Something From Nothing - Again

I love to grocery shop, and I wanted to go again today.  But NO!  I had to resist!  I have so much food in the refrigerator that buying more food would be simply - well - it would be stupid.  So I searched around the refrigerator to see what was in there.  3 small zucchinis that were going to be compost in another three or four days.  Several pieces of chicken tenders I made the other night breaded with Panko and Parmesan cheese. (Oh, they were so good!) I also had a small bunch of tomatoes from the garden (small  Romas and Cherry) that I hadn't used yet. The rest of the ingredients are things I always have on hand.  Whenever I have veggies that need to be used up I usually think of Pasta Primavera.

So I assembled all the ingredients on the chopping board and  then put them together to make this delicious pasta dish.

Before I go on with the recipe, I want to share something else.  The pan I used to cook the Pasta Primavera veggies is an enameled cast iron Casserole Skillet.  I have been wanting an enameled cast iron pan FOREVER!  But they are expensive and I would absolutely NOT buy one for more than $200!!!  Then I found one on line for $40.  I wasn't sure what I'd be getting.  But when my Bon Appetite Casserole Pan arrived (free shipping!) I was - well - I'll admit it!  I was elated!  I use it all the time.  If you don't have one, and you like to cook, I'd recommend owning one. The even heat distribution and the ability to cook on very low heat and still keep the heat going is unsurpassed!  Anyway, here's the recipe.

PASTA PRIMAVERA WITH CHICKEN TENDERS

3 small zucchini quartered, seeded and sliced.
10 or 12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (to taste) minced as finely as possible
2 Breaded Chicken Tenders (cooked) sliced into 1/4 inch slices (if you don't have any left over breaded chicken tenders, just add two sliced chicken tenders.
1 1/2  cup of uncooked penne pasta, cooked until just about done.
1/4 c. white wine
1/4 c. chick stock
1/2 - 3/4 c marinara (use your favorite sauce - I used some I made myself)
1 T. dried basil leaves, crushed, or about 12 fresh basil leaves chopped finely.
1/2 c. or more of grated Parmesan (I used low fat grated, but feel free to use whatever you like)
Fresh ground black pepper and/or crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)

You shouldn't need any salt (except in the pasta cooking water).  The wine, chicken stock and Parmesan Cheese should be enough.
Add as much ground black pepper or red pepper flakes as you like, or don't add any.  I didn't add any tonight even though I love spicy food. It was very satisfying and delicious!

Cook the pasta in salted water until it's not quite done.  While the water boils and the pasta is cooking .....

Slice the zucchini.  Quarter them lengthwise and remove the seeds and slice into 1/4 inch pieces.  Slice the small tomatoes in half.  Mince the garlic.  Arrange this all on your cutting board.

Now over medium heat add about 3 T of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven.  When the oil is glistening with heat, add the garlic and stir for a minute or two, careful not to burn. 

Drop in all the sliced zucchini, the sliced chicken and the basil.  Stir for 2 or 3 minutes.  Now add the tomatoes and the white whine and the chicken stock and marinara (or your favorite sauce).  Stir to get everything warmed through. 

Now drop in the drained almost cooked pasta.  Add the grated Parmesan Cheese and stir well. 

Taste and make any adjustments in seasoning that seem good to you.  More salt, spice, cheese, more marinara? Make it to your liking!

Serve with a glass of red wine.  Better than most dishes you'll pay $25.00 for in a restaurant!

UN-STUFFED PEPPER SOUP

Quick Stuffed Pepper Soup

Last weekend I made a very large Turkey Meatloaf for clients. I bought 5 pounds of ground turkey instead of the usual three so it was way too much.  So large, all the meat wouldn't fit into my meatloaf pan.  I stuffed the loaf pan with all it would hold and used the extra to  make about 20 meatballs.  I just packed them up and put them into the fridge.  I noshed on a couple of them during the week, but still had a container full leftover.  I didn't feel like Spaghetti and Meatballs today and was feeling a little lazy -   not feeling very creative.  I was listening to a cooking show and they were making Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup.  Since I had no cabbage, but did have frozen diced green peppers from my garden, I turned my meatballs into Un-Stuffed Pepper Soup!

3 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of diced green peppers
1 can of water
1/2 c of uncooked rice
1/4 c ketchup
about 15 or twenty meatballs (home made or purchased will work)
Salt to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons)

Take two of the cans of tomatoes and puree them in your blender, pour into a soup pot. 
Add the third can without pureeing them.  Now add all the other ingredients.  Your soup should be a little watery because that rice has to absorb some of the liquid to cook.

Now turn the heat up to medium high and get it started boiling.  As soon as it starts boiling, turn the heat down to very low and let it simmer until the rice is done, stirring occasionally.

