Monday, October 24, 2011

November RSVP

Time for dinner! We will exchange on Thursday Nov 3rd, 7pm. Are you in or out? and what will you make? There is another baby due this month so if you are willing to make an extra meal we will get it to the new mom.

We will not be exchanging in December and will be ready again Thursday, January 5th.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced

In a small saucepan combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in chicken broth, vinegar, corn syrup, soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for two minutes more. Serve warm. Makes about 1 1/3 cups sauce. I added a third more of each ingredient to make about 2 cups sauce for 30 meatballs.

Frozen:
2 cups Sweet and Sour Sauce and 30 meatballs. Heat in crockpot for 2-3 hours or in a saucepan on the stove. Serve with rice.

Tamale Pie

1# ground beef
1/2 green pepper
1 onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 can drained corn
2 cans chopped tomatoes with chiles
2 T chili powder
2 T sugar
2 boxes cornbread muffin mix

Brown ground beef, green pepper, onion, and garlic. Drain mixture. Mix in corn, tomatoes, chili powder, and sugar. Cook on stove top for one hour on medium heat. Transfer mixture to an oven proof 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Follow directions on box and mix up cornbread muffin mix. Pour on top of meat mixture and bake at 400 for 20 minutes, or until cornbread is baked through.

From frozen:
Thaw meat mixture. Place in 9x13. Mix up both cornbread muffin mixes. Spread on top. Bake as directed above.

Touchstone Family Waffles with Cranberry Sauce

Waffles
This is the tried and true recipe that my mom uses.  I have decreased the butter, the original recipe calls for 2 sticks!  If you want to up the nutritional value, you can substitute flax seed for some of the butter
(3 TSBP flaxseed = 1 TBSP butter). 

4 cups Flour
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
4 Eggs, separated
4 cups Milk
1 1/2 sticks Butter (12 TBSP)

Beat egg whites until stiff, set aside.  Beat egg yolks, add milk and sifted ingredients, then melted butter.  Fold in egg whites.  Pour into a greased waffle iron.

Cranberry Sauce
In my family, we often spread left over cranberry sauce on waffles, frequently with whipped cream on top too!  If this doesn't sound good to you, just save the sauce for Thanksgiving - this is the standard recipe for whole cranberry sauce on the bag of cranberries.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 12-ounce package fresh or frozen Cranberries, rinsed and drained

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate.

FROZEN MAMAS
Bag 1 - Cranberry Sauce - thaw and serve.
Bag 2 - Bacon - it's the fully cooked bacon from Costco.  Heat in the oven at 400 for 3 min or in the microwave for 45-60 sec.
Bag 3 - Waffles - heat them in the toaster, no need to thaw first.

Want to try Waffle sandwiches?  We tried this recipe and liked it, but my family prefers their waffles the regular way.  However, this might be something fun for your family to try.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/bobby-flay/cheddar-and-bacon-cornmeal-waffle-sandwiches-with-maple-mustard-recipe/index.html

Ham and Cheese Pie

Taken from: http://crockpotrecipeexchange.blogspot.com/2011/08/crock-pot-ham-and-cheese-pie-crustless.html?m=1

  • 3 large eggs
  • (1) 12 ounce can of evaporated milk - I used 12oz of half and half instead
  • 1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup of baking mix
  • 8 ounce package diced ham - I cut up ham instead of packaged
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Mix the eggs, evaporated milk, seasoned salt and ground black pepper until incorporated well. Add the baking mix and whisk in. Make sure you break up all the big chunks of the baking mix, but if a few little ones are lingering that'll be okay. Stir in the ham and cheese.

Spray the inside of a 2 1/2 quart crock pot very liberally with non-stick cooking spray. Make sure you get all the sides very well all the way up. Pour in the mixture. Cover the top of the crock pot with a couple of layers of paper towels and secure with lid. Turn to low and cook on low for 2 - 4 hours.

Look for the edges to start turning golden brown and pulling away from the sides of the crockery and wooden skewer comes out clean. Turn off and remove crockery when you can and let sit for about 30 minutes. Then flip over onto a plate.

*Even though it calls for a 2 1/2qt crockpot, I'm guessing you could cook it in the oven. Probably put it at 275* and just test it with a toothpick to see it.

chicken tacos

Ingredients
  • 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 12 oz salsa
  • 1 package taco seasoning

Place chicken in a slow cooker. Top with salsa and taco seasoning then cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with tortillas and taco fixings.

From frozen state:
Thaw(although have many of times stuck frozen chicken in my crock pot!) put chicken in crock pot, top with the baggy of salsa and taco seasoning mixture, and cook for 6-8 hours on low. Shred the chicken with a fork when cooking time is up serve with taco shell provided, and top with your favorite taco fixings!

Turkey chili and corn bread

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds ground turkey or turkey breast
1 onion, finely chopped
1 lb ground turkey
1 small onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 chili pepper, seeds and ribs removed; for a very mild jerk, use a red Fresno chili pepper)
3 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 scant palmful sweet smoked paprika or sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground allspice (about 1/2 palmful)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
About 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
2 cups chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (14.5 ounces
1 cup cola
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Cook turkey, onion and garlic fully then add all other ingredients and simmer 20 minutes.

Frozen mamas: thaw and request on stove. Bake corn bread according to direction on bag/box.

Cook turkey

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Boeuf Bourguignon

Adapted from “I Know How to Cook” by Ginette Mathiot (published @ nytimes.com)


1 tablespoon oil


3 ounces onions or shallots, chopped


3 1/2 ounces thick-cut bacon, diced


1 1/2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1 1/2 -inch pieces, patted dry


Scant 1/4 cup flour


1 1/4 cups any type of stock, hot


1 1/4 cups red wine


1 bouquet garni (1 bay leaf, 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 3 sprigs parsley, tied together)


Black pepper


3 1/2 ounces mushrooms, diced


Salt


1. In a heavy pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onions and bacon and cook, stirring, until browned. Remove them and set aside; leave fat in pan.


2. Add beef and brown on all sides (work in two batches if needed to avoid crowding).


3. Sprinkle browned beef with flour, stir until browned and add stock. Stir, scraping bottom of pan, then add reserved bacon and onions, the wine and bouquet garni. Season with pepper.


4. Simmer very gently for 2 hours.


5. Add mushrooms and cook 30 minutes more. Season with salt and serve. Or, even better, reheat and serve the next day.


Yield: 4 to 6 servings.


From frozen: Thaw, heat in a crockpot at low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, or let it simmer on the stovetop until heated through. Adjust seasoning to taste.


Note: We found that this recipe makes a very rich & savory sauce, so you may want to add some water when reheating in order to keep it from reducing even more and becoming stronger. Totally up to you though. J

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