Showing posts with label stovetop skillet casserole. Show all posts

Winter Comfort Vegetables | Saute Parsnip Casserole Dish

I'd like to share my mother-in-law's recipe on how to cook parsnips, a family favorite winter vegetable Parsnip Casserole with Bacon.

Parsnip Saute Casserole with Bacon

The holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah are coming up and soon we're starting a New Year. All the Christmas cookies and desserts are planned. If it hasn't already, soon the snow will begin to fly. To me, that means I'll be hibernating, cocooning and turning to comfort food.

Yes, my family actually ASKS for me to make these sweet parsnips! My mother-in-law used to babysit for my kids when they were tots, and would have dinner started for me one day a week. Once she stopped babysitting, I would have her over for Sunday dinner. I learned to cook some of my husband's favorite family dishes at her knee.

When winter rolls around, you experience your body slow down, and perhaps you'll notice that all you want to do is eat breadstuff and cheese. While a certain amount of comfort eating can help raise your spirits when days are short, soon you'll find that too much of a good thing can, in it's turn lead to feeling lethargic and groggy, or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder.)

If the mention of consuming plenty of vegetables, fruits and whole foods seems hard during the winter, think of preparing lots of hot casseroles, soups and baked berry desserts. Try to use what's in season - all of those root vegetables, carrots, rutabagas, celery, turnips, onions and leeks. You might want to try a combination or choice with a bit of vegetable stock and brown lentils to make a nourishing soup or this parsnip casserole (add fresh or dried herbs for extra flavor) - follow it with a yummy apple and berry crumble. Comfort food can be nutritious and can help you get rid of the winter blahs!

Speaking of veggies - check out this Broccoli Cheese Casserole which is yummy to feed a crowd!

Easy cleanup in the kitchen with Handmade Crochet Dish Cloths from Moomettes Shop !

Winter Vegetable Parsnip Casserole Bacon Skillet Saute

1 bag (1 lb.) parsnips, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1/2 lb. bacon
salt, pepper and seasonings, to taste

Par Boil parsnips in a large stock pot until fork tender, about 30 minutes.
Fry bacon in frying pan. Remove from pan and set aside.
In a Saute pan, saute the parsnips in bacon drippings until golden brown on all sides, turning occasionally
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add crumbled bacon pieces if desired.

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Ham and Spaghetti Casserole | Easy Ham Casserole Recipe

Here's a family favorite easy and quick skillet supper pasta casserole recipe for a weeknight using ham steak, canned stewed tomatoes and spaghetti. It's pretty inexpensive to make, and I like to keep the canned ingredients on-hand for a hurry-up dinner .

This is an easy way to use up leftover ham from your Holiday dinners - Easter or Christmas!

Easy Quick Night Supper

My mother-in-law was Irish and never cooked spaghetti and meat sauce. If my husband and his siblings wanted Italian pasta, they had to order it out! This is my mother-in-law's version of pasta that we fondly refer to as "Irish Spaghetti Casserole." It works well using either leftover ham and then use the ham bone to make pea soup! You can also use canned ham or a ham steak in this casserole recipe.

I like to look for Smithfield Ham Steaks when they're on sale - this is such a great way to feed a crowd and watch your pennies with the cost of food today.

I have a new cast iron skillet to replace an old fry pan, and this will be perfect to cook it in for skillet dinners.

It's even easier to make if you do OAMC freezer cooking. I've been putting up quite a few make-ahead freezer mixes to simplify mealtime preparation. Here's one of the ham meal starter mixes that I put together using a freezer recipe from The Family Homestead eBook cookbook.

If there's any leftover, I often turn this into soup for lunch by adding some beef or veggie broth

Check out my other week night easy casseroles for dinner -
American Goulash Casserole
Classic Macaroni and Cheese
Polish Beef and Cabbage Casserole (Deconstructed Goumpki)
New England Shepard Pie Casserole

Easy cleanup with Handmade Kitchen Dishcloths from Moomettes Crochet Shop!

Ham and Spaghetti Casserole

1 ham steak, cut into cubes
2 cans (16 oz.) stewed tomatoes (or 1 can stewed tomatoes, 1 can regular tomato sauce)
1 large green pepper, seeded and cut into cubes
2 - 3 tbl. cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
Italian Seasoning, to taste
parmesan cheese, to taste
1 lb. cooked spaghetti pasta

In a large sided frying pan, add oil, and saute cut up ham steak until golden brown.
Add cut peppers and saute until tender.
Add stewed tomatoes, (including the juice).
Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Cook spaghetti according to package directions separately.
Drain and add to ham mixture. You may not want to add all at once so as not to use up all the juice.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add parmesan cheese if desired.
Serve with crusty garlic bread.

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Garden Zucchini Sour Cream Saute | Green Zucchini | Skillet Recipe

I'm a creative cook, and like to experiment with different spices and herbs. Spice up your summer veggies such as garden fresh Zucchini and Yellow Squash and saute for a cool summer meal !

Green Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash

When I was a kid my family always had a garden that I can remember going out to in the early morning and picking fresh vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans and yellow squash.

When local vegetables are in-season, I always prefer local farm stand over store-bought.

