Food Friday - Christmas Brunch

from Tracey G

I love this dish - and I'm sure most people have some kind of version of a "ring" in their bag of recipe tricks, lol. It uses the refrigerated crescent roll dough to make it pretty. My mom found this particular recipe years ago, and I know she's added a few tweaks here and there and I've even made my own on the fly with it. I discovered that what's written in my book is different from what she had written down, lol. So I made my version this time, but I know we've made hers more, lol. She called for shredded Colby Jack, I used shredded Swiss, so you can go with whichever you like - or change it up each time you make it. Sometimes ham and Swiss is what you after - so go for it, as I did!

 I also upped the Dijon mustard amount - I go by taste, so I start with the 2 tbsp called for and go from there. I think in this particular go, I added a couple more extra (could even have been 3 extra for a total of 5, lol) - I love the flavor it adds. It also calls for chopped/minced onion and since Harry is not a big fan, I used some onion powder (to taste). Although, since it has broccoli in it, my hopes of him eating it were dashed. But I did decide it would be good without the broccoli, lol.

The longest part of the recipe, for me is arranging the crescent roll dough in an even pinwheel - I'm so particular I arrange and rearrange more times than I can count so I can get if fairly even. You really don't have to be too particular because once it bakes it looks pretty anyway. ;-) It's also one of those recipes that tastes better the next day - so leftovers, if there are any, are really good if not better than the day before!

Broccoli Ham Ring

Preheat oven to 375°

2 - 8 oz. tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 ½ c shredded Monterey Jack cheese with Colby (Colby Jack)

¼ lb fully-cooked ham, diced (1/2 c)

2 ¼ c finely chopped broccoli

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp Dijon mustard (more to taste)

1 tsp lemon juice

Unroll crescent roll dough and place triangles on 12” pizza pan (or large cookie sheet), forming a ring with pointed ends facing outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping. Press wide ends together.

Combine remaining ingredients; spoon evenly over wide ends of rolls. Fold points over (towards center of pan) and tuck under wide ends (filling will be visible). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

from Kris B.

First let me apologize for my uninspired photo of this week's recipe.   This poor shot has nothing to do with the fact that I am behind with everything and am not yet fully feeling the Christmas spirit.  It is much more traumatic than that!  My tripod, with camera attached, tipped over and my lens took the brunt of the fall.  Thankfully, despite the fact that for some reason I had taken my UV filter off of it, the glass didn't break.  The plastic ring around the edge, however, is another story.

I logged on to the Nikon website to see what the procedure was for sending it in for repair.  Surprisingly, it was an easy process, not often the case these days.  I was presented with a multiple choice menu from which to identify the nature of my problem.   #2 "Dropped or Impact Damage". I guess I am not the only unfortunate person to have such a problem.  Once all of the pertinent information was supplied,  I was given an estimate of the cost of repair.  Mind you, it is only an estimate; but, I had to provide payment information at that point in order to proceed.  The good news is that the estimate is a great deal less than the cost of replacing the lens.  The bad news is that this lens is the most expensive one that I own.  So after school this afternoon, I'll make my way to UPS with all those who are trying frantically to get holiday gifts shipped and send my lens on its way.  Hopefully it will not get lost in the Christmas rush!

Once Nikon receives the lens and assesses the damage first hand, they will send a specific cost of repair and I will again have an opportunity to decide how to proceed.   Until then, I will be forced to use some of the lenses in my bag that I haven't used much lately.  That is a good thing, I think.  I have been kind of lazy and have been relying on my "workhorse" lens rather than pushing myself to be a little more creative with some of my other options.  We'll see what happens...

Back to breakfast...

Despite what the photo looks like, this egg dish with a southwest touch is really good!  The recipe was given to me by a friend several years ago.  I believe she got it when she was working as a substitute innkeeper for a bed and breakfast.  I wish that back then I had been more diligent about making note of such details.

Because my older daughter is a vegetarian, our Christmas morning main course is always meatless.  (The rest of us have bacon or sausage on the side.).   And truthfully, the "protein dish" is never what anyone in my family looks forward to.  For the last ten years, said vegetarian daughter has made homemade cinnamon rolls by the dozens for Christmas morning.  (Leftovers are a must!). These are the part of the morning feast that we all anticipate!  But, I insist on something with protein during the morning to help mediate the sugar and caffeine high on which we all find ourselves.  Hyper adults on Christmas  are not nearly as cute as sugared up excited children. Lol!

