Oven Hash Browns

 1 (2 pound) bag of frozen hash browns

 6 T. melted butter

 3 c. of VERY thinly sliced onion

 coarse salt to taste

Let the hash browns thaw a bit so the butter doesn’t harden immediately!  Combine all ingredients.  Spread evenly on a greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet w/sides).  Bake at 425° for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and divide into 8 ‘cakes’.  Flip each cake.  Lower oven temp to 350°.  Bake for 45 additional minutes, or until golden brown

Korean Beef Bulgogi

contributed by Tiana Peterson

Marinade

1/4 cup korean soy sacue (I just use regular)

3 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP Vegetable oil

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

3 medium garlic cloves (crushed)

3 green onions, chopped

2 lbs sirloin, sliced paper thin (I use any type of steak)

Dipping sauce

6 TBSP korean soy sauce

2 TBSP rice vinegar

1 tsp fresh ginger (grated)

2 tsp crushed toasted sesame seeds

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp sweet paprika

1 pinch sugar

Directions:

Mix marinade ingredients.  Add sliced steak.**

Marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Mix ingredients for dipping sauce and refrigerate until ready for use.

Grill or pan fry the steak.

**When we cook this I marinade everything in a ziplock back for a few hours.

I then throw everything into a pan and stirfry it.

We serve it over rice and broccoli.

We don’t like the dippng sauce so we don’t use it, but I decided to include it just in case someone might like it!

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,200 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 37 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

What’s For Dinner? The Vision

What’s For Dinner? Was created for 3 Reasons:

1. I noticed that many of my friends’ status updates on Facebook were about food! What we were feeding our families, what we wished we could feed our families, how we felt when we had no IDEA what to feed our families…and I thought it would be great if we had a forum where we could discuss those inspirations (or lack thereof).

2. As a fledgling cook and baker myself, I always have questions. I wanted to be able to talk to the ladies who have been providing culinary fare for their friends and families for years. I wanted to sit at their feet, so to speak, and hear their wisdom.

3. I wanted a place to come where the recipes I found would be tried and true by people I KNOW! Other recipe sites are great, and the feedback is great, but I have never had a phone conversation with those cooks, or rejoiced over the birth of a baby with those cooks, or cried with those cooks. I wanted a place to come where the recipes I found would be contributed by people I have a relationship with (and that includes ON LINE relationships–I feel so close to all of you-whether I’ve met you in person or not). It’s so fun for me to make something that I know someone in this group has made in their own kitchen. It makes me feel close to you, and brings me fond thoughts of you every time I make it.

For those reasons, there are some guidelines I’d like to suggest for our posts:

1. Please post recipes that you have already tried and found to be good! If you are thinking of trying a recipe but haven’t yet, by all means, let’s talk about it! But please refrain from posting a specific recipe if you have not actually made it yourself.

2. Please keep the posts food related and positive. Of course we all need to vent at times! If you’re having a rough day and need a listening ear, PLEASE message me or ANY of the What’s For Dinner? members and let it all out! Being there for each other is one of the things that makes this group so special. But I’d love to keep what’s on the wall exclusively about What’s For Dinner? (or dessert….or breakfast…you get the idea. 🙂 )

Thank you for taking the time to read my little dissertation. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Much love to each of you, and happy cooking!

Laura

Easy Homemade Noodles

contributed by Deb Reno

NOW, GIRLS!  Don’t let the idea of making your own noodles freak you out…this is the kind of recipe you can make in the morning, let them dry and have them for dinner.  Your family and guests will be impressed.

EASY HOMEMADE NOODLES

3 2/3 c. flour

4 beaten eggs

Place flour in a pile on a clean counter.  Make a well in the center.  Pour in the bea…ten eggs.  Mix with a fork until blended.  If too dry, add a teaspoon or two of water.  If too wet, add a tablespoon or two of flour.  The goal is a play-dough-like-consistency.  Shape into a flattened circle.  Roll out with a rolling pin (or a wine bottle!) to desired thickness.  We like ours on the thicker side…around 1/4″ or so.  Cut with a sharp knife or pizza cutter into ‘ribbons’.  Cut ribbons to desired length (We cut ours to about 2-3″.)  Leave on the counter to dry.  Length of drying time depends on your noodle thickness.  3-4 hours is usually how long I try to let them dry.  Don’t let the dog get them (I have photos to prove that this happened to me.). 

ALTERNATE (quicker) DRYING IDEA:  If your sink has cupboards on either side, you can buy a cheapie tension curtain rod and mount it temporarily over your sink. After cutting the dough into long ribbons, lift them carefully and drape them over the rod.  Let dry. (solves the dog problem…unless your dog is the size of a horse.)

COOKING THESE NOODLES:  Place noodles in boiling soup or water.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 10-20 minutes, depending on thickness and on your personal preference of noodle-doneness.

SERVING IDEA: As a child, my husband LOVED IT when his mom would make turkey soup with homemade noodles – she allows the liquid to evaporate so the soup has a stew-like consistency, less watery.  She serves the soup over mashed potatoes.  What a carb-fest, but OMG’sh:  what a comfort food!  (I sometimes use cheater mashed potatoes:  the dry kind in a box…shhh!)

