Category Archives: cooking

September 30, 2013 · 5:03 am

Hasty Tasty Mushroom Pasta Florentine

This recipe originated as part of my research for the romance novel I’m currently writing, Return to Drake Springs. The hero is on a tight budget but wants to impress the heroine by cooking her dinner. While shopping, I bought only sale items (the lengths we writers go in the name of research!) at my local supermarket, which included bags of fresh, ready-to-eat spinach and boxes of pasta (Both Buy-One-Get-One free), and a discount on fresh baby portabella mushrooms and red bell peppers. The result of my experiment is Mushroom Pasta Florentine.

This recipe is a hearty and delicious meal for meat free Monday or any day. Whole grain pasta bumps up the protein, and the spinach and mushrooms give two servings of vegetables per meal. It’s affordable, too. This has become one of our household’s favorite meals. A writer never knows where research will lead. ☺

Mushroom Pasta Florentine with Whole Wheat Pasta

Mushroom Pasta Florentine with Whole Wheat Pasta

RECIPE

 

Hasty Tasty Mushroom Pasta Florentine

Serves Two

Ingredients:

Pasta:

  • 4 oz. dried thin spaghetti, whole grain or whole wheat
  • Water
  • Salt

Topping:

  • 1 package fresh spinach leaves, washed and ready to eat
  • 8 oz. crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • ¼ red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • ½ tsp. grated fresh nutmeg

Sauce:

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (i.e. Rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley)
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

  1. In a large pot, bring 4 – 5 quarts water to a boil. Add salt and pasta. Cook to al dente (follow instructions on the package).
  2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add spinach.
  3. Cook spinach until it wilts and leaves room to add mushrooms and red bell pepper.
  4. Using tongs, toss cooked mushrooms, spinach, and pepper with nutmeg and garlic. Cook another two minutes and remove from heat.
  5. In a large shallow bowl, pour extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and herbs.
  6. Drain pasta and immediately add it to the bowl. Use tongs to toss hot pasta with the oil, garlic, and herbs until pasta is coated and fragrant.
  7. Add the spinach-mushroom mixture. Toss with the pasta.
  8. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and serve.

Recipe can be doubled.

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September 20, 2013 · 1:39 pm

Elk Burgers

We love bison burgers and have eaten them for many years. The meat is leaner than beef, and it has no antibiotics or added hormones. When we stopped by our favorite market today to pick up more bison burgers, we bought elk burgers instead. They were about $2.00 cheaper than bison, and elk is something we had never tried. I expected elk to taste like venison, which I like although it’s rather strong and gamey, but elk tasted mild in comparison. We had the burgers for lunch, with a side of baked beans and a baked sweet potato, and we will buy elk burgers again. Delicious!
elk1

RECIPE

ELK BURGERS

Ingredients:

  • 2 ground elk patties, 1/4 lb. each, thawed.
  • 2 whole wheat burger buns + toppings of your choice (I use lettuce, tomato, sweet onion)
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. honey
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper (I use McCormick Pepper Medley)

Directions:

    1. Preheat grill or grill pan over medium heat. (I use a Lodge cast iron grill pan.)
    2. Combine oil, honey, and seasonings and rub mixture over both sides of each burger.

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    1. Cook burgers over medium heat 4 minutes. Turn using a spatula and cook an additional 3 minutes or just until juices run clear. Don’t overcook.

elk3

  1. Serve on whole wheat buns. Add toppings if desired.

elk4
Yield: Two burgers

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July 16, 2013 · 12:03 pm

REVISITING THE GRAVY TRAIN

Encore of my low fat gravy method post:

Several have asked me about my fat-free roux method for making gravy or sauce. Traditional roux is made from browning equal amounts of fat (typically butter) and flour. Although my gravy isn’t fat-free (I finish it with a Tbsp. of butter for flavor and gloss), mine is a lot lower in fat calories. I recently made a batch of this gravy to reheat leftover cooked turkey. The turkey flavored the gravy while the gravy gently warmed the turkey. That’s a win-win!

Start by preheating a quality, heavy-duty skillet. To make one cup of gravy, add two tablespoons flour to the dry skillet over medium heat. Whisk often to cook the flour. Season the flour as desired. When the flour turns light brown and emits an aroma indicating it’s cooked, remove the skillet from the heat.

Add flour to dry, preheated skillet

Add flour to dry, preheated skillet

Whisk flour often to keep it from burning.

Whisk flour often to keep it from burning.

Carefully add about a pint of broth or stock, whisking into the roux. Stand back as the hot skillet may steam from the cold liquid (as an additional step, preheat your broth or stock before adding it to the roux). After roux is incorporated into the liquid, return the skillet to medium heat. Whisk occasionally.

Remove from heat and whisk in broth or stock.

Remove from heat and whisk in broth or stock.

Continue to whisk over medium heat to blend together roux and broth.

Continue to whisk over medium heat to blend together roux and broth.

Allow the gravy to thicken and reduce, then lower the heat. If using the gravy to reheat cooked food such as leftover turkey, place the food in the gravy and let it cook gently until warmed.

Optional: Use gravy to gently reheat cooked meat or poultry.

Optional: Use gravy to gently reheat cooked meat or poultry.

To serve, remove all food from the gravy and plate for serving. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in one pat (approx. 1 Tbsp.) butter to finish the gravy. Pour into gravy bowl to serve.

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June 27, 2013 · 2:35 pm

HOPPIN’ JOHN

Hoppin' John

Hoppin’ John

Hoppin’ John is a dish that originated in the Low Country (Carolinas) made with black-eyed peas and rice. I usually cook Hoppin’ John in the pressure cooker (As in Chef Cheri’s Hasty Tasty Meals ©2003), but this version is tasty and worth a little extra work. Use a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven for best results. You will need a 1-quart covered saucepan or rice cooker for the rice, plus a tea kettle for boiling water.

RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 cup long grain brown rice
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 2 tsp. salt, divided
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 pound dried black-eyed peas (soaked overnight and rinsed)
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 can Rotel® tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 lb. cooked Andouille sausage

Directions:

  1. Preheat cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat and melt 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter.
  2. Add the brown rice and stir. Toast the rice, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
  3. Spoon the rice into a 1-quart saucepan. Add 2 cups boiling water and 1 tsp. salt. Cover and cook over low heat for twenty-five minutes or until tender. Do not overcook.
  4. Add 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter to the Dutch oven and sauté the onions over low heat. After ten minutes add the garlic, bay leaf, and the black-eyed peas.
  5. Stir to combine then add 6 cups water. Cover Dutch oven.
  6. Time for two hours and cook over low heat. After about 30 minutes, lift the cover and move it to allow steam to escape.
  7. After the peas are cooked, add 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. freshly ground pepper. Salting peas earlier may make them tough.
  8. Add ½ pound cooked Andouille sausage cut into ½ inch slices, along with the can of Rotel®. Remove the bay leaf.
  9. Remove Dutch oven from heat, stir in rice, and serve. Covered, the hoppin’ John will keep warm for about an hour.

Yield: About 6 meal-size servings or 12 side dish servings.

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