Cooking Up A Storm All Over The World!

Things to do with Spaghetti Sauce That You Never Thought Of

Recipe by Paulette Motzko

February 25th, 2013

Adapted from “Reader’s Digest’s Extraordinary Meals From Ordinary Ingredients”

Italian Broccoli Salad (Serve hot or cold) with rice or pasta

Mix: Use ½ cup Spaghetti Sauce (Marinara Sauce without meat) and add 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, ½ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper and mix until blended. Add in about 20 ounces (two 10 oz. boxes of thawed cooked broccoli florets.) Also, you can stir fry the broccoli florets in a little high heat tolerant non stick spray until tender and then toss in some of the tomato vinaigrette afterwards.

One Dish Don’t Have Much Time for Dinner Chicken Casserole
Cook seasoned chicken parts-(I like boneless thighs or breasts) in a non stick pan in olive oil or canola oil until browned on both sides. Remove from pan and put in a covered casserole to keep warm.

Then add some chopped onions and bell peppers to the skillet to your liking and sauté until tender. Add some mushrooms last, keep sautéing, dried or fresh thyme, a little red pepper flakes (if desired) and some fennel seeds. Cook about 5 minutes. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a fork. Serve with your choice of rice or pasta.

Polly’s Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Created by Polly Motzko April 24th, 2013

4 cups enriched or whole wheat flour

2 envelopes Fleishmann’s RapidRise Yeast

2 teaspoons salt

1-1/2 cups lukewarm water

¼ cup milk

¼ cup honey

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

½ cup plump organic raisins if desired and ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast and salt in a very large bowl. Heat the water, milk, honey and butter until very warm, but not too hot, about 120 degrees.

2. Add to the flour mixture

3. Beat two minutes at medium speed of an electric mixer, if you are using one, or mix with a heavy spoon and then with your hands until mixed in. I like working with my hands rather than a mixer, because it is a more accurate judge of the texture of the dough.

4. Add ½ cup flour and mix in remaining flour until it makes a stiff dough, but not too dry. Add extra water or milk if the dough becomes too dry.

5. Cover bowl with a clean dry cloth and let rise in a warm, draft free place for an hour.

6. Grease a large tube pan or a Bundt pan with butter and then form the dough into small ¼ cup balls of dough and then dip in a little melted butter and then in a mixture of 50/50 ground cinnamon and sugar, then placed in greased tube pan.

7. Keep forming dough into balls, then dip in butter, then dip in cinnamon sugar and fill tube pan with dough balls, then sprinkle remaining spiced sugar on top.

8. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour. Check closely once it hits 45 minutes.

9.…

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 plum tomatoes 1/4 inch dice
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 dried chipotle chiles finely crushed
kosher salt
2 hass avocados halved and diced
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
1 serrano chili, minced
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 mango, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 cup lightly packed cilantro finely chopped whole leaves for garnish
Tortilla chips for serving

1. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Stir in half of the diced plum tomato and add the shallot,
crushed chipotles and a generous pinch of salt and cook over moderate heat stirring occasionally.
until the chiles are softened about 5 minutes.
2. Scrap the mixture into a large bowl and let cool completely.
3. Add the avocados, onion, serrano chili, lime juice and the remaining diced tomato to the bowl and stir
gently. Gently fold in the diced mango and the 1 cup of chopped cilantro and season with salt. Garnish the
guacamole with cilantro leaves and serve with tortilla chips.

Eddie Jordan

Cold Sesame Noodles and Vegetables

Adapted by Paulette Motzko from Reader’s Digest Extraordinary Meals from Ordinary Ingredients

Text by Paulette Motzko

February 27th, 2013

8 ounces whole wheat linguine

1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons low sodium peanut butter or grind yours fresh at Whole Foods Market or Mother’s Market!

2-1/2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil

2 garlic cloves

¼ teaspoon cayenne powder

Salt

½ cup slivered carrots

1 large celery stalk, slivered

2 scallions, slivered

Can be served hot or cold.-Makes a perfect lunch item!

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, combine the cilantro, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, oil, garlic, cayenne, and salt to taste, in a food processor. Puree…

Smoky Mayonnaise Spread for Hamburgers

by Polly Motzko

April 13th, 2013

Here is a great spread that once you make it you will find it is addicting! Not only can you make any type of burger even better with it, I want to try baking chicken with it basted on it. I would love to show you how to make it but my kitchen is out of commission now and in storage until my new place is finished in June.

