A Relaxing Evening and Veal Osso Buco: What a Combo!

       Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


    Our Saturday evening was completely open, so I thought it would be nice to hang out at home and have a nice relaxing evening and make veal osso buco for dinner, which is another one of my favorite meals. The great thing about osso buco is that it is mostly hands off.  After you do some chopping and sauteing, it cooks low and slow for a couple of hours.  So it is a great dish to entertain with because it doesn't require a lot of last minute attention.  It just simmers on the stove until you're ready to eat, which is also great when you want to have a leisurely evening with your family.

    Osso buco is a rustic dish made with veal shanks and simple ingredients that you probably have on hand.  When you serve it, you top it with gremolata, which is a mixture of chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest, it's super flavorful and makes the dish pop.  I found the recipe that I use years ago in a Reader's Digest cookbook, of all places and it is absolutely delicious!

     Veal Osso Buco

Adapted from Reader's Digest "Great Recipes for Good Health"



• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 veal shanks (2 to 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped
• 1 medium stalk celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 medium ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup parlsey
• zest from 1 lemon
• 8 oz orzo pasta, cooked according to package directions

Start by chopping all of your vegetables, so everything is ready to go.

In a heavy, deep 12- inch skillet or a 5 quart dutch oven, melt 1 tbsp of the butter over medium high heat, when pan is very hot, add the veal and brown about 2 minutes on each side.  Transfer to a plate.

Please excuse my VERY well used dutch oven!

 Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining butter, the onion, carrot, celery, and half the garlic to the skillet and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft.

Once the vegetables are tender, add the wine

Boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally to loosen any browned bits, for about 2 minutes.

Return the veal and its juices to the skillet and add the tomato, bay leaf, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. 

Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 hours or until the meat is tender, but not falling off the bones.

Stir the basil in, right before serving.

To make the gremolata, take the chopped parsley, remaining garlic and lemon zest and combine.  With a large knife, continue chopping the ingredients until very finely chopped and combined with each other.

Beautiful, isn't it!

To serve, put some of the cooked orzo into a shallow dish, top with a piece of veal and some of the vegetables and sauce.  Sprinkle 1 tbsp of the gremolata over the top.  ENJOY!



Shared at Everyday Mom's Meals on 10/2/11

Pound Cake.....YUM!

        Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


     OK....So....This morning has been overcast, it looks like it's going to rain and it's not very warm out.  That does not make me want to leave the house.  It makes me want to curl up in a ball and sit in front of the fireplace.  I figured, though, that I should try and do something productive.  So I decided to give my Kitchen Aid another work out and make Paula Deen's Southwest Georgia Pound Cake......I know, I'm baking again.  Pretty soon I'm going to have to admit that I kind of enjoy it.

     I don't think you can go wrong with a Paula Deen recipe for dessert.  You know it's going to have plenty of butter and plenty of sugar in it.  I found this recipe about 5 years ago and it is one of my favorite cake recipes.  I have modified the recipe a bit to try and make it a little more "healthy".  I have reduced the amount of sugar from 3 cups to 2 cups and I have substituted buttermilk (more on that in a minute) for heavy cream.  I have not touched the butter though.  There are some things you just don't mess with!  I also discovered today that you can essentially make your own buttermilk.  I did not have any on hand, so I looked up buttermilk substitution and found that you can add 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup minus 1tbsp milk.  You then let it sit for 5 minutes and you have your own buttermilk.

     This cake is great topped with fresh strawberries and/or lemon curd.  But today I decided that I am going drizzle it with a chocolate glaze.  I'm actually taking some help from the store on this one. It's a Duncan Hines product called Amazing Glazes.  You just heat it up and pour it over your cake and you're done.

 Southwest Georgia Pound Cake

Adapted from Paula Deen

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract



Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.  Do not preheat the oven.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. 

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  



Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. (I have no idea if sifting makes a difference, but if Paula says sift, I sift!)

Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour.  Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees.  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes without opening the oven door.  Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary. (I have a convection oven and it usually does not require the additional time, although today it took an additional 5 minutes)

Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.

Invert cake onto a cake plate.

ENJOY!!

What's for Breakfast? Mini Ham and Cheese Frittatas

          Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


     Today I want to share a great recipe for make-ahead Mini Frittatas.  The really great thing about these is that you can make them ahead and then freeze them.  Then you can have a frittata any day of the week, just pop one or two into the microwave and you're ready to go!

