Tag Archives: celery

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

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I saw this on Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives (and it sounds like a lot of other people did as well because the grocery store had a mad rush on spaghetti squash). It’s a great idea really and it’s so versatile you can add whatever you like and it’ll still be a tasty dish. It even has it’s own little serving bowl (well, mine wasn’t little!). In fact, one squash was enough for two dinners for Earl and I.

I wasn’t planning on posting this, but I had requests for the recipe and this is by far easier than making several paper copies! I couldn’t get a very good picture of it, so don’t hold that against me!

I used ground turkey in this but you could always sub ground beef or make this a vegetarian meal and add no meat!

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I took a spaghetti squash, cut it in half, scraped out the seeds, topped it with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted it in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.

While that was cooling, I cooked 1/2 chopped onion, 1 large chopped zucchini, 1 chopped carrot, and one chopped celery stalk in a couple of tablespoons olive oil until soft. Then crumbled and browned a 1/2 a pound of ground turkey and added about 8 oz of chopped, jarred roasted red peppers.

Then stirred in about 3/4 of a 24 oz jar of marinara sauce, a tablespoon of dried basil, and a tablespoon of dried oregano. Next, scraped the spaghetti squash with a fork into the veggie and meat mixture, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I let that cook until heated through, then spooned the mixture back into the 2 halves of the squash “bowls”. Top with remaining marinara, sliced fresh mozzarella, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes covered with a piece of foil (not tightly wrapped, just resting on top), then bake for another 15 minutes with foil removed to brown up and melt the cheese.

Goes great with a glass of Pinot Noir , or two!

Tomato Soup

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I know, I’m terrible with keeping up on the posting. I still cook, I’m just too lazy to write most recipes down while cooking, then trying to take a decent picture, then typing it out… well, you get it.

I’m just going to start posting about food in general. This sounds more like fun and less like work, which is what this “blog posting” was starting to feel like!

Lately I’ve been into soups. Of the homemade variety of course. I was starting to get tired of the bland canned soups, though convenient, they were getting boring.

I’m more of a “creamy soup” person. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a nice chicken noodle soup or, one of my favorites, Italian Wedding Soup, but there’s something about a ” cream-of-something” soup that says comfort food.

About a month ago, I made my very first homemade tomato soup. It was delicious! Way better than canned stuff and lots cheaper than getting it from The Loop ( a little better tasting than The Loop, if I do say so myself). The only gripe I had about it was having to cook everything, then transfer it in batches to the food processor, then strain it back into the original pan I started with. Not only did it make a mess and dirty up more dishes than I thought necessary, it took waaaaaay too long. I work 8 hours a day in a refrigerated cutting room, the last thing my weary bones want to do is stand in the kitchen for an hour and a half making soup!

So I decided I needed an immersion/hand blender. Good thing hubby paid attention to my griping! I came home a few days ago to an early Christmas present! Not only did he get me my hand blender; he got me the “Mac-Daddy” hand blender that resembles something a mechanic would have in his garage for working on exotic cars.photo 4

  Let me tell you, this thing is awesome! Last night I decided to make tomato soup again, albeit a little on the chunky side since I really didn’t think straining it was necessary (what’s a chunk or two of tomato in tomato soup, I mean, really!?)  I also made some cod croquettes to go with it, but they ended up being cod/tuna croquettes since I didn’t buy enough cod to feed everybody (through no fault of my own). They still turned out good, I just wish there would have been more!

I did manage to take a picture of my dinner last night…photo 5

For the soup, I used a recipe from Food Network that I tweaked a bit: cooked onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil till soft, added 5 tablespoons flour, then a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes and their juices, a 32 oz carton plus one cup of chicken stock, parsley, thyme and 2 bay leaves and let it simmer half an hour. Then took out the bay leaves and blended up all the veggies in the pot with my new toy, then added a cup of cream. So much easier this time around! Now I have to figure out what other kinds of soup to make!

Well off to play with some cheesecakes! I bought these mini springform pans months ago and haven’t used them yet so I’m thinking it’s time to break them in!

Beef, Lentil, And Noodle Stew

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I had some celery, carrots, and mushrooms in the fridge I needed to use up, and had some stew beef in the freezer, so I came up with this tasty concoction. I was going to serve it over egg noodles, then decided I didn’t feel like dirtying up any more pots to wash, so I threw the egg noodles in with the stew and it came out great! This is one instance where laziness paid off! 😉

  • 1 lb beef tenderloin or top sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4 oz cremini (baby Portobello) mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 15 oz can lentils
  • 1 cup Pinot Noir or Zinfandel
  • 1 15 oz can beef broth
  • 6 oz egg noodles
  • salt
  • pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large sauce pan or stock pot over medium-high heat, and sear beef, stirring constantly, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove beef from pan, and place in an oven safe bowl. Cover and keep warm in unheated oven.

Reduce heat to medium and melt remaining butter in the same pan. Add carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms, and cook about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, and cook until reduced by half. Stir in broth, thyme sprigs, rosemary, and oregano. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. ( I use grinders, so I used 3 turns of the salt, and 2 turns pepper.) Stir in lentils. Heat until mixture starts to bubble.

Return beef to the pot; cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs, and stir in egg noodles. Cook, covered 20 minutes more, until noodles are soft.

Enjoy!

Braised Beef Short Ribs

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I never cared for traditional “Pot Roast” , (my hubby loves it), but I’ve found I really like short ribs. This recipe combines pot roast ingredients, with a little something extra to suit my taste, so it keeps everyone in the house happy! It’s warming on a cold, rainy day, and smells wonderful as it cooks!

  • 2 lbs boneless beef short ribs
  • 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 3 carrots, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 lg onion, roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 3 tbsp fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 15 oz can beef broth
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 cup reserved cooking liquid

Place celery, carrots, onions, and garlic in the bottom of a slow cooker.

Melt butter in a medium size skillet over medium-high heat. Sear short ribs on all sides, about 1 minute per side, and place over veggies in the crock pot. Add thyme, bay leaves, beef stock, and wine, and cook on low for 8 hours.

After 8 hours has passed, remove veggies with a slotted spoon to a food processor or blender, add tomato paste, and pulse until smooth. Pour mixture into a small sauce pan, and heat over medium-low heat. Add cooking liquid, a tablespoon at a time to veggie mixture while stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until heated through. Serve short ribs over hot mashed potatoes with veggie sauce spooned on top. Enjoy!