Marinara Sauce

MARINARA SAUCE

 

 

 

This is adapted from an Ina Garten recipe & I use this sauce in lots of different recipes.

 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Cup Onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic *

1/4 of a chicken bouillon cube

1/2 Cup of chicken broth

3 Cans of chopped tomatoes (Or 1 can of tomatoes = 1 1/2 Cups of chopped tomatoes)

1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

 

Saute the onion and garlic in oil.  Add the chicken broth.  Cook about 3 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes.

 

* I have my houseworker cut up a small container full of garlic once a week.  It makes it so much easier to pull out a teaspoon full or two of garlic when I need it.  I also have her chop up a larger container of onions for me once a week. 

Chicken Parmigiana Casserole

Chicken Parmigiana Casserole

 

 

This recipe came from my Gooseberry Christmas Cookbook. 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs

1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1/2 of a Chicken, cut into bit size pieces

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 package of penne pasta, cooked

1 Marinara sauce Recipe (this is in a separate post)

1 Cup of Mozzarella Cheese

 

Cook the pasta & the Mariana Sauce.  Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan & the Chicken in a bowl and stir.  In a large skillet, heat the butter and the oil.  Add the chicken & brown it on all sides.  In a 13x9 baking pan, layer the pasta, half of the sauce and then half of the cheese.  Layer all the chicken mixture on top.  Top with the remaining pasta, sauce and cheese.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

 

*  This dish also works well without chicken.  I've also substituted sauteed eggplant for the chicken.

 

Cream of Broccoli Soup

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP

 

In a saucepan combine:

 

6 Cups of Water

4 Chicken Boullion Cubes

8 Cups of cooked broccoli *

Dash of garlic powder

2 Cups of onion (I peel them and put them in whole)

2 teaspoons thyme

4 bay leaves

 

Combine all of the above ingredients in a pot & boil for 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves.  Place the soup in the blender (do it half of the soup at a time) and then put the soup in a bowl. 

 

In the same saucepan, melt 8 Tablespoons butter. Add 8 Tablespoons flour, 1 teaspoon salt & a dash of pepper.  Stir.  Add 4 Cups of milk.  Cook until thick and bubbly.  Stir in the broccoli mixture.  Heat thoroughly.

 

Serves 6-8

 

*  I prepare my broccoli in advance.  I cut my broccoli into bite size pieces and then steam it.  After it is soft, I lay the broccoli on a cookie sheet and put it in my freezer.  Once it is frozen, I put the broccoli in a ziplock bag and keep it in the freezer.  Anytime I need cooked broccoli, I just pull it out of the freezer.

Mushroom Stuffed Pork Chops

MUSHROOM STUFFED PORK CHOPS

 

 

This is a delicious meal, but it is pretty time consuming.  The prep work takes about 1 hour.  The nice thing is, the prep work can be done earlier in the day & the prepared pork chops can be kept in the fridge until you are ready to put them in the oven. 

 

Ingredients:

6 pork chops

(I like the pork chops that Bambis sells the best, but this time I tried pork chops from Prime)

2 cans of mushrooms, drained

1 teaspoon parsley

1 Tablespoon chopped onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

1 Tablespoon Oil

Shredded Cheese (I used provolone)

3 eggs

2/3 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs

(I like the canned Italian Bread Crumbs that Fantu has sometimes.  You can make it with plain bread crumbs.  Just stir in garlic powder, basil, oregano and salt to make Italian Bread Crumbs).

 

Trim the excess fat from the pork chops.  Keep the meat attached to the bone, but slice the pork chops in a butterfly cut from the front of the meat to the back so you have a top and bottom piece of meat connected to the bone.  Sprinkle the meat with salt & pepper.  In a bowl, combine the mushrooms, parsley, onion, salt and pepper.  Place the cheese inside the pocket of the pork chop and then stuff it with the mushroom mixture and then top with cheese again.  Saute the pork chops in oil until the cheese is melted.  Let the pork chops cool for a few minutes.  In separate bowls, put the eggs in one bowl and the Italian Bread Crumbs in the other bowl.  Dip the pork chops in the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs.  Cook the pork chop in oil for a few minutes, turn once.  Place the Pork Chops in a baking dish.  Saute the rest of the mushroom mixture in the left over oil and scraps.  Put the mushroom mixture over the top of the pork chops.  Cover with foil.  You can now put the pork chops in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Grilled Zucchini

GRILLED ZUCCHINI

 

 

 

This is so simple, yet so delicious.  I cut two large zucchini's into slices.  I like to take the peel off two of the sides of the zucchini so that the end slices don't have peel on one entire side.  I have a stove top grill that I use for this, but it can be done in a frying pan just as easily.  Lay the pieces on the grill, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Saute the zucchini for a few minutes and then turn each slice over and do the same on the other side.  When the zucchini is soft or when it has grill marks on it, it is finished and ready to serve.  It is best if it's served hot.

