This is a very simple dish to make. The recipe calls for store-bought sauce, which I don't normally use, but I have to admit that it was a huge time saver. Rather than making one 9x13 dish, I made two small round pans and froze them because I'm having a baby in May and am currently stocking my freezer for meals in preparation. While we haven't actually had this meal yet, the few bites I sampled before freezing the dish tasted good, so I'm looking forward to trying it out in a few weeks!
Inside Out Ravioli
adapted from a recipe in The Christmas Cottage Cookbook
I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 (10-oz) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, cooked acc. to pkg. directions-reserve the water from cooking.
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (15-oz) jar spaghetti with mushrooms (I used Ragu super chunky mushroom)
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6-z) can tomato paste
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (all I had was panko so I used that, but any is probably find)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (8-oz) pkg. shell macaroni, cooked
D I R E C T I O N S :
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and cook macaroni shells according to package directions.
Meanwhile, cook spinach according to package directions; drain well, reserving liquid. Set aside.
Brown ground beef with onion. Once finished, add spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and spinach liquid. Simmer 10 minutes.
Combine spinach with bread crumbs, oil and cheese. Mix well and add to cooked macaroni shells.
Pour meat sauce over top of shell mixture, and stir until combined.
Spread in 9x13 baking dish (or two 8x8 or small around pans).
I think banana pudding may be my husband's most favorite dessert. We are going to dinner at some friends' house tonight for our church community group and I signed up to bring dessert, so when I asked my husband what he would like, he said he would love to have banana pudding. Now, I like banana pudding, too, but when I make it, I like to serve it as a trifle to dress it up a little. I think trifles are always a fun, easy dish and they often make for a prettier presentation than something in a regular bowl or pan. I've made the pudding and cream from scratch before, but when I don't have time or feel like it (like today), this recipe is super, super easy. I'm not claiming that this is any kind of gourmet recipe-rather, it's embarrassingly processed, unhealthy, quick, and easy to assemble- but it is a fun way to serve this classic dish. I didn't have any, but it would be great garnished with a mint sprig or cherry. This is a great dessert to make when you don't have time or feel like baking. If you want to make it a hair 'healthier' (is that possible?), you can always make homemade vanilla pudding and homemade whipped cream.
Banana pudding trifle
I N G R E D I E N T S : 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding 1 large container cool whip 4-6 bananas, diced 1 box vanilla wafers
D I R E C T I O N S :
Prepare vanilla pudding according to directions.
In a trifle dish, begin by layering the bottom with vanilla wafers, followed by a layer of diced bananas. Spread one layer of pudding and then a layer of cool whip.
Repeat vanilla wafers, bananas, vanilla pudding, and cool whip, then repeat again (you want three layers of each ingredient, total).
Garnish top with banana slices, mint, or a cherry.
Since this is a chettinad food cookery blog and many searches for the traditional chettinad non veg in this blog ,I want to blog almost all traditional non veg items even though we don’t cook them often or never at home. This recipe is one of that sort. In chettinad there is a practice of group prayer to the ancestors once in a year .This is known as padappu in this region. In some family group there is a practice of offering goat to the ancestors. Then the meat is cooked and served to the members. So they use each and every part of the goat using special recipes for each part. I come to know that aattu kudal has much medicinal value. But I always have wondered how to clean it. In the mutton shops in our town, I have seen people waiting for the goat to be ready to get the kudal. Once in Kairali TV, I saw a show called Magic Oven conducted Dr.Lakshmi Nair about this recipe. She interviewed a cook in Nagerkovil about this recipe and showed a demo of this by the cook. From that day I thought of trying out this recipe. In a small hotel (mess) run by Nagerkovil people in our town we get this curry known as Boati. We used to get that from there and is very good in taste. I enquired my servant whether she knows to clean it and she said that her grand mom who is 75 year old only know that. I asked her to bring her Grand mom one Sunday and went to the mutton shop .You don’t believe, I saw 6 people waiting there for this. The butcher told me that if I wait for 2 hours I may get a chance to get one. I gave the money in advance and told him that I will