Recipes for a Working Girl

Autumn Pot Roast in the Crock-Pot

2010-03-23T13:24:00.006-04:00

This is an easy recipe and a different take on pot roast. Since my husband and I have been working on our new house every weekend, we've been doing a lot of crock-pot recipes.

Ingredients:
1 pot roast, boneless, about 2 to 3 pounds
1 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, sliced
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
3/4 c. water
2 t. beef bouillon
1/4 t. celery seed
dash ground cinnamon
1/4 t. black pepper

Place sliced onion in crock-pot and top with sweet potatoes. Trim fat off roast and then, place it on top of the vegetables. Mix together water, beef bouillon, celery seed, cinnamon, and pepper; and pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 hrs. or on high for 4 hrs. Skim fat from juices and serve with the beef and vegetables. Enjoy!

My Apologies

2010-03-18T12:39:00.001-04:00

I'm sorry to be such a blogging slacker. I promise I will post at least 2 recipes this weekend. Thanks for your patience!

Pulled Pork in the Crock-Pot

2010-02-28T21:17:00.005-05:00

This recipe is so easy and really good. The key is to pick a good BBQ sauce to cook the pork in. I've tried to make BBQ sauce was scratch, and I still haven't found the best recipe. Until I do, store-bought BBQ will have to do.

Next time, my husband also wants to add a spice rub to the pork before it begins cooking. I think that will add to the zest, but this was great too. It seemed to get better every day.

Ingredients:
2 bottles BBQ sauce
2 - 3 lbs. pork butt or shoulder

Put 1 bottle of BBQ sauce in the crock-pot and place the pork on top. Cook on low for 8 hrs. or on high for 4 hrs. With about an hour left, take pork out of crock pot, shred and put back in. Once cooking time is up, drain the pork (to get rid of any excess grease). Once drained, put pork in a large bowl or container. Pour other bottle of BBQ sauce in with the pork and mix. Allow to set for 10 mins. and then enjoy on a bun.

Easy Spaghetti Squash

2010-02-19T11:28:00.003-05:00

In January, we had a bunch of friends over to our house to celebrate one of my friends' Birthday. Everybody brought a dish - and one of them was spaghetti squash. It's really good and easy to cook. Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 c. water

Cut spaghetti squash in half length-wise, but be careful because the squash is tough. Scoop out the seeds and throw them away (much like how'd you'd scoop them out of a pumpkin.) Place squash face-down in a microwavable dish with cover. Put water in bottom of container, cover and put in the microwave for about 10 mins. Once the outside of the skin is soft to the touch, allow to cool slightly, then scoop out squash. Serve with a little butter and salt - yum.

Hershey Kisses Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-02-05T13:36:00.005-05:00

This recipe is fairly similar to the recipe for peanut butter cup cookies, but you do a few things a little differently. Bottom line, both of them rock!

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 bag of Hershey Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 5 ingredients together with an electric mixer. Once combined, add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Roll dough into small 1-inch balls, and place them on a baking sheet.

Bake for 8 - 10 mins. until dough rises slightly and is golden brown. Take pan out of the oven, and push 1 unwrapped Hershey kiss into the center of each cookie. Place pan in fridge for about 30 mins. or until peanut butter cups harden.

Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars

2010-01-30T21:39:00.003-05:00

I made these for neighborhood book club, and they're pretty good. I would definitely recommend making these for a group of folks because this recipe makes 24 servings!

Ingredients:
Crust
4.5 oz. (approx. 1 c.) of flour
1 c. quick-cooking oats
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. cinnamon
6 T. butter, melted
3 T. orange juice

Filling
1 1/3 c. dried cranberries
3/4 c. sour cream
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 T. flour
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. grated orange rind
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. The prepare crust, combine all dry ingredients together, whisking well. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened. Mixture will be crumbly. Set 1/2 c. of the mixture aside. Press remaining oat mixture into bottom and sides of 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

To prepare filling, combine all filling ingredients together, mixing well. Spread on top of prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake for 40 mins. or until edges are golden. Allow to cool completely in the pan before serving.

Hazelnut-Crusted Trout

2010-01-23T10:23:00.006-05:00

I made this recipe when my parents came to visit, and the consensus was that this trout is excellent. And, the best part is that it's easy!