Oil Dipping Sauce

BREAD WITH OIL DIPPING SAUCE

 

 

I don't know if Oil Dipping Sauce is what you'd really call this, but it's what we call it around our house & it is DELICIOUS!!  My Husband and Kids ask me to make this ALL - THE - TIME.  It's not healthy, but it is good.

 

I use my dessert plates to make the Oil Dipping Sauce.  Mix together:

 

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Oregano

1 teaspoon Basil

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese (I like to use my imported kind

from the States, but you can use the local kind)

Salt to taste

 

I buy 2 big loaves of bread (the 3.60 birr kind that we buy at our local bread suk) and slice them up in thin slices.  Then we dip the bread in the Oil Dipping Sauce.  Mmmmm !!  It is so good !

Grandfather's Soup

GRANDFATHER'S SOUP

I can't say this is my all time favorite soup, but my Husband really likes it, so I think it's worth mentioning on this blog.  This is a pretty basic soup & I can make it with ingredients that I normally have on hand.  It's a good soup to make when you don't have time to go to the grocery store, but still want to make a good meal for your family.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 large onions, finely sliced.

4 Tablespoons butter (or you can use oil)

3 Cups diced potatoes

7 1/2 Cups Water

4 beef bouillon cubes

(depending on what size cube you have you might start with 3 & add a 4th as needed)

2 bay leaves

 

For the dumplings:

1 and 1/3 Cups Flour

pinch of salt

2 Tablespoons butter (or you can use oil)

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley

2 eggs, beaten (3 eggs if your eggs are small)

 

In a heavy pan, saute the onion in the butter until it softens and turns golden brown.  Add the diced potatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Pour in the water and bouillon cubes.  Add the bay leaves.  pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

 

To make the dumplings:  In a bowl, mix the salt and flower.  Rub in the butter with a fork.  Stir in the parsley and then add the eggs and mix to a soft dough.  Pull the bay leaves out of the soup.  Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough into the simmering soup.  Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle a little parsley over the soup & serve.

 

This recipe is adapted from the Grandfather Soup Recipe in  The Soup Bible - pg 177

Broccoli

BROCCOLI

 

 

This is my favorite way to eat broccoli. I cut the broccoli up into bite size pieces.  I stick it all in a frying pan and drizzle it with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Then I saute the broccoli over medium heat until some of the pieces start turning a little brown.You will want to stir the broccoli periodically while it is cooking.  When the broccoli is finished, it will still have a little bit of a crunch, but it is oh so yummy !!  It is simple & delicious!

 

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

MOIST PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE

 

 

Ingredients:

 

2 1/2 Cups sugar

1 Cup oil

3 eggs

3 Cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda (1 teaspoon if you live at a High Altitude like Addis)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

2 Cups of pumpkin puree*

Powdered Sugar

 

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and the oil until blended.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well.  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves.  Mix well.  Add the dry mixture to the egg mixture alternately with the pumpkin.  Mix well.  Pour the batter into a well greased bundt pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the bundt pan.  When the cake has cooled completely, dust it with powdered sugar.

 

* I puree my own pumpkin and freeze it in 2 Cup servings.  To puree a pumpkin you buy a local pumpkin, cook it (I steam it, but you can cook it in the oven or even boil it).  Once the pumpkin is soft, you mash it up or us the mixer to puree it.  Sometimes I add a little water to help the puree process.

Honey Mustard

Honey Mustard

This is a copycat recipe for Chili's Honey Mustard.  I can't remember for the life of me where I found it, but I think I probably googled it to find a copycat recipe.  This honey mustard is so good on sandwiches, used as a salad dressing or used as a dipping sauce.  Yum !

Combine:

2/3 Cup Mayonnaise

1/2 Cup Honey

3 Tabelspoons Dijon Mustard

2 Tablespoons Regular Mustard

Pinch of Paprika

Pinch of Salt

Whisk it all together & place it in a sealed container.  It will last for weeks in the fridge!

Roast Beef

ROAST BEEF

 

This is one of my "go to" dishes.  I saw Ina Garten make this on the food network & I just had to try it. It always turns out DELICIOUS !!  When I put this on our menu, my entire family is happy!

 

1 beef filet (you usually have to ask at the meat counter for
a filet, they don't just have it sitting out)

1 Tablespoon butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper

 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place beef in a cake pan or cookie sheet & pat dry.  Mix the butter and mustard together.  Spread the mixture over the beef with your hands.  Combine the salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper mixture evenly over the beef.  Roast, uncovered, in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from the oven & cover with foil.  Let it rest for 20 minutes.  Slice the meat thinly for sandwiches.  I buy bread from the local bread shop and then I top it with honey mustard, lettuce, onion, pickle, etc.

Cobb Salad

COBB SALAD

 

Cobb Salad is so easy to make & it's a beautiful salad to serve Company. 

 

Shread Lettuce and place it in the bottom of a salad bowl.  Layer toppings one by one on top of the salad.  Ideas for toppings:

 

carrots, bacon, apples, avacado, boiled eggs, tomato, onion, radish, etc. 

 

Be creative.  It's a fun salad to make!