February 9, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Honey Mustard Beet Salad
This is a great winter salad that is very colorful and tasty. It makes a lot but is the kind of salad that gets better the longer the beets marinate in the dressing. My friend with all the food allergies was able to enjoy this because there are no additives in any of the ingredients. I served this with roasted chicken that was cooked in the crockpot.
Ingredients
5 cans sliced beets, drained
1/2 C. honey
4 t. balsamic vinegar
1-2 T. yellow mustard (depending how mustardy you like it)
1 shallots, finely minced or 1/4 C. onion, finely minced
1/2 C. toasted, chopped walnuts
1 – 10 oz. bag baby spinach
1. Drain the beets and place them in a large bowl.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the honey, balsamic vinegar, and yellow mustard. Stir in the shallot and pour over the beets. Toss to coat the beets with the dressing. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.
3. To serve, place a handful of baby spinach on a salad plate and top with the beet mixture. Sprinkle with walnuts. Serves 8
Tags: balsamic vinegar, beets, fresh spinach, honey, walnuts
Posted in Salad, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
February 6, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup
The other day I ran across an old folder of recipes I had clipped from newspapers and magazines most of which I never tried. I bet all you foodies out there have the same kind of file laying around! It was fun to go through the recipes to see if there were any that I still wanted to try. There were two or three that still interested me but the others no longer sounded very appealing. I think I have evolved in my food tastes over the years so I guess this should be no surprise. At any rate, I thought the Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup recipe sounded good. One of the reason it appealed to me was starting with a base of packaged long grain and wild rice blend so basically you have much of the seasoning for the soup all set. So here is my adapted version of the recipe. The main things I did differently were adding a chopped shallot to the mix (which can be left out if you don’t have any on hand), using a red pepper instead of green (because that’s what I had around), and using 4 ounces of light cream cheese for the creaminess since I did not have a can of evaporated skim milk on hand. Oh, and oh yeah, I added an optional tablespoon of sherry just before serving. Hmmmmm . . . I guess I changed the recipe more than I thought . . . oh well, enjoy!
Ingredients
1 – 6 oz. box long grain and wild rice blend (I used Uncle Ben’s original)
1 onion, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1/2 C. red pepper, diced
1/3 C. flour
4 C. chicken stock or broth
4 oz. light cream cheese
1 T. sherry (optional)
1. Cook rice blend according to the package directions and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, pour 1/4 C. of chicken broth and heat until hot. Add the onions, red pepper, shallot, and red peppers and saute in the chicken broth for 2 -3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until well mixed with the vegetables.
4. Gradually stir in the rest of the chicken broth and heat until boiling. Add the light cream cheese in chunks, stirring to melt into the broth.
5. Stir in the rice mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Just before serving stir in 1 T. sherry. Add more chicken broth if too thick.
Tags: chicken broth, light cream cheese, mushrooms, onion, red pepper, shallots, sherry, Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice blend, wild rice
Posted in Soup, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
February 5, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Folks who don’t enjoy cooking or who see cooking as a utilitarian act do not understand the satisfaction that is felt by those who see cooking as a creative act. My husband constantly asks me why I’m going to all the “trouble” to fix homemade food for church or work gatherings. He says, “Just go to the store and buy something like everybody else does.” I’ve concluded that he does not understand that cooking is an expression of creativity and therefore brings me joy. It is the PROCESS of cooking that I find so satisfying not whether or not others expect it of me or even like what I’ve fixed although that is always welcome. Sarah Ban Breathnach expresses the relationship between cooking and art when she says, “Cooking is one of the best ways for your authentic self to remind your conscious self that you are an artist. Like the union of canvas and pigment, cooking is alchemy, a work of Wholeness-in-progress.” Sarah Ban Breathnach
Tags: art, cooking, Sarah Ban Breathnach, wholeness
Posted in Food For Thought | 4 Comments »
February 3, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Carrots & Green Onions Ready to Saute
This is another quick and easy recipe that uses a couple of bags of pre-shredded carrots from the produce department. It seems like we always have plenty of desserts and potato or bread at our monthly Dining for Women meeting so I made this for potluck last month. It went very well with the roasted pork loin the host made. Sorry I forgot to take a picture after this was cooked!!
