Ingredient: mushrooms, chopped

Beef Stroganoff w/ Barley Risotto

Beef Stroganoff is a perfect dinner party dish – inexpensive and easy to prepare yet rich and luxurious. History reveals a simple but elegant dish of steak meat sautéed with onion and cooked in a sauce of sour cream, seasonings and usually, mushrooms.

This dish was invented sometime in the early 1800s and had its North American heyday in the 1950s and 1960s.

The best cuts of beef for stroganoff are tender, juicy cuts such as:

  • boneless rib eye
  • boneless sirloin.
  • sirloin steak tips.
  • beef tenderloin.

In researching beef stroganoff, I’ve seen recommendations for all sorts of things to serve it with, including kasha, egg noodles, French fried potatoes, rice, mashed potatoes with chives, wild rice, and the leftovers on buttered toast points.

Since Brion & I always enjoy risotto, it seems like a good choice to pair with our stroganoff. I’ve made risotto from rice, couscous, orzo and they were all good so today I’m using barley.

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 Beef Stroganoff w/ Barley Risotto
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine European
Keyword barley risotto & beef stroganoff
Servings
- 6 SERVINGS
Ingredients
Beef Marinade
Mustard Sauce
Barley Risotto
Course Main Dish
Cuisine European
Keyword barley risotto & beef stroganoff
Servings
- 6 SERVINGS
Ingredients
Beef Marinade
Mustard Sauce
Barley Risotto
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Beef - Marinade
  1. In a large zip-lock bag or glass dish, whisk together oil, soy sauce & Montreal Steak Spice. Add cubed steak & marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Mustard Sauce
  1. In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually whisk in chicken stock and mustard. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, cut tomato into thick strips. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, cook tomato until softened, 3-5 minutes. Stir into mustard sauce; add salt, liquid smoke & sour cream.
  3. In same skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Drain beef using a strainer, discarding marinade. Add sliced onion & mushrooms to pan; cook and stir until onion is softened. Add beef & cook until meat is no longer pink, 6-8 minutes. Add mustard sauce; reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened. Keep warm until serving.
Barley Risotto
  1. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat to maintain simmer. In another large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add chopped onion & salt. Cook and stir until liquid evaporates. Add barley; toast in pan.
  2. Stir hot water into barley 1 cup at a time, waiting until liquid has almost absorbed before adding more. Cook until barley is softened but still slightly chewy, 15-20 minutes; stir in parsley. Serve immediately with beef.

Shrimp & Chicken Sausage Pasta Shells

With Christmas right around the corner, pasta meals are an easy quick fix on those busy days leading up to the big day. Stuffed Shells are truly the perfect meal to make ahead of time since you can prepare everything but hold off on baking them until you’re ready to eat.

Stuffed shells are a tasty dish that is usually made with ricotta cheese or other types of cheese inside the pasta shells. Tomato sauce is another common ingredient in the dish. However, there are so many ways to jazz it up and one might be surprised just how many unique ingredients one can put into a shell.

I have always loved stuffed pasta shells and over the years I have stuffed them in every way I could imagine. There are endless variations such as using different cheeses and herbs or making some homemade marinara or sun-dried tomato sauce.

There’s a reason surf and turf is often one of the most desired items on a restaurant menu — it’s because meat and fish are the perfect complement to each other! The light flavor of fish and shellfish is a great addition to the richer, heartier flavor of meat.

Today, I’m combining some shrimp and chicken sausage in my filling and topping it with a nice smoky sun-dried tomato parmesan sauce. Should be good!

