Upside Down Tamale Pie

Well tonight wraps up a hectic week. We have a aggressive storm brewing outside, a fire in the wood stove inside and I wanted something that would be easy to put together, yet a stick to your ribs kind of meal. I knew I still had the package of hamburger in frig, so I began rummaging around in to cupboards and came across a package of gluten free polenta and an idea blossomed from there. I browned off the hamburger with a chopped onion and my favorite taco seasonings cumin, chili powder and turmeric (and of course salt & pepper). While that was cooking through, following the directions on the package I cooked off a batch of polenta, added a cup of grated cheddar and let it firm up. So with the polenta scooped on the plate, cover with a good portion of the taco meat, topped with additional grated cheese, sour cream and your favorite salsa and Voila! you have an Upside Down Tamale Pie. While I'm sitting here typing I here my husband and brother in the kitchen for seconds, so I must be edible!

Praying those of you in the Portland area that also are facing the weekend storm, that you enjoy your time inside and without any incident.

Weekly Recipes for week of Sept 22nd - 28th

Well I knew a few weeks ago that my schedule was ramping up for a busy fall/holiday season and its now in full swing. I've been in several meetings in the past couple of weeks that mapped out women's events, a bazaar, a food basket for a family, sponsoring a solder overseas, several holiday gatherings and a couple of other random events. Thankfully I'm not in charge of all of this, but I will be participating in much of it. So needless to say, my meals are going to reflect my time constraints.  With that in mind here we go.

Menu #1
Lentil Sausage Soup
This soup is a mainstay for me every winter, a hearty rich soup that warms the soul.  It is a soup that freezes really well, and lucky for me, I had a gallon of soup frozen in the freezer, so while I busily cranked out a large batch of dog food (yes I make my own dog food, I'll tell you more about that another time), I had my pot of soup warming on the stove. So always keep in mind when you can make a larger batch of something that you can freeze for later use.
 When it comes to serving this soup, I love it with a scoop of sour cream stired in. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lentil-sausage-soup-recipe/index.html

Menu #2
As for the rest of the week, tomorrow night we are joining friends for Happy Hour at my work, and Wednesday we have dinner being brought to us, so I just need to figure out a couple of quick items to finish off the week. When I went shopping on Saturday, I was thinking I needed eggs, so I bought a dozen, well, I had almost two dozen waiting in the frig when I got home, so I'm thinking breakfast for dinner. I have some bacon in the freezer that can be chopped and browned with onions. Pour scrambled egg over the top and toss it in the oven til eggs are set. This is a stand by to be served with toast or some fried potatoes.

Menu #3
For a final recipe to round out the week I'm thinking I need to put the last of the lettuce I have in the frig to use an pull together a taco salad. I've pulled out a pound of hamburger and it will be thawed in a few days and ready to go. 

For now I need to get myself off to bed and get some rest so I can keep moving this week.

Roasted Tomatoes

This past week I made the choice to purchased 20 pounds of Roma tomatoes with plans to slow roast them in the oven and pack them in 1/2 pint jars and freeze it for later use. With breakfast consumed on Saturday morning I jumped into this project.

This is a slow time consuming project but the end result is worth all the effort.

  

They all get a wash ,sliced in half, the cores trimmed and the bulk of the seeds and juicy stuff cleaned out.

 Toss the prepared tomatoes with olive oil and some freshly chopped herbs, salt & pepper (I had to divide the tomatoes into two bowls in order to have the room to toss them).

 

Once you've tossed all the tomatoes with the oil & herbs and they are evenly coated, spread them on baking sheets cut side up.

  

Then into a 400 degree oven for a long bake. 

Rotate every thirty minutes if you bake two trays at once, and they are done when the liquid that sweats off of them has cooked away.  Yes they will be flattened out lumps of yummyness.

By the time all for trays were cooked off, I removed them from the baking sheets to a air tight container and tossed them in the frig after pulling a few to add to dinner.

So what was dinner, well my cheat night roasted red pepper ravioli didn't get eaten during the week so we cooked it up, and then tossed it in Italian dressing with the roasted tomatoes skinned, chopped and mixed in. Add that to a simple salad we had a great dinner.

Today after returning from church and lunch, I peeled all the skins from the tomatoes, ran the skins though a food mill and after tossing the tomatoes, the goodies from the food mill and a bit more olive oil, and placed in jars for long term storage. After a session with the vacuum sealer, off into the freezer the go for later use!

The Ruben Salad & Mamma Leone's Chicken Soup

A couple of weeks ago I had thrown out the idea of making a salad with the main ingredients in a Ruben sandwich. Well this morning as I was digging around in the frig, I spotted the chuck of brisket I bought with the intent to make the salad and never got around to. Well, thankfully this was a piece of meat that was vacuum sealed, so it was still perfectly good to use, so before running off to the office, I tossed the brisket into the crock-pot with some water and the little seasoning packet, I came home to a wonderfully tender cut of meat that just needed to be sliced and shredded. So while it cooled off a bit, I quick chopped up some of my lettuce from my market trip, a half a bell pepper and cucumbers that was left over from something else, cubed up some Swiss cheese and plated it all together with some rich 1000 Island dress to finish it off.Its been some time since I've had a good batch of corned beef and needless to say, I could hard wait to get it plated, I was doing some serious picking at the warm meat as I worked. I would say it hit the spot tonight  and was everything I was hoping it would be!          

