American Chop Suey (aka Chili Mac)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 small Green Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound Ground Beef or Turkey
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 teaspoon each Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano and Pepper
• 1 -2 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 2 cans (14 oz.) diced or Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 can (14 oz.) Tomato Sauce
• 3 cups (1 box uncooked) Elbow Macaroni 

Directions:

In a large pot, cook the pasta until al dente.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until soft.

(I didn't have bell pepper on hand so I chopped up some peperoncini's, which my family is VERY fond of).

Add the ground meat and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain, if necessary.

Sprinkle the meat mixture with chili powder, cumin, oregano and pepper, add salt to taste, and mix well.

Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and the tomato sauce.  Simmer for about 20 minutes (or longer) so all the flavors melt together.

 Mix the the sauce into the macaroni.  Remove from heat and stir to coat pasta evenly. 

Garnish big bowlfuls with shredded cheese and chopped scallions (sorry no picture with scallions).   We used sharp cheddar.

YUM.

Note:  Dish is even better the following day, when the ingredients have had time to mesh together.

Oatmeal Cookies

These are a favorite because they aren't too sweet and I trick myself into thinking that because they are oatmeal they are good for me. :D  I was slow on taking pictures while making them but here is the recipe!

Recipe obtained from Quaker:

·  1  cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

·  3/4  cup firmly packed brown sugar

·  1/2  cup granulated sugar

·  2  eggs

·  1  teaspoon vanilla

·  1-1/2  cups all-purpose flour

·  1  teaspoon baking soda

·  1  teaspoon ground cinnamon

·  1/2  teaspoon salt (optional)

·  3  cups Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)

·  1  cup raisins (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.

  

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.

Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown.

Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.

Store tightly covered.

Stuffed Cabbage

In Greek: λαχανοντολμάδες, pronounced lah-hah-no-dol-MAH-thes
Stuffed cabbage with ground beef and rice are covered with a traditional egg and lemon (avgolemono) sauce. Conventional Greek wisdom is that the best cabbage can be found after the first frost, so all versions of stuffed cabbage are winter favorites.
In Northern Greece, stuffed cabbage called yiaprakia (γιαπράκια, say: yah-PRAHK-yah), are made with toursi (brined) cabbage and ground pork, and are a traditional Christmas dish.


My Greek grandmother used to make this dish when I was little and it always made me feel cozy.  She taught my mother and my mother taught me.  I always think of them when I make this dish. :)

Ingredients:

·         1 head of cabbage

·         1 pound ground meat (beef, pork or turkey)

·         2 (14.5 oz) cans of either stewed or diced tomatoes

·         1 onion, chopped

·         2 garlic cloves, crushed

·         1-1 1/2 cups rice

·         Salt/pepper/seasonings to taste

Preparation:

Put ground meat in a bowl and add rice, onion/garlic, tomatoes, seasonings and stir well, then set aside.  My mom used to say it was better to let this sit for awhile so all the flavors blend with each other.

Core out the center of the cabbage and put into a large pot of water to boil.  Your goal is to slowly begin to peel the leaves off, one by one.  After about 5 minutes in boiling water the leaves start to soften, they will turn a brighter green.  I pull mine off with thongs and set aside to cool.  Be careful not to overcook the cabbage.

Note:  Some chefs like to first put their cabbage head in the freezer; however, my Greek grandma Stassa never put her cabbage head in the freezer -- so I don't either. You are welcome to try it if you like.

Once all the leaves are pulled apart, drain the pot and put a few loose baby cabbage leaves back in the bottom to prepare for the stuffed cabbage rolls.  This will prevent the rolls from burning the bottom of the pot.

Using the largest cabbage leaves, place about a handful of the meat and rice mixture on each cabbage leaf.

and roll up, tucking in sides.

 

Place the cabbage rolls with the seam side down in the cooking pot (I usually put a few leaves that are torn and pieces of the cabbage core at the bottom of the pot so the rolls dont burn), doing layers in a circle in the pot. 

Add water to fill pot halfway.  You can sprinkle peppercorns and add bay leaves on top and cover with any remaining loose cabbage leaves.

Cook on high until water begins to boil, then turn down heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour.

Drain the water and pull rolls out of the pot one by one.

YUM.

Walnut Balls (cookies)

These walnut balls have been a family favorite for as long as I can remember.  My mom used to bake them for special occasions and mail them to family in other states for Christmas.  I recently had a death in the family and made them for my Godmother. 

Walnut Balls (makes 4 dozen)

Ingredients:

* 1 cup butter (2 sticks)

* 1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus additional 1/3 to coat cookies

* 2 cups flour
* 1 cup nuts (I use walnuts but you can use almonds or pecans if you choose)
* 1 teaspoon water
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1.  Combine butter and 1/3 cup powdered sugar.

