Ok so the title MIGHT be a little sick sounding to those of you who remember the show.....especially since this is about how to cook a lamb chop! ha ha ha
Herb and Garlic Lamb chop
Ingredients
1 4-ounce lamb chop
1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic, mashed
Directions
Preheat a grill or broiler to high.
Rub the olive oil over the entire lamb chop.
Mix the rosemary, salt, pepper and garlic and rub over the chop.
Grill, turning once, until personal level of doneness is achieved, 10-15 minutes.
Number of Servings: 1
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Charoset for the seder
I got this recipe from Spark people.com but have tweaked it a little bit to fit with what I have handy.
Though tasty it is a little muddy looking which is the point! Charoset is supposed to represent the mud/straw mixture that the Israelites used to make bricks or mortar for the buildings they had to make as slaves for Pharaoh.
Ingredients
6 apples, unpeeled
2 cup ground walnuts (I will use almonds as I'm allergic to walnuts)
2 teaspoon cinnamon
Passover wine to moisten (I will use juice instead since we don't drink)
Honey to taste
Directions
Chop apples (do not peel).
Grind walnuts in food processor to make powdery substance.
Combine apples and nuts in bowl and stir in wine. Add enough wine so that the nuts create an almost paste. Add honey to sweeten.
Chill for at least 2 hours. Add more wine and/or honey as necessary.
Number of Servings: 16
Though tasty it is a little muddy looking which is the point! Charoset is supposed to represent the mud/straw mixture that the Israelites used to make bricks or mortar for the buildings they had to make as slaves for Pharaoh.
Ingredients
6 apples, unpeeled
2 cup ground walnuts (I will use almonds as I'm allergic to walnuts)
2 teaspoon cinnamon
Passover wine to moisten (I will use juice instead since we don't drink)
Honey to taste
Directions
Chop apples (do not peel).
Grind walnuts in food processor to make powdery substance.
Combine apples and nuts in bowl and stir in wine. Add enough wine so that the nuts create an almost paste. Add honey to sweeten.
Chill for at least 2 hours. Add more wine and/or honey as necessary.
Number of Servings: 16
Passover Seder
When I was younger my girls group Missionettes used to observe passover somewhat.
Being a Protestant church there wasn't a heavy emphasis on it but because we studied the old testament women we did talk about some of the festivals that they celebrated as well.
The other day I realized my kids didn't know what passover really was, they had no idea that Jews today and some Christians still celebrated the release of God's people from Egypt or how today as a remembrance of Jesus's last supper.
So today and tomorrow I plan on making a few dishes that reflect on passover and hope to teach my children a little bible history through taste and story.
Unleavened Bread for Lord's Supper or Passover
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour, 4 cups
Cilantro, 2 heaping teaspoons
Salt, 1 level teaspoon
Canola Oil, 3/4 cup
Water, 3/4 cup
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet.
Chop fine or crush the cilantro and then mix it with the salt. Add this to the flour.
Add the oil to the flour and mix well.
Pour the water into the flour mixture and knead lightly. It will be ready when the dough is no longer sticky. Add extra water 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
Use a rolling pin to roll the unleavened bread dough out on a lightly-floured surface. Flatten the dough to about ½ inch in thickness. Try to make the shape as close as possible to the shape of the pre-greased cookie sheet.
Put the dough on the cookie sheet and cut into triangles or squares. Bake the unleavened bread for 15 to 20 minutes. It will be dry in consistency like a cracker.
Makes around 36 cracker size pieces. Serving size is one cracker.
Number of Servings: 36
Being a Protestant church there wasn't a heavy emphasis on it but because we studied the old testament women we did talk about some of the festivals that they celebrated as well.
The other day I realized my kids didn't know what passover really was, they had no idea that Jews today and some Christians still celebrated the release of God's people from Egypt or how today as a remembrance of Jesus's last supper.
So today and tomorrow I plan on making a few dishes that reflect on passover and hope to teach my children a little bible history through taste and story.
Unleavened Bread for Lord's Supper or Passover
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour, 4 cups
Cilantro, 2 heaping teaspoons
Salt, 1 level teaspoon
Canola Oil, 3/4 cup
Water, 3/4 cup
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet.
Chop fine or crush the cilantro and then mix it with the salt. Add this to the flour.
Add the oil to the flour and mix well.
Pour the water into the flour mixture and knead lightly. It will be ready when the dough is no longer sticky. Add extra water 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough is too dry.
Use a rolling pin to roll the unleavened bread dough out on a lightly-floured surface. Flatten the dough to about ½ inch in thickness. Try to make the shape as close as possible to the shape of the pre-greased cookie sheet.
Put the dough on the cookie sheet and cut into triangles or squares. Bake the unleavened bread for 15 to 20 minutes. It will be dry in consistency like a cracker.
Makes around 36 cracker size pieces. Serving size is one cracker.
Number of Servings: 36
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Birthday fun
The 19th was our little one's first birthday so I made a special cake for the occasion.
Nothing special I admit I used a boxed cake recipe the Springtime Funfetti one by Pillsbury.
