Source: Margaret Elwood (my Grandma, of course!)
Ingredients:
Salad macaroni or small seashell pasta
peas
onion, finely diced
tuna
Miracle Whip
mayonnaise
milk
salt and/or seasoned salt
Directions:
There isn't really an official recipe for this deliciousness - I just called my grandma up and this is the gist of what she told me and what I did:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water. Toss in some frozen peas (they will thaw from the heat of the pasta). Add a can of tuna (1 can per package pasta) and diced onion if you like it. In a small bowl mix up some Miracle Whip, mayonnaise and a little bit of milk - Grandma says she generally uses more mayo than MW, but she didn't give a real amount - just do enough cover the amount of pasta you cooked. Also, just add enough milk to make it smooth and creamy, but not too runny. Season your dressing mixture with salt (we used seasoned salt). Then pour the sauce over the rest of the salad ingredients. Stir to coat. If you need more dressing, mix up some more. If it seems like too much, it'll probably be fine because you want your salad to chill in the fridge for a while before serving. (We made ours the night before we were going to eat it.) While it is in the fridge, the pasta really soaks up a lot of the dressing and right before serving you'll likely need to add a little more dressing just to make things moist again.
Notes:
Gregg was in charge of bringing a salad to his work picnic this week, and this is the one we chose to bring. It's one of my top ten favorite foods - something that my grandma is famous in our family for concocting for every get together. I don't know if ours tasted quite like hers, but it was definitely close. And super delicious.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
One Pot Southwest Chicken and Rice
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe (my new favorite place for recipes - she's brilliant!)
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced (I didn't use this much - my really huge clove was probably equal to maybe 2 normal size cloves)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn (I just used a can)
4 ounces cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Salsa and sour cream for serving (we got it out, but didn't even use any because the rice and chicken were so flavorful by themselves)
Directions:
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. The chicken will cook more in a subsequent step. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
To the pot, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook until the edges are just slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Return the chicken to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter or plate. Stir the black beans and corn into the pot. Add the cheese and cilantro. Season the rice mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the rice with the chicken, adding salsa and sour cream, if desired.
Notes:
I tried this in my rice cooker - worked like a charm. I loved the one pot idea, and combining that with the rice cooker feature meant that I didn't have to heat up the house with the stove. Lovely concept on a 95 degree day! We both thought this dish tastes a lot like the tortilla soup that we made a ton of this winter - just in a thicker, non-soup form. Mighty tasty. And easy. Win win.
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely minced (I didn't use this much - my really huge clove was probably equal to maybe 2 normal size cloves)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10-ounce) package frozen corn (I just used a can)
4 ounces cheese
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
Salsa and sour cream for serving (we got it out, but didn't even use any because the rice and chicken were so flavorful by themselves)
Directions:
Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the chicken and cook until golden, about 3 minutes on each side. The chicken will cook more in a subsequent step. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
To the pot, add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook until the edges are just slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Return the chicken to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter or plate. Stir the black beans and corn into the pot. Add the cheese and cilantro. Season the rice mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the rice with the chicken, adding salsa and sour cream, if desired.
Notes:
I tried this in my rice cooker - worked like a charm. I loved the one pot idea, and combining that with the rice cooker feature meant that I didn't have to heat up the house with the stove. Lovely concept on a 95 degree day! We both thought this dish tastes a lot like the tortilla soup that we made a ton of this winter - just in a thicker, non-soup form. Mighty tasty. And easy. Win win.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Lemon Curd Cheesecake
Source: Me (Laurel)
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1/3 cup softened butter
Filling:
2 8-ox packages cream cheese (softened/room temp)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Topping:
1/2 jar of lemon curd
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. For crust, stir together wafer crumbs and softened butter until crumbly. Press into the sides and bottom of a 9" pie plate. Set aside.
2. For filling, beat cream cheese, zest, juice, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. (It's important that the cream cheese be room temp, or else your filling will be lumpy.) Add eggs, mix just until blended. Pour into prepared pie crust.
3. Stir lemon curd in a small bowl until smooth and thin (it helps to microwave for a few seconds). Pour curd in stripes about 1" apart on top of filling. Drag knife in an "S" pattern through the stripes to create a marbled design in the curd.
4. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool, then refrigerate at least 3-6 hours before serving.
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1/3 cup softened butter
Filling:
2 8-ox packages cream cheese (softened/room temp)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Topping:
1/2 jar of lemon curd
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. For crust, stir together wafer crumbs and softened butter until crumbly. Press into the sides and bottom of a 9" pie plate. Set aside.
