dreamy short ribs

Check out this rich looking sauce to go with the ribs!

I made these last night and OMG!!!

1 lb short ribs bone in
1/2 cup flour
S/P
1/4-1/2 can of tomato paste (large can of paste)
olive oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 zucchini cut into 1/2 inch rounds (can use 2 if you want more veg)
1 carrots cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 onion julienned
15-20 springs of fresh thyme
1/2 cup Merlot or other red wine you like to drink
1 box of beef stock

Pour 2 turns of the pan of olive oil
Add chopped garlic
add onions, zucchini and carrots
add 5 sprigs thyme
saute tender CRISP
Set aside in a bowl

Pour 3 turns of the pan of olive oil
salt and pepper flour AND ribs
dip ribs in flour on all sides
place meat side down in pan when oil is hot
brown all sides then set aside


Add Wine
add tomato paste
whisk together scraping meat bits from pan
add 5 sprigs of thyme
Add Beef stock
whisk together
add 5 sprigs of thyme
Put ribs back into pan meat side down
I also added thyme on top of the ribs but that is up to you if you like thyme or not)
Cover and put on Low/simmer for 2 hours

After an hour and a half check liquid level, if it is too low add more stock to cover ribs 3/4 way. Cover and cook another 30-45 mins until meat is tender.

Add veg in at last 10 mins You want them to still be tender crisp at serving

I served over mashed potatoes and made sure I put some of the decadent sauce over them.

Enjoy!!!

YUMEEEE

Dawn

Easy peasy lemon squeezy chicken

2 tsp olive oil
1 lb thin sliced chicken breast
S/P
1/4 cup flour
2 pats of butter
1/4 cup white wine
1 can of chicken stock
2 tbsp thyme


Prepare chicken with salt pepper and sprinkle of thyme.
Put Olive oil in pan and brown the chicken breasts, remove from pan and set aside
Make a rue ( put 2 pats of butter and flour into pan and cook until it is a caramel color)
Add white wine and whisk with rue and bits of chicken from bottom of pan
Add broth and salt pepper and thyme to taste
Add chicken back into pan and simmer for 7 mins

Serve over Brown rice.

I made brown rice made with chicken broth and when it was finished I added thyme pepper and 2 tsp of butter and mixed it together.

Enjoy!!!

YUMEEE

Dawn

Butternut squash ravioli

2 cups of butternut squash roasted and cubed
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/4 julienned onion
1 pat of butter
1/4 cup of almonds or cashews
1 pkg wonton wrappers


Sauce

1/4 cup flour
2 pats of butter
1 cup chicken broth
salt pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp thyme
1/4 cup white wine

Ravioli

put butter in pan
saute garlic and onions to tender crisp
add squash, onion/garlic mix, nutmeg and nuts to blender and puree

put 1tsp of puree inside of each wonton and wet edges of wonton with water
then fold over into triangles and press down edges--water will seal them


Cook like a regular ravioli


Sauce

Make a rue---

put the butter in the pan and add flour--cook the flour until it is a LIGHT caramel color.
Whisk 1/4 cup wine with the rue
simmer 3 minutes
add chicken broth
add S/P/Thyme
add cheese
boil to thicken
When it is desired thickness remove from burner

Serve over the ravioli and garnish with some crushed nuts.

Serve with salad and bread

Enjoy!!!

YUMEEE


Dawn

Super easy guacamole

2 avocados
1 plum tomato
1/4 onion
5 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste


Cut avocado in half lengthwise
Use knife to stab pit and twist it to remove
use knife tip to score large cubes in the avocado flesh
use a spoon to scoop out the flesh but putting the spoon in between flesh and skin
use a fork to mash to desired consistency--can leave it chunky or make it smooth

Dice onion, tomato in small dice
add to avocado, add lime juice and cilantro

Mix

ENJOY!!!

YUMEEE

Dawn

One pot chicken and rice

made this on the fly this morning with the left over ground chicken from the empanadas.

