Post by nybirder on Sept 30, 2016 9:29:43 GMT -5
Cooking for Two
2013 August September Recipes
2013 AUGUST RECIPES
1. My Mother's Pickled Peaches
2. Tomato Soup Recipe for Canning
3. Mock Apple (zucchini) Pie
4. Italian Style Chicken and Peppers
5. Learning to cook for one...links
6. Chicken Noodle Casserole with Creamy Spinach Sauce
7. Stuffed Acorn Squash for One or Two
SEPTEMBER 2013 RECIPES:
1. Homemade Ricotta
2. Grilled Potatoes & Peppers (Simple & Delicious)
3. Ground Beef Stroganoff
4. Cabbage Rolls
5. Pork Chops w/ Reisling Peach Sauce
My Mother's Pickled Peaches
NYBirder
Just for the fun of it, this is directly from my Mom's recipe card. Definitely not a recipe for two but I'm thinking of cutting it way down just to make a few for myself to store in the refrigerator rather than processing. I have not made them myself but as I recall she may have processed them in a hot water bath even though the recipe card doesn't say that. Sometimes she wouldn't write down things that she was accustomed to doing. How does this compare with yours, Lily1?
My Mother’s Pickled Peaches
We never had a family dinner without a dish of these showing up on the table. They go particularly well with ham or pork but make a nice pickle with almost any meat or poultry. I have fond memories of driving to the Finger Lakes to buy fresh NY peaches when they came into season for her to can and to make these pickles. Small or medium free-stone peaches make the best pickles. Keeping the stone in the fruit adds quite a bit of flavor.
8 lbs. medium peaches, firm but ripe
1 quart vinegar
2 lbs. sugar
8 2" pieces stick cinnamon
2 tbsp. whole cloves
Make syrup of sugar, vinegar, and spices which have been placed in a bag made of cheesecloth. Cook 10 minutes.
Add peaches to syrup and cook slowly until tender but not broken. Let stand overnight.
The next morning, remove bag of spices. Drain syrup from peaches. Boil rapidly until thickened.
Pack peaches in hot sterile jars. Pour hot syrup over peaches, filling jars to top. Seal.
The original recipe says keep them in a cool place several weeks before serving. However, I seem to remember her processing them in a hot water bath—maybe 20 minutes?
From lilymax_MN_f_74:
Birdy, yes that is like my recipe. I don't remember doing the water process, but it has probably been 40 years since I last made them and seems like I just poured the boiling juice over them. But we never processed any pickles and I see a lot of folks do that today. The vinegar should be enough, but with all the new bacteria in the world, it probably makes more sense to do so.
Re: My Mother's Pickled Peaches
Beema
Maybe I am missing something, but are the peaches pickled WHOLE? It doesn't say to peel them or to slice them, only that the stone makes them better. How do the peaches fit inside the jars with the stones still in place?
Re: My Mother's Pickled Peaches
NYBirder
Sorry--I took this right off my mother's card. I missed that little detail about peeling first! She, of course, knew just what to do so didn't write it down.
The peaches are peeled first and pickled whole. Yes--they fit inside the jars like that. Remember--the peaches are supposed to be small to medium but best small. There needs to be room around the peaches for the pickling liquid so they shouldn't be crammed in but they are soft after cooking and will go into the quart jars just fine.
Re: My Mother's Pickled Peaches
droopydawg_ky
I've got too much Scotsman in me, so I use freestone peaches and you can stack more halves in a qt.
This is pretty much the recipe my MIL gave me years ago.
I also save the peelings and cook them down with vinegar and sugar for delicious fried pies. No one can tell they are peelings instead of dried peaches.
Tomato Soup Recipe for Canning
tastycook1
I've made this for the last 3 years and we love it. I do it in pint jars - that's a nice quantity for the 2 of us. If you don't follow the ingredients exactly it doesn't matter but I have always put it in a water bath for 45 minutes - I don't want us to get sick. The comments in the recipe are from KC10. Not sure if she still posts or not. I haven't seen anything from her in a long time.
Tomato Soup
(posted by KC10)
14 qts. ripe tomatoes (I use half plum tomatoes and half reg.)
7 med. size onions
1 stalk celery
14 sprigs parsley
3 bay leaves
14 Tb. Flour
14 Tb. butter
3 Tb. Salt
8 Tb. sugar
2 tsp. pepper
Scald tomatoes to remove skin. Cut up and place in large, heavy pot. (I use my pressure canner and it is full!) Chop onions, celery and parsley. Add to pot. Crumble bay leaves and add. Cook 'til celery is tender, stirring occasionally. (I let mine cook for a good 4 hours or more. That small amount of celery seems to take forever to get done.) Put thru food mill to remove seeds. Rub flour & butter into smooth paste thinned with some of the tomato juice. Add to boiling soup; stir to prevent scorching. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Pureé soup in blender, being extrememly carefully as the soup is very hot. (Or you can run it through the food mill a second time if you'd rather not use the blender.) Fill jars to within 1" of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight.
Process in boiling water bath for 45 minutes.
Makes approx. 10 quarts (I usually get 11 or 12!)
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
CanNerd
Sorry but that recipe and what you have been doing scares me to pieces. You cannot safely preserve low-acid foods in a Boiling Water Bath and the use of flour and butter in canning recipes is also a big no-no. That's basic knowledge in home canning in the 21st Century.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
c3clark
Thanks so much, Tasty. I don't understand everything I've been reading about you should only use a pressure canner for tomatoes. I made chili sauce, which is mostly tomatoes, and used a water bath and they were fine. So what would be the difference with the tomato soup? If it's only because of the flour and butter do you suppose that leaving it out for canning and adding it when heating the soup to eat would work? Also I don't have a food mill so guess I'd have to get one, eh? Thanks again for posting the recipe.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
tastycook1
I have been doing this for several years and have never had a problem. It does stay in the water bath for the full 45 minutes. If you wanted to do something similar, you could use a pressure canner, but I don't have one and at the moment have no plans to buy one.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
tastycook1
When I can tomatoes, I add lemon juice to the jars before adding the tomatoes, just to make sure the acid content is high (I do it because the recipe says to)
You probably could leave out the flour and butter and just add them when you want to use the soup - your choice.
I understand being careful about what we can and so on. Modern recipes often say to process jam as well. I never do - Mum didn't nor did my grandmothers. There are some fruits and veggies I won't can because I don't have a pressure canner.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
Beema
Tasty, this recipe is very similar to the one I used to use to make tomato soup, but I never canned the product. Instead, I put the cooled soup into 2 cup plastic containers, and kept them in the freezer. A year later, it was still just as good as when I made it.
By the way, you said that you add lemon to the jars because the recipe says to. but that part must have been omitted from the recipe you posted. Do you want to edit that post?
When my grandmother canned her tomato soup, there were no such things as pressure canners... the hot water bath was the only method she ever used, and she canned everything from her large produce garden, to include the green leafy carrot tops. None of us got sick... and I'm still here, after 77 years. I don't have any of her recipes, so if she added lemon is anyone's guess.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
Hi, Beema.
tastycook1
I add lemon juice to tomatoes when I can them, not the soup.
