Roasted Cauliflower

Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced
• Lemon juice from half a lemon
• Olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven-proof baking dish. Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle lemon juice over cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place casserole in the hot oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Fork tines should be able to easily pierce the cauliflower. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Grilled Honey Dijon Pork Tenderloin

2 pounds pork tenderloin
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place meat in a large resealable plastic bag. In a medium bowl, mix together honey, Dijon mustard, chili powder, and salt. Pour marinade over pork loin, seal, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Prepare the grill for indirect heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Remove meat from marinade. Place the leftover marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Use the marinade to baste the pork loin. Grill for 30 to 40 minutes, or to desired doneness ( a lot depends on the thickness of the pork loin. Enjoy!

Chicken and Dumplings

What is better than chicken and dumplings on a rainy day.

1 (32 ounce) container chicken broth

1 rotisserie chicken cubed

1 onion, chopped

1 package baby carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 bay leaf

salt and ground black pepper to taste

2 1/4 cups Bisquick

2/3 cup milk


Combine chicken broth, onion, carrots, celery, bay leaf, salt, and pepper in a large pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Add chicken.
Mix Bisquick and milk in a bowl until dough is sticky; drop golf ball-sized pieces of dough into the soup. Cover pot and cook until dumplings are cooked through, about 10 minutes. I like to add a little chopped parsley to my dumplings but that is up to your taste.

Red Hot Cinnamon Apples

4 medium apples
1/2 C red hot candies
1/4 C white sugar
1/2 C water

Cut apples into slices.  (you can peel them if you want, but I don't)  Place all ingredients into a large saucepan and stir.  Bring ingredients to a boil.  Stir and reduce heat to low.  Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until apples are soft.  Serve apples alone or over vanilla ice cream.

Not only is this recipe delicious, it makes your house smell amazing.  This is also really good cold.  Let the cinnamon apples cool, then refrigerate.  Enjoy!

Hank's Home Made Pizza

My son loves pizza, I mean what kid doesn't.  But I really dislike greasy pizza so I would rather make my own than order out.  I like making my own dough but I confess I don't usually make the pizza sauce.  If you have a good recipe feel free to share.

 

2 teaspoons dried granulated yeast
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water

Place all the above ingredients in the order I have listed into the bread machine.  Select the dough cycle and press start.  When the dough cycle is complete, take the dough out of the machine and place in well greased bowl, and roll the dough around to coat it in olive oil.
Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1/2 an hour.  Knead the risen dough lightly.
To shape and bake: roll the dough into your desired shape.  Place on well greased cookie sheet or pizza stone.  Place in the oven for 5 minutes before putting on toppings.  Then add a toppings of your choice and bake at 400 to 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  

Topping Ideas:

For this pizza I used 1 Cup Barilla Tomato Basil sauce, 1lb of ground beef and 2 Cups of shredded Sargento mozzarella.

BBQ Pizza Chicken

1 Cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, 1lb grilled chicken sliced, 1 medium red onion thinly sliced, 2 Cups shredded Gouda (or you can use colby jack), two jalapeno peppers (seeds removed and sliced).

Enjoy!

Beef Shish Kabobs Marinade

So it is baseball/softball season...which means I have very little time to cook.  I have explained before that cooking is my stress relief, soooo I'm a little stressed right now.  I'm tired of ballpark food and fast food.  Today I was determined to have "real" food.  I got up this morning and put together shish kabobs and made a marinade.  I knew that the kabobs could marinate all day and I could grill them in the hour I would be home this evening.  I also made a blueberry cobbler (see my cobbler recipe in a previous post).  After two games today it was nice to eat at home.  So here is my marinade recipe.

• 
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup prepared mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ground black pepper, and garlic.  Mix well, and add your favorite meat. Seal the bag, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours.  You can also place the kabobs in a dish and pour the marinade over them.  Then cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge.

Remember that meat and vegetables cook for different amounts of time so cook them on separate kabobs.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Short Cut Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil1 cup mini marshmallows
2 cups strawberries, quartered
1 pkg strawberry jello

Mix cake mix, eggs, water, and oil according to package directions.  Set aside.  Grease bottom of a 13x9 inch pan, sprinkle with marshmallows.  Combine strawberries and jello, set aside.  Pour cake batter over the marshmallows.  Spoon strawberry mixture over batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.  Serve warm, Enjoy!