 

2.  Beat until creamy.

3.  Chop your nuts until fine.

4.  Stir in flour, nuts, water, vanilla and cinnamon into butter/sugar mixture.  Mix well.

5.  Roll into 1-inch balls and place on UNGREASED cookie sheet.

6.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

7.  Roll in powdered sugar.  It is best to roll in powdered sugar while still warm.

I like to use a baggie to fill with sugar then dunk/roll the cookie to coat evenly.

Though you can't tell, I like to use metallic liners to put the cookies in... the liners look like this

My photo of the actual cookies in metallic liners looks like this
(lousy photo from above and I was in a hurry):

Super simple and super yummy!



Stir Fry (general recipe)

We had some delish stir fry the other day and I managed to take some photos so time to blog!
:)

Ingredients:
(these are just my preference that day, feel free to use whatever veggies you like)
2 tablespoons oil
1 yellow squash
1 green zucchini
1 onion
1/2 of a cabbage
2 medium carrots
1/4 of a green or red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 pound boneless beef round steak, cut into thin strips
6 tablespoons soy sauce
Salt/pepper/seasonings to taste
Hot cooked rice

Step 1.  Chop veggies and stir fry in a large skillet with oil.  Some veggies take longer than others. I usually put in the carrots and squash/zucchini first with the garlic and oil to took for a few minutes before I add the rest of the veggies.  Stir fry until soft, approx. 5-10 minutes. 

 Remove and keep warm.

In the same skillet, stir fry beef with soy sauce and bell peppers until fully cooked. 

 

Return veggies to pan and toss. 

Step 3.  Serve with warm rice. 

 This just happens to be my boyfriends secret recipe rice -

 his speciality.  We make everything with TLC. :)

Chicken Wings (hot 'n spicy)

In the spirit of the superbowl (wah, the Patriots should have been playing) I made some chicken wings for the boys with big appetites in my family (only 2 but they eat with a very hearty appetite)!!  Also not sure if I'm happy that they enjoyed them so much, I already have special requests to make them more often...

I did three different types of wings.  One batch had this hot sauce recipe (my guys like 'em hot!), one batch had a honey mustard (my favorite) and the third batch had basic BBQ sauce. 

I also made potato salad but have no pictures to show for it.  To be honest, I'm lucky I managed to snap a few pictures of the wings before they all disappeared!  

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings

Salt/pepper/seasoning salt

1 teaspoon chili flakes

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup hot sauce

1 tablespoon butter
Serve with:
Blue Cheese or Ranch dressing
Celery/Carrot sticks

First Step:

Remove tips and cut wings at joint.  Heat the oil and fry the wings until crisp, about 10 minutes.  Halfway through cooking, add seasonings to taste.  I split my wings into two batches so they could cook evenly without being squished.

 

Remove chicken from skillet or deep fryer and drain on paper towels.

Next, melt the butter in a large skillet. Stir in the hot pepper sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Add cooked chicken to sauce and stir over low heat to coat. The longer the wings simmer in the sauce, the hotter they will be.

 Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes (this allows the sauce to really stick to your wings and dry up a little). 

Tip:  Line cookware with foil for easy clean-up.

 

Serve warm.

Black Bean Croquettes with Avocado/Tomato Salsa

Let's start with the ingredients:

Ingredients

·                     1 dash(es) cooking spray

·                     1 can black beans

·                     1 teaspoon cumin, ground

·                     1 cup(s) corn, whole kernel frozen

·                     1/4 cup(s) bread crumbs, fine, dry

·                     1/3 cup(s) panka bread crumbs, dry

·                     2 cup(s) tomato(es)

·                     2 medium scallion(s) (green onions)

·                     1/4 of a red bell pepper

·                     1/2 white onion

·                     1/4 cup(s) cilantro, fresh

·                     1 teaspoon chili powder

·                     1 teaspoon lemon juice

·                     1/4 teaspoon salt

·                     1 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin

·                     1 medium avocado

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Mash black beans and cumin with a fork in a large bowl. Stir in corn and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs.

3. Combine tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, bell pepper, white onion, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir 1 cup of the tomato mixture into the black bean mixture.

4. Mix the remaining 1/3 cup breadcrumbs, oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder in a small bowl until the breadcrumbs are coated with oil. Divide the bean mixture into 8 scant 1/2-cup balls. Lightly press each bean ball into the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat (I like to use panka Japanese bread crumbs). Place on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake the croquettes until heated through and the breadcrumbs are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Stir avocado into the remaining tomato mixture. Serve the salsa with the croquettes.