Vegetable Puffs

Another Meatless Monday has come and gone! 

I wanted something different this week that was not going to be a production, and considering how much we have been going out to eat, I definitely wanted to kick up the healthy factor!  What I really loved about making this dinner was all of the beautiful and rich colored foods that go into it - it was a real pick me up for a gloomy day!  This recipe makes 6 thick slices if you are serving them along side something else, but if you are eating them on their own, I would say it makes 3 generous servings.

I was also beyond excited at the grocery store when I came across two new products that helped this dish along - Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Cream and Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Roll Dough!   So with that being said, let's get to the recipe and pictures!

Vegetable Puffs
Yields 6 hearty slices

Ingredients 
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 broccoli crown, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounces of spinach leaves
10 ounce container of Philly Cooking Cream in the Italian Herb and Cheese Flavor
2 rolls of Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Dough

To Prepare the Puffs
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Pour the bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, onions, and black beans into a large skilled over medium heat. 
3. After approximately 10 minutes of cooking, add the spinach.  It will look like A LOT of food, but the spinach will cook down quite a bit! 

4. Cook for approximately 10 more minutes, being sure to stir it often. 
5. Add the cooking cream, and coat the veggies completely.

6. Shut the vegetables off. 
7. Spread out one of the crescent dough sheets on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

8. Spoon the vegetable mixture onto the dough, being sure to leave a one inch border. 

9. After all of the vegetables or spooned on, fold the dough up onto the veggies to create an edge or barrier.

10. Place the other dough sheet on top of the vegetables, and tuck and pinch it under the puff. 

11. Bake the puff at 350 degrees until it is a deep golden brown color!

 

Vegetarian Stew

Last night my grandmom had our family over for dinner.  We had a DELICIOUS enchilada casserole, and will be posting that recipe soon!  That being said, Meatless Monday had to be put off until tonight!  This week, for Meatless Monday, I made a vegetarian stew.  With my favorite produce store going out of business, I was forced to buy frozen vegetables.  When I am put in a bind like this, I always opt for frozen over canned.  Frozen veggies are a smidgen better for you and retain a good portion of their nutritional value!  If you are using frozen veggies for this recipe, be sure they are defrosted, and if you are using canned veggies, be sure to strain the excess liquid off of them before adding them to the pot! 

Vegetarian Stew 
Yields 6 generous servings


Ingredients 
1 small onion, peeled and diced
2 large potatoes, washed and cubed
1 carrot, washed and diced
8 ounces corn kernels
8 ounces green beans
8 ounces peas
28 ounces pureed tomatoes
3 cans water
8 ounces of whole wheat pasta (I used fusilli) 
Salt
Pepper
Paprika

To Prepare the Stew
1. In a large stew pot, add the onions, carrots, and potatoes.  Heat them over medium heat while constantly stirring. 
2. When the onions have started to become translucent, add the corn, green beans, and peas. 
3. Stir everything together well. 
4. Add the pureed tomatoes and 2 cans of water. 
5. Cook over medium heat.
6. When the liquid comes to a boil, season with the salt, pepper, and paprika to taste. 
7. Add the pasta. 
8. Add the last can of water as needed to make the stew as thick or runny as you prefer it to be.  
9. When the pasta has cooked through and the potatoes are soft, your stew is ready!

Individual Sized Beef Pot Pies

Well, I don't know about the weather wherever you may be reading this, but it is FUH-REEZING here!  What this means to me, though, is nice pipping hot and hearty meals that leave everyone feeling warm and fuzzy (and more importantly...full)!  Tonight was beef pot pie.  I have been itching to make this for a while now and finally put my foot down...tonight was the night!  My mom had bought mini casserole dishes a few years ago, and tonight was only the second time I managed to find an excuse to use them.  I really should pull them out of the cabinets more often!  Anywho, the pot pie was a hit all around, and pretty easy to make!  Enjoy!

Individual Sized Beef Pot Pie
Yields 4 hearty servings

To Prepare the Pot Pie
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pour a 1/2 cup of flour,  1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper onto a plate, and mix it together. 

3. Begin to heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over low heat in a frying pan. 
4. Dredge approximately 1 pound of stir fry cut beef through the flour, and place it in the pan once the oil it is hot. Don't stir it until it starts to brown and juice!

5. Cut 2 large potatoes, or a hand full of small potatoes into approximately 1 inch by 1 inch pieces, and also 1/3 pound of carrots cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick rounds.  Tonight I used purple, red, and white potatoes that I found at the grocery store. 
6. Boil the potatoes and carrots while you continue to prepare the pot pie. 

