Saturday, January 31, 2009

#31 Turkey Tetrazzini


16 oz of spagehetti broken in half
1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup diced onion
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
2 cups grated Cheddar Cheese
1 can sliced mushrooms (do not drain)
1 pound cooked turkey, diced
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Boil pasta according to package directions, drain.
Melt the butter over med heat. Add the onion; cook and stir until tender. Stir in flour and seasonings until blended. Then add milk. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and gradually add about half the grated cheese. Add undrained mushrooms to the sauce and stir.
Layer half the spagehetti in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan. Cover with a layer of turkey and then a layer of sauce. Repeat. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Bake about 20 mins.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

#30 Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chunky salsa
8 oz corn tortilla chips

Directions:

In a large pot saute chicken in oil until no longer pink. Add the garlic and cumin, mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over chips. Top with cheese and sour cream (optional). I chose not to use the chips but had some wheat saltines to dip in it.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

#29 No Knead Bread

A friend posted on her blog about making this bread and I have finally tried it and I must share. It is the easiest bread you will ever make and the bread and crust are divine! It does take a long time to make, but only because it needs to rise for about 12 hours. But basically you mix it with a spoon and forget it, then go back do a couple of easy things and bake it for fabulous deliciousness! The recipe is from a 2006 recipe in the NY Times. Here is the link:
And here is the recipe:

No-Knead Bread
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed. (I used flour)

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic - I used my Pyrex dish that is smaller than the recommended size and did okay) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.

This is what my dough looked like right after stirring it all together. Takes a minute tops.
These photos were taken with my phone as my camera battery was dead,
but I think you can get the idea!
And this picture shows the beautiful results - and it tasted even better than it looks! My friend who's post I read is now making it using a starter for a yummy sour dough bread. I may have to try that next!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

#28 Shredded Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 bottle of BBQ Sauce
~3 lbs of pork (I used boneless ribs)

Directions:

Pour a small amount sauce on bottom of slow cooker. Add the pork and pour the rest of the sauce over top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When it is done shred the pork with a fork.

Put on hamburger buns with a slice of cheese. I also used more BBQ sauce on the buns. You could probably use less sauce in the slow cooker, it just depends on the amount of pork you have.

Best served with seasoned fries!

#27 Citrus Turkey Brine











1 cup kosher salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves of garlic
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 gallons cold water

12-14 lb turkey

Using a large turkey roasting bag, line a large stockpot. Put the turkey in the bag and add other ingredients. Then tie the bag to keep the brine around the turkey. Put in the fridge overnight. Drain and discard brine. Roast or Grill turkey as usual.

This brine came from Allrecipes.com A wonderful resource for recipes. I will post grilling photos later this afternoon.








Wednesday, January 7, 2009