Greek Nachos

So you know those ooey gooey, greasy, not-so-good-for-you, covered-in-fakey-processed-cheese-but-still-somehow-tasty, all-American, football game nachos?

Well, this...

This is not that.

This is light, colorful, and bursting with the zing of fresh mint and lemon!

When I first ran across this recipe on Pinterst it intrigued me as being incredibly creative- basically it's just a deconstructed gyro, but how fun to make a play on nachos! Everybody loves nachos! And what could be better than giving them a healthy Greek twist?

Oh, and we affectionately dubbed these "Grachos".

Just so you know.

Tip: If you have some extra time and you want to get all fancy, start by making your own pitas, then slice them into wedges and toast in the oven!

Greek Nachos

(printable version)

adapted from Mark Bittman's recipe in The New York Times

serves about 4

Plain or flavored pita chips (we like Athenos Original)

1/2 lb. ground beef (or lamb)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 TB ground cumin

4 TB olive oil, divided

salt and pepper

4 oz. feta cheese

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

zest and juice from one lemon

3 roma tomatoes, chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup of pitted, sliced kalamata olives

Heat a skillet and 2 TB of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef (or lamb) and cumin and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until meat is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, combine feta cheese, yogurt, remaining 2 TB olive oil, mint and zest and juice of lemon. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Blend or process until smooth.
Put chips on a serving plate and layer with meat mixture, feta sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives.

Enjoy!

Upside-Down Mexican Pot Pie

You know how a pot pie is just this delectable thing with veggies and tender meat in a creamy, rich sauce topped with a flaky pastry crust?

Well, what if pot pie went Mexican?

What if you had some cheese joining the party...tomatoes and veggies hanging out with some tender ground beef spiced with seasonings and peppers topped off with moist cornbread? That would be all right, wouldn't it?

Oh wait.

Turn that upside down.

Yep, the whole thing.

Now you've got it. If you're gonna turn the whole pot pie idea upside down, you might as well go ahead and turn the whole pot pie upside down.

Right?

At least that's how I explain to myself why this pie is upside down. Besides the fact that it's fun. To say. And to eat.

Upside-Down Mexican Pot Pie

(printable version)

adapted from the Gooseberry Pot Pie Cookbook

serves 6

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green pepper, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn, drained

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1 (8.5 oz.) pkg. cornbread mix (will need egg and milk)

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 2 qt. casserole dish.

In a skillet over medium heat, brown beef with onion, garlic, green pepper, and zucchini. Drain. Add tomatoes with juice, corn and seasonings (adjust to taste). Simmer about 5 min.

Meanwhile, prepare cornbread mix according to package directions.

Pour batter into prepared dish. Spoon beef/vegetable mixture over batter. 

Cover with foil and bake 25 min. Uncover and sprinkle with cheese. Return to oven and bake 5-10 min. more or until cheese is melted and bubbly and pie is heated through.

Mom's Hamburger Stroganoff

As the temperatures drop, a definite craving for warm comforting foods begins to emerge. One of my husband's (and mine!) all time favorite comfort-foods is his mom's recipe for hamburger stroganoff.

This delicious pasta dish was passed down to me when I joined the family as the newest Mrs. Cochran and not only is it affordable and quick, it is creamy and simply soul-warming!

Mom's Hamburger Stroganoff

serves about 4

1 lb. hamburger

4 TB chopped onion

1/4 cup butter

1 can golden mushroom soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 whole bay leaves

4 cups egg noodles

8 oz. sour cream

Brown the hamburger. In another pan, melt butter over medium heat and add onion. Saute until just done. Add both cans of soup plus 3/4 of a can of water for each. Bring to a boil. Add hamburger, noodles and bay leaves. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15-20 min. or until noodles are tender. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Taco Pizza

As many of you know, Hubby and I have a little routine of pizza & a movie every Friday night. We go to the gym, work out like crazy people (I do Zumba!), then come home, have pizza and snuggle up to a great film. It is a fantastic tradition, and unless I get some crazy aversion to pizza later in life, I hope we never stop.

One thing I am challenged with, though, is how to keep the pizza regimen fresh. You know, not pepperoni every week. Last week I was inspired by a recipe I spied in my AllYou magazine, and made a few tweaks to suit me. I have had taco pizza before- at a delicious pizzeria in Cannon Beach- and I have made something close to it before, but this looked fantastic. And it was! Using refried beans and salsa for the "sauce" was pure genius and the fresh veggies and cilantro on top gave it that slam-bang finish.

If you don't have a favorite homemade crust, check out the link to my easy whole wheat thin crust- it's my staple! It only takes about 15 min. to make and has a great wheat flavor (and since it's a thin crust, it's quite a bit lower on calories than most!).

