Chorizo Cod

This is a recipe I saw on Martha Stewart one day in January. I've made it several times, and it has a delicious mix of flavors. NOTE: WHEN BUYING FISH, buy it transluscent & without any smell. That means it's fresh and unspoiled.

INGREDIENTS:
1 tube Chorizo or Andouille (sp?) sausage
sliced mushrooms
sliced roma tomatoes
Cod fish (or other basic white fish)
spices: sea salt, white pepper, rosemary, thyme, garlic
scallions if desired
lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Oil/grease the metal or glass pan to prepare for baking.
3. Lay out the whole cod filets in the baking dish and cover generously with sea salt & white pepper.
4. Begin layering, on top of the fish in generous rows: chorizo, mushrooms, tomatoes, scallions or garlic, chorizo, mushrooms, etc... (It will look like stripes, and you should see the top of each item. These layers should completely cover the fish.)
5. After the layers are complete, sprinkle the spices over the top as desired (chopped rosemary & thyme, and minced garlic)
6. Pour a generous amount of olive oil (approximately 1/4 cup for every 2 large filets) over the fish
7. Cook for 10 minutes in a 425 degree oven.
8. After removed from the oven, sprinkle fish with lemon juice
9. Serve over rice and use cooking juices to pour back over fish & rice upon serving.

Believe me when I tell you- this is a unique and flavorful dish!

Mountain Dew Dumplings

Lemme give a little shout out to my sister, Jill (OK, I only have a brother- but she's his wife!), and her mom Donna! They're the ones from whom this most excellent recipe was borrowed! This is like a scrum-diddly-umptious version of apple pie.


2 cans of Crescent Rolls
2 or 3 peeled and sliced apples(6-8 slices per apple)
2 sticks of butter (not Marg.)
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 1/2 cup of sugar
12 oz can of Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350. Peel and slice apple. Roll up one apple slice into each of the crescent rolls. Place them in an nongreased pan. In a small saucepan combine the butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Once the butter is melted and the mixture is nice and smooth, spoon over the top of each of the crescent rolls. Pour entire Mountain Dew can in the cracks. (Be sure not to wash off the sugar/cinnamon from the tops of the crescents when pouring the Mountain Dew. This makes for a prettier presentation when baked) Bake for 45 min. Serve while hot with ice cream or whipped cream!

Make-Ahead Burritos

The other day after making an enchilada dinner, I had a lot of beans and tortillas left over and ended up making up bean and cheese and egg and cheese burritos ahead of time. For the next week, I had additional options for breakfast foods and quick dinners. And whether you use eggs or beans, this is a filling meal that will keep kids hungry through the next meal.

This is something that I'm going to try to have on hand all the time while I'm here in the states. It is SO much simpler to make up a bunch all at once rather than one here or there... cutting down on all the steps and just doing them all once. Here's all I did:

REFRIED BEANS (or eggs, if you are making breakfast burritos)
SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
FLOUR TORTILLAS

Take the tortillas, put a stripe of cheese down the center, and then do a layer of beans (or eggs). Fold like a burrito, and then you can fit 3-4 of these per ziplock bag. Label them if needed, and then they'll keep for the rest of the week. You can freeze them as well, just make sure you pack them nicely to where they won't stick together. Heat them up as you need them, and you're all set.


(And yes, for all you gourmet chefs out there, I know this is an extremely simple idea, but I like to share the simple things- they help out moms like me when we're in a pinch!)

Holiday Ritz Cookies

Here's an easy and delicious holiday cookie recipe:

You'll need:
Ritz crackers
Peanut Butter
White Chocolate (also called Almond Bark)

Melt the white chocolate to a creamy state in a pot. (Or you can microwave it, even easier).

Take the Ritz crackers and make little PB sandwiches with them. Sandwich a layer of PB between 2 Ritz crackers. Once you have as many of those as you want made, then dip each cookie entirely into the white chocolate. Let them dry and harden on a sheet of wax paper.