I welcome all guest posts at this time.

Enjoy!

(You can also use these on Veggie Burgers like Garden Burgers or Turkey Burgers too!)

Mix 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce (Like Kraft Honey BBQ or Smoky BBQ Sauce)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Just think of it as double the amount of mayonnaise that you use BBQ Sauce. Feel free to adjust the proportions to suit your liking.

You can also add minced fresh garlic to it or Coleman’s English Dry Mustard to it as well.

Play around and post your recipes and culinary masterworks on “Cooking Up a Storm All Over The World!”

http://www.CookingUpaStorminCa.ning.com

Look what you can do with twelve ounces of beer!

Fish and Chips

From the Reader’s Digest “Extraordinary Meals from Ordinary Ingredients”

February 27th, 2013

¾ cup prepared tartar sauce

¾ teaspoon Crab Boil like Old Bay

5 to 6 cups canola oil

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 twelve ounce bottle of stout beer or dark beer

1-1/2 pounds of tilapia fillets (or other firm fleshed fish that would hold up to frying), cut into 1 x 3 inch strips

¾ pound frozen French fries

1. In a small bowl, stir together the tartar sauce and seasoning and set aside.

2. In a large pot, heat the oil (or in a thermostatically controlled appliance like a fryer, set it to 360 degrees), otherwise heat the pot until a cube of bread dropped into the oil takes about 40 seconds to brown.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cayenne. Stir in the beer until a thick batter forms.

4.…

Vinaigrette Dressing

Taken from “The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American” by Jeff Smith

Makes 1-1/2 cups dressing

I found them as I was going through my library and this book has a lot of treasures as well as the history of each dish and the story as well. An outstanding book by Jeff Smith-one of the 3 I have by him.
You can use this dressing on vegetables like zucchini and others and then grill them, chicken on the grill.
In Jeff Smith’s words: “This is easy to prepare and keeps for several days in the refrigerator. I prefer to use whole spices and herbs and grind them up when I need them.”

½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon rosemary
¼ teaspoon Coleman’s English dry mustard
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Place the dry ingredients in your blender or a Magic Bullet or other food processor and whirl a few moments. Add the other ingredients and whip until it emulsifies and becomes thick. Store in your refrigerator at least an hour and a half before using.

As I was dinking around the web reading what was going on in Orange County, and Los Angeles for the Mardi Gras, I thought of one of my favorite Cajun restaurants called Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen on the Down Town Disney Walk at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.

I absolutely love what the designers created in the whimsical atmosphere there. From the moment I went into the place for the first time, I noticed the fountain in the center of the patio that is composed of welded trumpets, saxophones etc., and it put a smile on my face.

The menu is seasonal and changes all the time. One time the dish you just grew to love might not be on there the next time you come it! I found that out. So enjoy what you have for that moment, much like life and living.

One of my all time favorites are their Beignets and chicory coffee, which are fantastic. I have never been to Cafe du Monde in LA-but want to go one day.

On Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen's web site I couldn't believe they parted with this one, but they did! I will surely make these babies for Mardi Gras. These are light as air and are rich but really damn good!

(You can quote me on that one!)

Polly Motzko

February 10th, 2013

2:34 p.m.

Jazz Kitchen Express

1590 South Disneyland Drive

Downtown Disney® District

Anaheim, California 92802

714-776-5200

Hours of Operations

Jazz Kitchen Express:

Creole Cafe Beignets & Coffee to go...

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Lunch/Dinner Express

10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m

Beignets

Yields 5 Dozen

Ingredients

1 package Active Dry Yeast

1-1/2 cups Warm Water

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Salt

2…

Kinda Like a Taco, Kinda Like Chili Taco Filling

(Healthy, Low fat & Gluten Free, High Fiber)

1 pound of ground turkey

1 or two tablespoons of World Market Taco Seasoning

World Market CA Garlic & Sea Salt seasoning to taste

1 can of Trader Joe's Turkey Chili

1/2 of a 7 oz can of diced Ortega green chilies…

Yummy Bars and the Yummy Bar Mix

Recipe Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Food Gifts

2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix

1 cup brown sugar or granulated sugar

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or 1/2 cup plain M & M's

*****

Add all the contents in a one quart Mason jar.

Press each layer down as though you are making a sand sculpture.…