Stuffed Mushrooms

Absolutely delicious!!They are easy to make, everyone will go crazy for these amazing mushrooms! Joe says they taste like the ones his mother use to make..

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions:

Preheat  oven to 400 degrees F. Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend. Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve

Maple Pumpkin Pie

I decided to try putting a twist on my pumpkin pie this year. I added real Vermont maple syrup. It turned out wonderful! The Maple Syrup is not overpowering, it just adds that little something extra that is so perfect. This is now officially the new family recipe for pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup real maple syrup

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 cup evaporated milk

1 (15oz) canned pumpkin

1 deep dish 9 in pie crust

Directions:

To prepare filling, mix 1/2 cup sugar and next 5 ingredients. Slowly add sugar mixture through eggs at medium speed until well blended. Add milk and pumpkin; beat well. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; bake an additional 50 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack.

Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

I made this pie for Thanksgiving dinner and it was phenomenal!!!!! Slightly different than traditional apple pie, more like apple crisp with crust on top. The caramel flavor of the apples really makes this pie something special. Definitely a keeper…..

Recipe adapted from Allrecipe.com Apple Pie by Grandma Ople

Ingredients:

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all- purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

8-10 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly.  Add 1 tsp vanilla to suagr and butter mixture. Slowly pour half of the sugar and butter mixture over the apples. Cover with a lattice work crust. Slowly pour remaining sugar and butter mixture over crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the tempeture to 350 degrees F (175 Degrees C).  Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Cranberry Sauce

This is fantastic! This will be a staple for all holidays dinners at my house from now on!  It is a definite keeper!

Recipe Adapted from allrecipe.com

Ingredients:

12 ounces cranberries

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1-2 tbl Jack Daniel’s Whiskey (optional)

Directions:

In medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolves the sugars in the orange jucie.Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). If some of the berries do not burst, gently mash them w/ a potato masher or pulse on low speed w/ a hand blender. Remove from heat stir in Jack Daniels and place sauce in bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

This was extremely easy and delicious!! Wonderful flavor without adding a lot of fat.

The flavor of the fresh herbs just permeated the turkey...and it was the moistest turkey ever. I'll be doing this again next Thanksgiving.

Recipe Adapted from 2008, Ina Garden


Ingredients:

1 whole bone-in turkey breast, 6 1/2 to 7 pounds

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup chicken broth or white wine


Directions:


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.
In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the roasting pan.
Roast the turkey for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast. (I test in several places.) If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with gravy over the turkey.


Gravy

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or corn starch

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

Pour any pan drippings into a degreasing cup or small bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the fat discarding the rest and add the separated juices to the stock. Add the reserved fat to the roasting pan and place on a burner over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, make a paste with the butter and flour in a small bowl, set aside. Add the broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil and whisk in the flour mixture. Boil until sauce thickens to make gravy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning, to taste. Remove from heat. Serve.

Lady and Sons' Chicken in Wine Sauce

I made this for Joe and he is not a cream of anything kind of man but, he just loved this dish. Added sliced mushrooms on top of the cheese it was a tasty, very easy change of pace for a weeknight dinner when you are in a hurry or don’t’ feel like cooking.

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients:

4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts (pounded thin)

4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for casserole

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 ounces (about 8 slices) Swiss cheese

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup herb-flavored stuffing mix, crushed

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the chicken to a shallow buttered casserole and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Layer the cheese slices on top of chicken. In a medium bowl, add the soup and the wine, season with salt and pepper and pour over the cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter.* Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

1-2-3 Lasagna

This is my all-time favorite recipe for Lasagna. You will not believe how easy it really is to make and is always delicious.  Not cooking the noodles ahead of time made them firmer than other receipes I have tried.  I have made this a few times with Emeril’s red sauce. It made more then 5 cups of sauce. The left over sauce I put in the freezer for later use.
On another occasion I also had amazing results made it using 3 jars of store-bought sauce.

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2001

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

5 to 6 cups Basic Red Sauce, recipe follows

1 (15-ounce) container ricotta

2 large eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 pound grated Mozzarella

1/2 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 dried (uncooked) lasagna noodles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, add the ground beef and brown over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper, and Essence. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl fold together the ricotta cheese, eggs, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 1/2 cup grated mozzarella, the Essence, salt, parsley, basil, and black pepper.

Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart (13 by 9 by 2-inch) casserole. Lay 3 lasagna noodles lengthwise down the dish. The noodles should not touch one another. Spoon 3/4 cup of the ricotta mixture over the noodles, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella evenly over the ricotta. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, for a total of 4 layers of noodles. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella over the top layer of tomato sauce, and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan.

Cover the casserole tightly with aluminum foil, and bake, covered, for 1 hour.

Remove the casserole from the oven, and remove the aluminum foil. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Basic Red Sauce:

2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

2 tablespoons olive oil

11/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 medium yellow onion)

1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves garlic)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups water

1 teaspoon sugar

Place the tomatoes in a large bowl and squeeze to break into small pieces. Set aside.

In a heavy 5-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, salt, basil, oregano and black pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, sugar and reserved crushed tomatoes, stir well, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, and use as needed.

Yield: 10 cups (2 1/2 quarts)

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Brown Sugar & Balsamic Glazed Crock Pot Pork Loin

This was a cinch to make and seriously delicious!!! It was one of those recipes that was great the first night, and got even better the next day as leftovers.  This is so simple you will want to make again and again.

From candcmarriagefactory.com

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hr before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan.  Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Brush with glaze 2or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

Hoisin & Cranberry Roasted Chicken

Easy delicious recipe for chicken, loved using fresh cranberries. Mild-mannered chicken breast sings when it’s doused in a sweet-and-salty cranberry-hoisin pan sauce. Served with herbed mashed potato and fresh garden peas. Loved this recipe!!!

