From Taste of Home’s magazine “Simple & Delicious,” this veggie dish makes a great side and can easily be altered to serve with different styles of cuisine.

1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tsps butter

In a small bowl, combine the first seven ingredients and set aside. In a large skillet, saute green beans and mushrooms in butter until almost tender. Add seasoned mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until veggies are nice and tender. Voila!

Some easy substitutions and alterations:

Olive oil or vegetable oil for canola oil (which is just not in my cupboard for some reason)
Swap cider vinegar for soy sauce or thin teryaki sauce when serving with a Chinese dish, with brown rice on side.

A note about black pepper: I heard from a reliable source (the Food Network) that pepper burns. I would suggest leaving it out and sprinkling the veggies with fresh ground black pepper at the end. I haven’t tried this myself because I just learned this interesting tidbit, but there is always next time.

Both times I made this dish (once with cider vinegar and once with soy sauce) there was liquid left over. During the soy sauce run, I removed the veggies and threw some whole raw almonds into the remaining liquid and heated for a couple minutes, then tossed the almonds with the green beans and mushrooms. Yum!

Taco Mac and Cheese Dinner

August 15th, 2006

This is a quick and easy dinner similar to “hamburger helper” but with a more homemade/home-style feel.

1 (8 oz) package elbow macaroni (or other shaped pasta)
1 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Toppings, such as: sour cream, tortilla chips, tomatoes, peppers, onions

Prepare macaroni according to package directions, drain and keep warm.

Brown ground beef in skillet or frying pan until no longer pink and drain. Add taco seasoning and water. Stir over medium-low heat until thoroughly mixed and sauce begins to reduce. Set aside and keep warm.

Melt butter in a large pan over medium, gradually adding flour and whisking constantly to form a sauce. Gradually add milk, while whisking, and simmer for 5-7 minutes until mixture thickens. Decrease heat and stir in 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese, stir until cheese is completely melted.

Add macaroni and beef to pan, stirring over low heat. Let cook until mixture begins to simmer and thicken. Remove from heat and top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Serve on large plates with toppings on the side. This dish went well with a side of mexican rice and tortilla chips, along with the usual taco toppings. It also made for great left overs!

The sauce in this recipe was hard to thicken, I added an additional tablespoon of flour to thicken it up, but I think less milk could be used (maybe just 1 or 1 1/2 cups instead of 2).

Brown Sugar Cookies

August 11th, 2006

When real butter and dark brown sugar blend and bake, you get these crisp praline-tasting cookies. Recipe found in Oxmoor House magazine:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add brown sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beating well.

Combine flour, soda, and salt; add to butter mixture, beating just until blended.

Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness between two sheets of wax paper. Cut with cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes. Let cookies cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, and carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

An interesting twist on an old favorite, courtesy of Southern Living magazine:

1 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and stir well. Add flour and vanilla, stirring until dough is formed.

Fold in chocolate chips. Roll teaspoon sized balls and drop onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let cookies set for 1 minute, then transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies.

Parmesan Herbed Noodles

August 10th, 2006

This is altered from a recipe I found in “Cooking for 2” magazine from Taste of Home. The recipe has been adjusted to make a good side dish for more than two, but you can halve this recipe to make a main dish for two or a meal for one.

3 cups dry egg noodles
dash garlic powder
dash oregano
2 tbps butter
2 tbps olive oil
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
minced garlic (optional)
lemon juice (optional)

Using a large saucepan or cooking pot, heat several cups of water over medium-high heat on the stove. Sprinkle garlic powder and oregano over water. Add noodles once water is at a rolling boil and cook 8-12 minutes or until noodles are at desired firmness.

While noodles are cooking, combine butter, oil, basil, thyme and salt in a small mixing bowl. Top mixture with pepper.

Drain noodles and add herb mixture, stirring thoroughly to ensure even coating of noodles. Top with parmesan cheese. Minced garlic and lemon can also be added to taste. Stir well before serving.

If serving with Honey-Lime Chicken, I recommend omitting garlic and lemon. The garlic and lime flavors in the chicken will compliment this dish nicely. If you begin boiling the water for the noodles a few minutes after putting the chicken in the oven, the two should be done at about the same time.