I need to sit down and plan out this year’s menu and decide how I’m going to cook the turkey. I think I’ve only got about a dozen to cook for this year, smaller than our norm. I usually try out a few new side dishes and appetizers but have to keep a few old favorites around too.

What are your must-have traditional dishes for your family?  Are you also going to experiment with some new recipes this year?  Please share!

Carne Asada Soft Tacos

This is a good recipe from the November issue of Cooking Light magazine, (one year for $15 at Amazon).  I couldn’t find the skirt steak they recommended but used a thinly sliced package of beef round tips I saw on sale instead.   The steak came out a bit “limey” if you ate it plain, but in a taco it was fantastic!  So if you were going to adapt this for something else, you might want to cut back on the lime juice or cut it with some olive oil or something. But as I said, in the tacos it was fantastic. I served them to my youngest and her friend and her friend’s father. All thought they were quite tasty!  We did a mix of soft corn tortillas and crispy ones.

Carne Asada

Marinate the steak a few hours in:

• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper  (recipe called for ground red pepper, I used black)

I mixed the marinade ingredients together in a shallow glass dish, then put the steak slices in and moved them around and turned them over until they were well coated, then covered the dish and refrigerated. I pulled the steak out while I started making the salsa.

When the salsa was ready, I heated a cast iron skillet on the stove and cooked each slice of steak a few minutes on each side, then removed to a plate while I cooked the rest. When they were all done, I sliced them into strips then cut the strips into smaller pieces, about 1/2″.

Avocado Pico del Gallo

Avocado Pico del Gallo

• 1 tomato, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup diced yellow or white onion
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, diced
• 1/2 a jalapeno, seeded and diced (we’re wimpy. you might like more heat.)
• 1 Tbs lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 avocado, diced
• salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and let sit while you cook the steaks and heat the corn tortillas.

Putting It All Together

If you want soft tacos, you can heat the corn tortillas either directly over a gas burner, in a cast iron skillet, or in the microwave (either in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in some paper towels).

If you want crisp tacos you can buy the package of course. Or heat up some oil in a skillet and fry each tortilla, turning once, a few minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel, folding the tortilla in half so it hardens in a half circle.

Serve with sour cream, grated cheese, and the pico de gallo salsa.

I’ve posted the recipe for butter chicken before. The only difference this time was that I actually used a purchased Garam Masala blend from Penzey’s. It saves a bit of work but I think the Cooking Light mix is quite good.

Second up was this Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry) recipe I found online.  I had no mustard seeds so just skipped that. I skipped the red chili pepper as well.   I used canned garbanzo beans and just simmered them with everything a bit longer.

Third was this lentil and potato curry with coconut milk. I added the extra butter and made a quick yogurt and cucumber raita to go with everything.  I don’t think I measured anything. Probably half a cup or so of yogurt (it was already thick so I didn’t drain it), half a cucumber, seeded and grated, and some salt.  I saw a recipe somewhere that added some grated radish to this that sounded good but I had no radishes. Maybe next time.

Last night I was making tacos for 7 and I was worried perhaps I didn’t have enough taco meat and shells so in addition to refried beans I wanted some Mexican rice as well. I have a recipe for Mexican rice I like that I do on the stovetop but I decided to try one in the rice cooker. I used the one in The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook : 250 No-Fail Recipes for Pilafs, Risottos, Polenta, Chilis, Soups, Porridges, Puddings and More, from Start to Finish in Your Rice Cooker and it came out great!  I especially liked that it used fresh tomato since my garden is still producing.  And just like on the stove, it was a one-pot recipe!

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/3 cup onion, diced
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 tsp)
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1/2 cup peeled and chopped tomato
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 2 tsp ground chili powder
• salt to taste (maybe 1/2 tsp)

Turn the rice cooker on and put the oil in. Add the diced onion and stir for a few minutes, then add the garlic and cook another minute, stirring. Note: I had to put the lid to weigh the cooker down enough to keep the heat on but could then lift it up to stir.

Add the rice and cook 5 – 10 minutes, stirring, until lightly golden. Add the tomato, stir and cook a few more minutes. Add the water, chili powder and salt. Stir, cover and either reset to cook or leave it alone if it’s still on the cook setting.

