Why cooking Experiments

If you haven't figured out already most of my "recipes" are more like guidelines to make something that is relatively similar to what we made.   There are some recipes that I will place here but for the most part they are guidelines and the next time I make the dish I will not likely use the same recipe the same way.  I am in this house the combat kitchen cook.  If I don't have the right spices I am just as likely to make some orange spice tea add some vinigar and oil and place chicken in THAT to bake it than try to go out and buy the 1 or two other ingredients that I need.   For me this tends to work well however some people do much better with conventional recipes that do not get changed up as much.  for them I would suggest food.com.   If you are interested in trying this method and haven't ever done so instead of trying everything at once it may be a good idea to only change one thing or two in a recipe.  Substitute Soup noodles for rice in a soup dish or sausage for chicken  or both.   If you do something crazy and fun and want it featured comment and I would love to post it here (after trying a variation of my own) with other suggestions on how to make it 3 or 4 different ways.

Meat crustini type thing

Create Pie crust in the usual way

Brown your chosen ground meat (sausage, turkey, beef, lamb, TVP or other vegetarian substitute) with two eggs in the mix till meat is throughly browned and eggs are entigrated.  Add cheese of choice (we used blue cheese, feta and and turkey)
Pour mixture into pie crust center that has been rubbed with olive oil.  Place more cheese on top and wrap crust around meat filling so a hole is left at the top to see the filling.  Add more cheese to outside and bake.

This is not diet food.   This as far as I know can not be made into a vegan dish.  This is a weekend brunch food for our household and it's yummy.

Recommended HIGHLY!

Molten chocolate cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 8 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 5 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 4 teaspoons flour (or matzo meal, ground in a blender to a fine powder)
• 
  

Directions

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water; remove from heat. Beat eggs, sugar and salt with a hand mixer in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Beat egg mixture into chocolate until smooth. Beat in flour or matzo meal until just combined. (Batter can be made a day ahead; return to room temperature an hour or so before baking. adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 450 degrees. Bake until batter puffs but center is not set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully lift cakes from tin and set on a work surface.

Top with fruit or powered sugar and serve while still hot!

 makes 8 to 12

pear-berry muffins

I wish I could take credit for this!  I really do! But this one is all Michael's doing.  This was our breakfast this morning.  YUM!!!!
Ingredients
1/2 cup pear
2 oz margarine/butter
2 oz skim milk
2 1/2 cups baking mix
1/2 cup blackberries

Directions
Mix Pureed pears milk and Butter/margarine together then add baking mix and blackberries. Pour mixture into Muffin Tins and Bake 15 minutes at 350 or until tooth pick comes through clean.

No bake super quick chocolate pie (totally NOT VEGAN FRIENDLY)

1 Graham Cracker crust (we used chocolate)
2 cups Cookies and cream Ice Cream (I always use the low to no fat varieties)
3 cups instant make or premade Pudding (we use chocolate but you could use vanilla)
some home made whip cream or Fat free whip topping to your tastes

This should be self explanatory however: If using instant pudding Make the pudding first if not skip to -> Take crust place ice cream in bottom. Place pudding on top of that and whipped cream/whipped topping over that. Use chocolate bar and a microplane to pretty up the top. DONE!

Calories: Depends on what crusts/Ice Cream/Pudding/Toppings you use. Ours came away only being 200 calories and 1 gram of saturated fat but your mileage may vary.
Can and likely is Vegetarian friendly but is in NO WAY Vegan friendly.

Spinach pasta soup

Ingredients
2 lbs spinach
4 cups fat free vegetable broth
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
3 tbs of olive oil
1/2 cup Angel Hair pasta cooked
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Directions
Soften the onions and garlic in the olive oil and wilt the spinach. Pour the Broth over softened veggies. Bring To Boil reduce to simmer then add Pasta. Stir at low heat for 5 minutes serve with shredded mozzarella on top.
one set serves 6 people 171 calories and 3 grams of sat fat if you add the cheese
120 calories and 1 gram sat fat without

homemade pasta sauce

6 roma tomatoes (if you have more than 4 people I would suggest going up to 10 of those)Chopped tiny
1/4 green pepper also chopped tiny
1/6 normal sized red onion chopped tiny (to your taste if you like onion add more if not you don't need soo much)
Spices (oregeno and Basil are your two big ones rosemary and thyme to Just keep adding these through out the process till it tastes right)
Garlic 2 cloves finely chopped or pressed into the sauce
2 pureed tomatoes you could also use a can of tomato paste for this a splash or two of table wine if so desired(it will cook down so don't worry about kids and the wine)
  On medium heat combine the wine (or grape juice will work too) with the tomatoes  Add in the Onions peppers garlic and some of the spices.  heat till tomatoes will smish easily with utensils. Add in more spices and Tomato puree and taste add spices till it tastes right and continue to smish the veggies till the Sauce looks to be right.  Once it tastes and looks right pour on noodles add toppings and ENJOY! 

