Another cooking blog

My cousin also has a recipe blog. I have got a few good recipes off there, but haven't had a chance to look at it much lately. Check it out and see if there's anything worth trying! It's at quickandhealthymeals.blogspot.com.

Happy cooking! One of these days I'll get some more posts up. Just no energy right now :(

I see I have a lot of visitors from the tracker that I added...how come no one comments? Come on guys....share the love ;)

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is one of my favorite's and my family really likes it too. Serve it with a salad you have yourself a meal!

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

Ingredients:

4 oz. cheddar cheese shredded

1 C. Cooked Rice

1/2 C. Sliced Mushrooms (Fresh or Canned)

1/2 C. Diced Onion

1/2 C. Evaporated Milk

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

10 oz. Pkg Frozen Broccoli

1-1/2 Tbsp. Margarine

1 tsp. Salt

5 Chicken Breasts boiled & diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2 qt. Casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

In saucepan combine all ingredients except broccoli, cooking over medium heat, stirring constantly, until cheese & margarine are melted.

Add broccoli and cook until broccoli is heated.

Spoon into casserole dish and bake 30 minutes. Top with a little more shredded cheese and let melt.

Grilled Veggie Panini

If you've ever wondered "what the heck do you do with eggplant????" here is a GREAT recipe for you. I saw this recipe on food network a few years ago. We had it for the second time tonight and let me tell you it is SO DELICIOUS! Even if you are not a vegetarian or if you are a picky eater I think you will like it. Joey thought it was great which is saying something! Most of the ingredients came from my garden also this year which was extremely satisfying. If you don't have a garden you will have to plan ahead and get some things at the grocery store, but it is well worth it...believe me!

*A note on eggplant. I've found, especially if you are buying your eggplant, that it's best to use it within a day or two. It goes bad quickly. What we've picked from our garden seems to last a bit better simply because it's fresher. Also don't slice it open it until just before you are ready to cook it. It gets discolored quickly once cut.

Grilled Veggie Panini - from Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 c olive oil

2 small japanese eggplants or 1 medium to large regular eggplant cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices

2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices

1 small red onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 baguettes (each about 2 feet long) or other speciality bread (I used Oro Wheat Sandwhich Thins, 100% Whole Wheat)

1/2 C Basil Pesto (recipe below)

8 ounces fresh water-packed mozzarella cheese, drained, sliced

2 tomatoes, slices

1/2 C roasted red peppers

8 large basil leaves, optional

Basil Pesto:

2 C fresh basil leaves

1/4 C toasted pine nuts (I used slivered almonds because it was what I had and it was GREAT!)

2 garlic cloves, peeled (I just put mine through a garlic press and toasted it with the nuts)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/3 C (about) extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 C grated parmesan (I just used the regular old stuff you buy in the bottle and keep in the fridge, nothing fancy)

If your nuts aren't already toasted, heat a skillet over medium heat, add a little olive oil and toast your nuts and olives together for just a few minutes. In a blender (I used a small hand blender we have because it seemed to be better for the amount I was making) pulse the basil, nuts, garlic, salt and pepper until finely chopped. With the blender still running gradually add enough oil to form a smooth and thick consistency. Transfer to the pesto to a medium bowl and stir in 1/2 C of cheese. (The recipe doesn't call for it, but I then had to add more olive oil because the cheese soaked up all the moisture in the original mixture!). Season with more salt and pepper if needed. (The pesto can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate).

Directions for the sandwich:

Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Drizzle the oil over the eggplant, zucchini and onion slices, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill these veggies until they are tender and grill marks appear, about 4 minutes per side. Cool completely. (I tried to use our George Foreman grill and it worked OK, but didn't make really nice grill marks and I had to do it in small batches. I ended up giving up and just broiling most of my veggies, which seemed to work just as well!)

Prepare your bread (this size of recipe is made to serve 12), spreading with pesto and adding the slices of eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato, mozzarella and roasted pepper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If your bread is really soft I would actually probably toast it before prepping the sandwich.

*Other options: We actually didn't have any mozzarella so did without the cheese and it was still REALLY good. The cheese probably adds a bit more heartiness to it however and would be a delicious addition. We also added Roasted Red Pepper hummus, which gave it a totally different flavor, but was a really nice compliment to the other flavors in the sandwich.

Despite all the "fancy" ingredients and what appears to be kind of a gourmet sandwich, it was actually really easy to put together and really delicious.

