Recipes / Food - Drink

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

sorry, lass - but what are, is refried beans ....

Ah...........so sorry. I forget sometimes I"m in a world wide forum. (bad DGma)

Here is a link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refried_beans

[Curly]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Ah...........so sorry. I forget sometimes I"m in a world wide forum. (bad DGma)

Here is a link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refried_beans

You can buy refried beans at Tesco in the Mexican food section (near the tortillas and tacos).

[lilac_jive]

Refried beans (made correctly) are extremely delicious. Nom nom nom.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Refried beans (made correctly) are extremely delicious. Nom nom nom.

A great chip dip, with some shredded chedder on top...served warm, of course.!

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

A great chip dip, with some shredded chedder on top...served warm, of course.!

Ooooooh yeaaaah.

I just had some refried beans with my lunch the other day (yummy mexican restaurant). I always need extra nachos to scoop all the beany deliciousness.

[vivaldirules]

If you're interested in a slightly healthier chip dip, here's a simple recipe for a black bean salsa that is dynamite, in my opinion:

1 can of black beans (drained and well rinsed)

Marinate these overnight in the refrigerator in:
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped celery

Then add:
1/3 cup each of chopped red, yellow, and green bell peppers
2 or 3 chopped tomatoes

Optionally, add some avocado.

I like to eat it at room temperature or slightly warmer with blue corn chips. I make a double quantity of this several times a year and it disappears in our house in a couple of days.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

If you're interested in a slightly healthier chip dip, here's a simple recipe for a black bean salsa that is dynamite, in my opinion:

1 can of black beans (drained and well rinsed)

Marinate these overnight in the refrigerator in:
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped celery

Then add:
1/3 cup each of chopped red, yellow, and green bell peppers
2 or 3 chopped tomatoes

Optionally, add some avocado.

I like to eat it at room temperature or slightly warmer with blue corn chips. I make a double quantity of this several times a year and it disappears in our house in a couple of days.

copied and printed.........

[krisk]

oh yummmmm you guys!

[Verencat]

I just ate a wonderful carrot-sweet patato-ginger purée, to witch I added a cup of orange juice.

I cooked the sun!

[Verencat]

Someone asked me about pre-made pancakes and cookie mixes. I somewhat panicked in an overwhelming disapproval, so to calm myself down, here is my equivalent of a pre-made pancake mix.

Pancake mix
12 cups of white flour
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of baking powder
2 table spoons of salt

Mix it all and store in a big flour jar.

For every cup of this mix (serves 2-3 persons), add:
one egg
2 Tb of vegetable oil (or melted butter)
¼ tea spoon of vanilla (optional)
Milk

I’d suggest a cup of milk per cup of mix, but whisk it in and stop adding milk when the consistency fits your liking.

[phenomshel]

No, the title does not mean the chicken is spoiled, . It's green from the tomatillo salsa in it. This isn't authentic mexican, by a long shot, it's Tex-Mex.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 jar tomatillo salsa (Herdez is the brand I use, but you may not be able to find it where you live.)
1 sm. can tomatoes with green chilis (I use Ro-Tel brand but you can't find it everywhere).
1/2 carton sour cream (about three or four heaping tablespoons)
corn tortillas
grated cheese (I use the pre shredded Colby/monterey jack blend, but anything will work)

Combine soup, salsa, and sour cream in bowl. Mix well to blend. Add chopped chicken to mix.
In large casserole dish, put a layer of corn tortillas to cover the bottom of the dish. This doesn't have to be perfect - I used three tortillas per layer for mine, two whole and one halved for the sides. Add a layer of chicken/sauce mixture and cheese, repeat layers, ending with cheese.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until bubbly hot and cheese is melted.

You can use low fat or no fat alternatives for everything, but I don't guarantee the results if you do.
I serve this with refried beans (see previous post).

