Easy Pearled Barley & Onion Casserole

Pearled barley is one of those grains of which I have almost no experience. Of course, I have eaten soup with barley, if that can possibly be considered experience. Reading about the nutty flavor and chewy texture of barley heightened my curiosity big time. I was pleasantly surprised to find the pearled barley to be very economical, especially when compared to couscous or quinoa!

The original recipe from Taste of Home called for green onions and a can of mushrooms. I had neither. Using what I had on hand and adding a few more flavors, I came up with this side dish.

Pearled Barley & Onion Casserole

4 servings

1/2 cup pearled barley
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
Salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon parsley flakes


In an ovenproof skillet or shallow pot, sauté pearled barley over medium low heat in oil until golden brown. Add garlic, cooking for a minute or two. Stir in chicken broth, and salt; bring to boil. Remove from the heat; add onions, celery and parsley. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until barley is tender and all liquid is absorbed.

I really didn’t know what to expect this being my first time cooking barley. I must say it was very good. The nutty flavor of the barley with the onion and celery were a savory combination. The original recipe called for mushrooms and beef bullion. I think fresh mushrooms would have added a completely new characteristic of flavor to the dish. You can bet I’ll be picking some up next time. 

I served this with steamed broccoli and my spicy chicken cutlets.

♥

Easy Pearled Barley & Onion Casserole

2010-11-29T00:01:00-05:00

redkathy

casserole|side dish|vegetables|

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Easy Ground Beef Dinners - Holiday Time Savers

Easy Ground Beef Dinners

Thanksgiving marks the final stretch of the current year and preparing for the holidays. The holidays always initiate reminiscing for me. This stage in life is easier and much less stressful compared to when the boys were young. Those times were fun and exciting but stressful, tiring, and sometimes even a bit chaotic as well.

Today (the Sunday before turkey day) I planned our meal, bought the groceries, and announced the menu. Planning Thanksgiving dinner the Sunday before was unthinkable back in day. Hosting a holiday dinner event was complicated. There were the boys’ sports schedules, multiple family dinner invitations, and work schedules to contend with to name just a few.  I remember running errands and shopping after work or between practices weeks in advance. Of course, that would be Q & A time. Mom I’m hungry! What are we having for dinner? Mom when will dinner be ready? We were not even out of the car yet! Yes, life is much less stressful now.

Economical and easy ground beef dinners made my life easier and the family really enjoyed them. What makes these easy dinners even better, any type of ground meat can be used, adapting to your freezer stock and personal taste.

First up is my recently posted and old favorite, Italian Style Shepherds Pie. This recipe prepares in less than an hour and will easily serve 6-8 people.

A “kid approved” fun family dish, this Taco Bake is a true stress reliever. Ready in about 30 minutes, the kids envision this one as a snack food, making it even more kid pleasing. The recipe versatility of using on hand ingredients not to mention the easy “eat-ability for little hands” has marked this casserole a popular go to dinner.

Prepared in a bit more than an hour, this Mexi-Meatloaf is another flavorful rendition of an old-fashioned family meal. I made this one last week along with my easy Spanish rice. Hubby and Dad gave this dinner an A++ rating.

Mexi-Meatloaf

1.25 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 Tbsp. Adobo seasoning (Latin all purpose seasoning)
1/2 tsp cumin
Black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups Pace Picante Salsa, divided
1 egg
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1 can Campbell’s cream mushroom soup
1/2 can no salt tomato sauce (2 ozs.)

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, work seasonings into ground beef. Add minced garlic, breadcrumbs, 1 cup of Pace Picante Salsa, parsley, and egg. Continue to work beef mixture to blend. Shape meat into a loaf and place in a shallow 9 x 13 baking pan.

Stir together the remaining 1/2 cup Pace Picante Salsa, tomato sauce, and the cream soup until combined. Pour liquid, it will be thick, over meatloaf. Spread to completely cover if necessary.

Ready to Bake Mexi-Meatloaf

Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until juices run clear, similar to chicken.

By not overcooking, a creamy layer will remain between the tomato top and meat. When I first prepared this, I thought the creaminess was a fluke. Repeatedly, the creamy layer exists so long as I don’t overcook the meatloaf. The creamy layer has great flavor and is not simply the soup although it appears that way. This is best meatloaf recipe to come out of my kitchen to date.

Creamy Second Layer

Hope these Ground Beef Recipes help to make your family dinner time a bit less stressful this holiday season!

