Suntanned Turkey

Congratulations, Heather. You are officially the first person to contribute a photo to my recipe blog. I L-O-V-E this! I am dying to see if it actually works or if this is just someone's idea of fun with Photoshop. Either way, it's a hoot.


Please, please try this at home. Then send me a photo.


1. Cut out aluminum foil in desired shapes.
2. Arrange the turkey in the roasting pan, position the foil carefully.
3. Roast according to your own recipe and serve.

Beef and Bean Tamale Pie

Hello again, my fellow chefs. Sorry to leave you hanging with nothing new to cook. This is an original, so be kind in your critiques. It is a family favorite that can be served alone; it contains all the food groups. Add a little salsa to make your mouth say, "Aye aye aye!"

1 large sweet green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS cooking oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 6-ounce can vegetable juice
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers, undrained
1 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 8 ½-ounce package corn muffin mix
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup snipped fresh cilantro or parsley

In a medium skillet cook sweet pepper, onion, and garlic in hot oil until tender. Brown beef in the same skillet. Stir in kidney beans, pinto beans, vegetable juice, chile peppers, chili powder and cumin; heat through. Spoon mixture into 2-quart square baking dish.

Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions; add cheese and cilantro, stirring just until combined. Spoon cornbread mixture evenly over the top of the beef and bean mixture. Bake, uncovered, in a 400º oven about 25 minutes or until golden. If desired, serve with salsa and sour cream.

Oriental Slaw

Mix each step separately, then combine at end.

1. Dry Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower kernels
¾ cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 packages beef or mushroom flavored Ramen noodles

Break up dry noodles into small pieces. Melt a couple tablespoons of butter. Add to it the flavor seasoning packets for the noodles. Pour butter mixture into pan and sauté the dry noodles, coating with the seasoned butter, for several minutes on medium heat. Combine noodles with toasted almonds and sunflower kernels.

2. Salad:
1 package broccoli slaw mix
1 bunch chopped green onions

Toss these ingredients at the last minute.

3. Dressing:
½ cup oil
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine dressing ingredients. Toss with salad and dry ingredients just before serving.

Moussaka

This is a Greek dish that I love. Don't be scared off by all the ingredients; just make it when you feel like cooking. If you never feel like cooking, what are you doing here? Have you ever made one of my recipes? What did you think? Have I earned your trust? Do you believe me when I say this is worth making? Don't feel like you have to answer all of my questions, any one would be fine.

2 1-lb. eggplants, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
¼ cup cooking oil
2 lbs. ground lamb or beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
¾ cup dry red wine
2 TBS fresh snipped parsley
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried oregano, crushed
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg
¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
Dash black pepper
2 cups milk
3 eggs
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Ground cinnamon
Snipped fresh parsley


Brush both sides of eggplant slices with the oil. In a large skillet brown eggplant sliced over medium heat about 2 minutes per side. Drain; set aside.

In the same skillet cook ground beef, half at a time, until meat is browned, cooking the onion and garlic with the second half of the meat. Drain off fat. Stir in the tomato sauce, wine, the 2 TBS parsley, the ¾ tsp salt, oregano, and the ¼ tsp cinnamon. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Cool mixture slightly. Stir ½ cup of the meat mixture into the 1 beaten egg. Stir egg mixture into meat mixture in skillet.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt the butter. Stir in the flour, the ½ tsp salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. In a medium bowl beat the 3 eggs. Gradually stir the thickened milk mixture into the beaten eggs.

In a 3-quart rectangular baking dish arrange half of the eggplant slices. Spread the meat mixture over the eggplant slices; top with remaining eggplant slices. Pour the hot egg mixture over all. Top with parmesan cheese and sprinkle lightly with additional cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, in a 325° oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into squares to serve. Sprinkle with additional parsley, if desired.

Gallo Pinto

Here's a little recipe I picked up on our honeymoon in Costa Rica. It means "spotted rooster" in Spanish. We eat it with eggs and toast.

3 cups day-old cooked rice (I often use fresh)
2 cups cooked black beans
2 Tbs onion finely chopped
1 Tbs bell pepper finely chopped
2 Tbs fresh parsley finely chopped
3 strips bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbed
2 Tbs oil
½ Tbs Worcestershire sauce
½ Tbs Tabasco sauce

Sauté onion and bell pepper in oil on medium heat. Add beans and cook 2 minutes longer. Add rice and mix, cook 3 minutes more. Add Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce and parsley. Mix well. Garnish with bacon crumbs. If desired, top with sour cream.

Tortellini Soup

You say tortelloni, I say tortellini. I have no idea what the difference is.

This is one of the few recipes of mine that John doesn't just love. But hey, everyone has a right to be wrong about something. The kids love it, I love it, and my guess is you will too. Don't whine about the heat and the fact that I just posted a soup recipe, OK? We all know you have air conditioning and no one's asking you to eat outside.

