Recipes

Ingredients
For the chicken
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¹⁄₂ cup olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoon lemon zest
4 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tzatziki dressing and salad
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh dill, minced
2 cups tomato, chopped
1 small red onion, diced
2 cups cucumber, chopped
6 ounces feta, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
1. 30 minutes to 2 hours before serving, season chicken with salt and pepper.  Place in a zip-top bag or shallow container and cover with marinade ingredients.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 2 hours. 

2. While chicken is marinating, combine dressing and salad ingredients in large bowl.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

3. Heat grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium high heat and cook chicken until done, about 5 to 10 minutes per side depending on thickness of breasts.  Remove to cutting board and let rest until cool enough to cut.  Cut chicken into small cubes and then toss with salad. 

4. Serve on pitas, toast, or just eat out of a bowl with a spoon.

Note: This salad can be a little wet, so consider serving it with a slotted spoon. 

Comments
This recipe is from How Sweet It Is and reminded me quite a bit of my Falafel and Tzatziki Salad.  It was one of those meals that I thought “I will love this and Art and Lance will tolerate it.”  Surprisingly, we all loved it quite a bit!  I served it with pita and we devoured the salad both at dinner and then with the few leftover servings that were left.  This is a super tasty salad and it was a great way to use some of the last tomatoes and cucumbers of the year. 

You could easily make this vegetarian by replacing the chicken with garbanzo beans.

Internet - How Sweet It Is

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley
¹⁄₂ teaspoon cayenne
¹⁄₂ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper
2 ¹⁄₂ pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 450*F. 

2. Mix oil and all spices on rimmed baking sheet.  Toss potatoes in mixture, using your hands to coat potatoes in olive oil mixture. 

3. Bake 20 minutes, remove from oven, and flip for even browning.  Return to oven and cook another 10 to 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender inside and crisp on the outside. 

Comments
This recipe is from Texanerin Baking.  Art really loves roasted potatoes and he declared these to be some of the best he’d ever eaten.  Win!  They were a bit spicy and I might decrease the paprika in the future, but this was definitely a successful roasted potato recipe.  Yum. 

Shown here with Bacon Burgers with Bacon Onion Balsamic Jam and Cheater Mustard Greens.

Internet - Texanerin Baking

Ingredients
For the bacon onion balsamic jam
6 thick slices bacon, cut into small pieces
2 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced
²⁄₃ cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

For the burgers
4 thick slices bacon, minced
2 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Instructions
1. For the jam: Cook bacon in medium saucepan over medium heat until browned and beginning to crisp.  Remove bacon with slotted spoon and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of oil from saucepan. 

2. Add onion to saucepan with bacon grease, season with salt and pepper, then cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove lid and add 2 tablespoons water.  Stir well, scrapping up any bits from pan.  Replace cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until onions are softened and beginning to brown.  Add vinegar, mustard, ²⁄₃ cup water, and bacon to saucepan.  Bring mixture to simmer and continue cooking until liquid has thickened and becomes mostly absorbed, about 5 more minutes.  (Jam can be made up to 2 days ahead of time, stored in the fridge, and warmed before serving.)

3. For the burgers: Combine bacon, ground beef, Worcestershire, 1 teaspoon salt and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.  Gently mix until combined and form into six equal-sized patties.  Heat grill or prepare pan over medium heat.  Cook burgers 5 minutes per side, or until desired doneness is reached.

4. Serve burgers topped with jam. 

Comments
This recipe is from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and wow, it was awesome.  While the burgers were lovely, I’m not sure they were that much more amazing than regular burgers.  However, the jam was really something special.  I would make this again in a heartbeat to go with steaks or burgers.  I might even add it to the Christmas roster! 

Shown here with Cheater Mustard Greens and Spicy Potato Wedges.

Internet - Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ pound potatoes, peeled (Mine were large, so I cut them in half)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Broth, vegetable, chicken or beef
4 tablespoons butter, sliced into thin pats

Instructions
1. Heat oven or grill to 350*F. 

2. Place potatoes in oven safe dish such as 9 by 12-inch glass baking dish.  Sprinkle potatoes with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Pour enough broth into dish to reach halfway up potatoes.  Place small pat of butter on top of each potato. 

3. Place dish in oven or grill and cook 30 to 60 minutes, depending on size of potatoes, until tender on top and crisp on bottom. 

Comments
This recipe is from Kayotic Kitchen.  I love that she’s got a Big Green Egg like I do since it means her grill (recipes are really easy for me to translate to my own grill.  This potatoes would be really easy to make in the oven instead of the grill, but the grill does add a nice smoky flavor to the potatoes that you’d miss in the oven. 

These were tasty, fairly easy, and nice and crispy on the bottom.  At least they were crispy until I topped them with Carbonnade!  I used beef broth since I already had some open due to the Carbonnade and that seemed to work very well. 

Shown here with Carbonnade.

Internet - Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients
3 ¹⁄₂ pounds chuck roast or steaks, cut into 1-inch pieces
Olive oil
2 pounds onions, sliced into ¹⁄₄-inch half moons (3-4 medium onions)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 ¹⁄₂ cups beef broth
12 ounces beer (I used whatever random beer Art picked up last time he bought beer.)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or red apple balsamic vinegar (I need to stock up on this stuff.)

