Monday, January 26, 2009

Just Fon-DO It!

As promised, I am posting some favorite fondue recipes of mine for my sister-in-law. (Hi, Kim!!) We both received electric fondue pots from our aunts for Christmas and can now fondue without Sterno!! I am so grateful I won't be burning my hand every time I make one of these dishes. That was always the worst part.

Anyway, without further ado, my recipes.

Beef Fondue

1/2 cup soy sauce
15 shakes of Liquid Smoke
10 shakes of onion juice
sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2" cubes.

Marinate steak (cubed) for 2 hours, turning after 1 hour. Simply skewer meat and cook to your liking in fondue pot halfway filled with canola or vegetable oil.

Pizza Fondue

2 T. butter or margarine
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 T. cornstarch
1 1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. garlic powder
2 (10 1/2 oz.) jars pizza sauce
2 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. grated mozzarella cheese

Melt margarine in skillet and brown ground beef with onion over medium high heat. Once meat is done, drain and place in fondue pot.

Mix cornstarch, oregano and garlic powder with pizza sauce and add to meat mixture. Stir well and heat. When mixture thickens add cheese a handful at a time, stirring well after each addition. Blend until smooth and melted. Keep fondue bubbling on medium heat and serve with toasted garlic bread cubes, toasted English muffins or dunk bread sticks.

NOTE: My mom always served this over toasted English muffins. She would split them in half, butter them, toast them then top them with the fondue mixture. Sometimes I put them under the broiler after that with a little extra mozzarella cheese and make them like little pizzas.

Cheddar Fondue

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground mustard
1/4 t. pepper
1/4. t. cayenne pepper
1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 c. milk
2 c. (8 oz.) grated cheddar cheese

In small saucepan melt butter; stir in flour, salt, mustard, peppers & Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; add the cheese and continue stirring until cheese is melted. Place mixture in fondue pot keeping heat to medium low. Serve with bread cubes, ham, or broccoli or cauliflower florets.

White Chocolate Fondue

1 c. heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 pkgs. (12 oz each) premier white morsels

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine cream and butter. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat; add white morsels. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool slightly. Transfer to a fondue pot. Serve with apples, bananas, strawberries, cookies, pretzels or pound cake.

NOTE: To make dark chocolate fondue, substitute 1 pkg. semi-sweet morsels and 1 pkg. milk chocolate morsels for 2 pkgs. white morsels above and follow same directions.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Hammin' It Up

This Christmas we had ham as our main course. As always, even with my family here, there were plenty of leftovers. So, we cut it off the bone, bagged it in freezer bags and froze it, planning to use it for omelets in the coming weeks. In the midst of sorting through 20 years of my recipe collection, I came across this favorite and on a busy Sunday, got it started in the crock pot before church and let it simmer all day on low. Remarkably easy and yet completely satisfying, this has become one of my husband's most requested post-ham dishes.

Crock Pot Ham & Potatoes

8-10 medium potatoes, washed thoroughly and thinly sliced, skin on.
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (can use any "cream of ..." soup you prefer)
about 1/2 lb. ham, diced or torn into 1" pieces
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 onion, choppped (or 1 T. dried minced onion)
salt & pepper to taste

Layer ingredients in crock pot and stir to combine. Cook on low 6-8 hours, stirring every few hours.

Total comfort food!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Coming soon to a blog near you ...

Just like the healthy fish dish I just posted below, I will add a few lighter-fare recipes this month in order to help us undo the damage brought on by the 12 Cookies of Christmas! Fish, chicken and even pasta -- there are so many ways to get a healthy yet deliciously satisfying meal on the table, so I hope you'll check back in the coming weeks to find tasty ways to get back on track.

Also, I will be posting some recipes by special request of my sister in law, Kim. She and I received electric fondue pots for Christmas and I'm pulling out some of my favorite fondue recipes. As a child of the 70's, some of my mama's best dishes were out of our fondue pot. I will say good-bye to Sterno as I update my retro appliance to the new, improved electric version. These recipes are good for a family dinner or a Super Bowl party or just a fun, family dinner where everybody mans their own fork and cooks for him/herself. Can't beat that!

See you soon, I hope!

Leslie

Happy Healthy New Year!!

Resolutions schmezolutions!! Every year I make the list, at least mentally, and every year for the majority of my post-baby years the same three rear their ugly heads “lose weight”, “eat healthier”, “get in shape”. Pffft! Forget the top ten list of resolutions – I just have to do seven because the first three are now unspoken standards. So, figuring that other people out there have the same mindset as I do about this time of year, I decided I’d share one of my family’s favorite healthy meals – Pan-Seared Whitefish with roasted vegetables and couscous. It’s lean, heart-healthy, quick and delicious! You can’t beat that combination!

Roasted Vegetables

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2 yellow squash, sliced
1 medium zucchini squash, sliced
1 medium red pepper, sliced
(You can also use cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, quartered onions, broccoli and other colors of peppers)
Salt, pepper, Italian seasonings
Drizzle of olive oil

Place cut vegetables in roasting pan and drizzle with olive oil, then salt, pepper and season with Italian seasonings or Herbes de Provence. Hand toss to coat and flatten out to one layer. Roast in oven for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through to cook evenly.

As soon as this is in the oven, follow the directions on the box to make couscous, using chicken stock instead of water. I chose to go with the whole grain variety, but it’s up to you. The couscous literally takes 7 minutes from start to finish. Now it’s time to prepare the fish for pan-searing.


Pan-Seared Whitefish

1 ½ lbs. whitefish fillets (I prefer Tilapia because of its mild flavor)
Salt, pepper, flour (I use whole wheat to make it healthier)
½ c. chopped almonds
Drizzle of olive oil
1 Tablespoon of butter

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. While pan is getting hot, alt and pepper one side of each fillet, then dust each fillet with flour. When pan is hot and oil is moving and thinning, place each fillet seasoned side down in the skillet, being careful not to move it once you do. When all fillets are in skillet, repeat the salt, pepper and flour process. Let fillets cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Once that’s done, move them to one side of a serving platter and add another drizzle of olive oil and the butter to the same skillet. When butter has melted, add chopped almonds and toast them in the pan. This will only take a couple of minutes. Once they’re toasted, place them on top of the fillets.

Plate the couscous aside the fish fillets and top with the roasted vegetables for a really attractive entrée and side dish!

Simple. Satisfying. Savory ~ and slimming! That’s this month’s dinner @ 6!