Creamy Parmesan Garlic Orzo

I originally got this recipe from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/parmesan-garlic-orzo/)

This recipe is for a side dish but I wanted to use it for a main dish.  So, this includes my modifications.


Ingredients

3 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup butter
1/4 c olive oil
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
4 slices of bacon, cut in pieces
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (or any combination of Asiago, Parmesan and Romano)
1/2 c half and half
1 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions


1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.

2.Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil and heat until warm. Saute bacpn, onion and garlic in melted butter/oil until lightly browned. Stir orzo into garlic mixture and mix in Parmesan cheese, half and half, salt, black pepper, and parsley.

Fresh Fruit Crumble

I found this recipe on food.com as a Peach Crumble.  But my husband doesn't like peaches.  So, after making it with peaches, I also decided to make it with apples.  It was delicious both ways.

Ingredients:

6 cups peeled sliced ripe peaches(or apples)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon

TOPPING

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 375*.
2. Put fruit slices in greased, shallow 11x7 baking dish.
3. Mix brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, peel, and cinnamon.
4.  Sprinkle over the fruit.
5.  Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
6.  Stir in egg until mixture is coarse crumbs.
7 . Sprinkle over fruit.
8. Drizzle butter evenly over topping.
9. Bake for 38 minutes.

Baklava

Last weekend, at my husband's request, I tried my hand at Baklava.  His owning wishes were "fewer walnuts, more honey".  So I set out in search of a recipe.  I found one with +1200 reviews at allrecipes.com.  It included a video, which helped me immensely.

I did, however, make a few modifications - I increased the honey from 1/2 c to a full cup.  I also buttered each layer, which took a full pound.

Also, I had really mixed results with the whole damp cloth thing.  I did better without.  Next time, I think I'll use a sheet of plastic wrap and just place it gently on top of the dough.

I turned out great.  My hubby says it was the best baklava he's ever had!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts (I used pecans, almonds and pistachios)
• 1 lb butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

René's Caprese Salad

I LOVE caprese salad.  I could live on fresh tomatoes and basil.  Adding mozzerella and balsamic just makes it that much better.

We were fixing dinner for my husband's parents and I wanted to take advantage of the current crop of tomatoes. Caprese salad doesn't really require a recipe but I want to write down what I did because it was a bit different.  I made a dressing the day before and let it chill so all of the flavors blended together.


 

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/2 c chopped fresh basil

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1 T fresh garlic

1/2 c chopped red onion

1/2 c chopped white onion

Salt

Pepper

Place all ingredients in blender and pureé.  Adjust quantities according to taste.  Chill overnight.

Salad:

4 or 5 fresh tomatoes, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

1/4 to 1/2 fresh basil

4 to 8 oz mozzerella (whole milk kind is best)

balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Spread dressing on bottom of serving plate.  Arrange tomatoe slices, onion slices and mozzerella over dressing, using one onion and cheese to every three tomatoe slices.

Spread basil on top of tomato/onion/mozzerella.  Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.

Chill at least one our before serving.

This was very tasty.  The tomatoes made the dressing a little runny by the time I served it, but it didn't really seem to matter.  This recipe can be adapted to take advantage of your favorite ingredients.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

Yikes!  I can't believe I haven't posted anything since April.  I guess that's because we spent the spring and half the summer moving.  But, I have started cooking again so it's time to write!

I got this recipe from a co-worker and have modified it by adding the bacon.  They are awesome!


1 lb Sausage  (I either use hot sausage or add red pepper flakes)
8 oz cream cheese

4 oz grated parmesan

24 jalapenos

Enough bacon to wrap all of the jalapenos  (1/2 slice per jalapeno half)



Brown sausage.  Drain grease and cool

Mix sausage with cream cheese and parmesan

Remove stem and seeds and cut jalapenos in half and fill with sausage mixture.  Wrap jalapenos tightly with 1/2 slice bacon.

Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes -- until bacon is fairly crispy.





Pre heat oven to 400 degrees



Bake stuffed jalapenos for 10 – 15 minutes

Best Chicken Fried Steak

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com.  I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the tabasco.  I also fried the steaks one at a time so I kept them warm in the oven with a pan covered with foil.

Ingredients

• 4 (1/2 pound) beef cube steaks
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable shortening for deep frying

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pound the steaks to about 1/4-inch thickness. Place 2 cups of flour in a shallow bowl. Stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a separate shallow bowl; stir in the buttermilk, egg, Tabasco Sauce, and garlic. Dredge each steak first in the flour, then in the batter, and again in the flour. Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour.
2. Heat the shortening in a deep cast-iron skillet to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Place fried steaks on a plate with paper towels to drain. Drain the fat from the skillet, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid and as much of the solid remnants as possible.
3. Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil. Whisk the remaining flour into the oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release solids into the gravy. Stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer, cook until thick, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Spoon the gravy over the steaks to serve. 

