Portuguese Meringues (Suspiros)

March 2, 2016May 13, 20203 Comments

How can I describe a Suspiro? Well… If you have never had a Suspiro or a meringue before, what I can say is imagine what cotton candy’s opposite would be texture wise while still retaining all the sugar. It’s almost like a chalky consistency, but far from that in flavor. And the best part about the home-made ones most especially is that they have a relatively gooey middle.

Suspiros have been part of my life forever. Every Portuguese market I know of always has these big beautiful sweet treats stocked. More candy than cookie, these special goodies were only bought every so often in my house, but when they were, we were always happy kids! Unlike the American version (Meringues) which are only about the size of a half-dollar, Portuguese Suspiros are about the size of a hamburger bun. They are best eaten slowly with a cup of tea.

In my opinion each and every holiday should include Suspiros, but none more than Easter! After 40 days of Lenten sacrifice, there is nothing more satisfying than pure sugar! They can be colored, of course, to accommodate any theme (think pink for Princess tea parties or blue for a baby shower) and are a great addition to birthday parties and anything you might want something a little “out of the box” for. A major part of making these yummies is drying them out, it is best to make them when it is not too humid out and best stored in an air tight container or zip tight bag.

Preheat your oven to 225°F.

Start by adding about 2″ of water to the bottom of a medium-sized sauce pan. Bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.

You want to be sure the sauce pan you use is smaller than the bowl of your electric mixer.

Separate 4 egg whites into the bowl of your electric mixer. Cold eggs aid in this process.

They won’t look like much in the bowl, but their volume will increase, don’t worry.

Use the egg yolks in a cake recipe or to make lemon curd or just discard.

Measure out 1 1/2 cups of granulated white sugar.

Add directly to the egg whites.

With a hand whisk, incorporate the sugar in with the whites by beating well.

Once the whites and the sugar are beaten to a slightly frothy milky white substance, place the bowl on the sauce pan that you have brought to a simmer. Beat steadily and quickly with your hand whisk for about 3-4 minutes.

You will know the mixture is ready to remove from the heat when it looks like the sugar crystals have melted as you bring the mixture up the side of the bowl as seen here.

Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

Once sugar crystals appear to have dissolved, place bowl on electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat on high until mixture has cooled and stiff peaks have formed. This should take about 4-5 minutes.

The mixture is so stiff that when I remove it from the machine and let it rest for transport to the sink, it just stays up right.

Stiff peak.

Ready your supplies. I am using a disposable pastry bag and an extra-large tip. If you don’t have these supplies, you can use a gallon size freezer bag and attach whatever size decorating tip you have, or just use no tip at all. The Suspiros will turn out just fine, they just won’t have the pretty carved look to them. (Unless you cut a zig-zag shape into the corner or “tip” of your bag.)

Prepare the bag by cutting off enough tip to accommodate your tip holder.

This is what you should have once it is all assembled.

I like to start by folding back about an inch from the top. whether using a pastry bag or a gallon size freezer bag, this tip helps to fill without incident.

The tip I am using today is a 1M by Wilton.

Fill the bag.

Unfold that top portion you had originally folded down. Pinch at the top so as not to lose too much mixture.

In a circular motion, pipe the mixture onto the parchment lined pan.

Build as high as you like. I like good hearty Suspiros. These are about 2 1/2″ in diameter.

Once all the Suspiros are built, they are ready for the oven.

Bake at 225°F for one hour without opening the oven door. Once the hour is up, shut off the oven and leave the Suspiros in the oven until completely cool about 1-2 hours more.

Suspiros (Meringue)

Serves 16

Ingredients.

4 egg whites

1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 225°F,

Beat egg whites with sugar by hand for about 30 seconds in the bowl of an electric mixer. Place a sauce pan on the stove with about 2″ of water in it. Bring water to a simmer. Place the bowl on the sauce pan and beat constantly. (This is an important step as it both builds volume and keeps the mixture moving so that the eggs don’t cook.) After about 3-4 minutes, check that the sugar crystals have mostly dissolved. Remove from heat and return bowl to the electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk mixture for about 4-5 minutes until stiff peaks can be formed.

