Korean Beef Bowl-Secret Recipe Club

When I get my assigned blog for Secret Recipe Club, it is so much fun to go there and hang out for awhile.  I try to skim through all the posts back to the beginning of the bog when I can.  I found that I can find some hidden jewels in older posts.

This month my blog was Bitchin’ Kitchin'.  Ellie has been blogging since 2009 so she has posted many wonderful recipes.  One of her recent recipes that caught my eye was Mini Double Chocolate Cake Donuts.  They immediately went on my to make soon list, and I did consider them for my Secret Recipe Post.  However, in looking through the blog further, I found Korean Beef Bowl and knew that was the recipe I would make to post.  I was working on a Saturday that week and planned to pick up some Chinese food for dinner that night.  I like to stretch the purchased food with fried rice that I make at home and thought that the recipe would fit right in with dinner.  I am always on the look out for new recipse using ground beef, and this one was different from the ones I usually find.  Ellie has great step-by-step photos.

I decided to serve the beef in lettuce leaves as sort of a wrap, hence the lettuce in the photo.  Alas, I forgot to sprinkle the green onion over the meat in my photo.

Since I am a whimp when it comes to spicy food, I used only a pinch of red pepper flakes, and it was plenty spicy for me, so use your own judgment regarding how much red pepper you want to use.  Next time I make this, I think that I will add some onion and red pepper to the mix.  Thanks, Ellie for a great recipe that I will be making often.

A little note:  Ellie has recently moved her blog to The Hobo Kitchen.  You can access her recipes on either site.

Korean Beef Bowl from The Bitchin’  Kitchin.
1/3 c. brown sugar packed
1/4 c soy sauce (I used low-sodium)
1t. sesame oil (I used toasted)
1/2 t. crushed red-pepper flakes (you may want to start with just a pinch)
1/4 t. ginger
1 T. vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. lean ground beef
2 green onions, thinly sliced

cooked rice for serving if desired or lettuce leaves to make wraps

In a small bowl combine brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.  Beat until combined with a whisk.  Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add ground beef and cook until well browned, breaking the beef up as it cooks.  Drain fat, if necessary.  Stir in the brown sugar/soy sauce mixture and heat through, about 2 minutes.  Turn in the serving dish and sprinkle with green onions.  Serve immediately over rice or in lettuce leaves.  Makes 3-4 servings.

If you would like to find out how to join in the fun of Secret Recipe Club, just visit the page here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Easy Chickpea Spread-Secret Recipe Club

C Mom Cook was my Secret Recipe Club assignment for April.  Shelly began her blog in 2010 so it is crammed packed with great recipes.  I am really impressed by the amount of baking she does, and that she uses sourdough.  Her recipes almost make me want to make some starter of my own

Because of my sweet tooth I really want to make her Biscoff Banana Bread, Blondies, and Crispy Bars, but I will have to find the spread locally first.  It is not carried at the grocery stores where I usually shop.  Perhaps I will have to check out Walmart.

I have had a can a garbanzo beans in my pantry for awhile planning to make something out of them to see if I liked them.  I wasn’t sure that I would like hummus, and didn’t want to buy ingredients that I might never us again if I didn’t like it.  When I saw the recipe for Chick Pea Spread that contained only a few ingredients, I knew that was what I wanted to make.  I was a little torn about posting the recipe because it is so simple.  On the other hand, I think that this recipe deserves widespread distribution, and hopefully other people who are not sure about garbanzos will also give it a try

.

I used the marinate and sauce from the Five Spice Honey Chicken recipe on some country style pork ribs, and they were delicious.  Unfortunately I did not get a chance to take photos of them.

Now that I have decided that I like garbanzos and have found this recipe, I have some ideas running around in my head.  The garbanzos seemed to have a pretty neutral flavor so I think that I can branch out from this recipe and use seasonings like cumin and ranch.  I will be sharing when I have done some experimentation. 

Thanks, Shelly for a great recipe.

