February Swap - February 12, 2011

Mostaccioli by Michelle

6 oz uncooked Mostaccioli (I use 1 box of penne noodles)
1 lb ground lean beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. chopped fresh, or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
(1) 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed (I use the garlic already minced from the store)

Sauce:
1 Tbsp Margarine or Butter
2 Tbsp Flour
1- 1/2 C. low fat milk
1/4 grated Romano Cheese (I use an Italian mix or Parmesan)

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook noodles as directed on pkg & drain. Cook beef & onion in lg skillet, stirring frequently until beef is brown. Stir in oregano, salt, cinnamon, 1/2 of the nutmeg, tomato sauce and garlic.
Add to noodles & mix well.

Heat margarine or butter in a sauce pan over low to med heat until melted.
Stir in flour; cook over low heat until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in milk, little by little, stirring well so as to avoid lumps. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, boil and stir one min. Pour over rest of mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for 30-40.

Pastitsio - Greek Casserole by Jill C.

Noodle Mixture
1 lb uncooked tubular pasta
1 egg white
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons milk


Meat Mixture
oil
2 onions, diced
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled eggplant
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 lbs ground beef, pork, lamb or combination (I used brisket)
1/2 cup red wine
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes in puree
1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1 tsp Greek oregano
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper

Sauce
6 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare meat sauce first. Heat oil in a large skillet and add onion. Cook until softened and add garlic.
2. Add meat and cook until browned, breaking up chunks with a wooden spoon. Add remaining meat sauce ingredients, mix and simmer one hour, covered.
3. While meat sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil then salt generously and add pasta.
4. Cook pasta to al dente, drain and return to the cooled pot. With the heat off, stir in butter, milk, eggs and cheese. Set aside.
5. Prepare bechamel sauce by melting butter over medium high heat in a large sauce pan or medium pot. Whisk in flour and cook for several minutes, whisking smooth, do not allow the roux to scorch.
6. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly until thickened. If your milk is cool and sauce seems thin, bring to a boil stirring constantly then remove from heat once thick. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
7. Beat 3 eggs in a medium bowl for bechamel sauce: slowly add sauce to beaten eggs, being careful to keep from curdling the eggs. I usually start by tempering the eggs, that is I dip my whisk in the hot sauce then whisk those drops into the eggs, then continue doing this a few times before attempting to slowly dribble about a 1/4 cup of sauce into the bowl. Once you’ve gotten about that much successfully incorporated, you can go ahead and slowly add the rest.
8. Remove the cinnamon stick from the meat, allow sauce to cool slightly and prepare casserole dishes.
9. Grease a large lasagna pan or two medium casserole dishes with oil then construct pastitsio by layering: pasta mixture, meat sauce, more pasta mixture. Finish by covering with bechamel and sprinkling grated Parmesan over the top.
10. Bake casserole at 350°F for approximately 45 min to 1 hour until bechamel is set and golden. This recipes makes enough to bake two casseroles and remove one at about 30 minutes. Allow it to cool then cover in plastic wrap then foil and place in the freezer for another dinner.
11. Once casserole is nicely browned on top, remove from oven and allow to rest 20 minutes.
12. Cut pastitsio into squares and serve.

January Swap

Chicken Tamale Casserole by Jill C.

1 cup pre-shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 cup fat free milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp red pepper
1 can cream style corn
1 small box corn muffin mix
1 4 oz can green chiles, drained
1 10oz can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

Preheat oven to 400k. Combine 1/4 c cheese and next 7 ingredients through chiles in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13x9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Top each serving with 1T sour cream.

Beef Bourguignon with Egg Noodles by Michelle

1/3 c. flour
2 t. salt, divided
2 1/4 lb beef stew meat
3 bacon slices, chopped and divided
1 c. chopped carrot
1 c. chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced (I use a T. or 2 of minced)
1 1/2 c. red wine
14 oz beef broth
8 c. halved mushrooms (I use 1 lg can)
2 T. tomato paste
2 t. chopped thyme
2 bay leaves
16 oz frozen pearl onions

Combine flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper in lg zip lock bag. Add beef and shake well. Cook half the bacon in large Dutch oven (fry pan is fine, too). Remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add half of beef mix to drippings in pan and cook 5 minutes. Repeat procedure with remaining bacon and beef. Remove beef from pan and keep warm. Add onion, carrot and garlic to pan; saute 5 minutes. Stir in wine and broth; scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add bacon, beef, remaining salt and pepper, mushrooms, tomato paste, thyme, bay leaves, and pearl onions; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Uncover and cook 1 hour or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaves. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley.


