Why this blog??

Why this blog?? I often find myself stressing over what to make for my family for dinner. We live a busy life and some meals need time to prep, cook and let's not forget shopping for everything you need. I love cookbooks and websites, but there are so many recipe's at times it is overwhelming. The recipe's I will be posting are things I actually made. I will tell you if they are easy or more time consuming. I will also tell you if they are good. Most of these are recipe's I have made for years and continue to make because they are easy or quick and my family loves them and i know yours will too! I will also try to at least once in a whlie try a new recipe I've found on line or in a book and honestly rate it. I always encourage others to send me their favorite recipe's as well! I am a mom... not a chef. But I am a mom who enjoys cooking for her family and making a somewhat healthy meal (some days more healthy than others:) ) In each recipe I will share how I recommend serving it, any substitutions I can think of that are also good, or ways to prepare ahead of time to make the cooking part seem quicker! I am not a photographer, as you can see... most of these pictures are taken from my phone camera, so may not be the best! I love to hear from others who have made these recipes and what they have done to change the recipe... please post comments! Thank you! To "like" me on facebook, go to this link... It's What's Cookin

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta


My mom always makes me Brussel sprouts with Pancetta and I LOVE them. It always seemed like to much effort for me to make them for just a weekday meal, especially since my husband won't eat them. I saw a posting on Skinnytaste.com for a recipe that looked similar to my moms, but it made it seem simple and easy. I went right to the store, bought the stuff and came home to make them along with dinner. I LOVED them!!! And better yet... both my kids loved them too which really surprised me!! Click here to see the Skinny Taste recipe. I changed it up a little... making it not so skinny:) Here is how I made mine...

* 1.5 lbs Brussel Sprouts- cleaned and shredded
* 4 oz pancetta- minced
* 1.5 T extra virgin olive oil
* 4 garlic cloves- minced
* Kosher salt and fresh grated black pepper to taste
* Fresh shaved Parmesan Cheese for topping (Or parmigiano-reggiano)



In a deep heavy saute pan, saute pancetta on medium heat until fat melts and pancetta becomes golden, about 5-7 minutes (I like mine crispy). Add olive oil and garlic and sauté until golden. Add shredded brussels sprouts, salt and pepper to taste and sauté on medium heat for about 10 minutes until tender crisp. Stir occationally. I like mine getting really caramelized and browned! Spoon into a bowl and top with fresh shaved parmesan cheese!


ENJOY!



Clean well... pull off outer darker green leaves, and use a sharp knife to shred 

Mince

Pan fry till crispy and golden

Add olive oil, garlic and brussel sprouts  and saute well


Add the parm cheese at the end.

YUM

Monday, October 31, 2011

Texas Sweet Onion Tart with Rosemary and Pequin Chili on a Cornmeal Crust!


This is another recipe from Cowgirl Cuisine cookbook. We made this at the cooking class I went to and it was one of my favorite things we made. It's like a corn bread quiche with sweet onions. Great for breakfast, or for lunch alongside a side salad, or even for dinner along with steak or chili! It's a bit time consuming, and I HATE cutting onions, so it's definitely not something I'll make all the time, but a great for  a day I have more time... or a helper with the onion chopping:)

Below is the recipe for both the crust and the filling. I will start by listing all ingredients at the top, and then put the directions in the order I made it.  The crust ingredients makes enough for 2 crusts... one you will use for now and one it says to freeze for use later. I think next time I would just try cutting recipe in half to make only one crust? Not sure why it doesn't just do that in the first place?

A few things you will need to make this recipe:
*Food Processor
*Skillet
*10-11 inch tart pan (I have one that the middle pops out so when you are done it's easy to just pop out and then cut into "pizza/pie slices"
*Rolling pin


Filling ingredients:
*1 T Bacon grease (Whenever you fry up bacon, save up that greece. You can keep it in a ceramic bowl and it keeps for a long time. You can use it in recipes like this, or when other recipes ask for butter or oil you can add a bit of this for extra taste. I like using a bit when making biscuits and gravy as well!!)
*2 T unsalted butter
*2 lbs sweet onions, thinly diced
*kosher salt
*2 tsp sherry wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
*1 T coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
*1 tsp crumbled Pequin chili (I used crushed red pepper flakes)
*freshly ground black pepper
*2 large eggs
*1/2 cup Mexican Crema (I used sour cream. You can also use creme fraiche or plain whole milk yogurt)

Crust ingredients:
*2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out dough)
*3/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
*2 tsp sugar
*1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
*2 sticks cold (right out of fridge) unsalted butter (If you are like me, I tend to get all ingredients out and measured before I start cooking. Don't do this with the butter, as you won't want it sitting out warming up until you get to it.
*1/3 cup mexican crema or sour cream
*1/4 cups ice-cold water (more as needed)

Directions:

1. I started by chopping my onions (I did this the night before)

2. Place the dry crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter in small pieces and pulse until the mixture is coarse and pebbly (don't overprocess). Transfer the dough to a large bowl. By hand, gradually work in the crema and ice water. The dough should be soft and pliable, but not sticky. Adjust as necessary with flour. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes (or up to a day in advanced)

3. While my dough was chilling, i started the filling. Bring skillet to medium-high heat. Add 1 T bacon grease. Let grease get warm. Add butter, onions and salt to taste and cook, stirring, until the onions reduce by 2/3 (about 15 minutes). Add the vinegar, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook, stirring every now and then, until the onions are deeply golden and have a soft, sticky, marmalade consistency. The onions will need almost constant stirring at the end to prevent them from stickeng and burning. Stir in the rosemary and pequin chile. Remove from heat and season generously with pepper and more salt if desired. Set aside and allow onion mixture to cool.

4. Preheat oven to 400.

5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and crema. Set aside.

6. Take your dough out the the fridge. Divide the dough in half (rewrap and chill or freeze other half until needed (for future recipe?) )  Roll out the crust so it's round and 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured work surface. Carefully roll the crust around the rolling pin and transfer to the tart pan. Gently press the dough into the pan, then roll the pin over the top of the pan to trim exess dough and create a smooth surface.

7. Put the crust in oven for 7 minutes. Take out, but keep oven on.

8. Take your bowl with your eggs/crema mixture and pour into the cooled pan with the onions. Stir well. Now pour this into the prepared crust. Bake until the filling and crust are golden and the filling has set (about 25 minutes). Let cool about 10 minutes and serve!

(During the last 10 minutes of baking, you can also add some shredded white cheddar or parm cheese to the top!)

once you make your dough, roll in a ball and stick in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes 
1 T fresh chopped rosemary

2 lbs of onions sauteing in bacon grease, butter and salt OH MY

Once onions are caramelized, add the rosemary and chile and pepper/salt

Roll out dough

Put in tart pan and bake for 7 mins

whisk together eggs and crema

Pour eggs and crema mixture into pan of cooled onions

Pour mixture into crust that has baked for 7 minutes. Put back into oven for about 25 minutes


ENJOY!