The Great FJ Recipe Thread

[OkToBeTakei]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshmallow-flu ... B0005YMV1W

Terribly glad it is not used.

[Aisling]

They sell marshmallow fluff in TK Maxx for about two quid I think? I've seen it in the run up to Christmas a few times.

I'm currently doing gammon in brown sugar in my slow cooker. I have heard great things about it so better not be disappointed :D

[samithemage]

I made apple pie tonight for the first time in years. Taste wise it turned out pretty delicious, but the filling is much runnier than I was expecting. Anybody have any tips or tricks?

[browngrl]

Is there such thing as an easy fudge recipe? Preferably one without marshmallow fluff because I don't know what that is and I'm scared to ask.

I knew my obsession with fundies would pay off!

Just this week I read a post on a fundie blog about fudge. I have not tried this recipe (my hip size precludes fudge at the moment) but it is fundie approved.

michelleslittlepieceofheaven.blogspot.ca/

(edited to add: the recipe is the Dec 4th post)

[teddybear]

I made this tonight for Aaron and I. It was incredible!

Honey Pork

I never have been very good at recreating Chinese recipes at home. They taste "ok", but nothing really all that special. However I recently came across a very simple recipe that sounded incredible, so decided to try it. I took a basic recipe and made some changes. It turned out fantastic. Aaron loved it too. Here is what I came up with.

1 1/2 pounds of boneless pork loin chops

(leave whole or slice or cut into cubes)

1/3 cup rice wine

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. grated or finely chopped fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1-2 serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped or 1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper

3 green onions, washed and trimmed, then finely chopped

Spray cooking spray on a large skillet, then heat over medium heat. When heated add the pork and fry until well browned (if using whole pork chops, cook about 2-3 minutes on each side). When well browned, remove from the skillet and set aside. While the pork is cooking, mix together everything except the green onions. When you remove the pork from the skillet, add this mixture and simmer about 3 minutes. Return the pork to the skillet and continue cooking until the liquid thickens and turns into a nice glaze. Add the green onions and remove from heat. Serve with steamed or fried rice.

If you don't care for pork, use diced raw chicken in place of the pork. Everything else would be the same.

[cindyluvs24]

i'm glad yr feeling better and cooking!

[Bethella]

I made apple pie tonight for the first time in years. Taste wise it turned out pretty delicious, but the filling is much runnier than I was expecting. Anybody have any tips or tricks?

Adding a little flour mixed in with the sugar and cinnamon.

[teddybear]

i'm glad yr feeling better and cooking!

Thank you, me too!

[teddybear]

I made a delicious breakfast casserole this morning. I chopped a small onion and a seeded green chile. I took a large non-stick skillet, sprayed with cooking spray and lightly browned the onion and chile. Then I added about a cup of diced ham and browned that as well. Finally, I added 3 cups of cubed, pre-cooked potatoes. When all were lightly browned, I placed them in a greased 9x9 inch pan. Then I beat 4 eggs with about a half cup of milk. I seasoned the egg mixture with some garlic powder and paprika. Then I poured the eggs over the potatoes, then sprinkled 1 1/2- 2 cups of grated cheese over the top. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, or bake until a knife stuck in the center comes out clean and the cheese is lightly browned. I allowed it to cool about 10 minutes, then ate it with some picante sauce on top. It was quite tasty. This recipe can be doubled to feed more people. It is also a very good lunch or supper dish as well.

You can replace with ham with cooked bacon or sausage or use turkey ham, bacon or sausage if you don't eat pork.

[teddybear]

My Mom's (and Grandma's) Cornbread Dressing

I love good dressing. My family never stuffed the turkey or chicken when roasting, the dressing was always either cooked in a separate pan or placed under the mostly cooked turkey. I always preferred it in a separate pan, as I liked the crusty top, bottom and edges. Mama's dressing was always done the same way and was very simple. Stale cornbread, stale white bread, onions, eggs, celery, sage, black pepper, chicken/turkey broth and lots of fat, either butter or chicken/turkey fat. It was always delicious. I never asked my mom how she made it and it has taken me several years to figure out her secret. The most important part is the correct balance of cornbread and white bread, which I learned (by trial and error) is 4 parts stale cornbread to 1 part stale white bread. Here is what I came up with, this will make enough for a 9x13 inch pan of dressing. Oh and the difference between stuffing and dressing? It is the same stuff! Stuffing is stuffed inside the turkey (well, duh!) and dressing is when it is baked separately.

