Dinner Trade » Heather

Recipe: Baked Macaroni with Cheese

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:34:15 +0000

Ingredients

4 cups milk
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups grated Cheddar or Parmesan and Cheddar mixture
2/3 cup bread crumbs
1 pound macaroni
salt
pepper

Instructions

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water with a few teaspoons of salt until al dente (firm but not hard.) Drain and run cold water over the top of the paste in the strainer, to stop it from cooking.
Make béchamel sauce by gently heating milk with bay leaves and nutmeg in a small sauce pan. Do not let it boil.
Melt the butter in a medium heavy-bottom saucepan. Add the flour and mix it in with a whisk. Cook for 2-3 minutes, but do not let the butter burn. Strain the hot milk into the flour and butter mixture all at once, and mix smoothly with the whisk. Bring the sauce to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook for 4 minutes more.
Season with salt and pepper. Add 2.5 cups of cheese and stir over low heat until melted.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a casserole dish and sprinkle bottom with half the bread crumbs.
Combine pasta with sauce. Pour it into the casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining breadcrumbs and cheese. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Recipe: Chicken Enchiladas

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 08:51:07 +0000

Ingredients

16 oz sour cream
1 can green chilies
1 can cream of celery soup
1 cup milk 3 cups cheese (cheddar)
2-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
salt
pepper
10 tortillas

Instructions

Combine sour cream, chilies, soup, milk and 2.5 cups of cheese in a large sauce pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once cheese is melted, set aside one cup of the mixture
Add cooked chicken to the sauce pan
Spread 1/4 cup mix with chicken along center of each tortilla. Roll and place seam side down in 9×13 baking dish.
Spread remaining 1/2 cup of mixture over enchiladas. Top with 1/2 cup of cheese
Bake, covered, for 20 minutes at 400 degrees

Recipe: Chicken Tikka Masala

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:39:41 +0000

“Tikka” means pieces and “Masala” means both spice and spices. When wet ingredients are added to a spice mixture, such as yogurt or water, it’s called a “wet” masala.

As you can see from the ingredient list below, making Indian Curry is a bit complex. For this reason, I like to use a sauce starter, my favorite being the Patak’s Cooking Sauce brand. You can usually find an Indian cooking sauce in the ethic food section of the grocery story and they’re very common at specialty stores. You can also order it online, but the shipping charges make it a bit expensive. But

The Easy Method

Ingredients

1 cup plain yogurt
2 chicken breasts, skinless, cut into 1″ chunks
15 oz Indian Cooking Sauce
1 can diced tomatoes or two fresh diced tomatoes
1 medium onion diced
2 tbsps olive oil
1 can coconut milk (optional for richer Korma taste)

Instructions

Marinate the chicken breasts in yogurt and cook in oven until tender
Heat stovetop to medium and add 2 tbsps of olive oil to a large sauce pan. Cook onions until they begin to be come translucent, but not browned
Add cooked chicken, stir
Add Indian Cooking Sauce, Tomatoes, and coconut milk. Stir occasionally until hot. Serve over or along side rice and naan bread.

The Complex Method

Chicken & Masala rub Ingredients

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tbsps ginger paste
3 tbsps garlic paste
3-4 tbsps garam masala
6 peppercorns/ 2 dry red chillies
3 tbsps lime/ lemon juice
3 cups chicken breast, skinless and cut into 1″ chunks

Sauce Ingredients

2 medium-sized onions finely chopped
6 cloves garlic chopped fine
5 pods cardamom
6 medium-sized fresh tomatoes chopped fine (canned tomatoes okay)
2 tbsps garam masala
2 tsps soft brown sugar
1 cup single cream
3 tbsps almonds blanched and ground to a paste
3 tbsps vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil
Salt to taste

Instructions

Grind the chopped coriander (keep some aside for garnishing) and all other marinade ingredients (except yogurt) to a smooth paste in a food processor.
Pour the above mix into a large bowl and add yogurt. Mix well. Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate. Allow to marinate overnight.
Thread the chicken onto skewers and keep ready.
Preheat your oven or grill to medium high (200 C/ 400F/ Gas Mark 6). Place the skewers on the grill racks in your oven with a tray underneath to catch drippings. Roast open till the chicken is browned on all sides and tender. Keep aside.
To make the gravy/ sauce: Heat the oil in a deep pan on a medium flame and add the onion. Cook till soft.
Now add the cardamom and the garlic. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add the garam masala, brown sugar, tomatoes, almonds and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes are soft and a thick paste forms.
Add the grilled Chicken Tikkas (chunks/ pieces) and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add the cream and mix well. Turn off the flame.
Garnish the dish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice and naan.

Recipe: Saffron Rice in Rice Cooker

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:06:58 +0000

Ingredients

1/2 teaspoon saffron
4 cups water or chicken broth
8 tablespoons butter
4 cup uncooked long-grain white rice or Basmati rice
4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Add water/broth and saffron to rice cooker and turn to the rice cooker to warming.
In a skillet that can be tightly covered, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the rice and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the rice begins to absorb the butter and becomes opaque, but do not brown the rice.
Add rice from the skillet into the rice cooker. Turn the rice cooker on. Do not lift the lid while cooking.

