Queso Blanco

.

Last week we had company over mid-week. I don't usually have dinner guests during the week, but my Goddaughter was in town on business and I wanted to host dinner for her and her beau. It was just a simple dinner of  Chicken Gyro Pizza, but because I wasn't certain when they would arrive, I also prepared an appetizer. I saw this Queso Dip over at Annie's Eats and decided to give it a try. I ended up modifying it because my fresh tomatoes were mushy and tasteless, and I think even during the summer months a can of tomatoes and chilies are a great alternative. The dip is not too spicy, but it probably depends on the heat of your jalapeno and the heat of your can of Ro-Tel tomatoes. I used "Original" which is in the middle of the spicy range.

The Queso was a big hit with everyone -- salty, warm, cheesy -- the best comfort food. The boys really loved it, and we ate the leftovers for lunch -- double duty!


I turned mine from the pan into a small appetizer crock-pot. The cheese dip gets thick quickly once you take it off the heat, so either use a small crock-pot like I did, or only ladle a small amount at a time out of the pot. I found white American cheese at the deli counter of my store -- I just asked them to cut me a one-inch chunk to shred at home.

Queso Blanco

Printer version

1 T. canola or vegetable oil
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
12 oz. white American cheese, shredded

4 oz. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
2/3 cup milk
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilies, drained well

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and jalapeño to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Add both of the shredded cheeses and half of the milk.  Whisk or stir until completely melted, adding milk as necessary to thin. Add the can of tomatoes and stir until dip is hot again. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl or small crock pot and serve immediately with tortilla chips.

Source: modified from Annie's Eats

.

Annunciation Cake

.

Last week's Solemnity of the the Annunciation had me quite whipped into a frenzy. I had not looked ahead, and halfway through the week I realized that the Annunciation, a solemnity on the calendar, was on Friday -- during Lent no less. As much as it is important to follow the rules of abstention during Lent, I think it's just as important to follow the "rules" of a solemnity -- to celebrate. While you're not obliged, of course, to eat meat, as you are never obliged to eat meat, I took the lesson provided by St. Francis of Assisi and planned a meat meal, and a lovely cake to celebrate for dessert.

This recipe is one I made up myself, using angel food cake for the Archangel Gabriel, and blueberry sweetened cream for Our Blessed Mother. It was a lovely, light, fresh dessert -- perfect for a Lenten Friday, not overly rich or sweet.

Annunciation Cake

Printer version

6 egg whites

3/4 t. cream of tartar

3/4 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup cake flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 heaping T. blueberry jam or preserves

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, washed

powdered sugar for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour and sugar.

In a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat egg whites, with cream of tartar, vanilla, and salt until stiff peaks form. Fold in flour/sugar mixture, one third at a time, until completely incorporated. 

Spoon batter into a 9 x 5 loaf pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until top of cake is golden brown and cake springs back lightly when touched. Remove cake from oven and turn upside down, using coffee mugs or cans to rest ends of pan on (do not set cake on it's top -- you want to make sure it is hanging upside in the pan).

When cake is cool, remove from pan by running a knife around the edges and lightly lifting it with a spatula. Place on a plate -- preferably a rectangular or large oval.

In mixing bowl with whisk attachment beat 2 cups cold cream with 1/2 cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Remove half of the whipped cream to another container. Add blueberry jam to the remaining cream and beat for a second until cream is purple/blue. Fold in blueberries gently.

Cut cake in half lengthwise so that you have a top and a bottom. Remove top and using a sharp knife cut a space in the bottom of the cake to fill with cream -- leaving about an inch all the way around and on the bottom.

Fill with blueberry cream and replace the top. Dust with powdered sugar and refrigaerate until ready to serve.

To serve, cut cake in crosswise slices and top with additional whipped cream.

.

Growing Your Own Sprouts

.

We have been growing sprouts in our house this week and it's so easy to do, I have to share. Sprouts are really very good for you, but because of past recalls on sprouts, usually due to e coli, I do not buy sprouts at the grocery store. I don't even like to eat them out for them same reason. But they are so tasty and nutritious, it's a shame to miss out on them entirely.