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 Shrimp & Chicken Sausage Pasta Shells
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword shrimp & chicken sausage pasta shells
Servings
Ingredients
Pasta / Filling
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword shrimp & chicken sausage pasta shells
Servings
Ingredients
Pasta / Filling
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Pasta / Filling
  1. Cook pasta shells in a pot of salted boiling water for about 10-12 minutes. Drain well & lay on a wire rack to keep them from sticking together until ready to fill.
  2. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add onion & mushrooms; sauté until tender & moisture has evaporated from mushrooms. Add chicken sausage & minced garlic. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add wine & cook until sausage is no longer pink about 4-5 minutes more. Drain well & transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Peel & devein shrimp; chop into 1/2-inch pieces. In a small bowl, whisk together broth & flour. Set aside.
  4. In the same skillet, heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add shrimp; cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp begins to turn pink. Stir in flour mixture. Add cream, Old Bay seasoning, garlic powder & Italian seasoning; stir until thickened. Remove from heat & stir in sausage mixture. Set aside until ready to use.
Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
  1. In a skillet, heat oil. Add onion & cook for 2 minutes until it starts to soften. Add garlic, oregano, thyme, paprika & sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add vegetable broth; bring to a boil & simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in cream & parmesan cheese into the sauce. Remove from heat & cool for a few minutes. Pour sauce into food processor & process to a fairly smooth consistency. It will not be completely smooth but that is fine.
Assembly / Baking
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Spread half of the sauce over the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Divide filling between cooked shells. Lay in rows over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top carefully covering all the shells.
  3. Loosely lay a piece of foil paper over baking dish and bake for 45 minutes or until bubbling nicely.

Smoked Oyster Stew w/ Bacon, Potatoes & Onions

If you’ve never had oyster stew, you’re definitely missing out. It’s similar to clam chowder with its rich, silky, luxurious and full of briny umami flavor. If you like oysters, this is the dish for you!

Some versions are essentially just oysters and cream, but I like to add bacon, potato or even other creative additions but it is generally agreed that as soon as you add these ingredients you’ve crossed the line from oyster stew to chowder. 

The star of this recipe is the smoked oysters. The smoked oysters added a smokey richness to this stew/chowder recipe that is hard to duplicate. It cooks up quickly and is hearty enough to be a main meal.

If you aren’t accustomed to eating smoked oysters, they are delicious and packed full of healthy nutrients. Oysters are a shellfish that have vitamin C, zinc, protein, iron, and selenium. (Selenium is great for keeping your brain happy!)

Serve this rich and creamy stew/chowder with some focaccia bread, traditional oyster crackers or saltine crackers. Love it!

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 Smoked Oyster Stew w/ Bacon, Potatoes & Onions
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Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword smoked oyster stew w/ bacon, potatoes & onions
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword smoked oyster stew w/ bacon, potatoes & onions
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Cut up unpeeled potatoes into bite-sized cubed & boil in water with vegetable bouillon powder until tender in a small saucepan. Drain & reserve broth. Set potatoes aside.
  2. In a saucepan, fry bacon until cooked but not crisp. Blot on paper towel. In bacon drippings, sauté onions until nearly tender then add mushrooms & garlic. Cook until mushrooms have released their moisture.
  3. Add reserved vegetable broth, flour, half & half, Italian parsley, smoky ranchero seasoning, seafood seasoning, veg salt. Simmer until boiling. Cook until sauce thickens then add potatoes, chopped bacon & oysters. Carefully combine all ingredients, Serve with your choice of crackers or focaccia bread.

Crown Roast of Pork

HAPPY EASTER!

Turkey at Thanksgiving. Prime rib at Christmas. Brisket at Hanukkah. Ham at Easter. Candy at Halloween. Holiday food pairings make each separate celebration special—and something special we look forward to each year.  One reason ham became the meat of choice for Easter dinner is because it was available. Historically, pigs were slaughtered in fall and cured over the winter. They were ready to eat once spring arrived and the Lenten fast ended. Today ham is available year-round and while Brion loves pork chops, ham is definitely not a meat he enjoys. Enter the pork crown roast ….

With its skyward-reaching ribs, a regal crown roast makes a stunning Easter dinner centerpiece.

Charred sticks of bone jutting from a wreath of fork-tender meat make this main seem medieval – as well as fit for a king and queen. There’s just something about a crown roast that makes it look like it belongs in the center of a long table in the dining room of a drafty castle filled with tapestries and enormous fireplaces.

The presentation is solely for appearance. If you can roast a turkey, you can prepare a majestic crown roast of pork.

Marinate the roast overnight or season it simply with salt and pepper, then tuck it into the oven. The interior space of the crown is a perfect spot for stuffing, making a beautiful presentation. Set it on a bed of greens or herbs, tuck in a few cranberries & persimmon slices around the rim and there you have it! Carving a crown roast is no more effort than slicing straight down between the rib bones.

