Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

The copycat recipe for Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana can be found all over the internet and for the most part, they are all the same. I followed this recipe pretty close making only a few changes. It turned out tasting identical to what I've had in Olive Garden... And it's easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 2 large Russet baking potatoes, sliced in half and then 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large (very large!) onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup bacon bits (Or Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits and more than 1/4 cup!!!)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups Kale or Swiss Chard, chopped (Swiss Chard is so much better)
• 16 ounces chicken broth
• 1 quart water (Or, what I learned is... make this 1 quart chicken broth, too)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Method:

Brown sausage in a soup pot, breaking it up into large, bite-size pieces. Add chicken broth and water (or all broth!) to pot and deglaze. Place onions, potato and garlic in pot. Cook on medium, simmering, until potatoes are done. Add bacon. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer another 10 minutes. Turn heat to low. Add Kale/Swiss Chard and cream. Heat through and serve... With salad!!!

Grilled Chicken & Eggplant in Tomato Dill Sauce

Here's another recipe adapted from feast from the Mideast 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible by Faye Levy. Once again, this has been modified to make it easier and for more flavor.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 28-ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 - 2 teaspoons Penzeys Turkish Seasoning
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 large eggplant, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 - 1.5 pounds chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 - 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• a few sprigs fresh dill, chopped

Method:

Heat oil in a stew pan and fry onion until golden. Add in garlic and chicken, with some salt and pepper and fry until chicken is white. Add canned tomatoes, Turkish seasoning, chicken broth, and eggplant. Simmer, covered, over medium heat until eggplant is soft. Add dill and lemon juice and simmer five more minutes. Serve with a side of flavored couscous.

Chicken & Chickpea Stew

I got the original recipe for this from feast from the Mideast 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible by Faye Levy but the recipes can be quite time consuming and containing too many steps for my liking, so I tend to modify them quite a bit. I also like to use different vegetables than what is listed, and a bit more of the spices.

Ingredients:

• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 pounds chicken, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14-ounce can chopped tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 cups cups chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 green pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 3 carrots, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces

Method:

Heat oil in a stew pan and add onion, frying until golden. Add in garlic and chicken, along with some salt and pepper. Fry until chicken turns white. Add in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer on low until sweet potato's are tender. That's it!

I honestly give up on bloggers text sizing. Whatever I try to do, blogger will choose what size to make my text. I'm seriously thinking of switching to Wordpress but that feels like a lot of work :/ Anybody who has made the switch... does Wordpress import from blogger?

Spanakopita & Minestrone "Stew"

I came up with this recipe for Spanakopita when I was much younger and still unable to handle the phyllo dough properly. My Spanakopita would always come out looking a little rough, but I had found the taste I really enjoyed. Now I can finally handle the phyllo dough. Since Chelsea wasn't excited about this for dinner, I made some Minestrone for her. This version of the soup is much chunkier with a bit less broth than a recipe would usually call for, but feel free to increase the broth, decrease the vegetables or pasta, or substitute vegetables of your own choosing.

For the Spanakopita:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 small - medium bell pepper, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 18 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• salt to taste
• 1/2 box (1 roll) phyllo dough, thawed
• 1/2 - 1 stick melted butter

Heat oven to 375 º F. Grease or spray sides and bottom of 8 x 8 square baking dish. Heat oil in a medium skillet and cook onion, bell pepper and garlic until onions turn translucent. Stir in spinach, feta, dill and salt and taste. Stir in egg.