After doing a homeschool science experiment with my daughter recently (we grew lentil sprouts) I researched growing sprouts and discovered how easy they are to grow on your own. Because they are grown indoors, without any soil at all, they are the perfect garden vegetable for me!

You can do your own research (I read this article and then this one), but I don't think it's a complicated thing. The most important thing to remember is to rinse them twice a day so that you don't grown any bacteria along with your sprouts. And also make certain that you drain the sprouts really well, or some of them will rot instead of grow. Keep them out of direct sunlight, but near a window where they can get some indirect light.

Most of the directions I found recommended using quart size jars, but I don't have any quart size Mason jars. I just used pint jars with less seed and my instructions are for the pint jars. I bought my seed at a local health food store and I would recommend that route if you have a local source. You can also find them online, but you might have to buy a large quantity. I was able to purchase just a fraction of a pound of both alfalfa seeds and radish seeds, so I had minimal investment and I knew they would stay fresh at least for a short time. You can try different seeds, and even beans, like lentils or mung beans -- whatever you like best.

Growing Sprouts

1 pint Mason jar for each type seed and the lid

1 square double thickness cheesecloth for each jar

1 scant tablespoon seed for each jar

Make certain Mason jar is impeccably clean before you start. Place seed and about a quarter jar of cold water in jar and cover with cheesecloth square. Screw on the ring only, but keep the lid nearby because you'll need it when the sprouts are done growing.

Let seed sit overnight, or for 8-10 hours. In the morning (or after 8-10 hours) pour water out through cheesecloth and fill the jar with cold water again, and then let it all drain out. You'll just have wet seed left in the jar. Make sure you drain them well. 

For six days rinse the seeds twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. After about one day you'll see the seeds start to sprout and by about day six you should have fully sprouted seeds. When spouts have green leaves they are done. 

 

Rinse them one last time and replace the cheesecloth square with the metal lid and refrigerate sprouts until ready to eat. Keep refrigerated.

.

Chicken Gryo Pizza

.

One favorite dish in our house is Annie's Eats' Chicken Gyros. I was having company over for dinner and wanted the yummy flavors of the Gyros, but they are not an easy meal to serve to a crowd -- getting the pitas hot and keeping them hot for a lot of people in a chaotic kitchen is not easy. I decided to combine the yummy flavors of the Gyro with the ease of serving and eating a pizza and the result was really yummy. The kids especially enjoyed it and said they liked it better than the Gyros.

Chicken Gyro Pizza

serves 4

Printer version

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Marinade:
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 T. lemon juice
1 t. red or white wine vinegar
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 heaping T. plain yogurt

1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt

Flavored oil:

2 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1/2 t. oregano

1/2 t. basil

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

one recipe pizza dough (mine is found here)

3 cups mozarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup Feta cheese

 very thin wedges of tomato

very thin wedges of red onion

Tzatziki sauce:
8 oz. Greek yogurt
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and shredded English cucumber
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
squeeze of fresh lemon juice

drizzle extra virgin olive oil

Cut chicken into bite size pieces and place in a plastic bag or glass bowl. Whisk together marinade ingredients and toss with chicken. Refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Drain chicken. Spray a large baking sheet with oil and place chicken pieces in a single layer on pan. Place in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is done. You can let them get some color, if desired, but don't let them dry out. (The chicken will mostly be hidden under the cheese, however, so color isn’t necessary.)

Place oil and garlic for flavored oil in a glass measuring cup and microwave for 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add spices and stir.

Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees F. 

Grease a large pizza pan and spread dough to edges (if you need to see technique go here).

Arrange chicken pieces on top of pizza dough, breaking pieces up if necessary to make sure pieces are all fairly small. Drizzle with flavored oil. Cover with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with feta cheese.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is browned lightly and crust is golden (lift with a spatula to check). If cheese browns before crust, move pizza to lower rack. If crust browns before cheese, raise to higher rack.

Cool for a few minutes, then cut into wedges. Top each wedge with tomatoes, onions and Tzatzki sauce, as desired. 

Serving suggestion: serve with a Greek Salad

.

Sweet Irish Treats

.

