{Roasted} BEETS!

Perhaps you are looking for a simple, easy, delicious way to get some more color (and vitamins) into your life.  Well look no further my friend! Ok, keep looking further, but also try this recipe! 

ROASTED BEETS

4 beets, washed.  Make sure you get beets that are all about the same size and shape or they won't cook at the same rate.
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Wrap each beet in foil, place in a rimmed baking receptacle.  Make sure that if you drop a beet, you immediately yell out, "beet down!"

Bake for 45 min to 1 hour (mine took a little longer, but I neglected to preheat the oven) until a skewer can be easily inserted into the side.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Take beet out of foil and place in the center of 2 or 3 paper towels.  Use the towels to gently rub off the skin.  Slice the skinned beets, drizzle on a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper.


Note: Does anyone know if this could be accomplished in the microwave to cut down on cooking time?

Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

I did not take a picture of this as I was too busy shoveling it into my face.  The barley is velvety and the beef is tender.  The whole thing is warm, hearty, and tasty; perfect for a chilly fall night!  But do note, be careful when you add the thyme, lest you (like me) end up with a few bites that taste like tree bark.

Ingredients:
1 lb beef, cubed
2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, unpeeled, sliced
3-4 cloved garlic, pressed
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups beef broth
1/3 cup pearl barley
1 T dried parsley
1/2 t dried thyme

Dry the meat using several paper towels (this is important, do not skip this step).  Season with salt and pepper, brown in half the oil.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Saute the carrots, onions, and garlic in the remaining oil until the veggies are soft.  Add the wine to the pan, reduce by half, scrapping any bits off the bottom of the pan.

Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cook on low 6-7 hours.

NOTE FOR MAKING AHEAD:  If you want to make this the night before, or even a day or two before, store the meat and the veggies in the fridge in separate containers.  Only combine the ingredients right before you are ready to start the soup. 

Bex and Liz Eat Stuff: a Menu Plan

Week 2 of Getting Back On Track nearly got derailed by my lack of being-home-ness, but I have conquered!! I think we've stumbled upon a system that will work for us.  It hasn't been easy at all because we have so many constraints.  For one, our food needs to be kosher (for me) and healthy (us), but we also need a little freedom to eat things that are fatty and delicious. Besides all that, we need food that fits into our crazy schedules easily. The opportune word there is EASILY, because if it's not, then it doesn't work and we just end up eating out.  No bueno!

Basically, the system is thus: Crockpot Mondays, Super Healthy Tuesdays, Bex Cooks Wednesdays, Fat Thursdays, Shabbat!  Because we were out of town this weekend, we're flip-flopping the crock pot and Becky meal.  We're trying out several new recipes this week and I pretty excited!

[Bex Cooks] Monday:

Grilled Cheese

Tomato Soup

Seasoned Green Beans

(I have GOT to get this recipe posted. I invented these and the are yummers)

[Super Healthy] Tuesday:

Shoyu Chicken

Luau Rice

[Crockpot] Wednesday:

Moroccan Stew with winter veggies

[Fat] Thursday:

Pasta Alfredo

Sliced Tomatoes



Ruth's Potato Pizza

A friend of mine had been telling me about her favorite pizza ... I decided one night to give it a go. It was yum, although our rosemary seemed a bit bitter so we added some fresh parmesan cheese ...

It is dead simple.

Pizza dough ... we used a whole wheat, thin crust that I make in the bread maker.

Top that with a drizzle of good olive oil, thinly sliced potatoes, a nice salt and plenty of fresh rosemary. Bake ... ours took about 10 minutes in a 200C oven.

Sprinkle with freshly grated Paremsan cheese !!

PS ... if you're wondering why I didn't post the second half of my two week menu, it's because I never shopped for it so we never ate it !! It's been a total FLY BY THE SEAT OF MY PANTS week and I've hated every minute of it !!! Two week menu planning when I have to shop weekly (because of fresh ingredients needed) is not going to work for me !!

BUT ... I got an iPhone4 this week and I have downloaded some cool apps and I'm going to start using them to get more organized !

AND ... a cool thing I did yesterday ... I was wandering around the shop after work, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I NEVER DO THAT !! NEVER EVER !! Couldn't think of anything. Pulled out the iPhone, opened my Whole Foods Market app and found this recipe, bought the ingredients, made the dish and am thrilled with this new option for disorganized shopping !

