Cranberry Glazed Cornish Hens, by Cheryl

This is a Cheryl original! I always keep a pair of cornish hens in the freezer if I'm not sure what to make for dinner one night. It is always a go to meal, and there's not much prep time at all. I always serve it with a side of asparagus and crescent rolls. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 cornish hens
1 can of cranberry sauce
1/2 lemon
brown sugar
baby carrots
celery
chicken broth
salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375. Rinse out both cornish hens. Sprinkle some salt inside the cavity and on the outside of the hen and place in a 9x13 glass dish. Place some carrots and cut celery inside the cavity and in dish.

2) In a saucepan on medium high heat, mix half of the can of the cranberry sauce, about 1/2 a cup of water, and half of the lemon. Once it has turned to liquid sprinkle in a little brown sugar. Mix.

3) Liberally coat cornish hens with cranberry mixture.

4) Fill dish with a mixture of water and chicken broth until the dish is about 1/4 of the way full.

5) Cook in oven uncovered for 80-90 minutes.

6) When it is almost done, heat the rest of the cranberry sauce with water. Pour the cranberry mixture over the cornish hens when they are done.

"Pasteis De Nata"- Portuguese Custard Tarts, by Cheryl

When Jon and I went to Portugal I quickly became addicted to these custard tarts called pasteis de nata. Everywhere we went I had to find them and eat them!! For some reason I was looking up recipes having to do with custard... I then remembered the tarts and started looking up recipes for the tarts. I came across this recipe on foodgawker.com. I would make them again since the custard came out really good, but I don't think I did the flaky dough correctly (or didn't buy the right dough) since it didn't come out flaky at all and had more of a roll like taste to it. Either way, they are worth a try!

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

7 3/4 fl. oz cream (I used 1 cup)

2/3 cup milk

2 tsp natural vanilla extract

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry

Put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan and whisk together. Gradually whisk in the cream and milk until smooth. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skim forming and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly grease a 12-hole muffin tin. Cut the pastry sheet in half, put one half on top of the other and set aside for 5 minutes. Roll up the pastry tightly from the short end and cut the pastry log into twelve 1 cm (1/2 inch) rounds. Lay each pastry round on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out until each is 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter.

Press the pastry rounds into the muffin tin. Spoon the cooled custard into the pastry cases and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry and custard are golden. Leave the tarts in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Shrimp with Mango Sauce, by Cheryl

I absolutely love this dish. I can't remember where I originally found the recipe (I've been making it for over a year now), but it gets better each time I make it. It has a fruity and spicy kick to it and works well with shrimp and/or chicken. I serve it with white rice, but I'm sure brown rice would be just fine. Enjoy!

4 tsp canola oil

½ cup chopped red onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp ground cumin

⅛ tsp cinnamon

1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into ½-inch pieces

⅓ cup cider vinegar

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

1-1.5 pounds shrimp

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp garlic powder

Heat 2 tsp oil in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.

Cook onion, garlic, ginger, ¼ tsp salt, allspice, cumin and cinnamon about 3 minutes.

Add mango, vinegar, lime juice and sugar and gently boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick.

Toss chicken/shrimp with red pepper, garlic powder and remaining ½ tsp salt.

Heat remaining 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook shrimp until no longer translucent. Serve with sauce and rice.

Sherry Braised Short Ribs, by Cheryl

One word- amazing!!! I've tried a couple of recipes for short ribs before, but none have had the luscious taste that this does (I took it from The Barcelona Cookbook). The meat melts in your mouth and the variety of vegetables is a nice compliment to it. This is pretty time consuming so it's great for a weekend meal (especially with the cold weather). I also changed a couple of things either because I didn't have the ingredient, or because I'm fairly new at cooking and wanted to make things simpler for myself. I would definitely make this again! Yum!

