Mushroom Delight

The highlight here is clearly the mushroom sauce. When I normally cook it, it's more along the lines of fry the mushrooms with some onions, add some whipping cream and bring it to a boil. And that's not really bad considering how simple the whole process is. But it doesn't hold a candle to this sauce.
You need a lot of ingredients and it's rather time consuming. The end result is worth all of it. It's flavourful and the rosemary and thyme give it a nice pep.

I had some ideas to make ground meat muffins. But at the time I already had some other things planed. So I postponed it to a later date (like a lot of things I'm planing, there is just not enough time to cook all the dishes I have in mind).
That was around christmas time and I was visiting my family. For Christmas Eve my mom and I cooked an absoloutly delicious fish (I'm planing to do it again and sooner or later I'm going to share the recipe with you). But when there is fish my brother always needs special treatment. So we had to make an alternative for him. I used the chance to try out the ground meat muffins.
They were really great. Because they cooked in their own juice they turned out rather moist. And the top had a nice cunch to it. But... I won't do that again. The muffin pan was more or less ruined. It was already hard to get the molds mostly clean. But the top of the pan was a lost cause. Small bubbles were burned into the metal.
It's so sad. You have to weigh out what you want more, a delicious meat muffin or a whole muffin pan. I chose the pan. I have to think of the future. Of all the muffins and cupcakes I still plan to make in my muffin pans.

As an alternative for the muffins I made meat balls in a casserole dish. That way the balls would also cook in their on juices. It's not as good as the muffins, but it's close.
I have the recipe for the mushroom filling from my mom. It's kind of a common fillin for her meat loaf.

_____________________________________________________

Mushroom Delight

Meat

500 g ground meat, pork
1 big onion
2 garlic cloves
1 potato
1/3 cup milk
1/8 cup water
2 tbsp mayonnaise
salt
pepper

1. Peel the garlic. Mince it afterwards.
2. Peel the onion. Use a grater to make a puree out of it.
3. Peel the potato. Use a grater to make a puree out of it.
4. Put the ground meat into a big bowl. Add the onion, the garlic, the potato and the mayonnaise. Gradually add the water and milk. Combine everything with your hands. The mass should not be to watery or it won't hold when you later form the meat balls.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Filling

1 onion
150 g mushrooms, jar
salt
olive oil

1. Peel the onion. Cut it into fine cubes.
2. Use a colander to drain the water out of the jar. Rinse the mushrooms with cold water.
3. Cut the mushrooms into fine cubes.
4. Heat some oil in a frying pan.
5. Add the mushrooms and onions into the pan. Fry everything until the onions turn translucent.
6. Season with salt.

To Assemble

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
2. Grease a casserole dish. It shouldn't be to big, just enough place that the meat balls won't touch.
3. Take a small handful of the prepared meat. Hold it in your hand and press it flat.
4. Put about a tabelspoon full of the mushroom mixture into the middle of the patty. Form a ball around the mushrooms.
5. Place the formed ball into the prepared casserole dish. The meat balls shouldn't touch.
6. Bake for about 60-70 minutes.

Sauce

500 g pasta
1 cup reserved pasta water

3 tbsp olive oil
400 g mushrooms, fresh
2 tsp rosemary, dry
1 tsp thyme, dry
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp soy sauce
salt
pepper

2 tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves
1 onion
3 tbsp flour
4 tbsp white wine, dry
1 1/2 cups milk
salt
pepper

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water for later use.
2. Clean the mushrooms. Cut them into thin slices.
3. Peel the garlic. Mince them afterwards.
4. Peel the onion. Cut it into fine cubes.
5. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan.
6. Add the mushrooms to the pan. Fry them for about 10 minutes, the mushrooms should turn brown.
7. Add the rosemary, the thyme and the red pepper flakes. Fry along for another minute.
8. Add the soy sauce and season with salt and pepper. Fry along for 3 more minutes.
9. Take the mushrooms out of the pan.
10. Use the same frying pan to melt the butter with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil.
11. As soon as the butter is completely melted add the garlic and onion to it.
12. Fry them for 5-7 minutes.
13. Add the flour and mix it for about 2 minutes. If the mixture is to dry add 1-2 tsp olive oil.
14. Stir constantly while you add the wine.
15. Add the milk. Stir it until the sauce thickens.
16. Add the fried mushrooms.
17. Use the pasta water to thin down the sauce. Add more or less of it depending on how thick you prefare your sauce.
18. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the pasta with the sauce and the stuffed meatballs.

