It's another What's for Dinner Wednesday here on the blog! Tonight I'm going to share with you one of my favorite dishes, quiche.
Ingredients: pie crust, 5 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup cooked, chopped chicken*, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese*, 1/4 cup bacon bits*.
Scatter chicken, bacon, and cheese in the bottom of your favorite pie-crust (unbaked is best). Beat eggs, milk, and seasonings together with a fork in a medium bowl, and pour the mixture over the meat and cheese.
Bake at 350 until the egg is cooked and set and the crust is browned (about 40 minutes). Enjoy!
*These ingredients are optional and can be changed to fit whatever you have on hand. There is a multitude of veggies, meats, and cheeses that you can combine (or omit) to make this dish your own.
It's another What's for Dinner Wednesday on the blog. Tonight I'd like to share with you a meal that's quick, easy, and great for lunch or dinner any day of the week (unless you're pregnant): Tuna Salad. I typically serve this on bread or buns, but it is equally tasty on your favorite cracker.
Ingredients (per serving): 1 5-6 oz can of tuna in water (drained), 1 tablespoon lite mayo, 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish:
Combine ingredients in an appropriately sized bowl with a fork. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to one week:
There are a multitude of alternate methods for making tuna salad. Two examples are: using sweet relish instead of dill or adding an additional 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped apple to the mix (Mrs. Holland's favorite).
How do you typically make your tuna?
It's another What's for Dinner Wednesday, and tonight I'll actually be sharing a main course recipe for two- old school sliders. Technically, we prepare regular sized hamburgers this way too, but mini-burgers are cuter. The breadcrumbs and Worcestershire make for a super moist and delicious burger, no matter the size!
Ingredients: 1/2 pound lean ground beef, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs, small buns or rolls (not pictured), your favorite burger toppings (not pictured).
In a small bowl, combine the beef, Worcestershire sauce, and breadcrumbs with your hands. After the mixture is thoroughly combined, divide in fourths, forming a small bun-shaped patty out of each fourth. Place the patties on a hot grill (or electric grill or grill pan if you're cooking inside):
Cook the burgers to your desired doneness (15-20 minutes till well-done on a grill pan, depending on patty shape and pan temp), flipping once about half-way through the cooking time. Place on the buns (we love potato rolls) and top with your favorite flavors (we like mustard, ketchup, dill pickles, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese; the Lukes love BBQ sauce, ranch, bacon, cheese, lettuce, and tomato). Bon Appetit!!
Once again we've come to What's for Dinner Wednesday, and once again I've decided to share a recipe with you that's merely a component of dinner...unless you want a stomach ache. The general concept of building an ice cream cake in this fashion came from my mother, and I must say that I greatly prefer an ice cream cake that actually contains cake to one that is just molded and iced ice cream. So without further ado:
Ingredients: 1-2 cakes (baked and unfrosted, any flavor and shape), 1 quart softened ice cream (any flavor), 1 bag powdered sugar, 1 quart heavy whipping cream, 1 stick softened margarine or butter, and food coloring (optional).
To begin the process, I made 2 9" round Cookie and Cream cakes from Williams Sonoma mix that Mama Wolgemuth gave me. If you prefer to have a smaller ice cream cake, you could make a single cake in a 9" round pan, 13x9 pan, or a loaf pan and cut this single cake in half (so that you end up with 2 cake circles half the height of the original cake, etc.). Any flavor* cake works fine, so please make this recipe your own! After the cakes have cooled, wrap them in plastic wrap, and place them in the freezer for an hour (this step can be skipped).
To soften the ice cream, set it out for approximately 15 minutes. Then take one of the cakes (or cake halves) and place it on a plate. Using a spoon and a spatula, scoop the softened ice cream onto the cake, smoothing and leveling as you go:
Use as much of the ice cream as you would like (I used a whole quart of cookies and cream* with my two cakes), again making sure that the top of the ice cream is level when you've finished with this layer. Then place the second cake (or half) on top of the ice cream, pressing down slightly. Immediately cover and place in the freezer for 15-30 minutes so that the ice cream refreezes in form.
