Recipes

Chana Masala

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon coriander seed, ground
2 teaspoons cumin seed, ground
¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin seed, toasted and ground
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 (15 ounces) can diced tomatoes
²⁄₃ cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas or 2 (15 ounces each) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon

Instructions
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeno.  Sauté until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. 

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, toasted cumin, paprika, and garam masala.  Cook for additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly, and then add tomatoes, water, and chickpeas.  Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.  Stir in salt and lemon juice. 

Comments
This recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, one of the few blogs I actually read on a regular basis.  I was looking for something to do with the Chana Dal I bought a few months ago and this seemed like a good way to use some.  I was happy with the results, but I felt it could have used something more.  Maybe some cream or coconut milk or something similar.  I heated up leftovers with a pat of butter and that added that last bit of oomph I was looking for.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Ingredients
12 ounces green beans, trimmed and dried
2 teaspoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons Parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2. Spread green beans over baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder then toss to coat.  Spread beans out on sheet then bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn and bake additional 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, and return to oven until cheese melts, about 5 minutes. 

Comments
This recipe is from Skinny Taste and I used it with some green beans from the farmers market. It was a tasty recipe and roasted green beans, like many vegetables, are great!  Roasting really brings another level of flavors to the party. 

Shown here with Love Nuggets.

Mushroom Puffs

Ingredients
2 boxes puff pastry shells
4 tablespoons butter
2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Prepare pastry shells as directed by packaging.  Remove from heat and leave oven on. 

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in large skillet.  Add mushrooms and thyme.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are well browned and have released their liquid.  Season with salt and pepper. 

3. Stuff mushrooms into prepared shells then return to oven for 5 minutes. 

Comments
This recipe is inspired by Smoky Wok.  I’ve always wanted to use Puff Pastry Shells and this seemed like a really good opportunity to try them out!  These turned out fantastically.  Leftovers could have been heated in the toaster oven, but we had no leftovers. 

Shown here with Simple Roast Beef Tenderloin and Simple Horseradish Sauce.

Simple Horseradish Sauce

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
¹⁄₄ cup sour cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¹⁄₂ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Mix all ingredients together.  Add water if necessary to thin sauce to desired consistency.  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to blend. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2007 and it is super simple.  No chopping or anything!  I think it could have used a bit more horseradish, but it might just be that my horseradish is a bit toward the old side.  Regardless, this is a nice and easy sauce to make for steak. 

Shown here with Simple Roast Beef Tenderloin and Mushroom Puffs.

Kebab Sauces Attempt #1

Ingredients
For the white sauce
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
2 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
_
For the red sauce_
¹⁄₂ cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons white vinegar
Dash ground cloves
Dash ground allspice
2 tablespoons sugar
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cayenne powder

Instructions
1. Mix all white sauce ingredients in small bowl until well combined. 

2. Mix all red sauce ingredients in separate bowl until well combined. 

Comments
This recipe is from food.com.  This was my first attempt at emulating the kebab sauces that Lance and I had in the Oslo-area.  Sadly, they weren’t quite right.  The white sauce was much too thick and the red sauce was too vinegary and thin. 

Shown here with Oslo-Style Kebabs.

Waffle Iron Potatoes

Ingredients
1 large potato, scrubbed and shredded
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions
1. Heat waffle iron on highest setting. 

2. Toss potato with butter. 

3. Working with about ¹⁄₄ cup potato at a time, place potatoes in middle of waffle iron and cook about 10 minutes, flipping halfway through if necessary. 

Comments
This recipe is from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake and I clearly failed it.  Maybe my waffle iron is the wrong kind or something?  I don’t know.  These stuck all over the iron and were a huge pain to both make and clean up.  Oh well, it was worth a try!

Homemade Spaghetti-Os?

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
2 cups onion, diced
2 cups red bell pepper, diced
2 cups zucchini, diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 pound ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. Heat oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat.  Add carrots, onion, bell pepper, zucchini, and garlic.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Add tomatoes and stir to combine.  Cook, partially covered, about 30 minutes. 