From EatingWell: January/February 2011

Ingredients

2 bone-in chicken breasts (about 12 ounces each), skin removed, trimmed

1/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder (see Notes)

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large shallot, minced

1/4 cup dry sherry (see Notes)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cranberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)

1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce (see Tip)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Cut each chicken breast in half on the diagonal to get 4 portions about equal in weight. (Two will be smaller but thicker, the other two larger but thinner.) Sprinkle the chicken with five-spice powder and salt. Place 3 tablespoons flour in a shallow dish. Dredge both sides of the chicken in the flour. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, skinned-side down, and cook until brown on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the chicken, skinned-side up, to a baking sheet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 165°F, 15 to 20 minutes.

Return the pan to medium heat, add shallot and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sherry and cranberries; cook until the sherry is reduced by about half and the cranberries are beginning to soften, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup broth; bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are very soft, about 3 minutes more.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl. Whisk the mixture into the sauce and cook, whisking, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in hoisin sauce and brown sugar.

When the chicken is done, return the pan to medium heat, add the chicken, turn to coat with the sauce and reheat until the sauce is warm. Serve the chicken with the sauce.

Nutrition

Per serving :280 Calories; 10 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 6 g Mono; 68 mg Cholesterol; 16 g Carbohydrates; 27 g Protein; 1 g Fiber; 574 mg Sodium; 341 mg Potassium,1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 carbohydrate (other), 3 1/2 lean meat, 2 fat

Notes: Chinese five-spice powder is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, fennel seed, star anise and Szechuan peppercorns. Look for it in the spice section at the supermarket or with other Asian ingredients.

Sherry is a fortified wine originally from southern Spain. Don’t use “cooking sherry” sold in many supermarkets—it can be high in sodium. Instead, look for dry sherry with other fortified wines at your wine or liquor store.

Tip: Hoisin is a brown, thick, spicy-sweet sauce made from soybeans and a mix of spices. Look for it in the Asian-foods section. We use Wei chuan hoisin, which has about 300 mg sodium per tablespoon.

Pasta, Pancetta and Peas

The whole family raved! It was so fast and easy to make and absolutely delicious. I made some substitutions since Joe is not a huge fan of long pasta, so I used penne. Added about 4 tbl of butter which made it creamy, light, and yummy. Opted to used larger cloves of garlic (grated for allot of flavor). And use all the grease leftover from frying the pancetta.  A few ingredients packing a punch. I will add this to the keeper file.

Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2009

Ingredients:

16 ounces fettuccine

8 ounces pancetta, diced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 (10-ounce) bag frozen peas

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, sauté pancetta in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. In the same pan, sauté onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add peas and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in Parmesan, pasta and pancetta. Moisten pasta with some of the reserved pasta water. Toss to incorporate, season with salt and pepper, if necessary, and serve, sprinkled with lemon juice.

Mushroom Stir-Fry

We love stir-fries and I am always looking for new recipes to try. I came across this recipe and thought I would give it a try. I made a few changes; I added chicken and extra veggie. So the trick to this stir-fry is to cook most of the veggies separately, bringing them together at the end with the sauce. The result? The sauce is superb and the veggies perfectly cooked, not too mushy, not too hard. The sauce with honey, chili, soy sauce, and ginger is at once hot, sweet, salty and tangy.

Ingredients:

Glaze

2 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are avoiding gluten)

2 Tbsp honey

1/4 cup of chicken or vegetable broth

Sauce

3 Tbsp soy sauce (use gluten-free soy sauce if you are avoiding gluten)

3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce

1 Tbsp corn starch

Vegetables

4 teaspoons minced garlic

4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

4 Tbsp vegetable oil, preferably a high smoke-point oil such as grapeseed oil, peanut oil, or canola oil

About 2 lbs of cremini or button mushrooms, quartered

2 cups of a long-cooking veggie such as sliced carrots. Other long-cooking vegetables that can be used are broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, asparagus (diagonally cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces), or green beans (trimmed, diagonally cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces)

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup of a more quickly cooking vegetable such as red bell pepper (stems, seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch dice) or snow peas (strings and ends removed)

1 1b leafy greens - bok choy or napa cabbage (separate the stems of the bok choy and the tougher core of the napa cabbage from the greens)

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

 Whisk the glaze ingredients together in a bowl and the sauce ingredients together in a different bowl. In a third bowl, mix the garlic, ginger and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil.

Heat 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a large, stick-free skillet on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, without stirring, until browned on one side, about 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and use tongs to turn the mushrooms to brown the other side. When mushrooms are browned and tender, about 5 minutes, increase the heat to medium-high and add the glaze. Cook, stirring to coat the mushrooms, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer mushrooms to a large bowl. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel.

Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the skillet on medium-high heat until the pan begins to smoke. Add carrots (or other longer cooking veggie) and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup broth and cover skillet. Cook until carrots are tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Uncover and cook until liquid evaporates. Transfer carrots to bowl with mushrooms. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel.

Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the skillet on medium high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the bell pepper and bok choy stems or napa cabbage cores and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add leafy greens and cook for a minute further. Push the veggies to the side of the pan and add the garlic-ginger mixture in the clearing. Cook 15 seconds, until fragrant, and then mix in with the other vegetables.

Add all the vegetables back into the pan (mushrooms, carrots, etc.). Add the sauce to the pan. Mix well and cook, stirring, until the sauce has thickened and all the vegetables are coated with the sauce, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds if desired. Serve immediately. Recommended with rice.

Yield: Serves 3 to 4.