come in an hour to get it. Somehow I managed to get it that day. Seeing that I was really worried about how we are going to clean it. The old lady was pretty sure of cleaning it. Kudal was like a bag. Inside that the tubular structures were there. The butchers will clean the tubes once and put inside that bag (big intestine). Cleaning lamb intestine The lady asked me to keep water in a vessel and boil. I boiled the water and she put the whole bag inside that water and closed it for 10 minutes .After 10 minutes she removed it from water and took out the tubular structure and kept aside. She brushed the surface of the outer bag with a brush and the thick small thorn like surface layer peeled off from the bag and it became skin like. She washed it nicely and kept aside. Now she took the tubular structure. She took each tube and showed under running water till the tubes are completely clean. The water from the tap came through the tubes clearly. She too took nearly 20 minutes to clean the tubes. I don’t think that I will have that much patience. Next was the cutting part. I knew that I have to make the pieces very small. I tried to cut the bag first. It was very slippery. The lady turned the bag inside out and now it was easy to cut. The tubes also had to be patiently cut into small pieces. After cutting the tubes she washed it again nicely and they became very very clean. Now only I was sure that the whole thing is clean and started my hand in making the gravy. Ingredients Kudal (Cleaned and cut 1) Small onion- 20 Big onion chopped -1 Chili powder -1 table spoon Coriander powder -1 tablespoon Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon Thick coconut milk-100 Gms (1/2 cup) Roasted cumin powdered -2 teaspoons Curry leaf –little Procedure Pressure cook the cut kudal pieces for 10 minutes with 1 ½ cups of water and a teaspoon of turmeric powder. After cooking remove the cooked water. This will help to get rid of the excess non veg smell. If you like the smell you can use that water while making the gravy. I discarded that water. Keep a kadai in the stove. In two tablespoons of oil season the curry with a teaspoon of cumin seed and curry leaf. Sauté the onions nicely .Add turmeric powder and sauté. Keep the stove in medium flame and add chili powder and coriander powder. Now add the cooked kudal pieces. Mix everything nicely. Add a cup of water and the salt needed. Close the kadai and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes. Before switching off the stove add the roasted cumin powder. Garnish with coriander leaves if desired.
Some tips of buying and storing lamb meat which I browsed from the net. Buying & Storing Facts The quality of lamb should be ensured before buying. You need to make sure that the tender flesh is pink in color, firm and with a fine texture. The fat surrounding the lamb should be white in color. Don’t purchase it if the fat is crumbling, yellow or tough, as these are the characteristics of old meat. A younger lamb can be identified with a blue tinge on the knuckle. A pale color, ranging from pink to light red, is also one of the traits of a young lamb. Some lambs are also available in different grades, like prime, select and choice. The prime and choice grades of lamb are both flavorful and tender; however they possess a higher fat content. Like most of the other meats, lamb too is highly perishable and needs to be refrigerated as soon as possible, in the original store packaging. It is preferred to store and use lamb as per the ‘Use by’ date mentioned on the pack, to avoid its unhealthy intake. If dates are not mentioned on the pack, the different parts of the lamb like lamb roasts and chops can be kept for 3 to 5 days in refrigerator, while ground lamb can stay for not more than 2 days. If you have bought more than one lamb, the best way to save it is by wrapping it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer paper. This will allow storage of ground lamb for 3 to 4 months and roasts and chops for about 6 to 9 months.
I woke up late on one lazy morning and my hubby was hurrying up to work. I dont want to send him empty stomach (he hate cereals...) and quickly prepared this side dish for dosa. mmmm.... he was very happy and had one extra dosa! As usual very simple recipe.
Ingredients: Cooking oil - 2 tbs Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1/2 tbs Curry leaves - 5 nos Onion - 1 Tomato - 1 Ginger - small piece Fresh coconut - 5 tbs Salt to taste
Method: 1. Grind onion, tomato, ginger together into a fine paste and keep aside. 2. In a pan heat 2 tbs oil, add mustard seeds + urad, curry leaves and grinded paste @ 30 sec interval. Saute the tomato paste at medium flame (to set down the green smell). 3. In the meantime grind the fresh coconut to a fine paste. add this to tomato paste and stir for 30 sec. 4. Add salt + one cup of water & stir well. 5. Close the pan with a lid and let the gravy cook for 10 mins in medium flame. 6. Sprinkle chopped cilantro (optional) n serve hot with dosa/idli/chappathi.