The Feast of St. Patrick's Day is always a big one to celebrate in our house. It's hardly possible to completely miss it with so many reminders in our culture. Secretly I always get a little giggle out of the fact that our secular world celebrates this great saint's day. Yesterday I was driving my son home from his drum lesson and a local elementary school was letting a huge sea of green out the front doors. Too funny! I just wish all those children really knew what a great saint they are celebrating!

Last night's dinner of Irish fish and chips and Fried Cabbage was a great way to celebrate this great saint, and our desserts, two new "recipes" offered a tasty ending to the day. We don't normally indulge in dessert during Lent, but St. Patrick's Day and St. Joseph's Day are two exceptions to the rule. There are an awful lot of Irish saints on the liturgical calendar, so you won't have to work too hard to come up with an excuse to celebrate with a yummy Irish dessert.

Both desserts are simple and should be assembled just before serving. The Irish Jig is a simple mix of whipping cream, sweeteners, whiskey and coconut cookies. The whiskey is really the flavor of the dessert, so if you don't like whiskey, you won't like it. I had some Southern Comfort on-hand and used it instead of whiskey. Southern Comfort is a fruit, spice and whiskey flavored liquer which was created by an Irish bartender -- so close enough for me.  The younger children enjoyed Shamrock Shakes instead -- a homemade take on that fast food treat.

Irish Jig

serves 4

2 cups cold whipping cream

2 T. sugar

1 T. powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 T. Irish whiskey

1 cup crumbled coconut macaroons (I used Archway brand)

