Pasta E Fagioli(Pasta and Beans)

 

I got a request for some more soups. Here's a good one for ya Kaylene! I've made this plenty of times, and it gets gobbled up EVERY TIME. I'm not even sure why I didn't think to add this one to the blog before now. This past week has been full of fun: My brother got married, I have a new, AWESOME sister-in-law, my sister and her daughter flew in from California, and we've been driving back and forth so we can be together as much as possible. Let's just say that my food blog has taken a back seat to all this wonderful madness. And while it's not quite over yet, I have a few minutes to put up a post. I brought this soup over to my parents home the day we were setting up the wedding. The only one who couldn't have this was my Dad, who has a gluten allergy. I used gluten free beef stock, but the pasta wasn't gluten free. Bummer, maybe next time Dad!

Pasta E Fagioli(Pasta and Beans)
Serves/Makes: 9 qts

INGREDIENTS:
3 teaspoons Oil
2 pounds Ground beef
1 large Onion; chopped
1 cup chopped Carrots
1 cup Celery, thinly sliced
48 ounces Tomatoes; canned, diced
2 cups cooked Red Kidney beans
2 cups cooked White kidney beans
88 ounces Beef stock
3 teaspoons Oregano
2 1/2 teaspoons Pepper
1 Tablespoon dried Parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
48 ounces Spaghetti sauce(I used Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic)
8 ounces dry pasta Shell macaroni; or other pasta(1 1/2 cup dry pasta)
1 Tablespoon basil, dried

PREPARATIONN:
Saute beef in oil in large 10-qt. pot until beef turns brown. Add onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse beans and add to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.

Overnight Oatmeal

 

Greek Yogurt can be used in so many ways. I'm not a fan of yogurt, but the Greek Yogurt, I like. What a great healthy breakfast that is VERY filling. Just the thing we need in the morning. No cooking or baking, just mix it and refrigerate!

Overnight Oatmeal

Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
½ cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
½ cup milk
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ tsp vanilla
½ tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP honey

Extras
Optional toppings:
Chopped nuts or seeds
chopped dried fruit(apricots, dates, raisins, cranberries, blueberries,etc.),
pureed pumpkin, maple syrup, brown sugar, sliced apples, bananas, applesauce, fresh grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries or other berries.

Directions:
Combine and stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve warm or cold. If you are adding chopped nuts or seeds, you can add them in the mix, or sprinkle them on in the morning. However you like it. This makes 3 large servings.

Smokey Honey Mustard Pork Chops

This was a quick, easy, simple ingredient, tasty meal. I've done something similar with chicken before, but I hadn't used the liquid smoke before. So, I was interested in what this would taste like. We love it over here! This is lean, good tasting meat. I found the picture and recipe, again from ourbestbites.com, just click on the title. I hope you give this one a try.

Smoky Honey Mustard Pork Chops

4 4-6 oz. pork loin or sirloin chops
Kosher salt and pepper
Liquid Smoke
3 Tbsp. Dijon or whole grain mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
2 cloves minced garlic

Sprinkle pork chops with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Give them a liberal dousing of liquid smoke (you can usually find this either near the seasonings or the BBQ sauce/condiments in the grocery store). Set aside.
Heat oven broiler to high or preheat grill. Combine honey, garlic, and mustard. Place pork chops on broiler pan/grill and cook for 4-5 minutes. Turn and cook another 4-5 minutes. You want the internal temperature to be at least 165 (that’s a little pink inside), but you also don’t want to overcook them because they’ll become tough. So you may need to adjust your cooking times a little, bearing in mind that they have two minutes to cook after the initial 8-10 minutes.
Baste with honey mustard mixture and cook an additional minute. Turn and baste other side; cook for one additional minute. Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes to seal in the juices.

Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

It's not really common for me to serve Bacon, but I gave this recipe a try, and I was pleasantly surprised at how GOOD it was. It's a super simple recipe, simple ingredients, and a fabulous taste. This served our family of four, two adults, two children, perfectly. The recipe and picture I found at ourbestbites.com, just click on the title. I used a Homemade Teriyaki Sauce(previous post)or you could just use the kind that you have or know you already like.


Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
About 8 oz. lean bacon, NOT thick-sliced (thick bacon is too hard to work with in this recipe)
1 large can pineapple chunks (you won’t use all of them)
Homemade Teriyaki sauce (the best!) or Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze
Kebab skewers or toothpicks
Now…the easiest way to handle the bacon situation is to remove it from the package and while it’s still all stuck together, stretch it out a little (lengthwise). If you’re using center-cut bacon (and the “slab” is not as wide as regular bacon), just cut it in half. Otherwise, use kitchen shears to cut the slab into thirds. Refrigerate until ready to use, partially because it’s easier to work with cold bacon and partially because you don’t want to kill any dinner guests with dead pig germs.
Using kitchen shears, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. You can gauge about how many pieces you’ll need by how many pieces of bacon you have; you probably won’t use all the bacon, but you’ll need about 8 oz. or 2/3 of a standard-sized package of bacon. So count the bacon pieces and keep that in mind when cutting up your chicken.
Drain the pineapple and set up a little work station with skewers, bacon, chicken, and a 9×13 baking dish (for big skewers) or a sturdy Ziploc bag (for toothpick skewers). Wrap a piece of bacon around a chicken piece, secure with toothpick/skewer, and top with a chunk of pineapple. Repeat twice if using large skewers. When all chicken pieces have been sufficiently staked, pour Teriyaki sauce over everything, reserving about 1/4 c., and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours, no longer than about 8.

