Savory Baked Rice

Jazz up your rice side dish. This one is so easy 

because you can do most of it ahead of time and

then bake in the oven along with whatever else

 you have in there. It's especially good with grilled

flank steak, pork chops, or pork tenderloin.

I like it when we're grilling
my favorite marinated flank steak
along with artichokes and garlic-lemon
butter for dipping. Doesn't that sound
 like a delicious combination. But it's also nice
with a cranberry chicken or pork roast.

 You saute onions, mushrooms,
and garlic in lots of butter.

Add condensed beef consommé, water,
 rice, and remaining ingredients.

 Give it a stir.

 Cover and bake it for 1 hour.

Fluff with a fork when done.

 Serves 6

Savory Baked Rice

1 small onion, chopped

8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced 

(or ½ t garlic powder, if out of fresh) 

⅓  C  butter

½ t salt

¼ t pepper

1 t dried parsley

1 C rice

1 can beef consommé 

¾ C water

Sauce the onions, garlic, and mushrooms in butter

until tender. Add the seasoning. Stir in the rice.

Pour this mixture into a greased 2 qt baking dish;

stir in the consommé and water. Cover and bake

 @350º for 1 hour. Stir before serving.

6 servings

Enjoy!

Links: Between Naps On The Porch

Basil Pesto

Fresh pesto is bursting with herby garlicky bold 

flavors. Whenever my basil plant starts to get

 "leggy" I give it a good trim. It encourages the

 plant to get thicker, and it will make a 

great pesto. 

Strip the leaves from the stems.  Wash them

 in cold water in the bowl of a salad spinner. 

Rinse several times if needed until the water

 is clear. Then spin the leaves dry. 

I don't follow an exact recipe, just toss it all 

in the food processor and give it a good whirl, 

but I'll give you the recipe below to get you 

started. You can add more or less of anything 

to get it to your liking. You can also use almost

 any nuts: pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, cashews or
 even sunflower seeds. Toast them in a
toaster oven for a flavor boost. You can 

even leave out the nuts. If I'm making a small batch and I'm
out of nuts, I'll leave those out. 

Add the nut, garlic, basil and cheese, to the bowl
of a food processor. Process until chopped.
With the machine running, slowly add the
 olive oil until it reaches your desired
consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
Add a spritz of lemon juice and a pinch
of red pepper flakes, if desired. 

Pulse a few times to blend.
Total processing time will be

about 1-2 minutes. 

Store in a lidded jar adding a light film of olive oil

 on top of the pesto. So many ways to use it: with 

grilled shrimp, salmon, in a sandwich, as a dip with

 warm crusty bread, in pasta, topping for an omelet, 

grilled chicken, and more.

You'll want to make it all summer long. 

Basil Pesto

2-3 C tightly packed basil leaves

2 L cloves garlic, peeled

1/4 C nuts, toasted 
(pine nuts, almonds, walnuts
cashews, sunflower seeds)

about 1/2 C olive oil

1/2 C parmesan cheese

1/2 t salt ~ 1/4 t pepper
pinch red pepper flakes
spritz of lemon juice

Wash the basil leaves in cold water

and dry in a salad spinner. Add the nuts, basil
cheese and garlic to a food processor; process until

chopped. With the machine running add the oil and run

until pureed. Season to taste with salt, pepper,
red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. 

Run again to belnd until desired consistency. 

Enjoy!

Link: How to easily propagate basil.

Links:  Between Naps On The Porch,

Coastal Charm, Dwellings,
Savvy Southern Style, Facebook,

Oh My Creative, A Stroll Thru Life

Noodle Kugel

This is my favorite kugel recipe and it's the

 first one I was given by a friend over 30 years ago.

Kugel is a sweet noodle casserole that's 

traditionally served at Jewish holidays. I make 

it about once or twice a year when the calendar

reminds me. It's a different side dish that goes

well with brisket or lamb. At least that's how 

I've usually served it. It would be a nice

addition to a brunch too. Easter brunch

perhaps? The best of both.

 Ingredients, pretty basic.

 Whisk the room temperature 1/2 stick butter 

and 1/2 brick cream cheese with 2 eggs, sugar,

and 1 C milk (I use whole), 

 Stir in the cooked noodles; 4 oz = about 2 C uncooked.

 Pour into a buttered 8" casserole.

 Combine the 1 C crushed cornflake crumbs with 

1 t sugar and 1/2 t cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top.

 Bake @350º for 25-30 minutes until set.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

I love leftover warmed-up kugel for breakfast
 the next morning with my coffee.

Noodle Kugel

4 oz flat egg noodles,cooked and drained

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 C butter, softened

1/4 C sugar

1 C milk

2 eggs

(1/4 C raisins, optional)

Whisk the cream cheese, butter, 

sugar, milk, and eggs, until blended. 

stir in the cooked noodles. Pour into 

a buttered 8x8 baking dish. Sprinkle with 

Topping

1 C corn flakes, crushed

1 t sugar + 1/2 t cinnamon

Bake @350º for 25-30 minutes until set.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

4-6 servings

*To double the recipe use a 9x13

 pan and bake for 45 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Links: Facebook, Coastal Charm,
Between Naps on The Porch,
A Stroll Thru Life,

Potato Boats ~Twice Baked Potatoes

I love having a few bags of these in the freezer.
 Whenever I make them I always make a big batch
while I'm at it and freeze the extras.  

