Minestrone

As mentioned in the previous pumpkin post, I made a big batch of chili and an even bigger batch of minestrone to feed the hungry pumpkin carvers and satisfy both the carnivores and herbivores at my table.

I've only made this minestrone soup once before for a college potluck and I don't know why I didn't revisit it sooner, as it is super tasty and perfect in these chill November evenings. Canned tomatoes, dried herbs, vegetable broth, a couple of potatoes, orzo, all affordable and easy to work with ingredients that result in a wonderfully full-bodied vegetarian soup.

Minestrone
adapted from a recipe found on the internet many many moons ago. thank you internet!
Serves 4 -5

1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, diced (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon olive oil
cornstarch
14oz can chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1⁄2 teaspoons dried basil
pinch dried rosemary
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
6oz diced mixed root veggies (I used potatoes and carrots)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 1⁄2 oz tiny pasta shapes (I used orzo in this batch, but used ditalini in the past)
2oz cooked chickpeas (canned is fine)

1) Put the onion, garlic and celery in a pan with the olive oil and sauté for about 5 minutes.
2) Add a little cornstarch, stir and cook for a minute or two.
3) Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, root vegetables, water and stock.
4) Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 25 minutes.
5) Season to taste, add the pasta and chick peas and simmer until pasta is tender, about 8 - 10 minutes more.
6) Add a little water if the soup is too thick. Serve hot.

Mayo-free Tuna Salad

Again, no photo, but bear with me, it's tasty!

So I'm not big into mayonnaise. Occasionally I'll mix it with a little Dijon on a sandwich, or put it into a pasta salad, but when I can substitute something else, I try to. That's why, when I was craving a tuna melt, I considered my options. Tuna salad is one of the few foods I really don't mind mayo in, but I didn't feel like buying a big jar of the stuff just for the couple of tablespoons I would use for this one application.

So considering other options, I came up with the idea to use plain yogurt! Now I doubt I'm the first person to think of this, but I felt pretty proud of myself. I actually tried it with a Greek-style yogurt, since they now come in handy single serving containers, but regular yogurt would work just fine. For my tuna melt, I packed all my ingredients separately and assembled at the office, with a little help from the office toaster oven. Very tasty. The yogurt adds a certain tang which is really unique. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it! Definitely something to experiment with.

Mayo-Free Tuna Salad
2-3 servings

1 can of tuna, drained
3 TBS plain regular or greek-style yogurt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBS minced dill pickle or dill pickle relish
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika
dash or two of ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mash together with a fork, until fully incorporated. Add more yogurt and seasonings to desired consistency/flavor.


Tuna Melt
Serves 1

1 plain english muffin, split open into halves
4 TBS Mayo-Free Tuna Salad (see above)
4 thin slices of tomato
2 thin slices of cheese (Cheddar, American, Monterey Jack, you really can't go wrong)
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (optional)

1) Top each english muffin half with 2 TBS tuna salad and two slices of tomato. If using, drizzle balsamic vinegar over tomatoes and tuna. Top with a slice of cheese for each half (make sure the cheese covers the enter half... use more slices if necessary).
2) Place on a toaster oven tray and toast in the toaster oven for about 3 minutes, until cheese is melting and starting to brown.

French Dip and Beef Barley Soup

When I saw this recipe for a slow-cooker French Dip on Baking Bites, I knew I had to give it a try. So I made it as a super-secret-special surprise for the Mister because he's big into the au jus. This was eaten so quickly, I was unable to photograph it.

Then, when I was perusing the comments on allrecipes for a similar recipe, I found that many people had turned their leftover beef and au jus into beef barely soup. Two meals in one! So I made sure to keep the amount of broth the same, even though I got a smaller cut of beef (there are only two of us, after all).


I added probably more barley than needed (as you can see), about half a cup. A quarter of a cup would easily do. You can cook it right in the broth. I tossed in some frozen peas at the end. This would be divine with delicious chunks of potato as well.

Slow-Cooker French Dip
courtesy of Baking Bites, with slight mods.
Serves 2 (with leftovers for soup)

2 -2 1/2 lb beef chuck roast or brisket
2 cans beef broth
1 can condensed French onion soup
6 oz. red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
2 french rolls (we used small sub rolls... not quite authentic)
2 - 4 slices of provolone cheese

1) Trim excess fat from roast and season with salt and pepper.
2) Pour beef broth, French onion soup, wine, and garlic powder into slow cooker. Place roast in liquid.
3) Cook for 4 1/2 - 5 hours on high, until falling apart tender.
4) Remove roast from slow cooker and allow to rest under tended foil for 10 -15 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain, then return meat to slow cooker for an additional 30 minutes on low (this step was ingenius, Ms. Baking Bites, the meat came out succulent).
5) Lightly toast rolls and lay 1 -2 slice of provolone on each. Fill each roll with sliced beef and serve the jus on the side in small bowls. Eat while it's still hot!
6) Package the beef seperate from the broth for storage. Or make your beef barley soup right away!


