Week 29 - Q'parol aka Stuffed Shells

 Q'parol aka Stuffed Shells

Week 29 - of 52

Vegetarian Entree #4

    Yeah, so I'm a big fan of Star Trek. My favorite is Deep Space Nine (DS9), which aired from 1993 to 1999. I'd seen some Star Trek over the years. However, I had never gotten into following any of the series.  That changed only about 4 or 5 years ago. I watched both DS9 and Voyager for the first time, simultaneously. I have re-watched the Voyager series once. I have re-watched DS9 countless times. I have watched all of the series. I greatly enjoy the animated series Lower Decks, which has had two seasons so far and the newest series, Strange New Worlds, which just aired the final episode of it's first season, last week. 

    In my collection of cookbooks, I have the Star Trek Cookbook, published in 1999 and written by Ethan Phillips, Neelix of Voyager and William J. Birnes. The recipes are divided into sections related to each series, from the original Star Trek, Next Generation, Enterprise, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.  This recipe is named as being one of Keiko O'Brien's favorite dishes. Keiko is the wife of Chief Miles O'Brien. Both appear on Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. 

    I bought Jumbo pasta shells and should have used only half the bag. I wished I'd found GIANT pasta shells, because this recipe seems to be for huge shells. I used about twenty or so and if I'd had the GIANT pasta shells, I probably would have only used eight. Because there was a lot of filling, I ended up topping off the stuffed shells with the extra filling. I used Italian seasoning in lieu of oregano and added some shredded white cheddar at the end, with some Parmesan.  

I did serve with a red sauce, which the recipe does not call for, because I wanted sauce, but I think this would be perfectly fine without sauce. Serve with a nice garlic bread and salad. Serves four.

Ingredients:

1 cup ricotta cheese (I used a 15oz container of ricotta)

1 16-oz package of large shells (Like I said, this seems like too much. Just cook them all and fill as many as you want until you run out of filling)

2 cups washed and finely chopped spinach (I used baby spinach)

1 egg, well beaten (Ooops, I forgot to beat the egg before adding, but it was fine)

4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 6 cloves, because umm, it's garlic!)

2 teaspoons dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste 

grated Romano or Parmesan cheese, to taste (I used a little shredded white cheddar, along with the Parmesan)

chili pepper flakes, optional

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. While you're cooking your shells, mix up your filling. Mix together your ricotta cheese, feta cheese, olive oil, spinach, and egg until thoroughly combined. Crush garlic and fold into the filling, with 1 tablespoon of oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill your filling mixture, while your shells finish cooking. Spray the bottom of a baking dish with cooking spray or lightly grease with olive oil (The original recipe calls for an 8x8 pan, but the only way that size would work, would be if using GIANT shells). I used a 9x13 pan. Fill your shells. As you fill a shell, set it in your pan and continue until you are out of filling (or space in the pan). Sprinkle the last tablespoon of oregano and the parsley, over top of the stuffed shells. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes, checking after 30 minutes to ensure that the shells aren't burning. The shells should be a tiny bit crispy at the end of the 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with your Parmesan or Romano (or the cheese of your choice, because hey, it's your dish; make it yours). I stuck mine back in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese more. Using a large spoon or spatula, serve shells on a plate and serve with garlic bread and salad, if you wish. If you would like to have sauce with your stuffed shells, you should heat your sauce with the shells are baking. Spoon as much sauce as you want over your shells. Sprinkle with chili pepper flakes if desired. 

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells)

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells) ready for the oven

Q'parol (Stuffed Shells) 

