Tofu with Broccoli and Peanut Sauce

This is an original recipe by yours truly, but that is just a way of saying "made up".  It is quite good (as attested to by my whole family) and easy to make.

Tofu with Broccoli and Peanut Sauce
by Kerry   serves 6 hungry people with some leftovers

2 pkgs (blocks) of extra-firm tofu
4-6 heads of broccoli
1/2-3/4 of a bottle of Peanut sauce
    (I use an 11.5 oz jar of  Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce - in the chinese/asian food section)
Enough cooked rice for 6 people (I make mine a little ahead and keep it in the warm oven)
Oil for sauteing

You'll also need a large saute pan, a casserole dish (9x13 or so) and a warm oven

Drain each block of tofu by slicing it in half lengthwise and placing the two halves on paper towels.  Place another paper towel on top and gently press down.  Let the tofu sit on the paper towels while you prepare the broccoli.

Trim the broccoli into medium-sized florets (bite size).  Include some of the stem, too (trim off the tough outer growth).

Heat some oil (enough to coat the pan well, about 1-2 T) in your saute pan.  Add the broccoli and cook for a few minutes until it starts to turn bright green.  Drizzle a good amount (1/4 c or so) of peanut sauce on top.  Stir to coat and continue cooking until just tender, but still with a good firmness.  Transfer the cooked broccoli to the casserole dish, drizzle a bit more peanut sauce on top, cover with foil and place in warm oven.

Back to the tofu.  Change the paper towels and press out the last of the water from your tofu.  Dice tofu into bite-sized pieces (about 1/2 inch square).

Heat more oil in pan (enough to coat the pan well, like before).  Add tofu and cook for 2 minutes, turning gently.  Drizzle a good amount of peanut sauce on top and continue cooking until tofu is well-warmed.  Keep an eye on it as the peanut sauce can start to burn at this point.

Place cooked tofu over broccoli, drizzle more peanut sauce over top and serve over the cooked rice.  You can also recover it at this point and keep it in a warm oven until ready to serve.  I don't think I'd leave it for more than an hour - the broccoli might get too limp.

This only takes a few minutes to cook - 30 minutes from start to finish (not including the rice cooking time, which might take longer depending on what type of rice you make).

Fast-Friendly Peanut Butter Balls

I was trying to find an easy recipe for peanut butter balls, but most of them had dry milk as an ingredient.  I really needed a recipe without that milk.  But didn't have much luck, so I came up with this one.    I'm sitting here staring at a plate of them right now....  Can't wait until dessert time!

These also make great afternoon snacks for really hungry kids.


Fast-Friendly Peanut Butter Balls
makes about 20 1-in balls

1 cup peanut butter
1/3 c oatmeal
1/4 c wheat germ (if you don't have it, just use more of the other dry ingredients)
1/4 (or so) of powdered sugar
1 T honey (optional)

Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine to form a dough.  This is a tough dough to mix, but just keep at it and it will get all incorporated.  If your is still too wet (dough is not coming together into a dough ball - pulling away from the sides of the bowl), add more of the sugar, oatmeal, and/or wheat germ (to your preference or taste - all three are helpful for "drying out" the peanut butter.  I added the honey because I like the flavor it adds to the peanut butter.  You may need more or less sugar depending on the sweetness of your peanut butter.  I used natural peanut butter and needed closer to 1/3 cup.

Once you get a nice dough ball, use a spoon to scoop and form approximately 1 inch balls, rolling them in your palms to get a nice even shape.

Roll the balls in powdered sugar or anything you like.  Maybe mini-chocolate chips? Yum!  I used some Heath Bar bits I had in the pantry - delicious!  


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Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie

For a delicious, nutritious start to the day.  This recipe comes from AllRecipes.com.  You can scale it to fit your family at their website.  I'll make enough for all 6 of us...

6 bananas
3/4 c peanut butter
3 c milk or soy milk

Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  Add honey for sweetness if needed (depends on the sweetness of your peanut butter).






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Chick Pea Soup

This recipe is from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, one of my favorite cook books.

4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, ground fine almost to a fine powder OR a small sprig of fresh rosemary
2/3 c Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juices
2 1/4 cups canned chick peas, drained
1 c broth (veggie, meat, or chicken)
salt
freshly ground black pepper

:: Saute garlic in pan large enough to accommodate all the ingredients in the olive oil and over a medium heat. Cook until a light nut brown, then remove from pan.
:: Add the crushed rosemary or fresh spring, stir, then put in cut up tomatoes and their juice. Cook for 20-25 minutes (or until oil floats free from the tomatoes).
:: Add the drained chick peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring them thoroughly with the juices in the pan.
:: Add the broth, cover, and adjust heat to that the soup bubbles at a stead but moderate boil for 15 minutes.
:: Taste and correct for salt. Add a few grindings of pepper. Let the soup bubble uncovered for another minute, then serve promptly.


