And to go with the Biscuits!

Another great recipe from Rachael Ray. It is called: Chicken in a Pot, No Pie! It is basically really thick chicken soup. The asparagus and peas are my favorite parts!

Here's the recipe.

Whole-Wheat Biscuits

These are super simple Whole-Wheat Biscuits. I remembered after I had started baking these that I only have a rolling pin for Flatbread - so the biscuits got a little texture!

Here's the recipe.

Sara

Baked Sole (or Flounder or even Tilapia) and Roasted Asparagus with Sesame

This Asian inspired duo passed the Turnage test with flying colors...all 3 wee people were in the clean plate club. We used tilapia. Here's the recipe.

Mango & Black Bean Salad

We had this with shredded beef wraps. It was supposed to be a side, but it ended up inside lot of wraps so it works well as a fruity salsa too. Sara was very brave and tried it, even though it's a lot like a condiment.

Mango & Black Bean Salad

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled ripe mango

1 cupthinkly sliced green onion

1/2 cup cooked wild or brown rice

3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

2 Tbsp. roasted tomatillo or fresh salsa

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 Tbsp. EVOO

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to mix. Serves 6.

Tomato Basil Soup

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this, Sara. The Spicy Hot V8 is the secret...regular tomato juice just isn't the same.

Tomato Basil Soup

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
11.5 oz. Spicy Hot V8
14.5 oz. chicken broth
15-20 fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup butter

Combine tomatoes, V8 and chicken broth in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil. * Puree in blender or with immersion blender. Add the cream and butter, return to medium-low heat, and stir until butter melts completely. Serve immediately.

*We've added basil before and after pureeing....both are good.

Spinach Polenta Topped with Tomatoes

I'm totally digging trying new recipes. I used to have about four main dishes that I just cycled through, its a whole new world.

Last night I tried this Spinach Polenta from Moosewood's Simple Suppers. Delicious.

Spinach Polenta
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta cornmeal
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces fresh baby spinach

Fresh Tomato Topping
4 large tomatoes or 8 to 10 plum tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tablespoons oliver oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

In a saucepan, bring the water, milk, and salt to a boil. Add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream while whisking. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until polenta is thick. (mine took about 20 minutes.)

Meanwhile, prepare the topping: Cut the tomatoes into wedges. In a saucepan on medium-low heat, cook the garlic in the oil for a minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, oregano, and vinegar and simmer for about 5 minutes, just until hot.

When the poletna is thick, reduce the heat to low and stir in the cheese (I only used about 1/2 a cup of Parmesan cheese) until melted and smooth. Fold in the spinach, a couple of handfuls at a time, until just wilted.

Serve the polenta hot, topped with the tomatoes and more cheese if you wish.

I thought this was a great meal. I would serve it in a bowl next time as the tomatoes were a bit runny. Otherwise - perfect!

Sausage, Mushroom & Pesto Polenta Lasagna

Lasagna is definitely a comfort food, but this one has a little twist. Polenta replaces the lasagna noodles, making it that much creamier and comforting.

It's was hard to get a good photo of this "lasagna", but it tastes better than it looks....Just look how much Rick loves it!

Here's the recipe.

We used the last variation with some of our own homemade pesto. Rick also made the polenta himself. Here's how:


Bring 2.75 cups water to boiling. In a bowl combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1 cup cold water. Slowly add cornmeal mixture to boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook and stir till mixture returns to boiling. Reduce heat, cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes or till mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally.

Mixture will have a consistency like a thick bread pudding. Spoon polenta onto sheets of wax paper and roll to make a tube that is 2-3 inches in diameter. Chill overnight.


OR make your life easier and buy the prepared polenta the recipe calls for.

Either way, enjoy it with a class of wine and a fresh green salad!

Green Curry - Part Two

Green Chicken Curry.

After making the curry paste - I marinated about a pound of chicken breast strips in a couple Tablespoons of the paste.

Then I sauted one yellow onion with a bit of garlic and oil until the onion was clear. I added 3 Tablespoons of the curry paste and cooked that for about 2 minutes. Then I added the chicken and cooked that until it was about 80% cooked. Then I added 1 can of Coconut Milk and 3/4 cup of chicken broth and cooked the whole thing for about 10 more minutes. Finally I added some fresh Spinach and frozen peas. And served it on top of steamed rice.

The coconut milk I'd never used before and when I opened the can it was solid - which I hadn't expected. I chunked it out and found liquid at the bottom. (yes - I made a phone call to Mary to see if this was normal.)