Crown roast of pork is made from the rib portion of the loin. The meatiest part of the ribs forms the stable base of the crown. Common fears with making any roast are overcooking and drying it out or cooking it unevenly. If you roast a crown roast in a low & slow oven, you can get the entire roast pretty much exactly at the proper temperature from edge to center.

To enjoy with our meal, I’ve added some spiced cranberries. Now this is not just your basic cranberry sauce. Brion came home with a spiced cranberry liqueur to try so I couldn’t resist putting some in the cranberries. Wow, what an upgrade!

The distillery it comes from is located in the heart of Barrhead, Alberta. ‘West of the 5th’ was started by brothers Nathan and Caleb on their family farm in 2018. The family grows over 10-acres of fresh fruits to be used as flavoring in their award-winning moonshines. In just four short years of operating the distillery, the brotherly band have brought home five provincial recognition awards for their spirits.

With that being said, let’s enjoy & appreciate our Easter meals as we anticipate spring & the coming of a new season.

​

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 Crown Roast of Pork
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword crown roast of pork
Servings
Ingredients
Roast
  • 4-5 kg (13 Ribs) pork crown roast Frenched & prepped by butcher or yourself if you prefer.
Overnight Marinade
Spiced Cranberries
Savory Stuffing
Fingerling Potatoes
Baby Carrots
Snow Peas
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword crown roast of pork
Servings
Ingredients
Roast
  • 4-5 kg (13 Ribs) pork crown roast Frenched & prepped by butcher or yourself if you prefer.
Overnight Marinade
Spiced Cranberries
Savory Stuffing
Fingerling Potatoes
Baby Carrots
Snow Peas
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Marinade
  1. The night before roasting meat, combine all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Spread marinade generously over entire roast, including bottom & between rib bones. Place roast in a large dish, cover with plastic wrap & refrigerate overnight.
Spiced Cranberries
  1. In a medium nonstick saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Lower heat & cook until reduced & slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, take out cinnamon sticks & cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Stuffing
  1. Peel & cook potatoes, drain & mash. Set aside. Chop veggies. In a saucepan, melt butter & sauté veggies with herbs, salt & pepper. Remove from heat; combine with bread cubes, mashed potatoes & chicken broth. Add only enough chicken broth until it is moist but not mushy or falling apart. Mine usually takes the whole 2 cups. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cooking Crown Roast
  1. Remove marinated roast from refrigerator & allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before roasting.
  2. Preheat oven to 250 F. Adjust oven rack to a lower position. Place the roast on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking pan. Transfer to oven & roast until internal temperature reaches 160 F , about 8 hours. Remove from oven.
  3. Increase oven temperature to 350 F.
  4. Fill the center of the crown with prepared stuffing, mounding it slightly. Return roast to oven & roast until both roast & stuffing are browned & crispy on the exterior, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, tent with foil, allow to rest for 15 minutes as it reaches the internal temperature of 165 F.
  5. Remove strings & carve by slicing in between each rib & serve with pork gravy & spiced cranberries. If you have extra stuffing, bake for about 30 minutes in a buttered casserole dish for a future meal.
Roasting Veggies
  1. While the crown roast is cooking, prepare veggies. Since you are using a 'low & slow' cooking temperature it will be necessary to stove top 'roast' the potatoes & carrots.
Fingerling Potatoes
  1. Wash & place potatoes in a glass microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 8 minutes. Remove & allow to cool for a few minutes. Heat skillet to a medium heat & add butter. Sauté the potatoes & add seasonings to taste. Cook for about 6-8 minutes until the potatoes are softened & browned.
Baby Carrots
  1. Steam carrots in microwave for a few minutes to partially cook them. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add baby carrots, sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are browned in spots & tender crisp, 6-8 minutes. Add apple cider vinegar & honey to skillet. Cook, stirring often, until liquid is syrupy & carrots are evenly coated, about 1 minute. Remove from heat & sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.
Snow Peas
  1. Rinse, drain & trim snow peas. Heat a skillet over medium high heat, about 2-3 minutes. Add the olive oil & trimmed pea pods. Move them around to coat in oil, let them sear for a few minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid excessive browning. Add the minced garlic, stir again & let mixture become fragrant, about 30-60 seconds. Add the water & stir to move the snow peas around, Let the water evaporate & steam the pods, cooking them through, about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Recipe Notes
  • Depending on the amount of people you are serving the roast to, the amounts of veggies may need to be increased.
  • Roasting at this low, slow temperature produces the most incredibly tender roast you could imagine. I always use this same theory when roasting baby back ribs & get super tender ribs as well.