Beef Barley Soup (ala French Dip)
Serves 4 - 6

remaining broth from French Dip (see above)
remaining beef from French dip (see above), chopped or shredded
1/4 cup barley
1/4 cup froz peas

1) In a large pot, bring broth to a boil. Add barley and lower the temperature to a simmer. Cook covered for approximately 1 hour (or according to package directions) until barley is tender.
2) Add beef and peas. Cook 10 -15 minutes more. Serve with crusty bread.


**Note: This soup is way better than the somewhat less inspiring William-Sonoma version attempted previously.

Fried Rice

The first time I made fried rice for myself, I must have been in early highschool. Home on a half day, I was hungry for something different than canned soup, mac and cheese, or the deli meat in the fridge with questionable expiration dates (it seemed to be policy in my house to ignore food after it was put in the fridge and if it wasn’t eaten in due course, hope it would just go away on it’s own). We had some leftover chinese food, some frozen peas, a log of kosher salami (expiration date: safe!), soy sauce, eggs and seasonings. From whence sprang an un-traditional fried rice concoction, but a tasty one nonetheless.

If you are looking to make something more authentic (or as authentic as Chinese restaurant style cuisine can be), you can certainly go for more Asian flavorings and vegetables: bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, bok choy, snow peas, five spice, teriyaki. But you are not limited by those flavors to say the least. The best thing about fried rice is that it’s a great vehicle for revitalizing leftovers.

For the first time ever on this blog, we have step-by-step photo instructions! I usually do not have the patience or dexterity for this, so no guaruntee that this will be a constant feature (and my apologies if some of the photos are blurry). But this is one of those dishes that when friends tell me they can’t cook, I say “Anyone can make fried rice.” The other thing anyone can make is quesadillas, but even I never had a homemade one until college, so I give people a break on that one. Once I figure out how, I will put this behemoth of a post behind a quick cut.

Here you can see the ingredients that I used all laid out. These should all be approximated based on your own leftover situation:


Fried Rice
Serves 2
8/10

1 1/2 cups leftover white rice
1 cup mixed frozen veggies, chopped (not chopped in photo)
1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
2 TBS soy sauce
1 egg
1/3 lb cooked chicken, chopped (not chopped in photo)
1/2 tsp garlic salt and other seasonings, to taste
cooking spray

In with the soy sauce I mixed other ingredients that are often used in Asian-flavored dishes, such as seasame oil, rice wine vinegar, dry white sherry or rice wine, and ginger. This is entirely arbitrary. While I would recommend using soy sauce, you could easily replace it with teriyaki, stock, even barbecue sauce (though that would be quite adventurous). I would recommend some sort of liquid to prevent the rice from totally drying out and to give the rice a more concentrated flavor.

Have all of these ingredients ready to go mise-en-place style. It’ll make the process go a lot faster.

1) Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.


2) Add chopped veggies to the skillet and cook until tender (about 5 minutes if your veggies are totally frozen).

3) Add leftover rice to skillet and toss to combine. Sauté rice for about 5 minutes, until slightly brown at the edges.


4) Add cooked chicken to the skillet. Toss to combine.


5) Add soy sauce mixture, garlic salt, and other seasings to skillet. Toss until rice is thoroughly coated. Cook for 5 minutes, allowing flavors to mingle and some of the liquid to absorb.

6) Beat the egg in a separate dish.

7) Add beaten egg to skillet. Stir immediately and constantly until egg is scrambled and cooked, about 1-2 minutes. Toss to combine.

8) Remove from heat and serve!

And this can be used with any meat, veggies, and flavors. My one rule is: have fun with it and don’t make too much work for yourself. With entirely leftovers, this can be made in 20 minutes.

Steak and Cheese Subs

A combination of good fortune: our grocery store sells shaved beef and I have vast amounts of experience making steak and cheese subs from my days as a short order cook. We eat these more often in the summer--sandwiches for dinner seem more appropriate then--but they are delicious anytime. Feel free to grill up other toppings of your choosing such as sweet peppers or mushrooms. Also, this time the deli man asked me if I wanted "the real stuff" when it came to provolone. Oh boy, it was delicious. I was so used to the some what bland generic provolone, but the real thing has a delicious bite to it. I don't think I can ever go back.

