Guest Chefs Jana and Mary

October 29, 2011
Spinach, Artichoke Cups and Runza Casserole

This week two of my favorite speech-language pathologists came and made a fabulous dinner with me. We made an appetizer, salad and a main dish. We had five men to feed so we had to cook up quite a feast. We started with the Spinach and Artichoke Cups. I love starting with an appetizer. It gives us all something to munch on while we whip up the rest of the dinner. I forgot to thaw the spinach so we had to put it under hot water to speed up the thawing. Lucky for me that worked.

Mary and I chopped up the artichokes and peppers. The rest was just dumping in some mayo, garlic and cheese. A quick baking and we had a pretty cool beginning to our evening. None of us had made this appetizer before so we followed the recipe.

Spinach & Artichoke Cups

24 Won Ton wrappers
14oz can artichoke harts, drained, chopped finely
1 C. Shredded mozzarella cheese
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1/3 C. mayo with olive oil reduced fat
1/3 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C. finely chopped red pepper2 garlic cloves, minced (we used 2 tsp minced garlic in a jar)

Heat oven to 350 degrees
Spray mini muffin cups with non-stick spray
Place won ton wrappers in mini muffin cups
Bake 5 minutes
Mix ingredients
Spoon mixture into won ton cups
Bake 12-14 minutes until edges are brown.

 These were a big hit with our table mates. A very quick and easy appetizer.

Spinach & Artichoke Cups

Mary's Artichoke Tip

Mary also threw together a super good salad. I highly recommend this salad. I love cashews so it was a big hit with me. The guys liked it too.

Cashew Lettuce Salad

3 bags lettuce
Chopped red onion
12 oz cashews
8oz shredded swiss cheese

Dressing
3/4 C. Oil
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp Poppy seed
1tsp ground mustard
We put the dressing on 1/2 the salad.

Runza Casserole

2 lbs ground beef
2 C. Chopped Cabbage
1can cream of celery soup
2 (8 count) tubes crescent rolls
1/4 C. chopped onion
1-1/2 tsp pepper
1 C. mild shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the ground beef along with onion, salt and pepper. Drain and add cabbage. Simmer for 15 min. Stir in cream of celery soup.

Spray a 9 by 13 pan with non-stick spray

roll out one tube of crescent rolls in the bottom of the pan

Add cabbage hamburger mixture

Sprinkle with cheese

roll out second tube over the top of the casserole
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Jana's Runza Tip

Runza Casserole and Cashew Lettuce Salad

What I Learned: 

     I learned that Won Ton Wraps make great appetizer cups when they are pushed into a mini muffin cup and baked. They are simple to fill and make for easy pick up and eat. Plus they are were quick. I absolutely loved it.

     I also learned that crescent rolls make a great top and bottom crust. They are flaky and tasty. The Runza Casserole was wonderfully simple and I'd suggest making a double batch because it truly is great warmed up the next day. I love casseroles and this one is very convenient.

     Since Runza sandwiches were so big in Nebraska when we lived there, we looked up Runza on the Internet to see the history. According to Wikipedia, a Runza is a yeast dough bread pocket filled with a beef, onion, cabbage or sauerkraut mix. The Runza sandwich originated in Russia during the 1800s and spread to Germany. German immigrants brought the Runza sandwich to the US. There is a registered trademark restaurant in Nebraska that specializes in the Runza sandwich. I remembered the sandwiches being rather time consuming. I'm happy to say, the casserole is a super simple way to make the Runza. 

An A+ Night

Thanks Everyone!!!!

Guest Chef Lynda

August 28, 2011
Swiss Cheese Lasagna

 Guest Chef Lynda: This week I had my sorority sisters join me for a cooking afternoon. One of them demonstrated her lasagna recipe. This lasagna has swiss cheese. I had never tried lasagna with swiss cheese prior to this. Since I love swiss cheese, I had no doubt that it would be great. The gals have spent a number of meetings at my house so they were thrilled with the new kitchen. We spent some time checking out the new appliances.

Checking out the Appliances



The stove



Trash Compactor





 
   

Microwave Drawer

Counter Depth Refrigerator

So much fun playing with the new toys.



