Blueberry Bread Pudding

3 eggs
4 C heavy whipping cream - I used 3 C cream, 1 C 1% milk and thought it was fine. You could probably even cut the ratio further.
2 C sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 C blueberries
1 pkg (10-12 oz) white baking chips
1 loaf (1 lb) French bread, cut into 1 in cubes - I used sourdough because I had some on hand and it was good, couldn't taste the sourdough really

Sauce:
1 pkg white baking chips
1 C heavy whipping cream


Combine eggs, cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Stir in blueberries and baking chips.  Stir in bread cubes.  Let stand for 20 minutes, gently mixing occasionaly, until bread is softened.

Transfer to a greased 13x9 baking dish.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Sauce:  Place baking chips in a small bowl.  Bring cream just barely to boil.  Pour over baking chips.  Whisk until smooth.  Serve with the bread pudding.

This was super yummy.  Some warnings, though:  1) You'll need a huge bowl for soaking all those bread cubes at the beginning.  2)  Mine boiled over a little while baking, so put something underneath to catch juices unless you want to scrub your oven (or your friends oven, in my case)  and 3)  My knife never came out clean.  So lest the bread start to burn, I pulled it out after a little over an hour of cooking.  Was still super yummy, even if a little moist.  4)  It made a huge amount of sauce.  If I did this again, I would cut the sauce in half (1/2 C cream, 1/2 pkg white chips).

 Original Recipe submitted to Simple and Delicious May 2010 Magazine by M. Haynes

Squash Soup

Delicious!  You must try this one.  The measurements are in metric units because the recipe came to me indirectly from Australia.

40 g (1/2 C) butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 bacon rashers, chopped
1.5 kg (3.5 lbs) pumpkin or butternut squash, chopped
3 large potatoes, chopped
6 C chicken stock

Heat squash for a few minutes in the microwave - this makes peeling the squash and chopping it way easier.  Cook onion and bacon in half the butter in a large soup pan.  Add the remaining butter either during cooking if the pan gets too dry or throw it in with the rest of the ingredients (or if you want to make it lighter, you can only do the 1/4 C.  I've done that before and it worked fine).  Stir in pumpkin, potatoes, and stock.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer uncovered for 20 min.  Blend or process until pureed.  Sprinkle with fresh nutmeg.

I read in a cooking magazine that in Australian recipes bacon rashers refer to a specific cut of bacon that they don't generally sell in America.  They recommended you substitute Canadian Bacon.  I never have Canadian Bacon around so I have just used three normal bacon strips.  Tastes good to me.

Tomato Parmesan Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper
salt
4 cans (15 oz) tomatoes - crushed, diced, stewed, whatever you have on hand
2 C chicken broth
3 Tbsp sugar
3/4 C parmesan cheese - or less/none if you are feeding my dad  (I think the original recipe calls for some ridiculous amount like 1 1/2 C, I've cut it down considerably)
1-2 C cream (I've also used evaporated milk or normal milk, whatever is on hand) - I've done as little as 3/4 C and it was still good.

In large pot saute onion and garlic.  Add basil, pepper, salt, tomatoes, sugar, and broth.  Bring to boil.  Simmer for 1 hour. If the soup looks too chunky (depending on what type of canned tomatoes you used) put in a blender or food processor.  Add parmesan, simmer for another 10 minutes.  Add cream.

Sesame-Soy Meatballs

I actually went and bought some ground sirloin for this recipe just because I wanted to see what it tastes like.  My husband description of the ground sirloin was steak in meatball form.  I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.  Anyways, I'm not sure the ground sirloin was necessary - you could use any ground meat.

1/3 C green onions
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp chile paste
Salt
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground sirloin

Combine everything except the meat in a bowl.  Gently add meat.  Use moist hands to form ~20 meatballs.

Brown meatballs on all 4 sides in a skillet.  Bake on a cookie sheet in a single layer at 400degrees for 7 minutes.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos

This was super yummy!  But really just your basic burrito - I'll post the recipe anyways.

2 Tbsp lime juice
Spices
2 C chicken, cooked and shredded
1/4 C green onions
3/4 C black beans
1/2 C fresh pico salsa
4 8-in tortillas
1/2 C shredded cheese

Boil 1/4 C water with lime juice, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp black pepper, dash of red pepper (or don't measure because it's overrated).  Add shredded chicken and green onions.

Combine beans and salsa.  Each tortilla:  Spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture onto tortilla.  Top with 1/4 of the bean salsa and 2 Tbsp of the cheese.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Place the burritos in the skillet, two at a time.  Place a cast-iron pan or other heavy pan on top of the burritos.  Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes.

I topped it with a small spoonful of sour cream and some more salsa.  Geoff forgo the sour cream - he's healthier than me.

We had a big green salad with this.  Delicious!

Original Recipe by SaBrina Bone in Cooking Light Dec 2010 magazine - amazing magazine, highly recommended

Mushroom Strudel

Po had this fabulous recipe for Mushroom Strudel that we just had to try.  And it was amazing.  I would definitely mail you a package of Mushroom Strudel because it tastes so good, but, as that's not entirely practical, I'll post the recipe instead.  (Though the post office does like smelly boxes in the mail).

 

Mushroom Strudel:

1 lb. mushrooms, chopped

1 cup cream cheese or cottage cheese - we used cream cheese

1 cup sour cream or yogurt - we used sour cream

1 tsp salt

lots of black pepper

1 tsp. dill

1 cup bread crumbs

2 scallions, finely minced - we used green onions that we had on hand

1/4 cup packed fresh parsley

3 Tbs. lemon juice

----

10 sheets filo pastry (~1/2 pound)

3-4 Tbs olive oil or butter for the filo

 

1)Preheat oven to 375oF.  Oil a baking tray.

2)Place the mushrooms in a saucepan, and cook them all bythemselves over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Drain them, squeezing out all the excess liquid, and transfer the mushrooms to a medium-sized bowl.

3)Add cream cheese, cut into small pieces, or cottage cheese to the hot mushrooms.  Mix well.  Stir in the remaining filling ingredients.

4) TO ASSEMBLE:  Place one sheet of filo on a clean, dry countertop.  Brush the top lightly with oil, then add another sheet.  Brush with oil, then add another.  Continue until you have 5 layers .  Add half the filling, fold in the sides, and gently roll until you have a neat little log.  Brush the top with more oil, then carefully lift the pastry, and place it on the oiled baking sheet.  Repeat this procedure to make a second roll, and place it next to the first one on the tray.

6) Bake 25-30min, until golden and exquisitely crisp.  Cut with a serrated knife, using a gentle sawing motion.  Serve hot or at room temp.

 

Brushing the filo - if you've never worked with filo before, it is definitely an experience you should have in your cooking career.  Nothing else in the kitchen is quite like it.

Rolling the logs

 

We doubled the recipe because of a serious love of mushrooms, hence the 4 logs instead of just two.  Thanks for the recipe Po!

Original recipe from some brilliant cookbook of Po's.  TBA