Onion Kugel

The original recipe came from Epicurious, but I made some edits, based on what I had in the fridge. It turned out wonderful!

Onion Kugel

6 oz. medium eggs noodles (about 1/2 pkg. or 1 3/4 c.)
1/2 stick butter
1 large Vidalia onion (or other sweet onion), sliced
1 1/2 c. cottage cheese
1 c. plain yogurt (or sour cream)
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 t. salt
optional: add black pepper to taste

Boil noodles, drain, and rinse with cold water; drain well and set aside large mixing bowl.



Melt butter in a heavy flat-bottomed skillet, add onions when pan is hot. Cook until browned well—how dark is your choice.




Add cottage cheese, and yogurt to noodles. Add browned onions.


Add salt to the beaten eggs, pour into noodle mixture, and stir together very well.


Spoon mixture into buttered non-stick Bundt pan, or you can use a buttered 9x13 baking pan. (I suppose you can use any pan you want, but you might have to adjust the baking time.)


Bake at 375˚ for 40 minutes in the Bundt pan, or 45-55 minutes in the 9x13 pan. Watch it the last 5 minutes or so; check for browning around the edges. You want it to have a crispy browned edge, but not burnt.

Loosen edges when you take it out of the oven, but allow it to sit for 5 minutes before serving or unmolding the Bundt. (Mine fell apart, but I think it was mainly because I need a new Bundt pan and the non-stick isn't effective any longer.)


It tasted awesome, even if it wasn't pretty!

Steak with Onion Kugel



NOTES: I think I could do different things with the flavor...I'd like to try adding some Swiss cheese next time, or even a fondue-like Swiss cheese sauce to serve over the top of it on the plate. Not that it was lacking anything, just because I can't stop thinking about other options. Like mixing in some farmer's cheese, or feta. Or bacon....you can always add bacon, too!

Stuffed Cabbage

This is an excellent "homey" type of meal that is especially comforting during the winter for some reason. I don't usually go by a recipe, I just make it up as I go along. I'll try to describe the steps...

Stuffed Cabbage

1. Take the outside leaves off a small-to-medium head of cabbage; set them aside.
   
2. Mix up ground turkey (or beef) with instant rice, egg, and seasonings as though you were going to make your standard meatball recipe. (Use one pound for 2-4 people and 2 pounds for 4-8 people.)
   
3. Get out a big pot or a Dutch oven. Chop up the center part of the cabbage, and the leaves which have torn too much for stuffing. Place some of the chopped cabbage (like about a cup or two) in the bottom of the pot.
   
4. Measure out about a handful of meat, place it on the stem end of a cabbage leaf, then tuck the end over to enclose the meat. It does not have to be perfect. Secure with a toothpick or two. Place in pot, be sure to position it so you can add more; they will nestle together like puzzle pieces. (how good were you at playing Tetris?!)
   
5. You can also add a couple of plain meatballs here and there, if you'd like, to use up the meat, especially if your pot is getting full. Add the remainder of your chopped up cabbage on top.
6. Pour a can of diced, whole, or stewed tomatoes over the top of everything. Add enough water (or chicken broth, if you choose; I cannot recall what I had used in this instance) to cover the meat-stuffed parts, but it does not have to be full to the top. You don't want this to boil over!
   
7. Simmer, covered, over medium heat for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cabbage cooks down.
   
8. Take out a meatball and cut it in half to check for doneness. Serve with ketchup.
   

NOTES: This dish is basically a meal in itself, but if you're feeding a crowd or a large family, you may want to have some boiled or mashed potatoes on the side, or some fresh homemade bread to go with it.

OPTIONS: Some people (like my mom) skip the tomatoes and add sauerkraut to their stuffed cabbage, but my husband hates sauerkraut.

random amusements

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Qu'est-ce que c'est?
What is this? Why is this here? Why do I have this?

What in the world is THAT thing for? How do I use it?

It's an avocado slicer. It works to both scoop the avocado out of the skin and slice it simultaneously. First you have to cut the avocado in half and carefully remove the pit, then use this tool to remove the soft flesh of the avocado.

Avocados, considered a fruit, are rich in potassium as well as B vitamins. Another health benefit is that avocados have been shown to lower blood serum cholesterol levels.

Most recognized recipe using avocados is guacamole. They are also used sliced in salads and mashed as a sandwich spread.



LINKS:
Cooking.com
Crate & Barrel
Chef's Catalog

Bread Bowl Shapes

This is a fun item for a party. Rather than doing the round loaf of bread with spinach dip like everyone else does, you know I had to come up with something creative. This is easy and versatile. Create your own new concept!

Christmas Tree Bread Bites with Spinach Dip

2 pkgs. Pillsbury breadsticks*

Mix:
1/4 c. Parmesan
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 t. garlic powder

In this case, I used a Christmas tree cake pan, but you can use any shape you prefer, depending upon what the occasion is for your party.

Place a 10-ounce custard cup upsidedown in your pan. The bottom of the pan will end up being the top when you invert it, so you want the bottom of the custard cup facing up right now.

Spray everything with non-stick cooking spray, especially the bottom of that custard cup.

(Sorry I do not have photos of the whole process, but we were getting ready for a holiday party and I just didn't pick up the camera!)

Cut the breadsticks into small pieces and dip them in the mixture of melted butter, Parmesan and garlic powder. Place the bits of breadstick dough in the pan, haphazardly, to cover the edges of the shape and to surround the custard cup.