Easy Chick Pea Spread (from C Mom Cook)
1 (15 oz. can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 clove (or more, to taste garlic (I used 2 large cloves)
1 pinch salt
1 t. sesame oil (other oils may be substituted)
1 pinch pepper (this was my addition (not in the original recipe)

Drain most of the liquid from the beans, leaving just a little of it.  Pour the beans into a food processor.  Add the garlic, salt and pepper.  Process until everything is well chopped.  Add the oil and continue to process until the mixture is as smooth as you like.  Chill well before serving.  Makes about 2 cups.

You can check out Secret Recipe Club's information page to find out how to join in all the fun.

See what other group B Secret Recipe bloggers made this month below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Slow Cooker Curried Apricot Pork Roast

I love the flavors of curry powder and apricots together, so recently I decided to use them in a pork roast that I made in a slow cooker.

I have not been particularly happy with roasts in the slow cooker but have been happier with them since I started cooking them for less time.  This roast reached 160 degrees in 3 hours.  I had allowed six hours, so I just turned my slow cooker to Keep Warm for the remaining time.

The sauce is great poured over rice, couscous or quinoa.  We really enjoyed this meal.

Slow Cooker Curried Apricot Pork Roast
2 1/2 to 3 lb. boneless pork shoulder roast
1 t. salt
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. pepper, coarse ground if possible
1 T. vegetable oil
1 jar (18 oz.) apricot preserves
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 c. chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t. curry powder
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. water

Trim any excess fat from the roast.  Heat oil in a large skillet.  Meanwhile, combine salt, garlic powder and pepper.  Rub mixture on all sides of roast.  Brown roast on all sides in hot oil.  Transfer to a 4-qt. slow cooker.  In a medium saucepan combine apricot preserves, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, chicken broth, garlic and curry powder.  Heat and stir until preserves are melted.  Pour mixture over the pork roast.  Cook on low about 6 hours or to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.  (See my comment above.)  Remove roast from slow cooker, cover with foil and let rest 10 minutes.  Pour sauce mixture into a saucepan.  Combine cornstarch and water and stir into sauce.  Heat and stir until sauce boils and thickens.  Slice roast and drizzle with apricot sauce.  The sauce is also good over rice, couscous or quinoa.

Oriental Fried Ramen-Starving Student’s Survival

My granddaughter calls Oriental Fried Ramen Starving Student’s Survival.  That is because this recipe can feed four people for less than $2.00, and she is a starving student in California.  It is a "go-to" recipe for her.

I like to have fried rice as a side dish when I make something Oriental.   Since hubby doesn’t really care for rice, I often make this dish instead.  Use your favorite ramen noodle flavor in this.

Like all recipes for fried rice, you can use whatever veggies that you want in this dish or whatever you happen to have in the fridge.  I rarely make this exactly the same way twice in a row.  I do almost always use onion and red pepper.  This particular time I used carrots and snow peas.  I also sometimes add chopped nuts.

Although I include eggs when I make this, they can be left out, and almost any kind of cooked meat (even bacon) can be used to make it more of a main dish.

The recipe is loosely based on a recipe I found at  - http://busycooks.About.com a number of years ago.

Oriental Fried Ramen
2 pkgs. Ramen noodles, flavor of choice
3 c. boiling water
1 T. vegetable oil
1 t. sesame oil (optional)
1/2 c. chopped onion (regular or green)
1/2 c. chopped red pepper
1/2 c. carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch matchsticks
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c. frozen peas (or chopped snow peas or sugar snap peas)
2 T. soy sauce
2 eggs, beaten
1 to 2 c. chopped cooked meat or poultry

Break ramen noodles into six or eight pieces and place in a medium mixing bowl.  Sprinkle with the contents of the seasoning packets.  Pour boiling water over noodles and let set while preparing rest of ingredients.  Heat vegetable oil and sesame oil in a medium skillet.  Add onion, red pepper, carrots and garlic.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until tender-crisp, about 7 minutes.  Drain noodles well and add to skillet.  Add soy sauce and mix until well blended.  Cook and stir noodles 1 or 2 minutes.  Push noodles to the side of the skillet and pour eggs into the center.  Cook eggs, scrambling and cutting into small pieces as the eggs cook.  Mix eggs with noodles.  Add meat or poultry if using and heat through.  Serve as a side or main dish as desired.  Makes 4 servings.

