What's For Dinner?

I am always looking for new (and easy) recipes-

One thing we are having tonight is steamed butternut squash. I peel the squash, scoop it, cut it up and put it in the steamer for 35 minutes. The kids love it without anything added. The 11 month old loves to feed it to herself!

We are also having sweet Italian turkey sausage, which I cook covered in a pan with about an inch of water for 15-20 minutes. Both kids love it cut up into small pieces.


So, what are you having for dinner tonight?

 

If anyone would be interested I would be happy to share some of my recipes of middle eastern cuisine.

Additionally, I highly recommend "Taste of Home" and "Quick Cooking" as two of the best cooking magazines with outstanding recipes.

Oh yes, in answer to your question, tonight we had saudi rice and chicken (roz wa dijaj) and another Saudi dish called "jureesh" (phonetic pronounciation). It is a dish whose base is similar to that of barley and then meat and spices are added to it.

 

I would love some quick and easy recipes. I have tried recipes from "Quick Cooking" but they don't usually turn out the way they look in the photos. I did get a really great recipe from them for cooking a turkey breast in the crock-pot. I welcome any good crock-pot recipes.

Carol, post the recipe for the Saudi rice and chicken. It sounds great.

I must admit that I hate to cook and I can never think of what to fix for dinner. It is such a burden; any help would be appreciated. Someone told me that I should drink wine while I cook to relieve the stress.

 

Karrie, I like one-pot meals too, and particularly those that lead to other meals! In winter, one of my favorite "walk away" cooking events (which could surely be done in a crockpot) is to take a pot roast, and put it in a dutch oven with a sliced onion, some celery tops, a bay leaf, garlic, some peppercorns, and a dash of salt. As time gets closer to meal, adding as appropriate small whole potatoes, small whole onions, lengths of carrot and celery. I serve it out as a boiled dinner, and the contents usually make two full meals for our family. You could do that in crockpot by combining all of the above in the morning and letting it cook on low while at work or doing other things. The water added pretty much makes gravy instead of stock, or at least that's how it worked for my dad, who was a big crockpot man when he lived alone.

To get another meal out of that event, I strain and reserve the stock created by the boiled dinner, saute a mess of sliced onions in a bit of butter, dust with a spoon of flour and stir to soak up the juices, and add the pile of onions to the beef stock to cook into some pretty darn good onion soup. French or Italian bread toast with grated swiss or cheese of your preference heated on top of a big bowl, the rest of the loaf, and a nice salad. Three or more days of filling good stuff for winter weather, and boy does it feel good to walk in from the cold and smell that pot of stuff doing its thing!

Walk-away cooking (and homemade soup) is my winter mantra. Smells good, feels good, tastes good!

Barbara Munsey, from South Riding.

 

Okay...I'm going to advise on how to make "Saudi Kupsa" which is a traditional and very easy one dish meal!

Ingredients:

1 large onion
2 medium tomatoes
2 cups basmati rice
package of chicken (can be boneless breasts; chicken legs or assorted pieces)
salt (amount based on your own tastes)
pepper (amount based on your own tastes)
dill (teaspoon)
dried lemons
olive oil


First, place rice into a dish and let it soak. Fill tea kettle with water and let it heat to boil. Put enough olive oil into bottom of large sauce pan to cover bottom of pan. Chop the onion into small pieces and add to sauce pan. Let onions fry until golden and tender. Chop tomatoes and add tomatoes to onions only after onions are golden. Let onions and tomatoes fry until tomatoes are at the juicy stage. Add the chicken to this mix. After chicken has been cooking with the onions and tomatoes for about 10 minutes, add salt, pepper, dill and dry lemons.

Once chicken is tender you have two options: either leave chicken in the pot to cook with rest of the meal or remove chicken and place on shallow baking dish and put in oven on a low broil.

Drain and add rice to mixture. Add boiling water so that it covers the rice. Cover and let simmer over a slow heat until rice is tender and fluffy.

I usually serve on a platter and sprinkle saffon over top of rice mix.

bon appetite!

 

Now as we know, no meal is complete without dessert.....This is one of the easiest recipes to make and a favorite in my house:

Creamy Cappucino Mousse:

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese softened
1/2 cup cold milk
1 cup strong brewed creme brulee flavored coffee, room temperature (creme brulee flavored is available from Wegmans; you can sub with regular brewed coffee as well)
1 pkg (3.4 oz) instant french vanilla pudding mix
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 carton (8 oz) frozen creamy whipped topping, thawed, divided
additional ground cinnamon (or can substitute shaved chocolate)

In a large mixing bowl, beat the chream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in milk until blended. Gradually beat in coffee. Add pudding mix and cinnamon; whisk for 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in 2 cups whipped topping. Spoon into six dessert dishes. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with remaining whipped topping and additional cinnamon (or chocolate shavings). Yield: 6 servings.

