Spanish Rice & Quinoa

We love Spanish Rice at our house.  Over the years my recipe has evolved and the newest version is gluten-free. (In the past I had added a can of cream of something soup and that is now off limits. Replacing the ground beef of the past with quinoa is another change I have made recently.)  I am never sure how spicy to make it since tastes vary greatly here, but tonight I hit a nice balance, receiving positive comments from the husband who doesn’t like too much spice AND the future son-in-law who can’t ever have too much spice! 

Here is my best guess at the recipe that is measured by  a “bit of this and a bit of that.”  You can adjust to your tastes. It is a large recipe, but we like the leftovers!!

Ingredients

• 3 cups long-grain rice
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 – 1 ½  cups chopped onion
• ½ - 1 chopped red or yellow pepper
• 1 44fl oz. container V-8 juice with water added to make 8 cups.
• 1 tablespoon beef base
• 1 tsp. Ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp. celery flakes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley or cilantro
• 1 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper
• grated Mexican blend cheese

Sauté onions and peppers until tender.  Add rice to the sauté pan and cook till light golden brown, stirring often to prevent burning.  Stir in V-8 juice, beef base and herbs.  Stir in rinsed quinoa.  Transfer to a baking dish that holds about 4 quarts.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 400° for about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Serve in bowls topped with grated Mexican blend cheese.

Transitioning to Gluten Free

In an effort to tame the beasts of arthritis and fibromyalgia, I  took the advice of a friendly pharmacist and went gluten-free... mostly.  2013 is my year to be hard-core about it.  Thanks to a very thoughtful Christmas gift from a friend, I am on my way to stocking the gluten-free ingredients I need and plan to begin a serious study of gluten-free baking.

What I have missed most, besides pizza, is the little breads that often accompany a meal at our house.  Today, since soup was on the menu I took my bag of Mr. Ritt's Gluten Free Flour Alternative and turned to my favorite muffin recipe.  I am posting it below with the gluten-free alternatives in parentheses.  The muffins were light and very, very close to their original texture and taste.  I am delighted!

Oatmeal Muffins
From the Orange Betty Crocker Cookbook
Makes 12 muffins
Oven temp: 400 ° (425°)

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk soured with 1 tablespoon vinegar or 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
• 1 cup quick oats or 1 1/4 cup rolled oats  (Process 1 cup GF oats in the food processor until they resemble quick oats)
• 1 cup flour (1 cup or 140g. GF flour substitute; I used Mr. Ritt's.)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon b aking soda

Preheat oven to 400 °. Grease bottoms of 12 standard muffin cups (2 ¾ inches in diameter) or spray with cooking spray. Beat egg well. Stir in soured milk and oil, Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter should be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 mminutes or until golden brown. Let stand in pan 3-5 (5-10 minutes) minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Caramel Dipping Sauce

I follow a blog called How Does She.  It features a wide range of ideas for enriching everyday life.  Recently they posted a most wonderful recipe for caramel dipping sauce.  It is called "Aunt Kay's Dipping Sauce"  It is really simple to make and when I put it in pretty  Mason jars it will make a lovely little gift.

Here is the recipe for Aunt Kay's Dipping Sauce from HowDoesShe.com:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I added this because desserts need vanilla!!)

*Makes 2 1/2 cups

In a medium saucepan combine sugars, syrup and butter.

Cook over medum heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil, about 5 – 6 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes.

Stir in whipping cream.

Pour into a jar and store in refrigerator.  It will thicken when cold.

When all the caramel sauce is gone you can make some more, or use the jar to make an easy baking soda air freshener.   

Forgot to Get Poultry Seasoning?

I don’t ever remember to purchase poultry seasoning.  So I searched a lot of online sources and came up with the recipe that combined several recipes to come up with one I thought our family would like best.  I am getting ready to mix this up again.  I think I mixed it up last Thanksgiving morning also!

Poultry Seasoning Mix

·       1 tablespoon dried rosemary

·       1 tablespoon dried sage

·       1 tablespoon dried thyme

·       1/2 teaspoon celery seed

·       1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

·       1 tablespoon dried marjoram

·       3/4 teaspoon ground pepper

·        

Mix all ingredients together.  Use in recipes that call for Poultry seasoning.  Store in a small spice jar.

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits

I was craving some Cheddar Bay Biscuits for dinner, but every recipe I looked at online had Bisquick as an ingredient.  Having none, I had to go to plan B- combining the best of several recipes to come up with a reasonable facsimile.  

The following recipe did the trick!

Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
• ¼ teaspoon granulated onion (or onion powder)
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¾ cup milk
• 1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese

Topping

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
• ¼  teaspoon parsley flakes

Melt butter for topping in a small cup and blend in seasonings.  Set aside.

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in butter and shortening until it looks like crumbs. 

Add milk and cheese. 

Blend just till all dry ingredients are moistened.

Scoop dough with ¼ cup scoop and place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 425 degrees F. for 20-30 minutes until tops are very lightly browned. 

Brush tops of warm muffins with toping mixture and serve fresh from the oven.

Makes 12-13 biscuits.

Miss J's German Potato Salad

Some of the best cooks in the world are found in church kitchens.  That would be true of my friend Miss J.  She works hard to make meals for church dinners and blesses people through sharing her cooking skills.  Recently she shared this recipe with me for German Potato Salad.  It is something my husband likes, but I have never really learned how to make.  I thought it would go great with the spare ribs he requested for Game Day 2012.


Miss J's German Potato Salad
(Just as she wrote it)

• 1/2 lb. bacon
• 1 med.onion chopped fine
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 tlbs. water
• 3 tlbs sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4lbs small white potatoes
• parsley

This makes enough for 2 or 3 people
For a large 5-6 quart  crock pot (used for serving)  you would have to double  and triple the vinegar, water and sugar.
Double everything else.
Fry bacon until crisp and can be broken into pieces.
Remove bacon, keeping the drippings in the pan.
Add onions and simmer until soft, then add vinegar,water and sugar.
Cook potatos in the skins just until tender. Peel and slice.
Layer potatoes, bacon salt and pepper, then add liquid and stir. 
Serve warm.


(If you don't have enough liquid.  I have used oil and vinegar and sugar add to potatoes and stir.)

Deciding is Half the Battle

I've been planning meals for 32 years, multiplied by 52 weeks, averaging 5 meals a week (with room for leftovers or meals elsewhere than home) and that comes out to about 8,300 meals.  Deciding what to have for dinner gets old and we often find ourselves making the same things over and over.  I like to try new recipes from time to time.  Tasteofhome.com is one of my favorite resources.  As my husband and I age and try to watch our diests, I lean more toward the recipes that come from Healthy Cooking, a sister publication of Taste of Home.  We aren't hardcore no-fat or no carbs or no salt, but seek to find balance in meals that focus on real foods prepared with good ingredients at home.   But again, I don't draw a hardline.  I have been known to prepare things with the proverbial cream of something soup and open a package of Betty Crocker potatoes from time to time!  

Here are some menu ideas that are coming up on my list.  I don't always keep to the list perfectly, but it helps me not to have what my friend Julie calls "the deer in the headlights" look at 4 pm when I realize it is time to make dinner.

February Meals

• carrot broccoli soup, oatmeal muffins              
• roast beef sandwiches (leftover roast beef)
• crispy panko chicken, rice, peas       
• pizza or out somewhere, please and thank you
• spare ribs bbq chicken German potato salad (Jane’s recipe), veggies and dip
• chicken parm with pasta, salad, italian bread
• crock pot beef stew, Italian bread from Monday
• Spanish rice with chicken               
• mini meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans
• French toast                       
• refrigerator options (I plan this in so I make sure to use up leftovers instead of tossing them.)

Menu Planning

The past few weeks have not been my best meal weeks ever.  I've thrown together things at the last minute,  relied heavily on meals from the freezer and eaten a lot of pasta.  I've been reminded time and again over these last days that I work better with a menu.  Even if we don't keep strictly to the menu, it helps me to order my days more efficiently, shop more effectively and serve my family better meals. 

With the new year, and the need to renew our efforts at healthier eating, I am resolving to get back to menu planning.  Here is this week's menus.  I do mine on an Excel spread sheet and make notes when I need to plan ahead.  Perhaps they will serve as a springboard into new and creative meals, helping you to feed your family well.

Please note, I generally list only entrees, sometimes include sides, but not always... Knowing that i have a least a main dish planned is enough for me.

Monday           9-Jan           Vegetable omelets          

Tuesday           10-Jan           pork fried rice           prep chicken and wild rice soup

Wednesday           11-Jan           chicken and wild rice soup           blueberry muffins

Thursday           12-Jan           Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, corn  for Elisa :)

Friday           13-Jan           TUMC Prayer dinner     Lemon pasta with broccoli and chicken    

Saturday           14-Jan           hoagies                     

Sunday           15-Jan           pasta with meatballs           or meatball sandwiches

Poultry seasoning

Some time ago I was frustrated with the fact that I could not seem to remember to buy  poultry seasoning when I was at the store.  Every time I reached for it I would realize that I forgot to get it. Again.  Eventually it dawned on me that I could make my own!  I had all the herbs and spices on hand, but I needed some help with the balance.  After some internet searching, this is the blend that seemed right to me.