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Time to Sparkle

Hoisin Noodles with Veggies

Sunday I felt like doing something Oriental inspired for dinner  As usual I had round steak in the freezer so decided to use that and make some Teriyaki Beef (recipe coming).  I wanted to make a chow mein or low mein (I am not sure exactly what the difference is) type of side dish to go with the meat.  We were already planning to have deep-fried asparagus so I had the veggie covered.

I looked in my cookbooks and on the internet and couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I used bits and pieces from several recipes and came up with my own version.

Like most things of this type, lots of different ingredients could be added.  Water chestnuts come to mind.  I did not use them because hubby isn't that fond of them, and he was going to be eating leftovers from this for two nights.  This time of year, I would add some chopped asparagus if I was making it just for me to eat.  Chopped green beans and snow peas are other things I would probably add if I had them available.

I posted two DIY Hoisin Sauce recipes yesterday for those who might not have that available and wanted to make this.

I served this with the Teriyaki Beef, but any kind of chopped cooked meat or poultry would turn this into a main dish, so it is a good use for leftovers.

Hoisin Noodles with Veggies
8 oz. Chinese noodles or spaghetti
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into match-stick pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red pepper, sliced horizontally
quarter of a small head of cabbage, thinly sliced
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced on the bias
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced or 1/2 t. dry ginger
2-3 T. vegetable oil
1/4 c. low-sodium chicken broth or water
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce

Heat water and cook Chinese noodles or spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.  Heat 2 T. oil in a large skillet until hot.  Add carrots,  onion, red pepper, cabbage and celery.  Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes until crisp-tender.  Remove vegetables and set aside.  Add another tablespoon of oil to skillet and heat.  Add spaghetti, garlic and ginger.  Cook, stirring,  for two to three minutes until spaghetti is lightly browned.  Return vegetables to skillet.  Combine chicken broth or water, hoisin sauce and soy sauce until well blended.  Pour over spaghetti and vegetables.  Heat and stir until liquid boils and is slightly thickened.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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DIY Gyro Meat

Welcome to my new followers and thanks to all of you who take time from your busy lives to read this blog.  I appreciate it so much, and try hard to make the information I post useful.

One of my favorite things to eat are gyros, although I don’t eat tzatziki sauce as I don’t like cucumbers.  I use Ranch instead.  Until the last few years, I only got to eat gyros when we made a trip to Portland as there were no Greek restaurants in our town.  Now we have two or three.

One of the restaurants makes a gyro made from beef and lamb that I like very much.  For awhile now I have been wondering if it was possible to make gyro meat at home.  Recently I ran across a recipe at allrecipes.com that looked as if it might be something I could do.

Ground lamb is not easy to find around here so I asked my husband to inquire of a neighbor who raises sheep where would be the best place to find it.  Next thing I knew, he was bringing me two packages of frozen ground lamb from the neighbor.  Thanks, Carol.  Now I had no excuse not to give the recipe a try.

I, of course, made just a few modifications, mostly based on the reviews of the recipe on allrecipes.  I think that the method is the most important part of this recipe no matter what ground meat is used, and I think I will try it sometimes with ground beef and pork.  I am going to try this method the next time that I want meatloaf type sandwiches.

Not all my spices were ground, so I put them all in my spice grinder and processed them until they were ground.  To get the right texture, it is very important to process the meat mixture until it is like a very thick paste.  I had to do this in two batches in my medium-sized food processor.  More batches will be necessary if a blender has to be used.

Hubby liked this very much, and I am going to make some up for our camping trip the end of the month.

