Cleveland Family Reunion: Day 1

 So this year it was time for my mom's side of the family to have a reunion.  This year the reunion was held at South Padre Island, which is basically at the very bottom of Texas, so normally very far away for me.  But since I am in Texas for the summer it wasn't much of a trip....

I met my parents at the Austin airport and we took a quick flight to Harlington, TX, which is the closest airport to the island.  From there it was a quick 1 hour shuttle ride to our house.  But the shuttle looked awesome!  And it saved us a 6 hour drive from Austin, so that was very nice.

After we got dropped off I said hi to my Aunt Margo and her family and then sprinted to the back porch for the amazing view of the bay.  We were on the bay side of the island, which faced the mainland, and also didn't have a beach.  But the porch was pretty nice. I quickly put on my trunks and dove in.  It was... very warm and nice.  The bottom, which I could touch was a bit gunky, but that wasn't that bad.  The ladder was also a little dangerous as it had a lot of barnacles on it that very sharp and was easy to get cut on.

After I got done swimming, Kyle decided that he wanted to fish, which I thought wasn't going to work that well, but surprisingly..... he caught something immediately!  It was some kind of bottom feeder... here is a not so great picture of it.

 Here is a great picture of the sun starting to go down, with Margo and her kids, Kyle and Claire.  Kyle was still fishing.

And he managed to catch another fish! 

By that time the rest of the family had arrived.  Derrick, seeing Kyle's easy success, wanted to try fishing.  Here he is with Kyle and Claire, with an actual fishing pole.

Here is a closeup of Kyle's second fish, which he was trying to use as bait to catch a bigger fish.  It was taking way to long though, so I made him throw the fish back in the water so that it could maybe live.

After everyone arrived, I helped my parents make dinner.  I didn't do a whole lot of work, I just cut some veggies and then hung out with my cousins.

Here is Riley with an after dinner ice cream treat.

After all the parents had gone to bed, the kids stayed up and talked and did stuff.

Kyle decided that he wanted to get a tan from the lights above the pool table.

The girl cousins decided to take my phone and make a.... very nice picture.

Then they braided Claire's hair.

This is Haley, Marissa, and Claire.

I guess that we might have been a bit loud, one of my Aunts came up and informed us that we needed to be quieter and we were keeping everyone up.  So we went to bed.  I think putting all the kids on the top floor might have been a slight miscalculation.

I got to share a bed with Derrick and Riley, which was interesting, since Riley seems to like taking up most of the bed.  So I got a small sliver of the bed.  But it was still a good first day and it was great to see all of my family again.  I don't get to see the Cleveland side very much.

Recipe 16: Crab Pot Pie

 We take a break from the back log for a new recipe.  I have been thinking about making this for a long time and it actualy turned out really well.  I probably would have waited to post this, but I got a request to write it as soon as possible.

 So I made a pot pie before and it turned out really well, so well in fact that some friends make the recipe just about every week.  I thought it was really good, but since making that is basically all my meals for a week and I like trying new things, I don't make it very frequently.

Anyway, I searched for a long time to find a crab pot pie recipe that I thought looked good.  I finally settled on this recipe for Charleston Crab Pot Pie.

This was the first recipe that I have made in this span of cooking a new recipe every week that was not from allrecipes.com.  Which felt weird.  I am used to reading the comments to get ideas for changes.  I didn't really have that this time so I had to depend on my own experiences to make any changes.

So first here is a picture of the dish.  This is served hot, so it wasn't really set up.  In general it might have been more like a casserole than a pot pie.  The full recipe is below.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons light butter
• 4 leeks, chopped
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 lb crabmeat, flaked and cartilage removed
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon dijon-style mustard (optional)
• 2 sheets phyllo dough
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)

Directions

1. In a large skillet melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Cook and stir leeks in hot butter for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Add the flour to the skillet; cook and stir about 1 minute. Stir in the milk; cook and stir until mixture begins to boil. Stir in the crabmeat, peas, dry sherry (if desired), Cajun seasoning, and, if desired, the ground red pepper. Spoon the crab mixture into a 2-quart square baking dish.
   
   
2. In a small bowl stir together the 2 tablespoons melted butter and, if desired, the Dijon-style mustard. Brush one sheet of phyllo dough with butter mixture; fold in half crosswise. Repeat with other sheet. Stack the two sheets. Using a sharp knife, trim phyllo to about a 9-inch square. Place phyllo stack over crab mixture; tuck edges under. Brush any remaining butter mixture over top. 
   Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve immediately.

Changes

I didn't actually make many changes to this.  I leave the two optional items, (shetty and ground red pepper out), mainly because since I am in Texas I don't really want to stockpile cooking stuff that I already own in Oregon.