Steak and Cheese Subs
Serves 3 (or two very hungry people!)
10/10

3 sub 6" sub rolls (a crusty baguette or ciabatta rolls work well too)
1 lb shaved beef, shredded into smaller pieces
1 TBS olive oil
1/2 onion, cut into thin slices
3 large slices provolone cheese
salt, pepper, and other seasonings of your choice (there's a tasty cajun one we use)!

1) Slice the sub rolls in half three-quarters of the way through, angling down. It helps if the bottom half is slightly thicker than the top half. Toast in the toaster oven until lightly browned.
2) Heat olive oil on a large, flat grill pan until very hot, but not smoking. Place onions (and other toppings) on the pan, away from direct heat. Cook until browned and softened.
3) Spread beef over the pan. Using a pair of tongs and a firm spatula, move the meat around the pan, tearing large pieces into smaller pieces with the tongs, using the spatula to pull against, to speed the cooking process. If meat begins to stick, add a little more oil. Continue moving and tearing until the meat is no longer pink. Season liberally with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you like. If all parties are having onions, mix them in and tear apart along with meat. Otherwise, continue to allow them to cook separately and add at the end. This whole process should maybe take 10-15 minutes.
4) Divide meat into three equal portions. Top with any individualized toppings. Place a slice of cheese over each portion of meat and allow to melt into meat, about 1 minute.
5) Using a spatula (you may need two) scoop up the filling and place on sub roll. Don't be afraid to stuff it all in there. It doesn't have to be pretty, it will still taste good. This is most easily done with a long, firm spatula. Repeat with remaining portions and serve to ravenous crowds!

Eight Nights of Lights, Three Nights of Brisket

Brisket Ragu?

Sorry for the delay in posting. I would make excuses but there really is no point, is there? I merely hope that I haven't discouraged any readers with the large gaps between my posts. Come back! So many tasty things!

Hannukah was this past week and in honor of such, I made brisket for maybe the second time, in my slow cooker. Delicious! I made twice as much because I knew we would be busy, so we'd have leftovers to play with. So, one night of traditional brisket, one night of bbq brisket sandwiches, and one night of, er, a brisket ragu?

So basically, I prepped the brisket the night before, fridged it, then plopped it in the slow cooker before work and came back to deliciousness. There was no burning down of the house, which made me especially happy.

This was good. Not quite the same as my Nana's, but good.

Brisket
from William Sonoma Food Made Fast: Slow Cooker with mods.
(did anyone else note the irony in a food made fast cookbook... for the slow cooker?)
Serves 2 (for three nights!)
8/10

1 lb beef brisket, trimmed of fat
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper
3/4 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine vinegar (potent!)
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS tomato paste

1) On a large plate mix flour, salt and pepper, to taste. Coat brisket in flour misture, shaking off excess, reserving leftover flower. In large heavy bottomed pan, warm oil over high heat. Add brisket, fat side down and cook until browned, about 7 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 7 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to slow cooker basin (or a seperate dish).
2) Pour off all but 1 TBS of fat from pan and return to med-heat. Add onions, garlic, red pepper and sauté until onions begin to caramelize. Add reserved flour and stir until incorporated. Add broth and vinegar and raise to a boil to deglaze pan. Add sugar and tomato paste and stir until blended. Pour mixture over brisket. Cover with foil and refridgerate overnight.
3) In the morning, remove foil and return slow cooker basin to mechanism (or put brisket in slow cooker). Cook on high heat for 3 -4 hours or low heat for 6 -8 hours. Brisket should be very tender when pierced with fork. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Slice thinly across the grain. Serve with natural gravy from the slow cooker.


BBQ Brisket Sandwiches
Serves 2

2 hamburger buns or sandwich rolls
4-6 slices of brisket (see recipe above)
1/4 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce or blend of sauces (we used Dinosaur BBQ sauce and Original Hunts BBQ sauce)
any other toppings you like (coleslaw, onions, cheese, etc)

1) Toast hamburger buns to a lovely golden brown.
2) Place brisket in a microwave safe dish. Cover completely in BBQ sauce. Cook in microwave for 2 minutes on high. Remove and stir sauce, testing brisket for tenderness. Heat for an additional 2 minutes or until the brisket is tender and hot.
3) Place 2-3 slices of brisket on each bun and a generous amount of sauce and toppings as desired!


