Easy Baked Tortellini…

 

Sunday afternoon, my husband asked me what I was planning for dinner. I just spent most of the early afternoon making  and canning BBQ sauce, so I gave him two options. Either BBQ chicken on the grill, (there is nothing like grilling in 36°F weather) or baked tortellini.

My lovely husband put a screwed up looked on his face, and asked what kind of weird stuff I was going to feed him for dinner. He then played twenty questions, as to why would I bake tortellini and not just cook it as I normally do.

 This is typical in our house when I try to cook something he is not sure he will like. I learned early in our marriage, if he has not tried something, my husband will say he either does not like or is allergic to it. My best accomplishment was getting him to try Chinese food; it is now his favorite food!

I used two different types of tortellini both made by Buitoni brand. I used 9-ounce package of spinach tortellini and a 9-ounce package of cheese and sausage tortellini. You can use any variety you chose, I chose mine for the color. Since I used a meat tortellini, I did not add any additional meat, but you could add pound of a ground meat to the sauce.

You can used frozen spinach if you would like. I used a combination of garlic and onions, sautéed with oregano, basil, and ground thyme. If you use spinach, defrost then squeeze out excess liquid. I would add it to the pan with the onions and garlic mixture.

I served the baked tortellini with tossed salad and fresh bread sticks. What did my husband think of dinner? He went back for seconds… *Smile*

Ingredients:

18 ounces of tortellini

1 jar of spaghetti sauce, I use Prego Traditional sauce

Small onion, diced

2 Tablespoons garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

¼ cup parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded cheese variety your choice, I actually used a 4 cheese Mexican blend by Kraft.

Directions:

Preheat to 450°F

Cook tortellini per package instructions while in a small pan sauté onions and garlic. When onions are almost translucent, add basil, oregano and thyme.

Spray a 9X11 glass-baking dish with non-stick cooking spray like Pam.

Transfer onion and spices mixture to the glass dish, spread evenly on the bottom.

Drain tortellini, then pour on to the onion mix, pour spaghetti sauce over tortellini then top with cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Appetizers or Apateezers

If you watch show The Big Bang Theory, you will understand… “Apateezers.” For those of you who have not seen the show… you need to watch season three to get the joke.

The holidays are“party season" and  I thought I would share with you today a few ideas for appetizers.

Hot Macadamia Dip  

This is a nice creamy dip that really brings out the flavor of the macadamia nuts. This is served warm with crackers.

Ingredients:

11 ounces cream chesse, softened

2 Tablespoons milk

1 – 2 ½ ounce jar of dried chipped beef, shredded

1/3 cup onion, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

¾ cup chopped green pepper

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

¼  teaspoon ground ginger

¾ cup sour cream

½ coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F

 Blend cream cheese and milk until smooth

Stir in beef, pepper, garlic , ginger,  onion, green pepper. Fold in sour cream, pour into a glass pie plate or shallow baking dish.

In small skillet, sauté the nuts in butter until thoroughly glazed. Sprinkle glazed nuts over mixture and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. This should make 12 to 15 servings

This next recipe comes from Light & Tasty magazine Dec. 2008. If you saw these across a room, you would think they were a version of deviled eggs. The cucumbers are peeled, sliced in half then stuffed. This recipe makes 44 servings.

 Nutritionally, this would be a great choice for healthy low fat appetizers. The breakdown is as follows: 1 canape equals 6 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 27 mg sodium, 1 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: Free food.

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Canapes Recipe

Ingredients

2 medium cucumbers, peeled

4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon capers, drained

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.

Spoon into cucumber halves.

Wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until filling is firm. Cut into 1/2-in. slices. Yield: about 3-1/2 dozen.

I found this next recipe on Disney.com and even though it is more geared for children, I know a few adults and teens would go bonkers over these cute little Taco Cups. The recipe only makes about a dozen cups. I would suggest you double it if you are having a good size get together.  I think the kids and I will make these for dinner!

