This is Paula's recipe. We are on a first name basis as I watch her everyday. Actually tape her everyday and appreciate her take on butter and cream. This looked so yummy I added this to our Xmas eve appetizer list.
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoon butter
1 bunch green onion
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 cup Monterrey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayo (I used miracle whip)
salt and pepper to taste
Saute the pepper in the butter until tender. Add remaining ingredients until shrimp almost cooked. Spread in small baking dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until shrimp cooked and dip bubbly. Serve with baked pita chips (recipe follows)
1 package pita bread (split in half and cut into wedges)
olive oil
salt and pepper
Drizzle pita wedges with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Chicken Rustica
So, this was one that Alex told me I needed to put in my blog, and since he is picky eater I took his word for it. It liked it a lot, and Dan even liked the sweet potato portion. It was VERY easy too, even though it sounds kind of lengthy, the steps are pretty easy.
4-6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used about 6 small)
8-10 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (if you use russet probably use 3-4, and I left the skin on these)
2 onions sliced
olive oil
3-4 tbs. bacon bits (use real, not the hard ones)
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 - 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 chicken leg quarters with skin on
1 stick butter, softened and cut into pieces (2 for each piece of chicken)
3-4 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss potatoes and onion with olive oil (enough to coat). Place in roasting pan. Sprinkle with bacon bits, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour chicken broth and heavy cream and mix. Place one piece of softened butter under leg skins, and another smear on top of skin. Place chicken over potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan and salt and pepper. Cover with foil or lid and bake in oven for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken juices are no longer pink. You may need to drain juices every 30 minutes. Do not drain completely. Enjoy!!!
4-6 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (I used about 6 small)
8-10 Yukon gold potatoes, cubed (if you use russet probably use 3-4, and I left the skin on these)
2 onions sliced
olive oil
3-4 tbs. bacon bits (use real, not the hard ones)
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
1 - 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 chicken leg quarters with skin on
1 stick butter, softened and cut into pieces (2 for each piece of chicken)
3-4 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss potatoes and onion with olive oil (enough to coat). Place in roasting pan. Sprinkle with bacon bits, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour chicken broth and heavy cream and mix. Place one piece of softened butter under leg skins, and another smear on top of skin. Place chicken over potatoes and sprinkle with Parmesan and salt and pepper. Cover with foil or lid and bake in oven for 1 hour. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes or until chicken juices are no longer pink. You may need to drain juices every 30 minutes. Do not drain completely. Enjoy!!!
Chicken Primevera Pizza
I know it has been a while but I have been cooking this whole time, just no time to post anything. So here I go. Tonight I made pizza that I must say was pretty damn good. If my stomach wasn't smaller than normal I would have eaten a ton more. And it was easy.... Good for a working mama to make on a school night. Course not all the family got to eat, Maddie passed out at 4:30 on the couch yelling at me because she couldn't eat candy! She would have liked it though! I made 2 pizza's for the 5 of us and there was only about 1/4 of a pizza left. Even Gage my picky eater came back 3 times and asked to take it to lunch, but Alex had already called dibs. Moral of the story, you should try this pizza!
2 tubes pizza dough (I used flat bread dough)
olive oil
garlic salt
grated Parmesan cheese
4 chicken breasts
3/4 stick butter
minced garlic
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
4 cups shredded cheese (I used pizza blend, but you could use mozzarella or Italian blend)
6-8 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 cup fresh spinach, torn into pieces
pizza seasoning
additional grated Parmesan cheese
Saute chicken, onions, and peppers in saute pan with melted butter for 20 mins or until no longer pink, turning after 10 mins. Let rest 10 mins and then slice each piece into bite size pieces. Meanwhile, unroll each tube of dough on a greased cookie sheet and press into rectangle. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons oil on each rectangle and brush over dough. Sprinkle with garlic salt and grated Parmesan cheese (to taste). Bake at 400 degrees for 10 mins or until brown. Brush each with ranch dressing. Layer each pizza with shredded cheese, drained onions and peppers, torn spinach, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle each pizza with pizza seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Bake for an additional 8 mins or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!!!
