New Secret Family Recipes

A couple of weeks ago my dad sent me these photos from a lovely breakfast he made for my mom.  He won’t share the recipes, but he wants to show off his culinary prowess.  So for your viewing pleasure, here are my dad’s most recent culinary masterpieces   Maybe if I’m lucky he’ll make them for me sometime, or share the recipes!  I don’t really know what they are or what to call them, I just know he used puff pastry.

Sausage & Puff pastry?

Berry Puff Pastry creation

I have been inspired by my dad’s breakfast creations, I think I may even whip up something special for Tyler this weekend!

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Soup soup wonderful soup

This recipe has been circulating the blog circuit just like the stew recipe from below, I knew the moment I laid eyes on this recipe I had to make it.  It combines my 2 favorite soups: potato and broccoli cheddar.  The bag boy’s efforts to thwart me failed (he didn’t give me my bag of produce so I was missing a bunch of ingredients).  I was committed to making this soup and made a second trip to the store, this time carefully watching as they bagged and loaded my groceries.  I would not lose my spuds again!  Tyler and I loved this recipe, next time I might add more seasoning, maybe more salt and pepper and some basil & thyme (which I usually put in my potato soup so I think it would work well for this too).  For a creamier consistency I might try fat free half and half next time instead of milk, although the 2% was somewhat thick, better than the skim milk we usually cook with.  I bought bread bowls from Panera because I go there a couple of times a week and have a strange pull to their bakery that is hard to resist!

Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup (original recipe from Cooking Light, posted on Annie’s blog first but I saw it for the first time over at Sugar & Spice )

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 (14.5-oz) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth, divided
3 cups cubed, peeled potato (1.25 lbs) – I used 3 medium potatoes, because I love potatoes
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped (I bought a bag of frozen broccoli florets and did not thaw before cooking)
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/4 cup reduced-fat 2% milk (could also use 1% or skim, but would have a thinner broth)
1 (8-oz) block 2% reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (do not buy the preshredded stuff, buy a block and shred yourself for the best results!)

Preparation:
Whisk flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth until smooth.

Combine remaining chicken broth and next 3 ingredients in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 8 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cooking, stirring often, 5 minutes.

Stir in milk and 8 oz. shredded cheese. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts.

Serve with additional shredded cheese, bacon bits and chopped scallions.

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another crock pot wonder

Oh crock pot, how I love thee on a cold autumn day when I am lazy and in need of a no fuss meal. I have never been a huge fan of stew, but when I saw this recipe over at Good Things Catered I was intrigued and knew I had to try it. It just looks so…tasty. I modified the original recipe for the crockpot and subbed beef broth for red wine, I’ve posted my version below. This was a delicious stew, I’m sad I left town after I made it and wasn’t able to enjoy the leftovers!

Hearty Beef Stew (original recipe found here, taken from America’s Test Kitchen)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
salt and ground pepper
1 medium onion, chopped coarse (about 2 c.)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1.5 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
1 can beef broth
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 medium red potatoes cut into 1-in. cubes
2 large carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick
1 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. minced parsley

Directions:
-Dry beef throughly and season with salt and pepper.
-Place all ingredients except for the peas and parsley to the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
-Add the peas and parsley and cook for another hour or until peas are tender.

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Cream of Comfort

Welcome to the new home of our food blog! We hope you find it easier to navigate and pleasing to the eye (and palate!)
It’s rare that I cook with cream of _(fill in the blank)__ soups, but I remembered making this recipe sometime last winter and was suddenly craving it. My favorite part are the biscuit “dumplings.” Mmm it is such an easy recipe and makes the whole house smell wonderful. Perfect on a cooler night when the seasons are beginning to change. It’s going to get down to 25 degrees tonight, unbelievable! We finally caved and turned on our heat so that we don’t wake up as little icicles in the morning. So if you are in the mood for a creamy and comforting chicken dish you might want to give this a try. Crock pots are a great tool for making easy and tasty meals.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (original recipe from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 (10 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces
• Veggies of your choice (a bag of frozen mixed veggies would work well)
• Enough chicken broth to cover the chicken.

Directions

1. Place the chicken, soup, and onion (and veggies if you so choose) in a slow cooker, and fill with enough chicken broth to cover.
2. Cover, and cook for 8-9 hours on low. About 1 hour before serving, place the torn biscuit dough in the slow cooker. Cook until the dough is no longer raw in the center.

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Lettuce Wraps

Well we were finally able to get together all the right ingredients to make this recipe properly. Last time I tried to make it I couldn’t find ground turkey or water chestnuts (Super Target is somewhat lacking as far as groceries go, but it’s so close and so convenient!) Tyler made this for us, I tend to shy away from all asian-inspired recipes. He makes all the stir frys for us, and come to think of it, all the fajitas too…couldn’t really tell you why, that’s just how we do it! I enjoyed this recipe, but it wasn’t really rave worthy. Despite lots of cornstarch we just couldn’t really get the liquid to thicken, so they were very messy and juicy lettuce wraps! We served them with rice to try to soak up some of the liquid. I think this is a good base recipe that could be tweaked to be made even better, I just don’t really know how since I’m not very experienced with these kinds of dishes!

Ground Turkey Lettuce Wraps (from sparkpeople.com)

Ingredients

Ground Turkey, 4 patty (4 oz, raw) (yield after cook (remove)
Cabbage, fresh, 1 cup, chopped (remove)
Onions, raw, .5 cup, chopped (remove)
Carrots, raw, .5 cup, chopped (remove)
Waterchestnuts (water chestnuts), 0.5 cup slices (remove)
*Canola Oil, 1 1tsp (remove)
*Kikkoman Lite Soy Sauce, 4 tbsp (remove)
Teriyaki Sauce, 100 grams (remove)
Green Peppers (bell peppers), .5 cup, strips (remove)
Chicken Broth, .5 cup (8 fl oz) (remove)

Directions
Brown the ground turkey in 1tsp oil. Add onion, carrot, and pepper. Add sauces and chicken broth. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add cabbage and water chestnuts, reseason if needed with more soy. The longer it simmers, the more flavor it will have.
Add 1T cornstarch slurry (with 1T water) if you’d like to thicken the sauce.
Serve with lettuce or rice.

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