Recipe #212: Spaetzle, Sauerkraut and Sausage Casserole

I was going to do my usual meal with kielbasa and sauerkraut by just cutting up and frying the kielbasa in a pan and then adding the sauerkraut to the pan to warm it up, but I found a recipe in the meanwhile that I modified to make this.  I'm glad I tried it because the meal was good when I ate it, but it was the LEFTOVERS that were phenomenal!

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 small Gala (or similar) apple, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 16oz package sauerkraut
1 16oz package kielbasa, cut into coins

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the bacon in a skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the bacon is crisp.  Remove the bacon, leaving the drippings in the pan, and set aside.  Cook the onion in the same pan until browned.  Remove the onions.  Add butter, apple, and brown sugar to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.  In a bowl, mix the spaetzle, onions, butter, apple mixture and sauerkraut together.  Put this mixture into a greased 9x9 casserole dish.

Brown the kielbasa in the pan.  Layer on top of the casserole dish.  Bake for 15 minutes in the oven.

Recipe #211: Sesame Salmon with Lemon and Green Onion

I found this recipe in Cooking Light magazine, and it was really fresh and had a nice combination of flavors and textures.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find black sesame seeds, so it wasn't as pretty as the picture.  It tasted great regardless!

Ingredients

• 
  4 (6-ounce) sustainable salmon fillets (such as wild Alaskan)
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 2 cups (1-inch) slices green onions
• 5 thin lemon slices, halved
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup baby arugula (I used an arugula spinach mix)

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. 2. Arrange salmon in a single layer on a baking pan coated with cooking spray. Combine sesame seeds and 3/8 teaspoon salt; sprinkle evenly over flesh sides of fillets, pressing gently into fish. Bake at 400° for 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.
3. 3. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl. Add green onions; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon slices; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle green onion mixture with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper. Place 1 fillet on each of 4 plates. Place arugula in a medium bowl. Add green onion mixture to bowl with arugula; toss. Divide arugula mixture evenly among servings.  (I changed this- I added the arugula and spinach to the pot with the onion mixture and wilted it some.)

Recipe #210: Bolognaise Sauce (Pressure Cooker)

My mom gave me a pressure cooker as a gift awhile back, but I was scared of using it.  I finally tried a recipe tonight, and my biggest problem was preventing myself from eating too much!  This was DELICIOUS!  Obviously bacon makes ANYTHING better...  I served it over whole grain spaghetti.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4oz bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used minced garlic instead)
2 tbsp tomato paste
Pinch mixed herbs or Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
375ml beef stock
2 tablespoons cornflour

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil in the open cooker and fry the bacon and vegetables until lightly browned.  Remove from pot.

Brown the ground beef in the oil.  Add all ingredients except cornflour to the pot and stir well.  Close the lid, bring to pressure and cook for 15 minutes.

Release the pressure QUICKLY.

Add cornflour to the pot and bring to a boil and cook till thickened.  Serve with spaghetti and grated parmesan cheese.

Recipe #209: Thai Butternut Soup

It's been too long since my last post!  Lately, I've been making my old standby meals for the most part.  I had time today to look through my neglected issues of Cooking Light magazine, and I knew I had to make this!  Very rich and filling, and I'm glad I have plenty of leftovers.  I used fresh squash instead of frozen, which required five more minutes of simmering.

Ingredients

• 
  1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 1/2 teaspoons red curry paste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth 
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 (12-ounce) packages frozen pureed butternut squash  (OR 4 cups cubed fresh butternut squash)
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

• Preparation

  1. 1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add curry paste, garlic, and ginger; sauté 45 seconds, stirring constantly.
  2. 2. Add broth and next 5 ingredients (through salt); cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. (Simmer an additional 5 minutes if using fresh squash)  Place half of squash mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture. Spoon about 1 cup soup into each of 4 bowls; top with 2 tablespoons peanuts and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Recipe #208: Lasagna Soup

A soup that tastes like, well, lasagna!  Easy to make one-pot meal that's really hearty and I bet makes for delicious leftovers!  Recipe recommended by a friend from spoonful.com

INGREDIENTS

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage (bulk or with casings removed)
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 ounces fusilli pasta
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
• 8 ounces ricotta
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

DIRECTIONS

1. 2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and sauté, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain any excess fat from the pot. Add the onions and sauté until softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and sauté until the paste turns a rusty brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the broth, and the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
      
      
   3. 
      
      Add the pasta, then increase the heat to medium-high and boil the soup until the pasta is tender to the bite, following the time recommendations on the pasta package. Discard the bay leaves, then stir in the basil. If desired, season with salt and black pepper to taste.
      
      
      
      
      
      
   4. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta, the Parmesan, the 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pinch of pepper. To serve, place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture in each bowl, sprinkle with some of the mozzarella, and ladle the soup on top. Makes about 13 cups.
      
      

Recipe #207: Creamy Butternut, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Cavatappi

I only had to read the title to this one in my Cooking Light magazine to know that I'd make this and like it.  And I did.  Very hearty and filling but still very fresh tasting.  I think some chicken would be good with this as a tweak to the recipe.  It would be nice as a side dish too.  I needed more walnuts than the recipe used.  I'm looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Ingredients

• 
  Cooking spray
• 8 ounces uncooked cavatappi
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk, divided 
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour 
• 2 large egg yolks 
• 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)
• 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Combine squash, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 24 minutes or until tender, stirring once.
3. 3. Cook the pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta; keep warm.
4. 4. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in 1/2 cup milk, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, and yolks in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly add egg mixture to pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently with a whisk.
5. 5. Combine squash, pasta, and milk mixture in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.

