Recipes

[GenXmuse]

Cantaloupe and Cucumber Salad

INGREDIENTS 

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 large cantaloupe, rind and seeds removed, flesh cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large English hothouse cucumber, sliced on a diagonal 1/2 inch thick
2 Fresno chiles, thinly sliced
1/2 cup unsalted, roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped mint
Sumac (for serving)
Ingredient Info
Sumac, a tart, citrusy spice generally sold in ground form, can be found at Middle Eastern markets, specialty foods stores, and online.

PREPARATION

Whisk oil, vinegar, coriander, salt, pepper, and cardamom in a large bowl. Add cantaloupe, cucumber, and chiles and toss to coat in dressing. Let sit, uncovered, 15 minutes.
To serve, add pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and mint to salad and toss gently to combine. Top with sumac.

Next Ingredient-PANKO BREADCRUMBS 

[Zhills]

SHAKE AND BAKE Copycat 

A copycat recipe of the boxed brand only a million times better resulting in perfectly crisp, crunchy coated pork chops flavored with ingredients right from your pantry. A quick, simple meal to prepare that’s tasty not only for pork, but for chicken too!

Makes enough to coat 4 - 5 pork chops.

• 4 (½” thick) pork chops, bone in
• 1 cup plain panko breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons oil - I use light olive oil
• Gallon size food storage bag*

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set oven rack on the lowest bottom portion of your oven. This will give you a nice brown crust. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Place panko, salt, garlic and onion powders, paprika, sugar, and pepper into the plastic bag and combine well. Add the oil and combine by squeezing the bag until all the crumbs are coated.
4. Place 2 chops in the panko mixture and shake to coat well. Press the coating onto pork chops to get good coverage before removing.
5. Place chops onto your lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining chops.
6. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Turn pork chops over, and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until the pork is completely cooked through with an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

NOTES

*I don’t find the need to use a zip lock freezer bag for this, therefore, I purchase the less expensive food storage bags with the ties for purposes such as this.

Hefty BAGGIES

Next ingredient:  Butter

[Blk&GoldFan]

WOW!  So many options for recipes with BUTTER, but I'm offering a simple one....

HONEY Butter

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup honey

Mix together.  Serve on warm bread.

Next ingredient:  Tarragon

[KCFoxy]

We try to grow some of our own herbs including sage, Italian (flat) parsley, thyme, dill, rosemary, basil and tarragon. Unfortunately we also have an 'assistant' gardener with more of a pink tongue than a green thumb...he delights in pruning the dwarf fruit trees, summer veggies and the herbs as well!

Luckily tarragon is not one of his favorites.Love it with fish, but especially with chicken, as in chicken and dumplings or this classic, (Allrecipes.com variation)

Chicken Tarragon

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 Cup flour

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 Tablespoon butter

1 Cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 C finely chopped white onions

1 to 2 cloves minced garlic

2 Tablespoons white wine

1 Cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 to 4 Tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped

(may sub with 1 to 2 teaspoons dried tarragon)

Lightly paint chicken breasts with Dijon mustard, 1 to 2 hours before cooking. Heat butter over medium high heat in large skillet. Lightly coat breasts with seasoned flour and brown on each side, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook 15 more minutes, until juices run clear rather than pink. Remove chicken and reserve.

Deglaze pan with white wine, whisking up browned bits.

Saute onions, then add mushrooms and garlic last minute or so, until limp.

Slowly add heavy cream, additional Dijon mustard and tarragon, stirring occasionally over medium low heat until somewhat thickened. Carefully add reserved chicken breasts and coat. Serve with extra cream sauce on the side.

Variations: Cream sauce has been doubled as it is so delicious. Veggies are optional but nice add ins, as is the white wine.  Served with steamed fresh green vegetables and either rice or potatoes.

Here is our little gardener:

And here is the finished dish (thank you Mike!)

Next ingredient: Filo Dough

[Zhills]

Spanakopita Triangles

Ingredients

• ½  Cup vegetable oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 (10 ounce) pkgs frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 (4 ounce) pkgs feta cheese, crumbled
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper
• 1 (24 ounce) pkg phyllo (filo) dough

• ¾  Cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
3. Slowly cook and stir onions until softened.
4. Mix in spinach, dill and flour.
5. Cook approximately 10 minutes, or until most of the moisture has been absorbed.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Mix in feta cheese, eggs, salt and pepper.
   
