Spiced cider

Smells lovely and, in a slow-cooker, doesn't get in the way of your other holiday preparations.

Two quarts, it turns out, is not an awful lot; if numerous people are sipping (or a few people really like it), have another jug of cider handy and prepare a second bag of spices.

The ingredient list looks like a giant pain, but if you have a fancy store like Central Market in your area that sells loose spices, you can scoop and buy a teaspoon of each for pennies -- I got all of these for a total of about 53 cents. (Nothing else in the store is cheap!)

(From Allrecipes.com, where they offer instructions for brewing in your coffeepot.)

1/2 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp salt
1 pinch ground nutmeg
2 qts apple cider
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 large orange, cut into wedges with peel

Wrap spices in muslin, tie with kitchen twine.
Put apple cider in slow-cooker, stir in brown sugar, add orange wedges and spice bag.
Heat for 20 min, then remove spice bag (this step optional).

Lazy Thanksgiving

This requires three solid hours of labor (not including doing the dishes after), plus some prep work on the two nights before T-day. So I'm not sure it qualifies as a "lazy" Thanksgiving, but it's about as simple as I can make it and still supply turkey with three sides plus dessert!

The method used for cooking the turkey breast is Gourmet Magazine's high-heat "simplest turkey" method from Nov. 2005. A 6-8lb turkey breast should provide 8-10 servings -- enough for two, but not so much we get tired of leftovers!

Le Menu: Simple Turkey Breast with Raspberry Chipotle Sauce, Rosemary Potatoes, Buttered Corn, Spinach Salad and Pumpkin Pie

Several days before: Get groceries before the stores sell out of everything!
Make sure you have:
---salad dressing, at least 1 tsp black pepper, at least 2 tsp salt, olive oil, butter, rosemary (ours is growing out back so it's not on grocery list)
---9x13 glass baking dish; large flameproof roasting pan; V-rack; instant-read thermometer; serving dishes for sauce, corn, potatoes and salad; saucepan

Grocery list:
V-rack
Raspberry-chipotle sauce
6- to 8-pound turkey breast (with skin and bone)
2 lb. new potatoes
bag o' salad greens
garlic
2 pkg frozen corn
2 frozen pumpkin pies: Sara Lee ChefPierre or Marie Callender's
Whipped cream
Milk


T-minus 2: (Tuesday)

• About 8 p.m., place turkey breast in refrigerator, if planning to eat dinner at 1 p.m. (thaw 24 hours per 5lb of turkey).

T-minus 1: (Wednesday)

• Bake pumpkin pie (can take 90 min and needs to firm up afterwards). Refrigerate.

• Mince garlic, clean & chop rosemary

• Make seasoning mixes.

TURKEY SEASONING:
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons black pepper
(a little garlic, olive oil & rosemary?)
POTATO SEASONING:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary, crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

T-day:

• 10:30 a.m.

Pull out one oven rack and keep it outside oven.
Put oven rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 450°F.
Rinse turkey and pat dry; rub or sprinkle turkey seasoning mix in cavities and all over skin.
Put turkey on V-rack in roasting pan.
Set table and make iced tea.

• 11 a.m.

Put turkey in oven.
Wash salad greens.
Get saucepan out and ready to cook corn.
Get pumpkin pie out and let it warm.

• 11:40

Rotate turkey pan 180 degrees.
Scrub & quarter the new potatoes; arrange in glass dish, pour on potato seasoning mix and toss to coat.
Cook frozen corn, put in serving dish and stir with butter.

• 12:10

Check turkey; keep roasting up to another 20 minutes until thermometer inserted in thickest part of each breast half (close to but not touching bone) registers 170°F, about 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

• WHEN TURKEY IS DONE:

Remove turkey and let stand 30 minutes (temperature in breast will rise to between 175°F and 180°F).
Put in spare oven rack; switch oven to bake (also at 450); bake potatoes uncovered about 25 minutes or until brown and tender.

• Around 1 p.m.

