Chicken and Rice

This is another super simple dinner that my mom often made when I was growing up. She didn't usually fry the chicken first, from what I can remember, but I thought it was a nice touch. The chicken is always good - tender and moist - but my favorite part by far is the rice. It has such a great flavor. I love the texture too. So I guess this is kind of a comfort food for me. One thing to remember is that this dinner needs to be prepared in advance - it only takes a few minutes to put it together but it bakes for nearly two hours! Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups rice (not instant)

9 pieces chicken

3 cans cream soups (usually cream of chicken and cream of mushroom)

1 cup milk

Mix soups, milk and rice together and spread in a 9x13" pan. Top with chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

*Optional: coat the chicken with a thin layer of flour and fry in olive oil so that the surface is crispy and golden. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way through. 

Authentic Swedish Meatballs

Even though I have made Swedish Meatballs before, I decided to try a new recipe this time. My husband said he actually liked them more than the first ones because he thinks they tasted very authentic. They had a little sweet flavor that really complemented the savory mixture. Luckily, we actually had lingonberry preserves and they were a great addition. I used whole wheat bread, which I thought was an excellent choice because it really added a great texture to the meatballs.

Meatballs:
1/2 onion, very finely chopped
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup milk (or a little more)
2 slices whole wheat bread, in small pieces
1 egg
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp black pepper

Sauce:
3 Tbsp butter
2 cups beef broth, warmed
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp lingonberry preserves (can substitute raspberry or cranberry preserves)

Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. When butter has melted, saute the onion until is has softened, about 3-4 minutes.

Mix milk and bread together and let soak for a few minutes. When the bread is soggy, puree it in a blender or a food processor. Then, mix all meatball ingredients together and combine thoroughly. Form meatballs and place them on a plate. I made 21 meatballs, although yours may be bigger or smaller.

Preheat a pan on medium with 3 Tbsp butter. When the butter is completely melted, place about half of the meatballs on the pan - be careful not to over crowd the pan. Brown them on all sides, turning them carefully. They do not need to be cooked all the way through at this point. When meatballs are brown, remove from pan and cook remaining meatballs. Remove them from the pan as well.

Use a whisk to stir flour into remaining butter. When it begins to sizzle, slowly add the beef broth, stirring constantly in order to form a smooth sauce. Return meatballs to pan and turn stove to medium-low. Cover, and simmer sauce with meatballs for about 10 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked. Remove sauce from heat and place the meatballs in a serving dish. Stir sour cream and lingonberry preserves. Taste and reseason if necessary. Pour over meatballs. Serve over egg noodles.

Beef and Bean Chimichangas

When I told my husband we were having chimichangas for dinner, he was pretty excited - until he heard that they were "healthy." I don't know how people usually make these, but I think he was hoping that they would be deep fried. Once he had them, though, he wasn't disappointed anymore. They were great! With only a few simple ingredients, these only took me about 20 minutes to make. Leftovers were great too - we just heated up the meat and fried them up and they tasted just like they did the first time.

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano 

1 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 can chili beans

pepper jack cheese, shredded

3 Tbsps canola oil

flour tortillas

Heat the olive oil on a skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and break apart into smaller pieces. Add onions and seasonings. Cook, stirring, for about five minutes until beef is brown and onion is tender. Stir in chili beans and cook for another few minutes until the mixture is warmed completely through.

Preheat canola oil on a skillet over medium heat. Heat tortillas for about 20 seconds in the microwave to soften. Sprinkle desired amount of pepper jack cheese on tortilla and top with beef and bean mixture. Fold sides of tortilla and roll like a burrito. When the oil is hot, place tortilla in the skillet, seam side down. Cook until surface of tortilla is golden brown and crispy. Turn over carefully and cook opposite side. Serve hot with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Tater Tot Casserole

Okay, so this isn't the best picture ever. In all honesty, I think it would be difficult to take a picture that made this dish look good. Nevertheless, it actually is. This is a dinner that I really liked when I was little, so I guess it is kind of like comfort food for me. It is very simple to make and doesn't take very long. Maybe it isn't the type of dinner that I would make for guests, but I love it for a chill evening at home with the family.