     You make these Mini Frittatas in muffin cups and  you can eat them right away, or you can put them in small ziploc bags and freeze them.  I made mine with ham and monterey jack cheese, but you could use whatever combo of ingredients you like.  Sauteed veggies or cooked breakfast sausage would be great and any kind of shredded cheese would be delicious.

     I must give you full disclosure....I ended up over filling my muffin cups, so they did not come out looking very pretty, but they tasted great.  So don't fill them all the way to the top like I did.  Otherwise, they were very easy to make, really not much more work than making scrambled eggs.  AND I just love the fact that you can freeze them and heat them up in merely minutes.  How great is that on a busy weekday morning?

Mini Ham and Cheese Frittatas

• 10 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/4 cup deli ham
• 1 1/4 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• cooking  spray

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crack the eggs into a bowl and add the milk and salt and pepper

Beat the eggs until well combined.

Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.  Chopped ham into small pieces.

Place about 1 tbsp ham and 1 tbsp cheese in each muffin cup.



Pour the egg mixture into each cup, about 3/4 of the way full (don't make my mistake and overfill the cups).

My too full muffins cups!

Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until eggs are set.

I know, they don't look pretty, but they taste fine

Let cool slightly before removing from muffin cups.  Enjoy right away or put them in ziploc bags (I packaged them up in pairs) and freeze.  To reheat, remove from ziploc bag and microwave until hot.

ENJOY!


Shared at This Chick Cooks on 10/4/11.
Shared at Family Fresh Meals on 1/8/12.

Lasagna, Two Ways

      Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


     When I think of comfort food, lasagna is definitely one dish that comes to mind.  The sauce, the pasta, the ooey, gooey cheese....it's all good.  I know it can be time consuming to put together, it's not something you're going to quick whip up for dinner after a long day at work.  BUT it is something that you can assemble ahead of time and pop in the freezer.  Then you can have lasagna anytime and it's way better than any frozen lasagna you can buy at the store!

      Over the years I have figured out ways to make lasagna easier to make and have figured out how to make it come out just right.  The first thing is.....USE NO BOIL NOODLES....that is a HUGE time saver.  I also always try and have homemade sauce on hand in the freezer, you also could save time by using a jarred sauce.  I have also learned that it is best to keep the ground beef separate from the sauce (I sprinkle it over the top of the sauce), always use ricotta cheese with an egg mixed into it and let it rest before you cut it.  By doing those three things, the lasagna always comes out nice and firm, not a runny mess on the plate!

     I usually make my lasagna with ground beef, but occasionally I make it with fresh baby spinach instead.  If you want to try the vegetarian version, then substitute a bag of pre-washed baby spinach for the ground beef mixture, otherwise the recipe is the same.

Lisa's Lasagna, Two Ways



• 1 lb ground beef (I like to use at least 90% lean)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• If making vegetarian, omit above and substitute 1 package pre-washed baby spinach
• 1 15oz container ricotta cheese (I use low fat)
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus 6 tbsp
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce, preferably homemade, but jarred is fine
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I use reduced fat)
• 12 no boil lasagna noodles (I use either Trader Joe's or Barilla)

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add ground beef, onion and garlic, breaking up beef with a spoon.  Cook until beef is no longer pink and onions are translucent, season with salt and pepper.  Set aside to cool (you could also refridgerate or freeze at this point until you're ready to assemble lasagne).

While the ground beef mixture cools, place ricotta, parmesan, parsley, egg and fresh cracked pepper in a bowl

Mix until well combined

Now it's time to assemble.  I find it works best to make an assembly line for youself so then everthing is right there for you.

 Start by spreading about 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan (sprayed with cooking spray).

Place three no boil noodles crosswise on top of the sauce.

Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.

Spread about 3/4 cup of the sauce over the ricotta mixture.

If making with the ground beef, sprinkle 1/3 of that mixture over the sauce.

If making it with the spinach, cover the sauce with a layer of the spinach leaves.

Then top either version with 1/3 of the mozzerella and about 2 tbsp of the parmesan.

The ground beef version will look like this:

The spinach version will look like this:

Repeat the above twice.  So, noodles, ricotta, sauce, beef or spinach, mozzarella and parmesan...AND one more time for a total of three layers.

Mine went straight to the freezer for later!

You can now cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.  Then uncover and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until it's bubbly and the cheese is melted. Let lasagna rest for 5 to 10 minutes before you slice it.

OR...you can do what I did and cover your pan tightly and freeze until you're ready to use it.  Then thaw and bake according to the above instructions. (If you're going to bake it from frozen, you'll need to add about 30 minutes to the baking time).