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

No, the title does not mean the chicken is spoiled, . It's green from the tomatillo salsa in it. This isn't authentic mexican, by a long shot, it's Tex-Mex.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 jar tomatillo salsa (Herdez is the brand I use, but you may not be able to find it where you live.)
1 sm. can tomatoes with green chilis (I use Ro-Tel brand but you can't find it everywhere).
1/2 carton sour cream (about three or four heaping tablespoons)
corn tortillas
grated cheese (I use the pre shredded Colby/monterey jack blend, but anything will work)

Combine soup, salsa, and sour cream in bowl. Mix well to blend. Add chopped chicken to mix.
In large casserole dish, put a layer of corn tortillas to cover the bottom of the dish. This doesn't have to be perfect - I used three tortillas per layer for mine, two whole and one halved for the sides. Add a layer of chicken/sauce mixture and cheese, repeat layers, ending with cheese.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until bubbly hot and cheese is melted.

You can use low fat or no fat alternatives for everything, but I don't guarantee the results if you do.
I serve this with refried beans (see previous post).

Oooooh I missed this! Yum!

I came to post one of my friend's recipes that I'm making for dinner (minus the grill though):
Grilled Pizza
Pizza Dough (I waaaay prefer Pillsbury pizza crust because for some reason I can't mold the lumps of dough)
Pizza Sauce
Fresh Mozzarella (I buy the small balls)
Basil and any other toppings you might like


Get grill heated to around 350. Shape pizza dough into what you need (small pies work best when grilling). Throw dough on grill for a few minutes (starts to get golden) then flip. Put pizza sauce and toppings (I place the mozz balls randomly, it doesn't cover the whole pizza) on the dough, then close the lid of the grill. Only takes a few more minutes.

This pizza is so delicious, and I still haven't been able to figure out why. It's great for parties though, and lazy summers.

[griffonwing]

OK Zelda, here we go. This is my own recipe, altered from an old one I found. Never had a complaint yet.

Rum Coconut Carrot Cake

cake mix

• 2 cups - Flour (all-purpose)
• 2 tsp. - Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. - Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. - Salt
• 1 tsp. - Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. - Nutmeg
• 1 tsp. - Allspice
• 1.75 cups - White Sugar
• 1 cup - Canola Oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. - Vanilla
• 2-3 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup - Sweetened Coconut Flakes
• 1 cup - Crushed Pineapple - drained
• 1 cup - Chopped Black Walnuts

frosting

• 3 cups - Powdered Sugar (all-purpose)
• 4 oz - Cream Cheese (pref Philadelphia)- softened
• 1 stick - butter (not margerine)- softened
• 1 tsp. - Vanilla Extract
• .5 tsp. - Coconut Extract
• 2 shots of Capt Morgan Private Stock Rum

You'll need 1 large mixing bowl, and 2 medium size bowls.

In one medium-size bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Mix well and set to the side.

In the large bowl, add canola oil, white sugar and eggs. Beat well.
Add the vanilla - beat. Add carrots, coconut, and walnuts - beat. Slowly add the flour mixture, beat until smooth. Add in the drained crushed pineapple, and fold them in with a spoon.

Pour the batter mix into a greased 9x13 cake pan (or two 9x13 half-cake pans). Bake a 350 for 40-45 minutes (or 30-35 minutes of you have 2 half-thick cake pans). Cool the cake completely.

FROSTING:
In a medium bowl, add the butter and cream cheese, beat. Add the vanilla, beat. Add the RUM. This will naturally make the frosting mix MUCH more liquidy. Add the powdered sugar slowly. If, after 3 cups, it's still a bit too liquidy, add more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Frost the cake(s), the refrigerate.

This will make more than enough icing for one cake, which is why I prefer to make 2 smaller cakes. If you only bake one cake, any remaining icing would go very well as a strawberry dip, or pineapple chunk dip. YUM.

Remember, the more rum you add to the icing, the more powdered sugar you need to thicken it.

Enjoy.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by Laz116

My dabbling in meat replacements has only gone as far as to Chili con tofu and, Quorn Lasagna. Neither were succesful.

