Bolognese a la Rachael and Rachel

There have been a few requests for this recipe since I posted this photo on FB.  This is gluten free Bolognese over carrots and zucchini with homemade mozzarella sticks.  I must confess that this is mostly Rachael Ray's recipe but I take many liberties with it so I thought it would be fair to share the title.

Bolognese a la Rachael & Rachel 
Note: I do not put carrot in the sauce when I am serving this over carrots & zucchini.
Serves 8 (generously)

1 T Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/4 pound diced pancetta
1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1/2 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 pound ground beef, or 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 veal
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
28 ounces chunky-style crushed tomatoes
A handful of flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon allspice
Coarse salt and black pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, for topping
4 zucchini's & 6 carrots, sliced to your preference

In a deep pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, garlic, bay leaf and pancetta and brown for 1 minute. Add the meats and brown, crumbling them for five minutes.

Add carrot (if using), celery and onion. Cook the vegetables with the meat for five minutes and add the wine. Cook for 1 minute; add the stock and tomatoes to the pot.

Stir in most of the parsley and the allspice and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for a minimum of 10-15 minutes or all day.

When you are ready, plate steamed or roasted veggies and cover with sauce, top with a sprinkle of the remaining parsley and lots of cheese.

Once again, I have found a recipe that looks good and altered it considerably.  This recipe idea came from WellnessMama.com.

Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

Half a pound of mozzarella cheese, cut into sticks
2 eggs
½ cup (or more) of almond flour
1 tsp of Italian seasoning
½ tsp salt
1-2 cups olive oil

At least 3-4 hours before, put cheese sticks in the freezer.Once cheese is completely frozen, crack eggs into a medium bowl and beat with about a teaspoon of water. Combine the almond flour, Italian seasoning and salt in a shallow bowl. Put the oil in a small pan so that it is about an inch deep,heat on medium high. The oil must be hot before the cheese goes in. Remove the cheese from the freezer and dip the cheese in the egg mixture, then in the almond flour mixture, then back in the egg mixture and repeat until well coated. They need to be coated completely so they seal. Drop 3 or 4 at a time into the heated oil for a couple of minutes until they are starting to brown, then carefully remove. Remove them with a slotted spoon. You don’t want to squeeze them with tongs or poke with a fork, as the cheese will escape. Repeat these steps with the remaining cheese until all is cooked. Serve immediately.

Yakisoba with Pork & Cabbage

I'm so sorry I missed my posting date, but I'm going to embrace the "better late than never" philosophy and post it now! I discovered this recipe online from the New York Times about a year ago, and I've been making it regularly since. It is simple, flexible (I've substituted bell peppers, kale, and red onion), and it's got a salty tangy-ness that I love! I prefer to use the fresh yakisoba noodles in the produce department of the grocery store (which eliminates step #1), but I'm sure others would work well too.
Enjoy and Happy Halloween from me and my pumpkin friends!

Yakisoba With Pork and Cabbage

6 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles, or 10 to 12 ounces fresh

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons peanut oil

2 tablespoons minced ginger

2 pork chops, thinly sliced

1 small head Napa or savoy cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)

2 carrots, shredded

2 tablespoons ketchup

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons mirin, or a bit of sugar

Few drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste

1 bunch scallions, chopped, white parts only.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and add noodles. Cook until just done, about 3 minutes. Drain in a colander and run under cold water. Toss noodles with sesame oil to keep them from sticking together, and set aside.

2. Put peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add ginger and cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Add pork and cook for about 5 minutes or until the pork is no longer pink and is starting to brown around the edges.

3. Add cabbage and carrots to skillet and stir; sprinkle with salt. Continue to cook until vegetables soften, adding a bit of water as needed to keep them from sticking.

4. Meanwhile, stir together in a small bowl ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mirin and Tabasco. When vegetables are soft and any liquid has evaporated, add noodles and sauce to skillet. Toss to coat everything well and cook until noodles are warmed through. Serve, topped with chopped scallions.

Yield: 4 servings.

Cola Barbecued Ribs

This is so tasty and I find my mouth watering as I'm writing about it. 'nuf said.



3 1/2 lb pork spareribs or loin back ribs

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon hickory smoked salt or garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup cola

1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce


Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Trim excess fat from ribs. In a small bowl mix brown sugar, hickory smoked salt, and pepper; rub mixture into ribs. Cut ribs into 2- or 3-rib portions. Place ribs into cooker and pour cola around ribs.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.

Remove ribs and place into shallow baking pan. Drain liquid from cooker and discard. Brush both sides of ribs with barbecue sauce. Return ribs to cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over ribs.

Cover and cook on low for another hour or until ribs are glazed and sauce is disired consistancy.

This is from a Betty Crocker Slow Cooker book.

Ham and Cheese sandwich bake

Well, here we go!! To kick off this round of recipes I wanted to find something easy, affordable, different and kid friendly. So, I called my sister in the midwest and asked for her latest potluck find and this is the recipe she suggested. I feel a bit guilty that this is too "simple" for our blog but, it seems all of our favs here are! I love that I usually have the ingredients on hand or can adjust how many to make. She said it was a great brunch idea but honestly, I am thinking a quick weeknight dinner if paired with a soup or salad. can't wait to try it myself and hear your takes on it!

