30 Days of Thanks: Day 15- A Recipe

We try a lot of recipes. The Big Guy and I like food. We like all kinds of food. My favorite things to cook tend to be comfort food. Thick sauces, pastas, rich flavors, aromas that fill the whole house. Here's one of those recipes. Really easy to make, but delicious and plenty of left overs.

It's baked rigatoni pasta in a tomato-vodka-cream sauce with ground turkey. I can't post the actual recipe, because the cookbook I have it in is still in print. I'm pretty sure that's less than legal. But I do have a lot of pictures from the last time I made it.

Super Bowl Sunday: At Least My Menu Was a Winner

Even though his team wasn't in the game, he still took the time to celebrate with friends.

I have to admit, I had a blast getting ready for this party. For the first time, I got to use this cookbook:

It was a Christmas present from my mom. :-) Here's what I love about this book. It gives you a checklist of everything you need for a variety of parties. Holiday parties, dinner parties, theme parties. You get a timeline of all the things that need to be done, from sending out invitations to centerpieces to signature cocktails. There's tips on decor, and a complete menu plan. It makes it super easy to put together a great time. Of course, one of the parties listed is the Super Bowl party.

I didn't do all the things listed as far as decor goes, but I was all about the menu. I won't be posting the recipes, as I'm sure that would put me in violation of some copyright laws. I tend to avoid violations of that nature. Really any nature. I'm what you might call "risk averse." Which is a business-school way of saying I'm a big chicken. It's true.

But I will tell you what was included in the menu:

• Sugar-and-Spice Pecans
• Jalapeno Bean Dip
• Paninis with Chorizo, Green Chiles, and Cheese
• Chili with Chicken and White Beans
• Jicama-Citrus Slaw
• Signature Drink- The Kickoff

We also had some of the Big Guy's pulled pork, and some of your standard party appetizers like a veggie tray, shrimp, and chips and salsa. You'll never be hungry at a party we host. That's just how we roll. Oh, we also had rolls, to go with the chili.

I spent most of Saturday cooking. The pecans, the chili, the bean dip, the slaw were all done the day before. Everything else was prepped (veggies cut, spices measured out, etc) and ready to go. It was so nice to have time on Sunday to enjoy getting ready rather than trying to get everything done at the last minute. It freed us up to do things like buy a George Foreman grill. We were stoked about the paninis, until we remembered that we don't have a panini press. Quick trip out to the store, and voila! Problem solved.

And with so many new recipes, I feel like this puts me closer to where I should be with the goal for one new recipe a week. Maybe we make that an average of one new recipe a week. A few more of the parties from this book, and I'll be right on track!

In the meantime, Loki's got some training to do. The Colts might need him next year.

New Recipe: Taco Soup

this recipe came from our realtor (Thanks, Jennifer!). It's been hanging on the side of the fridge next to the stove for a while, and seemed like a great recipe for a cold day. Well, today was a cold day and since my office was closed, I had plenty of time to try a new recipe.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
2 pkgs dry ranch dressing mix
2 pkgs dry taco seasoning mix
1 can black beans (drained/rinsed)
1 can pinto beans (drained/rinsed)
1 can kidney beans (drained/rinsed)
2 cans corn
3 cans original Rotel tomatoes
2 cups water

Directions
Brown ground beef with chopped onion, drain and put in crock pot. (I actually used a big pot on top of the stove.)

Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and cook on low 2-3 hours or until desired temperature.

It was just that easy. And very tasty! It makes a lot of soup. I've got 4 containers in the fridge waiting to be lunch.

Sweet Mint Pea Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 small sweet onion, chopped

two 10-ounce packages frozen peas

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1/2 cup fesh mint, minced

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

plain yogurt

In a stock pot over medium heat, melt butter.

Add onions and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add peas, broth, and mint. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook 20 minutes.

Stir in lemon zest, salt, and pepper. (This was especially fun because I got to use my lemon zester for the first time. Apparently I've not been very zesty before now.)

Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender (or use an immersion blender, I love mine) and puree until smooth.

Return to pot and stir in heavy cream.

Cook on low for 10 minutes. Serve garnished with a dollop of yogurt and a small mint leaf.

Even Loki was excited by how the soup was smelling as it cooked. It's hard to see, but there's just a little bit of his tongue sticking out because he was licking his lips. He knew how awesome it was going to be.

Here's my final product. In a little soup bowl that used to be my parents. I have a set of two. There's something very comforting about having soup in the bowls that I used to use when I was a kid.

But the important part, it tasted amazing! I also made some baked chicken with garlic powder and rosemary. Simple clean flavors that paired well with the soup. I didn't take a picture of that though, I was halfway done with it before I remembered that I should take an after shot.

He's still interested. That's really how I know that a recipe is a keeper.