Bake as per package instructions, keeping an eye on it so it browns to your liking.

Remove from oven and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter or cookie sheet. Remove the custard cup.

Place the container of spinach dip in the space where the custard cup was.

If you wanted to, you could also just scoop the dip into the center of the bread shape and not use the container.


*NOTE: you don't have to use Pillsbury Bread Sticks; you can substitute other store-bought biscuit dough, pizza crust dough, Rhodes rolls, your own bread dough, or even some Bisquick biscuit dough.
This is the same basic concept as a Monkey Bread, too, so using sweet dough, a butter-sugar glaze, and ice cream topping for dipping would probably work too, although I have not tried that....yet....

Good luck with your cooking adventures!!

Here are more photos from the holiday party (our anniversary in December)

Stuffed Mushrooms:


Goat Cheese Dip:


Brenda's Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips:



Not pictured:
Crab Rangoon Dip with Won Ton Crackers

random amusements

Thumper in the sunlight...




Just some cute photos to share, that's all.

Tiramisu

This is a favorite of many, and I took it to the Super Bowl party at Luke's grandparents house. There was very little left by the end of the night.

Tiramisu

2 Sara Lee frozen pound cakes, sliced and thawed*


Mix:
1 c. fresh-brewed espresso
1/3 c. coffee brandy or Kahlua
3 T. sugar


Mix:
2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese
1 pkg. (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese
2 T. sugar


1 c. heavy cream, whipped
1 or 2 T. cocoa (to sift over top)

1. Layer cake sliced in the bottom of a large, deep-sided casserole dish.


2. Spoon HALF of the coffee mixture over the cake slices, to moisten them, but not soak them completely.


3. Spread HALF of the creamy cheese mixture over the cake in an even layer.


4. Add another layer of cake.
5. Drizzle cake with coffee mixture.


6. Spread the remaining cheese mixture on top.


7. Sift cocoa over the top.



8. Allow to chill in fridge overnight, or 2 hours at the very least. Really, the longer it is allowed to set, the better it will be.



Here are my steps from making the creamy cheese mixture:
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and mascarpone.


Add sugar and vanilla; mix well.


Whip the heavy cream in a separate bowl.


Fold whipped cream into cheese mixture; be gentle!




Nom, nom, nom...





* I bought 2 of the "family-sized" cakes, but had a LOT of leftover cake. I think my original recipe called for two of the regular-sized cakes; you can get ONE of the "family-sized" cakes and that should be enough.

Gripe Of The Day

Note to self:
Not only will olive oil fail to prevent bread dough from sticking to a glass baking dish, it will actually encourage it. Grrrr....

Sweet Potato Bread with Honey Butter

I found this recipe in my Betty Crocker bread machine book, and I only tinkered with it slightly. It sounded really rich and wonderful. It was!

Sweet Potato Bread with Honey Butter

1 c. canned sweet potatoes (or yams), drained and mashed
1/2 c. warm water
1/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. maple syrup
4 1/2 c. flour
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t. salt
1 pkt. quick active dry yeast

NOTE: to make this in the bread machine, add all ingredients in the order that the manufacturer recommends. Use "sweet" or "basic/white" cycle.

By hand instructions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast packet and warm water with 1/2 cup of flour, allow it to rest.
2. In a separate bowl, blend the sweet potatoes, sour cream, maple syrup, cinnamon and salt.
3. Measure out the other 4 cups of flour into another bowl (so you don't lose count).
4. Blend the sweet potato mixture into the large mixing bowl with the yeast, then slowly add the flour in to form a dough.
5. Gather dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.
6. Allow it to rise, covered, in a warm place for about 60 minutes.
7. Punch down dough and shape in preferred loaf pan. Cover and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
8. Bake at 350˚ for 30-45 minutes, until crust reaches desired color.

Honey Butter
(What you really need to remember is that it is a 2:1 ratio of butter to honey.)

1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey

Blend well with mixer. Keep refrigerated.


NOTE: What you see above is *very* soft butter mixed with Blueberry honey, which tends to be a little grainy. Still tastes good, but it has a texture to it that regular clover honey won't produce. This was not necessarily intentional; it was just what I had on hand when I made the bread. We ate it without complaint!



OTHER OPTIONS:


Cranberry Honey Butter

1 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1 c. whole cranberry sauce

In small mixer bowl at high speed, beat butter and honey until soft and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add cranberry sauce. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well blended, 2-3 minutes. Cover; store in fridge.


Cinnamon Honey Butter

1 stick butter
3 T. honey
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar

Mix all ingredients together with electric mixer. Store in fridge.

"Bananas Foster" protein shake

1 banana, frozen
1 c. 2 % milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 squirts caramel syrup

1. Always put your milk in the blender first, otherwise you'll get a lot of goop stuck to the sides.
2. Add a scoop of protein powder.
3. Add your frozen banana.
4. Add the caramel syrup...use as many "squirts" as you like; I prefer just two.
5. Mix in blender on high until you don't see chunks of frozen banana swirling around.
   

NOTE: When your bananas start getting too ripe and you don't have time to make banana bread, peel them and wrap them in plastic wrap, then store them in the freezer. They will keep for about 2 weeks, possibly longer.


Mmmmm...caramel syrup....