Week 28 - No Bake Cake Balls

 No Bake Cake Balls

Week 28 of 52

Dessert #4

    I handle coordination of LGBT diversity program at my office, every June. As an ally, I feel it is important to show my support. One of the events I've come up with, is the Rainbow Dessert Hour. I made these cake balls with vanilla cake and white chocolate bark, with rainbow sprinkles mixed into the batter and sprinkled on top of the cake ball. I love this recipe so much, that I've already made it two more times. The most recent version, was chocolate with chocolate bark and rainbow sprinkles on top. This recipe comes from her modern kitchen and was posted by Alyssa on July 12, 2016. These no bake cake balls are so much easier to make than traditional cake balls and they taste like cookie dough. The recipe calls for vanilla cake batter, vanilla extra and vanilla chocolate bark, but honestly you can try so many other combinations based on the original recipe. Like, for example, my using chocolate cake mix and chocolate bark. Do chocolate covered strawberry. Strawberry coconut. Lemon. Orange. Cherry.  Use chocolate bark instead of white chocolate bark. The options seem to be almost limitless. I cannot wait to make these again and try some different combinations.  You should definitely try these, because they are so good and although there are a few steps, it's a pretty easy recipe. 

I've shortened the instructions, but you can always google the recipe and check out the original recipe there also. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1-2 additional tablespoons (the third time I made these, I used cake flour instead of all-purpose flour and they still turned out great)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon butter extract (optional) (I did not use the butter extract)

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles (optional, for mixing into the dough; you can use whatever color sprinkles you want obviously), plus more for decorating

16 oz white chocolate

Directions:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (I used a large pizza pan as one of my pans). Use an electric mixer (I used a hand mixer) to cream butter and sugar, until fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and butter extracts. Add in your flour, cake mix and salt (I had combined these three ingredients in a small bowl and added them together) and mix for 1-2 minutes until totally incorporated. Add milk to the mixture, until it becomes wet enough that when it is pressed together it holds shape. Mix in your sprinkles. Like the original recipe instructions say, you may need to knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until the sprinkles are incorporated. You can use a large, wooden spoon to help do this in the bowl. Kneading/stirring the dough so it isn't crumbly, will help you shape your cake balls.  I used a small cookie scoop to shape my balls, but you can use spoons and/or clean hands. Place your sheets of cookie balls in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Melt your chocolate bark in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring every time, until completely melted. Use a wooden skewer to poke the bottoms of your cake balls and dip into the melted chocolate bark. Completely cover each ball and allow excess chocolate bark to drip off, back into the bowl. I used a fork to push the cake balls back on to the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with your chosen color of candy sprinkles.  Place your sheets of dipped cookie balls back into the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Tip: I found that the un-dipped cookie balls warmed up while waiting to dip, so i just put them back into the fridge. I also tried taking a few out at a time. The cake balls are easier to dip when chilled.  You can put chilled cake balls into little individual mini paper liners for serving. 

Chocolate-Chocolate Dipped No Bake Cake Balls with Rainbow Sprinkles

Vanilla-Vanilla Dipped No Bake Cake Balls with Rainbow Sprinkles

Week 27 - Malabar Fish Curry

Malabar Fish Curry

Week 27 of 52

Entree Meat/Fish #4

    I'm back! And, we're a week more than half-way through Fifty Two In Twenty Two!!! Life has gotten in the way and I just now finally made this entree. Also, because of life, I made the Week 27 recipe (a dessert) last week. Located in southwestern India, the Malabar Coast, the region has been a major spice exporter since 3000 BCE. The Malabar Coast is also known as the "Garden of Spices" or the "Spice Garden of India".  This week's recipe, Malabar Curry, is from the 1995  "Quick After-Work Curries" cookbook. I like curry and thought I'd give it a shot. 

    This recipe required that I make a visit to the local Indian grocery nearby. I needed several seasonings, sesame oil, coconut milk, fish, lime pickle and onion. I only had one seasoning, mustard and the onion. The original recipe calls for lemon sole fillets. I used tilapia and thought that worked well. You could use the lemon sole, tilapia or another white fish. I thought maybe you could use salmon. I think the salmon flavor might not work well, but give it a shot. I'm sure you could also make this sauce and instead of fish, use chicken or for vegetarian options, tofu, paneer cheese or cubed potato. 

    This dish was quick to prepare and cook, taking maybe 30 minutes? Not sure. I didn't time myself. I am so glad I tried something different. It's my first totally homemade curry.  I will definitely make this again and because I had to buy most of the seasonings, I can try other curries from this cookbook. 

