Food Friday - Any thoughts?

I'm not sure the Food Friday posts are working with my general blog. So I'm looking for some suggestions on what I can do to liven up my Friday posts. Do you want me to try a word association post? Do you want me to focus on something else? Do you like the recipes and want me to keep going with them?

Let me know what you think.

Food Friday - Free for all

Today I only have one recipe for you. I need to go through my files and find some new recipes to share. I thought it might be fun for you to share some of your favorite recipes. Just leave them in the comments and let us know what your favorite things to cook are.

Sausage Soup

1 kielbasa sausage, sliced
2 cans beef stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
2 c. celery, sliced into 1/4" slices
2 c. diced carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp chili powder
Olive oil

1. Brown sliced kielbasa and set aside.
2. In large pot, drizzle a little olive oil. Add in onion and garlic. Cook on medium heat until onions turn translucent. Add in celery, carrots, and peppers. Cook on medium heat for fifteen minutes.
3. Pour in cans of beef stock and diced tomatoes (with the juice). Stir together. Add in herbs and spices and stir well. Toss in kielbasa and simmer for 20 minutes.

Food Friday - Red Beans and Rice, Spinach Salad, and Carrot Cake

This week is a little bit of a mish mash but I've made this meal plenty of times and it's a favorite in my house.


Red Beans and Rice

1 pkg. dried red beans
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 tsp chili powder
2 ham hocks (you can use 2 c. chopped ham or 2 c. chopped cooked bacon)
Rice
Hot sauce, if desired

1. Soak the beans overnight. Drain water. Place beans in a large pot and cover with water up to an inch over the top of the beans.
2. Add onion, garlic, bay leaves, chili powder, and ham hocks. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until beans are tender. Times vary but I always start checking it at half an hour. Stir occasionally.
3. Prepare rice as it says to on the package. Place rice on a plate and top with red beans. Add a dash of your favorite hot sauce if you wish and enjoy.

Spinach Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 pkg spinach, rinsed
1 pkg spring greens, rinsed
10 strawberries, sliced
1/2 c. sliced almonds

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
1 small onion, chopped
1 T soy sauce
3 tsp honey
1 T white sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1. Mix salad greens together with strawberries. Sprinkle almonds on top.
2. For the dressing, place everything except the olive oil in a blender. Puree on high, gradually adding the olive oil. Puree for another 2 minutes, or until thick.

Carrot Cake

2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 c. white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/3 c. vegetable oil
4 c. grated carrots
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
3/4 c. dried blueberries (you can use raisins, craisins, or another chopped dried fruit)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan. Sift together all the dry ingredients and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together eggs and sugar. Add the oil. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Once everything's mixed together, fold in carrots, walnuts, and dried fruit. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.
3. Bake 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve with your favorite cream cheese frosting. (I cheat. I use canned frosting and mix in drained crushed pineapple for my frosting.)

Friday Foods - Fun summer dinner

Well, what's summer without the use of a grill? The most iconic symbol of summer is cooking over a charcoal or gas grill. Everyone has done it or been invited to a party where the host was doing it at some point in their lives. So I'm going to share with you one of my favorite summertime meals.

(Picture courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Honey Chicken Kabobs

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/4 tsp. black pepper

8 skinless, bonless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic

5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces (2 large onions works too)

2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces (you can use green, yellow, orange, whatever color you like)

skewers

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place all remaining ingredients in the marinade and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (the longer the better).

2. Preheat the grill for high heat.

3. Drain marinade from chicken and vegetables. Discard used marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers. (If you're using bamboo skewers, I always recommend soaking your skewers in water first.)

4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Rotate frequently, brushing the reserved marinade over the kabobs with each turn.

(Photo courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Potato Salad

2 lbs. russet potatoes

1 c. mayonnaise

4 tsp dill pickle relish (you can use sweet pickle relish if you prefer)

4 tsp white sugar

2 tsp chopped onion

2 tsp yellow mustard

1 tsp white vinegar

1 T chopped celery

1/4 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

salt to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Peel and cook potatoes until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and chop.

2. In a large bowl, mix together potatoes, mayonnaise, and everything else until potatoes are coated. Chill and serve.

(Picture courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Rich S'mores

8 large oatmeal cookies (I've used chewy chocolate chip cookies, and chewy molasses cookies)

4 oz. milk chocolate

8 large marshmallows

1, Preheat grill for high heat.

2. Place 1 oz of chocolate on flat side of four of the cookies. Skewer the marshmallows and cook, turning frequently until golden brown.

3. Slide two marshmallows off onto the chocolate and top with the other cookie (flat side down). Give it a couple minutes to melt the chocolate and then enjoy.

Friday Food - Breakfast

Yes, I know. I'm a day late. Friday was a busy day for me and I completely forgot my blog post. But today we're talking breakfast. I'm digging into my recipe box to share some interesting recipes for a good start to your day.

Breakfast Muffin Cups


3 cups frozen hash browns, thawed
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
14 links breakfast sausage
6 eggs
2 cups shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
Chopped fresh chives or green onions


In a bowl, combine the hash browns, butter, salt and pepper. Press mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of greased non-stick muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, cook sausage according to package directions; cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Divide sausage among muffin cups. Combine the eggs, cheese and bell pepper. Spoon over sausage. Sprinkle with chives. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until set.

Cinnamon Griddle Cakes


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk


In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon.

In a separate large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, corn syrup, butter and vanilla extract. Stir in the flour mixture.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium low heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

While pancakes are cooking, mix the icing. Combine confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and enough milk to make a liquid frosting. Drizzle frosting on hot pancakes before serving.

Breakfast in a Glass


1 banana
1/4 cup strawberries
1/3 cup nonfat milk
1 (8 ounce) container nonfat plain yogurt

In a blender, combine banana, strawberries, milk and yogurt. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

Food Friday - Semi-homemade

Hi everyone!

I'm resurrecting an old idea of mine and starting it again this week. Fridays are Food Fridays, a day where I share recipes that have some common theme.

This week's theme? Semi-homemade.

I'm not much of a cook. I can cook things from scratch, but I don't do it often. One of the big things I've become known for is doctoring pre-made stuff into semi-homemade dinners.

Veggie Mix Spaghetti with Sausauge

1 large can or 1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, diced
1 c. shredded carrots
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 small zucchini, sliced (thin half moon shapes or diced if you prefer it smaller)
1 kielbasa or other smoked sausage, cut into 1/4" slices or chunks
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
Pasta, cooked and drained
Olive oil
Shredded parmesan or mozzarella cheese (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a pan. Throw in the sausage and start browning it. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until onions are translucent. Set to the side. Pour spaghetti sauce into sauce pan. Turn on to medium heat. Add canned tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, and spices. Stir together and let cook for fifteen minutes, or until zucchini is cooked. Add sausage, mushrooms, and onions and stir together. Let cook for another five minutes so flavors blend. Serve with your favorite cooked pasta. Top with shredded cheese if preferred.

Salad with homemade Ranch dressing
1 package spring greens
1 package chopped romaine
Handful grape tomatoes or one medium sized tomato, diced

Homemade Ranch Dressing
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp dried chives
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the salad dressing until mixed smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. When it's time to serve, use the salad recipe or your own preferred salad and serve with the ranch dressing.

Cheese Garlic Biscuits
2 c. Bisquick Biscuit mix
2/3 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar
2 T butter or margarine, softened
1/8 tsp garlic powder

Heat oven to 450 F. Stir Bisquick mix, milk, and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by nine spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic. Brush over warm biscuits.