Friday, February 12, 2010

February Meals

Baked Chicken Nuggets & Roasted Veggies - Britta

Barbequed Pork Ribs - Cheryl

Salsa Chicken - Julianne

Tom Yum Soup with Noodles - Julie

Baked Ziti and French Bread - Kim Roylance

Crockpot Enchiladas & Coconut Brownies - Kimberly Summers

Navajo Tacos
- Lindsay

Canadian Cheese Soup, Lion House Rolls, Sarah Salad, Carrot Cake - Melanie

Saucy Italian Roast - Naomi

Ham and Potatoes - Tawnee

Navajo Tacos

taco meat- recipe below
12 Rhodes rolls - thaw and flatten
sour cream
cheese
lettuce
salsa

Fry flattened rolls in oil. Serve with taco meat and toppings on top, or slice half way down and fill "pocket."

The Best Taco Meat

1 small onion, chopped
2 lbs stew meat
1-2 cloves garlic
1 can pinto beans
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 envelope taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and stir well. Cover and cook on HI for 8-10 hours. Before serving, shred meat by pulling apart with 2 forks and mix with juice. This meat is great for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, or taco salad

Carrot Cake

Lion House Cookbook

1 cup sugar
½ cup oil (I use applesauce)
2 eggs, beaten
1½ cups grated carrots
1 cup unsifted flour (I use whole wheat flour)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup each ground coconut, nuts and raisins (I use ½ cup each)

Combine sugar and oil. Add eggs. Mix well. Add grated carrots. Slowly stir in sifted dry ingredients. Add ground coconut, nuts and raisins. Pour batter into lightly greased and floured 9x9 inch square cake pan. Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes, or until tests done. Eat cake as is or you can frost with a cream cheese frosting.

Sarah Salad

Lion House Cookbook

1 head iceberg lettuce
3 strips bacon
5 oz frozen peas
¼ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese (or cut 2.5 oz in strips)
2/3 cup chopped green onion
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup salad dressing

Wash and drain lettuce. Dry thoroughly. Dice bacon and sauté until crisp; drain on paper towels. Run hot water over frozen peas and drain. Tear lettuce into bite-size pieces into salad bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Add peas, cheese, onion, mayonnaise, and salad dressing. (These ingredients may be layered, if desired, with the mayonnaise spread on last. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.) Chill. Toss when ready to serve and garnish with bacon.

Lion House Rolls

Keep dough frozen until ready to bake. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place rolls evenly apart with the end of the roll facing down and facing the same direction. Cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rolls rise for 3-5 hours, until double in size. Actual time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Preheat oven to 375°. Carefully remove plastic wrap. Bake rolls 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove rolls from oven and brush lightly with melted butter.

SPEED METHOD: place rolls in pan as indicated above. Do not cover. Preheat oven to 200°. Boil 1 quart of water, place in a shallow pan on bottom rack of oven. Place pan of frozen rolls on the top rack. Let dough rise about 1 hour, or until double in size. Do not allow to rise too high. Rolls will raise more as they bake. Remove rolls from oven and preheat the oven to 375°. Bake as indicated above.

After baking and cooling rolls place in plastic bags. They may be stored in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen.

Canadian Cheese Soup

From Lion House Cookbook

½ cup chopped onions
¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup flour
1½ TBL cornstarch
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
1 quart milk, heated
1 quart chicken stock, heated
¾ cup diced carrots, cooked
¾ cup diced celery, cooked
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
¼ cup chopped parsley

Sauté onion in melted butter until transparent but not brown (5-10 minutes). Add flour, cornstarch, paprika, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add milk and chicken stock and cook, stirring continuously, until thickened. Chop the cooked vegetables very fine, or mash slightly. Add them to milk mixture. Taste to correct seasonings. Just before serving, stir in shredded cheese and chopped parsley (optional). Amount of vegetable may be increased to 1 cup if thicker soup is desired.

I added some cooked long grain rice, cooked/cubed chicken, grated swiss and sharp cheddar cheese for a heartier soup.

Barbecued Pork Ribs

Marinade:
1 c. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. dark molasses

6-8 pork chops or country style ribs
(prick with a fork to tenderize)

Sauce:
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. chili sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. ground mustard

In small saucepan, combine marinade ingredients. Boil; remove from heat and cool. Pour over meat and marinate 8 hours or overnight. Drain, discard marinade. Place in shallow baking pan; cover and bake 375 for 30 min. Drain most but not all of juices. Meanwhile, boil and stir sauce until smooth. Brush over both sides of meat. Bake uncovered, 30 min. or until fully cooked. Serve over sticky rice or with mashed potatoes.