7. Prepare your casserole dish with pie crust.  I admittedly do not make my own pie dough...I am horrible at making it!  I cheat and use the pre-made and rolled dough from the grocery store.  I bought 2 packs of the dough, which gave me 4 individual pie crusts.  Press the dough into the casserole dishes, making sure that it is flush with the bottom of the dish first, and then the sides.  Pinch and press to patch any holes that may have happened while maneuvering the dough! KEEP THE EXCESS DOUGH...you will need it later in the recipe!  If you don't have or don't want to use individual casserole dishes, you can use a pie plate, large casserole, or even a loaf pan! 

8. Place your dough filled casseroles in the oven.  If you are using individual size, put them on a baking sheet so they are easy to fish out of the oven later (I learned this the hard way tonight).  They will need to cook a little bit to prevent the dough from being soggy! 
9. By now your meat should be browned and ready, so you can go ahead and take it off of the heat! 
10. Drain the water out of your boiling veggies, and pour the veggies into the meat. 
11. Drain 1 can of corn and 1 can of green beans and add them to the mix!  Normally I would encourage you to use fresh corn kernels and green beans, but I was in a rush tonight!

12. Pour 1 jar (approximately 12 ounces) of beef gravy over the entire mixture and stir it all together!

13. Pull your casserole dishes out of the oven, and fill with the mixture. 
14. Roll out your extra dough and cut into 4 squares that will fit over your casseroles.  I pressed a round cookie cutter through each for the pot pie to vent while it cooked. 
15. Place a square over each pie and press down around the edges, and cut off any major excess pieces!  If you didn't press a cookie cutter through, make a few slits across the top for the steam to escape. 
16. Place them back in the oven and cook for approximately 15 - 20 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown! 

Turkey Soup with Stuffing Biscuits

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog, and I didn't realize how bad it was until I flipped through the pictures I recently uploaded...whoops...I guess I was more distracted than I thought!

I made this the weekend after Thanksgiving with the last of the leftovers. It was pretty easy to make, and went much better than most of my broth based soup attempts! What is great about this recipe, is that you can adapt it to whatever your leftovers consist of, and most of the ingredients are probably already around your kitchen!

Turkey Soup with Stuffing Biscuits 
Yields 6 servings

To Prepare the Soup
1. Wash 1 pound of carrots, and cut them down into 1/4 inch thick rounds. 
2. Wash 2 pieces of celery, and cut them down into 1/4 inch thick slices. 
3. Peel and dice 1 small onion.
4. Once all of your veggies are diced, begin heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. 
5. When the oil is hot, add all of the veggies to the pan. 
6. Stir them and cook them until the onions are translucent and the celery is starting to get soft. 
7. Add 4 cans of chicken broth to the pot, and keep the pan over medium heat. 
8. Cut up leftover turkey or chicken.  I put in a large turkey breast, and it was a good amount.  You can add more or less depending on your particular tastes! 
9. I then added leftover wild rice from Thanksgiving dinner.  If you are going to add uncooked noodles, rice, or pasta, you might need to add extra broth to your soup as it cooks, otherwise it will quickly absorb the juice and your soup runs the risk of drying out and burning!  You can also precook it and then add it in like I did. 

10. Make adaptations to your liking...have leftover corn?  Toss it in!  Don't want to add grain?  Don't!  Take a look in your fridge and at your leftovers, and get creative!

To Prepare the Biscuits

1. On top of a cookie sheet, press leftover stuffing through a round cookie cutter until it is flush with the top of the cutter. 

2. Repeat this step until you are out of stuffing. 

3. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees. 
4. Keep an eye on them while they are cooking.  When the bottoms have started to brown, flip them over and cook them until the other side has browned.  Your cooking time will vary depending on your stuffing, and how moist or dry it is!

These are great for dipping in the soup too! 

Red Wine Beef Stew

When the weather really starts to turn cold, I always start to make more dishes that I like to refer to as "Belly Warmers".  These are the meals that are filling, and make you feel warm and cozy from the inside out!  Amongst our favorites are beef and chicken stews.  My mood while grocery shopping will determine whether or not is a thick stew, or more like a chunky soup.  This time around, I wanted a thicker stew with more of a gravy sauce.  Sick of the regular brown gravy, I decided to try a red wine gravy.  My family really enjoyed it and said that this was their favorite batch of the stew that I have ever made...which just proves that booze makes everything better!

Red Wine Beef Stew
Yields 8 servings

To Prepare the Stew 
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using a pan that is both stove top and oven safe, heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  If you do not have a pan that is made for both on and in the oven, cook your meat in a frying pan on the stove top.
3. Sear approximately 1 pound of either stir fry cut beef or cubed stew meat in the olive oil.

