Making No-Knead Bread

My result: The Best CruSty BreaD EveR...

...And, so easy to make!! 

I've made it in 5 hours too and it turned out good!

(I let it rise outside for 2 hours in humid and warm conditions)

Ingredients

3 cups Flour (love king Arthur for bread)

1 1/4 ts salt

1 1/4 ts dry yeast

1 1/2 cup water

                      

Berry Trifle

1 Sarah Lee pound cake
1 box of instant vanilla pudding
1 cup of milk
1 cup of sour cream
12 ounces of cool wip
1 bag frozen berries
1 box of sliced fresh Strawberries

Mix milk, vanilla pd, and sour cream.
Beat until it thickens.
Fold in cool wip.
Layer in a bowl cake, fruit, and pudding mix.
Put in fridge for a few hours.

Easy Cheesy Crab Cake

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk 150ml

3 Tbs oil 50ml

200 g grated Swiss cheese

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup flour 100g

15 crab sticks, minced

Mix the batter, add cheese and minced crab sticks.

Put in buttered rectangle cake pan.

Bake 50 to 70 min @ 350

Eat warm or cold. Great the next day and for picnics!
Can substitute crab for bacon, olives, chives, ham, and more.

Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups beef broth or chicken
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped or canned
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or fresh
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
• 8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta I used goat cheese tortellini
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 handfuls of fresh spinach

Directions

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
2. Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in beef/chicken broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
3. Skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add tortellini and spinach during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving. Serve with toasted French bread

Pierogies and Cabbage

I wanted to put more cabbage in our diet. This is a great recipe. Stephanie H. demonstrated it for us at our girls cooking class. Fast and easy to make!

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound bacon, diced
• 1/2 small head cabbage, chopped
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen potato and cheese filled pierogies
• 4 small red and yellow peppers cut up.

Directions

1. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, reserving drippings, and set aside.
2. Heat bacon drippings over medium heat and stir in cabbage and onion; cover and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, peppers, vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and bacon; cook uncovered for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare pierogies according to package directions; drain. Combine pierogies with cabbage mixture and serve.

Dinner Crepes

Want to impress friends and family with style?

Make a batch of Crepe batter

Don't make it for too many people though, they are best cooked

and eaten right after they slide of the pan onto your plate.

Finish your lunch off with a couple of sweet crepes...

For salted dinner crepes, do not put sugar in the batter.

Cook at lower heat. but make sure your pan is hot when you put in the batter, I put a little butter in it, about 1tsp.

After the 1st side is cooked, turn over and put some of the beaten egg on just half of the crepe, follow with the sliced or grated swiss cheese, 
lunch meat (ham, turkey pastrami, etc...).
I stop there for my kids, that's all they want.

Add about 1 to 2Tbs of Sour cream or Greek yogurt, sprinkle desired spices thyme, cumin, paprika, pepper (these work the best for my taste).

Add sliced tomatoes, red, orange or yellow bell peppers and lettuce leaf.

Fold crepe over and let cook until egg is cooked and cheese melted, about 2mn.

Make sure heat is not too high.

Enjoy!

Lentil Soup

• Feeds 6
• Ingrediants
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped small
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon herb de Provence
• 1 Tbs of cumin powder 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups dry lentils (one bag)
• 8 cups water
• 2 pealed and cut up potatoes (medium size)
• 2 Ham hocks or Shanks
• Half a polish sausage cut in bite sizes
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

The How

I use a pressure cooker.

If I have fresh herbs in my garden I make a bouquet of them and add it instead of the dry herbs. I use rosemary, thyme and oregano and pull it out at the end of cooking.

Sautee the onions in olive oil add garlic and celery *. Rinse lentils. Add all other ingredients. Cook until the meat falls of the bone. I take the shank or hocks out and pull the meet of the bones in small bite sizes and return them to the soup. Pressure cooker 30mn, regular soup pot, one hour.