Taco Cups

Ingredients:

1 can of refried beans

½ pound cooked and seasoned ground beef

1 cup shredded cheese, you can use cheddar, I prefer a Mexican blend

1 cup of salsa

½ sour cream

½ sliced black olives

1 bag of Tostitos Scoops

 Optional if making for adults - ¼ cup sliced jalapenos

Directions:

Set chips on a large platter and layer each chip with beans, meat, cheese, salsa, sour cream and olives

This next recipe was sent to from my Dad, he found it on cooking.com It is a nice spin on stuffed mushrooms, using Brie and crabmeat. The recipe calls for jumbo lump crabmeat, if the cost is too much you can try using the imitation crab meat. 

Brie and Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

18 large mushrooms, stems removed & chopped

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 teaspoon garlic salt

2 tablespoons minced onion

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

4 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

3 ounces Brie, cut in 18 pieces

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F

Wash and dry mushrooms, remove stems.

Place mushroom caps on a cookie sheet. Brush caps with some of the butter and sprinkle with garlic salt.

In a skillet, sauté the mushroom stems, onion and Worcestershire sauce using the remaining butter.

In a bowl, mix crabmeat and mayonnaise.

Fill caps with mushroom and onion mixture.

Top with crabmeat and Brie. Bake for 10 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and cheese is melted.

The last recipe is from Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade. This would great if you need to transport a dish for either work or family gathering, since it is made in a 4 quart crock-pot. I picked this recipe for my sister, husband and daughter, who if given the chance would live on bacon!

 Spicy Cheese and Bacon Dip

 Ingredients:

16 ounce box of Velveeta cheese

½ pound pepper Jack cheese, shredded. If you can find it, try using Sonoma Jack Cheese

8 ounces of cream cheese, softened

10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with habanero peppers

¾ cup cooked crispy, crumbled bacon

¼ cup diced green chiles

½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Tortilla chips

Directions:

Coat a 4 quart crock-pot with cooking spray, before adding cheeses, tomatoes, bacon, chiles, and pepper sauce. Stir well

Cover and cook on low setting for 3 to 4 hours. Stir once halfway through cooking time.

Serve warm with tortillas

Morgan's Breakfast Pizza...

This morning for breakfast, I ate split pea soup with two biscuits crumbled into it. Strange I know, but it was tasty, it was like a split pea and dumpling soup. There is no rule saying you have to eat traditional breakfast foods only for breakfast. If there were, many people would get upset they could not have pancakes, eggs and sausage for dinner.

My daughter hates to eat breakfast during the week. I tell her to eat something; I do not care what she eats as long as she eats. Usually she makes smart choices; a few times, she has pushed the limits with wanting ice cream. This is where I have to take a step back and bite my tongue, because I did say “eat something, I don’t care what.” Oh the pitfall of parenting a teenager!

Many college students live on pizza, for all three meals. Why not? One slice of a thin crust pizza loaded with vegetables is actually a better choice than cookies and a coke.
My husband’s roommate, Morgan likes to play in the kitchen, and try new things as much as I do. One item he makes is weaving bacon into a basket. Morgan will then fill it with various items and cooks it on a charcoal grill. More like a heart attack waiting to happen if you ask me, since the main filling is sausage.

I have decided that Morgan’s breakfast pizza is a better choice to share with you. It is a great way to use the leftover scrambled eggs from breakfast instead of feeding them to the dog or throwing them out. Personally, I would also add some onions and maybe green peppers, but to each their own.

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury pizza crust
Salsa, heat your choice
4 eggs scrambled
Pico de Gallo
Thick cut bacon, cooked and chopped
Ham steak, cubed
Kraft 4 cheese blend, grated
Kraft pepper jack cheese, grated
Directions:
Heat oven per the pizza dough directions
Roll dough onto a pan, spoon salsa over the dough
Add cheeses
Add ham, bacon, eggs and Pico de Gallo
Cook per directions on the pizza dough can.

