Tuna Casserole (non-dairy)

So anyways, I had a baby and life is never the same afterwards. I am just now beginning to understand what my mother did for me. Well, my baby actually let me cook dinner today. He doesn't do that very often. Admittedly, I had to show him each step after I finished it and take several breaks to attend to his needs- but I cooked dinner today. Let me say that again: I cooked dinner, with a baby and nobody else to help, and got it in the oven before 6. It's been a good day.

Tuna Casserole (non-dairy)
*Most of the amounts are approximate, I didn't measure anything.
Saucepan
Can opener
Knife and cutting board
Boiling pot of water (for noodles)
Casserole dish (9X13)  
Little bit of butter 
1 cup celery (chopped, I like to use the leafy part) 
1/2 green pepper (chopped) 
2 green onions (chopped) 
1 small can of mushrooms (chopped) 
1/2 cup coconut milk 
1/4-1/2 cup water 
1 tsp pepper 
1 tsp garlic salt 
1 tsp hot sauce 
Noodles 
 2 cans of tuna fish 
1/3 cup mayonnaise 
1/2 cup Corn flakes or other crunchy topping
Melt the butter in a saucepan and sweat (cook on medium-low heat) the vegetables and mushrooms. When the veggies are bright green and a little bit wilted, add the coconut milk and just enough water to thin it to a soupy consistency (coconut milk is thick stuff). Add the spices and hot sauce. Let it simmer while you cook some noodles. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees. When the noodles are done, drain them. Open up two cans of tuna fish and stir into the sauce. Take the sauce OFF the heat and add 1/3 cup of mayonnaise mixing well. Then coat the noodles in the sauce (I just did it in the casserole dish) making sure all of the noodles are covered in sauce. Put it in the oven for 20-30 minutes. If you want to add cheese to the top (like I did to my husband's side of the casserole) add it 5 minutes before the casserole is done. Since everything is already cooked, you're looking for golden brown/bubbly to tell when it's done.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Soup

Recently, I bought myself a meat thermometer. I've never been very good at knowing when meat is done, and this little tool has helped me a lot.
Sweet and Sour Chicken Soup
1 large frying pan with a lid
stirring spatula
cutting board and serrated knife
can opener
***
2 chicken breasts (1 lb. of meat)
4 Tbsp. butter
thickener
1 pound frozen stir fry mix (or leftover noodles/rice and regular frozen veggies)
1 can pineapple chunks
1/4 cup lemon juice
2-4 Tbsp soy sauce
rosemary
pinch of garlic salt
***
1. Melt the butter in the frying pan on medium high heat. Add the chicken breasts and brown them on one side. Flip them over and add the pineapple juice from the can of pineapple and the rosemary and garlic salt. Turn down the heat to medium low and cook for 5-6 minutes. I used my new meat thermometer to see when they were done.
2. Remove the cooked chicken from the pan. Add 2 Tbsp. flour or a cornstarch slurry to thicken the pineapple juice to a sauce. Add the lemon juice and soy sauce. If you want a runny soup, add some water. If not, you'll have a very thick soup or a meal with a runny sauce.
3. When the sauce is made, add the frozen veggies and pineapple and mix to cover with the sauce. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the veggies are no longer covered in ice.
4. While the veggies cook, slice the chicken. Add it back into the pan with the noodles (if you used leftovers). Mix the sauce around all the chunks, and add water if it is too thick. Once the chicken is hot again, it's ready to serve.

It also tastes better the next day because the sweet and sour flavors have spread through the whole dish.

Recipe: Desserts

It has been a couple of crazy weeks- but the deadline has passed and life is calming down beautifully.

We had a family BBQ last weekend, and we were assigned to bring a dessert and help my dad bring all my siblings (my mom and sister were out of town). Since my youngest sister can't have wheat, I choose to do the family classic: Monster cookies!

The name comes from the original recipe, which made a huge amount of cookies. 12 cups of oatmeal makes a lot of cookies. I don't know how old the recipe is, but my mom's side of the family has had these at every family reunion I remember, including the ones with distant cousins. So I cut down the recipe and tweaked it to fit the random bits of sugar I had in the house.

