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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Grandma K's Baked Beans

Love these.

Grandma K's Baked Beans

1 lb dry Great Northern beans
1 lb bacon, diced and fried
2 onions, chopped
1 1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1 c ketchup
2 tsp dry mustard
4 tsp salt
2 T worchestershire sauce

1) Soak beans for 8 hours or overnight, per package instructions.
2) Drain beans, return to pot and cover with fresh water.
3) Bring beans to a boil for 2 mins; cover, turn off heat and let stand for 1 hour.
4) Return beans to a simmer and cook for 30 mins; preheat oven to 300 degrees.
5) Drain beans and add remaining ingredients.
6) Bake beans for 5 hours in covered 9x13 pan.
7) Bake uncovered for 1 hour or until beans are soft; add water if the sauce gets too thick.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Buttermilk Biscuits

It works great to freeze these biscuits before baking (and before brushing with milk). Then just pop them straight from the freezer into the oven whenever you want one.


Buttermilk Biscuits

4 c all-purpose flour (if using self-rising flour, eliminate salt and 2 tsp baking powder)
1 T sugar
1 T plus 2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2/3 c butter
2 1/4 c buttermilk, divided

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2) In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; stir well.
3) Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
4) Add 2 c buttermilk and mix just until moistened.
5) Roll out dough to 1 inch thickness and cut into biscuits (I used a floured drinking glass).
6) Repeat until all dough is used.
7) Place biscuits on lightly greased baking sheet; brush tops with remaining buttermilk.
8) Bake for 18 mins or until golden.

Peanut Butter Chicken Skewers

These are so tasty we've had them two weeks in a row now. We served them with rice and steamed broccoli.

Peanut Butter Chicken Skewers

1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1/4 c water
2 T soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 crushed red pepper flakes
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 skewers

1) Soak skewers in water.
2) Cube chicken and divide between 4 skewers.
3) Place under broiler for 10-15 minutes until cooked through; turn/baste occasionally.
4) As the chicken begins to cook, combine peanut butter, water, soy sauce, garlic, lemon juice, brown sugar, ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan.
5) Cook over medium heat until smooth (roughly 3 minutes); add more water, as necessary.
6) Set aside 2/3 of the sauce; use the remaining 1/3 to baste the chicken as it cooks.

Light and Crispy Waffles

These waffles definitely lived up to their claim of light and crispy, but I think the crispiness really came from putting them in the oven. As this recipe is a bit time intensive, I might try the oven thing with an easier recipe to see if I can achieve the same crispiness. The recipe below is as written. I had to make a few subs based on what I had on hand. I had no buttermilk and only 3/4 c whole milk, so I supplemented it with 1/4 c water. I replaced 1 T milk/water with 1 T white vinegar.

Waffles

3/4 c flour
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 c buttermilk
1/4 c milk
6 T oil
1 egg, separated
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees; preheat waffle iron.
2) Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
3) Combine the milk, buttermilk, oil and egg yolk in a liquid measuring cup; whisk with a fork.
4) In a small bowl, beat the egg white with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
5) Gradually add the sugar to the egg white; beat until thick and glossy.
6) Stir the vanilla into the egg white.
7) Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk just until blended.
8) Fold in the egg white mixture with a spatula.
9) Pour batter into a hot waffle iron in the recommended amount (2/3 c in my case).
10) Keep finished waffles in the warm oven directly on the rack. Do not stack the waffles, or they will become soggy.
9)

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Savory Carrots

I'm not a huge carrot fan, but these were pretty good. We had them tonight with a roast chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy. I did not measure anything, just added all the ingredients to taste.

Savory Carrots

olive oil
garlic, minced
carrots, sliced
onion, chopped
salt & pepper
water

1) Saute garlic in olive oil.
2) Add carrots and onion; saute for a few minutes.
3) Season with salt & pepper.
4) Add water (maybe 1/2 c); cover and simmer for 15 mins.
5) Remove lid and simmer until the water has evaporated.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Pan Roasted Sea Bass

This was one of our first attempts at making fish, and it turned out pretty well. The original recipe called for marsala wine, but we used a reisling we had on hand instead.

Pan Roasted Sea Bass

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 c wine
1 T butter
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c chicken broth
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 T grapeseed oil
approx. 1 lb sea bass

1) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2) Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions are translucent.
3) Deglaze the pan with wine (remove the pan from the stove first to prevent the wine from igniting).
4) Once most of the wine is cooked off, add the butter and mushrooms. Saute over medium heat until the mushrooms are tender.
5) Add the broth, salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.
6) In the meantime, season the fish fillets with salt and pepper.
7) Heat the grapeseed oil in a heavy, oven-safe skillet until almost smoking.
8) Cook the fillets skin side down for approx. 5 mins; don't let the oil get too hot!
9) Flip the fillets and cook for another 30 sec.
10) Transfer the skillet to the oven for 3-4 minutes.
11) Serve fish over rice with the mushroom/onion sauce.