Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Mushroom Tetrazzini

There are a few dishes that I really miss since becoming a vegetarian.  Turkey Tetrazzini is one of them.  So, I decided to make a vegetarian version with just mushrooms.  Just as creamy and delicious as I remember.  Even without the turkey!

Mushroom Tetrazzini
6 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp (2-3 cloves) garlic, minced
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
8 oz whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add in flour, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk until no lumps remain.  Pour in broth and milk and let cook until it begins to bubble and thicken, whisking occasionally.
 
2.  Once sauce has thickened, add in mushrooms and pasta.  Mix well ensuring everything is coated in the sauce.
 
 
3.  Pour tetrazzini into a 2 quart baking dish and top with Parmesan.  Bake until bubbly, 20-30 minutes.  Place dish under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown the top.  Let cool for 10 minutes, serve and enjoy!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Turkey Tetrazzini was always my favorite thing my mom made with leftovers after Thanksgiving.  It's got a great, creamy sauce, but isn't too heavy.  And, who doesn't love a crispy Parmesan crust on top!?  When I became a veggie, it was one of the dishes that I really missed, so now when I make this for Jason, I make one for me with just mushrooms.

Turkey Tetrazzini
6 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp (2-3 cloves) garlic, minced
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked turkey, chopped
3 oz (4 medium) mushrooms, diced
8 oz whole wheat pasta, cooked and drained

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add in flour, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk until no lumps remain.  Pour in broth and milk and let cook until it begins to bubble and thicken, whisking occasionally.

2.  Once sauce has thickened, add in mushrooms, turkey and pasta.  Mix well ensuring everything is coated in the sauce.

3.  Pour tetrazzini into a 2 quart baking dish and top with Parmesan.  Bake until bubbly, 20-30 minutes.  Place dish under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown the top.  Let cool for 10 minutes, serve and enjoy!


Monday, March 24, 2014

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

In our small town, we really don't have any good pizza places.  They're all chains and, well, nothing too special.  So, what's a family that loves pizza to do?  Homemade pizza of course!  This dough makes a delicious pizza and is so easy to make (thanks to my bread maker :)  The best part?  We each get our own pizza to top how we want!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Makes 8 servings
 

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast

Directions:
1. Place all ingredients in the pan according to your bread maker's instructions.  Choose the 'dough' program and push start.

2.  Once the dough is finished, place it on a well floured surface and divide the dough into desired number of portions.  Roll each portion into a ball and cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rest and rise for 30 minutes.  While dough is rising, turn the oven to 450 and place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat.

3.  Once dough has risen, shape dough either with a rolling pin or your hands.  Carefully place on hot pizza stone and top as desired.  Bake for 10-20 minutes (depending on the size of your pizza), remove from oven, slice and enjoy!

P.S.  For a fun alternative, make calzones!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Irish Soda Bread

I decided this St. Patrick's Day we needed an Irish-inspired dinner.  I made a Guinness Beef Stew and this Irish Soda Bread was perfect to go with it.  I admit though, I'm so spoiled with my breaker - I don't even know the last time I had to knead dough by hand.  It was tough work!!

I was torn between which recipe to use.  Whole milk or buttermilk?  Caraway seeds and/or raisins?  Sugar or no sugar?  I decided to take ideas from a couple different recipes and see what would happen.  It was dense, heavy and absolutely delicious!  I'm glad I skipped the raisins and sugar, but I might add caraway seeds next time.  

Irish Soda Bread
8 servings
 
 

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Put all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Stir in the buttermilk until dough just comes together.  

2.  Put dough on a well floured surface and knead until a large dough ball forms. Place dough on a baking sheet and, with a sharp knife, make a large 'x' in the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Enjoy!



See, I wasn't the only one who thought it was great!
 

Guinness Beef Stew

This is the first year in a long time (probably since I've become a veggie) that I've felt the need to have an Irish-ish dinner for St. Patrick's Day.  Jason isn't a huge fan of corned beef, so I wanted something different.  I came across this recipe and thought Jason would enjoy it.  And he did!  The Irish Soda Bread I made was perfect for sopping up the stew.

Guinness Beef Stew
8 servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs stew meat
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
4 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
3 medium onions, chopped
12 oz Guinness 
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
32 oz low sodium beef broth
2 cups carrots, chopped 
2 cups parsnips, chopped
2 cups turnips, chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Directions:
1.  Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large Dutch oven until shimmering.  While oil is heating, put 2 tbsp of flour in a large bowl and toss to coat half of the beef.  Once coated in flour, cook in the hot oil for about 5 minutes, until brown.  Remove and repeat with 1 more tbsp of oil and remaining beef.  Remove second batch of beef and set aside.

2.  Heat the remaining tbsp of oil in the pot and add the onions.  Sauté for about 5 minutes, until onions begin to soften.  Add in the Guinness, broth, salt, pepper and caraway seeds.  Stir well, scraping all of the bits off of the bottom of the pot. Add in beef.  Bring stew to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

3.  Remove lid and simmer uncovered for another hour.

4.  Add in the carrots, parsnips and turnips.  Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.  

5.  Remove lid and allow to simmer uncovered for an additional 30 minutes.  Stir in parsley just before serving.  Enjoy!

This is the original recipe.  I only made a few small changes.  I did add in the raisins, but will leave them out next time - Jason said they didn't do much.