Sushi Salad…

I tried a new recipe yesterday and thought some of you might enjoy it; it will serve five people.  I like sushi, but don’t really have the budget to eat it all the time. This recipe will give you all most the element of sushi without having to learn to how to roll.

The recipe calls for small, shelled, cooked shrimp. I would suggest if you can find small bay shrimp, you use them. They are tiny and sweet and would be perfect for this recipe. If you don’t like or are allergic to shrimp, try substituting crab or imitation crabmeat.

The directions state to use five large butter lettuce leaves, to place each serving on. Instead of using large butter head, lettuce leaves, I bought a package of chopped butter lettuce.

Even thought the recipe did not call for it, it placed a few dots of Wasabi on my plate and it really made a big difference. When I do buy sushi, I usually eat the pickled ginger first. Yes, I know it is to go on top of the sushi, but I love to eat it. I purposely avoid the sushi aisle at the Asian market, so I won’t buy a big old jar of it!

 

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Heaven On A Bone and Rice with Pine Nuts…

This might seem like a strange combination, but it is wonderful!

 Many of you might be saying to yourself, “Pine nuts? I have never had those.”  Well if you have eaten Pesto sauce, then you have had pine nuts.

Pine nuts are actually a little sweet and tender. There is a miniscule taste of pine, that if you are not looking for it you will miss it. Where can you buy pine nuts? The baking aisle, in your grocery store or health food store.

I love this recipe it is super simple.  The broth seasoning and butter, mixed with the pine nuts, gives plain rice a warm woody taste. There are golden raisins in this recipe. My family does not care for raisins in their food; I just omit them. If you do omit them, try adding in ¼ teaspoon of crushed red peppers.

I like to pair this with a baked chicken breast recipe called Heaven on a Bone.

The recipe calls for skinless chicken breast.  I personally don’t care for bones in my chicken breast, so I use boneless skinless chicken breasts. When I received this recipe, it was a recipe of ingredients only, no amounts or measurements. I have tinkered with the ingredient amounts. I think I have come up with the correct proportions.

 Feel free though to add or subtract any of the amounts to your own liking… After all, we are not baking pastry we are cooking chicken!

The recipe calls for breadcrumbs mixed with butter. I prefer to use Ritz brand crackers because of their butter taste and omit the extra butter.

So what does this taste like? The honey gives the chicken a hint of sweetness, while also sealing in the juices. This will not be a dried out chicken breast! The crackers add a crunchy, mild saltiness and the cheese makes it a bit sharp; it really is heaven!

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Seven Layer Casserole...

We have all heard of and maybe even consumed seven layer dip, but what about seven layer casserole? I saw on Southern Food while looking for a tamale pie recipe and thought it was interesting. I would suggest adding a taco seasoning, omitting the bacon and changing the tomato sauce with a can of Rotel. Before serving top with salsa, sour cream and guacamole. I would serve with refried beans and tortillas.

Ingredients:

·         1 cup uncooked rice, washed and drained

·         1 cup whole kernel corn, drained

·         dash salt and pepper

·         1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water

·         1/2 cup chopped onion

·         1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

·         3/4 to 1 pound extra lean ground beef, uncooked and broken up

·         dash salt and pepper

·         1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

·         4 strips bacon, cut in half

·         1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese or Cheddar Jack blend

Preparation:

Layer the ingredients in a buttered 1 1/2- to 2-quart casserole in the order given. Cover and bake at 350° for 1 hour. Uncover and cook 30 minutes longer, until bacon is crisp. Top the casserole with the shredded cheese the last 10 to 15 minutes.
Seven layer casserole serves 4.

Stuffed Poblano Peppers...

A few months ago, I made stuffed bell peppers with Mexican seasonings. They came out ok, not great. The bell pepper taste was too powerful. I had used plain rice and did not get the seasonings strong enough. The measurements for spices, I used this can be increased per your personal choice. I would not use any less; if you do, it would be bland.

Poblano peppers are very hot until cooked. I would suggest you wear gloves when preparing them for the oven. You might be careful without using gloves, but a few hours later if you touch your eyes or mouth they WILL be set a flame! By roasting the peppers, you are removing almost all of the spicy fire and are left with a sweet tasting pepper.

Ingredients:

½ pound lean ground beef

4 poblano peppers

Knoor Brand Spanish Rice Package

1 10 oz. can of Rotel Tomatoes

1 15 oz. can of black beans

½ cup frozen or canned corn kernels

2 cups water

3 green onions (optional)

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Shredded cheese (we used a Mexican blend)

Chopped cilantro, sour cream and sliced olives for serving (optional)

Directions:

Brown and drain the ground beef.

Rinse the black beans and drain on colander with Rotel.

Prepare the peppers: slice them in half and remove the seeds and ribs.

Place the peppers in a baking dish skin side up. Broil about 7 minutes, then flip the peppers and broil 7 minutes more.

 In a large medium pot, combine: rice, water, beans, onions, Rotel , and corn, cook per rice instructions.

 When rice mixture is cooked add ground beef, and spices.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the pepper halves skin side down in a baking dish, and spoon the filing into each half. Top with shredded cheese and broil until the cheese is melted, for about 1½ to 2 minutes.

If desired, garnish with chopped cilantro, sour cream and black olives and serve with sour cream

The Porky Pine, A Halloween Meatball...



Porky Pines with Garlic Peas

Growing up my mom would make Porky Pines. What is a Porky Pine? Porky Pines are a meatball with rice cooked inside and served with pasta sauce over the top.