To this I may add some cooked rice or just serve it with a good loaf of bread.


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Tuscan Garbanzo Bean Soup

As you might have noticed from my post frequency, May is a ridiculously busy time in my family! End of school, summer plans being formed, son's birthday party, and state homeschool convention.

Well, here's what we are having for dinner tonight. It is simmering away on the stove right now!

Tuscan Garbanzo Bean Soup

1 c medium pasta (shells, elbows, etc)
2 T olive oil
1 small white onion, chopped
a couple dashes of garlic powder
3 T fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dry
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (opt)
1/2 c chopped canned, stewed or sun-dried (packaged in oil or softened with water) tomatoes
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 cans 16 oz Garbanzo beans, drained and divided

Cook pasta according to package directions.

At the same time, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until just soft, add carrots and saute a few minutes more. Add garlic powder, rosemary, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Add 2 cups of water, tomatoes, carrot, and garbanzo beans, reserving 1 cup whole beans. Bring to a boil, stiffing occasionally, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 7-10 minutes.

Puree vegetables (in blender or with a hand blender) and return to saucepan. Add pasta and remaining whole beans and heat through adding water if soup is too thick.

Top with cheese at the table!
2 T grated parmesan

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Lamb with Shallots & Mushrooms - Leftover Lamb Recipe

My Lamb Roasted with Rosemary (in the dutch oven) was wonderful last night! Now, for ways to use up the leftover lamb!

Here is the dish I'm making today...

Lamb with Shallots & Mushrooms (this recipe only fixes enough for 3, so I've increased it and changed just a bit).

cold lamb chopped into bite-sized pieces
12 oz. sliced mushrooms
4-5 chopped shallots
4 tbsp. butter
3 3/4 tbsp. flour
3 c. stock
3 tbsp. tomato paste
3 tsp. Herbes de Provence
1 c. white wine
Salt
Pepper

Saute shallots in butter until just transluscent. Add mushrooms and cook until just soft. Sprinkle with flour and cook a few more minutes. Add stock, wine, salt, pepper and tomato paste. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until the sause thickens up a bit. Lower heat and add meat to sauce and let warm. Serve over rice or noodles. Serves 8-10.

I'm serving this with a side-salad, bread, and leftover strawberry-rhubarb crumble a la mode.


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Gratin Dauphinois

Gratin Dauphinois - Oh, so yummy and delicious! This goes great as a side dish to so many main dishes (beef, chicken, turkey, pork, lamb) and even could be part of a "vegetable" platter-type dinner. This recipe is the Julia Child version from my favorite: Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One. If you want, you can even make it ahead a little and reheat/finish cooking just before serving (see directions for this at the end with "**")


2 lbs boiling potatoes
1/2 clove unpeeled garlic
4 T butter
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 oz (1 cup) grated Swiss cheese
1 c boiling milk


Preheat oven to 425 degrees. peel the potatoes and slice them 1/8 inch thick. Place in a large bowl (or sink) of cold water. Drain when ready to use.


Rub the baking dish with the cut garlic. Smear the inside of the dish with 1 T of the butter. Drain the potatoes and dry them on a towel. Spread half of them in the bottom of the dish. Divide over them half the salt, pepper, cheese and butter. Arrange the remaining potatoes of ther first layer, and season them. Spread on the rest of the cheese and dicide the butter over it. Pour on the boiling milk. Set baking dish over heat and when simmering, set in upper third of preheated oven. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender, milk has been absorbed, and the top is nicely browned. (As the oven is hot, and the dish shallow, the potatoes cook quickly.)


**You may hold the dish for half an hour, loosely covered, over simmering water. For a longer wait, stop intial cooking just before all milk has evaporated. Set aside uncovered. Shortly before serving, dot with 2 T of butter, reheat on the top of stove, and set in a 425-degree oven for 5-10 minutes to finish cooking.


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Pasta al Forno with Chicken

This is pretty quick and easy to assemble; makes good leftovers; and freezes well. You could easily make a double-batch to share or put in your freezer (freeze it before baking). This could also be made without the chicken or with ground beef.

1/2-1 lb chopped cooked chicken
8 ounces small shaped pasta
1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained or frozen broccoli
1 cup ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon oil

Preheat oven to 375°. Coat 2 1/2 quart baking dish with cooking spray. Cook pasta; drain; rinse with cold water.

In bowl, combine marinara, mozzarella, spinach or broccoli, cottage cheese or ricotta, 6 T Parmesan, salt and pepper. Stir in pasta and chopped, cooked chicken (or ground beef); transfer to baking dish.