In the meantime, make the icing by adding about 1/2 the whipping cream into your mixer bowl. Turn the mixer on med-high and let it run until the cream becomes thicker and fluffy (whipped cream). Then add in the softened butter and mix until incorporated. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and combine. From here, you can alternately add sugar and the liquid cream by 1/4 cups and tablespoons, respectively, until the icing reaches a consistency and sweetness that you like. (You probably won't use all the cream or sugar- be sure to taste as you go!)
When the icing is how you like it, separate and color as you so desire (I left some white and colored some green). Pull the cake out of the freezer and use a spatula to cover it with a layer of icing:
Pay attention to the ice cream layer, as it may begin to melt around the edges before you finish with the icing. If this happens, carefully place the cake back in the freezer for 5 minutes or so, then pull it out and resume icing. When you're finished with this first layer, put the cake in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Next comes the fun part- the decorating. Of course the cake shouldn't be out of the freezer for an extended period of time, so if your planned method of decorating takes more than 5-10 minutes, make sure you take plenty of breaks and set the cake in the freezer so it will stay firm. My favorite method for this cake is freehand, silly-string patterns around the top edges and simple dots or scallops around the bottom edge:
I haven't had cake recently, and this easy Ice Cream Cake is perfect for the dog days of summer, so I figured you might like to fix it with me for dessert this week. I hope you enjoy!
*Some other great cake/ice cream flavor combos:
vanilla/vanilla, vanilla/chocolate, vanilla/cookies and cream, chocolate/chocolate, chocolate/rocky road, strawberry/strawberry cheesecake, yellow/sweet corn, lemon/lemon sherbert, etc.
Today's What's for Dinner Wednesday is another treat to eat with your meal- whole wheat bread made from scratch from start to finish (just call me the little red hen). This recipe is essentially from my VitaMix cookbook, with a few minor adjustments. If you don't have one of these mixers-on-steroids, you can start with whole wheat flour and mix/kneed the dough by hand.
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups warm water (not pictured), 1 package active dry yeast, 1 tablespoons honey, 1 3/4 cups whole kernel wheat, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Place the whole wheat kernels in the dry container, securing the lid. Turn the machine on VARIABLE speed 1. Quickly increase the speed to 10 and then to high. Grind wheat for 1 minute, and then let it cool for a few minutes.
Combine yeast, honey, and the water in a bowl to proof for approximately 5 minutes.
Pour oil, lemon juice, and yeast mixture into the wheat flour in the blender container. To mix the dough, turn the machine on HIGH for 1 second. While the dough rests, grease a loaf pan. To kneed the dough in the machine, two steps are required; repeat the two-step process 5 times.
Step 1: Scrape the sides of the container with a non-stick spatula, pulling the dough at the sides to the center of the container.
Step 2: With the speed set to HIGH, turn the machine on and off quickly, 5 times.
Dump the dough into the loaf pan, scraping the container with the spatula if necessary. Shape the loaf with the spatula:
Let the dough rise about 30 minutes until it reaches the top of the loaf pan.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.
Each loaf makes 12 slices, and each slice has: 99 calories, 0 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, 2 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of sugar, and 22 grams of Carbs...obviously not low-carb but pretty healthy (bread-wise) and no preservatives. Enjoy!
**Edit 8/11/11: The above nutrition information is for a slice of bread made without oil, honey, salt, and lemon juice which are considered optional ingredients in the original recipe. Thanks to Anonymous for prompting a second look!
Today's What's for Dinner post could actually be an appetizer or side dish: Grandmama Wolgemuth's corn fritters. When I visited the great state of PA a few weeks ago, my uncle mentioned these in passing, and I knew I needed to get the recipe because 1) everything my grandmother makes is superb and 2) Papa Poe loved the corn fritters we ate in Gatlinburg last year. So without further ado...
Ingredients: 2 large ears of corn (as dry as possible), 1 egg, 0-4 tablespoons of flour, and oil for frying (not pictured).
Remove the corn from the cob by grating each ear; you should have approximately one cup of corn when you finish.