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs olive oil
3 cans (about 14 oz. each) beef broth
1 can (14 ½ or 16 oz) stewed tomatoes
½ cup picante sauce
1 tsp basil leaves, crushed
1 pkg (7 oz) dried cheese-filled tortellini
1 green bell pepper, diced
grated parmesan cheese

Cook onion, garlic, and bell pepper in oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven until tender, about 6 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, picante sauce and basil; bring to a boil. Stir in tortellini; simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls; sprinkle with cheese.

Potato Salad

Whether you like mayonaisse or mustard potato salad, you'll like this. It's a little of both. Make sure to use the gold potatoes (usually from California). Sorry, Idaho.

2 lbs. gold potatoes
1 ¼ cup mayonnaise
1 TBS. prepared mustard
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
½ cup dill pickle relish
6 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

Place potatoes and enough water to cover them in a medium saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer covered for 25 minutes or just until tender. Drain well; cool. Peel and cube potatoes.

Meanwhile, for dressing, in a large bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper.

Stir in celery, onion, and relish. Add the potatoes and eggs. Toss to coat. Cover and chill for several hours.

Brigadeiros

It's time for something chocolate. These delicious morsels are my very most favorite Brazilian confection. You have to roll them with your hands and they are a sticky mess to make but, hey, you can lick your fingers. I didn't, of course. I wouldn't do anything that unsanitary. I'm just saying you can if you want to.

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 TBS butter
3 TBS cocoa
Chocolate sprinkles

Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the first three ingredients.
Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring (it will be firm enough to stay together and not spread) Pour into a greased dish and let cool to room temperature (or chill a few minutes in the fridge) Grease your hands with butter and take small amounts of candy and form into 1 ½ inch balls.

Roll the balls in chocolate sprinkles to decorate.

If the balls don't hold their shape, cook an additional 5 minutes until it thickens up more.

Beef Bourguignon

I have no earthly idea how to say this, but I can cook it and eat it, and that should count for something. I saw Paula Deen make this on TV once. I'm sure she said it just fine but I apparently wasn't paying attention. This is not Paula Deen's recipe, by-the-way. Look, never mind her. I'm sorry I even gave you the link to her page. Her beef burgy-something probably looks better and tastes better than mine and I don't need you stopping by there every day to see her instead of me.

1 lb. boneless beef chuck roast, cut into cubes
1 TBS. cooking oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups Burgundy wine
¾ cup beef broth
1 tsp. dried thyme
¾ tsp. dried marjoram
3/4 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
2 bay leaves
3 cups fresh mushrooms
4 medium carrots, cut into pieces
2 TBS. flour
2 TBS. butter, softened
2 slices bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled

Hot cooked noodles


In a Dutch oven, brown the meat and onion in the hot oil.

Stir in wine, broth, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Add mushrooms and carrots. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, covered for 25 minutes more or until meat and vegetables are tender. Discard bay leaves.

In a small bowl stir together flour and butter until smooth; stir into meat mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in crumbled bacon.

Serve over hot noodles.

Blueberry Muffins

My kids told me this morning that these were better than cookies. Nuff said.


1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
¾ cup milk
¼ cup cooking oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel

1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping (below)

Grease and lightly flour muffin pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in blueberries and lemon peel.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cup two-thirds full. Sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over muffin batter in pan. Bake at 400º for 20 minutes.

STREUSEL-NUT TOPPING

¼ cup packed brown sugar
3 TBS. all-purpose flour
2 TBS. butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Combine all ingredients in small bowl with pastry blender.

Brownies

Another stolen recipe! These were originally "Bobby's Favorite Brownies", but I have changed that to the more exciting name you see at the top of this entry. Now, you know I have a bit more creativity than that. So why do I assign such uninspiring names? Let's just say, I don't feel the need for 20 different recipes for any one food. If it's the best in that particular category, it 1.) doesn't need a fancy name and 2.) earns its place on this recipe blog without competition. My recipes don't suffer from low self-esteem; they know they have been chosen from among many others and that I will cherish them forever and wouldn't trade them for the world.

P.S. If you send me a better brownie recipe, I will burn this one and bestow the strong, simple name "Brownie" on the new winner.

¾ cups unsweetened cocoa
½ tsp baking soda
2/3 cup oil
½ cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Stir baking soda and cocoa in bowl. Blend in 1/3 cup of oil. Add boiling water. Stir until mixture thickens. Stir in sugar, eggs, and remaining oil. Stir until smooth. Add flour, vanilla, and salt. Blend completely. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour in to lightly greased pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Banana Pudding

I made this for some guests we are having tomorrow. I also made it for some guests we had last week. I can't figure out why I can't lose weight.

