TheRedKitchen

Soyrizo Polenta

2012-05-15T00:30:26Z

This recipe was inspired to find another use for polenta. I adapted a recipe from San Gennaro, the makers of the polenta in our local stores. Soyrizo is a type of vegetarian churizo - you can find it with the tofu in many grocery stores, or Trader Joes. When you fry it up, it gets a similar crispness to the bacon in the original recipe.

1 sm tube of polenta
1 red pepper
1/4 tube soyrizo or more
1c marscapone cheese
1T maple syrup
Salt
Olive oil
Butter
Craisins

Saute finely diced pepper in oil with a dash of salt. Add churizo and cook for 5 mins until almost crispy. Remove from pan. Put pats of butter in pan and add slices of polenta. Cook several minutes until butter is absorbed. Turn with little more butter. Put chorizo mixture on top and cook until bubbly.

Wisk marscapone with maple syrup. Serve with marscapone dollops and craisins sprinkled on top

Shortbread Sprinkle Bites

2012-02-15T21:59:50Z

1 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2T colored sugar or sprinkles Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Whip butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the confectioners' sugar, cornstarch, and flour. Beat on low for one minute, then on high for several more minutes. Add the sprinkles and mix to combine. Using a small cookie disher or a spoon, drop 1T round onto a cookie sheet. Cut these in quarters and rearrange them to allow space for them to grow. Tip: using a silpat or baking sheet on your cookie sheet allows for more even baking and they are easier to get off when they are cooked. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on racks.

Super Sweet Potato Fries

2010-11-19T20:38:27Z

This is a great way to use sweet potatoes or yams during the fall because they are generally on sale. It's healthier because you are choosing what fat and how much, and tastier because they are all seasoned up!

3 large Sweet Potatoes or Yams, peeled and cut into pieces
1/4 cup Olive Oil, extra virgin preferred
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika
dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 400°.

Note: when cutting up the sweet potatoes, the pieces will be rougher than a normal potato. This is okay! Just be careful with your fingers, and work to "crack" the sweet potato with your knife rather than trying to slice.

Put all ingredients in a large resealable bag. Toss to mix and coat. Put into a large baking dish - I use an 11 x 15 glass pan because it's easier to turn.

Bake for about 45 minutes, flipping the pieces every 15 minutes. Check for doneness with a fork, the pieces will start to fall apart as you flip them and you'll know they are ready.

Updated Fried Chicken Soup

2010-11-08T21:58:55Z

This recipe was originally added to theredkitchen in April 2003. Since that time, I've made some modifications to be slightly healthier and to work better with the blending steps.

My dad had something similar to this at a restaurant and decided to try to recreate it. It makes the whole house smell of curry powder, and is delicious!

2 cans chicken broth (4 cups)
4 cups skim milk
1/2 cup flour (either whole wheat or all purpose)
1/2 cup butter + 1T for celery
5 sticks of celery, sliced into small pieces
curry powder to taste (1-4 Tablespoons)
3 chicken strips from the deli or baked chicken
frozen peas (garnish)

Melt 1T of butter in a frying pan. Add celery and and sprinkle on curry powder. Sautee the celery, periodically adding additional curry powder until the celery is crispy and full coated. The celery will decrease in size during this process.

At the same time as the celery is cooking, you can start the thickening roux. In a large soup pot, melt remaining 1/2 cup of butter. Add flour and cook to bubbling. Slowly add broth and then milk and cook over medium-low, stirring regularly, until boiling.

Remove from heat and add celery to the soup pot. Use your stick blender or a traditional blender (in batches) to cream the soup fully.

Return to heat and boil. Stir constantly until thick.

Chop chicken stripes or vegetarian meat into bite size pieces. Put soup in bowls and garnish with frozen peas and the meat pieces.

Serves nicely with a fresh baguette (long loaf of bread) torn off instead of cut.

Apricot Cardamom Cookies

2010-11-01T04:03:16Z

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons finely chopped dried apricots
1 tablespoon cardamom

glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water, or more as needed
1 drop yellow food coloring
1 drop red food coloring

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Slowly add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cardamom, and mix to combine. Add ginger and apricots.

Using a cookie scoop or lightly greased hands, make small scoops or balls of dough onto baking pans (non-stick or use silpat baking sheets).

Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden. Let stand on cooking sheet at least 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks.