 

Thanks Barbara and Carol. I am going to try both recipes.

 

Carol,

Do you have a recipe for authentic Hummus and one for Tabouleh? Hope my spelling was ok?

Thanks

 

Hi there! Here's a few for ya:

Hummus bi Tahina (Chicken Puree with Tahina)

1 1/4 cups chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight.
Juice of 2 - 2 1/2 lemons, or to taste.
2 or 3 cloves garlic, crushed.
salt
4 - 5 tablespoons tahina (sesame paste)


Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1.5 hours, or until they are very soft. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Blend to a puree in the food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and a little of the cooking water -- enough to have a soft creamy paste. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add more lemon juice, garlic, or salt if necessary. Pour the cream into a flat dish, add a small amount of olive oil to the top and serve with arab bread or pita.

Tabbouleh (parsley & bulgur salad)

1/2 cup fine or medium-ground bulger (cracked wheat)
juce of 1-2 lemons to taste
4 firm ripe tomatoes, diced
salt & pepper
4 scallions, thinly sliced or chopped
2 cups flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped by hand
2/3 cup finely chopped mint
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Bibb lettuces or heart of a romaine lettuce to garnish

Soak the bulgur in plenty of fresh cold water for 10 minutes. Rinse in a colander and press the excess water out. Put the bulgur in a bowl with the lemon juice and the tomatoes. Leave for 30 minutes to absorb the lemon and tomato juices and until the grain is tender. Mix gently with the rest of the ingredients.

 

Karrie,

Whenever you're stumped on what to fix for dinner tonight and wanting to use what you have on hand, check out the website www.foodnetwork.com It will even help you with dinner suggestions based on your ingredients on hand.

 

Carol,

Thanks a bunch, we have always wanted to try these two delicacies at home but were always hesitant to try just any recipe. Now, thanks to your traveled palate I am sure these two should be great! Is adding paprika on the center just a way to garnish it? I have seen this done in a few places. Last question, have you ever cooked with harissa? I believe its used as a condiment. Every can I have ever picked at the Mediterranean markets to read, just reads the ingridients and not what to use it on.

 

You're welcome!

Yes, paprika is just another way to garnish it and does look nice.

no, I have not cooked with harissa but let me ask around and see what I learn about it.

Regarding arab markets, locally I'll go to the Medina market in Herndon which is in the same plaza as Kmart. But my favorite is a market in Alexandria. I'll have to get the name and address from my spouse and post it up here. If they do not have a specific item they'll order it for you.

And last, here is the best place for catering if you want excellent mid-eastern cuisine Al-Nakheel, located right on 123 just past the intersection w/ Lawyers road as if you are heading towards the metro.

 

Meat and potatoes. And a huge bowl of french vanilla ice cream.

 

Anybody out there know how to make some good Indian food?...

 

Kat,

I used to live in India and if you are interested, email me and I'd be happy to let you borrow some of the cookbooks I collected. Although I have to confess, it is so common when living in the 3rd world for one to have a cook that I really didn't learn how to prepare any of the dishes authentically so I can't offer much advise.

 

The mousse looks very yummy.
I would love to try these other recipes too...

Does anyone have any interesting home made cookie recipes to share?
I have a good recipe for Baklava using the new phylo dough.

 

Hey Sk8r, I'd love to have the baklava recipe!

 

Baklava is a mess but very tasty. I'm not a big fan of cooking with phylo dough.

 

Here it is. Sorry it took so long.
It is a project but a fun one I think. Something everyone should try once atleast

Baklava
1 (8 ounce) package phyllo dough
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter (OR ¾ cup butter & ¼ cup canola oil)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup honey


· Preheat oven to 350º F (175º C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.


· Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Trim whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 1/4 to1/3 of nut mixture on top. Top with three sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.


· Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts.


· Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack while it is baking.


· Make sauce while baklava is baking. Heat sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.


· Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.


FYI, this is not an ‘exact science’ recipe.  Use how ever much phyllo dough you have and don’t agonize.  It's a relatively easy recipe, if you can get used to handling the phyllo dough.

 

Kat

What Indian recipe are you looking for? I can help you with vegetarian recipes .