Category Archives: Recipes

WFMW ~ Meals on Wheels

 When I’m asked to take a meal to someone who is laid up due to surgery or when someone comes home from the hospital after having a baby, I try to keep it simple. Here is a simple meal that I made last week to share with someone who had surgery. It’s got protein, veggies, and rice all in one dish. Easy to transport and I just add some extras like grapes and cookies and bread to take along.

Heat 1 T. oil in pan on medium heat. Add 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in strips; cook and stir until lightly browned, stirring occassionally.     (Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper)  Although the recipe didn’t call for it I would add some onion sauteed in the pan first before adding the chicken.

 ADD 3 cups cut-up fresh vegetables (carrots, broccoli and red pepper) cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender.

Stir in 1 can of chicken broth (14- 1/2 oz.) and bring to a boil.

 Stir in 2 cups of instant rice (I used instant brown rice) and 1/4 C. Kraft Zesty Italian dressing: cover. Reduce heat to low. Cook 5 min. or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is cooked through.

The finished product. (BTW: I usually double the recipe so that I can take a meal and feed my family the same meal, too)

I added some focaccia bread, red grapes, cookies, and lilies to take along with the main dish.

Now here is a tip that the recipient of your meal is sure to appreciate. Take the meal to them in totally disposable containers. It can be quite the project for someone who is ill or laid up to return dishes to their rightful owners! And this is what those bulky Costco boxes you get at the checkout can come in handy for, to transport a meal.

Now you can head over to Rocks in My Dryer to see more Works For Me Wednesday posts…

Carne Asada

A great marinade for steak!!! (You can even use it for chicken for Pollo Asada!)  Use skirt steak or flap meat, but any thin cut steak would work. This recipe is for up to 4 pounds of meat. Cook time does NOT include marinating time. You can use 4 pounds of chicken breast meat also.

1 –  Lime juiced
1 –  Lemon juiced
1/2 C. – Orange Juice
2 T. Chili Powder
1-l/2 T. Dried Oregano leaves
2 T. Ground Cumin
5 Cloves of Garlic chopped
1/2 C. Red Wine Vinegar
4 T. Olive oil
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 Bunch Cilantro, chopped (not stems)

 

  1. Combine all ingredients in a 1-gallon ziploc bag.
  2. Add meat, seal and massage marinade into meat.
  3. Marinate in bag for up to 24 hours, turning and massaging frequently. 4-6 hours for beef and 2-4 hours for chicken would work fine, also.
  4. Grill to medium rare for beef and of course for chicken till it’s cooked thoroughly.
  5. Serve whole, sliced, or diced for tacos or burritos!

 

Come back tomorrow to see more grilling recipes from the bloggy world….

 

 

Shashlik ~ Barbecued Lamb Kebobs

 

1 leg of lamb de-boned
3 large onions sliced
Juice from 4 lemons mixed with 1/2 cup olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic crushed.
Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and pepper

Cut the lamb in pieces about 1-1/2 inches thick to 2 inches square. Trim off excess fat. Place a layer of onions in a large pot, then a layer of meat, season with Lawry’s and pepper, then sprinkle with lemon juice oil mixture. Repeat layers until all meat is in the pot ending with onions and lemon juice mixture. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or better overnight, stirring occasionally to let all the meat marinate thoroughly.

After the meat is done marinating, separate the meat from the onions. Thread the meat onto skewers, and broil outdoors over hot charcoal embers, turning the skewers occasionally to brown the meat on all sides. Now for the modern method you could use those fish cages to put the meat in and BBQ it on your gas grill. This is a lot simpler by far, but some swear by the old school method.

Serve with rice pilaf and a cucumber, tomato, onion salad.

Growing up when we were part of the Russian Molokan Church I remember the all church picnics we had at Brookside Park in Pasadena where there were several open grills cooking this wonderfully marinated lamb. So suculant, so yummy. We’d have rice and salads with it. What a highlight of the year those picnics were! For special family gatherings my father is the one who marinates and barbeques the lamb.

 

Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Bars with Chocolate/Butterscotch Topping

To make these wonderful bars you will need 1 cup sugar, 1 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup, 1 cup Creamy Peanut Butter, 6 cups Rice Krispies, 1 cup Butterscotch Chips and a cup of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup karo light syrup just to a boil mixing well. Take off heat and add 1 cup peanut butter and mix till smooth.