I quite believe that nowadays pressure canning is recommended for everything, but I do not plan on buying a pressure canner and changing a method that I know works and works well. Like you, I'm happy with what I know works.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
c3clark
Ok...so there's NO lemon juice in the jars for the soup, right? This is probably dumb, but if you put lemon juice just for tomatoes, why not in the soup, too, for more acid? I have a pressure canner. I had to replace the rubber gasket once, and it needs to be replaced again. I used to can a lot more when I was younger...just don't have the energy anymore so don't want to spend the money replacing the gasket since I wouldn't be using it that much. I looked at food mills on amazon and they're kinda pricey. Maybe I'll just keep the seeds in the soup!
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
tastycook1
That's right, no lemon juice in the soup. The recipe didn't call for it so I never added it.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
NYBirder
I'm not a canner, folks, but I remember when the issue came up about the safety of home-canned tomatoes years ago. My mother began adding acid to hers in a water bath after reading recommendations about it. It seems that the newer varieties of tomatoes were developed to be less acid than older ones and needed it for safety. She always did everything in a water bath and we never had any problems over many, many years of using her home-canned tomatoes almost exclusively. From what I understand, it's the low-acid foods that should be processing in a pressure canner.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
ashleyjohn
the recipe of Chicken Tortilla soups kindly share.
tastycook1
I had a look in my "to try" pile and have found a couple. I cannot vouch for them as we haven't tried them yet. Both came from the TOH board a good while back. The comments on the second recipe are not mine, but the original poster's.
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Ellie
1/2 cup chopped onion (chopped finely)
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 can diced Mexican tomatoes (with jalapenos, lime and cilantro)
2- 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
1/8 tsp each salt and ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
dash black pepper
1 cup shredded, cooked chicken
Toppings:
corn tortilla chips, shredded Colby jack cheese, cilantro leaves, sliced green onions, sour cream, diced avocado, squeeze of lime juice on top
Heat 2 tsp oil in 3 qt saucepan and saute onion and garlic until slightly soft. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 5 minutes more. Crush tortilla chips in bottom of individual soup bowl, ladle soup on top, and top each bowl with desired topping choices.
Makes 4-6 servings
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
~Muril~
I do not add the cilantro and usually skip making the tortillas and just used healthy baked Prepackaged ones. I also add about 2 cups of fresh or frozen corn about 5 minutes before serving to keep it crisp tender. I serve with sour cream and grated cheese on the side.
4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup onion, chopped
12oz chicken. Raw
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans chicken broth
1 can (14 1/2 oz.)diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1 tsp. fresh cilantro, snipped
2 oz. reduced-fat cheddar cheese, (1/2cup)
4 thick slices fresh lime(optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tortillas into 1/2 inch strips. Place on baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes until crisp.
2. Chop onion. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch peices. Heat large skillet(med. high heat), spray with veggie oil spray or lightly oil. Add chicken, cook and stir 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Snip cilantro. Divide tortilla strips among 4 bowls. Ladle soup over tortillas. Shred cheese over top. Sprinkle soup with cilantro. Garnish each bowl with lime slice, if desired. Yield 4 servings.
Mock Apple (Zucchini) Pie
LilyMouse
6 c. zucchini (NOTE: extra-large zucchini are preferred, they're firmer)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt and nutmeg
Dough for double pie crus
Pare zucchini, wash and slice lengthwise. Remove seeds. Slice like apples. Add a little water and bring to a boil in a
large saucepan. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender. Cool and drain well. Add rest of ingredients and place
into an unbaked 9 inch pie crust. Cover with top pie crust and flute to seal edges.
Cut slits into top of crust for steam to escape. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.
*When I've had an abundance of large zucchini I would clean, pare, peel and cut up and fill several ice cream pails
of zucchini and cook in a large canner. After cooling and draining, measure at least 8 cups of Zucchini and place in freezer
bags for pies for the winter. Thaw and proceed as above. Eight cups see
tastycook1
Italian Style Chicken & Peppers
This made a really quick super for us the other night. I changed only a couple of minor things - I had a bag of grated, Italian mix cheese (just enough to cover the top of the chicken) that I added towards the end of the cooking time and browned everything under the broiler just for a couple of minutes. I served it with pasta but a green salad would be equally good.
Italian-Style Chicken & Peppers
I found my mom's well-stained recipe card for chicken and green peppers and was flooded with memories. I'd forgot how good it was! Hope you enjoy. —Donna Miller, Grosse Pointe, Michigan
TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min.
MAKES: 4 servings
2 cups meatless pasta sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 425°. Place pasta sauce in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave, covered, on high for 3-4 minutes or until hot, stirring halfway.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add green pepper; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in cream cheese.
Arrange chicken in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon pepper mixture onto chicken. Pour warmed sauce over top. Place cheese over sauce. Bake, covered, 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165°. Yield: 4 servings.
Originally published as Italian-Style Chicken & Peppers in Taste of Home September/October 2014, p34
Re: ***REC*** Italian style chicken & peppers
PuppyNeko
I'm Italian and I want to give you some advice: uses different types of peppers, Green, Yellow and red, a bit off hot pepper. Don't use the cheese, but do gratin with a handful of breadcrumbs. It's Italian Style! Ps. Buon appetito :)
Learning to Cook for One
NYBirder
Cooking for one person can be a challenge, especially if you are used to cooking in much larger amounts. Several of us in this forum are single cooks and have some experience with it. But it's really tough if it's a new challenge, whether you are someone out on your own for the first time or adjusting to living alone.
While I was wandering around the internet the other day trying to find a recipe that I'd misplaced, I ran across a free PDF cookbook designed just for one person. It doesn't make any claims to being gourmet. They are just nice, inexpensive, basic comfort-food kinds of recipes. If you are not used to cooking on a small scale, this will give you guidance on the amounts you should plan on for one person.
It's called "The Senior Chef" published by the province of British Columbia. Many of these recipes are also enough for two. www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/1993/senchef.pdf
There are good idea starters if you just can't decide what to cook for yourself. And, of course, the recipes can always be doubled for two.
Do any of you who are single cooks have favorite web sites (besides this one, of course) or cookbooks with recipes for one person that you'd like to share?
Re: Learning to Cook for One
shelleyjCA2AZ
for the bakers who are single or just 2 now...but still love treats...check out the Small Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos...she has several cookbook for small batch bakers...her cookbooks are available on Amazon and the Barnes and Nobel sites....
Beema
Some would think that it is just a matter of simple mathematics, this idea of cooking for just one or two, but there are some things, of course, that just cannot easily be divided in half. So the tricks ARE important, and so is the chemistry involved, especially in baking.
Just glancing at these two sources of ideas I can see that they would indeed be helpful.
Beyond that, tho, is the greater challenge, and this is adjusting your entire concept of cooking. If you have been cooking for a large family that over just a few short years became a small family, there is definitely a mental adjustment to be made. Getting used to the idea of using the smallest baking dish you have, or the smallest crock pot, or the smallest salad bowl is a major step. The salad bowl is the perfect example: you may have been used to making a salad for five with enough ingredients to fill the salad bowl... is you start out with a much smaller bowl, you will quickly adjust to the idea of how to make a nice salad for just one or two.
Good topic, and we'd love to have all your ideas on how you made adjustments in your cooking style to match your new life style.
Re: Learning to Cook for One
NYBirder
ShellyJ--I have that book! The recipes are really delicious despite being small. Baking is one of the hardest things to do for just one or two because the ingredients have to be so precise.
Beema--how true! It's also a matter of learning what you can do with the other half of a can of tomatoes or cream soup if you want to continue to make old favorites that need to be cut down quite a bit. Or how to handle leftovers.