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

3/4 finely sliced onion (I used a whole, medium sized onion)

1 tablespoon minced lime pickle (I used 2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon dry mustard 

1 3/4 cups coconut milk

10-12 curry leave, fresh or dried (optional)

2 lemon sole fillets (I used tilapia, cut into chunks)

salt to taste

optional garnishes: 4-6 lime wedges, freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 

Heat oil in wok/large skillet. Stir-fry turmeric for 10 seconds. Add the mustard, coriander and cumin seeds and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add sliced onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add lime pickle, mustard, coconut milk and curry leaves. Bring to a simmer and add fish. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, ensuring the fish is thoroughly cooked. Add salt if desired. Serve over rice with lime wedges and black pepper. Makes 2 to 3 servings. 

Malabar Fish Curry over Rice

Sliced onions cooking with turmeric, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and mustard.

Malabar Fish Curry

Week - 26 Cheesy Potato Casserole

 Cheesy Potato Casserole

Week 26 of 52

Side Dish #4

This week's recipe comes to us from Betty Crocker's Hostess Cookbook published in 1967. I wanted something simple to enjoy with some pork loin. I enjoyed this. It was easy to make and tasty. 

Ingredients:

8 servings mashed potatoes (use the directions on any brand of instant potatoes to make 8 servings) 

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon snipped parsley (I used dried parsley flakes and it was fine)

 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (I used Colby Jack)

1 1/2 cups Corn Flakes cereal, crushed

2 tablespoons softened butter or margarine

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Prepare your mashed potatoes according to directions on package, except decrease salt to 1/2 teaspoon and add 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. Stir cheese and parsley into potatoes. Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and spoon the mashed potato mixture into the casserole dish. In a small bowl, mix the softened butter/margarine, crushed Corn Flakes, dry mustard and paprika until well combined and sprinkle over the potato mixture in the casserole dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. Serves 6. 

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Side View of the Cheesy Potato Cassrole

Cheesy Potato Casserole and Mexican Street Corn 
(It was a side dish kind of dinner)

Week 25 - Tomato Bread

 Tomato Bread

Week 25 of 52

Bread #4

So I'm behind in posting (I didn't get this post made last week). To be honest, I made the Week 26 Recipe before I made this. I had to have time for the baking and didn't have that time until this weekend. This Tomato Bread recipe comes from American Women's Bicentennial Cook Book 1776-1976. This book was published in 1975 and was "A Horizon Project of the DeSoto, Texas American Revolution Bicentennial Committee". My copy was a gift to someone named "Kathy", from her mom, on Christmas Day 1976. She said "On the occasion of our nations bi-centennial celebration. Keep it for my great grand-children's celebration of our tricentennial!". That Kathy obviously did not pass this copy on to her children and now I've used it. 

I'll be honest, this recipe was a FAIL for me. I can't remember the last time I tried making a yeast bread. I don't know exactly what I did wrong. Was it one step or more than one step, that I messed up? The bread didn't rise, but I still tasted it and it was okay. I think if it had risen the way it should have, it would have been quite enjoyable. *As I typed out the directions below, I realized that I think that last step of letting it "raise" for one hour after putting the loaves in the pan, is one step I forgot.* I am betting it would have made a good bread for a grilled cheese sandwich. Even though it didn't work for me, you should try it. I would like to try it again and make those grilled cheese sandwiches. My modification is in italics. 

Ingredients:

2 cups tomato juice

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup catsup 

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

7 cups flour, sifted

2 tablespoons butter, softened & 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning mixed together and spread on the baked loaves (optional)

Instructions:

Heat tomato juice and butter until butter melts. Add sugar, salt and catsup and cool until lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast on warm water and stir to dissolve. Add tomato mixture and 3 cups of the flour to yeast. Beat with electric mixer for two minutes at medium, scraping the bowl occasionally. Mix in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Place in lightly greased bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1 to 1 1/2 hours). Punch down and divide in half. Cover and let rest for ten minutes. Shape into loaves and please in greased 9x5.3 inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled (1 hour). Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes two loaves. 

Tomato Bread (Oops. Failed.)