Turkey Breast w/ Savory Sweet Potato Stuffing

Christmas Day 2022! It’s amazing how fast this time of year arrives. Nevertheless, the day has arrived, and we are celebrating it for its spiritual meaning as well as a family birthday. Today is my sister Rita’s birthday and though it has been many years since we could all be together at this time as a family, her birth date brings many precious memories. Nostalgia is a very strange thing. It pops up when you least expect it. Taste, smell, music can take you right back to a moment.

My siblings & I grew up on a farm in southern Alberta. Christmas for our family was less about gifts and more about family time & great food. I have such good memories of uncomplicated things that were so special. The Christmas cards hanging on strings decorating every room of our house, cookie cannisters full of Christmas baking, having a wonderful Christmas meal, evenings, when the chores were all done, all of us sitting around the dining room table cracking nuts & eating a few candies with some homemade root beer as a family. And of course, Rita’s birthday meant an added bonus of a birthday cake. In today’s world, all of these things seem so insignificant but they were definitely some of the best and simplest pleasures of a lifetime.

Today, Brion & I are making our day special by having some turkey breast with sweet potato stuffing. Stuffing is a lot like meatloaf — no two recipes are the same, but each one is the best. Aside from sweet potato fries, I’m guessing that most people eat sweet potatoes primarily at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It seems like people fall into one of two categories for the big meal: those who like marshmallows with their sweet potatoes, and those who find the sweet-on-sweet combination revolting. In fact, despite its reputation as a holiday for ‘togetherness,’ these occasions seem to inspire much food-related conflict: should stuffing have fruit in it? Is green bean casserole delicious, or repellant? Is deep-frying a turkey awesome, or deeply terrifying?

Neither Brion or I like the traditional ‘candied yams’, but after making some savory sweet potato bread around Easter this year, I got an idea. Why couldn’t this bread be used in a stuffing for the turkey?? Here’s what evolved from that idea.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RITA! WE LOVE YOU & CELEBRATE YOU ON YOUR DAY.

SEASONINGS GREETINGS TO EVERYONE WHO ENJOYS & FOLLOWS OUR BLOG

Print Recipe
 Turkey Breast w/ Savory Sweet Potato Stuffing
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey breast w/ savory sweet potato stuffing
Servings
Ingredients
Savory Stuffing
Turkey
Herb Butter
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey breast w/ savory sweet potato stuffing
Servings
Ingredients
Savory Stuffing
Turkey
Herb Butter
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Stuffing
  1. In a saucepan, sauté onion, celery, garlic, mushrooms & seasonings in margarine. Remove from heat. Place vegetable/seasoning mixture in a large bowl & combine with dry sweet potato bread cubes & broth, adding only enough broth to make proper stuffing consistency. Set aside.
Turkey
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Lay turkey breast on a clean work surface so that it lies open & flat. Cover with plastic wrap, then pound lightly with a meat mallet to flatten into an even thickness all over. Discard plastic wrap. Spread the inside of each half with a bit of the herb butter.
  3. On one half of the turkey breast place a thick layer of the savory. Fold the adjoining half of the turkey breast overall. Fasten with metal skewers if you wish to help to keep stuffing enclosed.
  4. Place a wire rack in a roasting pan & lay stuffed turkey roast on it. Brush herb butter over turkey breast. Roast uncovered, until turkey reaches an internal temperature of 180 F. about 2 hours. Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly.
  5. Place any extra savory stuffing in a buttered casserole & bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is lightly toasted.
  6. Remove turkey breast from oven, tent with foil & allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes. Slice & serve with extra stuffing.
Recipe Notes
  • The recipe for my savory sweet potato bread was previously posted for an Easter Brunch on April 17/2022. I made one recipe & used half of the loaf for this stuffing.

Turkey Prosciutto Wellington

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

For the last 65 years, Canada has celebrated Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October. It’s one of those holidays that tend to bring families together, both physically and emotionally. Unfortunately, though, in this highly technological age, it seems as if we have become more connected digitally than emotionally.

