A Pleasant Surprise

I've recently been bogged down by studying for a large exam, and my husband graciously has picked up the slack in the kitchen. Last weekend he did all of the grocery shopping, and even picked out a few new recipes for us to try. This is one that I was wishing he hadn't picked. To be completely honest, it just didn't look appealing to me at all. I doubted it right up until the first bite.

I'm happy to report that I was dead wrong on this one. This meal is simple, delicious and probably the cheapest dinner we can make. Trust me on this ... it's worth a try.

2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
5 cups frozen shredded hash browns (~1/2 of a 26 oz package)
1 t. dried crushed thyme
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 lb. smoked sausage, chopped
1 medium apple (such as golden delicious), cored and cut into thin wedges

In a 10 inch skillet, heat oil and 1 T. butter over medium heat. Add potatoes in an even layer. Cook about 8 minutes or until lightly brown. Stir in half of the thyme and all of the pepper. Using a spatula, press potatoes down firmly into a cake. Cook for about 8 minutes more until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, melt the remaining 1 T butter over medium heat. Add sausage and apple. Cook about 10 minutes or until apple is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining thyme.

Slide potatoes onto a cool plate; cover with another plate and flip the plates over so the nicely browned side of the potato pancake is on top. Spoon sausage-apple mixture over the potatoes and season to taste with salt.

Makes 4 servings (but when we eat this it's more like 3)

Blog Addict

I have never been much of a TV watcher. I have a few shows I've followed now and then, but I don't typically spend a lot of time in front of the television. (Two exceptions: 1. The Olympics...we were total junkies. 2. The Food Network...I could watch all day on the rare occasions we have cable.)

But, with the internet, one no longer needs the television to waste copious amounts of time. And, it's no longer the original internet activities, looking up interesting information, following the news or shopping for clothes. No, now there is Blogland where I can get lost for hours reading about other peoples' lives, people I don't even know and will probably never meet, but I'm captivated by their stories.

I have recently discovered Google Reader. It's like an inbox for all the new blog entries that are posted on your favorite sites. You no longer have to click through your "favorites" checking to see if the blog has been updated. It's now delivered straight to Google Reader. At first, I thought, "What a time saver!" Now, I'm thinking something different. Google Reader makes these recommendations of other blogs you might enjoy based on your subscriptions. Oh, brother. I think I should probably go back to the "old" way of just pulling up the site once in awhile. I have way more posts to read than I can get to in a day!

All that to say, I'm inspired to post more on this blog and maybe another one where I talk about something other than recipes.

So, here's the Strawberry Sorbet recipe I mentioned last week. This is so very good!

Strawberry Sorbet

2 c. strawberries, hulled and quartered (can substitute 16 oz frozen strawberries, thawed)
2 c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Process strawberries in a food processor/blender 30 seconds or until smooth, scraping down sides. Pour strawberry puree through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing with the back of a spoon. Discard solids. Add buttermilk, sugar and vanilla to puree. Stir until well blended. Cover and chill 1 hour.
Pour strawberry mixture into the freezer container of a 1 1/2 quart electric ice cream maker and freeze according to package directions. Yum!

After the ice cream was frozen we put it in a bowl and froze it overnight so that it was good and hard. This is not essential but allowed the ice cream to set up a little more.

Linking made easy

So, the last time I posted a link, it had taken me months to figure out the process, and even then, I knew there must be a better way. And, alas, I have found it. So, now I can link all the new recipes I made this past week and save lots of typing time. As you can see, it is a wide and varied selection with no particular theme. For the most part, all were a success. Here they are in no particular order:

Ah, but first a word about the blogs that I read...the main two couldn't be more different. One is written by a rancher's wife in rural Oklahoma with four kiddos and the other by a woman in New York City who has every ingredient I could ever dream of at her disposal (or so it seems).

From The Pioneer Woman (my current favorite cooking blog):
Oatmeal cookies
MM's favorite sandwich - You should definitely follow the instructions to toast the bread.
Breakfast burritos

From Smitten Kitchen (my original favorite cooking blog)
Huevos Rancheros - This was our very favorite recipe of the batch. The homeade pico was super tasty.
Blueberry Pancakes - These made very good basic pancakes too, much better than a mix from a box.

I also made some delicious Strawberry Sorbet, a recipe given to me by a friend. I'll post that soon. Just make sure you have some buttermilk (and a pound of strawberries) on hand.

