Fridge Soup

Pin It After a day out, I don't feel much like cooking. So, in an attempt to simplify my cooking experience, I pretty much just threw everything from the fridge into a pot and called it soup! Fortunately, it turned out well :) This particular day had a beautiful variety of brightly colored veggies, but I'm pretty sure that if you throw most any veggies in a pot with broth and simmer, it will taste good. Oh, and I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I believe in butter. And cream. YUM! So, of course, both of those are included in this recipe. I suppose you could leave them out, but what fun would that be?? After the picture, the recipe.

Look at those beautiful veggies! There's a bit of steam blowing up, giving the picture a sort of ethereal feel :)

Fridge Soup

Ingredients:

1 Cup each of your favorite veggies, or whatever is in the fridge (I used red cabbage, carrots, celery, leeks, zucchini, and [1/2 cup] green onion)

5 cups strong broth or stock (chicken, beef, or veggie. Again, the idea is to use what you have)

1/2 - 3/4 Cup heavy cream (or half and half, regular milk, evaporated milk, soy milk)

3 Tbsp butter (or olive oil, vegetable oil) for sauteing the veggies (I used half butter, half olive oil)

2 Bay leaves

Salt and pepper

Any other seasonings you like!

Preparation:

Get the broth on to boil. Saute any vegetable you would like to saute (I usually saute everything, it cooks faster that way). Add veggies to pot, along with bay leaves, salt and pepper (and any other seasoning you are using). Simmer for a while (an hour or two, just use whatever time you have available). Remove the bay leaves and add the cream just before serving. 

Fantastic served with crusty bread on a cold day!

Big Bowl Orange Chicken and Fried Rice

Pin It Big Bowl is one of my absolute favorite restaurants, but unfortunately, it is far away and expensive. So, in my search through the InterWeb to find a knockoff, I found one better: the actual recipe! You can find it, and many others, here. My all-time favorite menu item is the Orange Chicken and Fried Rice. This recipe is definitely the best Asian food I have ever made, and comes very close to tasting like it's restaurant-made sister. Timing is important with these two items, as they both require constant attention while cooking. I made the orange sauce, then fried the chicken, and tossed the two together. I stuck that pan in a warm oven while I made the fried rice. And, the recipe calls for peanut oil, but all I had was vegetable oil and olive oil. After I used all my vegetable oil, I had to use about 1/4 cup olive oil. (It tasted fine) After reading this, I bet you're hungry, so here is the recipe!


Big Bowl Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

¾ pound chicken breast cut into 1 to 2" slices
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt

Sauce Ingredients:

2 tablespoons light soy sauce
¼ cup lemon juice
5 ½ tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons julienned scallion
3 tablespoons julienned ginger
8 slices red Fresno pepper, julienned
2 fresh water chestnuts, peeled and sliced
2 ¼ cups peanut oil
3 thin orange slices, peeled and cut into quarters
¼ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water

Preparation:

Mix the chicken slices with the beaten egg, flour, cornstarch and salt. Let sit for 10 minutes and, rubbing with your fingers, work the chicken together with the flour mixture again---repeat in another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the orange sauce. Combine the light soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar, and salt. In a wok or skillet, heat 2 cups of the peanut oil to 375 degrees. Keep it at that temperature while you cook the sauce.

Heat a skillet or saucepan to hot and add the remaining ¼ cup peanut oil**. When hot, add the scallion-ginger mixture. Cook, stirring rapidly, for about 15 seconds just to coat with oil. Add the orange slices and cook another 10 seconds. Add the soy-lemon-sugar and salt mixture along with the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Recombine the cornstarch-water mixture and add to the sauce. Allow to boil, thicken and clear, then turn off the heat.

Meanwhile, add the chicken to the oil and fry until crispy. Remove to drain. Immediately add the chicken to the sauce that you just made and toss briefly to coat. Serve with rice (recipe below).

**I wouldn't actually recommend heating the pan before you add the oil, unless you have cooked this way before. Adding oil to a very hot pan can cause splattering and possible burns. I put the oil in a cold pan and heated it, and I had no problems.