When the machine switches to the Keep Warm mode (mine does, not sure what to do if yours doesn’t), cook another 15 minutes. Take the lid off, stir and fluff with a wooden or plastic spoon, then put the lid back on and leave on the warm setting until the rest of your food is ready.

This went great with my normal recipe for tacos, which I doubled for last night. It doesn’t use the seasoning packet so many folks spend a dollar or more on at the store but some garlic, onion and cumin. Just as easy and way cheaper than the packets! (But when I just reviewed that I realize I do a few things different these days. First, I always use diced fresh onion and minced fresh garlic. I’ve also gone to using just an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce and adding 1/3 cup or so of water, basically rinsing the can out and just eyeballing the measurement. But if I only have a 15 oz can I use it all up.) Either way it comes out good! And I use either ground beef or turkey, depending on which is cheaper.)

You can, of course, always make your own taco seasoning mix if you like it that way better.

If you have leftover taco meat (we did NOT last night!), make up some taco meat pies (great for lunches) or taco salad.

Meatball sandwich

In truth, there’s hardly a recipe for a meatball sandwich. At its simplest, you take a French or hoagie roll, put a few meatballs on it, ladle some spaghetti sauce on it and eat.

If you want to get a bit fancier, you’d use your own homemade meatballs. My favorite recipe uses ground pork and ground beef, plus cheese.  But if ground pork is hard to find or too expensive, just use all ground beef. These days I prefer to bake them rather than fry them. I make a lot, then flash freeze what i don’t need so I have a handy stash in the freezer.

The other night we had company and I went all out and made Sunday Gravy a la the Soprano’s. I made double the meatballs though and froze the extra sauce and meatballs, plus sent some sauce and sausage and meat home with a guest plus sent some over to the neighbor with a broken leg. The recipe makes a lot!

My youngest has been loving having spaghetti and meatballs for lunch every day this week, although she took a break today. Then she came home and asked if we could have meatball sandwiches for dinner! Ha!  Sure…

I put some meatballs and sauce on the stove to heat up, then took the French rolls and opened them up, spread with some butter, sprinkled with some garlic powder and broiled until crispy.   By then the meatballs and sauce were warmed through. I put 3 meatballs on each French roll, ladled some sauce on top, then put some grated Mozzarella over it and put the sandwiches back under the broiler for a bit.

Mmmm.  We broke with tradition and ate dinner while watching Glee on TV.  Served the sandwiches with a green salad and it was a lovely dinner.  What a great way to use up leftovers.

• 1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 small sausages (6 ounces), sliced thinly
• 6 oz shrimp (I used frozen)
• 1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 6 oz frozen okra
• 1/4 cup raw white rice
• hot sauce (Tabasco) served at the table

If your broth is frozen, as mine was, microwave until warmed. Throw in the tomatoes and warm them too.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot and cook the onion about 5 minutes, stirring. Add the thyme and cayenne and stir, cooking another minute or two. Add the sliced sausage (I used a smoked beef but almost anything would be good), yellow pepper, celery, okra, rice, broth and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover partially, and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring now and then. Turn off the heat and stir in the shrimp. Cover and let stand 5 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through.  I allowed about 7 minutes since my shrimp was frozen but if I’d thought ahead I would have run it under cold water to defrost first.

Stir and serve with the hot sauce at the table so everyone can make it as hot (or not) as they like.  This was really, really good!  It’s like a thick soup. I’ve never had gumbo anywhere so have no idea how “authentic” it is, but can say it’s good!  And was just as good for lunch today. I just microwaved a bowl for a few minutes to warm it up. Mmm!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

My youngest asked for tuna casserole tonight!  It’s been a long time since I made this so I browsed a few cookbooks and ended up with following the basic recipe in Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition – 2006, which is really a great source of all kinds of great recipes, even old fashioned casseroles! (I was surprised to see our favorite King Ranch Chicken in here as well!). I used to make this with crushed potato chips on top, but we had some crackers about to go stale so I crushed them up instead and mixed with some Parmesan cheese and melted butter. Yum. This recipe called for a smaller tuna to noodle ratio than I was used to, but it’s quite good. If you need to stretch it out though you could easily add more noodles.

First, cook 4 oz of egg noodles to make 2 cups cooked noodles, and drain.   While they’re cooking you can mix together the rest of the casserole.