But what made it special was the Wiltons cake pan that I used, the ballerina bear to be exact.
Then I piped frosting onto the cake to decorate the raised design as well.
Ingredients
Recipe for 2 layer cake or 2 boxes of cake mix (be prepared to have a cookie sheet underneath to catch drippings)
1 can of frosting (about 12-16 oz)
2 bottles of wiltons canned decorator frosting (the kind int he aerosol can w/decorator tips included) I had a pink and a white one
food coloring or however bottle of mini gel frosting for drawing the face features.
Shortening and flour to grease the pan
1 wiltons cake pan!
Grease the pan with shortening leaving no shiny spots behind then dust with flour, make cake according to package directions and pour into pan.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
When done baking take pan out and set on cooling rack for 15-20 minutes to cool.
Remove cake according to the directions in the wiltons pan booklet (this comes with the pan)
Let cool for another 30 minutes once set right side up.
Frost the sides of cake with a solid color, then take the star tip of your icing decorators and ice in the design according to the pattern directions.
I took 2 days to do this so that the frosting had time to set in between colors so they would not run together or smear.
Nothing special I admit I used a boxed cake recipe the Springtime Funfetti one by Pillsbury.
But what made it special was the Wiltons cake pan that I used, the ballerina bear to be exact.
Then I piped frosting onto the cake to decorate the raised design as well.
Ingredients
Recipe for 2 layer cake or 2 boxes of cake mix (be prepared to have a cookie sheet underneath to catch drippings)
1 can of frosting (about 12-16 oz)
2 bottles of wiltons canned decorator frosting (the kind int he aerosol can w/decorator tips included) I had a pink and a white one
food coloring or however bottle of mini gel frosting for drawing the face features.
Shortening and flour to grease the pan
1 wiltons cake pan!
Grease the pan with shortening leaving no shiny spots behind then dust with flour, make cake according to package directions and pour into pan.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
When done baking take pan out and set on cooling rack for 15-20 minutes to cool.
Remove cake according to the directions in the wiltons pan booklet (this comes with the pan)
Let cool for another 30 minutes once set right side up.
Frost the sides of cake with a solid color, then take the star tip of your icing decorators and ice in the design according to the pattern directions.
I took 2 days to do this so that the frosting had time to set in between colors so they would not run together or smear.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Penne leftovers casserole!
I love leftovers, because it means mama gets a night off from cooking! But sometimes leftovers can be tedious or if you didn't like it much the first time torture!
So this week rather then have spaghetti again or tacos again...I mixed up some of my leftovers with new friends and we had a pretty good casserole!
1 cup leftover spaghetti sauce (with ground beef)
2 cups Prego heart healthy spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 red onion chopped
1/2 clove garlic minced (or you can use garlic powder)
Penne Pasta about 6 servings worth
I reheated the spaghetti/meat sauce mix on the stove top and added in more sauce and 1 lb of lean ground beef (cooked and drained)
Once that started bubbling I added in the onion and garlic for more of a robust flavor.
Boil pasta according to package directions.
Layer meat sauce mix, noodles, mozzarella, ricotta cheese in 9x13 glass baking pan; I did this twice then I topped it all with about a 1/4 c of monterey jack cheese as that was all I had! :)
Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and warmed all the way through.
So this week rather then have spaghetti again or tacos again...I mixed up some of my leftovers with new friends and we had a pretty good casserole!
1 cup leftover spaghetti sauce (with ground beef)
2 cups Prego heart healthy spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 red onion chopped
1/2 clove garlic minced (or you can use garlic powder)
Penne Pasta about 6 servings worth
I reheated the spaghetti/meat sauce mix on the stove top and added in more sauce and 1 lb of lean ground beef (cooked and drained)
Once that started bubbling I added in the onion and garlic for more of a robust flavor.
Boil pasta according to package directions.
Layer meat sauce mix, noodles, mozzarella, ricotta cheese in 9x13 glass baking pan; I did this twice then I topped it all with about a 1/4 c of monterey jack cheese as that was all I had! :)
Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese is melted and warmed all the way through.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Care Bears for the Mare Bear!
This week is a big week in our household, our youngest is turning 1!
I really like to make special cakes for my family members birthdays and it's always a fun challenge to figure out what to do and how to execute the plan.
Sometimes they're great and sometimes I'm just thankful my kids are excited I can make anything be it great or not so great looking. :)
Currently I am toying with 2 different ideas for my daughters cake, either a castle using one of those castle kits from the craft store or just going from scratch and drawing and creating a template on my own.
Today's adventure led me to some Care bear cakes as our litte ones nickname is Mare Bear.
So here is a recipe for buttercream frosting as I will need to make a lot of this for the cake!
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
* 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
* 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
* 2 tablespoons milk
Makes: About 3 cups of icing.
instructions
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.
For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.
NOTE: Changes in Wilton's traditional recipes have been made due to Trans Fat Free Shortening replacing Hydrogenated Shortening.
I really like to make special cakes for my family members birthdays and it's always a fun challenge to figure out what to do and how to execute the plan.
