Potato Asparagus Tart & Freezer Cooking Day Results

I've accomplished a lot today, due to careful planning. I map out my cooking days the day before. I usually break it down step by step so I am efficient- combining like tasks (like chopping all of the onions I need for every recipe all at one time), starting the longest recipes first, etc. I was able to get all of this done in about 6 hours today. I took a few breaks and took my time. 


10 cups pancake mix
2 jars of fresh salsa

8 lunches of broccoli & brown rice

8 lunches of potato asparagus tart

30 cups poultry stock

3 dinners light turkey tetrazzini

3 dinners turkey & brown rice casserole

2 pans whole grain cinnamon rolls

3 dinners (1 1/2 lbs) parmesan chicken nuggets

1 lb sliced roast turkey for sandwiches

dozen hamburger buns

one jar of ranch dressing

one jar of italian dressing

one jar of french dressing

………………….

Now, for a new recipe- Potato Asparagus Tart

I've made this tart once before. It was delicious. I had stocked up on fresh asparagus in the springtime, so I was able to use it right out of the freezer today. This makes for a nice warm lunch, nice for fall even though it's got spring flavors. 

For tart:

10 stalks of asparagus
1 large potato, sliced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
5 eggs
1 cup milk
sea salt & freshly ground pepper

crust

For crust:
1 cup ap flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup butter

pinch of salt

ice cold water

Combine flour, salt, and butter with a pastry blender until you get something that looks like wet sand. Add a little cold water at a time until the dough holds together on it's own. Start out stirring the water in, then move to gently kneading it. 

OR

I use my food processor for this- pulse flour and butter, scrape sides, and pulse again until you get the wet sand-ish looking crumbles. Add ice cold water in a stream while the processor is running. Takes about 30 seconds to form into a bunch of crumbles and a slightly sticky ball of dough. 

Remove dough and pat it together to form a ball. Use a little flour if it's sticky, but not too much because it toughens the dough.

Grease a 13x9 baking pan. Pat crust into bottom of pan and up the sides about an inch. 

Clean asparagus & chop into 1 inch pieces.

Slice potatoes and add to a pot of cool water. Bring to a boil and cook until just tender. Drain & cool. 

On top of tart crust, add a single layer of potato slices and sprinkle with grated cheese. 

Season with salt & pepper. 

Combine eggs and milk in a bowl and pour over the potatoes/cheese layer. Sprinkle asparagus spears equally across the tart. 

Bake at (375°F) in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes or until the egg mixture is slightly brown and throughly set. 

Serve warm with soup or a salad. 

Seasoned Oven Fries

These fries are one of our new favorite recipes. We eat them as a side with grilled foods or on their own with spicy ketchup.

4-5 medium potatoes cut into thin wedges, leave the skin on
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika (smoked is best)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
black pepper
1/4 cup flour

Toss & coat the potatoes in a gallon size ziploc bag with the olive oil. Sprinkle in seasonings and coat them again. Sprinkle flour in bag and gently toss potatoes. The flour will be mostly absorbed by the oil & moisture on the potatoes.

Place potato wedges on large baking stone, making sure they don't touch. Take them out of the bag to put them on the stone. The excess flour will fall to the bottom of the bag.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 20-25 minutes depending on how crispy you'd like them.

Sprinkle with salt. Serve with a bit of sour cream or spicy ketchup.

Spicy Ketchup:
Ketchup
Sriracha
a little mayo

Mix up with a fork.

Chicken & Noodles

This thick stew has slightly chewy, dumpling-like egg noodles. Warm, filling, and comforting!

Chicken & gravy:
6-8 cups chicken stock
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
salt
pepper
fresh or dried parsley, rosemary, & thyme to taste

Noodles:
2 cups flour
1 egg
about a 1/2-1cup warm water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder

For noodles: 

Combine flour, egg, baking powder, & salt. Add water slowly until a slightly sticky but firm dough forms. It should combine into a ball, with little dough/flour left on the sides of the bowl. Let dough rest while you prepare the chicken & gravy. 

Bring stock to a boil in a large pot. Add veggies and seasoning. Poach chicken breasts in simmering stock for about 20mins. Remove chicken & shred with two forks, pulling it apart into bite size pieces. Place chicken back into stock.