How easy is that!!  Makes enough to feed up to six people!

Tip:  Instead of using diced tomatoes and pureeing them, you can use two or three cans of Campbells Tomato soup.  It'll be delicious that way too!  Just adjust your salt because the soup already has salt.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH HAM ON MARBLE RYE

It's the morning after Brunch with friends at the house, and I'm supposed to be getting ready for a yoga session.  Hmmm.  I've found everything else under the sun to do besides getting showered and out of the house.  Checking e-mails, playing with the cat, opening my new blender/food processor  and reading the instruction book (my old blender  died on me), you name it.  Everything but getting ready.  So I called my friend and confessed I was procrastinating.  So we will skip yoga together  today and go to a movie later. We're going to see the Hobbit.

And now I'm hungry!  Yesterday's Brunch leftovers gave me lots of options.  Among them was an extra dozen eggs and some ham slices.  I had a real taste for an ham and egg sandwich with cheese .

Of course anyone can make an egg sandwich, but how you cook the eggs can make a taste difference.  Most people don't care for their scrambled eggs to be very moist.  I love them that way - they have ever so much more flavor!

I just diced some ham and a little bit of cheddar cheese I had in the fridge.  I also had some fresh frozen chives from my garden so I took out a tablespoon for my eggs.

Crack two eggs into a bowl with just a tiny splash of half and half (fat free) or water - just a teaspoon or so. This liquid helps to make your eggs a little fluffier.  If you prefer them very dense, leave out the liquid.  Beat with a fork them until they are well mixed, but not too foamy,  Mix in the cheese and the chives.

Heat a skillet to medium high, add a little butter and the diced ham.  Cook the ham for just a minute and add the gg mixture.  Stir them until they are beautifully creamy and soft.  (If you must, cook them until they are done, done done.  You can even let the cheese brown a little on the bottom.  This tastes totally different from soft cooked, but it's just as good if that's the way you like your eggs.)   Make yourself some of your favorite toast  and top with your creamy eggs.    You'll never want another egg mc muffin again!

I only ate half so the rest will be my early dinner after the movie. This sandwich reminded me of a Western Omelet Sandwich on Rye that I used to get for lunch at the New York Deli in Cleveland!

Use your favorite ingredients:  sauteed mushrooms or onions, bacon bits, chunks of sausage, green peppers, swiss cheese.  And just this once, try the eggs cooked moist.  You will be amazed at the flavor difference.

Maggaliscious is Back

After more than a year I finally got the urge to write again and share some recipes and food stories.  Life threw me a few curves and put out the flames that fueled my desire for doing this. Those curves have straightened out some and now it's time to write again.  There isn't much that I enjoy more than having friends in to enjoy something delicious to eat! I think I enjoy having them here more than they enjoy coming!

I was out with a few friends for a Birthday dinner (not mine) and during the conversation, I described what I had made for breakfast that day.  They all thought it sounded so good, so I suggested a Brunch at my house.  It turned out to be a small group, but it was so much fun.
The menu:  Poached Eggs with Creamy Cognac Mushrooms, Turkey Bacon, Turkey Sausage, Smithfield Ham Slices, Toasted English Muffins and Fresh Pineapple.   Oh, and let's not forget the Mimosas! OK, here is how it all goes.

Setting up for Mimosas

MIMOSA.  Use Champagne or any sparkling white wine.  One of my guests brought  some Spumanti sparkling wine for us and it was a giant bottle!  She also told me that if you take the handle of a metal spoon and put it into the neck of the bottle after it's opened (but don't let it touch the sparkling wine), it will keep the bottle from going flat.  I can only believe her since the bottle was still bubbly later in the evening.  Fill your flute a little less than half full of orange juice and then fill the glass with sparkling wine.  I prefer an orange juice without pulp for this. (I enjoyed three of them!)


The day before I made the CREAMY COGNAC MUSHROOMS.
2 T butter or olive oil
24 oz. white button or crimini mushrooms
1 small shallot, diced finely
1/2 t. salt
1 T. flour
2 T Cognac or brandy
1/2 to 3/4 c chicken stock
2 T Half and Half (I used fat free)
Clean up the mushrooms by wiping them clean with a paper towel.  You should never run mushrooms under water.  They are very absorbent and will end up being chewy when they are cooked because of all the liquid in them.  Slice all the mushrooms fairly thinly and saute them with the shallot in a fairly hot skillet to evaporate the liquid as they cook, about 3 - 4 minutes.  Add the flour and keep stirring until the flour cooks up a little.  Add another pat of butter if you like.  Now add the salt and the cognac.  Stir well and add half of the chicken stock.  Keep adding chicken stock until you get a nice consistency.  Add the cream and simmer for a minute or two.  Done!  Set aside to warm later.