Taco Pizza
(printable version)

makes 1 pizza (mine is a 15")

adapted from AllYou magazine

(no measurements- fix it to your liking!)

1 recipe pizza crust

refried beans

salsa

shredded cheese

corn (frozen or canned)

olives, sliced

1 lb. hamburger meat

1 recipe taco seasoning

iceberg lettuce, chopped

tomatoes, chopped

fresh cilantro, chopped

Make crust. Preheat oven to 500 (or whatever your crust recommends). Spread refried beans over crust. Top with salsa, spreading evenly. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Brown hamburger, add taco seasoning and a little water. Simmer about 15 min. (You will only need about a 1/4 lb of the meat, so  you can freeze the rest for tacos!). Top cheese with meat, olives, and corn.

Bake 12-14 min or until crust is browned.
After baking, sprinkle pizza with lettuce, tomatoes and cilantro. Slice and serve!

Slow Cooker {Beefy} French Onion Soup

My in-laws keep us supplied with delicious onions. My father-in-law works for a family onion farm, so we are often sent home with a 50 lb. bag to use (and share!). I have been slowly won over into the onion lover's camp (although I still can't handle them raw- except in salsa) through the big, sweet yellow onions we are supplied with. The last installment had me thinking they would make a lovely bowl of French onion soup. And they did. I try to make most of my soups in the crock pot since our soup night is an evening when we are away from home until later and it is fantastic to meet aromas and a warm bowl of soup when you walk in the door. So when I found a recipe for French onion soup made in the crock pot, with chunks of stew meat, I knew I had to try it.

The result was an amazingly rich, beefy broth, full of sweet caramelized onions and tender meat, topped, of course, in traditional style, with toast smothered in swiss cheese. I think the cheesy toast is almost my favorite part of the soup! It adds such a classy look and delicious flavor to the dish, with the cheese melting down the side and into the broth...okay, now I'm getting hungry.

Slow Cooker Beefy French Onion Soup
(printable version)

by Betty Crocker

serves about 6 main dish, 8 side dish

about 7 small onions, cut in half and thinly sliced (about 7 cups)

1 TB butter, melted

2 TB sugar

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 lbs. beef stew meat

3 cans (10.5 oz) condensed beef consomme (I used broth)

1/4 cup dry sherry or apple juice

1 cup apple juice

1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/2 in. thick slices French bread, toasted (1 per serving)

sliced or shredded swiss cheese (1 slice or 1/4 cup per serving)

Toss onions, butter and sugar in slow cooker. Top with bay leaves and beef. Cover and cook on low heat 9 to 10 hours or until onions are deep brown (caramelized).

Stir in consomme, sherry, apple juice and thyme and increase heat to high. Cook unti hot, about 10 min. Remove bay leaves.

To serve, spoon into oven safe soup bowls or ramekins and top each serving with a slice of toast and cheese. Broil with tops 6 in. from heat 3 to 5 min or until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Source: Bettycrocker.com

Soup's On! {Crock-Pot Beefy Cabbage Soup}

Fall brings many things, and one of them that we certainly look forward to is the starting of our church's Awana Kid's Club! It is a fun program, and Travis & I both greatly enjoy working with the kiddos in our community.
Last year, I started a tradition for our little family of "Crock-Pot Wednesdays". It is hard for us to eat before Awana, since it starts at 6, and I never feel like cooking afterwards, so the Crock-Pot is the perfect solution. The house smells wonderful, and it's ready to eat when we walk in the door! I experimented with a few different Crock-Pot meals last year (such as lasagna and tamale pie), with disastrous results. Since I never know exactly when we'll get home, those types of meals didn't seem to be working out. So I decided to go with soup, which, if you choose the right type, can be left simmering for hours and just keeps improving! We discovered many new and delicious homemade soups, and as soon as the rain set in and Awana was on the horizon, we started to look forward to beginning our "Soup Nights" again.
I had a leftover half a roast in the freezer, so the first recipe I pulled out was a "Beefy Cabbage Soup" I had found in About.com's "Southern Food" section but never got around to trying. We experimented with cabbage soup last year, and both loved it! It is so healthy, and when I worked out the cost, amounts to just a few dollars a meal! It is hearty and filling and fills your home with delightful smells! Even if you don't like cabbage, I'd encourage you to give it a try!
Tip: most soups without lots of rice or noodles freeze tremendously well, so don't be afraid to fill your Crock-Pot even if, like us, there are only a couple of you! It makes for a very easy meal later- I just barely defrost it and plop it into the Crock-Pot again to let it completely defrost and heat up. So simple!

