My Recipe Box

Easy Peasy Chive Dip

2010-04-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

8 oz cream cheese
1 cup of chopped chives (I think I buy a 40z package in the little plastic container with all the other fresh herbs)

Let cream cheese get to room temperature.

Stir in the chives.

Serve!

Now wasn't that easy?

Refrigerate what you don't use. I let it sit out for a bit before using again...I like it soft.

I spread it on really yummy artisan bread. Probably would be good on veggies too, but I like my carbs.

Pesto!

2010-03-31T22:34:00.000-07:00

This is the easiest thing in the world to make. Traditional pesto requires pine nuts as an ingredient, but I don't think that they're worth the money. Blanched, slivered almonds do wonderfully as a substitute.

Ingredients:

2 packed cups of fresh basil leaves.
1/2 cup of freshly shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese. (Parmesan is traditional, Romano is more robust.
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of blanched, slivered almonds
3-4 cloves of garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste

-If you want, you can throw all of the ingredients into a food processor. The taste is fantastic, but it's a little strange. There's no texture to it and it turns a neon green color. Once you toss your pasta in it though, the color isn't as shocking.

What I do is hand chop the basil very finely. Throw that into a bowl with the shredded cheese. I have a little rotary shredder like they use at Olive Garden, but you could use your grater too. I don't use regular garlic. I'm not good at chopping finely enough to avoid having a too-big piece in the batch and getting a kick. So, I either use jarred crushed garlic (1tsp=1 clove) OR I use roasted garlic. One of the local grocers sells roasted garlic cloves in their produce section. Chop the almonds (I do use my mini-processor for this) and throw in with the other ingredients. Add the olive oil and then salt and pepper to taste. I actually just salt and pepper the whole dish when it's done. I'm not foodie enough to know if it's enough salt for the entire pound of pasta.

Cook 1 pound of pasta. I prefer the short shape pastas over the strand pastas. They hold the sauce better. My favorite is farfalle or bowtie pasta.

Toss, taste, and season accordingly.

This is one of my favorite ways to eat pasta. Throw in some sauteed mushrooms or carmelized onions. We eat it with pan-seared chicken to complete the meal. Yum!

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

2010-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

None of these recipes are mine...just things that I love and a good place to store them.

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell peppers
1 pound smoked sausage, such as Andouille or kielbasa, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken broth
1 pound boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon Rustic Rub, recipe follows
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon file powder

Directions

Combine the oil and flour in a large cast iron or enameled cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Stirring slowly and constantly for 20 to 25 minutes, make a dark brown roux, the color of chocolate. Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers and continue to stir for 4 to 5 minutes, or until wilted. Add the sausage, salt, cayenne, and bay leaves. Continue to stir for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth. Stir until the roux mixture and water are well combined. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.

Season the chicken with the rub and add to the pot. Simmer for 2 hours. Skim off any fat that rises to the surface. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley, green onions, and file powder. Remove the bay leaves and serve in deep bowls.

Rustic Rub:
8 tablespoons paprika
3 tablespoons cayenne
5 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons garlic powder
3 tablespoons onion powder
6 tablespoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 1/2 tablespoons dried thyme
Combine all ingredients and store in an air-tight container.

Red Sauce

2009-09-29T23:01:00.000-07:00

So, this is a free-for-all recipe. There is only one requirement. A can of crushed tomatoes.

1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped finely
4-5 cloves of garlic (I buy preroasted garlic cloves)
2-3 T sugar
Italian seasoning
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Sautee the onion in a little bit of olive oil. Add the garlic. Once onions are softened, add the can of tomatoes, sugar, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Voila! Sauce.

I often add fresh mushrooms, fresh basil, pureed carrots (for veggie power..leave out the sugar), or whole garlic pieces. You can also add ground beef, turkey, or sausage for a meat sauce. Cook the meat with the onions and garlic.

Yum.

Sushi - Philadelphia Roll

2009-09-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

I love Sushi so much, but it's dang expensive! I just learned how to make it tonight and could make 10 rolls for the price of one at a restaurant. So fun!

1 pkg. Nori (seaweed paper - you can find it in the Asian section of a grocery store...picture below)
6 cups cooked Japanese Sticky Rice
1 package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 5 oz package of Smoked Salmon, cut into strips
2 cucumbers julienned lengthwise, no seeds.
Soy Sauce
Wasabi (optional)
Pickled Ginger (optional)

Lay the nori on a cutting board, shiny side down. Spread a 1/2 inch thick layer of cooked rice on half of the paper. In the middle of the rice, spread cream cheese (the thickness should be pinky-sized). Lay cucumber shreds and strips of salmon along the cream cheese. Let sit before rolling for a couple of minutes. The moisture from the rice makes the paper more pliable. Then, tightly, but not roughly, roll the paper starting with the rice side. Seal the roll with a few drops of water along the seam. Using a serrated knife, cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi or pickled ginger. Makes about 8-10 rolls.

