Vegetarian Mushroom Stroganoff
1 large onion chopped
1 lb. mushrooms chopped
1 c. plain unsweetened soy, almond, or real milk
1 c. vegetable broth
2 T. soy sauce
2 T apple juice
dash red pepper
2 c. tofu chopped
2 T cornstarch w/ 1/3 c. cold water
16 oz. egg noodles
Saute onion 2-3 min. Add mushrooms cook until limp. Add everything else except cornstarch mixture Cook 29 minutes over low heat (don’t boil)
Add cornstarch to thicken. Serve over noodles.
Coconut Curry Tofu
2 bunches green onions, chopped both white and green parts
1 can coconut milk
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/8-1/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2-3 t. curry ( I use red curry paste, powder or brick works too)
1 t. fresh ginger root grated
4 oz. mushrooms chopped
1 lb. tofu chopped
i yellow bell pepper chopped
4 roma tomatoes seeded, peeled, and diced
1 small can of bambbo shoots
some snow peas are good too
4 c. of chopped bok choy
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
In pot mix coc. milk, 3 T. of the soy sauce, curry, ginger, and b. sugar. Bring to a boil. Stir in everything except bok choy, green part of green onions,and basil. Cook 5 minutes. Mix in basil and bok choy. Season with salt and rest of soy sauce. Cook 5 minutes. Serve with rice or rice noodles.
Chicken Riggies
Dough:
4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. warm water
2 t. yeast
1 T. oil (optional)
1/4 c. sugar
Mix sugar water and yeast an dlet sit about 8 minutes until bubbly
Stir into flour, knead into smooth dough. Let rise covered with towel in warm spot an hour and a half. Roll out.
Sauce:
1-2 fresh red chiles
3 T. oil from sun dried tomato jar
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped
10 whole sun dried tomatoes chopped
14 oz can diced tomaoes
1 T. tomato paste
6 oz. fresh spinach chopped
Heat oil, Add garlic, onion, and chiles and cook gently about 5 minutes until soft. Add sun dried tomatoes, and canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook another 5-10 minutes until spinach is wilted and no excess moisture remains. Let cool.
Spread on pizza crust, top with smoked mozzarella and aged cheddar. Bake 15-20 minutes at 425.
Creamy Mushroom & Onion Chicken
Ingredients:
- 4-6 large chicken breasts (boneless)
- 2 large yellow onions
- 2 cans Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 2 cans Campbell’s Cream of Onion Soup
- Milk
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 Pack of Frozen Green Beans (I use the Birds Eye ones that you put in the microwave to steam them, but I never use the steam feature..i always fresh cook them because microwave + plastic = bad)
You will need one large cake dish. Lightly coat the bottom of the dish in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, about 2 tablespoons. Cut the 2 large onions into circles, or disks, leaving the rings together instead of dividing out each ring/layer. The onion disks should cover the bottom of the dish. Lightly salt and pepper the onions. Place the boneless chicken breast evenly spaced apart on the onions. Again, lightly salt and pepper the chickens. Open the bag of Green Beans and poor them all throughout the dish. Once more lightly PEPPER the dish.
In a large mixing bowl mix the cream of mushroom, cream of onion, a small splash of milk, and season with salt and pepper to taste (you can eat this right out of the bowl, as long as no raw chicken touched it, and is actually pretty good. This is good so you can get the salt and pepper/seasoning just right…sometimes I’ll make this little cream mix with a little bit of Roltel and serve it with chips for a nice healthy appetizer). Once the mix is done, evenly pour it all throughout the dish. Give the dish gentle shakes to settle the mixture down, and to make sure the green beans and chicken breasts are evenly covered.
Place the dish in the oven and cook for 1 hour on 350 degrees.
Mediterranean Chicken Parcels
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 6 Chicken breast fillets
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese
- 3 1/2 cups Courgettes (Zucchini), sliced
- 6 large Tomatoes, sliced
- 1 small bunch fresh basil or oregano
- pepper
- rice or pasta, to serve
Directions:
- Cut six piece of foil each about 10 inches square. Brush the shiny side of the foil squares lightly with oil and set aside until required.
- With a sharp knife, slash each chicken breast at intervals, then slice the Mozzarella cheese and place between the cuts in the chicken.
