Baked Puff Pancakes
I actually saw this on Queer Eye For the Straight Guy. It's really good, I get asked to make it all the time. It's quite easy too.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat an oven to 475 degrees F.
Select a baking pan or dish. Add the butter (you'll need enough to generously coat the bottom of the baking container) and heat in the oven until the butter is melted and the container is hot; watch carefully to avoid burning the butter.
Meanwhile, calculate the number of servings and multiply the ingredients accordingly. In a blender, combine the egg(s), milk, flour and salt and blend until smooth. Pour the batter into the heated baking pan or dish and return the pan to the oven. Cook until the pancake is well puffed and golden, about 12 minutes, or longer for larger pancakes or those with a thick layer of batter. Serve at once. When you make larger pancakes, cut them into wedges at the table.
Spaghetti and Meatballs w/ Vegetable Marinara
This recipe is possibly the most often cooked recipe in our house. I’ve cooked it more times than anything else, perhaps with the exception of the cheese omelet and the grilled cheese sandwich. My mom’s favorite food is spaghetti, so it is the most requested meal in our house. Q loves to lick out the bowl and get the leftover sauce. Mom calls him the Italian dog.
The great thing about this recipe is that it is totally flexible. You can put in whatever vegetables you want. It’s great for getting rid of leftover stuff in the veggie bin. Here is the recipe the way I like it.
For the sauce:
½ or 1 Large Onion
2 stalks of celery
Some olive oil
1 can of stewed tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
2 cups of tomato sauce
1 fresh Roma tomato
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
1 zuccini
1 large carrot (optional)
Some Italian dressing
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Herbs : Oregano, basil, rosemary, parsley
Pepper
For the meatballs:
1 lb. Ground beef
3 tbs. Bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbs. Minced onion
½ tsp. Garlic powder
½ tsp. Dried oregano
Pinch of pepper
Optional: 1 tbs. Minced ham
1 medium Italian sausage
1 tbs. Grated Romano cheese
In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the meatballs with your hands until thoroughly blended. If it isn’t sticking together as much as you’d like, add more bread crumbs.
Roll into 1 inch balls, set aside.
In a large skillet, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Mince the celery and onion and cook on medium low heat in the olive oil until slightly see-through. Put in the meatballs. Cover and cook on medium for 10 minutes. Turn over all of the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes. Add chopped zucchini and fresh herbs and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the stewed tomatoes, chopped fresh Roma tomato, artichoke hearts, and tomato sauce and wine. Stir it all up and heat until it simmers. Add some Italian dressing. If you have some tasty pesto in the fridge, throw in some of that too. Use pepper to taste. Simmer all of it for ½ hour or longer. I’ve been known to simmer it for 3 or for hours on low. If you decide you want a thicker sauce, take some of the sauce and the optional carrot, and puree it in the blender, then put it back into rest of the sauce and stir it up. If you want sauce with a bit of a kick, add a little bit of lemon juice.
Cook a bunch of spaghetti in water and a ½ tbs. Olive oil. Serve meatballs and marinara over pasta, and sprinkle grated parmesan over it. Or, pour the sauce and meatballs on a big garlic bread roll and make a sandwich with a slice of provolone or mozzarella.
Yum yum yum!
Sauteed Pork Chops with Saurkraut
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
1 slice of lean bacon, chopped
1 small onion, sliced thin
3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut (about 1/2 pound), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup apple juice
two 1-inch-thick loin pork chops
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
In a heavy saucepan cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until it is crisp, add the
onion, and the caraway seeds, and cook the mixture, stirring, until the onion is golden.
Add the sauerkraut and the apple juice and simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes.
While the sauerkraut mixture is the simmering, sprinkle both sides of the chops with salt,
let the chops stand between layers of paper towel for 10 minutes, and season them with
pepper. In a heavy skillet heat the oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not
smoking and in it sauté the chops for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until they are just
cooked through. Stir 1 tablespoon of the dill into the sauerkraut mixture and transfer the
mixture to a heated platter. Top the sauerkraut mixture with the chops and sprinkle the
chops with the remaining 1 tablespoon dill.
