Red French Onion Soup

So French onion soup is another one of those dishes that can be very expensive but doesn't have to be.  It is always an elegant meal, and only moderately time consuming.  Whether you are pairing it with a grand main course, or it is the main course, just remember to have a little fun with it too!

Ingredients:

1 red onion

1 white onion

1 can beef consume

1/4lb soft white cheese (mozzarella will work fine)

6 slices white bread (preferably a french loaf)

seasoning (see directions)

Serves: 2 for dinner

Time: 1 hour

Directions:

1) Start with a little olive oil or butter in your pan, to help the sliced onions brown.  This always take more time than you think-- And being French Onion soup, is really important. Feel free to season as you like as well.  Black pepper and a little salt are always good places to start! Garlic and a splash of wine are classics too.

2) While you are turning the onions over until they are soft and well seasoned you can prepare the bread and cheese.  The cheese needs to be in large slices, as with the bread.  If you have a true French loaf, cut the bread at an angle so make the slices seem larger.  I used Italian sliced bread because it was on sale, but any soft white bread will work well enough.  Just make sure you cut off the crust!

3) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

4) Add one can of beef consume and 2 cans of water to the cooked onions.  You can also preheat the consume mixture in a sauce pan to safe time.

5) Once everything is hot, included the oven, start to layer the bowls with your soup. First add some of the onions and consume to the bottom of the bowl.  Then add a piece of the bread.  Then cover in cheese slice(s).  repeat until the bowl if full.  About three slices makes for a filling and beautiful dinner!

6) After you have finished layering the soups, place on a baking sheet and then into the oven!  back for 15 to 20 minutes.  Serve hot!

Note: Onions are not traditionally on top of the bread.  I just think it's a pretty finish :)

Cost:

onion                   $0.75

beef consume      $1.20

cheese                 $1.70

bread                   $0.60

butter                   $0.10      

Total                   $4.35

Per serving         $2.17

Comfort Food For the weekdays: Itlain Sausage in Angle Hair Pasta

Pasta is one of those dishes that can be quick and pretty good, or slow and Mama Mia good.   I offer a weeknight compromise: Quick pasta, slow rest-of-the-ingredients, and dinner is served on time!

Ingredients:

1lb Italian sausage
1 red onion
4tbs olive oil
1 jar red sauce
2tbs basil
1tbs oregano
1tsp black pepper
1/2 package angle hair pasta

Serves: 4+

Time: 35min

Directions:

1) Start boiling the water.  You will need about 4 cups.  Feel free to add a little salt and olive oil as well, as discussed in prior posts :)

2)Add the olive oil to the pan and turn onto medium heat.  Give extra time to warm up if using an electric oven.

3) Add all the sausage, pre-chopped or separated in the pan.  I prefer to separate in the pan, personally.  Also add your sliced onions at this time.

4) If you choose to use all the spices listed, add them now, so they have time to soften and mellow.  If you are using less spices than listed above, you may want to add them later on so they will taste more potent. Yes, spices are always optional.  Well... usually.

5) While you are cooking the meat thoroughly, and keeping a close eye on it, add the pasta to the boiling water.

6) Add most of the the jar of red sauce to the pan.*

*The reason for "most of the jar" is you may want to save a little out for making pizza!  Its super easy to do with pasta left overs.  Just save a little of the sliced onion, and a little of the meat too-- all in separate baggies of course.  We will come back to this at a later post ;)

7) Angle hair pasta cooks quickly, making it both elegant and time efficient.  After about 5 to 7 minutes, you should be prepared to drain the pasta and add it directly to the pan of yummy stuff.

8) Mix everything well and serve hot!

Cost:

Italian sausage    $3.56
red onion            $0.50
olive oil              $0.20
red sauce            $2.00
spices                 $0.35
pasta                   $0.50      
Total                  $7.11
Per serving         $1.77

Asian Fusion Pizza!

So it's a Sunday, and I feel like pizza :)  But not just any pizza: Asian Fusion Pizza with sesame and garlic based sauce topped with Muenster cheese, onions, broccoli, sausage and fresh greens!  Served on a Agave pizza crust!

Ingredients:

The Pizza!
1/4      white onion
1c       grated muenster cheese, ( for finally chopped)
4 tbs   Asian Toasted Seasame Seed Dressing
2-4     sausages, pretty much any kind, cooked
1 1/2c spring greens, washed
1c       fresh broccoli

The Dough!
(This should make you think twice about buying ready made pizza crusts!)
2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tbs    agave
1 tsp    salt
1 pkg  quick active dry yeast (or Rapid)
3 tbs   olive oil
1 c.    very warm water
(But no boiling!  Boiling will run the risk of killing the yeast)

Serving: 4 people, easily
Time: 1 hour all in

This recipe will definitely demonstrate what a hodgepodge cooker I am.  If it's in the fridge, it's game to be used!  Point and case, the "sauce" for this pizza is salad dressing-- And it will be amazing!!  Just trust me :)

For recipe involving dough, you always need to read the whole recipe first to know if you need to make the dough first or the 'filling,' so to speak.  Timing is much more important if anything has yeast in it.  There are precise chemical reactions going on to make your food yummy!