When I first started cooking just for myself, I found that the cookbooks out there tended to fall into the range of "single-guy-throws-a-couple-of-cans-in-a-pot" type recipes or those that called for a long list of ingredients, often unusual, like squid-ink pasta, etc. Or they were packed full of unhealthy ingredients in the process of being "easy". I did find a few books that were really comfort-food kind of recipes and have endured for me. The two I use the most:
Going Solo in the Kitchen by Jane Doerfer--August 25, 1998. These recipes are down to earth with common ingredients. This is one of the first books I bought and have been using it ever since. It looks much different now--it has been reprinted.
Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste by Frances Price-- May 15, 1997. Again, down to earth and not fussy with the added bonus of being healthy. This book gives separate ingredient lists for one or two servings. I gave this book to two friends who are now cooking for just themselves and their husbands and are concerned about healthy eating.
Re: Learning to Cook for One
thatchairlady
I've been cooking for one for several years and it is HARD to not end up with a LOT of what I call "big" food... lasagna, soup, chili, stew, etc. Freezer space is at a big premium, so REALLY try to cook no more than 3 servings of anything... one for NOW, one for taking as lunch, and maybe 1 for freezer for later.
I really have to curb my prep work to pare down recipe. Less than half a pound of ground or soup/stew beef is PLENTY for 1-3 servings.
I make my version of lasagna as a roll-up... only cooking 3-4 noodles, making a meat sauce & ricotta mixture. If the meat sauce or ricotta mixture ends up too much, they freeze find for later.
Packages of something like boneless chicken (any cut, tho prefer breasts), or pretty much any meats, are WAY too much for one meal. Takes a little time, but I repackage and vac seal. A frozen, rock-hard hunka chicken is ready to cook after maybe 20-30 minutes in a container of room temp water... about as long as it takes to get outta work clothes.
Re: Learning to Cook for One
NYBirder
I have limited freezer space, too, so making large recipes is really not an option too often.
My vacuum sealer is my friend, too. To save on vac bags, I put individual servings of raw chicken, etc. in those Ziploc Perfect Portions bags and then in a flat layer in a large vac seal bag. I make sure there's enough room at the top of the bag to cut it open, remove one, and then reseal. I can get quite a bit of mileage out of the bag that way.
I always freeze my ground beef in 4 oz. patties like that. To keep them from getting squeezed in the process, I pop them into the freezer ahead of time to harden them up and then vac them in the bag. Meats keep for a really long time in the vac bags so I think they are worth it. With the ground beef frozen in portions, it's so much faster to measure them out for recipes and thaw them.
When I buy a bag of frozen shrimp, I divide them while frozen into serving-sized portions and vacuum them like that. They will keep very well without freezer burn when packaged that way.
I also buy 14.5 oz. cans of whole tomatoes (I like Hunts) to keep in the pantry. Whole tomatoes are usually pretty high quality and can be run in the food processor or blender to make them into crushed or pureed. That sized can of those styles are getting hard to find around here. That way, I don't have to keep a variety of tomato products on hand for smaller recipes.
Tomato paste in the tube is getting easier to find, lower in price, and it keeps forever if sealed and refrigerated. No need to take 1 or 2 tbsp. out of a can and then have to freeze the dabs. I always find myself hunting forever to find them in the freezer or forgetting about them.
Another great thing to keep in the pantry are those individual-sized bottles of wine. They are just the right size for most recipes and you don't have to worry about the wine spoiling in a large bottle. I also keep a bottle of dry vermouth on hand in the refrigerator--it's a fortified wine and keeps well--you just use it like you would white wine. I learned that one from Julia Child!
Chicken Noodle Casserole with Creamy Spinach Sauce
Beema
This is a recipe that evolved from having leftover cream spinach filling for an appetizer into a sauce for chicken and noodles. The spinach filling was put into the center of a thin slice of ham and then rolled and placed seam side down on a platter. Everyone loved these ham rolls, none left, but I made too much filling, leaving me with half the original amount. I am going to show the original recipe for the ham rolls, then what I added to the left over filling, and then the other ingredients I used to make the casserole.
*To make the Filling:
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parm (not the refrigerated kind)
1 (8 oz.) container mixed blend of cream cheese, chive and onion
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons creole mustard
Cook drained spinach in microwave for two to three minutes; cool. Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, at room temperature, then add the cooled spinach.
*To make the Creamy Spinach Sauce:
One half of the Filling
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup half & half
1/4 cup cold brewed coffee
Combine the above ingredients.
*To make the Casserole:
2 cups cooked chicken breast pieces (I used Tyson's Grilled & Ready)
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces
8 oz. cooked wide egg noodles
The re-made sauce
In an 8" x 8" glass baking dish, spread the chicken pieces, add the mushrooms, the noodles and then add the sauce, mixing well. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy.
Stuffed Acorn Squash for One (or Two)
NYBirder
I've been making this as a simple, but satisfying, meal for one for a long time. I do not like sweet squash dishes, so this is definitely savory. A friend of mine and her husband drizzled maple syrup over theirs. I have not tried it but they seemed to enjoy it. She used cornbread stuffing cubes instead of herbed. If you use crumb-style stuffing mix rather than cubes, you would probably need to use less dry stuffing. I have not tried it so I suggest you use the package instructions as a guide.
The squash and stuffing are fully cooked and warm before you bake it so it only needs a short time in the oven to crisp up the top. This is easy to double for two servings or for a second meal. I have made this up ahead of time without the cheese and refrigerated it. In that case, I baked it at 350 for a longer time to heat it up, adding the cheese when the stuffing begins to crisp so that it doesn't burn.
1/2 medium acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
1/8 cup diced onion
1/8 cup diced celery
2 tsp. butter, divided
2-3 oz. frozen brown-and-serve turkey breakfast sausage (I used Jones)
1/3 cup water (plus more if needed)
2/3 cup herb-seasoned stuffing cubes (I used Arnold's)
1 tbsp. grated reduced-fat cheese of choice
Preheat oven to 375F.
Melt a tsp. of butter in a small skillet or coat with cooking spray. On medium-low heat, saute onion and celery until translucent. Remove.
Cut turkey sausage into small dice. Add remaining butter to skillet. Lightly brown sausage. Add vegetables back to skillet along with water. Bring to simmer. Add stuffing cubes to skillet and stir well. Turn off heat and cover. Let stuffing sit for about 5 minutes to absorb water. If it seems dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon or so of water until it is moist to taste.
Put squash cut side up in a shallow microwave- and oven-safe dish just large enough to hold it. I like to use a small gratin dish. Add 1 or 2 tbsp. water. Cover and microwave 3-4 min. or until it is fork tender. Drain any leftover water from squash and turn cut side up. Brush cavity and rim with butter or spray with butter-flavored cooking spray. Lightly salt and pepper squash.
Stuff cavity of squash firmly with filling--it will be generous, depending on the size of your squash. Sprinkle cheese on top of stuffing.
Bake squash for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and stuffing is crisp. Watch carefully--it can brown quickly.
Homemade Ricotta
annrms
It's easy to do this...my recipe is based on this site....www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000282.html
You need a large, heavy bottomed pot, a skimmer, a heat-proof silicone spatula, cheese cloth (or jelly bag [just read something about using that instead of cheese cloth, but never have], a large fine mesh strainer, 2 large bowls (if you want to save the whey for soup..yum!), a candy or instant read thermometer, butcher's twine.