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 300*F. 

2. Season beef with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add ¹⁄₄ to ¹⁄₃ of the beef to Dutch oven in a single layer.  Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until one side of meat is well browned, then remove from Dutch oven.  Add more oil if necessary and repeat with remaining beef. 

3. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil.  Add onions, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt and tomato paste.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add flour and stir to coat onions.  Cook until flour is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. 

4. Stir in beef broth, scraping bottom of pan with wood spoon to loosen any browned bits.  Add beer, thyme, bay leaves, vinegar, and beef along with any accumulated juices.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Increase heat to high and bring to boil, stirring occasionally.  Cover pot partially with lid then transfer to oven.  Cook until beef is tender, about 2 to 3 hours. 

5. Remove thyme and bay leaves before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and I found it while looking for a way to use up the chuck roasts and steaks in the freezer.  Cuts from the chuck of the cow tend to be great for braising which happens to be one of the only meat preparations that Art Does Not Like.  No pot roasts for him, thank you very much!  However, we’d gotten some chuck roasts and steaks in our meat CSA, so I needed to use them up regardless of Art’s feelings. 

This was fantastic.  Very reminiscent of beef stew with great, rich flavors in the sauce.  I could easily see adding carrots, celery, and potato cubes to turn this into a heartier beef stew if I ever get to make it again. 

I served this with potatoes, but it would work very well over just about any sort of starch.  I’ll be having some of the leftovers with rice at some point. 

Shown here with BBQ Potatoes.

Internet - Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

Ingredients
1 pound short pasta shape
1 ³⁄₄ teaspoons salt
³⁄₄ cup olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices
³⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup onion, diced
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
9 ounces baby spinach
¹⁄₂ cup pine nuts, toasted
¹⁄₄ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 ¹⁄₄ teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup fresh basil, packed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 ¹⁄₂ cups milk
8 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Cook pasta 2 minutes less than directed on packaging. Drain well and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, toss to coat, and set aside. 

2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add chicken, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper.  Cook, stirring, until chicken is opaque and cooked through, about 2 to 5 minutes.  Remove from pan. 

3. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pot and add onion, cook until tender, about 4 minutes.  Add 1 teaspoon garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add spinach and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt.  Cook until spinach begins to wilt, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Return chicken to pot and add pasta.  Stir to combine. 

4. Combine pine nuts, red pepper, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon lemon zest, and remaining 1 teaspoon garlic in food processor.  Pulse until blended and scrape down sides with rubber spatula.  Add basil, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper, and remaining ¹⁄₂ cup olive oil.  Pulse until completely blended. 

5. Heat oven to broil. 

6. In pot used to cook pasta, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and stir until smooth and bubbly, about 2 minutes.  Add milk, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened, 4 to 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in pesto, ¹⁄₂ of the Parmesan cheese, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper. 

7. Stir pesto sauce and remaining lemon zest into Dutch oven and stir well to combine.  Sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan cheese and broil until pasta is heated through and top is golden brown and bubbly, about 4 to 6 minutes. 

Comments
This recipe is from Emeril’s Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders.  The flavors were pretty great, I’m a fan of pesto, spinach, chicken and pasta.  However, the dish was just wet.  I’m not sure if I should have thickened the béchamel longer or what, but I sort of think this should be baked for a bit at 350*F instead of just broiled.  I believe that would make for a better dish. 

This was definitely tasty and I might revisit in the future, but I would have preferred a less runny dish.

Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pound short pasta
12 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, diced
1 (7 ounce) can diced green chilies
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes (The fire-roasted sort are always nice.) 
8 tablespoons flour
4 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons cumin, ground
4 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
6 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Heat oil in Dutch oven.  Cook chicken 5 to 10 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Remove and cut into small pieces once cool enough to work with. 

3. Bring large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.  Cook pasta 2 minutes less than directed on packaging. Drain well. 

4. In Dutch oven used for chicken, melt 4 tablespoon butter on medium heat.  Add onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender.  Add chicken, green chilies and tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat. 

5. In pot used for pasta, melt remaining 8 tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Add flour and stir until smooth and bubbly, about 2 minutes.  Add milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened, 4 to 6 minutes.  Stir in cream cheese, cumin, oregano, mustard, garlic, salt and chili powder.  Stir until cream cheese is completely melted.  Stir in shredded cheese 1 cup at a time, stirring until melted and incorporated. 

6. Transfer sauce to Dutch oven with chicken mixture, add pasta, and stir well to mix and coat evenly.  Sprinkle panko over top of casserole and bake 30 to 45 minutes or until bubbly and cooked through.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from Mommie Cooks and continues my trend of easy casseroles eaten in bowls.  This seems to be the sort of meal I gravitate to when I’m not feeling well.  It’s delicious and easy comfort food, perfect to eat from a bowl while wrapped up in a cozy blanket. 

This recipe is definitely a keeper, all three of us loved it and leftovers went quickly!