Unroll phyllo flat and cover with damp paper towel to keep from drying out. Take the first sheet and lay it into the bottom of the baking dish and brush with melted butter. Take another sheet and lay it the opposite direction and brush again with melted butter. Do this until you have about 1/3 of the package used, brushing each layer with melted butter. Next, spread the spinach mixture into the baking dish and and begin covering, layer by layer, with the remaining phyllo dough, brushing each layer with butter, until there are no sheets remaining. Next, take a sharp knife and cut away the extra dough hanging over the baking dish and brush the sides with butter to seal edges. Cut through the top phyllo layers before baking, into 4 or 6 pieces. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

For Minestrone Stew:

• 5 cups vegetable stock (I used Better Than Bouillon)
• 30 ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1 large potato, cubed
• 1 leek, sliced
• 6 - 8 ounce baby carrots
• 1 small zucchini, halved and sliced
• 2 teaspoons greek seasoning
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  
• 1 can (15 ounce) cannellini beans
• 1 can (15 ounce) corn
• 1 bunch spinach, washed, stems removed, and sliced
• 1 - 2 cups shell pasta
• salt and pepper, to taste

Combine vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, potato, leak, baby carrots, zucchini, beans, corn, and seasonings and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft. Mix in spinach and pasta and cook until pasta is done.

I served this with french bread brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with Za'atar, warmed in the oven.

Mom's Beef & Vegetable Stew

This is a very open recipe, any vegetable may be added, any set of herbs or spices... It's up to you what broth or bouillon you use. Thanks, mom, for sharing another perfect recipe :)

Ingredients:

• 1 - 1 1/2 pounds stew meat
  
• bit of all-purpose flour to coat meat
• salt and pepper, to taste
• teaspoon sugar
• 2 - 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  
• 8 cups broth or water
• herbs and seasonings of your choice
• fresh or frozen vegetables of your choice... I don't measure, I just eyeball it

Method:

Bring 8 cups of water or broth, herbs and seasonings and raw vegetables (except potatoes, they will become too soft) to a boil in a large stock pot. Meanwhile, combine flour with some salt, pepper and sugar and coat the stew meat with flour. Fry the meat in a hot skillet with a little oil until browned. Set meat aside. When this is done, take some of the broth/water and deglaze the skillet. Add this to the stock pot, turn heat down to a simmer, and add the meat. Make sure that the water isn't boiling when the meat is added, or it will become tough. Let the meat and vegetables simmer for about 30 minutes.

You can now bring your stew to a boil and add in whatever else you may want. Frozen vegetables can be added at this time, and also potatoes. You may also add a bit of barley, rice, or noodles. Return to a simmer for 30 minutes, and then you may enjoy :)

This time around I used some McCormick's Grill Mates Montreal Chicken Seasonings and it worked well for the stew.

Greek Garbanzo Stew with Spinach

This recipe was adapted from the all-new Southern Living Cookbook. I made it simpler, with less ingredients, and it still tasted great!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 16 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 - 14 ounce can vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons Greek Seasoning (I used Penzeys)
• 1 bunch spinach, leaves removed and washed
• a bit of crumbled Feta, for garnish

Method:

Sautee onion in hot oil, in a large sauce-pan over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, cook one minute. Stir in tomatoes and next 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Stir in spinach, cook 5 minutes. Top with crumbled Feta. I served mine along with some cous cous and pita bread.

I am sending this to Mirch Masala's & The Well-Seasoned Cook's "My legume love affair"
&
Dil Se's Healing Foods Event - Spinach

"On the subject of spinach: Divide into little piles... Rearrange again into new piles... After five or six maneuvers, sit back and say you are full" - Delia Ephron, How To Eat Like A Child

"I like refried beans. That's why I wanna try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're just wasting time. You don't have to fry them again after all." - Mitch Hedberg

Spicy Lentil Soup with Dill and Cumin, Award & Meme

This lentil dish is from a cookbook I borrowed from the library (and ended up purchasing for myself) "feast from the Mideast - 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible. " This reminded me a lot of the soups my mom would make when I was a kid. I would love to try this with a vegetable or chicken based broth. I think it would really enhance the flavor nicely :)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups lentils, any kind
• 2 - 3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 4 - 6 cups water (I am going to use veggie or chicken broth next time)
• 2 zucchini, diced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons snipped or chopped fresh dill, or 2 teaspoons dried dill (start with 1 teaspoon, taste and add more if needed... I found 2 teaspoons to be a bit much)
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• lemon wedges, for accompaniment