1/2-1 lb of ground chicken
1/4 onion diced
2 tsp chopped garlic
olive oil
1 can mild pepper infused diced tomatoes
(or regular tomatoes with 1 small diced jalopeno
1/2 cup white wine (i used Pinot Grigio)
2 cups BROWN minute rice (ok you can use white but Brown is healthier for you)
1 can of chicken broth

Brown ground chicken with onions and garlic in a turn or two of olive oil
pour in white wine and simmer about 3 mins to cook out the alcohol
add can of mild tomatoes (tomatoes and jalopeno if cant find the premixed can)
mix
add brown rice
add chicken broth
Cover and cook for 10 mins

DONE--Serve with salad and nice crusty bread

Enjoy!

YUMEEE

Dawn

Empanadas

ok here is what I came up with for empanadas.


I looked up a basic flour recipe for the dough.


The recipe below if from About.com

Every empanada recipe starts with the dough. Here is a simple empanada dough made with flour, salt, water, egg, vinegar and shortening.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Ingredients:

3 cups flour (plus a little more for kneading)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold water
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 tablespoons shortening

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, beat the water, egg, egg white and vinegar together. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the 3 cups of flour and salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour mix with a pastry blender or two butter knives. Make a well in the center of the flour mix and pour the liquid ingredients from the first bowl into the center.

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes stiff.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it just until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth.

6. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but never more than 24 hours.

Tip: If you want to keep the dough longer than 24 hours, you can freeze it.

Servings: Makes approximately 10 six-inch empanadas.


Here is the filling I came up with.

1/2 tsp butter
1 small diced onion
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 lb ground chicken
3 tsp thyme
1 tsp powdered garlic
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg

add butter onions and chopped garlic to pan. Saute to translucent

add ground chicken and all seasonings and brown.

remove from pan.

Dip

I made this dip for the side but decided it may taste great mixed in the meat so I made half the meat plain and half mixed in with the dip and it was YUMEEE.

1 small jalepeno pepper with seeds diced
1/4 small onion diced
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp spicy mustard
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

mix in simmer 5 mins

split mix if you choose to mix it with meat and double the recipe if you want to mix it AND
dip it.

After you take the dough from the fridge, break it into small balls--you can get about 10 if you make larger rounds I made some smaller for Sophia and some larger for me so I got 13. Use the rolling pin to roll them into small round somewhat thin circles.

Spray coolie sheet with olive oil pam.

Put one tsp or so of filling in each , I also added colby jack cheese--which is what I had on hand but a nice gyuere would be nice in this too. I also mix some of the meat with the dip.

Fold over the pocket and as sophia said she made russian skirts on the empandas.

Place them on cookie sheet and use an egg wash to brush over the pockets.

sprinkle thyme over wet pockets and place in oven

bake on 450 for 8 mins then FLIP

bake other side for 3-5 mins for brown color on the other side.

Enjoy!!

YUMEEE

Dawn

homemade breadcrumbs

ok this could not be any easier--save money and reduce waste.

I ALWAYS have bread that goes stale when I buy a nice loaf of Italian bread since there are only 2 of us. I always threw away the stale bread BUT there are ways to reduce waste and use that stale bread.

First, Look for the recipe for homemade croutons--uses stale bread to make them.

Second--Make your own Breadcrumbs!!

Put the bread in smaller chunks in a food processor, add the seasoning you want to season them with and grind to a fine crumb.

Use them as you would store bought crumbs.

This way you can also control the salt and other seasonings to your liking.

Enjoy!!

YUMEEE

Dawn

cool and easy cinnamon rolls

http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com/food-and-recipes/2011/6/2/cinnamon-toast-rolls.html

/great ideas BUT can someone give me time to do it?

https://www.manilla.com/lp/su-selfimprovement/?vXFf&utm_source=stumbleupon&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=self_improvement_F&vQZf

interesting

http://www.hybridmom.com/10-foods-every-dieter-should-eat