Tomato Florentine Soup

In the Dietetics Program at BYU one course that I took was Food Production Management Lab.  In this class I gained hands on experience of managing and being a part of a food production facility (The Pendulum Court).  We made all the food (lunch entree  salads, sandwiches, desserts, muffins...) and took turns working in the different areas of the kitchen as well as manager.  We made delicious food!  The best position to have was in the bakery.  We were taught that we were to sample everything (also taught on Master Chef by Gordon Ramsay. haha!).  Well you can't sell a cookie or muffin with a piece broken off so when in the baker position one got a little more than a sample and as you can tell I have a big sweet tooth. :)  Since it was a 5 hour class we also got a free lunch!

My favorite soup we made was the Tomato Florentine Soup which I had my very first day of lab.  I made it today and it tasted better than I remember (I tweaked it by changing some measurements and adding and substituting some ingredients.  The recipe below is my version of the soup and served in this bread bowl recipe).  My husband liked it but also informed me that he doesn't usually like tomato based meals (ex: spaghetti, probably his least favorite meal and I make the sauce very well from scratch) and this is a tomato based soup.  I on the other hand LOVE tomato based food like this soup, spaghetti sauce (I eat pasta with my sauce), and pizza (my favorite part is the sauce, not the cheese).

Sometimes tomato based things can be acidic and when I first tasted my soup it was a bit acidic.  I remembered reading somewhere that baking soda helps to reduce that since it is basic.  I gave it a shot and added 1/2 tsp baking soda to the soup and it actually decreased the acidity.  I am going to try it next time I make spaghetti and chili too!

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp butter
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb ground beef
1/2 box (5oz) frozen spinach, chopped
1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 c water
4 c (32oz) tomato juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c orzo pasta

DIRECTIONS
In a medium pot melt butter and add celery, onion, and jalapeno.  Cook over medium heat until tender and onions are translucent.  Add garlic and cook 1 more minute until garlic is fragrant.  Remove from heat and set aside for later use.

In a large pot, brown ground beef.  Drain off fat and add the cooked vegetables, spinach, diced tomatoes, basil, pepper, salt, bouillon cubes, honey, vinegar, water, and tomato juice.  Stir to combine and then mix in baking soda.

Add orzo, bring to a boil, and then reduce to low.  Cover and allow soup to simmer for 20 minutes and then serve.

–Melanie

Toasted Ravioli

Not only does St. Louis have a great baseball team, it also has Toasted Ravioli!  What is it?  Meat filled ravioli, breaded, and fried (not toasted), topped with grated Parmesan cheese and served with marinara sauce for dipping. It is and appetizer that originated in St. Louis and can rarely be found in other cities (but they do serve it as part of an appetizer at the Olive Garden).  Everyone who has come to St. Louis and tried toasted ravioli has loved it!  

The best place to get toasted ravioli in St. Louis is at Cunnetos which is in an area called The Hill (predominately Italian neighborhood).  They also serve it by the deli at the grocery stores there.  When I was little I remember going to the store with  my mom and we would often stop at the deli and I would get some toasted ravioli and chicken fingers to have for lunch.  So good!  They also served it at school but the meat inside wasn't the best so I didn't really get it there. 

My mom moved to Idaho at the beginning of the summer so I'm not sure when I'll be heading back to my home town to indulge in toasted ravioli. Maybe the rest of the country will eventually catch on to how amazingly good it is and start serving it every where.  But until then, I'll just make it myself!

 I have never seen round toasted ravioli but the square ones at the store were a cheap brand and I didn't want to chance it.  Oh, and we didn't have any Parmesan for the top. :(

 
INGREDIENTS
10 beef ravioli (frozen)
3/4 c Italian bread crumbs
1 c butter milk
oil (vegetable or canola)
Grated Parmesan cheese
marinara sauce

DIRECTIONS
Boil ravioli as directed but to al dente.  While it is cooking place buttermilk in a bowl and Italian bread crumbs in a pie dish.  Fill a large pot with a half inch of oil and turn stove top to medium high. When ravioli is done remove from water and place in buttermilk.  Remove ravioli from buttermilk and dredge in bread crumbs covering both sides.  Gently place breaded ravioli in the bottom of the pot of oil. Don't over crowd the pan.  Each ravioli should be completely touching the bottom of the pan so you will have to do a few batches.  Cook both sides of the ravioli about 1-2 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Remove from pan to a plate covered with paper towels.  Place toasted ravioli on a platter, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and place a custard cup of marinara sauce on the side.  Enjoy the deliciousness of St. Louis, MO.

–Melanie

Fajitas

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Nick is actually the creator of these fast and tasty fajitas.  When we were dating he made these for himself probably twice a week.  We now have them once every two months.  I like variety and he will pretty much eat anything I make. :)  I also served this with Mexican Sweet Corn Cake from ourbestbites (but altered a bit).

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp oil
McCormick garlic pepper seasoning
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 large white onion
1 lb ground beef (or steak, chicken...)
tortillas
sour cream
cheese
salsa

DIRECTIONS
Vegetables
Julienne cut peppers and onion.  Heat oil in a large skillet and add vegetables and season with garlic pepper seasoning.  Cook on high. Do NOT cover.  Toss vegetables often and cook until tender but firm.

Ground Beef
Cook ground beef seasoned with the garlic pepper seasoning until brown.