2 tubes pizza dough (I used flat bread dough)
olive oil
garlic salt
grated Parmesan cheese
4 chicken breasts
3/4 stick butter
minced garlic
1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
4 cups shredded cheese (I used pizza blend, but you could use mozzarella or Italian blend)
6-8 tablespoons ranch dressing
1 cup fresh spinach, torn into pieces
pizza seasoning
additional grated Parmesan cheese
Saute chicken, onions, and peppers in saute pan with melted butter for 20 mins or until no longer pink, turning after 10 mins. Let rest 10 mins and then slice each piece into bite size pieces. Meanwhile, unroll each tube of dough on a greased cookie sheet and press into rectangle. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons oil on each rectangle and brush over dough. Sprinkle with garlic salt and grated Parmesan cheese (to taste). Bake at 400 degrees for 10 mins or until brown. Brush each with ranch dressing. Layer each pizza with shredded cheese, drained onions and peppers, torn spinach, and sliced chicken. Sprinkle each pizza with pizza seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Bake for an additional 8 mins or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!!!
Stuffed Zucchini
3-4 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
6-10 mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
ground pork sausage (I used maple flavor because I like the sweet and savory combo)
1-2 eggs
1 box/bag corn bread stuffing mix
1 jar diced pimentos
1 - 1.5 cups shredded Swiss cheese
6-8 slices provolone cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Boil the zucchini for about 10-15 mins or until slightly tender. Once cool, cut in half lengthwise and scoop out core. Meanwhile, saute the onions, squash, mushrooms, and garlic in oil until tender. Brown sausage in separate pan until cooked through and drain grease. Combine sauteed veggies, sausage, eggs, Swiss cheese, cornbread stuffing, and pimentos. Season with salt and pepper. Fill the zucchini boats with mixture and top with provolone cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven 15-20 mins until cheese is melted. Enjoy!!!
Farmers Market Canning
Pickles
We purchased our pickling cucumbers in bulk, this year we thought we would start small and got 1/2 bushel. It ended up making about 22 quart sized jars. It probably would have been more like 20 had I packed the first set correctly. We tried a variety of different additions into the jars, trying to see which ones we like for next year. The varieties are listed below:
dill (they all got dill)
garlic
Hungarian garlic (purchased from the farmers market, the man said it was stronger)
shallots
vidalia onions
And then about 3/4 of the way through we realized we forgot the alum, so one batch got alum added, which is supposed to keep the pickles crisp.
After packing the pickles into the sterilized jars, we added a combination of 8 cups white vinegar, 8 cups water, and 1/2 cup pickling salt, (boiled for 5 mins). Once each jar was fill, we wiped off each glass rim and sealed each jar in a hot canning bath for 10. I will let you know which combo we liked the best. They need to sit for 6-8 weeks. If you work with me, you will probably see me eating the crap out o pickles in a few weeks!
Jelly
So I got inspired from Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) to make jelly from scratch. I wanted to do it with the least amount of ingredients I could, and try it without using pectin like she did. She didn't can hers though, and I didn't think about the fact that I am not her!! Not sure what I will do next time, but it did turn out good! I used 1/2 pint jars and only got about 10 jars from this. It was a ton of work for little reward!
8 quart containers of strawberries, hulled (large ones halved)
2 quarts blackberries, rinsed
8 cups sugar (divided into both batches)
Juice of 10 lemons (divided into both batches)
I made two different kinds, strawberry and then strawberry/blackberry. I had about 5 quarts of fruit in each batch, and halved the sugar. Mix the sugar with the fruit and set out for a few hours to overnight, allowing the sugar to dissolve in the fruit. This will bring out the flavors. Once this is complete, add lemon juice and bring to boil. You will need to skim the mixture and stir often, and I can't stress this enough, just cook the crap out of it! You will know when it is done when you take a cold plate, place a drop of jelly on it and let it cool, then run your finger through it. Really the easiest way to tell was that it cooked about 1/2 way down. If you use pectin or even gelatin, I heard it takes minutes rather than hours like mine did. I also watched Bobby Flay recently make jelly and he boiled it a lot higher than I did, which would have cut my time. Anywho, the result still tastes really good, and next year I will try something different. I also just hot packed these, which means I didn't water bath them, I just put them in hot jars, turned them upside down for a few seconds, then let them sit. The heat seals the jars without the water bath.
Salsa
This recipe made about 14 quart jars. I got this recipe from Jennifer Altwegg, tweaked a little bit. I HATE cilantro, but it could be added if you would like.
