I Love Bran

For some reason, bran seems to have a bad reputation. When I was young, my mom made these wonderful Raisin Bran muffins sometimes, and I really liked the bran taste of them. I spent some time recently looking for a more grown up version of bran muffins (one in which the raisins were not sugar-coated), and found a good one on the back of the wheat bran package. They are very yummy in that mild, unassuming way that bran has. Also very easy to make.

1 c. wheat bran

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3/4 c. raisins

1/4 c. chopped nuts

1 c. milk

1/2 c. honey

3/4 c. apple sauce

2 T cooking oil

2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 400. In large bowl, combine flour, bran, baking powder and soda. Stir in raisins and nuts. In separate bowl combine milk, honey, apple sauce, oil and eggs. Add to dry ingredients and stir till just moistened. Spoon into greased or paper lined muffin tin. Fill cups nearly to top. Bake 20-25 minutes, till a toothpick comes out dry and clean.

Mulled Wine

My friend Sheri got a few bottles of Trader Joe's Three Buck Chuck Beaujolais and does not love it. Now she's got two bottles of wine she doesn't want to drink. I told her about this recipe I have that is great for wine you don't love, or any dry red wine. Also it's perfect for Christmas Eve.

2 bottles red wine

10 c. apple cider

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. whole cloves (plus extra for studding the orange)

2 tsp. whole allspice

2 3-inch cinnamon sticks

2 oranges, studded with cloves

Heat wine, cider, sugar, cloves, allspice, cinnamon to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Stud oranges with cloves, quarter the oranges, then add to pot. Remove all seasoning except oranges, serve in mugs. Keep it on a low heat on the stovetop.

N.B. I like to use cheesecloth or a cut off toe of nylon stockings to put the cloves, allspice, and cinnamon in; this makes removing them very easy.

Food I Cooked For Other People

On our dinner night on vacation, I made my mom's lasagna. Being German and all, you know she can make a great pan of lasagna! It's really good-- seriously.

Lasagna

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce

12 lasagna noodles

16 oz cottage cheese

1/2 c. parmesan cheese

2 T fresh parsley, chopped

1 T dried oregano

8 oz. shredded mozzarella

Cook beef and onion until beef is browned, drain off grease. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for a few minutes.

Heat oven to 350. Cook noodles if using the type that need to be pre-cooked (I use the type that don't need to be pre-cooked and there's no taste difference).

Mix together cottage cheese, 1/4 c. parmesan, parsley and oregano.

Spread 1 c. sauce mixture in ungreased 13x9 glass baking dish.

Top with 4 noodles.

Spread 1 c. of the cheese mixture over the noodles.

Spread with 1 c. sauce mixture.

Sprinkle with 2/3 c. mozzarella.

Repeat with 4 noodles, remaining cheese mixture, 1 c. sauce and 2/3 c. mozzarella.

Top with remaining noodles and sauce mixture.

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and 1/4 c. parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake 30 min. Uncover and bake 20 minutes more until bubbly and browning. Let stand about 20 minutes before cutting.

Another Thai Stirfry

I don't really expect everyone who reads this blog to go out and make the things I post-- I like to post winning recipes here so I can remember what was good and what it looked like. This is kinda like my recipe book, I guess. So, here's another Thai dish that is super good. It's got the same peppers-onions-chicken/pork that the other Thai stirfry has, but it tastes very different. The other one is very basil-y, and this one is hotter. There are other differences, too, but it's hard to describe them. If you really do want to know, then you should make both dishes and see for yourself how they're different. I love making the other one for people, and I will also love making this one for people. Just to shake things up a bit I will serve this one with noodles (I serve the other with rice).

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in that Thai cookbook I got Phil for his birthday.

Thai Stirfry II

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1 lb sliced pork tenderloin or chicken breast

2 lg. bell peppers, sliced

1 lg. red onion, sliced

1-2 seeded jalapenos, chopped

1 1/2 t. red chili flakes

2 T sugar

4 T fish sauce

4 T soy sauce

1/2 c. lime juice

1 T cornstarch

2 T water

5-6 T peanut or veg. oil

First off, make the sauce and set aside: combine lime juice, soy and fish sauces, sugar, and red chili flakes. Also make the thickening agent and set aside: combine cornstarch and water.