The other change is that I added pepper to the crab mixutre.  I probably added about 2 teaspoons.  I also added slightly more cajun seasoning than was called for.

The final change I made is to use a few more sheets of phyllo dough.  I ended up using 4 instead of the two that was called for.

The Process

The process for this pot pie is actually a lot simpler.  The real difficultly is determining what kind of crab you want to use.  I debated whether I wanted to buy whole crabs and then shuck them and crack the shells and get all the meat out.  I decided not to do this and instead I just got some prepared crab meat.  I know some people probably would not do this, but I actually though this was a really goo solution and I thought the crab tasted fine.  I do think that fresh crab meat would probably have made the dish even more amazing than it turned out.

 The first step was to cut the leeks.  I actually had to look this up since I had never cooked with leeks before.  The key is to cut the roots off at the bottom of the white part and then also cut all of the leafy stuff off.

I then cut them up by slicing them lengthwise and then chopping those pieces up.

Next I cooked them with some butter, and after a few minutes I added the flour.

After another minute I added the milk to the leeks and then brought it to a boil.

Next I aded the brab meat, which strained the edges of the pan. (side note: boy do I miss nice cooking utensils and pans)

I didn't actually have to add the crab meat to the pan since I wasn't supposed to heat the crab according to te directions, but I wanted the crab to get some heat before I cooked it, so I added the crab and the peas and seasoning to the pan and slowly stirred it all together on the burner.

I then put it all in the only cooking dish that I have here.  I added just a dash more of pepper and cajun seasoning and mixed it together again.

Then it was time to cover it.  The recipe called for one sheet of phyllo, and then to stack another on top, but that didn't seem like enough.  So for the first layer I used two sheets.  I just buttered the top sheet and then folded it.  I was unclear what crosswise meant, but it means not lengthwise... if that makes sense?  I put those two sheets on top of the crab mixture and then tucked in the edges.

I added another two sheets and then added the remainder of the butter dijon mix.

 I ended up cooking the dish for about 27 minutes.  It looked pretty much done at 25, but I wanted to make sure.  This is what it looked like just out of the oven.

 

 Here is a side view.

And here is one serving.  I actually really really liked this dish.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was great.  I am not sure it is totally a pot pie, since it doesn't have real pie crust, but the phyllo dough totally complements the crab mixture.  It is light and flakely and a bit buttery and just went really well with it.  I actually thought that there was not enough of the crust, so it might be better to add a few more sheets to the top.

Unfortunately since I am in Texas, Sprinkles can't be a part of the recipes.  One of my roommates loves Sprinkles, despite never seeing her, and suggested that I use pictures of one of my other roommates.

Instead I took a picture of him.  He enjoyed it about as much as Sprinkles does.

 

During the process, my other roommate feel asleep, so he also gets to be featured.

Recipe 15: Pizza Casserole

 The backlog of recipes continues.  Today I am gonna talk about this pizza casserole that I made a while back.  I've decided to put a picture of the end result at the top of the blog so that people can look and determine whether they would like to make it and thus not read the rest of the blog if it looks bad.

So here it is! Not that great of a picture, but .... oh well :).

The link to the recipe that I used is here, and the recipe is below as well.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup sliced pepperoni sausage
• 16 ounces pizza sauce
• 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cook noodles according to package directions.
3. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the onion, garlic and green bell pepper. Drain excess fat. Stir in the noodles, pepperoni, pizza sauce and milk, and mix well. Pour this mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 minutes, top with the cheese, then bake for 5 to 10 more minutes. 

The Process

So this was a pretty easy recipe and Sprinles was not really interested in it at first.  She just wanted to hang out on my friends amp since it was carpeted and new.  I guess she was marking her territory.

 

So I cut up the meat and put in the the skillet.  I used hot italian sausage for this.

Sprinks demanded that I open the kitchen window for her... then starred me down.

The meat finished and it was time to add the other stuff.

Sprinks finally realized that there was interesting stuff on the counter and so she came to sniff at it.

While that was happening I cooked the rice noodles and then once everything was done I mixed everything together and put it in the oven.

I took it out after 20 minutes and the result is below.

I then added the cheese and cooked it for another 7 minutes or so.

I thought that this was a good recipe.  It was easy and tasty.  Probably not the healthiest for you, but I combined it with an easy spinach salad to at least get some green veggies.  If I made this again I think I would increase the number of noodles that I used. It seems like there was a lot of meat and veggies to the number of noodles.  But it was quick to make, which is actually one of the reasons I picked it.

