My Lime Green Kitchen

Archive for November, 2009

Caponata
1/4 c. olive oil (or more)
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
2 – 3 medium eggplants
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 large tomatoes, diced
Salt
Pepper
Peel and slice eggplant into 1/2″ slices.  OK . . I used 4 eggplants but we also ate some of it on sandwiches for lunch.

Salt heavily on both sides. Place in colander and allow salt to drain some of the liquid from the eggplant.

Rinse and pat very dry with paper towels.

Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add more olive oil as needed.  The eggplant really drinks it up.  Add eggplant and cook until golden brown.

Almost burnt is the best way for us.  It’s so good . . another reason I cooked 4 eggplant!   See that piece on the fork . . it never made it to the salad!  Yum!

See the olive oil that’s draining out of the eggplant?  Olive oil is good for you so don’t worry too much about it but I scoop that out and use it to saute the onions, celery and garlic.

Cook for 10 minutes or until soft, as soft as you want — we like ours a bit crunchy.

Stir onions, celery, garlic into eggplant.  Add chopped tomatoes, parsley, olive oil and as much vinegar as you like.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate til ready to serve.

We serve this as a salad but we also make sandwiches with it.

Surprise anyone who thinks they don’t like carrots. Even Chad loves this dish!

Carrot Souffle

2 pounds carrots, chopped
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350° degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash. To the carrots add melted butter, white sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla extract and eggs. Mix well and transfer to a 2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt (if using for cornbread dressing,  you may want to put only 1/2 teaspoon salt – the broth you use may be salty)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons shortening

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°.  Heat 2 tablespoons shortening in an iron skillet.

Combine corn meal, flour and salt in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk and egg.

Add egg mixture to flour mixture.  Stir just til combined.  Add baking powder and baking soda.  Stir in 1/4 cup melted shortening.

Mix well but do not overmix.

Pour into hot pan.

Bake at 450° for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

These are good!  I like things you can serve from the same pan they’re baked in.

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 – 18 oz. yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg

Filling:

1 – 30 oz. can pumpkin pie filling
1 – 5 0z. can evaporated milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, butter and egg until crumbly.  Set aside 2/3 cup for topping.  Press the remaining crumb mix into a greased  13 x 9″ baking dish.

For filling, combine pumpkin pie filling, milk and eggs.  Pour over crust.

For topping, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and reserved crumb mixture.

Sprinkle over pumpkin layer.

Bake at 350° for 40 – 50 minutes or until top is golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Thanks to Gina for sharing this recipe! It’s very tasty — robust as Chad would say!  We have this soup often and love it!

1 lb Italian sausage
1 T. Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 cups beef broth
2 cups diced Roma Tomatoes (may use canned)
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 medium Zucchini, sliced
1 bag (1lb) baby spinach
1 large Carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry red wine ( Gina suggests drinking the remainder of the bottle!)
2 tablespoons basil
2 tablespoon oregano
1 1/2 cups purchased fresh cheese tortellini
Parmesan cheese, freshly shaved or grated if preferred
salt and pepper to taste, check for salt first.

Remove casings from sausage. Sauté Italian sausage in heavy pot over medium-high heat until cooked through, breaking up, simmer about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan. Add Olive oil,  onion and garlic to pan and sauté until tender & aromatic, about 5 minutes.  Return sausage to pot. Add beef broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, zucchini, carrot, spinach, wine, basil and oregano. Simmer until vegetables are tender, 45 minutes. Add tortellini to soup and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Season soup with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese in individual bowls and garlic bread.

We love salt rising bread. Try finding that at your local bread store. Maybe you can but we surely can’t. Kirchoff’s in Paducah makes it but they don’t make it often and this year was the first year I’ve ever been able to get it during the quilt show. When we lived 2 hours from Paducah, I was able to get it more often and there was a bakery in Bowling Green, KY that made it also. Maybe it’s a Kentucky thing!

When I walked into the house with two loaves of salt rising bread last weekend, I thought Vince and Chad were going to knock each other down getting to the kitchen. Thursday I began the process of making a batch. It was just ready to come out of the oven when Chad walked into the house on Friday afternoon. Yep, I do believe a way to a man’s heart is through his tummy!

If you’ve never had salt rising bread, I’ll warn you . . it stinks! Vince, who will eat anything, said “It’s so good once you get past the smell!” It smells like stinky Italian cheese or . . toe jam! But, it makes the very best toast and even better than best (is that possible?) grilled cheese sandwiches.

It isn’t hard to make but it takes a while.

1. Peel and slice 2 medium or 3 small potatoes. There’s no real specific amount because the potatoes get dumped in the end.

2. Pour 1 quart of boiling water over the potatoes.

3. Stir in 1/4 c. non-degerminated cornmeal, 2 T. sugar and 1 tsp. salt. Read the labels to find a non-degerminated cornmeal. Whole grain or stone ground cornmeal should be non-degerminated but you really need that germ.

The cornmeal isn’t going to dissolve or anything . . it will still be there.

4. Place the potato bowl inside another bowl and pour boiling water in the larger bowl.

5. Place the bowls somewhere so they’ll stay as warm as possible. I put mine in my electric oven and leave the light on.

6. Leave the mixture brewing for 24 hours. Replace the hot water in the outer bowl 3 or 4 times during that 24 hours.

After a while, foam starts to appear. The magic is working!