 My siblings and I always gobbled these down; there were never any leftovers. Mom served them with steamed green peas, and salad. This time, I used the garlic butter I made the other day  to season the peas, and it made a nice change.

The first time I made Porky Pines, it was Halloween. There was a huge uproar from my husband, when he saw them cooking in the pot.  He asked to me why are there maggots in the meat. I about died of horror! I had just bought the meat from the commissary and knew it was fresh. I bolted into the kitchen, then almost fell over with laughter, when I realized what he was looking at.

 My picky husband was not too happy about the idea of trying these. However, with coaxing from the kids (who were six and four years old), he tried them. The poor man, remined me of Dr. Suess's Green Eggs and Ham story. His first  bite went down with a gulp and ended with a smile. While they are not his most favorite food to eat, he does enjoy them every so often. 

 Yes, I have changed the recipe by adding more spices.  I hope my siblings will find the change for the better and like them. I have added Garam Marsla, which gives a slight smokey under tone. Also mint gives it a bit of fresh taste, without being minty.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground beef, lean

1 cup of uncooked whole grain rice (we use white, brown is acceptable)

1 carrot finely grated, or you can mince (the idea is for the kids (or my dad) not see the carrots)

1 egg, beaten

1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon garam marsla

Water

24 oz Jar of Prego, Heart Smart, Traditional Spaghetti Sauce

*The secret ingredient is 1/2 teaspoon of fresh mint, minced*

Directions:

In large bowl, combine beef, carrots, egg, pepper, garlic and Worcestershire Sauce with your hands making sure all ingredients are well combined.

Using about a 1 cup portion, form mixture into balls and place in a skillet. Once all mixture is formed into balls, add enough water to cover ¾ ways up the meatball. Cover and cook on stovetop at medium high heat until majority of water has cooked out.

Turn down heat to low, pour Prego sauce over meatballs, heat until warm then serve.

This recipe is easy to half if there are just three or less people. If there are leftovers, make a Porky Pine sub for lunch the next day.

Comfort Food - Red Beans and Rice

Webster Dictionary defines comfort food as food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.

Red Beans and Rice is a comfort food in our house.

My husband was stationed in Virginia for nearly a decade and we loved every minute of it. During our tenure, we became with close friends with a two families. Cheryl and Victor adopted us into their family. They become adopted grandparents to our children, since all the grandparents lived across the country. With Cheryl and Victor, we had the loud, extended family gatherings. Holidays were not just a meal with them. These were events, with good company, great food and always served with Cheryl's yeast rolls made from scratch.

Our other extended family is Ron and Cindy. Here are two people from radically different parts of the country. Cindy is from Vermont; Ron is a crazy Cajun from Louisiana. Ron and I trade Roux and Andouille sausage for BBQ sauce. Since certain ingredients are only available once a year, I usually have a debt to make up when it comes time to make BBQ sauce.

I will not attempt to make Ron’s Gumbo it is just too perfect. Red Beans and Rice I have been tinkering with for several years now. Whenever I ask my family what they want to eat, my youngest and fussiest eater asks for Red Beans and Rice.

I usually make Red Beans and Rice in a crock-pot, so this requires a few days advance planning.  I know there are times when you want it now, not two or three days later. I am going to provide the recipe for both versions.

Two things to look out for when buying a ham hock:

•         Try to find one with as much meat as possible. I have found the best ones at the local farmers market.

•         Have a potato on hand. Once I bought a ham hock from a different grocer, the ham hock was incredibly salty. If the red beans are too salty, cut raw the potato into chunks and place in your pot, remove before serving.

Red Beans and Rice

Cook time 3-4 hours on stove top

1 pound of dried red beans

1/2 to 3/4 pound smoked ham hock
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 cup bacon drippings
1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
4 to 5 cups long grain rice, cooked

*I use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning instead of spices above. I would say use at least 1 Tablespoon*

Wash and sort red beans before placing in deep pot with 8-9 cups water. Bring to boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let set for 2 hours.
Drain off water and refill pot with fresh water before placing back on heat at moderate to slow boil. Add ham hock and seasonings to pot. When meat is falling off the hock, remove from heat until cooled enough to remove meat from the bone. Before placing meat back in pot, use a potato masher and mash half of the beans, this should cause a creamy texture. (Alternative is to remove two cups of beans and place in food processor for 4-6 seconds) cook slowly on low heat stirring often. Add cooked rice and gently stir well before serving.

Red Beans and Rice in a Crock-pot

1 pound of dried red beans

1 pound smoked ham hock

 Water
1 to 2 Tablespoons of Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning
4 to 5 cups cooked long grain rice

Wash and sort red beans before placing in deep pot with 8-9 cups water, soak twelve to twenty-four hours. Drain and rinse beans before placing in 6-quart crock. Add ham hock and enough water to cover both beans and hock before adding Creole seasoning. I put a light coating of seasoning over the entire pot. Replace lid and cook on low for six hours

Remove ham hock, place on a plate to cool while you tamp the red beans with a potato masher for one minute. This will cause thickening giving the beans a creamy sauce like texture. Shred meat from the ham hock and stir back into the bean mixture. Replace lid.

I actually turn off the crock-pot at this point and let the pot stand for one hour. If you cook often with a crock-pot, you know they stay hot for a long time. This will give the beans to thicken up more without cooking them further and making red bean paste. If you end up with paste, just stir in ¼ cup of water.

Serve over cooked rice and cornbread with honey, Yum!