Monday, March 31, 2014

White Chocolate-Covered Strawberry "Carrots"

Everyone loves a treat now and then and how cute are these?  These carrot-shaped Easter treats won't please any bunny, but they will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth. You can also make spring themed ones by using sprinkles.  Serve them up at your Easter or Spring Party celebration.

White Chocolate-Covered Strawberry "Carrots"

1 pound strawberries, cleaned, dried, with leaves left on
8 ounces Almond bark
Spring themed sprinkles
orange food coloring (I prefer paste)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #89

Welcome to the


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Deep Dish Pizza, a New Tra-Dish with Ragú


Ragú challenged bloggers to put their own spin on one of their classic dishes and create, what they call, a New Tra-Dish. I was given their Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza Recipe and I decided to flip it back!  It's easy to make and you can change up your fillings with different meats and add veggies if you like.  Each are complimented nicely by the delicious sauce Ragú has made.  I know this is a dish we will make often!

Each jar of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is made with 11 juicy tomatoes making it its richest, thickest recipe.* 

For more easy and delicious Authentic Italian recipe ideas visit Facebook.com/RaguSauce

Deep Dish Pizza, a New Tra-Dish with Ragú

1 pound ground beef
1 - 24 oz jar Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon cornmeal
1 - 13.8 can refrigerated classic pizza crust
2 cups shredded Italian Blend cheese (or mozzarella)
1.75 oz of sliced pepperoni
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink.  Drain meat and add sauce. 

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #88

Welcome to the


Spaetzle

A German plate of food isn't complete unless it has a pile of spaetzle. It's super quick and easy to make.  We use a spaetzle maker (see link at end of the recipe) to press out super long noodles.  

Spaetzle

Per person:
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon salt

Start a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Lightly beat eggs and water.  Add salt, then flour.

Schnitzel and Jäger Sauce

My family lived in Germany (called West Germany at the time we were there in the late 70s) when my dad was in the Army.  My mom learned to cook quite a few German dishes.  This plate of schnitzel and jäger sauce is one of our favorites.  

Traditionally made with pork or veal (Wiener-Schnitzel,)  she was introduced to it as chicken once and that is how we always eat ours now. The name for the chicken version is Hänchen-Schnitzel but we just call it schnitzel. Served with the sauce it is called Jäger-Schnitzel and if you put a slice of cheese on it, Käse-Schnitzel.  Sometimes we do both sauce and cheese so I laughed and asked if we were technically eating Jäger-Käse-Hänchen-Schnitzel?  Maybe so, but we'll keep it simple and say schnitzel and know that all will be available when served at our houses. 

Schnitzel and Jäger Sauce

For Jäger sauce:
One slice of bacon,cut up
8 ounce can of mushrooms, undrained
2 med onions, sliced thin
3-4 cups of water (or use beef broth and leave out bouillon cubes)
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 Tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet (aff link on Amazon)
cornstarch

For schnitzel:
boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 per person)
flour *
eggs, lightly beaten*
container bread crumbs*
canola oil

SPAETZLE Noodles recipe 

JÄGER SAUCE:
Add bacon to saucepan and cook until brown. Careful not to burn.
Add mushrooms with their juice, 
the sliced onions,
water, bouillon cubes (or beef broth) 
and lastly the Kitchen Bouquet.  
Boil until the onions are as soft as you like them.  Make a slurry out of cornstarch and water. Start with 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch and enough water to make it runny.  Add, while stirring, to the pan a little at a time. It should thicken up quickly. You may not need it all or you may need to make more slurry.  Each batch is different.
SCHNITZEL:
Dump some flour in a shallow dish or paper plate.
Add beaten eggs to a shallow dish and add some bread crumbs to a separate shallow dish or dump onto large sheet of waxed paper.
Coat the chicken with flour.
Then coat the chicken in the eggs. 
Coat the chicken with the bread crumbs.  If you use the waxed paper you can use the paper to push the bread crumbs up on the chicken to keep your hands clean.
Coat all your chicken while heating the oil.  
The oil should be heated in a large skillet.  You should have enough oil to cover about half of the chicken when it is placed in the pan.  Maybe 1/2 to 1".  You can test your oil by putting the end of a wooden spoon in your oil and it should bubble around it or if you are brave like me I sprinkle in a little bit of water and it bubbles.  Fry on one side until golden brown and then the other.  Approximately 3-4 minutes per side. 
Serve with spaetzle noodles.  Growing up I did not like the gravy as it was full of onions and mushrooms.  I ate my schnitzel with a drizzle of lemon juice which is another traditional way of enjoying in. 

* Start with 2-3 eggs for 6-8 pieces of chicken.  Flour and bread crumbs can be added to your dishes as you coat your chicken and find yourself running out.
Jager


Monday, March 17, 2014

Quick Pizza Dough (oven ready in under 30 minutes)

Quick Pizza Dough (oven ready in under 30 minutes)             Printable Recipe

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon  sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
couple dashes salt
1-1/2 cups flour plus more for dusting/kneading

Add yeast and sugar to water.  Let set for 5 minutes.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Chuckwagon Breakfast

We LOVE breakfast dishes and so I am always looking to change it up.  This one combines it all in one pan.  Add some cooked veggies, change you cheese, add different spices and it can be different every time!

Chuckwagon Breakfast

1 pound frozen hash browns, thawed
one recipe sausage gravy
4 eggs
olive oil
dried parsley
1-1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese (your favorite kind that melts well)

Make one recipe sausage gravy (via the link) and cool it to at least room temperature.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #86

Welcome to the Foodie Friends Friday 

St Patrick's Day GREEN Recipes Party!!


Congo Squares

My great grandma had this recipe in her recipe box for years.  I needed a birthday treat I could wrap up individually and thought about these.  It's like a chocolate chip cookie in a bar and easy to make.

Congo Squares

Congo Squares

2-3/4 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
2-1/2 cups light brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup nuts, coconut, and/or chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl mix together dry ingredients.

Monday, March 3, 2014

30 Minute Mozzarella

Have fun turning milk into cheese!

30 Minute Mozzarella

1 gallon WHOLE cow's milk (not ultra high pasteurized*) 
1-1/2 teaspoons Citric Acid Powder
1 cup cool water cool (to mix with citric acid)
1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet, liquid
1/4 cup water (to mix with rennet)
salt to taste

Put the cool milk into a stainless pot. I use a double boiler. Dissolve the citric acid into 1 cup of cool water. Stir into the milk. Bring the temperature of the milk to 90 degrees and remove from heat. Mix the rennet into ¼ cup cool water and stir into the milk for about 10 seconds.  Use the spoon to slow down the turning of the milk so it can rest.