Whip cream in a mixer on high speed with sugars until thick and soft peaks form. Add whiskey and vanilla and finish beating until stiff. Fold in cookie crumbs. Serve in dessert glasses.

~~~~~

Shamrock Shake

serves 2

3/4 cup milk

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1/2 t. peppermint flavoring

4 drops green food color

2 T. sugar

whipping cream (from the can) 

green sprinkles

In a blender, or large plastic glass for use with an immersion blender, combine all ingredients except whipped cream and sprinkles. Blend until thick and creamy. Pour into two fancy glasses and top with whipped cream and green sprinkles.

Printer version

.

Patty Melt Burgers

.

I don't know how that little piece of cabbage snuck around the burger. He must be a photo bomber. ;-)

When I was a little girl we almost never went out to eat. We weren't what I would call poor, but we definitely had limited means. I never knew that, of course, because I was happy and provided for in every way possible. I realized when we were older and my father had a better paying job because there were perks, such as eating out, more often.

The thing is, when we were younger we appreciated the rare meals out so much more. Even when it was just a burger at the nearby Frisch's restaurant. My mom always ordered a Swiss Miss or a Patty Melt, and so I wanted one as well. What's not to love? She always ordered onion rings on the side and added a few on top of her burger under that delicious rye bun or grilled toast.

This week I decided to try to recreate that yummy Frisch's burger that I haven't had in so very long. Topped with Swiss cheese, special sauce and onion rings, it was the same flavor from my childhood. Yum. And the kids and my husband enjoyed them so much I know they will be a regular menu item.

Patty Melt Burgers

6 burgers 

Printer version

2 pounds ground beef or chuck

6 slices Swiss cheese

special sauce (below)

salt and pepper

12 slices rye bread

softened butter

one box or bag of frozen onion rings

Heat oven and cook onion rings according to package instructions.

In the meantime, form meat into six patties -- just a little bit larger than the bread slices.

Heat a large frying pan (preferably cast iron) over high heat and salt and pepper burgers on one side. Place burger seasoned side down in hot pan. Cook burger until browned on one side and flip. Cook until burger is medium well inside, or until desired doneness. Place a slice of Swiss cheese on each burger and turn off heat.

While burgers are cooking, heat a griddle over high heat and butter one side of each bread slice. When griddle is hot, place bread, butter side down on hot griddle. Add a burger and top with another slice of bread, buttered side up -- just like grilled cheese. Serve with special sauce and onion rings.

Special Sauce

1/2 cup low fat mayonnaise

1/3 cup ketchup

1 1/2 T. sweet pickle relish or minced sweet pickles

1 1/2 T. dill pickle relish or minced dill pickles

1 1/2 T. minced onion

1 hard boiled egg finely chopped

1 t. worchestershire sauce

1 t. horseradish sauce

Mix all ingredients and chill until ready to use.
.

Fried Cabbage

.

 

I love cabbage. I know some people don't like the smell of it cooking, and some folks don't like the after-affects (my husband has a problem with cabbage for this reason), but I love the taste, and it's nutritious and cheap. As a result, I am always on the lookout for new ways to serve cabbage as a side dish. This recipe could not have been easier, with a total of four ingredients. And with one of those ingredients being bacon -- yum. I bet you could add a couple of tablespoons of cider vinegar mixed 2:1 with sugar at the very end and get a great sweet sour cabbage. I'll try that next time and let you know what I think. In the meantime, try it plain and simple with bacon and I bet you'll love it. I think St. Patrick's Day would be a great time to give it a go.

Note: I used half a head of cabbage and it easily served six. If your crowd really loves cabbage go for the whole head.

Fried Cabbage

serves 6

Printer version

4  bacon slices

1  large head fresh cabbage, coarsely chopped (or a half for smaller portions)

1 t.salt

1 t.  pepper

Cook bacon in a large skillet 10 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon.

Add cabbage to hot drippings in skillet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté cabbage over medium-high heat 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with bacon.

Serving suggestion: Especially yummy with some Beer-Braised Bratwurst  (grilled or not) and mashed potatoes

Source: myrecipes.com

.

Whey Pancakes

.

Since I started making yogurt every week, I have been saving up the whey that I strain off every morning. I prefer a thicker style yogurt, similar to Greek yogurt, and it only takes about five minutes to strain off enough whey to make the yogurt nice and thick. I hated to waste the whey, however, because it's very high in calcium and protein. I kept a container in the freezer, opening it each morning and adding the whey from my yogurt. After a couple weeks I had enough for pancakes -- sounds like a process, but really, it's nothing. I know there are many things that can be made from yogurt whey, but these pancakes are so good, I don't know if I'll ever try another recipe. Much like buttermilk, the whey makes the pancakes very tender, as well as tasty.

The recipe if from King Arthur Flour. I doubled it and I used all-purpose flour.

Whey Pancakes

Printer Version

2 cups unbleached all-purpose or traditional whole wheat flour or a combination of both
1 to 2 T. sugar, honey, maple syrup (I used 1 T. sugar)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 cups whey
2 large eggs
2 to 4 T. vegetable oil (I used 2 T. corn oil)

 

Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, beat together the whey, eggs and vegetable oil.

Blend the liquid ingredients with the dry taking about 20 seconds. (Don't overdo it. Pancake batter is like muffin batter; a light hand in mixing means a light pancake on the plate.)

Cook on a cast iron skillet, if you have one. 

Source: King Arthur Flour

.

Fat Tuesday, Shrovetide, Fastnacht Day...

.

...whatever you call it, you really must celebrate. And if you don't already have a plan...I highly recommend these yummy German doughtnuts.

.

English Trifle

.

This very special dessert is really not much more than cake, fruit, pudding and cream. There are many variations on it, some of which have alcohol and some (the true British trifle, I have read) use a gelatin-based liquid so that the trifle sets up with the fruit suspended.

