This is a Food Nanny recipe. She's on BYU television, and she is super-chipper, and dedicated to saving family mealtimes. I did a review of her cookbook (super rocking awesome!!!) a while back and it seems that people are coming looking NOT for a cookbook review, but for her RECIPES. Well, duh! :) Here is one of my favorites.
Preheat: low broil
Categories: Steak, salad, fancy cheese, Food Nanny BYUTV
10 Cups Romaine lettuce pieces
2 Cups Croutons
2 medium Tomatoes, in wedges
1/2 Cup Thinly sliced Red onion
1 Cup Unpeeled sliced Cucumbers
1 pound Boneless New York steak (We used KC Strip steak)
Olive oil
Seasoned salt, pepper
1/2 Cup Gorgonzola cheese crumbles
Honey mustard dressing
1. Preheat oven to low broil.
2. Mix lettuce, croutons, tomatoes, red onion, cucumbers.
3. Lightly brush stake on both sides with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and pepper.
4. Broil 6-11 minutes per side for medium doneness, depending on thickness. At the last minute, sprinkle cheese and continue to broil.
5. Transfer steak to cutting board and let sit for five minutes. Slice into 1/4-inch strips. It is VERY important to leave the steak sit. If you didn't already know, the steak finishes cooking OUTSIDE of the oven. If you cut the meat too soon, it will not finish cooking properly.
6. Add honey mustard dressing to moisten and toss the salad.
7. Place tossed salad onto plates and arrange steak on top of salad. Drizzle dressing and serve.
Monday, May 23, 2011
I can't believe it, I can't believe it!!!
I'm recipe blog #5320 on verygoodrecipes.com!!!!! I know that being five thousand, three hundred nineteen would be better, but I can't believe I'm even recognized on another site! *doing a little happy dance* The way they calculate your blog's popularity or rating is based on how many times your food blog is on somebody else's blog roll. If YOU have a food blog, please add my blog to your list (if you like it, of course!)
Since I'm doing a non-food post, I'll give you some interesting statistics about this site.
Since I'm doing a non-food post, I'll give you some interesting statistics about this site.
- Most people who come to this site come looking for Paula Deen's Taco Soup. As well they should! It's delicious! For other Paula Deen recipes, go to her site on Food Network--it's searchable!
- After that, the second greatest number of people come looking for Magical Breakfast Cream.
- After that, the third greatest number are looking for the Pampered Chef Loaded Potato Soup. Another of my favorites! You can find more recipes on the Pampered Chef site, but there really aren't that many.
- Based on searches, I have posted some of my favorite Food Nanny recipes! For the Food Nanny's official site, go HERE. To find her Nanny Plan (which is the foundation of how I organize MY menus and shopping) and her BYU TV website, go HERE.
- The homemade laundry detergent is another popular search. I found the recipe I like from the Duggar's book. It was a terrific book, by the way. I also was referred to a fantastic website by a good friend of mine. It has all kinds of different variants on the same detergent recipe, including an enormous comments section with hints and tips.
- So far this year (2011) I have had 589 visitors! For some reason, Saturday, the 29th of January spiked at 44 hits in one day.
- Most people doing searches (30.5%) are using Yahoo. 25% are using Google, and another 25% are using Bing. Huh! I guess I know where to advertise to raise my popularity, ha ha ha!
Rockin' Moroccan Chicken
Preheat: 400*
Category: Chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, raisins, main dish
2 Chicken breast halves, cut into 1" pieces
1 Sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" pieces (I LOVE sweet potato with this dish, but don't always have them on hand. I like to add to and/or replace the sweet potato with regular potato chunks)
1/4 Cup Raisins (I HATE raisins in baked goods. But raisins in this dish is surprisingly spectacular!)
1 Cup Vegetable stock (It's all about what you have and don't have. The vegetable stock is good, flavorful and full of vitamins. But today, I used chicken broth instead, and it's a delicious substitute.)
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Ginger
1 teaspoon Tumeric
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 teaspoon Salt
1. Place chicken pieces into baking dish. I use my wonderful covered baker from Pampered Chef, but a 9x13 pan and foil will do just fine.