Ingredients
2 – 10 oz. bags shredded carrots
4 T. butter
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 1/2 T. brown sugar
salt & pepper to taste
1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Stir in the shredded carrots and green onions. Saute for a couple of minutes to coat the carrots with butter and release some of the moisture from the carrots.
3. Cover the carrots and steam for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Serves 6-8
Tags: green onion
Posted in Vegetables, Vegetarian | 2 Comments »
February 1, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Crockpot Salsa Chicken
This recipe is ridiculously easy! Just throw three ingredients in the crockpot before you leave for work in the morning and it is ready to add the final touches for a great meal when you get home. It makes plenty of sauce so it’s great served over steamed rice. Simply add a salad or vegetable and you’ve got a great meal. For any weight watchers out there, this is 5 points per serving.
Ingredients
20 oz. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 1/4 oz. pkg. reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 C. salsa
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 C. light sour cream
1. Place the chicken in the crockpot. (If it’s going to cook all day I put it in frozen)
2. Sprinkle the chicken with the taco seasoning and top with salsa.
3. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
4. Remove chicken from crockpot.
5. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 C. of water and stir into the salsa mixture. Stir in the sour cream and heat a few minutes until thickened. Serve over the chicken. Serves 4
Tags: salsa, sour cream, taco seasoning
Posted in Chicken | 2 Comments »
January 30, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Blueberry Streusel Coffeecake
A week ago I volunteered to make some coffeecakes for a meeting we were having at church on Saturday morning. Just about everyone likes blueberries so I thought I’d try one using frozen blueberries. They worked just fine but be sure they are thawed and WELL drained before adding them to the batter. I took the picture before garnishing it with powdered sugar so you could see how delicious the blueberries look! This was a hit and several people wanted the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
Ingredients
1 C. butter
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 C. light sour cream
1/2 t. vanilla
2 C. cake flour (or 1 3/4 C. regular flour mixed with 1/4 C. cornstarch)
1/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 C. frozen blueberries, thawed and drained well
Garnish: powdered sugar
Streusel
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
3/4 C. chopped pecans
Mix the stresel ingredients until combined.
1. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and mix well.
2. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients and add to the wet ingredients.
4. Gently fold in the blueberries.
5. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan.
6. Sprinkle with half the streusel.
7. Pour another 1/3 of the batter over top and sprinkle with the rest of the streusel.
8. Top with the remaining batter and gently swirl through the layers with a knife.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Cool and invert onto a plate. Dust with powdered sugar.
Serves 12 – 16.
Tags: blueberry, cinnamon, pecans
Posted in Breakfast, Coffeecake | Leave a Comment »
January 28, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Zero Point Italian Vegetable Soup
This is the time of year when it seems everyone is trying to shed a few pounds and we all need a go-to recipe to keep us on track. Well, this is the recipe for which you’ve been waiting! This is a hearty, thick soup that is full of nutritional value and very tasty. This is so good I will serve it even to those not trying to lose weight (I’d add a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese, however).
Ingredients
10 oz. baby spinach leaves
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 C. vegetable broth
28 oz. can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
1 bay leaf
1 T. dried basil leaf
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
Place everything into a crockpot; cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours. Remove bay leaf, stir and serve. Yields about 8 – 1 cup servings. 0 Weight Watcher points per serving!!
Tags: 0 points, vegetable soup, Weight Watchers, zero points
Posted in Crockpot, Soup | 6 Comments »
January 26, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
It seems like whenever we think of pot roast we think of beef. But, I bought a whole pork loin at Costco and cut it in half to make two roasts. Since I had so much pork in the freezer, I thought why not do the same thing we do with beef and have pork pot roast!! So the other night we were having our son and my mom over for dinner and this is what I fixed. The best thing about pot roast of any kind is the gravy and the pork gravy did not disappoint. It was great over everything!