These are easy to make and SINFULLY delicious! Everyone always loves these- they're a huge hit for holiday parties! ENJOY!

Moist Banana Bread (w/ a GREAT crust!)

This banana bread comes out with a nice hard crust (sweet and delicious) and the inside stays moist for days. It's delicious and the ingredients are easy to find (even overseas, except for the vanilla which I brought with me). In fact, I just buy a bunch of bananas and wait for them to brown/soften and then everything else is already in our home, so I can make it whenever I find a free moment. Hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!


PREHEAT OVEN to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
INGREDIENTS:
A - 1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar

B- 2 eggs
1 Cup of mashed bananas

C - 2 Cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

D- 3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

E- (THESE ARE OPTIONAL, I don't use any of these, but thought some of you might like to try it with these)
1/2- 1 cup walnuts
1/2 - 1 cup choc. chips or raisins



First combine A ingredients , then add B ingredients. In separate bowl, mix the C ingredients, then add them to oil and egg mixture. Add D and E and mix together.

Bake in greased loaf pans @ 180*C (350*F) for 1 hr. (1&1/2 hour in small ovens like we have overseas--toaster oven-size). Test for doneness w/ toothpick.

Everyday Pasta Casserole

This recipe is all about options, which is why it's so great. You can adapt it based on what you've got on hand and what you want for a particular meal.

A: Pick your pasta. 12-16 oz. of whatever you want: rotini, penne, macaroni, spaghetti, capellini, shells. Whatever you want.

B: Pick your sauce. 12-16 oz. of white sauce, spaghetti sauce (see the white sauce recipe here, or use the spaghetti sauce recipe in my lasagne recipe--the ingredients for it have an asterisk next to them.)

C: Pick a filler. You can do a layer of pre-sliced cheese (easy), or a layer of shredded mozzerella (a little work), or (my favorite) mix 2-3 eggs with 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese (and oregano if desired)

D: Pick your topping. This can be really fattening like a top layer of sliced cheese with butter-saturated crushed Ritz or Saltine crackers, or it can be breadcrumbs, or it can be shredded mozzerella, or it could just be the butter-drenched & crushed saltines/ritz. Your choice.

E: Optional- Pick your veggie. Brocolli, Cauliflower, Tomatoes (allright, that's actually a fruit!);

F: ALSO Optional- Pick your meat. Ground beef, cubed chicken. Whatever you like

Cook your pasta (A). Make your sauce (B), or pull out the can of sauce you're going to use!. If you've chosen a meat (F), cook that as well. Then stir your pasta, sauce, and any meat or veggies (E) you've chosen all together.

Preheat your oven to about 190 Celsius/375 Fahrenheit. Layer half of the pasta mixture (ABEF) in a greased casserole dish. Do a layer of whatever filler you've chosen (C). Spoon in the other half (ABEF) and top with your topping of choice (D). Now cook until heated through. Depending on the thickness of your casserole and size of your dish, it will take approximately 20-35 minutes. ENJOY!

White Sauce

This is a great sauce recipe for pastas, casseroles, to pour over chicken, etc. It's pretty versatile, and you can change it to suit the flavor you desire.

1. Melt 2 TBSP butter/margarine over low heat.
2. Add in one of the following:

• (this is my favorite) Good Seasons' Garlic & Herb seasoning packet
  
• one Hidden Valley Ranch packet
• condensed soup seasoning packet
• 2 TBSP flour with at least 1 tsp of desired seasoning (rosemary, garlic, oregano, etc.) + salt & pepper to taste all mixed together

3. Stir together to form smooth paste.
4. Pour in 12-16 oz. (300-500g) milk
5. Add 8 oz. whipping cream (optional)
6. Melt in 2-4 oz. cheese if desired (any flavor- monterey jack, mozzerella, cheddar, hot pepper jack, it's all good!)
7. Bring to low boil. As it boils, it will begin to thicken. After 1-2 minutes of boiling (you should be able to visually see it thickening), remove from heat and set aside.

Now you can pour it over cooked pasta, use it in a casserole, or use as desired.