1 32 oz. package frozen tater tots

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

1 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°. Preheat a skillet on medium-high. Cook beef and onion together until beef is brown and onions are tender. Add soups, sour cream, and seasonings to taste. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Pour tater tots into a 9x13" casserole dish. Top with beef mixture and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until tater tots are warm all the way through.

Snickerdoodles

So, I made these cookies for the first time last year. I had tasted them before, but never made them myself. I actually had some cream of tartar in my cabinet, although I don't know where it came from. Those cookies didn't turn out very well so I threw away the cream of tartar (who knew how old it was, anyway) and gave up on the idea of ever making them again. But just yesterday I got courageous and decided to try them again. I considered the possibility that it might be the recipe I used, so I looked up a new recipe on the internet. Since I didn't have cream of tartar, I substituted a little less than 4 tsp of baking powder for the cream of tartar and baking soda and WOW these cookies turned out great - crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. I also added red sprinkles to make them "Christmasy" Ironically, I compared the two recipes and they turned out to be exactly the same.


1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 ¾ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar


4 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon


Cream butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Then mix in all dry ingredients. Roll into balls and cover in cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes. 

Spare Ribs

I found spare ribs on a good sale the other day at the grocery store. Even though I have made baby back ribs quite a few times, I had never made spare ribs before. I was looking for a recipe online when I remembered that my mom has a great one. She actually made it for dinner when we had my husband's family over for the first time, the night before my wedding. My husband said he actually remembered them and that they tasted really good so I called my mom and asked for the recipe. They were very easy and tasted great - just the way I remembered. She served them with scalloped potatoes and salad. Although she makes them in a roaster, they are also great when made in a slow cooker.

4 lbs. spare ribs 

1 medium onion, finely sliced

2 Tbsp lemon juice

4 Tbsp brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp prepared mustard

1/2 cup celery, chopped

Cook ribs in an open pan at 425° for 30 minutes to brown. Drain fat. Transfer to roaster (or slow cooker) and cover with sauce. Cook at 325° for 2 hours or 275° for 3-4 hours. 

Chocolate Cupcakes

One of my best friends was throwing a birthday party for her son a few weeks ago and told me that she was looking for a cupcake recipe that didn't use shortening and that would be moist without being greasy. Although I have never made homemade cupcakes before, I thought I would do a little research for her. I found a recipe that looked good on my favorite cooking blog For the Love of Cooking. It seemed to meet all of the criteria, and I have never found a bad recipe on that blog, so I went ahead and sent it to her, even though I had never tried it. She ended up using that one for the party and said it turned out well. Ever since then I have been just waiting for a good time to try it. That time came just last night, when I decided to take Christmas cupcakes over to a neighbor. 

These were definitely very moist and tasted good. I felt like the chocolate taste was a little bit too rich when I ate them alone, but with frosting, they were just perfect. The one mistake I made was to fill the cups too much so they overflowed and the top part stuck to the pan a little. 

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350° and place 24 cupcake liners in muffin pans. Sift together dry ingredients, then beat in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla with a hand mixer. Add boiling water and stir until blended. The mixture will seem watery. Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour batter into muffin liners, filling approximately 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.

Fried Rice

This is the best fried rice I have ever tasted. I was watching Man vs. Food Nation with my husband a few weeks ago. Actually, I think it was the Thanksgiving episode. They visited a restaurant in Hawaii who claimed to have great fried rice. Although they didn't give away their secret recipe to the entire viewing audience, they did mention a few key ingredients, which we quickly wrote down and vowed to incorporate the next time we made fried rice. I am including rough estimates of the amounts that we used, although we didn't actually measure things out this precisely.