Mozzarella Chicken by Jenn R.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Generously salt and pepper on both sides
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T EVOO
1/2 t. crushed rosemary
1 can stewed tomatoes - Italian style
2 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/3 c. dry white wine
2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat oil in large saute pan and saute garlic 2-3 minutes. Add chicken and brown both sides. Add mushrooms, tomatoes, wine and rosemary. Simmer 30 minutes. Add cheese and allow to melt. Serve over pasta.

November Swap

Crockpot Garlicky Brown Sugar Chicken by Jill C.

1 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda
3 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce or Bragg's Amino Acids
Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bag. Freeze. Defrost and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Chicken Cacciatore by Michelle C.

4-6 chicken breasts, cut up in bite size pieces
2 red peppers, cut in bite size pieces
2 green peppers, cut in bite size pieces
1 onion, cut in bite size pieces
2 cans or 1 pkg fresh sliced mushrooms
1 clove or 1 tbsp minced (jar in fridge) garlic
3 jars spaghetti sauce

Sauté vegetables in olive oil for 10 minutes. Remove
and set aside. Sauté chicken in same pan for 10 min.
or until cooked. Combine chicken, vegetables &
sauce . Simmer covered for at least 3 hours ~
serve over noodles or rice.

October Meal Swap

Lasagna by Jill

30 oz ricotta (2 containers)
3 cups mozzarella, shredded (1 1/2 c. for filling, 1 1/2 cups for layering)
2 eggs
pepper
1/3-1/2 cup parmesan
parsley (1+ tbsp)
basil (2 tbsp fresh...whatever you like if dried)
Combine above ingredients (except half the mozzarella)
1 lb ground meat (I used ground turkey), browned
1 lb (large) box lasagna noodles, boiled al dente
2 jars spaghetti sauce
chopped fresh tomato (2 small, 1 large...sometimes more)

You need a bigger-than 13 x 9 in. pan to fit it--or 2 pans, or adapt the
recipe down.
Put sauce in the bottom of the pan, then layer of noodles, layer of ricotta
mixture, meat, sauce, mozzarella, and tomatoes. Repeat (I don't usually put the
fresh tomatoes on every layer--generally just the first and some on top).

Bake, covered loosely with foil, at 350 for about an hour.

Chicken Enchiladas by Jenn R.

2 c. cooked and shredded chicken
1 c. cream of chicken soup
1 c. sour cream
2 c. mozzarella cheese
1 sm. can diced green chiles
8 tortillas (I prefer flour but can use corn too)

Mix chicken, soup, sour cream, and 1 c. mozzarella together. Spoon filling mixture into tortilla and roll up. Place into a greased 9x13 pan, seam side down. If frozen, thaw and then bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until "bubbly". In last 5 minutes of baking time, sprinkle with remaining 1 c. mozzarella cheese. Serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes (if desired), and a dollop of salsa.


Spaghetti Casserole by Michelle

1 lb ground chuck
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 - 1 onion, diced
1 can tomato soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms, optional
1 lb shredded cheddar
8 oz spaghetti

Brown the meat, green pepper and onion, drain. Add soups, can of water and mushrooms. Mix and set aside. Cook spaghetti and combine with meat mixture. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with grated cheese. Cook for 15 minutes more. If frozen, thaw before cooking.

Chicken Tetrazzini by Tami

Chicken Pot Pie by Jenn M.

