Where's the food!

I was looking at another food blog (one that is far superior to mine!) and realized I hadn't posted here in a while. I've got some recipes waiting for me to try, but it seems like lately all I've gotten to do is cook up some smoked pork chops (I bought them smoked from Woodman's, so there was no real cooking involved!) and mashed potatoes, or maybe spaghetti with sauce from a jar. You don't need to hear about any of that! But I think things are calming down a little bit...I guess we'll see. OOH, here's a good thought...YOU tell ME what you think I should cook. Give me some good ideas. Maybe a recipe you want to try but haven't yet, or a new idea for chicken that you love. Or beef. Or whatever. I'm up for (almost) anything.

Tonight it's chicken nuggets. I know, so inspiring! <3

Double Cinnamon French Toast

I think I first got this one from the Food Network. Emeril to be exact. I guess I could look it up...but I don't feel like it. I'll give credit to Emeril! This is my go-to French Toast recipe. I haven't found another one that sounds as good. Unless you get into stuffed French Toast, which I haven't done yet. This is the best basic recipe I've seen. And use real maple syrup here, not pancake syrup. It makes a difference!

I usually use cinnamon bread with this one. SO yummy!

1 C maple syrup
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp cinnamon
3 lg eggs
1 C whipping cream or half-n-half
2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon or egg bread

Bring syrup, 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp cinnamon to a boil; boil 2 minutes. Whisk eggs, cream, vanilla, 3 Tbsp syrup mixture and remaining cinnamon in bowl. Place bread slices in baking dish. Pour egg mixture over; turn to coat. Pierce bread. Let stand 5 minutes. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in large skillet. Add bread and cook until browned. Add 1 Tbsp butter to skillet. Turn bread over and cook until browned. Serve with remaining syrup.

Citrus Ginger Dressing

I love watching Ellie Krieger, so I picked up a couple of her cookbooks. I love ginger and citrus, so this looks fantastic. I'm looking really forward to trying it!

1/4 C fresh orange juice

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 Tbsp canola oil

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp grated ginger

Salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together until well blended

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is absolutely DELICIOUS. My brother-in-law had it at his house for a family gathering one year, and I've been making it as often as possible ever since. My brother has now started requesting I make it for family gatherings as well...including this Easter. It's so easy and so good. It's pretty hard to mess up. But it's a lot hotter when you switch the amounts of hot sauce and ranch dressing because you think you remember in your head what to do instead of looking at the recipe :)

I've adjusted it to the way I make it...and what I serve with it

• 2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 3/4 cup pepper sauce (such as Frank's Red Hot®)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 
  Put everything in the crock pot. Heat on high for about an hour, stirring occasionally to mix well. Switch to low and keep it there until ready to serve, stirring occasionally. Turn it to warm if it starts to burn. :)

Serve with crackers (the pretzel flips are really good here!) or tortilla chips.

Turkey Tater Hot Dish

There are so many versions of this, it's really up to you what you put in it. I used what was in my cupboard, which happened to be Penzey's Mural of Flavor. We'd gotten some as a gift, so I thought I'd try it. I also added pizza sauce because there was some in a bowl in the fridge. I'd opened it on accident when I meant to open tomato sauce. Add any veggies you like, and you've got a really tasty comfort meal! I'm not going to list the ingredients and then a recipe, because with the way my mind is (not) working right now, it seems like to tough a task. So, here goes.

Make mashed potatoes. I used two large baking potatoes to top an 8x8 dish. Brown 1 pkg lean ground turkey (I used Jennie O) in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, and about a teaspoon of your favorite seasoning blend. Italian seasoning would probably work really well here. Add 1 small can pizza sauce and about 1 cup of frozen vegetables. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes and 1-2 cups of shredded cheese (I used monterey jack). Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Turn the broiler on high and broil about 3 minutes, or until lightly browned on top. Enjoy!

Ground Beef Tacos

Another one from Joy of Cooking. Tacos seem so simple, but I get tired of the taco seasoning packet. This is really delicious. I think the tomato sauce adds something great here, but not too tomato-y. I didn't add the jalapenos at the end, because of my 2 year old son, so it's pretty mild as-written, but I found adding a couple dashes of hot sauce to my taco made it just right. Top with a little cheese, sour cream, lettuce, or whatever toppings you like, and it's a great basic beef taco!

Heat in a medium skillet over medium heat:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

Add:

3/4 C chopped onion

Cook, stirring often, until softened, 4-5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high and add:

1 pound ground beef

Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 3 minutes (?). Stir in:

1-3 garlic cloves, minced (I grate mine with a fine grater)

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

(or 2 tsp ground coriander)

Salt to taste

Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add:

1 C tomato sauce

Minced fresh jalapenos, chopped drained canned jalapenos, or chile or hot pepper sauce to taste

Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat for 10 minutes.

Cheese Manicotti

The first thing I cooked for my husband was manicotti, and that was Valentines Day 2004. I made it again this year and shared it with the guys that game at our house on Mondays. They loved it, and so did I. I used the recipes for Cheese Filling, Tomato Meat Sauce and Baked Manicotti from the 75th Anniversary Joy Of Cooking cookbook. The recipes in the book are written out differently than traditional cookbooks, and I like it. So I'm going to do it the way the book does on this one.I actually came across the book at the library so I grabbed it. I think I have it in my collection, but I haven't gone downstairs to look yet! It seems like a big recipe, but if you do the filling and sauce (or one of them) the night before, it's not nearly as daunting as it looks!

Cheese Filling

Beat in a bowl until fluffy:
15 ounces ricotta

Beat in one at a time:

2 large eggs

Add:

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1/2 C grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Tomato Meat Sauce

Heat in a large heavy casserole or skillet over medium heat.

Add:

1/4 C olive oil

(or 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, diced)

If using pancetta or bacon, cook, stirring, until it renders its fat, about 3 minutes.

Add:

1 pound ground beef or sweet Italian sausages, casings removed and crumbled

Cook, stirring, until the meat loses its pink color, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes:

1 medium onion, chopped

Add and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds:

2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced

Stir in and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes:

1 Tbsp tomato paste

Add:

Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, with their juice

(1 tsp fresh thyme or oregano leaves or 1/2 tsp dried)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp sugar

Cook, uncovered, crushing the tomatoes with the side of a spoon to break them up, until they have cooked down and smell very fragrant, about 15 minutes. Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is thickened. Stir in:

2 to 3 tablespoons slivered basil or chopped parsley

Salt and black pepper to taste

For manicotti

Have ready:

3 cups Tomato Sauce

2 1/4 cups Cheese Filling

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cook in a large pot of boiling salted water until barely tender:

8 ounces manicotti or jumbo shells

Drain. Using a small spoon, fill the pasta with the filling. Arrange the pieces side by side in the baking dish. At this point, the dish can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Spoon the tomato sauce over the pasta and sprinkle with:

1 C shredded mozzarella (4 ounces)

6 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano

Cover with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, about 40 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.