2. For filling, beat cream cheese, zest, juice, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. (It's important that the cream cheese be room temp, or else your filling will be lumpy.) Add eggs, mix just until blended. Pour into prepared pie crust.
3. Stir lemon curd in a small bowl until smooth and thin (it helps to microwave for a few seconds). Pour curd in stripes about 1" apart on top of filling. Drag knife in an "S" pattern through the stripes to create a marbled design in the curd.
4. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool, then refrigerate at least 3-6 hours before serving.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Pesto, Olive & Tomato Grilled Cheese
Source: Tasty Kitchen, via Pinterest
Prepare sandwich as follows:
Layer 1: Bread
Layer 2: Pesto (I love the Christopher Ranch brand)
Layer 3: Sliced Tomato
Layer 4: Cheese (I suggest Mozzerella or Monterey Jack)
Layer 5: Chopped Black Olives
Layer 6: Miracle Whip or more Pesto
Layer 7: Bread
Cook in a panini press or on a stove top like a grilled cheese sandwich.
Notes: It's not much of a recipe, but it's so incredible that I had to share.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Skillet Summer Vegetable Lasagna
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe with my own little twist (mostly because I didn't have everything that she calls for so I improvised)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced (I only used one - but it was pretty big)
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes (I used one 14.5 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes that I roughly chopped in the can with a knife, plus a medium-ish tomato from my garden)
Salt and pepper
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths (the box I had only had 9, so I used them all)
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil (didn't have this, though it would be lovely, so I just sprinkled in some dry)
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese instead)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't have any of the fresh-grated stuff, so I used the boring stuff from a shaker - worked fine, though maybe not as fancy)
Directions:
Heat oil in a large 12-inch skillet (I don't have a skillet this big, so I just used a sauce pan so I'd have enough room) over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Drain tomatoes into a 2-cup liquid measure. Add water to tomato liquid to make 2 cups. Add tomato/water mixture and 1 teaspoon salt to skillet.
Scatter noodles into the skillet, layer tomatoes over the noodles and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally (so the noodles won’t stick!) for about 10 minutes.
Stir in zucchini and squash, cook, stirring now and then, until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes. Add basil and half of the rictotta cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese to the noodles, stirring until the sauce is creamy. Dollop remaining ricotta cheese over the noodles, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
I love lasagna. And I love that this lasagna is cooked on the stovetop so you don't have to bake it for a long time in a hot oven that makes your small apartment even hotter than it is. This was quite delish. Hit the spot. I'll be making it again, that's for sure.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced (I only used one - but it was pretty big)
1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes (I used one 14.5 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes that I roughly chopped in the can with a knife, plus a medium-ish tomato from my garden)
Salt and pepper
10 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch lengths (the box I had only had 9, so I used them all)
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil (didn't have this, though it would be lovely, so I just sprinkled in some dry)
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese instead)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I didn't have any of the fresh-grated stuff, so I used the boring stuff from a shaker - worked fine, though maybe not as fancy)
Directions:
Heat oil in a large 12-inch skillet (I don't have a skillet this big, so I just used a sauce pan so I'd have enough room) over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Drain tomatoes into a 2-cup liquid measure. Add water to tomato liquid to make 2 cups. Add tomato/water mixture and 1 teaspoon salt to skillet.
Scatter noodles into the skillet, layer tomatoes over the noodles and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring occasionally (so the noodles won’t stick!) for about 10 minutes.
Stir in zucchini and squash, cook, stirring now and then, until noodles and squash are tender, about 8 minutes. Add basil and half of the rictotta cheese and half of the Parmesan cheese to the noodles, stirring until the sauce is creamy. Dollop remaining ricotta cheese over the noodles, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
Notes:
I love lasagna. And I love that this lasagna is cooked on the stovetop so you don't have to bake it for a long time in a hot oven that makes your small apartment even hotter than it is. This was quite delish. Hit the spot. I'll be making it again, that's for sure.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Tomato, Onion, and Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 5 medium plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 1/4 red onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
- 1 Kirby cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- A generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 tablespoons
- 2 splashes red wine vinegar
- Coarse salt and black pepper
Directions
Dress the tomatoes, onions, and cucumber with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Let stand while you prepare dinner, about 20 minutes. Re-toss and serve salad with crusty bread for mopping up juices and oil.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Fresh Nectarine (or fruit) Pie
Fresh Nectarine PieNectarine is my favorite, but I have made this pie with fresh raspberries, fresh blackberries or fresh peaches.
