Tag Archives: favorite

Palak Paneer / Chicken Saag

Posted by admin in International, Main Dishes, Vegetarian and tagged with

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  • 1 onion
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1-inch ginger, skin removed
  • 1-2 Serrano peppers, deseeded
  • 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more if pan-searing paneer
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 lb fresh spinach, washed & stems removed*
  • 2 Tablespoons ghee or butter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 8 oz store-bought paneer** or 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon garam masala (buy it on Amazon)

In a food processor, blend onion until finely chopped. In a large, deep pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and the chopped onion. Sauté for about 10 minutes, until onion begins to brown. While the onions are cooking, add the garlic, ginger, and serrano peppers to the food processor and chop finely (don’t worry if it’s not perfectly uniform—it will be pureed later). Add to the mixture on the stove and cook for an additional 2 minutes, until aromatic.

Add the tomatoes to the food processor and puree until smooth. Add the tomatoes to the pan with the onion mixture. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and salt and continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the spinach, a handful at a time, and cook until wilted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.

If you’re using paneer, cut it into 1″ cubes and then cut in half again. If you want to sear it (optional, but adds a nice texture), heat an additional 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and sear on each of the larger sides. Remove from heat.

If you’re using chicken, cut it into bite-sized pieces or strips and season with salt and pepper. In a frying pan over medium heat, sear on each side until fully cooked through. Remove from heat.

Transfer the spinach mixture to the food processor. Blend on low into a rough purée. Transfer back into the original pan over medium-high heat. Add the ghee/butter and stir until melted. Add the 1/2 cup of water, milk, and heavy whipping cream. Stir to combine. Add your protein (paneer or chicken) and gently stir to coat. Cook on medium-low until everything is warmed through. Add the lemon juice and garam masala and stir to combine.

Serve with basmati rice and naan.

*In Hindi, “palak” means “spinach” and “saag” means “greens” in general. In most cases, spinach is used for both. Ideally, you’ll want mature spinach leaves sold in bundles (about 3 bundles per pound of spinach). Alternatively, you can find bags of pre-washed spinach (not baby spinach) that you could substitute for each bundle. If neither of those are available, frozen spinach is generally recommended above using fresh baby spinach.

**I use Gopi brand, but any brand should work. I personally like to double the amount of paneer. Alternatively, you could make your own using this recipe from Recipe Tin Eats. However, homemade paneer tends to crumble when cut and/or pan-seared without the addition of food-grade calcium chloride.

Shepherd’s Pie

Posted by admin in Main Dishes and tagged with ,
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 3/4 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1 10.5oz can vegetable soup
  • 1 8oz pkg Idahoan Buttery Homestyle mashed potatoes (family size)
  • 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large pan over medium heat, add the ground beef and the seasoned salt (adding more, if needed). Cook under the meat is fully browned. Add the vegetable soup (do not add water). Mix until heated through. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

Make the mashed potatoes according to package instructions. Spread on top of the meat mixture and top with cheese. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.

Mississippi Pot Roast

Posted by admin in Main Dishes and tagged with , ,

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  • 1 (3-4 pounds) chuck roast
  • 1 packet ranch seasoning mix
  • 1 packet au jus gravy mix
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 4-5 pepperoncini peppers

Place roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle the top with the ranch dressing mix and the au jus mix. Place peppers and butter on top of the mixes. It’s not necessary to pre-mix. Do not add any water or broth – the meat and butter produce enough liquid during cooking. Cook over low heat for 8 hours. If you would like vegetables (potatoes, carrots, etc), add them about 1-2 hours before the roast is finished cooking. Serve over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Leftovers work great in a sandwich with toasted swiss cheese or in a quesadilla with monterey jack cheese.

Japanese Curry

Posted by admin in International, Main Dishes and tagged with ,

Annotation 2020-07-05 211931

  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped into medium pieces
  • 3-4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, diced
  • 2 carrots, sliced
  • 1 chicken breast, cubed
  • 1 small-medium head of broccoli, stem removed and cut into small pieces
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 6 c water
  • 2 gala apples, peeled and diced
  • 7.8oz Golden Curry packet (choose spicy level by preference)

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, potatoes, and carrots and cook until onions are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken, broccoli, and bell pepper. Cook for an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring regularly. Add apples and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the curry mix and stir constantly for 5 minutes or until curry mix is fully incorporated with no lumps. Serve warm over rice.

Olive Garden’s Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Posted by admin in Main Dishes, Soups and tagged with ,

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1/2 carrot, finely shredded
  • 1 stalk celery, finely diced
  • 4 c water
  • 4 chicken bullion cubes
  • 1/4 t dehydrated minced garlic
  • 2 chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1.5 c heavy whipping cream
  • 1 t dried thyme leaves
  • 1 t salt
  • 1/2 t pepper
  • 16 oz package potato gnocchi
  • 2 c fresh spinach (stems removed), chopped
  • 1 T cornstarch

Saute the onion, celery, garlic, and carrot in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add water, bullion cubes, and minced garlic. Boil until bullion is completely dissolved. Add chicken and continue to boil until chicken is cooked almost completely. Add cream, thyme, salt, and pepper. Return to a boil, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted. In a small container, make a slurry with the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water. Heat the soup to boiling and add the cornstarch slurry to thicken. Enjoy!