This is by far the best recipe for potato soup I've ever made, and I'll even venture to say it might just be the best potato soup I've ever had- Seriously. It's very easy to make, has a wonderful flavor, and is creamy but not too rich. The new potatoes give a great texture and taste, and it has just the right amount of cheese but not so much that it tastes like a cheese based soup, as many potato soup recipes can tend to end up flavor-wise. Savory herbs are the perfect addition to this wonderful recipe from my friend Kelly. Kelly makes this in the crockpot, and I would love to try that next time. This time, however, I didn't give myself enough time, so I made it on the stove and it was still a very simple, quick soup to throw together. This is definitely going to be the go-to potato soup recipe from now on in my kitchen! I thought we would have plenty of leftovers, but it was so tasty that we kept going back for more and I only managed to scrape enough for a small bowl to savor for lunch tomorrow.
Because I made this on the stovetop, I adapted the instructions, as well as some of the ingredients since I went mainly with what I already had on hand. Her original recipe and crockpot instructions, as well as some great time saving tips, maybe be found here, and my variation is below.
Easy loaded baked potato soup Adapted from Kelly's recipe at Carrot Top Mom
I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 chicken bouillon cubes
15-20 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (no need to peel!)
2 tablespoons dry ranch mix , or the following ingredients for a make-your-own substitute:
2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. black pepper (adjust according to your taste)
1 tsp. salt (adjust according to your taste)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
2 cups half & half cream
1/2 pound Velveeta Cheese, chopped in 1 inch squares
Cheddar cheese shredded and green onions or chives as an optional garnish
D I R E C T I O N S :
Saute onion and garlic in soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat until tender.
Add chicken broth, bouillon cubes, and scrubbed, cubed new potatoes to pot. Bring to boil over medium heat and cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
With an immersion blender or potato masher, mash potatoes, leaving about half the chunks (or more, depending on your preference).
Add ranch seasoning or homemade mixture, half & half, and Velveeta, and let simmer on low for 15 more minutes, stirring cheese to melt. Do not bring to a boil.
Optional: Garnish with cheddar cheese and green onions or chives.
Every year for Valentine's Day, I make my favorite dessert-strawberry pie. Something about the little red heart-shaped fruit cooked into a yummy pie just seems like a perfect treat for this day to me. If you are looking for a fun dessert to make for tomorrow, give this one a try! It is a favorite in my home!
Since I've posted it before, here's a link to the recipe.
So little time and so much to do... On days like these (and they are becoming the norm as I just started a new job—and a new career—after a year of professional soul searching), I turn to my pressure cooker for a healthy, yummy, quickly-cooked meal.
Peel the onion and nail the cloves in it. Peel the carrots. Cut the base of the brussel sprouts and rinse them. Break 2 cloves of garlic off the head, but don't peel them.
Bring about 2 quarts of salted water to a boil in a pressure cooker. (I don't know if it really makes any difference but I always use coarse sea salt when boiling/blanching vegetables or when cooking pasta.) Boil the vegetables for 5 minutes.
Drain the vegetables. Melt butter in the pressure cooker. Brown the pork tenderloin on all sides for 1 or 2 minutes.
Add the pre-cooked vegetables, pour the wine (and optionally 1 cup water). Add the herbs and spices. Close the pressure cooker. Set it to its higher pressure setting (mine has 2).
Bring the pressure cooker to full pressure over high heat, then reduce the heat and cook for 8 minutes.
Cool under running water to release the pressure. Serve.
My most favorite recipe out of ladies finger is this masala. The main reason is that ,I can give it as a side dish or a spread or a mix which can be mixed with rice. Ladies finger fry for sure will be tastier but it can serve only a single purpose as a side dish. Now a days we search for recipes of this sort only and so this will be very useful for youngsters especially bachelors. The procedure is more important than ingredients.
