Fresh Strawberry Pie

I was craving something fresh and fruity when I saw that this month's "Have the Cake" challenge was strawberries. I really want to make it down to the U-pick farm and get some fresh strawberries but they aren't ready yet, so I used store bought strawberries. You know how it is when you buy fruit at the store, the fruit can either be good or blah. I hate when that happens! Luck was on my side and the berries were just fabulous!
The directions call for using mostly whole strawberries and while it worked out, I think next time I will quarter them.  This is another one of those recipes that I had stockpiled prior to my blogging days.  I have no idea where the recipe came from.  I printed this recipe out in early 2000!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 (9-inch) baked pie crust

3 pints strawberries, stems removed and hulled  

3/4 cup sugar (recipe called for one cup but my berries were pretty sweet)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt

Take 2 pints of your prepared strawberries and arrange the berries, stem side down, on your prebaked pie crust; set aside.

In a medium size sauce pan mash the remaining one pint of strawberries; to this add the sugar, water, cornstarch and salt.  Stir over medium heat and allow the mixture to come to a boil; after it is at a boil cook for one minute more.  Remove the pan from the stove and allow the strawberry mash mixture to cool before pouring over the berries in the pie crust.
Refrigerate for three hours to allow the pie to "set".  Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Sausage Quiche

Finally I can introduce soft foods into my diet.... Yeah!!  I made a quiche for dinner last night that was out of this world delicious.  At first I thought it was just my taste buds giving a standing ovation for decent flavor, but then the rest of the family gave it two thumbs up as well.  

Quiches only seem intimidating but are really quite easy to make.  I just think of it as an omelet in a pie shell. I didn't follow any recipe, just threw some items in with the eggs and put it all in the pie shell.  Since I made this for dinner I used pork sausage....an entire pound.  Not exactly the healthiest but it gave it more substance for the men.

I've been growing spinach and lettuce, along with other things, and was able to use the fresh items.  I was absolutely tickled to find this spinach leaf....How cute is that!

Sausage Quiche
1 pound pork sausage, cooked and drained of grease
1/2 onion, dice fine  (I used a sweet onion)
1 cup fresh spinach chopped
2 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups fat free half and half
1/2 cup cheddar cheese cheese  (I used a cheddar jack mix)
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
9-inch pie shell, unbaked   (I always make my own pie crust)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium frying pan, combine the onion and pork sausage; cook until browned.  Drain the sausage over a paper towel to get rid of some of the grease.

While the sausage is browning, make the pie crust. We like to use this pie crust from my blog.

In a medium bowl, add the eggs and half and half; whisk well.  Add the spinach, basil, salt, pepper, cheeses and sausage; mix to combine.  Pour into pie shell.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set (not jiggly any longer) or knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Serve while still warm.

serves 6 to 8 people, depending on how big you slice the pieces.

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

To raise money for the Women's retreat, our church made a cookbook.  This breakfast casserole is the first actual meal I have made from it.  This was super easy and very tasty.  It would be tasty to add some onion and peppers to it as well.... but not if you ask my husband!
Life has been a bit ho hum lately.  With everyone back living at home I suppose that is a good thing! I just haven't been blog motivated.  March recipes are rather meager.... I better get my back side into gear!

Breakfast Sausage Casserole
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes
8 ounces shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheese blend

Directions:
Brown sausage in a medium skillet; crumble and drain.
In a large bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk.  Add the sausage, bread cubes and cheese; stir to blend completely.  Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover and bake 45 minutes.  Uncover and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until set.
   **  I did not let it set overnight... I didn't plan that well!  I just reduced the cooking time to a straight 45 minutes and it was done.

The Daring Kitchen: Black Bean Burgers

Blog-checking lines: The Daring Cooks’ February 2012 challenge was hosted by Audax & Lis and they chose to present Patties for their ease of construction, ingredients and deliciousness! We were given several recipes, and learned the different types of binders and cooking methods to produce our own tasty patties!

I've been wanting to try my hand at making black bean burgers for a long time now.  Pure laziness on my part is the only reason why I haven't made them yet.  Man, I could kick myself for not making them sooner!  These burgers were AWESOME!  They will definitely be something that I will make to keep on hand for myself.  Don't worry dear husband... your patties will forever be with meat :-)  I used canned black beans and rinsed and drained them.  The trick is to let them drain completely.  You do not want to be adding excess moisture to these.

Annies Eats even had a recipe for Light Brioche Burger Buns that I made... Supper yummy!  What a great challenge this was.

