Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this one for Thanksgiving and it was just amazing! Really good. We all decided we liked it better without the caramel sauce, actually.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

From Simply Recipes.

Lasagna

Lasagna

I made this one for my friends last week and it was quite the hit. I will probably tweak it a little more to make it "my own" the next time I try it, but it turned out to be really yummie.

I like things kinda spicy, I think I will sneak in a can of El Pato spicy tomato sauce next time I make this. And I would use two eggs to hold the ricotta cheese together a little better. That's all I plan to change for next time.

Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

The day after Thanksgiving always finds loads of "how to use leftovers" recipes. Today is no different. I subscribe to several cooking newsletters and blogs and my inbox was completely full today.

This one looks particularly good. AND since I have cream and wild rice on hand, I do believe I will give this one a try in short order!

From Cook's Country web site and magazine.

Creamy Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

Serves 6 to 8

Leftover turkey wings, thighs, or drumsticks can be used in place of the carcass.

Turkey Broth
2	tablespoons unsalted butter
2	onions , chopped
1	celery rib , chopped
1	smoked turkey or chicken , chopped into 4 pieces (see note)
3	cups white wine
6	cups low-sodium chicken broth
Soup
1	cup wild rice
2	carrots , peeled and chopped
1/2	teaspoon dried thyme
1/4	teaspoon baking soda
1/4	cup all-purpose flour
1	cup heavy cream
3	cups chopped cooked turkey
	Salt and pepper

1. For the turkey broth: Melt butter in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook onions, celery, and turkey carcass until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add wine and chicken broth and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour. Strain broth, discarding solids.

2. For the soup: Wipe out Dutch oven and toast rice over medium heat until rice begins to pop, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in turkey broth, carrots, thyme, and baking soda and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 1 hour.

3. Whisk flour and cream in bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk flour mixture into soup. Add turkey and simmer until soup is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Catching Up

My poor neglected blog. Hopefully I can keep up a little better now that I am (almost) all moved back to RC and settled in.

I have been cooking for my friends, since they have been kind enough to let me stay with them. Since I am not working yet (but hopefully will be starting next Monday or Tuesday), I have had plenty of time on my hands. It's been quite fun to experiment!

Shish Kabob

Found this recipe today for shish kabob marinade. The original recipe uses lamb but I used beef. Pretty darn good! And reasonably low cal and healthy. This will be a new staple since I need to lose some weight!

Serves 8
Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 1 lemons, juice of
* 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 2 lbs lean lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
* 24 cherry tomatoes
* 24 mushrooms
* 24 large small onion

Directions:
1. 1 Combine oil, broth, orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, salt, rosemary, and pepper.
2. 2 Pour over lamb, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions.
3. 3 Marinate in refrigerator several hours or overnight.
4. 4 Assemble separate skewers of lamb, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
5. 5 Broil 3 inches from heat for 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes. Remember, lamb and onions take longer to cook than mushrooms and tomatoes.

Tapas Party

I am swiping the entire menu from today's episode of Five-Ingredient Fix. THIS is my idea of the perfect meal. It is supposed to be party food, but I can see adding a lovely, fresh salad to this and having a beautiful, romantic dinner for two. Any guy who fixed this for me for dinner would have a hard time getting rid of me :)

Spicy Baked Chick Peas

Ingredients

* 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
* Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas and dry by rolling them around in a kitchen towel. Combine the oil, paprika cumin, cayenne and salt in a large bowl. Add chickpeas and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the chickpeas to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread them out in a single layer. Bake until golden and crispy, 25 to 35 minutes, shaking the tray to toss after 15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the chickpeas to a serving bowl.


Baked Fresh Ricotta with Olives

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups fresh whole milk ricotta
* 2 eggs
* Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
* 1 orange, zested
* 1 cup pitted mixed olives in oil
* 1 large baguette, sliced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put the ricotta in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl and let stand 10 minutes to remove the excess liquid. Transfer the cheese to a bowl and add the eggs, salt and pepper, to taste and the orange zest. Stir until well combined. Transfer the mixture to an 8-ounce shallow baking and serving dish and put on a baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven until puffed and beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm with olives and baguette or your favorite bread and enjoy!


