Sunday Dinner

Loaded Mac N' Cheese!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Cold day in Washington, DC... perfect solution? Chicken noodel soup! 

When I get a hankering for some, I stop by my favorite little grocery--the real deal, totally old school--Snider's off of Georgia Avenue on Seminary Road in SIlver Spring and pick up a roasted Chicken the day before. That evening dinner consists of the dark meat and the next day the breasts get cubed as part of my soup. 

Other Ingredients include:

Knorr condensed Chicken stock
1 diced Onion
8 oz button mushrooms
Carrots (today it was 5 long, but rathers small ones)
2 stalks Celery & a lot of celergy greens
1/4 tsp dill
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste (probably about 1/4 tsp, too)
Chicken breasts, cubed
and 2/3 package egg noodles

Sometimes I add some lemon zest, too.

Spinach Pie

Spinach Pie with artichoke and country ham.  Just a little food porn!

Bread Pudding

 Made one of the best Bread Puddings ever!

The basic ingredients are the same:

2 cups milk
1/4 stick butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
Combine and warm to melt butter, then let cool before adding
2 eggs

Everything else is up to you!

For this one I added 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 cup peaches, and 1/4 cup golden raisins. The bread I used was a sourdough.

Bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick somes back clean.

Finally I drizzled Smuckers Caramel topping on it. Let it cool and then---YUM!

Another Great Soup

Made this wonderful soup.

Ingredients

2 quarts of water with Knorr Chicken Stock cubes and one quart of liquid Chicken Stock.  Add.

1 diced Onion
1 fistful of fresh Green Beans cut into 3/4 inch lengths
2 grated Carrots
2 cubed Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 nice (not cheap) Ham Steak, cubed
and 1/4 tsp of freshly ground Black Pepper

Bring to low boil and let boil for 30 minutes.

Add one can of condensed Cream of Celery Soup
one can of condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup
and then simmer another 30 minutes.

Even better on day two with Grilled Cheese sandwich!

Tuscan Cabbage Veggie Soup

One of my favorite comfort soups!

Ingredients:

Beef Stock (or Veggie, if you want a meatless alternative)
Onion
Baby Portobello MushroomsCarrot
Green Bean
Cabbage
Canned Diced Tomato with Zesty Peppers
Cannellini Beans (I can, I prefer the Goya® brand)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Three bouillon cubes of beef stock in 6 quarts of water heated on medium to dissolve.  Add one medium onion diced.  At 8 ounces of baby portobello mushrooms sliced.  (There two ingredients
enrich the broth.)  Next add in 3 medium-sized carrots sliced.  Then fresh green beans cut into 1 inch lengths--I used two generous handfuls from the local market.  I used 1/2 of a small head of cabbage that I then cut into 1 inch cubes then added.  By now the whole soup is and has been simmering to a boil with lots of stirring.  Finally add in the can of diced Tomatoes and the can of beans.  Mix well and drop the heat to a slow simmer.  Give it 30-45 minutes to tenderize and infuse the ingredients.

For the cheese melt sopping bread medallions I used a good French baguette.  Buttered the sliced and added fresh green pepper and golden raisins.  Topped them with sharp cheddar cheese and set under the broiler for about 2 minutes.  You know your broiler, so time it accordingly.

And, Bon Apetit!

French Toast with Pure Michigan Maple Syrup & Fried Apple

A once in a blue moon indulgence.

Rotini Cheesy Bake

Brown a mix of beef and sweet Italian sausage.  Add in one medium-large onion diced.  Add 16 oz. of sliced button mushrooms.  Cover and simmer until the mushroom are done and remove from heat to cool.  Cook 1/3 box of Rotini pasta.  Drain and toss with a little olive oil.  Add one jar of Marinara Sauce to meet mixture.  Add 10 oz of shredded whole milk Mozzarella Cheese.  Add in the cooked pasta.  Combine and place in baking dish.  Top with a little more cheese and then some freshly sliced tomato.  Bake at 300˚ for 60 minutes.  Bon appetite!

Cheesy Tomato Omelet and Fresh Sliced Tomato

These farm fresh vine ripened tomatoes are my current addiction. They are only with good for a brief season. Breakfast: Cheesy Tomato Omelet with more sliced Tomato!