Bex and Liz Eat Stuff

So the start of the semester really cramped my menu planning style.  But now, at least for one week, I'm back on my game and I'm really excited about this week's menu.  A slight change in my eating habit...I've decided to keep kosher.  It's difficult to explain all the reasons why, but suffice it to say, it felt important to me.  The added bonus is that it really makes me think about what I am eating.  Enough babbling,  on to the meal plan!

Sunday:

Chicken and veggies over couscous

Asparagus in some form

Monday:

Slow cooker beef and barley soup

Seasoned green beans

Tuesday:

Turkey burgers

Sliced tomatoes

Roasted beets

Wednesday:

Red beans and rice with turkey sausage

Thursday:

We'll be grabbing something on the way to

bible study.

Buffalo Boneless Wings ... And Ranch

Ok ... let's start with the Ranch recipe. I got this from Shay and it is delicious !

I'm going to cut and paste from the email she sent me ....

My freaking favorite ranch
I don't worry too much about which herbs to use but I always use fresh dill. That makes it. I like a lot of dill. You can play around with this one. All to taste and texture.
I like to double but that makes a good bit-this is for one batch.

1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. buttermilk, shaken
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
4 scallion chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 tbsp. dill
2 tbsp. chives
1 tbsp. tarragon, or 1/2 tsp. dried
2 tbsp. parsley
dash worchestershire
dash hot sauce
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

whisk all

I did this in the afternoon and put it in the fridge until dinner time ....

For the 'wings'.

I did 1 kilo of chicken breast. Cut into chunks (see photo above). I put some whole wheat flour in a ziplock bag, added the chicken, shook it around then then shallow fried these in olive oil til golden brown.

For the hot 'buffalo sauce"

If you're in the States, you'll use Franks but I can't get that here ! BUMMER ! But, I found this Louisiana hot sauce the other day. It was a darn good substitute !! Not a cheap substitute though ! This bottle cost $9.99 and it was just under a cup of hot sauce !

So ... melt 2 TBSP of butter in the microwave. Add 1 cup hot sauce. Mix. Put back in the microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and mix to coat.

For the Garlic Parmesan "wings"

Melt 1/2 a cup butter. Then add to it 2 tsp (3?? ... to taste) garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Put back in microwave and make it hot. Add 'wings' and toss to coat !

Tuna Mac

I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe before.
It's one of my favorites.

And so easy ...

1 bag of shell pasta
1 small jar of pimento stuffed green olives, I chop mine in half
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 can of tuna (i like it in spring water but whatever), drained
1 cup mayo (i make mine like this), add a bit at a time, you may not need this much ~ or you may need more ... you just want the pasta nice and coated ! (not like mine looks in the photo !)
a couple squirts of american mustard

Cook the pasta al dente. Drain. Cool a teensy bit so the mayo doesn't go icky. Add all ingredients and mix. And that's that. I love this warm ... and I love this cold and leftover !!

Pina Colada Tea ... On The Rocks

My favorite tea ... pina colada ... which is actually not tea at all ... it's a mixture of rosehip, hibiscus, apple, coconut and pineapple ... but it's dried and I buy it at a fancy tea shop so we're going to call it tea ...

Anyway ... turns out, it's really nice ICED ! Want to try some ...... ?

Jamie's Potato Salad

I tried this a while back and loved it. Such a fresh fresh salad. And simple. This is in Jamie's "Jamie at Home" cookbook. I changed it just a little bit ...

Boil a couple of potatoes til just cooked. I was serving four so I imagine I did four potatoes and one for the pot ! I didn't bother peeling them.

Mix the zest of one lemon and 1/2 of it's juice with a splash of vinegar. He suggested red wine but I used cider vinegar ... or maybe I used rice wine vinegar. I can't remember now. It won't matter. Just use a splash of the vinegar of your choice ! Add three splashes of olive oil. Taste it. Need more ? Add it. Add 2 tablespoons capers and salt/pepper to taste.

Pour the dressing onto the potatoes, toss to coat and top with a small bunch of fresh dill or fennel tops ...