Recipe #206: Sausage and Rice-Stuffed Acorn Squash

I was so disappointed when I finished eating this meal because I wanted more.  DELICIOUS!!  The combination of flavors and textures was perfect, and this was fun to make, too.  From Cooking Light magazine...  Note, the original recipe called for 4 squashes, but I only used two and kept the same amount of filling.  If you want to make 4 squashes, DOUBLE the rest of the ingredients.

• INGREDIENTS

• 2 small acorn or sweet dumpling squashes (about 10 ounces each)
• 2 (4-ounce) links sweet Italian sausage, casings removed 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion 
• 1/3 cup chopped celery 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 ounce Swiss cheese, shredded (about 1/4 cup) 

DIRECTIONS

1. 1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. 2. Place whole squashes in a roasting pan. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until just tender. Let stand for 15 minutes. Halve squashes. Scoop out seeds; discard.
3. 3. Preheat broiler to high.
4. 4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan; drain on paper towels. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel.
5. 5. Return pan to medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add celery; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in sausage, rice, and next 5 ingredients (through Parmesan). Divide rice mixture evenly among squash halves. Sprinkle evenly with Swiss cheese. Arrange squash halves on a baking sheet; broil 4 minutes or until golden and cheese is melted.
6. 
   

The filling before being piled into the squashes

Recipe #205: Chicken and Leek Soup

I was a bit liberal on amounts in this recipe (mostly adding stuff, but probably not enough broth, so it was more of a stew than a soup).... the leeks seemed to vanish into the soup once they cooked, so it was more like a chicken veggie soup instead.  I thought about not posting this one because it didn't turn out quite how I wanted, but I couldn't deny that it tasted good and hearty.  Maybe next time I'll have less chicken in it and cut the leeks thicker.  Great base recipe.  I added a little bit of dill to it too.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 lbs frying chickens, cut up (I used a mix of boneless/skinless thighs and breast tenders)
4 cups water (One of these I replaced with chicken broth)
1 medium carrot, sliced (I used 3 smallish ones)
1 stalk celery, sliced (I used 2)
1/2 cup barley (I used 3/4c)
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (I had cubes, and used 2)
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups leeks, with tops (sliced and cleaned very well) (I didn't use the tops as much)
DIRECTIONS:

Heat all ingredients except leeks to boiling in large stockpot or Dutch oven.Reduce heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Add leeks.
Bring back to a boil; reduce heat.
Cover and simmer until thickest pieces of chicken are done, about 15 minutes.
Remove chicken from broth and cool slightly; remove chicken from bones and skin.
Skim fat from both and remove bay leaf.  (I didn't find any fat to skim...)
Cut chicken into 1 inch pieces and return to broth.
Heat about 5 minutes; serve.

Recipe #204: Lamb Stew

I was beside myself with excitement over this one.  I love lamb, and stew is perfect for winter.  It was fantastic!

My changes:
1.  I halved the recipe.  Well, minus the bacon- can't have enough bacon- I used a one-pound package.
2.  I didn't have flour.  This is because of an incident where only the previous day, I had to throw away all my flour.  I didn't notice anything lacking- not a big deal.  Definitely less of a mess, too.  I have bad luck with flour.
3.  I added peas.  Stews should have peas.
4.  I cooked the bacon in the big pot, removed it, browned the meat in that same pot, removed it, and did the rest before combining everything in that same pot.  No reason to dirty more dishes.
5.  I used a 3lb lamb leg (boneless) because shoulder was not available

Don't mind my laziness- I'm on vacation, after all.  I'm just going to copy and paste from allrecipes.com.  (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Irish-Lamb-Stew/Detail.aspx)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds thickly sliced bacon, diced 6 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2 inch pieces 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 cup water

4 cups beef stock 2 teaspoons white sugar 4 cups diced carrots 2 large onions, cut into bite-size pieces 3 potatoes 1 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
2.	Put lamb, salt, pepper, and flour in large mixing bowl. Toss to coat meat evenly. Brown meat in frying pan with bacon fat.
3.	Place meat into stock pot (leave 1/4 cup of fat in frying pan). Add the garlic and yellow onion and saute till onion begins to become golden. Deglaze frying pan with 1/2 cup water and add the garlic-onion mixture to the stock pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
4.	Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot. Reduce heat, and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Recipe #203: Baked Cornish Game Hens

I refuse to buy these cute little cornish game hens if they're frozen, which is unfortunate, since I have a hard time finding ones that aren't.  Luckily, my last trip to Giant Eagle resulted in buying my first hens in a long time.  I found this easy recipe on allrecipes.com and followed it exactly.  Depending on how much you want to eat, a hen will feed 1-2 people.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cornish game hens 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 onion, chopped 1/2 stalk celery, chopped 1/4 green bell pepper, chopped 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained

and chopped    2 cloves garlic, minced    1 tablespoon dried basil    1 teaspoon dried oregano    1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley    1/4 cup melted butter

DIRECTIONS:

	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
	In a small bowl combine the 1/2 cup melted butter, onion, celery, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, basil, oregano and parsley.
	Season hens inside and out with salt and pepper to taste, then stuff with equal amounts butter/vegetable mixture. Place stuffed birds in a 9x13 inch baking dish, breast side up. Drizzle with 1/4 cup melted butter.
	Cover dish and bake in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover and brown at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C).