this one’s a keeper

September 12, 2011 4 Comments

friends, I have a recipe to share with you. I cannot take credit for this recipe ( I rarely do.. with the exception of my roasted vegetable lasagne , which I am convinced will someday make me famous)  I mostly share recipes and tips that I have found along the way.

Tonight’s is no exception.

EXCEPT… I’m being a bit selfish here. Ok I know.. you are shocked. Let me explain.

For Christmas this last year one of my gifts from my mom & step dad was a subscription to Clean Eating magazine. I had heard about it & really wanted to learn more.  I bullied one of my friends into getting it as well, so that we could compare recipes & the front cover & stuff.

whaaat.. I was a nice bully 😉

One of the first recipes that I made was a pork stew/chilish kinda dish. I loved it! Really loved it. When I went to make it the next time , I couldn’t find it anywhere. I searched the magazines( by then I had a few issues) I searched the website. and continued to come up blank. I finally did find it, and made a mental note to bookmark it.

Epic.

Fail.

So The other night when I wanted to make it again.. same process, expect now I had 9 months or CE magazines to go through.

*on a side note… this made me look at my entire stash of cooking mags that I had saved. The one on the TOP of the pile read ’20 best things to try in 2007’*

yes. 2007. I am behind the times.

I recycled all 7 shopping bags of magazines and was rewarded with.. the recipe that I had been looking for. Picadillo Chowder.

Now I am quite naive… I never looked up picadillo and I never looked up chowder. I searched pork in every fashion.

I searched chili.

I searched stew.

It doesn’t matter, because the magazine Gods shined upon and rewarded me for being such a good recycler and then and there I promised to write it on my forehead

share this with you….

I give you Picadillo Chowder .

( picture is missing the black beans. I forgot them)

*1 lb lean ground pork

*1 medium yellow onion

*4 gloves garlic, chopped

*32 ounce low sodium chicken broth

*1 cup Organic black beans , rinsed ( I used the whole can, rinsed)

* 1/4 cup brown rice

* 1 tsp ground cumin ( I like it spicy, so I used a bit more)

* 1 tsp chile powder ( I used chipolte chili powder and more because I like it spicy 😉

* juice of 1 lime

* chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish

Place a large stockpot on medium heat. Add pork & onion and cook for about 3 minutes or until pork is opaque and onion is translucent. Stir in garlic, cook for 2 more minutes.

Remove pot from heat; pour mixture into heat proof container and drain fat from meat. Return mixture to pan and add broth. Stir in beans, rice, cumin & chili powder.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in lime juice then continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.

I always put a hot pepper in the middle, then when it’s done, I mash it up for extra heat. What can I say? I like it hot.

The original recipe called for rice browns, which are like little rice pancakes, but the first time I made them I was not impressed, so I haven’t included the recipe. If you are interested, give me a shout out & I will post it for you.

I like to serve it with an extra squeeze of lime juice , fresh cilantro ( parsley for you cilantro haters.. it’s not your fault..it’s hereditary) I forgive you and will always have parsley for you 🙂   I serve it with cornbread & a dollop of greek Yogurt.

and I’m such a poor blogger,that I missed taking a photo of the final dish. I know. my bad.

HOWEVER, I did manage to take a picture the next day when I morphed the leftovers into a wonderful organic corn tortilla soft taco for lunch

is your mouth watering? mine is…..

this recipe has it all in my opinion.

it’s quick

it’s inexpensive

it’s easy

it’s delicious

it’s versitile

it’s what you should make 🙂

and for my vegetarian friends ( you know who you are) you could probably make it vegetarian by using veggie stock & grated Tempeh in place of the pork. I haven’t tried it but may be inclined to do so. Soon.

a special shout out to those of you who ‘like’ me on facebook. Let’s face, it, everyone who like to be ‘liked’ and I am no exception 🙂 If you see a recipe that you like, feel free to share it with friends 🙂

ciao bellas!

Filed Under: Dinner, Main dish, make-ahead, Soup Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

girls’ night out & garlic party

October 11, 2010 2 Comments

Busy weekend ’round here. My talk at the breast cancer walker

information session was quite easy. No one showed 😦

I was able to meet my ‘walker buddy’,  Jennifer & got some of the behind -the-scences information. She mentioned that during the winter she has info sessions with upwards of 30 people, and wanted to know if I felt comfortable coming to one of those.
She asked me if I could bring some of  my quilts that I’ve raffled

‘raffle quilt 2009’

pink breast cancer raffle quilt

which means that I need to start to think of what kind of quilt I will make for 2011…

Then Scott & I went to Plato\’s Harvest Organic Farm for our CSA

the turkeys are getting BIG!!!

shel picking herbs at the farm

Sat night there was a surprise 40th birthday party for a friend that included a Limo trip into  Boston & an award-winning broadway show Rock of Ages ..