Ingredients:
1/4 c. panko
2 T. finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. grated lemon rind
1/2 t. minced thyme
1/4 t. pepper
4 (6 oz.) trout fillets
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and then spray with cooking spray. Lay 4 trout on the baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Mix, then sprinkle evenly over trout. Bake for 10 - 15 mins. or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

2010-01-17T13:29:00.003-05:00

I've never really made a pecan pie before, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's pretty easy. There's a little bit of bourbon and a little bit of orange zest in this recipe that really adds to the flavor of the pie.

Ingredients:
1 piecrust (store bought or home-made)
1 c. light corn syrup
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 T. butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 T. bourbon
1/2 t. grated orange zest
1/2 t. kosher salt
2 c. pecan halves

Set the rack in the oven in the lowest position and preheat to 350 degrees. Place a pie plate in the middle of baking sheet, lined with foil. Lay crust in pie plate according to directions. In a large bowl, whisk all remaining ingredients together, except for the pecans. Once the filling is well-mixed, stir them in last. Pour the pecan mixture into the prepared crust and bake until the center is set, about 50 - 55 mins. Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Sausage, Chestnut & Mushroom Stuffing

2010-01-08T21:25:00.006-05:00

Since my Dad retired, he's turned into quite the gourmet chef. He made this recipe - found in a William Sonoma catalogue - for my Mom, and when my husband and I went home, he made it for us. It was really great! I think using cornbread instead of regular bread might also make this even better; I'm going to try that next time.

Ingredients:
4 T. butter
1 1/2 lb. mild Italian sausage, casting removed
2 yellow onions, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
3 gloves garlic, minced
7 oz. cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 t. thyme
1 1/2 t. sage
1/4 c. dry sherry
1 c. peeled and roasted chestnuts, halved (buy them already peeled and roasted at Trader Joe's)
1 package stuffing (12 or 16 oz. box)
1 loaf french bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 T. parsley
3 - 4 c. chicken stock, warmed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large 9 x 14 pan with 1 T. butter. In a large frying pan, cook sausage over medium-high heat until sausage is done, about 7 mins. Cool on a plate. In same pan over medium heat, melt butter and saute onion and fennel about 12 mins. Add garlic, mushrooms, thyme, sage and salt and pepper, about 2 t. each. Cook another 12 mins. Stir in sherry.

In very large bowl, combine sausage, vegetables, chestnuts, stuffing (box of stuffing plus cubed bread) and parsley. Stir in stock 1/2 c. at a time, making sure all bread absorb the stock. Transfer to baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins. Uncover and bake another 25 - 35 mins. This recipe serves 10 - 12.

Oreo Balls

2010-01-02T21:28:00.003-05:00

These are a fantastic, no-bake cookie treat. I had them for the first time over the holiday season when my sister-in-law made them. Think of them as the oreo version of peanut butter balls. They're super good.

Ingredients:
8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 package of oreos (not double stuffed)
1 package white chocolate chips
1 T. Crisco

In a food processor, grind up oreos into small crumbs. Mix the oreos with softened cream cheese and allow to chill in the fridge until easily rolled into balls. Once ready, roll into balls and place on a baking sheet. Melt white chocolate chips with Crisco in the microwave and dip balls into the chocolate. Put back into the fridge to harden and serve.

Best-Ever Snickerdoodles

2010-01-01T12:15:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year! I have a bunch of resolutions like drink less wine and lose 5 lbs., and I figure if I write them here I'll have a better chance of meeting my goals. Ha.

My husband and I have been fortunate to spend a lot of time with our families over this holiday season, and we've been eating a lot of good food and drinking a lot of good wine. (See resolution above). These are one of my all-time favorite cookies, and my Mom makes them the best.

Ingredients:
2 2/3 c. flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, slightly softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar, combine with 1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon for topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and coat baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In another large bowl, combine butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture and allow to stand about 10 mins., until dough is slightly firmed up.

Roll portions of dough into 1-inch balls and then roll them in the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place on baking sheet and pat down the tops slightly. Bake for 8 mins. or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. You can rotate the sheet half-way through for even browning. Once finished, allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 2 mins. before cooling them fully on a wire rack.

Frisee Salad with Brown-Sugar Bacon

2009-12-30T10:00:00.004-05:00

I've been home at my parents' home and now at my in-laws. It's been great to be with family for the holidays and New Year, and I've gotten some good new recipes. This salad is the last from our special holiday dinner menu, but I'll continue to post the ones from home.

