Thanksgiving 2012 - Part IV (Green Bean Casserole)

It was never really a common dish at my family Thanksgiving dinners, but I know a LOT of people make green bean casserole only on that day. We did have it once in a while, but most often we substituted candied yams or home made mashed potatoes instead. But, those are other entries. This one is to share the simple recipe and my family recipe for green bean casserole. Simple one first.

Ingredients

• 1 - 10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• Dash ground black pepper
• 3 - 14.5 oz cans French style green beans, drained
• 1 1/4 cup shredded cheese 
• 1 1/3 cups French fried onions

Directions

1. Mix soup, milk, pepper, beans, cheese and half of the onions in a 2 qt casserole dish.
2. Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes (when it is bubbling slightly). 
3. Stir and cover with the remaining fried onions.
4. Bake for 5 minutes.

Okay, that is an easy recipe to make that tastes pretty good. But my grandmother made this casserole too, and made me learn it.

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP flour
• 1 small onion (diced)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 cups cooked green beans
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup smashed Ritz crackers
• 1 TBSP melted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium, stir in flour, and heat for 1 minute.
3. Mix in the onion, sour cream, green beans, and shredded cheese. Stir to evenly coat.
4. Pour that into a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. 
5. In another small bowl, mix cracker crumbs and remaining butter.
6. Drizzle over the beans.
7. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

As you can see, both recipes take about the same amount of time, the first is very simple, but the second adds some additional taste and texture. The green beans in the second one can be the canned and drained ones from the first recipe, but steaming fresh and raw green beans makes them memorable. Either way, enjoy...

Thanksgiving 2012 - Part I

As discussed in Thanksgiving Sometimes IS About Compromise, I said that I'd share some family recipes handed down to me from my grandparents. Here goes with Part I, about the turkey baste and "tenting" the turkey with foil. This one is fairly simple, but other Thanksgiving entries will be made about the 2nd most important part of that meal, stuffing! Now, back to the baste.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine softened/melted
• 1/2 cup dry sherry or apple juice (apple cider works well too)
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp savory
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients
2. Brush/rub liberally on the turkey in the last 2 hours of roasting

 Recommendations

• Use a basting brush instead of your bare hands
• Use whatever you want (whiskey, vodka, gin, etc) as the liquid for the baste. Most of it will all be cooked off in the last 2 hours.
• Use Old Bay seasoning instead of the long list above, especially if from New England
• Use a large sheet of aluminum foil, folded in half, to provide a "pup tent" over the turkey as it is baked and basted in the last 2 hours. This prevents the baste from burning before it invades the flavor of the meat

Pizza

2 finished mini pizzas

We've all become guilty of picking up the phone and calling for a delivery pizza or getting a frozen one at the grocery store to "have in the fridge just in case." We've all argued with our friends about which pizza joint has the best. But I reject all of that. Let's consider returning to the "old school" and making our own. I've been doing that for a few years now, saving a lot of money, and my son thinks my home made pizza is much better than anything else. I have to agree. So, I'm going to share yet one more recipe taught to me by my grandmother (born in Chicago in 1920) and pass it along to others. Yes, it has never been written down before, so enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
• ¼ cup lukewarm water (105 F)
• 1 ½ TBSP olive oil
• ½ cup cold water
• 1 2/3 cups unbleached all purpose flour (plus a little more)
• Italian herb mixes 
• Sauce (you figure it out, buy it or make it)
• Toppings of your choice

Directions:

Kneading the dough

• In a large bowl, stir the yeast into the warm water. Let stand about 10 mins until creamy.
• Stir in olive oil first, then add the cold water.
• Whisk in ½ cup of the flour until smooth (wire whisk).
• Stir in the remaining flour ½ cup at a time until the dough comes together (use a fork for this).
• On a floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and velvety (8-10 mins). Cover with a towel and let sit 15 mins.
• When adding herbs, in the last half of the kneading process, sprinkle some each time before you fold it.
• Divide into 2 balls to make 2, 9” pizzas or use as one large.
  Let sit for 1 hour.

• 

  Teaching my son how to toss pizza dough

  Then, press the dough until about ½ inch thick while preheating oven to 500 F.
• Stretch with the back of your hands or a rolling pin until you get the diameter you want, about ½" thick.
• Dust pizza sheet with corn meal, cover crust with sauce, cheese, and toppings, leaving 1 inch around the edge free for brushing with oil.
•  Bake for 8-10 mins. on a baking stone (preheated with the oven) or a metal sheet
  

Italian JoJo's & Breakfast Burrito for Dinner

Italian JoJo's & Breakfast Burrito for Dinner

With a teenage son around, it is hard enough to keep him fed, let alone find time to blog. So, today I'm putting a personal, easy recipe for Italian JoJo's  and a suggestion they can accompany for a filling dinner. The idea was inspired by my question to him about "what do you want for dinner?" He replied "breakfast for dinner." So here goes, dinner for 2.

