We're always sharing great recipes on our Chat threads - why not just post them all in one place? Whether it's an old family dish passed down from generation to generation, a unique Ethnic dish or an economical favorite...let's post them here. And if you can...a picture really goes a long way! I am so looking forward to seeing everybody's favorites!
Okay...I'm going to start this thread off with a very economical and tasty recipe - Chicken Cacciatore (in Italy it's known as "Hunter stew")
When I was a kid, I drove my poor parents nuts because I was a Mail Junkie - I would write away for every free cookbook, sign up for every free offer (or what I thought was free! haha - that was an education in itself as 1 free book or music record turned into an entire set! Signed up in a magazine offer for a TV Guide route to pay for my mail obsession! hehe). When I was about 10, I got the "Hunt's tomato cookbook" and this was the first meal I ever made for my family! I still basically use the same recipe. This isn't exotic or exciting, but it's just one of those really good "comfort foods" when you're in the mood for chicken.
I'm not good at measurements when trying to duplicate a recipe, but this is pretty close.
I usually buy a whole chicken and cut it up or you can use chicken pieces (or a whole cut up chicken)
1 whole chicken (or pieces) (approx 3 lbs)
1 can Hunts tomato sauce - (14oz)
1 can of diced tomatoes (large one - 28 oz)
Olive oil
Flour with salt and pepper for dredging the chicken
4 cloves of garlic - chopped fine or crushed
1 large onion diced
2 ribs of Celery sliced into 1/4" pieces
1 green pepper - chopped into 1" pieces
1 small container of mushrooms (8 oz?) sliced
Fresh chopped basil or about 1/2 teaspoon dried
Fresh rosemary (a couple sprigs chopped) or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Fresh Oregano (a couple sprigs chopped) or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Cover the bottom of a large pan (dutch oven) with olive oil and heat. Put flour/salt/pepper into a ziploc or plastic bag and shake chicken pieces in it to lightly coat. Fry the chicken pieces until lightly browned.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add Garlic, Onions and Celery. Lower heat and saute until softened. Add the fried chicken pieces back into the pot, pour in the Hunts tomato sauce and the can of diced tomatoes. Lower the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add in the Green pepper, basil, oregano and rosemary and simmer for an additional 10 minutes, add in the mushrooms for another 10 minutes. Simmer it all on low heat.
I usually serve this over a nice light pasta such as Angel Hair, but it's also good over rice and it's better the next day. If you feel that there isn't enough tomatoes to cover the chicken, add some more.
Kat
PS: Grate some nice parmesan cheese on the top to give it an extra zip!
This message was edited Mar 6, 2009 3:02 AM
I like making this in the summer or anytime really. Its a nice cool refreshing thing to add to a meal
Sweet Cucumber Salad
3 cucumbers, sliced thin
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 cup (or less) chopped onion
1/2 cup (or less) chopped green pepper
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 cup vinegar (cider or white vinegar)
In a 2 qt. container, sprinkle salt on the cucumbers. let sit for awhile. Mix in onion and green pepper. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, vinegar, and celery seed. Pour over cucumbers and mix well. Refrigerate overnight. (Marinade will keep for 4 months. Just add more cucumber, green pepper, and onion when needed.)
Spicy tomato and bell pepper soup
This is very loosely measured. I happened to have a bowl of roasted peppers around which my DH had done on the grill last week when we found peppers on sale. I used about the equivalent of 1 1/2 bell pepper (red and green)
Olive oil, 3 cloves garlic, one sweet onion, cook until onions are translucent, add the bell peppers cut into pieces, add a can of tomatoes and about 3 cups of broth (I use a vegetarian stock) and a tablespoon of hot pepper flakes. Also some oregano and thyme, and a dash of paprika, salt and pepper as you like.
Cook the whole thing for appr. 30-45 minutes, then puree using a rod mixer (or a blender); add a half a can of corn kernels for little sweet bombs in the pretty spicy, tangy soup.
YUM.