- Divide the courgettes (zucchini) and tomatoes between the pieces of foil and sprinkle with black pepper. Tear or roughly chop the basil or oregano and scatter over the vegetables in each parcel.
- Place the chicken on top of each pile of vegetables then wrap in the foil to enclose the chicken and vegetables, tucking in the ends.
- Place on a baking tray (cookie sheet) and bake in a preheated oven, 400F for about 30 minutes.
- To serve, unwrap each foil parcel and serve with rice or pasta.
Recipe from Let’s Cook Chicken by Tom Bridge.
Poached Breast of Chicken with Whisky Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. Butter
- 1/2 cup shredded leeks
- 1/3 cup diced carrot
- 1/4 cup diced celery
- 4 shallots, sliced
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 6 chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup whisky
- 1 scant cup crème fraîche
- 2 Tbsp freshly grated horseradish
- 1 tsp honey, warmed
- 1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
- sprig of fresh parsley, to garnish
Instructions:
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the leeks, carrot, celery and shallots. Cook for 3 minutes, add half the chicken stock and cook for about 8 minutes.
- Add the remaining chicken stock, bring to the boil, add the chicken breasts and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and thinly slice. Place on a large, hot serving dish and keep warm until required.
- In another saucepan, heat the whisky until reduced by half. Strain the chicken stock through a fine sieve, add to the pan and reduce the liquid by half.
- Add the crème fraîche, the horseradish and the honey. Heat gently and add the chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well blended.
- Pour a little of the whisky sauce around the chicken and pour the remaining sauce into a sauceboat to serve.
- Serve with a vegetable patty made from the leftover vegetables, mashed potato and fresh vegetables. Garnish with the parsley sprig.
Recipe from Let’s Cook Chicken by Tom Bridge.
Taco Soup
I got this recipe from my sister, Vicky. It is awesome. As she puts it, you can’t screw up this soup. If you think adding something else sounds good…add it.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
2 cans beans (Pinto or Kidney or your favorite)
2 cans corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans sliced olives
1 jar salsa
2 packages taco seasoning
Toppers:
Shredded cheese
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Tortilla Chips
Directions:
- Brown/Scramble beef.
- Dump meat in a big pot.
- Open cans/jar/package, dump in. NOTE: Do not drain liquids off beans, corn or tomatoes. (or drain part off corn and tomatoes for a thicker soup)
- Stir.
- Heat to a simmer.
- Serve hot, topped with cheese, sour cream and guacamole and tortilla chips.
Variations I’ve tried:
- Skip the meat and just have the veggies.
- Add in some diced onion and diced bell peppers.
- Use ground turkey instead of beef.
Gingerbread Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1/3 recipe of the dough for Grandma Spitzer’s Gingerbread Boys
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour, for dusting
Filling:
- 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Topping
- 6 gingerbread men (see above)
- Optional – Royal Icing to decorate/accent gingerbread men
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap exterior of a 9-inch springform pan in 2 layers of foil.
- On a generously floured piece of parchment, roll dough to a 13-by-10-inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour. Slide dough and parchment onto a baking sheet. Bake until firm and golden brown, about 14 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. Break into large pieces, then pulse in a food processor until finely ground.
- Combine butter, 1/4 cup sugar, and 2 cups cookie crumbs in a bowl. Press mixture firmly and evenly into bottom and one-third of the way up sides of prepared pan. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool on rack.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and the vanilla, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in molasses, salt, spices, and lemon zest. Pour filling into cooled crust.
- Place cheesecake in a large, shallow roasting pan. Transfer to oven, and carefully add enough hot water to roasting pan to come about halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake until cheesecake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 65 minutes. Carefully remove springform pan from roasting pan, and let cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).
- Before serving, run a hot knife around edges of cheesecake to loosen, and remove sides of pan. Arrange gingerbread cookies in center of cake in a circle (with heads facing inward and arms touching, alternating light and dark).
*** This recipe was found at MarthaStewart.com and altered to use Grandma Spitzer’s Gingerbread Boys cookie recipe.
AWARDS:
- 1st Prize – Atmos Energy – I.T. Dessert Bake Off 2009