Assemble fajitas by placing beef, vegetables, cheese, salsa, and sour cream on tortillas.  Enjoy!raw vegetables

cooked vegetables

–Melanie

Mongolian Beef

I found this recipe on www.food.com

INGREDIENTS

vegetable oil, for frying (about 1 cup)

1 lb flank steak

• 1/4 c. cornstarch 
• 2 large green onions 
• 
  
• Sauce
  • 2 tsp. vegetable oil
  • 1/2  tsp. ground ginger 
  • 1 T. minced garlic
  • 1/2 c. soy sauce
  • 1/2 c. water
  • 3/4 c. brown sugar
  • 
    

  DIRECTIONS
  Cut meat into slices that are 1/4 inch thick. Coat meat with cornstarch. I put the meat in a bowl and sprinkled the cornstarch and stirred until the meat was coated. Let sit for 10 minutes. 

  
  

  Heat 1 cup oil over medium high heat. Meanwhile, make sauce.

  
  

  Sauce:

  Heat 2 tsp vegetable oil in sauce pan on medium heat. Add ginger and garlic. Add soy sauce and water before the garlic browns. Then add the brown sugar and let dissolve. Raise the heat to medium/high and let the sauce boil for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

  
  

  Once oil is heated and the cornstarch has soaked into the meat, place meat into oil and let the meat fry for about 2 minutes. Stir so that the meat cooks evenly. Use a slotted spoon and transfer meat onto a paper towel lined dish. Pour out remaining oil. Place meat back into empty pan. Add sauce and cook for about 2 minutes and let sauce thicken with meat. Cook until meet is cooked all the way through. Add chopped green onions and cook for one more minute. Serve with rice.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/p-f-changs-mongolian-beef-66121#ixzz1tlXom4wu

I served this with white rice and Melanie's fried rice recipe. I added broccoli to the fried rice since I had it in my fridge.

Gourmet Hamburgers

This recipe is from the Pendulum Court at BYU.  The recipe was originally in ounces but I don't have a scale so the measurements of the ingredients may be off but I made it like this and Nick and I thought it was amazing!

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp oil

1/2 c onion, chopped

1/2 c red bell pepper, chopped

1/3 c mushrooms, chopped

5 oz frozen spinach (1/2 of box)

4 oz Feta Cheese

2 tsp salt

2 lb raw ground beef

8 slices provolone cheese

8 slices deli ham

8 hamburger buns

1 c fresh spinach

Sauce: 

3/4 c light mayonnaise

1/3 c sun dried tomatoes, minced 

DIRECTIONS

Make sauce by mixing mayonnaise and minced sun dried tomatoes and place in refrigerator.  Heat oil in skillet.  Add onion, red pepper, and mushrooms.  Saute until onions are clear and tender.  Add spinach and cook until defrosted.  Remove from heat.  In a mixing bowl combine cooked vegetables, feta cheese, and salt.  Add ground beef and mix.  Portion meat 2/3 c mixture for each patty.  Form into patties and grill.  While patties are grilling in a greased skillet cook sliced ham for 1 minute on each side.  Place provolone cheese on patties right as they come off the grill.  Place patty on hamburger bun with a few fresh spinach leaves on top.  Add sauce and close bun.

Sauteed vegetables

Meat mixture

Portioned meat

Patties on the Foreman grill (I would use a regular barbecue if I had one)

Ta-da! (gourmet burger served with sweet potato fries and honey lime dip)

Sweet Potato Fries (These ones are made with yams)

uncooked fries

Cooked fries

–Melanie

Meatloaf

Now, we all know that meatloaf has a reputation of being the dreaded meal, but my mom has a fabulous recipe. I was worried that I only liked it because its a family recipe, but I made this for my boyfriend and he loved it.

I served the meatloaf with broccoli and scalloped potatoes.

Meatloaf

1 1/2 lb. ground round beef

1/2 c. ketchup

1/2 c. barbecue sauce

3/4 c. quick oats

1 egg

1/4 chopped onion or 1 Tbsp dried onion flakes

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Mix together thoroughly. Put in loaf pan and squirt top with ketchup. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

Beef Brisket

For Nick's birthday back in May I bought a beef brisket but it was huge so I had the butcher cut and wrap one half for freezing. Last night we had the frozen half. I put it in the the fridge Thursday night. By Saturday morning it was perfectly defrosted for me to marinate. Nick told one of his buddies about how it is so good so we invited him and his wife over to eat it with us. Today while we were eating the leftovers for lunch Nick said that next time he doesn't want to have people over so that there are more leftovers. haha.  My favorite side dish to have with it is twice baked potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

1 (5lb) beef brisket

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 1/2 tsp celery salt

1 tsp. onion powder or juice

1/2 tsp ground coriander (optional)

1 (3oz) bottle liquid smoke

1 small bottle Worcestershire sauce

Sauce:

1 c. Open Pit barbecue sauce (I don't think they sell this in Utah. Just get a barbecue sauce that pretty strong)

1/2 c. water

2/3 to 1 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Rub each side of the brisket with spices and place in glass Pyrex dish. Cover with foil. Marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours. Turn 2 or 3 times. Place in cold oven. Bake, fat side down, at 275 for 5-6 hours (bake 3 hours if 3lb or less). Check to fork-tender. Baste with juices while cooking. Cool and slice thin. Make sauce by putting all ingredients in a saucepan and simmering on low for 20 to 30 minutes. Poor over sliced beef and reheat beef until warm.

–Melanie