Archive for August, 2009
Lull in posts
Posted by JasonQ in Uncategorized on August 31st, 2009
I haven’t been posting as much as I’d like to lately due to being busier than usual lately. I will try to get some more recipes up within the next couple days. Thanks for being patient.
Jason
Pecan Tarts
Posted by JasonQ in Cakes/Desserts on August 25th, 2009
This has been a favorite at our Thanksgiving dinners for several years now. It’s always a crowd pleaser!
Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar (loose)
- 1 egg
- pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 Tbs meltd butter
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
Crust
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup flour
Mix all crust items together. In a separate bowl, mix all filling items together. Spray a mini muffin pan with a non-stick cooking spray. Press crust mixture into pan. Sprinkle 1 tsp pecans into each crust. Top each cup with 1 tsp of filling mixture. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.
Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
Posted by JasonQ in Cakes/Desserts on August 23rd, 2009
This is a delicious pumpkin cheesecake. It has the flavor and spice of a pumpkin pie, but with the creaminess of a cheesecake.
- 16 ounces cream cheese — softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 dash ground cloves
- 1 dash nutmeg
- 1 9″ ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust
Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed
until well blended. Add eggs; mix until blended. Remove 1 cup batter;
stir in pumpkin and spices.
Pour remaining plain batter into crust. Top with pumpkin batter.
Bake at 350 F for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with thawed COOL WHIP Whipped
Topping and gumdrop cut-outs.
Makes 8 servings.
Cinnamon-Honey Glazed Roast Turkey With Honey-Pecan Rice Stuffing
Posted by JasonQ in Chicken/Poultry, Main Dishes on August 20th, 2009
Here’s another delicious looking fall recipe I found from CDKitchen.com.
- 1 turkey or other wild game (6 to 8 pound size), thawed
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups cooked rice, cooked in chicken broth
- 3/4 cup honey, divided
Remove giblet packet from turkey; rinse turkey with cool water. Drain; set aside. Saute onion, celery, pecans and raisins in butter in large skillet over medium-high heat until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and salt; cook 1 minute.
Combine vegetables with rice in large bowl. Stir in 1/4 cup honey. Spoon rice into cavity of turkey. Use wooden picks, soaked in water, to enclose filling.
Place turkey breast side up in roasting pan on rack coated with cooking spray. Roast at 325 degrees 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until internal temperature registers 180 to 185 degrees.
Combine remaining 1/2 cup honey and remaining 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in small bowl to use as glaze. Glaze turkey occasionally during last hour of roasting.
Cover with foil to prevent excess browning, if desired. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes. Remove stuffing before carving.
This recipe from CDKitchen for Cinnamon-Honey Glazed Roast Turkey With Honey-Pecan Rice Stuffing serves/makes 12
Cinnamon Apple Pork Tenderloin
Posted by JasonQ in Main Dishes, Pork on August 18th, 2009
Fall is almost here, so I thought I would start looking for some good seasonal recipes. I found this delicious looking recipe at About.com.
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins
Preheat the oven to 400°. Place the pork tenderloin in a roasting pan or casserole dish. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir. Spoon the apple mixture around the pork tenderloin. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove the lid and spoon the apple mixture over the tenderloin. Return to the oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer, or until pork tenderloin is browned and cooked through. A meat thermometer in the center should register at least 150° to 160°.
Serves 4.
Channa Masala
Posted by JasonQ in Main Dishes on August 16th, 2009
Channa masala is a spicy chickpea dish from India. It’s very good too! This recipe serves 6-8.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions (peeled and minced)
- 1 clove garlic (peeled and minced)
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 6 tablespoons chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 4 cups cooked chickpeas or
- 2 (15 ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 teaspoons ground roasted cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon amchoor powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 lemon (juiced)
- 1 fresh, hot green chili pepper (minced)
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
Heat oil in a large skillet.
Add onions and garlic and sauté over a medium heat until browned (3-5 minutes).
Turn heat to medium-low.
Add the coriander, cumin (not the roasted cumin), cayenne and turmeric.
Stir for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes.
Cook the tomatoes until browned lightly.
Add chickpeas and a cup of water and stir.
Add the roasted cumin, amchoor, paprika, garam masala, salt and lemon juice.
Cook covered for 10 minutes.