Ingredients:
about 2 c. frisee salad (I couldn't find any, so substitute with other lettuce)
3 strips thick-sliced bacon
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. olive oil
2 t. red wine vinegar
1 t. Dijon-type mustard
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil, then put a wire rack onto the baking sheet. Lay 3 pieces of bacon on the wire rack, topping with brown sugar and some pepper. Put into oven for about 15 mins. or until topping bubbles and bacon is crisp.

Meanwhile, get salad ready and mix dressing in a separate bowl. When bacon is cool, cut it roughly and throw it on the salad. Toss in dressing and serve.

Rib Roast with Herb Crust

2009-12-23T09:21:00.003-05:00

This was the main course for our special holiday dinner, and it was really good. I would suggest cutting it after 35-45 mins. to see how rare it is. We were hungry and took it out a little early, but it was delicious.

Ingredients:
2 T. sour cream
2 t. prepared horseradish
1 c. breadcrumbs
1/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. mixture of chopped thyme, sage and rosemary
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 t. vegetable oil
1 boneless rib-eye roast (2 1/2 lbs.), room temp

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix sour cream and horseradish in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, combine herbs, bread crumbs, garlic and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season roast with salt and pepper, and sear until all sides are browned, about 2 mins. per side. Transfer to a cutting board, and rub sour cream mixture on one side, followed by breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Return roast to skillet or rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 35-45 mins. or until a meat thermometer inserted into center of roast reads 140. Let rest for 15 mins. before slicing.

Sweet Potato and Green Chile Soup

2009-12-22T20:54:00.008-05:00

I've never been very successful making soup, so I was so delighted when this recipe turned out fabulously! I kept telling my husband how excited I was for him to taste it, since I made it as one of the sides for our special holiday dinner. I make him a sumptuous meal every year in December to celebrate the holidays.

This recipe originally called for chipotle chiles in adobo, but after going to 2 grocery stores and not being able to find it, I settled on chopped green chiles. Either would be great!

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 t. cumin
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 to 1 chipotle chile in adobo, chopped (or about 2 t. green chiles)
7 c. chicken broth
optional: sour cream, a dollop on top

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat and add onion. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 7 mins., until onion is browned around the edges. Add cumin and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Stir in sweet potatoes, broth and chiles. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a rapid simmer. Cover partially and cook for about 25 mins., until potatoes can be mashed easily.

Let soup cool slightly, then working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot over low heat and season with salt and pepper. Top with sour cream if desired. Sooo good!

Rosemary Baked Chicken

2009-12-18T10:38:00.008-05:00

This recipe was decent, but to be honest, I think it's easier (and cheaper actually) to buy an already baked chicken from the store. But if you're having people over, and want to be domestic, this is a good option.

Ingredients:
1 (2-3 lbs.) whole chicken
1 large stalk celery, halved
1/2 medium onion, halves
1 garlic clove, halved
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1/4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. dry vermouth
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Clean out chicken and salt and pepper inside and out. Put rosemary, celery, onion and garlic in the cavity. Place chicken breast-side up in baking dish with tight fitting lid. Spoon broth and vermouth, slightly warmed, over chicken. Cover and bake approx. 1 hr. When finished, empty cavity, cut up veges and serve with the juices.

*A few notes: I couldn't find a 2-3 lb. chicken, so I made a 5 lb. chicken and cooked it for about 30 mins. more. If you want the skin to get a little crispy, you can take the lid off about 1/2 way through and baste the chicken with the juices. Last note is to add more rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper than the recipe calls for.

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

2009-12-13T21:09:00.008-05:00

My Mom used to make home-made fudge every year to give as holiday gifts, and this year, I asked my Mom to teach me so I could give them as well. It's really delish and easy to put together.

Ingredients:
3 c. sugar
3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 small can (5 oz.) evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed milk.)
12 squares bar of Semi-Sweet Chocolate, chopped OR 2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 jar (7 oz.) Marshmallow Creme
1 c. chopped Walnuts
1 t. vanilla

Butter a 13 x 9-inch pan or 8 small containers. Bring sugar, butter and milk to a boil, stirring constantly. Still stirring, boil for 5 mins. on medium heat or until candy thermometer reaches about 234 degrees F. Remove from heat, and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into prepared pans. Cool at room temperature and then cut into squares.