ENJOY!

Antipasto Minis: An Easy Party Snack

        Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


     This past weekend was another great one!  On Saturday, Nicole and Kelly came home from school and the five of us went to the Chanhassen Dinner Theater to see "Hairspray".  It was HILARIOUS!  Then on Sunday my family came over to celebrate my birthday and we had appetizers and cake in the afternoon.  It was a very nice way to spend the day.

     I kept the appetizers pretty simple.  I put together a cheese board with a variety of breads and crackers and I found a recipe in this month's Everday with Rachael Ray for these cute little skewered antipasto snacks.  They were super easy to make.  I got all the ingredients ready and got all of the kids assembling the skewers for me and they were ready in no time!  Boiling the water took longer than anything else.

    I doubled the recipe and made a couple tweaks to it.  I did not mix any olive oil with the pesto because my pesto was already pretty thin and instead of drizzling it over the skewers, I tossed the tomatoes and bocconcini in the pesto, as well as the tortelloni.  I also did not use any salt or pepper as I didn't think it needed any.

     They turned out to be very popular, there were not many left.  I will definitely make these again.

Antipasto Minis, from Everday with Rachael Ray



• 12 cheese tortelloni
• 2 tbsp prepared pesto
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 6 slices (1/4 inch thick) soppressata, halved
• 12 thin slices salami
• 12 bocconcini (3/4 inch fresh mozzarella balls)
• 12 grape tomatoes

Cook the tortelloni according to package directions.  Drain, then rinse under cold water.

In a medium bowl, mix the pesto and olive oil.

Toss the cooled tortelloni in the pesto oil to coat.  Season with salt.

Thread a soppressata piece onto a 3-inch skewer (I used longer ones because that was all I had on hand)
Add 1 tortelloni.  Wrap a salami slice in half around a bocconcini and skewer.  End with a tomato.  Repeat to make 12.

Arrange the skewers on a platter and drizzle with the remaining pesto oil.  Sprinkle with the pepper.

     Simple, right?  If you're asked to bring an appetizer to a party, this would be a great one to make.  It would travel well, and is great served room temperature.

ENJOY!


Shared at Family Fresh Meals on 12/18/11.

Quick Stovetop Chicken Parmigiana

       Lisa's Dinnertime Dish has moved.  Please visit me at my new and improved blog site!  The new address is http://lisasdinnertimedish.com.  I look forward to seeing you at the new site!!


     As you may know, I love veal parmigiana and I love chicken parmigiana, too.  But while it is not necessarily difficult to make, both dishes are a little time consuming to make.  Sometimes you simply don't have the time to go through all of the steps...breading, frying, baking....you get the idea.  Yesterday I made a super big batch of spaghetti sauce and really wanted to use some for dinner.  Chicken parm sounded good to me, but I didn't feel like taking a long time to make dinner. So I came up with a much quicker version, no breading or baking required AND I only dirtied one pan!

     Instead of breading and frying the chicken, I just sauteed chicken breasts that I had pounded out so that they would cook up quickly.  Then I topped them with sauce that I had already heated and some cheese.  Then I popped a cover on the pan and once the cheese was melted, voila, dinner was ready.  I served the chicken over pasta and even that was easy.  Whenever I have leftover pasta, I toss it with some sauce and put individual portions in ziploc bags and freeze them.  They heat up in the microwave in just a couple of minutes.  I had some in the freezer last night, so I didn't even have to boil water.  The whole meal took me about 30 minutes to make.

Quick Stovetop Chicken Parmigiana



• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I only used 3, since there were only 3 of us)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup Marinara Sauce (plus more if you're serving this with pasta)
• 1 cup mozzerella cheese (I use reduced fat)
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Place chicken pieces in a gallon size ziploc bag.  Pound with the smooth side of a meat mallot, or the bottom of a small skillet until about 3/4 of an inch thick. (trust me, it takes like two minutes)

A good way to get your aggressions out!

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Make sure you let the oil get good and hot.  Add chicken to the pan and saute about four minutes until browned, turn over and cook for another four minutes.

Once chicken is browned, top each piece with 1/4 cup sauce, 1/4 cup mozzerella and sprinkle on some parmesan. 

Turn the heat down to low and cover the pan until the cheese is melted.

I like to serve it over pasta, but you could certainly serve it on its own with a vegetable or salad.  Give it a try, it really only takes about 30 minutes.

ENJOY!


Shared at It's a Keeper on 10/6/11
Shared at Mandy's Recipe Box on 11/29/22