Saturday, September 29, 2007

Baked Hot Wings

This is what we are having tonight. It is very yummy and customizable.

This recipe is best made fresh, but you can use frozen chicken as long as you defrost it first.

1 to 2 pounds chicken wings (I prefer to buy the drumettes)
1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Garlic powder to taste
Salt/Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375
Put wings, hot sauce, vinegar, and spices in a large zip-lock bag.
Seal bag and shake it gently to coat wings.
Let marinate for at least 20 minutes (the longer they marinate, the better, though).
Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.
Arrange wings in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until juices run clear.

This is a fast, easy go-to main dish that is fun to eat and a variation from the standard baked chicken.

Company Carrots

My friend, Kathryn, made this for one of her "get Sara married off" dinners. While the eligible bachelor didn't prove to be a success, this side dish was indeed a delicious success. I've made it many times. I don't imagine it would freeze well, but it does reheat very well in the oven on an oven-safe plate covered with foil.

Time: 10-15 minutes prep, 45 minutes baking
Serves: 4-6 adults
Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
4-5 large carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2"x1" matchsticks
1/3 cup real mayonnaise
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
salt and pepper
coarse wheat or spelt bread crumbs*
butter

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Heat a medium sized pot about half full of water on the stove to almost boiling. Peel and cut up carrots according to above description. Put carrot pieces in water and let cook for about five minutes.

2. Meanwhile, chop up your onion and place in a small mixing bowl with mayonnaise. Drain carrots and add them to onion mixture. Stir well, and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Smooth mixture into an ungreased 5.25"x9" glass baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. (I use a generous amount, making a 1/4" covering over all.) Drop small pats of butter randomly across the top.

4. Cover with foil. Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes covered, and 15 more minutes uncovered. Remove, let cool a minute or two, and then serve. Goes great with any roast meat dish, mashed potatoes, and a green vegetable.

*I make my own bread crumbs with leftover pieces of my bread. I simply slice the bread, put several slices on a cookie sheet and stick it in a 350 oven for about five minutes each side. I turn it once. Then I break it up into pieces, toss it in my food processor with the regular blade, and pulse until the crumbs are fairly smooth and uniform. I store it in a ziploc freezer bag in our freezer, and always have some handy for any recipe. This is a great way to use the last of the bread if it's a bit stale or if you just want to make a fresh batch (or if you have kiddos who refuse to eat the heels).

Friday, September 28, 2007

Enchilada Casserole

Prep Time : approx 30 minutes
Cook Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 4 and up depending on your family's appetite

Ingredients

1 package of your favorite flour tortillas
1 pound of Colby, Cheddar, or a Cheddar/Jack blend, shredded
1 can Old El Paso Enchilada sauce (your heat choice)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom or Celery Soup
1 C milk
salt
pepper
onion (fresh, powder, or minced all work the same)
1 pound ground beef*

Directions:

In a skillet, brown ground beef, adding salt, pepper and onion to your taste. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the soups, milk, and enchilada sauce.

In a 13 x 9 baking pan, spread a small amount of the sauce mixture. Add one layer of tortillas, to cover the bottom of the pan ( I use 1 whole, and 2 halves to cover more of the pan, with the broken edges at the 9 inch edge, with the whole one in the middle). Spread half of the ground beef on the tortillas, cover with 1/3 to 1/2 of the cheese, saving about 1/2 cup or so for the very top. Spread with sauce mixture, covering the entire layer well. Repeat with another layer. For the third layer, simply spread with sauce mixture, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

I serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, sour cream, salsa.

I've never tried freezing this because of the milk and the cream soups, but it does store in the fridge and tastes better as leftovers... :)

* you can substitute cooked, shredded chicken

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Feta Burgers

Servings: 8

Ingredients

8 servings Hamburger Buns
2 pound 85% lean/15% fat raw ground beef
2 Tbsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 cup Athenos Reduced Fat Feta
8 oz mushroom(s)

Instructions

Combine ground beef, oregano, garlic, feta and mushrooms and form hamburger patties. Grill or Broil.

My Family absolutely loves these. I serve them on whole wheat hamburger buns with a bit of mayo.

All American Burgers

This is what I made for dinner tonight. They were really good, almost too moist for the grill.

