Company Man Casserole

Company Man Casserole   

1-1/4 cup raw, converted rice
1/2 cup melted butter
2-1/2 to 3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 (4 oz.) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
3 to 4 cups cooked chicken (cubed)
12 oz. frozen shelled shrimp
8 green onions (chopped)
2/3 cup slivered almonds

Mix rice with melted butter in crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients except sliverd almonds and 2 tablespoons green onions. Stir well. Sprinkle reserved almonds and green onions over top. Cover and cook on low heat 7-9 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Apple Grand Muffins

Apple Grand Muffins

2 tbsp. soft butter
2 tbsp. sugar replacement
1 egg, beaten
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
6 tbsp. skim milk
1 sm. apple, peeled and chopped

Cream butter and sugar replacement; add egg. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon into greased muffin tins filling no more than 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until done. Yield: 12 muffins.

Cranberry Pork Roast 061810

Cranberry Pork Roast   

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 (3 lb) boneless pork top loin roast
1 (16 oz can) whole cranberry sauce
1 (15 oz can) apricot halves in light syrup, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup snipped, dried apricots
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cold water

Place potatoes in a 5-6-quart slow cooker. Place meat on top of potatoes.

In a blender, combine cranberry sauce, drained apricots, onion, dried apricots, sugar, mustard, and cayenne pepper. Cover and blend until nearly smooth. Pour fruit mix over pork.

Cover, cook on low for 5-1/2 to 6-1/2 hrs. Remove meat and potatoes from cooker to a serving platter, cover and keep warm.

SAUCE:

Transfer cooking juices from cooker to a 4-cup glass measuring cup, skim off fat. Measure 2 cups juices, discard remaining juices. Pour juices into a medium saucepan. Stir together cornstarch and water. Add to saucepan, stirring to combine.

Cook and stir over med heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 more minutes. Slice roast, serve sauce with potatoes and roast.

Granduer Pasta Primavera

Granduer Pasta Primavera

1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 lb green beans, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 sweet orange peppers, cored, seeded, cut into 1/4" strips
1 lb spaghetti
3/4 cup light cream
3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 minced garlic cloves
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add asparagus and green beans. Cook 4 minutes. Add peppers, cook 1 more minute.

Scoop out veggies with slotted spoon. Place in colander, rinse under cold water. Add pasta to boiling water, cook as directed. Drain, return to pot.

Place light cream, chicken broth, salt, pepper and nutmeg in small saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add oil and garlic, cook 30 seconds. Add cooked veggies and tomatoes. Cook, stirring a few times, about 1 min.

Spoon into pasta pot, stir grated cheese into light cream mix. Add to pasta and gently stir in parsley until all ingredients are combined.

Broiled Salmon Paninis

Broiled Salmon Paninis

1 orange
1/2 cup orange juice
1 c soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
Salmon fillets (they work best for sandwiches)
1 pint bean sprouts
1 small can whole water chestnuts
1/2 medium onion, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
Hard crusted bread (French, Italian)

Set your oven to the broil setting.

Place salmon fillets in a baking dish large enough to accommodate everything.

It a large sauce pan, eat soy sauce and orange juice together. Add ginger and mix. Cut the orange in half and zest one half into the soy/ginger mix and squeeze the juice into another sauce pan. This is for the glaze on the bread.

Zest the other orange half with the fresh juice. Slice the remaining orange half (the one that wasn't squeezed) and add the slices to the fresh juice. Add the 1 tablespoon of flour and simmer. After the soy/orange/ginger mix is heated, remove from burner.

Lay bean sprouts, onions and water chestnuts over the salmon. Pour the soy/orange/ginger sauce over the top and broil. Cooking time depends on oven and thickness of your salmon, but usually it takes about 25 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking, blend together the butter and orange sauce. Do not blend the orange slices or else your butter will be bitter. Make sure the orange glaze is cool before blending or it will melt your butter.

Slice bread and spread orange flavored butter on top. Remove salmon from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

Slice and lay on the hard crust bread with the orange butter. If you want, you can add some bean sprouts, onions and water chestnuts for extra flavor. Put the sandwiches into a panini press until toasty.

Vegan Minestrone Soup 061210

Vegan Minestrone Soup 

1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups low-sodium V8 juice
4-1/2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 (15 oz can) red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 (2-1/4 oz) sliced black olives, drained
2 (14 oz cans each) fire roasted tomatoes
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup frozen green peas
10 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in soup to over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and carrots. Cook, stirring frequently until carrots are crisp tender. Add garlic, veggie juice, water and pasta to the pot. Raise heat to high. Cover pot. Bring to boil.

While soup is heating, lift the pot lid to stir from time to time. Rinse, drain chickpeas and red kidney beans, and olives. Set aside.

When soup boils, reduce heat to med-high. Uncover the pot, add tomatoes with their juices, chickpeas, kidney beans, olives, Italian seasoning, sugar and black pepper. Stir frequently to remain at a boil. Cook until pasta is just tender.

In the last 2 minutes of cooking, stir in frozen peas.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.