Sometimes they're great and sometimes I'm just thankful my kids are excited I can make anything be it great or not so great looking. :)
Currently I am toying with 2 different ideas for my daughters cake, either a castle using one of those castle kits from the craft store or just going from scratch and drawing and creating a template on my own.
Today's adventure led me to some Care bear cakes as our litte ones nickname is Mare Bear.
So here is a recipe for buttercream frosting as I will need to make a lot of this for the cake!
Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
* 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
* 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
* 2 tablespoons milk
Makes: About 3 cups of icing.
instructions
(Medium Consistency)
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.
For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.
For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.
NOTE: Changes in Wilton's traditional recipes have been made due to Trans Fat Free Shortening replacing Hydrogenated Shortening.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Pork chops and friends
Toinght is a dash and go meal as my husband and oldest daughter have a special event at church.
So we're having pork chops seasoned with Kirklands organic no salt seasoning (I love the smell of this stuff!) fried potatoes, some croissants and a salad!
Today's recipe that you see out of this mix though will be the fried potatos.
My mom used to make these when I was growing up and I always got excited because they were so good! She would fry them up in vegetable oil with some onions and Mmmmnnnnmmm!
I make mine a little differently now thanks to the influence of my mother in law but the basic concept is the same, take some potatoes chop them up into pieces and fry away!
4 large russett potatos
1 gallon size ziploc bag
salt or seasoning of choice
1 onion sliced or chopped whichever you prefer
2 Tbs vegetable oil (or for a healthy alternative cooking spray)
Chop potatoes up into bit size chunks (my mother did them in a triangular style shape) Place into ziploc bag with 1 Tbs water. Heat in microwafe for 3-4 minutes, let sit for 10 min in microwave to the potatoes have a chance to be "steamed"
Heat oil in pan, toss the taters in and fry them up until browned, add the onion about halfway through for flavor.
So we're having pork chops seasoned with Kirklands organic no salt seasoning (I love the smell of this stuff!) fried potatoes, some croissants and a salad!
Today's recipe that you see out of this mix though will be the fried potatos.
My mom used to make these when I was growing up and I always got excited because they were so good! She would fry them up in vegetable oil with some onions and Mmmmnnnnmmm!
I make mine a little differently now thanks to the influence of my mother in law but the basic concept is the same, take some potatoes chop them up into pieces and fry away!
4 large russett potatos
1 gallon size ziploc bag
salt or seasoning of choice
1 onion sliced or chopped whichever you prefer
2 Tbs vegetable oil (or for a healthy alternative cooking spray)
Chop potatoes up into bit size chunks (my mother did them in a triangular style shape) Place into ziploc bag with 1 Tbs water. Heat in microwafe for 3-4 minutes, let sit for 10 min in microwave to the potatoes have a chance to be "steamed"
Heat oil in pan, toss the taters in and fry them up until browned, add the onion about halfway through for flavor.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Soda anyone?
Here's another "Irish" favorite, don't know how true this is to the Isle original but I'm sure it's good!
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 eggs
* 1 pint sour cream
* 1 cup raisins
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, sour cream and raisins and mix until just combined. Distribute batter evenly between the two pans.
3. Bake loaves at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 hour.
March madness!
Wow, talk about a break form the blogsphere! Really I have been cooking for my family and I have wanted to come back and share about it but time just keeps getting away from me and life insists on popping up over and over again! :)
Well it's March now and so this year I am hopping on the St. Patricks day bandwagon and plan to make themed dished in honor of it.
In our house we remember who St. Patrick is with a little help from Veggie Tales and Focus on the Family.
No pub hopping for us, never really was into that scene anyways so we're not missing much.
Today's meal is the centerpiece for St. Patty's day meals. It will be a first time go of it for me so I picked a slow cooker version to make that seemed simple and had no major frills about it.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
* 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
* 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
* 1 pound baby carrots
* 3 cups water
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 bay leaf
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1 (3 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet, cut in half
* 1 small head cabbage, cut into wedges
Directions
1. Place the onion, potatoes and carrots in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine water, garlic, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar, pepper and contents of spice packet; pour over vegetables. Top with brisket and cabbage. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.
Well it's March now and so this year I am hopping on the St. Patricks day bandwagon and plan to make themed dished in honor of it.
In our house we remember who St. Patrick is with a little help from Veggie Tales and Focus on the Family.
No pub hopping for us, never really was into that scene anyways so we're not missing much.
Today's meal is the centerpiece for St. Patty's day meals. It will be a first time go of it for me so I picked a slow cooker version to make that seemed simple and had no major frills about it.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
* 1 medium onion, cut into wedges
* 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
* 1 pound baby carrots
* 3 cups water
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 bay leaf
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* 1 (3 pound) corned beef brisket with spice packet, cut in half
* 1 small head cabbage, cut into wedges
Directions
1. Place the onion, potatoes and carrots in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Combine water, garlic, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar, pepper and contents of spice packet; pour over vegetables. Top with brisket and cabbage. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf before serving.
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