Ham and Cheese Sandwich Bake

12 small servings

1/2 c. butter
2Tb. brown sugar
1 Tb poppy seeds
1 Tb Worcestershire sauce
1 Tb prepared mustard


12 "cocktail" buns (small round dinner buns)
12 slices deli ham (or leftover ham)
12 slices swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 325
spray 9 x 13 pan with nonstick spray

bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Once boiled turn heat off and let cool while assembling sandwiches.

place one slice ham and one slice cheese inside each bun and arrange in the pan.

pour cooled sauce over the top.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove foil and bake additional 5 minutes.

Serve hot or at room temp.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice

I have a busy weekend ahead so I thought I would post this a bit early. I love this, and can't wait to make it again. Anders and Mark also gave this good reviews so I'm anxious to hear what all of you think. This is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine (I LOVE this magazine!!) Enjoy!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Carrot Rice

Ingredients:
Serves 4

Coarse salt
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 carrot, shredded
3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 1/2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey or ground pork
3 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 teaspoons fish sauce
4 teaspoons hot-pepper sauce (preferably Sriracha)
4 teaspoons sugar
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice, stir, and return to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and top with carrot. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes, then stir in carrot and fluff rice with a fork.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs and 3 tablespoons water. Let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, scallion whites, cilantro, fish sauce, hot-pepper sauce, sugar, garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Gently mix to combine and form into 12 meatballs.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. In batches, brown meatballs on all sides, 10 minutes total (add up to 1 teaspoon oil as needed). Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until cooked through, 10 minutes. Serve meatballs with rice, scallion greens, and lime wedges.

Chicken or Pork stir-fry

This is my standby for a quick easy dinner! I love the simplicity of it and the great flavors I can create with whatever I have on hand. For an even faster meal I have done the meat as usual and then used a bag of frozen stir fry mix veggies. That works okay but I suggest defrosting veggies first or they are too wet to stirfry. This is not from any original recipe so please feel free to use measurements loosely and to your taste!

Ingredients
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts or pork chops (or tofu)
1 TB cornstarch
1 Tb veggie oil (more for cooking)
1 c. or so of chicken stock
2 Tb soy sauce
1 Tb worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili pepper paste ( this comes in a tube in produce section)
1 small onion (sliced pole to pole)
1 bell pepper (chop into med chunks)
1 large carrot (thin cut on a sharp diagonal to shorten cooking time)
1 stalk celery (chopped on thin diagonal)
1 c. other veggies ( I use whatever is in need of eating in the fridge)
1 c. cashews
Rice to serve with is great!

Slice meat in thin strips and place in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornstarch over it and the oil. This should make a thin paste over the meat if not adjust starch/oil to coat all meat without being soupy. Let rest while you chop veggies.

Chop all veggies.

Preheat Wok until it is hot. Add about 1 Tb oil to wok and swirl around pan. Add meat to pan but do not stir until the meat easily releases from the pan. When all meat is almost fully cooked add Onions, peppers, celery and carrots. Add a splash of stock to wok as needed to help cook the veggies but it should not be soupy and evaporates quickly. Add your other veggie based on how quickly it cooks. (Zuc. , peas, mushrooms, etc take about 3 minutes. broc, cabbage, cauliflower etc a little longer).

As veggies come to the desired softness for you start to add a little more stock to make a bit of sauce for stirfry. The starch from the meat releases to help thicken the stock. Then add the chili pepper, soy sauce, and worcestershire sauce to stirfry. Just before serving toss in the cashews mix well and serve over rice.

So Good So Easy, Just had to share

hey ladies,
I came across this recipe online and tried it. It is a fablous quick recipe I will be making often and thought I would share. I know it is my turn to post this week and have another recipe in mind so don't let this freebie confuse you.

Crock pot Pork chops and Rice

mix 1 c. flour, 1/2 tsp dry mustard and 1/2 tsp salt in plastic bag. Throw in 4 boneless pork chops (or a small pork roast) to coat. Brown meat in skillet with oil (3-4min). Place pork in crock pot and dump a can of condensed chicken and rice soup over it. (Or as I did, 2 cups rice, 1 can cream soup, and 1 c. broth). Cook on low for 6 hrs or high 4hr (roast may take longer). The pork was soooo tender and not dry at all. I loved that I could have it ready with only about 7 min of prep time.

Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Apples and Dried Fruit

Ingredients

1/2cup coarsely shopped mixed fruit dried fruit, such as golden raisins, cranberries, apricots and prunes
1/4 cup full-bodied dry red wine
1 teaspoon butter
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
One 1-pound pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions

1) In a small bowl, mix the dried fruit with the wine. Melt the butter in a large ovenproof skillet. Add the apple and cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, boat 7 minutes. Add the water as the pan dries out.

2) Drain the dried fruit, reserving the wine. Stir the dried fruit into the apple and onion in the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate to cook. Coarsely chop 1/2 cup of the fruit mixture and reserve it for making the sauce. Wipe out the skillet.