All American Burgers
Perfect for year round grilling, this easy recipe honors the classic burger with delicious, mouthwatering flavor.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon McCormick® Grill Mates® Hamburger Seasoning
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 slices Cheddar or American cheese (optional)
4 hamburger rolls
8 slices cooked bacon (optional)

Directions:
1. Mix ground beef, ketchup, Hamburger Seasoning and Worcestershire sauce in bowl. Shape into 4 patties.
2. Grill over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes per side or until burgers are cooked through (internal temperature of 160°F). Add cheese slices to burgers 1 minute before cooking is completed. Toast rolls on the grill, open-side down, about 30 seconds.
3. Serve burgers with bacon slices on toasted rolls. Garnish with desired toppings and condiments.

I added liquid smoke, maybe a teaspoon. I also used Colby Jack cheese instead and I used a steak seasoning I had on hand.

One-Pan Whiskey Chops

This is a fav at our house. If you don't want to add the whiskey you can use apple juice instead. The alcohol does burn off while you are cooking it though.

One-Pan Whiskey-Flavored Pork Chops

2/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops, trimmed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup whiskey
Preheat oven to 300°.
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl.
Sprinkle pork with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork; sauté 5 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove pork from pan. Add onion and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Carefully add whiskey to pan; cook for 1 minute or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir sour cream mixture into pan. Return pork to pan; spoon sauce over pork. Wrap handle of skillet with foil. Cover and bake at 300° for 1 hour. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and about 1/3 cup sauce)CALORIES 310 (28% from fat); FAT 9.6g (sat 3g,mono 4.5g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 29.5g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 16mg; SODIUM 546mg; FIBER 1.3g; IRON 2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 24.3g

Fresh or frozen & a few other questions

Qm suggested (and I agree) that we tell if our recipes can be frozen or if the must be made fresh. It might be good to put that on a lable for your posts.

Also, if you have a web site you frequent for cooking tips, let me know and I can add a link list to our side bar.

Happy cooking!

Brownie Cookies

Yummy cocoa cookies are really not too bad for you - are soft and brownie-like... and for fun, you can add chunks of candy (This is a great way to use up leftover Halloween candy! I've made these with M&Ms, Snickers, and Butterfinger).

1 c all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 c. sugar
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour & baking soda in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla until well blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop heaping teaspoonsful of dough 1.5 inches apart onto a cookie sheet lightly greased with cooking spray. Bake 12 minutes, then cool for 4 minutes before removing cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

ENJOY.

Easy Ginger Chicken

Prep Time : 30 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 teaspoons soy sauce (low sodium, if available)
1 tablespoon gingerroot, grated (*or less)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar)

Put all ingredients in a large zipper-topped plastic bag and place in the fridge; mush it around periodically. It should marinate a couple of hours, at least.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dump the whole bag (not the bag though) into an 8-inch square baking dish; cook chicken till done, about 20 minutes or so, depending on size and thickness of chicken pieces.

*Very gingery. If you don't like too much ginger, feel free to decrease the amount.

Low Carb SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with Asian Coleslaw (using coleslaw mix from the produce department, add mayo and rice vinegar to taste-a ratio of about 3:1 and a touch of chopped cilantro, if you like) and steamed broccoli.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Add angel hair pasta tossed with toasted sesame oil and garnished with sesame seeds.

Chili

Prep Time : 30 minutes
Cook Time : 2 hours or more to your taste
Serves : this was a double batch for our family of 7, but you'll know how much your family eats...so cut in half or double as you need!

Ingredients:
2 lbs Ground beef, browned and drained
Onion Powder
salt
pepper
Gebhardt's Chili Powder (available at my Safeway)
2 31 oz cans Kuner's Chili Beans (your choice on heat level)
2 30 oz cans of Tomato Puree
2 4 oz cans Tomato Paste

Instructions:
In a large stockpot, combine the Puree and Paste adding one can of water for each can of tomato product. Add beans, with juice, and beef. Add anywhere from 2 - 6 Tbsp of the chili powder (according to your heat level). Add salt, pepper and onion powder to taste (I add anywhere from 1-2 Tbsp each depending on my mood). Bring it to a boil, turn it down and let it simmer for at least one hour. The longer this chili cooks, the better it tastes...in fact, it tastes even better the next day!!!

Serving Suggestions:
Simply enjoy with your favorite chili fixin's

Enchiladas

Prep Time: 50 Min.
Bake Time: 40 min
Oven Temp: 375
Serves: 12

4-5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2-10 oz cans of your favorite enchilada sauce (I use ole el paso mild)
4 cups of shredded Mexican cheese, or cheddar
1 package of flour tortillas

Boil Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts until done. Wait till cooled and then shred chicken to small shredded pieces.

Take shredded chicken, 1 can of enchilada sauce and 1/2 of the cheese and mix together.

Spoon mixture onto flour tortillas and roll tortillas into a burrito. (Do not close ends off) Place into a 13x9 greased pan (I spray mine with pam). If any mixture is remaining I put mine over the top of the enchiladas. Open 2nd can of enchilada sauce and drizzle over the top. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Place aluminum foil over top of pan and bake in a 375 oven for 35 minutes. Remove Foil and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove and let stand.

I serve with refried beans or Spanish rice, sour cream, and salsa. Family really loves this one and I taught Farm Fairy how to make this one for Bruno. It's now one of their favorite dishes.

You can substitute chicken for ground beef if you want for something different. (I've made it both ways.)

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Picadillo Egg Rolls

Servings: 8 Preparation Time: 20 min Cooking Time: 25 min Level of Difficulty: Easy

Packed with the wonderful flavors of cumin, almonds, tomatoes and raisins, these beefy egg rolls make great Mexican tapas. Serve them with mango or peach salsa for full effect.

Ingredients

3 sprays cooking spray
1 medium shallot(s), minced
1 small garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 pound uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 medium tomato(es), diced and drained (about 1/2 cup)
4 tsp canned tomato paste
2 Tbsp raisins
2 Tbsp slivered almonds
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cumin
8 egg roll wrapper(s)
1/2 cup salsa

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add shallot and garlic and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds; add beef to skillet. Brown beef, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break beef into small pieces, about 5 minutes; drain off all liquid. Stir in tomato, tomato paste, raisins, almonds, salt, pepper, cinnamon and cumin; simmer for 3 minutes to blend flavors.

Place an egg roll wrapper on a flat work surface with the corners set vertically (pointing up and down like a diamond shape). Arrange 3 slightly rounded tablespoons of filling down the center of wrapper, leaving 1/2 inch at the bottom and top.

Fold the bottom of the wrapper to the center, over the filling. Gently, but firmly, fold the left side of the wrapper to the center and then fold in the right side. Fold the top of the wrapper down to cover filling and seal any loose ends with water; repeat with remaining ingredients.

Place filled wrappers on prepared baking sheet; lightly spray surface of wrappers with cooking spray. Bake until wrappers are golden brown, flipping once, about 16 minutes. Yields 1 roll and about 1 tablespoon of salsa per serving

I make this for the hubby and kids, they like dipping it in sourcream and salsa. I serve this with tortilla chips and spanish rice sometimes refried beans.

Mustard-Dill Chicken in Foil Packs

Servings: 4Preparation Time: 8 minCooking Time: 25 minLevel of Difficulty: Easy

Cooking this dish in foil helps steam the chicken so it stays moist. Not a fan of dill? Try another spice, such as curry or hot paprika.

Ingredients
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 Tbsp dried dill weed
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine mustard, yogurt, garlic salt and dill in a small bowl; thoroughly coat chicken with mustard sauce.

Tear off 4 sheets of aluminum foil that are large enough to wrap each chicken breast individually. Place a prepared chicken breast on each piece of foil; gather foil loosely around chicken and fold over to seal.

Place foil packs on a nonstick baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes. Using oven mitts and keeping your face away from steam, open foil. Broil chicken on foil until lightly browned and cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes more. Yields 1 piece of chicken per serving.

Freezing and thawing instructions: If freezing, bake chicken for 20 minutes only. When foil packs are cool to the touch, place in plastic freezer bags and freeze. When ready to use, thaw chicken in the refrigerator, remove foil and cook at 350°F until chicken is golden brown, about 10 to 15 minutes.

I've made this many times and it is requested from the kids. Our local Farm Fairy even has given this rave reviews. I serve this with mashed potatoes, and green beans.

Welcome to the Farm Kitchen

In the past I've posted recipes on my other blog and borrowed recipes from other blogs. I thought it would be nice to have a central location to share what we're cooking up. If you're intrested in joining us, please leave a comment. The more the merrier!

To start the party I thought I'd share our favorite summery drink while it's still warm enough to enjoy it.

Fruit Tea

3 Cans Pineapple Juice
4 Gallons Tea
1 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Quarts Hot Water
11 Cups Sugar (yes, you read that correctly. Eleven cups of sugar. This is a Southern thing)

Dissolve sugar in hot water. Combine all ingredients in a 5 gallon drink cooler & serve over ice (do not add ice to the cooler as it will water it down too much).

If you're not trying to hydrate a small country, you can cut this way down. I tend to use one can pineapple juice, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, and enough sweet tea (1 cup sugar to 2 quarts tea) to top off a gallon jug. The pineapple flavor is stronger, but we still like it.