INGREDIENTS

1 TBS olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

12 corn tortillas, taco sized cut into pieces

2 4 oz. cans diced green chilies

2 Cups Mexican blend cheese

4 eggs

2 Cups buttermilk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp oregano

Dash of cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I make this is an cast iron skillet, but it can be made in a 2 quart casserole dish as well.  Coat the pan or dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until browned.

In the cooking pan, layer half of the tortillas, all of the onion mixture, half of the green chilies, and half of the cheese.  Continue layering with the remaining tortillas, chilies, and cheese.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and spices.  Pour the egg mixture over the layered ingredients.

Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for ten minutes.

This dish is good just like this, but can also be topped with sour cream, extra cheese, and/or diced fresh tomatoes.

I'm f you haven't yet settled on your Christmas morning menu, I hope you'll add this one to the list of contenders.

During this hectic and crazy time of year,  make sure to give yourself the gift of a few moments of peace in every day!

Food Friday - Chicken Out

In addition to this week’s recipe, I offer you a few observations on life courtesy of  my experiences with this week’s recipe.

1. Ever thinking that you will be ahead of the game is wasted thinking.  

It seems that no matter how much I plan and schedule and prepare and believe that I have things under control, I don’t.  This week was an object lesson in that.

During the school year, I try to cook ahead, sometimes it is whole meals and sometimes just ingredients so that I can throw together a quick meal when I get home.  On Sunday, I roasted two chickens.  Some of the meat I used immediately to make a chicken chili for a friend, some was for this week’s recipe, and the rest was going in the freezer.  Wednesday, I got the chicken out to make and photograph this week’s Chicken and Shells.  Just as I was starting, the contractor working on our landscaping wanted me to come outside and decide which way I wanted the gate to swing.  I left the ingredients on the counter only to return three minutes later to find the baggie of chicken no longer on the counter, but on the dog bed under my desk where there also sat a very full black lab.  That not only put an immediate stop to this week’s recipe preparation, it also meant that we had nothing for dinner that night, and my husband had no lunch the next day.  This is where planning ahead gets you.  I thought that I was being so clever by scheduling such that I would get the work done for the blog, and dinner, and the next day’s lunch all done at once and I was completely thrown off by an arthritic black lab who has trouble getting up and down stairs, but managed to get up on his hind legs to steal the meat of a whole chicken!  We had Taco Cabana for dinner that night.

2. The whole is usually greater than the sum of the parts.

We usually photograph all of the ingredients and the preparation of our recipes here.  I did that with this recipe, but the photos weren’t…well, they just weren’t pretty.  Technically they were OK, but that’s it.  Gorgonzola cheese is not pretty.  Flour and cream are not pretty.  And the there’s the whole meat thing.  

I can’t bring myself to photograph meat, especially raw meat.  I do eat meat, but not very often and I have to admit that I don’t cook it very well.  When we eat meat at home, most often it is prepared on the grill, and not by me.  Going back to the chicken mentioned earlier, my husband does all of the cutting and de-boning.  I just can’t do it.  Yeah, I am a walking contradiction!

3. Multitasking…

I can’t do it!  If I could, I probably would have done something differently and protected the chicken from the supposed arthritic dog.  Also, my inability to multitask clouds my opinion about the ease of preparation of this recipe.  It probably is not terribly time consuming, but when you stop and attempt to photograph each step along the way, it seems more cumbersome to prepare than it probably actually is.  In my defense, I have yet to burn anything because I have been more concerned with photographs than cooking, so maybe there is hope that I may one day become an efficient multi-tasker.

4. I have found my photographic calling - garlic portraiture!

As I said, most of the ingredients used today were not visually appealing to me.  The garlic was the exception…and the garlic keeper.  The garlic keeper is one of the relatively few things that I kept from dad’s home.  It sat on the counter.  Always.  And it always contained garlic that my dad had grown in his garden.  That’s why I kept it.  Now it sits on my counter, with garlic…that I buy at the grocery store.  Some day, I will grow my own garlic as my dad did.

Pasta shells are kind of pretty too.

When you attempt to share a new recipe every week, you realize how repetitive your eating patterns are!  I always thought that I cooked a variety of things, but as Tracey and I put our heads together mapping out the recipes for the coming weeks, we realize that we are now sharing new found recipes rather than personal favorites.  Such is the case with my contribution this week.  Chicken and Shells is in the current issue of Cuisine at Home magazine.  I love this magazine!  It is now the only cooking magazine for which I still have a subscription.

