Homemade Spring Rolls
Zip says these are as good as we get in restaurants.
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 small head of cabbage
spinach or Swiss chard
2 or three scallions
garlic
fresh ginger
Asian sesame oil
soy sauce
1 pk. cellophane noodles
spring roll wrappers
I used Swiss chard because we still have some in the garden. A few leaves, shredded fine will do just to add color.
Slice or shred the cabbage into fine strings. Chop the scallions.
Finely chop the garlic and ginger. I did not add specific amounts. It depends on taste. I usually use 1 or two garlic cloves (NOT heads!!!) and a nickel sized slice of ginger.
Put in a small bowl and drizzle with about 2 tsps. of sesame oil. Microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.
Put your ground turkey in a large skillet and light ly brown the meat. Add the shredded cabbage, chard/spinach and the scallion. Saute till the veggies are tender crisp and the water in the pan evaporates. Sprinkle on a little soy sauce. Not much! Add the garlic and ginger and heat for a few minutes. You want the mixture to be dry, with no juice in the bottom of the pan when done cooking. Set aside to cool.
Next soak the cellophane noodles.
Put one bundle of noodles in a container large enough so that they can be covered with water. Heat water to boiling and pour over the noodles and let stand for a few minutes until they are flexible.
Drain the noodles and pat them dry with paper towels. These noodles are VERY long! Take kitchen shears and snip them into small pieces and add them to the pan of cooled meat and veggies and mix thoroughly. No further cooking is necessary.
You are now ready to roll the spring rolls.
Lay a nice spoonful of the filling near point of the wrapper and fold the point up over the filling. Roll to cover the filling, then tuck the side points toward the center.
Finish making the roll. Lay on a baking sheet with the open point folded under.
I have tried both baking the rolls and frying them. Of course, the fried ones taste better! Wouldn't ya know???
To bake, I lightly sprayed the rolls with cooking spray, then flipped them over and sprayed the other side. Put them on a rack over a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned. I can't tell you what the oven temp was because the oven control on my 1940's gas stove no longer works.
To fry the rolls, I put about 1/4 inch of veg. oil in a fryin pan and got it nice and hot. Then added the rolls and fried till golden brown. Then drained on paper towels.
Both turned out nice, but we preferred the fried ones. Try them with the red pepper preserve that's listed in the recipes tab at the top of the blog. Yummy!
Uncooked spring rolls can be frozen. Just wrap them individually so they don't stick together.
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Favorite Pasta
1 lb. box of spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine.
1 large can of petite diced tomatoes or 3 - 4 medium fresh tomatoes, seeded
3 or 4 garlic bulbs, very thinly sliced
about 1/2 cup loosely packed basil leaves cut into strips, plus a few for garnish
4 T. butter
3 -T olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cook the pasta till al dente. Drain and set aside.
Microwave the garlic in olive oil for about 40 seconds.
Put the tomatoes in a large pan (the one in which you cooked the pasta will work), add the garlic in olive oil, the butter and basil, simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the pasta to the pan plus the salt and pepper as needed.
On low heat, stir until pasta is thoroughly warmed.
Serve and enjoy.
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Fish Chowder
3 medium potatoes
1 medium sweet onion
2 ribs of celery
1 can of corn
1 1/2 lbs. fish of your choice (cod, catfish, talapia)
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon parsley
salt, pepper and cayenne, pinch of each1 can chicken broth
about 1/4 cup flour
milk
Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces, leave the skins on. Chop celery and onion. Put veggies in a soup pot, add corn (do not drain) and chicken broth, and spices. Cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are almost done. Add fish and cook until it flakes easily. Sprinkle the flour lightly over the veggies and fish while stirring the mixture. Add some milk and cook a few minutes longer till soup thickens slightly.
Fast and Easy!
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Sweet Red Bell Pepper Jam
This week Weis Market had sweet red bell peppers for one dollar apiece. I couldn't pass up that price, since they are usually quite expensive. At the hook-in in Chambersburg last Monday, one of the women had brought a cracker spread made with sweet red peppers. It was yummy. She gave out the recipe to any who wanted to try it.
So with peppers on sale and a great recipe at hand, I made jam.
I don't think Thelma would mind if I shared the recipe. It can also be found on several cooking websites.
About 10 red bell peppers
2 cups of white vinegar
3 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon salt
hot pepper sauce or dried red pepper are optional
I like a little heat, so I used the dry red pepper, adding it to the pot while cooking.
Seed and coarsely chop the peppers.
Put into a food processor and whir until finely chopped but NOT pureed.
Empty into a colander and sprinkle with the salt.
One recipe said put it in the fridge overnight, another said let drain for several hours. I did the latter.
When they have drained, put the peppers in a HEAVY large sauce pan or dutch oven. If you do not use a heavy pan with even heat this stuff will STICK! I don't know if a crock pot would work or not (it would take longer). Cook at a simmer for about an hour until thick like jam. I tested it on a small plate. Just take out a spoonful, put it on the plate and let it cool. If it's not runny, it's ready.
You could sterilize your jars, put the hot jam in them and put on the lids and let them seal if that's how you do jam. I'm putting mine in the freezer (if it lasts that long!!!)
This is so yummy! Try it on crackers with cream cheese. As a relish on sandwiches.
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PA German One-Pot Comfort Food
When it's time to fire up the woodstove and cook one-pot meals, I dig in the fridge and bring out things that need to be used.
I had two smoked turkey sausages
Some turkey bacon
1/2 head of cabbage
A large onion
and lots of little red potatoes from the garden that were too small to peel.
Season with salt, pepper and paprika.
I sprayed the pan with cooking spray and added the meat, browned it and added the cabbage and potatoes. Put the onions in after that had cooked for a while. Then just saute until the veggies are tender, making sure it doesn't stick, adding water as necessary.
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Breakfast Strata
This is not an exact recipe. You can modify the ingredients in a variety of ways.
This is really only a guideline for your own creativity.
Spray an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray.
4 slices bread
1 cup sausage, or chopped ham, or 1/2 cup crumbled bacon or meat of your choice
1 1/2 cup cooked shredded brussels sprouts, broccoli, spinac, or vegetable of your choice
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup grated cheese of your choice
5 or 6 eggs (or the equivalent of Eggbeaters)
1 cup fat free half and half
Italian bread crumbs to top it off.
Put slices of bread in a single layer in bottom of pan.
Add meat, then vegetables, onion, and then cheese.
Beat eggs and all the half and half, pour over casserole.
Let soak for about five minutes.
Top with bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 until center is set. Test by inserting a knife in center and if it comes out clean, it's done.
Approx. 45 minutes.
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Corn and Black Bean Salad
1 1/2 cups fresh cooked corn cut off the cob
1 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained. (one can is about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped, Vidalia onion also works fine
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomato
1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
salt and pepper
Mix it all together and chill before serving. Makes about 6 one-cup servings.
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