Method:

Rinse and drain lentils. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and saute over medium-low heat for 7 minutes, or until golden. Add garlic and cumin and saute for one minute. Add lentils, celery, carrot and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, adding more water if soup becomes too thick. Add zucchini, salt, and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes, or until lentils are very tender. Leave the soup chunky, or puree all or part of it in a blender or food processor, as you like. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding plenty of black pepper and a pinch of red pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

Sushma, from Authentic Food Delights (and also my previous post :), has passed this award to me... Thanks Sushma!

This award has to be passed to 6 of your favorite blogs and comes with a meme, which has to be answered with one word.

1. Where is your cell phone: Table

2. Your hair: Auburn

3. Your mother: Cindy

4. Your father: Missed :(

5. Your favorite food: Many!

.6. Your dream last night: Boyfriend

7. Your favorite drink: Water

8. Your dream/goal: Success

9. What room are you in: Living

10. Your hobby: Cooking

11. Your fear: Flying

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years: Chicago

13. Where were you last night: Home

14. Something you aren’t: Fake

15. Muffins: Lemon

16. Wish list item: GPS

17. Where did you grow up: Kalamazoo

18. Last thing you did: Work

19. What are you wearing: Clothes

20. Your TV: Seinfeld

21. Your pets: Cute!

22. Your friends: Awesome!

23. Your life: Gift

24. Your mood: Anxious

25. Missing someone: Yes

26. Vehicle: Sable

27. Something you’re not wearing: Shoes

28. Your favorite store: Grocery

29. Your favorite color: Orange

30. When was the last time you laughed: Earlier

31. Last time you cried: Earlier

32. Your best friend: Sri

33. One place that I go over and over: Chicago

34. One person who emails me regularly: Sri

35. Favorite place to eat: Madras Masala (I can't make that one word ;)

As always, I pass this along to anybody who would like to do this meme and accept this award :)

Tomato Rasam & Coriander Rice

Both of these recipes were adapted from Chandra Padmanabhan's Southern Spice.

Ingredients for Rasam:

• 1/4 cup pigeon peas
• 6 medium tomatoes, pureed
• 2 - 3 teaspoons rasam powder
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
• salt to taste

To Temper:

• 2 teaspoons ghee
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chili
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
• 1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

1. Wash dal and drain. Place in a pressure cooker with 1 cup water and cook under pressure for 5 minutes... ( I just cooked it on the stove top with a couple cups water until done.)
2. Open cooker, add extra water and whisk to make 2 cups of dal.
3. Combine tomato puree, rasam powder, asafoetida and salt in a pan an d simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
   
4. Add dal and bring to a boil. Lower heat, simmer until rasam froths up and remove from heat.
5. Heat ghee for tempering in a small pan over moderate heat and add remaining ingredients. When mustard seeds start sputtering, stir contents into pan of rasam.
6. Serve hot with plain rice (of course I thought it would be good with coriander rice :)

Ingredients for Coriander Rice:

• 1 cup long grain rice (I used Jasmine)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped mixed vegetables
• salt to taste

Grind to a smooth paste:

• 3 -4 green chilies
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped coriander leaves ( I just used a bunch)

Tempering:

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
• 1 teaspoon urad dal (I forgot to add)
• 1 teaspoon chana dal (also forgot to add)
• 1 sprig curry leaves (nope, forgot to add this too :D

Garnish:

• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 2 tablespoons halved cashew nuts

Method:

1. Cook rice and spread on a platter to cool
2. Place 1/4 cup water in a pan and bring to a boil. Add vegetables and boil till tender and dry. (I just used frozen veggies and let them thaw, I never boiled them)
3. Heat ghee for garnish in a pan over moderate heat. Add cashew nuts and fry till golden. Drain and set aside. (I just used some canned, salted nuts, so I skipped the frying)
4. Heat oil for tempering in the same pan and add remaining ingredients for tempering. When mustard seeds start to sputter, add spice paste and sautee for 1 - 2 minutes.
5. Gently mix in rice, vegetables, and salt and heat through.
6. Garnish with cashew nuts and serve hot or at room temperature.
   

