We've all made garlic bread, and let's face it, it's one of the easiest and most satisfying accompaniments to almost any meal. At its most basic, all you really need is some form of bread, butter or a substitute, salt and garlic powder, and it comes out pretty good. However, it's incredibly easy to take this from meerly good to fantastic, though admittedly it's harder to do this for a crowd than for one or two people. This is my go-to method when I want or need really good garlic bread and don't want to make a whole loaf's worth. It does take a little effort, but the outcome is worth it and it also makes for some really excellent croutons.
Garlic Bread
Ingredients:
- Crusty Bread, sliced 3/4-1 inch thick. French, Italian or whatever you would like to use, except for sliced sandwich bread
- Olive oil
- Garlic clove, split open or partially smashed
- Salt (optional)
Directions:
Brush the olive oil on one side of the bread. Try to do this thinly, and use a pastry brush. If it's too much, it will just be sopped in oil and soggy after you're done. Lightly salt the bread on the oiled side if you so desire. Toast the bread in a hot skillet, as you would with grilled cheese sandwiches. When it's crisped and browned to your liking, remove from the pan and rub the raw garlic clove over the grilled side. Rub a little, it's just a little garlicky, rub a lot, it's a lot.
Notes:
- Learn from my experiments, and don't try to do this with an olive oil spray. It's an easy way to build up a thinish layer of olive oil, but it doesn't taste as good when it's done. Ideally, you're using a half-decent olive oil for this anyway, such as one that you'd use for bread dipping.
- To make this into croutons, just cube it up after you're done cooking it. If you're making it specifically for crouton purposes, oil both sides of the bread as lightly as you can, and grill both sides.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Turkey Goulash
Ok, so this is completely ripped off/adapted from Paula Deen's recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36300,00.html?rsrc=search
After getting over the shock that this is a dish of hers that does not contain butter, I've changed the beef to de-fatted ground turkey and halved the recipe. When I made the full batch I had enough to feed about a dozen people, despite Paula's note that this serves six. Either way, it took a little while to prepare, but was pretty simple and came out really well and will freeze nicely. This is about as low-fat/healthyish as comfort food can get, and you can keep the sodium down if you use low-sodium canned goods.
I also will second Paula's suggestion to serve this with salad and garlic bread--it just makes this meal perfect.
Turkey Goulash
Ingredients:
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 pack sliced mushrooms (4oz) or 1 large can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt OR 2 chipotle flavored boullion cubes
- 1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
Directions:
In a LARGE pot, saute the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Drain any grease. Add the onions and garlic (and mushroom, if using) to the pot and saute until they are tender. Add water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder and seasoned salt (or boullion, if using). Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. At this point, it's ready to eat, or if you're following the Paula method, allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
Garnish with sour cream and paprika, if desired (I didn't think this was needed).
After getting over the shock that this is a dish of hers that does not contain butter, I've changed the beef to de-fatted ground turkey and halved the recipe. When I made the full batch I had enough to feed about a dozen people, despite Paula's note that this serves six. Either way, it took a little while to prepare, but was pretty simple and came out really well and will freeze nicely. This is about as low-fat/healthyish as comfort food can get, and you can keep the sodium down if you use low-sodium canned goods.
I also will second Paula's suggestion to serve this with salad and garlic bread--it just makes this meal perfect.
Turkey Goulash
Ingredients:
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 pack sliced mushrooms (4oz) or 1 large can sliced mushrooms, drained (optional)
- 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt OR 2 chipotle flavored boullion cubes
- 1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
Directions:
In a LARGE pot, saute the ground turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Drain any grease. Add the onions and garlic (and mushroom, if using) to the pot and saute until they are tender. Add water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder and seasoned salt (or boullion, if using). Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. At this point, it's ready to eat, or if you're following the Paula method, allow it to sit for 30 minutes.
Garnish with sour cream and paprika, if desired (I didn't think this was needed).
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings, The Easy Way
First, go out and get yourself a crock pot. I like the ones from Rival, even the cheapest one you can find at Target. They hold up forever, take a serious amount of abuse, and if you're really lucky, they come with an adorable carrying case. Just make sure you get one that has a removable crock, I didn't really get going with this little gem until after the one I inherited from my mother without the removable innards died and was replaced with his grandson whose crock can go in the dishwasher. The crock is probably the most used appliance in my kitchen, after the blender. It's the least involved cooking method I have in my repertoire, everything I make in it tastes like I slaved and best of all, it doesn't heat up the kitchen but you can still have hot food. Right now, that alone is reason enough to dig it out and not have to stand over a stove making dinner when I get home from work.
