Basil Pesto

This makes about 3/4 cup of pesto.

3 garlic cloves (I sometimes toast it!)

2 cups packed fresh basil

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Blend first 5 ingredients together in a food processor until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

(You can substitute walnuts or almonds for the pine nuts if you can't find them.  And to toast the nuts, just place them in a stainless skillet over med heat just until they start to brown. Usually just a few minutes.  Be very careful not to burn them. But it IS an important step!)

To freeze: I usually add a little bit less oil, and put it into my containers, then cover with a thin layer of oil and then plastic wrap.  Then straight to the freezer. When I want to use it, I'll add a little bit more olive oil just to loosen it up.  

I have some friends who make tons of pesto every summer, and she freezes it in ice cube trays, then when they're hard, puts them into a ziploc bag.  I just put mine in small disposable tupperware containers.

I've heard people say not to freeze it with the parmesan cheese in it, but I've never had any issues.  

Does anyone want a starter for cinnamon amish bread?

I have three of these babies, ready to be mashed by you. Anyone interested? It makes two loaves of pretty tasty bread every ten days or so.

Basic Scones

I posted this on my blog at one point but I just made them again recently and thought I would post the recipe here. I found this recipe online after I tried two others...this one was my favorite by far. In fact, I think I'll go make another batch since I have some cream left over.

Blue Goose Inn - Basic Scones

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/2-1 cup filler of your choice
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into dry ingredients with pastry blender. Do not allow the butter to melt or form a paste with the flour. Stir in chips/filler of your choice. In a separate bowl, mix together egg and cream. Add all at once to dry ingredients. Mix lightly until just combined.

Gather dough into a ball and knead it gently against the sides and bottom of bowl 5-10 times. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and pat dough into an 8-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 to 12 wedges and place at least 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 425 degrees until the tops are golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

• My favorite combos are Chocolate Cherry Scones, White Chocolate Cranberry and just Plain with fresh whipped cream on top....yum, yum!

Sourdough Bread

Starter:

3/4 cups sugar

3 Tbs instant potato flakes

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees)

Mix first 3 ingredients together, then stir in warm water.  Cover with plastic wrap; pierce wrap 4 or 5 times with point of sharp knife. Refrigerate 3 to 5 days.

Starter food:

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbs instant potato flakes

1 cup warm water (120-130 degrees)

To make bread:

Remove starter from fridge and let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Stir well. Remove 1 cup starter to make bread, 'feed' the remaining starter -let stand 8-12 hours. Cover with pierced plastic wrap, refrigerate 3 to 5 days.  Repeat up to 3 times.

Bread:

1 cup starter

6 cups bread flour

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbs salt

1- 1 1/2 cups warm water

Combine all ingredients together. Cover and let rise 6-12 hours.  

Shape and place into greased pans.  (3 loaves)  Cover and let rise 6-12 hours.

Bake at 375, 30-40 minutes.  

Tips: 

*When I make the starter like this, it rises the best for the first batch of bread. If you want to make it 2 more times, add 1 tsp yeast to the warm water when mixing the bread.  (let it sit in the water a few minutes to let it start reacting)

*When I cover it to let it rise, I spray Pam on some plastic wrap, and put it on the dough,  just to prevent sticking, then cover it with a towel

*I usually let it rise longer than 6 hours each time.  I'll mix up the dough in the morning, shape it in the evening, bake it the next morning.  

*I cover the bread loosely with foil for the first 20 minutes of baking to avoid too much browning on top.

Request for Jocelyn

Joc, is your sourdough bread recipe a secret family recipe (I mean, I'm like family, aren't i)? Gerald's parents are coming in this weekend and I wanted to make it with shells for Sunday lunch. Thanks!

Pesto Ravioli with Chicken

Jason announced last night that this is his favorite meal that I make...and if you knew how picky Jason is about food, you would know that really means a lot. People always ask for this recipe when I make it...so thanks to Betty Crocker Easy Weeknight Meals. And it's quick and easy to make...another plus.

• 2 t olive oil
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast strips (about 2 chicken breasts)
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 package refrigerated cheese-filled ravioli (I use spinach or mushroom)
• 2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired (I think this ingredient is necessary unless you just don't like Parmesan)
• *it also calls for a sliced red bell pepper but because we aren't fans I have never put one in.

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken about 4 minutes until brown. Remove chicken from skillet. Add broth and ravioli and heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 4 minutes or until ravioli is tender. Stir in zucchini (and bell pepper if you are adding it) and chicken into ravioli. Cook over medium-high heat about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Toss with pesto. Sprinkle with cheese. About 4 servings.

quick pan-fried catfish

I got this recipe back in the day when I used to get Southern Living magazine. It's one of Ken's favorites. I usually get my catfish from Walmart, and I think we've decided that we like the nuggets better than the fillets (probably b/c they are smaller pieces and there's more breading).

