Week 52: Potato Pie

Recipe: Potato Pie

From: Food Network Magazine (I think)

Category: 

Rating:

Week 46: Savory Stuffing Bread

Recipe:  Savory Stuffing Bread

From:  Allrecipes.com (By: Rarik)

Category: Side Dishes

Rating:  It was okay.  It probably would have been really good as stuffing, but we used it for toast!  :-)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F/40 to 45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, or more if needed
• 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
• 2 tablespoons dried savory
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground dried sage
• 1 tablespoon dried dill weed (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix yeast, warm water, sugar, salt, eggs, and vegetable oil together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, poultry seasoning, savory, sage, dill, black pepper, and nutmeg until thoroughly combined. Beat the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, about 1 cup at a time, until the dough is smooth; add up to 1 more cup of flour if needed.
2. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until the dough is springy, smooth, and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, and place into an oiled bowl. Turn the dough ball around in the bowl to lightly oil the dough, then cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Grease 2 9x5-inch loaf pans. Punch down the dough, knead several times to remove air pockets, then cut the dough in half. Shape each half into a log, pinching the seams closed, then place into the prepared loaf pans seam sides down. Lightly cover the pans with a cloth, and let rise until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Bake the bread until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes; remove from pans and cool on wire cooling racks.

Week 38 (Bonus#1): Garlic and Artichoke Roasted Potatoes

Recipe:  Garlic and Artichoke Roasted Potatoes

From:  Healthy Cooking Magazine  (or tasteofhome.com)

Category:  Side Dishes

Rating: Out of this world yummy!!  Everyone like it, and it was great with the Firetruck Chicken!

Ingredients:

2-1/2 pounds medium red potatoes, cut into 1-1/2-inch cubes

2 packages (8 ounces each) frozen artichoke hearts (I used one can, I think.)

8 garlic cloves, halved

3 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions:

1. Place the potatoes, artichokes and garlic in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Combine the oil, salt and pepper; drizzle over vegetables and toss to coat.
2. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 35-40 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a large bowl. Add lemon juice, parsley and lemon peel; toss to coat. Serve warm. Yield: 10 servings.

With all the commotion, I forgot to get a picture of just the potatoes, 

but you get the idea.

Week 33 (Bonus): Strawberry-Ginger Ale Salad

Recipe:  Strawberry Ginger-Ale Salad

From:  The Best of Cooking with 3 Ingredients

Category: Side Dish

Rating: Oh so yummy!  I am pretty sure it was all gone after one meal.

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) package strawberry gelatin

1 cup ginger-ale, chilled

1 (10 oz.) package frozen strawberries, thawed, chopped

Directions:

1. Dissolve gelatin in 1 cup boiling water.  Stir in 1 cup ginger ale.  
2. Refrigerate until partially thickened.
3. Stir in strawberries.  Mix well.
4. Pour into a mold or square serving dish and chill until firm.

Note:  Skipped step 2, as we were leaving the house for the day.  Also, just did all the steps in the pan below.  Who uses molds anymore?

Week 33: Seasoned Pasta

Recipe:  Seasoned Pasta

From:  The Best of Cooking with 3 Ingredients (Ruthie Wornall)

Category: Main Dish; Side Dish

Rating: Pretty good.  I put both main and side dish, as it is listed as a side dish, but it was our main dish.  Guess it depends on what you are serving it with; we added fresh tomatoes and feta cheese to our ... it was really good then!  The kids like it plain.

Ingredients:

2 (14.5 ounce) cans seasoned chicken broth with Italian Herbs (I could not find this, so I just threw in some Italian spices.)

2 cups uncooked, corkscrew pasta

1/2 to 1 cup Parmesan cheese


Directions:

1. Heat broth in a sauce pan until it boils.  Stir in uncooked pasta.
2. Reduce heat and simmer on medium until pasta is fork tender, stirring often.
3. Pour into a serving bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Week 29 (Bonus): Blueberry Salad (aka K-State Salad)

Recipe: Blueberry Salad (aka K-State Salad)

From:  Allrecipes.com (submitted by RAC70)

Category:  Side Dish

Rating:  Yummy and a must for K-State watch parties and/or tailgates!  The jello/blueberry part turns out purple and with the white cream cheese topping, it obviously should be served by K-Staters everywhere!

Ingredients

• 2 (3 ounce) packages raspberry flavored gelatin mix
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (21 ounce) can blueberry pie filling
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine hot water and gelatin; stir until dissolved. Stir in pineapple and blueberry pie filling. Pour into a 9x13 inch dish and chill in refrigerator until firm.
2. Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Spread over firm gelatin. Chill until serving.

