Tater-Tot Casseole

Always curious to try new recipes, a friend of mine shared this recipe for an interesting casserole and of course, I wanted to give it a test! Now this is generally not something I would make, given its high fat and caloric content, and use of pre-made and canned ingredients. It still peaked my interest to try it, at least once.

Although tater-tot casserole recipes are available by the dozen, online, and in community cookbooks all across America, this particular recipe utilizes Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup, which is new to me!

There are only 5 ingredients and this can be whipped in a pinch when those unexpected guests drop by!

1 lb ground beef (80/20), 1 large onion (sliced), 1 (2 lb) bag tater-tots, 2 cans of Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup and 1 lb shredded cheddar cheese.

Crumble the ground beef in a 13 x 9 baking dish, season with coarse salt & pepper

Add the sliced onion in an even single layer on top of the ground beef.

Add the entire bag of tater-tots, evenly across the top of the onions.

Now, pour both cans of soup on top of the tots, and spread evenly to the edges.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, until the cheese is melted, slightly browned and its bubbling nicely!!

Serve this up, garnished with a little fresh cilantro, and enjoy!

Guaranteed to be a hit at your next pot-luck or week-night meal!

Roasted Beef, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

What better time of the year to enjoy delicious hot soup than the dead of winter time!

This recipe for Roasted Beef, Mushroom, and Barley soup is so delicious, and perfect for cold weather enjoyment. It's also good for you too!

Very simple to put together and ready in under an hour, make a steaming pot of this soup tonight! Start out by roasting the mushrooms and the meat. Roasting concentrates the flavors of the beef and mushrooms, which gives this hearty barley soup a deep, rich character.

Ingredients:

1 lb sirloin steak, cut into 1/2" strips or pieces
1 lb cremini or button mushrooms, stems trimmed and caps halved or quartered
2 shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 Tbls. extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth or water
1/2 cup quick-cooking barley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet, toss together the steak, mushrooms, shallots, and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer and roast until beef and mushrooms are browned, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to a medium pot and add broth and barley. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until barley is soft, about 12 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and enjoy with a nice piece of freshly baked bread!

Chicken Potpie for those cold wintery nights dinner!

Potpies, which in their most common form are simple stews of meat or poultry and vegetables baked inside a pastry crust, have an all-American air about them. But they're actually an evolution of the freestanding meat pies once so popular in medieval cookery. From the Middle Ages through the 1600s and beyond, women all over Europe arranged their grains, vegetables, and occasional bits of meat inside sturdy crusts that they would carry to the town's communal oven for baking. In the baronial kitchens of England, cooks loaded tremendous pastry crusts with minced pork, veal, chicken, rabbit, and venison.

The English brought their pie-making enthusiasm with them to the New World, where hearty pies of deer, rabbit, and wild herbs helped sustain thousands of new arrivals in the perilous fledgling colonies until vegetable crops could be planted. Settlers brought chickens with them to Jamestown in 1607, and the birds multiplied with biblical force. Their tough hearts, gizzards, and livers were chopped, liberally seasoned, and baked in pastry crusts made from flour, water, and lard: a dubious, early American rendition of chicken potpie.

This potpie takes a little time to make but the end result is so delicious and hearty. I baked this in a vintage ironstone china soup tureen for a gorgeous presentation. A 3 quart casserole or souffle dish will work just fine.

The recipe is as follows:

1/3 pound of Puff Pastry

5 T. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

5 T. unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces

12 oz small cremini mushrooms, cleaned & stems trimmed

1/3 cup cognac

2 cups of chicken stock

1 cup of milk

5 cups of poached or roasted chicken, torn into 1" pieces

1 cup shelled green peas

2 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 T. fresh thyme leaves

3 teas. coarse salt

1 teas. freshly ground black pepper

At lease 3 hours before making this, roll out puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 3/16" thick square. Place on a baking sheet, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least an hour. Remove chilled dough, place on a cutting board. Directly onto the dough, invert a bowl or place a lid that is 2-1/2 to 3 inches larger than the diameter of a 3 qt round casserole or souffle dish. With a sharp knife, cut around the bowl or lid so that you have a circle. Return circle of dough to the baking sheet, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and chill for at least 2 hours.

Place rack in lower 2/3 portion of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees. In a large heavy-bottom pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, potatoes and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are fork tender, 10-12 minutes. Add mushroom, cooking until heated through. Add cognac and cook for 30 seconds.

Add flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in chicken stock and milk. Bring to a simmer, cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chicken, parsley, thyme, salt & pepper.

Transfer to tureen (casserole or souffle dish) and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. The filling should just come to the top of the baking dish.

Now make an egg wash by combing 1 large egg, 1 egg yolk and 1 teas. water and whisk together in a small bowl. Remove dough circle from refrigerator, and brush surface evenly with egg wash. Invert dough and place directly over the casserole, pressing lightly to seal overhanging crust to the sides. Brush top surface of dough with egg wash. With a 1/2" large round pastry tip (#7), cut a small circle in the center of the pastry, removing the pastry circle, and insert the pastry tip, narrow side down, into cut-out hole. This allows the steam to vent.

Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes; cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent crust from burning, and continue baking 25 minutes more. Serve piping hot from the oven!

Classic Beef Stroganoff

Another comforting dish to enjoy during chilly weather season is hearty Beef Stroganoff.

Beef Stroganoff is a Russian dish of sauteed pieces of beef served in a sour cream based sauce over egg noodles or rice. Originating in 19th century Russia, it has become popular throughout many parts of the world in some variation or another.