Monster Kisses
1 mixing bowl
1 stirring spoon (you can use a mixer if you'd like)
measuring cups and spoons
cookie sheet (sprayed or very lightly greased)
cookie disher (those awesome spring loaded scoops!)
***

1/4 c. butter (that's half a stick), melted
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. peanut butter (don't skimp, it's better to have too much than not enough)
--
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 & 1/4 tsp. baking soda
--
3 to 3 & 1/2 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or rolled)
About 24 Hershey's kisses and/or a smaller bag of M&Ms

***
1. Mix the melted butter, and brown sugar together until it becomes crumbly. Then add the peanut butter and mix well.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Beat the mixture until it becomes smooth and looks like just a lot of peanut butter. This is the glue of the cookie, and you don't want it to be grainy or not well mixed.
3. Add the oatmeal and mix it in until all of the little flakes of oatmeal are covered in the peanut buttery batter. If you put too much oatmeal in, you end up with peanut butter granola, not cookies.
4. Scoop the cookies onto the cookie sheet. Unwrap your Hershey's kisses and put one in the middle of each cookie. You'll probably need to help the dough form around the cookie, so make sure your hands are clean. If you don't have Kisses, shape each ball of cookie dough into a nest and put 3-6 M&Ms inside.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes and let them finish baking on the cookie sheet. They're supposed to look gooey and bubbly. Let them cool on the cookie sheet or they'll fall apart.
If the cookies are golden brown when you pull them out of the oven, they'll be burnt by the time you can get them off the cookie sheet without falling apart. When the cookie sheet is cooled completely, pull the cookies off and put in an airtight container.
They'll keep for up to a week. My family takes them backpacking and camping.

BONUS~
This weekend was my anniversary, so I made my husband some baby cobblers. Cobbler is my husband's favorite dessert.
Baby Strawberry Cobbler
1 cup chopped strawberries (we just used the fresh ones in the fridge)
1/4 cup or so of sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
---
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. oatmeal
1 tsp. spreadable butter

In one bowl mix the chopped strawberries with the sugar and lemon juice. Let it sit while you mix the graham cracker topping in a small ziploc bag.
Spray two little ramekins (the 7 oz. ones).
Sprinkle just enough graham cracker topping to cover the bottom of the ramekin. Add half of the strawberry mixture to each ramekin. Sprinkle the rest of the topping over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes (just long enough to cook the oatmeal). Cool in the fridge.
Serve with whipped topping!

Meatloaf

Sorry about being late- our basement apartment flooded last night. Thank goodness for good weatherstripping and a drain 3 feet inside the door. Nothing was harmed but my pant legs.

So for those nights when I really don't want to cook much of anything, or when I'm teaching kids to cook, one of my favorite meals to throw together is meatloaf. You really can't do much to ruin it. In fact, it's so easy, I never bother to measure.

Meatloaf
mixing bowl
spoon/really clean hands
casserole dish
***
roughly equal parts hamburger/ground meat and oatmeal
1 egg
4 tsp. Worchestershire sauce (I love this stuff, so I tend to add a lot).
ketchup
BBQ sauce
garlic salt
pepper
any other seasonings/sauces that smell good (I used oregano and sage last night, but I've even put jam in it. Grape or Apricot Jam work best. Dried mushrooms or onions also work well. Experiment! As long as it smells good, it will taste good. Besides, drenching the finished product in ketchup or BBQ sauce will cover any mistakes you made).
***
1. WASH YOUR HANDS! Especially if you're planning on mixing it with your fingers (fun, but I personally hate the feel of it on my bare hands). Then set the oven to 350 degrees to preheat.
2. Put the meat and the oatmeal in the bowl. Mix together until it forms one gloopy mess. (Eventually, you won't be able to tell the difference between the oatmeal and the meat).
3. Add the egg and sauces to the meat mixture and mix it in thoroughly. You don't want any spice hotspots.
4. WASH YOUR HANDS if you were mixing with your fingers. Then spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray and dump in the meatloaf. Spread it out evenly across the bottom of the dish. If you want, use the ketchup to write your initials on the meatloaf before you put it in the oven.
5. Put the meatloaf in the oven and bake for 25-45 minutes. Thicker meatloafs take more time than thin ones.