Place mixture in a piping bag (or gallon size freezer bag) fitted with a star tip (or just with the end cut off). Pipe mixture onto a parchment lined sheet pan in 3″ round circles that are about 2″ high.

Place sheet pans in the oven and bake at 225°F for one hour without opening the oven. Then turn off the oven and allow Suspiros to cool completely in the oven before removing. Remove from oven and enjoy! Be sure to store in an air tight container.

12-Minute Rice

February 26, 2016March 11, 2016

I cook a lot of rice. It’s an easy side. I do white rice, brown rice, wild rice. I make rice pilaf, rice pudding, risotto and fried rice. Rice is an easy and inexpensive pallet for a cook to get creative. It’s not difficult to make on the stove top, it really isn’t, so even though I have owned this Pampered Chef Microwave Rice Cooker for years, I really never paid it much mind.

Then one day, I was in a hurry and just wanted a quick side. I already had like three other pans that I was using and would need to hand wash and it occurred to me I could just use the microwave rice cooker I had sitting on my pantry shelf collecting dust. So, I rinsed it out. I remembered the instructions because they are super easy and I took the liberty to even get a little creative adding a pad of butter, tossed in some chopped onions that I had on hand from the rest of the meal, some salt and pepper and popped it in the microwave. The best part was that the microwave beeped when it was ready and I didn’t have to worry about burning it, it was done and just waiting nice and hot for whenever I was ready to get to it!

Well, that did it. When I opened my microwave, it was still hot and perfectly steamed. When dinner was through, we still had some left over so I put the lid back on and popped it in the fridge, then the next day when it was time to heat, into the microwave it went again. Then right into the dishwasher. By my estimation, it saved me 1 pot, 2 serving dishes, 1 Tupperware container worth of dishes. It was ready in half the time and I didn’t have to worry about burning the rice or the rice sticking to the bottom of my pan leading to soaking and possibly scraping. That works for me.

So, I thought I would send out a quick tutorial on how to make the very basic rice. This is plain white Jasmine rice. Instructions differ for brown or wild rice of course, but still much less time because you are essentially pressure steaming the rice.

This is my Pampered Chef Microwave Rice Cooker.

Start by placing one cup of rice in the bowl.

I like to add 2.5 cups of water per cup of rice.

A healthy pinch of salt. (1/2 tsp. or so)

Mix.

Place the guard on top.

Then seal on the cover.

Place it in the microwave.

Set the time to 12 minutes on high (my microwave is 1100 wats, adjust this to the wattage of your specific microwave per instructions)

And 12 minutes later, this is what you will have.

12-Minute Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

Place ingredients in Microwave rice cooker. Seal up rice cooker as directed. Set microwave on high for 12 minutes. Remove from microwave when ready. Fluff and serve.

***Gluten-free

Pork Shoulder Boiled Dinner (Cozido)

February 24, 2016

Ah the Boiled Dinner…. I think God invented the boiled dinner just for Sundays. If you want to talk about an easy and delicious meal we need not say more than one simple word – “Cozido” (or Boiled Dinner). If you’ve never made a boiled dinner out of intimidation, let me set your mind at ease because there literally could not be a less complicated, less stress free and less time-consuming prep time.

Growing up a good Cozido was always an option for Sunday dinner and it was such a treat. My mother would always get her biggest pot on the stove and fill it with this amazing piece of smoked meat, onions, cabbage, potatoes and of course meat. She would set it going when we got home from church and a couple of hours later we would have a feast.

The one and only downside to this is the price of the meat, at an average of $3-$5 per pound this 10+ pound piece of meat can get quite pricey just due to the sheer size of it. What you need to do is look for a sale as I did! I found a great deal on this one for $1.69 per pound and fed 10 adults with it! Now that’s a great value!