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart butter milk or prepare 1 quart of buttermilk using buttermilk powder (I have used both, but I prefer "Nancy's Buttermilk" from my grocery store.)
Pour milks into pot. Turn the pot on to medium-high. Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Heat the mixture, stirring frequently so bottom does not scorch. [You don't have to constantly watch this and you can walk away. I set a timer for 10 minute intervals until it gets close to the "done" point. Then I stay with it.] At about 175 degrees, you will see some coagulation happening. I turn the heat down to medium, stir and scrape the bottom one more time, and let the temperature go up to about 180. Turn off the heat, let the mixture stand uncovered for 15 minutes. While it is sitting, line the sieve with 4-5 layers of cheese cloth and place the sieve in a large bowl if you are saving the whey. Otherwise put it in the sink. Using the skimmer gently remove the "raft" of ricotta and place it in the cheesecloth lined sieve. Don't forget to stir up the bottom! When the solids have been removed into the cheese cloth, gather up the corners of the cheesecloth and tie the ends making a pouch. Knot the string and hang it to drain more whey into another bowl. Drain for at least 30 minutes, but do not squeeze. Turn the drained ricotta into a storage container. Refrigerate and use or freeze within a week. Note: I find this recipe to be sweet and plain wonderful without added salt, but salt if you want.
Try recipes for lasagna rollups, slather, savory or sweet ricotta pie. The ricotta is great as is on toasted bread. You can wash the cheesecloth by hand using detergent (I use Dawn dish soap), roll in clean towel to drain, then hang to dry.
Re: Homemade Ricotta
NYBirder
Ann--this is a great solution for people who don't have access to good, fresh ricotta (which is a different experience entirely from what you buy in the supermarket most places.) I will have to try this. Some recipes I've seen use lemon juice or vinegar but I bet this would taste much better with the buttermilk.
I know it probably won't be as luscious without using whole milk, but I may try it with 1% or 2%.
Re: Homemade Ricotta
annrms
I found a recipe using 2% milk that I will try next time! www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Homemade-Ricotta-Cheese-My-Recipes
Re: Homemade Ricotta
MaryDer_SD
Wow, am I ever going to try this. It is very similar to making yogurt which I then drain for Greek yogurt. To drain the yogurt I used a large fine mesh cotton shirt of my late son. Works well and I have trouble letting go of him so I use what I can of his belongings. He made wonderful lasagna and wish he could try this.
Thank you so much for posting the recipe!!!!!
Ground Beef Stroganoff
16281628/Lilly
1 lb ground beef (I had 3/4 lb)
1 med onion, cut into half and then into 6-8ths
8 ounces mushrooms (small package), sliced
1-2 T butter
2 T flour
¼ cup sherry
1 cup beef broth
½ - ¾ cup sour cream
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt
Pepper
12 ounces wide egg noodles
Cook noodles as directed in salted water.
Brown ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add thyme and stir in – cook one minute. Set aside.
Use same frying pan to brown onions and mushrooms. Add 1-2 T butter if extra fat is required.
Stir flour in and cook for a minute. Deglaze with sherry. Add beef broth. Cook for a few minutes to start to thickening process.
Add 1 T of Dijon mustard, stirring in. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add meat back in. Stir then simmer for 2 minutes. Turn heat off. Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of sour cream, stirring in. Serve over egg noodles.
Cabbage Rolls
tastycook1
I separate the outside leaves of the cabbage (if they tear, it doesn't really matter) and pop them in boiling water - not much more than a minute. I don't usually add rice to mine (when I freeze them, the rice will just suck up all the extra juices) but I often serve them over rice.
For the filling I use ground beef and equal amount ground pork, seasoned with S&P, ground sage, basil (whatever herbs you enjoy), a handful of breadcrumbs and beaten egg. This time 2lbs total of meat only needed one large egg - sometimes I'll use a second one if the mix seems dry.
Add a spoonful of meat mix into the centre of the cabbage leaf and roll up, completely enclosing the meat. Place seam side down in a large pan. 2lbs of meat made 16 rolls - will serve us 4 meals. Usually I add some home canned tomatoes but this time with all the tomatoes from the garden, I just skinned and chopped fresh ones into a pan and heated them slightly ( just to be able to mix in some tomato paste, a touch more seasoning, inc a little garlic), then poured this mix over the rolls, covered with foil and into the oven They were cooked in about an hour
Re: ***REC*** Cabbage Rolls
Beema
Another version, but probably not as good as Tasty's because I didn't use fresh tomatoes in the sauce. And since I did not plan to freeze any of this batch, I added the rice to the ground beef.
I cooked about 3/4 lb. lean ground beef, using just a little bit of cold coffee to keep the beef from sticking to the pan, added minced onion, sage, basil, celery seed, black pepper. I added a package of Uncle Ben's 90 second rice (the country vegetable variety), and then about 1/4 cup V8 Hot & Spicy. Then I added 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese to the meat mixture. Using 6 large cabbage leaves that had been sitting in hot water for a few minutes, then laid out to drain, I filled each leaf, and placed them in a large chicken frying pan, seam side down. Mixed one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (the one with zesty mild chiles) and one can of cream of tomato soup and about 1/4 cup of water and poured this tomato mixture over and around the leaves, covered the pan, and simmered for about 35 to 40 minutes.
My Good Housekeeping cookbook shows the meat being ground tongue, ham or spam, and it calls for American cheese. I like my version better that that old one. If I had had some ground pork, like Tasty used, I would have preferred that. We each had two and today I am taking the last two to my friend, Jean.
*** REC *** Pork chops with reisling peach sauce
tastycook1
I had pulled a pork tenderloin out of the freezer, without having any real plan as to how I was going to cook it. Came a cross this recipe and still had some peaches in the fridge from our Niagara trip. The recipe calls for pork chops but I substituted the tenderloin. Really enjoyed this. I would cut back on the nutmeg next time. I added a little extra brown sugar, a little bit of butter and some peach juice. Another time, I may not open a bottle of wine specially if I had the peach juice, maybe add a touch of brandy if I wanted the extra special taste that the alcohol provides. Definitely a keeper tho. Tonight we had it with new potatoes and green beans. And apple sauce. This was not needed but I had just canned apples and had a little bit left so hubby used it and it worked well.
allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Chops-with-a-Riesling-Peach-Sauce/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=pork%20chops%20with%20riesling%20peach%20sauce&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe%20Hub
Re: *** REC *** Pork chops with reisling peach sauce
joycerm53
Sounds very good! There is nothing like a pork tenderloin is there; they are so easy!
What I do to avoid having to open a bottle of wine- I keep White Vermouth on hand. It is a fortified wine so it keeps after opening. This works well for us.
Re: *** REC *** Pork chops with reisling peach sauce
NYBirder
White vermouth was the tip that I picked up from Julia Child years ago, Joyce. You're right--handy to have on hand since it's shelf stable once opened.
I also buy those 4-packs of single servings of wine to keep on hand for cooking since they are just enough for the size recipes that I make. Since I live by myself, they come in handy if I want an occasional glass to drink, too. I have merlot, reisling, and sauvignon blanc on hand most of the time for white and red wine dishes.