Slice turkey and serve with raspberry-chipotle sauce, corn, potatoes and salad.
After dinner have some pumpkin pie with whipped cream and milk.
Lay about and watch football!

To try: Berry Compote

At a very cozy, uspcale cafe the other day we had "French-toast casserole" and some kind of berry mixture. This is my best guess at how to do it:

Strawberry-Raspberry Compote

from http://www.driscolls.com/recipes/poundcake.html

1 tbsp. sugar 1/4 cup dry red wine 2 tbsp. water 2 strips lemon peel 2 whole cloves 1 cup strawberries 1/2 cup raspberries

• In small non-aluminum sauce pan, combine sugar, wine, water, lemon peel and cloves. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer about 10 minutes. Cool.
• In medium bowl, place strawberries and raspberries. Strain cooled liquid over berries. Allow to stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or refrigerate several hours or over night.

Baked French Toast Casserole

modified from a Paula Deen recipe

Similar to Nicole's wonderful bread pudding recipe, which uses slices of toasted white bread, which I bet would work here too. Also I like that this version mentions you can make it the night before -- I once made a Christmas-Eve-morning ever so much less enjoyable by trying to assemble the bread pudding with family sitting around trying to enjoy each others' company.

20" loaf French bread (or 16 pc toasted white bread?)

8 eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Dash salt

Maple syrup to top

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 40 min until puffed and slightly golden.

Eh: Tacos, Lemon chicken, salmon week

Not too difficult, but also not necessarily worth repeating, flavor-
wise. Either my allergies are sapping my appetite or these tacos
simply aren't as good as the last time. Perhaps sub in a roast and/
or cream tacos.

Cook up 1lb ground beef and make tacos: 30 min, yield 5 meals
Chop garlic, ginger, carrots while simmering rice: 1 hour
Marinate salmon
Trim chicken, flour and brown it, then simmer with sauce mix: 1 hour,
yield 4-5 meals
Glaze and bake salmon; trim and stirfry green beans: 1 hour, yield 4
meals

$50 total; 3.5 hours cooking; 13 meals @ $3.80 each

To try: Green chili chicken; Poblano chicken; Date/bacon bites

Poblano chicken: Combine this with the green chili chicken to do all your roastin' at
once?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106892

Parmesan-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon: Apparently an old traditional favorite, and the reviewers all say it is easy to make and gets rave reviews at parties:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232778

Green Chili with Chicken

8 mild New Mexico or poblano chiles
2 jalapeño chiles, optional
1/4 cup olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
11/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 cans (14 oz. each) chicken broth
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
2 Tbsp. cornmeal

Garnishes: Chopped chiles, crumbled Mexican cheese, chopped onion, minced
cilantro, salsa

Heat the broiler; roast the chiles, turning, until blackened on all sides, about 8 minutes. Set in paper bag to cool and then peel off the really black parts, seed and chop chiles.

Cube the chicken.

Saute garlic, onions, cumin.
Add chicken and cook, stirring, till chicken is opaque (8 min).
Add chicken broth, tomatoes, oregano and reserved chiles. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 50 min. Stir occasionally.
Stir in cream and cornmeal; cook 10 minutes.

To try: Spicy recipes

Allspice Beef -- a pot roast that might go well with the wonderful
rosemary potatoes

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232969
---------------
Apricot Almond Chicken -- it just uses ingredients I like to keep on
hand!!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/231356

4 chicken breasts
5/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp whole-grain mustard (or ground ginger)
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Lightly
oil a 13- by 9-inch flameproof baking dish (not glass).

Bake chicken 10 min, seasoned w/ salt & pepper. Toast almonds in
small baking pan beside it -- stir twice, pull out before chicken.
Combine apricot, soy, mustard, butter, dash salt, 2 dash pepper. Stir
in small pan till preserves melt. Pour over chicken and bake 10 min
more.

Turn on broiler and broil chicken 4 to 5 inches from heat, basting
once, until chicken is glazed and browned in spots, about 3 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with almonds.