This was actually a really delicious meal! Again, I would have added just a little more kick to the curry paste and If I did it again I'd make some broccoli or some other veggie to go with it.

Green Curry - Part One

Ever since my return to the restaurant scene after Easter, and my subsequent trip to The Blue Orchid, and getting to sample Mary's delicious green curry dish - I've been on a mission to make my own green curry. Saturday was my first attempt.

Part One - Green Curry Paste. After a trip to our new HyVee store, which conveniently hosts Lincoln's only Caribou coffee shop - I had most of the ingredients I needed. I was still missing lemon grass and fresh coriander. The lemon grass I got in a tube - not sure if that was a good decision or not - I'm going to have to try to find the real thing. The fresh coriander was a learning experience for me.

I found an Asian grocery store and asked for the fresh coriander and was told they had nothing like this. I found a second store - called "Homeland Food Market" - and again asked for fresh coriander. The clerk seemed to know nothing of this product. A customer leaving the store over heard my question and enlightened me - "you need cilantro," he said. I promptly began to think of him as an idiot, like I don't know what cilantro is. Turns out Cilantro and Fresh Coriander are the same thing! Learn more here. I left that store with a jar of Coriander Chutney. Not sure if I'll ever use it - but I felt stupid so I bought something. (Turns out most people already know this - thanks for telling me!)

Here's my green curry paste: (I just found this recipe on the internet - there are tons!)
2 Fresh Green Chillies
1 Small Onion
1 Tsp Ground Coriander
1 Lime, juice and rind
1 Stalk Lemon Grass
1 Clove Garlic
1 Tsp Soy Sauce
1 Tsp Ground Cumin
1/4 cup Fresh Coriander, stalks and leaves
1 Tblsp grated fresh ginger
2 Tbls oil

Place all in blender/food processor and blend until paste.
(When I make this again I'll use more chillies and more lime.) I had plenty left over so its in a jar in my fridge - perhaps I'll freeze it.

Lentil-Walnut Burgers

If you have a food processor, these burgers are EASY! And they are so tasty. My notes:





-I made them according to the recipe, but you could reduce the cumin/coriander. I may do that next time for a more subtle flavor.
-I used less oil then listed for the cooking and they were fine, probably just not aS crispy as intended.
-I doubled the recipe and it still fit in my food processor.
-We topped our burgers with tomato, red onion and yogurt.

(From Everyday Food - Great Food Fast page 153)

3/4 c lentils
3/4 c walnuts
1/3 c plain dried breadcrumbs
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground corander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 Tbls olive oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350. Place lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape, 15-20 minutes. Drain well and cool.

Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

In a food processor, combine the walnuts, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Process until finely ground. Add the lentils and 1 Tbls of the oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped (some lentils will remain whole).

In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mixture; mix well. Dived into 4 balls and flatten into 3/4 inch thick patties. (Use wet hands to reduce the stickiness.)

Heat the remaining 3 Tbls oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers; cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, about 8-10 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Green Pie

Sara's heard tell of the euphemistically named "Green Pie," but she's never had a chance to eat it at my house. The problem is that my family of 5 eats the whole thing. Which is pretty cool since the original name was "Italian Spinach Pie." Yep. Spinach is the main ingredient. And my 3 kids (11, 9 & 6) count it as one of their favorite meals.

Use your favorite pizza dough, just be sure the dough isn't too moist...you want a stiff, dry dough because the filling has a lot of moisture. Here's one we tried recently and liked. Rick doubled it (you need a top & bottom crust), and he had to add more flour than it called for to get the right consistency, but it was a really good crust!

For the filling:

2-10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach
2 eggs
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 stick of butter
1 c. soft bread crumbs ( make with 2-3 slices of bread chopped in food processor or blender)
1 c. parmesan cheese (we use the stuff out of the plastic jar)

Saute the onions in butter until clear. While onions are cooking, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach in a colander. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and combine all filling ingredients, mixing well.

Divide dough in half and roll out as you would for 2 pizzas. Put one dough round onto a round baking stone. Spread spinach mixture evenly on the dough. Cover the filling with the 2nd dough round. Seal the edges by pressing together. Brush the top with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes. Check at about 20 minutes. You may need to brush the top with olive oil again to keep it from overbaking.

Top with your favorite marinara sauce, if you like that sort of thing.

An Old Favorite

Maybe Rice Hotdish wasn't the original comfort food . . . maybe it was Cream Peas on Toast. Some of my favorites from childhood will never go away. Yum!