make ahead
Grind Your Own Meat: My First Home-Ground Beef for Hamburgers
June 28, 2010 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
Thanks to KitchenAid FGA Food Grinder Attachment for Stand Mixers, which I’ve rarely, if ever, used before, I ground up a two-pound blade steak last night for hamburgers. (Froze 1 pound for later use.) You have to cut the meat up into 1″ cubes or long thinner strips. This is probably a bit easier to [...]
Quinoa Salad
June 28, 2010 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
My niece got me inspired to try quinoa again. I was not too crazy about plain as a side dish, but dressed up with some veggies and a Dijon vinaigrette it was really good! I cooked the quinoa in my rice cooker on the regular rice setting, then let it cool. 1 cup quinoa 1/4 [...]
Rice Salad
June 1, 2010 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
A friend invited me over for lunch the other day and served a delicious rice salad made with a mix of wild and long grain rice, cooked chicken, feta cheese, red onions and a lemon and olive oil dressing. It was really good! I had some friends over for dinner on Saturday and wanted to [...]
Easy Appetizers
June 1, 2010 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
I entertained twice this weekend and while I cooked a fair bit, I was a bit too busy to take pictures of everything! Both nights I wanted some easy appetizers and used a few items from Jacques Pepin More Fast Food My Way, including the idea of this simple appetizer with sliced radishes (from my [...]
Eggplant Parmesan: Midweek Dinner if You Fry the Eggplant Ahead of Time
April 15, 2010 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
On Sunday I picked up a gorgeous eggplant at the grocer and decided to make Eggplant Parmesan sometime this week. However, it always takes a long time to fry the eggplant. In the past I’ve fried a LOT at once and then made half into eggplant parmesan and frozen the other half for later. (If [...]
Vegetarian Lasagna: Spinach, Artichoke Hearts & Roasted Red Peppers
December 31, 2009 by Ellen · 1 Comment
This lasagna is full of spinach, chopped mushrooms, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and cheese. It has a great flavor and body. My sister made it for Christmas and I made it last night for some friends. It’s great for entertaining, as you make it ahead a bit and then pop into the oven about [...]
How to Roast Garlic
June 1, 2009 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
Roasted garlic is one of those things that seems to have some underserved mystique about it. The mystique about the flavor is well-founded. It is deliciously soft and smooth and wonderful. But any mystique about its preparation is not. Set aside half an hour or so and know that you can roast garlic ahead of [...]
Carolina Chili and Dogs
May 30, 2009 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
I’m gearing up for a large graduation party and am trying to figure out what to fix. I’m also trying to clear out my frig and freezer so as to make room for party food. By my current guess, we’ve at least 5o coming for an open house/barbecue. I’m thinking hot dogs, burgers, and maybe [...]
Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Shells
March 30, 2009 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
These were good! The girls protested the spinach a bit, but ate them up. It’s funny because they would each happily eat spinach alone as a side dish. I don’t really like cooked spinach so liked it this way. I started with this recipe from Karen Cooks. I used half a small onion instead of [...]
Make Your Own Taco Seasoning Mix
March 2, 2009 by Ellen · Leave a Comment
I haven’t bought a packet of taco seasoning mix in years because when I make tacos I do this. But sometimes recipes call for a packet of taco seasoning mix and just a bit of cumin doesn’t seem like it will do the trick. Try this instead, courtesy of Make-A-Mix. Actually that’s a newer version [...]
I have had a food blog since 2001, back when there were just a few hundred! I like to explore new recipes, including new cuisines. My recipes are usually not gourmet but now and then may be. In addition to cooking, I play fiddle and guitar, garden and read a lot. [