Add 6 cups Rice Krispies and mix till all the krispies are coated well.

Put this mixture into a well greased 9×12 pan and press down evenly into the pan. Empty both cups of chips into a microwaveable bowl and microwave at 3-30second intervals, mixing well after each 30 seconds. Mix together till smooth. (You can use the double boiler method to melt your chips if you prefer). Pour entire mixture on top of the pressed down Rice Krispies and spread to cover.

Give it some time to cool and set then cut and serve. Enjoy!

Recipe Round-Up ~ Summer Salads ~ Applesauce-Raspberry Jello

 Applesauce-Raspberry Jello

1 – 3oz. pkg. raspberry jello
1   cup hot water
1 – 10oz. pkg. frozen raspberries
1 – Cup applesauce
1 – Cup sour cream
1 – Cup miniature marshmallows

Dissolve Jello in hot water. Add frozen raspberries and blend carefully. Add applesauce. Pour into 9-inch square pan. Chill until set. Combine sour cream and marshmallows and spread over top of set Jello. Cover and Chill. Serves 6-8. I have doubled this recipe and put it in a 9 x 13 pan. Refreshingly cool salad!

Now for more great salad recipes head on over to Violet’s at Promptings.

June Recipe Round-Up ~ Desserts ~ Praline Brie

 Praline Brie ~ serves six

Ingredients:
1 – 8 inch wheel of brie cheese
2 – tablespoons butter
4 – tablespoons brown sugar
1 – cup pecans, chopped (walnuts would work well also)

crackers
fresh fruit

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Place brie on a baking sheet. Bake until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Stir in pecans. Place brie on a serving tray and pour pecan mixture over, letting it dribble over sides. Serve surrounded by crackers and fresh fruit such as sliced apples and pears, strawberries and grapes.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simply Classic ~ The Junior League of Seattle. I have had success with every recipe I’ve attempted from this book.

 

Avocado and Jicama Salsa ~ Tyler Florence

 

This salsa is really good. I’ve made it as an appetizer for a few dinner parties and everyone enjoyed it. Thanks to Tyler Florence for his recipe.

You’ll need to make the Chimichurri sauce a couple hours before you start getting your salsa ingredients diced and cubed…

Avocado and Jicama Salsa

4 ripe tomatillos, husked, rinsed and diced
1 medium jicama, peeled and cubed
2 avocados, peeled and cubed
1/2 red onion, sliced
6 red grape tomatoes, halved

To prepare the salsa: Toss together the tomatillo, jicama, avocado, red onion and grape tomatoes. Pour half the chimichurri sauce into the salsa and toss to gently to coat. Serve with chips.(You can use the other half of the chimichurri sauce to marinate steaks before you BBQ them).

Chimichurri:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1/2 lime, juiced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt

To prepare the chimichurri: combine garlic, jalapeno and lime in small bowl. Whisk in vinegar and olive oil. Stir in parsley and cilantro. Add salt, cover and let stand 2 hours to allow flavors to marry.

To see some other salsa or guacamole recipes go to the Hutch and What Matters Most.

http://www.henrysmarkets.com/content/avocado.jpg

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Ht: Television Food Network

Vinegrette ~ Russian Salad

Happy Birthday to my sister Kathy today May 23rd! You’ve been a wonderful daughter, sister, friend, wife, mother and grandmother. May God bless you richly all the days of your life on this earth!

Her version of this Russian Salad is posted below.

Kathy’s Vinegrette Recipe (cut recipe in half for smaller families)

Although the Russian name for this salad is Vinegrette it shouldn’t be confused with the salad dressings called Vinaigrette. This was a traditional salad that we enjoyed growing up. It could be our version of potato salad. I’m sharing an easier version using canned beets but you can also cook and julienne your own beets. The photo is my sister Lana’s.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans (15oz.) julienne beets (partly drained)
  • 2 cans (15oz.) kidney beans (drained well)
  • 3/4 – 1 cup sauerkraut (drained and squeezed)
  • 3 boiled potatoes
  • 3 large kosher dill pickles, diced
  • 1/4 onion, grated
  • vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • pickle juice from the jarred dill pickles

Method:

  1. Dice potatoes while warm then salt and coat with oil and chill.
  2. Once the potatoes are chilled add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine, add enough pickle juice to taste.
  3. Chill until ready to serve.
  4. Serves 8-16

Our family prefers using the Clausen Dill Pickles found in the refrigerator section. You will find some versions of this Russian salad using carrots and not kidney beans. This is the version our family has always enjoyed.