My version is, I suppose, an Americanized version, but it was delicious, and very special, nevertheless. I opted to not use alcohol, but if you want to dress it up, just add a few tablespoons of Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur to the strawberries -- it will be very grown up! I used a store bakery pound cake and it was delicious and, of course, could not have been easier. The next time you have pound cake leftover, just freeze it and pull it out for a lovely dish of trifle. I assembled mine in pretty crystal glasses, but for a crowd, use a pretty, deep glass or crystal bowl.

We celebrated the feast of St. David of Wales with this special dessert, but it would be appropriate (and much appreciated!) for any Welsh, Scottish or English saint's feast day. The recipe for custard makes more than you need for this recipe, but it's what I use. I never have trouble getting rid of leftovers. ;-)

English Trifle

Printer version

1 small pound cake (about small 10 slices)

1 quart strawberries, cleaned and diced*

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Custard

 2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 t. salt

3 cups whole milk

3 large egg yolks

2 t. pure vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 c. powdered sugar

Place strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Stir, cover and let sit at room temperature for several hours. If using alcohol, add two tablespoons orange liqueur to strawberries.

Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; set aside. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually whisk in milk, mixing until ingredients are dissolved. Whisk in egg yolks.Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble appears. Reduce heat to low; continue to whisk, and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat, and immediately pour through sieve into bowl; stir in vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.

When custard is cool and strawberries have produced quite a bit of juice, whip cream and assemble trifle. 

In a mixing bowl place whipping cream and begin whipping at high speed. Gradually add powdered sugar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.

In either 6 to 8 small dishes or one deep dish, place a small amount of strawberries and juice in bottom. Break up cake and drop in juice, either half a piece in each cup or several pieces in large bowl. Spread half the pudding over cake (reserving the rest for another purpose), dividing up evenly among cups or placing all of it in bowl. Spread remaining strawberries and juice over pudding. Break up remaining cake over strawberries and top with whippied cream. 

Chill until ready to serve.

* Any fresh fruit can be used.

.

Mushroom Barley Pilaf

.

I am always looking for new side dishes, something besides potatoes. We seem to eat a lot of potatoes around here, and it gets old, at least for me. I love grains -- can't think of one I don't love, so I try to find new things to do with them. The night that I made the Maple and Soy Glazed Steak (below) I made this Mushroom Barley Pilaf. It was wonderful -- beefy favor with the enhancement of baby portabella mushrooms, Mmmm. The kids were just o.k. with it, but they are not the grain lovers that I am (they'd rather have potatoes!), but my husband loved it as much as I did.

Mushroom Barley Pilaf

Printer version

1  (14 1/4-ounce) can low-salt beef broth

1 T. Worcestershire sauce 

1/4 t. salt 

1/4 t. pepper 

1  cup  uncooked quick-cooking barley

1  (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms 

3/4  cup  chopped onion

1/2  cup  finely chopped celery (about 1 rib)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Add barley; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.

Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms, onion, and celery; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring often. Stir into cooked barley.

Source: myrecipes.com

.

Maple and Soy Glazed Steak

.

All the members of my family are big beef eaters, except me. I'm not much of a meat eater at all, so I have to remember to put beef on the menu once in a while to keep my people happy. They were really happy with this dish, and I enjoyed it as well. The flavors of this dish appeal to three of the tastes our tongues perceive -- sweet, salty, and umami (if you haven't heard of this one, it's because it is more recently known to Westerners, and comes from "meaty" flavors). The combination of all of those flavors made a really yummy dish. I started with a skirt steak, instead of flank -- a cut I had never tried before. It was better, in my opinion, than flank steak -- less connective tissue and more tender. I will definitely keep an eye out for this cut in the future. It was not expensive either. The recipe, which came from Cooking Light, is easy peasy, so no excuses.

The key to keeping the meat really tender is to not cook it past medium -- it will continue cooking a bit after you take it from the heat, but if you get it too done, you'll have shoe leather instead of steak. My husband cooked ours on the outdoor grill, so I can't say if the time under the broiler is accurate. I used the same time for the grill.

Note: The sriracha sauce you should be able to find in the Asian or Indian food section at the grocer. My oldest son turned us on to it a few months ago as a sort of Asian Tabasco -- my kids love it. It's very garlicky, but not too spicy.

Maple and Soy Glazed Steak

Printer version

1  (1-pound) flank steak, trimmed (I used an almost 2-pound piece of skirt steak with the same amount of glaze)

3 T.   lower-sodium soy sauce 

3  T. maple syrup

2  T.  sake (rice wine) or dry sherry

2  t.  dark sesame oil

1 t.  Sriracha (hot chile sauce)

1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

Preheat broiler (or grill).

Pierce steak gently on both sides. Combine steak and next 6 ingredients (through pepper) in a shallow dish; turn to coat. Marinate at room temperature 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. Place steak on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Pour marinade into a small skillet; bring to a boil, stirring well. Cook over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until thick and syrupy.

 Brush steak with half of glaze; broil 5 minutes. Turn steak over, and brush with remaining glaze; broil 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Place steak on a cutting board; let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.

Source: Cooking Light

.