Spice Rubbed Turkey London Broil

If you like a turkey breast for Thanksgiving, instead of a whole bird, you may want to try this. That's what I did tonight- I thought I'd give it a test run. It was juicy and flavorful, a home run!

Ingredients-

Shady Brook Turkey London Broil

2 Tbsp EVOO

spice rub- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp marjoram or 1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp turmeric

Add 1 Tbsp to bottom of baking dish or small roasting pan. Dry turkey off with paper towels and place in baking pan. Rub the 1 Tbsp EVOO on top and sides. Then  spread spice rub liberally all over and as far down the sides as you can. Cover with foil. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 1 hour. Uncover and cook additional 15-20 min until thermometer reaches 180 degrees. Slice and spoon juice over the slices.

COwboy Cookies (gluten free)

Just made up a batch of these to take on our trail hike Sundays. Would be a nice breakfast goodie too.

ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup Scottish oats (I'm sure regular would be good too)
1/2 cup almond flour

1`/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond slices
1/2- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar

beat or mix butter with the sugars. In separate bowl combine flours, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in chocolate chips and almonds. Mix in vanilla and peanut butter with the egg and sugars and combine everything together. Spray cookie sheet with non stick spray (I use coconut oil spray). Form into balls and press down slightly. I made 1 inch balls and the recipe yielded 24 cookies.  Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 12-13 minutes until slightly browned on the edges. Transfer to wire rack and cool at least 10 minutes.

CrockPot Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I love the Crockpot, and had some leftover corn chips so I put this together. It's one of those things you can tweak according to what you may have. It's only seven  basic ingredients. Enjoy.

3 chicken breasts, about 1 1/3 lb. skinless, boneless
1 package Frontera Green Enchilada Sauce
1 1/2 cups (approx) white corn chips, I use the Garden of Eatin
1 1/2 cups (approx) grated cheddar cheese
1 can black beansm rinsed and drained
1 can Ortega green chilies.
3/4 - 1 cup low sodium chicken stock (I use Rachel Ray's)

Crush the chips slightly and layer in bottom of crockpot. Add half the sauce. Add black beans, then place chicken on top and add the rest of the sauce and the chilies. Pour chicken stock over. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours. Take chicken out and shred, then add back in, cover with cheese and cook an additional hour or so.

As you can see in the picture, I added a few black olives I had on hand. You can add salsa, chopped tomatoes, corn, cilantro.

Eggplant Parm Bow Tie Casserole

It's hot as heck today and I made this casserole (95 degrees), but I will be happy this week when I can just reheat it for a fast dinner. I've added some tips along the way. Make it your way, it will be good!
ingredients:

4 Italian (small) eggplants, peeled and sliced about 1/4 inch.
large jar tomato sauce, or homemade. I used Mario Batalli's sauce, on sale for $2.30. It was pretty good.
1 clove garlic, sliced and chopped
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 torn basil, or use t tsp dried
1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese. I have made it with both. The cottage cheese made more of a sauce while the ricotta was more of  a filling.
1/4 cup parmesean cheese, plus 1/2 cup parmesean cheese

8 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
1 box Bow Tie pasta, cooked until al dente, and drained.
1/2 cup olive oil, may need more or less.

Add 1/4 cup parm to the breadcrumbs, add some cracked pepper. Add the parsley, other 21 beaten eggs, some pepper and nutmeg to the cottage cheese and mix in food processor or mini chopper. (Or you can do by hand). Set aside. Dip the eggplant slices, first in egg, then in bread crumbs. Add half the olive oil to cover bottom of nonstick skillet and fry on both sides until brown. Set aside on a plate. In a large oval or rectangular casserole dish, ladle some sauce, half the eggplant, half the pasta, 3 slices mozzarella, half the ricotta/cottage =cheese mixture. Repeat layers, ending with sauce and mozzarella, Sprinkle some parm on top. Cover with foil and bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 30 min. TO prevent sticking to the foil, run a little olive oil or butter on the inside of the foil, or cover loosely. I have found that if I put the parm on top of the mozzarella it wont stick as much. Remove foil and cook additional 10 min. Let rest for 10 min before serving.