♥

Easy Ground Beef Dinners - Holiday Time Savers

2010-11-21T23:13:00-05:00

redkathy

beef|casserole|dinner|

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Muffin Mania - Chocolate, Apple, Bran, and Berry

Muffin Mania has infiltrated my kitchen. What makes muffins so appealing? Is it the fact that they are a great grab and go food? Perhaps the ingredient versatility makes them so magnificent. Anyhow, over the last two months I must have baked at least ten dozen, no joke. Remember these Special K Muffins, very good indeed.


Naturally, I made several variations of these All-Bran® Cereal muffins. In one batch, I added raisins and  chocolate chips. More recently, I doubled the recipe using 1/2 cup Just Bunches® Cinnamon flavored cereal in place of the bran and half-cup honey and half-cup light corn syrup and stirred in 1-cup Nestles® semi-sweet chocolate chips at the end. Those were my favorite variety of bran muffins ever. They were gently sweet with a hint of oats and cinnamon from the Just Bunches® cereal, and very moist. Doubling produced 18 muffins that were gone when I woke up the next morning. Everyone enjoyed them I guess. Another note when making these bran muffins, break up the Just Bunches® a bit and let the cereal/milk sit for 10-15 minutes.

I found these Taste of Home awesome chocolate (mocha) muffins on Allrecipes. The caption read, “Chocolate lovers can’t resist these cake-like muffins.”  A deep, moist, rich, extreme chocolate flavor like no other muffin I have ever baked. In fact, I made them twice and never got the first photo, gone! And, although cake-like, they are definitely not cup cakes. After reading all the comments, I made a few adjustments to accommodating the family liking.

Photo - Allrecipes.com

Chocolate "Mocha" Muffins
Yields 2 dozen

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup Daisy light sour cream
1/2 cup cold strong coffee
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sour cream, water, milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Finally, the autumn season arrived and the craving for apples developed quickly. The result was several batches of Apple Oatmeal Muffins. Being a chocolate lover, I'm not prepared to say these were better than the Chocolate Mocha Muffins however, an abundant amount consumed. My changes to the original recipe are (like this).

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Now... You're Cooking

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour (increased to 1 1/5 cups)
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup plain yogurt (1/2 cup Daisy light sour cream)
1/2 cup butter, melted (I can’t believe it’s not butter)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups apple, peeled and coarsely chopped (increased to 2 cups)
(1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
(2 tablespoons vegetable oil)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon.
Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and mix well. Add to dry mixture and mix only enough to combine. Spoon batter into greased or paper lined muffin pans.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Mine baked for 15 minutes.


The ginger added a nice subtle flavor and increasing the apples seemed a necessity given the fresh fall air. Running low on sour cream, I added the oil for extra moisture, good move I thought. Perhaps one of my expert baking readers might suggest a better moisture alternative. Anyone?


♥

Muffin Mania - Chocolate, Apple, Bran, and Berry

2010-11-15T23:27:00-05:00

redkathy

baking|muffins|Taste of Home|

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Pssst Italian Seasoned Shepherds Pie

Have you heard about the Pssst...? Pssst is a tool for General Mills to reach out to consumers for input on newest product launches. Some time ago, I signed up for a free Pssst account. In my mailbox one day last week were two boxes of Betty Crocker mashed potatoes, Creamy Butter and Roasted Garlic. Along with the samples were coupons to share with family and friends.

I have to confess, I prefer instant mashed potatoes. Moreover, and this might sound like a lie, so does my hubby! Of course, that was before his new meat and veggie diet began. Anyway, I was already craving a carb-loaded meal perhaps a nice pasta dish when my Pssst package arrived. Garlic mashed potatoes… My immediate thought was shepherds pie it is! On the other hand, maybe not a shepherds pie what about hubby. I thought aloud, Well heck, make it hearty, and ring the casserole with mashed potatoes. Hubby can eat the center. He was skeptical but went along with the plan; it was that or he makes dinner.

Betty Crocker Instant Potatoes are made with 100% real potatoes. The Home-style creamy butter variety mashed potatoes are based on a scratch recipe. With two pouches in every box, Betty Crocker mashed potatoes offer a better value than other leading brands. In a hurry, these mashed potatoes are ready in just 8 minutes.

Italian infused Shepherds Pie

1 pouch Betty Crocker Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
1.25 lbs lean ground beef
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 small onion, chopped
1 16 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables or 2 cups leftover veggies
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 can diced petite tomatoes
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan/Romano cheese

Preheat oven 350. Prepare mashed potatoes according to directions. Sauté ground beef until it is no longer pink. Add onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning, cook for two or three minutes at most. Add the veggies, chickpeas, tomatoes, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is reduced by about half; transfer to a 2-quart casserole. Sprinkle grated cheese over top, spread mashed potatoes around the edge of the dish. Sprinkle mozzarella, covering over the center and sparingly atop the mashed potatoes. Bake about 20 minutes or until mixture is bubbling and cheese is slightly brown.