4. While the beef is cooking, peel a small onion and cut it into approximately 8 wedges.
5. Add the onions to the beef and continue to cook everything until the beef had browned and the onions have turned translucent.

It's gettin' pretty steamy in there!

6. While the beef and onions cook, you can prepare your other vegetables!  Wash your potatoes and carrots, and peel them if you choose to.  If you are using fresh green beans, you will need to wash them and cut the ends off of them.  If you are using fresh corn, you will need to shuck it and rinse it with some cool water.  Remember to keep an eye on your beef and onions while you do this, and turn them off when they are done cooking!
7. Cut approximately 2 pounds of carrots into 1 inch lengths and add them to the beef and onions.  If you are using an oven safe and stove top safe dish, add the carrots directly to it.  If you are using something that is only oven safe, transfer the beef and onions over to that pan with the carrots! 
8. Add 1 pound of green beans, 1 pound of thawed frozen peas, and the kernels of 3 ears of corn (or approximately 1 pound of thawed frozen corn kernels).  If you are opting for canned veggies, use 2 drained cans of each veggie for the serving size above (8), or 1 can for 4 servings!

9. Cut 1 pound of potatoes lengthwise, and then cut them 3 to 4 times width wise, and add them to the pan.

10. Pour 1/4 a cup of red wine over the entire mixture, cover the pan with either a lid or foil and bake it in the oven for approximately 1 hour.  The culinary jury is out on what kind of wine to use.  Most professionals will tell you to only use a wine to cook if you would drink it on its own.  Personally, I have had pleasant experiences with cooking wines, and used one for this recipe.  I really like the Holland House brand (found at most grocery stores)!
11. To prepare the red wine gravy, heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan with 2 level tablespoons of flour.  Heat and mix these two together until they become a bubbling paste! 
12. Add 1/2 a cup of red wine to the flour/butter mixture and heat it until it thickens.   Add salt and pepper to taste.

13. Pour the red wine gravy over the stew and mix it in so everything is coated. 
14. Cook for approximately a 1/2 hour longer, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. 

15. Enjoy over rice, or on its own with a glass of red wine!

Oven Roasted Chicken with Aromatic Vegetables

With Thanksgiving just about 2 short weeks away, my taste buds are growing impatient for all of those delicious smells and tastes of the day.  With that being said, I could not resist the 59 cents per pound oven roasters at the grocery store this past weekend!   I didn't want to go the whole route of stuffing though, and decided to go with aromatic veggies, especially after I saw the gorgeous carrots at the store (you'll see why in the picture below).  Oven roasters are a great way to practice for Thanksgiving.  Whether it is the first Thanksgiving you are cooking and are afraid of making mistakes or are nervous about the turkey process, or if you want to try some new flavors by the way of sauces, marinades, and toppings before the big day, an oven roaster makes perfect practice!

To Prepare the Vegetables
1. First be sure to clean and peel the carrots, peel the onion, and clean the celery stalks.
2. Cut a large onion into wedges.  A large onion should make approximately 10 wedges.
3. Place the onions in the bottom of a very deep roasting pan (you will need aluminum foil later), or a cast iron casserole with a lid (approximately 7 quart capacity). 

4. Cut approximately 2 pounds of carrots down into 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch lengths and scatter them evenly on top of the onions.

Found these beautiful bundles of carrots at the grocery store...just one of those simple little things that leaves me grinning the in kitchen for hours on end!

5. Cut approximately 1 pound of celery on a slight angle in 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch lengths and scatter them across the top of the onions and carrots. 

To Prepare the Chicken 

1. Be sure to have a sink that is clear of all dishes and that has been washed with mild soap and was thoroughly rinsed!
2. Place the ENTIRE package of chicken in the sink, and then cut it out of its wrappings.  This will help keep your kitchen from being thoroughly contaminated with raw chicken juices!  I will also recommend bringing your trashcan over to the sink and lifting the wrappers right out of the sink and putting them in the trash bag!
3. Check both the neck and tush areas for any baggies of giblets.  Most people think that they are only packed with turkeys, but this is not always true, and you do not want the surprise of the baggie meeting you as you cut your dinner!  At this point, if you do have a baggie of giblets, you can toss them if you prefer to, or you can keep them to cook up gravy, treat your pets, etc.
4. Wash the chicken clean with water both inside and out!

5. Let the chicken settle for a few minutes in the sink so the excess water can drain off, and then place it on top of the vegetables. 
6. Rub the exposed areas of chicken with some olive oil (or if you prefer, butter).  This will give the skin that oh so appealing crispy brown color that is so hard to resist!
7. Sprinkle the top of the chicken with a little coarse sea salt and black pepper.

