Not so Typical Macaroni Salad

With an abundance of fresh yellow, orange and red peppers try this wonderful macaroni salad tonight.
Ingredients:
2 cups of uncooked small macaroni
2 stalks of celery
1/2 finely chopped yellow or white onion
1/2 of a yellow, orange and red pepper
1/4 cup of grated carrots
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/8 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 heaping Tablespoon of prepared yellow mustard
salt to taste

Directions:
Bring as large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add the macaroni, cook until tender no more then 8 minutes.  Drain, rinse and run under cold water.

In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard and salt.  Stir in the vegetables and macaroni.  Refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.  This salad gets better with time.  We love it on day two and three the best.

Garden Fresh Hearty Minestrone

I used the stock from last night's Pepper Steak for the base of tonight's soup. I picked carrots, green bean and yellow beans from my fall garden and added a can of petite tomatoes, a can of white kidney beans, two cans of beef broth and two handfuls of small Macaroni noodles and a half package of frozen chopped spinach to create this hearty delicious soup. This is one of my best recipes for soup. Enjoy!

Pepper Steak

I use four peppers to season this steak:  Orange, Red, Yellow and Black.  I started with a two and a half pound Round Steak, cut into serving pieces, dredged in flour.  I placed coarsely chopped celery and onion in the bottom of  my crock pot.  I then placed the dredged steak on top of the raw celery and onions and topped the steak with coarsely chopped orange, red and yellow peppers.  I added a can of Italian stewed tomatoes and black pepper to taste.  I slow cooked the meat for five hours.  It was delicious served with mashed potatoes.  Tomorrow the left overs will be the stock for a delicious soup.

Pan Fried Smelt

Tonight's dinner came all the way from Peru but it tasted just like the fresh Michigan Smelt I had in my youth.  If you have never had a smelt I highly recommend you try them.  These little delights were on sale at Save Mart Grocery Store for $2.99 a pound.  A pound will serve three people very nicely allowing each person to enjoy about a dozen fish. 

I word to the wise ~ make your entire dinner, all the accompaniments, before you begin pan frying the fish because each batch of twelve takes only three minutes to cook.

Here is how you prepare smelt for pan frying.  First wash each fish, removing the head (if it's still attached) and trim the tail and any fins left of the fish.  I also remove the major spine from the majority of the fish's tiny ( 3 to 4 inch) body. Next, pat the fish with a paper towel to dry them, then shake a dozen at a time in a small paper bag with a cup of white flour.  Place the fish in a single layer on a paper plate and salt and pepper them.  Next, place the fish in just enough hot oil to fry them.  The fish shouldn't be swimming in the oil, at last 1/3 of the fish should be out of the oil with the bottom 2/3's cooking in the oil. Cook for two minutes NO LONGER, then turn the fish over and continue cooking for ONE MINUTE.  So they cook for a total of THREE minutes only. Last place the fish on a paper plate with several layers of paper towels beneath the fish to soak up any excess oil. Serve them immediately.  No sauce required.  Let me know what you think?  My family loves them.

Fruit and Spinach Rolled Pork Loin

This recipe has a few steps and a little more prep time then my usual recipes but it's well worth the effort.  This would be a great main meat to serve guests.  Begin by preheating the oven to 325 degrees.
1.  PORK  Place a 3 to 4 pound pork loin on a cutting board and make a 3/4 to one inch cut down the length of the loin. Spread the pork open (butterfly) and make a second cut 3/4 to one inch along the previous cut.  Do this a third time until the loin is layed out in a large rectangle.  Cover the meat with a sheet of wax paper and pound it with a meat mallet.
2.  FILLING Dice a 1/2 cup of onion and saute it in two tablespoons of butter, add 1/2 cup of raisins and 1/2 package of chopped frozen spinach.  Add a splash of your favorite flavored dipping oil (for beef and pork, I like Rosemary with Roasted Garlic Dipping Oil) and simmer on low for 15 minutes until the flavors are well blended.
3.  RUB  Season the outside of the pork loin with Johnny's and pepper.  Mix 1/3 cup of Dijon mustard, 2 minced garlic cloves and little olive oil to make a paste you'll rub on the outside of the rolled pork loin.
4.  ASSEMBLE  Spread the filling evenly over the flattened pork to 3/4 inch from all edges.  Roll it up tight jelly-roll style and place it seam down in a 13 x 9 baking dish. (Some folks like to tie the pork loin with string, but I haven't had a problem with them coming undone)  Bake the pork loin for 60 minutes and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

You can make and assemble this hours in advance and simply place it in the oven when guests arrive or approximately one hour and ten minutes before you wish to eat. 

Pastrami Panini & Chicken Chili

If you like a Reuben you will love a Pastrami Panini.  Here is how I make mine:

1. Butter the outside top and bottom of a hamburger bun.
2. Next, place thousand island dressing on the inside of the top and bottom bun.
3. On the bottom bun, place sliced Swiss Cheese, pile on thin deli sliced Pastrami and top with sauerkraut. 
4. I add several thin slices of Swiss Cheese to the top bun also.  Place the two bun halves together.
5. Next, grill the sandwich just as you would a grilled cheese sandwich.  I pressed down on the sandwich as it's cooking to flatten the bun and smush the flavors together.

I used last night's leftover Chicken Cacciatore as the base for tonight Chicken Chili.  Here is how I made this easy and delicious soup.

1. Pick the bones and any loose chicken skin out of the leftover Chicken Cacciatore.
2. Saute a stalk of celery and some onions in a small amount of butter.
3. Add the leftover Chicken Cacciatore and about a cup of water to the sauteed celery and onions in a stock pot.
4. Open and add a can of Chili Beans (I like S&W's pinto beans with chili peppers, onion, garlic and a zesty tomato sauce). Also open, drain, rinse and add a can of dark red kidney beans.
5. Simmer all the above ingredients until heated.  Serve with the panini.

Easy Chicken Cacciatore

I am totally serious ~ two ingredients and you have a wonderful, flavorful Chicken Cacciatore.
1.  Wash, dry and place chicken in a greased crock pot.  I used two leg/thigh combo pieces.
2.  Open a can of Italian Stewed tomatoes and pour over the chicken.
Cook on low for five hours.  We enjoyed the delicious flavors over mashed potatoes.  Enjoy!