Really Good Recipes

Republishing Really Good Recipes

2011-01-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

My first cookbook, Really Good Recipes, was published in 2000 and is currently out of print. I've decided to republish it through Copper Canyon Cookbooks. Here's a look at the new cover. Pub Date: March 2011.

I'm adding lots of new recipes and will be sharing some of the really good recipes with you on this blog in the next few months.

Monday Night Meatloaf

2009-06-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

I love meatloaf... a basic, really good meatloaf. To me, meatloaf
is the ultimate comfort food. I've made many different recipes for meatloaf, but basic is the best.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium egg
2 slices whole wheat bread, crumbed (I ripped the bread into pieces, put it in my mini food processor, whirred it around a few times and voila!... fresh crumbs)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce with oregano, garlic, and basil, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, freshly ground black pepper, and about half of the tomato sauce in a large mixing bowl. Mix together just until combined.

Place the mixture into a glass meatloaf pan and pour the remaining sauce over the top. Put it in the oven and let it bake for an hour.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Mediterrean Chicken with Pasta

2009-05-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

I made Mediterrean Chicken with Pasta a while ago based on a Tyler Florence recipe. I've noted the changes I made to the recipe in blue.

3 T. olive oil (I used the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes; it added a lot of flavor)
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced diagonally
1 small onion, slivered (I added it halfway through browning the chicken)
1 (8-1/2 oz.) jar sun-dried tomatoes, julienned (1 cup)
2 T. garlic, minced
1 pound fresh angel hair pasta (I used whole grain thin spaghetti)
1/4 cup fresh basil (I had to substitute 2 T. dried basil because my fresh basil had turned brown and wilted; it was not a pretty sight)
1 (8-1/2 oz.) can artichoke hearts in water, quartered and drained (1 cup)
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted (1/4 pound) (I used chopped black olives)
6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup heavy cream (I used half-and-half)
2 tsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste (I omitted the salt and used freshly ground black pepper which I sprinkled on the chicken while I was browning it)

Boil water for pasta in a pasta pot, fitted with a strainer. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken strips until no longer pink -- about 3 minutes each side. Add sun-dried tomatoes and garlic to skillet. Saute for 2 minutes. In the meantime, add the fresh pasta to boiling water, cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.

Now add the basil, artichoke hearts, olives and feta cheese to the skillet. Saute 1 minute then stir in the cream. Strain the pasta and transfer to a large pasta bowl. Add the chicken saute to the pasta and toss. Season with oregano, salt and pepper before serving.

This was absolutely delicious (the picture doesn't do it justice). It came together quickly and easily, and was a wonderful weeknight dinner. It's a really good recipe!

Sauteed Chicken with Baby Bella Mushrooms in Wine Sauce Served over Garlic Spinach

2009-03-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

This was one of the best dinners I've ever had and you can bet
I'll make this again. It's a keeper.

1/3 cup plus 1 T. all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. Tone's Garlic & Herb Seasoning (available at Sam's Club or substitute 1/2 T. garlic powder and 1/2 T. dried oregano)
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise in half (they're much easier to slice if they're partially frozen)
1 T. vegetable oil
3 T. butter, divided
1 (16 oz.) container sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 oz.) bag fresh baby spinach
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup white wine
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Put 1/3 cup flour on a dinner plate. Add the salt, pepper, and Garlic & Herb Seasoning. Stir to mix with a fork. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.

Heat a deep, 12-inch chef's saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and 1 T. of the butter. When the mixture bubbles, add the chicken and saute on both sides until nicely browned. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Add 1 T. butter to the pan. When it sizzles, add the mushrooms, let them brown on one side, then turn them over and let them brown on the second side. Remove and set aside on the same plate with the chicken.

If necessary, add just a little bit more butter to the pan. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until limp and just starting to brown.

Add the garlic and saute for one minute with the onions.

Add the spinach, stirring to mix it with the onions and garlic, and let it cook down. Remove to a separate plate and set aside. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.

Add the remaining 1 T. butter to the pan. When it bubbles, add the remaining 1 T. flour and stir constantly for about 30 seconds to make a roux. Stir in the chicken broth and the wine. Let cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir to mix. Return the chicken
and mushrooms, with any accumulated juices, to the pan and heat through.

Serve the chicken and mushrooms over a bed of spinach. (If the spinach has gone cold, just zap it in the microwave for about a minute.) Drizzle the wine sauce over.

Pork Pot Roast

2008-09-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

I found a really cute little pork roast and decided to make it on the stove rather than in the oven as the directions said. I never follow directions and I like braised meats. They always seem to turn out more tender and flavorful.

Besides that, it's really hot here in San Antonio today (92 degrees)
so I didn't want my oven to heat up the house. Plus, I like lifting the lid and smelling the wonderful aroma as I turn my roast over and stir the veggies. In addition to the standard celery, carrots, onions, and potatoes, I added corn, spinach, red bell pepper, diced tomatoes and whole mushrooms.

