It’s been a little longer than I expected it to be – my apologies.
Hare here. I got sick not long after posting the Swiss Steak Café recipe. Then I went home for a weekend, and then work got busy, and life got busy for a bit – at any rate, I’m back.
And I make my return with more requested recipes – today I drop off a salad and a sandwich and a soup to make up for the lack of updates on my part.
I don’t know that I’d recommend serving all of these together, per se, but they do sound tasty.
Spinach Salad With Chicken and Fruit
Serves 4 to 6
6 cups fresh spinach (about 8 ounces)
¼ cup salad oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
½ teaspoon poppy seeds
1 11 ounce can mandarin oranges, chilled and drained
1 ½ cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey, or two 5 ounce cans chunk style chicken, drained and flaked
2 cups strawberry halves or cantaloupe cubes
Rinse and tear spinach. Cover and store in refrigerator.
For dressing, in a screw top jar combine oil, red wine vinegar, orange juice, mustard, and poppy seeds. Cover and shake well. Chill up to 24 hours.
When ready to serve, in a large salad bowl combine spinach, orange sections, chicken, and strawberries or cantaloupe. Shake dressing and drizzle over salad: toss to coat.
Hot Apple and Cheese Sandwich
Serves 4
1 medium apple
4 English muffins, split
2 tablespoons creamy Dijon-style mustard
4 slices Canadian bacon
4 slices Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
Core the apple and slice crosswise, forming rings. Spread mustard on one side of muffin halves
To assemble, top 4 muffin halves with a slice of bacon, 1 or 2 apple rings, a slice of cheese, and the remaining muffin halves. Spread margarine lightly on the outside of each sandwich.
Heat a large skillet or griddle. Cook sandwiches over medium low heat about 5 minutes, or till toasted. Turn and cook 4 to 5 minutes more or until toasted and cheese starts to melt.
Sausage Vegetable Soup
Serves 8
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
2 14 to 15 ounce cans beef or vegetable broth
2 14 to 15 ounce cans Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 ½ cups water
1 15 ounce can cannelline or red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes (about 3 cups)
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 large onion, cut into thin wedges
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic, or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
In a 4 ½ quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, cook sausage till crumbly and browned. Drain off the fat.
Add broth, undrained tomatoes, water, beans, potatoes, celery, onion, and garlic. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25 minutes. Stir in zucchini and boil soup for 5 minutes more.
Source: What’s for Dinner? From Better Homes and Gardens Books, Inc. © 1995
Notes from the Hare
The soup (or any leftovers) can be frozen for up to three months. To do so, remove the soup from the heat immediately after adding the zucchini and allow it to cool, then transfer to freezer containers (a pair of 2 quart containers are recommended). When you’re ready to serve, transfer one portion of soup to a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally to break up the mixture.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Easy Alfredo Sauce
Hello, this is OX. Yeah, I know, it has been a while since I've posted anything here. The novel I was working on is finished and I am quite happy to say that come the 26th it will be mailed out for its try at acceptance. In the mean time, I am really doing a good amount of cooking and just realized that everyone should know how to make an easy Alfredo sauce which is wonderful over pene pasta or linguini especially.
The really strange problem is that there really aren't any measurements to be had so, good luck.
1. Use as much milk or evaporated milk or cream as you would want the amount of Alfredo sauce to be into a skillet on the stove on medium heat. This is most important - DO NOT BOIL THE MILK/CREAM/EVAPORATED MILK!
2. Depending on the amount of milk/cream/evaporated milk you have, put in about 6 tablespoons of butter in and let the warming milk melt the butter.
3. Once the butter is melted, season it with salt.
4. Add in Parmesan cheese. It will take a good amount, so two cups isn't out there. Stir this in until the mixture is thick and creamy. Don't stir it hard, just let the mixture do all the work for you. It doesn't matter if the Parmesan cheese is fresh grated or from a nice box. Before taking it off of the heat, add garlic. Make it as garlicy as you would want, then pour it over pasta you have prepared.
One note I would like to make: Don't use sweetened condensed milk because that makes it way too sweet and you have to work with it a lot to make it less sweet.
So, enjoy!
The really strange problem is that there really aren't any measurements to be had so, good luck.
1. Use as much milk or evaporated milk or cream as you would want the amount of Alfredo sauce to be into a skillet on the stove on medium heat. This is most important - DO NOT BOIL THE MILK/CREAM/EVAPORATED MILK!
2. Depending on the amount of milk/cream/evaporated milk you have, put in about 6 tablespoons of butter in and let the warming milk melt the butter.
