Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Pierogi Casserole


I never realized that Pierogi were more of a local food to our area. I have always liked them. When i was younger I once ate 17 of them. I had a high metabolism...

Churches will sell homemade ones... espcially now since it is Lent. I have great intentions of making homemade pierogis. They are a lot of work and having a 2 year old wouldn't really make that possible. Until then this is as close as i will get to homemade. Or we will still enjoy Mrs. T's (Hayden likes them better).

Pierogi Casserole

serves 4-6

8 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into fours

1 medium onion, chopped

8 ounces of cheese, cubed or shredded (Velveeta will work best, second best is hand-grated cheddar)

1/2 pound pasta (farfalle or lasagna noodles)

1 1/2 sticks of butter

Preheat oven to 350.

Peel potatoes and chop into quarters. Set them in a large pot and cover with water, allowing it to come to a boil. Boil potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. While potatoes are boiling, cook pasta according to directions, and once drained mix with two tablespoons of butter. Set aside. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of butter and saute chopped onion until soft.

Drain potatoes and mash with one stick of butter and cheese. Make sure no lumps remain. Fold in onions.

Spread out pasta in a large baking dish and spread mashed potato mixture over top. If desired, top with more cheese and onions. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes

Recipe from http://www.howsweeteats.com

Monday, March 7, 2011

Breakfast Casserole


We eat this every Christmas morning. It is perfect for brunch, but we often just have it for dinner. I love that it can be made the night before. It is much easier then my plan to make homemade cinnamon rolls every Christmas (which I am going to do eventually). Besides Hayden will eat anything with breakfast sausage in it. He loves sausage. It is disgusting to watch him eat it.

Here is the recipe:


Ingredients

* 1 lb of Italian pork sausage, (then cooked, drained, crumbled)
* 4 1/2 cups cubed bread (we use good thick bread)
* 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 10 eggs slightly beaten
* 4 cups whole milk
* 1 tsp dry mustard
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp onion powder
* Fresh ground pepper to taste

Place bread in a well buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.

cover and chill overnight

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about one hour. (I top it with extra cheddar towards the end)

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup


This was a nice quick recipe. I like quick and easy right now! Mike said the flavors were better the next day when he took it to work. Make sure you don't overcook the Gnocchi. They tend to get mushy easily.

Ingredients

* 6 cups chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium canned
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 2 carrots, thinly sliced
* 1 rib celery, thinly sliced
* 2 cups prepared potato gnocchi (about 11 ounces), thawed if frozen
* 2 cups frozen peas (8 ounces)
* 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, (about 1 large chicken breast)
* Freshly ground black pepper
* Hunk of good Parmesan

Directions

Put chicken broth, garlic, butter and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-low heat, bring it to a simmer, and cook, uncovered until the garlic is tender, about 2 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and continue to simmer until almost tender, 2 minutes. Bring to a full boil, stir in gnocchi and, cooking until the gnocchi are al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in frozen peas and chicken and turn off the heat. Season with salt —take into consideration that Parmesan cheese is salty, and a generous amount of pepper, to taste. Ladle the soup into warmed shallow bowls and shower each with freshly grated cheese.

Recipe from foodnetwork.com (paula dean)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Sweet Tooth


This pregnancy has left me wanting anything sweet... cookies, cake, you name it. Here are 2 recipes I have made to help with this: Monster Cookies and Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

I have been making tons of cookies lately. Mike loves when we go to Amish Country and get their Monster cookies. So I found this recipe and he loved them. He ate like 6 the night I made them! When we get them in Ohio they have a powdered sugar type glaze, so next time i will try to add that to the top for him.

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
3 cups peanut butter
2 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
4 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1/2 Tbsp vanilla
9 cups quick oats
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars together. Add eggs, mixing well between each addition. Add vanilla, syrup, and baking soda. Add the oats one cup at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides. Stir in chocolate chips. Use a large cookie scoop or large Tablespoon heaped. Bake at 350*F for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven when they still look soft.



We also made some cinnamon streusel pancakes. I found this recipe linked to a travel site I was looking at. Apparently these are from some place near Hollywood. We enjoyed them but they are huge. I only ate one. But very yummy. The site has some other recipes I want to try.



Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon Streusel:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1. First, make the cinnamon streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix together with your hands or a fork, until you have a crumbly mixture. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix, batter will be slightly lumpy.

3. Heat a griddle or pan to medium low. Coat with cooking spray. Drop 1 cup of batter onto heated skillet. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon streusel. Cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form, about 2-3 minutes. Carefully flip pancake over and cover very generously with cinnamon streusel. Cook for another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Continue this process to make the rest of the pancakes.

4. Serve warm with maple syrup and butter.

Makes 6 very large pancakes

http://twopeasandtheirpod.com/cinnamon-streusel-pancakes/

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Chicken Pot Pie


Another snowy day here. Chicken pot pie was a perfect choice. I got the recipe from the food network. It is Ina Garten's. I hate her show, every guest is soooo important and soooo successful. She just annoys me. But her recipes are great. This was a little time consuming, esp when you have to watch a 2 year old at the same time. But it is definitely worth it. Make this!

Ingredients

* 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* Kosher salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 5 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
* 2 chicken bouillon cubes
* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
* 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup heavy cream
* 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 2 minutes
* 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
* 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
* 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
*

For the pastry:

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
* 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
* 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
* 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
* Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

From the foodnetwork.com

Friday, February 4, 2011

Super Bowl Menu...pepperoni dip



What is on your menu for the Super Bowl? We always have to have Buffalo Chicken Dip and my mom's swiss dip (which I need to post one day). We love dips. My mom is making the sausage and cheese dip that a lot of people make.

My sister is making tacos and these chicken tacos so everyone can just eat when they want.

I am taking Pepperoni dip. I got this recipe when I worked at Aetna (I so do not miss that job). A lady brought it in for a food day. It sounds so gross but is so yummy. Of course it is bad for you. What dip isn't?



I remember making this once and Kent Low eating almost the entire thing. Its addicting.

Recipe:
2 packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 small container of sour cream (around a cup or so)
one stick of pepperoni chopped small
french fried onions

Mix 1st 3 ingredients in casserole dish. Top with fried onions
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.
Serve with buttery crackers or tortilla chips

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

More Soup...Meatball Soup


We are still is super bowl mode here, so another soup recipe it is! I made this recipe today. It has been bookmarked on my computer for weeks and I finally decided to just make it. It was good. I made a few changes. I made the meatballs the way I usually make them, not the way the recipe said (I made a huge batch and froze some for when baby arrives!)I also did not have cabbage since we don't eat it. So I made it without. I also added some extra potato chunks. Overall it was different and we enjoyed it.


Ingredients

* Meatballs:
* ¾ pounds Ground Beef
* ½ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
* 3 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, Minced
* 1 whole Egg
* 2 cloves Garlic
* ½ teaspoons Salt
* ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
* ¼ teaspoons Ground Oregano
* 2 teaspoons Lemon Juice
* SOUP
* 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 7 cups Low Sodium Beef Stock
* 2 cups Water
* ½ teaspoons Salt
* 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
* ¾ cups Onion, Chopped
* ¾ cups Carrots, Chopped
* ¾ cups Celery, Chopped
* 1 cup Russet Potato, Chopped (do Not Peel)
* ½ pounds Cabbage Chopped
* Grated Parmesan Cheese To Serve
* TIED IN A CHEESECLOTH BUNDLE
* 4 Tablespoons Fresh Parsley, Minced
* 2 whole Bay Leaves
* 1 teaspoon Peppercorns

Preparation Instructions

To make meatballs, combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Shape into small balls and chill for 30 minutes.

Gather 4 tablespoons parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a cheesecloth bundle. Tie to secure.

After chilling, heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a heavy pot. Briefly brown meatballs, then remove to a plate. To pot, add beef stock, water, salt, tomato paste, and herb bag. Bring to a boil, then simmer 30 minutes.

Add onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes. Simmer 15 more minutes. Remove herb bag.

Add cabbage and meatballs. Bring to a boil, then simmer 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.


Recipe adapted from the pioneer woman cooks.