3/4 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tbs Old Bay seasoning
1 to 1 1/2 lb catfish fillets or nuggets
1/2 cup Ranch dressing (I use light)
3 tbs veggie oil (I use 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 Enova)

Combine Bisquick, cornmeal, and Old Bay in a shallow bowl. Pat catfish dry with paper towels; brush both sides of each piece evenly with Ranch dressing. Dredge in cornmeal mixture; lightly press cornmeal mixture onto catfish pieces.
Cook catfish in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes on each side or until fish just flakes with a fork. Serve immediately.

Peanut Butter Pie

I got this recipe from a girl in my class. She made it one night when we all brought stuff to have dinner together. And then I made it a couple weekends ago for the sweetheart dinner at church only to find out that the email requesting desserts meant to bring them for the next weekend's lady's retreat--it just didn't specify which event was needing desserts donated. So I ended up sending those pies w/ Ken to work and making another two for the lady's retreat the next weekend. I'm sure you can imagine that the guys at the station weren't too upset about my mistake. : )

This recipe is really good and so easy to make. I've made it w/ low fat cream cheese and light Cool Whip a few times, and it still tastes good. I have to say though that of course, the full-fat version is best. The light version has a little different taste--I can't figure out if it's the cream cheese or the Cool Whip though. Oh, and FYI--this recipe makes 2 pies.

8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
16 oz tub Cool Whip (that's the large one)
2 graham cracker crusts

Mix cream cheese and peanut butter w/ a mixer until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar. Mix in Cool Whip one large spoonful at a time beating on high until mixture reaches a moosy consistency. Add to crusts. Chill until served.

finally made it

It's about time! I have finally posted a week of meals at our house. Granted I only cooked 3 out of 7 of the meals, but this gives you all an idea of what our weeks look like. And this past week I was home on Thursday instead of either being at girls' night w/ you all or taking a test. I'm really looking forward to this summer, when I can fix meals for us on a more regular basis!

Mexican Polenta Pie

This is great as a meal or an appetizer and chips. It is a favorite in our house.

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1 lb. uncooked ground turkey

3 T chili powder (I use 2 because we are wimps)

1 T ground cumin

1/4 t cayenne pepper or less

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup bottled salsa

2 tubes refrigerated, cooked polenta (I use only one)

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2/3 cup chopped fresh tomato

1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro

Cook onion and garlic in 1 T hot oil until tender. Add turkey, chili powder, cumin and cayenne. Cook until turkey is no longer pink. Add beans, undrained tomatoes and salsa. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer gently 15 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a 3-quart baking dish with the remaining 1 T oil. Cut tube of polenta into 1/4 slices; press half of the slices into prepared dish. Set the other slices aside. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over polenta in dish. Top with meat mixture. Arrange other slices of polenta over meat; sprinkle with remaining cheese and fresh tomato. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes (or until bubbly) at 375 degrees. Sprinkle with cilantro. Let stand for 15 or 20 minutes before serving.

Cream Cheese-Banana-Nut Bread

I found a Banana Nut bread recipe that my sister gave me that doesn't have shortening. It has a few extra steps than my grandma's recipe but it is oh, so yummy. Maybe I can substitute shortening for cream cheese in my grandma's recipe?

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups flour (1 1/4 cup white flour, 1 1/4 cup wheat and 1/2 cup ground flax seed is my version)

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4)

1/2 t. vanilla extract

Beat together butter and cream cheese. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured loafpans. (I did one loaf pan and 24 muffins) Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (15-20 for muffins) or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool bread for 30 minutes before slicing.

*some topping suggestions for this recipe were orange-pecan, toasted-coconut, cinnamon-crisp and peanut butter streusel. If you're interested let me know and I'll put the recipe here.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Sorry it took a while for me to get this on here...we've had a lot going on around here! Here is the recipe, Erin:

4 or 5 chicken breasts, cooked (and I cut them up into bite-sized pieces)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 stick of butter, melted
1 tube of Ritz crackers (I break them up in a zip-lock bag)
poppy seeds

I mix the cut up chicken in a bowl with the soup and sour cream and pour it in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the crackers over the mixture. Pour the butter over the crackers. (Sometimes I don't use a WHOLE stick of butter.) Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Serves 4-6, but serving with rice makes this spread even farther.

fruit salsa

This is a recipe I got from Erin back when she lived in Chattanooga. It is so good! It's rather labor intensive b/c of all the chopping, but it's well worth it. She may have the exact proportions, but it's one of those recipes that I end up just doing a little of this, and a little of that. So Erin, feel free to correct the measurements if I'm way off base. The recipe below is typically what I do when I make it just for me:

Fruit Salsa:
1/2-3/4 pkg of strawberries
1 small apple, pealed--I usually use Rome or Gala
1-2 kiwis
spoonful of jelly--I think the recipe calls for apple, but I use whatever's in my fridge
spoonful of honey

Chop fruit in very, very small pieces. Stir in jelly and honey. (When I visited Erin in Hawaii, we made this a few times. As it turns out, the recipe calls for brown sugar instead of honey, but for some reason when I got the recipe from Erin the first time, I had it in my head that it was made w/ honey. It seems like it might be a little heathier w/ honey, so that how I've kept making it.)