Menu plan

We haven't had schedules that allowed us to make a weekly menu at the G.P. Street house for a while; however, this week is unique! So, here is what we're going to be eating in this neck of the woods this week:

Saturday

Steak (although since it is - thankfully - still fall in Colorado, it will not be this steak recipe)

Sauteed mushrooms and onions

Corn on the cob grilled on the BBQ

Sunday

Some concoction using polish sausage, sauerkraut, and potatoes - if I remember/have time I'll let you know what it ends up being...

Salad

Monday

Asparagus Pasta

Tomato slices

Tuesday

Pork chops with bacon and cabbage (this is a new recipe that we're trying...if it's any good I'll try and remember/take the time to post it)

Biscuits

Possible beets of some kind - but only if AK decides that the meal isn't colorful enough

Wednesday

Every (wo)man for oneself

Thursday

Quinoa Veggie Soup (although I also add garlic, corn, and carrots)

Friday (Shabbat)

Indian lamb riblets (also a new recipe)

Various Indian sides we're going to pick up at the local Indian grocery store

Naan (also from the Indian grocery store)

And that's what we'll be eating! Gosh I'm hungry!! Better go get the shopping finished so we can cook tonight's meal.

Macaroni and Cheese for Cousins

Alia, our 7 year old, loves mac and cheese.
She found this recipe in a kids cookbook and wanted to try it.

She loved it so much she wrote out the recipe and took it to school for show and tell.
Our 8 year old, Jono, also loved it. He reckons it is the best macaroni and cheese EVER.



I loved her little write up so posted it on facebook.
Her cousins in the States, Aidan and Jack, liked the look of it too ...



This photo appeared on my sister, Ellie's facebook a few days later !

LOVE IT !!!!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 11 October 2010

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

I sat down yesterday and planned out a two week menu ! Took forever but at least it's done ! I'm getting ready to shop online now ... scheduling two separate delivery dates ... I'm experimenting with planning this far out ... If it works, I may try a month next time !!

Anyway ... I'm going to write and post this today ... even though it's Menu Plan Monday ... I just hate waiting for the post to go up when I future date it ! Ha ha ... So ... here it is, just a bit early !

Friday
Jono's night.
He wants to make egg curry and chutney ...
It's a rainy day today too ... egg curry is perfect rainy day food !!

Saturday
Alia's night. She wants to make mac and cheese.
We're trying a new recipe out of a vegetarian cookbook I got from the library.
We'll do macaroni cheese with an asparagus and mustard stir fry too !

Sunday
Rory's night ... aka Burger Night !
We're going to try #26 The Sheboygan

Monday
Bean Nachos ... again from the vegetarian cookbook.
And I'll make our homemade salsa !

Tuesday
We're going to try this Thai Salad w/peanut dressing on the recommendation of a friend.
We're also going to try this same friend's satay chicken skewers !

Wednesday

Boneless buffalo wings (although I'm using breast not wings) and boneless garlic parmesan wings (again, breast not wings but you can't really call them boneless buffalo breasts can you now ? ) I'm going to make ranch and serve with veggies.

Thursday
Andrea's steak cobb salad

Friday
Jono's night again
He wants to make Pizza
Looks like we'll make 2 Funky Limes
a Seafood and probably a plain cheese one.



Saturday
Alia's night again
Chicken Fingers ~ The Quinoa Way
Spicy Potatoes

Sunday
Rory's Burger Night
We'll try #30 The Macho Nacho

And ... I'll stop there. I'll post the rest on the 18th ... on an actual Monday !! :0
I do also have quiet a few recipes to post. I have a list !! ha.
I just need to stop playing Tetris when I sit down ...
and then I'd get some posts done !
We'll see how I go ...

What's cooking with you all ?? I'd love to know !
Oh ... and if you haven't tried
Andrea's Lahori Chicken & Potato Curry, you need to ... It's AMAZING !



Here's the photo I took of mine ... AND this is on my menu again next week !!! SO GOOD !

Garam Masala

Making homemade Garam Masala!

1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup cumin seeds

1/3 cup corinader seeds

1 rounded tablespoon green cardamom pods

1 rounded tablespoon black peppercorns

2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 whole dried red chilie

1/8 teaspoon ground mace

Combine the cinnamon, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, and red chilie in a frying pan and toast over medium heat. Stir constantly until cumin turns brown. Around 5 minutes.

Grind in a spice grinder (or cleaned out coffee grinder) and grind to a powder. Stir in mace (we have been known to leave out this ingredient...) and store in airtight container.  For up to 4 months...