Week 26: Sloppy Turkey Joes and Cheese Fries

*I would normally make this two separate posts, but I don't have separate pictures, so that seemed kind of silly.  Besides, they were made for each other, at least according to the cookbook I got them from!

Recipe:  Sloppy Turkey Joes and Cheese Fries

From:  Cooking Rocks!  30 Minute Meals for Kids by Rachael Ray

Category:  Main Dish; Side Dish

Rating:  To quote the famed Ms. Ray, "yum-o."  The cheese sauce was also a great two days later over broccoli and cauliflower!  Enjoy. :-)

Ingredients for Sloppy Turkey Joes:

1 1/3 pounds ground turkey

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 red onion

1/2 red bell pepper (I used a green one.  They were cheaper.)

1 tablespoon grill seasoning (like the Montreal Steak Seasoning used last week!)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup tomato sauce (8 oz.)

4 crusty rolls

Directions for Sloppy Turkey Joes:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat; add evoo and turkey.  Break up the turkey with a wooden spoon as it starts to cook.
2. Chop the onion and red pepper.  Add to the cooking meat.
3. Mix in a small bowl: grill seasoning blend, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce.  Once the ingredients are combined, pour over the mean and stir everything together. 
4. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook the sloppy mixture for 10 minutes.
5. Serve on crusty rolls.

Ingredients for Cheese Fries:

1 sack frozen french fries, prepared according to package directions

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoon flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used half and half)

2 1/2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese (10 oz.)

1/4 cup ketchup (I probably didn't use quite that much)

Directions for Cheese Fries:

1. In saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Add flour and stir.  Cook butter and flour together for 1 minute.
2. Use a whisk to stir as you pour the milk into the pot.   Keep stirring until the milk get thicker.
3. Use a wooden spoon or heat-safe spatula to stir in the cheese.  when all the cheese melts, take the sauce off the heat and add ketchup.
4. Serve over the fries or on the side for dipping.

Week 21: Sliced Tomato Salad with Feta and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Recipe: Sliced Tomato Salad with Feta and Balsamic Vinaigrette

From:  The Everything Mediterranean Diet Book

Category: Side Dishes

Rating: Yummy summer dish!

Ingredients:

4 large tomatoes, washed and sliced into round slices (what other kind of slices would you get??)

1/4 pound Greek feta cheese, crumbled

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Fresh-ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and slice tomatoes into rounds approximately 1/4" thick.  Arrange slices in a slightly overlapping circle pattern on large presentation platter.
2. Cover tomatoes with layer of feta cheese, making sure to spread cheese over all tomato slices then sprinkle oregano over top of the cheese.
3. Combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar; pour over cheese and tomatoes.  Sprinkle with fresh-ground pepper and serve. 

Week 19: Chinese Fried Rice

Recipe:  Chinese Fried Rice

From:  J.E. Barber Elementary PTA cookbook

Category:  Main Dish or Side Dish

Rating:  Awesome!  Even the kids ate it.  That's pretty impressive, if you have been reading this blog from the start.  I'm pretty sure my success rate with the kids is about 25%.

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain rice

6 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

Salad/vegetable oil

1 package (8 oz.) sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled  

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Directions:

1. Prepare rice according to label directions.  Refrigerate until well chilled.
2. In a medium bowl, slightly beat eggs and salt with fork.
3. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in skillet over high heat until very hot.  Pour in egg mixture.  Cook, stirring quickly and constantly until eggs are the size of of peas.
4. Reduce heat to low.  Push eggs to one side of the skillet.  In the same skillet, gently stir rice and 2 tablespoons oil until rice is well coated with oil. 
5. Add bacon and soy sauce.  Gently stir to mix all ingredients.  Heat through.
6. Spoon fried rice into warm bowl and sprinkle with green onions.

Note:  I cooked up some stir-fry chicken in another pan with some oil, soy sauce and garlic salt.  I would have added it all together, but thought the kids might not eat the chicken then.  Also, I used real bacon bits, and used 2/3 cup.  I would probably use about half that and add in the cooked chicken next time.  Also, I didn't put onions on top.  I put some dried chives on top, which was was not well received by the boy, "What's that green thing?"  :-)

Week 18 (Bonus #3): Champagne Salad

Recipe: Champagne Salad

From:  Home Cookin' is a Family Affair (Irene G.)