Pumpkin Pie

2009-12-09T10:40:00.016-05:00

My Mom's pumpkin pie is great - truly the best I've ever had, and I think it's because she uses fresh pumpkin for it. (I'm sure you can also use the canned stuff, probably 1 big can would do.)

Ingredients:
Crust
2 c. flour
1 c. butter, unsalted
6-8 T. very cold water

Pie
1 1/2 c. pumpkin, fresh
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cloves
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 6 oz. can of evaporated milk

Make the crust with a pastry cutter, by cutting the butter into the flour until you have a pea-sized mixture. Add salt and water and chill until firm. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into 2-3 pie crusts, depending on size of pans.

If using fresh pumpkin, cut it into sections and microwave in a covered dish, meat-side down with a little water. When the pumpkin pieces are fork-tender, about 20 min. later, take them out and scoop out pumpkin meat. Puree in blender or food processor. Cool and mix with other pie ingredients.

Pour pie into prepared crust and bake for approx. 50 min. at 350 degrees. If you want to freeze pies for later use, freeze before baking.

If you want whipped topping, combine heavy whipping cream, 1 t. vanilla and confectioner's sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Frost when cool and right before serving.

Dill Bread

2009-12-04T12:58:00.007-05:00

My Mom brings the dill bread for Thanksgiving every year, and it's really good - esp. with leftovers the next day! She has a bread machine and uses the basic setting to make it, but you can also make it by hand.

Ingredients:
3/4 c. small curd cottage cheese, warmed
1 T. butter, warmed
1/3 c. milk, warmed
1 egg, beaten
1 t. salt
2 1/2 c. flour
1 T. minced onions
2 t. dill seed (not dill weed)
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. active dry yeast

Heat the cottage cheese, butter and milk, just enough to melt the butter. Pour this mixture in with all the other ingredients and knead dough, by folding over and pushing it down over and over. Knead on a floured surface until the dough shines and has an elastic feel.

After kneading, place the bread in a large oiled or buttered bowl. Oil the dough ball. Cover with a towel, and let the dough rise until it doubles in size. This usually takes about an hour. Once it rises, "punch down" the dough and knead a few more times. Place it in a greased bread pan. The dough should rise for another 30-45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and once the bread rises again, cook for about 45 mins. or more, until nicely browned. Allow to cool fully on a wire rack. Wrap and freeze or serve immediately.

Turkey Gravy

2009-12-03T10:26:00.005-05:00

Gravy is somewhat intimidating to me, but it's really not that hard at all! Once you take your giblets and the turkey neck out of the raw turkey, put them in water and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for about 30 mins. Take out the giblets (not the neck), chop up into little pieces and put in the fridge. You'll use the giblet broth for the gravy.

In a medium-sized pot, melt a stick of butter over medium heat. Slowly add about 1/2 c. flour, stirring until smooth. Then slowly add about 2 T. of the giblet broth at a time, stirring until creamy (not watery). Keep doing this until most of giblet broth is gone.

Allow to simmer on the stove. Whenever you baste your turkey (every hr.), pour about 1/2 c. of the turkey juices into the gravy as well, stirring until creamy. To thicken, allow to boil. Before serving, stir in the cut-up giblets from the fridge and allow to heat up. More gravy is better for leftovers!

Cranberry Relish

2009-12-01T12:27:00.005-05:00

My Mom made a new cranberry relish recipe this year, and it was really good. If you don't like pineapple, feel free to leave it out, though I think it adds to the flavor and texture without an overpowering pineapple flavor.

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. bag of fresh cranberries.
1 orange, peeled
1 c. sugar or to taste if you like it tart
1 small can crushed pineapple

Put the first 3 ingredients into the food processor and blend lightly - chunky is better. Add the pineapple and chill for at least 24 hrs. before you serve.

Mashed Potatoes

2009-11-30T11:40:00.006-05:00

I know mashed potatoes are fairly easy to cook up, but I wanted to include our recipe for Thanksgiving. We make about 1 potato per person. This recipe serves 8.

Ingredients:
8 potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled until soft
1/2 c. milk
1 stick butter
1 c. sour cream

Peel potatoes and cube them. Keep them under cold water in a big pot until you're ready to boil. (If you cover them with water, they won't brown before boiling). Boil until soft and easily mashed. To avoid lumps, mash together. Then add milk, butter and sour cream. Mix until smooth and serve.