One of the best parts of this meal is that you can add in anything you like really. I see this one pot meal as Portugal’s answer to Ireland’s Corned Beef. It’s got a great flavor that when boiled with other ingredients is enough to flavor the whole meal. You can keep it simple as we do with onions, cabbage, potatoes and chouriço or you can add in carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips any hearty vegetable you like really. Just be prepared for everything to take on that yummy smoky flavor.

I got a great deal on this smoked shoulder. Whatever you do make sure what you are buying for this recipe is a SMOKED shoulder, not a picnic ham, not a fresh shoulder, but a SMOKED one. The flavor is completely and totally different from fresh pork.

Cut open the packaging, drain and rinse under cold water.

You will likely find this mesh on the skin of your meat, this is meant to keep the meat all together and should be used in cooking. In their words, let it be (for now).

The great thing about this recipe is you can add or take away as many ingredients as you like. My family likes boiled onions, so we add in three good-sized onions. If you don’t care much for them, still add one in for flavor. If you would like more, go for it.

For this recipe, we want to be sure the onions stay in tact, so all that is required is peeling, don’t cut them up or they will melt right into the dish which is not the goal here.

To add in that Portuguese flavor, all you really need is one link of hot chouriço. I don’t peel for this recipe, I just add some slits along the bend of the chouriço.

Fill a very large pot with water. I am using my Pampered Chef Executive Stock Pot.

This may look funny, but some people in my family prefer potatoes with skins and some don’t. So, I do them both ways for this recipe.

Place your rinsed shoulder in the pot.

Now add in your onions and cabbage.

Add in the chouriço.

Cover the pot and boil. The shoulder is already pretty well cooked, so you are just really melting the fat a bit, heating it through and cooking the potatoes and other veggies… That being said, it is important to give the boil enough time to allow the flavors to infuse together. So, you will want this to come to a boil and then turn it down to a low boil for a minimum of 90 minutes.

Once done, remove the mesh from the pork.

And serve on a platter.

Pork Shoulder Boiled Dinner (Cozido)

Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 10 lb. Pork Shoulder

6-8 potatoes, peeled (or not)

3 large onions, peeled

1/2 cabbage

1/2 lb. hot Portuguese Chouriço

Directions:

Place potatoes in the pot and cover with water. Place pork shoulder in the pot and cover with water. Add in onions, cabbage and chouriço. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down and continue a low boil for 90 minutes to 2 hours. Remove mesh from the meat and discard. Enjoy!

*** Gluten-free

Sweet Braised Chicken

February 22, 20161 Comment

The challenge: Make a main course meal to include chicken, pineapple and chouriço. Accepted. I belong to a super fun foodie group on Facebook and there was recently a “Chopped” type challenge issued by the admin. I love getting creative in the kitchen so decided to enter and take the Asian/Portuguese a.k.a. Hawaiian route. And although I didn’t win as there were some pretty amazing entries, we were pretty happy around the dinner table eating this sweet and savory and slightly spicy dish!

Being the Portuguese American Mom I decided to add to the challenge by also making sure it was inexpensive and easy to prepare come dinner. The way I chose to do that was by first using chicken thighs which I am pretty sure is the least expensive cut of chicken out there. If you like chicken legs or breast, go ahead and do that, just be sure the skin is still in tact. I then made this easy by infusing as much flavor as possible with a make ahead marinade, that way at dinner time it would just be a few minutes of grilling and pop it in the oven. I even made my rice in the microwave! (fresh rice, from scratch)

All in all the contest was fun and something different to do on a hum drum February week. I would like to thank Kerry, the admin for “Coastal Foodies”. And congratulate all the contestants for the willingness to put themselves out there and have fun in the kitchen. I got new ideas from each and every entry as I am sure many did. The voting is all over and we are anxiously awaiting the winner!