For this recipe, and all pizza recipes, start with the dough.

Directions:

1) In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, package yeast, and agave.  Do not mix yet.  There are a lot of pizza recipes out there that get very elaborate at this point.  Although this is an important step, getting fancy doesn't make the dough taste better nor does it make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable.

2) Add the warm water evenly over the top. Slowly pour until you can no longer visibly see the yeast.


3) Mix thoroughly for 5 to 7 minutes.  The dough should be between tacky and stringy at this point.  Add more flour or warm water as necessary.  Be careful with the water-- A little goes a LONG way.

4) Ball the dough loosely in the middle of the bowl and cover loosely with cling wrap.   Do not use a damp cloth unless you hate that cloth-- I have definitely wrecked cloths that way.


5) Set aside for 30 min.  If you aren't ready for dinner just yet, set in the fridge for 3 to 4 hours.

6) Prepare the toppings, including grating or chopping the cheese.

7) This is also a good point to start preheating the oven to 400 degrees.  If thick crust, 375, and if thin crust 425 will work best.

8) Once the dough has more than doubled in size, with floured hands and on a floured surface, work the dough into the round disc everyone associates with pizza!

9) Place the dough on a backing sheet, that has flour or cornmeal spread on it, for easy lift off at the end :)

10) Add the dressing 'sauce' to the dough, and spread around smoothly with the back of a spoon up to 1/4 inch from the edge of the dough.

11) Add cheese and toppings as desired.

12) Bake for 20 min OR LESS.

13) Add the fresh greens to the top of the pizza after slicing.

14) Serve warm!

Cost:

All purpose flour                     $0.50

Agave                                     $0.10

Salt                                          $0.02

Quick active dry yeast            $0.50

Olive oil                                  $0.20

White onion                            $0.25

Muenster cheese                     $0.75

Asian Toasted... Dressing      $0.20

Sausages                                 $1.00

Spring greens                         $0.30

Broccoli                                  $0.20

Total                                       $4.02

Per serving                             $1.00

How much pizza this recipe actually makes!!

Smokey Chicken Alfredo

Without the smoke!

This is a quick and easy meal that has never failed to trick every person I have ever served it to-- People assume either various (much more expensive) ingredients are in it that are not, or they assume I spent hours making it (which I definitely did not).  So if you are looking for a really easy and fast way to make a fantastic meal: This is it!!

Ingredients:

2         Chicken breasts

7 oz    Shell pasta

3/4 jar Alfredo sauce

2/3 c   Frozen peas

1 tbs   Fresh rosemary

1/2     of a white onion 

Time:

30 min to table!

I would like to add that you can do this "trick" to most pasta dishes (see #  from the directions.)  Also, the way you present this meal does make a difference.  If you slop it in a bowl and say "I'm tired and done..." Everyone will assume it's a box mix.  Is you plate-it-proper and serve it with a small side of red wine-- People will assume you spent hours getting meal prepared.  It's just one of those tricks that are part of the meal-- After all, the meal starting with the eyes.  :)

Directions:

1) Set up the kitchen.  Start the water boiling for the pasta, oil or butter the pan for the chicken, and get the plates heating for the finish!

2) After the oil is hot in the pan, place the chicken breasts, frozen or fresh directly into the pan.  This is one of those meals that no one will ever know the difference. 

3) Add the chopped onions to the pan.  Note: Usually you cook onions first as they take a long time to "sweat-out."  Part of the smokey is that the onions are more done on the outside than the inside.  You want them to be slightly crunchy by the end of the meal.  If you are concerned about the chicken, especially if you are using fresh chicken, just wait to add the onions but you will want to microwave them a few minutes first...

4)  After about ten minutes of watching the pan, flip the chicken and add the frozen peas.  The peas can be clumped.  You do not want to over cook the peas, so the later you add them the better.  (No English food here!!)       

5) Once the chicken is close to fully cooked, add the Alfredo sauce.  People are scared, rightly so, of chicken, but consequently they WAY overcook it. The pan is still hot, the chicken is still cooking, just relax and enjoy the cooking experience! If you are someone who knows you are paranoid about chicken, add the sauce about 3 min. before you want to.  If you are someone who does not know what I'm talking about right now, add the Alfredo sauce when you normally would.

6) Add the pasta to the now boiling water to start cooking.  This means you are 12 minutes from serving to the table!

7) This is the important step! Work the pan with a spatula to get the slightly brown bits of the pan from the onions etc into the sauce. You need a good spatula for this-- But by the time you are done, this should be the easiest pan in the world to clean because EVERYTHING is in the sauce!  For this reason you must add the Alfredo sauce cold to the hot pan.  

8) Work the pan for about 5 minutes.  This just means to continually move all of the contents of the pan around, making sure to scrap the bottom of the pan each time.

9) Add your now cooked and drained pasta to the pan of sauce and chicken directly!

10) Mix well and plate up!  Don't forget the beverage (Wine or otherwise :) )

 Cost:

$2         Chicken breasts

$0.25    Shell pasta  

(Seriously, if you are paying more, you should look into making your own!)

$2         Alfredo sauce

$1         Frozen peas

$0.10    Fresh rosemary

$0.50    White onion           

$5.85 total (serves 2)