The Recipe Thread

[Amocholes]

I made some interesting soup today.
I had gotten a package of my leftover Christmas turkey out of the freezer and noticed that it was starting to get that 'freezer' taste. This was a bit of a surprise since it hasn't been in that long. I still had a leg and 2 wings in there and figured I'd better use them.

The turkey went into the crockpot along with an onion, a couple of large chopped carrots and some celery. 1 can of chicken broth (it was all I had) and 3 cans of stewed tomatoes. Garlic, sage, cumin and some oregano. There didn't seem to be enough liquid so I figured, "What the hell!" and filled up the pot with my finest box merlot. Set the pot on low and left for work.

When I got home, dinner was ready. It turned out rather well. Lots of flavor and very warming. (Not that I needed to be warmed up. It was 40 degrees today.)

[Kelly]

I bet your house smelled amazing.

I've already packed my cookbooks!

My favorite soup is Golden Pepper Bisque. It's low-fat. This is from memory.

2 yellow peppers, cut in half
2 potatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
6 cups chicken or veggie stock
1 tblsp. olive oil
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

Broil peppers in broiler for about 8-10 minutes, until they can easily be peeled. Peel, throw away stems and seeds. Chop peppers.

Saute onion in olive oil until cooked.

Add peppers, potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and stock. Season w/ salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. (Red pepper flakes are optional, but I like to give the soup a bit of a kick. They're especially helpful if you use low-sodium broth.)

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are cooked through.

Remove from stove, add ladelfuls into blender. Blend in batches. Soup should be creamy and smooth. Season w/ more salt and pepper if necessary.

Serve topped with grated Parmesan and/or croutons.

Have a nice day,
Kelly

[WineKitty]

I have copied and pasted that soup, Kelly, since it sounds like something I would love. I hope to make it over the next few days.

I just found what sounds to be a great soup recipe, I havent personally made it but will in the next few days. This one sounds pretty quick and easy too!


Mushroom and Tortellini Soup

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 med carrots,cut into 1/4' dice.
• 1 rib celery,in 1/4" slices
• 1 garlic clove,minced
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 8oz. mixed wild mushrooms
• 4c beef broth
• 1Tbs dry sherry(optional)
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3c frozen cheese tortellini
• 1. In large pot over med-low heat,combine olive oil,carrots,celery,and garlic. Cover pot,cook,stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender,about 15 mins.
  2. Raise heat to medium,add tomato paste and stir 1 min. Add mushrooms,broth,sherry,thyme,salt and 2 cups water. Cover and bring to boil. Add tortellini and cook 4 mins or till tender.
  
  

PER CUP: 120 Calories, 3.5 g total fat, 1.5 sat fat, 648 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 11 mg chol, 6 g protein, 1 g fiber

I am going grocery shopping either today or tomorrow and have a few new recipes to try!! I find cooking relaxing, I really enjoy getting in the kitchen.

[WineKitty]

I cut and pasted that....I personally am going to omit the sherrry, not like I have any of that around with a nice dry red wine.

[WineKitty]

Kelly!!

I made the Golden Pepper Bisque tonight and it came out fantastic. I am glad that I have a food processor because it takes a lot of blending but comes out amazing. I might have put a wee bit too much red pepper in this batch but it still tastes great!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been on a cooking frenzy the last 24 hours. I have made:

Hummus
Salsa

Marinated Pork Tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus

Golden Pepper Bisque

Guacamole

I like to make things ahead so I can NOT cook during my workdays. I kept out a few cups of the soup and am going to freeze the rest.

[Kelly]

Yay! I'm glad you like it!!

Have a nice day,
Kelly

[A SAD Finn]

I'm not as skilled in cooking as I'd like to but nevertheless I love it as a hobby. Here is a dish that I believe is not well-known in America:

Pyttipannu

This is a modernised version of a traditional Finnish/Swedish dish which I have made numerous times with different variations. It's healthy and cheap, although for my horror it seems that some heavily processed **** is nowdays even cheaper than basic raw ingredients. For the etymology: pannu = a pan, and pytti comes from Swedish meaning "little things" according to the Swedish Wikipedia article. Pyttipanna, the Swedish name, is probably used in English.

Ingredients:

Various root vegetables such as:
- potatos
- rutabaga/yellow turnip/whatever it's called
- carrots
- celery root
- parsnip

Onion or leek
Butter or vegetable oil for frying
Sausage (eg. Braatwurst)
Mild paprika powder
(Powdered caynne pepper)
Salt
Black pepper

Instructions:

1. Cut the root vegetables into some 1/2-inch cubes.
2. Melt the butter / heat the oil in a large pot and add the vegetables. Cook in low heat for about half an hour stirring occasionally.
3. Slice the onion or leek and add in the pot. Add enough of the paprika powder (and caynne pepper if you like the hot) to give a nice colour. Cook for some 20 minutes.
4. Cut the sausage into pieces and fry in butter/oil in a frying pan. Add into the pot and season with salt and black pepper.