Brine

1 small rib celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 small carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 small Spanish onion, coarsely chopped (I used sweet onions)
1/2 small head garlic, halved
3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped (didn't use this)
1 small sprig fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
1 cup apple cider
3/4 cup cream sherry or another sweet sherry (I used sherry cooking wine)
2 tbs. sherry vinegar
4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. kosher salt
six 4 inch long beef short ribs

Vegetables

1 pint (2 cups) pearl onions (I used sweet onions)
2 Yukon Gold potatoes (didn't have potatoes)
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice
1 celery root, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice
3 tbs. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Braising

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Spanish paprika
1/4 cup chili powder
3 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne
3/4 cup olive oil
5 cups veal stock (or half and half of beef and chicken stock)

Marinating the meat:

Mix all the brine ingredients together. Put the ribs, meat side down, in one or more shallow dishes/pans. Pour the brine over the ribs, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to two days. (I used a Ziploc bag and occasionally turned the bag over so that the meat would be evenly marinated.)

Roasting the veggies:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the vegetables except for the onions, put in a bowl and mix with 2 tbs. of olive oil. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper and mix well. Spread the remaining tbs. of olive oil in a shallow baking pan and spread the veggies over the pan in a single layer. Roast the veggies for 10 minutes, stir, and roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until they're tender and golden brown. (I included the onions in this step).

Prepare the pearl onions (I didn't do this step and included the onions in the previous step):

Put a pot of water to boil on the stove. Make an x in the root of each pearl onion. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and add the onions. Blanch for 3-4 minutes and drain. Cut off the root ends from the onions. The skin should follow. If the skin doesn't come off by itself, remove. Set the onions aside.

Brown and braise the short ribs:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a Ziploc bag, combine the flour and spices. Seal the bag and shake to mix to flour and spices together. Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Reserve the brine. Drop 2 ribs into the bag at a time. Shake to coat well and then remove. (Instead of making the flour mixture, I made a mixture using 1/2 of the spices recommended in the recipe. I dried off the marinated ribs with paper towels and sprinkled the meat liberally on all sides with the spice mixture. Then I dredged them in less than a cup of flour which I had in a shallow bowl before I browned the meat).

Heat a roasting pan on 2 burners over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and when hot, brown the ribs until golden brown on all sides. You might have to do this in batches, depending on the size of the pan.

Pour the oil from the pan, wipe any cooked flour from the pan, and scrape the edges and bottom of the pan.

Return the short ribs to the pan and pour 1 cup of the reserved brine and the veal stock over them. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bring to a boil. Very carefully, transfer the roasting pan to the oven and braise for 1 1/2 hours, or until the ribs are tender. Lift the ribs from the pan and set them aside. Set the pan aside to let the braising liquid cool.

Holding a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, strain the braising liquid. Skim as much of the fat from the braising liquid with a spoon or ladle or put the liquid in the freezer for an hour and then lift off the fat that congeals on the surface. (I wish I had this tool to skim the fat off the top, or enough time to let the liquid freeze so I could lift the fat off but it was getting late and we were getting hungry! I tried to do it with a spoon, but had a hard time. I didn't do this step the way it's supposed to be done, but I wanted to!)

Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Put the short ribs, onions, roasted vegetables, and strained liquid into the roasting pan and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the ribs comes out hot.

Serve the roasting ribs with the roasted vegetables and some of the liquid. Enjoy!!

Beef and Vegetable Stir Fry with a Peanut Butter Sauce, by Diane

I decided to cook stir fry tonight because I wanted something healthier for dinner. The idea of the peanut butter sauce was actually not planned- I had bought stir fry sauce at the store to go with it, but when I tasted it out of the bottle it was WAY too tangy and strong. I needed something to smooth out the taste, which is where the peanut butter came in. Plus- I'm a huge fan of peanut satays, which this sauce sort of came to resemble. I used natural peanut butter to cut down on sugar, and only used 1 tbsp of oil in the whole dish to make it healthier. It's a really easy and quick dinner. I hope you like it, enjoy!

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 bag stir fry frozen vegetables
1 package white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 small can bamboo shoots
1 small can water chestnuts
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 packages of thinly sliced stir fry beef, cut into smaller pieces
1 cup raw unsalted peanuts
3/4 cup kikkoman stir fry sauce
1 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp ginger
3 tbsp raw peanut butter

1. Heat skillet to medium high, coat heavily with cooking spray and add frozen vegetables and mushrooms. Cook until frozen vegetables are thawed, then add in bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Cook until warm. Remove from skillet and place in microwave or cover to keep warm.