Sounds really good Darla and Hetty!
Sometimes it's a drag trying to figure out what to cook every night, even if you really enjoy cooking like I do!
Haven't made this for a while, but made it tonight. It's just one of those good stand-by, wholesome meals. -
Spareribs with Italian Rice.
1 Strip of Baby Back RIbs
1 1/2 cups of cooked white rice
3/4 cup shredded Reggiano Parmesan cheese or similar
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 small onion diced fine
a handful of herbs - I went out to my little herb planter and diced up - 2 sprigs of rosemary, 3 sprigs or oregano, 3 sprigs of Parsley and 5 basil leaves - (improvise with bottled spices if you don't have fresh)
2 eggs
1 18 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of tomato juice - I didn't have any but substituted bloody mary mix and it was good!
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Cut your ribs up into about 4 pieces - approx. 4 ribs each
Lay them into a roasting pan or foil baking pan (easier clean-up) with the curved part of the ribs pointing up.(they look like little dishes)
Take your cooked rice and mix in the cheese, garlic, onion, herbs and eggs, add some salt an pepper to taste.
Spoon the rice mixture into the individual sections of ribs. Cover with the diced tomatoes and pour the tomato juice over. Cover with foil and bake for about and hour and a half. Remove the foil and baste with the juices and cook for an additonal 1/2 hour.
You eat the rice off the top and when you get down to the meat, it just falls off the bones. It's a meal in itself, but I added a little steamed cauliflower and a fresh green salad. It's easy and good!
MY FAVORITE RICE & KIDNEY BEANS RECIPE
An old family favorite from way back - comfort food at its best.
This is a microwave recipe that only dirties one large covered microwave container.
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking and standing time: approx. 35 minutes
Difficulty level: easy
Cost: low
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Freezing: leftovers can be frozen for 1 month
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of real rice (not Minute Rice or parboiled rice)
1 cup diced leftover ham
2-19 oz cans kidney beans, including liquid (shake the cans before opening)
1 tsp sambal olek or Tabasco or hot sauce
˝ tsp salt
˝ tsp freshly ground pepper
3 or 4 cloves garlic, pressed or chopped finely
1 Ľ cup hot water
PREPARATION:
In a large covered microwave container, add: onion, celery and oil.
Cover loosely and cook on High 4 minutes.
Stir.
Cover loosely and cook on High another 4 minutes.
Add rest of the ingredients.
Mix well.
Cover loosely, leaving an opening to vent the steam.
Cook on High for 6 minutes.
Carefully remove the lid to avoid burns.
Stir.
Cover loosely and cook at 40% power for another 15 minutes.
Let stand 5 minutes.
Serve.
Enjoy. Feedback welcome.
Sylvain.
We had the best bean soup tonight…actually made it yesterday and put it in the fridge overnight so that it could sit and really get tasty. I had a frozen bone from a spiral ham from Christmas with lots of meat on it and was just craving some good soup. Served it with some nice hot cornbread muffins (didn’t add sugar). So good!
2 cups of Dry Navy Beans
1 big Ham bone
About 12 cups of water to cover the ham bone
4 tablespoons of “Better than bullion” Ham soup base
2 large onions diced
3 stalks of celery chopped
˝ stick of butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon Paprika (can be omitted)
1-1/4 cup sour cream
˝ cup vinegar
Salt/pepper
Fresh parsley chopped fine (about a handful)
Either soak your beans overnight with water to cover or do the quick method – take your 2 cups of beans and cover with about 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil and boil for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let the beans sit for an hour.
In another pot, add your ham bone, onions, celery and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer low for about and hour and a half. Add the Ham soup base and beans (discard the water). Simmer low for about another hour. Remove the ham bone and cut any remaining meat into small pieces and return it to the soup.