I often use the leftover veggies, rice, and pastas in a dinner casserole like this. This particular casserole included broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and mixed dill seasoned veggies. When the kids were at home meals like this were commonly served. They are economical, hearty, and best of all quick. Change up the ground meat or veggie combinations and use alternate seasonings. For a Mexican flare, substitute ground turkey and chorizo for ground beef. Season with chili powder and cumin, top with Monterey Jack cheese.

Thank you to General Mills for providing the potatoes and satisfying my carb craving!


♥

Pssst Italian Seasoned Shepherds Pie

2010-11-07T16:44:00-05:00

redkathy

beef|casserole|leftovers|

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Fresh Pumpkin Nature's Pride Oatmeal Bread Pudding

Nature's Pride 100% natural Oven Classics Oatmeal bread makes the best Pumpkin Bread Pudding, I gotta tell you! I received two varieties of Nature’s Pride Oven Classics bread, oatmeal, and honey wheat. The honey wheat is great for making both sweet and savory sandwiches just ask my family. The loaf was consumed in one day along with half of the Nutella and a pound of cheese. Made with whole grains and no artificial colors or flavors, the oatmeal bread has a soft, smooth texture. In fact, it was so soft that I lightly toasted the slices before preparing the pudding. Thanks to the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program for inspiring another delicious recipe.

After reading a ton of bread pudding recipes, I chose this one from kittencalskitchen at food.com. It called for pumpkin puree however, since I had two sugar baby pumpkins I used the fresh stuff! For the fresh pumpkin puree, first I split and cleaned the pumpkin. Into the microwave, they went in a covered casserole, adding about 1 inch of water first. In a 1000w microwave, they cooked up in just under 15 minutes. When cooled they peeled and mashed easily. One half looked a bit watery, so into the strainer it went to drain. Meanwhile I mashed the other half and began preparing the pudding.

As always, I post the original recipes to honor and respect the originator, with my alterations - like this.

Easy and Delicious Pumpkin Bread Pudding
By Kittencalskitchen

Ingredients

1.  2 cups half-and-half cream (you can use evaporated milk also of use 1 cup each) - 1 can evaporated milk balance 2% milk
2. 1 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree - 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree
3. 3/4-1 cup dark brown sugar - 3/4 cup light brown sugar
4. 2 large eggs
5. 1 1/2-2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice – 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/8 ground cloves, 1/4 tsp nutmeg
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon – 2 tsp cinnamon
7. 2 teaspoons vanilla
8. 10 -12 cups French bread (cut into 1/2-inch cubes) or 10 -12 cups egg bread ( cut into 1/2-inch cubes) -13 slices lightly toasted Nature’s Pride Oatmeal Bread
9. 1 cup golden raisins – I used regular California raisins
10. whipped cream
11. 1 cup diced granny smith apple  

Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Butter an 11 x 7 inch baking dish. Mine was glass.
In a large bowl whisk together first 7 ingredients to combine.
Fold in bread cubes and raisins and apples.
Transfer the mixture to prepared baking dish.
Let stand for 10-15 minutes for the bread to absorb the mixture.
Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until done. Baked for 50 minutes
Serve with lots of whipped cream, or caramel topping.

This was a very delicious bread pudding. A bit on the heavy side, as you can imagine however not lacking in the flavor department. The oatmeal bread infused with fresh pumpkin provided a smooth texture while offering a bit of grainy flavor. The sweet, chewy raisins and apple bits added a nice contrast to the overall composition of the dessert. Served with a dollop of whipped cream on top... yummy.

In retrospect, the only things I might have change - I didn't have dark brown sugar. I think the sweetness would have been a bit different, maybe not sweeter, but perhaps a deeper sweet flavor. The other being the caramel topping. Don't get me wrong, the whipped cream was yummy however, I would like to try Claudia's caramel sauce on this. In case you're not familiar Claudia authors What's Cook' Italian Style Cuisine and makes a mean caramel topping.

Finally, a note for the FTC, as a Foodbuzz featured publisher and Tastemaker I received two awesome loaves of bread from Nature’s Pride and Foodbuzz in order to create this awesome dessert. It was yummy and I really enjoyed it, OK?


BTW - Are you hungry?

♥

Fresh Pumpkin Nature's Pride Oatmeal Bread Pudding

2010-11-01T00:18:00-04:00

redkathy

bread|dessert|entertaining|

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