This recipe utilizes a slow cooker, which is my preferred method. You start out by browning, in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, 1-1/2 lbs of beef cut into small chunks. You can use lean beef stew meat, rib-eye, even prime rib if you like. Set the meat aside.


In a 3-1/2 qt or larger slow cooker place 2 cups of sliced mushrooms, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic minced, 1/2 teas. dried oregano, 1/4 teas. coarse salt, 1/4 teas. dried thyme, crushed, 1/4 teas. freshly ground black pepper, 1 bay leaf. Add the browned meat, 1-1/2 cups of beef or chicken stock & 1/3 cup dry sherry. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Discard the bay leaf after cooking. As seen here, I've lined my slow cooker with a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner. No messy clean-up afterwards!

After the initial cooking time, mix together 1 cup of sour cream, 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of water until smooth. Into this sour cream mixture stir in 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the slow cooker until combined.

Return this sour cream mixture to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for an additional 30 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.

Serve over hot cooked egg noodles (or rice). Delicious & filling!

Slow-Cooker Bean and Barley Soup

Serve this delicious hearty and healthy soup during the comfortable days of Autumn as well as the cold days of Winter! It guarantees to satisfy!

A helpful tip: Soak the beans overnight, in about 8 cups of cold water, just for a little re-assurance that they will not be "crunchy" when the soup is finished.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried Great Northern beans, picked over and rinsed
• 6 cups water
• 1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juice
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 medium carrot, chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, optional
• 3 cups cleaned baby spinach leaves (about 3 ounces)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Coarse Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper to season
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Put beans, water, tomatoes and their juices, garlic, celery, carrots, onion, barley, bay leaf, herb blend, pepper, and porcini mushrooms (if using) in a slow cooker; cover and cook on LOW until the beans are quite tender and the soup is thick, about 8 hours.

Stir in the spinach, cheese, and vinegar, cover, and let the soup cook until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and drizzle each serving with olive oil.

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challange: Grilled Pizza with Fontina, Tomatoes & Basil

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge is a Facebook Group for people to get together, once a month and cook the same recipe, compare notes and discuss outcomes. It is put together by Mario Bosquez host of "Living Today" on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 & XM 157

This month's weekend Cooking Challenge was Grilled Pizzas! Something I've never done before, pizza on the grill, was not only scrumptious, but quick and easy! Try this at your next cookout and get your guests, including the kids, involved in making pizzas to their liking!

The recipe for this month's cooking challenge was provided by Chef Jamie Gwen and can be found here: Grilled Pizza with Fontina, Tomatoes and Basil.

Because I was pressed for time, I did use a pre-made pizza dough bought from one of my favorite Italian Markets, Nino Salvaggio. Shape the dough as thin as you like and the point here is to make the pizzas look rustic and hand-made. If you prefer that perfect round shape, use the inside of a "Cool-Whip" lid as a template and also remember, when working with pizza dough, always pull from the center out underneath the dough and not stretch from the top or else the dough springs back to it's original shape.

Remember, the recipe is just a guide. Any and all of your favorite pizza toppings will work with this recipe. Be creative! I used minced garlic, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, green bell peppers, basil and fontina cheese.

Brush the tops of your pizza dough lightly with olive oil and place, oil side down, on the hot grill. The dough will begin to get puffy, lightly brush the tops with olive oil, and when you see a nice light browning and grill marks on the underside, using tongs, flip the pizza crust over, onto the coolest part of the grill.

Scatter the garlic and cheeses over the crusts and top with your topping choices. Using tongs, rotate the pizzas around the grill so different sections receive high heat. Check the underside often to see it's not burning. The pizzas are done when the top is bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Sprinkle the tops with torn fresh basil leaves and serve immediately!

Italian Style Entree "Cupcakes"!

Always looking for new and different ideas for meals this one "takes the cake", or should I say, "cupcake"?

Recently, while listening to "Everyday Food" on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112/XM 157, the host, Sandy Gluck, put together an interesting take on a "savory" cupcake with a Spanish Flair. I found this really interesting and asked Sandy (via Facebook) for the recipe. She graciously replied and explained that it wasn't really a recipe, but more of a "construction project" and described how she put hers together. Inspired by Sandy's creation, I put together an Italian version and the result was amazingly delicious!

First thing I did was throw together a pot of meat sauce which has to simmer for several hours. This is my Grandmother's recipe and a family secret, so don't go asking for the recipe! You'll have to be content with a photo of the sauce simmering on the stove!


Next, I made a thick polenta by mixing 1-1/2 cups of cornmeal into 1 quart of boiling salted water, and then whisked in about 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese.


When the polenta was cool enough to handle, I spooned about 3 tablespoons into the cups of an oiled muffin tin. Using your clean, then oiled fingers, push some of the polenta up the sides to form a "cup".


I then made a filling consisting of garlic, onion, chopped portabella mushroom stems, and Italian sausage (removed from their casings).

In a large skillet, heat some olive oil and saute' the garlic, onion & mushroom stems until soft.

Now add the crumbled Italian sausage and cook until it's browned and cooked through.

Add about a half cup of Italian style bread crumbs and mixed it all together.

When the filling is complete, I scooped about 2 tablespoons into each of the polenta cups.

Then topped each "cup" with the remaining polenta to cover the filling.

Next I browned some portabella mushroom caps in a little olive oil.

Then added about a cup of water, covered them and steamed them until they were tender.

Next, press the caps onto the filled polenta cups (These really do look like a cupcakes, don't they?).

Top the "cupcake" with the hot meat sauce and enjoy!

Actually very simple to make, and makes a delicious main course! I think I may try these in mini-muffin tins for great party hors d'oeuvres. And who said cupcakes were just for dessert?