8. Lay phyllo dough flat and brush with butter.
9. Cut into 2-3 inch strips.
10. Place a small amount of spinach mixture onto each piece of dough.
11. Fold phyllo into triangles around the mixture. Like you fold a flag.
12. Brush with butter.
    
13. Place filled phyllo dough triangles on a large baking sheet.
14. Bake in the preheated oven 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown.

Next ingredient:  Taco Seasoning

[Bluffbaker]

This is one of my favorite recipes from the blogger, Margaret's Morsels.  In fact, we're having it for supper tomorrow night!  If you want to read what she says about the recipe, click on the bold recipe title to go to the page.

Mexican Deep-Dish Pizza

8 Servings

2 (8 oz.) cans refrigerated crescent rolls

1 1/2 to 2 lb. hamburger meat

1 onion, finely chopped

1 (1.25 oz.) pkg. taco seasoning

1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans

2 cups shredded Colby/Monterey Jack cheese

Place crescent roll dough in the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 x 13-inch pan to form the crust.  Brown meat and onion together in a skillet; drain grease.  Put the meat and onion on top of the crust.  Mix together the taco seasoning, tomato sauce and refried beans; spread on top of the meat.  Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and sprinkle cheese on top of the filling.  Place pan back in the oven and heat just long enough for the cheese to melt, about 5 minutes.  Serve with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and taco sauce, if desired.

Next Ingredient:  String cheese

[GenXmuse]

String Cheese Manicotti

an easy way to stuff manicotti

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 package (8 ounces) manicotti shells
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove , minced
1 jar (24 ounces) spaghetti sauce
12 pieces string cheese
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
grated Parmesan cheese

optional chopped basil

Instructions

Cook manicotti according to package directions in salted water.

While pasta is cooking, cook beef and onion over medium heat in a large skillet until meat is no longer pink; add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Drain meat. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Spread half of the meat sauce into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.

Drain manicotti. An 8 ounce package has 14 shells but I could only fit 12 in my baking dish and 2 of the shells ripped. Stuff each shell with a piece of string cheese. You could even use 2 pieces of string cheese but we thought one was plenty once it melted. Arrange manicotti over meat sauce. Place over meat sauce; top with remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and garnish with basil if desired.

Next Ingredient: V-8 tomato drink

[Bluffbaker]

@GenXmuse, Thanks for sharing this recipe!  My son loves stuffed manicotti but I hate stuffing the cheese mixture into the shell.  I'm definitely going to give this a try!

[GenXmuse]

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@Bluffbaker wrote:

@GenXmuse, Thanks for sharing this recipe!  My son loves stuffed manicotti but I hate stuffing the cheese mixture into the shell.  I'm definitely going to give this a try!

---

You're very welcome. I hate stuffing it too!  I'm always breaking the shells and making a mess.

[Zhills]

OLIVE GARDEN'S PASTA e ******IOLI SOUP
(Source: adapted from top secret recipes)

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
3 large carrots, julienned
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14 1/2 oz. each) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (15 oz.) can red kidney beans, undrained
1 (15 oz.) can great northern beans, undrained
2 (8 oz. each) cans tomato sauce
2 c. V-8 juice (I use low sodium)
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. salt, optional
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 oz.. ditalini pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Brown beef in a Dutch oven over medium heat; drain.

Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sauté for 10 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes, beans with their liquid, tomato sauce, V-8 juice, vinegar, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and thyme. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

When the soup has simmered for 45 minutes, cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, about 8-10 minutes; drain. See ***

Add pasta to the soup; simmer 5-10 minutes more. Serve with a freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. 8-10 servings.

NOTE: This soup is very thick. The pasta tends to drink up a lot of the broth when sitting overnight. If that's the case, when reheating, add a little more V-8 juice, some chicken broth or water to thin it out.

***I have this exact recipe and love it! One hint: I don't add my pasta into the soup but rather the individual bowls. Just cook the pasta al dente, put it in the bottom of the bowl and then add the soup.

Also, a little fresh Romano cheese shaved on the top is wonderful!

 ******IOLI   Really!!!

Next ingredient:  Peaches