Gyro Meat
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 lb. ground beef, (I use 85/15)
1 lb. ground lamb
1 T. minced garlic
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. dried marjoram
1 t. ground dried rosemary
1 t. ground dried thyme
1 t. coarse ground black pepper
1/2 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. ground coriander
1 1/2 t. salt

Place the onion in a food processor (I use my small chopper) and process until very finely chopped.  Place meat and onion in a large mixing bowl.  Add all seasonings and mix with your hands until everything is well combined.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend.  Place meat mixture into a food processor (do this in batches if necessary) and process until meat mixture is like a thick paste.  Pack into a 9x5-inch loaf pan, making sure there are no air pockets.  Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel.  Place the loaf pan on the towel inside the roasting pan and place in a 325 degree oven.  Fill the roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan.  (Note:  This took about two quarts for the roasting pan I used.)  Bake 1 hour or until the temperature reaches 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.   Big Safety Note Here:  Remove loaf pan from the roasting pan.  Turn off the oven and let water and towel in roasting pan to cool down if possible.  They will be very hot.  Be very careful if removing immediately. Drain the loaf pan of any accumulated fat.  Cover loaf with aluminum foil and place several 1 lb. cans on top to weight down the meat.  Place in refrigerator and let cool several hours or overnight.  Slice meat very thinly and grill or brown in a skillet before serving.  Serve on flatbread with lettuce, tomato, onion and sauce of your choice.  Serves 8 to 10.

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Cheesy Green Bean Wontons-Eating the Alphabet

The idea for this recipe came from a post for Asparagus Pockets by Sheryl over at Lady Behind the Curtain.  She used asparagus and crescent rolls.

This month’s letters for Eating the Alphabet Recipe Challenge, hosted by Brenda over at Meal Planning Magic, are G and H.  I knew that I wanted to make something new with green beans.  When I saw Sheryl’s post, I thought “Why not green beans and why not wontons?”  Thus, this recipe for Cheesy Green Bean Wontons was born.  Thanks, Sheryl, for the inspiration.

You could, of course, use cooked asparagus here instead of green beans.  Chopped broccoli and shredded carrots are another option.  Adding some cooked, finely chopped chicken, turkey or ham could turn the wontons into a main dish.  I am adding some chopped ripe olives next time I make these.

I used well-drained, canned green beans because that is all hubby will eat, but I think that crisply cooked frozen or fresh green beans would be even better.

I think dill goes well with green beans so I used that.  If you are not a dill person use something else.  Italian herbs would be good also.

The wontons can be served as an appetizer or a side dish, with or without a dip.  I made about 36 wontons and have been eating the remaining filling on toasted Sandwich Thins.

Cheesy Green Bean Wontons
1 (12 oz.) pkg. wontons
1/2 T. olive oil
1/3 c. minced red pepper
1/3 c. finely sliced green onion
1 lg. clove garlic, minced
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, well softened (can be regular or low fat, and I used whipped cream cheese)
1 t. dried dill weed
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 (16 oz.) can cut green beans, well drained and cut into 1/4-inch pieces or 1 1/2 c. crisply cooked frozen or fresh green beans, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
olive oil

Heat olive oil in a small skillet.  Add red pepper, green onion and garlic and cook gently for about 5 minutes.  Set aside.  combine cream cheese, dill week and garlic powder.  Mix well.  Stir in pepper/onion mixture and green beans.  Mix well.  Place wontons on a foil-lines baking pan.  Place a heaping teaspoon of green bean mixture in the center of each wonton.  Moisten edges of wontons with water and bring them together to form a triangle.  When the baking pan is full, brush wontons lightly with olive oil.  Bake at 375 degrees 10-15 minutes or until the edges of the wonton’s are lightly browned, turning the wontons over at about 7 minutes.  Makes about 36 to 48 wontons.

Sharing at these great parties:

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Check out the links below to see what creations other bloggers have shared today.

Secret Recipe Club-Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

My assignment for November for Secret Recipe Club was the blog It's Yummy to My Tummy.  This blog was started by Heather in 2010.  She chose an apt name for her blog.  It is loaded with delicious recipes, all of them  "yummy to the tummy."