Enchilada Lasagna

So you planned on making enchiladas from dinner, only to find out someone has opened your tortillas. Instead of eight you only have six, not enough to feed the entire family. I have hit this dilemma several times over the years. Instead of coming up with something different to cook, I use what I have.

If you must put a name to it, you can call it enchilada lasagna. You can use four or six tortillas, depending on preference. I serve with refried beans and Spanish rice. I will dress it up bit and lay the enchilada slices on a bed of shredded iceberg lettuce.

Ingredients:

1 pound of browned ground meat, your choice

6 tortillas

1 can of enchilada sauce, I use Old El Paso

2 cups grated cheese, I use Kraft Mexican blend or Cheddar Jack Cheese

Salsa, you choice

Sour Cream

Directions:

Spray a glass 9” X 13” pan with Pam cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°F

Reserve half cup of cheese

Mix browned ground meat, prefer beef, with half can of enchilada sauce

In pan layer of tortilla, ground beef, and cheese, repeat until you end with a tortilla on top

Pour remaining enchilada sauce on to top tortilla, followed by salsa and reserved cheese

Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes or cheese is completely melted.

Serve by cutting into squares, top with sour cream

Crock-pot or Not Chorizo Taco Salad

If you have never had Chorizo sausage, you are missing out. I came across this pork sausage mixed with chilies a few years ago. It quickly became a favorite in our house. We use it in chili, a southwest egg scramble, or just a substitute in tacos.

No glands, in their sausage

One of the most important things you need to know about Chorizo sausage, is to look at the ingredients on the package.

As disgusting as it sounds, check the ingredient list to make sure you are only getting pork. Some companies, will add the glands from the pig, you do not want this.

I prefer a company called Ole Mexican foods; you can find the sausage at Wal-mart. Do not look for it in the meat department or where the bacon and breakfast sausages are kept. Most Wal-marts, have a section with Hispanic foods including cheeses, tortillas, and Chorizo at the end of the refrigerated aisle.



This brand has glands



Adapted Cheesy Chorizo Chili by Sandra Lee

 We actually use this chili recipe for taco salads. The original recipe came from Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade, out of her Money-Saving Slow Cooking cookbook.

I have changed the recipe for our liking, by omitting green chilies, and chipote pepper. Without making these adjustments, it was just too spicy for us. This is how we came to eat it, as a taco salad.

You can eat this as chili, top with green onions and shredded cheese. We like to place tortilla chips in a soup bowl, and ladle the chili over the chips. We then add onions, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole, to turn it into a taco chili salad.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

1 pound chorizo sausage

1 15 ounce can cannellini beans (white kidney beans) rinsed and drained

1 15 ounce can dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 10 ounce can Campbell's cheddar cheese soup

1 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes, variety of your choice

1 tablespoon +1 teaspoon fajita seasoning, (see stop your seasoning packet addiction blog entry)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

Crockpot Directions:

Remove chorizo sausage from casings

In a large skillet over medium heat brown, the chorizo as you would ground beef. Drain in a colander

In your Crockpot, stir together all ingredients until combined

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours

Stove Top Directions:

Remove Chorizo from casing and brown in soup pot. Transfer to colander to drain.

Replace pot to stove, add all ingredients, including drained Chorizo stir until well blended.

Warm over medium heat.

I usually add about a half a cup of water, when I cook this on the stove. You can add more or less if desired. I like to thin it out, to make it saucy. This way the sauce soaks into the chips like Chiliqueles.    

You can use whatever tortilla chips you would like or you can make your own:

3 cups vegetable oil

36 tortillas (corn or flour your choice)

Salt

Paprika

Bring your oil to 350°F

In small batches, fry the tortillas until crisp and light usually run 2 to 3 min. drain in a bowl on paper towels and season with salt and paprika while still warm.

