Had a curling bonspiel this weekend and needed to make something for the potluck dinner. This was my selection (from the Gold Seal website), and the bonus: it was pretty cheap :)
The Recipe:
1 can tuna, drained and flaked
2 cups small pasta shells
1 celery rib, cut into 1/4" dice
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2" dice
1/2 medium green bell pepper, cut into 1/2" dice
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
2 tsp horseradish
salt and pepper to taste
1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until just tender and drain well
2. Cool in cold water and drain well again. Place in a salad bowl
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently to combine
4. Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve
My Experience:
I actually cooked the pasta and cut up all my veggies up the night before so that it was a quick mix in the morning. Made my life at 7am much simpler.
I also made the dressing before mixing everything together to make sure that the mayonnaise and horseradish fully mixed. For some extra tang I used extra hot horseradish (it was also all we had at the apartment) and I added maybe half a tsp of sugar to balance out the lemon juice. I don't know why but I thought it tasted better.
Other than that it was quick and easy to put together. The longest part was all the veggie chopping because, well, I'm not very good with a knife lol.
If you are interested, I even have the nutritional values for you this time! (provided by Gold Seal)
Per Serving
Calories 118
Fat 3.1 g
Carbs 15g
Protein 8g
Fibre 1.5g
Sat fat 0.5g
Cholesterol 8mg
Sodium 120mg
Sugar 1.6g
Calcium 14mg
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Mini Tacos
Easy spin on Old El Paso Tacos with less mess while eating.
The Recipe:
Old El Paso Taco seasoning mix
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 bag of Tostitos Scoops
Toppings
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Salsa
Sour Cream
Whatever you like!
1. Brown ground beef in large skillet; drain
2. Fry onions in a bit of butter on low heat (at same time as beef but in small pan)
3. Stir 1 cup of water and seasoning mix in with beef
4. Simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often
5. Stir in onions after about 5 minutes
6. Place Tostitos Scoops on a baking sheet covered with foil
7. Spoon some beef mixture into each Scoop
8. Top each with some cheese
9. Broil until cheese is melted
10. Serve with all the toppings as a self serve!
My Experience:
I love tacos! But they make such a mess when you try to eat them (maybe I just don't do it right...). These mini tacos allow for bite size pieces and you can top them how you want: whether it's salsa, sour cream, lettuce, diced tomatoes or whatever else you choose.
Just make sure you use the non-broken scoops so that you can spoon in the meat and cheese. It's MUCH easier! Save the broken ones for later snacking.
The meat is also really good on day 2 because it allows for the seasoning to soak in so don't worry about the left overs. You can even use the left overs with the broken chips to make a taco salad (with the left over lettuce topping) the next day! I've done it and it is yummy :)
The Recipe:
Old El Paso Taco seasoning mix
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 bag of Tostitos Scoops
Toppings
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Salsa
Sour Cream
Whatever you like!
1. Brown ground beef in large skillet; drain
2. Fry onions in a bit of butter on low heat (at same time as beef but in small pan)
3. Stir 1 cup of water and seasoning mix in with beef
4. Simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often
5. Stir in onions after about 5 minutes
6. Place Tostitos Scoops on a baking sheet covered with foil
7. Spoon some beef mixture into each Scoop
8. Top each with some cheese
9. Broil until cheese is melted
10. Serve with all the toppings as a self serve!
My Experience:
I love tacos! But they make such a mess when you try to eat them (maybe I just don't do it right...). These mini tacos allow for bite size pieces and you can top them how you want: whether it's salsa, sour cream, lettuce, diced tomatoes or whatever else you choose.
Just make sure you use the non-broken scoops so that you can spoon in the meat and cheese. It's MUCH easier! Save the broken ones for later snacking.