Make sure to cook up some vegetables and add some fruits to make it a complete meal. It tastes meaty, but fills you up like oatmeal. And it's made from things you normally have in your house, so it's an easy meal anytime. It's also really easy to swap out ingredients- no hamburger? Just use other ground meat. Turkey works well with rosemary, oregano, and thyme. No oatmeal, use breadcrumbs (although why you would have breadcrumbs but no oatmeal- let's just say it never happened at my house). Mix and match the spices to find the blends your family enjoys. Enjoy!

Vegetable Potato Chowder

My husband wanted something filling last night, but he didn't want any more protein. So I looked through the fridge, freezer, and cupboards and came up with this tasty dish.

Vegetable Potato Chowder
1 large soup pot
stirring spoon
knife and cutting board
***
1/2 onion, chopped up into little pieces
4 Tbsp. butter
1 cup chicken broth/stock
1-2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. thyme or poultry seasoning
1-2 tsp. pepper
1 bay leaf
water
4 large potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces (with peels or not, the peels are where most of the fiber is)
4 large carrots, in little round slices
1 can green beans
1 cup corn (creamed, canned, or frozen)
1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes.
1/2 cup frozen peas
***
1. Wash(rinse and scrub until all the dirt comes off) and chop up the potatoes, carrots, and half an onion.
2. In the soup pot, on medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until the onion turns see-through. This is called 'sweating.'
3. Add the chicken stock and the spices. Smell it, does it smell good to you?
4. Add the chopped potatoes and carrots and add just enough water to cover them. Turn up the heat until the pot starts to boil. Then turn down the heat to low. The soup should stay just barely bubbling, or simmering. Simmer the soup for about an hour, or until the potatoes are falling apart. Stir every 15 minutes.
5. When the potatoes are soft, add the green beans and corn. Slowly stir in the instant mashed potatoes- the soup will start to stick to the bottom.
6. When the soup thickens up, add the peas and turn off the heat. Keep stirring until the peas thaw. The soup is ready to eat!

This soup makes enough for 4-6 people. If you want to, you could add some ham with the potatoes and carrots, or garnish the soup bowls with bacon bits. Enjoy!

PS> It tastes even better when it's reheated. Perfect leftover. Make it on Sunday, freeze some and eat the rest a couple of days during the week.

Chicken Stir-Fry

I think I'll try posting a recipe on Tuesdays and everything else whenever I feel like it. That should help me be more regular with this blog and also help those who read it to be able to follow along.

***Quick note: While I was studying spices, I learned that this dish also closely resembles a buryani (rice dish native to the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia). I'm going to have to experiment some more...***

I must have been only 13 or so when I learned how to make this dish. My youngest brothers had food allergies (corn, soy, wheat, and milk) and most days it was easier to cook one meal that everybody could eat than to try to get two toddlers to only eat what wouldn't make them sick. In order to help my mom, I started making dinner. There's only so many meals you can make that use either rice or potatoes - and this quickly became a favorite because it was fast, relatively cheap, and didn't make very many dishes.

Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry
frying pan
wooden spoon or heavy duty spatula
pot to cook rice or noodles in
***
2 cups chicken (2 breasts or 5-6 tenderloins)
1 bag frozen vegetables or fresh vegetables cut into bite-size pieces
butter or oil
***
2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-3 tsp. brown sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth or water or orange juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. vinegar or vinaigrette salad dressing
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
***
1. Choose either rice or noodles as your grain and start them cooking. If you're doing noodles, it will help to have someone else around to stir the stir-fry while you drain the noodles. Follow the package directions or
1. Pour 1 Tbsp of oil into the frying pan and tilt the pan around until it completely covers the bottom. Or, you could melt 2 Tbsp. butter in the pan (but it tends to burn, unlike the oil, so you have to watch the stir-fry more carefully if you use butter). 2. On medium heat, cook the chicken until it is white on the outside (you will have to flip it), but still pink in the middle. Move it to a cutting board and cut it into bite-size pieces and then wash your hands.
3. I like to mix my sauce while the chicken is cooking. In a small liquid measuring cup, mix the spices. It really doesn't matter what spices you use, this was my favorite dish for experimenting with different mixtures of spices. So long as you have something sweet (sugar or honey or juice), something acid (lemon juice, vinegar), and soy sauce- your meal will resemble a stir fry. Use your nose to tell you what goes together (although you might want to add the vinegar last as it tends to cover up all the other flavors until after the food is cooked). You could also just add the spices to the stir-fry, although then you usually end up with pockets of just one kind of spice. I like to mix all the dry spices together and then add the liquid spices.
4. Pour the sauce into the pan and stir it around with the oil already in the pan. Then add the chicken, stir it to coat and cook the chicken for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so to make sure the sauce doesn't burn.
5. Turn the heat up to high and add the vegetables. Stir it around, there will be lots of steam as the ice melts. If you used fresh vegetables, add up to 1/2 cup of water to the pan. Cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring every 30-60 seconds.
6. Cover the stir fry and turn off the heat. Finish setting the table, invite everyone to dinner, and say prayer. After that, dish up a pile of noodles or rice and top it with the stir-fry.