Variations:

- Instead of sausage you can use small meatballs or beef/lamb/pork cut into small pieces.
- In the very end you may add rucola leaves.
- Grinded cuming seeds can also be used for seasoning.
- You can use vegetables that have been boiled beforehand to reduce cooking time. Traditionally pyttipannu is made from leftover potatos.
- Without meat you can use pyttipannu as a side dish or as a vegetarian version.
- Sometimes pyttipannu is accompanied with a fried egg.

[SadRosesAreBeautiful]

I went to Turkish cooking class tonight and here's what we made (broken into two posts):

I actually like this one a lot:

Ashura, aka Noah's Pudding

Servings: 20
Ingredients:

1/2 lb barley
1 can (15 oz) northern beans
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
1/4 cup rice
100 g Dried raisins
100 g Dried apricots
100 g Dried figs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp ground cloves

Toppings:

Walnut
Cinnamon
Pomegranate (optional)

Prep:

-Boil barley. Puit into a big pot.
-Add beans after draining the water from the can. Wash and drain rice and add to the pot.
-Chop the apricots and figs into small pieces. Add into the pot with raisins.
-Add cold water till the top of the pot and cook it on medium-high heat until it becomes consistent.
-Then add sugar and cloves, stirring well.
-Put into pudding cups and decorate with the topping.

[SadRosesAreBeautiful]

This one's traditionally made in Turkey with homemade dough, but we used soft tortilla instead.

Lahmajoun

Ingredients:

1 package original tortillas (flat bread, 10 pieces)
1 lb. ground beef
1 big chopped onion
1 medium size chopped green pepper
1/5 cup chopped parsley
1 chopped garlic
1 tsp salt, 1/5 tsp black pepper and red pepper
5 tbs vegetable oil

For filling:
lemon, cut in 8 pieces
chopped lettuce
tomato, cut in 8 pieces

Preparation:

-Set the oven to 450 degrees F. (If you use pizza stone put it into the oven)
-Mix all the ingredients using your hands in a large bowl. Brush all the tortillas gently with oil.
-Take some mixtures with the spoon and apply on the flat bread evenly as a thin layer. Brush on the trays a little bit. Place two per oven tray or pizza stone.
-Bake them about 15 to 20 minutes. Place them on a paper towel. When all are baked, squeeze lemon piece on the bread, put the lettuce and tomato pieces on one side of lahmajoun and fold it like a taco or roll it. Serve with ayran (yoghurt drink) or any drinks while they're still warm.

[Kelly]

Both of those recipes sound amazing.

Have a nice day,
Kelly

[bezoomny]

This really isn't my recipe, but I make it all the time. It's from America's Test Kitchen, and it's for TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES. Imagine the best part of fudge mixed with the best part of a cookie.

- two cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 16 oz/squares semisweet chocolate
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

1. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into medium bowl, set aside


2. Melt chocolate in a medium saucepan. If you don't chop the chocolate first, be prepared to constantly stir to avoid burning. Beat eggs and vanilla lightly in a small bowl with a fork, sprinkle coffee powder over, and stir to dissolve


3. In the bowl of a Cuisinart (electric hand mixers will not work!), beat butter at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 seconds. Beat in sugars to combine, about 45 seconds, mixture will look granular. Reduce speed to low and gradually beat in egg mixture until incorporated, about 45 seconds. Add chocolate in steady stream and beat until combined, about
40 seconds. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. With mixer at low speed, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Then mix in chocolate chips...do not overbeat! Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until consistency is scoopable and fudge-like, about 30 minutes (do not refrigerate, it'll turn into a block).


4. Meanwhile, adjust oven racks to middle position, and preheat to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Leaving about 1 1/2 inches between balls, scoop dough onto cookie sheets using an ice-cream scoop. The balls should be about the size of golf balls.


5. Bake, reversing position of baking sheets halfway through baking (from top to bottom and front to back) until edges of cookies have just begun to set, but centers are still very soft, about 10 minutes. The cookies will look like they are not done, but don't bake them any longer than this...they will firm up as they cool.


6. Cool cookies on baking sheets for about 10 minutes. If using parchment, then carefully slide the parchment with cookies onto wire racks, and let cool to room temperature.


7. Continue until you run out of dough.

[SadRosesAreBeautiful]

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked sweet potatoes
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup evaporated milk

Topping:
1/2 box light brown sugar (Domino Brand or equivalent. I use 1 lb box and use 1/2 lb)
1/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 1/2 tbsp melted butter

Bake the potatoes in foil until soft, let cool, and then dig out 3 cups (no skin).
Mix first six ingredients and put into a casserole dish.
Mix the toppping ingredients until crumbly, and add them evenly to the top of the sweet potato mix.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 325 degrees F.

[Kelly]

I made dinner for the first time in the communal kitchen where I live - couscous with veggies. I made this up. It's actually a spin-off of something I have in a cookbook at home called "Mediterranean chicken." I just didn't make it with chicken and I cut out a lot of steps. I used what I had. I used instant couscous because that's what I could find.

