Alfredo ala Dawn

So, not only am I missing my ruler, but several recipes.  So..here is the recipe I make for Fetticini Alfredo.

4oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.)  Cream Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup  Grated Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup milk
 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
 1/4 tsp. white pepper
 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Stir and melt the above together...toss with:
8 oz. fettuccine, cooked, drained

yummy!

We like grilling chicken for this meal. Cut into pieces and serve on top!

This is Susan...made this in the deep winter of 2014 so no grilling. BUT I did a Ree (putting olive oil and butter in a cast iron skillet and grilled big chunks of chicken breasts.  Cooked some frozen broccoli and tossed them all together with Dawn's sauce. AMAZING!  And so easy.  Thanks Dawn..the real Parmesan Cheese made the sauce incredible.

Barbara Dahle's granola

Barbara Dahle's Granola
	12 cups regular oats 4 cups quick oats 1 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons sea salt 2 cups shredded coconut 4 cups chopped walnuts 1 cup honey 1 cup olive oil Craisins Heat the honey til it melts and add the olive oil. combine the oats, sugar, salt and cocoanut and wanuts and pour the honey mixture of this and combine. Place on pans in a 300 degree oven for 35 minutes. When it cools, add the crasins (or whatever dry fruit you'd like)

Sunday dinner...thanx Emeril

Orange, Cumin and Cilantro Roasted Pork Loin

Ingredients

One 3 1/2-pound boneless pork loin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons orange marmalade

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Rub the pork loin well on all sides with the olive oil, and season it with the kosher salt, cumin, and black pepper. Place the pork loin, fat side down, in the skillet and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the pork from the skillet and place it in a small roasting pan or baking dish that holds it snugly.

In a medium bowl, combine the orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, and marmalade, and whisk well to combine. Drizzle the citrus mixture over the pork.

Place the roasting pan in the oven, and cook until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140°F, basting the pork with the pan juices occasionally. (Take care not to overcook the pork.) Should the pan juices evaporate and begin to scorch before the pork is done, add a bit of water to keep it from burning.

Remove the pork from the oven, add the cilantro to the roasting pan, and swirl it in the pan juices. Allow the pork to rest for 7 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve the pork thinly sliced, drizzled with pan juices.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Roasted Shallot-Garlic Butter

Ingredients

4 large shallots, halved lengthwise

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), at room temperature

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large cauliflower, cut into large florets

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a small baking dish with aluminum foil.

Place the shallots in the prepared baking dish and drizzle them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Roast until they are soft and caramelized, turning them if necessary to promote even browning, 15 to 20 minutes. Set the shallots aside to cool.

When they have cooled, finely chop the roasted shallots and transfer them to a small bowl. Add the butter, garlic, lemon juice, 1 /4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 /8 teaspoon pepper, and mix well to combine. Set the shallot-garlic butter aside while you grill the cauliflower.

Brush the cauliflower with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and place the florets on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the florets are golden on the bottom edges, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue cooking, turning occasionally, until they are evenly browned around the edges and crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes longer. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl, and add the shallot-garlic butter. Toss to combine. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper, and serve either hot or warm.

Cal Staller's Butterscotch Crunch

Last night I decided to make Robert a treat for when he got home at midnight. Cookies. As you remember, you kids make better cookies than I do and I did not want to make Chocolate Chips. So I thumbed thru my handwritten cookbook and came across this recipe from Cal...Pam's sweet dad. They were easy and fast and turned out perfectly. But they are the kind of cookie you just wanna keep eating. So be warned.

Mix together:
1 cup shortening ( I used butter flavored Crisco but the plain is fine)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 t. vanilla

Add 2 eggs to the above, one at a time, blending each til fully combined.

Add in:
1-1/2 cup flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
3 cup oatmeal

Roll into tablespoon size balls and place on cookie sheet or stone.

Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees til just barely browned. You will know when these are ready to come out.

Valentines' dinner 2010

Rachael Ray's Love Birds (Chicken in Pastry)

Servings: 8

Difficulty: Moderate

Cook Time: 30-60 min

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, 6 to 8 ounces each

Salt and pepper

2 to 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 tablespoon EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)

1 (11 x 17-inch) sheet of frozen puff pastry, (11 x 17-inch) sheet

8 slices (¼-inch-thick) Italian fontina cheese, 2 to 3 inches square

½ cup fig preserves

1 egg, beaten with a splash of wate

Cooking Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Halve each piece of chicken crosswise, giving you 8 equal portions. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and the rosemary. Heat the EVOO in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.

Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, 5 minutes total (it will cook further in the oven). Remove from the heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the pastry into 8 equal pieces and place a piece of cheese in the center of each.

Top with a spoonful of fig preserves and a piece of chicken. Fold the dough up and over the meat and cheese and pinch the edges to seal.

Brush the seams with egg wash, flip the pastry packets over, and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden all over and heated through.

For entrée portions, simply leave the chicken breasts whole and cut the pastry into quarters to make 4 packets. Trim off excess dough and use it to decorate the pastry with small cutouts, such as heart shapes.

Served with fafalle pasta tossed with GarlicExpressions Garlic Vineagrette, Green Beans, Blueberry Muffins, Cream Puffs for desserts.

Should have taken a pix...didn't

Heavenly Chicken

I LOVED this meal when I was a teenager. Mom would make it when I came home on visits from college. Yesterday, I made it. Boy was it delicious!

Here is what you do.  The sauce is 1/2 a jar of apricot preserves mixed with 1 package of dry onion soup mix and 1/2 a bottle of Russian dressing.   Slather it on your chicken, reserving some to add on when you flip the chicken.  Bake in an oven. Add more when you flip and at the end of the cooking time.

Serve with rice and a side of peas.  Bon Apetite!  (After we devoured this...I went grocery shopping and picked up ingredients for another day!  I'll snap a pix of the meal and add it next time.)

meal in a bundle

My mom wasn't a camper and so neither was I. But it always struck me funny that she used to make these....meals in a bundle which I am certain were meant to be cooked on an open fire. But she and I cooked them in the oven. When the kids were young, we'd each have our own bundle. But sometimes, when I was lazy, I'd just make a huge one. Today I am making it for Robert and me so there is just one bundle and there ought to be leftovers.

First take a piece of heavy-duty foil, spray with Pam and set it in a pan for support til you make the next one...or in several pans would be smarter if you are making individual ones so you can put all the stuff in order.

Cut up potatoes, carrots and onion and sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.
You can see in the picture what else you'll be needing shortly,.

Next cut up beef steak or round steaks into chunky cubes and layer it on top of the potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Now you need to pour on the Cream of Mushroom soup. Leave it thick on top and then add milk.. at least the same amount of soup per packet.

Lastly spray the outer edges of the foil with Pam and pull each corner up and be sure to seal in all the edges.
I leave my packet in the pan or when there were individual ones, I placed them all on a cookie sheet and baked at 350 degrees for about an hour.

You campers can respond with how long it would take over a fire...cuz I have no clue. I am sure this is a recipe that you know already but since I was in a tutorial mood, I decided to blog it. It's a bit snowy out here today and this seemed like the perfect day for this sort of meal.

Too bad Dawn's not here...it's her half-birthday and it's similar to my birthday meal, but not quite...and nowhere near as good as the one I will be making.