Remove the cover add the minced chili and ginger.
Stir and cook uncovered for 30 seconds.
Almond Cookies
Posted by JasonQ in Cakes/Desserts on August 13th, 2009
- 2 1/2 cups all−purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup margarine or butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp almond essence
- blanched almonds for decoration
- beaten egg for glazing
1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Cream the margarine
(or butter) and sugar together until light, white and fluffy. Beat in the egg
and almond essence. Stir in the sifted dry ingredients to make a stiff
dough.
2. Form the mixture into balls about 1 − 1.5 inch diameter and place these
on a greased baking tray. Place half an almond (split lengthways) on
each ball and press to flatten slightly. Brush with beaten egg.
3. Bake in a moderate oven (350 deg F / 180 deg C) for 20 minutes or
until golden. Cool on a wire rack. This quantity makes about 45
biscuits.
Cashew Chicken
Posted by JasonQ in Chicken/Poultry, Main Dishes on August 11th, 2009
- 3 Chicken breasts, boned and skinned
- 1/2 lb. Chinese pea pods
- 1/2 lb. Mushrooms
- 4 Green onions
- 2 cups Bamboo shoots, drained
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- 1/4 cup Soy sauce
- 2 tb Corn starch
- 1/2 ts Sugar
- 1/2 ts Salt
- 4 tb Salad oil
- 1 pack Cashew nuts (about 4−oz)
Slice breasts horizontally into very thin slices and cut into inch squares.
Place on tray. Prepare vegetables, removing ends and strings from pea pods,
slicing mushrooms, green part of onions, and the bamboo shoots. Add to tray.
Mix soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Heat 1 tbls of oil in skillet
over moderate heat, add all the nuts, and cook 1 min shaking the pan,
toasting the nuts lightly. Remove and reserve. Pour remaining oil in pan, fry
chicken quickly, turning often until it looks opaque. Lower heat to low. Add
pea pods, mushrooms, and broth. Cover and cook slowly for 2 mins. Remove
cover, add soy sauce mixture, bamboo shoots, and cook until thickened,
stirring constantly. Simmer uncovered a bit more and add green onions and
nuts and serve immediately.
Risotto alla Parmigiana
Posted by JasonQ in Appetizers, Side Dishes on August 8th, 2009
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 pound Arborio rice
- 6 cups chicken stock, hot
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 ounces Parmagiano Reggiano cheese, coarsely grated
Heat the butter and oil in a large, straight−sided saute pan or saucepan.
Add the onion, and saute until soft, without browning.
Add the rice, and saute for 2 minutes until the rice is well−coated. Ladle
1/2 cup of stock into the rice, stirring constantly, until all the liquid is
absorbed and the rice is almost dry. Add more stock, 1/2 cup at a time,
until it’s all absorbed by the rice and the rice is al dente.
The rice should be very moist and creamy, but not runny;
the rice should be firm but tender, not crunchy.
Remove from heat, and stir in the raw butter and the Parmagiano cheese. Salt
to taste, and serve immediately.
Pad Thai Noodles
Posted by JasonQ in Chicken/Poultry, Main Dishes, Seafood & Fish on August 6th, 2009
This is a classic, and popular Thai dish.
- 8 Oz Rice Vermicelli Noodles (Think Or Thin), Soaked 20 Min. In Warm Water
- And Drained.
- 3 Tbs. Vegetable Oil (For Stir Frying)
- 3 Cloves Fresh Garlic, Peeled And Minced
- 1/4 Cup Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce (Or To Taste)
- 1 Tbs. Paprika
- 6 Tbs. Thai Kitchen Spicy Thai Chili Sauce
- 1 Egg, Beaten
- 1/2 Pound Tofu, Shrimp Or Chicken
- 1/4 Cup Chopped Scallions
- 1 Cup Bean Sprouts
- 6 Lime Wedges For Garnish
In a large wok or skillet, fry garlic in oil! Add noodles
and continue cooking until noodles are translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Do
not allow to stick to pan or wok. In a small bowl, mix together fish sauce,
sugar, paprika and spicy Thai chili sauce. Add egg and fish sauce, shrimp,
or chicken; Cook 3-5 minutes until brown. Add bean sprouts and peanuts.
Serve with lime wedges and scallions.