HOPE’S RECIPES
What’s for dinner?
What I look for in a recipe- healthy, not too time consuming, somewhat basic ingredients, economical, at least moderately impressive, and of course tasty. I’ve provided some of our own staples, and asked friends to submit some as well. I hope the results are helpful and inspiring!
Baked Macaroni and Cheese
The first time I made this my kitchen was a disaster but now it’s pretty easy for me to whip it up fairly quickly. You can double it to serve many- you start with a béchamel sauce (which you can use for this recipe or the one that follows):
½ onion
3T butter
3T flour
2 ½ cups milk (low fat)
Peppercorns (maybe 10)
Bay leaf or two
Thyme maybe 1-2 t
Chop onion, sauté in
butter in double boiler or on really low heat. After a few minutes when
onion is translucent, add flour, stir with wire whisk, cook for a few more
minutes. Add milk slowly, stirring with wire whisk all the time, then add
herbs and peppercorns. Don’t be shy on those ingredients. Let cook
on very low heat 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally. While it is
cooking, boil a big pot of water for the noodles, and grate the cheese
To complete the Macaroni and cheese you
will need:
1 1b pasta (penne or bowtie or whatever) cooked el dente (which means not quite done)
¾ lb of Fontina cheese, (or a combination of white cheddar cheese and Swiss)
4 oz of freshly grated parmesan
1 cup buttered bread crumbs (I just cut up whatever bread I’ve got on hand and sauté it in butter or oil spray for a few min… you can also top with crackers if you’re in a pinch)
So what you do is butter a medium sized attractive bowl if you have one that is oven safe. Put 1/3 of the pasta in, top with 1/3 of cheese, 1/3 of sauce, a layer of salt and black pepper, repeat layers then top with buttered bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 40 min or until top is golden brown.
White Vegetarian Lasagna
Use the noodles that you don’t have to pre cook! It makes life easier I think.
Make the béchamel sauce recipe above, and double it.
You also need:
1 lg container of ricotta cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese (grated)
2 eggs
Box lasagna noodles
Vegetables- whatever you’ve got
(mushrooms, zucchini, onions, spinach all work well)
Combine egg and ricotta, sauté veggies until tender. Place layers in a large 9x13 baking dish like this: sauce, noodles, ricotta mixture, veggies, mozzarella, repeat 2 or three or 4 times, until ingredients are used up. Bake for 45 min- 1 hr.
This recipe is so ridiculously easy and gets tons of compliments.
Preheat oven 350.
Combine:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
2T prepared mustard (Dijon or just regular table mustard)
1t salt
1t curry powder
Pour the sauce over chicken (I usually do 5 chicken breasts) and cook for 40 min or until chicken is no longer pink in middle. Serve atop a bed of brown rice; make sure you get lots of sauce on your rice!
P.S. I highly recommend a rice cooker, they are pretty cheap (under $20) and they make rice easy and perfect.
Shrimp and Feta Pizza Pizza crust, homemade or store bought
Sauce:
1 35 oz can diced tomatoes
1 T olive oil
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 lg onion, halved lengthwise
1 bay leaf
1 t sugar
½ t salt
¾ t dried oregano
Ground pepper to taste
Place everything in saucepan and simmer
for at least ½ hour, remove onion.
Topping:
2 cups grated mozzarella (about 8 oz)
1 lb med shrimp shelled and deveined (can use frozen)
8 oz feta
1 t rosemary
Several dashes of olive oil
Spread out dough on well greased on pan or
pizza stone. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly on the dough, spoon the tomato
sauce over the cheese, spreading evenly up to the crust. Arrange the
shrimp on top in attractive manner, top with feta and sprinkle with rosemary and
olive oil. Bake for 15 min or until crust is golden.
Tip: If your
pizza comes out doughy, a trick I often do is bake crust by itself for 10 min
before I add toppings, then bake and additional 5-10 min.
Chili (Beef or Vegetarian) – (Kelly Nicely)
This has been a
favorite in my family for years. We often make this for Christmas Eve dinner,
but it is good all year long.
3 to 4 Bell Peppers
2 Red Onions
2 cups of your favorite salsa
2 large cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon cumin powder
Half pound ground beef (optional)
2 - 15 ounce cans of pinto beans
1 - 15 ounce can of black beans
1 - 15 ounce can of kidney beans
2 - 15 ounce cans of recipe ready diced tomatoes
1 - 15 ounce can of corn
1 - 7 ounce can of
chopped green chilies
Sauté chopped bell peppers and red onions in olive oil or butter. Add salsa, garlic, oregano and cumin. Add beef if desired. Cook completely and place mixture in crock-pot or large stock pot. Open and empty all canned goods into crock pot. Do not drain juice. Cook for several hours, stirring periodically. Serve with fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.
Coconut Curry Chicken (Brooke Davidson)
2 cans of coconut milk
1/2 large onion, red or white, sautéed in butter
1-2 cans of pineapple chunks
1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp red curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Frozen cut spinach leaves
Some minced or cut fresh basil however much you like.... maybe a tablespoon or two.