Please take note of the fact while resting in a bowl your tortilla chips will continue to darken



Low Fat, Hungarian Chicken, with Cheddar Buttered Pan Biscuits

If you have read my profile, you would've read about my mother winning the Pillsbury bake off contest. Both my mother and my aunt competed in cooking contests. Even though I don't think personally I'm a good cook, I come by it honestly.
 The recipe today is Hungarian chicken. My aunt, took second place in the West Virginia state competition with this recipe in 1974. In order to reach the state level competition, she had to win three preliminary cooking competitions. The winner of the state competition was awarded $100, and an all expense paid trip to the national poultry cook-off in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
 One of the judges at the state competition, was the chef at the governor's house of West Virginia. After this competition was over, he approached my aunt, and asked if he could have a copy of the recipe. The judge enjoyed this recipe so much, he wanted to cook it for Governor, Arch A. Moore, Jr. Of course, my aunt could not refuse this request! A while after the competition was over she received a letter from Gov. Moore, expressing how much he enjoyed her Hungarian chicken recipe.
My husband loved this recipe. When he finished eating, he immediately called my aunt. I did screw this recipe up, when I made it. I did not reduce the liquid enough, even though I thought I had. If this happens to you don’t stress, it is fixable!
Pour half cup of liquid from pan into a bowl; add two heaping serving teaspoons of cornstarch to the bowl. Mix until smooth, return liquid to your pot and bring to a boil. This will thicken up the liquid; serve as suggested.
I did not have any egg noodles. I served ours, over half cup portions of steamed white rice. I also had made cheddar buttered pan biscuits.  These were great for soaking up any liquid/gravy on your plate.

The original recipe goes as follows:
1 chicken fryer cut into four to six pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups Mazola oil
6 cups chicken bouillon or chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons Ac-cent
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste


This is how I made this recipe:
5 pieces of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 medium onion chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups water, boiled with three Chicken bouillon cubes, disolved
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup Daisy sour cream, a nonfat
Salt, black pepper to taste.
*I did not use Ac-cent because it is MSG, there is enough MSG in the bouillon cubes*
Directions:
Sauté onion and garlic in oil in a large skillet. Salt-and-pepper chicken; brown in skillet. Add bay leaves and bouillon water; cover tightly and simmer for one hour. Remove chicken, be sure to keep it warm. Cook liquid down to half the amount; stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
*Recipe suggestion: Try replacing the chicken with turkey or pork chops*

Cheddar Buttered Pan Biscuits
These are a quick and simple, addition you can make to most meals. You can change the variety of cheese depending on the type of dish you are serving. If you are going to serve enchilada lasagna, you might consider using a pepper Jack cheese. If you're going to you serve a tomato Italian-based meal, consider using Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon white sugar
3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon basil leaves, fresh preferred
1 tablespoon parsley, fresh preferred
1 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. In 9 in. glass-baking pan melt butter in oven.
Meanwhile in medium bowl combine all ingredients except the milk.
Slowly add milk until just moist, turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 10 times or until smooth.
Roll dough into a 12 x 4" rectangle. Cut into 12 one-inch strips.
Remove pan from oven and roll each strip into the melted butter. Place in same pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 min. or until lightly browned.

Green Bean Supreme and Honey Smoked Pork Chops



It is well know I cannot leave a recipe alone, I have to tinker with each of them. The green bean supreme recipe came from my mother-in-law, when I married her son. This dish is a staple on our holiday table, and to be honest, I did not really tinker with this one too much until the other day.

Green Bean Supreme
Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 small yellow onion minced

2 Tablespoons of flour

2 Tablespoons of water

½ teaspoon of fresh lemon peel

1 large 28-33 ounce can of French style green beans (drained) I prefer Del-Monte brand

1 cup sour cream

½ cup of crushed Ritz crackers

1 cup Kraft Colby/Jack finely shredded cheese

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F

In skillet melt butter add onion and sauté until translucent.

Gradually stir in flour, lemon peel, and then water making a roux.

Add drained green beans and sour cream into skillet mix well.

Pour into a 2 quart baking dish, sprinkle with crushed red pepper.