So forget the mac and cheese or the ramen and make your family some tasty, vegetabley goodness. Their tastebuds and their waistlines will smile.

Beans and Rice

My husband went on his mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil and learned Brasilian. My little brother is currently serving in Rio di Janeiro. Both tell stories of living off of "Beans and Rice" much like our college students live off of Ramen and Take-out Pizza. I'll have to ask for an actual story later.

And so, this dish is my tribute to missionaries everywhere, but especially those who are going to the countries of beans and rice. It's a simple dish that still tastes good the next day and doesn't cost a lot in ingredients.

Beans and Rice with Chicken
1 ziploc bag
Frying pan & Spatula
Casserole dish
Can opener
Stirring spoon
pot with a lid (to cook rice in)
***
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 Tbsp. flour
2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
***
2 Tbsp. butter
***
1 1/2 cup rice
2 cups water
***
1 can diced green chiles
1 can drained and rinsed beans (black, kidney, etc)
salsa (optional)

1. In a small pot with a lid, cook the rice. Put the water and rice into the pot, cover it and turn on the burner to high. When it boils, turn down the heat to low, and set the timer for 20 minutes. DO NOT UNCOVER THE RICE UNTIL THE TIMER GOES OFF. After the timer goes off, turn off the burner and fluff (separate the grains by stirring) the rice. Scrape the rice off the bottom of the pot so it doesn't stick.
2. Open the can of beans and rinse the gooey sludge off the beans. I do it by opening the can most of the way and then pouring water into the can, pouring out the slime, pouring water into the can, pouring out the slime, etc. You don't have to get the beans completely clean, just get the goo off them. Open the can of green chiles too.
3. Lightly spray your casserole dish and dump in the beans, rice, and green chiles. Stir the beans and chiles into the rice and smooth it down into an even layer.
4. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees.
5. In a ziploc bag, mix 2 Tbsp. flour, 2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add in the raw chicken chunks, zip the bag tightly closed, and shake the bag until the flour coats (covers) all the chicken. It's easier if there are only 2-4 pieces of chicken in the bag at a time. !WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER TOUCHING RAW CHICKEN to prevent icky diseases like salmonella!
5. In the frying pan, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter on high. When the chicken is coated, put it in the frying pan and give it a nice crust. Watch carefully! The chicken and flour burn easy! Don't worry about getting the chicken all done, it will finish in the oven. You're just giving it a nice layer of flavor on the outside. When the flour starts to turn all brown and crispy, turn off the burner.
6. Put the chicken on top of the rice and put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes or the chicken is done. Chicken is done when there isn't any pink in the middle of a chunk.
7. Eat it with salsa or as it is. It's mildly spicy. It also tastes great as a leftover - just package up what's left into little containers while the food is still hot and put them in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave, or in the oven.

Chicken Pot Pie

My mother in law requested this recipe. Her husband loves to eat Chicken Pot Pie, but her recipe includes lots of milk and cream, which aren't helping his cholesterol levels. I adapted this recipe one day when I was playing around with different chicken casseroles and I had a turnip left over from a lesson at school.