Stuffed potatoes go great any grilled meat.

 We'll have two with our steak dinner tonight.

I freeze the extras on a cookie sheet until solid,

then  pop them, two in each sandwich bag, 

In the freezer for future easy dinners.

 First, bake or microwave russet potatoes
until soft. Cut in half and scoop out leaving
about 1/4 inch potato in shell..

 Mash with remaining ingredients.

 Mix in sour cream.

 Evenly distribute among potato shells.

I sprinkled the top with minced chives, a

little more cheese and a dash of paprika.

 These are frozen and I can let them thaw and 
bake in a toaster oven  (bake longer if still frozen).
The ingredients are very flexible to adjust to 
your liking. Here's how I make mine. 

Twice Baked Potatoes

6 large baking potatoes

1-1/2 t garlic salt

1/4 to 1/2 t pepper

1/4 C butter

1 C milk

1/2 C sour cream

2 C shredded Cheddar cheese

5 green onions, thinly chopped

 or 4 T minced c hives

paprika for garnish

Pierce skin of potatoes and bake @ 425º for about

50-60 minutes, until tender. Slice potatoes in half and 

scoop out the pulp into a bowl. Mash with milk, butter, 

garlic salt, and pepper, until fluffy. Stir in the sour cream, 

half the cheese and half the chives. Spoon the  mixture 

into the potato skins, dividing evenly. Sprinkle with

 the remaining cheese and chives. Sprinkle a little

paprika on top for color. Refrigerate until needed or bake

 right away at 375º for 15 minutes. You can freeze extras

on a cookie sheet and when solid pot them into 

plastic bags. Thaw before baking.

Enjoy!

links:  Facebook, Between Naps on The Porch

Corn Pudding

This recipe is just a tiny bit different 

from my corn souffle casserole.

Mixed up and ready for the oven.

 We're having BBQ chicken for dinner tonight and
I think corn pudding/souffle/casserole
is the perfect side dish for BBQ.

 It mixes up in minutes and is a
great pot luck dish too.

It's from Susan Branch. Love reading 

her blog and books. I am a fan.

Her recipes are beautifully illustrated.

 Now I've discovered it's also great for brunch, or

just heat up the leftovers with maple syrup
the next day. 

Corn Pudding

1~14oz can corn, drained

1~14oz can creamed corn

1 C sour cream

1/2 C butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/4 t cayenne

1/4 t paprika for the top

Mix first 7 ingredients and pour into a

buttered 9" square baking dish. Sprinkle 

the top w/paprika, bake in a 350º for 1 hr.

p.s. It's great with warm maple syrup for

brunch too. 8 servings.

Enjoy!

Links: Savvy Southern Style,
Between Naps On the Porch,
Common Ground, Rattlebridge Farm,
My Romantic Home

Lemon-Herb Stuffing

Lemon herb stuffing with

with mushrooms, celery, onions, 

and lots of chopped fresh parsley.

 I usually double this recipe so that I have lots 

for Thanksgiving dinner and can put several 

bags in the freezer for roast chicken dinners

 later in the year.

I use the herbed cubed stuffing in a bag.

Chop all the vegetables and begin adding them to

the pan with hot butter starting with the 

onions and celery then adding

 the sliced mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes.

 Stir in the seasonings.

Add the stuffing and chicken broth.

 Toss well and add a good squeeze of lemon juice.

 Lots of chopped fresh parsley is a must.

 Toss well and you're ready to stuff your bird

 or refrigerate until needed.

I love having a few of these bags of stuffing in

the freezer. They turn a roast chicken 

into the perfect Sunday dinner. 

Lemon~Herb Stuffing

Ingredients

• 1 12 oz bag Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Cubes
• 1 C chopped onion, about 1 medium
• 1 C chopped celery, about 2 stalks celery,
• 1 C sliced fresh mushrooms, about 4 -oz
• 1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
• 2 t thyme
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 C Chicken broth (or hot water with 2t chicken bouillon or cubes)
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon about, 2 T lemon juice

Directions

Heat the butter in a large skillet until bubbly. Add vegetables and saute until tender. Add seasonings. Remove from heat. Add to the stuffing in a large bowl. Add the broth and lemon juice, add the fresh parsley tossing well. Stuff turkey cavity and nech cavity. Freeze extra stuffing in quart-size freezer bags flattened to use for your next roast chicken dinner. Find my recipe for perfect roast chicken HERE.

Enjoy!

passed down from Grandma Daisy

Links: No Minimalist Here,
Savvy Southern Style,
Between Naps On The Porch
Coastal Charm,
Confessions Of A Plate Addict