Catching up

It's been too long since I posted any recipes.  I have done a few new things.  Here are four worth sharing.

The Swaddle Burger

The name comes from how you have to wrap it to keep all the goodies inside.

I’d bought a package of marked-down hamburger, a bag of bolillo rolls and we decided to make burgers.  To be able to get our mouths around the burgers, I cut a slice out of the middle of each roll.  I made 3 oblong burger patties to more or less fit the rolls.  Tom did the grilling, after I sprinkled each patty with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

He added a slice of American cheese on two of the patties for our dinner tonight, and left the third patty “necked”.  Once the burgers were ready, we placed a patty on the bun, topped it with onion and tomato.  We put catsup and relish on the top of the bun; I added a bit of gourmet mustard on mine.  Then came the “swaddle” part.  We grabbed a handful of mixed greens, plopped it on the tomato and onion, quickly put the top of the bun on top of it all and “swaddled” it with a paper towel (stronger than a regular napkin) to keep it all from falling apart.  The lettuce really wants to fall all around the burger instead of staying inside.

This way, we had a burger with a salad on it – a one- hand meal. 

Sake Orange Chicken and Noodles

Once again, an idea began as a rather half-baked idea: I had chicken breast that needed to be cooked or frozen and I had orange juice on hand … and a partial bag of egg noodles …  As I was chopping ingredients I still didn’t know what it was going to be.  I had a partial bottle of sake left in the cupboard from some dish that we’d made some time in the past.

I did start by marinating the chicken.  As it marinated in the zipper bag, so did the idea in my head.  I marinated two chicken breasts so I can do it again in the future; I’ll just freeze the chicken in the marinade.  In the end, this is what it became.

Marinade:

½ cup sake

1 cup orange juice

¼ cup soy sauce (light)

1 TBS ginger root (freeze dried, equivalent to fresh)

1 tsp garlic (freeze dried, equivalent to fresh)

2 TBS spring onion (freeze dried, equivalent to fresh)

Ingredients:

8 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked

Olive oil

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, marinated and cut into bite-size pieces

2 cups sliced celery

1 ½ cups colored bell pepper, in bite-size pieces

1 cup slivered carrots

½ cup onion slices, quartered

1 tsp corn starch

Sesame seeds

Mix all marinade ingredients in a quart zipper freezer bag with the chicken.  Press out all air& zip.  Squish the bag to make sure the ingredients are spread around with the chicken.  Marinate for at least an hour.

Cook noodles and set aside.

Cut chicken, vegetables.

Heat large skillet on high heat, add a tablespoon or so of oil to the skillet.  Once the pan and oil are hot, add chicken.  When chicken is done, add onions, stir.  Add carrots, stir.  Then add the celery, then the peppers.  I added the vegetables so the quickest cooking was the last added.  Stir and cook a couple of minutes, then add the noodles.  You may need to add a bit more oil to keep things from sticking.  Add about ¼ to ½ cup marinade to pan, stir in.

Pour ¼ cup marinade into a small cup and stir in corn starch.  When vegetables are at the stage of doneness you like, stir corn starch mixture again and pour into pan.  Stir until sauce thickens.  Serve.

Notes:

Thinking about it after dinner, I think next time I’ll cut the chicken before marinating so more of the flavor gets into the pieces.

Kielbasa Layered Casserole

Had I been thinking about what to do with the kielbasa sausage we bought today, I would have gotten Anaheim peppers and made “Stuff”.  But, I didn’t think of it until we were headed home, so I went a totally different direction.

We had bought a couple of colored bell peppers a day or so ago, and picked up 3 more on closeout.  And zucchini.  And I had purple onion, potatoes … hmmmm.  And the idea began to germinate.

So here’s what’s in the oven as I write this:

I sprayed a small to medium casserole with cooking spray.  I sliced a potato and layered it on the bottom and around the sides.  This was topped with a layer of zucchini slices.  Then a layer of yellow bell pepper rings.  Then a layer of thin onion ring/slices (2 thin slices).  Then a layer of kielbasa slices.  Top it all with more potato slices.  Spray the top potato slices with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil or butter) and sprinkle with kosher salt.  To make sure it doesn’t all dry out, carefully pour about half a bottle of a good beer down the side (don’t disturb the salt on the top potatoes).

Place in a 375° F oven for about 45 minutes, then check for tenderness on the potatoes.

It would have tasted better if I had used white wine instead of the beer, which left a bit too much of the bitterness from the hops.

It’s Not Lasagna

There were some bits of this and that hanging around that were playing in the back of my head.  I’d made some “taco meat” (no chile, just garlic, cumin, salt & pepper) and had leftovers.  I’d used half a pound of giant rotini, and had the rest to use.  I had veggies in the fridge. I had a large block of mozzarella that needed to be used.  This was the result.

½ pound giant rotini, cooked 1-2 minutes less than directed

1 cup, approximate, cooked seasoned ground beef

½ small zucchini, sliced & quartered

1 colored bell pepper, cubed

¼ cup red onion, diced

1 jar Classico pasta sauce

5 slices mozzarella (from a block or ball)

While the pasta cooks, cut the vegetables.  Drain pasta, return to pan.  Add sauce, meat, vegetables.  Stir together.  Put in a greased casserole dish.  Top with mozzarella slices.  Bake 45 minutes at 375° F, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Serves 4 or more.