Cover top with cheese then crushed Ritz crackers

Bake for 30 minutes

** You can omit the red peppers, if you prefer. They give a bit of spice and heat but not enough to be spicy**

Honey Smoked Pork Chops

3 Tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

3 Tablespoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon hot Chinese mustard

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

4 thick center cut pork chops

Ingredients:

Pre-heat oven 350°F

Mix ginger, sage, garlic, liquid smoke and honey in bowl.

 Line small baking pan with aluminum foil,

Brush all sides of pork chop with butter then place on pan.

Brush honey smoke mix on chops, place in oven for 15 minutes

After 15 minutes flip chops over and brush with remaining mix cook an additional twenty minutes

Tomatoes…

I know you are saying, “It is the end of the summer, why are you writing about tomatoes?”

Last fall we moved new part of the country, and the planting season starts later here. By the time, spring came around my son and I were craving to get our hands into the soil and plant a garden. We were not sure how much shade the trees surrounding the yard were going to give us. We settled on planting in buckets in case we had to rearrange for sunlight.

Every Saturday morning, I get up way to early and visit the local farmers market. One of the venders sells plants and during the spring has tomatoes. My son and I went a little wild and bought eight different varieties.

The tomatoes did ok, but with too much rain this year, a good percentage of the fruit rotted on the vine. We had one powerhouse producer called Jellybean. These little tomatoes look like red jellybeans and have a wonderful taste. Most of them did not make into the house; we would pop them in our mouth between swimming in the pool. 

Daily harvest of Jellybean tomatoes

Here we are now at the end of September, and my tomato plants have decided to go bonkers pumping out fruit. One plant produced three tomatoes the entire summer, now it has close to thirty good size green tomatoes.

So what should I do with them? I could fry them, but my family is not big on fried tomatoes. I cannot process them; I do not have a pressure cooker. I have made salsa; but I do not have a way to process it. I could be freeze them, but the freezer is bursting now with freezer jam and other tasty foodstuffs.

My only option is hope the tomatoes will a get a chance to ripen. Then, I can make the lovely Tomato Pie recipe I found over on Christy Jordan’s Southern Plate this summer. I have made this and it is good as written, but my family would not touch it.

If you would like the recipe here is the link http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/tomato-pie.html

I personally did not care for the mayonnaise on top. Christy states you could not taste it, I did.  For my family to eat this I would follow the step of salting the tomatoes and letting them sit, delete the mayo, double the fresh basil and balsamic vinegar. Increase the layering while using Italian cheeses, like Mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a Smokey Provolone. This way would be making it more of a sauce less tomato pizza.

This is what makes cooking is so much fun, you get to tinker and adjust recipes to your preferences.

As always, pass this along to your friends!

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Southwest Potatoes

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Pan-fried then baked these potatoes pack a lot of flavor. This versatile side dish that could be used in many ways. Without the cheese topping, these would be great with scrambled eggs or take it step further and serve in tortillas with eggs, bacon or sausage and a little salsa.

Serve with the cheese and sour cream for a Taco Bell knock-off dish, or add left over roast chicken and serve in tortillas. Whichever way you choose these potatoes will have your family coming back for more.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of small potatoes diced into 1 inch pieces     

2 tablespoons of cumin

2 tablespoons of garlic powder

1 small package of Velveeta

1/3 cup of salsa

2 tablespoons of canola oil (vegetable oil, bacon grease would be the wonderful!)

¼ cup of sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475°F

Place potatoes, cumin and garlic powder in plastic storage bag or large bowl, toss until potatoes are well coated.

In large oven safe skillet warm oil, add potatoes and pan fry for ten minutes or until golden brown and tender.

Place skillet in oven for ten minutes stirring at five minutes.  If needed cook an additional five minutes (15 minutes total) until potatoes are crispy.

Slice Velveeta into 1 inch cubes, place in microwave safe bowl (I prefer my 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup) with salsa, cook on high, two minutes at time. Stir between intervals until the cheese is melted and smooth.  

Place ¼ to ½ cup portions of potatoes on dish, topping with cheese and a teaspoon of sour cream

We get 4 to 6 servings from this dish