Rioja Steamed Mussels with Chorizo

Ingredients

* 1 pound fresh chorizo, casings removed, crumbled
* 1 very large Spanish onion, sliced
* Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
* 2 pounds black mussels, cleaned and bearded
* 1 bottle Rioja or other dry red wine
* 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Put the chorizo in a large heavy pot with a lid over high heat. Cook until the fat is rendered and the meat has browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon to a plate and reserve. Add the onions to the pot with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the chorizo back to the pan and drop in the mussels. Pour in the wine, cover, and bring to a boil. Cook until mussels have opened, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and discard any mussels that have not opened. Stir very well until the mussels are coated in the wine and onions. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the parsley and serve immediately.


Plum Sangria

* Ice
* 1/2 bottle Spanish white wine
* 3 plums, 2 blended and strained for puree, 1 sliced
* 1 teaspoon crystallized ginger simple syrup
* Fresh mint sprigs
* 1/2 cup seltzer

Directions

In a large pitcher with ice, add the wine, plum puree, simple syrup and 1 sprig of mint. Muddle the mint around a little bit, then add some of the plum slices and seltzer. Pour into serving glasses and garnish with plum slices and mint sprigs.

Nopales Con Pollo

I just love nopales. This one is really good!

Nopales Con Pollo

Ingredients

* 3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
* 1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt and a dash of pepper
* 8 Small tomatillos
* 1/2 White onion-sliced
* 2 Garlic cloves-diced
* 2 jalapenos-Seed and cut in half
* 1 Chicken Bouillon cube
* 2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil for frying
* 1/4 Teaspoon cumin
* 1/4 Jalapeno salt
* 1/4 Mexican oregano
* 15 Oz jar nopales (cactus) drained and rinsed
* 1 tablespoon corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water.
* Salt and pepper to taste


Directions

1. Dice chicken into small peices. Place in stock pot and cover with water. Add, salt,bayleaf and pepper. Let boil until chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Once tender remove chicken from pot with slotted spoon and set aside (go to step 2). Drain all water from pot except about 1 cup. In remaining 1 cup of water add tomatillos, onion, jalapeno, galic. Boil them until tomatillos are golden brown.
2. Heat oil in skillet. Using a slotted spoon remove chicken and add to oil. Fry chicken until golden brown on all sides. Set aside.
3. Once tomatillos are brown add everything to blender (including water). Blend until smooth. Pour back into stock pot, add chicken in also. Add the cumin, jalapeno salt, oregano. Bring to boil. Once mixture is boiling prepare corn starch and water. Slowly stir the corn starch mixture into pot. This will help it thicken (if it's thick enough then you may skip this step).
4. Drain and rinse nopales. Add nopales to stock pot also. Boil for about 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve with rice and tostados.

Asian Peanut Butter Noodles

Oh, I just love this. I like to really dress it up with chicken and broccoli, but it is really good just as it is.

Asian Peanut Butter Noodles


Ingredients

* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 3 tablespoons peanut butter
* 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
* 2 teaspoons hot chile paste (optional)
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 8 ounces Udon noodles
* 1/4 cup chopped green onions
* 1/4 cup chopped peanuts


Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, chili paste, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through. Add noodles, and toss to coat. Garnish with green onions and peanuts.

Big Daddy's Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing

Oh, this dressing is really good! I don't believe I will ever buy dressing again.

Iceberg Wedge with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing

Recipe courtesy Aaron McCargo Jr.

Prep Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
* 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, cored
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1/4 cup sour cream
* 1/4 cup buttermilk
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Dash hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
* 2 tablespoons chopped chives
* 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
* 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
* 1/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
* 1/2 avocado, diced
* 2 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Directions

Slice the lettuce into thick wedges. In a medium-sized bowl, add the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, salt and pepper, to taste, hot sauce, chives, garlic, and lemon juice. Whisk together, then slowly fold in the blue cheese crumbles. Arrange the lettuce on a serving platter and drizzle with the dressing. Garnish with tomatoes, avocado, and bacon. Serve.

Shrimp and Spaghetti in Coconut Broth

I'm not a big Rachel Ray fan but this recipe is REALLY good and very very simple! It's a keeper!

Shrimp and Spaghetti in Coconut Broth

* 12 Servings
*
* Prep 10 min
*
* Cook 25 min

Ingredients:

* Two 13.5-ounce cans coconut milk
* One 14.5-ounce can chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
* 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
* 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
* 2 teaspoons hot chili sauce
* Two 2-pound bags frozen, raw shrimp (31 to 40 per pound), thawed and tails removed
* 1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
* 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti

Directions:

1. In a large, deep skillet, bring the coconut milk and chicken broth to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the fish sauce, garlic, ginger, chili sauce and lime juice and cook for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the shrimp and cook until just opaque, about 4 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and remove from the heat. Transfer two-thirds of the shrimp mixture to a bowl; let cool.

3. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente; drain. Using tongs, transfer one-third of the pasta to the skillet of shrimp.
4. Cook one meal now: Toss the pasta with the shrimp mixture and simmer until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.

5. Freeze two meals for later: Divide the remaining shrimp mixture between 2 resealable 1-gallon freezer bags; seal. Divide the remaining spaghetti between 2 more freezer bags; let cool, then seal. Label each and freeze. THAW 1 bag each of the shrimp mixture and pasta per meal in the refrigerator overnight. Cook as directed in Step 4.

Tortellini and Chickpea Soup

Had this at the cafeteria at work the other day and it was so good. It also looked pretty simple as far as ingredients so I figured I could make my own variation. I started by looking it up online and the few recipes I found did indeed look pretty simple. One added spinach (the version at the hospital didn't) so I swiped that idea for my version.

One carton low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth (or make your own. I had some homemade broth in the freezer)
One container tortellini
One can chickpeas, rinsed
One bunch fresh spinach (bought just the day before at the farmer's market), washed and stems trimmed, then cut into bite-sized pieces
One to two tablespoons prepared pesto sauce

Throw everything in the pot, simmer til tortellinis are cooked through. That's it! I think it would be better if I cooked my own chickpeas rather than use canned, but hey, they are a quick option.

I found a similar recipe on SparkPeople Recipes and the calorie count is pretty reasonable.

Holy Hot Tequila, Batman!

I found this recipe online and have changed it up just a bit. Was too sweet for me the way it was originally made

I Feel Ya Tequila

DAYUM good! Gets yer attention!

2 cups white sugar
2 cups water
4 jalapenos or serranos
2 to 4 shots tequila (I prefer gold but as you like)
Whole limes or lime juice

Pour sugar and water into a pan to make a simple syrup. Roughly chop two of the peppers and add to the simple syrup. Bring to a rolling boil and cook til sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.

Let cool for about 30 minutes, then strain peppers out of simple syrup. Refrigerate until chilled.

Once chilled, fill two glasses with ice. Add two shots of lime juice, one to two shots of tequila and two shots of simple syrup to each glass, stir well. Garnish each glass with another pepper if you really wanna get someone's attention.

Sounds weird, tastes good!

Mexican Rice

3 cups rice
1 can El Pato
Chicken broth to fill to 3-cup line
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, mince
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp Adobo
1 tbls oil

Cook vegetables in oil until soft. In the meantime, add rice, cumin, El Pato, broth and Adobo to ricer cooker. Once vegetables are cooked, add to rice mixture. Stir well and cook according to rice cooker directions.

Shoppin' List

Amazingly, I am having trouble finding some things I think are pretty basic. Hoping I will have more luck once I move up to the city, but that remains to be seen. In the mean time, for my own amusement (and, more importantly, so I can find what I want), this is my online shopping list for the things I use frequently and can't find around here.

Anasazi Beans

Dehydrated Refrieds

Daily Detox

Crest Vanilla Mint Toothpaste

Pico Pica Taco Sauce

Etouffee

This makes a LOT, but it's better the next day and really freezes well.

Start with a roux.

One cup flour
One stick butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
One medium onion, finely chopped
One bell pepper, finely chopped
Two to three cloves garlic, finely minced
Shrimp or chicken stock
Approx one pound uncooked shrimp, shelled
Approx one pound crawfish tails
Approx one pound cooked shredded chicken
One to two tablespoons Cajun seasoning
One tablespoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco (or to taste)

Slowly start to brown the flour in a heavy skillet or dutch oven. (I have a big enameled cast iron braiser). Watch that it does not burn. If it does, throw it out and start over.

Once it is a light nutty brown, add the butter and oil to make a paste. Continue to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently. The vegetables can be added at this point, cook until they are softened. The roux should be a light to medium brown.

Add shrimp or chicken stock to make a thick gravy. Add Cajun seasoning and Tabasco. Add chicken and crawfish and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for another 10 minutes, until shrimp are pink and opaque.

Serve over steamed rice. Sprinkle on additional Cajun seasoning or Tabasco as desired.

Dig in!

I used the shrimp shells to make a stock. I cooked the chicken breasts in chicken stock until the meat shredded up. These are the stocks I used to add to the roux. I also used some canned low-sodium chicken broth to add since I didn't end up with enough shrimp and chicken broth while cooking. I then used the canned broth to cook the rice for a richer flavor and so I didn't have leftover stock.