8. If the baking pan you are using has a lid, put it on, or if you are using something that does not have a lid, make a foil tent over the entire pan!
9. Bake everything until the button pops, being sure to baste along the way if you pan is not self basting(see below)!  It took about 2 1/2 hours for mine to cook all of the way, but keep in mind that it was not stuffed!  You may need a little longer if you decide to stuff yours!

So delicious!!!

A Few Tips/Suggestions/Fun Facts
1. I'd like to take a minute to talk about self-basting casserole pans!  I splurged last year on a Martha Stewart Enamel Cast Iron Oval Casserole during last year's after Christmas sales (You can thank me for the shameless plug later, Martha hehe).  Only after getting home and opening the box to inspect my new toy, did I notice the nodules, or as I like to call them, cooking stalactites!  These nodules actually collect moisture from the lid as your meal cooks and drips it down back onto the food slowly.  What does this mean, you may ask?  To me it means not trying to remove a pan from the oven or have it teeter on the edge of the rack, open it while wearing an oven mitt, trying to maneuver a baster in the oven while trying not to burn your wrists and forearms, no more cursing with half your body in the oven, etc!

Some pretty sweet enamel-wear stalactites hehe!

2. If you don't want to layer the veggies, or don't have the space in your baking dish for that kind of height, you can stuff the chicken with them!  You get the same delicious flavors with both the chicken and vegetables!
3. In place of using Butter/olive oil and salt and pepper, you could use a seasoned or herbal butter to add some real big flavor punches to the finished dish! You can also sprinkle some poultry seasoning on top of the butter/olive oil.  Some other great options are: put sprigs of fresh herbs between the skin and meat for a delicious feast for your belly and your eyes, Inject the meat with juice or herb marinade, or top it with a chutney an hour before pulling it out of the oven.  One of my favorite Thanksgiving chutneys is as simple as heating up some cranberry sauce with a splash of OJ!
4. Do you know that a group of chickens are called a Peep?  I bet the name of that marshmallow Easter treat makes a whole lot more sense now!
5.  If you are going for presentation, make sure the breast side of the chicken is facing up, but if you are looking for super moist meat, cook the chicken with the breast side down!  I made this mistake once, and the meat was amazing.  Let's just say that when I do this now a days, it is by choice, not ignorance hehe!
6. When I make a dinner this large, I like to use a crudites (vegetable) tray to store the left overs!  It keeps everything nice and neat, and you don't have to dig in the fridge for 4 or 5 bowls!

Working clockwise from 12 o'clock: Gravy, Fresh Cut Corn Kernels, Roasted Chicken, Aromatic Veggies, and Mashed Potatoes.

Fall Blend Pork Stir Fry over White Rice

So, I know some of you may be put off by some of the ingredients you will see listed below, which is why I am going to talk about them and what to expect out of them!  This was actually my first experience cooking with these ingredients, and was pleasantly surprised!  I figured I was going to spend my night cursing, knife in hand, and finally getting dinner on the table at midnight.  Jicima - Jicima tastes a like a combination of celery, onions, and a hint of apple and is crunchy like a watercress.  Despite its outside appearance (rugged, tough, and brown), it is very easy to cut through and peel.  Chayote Squash - Chayote is a squash that is native to Costa Rica, and almost resembles a green tomato or tomatillo.  This, again, peels easily and the meat of the squash has a texture similar to a pear.  It tastes very much like a mild apple.  All of the veggies and fruit I bought for this dinner were surprisingly inexpensive - which is ALWAYS a plus!

Fall Blend Pork Stir Fry over White Rice 
Yields 5 generous servings

To Prepare Pork 
1. Slice 3/4 pounds thin cut, boneless pork chops into 1 inch long, 1/2 inch wide cubes
2. Pan sear in olive oil in a frying pan

To Prepare Veggies
1. Peel jicama and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Cut these slices into 1 inch squares
2. Thinly slice 2 red pears, leaving the peels on
3. Grate 1 cup of carrots, or you can buy pre-grated carrots to save some time and energy
4. Dice 2 shallots
5. Peel 1 chayote squash and cut into half inch cubes

Bringing It Together
1. Add the shallots to the pork and olive oil.  Cook them down until the shallots just start to brown
2. Add the remaining veggies and fruit
3. Continue to cook for 10 minutes

Sauce
1. Combine a 1/2 cup of vinegar with 3 tablespoons of honey
2. Blend well and pour into frying pan
3. Cook all ingredients together for approximately 10 more minutes, or until the pears are just starting to lose their peels and have become soft
4. While the stir fry is finishing cooking, prepare your white rice

The stir fry tastes best when served over the rice.  Be sure to serve a little extra sauce over the rice and stir fry when you plate your meal!