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 eggs
4 Cups previously cooked Jasmine rice (from night before is best, so it will break apart more easily)
½ teaspoon mushroom soy
¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
¾ teaspoon cane sugar
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ Cup thin sliced scallion greens (adjust for taste)

Preparation:

Using your hands, break up the Jasmine rice as best you can to separate the grains.

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat. When hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the egg and stir quickly to break up. Add rice and toss while breaking up any lumps with the back of a spatula; until rice grains are well coated with oil. Add mushroom soy and toss to distribute. Add sugar, salt and pepper and toss to distribute. Pull off heat and toss.

Yields 4 as a part of a larger meal

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

Pin It I saw this idea on Pinterest, and immediately had to try it! They are the perfect bite for appetizers, a quick kid-friendly dinner, or as a snack. I like to make a bunch and then stick them in the fridge for my three-year-old. They are even delicious cold!

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

Ingredients:

1 recipe Cornbread batter (see below)
1 package Hot Dogs
Cooking Spray
Ketchup and Mustard for dipping

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Prepare corn bread batter according to directions below. Cut hot dogs into 1"-2" pieces (I cut each dog into 6 pieces, using a total of 4 hot dogs) Spoon 1 tablespoon cornbread batter into each muffin cup. Press hot dog piece into each muffin cup until mostly covered by the batter. Repeat until all muffin cups are full. Bake at 400 for 15-17 minutes or until mini corn dog muffins are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Dip in ketchup and mustard.


Variation: You can also make full size corn dog muffins, just place 3 hot dog pieces into each regular muffin cup and bake for 18-20 minutes or until corn dog muffins are golden brown.

Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Beat milk and egg in a large bowl with a beater. Stir in melted butter and stir into wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Use batter for corn dog muffins as above (or for regular cornbread, bake in a cast iron skillet or baking dish with extra melted butter in the bottom at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean).

Monkey Bread

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When I heard about Monkey Bread, I knew I had to find a recipe for it. Caramelly rolls made from fridge biscuits? Yes, ma'am! As I hunted around the InterWeb, I found The Pioneer Woman. I guess a lot of people really like her recipes, so I thought I would give it a try. This recipe isn't actually hers, but a friend of hers. I guess I will try one of her own in the future. Anyways... I made a few changes to the recipe I found, but you can find the original here. 

Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
2 sticks of butter (1 cup)
Bundt Cake Pan (be sure it's a one piece pan, if it's two pieces, you will have burnt sugar and butter all over the bottom of the oven!)
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cans of Buttermilk Biscuits (the non-flaky ones)
1 cup Sugar

3/4 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preparation:

Preheat that oven to 350. Open up the cans of biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Next, combine the 1 cup of regular sugar with 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon in a one gallon ziploc bag. 3 teaspoons makes for a very cinamonny bread, so it's up to you on how much to use. Drop all of the biscuit quarters into the cinnamon-sugar mix, along with the nuts. Once all the biscuit quarters and the nuts are in the bag, seal it and give it a vigorous shake. This will get all those pieces nicely coated with the cinnamon-sugar. You might have some excess sugar left over and that’s okay. Spread these nuggets and nuts out evenly in your Bundt pan. Next, melt the two sticks of butter together with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Stir together over a medium-high heat until the butter and brown sugar are fully combined. Once the brown sugar butter has become one color, you can pour it over the biscuits. Bake this for about 30-40 minutes until the crust is a deep brown on top. Allow this to cool for about 15-30 minutes before turning it over onto a plate. If it doesn’t slide right down onto the plate, give it a few taps until it comes out. Serve warm.

Beer Bread (knockoff of another very popular beer bread)

Pin It Just about everyone I know has been to or hosted a sales/catalog party where there are lots of food samples. I have been to many, and hosted many. Almost every time the little booklets are passed around to purchase the full size version, I usually gasp at how expensive the stuff is! So, I went on a hunt to locate a (cheaper) knockoff of that delicious Beer Bread. Many different sites list the exact same recipe, so I can't give any real credit, since I have no idea who came up with this recipe.

Beer Bread (knockoff of another very popular beer bread recipe)

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising flour**
1/2 cup granulated sugar
12 ounces beer (or really any carbonated beverage, like soda)
2 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients except melted butter together-stirring just until blended. Pour into greased bread loaf pan. Spread melted butter over the top of the bread during the last 10 minutes of baking. Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.