For glaze, mix all ingredients, and add more water if needed to make a drizzly substance. Use a fork to quickly add a small amount of glaze to each cookie.

Butternut Noodles

2010-10-18T04:54:52Z

1 small butternut squash
2 cups uncooked pasta
1 1/2T butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
nutmeg
pepper
salt
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
2T shredded parmesan reggianno cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cube a butternut squash into small, bite-sized pieces. Spray a pan with cooking spray or olive oil and put the cubed squash on top. Sprinkle salt to taste and grind fresh pepper over the cubes and spray with cooking spray on top. Roast for 1 hour, checking periodically to toss the pieces with a spatula. Poke cubes with a fork to ensure doneness.

Toast walnuts in the oven for 5 minutes - this can be in the oven with the butternut squash.

Boil water with some salt. Add 2 cups of pasta - whole wheat preferably - as instructed on the package.

Make a white sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add flour, nutmeg, and more fresh ground pepper, and cook until bubbly. Add milk and wisk regularly until thickened (about 5-10 minutes on medium-low heat).

Add cooked pasta and cooked butternut squash to the white sauce, folding gently as the butternut squash may break apart if you move it too much. Move this to a baking dish. Top with tablespoonfuls of ricotta. Sprinkle on cheeses, walnuts, and extra nutmeg.

Bake covered with lid or foil for 20 minutes and then 5 minutes uncovered to crisp at the end.

Kristine's Ravioli Extravaganza

2008-11-24T03:07:45Z

1 batch of homemade raviolis (see below)
1/2 head of garlic, roasted (see below)
2 tablespoons oil, divided
3 tablespoons of pine nuts
1/2 medium red pepper, finely chopped
2 cups baby spinach, cleaned and sliced through several times
Handful of fresh chiffonaded basil (see how to chiffonade basil)
1/2 cup Craisins
1/4 cup parmesan

Homemade Raviolis
1/2 package frozen spinach
1 cup low-fat or fat-free ricotta cheese
1/2 head roasted garlic
1 cup shredded mozzarella, reduced fat if available
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 package wonton wrappers (50 small squares)

Mix all ingredients except wonton wrappers until combined well. Place a small portion into the center of a wonton wrapper. Using your fingertips and a bowl of water, wet each of the four edges of the wrapper. Fold up like an envelope, placing the two corners together (see how to fold wontons, style 4).

Note: Cover wonton wrappers with a towel when not in use, and cover all wontons as you complete them, too. This keeps them from drying out.

These raviolis can be cooked immediately (in slowly boiling water with a small amount of olive oil until they float, about 3-5 minutes) or frozen with waxed paper between and boiled as needed (no need to thaw before boiling, they just take 4-6 minutes to cook instead).

Roasted Garlic

Placing the head of garlic on it's side, cut the tops of the cloves off. Place in a small baking dish or ramekin and put some olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) over the top, cut side up. Place in the oven at 450° for 30-40 minutes, until lightly browned but not crispy. Set aside until cooled, and then extract the cloves from their skin by squeezing gently at the bottom of each clove.

Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly until lightly browned. Move to a dish on the side.

Put the roasted garlic into a large skill with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for several minutes to loosen up the cloves, mashing slightly while cooking. Add cooked (boiled then drained) ravioli carefully and stir gently with the garlic. Add in the red pepper and cook several minutes.

Take off heat and add baby spinach and herbs. This will let them wilt slightly from the warmth of the pan. Now toss in the Craisins and previously prepared pine nuts, along with the parmesan cheese.

Move to plates and serve with more cheese on top.

Note: you could also add parsley or oregano along with the basil for additional flavors.

Yogurt Rolls

2008-11-24T02:54:46Z

Adapted from Yogurt Biscuits on AllRecipes. 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup whole wheat flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 teaspoon baking soda 2 tablespoons cold margarine or butter 1 tablespoon white sugar 2/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt Combine flours, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in margarine until crumbly. In a measuring cup, combine yogurt and sugar; stir into the dry ingredients until just moistened. In the bowl, knead the dough together 4 or 5 times. Place on a baking sheet (either coated with non-stick spray or use a silpat baking liner). Pat dough into a 8" x 4" rectangle. Cut into eight square rolls but do not separate (this is a perforation for breaking apart. Bake at 450° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. These are good warm from the oven or as leftovers the next day when split in half and toasted.

