Everyday Systems

Does anyone have any great recipes to share? doesn’t have to be low fat… thought it would be fun to share.
I was a chef and pastry cook for 10 years
So if you have any cooking questions let me know too!!!

Here is a great salad recipe for you all to try:

THE WARM NAPA CABBAGE SALAD
This recipe makes 4 entrée-sized servings or 6 – 8 starter salads

Ingredients:

• 2 cups homemade croutons (store purchased works fine as well) 1 stick butter 1 tbsp of olive oil 1 tbsp of chopped fresh garlic 1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1 tbsp chopped shallots ½ tsp freshly cracked pepper 1 tbsp whole grain mustard 1 cup of canola oil 10 slices of your favorite bacon 2 tbsp of reserved bacon fat 1 pound of medium-sized mushrooms (Button or Crimini) 5 ounces of your favorite blue cheese 1 head of Napa cabbage (approximately the size of a football)

Read the recipe thoroughly. Room Temp Cabbage works the best. Don’t let the blue cheese melt completely. After the dressing is poured over the cabbage, work fast!!! or it will wilt Have warm plates (not hot) ready to go. Preparing the salad:

Make some sourdough croutons by cutting the bread into a one-inch dice (makes about 2 cups). To make the croutons, Melt 1 stick butter with 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan. When melted, add 1 tbsp chopped fresh garlic and remove from heat. Let set for 5 minutes. Pour the butter mixture through a strainer over the croutons, toss well, and place the croutons on a pan in a 375 oven until golden brown. About 15 minutes. Watch them like a hawk, or they may burn.

Make a simple Red Wine Vinaigrette: In a blender, pour 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp chopped shallots, ½ tsp freshly cracked pepper, 1 tbsp whole grain mustard. Turn on the blender and slowly add 1 cup of canola oil. You will probably only need ½ of this dressing.

Cut ¼ inch and saute10 slices of your favorite bacon. Drain the most of the fat off the bacon leaving the bacon and 2 tbsp of fat in the pan. Slice 1 pound of medium-sized mushrooms and set aside. Measure about 5 ounces of your favorite blue cheese, crumble and put aside.

Cut 1 head of Napa cabbage (approximately the size of a football) into quarters, then slice each quarter into ¼ inch slices and put into a stainless bowl. You will be ready to make the salad when the cabbage is at room temperature. It is VERY important that the cabbage is not cold, or the salad will steam and wilt when you add the hot vinaigrette.

Making the Salad:
Make sure all your components are ready to go and are within reach.

Here We Go !

TURN YOUR EXHAUST FAN ON HIGH…Turn the pan with the bacon on medium-high heat. When it starts to sizzle again, add the mushrooms and sauté. This will only take about 1 minute, because the mushrooms will soak up all the bacon fat. Add ½ cup of red wine vinaigrette. Pour the blue cheese into the pan, then immediately pour contents of pan into the napa cabbage. Add the croutons. Put the metal bowl on the stove over medium-high heat. Use an oven mitt because the bowl will get HOT. Toss the salad until warm (not hot), about 30 seconds. Serve on warm plates.

That has me drooling just reading this!!
I definitely want to try it sometime!
Thanks for sharing...
Peace and Love,
Debs

Yum! Yum! Yeah, I love to cook! Lately, I've been into cooking ahead for the month or week, whatever works at the time. Saves me money, time, & dishes. I got this recipe from 1 of those books; it's a chicken mix recipe you make ahead, then freeze in 1 lb. increments, adn pull out to thaw for use in a variety of dishes. For the chicken mix you use 3 lbs chicken, cut up, with a 4oz can mushrooms, 6oz cream cheese, and 2 cups white sauce (just melt 4T butter, brown 4T flour in it, and add 2 cups milk once lightly browned til hot & slightly thickened). Okay, you cool and heat that, tehn you can make stir frys, soups, pasta dishes, etc. The one I made today called for a thawed chicken mix, drained can pineapple, 1/2 c. mango salsa, adn a T. jerk seasoning. Just heat & serve over rice for Polynesian Chicken. OMG, good! The whole book is good, it's called '
The Once-a-Week Cooking Plan: The Incredible Cooking Program That Will Save You 10 to 20 Hours a Week (and Have Your Family Begging for More!)' by Joni Hilton. I made a chicken mix, a beef one, & a fish one, all with similarly great results. Having fish tacos when I get off work tonight. Life is good.

I discovered a nice breakfast grain for them as likes such things.

Quinoa.

Yeah, yeah, I know, a lot of you prolly already cook with it.

I've been enjoying it for breakfast just with butter and salt -- like grits, only with a much higher nutritional content!

I find this a good "stick to your ribs" breakfast that does not cause a blood sugar drop in a couple of hours.

For those of you who've never made it, you cook it just like rice -- two parts water to one part grain, add butter, salt or whatever flavorings you'd like.

Both of the new post sound good I will try both ideas..
Anyone have a good vegetarian recipe? I’m looking for a casserole type dish fast and easy for dinner.

Here is a new recipe I found really good!!!