** If you don't have self-rising flour, that's fine. It can easily be made with the following recipe:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Mix well. You will need to triple this for the Beer Bread recipe.

Chocolate Mousse

Pin It My husband got this recipe for me from a friend of his. The measurements are European, but American measuring cups have markings for mL, so it is easy to make. For the chocolate, I used semi-sweet baking chocolate, which I found in the baking aisle at the grocery store. The sugar is listed as caster sugar, which is basically superfine sugar. You can grind up regular white sugar in a food processor to make it finer. If you do this, make sure to measure after you grind it up. I have made this recipe with regular sugar, and it tasted just fine. So, if you skip that step, it's no big deal.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

400 grams dark chocolate
8 Tbsp caster sugar
8 eggs
500 mL heavy cream

Preparation:

Separate egg whites from yolks. Mix egg yolks with sugar in a small bowl. Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Beat egg whites until stiff. Melt chocolate in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until smooth. Let chocolate cool slightly. Mix chocolate with egg yolk/sugar mixture. In a large bowl, fold together whipped cream and chocolate mixture. Once mixed, fold in egg white fluff until well mixed. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Indonesian Beef Stew

Pin It This is a wonderful crock-pot stew that I found in my Williams-Sonoma Slow Cooker Cookbook. The original recipe can be found here. I couldn't find unsweetened coconut at my local grocery store, so I used sweetened and omitted the brown sugar. Cumin and Coriander are not spices I had used before, so I had to purchase them. I was able to find smaller jars for less than $3 at Target. I figured I wasn't sure if I would use them frequently, so that was a small price to pay to try something new! As I was making this, I was thinking that this stew would be equally good (and cheaper) if I used chicken breast instead. Just a thought. Without further ado, here is the recipe!

Indonesian Beef Stew

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil
3 lb. boneless beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes (I used the pre-cut "beef for stew" found in the meat section of the grocery)
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cups unsweetened shredded or flaked dried coconut (I used sweetened)
1 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar (I omitted this because of the sweetened coconut)
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
4 cups coconut milk
Steamed white rice for serving

Preparation:

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the beef and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is no longer red and the onion has softened, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the coconut, brown sugar (if using), coriander, cumin, the 1 tsp. salt and the 1 tsp. pepper. Continue sautéing until the meat and coconut are browned and the spices are fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes more. Transfer the mixture to a slow cooker.

Add the coconut milk to the fry pan, increase the heat to high and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Bring the coconut milk to a boil, then pour it into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Ladle the stew over steamed rice and serve immediately. Serves 6 to 8.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Slow Cooker, by Norman Kolpas (Oxmoor House, 2007).

Tiramisu!

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I love dessert. Pretty much all kinds. Tiramisu is a delectable Italian dessert, generally made with Lady fingers, and filled with Mascarpone egg custard, coffee and rum. I made a few changes to a terrific recipe I found on Allrecipes.com. Find the original recipe here. I don't drink (and I have a 3 year old), so I omitted the rum. I also couldn't find Lady Fingers, so I found a super easy pound cake recipe, and used that instead. It is a very rich dessert, perfect following a lighter Italian meal. I know you are excited to find out how to make this delectable dessert, so I will get to it!

Tiramisu!

Ingredients:

6 egg yolks

3/4 cup white sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pound mascarpone cheese

1/2 - 3/4 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature

2-4 tablespoons rum (I omitted this)

1 pan of Cake Mix Pound Cake (recipe below)

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until well blended. Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil gently for 1 minute, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Cover tightly and chill in refrigerator 1 hour.

In a medium bowl, beat cream with vanilla until stiff peaks form. Whisk mascarpone into yolk mixture until smooth.In a small bowl, combine coffee and rum (if using).

Slice cooled cake in half lengthwise, and then slice into 1/2 inch thick pieces (about 1/2 inch x 1 inch x 4 inches in size) and drizzle with coffee. Arrange half of soaked cake pieces in bottom of a 9x13 inch dish. Spread half of mascarpone mixture over soaked cake, then half of whipped cream over that. Repeat layers and sprinkle with cocoa. Cover and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours, until set.