The recipe below is for a four quart crock. Feel free to scale up or down to fit yours, though you may need to make the dumplings themselves on the stove if you go below the 4 quart size.
Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients:
- 4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (low fat/no fat versions are fine)
- 1/4-1/2 can water
- 1 cube chicken bouillon (the big soft kind, not the little Wylers pebbles)
- 2 small or 1 big roll of refrigerated biscuits (low fat version at your own risk here, they aren't nearly as good)
- Salt & Pepper
Directions:
- Empty the soup, water and chicken bouillon into the crock, stir together until smooth.
- Add the whole chicken breasts to the pot and stir to coat them with soup mixture.
- Set crock pot on low and leave covered for 8-10 hours or overnight/all day. Chicken is done when it falls apart easily when pulled apart with a fork.
- Remove chicken from crock and set aside in large bowl or plate.
- Set crock pot to high.
- Cut biscuits into bite sized pieces while crock is heating up.
- Dump biscuit pieces into crock and stir briefly to break up and coat with the soup. Put lid back on crock and allow dumplings to cook 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
- While dumplings are cooking, shred chicken with forks.
- When dumplings are finished cooking, return shredded chicken to the crock and stir to incorporate.
- Taste for salt and pepper, adjust seasonings as desired.
Notes:
-This doesn't have vegetables in it. If you want them, I'd recommend some baby carrots/potatoes/onion/mushrooms go in with the chicken, and anything else get added when you add the biscuits. Frozen mixed veggies work quite well if you feel the need, I use a blend of peas, corn and carrots most of the time. Add frozen veggies during the last half hour, they'll disintegrate if you add them in the beginning.
-This freezes very well, so make the whole crock even if it's just you eating it and freeze the rest in individual portions. You'll save yourself some time later, and who knows when the need for some true comfort food will hit?
-As this doesn't have vegetables as a required ingredient, it goes very well with a salad or some other form of edible plant life. I like steamed or frozen myself to help balance out the heaviness inherent in chicken and dumplings and other comfort foods.
The recipe below is for a four quart crock. Feel free to scale up or down to fit yours, though you may need to make the dumplings themselves on the stove if you go below the 4 quart size.
Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients:
- 4-6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (low fat/no fat versions are fine)
- 1/4-1/2 can water
- 1 cube chicken bouillon (the big soft kind, not the little Wylers pebbles)
- 2 small or 1 big roll of refrigerated biscuits (low fat version at your own risk here, they aren't nearly as good)
- Salt & Pepper
Directions:
- Empty the soup, water and chicken bouillon into the crock, stir together until smooth.
- Add the whole chicken breasts to the pot and stir to coat them with soup mixture.
- Set crock pot on low and leave covered for 8-10 hours or overnight/all day. Chicken is done when it falls apart easily when pulled apart with a fork.
- Remove chicken from crock and set aside in large bowl or plate.
- Set crock pot to high.
- Cut biscuits into bite sized pieces while crock is heating up.
- Dump biscuit pieces into crock and stir briefly to break up and coat with the soup. Put lid back on crock and allow dumplings to cook 20-30 minutes until cooked through.
- While dumplings are cooking, shred chicken with forks.
- When dumplings are finished cooking, return shredded chicken to the crock and stir to incorporate.
- Taste for salt and pepper, adjust seasonings as desired.
Notes:
-This doesn't have vegetables in it. If you want them, I'd recommend some baby carrots/potatoes/onion/mushrooms go in with the chicken, and anything else get added when you add the biscuits. Frozen mixed veggies work quite well if you feel the need, I use a blend of peas, corn and carrots most of the time. Add frozen veggies during the last half hour, they'll disintegrate if you add them in the beginning.
-This freezes very well, so make the whole crock even if it's just you eating it and freeze the rest in individual portions. You'll save yourself some time later, and who knows when the need for some true comfort food will hit?
-As this doesn't have vegetables as a required ingredient, it goes very well with a salad or some other form of edible plant life. I like steamed or frozen myself to help balance out the heaviness inherent in chicken and dumplings and other comfort foods.