Poultry Seasoning Mix

    * 1 tablespoon dried rosemary

    * 1 tablespoon dried sage

    * 1 tablespoon dried thyme

    * 1/2 teaspoon celery seed

    * 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

    * 1 tablespoon dried marjoram

    * 3/4 teaspoon ground pepper

Blend and store in a jar.  Use wherever a recipe calls for poultry seasoning or when you want a meal reminiscent of Thanksgiving.  

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

It's finally autumn here in our state, after a long, wet end to summer.  Cool weather always makes us want to have some of our favorite soups that were out of the menu rotation as we enjoyed fresh NJ produce, salads and anything grilled.  My first fall soup will be this one.  The recipe is a combination of two I found on Taste of Home and it instantly became a family favorite the first time I made it. This is a hearty soup and can easily stand as the main course with some fresh bread or muffins as a side.

Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

10 Servings

Prep/Total Time: 30 min.

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot, shredded

1 celery rib, chopped

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 cups Chicken Broth

3 cups cooked wild rice

1 cup cubed cooked chicken breast

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

1/4 cup minced chives

Directions

In a large saucepan, saute the onion, carrot and celery in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add broth. Stir in the rice, chicken, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. stir in milk; cook 3-5 minutes longer. Garnish with chives. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Three Packet Roast

The original recipe is from my friend Kathy Havins and can also be found online in many places.  For some reason I forgot that one of the packets was brown gravy mix, and used onion soup mix instead.

• 1 packet dry Italian dressing mix
• 1 packet dry Ranch dressing mix
• 1 packet onion soup mix
• 1 can cream of mushroom or celery soup
• 1 3-4 lb bottom round roast.
• ¼ cup water

Put round roast in the crock pot with ¼ cup water.  Spread the cream of something soup on the roast.  Dump all the packets on top.  With crockpot on low, cook about 8 hours.

This is good as a roast with mashed potatoes and shreddd leftovers are great on a fresh roll from our favorite bread bakery, Liscio’s. 

A Friday Night Experiment

Savory Chicken

It’s always hard on a Friday night to come up with something easy for dinner, and this particular Friday night I didn’t even feel like eating.  But the other residents here get a little testy when I don’t cook, so cook I did.  This is what I came up with.  Served with broccoli steamed in a bag and  baked potatoes, it wasn’t to hard to handle after a long week.

Savory Chicken

-Enough boneless chicken for 4 servings.  I used chicken tenders, because that is what I had in the freezer.  You could use boneless breast or thighs, whole or cut in bite sized pieces.

Olive oil

-½ teaspoon dried savory

-½ teaspoon dried marjoram

-2 teaspoons dried chives

-a pinch of granulated garlic

-salt and pepper

-about ½ Chicken broth and a splash of lemon juice for deglazing

Mix the herbs together in a small bowl.  Heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan. 

Put the chicken in the hot pan and sprinkle with the mix of herbs. 

Cover pan.  Cook on medium-low heat until chicken is nearly done.  The timing will depend on what kind of chicken you use. 

Turn chicken and cook through with the lid off. 

Put chicken aside to keep warm and deglaze the pan.  

  

To deglaze a pan pour off most of the fat in the pan There shouldn’t be too much with boneless chicken, but this is the first step in deglazing a pan.  Turn the heat up to high. Add cold liquid to the hot pan—the liquid will come up to boiling very quickly, bringing up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.  For this particular recipe I used about ½ cup chicken stock and a splash of lemon juice.  Using a spoon or spatula, scrape up the fond as the liquid boils. Once all the browned bits are off the bottom of the panturn down the heat .   

You can then “finish” the sauce with a little butter or you can thicken it as you would for gravy.  

 I am sure a proper chef would cringe at the thought of that, but I cook at home and we’re trying to avoid butter!

Then return the chicken to the pan with the sauce and make sure it is heated to serving temperature.  

Cinnamon Toast Cake

This recipe was shared by a friend who, to me, is the quintessential "older woman."  It is an easy snack cake to put together when you are in a hurry, or don't have a lot of ingredients on hand.

Heat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit

Melt 1 stick of butter

Using a spoon, mix together in a bowl:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. real vanilla
• 2 Tbsp. of the melted butter (save the rest for the topping)

Spread batter in a greased jelly roll pan

Bake 20-25 Min.

While it’s baking, stir together ½ cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon.

While the cake is hot, right out of the oven prick with fork and spread with remaining butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.