Lahori Chicken Curry & Potatoes

Serves 4

• 3 chicken breasts cut into inch cube pieces
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 3/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt
• 2 medium onions, diced 
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2-3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut
• Few tablespoons of oil 
• cinnamon stick
• 12 green caramom pods
• 9 whole cloves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 3 whole dried red chiles
• 1 teaspoon corinader seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 fresh hot green chilie, cut in half
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• Juice of 1 lemon

In a bowl mix chicken pieces, potatoes, 1/2 teaspoon of the tumeric and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix to coat the chicken and potatoes. Let stand as you make the sauce

Mince onions, garlic and ginger in a food processor. Set aside.

Combine 2 tablespoons oil, cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, cloves, black peppercorns, red chilies, corinader and cumin in a pot over medium-high heat. Cook stirring until cinnamon unfurls...around 3-4 minutes. Add minced onion mixture, the green chilie and teaspoon salt. Stir until the onions start to turn brown around the edges, about 10 minutes.

Remove cinnamon stick and green chile and stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon tumeric and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Transfer to food processor and blend until smooth, set aside.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the same pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and potatoes and stir. Cook for a few minutes. Add the yogurt 1 tablespoon at a time and stir well after each addition. Cook two minutes after all yogurt is added to have some of the moisture evaporate.
Add pureed tomato mixture and bring to boil. Stir in water (how much water to add depends on how thick your sauce is...)  Return to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, around 30 minutes.
Stir every few minutes and make sure sauce and chicken isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Let it simmer and reduce.

Stir in cilantro and lemon juice. Salt to taste. Serve hot.

Banana Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting

I found this recipe online and had to try it for my husband who loves anything banana. It is a lot like banana bread...just lighter...and sweeter...

cake recipe 

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 crushed bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg whites, beaten

• Mix sugar and butter and beat on low speed until completely combined.

• Add egg yolks and beat on high speed until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. 

• In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk thoroughly.

• Alternate adding dry and wet ingredients (milk), beating each time until just mixed in. Start and end with dry. When you’re done, you should have a nice, soft, fluffy batter. 

• Mash bananas and add to batter.

• Whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

• Carefully fold the egg whites into the batter, trying not to deflate them too much.

• Pour the batter into 2 greased and floured round pans.

• Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

• Remove cakes from the pans and let cool. 

frosting recipe

1 cup milk
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)

• Stir milk and flour together and mix over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until it thickens. It changes suddenly, so don’t walk away from it.

• Set the milk aside to cool. Very important to make sure this cools completely otherwise you will have a gravy for your frosting.

•  Combine sugar, butter (room temperature) and vanilla in a mixer.

• Beat on medium speed for around 10 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved, for the most part.

• Add the cooled milk mixture to the butter mixture and stir until smooth. Once you do this any remaining graininess from the sugar will pretty much dissolve. 

• Frost cake. It is a pretty soft and light frosting so if you want it to set up at all you will have to put it in the fridge for a bit.

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 13 September 2010

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

No photos ... I'm in a crazy hurry to get this
posted and head outside to drink my
Pina Colada tea !! YUM YUM !!

Sunday
Rory's Carbonara
Italian Roast Peppers

Monday
Andrea's Ajiaco

Tuesday
Laksa
Lumpia
Homemade Sweet and Sour Sauce

Wednesday
Calamari
Salad
Foccacia

Thursday
Pumpkin Lentil Salad
Leftover Foccacia with Dukkah

Friday
Jono wants to do pizza

Saturday
Still need to talk to Alia about what she wants to do

Sunday
I'm hoping Rory will do a burger ...

For Lunches on days when there's no leftovers ...
Raw Lasagna and Mushrooms
Tuna Fish Sandwiches
Tuna Mac

Also going to try these chili lime nuts ...

Seafood Pizza

I made this ages ago and never posted the recipe.

It was delicious. I'll make it again soon. Very simple recipe !!

All I did was mozzarella and gruyere cheese as the base. sliced red onion, garlic powder, capers, feta cheese and prawns (w/garlic and parsley) that I cooked for a minute in the fry pan before adding to the pizza. Top with a bit more Mozzarella and then into the oven at 200C. I use a thin crust ....

PS ... I made this up.

The Bohemian

This burger is deliciousness at it's best.
You will find it at Cheese and Burger.com
Have you visited that site yet ? No ? What ?!
Come on ... go there ! You will like it ... it's fun !!