2. Measure out and stir in all spices. It is VERY important that you stir in spices before adding in the sweet potatoes or raisins.
3. Measure out, then stir in the raisins, sweet potato chunks and vegetable stock.
4. Cover dish and bake at 400* for one hour. Stir at 20 and 40 minutes. The second you put your baking dish into the oven is a great time to hurry and measure out and steam your rice! Your rice will cook in about 15 minutes or so (depending on your method) and then the remaining time, it will cool very slightly, absorbing any remaining moisture, making it perfect and read at the same time as your chicken!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Best. Chili. Ever.
Just sayin'. :) We made chili last night, put it in a Pampered Chef deep covered baker in the oven at 200*F to have it perfectly warm when we got home from church. Paired with a green salad and thickly-sliced homemade (breadmaker) bread, and it was HEAVEN. :) The perfect comfort food after the comfort of church.
Preheat: --
Categories: chili, comfort food, seasoning mixes
3 - 4 cups Assorted Beans (I made my own beans using white, pinto and red kidney, and my yummy crockpot beans recipe! Less sodium and oh-so delicious!)
3 cans Diced tomatoes (OR 2 cans whole tomatoes, all cut up, OR 3 cans stewed Mexican tomatoes, etc.)
1 Packet of regular chili seasoning (I bought mine at Kroger, and YUM)
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 Packet of taco seasoning
(opt) Grated cheese
(opt) Sour cream
Directions.
1. Cook ground beef or ground turkey thoroughly. Drain. Follow directions on seasoning packet. Set aside. This step can be done ahead of time. We made tacos Wednesday and made 2 lbs of meat... and just saved the extras for the chili on Sunday. I made the (8-hr. crockpot time) beans the day before, but they could have been made even earlier, too.
2. Choose your cookware: For stovetop, use a large pot. For oven, use a covered baker or a foil-covered casserole. For a crockpot, set on low for 3 hours. I used my new Pampered Chef covered baker for the first time and LOVE IT!!! I put it in the oven at 200* before church and it was ready when we got home!
3. In your cookware, add the beans, diced tomatoes, chili seasoning and ground beef. Stir well. I used a combination of tomatos... I cut up a large can of whole tomatoes and threw in a medium can of diced tomatoes.
4.
Stovetop: Cook on medium-high heat until the chili is bubbly. Cook for another five minutes and serve.
Covered baker or foil-covered casserole: For three hours (church), set at 200*F and leave the dish in the oven.
Crockpot: Set for three hours on low.
5. Serve hot, with the optional grated cheese and sour cream as toppings. Enjoy compliments for the best chili ever!
Preheat: --
Categories: chili, comfort food, seasoning mixes
3 - 4 cups Assorted Beans (I made my own beans using white, pinto and red kidney, and my yummy crockpot beans recipe! Less sodium and oh-so delicious!)
3 cans Diced tomatoes (OR 2 cans whole tomatoes, all cut up, OR 3 cans stewed Mexican tomatoes, etc.)
1 Packet of regular chili seasoning (I bought mine at Kroger, and YUM)
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 Packet of taco seasoning
(opt) Grated cheese
(opt) Sour cream
Directions.
1. Cook ground beef or ground turkey thoroughly. Drain. Follow directions on seasoning packet. Set aside. This step can be done ahead of time. We made tacos Wednesday and made 2 lbs of meat... and just saved the extras for the chili on Sunday. I made the (8-hr. crockpot time) beans the day before, but they could have been made even earlier, too.
2. Choose your cookware: For stovetop, use a large pot. For oven, use a covered baker or a foil-covered casserole. For a crockpot, set on low for 3 hours. I used my new Pampered Chef covered baker for the first time and LOVE IT!!! I put it in the oven at 200* before church and it was ready when we got home!
3. In your cookware, add the beans, diced tomatoes, chili seasoning and ground beef. Stir well. I used a combination of tomatos... I cut up a large can of whole tomatoes and threw in a medium can of diced tomatoes.