Tom Yum Soup with Noodles

5 cups Water
2 cans Chicken Broth
2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 Tbs. Olive Oil (to brown Chicken in)
2 Tbs. Fresh Grated Ginger (or more to taste)
4-6 Kaffir Lime Leaves (rough them up to let flavors release)
2 Tbs. Fish Sauce
2 Tbs. Chili Paste with Soya Bean Oil ( more or less for spiciness, this is pretty mild)
2 Limes (juiced)
2 dried Thai Chili Peppers( optional-adds a little heat)
2 stalks Lemon Grass (chop into 2 inch pieces and smash to release flavors)
1 Tbs. Palm Sugar (or brown sugar)
2 Green Onions (chopped)
8 oz. Mushrooms (sliced)
1 can Coconut Milk (optional)
½ bunch Cilantro (chopped)
Asian Noodles
½ pound Shrimp
1-2 Chicken Breasts (chunked)

In large pot heat 1 Tbs. oil and lightly brown Chicken and Garlic (salt and pepper chicken to taste). Then add 5 cups water and 2 cans chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add bag #1 (Lemon grass, Kaffir Lime Leaves, Chili Peppers–optional, and Palm Sugar). Reduce heat and cover. Let simmer 15 min. Remove lid and add bag #2 (Soya Bean Oil, Ginger and Fish Sauce). At this time also add Noodles and Mushrooms. Let cook until noodles are soft. (about 5 min.) Just before serving add the Shrimp (they are already precooked and just need to be warmed through) and bag #3 (Cilantro, Lime juice, Green Onions). You can also choose to add the Coconut Milk. It makes it less spicy and adds a sweet flavor. Personally it’s better with it but my Husband likes it without. I usually add it to each individual bowl to taste. Remove Lemon grass pieces, Kaffir Lime Leaves and Dried Chili Peppers before serving. Enjoy!

Tip for storing Cilantro: Right when you bring it home from the store rinse it and chop the ends. Shake off excess water. Then put it in a cup with about ¼ inch water. Cover it with the produce bag it came in and store in the fridge. I’ve had it last for weeks this way.

(This also works great for storing asparagus)

Ham and Potatoes

Put ham in crock pot on low for several hours in 1 can of Sprite.

Put the thawed potatoes in a pan, melt butter and mix with corn flakes, sprinkle on top, COVER WITH TIN FOIL, bake at 350 for an hour, take off foil and bake until the top is crispy and the potatoes are soft.

Cook the veggies and corn bread and enjoy.

Coconut Brownies

1 box brownie mix
sweetened flaked coconut
mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2/3 c. oil
3 eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pan with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies or just use 2/3 cup oil and 3 eggs. Spread evenly. Bake 16-18 minutes or until brownie is set.

Layer coconut and chocolate chunks over brownie base. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over coconut and chocolate chunks.

Bake 20-23 minutes or until edges of coconut are deep golden brown and almonds are lightly toasted. Cool completely on cooling rack. Cut into bars.

Crockpot Enchiladas

Makes 4-6 servings

1-1/2 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 C. fresh or frozen corn (or 15-oz can, drained)
1 19-oz can enchilada sauce
2 C. (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 2-1/2 oz. can sliced ripe olives, drained (optional)
6 corn tortillas

Brown ground beef and drain. Add onion and garlic; cook over medium heat until tender and transparent. Add salt and pepper. Place 2 tortillas in bottom of crockpot. Place a third of the following in layers over the tortillas: meat, corn, sauce, and cheese. Repeat tortillas and other layers two times. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours.

Baked Chicken Nuggets

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch size pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter/margarine in a bowl or dish for dipping.
3. Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter/margarine first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place well coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

French Bread

3 cups very warm water
2 Tablespoons yeast
4 Tablespoons sugar

Mix together and let set for at 3-5 minutes

Add
1 Tablespoon salt
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
7 ½ - 8 Cups flour

Mix all ingredients. Knead together for one minute. Dough will be stiff. Cover and let rise for 1 hour punching the dough down every 15 minutes. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each part into a long strips and roll into French bread form. Place bread on greased cookie sheet. Cut 3 slits on top of each loaf. Cover with towel and rise until double in size, about 30 minutes. Bake at 325 for 25 minutes. Brush hot bread with melted butter.

Optional – add ¼ cup Italian seasoning to dough mixture.

Serve with oil and balsamic vinegar.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients
1 package dry ziti pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 pound lean ground beef
1 32 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.