---------------
Lamb Chops with Cumin, Cardamom and Lime
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/107353

8 (1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick) rib lamb chops (2 lb)

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp plus 2 teaspoons olive oil

Marinate lamb 15 min (or longer) in bag with garlic, cumin, cardamom,
lime juice, salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons oil.

Use 1 Tbsp oil over moderate/high heat to cook half the lamb (3-4 min
per side); wipe pan & repeat with rest of lamb.
---------------
Steaks with Orange-Fennel Crust
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232971

Try when making meatballs (grinding fennel anyway!) and orange beef
stir-fry.

4 7-oz beef tenderloin steaks

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp ground fennel
1/2 tsp orange zest
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 tsp Dijon mustard

Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 500°F.

Stir together bread crumbs, fennel, zest, 1 Tbsp oil and half the
salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper the steaks, heat an oven-safe pan with remaining oil,
and sear 3-4 min till steaks are brown on bottom. Take pan off heat;
flip steaks over; spread tops with mustard and then top evenly with
breadcrumb mix.

Move skillet to oven; roast 5 min.
---------------
Chik Nug-et
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106361

With the hot sauce, sounds like Buffalo stuff that my husband
likes. Without, it might tastily mimic a certain restaurant whose
offerings I am addicted to.

4 chicken breasts
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon bottled hot sauce plus additional for serving
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 cups fresh bread crumbs (from 6 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Pound chicken to 1/3 inch thick and cut into chunks. Coat in bag
with buttermilk, hot sauce, salt and pepper -- let stand 15 min.
Press pieces gently into mixture of bread crumbs, cayenne and 1/2 tsp
salt.

Fry in veggie oil.
---------------

Honey Hoisin Salmon

Easy, flavorful, pretty -- good for guests!

(much modified from original version on http://www.recipezaar.com/411426">recipezaar)

6-oz. salmon fillets

Marinade for salmon
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
2 Tbsp garlic (do not overdo)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp rice vinegar

Glaze
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
salt

Put the marinade in a plastic bag, set the salmon flesh-down in it and refrigerate 1 day (notes: Salmon only keeps a couple days in the fridge so don't dawdle. Might want to score the flesh for better absorption).

Preheat over to 350. Put fillets flesh-side up in an oiled baking dish. Coat with at least half the honey-hoisin glaze. Bake 15-20 minutes, stopping halfway through to glaze again.

Orrrrr --
To use frozen salmon fillets WITHOUT thawing them, which is not only a Lazy Chef ultimate goal but also a fairly amazing way to keep a very healthy food on hand without going to the grocery store every five minutes....

--Preheat oven to 400
--Rinse frozen fillets in cold water to remove "ice glaze" and pat dry with paper towels
--Put fillets on a greased baking sheet or foil-lined sheet
--Brush with marinade, or a low-smoke-point oil such as avocado plus seasonings
-- Bake 30-45 minutes.

One source recommends 5 minutes per oz of fillet, ie 30 min for 6-oz, 40 min for 8-oz; all sources pretty much say you can tell it's done properly when it flakes easily on the tines of a fork.

Tortilla soup, chipotle flautas, lemon-herb chicken

Kitty's Tortilla Soup (6 srv), Chipotle Chicken Flautas (3 srv) and Lemon-Herb Chicken (4 srv)

Yield: 13 meals, not bad
Cost:
Flavor:
Labor: Somewhat heavy: about 2.5 hours.

Grocery: 6pack chicken breasts, corn tortillas, pico de gallo or salsa to top flautas, rice, 40 or more oz chicken broth, 16 oz RoTel Fiesta, 11 oz sweet corn, lemons, carrots, garlic, lime, small yellow onion, grated cheese

Have on hand: cumin, paprika, chipotle seasoning, oregano

Day 1 (est: 1.5 hr)

Trim chicken; put half (the thick pieces) in broth to simmer 20 min. Shred cooked chicken and save a third for flautas. (save any extra broth for lemon mix) Refrigerate thin chicken pieces.

