Tinfoil Chef

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Has anyone noticed a jump in comment spam lately? I certainly have. One of the more annoying things about blogging is dealing with spam. There’s the mostly inane, generic comments like “good job”, “nice post”, “great post” and so on that are nothing more than blatant excuses to drop a link in a comment.

They’re something that you get to see quite a bit when blogging, especially if you have more than one blog. Thankfully, the Akismet plugin combined with the Simple trakback validation plugin and the “Bad behavior” plugins weed out most of it.

Worse than that are the ones that look genuine enough to pass the anti-spam tools and have to be dealt with manually. I’d rather fill out retail resumes with a 1/4 inch long piece of pencil lead, or better yet, locating new and interesing recipes to share like this One Dish Wonder Casserole.

In a bowl, combine a pound of browned and drained ground turkey, a cup of diced onion, and a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with the liquid, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of salt.

Use your favorite non-stick cooking spray to coat a 3 quart casserole and then spoon the mixture into it.

On top of it, add 2 cups of diced potatoes, 1/3 cup of flour, 10oz of corn, 10oz of beans (lima or green) and a large green bell pepper cut into strips on top.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle a cup and a half (or more!!) of cheddar cheese and continue baking, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.

1 pound of ground meat that’s been ground and drained
(I prefer ground turkey but you can use ground beef as well)
1 cup chopped onions (about 1 medium-large onion diced up)
1 28 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of diced potatoes
1/3 cup of all-purpose flour
10 oz corn
10 oz frozen lima beans (I’d substitute green beans because I’m not thrilled with limas)
1 large bell pepper cut into strips
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Technorati Tags: casserole, recipe, ground beef, cheddar cheese, ground turkey, cheese, one dish wonder

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There are probably as many variation of chili as there are people who make it. One thing that I’ve seen that’s pretty consistent is that those who make any variety of “Texas Chili” will almost always abide by the unwritten rule that states simply:

Texans do not put beans in chili.

Start by triming the fat from a couple pounds of stew meat. Then cut it into bite sized chunks and brown it.

Next chop up an onion, a jalapeno pepper and a couple cloves of garlic. Put everything into a pot along with two tablespoons of chili powder. Add a can of tomato sauce and then refill the can with water and add that to the pot. Add Salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer until meat is tender. The actual time will vary depending on the amount and size of the pieces of stew meat. Generally this is the kind of dish that needs to simmer for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend properly. You can’t hurry a good chili.

Technorati Tags: alamo chili, texas chili, recipe, chili, no beans

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Because my jaw has been hurting for the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about softer foods such as soups because there’s seldom been a soup that had enough crunch in it to bother sensitive teeth. Not only that, but this one just plain sounds good. It’s also great for the cold weather that I know is coming. Especially since it’s looking like some cold weather might arrive early this year (here’s hoping I’m wrong about that!)

Melt a couple tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan, stir in two tablespoons of flour and cook that for about 3 minutes over low a heat while stirring constantly. Then set it aside to cool

Wash and trim off tough parts of a bunch (about 10oz or so) of fresh broccoli (you can also thaw out a bag of frozen broccoli florets and use them.) Cut the broccoli into 1/2 inch pieces.

Fine chop a small onion and then saute it in 2 tablespoons butter until it’s tender. Stir in the broccoli pieces and cook 3 for minutes. Stir in 1 qt. of chicken stock or broth and heat to simmering.

Stir small amount of the liquid into the cooked flour and butter mixture until it’s smooth. When it is, return the flour mixture to the broccoli & onions, stirring until the whole thing is smooth. Cover it and simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 30 minutes or so.

Next remove it from the heat and cool slightly. Puree it in a blender or food processor and return it the pan. Blend a half cup of heavy cream into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste and it’s ready to serve.

Top this off with some oyster crackers and it’s ready to warm you up on a cold day

Technorati Tags: cream of broccoli, creamed soup, broccoli soup, soup, recipe

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The casserole is one of those great dishes that let you create most of a meal at once. What’s special about this one is that it’s not everyday you find one made with spaghetti.

