Grilled Green Beans

I recently saw this recipe in my Facebook news feed.  We eat a lot of green beans, and although they are delicious steamed with some butter and garlic, this sounded like a lovely summer variation.

The beans have a caramelized flavor that is almost sweet.  And the recipe is super simple.  It is written for one serving, so you can easily multiply for your family or for a crowd.

We ate them with grilled steaks and baked potatoes with sour cream and fresh chives.

Click here for the link to the original recipe on Myfridgefood.com.

Grilled Green Beans

8 oz fresh green beans
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice (I used fresh squeezed)
1 tsp garlic powder (this seemed like a lot but it was perfect!)
1/2 tsp salt (optional, I used a generous pinch)
pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients except cheese in a large Ziploc bag.  Let marinate for 10 minutes.

Grill over medium heat, turning often until crisp tender, about 10 minutes.  We used to have a grill pan but apparently it did not move to our new house with us.  Fortunately we had a box of disposable grill sheets instead.  It would be impossible to grill these on the grate without losing them!

Remove beans from grill and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Taco Cornbread Casserole

A few weeks ago I joined a pyrex group on facebook and one of the popular things is to show "pyrex in action" in meal prep or with a finished casserole.  Earlier this week I saw this dish and while nobody included a linked recipe, they did say how they made it (as a side note, I must remember to save things like this so I don't spend an hour hunting for the post to find said directions).  So this is how I made it, although you can add tomatoes to the taco meat mixture if you want.

Ingredients:
1 pound or so of ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning mix
3/4 cup water (per packet)
1 onion
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup of shredded taco cheese
1 package of corn bread/muffin mix (the small Jiffy type)
1 egg (per box)
1/3 cup milk (per box)
shredded cheese
part of can of green chilies

Cook ground beef, adding onion as it cooks, drain and add the taco seasoning mix and water and cook as per the packet.  While it simmers, mix corn bread, adding green chilies (I didn't want to overwhelm the dish so I only used part of the can, you may wish to add the whole can or none) and approximately a handful of cheese.  Add the black beans, corn, and cup of shredded cheese to the taco meat.  Place taco meat in a 2 qt / 8x8 size dish, spread cornbread evenly over top.  Cook in preheated oven according to the cornbread directions.  Serve on a bread of lettuce with sour cream and more shredded cheese on top as desired.

Stuffed Kielbasa

This is another recipe that the boyfriend found.  We've made it a few times and it's always a hit.  It's also quite simple to throw together.  While I think I measured the sauerkraut the first time, now I just put some on until the kielbasa looks full enough.

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) package kielbasa
1 (7.6 ounce) package roasted garlic flavored instant mashed potatoes
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add kielbasa and boil for 8 to 10 minutes to reduce the amount of fat; drain. Prepare mashed potatoes according to package instructions.
Cut kielbasa into 4 equal portions, then split each lengthwise so that they lay flat but are still attached. Layer each sausage with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Top with grated cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I've never been big on Tuna Noodle Casserole, but still, every so often, it comes up in the dinner rotation - as in the boyfriend says, "let's have tuna noodle casserole," which is what happened yesterday.  So I cooked up this recipe that he found and I actually liked it well enough that it's in the oven again tonight.

10 1/2 ounces cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup diced celery
6 ounces albacore tuna
6 ounces cooked egg noodles
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Mix the cream of chicken, mayonnaise and milk together in a large bowl.
Add the diced celery and onion.
Fold in the tuna, followed by the cooked egg noodles and shredded cheddar cheese.
Salt and pepper to your taste.
Place in a casserole dish. Cook at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, just until the top starts to brown.

Amaretto Loaf Cake

Chris made this recipe for me last weekend because I LOVE amaretto and pound cake.  So together they are divine!!

The recipe is written to make little cakes.  We don't have small tins, so Chris made one loaf in a full sized pan.  He baked it for about 45 minutes, just a bit longer than the recipe listed.

