Cooking Recipes

By Sheri

ONE SIMPLE SAUCE, MANY QUICK USES

There’s nothing like a fragrant, yet easy to make, tomato sauce simmering on the stove to make chilly winter days seem cozier. I like to make a double batch of my recipe below and freeze some of it, or prepare foods ahead to keep in the freezer when time is short.

Basic pasta dishes are a snap. Simply mix cooked noodles with sauce, freeze, thaw overnight in fridge, heat, then top with Parmesan cheese. Mini English muffin pizzas can be easily made and frozen for quick lunches with a salad. Even boxed mac and cheese can be deliciously dressed up by adding some homemade tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese.

My favorite tomato sauce recipe follows below. It can be easily adjusted to your preferences – just add the ingredients you like. Meat or even sugar can be added if you like those – I prefer just a really basic tomato sauce with basil, oregano and lots of fresh garlic.

BEST TOMATO SAUCE RECIPE:

1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
(you may want to have a can of tomato paste on hand to thicken the sauce if needed – if the sauce needs thinning, you can add broth or water as well as more seasonings.)
1 onion – chopped
3 cups mushrooms – sliced
4 garlic cloves – minced
Olive oil
1 ½ Tablespoons oregano
1 Tablespoon basil
(or add your favorite blend of Italian seasonings)
salt and pepper

1. Saute the onions, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil until tender.

2. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for about 40 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding broth or water or tomato paste as needed. Simmer another 20 minutes and readjust the liquids and seasonings.

3. Let the sauce cool, then place it in the fridge for several hours or overnight. It will have even more flavor when you reheat it, but you should again adjust the seasonings once more before serving or cooling and freezing.

By Sheri

FIX  UP A FAB FISH DISH FAST!

Delicious wine-baked fish fillets in a satisfying white sauce are faster and easier to prepare than you may think. Many people overcook fish which can make it dry and tough. As a general rule of thumb, all kinds of fish take not more than 10 minutes of cooking time per inch of thickness.

The problem is that most packages of fish fillets feature cuts that are thicker in the middle than they are at the ends. The trick is to pick the fillets with the most even flatness and cook them just until the centers are done.

Properly cooked fish tends to flake easily without being dry. The color should just change from dark and shiny,  or slightly translucent,  to flaky and uniformly cooked.

FABULOUS FISH FILLETS IN WHITE WINE SAUCE RECIPE:

Makes 4 (6 ounce) fish servings with approximately ½ cup sauce per serving

Perfect as a cold weather comfort food dish! It may be served over rice or mashed potatoes and accompanied by a salad, peas or broccoli. Garnish with sprigs of parsley and/or dill.

1 ½ lbs boned fish fillets – any type
lemon juice and your favorite seasonings to sprinkle on the fish (I like pepper, a small amount of garlic powder and paprika)
1 ½ cups white wine – your favorite

Sauce ingredients:
3 Tablespoons flour
6 Tablespoons butter
2 cups milk

1.  Wash fish fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fillets with lemon juice and seasonings.

2.  Place the prepared fillets and the wine in a covered, buttered casserole dish and bake in a preheated 425F oven until just cooked through – this could be anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. (about 10 minutes per inch thick)

3.  While the fish is baking, start preparing the white sauce by melting the butter and stirring in the flour gradually with a whisk to form a smooth paste. Keep the heat at a low simmer. Smoothness in the sauce will take some gentle simmering to achieve. If lumps do occur after cooking, use a sieve to remove them.

4.  Keep the sauce warm and gradually stir in the milk along with the pan juices from the finished baked fish.  Also keep the fish warm while finishing the sauce. Add the pan juices gradually to maintain a medium consistency in the sauce while it’s simmering. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking as well as to your choice of mashed potatoes or rice.

By Sheri

USE UP THOSE LEFTOVER VEGGIES IN A FUN WAY

A warm, delicious brunch, lunch or evening meal is super easy and fast with a no-crust, no fuss quiche. It’s also great cold! Although traditional quiches have a pie crust, the no-crust versions save both time and calories. Whole wheat toast or crusty multigrain rolls plus a crisp salad make the perfect accompaniments to the quiche’s soft cheesiness.

If you want to add some cooked meat along with your leftover veggies, it’s certainly fine. Crumbled fried bacon or cooked sausage pieces work well. With the cheese and eggs for protein though, it’s certainly not necessary to add meat if you don’t have any to use up.

MAKE IT YOUR WAY QUICK QUICHE RECIPE:

1.  Use about 2 cups of any combination of cooked vegetables and meats. If desired, stir in a little pepper and garlic powder to add flavor. In a separate bowl, grate approximately 2 cups of cheese. Sharp cheddar can be used alone or along with other flavorful cheeses such as Parmesan and Swiss.

