Post by millring on Jan 25, 2015 12:27:43 GMT -5
She's tried out several of what I'd call "combination" recipes -- recipes that don't take lots of fancy cookin', but are more or less finding pleasing combinations of common stuff. Nothing caramelized, reduced, flambeed, fricasseed or otherwise fussed over. And she found two winners last week. One is a soup that bees fantastic (but then, I love soup) and the other is a copycat of a fast food restaurant (Outback Steakhouse) menu item that's been copycatted. The following have some of Dar's notes in 'em.
Italian Sausage Soup (serves 8-10)
1.5 cups coarsely chopped celery.
1.5 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 clove garlic minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups canned Italian tomatoes (coarsely chopped – reserve the liquid. I put the whole thing in at once)
1 cup tomato puree
1.25 lb Italian sausage, sautéed and drained (Dar chose Andouille sausage instead)
6 cups of chicken broth (“Kitchen Basic” works fine)
½ teaspoon of oregano
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon of thyme
½ cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoon sugar (Dar thought 3 was too much – too sweet)
1 cup orzo (or other small pasta. Dar used ditalini and orzo)
Grated parmesan for garnish (optional)
Sauté the celery, onion, garlic in the olive oil until barely tender.
Add the tomatoes, puree and the sausage (sautéed if ground).
Cook for 10 minutes at medium heat
Add the broth, herbs and sugar and simmer for 30 min.
Add the pasta and continue cooking until it is just done.
Note: The amount of sausage and pasta may be varied according to taste and thickness desired. If you wish a thinner soup, use the reserved juices from the tomatoes as additional liquid. It’s better the next day….and can be frozen.
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Alice Springs Chicken
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Seasoning Salt
1 cup Honey Mustard Sauce (recipe below)
4 slices bacon, cooked (fix more bacon -- enough to cover the tops of the breasts)
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese,Colby jack or cheese substitute, shredded
Honey Mustard Sauce
¾ cup mayonnaise or vegan substitute
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (use half yellow mustard. It's tangier)
Instructions
Alice Springs Chicken
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Layer mushrooms in the bottom of a baking dish.
Add chicken and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
Top with bacon and about ¾ of the honey mustard sauce. Reserve about ¼ of the sauce to serve on the side (the reserved sauce should never touch raw chicken.)
Sprinkle cheese over the top.
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Honey Mustard Sauce
Use beaters to mix mayonnaise, honey and Dijon mustard until well-combined.
Italian Sausage Soup (serves 8-10)
1.5 cups coarsely chopped celery.
1.5 cups coarsely chopped onions
1 clove garlic minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups canned Italian tomatoes (coarsely chopped – reserve the liquid. I put the whole thing in at once)
1 cup tomato puree
1.25 lb Italian sausage, sautéed and drained (Dar chose Andouille sausage instead)
6 cups of chicken broth (“Kitchen Basic” works fine)
½ teaspoon of oregano
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon of thyme
½ cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoon sugar (Dar thought 3 was too much – too sweet)
1 cup orzo (or other small pasta. Dar used ditalini and orzo)
Grated parmesan for garnish (optional)
Sauté the celery, onion, garlic in the olive oil until barely tender.
Add the tomatoes, puree and the sausage (sautéed if ground).
Cook for 10 minutes at medium heat
Add the broth, herbs and sugar and simmer for 30 min.
Add the pasta and continue cooking until it is just done.
Note: The amount of sausage and pasta may be varied according to taste and thickness desired. If you wish a thinner soup, use the reserved juices from the tomatoes as additional liquid. It’s better the next day….and can be frozen.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Alice Springs Chicken
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Seasoning Salt
1 cup Honey Mustard Sauce (recipe below)
4 slices bacon, cooked (fix more bacon -- enough to cover the tops of the breasts)
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese,Colby jack or cheese substitute, shredded
Honey Mustard Sauce
¾ cup mayonnaise or vegan substitute
¼ cup honey
2 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (use half yellow mustard. It's tangier)
Instructions
Alice Springs Chicken
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Layer mushrooms in the bottom of a baking dish.
Add chicken and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
Top with bacon and about ¾ of the honey mustard sauce. Reserve about ¼ of the sauce to serve on the side (the reserved sauce should never touch raw chicken.)
Sprinkle cheese over the top.
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Honey Mustard Sauce
Use beaters to mix mayonnaise, honey and Dijon mustard until well-combined.