Cinnamon/sugar chips:
3-4 medium sized flour tortillas
Pam cooking spray
cinnamon/sugar mix

Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Spray tortilla with Pam. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. I usually go back and spray the areas where the cinnamon/sugar is not wet so it will stick to the chip better once it's cooked. Use a pizza cutter to cut the tortilla into wedges before cooking. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes. Ken likes them a little chewy, so I put his in for less time than mine. When it's for me, I usually cook them the whole time, but you may want to check after 8 minutes to see if they look done.

And then just use the chips to scoop up the salsa, and enjoy!

recipe request from Lisa

Lisa can you post your Poppy Seed Chicken recipe. It somehow was misplaced with all of our moves over the past 3 years.

in need of suggestions...

I know you all know that Ken and I have a weird schedule these days, and we're often not home on the same nights. Either he's at work when I'm home or I'm in class while he's home. Well I'm wondering what you all fix for dinner when you find yourself at home alone. I just don't feel like fixing a meal when it's just me, and I'm trying to get more ideas of things I can make for myself or even things I can keep on hand for Ken to fix.

A few of the things I usually end up doing are either that fruit salsa with the homemade cinnamon/sugar chips that Erin showed me (a personal favorite, by the way) or some kind of bruschetta. Lately I've been making a grilled brie and turkey sandwich when it's just me. And that's pretty good too. It seems to me it's harder to eat healthy when I'm making dinner for one, or maybe it's that I'm just not motivated to steam up some veggies when I'm alone. I was wondering if you all had any suggestions. Thanks!

Tator Tot Casserole

Here's a REALLY easy recipe that you can make quickly when you forgot to make something or are short on time (however, I may be the only one that considers tator tots a staple!). This recipe usually feeds me and Gerald with a little for Roger and enough for one person's lunch - so 3 1/2 people I guess. It's nothin' fancy, but like I said, it's really easy and good in a pinch.

1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
2 tbsp flour
1 cup beef broth
1 can vegetables (green beans, corn, etc.)
some chesse to sprinkle
enough tator tots to cover the top of it all

Add broth and flour together in a pan ( I do it in the pan that I cooked the hamburger in) and whisk until smooth. Allow it to heat until it boils, stir constantly for about a minute or until it thickens a little. Add the hamburger meat and stir. Then take a casserole dish (I think mine is 2 quarts) and layer that on the bottom. Drain the vegetables and layer them on top. Sprinkle some cheese over top then layer tator tots in a single layer on top. Bake at 400 for maybe 20-30 minutes, basically until the tator tots are brown.

Apple-Cinnamon French Toast Bake

I made this while my mom-in-law was in town and it was really good. The best part is that you can make it the night before and just pop it in the oven the next morning. Or, you could have this with a Sunday lunch and just add a few things to it. I didn't put syrup on mine b/c it's sweet already.

• 10 (3/4 inch thick) slices day-old French bread
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 medium apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon butter
  

Place bread in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine eggs, milk, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla; pour half over bread. Top with half of the apples. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg and remaining sugar; sprinkle half over apples. Top with the remaining apples. Pour remaining egg mixture over apples and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. Dot with butter. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Red beans and rice

This is another recipe I got from my sister's MIL. It was a BIG hit at our house - it is really easy, inexpensive, and makes plenty.

2 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. Eckrich smoked sausage - I got the skinless kind (cut in 1/2" pieces)
1 sm. onion chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
3 cans kidney beans (don't drain)
1 can chicken broth
1 tsp. cajun seasoning (Sarah said her MIL bought her some that is called "smack your mama" or something like that - but I couldn't find it at Wal-Mart - I will keep my eyes out for it - she says it makes all the difference - but I used a different kind and it was still very good.)
3 cups cooked rice

Heat oil. Add sausage, onion, and garlic. Saute for 15 min. Mix in beans with juices, broth and cajun seasoning. Reduce heat - cover and simmer 45 min. Spoon over rice. Enjoy!

Company Chicken

This recipe is from my sister's MIL - it is really yummy and a great dish to make when you are having company - hence the name! Since we weren't having company on the night I made it - I decided to freeze half of it - I am not sure how it will taste once it is thawed - will get back to you on that. Also, it is really easy - which makes it great in my book.

6-8 chicken breasts (boneless)
8 green onions
paprika
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream

Place raw chicken in large casserole baking pan. Sprinkle with paprika, chopped green onions, and shredded cheese. Combine soups and sour cream - pour over chicken. Bake uncovered @ 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve over or with rice.

Corn Casserole

This is a Paula Deen original. I tried it for the first time last night and it was a big hit! And very easy.  

15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained

15 oz can cream-style corn

8 oz pkg Jiffy corn muffin mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased casserole dish.  Bake at 350, 45-60 minutes, or until golden brown.