Saturday, October 11, 2008

3- citrus Salmon, from Joanne

3- citrus Salmon

- Oven at 350

- Line rectangular pyrex dish or cookie tray with foil and lie salmon skin side down
- squeeze the juice of one lemon, lime and orange over the salmon
- sprinkle with basil, salt and pepper
- close foil around salmon, so the fish and juice is inside a closed, foil "bag"

bake until cooked medium (approx 20 mins)

Serve with pesto noodles and salad (I cook some spaghetti and toss in a store bought pesto sauce). Maybe leave some noodles plain for the kids?

I really like this recipe because it's EASY. The salmon essentially poaches in the juice so it's nice and tender.

Kebobs, an idea from Carolyn

I like to marinate chicken with teriyaki, wine (usually just sherry, but feel free to play), and garlic. Mushrooms get the same treatment (but in a separate container). Then I usually add cherry tomatoes, onion, and zucchini. Serve with rice, maybe a salad or a fruit salad.

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas, an idea from Kris

I made chicken fajita quesadillas tonight. We had BBQ'd some bone in chicken breasts night before last with just some creole seasoning sprinkled on them. We had 2 breasts left over (we bought a 5 pack and cook 'em all, knowing we'd have an epiphany of something to do with the leftovers).

I took the chicken off the bone and chopped it up. In a pan, I sauteed a diced onion. When it was soft, I added a diced yellow pepper and diced red pepper as well as the chicken. I then added a can of fire roasted green chilis 1 tsp of the creole seasoning I used on the chicken, and the juice of 1 lime. I let it cook together until hot and the liquid had evaporated. I have a waffle iron that has a griddle on the opposite sides from the waffle-y part, so I flipped them both over to make a sandwich press. I put a tortilla on the bottom, spread some pepper jack cheese, topped with veggie/chicken mix, more cheese and another tortilla. I closed the griddle and let it cook until the tortillas were toasty. Cut them into 4ths and served the wedges with sour cream and salsa. They were damn good. I'm having leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow!

Suggested by Rachael - Marlboro Man's SECOND Favorite Sandwich

Lemon-pepper chicken with peppered bacon and cheese.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/marlboro_mans_s/

Suggested by Carrie - Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I found this recipe on line, so that's what I'm going by ....

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Stuffed-Chicken-Breast/Detail.aspx

It went well. The chicken came out nice. I just made the chicken breasts stuffed with thinly sliced green apple, cheddar cheese, a few garlic bread crumbs, salt, pepper and a dash of allspice. Fried them up in a little butter, then added a little chicken stock and white wine and simmered them for 15 minutes.

They came out juicy and flavorful. It think it would make an awesome fall dish with the allspice in there, but it was still a good dinner for our guests. I served it with rice pilaf and steamed sugar snap peas.

Chicken Cordon Bleu, from Karen

It's a decent amount of work with the pounding of the chicken and the rolling/toothpicking. But it's so fancy and delicious!!! It tastes incredibly rich, but Ive made the recipe healthier.


Chicken Cordon Bleu

1 boneless chicken breast for each person. 1 slice of proscuitto and swiss cheese per breast.

Pound chicken breasts flat. Place 1 slice of proscuitto and swiss on each breast and roll tight, securing with toothpicks.

Roll each breast in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika.

Brown breasts well on all sides in olive oil in a large deep skillet or pan with lid(original recipe calls for a sick amount of butter!).

Add 1 cup white wine, and 1 chicken boullion cube or 1 teaspoon "better than boullion" chicken flavor.

Stir to dissolve, and cover pan. Simmer on medium-low for about 30 minutes, turning once or twice.

When done, remove breasts. Add 1 cup skim milk (original recipe calls for heavy cream! WTF!!) and whisk with flour (3-4 tbs?) to thicken.

Serve with rice and steamed veggie, and enjoy how insanely good it is!!

