Salad, anyone???

Hi sissies and momma :) I wanted to ask y'all for some salad recipes that you've made and really liked. This saturday we're having a ladies night at church and each person is bringing a different type of salad and I have no idea what kind to bring! I figured I can use this as a way to kind of poll you all and hear back several different ideas. Thanks!!!!! Post away! :)

Pizza Casserole

I was going through my recipe box this morning and I came across this recipe I used to make when everyone was home.   I know you all are pizza fans, and, while it's not pizza, it certainly has a similar taste.  Served with a salad, it's a nice, easy meal that you can prepare ahead of time, or something you could make for a crowd (it is easy to double).  The recipe I will post is for about 4.

1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 teasp. garlic, chopped
1 teasp. oregano
1/2 teasp. salt
1 can tomato soup (or 14 oz. sauce)
1/3 cup water
2 cups cooked wide noodles
1/2 cup shredded cheese (any kind--you could use more if you want)

Brown ground beef with onion and seasonings, stirring to separate meat.  Add soup, water and cooked noodles.  Place in greased casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Healthy Linguine with spinach, mushrooms, grape tomatoes and creamy lemon-yogurt sauce

Ok, I know you all aren't necessarily into "healthy" meals like this.  My main reason for posting it is that I actually made the noodles myself, and they weren't half bad.  See, Dad and I gave up eating pasta as a main dish a long time ago, but I really miss it sometimes.  So, this seemed like a good compromise...and it really did taste good, not wierd or unusual at all.  First, I'll give you the recipe for the above, then, I'll give you the noodle making low down.

8 oz whole-wheat (or other) linguine
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup grated Parmesean cheese
1 teasp. grated lemon zest
1/4 teasp. salt
1/4 teasp. ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
6-8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
6-8 oz. baby spinach
2 cloves (or 2 teasp. minced) garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add the linguine and cook about 9 min. or according to the package direction.  Drain the pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, Parmesean, lemon zest and s & p.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the onion and mushrooms and saute.

When the mushrooms are browned, add the garlic and spinach, and cook about 2-4 minutes, or until softened. Add the tomatoes and saute about 2 min. until hot.  Add the cooked noodles to the skillet and mix with the veg, and add the yogurt mixture.  Stir gently to combine.  Add reserved pasta water if necessary to thin it. 

Dad as my sous chef.

So colorful!

The finished product.

Here's the very simple (although a bit tedious) noodle recipe.  You will need a few hours to do it right.

2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour

     (I used whole wheat plus buckwheat flour and a small amount of ground flax seed meal)

3 egg yolks

1 egg

2 teasp. salt

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Make a well in center of flour.  Add egg yolks, egg and salt.  Mix thoroughly.  Mix in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is stiff but easy to roll. 

Divide dough into 4 equal parts.  Roll dough, one part at a time, into a paper-thin rectangle on well-floured clothe covered board (keep remaining dough covered).  Loosely fold rectangle lengthwise into thirds and cut crosswise into 1/8 inch strips for narrow noodles, 1/4 inch strips for wider noodles.  Shake out strips and place on towel until stiff and dry, about 2 hours.

                                    

  

The biggest things I learned by making the noodles (which really were easy) was to use LOTS of flour.  And I think I would have kneaded the dough (even though the directions don't say to).  Since I don't have a pasta machine, I think kneading would have made the pasta easier to work with.  It was also hard to get it really thin without the pasta machine, but they still tasted like noodles, and we enjoyed them.   Give it a try.

Colorado Buffalo Chili

 I had two packages of ground Bison that I have been wanting to make chili with, and I finally had time to do it today...

I started off in the usual way, with olive oil on the bottom of my cast iron pan, and adding onion, then celery to saute.  Then I added the bison and let it brown up a bit.  I used two pounds, so this is double the recipe I will post at the end.

Next, I drained four cans of kidney beans, both light and dark for contrast, and rinsed them to remove some of the salt.  Then I added a big can of diced, fire roasted tomatoes, a bottle of dark beer, and the beans, and stirred it up good.  Then it's time for seasoning.  For chili, I like both chili powder and cumin, some sweetner (I used both a few tablespoons of sugar and some honey), chopped garlic, salt and pepper, cholula hot sauce, and a little adobo sauce.  (Rachael Ray had a great idea for adobo which I used:  you never use the whole can, so whatever is left put in the freezer in a little bag or container, pop it out when you need it, and grate whatever you need, then put the rest back in the freezer.  It worked like a charm, and believe me, you only need about a tablespoon to feel the heat!)

To serve it, I chunked an avocado on top, along with some shredded cheese, a little coconut and some crushed tortilla chips.  It was amazing!  Also, thanks to the Dunphy Brewery for the delicious Octoberfest.  It was a little lemony with a hint of molasses, and very mild, a nice offset for the spicy hot chili.

• 1 pound ground buffalo
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles 
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 Anaheim chile pepper, chopped
• 1 poblano chile pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 bottle dark beer
• Honey/sugar 1-2 T
• Chilis in adobo
• Chalula hot sauce to taste
• (I doubled this recipe.  I did not use this)

Directions

1.                         Brown the buffalo in a skillet over medium heat; season with 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon cumin; drain.

