Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Poor Man's Lobster Thermidor

I got this recipe out of the Mennonite cook book More With Less. I have had tilapia in my freezer for the longest time and was looking for new recipes to use it in. I added celery to this recipe, as well as extra random spices. I topped it with buttered breadcrumbs mixed with spices and grated Parmesan cheese. It was really good1

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. chopped onions
1/2 c. mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of paprika
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. cooking wine (optional)
2 c. cooked white fish pieces
Buttered bread crumbs
Grated cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Saute first 3 ingredients. Add next 4. Cook until bubbly, add next 3. Cook, stir until thickened, add egg yolk and wine and fish. Place in shallow baking dish, top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake about 8 to 10 minutes until brown.

Nutella Fudge Brownies--Posted by Joy

Taken from savorysweetlife.com

Nutella Fudge Brownies*

Makes 12 Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Nutella spread
1 large egg
5 tablespoons all=purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

2.  Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended.  Add the flour and whisk until blended.

3.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.
4.  Bake until a pick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes.  Set on a rack to cool completely.  Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.




 



*JOY'S NOTES: Nutella brownies?! Seriously, what could be better than that?! Only nutella brownies with whipped cream, a tall glass of milk and a friend to share them with!! Tessie came for dinner tonight and I was randomly searching for easy dessert recipes and happened across this one.  I didn't have chopped hazelnuts or mini muffin pans so I just mixed up the unbelievably easy batter, poured it into a lightly greased glass dish and baked it til they were set (probably 20 or so minutes). Totally easy recipe and totally a keeper!

Zuppa Toscana--Posted by Joy

Taken from Tuscanrecipes.com: 

Olive Garden® Zuppa Toscana*

This is a much requested recipe on the site given its name! Someone who used to work at the Olive Garden sent in the original recipe and I've adapted it to serve just 6-8. Try it since it is really yummy!
It is a very good soup and hits the spot on cold winter days. I've included this and a few other Olive Garden-inspired recipes on the site for all of our visitors that enjoy eating at the restaurant chain. In my opinion, making these recipes at home makes them even better than the ones you eat at the restaurant! :)
Makes: 6-8 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
  • 1 large diced white onion
  • 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
  • 2 tsp garlic puree
  • 10 cups water
  • 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
  • ¼ of a bunch of kale
  1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
  2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
  3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
  4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
  5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
  6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. Delicious!
Buon appetito!



*JOY'S NOTES: This recipe is really good! I used hot Italian sausage so I didn't add as much red pepper. I didn't have bullion cubes, and I don't like them anyway, so I used 10 cups of turkey stock. I didn't have heavy cream so I used half and half. And I used baby spinach instead of kale. It turned out really yummy :-) A little bit time consuming, but I cooked a lot of extra sausage so that was the main work. Obviously not the healthiest soup...but really tasty :-)