Stuffed Green Peppers

So, the second of the backlogged recipes.  This one was stuffed green peppers.  I made it for a Game of Thrones party since it seemed kind of medival.  The recipe can be found here, or below:

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers
• salt to taste
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup
• water as needed

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute beef and onions for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat, and stir in the cheese.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers.
4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

The Process

The process for this was really easy.  The first step was cooking the ground beef with the onions, which was pretty simple.

 At the same time I boiled the bell peppers for 5 minutes.  Then I drained them and tried to dry them out a bit.  I then salted them and set them aside.

Sprinkles was thoroughly unimpressed with this recipe.  Instead she just hung out on the chair.

Here are the peppers waiting to be filled up.

Meanwhile I added the rice and tomatoes to the beef and onions and cooked them together for about 15 minutes.

Then I mixed the cheese with the mixture and got a nice cheesy mixture and then filled the peppers with it.

Then I made the tomato gravy.  I was only using four peppers so I only made half of the gravy.  And that was actually too much.  So half might be good for a full recipe too.

I thought that this was really good.  I liked this recipe a lot.  You need to supplement it with something as it probably isn't enough for dinner by itself.  I still really liked it though.

Spinach Quiche

 It has been forever since I updated this blog, nearly two months.  I just got busy with school and other projects and just couldn't carve out enough time to write about what I have been making.  But rest assured I have still been cooking.  Now that I have time to update the blog I'll be doing so with more regularity.

Since I'm in Texas I have a lot less cooking equipment, but I am still going to try to make things.  Anyway, the recipe for today is a Spinach Quiche.  Here is the link to the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can mushrooms, drained
• 1 (6 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, feta and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie crust.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes, until set in center. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

The Process

So it's been awhile since I made this, but I will attempt to discuss it.  


The first step was to cook up the onions and garlic, which is shown below.

 Sprinks was not at all interested in the cooking, but she did find a box that she enjoyed sitting in.

So I then mixed the Spinach up with the onion mix.  I used a lot less spinach than the recipe called for.  Probably about half.  

I put the pie crust in two pie crusts.  

I put half of the spinach in one and half in the other, then poured the egg mixture in them.

Then into the oven they went.

After 15 minutes I added the cheese to the quiche's

Then they were done.

Here is one slice.  I actually really liked this dish.  I liked it better the next day reheated, but it was really pretty good. It was a little bit shallow, so I guess next time I might add more spinach.

Recipe 12: Chicken Pot Pie

This past weekend I decided to make Pot Pie during one of our beer transfer sessions.  It was so good that I found myself craving it.  So it became the recipe of the week.  Here is the link to the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Changes

The first change that I made was in how I cooked the veggies and chicken.  Instead of boiling and simmering them in water I added chicken broth instead, just to add a little more flavor.  I also added 1 small potato cut into small pieces.
 
So the second change that I made was to increase the sauce.  I doubled everything.  This was because several user recommendations had said that the pie was a little dry.  I ended up not being able to use all of the sauce that my made, but there was only a little extra.  So I think doubling the sauce is still a good idea.


The third change was I replaced the celery seed with garlic salt.  I also added a bit more than 1/4 teaspoon.  It was more to taste.  So I just added it until I thought it tasted right.


The final change was to cook it at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until the crusts was brown. 

The Process

The first step was to cut up all the veggies and chicken.  The picture below shows the size of my potato pieces.

Then simmer everything together.  I just added chicken broth to cover, brought it to a boil and then simmered it.  When covered you have to be pretty careful with the temperature.  I had to pull it off the burner due to almost overflows a couple of times.

 Sprinkles was generally uninterested in the cooking process this week.  After running around meowing at me she decided to settle down.

I bought the Pillsbury roll out dough.  The first time I made this I used the frozen ready made pie crusts, but I wanted to see how these worked.  Either one is fine, but I think I prefer the rolled up ones as the pie plate can be a little deeper or bigger.

Here the sauce is being started with the onions and butter.  While I double most of the stuff for the sauce I did not totally double the butter.  I just used 1/2 cup (1 stick)

Sprinkles always likes when I open the cabinets while I cook so that she can crawl around and get into tight places, as seen below.

So once everything was ready, I placed the chicken and veggies in the pie plate.

Then I poured the sauce over it.  It was a little difficult to get the sauce exactly as thick as I would have liked.  You really have to be careful and add the milk and chicken broth pretty quickly and don't turn the heat down too much until it starts simmering.

Next I covered the Pot pie with the second crust and cut a few slices in it.

And 45 minutes later... it was done!  I got a little bit of leakage on this pie, I think because my pie plate was a 9.5 inch one and the dough was for a 9 inch plate.  Which made it harder to make sure that the dough was pinched together.

And here is a side view.

This dish was really really good and very simple to make.  I definitely recommend trying this out.