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Minnesota Wild Rice Hotdish- A Recipe Remake
I’ve been working on remaking a family recipe that my Aunt MJ makes. Her recipe is great, but I thought it would taste even better if I added some plain Jasmine rice and a creamy sauce. I mentioned in the Perfect Wild Rice post that it has taken me a while to enjoy the taste of Wild Rice. My Aunt’s recipe uses all Wild Rice, and for my sensitive palate it’s a little too strong. And for The Stud Muffin, it’s just got too much rice. That man has never met a rice he liked. Unless Chipotle’s rice bowl fixin’s are dumped on top of it. Or if it is combined with Stir-Fry.…
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How to Make the Perfect Wild Rice
I’m from Minnesota. It’s the land of Wild Rice. Did you know that Wild Rice is actually an aquatic grass seed, not a rice grain? ‘Tis true my Food Hippies. It’s a coarse annual grass called “zizania aquatica”. Despite its name, the plant isn’t even related to rice. For me, Wild Rice was an acquired taste. I’m not sure if I just had dishes from people who didn’t cook it long enough, or if I just didn’t have the palate for it. Whatever the reason, I shied away from it. Fast forward to a few years ago when I was working in a restaurant and developing a soup recipe with one of the chefs. He wanted a chicken…
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30-Minute Mondays- Beef and Bean Enchiladas
Mexican food is one of my top 4 favorite cuisines. I suppose if I were to be honest, there is actually a three-way tie between Mexican, Asian and Italian cuisines for second place with French being my #1 favorite to cook and eat. There is just something about the fresh flavors, the spice, the heat, and simplicity of Mexican food that I really like. I do tend to Americanize my Mexican dishes for the blog, but some day, I’ll break out the authentic stuff taught to me by some of the line cooks at the restaurants where I worked. I simply have no idea where I packed those notes when we moved last…
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30 Minute Monday- Real Food Skillet Tamale Pie
Welcome to the fist installment of 30-Minute Monday’s. When I used to work out in the real world I never cared for Mondays. My biggest reason was I never slept well on Sunday nights and so I was always so sleepy on Monday. Typically I was dragging. By the time I got home from working a 10-hour day the last thing I wanted to do was spend 90 minutes or more in the kitchen making dinner. I wanted to jump in my flannel jammies, make something quick and filling and vegetate on the couch and snuggle with the fur babies and catch up on the day with The Stud Muffin. That ‘feeling’ was…
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Real Food Tex-Mex Pasta Bake
I had a tough time naming this dish. It looks like a Goulash, but not only is it not Hungarian, it’s also not a stew. My grandmother used to make something similar to this using elbow macaroni, a can of Campbell’s™ Tomato soup, and a can of Chicken Gumbo along with some ground beef. It’s tasty, but that old standby needed some new life breathed into it. Hence how this dish was born. I took one of my grandpa’s favorite dishes and I breathed new life into it. I finally decided on Tex-Mex because the dish has Southwestern, American and Mexican components to it. And to give this dish even more of an…
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Caramelized Onion Burgers with Gruyere
It’s been very warm here in MN this summer. We had a miserably long winter–as in measurable snowstorms in May. Once summer hit, it’s been hot and humid ever since. I’m not complaining. When you have 6 months of winter, you welcome the heat, humidity, and the sun. But not the mosquitoes. I don’t welcome those at all. I’ve been working for the past 4 days in this 90-degree weather, organizing my garage for the moving sale I’m having later this week. I spend about 6-10 hours in the garage each day and by the time I’m finished, I’m spent. The last thing I want to do is spend eternity in the kitchen…
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Ground Sirloin Steaks with Brown Gravy
One of my favorite blogs is South Your Mouth. South Your Mouth is run by Mandy. She’s spunky, sarcastic and is fast becoming a good friend. I get the opportunity to meet her later this year, which has me seriously stoked! Not only do I get to experience her yummy food, and her bold, nothing is sacred, irreverent sense of humor but I’ll get to tear things up in the kitchen with her. I have to say I’m super excited to finally be meeting a favorite blogger in the flesh. I’ve been stalking following Mandy’s blog for a little over two years. I know you’ll enjoy her humorous stories and her recipes as…
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Meatballs with Beef, Pork and Veal
Welcome to the new blog site everyone! Are you as excited to be here as I am to have you here? I hope so! Are you ‘CRAZY excited’, as my 8-year-old niece would say? Imagine my surprise when after importing all the posts from my Blogger site I realized that I’ve shared my “Gravy”/Marinara sauce recipe, and a quick tomato meat sauce/ragu recipe and a basic white sauce recipe but I never shared my meatball recipe? What is wrong with me? Um, don’t answer that please… Please accept my most genuine apology for taking so long to post my meatball recipe. I should probably remember to take my memory supplements more often. I…