Brisket "Ragu"
Serves 2

Brisket leftovers, chopped (hopefully about 1/2 -1 cup
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp italian seasonings (or as much as you'd like)
1 cup of your favorite tomato sauce (we're currently in love with Classico Caramelized Onion and Roasted Garlic)

1) Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add onions and peppers and sauté until tender.
2) Add tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings, cooking until tomatoes soften.
3) Add tomato sauce and brisket. Continue to cook until heated through and the brisket is tender. Serve over pasta!

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches

Knowing that my parents and sister were straining in the heat to unload her things and unpack her dorm room, I knew I could only be a good daughter and sister if I brought them a picnic lunch. I lay in bed, trying to sleep in on a hot Saturday morning, but all I could think about was roasted vegetables and pasta salad, until I had to get up and get cooking.

I decided to forego the pasta salad (instead I brought leftover salad from the night before). But the roasted vegetables persisted. We still had a zucchini from my uncle's garden, tomatoes from my great aunt, an extra loaf of bread from the fondu, feta from salad making, and balsamic vinegrette from the boy's experiments with a medditerranean tortellini dish. With these powers combined, huzzah! Roasted summer vegetable sandwiches. Somehow I managed to divy the bread into six sandwiches, but I would say a safer bet would be four (the sandwiches were quite skinny a hard to eat, though tasty). Also, any summer veggies would do--eggplant, summer squash, onions--this is just what we had on hand. They could also be good with cheese, olives, and a variety of other toppings/condiments.

The rest of the picnic consisted of: salad, cheese (cheddar and fontina) and crackers, iced tea, and pound cake with cool whip.

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches
Serves 4 - 6
8/10

olive oil
1 large zucchini, cut into thin, diagonal rounds
1 large tomato, cut into thin slices
3/4 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1/2 jarred roasted red pepper, drained and cut into thin strips
1/2 cup balsamic vinegrette (2 parts olive oil, 1 part balsamic vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 large loaf of crusty italian bread
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
2 - 3 TBS sour cream

1) Brush the zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2) On a grill or grill pan, grill the zucchini until seared, about 4 minutes each side, adding more oil as necessary. Remove and transfer to a large plate or platter, laying the slices in a single layer.
3) Grill tomato slices and artichoke hearts until just seared (only about 1- 2 minutes per side). Transfer to the plate and layer on top of the zucchini slices.
4) Add roasted red pepper strips to the vegetable platter. Pour balsamic vinegrette over the vegetables. Season with oregano, and salt&pepper to taste. Cover and refridgerate for at least 20 minutes to allow the vegetables to cool and the flavors to mingle.
5) Combine the feta and sour cream to form a spread. Cut the loaf of bread length wise. Spread the feta spread evenly across the top half.
6) Remove vegetables from the fridge and drain. Apply the vegetables in an even layer across the bottom half of the bread. Put the top half back on and cut into equal portions for sandwiches.
*If picnicking, wrap each sandwich individually in foil or wait until you arrive at your picnic destination and divy up the sandwich there.

Totally Bodacious Chili!

So I made chili for the first time ever and my only complaint was that it came out a little too spicy. Otherwise, it looked and tasted exactly as it should! I love my chili served "chili mac" style over spaghetti with shredded cheese on top. You can add beans to this recipe (sadly, the boy does not like beans) and I would just toss them in when you put in the tomatoe-y ingredients. Give it a whirl! We also served this up with buttermilk biscuits (the recipe for which can be found on your local bisquick box) and TALL glasses of ice water :)

Totally Bodacious Chili (Mac)
inspired by The New Best Recipe and Alton Brown
Serves 4-5
8/10

1 TBS olive oil
1 lb ground sirloin or ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 TBS chili powder (decrease to lessen heat)
1/2 TBS cumin
1 tsp. ground red pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
2 cups crushed tomato (16 oz.)
2 TBS fresh salsa
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, chopped (decrease to 1 to lessen heat)
1 TBS adobo sauce (from canned chipotles) (decrease to lessen heat)
1/2 tsp salt

1 lb linguini or spaghetti
grated cheddar or monteray jack
crumbled tortilla chips

1) Heat oil in a large dutch oven (or skillet if, like me, you don't yet have a dutch oven) until shimmery. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, ground red pepper, and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften and begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to med-high and add half the beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the beef and repeat until the beef is no longer pink (about another 5 min).
2) If you are using a skillet instead of a dutch oven, move contents of skillet into a deep pot (otherwise, continue adding to dutch oven). Add crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, chipotles, adobo sauce, and salsa and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour. Remove cover and simmer for 1 hour longer, stirring occasionally (add water if the chili sticks to the bottom/sides of pan).
3) While chili is cooking, set 2 qt of water on to boil. Add spaghetti/linguini and cook according to package directions. Try to time it so it is finished around the same time as the chili. Drain and transfer to four pasta bowls
4) Serve chili over spaghetti. Top with grated cheese and crumbled chips (other good toppings: chopped raw onion, sour cream, fresh salsa...)