In the meantime, melt your butter in a saucepan, add the flour and paprika and keep stirring over medium heat until smooth and cook for about 5 minutes (keep stirring). Add in a few ladles of the soup broth and keep stirring making sure there’s no lumps. Keep adding in the broth until you have a thinner consistency. Add the sour cream and stir until blended and smooth. Pour this mixture back into the soup and stir. Add in the vinegar for a little tang and add parsley, salt and pepper as per you taste. Simmer for about another 15 minutes…
This is so good…I grew up on this (minus the Better than Bullion soup base!). This is my Mom's recipe and is the Hungarian version. It’s real stick-to-your-ribs good down to earth food!
This message was edited Mar 30, 2009 11:53 PM
My favorite company dish is a Ragout of Lamb- out of my little yellowed paperback french cookbook that I bought at the airport when I left Paris to come to the US in 1967 (summer of love, for those who remember...) the little book is called " La cuisine en 20 lecons" and I have never found anything better in all the fancy french cookbooks I have since acquired.
The ingredients are approximate, as with any stew. I like to buy boneless lamb, several pounds
Cut the lamb into cubes, 1 1/2" to 2" , brown at high until well browned and powder (I'm translating here) with 2 tbs. of flour, brown the flour while stirring and add one or 2 cloves of minced garlic and as soon as you can smell the garlic cooking, add 1/2 water and 1/2 red wine, enough to cover the meat completely. I also add 1/2 onion. Add 2 tbs. tomato paste, salt, pepper, thyme and bayleaf, and if the sauce isn't nice and brown, add a little 'caramel' browning stuff* Add more wine while cooking this, if you like.
Let simmer for about 1 1/2- 2 hours, stirring on and off. Degrease the sauce when done. Meanwhile, peel potatos, carrots, squash, turnips, mushrooms, onions, any vegetable you have on hand, cut into cubes, saute in butter, salt and pepper, and cover to braise slowly. I have a large frying pan with a lid to do this. Usually the vegs and the stew are done at the same time.
When everything is done, put all the veggies on a large platter and ladle some of the meat sauce over it. It makes a spectacular platter with all those veggies and, unlike regular stew where all the flavors are mixed up, the lamb is wonderful in its strong meat and wine sauce. Serve the lamb in its sauce in a deep dish. I usually make rice with this. It never fails to bring accolades and it really is very good and perfect when you have a lot of people.
Bon Appetit!
*there is a product called 'gravy maker' a little bottle with ink black caramel, a few drops make any sauce a nice brown.
My favorite cookbook is "The French Chef" by Saint Julia Child. Who knew that purchasing that small red book in a church bazaar sale for $0.75 would be such a boon.
I treasure it and I believe I have made just about every recipe in it. They're always a great hit. Your recipe for ragout d'agneau sounds delightful and I will try it when I get a chance. Lamb, veggies, wine, gravy, more wine... how could anyone go wrong.
Thank you so much.
Sylvain
Sylvain, I also love Julia Child. Watched her for years cooking and as she tasted some great wine and more wine and still a little more. Well, her speech was a little slurry and I thought it was the wine.....I later found out she had a speech defect!
My favorite cookbook is Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna devi.
My favorite recipes:
1) Cream Corn and Red Bell peppers in Herbed Coconut Milk
2) Butternut Squash Puree with Coconut (uses fennel, cardamom, brown sugar, coconut, cream and limejuice.)
3) Bitter melon vegetable soup with dal badi (dried, hulled, split black gram soaked, pureed and seasoned with coriander, cumin, fennel, black pepper & asafoetida)-They're shaped into 2" dollops and dried. The soup has yogurt in it.
4) Curried potatoes with eggplant.
5) Curried Whole Brown Chickpeas.
If you dislike curry because it's made from store-bought curry powder, throw that crap away! Make it from fresh, whole spices pan toasted and freshly ground.
That just sounds so good and different. I really haven't had too much Indian food in my lifetime and there's really not many restaurants specializing in it around here. Can somebody please post a simple good recipe for me to try. The curried whole chickpeas sound really good!
Thanks
Kat
Bake squash, either whole or cut in half with seeds removed
scoop out cooked squash & puree.