We decided to put them to good use making Lynda's Swiss Cheese Lasagna

What I learned:  Lasagna is a good way to use up those fresh tomatoes from the garden. Once again I am fascinated by the fact that making the sauce is not that difficult. We did cheat this time and use garlic and basil from the spice container instead of chopping them fresh, but we still cooked and simmered the sauce for flavor. Lynda showed how to sprinkle, pour and dump without the use of measuring cups or spoons. She goes more by eye-balling rather than measuring. Cuts down on dishing washing too. :) We did cook the noodles this time, which takes a bit of watching and putting a little oil in the water helps keep the noodles from sticking together. The swiss cheese was definitely a good choice. I think just about any cheese would taste good on lasagna.  I discovered the conversations never stop with 5 women in the kitchen. The cooking tips were flying and recipe ideas were streaming. Before we knew it the meal was ready to eat.

Lynda's Hint for Luscious Lasagna: (click on the video)

Swiss Cheese Lasagna:

1 Box lasagna noodles

2 T. minced onion

1 tsp garlic

1/2 lb ground beef

1 oz can tomato paste

1 large can diced tomatoes or Use 4-5 fresh tomatoes diced

Salt and Pepper to taste

A dash of basil

A dash of Oregano

16 oz container of cottage cheese (can also use ricotta)

8 oz of Swiss Cheese

1 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Bring 1-2 quarts of water to a boil

Cook ground beef, onion, garlic until red disappears.

Blend tomato paste, tomatoes, pepper basil and oregano.

Simmer and stir occasionally for 20 minutes.

 

At the same time cook the noodles for 20 minutes.

Grease or spray with non-stick spray a 9 by 13 baking dish. Alternate layers of noodles, meat sauce, cottage cheese, swiss cheese and Parmesan cheese (using about 1/3 for each layer). Repeat layer twice for 3 layers.

Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees. 



Serve with fresh fruit, a lettuce salad
and garlic bread



  Lynda is already planning her next Cooking With Marilee. I can't wait, this was so much fun.



 

The weather was so nice we enjoyed the meal on the porch. Lynda topped things off with some cake.

Yum and Fun!!!

Guest Chef Michele

Thursday August 25, 2011:   Chicken Fajitas

Guest Chef Michele:  I'm happy to report that we had our air conditioning fixed since the last Cooking with Marilee. However, Michele and I definitely stirred up some heat in the kitchen. Michele practices eating low carbs, so this recipe has very few carbohydrates. However, it is not low in flavor. It is too bad you can't smell this blog because with the chicken and the onions cooking, it sure smelled wonderful. After putting this recipe together, I'm convinced that I need to get a garlic press, lime squeezer and a salad spinner. *hint, hint*

Cracking Garlic

Mincing garlic with the garlic press

Things I learned:  You would have thought that I had learned all about garlic last week with John and Eric. But Michele had more garlic hints for me. She showed me how to crack the garlic by pressing on the garlic clove with the side of the knife blade till it snaps. Then the peeling comes off much easier. Then she put the clove in the garlic press and minced it in a flash.

The fajitas recipe called for 3 tablespoons of lime juice so Michele also showed me a how to use the lime squeezer. She had this great tip for lime juice:

Michele's Lime Juice Tip (click on the video)

Ingredients for Chicken Fajitas

Chicken: 

1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 T olive oil
3 T lime juice
2 cloves garlic
1 C packed cilantro leaves
1/2 seeded jalapeno pepper
salt/pepper to taste
1 lg. onion, peeled and cut in strips
1 green pepper seeded and sliced
10 low carb tortillas
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Salsa

1) Flatten chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thick (put chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a mallet or rolling pin)
2) Place flattened chicken in glass baking dish.
3) In blender combine 2 T olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, salt and pepper.

Cilantro makes it green

4) Blend until smooth and pour over the chicken. (It will be very green)
5) Let marinate for 30 minutes

(while chicken is marinating blend up your favorite margarita mix)

Vegetables:
6) Slice the chicken into strips
7) Cook in skillet, grill pan or on the grill
8) Heat 1T oil in skillet and add onions and green peppers, cook till tender.
9) Heat tortillas

Pulling off the cilantro leaves and packing them in the measuring cup

Cooking the chicken, onions and green peppers

For an added bonus: Make your own Low Carb Chips

1) Cut one package of tortillas chips into quarters

2) Lay the pie shaped pieces out on a cookie sheet

3) Pour some olive oil over the top and brush oil over both sides of each piece

4) Bake in 350 degree oven until browned

 

Build your fajita on a tortilla with chicken, onion, green peppers, cheese, sour cream and salsa

Roll the tortilla around the filling and enjoy

It was also my mother's 70th birthday so we celebrated with fajitas, chips and margaritas.