While this is getting ready, preheat the oven to 350 and start water boiling for pasta When the water’s boiling get a package of spaghetti cooking. Drain it when it’s done and have it ready.

Brown a pound of hamburger (ground turkey works great too!), breaking it up along the way so that it’s crumbly.

Chop a couple of medium onions, two stalks of celery and a green bell pepper and add that to the meat. Cook this for about three minutes or so until the onions start to soften a bit and turn clear.

Add a cup of diced tomatoes and simmer another few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a buttered two quart casserole combine the pasta and sauce. At this point the original recipe calls for a couple teaspoons of blue cheese to go in there as well. However since I would rather eat a Linksys router than use blue cheese, I humbly suggest parmesan cheese instead.

Finally sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on top. Then it’s into the oven for twenty minutes.

Technorati Tags: spaghetti, casserole, recipe, spaghetti casserole, ground turkey

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I’ve enjoyed seafood as far back as I can remember. Everything from canned tuna and frozen fish sticks to baked Cod, fish & chips to things like lobster and crab. Heck, I’ve even had shark! (hey, on a plate is the only place to encounter one of those without needing to run after fresh term life insurance quotes first.)

This recipe is built around using a marinade to give the fish additional flavor and moisture before it’s cooked. This makes it a good meal to plan ahead for because you’ll want the salmon to soak in the marinade for up to eight hours or so.

The marinade is made up of 1/2 cup soy sauce, 2 teaspoon dark sesame oil, Juice of 2 oranges, 2 tablespoons of honey, 2 tablespoon ginger that’s been peeled and minced, 1/2 cup of chopped scallions, 2 teaspoon of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds. Mix everything in a large bowl and then refrigerate for at least an hour before using it.

After the marinade has chilled, put a couple of 1/2 inch thick salmon steaks in a large zip lock bag, add the marinade and seal the bag tightly. Put it back in to the refrigerator. Ideally for eight hours but if time is a factor try to let it soak for as long as possible. Certainly no less than 15 minutes.

Preheat your grill and give it a good coating with non stick spray to make sure the fish doesn’t stick to it. Grill the salmon on a medium high heat for three to four minutes and then turn it over and give it four minutes or so on the second side.

When you turn the salmon onto the second side, take half of a pineapple, cut it into spears and add it to the grill. You’ll want to turn it fairly often but not so quickly that grill marks don’t show up. Cook the Pineapple for about two or three minutes or until the grill marks are pretty much on all sides without letting it get dried out.

Technorati Tags: salmon, fish, teryiaki, marinade, recipe, grilled fish, teryiaki mariniade, seafood, grilled salmon

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I was surfing around looking for interesting recipes when this one showed up on allrecipes.com titled simply “Outer Banks Style Clam Dish”

You start with 1/3 pound of fatback diced (Personally I’d probably use bacon instead) and cook it in a skillet over a medium-high heat until it’s good and crisp. Remove the pieces and keep them to one side for use later.

Cut the heat back to medium and add a large diced onion. Saute the onion in the bacon (or fatback) grease until they’ve turned transparent. Dice up 4 medium red potatoes and stir them into the onions. Be sure that the potatoes are thoroughly coated with the bacon grease.

Season generously with black pepper and pour in an 8oz bottle of clam juice. Cover and simmer at a medium heat for about 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are simmering, chop about 24 shucked clams into pieces. Add clams (with their liquid) to the potatoes during the last 3 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with the crispy bits of bacon sprinkled over the top.

Technorati Tags: clams, outer banks clams, clam chowder, clam recipe, clam dish, recipe

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This is something that I sorta threw together one morning when I was in a mood for something that was a bit different and packed a little bit of a kick. At the same time I wasn’t wanting anything so hot that it’d make itself known on the blood pressure monitor either.

What I ended up with was very satisfying and tasty with just a bit of crunch and with the aroma of curry that I’ve come to love quite a bit. There’s really nothing quite like the smell you get when curry powder first hits hot food. What’s really great about it is that it tastes very much like it smells.