Now cook up some bacon, sausage or ham, whatever you like and as much as you like.

Next poach or fry or scramble some eggs.  I made them to order for each person since I didn't have a large crowd.  If you have a large crowd, you can make them in advance a little, but be sure not to overcook since you'll want to reheat a little when it's time to eat.   Most of my guests wanted poacched, so I poached 8 eggs.  I made one order of scrambled too, with a little cheese and some salt and pepper.  He liked them quite moist so I got them out of the skillet before they were done, and let them set up a bit more while I finished up the poaching.

Perfect Poached Eggs  There is a lot of discussion about how to poach an egg properly and there isn't really a single way.  I used a large deep skillet so I could do 4 at a time.  Be sure the water is deep enough to cover the eggs. But there are a couple of secrets to poaching a nice egg.  One, I greased the bottom of the pan lightly with butter before filling it with water.  This helped a little so the eggs didn't stick to the pan.  Two, don't drop your eggs into boiling water!  The boiling water will send your egg whites all over the pan.  So once the water boils, turn the water down to a gentle simmer.   Three, use the freshest eggs possible.  Eggs that aren't as fresh will spread out much more than afresh egg.  Crack each egg into a small bowl or shallow cup and very gently pour the egg into the hot water. Let them poach for about 3 - 4 minutes.   Cook them until they are the doneness you like.  You can check by gently pressing on the yolk to see how hard it is getting.  Some people like to put a little vinegar in the water.  Supposedly this helps to set the egg whites.  I prefer not to use the vinegar.   When the eggs are done the way you like, gently use a slotted spoon to remove them to a shallow baking dish for serving.

 
When the eggs were done, I had already loaded up the empty serving dishes on the buffet counter with the breakfast meats and we were ready to eat. 

I had toasted some English Muffins earlier.  We served it up kind of like Eggs Benedict.  A muffin underneath, Mushroom sauce on the muffin, an egg on top and a nice selection of meat and a little pineapple.  Some coffee and another Mimosa and we started eating and enjoying some conversation. 











Everyone has gone home to enjoy the rest of their Saturday.

We must do this again!

Leftover Wild RIce

Friday night I had two friends over for dinner. I made Salmon, Rosemary Chicken Breasts and Wild Rice. Yummy. We had a lot of fun and opened two bottles of wine! But Saturday meant leftover salmon, chicken and rice.

I shredded the piece of salmon that was left, added that to half of the rice (about 1 cup) I had leftover , along with one beaten egg, and some dried dill. I made this mixture into little patties and fried them in a little olive oil until they were super crispy. They were wonderful!

Sunday there was still a batch of rice leftover and the rosemary chicken. I did the same with the chicken. Diced it up, added some more rosemary, a beaten egg and a little salt and cracked black pepper. Patties in the skillet until very crispy. Yummy! I'll have these for breakfast tomorrow!

NO COOKING LAST WEEKEND

PEPPERS AND PIZZA
Last weekend was just too busy to cook. I had to cut the grass, and had a birthday party to attend. Although I did make some more of my Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers! I had two jars of the brine left so they were easy to make. The recipe for the peppers is at the bottom of this post.

I took a jar of them to a Pizza Party last Friday night. A friend was having a party and wanted to have a pizza buffet. I made small individual pizza crusts made with dough I purchased from a local pizza shop. Mione's is, in my opinion, the best pizza in this town. She had all the toppings on the counter when I arrived. I also brought a jar of the pickled sweet banana peppers, not even knowing how they would taste. I made them the week before the party and hadn't tasted them. They were wonderful! So I may make more if the garden will yield a nice batch of fresh peppers.

Everyone made their own pizza choosing from all the goodies on the table: sauce, basil pesto, cheese, hot and mild Italian sausage, fresh sliced green peppers, onion, mushrooms, jalapenos, pepperoni. It's so much fun to make your own pizza. You get exactly what you want and you can have all the pepperoni you want! Four pizzas went in the oven at a time, baked for about 7 minutes and came out hot and bubbly! The trick was remembering which pizza was the one you built! They were delicious and the Mione's crust did not disappoint ... crunchy and chewy at the same time. The kids adored making their own mini pizzas and at every last bite of their own creations.

One of the other guests made a dessert pizza: Brownie Pizza with all kinds of wonderful toppings. I'm not even sure what was on it but I do know it had chopped candy bars (maybe they were Snickers), m&m's, crushed pretzels, chopped pecans, mini marshmallows, and then it was drizzled with melted chocolate! Absolutely sinful, but delicious and a fabulous party dessert!