What you need to make this beast ...

Beef Patty ... have you tried our beef patty's yet ? Rory is convinced they are the best on the planet. So, maybe you should.

Gouda Cheese
Fried Prosciutto
Sliced Turkey
Pesto Mayonnaise
Spinach
Oat Bread - we buttered ours and pressed it in the panini maker ...

So ... I made the pesto mayonnaise. It was easy and so delicious ... Just whip up some mayo using your stick blender. And then make some pesto ... like this ...

2 cups fresh basil leaves ~ I used greek basil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup nice olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
garlic cloves, minced ~ to taste, I used a couple of cloves
Salt and Pepper

Mix basil, pine nuts and garlic in food processor. Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Add the grated cheese and keep going til blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

To make the pesto mayonnaise, just add some of this pesto to the mayo ...

DELICIOUS !!
TRY THIS BURGER !!

Menu Plan Monday - Bonnie - 6 September 2010

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie

I've totally spaced posting this menu plan for two weeks in a row !
I did actually write it two weeks ago but then didn't post it ... ooooops !


Saturday ~ 4 Sep
Alia is going to make pizza ....
2 x Rosemary Chicken
1 x Ruth's Rosemary Potato
1 x Plain Cheese

Sunday ~ 5 Sep
Cheese and Burger Time Again
Rory's going to make us The Pioneer

Monday ~ 6 Sep

Chicken Fajitas
on
Homemade Tortillas

Tuesday ~ 7 Sep
I've been craving this Baby Pea Salad but haven't been able to
make it since I hadn't been able to find a balsamic vinegar that didn't have coloring in it.
BUT ... I found one on the weekend bit the bullet and paid the $30 to buy it !

I was also thinking about running out to the store to get the ingredients to
make Tuna Mac as I planned this menu. Must be about time to make it again too ...
It appears, as I try to link to the recipe, that I haven't posted it here !
I will rectify that ... tuna mac is a recipe everyone needs to have !!

Wednesday ~ 8 Sep

Andrea's Ajiaco Soup with my modifications.

That's as far as I got with the planning ....

Hope you all have a great week !! I have some great recipes to post ... I hope to post some of them here in the next couple of days !! I've been a bit of a lazy blogger lately ... sorry !! :)

Green Chili a la Colorado

Green chili is a dish I had never encountered before I moved to Colorado. It's eaten as a main dish and used as a smother for burritos (especially breakfast burritos! yummmmm).  When Aunt Kathy was doing research for this recipe, she found out that asking for a green chili recipe was like asking an Indian for a curry recipe! There are hundreds of different versions; one for each abuelita! In any case, here is Aunt Kathy's recipe, which may not be the Definitive green chili recipe, but it's certainly the best one I've ever tasted.

Green Chile a la Colorado

 

3T vegetable oil (have more oil in case you need to adjust the thickening)

2-3 lbs boneless pork butt cut into 1/2 “ cubes

1/2 c flour (have more flour in case you need to adjust the thickening)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 white onion, chopped

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

30 oz bag frozen hatch green chiles, chopped

14 oz can tomatillos, drained and smashed (or pureed if you don’t want the chunks)

2 c chicken broth (I often use up to 6)

Optional:  1/2 to 1 small can diced jalapenos-cook in for extra zip or serve as a garnish

Sour cream to garnish

Shredded cheese to garnish if you want

Cilantro to garnish if you want

Chopped avocado to garnish if you want

Warm flour tortillas to serve it with

 

--Dredge meat in mixture of flour, salt and pepper, and brown in the oil.  Let it get a beautiful crust on it. Remove from pan and set aside.

--In the same pan sauté onion and garlic till soft.

--Add all the rest of the ingredients except the garnishes and tortillas, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 30-45 minutes, till the pork is tender.

--Adjust thickening if necessary by heating oil in a little frying pan and stirring in an equal amount of flour into it till smooth and browned (This step of dissolving it in the hot oil is crucial to the taste, the brown really enhances the flavor!), then slowly stirring this roux into the chili. (I start with 2T, and if it isn’t thick enough, I do 2 more T, etc.  The amount totally depends on how much flour is sticking to the meat, and how much broth you ended up using.)

--Put out the garnishes and heat the tortillas

--Ring the dinner bell!