I’ll take you through each step here. We can start with the marinade:

Start your marinade with a good deep bowl.

Add in brown sugar.

Grab a can of pineapple slices.

Drain the pineapple juice right into your marinade.

Add in soy sauce.

Use rice vinegar. If you don’t have this, use some Apple Cider Vinegar.

Add vinegar in.

Add in basil sauce.

Add in Sriracha sauce.

Whisk to combine.

This is the chicken. Wash this and trim each piece.

Nestle each piece in the marinade.

This is my Pampered Chef Grill Pan. I have lightly sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray.

The pineapples have had some time to dry out a bit as the chicken has been marinading in the fridge.

Lay out 5-6 pineapple slices on the grill pan. This will leave some pretty grill marks, but it also brings out the sweetness of the pineapple.

Flip to the other side.

Once you have nice grill marks on both sides, remove from pan, but keep pan hot.

Slice chouriço on a bias to create more surface area for grilling.

Place on hot grill and cook all the way through.

Once thoroughly grilled remove and set aside.

Reserve these for plating later.

Start grilling in a grill pan with a rim, skin side down over high heat.

Flip over to cook bottom for a bit before adding in liquid.

Add marinade into the pan.

Bring to a boil and add in ingredients.

Peel and cut garlic in half.

Add in to your pan.

Add white wine to your pan.

You should have 3-4 pineapple rings left in the can, wedge those in with the chicken and vegetables.

Take a few pieces of chourico and do the same.

This is what it looks like after the first 45 minutes.

Flip the chicken for the next 30 minute stint in the oven.

After 30 minutes, remove from oven again to flip chicken one last time to crisp up the top again. Place back in the oven for an additional 45 minutes.

Sweet Braised Chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

5-6 chicken thighs, washed and trimmed

1 16 oz. can sliced pineapple rings, juice reserved

1/2 lb. hot chouriço link, sliced

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 tsp. squeezable basil

1 Tbs. rice vinegar

1 Tbs. Sriracha sauce (optional)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved

1 onion, sliced

10-12 sweet peppers, halved

1/2 cup white wine

salt and pepper

Instructions:

For the marinade:

Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, reserved pineapple juice from can, basil, vinegar and Sriracha sauce. Whisk and place chicken in marinade. Cover and place in refrigerator for 6-8 hours.

Grill 5-6 pineapple slices on both sides. Grill chouriço. Next, grill chicken on both sides until grill marks are formed and skin starts to tighten. Add marinade into grill pan. Add wine and garlic. Bring to a boil, shut off stove. Add peppers and onions throughout. Add in a few slices of grilled chouriço and un-grilled pineapple. Place chicken, skin side up, in a pre-heated 300°F oven for 45 minutes. Flip chicken, cook an additional 30 minutes. Flip chicken again and cook an additional 45 minutes. Serve over white Jasmine rice and top with onions, peppers and pan sauce.

***Gluten-free This dish is completely gluten-free as long as you opt to use a gluten-free soy sauce.

Beef Tostada

February 19, 2016February 26, 20161 Comment

I am always looking to save money. Food is not cheap. So, when I spend $23 on a roast, I like to be sure I get the most bang for my buck and re-heating the same ole dish night after night until the whole thing has been consumed to the point where I don’t want to think about making another roast for 3 months is not my idea of innovative left overs. However, This tostada has transformed my left over pot roast into something completely new and delicious. It has also enabled me to save time and money, both things I really appreciate as a busy mom of two very active toddlers.

I added exactly one ingredient to turn this beef into a Latin delight. I then whipped up some Quick Mexican Black Beans, microwaved some rice in my Pampered Chef rice cooker, fried up some simple tortilla shells and got to work assembling. All this was done in well under 20 minutes. And you can’t tell me that looking at this dish, it doesn’t look a lot more time-consuming than that! It’s almost, dare I say it, fancy looking for our Tuesday night dinner. I put this on a plate in front of my husband and I quote… “Wow, WHAT is this?” was the reaction…. Now, tell me, when was the last time leftovers garnered that kind of reaction in your house? Well, then maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit?