Cut and cooked chicken breast (2 feeds about 3 people)
I throw everything in a big skillet and bring it to a slight boil and then let it cook up over med. heat for a while to let the flavors mix. Simmering might be better, but I really am not experienced in the kitchen, so use your intuition. We like to add potatoes and any veggies we have sitting around. Use the same skillet you cook the onions in and just add everything else. Make this with a big bowl of white jasmine rice and you have got a tasty, easy meal. The red pepper and curry powder are up to your own discretion - we like a lot of both, but it is a recipe you can fiddle around with.
Also you can make this a vegetarian
dish by just substituting potatoes or tofu for the chicken.
Roasted Salmon with
Lemon Relish (Stacey Rea) 
2-4 salmon fillets
1/4C pine nuts
1/4C raisins
Juice of one lemon and zest
Salt/pepper
1/4C fresh cilantro
3T olive oil
5oz baby spinach
. Preheat oven 450 degrees. Spread nuts on cookie sheet. Cook 5 minutes. Place raisins and zest in bowl...cover with boiling water...set aside. Roast salmon 8-10 mins. Drain raisins and zest. Toss with juice, roasted pine nuts, cilantro and oil.
Place salmon on bed of spinach and top with relish.
Asian Salad with Salmon- (Stacy Rea)
(good recipe if leftover salmon)
2 skinless salmon fillets
1/4C rice vinegar
3T sesame oil
2T honey
8C cabbage w/carrots and red cabbage or any salad mix you enjoy
1/4C scallion
1/2C sliced toasted almonds
1/2C dried chopped apricots
Avocado
Broil salmon 8-10 minutes. Cool and break into pieces. Whisk vinegar - honey. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cabbage - apricots. Toss with dressing. Add salmon.
Chicken with Mustard (Stacey Rea)
Super easy and can be grilled outdoors. Serve with green beans or salad, couscous or potatoes.
1/4C Dijon
2 cloves minced garlic
2t minced fresh rosemary
1/4C olive oil
Pepper to taste
4-6 chicken breasts
Combine above. Coat chicken and let sit at room temp for 1 hour. Grill.
Curried Carrot Soup (Stacey Rea)2T butter
1C chopped onion
1t curry
1t salt
1/4 t pepper
3 1/2 C (2 cans) veggie broth or chicken broth
3C water
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1T fresh lemon juice
Cook butter, onion, curry, salt and pepper for five minutes. Add carrot, broth and water and cook for about 20 minutes or until carrots soften. Puree and stir in lemon juice
(For a richer soup, add a touch of cream)
Baked Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta (Stacey Rea)
2T olive oil
4 scallion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2t-dried oregano
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 pounds large frozen cooked shrimp
2T fresh mint, chopped
4 oz feta cheese
Thaw shrimp and removed tails in necessary. Preheat oven 475. Heat oil. Add scallions, garlic and oregano. Cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook 10 minutes or no liquid left in pan. Add shrimp and mint. Transfer to square baking dish. Crumble feta on top and bake 15-20 minutes or feta begins to brown.
Serve with pasta or couscous
SALADS
I think it’s important to know how to make a good salad, one that people won’t eat just out of nutritional duty, but you want to eat! Nice restaurants seem to have a knack at this, and I try to pay attention to what they do and imitate it at home. Here are some tips to making a good salad.
Here’s my basic dressing recipe that I got from a friend, play with it as much as you like; it is fun to experiment.
1 part vinegar (apple cider, balsamic, or red wine recommended)
3 parts extra virgin olive oil
Lots of chopped garlic... I mean a lot
Some Dijon mustard (optional)
Some Worchester sauce (optional)
Salt and fresh ground
pepper to taste
Give it a try I hope you like it!
Snack time
I often feel like
snack time is the “meal” I have to be most prepared for, if I neglect it,
the kids won’t last until dinner. Here are a few ideas; I am still
working on finding new ones. I think the key here is protein.
Hardboiled eggs- just cook a bunch at once (put the eggs in the water before you turn the heat on…. Boil for 7 min.) and keep them in your fridge for a snack. I was surprised how my kids were so into them, when all you have to do is peel it, half it, and put a little salt and pepper on it. Also you can slice them and sneak them into grilled cheese sandwiches at lunchtime, or put them on a salad.
Combine equal part peanut butter and
vanilla yogurt in a kitchen aid mixer or blender. Use as a dip for
pretzels or apple slices.
Protein powder milkshake-
Trader Joes or other health food stores sell different kind of protein powder/ vitamin supplement powder drinks that can make really great milkshakes if you add a few extras.
Combine in blender: a scoop of protein
powder (chocolate or vanilla), a few cups of milk, some whole milk yogurt, some
frozen bananas*, a bit of peanut butter. Blend and serve with straws if
you’ve got them.
*When bananas are on sale, or if your bananas are going soft before you can use them, a good idea is to peel them and stick them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.
Celery, peanut butter, and raisins
My kids love them.
I also heard of a woman who made a
rule that the only food that could be eaten in front of the TV was raw veggies.
Not a bad idea.
Ellie's Recipes
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