My New Dishes, Rasam, & Maheswari's Vendaikkai Puzhicurry

My bf went to India recently, and brought me back these dishes and also a couple of cookbooks. Needless to say, I was REALLY happy :) The middle dish contains a recipe from Maheswari's Beyond The Usual that my daughter and I REALLY loved!!! The leftmost dish contains an Onion Rasam recipe from Chandra Padmanabhan's Southern Spice, which I am going to share here :)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pigeon peas
• small marble size ball of tamarind (marble I know ;)
• 1 medium tomato, quartered
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon rasam powder
• 1/2 teaspoon asafoetida powder
• 2 tablespoons finely sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon dessicated coconut
• salt, to taste

To Temper:

• 2 teaspoons ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 dry, red chili, halved
• 1 sprig curry leaves

Method:

1. Wash dal and drain. Place in pressure cooker with 1 cup water and cook under pressure for 5 minutes.
2. Add more water to dal and strain to make 1 1/2 cups of dal water. Set aside.
3. Soak tamarind in 1 cup water for 10 minutes. Extract juice and discard pulp.
4. Combine tamarind juice, tomato, spice powders, onion, coconut, and salt in pan. Place over high heat and bring to boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes till onion is tender and the raw aroma of tamarind disappears.
6. Add dal water and bring to boil. When rasam begins to froth, remove from heat.
7. Heat ghee for temering in a small pan over moderate heat and add remaining ingredients for tempering. When mustard seeds start sputtering, stir contents of pan into rasam.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves, and enjoy!
   

Corn Chowder

I am not one for writing my own recipes often... I tend to make families recipes, or I will adapt something from a cookbook or magazine... This is a recipe I came up with recently when I had a craving for Corn Chowder. I looked up a few recipes, but I kept thinking about the way my mom would have made it... and I threw this recipe together. When I told my mom about it later, she said it was really close to her scalloped corn recipe... I guess watching her cooking while growing up has made an impression on me. So, here goes the recipe...

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 bell pepper (I used red for color)
• 2 more peppers, or chilies (I used Anaheim)
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced
• 3 cups water
• 2 large potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme (I used 1 teaspoon, but 1/2 might be enough for some people)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) canned creamed corn
• 1 can (15 ounce) evaporated milk

Method:

1. Melt butter in large pot... when melted, add all of the peppers and onions and sautee until softened.
2. Stir in water, potatoes, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat until warmed through. Enjoy!

~It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed - Theodore Roosevelt~

Saffron/Almond Curry, Suma's Rajma - Aloo Masala, & Sri's Sambhar

Here is a recipe I adapted from Neelam Batra's 1,000 Indian Recipes... I think this has a very simple flavor, very mild but quite tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• one small red onion, chopped
• 3 green chilies, chopped with seeds
• 1/4 cup ground raw almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground kalonji
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamam seeds
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 2 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves
• black pepper, to taste

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together yogurt, oil, onion, green chilies, almonds, kalongi, garam masala, ginger, cardamom, and salt. Add chicken and mix well. cover and marinate 4 - 24 hours.

When ready to cook, in a small, mix the saffron and milk and set aside 30 minutes. Place the chicken and all the marinade in a non-stick skillet, cover, and cook, over medium heat, about five minutes... Stir this once or twice. Uncover, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook, stirring every so often, until chicken is tender.

Reduce heat to low, add the saffron-milk and mint leaves. Cover again and cook another five minutes. Sprinkle black pepper on top and serve.