This is such a colorful salad, it goes well with meat of any kind. At our house it goes with lamb or a juicy steak or sometimes all by itself. Simple, pretty and delicious! Bon Appetit!

Borsch

Many Borsch recipes include beets in them. The familiar Borsch that we grew up with and that we had at Molokan Church Meals did not have beets in it. Here is my mother’s recipe.

Nadia’s Borsch

For the Stock:
1 Chuck Roast (with bone would be good)
1 onion
1-3 celery stalks with leaves
2-3 carrots
2 bay leaves
5-10 peppercorns
Salt to taste

In a big stock pot, cover chuck roast with good water. Add all the stock ingredients and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer. Simmer until roast is fork tender. Strain the stock. Reserve the roast.

1 head of cabbage shredded (green is what we use)
1-3 carrots grated
1-2 onions diced
1 bell pepper diced

2-3 stalks of celery diced

(saute the bell pepper, onion, celery and jalapeno then blend before adding to stock)
2-3 potatoes diced
2 cans stewed tomatoes blended in blender (we have those that don’t like chunky tomatoes)
1 can tomato sauce
1/2-small bunch of dill (to taste)
1 handful of chopped italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste
optional – 1 can of Garbonzo beans
option #2 – add a small jalapeno diced to the saute group above.

Put the strained broth back into a stock pot. Add all the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer until cabbage and carrots are tender. Taste and see if the soup needs more salt or pepper at this time.

The Borsch is ready now.

My mother doesn’t include this in her recipe but when she made borsch at my house once I saw her add a half a cube of unsalted butter at the end. 🙂 My mother mashes most of the potatoes to thicken up the soup a bit.

You can bake the chuck roast with a little of the stock, salt, pepper, and sauteeed onions to serve alongside the borsch with a good loaf of bread and of course…sour cream. This was my welcome home meal for my kids last night.

 

Russian Noodle Soup ~ Lopsha

This soup (Lopsha) is made in huge quantities for Molokan Church Dinners. I have recipes to serve 200-250 people. They make their own noodles using 20 dozen eggs, 60 lbs. flour and 1 lb. salt, then make a stock from 35 lbs. of soup bones and 350 lbs of choice (kosher) beef. Usually Lopsha is served at funerals and Borscht (recipe coming soon) is made for Weddings. This is basic Russian Peasant Village Fare. I’m giving you a very simple quick recipe that you should enjoy. My family is not Molokan (we left the church in the ’60’s) We still have relatives and friends that are a part of this group.

All you’ll need is store bought (or home made) Chicken Broth and Jewish very fine egg noodles. ( Manischewitz or similar)

Bring the broth to a boil.

Add as many noodles as you like, but remember they expand while cooking. When the noodles are cooked the Lopsha is ready. Adjust your noodles as to how thick you like your Lopsha. If your soup gets too thick for your liking just add some more broth.

If you want a little more interest in the soup you can add cubed potatoes and carrots to the broth to cook them before you add the noodles. If you want those carrots and potatoes to be a lot tastier saute them in a little olive oil, salt and pepper before you add them to the broth.  Happy memories! If you want to see more yummy food, see what my mom was doing while I was making Lopsha, over at my sister’s blog.

The Molokans also make Maloshni Lopsha (Milk noodles) This recipe serves 30-40 people. Cut it down for your purposes. This Soup comes from my Recipes of San Francisco Russian Molokans cookbook that “Dear” and I received as a wedding gift in 1974.

 

Maloshni Lopsha (Milk noodles)

1-1/2 gallons milk

1 quart half and half

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. sugar

1-1/2 “chashki” noodles (about 5 LARGE handfuls)

Using a 2-1/2 gal. double boiler (another good reason to cut the recipe…who has a 2-1/2 gallon double boiler??), heat the milk and half and half till it forms bubbles. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Now add the salt and sugar and stir well. Start adding the noodles, a handful at a time, stirring often. Simmer gently for 1/2 hour. Turn flame off and cover. Let stand in double boiler till it thickens (about 30-45 min.) and serve.

HT: Recipes of San Francisco Russian Molokans (for Maloshni Lopsha) , Bagdanov Family Recipes for Easy Lopsha