Category: MISC

Cheesy Onion, Broccoli, Mushroom, Red Pepper, and Barley Bake

Cheesy Onion, Broccoli, Mushroom, Pepper, and Barley Bake
Serves 4, adapted from Joanne at Eats Well with Others

2/3 cup barley
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 large broccoli crown
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 chili pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 egg
1 lb part-skim ricotta
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
salt & pepper

  • Cook the barley in the water and salt until tender.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Quarter onions. Mince garlic. Wash and chop mushrooms and broccoli into bite side pieces. Wash the peppers, core them, and cut them into small dice. Mince the chili pepper.
  • Mix the ricotta with the egg.
  • Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the garlic, onions, broccoli and peppers until soft.
  • Add mushrooms and continue cooking just until mushrooms are slightly sauteed. Add salt along the way. Salt at the beginning and at the end and at every step in-between. Just a little bit each time. It brings out the best flavor in things.
  • Add the basil, oregano, and white pepper.
  • Mix together the barley, onion, mushroom & pepper mix with the ricotta & egg mix. Spread into an 11×7 pan. Sprinkle with the cheeses.
  • Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the egg is set and cheese has melted.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes to set. Cut and eat.


MEXICAN MEATLOAF

I’ve been trying to use up some ingredients here and this recipe was born out of that need. We really enjoyed it especially since it started as a serious guinea pig recipe.

MEXICAN MEATLOAF
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
2 small ripe avocados, mashed
1 small onion, chopped
1 can ROTEL tomatoes, drained well
1/2 can enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon chili pepper
1 egg
1 sleeve saltines, crushed
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup grated cheese

  • Combine all the ingredients except the cheese and enchilada sauce.
  • Form the meatloaf in a loaf pan.
  • Pour the enchilada sauce over top.
  • Bake for 1 hour.
  • Top with cheese and leave in oven only until cheese melts.
  • Let settle 5 minutes before serving.
  • Top with a dollop of sour cream.
hubby approved

Refreshing Cup of Coffee

Last Wednesday I spent a beautiful sunny afternoon in a neighboring college town roaming through bookstores, antique shops for various pieces of china for food photography on my new blog, Always Eat On The Good China and took time out to treat myself to a cappuccino.

I had seen a Starbucks, but thought I’d try another cute little shop I’d seen. I went into Peets Coffee & Tea for that treat. And boy was I treated. Not only did I get the best Mocha Caramel Cappuccino I’d had in a long time, I was also treated to be waited on by one of the most pleasant college kids I’ve met in years.

Ethan was so personable and chatted at ease will making my cappuccino. It was like chatting with an old friend. When I told him I was new to the area he introduced himself (really refreshing to see manners in kids today), shook my hand and welcomed me. We chatted easily about the values of wholesome food and the importance of proper food preparation, culinary school and Ethan told me about how his grandmother and mom put together a cookbookof hand written recipes for him that included recipes from both sides of the family. He was genuinely impressed by their efforts and I know he’ll enjoy them for years to come.

More importantly Ethan is a testament to family values and what a kind word and a smile can do. After all it left enough of an impression on me to sit down and write this post several days later. I guarantee I’ll continue to skip the Starbucks and go back to Peets Coffee & Tea.

2/15/10
As a follow up I received an email from Ethan’s manager this morning that I will share. She too deserves recognition for the follow-up:

Hi Tamy,

Thanks so much for letting me know about your recent experience in my store. I am always excited to hear great things about the team. Ethan is wonderful and we are very lucky to have him at Peet’s. It is also customers like yourself that make it easy for us to do what we love, serve you. I will pass this on to Ethan and post for all of the team to read. Thanks again and thanks for choosing Peet’s.

Jenna Bailey

aprons 3

Don’t miss a guy’s point of view on romance…

I want to make sure you know that this weekend Chris from Nibble Me This is hosting a Valentine’s Romance weekend over at OUR KrAzY kitchen and Dave from My Year on the Grill who hosts I CAN COOK THAT! at OUR KrAzY kitchen has been running a Romance series on his regular day where he tells us what men really want for Valentine’s Day. Now my hubby would tell you that Dave is so right as far as the dilemma between moink balls and flowers and chocolates.

aprons 3

Valentine’s Day Brunch

When I sat down to prepare these two posts for Valentine’s Weekend I was initially unsure of what kind of menu to put together.

Food.
Romance.
Romantic foods? Hmmmmm

Sure, there is that unforgettable kitchen scene from the movie Nine and A Half Weeks. But that was all lust rather than romance. Plus it wasn’t very sanitary 😉

I think most people see “romance” as a means to an end, how to woo the one that has stolen your heart. But my idea of romance these days (we’ve been married 15 years as of this week) is that it is the outward evidence of true love. You can’t “see” true love but you can see the gestures and expressions that true love creates, right?

For example, Alexis was off of work yesterday and I knew I was going to be off today. So before I left the office, I wrote 2-3 “love you” type messages and hid them on her desk where I knew she’d come across them during her day today. Simple gestures, huge sentiment.

So it’s only natural that food is linked to romance. It’s one of my ways of showing my love day in and day out. When it came to creating this brunch menu, I kept it simple and just thought of things that I’ve made for Alexis that she loved.

