Deep Dish Taco Squares
2 cups biscuit mix
½ cup cold water
1( 8-oz )carton sour cream
1/3 cup prepared Ranch salad dressing
1½ pounds ground beef
½ green or red bell pepper – finely chopped**
2 Tbsp. chopped onion**
1 pkg taco seasoning mix (¼ cup)
1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
½ cup mild salsa
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Combine biscuit mix and water, stirring with a fork until blended. Press mixture in bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2” baking dish. Bake at 375ºF for 9 minutes.
Combine sour cream and Ranch dressing. Spread over baked crust and set aside.
Cook ground beef, green bell pepper, and onion in a large skillet until meat is browned and crumbled; drain well. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasoning mix, spoon over Ranch filling.
Sprinkle cheese evenly over meat mixture. Bake at 375ºF, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until casserole is lightly browned. Cut into 12 squares to serve.
** If serving to picky children, you can omit the bellpepper and use 2 tsp. onion powder instead of fresh onions. Omit salsa and add a second can of plain tomato sauce.
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Parmesan Chicken
6 bnls, sknls Chicken Breast
1 cup A/P flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 extra-large eggs
1 ¼ cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Unsalted butter
Good olive oil
Cut chicken breasts into 1” strips, pat dry w/ paper towels.
On one dinner plate, combine flour, salt, and pepper. On a second plate, beat the egg w/ 1 Tbsp. of water. On a third plate combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Cot the chicken on both sides w/ the flour, then dip into the egg, then into the bread crumbs, pressing lightly.
Heat 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp. of oil in a large sauté pan on medium-low. Cook chicken in batches on both sides until cooked through. Chicken is done when meat is opaque and juices run clear. Add more butter and oil to cook remaining batches as needed. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top of cooked chicken to serve.
--Ina Garten, "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" cookbook
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Fried Rice with Ham
Serves 4.
3 large eggs, lightly beaten w/ 2 tsp. waer
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Coarse salt to taste
4 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally (both white and green parts)
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 oz. ham, thinly sliced and chopped
4 cups cold cooked rice
¼ tsp. sesame oil
3 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. oil, swirling to coat. Beat eggs, with 2 tsp. water and ½ tsp. coarse salt. Cook in skillet, moving cooked eggs aside gently to allow raw eggs to run in their place, about 2 minutes. Transfer to plate; when cool enough to handle, cut into strips.
In same skillet, heat remaining Tbsp. oil. Add garlic and scallions, heat and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ham and rice, season with salt and sesame oil, and cook until very hot, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, peas, and eggs, cook until very hot, about 2 minutes.
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Sugar Pie's Corndogs
2 lbs. hot dogs
1 Tbsp. flour
2 ¼ cups Bisquik
5 Tbsp. yellow corn meal
1 tsp. onion powder
2 eggs
1½ cups milk
Prepare hot dogs by laying on paper towels and rolling to dry them. Dust lightly w/ 1 Tbsp. flour, rolling hot dogs to coat evenly. Shake off excess flour. Insert bamboo skewers half-way into each hot dog.
Whisk all batter ingredients together in a tall pitcher (this facilitates coating).
Dip floured hot dogs into batter, sealing at stick. Fry 2-3 at a time in 375ºF oil (or Fry Daddy). Rotate regularly to evenly brown, or submerge w/ spider for a minute or so. Overall cooking time is generally under 2 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on a wire rack placed over a cookie sheet.
--me!
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Macaroni & Cheese with or without Ham
Serves 6
If you like, use just one type of cheese, or mix with other melting cheeses, such as pepper jack, Muenster, Swiss, or Gruyere.
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
4 Tbsp. butter
1 small onion, chopped
¼ cup A/P flour
4 cups milk
1/8 tsp. cayenned (red) pepper, optional
1¼ cups (5 oz.) shredded yellow cheddar cheese
1¼ cups (5 oz.) shredded white cheddar cheese
8 oz. ham, diced in ½” pieces
2 slices white sandwich bread
Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a 5 quart heavy pot, melt butter over med. heat. Add onion; cook, storring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes. Whisk in flour to coat onion. In a slow, steady stream, whisk milk in until there are no lumps of flour.
Cook, whisking often, until mixture is thick and bubbly and coats the back of a spoon, 6-8 min. Stir in cayenne pepper and 1 cup each yellow and white cheeses. Season with 1 tsp.salt and ¼ tsp. pepper.
Toss pasta w/ cheese sauce; fold in ham. Transfer to a greased 9x13” baking pan or individual ramekins. Set aside.
In a food processor, pulse bread until large crumbs form. Toss together with remaining cheddar cheeses and ¼ tsp. salt. Top pasta with breadcrumb mixture. Bake until top is golden, about 30 minutes.
--Everyday FOOD
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Linguine with Shrimp Scampi
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.
Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.
When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.
--Ina Garten