The special part of this recipe is the delicious glaze that goes over the baked cake.  It soaks into the cake, keeping it moist.  Chris didn't use all of the glaze, but it might stretch differently over four mini loaves.

Also, Chris thinks the cake would be better with the sliced almonds on top of the cake rather than mixed into the batter.

This recipe comes from the February/March 2014 issue of Taste of Home.

Pouring the glaze over the cake

Little Amaretto Loaf Cakes

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup amaretto

1/2 cup canola oil (Chris used vegetable oil)

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Glaze

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup amaretto

Preheat oven to 325.  Grease and flour four 5 3/4 x 3 x 2 loaf pans.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar, water, amaretto, oil and melted butter until well blended.  In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt.  Gradually beat into egg mixture.  Stir in almonds.

Transfer to prepared pans.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, for glaze, combine sugar, water, and butter in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in amaretto.

Remove cakes from oven.  Cool in pans on a wire rack 5 minutes.  Pour glaze over cakes while in pans.  Let stand until glaze is absorbed, about 30 minutes.  Remove cakes from pans, store covered, in refrigerator.

Ham a la King in Pastry Shells

If you're looking for a homemade, rich cheese sauce infused with wine, look no further.  This would be delicious on so many things -- from pasta to chicken to vegetables and everything in between.

I had trouble getting this to thicken, which I think is because I used 1% milk.  I would either reduce the milk to 1 cup or increase the fat content, perhaps even use half and half or cream.  I used 1/2 pound of diced ham and it was plenty.  I think using the full amount will be way too much.  I didn't buy pastry shells -- I used Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits instead.

This recipe comes from a gem of a cookbook I checked out of the library called Cooking with Wine by Virginia and Robert Hoffman.

Ham a la King in Pastry Shells

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 small onion, minced

1 pound ham, diced

2 Tbsp butter or margarine

2 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cups milk, at room temperature

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup Chardonnay wine or Sherry (I used Stone Cellars Chardonnay)

1 cup frozen petite peas

6 prepared individual pastry shells, baked according to directions

On low heat, saute the pepper, onion, and ham until tender.  Set aside.  (The recipe doesn't say what to do with the peas -- I just tossed them into this mixture at this point.)

In a saucepan, make the cheese sauce by slowly melting the butter.  After it is melted, add the flour 1 Tbsp at a time, stirring constantly.  Add the milk slowly, and continue stirring.  Then, slowly add the cheese.  Still stirring constantly, add the wine or Sherry.  Cook over low heat until it bubbles.  (I cooked it over medium and it took awhile to bubble)  Add the meat and vegetables.

Pour into prepared pastry shells.  Serves 6.

Serve with a Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc.

Chunky chicken soup

I got this recipe from a friend back in October 2012.  I recently asked her where she got the recipe from and it turns out it came from a site filled with more recipes!  It's a low / no carb type of recipe, so good for those trying that out.  But even if you're not, it's an easy way to make chicken soup (I haven't the desire to work with a full chicken)!  This time I used our onion / veggie chopper on all the vegetables except the mushrooms (I bought a package of sliced), so they're all diced instead of chopped or sliced.  And I threw in some egg noddles (about a half package) because I felt like it (and we're not no carb at the moment) (there's also instructions on how to make a carb friendly egg noodle on the site).  Because it's soup, I just approximate on how much of the vegetables I'm putting in.

1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 boneless chicken breasts, diced, 10-12 ounces
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped, 2 ounces
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin, 2 small stalks
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced, 2 ounces or 4 medium
1/4 cup onion, chopped, 1 1/4 ounces
2 cans chicken broth or 4 cups homemade broth
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup carrots, sliced, 2 1/2 ounces or 1 medium carrot
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salt, to taste
Egg Noodles

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chicken; cook and stir 4-5 minutes or just until no longer pink. Add the green pepper, celery, mushrooms and onions. Cook and stir 7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp. Add the broth, bouillon, water, carrots, parsley, pepper and salt. Simmer, uncovered, 15-20 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Add the Egg Noodles and simmer a few minutes until heated through.

Makes 6 servings