Four Foods For Friday #112

We have another One Question Quiz, and interesting one.

What can you make with meat or poultry, rice, cheese and a vegetable?

Hmmmm. I’m not very fond of rice or chicken. And while I like cheese, I am fussy about my cheese (only Mozzarella, Swiss, and American). So this one has me as stumped as if making photo birth announcements or something. Uhhhh….

Well, I guess I like Turkey Divan. Boring, I know. Turkey is poultry! It’s a pretty bland dish, though (which is why I dislike casseroles and why I dislike rice and chicken). Last time i made Turkey Divan, I made it this way:

Turkey Divan

4 cups diced leftover turkey
6 slices Swiss cheese
1 bag frozen broccoli florets
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup canned roasted red peppers, drained and diced
4 leaves kale, washed and sliced into strips
4 cups rice, cooked

Throw broccoli in the microwave to thaw.

In a large casserole dish, place the turkey on the bottom. Add the kale and peppers, then the broccoli. Add the broth. Layer with the cheese.

Pop in the oven until heated through (about 30-35 minutes).

Serve with rice.

The kale and peppers spruce up the blandness of the turkey and rice, and help to sneak in a few added vegetables.

Yam Ham Scalloped Potatoes

As a kid, I hated yams. So I haven’t had yams in over 30 years. I figured I’d try them now. I used to hate onions and peppers as a kid, and now I like them; maybe I’d like yams?

NOPE.

YUK BLEACH YUK! I still hate them.

That’s probably not a very smart way to start out a new recipe post, but I do blog about foods I don’t like. I love to experiment with my foods, and this was one of those experiments in which I did not like the results. However, the Hubs and the boys of the house liked this recipe. Funny! I’m glad they liked it, encouraged, even. Not that I’ll ever make it again…

Anyway, I thought I’d post it here in case one of you readers out there is a yam maniac who can’t get enough of the stuff. Yep, this one’s for you! Me, I’d rather sell used booksthan make this again. But to each his own.

OK enough whining– here it is. Don’t blame me if you don’t like it! You have been warned! lol

Yam Ham Scalloped Potatoes
serves 6-8

2 or 3 large yams, peeled and diced into bite-sized pieces
3-4 cups ham (I use turkey ham), cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large can Cream of Mushroom soup
2-3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Pepper

Lay the yams and ham into a casserole dish.

Combine the Cream of Mushroom soup, cheese, and pepper; stir well. Pour on top of the yams and ham, and with a spoon, stir up just a little. Cover the dish with foil and place in an oven set to 350 for an hour. Uncover the dish and cook for another half hour.

It was “OK” with fresh bread, shredded cabbage, and carrots. I ate it. But I still didn’t like the yams!

The Mother of All Casserole Books

How on earth did I ever lose track of this book?? I found it on a bookshelf today. It’s a great recipe book and I can’t believe I lost it, until now!

It’s the Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Casseroles. I got it when I was doing a lot of babysitting. Kids are so hard to please when it comes to food, but casseroles are generally liked by most. And they are EASY to make plus they make use of leftovers.

We’re getting more into fresh, raw foods, so maybe that’s why my casserole book was forgotten… I dislike casseroles, because they always seem bland to me. And I don’t typically like the mushy pasta-and-cheese kinds which seem to dominate the casserole realm. This BHG book isn’t too bad- it has a lot of variety, including those hard-to-find vegetable-only dishes that I prefer. When we have meat, I like it to be separate from the rest of the meal (like, a roast). That way, I can divvy it up in equal portions, and I don’t have to worry about gorging on weight loss supplements if I’ve eaten too many chicken pieces or something.

ANYWAY. If you’re looking for a nice casserole book that has LOADS of variety, the BHG is a good one! And it’s huge!

Tortellini with Edamame and Kielbasa

I spotted this recipe at Disney Family Food site, and WOW! It took all of 20 minutes to make and throw on the table… and the family DEVOURED it! I love edamame (I blogged about the nutritious little buggers here), and snack on them regularly. The kids don’t like them, though. Ah, but I figured out a way to get them to eat it! Now if I can only get them to nab some ritzy IT Jobs…. sigh…

Well, I have copied the recipe (below) but I’ve made a few modifications to make things a little easier and to use fewer cooking pots than the Disney recipe calls for. This is a GREAT recipe! My kids ate everything in this dish.

Tortellini with Edamame and Kielbasa
serves 6

Ingredients

1 pound frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup shelled edamame (frozen section of the grocery store)
1 cup diced red pepper
1 pound Kielbasa
1/2 cup Italian dressing (I made my own using a dry packaged mix– I also used olive oil instead of vegetable oil)

Directions

Take the tortellini and the edamame packages out of the freezer to loosen up a little.
Fill a big stock pot halfway full of water and set to boil.
While the water is heating up, slice the kielbasa into 1/4″ slices, and dice the pepper.

When the water starts to boil, dump in the tortellini, and boil for about 5 minutes.
Add the edamame, and boil for 2 more minutes.
Drain in a colander and set aside temporarily.
Set the stock pot back on the hot stove and dump in the kielbasa slices and diced peppers. Heat on high, rapidly stirring, for about 2 minutes. Dump in the Italian dressing to heat.
Dump in the tortellini and edamame, stir.

EAT!

I served a salad on the side, but it wasn’t really necessary. The edamame is very filling, and the meal is very well-rounded. My kids ate the edamame! I’m still beaming.

Quick Fake Spanish Rice

I hate Spanish Rice! Yuuuuuuk! So I’ve never made it in my life. But we had a houseful of hungry boys one evening and I was very short on supplies. Here’s what I threw together, and they devoured the entire dish with great gusto. The recipe takes advantage of leftovers, or you can make everything fresh. (Still tastes yukky to me). Well, actually, I did give this a try and it wasn’t TOO bad. Not something I’d serve up for house guests at swanky Tampa apartments… but for a quick fix for the kids, it’s PERFECT.

Quick Fake Spanish Rice

5 cups leftover rice
4 cups ground beef, cooked and drained of fat
1 can (24 oz) spaghetti sauce (I used Hunt’s “Four Cheese” flavor)
1 1.25 envelope Taco Seasoning Powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat up the cooked ground beef and rice in a large pot on the stovetop. If the rice is dry, add a small amount of water to keep the rice from burning. Add the Taco Seasoning packet, the garlic powder, and the salt; mix well. Add the can of spaghetti sauce and mix again. Allow the sauce to heat up but don’t let it burn! When sufficiently heated, turn the mix into a large bowl and let the kids go at it. Even better, give them paper plates and disposable cups, too! Make yourself a peanut butter sandwich and surf the Net.

Next Page »