Stuffed Salmon with Stewed Summer Squash and Tomato

Even from the things you love, like cooking, it's good to have a vacation. Makes it all the more enjoyable when you're back at it again!  Last evenings's Dinner: Stuffed Salmon with Strewed Summer Squash and Tomatoes.

Dinner: Brased Pork, Vegetables and Pasta

Back in the kitchen! At this rate I may even get to the stack of mail that piled up while I was on vacation...

Made in an iron skillet on the stove top and then oven--Braized boneless Pork Ribs (Country Cut) with Carrots, Mushrooms, Onions, Celery and Cappatavi Pasta. I brown the pork in a little olive oil and slow roast it and the veggies in their natural broth and a little vermouth. The only seasoning is salt, black pepper, and a little cinnamon. Add the pasta last and let sit for about 20 minutes before serving. The covered iron skillet keeps things nice and hot and soaking up all the flavors.

Tuna-LESS Noodle Casserole

Who says you have to have tuna in a Tuna Noodle Casserole?  I just used lots of fresh mushrooms and scallions, and it is yummy!

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada on a Bed of Spanish Rice--¡Muy Bueno!

Monday Meal Was Pure Comfort Food

Hamburger gravy bites on cubes French country bread with fried Summer Squash!

Dinner on July 16

Experimented with using some beautiful button mushrooms in place a buns on some slider sized burgers this past Sunday.  Delicious!  But messy as hell.

Perfect Lazy Sunday Meal

A simple tossed salad with my new favorite Vadallia Onion Dressing and some homemade Potato-Corn Chowder.

Lasagna!

 Assembled!

...and Cooked!

A Red, White and Blue Buckle!

A Buckle is an idiosyncratically New England fruit cake/pie in the company of Cobblers, Crumbs, Slumps and Crisps.  This one was made with Strawberries (RED), Granny Smith Apples (WHITE) and Blueberries (BLUE).

The basic recipe can be found at the New York Times Food section under Summer Berry Buckle.  I did not, like Melissa Clark, sprinkle mine with cinnamon before cooking.

Avocado Pesto Pasta

 Inspired from a Facebook video of Michael Bolton making this dish, but modified by me, of course!

The Pesto is made in a blender by combining the following ingredients:

1 Avocado
1 cup of shredded Parmesano Cheese
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts
1 cup of fresh Basil leaves
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
3 cloves of Garlic
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Once thoroughly combined into a paste, mix with the pasta.  I ended up only using about half of the paste and you can see how it covered the pasta, so use your judgment on this.

Separately I cut 8 oz's of Cherry Tomatoes in half and mixed them with one small container of black olives and one small jar of capers which I added to the pasta once the pesto was mixed in.  It was delicious!

And I served it with Shrimp Scampi.

Tomato & Broccoli Gratin

 The recipe from the latest edition of Cook’s Illustrated magazine titled “Best Summer Tomato Gratin” inspired this meal.  After reading it, I sort of did what I always do--my own version!

Ingredients

3 cups of Italian Bread, cubed 3/4 inch

2 cloves of Garlic, diced

1/2 of an onion, diced

1/4 of a Green Bell Pepper, diced

9 good sized vine ripened Tomatoes, cored and cubed 3/4 inch

1 smallish head of Broccoli, chopped

2 tsp of sugar

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of black pepper

6 oz, Fontaine Cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Olive oil

I cubed the bread the night before and left out loosely covered to dry out.  Then I toasted the croutons on the stove top with some olive oil and set aside. 

In additional olive oil (maybe a Tbsp) I sautéed Garlic, then added Onion and Green Pepper, then added the broccoli and stirred it around for about 2 minutes.  Next I added the chopped Tomatoes along with the sugar, salt and pepper and mixed covered and lower the heat to simmer.  Every 2 minutes I stirred the mixture and covered for a little over 10 minutes.

In my casserole dish I combined 2/3's of the croutons with 2/3's of the Fontaine cheese and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan.  Then I began spooning in the Tomato/Broccoli mixture and folding in with the croutons until about 2/3 of it was combined.  Then I pressed the mixture down and more loosely added the remaining croutons followed by the remaining Tomato/Broccoli mixture.  I topped this with the rest of both cheeses and baked at 350˚ for 45 minutes.

After finishing this plate of this dish, there was only thing left to say, "MORE, please!"