Preheat grill**; when about 350-400 degrees, place skewers on grill and baste with reserved Teriyaki sauce. Cook about 7 minutes and flip skewers. Baste again and cook another 7 minutes.


*If serving at a party, you can keep the appetizer-sized skewers warm in a crockpot set to low or an electric roaster set to 170 degrees.
**If cooking in oven, preheat oven to 400 and bake about 20 minutes, turning once, following the same basting instructions.

Teriyaki Sauce

This Homemade Teriyaki Sauce is Very Good. I never thought of making this at home! Last time I bought some, it took me a while to decide on what to buy, because I was trying to choose one with the ingredients that I COULD recognize. With this version of Teriyaki Sauce you'll recognize every single ingredient. I used this with the Bacon-Wrapped Teriyaki Chicken Skewers, in the next post. This recipe and picture came from ourbestbites.com, just click on the title.

Teriyaki Sauce

1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. cold water
½ c. white sugar
½ c. soy sauce
¼ c. cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. black pepper

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. You can use either ground ginger as directed or about 1 1/4 tsp. of fresh ginger. Believe it or not, in this recipe, I actually prefer ground ginger; it has a slightly different flavor that I think infuses better in the sauce than fresh ginger.

Combine your ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. While sauce is heating, combine cornstarch and cold water. When sauce comes to a full boil, add cornstarch mixture and stir until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and use any way you darn well please. You can store it in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks

Baked Onion Rings

 

These are quite simple to make, and I love that they are baked instead of fried. One large onion is the perfect amount for our family.

Low Fat Baked Onion Rings

1 medium onion, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
1 cup flour
2 cups low fat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black peper
1 cup Italian Seasoned bread crumbs(Whole wheat bread crumbs work great here too)
1/2 cup crushed Crispy Rice cereal
olive oil baking spray


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray baking sheet with olive oil baking spray.

Place onion slices in a large Ziploc bag with the flour, shake to coat well.

In a shallow dish, add buttermilk, salt and pepper, and mix well.

In another shallow dish, add bread crumbs and Crispy Rice cereal.

Working with one onion ring at a time, shake off excess flour from one ring, and place in buttermilk, then into the crumb mixture and cover well, carefully pressing the mixture on with your hand. Gently place on prepared baking pan. Continue with the rest of the onion rings. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and bake for 15-20 minutes till golden and crispy. Serve immediately.
Dip each soaked onion ring into the crumb mixture; coat well. Place rings onto two cookie sheets. Lightly spray with oil. Bake about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Baked Seasoned Fries

Kaleb requested Chicken Nuggets for dinner tonight, so I decided to try these to go with it. I love home baked oven fries and these are super good. Mine were starting to get crispy, but since the chicken was already done, I didn't wait till they were totally crispy. No matter, they were still good, and probably even BETTER when they are totally crispy. I found this recipe and the picture at skinnytaste, just click on the title. She has the recipe for the dip in the picture, but since I forgot all about the dip, I decided it wouldn't be good for me to post. I will try it the next time I make these. Believe it or not, there is no salt on these. WOW! I didn't even miss it.

Skinny Baked Seasoned Fries with Garlic Aioli

2 medium potatoes, russet or yukon gold, washed and dried
2 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp herbs de provence (or use a combo of dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram)
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
fresh lime zest

Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up. Lightly coat with cooking spray.

Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices; cut each slice into 1/4 inch fries.
In a large bowl, combine cut potatoes and oil; toss well. Add rosemary, thyme, garlic and seasoning. Toss to coat.

Place in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until tender crisp, turning once half way through. Remove from oven. (I had mine in for 30 minutes and could have been in there longer if I had the patience.)

Our Best Banana Whipped Cream Cake(Banana Bavarian Cake from Kienow's Bohemian Bakery -copycat)

