I shoulda been Italian!

There was a 3-way tie for 7th place on my list:  Stovetop Chicken Parmesan, Taco Soup, and Spaghetti.  All three are quick and easy recipes that I've tweaked over the years until I got them the way we like them.  Eighth place was probably my best company dish:  lasagna!  (Have I mentioned that I should have been born Italian?)

I have always loved lasagna, and it has been a favorite meal for guests and family for many years.  However it makes such a LARGE amount that I generally restricted it to when we had company.  Then I discovered lasagna rolls!  I only make up the number I need (generally 1 per person) plus an extra for Ricky to have for lunch.  My recipe for lasagna has also undergone transformations over the years.  I love the recipe that I am currently using.  It has meat cooked in an easy canned tomato sauce, ricotta, provolone, and grated Italian cheeses, and is topped with a white sauce and marinara sauce (out of a jar).  I still go back to the traditional layered lasagna when I cook for company, but it is nice to have a smaller version that I can fix just for us!

Lasagna Rolls

1 lb. ground meat (of course, that means venison around here, but lean beef works well too)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can Italian style diced tomatoes
salt and pepper
basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning
lasagna noodles, cooked
1 carton ricotta cheese (I use low-fat)
1 egg, slightly beaten
provolone cheese
shredded Italian style cheese or mozzarella
1 jar marinara sauce
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons chicken granules
1 cup half and half or cream
parsley  (chopped fresh, if you have it...dried, if not)

Brown meat in skillet in olive oil, drain, if needed.  Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring.  Add tomatoes to skillet and season with salt, pepper and basil.  Simmer while cooking noodles.

In small mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese and egg.  Mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour a small amount of marinara in shallow baking dish.  Now, make your rolls: Lay a noodle flat on your work surface.  Spread ricotta cheese mixture all along the top.  Tear provolone cheese slice in half and layer over ricotta.  Spoon on some of the meat/tomato mixture and sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Roll up and place, seam side down, in baking dish.  Repeat until all the noodles have been filled and rolled.  Sprinkle with more shredded cheese.  (Freeze any extra meat to use at a later time.)

Make white sauce:  Melt butter in a medium size skillet.  Stir in flour and chicken granules and cook, stirring, for about a minute.  Pour in cream and stir with whisk until sauce thickens.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley.  Pour white sauce over lasagna rolls.  Spoon marinara sauce over white sauce.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Serve with a good, hot, crusty bread and a green salad.  Your mouth will love you!

Isa 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Our favorite soup

Fifth place was another tie: roast and hamburgers.  Sixth place was arelatively new dish:  Italian Chicken Tortellini Soup.  This quickly became a family favorite!  It makes up fast and is very nutritious and hearty.  It is (hands down) my favorite soup!  I haven't served it to anyone who hasn't loved it.

Italian Chicken Tortellini Soup

Olive oil

Chicken breast, chopped (fresh or cooked)

Garlic, minced

Italian style diced tomatoes

Chicken broth

salt and pepper

Crushed red pepper flakes

Cheese tortellini

Baby spinach

If using fresh chicken, brown in olive oil in large pot.  Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Add canned tomatoes and broth.  Season, to taste (just a sprinkle of crushed red pepper unless you like it pretty spicy!).  Bring to boil, cover and then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add tortellini and spinach and continue cooking, covered, for 10 more minutes.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and a good crusty bread!

Venison Steaks...a lighter (and more elegant) version

Our fourth place meal from 2012 is a relatively new recipe:  venison steaks sautéed in butter and olive oil and served with sautéed mushrooms and/or green onions...delicious!  For  over 30 years I always chicken-fried my deer steaks.  They are yummy, but I really don't like serving that heavy and greasy of a meal...not very heart-healthy!  I had tried grilling them, and they were ok but had a tendency to dry out too much.  Then I came across this steak recipe a year or so ago and decided to try it out on venison.  It cooks up fast, is healthier, and everyone loves it. 