The family loved this!
 
 
 

Microwave Spicy Spuds

4 medium potatoes
3 Tbsp. butter. melted
2 Tbsp. fine dry bread crumbs
4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
dash paprika

 

Instructions:

Cut into 1/4" slices. Arrange in glass baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Combine crumbs, cheese and seasonings. Sprinkle over potatoes. Cook in a microwave oven at full power for about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender, turning 1/4 turn several times. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 3 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

 This recipe came from healthyhomerecipes.com

 At first was a little skeptical but I cooked the potatoes some more and added about 1/2 c shredded cheese. 

Weekend cooking -- Batter Biscuits and Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

I had a pretty successful cooking day on Sunday.  I made the Dirty Rice in my previous post for dinner.  And, earlier in the day, I made these two things.

Batter Biscuits
I've been trying to figure out where this recipe actually originated but without much luck.  I found it on healthyhomerecipes.com.  When I searched for it, I also found it on bigoven.com.  So, I'm not trying to swipe someone else's recipe -- I always try to give credit to the place I found the recipe.

This recipe is very similar to Yorkshire pudding, except that it is made with buttermilk and in mini-muffin pans.  They were really good -- crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside.  My family love them and begged me to make more.

1 t salt
1/2 T baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 1/3 c flour
1 quart buttermilk (or more as needed)
2 eggs
1/2 lb butter

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix dry ingredients.  Add buttermilk until the consistency of pancake batter.  Beat eggs and add to batter.  Batter must be slightly thinner than pancake batter and beaten until very smooth.

Melt butter.

Put 1/2 t butter in each hole of mini-muffin tins.  Heat in preheated oven until butter is very hot.  Spoon 1 T batter into each hole.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen biscuits.


Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake
From bunsinmyoven.com

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 1 box mix for red velvet cake
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the filling:
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 16 ounces (about 4 cups) powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. It will be thick and difficult to mix. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
4. Spread the cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Awesome Dirty Rice recipe

For some strange reason, a couple weeks ago I decided I needed to make dirty rice from scratch.  I started looking for recipes.  I needed to find one that didn't require chicken livers or gizzards.  I found quite a few.  But I was still hesitant.  So, I got in touch with one of my brothers in New Orleans to see what he thought.  He just happened to be with a female friend of his at the time that I called him.  And she gave me the list of ingredients and a couple of hints.  Here's what I threw together with their help.

 Granted, it isn't pretty.  But it was phenomenal!

Rene and Jayme's Dirty Rice

2 1/2 c white rice
3T butter
2T olive oil
4 c beef broth
2c water
1 lb ground beef
2 onions, chopped very finely
1/2 green pepper, chopped very finely
2 stalks celery, chopped very finely
4 green onions
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
Cajun seasoning to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Brown rice in butter and olive oil.  Add broth and water.  Bring to boil and cook for 20-25 minutes, until rice is done.

In separate pan, brown ground beef.  Add vegetables, soup mix, seasoning and pepper.  cook until vegetables are soft. (Save green tops of green onions for later)

Add ground beef/vegetable mixture to rice.  Add salt to taste.  Add green onion tops


Hint: Even if you don't like green peppers, don't skip them.  They really add something.

Pork Schnitzel based on Tyler Florence

 This recipe is pretty much the same as the Tyler Florence recipe on Food Network.  Biggest changes I made -- pork cutlets instead of pork chops, adding basil to the bread crumbs and using half panko bread crumbs.

Don't skip the thyme step -- it adds a lot of flavor!

• 4 Pork cutlets (5 to 6 oz each)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 cups plain dried bread crumbs (I made my own and added basil that I had dried)
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 sprig thyme

Directions

1.  Begin by placing each cutlet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pounding them out with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until they are an even 1/4-inch thick. 

2.  Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
3.  Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Put the bread crumbs in a third dish and again season with salt and pepper.
5.  Lightly dredge each piece of pork in flour, then in the egg and finally into the bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs onto the pork gently so they have a nice even coating.

6.  Lay the breaded pork cutlets in a single layer on a plate lined with parchment and refrigerate, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes to allow the coating to dry out a little and adhere to the pork. (This is an important step!)

7.  Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the thyme sprig and let it fry for about 1 minute to infuse the oil. Remove the thyme sprig and reserve.
8.  Gently lay the cutlets into the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
9.  Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and transfer to a serving platter while still hot. If you have more cutlets to cook, put finished cutlets in a baking pan, cover with foil and keep in warm oven.