You will want to have a few things on hand of course. For me these things are all pantry staples, a can of beans, rice, Pampered Chef Chili Lime Rub, and tortillas. And from the fridge, some onions, peppers and sour cream.

These are 6″ white corn tortillas.

Start by heating some canola or vegi oil up to about 325°F in a small dutch oven. You want to make sure your pan will be able to accommodate the size of your tortilla and have a good amount of space between the oil and the rim of the pan to prevent over flow.

Once oil has come up to temperature, cook tortillas one at a time until golden brown, flipping half way through the process.

Drain on a paper towel or paper bag lined tray.

Salt while still hot.

I got fancy here at the end and cut a few tortillas up for garnishing chips on the top.

This is my left over pot roast. If you don’t have left over pot roast, you can always use left over steak or chicken or pork.

To serve 4 people, I picked out two good size slices of left overs.

With two forks, I shred the beef into a skillet.

I only add one ingredient to take this pot roast from Sunday dinner to Latin fiesta! My Pampered Chef Chili Lime Rub.

Add the rub in with the shredded beef and saute for a couple of minutes to heat through and bloom the spices.

Now to start building. I start with an 8″ plate. This meal does not require sides because everything is piled right up on top.

Place one shell at the bottom. This is your base.

Now add on about 3/4 cooked rice. I am using plain white rice here, it’s actually Jasmine rice because that is what I have on hand, but any kind of plain rice will do. You don’t really need a flavored rice here because you are adding on some strong flavors already and you wouldn’t want the rice to compete with that.

Now add on about 1/2 cup of Quick Mexican Black Beans.

Now for the next layer of tortilla.

Then piled on top of that is your beef.

I then top that with some sour cream. To this I will garnish with chopped scallions and my little tortilla strips.

Beef Tostada

Yield 4

Ingredients:

8 6″corn tortillas

1-11/2 cups left over roast beef, pot roast or steak

1 Tbs. Chili Lime Rub

3 cups white rice

2 cups Quick Mexican Black Beans

sour cream (optional)

3-4 cups veg. oil

kosher salt

Instructions:

In a small dutch oven bring oil to 330°F-350°F. Fry each tortilla seperately until golden. Drain on paper towels and salt immediately.

In a small skillet shred beef and cook with Chili Lime Rub until heated through.

Build your tostada by placing one shell on plate, then add 3/4 cup rice, then 1/2 cup beans, then add another tortilla, then top with beef and a dollup of sour cream. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Quick Mexican Black Beans

February 15, 2016

I love Portuguese food, after all I am 100% Portuguese born and raised. But, I would have to say a close second to my love of Portuguese food is Mexican. I love the combinations of flavors and their savory smokey aspects. Having Portuguese cooking as a good solid background makes it not so difficult to switch into the kitchens of our neighbors to the south.

This recipe is a bit of a short cut from soaking and boiling beans that is usually a good 24 hour process for me. I don’t always have time for all that when I am looking to put dinner on the table. A well stocked pantry should always contain a few cans of beans and I love to have black beans in there ready to go.

In this recipe, you will need a couple of fresh ingredients, but mostly you will be looking to your pantry! It’s a great last-minute side or it can even be made into a great main dish, just double the recipe and add in some steak, shredded chicken or pork and serve over rice!

Chop 1/2 an onion.

These are sweet peppers, the come in a big bag at my grocery store. If you can’t find these, you can always use a red, orange or yellow bell pepper.

Treat them just like any other pepper, start with chopping off the top and removing the seeds.

Then dice.

Use two garlic cloves.

With my Pampered Chef garlic press, I don’t even have to peel them.

Just pop it in and squeeze!