Crock Pot Beefy Cabbage Soup
(printable version)

by Diana Rattray, on About.com

tweaked by Jenn

makes 6-8 servings

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium sized carrots, sliced thinly

2 ribs celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 TB rice

4-5 cups beef broth (or 3 to 4 cans)- I saved the liquid from when I cooked the roast and used that in place of some of the beef broth for extra flavor!

1 or 2 meaty soup bones, or 3 cups leftover roast, cut into chunks

2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes

1 bay leaf

savory seasoning to taste

parsley to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in slow cooker. Simmer for 8-10 hours or until vegetables are tender.

This recipe is linked to: Southernfood.about.com

A Tale of Two Soups (Turkey Chowder/Beef-Barley Soup)

This is a tale of two soups that I made
Both in the crockpot and both blogposts delayed.
I am rhyming this post for no apparent reason
Maybe I've lost it- maybe it's just the season.
On any account I hope you enjoy it
If I ever finish and don't decide to destroy it!
Getting back to the soups- well, one was a chowder...
But they both were a hit, so I couldn't be prouder.
One began as a turkey, the other a roast
I was satisfied with each, so I'll try not to boast.

The week before Thanksgiving I cooked the turkey
I wanted my own leftovers, you see.
So when we were done with what we could eat
To the freezer went the rest of the meat.
Later on when we'd come back
I took the turkey out of it's freezer sack
And popped in the crockpot this recipe dear
One I'd found online after Thanksgiving last year.
It came from a place called Recipezaar
I if I would rate it, I'd give it more than one star!
Probably five, it's really that good
If you have turkey, then try it you should!
It involves mostly veggies and broth, of course
Chicken, unless you make turkey broth straight from the source!
I guess what makes it a chowder is the flour
Which you cook with the onion before simmering for hours.
A special flair that you put in this dish
A half cup of apple juice which makes it delish!
Homestyle goodness and a tangy flavor
This is one chowder that you'll want to savor!

The second soup, as I said, was a roast
But it was bad news- I might even say "toast!"
The meat was fatty and chewy and gross
I thought I might thow it out- and came close.
But I hoped maybe I could redeem it with soup
We'd just see if my meat could jump through that hoop!
It needed some tenderizing- maybe soup would be just the thing
And a church dinner was coming and I needed something to bring.
So later I trimmed all the fatty parts down
And chopped up the good parts- I sure went to town!
I added some veggies (corn, peas, garlic, potato
Celery, carrot and even tomato)
Bay leaf, basil and barley too
Better add broth or this will be stew!
Better Homes & Gardens is the one that I owe
For this delicious recipe that I have to show.
"Beef-Barley Soup" proved to be just right
Savory and warm, comfort food to the last bite!

Both of these soups (excuse me...chowder- oh well)
Create in your home a lovely food smell.
They simmer away in the crockpot all day
Ready when you are to keep hunger at bay.
Both can be served with a side that you choose
But here are a few suggestions for what you should use:
Rolls are always a pleaser- that's true

Or you could always go for something that's new.

Biscuits are also an option that's swell

If you use Bisquick, I swear I won't tell!

Cornbread is good, using Jiffy or no

Bread soup-sides are good, however you go!

Hope you will try one or both of these treats

They make quite a lot so you can freeze the rest of the eats.

I love having frozen soups on hand

They make a great quick dinner if you're in a jam.

I think my rhyming's getting poorer- I'd better stop now

But make sure and read the recipes below!

Turkey CHOWDER
(printable version)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced celery

2 TB butter

2 TB flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

5 cups chicken broth (or 3 cans)

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup sliced zucchini

1/2 cup apple juice (or cider)

3 cups chopped cooked turkey

Cook onion and celery in butter. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Slowly add the chicken broth. Combine broth mixture and remaining ingredients in slow cooker. Cover, cook on low 4-6 hrs.

Beef-Barley Soup
(printable version)

12 oz. beef stew meat (or leftover roast!), cut into 1-in. cubes (if not using leftover roast, brown meat in oil before following rest of recipe)

4 14 oz.cans beef broth (or more if needed)

1 cup chopped onion (1 lg)

1/2 cup chopped celery (1 stalk)

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 tsp dried oregano or basil, crushed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (I used 1/2 cup peas & 1/2 cup corn)

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (may use the Italian variety)

1 cup 1/2-in. cubes peeled potato

2/3 cup regular barley

Combine all ingredients in 6-qt slow cooker. Cover, cook on low for 8-10 hrs or high for 4-5 hrs.