Tomato Puree and Memories of Gram

I am feeling a bit nostalgic today. I just made tomato puree for my Christmas Eve ravioli's. Why nostalgic? Because they remind me of my Gram, Rose Rizzo, who came to this country as a young girl. Married and raised three wonderful children. She learned to speak English by watching soap operas, her "stories", she called them. It made me laugh when I realized that two of the main characters were named Ed and Holly, my brother and me!

Gram was strong, walked up and down steep hills to get a few things at the grocery. She always had a few gardens that yielded tomatoes, herbs, peppers, zucchini, onions and lettuces. One of the many treats she made were fried zucchini "frites" blossoms. I haven't attempted to make them yet. I have a feeling they won'[t be nearly as good as hers. One thing I do make, though, is her homemade ravioli's. They were made for every special occasion. The size of dinner plates! When I was sixteen I watched her make them, measuring every ingredient. I still have that piece of paper, written in my sprawling script with i"s dotted with hearts. In red pen!

So, when I married, I started making the "rav's" for Christmas Eve, since that was the dinner I always hosted for my family. On the one or two occasions I attempted to make a fancy seafood dinner, I was met with incredulous, "But where are the Rav's?" SO, the ravs it will be...

I made the tomato puree with my garden tomatoes today. A few things I have learned over the years of doing this-
1. You need a lot of tomatoes! One large stockpot yields about a quart size bag.
2. Use quart size bags. The gallon size is awkward to fit in your freezer. And also, they tend to get more air, and then freezer burn.
3. Do not add salt. The only thing I add is a few sprigs of fresh basil. After the tomatoes have cooled.

Bring water in large stock pot to a simmer, not boil. Gently drop in tomatoes, maybe 10 at a time. Wait until the skins crack. Then take out and puree (DO NOT overfill) in a food processor. Let cool before adding to quart size freezer bags. Lay flat on a cookie sheet and try to get most of the air out before closing. Freeze on cookie sheet flat, and then you can stack them in your freezer when they are frozen. I always use within 6 months. (You can label the bag with a sharpie if you have a tendency to forget how long they've been there. Been there too...

Garden Saute

I should call this lazy garden saute...or leftover saute. Whatever you call it, it's easy, fast and delicious. Perfect for using up leftovers or garden bounty. Here's what I had:

1 cup rotisserie chicken, cut up
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 Vidalia onion, chopped, 1 red bell pepper, chopped,
handful of rosemary, basil, parsley and mint (use whatever you have), chopped
1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheese. (I used mozzarella tonight, I also have used Parmesan)
some cherry tomatoes-halved
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 sliced avocado
 1 leftover cooked ear of Jersey white corn, removed from cob

Saute the veggies in the olive oil until soft- add garlic and corn for 2 min, then add chicken for 2 min to warm through. Add the herbs and cheese in the final minute of cooking. Serve with chopped parsley and a few cherry tomatoes. Avocado optional.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Hash with Eggs

This is a savory good way to use up those St Patrick's Day leftovers. I don't know why I never  thought of it before!
Ingredients:

Leftover corned beef- about 3/4 - 1 cup, chopped
2 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup leftover chopped cooked cabbage
2 scallions, green and white parts, chopped fine
leftover cooked potatoes, cubed, 3/4 - 1 cup
4 eggs
2 tbsp butter


In an oven-proof skillet heat the butter until melted and add the bacon and corned beef. Cook until bacon is crisp, then add the potatoes and stir gently. Cook a few min and add the scallions and cabbage. After a few minutes carefully crack each of the eggs. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 min until eggs are set. If you want them runny, take out now. If you like them cooked through, wait another 1-2 min. Salt and pepper the eggs and serve.