Recipes

From "Fine Cooking" ~ I LOVE this magazine!

How To Make Light Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits by David Guas 

I can smell these biscuits, warm from the over ready for jam or honey or sausage and gravy (a southern favorite).

These biscuits come together in no time and are delicious with any meal of the day. Serve them for breakfast with country ham and gravy, use them to make a sandwich for lunch, or pair them with crispy fried chicken at dinner. This recipe is easily doubled.   Yields 6 or 7 biscuits

Click here for complete recipe http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/southern-buttermilk-biscuits.aspx

A few comments about these biscuits..... "these are buttery home-style biscuits" "keep your ingredients and tools cold. Cold butter makes for flaky biscuits. As the biscuits bake, the small bits of cold butter in the dough melt, releasing steam that forms air pockets and creates flaky layers in the biscuits."


Here is a great video showing "how to".



From "Fine Cooking" (I LOVE this magazine)





Garlic Scapes by Melissa Denchak   

"When wild piles of these curly, curved and corkscrewed shoots pop up at farmers' markets in June, set the ubiquitous garlic bulb aside and give them a try. Garlic scapes have a delicate garlic flavor, a tender, pliable texture, and a fragrance that hits at green grass and garlic. They're at once a vegetable, an herb, and an aromatic. You can add them to summer salads, pulverize them for pesto, or toss them into sautes. They're even great grilled. The list of ways to use garlic scapes is long, though their season is short, so stock up, eat your fill and freeze the rest. You'll be glad you did."

According to Melissa, although the entire scape is edible, it is best to disgard the bulb and tip above it as they are fibrous. She says to use them like scallions or shallots.... hummus, dips, salad dressings, potatoes, salads, scrambled eggs or stir fries.





*** You do have to pat the Panko on. Please note, we carefully turned the fish about 12 minutes.

Panko-Crusted Oven-"Fried" Fish

Panko Fried Fish From Health Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds thick whitefish fillets (such as cod or catfish)
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 cups whole wheat panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), such as Ian's brand
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Lime wedges for serving

• Preparation

   1. Preheat oven to 450°. Soak fillets in buttermilk. Coat bottom of a 13- x 9-inch metal baking pan with 1 tablespoon of oil; set aside. Put panko on a plate; add salt and pepper, and mix well to combine.
  2. When oven is hot, pull fish from buttermilk; let it drain. Dredge still-wet fish in panko, patting to make sure panko adheres, then lay fillets in the prepared pan; drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
  3. Bake fish in top third of oven for 8-15 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish; it will be crisp and golden on the outside and tender and opaque inside when done.
  4. Serve 1 fillet on each of 4 plates with lime wedges
   

Miracle Noodle Bowls

3 quarts vegetable stock or chicken broth (Better Than Bullion - comes in a jar from Costco)

Miracle Noodles ~ Gluten Free, Calorie Free, Carb Free

1 & 1/2 lbs. chicken meat, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 onion chopped

3 stalks celery with leaves, chopped

3 cloves garlic

12 mushrooms chopped

1/2 medium head cabbage,chopped in thin strips

1/2 pound snow peas

1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen peas

Salt and pepper to taste

8 green onions cut into bite size pieces on an angle

Bring broth to a boil. Poach chicken in broth until done. Add the onion, garlic and celery to the broth and chicken, bring to a simmer and cook about 15 minutes. Add the cabbage and mushrooms and cook another 15 minutes.  Add the snow peas and green peas and cook just until done the way you like it. Rinse the Miracle Noodles under warm water and let drain while the soup continues to cook. Spoon Miracle Noodles into bowl (you can cut them up with kitchen shear if you prefer as they are quite long). Garnish with chopped green onion when serving.

  Classic Crab Cakes

 From Health Magazine

Ingredients

• 1 poundfresh lump crabmeat, picked over for cartilage
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1/2 cupchopped scallions (optional)
• 2 tablespoonsmayonnaise
• 1 tablespoonDijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoonsalt
• 1/2 teaspoonblack pepper
• 2 tablespoonsbreadcrumbs, preferably whole-grain (use more as needed)
• 2 tablespoonsolive oil
• Lemon wedges (optional, for serving)

Preparation

1. Combine crabmeat, egg, scallions (if using), mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add enough breadcrumbs to bind mixture enough to form into cakes. Refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to cook.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes; add oil, and heat until it shimmers. Shape crab mixture into 8 (1-inch-thick) cakes, using 1/3 cup mixture for each; cook, adjusting heat as necessary and gently turning once, until golden brown on both sides (about 5 minutes per side). Serve 2 crab cakes per plate with lemon wedges.

 

Cast Iron Beginner Set & Cookbook

Cast Iron Cooking  

Since I mentioned that we used a cast iron skillet to cook the steak recipe in our video section, I'd like to say a few words about cooking with cast iron. When I was a young girl, my grandmother cooked every meal in her cast iron skillet or dutch oven; Sunday pot roast, fried chicken, biscuits, gravies, cakes, pan-sized pancakes and there was even a cast iron pan for cornbread sticks that looked like little corn cobs. Her skillet had belonged to her mother and was passed down to her. I now have her corn stick pan. Cast iron skillets are the perfect tool for cooking a wide range of skillet recipes and the dutch oven is perfect for those slow cooked oven meals. One of the reasons heavy iron is so highly valued is its cooking properties. Heat is evenly distributed and held, making it ideal for deep frying, searing and even baking. The versatility of the iron pot or skillet is unrivaled; use it on the stove top, grill, or in the oven.