Internet - Mommie Cooks

Ingredients
For the béchamel sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups milk
¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₈ teaspoon white pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg

For the assembly
8 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon spicy brown mustard
¹⁄₄ teaspoon cayenne
¹⁄₈ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds sandwich bread, thinly sliced (Sadly, the best option I had was Arnold’s Country White which is not thinly sliced.)
1 pound turkey breast, thinly sliced or shredded (I used leftover smoked turkey.)
2 medium tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced
12-16 ounces bacon, cooked until crisp and drained
8 ounces ham, thinly sliced
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced or shredded

Instructions
1. To make the béchamel sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes; do not allow to brown.

2. While stirring constantly, add the milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook the mixture, stirring, until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened and any floury taste is gone, about 8 minutes.  Remove sauce from heat.

3. In large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, milk, salt, mustard, cayenne, and nutmeg.  Set mixture aside. 

4. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x12- or 13-inch glass baking dish with 1 tablespoon of butter. 

5. Layer about 6 slices of bread over bottom of baking dish, cutting slices as necessary to make a single layer of bread.  Spread some of the béchamel evenly over bread slices.  Top with half the turkey, half the tomato, and half the bacon. 

6. Create another layer of bread as in step 5 and spread with more of the béchamel.  Top with half the ham and half the cheese. 

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6.  Then top last ham and cheese layer with last layer of bread spread with remaining béchamel, béchamel side down. 

8. Carefully and slowly, pour egg-milk mixture evenly over top of sandwiches.  Place a piece of parchment or wax paper on top of casserole dish and place a second casserole dish on top of the paper to weight the casserole.  Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until the bread has absorbed most of the egg mixture. 

9. Heat oven to 350*F and remove casserole from refrigerator.  Slice remaining 4 tablespoons butter into 8 pieces and place at even intervals over top layer of bread.  Bake casserole, uncovered, until puffy, golden and egg has completely set, about 40 to 50 minutes.  Allow casserole to cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from the new Emeril book, Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders.  It was a bit complicated due to the bread I had to work with – the original recipe called for another layer of bread, and to make the sandwiches individually.  I tried to streamline everything with the recipe you see here.  When I saw this recipe, I knew that it would be a great way to use up some of the excess smoked turkey we had in the freezer and it worked perfectly.  The casserole was delicious, sort of like a cross between a turkey club sandwich and French toast or strata. 

Weird, but good, and well worth the effort.

Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders

Ingredients
1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
1 pound tomatoes, cut into small cubes, or small tomatoes, halved or quarted
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well
2-4 tablespoons pesto (I’d start off with 2 and add more to taste.)
¹⁄₄ cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions
1. Mix all ingredients together then season with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir well. 

Comments
I wanted to add more protein to a chopped Caprese-type salad and thought that cannellini beans would be a great way to do this.  It worked very well, the balsamic vinegar really brought the whole salad together.  I added a bit too much pesto and found it slightly overpowering, so I’ve modified the amount in this recipe so you can add more depending on your own pesto tastes.  This makes a great lunch salad!

Person - Gwen

Ingredients
¹⁄₂ cup olive oil plus 1 tablespoon
3 pounds rabbit pieces, about 2 whole rabbits
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 cup instant flour, such as Wondra
2 cups onion, minced
1 cup carrot, minced
1 cup celery, minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
3 cups red wine
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup chicken broth
2 pounds pasta, such as noodles
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons all purpose flour
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¹⁄₄ cup fresh parsley leaves, minced
³⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. In large Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Season rabbit pieces with 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper.  Dredge pieces in instant flour and shake off any excess.  Place rabbit pieces in pan and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary.  Transfer rabbit to paper-towel lined plate and set aside. 

2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until the vegetables are browned and caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.  Add remaining salt, garlic, wine, tomatoes, bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and oregano and cook 10 minutes longer. 

3. Return rabbit pieces to pan and add chicken broth.  Increase heat to high and bring to boil then turn temperature to low and simmer, covered, until rabbit is very tender, about 1 ¹⁄₄ to 1 ¹⁄₂ hours. 

4. Transfer rabbit to plate and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Remove bay leaves from Dutch oven.  Once rabbit is cool, carefully remove meat from bones and shred meat into bite-sized pieces.  (There will be some teeny bones, so be vigilant.)  Discard bones and return meat to sauce. 

5. Bring large pot of salted water to boil.  Add pasta and cook according to package directions.  Drain well and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil until ready to serve. 

6. Combine all purpose flour with butter in small bowl until smooth paste forms.  Stir half butter-flour mixture into ragout to thicken.  Add more as necessary to achieve desired consistency.  Simmer sauce for 1 minute over low heat.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley and Parmesan.  Stir in pasta and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the new Emeril book, Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders. It’s the first time I’d ever made rabbit or even eaten rabbit!  It was pretty tasty, a bit reminiscent of Coq au Vin in fact.  Lance ate all of the leftovers, eventually… it made quite a lot of food!  The original recipe called for 1 pound of pasta, but we felt that 2 pounds was more appropriate to the amount of ragout generated.  Yet another hit from Emeril.

Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders