Filling, gluten free, inexpensive soup

In a recession, everyone is looking for ways to save money. This soup is an easy, filling, delicious, healthy, and even gluten free way to do so! The trick is using lentils, brown rice, and ground beef. This recipe was inspired by this soup. Feel free to add more vegetables; I thought sliced mushrooms might do nicely.

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 tbl parsley

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp cumin

3 cups chicken broth

4 1/2 cups vegetable broth

2/3 cup lentils

Half of a red bell pepper

1/4 cup frozen pees

½ cup brown rice

1. Cook onions and ground beef in stockpot. Add garlic at the end (only saute it a minute).

2. Add herbs, broth, lentils, and bell pepper and simmer for 1 hour or until lentils are soft.

3. Add brown rice and peas; simmer 40 more minutes, or until rice is done.

Yield: 4-6 servings

A new twist on baked potatoes

I love potatoes. They come in different shapes, colors, and you can do many tasty things with them. I have recently discovered my favorite method of making a baked potato. This method creates a crisp skin with a flaky, dryish (as apposed to steamy) center. If you like your potatoes steamy and soft, almost wet, then this method is not for you. :)

2 medium sized potatos (I used a red-skinned Yukon)
1/2 onion, sliced into thing rings
1 garlic clove
salt
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Prick the potatoes with a fork and then microwave for 3 minutes. Turn over and cook another 3-5 minutes. Check periodically for done-ness with a fork (should be quite soft and the skin should be bubbly). When they are done, wrap in foil and let sit for a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, caramelize onions in a bit of olive oil. Add garlic and salt at the end and saute for just a minute.

Open potato and top with onions and cheese. Yum!

Yield: 2 servings

Silky Chocolate Fondue

This is an easy and delicious recipe to make!

Silky Chocolate Fondue

6 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Assorted dippers such as strawberries, marshmallows, pound cake cubes or graham crackers

In small (2-qt.) saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer over low heat. In double boiler, combine chocolate, ice cream topping and cream; mix well. Set double boiler over simmering water in saucepan. Heat chocolate mixture 7-10 minutes or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, stirring occasionally. **It time is of the essence, you may microwave the chocolate, caramel, and whipping cream.**

Pour chocolate mixture into Simple Additions™ Small Bowl. Serve fondue immediately with assorted dippers. Yield: 1 1/3 cups (10 servings)

For additional flavor and variety, stir 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of any one of the following into fondue: almond, mint or vanilla extract, ground cinnamon or finely snipped orange zest. Pampered Chef

Sampling of our dippers: strawberries, Famous Amos cookies, and pirouettes. Not pictured: strawberries, bananas, and shortbread cookies.

Olive & Roasted Pepper Bruschetta

We made this at our NYE party, and it got rave reviews!

Olive & Roasted Pepper Bruschetta

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup chopped pitted green olives
1/2 cup chopped rosted sweet red peppers
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. dried basil
16 slives French bread baguette (1/2 in. thick) toasted

In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Top each bread olive with 1 tbsp. olive mixture.

Pasta, pasta, pasta

As I was helping to prepare lunch today of linguine with a delicious homemade meat sauce, I began mulling over how much I love pasta. I love how it comes in multiple shapes and sizes, so many that the chef is certain to find the perfect pasta for each and every occasion. I love the various textures and how they differ from ridged to smooth, to round to long, to firm and stuffed. And the recipes that accompany pasta...ah, the possibilities are endless.

I started doing a little research and was honestly shocked at how many different types of pasta exist. I had no idea the list was so extensive. Here are a couple of web sites I found particularly helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pasta

http://www.thenibble.com/REVIEWS/MAIN/pastas/glossary.asp

Cornbread crusted pork chops with Spicy Peach and Corn Salsa

Today's recipe comes from the end of the lovely Rochester summer. It took me this long to upload the photos! I adapted the recipe from About.com's Gourmet section. Earlier that week, I had made cornbread that I didn't turn out so well, but hating to throw food away, I wanted a recipe that would use it in a creative way. This certainly fit the bill! I was quite impressed with the flavors, textures, and colors of this dish. Too bad fresh peaches are pretty much gone here in Rochester!

Notes: I hate to share a recipe that I didn't like, so I'll just say that my cornbread was made with buttermilk and without flour. I recommend any non-sweet, simple cornbread for this. I highly recommend the Fatali pepper: its citrus undertones pair perfectly with the peaches. If you can't find them, use a habanero. If you can't handle the heat, use chipotle. I found a bunch of fatali peppers at the farmer's market and have been storing them in the freezer. :)

Ingredients:

• 4 8-ounce Pork Chops
• 3 Cups Cornbread Crumbs
• 1 Tablespoon Thyme
• 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2 Large Peaches, peeled, pit removed, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 Cup Corn, cooked and cooled
• 1 Minced Fatali Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the milk into a shallow dish and add the pork chops. Let soak for 30 minutes.

Add the vegetable oil to a large saute pan and heat to medium high.

In a large bowl, mix together the cornbread crumbs, thyme, and black pepper. Place the pork chops in the cornbread mixture and turn to coat. Press the mixture lightly onto the pork.

Put the pork chops into the hot saute pan. Cook until golden brown and turn over, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer the pork chops to a cookie sheet or rack and place into the preheated oven. Bake in oven until the pork chops are completely cooked through with no pink in the center, approximately 10 to 15 minutes depending on how thick your chops are. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the diced peaches, corn, fatali, salt, and pepper. Mix well. The salsa can be made one day ahead if needed.

To serve, place pork chops on plates and spoon salsa over the top.

Yield: 4 servings

Zabaglione with shortbread cookies

Tonight I opened my first bottle of Marsala wine to make chicken marsala. The dish tasted fabulous, but I was left with a whole lot more Marsala than I needed. So I decided to make zabaglione and shortbread cookies. All the ingredients, except the marsala, are common kitchen items! It turned out beautifully and was quite easy to do. :)

Note: it can be nice to have two people do this together (yay Peter!)


Zabaglione (for 2)
adapted from Joy of Cooking

2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup Marsala wine
2 egg whites (optional)

In a double boiler (or in my case in a small sauce pan over a larger one), whisk together all ingredients over boiling water. Do not immerse pan in boiling water. Whisking constantly, slowly bring mixture to 160 degrees (will become lighter and thicker). Meanwhile (this is where helps comes in), beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into finished custard. Serve immediately!

Shortbread cookies (for 2 or 3)

2 oz butter, softened
1 oz granulated sugar
3 oz flour
pinch of salt
turbinado sugar (or other large-crystal sugar), or just white sugar

Mix together first four ingredients, form into cookies by hand, and then bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min. Sprinkle with sugar. I actually did this in the toaster oven since it was such a small batch.

Enjoy together!

ps: Peter's comment on the zabaglione: "it was good--interesting, but good." :)