My Lime Green Kitchen

Archive for November, 2009

These sandwiches were easy (despite the recipe looking a little difficult) and so good!  Very different from what we usually eat.  My dad, who doesn’t usually like anything out of the ordinary, loved these.

Ingredients:

4 pita pockets (I made my own but you can surely buy them already made)
1 pound ground chicken (see note)
1 large egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
2/3 c. fresh mint leaves, chopped (divided)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 T. butter
6 oz. plain yogurt
spinach leaves or shredded lettuce
tomatoes, chopped
avocado, sliced

Notes:

1. I ground chicken breasts in my food processor.  It took 2 good size breast halves to make one pound. It’s real easy if you have any size food processor.  I’ve used my big Cuisinart at home but used mom’s mini Cuisinart at her house and loved it too.
2. Mix the mint with the yogurt ahead of time and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend.

Directions:

In a large bowl, mix ground chicken, bread crumbs, feta cheese, egg, 1/3 c. mint leaves, salt and pepper.

By the way, thanks Smokey for that beautiful green egg!    I mixed all this up early and stuck it in the fridge til time to make the patties.

Mix with hands til combined.  Shape into 8 patties.  Melt butter in non-stick skillet.  Add patties and cook on both sides til brown and chicken is done.  These were kinda sticky and didn’t want to shape into patties so I more or less dropped a blob in the pot and then mashed it out with the spatula.

It was real hard not to eat these as I was frying them.

In a small bowl, combine yogurt and remaining mint.

Stuff 2 patties in each pocket.  Add lettuce, tomato and avocado.  Drizzle mint yogurt over the “stuffing” inside the pocket.

Forgot to take a picture when these were first served so here’s a picture of the leftovers.  I’ll update the photo next time I make them.

Chicken & Dumplings

Boil a whole chicken in seasoned water.  I do this in the pressure cooker for about 7 minutes.  To the water, add a bit of salt, pepper, onions, carrots, celery, a bay leaf . . whatever you would like.

Once the chicken is done, remove from the broth and shred the meat from the bones. Save the broth for the dumplings.  I usually divide the broth in half and freeze half of it and use half in the dumplings.

Because we don’t like a lot of chicken in our dumplings, some of the chicken is saved for other meals.  It can be frozen if not going to be used for a few days.  a plain chicken, and I think it puts a little less fat in the water.

For the Dumplings:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup Bisquick
2 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs
1/3 c. milk (you may need to add a little more)

Mix all the dumpling ingredients. Roll out onto floured surface. Roll very thin – almost as thin as a potato chip. Cut into 1″ x 2″ strips. Dip in flour and lay out on floured surface for at least one hour. Flip them all over and let them sit out for another hour. They are better if you allow them to dry out a bit.

Drop individually into the boiling broth and cook til tender but NOT mushy. Just before they are done, add the shredded chicken. Do not stir the dumplings or they’ll break up. I gently mash them down every now and then with a spatula to kind of separate them and keep them covered in the broth.

Spinach Meatloaf has been a favorite for years.  It’s one of those dishes that looks like it was hard to make but it’s so easy!

Ingredients

1-1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
2 carrots, finely chopped or grated
1 onion, finely chopped
salt & pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 pound fresh spinach or 1 box frozen spinach
1/2 c. feta cheese
1/2 c. cottage cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

If using fresh spinach, wash and remove stems.  If using frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze as much liquid from the spinach as possible.  Discard the liquid.  (I use fresh spinach.)

Mix ground beef, bread crumbs, milk, onion, egg, carrots, salt and pepper.

Spread a piece of waxed paper onto the counter.  Pat the meat mixture into a rectangle that you can roll up and stuff into your loaf pan.  Spread the spinach on top of the meat, then add the feta cheese and cottage cheese.  Sprinkle oregano on top, and depending on how much salt and pepper used in the meat mixture, you may want to add more salt and pepper now.

Using the waxed paper to hold it all together, roll the whole thing up jelly roll fashion and put into loaf pan.

Bake at 350 for one hour or until done.  Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes.  Drain any grease that has cooked out of the meat. Slice and serve!

BBQ Cups

This is definitely a frugal meal and while I’m not crazy about it, Chad and Vince love it.  If you cook for kids, they’re likely to love this!

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion
1/2 c. BBQ sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. brown sugar
1 can refrigerator biscuits
grated cheese

Brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Add the chopped onion and stir til onion is cooked. Stir in BBQ sauce, salt and brown sugar.

Roll the individual biscuits or flatten them so that the fill fit into the bottom and up the sides of muffin tins. Spoon the ground meat mixture into the biscuit “crust”.

Bake at 400 for 10 – 12 minutes.

Top with grated cheese and place back in oven til cheese melts.

Copper Pennies
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato soup
3 pounds carrots, peeled, sliced, cooked and drained (I like mine kinda crunchy — not all the way done)
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
I also add a bit of Tabasco

These are so good and you can munch on them for weeks!

Combine the sugar, vinegar, oil, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the soup. Mix the carrots, onion, and bell pepper together in a large bowl; pour the sauce over the vegetables, stir gently to combine, and refrigerate overnight. These will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

Pita bread is easy to make!  And it’s like magic the way that pocket is formed in there.  How does that work?  Beats me!  You can stuff all kinds of yummy things in those pockets and your friends and family will think you’re a gourmet cook!

Pita Bread

2 packages yeast (that’s about 4-1/2 teaspoons)
1/2 c. warm water
2 tsp. salt
2 cups water
6 – 8 cups flour
2 T. honey

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water and let sit about 5 minutes.

