Saturday, April 30, 2011

Cooking : Atlas Mountain Soup

Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 pound ground lamb
4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large green bell pepper, sliced
1 pound tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon white sugar
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions
Soak the apricots in water for 2 hours or more until soft; drain.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, cinnamon, cumin, and paprika; cook and stir for 1 minute. Raise the heat to medium-high, crumble in the ground lamb, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until browned. Stir in the drained apricots, celery, green pepper, and tomato.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave 5 - 6 strips of rind off the lemon and add to the soup with the juice of the lemon. Stir in the water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently for half an hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cooking : Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients
2 slices bread
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions
Remove the crust from the bread and cut into 1-in. cubes. Place in a greased 8-in. square baking dish. In a skillet, brown the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Sprinkle the sausage and cheese over bread cubes.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over the sausage and cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Cooking : Asian Glazed Chicken Thighs

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice vinegar
5 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup soy sauce (such as Silver Swan�)
1/4 cup Asian (toasted) sesame oil
3 tablespoons Asian chili garlic sauce
3 tablespoons minced garlic
salt to taste
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon chopped green onion (optional)

Directions
Whisk the vinegar, honey, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, garlic, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Pour half the marinade into a large plastic zipper bag; retain the other half of the sauce. Place the chicken thighs into the bag containing marinade, squeeze all the air out of the bag, and seal. Shake a few times to coat chicken; refrigerate for 1 hour, turning bag once or twice.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Pour the other half of the marinade into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, to thicken sauce. Remove the chicken from the bag; discard used marinade. Place chicken thighs into a 9x13-inch baking dish, and brush with 1/3 of the thickened marinade from the saucepan.
Bake 30 minutes, basting one more time after 10 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into a chicken thigh should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). Let stand for 5 or 10 minutes; meanwhile, bring remaining marinade back to a boil for 1 or 2 minutes, and serve chicken with marinade. Sprinkle with green onions.

Cooking : Baked Crumbled Chicken

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 (3 1/2) pound broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

Directions
In a shallow bowl or large resealable plastic bay, combine cornflakes, parsley, paprika, salt, basil and pepper. In another bowl, beat eggs and milk. Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture, then coat generously with crumb mixture. Place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Drizzle with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and juices run clear.

Cooking : Apple Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups finely chopped peeled apples
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons cold butter or margarine

Directions
In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.