2. Pour oil in the skillet, heat and then add beef. Cook until no longer pink.

3. Add vegetables back into skillet along with peanuts, stir to combine.

4. Mix the remaining ingredients into a sauce, making sure peanut butter is well blended. Pour sauce over stir fry and mix to combine.

Pear, Walnut, & Goat Cheese Quiche, by Cheryl

After a long break of not cooking due to a ton of Thanksgiving and restaurant leftovers I finally was able to make something again! I'm not the biggest quiche fan, but when I saw the combination of pears, walnuts, and goat cheese from a recipe on foodgawker.com, I thought maybe it would help me change my mind. I thought it would be sweeter with the pears, but it wasn't. I probably will not be making it again (unless I decide to bring it as a side to a party), but if you are a quiche lover this recipe is definitely one to try. This recipe makes two, cute, individual quiches.

Serves 2

cream cheese pie crust recipe (follows)
custard filling recipe (follows)
1 pear, your choice what kind, cut into sections with skin on
1/3 cup goat cheese crumbles (or more if you really like cheese)
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Cream Cheese Pie Crust

½ cup all-purpose flour
3 TBSP unsalted butter, chilled and cut
4 TBSP cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp apple cider
2 tsp honey

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using a food processor, add together all the ingredients. Pulse until it comes together in a ball.

Divide into two discs. Wrap into plastic wrap and place in fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove from fridge and roll out one disc on lightly floured surface to 1/8 of an inch. Lay and shape into either individual quiche dish or mini pie dish. Cut off excess dough. Repeat with second disc.

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Custard mixture:
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
pinch of fresh nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.

To make the quiches:

Divide the pear, walnut and goat cheese in half. Layer ½ the pear slices in one crust, and ½ in the other. Sprinkle ½ of the walnuts over the pears and do the same with the other one. Sprinkle ½ of the goat cheese crumbles over the pears and walnuts and do the same with the other one.

Pour half of the custard over the pears, walnuts, and goat cheese filling. Pour the remaining half into the other crust.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie with a Dumpling Crust, by Diane

Back to cooking after a break for Thanksgiving week! Today was a snow day, and I had to make dinner using ingredients I already had in the house (with no grocery run in over a week). I decided to make a chicken pot pie, but went for a twist by using the dough to make dumplings as the crust. The idea with this easy pie is to have all of the center ingredients cooked because the crust does not take long to bake. In the end, the dumplings didn't come out quite as moist as I wanted, so I would advise either cooking it for less time or using a tube of crescent rolls (I have made this before and it was AMAZING!) as your dough. Either way, it was a good dinner for a cold snowy day. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 cups Bisquick mix (I always use the lowfat version)
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk (I used skim milk)
5 chicken breasts, cubed
1 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp sage or poultry seasoning
3 tsp salt
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
1/2 small white onion (or you can use baby pearl onions in the freezer section)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I used the 98% fat free ones)


1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Using half of the bisquick and milk, combine in a bowl until a ball of dough forms using hands. Flatten the dough into a circle and lay in the bottom of an ungreased pie plate. Mold the dough into the pie plate so that it fits over top of the edges, making sure it is not too thick in the center (the dough rises when it cooks and then you won't have any room for the filling!). Poke several times on the bottom with a fork to allow air to escape so the crust doesn't get too high. Bake the bottom layer for about 5 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside.

3. While the dough bakes, cook the chicken with thyme, 1 tbsp sage/poultry seasoning, and 2 tsp salt until the cubes are no longer pink inside. Set in a large bowl.

4. In the same pan, cook the frozen veggies and onion combined with the remaining sage/poultry seasoning and salt (1 tbsp and 1 tsp) until the veggies have cooked and the onion turns clear. Place in the same bowl as the chicken.

5. Add into the chicken/veggie bowl the cans of soup, stir to combine and set aside.

6. Using the remaining bisquick and milk (3 cups and 1 cup + 1 tbsp) make the top shell, pressing out into a large enough circle to cover the top of the pie.

7. Pour the bowl of fillings into the pie, then place the top crust on and pinch sides of crusts together.

8. Bake the pie in the oven for about 10 minutes.