I went through every post in her blog and found many great recipes to try like Baked Doughnuts (I must finally use my new doughnut pan),  Cheese and Fruit Danish,  and Grandma’s Cinnamon Rolls.  Several that are great for this time of the year:  Tootsie Roll Fudge, S’Mores Fudge, and one that is a big weird Soda Pop Jell-O Salad.

When I finally made a choice, I chose Chicken and Gnocchi Soup because I am always looking for new soup recipes, and I had cooked up some of my Stovetop Rotisserie Chicken (post to come on Wednesday) so I could have cooked chicken on hand.  Because I wanted a greater quantity of soup, I increased the recipe by half.  My recipe amounts reflect that.

Parmesan gnocchi was the only gnocchi that I could find at my grocery store.  The gnocchi had a packet of cheese and herb seasoning with it so I did add it to the soup.

I was pretty sure that I would not be able to get the spinach by my hubby, so my solution was to use a bag of frozen spinach, put a small amount in my bowl when the soup was served, and  put it in the microwave for 1 minute or so.  This worked very well, I had my soup with spinach, and hubby had his without.  Of course, I had to add my ever-present red pepper.  I have listed it as optional.

This was a very good soup, and I will be making it often so I am going to have to start making my own gnocchi.  I also think that this would be good made with tortellini.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (adapted from It's Yummy to My Tummy blog)
4 T. butter
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
3/4 c. finely diced celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 c. finely diced onion
1/2 c. finely diced red pepper (opt.)
1/3 c. flour
2 cans (14 oz.) chicken broth (4 c.)
1 c. shredded carrots
3/4 t. thyme
1 qt. half and half
1 c. whole milk
1 1/2 c. diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 c. spinach, chopped
1 1/2 lb. gnocchi, cooked according to package directions
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and olive oil together in a soup pot.  Add celery, garlic, onion and red pepper.  Cook until veggies are beginning to get tender, about 10 minutes.  Stir in flour and blend well.  Slowly stir in chicken broth, carrot and thyme.  Cook gently until veggies are tender.  Stir in  half and half, milk and chicken.  Bring to a gentle simmer.  Cook about 5 minutes.  Add spinach and cook a few more minutes or until the spinach starts to wilt.  Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if desired.  Makes  6 to 8 servings.

Go and spend a little time at It's Yummy to My Tummy.  You will be glad you did.

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight

Vegetable Beef Soup

Shame on me, I forgot my weekly Welcome and Thank You to my new followers and readers so here it is today.  Welcome new followers and Thank You to all who take the time to read my blog.  I am truly humbled that anyone would spend some time from their busy lives here.  I always endeavor to write posts that will be useful.

The days are getting a little colder, so when I think about something to make for lunch soup comes to mine.  From time to time our local newspaper prints recipes that have been sent in by readers.  This soup recipe was submitted by Amy Olander.

I, of course, have changed the recipe some from the original.  This is somewhat like a sloppy stew and  makes a large pot which will feed hubby and me for several days.

Vegetable Beef Soup
adapted from a recipe by Amy Olander
2 c. cubed potatoes
1 c. diced carrots
3/4 c. diced celery
1 c. diced onions
6 c. water
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained of excess fat
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 c. diced green or red pepper
1/2 c. barley
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 t. dried parsley or 1 T. snipped fresh parsley
1 large bay leaf
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 whole allspice
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

In a large sauce pot combine potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.  Cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are just tender.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer at least 30 minutes.  Remove bay leaf and allspice before serving.  Serves 6 to 8.

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Ingredient Spotlight-Chex Croutons-GF

A slightly different way to use any of the Chex Cereals is to make croutons with them to serve with soup or salad.  If you use Rice or Corn Chex, the crouton will be gluten free.

The croutons are very easy to make and almost don’t require a recipe.  Mix 5 cups Chex cereal with 1/4 c. melted butter and 1 t. seasoning of your choice.  I am giving a recipe below for Garlic and Parmesan Croutons.  You may use almost any seasoning of your choice either individually or mixed.  I have made these with garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, Italian seasonings, taco seasoning mix, lemon/pepper mix.  You name it I have probably used it to make these.