This recipe is pirated from a good friend. (You know who you are.) I'm sorry, it was just so delicious that I needed to share it. Please forgive me for passing it off as one of my tried and true recipes. Actually, I'm not very original. Every good idea I've ever had came from someone else. Even that - what I just wrote - was what someone once told me.

1 large box (4.6 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. Cool Whip
Vanilla wafers
2-3 medium bananas

Mix instant pudding with milk and sweetened condensed milk. Add Cool Whip.

In a bowl, layer pudding mixture with vanilla wafers and bananas. Chill.

Banana Bread

Look what we had for breakfast. Yummm.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
2 beaten eggs
1 ½ cups mashed bananas (5 medium)
1 cup sugar
½ cup cooking oil or melted butter
¼ cup chopped walnuts

1 recipe Streusel-Nut Topping (below)

Grease bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a loaf pan; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter.

Bake in a 350º oven for an hour or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan.


STREUSEL-NUT TOPPING

¼ cup packed brown sugar
3 TBS. all-purpose flour
2 TBS. butter
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Combine all ingredients in small bowl with pastry blender.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am sharing my secret with you. You can't imagine how many times I have been asked if these are the Nieman-Marcus cookies. I'm not charging you anything for the recipe (except maybe some feedback in the future about how they turned out for you). I've perfected this recipe over the course of many years and, chances are, if you know me you've eaten these.

¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup of butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
2 cups rolled oats

Preheat oven to 375º. Beat sugar, butter, vanilla, egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts, chocolate chips, and oats. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Beef Brisket with Barbecue Sauce

I guarantee this to be one of the best pieces of meat you have ever put in your pie hole or your money back.

1½ cups water
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 TBS vinegar
2 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp ground red pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 2½-pound fresh beef brisket

1 cup catsup
4 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS butter or margarine

For cooking liquid, in a bowl combine water, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, bouillon granules, dry mustard, chili powder, red pepper, and garlic. Reserve 1 cup liquid for sauce; set aside in the refrigerator. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut brisket to fit into crockery cooker. Pour remaining liquid over brisket.

Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 10 to 12 hours.

For sauce, combine the 1 cup reserved liquid, catsup, brown sugar, and butter. Mix into the brisket sauce.

Chili

I know, I know, it's hot outside and this is the last thing on your mind. But it's ever so good with fresh summer tomatoes instead of canned.

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 medium chopped onion
1 medium chopped sweet green pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 ½-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
3 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. dried basil, crushed
¼ tsp. black pepper

In a large saucepan cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain fat. Stir in kidney beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, basil, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer covered for 20 minutes.

Meat Loaf

Doesn't sound exciting? Then why does my family love it so much? This is one of the few meals where both of my kids want seconds. I usually make it with mashed potatoes and peas. But for the love of all things edible, buy the good ground beef - it makes all the difference.

2 eggs
¾ cup milk
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or 2 cups soft bread crumbs
¼ cup chopped onion
2 TBS snipped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
½ tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp black pepper
1½ pounds ground beef

¼ cup catsup
2 TBS brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard

In a bowl combine eggs and milk; stir in bread crumbs onion, parsley, salt, basil, and black pepper. Add meat; mix well. Lightly pat mixture into a loaf pan or small pie plate.
Bake at 350° for 1 hour.

In a bowl combine catsup, sugar, and mustard; spread over meat. Bake for 10 minutes more.

Spinach Quiche

This recipe is for all of you real men out there. Actually, not only do real men eat quiche, but they also admit it. So cook it up, eat it, love it, and tell all your friends. I stole this from Betty Crocker but I asked her and she said it was OK. I changed a few things to make it a little less ridiculously bad for you like the six slices of bacon (DON'T DO IT) in the original recipe. I use three or less. I figure one of the left-out pieces may contain the very particle of cholesterol that would have sealed the clog in my artery.

1 recipe pie crust (below)
½ cup chopped onion
3 slices bacon, chopped
8 beaten eggs
½ cup dairy sour cream
½ cup milk
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Dash ground nutmeg
3 cups lightly packed chopped fresh spinach
2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup shredded Swiss cheese
Cherry tomatoes, cut up

Prepare and roll out pastry for single crust pie. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry. Trim, crimp edge as desired. Line unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of foil. Bake in a 450º oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes more or until pastry is set and dry. Reduce oven temperature to 325º.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook onion and bacon until onion is tender and bacon is crisp. Drain on paper towels.

In a bowl stir together eggs, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and, if desired, nutmeg. Stir in onion mixture, spinach and cheeses.

Pour egg mixture into hot, baked pastry shell. Bake in the 325º oven 45 top 50 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with cherry tomatoes.

PIE CRUST

1 ¼ cups flour
pinch salt
1/3 cup oil
3 - 4 TBS. water

Makes one single crust.