20 lbs tomatoes, skins removed (boil for a few seconds and put in cold water)
6 green peppers, diced
6 onions, diced
5-6 jalapeno peppers, diced
1 bulb of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup salt
3 small cans of tomato paste
garlic salt (to taste)
I put the tomatoes and peppers in a food processor and pulsed until desired consistency. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat . We cooked it until some of the liquid cooked down, probably about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If you don't mind it runnier than less cooking time. We canned this in a hot bath for 15 mins. It is good! Tastes like Carlos O'Kelly's salsa!!! Yummy!!!!
Thanksgiving in August
I was feeling inspired from the farmers market and their huge sweet potatoes that they had. Nothing screams sweet potato like a big Thanksgiving dinner, so I decided to make it in August. Being that the heat outside has made me absolutely miserable, I was attempting to confuse myself with food, which worked a bit. For those of you that know my recent surgical endeavors you know that I cannot eat very much right now, but if I could I think I would have eaten myself into a coma just like on Thanksgiving! First I baked a 20 lb Carvers ham for 4 hours at 325. We also had mashed sweet potatoes and scalloped corn. Granted this was for 7 of us (my troop and my folks). Yummy!
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
About 7 small-medium sweet potatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp kosher salt
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into about 1 inch pieces. Boil until tender, about 20 mins. Drain and return to pot. Let the butter melt on top of the potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and mash with a potato masher or mixer.
Scalloped Corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 package Jiffy Corn Bread mix
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
2 heaping teaspoons sugar
Mix all of the ingredients until smooth. Pour into 8x8 baking dish (or any smaller ceramic baking dish). Bake at 350 until metal knife inserted in middle comes out clean. This ranges for me based on what dish I am using, but it usually takes at least an hour. Sorry for the vagueness, today it took closer to 90 mins because I baked it at a lower heat with the ham. This is also good with honey drizzled over the top!
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
About 7 small-medium sweet potatoes
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp kosher salt
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into about 1 inch pieces. Boil until tender, about 20 mins. Drain and return to pot. Let the butter melt on top of the potatoes. Add remaining ingredients and mash with a potato masher or mixer.
Scalloped Corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 package Jiffy Corn Bread mix
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
2 heaping teaspoons sugar
Mix all of the ingredients until smooth. Pour into 8x8 baking dish (or any smaller ceramic baking dish). Bake at 350 until metal knife inserted in middle comes out clean. This ranges for me based on what dish I am using, but it usually takes at least an hour. Sorry for the vagueness, today it took closer to 90 mins because I baked it at a lower heat with the ham. This is also good with honey drizzled over the top!
Busy mom meatball sub
I made a quick meatball sub tonight for dinner. Although I didn't make it all from scratch it was still pretty good for a quick meal.
hoagie buns
mozzarella slices (2 per sandwich)
frozen meatballs (or can definetly make fresh if you have enough time, enough to cover each bun)
spaghetti sauce
garlic salt
olive oil
pepper
Cook meatballs according to package directions. I dug out bread from the top portion of each hoagie roll. Brush each roll with olive oil and srpinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Broil rolls on high from 2-3 minutes or until brown. In a seperate suace pan, heat spaghetti sauce. Spread over the bottom of the hoagie, topping with meatballs and 2 slices of mozzarella. My meatballs were small and took about 8 to cover the hoagie. Place the bottom roll wtih meat and cheese back in over (now turned off) just until cheese melts. Place top roll on sadwich and enjoy!!!
Next time I make this I will add shredded parmasean to the cheeses. Also I would make my own sauce and meatballs, but I was in a time crunch.
hoagie buns
mozzarella slices (2 per sandwich)
frozen meatballs (or can definetly make fresh if you have enough time, enough to cover each bun)
spaghetti sauce
garlic salt
olive oil
pepper
Cook meatballs according to package directions. I dug out bread from the top portion of each hoagie roll. Brush each roll with olive oil and srpinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Broil rolls on high from 2-3 minutes or until brown. In a seperate suace pan, heat spaghetti sauce. Spread over the bottom of the hoagie, topping with meatballs and 2 slices of mozzarella. My meatballs were small and took about 8 to cover the hoagie. Place the bottom roll wtih meat and cheese back in over (now turned off) just until cheese melts. Place top roll on sadwich and enjoy!!!
Next time I make this I will add shredded parmasean to the cheeses. Also I would make my own sauce and meatballs, but I was in a time crunch.
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