The Ultimate Banana Oat Loaf
So I've been experimenting with a banana bread recipe that called for the addition of oatmeal. The first batch I made by roughly following the recipe (but doubling the oatmeal) came out pretty well, but wasn't quite substantial enough for my personal taste. I wanted something I could eat for breakfast and really not be hungry afterwards. After three more batches, here's the rib-sticking result:
Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Loaf
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter, softened
3 eggs
6 or 8 very ripe bananas (frozen works just fine too, just let them thaw completely first)
2/3 cup brown sugar or honey
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup dried cranberries (a couple of handfuls out of the bag)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (a couple handfuls)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional...but recommended)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine butter, eggs, bananas and sugar in a LARGE bowl.
- When combined, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, oatmeal and spices.
- Continue until well mixed, and add in the cranberries, nuts and chocolate chips, if using. Batter will be thick and gloppy, but will just get more soggy the longer you let it sit as the oatmeal absorbs the liquid. Don't worry, it turns out fine.
- Scrape into a well-greased bundt pan or 9x13 pyrex. Do not skimp on the cooking spray here. This batter will rise, but not too much. As long as you're not overflowing or too close to the lip of your pan it should be fine.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes for a 9x13 or 50-55 minutes for a bundt. It's done when a toothpick to the center comes out mostly clean and the edges are browned a bit. It's ok to slightly underbake this, as it will not give a perfectly clean toothpick and it's better slightly under than burned.
-If using a bundt, turn out the loaf and allow to cool on the counter or a rack.
Notes:
-You can use whatever kinds of dried fruit you have taking up cupboard space. I just don't like raisins, but think this might be quite good with dates or dried apples or chopped dried apricots.
-This loaf is HEAVY. It comes out mostly oatmeal, held together with some eggs and kept moist with bananas. It will in no way resemble cake, hence the "Loaf" designation in the title.
-I imagine you could try subbing apple sauce for the butter, at least for some of it. I'm trying that as soon as I restock the oatmeal and buy some. I'd up the sauce to half a cup or so though.
-This recipe is pretty easy to halve, just use a loaf pan, 8 or 9 inch cake pan or pie plate to bake it.
-This stuff stays moist uncovered on the counter for days, freezes just fine and is delightful with a cup of tea at my desk for breakfast.
Most of all, use this as a jumping off point of your own. I've found that so far, no matter what I do to it, it stays completely edible, so you can add whatever kinds of things you like to the banana/oatmeal batter and it should come out fine as long as it's good and set in the middle when you take it out of the oven. Enjoy it, this is supposed to be fun :)
Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Loaf
Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter, softened
3 eggs
6 or 8 very ripe bananas (frozen works just fine too, just let them thaw completely first)
2/3 cup brown sugar or honey
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup dried cranberries (a couple of handfuls out of the bag)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (a couple handfuls)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional...but recommended)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine butter, eggs, bananas and sugar in a LARGE bowl.
- When combined, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, oatmeal and spices.
- Continue until well mixed, and add in the cranberries, nuts and chocolate chips, if using. Batter will be thick and gloppy, but will just get more soggy the longer you let it sit as the oatmeal absorbs the liquid. Don't worry, it turns out fine.
- Scrape into a well-greased bundt pan or 9x13 pyrex. Do not skimp on the cooking spray here. This batter will rise, but not too much. As long as you're not overflowing or too close to the lip of your pan it should be fine.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes for a 9x13 or 50-55 minutes for a bundt. It's done when a toothpick to the center comes out mostly clean and the edges are browned a bit. It's ok to slightly underbake this, as it will not give a perfectly clean toothpick and it's better slightly under than burned.
-If using a bundt, turn out the loaf and allow to cool on the counter or a rack.
Notes:
-You can use whatever kinds of dried fruit you have taking up cupboard space. I just don't like raisins, but think this might be quite good with dates or dried apples or chopped dried apricots.
-This loaf is HEAVY. It comes out mostly oatmeal, held together with some eggs and kept moist with bananas. It will in no way resemble cake, hence the "Loaf" designation in the title.
-I imagine you could try subbing apple sauce for the butter, at least for some of it. I'm trying that as soon as I restock the oatmeal and buy some. I'd up the sauce to half a cup or so though.
-This recipe is pretty easy to halve, just use a loaf pan, 8 or 9 inch cake pan or pie plate to bake it.
-This stuff stays moist uncovered on the counter for days, freezes just fine and is delightful with a cup of tea at my desk for breakfast.
Most of all, use this as a jumping off point of your own. I've found that so far, no matter what I do to it, it stays completely edible, so you can add whatever kinds of things you like to the banana/oatmeal batter and it should come out fine as long as it's good and set in the middle when you take it out of the oven. Enjoy it, this is supposed to be fun :)
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