Blue Cheese Tenders

If you like Blue Cheese Dressing then you will love this! I even know some who abhor blue cheese but actually ended up liking this. I make this dish all the time for potlucks and it is a hit!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 lb. Chicken Breast Tenders (cut into bite size pieces)
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped
1/3 Cup Blue Cheese Dressing
Hot Cooked Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
Crumbled Blue Cheese, if desired

Directions:

Heat oil in a 10-inch skiller over medium-high heat
Cook chicken, lemon juice, and garlic in oil for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center.
Stir in dressing.
Cook 2-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until hot.
Served over farfalle.
Sprinkle the blue cheese over the dish, if desired.

Makes 4 Servings.

Note: I usually always end up using more dressing than it calls for. Furthermore, I always sprinkle it with blue cheese.

Penne with Mushrooms, Italian Sausage, and Broccoli

(From Best of Weight Watchers Magazine Vol. 1. 2002)

This has become one of my very favourite crowd-pleasing recipes. For a potluck last week where I knew there would be a vegetarian person, I substituted the sausage with Yves’ vegetarian “ground round” in “spicy Italian” and substituted vegetable broth for chicken broth, and it turned out quite nicely – not the same as with sausage, in my opinion nothing beats animal fats for tastiness – but it was still very good and other than the cheese, which can be omitted, it was a vegan dish. It is also a low-fat dish for those who are concerned about that sort of thing, or if one has guests that might be concerned.

Add-ins:
I always add-in additional spices: rosemary & thyme, I find this really perks up the dish, fresh rosemary is especially lovely. I also tend to add in a small onion, chopped, at the stage where the mushrooms are cooked, which also adds to the flavour. I also have made this with rotini instead of penne, which is just as good.

Cooking tips:
I cook the broccoli with the pasta by putting a steamer above the boiling pot of pasta, thereby saving both time & electricity by cooking both at once. Also, if you aren’t terribly worried about counting the points on this recipe, the mushrooms and onion are quite tasty when you cook them in the leftover fat from the sausage. At the end of the recipe I often find there isn’t enough room for everything in my skillet, so I combine it all in a large bowl, which works just fine.

Ingredients
1/4 pound hot Italian-style turkey sausage, casings removed
10 ounces white mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups cooked broccoli florets
4 cups cooked, drained penne
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions
1. Crumble the turkey sausage meat into a large nonstick skillet and cook until golden brown. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and let drain on a paper towel-lined heatproof plate. Pour off and discard any fat in the skillet. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are golden brown and all the juices have evaporated, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli and the drained sausage; cook until warmed through. Stir in the penne, broth, lemon juice, and the crushed red pepper (if using); cook just until heated through. Serve sprinkles with cheese.

Makes 4 servings.

Pound Cake

Before this past weekend I had never successfully made a cake from scratch. I had planned on serving Strawberry Shortcake at a retreat this past weekend but didn’t want to use the usual white cake or the nasty sponge cake. I thought a pound cake sounded like a good alternative. Well, I made it and it was a big hit! So, I thought I would share the recipe with you!

Ingredients:

2 ½ Cups Sugar
1 Cup Butter, softened
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
5 Large Eggs
3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Evaporated Milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Grease bottom and side of 2 loaf pans, 9×5x3 inches, with shortening and then lightly flour.
Beat sugar, butter, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl.
Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with the milk on low speed, beating just until smooth after each addition. Pour into pans.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. You will know it is done by inserting a toothpick and having it come out clean.
Cool 20 minutes and then remove from pan and place on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours.

Now, you can serve this with strawberries and cool whip like I did. Another option is to sprinkle powdered sugar on it and serve just as it is.

Cooking Tip (a.k.a. Confession Time): I always completely read the directions. It was only until now that I see that I was supposed to use two loaf pans and not one. Now I know why it got so high in the pan and took longer to bake! Oh well!

Oriental Salad Dressing

The first recipe that I will post here is one that I posted on my personal blog back in October. The recipe is for an Oriental Salad Dressing. I love salads but am very picky when it comes to dressings. If I don’t love the dressing then I won’t eat the salad. Luckily, I love this dressing.

I originally had this dressing at a church potluck several years ago. I, along with several others, asked the lady who brought it for the recipe. Ever since I got the recipe I have used it many times for personal use as well as for large groups of people. More recently I cooked for a retreat at my church campgrounds this past weekend and made an oriental salad with this dressing to accompany dinner. It was a hit!

I hope you enjoy the dressing as much as I do!

Ingredients:

1 Cup Sugar
4 teaspoons Salt
2 heaping teaspoon Black Pepper
3/4 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Sesame Oil
3/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar (warmed)

Directions:

First add sugar and salt to warm vinegar and shake until dissolved.
Then add peppers and oils.
Shake & Refrigerate.
Shake well before each use.

For the salad I usually use romaine lettuce, shredded carrots, and slivered almonds. Can also add shredded teriyaki chicken. Some other options are green onions, peppers, mandarin oranges, and ramen noodles.

Rosemary Lamb Chops with Swiss Chard and Balsamic Syrup

I have made this twice now with great success. Both times I served it with mashed yams, I find the sweetness of the yams compliments the tangy chard and balsamic quite nicely. It seems quite complicated and fancy but is really quite simple. I recommend following the recipe quite closely as there are details that make the whole process much simpler. I add extra garlic to both the chard and the chops. I also rub the spices into both sides of the chops instead of just sprinkling them on.

For balsamic syrup
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns

For chard
1 bunch Swiss chard (1 lb)
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon water

For lamb chops
8 rib lamb chops (1 1/4 lb total), trimmed of all fat
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Make syrup:
Simmer syrup ingredients in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart nonreactive saucepan (see cooks’ note, below) over moderate heat until just syrupy and reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 8 minutes. Pour through a sieve into a small bowl, discarding rosemary and peppercorns.

Sauté chard:
Cut stems and center ribs from chard, discarding any tough portions, then cut stems and ribs crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Stack chard leaves and roll into cylinders. Cut cylinders crosswise to make 1-inch-wide strips.

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add chard stems and ribs, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until stems are just tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in chard leaves and water and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes.

Broil chops while chard cooks:
Preheat broiler. Sprinkle chops with garlic, salt, rosemary, and pepper, then broil on a lightly oiled broiler pan, 4 to 5 inches from heat, turning over once, for medium-rare, 6 to 7 minutes total. Serve chops and chard drizzled with balsamic syrup.

Cooks’ note:
Stainless steel and enameled cast iron are nonreactive, but avoid pure aluminum and uncoated iron.

Yam/Sweet Potato and Brandy Soup

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tablespoon allspice
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add sweet potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, peel, and mash. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook and stir onions in olive oil until translucent. Add white wine, red wine, and brandy, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add mashed sweet potatoes, stirring to incorporate. Dissolve bouillon cubes in water and add to the soup with the allspice. Simmer another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

In my usual style of recipe-as-suggestion I made a few adjustments, I used a purple onion instead (all I had!) and it was good, and substituted sherry for the brandy & white wine (since Sherry is like the two together). I peeled the yams before boiling them, but next time would probably bake them instead, and scoop out the fluffy baked goodness in order to make a smoother soup. Although if I were to boil them again I would save the water from boiling to use instead of plain water in mixing up the chicken broth.

I served this with pork chops tossed in olive oil, sherry, rosemary, salt & pepper, then baked in the oven at 350 for about 25 minutes, flipping them once, and they went REALLY nicely with the soup.