Notes

Kris:
I did most of Karen's steps except that I took the chicken out of the pan after I browned it, added chopped onions to the hot pan and sauteed them for a couple of minutes. I then added the white wine (I used Reisling - I would recommend NOT doing that. It was too sweet. Next time, a chardonnay), bouillion, about 3/4 cup water and 2 big TBSP dijon mustard and 2 TBSP butter/ I mixed that well, then added the chicken back into the pan to finish cooking. When the chicken was done, then I added about a half cup milk and the flour like Karen suggested. It thickened up nicely and was pretty good. Again, next time I'll plan ahead and buy Chardonnay. The Riesling made it too sweet. But, overall it was really good... my daughter helped me make it and she was really proud of herself.

Joanne:
I made Karen's cordon bleu last night! It was yummy!

I'm lazy though. I never pound my chicken flat enough to do the pretty roll. If I were to do that recipe again, I think I'd just slice the chicken to make a pocket, stuff it, then close it with a toothpick. I think the cheese would be less likely to spill out that way, too.

Pepper-jack turkey burgers, from Kris

I'm making pepper-jack turkey burgers tonight. I have no idea how they will turn out. I found a recipe in my Weight Watchers book, tweaked it a bit - so we'll see what happens. I've never made burgers before with cheese in the burgers. Apparently it is supposed to help keep the turkey burgers more moist....

- 1 lb turkey breast, ground
- 1 large garlic clove finely minced
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- 1 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
- 1 TBSP A-1 steak sauce
- 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/3 cup shredded pepper-jack cheese

Mix and grill. Serve topped with a little more pepper jack on toasted buns. I plan on serving it with some lettuce fresh from my garden.

Chopped Salad, from Stephanie

Chopped Salad

1 head romaine lettuce
a small bunch green onions
avocado
diced cooked chicken
gorgonzola cheese
about 6 slices bacon
2 seeded plum tomatoes

(I leave off the tomatoes because I don't like them, but today my husband is getting 3 halved cherry tomatoes in his because I grew them.)

Chop all ingredients until they are just the right size. Everything should be about the same size except the cheese, which is its own size, and the lettuce will likely be a little bigger. The onions can go a little smaller because they are strong.

Now for the dressing. Mix these ingredients in a jar and shake to mix.

1/2c. balsalmic vinegar
3/4c to 1 c. extra virgin olive oil (Start with 3/4 and go up to taste.)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 pressed garlic cloves

Dress the salad, toss and serve.

Suggested by Kris - Strawberry Gelato

Oh dudes.

I made the yummiest strawberry gelato. I got it from the cooking light compilation recipe book I have.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 cups lowfat buttermilk
4 pints fresh strawberries

Put water and sugar in saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Place strawberries in blender and puree. Pour buttermilk into large container, add strawberry puree and sugarwater. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer directions.

This was so yummy. Each 1/2 cup has 100 calories and 0.8g fat. The strawberries we used were incredibly delicious. I think that I would reduce the amount of water/sugar to maybe 1 cup water and 1.5 cup sugar, because it was a bit too sweet. I also added about 1 tsp vanilla extract to the mixture. Instead of pureeing all of the strawberries, I kept about 8 out and chopped into pieces to have going through the gelato. It was really really yummy and refreshing!

Grilled Apples and Sweet Potatoes, from Amy

I'm going to make apples and sweet potatoes on the grill. I got the recipe from allrecipes.com, but I don't remember amounts or anything.

2 sweet potatoes diced
1 apple, peeled and sliced
brown sugar
ginger (I'm adding ginger...I just like it)

mix everything in a bowl and wrap into 2 or 3 foil packets. Grill over medium heat about 20 minutes (or until sweet potatoes are soft) turning every 5-7 minutes.

Carrie's take on Beef and Pepper Sandwiches

This recipe and Amy's Beef and Pepper Sandwiches are very similar, but Carrie does a few things differently.

Beef Roast sandwiches....

~ 1 Beef Roast 2-5 lbs ( I always wait until a roast ... any cut... is on sale. This time it was a shoulder round roast, 3.5lbs for 1.99 a lb .... normally $6.50 a lb)

~ 1 16 oz jar of whole pepperochinis

~ A bit of garlic (jarred minced, fresh minced or whole clove)

~ Salt and Pepper

~ Cheese

~ Rolls

Throw the roast in a crock pot (after you trim the fat a bit) and sprinkle some salt and pepper in there, open jar of pepperochinnis and dump the whole thing in, stems, juice and all). Add garlic. Cook on low 7-9 hours.