Cabbage Capers (Hearty Beef and Cabbage Soup)

No, I have not cooked with capers. I still don't even know what capers are, actually. This post is not about capers! It's about adventures- with cabbage!
Until about a week ago, my only experience with cabbage was to slice it up VERY small for my mom's world-famous oriental chicken salad. The salad is to die for and my brother has confessed that he thinks he could eat it every day for the rest of his life.
But, as I said, until recently, this wonderful salad was my only foray into the world of cabbage. I am not a saurkraut fan, and I always had this picture in my mind of cooked cabbage being kind of like spinach. Wilted. Green. Mushy. Not very appetizing. But, my husband seemed to think it was good. So, I thought, why not? I am really into trying things I've never tried lately, so why not add cooked cabbage to the list? Good heavens, I just tried sushi the other night with some friends- cooked cabbage can't be scarier than that!
So, my first recipe was one for the crock-pot. A safe-looking "Pork & Cabbage Dinner" from the Fix It and Forget It cookbook. I must say, I was nervous when I put in the pot in the morning, though it was very simple. I was heartily convinced that a tablespoon of parsley was far too much, but in it went.
Hours later, we came home from being out all afternoon and boy, did the house smell good! (That is one of those things I absolutely LOVE about the crock-pot...you can leave the house all day and come home and it smells like you've been slaving away all afternoon!!) That seemed to be a positive sign. I wasn't sure what goes with cabbage, so I played it safe and whipped up some instant mashed potatoes. When we finally sat down and tried it, it was delicious! The pork chops were tender and full of flavor (guess that over-abundance of parsley had it's place!)- fairly falling apart, and the cabbage and mashed potatoes complemented each other perfectly. But, despite the wonderful flavors, I was right. It was ugly. You know, I absolutely love good food. But I also love pretty food. It bothers me when food is ugly. And this was ugly. The cabbage, just as I suspected, was green. And mushy. Very unappealing. But, I suppose you could consider this test a success, for it was tasty! But the unattractiveness of it still gnaws at my artistic sensibilities.
My second cabbage caper was met with better success. It was a hamburger and cabbage soup (from the same cookbook) and it was yummy. It was also a crock-pot supper, which I paired with Sweet Cornbread (divine, thanks to the added moistness of sour cream!) from The Taste of Home Cookbook. It reminded me a lot of chili (probably because of the whole tablespoon of chili powder and the can of kidney beans...)- but with cabbage! We dressed it up with a dollop of sour cream, and judging from the contented noises that came from my husband's corner of the table, I think it's safe to call it a "hit"! :) The pork may or may not be on the repeat list (due to it's unattractive qualities) but the soup is definitely a keeper. But you know what all this talk of cabbage has me itching for? Mom's Oriental Chicken Salad! There's a lot to be said for standbys, you know...


"Hearty Beef and Cabbage Soup"
submitted to "Fix It and Forget It" by Carolyn Mathias

1 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
40 oz can of tomatoes (I used about 28 oz because I only had 2 cans!)
2 c. water
15 oz can of kidney beans
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 c. chopped celery
2 c. thinly sliced cabbage

1) Saute beef in skillet; drain.
2) Combine all ingredients except cabbage in slow cooker.
3) Cover. Cook on low 3 hours (or 4, or 5...I think I did mine a bit longer). Stir in cabbage. Cook on High 30-60 min. longer. (I forgot to turn it up, but it turned out just fine!)

Spaghetti Pie

Well, to start us out...tonight I made a Spaghetti Pie (Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook). Very different than anything I have ever done with spaghetti. For several reasons. The spaghetti was mixed with egg (weird!) and then used as a "crust" (which it adapted to better than I thought it would...). Then cottage cheese and a meat sauce were layered in that. I thought it looked very interesting, so I had to try it! My favorite part of the whole process was still what is usually my favorite part of cooking...frying up the meat with the onions and garlic (except this time it added green peppers, which I don't particularly care for)...ahhhh, always smells so heavenly! Anyway, the "pie" turned out kind of funny, because, though cooked in a pie plate, it doesn't hold together very well, so you can kind of throw out any thoughts of pretty presentation (which I had!) or even just getting it to stay in wedges. It just kind of falls apart and looks like a cross between mixed up spaghetti and mixed up lasagna. :( But, on the brighter side- it tastes good! It is certainly not exceptional, and I haven't decided if it's good enough to earn a place on my "keeper" list, but it is rather tasty, especially for a girl who salivates over all things Italian!

Anyway, I hope to use this blog as an outlet for myself and to inform you of my raptures over a particularly marvelous recipe or experiences in the kitchen as I learn the art of really cooking, lament a dish that didn't quite turn out to be just what I expected, and maybe even mistakes I make (if I'm brave enough to share!).