Pasta Brunch Scramble

1/4th cup of pasta for each person served

1.5 egg per Each person served

Good quality Parmesan shredded

Italian seasonings to taste

Mushrooms

1 section of garlic minced

Prepare Pasta as per normal to al dente.  Mix uncooked eggs, cheese, Mushrooms, garlic, and seasoning in a large bowl.  In a skillet place all ingredients on Medium High heat cooking the eggs to a soft scramble.  Serve

 

Lemon Shrimp pasta

• 2 pounds (17 to 21 count) shrimp pre-cooked
•  olive oil
• 1 pound angel hair pasta
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• Seasonings to taste

IIn a skillet take the frozen shrimp and sauté tiill Shrimp are finished cooking (1-3 minutes on medium). Drizzle some olive oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add the angel hair, and cook al dente, (3ish minutes). Drain the pasta, Quickly toss the angel hair with the melted butter, 1/4 cup olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and spices. Add the shrimp and serve hot.

Strawberry Rhubarb tartlets

Filling:

• 2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, fresh
• 2 1/2 cups de-stemmed, washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/4 cups for high altitude)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons butter, cubed small
• 1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• Large granule sugar
• 1 Ready Made Pie Crust

cut pie crust up into small pre-sprayed muffin tins.  
Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, flour, zest and juice of lemon, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl.  Pour mixture into small muffin crusts bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling. Higher altitude will take 450 degrees F and 400 degrees F respectively. Also, you can use a pie bird for extra decor. Let cool before serving.

Curry Sloppy Joes

Carrots, peas, tomatoes other veg

Curry spice

Ground Red Pepper

OR

one of those packets of vegetable curry

1lb of ground Meat (I use Turkey but you can use hamburger, turkey, vegtable protein ect)

BREAD

This is freaking simple.  Mash up your veggies and mix in your curry and red pepper seasonings. 

OR use the Packet
Stir veggie curry mash into lb of ground meat (or meat substitute)

Add more curry and red pepper seasonings to your level of heat and taste.

Cook together till thick sloppy joe consistancy.

Place on bread

DONE

total time 10 minutes 

Shrimp scampi

(I use pre-cooked shrimp for this as I am not adept at cooking sea-food)

1/2 lb of Shrimp 

Half a cup of white Wine

Some form Of Mediterranean Spice mix

Olive oil

Extra Spices to taste

Noodles of your favorite type

Fry Shrimp in Olive oil and white Wine Mixture till they are done or to desired texture adding Spices at beginning and end of Frying process... Also Drop Pasta into Water cook till a bit more el dente than would be served at then transfer to frying pan with shrimp and sauce mixture.  Toss for A minute or two.. DONE

Serve with same wine as table wine or with some form of Juice if you do not drink. 

greek snack pockets

Cup or so of Baby Spinach
1 small container of Marinated Artichoke hearts
8 oz of Feta Cheese
Seasonings to taste
1 pkg of Unsectioned Pillsbury Croissants dough

Chop spinach and artichoke hearts and mix with feta chese Cut dough into rectangles.  Place cheese and veggie mixture into the centers of rectangles and pinch edges together to make pockets.
Bake till dough has turned into brown crust
Serve
1 pkg makes about 6

Truffles

1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
1 bag of bittersweet to semi-sweet chocolate chips

seperate bag of chocolate chips

heat whipping cream and one bag of chocolate chips in a pan till all chocolate is melted.  For added darkness you may add bits of 100% chocolate.
Once melted pour into a container and cool till soft solid roll into balls and cool till ready to roll or dip


When ready to cover truffles they can be covered using powered sugar, nutmeg coffee ect as a powder and set aside or Dipped in warm tempered chocolate.

To temper Chocolate for dipping place chocolate in a heat conductive container above boiling water (where water can not get into chocolate)  Boil water in lower chamber melting the chocolate in upper chamber. Dip balls into mixture till covered then pull out either with a fork or truffle pulling device.  ENJOY

Welcome and first weekend's recipes

Hello, and welcome to my new Recipe blog.  That's right a blog about nothing but the experimental food we create in our kitchen.  Each recipe will include Saturated fat content (because I have to watch that) Ability to go vegetarian/Vegan and ratings from My sous chefs (aka my partner and sometimes the kiddos)

First on the list is my Saturday Brunch Pasta

Ingredients:

A pasta any type (I would not suggest egg noodles) use the recommended serving portions
1.5 eggs per person served
Spinach
Garlic
Pine nuts
olive oil
Italian seasonings
Sausage (can use gimmielean, turkey sausage, or if you are the full fat type (I'm not) Regular pork sausage) this part is optional


Using a blender or food processor combine seasonings, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and spinach till super finely processed (congrats you just made a pesto). Place pesto to the side.  Boil pasta el dente  and cook sausage crumbles till fully cooked. Place pasta sausage and pesto in frying pan with uncooked eggs and fry till mixture is both fully mixed together and fully cooked. ENJOY!!!

5 star review by partner as turkey meat dish.
Vegetarians yes this dish can be made by you either without sausage or by using veggie sausage
sat fat grams start at 3.5 and go to 6 for the veggie version 10 for the meat versions.
Swank diet rating 3 stars out of 5