Combine honey, salt and 2 cups water.  Add yeast mixture.  Stir (or use mixer) in 4 cups flour.  Continue adding flour until dough is smooth and satiny.  I usually remove from mixer while the dough is a bit sticky and hand knead in the remaining flour needed.

Shape dough in a ball and place in a greased bowl.  Turn to grease the whole ball of dough.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and let sit til about doubled.  Punch dough down, pull off small pieces and roll into circle about 1/4″ thick.

Place on a cookie sheet, cover and let rise about 30 minutes.  Bake at 450 til the tops begin to slightly brown.  You do not want the bread to get crusty!  It shouldn’t take more than 10 – 12 minutes to bake.

This recipe makes about 12 good sized pieces.  I divide the dough into thirds.

Yes, I get real anal about getting the pieces even.

With a little help from the kitchen scale, and calculator, all three balls of dough weigh in at exactly 16.2 ounces.

I’ll divide one ball into four approximately four ounce pieces and those will be the pieces I use now.

The other balls are wrapped in greased plastic wrap and then sealed in FoodSaver bags, frozen for later use.

Anything going into the freezer needs to be labeled . . what’s in the bag and the date, and then added to your list of what’s in the freezer.

An exciting blend of flavors!  Great dish to prepare when Fall vegetables are in season.

Pork with Fall Veggies

1 – 3-1/2 to 4 pound pork loin roast
2 T. oil
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
5 whole allspice berries
salt and pepper
1 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. water
1 bay leaf
1 medium acorn squash, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1″ cubes
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
2 medium apples, peeled, seeded and cut into wedges
2 T. cider vinegar
1 package pork gravy mix

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.  Brown pork roast on all sides.  Sprinkle with thyme, sage, salt and pepper.  Add chicken broth, water, allspice berries and bay leaf.  Simmer, covered, for one hour, turning twice.

Add squash, potatoes, carrots and onions.  Simmer for 25 minutes.  Add apples and simmer an additional 10 minutes.

Remove pork, vegetables and apples.  Keep warm.  Remove and discard allspice berries and bay leaf.

Stir vinegar and gravy mix into liquid in pot.  Heat, stirring constantly about a minute or until thickened.

Pour gravy over meat and vegetables before serving.

This is beyond delicious!  The recipe may seem difficult but it is so easy and if you’re having guests during the holidays . . trust me . . they will be so impressed with your culinary skills if you serve this for dessert!  When we sat down to eat it, Vince said “It tastes like pumpkin pie!”  Chad doesn’t like pumpkin pie but I think it tastes more like pumpkin creme brulee so I quickly mentioned that.  Chad loved it!!  I’m going to go out on a limb and say even the non-pumpkin eaters should love this!

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin or fresh cooked pumpkin
1 – 5 oz. can evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon finely grated orange peel
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Put a kettle of water on to boil.

Caramelize sugar:  Melt the 1-1/3 cups sugar in a heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly.  When the sugar starts to melt, reduce heat to low.  Be very careful so it doesn’t scorch. Be very careful also to cook just til the sugar melts and turns a bit brown.  Overcooking will result in a hard layer of candy in the bottom of your dish.

Continue stirring frequently til sugar is golden brown.

This stuff is HOT!  Be very careful with it.

Arrange 8 ungreased custard cups into 2 baking dishes. Pour hot water around the cups.  This heats the cups up a bit before spooning the hot melted sugar into the cups.

Quickly spoon the caramelized sugar into the 8 custard dishes.

In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk, the 1/2 cup sugar, spices, orange peel and vanilla.  Mix well.  Pour over the caramelized sugar in the cups.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle of a cup comes out clean.  Remove the cups from the water.  Cool slightly on a wire rack.

Cut squares of plastic wrap and press gently against the top of the custard.  This will keep moisture from forming on the plastic wrap and making the top of your custard sticky and runny.

Chill at least 6 hours.

To serve, loosen edges with a knife.  Place a dessert plate over each custard, turn upside down and the custard should slip right out.  Serve with whipped cream if desired.  It really doesn’t need whipped cream . . it’s so good!

This is a hearty, filling soup!  This also freezes well.

Shipwreck Stew

3 lbs. meat (can be ground beef, round steak, stew meat)
1 onion, chopped
4 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 lb. carrots, peeled and sliced 1/2″ thick
1 pkg. frozen cut green beans
2 – 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 – 15 oz. cans pinto beans, drained
1/2 c. barley
1 can beef broth (have an extra can or two to add if the stew is too thick)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt

Brown meat, adding onion right before meat is finished browning.

Transfer meat and onion to crock pot, leaving behind as much grease as possible. Add all remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 8 hours. If the mixture looks too dry, add more broth, crushed tomatoes or water. Taste before serving and add more salt if desired.

Iceberg lettuce doesn’t rate real high on my “Favorite Lettuce” list.  (I don’t really have such a list!)  But, sometimes, iceberg is on sale for so little that I can’t pass it up and this salad is good!

Start with:

One head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into quarters

Dressing:
1 c. plain yogurt
1/2 c. mayo
1 package Ranch dressing
2 T. spicy mustard

Mix the above ingredients and put in the fridge for a few hours.

Candy Coated Pecans (recipe follows)
1 c. crumbled bleu cheese or feta cheese
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 c. chopped tomato

Candy Coated Pecans – cut 1 c. pecan halves in half. Place in pan. Turn heat on medium. Add 1/2 c. sugar. Stir constantly til sugar melts. Dump onto a greased plate. Let cool and break apart.

To assemble salad:

Put a lettuce wedge on a salad plate. Top with crumbled bacon, chopped tomatoes, candy coated pecans and bleu cheese. Pour a generous amount of dressing over each wedge.