Sunday, January 9, 2022

Layered pasta bake

 


What I had:

  • 8-10 ounces (roughly half the container) of cooked angel hair pasta
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1 lb hot sausage, cooked
  • 1 lb butternut squash, sauteed and mashed a little
  • 1 large white onion, sauteed
  • 1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Honestly, once you have the base, you can use whatever meats and veggies you want!

What I did:
  • Mixed the cooked pasta, eggs, and parmesan cheese
  • Spread it evenly in a 9X13 pan
  • Baked at 350 for 10 minutes
  • Spread the cream cheese over it (some recipe I saw said to use wax paper to roll the cream cheese, didn't work for me. I think it would be better to heat it up and pipe it over the base)
  • Layered the squash, onions, and sausage
  • Sprinkled the mozzarella cheese evenly on top
  • Tented aluminum foil over the pan
  • Baked for an hour at 350
  • Moved pan up to top shelf, removed foil, broiled on low for 5 minutes
Hey, the kid and husband loved it, so I can it a winning experiment!

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Air fried mozzarella sticks

 What I had:

  • 1/2 lb mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup corn starch in a zip lock bag
  • 1 egg beaten real well in a shallow container
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs in a second shallow container with spices to taste
    • garlic powder, salt, pepper, paprika
What I did:
  • Cut the cheese into 4" by 1/4" logs
  • Put them in the bag with the cornstarch and made sure each one was covered
  • Coated with egg
  • Coated with the breadcrumb mixture
  • Laid them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
  • Freeze
  • Repeat egg and breadcrumb coating
  • Freeze again
  • Air fry at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Zucchini waffles


So, I started with a recipe, it was too liquidy, then I added some pancake mix, it was too dry, then I added more egg, milk, and zucchini and it was perfect. I've estimated what I used:

What I had:

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 cup fine corn meal
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 medium zucchini finely shredded
  • 2 eggs
  • 1.5 cups milk
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
What I did:
  • Mixed the dry ingredients
  • Added the wet ingredients and whisked it together
  • Poured into waffle maker till it told me it was done
  • Served with sunny side up eggs for Oliver, and egg whites for Jeff and myself
  • Poured some hot sauce and yummmmmmy


Sunday, January 3, 2021

One pan chicken & quinoa


 
What I had:
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 4 chicken drumsticks
  • 3 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped 
  • 3 medium yellow onions, 2 chopped, 1 halved and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup green olives chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive juice
  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste

What I did

  • Blend the chopped onions, tomatoes, and olives in a food processor
  • Heat olive oil on medium heat
  • Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in the oil over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Turn them regularly so they get evenly browned.
  • Take chicken out and place on a plate lined with paper towels
  • Put the sliced onion in the same pan and cook till soft
  • Add the blended vegetable and cook for 5 minutes
  • Add quinoa, olive juice, chicken broth, a cup of water and mix well 
  • Place chicken back in, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, checking regularly for doneness
  • I ended up pulling the chicken meat off the bones so we could eat it with a spoon 





Indian curry

 I was trying to find a new Indian recipe to try for a meal train I'd signed up for. I found one but didn't like it in its entirety, so I improvised. Everyone loved it, so saving it for posterity.

What I had:

  • ~ 15 oz whole peeled tomatoes with the juice
  • 1 large white onion, chopped coarsely
  • 1 cup cashews
  • 8 cloves
  • 8 small green cardamoms
  • 4 green thai chilies
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp garlic paste
  • 2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 2 tbsp red chili powder (spicy)
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • salt and pepper to taste
What I did:
  • Boiled the first 6 ingredients on medium heat till tomatoes start falling apart and the onions look translucent
  • Put in Vitamix and blend till smooth - there's some texture to it from the cashews but no chunks of tomatoes or onions should be there
  • In the same skillet, heat coconut oil
  • Add garlic and ginger pastes, heat till the raw smell is gone (be careful, this splatters so use a cover)
  • Pour the blended sauce back in
  • Add the dry spices and simmer over medium-low till you don't smell the individual spices
I added paneer to this and let it simmer till paneer was well coated, also needed to add some water to thin the sauce. I think it would taste delicious with chicken as well.

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Copycat Bonchon spicy wing sauce

 What I had:

  • 1/4 cup gochujang sauce
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp red hot chili powder
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 3/4 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
What I did:
  • Whisk everything together in a microwaveable bowl
  • Microwave for 3 minutes or till boiling
  • Toss whatever chicken you want in it and enjoy

Friday, January 1, 2021

Hot Dog Sauce

 After making this a bazillion times, I figured I'd save it on my blog instead of looking for an email every time. For some reason, this is called the authentic Greek hot dog sauce, but I haven't been able to find out what the origins are. Whatever they might be, it is delicious!

What you need:

  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp butter
What you do:
  • Brown the beef and drain it
  • In another pan, melt butter and add all the other ingredients
  • Bring to a mild boil and simmer for 30 minutes
  • Stir in the browned beef
  • Top your hot dogs with it and enjoy!
Note: original recipe called for putting it all in a blender, and we tried it both ways. We much prefer it not blended.