Chicken Pot Pie
1 large soup pot
knife and cutting board
stirring spoon (long wooden handled ones work great)
2 cup liquid measuring cup
1 9x13 pan or equivalent volume in casserole dishes or pie tins
1 hour
***
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 - 1 onion, chopped or minced
1-3 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-size pieces.
3-4 carrots
5-6 cups chopped potatoes, turnips, or other similar root veggies
1 bag of frozen veggies (beans, corn, peas, broccoli, cauliflower - your choice)
1-2 cups of chicken broth or stock
**Soup thickener - chicken gravy, a roux of butter and flour, cornstarch, or instant mashed potatoes**
2 Bay leaves
1 tsp. hot sauce
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. curry powder or turmeric (adds yellow color)
Biscuit Dough (to make the crust)

1. In a large soup pot on medium-high, melt 2 Tablespoons butter and saute the onion in it. When the butter has completely melted, add the chicken and cook it until it is about 3/4 done (just a little pink in the middle).
**If you are thickening with a roux (fancy French word for cooked flour and butter used to thicken a sauce or soup)- increase the butter to 4 Tablespoons and add 2 Tablespoons of flour to the pot with the chicken. Cook the flour (you will want to stir it around or turn down the heat) until it becomes golden brown. Then add a little of the chicken broth to keep the roux from burning.**
2. When the chicken is 3/4 done, add the broth and all the spices. Smell and taste it to see if it tastes good, adjust the spices if necessary.
Now add the potatoes and carrots and add water until they are just barely covered. Put the lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. While it is cooking is a good time to get your biscuit dough crust ready.

Biscuit Dough Crust
1 mixing bowl
Fork or Pastry cutter
Clean surface to roll it out on
20-30 minutes
***
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Sift (mix) these ingredients together.
4 Tbsp butter - Cut (squish) the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry cutter.
3/4 milk or orange juice - Add the liquid and stir well. Then on a well-floured board, knead and roll out the dough to a size that will fit your pans. (It will probably be sticky).

3. Grease your pans/pie tins. I like to do this in little casserole dishes because then I can microwave them later.
When the potatoes are soft, check the consistency of your soup/filling. This is the time to add the other thickeners.
**If you are using gravy mix, ladle out 1 cup of the hot liquid. Thoroughly mix the gravy into the hot liquid and then pour it back into the soup.**
**If you are using cornstarch, mix 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch into 1 Tablespoon of cold water, making a slurry. Then ladle out a cup or two of the hot liquid from the soup. Whisk the cornstarch slurry into the hot liquid and boil for 2 minutes before returning to the soup.**
**If you are thickening with instant mashed potatoes, add the flakes into the soup and stir well. Add the flakes only a little at a time until the filling is the right consistency.**
4. Now turn off the stove, and turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Pour your soupy innards into the pans until they are 3/4 full. Then sprinkle the frozen veggies (still frozen) on top. If you would like, mix the frozen veggies into the rest of the filling before adding the crust. Fill the dish almost to the top and lay the crust over the top, crimping (pinching) down the edges. Then with a sharp knife, cut some steam holes in the crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-16 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and delicious.

This recipe makes a full 9x13 pan of pie, adjust the amount of chicken, potatoes, and carrots to better suit your needs, the rest of the ingredients stay the same. Please comment and let me know the all the variations you try!

Mushroom Risotto with Fish

Earlier this week I was cooking dinner. I looked through the fridge (mostly empty), the freezer, and the cupboards. I then went through my stack of cookbooks looking for inspiration.

This is inspired by two recipes I found in my Ultimate Recipe Collection (Trident Press) cookbook. The first is called luncheon fish rolls, the second was creamy mushroom risotto.

MUSHROOM RISOTTO WITH FISH
2 saucepans
1 9x13 pan
small bowl
30-40 minutes
...
2 cups boiling water
1 packet mushroom gravy (designed to make 1 cup of gravy)
...
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped fine
3 gloves of garlic
1 cup rice
1 can (6.5oz of mushrooms)
...
4 Thawed Tilapia fish fillets
5 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice

1. Read instructions on how to cook the fish (located on the package). Thaw 4 fillets.
2. Set oven to 375º (same temperature as on the fish package).
3. In one saucepan, Boil 2 cups of water and mix in the gravy mix. Turn the heat down to low.
4. Melt the butter in the other saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for one minute. Add the mushrooms.
5. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Ladle in the gravy half a cup at a time, stirring it into the rice until the liquid is absorbed.
6. When all the gravy is in the rice, spray the 9x13 casserole dish and spread the rice into a thin layer on the bottom. Lay the fish fillets on top.
7. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and the lemon juice together and spread over just the fish fillets.
8. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 16 minutes, or until fish flakes easily. Let the fish set for 2 minutes before serving.

The light flavor of the tilapia set off the earthy flavor of the mushrooms perfectly. Very tasty meal.