Vegetable Cheese soup

2008-11-19T19:23:15Z

Adapted from Reva's Potato Cheese Soup. 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 cloves finely chopped garlic (3 large cloves) 1 cup chopped onion (1 small) 1 cup chopped celery (3-4 stalks) 1/4 cup chopped parsnip (1 small) 1 cup chopped carrots (2-3 small medium) 4 cups peeled and chopped Potatoes (2 medium large) 4 cups fat free reduced sodium chicken broth (1 quart or 2 small cans) 2 cups water 2 teaspoons dried parsley 1/2 teaspoon salt ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (Tillamook, if available) Warm olive oil in a large soup pan and add the garlic, onions and celery. Cook until translucent. Add the parsnips and carrots and cook for another few minutes. Then add the potatoes, broth, water, and seasonings. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then puree using a stick blender or in batches in the blender. Return to a boil and adjust seasonings as needed. Stir in cheese until just melted. Note - when adding broth and water, you may only need 1 cup of water. Adjust as needed to cover most of the vegetables.

Dinner Rolls

2007-12-14T16:53:32Z

This recipe is adapted from Sweet Dinner Rolls on AllRecipes.

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup softened butter
1/3 cup sugar
1t salt
3 3/4 cups flour
1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4t from a jar)

In a glass measuring cup, combine the water and milk. Put in microwave until just warm - 1-2 minutes depending on your microwave. Remove from microwave and add sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add yeast and stir gently. Cover and place in a warm place to let proof for 10-20 minutes.

Move your mixture to a large bow and add salt, butter and egg. Mix in the flour one cup at a time. Cover and return to warm place to rise for 45 minutes.

Punch down and make 16 balls or crescents. Tip, at this point, you could also roll out some of the dough to make cinnamon rolls with some butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon!) Place your rolls on a cookie sheet and rise for 1 hour.

Bake at 350° for 10-15 minutes, until the tops start to look golden.

Pasta bake

2007-12-13T17:19:14Z

My husband is a vegetarian, and I eat meat, so sometimes it means I'll make two main dishes. If I do that, I try to make them similar, or do something that I can add meat to later. In this case, I've taken a pasta dish and made it the same method, but with two different pans.

Tip: You could adjust this to make only the meat version or only the vegetarian version, too.

Common Ingredients

These items will all be divided in half, part for the vegetarian and part for the meat versions

Pasta - A mixture of dry noodles to total 2 1/2 cups: we use a combo of macaroni noodles, spirals (rotini), and medium or small shells
Spaghetti sauce - we use 1 jar of Prego's Traditional style
Cottage cheese - 16 oz container, we use 1%
Mozzarella cheese - 8oz shredded
Parmesan cheese - about 1 cup shredded
White Sauce

2T butter or margerine
2T flour
1 cup milk (we use 1%)
1/4t nutmeg
freshly ground pepper, to taste (for us, that's about 10 grinds of the pepper mill)

Meat sauce

1/2lb ground beef
freshly ground pepper, to taste
dried basil, to taste

Vegetarian sauce

1/2 can of vegetarian burger - we use Worthington Vegetarian Burger
1/2T olive oil
freshly ground pepper, to taste
dried basil, to taste

Boil water and cook pasta as directed on the package. If the times for cooking vary between the different pasta you are mixing, add the one with the shortest cooking time slightly after the others.

To make the meat sauce: brown hamburger in a large frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Season with pepper and basil. Cook until there is no pink, and drain off the fat if needed. Combine with 1/2 a can of spaghetti sauce and cook together for several minutes.

To make the vegetarian sauce: brown vegeburger in a separate frying pan or skillet over medium heat with the oil. Season with pepper and basil. Add 1/2 a can of spaghetti sauce and cook together for several minutes.

To make the white sauce: melt butter in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Add flour and cook for several minutes till bubbly. Slowly add the milk, stirring throughout. Season with nutmeg and pepper, and then stir constantly until thick. Remove from heat.

Preheat your oven to 350°. You'll need two pans - I use a glass pie pan and a glass bread pan and just build the pile on one side of the dish because I don't have anything that's just slightly smaller. A small square pan would probably be perfect.

Building the pasta bake

This dish is built similar to lasagna, with layers.