2.                         Combine the buffalo, tomatoes with green chiles, tomato soup, kidney beans, black beans, onion, garlic, Anaheim chile pepper, poblano chile pepper, chili powder, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low overnight or 8 hours.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 220 | Total Fat: 2.4g | Cholesterol: 39mg Powered by ESHA Nutrient Database

Epic Leftovers: Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I've made some pretty awesome meals/dishes from leftovers we have, but I think this one is definitely the best I've ever done.

So my fridge is still totally packed, mostly with leftovers from our Super Bowl party last weekend. I had a LOT of raw veggies leftover, including carrots, green peppers, and broccoli. I also still have about half of the chicken stock that I made a week or so ago; I never put it in the freezer, so I knew I needed to use it up soon. And then last night I made us some delish homemade mac and cheese, but I made way to much cheese sauce for the amount of pasta I had. So I have leftover cheese sauce, which I was convinced I would never use.


But I had an epiphany! One of my go-to ideas when I want to get rid of leftovers is soup. Veggies and broth are especially ideal for soup. I had a lot of broccoli, so I knew that would be the main part of the soup. And searching for a way to incorporate my cheese sauce.....ah ha!! Broccoli cheese soup!

I started like I start all my soups - sauteing onions and other veggies in some olive oil. I normally use garlic too, but there was a lot in my cheese sauce so I left it out this time. For my soup I used a small onion, a couple carrots, and 3 heads and stems of broccoli. I also added 2 small potatoes, for added texture.


I sauteed the veggies a bit, just to get a bit of flavor into them. Then I added all my broth, and brought it to a boil.


I let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the veggies were al dente (I checked my broccoli stems for doneness).

In batches, I pureed all the veggies and broth in my blender. (You could also use your fancy schmancy immersion blender if you have one!) I then added it back to my pot, and scooped in my cheese sauce.


At this point, the soup looked puke green and the cheese sauce was clumpy and gross, and I was super nervous this wasn't going to work.

Then the cheese melted and everything got smooth! I seasoned with salt and pepper, and added a little butter to make Paula Deen happy.


Result!! Super yummy, but probably not the best idea to have for dinner alone - Evan and I had some chips/crackers/bread with it to add a little more calories. The soup was nice and smooth, with a few bites of veg every now and then, which added a nice texture. You could even puree it less if you wanted a more chunky soup. I was thinking a few dashes of hot sauce would add a tasty kick too!

I love it when leftover recipes come out like this!

Homemade chicken stock

Remember that orange-garlic roast chicken I made a while back? Well, I wanted to make the most of my chicken, so I saved the carcass and made homemade chicken stock!

I followed Julia Child's recipe, I figured she should know how to make it.

To start, I placed the carcass/bones in a pot, and covered it with water so it was 2 inches above the chicken. I brought it to a simmer, and as foam began to rise, I scraped it off with a spoon until it stopped forming, about 5 minutes or so.


After removing the foam, I added all these veggies:


That would be 2-3 unpeeled carrots, 2 stalks celery, and 2 peeled onions. In the cheesecloth, I have 1/4 tsp dried thyme, 1 bay leaf, 2 tbsp dried parsley, 2 cloves garlic. I think you can use basically whatever herbs you want, and should probably use fresh, but I only had dried. I threw all the veggies in the pot with some salt, and let it simmer with the lid cracked. I checked every so often to skim the top and make sure the liquid didn't boil.

I had a free night, so I let it simmer for about 4-5 hours. Once it was cooled down a bit, I pulled out the big veggies and bones and strained the liquid into a container.



Pretty! I stuck it in the fridge, and the next morning I scraped the fat off the top that had solidified.

I had quite a bit of leftover chicken from the original roast as well, so I made some seriously homemade chicken noodle soup! I still have a bit of stock left, so I'm going to stick it in the freezer until I need it again.

This recipe was super low-maintenance, but you do have to be around while it cooks. The nice thing is you can just kind of accumulate chicken bones and stuff and throw it in the freezer, and then when you have a free day to make stock, you can pull it out and throw it in! I'm pretty sure the next time I roast a chicken, I'll be making stock again :)

Asian Lettuce Wraps

We had these at P.F. Chang's and they are so good! I saw this recipe in my January All You, check out the link for a much prettier picture!

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil
• 1  onion, chopped
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2  pounds  ground turkey
• 1/2  cup  low-sodium chicken broth
• 2  tablespoons  hoisin sauce
• 2  tablespoons  teriyaki sauce
• 1  cup  bean sprouts (about 4 oz.)
• 2  carrots, shredded (about 1 cup)
• 24  large Boston or butter lettuce leaves
• Soy sauce, optional

 I wish I could say that I followed the recipe exactly, but since I didn't have hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce, I really ended up making my own sauce. I used soy sauce, ginger, rice wine vinegar, and a little sugar, along with the suggested chicken broth. Mostly I just kept tasting until it was the way I liked!

We also used iceberg lettuce instead of the cute little lettuce the recipe calls for. It worked fine, we just ended up with a lot of meat in each leaf!

The only thing we would do differently is to add more veggies because (even Martin said) it was just too much meat! When you have tacos, you add a bunch of other toppings, but the "toppings" were already mixed together in this recipe. I would double or even triple the amount of shredded carrots (you can hardly even see them in my picture) and larger sprouts would have been better. I think some cabbage would work nicely in this too.

This was a winner, even with Emma! We'll be having it again sometime soon!