Filling Sauce:
In blender blend:
1 cup fresh berries or fruit
1 cup water
1 1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
Juice from ½ lemon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
Orange food coloring if using nectarines or peaches
In large saucepan cook the above until very thick
Remove immediately from stove
Stir in 2 teaspoons butter
Let filling sauce cool
Slice into a bowl ripe sweet nectarines (do not sweeten) (it usually takes about 10 to make a pie)
Or
About 5 cups fresh berries or peeled sliced peaches
When filling sauce is cool, gently fold in fresh fruit into sauce
Put fruit filling into a baked pie shell (I have even used prepared graham cracker crust- but I don’t like it as well)
Refrigerate for at least 3 hours
Serve chilled with freshly whipped cream
Yum!
Chicken Tortellini Bake
Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Ingredients:
16 ounce package of cheese tortellini (our package was 13 oz, but it was plenty for two of us) (when I have a bigger package of tortellini - lately they're about 19 oz - I use a full can of chicken broth instead of one cup)
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups (about 2 chicken breasts) chicken cut up into bite size pieces
1 clove garlic, minced (Kim's own addition)
3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounces (1 cup) chicken broth (see note above for increase when larger bag of torts are used)
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat with good results)
8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese (Mel suggested any combination of cheeses, like cheddar, mozzarella or monterey jack would be good, and that's precisely what I used - a lot of odds and ends cheese from my fridge)
Directions:
Mel's directions say to boil some water and cook your tortellini before putting it in the dish, but I just opened the frozen bag and dumped it in to the bottom and it worked out awesomely. So save yourself a step and don't boil the noodles.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken and minced garlic for 1-2 minutes and add the fresh mushrooms and green onions, cooking until chicken is done and mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.
Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Pour tortellini in bottom of 9X13 pan. Sprinkle half the cheese over tortellini. Put cooked chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
Bake covered with tin foil at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.
Notes:
We bought some tortellini on sale a few weeks ago and every time I open the freezer door it's practically begging to be eaten. After perusing some of the bookmarked recipes I had stashed away in my browser folder, I stumbled across this delight and decided to risk overheating my apartment to try it on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Oh boy, was it worth it! SO DARN DELICIOUS. (In capital letters!) I've eaten a pasta bake similar to this at Fredrico's restaurant in Logan, only that one had green and red bell pepper slices and big slices of onion, too. I think I might try that next time I make this. Because there most certainly will be a next time. (One of the commenters on Mel's blog said she added bacon, which also would be out-of-this-world heavenly, I think.)
Ingredients:
16 ounce package of cheese tortellini (our package was 13 oz, but it was plenty for two of us) (when I have a bigger package of tortellini - lately they're about 19 oz - I use a full can of chicken broth instead of one cup)
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups (about 2 chicken breasts) chicken cut up into bite size pieces
1 clove garlic, minced (Kim's own addition)
3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounces (1 cup) chicken broth (see note above for increase when larger bag of torts are used)
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat with good results)
8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese (Mel suggested any combination of cheeses, like cheddar, mozzarella or monterey jack would be good, and that's precisely what I used - a lot of odds and ends cheese from my fridge)
Directions:
Mel's directions say to boil some water and cook your tortellini before putting it in the dish, but I just opened the frozen bag and dumped it in to the bottom and it worked out awesomely. So save yourself a step and don't boil the noodles.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken and minced garlic for 1-2 minutes and add the fresh mushrooms and green onions, cooking until chicken is done and mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.
Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Pour tortellini in bottom of 9X13 pan. Sprinkle half the cheese over tortellini. Put cooked chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.
Bake covered with tin foil at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.
Notes:
We bought some tortellini on sale a few weeks ago and every time I open the freezer door it's practically begging to be eaten. After perusing some of the bookmarked recipes I had stashed away in my browser folder, I stumbled across this delight and decided to risk overheating my apartment to try it on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Oh boy, was it worth it! SO DARN DELICIOUS. (In capital letters!) I've eaten a pasta bake similar to this at Fredrico's restaurant in Logan, only that one had green and red bell pepper slices and big slices of onion, too. I think I might try that next time I make this. Because there most certainly will be a next time. (One of the commenters on Mel's blog said she added bacon, which also would be out-of-this-world heavenly, I think.)
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