Sauteed (Venison) Steaks

Olive oil

Butter

Lean steaks (not too thick)

mushrooms

green onions

capers (about 1/2 teaspoon, minced)

red wine (any variety) or beef broth

More butter 

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and 1-2 tablespoons of butter in cast iron skillet.  Add steaks and brown on one side, then turn and cook to desired doneness.  Remove steaks to serving platter and keep warm.

Add more butter and/or oil to skillet and sautee mushrooms for about 2 minutes.  Add a little wine or broth (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup) and cook until reduced by about half.  (This will cook off the alcohol in the wine and concentrate the flavors.)  Add green onions and capers.  Stir in about 1/2 tablespoon of butter to slightly thicken the "au jus" sauce.  Pour over steaks and serve hot.

This dish is quick and easy to prepare but looks and tastes like an elegant meal you might find in a restaurant. 

 Ge 27:7 Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.

Tacos & Pizza

My third most commonly prepared meal last year was a tie:  tacos and pizza.  Anyone who has been around us much knows that we love Mexican food and eat it at least once a week.  Tacos are a family favorite.  It has always been a family project to prepare.  Sheila usually cooks up the ground meat (which at our house means venison) and seasons it with salt, chili powder, garlic and cumin,;while I fry up the taco shells (we do NOT like the boxed kind of shells!).  Chop some tomatoes and onions, open a can of black olives, and make up some guacamole salad, queso or fresh salsa to serve with tortilla chips and you have a happy group of diners! 

Pizza is about my favorite food of all time.  I could eat it even when pregnant and nothing else sounded good.  I always like to make more than needed, because I love eating it leftover, for lunch or breakfast.  I have used the same basic recipe for 35 years…experimenting with the cooking process occasionally.  I have used a pizza stone many times in the past, but I've found that a pizza pan with holes in it works best for me (and is easier!).  Here is my crust recipe:

Pizza Crust

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 3/4 cup bread flour (you can substitute some white whole wheat flour for some of the flour, depending on your preferences)

In large mixing bowl, mix yeast and warm water.  Let set until bubbly.  Add olive oil, salt and a cup of the flour and mix well.  Continue mixing while adding flour until you have a dough that holds together and isn't too sticky.  Knead by machine for 3 minutes (or by hand for 7 minutes).  Place in lightly greased bowl, turn dough over to grease the top, and cover.  Let rise in warm place for about an hour, until doubled in size. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Divide dough in half.  Roll out half of dough on lightly floured surface into a large circle.  Continue rolling or toss until circle fits pizza pan (I use a 14" or 16" pan).  Spray pan with cooking spray.  Fit crust in pan, coat with pizza sauce, top with grated Italian style (or mozzarella) cheese, and then add  your choice of toppings.  Repeat with 2nd half of dough.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and cheese is bubbly.

This recipe can easily be divided in half, or you can bake the extra crust for about 5-10 minutes (until it can be handled without pan) and then freeze.

Pizza Sauce

1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
8 oz. can tomato sauce (I like to use the garlic flavored - I LOVE garlic)
1 tsp. dried basil

I place the garlic and onion in the (microwaveable) cup in which I measured the olive oil (there will still be a little oil coating the bottom of the cup).  Microwave on high for about 45 seconds, being careful not to brown the garlic.  Add tomato sauce and basil and stir. Microwave on high for 1 minute.   I like to make this up after mixing my dough, so the flavors can mingle while the dough rises.

Enjoy!

Pr 31:14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.  (I like to think preparing different ethnic dishes falls into this instruction!)

I love chicken!

The girls wanted to add a doll head to it!

The second most prepared meal on my list was Sittin’ Up Chicken.  This is a favorite for Sunday dinner!   I discovered the “chimney cooker” several years ago and fell in love with this method of preparing chicken.  (I am currently on my second cooker.  They are difficult to find, but worth the effort!) 