I must confess something here and it's rather embarrassing. The photo is generic. I don't own a camera and even if I did, I'm clueless about how to upload pictures from a camera to my computer. All the foodie blogs I read have such beautiful pictures and I'm offering you a lame picture. I can totally cook, but food photography is new to me.

Confession is supposed to be good for the soul, so I'm going to let you in on another one: I don't measure ingredients--ever. A handful of this, a dash of that, a sprinkling or two of spices, and dinner is cooking. So even though I don't measure, I've put in approximations for the recipe. Another confession: I don't follow recipes. I just make it up as I go along which is really fun. And my last confession: I put oregano in almost everything.

1 (2 pound) pork roast
Very generous sprinkling of dried oregano, divided
Freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup white wine, divided (or more to taste). Hey, it's your dinner.
1 (16 oz.) container button mushrooms
Olive oil flavored nonstick cooking spray
5 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 (16 oz.) package peeled baby carrots, cut in half on the diagonal
1 large yellow onion, cut into eights
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into chunks
Sprinkle or two of salt
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 (0.87 oz.) packages pork gravy plus 2 cups cold water
1 (14.5 oz.) can Italian petite diced tomatoes
4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed with skin on and quartered
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
3 large handfuls fresh baby spinach, washed and shaken dry
Light sprinkling of celery salt

Heat a 12-inch, deep Chef's saute pan over medium-high heat. (I love this pan; I bought it on sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $19.95 and got a $10.00 rebate.)

Rinse the meat under cold running water. While it's still dripping, pop it in the pan and sear it on the bottom. Sprinkle some dried oregano and freshly ground pepper over the top. When it's got a nice sear on the bottom, turn it over and sear the other side. Pierce the already-seared side with a fork (to let some of the juices out) and sprinkle with some more dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper. Add more water, a little at a time, if necessary. I like to brown my meat in its own juices and it saves a lot of calories because I don't use olive oil.

While the meat is browning, chop up your veggies--the celery, carrots, onions, and red bell pepper. Set aside.

Remove the meat to a plate and set aside.

Add a little bit of wine and stir to deglaze the pan. (Deglazing simply means scraping up the flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan.)

Add the mushrooms, making sure they are spread out in one layer. Sprinkle with dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper. Let them turn a nice brown on the bottom, then turn them over and brown them on the other side, again sprinkling them with oregano and pepper. When they're nicely browned, put them alongside the meat on the plate.

Take the pan off the heat and spray with the nonstick cooking spray. You can use butter flavor instead of the olive oil flavor if you prefer.

Put your veggies--celery, carrots, onions, and red bell pepper--into the pan. Sprinkle them lightly with salt. (This helps the onions to release their liquid.) Stir when it looks like the veggies want to be stirred. When they've softened but before they get limp--at least the celery and onions--add the minced garlic. If you add the garlic too soon it will burn and taste bitter, and who wants a dinner flavored with burned garlic?

Turn the heat to high. Pour in some more wine and bring to a boil. This takes the alcohol out of the wine which is a good thing especially if you plan on having your kids eat dinner with you.

Pour in the gravy mixed with cold water and stir like crazy for a minute or two, or until the gravy thickens.

Add the petite diced tomatoes and stir into the gravy and veggies.

Return the meat and the mushrooms to the pan, scooping some
of the gravy over them. Reduce the heat to medium-low (or low, depending on what your stove wants to do), cover and simmer
for two hours or so, turning the meat occasionally and moving
the veggies around.

About half an hour before you think it's done, add the potatoes
and corn.

When you're really starving and think you can't wait five more minutes for dinner, add the spinach and lightly sprinkle it with celery salt. Put the lid on and let the spinach wilt. (You may be wilting from hunger by this time, especially if you started your dinner late, so you know how the spinach feels.)

And there you have it! A complete meal. Pork pot roast with lots
of veggies.

Really Good Recipes

2008-09-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

I published my first cookbook in 2000. It was a collection of all my favorite recipes.
I wrote it for two reasons: I love to cook and share my recipes, and my daughters had moved away from home and kept calling me for my recipes.

I lived in Chicago for 33 years and I'm a Midwest meat-and-potatoes type of cook.
I moved to San Antonio 4 years ago (after both my daughters moved here) and began exploring what the city had to offer. I totally love Tex-Mex food. I've written a new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, that will be published in March 2009 by Pelican Publishing--just in time for Fiesta.

To me, the kitchen is the heart of the home. More than meals are made there; delicious and wonderful magic and warmth and love are created there, right along with the food, especially when the cooking and eating of meals is shared with friends and family. It's the secret ingredient that every cook knows makes a meal a magical feast.

My favorite thing to do, especially on a Sunday afternoon, is to putz around in my kitchen and create recipes from scratch with whatever I have on hand. I hardly ever follow a recipe. I think about what I'd like to make for dinner, then I imagine in my mind what the finished dish will look like and taste like, and I take it from there.

You are my welcome guest here. I invite you into the heart of my home--my kitchen. Come on in, pull up a chair, and have dinner with me.