Bon appétit!!

Spaghetti Nests

I don't really remember how I stumbled over these recipe. I think I was looking for something specific on pinterest. I liked it the moment I saw the picture. The nests look flashy but the ingredients are still simple. Recipes like that are my favorites.
I think they would work great as appetizers.

_____________________________________________________

Spaghetti Nests

200 g spaghetti
125 g mozzarella
1/2 bunch basil
2 eggs
150 g cream cheese
8-10 cherry tomatoes
salt
pepper

1. Grate the mozzarella.
2. Cut the basil into fine stripes.
3. Cook the spaghetti.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
5. Put baking parchment on a baking sheet.
6. Whisk the eggs with a fork. Add the cream cheese and mix it in.
7. Add the basil and about half of the mozzarella.
8. Season heavily with salt and pepper.
9. Twist the spaghetti to nests on the baking sheet. Make about 5-6 nests.
10. Use a spoon to distribute the cream cheese mix between the nests. Pour the mixture into the middle of the nests.
11. Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut them in half.
12. Scatter the rest of the mozzarella over the nests.
13. Put 3 tomatoe halves each in the middle of the nests, cut side down.
14. Bake them for 15 minutes.

Bon appétit!!

Vegetable Noodle Soup Italian Style

I think this is my favorite summer soup. For one it tastes great, so italian, for another the most important ingredients, the zucchini and tomatoes, grow in my parents garden.

The original recipe is in german. The webside LECKER.de is one of my favorite german cooking and recipe sides. They have lots of tasty dishes. When I need a recipe for one ingredient this is one of the websides I consult.

I made it a few times over the summer. It's pretty easy to make. And even if you don't follow the recipe to closely it still tastes great.

It tastes best with bread, the chesse muffins for example, and some crème fraîche.

_____________________________________________________

Vegetable Noodle Soup Italian Style

3 onions
2 garlic cloves
2 carrots
1 zucchini
2 beef tomatoes or bulls heart tomatoes
180 g pasta, small
2 tbsp tomato paste
1,5 l vegetable broth
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch of parsley
4 tsp thyme, dry
salt
pepper

1. Skin the onions and garlic cloves.
2. Mince the garlic.
3. Cube the onions.
4. Peel the carrots. Cut them into 3-4 mm thick slices.
5. Wash and dry the zucchini and the tomatoes.
6. Cut the zucchini into 5-6 mm thick slices. Quarter the slices.
7. Cut the tomatoes into rather big cubes.
8. Heat the oil in a big sauce pan.
9. Braise the onions and the garlic in it until the onions turn translucent.
10. Add the carrots and the zucchini and braise them for about 8 minutes.
11. Add the tomato paste and let it sweat a little.
12. Add the tomatoes and mix them in.
13. Add the vegetable broth and bring it to a boil.
14. Add the pasta.
15. Let the soup boil at a medium heat for about 10 minutes.
16. In the mean time chop the parsley.
17. Add the parsley and the thyme at the end.
18. Season with salt and pepper.
 

Bon appétit!!

Lemon Garlic Pasta

It's been a while that I made these recipe. So I don't remember much about it. But it was obviously good or I wouldn't have put it on my "to post" pile.

So here it is.

_____________________________________________________

Lemon Garlic Pasta

150 g pasta
1/4 cup parmesan
3 garlic gloves
1/2 lemon
2 tbsp pine nuts
6-8 basil leaves
2 tsp olive oil

1. Toast the pine nuts in a skillet, without oil.
2. Skin the garlic. Mince it afterwards.
3. In a skillet heat the oil on low. Fry the garlic in it until it turns a light brown. Save it for later.
4. Cook the pasta.
5. Grate the parmesan.
6. Chiffonade the basil leaves.
7. Combine the pine nuts, the parmesan, the garlic oil and the basil in a bowl.
8. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl. Mix everything together.
9. Combine it with the pasta.