Stir together bread crumbs, Parmesan and oil; sprinkle over pasta. Bake until hot, 25-30 minutes.


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Ceci (Chick Peas) and Tagliatelle Soup

Oh, I meant to post this earlier. It was REALLY good. I kind of made this up after seeing a similar recipe on Lidia's Kitchen (PBS TV show - Italian cooking).

2-3 T olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
dash of salt
1 lg carrot, sliced
1 lg stalk of celery, chopped (with leafy tops)
2 cans chick peas (Ceci or garbanzo beans), drained, but not rinsed
8 c. chicken broth
1 - 2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg tagliatelle noodles

In large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high flame. Add onions and sprinkle with dash of salt. Saute until they are transluscent. Add carrot and celery and continue sauteing until all the veggies are tender. Add chick peas and toss to coat. Allow the chick peas to warm up a bit, then add the chicken broth. Add the thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Let the whole thing simmer for at least 20 minutes. You can let it simmer longer at a lower heat for a more flavorful soup. This is what I prefer! Just make sure your herbs are well softened and the soup has good flavor. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

Just before serving, bring the soup to a gentle boil and drop in the noodles (breaking them up a bit on the way into the pot). Cook them for the length of time recommended on the package (mine were done in 4 minutes). Reduce the heat and serve!

I recommend a good hearty bread - or some homemade croutons, too!

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White Chili

This is a great way to use up leftover chicken from a roast in the slow cooker.

1 c onion, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
3 15 1/2 oz cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 4 oz cans diced green chilis
4 c chicken broth (you can make this from your roast chicken or use boxed/canned)
3 c chopped, cooked chicken
2 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
sour cream (optional)

In a 3 1/2 to 6-Qt slow cooker place onion, garlic, cumin oregano, green chilis, broth and cooked chicken. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 7-8 hours (or high heat for 3 1/2 to 4 hours). Stir in cheese until melted. Top individual bowls with sour cream, if desired.


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Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Bean Soup)

Ahh.... Pasta e Fagioli! An easy, delicious soup for any time.

This recipe comes from my favorite Italian cookbook:Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Pasta e Fagioli is a very flexible recipe, but hers is the best. I don't use it exactly as she has it here, but it is an excellent starting point.

1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
2 T chopped onion
3 T chopped carrot
3 T chopped celery
3-4 pork ribs or ham bone with some meat on it (I totally skip this, because hubby doesn't eat pork)
2/3 c canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juices (or fresh tomatoes, peeled and cut up)
2 lbs fresh cranberry or red kidney beans (or 3 c. canned or cooked dried beans - drained) (I use whatever beans I have on hand - often canellini, always canned)
3 c (or more if needed) beef broth (1 c. canned broth diluted with 2 c. water) (We don't eat beef either, so we use Chicken Stock.)
Salt
Black pepper (freshly ground)
1/2 lb small tubular pasta (I use whatever I have on hand, but never anything long like spaghetti/fettucini/linguini)
1 T butter
2 T freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Put olive oil and onion in soup pot and turn on heat to medium. Cook the onion, stirring, until it is pale gold. Add the carrot and celery, stir once or twice to coat them well, then add pork. Cook for 10 minutes, turning meat and vegetables from time to time. Add the cut up tomatoes and their juice, adjust the heat so that the juices simmer very gently, and cook for 10 minutes.

If using fresh beans: Shell, rinse and put in soup pot. Stir 2-3 times to coat well, then add the broth. Cover the pot, adjust the heat so that the broth bubbles at a steady, but gentle boil, and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are fully tender.

If using canned (or cooked dried) beans: Extend the cooking time for the tomatoes in Step 3 to 20 minutes. Add the drained cooked or canned beans, stirring them thoroughly to coat them well. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the broth, cover the pot, and bring the broth to a gentle boil.

Scoop up about 1/2 c of beans and mash them and return to the pot. Add salt, a few grindings of black pepper, and stir thoroughly.

Check the soup for density: It should be liquid enough to cook the pasta in. If necessary, add more broth or, if you are using canned broth, more water. When the soup comes to a steady, moderate boil, add the pasta. Stop cooking when pasta is tender, but still firm to the bite. Before turning off the heat, swirl in the butter and grated cheese.

Allow it to settle for 10 minutes before serving as it tastes better when warm rather than piping hot. Serve with a nice, crusty bread!

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Balsamic Marinated Chicken

This is easy and delicious! My kids rave about this and they can be picky eaters. It is so easy to fix, but you do have to think ahead in order to get the 2 hours of marinating done. Not a last minute supper...but almost!

1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/4 c honey
1/4 c olive oil
2 T fresh rosemary
1 tsp salt
3 lbs chicken (breast, thighs, legs)

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove chicken, and place in a lightly greased baking pan (13x9); pour marinade over chicken.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until done, basting often with pan drippings.