Now you will need a can of black beans, do not drain! I know, it sounds odd, but you need all that liquid.

Use one cap full of apple cider vinegar.

Saute the onions in a small sauce pan.

Add in the peppers.

Once onions and peppers have started to soften, you can add in garlic. You don’t want to do this too soon to avoid burning the garlic.

Use about a half a teaspoon of oregano

And about 1/8 teaspoon of Portuguese Allspice… if you don’t have this, use a good sweet paprika.

Add in water.

Stir in everything, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until peppers are cooked through.

Your liquid should be reduced a bit at this point.

Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Quick Mexican Black Beans

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, undrained

1/2 medium onion, chopped

5-6 small sweet peppers, seeded and chopped (or half a bell pepper)

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, run through a press

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp Portuguese allspice

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil to saute vegetables

chopped scallions (optional)

Instructions:

Saute onions and peppers in a small sauce pan in olive oil over medium heat. When tender, add in garlic, saute another minute and add in oregano and allspice. Saute another minute to bloom the spices. Add in beans, water and vinegar. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until peppers are cooked through and some of the liquid has dissipated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice and garnish with fresh chopped scallions if desired. Enjoy!

*This recipe is gluten-free.

Spaghetti Frittata Pie

February 12, 2016February 12, 2016

I have a family of four, two of the four happen to be toddlers. So, when we make spaghetti in our house inevitably there are left overs. None of us are terribly big fans of re-heating left over spaghetti, so I decided to come up with a recipe to use up that left over spaghetti in a whole new way. Hense, I give you the Spaghetti Fritatta Pie!

This simple pasta and egg dish is the perfect solution to my left over dilemma and the funny thing is, we like the pie left over too! I made some angel hair pasta (my kid’s favorite) with some homemade sauce and some Italian sausage (my husband’s favorite). I hate to waste food, especially a home-made sauce, so I put it in the fridge in a Tupperware container. 8 eggs, a pie plate, a block of cheese, and just a few more staples later and wala, a brand new meal.

This may seem odd to you and to be honest, I wasn’t sure about it when I started out. But, I love Pasta Carbonara and this has a lot of the same element, so I gave it a try. You don’t know until you try right?

Start with a pad of salted butter in a pie plate, this one is 9″.

Use a paper towel to spread your butter.

Your pie plate should be well buttered.

This is my left over Angel Hair with Sweet Italian Sausage and tomatoes with some basil.

Add into buttered pie plate.

Fill your pie plate up with spaghetti. This is about 2 full cups of cooked and prepared left-over Angel Hair pasta.

In this shot I have 6 eggs, but for my 9″ pie plate, I actually ended up adding in two more for a total of 8 eggs.

Beat them well.

Add in a good pinch of Italian Seasoning blend. this is about 1/2 tsp.

Beat the seasoning into the eggs.

Add in a good pinch of kosher salt, again this is about 1/2 tsp.

Beat into the eggs.

Pour the egg mixture right over your spaghetti or in my case Angel Hair.

This is what you should have.

Slice up some grape tomatoes.

Dart the top of your pie with grape tomatoes.

Add on some Fontina cheese, I am using about 4 oz.

Hand shredding is the way to go, although I’m not sure you can find pre-shredded Fontina anyway.

Add on some shredded parmesan cheese. This one is pre-shredded.

Just add cheese right up on top. Pop this in the oven for about 45 minutest until the middle has almost set. Then take it out, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes. The center should set right up for you and the rest will settle nicely.