According to Mara Reid Rogers, author of "Cooking In Cast Iron", cast iron was considered so valuable in the 18th century that it was often bequeathed along with other precious objects in wills. Cast iron was invaluable to the American settlers as they moved West, and Lewis and Clark listed their covered cooking pot as an essential item on their trip to the Pacific Northwest in 1804.

Lodge Cast Iron of Tennessee has been making cookware since 1896. To find out more about the Lodge Logic 3-Piece Cookware Set & Cookbook click HERE. Their cast iron cookware come already seasoned.

According to Lodge you should never wash a skillet in soapy water or scour it after it's been seasoned. Instead, rinse the skillet under hot water and swish away food residue with a stiff brush. Make sure the skillet is dry before you put it away. You may also rub the skillet with salt to clean it. Rinse the salt off with hot water. Over time a dark coating will develop on the bottom of your skillet. Don't worry, this is exactly what you want. In fact, some professional chefs think this coating gives food extra (and maybe secret) flavor. A well seasoned skillet needs only a coating of baking spray for shortening. Some recipes may not need shortening at all.

***Acidic Foods   ~ Cooking acidic foods like tomatoes or citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits in cast iron should be avoided. The acids in the foods can strip away the layer of oil seasoning from the pan and can sometimes also react with the metal itself, giving the foods a metallic taste and damaging your cast iron pan. Some manufacturers suggest that after a cast iron has been "broken in" with plenty of cooking and seasoning, it can withstand cooking any foods you want with no ill effects, but still proceed with caution when cooking anything highly acidic.

Cauliflower Mashed and Baked

Makes 8 Servings

6 cups cauliflower florets
2 T chicken broth
2 oz. cream cheese (1/4 package)
1 T butter
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 T minced garlic
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
Lawry's Seasoned Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

 Directions

Core the cauliflower and cup apart the florets. Steam the cauliflower until soft.Mash cauliflower with broth, cream cheese and butter. Season to taste with Lawry's Seasoned Salt and pepper. When it's the consistency you like stir in the garlic, cheese and onions. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake at 350degrees for 30 minutes or until it's getting brown around the edges.

Nutritional Facts: Per serving: Calories 105, Dietary Fiber 1.2 g, Total carbs 5.5, Sugars 2.1, Protein 5.0, Total Fat 7.5

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Italian Dressing Mix

3 T granulated garlic
3 T onion powder
4 T Italian Seasoning
2 T dried oregano
1 T black pepper
1 T dried basil
3 T parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. celery salt

1/3 Cup Vinegar
2 T lemon Juice
2/3 Cup Olive Oil

Directions

I store my dry dressing mix in an air tight jar. This recipe will make about 16 bottles of dressing.

Add the granulated garlic and onion powder to the jar. Put the remaining ingredients in a bowl. (A friend shared with me that if you crush the dried herbs before you add them to the mix it releases more flavor.) I crush them with my fingers and the pepper and salt helps to break them down. (Since we made this video we purchased a mini food processor and now we do the grinding in that - works beautifully) Pour the herbs into the jar with the garlic and onion powder and shake well. I always stir up the mixture before making my dressing

Add 1/3 cup of vinegar of your choice (we like cider vinegar) and 1 T of lemon juice to your salad dressing container. Add 1 or 2 Tablespoon of dressing mix (depending on what you like) and shake well. Let it stand about 1 hour and then add 2/3 cup of olive oil and shake well.

Each bottle is enough for about 6 to 8 servings of salad depending on the size of the salad and how much dressing you like. 

Skinny Soup

 

 Makes approx. 28 one cup servings

2 lb.  lean ground beef

2 T  Olive oil - just enough to saute vegetables

8 cloves  garlic, minced

2 cups  onions, diced

2 cups  mushrooms, chopped

2 cups  green bell peppers, chopped

4 cups  cabbage, shredded

2 cups  celery, diced

1 cup  frozen green beans

1 cup  frozen okra, chopped

6 oz.  tomato paste

2 14 oz. cans diced tomatoes

6 cups  chicken broth

½ tsp.  Cayenne pepper

3 T.  Italian Seasoning

1 T.  Dried Basil

1 T.  Oregano

½ cup  parsley

1 T.  seasoned salt

2 tsp. black pepper 

Directions:

Remember if you don't like all of these vegetables leave it out and just substitute more of one of the other vegetables that you do like. These vegetables were included because they are high fiber, low carb, low sugar and some of them act as natural diuretics to help with water retention.  Saute lean ground beef and drain well. 

Briefly saute onion, peppers and garlic. 
You don't want to overcook them but this seems to really bring out the flavors. Now add the sauteed vegetables to your soup pot along with the meat. Stir in the tomato paste and then add the broth. Add the canned diced tomatoes (I make sure to buy tomatoes without added sugar), celery (the leaves are really tasty so be sure and include the center parts of the celery hearts), mushrooms, cabbage, cayenne, Italian Seasoning, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper.
Bring the pot to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes (you don't want to overcook the vegetables.  

Add the frozen green beans and okra and bring to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes.

You don't want to overcook this soup because you are going to freeze most of it and you'll finish cooking it when you get ready to serve it for a meal.

This is also good made with ground turkey Italian Sausage.

Each serving contains: 100 calories, sodium 291 mg., total carb 5.5g, fiber 1.6g, sugars2.9g, protein11.4g

• High in niacin
• High in phosphorus
• High in potassium
• High in selenium
• High in vitamin A
• High in vitamin B12
• Very high in vitamin C
• High in zinc