Chop carrots for lemon chicken. Refrigerate.
Chop garlic and onion (plenty for soup; a little onion/garlic for flautas and a lot of garlic for lemon mix).

Combine the flauta chicken with a little onion and garlic, plus whichever seasonings you can find: chile powder, garlic powder, lime, cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne.

Finish soup: Toss in garlic, onions, Ro-Tel, corn, lime juice, shredded chicken. Heat.

Make flautas: Warm several tortillas in a little oil. Fill each with chicken mixture; spear with toothpick; fry. Top with cheese and pico or salsa.

Cut several tortillas into strips; fry in fairly deep hot oil. Serve soup with strips and cheese.

Day 2 (est: 1 hr)

Pull thin chicken pieces out of fridge and flour them. Cook rice.
Make lemon mix: Broth, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, rosemary, sugar.
Brown floured chicken in butter. Add lemon mix and carrots and simmer 20 min.
Pull chicken out and put atop rice. Add 2 Tbsp butter to sauce and whisk, then pour over chicken.

Week: Potstickers, Cajun shepherd's pie, ravioli

Ginger beef potstickers, Cajun shepherd's pie, store-bought ravioli.
With spinach salads and mandarin orange slices.

This is vastly streamlined from an earlier menu that left me utterly exhausted. Also new to this version: You get to eat food every single night!!

If the estimated time for this is right (3 hr 20 min) and the yield is 12 meals, that's the equivalent of 16 minutes per meal, which I suppose is not horrible. And it's all pretty tasty.
Still need: Price estimate _____

Day Zero: Shoppin' (est: 20 min prep)

Fancy store: Potsticker wrappers, cayenne, white pepper, garlic powder, thyme
Regular store: 1 lb ground beef; garlic, ginger, green pepper, carrots, potatoes, snow peas; spinach; 2 eggs; ravioli and sauce, jar of orange slices

Cook the ravioli and assemble the spinach salads (leaving some spinach for potstickers).

Day 1: Choppin' (est: 1 hour)

Chop/grate the ginger and garlic for the potstickers (and garlic for the shepherd's pie).
Chop spinach for potstickers; carrots and green pepper for shepherd's pie.
Trim and wash the snow peas.
Chop potatoes, boil, mash, refrigerate. (Make a lot.)

Assemble:
---Shepherd's Seasoning: Butter, tabasco, green pepper, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic.
---Potsticker Stuffing: Ginger, garlic, spinach, sauces, beef.

Day 2: Cookin' (est: 1 hour)

Make Shepherd's meatloaf:
--Mix 2 eggs, breadcrumbs and ground beef.
--Saute Shepherd's Seasoning 5 min, scraping often. Let cool, add 1/4 c milk and mix with the meat.
--Make meat into 12x8 "patty," center in ungreased 13x9 pan, bake at 450 for 30 min. Save drippings.

(Build the potstickers while this is cooking, and refrigerate them.)

Pour meat drippings into pan with carrots, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne. Saute 1 1/2 min on high, stirring.

Put the carrots on top of the meat, not around the edges. Layer the mashed potatoes over carrots and meat. (Try putting some potatoes in first so the carrots don't fall)

Bake at 525 until brown on top, about 8-10 minutes. Have dinner and parcel up the rest.

Day 3: More Cookin' (est: 1 hour)

Take the postickers out of the fridge.
Stirfry the snow peas until bright green.
Cook potstickers a dozen or so at a time: fry quickly on all three sides, then fill pan 2/3 full with chicken broth and simmer a half-hour or so till most of the liquid has cooked off.

Cajun Shepherd's Pie

An unbelievably oversimplified version of K-Paul's Cajun Shepherd's
pie (full version http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/americas/cajun/shepherds-pie-paul-
prudhomme1.html">here).


Flavor's pretty good. You need quite a bit of mashed potatoes and not very many carrots at all.