Serves my family of 6 with leftovers.

I like to make extra and have this for lunch the next day, too. It is quite good over rice or couscous - and save some of the good pan juices to pour over that rice!

Turkey meatballs and Spaghetti

These are such a hit at my house! These are a great easy meal for any time of year.

1 lb lean ground turkey
1 tsp garlic powder
1 T Worchester sauce
1/8 c. Parmesan cheese (grated)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c dry breadcrumbs
1/4 c. tomato sauce (I use Barilla Marinara), plus the more for the pan.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients. Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with veggie oil. Pour a very thin layer of sauce on the bottom then begin forming the meatballs and placing them in the pan. Spoon a little more sauce over the top of each meat ball (I just gently drizzle it around the pan - hitting most of the meatballs). If you have more sauce in your jar, you can save it to top the spaghetti. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Pull off the foil after 30 minutes and turn off the oven. Let the meatballs sit in the warm oven while you finish the pasta.
I use Barilla thick spaghetti noodles, boiled until al dente.

Serve a plate (or bowl) of pasta topped with a dollop of sauce and a few meatballs. Parmesan cheese is always delicious on top, too!

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Cinnamon Raisin Bread - in the breadmaker

My kids love cinnamon raisin bread, but I've had trouble finding one that isn't expensive or is as healthy as I'd like it. So, I decided it was time to find a good recipe to make at home. The past few weeks, I've been trying different cinnamon raisin breads looking for just the right one. And I found this one yesterday....it is FANTASTIC!

It makes a very large loaf - touched the top of my 2lb breadmaker! And the taste and texture was just what I was looking for...very cinnamony, chewy, but not heavy. If you love cinnamon raisin bread, give this one adapted from Recipezaar.com a try!


Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/4 cups warm water, plus
1 tablespoon warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup (or maple-flavored syrup, if you must)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour, plus
2 tablespoons bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

**1/2-3/4 cup raisins (add these towards the end of the kneading cycle - if your maker has an "add fruit and nuts" indicator use it)

1 - Place the ingredients in the order given.
2 - Make a small well in flour and pour in yeast.
3 - Bake on 2 lb basic cycle.
4 - Add raisins at proper time for your maker

Some of the reviews on Recipezaar.com indicated that the dough was a bit sticky, but came out fine. Mine wasn't at all like that, but I think it is due to the whole wheat flour (the original did not use whole wheat). Just be warned if you use all white flour, your dough might look a little stickier than usual.

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Classic Tomato Sauce

Marcella Hazan is one of my favorite Italian cookbook authors. Her book, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, is a fantastic resource if you love Italian food. She has many great recipes for pasta sauces - this one is a true classic and couldn't be much simpler.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
2 lbs fresh, ripe tomatoes (blanched, skinned and coarsely chopped) OR 2 c. canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juices
5 T butter
1 med. onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt

Put the tomatoes in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for 45 minutes, or until the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from time to time, mashing any large pieces of tomato in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and correct for salt. Remove onion before tossing the sauce with pasta (save it for the stock pot).

This sauce may be frozen - just remove the onion before freezing. Marcella says this is the "unsurpassed sauce for Potato Gnocchi" - little potato and flour dumplings cooked like pasta in water. Instead of making these from scratch - which I've done before, I found some all prepared to be boiled at Trader Joe's, so that is what I'm using. Cheating, I know!



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Rosemary and Lemon Baked Chicken

This smells absolutely divine while it cooks! It is perfect to throw in the oven when you've got a busy day and no time to stand at the stove. All you need to have is a couple of sides (veggies or salad and bread) and you are done! Now, I don't really have a recipe, so bear with me.


Rosemary and Lemon Baked Chicken

1 whole roasting chicken
2 lemons
a few springs of fresh rosemary (fresh is important, the resin in the fresh leaves is very aromatic!)
garlic powder or cloves
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub your pan with a little olive oil. Place two springs of rosemary on bottom of pan and place chicken, breast side up, on top of those springs. Put a spring or two of rosemary in the cavity of the chicken. Cut lemons in half and squeeze the juice all over the surface of chicken. Place two lemon halves into the cavity and lay the other two in the pan around the chicken. Drizzle more olive oil over surface of the bird. Sprinkle a touch of garlic powder OR put a clove or two into the cavity. Salt and pepper the bird to taste.

Roast bird until it reaches an interior temp of 180 degrees F. The time this takes will vary depending on the size of the bird and your oven, but generally, 1 hour and 1/2 or so. (Start checking at 1 hr.)

When bird comes out of the oven remove it from the pan and let it sit (on a tray or cutting board) for a few minutes to let the juices be absorbed into the meat.

Slice and enjoy!

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