Blackberry Pie Filling

I have a few friends that are avid "coupon-ers" and always insist on posting their best deals on facebook. I have never been entirely convinced by the coupon movement - especially because I prefer to cook with a lot of fresh fruits and veggies - but I have to say that I also get some really great deals on occasion, without even cutting out a single coupon. Last week, I found blackberries for sale for $1 per box. Normally they are $3.99 a box! My husband always talks about picking Oregon blackberries as a child and eating fresh blackberry cobbler, so I bought 5 boxes (4 to use in the cobbler and one just to eat). His mom told us she usually made pie and cobbler filling with just sugar and flour so we decided to give it a go. 

4 cups blackberries

1/4-1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

Combine sugar with blackberries and let them sit until they start to become juicy. Taste them to make sure that they are sweet enough. If not, add more sugar and wait another few minutes. Then, carefully fold in the flour and pour into pie pan or cobbler dish. 

Salisbury Steak with Caramelized Onion Gravy

The very first person that ever looked at my blog (other than me) was a nice lady named Mary. To this day, I have no idea how she found it when I only had made two posts, but she has made a few very kind comments that are part of the reason that I have kept up my blog for this long, even though I don't really have very many people who follow it. Mary has an excellent cooking blog called One Perfect Bite. With years of experience, she posts great recipes - some that she invented or has used for a long time, and some that she makes as a tribute to other chefs. In my never-ending search for new recipes, I found this one on her blog. Her pictures of it are much better than mine, so I recommend that you visit her website and look at them. 

I had heard of Salisbury Steak before I found it on her blog, but I didn't really know what it was. She explained the background of the dish so well that I was convinced it was a Great American Tradition and that I had to try it. I attempted to follow her recipe pretty much exactly, although I might have made a few mistakes (for example: I didn't read the whole recipe before I planned the meal so I didn't realize until it was too late that it was supposed to be served over mashed potatoes or noodles. Oops.) but I still thought it was great - very flavorful - and am definitely going to make it again in the future. I hope it is okay that I re-post the same recipe with almost the same wording as Mary has it on her blog.

Onion Gravy:

2 large red onions, thinly sliced

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3 cups beef broth

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cider vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Meat Patties:

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup cooked white rice

1 egg yolk

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp chopped parsley

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 Tbsp olive oil

To make gravy, heat butter in a large pan. Add onions and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. When onions are softened and turning golden brown, add 1/4 cup beef broth. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking, adding more broth as needed. It should take approximately 25 minutes to caramelize the onions. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining beef broth and tomato paste. Stir in cider vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.

To make patties: Mix ground beef, rice, egg yolk, salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and thyme in a bowl. Shape into 4 oval patties about 3/4-inch thick. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Sear patties about 3 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms. Pour gravy over patties and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or noodles. 

Blueberry Cream Cheese

My husband and I decided to make Stuffed French Toast for breakfast, but we had to go grocery shopping for ingredients. Unfortunately, our pathetically under-stocked grocery store didn't have any blueberry cream cheese. Although we could have chosen to buy strawberry, my sweetheart had his heart set on blueberry, so we decided to make our own. It turned out awesome - although I guess it kind of did taste like pie filling. :) It was a great breakfast.

1/2 can blueberry pie filling 

8 oz cream cheese

Soften cream cheese in the microwave (approx. 30 seconds) or let it rest at room temperature for a couple of hours. Combine pie filling and cream cheese with a hand mixer. Taste cream cheese and add more pie filling if necessary.

Chef Todd's Seasoning

A few months ago, I went to a cooking class hosted by my church. The guest chef was the one and only Chef Todd. He is actually a member of the ward, and was doing the class as a free service. He has received numerous awards for his cooking and is the executive chef at Salt Lake's Blue Lemon restaurant. He also teaches cooking classes at various locations throughout the area. 

During the class, he mentioned that he has his own seasoning blend that he uses in a lot of his cooking. Of course, I am always up for trying a new type of seasoning so I joined the (long) line of people who bought the seasoning that night. Although, there is really no "magical" seasoning blend that can turn a bad chef into a good one, I would say that this blend comes pretty close. So far, I have used it in an Italian pasta salad, on chicken, and as a go-to seasoning for various other things. 

I highly recommend this seasoning.... and I'm not even getting paid to post this review! You can buy it online at Chef Todd's website or at Orson Gygi in Salt Lake.

Tomato Basil Penne with Chicken

I really like making pasta and "Italian" food for dinner, but sometimes the traditional red sauce or white sauce recipes get kind of old. I was looking for something interesting I could make with penne pasta and I stumbled upon a recipe that looked really good. I made a couple of changes to the recipe to make it my own. It was really good and VERY easy to make. It only took about 20 minutes total. I would recommend this recipe to anyone - especially those busy people who want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, but still appreciate good food.

8 oz penne pasta, prepared according to directions on box

3 Tbsp olive oil, divided

3 tsp minced garlic

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (more if desired)

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp minced fresh basil

1 1/2 lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

Chef Todd's seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Cook chicken, seasoning with Chef Todd's seasoning until the meat is thoroughly cooked and begins to turn golden brown on the outside.

Then, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Cook garlic, stirring, for approximately 1 minute. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in cheeses. When they begin to melt, stir in cooked penne pasta and chicken. Season with fresh basil.