The original, as made by my Mom, is a sovereign cure for colds, flu, allergies or a bad mood, but it takes two days to make (no joke). Oversimplified, it's still more steps than I like to take (note the title of this blog) but it produces some of the same soothing effects, even if it does not actually have the power to heal.

In terms of cooking for a week, it makes at least six portions which do not reheat super-well (perhaps better if you break up the chunk of meatloaf when you package up the portions). That plus the labor involved make it generally unsuitable for a full-week plan, but it's still worth keeping the recipe around.

------------------------------------

Mix 2 eggs, breadcrumbs and ground beef.

In saucepan, combine butter, tabasco, green pepper, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, thyme, garlic. Saute 5 min, scraping often.

Let cool, add 1/4 c milk and mix with the meat. Make meat into 12x8 "patty," center in ungreased 13x9 pan, bake at 450 for 30 min; save drippings.

Boil & mash the potatoes.

Combine meat drippings with carrots, salt, garlic powder, pepper and cayenne. Saute 1 1/2 min on high, stirring.

Put the carrots on top of the meat, not around the edges; layer the mashed potatoes over everything.

Queen Elizabeth II's Scone Recipe

Note: These apparently turn out rather a lot like pancakes a there is an excellent exploration of this recipe and how to bake them from an American-measurement-and-equipment perspective here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/queen_elizabeths_drop_scones/


Got this from a November 2005 Washington Post story. 

Caster or castor sugar is apparently a superfine sugar; my best guess so far is that a "teacup" is equal to 1/3 of a pint of a liquid; some sources have it as equivalent to 1/2 cup and 4/5 cup. Golden syrup is corn syrup.

(Below Liz's original, I wrote out my best guess at what modern equivalents would work out to.)

----------------------------------------

From the Washpost story:

Here’s a royal postscript to the recent visit of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, from the just-released collection called "Dear Mr. President : Letters to the Oval Office From the Files of the National Archives."

Charles’ mum was a baker.

In 1960, Queen Elizabeth II saw a newspaper photo that showed President Eisenhower barbecuing quail at the Albany, Ga., home of W. Alton Jones, who was described as a friend and wealthy oilman. It reminded her that she had promised during Eisenhower’s visit to Balmoral to send him the recipe for her drop scones. She jotted it down and sent it to him Jan. 24, 1960 :

... Though quantities are for 16 people, when there are fewer, I generally put in less flour and milk.... I have also tried using golden syrup or Treacle instead of only sugar and that can be very good, too....

Yours sincerely,

Elizabeth R

To make 16 scones, she called for “4 teacups flour, 4 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar, 2 teacups milk, 2 whole eggs, 2 teaspoons bi-carbonate soda, 3 teaspoons cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons melted butter.”

Directions : “Beat eggs, sugar and about half the milk together, add flour, and mix well together adding remainder of milk as required, also bi-carbonate and cream of tartar, fold in the melted butter.” (No information on baking time and temperature given.)

----------------------------------------

My translation:

WET ingredients

2 eggs
4 or 5 Tbsp superfine sugar (Grind granulated sugar with a mortar and pestle?)
1 1/3 cup milk

DRY ingredients

2 cups to 3.2 cups flour (Err on the side of less, I think)
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cream of tartar

2 Tbsp melted butter

Beat together wet ingredients -- eggs, sugar and about half the milk
Add dry ingredients and mix, using rest of milk as required (Err on the side of less milk)
Fold in the melted butter.

My guess at cooking time: 425 degrees, 12-15 minutes.

Makes 16 scones, says Elizabeth R.

Easy French Toast Sticks

Pretty simple.... taste-wise, I'd be just as happy with a piece of regular toast and honey, but if you want to make something sweet for a loved one or to bring to a brunch, this produces a nice effect and flavor for comparatively little effort.