Real Simple, Real Delicious

I get a lot of cooking magazines...a lot. My husband would say perhaps a few too many. There is no way I will ever make all the recipes that I read about each month. But, reading recipes is entertainment for me. (And, almost all of my subscriptions have been gifts...can't beat that). The only non-cooking magazine I receive is Real Simple, also a gift from a good friend. Of course, it has recipes in it, and that's the first thing I read when a new one arrives in my mailbox. This past week I was flipping through April's issue and checking out the "Five Easy Meals" that's a regular feature. They had a recipe for "Spiced Mini-Burgers and Couscous Salad." It didn't require many ingredients, and I already had a few of them (cucumber, green onions, feta cheese) that I was looking for a way to use before they went bad. So, I thought I would give it a try.
It tasted great, but more importantly, it was SUPER easy and fast. I love that, especially now when our evenings have been packed full with campaigning and baseball games. (It was also a great opportunity to introduce our foster son to couscous. Surprisingly, he did pretty well with it. It helped that it was chock-full of tomatoes and cucumbers, which he loves.)

Here's the recipe as written. (One note: I have some Pampered Chef Greek Seasoning, so we used that on the burgers instead of the cumin and oregano, and we probably could have used more than what we did.)

1 10-oz box couscous
1 lb. ground beef
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 TB dried oregano
4 TB extra-virgin olive oil
6 scallions, trimmed and sliced
4 Roma tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 cucumber, sliced into half-moons
3 TB fresh lemon juice
Feta cheese, optional

Place the couscous in a medium bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups hot tap water over the top. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Form the beef into 12 small 1/2-inch-thick patties. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt, `1/4 tsp. pepper, the cumin, and oregano.
Heat 1 TB of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook to desired doneness.
Combine the couscous, scallions, tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, 1 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and the remaining oil in a large bowl.

We added the feta cheese to our individual portions, and it was a great addition, just not perhaps as child-friendly. Also, while this says it makes four servings, we probably had close to 8 servings of salad.

Computer Illiterate

Unfortunately, I am just old enough to have missed growing up with a computer, and so there are many things that I do not understand about the machine. But, today, I am going to try to enter the world of "real blogging" where I use a link to a recipe. Wow. I know you are impressed at the thought.

So, the other night we had a tasty meal for dinner out of Everyday Food, one of my most favorite cooking magazines. Nearly all of the recipes I have made have been quite good. I can be confident when cooking from EF that I am not making something that will turn out to be a dud. Nevertheless, not every recipe is a home run, but each is at least a solid base hit. (Aren't you glad baseball season is here?)

(This post was started on May 9, 2008...finally, today July 7, 2008, I figured out how to insert the link.)

Mini Honey-Mustard Meatloaves with Roasted Potatoes

Who needs a name?

So, for those of you who took Les's advice and have started (compulsively) reading http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/, you've already seen this recipe. Right up front, I'm admitting to stealing it and wouldn't dare claim it as my own. All that to say, you've got to try it...soon! Calling it a recipe is generous. It's just a little treat that kids and adults will enjoy. Now for those of you who are smores-lovers, you may scoff at the absence of chocolate in this, but I promise it's still delicious. The real beauty lies in the fact that you can make as many or as few as you need. (Confession: last week, we made some every night.)

I don't know what these are called. We're just calling them tasty treats.

So, here's what you do. Take some Ritz crackers, spread them with a little peanut butter and put them on a cookie sheet, place a large marshmallow on top (on its side), and put under the broiler until the tops of the marshmallows turn golden to dark brown (depending on your taste). Take them out and eat them and get melty marshmallow all over your face. I didn't say they weren't messy!

Chicken-Bow Tie Primavera

This pasta dish is from the July/August Simple and Delicious. If you like the flavor of Parmesan cheese, you'll love it (my husband sure did!). Very simple--the only time consuming element is cutting all the veggies.

3.5 cups bow tie pasta (I just used a regular sized box--12 oz?)

1 lb. bonelesss skinless chicken cut into cubes

2/3 cup fresh carrots, sliced

1 T. olive oil

1 zucchini, halved and sliced

1 yellow summer squash quartered and sliced

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1.5 cups shredded Parmesan cheese (I shredded it myself)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in large skillet, saute chicken and carrot in oil until chicken is cooked.

2. Add zucchini, squash, seasoned salt, and pepper. Cook, uncovered, until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Drain pasta. Add pasta, cream and Parmesan cheese to chicken mixture; stir to combine. Cook, uncovered until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.

6 servings