Oven-Roasted Turkey

2009-11-29T20:22:00.009-05:00

Thanksgiving turkey was a big success! Phew. And, I'm so glad my Mom and Gram were here to help. I always forget all of the nuances when making the perfect Thanksgiving bird.

We cook our oyster stuffing inside the turkey, but it's up to you whether you do it or not. To prepare turkey, thoroughly defrost in cold water if frozen. You'll want to make sure to take the giblet bag out of the breast cavity and also, the neck out of the neck area. (Later, you'll boil these to make gravy). Rinse turkey until the water runs clear. Salt and pepper the inside of the cavity and fill with stuffing - though don't pack it in but generously spoon in. Tie the legs together, close to the breast.

Place turkey in a roasting pan with a lid, or if you buy a disposable one, make sure you have tin foil to cover in a tented fashion. We begin our turkey at 350 degrees, covered for 1 hr. Then we turn the oven down to 325. After 2 hrs. or when juices begin to pool at the bottom of the pan, baste generously every hour. The last hour, we uncover the turkey so it browns. You know it's done with a fork pierces the skin and slides out of the turkey easily.

Cooking times depend on how large your turkey is and if you include the stuffing inside. Our turkey was 19.5 lbs and took about 7 hrs. I think a lot depends on how hot your oven is. A good time guide can be found here.

Mac and Cheese

2009-11-24T11:48:00.004-05:00

I've made mac and cheese before, but it turned out so-so. This recipe, however, is a keeper! I was having a tough time finding a good mac and cheese recipe, and so my friend, who's also a good cook (check out her Guinness Chocolate Cake) pointed me to Giada De Laurentiis' macaroni and cheese. What my friend recommended was swapping out the expensive Fontina cheese for cheddar. It really was excellent.

Ingredients:
butter, for greasing the dish
12 oz. wide egg noodles
2 c. heavy cream
2 1/2 c. whole milk
2 t. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 c. grated cheddar
1 1/2 c. grated white-mixed cheese (you can get a bag of "pizza cheese" at the grocery - includes mozzarella and parmesan)
2 T. parsley

Preheat oven to 450, and butter a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. Set aside. Cook the noodles until tender but still firm to the bite, about 5 mins. Drain well, but don't rinse. In a large bowl, whisk cream, milk, flour, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 c. cheddar and 1 c. of the white mixed cheese. Add the noodles and mix until coated. Transfer the noodle mixture to the baking dish. Combine the remaining 1 c. cheddar and 1/2 c. white cheese, and sprinkle the mixture over the noodles. Bake until sauce bubbles and the cheese on top begins to brown, about 20 mins. Let stand for 10 mins. before serving.

Sausage and Cheese Cups

2009-11-23T10:33:00.004-05:00

One of my colleagues has been making low-fat sausage and cheese cups for breakfast in the morning for she and her son. I tried them last weekend because I'm having a whole crew for Thanksgiving and want something they can grab in individual servings. These are great, though, I must confess that my version isn't necessarily low-fat.

Ingredients:
4 oz. turkey sausage or crumbled bacon
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
5 large eggs
1/2 can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 c. shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350, and coat a 6-c. muffin pan with cooking spray. In a non-stick skillet, cook sausage, pepper and onion until sausage is no longer pink. Spoon mixture into a bowl and allow to cool slightly. Stir in eggs and mushrooms, and evenly divide mixture among cups. Sprinkle with cheese and cook for about 20 mins. or until eggs are set.

Makes 6 - I will double for my Thanksgiving guests. This is a fast, yummy breakfast alternative.

Recipes for ... Thanksgiving

2009-11-16T13:43:00.012-05:00

I'm having Thanksgiving this year (in the new house - yay), so I've been trying to get all of my recipes together. My Mom is making the pumpkin pie, dill bread and cranberry sauce -- so those recipes will be missing until after Thanksgiving. I promise to update once I have them. We always make a ton of appetizers for the day since we eat later at night, but I'll save those for another time.

Turkey

Sides

Desserts

Left-over Turkey

The best part about Thanksgiving, I think, is being with family. I'm sure my Mom will bring other goodies, and my Gram will be here too. I'll share what I learned from the great cooks in my family after the holiday. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!