I find tofu works better in stir fries - you can get it nice and crispy on the outside that way! Marinade it first for more flavour.

I've made lasagna with Quorn mince:

Serves 4-6, probably
One large onion
One pack quorn mince (*)
About half a bottle of passata
About half a bottle of sugacosa/sieved tomatoes & tomato puree mix
Mushrooms if you fancy
Tablespoon or so of olive oil
Garlic (I use about 6 cloves...)
A teaspoon or two of Balsamic vinegar or a few drops of angustura bitters (or both)(**)
Teaspoon of Marigold Swiss Vegetable buillon powder
Herbs of preference - oregano and basil work well, with maybe a bit of thyme
Salt & pepper to taste
Lasagna sheets

For the cheese sauce:
About 25g butter (I'm currently hooked on whey butter for making sauces with)
Flour - plain flour so it looks about the same size as the chunk of butter, or cornflour so it looks about half the size
Milk (3/4 pint or so)
Water (3/4 pint or so)
Teaspoon or two of English mustard powder
Salt and pepper
Mature cheddar (I usually cut about 2" down the long side off the block), diced (you can grate it, but dicing works just as well)

Put oven on to about 175c

In a large frying pan/saute pan/saucepan heat the olive oil, then turn heat down quite low
Chop the onion as finely as you prefer, and fry for several minutes until it starts to turn clear
Chop the garlic and add to pan
Chop and add mushrooms if having
Add the Quorn mince
Turn heat up to medium-ish and fry for 5 minutes
Add passata, sugacosa, herbs, buillon powder, salt & pepper, vinegar/angustura bitters
Stir all together and cook for the length of time indicated on the packet

Whilst that's going on, in a smaller saucepan melt the butter
Once the butter has melted remove pan from heat
Add flour and mustard powder and stir to a smooth paste.
Slowly add milk, stirring all the time, until you have a smooth sauce.
Put back on the heat and keep stirring
Add the cheese, and keep stirring
Once the cheese has melted, slowly add the water, keeping stirring
Taste - and add salt & pepper as needed

Once everything's cooked, grease a large, deep baking tray.
Line the bottom with lasagna sheets (yes, I know that's a weird way of doing it!)
Cover with about half the Quorn sauce
Add another layer of lasagna
Cover with some cheese sauce (about 1/3)
Cover that with remaining Quorn sauce
And a last layer of lasagna
Cover that with remaining cheese sauce
Shove in the oven for about 20 minutes

Once cooked, try to dish up gracefully...

(* Puy lentils work well instead of the quorn mince. As do lots of finely chopped mixed mushrooms)
(** red wine also works)

[vivaldirules]

VR's Killer Lentil Soup

- 2 cups lentils (or 16 ounce bag; rinse thoroughly; no need to soak in advance)
- 6 to 8 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 bay leaf
- Optional: a few ounces of ham (diced) or a soup bone
---------------------------------
- 3 or 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- fresh ground pepper
- 2 or 3 diced potatoes (I prefer instead about 12 or so new red potatoes diced with skin on)
---------------------------------
- 1 pinch each dried summer savory, basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 ribs of celery, sliced
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
----------------------------------
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Lemon wedges (or cider, herb, balsamic, or red wine vinegar)
- Optional: sour cream
- NOT Optional: fresh, crusty bread


Dump the first set of ingredients into a big bucket, bring to boil. Skim the foam and floating matter off and discard. Then lower heat to simmer while covered.

After 20 minutes simmering, dump in the next set of ingredients and simmer while covered.

After another 20 minutes simmering, dump in the third set of ingredient and simmer while covered. You may want to add a cup or so of water at this point.

After another 20 minutes simmering, remove the bay leaf and bone, if used. Mash or blend a cup or so of the soup and return it to the bucket to thicken the soup.

Serve hot garnished with parsley and accompanied with lemon wedges (or vinegar) and fresh bread. You can be evil and add some sour cream.

Eat it quick before the neighbors find out about it. Nothing magical but I could just live off this stuff forever.