• 2 7-oz cans of tuna, drained
• 1 1.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 2 cups cooked egg noodles (4 oz uncooked)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup canned pimentos
• 2 Tbs chopped green onions
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup cracker crumbs (or bread crumbs)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 2-3 Tbs melted butter

Drain the tuna and put it in a large bowl. Use a fork to break it up into small chunks. Mix in the soup, milk, cooked noodles, peas, pimentos (or substitute minced red bell pepper), onions, and Worcestershire sauce.

Put the casserole mix into a shallow 1 1/2 or 2 qt baking dish, greased.

Mix together the bread or cracker crumbs, cheese and butter. (Or use crushed potato chips!). Spread the crumb mixture on top, then bake uncovered at 375 F for 25 -35 minutes.

serves 4-5.

• 1 whole chicken
• water to cover and then some
• a few bay leaves
• 2-3 stalks celery, cut up
• 1-2 carrots
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water

Dumplings:

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 cup milk

Rinse the chicken and put in a large stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises, then add the bay leaves, salt, pepper, garlic powder, carrots, celery and onion.  Simmer 45 minutes to an hour then remove the chicken and let cool a bit so you can remove the meat. Discard the bones and skin and fat. Shred the chicken into large pieces and return to the pot of broth.

Combine the flour and water, then stir into the broth to thicken.

Mix up the dumplings by sifting together the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper. (And next time I’ll add some dried parsley and cayenne pepper.)  Cut in the butter then add the milk and mix. I did this all the food processor.

Bring the broth to a simmer and slowly drop in small spoonfuls of the dumpling mix. Simmer 15 minutes until cooked through. Try not to stir too much as you don’t want the dumplings to break up into small bits.

Stuffed Green Peppers and Mini Meatloaf

I got this recipe from my sister. Unlike most stuffed green pepper recipes, it has no rice. I personally think I would like this a bit better with some cooked rice added, but it was good. My daughter was aghast at the idea of eating astuffed  green pepper, so I used the same meat mix in a silicon muffin liner and made a mini meat loaf. I had just bought these Wilton Easy Flex Silicone Baking Cups and they worked great for muffins the other day and for a single meatloaf muffin tonight.

• 3 bells peppers, tops cut off and insides trimmed
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 Tbs diced onion
• 1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese for topping

Heat a quart or so of salted water in a pot until boiling. While the water heats, trim the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. (Note, you can use red, orange, yellow or green peppers. The non-green ones will be a little sweeter.)

Simmer the peppers in the water 5 minutes and then drain.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Mix together the ground beef, tomato sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and diced onion. (Note: Next time I may add a bit of Worcestershire sauce.)

Place the drained peppers in a shallow baking dish. Stuff them with the meat mixture. Cover and cook 45 minutes. Uncover, top with some grated cheese, and bake another 15 minutes.

Chicken,Rice and Artichoke Salad

My mom gave me this recipe. Things always taste better when she makes them but this still came out good!   I was missing one ingredient so did a substitution but I don’t think that was the critical piece. Not sure what she did different but I will try to figure it out!  For the record, I was missing barbecue sauce so used some Catalina dressing instead. Perhaps ketchup would have been a better choice. And it was still good–just not quite like it tasted when my mom made it!

The Dressing:

• 2 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup olive oil or canola oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and set aside.

The Salad

• 1 15 oz can artichoke bottoms, drained and chopped
• 2 cups cooked rice, cooled or cold
• 3/4 pound chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 2 Tbs barbecue sauce
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 1 scallion, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Mix everything but the parsley together. Pour the salad dressing over it and toss, then garish with the parsley.

This is great for a hot summer night, especially if you plan ahead and don’t have to cook the rice or chicken! It also works well for entertaining, which is how I used it. I cooked the rice and chicken the night before, then let them heat up to room temperature while I chopped the vegetables and mixed up the dressing. I was serving with a cream of broccoli soup and some fresh sliced tomatoes.

I got the soup ready to the point of adding the cream, then turned it down to way low and covered. I had the salad all mixed up ready to dress and let it sit while my friend and I visited. When it was time to eat, I tossed the salad with the dressing, stirred the cream into the soup, and sliced the tomatoes with some fresh basil, olive oil, and salt.   Very good and very easy!  And moderately healthy.  A winning combination.