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Sunday, 14 October 2012

Jap Chae



Serves 4-6 as part of multicourse meal
Ingredients: 
  • 1/2 pound dried Korean sweet potato noodles
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
  • 3/4 cup thinly sliced onions
  • 2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 3 stalks green onions, cut into 1″ lengths
  • 1/2 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced (shitake, wood ear)
  • 1/2 lb spinach, washed well and drained
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Directions:

Fill a large pot with water and boil. When water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and toss with only 1 tsp of the sesame oil. Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 8 inches in length. Set aside.
In bowl, mix soy sauce & sugar together. Add the cooking oil in a wok or large saute pan on high heat and swirl to coat. When the cooking oil is hot but not smoking, fry onions and carrots, until just softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, green onions and mushrooms, fry 30 seconds. Then add the spinach, soy sauce, sugar and the noodles. Fry 2-3 minutes until the noodles are cooked through. Turn off heat, toss with sesame seeds and the remaining 1 1/2 tsp of sesame oil.
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Chicken Parmesan


Ingredients:
  • 1 egg, beaten 
  • 2 ounces dry bread crumbs 
  • 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce
  • 2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Lightly grease a medium baking sheet


Directions:
Pour egg into a small bowl. Place bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken into egg, then into the bread crumps. Place coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear.
Pour 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce into a 7x11 inch baking dish. Place chicken over 3/4 of the sauce and pour the remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top and return to the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

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Apricot Fool!


Meringue
  • 2 large egg whites
  • ½ tsp (2 mL) white vinegar
  • ½ cup (125 mL) sugar


Apricots
  • 6 fresh apricots, pitted and cut into 8 wedges
  • 1/3 cup (75 mL) sugar
  • 1/3 cup (75 mL) apricot jam
  • 2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla extract


Fool
1½ cups (375 mL) whipping cream


1. Preheat oven to 250ºF (120ºC).

2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

3. For meringue, whip egg whites and vinegar until foamy, then gradually add sugar. Whip whites until they hold a stiff peak when beaters are lifted. Spread meringue onto prepared baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes, until dry. Cool and store at room temperature.

4. For apricots, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer, uncovered, until fruits are tender, about 10 minutes. Cool, then chill completely.

5. For fool, whip cream to stiff peaks immediately before serving. Gently fold in apricot mixture. Crumble in meringue and spoon into parfait glasses or other serving dishes.


Serves 6 to 8 (depending on size of serving dishes)


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Amazing Baked Potato


Ingredients: 

  • 8 large baking potatoes, washed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup of bread crumbs
  • 2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped and blanched
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 cup light sour cream
  • 1/4 cup fat free milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup (2 oz.) sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Poke potatoes several times with fork. Rub potatoes lightly with olive oil. Place potatoes on paper towel and microwave at high for 4 minutes on each side or until done.

3. Cut egg-shaped hole in the top of each potato and scoop out cooked potato, leaving a 1/8-inch shell to be filled later. Place scooped-out potato in large mixing bowl.

4. Add, broccoli, carrots, sour cream, skim milk and black pepper to potatoes. Using electric mixer on low speed, mix together well.

5. Stuff potato shells with mixture, overfilling each shell. Leftover mixture can be baked in an oven-safe bowl. Sprinkle each potato with the breadcrumbs and 1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese. Place potatoes on baking sheet.

7. Bake in preheated oven approximately 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.




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Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Beautiful Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups (1.25 L) blueberries
  • 3/4 cups (175 mL) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp (2 mL) grated lemon rind
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon
  • 1 egg yolk

Pastry:
  • 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) cold butter, cubed
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) cold lard
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) ice water
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) sour cream

Directions:

Pastry: In bowl, whisk flour with salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter and lard until mixture is in fine crumbs with a few larger pieces.
In small bowl, whisk water with sour cream; drizzle over dry ingredients, stirring briskly with fork to form ragged dough and adding more water, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, if too dry. Divide in half; press into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
In large bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon rind, lemon juice and cinnamon; set aside.
On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to generous 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness; fit into 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate. Trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang. Scrape in filling.
Roll out remaining pastry. Whisk egg yolk with 1 tbsp (15 mL) water; brush over pastry rim. Fit pastry over filling; trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang. Fold overhang under bottom pastry rim; seal and flute edge.
Bake in bottom third of 425°F (220°C) oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F (180°C); bake until golden and filling is thickened, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool on rack

From: 
http://www.cbc.ca/bestrecipes/2012/02/old-fashioned-blueberry-pie.html

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Burritos!


Ingredients:
1 pkg. Tortilla wraps – White or Whole Wheat
1 lb (454g) lean ground beef 4 medium sized tomatoes diced 2 tsp chopped garlic 2 tbsp chili powder 1 tbsp cumin, ground 2 cups refried beans 1 cup sliced jalapeno peppers – more or less to taste depending on desired heat level 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce ¼ cup sour cream ¼ cup sliced black olives Salt and Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
·         In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook ground beef until brown, drain excess fat. Reduce heat to medium and add chopped tomatoes, chilli powder, garlic and cumin. Cook for 2 minutes, blending well.
·         Mist and heat the tortilla according to package instructions.
·         Spread tortilla with a layer of refried beans almost to the edge. Top with the ground beef mixture, jalapeno peppers, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and sliced olives. Try to keep the ingredients away from the edges of the roti for easier roll-up.
·         Season with salt and pepper to taste.
·         Roll up roti burrito-style and serve immediately.

http://stonefire.com/recipe/beef-and-bean-roti-burritos/
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Lasagna

Ingredients: 

  • 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef 
  • 1/2 lb Italian sausage 
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) 
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley 
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano 
  • 1 tbsp dried basil 
  • 2 cans whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped 
  • 2 cans tomato paste
  • 24 ounces cottage cheese or 24 ounces ricotta cheese 
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp parsley 
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 lb mozzarella cheese, divided 
  • 12-15 lasagna noodles
Directions:
  1. Brown ground beef, Italian sausage, onion and garlic 
  2. add salt and next 5 ingredients; stirring until well mixed
  3. Simmer 1 hour
  4. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside
  5. Spray a 13x9" baking pan with cooking spray 
  6. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, pepper, 2 tbsp parsley, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese; in a lasagna pan, layer noodles, meat sauces, and cheese mixture; repreat
  7. Top off with layer of noodles; sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese
  8. Bake at 375 for 30-40 min, or until cheese mixture is thoroughly melted 
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