And (finally) the recipe…

Chicken and Shells

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound medium pasta shells

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper

5 TBS olive oil, divided

2 TBS all-purpose flour

2 TBS minced fresh garlic

1 1.2 Cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 Cups heavy cream

10 oz. Gorgonzola, crumbled

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

1 Cup fresh bread crumbs

1/4 grated Parmesan cheese

2 TBS chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp minced lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain and transfer it to a large bowl.

Saute the chicken in 2 TBS of olive oil over medium heat until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165 degrees, *about 6 mines on each side.  (*It took about eight minutes on each side for mine to be cooked through.)  remove from the pan, let cool, and then shred.

Using medium heat, add another TBS of olive oil to the pan used to cook the chicken.  Which in the flour and garlic.  Cook for one minute.  Gradually whisk in the garlic and the cream, then add the Gorgonzola and the rosemary sprigs.  Do not strip the the rosemary leaves.  Add the entire sprig to infuse the sauce with the herb flavor.  Return the chicken to the sauce.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thick, about ten minutes.

Remove the rosemary sprigs.

Combine the sauce with the pasta.  Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, lemon zest, and remaining 2 TBS of olive oil.  Sprinkle this mixture over the pasta.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did not use the parsley or the lemon zest in the topping.  I forgot to buy the parsley and decided that the lemon zest wasn’t necessary without it.  Other than that, I made the recipe exactly as it was in the magazine.

And we are having it for dinner tonight.



By Tracey G

Thinking on Kris's post, I have to say that every time I've tried, as well, to be ahead of the game, it seems to be a fail in one way or another. It's either on a small scale, or a rather epic fail as in the smart black lab who did not waste an opportunity for some yummy cooked chicken when it arose, lol.

 I had this week's recipe that I'm sharing, all done and prepared on Wednesday, but it never fails that something prevents me from stringing more than 2 minutes together to get the shots processed, and then put together with words in a manner that makes sense, lol before Friday afternoon or like today, Friday evening. I guess this is the life of having a 6 yr old in your home, lol. That's where my minutes go, most of the time happily, some of the time not so happily, lol. I am hoping that when school starts this year, I will do better than last year in time management.

 It was all new to me last year, I had no idea what to expect, and I will admit I felt lost 90% of the time without Harry around. I feel like I wandered aimlessly through my days. (same feeling after my mom passed away and I was no longer driving her to dialysis 3 days a week, and being her caregiver with her living with me - was a culture shock when I lost her) By the time I started getting the hang of being home, alone, during the day, it was June and school was out. LOL I had just started to get a taste of how I could structure my day and boom, all wiped away with summer vacation, lol. But this year - I am hoping that I can hit the school year running and balance trying to be as involved in his school and class stuff as possible along with my self-imposed work from home projects that I adore, namely this blog, my photography and being a part of the Capture Your 365 Creative Team and CY365 community in general! But, we'll see.... I think Kris and I have learned, or at least have been reminded over and over that planning ahead has not always equaled actually being ahead! :-)

Now, as far as this week's food offering, I don't think I have run across any recipe, ever, that has surprised me as much as this one. I never expected such flavor from such simple ingredients as are found in this recipe, in this combination. And it's almost criminal how uncomplicated and effortless this dish is, lol, but yet, tastes like you put hours into it! It's gone through some changes, and that sounds funny when I think about it, but it had a few other things as toppings along with the cheese, but I found that if I boiled it down to the basics, it was yummier and easier as less ingredients were needed to get it done.

And here we are - the ingredients. Yep. Just 3. Boneless skinless chicken breasts, prepared pesto and provolone cheese. Usually I use shredded, but this was all I could get my hands on and it worked just fine of course, lol. :-) 

Preheat your oven to 400°F. While it's preheating, time to put this together. Start by placing the chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking pan. The recipe calls for 4 breasts, but sometimes I only use 3 so I downsize my pan a bit. This go around I had 5 pieces of chicken.

Once the chicken is arranged in the pan, spoon the pesto over the chicken breasts. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup. I ended up using the whole 8 oz jar this time because I wasn't thinking and contaminated it all with raw chicken by using the same spoon to scoop it out of the bowl and to spread it around on the chicken, lol. Normally I just measure out what's needed and proceed from there, but in the sake of saving a step, I dumped the whole thing into the bowl (for the photos first) and scooped - fully intending on using that 2nd spoon I'd gotten for the spreading, lol, not one for both... Oh well, the pesto is the best part and it was just as yummy with all of it as only a 1/2 cup, lol. 