4.
Stovetop: Cook on medium-high heat until the chili is bubbly. Cook for another five minutes and serve.
Covered baker or foil-covered casserole: For three hours (church), set at 200*F and leave the dish in the oven.
Crockpot: Set for three hours on low.
5. Serve hot, with the optional grated cheese and sour cream as toppings. Enjoy compliments for the best chili ever!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Waffles
I can't BELIEVE I haven't added this waffle recipe yet...... I make a HUGE batch and then freeze the extra cooked waffles. When we're ready to have waffles, they're great toasted (or my husband microwaves them...).
Preheat: Wafflemaker
Category: Waffles, breakfast, freezeables, wall recipes
Regular Doubled
3 Cups 6 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons 4 Tablepoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon 1 teaspoon Salt
4 8 Egg yolks
3 Cups 6 Cups Milk
1 Cup 2 Cups Vegetable or Canola Oil I use canola
4 8 Egg whites
Directions.
1. Separate egg yolks and whites. If you have a mixer, start whipping the whites. If not, set them aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together egg yolks, milk, and the oil.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until smooth.
5. If you DON'T have a mixer, start whipping the egg whites until they're VERY fluffy.
6. Gently stir the egg white fluff into the waffle batter. The cookbook I used says to leave some bits of fluff, but I just like to gently blend it all... You should have a lovely, airy batter.
7. Cook waffles in GREASED waffle maker.
Preheat: Wafflemaker
Category: Waffles, breakfast, freezeables, wall recipes
Regular Doubled
3 Cups 6 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons 4 Tablepoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon 1 teaspoon Salt
4 8 Egg yolks
3 Cups 6 Cups Milk
1 Cup 2 Cups Vegetable or Canola Oil I use canola
4 8 Egg whites
Directions.
1. Separate egg yolks and whites. If you have a mixer, start whipping the whites. If not, set them aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together egg yolks, milk, and the oil.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Pour your wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until smooth.
5. If you DON'T have a mixer, start whipping the egg whites until they're VERY fluffy.
6. Gently stir the egg white fluff into the waffle batter. The cookbook I used says to leave some bits of fluff, but I just like to gently blend it all... You should have a lovely, airy batter.
7. Cook waffles in GREASED waffle maker.
Whole Wheat Bread
*sigh* I have to confess that I've not put on a few of these newest recipes because they've kind of become "signature" recipes. I keep these handy, delicious recipes taped up to my kitchen wall (I'm not a great memorizer) and use them all of the time. I have been stingy with this whole wheat bread recipe, but I'm trying on my generosity hat and posting it here today. When you try this recipe, you will see why I have been selfish. It's the best whole wheat bread recipe EVER. I got it from a friend of mine from when we lived in Tampa. YUM.
Preheat: 350*
Category: wheat, bread, honey, posted on my wall
These ingredients are posted in the order you would need to use your breadmaker.
1 1/2 cup Warm water
1/8 cup Honey
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 Egg
3 1/2 cups (Finely Ground) Whole wheat flour* Read up on the types of flour at the end of this post. Also, if you double the recipe, you'll want to double it not to seven cups, but EIGHT cups.
1/2 Tablespoon Salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon Yeast
Optional:
1 teaspoon Vitamin C (for bread preservation)
(ground) Flax seed (for additional nutrition) Don't try and be a nutritional hero and add flax seed unless you're already pretty good at making bread... And then if you're pretty good, add the flax seed BEFORE adding the flour... You can add anywhere from 1/4 cup to a full 1 cup... Be aware that flax seed has more fat than flour, so you may have to adjust the olive oil.
Directions
1. If using a breadmaker, use the wheat bread or dough settings. Remember that wheat bread absorbs water like CRAZY, so you can't just keep adding wheat flour to the dough like you would white flour. Let it knead for a good long while before attempting to add more wheat flour and THEN only a quarter cup at a time. This recipe is already well-balanced, so unless it's a really wet day or the barometer is high, you hopefully won't have to add extra flour at all.