Bon appétit!!

Crock Pot Mandarin Chicken Legs

And here is another Crock Pot meal. This time with chicken, mainly because I had some in my freezer.
They asked for molasses in the original recipe, but I've never seen that in german stores and I don't know with what to substitute it. So I just left it out. I liked it.

I really need some more different dishes. I think I already used this plate in four other pictures.

_____________________________________________________

Crock Pot Mandarin Chicken Legs

Chicken Legs

4 chicken leg quarters
3 red bell peppers
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

1. Skin the chicken leg quarters.
2. Spread the legs at the bottom of the pot.
3. Wash and dry the bell peppers.
4. Cut off the top of the peppers and clean them out. Quarter the bell peppers and cut the pieces into stripes afterwards.
5. Evenly spread the peppers over the chicken.
6. Mix the broth, the juice, the ketchup, the soy sauce, the mustard, salt and garlic powder together.
7. Pour the mixture over the chicken.
8. Cook everything on LOW for 6 hours.

Sauce

1 cup juice from the chicken legs
2 tbsp cornstarch
ca. 330 g mandarins, drip-off weight
1 tbsp mandarin juice
1 cup peas, frozen
2 scallions

1. Wash and dry the scallions.
2. Cut them into rings and put them aside for later.
3. Drain the mandarins. Reserve 1 tbsp of the juice.
4. Take the chicken and the peppers out of the pot and measure out 1 cup of the juice
5. Bring the juice to a boil.
6. Mix the mandarin juice with the cornstarch. Stir it into the boiling juice.
7. Add the peas and the scallions and stir everything.
8. Let the sauce boil for about 3 minutes, so it can thicken.
9. When the sauce is ready add the mandarins and mix everything together.

Serve the chicken, the bell peppers and the sauce with pasta or rice.

Bon appétit!!

Crock Pot Baked Ziti

A while back I stumbled over Crock Pots on Pinterest. In Germany they are not as common as they seem to be in America.
I really wanted to try it out. As it happens a few months later I received a Mulitcooker as a gift. Of course it's not the same (it's better) as a Crock Pot. But it has temperature regulation. The hardest part was to find the actual temperature for HIGH and LOW.

So this is my first attempt. All in all I am satisfied. It's a ridiculously simple recipe and needs no time at all. Especially if you use already grated parmesan and mozzarella.
I always prefer to grate the parmesan myself, it just tastes better. But it's a possibility. That way the preparation time amounts to 5 minutes.

In the original recipe it only says pasta sauce. But there are so many varieties. I couldn't decide which to take. So I took three different ones, Arrabiata, Tomato-Basil and Tomato-Bolognese. One for each layer. The Arrabiata made it a littel hot. So I'm glad I didn't use just that, I'm not a big fan of hot food.
I think next time, if there's going to be a next time, I only use the Bolognese. I liked that best.

_____________________________________________________

Crock Pot Baked Ziti 

500 g Penne Rigate or Ziti, wholewheat
450 g ricotta
2 egg whites
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup parmesan
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup mozzarella, light
ca. 1200 ml pasta sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. Coat the Crock Pot with cooking spray.
2. Put the pasta in a colander and rinse them. Put them aside for later.
3. Grate the parmesan.
4. Cut the mozzarella roughly into small cubes.
5. Separate the egg whites from the yolk.
6. Put the ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup parmesan, the egg whites, salt and pepper in a bowl and with a fork mix everything together.
7. Evenly spread half of the pasta at the bottom of the pot.
8. Carefully pour 500 ml of the pasta sauce over the noodles.
9. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the sauce. Use a fork to put small quantities on the sauce and carefully spread them.
10. Repeat the pasta, sauce and ricotta layers.
11. Pour the rest of the pasta sauce on top.
12. Cook the pasta for 5-6 hours on low.
13. At the end sprinkle roughly 1/4 cup parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella on top and leave it for 10 more minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Bon appétit!!