The thing about fall is that it gives us a different perspective, it represents a time of change. As nature bursts with its fabulous fall foliage, it gives us a little bit of extra time to make the most of what we have left in this year before the grand finale. The word ‘thanksgiving‘ itself, makes one pause and ask, what am I thankful for this year?

Some time ago, I read an article that was posted on Facebook by Larry McDaniel. When things are verbalized it seems to make them unmistakably clear. I want to re-post this article as I thought it is certainly worth reading and giving some serious thought to.

So today I stopped and filled up my car and I was thankful.

Thankful that I have a car, thankful I have money to buy gas,

Thankful that there are no war planes flying over me,

Thankful that I will be eating soon,

Thankful that all my loved ones are safe and sound,

Thankful that I live in a country where I have freedom to do so many things,

Thankful that the air I breathe is not filled with smoke and gun powder,

Thankful that I will sleep in silence and wake up to a beautiful day.

I think its time that we all be a lot more thankful and definitely more grateful!!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving however you choose to celebrate it.

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 Turkey Prosciutto Wellington
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey prosciutto wellington
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword turkey prosciutto wellington
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a skillet, melt butter. Add leeks and mushrooms and sauté on medium high heat until leeks become tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add broth and stuffing mix. Mix well & remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  3. Roll out puff pastry to a rectangle large enough to cover turkey breast. If two sheets are required, brush water or egg wash on one short edge of pastry and press edge of second sheet onto the first sheet. Press gently until seam is sealed.
  4. When stuffing is cool, cover pastry with stuffing, leaving a one-inch edge all the way around. Cover the stuffing layer with prosciutto. Brush turkey with mustard, then lay turkey just to right side of the center.
  5. Bring right side edge up & over the top of the turkey breast. Repeat with the left side. You should trim any excess dough before sealing so it won't be too thick.
  6. Mix beaten egg with a Tbsp of water & brush edges of pastry to seal. Tuck the ends of the dough around the turkey breast & over each other to seal.
  7. Place the turkey, seam side down, on a parchment covered baking sheet. Cut slits in the top of the dough to vent steam. Brush entire pastry with egg wash.
  8. Tent a piece of foil over the top & bake for about 30 minutes. Remove foil & continue baking until the crust is golden for about 20-30 minutes, depending on size of turkey breast. The internal temperature should reach 165 F.
  9. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Top with cranberry sauce and serve.

Stuffed Chicken Thigh Roulade

People who will happily eat chicken breast often turn their noses up at eating chicken thighs, possibly because they’re considered ‘dark meat’. Actually, chicken thighs tend to have a more intense flavor than breast and the meat stays juicy and tender during cooking.

It’s hard to overcook chicken thighs. If you use moist-heat cooking techniques like braising, chicken thighs will forgive you if you leave them in the oven too long. The worst that can happen is that if you go over your braising time, the meat will just fall off the bone.

Thighs have a good meat-to-bone ratio relative to other bone-in chicken parts, such as drumsticks and wings, which means they’re good value for money. Personally, give me a thigh any day, I love the dark meat. Strangely enough, for the many times I’ve made roulades, I’ve never thought to use chicken thighs.

Literally meaning ‘rolled’ in French, the word roulade signifies a lot of things. Traditionally, it’s a preparation reserved for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, stuffed with cheeses, vegetables, and other meats. This chicken thigh roulade for example is a great and easy way to jazz up some really simple ingredients. 

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 Stuffed Chicken Thigh Roulade
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Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
  1. In a skillet, sauté onion & mushrooms until tender; remove from heat & cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  3. Arrange chicken thighs on a large sheet of foil paper, to form a large rectangle.
  4. Mix shredded cheese & parsley into cooled mushroom/onion mixture. Sprinkle chicken with spices, salt & pepper.
  5. Arrange stuffing along middle of the chicken rectangular, evenly distributing. Roll up, enclosing filling, using the foil to help you tighten the roll.
  6. Carefully wrap roll with slices of bacon, securing with toothpicks if needed. Place foil with roulade centered on it on a deep baking sheet.
  7. Bake 45 minutes. Chicken is done when juices run clear or internal temperature is 180 F. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, slice & serve.