Cooking time (duration): 60

Recipe: Indian Naan Bread

admin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:48:58 +0000

Ingredients

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (There are 2 1/2 teaspoons of yeast in a .25 ounce packet.)
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
1/4 cup butter, melted

Instructions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar in warm water. Allow yeast to proof by letting the mixture stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.
Stir in 1/4 cup sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Dough should be soft, but doesn’t stick to your hands and should pull away from the sides of the bowl if you are using a Kitchen Aid/Bosch machine.
Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
During the second rising, lightly oil and preheat grill to medium heat.
Roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. You can prepare all the dough at once and place the dough circles between tinfoil or wax paper. Or you can roll them out next to the grill and place them directly onto the grill.
Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Cooking time (duration): 120

Recipe: Cornbread with Yellow Cake Mix

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:17:30 +0000

The trick to making cornbread that is fluffier, less grainy, and doesn’t have the bitter aftertaste is to add yellow cake mix to your cornbread mix. You can either do a 1 to 1 ratio of cornbread to cake mix, or you can do 1.5 cornbread to 1 cake mix, depending how subtle you want tone down the graininess of the cornbread.

You can follow the directions for the cornbread and cake mix, combining ingredients from both boxes together and then cook at the temperature and time stated for the cornbread. Adding an egg as required by the yellow cake mix is going to make your cornbread quite fluffy.

You can also just add the cake mix in as if it were cornbread. So if your box of cornbread calls for 1 cup of water and the full box of cornbread, then only add half the box of cornbread and an equal part of yellow cake mix.

Here is a step by step ingredient list for those who don’t like to experiment like I do.

Ingredients

1 box Jiffy cornbread
1 box Jiffy yellow cake mix
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
1/4 c. oil

Instructions

Bake in greased 8 x 8 inch pan.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Check for doughiness and use a toothpick in the middle to make sure it comes out clean.

Cooking time (duration): 30

Recipe: Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:14:46 +0000

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup imported Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup imported Romano cheese, grated
6 egg yolks from fresh jumbo eggs
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

HEAT milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat.
Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.
PLACE egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture.
Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering).
SEASON to taste with salt and black pepper. Taste as you add pepper and salt, so not to over or under season.
Serve over your favorite pasta. Add cooked chicken over the top of the Alfredo Sauce.

Cooking time (duration): 20

Number of servings (yield): 4

My rating: 4.5 stars

Recipe: Bratwurst Cooked in Apple Juice

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:07:32 +0000

These brats are wonderful–crispy on the outside, and pop in your mouth with you bite into them. The easiest way to cook brats are to braise them first in a liquid and then brown them on the grill. Most recipes call for beer, but I think they are just as good braised in apple juice, and it’s a lot cheaper.

Ingredients

12 fresh bratwurst (Colosimo brand at Costco are my favorite)
32 ounce apple juice
1 onion, quartered
Brat buns (large croissant rolls from Costco are my favorite–they’re shaped perfectly for a brat)

Instructions

Preheat grill
On stove top, add apple juice and onions to a large sauce pan. Turn heat to high until liquid begins to boil.
Turn heat down to medium and place the brats in the liquid. Do not let the liquid boil while the brats are in it. Ensure that the brats are completely covered in liquid. Add water if necessary.
Cook brats for 10 minutes at medium heat. Turn heat down to low until you are ready to grill.
Once grill is hot, turn off the burners on one half of the grill and keep the burners on the other half of the grill on high. (Only if you have a grill with lid)
Using tongs, place the brats on the side of the grill with the burners off and close the lid. Be careful not to puncture the skin of the brats and always use tongs, not a fork to turn.
Check the brats every few minutes until you get a feel for how fast they cook on your grill. You will want to turn the brats when they are golden brown, and remove from grill when they are golden brown on both sides.
Serve on brat buns or croissants with BBQ sauce, mustard, onions, sauerkraut, or your favorite topping of choice.

Cooking time (duration): 30

Number of servings (yield): 12

Meal type: dinner

My rating: 4.0 stars

Recipe: BBQ Baked Beans with Sausage

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:25:20 +0000

Quick and easy Baked Beans with a slight twist. Most recipes I’ve come across call for bacon and ketchup. I’ve swap those ingredients with sausage and barbecue sauce to give a unique approach on an old favorite.

Ingredients

2 tubes of sausage
1/4 cup dried onions
1 (29 ounce) can baked beans
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (optional)
1 green pepper (optional)

Instructions

In a frying pan, cook the sausage meat in a frying pan. Break the meat up into small pieces as it is cooking. Once sausage is cooked through, drain and pat dry with paper towel to remove excess fat.
Add sausage and remaining ingredients to a large pan. Do not drain the baked or black beans. Warm at a medium heat for around 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve hot.
Optional: After cooking and draining the sausage, add all ingredients to a crock pot to warm.

Cooking time (duration): 30

Number of servings (yield): 6

My rating: 4.0 stars