2013 August September Recipes
2013 AUGUST RECIPES
1. My Mother's Pickled Peaches
2. Tomato Soup Recipe for Canning
3. Mock Apple (zucchini) Pie
4. Italian Style Chicken and Peppers
5. Learning to cook for one...links
6. Chicken Noodle Casserole with Creamy Spinach Sauce
7. Stuffed Acorn Squash for One or Two
SEPTEMBER 2013 RECIPES:
1. Homemade Ricotta
2. Grilled Potatoes & Peppers (Simple & Delicious)
3. Ground Beef Stroganoff
4. Cabbage Rolls
5. Pork Chops w/ Reisling Peach Sauce
My Mother's Pickled Peaches
NYBirder
Just for the fun of it, this is directly from my Mom's recipe card. Definitely not a recipe for two but I'm thinking of cutting it way down just to make a few for myself to store in the refrigerator rather than processing. I have not made them myself but as I recall she may have processed them in a hot water bath even though the recipe card doesn't say that. Sometimes she wouldn't write down things that she was accustomed to doing. How does this compare with yours, Lily1?
My Mother’s Pickled Peaches
We never had a family dinner without a dish of these showing up on the table. They go particularly well with ham or pork but make a nice pickle with almost any meat or poultry. I have fond memories of driving to the Finger Lakes to buy fresh NY peaches when they came into season for her to can and to make these pickles. Small or medium free-stone peaches make the best pickles. Keeping the stone in the fruit adds quite a bit of flavor.
8 lbs. medium peaches, firm but ripe
1 quart vinegar
2 lbs. sugar
8 2" pieces stick cinnamon
2 tbsp. whole cloves
Make syrup of sugar, vinegar, and spices which have been placed in a bag made of cheesecloth. Cook 10 minutes.
Add peaches to syrup and cook slowly until tender but not broken. Let stand overnight.
The next morning, remove bag of spices. Drain syrup from peaches. Boil rapidly until thickened.
Pack peaches in hot sterile jars. Pour hot syrup over peaches, filling jars to top. Seal.
The original recipe says keep them in a cool place several weeks before serving. However, I seem to remember her processing them in a hot water bath—maybe 20 minutes?
From lilymax_MN_f_74:
Birdy, yes that is like my recipe. I don't remember doing the water process, but it has probably been 40 years since I last made them and seems like I just poured the boiling juice over them. But we never processed any pickles and I see a lot of folks do that today. The vinegar should be enough, but with all the new bacteria in the world, it probably makes more sense to do so.
Re: My Mother's Pickled Peaches
Beema
Maybe I am missing something, but are the peaches pickled WHOLE? It doesn't say to peel them or to slice them, only that the stone makes them better. How do the peaches fit inside the jars with the stones still in place?
Re: My Mother's Pickled Peaches
NYBirder
Sorry--I took this right off my mother's card. I missed that little detail about peeling first! She, of course, knew just what to do so didn't write it down.
The peaches are peeled first and pickled whole. Yes--they fit inside the jars like that. Remember--the peaches are supposed to be small to medium but best small. There needs to be room around the peaches for the pickling liquid so they shouldn't be crammed in but they are soft after cooking and will go into the quart jars just fine.
Re: My Mother's Pickled Peaches
droopydawg_ky
I've got too much Scotsman in me, so I use freestone peaches and you can stack more halves in a qt.
This is pretty much the recipe my MIL gave me years ago.
I also save the peelings and cook them down with vinegar and sugar for delicious fried pies. No one can tell they are peelings instead of dried peaches.
Tomato Soup Recipe for Canning
tastycook1
I've made this for the last 3 years and we love it. I do it in pint jars - that's a nice quantity for the 2 of us. If you don't follow the ingredients exactly it doesn't matter but I have always put it in a water bath for 45 minutes - I don't want us to get sick. The comments in the recipe are from KC10. Not sure if she still posts or not. I haven't seen anything from her in a long time.
Tomato Soup
(posted by KC10)
14 qts. ripe tomatoes (I use half plum tomatoes and half reg.)
7 med. size onions
1 stalk celery
14 sprigs parsley
3 bay leaves
14 Tb. Flour
14 Tb. butter
3 Tb. Salt
8 Tb. sugar
2 tsp. pepper
Scald tomatoes to remove skin. Cut up and place in large, heavy pot. (I use my pressure canner and it is full!) Chop onions, celery and parsley. Add to pot. Crumble bay leaves and add. Cook 'til celery is tender, stirring occasionally. (I let mine cook for a good 4 hours or more. That small amount of celery seems to take forever to get done.) Put thru food mill to remove seeds. Rub flour & butter into smooth paste thinned with some of the tomato juice. Add to boiling soup; stir to prevent scorching. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Pureé soup in blender, being extrememly carefully as the soup is very hot. (Or you can run it through the food mill a second time if you'd rather not use the blender.) Fill jars to within 1" of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight.
Process in boiling water bath for 45 minutes.
Makes approx. 10 quarts (I usually get 11 or 12!)
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
CanNerd
Sorry but that recipe and what you have been doing scares me to pieces. You cannot safely preserve low-acid foods in a Boiling Water Bath and the use of flour and butter in canning recipes is also a big no-no. That's basic knowledge in home canning in the 21st Century.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
c3clark
Thanks so much, Tasty. I don't understand everything I've been reading about you should only use a pressure canner for tomatoes. I made chili sauce, which is mostly tomatoes, and used a water bath and they were fine. So what would be the difference with the tomato soup? If it's only because of the flour and butter do you suppose that leaving it out for canning and adding it when heating the soup to eat would work? Also I don't have a food mill so guess I'd have to get one, eh? Thanks again for posting the recipe.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
tastycook1
I have been doing this for several years and have never had a problem. It does stay in the water bath for the full 45 minutes. If you wanted to do something similar, you could use a pressure canner, but I don't have one and at the moment have no plans to buy one.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
tastycook1
When I can tomatoes, I add lemon juice to the jars before adding the tomatoes, just to make sure the acid content is high (I do it because the recipe says to)
You probably could leave out the flour and butter and just add them when you want to use the soup - your choice.
I understand being careful about what we can and so on. Modern recipes often say to process jam as well. I never do - Mum didn't nor did my grandmothers. There are some fruits and veggies I won't can because I don't have a pressure canner.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
Beema
Tasty, this recipe is very similar to the one I used to use to make tomato soup, but I never canned the product. Instead, I put the cooled soup into 2 cup plastic containers, and kept them in the freezer. A year later, it was still just as good as when I made it.
By the way, you said that you add lemon to the jars because the recipe says to. but that part must have been omitted from the recipe you posted. Do you want to edit that post?
When my grandmother canned her tomato soup, there were no such things as pressure canners... the hot water bath was the only method she ever used, and she canned everything from her large produce garden, to include the green leafy carrot tops. None of us got sick... and I'm still here, after 77 years. I don't have any of her recipes, so if she added lemon is anyone's guess.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
Hi, Beema.
tastycook1
I add lemon juice to tomatoes when I can them, not the soup.
I quite believe that nowadays pressure canning is recommended for everything, but I do not plan on buying a pressure canner and changing a method that I know works and works well. Like you, I'm happy with what I know works.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
c3clark
Ok...so there's NO lemon juice in the jars for the soup, right? This is probably dumb, but if you put lemon juice just for tomatoes, why not in the soup, too, for more acid? I have a pressure canner. I had to replace the rubber gasket once, and it needs to be replaced again. I used to can a lot more when I was younger...just don't have the energy anymore so don't want to spend the money replacing the gasket since I wouldn't be using it that much. I looked at food mills on amazon and they're kinda pricey. Maybe I'll just keep the seeds in the soup!
