Baked Tomatoes

Baked Tomatoes

 So this is what my windowsills look like: 

 

 To make summer or at least my summer tomatoes last as long as I can I have picked them and have them on my windowsills.  This means of course that I have been thinking of ways to use tomatoes.  I have made salsa, salads, sauce, you name it.  I came up with this the other night and it is simple but really tasty.  Would go great with a steak or pretty much anything as a side.  I used pretty large tomatoes to alter this to a little less if you are using smaller tomatoes. 

• 2 - 1/2 inch slices of tomato per person
• 1 Tbs mayo per slice
• 1 Tbs shredded mozzarella per slice
• 1 Tbs buttered breadcrumbs per slice (2 Tbs melted butter to 1/2 c breadcrumbs)
• 1/8 tsp Italian seasoning per slice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put the slices of tomato in a baking dish and spread on the mayo then sprinkle with mozzarella, breadcrumbs, then the Italian seasoning.  Bake for about 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the breadcrumbs are slightly crisp and brown.  Season with a bit or salt and pepper before serving. 

I'm back with Carbonara!

So I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging partially due to just the craziness of farm life and other things but mainly we have been cooking up a new addition to the family.  I am settled into things now though and want to get back to cooking and creating recipes that I love.  

I want to kick it off with my favorite pasta dish of all time!  This is a great version of carbonara and it has mushrooms which is also a favorite in our home, so it is fabulous in my opinion.  Hope you like it as well.  To make a basic carbonara you could just leave the mushrooms out.  Just be ready to eat when you are doing this because it is the best when it is eaten at once. 

Mushroom Carbonara

Makes 2 hearty servings:

• 2/3 pound linguine
• 4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 c slices mushrooms, I used Crimini but you could do one or a combination of varieties. 
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2/3 c heavy cream
• 1/2 c Parmesan, plus some extra for topping
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Get a large pot of water boiling and cook pasta.  In a medium sized skillet get your bacon cooking and saute until almost crisp.  Then add your mushrooms and cook until tender and bacon is crisp.

In a small bowl whisk to combine yolks, cream, Parmesan and black pepper.  Set aside. 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and put back into the pot and sent on the burner but have the burner turned off. Toss in your bacon and mushrooms.  Put the yolk and cream mixture in and toss well.  If it is real thick add a bit more cream, you want it to be a bit creamy because the pasta will absorb some of the sauce. Taste and season with salt if needed.  Serve immediately topped with additional Parmesan. 

 

Crayfish Fried Rice

I had a wild hair to catch some crayfish last week. I hadn't done it since I was a kid but I had caught them back then so why not now? I put the trap out and waited a couple days and I ended up catching 5 decent sized ones. Now I had to figure out what to make with them. I thought fried rice would be a good choice and it actually turned out really good. You could substitute shrimp or leave the meat out all together and it would still be tasty.

Crayfish Fried Rice

10-12 Crayfish, cooked and meat picked, roughly chopped (See Below)

2 Tbs canola oil
3 c cooked white rice, cooled
1 c chopped mushrooms
3 green onions, chopped
3 Tbs cilantro, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbs soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Bring pot of water to boil, drop crayfish into boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to shock. Once cool enough to handle, pull off tails and claws and remove meat. Then chop large pieces roughly and set aside.

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and add canola oil. Saute mushrooms for 1 minute then add green onions and cook until wilted. Stir in rice and let cook stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Next add cilantro, soy sauce and egg and stir to incorporate. season with salt and pepper to taste. Once egg is set plate and garnish with more cilantro.

Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

Blackened Salmon with Mango Salsa

• Portioned Salmon fillets with skin on
• 1 tsp per portion olive oil
• 1-2 tsp per portion, Traeger Blackened Saskatchewan Seasoning

Heat grill to high heat or 400-450 degrees. Take a double layer of foil and fold up the edges to make a pan of sorts to hold in any juices. Place the salmon skin side down on the foil and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the seasoning and rub into the fillet.

Place on the grill and cook for 12 minutes or until firm to the touch. While the salmon is cooking make the salsa that follows.

Mango Salsa

• 2 large mangoes, chopped
  
• 1/2 to 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 2 Tbs minced red bell pepper
• 2 tsp lime or lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar or honey
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

In a bowl combine all ingredients and let set aside for about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve over the fish or can be used as a salsa with tortilla chips.