As for last night, I had a doctors appointment in the afternoon that granted me the luxury of being home early enough to have time to dive in and make a amazing pot of Mamma Leone's soup made from this week's recipes. As usual I did make a couple of alterations, I didn't have a can of diced tomatoes on hand, but I did have five tomatoes in my basket that we just about beyond use, so I quick dropped them in boiling water to remove the skins, chopped them and added to the pot with a small can of tomato past to round out the flavor. Then rather than buying spinach, I knew I still had half a head of kale in the frig that with the stems removed, chopped up and tossed in at the end would work just fine. My husband and I both had not trouble have seconds helping of that one!

So don't just sit here at the computer, put on your apron and have some fun with your food!

Weekly Recipes for Sept 16th - 22nd

Well I've been busy this weekend, and I still need to get my shopping done, which means I better get busy with my menus for the week. The weather around here is about to send my body into a tailspin, last week was 80, 90 and even one 100 degree day, and today our church picnic was chased inside by rain, thunder and lightening. So with the weather swinging back to colder dampness, I'm ready to crawl back to hearty warm meals that will stick to the ribs. 

A couple of weeks ago I ventured into a local deli here in Portland for a large bowl of Mama Leone's Chicken Soup. I posted on Facebook what I was eating and was greatly surprised to have a friend let me know that she had come across the recipe for this wonderful soup, and this week I'm going to share it with you.

Some of you may have seen that I had ventured to the farmers market yesterday and I will be including some of that yummy freshness to brighten up the heavy items I'm craving too. The afternoon is getting away from me and I need to crawl out from under this blanket I have snuggled under and get myself to the grocery store and get ready for the week. So here we go!

Menu #1
Mama Leone's Chicken Soup

from Elephant's Deli

makes about 15 cups

1/2 Pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast or Tenders (I'm using thighs, better flavor)

2 teaspoons kosher salt plus extra for chicken breasts (divided)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus extra for chicken breast (divided)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons paprika

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

8 cups low sodium chicken broth 

1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes in juice

3/4 cup whipping cream 

2 cups thinly sliced fresh spinach

Sprinkle salt and pepper on both side of the chicken breast and lightly sauté. When cool enough to handle, dice the meat and set aside until needed.

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt. Saute the onions and celery until the onions are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, tarragon, oregano, paprika and remaining 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes Add the flour and stir until well combined. Slowly whisk the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the reserved chicken breast and simmer 10 minutes more. Just before serving, stir in the spinach.

This soup is great with cornbread or crusty french bread, or just on its own.

Menu #2
Sausages with Cabbage and Onions, with fresh heirloom tomato & lemon cucumber salad

Cabbage and Onions

1 sm head of cabbage

1 large yellow onion

3-4 tablespoons bacon grease or oil of choice

Salt & pepper

Cut the head of cabbage into quarters and remove the core from each section. Slice cabbage into thin ribbons and set aside, peal onion, cut in half and also slice in thin half rounds and break the layers apart.  Heat bacon grease in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add cabbage and onions, tossing to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste. The pan will be over flowing with vegetables but as it cooks down, it will be easier to continue to toss as it cooks. Sauté for about 10 minutes.

At this point your cabbage should start releasing some of its water.  If it doesn't, and your pan is mostly dry, drizzle with a little extra oil and toss to coat.  Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking cabbage, stirring occasionally, for approximately 30 minutes, until it turns translucent and soft and starting to brown just a little.

Tomato & Cucumber Salad

While the cabbage is doing it's thing and I'm cooking off my favorite sausage links, I will chop up the heirloom tomatoes and the lemon cucumber I bought at the market, and toss them with some store bought Italian dressing and feta cheese.

Menu #3 

Meatless Cheat Night
We were wandering around Costco and found a sample table of roasted red pepper ravioli that was very yummy (yes it has wheat in it, but I'm going to indulge a little). So I broke down and bought the two pack they were offering and one pack went in the frig and one in the freezer for a different night. I figure I will pull together a Alfredo sauce to cover the ravioli, and use some of my market greens for a salad, with some bell peppers and radishes I have in the frig already. Time to head for the grocery store for the missing ingredients and I'm off and running for the week!

Taste the Rainbow

To coin an old Skittles ad, Taste the Rainbow or eat a rainbow of color in your diet, is something I've been told by nutritionists, doctors, read in books and heard on TV shows like Dr Oz. But I must say, how often do we live by that rule, or do we see a common thread of white, beige, brown and orange (which is usually artificial) on our plates.

To day I grabbed a friend, who's husband was off getting into trouble with my husband, and we girls headed for the farmers market. I don't have my recipes for the week fully decided on yet, but I hope having a variety of colorful vegetables on my counter will inspire me with some ideas. We have another market in the area tomorrow, so once I figure out what I'm eating, I may have to make stop to pick up an item or two more.

So with that said, here are a few  pictures from our adventure this morning. I hope some of these sights will encourage you to get out there and taste the rainbow this week, the produce is amazing at this time of year so it's hard to go wrong with anything you by.

Greens Glorious Greens

Red & Orange Carrots

Gad Zooks!

If you click on a picture you will get better look!

We didn't just look at food! 

   

And this was my bounty and inspiration for the day.

Southwest Chicken Salad - Finished product

I must say that having the seasoning, meat and dressing prepped up ahead made a world of difference. I thing from start to finish I had dinner ready to eat in around 20 minutes.

As for changes I threw in some green onion at the last minute otherwise I actually stayed pretty true to my original recipe. But now that I'm eaten it, I found that when given time the heat blooms in the seasoning and its a bit hotter than I typically care for (I may cut back on the cayenne pepper in the spice mix too), but all in all the flavor is good. So my thought as mentioned before, a bit less seasoning in the dressing, and definitely less coated on the meat. Even with the added heat, my plate is clean, tummy is full and now I'm ready for a bit of rest before heading off to bed to start it all over again.