Clafouti

I am tired. I have been planting all day. I don't feel like making much for dinner so we are having spaghetti...yes, with store-bought sauce. But, I did see one last container of raspberries and a container of whip cream in the fridge just begging for something to be done with them. So... what else to do but raspberry clafouti?

Like an oven-baked puff pancake, countrified clafoutis are easy to make. The batter is poured into a buttered dish, sprinkled with fruit, and baked. Although originally made with cherries--it comes from the Limousin region, the cherry area of France--many fruits can be used. The ones at the left are Raspberry and Kiwi Clafouti. Peach Clafouti is another fruit possibility. (I also like blueberry).

Raspberry Clafouti

Clafoutis puff while they are baking, then fall slightly when they come from the oven. If you can't wait for raspberry season, thaw loose-pack frozen raspberries and serve this at any time--

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon nutmet
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
whipped cream

In a small mixer bowl beat eggs with electric mixer until foamy. Add milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt; beat with electric mixer on low speed till smooth. Pour batter into buttered 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate. If desired, reserve a few raspberries for garnish. Sprinkle remaining raspberries over batter.

Bake in 350 oven for 40-45 minutes or until knife inseted off center comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes. Garnish with whipped cream and reserved raspberries. Makes 8 servings.

For peach, keep nutmeg, brush reserved slices with lemon juice, omit raspberries (obviously)

For kiwi, it says to omit nutmeg and use a little rum instead. Go figure!

This recipe is worth making. My favorite is raspberry, but peach, blueberry, and cherry make good clafouti's too. I imagine that apricots would be delicious too. I've never tried the kiwi.

Enchilada flavored Chicken wraps (I kind of made that up)

This is so awesome you guys!! Well, I'm no gourmet cook like the rest of you, but I thought I would post anyway since I know Jayne is totally not a gourmet cook (j/k jayne). I'm all about fast and easy, here is one of mine (and Jason's, who is a very picky eater) favorite recipe for shredded chicken you can do in taco's or wraps/tortillas.

2 chicken breasts
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 can El Pato (on the mexican isle)
3/4 cup brown sugar
Rice & beans
Tortillas/taco shells

Boil chicken for 30 minutes on stove top, shred and place in crock-pot.
Stir in enchilada sauce, el pato and brown sugar, put on low for about 4 hours (shorter is fine too).
Serve with rice and beans (I have a rice cooker, so I stir a can of beans in with my rice at the end for about 5 minutes). We love the costco un-cooked tortillas, so we just pile the chicken, rice & beans in a tortilla.

Comfort Food

Lori came by my house last night and sampled a little of our dinner and felt it was worth a post. So here is the recipe for Lori and anyone else who is interested. It is a really easy dinner and perfect for a gloomy day, my mom used to cook this so I have eaten it as long as I can remember.

Chili Macaroni

12 oz - 1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, choppped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper

Throw the first four ingredients into a saute pan and cook until the hamburger is brown, and the onions are soft. Drain the fat, stir in tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta and garnish with cheese or sour cream... unless you are Jayne, in which case just serve it over pasta.

Very easy and I don't know about you but these are ingredients I almost always have in my cupboards and freezer.

Y-U-M.

What we had for dinner tonight:

Kalbi
(Korean Barbecue)

Marinade:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, smashed with the side of your knife
2 inches ginger, peeled and smashed with the side of you knife
3 green onions, sliced
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil

You can just do a rough chop on the garlic, ginger and onions since it is just a marinade and will be strained later.

1. Combine all ingredients in a large ziploc bag,
   
2. smoosh until well mixed,
   
3. add meat of your choice (At the barbecue before last - the one at Katie's house, I made beef short ribs with this marinade, but it goes well with other cuts of beef, chicken, white fish or tofu. This marinade is generally enough for 2 1/2 - 3 lbs of meat.)
4. marinate at least 3 hours.
5. throw on the grill or roast under the broiler or in a grill pan or however you want to cook your meat.
6. Serve with rice.

After removing the meat, pour the remaining marinade into a sauce pan and boil/simmer until it thickens up a bit, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and serve it with your dinner. Very easy. And since everyone seems to be ending their post this way: Y-U-M!

This is how we cook...

So simple, this is something I have made in the past that I thought would be a real easy idea for dinner to share... (maybe too simple?)

Taco Pizza

2 crescent roll packages  

(i lay them out flat on a pan to make a crust, then cook it for however long it says on the package)

After it is done cooking I put warm refried beans and meat seasoned with taco seasoning on top, cheese and what ever else sounds good

tomatoes 

avocado

lettuce 

onions

sour cream

salsa

This is so simple and maybe something new to try. OR you could just go to el azteca and order a tostada, and then you could get a churro. Y-U-M!!!

What Happened to Naked Nick, and Other Questions

Alright sisters, I'm looking for easy and yummy crockpot recipes.  

I am also wanting some new ideas for lunch.  I can't take any more pbjs.

You may find that I'm not as much of a contributer to this blog as I am a taker.  Please help.

However, today I will give ou one yummy crockpot chicken recipe:

Crockpot Chicken Fettucini

Chicken (We usually use two large breasts) 

1 Can diced tomatoes

1 Lg. clove garlic, minced

(combine these ingredients in crockpot.)

  About 1/2 hour before you serve, add:

 about 1 cup half and half (I've used milk before if I don't have it), 

a bunch of grated parmesan

1 egg yolk

frozen peas (optional) 

mushrooms (optional)

Separate chicken with a fork.  Serve over fettucini.  Y-U-M.  

Easy.

Herb-Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa

So, I thought I better apologize for being such a crumb towards my sister when she called while we were at playgroup. I didn't answer because I thought she would ask me to tend for a made-up reason.... but I was wrong. That was a different phone call of the day. (I will try really hard to have a good attitude about doing it, today and from now on. And I won't say anything else bad about my sister.) Anyway, the reason she was calling was actually to get this recipe. So I am sorry I was mean and jumped to conclusions. I was glad for the reminder of the existence of this recipe--I am always forgetting them. I love this salmon. We will be having it tomorrow for dinner. We buy salmon at Costco, because it just tastes good, but Albertsons is your next best bet in my book. If the piece is too large, we freeze half. Ok, on with the recipe.

Herb-Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa
from Cooking Light, May 1997 (I'd have linked it but it is too old, so it's not there anymore)

You can substitute 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper for the hot pepper oil.

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick) (I just use a big enough fillet for our little family)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon hot pepper oil (such as Crisco Savory Seasonings)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Cooking Spray
Mango Salsa (recipe below)
4 cups hot cooked rice

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal; shake gently to coat. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.

Remove salmon from bag. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Prepare grill or broiler. Place salmon on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 5 minutes on each side or until salmon is done. Serve with Mango Salsa and rice.

Note: Halibut or Tuna can be substituted for salmon.


Mango Salsa
This salsa is best when made ahead. The serrano chile adds just the right amount of warmth to offset the sweetness of the pineapple, banana, and mango.

1 cup cubed peeled ripe mango
1 cup sliced banana
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (I've got lots in my garden if you need any)
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 (8-ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks, drained
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped (I would add only a little at a time, or leave it out altogether, creating it to the taste your kids will eat.)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir well; cover and refrigerate.

Yield: 2 2/3 cups (serving size 2/3 cup)

I don't feel like typing the nutrition info for either recipe. If for some reason anyone cares, I can add it. :)

WELCOME

Here is our blog. Here are the rules:

1. No typos. realy guys.
2. Only good recipes
3. Just kidding - post whatever you want