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Filet Mignon With Cabernet Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 4-ounce filet mignon steaks
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
  • 1/4 cup shallots, minced
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1 cup cabernet sauvignon
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 2 teaspoons butter

Directions

Coat a large nonstick pan with olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add steaks to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired doness (we cooked them for ~7 minutes a side). Remove from pan.

Add shallots to pan; saute 1 minute. Stir in vinegar and soy sauce; cook 1 minute or until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly. Add remaining salt, pepper, wine and broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 11 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter. Drizzle over steaks.

Serve with Roasted New Potatoes and Sauteed Rosemary Mushooms.

Cooking Light Magazine

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Shannon’s Tasty (Oohmommy) Quiche

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup onion or shallot, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
  • 1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 4 mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 pieces bacon, baked and diced

Directions

Make pate brisee.  Poke with holes, line with foil and put weights in the pan.  Prebake at 425 for 25 minutes. 

Beat eggs.  Mix in heavy cream through nutmeg.  Place bacon in prebaked crust and then pour in egg mixture.  Cover crust with foil.  Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.

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Roxanne’s Roast Chicken

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1.5 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 1.5 teaspoons dried rosemary
  • 1.5 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
  • 1/2 small white onion, diced
  • 1 4-lb roasting chicken
  • 12 large pitted green olives

Directions

Mix the vinegar, soy sauce, mustard, mustard seeds, rosemary, pepper and onions together in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken.  Set aside.

Remove the package from the cavity of the chicken; reserve for another use or discard.  Rinse the chicken inside and out and dry thoroughly.  Roll the chicken around in the marinade, making sure plenty flows into the cavity.  Cover and marinate 8 hours to overnight in the fridge. 

Prior to cooking, bring chicken to room temperature.  Preheat oven to 375.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, allowing any marinade that sticks to the chicken to remain.  Save the remaining marinade in a bowl.  Put the olives in the cavity of the chicken.  Set the chicken, breast side down on a roasting rack (non-stick or sprayed with PAM) in a roasting pan.   Add 1/2 inch water to the roasting pan.  Roast for 50 minutes.  Flip the chicken to breast side up (careful of the olives), pour the remaining marinade over the bird, and roast for 40 minutes longer, or until the chicken reaches 170.  Tent with foil if the skin gets too brown. 

Remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. 

Serve with Parsley Red Potatoes, Roasted Red Potatoes or Golden Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Sour Cream.

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Easy Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 cup plain whole mile yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, grated

Masala Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 fresh serrano pepper, ribs and seeds removed, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 28 ounze can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 tablespoon sugar (originally 2 tablespoons)
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup? fresh cilantro

Directions

For the chicken: Combine cumin, coriander and salt in a small bowl.  Sprinkle both sides of chicken with the spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres.  Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30-60 minutes.  In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger; set aside.

 For the sauce: Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium heat until simmering.  Add onion and cook, stirring, until light brown.  Add garlic, ginger, chili, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant (~3 minutes).  Add crushed tomatoes, sugar and salt; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover, simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  If the sauce looks too chunky, puree it in a food processor, then return to pan.  Stir in cream and return to simmer.  Remove pan from heat, cover to keep warm. 

While sauce simmers, put oven rack about 6 inches from broiler and heat broiler.  Using tongs, dip the chicken in the yogurt mix (chicken should be coated with a thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on a broiler pan with a wire rack.  Discard extra yogurt.  Broil chicken until thickest parts are 160 degrees and exterior is lightly charred in places (~10-18 minutes), turning chicken halfway through.

Let chicken rest 5 minutes, cut into 1 inch chunks, and stir into warm sauce.  Stir in cilantro, adjust seasonings with salt, and serve with basmati rice.