3. Once the butter is melted, season it with salt.
4. Add in Parmesan cheese. It will take a good amount, so two cups isn't out there. Stir this in until the mixture is thick and creamy. Don't stir it hard, just let the mixture do all the work for you. It doesn't matter if the Parmesan cheese is fresh grated or from a nice box. Before taking it off of the heat, add garlic. Make it as garlicy as you would want, then pour it over pasta you have prepared.
One note I would like to make: Don't use sweetened condensed milk because that makes it way too sweet and you have to work with it a lot to make it less sweet.
So, enjoy!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Swiss Steak Cafe
More requested recipes – this one involving the crock pot, steak, and coffee.
Swiss Steak Café
Serves 4
1 ½ pounds boneless beef round steak, cut ¾ in thick
1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
2 onions, sliced
1 cup strong coffee
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic, or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Trim the fat from the round steak and cut into 4 serving sized pieces. In a 12 inch skillet, brown the meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off any fat.
Place onion in bottom of a 3 ½ to 6 quart crockery cooker. Add meat. Combine coffee, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and oregano. Pour over meat and onion.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours, or on high heat for 4 to 5 hours.
Remove meat and onions to platter and keep warm. Measure 2 cups of the cooking liquid and pour into a small saucepan. Discard bay leaves. Combine water and cornstarch and stir into saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Serve sauce with round steak.
Source: What’s for Dinner? From Better Homes and Gardens Books, Inc. © 1995
Notes from the Hare
I must admit, I’ve never considered using coffee as an ingredient before, but this sounds very tasty.
Swiss Steak Café
Serves 4
1 ½ pounds boneless beef round steak, cut ¾ in thick
1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
2 onions, sliced
1 cup strong coffee
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic, or 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
2 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Trim the fat from the round steak and cut into 4 serving sized pieces. In a 12 inch skillet, brown the meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off any fat.
Place onion in bottom of a 3 ½ to 6 quart crockery cooker. Add meat. Combine coffee, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, and oregano. Pour over meat and onion.
Cover and cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours, or on high heat for 4 to 5 hours.
Remove meat and onions to platter and keep warm. Measure 2 cups of the cooking liquid and pour into a small saucepan. Discard bay leaves. Combine water and cornstarch and stir into saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Serve sauce with round steak.
Source: What’s for Dinner? From Better Homes and Gardens Books, Inc. © 1995
Notes from the Hare
I must admit, I’ve never considered using coffee as an ingredient before, but this sounds very tasty.
Monday, August 01, 2005
Turkey Loaf with Pesto
Continuing with our requested recipe extravaganza, we come to an interesting way to use some ground turkey – not so helpful for Thanksgiving leftovers, but it might be interesting to try once.
Turkey Loaf with Pesto
Serves 4
1 egg
¾ cup soft rye bread crumbs (about 1 slice)
¾ cup shredded Provolone or Mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)
3 tablespoons beer, milk, or water
2 tablespoons purchased pesto
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground turkey
Shredded Provolone or Mozzarella cheese (optional)
In a large bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, the ¾ cup shredded cheese, desired liquid, pesto, nutmeg, and pepper. Add turkey. Mix well. Form into a loaf and place into an 8x4x3 inch loaf pan.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
Remove from oven and transfer loaf to a platter. Top with additional cheese if desired. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Source: What’s for Dinner? From Better Homes and Gardens Books, Inc. © 1995
Notes from the Hare
Don’t want to use the oven for some reason (and given the temperatures around here, I can understand)? Make the loaf in your crock pot. Assemble as above, then place the loaf in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. To make moving the loaf easier, form three long strips of folded aluminum foil and place them under the loaf in a spoke like fashion. Lift the ends of the foil to place the loaf in the crock pot, then leave them in there to take it out with later.
Turkey Loaf with Pesto
Serves 4
1 egg
¾ cup soft rye bread crumbs (about 1 slice)
¾ cup shredded Provolone or Mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)
3 tablespoons beer, milk, or water
2 tablespoons purchased pesto
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground turkey
Shredded Provolone or Mozzarella cheese (optional)
In a large bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, the ¾ cup shredded cheese, desired liquid, pesto, nutmeg, and pepper. Add turkey. Mix well. Form into a loaf and place into an 8x4x3 inch loaf pan.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
Remove from oven and transfer loaf to a platter. Top with additional cheese if desired. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Source: What’s for Dinner? From Better Homes and Gardens Books, Inc. © 1995
Notes from the Hare
Don’t want to use the oven for some reason (and given the temperatures around here, I can understand)? Make the loaf in your crock pot. Assemble as above, then place the loaf in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. To make moving the loaf easier, form three long strips of folded aluminum foil and place them under the loaf in a spoke like fashion. Lift the ends of the foil to place the loaf in the crock pot, then leave them in there to take it out with later.
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