Recipes

[Sabatini2]

On 6/19/2014 Zhills said:

Doesn't seem to be much activity here this month.

Agreed!

OK, folks, on the outside chance that someone would like to move this game along...let's change the next ingredient to: ANYTHING.

Next ingredient: cook's choice - anything.

[house_cat]

Okay, I made this last night and it was excellent!

Crock Pot Scalloped Potatoes:

3 lbs. russet potatoes, sliced thin

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup yellow onions, chopped (I used the fried ones from the can)

1/2 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese (I used colby jack)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Layer half the potatoes in the bottom of the pot. Top with half the onions and half the cheese.

Repeat with a second layer.

Pour the mixture of soup, milk and seasonings over the top.

Cover and cook on high for four hours.

The original recipe called for chopped cooked ham in the layers, but I omitted it.

It was sooooo good !

Next ingredient: love

[Sabatini2]

OK, housecat, you're on! IMO, manicotti is a true labor of love! There are quite a few of us here who make our manicotti in a similar way, & with very similar recipes - making crepes, instead of the tubes that you buy from the store. MrsG & Gloria to name two of them.

This (our way) is EASIER!, and twice as yummy. No tubes to split, and fall apart in the water, and stuffing those tubes was a royal PITA! Making crepes was a revelation the first time I tried it. Enjoy!

*Note: Though it's not absolutely necessary to allow the batter to rest a bit after whisking, it does improve the texture of the final crepe.

Manicotti with Homemade Shells (Crepes)

Additional Needs:

Marinara sauce, and extra grated mozzarella for topping

Shell ingredients: (Crepes)

1 ½ cup flour

1 ½ cup water

6 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

Shell Directions:

Briskly mix together ingredients with a whisk. (Will be liquid.) * Let rest in fridge 30-60 minutes.*

Heat an omelette pan over medium heat. (grease once w/ oil, wipe w/ a paper towel, & use that same paper towel to occasionally wipe out the pan)

Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour batter into pan: about 1/4 cup, up to 1/3

Quickly swirl & tilt the pan to coat the bottom w/ batter & let cook undisturbed for a minute. When edges begin to curl, flip the crepe and cook on the other side for just a moment. I use my fingers! Remove & set aside on a wire rack.

If making ahead of time, cool crepes, and stack layers w/ either waxed paper or parchment paper sandwiched between them. Wrap with plastic wrap, and put in fridge till needed.

Filling Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds Ricotta cheese (or 1# Ricotta, ½# small curd cottage cheese)

2 eggs, beaten

1 Tablespoon chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley

8 ounces mozzarella, hand grated or diced

2 healthy Tablespoons grated Parmesan

sprinkle of salt & pepper

scant dusting of nutmeg, optional

Filling Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. That was easy!

To Assemble:

Preheat oven to 350

1. Grease a large casserole dish - at least 13X9.

2. Pour enough marinara into the bottom to coat it.

3. Spread a line of of filling (2-3 heaping Tablespoons) down the middle of each shell, & roll up. Place seam side down, side to side, in baking dish.

4. Pour marinara sauce over manicottis, and sprinkle additional mozzarella cheese over all.

5. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until all is bubbly.

** If your casserole dish doesn't fit them all, just make a second, smaller pan & freeze for later.

Next ingredient: A quick supper.

ETA: A note about resting the batter.

[house_cat]

Thanks, Sabatini I've made manicotti many times and I've gotten pretty good at filling them, but this sounds even nicer. I will be sure to try it. I was just watching an old episode of Julia and Jacques. They made crepes and explained that the batter had to sit so the flour would thoroughly absorb all the liquid, producing a thinner, more tender crepe.

Next ingredient is: A quick supper

[Zhills]

SPANISH RICE

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/2 medium green bell pepper, diced (1/2 cup)

1 cup uncooked regular long-grain rice

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 can (14.5 oz) Muir Glen™ organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

Directions

1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook garlic, onion and bell pepper in oil about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until crisp-tender. Stir in rice, salt and crushed red pepper.

2. Stir in tomatoes and broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender.

(I brown a lb of ground beef or sausage, add the garlic, onion and bell pepper, etc) Add a salad for a quick supper!

Next ingredient: Eggs

[sue-p]

A do-ahead dish .....