Spaghetti Frittata Pie

Serves 4-6Ingredients:

2 cups left over Angel Hair pasta and sausage (or whatever pasta you have)

8 eggs, beaten

8 oz. Fontina cheese, shredded

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shaved

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning mix

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

6-8 cracks black pepper

1 cup left over sauce for topping

1 tsp butter

Directions:

Butter pie plate. Place pasta and sausage in buttered dish. Beat eggs and add in Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper. Add in shredded Fontina cheese. Pour evenly over pasta and sausage. Dot with tomatoes and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake in oven for 40-50 minutes until set. Remove from oven and tent with foil for 10 minutes before serving. Cut and drizzle with warmed left over sauce. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

February 5, 2016March 11, 20162 Comments

Have you ever wished you could make a perfect pizza dough? Does working with yeast intimidate you? If you have never worked with yeast and if you like to save money while having endless possibilities of different meals and snacks you can make for your family and friends, this is the perfect recipe to start with!

Pizza dough can of course be made into a great pizza or calzone. But, don’t forget cheesy bread with a marinara dipping sauce, hot dogs wrapped in pizza dough, bread sticks, or even sugar and cinnamon twists, yum! The possibilities are endless once you have a good basic dough under your belt.

This recipe is easier if you have a stand mixer of course, but totally doable if you only have your own two hands, remember Italians have been making pizza for long before electricity was even invented!

Start with some super warm water, about 110-115 degrees.

Add water into the bowl of an electric mixer.

(I keep my yeast in a resealable bag in the fridge because I use so much of it, I don’t buy in packets) Use one packet of Active dry yeast or 3 tsp.

Add yeast into warm water.

Add sugar into water with the yeast.

Stir.

Add one cup of the flour.

Stir.

Don’t worry if there are lumps.

Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

This is what it should look like… if your mixture is not foaming, your yeast may not be good.

Add in the remaining flour. Stir.

Add in salt.

When your dough starts to look like this, it’s time to use the dough hook on your mixer.

This is my dough hook.

Mix for about 30 seconds to see how wet it is… This one is a bit too wet.

Add in one tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough isn’t quite as sticky, but not too dry either.

I set my mixer’s timer for 5 minutes and knead on level 2. If your mixer does not have a time, be sure to set one.

Add in oil.

Continue to knead another 2 minutes until oil is incorporated. Move to an oiled bowl and let rise 20 minutes.

This is what your dough will look like. Remove and place on a floured surface and knead by hand into a ball this should take about 2-3 minutes.

Pizza Dough

Makes 2 full size pizza crusts

Ingredients:

5 – 6 cups All purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar (shallow cup)

3 tsp. Active dry yeast

Shallow 1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tsp. salt

2 cups warm water (110°-115°F)

Instructions:

Bloom yeast in warm water with sugar for 2 minutes, once bubbling add one cup flour, mix, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Once bubbly continue.

Add 4 cups flour and salt. Add remaining flour 1 Tbs. at a time if too wet and not kneading well. Once desired consistency is reached, knead for a timed 5 minutes. Add in most of the oil saving some to oil bowl. Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for about 20 minutes.

Turn out onto a floured surface, knead by hand about 2-3 minutes until dough comes into a ball.

American Chop Suey

February 1, 2016January 28, 2016

I call this meal the “IhavegroundbeefinmyfridgeandIhavenoideawhattomakefordinner” meal option. True, sometimes I will actually crave a good American Chop Suey with its saucy ground beef, savory onions and warm filling maccaroni, but honestly most times I make this meal it is out of sheer panic! American Chop Suey is 9/10ths pantry food items and 1/10th fresh (or frozen) meat. It is something the whole family loves and it is easy to change-up by adding in mix-in’s like a can of corn, making it a quick and easy Sheppard’s Pie substitute or sprinkling some mozzarella cheese on top, making it into a sort of easy skillet lasagna!