2. Starting with the vegetable mixture, alternate layers of vegetables and cheeses in a 9” lightly greased, deep dish pie plate ending with a cheese layer.

3.  In a bowl, whisk together 5 eggs and 1 ¼ cups milk. Pour this mixture over the veggies and cheeses in the pie plate.

4.  Bake 50 – 60 minutes at 350F until a toothpick or knife blade inserted into the center comes out clean. (Note that the quiche will be soft in the middle, but should set after the dish sits out of the oven for about 3 minutes.) To help prevent the cheesy top from becoming too brown, cover the pie plate with foil and remove it for the last 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time.

By Sheri

OOPS! DON”T FORGET THE PECANS, WALNUTS & ALMONDS!

Rich, fudge-like brownies are even better when they’re packed full of pecans, walnuts and almonds. You can make a large pan of nutty brownies (recipe below), frost and cut half into bars and use the rest as a base for warm, delicious desserts. Being creative in your choice of dishware can make simple brownie desserts perfect for a casual dinner party.

To reheat baked brownies for desserts just place them for about 10 – 20 seconds in a microwave or cover with foil and heat up to 10 minutes in a conventional oven (of course never use foil in a microwave, only a conventional oven) set on low heat. Don’t overheat! Serve immediately with…

SAUCES, CREAMS AND FRUITS:

Arrange heated brownie slices in serving dishes. Try these topping combos or dream up your own:

Strawberry Brownies
Pour on some thawed frozen strawberries and their juice on the warm brownie slices and top that with whipped cream. It’s a yummy winter alternative to strawberry shortcake.

Triple Chocolate Heaven
Add chocolate ice cream and hot fudge sauce to the warm brownies.

Create Your Own Brownie Sundaes
Set out toppings such as whipped cream, fudge and caramel sauces, bananas, shredded coconut and small candies and let quests make their own desserts. Pre-freezing separate scoops of different flavors of ice cream in a pie plate or other dish makes for easy placement onto the warm brownie slices.

TRIPLE NUTTY BROWNIE RECIPE:

1.)  On a low heat stove setting using a double boiler or saucepan, melt these together:

1 cup butter
8 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate.

2.)  Leaving the chocolate and butter mixture aside, blend the following ingredients together in a mixing bowl using a whisk or electric mixer:

3 cups brown sugar
5 eggs
2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

3.)  Fold the butter and chocolate mixture into the blended ingredients in the mixing bowl. Don’t over-mix.

4.)  Blend in the following to the rest of ingredients in the mixing bowl:

1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon salt

5)  Lightly blend in the nuts:

1 cup toasted walnuts – chopped
1 cup toasted pecans – chopped
1 cup toasted almonds – chopped or sliced

(Note: Toasted nuts have more flavor and it’s simple to do. Just spread out a layer of nuts on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F for just a few minutes only. Don’t allow them to brown.)

6. Pour the brownie batter into a lightly greased 9” x 13” pan. Bake at 350F for 30 – 40 minutes or until a knife blade or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

By Sheri

YOU CAN MAKE WARM, YUMMY MORNING BURRITOS IN A FLASH!

I really love ‘eggy cheesy’ burritos on chilly wintry mornings. You can make a batch when you have time such as on the weekend, and just pop them in the freezer. Defrost the amount of burritos you’ll need the next morning by placing them in the fridge the night before.

In the morning, it’s so quick to heat the thawed burritos in the microwave for about 1 minute each (the exact time depends on your microwave) and serve them up with plain yogurt for dipping and a glass of orange juice on the side. (For a conventional oven, try 325F for approximately 15 minutes.) Let the burritos cool for a few minutes before eating.

EASY CHEESY BREAKFAST BURRITOS IN 2 SIMPLE STEPS:

1. For basic morning burritos, all you need is tortilla flat breads (preferably whole wheat), scrambled eggs, grated cheese and a little leftover, cooked mixed veggies. You could also add baked or refried beans, cooked brown rice, cooked sausage, fried bacon or cooked chicken. Mild tomato sauce or very mild salsa could be used, but the burritos are less messy without it if you want to eat them on the run.

2. If you’ve never folded a burrito before, don’t be intimidated. It’s easy to figure out with a little experimenting. Place 2 or 3 spoonfuls of filling items, followed by a generous amount of grated cheese, in a stripe in the middle of a heated tortilla. (Heat tortillas in a paper towel covered stack in the microwave for a few seconds or until warm or place on a cookie sheet in a conventional oven for about 5 minutes at 350F.) Make sure the filling doesn’t reach the edges. Fold one longer side in towards the middle, then a shorter side and repeat.

Heat in the microwave (approximately 1 minute on high) or conventional oven (about 15 minutes at 325F) and enjoy!