Black Bean Burgers

adapted from Annies Eats

Yield: 6 burgers
Ingredients:

for the crumbs:

1 cup panko
 2 tsp. olive oil

For the bugers

2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
2 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (I like the added heat so increased it from the original 1/4 teaspoon)
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried cilantro flakes, (you could easily add 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro but I'm not that huge of a fan and prefer the taste of the dried)
1 small onion, finely diced

Directions:

I think this was the key to making these burgers over the top, so don't omit this step! Toast the panko in a skillet, over medium high heat with 2 teaspoons of olive oil.  Stir frequently until the crumbs turn a light golden brown.

In a large bowl, mash 2 1/2 cups of the beans until almost smooth.  I had to use a fork to get them started and then was able to use a potato masher to finish it up.  Whisk together the two large eggs; add to beans. Add the remaining ingredients, including the toasted panko, and blend well (I used my hands for this).

Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions, about ½ cup each. Lightly pack into 1-inch thick patties. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until well browned on both sides, about 8-10 minutes total.  Serve warm.

Burgers can be made and refrigerated ahead of time, up to 24 hours.  

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Sorry about the mishap... this was not supposed to post until I was done with it.  My brain is on overload these days and I'm just scatterbrained.

With having a houseful of people (6 adults and one toddler) I'm looking out for cheap meals.  doesn't hurt if they are quick and easy either!  I had some chicken drumsticks in the freezer and did a mishmash of two different recipes. Overall it was pretty tasty.  Its a lot like hot wings only on a bigger scale.

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks
one package, thawed chicken drumsticks (not the flash frozen type) which had fourteen drumsticks in it.
1/2 cup hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon curry powder

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

directions

Place chicken drumsticks  into a food storage bag and pour over hot sauce.  Let Marinade for at least one hour or overnight if you desire.

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a cooking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil. Place 1/4 cup of butter onto sheet and place in oven to melt.
In a large bowl, combine the flour salt, pepper and spices.  Blend together completely.  Roll drumsticks into flour/spice mixture to coat.  Place chicken onto prepared pan.
Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, turn over and bake 20 minutes more.  Chicken should be starting to pull away from bone. So you may have to adapt your time somewhat.

Smoked Gouda and Swiss Rigatoni and Cheese with bacon

Although my kids had always preferred the box mac and cheese, I was never overly fond of it.  Being on a budget, of course, meant that we ate a lot of it while the kids were growing up. I was ever so thankful when I was able to start making homemade macaroni and cheese.  Hubby likes it to be super creamy and would rather it not be baked.  No problem! I wanted to try making a recipe using smoked Gouda (don't know why really, it just sounded like something fun to say!) and I  came a cross this recipe here at Cooker Girl's blog.

I switched it up just a tiny bit using ingredients I had on hand.  The end result was this creamy, smokey, rich mac and cheese.  It was the perfect meal for such a bitter cold day.

Smoked Gouda and Bacon Rigatoni & Cheese 

Adapted from The Adventures of Mindyanna Jones and Cooker Girl

1 pound rigatoni

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 

2 Tbsp unsalted butter 

1 shallot, finely chopped 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 

1/2 tsp smoked paprika 

1 1/2 cup whole milk 

1/2 cup chicken broth

4 oz shredded smoked Gouda 

4 oz shredded swiss

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard 

Freshly ground black pepper 

4-6 slices crispy cooked bacon, crumbled 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is heating up, cook, drain and crumble the bacon. Once the water is boiling, add salt to season the cooking water, then add the pasta. Cook for 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Drain well and return to the pot. 

While the pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and heat with the butter until it melts. Add the shallot and garlic; cook for 3-5 minutes to sweat them out... watch so that the garlic does not burn! Raise the heat a bit, then whisk in the flour, cayenne, and paprika. Whisk together until the roux bubbles up, then cook for 1 minute more. Whisk in the milk and stock and raise the heat a bit higher to bring the sauce to a quick boil. Once it bubbles, drop the heat back to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, 3 to 5 minutes. 

Add the cheeses to the thickened sauce and stir to melt it, a minute or so. Stir in the mustard and bacon and season the sauce with salt and pepper. Pour over the cooked pasta and toss to combine. Adjust the seasonings to your taste and serve immediately.

Easy Whole Wheat Sesame Bread

 Bread happens to be my Kryptonite.  Its high up on my list... right up there with chocolate.  Since I like bread, I try to do it healthy-ish... makes it a tiny bit guilt free.  I have a favorite No knead recipe for white bread  so was thrilled when I came across this recipe for a No Knead Wheat and Sesame Bread.  Personally, I didn't think the sesame added much too it... perhaps toasted sesame seeds would add more depth.  I can see adding flax seed or wheat germ to this bread as well.

No-Knead Wheat and Sesame Yeast Bread

from the book 100% Pleasure

2 packages dry yeast

2 teaspoons salt

3 cups all-purpose white flour, divided

1 1/3 cups water

1 cup plain nonfat yogurt (I used Greek Yogurt)

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons mild honey

2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour

4 tablespoons sesame seeds, divided

Directions

     In a large mixer bowl, combine the yeast, salt and 2 and  3/4 cups of the white flour; Mix together.

