Thursday, April 26, 2007

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD LIKE APPLEBEE'S

I just finished my salad and it was really good. It does taste like the one I had at Applebee's. Mmmm....


4 breaded chicken breast fillets
1 romaine heart
1 1/2 c. coleslaw mix (or finely shredded cabbage)
1/3 c. toasted almond slivers or slices (blanched almonds)
1/2 c. chow mein noodles

Dressing:
1/3 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. horseradish
1/4 c. spanish onion, diced
1 c. canola oil

Cook chicken fillets as directed.

To make dressing, combine everything but the oil in a blender of food processor and process until liquified.

Continue to blend and slowly drizzle in the oil until blended.

Make coleslaw with the cabbage and the dressing first and top it with the lettuce, almonds and noodles. Then cut up the chicken and add to salads.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Spicy Tomato Bisque

I know - another soup but I had this for lunch (at Garden Cafe) yesterday and Alicia is making it for dinner tonight. If it's not good, she'll let us know...

1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the tomato puree, red pepper flakes, black pepper, basil, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.

Whisk in the cream cheese until well blended, then stir in the milk. Heat through without bringing to a boil. Stir in the fresh basil, and remove from the heat.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Creamed Peas and Potatoes

Carl has been asking me to make this forever and I finally did last night. So here is my contribution to the recipe corner. When I find something unique and creative and will post other recipes. You can make this a couple different ways. You could make a rue first with flour, milk and butter. But this is what I did.

5-6 medium potatoes (10-12 if using red potatoes)
Frozen Peas
Onion chopped
*Boil these until potatoes are soft
Add...
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 stick butter
salt and pepper to taste

At this point you could add a rue or cornstarch to thicken.
Yummy

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Wisconsin Cauliflower-Cheddar Soup

Matt LOVES this soup at Zupas and has been asking me (for about four months) to find the recipe and make it. Well, I finally did tonight and it turned out pretty well. Mine wasn't as smooth as Zupas, but still wasn't bad. Try it out - you just might like it!

2 tablespoons margarine or butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped (I of course ommitted the onion)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 package (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (2 cups)

1. In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.

4. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Swedish Meatballs

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sour cream
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg beaten
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp vegetable oil
Hot cooked egg noodles
cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley for garnish
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine soup, water, sour cream; set aside
In medium bowl, mix thoroughly beef, breadcrumbs, onion, egg, and nutmeg. Shape mixture into 16 meatballs.
In a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, in hot oil, brown meatballs a few at a time until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. Spoon off excess fat.
Stir in soup mixture. Reduce heat to low. Heat through; do not boil. Serve over noodles. Garnish with tomatoes and parsley if desired.
*makes 4 main dish servings.

Chicken Enchiladas Soup

We had this last night. I thought it was really good. Some of the kids liked it. But we took our corn tortillas, cut them into triangles, and fried them up to make our own chips. All the kids loved that!


2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 sm. onion, chopped
Saute onion and garlic in hot oil.
Add: 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can chicken broth, undiluted 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted 1 (14 1/2 oz.) can beef broth, undiluted 1 (6 3/4 oz.) can chunk-style chicken 1 1/2 c. water 1 tbsp. steak sauce (A-1) 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. chili powder 1/8 tsp. pepper

Stir, cover, and simmer 20 minutes (I have been known to eat this almost immediately when in a hurry!). Last 5 minutes add strips of corn tortillas (I buy a small package and just cut in 1 1/2-inch strips--use half the package or as many as you want and steam the rest in microwave to eat with soup).

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Labels

Don't forget to label your recipe....see the bottom right of the comment box...type in your own label. I have gone back and added labels to the recipes already on the page.

Salmon

OK this one is from Carl's uncle, and I tried it last night and it so good!
Take as many pieces of salmon as you would normally feed your family, cut it up into 1 inch cubes. In a ziploc bag pour in 1/2 cube melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup lemon juice. Mix it all up and add the salmon pieces. Let it sit for an hour or so. Heat up your grill and make a makeshift pan out of tin foil on the grill. Pour in the salmon and the sauce and let it cook for about 5 minutes or until it is done. EAT IT UP
I loved it.

Kid Friendly Sloppy Joes

Ok, it's about time I post this since I suggested the recipe idea! This one is very good because there are no chunks and it's sweet--kids like it! Mom and Dad said it is blog-worthy!

Brown and drain 1 lb. hamburger

Mix and add:

1/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. (1 can) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 T. vinegar
1 T. worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper (or less)
1/4 c. brown sugar -very packed
1/4 tsp. chili powder

Simmer 1 hr. until sauce is very thick and will not make buns soggy!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Grilled Mahi Mahi Fillets


This is what I'm having for dinner tonight since Matt is gone. This is a Rachael Ray recipe.

4 portions, 6 to 8 ounces each, mahi mahi fillets
Salt and pepper
2 limes, juiced
3 tablespoons dark tamari soy sauce
2 inches fresh ginger root, grated, about 1 1/2 tablespoons (NOTE: I use the powder but Alicia highly recommends fresh.)
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

Preheat grill pan to over medium high to high heat. Season mahi mahi fillets with salt and pepper. Combine the lime juice, dark soy, ginger and a little vegetable or canola oil in a shallow dish. Turn the mahi mahi in the citrus soy marinade and let it hang out for 10 minutes. Grill on hot grill pan for 6 minutes per side for a 1-inch fillet or until fish is firm and opaque.

RR recommends this served with asparagus, which I am going to do tonight. Hope you like this recipe.

Monday, April 9, 2007

Here is our recipe blog...

Post your recipes on this blog....and when you can - a picture! Also, put a label (fish, chicken, beef, casserole, etc) for your recipe then when we click on that label we can find all the recipes with the same label. Pretty nifty!