2. Once tomatoes are soft and have begun to cook down, puree with immersion blender to desired consistency.  (I pureed mine completely.)  Bring sauce to simmer over medium-high heat and cook, uncovered, about 20 to 30 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, cook beef in skillet over medium heat until cooked through.  Drain and add to sauce.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Comments
This recipe is from My Kitchen Addiction.  It makes quite a lot of sauce, enough for about three pounds of pasta.  We had leftovers for days and they were all super delicious.  This is a nice, vegetable-rich pasta sauce, it doesn’t have a super heavy tomato base. 

My vague memory of Spaghetti-Os is overcooked pasta swimming in thin ketchup and this recipe is nothing at all like that.  Thank goodness!

Simple Roast Beef Tenderloin

Ingredients
2 pound beef tenderloin
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions
1. Let the tenderloin sit at room temperature, covered, for 1 hour before roasting.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 425*F degrees. Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the oil in a large ovenproof over medium-high heat until smoking. Brown the tenderloin on all sides, reducing the heat if the fat begins to smoke, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the tenderloin until the center registers 125*F degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes, flipping it over halfway through the roasting time.

4. Remove the tenderloin from the oven and transfer to a carving board. Cover with foil and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before slicing into thin slices. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cook’s Illustrated 2007.  I love roasting beef tenderloin and this turned out very well.  The meat was tender and juicy all the way through.  I used half of the tenderloin from our recent Zekiah Cow and we were all blown away by the quality of the meat.  I can’t believe I held out this long to do something with the cut! 

Shown here with Simple Horseradish Sauce and Mushroom Puffs.

Oslo-Style Kebabs

Ingredients
For the meat
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound ground beef
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
3 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, finely minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¹⁄₂ cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

For serving
Pita bread
Tomatoes, diced
Cucumber, sliced in quarter rounds
Frozen corn kernels, thawed, or fresh
Lettuce, chopped or shredded
Kebab Sauces

Instructions
1. Mix all meat ingredients together, except for olive oil, in large bowl and knead for 5 minutes.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat and cook meat, stirring occasionally, until well browned and cooked through.  (It should develop crisp spots on the bottom.) 

2. Serve meat in pita bread, or on top of pita bread, and topped with tomatoes, cucumber, corn, lettuce, and kebab sauces. 

Comments
This recipe is from food.com.  When Lance and I were in Norway, he introduced me to kebabs.  I imagine that these are the equivalent of Americanized Chinese food in the US and not traditional at all.  I loved them and I’ve been thinking about figuring out how to duplicate them ever since. 

I hunted around a bit and found some promising (recipes.  In Lance’s opinion, this recipe nailed the meat component of the kebabs.  The meat was very tasty and extremely flavorful.  We all enjoyed these!  The sauces for the first attempt were off, but I have better (recipes to try for next time. 

The recipe can be made with all ground beef, or lamb, or your desired mixture of meats.

(This photo was taken with my first attempt at the sauces, the sauces linked above are much thinner in consistency so won’t look like this picture.)

Cumin-Pepper Flank Steak with Horseradish Chimichurri

Ingredients
For the chimichurri
²⁄₃ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, peeled

For the steak
1 (about 1 pound) flank steak
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
1. To prepare chimichurri, combine first 8 ingredients in immersion blender cup and blend until smooth.

2. To prepare steak, rub steak with cumin, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and pepper.

3. Prepare grill.  (I assume you know how to prepare your own grill, since I don’t!)

4. Grill steak about 4 minutes per side, or until meat reaches desired doneness.  Remove from heat, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. 

Comments
This recipe is from Cooking Light 2008.  I really love these annual compilations and need to get into the habit of using them more often, especially since all of the recipes are online which makes for easy adding to my recipe software!  This recipe was lovely and the rub itself was super simple.  The chimichurri looks pretty awful, but it was delicious with a bit of horseradish punch.