2. If NOT using a breadmaker... Put your warm water, honey and yeast into a large bowl and mix together until the honey is basically dissolved. Set the timer for 10 minutes and let the mixture sit.
3. In Bowl #2, pour in the olive oil and the egg, then stir together.
4. In Bowl #3, measure out the flour, salt and the optional vitamin c.
5. At the end of the 10 minutes, check to see if there is a good head on the yeast mixture. If yes, mix in the wet ingredients into the yeast, then the dry.
6. Knead your dough! Again, because this is important, knead for a while before deciding whether or not you want to add more flour. I like to use a light brushing of olive oil on my hands if the dough is too sticky to work with easily while I'm waiting to add more wheat flour. You want a smooth dough that's not too sticky before moving on.
7. Let your dough rise to double its size. My hint for white bread works for wheat bread too. Cover your dough and preheat your oven to the lowest temperature, leaving the oven door OPEN. My oven preheats to 170*F, which is standard. Using a "warm" feature is good too, and 85*F is the PERFECT temperature for bread to rise just right. Sometimes I'll use my (food) thermometer to measure the temperature and if I can get to about 100*F, I'll close the oven door, turning the oven OFF. I check the dough in just 30 minutes using this trick, and usually it's risen enough.
8. Punch down the dough, knead it for a good minute, then shape into rolls or loaves into GREASED pans.
9. Let your dough rise to double its size once again. As long as your dough is covered, the oven trick can work great at this phase too.
10. Preheat your oven to 350*F and bake the bread for... longer than 30 minutes. If you're making a LOAF of bread, you can tell it's done by knocking on the bottom of the pan. If it sounds HOLLOW, chances are good that the bread has cooked through. If you want that golden-brown bread crust, I find that the crust looks darker while it's IN the oven, so if it LOOKS golden-brown, it's probably not done yet. If you're making ROLLS, use the color check test (slightly darker than golden-brown), then if I'm still not sure, I quickly stick my (clean) finger in between a couple of rolls and see if it's still doughy.
11. Brush tops of loaves or rolls with butter. Let the bread cool on a cooling rack for a crustier crust, or on a towel for a softer crust.
* Types of Wheat (this is not just a link for reference, but also a fantastic website for breadmaking)
In the United States, there are six predominate types of wheat.
Hard winter red wheat: This wheat is mostly grown in the Plains states as well as the northern states and Canada. It is a versatile wheat with excellent baking characteristics for pan bread. It is also used for Asian noodles, hard rolls, flat breads, general purpose flour and as an improver for blending. It is moderately high in protein (about 10.5%) which makes it good as an all-purpose or bread flour. About 40% of all of the wheat grown in the United States is hard winter red wheat.
Hard spring red wheat: This wheat is mostly grown in the northern states and Canada. It is considered the aristocrat of wheat when it comes to "designer" wheat foods like hearth breads, rolls, croissants, bagels and pizza crusts. It is also used as an improver in flour blends. It is one of the hardest wheats and therefore has one of the highest protein counts (13.5%). About 24% of the wheat grown in the United States is hard spring red wheat.
Soft winter red wheat: This wheat is mainly grown in the eastern states. It is a low protein wheat with excellent milling and baking characteristics for pan breads, general purpose flour and as an improver for blending. About 25% of the wheat grown in the United States is soft winter red wheat.
Hard winter white wheat: This is the newest class of U.S. wheat. It is sweeter and lighter in color that red wheat, with a protein profile similar to hard winter red wheat. It is great for making Asian noodles, whole wheat, pan breads and flat breads. Only about 1% of the wheat grown in the United States is hard winter white wheat, but it is gaining in popularity.
Soft spring white wheat: This type of wheat is generally grown in a few eastern states and in the Pacific Northwest and California. It is a low moisture wheat with high extraction rates that provides a whiter product for cakes and pastries. This variety is similar to soft winter red wheat with a slightly sweeter flavor. About 7% of the wheat grown in the United States is soft spring white wheat.
Preheat: 350*
Category: wheat, bread, honey, posted on my wall
These ingredients are posted in the order you would need to use your breadmaker.