Ingredients
3 – 3 1/2 pork loin roast
1 lb. of carrots, peeled and sliced into chunks
6 potatoes, peeled, and cut into eighths
1 pkg. Lipton French onion soup mix
3/4 C. water
3 T. balsamic vinegar
1/4 C. flour & 1/2 cup water for gravy
1. Brush the balsamic vinegar over all sides of the roast.
2. Pour the water into the bottom of the crockpot. Place the carrots in the crockpot followed by the potatoes, and salt and pepper them to taste.
3. Place the roast on top of the potatoes and sprinkle with the onion soup mix.
4. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
5. Remove all but the juices from the crockpot and cover to keep warm. Turn the crockpot to high.
6. Mix the flour with 1/2 C. water with a whisk or fork until smooth. Stir into the juices in the crockpot and cook until thickened. Serve over the vegetables and pork. Serves 6-8
Tags: carrots, French onion soup mix, potatoes
Posted in Crockpot, pork | Leave a Comment »
January 24, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
It seems like no matter how big the party, the majority of the people in attendance will crowd into the kitchen to hang out. Our current home has basically a galley kitchen but a large great room with vaulted ceilings. The galley is actually great for cooking because I can get to everything I need in just a few steps. It becomes a little crowded with more than three people, however! Yet, for our Christmas party it was just stuffed with people! People leaning up against the counters, standing in front of the coffee pot, shoulder-to-shoulder chatting and catching up on the news of the past year.
This little essay by Jo Ann Passariello Deck in Where the Heart Is reminds us of the centrality of the kitchen in our homes. She writes, “I used to laugh at my Italian relatives who always wanted to sit in the kitchen. They even built houses without dining rooms. Big kitchens were all they wanted. They lived their whole lives in those kitchen, around the stove, eating, talking, playing cards, reading newspapers, drinking coffee. When they weren’t around the stove, they were in church, in God’s home, but that’s another story.
Home is where the stove is. When I think of all the places I’ve lived, I think of what I cooked in the kitchen: cheese tarts in Cambridge, beet soup in Berkeley, and shrimp curry in Singapore. Home is where I saute the garlic and chop the onion, where the frying pan makes music.
An old Russian proverb says, “The oven is the mother.” Food, warmth, acceptance, I can find it all at the stove.”
Tags: Jo Ann Passariello Deck, Where the Heart Is
Posted in Food For Thought | 2 Comments »
January 23, 2010 by faithfulfoodie
Smokey Vegetable Soup w/Grated Parmesan
Years ago a friend and I used to take cooking classes together now and then. I remember that one focused on desserts that a cookbook author, Betty Rosbottom, taught. Another time we took a class that focused on soups. We really cherished our night out together because we both had small children and didn’t often get to do something for the pure enjoyment of it. This recipe is from the soup cooking class and is really different for a vegetable soup. Because of the use of smoked ham hocks, the soup tastes like it has slowly simmered over a campfire. I made this the other night when we had friends over and served it with kalamata olive bread. It was a great combination! This is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day so I usually make a double batch so there are leftovers.
Ingredients
8 C. chicken stock
2 T. olive oil
1/4 C. chopped parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 strips of bacon
2 C. shredded cabbage
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 potato, peeled, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/4 lb. string beans
2 smoked ham hocks
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 C. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1. Heat oil in large soup pot.
2. Add the parsley and garlic, saute over medium heat. Before garlic changes color, add the bacon and saute until lightly browned.
3. Stir in cabbage. Cover and cook 1-2 minutes.
4. Add remaining vegetables to pan and cover and cook 5 minutes.
5. Add broth and ham hocks.
6. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 40-50 minutes. Remove the bacon before serving. (I frequently make this the day before I serve it so I can chill it and remove the congealed fat.)
7. Serve sprinkled with grated parmesan cheese. Serves 6
Tags: cabbage, carrots, garlic, green beans, mushrooms, potato, smoked ham hock, zucchini
Posted in Soup | Leave a Comment »