One of my favorite recipes is this stovetop one pan skillet saute fresh green zucchini also known as courgette, and I've tried it with the Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend, and it came out terrific! As it has no salt or MSG, which lets me and my family enjoy our meal without worrying about unhealthy ingredients

Easy clean up with Handmade Dish Cloths from Moomettes Crochet Shop !

I'd like to share my recipe for this quick and easy side dish to accompany your main meals:

Other veggie Skillet Saute Recipes -
Zucchini Fritters
Summer Squash Casserole
Zucchini Pie
Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Lemon Pound Cake
Yellow Summer Squash Casserole

Fresh Garden Zucchini Saute with Sour Cream

1-2 large green zucchini, sliced
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1/4-1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbl. Olive Oil
Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning Blend, to taste
1/4 tsp. oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet over medium heat, saute zucchini and onion in olive oil until onions are transparent, and zucchini is slightly brown.
While cooking, season with spices.
Turn frequently.

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Easy Chicken Pad Thai Recipe | Pad Thai Sauce | Asian Food

One of my favorite Thai food dishes is Pad Thai. You can learn to make this authentic easy Chicken Pad Thai recipe and sauce at home.

How To Make Pad Thai

Connecticut has an abundance of Top colleges such as UConn, ECSU, University of Hartford, Connecticut College, Yale University, Wesleyan University, Trinity College, Fairfield University, Quinnipiac University, Sacred Heart University, St. Joseph College, and as with many college towns, we're fortunate to have a variety of restaurants serving International Cuisine.

I first tried Pad Thai at a little Thailand restaurant in the college town of Middletown, Connecticut, home to Wesleyan University. It was nice to get together with both of my sisters-in-law and enjoy a leisurely Girls Lunch Out.

Now my hubby isn't as adventurous when it comes to trying ethnic dishes and is a meat and potatoes kind of guy who likes everything in it's own little pile. If I want Asian food, I either have to dine out with my sisters-in-law, friends, order take-out to-go with my youngest daughter or enjoy it when we have a Diversity Day luncheon at the office.

Try making this stir-fried Chicken Thai Pad recipe with egg, scallion, bean sprout, ground peanut, Pad Thai sauce and fresh lime at home for an easy lunch or light dinner! If you don't have a Wok, you can still make this Asian recipe in a large skillet or fry pan! I can find all of those ingredients at my favorite Aldi store to save money.

Cooking at home is a fun way to introduce the kids and grandkids to the culinary delights of new ethnic foods.

Clean up your kitchen easily with my crochet handmade Dish Cloths from my Moomettes Crochet shop!

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Pad Thai Recipe

8-10 oz. thin Thai-style rice noodles (or enough for 2-3 people)
1 to 1 1/2 cups raw chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
3 cups fresh bean sprouts
optional: 2 eggs
3 spring (green) onions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
1/3 cup crushed or roughly chopped peanuts (or other nuts, such as cashews)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
vegetable oil for stir-frying, and wedges of lime

PAD THAI SAUCE:
3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (look for tamarind at Asian/Chinese or Indian food stores)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce, + more to taste
1-3 tsp. chili sauce, or substitute 1/2 tsp. or more dried crushed chili or cayenne, to taste
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Bring a large pot of pot to a boil and remove from heat. Dunk in your rice noodles. Allow noodles to soak while you prepare the other ingredients. Note: you will be frying the noodles later, so you don't want to over-soften them now. Noodles are ready to be drained when they are soft enough to be eaten, but are still firm and a little "crunchy". Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
Make the Pad Thai Sauce by combining the sauce ingredients together in a cup. Stir well to dissolve the tamarind paste and brown sugar. Set aside. Note: this may seem like a lot of sugar, but you need it to balance out the sourness of the tamarind - this balance is what makes Pad Thai taste so amazing!
Place chicken slices in a small bowl. Stir together the marinade and pour over chicken. Stir well and set aside.
Warm up a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus garlic and minced chili, if using. Stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds).
Add chicken together with the marinade. Stir-fry 30 seconds to 1 minute. When wok/pan becomes dry, add a little chicken stock, 1-2 Tbsp. at a time, to keep the chicken frying nicely. Continue stir-frying in this way until the chicken is cooked (5-8 minutes).
Add the noodles, and pour the Pad Thai sauce over. Using two spatulas, wooden spoons, or other utensils, immediately stir-fry the noodles. Use a gentle "lift and turn" method (like tossing a salad) to prevent noodles from breaking. Stir-fry in this way 1-2 minutes. If you find your wok/frying pan too dry, push noodles aside and add a little more oil to the bottom (but no more broth, or the noodles will become soggy).
Add the bean sprouts and sprinkle over the pepper. Continue "tossing" 1 more minute, or until noodles are cooked. Noodles are done to perfection when they are no longer "hard" or crunchy, but chewy-sticky wonderful!
Taste-test for seasoning, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor is reached (I usually add at least 1 more Tbsp. fish sauce). Toss well to incorporate.
Lift noodles onto a serving plate. Top with generous amounts of fresh coriander, spring onion, and crushed/chopped nuts. Add fresh lime wedges (lime is great squeezed overtop), and if desired, serve with Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce (homemade recipe) on the side.

Pad Thai Tip: For even more flavor, I'll often make a double batch of the pad Thai sauce. Then, as I'm stir-frying the noodles, I'll add more sauce until I'm happy with the taste (I also add extra fish sauce). Any leftover sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Source: Adapted at About .com

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