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
tastycook1
That's right, no lemon juice in the soup. The recipe didn't call for it so I never added it.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
NYBirder
I'm not a canner, folks, but I remember when the issue came up about the safety of home-canned tomatoes years ago. My mother began adding acid to hers in a water bath after reading recommendations about it. It seems that the newer varieties of tomatoes were developed to be less acid than older ones and needed it for safety. She always did everything in a water bath and we never had any problems over many, many years of using her home-canned tomatoes almost exclusively. From what I understand, it's the low-acid foods that should be processing in a pressure canner.
Re: ***REC*** Tomato soup recipe for canning
ashleyjohn
the recipe of Chicken Tortilla soups kindly share.
tastycook1
I had a look in my "to try" pile and have found a couple. I cannot vouch for them as we haven't tried them yet. Both came from the TOH board a good while back. The comments on the second recipe are not mine, but the original poster's.
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Ellie
1/2 cup chopped onion (chopped finely)
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 can diced Mexican tomatoes (with jalapenos, lime and cilantro)
2- 14.5 oz cans chicken broth
1/8 tsp each salt and ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
dash black pepper
1 cup shredded, cooked chicken
Toppings:
corn tortilla chips, shredded Colby jack cheese, cilantro leaves, sliced green onions, sour cream, diced avocado, squeeze of lime juice on top
Heat 2 tsp oil in 3 qt saucepan and saute onion and garlic until slightly soft. Add tomatoes, chicken broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes. Add chicken and simmer 5 minutes more. Crush tortilla chips in bottom of individual soup bowl, ladle soup on top, and top each bowl with desired topping choices.
Makes 4-6 servings
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
~Muril~
I do not add the cilantro and usually skip making the tortillas and just used healthy baked Prepackaged ones. I also add about 2 cups of fresh or frozen corn about 5 minutes before serving to keep it crisp tender. I serve with sour cream and grated cheese on the side.
4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1/2 cup onion, chopped
12oz chicken. Raw
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans chicken broth
1 can (14 1/2 oz.)diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1 tsp. fresh cilantro, snipped
2 oz. reduced-fat cheddar cheese, (1/2cup)
4 thick slices fresh lime(optional)
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut tortillas into 1/2 inch strips. Place on baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes until crisp.
2. Chop onion. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch peices. Heat large skillet(med. high heat), spray with veggie oil spray or lightly oil. Add chicken, cook and stir 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Snip cilantro. Divide tortilla strips among 4 bowls. Ladle soup over tortillas. Shred cheese over top. Sprinkle soup with cilantro. Garnish each bowl with lime slice, if desired. Yield 4 servings.
Mock Apple (Zucchini) Pie
LilyMouse
6 c. zucchini (NOTE: extra-large zucchini are preferred, they're firmer)
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt and nutmeg
Dough for double pie crus
Pare zucchini, wash and slice lengthwise. Remove seeds. Slice like apples. Add a little water and bring to a boil in a
large saucepan. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until tender. Cool and drain well. Add rest of ingredients and place
into an unbaked 9 inch pie crust. Cover with top pie crust and flute to seal edges.
Cut slits into top of crust for steam to escape. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.
*When I've had an abundance of large zucchini I would clean, pare, peel and cut up and fill several ice cream pails
of zucchini and cook in a large canner. After cooling and draining, measure at least 8 cups of Zucchini and place in freezer
bags for pies for the winter. Thaw and proceed as above. Eight cups see
tastycook1
Italian Style Chicken & Peppers
This made a really quick super for us the other night. I changed only a couple of minor things - I had a bag of grated, Italian mix cheese (just enough to cover the top of the chicken) that I added towards the end of the cooking time and browned everything under the broiler just for a couple of minutes. I served it with pasta but a green salad would be equally good.
Italian-Style Chicken & Peppers
I found my mom's well-stained recipe card for chicken and green peppers and was flooded with memories. I'd forgot how good it was! Hope you enjoy. —Donna Miller, Grosse Pointe, Michigan
TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 30 min.
MAKES: 4 servings
2 cups meatless pasta sauce
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 slices part-skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven to 425°. Place pasta sauce in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave, covered, on high for 3-4 minutes or until hot, stirring halfway.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add green pepper; cook and stir 3-4 minutes or until tender. Transfer to a small bowl; stir in cream cheese.
Arrange chicken in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon pepper mixture onto chicken. Pour warmed sauce over top. Place cheese over sauce. Bake, covered, 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165°. Yield: 4 servings.
Originally published as Italian-Style Chicken & Peppers in Taste of Home September/October 2014, p34
Re: ***REC*** Italian style chicken & peppers
PuppyNeko
I'm Italian and I want to give you some advice: uses different types of peppers, Green, Yellow and red, a bit off hot pepper. Don't use the cheese, but do gratin with a handful of breadcrumbs. It's Italian Style! Ps. Buon appetito :)
Learning to Cook for One
NYBirder
Cooking for one person can be a challenge, especially if you are used to cooking in much larger amounts. Several of us in this forum are single cooks and have some experience with it. But it's really tough if it's a new challenge, whether you are someone out on your own for the first time or adjusting to living alone.
While I was wandering around the internet the other day trying to find a recipe that I'd misplaced, I ran across a free PDF cookbook designed just for one person. It doesn't make any claims to being gourmet. They are just nice, inexpensive, basic comfort-food kinds of recipes. If you are not used to cooking on a small scale, this will give you guidance on the amounts you should plan on for one person.
It's called "The Senior Chef" published by the province of British Columbia. Many of these recipes are also enough for two. www.health.gov.bc.ca/library/publications/year/1993/senchef.pdf
There are good idea starters if you just can't decide what to cook for yourself. And, of course, the recipes can always be doubled for two.
Do any of you who are single cooks have favorite web sites (besides this one, of course) or cookbooks with recipes for one person that you'd like to share?
Re: Learning to Cook for One
shelleyjCA2AZ
for the bakers who are single or just 2 now...but still love treats...check out the Small Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos...she has several cookbook for small batch bakers...her cookbooks are available on Amazon and the Barnes and Nobel sites....
Beema
Some would think that it is just a matter of simple mathematics, this idea of cooking for just one or two, but there are some things, of course, that just cannot easily be divided in half. So the tricks ARE important, and so is the chemistry involved, especially in baking.
Just glancing at these two sources of ideas I can see that they would indeed be helpful.
Beyond that, tho, is the greater challenge, and this is adjusting your entire concept of cooking. If you have been cooking for a large family that over just a few short years became a small family, there is definitely a mental adjustment to be made. Getting used to the idea of using the smallest baking dish you have, or the smallest crock pot, or the smallest salad bowl is a major step. The salad bowl is the perfect example: you may have been used to making a salad for five with enough ingredients to fill the salad bowl... is you start out with a much smaller bowl, you will quickly adjust to the idea of how to make a nice salad for just one or two.
Good topic, and we'd love to have all your ideas on how you made adjustments in your cooking style to match your new life style.
Re: Learning to Cook for One
NYBirder
ShellyJ--I have that book! The recipes are really delicious despite being small. Baking is one of the hardest things to do for just one or two because the ingredients have to be so precise.