Tomato Basil Pizza

Posted by admin in International, Main Dishes and tagged with

Tomato Basil Pizza (26)-2

1 Pizza crust
1 Tomato (large), sliced
Fresh Basil (approx. 12 leaves)
1-1/2 c mozzarella
1 c Mayonnaise
2 T Basil (dried)
1 T Minced garlic

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine mayonnaise, dried basil and garlic. Spread generously on crust. Top with tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella. Bake 5-10 minutes or until cheese begins to turn golden.

OPTIONAL:
Make a stuffed crust – Use a refrigerator (canned) pizza crust and roll edges over quartered string cheese.
Personal pizza – Use a tortilla instead of a pizza crust. Leave out the fresh basil and use diced tomatoes instead of sliced.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Posted by admin in Main Dishes and tagged with

BBQ Pizza (17)

1 Pizza crust
1/4 – 1/2 c Barbeque sauce (original)
2 Chicken breasts, diced
1/4 Purple onion, sliced
1/2 c Cilantro
1-1/2 c Monterey jack cheese

Preheat oven to 425F. Spread BBQ sauce generously on pizza crust. Top with chicken, onion, cilantro and Monterey jack cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until cheese starts to turn golden.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Posted by admin in Appetizers, Party Ready and tagged with

Stuffed Mushrooms

½ lb bacon
15-20 large mushrooms
1 pkg cream cheese

Preheat oven to 400F. Cook bacon and crumble or cut into small pieces. Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Set mushrooms aside. Mince stems. Mix bacon, mushroom stems, and cream cheese. Place mushrooms caps on a baking pan covered with aluminum foil. Fill mushrooms with mixture. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Chicken Salad

Posted by admin in Main Dishes, Salads and tagged with ,

Chicken Salad (6)

  • 4 chicken breasts, shredded or diced
  • 3 c red grapes, sliced in half
  • 1-1/2 c mayonnaise
  • celery flakes
  • dried parsley
  • Mrs. Dash (original)
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • thyme
  • salt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Combine chicken, grapes and mayonnaise. Season with remaining ingredients to taste. Serve alone or with croissants.

Whole Grain N’ Nut Blueberry Pancakes

Posted by admin in Breakfast and tagged with ,

Blueberry & Nut Pancakes

1 1/2 c steel-cut oats
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c buttermilk
1 c milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 c sugar
3 T chopped walnuts
1-2 c blueberries
2 bananas, sliced

In a large bowl, combine oats, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, oil, egg, and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix wet ingredients into dry with a few swift strokes. Stir in walnuts and blueberries.

Lightly spray a skillet or griddle, and preheat it to medium heat. Ladle 1/2 cup of the batter onto the hot skillet; cook the pancakes for 2 to 4 minutes per side, or until brown. Serve with sliced bananas and syrup.

Makes approximately 8 pancakes.

Cheesecake

Posted by admin in Desserts and tagged with

Cheesecake (47)

[crust]
2.5 c graham cracker crumbs (2 sleeves graham crackers, blended until fine)
2 T sugar
1/2 c butter, melted

[cheesecake]
4 8oz pkgs cream cheese
1.5 c sugar
3 T flour
5 eggs
1 c sour cream
1 T vanilla
1 T lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in melted butter until moistened. Pour the mixture into a 9-inch spring-form pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.

To make the cheesecake filling, cream the sugar, cream cheese and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy. On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition. On low, add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla just until combined. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325. Remove from the oven, let cool, and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

OPTIONAL: Top with cherry pie filling, raspberry jelly (heated to spreadable consistency), and/or whipped topping.

CHEESECAKE BAKING TIPS:
It’s very common for cheesecakes to crack while baking. Here are a few tips that will generally prevent cracks (at least the major ones).

  1. Do not over-beat the eggs. Eggs, when whipped or beaten, hold air. Those air pockets will force themselves to the surface while in the oven.
  2. Grease the sides of the pan before pouring the cheesecake batter. You can do so with shortening, or just spray with non-stick cooking spray.
  3. Bake with a water bath. Fill a pan with water and set on the rack below the cheesecake. The additional moisture will allow the cheesecake to bake more evenly.
  4. Take the cheesecake out of the oven while the center is still wobbly. It will continue to cook once it’s sitting at room temperature.
  5. Run a knife along the sides before opening the spring latch. Release the spring-form and re-attach prior to cooling in fridge.
  6. If all else fails, cover the top of the cheesecake with chocolate, raspberry jelly, or cherry filling. Cut along the crack first and no one will be the wiser!

Credit to Bakerella for original recipe.