Now, to share another blogger's recipe that my daughter really loved... Suma's Rajma- Aloo Masala was nice and simple and reminded me of something I would have eaten as a kid, with different spices and flavors. It is one of those nice leftover recipes, that you make one day and can eat from for 2 or 3 days happily. Each day, I just made a different bread, and one day with rice and that created enough variation that we never got bored.

And, of course, I had to make my bf's sambhar... and it was so so good! Another nice recipe to have a round for a few days, which never gets boring! He had to keep asking me over and over what I thought and if I liked it... Men are boys forever and need constant reassurance ;)

Greek Garbanzo Stew

This recipe was adapted from the all-new Southern Living Cookbook. I made it simpler, with less ingredients, and it still tasted great!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 - 16 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 - 14 ounce can vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons Greek Seasoning (I used Penzeys)
• 1 bunch spinach, leaves removed and washed
• a bit of crumbled Feta, for garnish

Method:

Sautee onion in hot oil, in a large sauce-pan over medium-high heat 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic, cook one minute. Stir in tomatoes and next 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Stir in spinach, cook 5 minutes. Top with crumbled Feta. I served mine along with some cous cous and pita bread.

http://www.griffinhealth.org/Research/ONQI.aspx

~ “People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.” - Bill Clinton ~

Mom's Potato Soup

This recipe comes to me from my mom, and to her from her mom...It is one of my favorite soups and I will eat and eat the leftovers until It's gone, hungry or not! The recipe for the bread has also been passed down...you can find that recipe here. This is serious comfort food for me!

Ingredients:

• 2 ribs celery with some leaves, chopped small
  
• 2 large carrots, chopped small
• 1 large onion, chopped small
• 4 - 5 pounds potatoes, chopped into 1 inch. squares
• 6 - 8 Tbs. butter
• 12 ounce can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cup meat, cooked or raw, if desired *
  
• salt & pepper to taste
  

Method:

Sautee celery, carrots, and onion in a little butter or oil with some salt and pepper till tender crisp. Add potatoes and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, cook until potatoes are tender crisp, adding salt & pepper to taste. At this point, add 6 - 8 Tbs. butter and bring to a boil. Add the evaporated milk, cook until potatoes are soft and gently mash, just to thicken, but soup is still lumpy. Adjust salt & pepper.

* If you are using meat, add the cooked meat along with the 6 - 8 Tbs. butter, if using raw, add to pan when you add the potatoes...keeping meat chopped small.

~ My mother said to me, “If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.” Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso - Pablo Picasso ~

Turkey Pumpkin Chili w/ Tortillas

I found the recipe for this chili here but I'm not much into measuring my chopped onions or peppers so I changed that and after tasting this with the spices given in the recipe I had to kick that up a notch too. After the few changes I made, this chili turned out really good and It's a recipe I will return to again.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs. oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2 cans (30 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (15 ounce) Libby's canned pumpkin
• 1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 ounce) kidney beans, drained
• 4 ounce diced green chilies
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 2 tbs. Mexican chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in large pan. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Add turkey and cook. Now add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Take off lid and cook to desired consistency. Enjoy!

These tortillas taste so much better than the ones you buy in the store, they are easy to make and are worth the little bit of extra effort!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 5 tbs. shortening (Crisco)
• about 1 1/4 cups warm water

Method:
Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Add shortening and work to create large crumbs of dough. Now add enough water to create a dough that is neither sticky or hard. Knead this until the dough becomes smooth and pliable, about 10 minutes. Wrap this in plastic wrap and keep aside at least 10 minutes. When ready to cook, head a griddle on med-high heat. Roll small balls of dough into round, flat circles. This recipe should make about 8 tortillas. Place the dough on the griddle and wait for light brown circles to form, flip and wait for a the second side to turn light brown. These shouldn't turn very dark at all, just a little bit of color.

She approves!

~When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on~