This made about two servings:

Two servings of couscous
Veggie broth (chicken broth also okay.)
Half medium onion, diced
One small to medium clove garlic, chopped
Half yellow bell pepper, chopped
Half a can of canned tomatoes, sliced, reserve juice from can
Fresh or dried basil, to taste
Dry white wine
Salt, Pepper, Red pepper flakes to taste.

Heat oil in pan. Add onion. Add garlic and saute onion until done. Add peppers, tomatoes, half of the can of tomato juice, about 1/3 cup of wine, and some broth. Add basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste.

Bring to a boil. Let simmer until the liquid reduced to what you consider to be an acceptable amount. (Seriously, I made this up.)

Meanwhile, make two servings of couscous according to package instructions. I used broth instead of water, because I like the extra flavor.

When the amount of liquid is acceptable and the peppers are cooked through, it's done. Serve the veggies on top of the couscous. I thought it was really full of flavor. Feel free to experiment with spices and get back to me. I used what I had. This would probably also be good with olives or capers. The original recipe in the cookbook included zucchini, rosemary, a bay leaf, chicken, etc.

Have a nice day,
Kelly

[deanna_b87]

I just read all this and was gonna post a recipe of my own, but thanks to all those yummy recipes I'm freaking starving.
Haha.
Thanks a whole lot y'all.

:P

[WineKitty]

Mmmmmmmmm that sounds awesome Kelly!

Today I whipped up a quick and delicious stir fry.

1 bag of FRESH mixed stir fry veggies
1 bag large shrimp (frozen, defrosted before cooking)
Chinese5 spice
ground ginger
minced garlic
olive oil
Kikoman stir fry sauce
parsley

This is a quick and easy recipe, too easy almost to be a recipe.

After defrosting and drying shrimp, cook with about a tsp or so of olive oil, a pinch of Chinese 5 spice, a pinch of ginger, and about a tsp of garlic, 2 tsps of parsley. Cook until opaque.

Meanwhile, put veggies in microwave until tender crisp.

Add about 1/3 of a cup of stir fry sauce to shrimp and veggies. Sprinkle with a bit more of ginger and Chinese 5 spice (be VERY careful not to add too much; they are strong spices and I don't indicate an amount because its really to one's taste).

Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Serve over rice. I microwaved some instant brown rice with a cup of chicken stock, parsley, Chinese 5 spice and a hint of ginger. Came out great. It took about 15 minutes to make and tastes amazing.

[VCL XI]

Lunch today:

Grabbed some leftover ciabatta sandwich bread
Poured on some olive oil
Added grated mozzarella cheese (of questionable date)
Sprinkled on parsley, garlic, oregano
Added salami & ham (of questionable date)
Added some thinly-sliced onion
Threw it in a microwave for a half a minute or something
Ate it
?????

I'm such a classy sloth.

[Amocholes]

Sounds good VCL.

As for the questionable date of your mozzarella, real cheese does not expire. If it gets fuzzy, simply cut off that portion. The rest of the cheese is still good. Cheese is, after all, nothing more than soured milk with the liquid removed. As cheese ages, it's flavor matures as well. The cultures in the cheese continue to change it's flavor making it "sharper".

The salami and ham on the other hand, could result in a good case of ptomaine.

[VCL XI]

Originally Posted by Amocholes

The salami and ham on the other hand, could result in a good case of ptomaine.

Hmm well, something to look forward to I suppose.

Still was pretty tasty for something made out of whatever was around.

[MavenMI6Agent009]

Cereal Killer:

1 cup of All Bran

1/2 cup of blueberries

1 cup of milk

1/2 tablespoon of honey

blended for a nice smoothey.

[timidgeek]

I'm usually not good at making my own recipes. Better at adjusting other ones to my own tastes. One i adjusted to the point i can call it my own =)

Tofu Papaya salad

1 block firm Tofu
1 red sweet Papaya
mixed green (spring mix preferably)
Satay dressing

Drain tofu and press between towel or paper sheets for 20mins to remove moisture.

marinade for tofu:
2tbps Soy Sauce
2 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp sesame oil

Tofu-chop into small squares and marinate for 1hr.
Oven 425 degrees-roast tofu for 20 mins.

Dressing-
2tbsp-peanut butter
1/4 c Silk vanilla soy milk
2 cloves garlic-minced
2 teaspoon-rice vinegar
2 tea soy sauce
1 tea-honey
1 tea- asian yellow curry powder
juice 1 lime
food blender it-if too thick add more soy milk. taste for seasoning.

Cube papaya

Mix dressing with salad greens and top with papaya and roasted tofu.

(i use alot of garlic because i really like garlic and i like the spiciness it adds to this recipe raw-plus its really healthy. i put tons of garlic in everything almost haha.)

I use RecipeZaar alot to get ideas and good simple recipes.