Potato Florentine Strata

26 oz. pkg. frozen country style hash browns, thawed
1 medium onion, minced, divided (1 cup)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. seasoned pepper medley
2 tbsp. melted butter
3 cups half and half
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. fines herbs
1/2 tsp. seasoned pepper medley
3 cups finely shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese
10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, completely drained
1/2 cup marinated sun-dried tomatoes, drained, chopped

Press hash browns with paper towels to absorb moisture. In large bowl, combine hash browns, 1/2 cup onion, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper medley. Press into bottom of a buttered 9x13" glass baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven until lightly browned around edges (20-25 min.). In a large bowl, whisk together half and half, eggs, 1 tsp. salt, fines herbs and 1/2 cup onion and tomatoes. Pour mixture over potato crust. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven until center is set (35-45 min.). Let stand, covered, 10min.; cut into squares.
Serves 8-10.

Tip: For a do-ahead, bake and refrigerate crust; combine and refrigerate filling. Remove from refrigerator; pour filling over crust and bake as directed above.

Next ingredient in the Game will be: LETTUCE

[vabreeze]

sue-p, In your directions for the Potato Florentine Strata (yum!), you have not addressed the following ingredients. I assume they all are mixed in with the egg mixture or are the cheeses just sprinkled on top of the casserole? This is a dish I am anxious to make it. Thanks. 1/2 tsp. seasoned pepper medley 3 cups finely shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, completely drained In a large bowl, whisk together half and half, eggs, 1 tsp. salt, fines herbs and 1/2 cup onion and tomatoes. Pour mixture over potato crust. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven until center is set (35-45 min.). Let stand, covered, 10min.; cut into squares. Serves 8-10. Note: I've tried spacing this now for a third time but my tablet is NOT cooperating. It looks fine until I tap the 'SUBMIT' button. Maybe this time will be different.

[Campion]

Lettuce was last? Ok

Lebanese Salad

from friends in New England who are of Lebanese descent

1 head of leaf lettuce, red or green, well washed (you can use Romaine or Iceberg but leaf lettuce is traditional.)

1 lemon

1/4 tps garlic salt

1 cucumber, peeled, quartered, seeded (if not English) and sliced

Big handful of flat leaf (preferably) parsley chopped

small handful of fresh mint leaves, chopped (optional)

1 big tomato, seeded slightly and cubed or use halved cherry tomatoes

1/2 vidalia onion, diced (optional)

3 Tbs good fruity extra virg olive oil

Method:

Wash and dry lettuce well. Slice thinly into chiffonade shreds with a knife. Yes, I know, lettuce should be torn. This salad requires you slice it, will be made clearer as you read!

Put lettuce in bottom of a serving bowl. As you make this salad, juice from the cut lettuce will pool at the bottom and becomes part of the salad dressing. Trust me on this.

Add the diced vegetables and herbs. Then add the garlic salt (if you can't use salt, you can use a finely diced clove of garlic if you can take garlic. The salt adds to the breakdown of the vegetables but if you are low salt, it's ok to omit and ok to omit onion and garlic, though it won't be the same.)

Juice the lemon, removing seeds. Pour the lemon juice and the oil over the salad and TOSS. Serve fairly soon after making. The cut vegetables will start to break down and create a juicy salad. The juice is part of the charm.

You can use this to fill pita breads, you can add feta crumbs and pitted black olives. You can use it to fill wrap sandwiches with thinly sliced grilled flank steak or chicken breast. You can add toasted pieces of pita (single sheets of halved pita, toasted in oven until brown, broken into bits.) This makes the salad into "Fattoush".

IT DOES NOT KEEP. My buddies in New England pass this around as "dessert" warning everyone to take what they want because it's not coming back, and when it goes around once, the paterfamilias (daddy) takes the rest of the salad bowl unto himself and eats it right from the serving bowl. We always laugh like crazy at this.

NEXT INGREDIENT: ARTICHOKE HEARTS in the can- or fresh!

[sue-p]

vabreese,

I made the mistake of not including the fines herbs, cheese and spinach with the other ingredients being whisked into the half and half and eggs. All these ingredients are then poured over the crust. I am sorry for any inconvenience this error may have caused. sue-p


Still artichoke hearts

[house_cat]

I hope this recipe counts for artichoke hearts, because it looks so good!

I think I'll try it this weekend.

Grilled Artichokes with Spicy Tomato Mayo

Next ingredient: leftover pancake batter