 I season the chicken in the morning before getting dressed for church, place it in the oven on low (along with baking potatoes), and come home later to a tender, moist, tasty meal.  As an added bonus, the leftover meat is perfect for using later in the week as the basis of another dish.  I love being able to get two delicious meals from a $5 chicken!

Sittin’ Up Chicken

1 whole chicken (I like to use the largest fryer I can find.)

Seasonings- about 2-3 Tablespoons total:  I use a mixture of Creole seasoning (yes, I DO use this a lot…very tasty!), garlic powder, salt, pepper, herbs de Provence, and rosemary.  (You can experiment with different herbs and spices to please your own palate.)

Liquid:  This can be broth, any juice, wine, Dr. Pepper…be adventurous!

Equipment needed:  a chimney roaster  (Here are a few links showing different types: )

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-6408-Style-Poultry-Roaster/dp/B0012XXE3E

http://www.atbbq.com/store/show/bge_sittin_chicken.html

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QNT3BC/ref=asc_df_B006QNT3BC2366143?smid=AEYH1OTC1GS85&tag=dealt698357-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395129&creativeASIN=B006QNT3BC

Cooking time varies according to the size of your bird and the temperature of the oven.  Since we are gone for about 3 hours on Sunday mornings, I like to cook mine at 290 degrees for about 4 hours.  The skin is nicely browned and crisp, and the meat is moist and tender…it literally falls apart.  This cooking temperature and time will also give you wonderfully tender baked potatoes.  Heat up some green veggies and/or throw together a salad, heat up some dinner rolls, and you have a feast!

I usually have a good 2 cups or so of leftover meat, which is perfect for most any chicken dish:  enchiladas, soup, fantasy crepes (recipe will be added at later date), chicken & dressing, etc. 

Ge 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.

And the winner is....FISH!

       The menu item that I prepared the most times last year was Pan Seared Tilapia (14 times).  Fish is a good low-fat and nutritious option.  I buy a large bag of frozen fillets which will last my family 2-3 months and costs less than $10.  I discovered tilapia several years ago...such an economical and mild tasting fish...we love it!  This recipe is great for those busy nights when I don’t have a lot of time to spend cooking.  It only takes about 15 minutes from start to table.  I like to pair it with some kind of starchy food:  couscous, macaroni and cheese, or legumes.  The meal is rounded out by adding a veggie or salad...light, tasty and quick/easy!

Pan Seared Tilapia

tilapia fillets, thawed

Creole or Greek seasoning

cornmeal

olive oil

chopped pecans or sliced almonds, optional

Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a (preferably non-stick) skillet.  Sprinkle tilapia with your choice of Creole or Greek seasoning.  (No additional salt is necessary...it is in the seasoning.)  Then sprinkle lightly with cornmeal and place in hot oil.  Cook until lightly browned, then turn and cook until done (fish will flake).  Remove from pan, add nuts to pan (if desired), and sautee about a minute.  Top fish with nuts and serve.

 Lu 24:36  And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.     

Meal Planning

Well, it has been a LONG time since I last posted on here. I have decided to take a little side trip for the next few weeks exploring a common household chore.

What is the one job that all homemakers have to deal with the most? I believe it is meal preparation. Feeding a family 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and trying to keep it interesting and delicious, requires a lot of effort and organization. I decided to spend a few weeks dealing with this subject, since it is so elemental and vital to caring for a family.

I have been tracking my menus for the past few years, trying not to repeat the same meal plans all the time. This week I decided to collect my data for last year and try to use it to improve my success in this area. I figured out how many times I fixed each entrée, what that averaged out over the course of the year, and then rated the meals according to our favorites (1-5 stars). This allowed me to see what I was preparing the most compared to what we liked the best to see what meals I should make more or less often. I plan to share my findings, along with some recipes, over the next several posts.

I invite those of you who are interested to join me. We will discuss meal plans, recipes and handy tips. I encourage you to make comments, suggestions or ask questions. Hopefully we can all make our meals more varied and yummy along the way!