Stuffed Pasta Shells w/ Wild Salmon, Leeks & Mushrooms

Some years ago I started using leeks and have never looked back since. Brion & I have never tired of that subtle flavor. When a recipe calls for leeks, it usually indicates to use the white and light green parts only and to either discard the ‘tough dark green tops’ or save them for another use.

So what are these ‘other uses’? Usually it refers to using the green tops as add-ins for soups or stock, only to be removed once they have imparted their wonderful layer of flavor and discarded.

When you think about it, we cook up all kinds of vegetables that are ‘tough’ to start out with yet end up nice and tender when cooked or braised. I find, using the dark green tops presents no issues, just cook them a bit longer than the tender leaves.

On the other hand, you can braise the dark green tops with some butter/olive oil, chicken or veg stock, minced garlic, dried chili flakes, salt & pepper & some lemon juice and make a great side dish to serve with fish or pasta etc.

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 Stuffed Pasta Shells w/ Wild Salmon, Leeks & Mushrooms
Votes: 2
Rating: 3.5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword stuffed pasta shells w/ wild salmon, leeks & mushrooms
Servings
Ingredients
Garlic Sauce
Pasta & Filling
Topping
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword stuffed pasta shells w/ wild salmon, leeks & mushrooms
Servings
Ingredients
Garlic Sauce
Pasta & Filling
Topping
Votes: 2
Rating: 3.5
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Instructions
Pasta & Filling
  1. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add pasta shells & cook 3 minutes less than the cooking time indicated on the package instructions. Drain pasta
  2. In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, saute chopped bacon until cooked. Remove from saucepan with a slotted spoon to a paper towel. Add leeks, garlic & mushrooms to bacon drippings. Sauté until leeks are soft; season with salt & pepper. Add salmon, gently combine & set aside.
Garlic Sauce
  1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add butter & olive oil. Once melted, add garlic then sauté until light golden brown, about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn. Sprinkle in flour; whisk & sauté for 1 minute. Slowly pour in chicken broth and milk while whisking until mixture is smooth. Season with salt & pepper then switch to a wooden spoon & stir constantly until mixture is thick & bubbly, 4-5 minutes.
  2. Remove saucepan from heat & stir in mozzarella cheese, garlic powder & parsley flakes until smooth. Taste then adjust salt & pepper if necessary.
Topping
  1. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, add olive oil. Add breadcrumbs & cook, stirring until toasted & golden in color. Remove from heat & place in a small bowl; combine with parmesan cheese.
Assembly & Baking
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a 13 X 9-inch baking dish, spread a small amount of garlic sauce over the bottom. To filling mixture, add reserved bacon & enough garlic sauce to help the filling stick together.
  3. Divide filling between the 16 cooked pasta shells & place in baking dish. Top with any remaining garlic sauce then sprinkle topping over all.
  4. Bake for about 30 minutes making sure not to overcook the salmon. Serve.

Italian Sausage Lasagna

Whether you prefer a sweet or spicy variety, there’s no denying the delicious versatility of Italian sausage.

The predominant flavor in ‘mild’ Italian sausage is fennel, or actual anise, a licorice like flavor with a little more earthiness. This emulates the style of sausages in Northern Italy, known for milder flavors with a noticeable presence of both fennel and garlic. It will also typically have a small amount of red pepper flakes to open up the flavors.

The ‘hot’ designation means a higher content of pepper flakes, or the addition of cayenne, giving you that spicier flavor that is more common in the southern regions of Italy.

‘Sweet’ is pretty straightforward, little bit of sugar, milder flavors around that, sometimes some mild herbs, typically a lot of basil and such to round it out.

In this meal, the layers of lasagna noodles blanket a creamy béchamel sauce and a filling with a savory ‘Italian sausage’ flavor and tender artichokes. Truly a comfort food meal.

