Surprise Recipe Swap

 

Welcome to the Surprise Recipe Swap hosted by Jutta at Hungry Little Girl.  The SRS (Surprise Recipe Swap) is a wonderful opportunity to meet other bloggers, build blogging friendships and explore others recipes.

Here is how it works:

Each month on the 1st you will be assigned to another participating blogger. You will then visit their blog and pick a recipe you want to cook or bake and post about it.  Posting day is always the 20th of the month!   You are not supposed to tell the blogger you are assigned to, that you are making something of their page.  Your post has to have the SRS posting format (very simple instructions will be send to you, once you get approved) and should include link backs to the original recipe, pictures and of course your own opinion!  You will be assigned to a new partner each month, so that you never have the same link backs.

This month I was assigned to Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom.  Nicole is a wife, mother, and farmer.  This is a woman after my own heart.  As I get older I have this crazy desire to sell everything, and move away from everyone.  I want to buy a small farm and get back to basics.  My husband thinks I'm crazy but I keep dreaming about it!

I loved Nicole's blog.  She has some great recipes posted and I loved the pictures of the farm.  I really liked several of the recipes but when I came across Grandma Jessie's Zucchini Cake, I knew this was the recipe I had to make.  I love recipes that have been handed down.  Here is the recipe:

GRANDMA JESSIE'S ZUCCHINI CAKE:

3 eggs                                                                                        
2 cups sugar

1 cup oil                                                                                     
2 cups ground/shredded zucchini,  (including rind & seeds, packed)

2 cups flour                                                                                

¼ teaspoon baking powder                                                       
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt                                                                          
2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 teaspoons vanilla                                                                   
1 cup nuts

Beat the eggs.  Add sugar, oil, and zucchini and mix well.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into greased 9x13 cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

GLAZE:

1 cup sugar                                                                             
½ cup evaporated milk

6 tablespoons margarine or butter                                          
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine ingredients in small saucepan and boil 2 minutes.  Pour over warm cake.

This cake was easy, and delicious.  I loved how the edges of the cake crisped up.  I kept dunking it in the glaze.  YUM!  Check out Nicole's blog - you won't be disappointed.

Tried and True Recipes #17

Happy Father's Day everyone!  This is normally a fun filled day for my family but it is the first Father's day without my father.  He passed away last November and I miss him everyday.  He was the best father a girl could ask for and I am so lucky that he was in my life for 43 years.

One thing I had in common with my father:  we both love to eat!  Dad would have loved all of the recipes you have been posting on the Tried and True party.  Last week was not exception!  Here are a few of my favorites:

Homemade Pretzel Rolls by A Handful of Everything

Ruby Tuesday's Copycat Recipe:  Raspberry Lemonade by Living Better Together

S'more Cupcakes by My Cake Porn



Ready for a new week?  Don't forget to grab a button! 

Remember the rules:

1. Link up a family recipe or craft
2. Please follow my blog - I'll follow you back
3. Please link to this post in your blogs-there is a button on my sidebar to make it easy
4. No spam, contests or giveaways please
5. Please note that by linking up your posts and projects you are giving me permission to use your photos in the featured posts and possibly on my social media outlets. All photos will be linked back to your sites and your posts
6. Visit at least two of the links and comment on the page so the blogger knows you visited

Have fun!

Greek Pasta Salad

Easy.  Quick.  Delicious.  Three simple words for the excellent side dish.  The recipe is easy to put together and I promise, this will be a side dish everyone will love.

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 box rotini noodles
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup Greek or Italian vinaigrette salad dressing
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Parsley

Simply cook the noodles and throw the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.  Mix together and refrigerate to let the flavors infuse the pasta.

Enjoy!

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is an Italian classic that will impress your family and friends.  It is super easy and quick.  Here are the ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, pounded thin
1 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
Capers, optional
Fresh parsley

Begin by heating up the olive oil and butter in a saute pan.  Make sure your chicken breast is pounded/cut into thin, flat pieces.  Mix 1 cup of the flour, salt and pepper.  Dredge the chicken in the flour and brown the chicken on both sides.

Remove from the pan and keep warm.  If you need to add a little more butter/olive oil you can.  Add the garlic, shallots and mushrooms. 

Add two tablespoons flour.  Stir.  Slowly add in the chicken stock and fresh lemon juice.  When the sauce begins to thicken, add the chicken back in.  Stir in the fresh parsley and capers.

Serve with pasta or fresh vegetables.

Mangia!

Chicken Parmesan

This is an oldie but a goodie - an Italian classic!  It has a cheesy goodness, a tang from the sauce and some meat!  Serve with a salad and your entire family will love it!