The meat is also really good on day 2 because it allows for the seasoning to soak in so don't worry about the left overs. You can even use the left overs with the broken chips to make a taco salad (with the left over lettuce topping) the next day! I've done it and it is yummy :)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Philly Cheesesteaks
I love me some Rachael Ray and I saw this recipe on her show last week and I just had to try it! We had some cheap steaks in the freezer that we weren't crazy about so this was a great way to use them up and make them super yummy!
The Recipe:
For the Garlic Butter Bread
2 loaves baguette, halved and split or 4 crusty sub rolls 12 inches each split
6 tablespoons butter
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
For the French Onion Steak Filling
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 large or 3 medium onions, very thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 large fresh bay leaf
1/4 cup dry sherry or 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cans beef consommé or 3 cups beef stock
4 flat-iron steaks or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
ONIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat then add butter.
2. When it foams, add onions and season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay.
3. Cook until caramel in color, about 30 minutes.
4. Add consommé and sherry/wine to onions.
5. Continue to simmer until consommé reduces by about half.
BREAD
6. Toast bread in a 375°F oven to golden.
7. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat until it foams.
8. Stir in garlic 1-2 minutes then remove from heat and stir in parsley.
9. Brush toasted bread liberally with garlic butter and reserve.
STEAK
10. Heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; drizzle with oil.
11. Season room temperature steaks liberally with kosher salt and pepper.
12. Cook 10 minutes, turning once.
13. Let stand 5 minutes, thinly slice against the grain.
SANDWICH IT UP
14. Pile steak and onions onto toasted bread bottoms arranged on a baking sheet.
15. Top with lots of cheese and melt under broiler.
16. Set tops in place and serve.
My Experience:
So this recipe takes a really long time because the onions take about half an hour to 45 minutes but you only have to stir every once in a while so I just prepared everything else while the onions were cooking.
Instead of Gruyère cheese I used Provolone but you could also use Swiss. Just buy it in a block so that you can grate it.
When making the garlic butter, try grating the garlic. It may waste a bit if you don't want to destroy your finger tips but it works really great to mix in well with the butter.
These sandwiches were really really good and I highly recommend trying it at least once. It might be time consuming and make a good stack of dishes but it is easy to make!
The Recipe:
For the Garlic Butter Bread
2 loaves baguette, halved and split or 4 crusty sub rolls 12 inches each split
6 tablespoons butter
4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
For the French Onion Steak Filling
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 large or 3 medium onions, very thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1 large fresh bay leaf
1/4 cup dry sherry or 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cans beef consommé or 3 cups beef stock
4 flat-iron steaks or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds flank steak
3 cups shredded Gruyère cheese
ONIONS
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat then add butter.
2. When it foams, add onions and season with salt, pepper, thyme and bay.
3. Cook until caramel in color, about 30 minutes.
4. Add consommé and sherry/wine to onions.
5. Continue to simmer until consommé reduces by about half.
BREAD
6. Toast bread in a 375°F oven to golden.
7. Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat until it foams.
8. Stir in garlic 1-2 minutes then remove from heat and stir in parsley.
9. Brush toasted bread liberally with garlic butter and reserve.
STEAK
10. Heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; drizzle with oil.
11. Season room temperature steaks liberally with kosher salt and pepper.
12. Cook 10 minutes, turning once.
13. Let stand 5 minutes, thinly slice against the grain.
SANDWICH IT UP
14. Pile steak and onions onto toasted bread bottoms arranged on a baking sheet.
15. Top with lots of cheese and melt under broiler.
16. Set tops in place and serve.
My Experience:
So this recipe takes a really long time because the onions take about half an hour to 45 minutes but you only have to stir every once in a while so I just prepared everything else while the onions were cooking.
Instead of Gruyère cheese I used Provolone but you could also use Swiss. Just buy it in a block so that you can grate it.
When making the garlic butter, try grating the garlic. It may waste a bit if you don't want to destroy your finger tips but it works really great to mix in well with the butter.
These sandwiches were really really good and I highly recommend trying it at least once. It might be time consuming and make a good stack of dishes but it is easy to make!
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