Happy Birthday Mom 

Guest Chefs John and Eric

August 17, 2011

Wheat Berry Lasagna

Guest Chef's John and Eric:  My brother-in-law John and his son Eric came to show me how to put together a terrific lasagna with a sauce we made ourselves. I did realize that if I would like to encourage men to guest chef, I really do need to get some new aprons. My grandma's aprons are really not suitable for the guys. It was an interesting evening, since my air conditioning went out the day before we planned to cook and the repair man couldn't come until the day after. As a result, we had to cook in a rather hot kitchen. We invited Jeff's family and ended up with a clan of 14. This one pan of lasagna actually fed all 14 with 3 pieces to spare. The 3 layers made it nice and deep. If you want to wow your family give this recipe a whirl. It looks fabulous and tastes like gourmet. We began unloading the groceries at 4:15 and set the food out for feasting at 6:30. Thanks guys it was molto eccellente.



garlic cloves



Things I learned: Since this recipe used some items I was not accustomed to using, I did learn a number of things. I have always shied away from buying fresh garlic, because believe it or not, I had never seen anyone break off the cloves or cut them up. I really did not know how to mince a garlic. I'm pretty sure many of my non-cooking friends have not minced garlic either. After watching John break off the cloves and cut each of them into small pieces, I wondered why it had seemed so daunting. I also learned that making my own sauce was not that difficult and tasted amazingly better than the jar sauce I generally use. The sauce required only a little chopping and sauteing. Not so tricky after all. The lasagna recipe called for soft wheat berry which I had never heard of. John explained that it is sold at the health food store. Including wheat berries in the lasagna made me curious about them which prompted me to go to the internet and look them up.

I found out Soft Wheat Berries are actually the wheat kernel before it is ground into flour. It literally is the "whole wheat." Anyone with a home mill can actually buy the berries and grind their own flour. They have fiber, protein and iron. If you like sprouts, the berry can be used to grow sprouts which have vitamin E, antioxidants and magnesium for healthy bones and muscles. The berries add texture and gave it a wheat and nutty flavor. They are often used in stir fry or salads. They can also be substituted for or added to rice. It is necessary to boil and simmer the wheat berry before adding to recipes. Truly a cute little addition to lasagna to make it tasty and nutritious.

John's Tip for his lasagna: (click on the video)

Wheat Berry Lasagna

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a small saucepan combine 3/4 cup soft wheat berry and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and then simmer while preparing the vegetables.

Ingredients                                      
3/4 cup soft wheat berry
1 onion chopped
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 lb hamburger
1 28 oz can large diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 10 oz pk frozen spinach
1 pk wheat lasagna noodles
1 lb shredded mossarella cheese
1 lb ricotta cheese
1-2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
2 large sliced tomatoes

In a small bowl combine these spices

1 1/2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 heaping tsp basil

2 heaping tsp oregano

1 heaping tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp pepper

2 T parsley

1/2 tsp baking soda

Chop onion and mince garlic
In a skillet heat olive oil                                             
Saute the onions and garlic until soft
Add and cook the hamburger until brown (omit if you'd rather go vegetarian)
Add canned tomatoes and tomato paste
Stir in the frozen spinach
Add the bowlful of spices and the soft wheat berry
Stir and simmer until well blended

To layer the lasagna

 

Spray the pan with a non stick spray to prevent sticking                            

Layer 1: Line the bottom of the pan with sauce

Place 3-4 raw lasagna noodles over top of sauce

Dob 1/2 the ricotta cheese on top of the noodles and spread around

Cover the ricotta cheese with 1/2 the mozzarella cheese

Layer 2: Put on another layer of sauce

Add a few slices of fresh tomato

Place 3-4 raw lasagna noodles over layers and press down to fit

Dob with second 1/2 of ricotta cheese and spread around

Cover with second 1/2 of mozzarella cheese

Add a few slices of fresh tomato

Layer 3: Place 3-4 raw lasagna noodles over layers and press down

Cover with remaining sauce

Shred the parmesan cheese on top

Place several fresh tomato slices on top

                  

Bake uncovered for an hour

                                          

Eric and John also made Italian Sausage with Pepper and Onions to go along with the lasagna.The recipe can be found on cooks.com.  We heated up some  baked wheat bread to go along. I threw together a spinach and strawberry salad and set out some fresh melon and pineapple. To top off our italian night, for dessert John and Eric dished us up a taste of chocolate and raspberry sorbetto.