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 tablespoon butter
* 3 eggs
* 3/4 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 4 slices bread, each cut, lengthwise, into 4 pieces

To serve:
* Sugar
* Cinnamon
* Maple syrup

PREPARATION:
Melt butter in skillet. Mix eggs, milk and vanilla in bowl; beat well.
Soak slices of bread. Brown the soaked bread in skillet. Sprinkle with
a little sugar and cinnamon and serve with maple syrup.

Notes on King Ranch Chicken

Made it with the cream of poblano soup and a litle extra Hatch
enchilada sauce stirred in. Flavor is good (even a little hot) but I
find myself looking askance at the corn and green coloring that came in
the soup. Might be worth trying again with cream of chicken but more
Hatch sauce.

Chop the onion TINY because it is noticeable chunks in this recipe. Or
could try skipping it.

Made a full-size casserole so probably 6 to 8 portions. I gave some
away (to good reception) because I had a strange reaction to the dish
-- I did not look forward to eating it when I brought it to work for
lunch, but once I was chowing down it was tasty and I raced through it.
Probably due to the poblano/corn and the suburban associations. Might
be more appealing once refined.

Pricewise, I made an entire pot of tortilla soup (6 portions), a King
Ranch casserole (6-8 portions) and an undetermined number of
CFS/corn/mashed potato servings for $50, which I will ballpark at 17
meals = $3 apiece, so not bad. If I looked forward to the KR chicken
the way I do the others, I'd call it a success all round.

Mom tips on pizza

Mom says:

I smoosh the pizza crust into the pan and put it in a hot (about 400 or
450) oven for 6 or 8 min, til it starts to look dry and firm (but not
brown).

Then I take it out and top it with whatever. Then bake at 400 or 450
til the topping looks hot and bubbly. That will be about 15 or 20
minutes, depending on how thick the toppings you put on. More meat and
cheese, etc, more time to cook.

Everything we use for toppings are already cooked, so it just needs to
get hot and the cheese needs to melt and bubble. Low in the oven is
good to crisp up the crust on the bottom, about 1/3 from the bottom.

Chicken-Fried Steak and King Ranch Chicken

It ain't healthy, but you'll be happy. Soak good meat overnight in
milk, dip small pieces in flour with a dash of salt and pepper, and fry
in pretty hot oil; serve with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.

Haven't tried this King Ranch Chicken, but it looks OK:

10 oz cream of chicken soup
10 oz cream of mushroom soup (or replace both these with 20 oz poblano
cream of chicken soup)
2 cups chicken broth
10 oz can of RoTel
16 corn tortillas, cut in pieces
1 whole cooked chicken (or cook chicken breasts in the broth)
1 large chopped onion
4 cups grated cheddar cheese

Cook chicken breasts in broth, cool and shred.
Grease a 3-qt casserole
Add soup and Rotel to broth
Layer: 1/2 of the tortillas, chicken, onion and cheese
Pour half the broth over
Layer again, and pour rest of broth on.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

Week 1: Garlic pork loin, pot roast, salmon

OK, it's crunch time. I'm under a tight budget for the next 6 weeks and it's time to really give this a run. Here's the plan for Week 1:

Garlic Pork Loin with raspberry chipotle sauce and wild rice
Bobbie's Pot Roast
Ginger Soy Salmon
lots of almond haricots verts

Grocery list

from HEB: frozen haricots verts

4 salmon fillets
Chuck roast, 3 lb
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 pound boned pork loin

2 lemons
3-4 carrots
2-3 russet potatoes
2 lb new potatoes

Can of mushroom soup
Packet of onion soup mix
Can Ortega diced green chiles
Uncle Ben's wild rice
garlic (2 cloves for potatoes, a few for pot roast, 8 for pork)
ginger (4 tsp for salmon)
dried thyme
sliced turkey breast
wheat bread

have on hand: butter, olive oil, fresh rosemary, salt, pepper, soy sauce, sugar, garlic salt, sliced almonds, F&W raspberry chipotle sauce, Miracle Whip

Plan of attack: Pick up the haricots verts Friday on way home. Shop for the rest Saturday, chop the garlic and make the rosemary potatoes, eat a turkey sandwich and go to Kelly's party. Sunday, start the pot roast, chop veggies, make the salmon, wild rice and haricots verts. Monday night after work, roast the pork loin.