3) Preheat the over to 425. Insert a sharpening steel or the handle of a wooden spoon into the thick end of the tenderloin. Carefully push the steel through the tenderloin and roll the meat to widen the hole slightly. Stuff the tenderloin with the fruit mixture and seal the ends with toothpicks.

4) Heat the oil in the skillet. Season the meat with salt and pepper and brown it in the skillet over high heat, turning, for about 6 minutes.( I tend to cook it longer then the 6 minutes) Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast the meat for 10 minutes. (Again I cook it longer the the 10 minutes.) Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let rest.

5) Add the reserved wine to the skillet and cook over high heat, scraping up any brown bits, until syrupy, about 2 minutes. Add the stock and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Stir in the reserved 1/2 cup of fruit mixture and season with salt and pepper. Slice the tenderloin crosswise 1/2 thick and serve with the sauce.


So here are a few things that i have noticed in making this. I tend to add more fruit and the cook times seem much longer to me and i tend to make it in shifts. I like to get as much as i can done the night before and then finish after work the next day or do it on a weekend. I hope you ladies like this one can't wait to hear what you think.

New Recipe: Greek-Style Lamb Burgers, Greek Potatoes & Salad

New Recipe!!!

I love summer burgers especially with a Greek Twist!

Greek Style Lamb Burgers (serves 6 so just adjust accordingly, we usually half it for 2 adults and 2 kids)

2lbs ground lamb
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped and pitted Kalamata olives

Combine lamb, feta, and olives and make into six 1 inch patties. Season burgers lightly with salt and pepper to your own taste preference and then grill 7 min. each side for medium-rare or adjust time for your taste.

You can decide how you want to serve your burgers we've done it two ways. One is in pita pockets or the other is on Kaiser rolls both ways are yummy. Serve burgers with tzikki sauce (recipe follows) and they are good with red onion and tomatoe slices.

Tzatziki Sauce

16 ounces plain yogurt (Greek yougurt is especially good)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
Pinch kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
5 to 6 mint leaves, finely minced

Place the yogurt in a tea towel, gather up the edges, suspend over a bowl, and drain for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Place the chopped cucumber in a tea towel and squeeze to remove the liquid; discard liquid. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the drained yogurt, cucumber, salt, garlic, olive oil, lemon, and mint. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

We have made thit many times without taking the time to drain the yogurt, turns out fine just not as thick also if you don't have mint (which we never seem to) that's something we've at times omitted as well.

Greek Potatoes with Lemon Vinaigrette (serves 4)

1 1/2 cups olive oil
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds large russet potatoes, cleaned, each cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, garlic, oregano, and parsley in a medium bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper.

Toss potatoes with 1/2 cup vinaigrette on a heavy, large, rimmed baking sheet. Reserve the remaining vinaigrette. Pour chicken stock around potatoes and season potatoes with salt and pepper. Roast potatoes until tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette and more chopped parsley.

Greek Salad

3 vine ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 European seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and chunked
1 cup Kalamata black olives
Several sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 1/2 cup
2 (1/4 pound) slices imported Greek feta
1/4 cup (a couple of glugs) extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons (3 splashes) red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed in palm of your hand
Coarse salt and black pepper
Pita breads

Combine vegetables, olives, and parsley in a large bowl. Rest sliced feta on the top of salad. Combine oil, vinegar, and oregano in a small plastic container with a lid. Shake vigorously to combine oil and vinegar and pour over salad and cheese. Season with salt and pepper and let the salad marinate until ready to serve. Serve salad with pita bread blistered and warmed on a hot griddle or grill pan.

So for this recipe I prefer crumbled feta and don't do the pita bread when serving it as a side.

What's better after summer burgers then Watermelon for dessert!!

Our First Recipe!

By Commando Rachel Severns

Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry-Onion Sauce

3/4 pound lean pork tenderloin

1 T margarine

2 small onions, sliced

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T sugar

1/4 c port wine

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 c unsweetened frozen blueberries

1 c cherry tomatoes, chopped

Heat broiler. Broil pork, turning occasionally until cooked throught, about 20 minutes. Remove to platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Meanwhile, melt margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, salt and pepper; cook until onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Add sugar; cook until onions are caramelized, 3 minutes longer. Add port, vinegar, blueberries and tomatoes; heat to boil. Remove from heat. Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce. Serves 4.

*Ladies, I know this sounds funky but it is delicious! Everyone I have ever served this to gobbles it up.

For a side dish, I like to have a side dish full of veggies as well as including a carb. I am all about one pot dishes. :)

Orzo & Veggies

3/4 c chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 T olive oil

2 c orzo

1 3/4 c chicken broth

1 c spinach, chopped

1 t lemon juice

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 1/2 t dill, chopped

any other veggies you'd like to add such as: zucchini, carrot, peas, etc.

Saute onion and garlic (& other veggies) in oil, add orzo and brown. Add broth, cover and cook until orzo is almost cooked (you may need to add more water). Toss spinach, lemon juice, green onions and dill in orzo. Remove from heat. Mix with salt and pepper, cover and let rest 1-2 minutes. Serves 4-6.

ENJOY!!!