Put the skillet/wok over med-high to high heat, add a couple T of oil, throw in the diced anchovy and garlic. Stir around about 30 seconds then add the meat. Coat meat with oil and anchovy/garlic, stirfry a few minutes until mostly done. Remove from pan. Add another one or two T oil, add veggies. Stirfry a few minutes, until almost done. Add meat back in, add sauce, stir to coat. Bring to a boil, add thickening agent, let boil a minute or two. Serve over Asian noodles or rice.

The Best Thai Food You'll Ever Make

Seriously, this is incredible. Ask anyone who's ever had it. It's simple and fresh and so so so yummy.

Thai Basil Chicken

1 medium green bell pepper

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
16 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced 1/4-inch thick or one pork tenderloin, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup shredded basil
peanut oil, for stir-fying

Sauce 1
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Sauce 2
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili paste

Sauce 3
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

(I usually make an extra batch of Sauce 3, just in case the sauce is a bit thin)


Heat oil in wok. Stir-fry onions and peppers until crisp tender. Remove and keep warm.

Add a bit more oil to wok if needed and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and pepper flakes until chicken is done. Add sauces in order, stirring between each addition to coat. Add cooked vegetables back and stir to
coat.

Add basil, stirring just until hot and beginning to wilt. Serve over rice.

Link to a Recipe

http://www.not-just-recipes.com/marks-oh-man-I-am-so-hung-over-breakfast-bake.html

This sounds good.... it's created by one of the guys we're going to North Carolina with

Thai Chicken

I'm writing this from my new (temporary) home. Of course, over the past year each of the 5 places I've lived have been temporary, so I guess mentioning that this too is temporary isn't necessary. Anyway, I'm staying at Dad and Mollie's for a few weeks until I move into my new PERMANENT place. By 'permanent' I mean I've signed a year lease.

And it's time for a first... here's a recipe I made but haven't tried. I started some food before I left Illinois yesterday, then Phil ate and photographed it when he got home. I can't tell you if this recipe is any good (it looks really good), but I can tell you Phil said it was great (but he's not too hard to please). I look forward to trying this sometime.

Thai Chicken in a Crockpot

2.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken

onion, sliced

1 c. salsa

1/4 c. peanut butter

2 T. lime juice

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. fresh ginger, grated

1/2 c. peanuts, crushed

cilantro, chopped

rice

Place onion in crockpot, then put chicken on top of the onion. Combine salsa, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, and ginger, then pour over chicken and onion. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Serve over rice, sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.

The lime garnish was Phil's idea. I like it. Also, I've noticed the time stamp on my blog is set for Pacific time zone. Hm.

Spring Spring Spring!

Look what was waiting for me when I got back to Murphysboro! I didn't see many lilacs the past several springs in the southwest, so I was very happy to see and smell this in Phil's backyard. I promptly cut several sprigs and pretty much carried the bouquet around with me from room to room.

This is a picture of Saturday night's dinner. Phil got creative with the salad and I used spinach linguine to make linguine and clams. This is how I did it:

Linguine and Clams

8 oz. linguine

4 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

1 10 oz. can clams (liquid reserved)

1 c. white wine

1/2 t. dried thyme

4 T. parsley, chopped

grated parmesean

S and P

Cook and drain linguine. Saute garlic over med-low in butter and olive oil for a few minutes. Stir in liquid from clams, wine, and thyme. Cook over med-low for 5 minutes. Stir in clams, heat on med-high for a few minutes. Toss linguine with sauce, add S and P to taste, sprinkle with parsley and parmesean. Serve with the wine you used for the recipe.

There was a lot of liquid with this recipe, so we just used a slotted spoon to get the linguine onto our plates. It was delicious, as was Steve's Sav. Blanc we used to make it.