Yield: 6 servings (6 cups)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time 50 minutes

Recipe from Katie Lee, Lonny Magazine, June/July 2010 issue

More on the giant stack of books later...

Cashew Chicken

My wonderful hubby surprised me by making dinner. :-)

Ingredients

1 whole chicken breast (2 halves), skinned, boned, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. cornstarch

3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 c. salted roasted cashews
1 c. sliced mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 med. green bell pepper, seeded and cut into squares
1 med. onion, cut into 8 wedges, separated
1/2 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger or 1/4 tsp ground ginger

Directions

To prepare the cooking sauce, stir together soy and cornstarch; add chicken to coat; set aside.

Place a wok over medium high heat; when wok is hot, add 2 tbsp of the oil. When oil is hot, add cashews and stir until browned (about one minute). Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add chicken mixture and stir-fry until meat is no longer pink in center. Remove from wok using a slotted spoon and set aside.

Pour remaining 1 tbsp of oil into wok; when oil is hot, add bell pepper, onion and ginger and stir-fry until pepper is tender-crisp (about 4 minutes); add garlic during last minute of cooking.

Stir cooking sauce and pour into wok. Add 1/4 cup dry sherry (not sweet). Stir until sauce boils and thickens (about 5 minutes). Return chicken to wok and heat through (about 2 minutes).

Stir in cashews. Make rice according to package directions and serve chicken with sauce over rice.

Recipe from: cooks.com

Irish Stew

I made this Irish stew for dinner on St. Patrick's Day. It's simple, and very tasty. Both things that I love. Almost as much as my Irish heritage!

Ingredients

2lbs lamb or beef stew meat (I used beef, but I bet the lamb would be very tasty too)

1.5 lbs potatoes

5 medium onions

parsley and thyme to taste (I also added rosemary)
salt and pepper to taste
1.5 cups water

Directions
Trim the meat and cut inot fairly large pieces. Peel and slice the potatoes and onions. Put layers of potatoes, meat, onion and herbs and seasoning inot a pot, finishing with a layer of potatoes.

Pour the water over the meat and vegetables, and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for about 2 hours or bake in a slow oven at 300F. (I boiled/simmered mine.) Check during cooking, adding more liquid if necessart. Makes 4 servings.

Tip: A good Irish stew should be thick and creamy, not swimming in juice.

Recipe from http://www.discoverireland.com/

Apple-Cranberry Tart

I had the opportunity to attend the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Luncheon in Indianapolis last Friday. It's the largest luncheon in the country. Not too shabby! And it's a fun event. Lots of great information, lots of education about heart health and what to look for, and some truly inspring people sharing their stories.

One of the many things attendees were able to take from the event was the recipe for the Apple-Cranberry Tart served for dessert. Of course everything we had was healthy, but this wasn't your stereotypical health food. Everything tasted wonderful. I think even the big guy would have liked it.

Ingredients- Tart Dough
1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute (sugar blend- equivalent to 1/2 cup sugar)
1 cup butter or margarine (room temperature)
1 each egg or equivalent of frozen egg product
3 cup cake flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Ingredients- Cheese-Yogurt Filling
1 8-ounce package reduced-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute (sugar blend- equivalent to 1/4 cup sugar)
2 each egg or equivalent of frozen egg product
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt- low-fat

Ingredients- Apple-Cranberry Filling
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 golden delicious apple (peeled, cored, and diced)
1/3 cup sugar or sugar substitute (sugar blend- equivalent to 1/3 cup sugar)
2 tbsp fresh orange juice
1/4 tsp cornstarch

Directions- Tart Dough
Combine in a mixing bowl the 1/2 cup sugar and the 1 cup butter/margarine and mix until blended. Slowly add the egg/vanilla, alternately with the cake flour and continue mixing only until the dough comes together. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into 3-inch circles. Place the dough into tart shells or on the back side of small muffin pans, pressing dough to set. Bake shells for 8-10 minutes at 350F until partially done; remove from oven and cool. If you are using the muffin pans, remove the shells from the back side of pan and put in the inside of pan.

Directions- Cheese-Yogurt Filling
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla yogurt in food processor and blend until smooth, scraping bowl as needed.

Directions- Apple-Cranberry Filling
Combine the coarse-chopped cranberries and diced apple in a small saucepan. Add the sugar, cornstarch and orange juice and stir until incorporated. Heat pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mix boils and thickens. Set aside to cool, stirring occasionally to help cool.

Once all the components are complete, fill the tart shells part way with the cheese-yogurt filling and top with the apple-cranberry filling.

Calories: 333.2
Protein: 5.9g
Carbohydrate: 34.0g
Dietary Fiber:0g
Sodium: 116.5mg
Total fat: 18.6g
Saturated fat: 11.5g
Cholesterol: 52.6mg