup of water.

I garnished the first bowl with shredded Parmesan, but that wasn’t quite right. The bread cubes were a much better choice.

All in all, this was a nice soup that I will be making again because it don’t involve a lot of ingredients, nor does it take too long to make.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup coarsely chopped onions
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups poultry stock, chicken broth or other light stock or broth
1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream, half-and-half or milk
Salt
White or black pepper

Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat.

Add onions and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned.

Stir in asparagus. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until the asparagus is very tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Using a food processor or an immersion blender, process until smooth. Return the soup to the pot and stir in heavy cream. Heat through, but do not boil.

Add salt and pepper. Garnish with grated cheese such as cheddar or Parmesan, or add 1-inch cubes of bread.

Peppers that will leave you stuffed

19 January 2014

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I love bell peppers. Usually I just cut them up and use them as part of a recipe, but this time I wanted to make them the focus of the meal, so I decided to try stuffing them. I looked around on the Food Network’s site and found this creation from Emeril was one of its top-rated recipes.

Because I was only cooking for myself, I made two stuffed peppers instead of the full six the original recipe makes. I also used red peppers instead of green, and ground turkey instead of ground beef and ground pork because that’s what I had. Plus, I love the sweetness of red peppers. That’s what’s great about this recipe: it’s easy to customize it to your taste.

The peppers are firm enough to hold up through the baking process, but soft enough to cut through. Mine were still slightly crunchy after they came out of the oven, which provided more texture to the dish.

One stuffed pepper is filling, but not in the I-just-ate-way-too-much-macaroni-and-cheese way. There’s a lot of good stuff in these peppers, so you can enjoy them and maybe even look forward to the leftovers.

Ingredients
2 red bell peppers, tops cut away and seeds removed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onions
1/4 cup finely chopped red peppers
1/3 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
2/3 cup cooked long or medium-grain white rice
3 ounces tomato sauce
Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling water, parboil the peppers until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and dry on paper towels.

In a large saute pan or skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and chopped bell peppers and cook, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the turkey, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Cook until the meat is browned, stirring with a heavy wooden spoon to break up the lumps, about 6 minutes. Add the rice and tomato sauce and stir well. Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.

Pour enough water into a baking dish to just cover the bottom, about 1/8-inch deep. Stuff the bell peppers with the rice mixture and place in the baking dish. Bake until the peppers are very tender and the filling is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.