Thursday, April 9, 2009

April Meals

White Chili - Britta

Italian Sausage & Peppers
- Julianne

Nachos Supreme - Julie

Chicken Cordon Bleu - Kimberly

Salmon - Laurie

Johnsonville BBQ Brats - Margaret

Lahmenjouns (Armenian) - Melanie

Breakfast Burritos
- Naomi

Seasoned Tritip Steak and Sweet Potato Fries - Tawnee

Italian Sausages, Peppers, & Pasta

6 large Italian sausages (used Tarantino Mild Italian Sausage)
1/2 large onion sliced
1/2 large red pepper sliced
1/2 large orange, yellow, green pepper sliced
Italian dressing
Pasta
Parmesan Cheese

Directions: Boil Italian sausages for approximately 8 minutes or until cooked through, then put them on the grill to give them a nice color and flavor. Then slice the sausages. In a separate pan, sauté onions and peppers. Cook pasta as directed. Toss the sausages, onion & peppers, pasta with some Italian dressing and top with Parmesan cheese. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Lahmenjouns

from Melanie Cummins and Carl Jacobs (my Grandpa)

DOUGH
¼ cup Water
2 pkg Yeast
½ tsp Sugar
3 cups Milk, heated
2 TBL Shortening, melted
1 ½ tsp Salt
2 TBL Sugar
8 cups Flour


1. Proof yeast first. Dissolve 2 pkg yeast and ½ tsp of sugar in ¼ cup water in a small bowl. Set aside and allow to rise.
2. In a mixer, add warm milk, melted shortening, sugar and salt. Add flour a cup at a time up to 6 cups. Use the break hook to mix/knead dough.
3. When dough is cooled off, add the yeast. Rinse bowl with a small amount of warm water to wash off all the yeast. Continue to mix/knead dough.
4. Once the yeast is all mixed in, add the 2 additional cups of flour and mix/knead dough.
5. Grease bottom of large pan. Place dough in greased pan; then turn dough greased side up. Cover pan with a cloth and put in a warm area (or cover pan with warmed cloth). Let dough rise until double in bulk.
6. Cut off dough and shape into balls the size of a small tangerine. Set on a floured board, cover with a dry towel.
7. Roll each ball of dough on a lightly floured surface into a circle 7-8” in diameter.

MEAT MIXTURE
1 # Ground lamb (or hamburger)
½ cup Green pepper, chopped
¾ - 1 cup Parsley, finely chopped
1 med Garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper
1 2/3 cup Canned tomatoes, mashed (can use diced tomatoes)
½ tsp Allspice
1 tsp Red pepper (or can use a mixture of paprika mixed with red pepper)

1. Mix all the above ingredients together in a large bowl with hands or potato-masher
2. Place rolled dough onto small 8” pie tins or individual foil sheets.
3. Spread 1½ -2 TBL meat mixture on dough with fork or fingers (should be kind of sparse so meat cooks through)
4. Bake at 450°. 6-8 minutes on the bottom rack (just above bottom heat). Meat will be light pink. Then bake 6-8 minutes on top rack (about 4” from top heat) until meat is lightly brown. Always bake on bottom rack first. (you may have to adjust heat, time or rack level to get the desired doneness of dough and meat)

Storage: keep leftovers in fridge or freezer

From Frozen: thaw in microwave for about 30-45 seconds

To Serve: you can eat them plain or serve them similar to a gyro. Place a couple thinly sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and a spoonful of tzatziki sauce and/or hummus in the middle of the Lahmenjoun. Fold in half to eat.

TZATZIKI SAUCE
½ cup Cucumber, peeled and diced
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1 Garlic clove, crushed
1 TBL Fresh mint, shopped

1. Place peeled/diced cucumber in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Rinse cucumber, drain well and pat dry on paper towels
3. Mix the yogurt, garlic, mint and cucumber in a bowl
4. Cover and chill.

Nachos Supreme

Pulled Pork:
5-6 sirlion pork chops (boneless)
Throw them in a fry pan with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, garlic salt and onion salt. Cook them pretty hot, until browned on both sides, but not cooked through. Put them in a crock pot for 5-8 hours or until they start to fall apart. Shred them and sprinkle with taco seasoning.

Tortilla chips
Can refried beans
Pulled Pork
Can green chilis
Shredded Cheese
Sliced olives
Sour cream
Tomatoes
Green onions

Start with a layer of chips on a cookie sheet. Heat up the can of refried beans in the microwave (this helps it spread easier). Drop spoonfuls of beans onto chips and spread as best as possible. Next, spread the pulled pork and then the green chilis, followed by the cheese and olives (sliced).

Heat in 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes or until all is warm and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with sour cream, tomatoes, and green onions. Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Ingredients:

4 (4-6 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves

4 slices deli ham

4 (2x1x1/4-inch) slices Monterey Jack Cheese

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp oregano

Topping Ingredients:

¼ cup seasoned dried bread crumbs

2 TBS freshly-grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp paprika

1 half stick butter (1/4 cup), melted

¼ cup chicken broth

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Pour chicken broth into microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave for 60 seconds. Add butter; stir until butter is melted. Using a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and paprika; set this aside. Using 2 sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap, pound each piece of chicken to ¼ inch thick using a meat mallet. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and oregano on both sides of the chicken pieces. Cover each piece with cheese slice and ham slice. Roll them up, dip into chicken broth and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Spray a baking dish and place rolled pieces in it. Pour remaining chicken broth into pan. If necessary, insert toothpicks to keep from unrolling. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees (F) or until chicken tops are golden. Make a slice in one piece to ensure that it is no longer pink.

FREEZE & BAKE LATER METHOD: Prepare as directed except for the baking section and cover tightly with aluminum foil and freeze. When you are ready to have it again just thaw the pieces in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Cook covered for 10 minutes and then uncover and cook for an additional 20 minutes on a baking sheet.