Shrimp Salad

I made this shrimp salad for dinner last night and it turned out really good. I liked the dinner portion but this would probably be better as a side. Would be great at a picnic or potluck and it tastes really good on a hot day. For the life of me I couldn't get this picture to load right.. Is a bit sideways but you get what it looks like.

Shrimp Salad

Dressing:
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c may0
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbs chives, chopped
1 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Salad:
1-1.5 lb easy peel shrimp
1 lemon, quartered
2 Tbs seasoned salt (I used Traeger salmon shake)
1 rib of celery, chopped
1/2 of a hothouse cucumber, chopped
1 avocado, coarsely chopped
2/3 c tomato, roughly chopped
1 small carrot shredded


In a salad bowl combine the ingredients for the dressing and blend well. Set aside.
In a large saucepan 2/3 filled with water add the lemon and seasoning to the water. Bring to a boil and then add the shrimp. Allow to cook 3 or 4 minutes if frozen, 2 if fresh until they are pink and slightly firm. drain in a colander and shock with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Allow to cool completely and then peel.
Add shrimp and all of your vegetables to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat completely. Refrigerate for an hour to chill through or longer if you have the time.
I served it for dinner on a bed of lettuce or you can eat it alone as a side.

Shrimp Scampi

I thought I would post a recipe I did to use the compound butter I posted about. We had this for dinner on Friday night and it was really good. I served it over rice but traditionally this kind of sauce would be served over pasta like angel hair or spaghetti. Enjoy!

• 3 Tbs compound butter
• 3/4 pound medium shrimp, more or less depending on what size you buy
• 1 c roughly chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 c dry white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• white rice or pasta for serving

In a large skillet melt the compound butter over medium heat. Once it is hot add the bell pepper and saute until tender.
Add the shrimp and saute until they turn pink, add the tomato let cook for about 30 seconds. Add in the wine and cook until reduced slightly and the sauce in the pan is glossy and the flavors have melded a bit, about 2 minutes. Taste and season then serve over the rice or pasta.

Steak and Pear Salad

Jake and I really like this salad. It is part of the rotation of dinners in our house and it is a great lighter dinner but still has a lot of substance. We had a salad similar to this at a restaurant that had no meat in it and we have since tweaked it a bit and made it a dinner salad. This recipe can be multiplied easily to accommodate more servings. I use Girard's raspberry vinaigrette on this salad and it is really well balanced with the other ingredients.

Steak and Pear Salad

• 1 rib eye or New York strip steak
• 2 Tbs soy Sauce
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 Tbs olive oil
  
• 1/2 lb spring salad mix
• 1 ripe pear, cored and sliced
• 1/2 c pecan pieces
• 1/2 c blue cheese crumbles
• 3 Tbs Raspberry vinaigrette

In a shallow dish marinate the steak in the soy sauce and black pepper for 30 minutes at room temperature. The meat should be close to room temp when you cook it.
Once your steak is marinated, preheat a grill pan or skillet to medium high heat. Remove the steak from the marinade to dry a bit and drizzle with the olive oil. Put in the pan and cook to your desired doneness. While the steak is cooking toast your pecan pieces in a dry skillet over medium low heat. Make sure you keep them moving in the pan so that you don't burn them, the fat in them makes them burn very quickly! You will know when they are toasted because the smell of them changes. Once they smell toasted remove to cool on a saucer. It takes around 5 minutes to toast them but can take less depending on your pan and stove. While the steak is cooking prepare the other ingredients. In a salad bowl place the greens, blue cheese, cooled pecans and slice pear. Right before you are going to serve, toss with 2 Tbs of the raspberry vinaigrette. Divide between two dinner plates or can be 4 side salads.
Once the steak has finished cooking let it rest for about 10 minutes and then slice in thin strips and drizzle with 1 Tbs of the dressing. Toss to cover and then divide between the servings of salad. You can sprinkle with additional blue cheese if you like and cracked pepper.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 Tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 c rolled oats
• 2 Tbs olive oil

In a small bowl combine all ingredients until just combined. Form into 1 inch meatballs and fry in a large skillet in the olive oil until all sides are golden. Remove and set aside.