In a medium saucepan, stir together the water, yogurt, oil and honey.  Over medium heat, warm the mixture to 125 degrees F.  With the mixer on low speed, beat the yogurt mixture into the flour until blended.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Raise the speed to high and beat for 7 minutes.]

Using a large wooden spoon, stir in the whole wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds and the remaining 1/4 cup white flour until evenly incorporated.

Stir or knead the dough in the bowl until the flour is smoothly incorporated; if necessary to keep the dough from being sticky, add a bit more whole wheat flour.  Transfer the dough to a very large, lightly oiled bowl.  Lightly coat the top of the dough with oil.

Tightly cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 50 minutes, or until the dough doubles in bulk.

Coat two 1 1/2 quart round casseroles or souffle dishes with non stick spray (I used one round dish and one loaf pan).  

Punch down the dough.  Divide in half and transfer to the prepared dishes.  Lightly oil your hands, then press and smooth the dough evenly into the dishes.  Sprinkle each portion with 1 tablespoon of the remaining sesame seeds; pat lightly to embed them just slightly.

Loosely cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the dough rises almost to the point of touching the plastic.  Carefully remove the plastic, being careful not to deflate the dough.  Let rise a little longer until the dough is about 1" above the pan tops.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Transfer pans to the center oven rack.  Bake for 28 to 35 minutes, or until the tops are nicely browned and the loaf bottoms are firm and sound hollow when the loaves are removed from the pans and tapped.

Transfer the loaves to wire racks and let stand until coooled.  Cut into wedges or thick slices.

Yields 2 loaves

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

 This month's Have the Cake challenge was to make cinnamon rolls.  We frequently eat these at our house so my challenge was to find a different recipe.  I came across this recipe on a site called Yummly.com.  I made a few changes such as using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar and drizzling with Karo syrup.  I thought I had a box of French Vanilla Cake mix and that would have taken this recipe through the roof!  The boys all gave it a thumbs up so I guess its a keeper!

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from  http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Cinnamon-Rolls-Allrecipes

5 cups all-purpose flour

18 1/4 ozs cake mix (yellow)
1/2 oz yeast
2 1/2 cups warm water (120 to 130 degrees f/50 degrees c)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon 

3 tablespoons Karo Syrup (optional)

 In a mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, dry cake mix, yeast and warm water until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. 

Roll each portion into a 14-in. x 10-in. rectangle. Brush with butter; sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon... I also like to drizzle 3 tablespoons of Karo Syrup over it.

 Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Cut each roll into 12 slices; place cut side down in two greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pans. 

Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 20 minutes.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 20 minutes.

Yields 24

Chicken Piccata

I think we eat more chicken than any other meat.  It gets old very quick, so I am always on the lookout for something new to try.One of my favorite food magazines is Cuisine at Home.  It reminds me of what Taste of Home magazine used to be....before they made a bunch of revisions.  I found a recipe for Chicken Piccata that sounded good (if you omit the capers... YUCK!) so I added it to this month's menu.  It was pretty yummy and, aside from the time it took to pound out, went relatively quick.  Even my finicky son liked it and that's saying something!! 

The original recipe serves two but I had to make enough for eight people.  

I've typed out the recipe for making 4 servings.  I also had to do double pans so 

my pictures will be from one or other pan I used.  Sorry!

 Chicken Piccata

Makes 4 servings

adapted from Cuisine at Home magazine

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in half

and pounded into cutlets

Salt and black pepper

All-purpose flour

4 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoon drained capers (which I left out!)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Season cutlets with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.

In a large saute pan, add oil and heat over medium high heat.

Saute cutlets 2-3 minutes on one side.  Flip cutlets over

and saute the other side, covered, 1-2 minutes. Transfer

cutlets to a warmed platter; pour off fat from the pan.

Deglaze pan with wine and add minced garlic. Cook until garlic is slightly

 brown and liquid is nearly evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add broth, lemon juice and capers (if you want them).
Return cutlets to pan and cook on each side for 1 minute.  

Transfer cutlets to warm plates.

Finish sauce with butter.  Once butter melts, pour sauce

over cutlets.

Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and lemon slices (if desired).

Serve immediately.

Four Cheese Cornmeal Stix

Monday was the perfect day to make a hearty soup and what's better to go with soup than crackers? Or in this case, "Stix." Rolled out thin and cut into squares these would be ideal for crackers but I was looking more towards cheese straws.  Easy to make and quite yummy.  These would be a lovely gift to make and give along with with some home made soup.