Cake Mix Pound Cake (original recipe here)

Ingredients:

1 package (18 ounces) white or yellow cake mix

1 package (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix

4 eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray one 13 x 9 pan with vegetable spray.
In large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water and oil; beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes for round pans; 35-40 minutes sheet pan. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling grid and cool completely.

Capellini with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parsley

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This is another one of those recipes from a cookbook that I have had for a while, but never cooked from. As I leafed through the pages of my Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Pasta cookbook, this one caught my eye. It looked light, fresh, and pretty easy. And it was! Find the original recipe here. I topped it with shredded Parmesan, and served it with cheesy bread and a romaine salad. For dessert, I made Tiramisu with fresh baked pound cake (recipe in following post).

Capellini with Olive Oil, Lemon, and Parsley

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced, with all of the zest and half of the juice reserved

1 tsp. plus 2 Tbs. salt, plus more, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 lb. cappellini or spaghettini (I used angel hair)

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn't use a full 1/2 cup, still tasted awesome)

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large fry pan over low heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant but not golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest, the lemon juice and the 1 tsp. salt. Season with pepper. Transfer the sauce to a large serving bowl.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Add the pasta to the sauce along with the parsley and toss to combine. Add as much of the cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, top with Parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Pasta, by Julia della Croce (Oxmoor House, 2006)

Sauerbraten

Pin It So, I have a whole bunch of cookbooks which I have either received as gifts, or purchased for myself. Honestly, I often use one recipe from a book and then put it right back on the shelf. In this particular case, I got a beautiful Williams-Sonoma slow cooker cookbook from my mother. I made one recipe, and back to the shelf it went. However, since I haven't been able to work, I have been cooking a lot more. So, as I was flipping through the pages, I found a recipe for crock pot sauerbraten. I had never tried sauerbraten before, so I figured "What the heck?" The cookbook has a little side note that says traditional sauerbraten is marinated for a couple of days before cooking, so I did that. It definitely was worth the wait. Even my 3 year old son loved it, especially the cabbage! You can find the original recipe here. I served it with olive oil roasted red potatoes, but it is traditionally served with spaetzle or boiled potatoes. Without further ado, here is the recipe!

Sauerbraten

Ingredients:

Boneless beef chuck roast (3 1/2 - 4lbs)

Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tsp ground ginger

2 yellow onions, chopped

1 cup beef broth

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 bay leaf

1/2 head red cabbage, thinly shredded

12-16 gingersnap cookies, finely crushed (I used 16, and I used a food processor to crush them)

(Side note: As I type this, I realize I didn't use the onion when I made this. It was purely an accident on my part. So, I guess the lesson here is that if you don't particularly want onions, that's OK! It will taste delicious anyways!)

Preparation:

Boil the broth, vinegar, and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature. Season the beef with salt, pepper, and ginger. Place beef in container and pour vinegar mixture over the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. If the roast is not completely covered, turn twice a day.

Transfer roast and liquid to crock pot. Add onions and bay leaf. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 7 hours. Add the cabbage, pressing it down around the edges with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle cabbage with one teaspoon salt. Cover and continue cooking for one hour.

Remove and discard bay leaf. Transfer roast to cutting board, and transfer cabbage to serving bowl. Whisk crushed gingersnaps into liquid in the crock pot until thickened into gravy. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer gravy to serving dish/small pitcher. Slice meat across the grain. Either transfer to serving plate, or dish up individual servings. Serve with cabbage and gravy on top.

ENJOY!!

Credits: Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Slow Cooker

Lemonade Cake

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I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and of course, I had to try it. I made it for Easter and my son's 3rd birthday (by request from him), as well as one other time. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to make, and really delicious! I use extra fresh lemon juice (squeezed from the lemon I zested) in the frosting to thin it out a bit, and it also tarts it up. Additionally, I use lemon curd as the middle layer, instead of frosting, because that tarts it up some, too. You can find the original recipe here.

Lemonade Cake

Cake:

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Cooking spray

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 ounces cream cheese

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Filling:

1/2 cup lemon curd

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes).

Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.

Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans.

Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy.

Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat).

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup lemon curd.

Top with remaining cake layer.

Spread frosting over top and sides of cake.

Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

COOKING LIGHT 2002

This was the cake for my Teddy's 3rd Birthday!