Here are the ingredients for Chicken Parmesan:

4 chicken breasts, cut or pounded into thin cutlets
2 cups marinara sauce - CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE
2 cups mozzarella or provel cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 cup flour
Salt
Pepper

Start by heating up olive oil and butter in a saute pan.  Put the flour in a bowl, along with about a teaspoon of salt and pepper.  Mix that up and dredge the chicken.  When the saute pan is very hot, add the chicken.  Brown on each side.  You do not need to make sure the chicken is completely cooked - it will finish cooking in the oven.

Put the browned chicken on a sheet pan.  Cover with the sauce and cheese.

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

YUM!

Mangia!

Vietnamese Dumplings

The feast of Vietnamese food continues!  This is the last recipe Mai taught me before she went back to her country.  I have to say that this recipe is my favorite!  I love dumplings and I love learning how each country makes their own version of dumplings unique.

Here are the ingredients for Vietnamese dumplings:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deviened
1 1/2 teaspoon MSG
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 shallot
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped bamboo shoots
Handful of cilantro - chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger, fresh
Won Ton wrappers

To the pork add 1 teaspoon MSG, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.  Mix well.  Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 tablespoon sesame oil.  Mix again.

To the shrimp add 1/2 teaspoon MSG, salt, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch. Mix well.

Put the pork in your food processor.  Pulse several times before adding the shrimp mixture.  Pulse several more times until the mixture resembles tuna salad-more like a paste with small hunks.

Remove from the food processor and put ingredients into a bowl.  Add chopped bamboo shoots, chopped cilantro, and ginger.  Mix by hand.

Add the ingredients to the Won Ton wrappers and pinch together into a dumpling.  Mai didn't have a set way to do this so we just had fun with it!

Steam the dumplings for several minutes.  Use soy sauce for dipping.

Mai mentioned that her family does not use the pre-made wrappers.  They use Ha Cao Flour to make their own dough.  I wish we had taken the time to do this-one more thing I could have learned from her!

Enjoy!

Vietnamese Pho

While Mai was here, she was able to cook the family a wonderful Vietnamese dinner.  One of the dishes that I had heard so much about was Pho- a fragrant broth with bits of meat and noodles.

The first thing we did was go shopping!

Mai loves to shop so I had to add that in there!

Here are the ingredients for the Pho:

Beef leg bones
1 cinnamon stick
3 anise stars
1 onion
1 large hunk of ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon MSG
1 sirloin steak/fillet
Pho noodles

Toppings:

Cilantro
Bean Sprouts
Thai Basil
Lettuce

The first step to making this broth is to par boil the beef leg bones.  This means that you are boiling the bones for a few minutes, rinsing them off and starting with new, fresh water.  Par boiling helps you to remove any impurities from the leg bones.

Take the bones and submerge them in a pot filled with water.  Boil away for a few hours.  Mai told me that a short cut is to use beef broth.  I wanted authentic Pho, the way her mother cooks so I didn't take any shortcuts.

While that is boiling, grill the onion and ginger.

When you have good grill marks, remove from heat.  Let them cool and then peel.  Smash the ginger and add the ginger and onion (in large hunks) to the broth.

Add the spices:  cinnamon stick, anise, salt and MSG.  Mai mentioned that her mother adds extra cinnamon during the winter months.

Let that boil for hours.  When the broth is fragrant and beefy enough for you, it is ready!

Slice the meat very thin.  Put the thin strips into a ladle and submerge into the broth.  This only takes about 20 seconds - just enough to cook the thin strips.

Make sure your toppings are ready.  Cook the Pho noodles and drain.

Put the broth into a bowl.  Add a handful of noodles, meat and the toppings you desire.

Enjoy!

Tried and True Recipes #16

Welcome to a new week.  It's been a busy week for me.  My grandson Trevor came to live with us for a while.  Little Trevor is 6 months old.  I've forgotten how much work babies are!  Needless to say, I haven't done much cooking this week!

We had some great recipes this week.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Blackened Swordfish by 4 You With Love

Rhubarb-Strawberry Bars by Turnips 2 Tangerines

Traditional Tea Bread by With A Blast



Ready for a new week?  Don't forget to grab a button! 

Remember the rules:

1. Link up a family recipe or craft
2. Please follow my blog - I'll follow you back
3. Please link to this post in your blogs-there is a button on my sidebar to make it easy
4. No spam, contests or giveaways please
5. Please note that by linking up your posts and projects you are giving me permission to use your photos in the featured posts and possibly on my social media outlets. All photos will be linked back to your sites and your posts
6. Visit at least two of the links and comment on the page so the blogger knows you visited

Have fun!