Roll out noodle dough with ample flour to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a pizza or pastry cutter to slice the noodles into strips about 1/2 inch wide and 2-3 inches long. Sprinkle more flour on top of the sliced noodles. Gently pick up noodles and toss them together with ample flour. They will slightly lose their shape, but should be coated in flour and easily able to separate from each other.

Place the noodles very gently into simmering stock. Place lid on pot for 3 mins. Remove lid and gently stir.

Combine 1/4 cup flour with a little cold water. Stir to dissolve flour. Add to simmering pot and stir. This will thicken the gravy.

Check for seasoning. Add as desired.

Serve steaming hot.

Vegetarian option: Use vegetable stock, omit chicken, & add double the veggies.

Can be frozen. Thaw & reheat on stovetop. Add a little water as gravy will thicken substantially.

Make-It-Your-Way Easy Quiche

This recipe makes one 9" quiche. It can be frozen (after cooking) & reheated.

1 cup milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, or plain yogurt (or any combinations of these that equals 1 cup)
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 cup All Purpose flour
Salt
Pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (any flavor)
1-2 cups veggies (any kind, I use spinach, carrots, broccoli, etc.) The easiest to add the veggies is 1 box frozen veggies (a medley or chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained)
1/2 cup meat (ham, bacon, etc.) OPTIONAL

Combine everything in a bowl and pour into a 9" pie pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees.

To freeze, wrap  cooled quiche in plastic wrap or put into a gallon size plastic bag.

To reheat, place frozen quiche in oven for 45 minutes at 325 degrees.

Patlijan Gouvej (Eggplant Stew)

Many people in our family call this "Papa John Goulash" because the correct pronunciation is a bit difficult. Phonetically it's- "pot-la-jon goo-veg" Anyway you say it, it's delicious!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups sweet peppers, any color, chopped
2 medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
20 Roma tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped OR 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5oz can tomato sauce
Salt
Pepper

Add oil to large stock pot. Toss in onions, garlic, and peppers. Salt the veggies so the liquid will release more quickly from them. Saute' on medium until they soften just a bit.

Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot. Stir to combine. Reduce to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper to taste.

Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serve piping hot over pilaf.

Pilaf

This is our Armenian family recipe. We serve it at every family get-together. It's one of our very favorite things to eat!

1/2 stick butter or a little extra if you're feeling indulgent
1/2 large onion, chopped
To taste-Lawry's seasoned salt OR salt, garlic powder, onion powder, & a dash a paprika
Black pepper
1 cup FINE egg noodles or thin spaghetti broken into 1inch pieces.
6 cups chicken broth ir homemade chicken stock
3 cups converted long grain rice- must be converted, the grains of rice hold together better, this rice is not sticky when cooked. We use Uncle Ben's or Texas brand.

Melt butter in a pot on medium heat, add onions and seasoning, saute' until onions begin to be translucent. Enjoy the glorious smell of sweet onions and butter!

Add egg noodles and let them toast a bit in the butter.

Add broth, bring to a boil. Add rice and stir to combine the ingredients. Let it come back up to a simmer. Put a tight fitting lid on the pot. Decrease temperature to low.

Simmer for around 20-25 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Do not life the lid during this time. The heat must stay inside of the pot!

It's difficult to overcook converted rice because it holds it shape so well. Check it after 20 minutes to see if the liquid is absorbed, add cooking time accordingly until there is not liquid left at the bottom of the pot.

The noodles and onions will rise to the surface during cooking. Stir to re-combine them into the rice. Serve as a side dish or as a bed for your favorite vegetable stew or shish kabob.

Vegetarian option- use great quality vegetable stock in place of broth.

Blueberry Sweet Corn Pancakes

These are a nice change in flavor and texture from traditional pancakes. 

2 cups Whole Grain Pancake Mix

2 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

1/2 cup cooked sweet corn cut off of the cob (smaller pieces are best, not whole kernels)

1/2 cup corn meal

about a cup of fresh or frozen whole blueberries

Combine ingredients with whisk. Let stand for 20 minutes. Prepare 4"-5" pancakes as you usually would. Once you pour batter onto the griddle, sprinkle 4-6 whole blueberries onto each pancake. Flip, cook, & enjoy with syrup. 

Variation: Omit the blueberries. Sprinkle a little chili powder into the batter. Prepare as usual. Serve as a savory dish with salsa, sour cream, black beans, and guacamole. 

Can be frozen. See this post for instructions.