Cooking Grains

Use these guidelines to prepare grain varieties for a simple side dish or in place of pasta or white rice in your favorite recipes.

Quinoa

* Has more protein per serving than any other grain

* Is considered "complete" because it contains all eight essential amino acids

* Can be easily added to soups, salads, and baked goods

* To cook: Rinse in cold water before cooking. Bring 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups broth or water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed. Yields 3 cups.



Barley

* Has a chewy, mild taste

* Is protein-rich and contains a type of fiber called beta-glucan, which helps lower cholesterol

* To cook: Bring 1 3/4 cups broth or water to a boil. Add 1 cup barley; reduce heat to low. Simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes. Yields 2 cups.



Polenta

* Is made from ground yellow or white cornmeal and is traditionally a slow-cooked grain

* Its high starch content makes it smooth and creamy when cooked

* To cook: Bring 4 cups water to a boil. Stir while adding 1 1/3 cups instant polenta in a steady stream, continuing to stir to prevent lumps. Add water as needed. Cook for 5 minutes or more. Yields 4 cups.



Brown Rice

* Rice that is stripped of its inedible outer husk but retains its vitamin-rich bran layer

* Has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture

* Takes longer to cook than white rice but is available parboiled or precooked

* To cook: Bring 2 cups water or broth to a boil and add 1 cup of rice. Reduce heat and cover. Cook for 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Yields 3 cups.



Bulgur

* Is made from wheat kernels that have been steamed, dried, and crushed

* Has a tender, chewy texture, is versatile and cooks quickly

* To cook: Add 2 1/2 cups boiling water to 1 cup bulgur. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Yields 2 1/2 cups.



Whole Wheat Couscous

* Made of granular semolina flour

* Staple of North African cuisine; cooks in 5 minutes

* Can be made to be sweet or savory as it has a mild flavor

* To cook: Bring 1 1/2 cups broth or water to boiling; stir in 1 cup couscous. Cover and let stand off heat for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Yields 3 cups.

Originally published in the October 17, 2008, issue of Family Circle magazine.

Jamie's Loaded Potato Soup

Or as my kids call it... Love in a bowl!  This soup is really easy and souper delicous. (sorry couldn't help myself on that one!) ;) It definitely is comfort food, perfect easy meal for football Sunday.

5lb bag of Potatoes
4oz reduced fat sour cream (Kroger brand with chives in it good too)
1/2 stick of butter (I use salted)
8 oz low-fat buttermilk
bacon bits (hormel work fine)
Salt & Black Pepper to taste (I also add a healthy dash of white pepper)
2c Cheddar or Colby Cheese (shredded) reserve a bit for topping
1/2 tsp Tarragon (optional)
1/2 tsp Onion powder (optional)
Fresh chives (for garnish)

Scrub potatoes well. Then Halve potatoes, and cut in half again so that they are in chunky quarters.  Add all the potatoes in the pot, fill with water till covered.  Boil till soft, and potatoes can be poked with a fork.  Pour potatoes in to colander and drain all the water.  Put all the potatoes into Kitchen Aid mixer, mix in butter, buttermilk, sour cream mix most of the chunks out.  Pour back into stock pot that you cooked them in, and add the rest of the ingredients.  Let simmer on the stove.  Sometimes I add corn to this recipe to and its more like a chowder. If you like your soup more soupy add a bit more milk. Top with a little more cheddar cheese & a few fresh chives.

Enjoy!

SHRIMP BEINGETS

Ok You guys know by now, I'm always recreating recipes that I enjoy out to eat.  This is my spin on the Chart House's Shrimp Beingets. They are really easy, and quite tasty.  I like dipping them into my Lemon Basil Aioli sauce, but its traditionally served with a Remoulade Sauce, and sometimes its even spiced up. 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil


1/2 cup chopped onions

salt

cayenne

1/8 c red peppers

2 tbsp chopped garlic

1/2 c chopped green onions

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and rough chopped

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 c milk

2 tsp baking powder

3 1/4 c flour

dash  Worcestershire Sauce

dash Hot Sauce

Solid vegetable shortening for deep-frying

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions. Season with salt and cayenne. Saute for about 2 minutes, or until slightly wilted. Add the pepper and 1 tbsp garlic & continue to saute for 1 minute.

Season the shrimp with Creole Seasoning. Add the shrimp to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup of the green onions. Remove and set aside to cool.

Make a batter by:

Combining the beaten eggs, milk and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper. Add the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, beating and incorporating until all is used and the batter is smooth.  (Wondra works nice for this)

Add the seafood mixture to the batter and fold to mix. Season with salt and cayenne.

Heat the shortening. Season with a dash of Worcestershire & hot sauce. Drop the batter, a heaping tablespoon at a time, into the hot oil. When the beignets pop to the surface, roll them around with a slotted spoon in the oil to brown them evenly. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Season the beignets with cajun or creole powder, Serve the beignets with traditional Remoulade Sauce, or my lemon basil aioli. YUM, these make great appetizers, or even what appears to be a nice fancy dinner, serve with rice or baked potato & aspargus.

Yields: approx. 2 dozen.

Fried Ham & Cheese Crepes

When I was a little girl, and visiting my Dad in Richmond Va., there was a restaurant we used to go to called the Magic Pan.  Oh how I loved it. It was a Crepe restaurant, and it was so delicious.  Any fans out there?

My favorite dish was the Crispy Ham Palancitas (Aka - Fried Ham & Cheese Crepes)

They were scrumptious! I have always wanted to figure out how to make these and once again taste a little bit of this heaven.  Here is a recipe that comes close as I can remember.