• 1/2 c sliced carrots
• 1/2 c red bell peppers, sliced
• 8 oz can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
• 1 c orange juice
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 Tbs corn starch
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

In the hot skillet with the remaining oil left from cooking the meat saute the carrot and peppers until almost tender. While that is cooking stir together the juices, soy sauce, corn starch and pepper, set aside. Once the veggies are cooked put in the meatballs and the pineapple and warm through together for a minute. Stir in the sauce and continue stirring until it is thickened and glossy. Serve over white rice.

Chicken and Manicotti

1. I was very excited to make some recipes out of my new "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" I got for Christmas. Thank you Jared! I started with a roasted chicken and it was very yummy basted with cream! With the leftovers I made the manicotti below and it turned out very tasty both times.

Chicken and Cheese

• 1 box manicotti shells
• 4 c marinara sauce or a jar of your favorite
• 1 pint cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 c chopped cooked chicken
• 1 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/4 c grated Parmesan
• 2 c shredded mozzarella

In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the pasta being careful not to stir too much or they will break. Cook until al dente and drain and rinse in a colander until cool.

In a medium skillet heat the olive oil and saute the mushrooms until browned and tender and set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl stir together the cottage cheese, chicken, mushrooms, seasonings, Parmesan and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella.

In a 13X9 baking dish place 1/2 c marinara in the bottom of the pan and spread around. Take a manicotti and stuff using a teaspoon with the filling mixture. Place on the bed of marinara and keep filling and lining your pan. Once you have them all stuffed and in the pan top with remaining sauce and sprinkle with last 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted. If you like you can remove foil and bake another 5 to 10 minutes to brown the top.

Serve with salad and bread and it is a very hearty meal.

Cream of Potato Soup

I was under the weather a while back and this soup always sounds good when it is cold outside or your not feeling great. It is creamy and rich and very tasty!

Cream of Potato Soup

• 6 strips of bacon, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 4 large baking potatoes, 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cups good quality stock
• 1 c cream
• Sour cream, cheese for garnish

In a large soup pot cook the chopped bacon on medium until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to some paper towels and save for the garnish. Into the bacon fat saute the onions until slightly soft and then put in the potato. Cook until they are softened on the outside and they have a gloss to them. Season with the salt, pepper, basil, garlic and stir to combine. Let saute for a minute or two more and then pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer and them cover and lower heat to medium low for about 30 minutes until the flavors are blended and all of the ingredients are very cooked and soft.

Remove from heat and blend up. I use an immersion blender but you can do it in batches in a food processor or blender. (Make sure you only fill the blender or food processor half full or it will overflow hot liquid.) Once you have it blended return it to your pan and stir in the milk. Warm through a bit on medium low.

Serve with sour cream, cheese and bacon bits on the top.

Turkey Enchiladas

Right after Thanksgiving I made this gorgeous turkey and I froze the leftovers and tonight I made my favorite enchiladas. I am very excited for dinner tonight. I have been quite the slacker on the blog front but I am back in business now and will be posting more often for sure.

Turkey Enchiladas

• 
  
  8 flour tortillas


• 
  
  14 oz of your favorite enchilada sauce


• 
  
  2 c chopped, cooked turkey


• 
  
  1 c shredded cheese


• 
  
  1 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray non stick spray in the bottom of a casserole dish. In a large skillet warm up the enchilada sauce and make your assembly line of all of your ingredients. You can use beef, pork, chicken whatever you like just make sure it is cooked and cubed into bite sized pieces.

Once the sauce is warm take a tortilla with tongs and dip it in the warm sauce until covered. Let the excess sauce drip off and place on a plate and fill with a handful of meat and top with a sprinkling of cheese. Roll up and place in the pan. Keep doing this until you have all of your tortillas filled and placed in the pan. With the leftover sauce in the pan whisk in the sour cream until it is blended together and a pretty pink color. Pour over the enchiladas and cover loosely with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve with additional sour cream and a salad and you are all set! Enjoy.

Pork Hash

Jake and I went to a fabulous restaurant a while back and had a pork hash that was wonderful! I kind of recreated the essence of it here and I really liked how it turned out. It is a great use for leftover pork roast.

Pork Hash

• 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 1/2 -2 cups chopped pork roast
• 1/4 lb brussel sprouts, sliced thinly
• 1 small sweet potato, chopped
• 5 crimini mushrooms, chopped
• 2 drops truffle oil
• 4 eggs, poached
• hollandaise sauce
• dill for garnish

Melt the butter into the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the brussel sprouts and sweet potato until starting to get tender. Add the mushrooms and cook until lightly browned and tender. Toss in the pork and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the truffle oil. Serve topped with the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce and sprinkled with dill. Enjoy!