1/4 lb. bacon, cut into 1" pieces

1/4 lb. chorizo, cut into small pieces

2-3 Tbsp canola oil 

4 cups cold prepared white rice

1/2-3/4 cup peas and carrots

3-4 Tbsp oyster sauce (according to preference)

2 eggs

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

In a wok or large skillet, cook bacon and chorizo over medium-high heat. When it is fully cooked add oil and rice. Stir fry for a few minutes. Add oyster sauce. Stir in peas, carrots and green onions. Push rice to the side and scramble eggs, stirring them into rice when they are finished cooking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

General Tso Chicken

One of my friends recently published this recipe on facebook. She just raved about how great it was, so I definitely had to try it. It was a yummy dinner that didn't take too long to make. I also appreciated the fact that I didn't have to go out and buy any expensive specialized ingredients. The only thing is that I have yet to find a recipe for a single Chinese dish that actually tastes like the things I get when I go to a Chinese restaurant. Still, I wouldn't be nervous about making this one for other people. I liked it and so did my husband (who is ultra-discriminating about food, even though he claims that he isn't).

1 lb chicken breast, cut into small pieces

Flour

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 cup white distilled vinegar

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp water

4 green onions, sliced

Preheat a wok or skillet with vegetable oil over medium heat. Cover chicken in flour and fry until golden brown. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne pepper over chicken and turn heat to low. 

In a saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger, and heat gently. When sugar has dissolved and sauce is at the point of boiling, slowly add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly until the sauce has reached your desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onions. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Cannoli

Although I grew up in the States, I feel like I have a strong connection with my Italian ancestors. Family heritage is something that is really important to me, especially when it has to do with food. One of my favorite stories is about my great grandmother making Canolis and frying the shells on the end of a broomstick. While many modern chefs choose to use special metal tubes that were specifically designed for making these delicious pastries, I don't see anything wrong with the old fashioned way. I actually used a wooden dowel that had been cut into 8" pieces. I cured them by soaking them in vegetable oil and then baking them in the oven on 200° for an hour (I found someone online who said that is what you should do - I don't know if it really made a difference). 

There are generally two types of Cannoli filling. One uses ricotta cheese and one is just milk and sugar (basically). This "non-cheese" recipe seemed easy (and tasted GREAT - much better than those disgusting Cannolis I tried last week at Kneaders - blech...). I decided to add about 3 oz of cream cheese to the filling - non-traditional, I know - so I won't include it in the recipe.

Cannoli shell:

4 cups of flour

3/4 cup Crisco

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

20 Tbsp cold water (there are 16 Tbsp in a cup)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

(makes approximately 50 small cannolis or 20 large ones)

Stir together flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients, stirring until the mixture is approximately pea sized, then add the egg and slowly stir in the water until it forms a ball.

Preheat a pan of canola oil on medium-high. When the oil sizzles with a splatter of water, you know it is ready. Gently place several cannoli shells in the oil and fry until they are a deep golden color. When you remove the shells, place them on a paper towel to soak up the extra oil.

The shells can be made several days in advance and refrigerated.

Cannoli filling:
5 cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
2/5 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla


Heat 4 cups sugar, milk, and cinnamon over medium heat. Mix remaining cup of milk with cornstarch. When milk comes to a boil, add cornstarch/milk mixture. Mix until thick, stirring continuously. Scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir so the milk doesn't burn. Refrigerate until cool, then stir in vanilla.


Use a pastry bag to fill shells with filling. Dip ends of cannolis in crushed chocolate pieces or nuts. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top.

Sausage, Egg and Cheese Croissant

Although this recipe is very easy, I thought I would include it as a memorial to the delicious breakfasts that are often authored by my husband. I generally wouldn't consider myself a "breakfast person." I generally prefer a small piece of fruit or toast, if I have anything at all. Still, I really like breakfast food and have found that I am much more likely to make breakfast for dinner. Here is a little something that we whipped up for dinner one night last week when we were in the middle of packing for our most recent move.

1/4 lb sausage

4 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

cheese

croissants (prepared according to package instructions)

Cook sausage thoroughly in a medium skillet. Add eggs and scramble, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cut freshly baked croissants in half and layer egg and cheese in the middle. If the cheese doesn't melt, consider microwaving the croissant for 15-20 seconds to help it along.