Once you get the pesto evenly spread on the chicken, it's time to bake it. Usually takes about 35-45 minutes for the chicken breasts to be cooked thoroughly, but I always get out my meat thermometer and check at the end of 35-40 minutes or so to see where I'm at with doneness. 

After you've baked your chicken and it's the correct temperature for proper doneness (which according to foodsafey.gov is 165°F and can be found here:foodsafety.gov Safe Minimum Cooking Temperatures), it's time to put on the cheese! Now, here's where I normally use the shredded provolone, but as you can see the deli-style slices worked just fine. Pop them back into the oven for 1-2 min or until the cheese is melted.

Once the cheese is melted and as browned as you'd like, pull it out and let it rest for about 5 minutes  (I've let it sit for 10 minutes before and had no ill consequences, lol) before serving. 

I served this batch with a garlic-buttered noodle that had some green beans mixed in, it was a bit of overload on green, lol, but it's one of the few vegetables Harry will eat these days, so I work them in a lot, lol. It is one of my favorite ways to do a quick side dish though, while the noodles are cooking I toss in a handful or two of frozen cut green beans, so that when the noodles are done, so are the beans and they're already tossed together that way - and then you can season any way you like :-) 

Pesto Baked Chicken

serves 4

Preheat oven to 400°F

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 6 oz each

1/2 c prepared pesto

1 c (4 oz) shredded provolone cheese

Place chicken breasts in an ungreased 9x13-inch baking dish, spoon pesto over chicken.

Bake, uncovered, at 400°F for about 35-45 minutes or internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken breast reaches 165°F. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 1-2 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. 

Food Friday - Breakfast. It's What's for Dinner!

from Tracey G.

This week's recipe has really been a trial to get accomplished! LOL I didn't plan on 90+ degree temperatures when I picked out a new recipe to try that needs to be baked...poor planning on my part! I thought for the fun of it I'd find something new to make, always looking for new stuff. So, I picked this recipe, sounded super simple and super yummy. Well, it was simple, until you have a grocery store than doesn't quite have the bread you need. Then the frozen blueberries I'd bought for it (as you can use frozen or fresh with this one, which was another appealing thing about it!) somehow never made it to the freezer. I found them on the dining room floor, still in the grocery bag - the next day. I have NO idea how that happened, how does one miss a grocery bag??? I guess though, that's what happens when you're not the one who puts the groceries away - Harry wanted to be helpful and since the Cool Whip had made it to the freezer, I figured so did the blueberries, lol. I was wrong. So, I had to get some more blueberries which also set me back, ugh.

And even the photos were a challenge this week as well, hence the reason there's so very few, I did what I could, and had to just admit defeat and call it good enough, lol. So, let's get to it... ;-)

Here's the ingredients to get started with - butter, bread, sliced frozen or fresh peaches and frozen or fresh blueberries. The bread is supposed to be a long loaf of French bread, cut into 20 slices. Of course my grocery didn't have any baguette style bread - just an already sliced loaf of Italian bread, and not very thickly. So, I ended up improvising, which proved be a bit troublesome down the road, lol, now, looking back, I see a few ways differently I could have done it, but oh well, next time I will when they don't have the right bread, lol. As for the other ingredients, I didn't get any shots of them, lol, it's definitely been a challenge getting this one accomplished! 

First you melt the butter and pour it into a 9x13" baking dish, I tilted the pan to coat the bottom. Then, you layer in your bread slices. You're supposed to layer half the slices, which if you have the correct bread, would be 10, lol. Since I had the Italian loaf to work with, I put mine in this way, as shown in the above photo. And since they were pretty thin, I doubled the bottom layer. (This whole thing was trial and error for me since I didn't have the proper bread - it really threw a bunch of things off! LOL).

This photo, above, shows the dish a few more steps into the process....after putting your first layer of bread in, you top with some of the peaches and some of the blueberries. You then top it with another slice of bread (in my case I used only one slice for the top layer) and then you top that with the rest of the peaches and the blueberries.

Now you mix up the custard part - milk, eggs, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt. Once you have that mixed well, you pour it over top of the prepared bread and fruit. At this point you cover and refrigerate 2 hours to overnight.

Pull the French toast out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 350°. Meanwhile, you make the caramel sauce :-) This is a super simple little recipe on it's own, and I am going to use it for other things I think down the road, lol, vanilla ice cream for one thing! But anyway, you melt 1/2 cup butter and together in the microwave with 1/2 cup brown sugar, and cook it for about a minute. Then you add 3 tbsp heavy cream and 3 tbsp corn syrup and cook for about a minute longer until bubbly.