Leftover croutons can be crushed and used over casseroles or vegetables.

Garlic and Parmesan Chex Croutons
5 cups Corn or Rice Chex cereal or a mix of the two
1/4 c. butter
1 t. garlic powder
3 T. grated 100% Parmesan cheese (shelf stable kind)

Measure Chex cereal into a large mixing bowl.  Melt butter in a glass measuring cup in microwave or in small saucepan on stove top.  Stir in garlic powder until well blended.  Drizzle butter mixture over cereal.  Toss until cereal is well coated.  Sprinkle cheese over cereal and toss again until well coated with cheese.  Turn cereal out onto a baking sheet or jelly roll pan.  Bake at 325 degrees 10 to 15 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Make 5 cups croutons.

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight

Cheesy Garlic Biscuit Swirls

Good Monday to all.  Hope that your week goes great.  Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to read my blog.  I hope that you find the information here useful.

On Wednesday, I will be posting the recipe that I made for March’s Crazy Cooking Challenge.  This month’s assignment is for spaghetti.  Today I am going to share a recipe that I often serve with Italian type dishes.

This is similar to the crescent post from last week but uses the large, canned biscuits such as Pillsbury Grands.  I still am not sure that I can even call either a recipe.  I usually buy the store brand of these unless the Grands are on sale.  For best flavor use refrigerated Parmesan or Romano cheese.  Those cheeses are much better than the shelf-stable kind.

These are very hearty, and one or two per person is usually plenty.  Since there are eight biscuits in a can, this recipe will make 4 servings.  The photos will show that I used the flakey type biscuit because I  that is what I had on hand.  Any type large biscuit can be used.

Cheese Garlic Biscuit Swirls
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 can large refrigerated biscuits such as Pillsbury Grands
1/4 c. grated Parmesan or Romano, the refrigerated kind

Combine melted butter, garlic powder and garlic.  Open can of biscuits.  Pat and stretch out one biscuit until it is about 4-5 inches in diameter.  Lay biscuit on a greased jelly-roll pan.  Brush biscuit with the melted butter.  Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon cheese on top of the butter.  Roll biscuit up jelly-roll style.  Move biscuit out of the way and repeat the process with remaining biscuits.  Brush the rolled up biscuits with more of the melted butter.  Bake at  350 degrees 15 to 18 minutes until golden brown.  Brush again with any melted butter that is left.

Ingredient Spotlight-Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls

I am almost embarrassed to even call this a recipe, but the subject for today’s Ingredient Spotlight is crescent rolls and other canned biscuits and rolls.  These are so good.  You bite into them and find ooey, gooey melted cheese inside.

Any kind of cheese can be used in these.  I use mozzarella when I make them for Italian type dishes, pepper jack when using with Mexican type dishes,  and cheddar with lots of different dishes.  The cheddar cheese rolls are really wonderful with tomato soup.

I buy cheese  by the loaf, so I make cheese “sticks” that are about 1/4-inch x 1/4-inch x 2 1/2 inches long to make these.  If sliced cheese is used, just cut slices into 1/4-inch strips and stack them until they are 1/4-inch tall.

I sometimes add other herbs such as oregano, basil, rosemary, etc. to these.

Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls
1 can Crescent Rolls
3 T. butter
1/2 t. garlic powder
8 1/4-inch “sticks” cheese of your choice (see above)

Melt butter in a glass measuring cup.  Add garlic powder and let stand for 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend.  Open can of crescent rolls and unroll a triangle.  Brush  triangle with the melted garlic butter.  Place a “stick” of cheese along the large end of the triangle.  Roll triangle from large to small end, encasing the cheese inside the dough.  Place on foil-lined baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Brush each roll with more garlic butter.  Bake at 375 degrees 11-15 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush rolls with any remaining garlic butter.   Makes 8 rolls.

Linking to:  Ingredient Spotlight

Green Beans and Corn with Bacon, Onion and Garlic

I always like to dress up my side dishes a little bit.  Here is a combination that I put together back in July.  This has been sitting in drafts for a while, and I thought that I should post it before it gets lost.