1 1/2 cup Warm water
1/8 cup Honey
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 Egg
3 1/2 cups (Finely Ground) Whole wheat flour* Read up on the types of flour at the end of this post. Also, if you double the recipe, you'll want to double it not to seven cups, but EIGHT cups.
1/2 Tablespoon Salt
1 1/2 Tablespoon Yeast
Optional:
1 teaspoon Vitamin C (for bread preservation)
(ground) Flax seed (for additional nutrition) Don't try and be a nutritional hero and add flax seed unless you're already pretty good at making bread... And then if you're pretty good, add the flax seed BEFORE adding the flour... You can add anywhere from 1/4 cup to a full 1 cup... Be aware that flax seed has more fat than flour, so you may have to adjust the olive oil.
Directions
1. If using a breadmaker, use the wheat bread or dough settings. Remember that wheat bread absorbs water like CRAZY, so you can't just keep adding wheat flour to the dough like you would white flour. Let it knead for a good long while before attempting to add more wheat flour and THEN only a quarter cup at a time. This recipe is already well-balanced, so unless it's a really wet day or the barometer is high, you hopefully won't have to add extra flour at all.
2. If NOT using a breadmaker... Put your warm water, honey and yeast into a large bowl and mix together until the honey is basically dissolved. Set the timer for 10 minutes and let the mixture sit.
3. In Bowl #2, pour in the olive oil and the egg, then stir together.
4. In Bowl #3, measure out the flour, salt and the optional vitamin c.
5. At the end of the 10 minutes, check to see if there is a good head on the yeast mixture. If yes, mix in the wet ingredients into the yeast, then the dry.
6. Knead your dough! Again, because this is important, knead for a while before deciding whether or not you want to add more flour. I like to use a light brushing of olive oil on my hands if the dough is too sticky to work with easily while I'm waiting to add more wheat flour. You want a smooth dough that's not too sticky before moving on.
7. Let your dough rise to double its size. My hint for white bread works for wheat bread too. Cover your dough and preheat your oven to the lowest temperature, leaving the oven door OPEN. My oven preheats to 170*F, which is standard. Using a "warm" feature is good too, and 85*F is the PERFECT temperature for bread to rise just right. Sometimes I'll use my (food) thermometer to measure the temperature and if I can get to about 100*F, I'll close the oven door, turning the oven OFF. I check the dough in just 30 minutes using this trick, and usually it's risen enough.
8. Punch down the dough, knead it for a good minute, then shape into rolls or loaves into GREASED pans.
9. Let your dough rise to double its size once again. As long as your dough is covered, the oven trick can work great at this phase too.
10. Preheat your oven to 350*F and bake the bread for... longer than 30 minutes. If you're making a LOAF of bread, you can tell it's done by knocking on the bottom of the pan. If it sounds HOLLOW, chances are good that the bread has cooked through. If you want that golden-brown bread crust, I find that the crust looks darker while it's IN the oven, so if it LOOKS golden-brown, it's probably not done yet. If you're making ROLLS, use the color check test (slightly darker than golden-brown), then if I'm still not sure, I quickly stick my (clean) finger in between a couple of rolls and see if it's still doughy.
11. Brush tops of loaves or rolls with butter. Let the bread cool on a cooling rack for a crustier crust, or on a towel for a softer crust.
* Types of Wheat (this is not just a link for reference, but also a fantastic website for breadmaking)
In the United States, there are six predominate types of wheat.
Hard winter red wheat: This wheat is mostly grown in the Plains states as well as the northern states and Canada. It is a versatile wheat with excellent baking characteristics for pan bread. It is also used for Asian noodles, hard rolls, flat breads, general purpose flour and as an improver for blending. It is moderately high in protein (about 10.5%) which makes it good as an all-purpose or bread flour. About 40% of all of the wheat grown in the United States is hard winter red wheat.