Beat the egg in a small bowl, and add the corn. If the corn wasn't very dry, add a few teaspoons of batter to stiffen the mixture slightly; the drier the corn, the less flour that you need to add. Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil.
After a minute or so, flip the fritters. After the fritters are cooked through and golden brown, remove them from the oil and let them drain on a papertowel. Serve with ketchup or maple syrup (Papa Wolgemuth's and my favorite fritter-dip).
Notes: This recipe (which makes about 10 half-dollar sized fritters) is not exact; try to stick to the 1 egg to 1 cup corn ratio and to add as little flour as possible when trying to obtain the thicker consistency that holds together when dropped into the oil. To dry my corn, I leave shucked ears in the refrigerator (uncovered) for several days. In the future I'd like to try this recipe with other produce (apples, etc.); I'll be sure to post my results!
Last week after my visit to Raleigh, I continued northward to the great state of Pennsylvania to see more family. It was the first time that Mama and Papa Wolgemuth, Mr. Wolgemuth, Mrs. Luke and I made the trip together in five years:
Our first stop in the state was a grocery store- Stauffers of Kissel Hill. As soon as we walked in the store, we saw Pellman's cheesecakes, which is a company started by some of our extended family. We picked up an Apple Bavarian Cheesecake (it was fabulous!) and a bag of Gibbles chips (Papa Wolgemuth's favorite brand):
During our trek, we got a flat. After Papa Wolgemuth and Mr. Wolgemuth put on the doughnut, we traveled to Mr. Tire to get new rear tires. The service and price were excellent, and we would highly recommend them:
After that hiccup, we visited the (approximate) former homes of two sets of my great grandparents:
We ended up at my aunt and uncle's house (Mr. T. Wolgemuth and Mrs. R. Wolgemuth). They fed us some fantastic subs, and we had some great conversation, which ended with plans to go to a small diner early the next morning based on a two-year-old tip that a cousin of theirs frequented the restaurant for breakfast. We didn't find the cousin, but we ate some tasty food:
Following breakfast, we bid the Wolgemuths farewell and headed to Grandmama and Grandpapa Wolgemuth's house. We have several traditional activities we partake in every time we visit. The first is a grand hike in the woods. This year we saw several trees that had been attacked by woodpeckers. We also passed by the shale pit, beautiful views, a field full of black eyed susans, and some apples growing in the orchard that Grandmama Wolgemuth makes apple sauce with:
Sometimes we get a little crazy when we get out in the fresh mountain air:
We also enjoy swinging in their South American hammock and playing ping pong:
We read Calvin and Hobbs and The Monster Stick, look at some Magic Eye puzzles, and listen to some CW McCall too:
We Wolgemuths like our food; therefore, it only makes sense that we have PA culinary traditions as well. While we were shopping with one of my aunts, Ms. Lowry, we stopped at Gardners' candy store in the Nittany Mall to pick up some of their famous peanut butter meltaways. We always stop by the Penn State creamery on campus for a cone, and we try to pick up a grilled sticky too:
This year we were only able to visit two of our cousins and their families, but it was a very enjoyable visit over dinner and basketball. One of my second cousins, Ms. Veit, is a pretty fantastic player:
At the end of our trip, Mrs. Luke and I flew home to our hubbys:
It was a great mini vacation, and I'm so glad that we were able to go!
Happy What's for dinner Wednesday on the blog! Today we'll be discussing a quick and easy recipe that's great for crowds (Mr. Hinds especially likes it) or finals week- pulled pork BarBQ.
Ingredients: 1 pork shoulder (aka pork "butt") or other piece of pork, boneless or otherwise (estimate 4-5 sandwiches per pound of pork), 1/2 cup water, 1 Tbs salt, 1Tbs pepper
Place all these ingredients in a slow cooker (you may need to cut the pork to make it all fit), and cook on low for 10-12 hours:
After the pork has finished cooking, it should be fall off the bone tender. Carefully use tongs to pull the pork out of the pot. Place the meat in a large bowl and shred it using either the tongs or a pair of forks. Add BBQ sauce and toss:
Serve with buns, dill pickle slices, additional sauce, and anything else you like on your BBQ!