Parmesan Chicken

submitted by Deb Reno

Serves 6

2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken (We prefer thighs, but breasts work great too.)

2 T. butter, melted

…1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. dry bread crumbs

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried parsley

1/4 t. paprika

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. black pepper (or use cayenne for a little heat!)

• Heat oven to 400°.  Spray 15x10x1 baking pan with cooking spray (I usually put foil on the pan before I spray it.)
• Dry the chicken pieces with a paper towel.  Dip chicken in butter, coat with combined remaining ingredients.  Place in prepared pan.
• Bake 20-25 minutes.

NOTE#1: This is delicious served on a bed of cooked pasta with some spaghetti sauce over the top. 

NOTE #2: Sometimes instead of using the butter, I spray each piece of chicken w/a little cooking spray and then dredge it in the dry mixture.

Bran Raisin Muffins

Submitted by Deb Reno

Makes 48-50 muffins (GIANT BATCH)

5 c. flour

5 t. baking soda

1 pkg. (18.3 oz.) All Bran Cereal

…3 c. sugar

1 c. raisins (I’m not a big raisin fan…you could add more if you’d like.)

1 c. butter, melted

1 qt. milk w/ 1 T. vinegar or 1 qt. buttermilk

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 t. salt

Set oven to  400°.  Combine dry ingredients, including raisins, in a large bowl.  Add melted butter, buttermilk and beaten eggs & combine.  Grease or line muffin tins with paper liners. Fill 2/3 full.   Bake 15-20 minutes.  Batter can be frozen or refrigerated.  If you do freeze it, plan on doing so in small containers so you can thaw small amounts as needed.

OR you can bake them all up and freeze them like that.

I love baking these in my mini muffin pan…they take about 10-12 minutes.

I adapted this recipe from an ancient cookbook.  The original recipe was called “6-Week Bran Muffins”. It said that this batter would stay good in the fridge for 4-6 weeks.  I am thinking that’s not safe… It would never last that long around here anyway!  I think that keeping it that long is an old fashioned notion and I’ll stick to using my refrigerated batter up in a few days  and freezing the rest.  =)

Honey Garlic Meatballs

• Contributed by Jessica Barth McVay
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

 

Directions

1. In a large bowl combine eggs and milk. Add the bread crumbs, onion and salt. Crumble beef over mi…xture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls. Place in two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the ketchup, honey and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain meatballs; add to sauce. Carefully stir to evenly coat. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

Bourbon Ball French Toast

contributed by Laura Ashley Egnew Davidson

 

Ingredients

Batter:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

French Toast:

• 1 (16-ounce) loaf firm textured bread, preferably a baguette (The restaurant uses cinnamon swirl bread, so that is what I bought, even though that isn’t what this recipe called for.)
• Canola oil, for frying
• Bourbon Vanilla Custard, recipe follows
• Chocolate syrup
• Kentucky Bourbon Whipped Cream, recipe follows
• 1 pint fresh sliced strawberries
• 1 cup toasted pecan halves

Directions

For the batter: Beat all batter ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.

For the French Toast: Slice the baguette into 18 thick slices. Soak the slices in the batter for about 3 minutes, turning to coat evenly on each side. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Lift the bread from the batter and place it in the hot pan. Add only enough slices to fit easily in the pan. Saute on both sides until golden brown. Keep warm until all slices have been cooked.

Place 3 slices on each plate. Drizzle with warm Bourbon Vanilla Custard. Garnish with chocolate syrup and Kentucky Bourbon Whipped Cream. Top with sliced strawberries and toasted pecan halves. Serve immediately.

Bourbon Vanilla Custard:

• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup Kentucky bourbon  (I left this out and the consistency was still good.)

Heat half-and-half and whipping cream in a small saucepan over low heat, until the mixture begins to simmer. Remove from heat and set aside.

Whisk egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a stainless steel bowl for about 2 minutes or until the mixture thickens and lightens in color. Slowly pour the hot cream into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return the custard to the saucepan and place over low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and bourbon. Serve immediately or hold over a hot water bath.

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

 

Kentucky Bourbon Whipped Cream: 

(I just used premade whipped cream, but I’m sure this would be yummy)

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon

Whip cream in well chilled mixing bowl just until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and bourbon and whip just long enough to incorporate. Taste and adjust flavors. Chill until ready for use.

Yield: 3 cups

Hey What’s For Dinner Girls! Over here!

So with all the recent frustration with us not being able to see the content of docs posted in our What’s For Dinner group on Facebook, I thought I’d start this blog and see if we can use it as a more reliable place to find the recipes we post. What I would like to do is continue to use WFD on FB to ask questions of one another and get feedback, but I will post our recipes to this blog with the name of the recipe in the title. I hate the thought of us being in two places at once, but for heaven’s sake…we gotta be able to see our recipes!! 🙂 So let’s give this a try, and if it doesn’t work…well…we tried. 🙂 Please be patient with me as I go through the process of moving things over from the WFD site. It may take a day or two for things to show up here (especially since it’s Easter weekend…yipes). If you guys have any other ideas or feedback, PLEASE OH PLEASE let me know! Thanks!! Love you girls!!!