I bake a pan of cornbread the night before and after the oven has cooled off, just leave the pan in the oven overnight or until whenever the next day you are making the dressing. An 8x8 inch pan of cornbread gives you just enough for this recipe. As for the stale white bread, I often buy a bag of rolls from the discount shelf at the store. They are usually just right for this recipe.

8 cups stale cornbread, crumbled

2 cups stale white bread, crumbled

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

about 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped (I like to use the inner core with the leafy greens)

2 eggs

1 tbsp. crumbled dried sage (finely chopped fresh sage if you happen to have some) or to taste

1/2 tsp. black pepper or to taste

1/4 cup butter or chicken/turkey fat or mixture of the two

chicken or turkey broth, 3-6 cups, as you like

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

In a large dutch oven heat the butter or fat and then saute the onion and celery until lightly browned, do not allow to scorch. While that is cooking, take a very large bowl and add the cornbread, white bread, sage and black pepper. When the vegetables are done, add about a cup of the chicken broth to deglaze the pan, then pour it all into the breads and seasoning. Add another 2 cups chicken broth and the eggs, then stir to mix well. Add more broth until you get it to the correct consistency, this will depend on if you like a dryer or moister dressing. I like mine very moist, so I add enough broth until it is very wet and slightly soupy. Spoon or pour into your greased baking dish and smooth out the top. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until it is well browned and crusty. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

One thing I like to do for a main dish when I don't want to go to the trouble of roasting a chicken or cook a turkey, is to make chicken and dressing in one dish. I will buy a deli roast chicken from the store, take the meat off the bone and reserve. I put the bones and skin in a dutch oven and simmer with packaged chicken broth (about 2 quarts), an onion (washed and halved, but skin left on), a couple carrots and some celery. After simmering for 45-60 minutes, strain and discard the solids. I make up my dressing mixture, using the broth (saving back 2 cups for gravy) from the bones. I put half of the dressing mixture in my baking dish, then top with the chicken meat, spreading it out evenly, then top with the rest of the dressing mixture. Bake as before. I then make some gravy with the reserved broth (3 tbsp. oil or butter heated, then adding 2 heaping tbsp. flour, make a roux, brown lightly, then whisk in the 2 cups chicken broth, cook until thick.)

Last night I made the chicken and dressing mentioned above. Aaron and I ate half of the pan for supper, then Aaron had more during the night. It is pretty darned good. For you vegetarians, omit the chicken broth and use vegetable broth instead. Use butter, margarine or oil if you don't do dairy. You could also add other vegetables, like some chopped, partially pre-cooked carrots or other root vegetables.

[AuntCloud]

Can anyone recommend a good veggie burger recipe? of course there are bazillions of these out there, but I trust y'all more than I trust some random blog.

Teddybear - your posts are thoroughly enjoyable :-)

[teddybear]

Teddybear - your posts are thoroughly enjoyable :-)

Thank you! That is very kind of you to say, I'm happy you enjoy them!

[teddybear]

Vegetable Fried Rice

I love Chinese food, but it is something I just have not had much luck making at home. Even the simple fried rice has eluded me, until now. I recently came across a recipe for a homestyle fried rice (which I adapted to what I had on hand) that turned out just the way I had imagined it would and how I dreamed it would. I like to pair this with the honey glazed pork I posted earlier. I don't think you will be disappointed.