This is certainly simple and easy and can hardly be called a recipe, but maybe it will spark an idea for someone.  I used frozen corn and drained, canned green beans  (my hubby's preference).  Frozen cooked or fresh cooked green beans can be also used.

Green Beans and Corn with Bacon, Onion and Garlic
2 slices bacon
1/4 c. onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can (16 oz.) canned green beans, drained (or use about 1 1/2 c. cooked fresh or frozen)
1 1/4 c. cooked corn, fresh or frozen (can use 1 can (16 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained)

Fry bacon in a medium skillet until crisp.  Remove to paper towel to drain.  Drain off bacon grease,  leaving just a film in the bottom of the skillet.  Add the onion and garlic to the skillet.  Cook about 5 minutes or until tender.  Add green beans and corn.  Heat through.  Just before serving, crumble bacon and scatter over green beans and corn.  Makes about 4 servings.

Linking to Side Dish Saturday

Cooking with the Journal-Corn 'N' Bacon Dip

Here is a handy little recipe for a great dip to use with vegetables, crackers, or chips.  It has a wonderful corn, garlic, bacon flavor and is made with ingredients one usually had in the pantry and refrigerator.  It was originally called a “chip” dip, but we rarely eat that kind of snack around here any more.  I usually serve it with various veggies and/or crackers.

I now use Greek Yogurt for half the sour cream to make the dip a little healthier.  I like more garlic, so usually use at least three cloves.  The original recipe called for an 8 oz. can of whole kernel corn.  I don’t buy that size so I just use a 16 oz. can of either whole kernel or cream-style corn instead.  I think that it has more corn flavor with the cream-style corn.   Cooked, frozen corn can also be used.  This means there is more corn (and it’s a veggie, remember?) in the dip.    If made with whole kernel or frozen corn and half sour cream/half Greek yogurt, the dip will be stiffer, almost a spread consistency.  If made with all Greek yogurt and cream-style corn, the dip will be "gloppier".  (Is that a real word? )  The precooked, crumbled bacon bits seem to hold up better in the dip if it will be stored for a few days.  I always fry up some fresh bacon and crumble it for a garnish on the top.

Corn ‘N” Bacon Chip Dip
Cooking for Company
Farm Journal Books, 1968

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 c. dairy sour cream, low fat is fine (can use half to all Greek yogurt)
1/4 c. mayonnaise, low fat is fine
2 cloves  or more garlic, minced
1/2-1 t. Tabasco sauce or Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
8 slices bacon, crisp fried and crumbled or about 1/2 c. precooked, crumbled bacon bits
1 16 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained or 1 1/2 c. frozen corn, cooked or 1 can (16 oz.) can cream-style corn

Gradually blend sour cream and mayonnaise into softened cream cheese.  Mix together very well.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Chill at least 1 hour to blend the flavors.  Makes 3-4 c.  This will keep for a week or so in the fridge unless I have gone at it with a spoon.

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Chinese Filled Buns

Last weekend my daughter said to me she was craving Chinese Filled Buns.  So I made some.  This was something I used to make all the time when the kids were at home. I don’t make these as often now because I love them, but I hate them.  If these are in my fridge, there is a constant battle between my mouth and my hand.  Every time I walk by the fridge, mouth wants my hand to reach in and get a bun.  Hand resists, mouth insists.   For me, these are like eating popcorn. I can easily eat a whole loaf of bread’s worth in an afternoon

Although somewhat time-consuming, these are very easy to make; and there is a lot for the effort put in.  They are good hot or at room temperature.  They make great picnic food, appetizers, and snacks.  The basic idea can be used with fillings other than what I am posting here.  Some ideas:  ham or bacon  and eggs, Italian sausage and cheese, taco meat, barbecued meat or chicken, ham and cheese just to name a few.  Also, the two fillings can be served in flour tortillas if one doesn't want to go to the effort of making the buns.  Kids like to help make these by stretching out the dough balls. I found this recipe in Sunset magazine sometime in the 80's. 