Mediterranean Chicken Pockets

Serving: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes


Nonstick cooking spray
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
One 10-ounce box frozen peas
2 medium tomatoes, washed and chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1 scallion, washed, trimmed, and chopped
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dillweed
Four 1 1/2-ounce pita bread rounds, halved crosswise
1/2 small head iceberg lettuce, outer leaves removed, washed, dried, and separated into leaves


1. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, brush with oil, and heat over medium-high flame. Add chicken breasts and sauté, turning frequently, until cooked and no longer pink inside, 8 to 10 minutes, or until internal temperature is 170°F. Remove from skillet, place on platter, cover, and let cool in refrigerator.

2. Meanwhile, bring 1/2 cup water to boil in a medium saucepan, and add frozen peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 4 minutes; do not overcook. Drain and set aside.

3. Cut cooled chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, combine chicken, cooked peas, tomatoes, feta cheese, and scallion. Fold in yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dillweed, and toss well.

4. Line inside of pita halves with lettuce and stuff with chicken mixture. TTYL Kymm

I enjoy cooking, but due to life constraints my best recipes fall into the category of "what can I put together in 30 minutes that is reasonably healthy and that my family will eat?" Leftovers for lunches are bonus.

Most are "non-recipes" in that measurements are inexact and you can make lots of substitutions without damage.

Two options, both cheap and kid favorites.

===

Terrific Tower of Tortillas

Mix together:
1 can of pinto beans, drained
a roughly equal amount of frozen corn
a roughly equal amount of salsa

Layer with
4-5 flour tortillas
1 to 1.5 cups grated cheese (I like sharp cheddar)

I use a cake pan, and get the size tortillas that just fit. Spray with non-stick, start with a tortilla, end with cheese.

Cover with foil. Bake at 425F about 10-15 minutes, then remove the foil just long enough for the cheese on top to melt (about 5 minutes). Cut into wedges to serve. Great quick meal with a salad and fruit on the side.

==
Basic GB casserole

Brown ground beef with onion and bell pepper. Add canned tomatoes (drained) and BBQ sauce (about a cup - taste and add as you like).

Make favorite biscuit dough. Like a flat pan with the dough, like a pie-crust. Pour the GB mixture on top, and bake until the biscuit dough is done. (Use the temp you normally do biscuits at, for about the same time.) If desired, sprinkle a little cheese on top toward the end of cooking - very optional.

(I usually get a 7x11 pan out of a biscuit recipe that is supposed to make 10 biscuits. I also use half whole-wheat flour for the dough. A pound of GB, one onion, one bell pepper, and a 15 oz can of tomatoes makes enough filling for two casseroles - freeze the extra for another day.)

Tower of Tortilla sounds great, thanks!

I can indentify with the statement about "whatever I can throw together in 30 minutes or less!

Here's an easy one my family loves--I love it cause it's great for those days when I didn't think to thaw something out ahead of time.

Tomato Basil Chicken Breasts

Put a tbsp. or two olive oil in your large skillet.
Place as many frozen chicken breasts as you can fit in the skillet, single layer.
Sprinkle generously with garlic powder and dried basil. (I use my fresh basil in the summer)
Pour on a can of diced tomatoes.
Put a lid on the pan and turn the heat on Medium.

(Go start your rice cooker now and by the time the rice is done the chicken will be done.)

Turn the chicken about every 10 mins or so, and move the outer pieces to the center so they all get done. Serve over rice. Delicious!

My great Gram's clam dip (ridiculously simple yet I can't serve it without someone asking for the recipe)

6ish ounce can of minced clams (including juice)
8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened

Mix cream cheese and minced clams thoroughly. Chill 1 hour. Serve with hearty chips like salt and pepper pita chips (okay that isn't part of the recipe but that's what I think goes best with it)

Mmmmm, clam dip sounds yummy!

Gee, thanks a lot everyone...look at all this drool on my keyboard....gotta getta paper towel..

I really love to cook (and eat...guess that doesn't need stating). Here's a recipe I saw Rachel Ray make. I couldn't find it online, so I had to kind of just wing it. It's a side dish that my husband now requests at least once a week, and it's really easy. I don't know what Rachel calls them, I'm calling them "Smack Down Potatoes":

Use small Yukon gold, or new red potatoes. Small potatoes work best, although you can quarter larger potatoes. Larger potatoes don't look as nice but they still taste good.

Put about 1-2 tbsp. EVOO and 1-2 tblsp butter into saute pan (make sure you have a lid). Melt butter into EVOO and add scrubbed, unpeeled potatoes. Pour enough chicken stock into the pan to almost cover the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper, whatever seasonings you really like...cajun works well. Cover the pan, turn the heat down to medium low and cook potatoes until they're tender. When they are fork-tender, most of the liquid will have cooked down and now the fun starts: take a heavy pan, or a meat tenderizer and gently smack the potatoes until they are slightly flattened. (Don't be too zealous, you'll make a mess all over your stove and you'll have bits of potato everywhere). Turn the potatoes over and let them brown nicely on one side, flip them again to brown up any pale 'taters. They taste so wonderful and it took more time to type in the instructions than it takes to actually assemble the dish. One pound will serve 4 people.

You can be as creative as you like with your seasonings, etc. You could even use flavored olive oil if you don't want plain EVOO, but the butter adds a wonderful flavor all on its on. I think one time I used rosemary infused olive oil and served the potatoes with roasted chicken. If you feel really adventurous, add a little balsamic vinegar to the olive oil and butter prior to adding the potatoes and chicken stock. I think that would be yummy!!

Uh oh...more drool. Shoulda had lunch first.

Diane