Hard spring red wheat: This wheat is mostly grown in the northern states and Canada. It is considered the aristocrat of wheat when it comes to "designer" wheat foods like hearth breads, rolls, croissants, bagels and pizza crusts. It is also used as an improver in flour blends. It is one of the hardest wheats and therefore has one of the highest protein counts (13.5%). About 24% of the wheat grown in the United States is hard spring red wheat.
Soft winter red wheat: This wheat is mainly grown in the eastern states. It is a low protein wheat with excellent milling and baking characteristics for pan breads, general purpose flour and as an improver for blending. About 25% of the wheat grown in the United States is soft winter red wheat.
Hard winter white wheat: This is the newest class of U.S. wheat. It is sweeter and lighter in color that red wheat, with a protein profile similar to hard winter red wheat. It is great for making Asian noodles, whole wheat, pan breads and flat breads. Only about 1% of the wheat grown in the United States is hard winter white wheat, but it is gaining in popularity.
Soft spring white wheat: This type of wheat is generally grown in a few eastern states and in the Pacific Northwest and California. It is a low moisture wheat with high extraction rates that provides a whiter product for cakes and pastries. This variety is similar to soft winter red wheat with a slightly sweeter flavor. About 7% of the wheat grown in the United States is soft spring white wheat.
Rice
Yes, that's the whole title. I had a rice maker for maybe a couple of months and the rice turned out AWFUL, and the pot was a terror to clean. It didn't stay at our house for long, and I continued making yummy rice using a pot with a fitted lid. Here's how we make our rice--works 100% of the time (unless I forget that I'm making rice and it burns, but we won't talk about that!)
The rice is shown here with one of our favorite chicken dishes, Rockin' Moroccan Chicken.
Preheat: --
Category: Rice
2 cups Water
1 cup Rice
1 teaspoon Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
Optional:
Instead of plain water, use chicken broth instead for a flavorful rice.
Directions
1. Throw water, rice, butter, and salt into a pot or saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. To cook the rice faster, I'll give the mixture a quick stir and turn the heat onto high. When it starts boiling, I turn the heat down to about a seven, or a medium-high heat. You know you have the right amount of heat based on how much steam is escaping from the lid... If you are BILLOWING steam, turn your heat down. If you can't see ANY steam, turn it up. You should get a small and steady stream of steam.
2. Cook until "pock marks" form in the rice. I have a clear lid... you DON'T want to remove the lid because it defeats the whole purpose of having steam built up. To make sure all of the water has absorbed, I tilt the pot to its side. If any liquid is visible, I know the rice needs another couple of minutes and I let it rest.
3. Serve hot. Sometimes when the weather is wet (and I live in Snellville, which is in humid Atlanta, so of COURSE it's wet!), I'll just move the cooked rice off of the burner and let it set for 20 minutes while I finish other meal preparation. The rice retains its heat, and it finishes absorbing any extra heat to make a really nice sticky rice.
The rice is shown here with one of our favorite chicken dishes, Rockin' Moroccan Chicken.
Preheat: --
Category: Rice
2 cups Water
1 cup Rice
1 teaspoon Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
Optional:
Instead of plain water, use chicken broth instead for a flavorful rice.
Directions
1. Throw water, rice, butter, and salt into a pot or saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. To cook the rice faster, I'll give the mixture a quick stir and turn the heat onto high. When it starts boiling, I turn the heat down to about a seven, or a medium-high heat. You know you have the right amount of heat based on how much steam is escaping from the lid... If you are BILLOWING steam, turn your heat down. If you can't see ANY steam, turn it up. You should get a small and steady stream of steam.
2. Cook until "pock marks" form in the rice. I have a clear lid... you DON'T want to remove the lid because it defeats the whole purpose of having steam built up. To make sure all of the water has absorbed, I tilt the pot to its side. If any liquid is visible, I know the rice needs another couple of minutes and I let it rest.
3. Serve hot. Sometimes when the weather is wet (and I live in Snellville, which is in humid Atlanta, so of COURSE it's wet!), I'll just move the cooked rice off of the burner and let it set for 20 minutes while I finish other meal preparation. The rice retains its heat, and it finishes absorbing any extra heat to make a really nice sticky rice.
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