* Can add Green cabbage sliced after the onions

Wanna-be PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Pouring sauce
1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup warm water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon hot water

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

Chicken Stir-fry
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 pd ground chicken, I used ground turkey

1. 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, minced to size of peas

1/2 cup mushrooms, minced to size of peas 1/2 onion,

chopped fine 3 cloves garlic,

minced fine 6 large leaves of iceberg lettuce or nappa cabbage

Stir-fry sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

* Begin by making the pouring sauce. In a bowl, dissolve sugar in 1/2 cup warm water, then add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil. Mix well and throw in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.

* Combine 1 teaspoons hot water with dijon mustard and garlic and set this aside in small bowl.

* Combine oils and add to wok or large frying pan. Heat oil over high heat until it glistens, about one minute. Add chicken and saute until cooked through, then remove from the pan and cool. Keep oil in the pan, keeping it hot over a low flame.

* Prep the stir fry sauce by mixing soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar in a small bowl.

* Take pan that you cooked the chicken in (with the still warming oil, riiiight?) and turn it up to medium-high heat. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, wait one minute, and then add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and the stir-fry sauce you prepared earlier. Stir-fry everything until the mushrooms have cooked, about four minutes, and remove to a serving dish.

* Add mustard/garlic mixture to the pouring sauce, 1/2 a teaspoon at time to taste.

Serve stir-fry with iceberg lettuce or nappa cabbage leaf wraps and top with pouring sauce. I made some fried rice noddles to go with it too.

Caribbean Layered Dip

Prep Time : 20 Minutes
Start to FinishTime: 20 Minutes

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix (from 1-oz package)
1 can (15 oz) Progresso® black beans, drained, well rinsed
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped mango
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 to 2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño chiles
Lime-flavored or plain tortilla chips


1.In small bowl, mix cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning mix with spoon or electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Spread on 10-inch round serving plate.

2.Top cream cheese mixture with remaining ingredients except tortilla chips. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving. Serve with tortilla chips.

24 servings (2 tablespoons dip and 3 chips each)

Scandinavian Almond Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and almond extract; mix until fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.
3. Divide dough into 4 pieces, and roll each one into a log about 12 inches long. Place 2 logs per cookie sheet 4 to 5 inches apart. Flatten each roll by hand until it is about 3 inches wide. Brush flattened roll with milk and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
4. Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. While the cookies are still warm, cut them crosswise at a diagonal, into slices about 1 inch wide. When cool, drizzle with almond icing.
5. Almond icing: In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the cookies.

Clafoutis aux cerises

Ingredients

4 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tsp of oil

2 to 3 cups cherries

1/4 cup of slivered almonds

30g butter

1 cup of milk

1/2 Tbs vanilla extract

1/2 ts almond extract

a pinch of salt

Powdered sugar for topping

Mix the eggs with sugar. Add Flour and oil

Stir in the warm milk vanilla and almond extract.

Add salt.

Butter a rectangle pan and put cherries and almonds in the pan.

slowly cover with the liquid batter.

Cook @ 350 for 45mn

When cooked sprinkle the powdered sugar on top.

Hearty Fisherman's Stew or Bouillabaisse

Ingredients

1 Tbs olive oil

1 1/2 dry white wine (optional)

1 package of mild Italian sausages sliced.

2 large yellow onions chopped

3 bell peppers (yellow, red & green)

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (in tomato puree)

1 1/2 cans of chicken broth

1/2 large head of garlic

1 tsp salt

1 lb of fresh fish (cod, talipa...)

1 lb of medium shrimp

4 Tbs chopped parsley

The How

* Cook sliced sausage. Remove. Pour off fat.

* In 1Tbs oil simmer onions, peppers and garlic. 10min until tender.

* Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients, except the fish, shrimp and parsley.

*Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low for 30mn.

* Add sausage, fish and shrimp. Simmer 5mn

* Serve. sprinkle with chopped parsley at the end or in the plate.

The shrimp I used was raw, frozen with the shell on. I boiled them in the chicken bouillon until they turned pink. Then I took the skin off and put the bouillon in the main pan with the other ingredients.

Great with rice and/or Parmesan-garlic toasted French bread (homemade preferably).