Category: Side Dishes

Rating:  Awesome fruity side dish.  It went nicely with the enchiladas and nachos!


Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened  (I used 1/3 light)
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
2 bananas, sliced
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 8 oz. container Cool Whip  (I used light)



Directions:

1. Cream sugar and cream cheese.
2. Add cool whip and fruit.
3. Pour into a 9x13-inch pan and refrigerate a few hours before serving.

  Didn't photograph real well, but it was tasty!

See?  Still not looking great, but trust me, it was.

Week 11: Creamy Chicken & Noodles and Easiest Muffins

Recipe: Creamy Chicken & Noodles

From: Gooseberry Patch's Slow-Cooker Recipes (Submitted by Melissa D.)

Category: Main Dish

Rating: Even pretty good the next day!

Ingredients:
3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 10.75 oz. cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup butter, sliced
42 oz. chicken broth (4 10.5 cans)
24-oz. package frozen egg noodles

Directions:

1. Combine first four ingredients in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  
2. One hour before serving, remove chicken, shred and return to slow cooker.  
3. Stir in frozen noodles; cover and cook on low setting for one hour.  Serve in soup bowls.

Creamy Chicken & Noodles

Recipe: Easiest Muffins

From: Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

Category: Side Dish

Rating: Actually made this the next day to have with the Creamy Chicken & Noodles leftovers.  Gavin wasn't a big fan.  They definitely take on the sour cream flavor, but I thought they were good, and they were super easy!


Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 cups self-rising flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  
2. In an electric mixer, mix the butter and sour cream.  Add the flour and mix well.  
3. Drop large spoonfuls of the dough into a muffin pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or lines with muffin cups.  
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown.

 Easiest Muffins

 The combination ... so good!

Week 6: Beefy Filled Hard Rolls and Crispy Fried Zucchini

Recipe:  Beefy Filled Hard Rolls and Crispy Fried Zucchini

From: Gooseberry Patch's Weeknight Meals: Mix & Match Menus

Category: Main Dishes; Side Dishes

Rating: Out of this world yummy ... and no the kids really didn't like it.  Mr. M ate most of the sandwich, and Miss M thought the zucchini was tolerable with ranch dressing.  Miss P seemed thoroughly unimpressed.  Oh well!

Beefy Filled Hard Rolls
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef (I used 1 lb ground turkey and 1 lb turkey sausage)
1/4 cup onion, diced  (I used a whole small onion)
10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Colby cheese, grated (I used cheddar jack and probably a little more than 1/2 cup)
salt and pepper, to taste
12 small French hard rolls, sliced and hollowed out (didn't hollow out anything)

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef with onion in a skillet over medium heat; drain.
2. Add soup and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper; cook until cheese melts.
4. Fill rolls with meat mixture and add top halves of rolls.

Crispy Fried Zucchini
Ingredients:
1 cup Italian-seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
2 to 4 zucchini, cut into slices or strips (I used two, which was plenty)
2 eggs, beaten
oil for frying
Garnish:  Marinara sauce or horseradish sauce (or if you are Miss M, ranch dressing)

Directions:

1. Combine crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl; set aside.
2. Dip zucchini into beaten eggs, then into crumb mixture to coat evenly.
3. Heat oil in a skillet; fry zucchini a few at a time until tender and golden.
4. Serve with sauces for dipping.

The meat mixture didn't photograph well in the pan, so here it is on the plate with the zucchini and some pomegranate.  Enjoy!

Week 4: Red Pepper Polenta with Gorgonzola

Recipe: Red Pepper Polenta with Gorgonzola

From:  Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Women (Dr. Rita F. Redberg)

Category: Side Dish

Rating:  Good

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
2 cups roasted vegetable stock or chicken broth
1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup uncooked corn grits or cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Directions:

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Cook garlic and bell pepper in oil about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until bell pepper is crisp-tender.
2. Stir in vegetable stock and milk; heat to boiling.  Gradually stir in grits and salt; reduce heat to low.  Simmer uncovered about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened.
3. Spray 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray.  Pour polenta into pie plate.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and polenta is firm enough to cut.  Cut into 8 wedges.

I put it in a 9-inch pie plate.  Also, I used blue cheese.  If you are using blue cheese, you don't need near as much cheese.  It was almost a little much for me, and I really like blue cheese.  The Gorgonzola is a milder cheese.

Here's the polenta with the rest of my supper.  Yes, that is Spam, turkey Spam, if you must know.  The kids really like it, so I thought it would go well with the "weird" side dish I was preparing! :-)