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Beef Kebabs

Ingredients
* 1 pound steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
* 1 onion, cut into large sections
* 1 red and 1 yellow pepper, cut into large sections

Marinade
* 1/2 cup red wine
* 2 tablespoons soy sauce
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 teaspoon worchestershire
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
# Combine marinade ingredients and beef in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, stirring occasionally.
# Heat grill. Remove beef from marinade, reserve marinade. Place onions, peppers and beef on skewers. Grill for 8 – 10 minutes, turning and basting occasionally with remaining marinade.

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Thad’s Baby Back Ribs

Ingredients

* baby back ribs
* beer
* BBQ sauce

Directions

Put ribs in pot with about 4 beers (any variety). Add water to cover ribs. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Remove ribs from pot, cover in BBQ sauce, then BBQ for a couple minutes on each side.

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The World’s Best Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 1 package of Lasagna noodles
  • 1 15 ounce container of Ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 large ball of mozzarella, grated
  • 1 jar of pasta sauce
  • 1/2 lb of ground beef
  • 1 lb of ground pork
  • 1 head of broccoli, steamed and cut into small pieces
  • 1 tablepoon (or more) red pepper flakes
  • salt, pepper, basil and oregano to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook Lasagna noodles according to directions on package.

Mix together Ricotta cheese and beaten egg. In a separate bowl, mix grated mozzarella and parmesan.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Saute onion for 3 mintues, then add garlic and continue to saute for 2 more minutes. Add the ground beef and pork and saute until done. Drain excess fat. Add pasta sauce, broccoli and red chili flakes to taste. Add additional spices if necessary.

Put 1/3 of the sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish. Place a layer of noodles on top. Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture on top. Sprinkle 1/3 of the grated mozzarella mixture on top. Repeat 3 times.

Bake, covered in tin foil, for 30 minutes. Remove the tin foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted.

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Chicken Enchiladas

Thad’s mom’s Chicken Enchiladas:

Ingredients

* Two packets Lawry’s powered Enchilada Sauce Mix
* Chopped up chicken you cooked or one of the already cooked chickens at the market.
* Grate up a lot of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. The two blended together have a good flavor.
* Can of chopped olives
* Can of chopped green chilies
* 12 tortillas

Directions

Make the sauce according to the directions on the packet. Pour a quarter of the sauce in the bottom of a casserole pan and put a corn tortilla in the sauce. The sauce will soften the tortilla and eliminate the need to presoak them in oil. After you have both sides of the tortillia completely covered in sauce, fill them with chicken, olives, chilies, cheese, etc. Roll them up and place at the end of the same casserole pan seam side down.

Keep the process up until the pan is full. Add sauce when you need it and when you get to the end of the casserole and it is hard to wet the tortillas, just dip them in the sauce in the saucepan. After you have them all rolled up, pour on the remaining sauce and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Be generous with the sauce, making two packages for about 12 tortillas. Also, they taste better when you are generous with the cheese.

You can cover and freeze for later, or better yet, cook the enchiladas for about 20 minutes (until bubbly) at 350F.

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Maple Glazed Carrots

Another yummy Thanksgiving treat from the Williams-Sonoma Thanksgiving Cookbook (complements of Thad’s Recipe Collection)

Ingredients

* 3 lbs carrots, peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1 inch pieces (or just use baby carrots)
* 5 cups chicken stock
* 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
* salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the carrots, stock, maple syrup, and butter. Bring to a brisk simmer and cook, uncovered, until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the carrots to a dish. Raise the heat to high and cook the liquid in the pan until it has reduced to about 1 1/4 cups and is syrupy, 30-40 minutes longer.

Return the carrots to the pan. Add the vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

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Good Eats Meat Loaf

Found at: Thad’s Recipe Collection

Ingredients:

* 6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon chili powder
* 1 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
* 1 carrot, peeled and broken
* 3 whole cloves garlic
* 1/2 red bell pepper
* 18 ounces ground chuck
* 18 ounces ground sirloin
* 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
* 1 egg

Glaze:

* 1/2 cup catsup
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* Dash Worcestershire sauce
* Dash hot pepper sauce
* 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Heat oven to 325?.

In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155 degrees.

Combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.