Heat 3 T ghee (drawn butter) in a frying pan; add:
2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds crushed
1-2 tsp green chilis seeded & minced.
Add squash puree,
2-3 Tblsp brown sugar
3 Tblsp cream
1 tsp salt
Stir until thick; add squeeze lime juice then garnish with toasted coconut and toasted almonds.
That last recipe sounds intriguing, Kalpavriksha. What is it called? Is it a side dish, a dip, something so outrageously good you eat it with your finger out of the bowl while noone is looking? Whatever it is, I'm gonna whip myself a batch of that.
Thanks.
Sylvain.
Thanks Kal...Sounds really good! I'm going to have to try that soon.
Kat
I was in our local veggie place yesterday and they had some good looking Amish Egg Noodles. I haven't made this dish for a while, but it's again one of those comfort foods that is so satisflying. I always make a large batch as the leftovers are so good heated up.
Egg Noodles and Cabbage
1 16oz package medium egg noodles
1 small head of cabbage – cored and chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped or crushed
1 large onion diced
2 tablespoons Olive oil
ľ stick of Butter
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Handful of finely chopped Parsley
˝ cup of grated Parmesan or Cheddar Cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper
Sprig of fresh Dill chopped (optional)
Boil a large pot of salted water for Egg noodles. Melt Butter and Olive Oil in a large saucepan. Add diced onions and garlic and sauté until transparent. Add chopped Cabbage and put a lid over it and cook on low until cabbage is limp and cooked through (not crunchy) occasionally stirring. Cook your Eggs Noodles (about 9 minutes) and drain. Add Vinegar and sugar to Cabbage as well as salt and pepper. Add cooked egg noodles and blend everything together. Cover and cook on low for about 15 minutes so that all the flavors blend together. Blend in cheese, parsley,dill and serve.
I served it with some egg/garlic soaked Pork tenderloin breaded with Panko crumbs...soooooo good!
Kat all I can deduce from your recipes that you clearly spend HOURS each day in the gym! If I ate all that great comfort food all the time I would weigh 400 pounds!
I will try this sometime; I actually really like cabbage; I wonder how it would be using Savoy cabbage which is one of my faorite cabbage varieties; it has a sweet nutty flavor.
Ummmm Hetty...I've been comforting myself too much - that's why I weigh 400lbs! I've actually been cooking a little leaner lately - trying to stay away from Bread and Pasta but yesterday I caved! I think Savoy would be really good in this recipe also. That touch of vinegar just gives it a little extra something.
This actually could be a one dish meal.
Kat
Kat, this noodle and kraut dish! I haven't thought about that in years! It was a staple when I was growing up in Austria, a time when we had meat only on Sundays.....but I marvel today at our mother's inventiveness.
They produced tasty meals on extremely tight budgets, cabbage, spinach, etcc....probably healthier, too, except we didn't have olive oil.
Thank you
Here is a chicken paprikasch recipe The girls are coming this weekend to FL and this is a must:
use a pot with tight fitting lid. Cast iron is ideal.
3-4 lb chicken cut up Bell Evans or Murrays
3 medium onions diced- optional 1 clove of garlic smashed
1 red bell pepper sliced/diced
3 Tbs sweet paprika
salt and a dash of pepper
3 large potatos peeled and cut into wedges
2-3 Tbs sour cream
Saute onions and peppers in 3 T olive oil (butter is even better), until wilted, add chicken pieces, paprika salt pepper, stir,cover and let cook on low for 1/2 hr , checking often to make sure there is liquid. Set the potato wedges on top and let cook another 1/2 hr. (if liquid needs to be added, use white wine or water, not too much). you want some liquid to make the sour cream gravy. Before serving stir in the sour cream. Adjust seasoning.
serve with the spaetzle or home made noodles
Both of those recipes sound yummy, so I've copied them down and I'll have to try them. thanks
Darla
Oh...Helene! My Mom was Hungarian and we had Chicken Paprikasch probably ever couple of weeks! Loved that! Very similar recipe except there were no potatoes added. She would serve it with what we know as Polenta (corn-meal). Hated Cornmeal at the time, but I love it now! Yes...every so often she would also would make some homemade Spaetzle! It was soooooo good!
