Simple Favorites

I can't believe I haven't blogged my tuna casserole before. This recipe isn't quite what I usually make but I had to make some spin on it since I accidentally purchased cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of celery soup. I usually go right off of the cream of celery can for the recipe (minus the pimentos... eww) so if you want to stick with traditional just grab a can of cream of celery and you'll be set.

This is one of Joseph's favorite meals. In between trying new recipes I always have to go back to what Joseph likes because too many new recipes doesn't always make him happy. He's been really great with my trial and errors but I can tell when he just wants good old stand by's. This spin was pretty tasty. Can't wait for left overs tomorrow!



Tuna Cassrole

• 2 cups cooked egg noodles
• 1 can cream of mushroom (or celery)
• 1 can tuna
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1/2 cup peas (I used frozen)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Mrs Dash Garlic & Herb
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 2 tablespoons butter
  
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil water and add noodles. Cook until done. While noodles are cooking mix tuna, cream of mushroom, peas, salt & pepper & Mrs Dash until fully mixed. Drain noodles and mix with other ingredients.

In a small bowl mix butter and bread crumbs until little pea-sized crumbs form. Spread noodle mixture in an 8x8 dish. Top with cheese and bread crumb mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and bread crumbs are golden. Let sit for 5 minutes and than enjoy!

Hot and Spicy

We finally had some fall weather this weekend so I decided to make some soup. I was going to try a tortilla soup but didn't have the energy to make tortillas and didn't have the gas to go to the store... seriously. I was already on fumes and was too lazy to go to the gas station AND the store :)

This turned out great. It was super spicy because I might have left about 1/2 of the seeds from the jalepeno in the soup but it was super tasty. Too hot for Joseph though because he didn't add sour cream. The sour cream makes it very creamy and the cheese... well... you know how good melted cheese is.



Spicy Chicken Soup

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 anaheim peppers (ribbed, seeded & diced)
• 1 jalepeno (ribbed & diced... keep a few seeds for heat)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions, garlic and diced peppers in a dutch oven and coat with oil. Add tomatoes, corn, tomato paste, cumin, & bay leaf and saute for 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and chicken breast and bring to a boil and than reduce to a simmer. Simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes. Remove chicken from soup and shred.

Season soup to taste if necessary. Remove bay leaf and pulse in a blender (I did two batches). Add chopped chicken back to soup and garnish with with choice of toppings.

Creamy Cheesy Goodness

I have to tell you that I LOVE scalloped potatoes and ham. It's almost my favorite dish. We had some leftover ham from the beginning of the week (when Joseph decided to cook a 7 pound ham for just the two of us because he was craving ham) so I needed to use it somehow. I've already made a bean soup so it was time to make some potatoes. And I had an excuse to use not one but three of my kitchen toys. I used my mandolin, food processor and dutch oven. Oh what fun!

The pictures definitely don't do this recipe justice. I didn't have time to get out my SLR so my point and shoot had to do for tonight. The potatoes were so good that both Joseph and I went back for seconds. And they weren't the skimpy one scoop seconds, they were full plates! YUM! I cannot wait for lunch tomorrow. Can we say left overs?

Source: Sweet Savory Southern



Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

• 5-6 red potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 a large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
• 1 Tbsp italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or blend of cheeses
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• left over cooked ham, diced (as much as you want to add to your dish... I added about 6 slices)
  

Begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. In a dutch oven or other heavy pan melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook 3-4 minutes until the onion cooks down a little. Add the garlic and italian seasoning and cook about a minute. Next add the chicken broth, milk, salt and pepper.

Place a layer of sliced potatoes into the pan, add a layer of diced ham and repeat with potatoes until you have about 1 1/2 inches left in your dutch oven ending with ham.Cover and let simmer about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are slightly tender. Top with the cheese and place the pan into the oven for about 15 minutes. Let sit 10 min before serving.

(mine were very liquidy but still very tasty... not sure what I'll do next time to thicken the sauce up)

Starchy Sweetness

It has been almost a year since last Thanksgiving and I've been meaning to blog a recipe I made for last Thanksgiving. I am not sure why I hadn't blogged it yet but was reminded of the dish at a recent get together with Joseph's family. See, we go to Joseph's parents house each Thanksgiving for dinner and I felt like I wanted to participate and bring more than just the salad last year so I found a great recipe on Food Network for sweet potato gnocchi. I was sitting around thinking about the upcoming holidays and realized that I needed to find a recipe to top the one I made last year... so I am starting my brainstorming now. Any ideas... just post them on this entry!

Getting back to the gnocchi... this was the first time I had cooked with sweet potatos and was actually the first time I had eaten sweet potatoes. Yup... I was a sweet potato virgin. Now I cook many dishes with sweet potatoes as an ingredient and love the flavor and sweetness.

Source: Giada De Laurentis
Photo courtesy of Food Network until I can find mine on the other desktop



Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter

For the Gnocchi:

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes
  
• 2/3 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1/3 cup for the work surface

For the Maple Cinnamon Sage Brown Butter:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Pierce the sweet potato with a fork. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender and fully cooked, between 40 to 55 minutes depending on size. Cool slightly. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Mash the sweet potatoes and transfer to a large measuring cup to make sure the sweet potatoes measure about 2 cups. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes back to the large bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt, cinnamon, and pepper and blend until well mixed. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time until a soft dough forms. Lightly flour a work surface and place the dough in a ball on the work surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. Roll out each ball into a 1-inch wide rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll the gnocchi over the tines of a fork. Transfer the formed gnocchi to a large baking sheet. Continue with the remaining gnocchi.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi in 3 batches and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon onto a baking sheet. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue with the remaining gnocchi.

For the Brown Butter sauce: While the gnocchi are cooking melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted add the sage leaves. Continue to cook, swirling the butter occasionally, until the foam subsides and the milk solids begin to brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the cinnamon, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Careful, the mixture will bubble up. Gently stir the mixture. When the bubbles subside, toss the cooked gnocchi in the brown butter. Transfer the gnocchi to a serving dish and serve immediately.