SO. MUCH. FUN.

erika and I

my best buddy, Erika & I prior to the limo arriving.

ok.. you’d think that I’d have more pictures of this night.. and trust me, there are pictures, but none that should be shared on the internet 😉

I’ll try to see if I can scrounge some respectable pics up from someones else’s camera to add….

While the girls were in the city.. the boys were making ‘man food’

bacon cheeseburger on glazed donut

Bacon cheese burgers on…. wait for it…

grilled glazed donuts.

This would never happen if I were actually home.

Poor Ali, stuck here with the two of them….

She had Ice cream for dinner 😉

I know, I know… mom of the year, right?

Then Saturday morning we were up early *yawn* to head back to the farm to participate in the annual garlic planting party!!

and it was held in conjunction with the 350 mission

garlic

 

photo courtesy of Shasha Purpura

 

we began with separating the garlic heads  into cloves

this took us almost 2 hours…. we’re talking LOTS of garlic!!

then Farmer Dave prepped the one of the fields for planting

with a couple of cuties along for the ride…

we planted.. and planted. and planted.then we had lunch!!

quite possibly the best lunch that I’ve EVER had.  Everyone’s addition to this pot luck was over-the-top!!

Then we dug for some taters…

My contribution for the day- (food wise) was my

Cranberry-Cashew Quinoa Salad

Ingredients:

cranberry-cashew quinoa salad

1 cup quinoa , rinsed

1 cup chicken stock

3 cups h2O

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup cashews, toasted

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 bunch parsley, chopped

1 bunch mint, chopped

1 small carrot, grated

1 whole lemon, zested & juiced

1/4 cup  canola oil

a few splashes of Raspberry wine vinegar

Kosher salt & pepper

what to do:

In a large saucepan, bring rinsed quinoa, stock, a dash of salt & water to a boil; Reduce to a simmer & let cook for 20 minutes.

if there is any excess liquid, drain it, but don’t rinse.

Add remaining ingredients & toss to combine. Season with salt & pepper.

This is one of those fhb dishes that is delicious hot or cold or even room temperature ( which is wonderful for a pot-luck)

I let the quinoa come to room temp before I wrapped it for the party…..

yum!

what a great weekend!!

 

photo courtesy of Sasha Purpura

 

Filed Under: 2008 Quilts, lunch, Main dish, make-ahead Tagged With: , , , , ,

small friends & pasta party!!

September 22, 2010 9 Comments

Yesterday was a very busy day here at Casa Hagg.

Not only did I get to spend the day with two of my favorite kiddos in the world

~L

and

~G (peanut butter face)

but we were also having a team-building , carb-loading pasta dinner for the girls’ JV soccer team..

We spent the morning playing race-cars , coloring big empty boxes & getting the house ready for the party

and having lunch 😉

When it was time for  L to get on the school bus to kindergarten..

G & I set out on an adventure for acorns

for his favorite stuffed squirrel.. ( he now has a winter-long stash;) )

For the dinner I made a tossed garden salad ( nothing fancy, I never know who will eat what..)

garlic bread

traditional baked ziti

made with sausage, ricotta, mozzarella & tomato sauce

but I also wanted another pasta option.. so I came up with this recipe.

beware.. calorie counting is prohibited for this dish… it is comfort food at it’s best

Baked shells with a parmesan-cream  sauce & broccoli

here is what I used:

1 box of medium shells, cooked according to package, except reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy pasta water before draining.

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 pint half & half

2 cups chicken stock

nutmeg

1 8-ounce package of 5 cheese blend shredded cheese

2 cups frozen broccoli, defrosted & chopped.

here is what I did:

in large stockpot ( the same one that I boiled the shells in, they were chillin’ in the colander in the sink)

Melt the butter over medium heat; add the flour & whisk with a whisk to make a slurry.

Let cook for about a minute to let the raw flour taste cook off; slowly add the half & half, whisking constantly.. then do the same with the chicken stock.

Add a pinch of nutmeg, stir occasionally as the mixture thickens.. season with salt & pepper; Add shredded cheese & let cook until the cheese is all melty.

Add the pasta & stir to combine, adding some reserved pasta liquid, starting with 1/2 cup, then adding more if needed.

Stir in broccoli & pour entire mixture into a buttered baking dish.

Top with grated Parmesan cheese, cover with foil & bake in a 350 degree oven for 1/2 hour.

This. Was. Heavenly.

As I went for my second helping last night, I promised myself a day of all vegetables today as retribution..

I keep reminding myself of that as I know that there is just enough of this in my fridge for lunch should I decide to break my promise with myself & indulge.

Which I won’t.

I think.

Yeah, I won’t.

Probably.

Good luck Lady Saints in your first home game of 2010!!