Four Cheese Cornmeal Stix

adapted from BHG Cheddar Cornmeal Sticks

2 Cups Sargento Classic Fancy Shredded Mexican 4 Cheese

                                                           (or just use plain sharp cheddar)

1/2 cup butter

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Lightly grease two baking sheets; set aside.

In a bowl, combine cheese and butter and allow to stand at room temperature for 1 hour.

  Beat with an electric mixer until well mixed.  

Stir in flour, cornmeal, salt, cayenne and nutmeg.  

Divide dough in half.

On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough half into 

about 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch thickness, cut into strips, and gently twist.

Or,roll small amounts of dough into a long tube 

about the width of a straw and cut in desired lengths.

Arrange the strips on prepared baking sheets.  

Bake about fifteen minutes or until bottoms are light brown.

Keep stored in airtight container for up to 3 days

or freeze up to 3 months.

Yields about 24 of the 12 -inch stix

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Lately I have been obsessed with Pinterest.  I know, just what I need... another obsession.  I could stock pile recipes and ideas all day long. Sure, 90% of them will never get done.  Never mind the harsh reality that if I stopped following everyone's blogs and pins there would be actual time to do those things!

My daughter and son-in-love (law just seems so rigid, we have chosen to love this dear man!) were coming over for dinner and I wanted to have a meal that would be fairly easy to manage.  Although there are some things I would change next time I make it, over all it got high flavor scores.
I found this recipe off of Pinterest.  It was originally pinned from Food Wishes  which gives a great video of how to make this easy meal. In fact, this is what he does; Video Recipes.  There are tons of things I want to try out on his blog.. If you do try this recipe please visit Chef John's blog and thank him!

 Notes:  My topping looks burned.  It didn't bother the flavor a bit but does make the picture a bit icky looking.  I would cover this dish with tinfoil for about half the cooking time to prevent this from happening again. Everyone would have like a bit more sauce, so I would actually increase the marinara by another cup.  I encourage you to try the recipe first as is.  It was absolutely delicious!

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Recipe from Foodwishes.com

Ingredients: 

2 tbsp olive oil 

2 cloves garlic, crushed 

hot red pepper flakes, to taste 

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 5, but they were huge!) 

2 cups marinara sauce 

1/4 cup chopped basil 

8 oz mozzarella, shredded 

4 oz Parmesan, grated 

1 (5-oz) package garlic croutons

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the olive oil in the bottom of a 9-in x-13-inch pan.  Sprinkle garlic and red pepper flakes 

over the olive oil. 

Place chicken onto the olive oil. I cut my chicken breasts in half because they were quite big.  

Pour Marinara sauce over all the chicken pieces

Place chopped basil over chicken. (I had to use dried)

Sprinkle 2 ounces of Parmesan cheese over the top.

Sprinkle 4 ounces of shredded mozzarella.

Cover with the garlic croutons.

Finish off the topping by covering with the remainder of the Parmesan and Mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.  It is important to use your meat thermometer to make sure that your thickest piece of breast meat reaches 165 Degrees F.

I served ours with angel hair pasta that was drizzled that was tossed with fresh minced garlic and olive oil.

Taco Soup

As the temperatures begin to drop, I begin to rely more on the hearty dishes.  I love soup and am always happy when I can find a recipe that pleases most family members(In this family, someone is always bound to dislike something!).  I put together a taco soup recipe that is a combination of a what I liked in a couple different recipes.  I make our own salsa so I used that in place of the picante sauce one of the recipes called for.  My husband, much as I love him to death, dislikes "vegetables" in his foods so I end up putting a lot of vegetables in the blender for him.  Its a happy medium.... I get my flavors and he gets his "chunky vegetable free" food. 

I doubled this recipe and used one can of white beans and one can of red kidney beans.  I only used one can of diced tomatoes and used roasted petite diced tomatoes.  In the past I have used the addition of the pepper, chili powder and cumin but my salsa is so spicy I didn't feel it needed the addition.

I served this up with some fresh cornbread, yummy! 

Taco Soup

adapted from taste of home

1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey

2 teaspoons olive oil,   I omit and  just use a bit of cooking spray in my pan

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups chicken, vegetable or beef broth   I prefer chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, white beans or kidney beans,rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
1-1/2 cups picante sauce or salsa
1 cup uncooked  pasta
1 small green pepper, chopped   I omitted this because my salsa was heavily seasoned
2 teaspoons chili powder        I omitted this because my salsa was heavily seasoned
1 teaspoon ground cumin        I omitted this because my salsa was heavily seasoned
sour cream, optional

shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Directions:

In a medium  skillet, brown and drain ground beef; set aside. In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic  until tender. Add the broth, browned beef,  beans, tomatoes, picante sauce, pasta, green pepper and seasonings. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with cheese and sour cream. Yield: 6 servings.