Italian JoJo's

• 2 baking potatoes (scrubbed but not peeled)
• mixed Italian herbs
• olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 420° F/ 215° C while you cut the potatoes into 3/8 " (9.5 mm) wedges
2. Put them in a large bowl, cover them with olive oil, and use your bare hands to get them coated with oil
3. Oil a baking dish evenly
4. Put the wedges in the baking dish, standing on their peel side when possible
5. Sprinkle as much Italian herbs over them as you desire
6. Bake 30-35 minutes, keeping an eye on them for the last 5-10, until they are the way you like them

Breakfast Burritos

• 5 eggs
• 5 TBSP milk
• Italian herb mix (as much as you want)
• Sausage links (amount depends on size of each one)
• 4 soft taco sized tortillas (6 inches / 15 cm)

1. Put the sausage links in a cold skillet with enough water to cover the bottom 1/4 of them, turn burner on medium, cover skillet
2. Beat the eggs, milk, and Italian herbs in a bowl
3. Pour the egg mixture into another large skillet (also set to medium)
4. Monitor sausage links and the eggs. Eggs will take 5-8 mins, sausage will depend on the directions on the package, but they need to reach 170° F / 77° C internal temp
5. Fold the egg mixture over on itself halfway through the cooking time, when done, cut into four sections to fit on the tortillas
6. Wrap eggs & links in the tortillas as a breakfast sandwich

Personal Comments

✎ 2 recipes in one blog entry is a bit much, but so is raising a teenaged son. Take them individually if you want, at least you don't have to click any more links to get to them all.
✎ Consider doing "breakfast for dinner" once in a while. Occasionally having scrambled eggs, pancakes, or French toast for dinner and it can be really enjoyable.
✎ Watch your times. Overall, this only takes about 20 minutes to prep the potatoes and get them in, but you have to watch the clock to get the sausage links and eggs done so they all arrive on the buffet.
✎ Make them assemble their own burritos as soon as possible.
✎ Roll the bottom of a burrito / wrap from the bottom first, then the sides. Prevents juices from dripping out of the corners.
✎ Add as many FLAVORS that you want. I add Tabasco and a slice of cheese to mine, but my son didn't want it.
✎ Served with a glass of milk, some cut fresh fruit, and a dessert (as desired), this is awesome!

Cooking according to a recipe is a guideline, not a law book. Use what you DESIRE. That is what my grandmother always told me...

Sunday Brunch

Being a Sunday, and not much going on, I decided to make myself a brunch. I found the Sausage Egg Bake recipe from AllRecipes.com to base it on, had the ingredients in the fridge, so I decided to make it. I'm sharing the recipe here on my blog so you don't have to click on yet another link just to get to it. Yes, I took the original recipe and recalculated it so I could make it in the toaster oven. That is what is nice about All Recipes, that you can re-calculate the ingredients to fit the number of people that will be enjoying it. I modified the recipe a little to make it more Italian, and my notes appear in purple.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage (used Bob Evans Original Flavor)
• 1 can condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted (used cream of mushroom)
• 4-1/2 eggs (used 5)
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons milk (used water instead, makes it fluffier)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (used a Mexican/Taco blend)
• Sprinkle of Italian blend herbs
• 1/4 tsp Tabasco

Directions

1. In a (cast iron) skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in soup. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, milk and pepper; stir in sausage mixture.
2. Transfer to a lightly greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish (used a 7 x 8.5" dish). Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

 

Tortilla Brunch

It was a late Sunday morning...it was too late to make a belly filling full breakfast, but it was too early for a light lunch of sandwiches. Thank goodness for the concept of BRUNCH!!! Combine the two... so, I did. Here it is...makes 4 of them, with a couple of small portions of leftovers.

Ingredients

• 1/2 lbs. ground Italian sausage
• 2 hash brown patties
• 2 eggs
• 2 TBSP milk
• 4 six inch tortillas
• Shredded cheese
• Italian herbs

Directions

1. Preheat the toaster over to 425 F and then place the hash brown patties in for 15 minutes
2. While they bake, brown the Italian sausage over medium heat
3. Whisk the eggs with the milk and Italian herbs in a bowl, and pour into a small skillet. Cook over a medium heat
4. Flip the hash brown patties and return to toaster over for 10 minutes
5. Flip the eggs when needed
6. When all are done cooking, split the hash brown patties in half lengthwise and split the eggs into 4 strips
7. On a 6" tortilla, place one strip of potatoes, one strip of the eggs, cover with a few pinches of shredded cheese, add several tablespoons of browned sausage on top
8. Fold up the bottom and then each side of the tortilla
9. ENJOY!!!

Suggestions

• Top the fillings with whatever sauces (Tabasco, ketchup, mustard, etc) with what you like
• Use larger tortillas by adding more of the fillings, but that means you need to make more because the above would only make 2 tortilla brunch meals
• Serve with a side of fruit and milk (for kids) and/or coffee or tea for adults
• Use the Muggle Eggs recipe to cut down on the time to make the egg mixture

  

  Muggle Eggs

WTF Casserole

One of the very few recipes that I got from grandma while growing up. The rest of them are still imprinted on my memory. But, as a father, why not share something with the world that the kiddos are likely to eat? A casserole that combines macaroni & cheese with hot dogs. I'm typing online what has only ever been scribbled down on the back of an envelope. Enjoy.

Ingredients

Prior to baking

• 1 to 1.5 cups macaroni pasta, cooked and drained
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 12 oz. condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 2 hot dogs (cut into penny thin slices)

Directions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 F
2. Spread pasta in the oiled/sprayed casserole dish that fits your oven
3. Mix milk and Worcestershire sauce with the soup (a whisk is recommended)
4. Pour that over the pasta and stir together
5. Arrange hot dog slices over the top of the pasta mixture
6. Bake 25 mins or until mixture is hot and bubbly

Serve with a side of veggies and fruit, and a glass of milk... Add spices if you desire a little more flavor, but kids like it bland...