Up soon...a few more eggplant recipes. I had them coming out my ears this year so experimented with a few things that turned out nicely. I will share soon...hopefully :)

Homemade White Bread

I have tried MANY bread recipes over the years. This one has gained almost universal approval from my husband, kids, friends, family, etc. I kept trying to find a recipe for the breadmaker, but when I found this one decide this was almost as easy and 10 times yummier. It does take some time. If I'm making bread (it can also be used for scones, rolls, cinnamon rolls) I usually plan on 3 hours. Most of that time is taking with rising and so it's not really labor intensive, just a lot of waiting. I am still in the market for a killer Wheat Bread Recipe, so if you have a great one...Pass it on!

Mom's Homemade Bread

2 pkg yeast (4 1/2 tsp)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 C lukewarm water

3/4 C sugar

1 C powdered milk

4 tsp salt

2 large TBLS shortening

4 1/2 C warm water

13 C flour

oil

Put yeast in a small bowl with 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 C lukewarm water. Set aside to rise. In a large bowl put 3/4 C sugar, powdered milk, salt, shortening and 4 1/2 C water. Mix. (The shortening won't dissolve and will still be really lumpy in the mixture. Don't worry, it get's mixed in just fine as you add the flour.) Add yeast mixture to this mixture. Slowly start to add up to 13 C flour. After the first 6 cups, mix really well to activate the yeast, about 5 minutes, in a Bosch mixer or by hand. (I don't have a Bosch, so I just use a spoon and elbow grease!) Be sure not to add too much flour, dough will be a little sticky still. Turn out on lightly floured counter and knead until smooth. (I actually just have a large bowl I use to mix everything in and knead it in that. It also helps if you have a lower surface to knead on so you can get more of your upper body power into it. It makes less work for your arms :) Put into a greased bowl to rise (I just keep in the same bowl still, don't usually worry about greasing it), cover with a warm, damp towel. Raise to double the size. Punch down and smooth out. Let rise again. Divide into 5 loaves, shape and place in oiled bread pans. Oil the top of the bread loaf, if desired. Let rise to double again in the pans. Bake 15 minutes at 400 and 15 minutes at 350. Turn out and butter tops.

HINT: Before starting, put your 13 C flour in a bowl so you don't loose count while mixing.

For CINNAMON ROLLS, DINNER ROLLS and SCONES, take the dough you need after the first rise. This recipe makes perfect scones. I just pull off small chunks of dough and pull until they are thin rectangles. We have a deep fryer and just pop them in there. You have to turn them to get both sides, but watch carefully because they don't take very long. If you don't get them thin enough though they will done on the outside, but doughy in the middle.

For CINNAMON ROLLS: Roll out into a rectangle and butter thickly. (This works better if I have my husband rolls it out. The dough is very elastic and I have a hard time getting it as thin as I like for cinnamon rolls with my own strength :) Then cover with brown sugar, a lot of cinnamon (to your taste), a little nutmeg (optional), raisins (optional) and nuts (optional). Roll up and slice (I used waxed floss). Put in pan and let rise. Cook for 375 for 20-30 minutes. While still warm drizzle with icing.

For "Hillbilly Bread" you can mix wheat and white flour. Use up to 5 C wheat and 8 C white. More wheat than that and the bread doesn't turn out too well. (I have actually never tried it, but it was listed in the recipe...so here's an option for you to try).

Black Beans and Rice

Inspired this week by $5 Dinners I pulled together this recipe for dinner one night. I hadn't planned ahead so couldn't do the crock pot like she did, but this worked out really good. The first bite or two I wondered if it was a bit to bland. But I had a bowl and then kept thinking about it and had to go back for more later. The flavors in mine were a bit subtle, but you could spice things up if you prefer your stuff that way. Again...sorry, the measurements aren't exact because I threw it together...are you tired of me doing that yet? I seriously used to be a recipe NAZI! But have adopted a more "flexible" approach lately. Let me know if you like it...

Black Beans and Rice

2-3 cups of rice

1 onion, chopped

1 can of black beans, drained (for a less expensive option, use dry beans...but you have to PLAN ahead ;)

1 can petite diced tomatoes (you could probably use fresh or any other type of tomatoes here, I used what I had)

1 C (or so) frozen corn (I'm sure canned or fresh would be just great as well)

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Put the rice on to cook. Chop the onion and saute in a bit of olive oil until translucent. Add the can of black beans and corn. Saute for a few more minutes to your liking. (This time I just warmed them up, but previously when I've done recipe similar to this it was fun to put in a bit more oil and make them a bit "blackened" almost. It brings out some interesting and yummy flavors.) Add the tomatoes and spices to taste. Cook until warmed through. Mix together with rice and serve.

My kids even liked this one! I think because it was a bit milder...it helped! You could bulk up with some type of meat if you wanted, but really it has all the elements you need for a meal and is a nice lighter option. No meat = a bit less money! A salad would also go really well with this!