Now, there are several ways of finishing the meat. I remove the roast into a shallow pan, shred it, add the pepperochinis and shred them up a bit too, mix it all together and add a fair amount of the juice from the crockpot to moisten it up......

Some people just like to shred the roast right there in the crockpot in the juice. I'm sure that's fine but it might make the meat more soggy on your sandwich than I prefer.

......Take buns or hoagie rolls, top with beef mixture and your selection of cheese (I use Pepper Jack) and melt the cheese under the broiler.

Eat the best friggin' sandwich you've ever had.

Cook's Note:
I always make sure to buy a bigger roast than we need because the leftover meat is so good! Sometimes we chop it up and make nachos out of it, or make tacos out of it, or beef encheladas.... the yumminess is endless.

Chocolate covered cherries 2.0, from Dani

Chocolate covered cherries 2.0

2pts heavy whipping cream
1 can cherry pie filling
Chocolate syrup
Cocoa powder

Combine the whipping cream and chocolate syrup in a large bowl. Beat on high/medium-high for a minute or two and then add a tablespoon of cocoa powder and continue to beat until you've got whipped cream. Stick it in the freezer to chill. Heat the pie filling until it bubbles and then spoon some of it into a bowl and put the chocolate mousse over the top. A little bit of the mousse will kinda melt into the cherries because they're hot, but that just makes it even better.

Surf and Turf Salad, from Dani

Surf and Turf Salad

1 head of green butter lettuce
1/2 of an english cucumber
1lb fresh shrimp peeled and deveined
1lb steak. Whatever you like or have on hand is fine. I use whatever is on sale.
Garlic powder
Salt
Black Pepper

Tear up the lettuce and cut the cucumber into small pieces. Cube the steak into bite sized pieces. Get the skillet good and hot while youre cubing the steak. When the skillet is hot, drop in the steak and season it well with the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook to desired doneness. Remove the steak and set aside. Do the same thing to the shrimp (hot skillet, salt, pepper, garlic).

I put each meat in its own bowl beside the salad and let everyone do what they want to with it.

Chicken Pasta Salad, from Mel

Last night I made chicken pasta salad.

1 bag brown rice tri-color pasta (this is what we had on hand. Can be substituted with whatever [substantial - like bowties or gimelli or strozzapreti or rotini] pasta you want. No more then 16 ounces.)

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup light/reduced sodium soy sauce
3 1/2 TBSP sugar
1 clove garlic and/or 1/2 shallot
1 1/2 tsp fresh ground (or jarred ground) ginger
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
2/3 cup vegetable oil
(optional) 1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1 bag frozen peas and carrots (usually only store brands makes these, for some reason)
(optional) 1 can water chestnuts
1 pound chicken breast or 1 bag morningstar farms meal starters "chicken" (we prefer the veggie chicken.)

Boil pasta until al dente. Set aside to cool.

While the pasta cooks, put rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, and garlic or scallions into a food processor. Blend until sugar is dissolved. SLOWLY add in veg and sesame oil to emulsify. Once emulsified, add cilantro and blend until finely chopped.

In a frying pan, cook chicken (or warm veggie chicken through) and season with some black pepper and garlic powder, if desired. Chop into bite size pieces and set aside.

Steam peas and carrots per bag recommendation.

Once all ingredients are cooked, blend emulsion again if it's begun to separate at all.

In a large container with a tight fitting lid, combine all ingredients. Cover and shake. Cool in fridge. (I like to shake it about every 45 minutes or so for the first few hours.) This CAN be eaten warm, but is best cold several hours after making, or the next day. The majority of the sauce should be absorbed by the 5th or so hour after making.

Korean-style Bulgogi, from Rachael

Korean-style Bulgogi

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sambal
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 lb ribeye steaks, cut into 1.4 inch strips
salt and pepper
sliced scallions
toasted sesame seeds

Preheat grill to high. Simmer sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and sambal together in small saucepan over high heat.

Combine water and cornstarch in small bowl, then whisk into sauce.