Beema--how true! It's also a matter of learning what you can do with the other half of a can of tomatoes or cream soup if you want to continue to make old favorites that need to be cut down quite a bit. Or how to handle leftovers.
When I first started cooking just for myself, I found that the cookbooks out there tended to fall into the range of "single-guy-throws-a-couple-of-cans-in-a-pot" type recipes or those that called for a long list of ingredients, often unusual, like squid-ink pasta, etc. Or they were packed full of unhealthy ingredients in the process of being "easy". I did find a few books that were really comfort-food kind of recipes and have endured for me. The two I use the most:
Going Solo in the Kitchen by Jane Doerfer--August 25, 1998. These recipes are down to earth with common ingredients. This is one of the first books I bought and have been using it ever since. It looks much different now--it has been reprinted.
Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste by Frances Price-- May 15, 1997. Again, down to earth and not fussy with the added bonus of being healthy. This book gives separate ingredient lists for one or two servings. I gave this book to two friends who are now cooking for just themselves and their husbands and are concerned about healthy eating.
Re: Learning to Cook for One
thatchairlady
I've been cooking for one for several years and it is HARD to not end up with a LOT of what I call "big" food... lasagna, soup, chili, stew, etc. Freezer space is at a big premium, so REALLY try to cook no more than 3 servings of anything... one for NOW, one for taking as lunch, and maybe 1 for freezer for later.
I really have to curb my prep work to pare down recipe. Less than half a pound of ground or soup/stew beef is PLENTY for 1-3 servings.
I make my version of lasagna as a roll-up... only cooking 3-4 noodles, making a meat sauce & ricotta mixture. If the meat sauce or ricotta mixture ends up too much, they freeze find for later.
Packages of something like boneless chicken (any cut, tho prefer breasts), or pretty much any meats, are WAY too much for one meal. Takes a little time, but I repackage and vac seal. A frozen, rock-hard hunka chicken is ready to cook after maybe 20-30 minutes in a container of room temp water... about as long as it takes to get outta work clothes.
Re: Learning to Cook for One
NYBirder
I have limited freezer space, too, so making large recipes is really not an option too often.
My vacuum sealer is my friend, too. To save on vac bags, I put individual servings of raw chicken, etc. in those Ziploc Perfect Portions bags and then in a flat layer in a large vac seal bag. I make sure there's enough room at the top of the bag to cut it open, remove one, and then reseal. I can get quite a bit of mileage out of the bag that way.
I always freeze my ground beef in 4 oz. patties like that. To keep them from getting squeezed in the process, I pop them into the freezer ahead of time to harden them up and then vac them in the bag. Meats keep for a really long time in the vac bags so I think they are worth it. With the ground beef frozen in portions, it's so much faster to measure them out for recipes and thaw them.
When I buy a bag of frozen shrimp, I divide them while frozen into serving-sized portions and vacuum them like that. They will keep very well without freezer burn when packaged that way.
I also buy 14.5 oz. cans of whole tomatoes (I like Hunts) to keep in the pantry. Whole tomatoes are usually pretty high quality and can be run in the food processor or blender to make them into crushed or pureed. That sized can of those styles are getting hard to find around here. That way, I don't have to keep a variety of tomato products on hand for smaller recipes.
Tomato paste in the tube is getting easier to find, lower in price, and it keeps forever if sealed and refrigerated. No need to take 1 or 2 tbsp. out of a can and then have to freeze the dabs. I always find myself hunting forever to find them in the freezer or forgetting about them.
Another great thing to keep in the pantry are those individual-sized bottles of wine. They are just the right size for most recipes and you don't have to worry about the wine spoiling in a large bottle. I also keep a bottle of dry vermouth on hand in the refrigerator--it's a fortified wine and keeps well--you just use it like you would white wine. I learned that one from Julia Child!
Chicken Noodle Casserole with Creamy Spinach Sauce
Beema
This is a recipe that evolved from having leftover cream spinach filling for an appetizer into a sauce for chicken and noodles. The spinach filling was put into the center of a thin slice of ham and then rolled and placed seam side down on a platter. Everyone loved these ham rolls, none left, but I made too much filling, leaving me with half the original amount. I am going to show the original recipe for the ham rolls, then what I added to the left over filling, and then the other ingredients I used to make the casserole.
*To make the Filling:
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parm (not the refrigerated kind)
1 (8 oz.) container mixed blend of cream cheese, chive and onion
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons creole mustard
Cook drained spinach in microwave for two to three minutes; cool. Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, at room temperature, then add the cooled spinach.
*To make the Creamy Spinach Sauce:
One half of the Filling
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup half & half
1/4 cup cold brewed coffee
Combine the above ingredients.
*To make the Casserole:
2 cups cooked chicken breast pieces (I used Tyson's Grilled & Ready)
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces
8 oz. cooked wide egg noodles
The re-made sauce
In an 8" x 8" glass baking dish, spread the chicken pieces, add the mushrooms, the noodles and then add the sauce, mixing well. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy.
Stuffed Acorn Squash for One (or Two)
NYBirder
I've been making this as a simple, but satisfying, meal for one for a long time. I do not like sweet squash dishes, so this is definitely savory. A friend of mine and her husband drizzled maple syrup over theirs. I have not tried it but they seemed to enjoy it. She used cornbread stuffing cubes instead of herbed. If you use crumb-style stuffing mix rather than cubes, you would probably need to use less dry stuffing. I have not tried it so I suggest you use the package instructions as a guide.
The squash and stuffing are fully cooked and warm before you bake it so it only needs a short time in the oven to crisp up the top. This is easy to double for two servings or for a second meal. I have made this up ahead of time without the cheese and refrigerated it. In that case, I baked it at 350 for a longer time to heat it up, adding the cheese when the stuffing begins to crisp so that it doesn't burn.
1/2 medium acorn squash, halved and seeds removed
1/8 cup diced onion
1/8 cup diced celery
2 tsp. butter, divided
2-3 oz. frozen brown-and-serve turkey breakfast sausage (I used Jones)
1/3 cup water (plus more if needed)
2/3 cup herb-seasoned stuffing cubes (I used Arnold's)
1 tbsp. grated reduced-fat cheese of choice
Preheat oven to 375F.
Melt a tsp. of butter in a small skillet or coat with cooking spray. On medium-low heat, saute onion and celery until translucent. Remove.
Cut turkey sausage into small dice. Add remaining butter to skillet. Lightly brown sausage. Add vegetables back to skillet along with water. Bring to simmer. Add stuffing cubes to skillet and stir well. Turn off heat and cover. Let stuffing sit for about 5 minutes to absorb water. If it seems dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon or so of water until it is moist to taste.
Put squash cut side up in a shallow microwave- and oven-safe dish just large enough to hold it. I like to use a small gratin dish. Add 1 or 2 tbsp. water. Cover and microwave 3-4 min. or until it is fork tender. Drain any leftover water from squash and turn cut side up. Brush cavity and rim with butter or spray with butter-flavored cooking spray. Lightly salt and pepper squash.
Stuff cavity of squash firmly with filling--it will be generous, depending on the size of your squash. Sprinkle cheese on top of stuffing.
Bake squash for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and stuffing is crisp. Watch carefully--it can brown quickly.
Homemade Ricotta
annrms
It's easy to do this...my recipe is based on this site....www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000282.html
You need a large, heavy bottomed pot, a skimmer, a heat-proof silicone spatula, cheese cloth (or jelly bag [just read something about using that instead of cheese cloth, but never have], a large fine mesh strainer, 2 large bowls (if you want to save the whey for soup..yum!), a candy or instant read thermometer, butcher's twine.