Eggs Benedict
These are one of Alexis’ all time favorites when we’d eat at Village Inn in Jacksonville Beach or Perkins here in Knoxville, so I finally learned how to make it for her this year. I hadn’t before mainly because I didn’t know how to poach an egg. I found out that I actually LIKE poached eggs…..who knew?

I won’t bother with a recipe since there are a million out there already, but here are some tips for poaching an egg & making Eggs Benedict.

  • Proper temperature is the key. Use an instant read thermometer to get the water to exactly 200f.
  • Fresh, cold eggs retain their shape better when poached. Tip courtesy of Rouxbe Online Cooking School: Place raw egg in bowl of cold water. If it lays flat, it’s fresh. If one end floats up, it is older (good for boiling). If the entire egg floats, it should be discarded.
  • Add 2 Tablespoons of white wine vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt to your simmering water to help speed the coagulation of the egg white (keeping it’s shape better)
  • Poach 3-4 minutes for soft, 5-6 for medium, and 7-8 minutes for hard poached eggs.
  • I used a packet mix to make my Hollandaise sauce the first two times I made Eggs Benedict, just so I could focus on getting the eggs poached correctly.
  • If you don’t want to do the traditional free floating method of poaching eggs, they now have cool silicon “boats” that you can use to poach eggs.

Artichoke Bisque
Alexis LOVES rich flavor. I surprised her with this one for Mothers’ Day 2003 and she adored it.

4 teaspoons flour
8 ounces butter
3 cups beef stock
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 1/2 ea onion, diced
1/2 bunch green onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon thyme
2 cloves of roasted garlic
1 can artichoke hearts with juices (about 2 cups)
1 cup spinach, fresh, rinsed and chopped
salt to taste
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Whisk in flour over low heat and whisk constantly for 5 minutes. Slowly whisk in beef stock after that. Then add celery, onions, green onions, bay leaf, thyme and garlic. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Finely chop artichoke hearts, chop the spinach and add to the mixture, continue simmering another 30 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool slightly and then puree it in a blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender.

Add cream, wine, Tabasco, and salt & pepper to taste. Bring back just to a simmer, garnish with whatever you like (croutons, fried leeks, sour cream, etc), and serve. Today used fried leeks and thyme.

Mini Monte Cristo Sandwiches
This is another dish that Alexis enjoys unabashedly. It’s a finger food variation of the Croque-monsieur. It is basically a ham n swiss sandwich given the french toast treatment. Sounds odd but try it. It’s amazing.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons butter or margarine
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
8 Slices white bread
4 ounces swiss OR fontina
4 ounces cooked ham
3 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Env. Golden Onion Soup Mix
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Instructions
Equally top 4 bread slices with cheese and ham; top with remaining bread, buttered side down. Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Beat eggs, milk, and golden onion recipe soup mix until well blended. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture, coating well. In large skillet, melt 1/4 C butter and cook sandwiches over medium heat, turning once, until golden. Makes about 16 mini sandwiches

The KEY part that they left out is the dipping sauce. Warm raspberry preserves over low heat and serve in a sauce cup, it makes the dish.

Grapefruit
Alexis is a certifiable grapefruit freak and just Thursday I received a shipment of California oranges and grapefruit from a family member, so I just had to include those. I was going to make this citrus salad but Alexis didn’t like the sound of the recipe so I went with a basic sectioned grapefruit. Nothing sexy but she loves them.

Mimosas
Come on, it’s brunch. mimosas are obligatory.


Part II – The Valentine’s Dinner
This is coming tomorrow, but to give a little preview, here is the premise: My martial arts instructor has been learning to really cook for the past year. He recently got engaged. My 15th anniversary is this week. So he and I are cooking Valentine’s Day Dinner for his fiance and my wife!

Easy Chocolate Torte

This is one of the easiest elegant desserts I have ever made. It screams chocolate in every bite – perfect for Valentine’s Day. It is straight from Taste of Home. It uses all convenience foods which is normally not what I do, but instead of getting any better, my harried-ness is out of control right now. You certainly could use a homemade brownie recipe and then whip real cream with powdered sugar and vanilla for the topping.

1 package fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 cups whipped topping
1 teaspoon chocolate sprinkles

Directions

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for fudge-like brownies. Spread batter in a greased and floured 9-in. round or springform pan.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Cool for 10 minutes. Invert or release onto a serving plate; cool completely.

In a bowl, stir the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. Spread over brownie layer; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Just before serving, top with whipped topping. Decorate with sprinkles. Yield: 9-12 servings.

Project Linus

Before we moved I donated a TON of fabric to a local church where the ladies made blankets to donate to the LINUS project. Now that we are still in transition I need something to fill a void of time and instead of donating the fabric I have left I will be making blankets for the project. And guess what? You can too! February 20th is National Blanket Day. Contact your local chapter to see how you can help. Make a Blanket Day (MABD) is on the third Saturday in February each year. The next event is set for Saturday, February 20, 2010. Every year, participating chapter coordinators around the country band together to make blankets and spread the Project Linus word. Some may have blanket making events, open houses, collection sites, etc. Please contact your local chapter for more information about local activities.
aprons 3

Aloha Friday question time

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day they take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would participate and take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

Today’s question is:
Are you actually going out to a restaurant for Valentine’s Day? If not what are your preparing for your honey at home?

aprons 3