What I've been cooking

[sarahmichigan]

We've been eating out here and there, but I'm getting into that nesting thing that happens when it gets colder and darker, and have been making a lot of food at home. Recently:

-Cheesy potato & broccoli soup in the crockpot
-Brownies from scratch
-Bean & rice enchiladas with green sauce
-Potato tacos
-Cheese & soy sausage omelets
-Curried chick peas and carrots
-Homemade mac n cheese with broccoli
-Taco salad (something that's become a recent favorite for a nutritious and filling quick lunch)

Potato tacos are really easy, and I don't know why I don't make them more often. Basically, you buy the crunchy corn shells, and then make spicy mashed potatoes for filling. I made the mashed potatoes with reduced-fat sour cream, a small dab of butter, green salsa, a couple dashes of powdered cumin and a couple dashes of chili powder. Stuff the mashed potatoes in the shells, top with shredded cheese & chopped lettuce of your choice, and enjoy.

I've been asked for two recipes, one for honey oatmeal bread, and one for the grilled salmon I made at a friend's recently (I don't have a grill but plan to try it in the toaster oven soon). Here they are:

Honey Oatmeal Bread:
This is the recipe for my specific breadmaker. If you were doing a loaf and kneading by hand and such, I would probably double the recipe, as this was a pretty small loaf.


7 & 1/2 ounce warm water
3 TBSP honey
2 cups bread flour (I used 1 & 1/2 white and 1/2 c. whole wheat)
1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned)
1&1/2 tsp salt
1&1/2 TBSP dry milk (I just added a TBSP wet milk to the water)
1&1/2 TBSP butter/margarine
2 tsp yeast (or 1&1/2 bread machine yeast)

1. Add the liquid ingredients to the pan.
2. Add the dry ingredients, except the yeast, to the pan. Tuck bits of butter in the corners of the pan
3. Make a divot in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the yeast to it.
4. Start the breadmaker on basic setting.

Grilled pepper & ginger salmon
1. Take 2 Gortons grilled salmon fillets (they're already partly pre-cooked) and thaw them in the fridge or microwave on 50 percent until they're still cool but not frozen.
2. Put them in a small container and cover them in chopped peppers and onions (I used a frozen mix of green/yellow/red bell peppers, but fresh would be even better).
3. Cover the fish and peppers with a ginger-soy sauce marinade. You can google up an easy recipe on the internet, but I used the Paul Newman's Lowfat Sesame Ginger salad dressing. Let marinate for an hour or so.
4. Drain off a bit of the marinade and transfer the fish & veggies to a large piece of tinfoil, and wrap the tinfoil around the fish to make a sealed pouch. Grill over charcoal for 12-15 minutes or until the fish flakes when you poke it with a fork.

I imagine 12-15 minutes in my toaster oven will probably do the trick as well, but I'll have to experiment with that. I may try adding some broccoli and carrots to the peppers & onions as well.

Comments

[chimalis.livejournal.com]

Could I have the cheesy potato broccoli crockpot recipe? Sounds great.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I tend to wing it, but I'll try to write up a recipe with exact measures.

-Start by putting about 2 cups of broth of your choice (we use veggie, but you could use chicken) into the crockpot, and set it on low while you wash and prep potatoes for boiling.
-Boil 4-5 medium sized potatoes, cut into spoon-sized chunks, for about 8-10 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork. If you're using fresh broccoli, add this in for the last 2-3 minutes of the boil.
-Strain the potatoes and/or broccoli. If you're using chopped frozen broccoli, you can just put it in the strainer and pour the potato water over it, and this will thaw it out. Add this to the broth in the crockpot. To help thicken the soup, you can reserve several chunks of potato, mash them, and then add them back to the broth.
-Next, make a "roux" with equal parts melted butter and flour. For mine, I melted 4 TBSP of butter in a pan, and then slowly whisked 4 TBSP of flour (white or wheat works) into it. Once this is a smooth consistency, add 2-3 cups of milk.
-Some where along the way, you should have grated an 8-ounce brick of cheese (yes, this recipe is in no way a low-fat or low-cholesterol mea). I recommend something flavorful like a sharp cheddar. A mix of cheddar and pepperjack would be good, too.
-Keep the milk/butter/flour mixture warm but don't let it boil, and stir frequently to keep the milk from burning onto the bottom of the pan. Slowly, handful by handful, drop the shredded cheese into the hot milk and stir until each handful is dissolved, then add the next handful until the cheese is all in there. Add more milk if it's getting too thick and clumpy.
-Next, add spices to the cheesy roux. I like the combination of onion powder, nutmeg (just a little), and paprika, but you can experiment with different spice combos. Black pepper is good, too.
-Finally, pour the cheesy mixture in with the broth/potato/broccoli in the crockpot, turn it up to high, and cook for 4-5 hours.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't give a broccoli amount. I'd say 3/4 a cup of frozen chopped, or maybe more if you're using big chunks of fresh broccoli.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

OH, and as for salt- the broth is probably salted, and your butter may be, and there's a lot of sodium in the cheese, so you probably won't need any. but you can salt it to taste if it's a little under-salted.