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 Italian Sausage Lasagna
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword Italian sausage lasagna
Servings
Ingredients
Filling
Béchamel Sauce
Other Ingredients
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword Italian sausage lasagna
Servings
Ingredients
Filling
Béchamel Sauce
Other Ingredients
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Filling
  1. Drain artichokes (reserving oil) & slice in halves; set aside. In a heavy skillet, heat artichoke marinade oil; sauté garlic, onions & mushrooms for a few minutes.
  2. Add ground pork, sun-dried tomatoes & spices. Cook over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; add artichokes. Remove from skillet & set aside until ready to assemble lasagna.
Béchamel Sauce
  1. In the skillet, melt butter over low heat. Once the butter is completely melted and bubbling, add the flour & mix well. Cook for a couple of minutes until flour just begins to take on some color.
  2. Slowly start adding the milk, whisking continuously to prevent lumps from forming. Continue to simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, stirring often. Season with a pinch of salt, white pepper & nutmeg.
  3. Set aside until you are ready to use, by pouring the sauce into a glass bowl & covering with a buttered sheet of plastic wrap. Cook lasagna noodles. Grate cheeses.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of the béchamel sauce on the bottom. (Set aside 1 cup of the béchamel sauce for the top.) Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles over sauce; spread some of the filling over noodles, top with a sprinkling of the grated cheeses. (Make sure to reserve a bit of cheese for the topping.) Repeat layers, ending with noodles.
  3. Spread the reserved 1 cup of béchamel sauce over the noodles & top withy the remaining grated cheese. Cover with foil, bake for 35 minutes, remove foil & bake until bubbly & lightly browned on top, about another 15-20 minutes.
  4. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Salmon Picnic Empanadas

No matter what the stuffing or style is, love for the empanada is not a difficult one to understand. They are cheap, easy to eat, transportable, and versatile.

Empanadas look as good as they taste; perfect food for a picnic. Eating outdoors, spaced apart is probably one of the safest ways to gather during the ongoing pandemic crisis. The great thing about picnicking is that you can do it practically anywhere you can throw a blanket down. If you can’t make it to a park or field, your yard, porch or any flat surface with a little grass (or sand), some sun (& shade) will do.

Empanadas can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They can be served as appetizers or snacks (hot or cold), but they can easily make a full and satisfying main course.

The very basics for an empanada are a combination of three things; dough, filling and a cooking method. The dough can be made from wheat flour, cornmeal, mashed plantains, potatoes, yuca, sweet potatoes etc. and the fillings can consist of meat, fish or vegetables. The cooking method is usually to be baked or fried although some can be cooked on a griddle or grill.

According to food historians, empanadas with seafood filling first appeared in a 1520 cookbook, published during the Moorish invasions.

I was real interested to see what I could do to make some salmon empanadas taste special. We found they were good as a hot meal served with the remaining ‘sauce’ or eaten COLD for a picnic lunch.

Print Recipe
 Salmon Picnic Empanadas
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American, Mexican
Keyword salmon picnic empanadas
Servings
6 inch EMPANADAS
Ingredients
Cornmeal Pastry
Filling
Soy Sauce
Course Lunch, Main Dish
Cuisine American, Mexican
Keyword salmon picnic empanadas
Servings
6 inch EMPANADAS
Ingredients
Cornmeal Pastry
Filling
Soy Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Cornmeal Pastry
  1. In a small bowl, combine sour cream & ice water; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, sugar & salt. Using a pastry blender or finger tips, cut in butter until mixture resembles both coarse crumbs & small peas. Sprinkle the cold sour cream mixture over dough, tossing with a fork to evenly distribute it. Do NOT overwork dough.
  2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least an hour.
Soy Sauce
  1. In a skillet, melt butter & sprinkle with flour. Allow to cook for a few minutes. In a bowl, whisk together broth, milk & soy sauce. Slowly add to flour/butter mixture, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from skillet & set aside.
Filling
  1. In the skillet, sauté salmon filet in 1 Tbsp oil until JUST cooked. Remove to a dish. With a fork, 'shred' salmon; set aside.
  2. In the skillet, sauté vegetables in remaining Tbsp of oil for a couple of minutes. Add seasonings, shredded salmon, 1/3 cup prepared soy sauce & grated cheddar. Toss to combine; set aside to cool.
Assembly & Baking
  1. Divide chilled pastry into 10 balls. Roll each one in cornmeal. Place a ball between 2 sheets of plastic wrap & roll into a 6-inch circle.
  2. Divide filling into 10 portions. Place a portion on one side of the pastry circle, leaving about a 1/2-inch border (on filled side). With your fingertips, moisten edge of pastry with a bit of milk or water. Flip opposite side over filling & press edges together to enclose it well. Use a fork to make the classic look.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  4. Repeat with remaining pastry & filling. Lay empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until pastry is baked & slightly browned.