I was rummaging around and found some frozen bits of breaded “popcorn” chicken and decided to use that. I started the skillet heating up with some olive oil in it. (butter works good too)

While that was warming up I chopped a couple stalks of celery and added it to the skillet. Then I diced up a medium onion and tossed it in with the celery. We also had some green bell peppers that I had chopped up and frozen a few days earlier so I added roughly half a cup or so of that.

Next came the popcorn chicken, roughly half to 3/4 cup of it added to the mix. I gave this a good stirring to make sure nothing’s sticking and let it cook on a medium heat while I got out some fresh spinach. I chopped up a good size handful and stirred it into the skillet.

When it’s just about done I give it a liberal sprinkling of curry powder and stir that in and let it cook another minute or so. I consider this to be one of my own variations on a “Breakfast of Champions”. Though it would also make a perfectly good addition to any meal (or midnight snack!).

Technorati Tags: breakfast of champions, stir fry, curry, veggies, recipe, breakfast, chicken

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Sometimes I just want to sit down to a good hearty bowl of soup. Corn Chowder is one of those that fills the bill just exactly. It’s great all year round but it’s double good on a cold day.

Fry up six slices of bacon until it’s crisp. Then remove the bacon and set it aside. Saute a half cup of finely chopped onion in the bacon drippings until they’re transparent but not quite starting to turn brown.

Cook 2 cups of diced raw potatoes in a cup and a half of water and t teaspoons of salt, the sauted onion and the bacon (crumbled) in a covered pan until tender. Add 1/8 teaspoon of pepper and 2 cup of cream style corn.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and mix it with 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir in 3 cups of milk and cook until slightly thickened. Then add it to the corn mixture.

Garnish with some chopped parsley, shredded cheese or corn chips on top.

Serve piping hot and be prepared for people to ask for seconds
(makes about 6 servings)

Technorati Tags: potatoes, corn chowder, soup, bacon, recipe, chowder

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I like seafood, always have. Though I’m not into fishing, I’d rather get my seafood in the supermarket than to spend who knows how long on the shores of a river or lake with only three fish in it or worse yet using inflatable boats or something like that to go out on the water and get seasick while I’m busy not catching anything.

Much better is the idea of just popping over to a store and buying what I need and getting down to the making (and later eating) of something good. This clam chowder recipe is a good one to start going in the slow cooker in the morning and have it for a hearty meal in the evening.

Start out with either four 6 1/2 oz cans of clams or 3 pounds fresh or frozen. If it’s frozen, thaw it and cut into bite sized pieces.

Saute 1/2 pound of bacon and a large diced onion until golden brown and then drain it and add it to the slow cooker along with the clams.

Add 6 to 8 large cubed potatoes, 3 cups of water, 3 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender.

In the last hour of cooking, combine 2 cups of milk with the 4 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add to slow cooker with another 2 cups of milk and stir well. Serve in large bowls with crusty French bread.

Technorati Tags: seafood, clam chowder, recipe, slow cooker

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This casserole is a great breakfast dish when served with a side of eggs but it also works just as well for lunch or supper with whatever side dish you prefer.

While you’re doing the prep, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Saute a chopped onion over medium heat until it’s just beginning to caramelize. Then two pounds of breakfast sausage (we use the one pound rolls of mild but you can use whatever kind suits your taste.) Once the sausage is cooked and crumbled, drain away as much grease as possible. and then stir in eight ounces of cream cheese until it’s melted.

In a 9×13x2 baking dish, open a can of crescent rolls and press them together to make a crust and spread it across the bottom of the baking dish.

Spread the sausage and cream cheese mixture over the bottom crust. Use another can of crescent rolls to make a top crust and spread it across the to of the sausage and cream cheese mixture, stretching it to reach the sides of the dish. Then melt a stick of butter and drizzle it over the top crust.

Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees. When it’s done the rolls will be a golden brown color.

Cut it into squares and it’s ready to serve.

Technorati Tags: chopped onion, cream cheese, baking, casserole, lunch, crescent rolls, eggs, butter, main dish, breakfast

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