Hollandaise Sauce

I use this recipe of hollandaise sauce it is all assembled in a blender and goes together really quickly.

• 3 egg yolks
• 1-2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 stick butter, melted and hot in a saucepan

In your blender place the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper and turn on the blender. Slowly drizzle in the butter very slowly until it is all emulsified and thickened. Serve immediately.

Sausage and Butternut Fettuccini

I have been working on this recipe for a little while and it is so tasty and just speaks of fall. I have made it before with homemade pasta but here I made it with store bought pasta. It is really good and I think it is a current favorite of mine.

Sausage and Butternut Fettuccine

• 1/4 c pecan pieces
  
• 1/4 lb Italian sausage
  
• 2 tsp sage leaves, sliced thinly and divided


• 1/2 of a butternut squash, cooked through and cut into 1 inch cubes
  
• 2 Tbs butter


• 1 lb fresh fettuccine


• 1/2 c pasta water reserved

I start out with a dry skillet over medium heat and toast the pecans lightly until they smell warm and nutty. Be really careful to keep moving the pan so they will not burn. Once they are toasted remove from the pan and set aside.

In the same hot skillet break up the Italian Sausage into small pieces and cook until browned and cooked through. Get the pasta water hot and get the pasta cooking and finish the sauce. Toss the squash and sage leaves into the skillet with the sausage and warm through. Add in the butter and a little pasta water if you need it to make a sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then toss with your drained fettuccine.

Serve topped with the toasted nuts and enjoy! This will definitely warm you up and have it feel like fall.

Corned Beef Hash

My favorite way to use leftovers is to make corned beef hash. It is really great for breakfast or a dinner as well. It is also a fairly simple thing to put together because most of the ingredients are made already if you made the corned beef and cabbage the night before, most of it is just assembly.

Corned Beef Hash

• 1 Tbs olive oil + 1 Tbs butter
• 1 c leftover cooked potatoes, chopped
• 1/4 lb sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 c chopped bell pepper
• 1 1/2 c chopped, corned beef
• 1 1/2 c of the cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 eggs, poached

In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter and oil together. Saute the potato, mushroom, and pepper until golden brown. Add in the corned beef, cabbage and seasoning and heat through. In the mean time poach the eggs and serve over the top of the hash.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Jake and I love Corned Beef. It is one of our favorite dinners and it leads into one of our second favorite meals with the leftovers..
I will normally stock up on the corned beef when St Patricks Day comes around and they have them on sale. I freeze them and then when we feel like having it I pull them out of the freezer. I have found that they are much harder to come by and more expensive just any time of year. This was one I had in the freezer and decided we were in the mood for some corned beef so I put one together today on my lunch break. It is an easy dinner because you just have to put it on and let it cook, then when I get home I put the cabbage in and it is really easy and hands off for the most part.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

• 1 corned beef, this one was 3 lbs
• spice packet from the corned beef
• 2 12 oz beers of your choice
• 1 smaller head of cabbage, cut into wedges

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Rinse your corned beef off and place fat side up in a large lidded soup pot. Sprinkle with the contents of the spice packet and pour the beers over the top. Place lid on the pot and place in the oven. Bake for 4 hours. After the 4 hours have gone by take the pot out and place your cabbage in around the beef. Cover again and place in the oven and turn the heat up to 300 degrees. Bake for another 30 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

If you would rather not have the oven on when you are not home you can definately do this in a crock pot and just cook it all day instead of the 4 hours. I have done it this way and it works equally well.

Slice the meat and serve with the cabbage and a good mustard! We also like to eat this with some buttered boiled potatoes. Very satisfying, stay tuned for the best leftover use in the world in my opinion.

Beef and Barley Soup

I love beef and barley soup and have always wanted to make it from scratch. So I got it in my head that I needed to come up with a beef and barley soup recipe. I think it turned out really good and I threw it together when I got home and then let it simmer while I mowed the lawn and when I was done so was it. We had some garlic toast with it and it was a satisfying meal on a cool fall evening.