My photos aren’t great, but I am going to try a little bit of a tutorial.

You will need 3 loaves of frozen bread dough,  thawed until just pliable, about 1-2 hours.  (I forgot to take a photo of the bread.)

To make the pork filling, which is what I made, you need the ingredients  below.

You cut the pork butt into 1/2-inch cubes, pour a garlic, ginger, soy marinade over them, brown the cubes, add a cornstarch, soy sauce, sherry, water mixture to thicken them up.

The thickened mixture will look like this. Set aside to cook.

You cut each loaf of bread into 16 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and stretch the dough ball out to about 4 inches, just as if you were making mini pizzas.

 

Place 1-2 T. of filling into the center of the dough circle.  I use about 1 1/2 T.

Pinch the edges of the dough ball together, and place on greased baking sheet.  Repeat with all the pieces of dough.  Let rise in warm place 20-30 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes.

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Chinese Filled Buns (Bow)
3  loaves  (3 lb.) frozen bread dough

Choice of Filling below. Other fillings may be used, try taco meat, ham and cheese, Italian sausage, etc.

Remove bread dough from freezer and thaw as package directs, covering it with a moist cloth or brushing surface with salad oil; thaw just until the dough is pliable, 1-2 hours at room temperature.  Meanwhile prepare filling.

With a lightly floured knife, cut a thawed loaf in half lengthwise and then cut each half into 8 equal-sized pieces, making 16 total pieces.  Roll each piece of dough into a ball.  Pull and stretch the dough as if making a mini pizza until it is about 4 -inches in diameter.  Place 1-2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each round; pull edges of dough up around filling and tightly pinch together to seal.  Place buns, pinched side down, about 2-inches apart, on a greased cookie sheet.  Cover and let rise in warm place until puffy and light, about 20-30 minutes.

Brush each bun with melted butter.  Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  I also like to brush with butter when they come out of the oven.  Serve warm, reheated or at room temperature.  Repeat with remaining two loaves.  Makes 48 filled buns.  Store buns in refrigerator or freeze.

These can be made ahead, and, in fact, we like them better after a day or so in the refrigerator.  To heat individual buns from refrigerator, place in microwave and heat 30 seconds.  If doing more, increase the time by 15 seconds or so for each additional bun.

Buns may be frozen.  Flash freeze on a baking sheet, then seal tightly in a freezer bag.  To reheat, place the frozen buns, uncovered, in a 350-degree oven for about 25 minutes or until heated through.

You may use chicken breasts or thighs in either of the recipes below.

Chinese Pork Filling
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. grated fresh ginger root (or 1/4 t. ground ginger)
2 t. sugar
2 T. soy sauce
1 1/2 lbs. boneless pork (such as butt), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 t. sugar
1 T. cornstarch
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sherry
1/4 c. water
1 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped

Combine garlic, ginger, sugar and soy sauce.  Add pork cubes to this mixture and stir to coat.  In a small dish combine sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, sherry and water.  Mix well and set aside.  Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add pork, cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 5 min.  Add onion and continue stir-frying for about 2 minutes more or until onion is limp.  Stir cornstarch mixture into pork; cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, about 30 seconds.  Skim off and discard any fat.  Cool.

Curry Beef Filling

1 t. curry powder
1/8 t. cayenne
1/2 t. sugar
2 T. soy sauce
1 t. grated fresh ginger root (or 1/2 t. ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lb. boneless beef (such as top round), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 more t. curry powder
1 T. cornstarch
3 T. water
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. vegetable oil
1 med. onion, finely chopped

Combine curry powder, cayenne, sugar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.  Add beef and stir to coat.  Combine second curry powder, cornstarch, water, and soy sauce.  Set Aside.  Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat.  When the oil is hot, add beef and cook, stirring, until meat is lightly browned, about 2 min.  Add onion and continue stirring until it is limp, about 2 min.  Add cornstarch mixture to pan and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, about 30 seconds.  Cool.

Monday-DIY Groceries:  Biscuit and All-Purpose Mixes

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