Chocolate Caramel Chews

I was searching the internet, looking for something to make for dinner, when I accidentally stumbled upon these amazing little treats. I knew I had to make them the moment that I saw them. They are practically like homemade candy bars. Actually, my husband thinks I should actually try to mass produce them and sell them, but instead I am just going to post them on my blog to share. Unfortunately I didn't write down the name of the blog where I originally found them, but just know that I didn't invent them myself.

36 caramels, unwrapped

3 Tbsp evaporated milk

1 cup crushed corn flakes

1 cup Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

6-8 oz chocolate, melted (I just used milk chocolate chips)

Melt the caramels and cream over the stove, stirring frequently until smooth. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Stir caramel into dry ingredients. Shape into 1" balls and set onto waxed paper. Melt the chocolate in 20 second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each time. Coat chews completely in chocolate and allow chocolate to cool and harden before serving.

Beef Pot Pie

This is another recipe that I used directly from the For the Love of Cooking blog. I was really excited to make beef pot pie, even though I am generally not the biggest fan of chicken pot pie. I made this recipe on a week that I was really assertive about planning all of my meals before going grocery shopping (usually, I end up running to the store about 3 times during the week to buy last minute ingredients that I need) and I wrote on my list "top sirloin steak" because that is the type of meat that she suggests in the original recipe. In all honesty, I don't feel very confident about my basic knowledge of cuts of meat. I had a hard time knowing which steak to get when I was at the store (although probably a regular stew meat would have worked just fine) so I chose the only one that was actually labelled "beef loin top sirloin steak." It was a little bit expensive, but it had been marked down and I had a $10 gift certificate to the grocery store so I didn't worry about it.

When my husband saw the type of meat I was using for the pot pie, he was appalled. This is not the first time that I have purchased an expensive cut of steak to put in a stew or casserole. I really need to stop doing that. Luckily, there was plenty left so we had a delicious steak barbecue for dinner the next night. Even without an expensive steak, this dinner would be amazing.

Crust (only for the top):

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup oil

6 Tbsp ice water

2 Tbsp green onion, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Roll out into a crust that is approximately 1/8" thick and the same shape as your casserole dish. Enfold in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Filling:

2 tsp olive oil

1 lb top sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and cut into 1" pieces

1 small yellow onion, diced

3/4 cup carrots, sliced

4 tsp minced garlic

6-8 small red potatoes, diced

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp thyme

1 Tbsp tomato paste

4 cups beef broth (divided)

1/2 cup cornstarch

2-3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat the oven to 450°. Place diced potatoes in a pot of water and boil for 4-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the beef and sear, stirring often for 1 minute. Add onions and carrots and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Add minced garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring constantly for another minute. Stir in tomato past and 1/2 cup beef broth. Then add potatoes and 3 cups of beef broth. While the mixture is simmering, whisk together corn starch and remaining 1/2 cup beef broth and stir into mixture until thickened (about 2 min). Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if needed. 

Ladle the filling into a casserole dish and cover with crust, pinching to seal. Cut small slits in the top of the crust. Place pie in oven, over a baking sheet or tin foil, and bake 38-40 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Mexican Lasagna

Even though I have a number of different cooking websites that I refer to on occasion, I would have to say that my all time favorite is probably For The Love Of Cooking. When I am not sure what to make for dinner, that is usually the first place I go for ideas. While I sometimes make variations of her recipes, or simply use recipes as an inspiration for something that I want to make, I also follow some recipes exactly, like I did with this one. I loved this meal. It took me about 25 minutes to prepare and then another 30 to bake, but it was very easy and tasted great. Here is a link to the original recipe.

Ground Beef, prepared as taco meat
Onions, chopped
Salsa
4 flour tortillas
Refried beans, Mexican style
Cheddar cheese, grated
Black beans
Frozen whole kernal corn, thawed
Tomatoes, diced
Black olives, sliced
Green onions, sliced
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Dice and prepare all vegetables for the lasagna. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and break up until it is in small pieces. Add onions and seasoning (although I used the combination of spices on the original recipe, I think regular taco seasoning would be just as good - maybe even better). Cook until the meat is done and the onion is tender, about 6-7 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Add salsa to the bottom of the baking dish and coat evenly. Next add a flour tortilla (trim the sides, if necessary, in order to fit into the dish). Layer all other ingredients, spreading salsa over the top. Then, add another flour tortilla and repeat layering process 2-3 times.

On top of the final tortilla, spread a layer of salsa, cheddar cheese, and black olives. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is melted and begins to turn golden brown.

Halloween Sugar Cookies

A few weeks ago, I was thinking about my family Halloween traditions. One of my favorite parts of Halloween was decorating sugar cookies. My mom usually made a whole batch of cookies shaped like pumpkins. With orange icing, chocolate chips and candy corn, we all decorated jack-o-lantern cookies to our hearts content. I think I have probably only made sugar cookies one other time in my whole life, so I found a recipe in a cookbook that was compiled by ladies from my church about 10 years ago. I really like to use that one when I want to try a new recipe because I always figure that people wouldn't have shared a recipe unless they thought it was really good. I cut this recipe in half. It is also important to note that I made the dough and then left it in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic wrap, until the next day when it was time to make the cookies. It worked just fine. These cookies turned out light and fluffy (for lack of a more descriptive phrase), kind of like those ones that they sell in the grocery store that are so popular. They were unique because of their almond flavor. Everyone said they really liked them.

2 cups sugar
2 cups margarine
6 eggs
4 tsp vanilla
2 tsp almond extract
7 cups flour
6 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each, and then add the remaining ingredients. When mixed, roll out and cut with a cookie cutter. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.