Monschi: Yes, it's one of those old great Peasant dishes...but so good! I didn't grow up with Olive Oil either...we used Lard! My Dear Friend dropped over tonight and I'm like...stay for dinner, but all I'm doing is left-overs. We had a good feast. The Noodles and Cabbage is so much better the second day. Glad it brought a good memory to you. Did you have this with caraway seeds by anychance?
As you all know, I take photo's of everything. I'm doing it these days with food, because I have a sweet young girl who works for me, getting married in October.She's worked for me for about 6 years and when she came, she hadn't even eaten a shrimp! Well, we've had quite an experience with good food over the last few years...and now she even eat's Oysters! I'm going to make her a Cookbook of favorite recipes with photo's.
Kat
Kat, yes we did(and I do) use Caraway. Nowadays whenever I go to Europe, I bring back packages of GROUND caraway, which we didn't have then. It's easier to just put a half teaspoon of it into lots of vegetable dishes. Caraway is supposed to take away the 'explosive' power (flatulence) of so many good and pungent vegetables
My mother cooked viennese/hungarian.
KatG, its the hungarian blood in you that makes you so energetic
Caraway is good with cabbage and sauer kraut. Reduces gases that crucifers cause.
Made this today for a pool side cocktail party here at LBK:
Italien Sausage Balls:
1/2 lb of sweet italien sausage and
1/2 lb of hot italien sausage
1-1/2 cups of grated semi sharp Cheddar Cheese- about 8 oz..
1 cup of bisquick
3-4 tbs of milk or 1/2 and 1/2
about 80 pieces of walnuts.
each quater cut in half in other words 1/8 of the shelled walnut.
knead dough until well combined. shape into about 1-1/4" ball with the walnut piece in the center - bake for about 30 minutes at 350degrees.Ungreased baking sheet.
Serve hot. can be frozen and baked - or baked, frozen and reheated.
These are special with that little surprise/crunch inside.
Can be served with a pikante dipping sauce. i won't today.
I made recipe books for my 2 daughters and nieces and gave them this year for Christmas. About 15 books in 3 hole binders, in plastic covers. worked it in power point with pictures of the final product and procedures for more complicated baking recipes. Such as my mothers easter bread. Croissants. Mostly family baking recipes. Epicurious has Recipe books on line, were you can add your own recipes..... Helene
d
This message was edited Sep 14, 2009 4:38 PM
Herewith a picture of Sausage Balls.
Hi, y'all.
I love the recipes shown on this thread and I have tried most of them. This morning, there are a few more to try.
It irks me when I hear food described as "peasant food". Had not the peasants fed the aristocracy, there would have been no aristocracy because none of them had the good sense to cook for themselves.
Here is comfort food, my mother's style:
Mrs. Forest's macaroni & cheese.
Cook 1 lb macaroni, cooked according to manufacturer's directions, drain and set aside.
Dice up a large onion.
Fry it in a hot cast iron large pot with butter, sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper until the onions' edges start blackenning.
Remove from the heat.
Add 1/2 stick butter and let it melt.
Return to the burner and add 2 tablespoonfulls flour.
Mix well and let the flower cook, fizzle and foam.
Add a can diced tomatoes and mix well. The mixture should be very thick.
Add enough milk (leftover whipping cream also works well) and mix well. You have to thin down the sauce but it should still be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Make sure the sauce has boiled, not more than that.
Remove from heat.
Add 1 cup grated sharp cheddar,
Add 1 cup grated swiss cheese,
add 1/2 cup freshly grated parmegiano reggiano (sp?) - in a bind, the stuff in the green cardboard box could work, I guess.
add 6 to 8 drops tabasco sauce.
Mix until the cheese is melted.
Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce and mix well.