And of course, that wasn't enough so she also made Sweet Kabobs! Skewers threaded with strawberries, caramels, Oreo cookies, pretzels and marshmallows, also drizzled with melted chocolate. They were absolutely decadent and beautiful and made a very impressive presentation! I would recommend them for any party and the kids will love them! However, I will add that the gal who made them said she would leave the Oreos out next time. These would be wonderful using anything you like that would taste good with chocolate drizzle: fresh pineapple chunks, or banana chunks.

I made myself and extra pizza to go and just had it for breakfast while writing this blog. Yum! I love pizza for breakfast sometimes!

Here is the recipe for the Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers: Some of my peppers had ripened to a pretty red color and they look so pretty in the jar.

1/2 lb. of sweet banana peppers, seeded, sliced (enough to stuff 2 pint jars)
1 med sweet onion (like Vidalia), sliced thin
2 c. white vinegar
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. of pickling spice instead of the mustard and celery seed (you can buy a little bottle almost anywhere)
The pickling spice has more spices and will give you the flavor of bread and butter pickles. That's what I use.

You'll need 2 canning jars that have been washed thoroughly in hot soapy water and rinsed well.

Fill the jars with the sliced peppers and onions. Go ahead and pack them in tightly if you have to, but leave about 3/4" from the top.

Bring all the other ingredients to a rolling boil in a medium pot. When the liquid has boiled, ladle it over the peppers and leave about 1/2" of space in the jar. Be sure to clean off the rim of the jar so there is NO pickling liquid on it. Use a damp paper towel. Put on the lid and ring and tighten the ring so it won't leak. Now turn the jars upside down on a board, cover with a dark towel and let them sit for at least 24 hours. Done!

Hope you enjoy these! They will be wonderful on a pizza, on a sandwich, in salads or on hot dogs or burgers.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Sounds like a kids game or a problem with your tummy! But Bubble and Squeak is a traditional dish from the United Kingdom and was originally a concoction made to use up leftover potatoes during food rationing times. But it's become a favorite, still using leftovers if you have them, and it's a wonderful dish for a brunch. Of course the dish can be made from fresh food too. You don't have to have leftovers to enjoy this hearty dish.

As a matter of fact, I made it because I has these beautiful little jewels of cabbages in my garden. The heads were small, but fully mature so I picked them and Bubble and Squeak came to mind immediately. You might wonder why that came to mind first. I first saw Bubble and Squeak on the Food Network when there was a show called Two Fat Ladies. They made this on their show and I've been making it now and then ever since.

It's a very inexpensive way to feed a lot of people, too.

Here are the ingredients:

2 T. Canola oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 medium head of cabbage, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 - 5 sausages, casings removed and browned in a skillet
4 - 5 medium potatoes, cubed and boiled until just done.
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Eggs - optional

So in summary, before I even give you the whole recipe, here's how it's done, just so you see how easy it really is.

Saute onions
Add and cook cabbage and carrots
Brown sausage
Boil potatoes
Mix it all together in a big pot


In a very large skillet, add the canola oil and saute the onions until they are softened, but not browned.

Add the chopped cabbage and the sliced carrots, stir, and keep covered over med-low heat, stirring frequently until the cabbage cooks down and is soft and sweet. If you like, you can leave the cabbage a little less cooked if you like a bit of crunch left in it. This should take about 15 minutes to get all that cabbage cooked.

In the meantime, while the cabbage is cooking, remove the casings from your sausages and cook in a large skillet, breaking it up until it's all browned. When it's finished, add about 3 T. of water to this skillet and scrape up all the browning in the bottom of the pan. This will add a ton of flavor. Just set this aside until the cabbage is done. I used sweet Italian sausages. You can use any kind you like. Bob Evans breakfast sausage would work - use one or two of those 12 oz. packages, depending how meaty you would like your Bubble and Squeak. I used 4 sausages because that's what I had in the freezer.

Also in the meantime, wash and cut up the potatoes and get them boiling - just like you would for mashed potatoes. No need to peel the potatoes - I never do. Cook until they are just tender. Drain into a colander.

OK, now the cabbage is cooked, the sausage is browned, and the potatoes are done. If your cabbage skillet is large enough, put everything into it and mix well. If not, then get yourself a larger pot, like a soup pot, and put it all in there.

Serve this on a buffet for brunch or on the side like you would corned beef hash. This morning I chose to spoon some into a skillet, turned on med-low heat to let it brown slowly, and broke an egg over the top. Put a lid on it and let it cook until the egg was done. This took about 5 minutes.

Get Bubbling! This dish is so good it'll make you Squeak!