Filed Under: Dinner, Main dish, make-ahead Tagged With: , , ,

eggplant rollatini

August 26, 2010 3 Comments

I’ve been waiting very patiently to make this dish.  I first had it sometime in the 90’s all deep-fried & yummy…  I’ve made a bit of a lightened version of it….

I used Asian eggplant..  You can skip the whole ‘salt to remove bitterness’ step if you do 🙂

Start by slicing the eggplant about 1/4 in ch thick the long way

I saved the ‘end pieces’ ( the part that was all skin) for another dish.  Drizzle the eggplant slices with some olive oil & salt & pepper. The eggplant will act like a sponge    so don’t be afraid to add more oil if needed.. 

♥♥♥♥(it’s heart healthy)♥♥♥♥

Preheat a grill pan or grill

When grill is good & hot, place the eggplant at an angle on the grill.

let it develop grill marks for a minute then ( don’t flip) using tongs Gently move so that the eggplant is angled the opposite way.

( I lost some of the pictures that I took of this somehow , I will try to describe the best that I can..)

*the top eggplant is the first angel that I used, then I turned it so that it is facing the direction that the bottom 2 are.

When you then flip it ( as I have, you will have these very pretty grill marks) *

When all of the eggplant are grilled, set them up like little soldiers to get ready to be filled.. (prettiest side down.. that will end up being the top)

ugh.. the other lost photos were of the filling.

I invite you to use your imagination…

I had about a cup of part-skim ricotta
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1 egg
salt & pepper
crushed garlic cloves (crush with the side of a knife..)  this insures that garlic flavor will be throughout the filling without anyone biting straight into a chunk of garlic..

Then, start assembling

Lay some fresh basil leaves a top of your eggplant

then top with sun-dried tomatoes.. ( I used a different brand than I normally do.. they are as pretty and red as I’m used to, but they still tasted good )

next, the imaginary cheese filling

roll each eggplant up & place in a baking dish lined with some Marinara Sauce

top with more sauce & shred some parmesan cheese on top

bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes  then top with a drizzle of olive oil & a drizzle of balsamic vinegar

YUM!’

I served this with a simple tomato& cumber salad..

I used the same idea as Caprese Towers

I just layered an heirloom tomato with a lemon boy cucumber

I grew these just for fun this year….  You can used whatever cuke you like, just peel it first 😉

top with some shredded basil, a diced red onion, salt, Pepper, EVOO & balsamic vinegar…

enjoy!

on another note… is there something that you would like to have a recipe for?  Something that you would like to see me make? I do have a lot of ideas on my own but  I’m open to suggestions….  I love a challenge..

thanks for reading 🙂

~oxoox ~shel

Filed Under: Main dish

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

July 21, 2010 2 Comments

I LOVE roasted veggies! They look good, they smell good, they taste good.

and pasta.. OH!!! my love for pasta….:swoons:

My picture taking skills were on the lame side last night.. I’m not proud of my behavior. Truth is, I started with these ingredients & made the rest up as I went. So pictured is where we started 🙂

1 summer squash; cut into cubes
1 zucchini squash; cut into cubes
1 head of garlic, top cut off, not peeled
1 red onion, cut into cubes
1 red pepper; cut into cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 sprig of Rosemary
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 box of ziti
1 cup of ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of grated  parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of grated Romano cheese
2 Tablespoon butter
Chopped basil  & parsley

:revised ingredient:

1 cup frozen peas

Toss all of the veggies with a generous drizzle of olive oil a place on a foil-lined cookie sheet . Tuck rosemary spring under veggies & make sure the the garlic clove has oil drizzled on top of it. Season with salt & pepper.

Roast in a 425 degree oven for about 25 minutes.  Remove rosemary sprig & garlic cloves. When garlic is cool enough, squeeze the roasted garlic from the bulb; set aside.

While vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil & season generously with salt. Cook pasta until the al dente stage, a few minutes less than what the directions on the box state.

Drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Return pasta to pot, add veggies, along with any accumulated juices, the ricotta, 1/3 of each of the shredded cheeses, the roasted garlic& mix. *revised directions* also mix frozen peas.. no need to defrost, the heat from the other veggies & pasta will warm them.. Add reserved pasta water.  Season again with slat & pepper.

Pour mixture into a buttered 9×13 inch baking dish & top with remaining shredded cheeses & pats of butter. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Remove foil, place under broiler for about a minute, the garnish with chopped herbs.

I like to drizzle a bit of EVOO on top top after it is all finished 🙂

 *revised* see those pretty peas in there that I forgot the first time. poor peas 😦

I also made whole wheat garlic cheese bread using the bread from our bread share of our CSA

ok.. that was a seriously post, eh? I needed to remember everything that I did before I forgot it.. makes sense, eh?

now I’m exhausted :phew:

Filed Under: Main dish
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