You take a 1/2 cup of the caramel and drizzle it over the French toast, then bake it uncovered for about 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. For me, I ended up going about 60 minutes, but that's because of the bread configuration I'm sure, lol. You let it stand about 10 minutes, then drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce before serving! It's really yummy no matter what it looked like, lol.

I hope the next time I make it I have the right bread, but if not I have a few ways, now that I know how it comes together, that I think will make it a better turn out than this first run, lol.

Peach-Blueberry French Toast

courtesy of Taste Of Home

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 loaf (1 pound) French bread, cut into 20 slices 3­1/2 cups sliced peeled fresh or frozen peaches

1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

6 eggs

2 ­1/2 cups 2% milk

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

CARAMEL:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, cubed

3 tablespoons corn syrup

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1) Pour butter into a greased 13­in. x 9­in. baking dish. Top with half of the bread slices. Layer with 2­1/2 cups peaches, 1/4 cup blueberries and remaining bread.

 2) In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt; pour over bread. Arrange the remaining peaches and blueberries over top; cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

 3) Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Place brown sugar and butter in a small microwave­safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 to 1­1/2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved, stirring once. Add corn syrup and cream; cook 1 minute longer or until bubbly, stirring once.

 4) Drizzle 1/2 cup caramel over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35­40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving; drizzle with remaining caramel. Yield: 10 servings.


from Kris B.

What I have to offer this week seems more about reminders and resolutions than it does a recipe.  Here are my somewhat random thoughts in a random order that will eventually result in a recipe...sort of.

First of all, breakfast is my favorite meal.  Or perhaps more appropriately stated, breakfast foods are my favorite foods.  Oatmeal, eggs, bacon, potatoes, pancakes, fruit, French toast...it doesn't matter.  I love them all.  Therefore, when I am stuck for what to eat for whatever meal, I will usually reach for something "breakfasty."  This is how we arrived a this week's theme.

Though having breakfast foods for dinner sometimes feels like cheating as far as meal preparation goes, they really do make for a perfectly reasonable anytime meal.  Who decided that eggs are a breakfast food, anyway?  It is the perfectionist in me that somehow drew the conclusion that dinner should be well-planned, painstakingly prepared, and beautifully served.  I don't know where these ideas originated.  What I do know is that no matter how tasty, oatmeal or an English muffin with peanut butter doesn't really count as dinner in my mind.  Believing that dinner should be a more elaborate meal than the others sometimes keeps me from preparing a simple, but really perfectly acceptable to most, meal.  I share this week's recipe as a way to help myself shatter my own unrealistic expectations.

"Hash," as used here, means whatever you happen to have in the veggie bin in the fridge, a potato, and a fried egg on top for a little protein.  There are many different ingredients that can be used in this and equally as many seasoning variations that you can vary it every week and make it your own.  The ingredient that makes it worthy of being called hash is the potato.  Hash does not need to be well-planned or painstakingly prepared.  Quite the contrary.  It can be thrown together at the last minute with whatever ingredients you have on hand and the preparation requires nothing but dicing the ingredients.  It can, however, be beautifully served.

Here is my simple version.

INGREDIENTS
1 russet potato
1 sweet potato
1 zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Microwave the russet and sweet potatoes for 8-10 minutes, depending on size.  You want them to be "not quite done."  This is a lesson I learned late in life.  Any kind of fried potatoes need to be partially cooked before they are fried or the outsides burn before the insides get done.  

While the potatoes are in the microwave, dice the other vegetables.  When the potatoes are done, dice them as well.  I leave the skin on the russet potato, but remove it from the sweet potato.  

In a heavy skillet, (I am partial to cast iron.) heat the olive oil.  Add all of the vegetables, but no potatoes yet.  Saute the vegetables until they are tender.

Add the butter and the potatoes to the veggies.

Cook the potatoes until they start to brown on the edges and have a little bit of "crunch."

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare a fried eggs sunny side up in a non-stick skillet.

Serve the egg on top of the hash.  And that's it!

Like i said, the variations here are endless...add herbs, spices, different veggies, or meat to create a meal that is suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Food Friday - Rice Is Nice!

At 104 degrees, it is now too hot to be outside cooking on the grill so I am back inside, but trying not to generate too much heat in the kitchen.  Salads and one pot meals are the name of the game at house these days.  And eating out, probably too often.