Crepes3 eggs
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup flour
2 Tbs. butter

Ham Stuffing
1/2 pound Ham — cooked, ground (honeybaked style)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 cup swiss or cheddar

Breadcrumb Coating
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
2 Tbs. milk

Mustard Cream Sauce
2 Tbs. butter or margarine
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. white pepper

Directions:

1. Place eggs, sugar and vanilla in electric blender.
2. Cover and run on low speed for a few seconds.
3. Add milk slowly while still running on same speed.
4. Add flour in same manner at same speed.
5. Melt butter and add slowly to mixture at same speed.
6. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
7. Using a small Teflon crepe pan, tip pan slowly pour in batter, just to coat bottom of pan. Tilt the pan so the batter will spread completely over the entire bottom; brown one side, flip, brown other.
8. Carefully stack crepes on plate with second brown side up. (Brush pan with oil occasionally.)
9. Stir ham stuffing ingredients well into a consistent texture.
10. Spread 1 tsp., rounded, of ham filling on top of one crepe. Keep at least 1 inch from the edge.

1. Roll up and tuck in corners so it will not leak when frying. Do likewise with all.
2. Prepare breadcrumb coating: blend milk and eggs together, then place flour, egg mixture, and crumbs in separate containers in that order in a row.
3. Take each pancake and cover well with flour, then egg, then roll in crumbs.
4. Fry in cooking oil until puffy and golden brown on all sides. Fry slowly.

1. Serve with mustard cream sauce.

For mustard sauce:

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add flour and stir until smooth.
2. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add broth and half-and- half gradually.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and beginning to bubble.
5. Remove from heat and stir in mustard, lemon juice, and pepper.
6. Keep warm.
7. Arrange palascintas on a serving dish and top with sauce.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do! If anyone out there has a better recipe that pays homage to this wonderful dish, by all means contact me! :)

Frozen Chocolate Truffle Pie

If you don’t like chocolate, stop reading right now. If you like “a little chocolate now and then,” go away. This recipe is for serious chocolate fiends only.

Now, imagine the darkest, richest truffle you’ve ever had. Imagine taking more than a pound of the centers and pouring it into a pie shell. ‘Cause that’s about what this recipe is. Trust me that this will be the most ridiculously rich chocolate pie you’ve ever tasted.

12 ounces bitter sweet or semi sweet chocolate

1-1/2 sticks butter

6 large egg whites

4 large egg yolks

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

pinch cream of tartar

pre-baked pie crust


Make a double boiler by bringing a half pan of water to a boil, turning the heat to low, and setting a large stainless bowl over it.

Even if you already have a double boiler, do it this way. You’ll be able to mix everything in this one bowl and save on clean-up.

Put the butter in the bowl, and once it’s melted add the chocolate, cocoa, sugar and salt.
Ingredient notes: I used half bittersweet and half semi-sweet chips, both Ghirardelli. You can find them in the baking section at some grocery stores. They’re the best domestic chocolate I’ve tried. (And I’m not saying that just because I’m a chocolate snob. Try them for yourself.)

And for the sugar, I decided to use raw instead of white. Just because I saw it in the cupboard and decided to give it a shot. More on this below.

While the chocolate melts, separate the eggs (see here for tips). Start mixing the chocolate and butter together as soon as you see the chips start to melt.

If you’ve never melted chocolate before, you might want to separate the eggs first so you aren’t distracted. When the chocolate is completely melted, and the sugar and cocoa are incorporated, remove it from the heat and mix the yolks in one at a time.

Set the chocolate mixture aside and let it cool to room temperature. While it’s cooling, add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat until it forms stiff peaks.

For the first minute the egg whites will just foam up a little. Then all at once they’ll turn pure white and look like a whole different food.

Congratulations, you just made meringue. Add about a third of the meringue to the chocolate and mix it in. Then add the rest and fold it in gently.

Try not to deflate the eggs while folding. Once the meringue is completely incorporated, pour the mixture into a pre-baked pie crust.

Spread the chocolate evenly. If you’re fussy about this stuff (like I am), make sure the top looks nice.

Remember when I mentioned the raw sugar? You can see a little bit of a speckled texture on the surface. Because raw sugar isn’t ground as fine as refined white, it didn’t completely dissolve in the melted chocolate. Once it’s frozen, you’ll barely notice the difference. As it thaws you’ll notice a slight crispy granularity. Personally, I liked it, but if you’re expecting silky-smoothness you’d be better off using powdered sugar.

Freeze for at least two hours, four would be better. Cut with a very sharp knife, not a pie spatula. Serve with fresh whipped cream.

And that’s it - Enjoy!

Delicious Meat-loaf Muffins

I loved this recipe because I typically don't like making meat loaf.  This takes the regular dish, & makes delicious meat loafs muffins.  It also allows you to sit down to a meat loaf in a half hour. I served with Peas & roasted potato wedges for an at-home version of a blue-plate special. The leftover muffins make great sandwich for the next day, perfect portion size.  Try it, I think you will find it a keeper!

Yield: 12 servings

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, extra lean (raw)

1 cup crumbled Town House Crackers (about 20)

3/4 cup ketchup

6 TBSP Brown Sugar

3 Tsp prepared mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs

Cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, dried oregano, and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Cool.

Make Ketchup glaze - Mix Ketchup, mustard & brown sugar.  Mix 1/4c glaze into raw meat, use 1/4c for glaze for topping, reserve a 1/4c for topping at the table.

Combine onion mixture, 1/2 C cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup ketchup mixture, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl. 

Use an Ice Cream Scoop to spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Top each with a dollop of  ketchup mixture, &  Bake at 350° for 25 minutes.  When you take them out of the over, use a knife to gently go around the muffin edges, & then add another dollop of ketchup glaze to the top.  Bake for another 5minutes.  Take out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Serve & enjoy.