Celebration Meal

My daughter received her acceptance letter to Saint Mary's today, so I thought I'd cook her a celebratory meal.

Roasted Chicken Legs and Veggies.

Place cut up potato's, carrots and onion in a roasting pan. Coat with EVOO and Salt n Pepper.

Place a rack over the veggies and wash n dry the legs.

Place on rack so the juice runs down onto the veggies to give them extra flavor.

Roast at 375 degrees (Convection preferably)

Enjoy!

back to yogurt

fat and happy
deb

More From Kim's Veggie Basket

What to do with Radicchio? Kim made a Quiche!

Radicchio and Sausage Quiche
Serves 4-6

½ pound Italian Sausage
6 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
salt/pepper to taste
2 cups Royal Rose Radicchio, chopped
1 cup Fontina cheese, shredded
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 large (9 inch or larger) pie crust

Over medium heat, cook the Italian sausage and set aside. Combine the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Layer radicchio and cheese in the bottom of the pie shell, and top with the Italian sausage. Whisk the egg mixture and pour over the top of sausage.
Bake for 40-50 minutes at 375˚ F.

Kim's Fresh Veggie Delivery

What do you do with a big box of fresh unfamiliar veggies? Well, I have a friend who wanted some options for the red kale, leeks, radicchio and cauliflower that were delivered to her.

Leeks:
The leeks are great in Potato Leek soup. Cut off at the point where they get dark green (the dark green is too tough), slice it directly down the middle, then slice into half moons. Put them in a big bowl of cool water to let the dirt settle to the bottom.

In the meantime heat some olive oil in a soup pot. Pull out the leaks and place in a colander. (Shake them of excess water and put them in the soup pot) medium heat. In the meantime cut up some Yukon gold potatoes and put in the pot with leeks. Stir occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the leeks and potatoes have sauteed a bit add a large can of low sodium chicken or veggie broth. Simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Use an immersion blender but leave some of the potatoes in pieces. Add some fat free 1/4 cup of half and half and heat a few more minutes and serve. The soup should be creamy, with some texture.

Top with shredded Cheddar, sour cream, chives, bacon bits and serve with warm french bread.

The Kale, after washed, trimmed from the stalk and chopped can be sauteed in garlic and olive oil. This mellows out the kale and gives it a tasty, garlicky flavor. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Cauliflower can be steamed and topped with cheese (her families favorite), or cut up into pieces and roasted in the oven at a high temperature coated lightly with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Delish!

Radicchio is not my favorite, but it is used on salads and can be grilled/charred a bit and eaten on the side.

Enjoy these ways to cook these delicious veggies.

back to yogurt

fat and happy
deb

Green Chile Enchiladas & Angelina's Beans

I read a recipe that layered tortillas like noodles for a mexican lasagna with the filling and cheese in between. I wanted to do this, but changed my mind at the last minute and made regular green chile chicken enchiladas for this evening's meal. David is not fond of the red sauce enchilada's so I am trying out this recipe for him. This easy meal follows:

Preheat Oven to 375 or 400

Medium tortillas
Frozen chicken tenders
Pre-shredded mexican blend cheese (large bag)
Large can of Las Palmas Green Chile Enchilada Sauce (medium)

Simmer tenders in a bath of simmering water flavored with salt, pepper, garlic powder and lots of cumin.
Once the tenders are done, cut into bite size pieces on a cutting board.
In a large glass pan lay out a tortilla and add chicken, cheese and a couple of large spoon fulls of green enchilada sauce. Roll firmly and place in a large rectangle glass pan. Repeat until the pan is completely filled. Next, pour the rest of the green sauce all over the rolled enchiladas--make sure that all parts of the tortilla are wet so they don't crisp up and burn in the oven. This recipe should make 12-14 medium size enchiladas.

Cook until cheese is bubbly and hot. I like the cheese a bit crispy, but this is purely up to you.
Sprinkle with some Tapatio or add jalapeno's for extra spice.

Enjoy with a small salad and some of my grandmother's creamy refried beans.

Angelina's Creamy Beans (every one's favorite)
Take a large can of pinto beans (already cooked)
Spray a large frying pan with Pam/cooking spray
Dump beans and a bit of the liquid into the pan (pour out most of the liquid and save)
Heat/cook all the way thru, add more liquid if necessary (not too wet not too dry)
Smash beans but not all the way- leave a bit of the beans integrity intact
Add lots of monterey jack cheese and stir.
The beans should be creamy and delicious, just like my grandmothers.

Enjoy!

back to yogurt

fat & happy
deb

Bolognese-- Deb Style

As the weather continues to be cold and rainy, I turn to comfort food. And, with comfort food comes pasta, but not without the hard choice of what sauce to make. I had seen a Food Network show on Bolognese, but didn't write down the recipe. I went by memory and this is how it turned out:

Ground Lean Beef
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
tomato paste
wine-red (some for the sauce and some for you)
lemon peel
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef (ground turkey is an option too), sprinkle with salt and pepper, put onion, carrots, garlic in the food processor, add to meat mixture after it is finely chopped and saute until soft, add tomato paste and cook to make it sweeter and to remove the raw tomato taste, add lemon peel (not the white pith, its sour), add wine and then add jar of sauce and cook until sweet and firm (not saucy). Watch the Bolognese closely and stir often so that it doesn't burn since the carrots, sauce and tomato paste are full of natural sugars. Cook until sweet and tasty about 30-40 minutes.

Cook your favorite pasta (a tube works best) and top with some yummy parm cheese.

This meal can be lean and healthy by using ground turkey, and topping on zucchini rather than pasta. Yummo!

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fat and happy,
deb

Spicy Bloody Marys and Corralito's Chorizo

After a fun night at the Poor House Bistro, I thought it would be nice to make breakfast for Jay and Lara, who might I say, worked their hineys off, to put on a great New Year's Eve Party. I love the spice of a virgin bloody mary, and the taste of a good breakfast burrito. Scott, a connoisseur of fine meats told me he had one more package of Corralitos' delicious chorizo. So, the Hanson/Purpur duo made an appearance along with my dad and brother.

This chorizo, a spicy delicious pork meat, is not the kind of my grandmother's days. There is no need to get out the wad of paper towels and soak up the excess grease. This chorizo actually needs some fat to cook it in and has the most wonderful spices. I taste cinnamon, and even a bit of clove in the mix.

I put a small bit of oil in the pan, brown it nicely, add cut up potatoes to stretch the meal and then add whipped scrambled eggs. I beat the eggs to a froth to add volume and to give the mixture more bulk. This is a great trick if more people join the gathering.

Fresh tortillas from the Mexican market, Lara's homemade salsa, OJ, coffee and a nice spicy Bloody Mary are a perfect morning after a big New Year's Eve celebration meal.

David's Bloody Marys
Dr. Swami & Bone Daddy's Spicy Cajun Bloody Mary mix (to continue the theme)
Horse Radish sauce
Tabasco
Worcestershire (how do you really say it?)
Spicy pickled green beans or asparagus
and iced Vodka (for those who need a little hair of the dog)

Back to yogurt.

fat and happy
deb