Grilled Vegetables and Cheese Tortellini

I found the recipe as per request from the boy who wanted some sort of tortellini dish with a vinagrette and vegetables. Now, I must admit, I'm not a big fan of vinagrettes and I messed around alot with this one until it tasted ok to me. I don't remember the exact changes I made, but I'll note some ingredients you can add to change the taste. You can also buy your own favorite vinagrette dressing.

This is pretty quick and easy!

I loved this recipe because of all the different veggies and flavors and textures. Definitely a summer dish. The original recipe also called for using eggplant, but I replaced that with zucchini. Any summer vegetables will do. I used my grill pan, but you could easily toss these veggies straight onto your gas or charcoal grill. If it's winter, or you don't have any kind of grill, you can always sauté the vegetables as well... the recipe includes instructions for that.

Grilled Vegetables and Cheese Tortellini
from "Whole Foods Market : Recipes : Grilled Vegetables & Cheese Tortellini (with slight modifications)
Serves 2-3
9/10

9 oz. cheese tortellini
4 asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off
1 yellow summer squash, sliced lengthwise about 1/2" thick
1 zuchinni, sliced lengthwise about 1/2" thick
1 red pepper, corred and de-seeded
1 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup pitted black olives, such as kalamata
1/2 - 1 cup baby spinach
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup red wine vinagrette

Red Wine Vinagrette
4 large basil leaves, chopped
3 TBS red wine vinegar (I would suggest replacing half or even all of this with balsamic)
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup olive oil (up this if theres too much vinegar)
1 TBS dijon mustard (this adds ALOT of flavor, so go easy)
sea salt, to taste
ground pepper, to taste
*sugar, to taste (to cut the vinegar)

1) Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and set aside. Whisk together vinagrette if preparing your own.
2a) Grilling Vegetables: Preheat grill to med. heat. Brush vegetables with olive oil. Grill 3-5 minutes on each side, or until veggies are tender. Pepper should be slightly charred when done. Chop up veggies into pieces of equal size.
2b) Sautéing Vegetables: Chop vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over med-high heat and sauté veggies until tender.
3) Toss pasta with vegetables, olive, spinach, feta, and vinagrette.

French Bread Personal Pizzas

A delicious meal made of leftover ingredients! I discovered the small bakery near our house that makes wonderful rustic breads (The Breadsong Bakery, for those in Boston 'burbs). I was able to use my experience working at an italian pizzeria to my advantage.

For the bread, I bought a round, french bread, something with a good solid crust. This was good in that I could simply slice it in half length wise and have to round "crusts." But it made very large pizzas and the boy said that there was a little too much bread in proportion to the other ingredients. So I would also suggest a good crusty wide baguette. Something that you can cut length wise rather than slices. That way the crust of the bread will make sure the sauce doesn't seep through, like it might if you just used bread slices. You could also convert this recipe to use on bagels (mmm).

French Bread Personal Pizzas
Serves 2-4
8/10

1 round of French bread or a wide, french baguette.
14 oz. diced tomatoes
6 oz. tomato paste mixed with equal parts water
italian seasonings
**Note: I just used what I had leftover from the lasagna recipe. You can easily replace this with any tomato sauce or pizza sauce you like
1 cup mozzerella cheese, grated
2-3 slices provolone (or 1-1 1/2 cup grated)
margarine or butter
1 link of hot italian sausage, boiled and sliced thin
4 TBS ricotta cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375ºF. Slice the french bread length wise, leaving a thickness of no more than 1 inch. If using a round, slice a thin amount off the top slice so that it will sit evenly in the pan. Set aside.
2) Combine diced tomatoes and tomato paste/water in a food processor. Purée until smooth. Pour into sauce pan and heat thoroughly over med-low heat. Add italian seasonings to taste.
3) Clean out food processor and put in sliced provolone. Pulse until chopped. Add mozzerella and pulse gently until blended.
4) Assemble pizzas: spread a thin layer or margarine or butter on the top of french bread,( to prevent the sauce from making the bread really soggy). Cover each top with an even layer of sauce, to preference. Top with an even coating of cheese. Place sausage slices and ricotta cheese on top as desired.
5) Bake for approx. 25 min or until cheese is starting to brown.