When I was in 7th or 8th Grade, I took a Home Economics class, where my first love of baking started. I can't even remember what we baked, just that I really enjoyed myself. Again, when I was in High School, I took another foods class and got more into baking. On weekends, my cousin Kim and I would get together and attempted to make up dances, be silly, and you guessed it, bake! I don't think there was one time, ever, that we actually got the recipe totally correct. There was always something we missed, or accidentally put in something else in instead. Despite our imperfections, it ALWAYS turned out great. Well, except that one time. :) Today, I am attempting to recreate Brandon's and I's wedding cake. This cake is so popular amongst Portlander's, that a food engineer was able to replicate the cake and published a recipe for all to enjoy. It was from Kienow's market, the now out-of-business Bohemian Bakery. Brandon got this recipe printed from a friend at work, but I found it online because I wanted to know for sure where it came from. Click on the title and it will take you to Oregon Live, and you can read about and see the recipe for yourselves. The pictures are actually from my camera this time. We'll survive. Well, I've got the music playing, Kaleb helping, and my "Friday Brain" in the kitchen. So, guess what? I have forgotten to put in the salt, and both the pure vanilla extract and the imitation vanilla extract. This would happen. Since I had already spent some time in the kitchen putting the cake mix together, there's no way I wanted to start that over again. I went and bought some cake strips (Wilton brand from Michaels, called Bake Even Strips), and when I pulled the cake out of the oven I had a cake that was evenly baked! Wow! No dome in the center of the cake, I love it. The cake was a success, and I'm sure it will be our new tradition to make for our Anniversary yearly, how exciting is that?!! I wish y'all could come over and have a slice, you've GOT to try this cake!


Banana cake still a cut above the rest 12/04/01BARBARA DURBIN Q: Over a year ago FOODday printed the recipe for the banana cake made by the out-of-business Bohemian Bakery, the one they used to make for Kienow's Markets. Well, if you could find it, I would love to have it. -- Dan Dorr, Gresham

A: Yes, we ran that recipe in response to the dozens of requests over the years. Our Best Banana Whipped Cream Cake Makes one 4-layer, 9-inch cake. This cake was developed by food engineer Lynda Nestelle and comes close to the original Bohemian Bakery cake. It calls for xanthan gum to give a finer crumb in the cake and to make the filling and frosting more stable, but you can make the cake without it.

We found this cake (like the bakery banana cakes) had even more banana flavor the second day. This cake must be kept refrigerated because of the whipped cream filling and frosting.

Our Best Banana Whipped Cream Cake
Cake:
2 cups sifted cake flour (not all-purpose flour)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional; see note)
1/2 cup corn oil (corn oil produces a better texture)
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 large or 3 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon artificial vanilla (see note)
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 egg yolks
Meringue:
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Whipped cream filling and frosting:
2 cups regular whipping cream if using a stabilizer (otherwise use heavy whipping cream)
1/4 to 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or all-purpose stabilizer (optional), such as instant Clear Gel (see note) or gelatin formula for frosting (see accompanying recipe),
1 teaspoon vanilla (either kind)
2 medium bananas or 1 large, sliced thin

Cake crumbs for decoration (optional; see note)

1 maraschino cherry with stem, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

To make cake: In a large bowl, sift together sifted cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum, if using.

Add corn oil, mashed bananas and both kinds of vanilla. Beat 1 minute with electric mixer.

Add buttermilk and egg yolks and beat another minute.

To make meringue: In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat egg whites lightly. Add cream of tartar and, while continuing to beat, add sugar gradually. Beat until a stiff meringue forms. Fold the meringue gently into cake batter. (Underfolding will leave white streaks; overfolding will make the cake tough.)

Pour into prepared pans. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. (See note about cake strips.)

Cool on cake racks. Split each layer horizontally to make a total of four layers.

To make whipped cream filling and frosting: In a large chilled bowl, whip cream with electric mixer, gradually adding powdered sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum or stabilizer powder, if using, and vanilla.

Place 1 split layer on a plate, cut side down (the bottom, browner side up, is easier to frost than the cut side). Place wax paper strips under the edge of the cake so the plate will stay neat.

Using a round-tipped steel spatula, spread with a layer of whipped cream filling; top with second cake layer (the baked, brown top facing up). Frost second layer. Top with sliced bananas. Add third layer (second bottom, browner side up) and add more filling, then top with fourth layer (again, the baked, brown top facing up). Frost sides with remaining whipped cream. Add whipped cream rosettes piped with pastry tube, if desired. Or add dollops of whipped cream dropped from a teaspoon.

Garnish rosette in middle with maraschino cherry. Remove wax paper strips. Refrigerate until serving. Note about stabilizers: Xanthan gum and instant Clear Gel stabilizer are available at the Decorette Shop in Tigard and at the Foster Road location, at some health food stores or grocery departments, or at some craft store cooking/hobby departments. Note about vanilla: Using a combination of real and artificial vanilla gives a better texture. Note about cake crumbs: The Bohemian Bakery apparently used dried, ground cake crumbs -- not necessarily banana cake -- pressed onto the outside of the frosted layers. You can skip this step or, Lynda Nestelle suggests, you could buy a couple of muffins, toast broken-up pieces in a toaster oven and process them to crumbs in a food processor. Note about cake strips: Commercial cake strips that go around cake pans help cakes bake perfectly level on the top and prevent overbrowning. Nestelle has found that strips made from old bedsheets, folded 4 layers thick and thoroughly dampened with cold water, work as well. Folded, they should not rise above the edge of the pan. Wrap them around pans, under the pans' rims, to prevent overbrowning on the outside rim. Whipped