2 ½ tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 piece ginger root, peeled and chopped

2 eggs, beaten

¼ tsp. sesame oil

¼ tsp soy sauce

1 cup peas

1 cup carrots

1/2 onion, sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced on the diagonal

4 cups cooked rice, cooled

3 tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Pour 1 tbsp. oil in a nonstick pan, then add the finely chopped celery, chopped onions, ginger and garlic then cook until starting to brown a bit. Remove from pan and set aside. Let the pan cool a bit and while it does so, combine the following: the egg, ¼ tsp. sesame oil and ¼ tsp. soy sauce. Add ½ tsp of the oil to the pan and then pour in the egg mixture, spreading it thinly over the bottom of the pan. Scramble until done. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and return the onions, garlic and ginger to the pan, with the sliced onion, sliced celery, peas and carrots. Stir fry for a minute or two, then add the remaining ingredients and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the cooked eggs and toss for another minute, allow to sit covered for 5-10 minutes, then serve.

For the peas and carrots, I just use a small bag of frozen peas and carrots, thawing in warm water, then draining well. If you want to add some chicken, just stir fry some chopped fresh chicken when you stir fry the sliced onion, celery, peas and carrots. For beef or pork, chop some leftover cooked beef or pork and add when you would add the vegetables. For shrimp, add them at the very last, when you add the rice. Cook until the shrimp are just pink, they will continue to cook when the fried rice is resting.

[teddybear]

Oops! in the fried rice recipe I forgot to put how much ginger root, it should be 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped.

[NeonJungle]

Nom nom nom. Now I'm hungry.

[wtylcf]

I made apple pie tonight for the first time in years. Taste wise it turned out pretty delicious, but the filling is much runnier than I was expecting. Anybody have any tips or tricks?

A dash of tapioca pearls will make the liquid solidify into a more jelly-like texture when the pie cools a bit, which helps keep the crust from getting soggy, and it won't change the taste.

[theologygeek]

Last night I made homemade salisbury steaks and gravy. It is better than the recipes that are out there. The man who owns a meat market near me told me what to put in it. He said that he used to make these in the college cafeteria and they were a big hit. He sells them pre seasoned in his store. I don't have measurements but it's very easy to do by eye. I also did these in the crockpot. They were so soft and flavorful. You could make them in a frying pan if you don't want to use the crockpot, but they do come softer in the crockpot. A cheap meal that is hearty comfort food.

1 egg for every pound of ground beef you use

garlic powder

salt and pepper

onion powder

breadcrumbs (seasoned is better than plain)

Mix everything in a bowl with your hands. Shape into oval patties. Make the patties thick. Put some oil in a frying, a chopped onion, and the patties. First saute the onions. Very lightly brown the patties on both sides. Throw everything from the frying pan into the crockpot. Add brown gravy, homemade or jar. Add enough gravy to cover the patties. Cook in crockpot 4 hours on high. Serve with mashed potatoes. I also made green beans and homemade bread but a veggie is enough. If you want to do the frying pan method, do all steps and just simmer in gravy till done.

[NeonJungle]

YUM. When should I come over?

[theologygeek]

YUM. When should I come over?

Any time!

[NeonJungle]

Was under the weather today and was craving comfort food. I'm more of a savory than sweet person; my dad used to make great brownies, so I was all, "Need some comfort food." Found a great and easy brownie recipe, and added a bunch of semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Not for the caloric faint of heart, though.

1 1/4 c butter

4 eggs

2 c sugar

1 1/2 c flour

2 T vanilla (Oops! Just realized I forgot the vanilla, but they turned out great anyway.)

3/4 c cocoa

2 c nuts

(and I added about 1 or 1.5 c semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt butter; add cocoa and mix. Stir in sugar, and blend in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla (if you don't forget). Stir in flour and nuts. Bake in greased 9x13 for 30.

Got the recipe from about.com.

[RachelB]

This is what we had tonight. I am calling it cauliflower vindaloo-ish.