Put 1/3-1/2 cup of sauce in the pan to help keep the dish loose and easy to serve.
Now divide up your noodles and white sauce into 6 equal portions, and divide your meat/vegetarian sauces into 3 equal portions each.
Start to layer the dish as follows:

noodles - spread out
white sauce - small dollops scooped on
meat or vegetarian sauce - gently spread over the white sauce
cottage cheese - small dollops
parmesan cheese - just a sprinkling
mozzerella cheese - a heavy sprinkling

Repeat this layer sequence twice. For the third and final layer, move the meat/vegetarian sauce above the cottage cheese, and parmesan. Add extra mozzerella on the top.

Cover the dishes with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Take the foil off and cook 10 minutes more to brown the cheesy top.

Basil Garlic fries

2007-08-09T19:21:25Z

This recipe was adapted from one at AllRecipes.

4 red potatoes, medium sized
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese - grocery stores tend to carry this pre-shredded in the refrigerated section if you don't have a hard cheese grater
2 T grated parmesan cheese - from the can for a smaller texture of cheese
Fresh Basil by the stalk, about 10 large leaves cut finely
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°.

Wash and chop the potatoes into long sticks, about a 1/2 x 1/2 x the length of the potato, or smaller if you desire.

Prepare the basil by rolling several leaves into small tubes and then cutting it with a sharp knife. This makes long skinny pieces. Prepare the garlic by peeling each clove and then either cutting into very small pieces with a knife or using a chopper that makes faster work of cutting garlic. Note: you could also use minced garlic in a jar, or garlic powder, but the fresh is a very nice touch

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and toss with your hands to get it nicely mixed and everything on the potatoes.

Spray non-stick cooking spray on a baking sheet with sides (15x10x1) or a large casserole dish. The baking sheet will allow for more individual browning of the fries. Place the contents of the bowl in the pan, and try to keep the potatoes to one layer if possible. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until crispy but tender.

Peppermint bark

2006-12-24T17:03:00Z

There are a variety of ways online to make this, but my favorite is where there's chocolate on the bottom and white on the top.

1 bag of Chocolate chips, semi-sweet, about 20 oz.
1 bag of Candy melts, white (vanilla flavored), 14 oz - you can get these at craft stores near the cake decorating area.
at least 50 small candy canes (not full size, just the little ones)

Finely Crush the candy canes. You could use plastic bags and a rolling pin, but that does get messy. Your food processor or blender may be an easier way to go. Seperate the powder from the pieces, and continue to recrush any pieces that are big, and seperate again. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. It takes about 2 minutes or less, checking and stirring every 20-30 seconds. Line a large pan or cookie sheet with foil. This will make it easier to get it off later. Pour on your melted chocolate chips onto the pan and smooth to get it the same height all the way around. Let this chill in the refrigerator until hard (I did it overnight). Now melt the candy melts in another microwave safe bowl. This took less than 2 minutes, they melted easily. Once melted, stir in the powder from your candy canes. This will slightly tint it pink. Pour your candy melt/candy cane powder mixture on top of the hardened chocolate from the fridge. Smooth until it is the same height all the way around, but do it carefully as to not disturb the chocolate from below! Sprinkle the remaining pieces from the candy cane spashing operation on the top. Now chill again until hard. When ready to give out, smash into small pieces. I found that a rolling pin with no handle works well for whacking it into pieces.

Watergate Salad

2006-08-04T23:10:50Z

It's fun to eat something from the Deli at your local store and then finding a recipe on AllRecipes and adapting it so it's even better than what you got from the deli!

Some people call this pistachio fluff. Brandy reminded me that her family called it Watergate salad, which reminded me that my grandma called it the same thing when I was really young.

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix - I used jello brand
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed - I used Cool Whip lite
1/2 (10.5 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup long sweetened shredded coconut

Put your pinapple in a large bowl, and the package of unprepared pudding on top. Stir until combined and let set for a few minutes to be sure the pudding dissolves. Put in the coconut and stir. Now add the whipped topping and marshmellows and fold them in. Refrigerate for at least a half hour to set before eating (longer is better because the marshmellows will absorb the other flavors). Serve and enjoy!

Cooking Blog: Tarting It Up

2005-11-16T00:46:48Z

Some beautiful pics and yummy looking recipes are at Tarting It Up. I am *so* craving crepes now!