This here is your basic, good old-fashioned American Chop Suey recipe. No frills, no fuss, just ground beef, onions, pasta, sauce and a few (quite literally 3) seasonings. It is by far one of the easiest weeknight dinners that any home cook can throw together in well under 30 minutes! Just about every other week or so, I pick up a package of family size ground beef. A little more often if I find that it is on sale in the interim weeks. But, unlike the steak I pick up or the full chicken I plan to turn into a stock and use the meat in various recipes, I often don’t really have a plan for what to do with this American staple. I just pick it up thinking, well if I don’t think of anything, I can just freeze it. Although, I usually end up using at least half of it if not all of it throughout the week. Sometimes though, I look at it and say, yep, I have no other fresh meat in the fridge, what am I going to do with you! Sometimes I have the time to lovingly labor over a beautiful Lasagna or I am all about making a big pot of Minestrone Soup… but, sometimes I am in a hurry and just want to get a quick dinner on the table. There is no quicker meal utilizing pantry items than this. Also, this recipe can be easily adjusted to feed a couple, a family of 4 or a crowd of 15+.

I can never seem to get a good price on ground beef unless I buy this ginormous 3+ pound package… so what I do, to save myself strife, is to brown it all up with a touch of salt all at once, then portion it out for different meals either throughout the week or sometimes I will even freeze the already browned meat.

I use my giant 14″ Pampered Chef Deep Covered Skillet and get it all done at once. If you don’t have a large enough skillet to accommodate th amount of meat you have, do this in stages, there is nothing worst than over crowding a pan of ground meat as the meat will end up boiling instead of browning and you will get grey meat without a lot of flavor.

See here how there is space for all 3lbs.? This is what you are looking for.

Use one large onion and do a large dice on it.

I removed two pounds of meat along with most of the fat and leave the remaining pound in the skillet.

Next, I add in the onions.

Mince some fresh garlic.

Add in the garlic after the onions start to soften.

Use an Italian seasoning blend along with a little kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper for seasoning.

The trick to using dried spices is to be sure to rub the spices in your fingers first and then put it right into the fat in the hot skillet to bloom it’s flavor.

I like using good old-fashioned elbow macaroni for this recipe.

Cook to the package instructions.

Once your onions and garlic have had time to soften and cook through, add in a small 6oz. can of plain tomato sauce.

Mix this together and add in about 6 oz. of the pasta cooking water too (so just fill your empty sauce can with water).

Add in your maccaroni and stir.

American Chop Suey

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, browned

1 large onion, diced medium/large

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 lb. elbow maccaroni, cooked to package instructions

1 6 oz. can plain tomato sauce

6 oz. pasta cookingwater from elbow maccaroni

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning blend

1 tsp. kosher salt

1./2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions:

Drain browned ground beef of most of the residual fat from cooking. Add onions into a large skillet until tender over a medium heat on the stovetop. Add in garlic, cook about 2-3 additional minutes. Add in Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, cook another minute. Add in sauce and water and combine. Add in maccaroni and stir, cook to combine an additional 3-4 minutes. Taste for salt and enjoy!

*To make gluten-free, just replace elbow maccaroni with the gluten-free variety.

Chili Cheese Dog (with the works!)

January 23, 2016January 21, 2016

It’s Championship weekend here in the states and football is on the minds of every fan! And to go along with any good football game is good “football food”. I don’t think there is another sport that has food and gatherings so closely associated with it than football. There is football tailgating, there are home parties and there are just regular sit around the t.v. with some buddies gatherings all requiring beer and “football food”.

Hense, I bring you the Chili Cheese Dog. It’s so simple, yet soooo good. Using my recipe for “Chris’ No-bean Chili” these dogs are a snap to make and can really be made to order. Just set out a crock pot of steamed dogs and another of the chili and set out the fixin’s and you’ve even got a great hot dog bar. No muss, no fuss. This way, just because you like good football food doesn’t mean you miss the game! woo hoo!

A great hot dog bar can include: chili, shredded cheese, mustard, ketchup, soaked minced onions, maybe a cheese sauce, chopped jalapenos, black olives and pickles or relish. Get some good fresh buns, good quality dogs and you are in business!

Take a look at this Chili Cheese Dog with the works!

Start with your favorite kind of bun… Being in New England we use the New England style bun here with the sides cut off making for a softer bun and easier to grill should you choose too.