Chili by Judy

September Inaugural Swap

Bierocks - Jill C.
Recipe adapted from that of Pam Peterson from Leon, KS as published in American's Best Lost Recipes

Serves 8

DOUGH
3/4 c. warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 T. sugar
1 lg egg
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 pkg rapid-rise or instant yeast
1 t. salt

FILLING
3 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
1 lg onion, chopped fine
1/2 small head cabbage, cored and chopped (about 3 c.)
salt and pepper
8 slices American cheese (I actually used cheddar and Swiss in the ones I made for the swap)

1. FOR THE DOUGH: Lightly grease a large bowl with cooking spray. Mix the water, condensed milk, oil, sugar, and egg in a large measuring cup. Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low, add the water mixture. After the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until shiny and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured work surface, shape into a ball, and place in the greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

2. FOR THE FILLING: Melt 1 T. butter in a large skillet over medium high heat (I skipped the step to cut out a little bit of fat). Add the beef and cook until just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes, breaking up any large clumps. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a paper-towel lined plate.

3. Pour off all but 2 T. fat from the pan. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and toss until just beginning to wilt, 2 to 4 minutes. Return the beef to the pan and season with salt and pepper.

4. TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Adjust two oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat to 350 degrees. Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Working on a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece of dough into a 7-inch circle. Place one dough round in a deep cereal bowl and top with one slice of cheese. Spoon 3/4 c. filling over the cheese and pinch the edges of the dough together to form a bun. Transfer the bun, seam-side down, to a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, cheese and filling, placing 4 buns on each baking sheet. Cover the buns with plastic wrap and let rise until puffed, about 20 minutes.

5. Back the buns until golden brown, about 20 minutes, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time. Brush the hot buns with melted butter and serve.


Baked Penne with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes by Jenn R. from the September 2010 issue of Real Simple Magazine - The Great Dinner Swap

Serves 16| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 1hr 25m
Ingredients

* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 8 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
* 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
* 4 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
* 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 3 pounds penne
* 4 5-ounce packages baby spinach
* 2 pounds mozzarella, grated (about 8 cups)
* 1 cup grated Parmesan (about 4 ounces)

Directions

1. Divide the oil between 2 large saucepans and heat over medium heat. Divide the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes between the saucepans and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Divide the crushed tomatoes between the saucepans.
2. Break up the whole tomatoes by cutting them up with scissors (while in the can) or by crushing them with your hands. Divide the tomatoes and vinegar between the saucepans; season each with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring 2 large pots of water to a boil; add 1 tablespoon salt to each. Divide the pasta between the pots; cook for half the recommended time on the package directions (the pasta will continue to cook when it is baked). Drain the pasta; return it to the pots.
4. Divide the spinach between the saucepans of sauce and cook, stirring, until the spinach begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Pour a saucepan of tomato sauce into each of the pasta pots and toss to combine.
5. Divide one of the pots of the pasta mixture among four 8-inch square baking dishes (the dishes will be halfway full). Sprinkle each with 1 cup of the mozzarella. Dividing evenly among the dishes, top with the remaining pot of pasta mixture. Sprinkle each with 1 cup of the remaining mozzarella and ¼ cup of the Parmesan.
6. To eat tonight: Bake the pasta on a rimmed baking sheet at 400° F until bubbling and beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
7. To freeze and cook later: Freeze the unbaked pasta, tightly sealed, for up to 3 months. To cook, thaw the pasta and bake, uncovered, on a rimmed baking sheet at 400° F until heated through, bubbling, and beginning to brown, 25 to 30 minutes.


Mexican Stuffed Shells by Jennifer M.



Steak Soup by Michelle
(Michelle's Notes: I call it "Bea's Steak Soup" but I really think it's the Plaza 3 recipe that was in the Star awhile back!)

1 stick butter
1/2 c flour
4 c beef consomme or broth
1/2 c chopped carrot
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped celery
(1) 16 oz. can chopped or diced tomatoes
1.5 tsp Kitchen Bouquet
2 cubes beef bouillion
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Accent
10 oz frozen mixed vegetables
1 lb cooked, drained ground chuck

Brown & drain meat. Saute onion, carrot & celery.
Melt butter in pan & add flour - mix well & add consomme. Stir
well while heating, until thickened. Add Accent, pepper, bouillon, tomatoes & cook approx. 1 minute. Add Kitchen Bouquet & rest of vegetables & meat. Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

I usually double the recipe and freeze it!


Chicken Almondine by Judy