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart butter milk or prepare 1 quart of buttermilk using buttermilk powder (I have used both, but I prefer "Nancy's Buttermilk" from my grocery store.)
Pour milks into pot. Turn the pot on to medium-high. Attach the candy thermometer to the side of the pot. Heat the mixture, stirring frequently so bottom does not scorch. [You don't have to constantly watch this and you can walk away. I set a timer for 10 minute intervals until it gets close to the "done" point. Then I stay with it.] At about 175 degrees, you will see some coagulation happening. I turn the heat down to medium, stir and scrape the bottom one more time, and let the temperature go up to about 180. Turn off the heat, let the mixture stand uncovered for 15 minutes. While it is sitting, line the sieve with 4-5 layers of cheese cloth and place the sieve in a large bowl if you are saving the whey. Otherwise put it in the sink. Using the skimmer gently remove the "raft" of ricotta and place it in the cheesecloth lined sieve. Don't forget to stir up the bottom! When the solids have been removed into the cheese cloth, gather up the corners of the cheesecloth and tie the ends making a pouch. Knot the string and hang it to drain more whey into another bowl. Drain for at least 30 minutes, but do not squeeze. Turn the drained ricotta into a storage container. Refrigerate and use or freeze within a week. Note: I find this recipe to be sweet and plain wonderful without added salt, but salt if you want.
Try recipes for lasagna rollups, slather, savory or sweet ricotta pie. The ricotta is great as is on toasted bread. You can wash the cheesecloth by hand using detergent (I use Dawn dish soap), roll in clean towel to drain, then hang to dry.
Re: Homemade Ricotta
NYBirder
Ann--this is a great solution for people who don't have access to good, fresh ricotta (which is a different experience entirely from what you buy in the supermarket most places.) I will have to try this. Some recipes I've seen use lemon juice or vinegar but I bet this would taste much better with the buttermilk.
I know it probably won't be as luscious without using whole milk, but I may try it with 1% or 2%.
Re: Homemade Ricotta
annrms
I found a recipe using 2% milk that I will try next time! www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Homemade-Ricotta-Cheese-My-Recipes
Re: Homemade Ricotta
MaryDer_SD
Wow, am I ever going to try this. It is very similar to making yogurt which I then drain for Greek yogurt. To drain the yogurt I used a large fine mesh cotton shirt of my late son. Works well and I have trouble letting go of him so I use what I can of his belongings. He made wonderful lasagna and wish he could try this.
Thank you so much for posting the recipe!!!!!
Ground Beef Stroganoff
16281628/Lilly
1 lb ground beef (I had 3/4 lb)
1 med onion, cut into half and then into 6-8ths
8 ounces mushrooms (small package), sliced
1-2 T butter
2 T flour
¼ cup sherry
1 cup beef broth
½ - ¾ cup sour cream
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt
Pepper
12 ounces wide egg noodles
Cook noodles as directed in salted water.
Brown ground beef, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add thyme and stir in – cook one minute. Set aside.
Use same frying pan to brown onions and mushrooms. Add 1-2 T butter if extra fat is required.
Stir flour in and cook for a minute. Deglaze with sherry. Add beef broth. Cook for a few minutes to start to thickening process.
Add 1 T of Dijon mustard, stirring in. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add meat back in. Stir then simmer for 2 minutes. Turn heat off. Add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of sour cream, stirring in. Serve over egg noodles.
Cabbage Rolls
tastycook1
I separate the outside leaves of the cabbage (if they tear, it doesn't really matter) and pop them in boiling water - not much more than a minute. I don't usually add rice to mine (when I freeze them, the rice will just suck up all the extra juices) but I often serve them over rice.
For the filling I use ground beef and equal amount ground pork, seasoned with S&P, ground sage, basil (whatever herbs you enjoy), a handful of breadcrumbs and beaten egg. This time 2lbs total of meat only needed one large egg - sometimes I'll use a second one if the mix seems dry.
Add a spoonful of meat mix into the centre of the cabbage leaf and roll up, completely enclosing the meat. Place seam side down in a large pan. 2lbs of meat made 16 rolls - will serve us 4 meals. Usually I add some home canned tomatoes but this time with all the tomatoes from the garden, I just skinned and chopped fresh ones into a pan and heated them slightly ( just to be able to mix in some tomato paste, a touch more seasoning, inc a little garlic), then poured this mix over the rolls, covered with foil and into the oven They were cooked in about an hour
Re: ***REC*** Cabbage Rolls
Beema
Another version, but probably not as good as Tasty's because I didn't use fresh tomatoes in the sauce. And since I did not plan to freeze any of this batch, I added the rice to the ground beef.
I cooked about 3/4 lb. lean ground beef, using just a little bit of cold coffee to keep the beef from sticking to the pan, added minced onion, sage, basil, celery seed, black pepper. I added a package of Uncle Ben's 90 second rice (the country vegetable variety), and then about 1/4 cup V8 Hot & Spicy. Then I added 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese to the meat mixture. Using 6 large cabbage leaves that had been sitting in hot water for a few minutes, then laid out to drain, I filled each leaf, and placed them in a large chicken frying pan, seam side down. Mixed one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (the one with zesty mild chiles) and one can of cream of tomato soup and about 1/4 cup of water and poured this tomato mixture over and around the leaves, covered the pan, and simmered for about 35 to 40 minutes.
My Good Housekeeping cookbook shows the meat being ground tongue, ham or spam, and it calls for American cheese. I like my version better that that old one. If I had had some ground pork, like Tasty used, I would have preferred that. We each had two and today I am taking the last two to my friend, Jean.
*** REC *** Pork chops with reisling peach sauce
tastycook1
I had pulled a pork tenderloin out of the freezer, without having any real plan as to how I was going to cook it. Came a cross this recipe and still had some peaches in the fridge from our Niagara trip. The recipe calls for pork chops but I substituted the tenderloin. Really enjoyed this. I would cut back on the nutmeg next time. I added a little extra brown sugar, a little bit of butter and some peach juice. Another time, I may not open a bottle of wine specially if I had the peach juice, maybe add a touch of brandy if I wanted the extra special taste that the alcohol provides. Definitely a keeper tho. Tonight we had it with new potatoes and green beans. And apple sauce. This was not needed but I had just canned apples and had a little bit left so hubby used it and it worked well.
allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pork-Chops-with-a-Riesling-Peach-Sauce/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=pork%20chops%20with%20riesling%20peach%20sauce&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe%20Hub
Re: *** REC *** Pork chops with reisling peach sauce
joycerm53
Sounds very good! There is nothing like a pork tenderloin is there; they are so easy!
What I do to avoid having to open a bottle of wine- I keep White Vermouth on hand. It is a fortified wine so it keeps after opening. This works well for us.
Re: *** REC *** Pork chops with reisling peach sauce
NYBirder
White vermouth was the tip that I picked up from Julia Child years ago, Joyce. You're right--handy to have on hand since it's shelf stable once opened.
I also buy those 4-packs of single servings of wine to keep on hand for cooking since they are just enough for the size recipes that I make. Since I live by myself, they come in handy if I want an occasional glass to drink, too. I have merlot, reisling, and sauvignon blanc on hand most of the time for white and red wine dishes.