Leave it alone for a little while longer and more foam forms and now it smells like stinky cheese or . . toe jam!

7. Fish the potatoes out, making sure to leave as much of the cornmeal in the liquid as possible. This is you starter. Flush the potatoes down the garbage disposal. They stink!

8. Scald 1-1/2 cups milk. Pour the milk, the starter, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 4 cups flour into a large bowl.

9. Stir all the lumps out. I sometimes use a whisk.

10. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Place this bowl back in the warm place and leave it til it looks like thick clotted cream. It will definitely have the stinky cheese (toe jam) smell! Don’t let it sit too long. It can take anywhere from 1-1/2 hours to 3 hours, depending on how warm your area is.

11. This is how it will look. My bowl might have been just a tad small.

12. See how creamy that looks? This is your sponge.

OK . . at this point I forgot to take pictures. I know . . you’re glad! There should be a limit to how many pictures can be in one blog post.

Here’s the rest of the steps:

13. You may need a bigger bowl. I can use my Bosch mixer but my Kitchen Aid isn’t large enough for this. Into 4 cups of flour, stir in 7 T. shortening, 2-1/2 tsp. salt. Use a fork or your fingers, like you would if you were making a pie crust.

14. Stir the sponge into the flour mixture. Continue stirring and adding flour as necessary. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and add more flour as needed. I use a total of about 6 cups of flour in this step. This is a very heavy dough.

15. Divide dough into three balls. I will freeze one or two at this point. I wrap the dough that’s going into the freezer in greased plastic wrap, then seal in a bag using the Food Saver.

Whichever ones you’re going to bake, shape into loaves. Place in greased pans. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap and return to the warm place. I put mine in the oven with a pan of hot water.

16. When rising is done, remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 for about 40 – 50 minutes.

Try to wait til the loaves cool off a bit before slicing. Sometimes I feel the urge to test the bread . . you know . . just to be sure it’s good before allowing my family to eat it.

Breakfast Banana Bruschetta

This recipe is great and very quick to fix.

6 – 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick slices sweet Hawaiian bread, or any French bread
1 medium banana, mashed
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 medium bananas, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 c. brown sugar
Sifted powdered sugar

Toast bread and let cool. Combine mashed banana, cream cheese, and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Spread some of the mixture over each toasted bread slice.

Place slices on a cookie sheet. Layer banana slices on top of cream cheese mixture. Brush bananas with melted butter or margarine. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Broil bruschetta 4 to 5-inches from the heat for 30 to 60 seconds or until banana slices just begin to glaze. Sprinkle tops with sifted powdered sugar and serve with warm maple syrup.

With the holidays coming up and family visiting, this is a great recipe for breakfast!  Maybe you’re the one who’s going to be visiting your family.  Treat them to a fantastic out of the ordinary breakfast! Do all the work the night before and enjoy a morning treat with your guests.  (Sorry . . I forgot to take pictures before it was served!)

Overnight Peach French Toast

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick butter
2 T. water
1 – 29 oz. can sliced peaches, drained
12 slices day old French bread, sliced 3/4″ thick
5 eggs
1-1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Ground cinnamon

Bring water, brown sugar and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish. After the brown sugar/butter mixture has cooled a bit, add the sliced peaches. Place the bread slices on top.

Mix the eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour over the bread. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Remove from fridge and leave sitting on counter for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 30 – 35 minutes. Can be served with whipped cream and/or maple syrup.

This is a recipe I’ve been making for 20+ years.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken this as a  covered dish to a potluck and it’s always a hit.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. dillweed
1/2 tsp. Tabasco
1/2 c. butter
2 medium onions (use Vidalia or sweet onions if you have them), chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream
1 – 14.75 oz. can cream style corn (I used a package of corn I froze during the summer)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 c. milk
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 – 8.5 oz. package cornbread or corn muffin mix

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Melt butter. Saute onions in butter til clear.

In a small bowl, combine dill weed, sour cream, milk and salt. Stir in onions and 1 cup cheese. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine egg, cornbread mix, corn and Tabasco.

Pour into a greased 12″ x 9″ baking dish.

Spoon onion mixture over top.

Bake uncovered at 350°  for 25 minutes.

Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and continue baking an additional 25 minutes or until top is set and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.

This recipe is pretty easy to make, makes a beautiful pie and is way less expensive if you make it when strawberries are in season.

Ingredients:

4 squares Almond Bark, chocolate flavored, divided
1 T. oil
1 tsp. oil
1 pie shell, baked
2 – 3 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
4 T. sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups strawberries, hulled

Directions:

In a saucepan or in the microwave, melt 3 squares of the chocolate bark, along with the 1 Tablespoon of oil.  Do not allow to scorch!  A double boiler can be used or it can be melted over a very low heat, or in the microwave.  Working quickly, spread melted chocolate over the bottom and up the sides of the pie crust.  Use the back side of an oiled spoon to spread the chocolate.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Pour over chocolate layer.  Chill at least 2 hours.

Place strawberries, pointed end up, on top of the filling.

Melt the remaining square of bark with the tsp. oil.  Drizzle over the strawberries.

Keep in the fridge til ready to serve.

Adapted from Taste of Home Contest Winning Recipes, 2006.