One cauliflower

1 28-oz can tomatoes

mustard oil or neutral vegetable oil with a high smoke point

1 tsp. brown mustard seeds

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 ½ inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced

1 tsp. powdered turmeric

½ tsp. each powdered coriander and powdered cinnamon

½ tsp. salt (plus more to taste)

¼ tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. tamarind paste or lemon juice (plus more to taste)

Steam the cauliflower 4-5 minutes, then cool. Meanwhile, puree the tomatoes and set aside, and measure out the spices, keeping the seeds separate from the powders. Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pot (possessing a lid) until it shimmers. Turn heat down to medium and add the seeds. Stir to coat evenly, and put the lid on if need be while the seeds pop. Add the ginger and fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ¾ of the tomatoes. Reserve the rest; you may or may not need it, depending on the size of the cauliflower.

Add the powdered spices, the salt, and the cayenne. Add the tamarind or lemon and stir to mix evenly. Add the cauliflower pieces and stir to coat, plus more tomato if need be. Cover and cook over medium heat until florets yield to a fork, but not until floppy. Taste for seasoning and adjust if need be.

Serve with rice.

If you are feeling fancy, you can thicken and protein-ify the sauce by making a roux with 3 Tbsp. of a neutral vegetable oil and 2 Tbsp. chickpea flour (besan), cooking it till it's nutty brown, then stirring it into the sauce until thickened, maybe two minutes. But it's easier to have it with something protein-rich (a dal dish would be good with it; I suspect if you eat meat a mellower meat or poultry dish would be, too).

[rhododactylos]

My efforts at getting to know people IRL generally involve offerings of food, so I thought I'd try to come out of the lurker closet similarly and offer a recipe (since I can see Chatter now, despite my post count). This is my go-to recipe for chicken: fairly simple to make, but not bland. I rarely measure anything for it, so the below is my best estimation on amounts.

Chicken Breasts with a Balsamic and Garlic Sauce

serves 2

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts (can sub chicken tenders). Boneless and skinless is faster/healthier, bone-in and skin-on more flavorful.

1/2 c. flour

a few tbsp. of cooking oil or fat

4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed (can sub minced garlic)

1/4 c. good balsamic vinegar

1 1/4 c. chicken stock

1-2 tablespoons of butter (optional)

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, mixed with 1 tbsp. water

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Dredge the chicken breasts in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. You want the thinnest coating possible.

Heat the oil/fat (I usually use olive oil, but canola works just as well) in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put the garlic cloves in the pan and saute until fragrant. Add the chicken and brown. Resist the temptation to turn the chicken too often-- the little brown bits left behind make the sauce more flavorful! When chicken is browned, move it to a baking dish and finish in the oven--time will depend on the thickness of the chicken and the quirks of your oven.

While the chicken is finishing-- Add the balsamic vinegar to the garlic and oil in the skillet. As the balsamic reduces, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. After 30 seconds or so, add the chicken stock. Turn the heat to medium-low. Add the butter, if using, and stir occasionally. Season, if desired, with more salt and pepper. (I have also added a pinch of sugar, for a sweeter sauce, or fresh rosemary with success). I like to wait to add the cornstarch and water mixture until I have taken the chicken out of the oven. Whisk the cornstarch and water mixture into the sauce. You can then return the chicken to the pan and coat with sauce, or pour over the chicken after plating. Fresh rosemary also makes a nice garnish.

I like to serve this with rice and early peas; asparagus would also pair nicely. This is my husband's favorite comfort-food meal. Enjoy!

[samurai_sarah]

Rhododactylos -

That sounds yummy. But is there anything I can use to replace the cornstarch? I'm being lazy here, and trying to work with what I have- flour/breadcrumbs/tempura mix? All other ingredients are present, so would you say that the cornstarch is vital? (Also, welcome out of lurkdom, and I never measure ingredients either. "Adapt to taste" is my motto. ;) )

[rhododactylos]

Flour and water would work! I'm gluten-free, so I use gluten-free flour for dredging, but cornstarch for thickening (because I think it turns out smoother that way) :)

And thanks for the welcome!

[samurai_sarah]

Flour and water would work! I'm gluten-free, so I use gluten-free flour for dredging, but cornstarch for thickening (because I think it turns out smoother that way) :)

And thanks for the welcome!

Thanks for getting back to me! I'll totally try that! Minus the cornstarch, because I'm too lazy to walk to the shops on a Sunday. :)