Beef and Barley Soup

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 6-8 mushrooms, halved and sliced
• 1 c pearl barley
• 2 c chopped cooked beef, I used leftover roast
• 1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 5 c beef stock
• 1 tsp herb de provence
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 c green peas

In a soup pot or dutch oven heat the oil over medium heat and saute the celery and carrot about 5 minutes until starting to soften. Stir in the mushrooms and let them cook a few minutes until getting opaque. Stir in the barley until it is coated with the oil and let it toast slightly until you can smell a warm nutty scent (About 2 minutes).

Then stir in the remaining ingredients except for the peas. Bring everything to a simmer and turn heat down to low. Let cook for about 60-90 minutes until the barley has bloomed and it tender. You may need to add some water or beef stock at this point if it has absorbed a lot of the liquid to make it the consistency you like for your soup. Stir in the peas and let them cook for 5 minutes and then serve.

Pot Roast with Apples

This week on Friday Baking with Not Quite June Cleaver I made the Pot Roast with Apples. I have to say it was a nice change of pace and it turned out very well. I enjoyed the added spice and it went really well with mashed potatoes. Definitely one I will make again.

If you are looking for a good recipe to try that is a little different you should give it a shot.

Havarti Stuffed Chicken

This is like a Chicken Cordon Blue but I changed it a bit to have a different crust and a Dill Havarti that I really enjoy. It really adds something and I love how it turns out. This time I served it with stir fried veggies and some roasted potatoes. Makes a very nice dinner and just takes a bit of prep and you are good to go.

Havarti Stuffed Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded out

3 Tbs butter, melted in a shallow dish
3/4 c bread crumbs
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp salt and pepper
2 slices good quality ham
2 sticks of cheese, preferably Havarti or Swiss

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Between two pieces of plastic wrap place the chicken breasts and pound them out so that they are a unified thickness and will be better for rolling up. In a shallow dish combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Place the meat and cheese on what would be the non skin side of the chicken and roll it up narrow end first. Secure with a few toothpicks and place in the butter. Once the roll up is coated with butter, turn it in the bread crumb mixture and place in a pie plate. Drizzle the remaining butter over the chicken breast and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden and done through. Remove the toothpicks and serve with your desired sides.

Salisbury Steak

So I have a version of Salisbury Steak that is super yummy. My dad always made a version of this with venison and I love it! Jake and I have it quite often and it is my favorite way to eat game meat. You can definitely use beef or another protein. I have used chicken and pork before so the sauce is very versatile.








Salisbury Steak

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 lb stew meat or steak
• 1/2 c flour
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 Tbs Worcestershire
• 1/2 c coffee
• 1/2 c water
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• potatoes or pasta cooked to your choice

In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Season and toss the meat in flour to coat and cook in batches until brown in the hot pan. Once you have the meat browned toss in the mushrooms and cook for a couple minutes until lightly carmelized. Into the skillet add the can of soup, coffee, water, Worsestershire and pepper. Stir until combined and then stir in the meat. Turn the burner down to low and cover. Simmer for about an hour and serve over pasta or potatoes.

I have made this in the crockpot or put it in a pan and baked it at a low heat for a longer period of time if you need to have something to set and cook for a while. It can be changed depending on what you have on hand and how much time you have to devote. Enjoy!

Pasta Primavera

So this is my version of pasta primavera. I do add meat to it and do a balsamic sauce and it is pretty tasty. I love it because it can become any version you like based on what you have in the fridge. I normally have the basic main ingredients and then the veggies vary depending on what I have and what time of year it is.

Pasta Primavera
1 lb pasta of your choice (I like rotini or penne)

2 Tbs butter or olive oil

1 small zucchini

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

4 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 lb spinach cleaned and torn to pieces

1/2 pound turkey kielbasa, sliced

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

generous grind of black pepper

1/2 tsp Herb De Provence

In a large pot get the water boiling and start cooking the pasta. In a large skillet cook the zucchini, bell pepper, and mushroom until tender. Toss in the kielbasa and cook until golden brown. Throw in the spinach and cook just a few minutes until it is wilted. Now you add in the seasonings and the balsamic vinegar and let it coat all of the veggies and meat. You can at this point add a little pasts water or tap water to thin it out a bit so there is some juice to the sauce. Then toss in your pasta to coat. Serve with a salad and some bread and enjoy! This is a really quick meal and it is very tasty. You can also change it depending on the meat and the veg you have and it turns out nice. I have put little cubes of cheese in it at the end so they get a little gooey and that is great as well.