Procedure Keep the kadai in the stove. In 1 table spoon of oil season the curry with items given for seasoning. Now add the onions and sauté well. After the onions get sauted, add the tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sambar powder, turmeric powder and the salt needed and mix well. When there is not much of water content (water from tomato ) add the cut ladies finger pieces. Mix everything well. Keep the stove in medium fire. When you feel that the ladies finger has reduced in qty add the curd and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes stirring regularly. Now sprinkle 2 table spoons of water and mix well. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Check for the taste now. If anything is missing, it can be added now Again add 2 table spoons of water and mix well. Cook for a minute. Now you will find that your curry is like a masala. Keep in mind that the flame should be in medium all the time else the curry will get burnt. When the curry is in desired consistency, switch off the stove Garnish with coriander leaves
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Broinhas de fubá - a cross between cream puffs and corn bread?
After all this time (last post was May 2010!), here I come with yet another Minas Gerais specialty - the broa de fubá, or broinha. I prepared some at my mom’s house during my recent 40-day trip to Brazil, and they were delicious!
Fubá, from Kimbundu fuba,isthe word in Portuguese for cornmeal, or corn flour (not to be confused with the white powder British English speakers call “conflour”, Americans “corn starch”, and Brazilians amido de milho). There are two main types of fubá in Brazil - the fubá mimoso, very finely ground (like corn flour), which imparts a finer texture to foods such as porridges and cakes, and the fubá grosso, coarser and sometimes simply referred to as fubá (in terms of texture similarity, somewhere between medium to fine ground cornmeal). There are several other kinds of corn flours and meals available, and most of them have a precooked version. Together with manioc (or cassava, or yuca) flours and starches, these are the second choice of starch in Brazil (after rice), and they are also widely used in baking goods both savory and sweet.
The word broa (broinha is the diminutive) is also used in European Portuguese and in some regions of Brazil to name a type of corn bread, large and round, that used to be more popular in the past. I remember being a child and going with my mom or dad buy broa de milho at the tiny armazém near our house in Guaxupé - I was so small I could not see the wood counter top, but I could see and smell the broasde milho, fresh and beautiful, laying behind the counter glass.
It’s hard to make an outstanding broinha like those you buy in somepadarias in Brazil (on the left) in a noncommercial oven, as they require high and constant heat to rapidly puff before the steam cracks open the shell and escapes. But it’s worth a try, especially if you don’t know the other version of the treat.
Some decades ago, broinhas were often made with pork lard (some people still use lard), which imparts a nice flavor, aroma and texture to the product. The smell and taste of the aniseeds, though, is what characterizes both broas and broinhas. There are also the ones made with toasted, ground peanuts - DELICIOUS! But I’m still working on that recipe. For now, try this one and let me know how they come up!
Broinhas de fubá
(Brazilian Cornmeal Puffs)
1 cup filtered water
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter (or unflavored pork lard, if you have access to a good one)
1 cup finely ground cornmeal (corn flour)
1 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra to roll the broinhas)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp aniseed
pinch of salt
5 large eggs
1) Combine corn and all-purpose flour, sugar, aniseed and salt in a bowl.
2) Combine water, milk and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3) Add corn and flour mix at once and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it forms a uniform ball and pulls off the sides of the pan (see picture). Let cool until warm.
4) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition to incorporate air in the batter.
5) Preheat the oven to 400oF.
6) Oil the inside of a small bowl or rounded cup with oil. Add 1/2 tsp flour and shake to coat the sides well (do not shake off excess - this flour prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl). Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough inside the floured bowl and, working fast and continuously, twirl the bowl so the dough is coated in flour and forms a ball. Immediately turn the bowl upside down onto an oiled baking sheet, placing the broinha at least 2 inches apart from the sides of the pan and the other broinhas (see video - I'm working on a better one, though). Add another 1/2 tsp flour into the bowl for each unit you make.
7) Bake immediately until deep golden brown. The inside will seem raw, but it’s not - it should be humid and hollow, like puff pastry. Serve warm or cold, plain or with butter, sided by a good cup of piping hot, strong coffee.
TIP: if the dough is too loose to apply this method, or if it starts sticking to the sides of the bowl, use the cookie scoop to place the portions of dough onto baking sheet and, using a small strainer, dust their tops liberally with flour.