Have fun with the sushi! For Graham's, he had egg, carrots, cucumber and salmon in his. Also, I use smoked salmon because it's safer if you don't have a trusted fishmongerer. In Utah, people don't even know what that is. You can also do veggie rolls, Cali rolls, tempura rolls. Get creative!

Veggie Stir Fry

2009-09-22T22:41:00.001-07:00

We've always talked about doing some meatless meals once or twice a week, but never delivered. We like our cooked animal. However, I really wanted to make an effort, so this evening, I cooked up a veggie stir-fry. You really can't get much easier than this! For the rice, I used Birds Eye Steamfresh Whole Grain Brown Rice. They are microwaveable pouches that cook the rice in 4 minutes. I really LOVE these because I struggle to make brown rice edible. Either, I use too much water, or not enough and it turns out poorly. Even when I do get the water - rice ratio correctly, it still never seems soft enough. Birds Eye rice comes out so nicely!

4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped into inch sized pieces
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
1 bag frozen tri-color peppers
1 bag frozen mushrooms (I used frozen wild)
1 cup Kikkoman's Stir Fry Sauce
2 bags SteamFresh Brown Rice

In large skillet with high sides, saute garlic and onion until onions are transparent. During this cooking, put broccoli in microwaveable bowl and cover with water. Nuke for 2 minutes. Add broccoli to skillet, reserving water from bowl. Add bag of frozen mushrooms and cover skillet for 3 minutes. Add frozen peppers and cook for one minute. Add 1 cup of broccoli water to skillet and cover with lid. Let vegetable steam for 4-5 minutes. Cook bags of rice, one at a time during this step. Add Stir Fry sauce and turn to high. Let cook, uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve veggies over rice.

Crockpot Ribs

2009-09-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

Smoky-Flavored Barbequed Ribs straight out of Betty Crocker Slow Cooker Cookbook

3 1/2 lbs pork loin back ribs (I actually used country-style ribs...they're cheaper)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 tbsps. liquid smoke (we used hickory flavored)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 cup Coca-Cola
1 1/2 cups BBQ sauce - I LOVE Famous Dave's BBQ sauce

1. Spray the inside of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.

2. Remove inner skin from the ribs. Mix brown sugar, pepper, liquid smoke, garlic and salt together in a bowl and rub this mixture onto the ribs. Cut ribs into 4 inch pieces, then layer ribs and onion in the slow cooker. Pour cola over everything.

3. Cover and cook on a low heat setting for 6-8 hours or until ribs are tender . Remove the ribs from slow cooker, and drain and discard the liquid.

4. Pour the BBQ sauce into a shallow bowl. Dip each of the rib pieces into sauce. Return the ribs to the slow cooker. Pour any remaining sauce over the ribs, then cover and cook on low for 1 hour.

MY step 4. I like char. So, since we don't have a grill, instead of putting the ribs back into the crockpot, I spread them out on a cookie sheet and broiled each side for about 2-3 minutes. So good!

We had them with corn on the cob and homemade onion rings!

Fish Tacos

2009-09-21T12:23:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, we went to Todd and Betty Mack's house for BYU football and fish tacos. They were so stinking yum that we make them all the time now. I thought I'd share the recipe, since they're nothing like those "other" fish tacos made in So. Cal that everyone else eats.

Fish Tacos

1 lb. tilapia
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 c. milk
oil
1 small tomato
1 small red onion
2 cups shredded lettuce (I use green leaf lettuce)
1 avocado
1 lime
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. ketchup
10-15 corn tortillas

Cut the tilapia into 1 inch strips. Dip in milk and then coat with breadcrumbs. In a shallow pan with hot oil, lightly fry the breaded fish strips until golden brown, turning once during cooking. Transfer fish to plate covered with a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Julienne tomato, red onion, and avocado. Slice lime into quarters. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise and ketchup. Heat corn tortillas in small pan. Assemble tacos as follows: Spread sauce lengthwise along one corn tortilla. Layer 3-4 pieces of fish, and any filling you'd like. Squirt some lime juice on top and eat every single taco you can handle. They're so yummy!