Rosemary Potatoes

2 lb. new potatoes, scrubbed & quartered
1 tbsp. olive oil or cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
2 tsp. snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Roasting directions: In a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish arrange raw potatoes. In a bowl stir together oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour over potatoes; toss to coat. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree oven about 25 minutes or until brown and tender.

one to try: Ginger Soy Salmon

(double recipe)

6 pats melted butter
4 tsp ground ginger
2 Tbsp soy
juice of 2 lemons
4 tsp sugar
4 salmon fillets

Mix first 5 ingredients (if lemon juice is warm, it will blend with butter easily)
Sear the fillets in a buttered pan, then add lemon-butter-soy mixture
Cook on high heat, turning to coat, until ginger-colored.
Turn down heat and simmer 5 min each side.
Pour sauce over to serve.

Bobbie's Pot Roast

With love to my lifelong friend Bobbie, who knew me when I was young and even more annoying than I am now (I think). May have evolved from original slightly.

Chuck roast, 3 lb
Can of mushroom soup
Packet of onion soup mix
Can Ortega diced green chiles
dash garlic salt (try also garlic cloves?)
1/2 can of water
Carrots, diced
Potatoes, cubed

Preheat oven to 450. (Sear roast in pan?)
Mix together mushroom soup, onion soup mix, chiles, garlic salt (garlic cloves?)
Place roast in a stock pot, pour mixture over, and cover. (I pour a little on bottom first)
Place roast in oven and turn heat down to 250 for 6 hours.
Toss the carrots and potatoes in halfway through.

semi-quick: Pizza alla Mom

Mom makes killer homemade pizzas. She uses Brick Oven pizza sauce from the grocery store (may need to squish it through a strainer so it's not too watery first). Her signature toppings are garlic, mozzarella, ground sirloin and fresh jalapeños. The dough she makes with Fleischmann's yeast (comes in packets or jar) according to the Mario Batali recipe appended below.

The dough is pretty quick, but all the chopping could slow the project down. I might try to roast some garlic and pay homage to the "Bela Lugosi," a pizza from Frank & Angie's that is studded with garlic cloves every square inch, I swear.

Notes from the Mom herself:

I slice garlic cloves very thinly with my ceramic knife and I used to lay them around on top of the tomato sauce, but last night I just stirred them into the sauce and spread the sauce on the pizza. They were distributed evenly and it was quicker. This only works if everyone wants garlic. Then, for one kind of pizza I use fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced, and chopped fresh jalapeno. For the other kind, I use shredded Stella d'Oro mozzarella from Sam's, good lean ground sirloin (cooked and crumbled), pepperoni, and chopped fresh jalapeno.

I am very complimented that you like the pizza.

Pizza dough (from Mario Batali)

1 cup tepid water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Stir the water, oil, sugar, and salt in a liquid measuring cup until the sugar dissolves. Whisk the flour and yeast in a large bowl, make a well in the center and add the liquid mixture. With a wooden spoon or your hand, gradually stir the flour into the liquid to make a rough dough. Pull the dough together into a ball (if there is a bit of flour left, don't fret).

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface dusted with flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, using more flour if necessary to keep from sticking. Divide into 4 equal portions, form into balls, and put on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush the tops of the dough with oil, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise at room temperature until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Yield: 1 (12-inch) pizza dough
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 45 minutes

Baking:

Place oven rack pretty low, about 1/3 from the bottom, and preheat to 400 or 450. Smoosh the pizza crust into the pan and bake 6 or 8 min, til it starts to look dry and firm (but not brown).

Then take it out and top it with whatever. Bake at 400 or 450 til the topping looks hot and bubbly. That will be about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on how thick the toppings you put on. Since all toppings are precooked, it just needs to get hot and the cheese needs to melt and bubble.