Pasta With Sausage In a Tomato Cream Sauce

The other night I was thinking about something different to make for dinner.  Does anyone every get into a rut?  Well, I was feeling that way.  I was in the mood for pasta but wanted something a little different than usual.  My sister Tonette mentioned that she has been making pasta with sausage so I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the ingredients:

1 pound pasta (I used Farfalle)
1 pound ground Italian sausage
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons butter

I began by browning the sausage in a saute pan.  Set aside when brown.  Add the olive oil and butter to the saute pan.  Saute the garlic and shallots for 1-2 minutes making sure they don't burn.  Add the mushrooms.  When the mushrooms are brown, add the salt, pepper, basil and parsley.

Add the can tomatoes and sausage and let simmer for 5 minutes.

 Add the can of tomato sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Add the heavy cream and simmer for another 5 minutes.   Combine sauce with al dente pasta and toss to coat.

Mangia!

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Since Mai was visiting us from Czech Republic, I thought it would be fun to have her cook a meal for us - so she cooked Vietnamese!  Yes, Mai is originally from Vietnam.  Her family moved to Czech Republic when she was 7.  I've never had Vietnamese food so I was excited to learn from Mai!

The first thing we did was a little research.  Our local grocery store didn't have all of the ingredients that Mai needed.  We found an international store close by and did a little shopping there!

Here are the ingredients for her family spring rolls:

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 Kohlrabi
2 carrots
10 tablespoons fish sauce
7 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 1/2 limes
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Spring Rolls:

1/4 bag dried shitake mushrooms (2.5 oz bag), julienned
3/4 bag dried Jews ear mushrooms (2.5 oz bag), julienned
Handful of bean thread noodles or ramen noodles
2 pounds ground pork
1 Kohlrabi, julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 egg
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 shallot, sliced thin
1 teaspoon MSG
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Bag of rice paper wrappers

Oil for frying

At this point you are probably asking yourself, "What is kohlrabi?" 

Kohlrabi is a vegetable, similar to a turnip or cabbage.  I've never seen anything like it.  When Mai was slicing and dicing, I grabbed a bite.  It tasted like a cross between a radish and potato.  It was refreshing and crisp.

To begin, Mai put the dried mushrooms in water and simmered them.  This allows the mushrooms to rehydrate.  This took about 30 minutes.  Hint:  Do not throw out the water.  This mushroom broth is great to use in soups and sauces.

Then, Mai took the handful of bean thread noodles and soaked them in water.

Next, Mai made the dipping sauce.  She peeled and sliced the kohlrabi and carrots.  She then added the remaining ingredients and put that in the refrigerator to let the flavors infuse together.

When that was in the refrigerator, Mai began preparing the ingredients for her spring rolls.  First she cut all of the vegetables, including the mushrooms. She took her time and make beautiful julienne cuts.  

In a large bowl, she mixed the pork, mushrooms, soft noodles (cut into 1 inch pieces), kohlrabi, carrot, egg, cilantro, MSG, salt and pepper.  Mix that together - this is the filling for the spring rolls.

In a saute pan, heat up 1-2 inches of oil.  The oil should reach 350 degrees.

Put some water on a large dinner plate.  Dip the rice paper (one at a time), then briefly let it drain.  The quick dip softens the rice paper and make it pliable so that you can roll it.  Mai told me that sometimes her family dips the rice paper in beer!

Place a small amount of filling on one end of the rice paper.

Start rolling at the end where the filling is.

Fold over each side

Finish rolling 

Fry the spring rolls in hot oil, for 7-8 minutes on each side.  The spring rolls should be golden brown when cooked.

This recipe makes 18-20 spring rolls.

Thanks for sharing your family recipe Mai!  Miss you already!

Tried and True Recipes #15

What a week!  Horrible storms and a lot of rain.  Last year we were in a drought - I don't think that is the case anymore!  My tomato plants are loving it!

We had some great recipes linked up this week.  Here a three of my favorites:

 

Maine Blueberry Mascarpone Cheesebake by Living Better Together

Hooters Shrimp by CK's Foodie Friends

Homemade American Cheese by Coffee With Us 3

Ready for a new week?  Don't forget to grab a button!  If you are interested in being a co-host, drop me an email at rediscovermom@yahoo.com.

Remember the rules:

1. Link up a family recipe or craft
2. Please follow my blog - I'll follow you back
3. Please link to this post in your blogs-there is a button on my sidebar to make it easy
4. No spam, contests or giveaways please
5. Please note that by linking up your posts and projects you are giving me permission to use your photos in the featured posts and possibly on my social media outlets. All photos will be linked back to your sites and your posts
6. Visit at least two of the links and comment on the page so the blogger knows you visited

Have fun!