Place the cast iron pot under the broiler until the surface of the macaroni is nicely browned and crisped.
And you're done. It's even better as a leftover the next day.
Enjoy.
Sylvain.
Sounds great Polar Bear! I need to try that one!
Had another Pasta meltdown today…but it was more out of laziness, as after a day out in the backyard, I didn’t feel like going to the grocery store! I just love simple good tasting food.
This turned out really good and was extremely delicious. I had all ingredients on hand and my little herb planter is a lifesaver! Polar Bear – I will NOT refer to this as “peasant food” hahaha
4 links Hot Italian Sausage
10 small very ripe fresh tomatoes
10 cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil
1 small green bell pepper – cut into 1” pieces
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary – chopped
2 sprigs of fresh oregano - chopped
2 sprigs of fresh parsley – chopped
A handful of fresh basil leaves – coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper
Hot Pepper flakes
˝ package of very thin spaghetti or pasta of your choice. (8oz)
Coat the bottom of a large fry pan with olive oil, Cut the sausage links in half and fry them until browned with 5 of the whole garlic cloves – turning to evenly brown.
While the sausage is browning, fill about a 3 quart pan with water and bring it to a boil. Toss in the tomatoes and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and peel under cold water. You can reserve the water to cook your pasta, or refill with new.
Chop the peeled tomatoes into ˝ inch sections. Drain off and reserve any excess juice. Add about a tablespoon of salt to the tomatoes.
Remove the sausage from the pan and move it to a separate dish. Pour out half of the oil left in the sausage pan and add about 2 more tablespoons of Olive oil. Add the tomatoes. Cook on high, constantly stirring until the juice is reduced. (about 20 minutes) Add some of the reserved juice if it gets too dry.
Add a dash of Hot Pepper flakes, the chopped Rosemary, oregano and parsley. Chop up the 5 remaining garlic cloves coarsely and add. Cook for about 25 minutes, stirring.
Boil the water for Pasta.
Cut up the sausage into ˝ pieces and add to the tomato sauce. Add the chopped green pepper and cook for about another 10 minutes…giving the occasional stir. Add chopped basil in the last couple minutes of cooking.
When pasta is cooked and drained, take a little of the sauce and mix it with your pasta. Place pasta on individual dishes and spoon sausage and sauce over it. This is really tasty! A one dish meal! Sorry if I make it sound complicated, it's not!
Love these recipes! Have already made Kat's noodles & cabbage and Sylvain's beans & rice.
They were both a terrific hit with my husband. Looking forward to trying the rest.
The latest "Kat" recipe is on the stove now. Had some nice oregano and basil growing in the herb pots on the fence to add the finishing touch. Thanks for the inspiration you all give to so many of us that might be trying to think "what am I going to fix for supper tonight????".
Wannabe...So glad you're enjoying the recipes we're posting! That is so cool! And I know what you mean about "what on earth am I going to cook for dinner?"
Your herbs look great (foxtail ferns too!)...Isn't it just the greatest having them so fresh and handy? I'm going to have to post a great easy and very tasty pesto recipe, maybe I'll make it this week as the basil just grows like crazy and if you don't use it, it's a shame.
I just love my herbs...
Kat
I love that planter! Everything looks so good!
Darla
Your herb garden looks wonderful, Kat. So full and healthy. Hope you get a chance to make the pesto with that beautiful basil. If you post the recipe we'll all be making it.
Here's a easy classic salad dressing: (Doesn't sound like much as you read it, but after we started having it, I thought about tossing the bottled dressings.)
Take the bowl in which you plan on tossing your salad and add 1 clove of minced garlic and 1 tsp. Kosher salt. Use a fork and grind the two together in the bowl. Then add 3 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and whisk together. Set aside while you cut up your vegetables and just toss them in the bowl as you cut. We like cucumber, celery, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, romaine lettuce and some fresh basil, of course. Toss the whole thing up and serve or stick it in the refrig. until the rest of the meal is ready. Hope you like it.