This week's recipe is an old favorite of mine from Southern Living.  Shortly after I was married the first time in 1983, my mom gave me a subscription to Southern Living magazine as a Christmas gift. She continued to renew it every year until her death in 2006 at which point I became responsible for my own annual subscription.  Though I am a confessed magazine junkie, over the past few years I have started taking fewer and fewer magazines, mostly because I just don't have time to read them all.    And the ones for which I have maintained a subscription, I now receive digitally...except Southern Living.  It still comes in the mail.  I guess there is a little bit of nostalgia going on.  Even though I now pay for the magazine myself, it still seems like a gift from my mom.  And I look forward to every new issue.

The Brown Rice and Sausage Skillet recipe is one that I copied by hand into a spiral cookbook of my favorite recipes.  I credited Southern Living,  but not the exact issue, and I am too lazy to go back through the annual cookbooks and look for it.  Sorry!  I have made a few adaptations to this over the years, which I will also share.

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. smoked sausage
1 medium sized green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Cup chicken broth
2 Cups quick cooking brown rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

With the exception of the sausage, most of these ingredients are kitchen staples or have an easy substitute that is.  As far as I am concerned, you can add onion, bell pepper, and garlic to just about any other combination of ingredients and create a decent meal, so I always have these on hand.

The first step is to saute the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat.  In the past, I have used smoked pork kielbasa,  but recently, I have been using the non-cured smoked turkey kielbasa.  Taste-wise it works great, but because of its lower fat content, it requires the addition of a little fat for sautéing.

Because the intent is to lightly brown the sausage, I use just a little bit of butter to aid in the browning.  The original recipe says then to drain the sausage on a paper towel and reserve a tablespoon of drippings in which to saute the veggies.  Again, when using turkey sausage there are no drippings so it is necessary to use a little olive oil for this.

Chop the onion and green pepper and mince the garlic.

Combine and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth to the veggies and bring to a boil.  I often use vegetable broth because that is what I regularly have on hand.  Any kind of broth will do, as will water and a little extra seasoning in a pinch.  Once the mixture comes to a boil, add the rice, salt, pepper, and sausage.  I use Minute brand brown rice because I keep that on hand to feed our )spoiled) dog.  Really, you can use any kind of rice, quick cooking or not, just adjust your liquid amount and cooking time accordingly.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for about five minutes or until the rice is tender.

Serve with a garnish of fresh parsley if desired.

This dish does double duty in that it is just as good as leftovers so works for dinner one night and then a lunch box lunch the next day.

If you have to cook on these hot summer days, this one pot meal is quick and doesn't generate too much heat in the kitchen.  Serve with a fresh salad for a cool and healthy side dish.




by Tracey G,

I didn't like Spanish Rice growing up, all the recipes seemed to involve green pepper etc and I just never cared for it, not sure why, there was just a taste I didn't like. Then one day, I ran across this recipe in Taste of Home (I think, it's been so long!) and it sounded a bit different. So, after a few modifications, I made it and fell in love with it! LOL And it was easy, so it got even better. ;-) I discovered I could throw this together quickly - once or twice it was a last minute addition to my meal and it was done right on time with everything else. Usually I make it on "Taco Night", lol, it goes really well as a side dish, and it's been known to be used as a condiment on top of beef nachos, lol.

The ingredient list is super simple, once again it's usually stuff I have on hand. One thing though, it's supposed to use canned diced tomatoes with chilies, but that was a bit much for Harry, so I switched to just a regular can of diced tomatoes, well, I should say I usually use the "petite" diced. ;-) Anyway, on with the ingredients, starting in the center and going clockwise - instant rice, diced garlic, olive oil, chopped oil, beef broth, canned diced tomatoes, salt, cumin, sugar, chili powder and oregano.

To start, you sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender. I start the onions first so they have plenty of time to get clear and soft - then I add the garlic and give it one to two minutes.  

Next step is to add the instant rice to the pan, it gets sautéed for a couple minutes.

Now you add everything else - the broth, tomatoes and the dry seasonings. 

Stir to combine everything well. At this point I take a taste, to make sure it's seasoned the way I want it to be - if I feel it needs some extra of whatever I add it until I get it to the flavor I'm looking for. :-) Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let stand, covered another 5 minutes. Stir before you serve and that's it.

Here's the recipe:

Quick Spanish Rice

serves 4-6

1/2 c chopped onion

2-3 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 c uncooked instant rice

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with chilies, undrained

1 14 oz can beef broth

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano

In a large saucepan saute onion and garlic in olive oil 2-3 minutes until tender. Add rice, cook and stir for 1-2 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, chili powder, salt, sugar, cumin and oregano. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand 5 minutes.