Return mixture to a boil and simmer 1 minute; remove from heat, set aside.

Season ribeye strips with salt and pepper; grill two minutes per side, then toss in two tablespoons dipping sauce.

Arrange strips on two plates and garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with remaining sauce on the side.

I have not been able to find sambal. :( I am going to try the recipe without it and know that it would probably be better. I happen to have everything else on hand so want to try it anyway.

Cook's Note:

The bulgogi got mixed reviews. My husband gave it two thumbs up but I wouldn't make it again. The sauce just wasn't my thing. I think it was the sesame oil.

Cheese grits, from Allison

Cheese grits
serves 4

1 cup stone-ground grits
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
a touch of Tabasco sauce

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour in the grits and salt. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down as far as it will go and cover. Stir pretty often (every couple minutes or so), and cook for about 40 minutes, maybe longer. At the end, stir in the cheese and Tabasco sauce. Serve hot.

Sesame Crusted Pork Chops, from Rachael

Sesame Crusted Pork Chops

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
4 boneless center cut pork chops
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 teaspoons black sesame seeds (I am leaving these out)
1 teaspoon orange marmalade, divided
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Preheat oven to 375. Mix salt with five spice powder and sprinkle on both sides of pork chops. Combine both types of sesame seeds in a shallow dish. Brush one side of each chop with marmalade and coat that side in seed mixture. Saute chops, seedside down, in oil in a large oven proof sautee pan over medium heat. Cook until golden, 3-4 minutes, then turn chops over and trasfer pan to the oven and roast until cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

Gemelli with Yellow Squash, Peas, and Basil, from Amy

Gemelli with Yellow Squash, Peas, and Basil (I have no idea where this came from. A friend made it at dinner club a couple of weeks ago.)

*coarse salt and ground pepper
*8 oz gemelli or other short pasta
*3 medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
*1 pkg frozen peas
*4 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
*1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
*1/2 c grated parm
*1/2 c torn fresh basil leaves

1. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than al dente. Add squash and peas. Cook until squash is tender-crisp. Reserve 1/2 c pasta water, drain and return to pot.

2. To mixture in pot--add butter, lemon juice, 1/4 c parm, and 1/4 c pasta water. Season w/ salt and pepper, and toss to combine. If needed, add enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats the pasta. Stir in basil, and sprinkle w/remaining parm.

Suggested by Rachael - Vaquero Steaks with pepper relish and goat cheese and Chimichurri Bread

Another Cuisine at Home recipe.

Vaquero Steaks with pepper relish and goat cheese and Chimichurri Bread.

Steaks:

3 teaspoons brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons each: paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper
salt to taste
4 sirloin steaks

Prepare grill to high. Combine brown sugar and seasonings in a small bowl; transfer 1/4 teaspoon of the mixture to a large bowl for the pepper relish. Rub remaining mixture over steaks and set aside until ready to grill.

Relish:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 each: red pepper, yellow pepper roasted, seeded and diced
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1/4 goat cheese, crumbled

Whisk vinegar, Dijon, and sugar together with spices in the bowl. Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly, until blended. Add peppers and scallion, toss to blend.

Grill steaks on both sides to desired doneness. Remove from grill, let rest five minutes, serve with relish and goat cheese.

Bread:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon each: oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt to taste
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 baguette, halved horizontally

Preheat grill to high. Mash butter, Parmesan, herbs, pepper flakes, garlic, and salt together in a bowl. Stir in parsley. Spread butter over cut sides of baguette, then grill, buttered side down until toasted.

Suggested by Rachael - Huli Huli BBQ Chicken

Huli Huli BBQ Chicken

1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger (I always sub powdered ginger :-[ )
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste (I left this out)

Whisk all ingredients together. Marinate chicken in half of the mixture in a large resealable plastic bag for one hour. Reduce remaining mixture in a saucepan over med-high heat until thickened, 5 minutes. Set aside for basting.

The recipe calls for grilling the chicken but I am going to bake it in the oven, basting often.

Suggested by Rachael - Crispy Fried Chicken

I am trying a fried chicken recipe from allrecipes.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crispy-Fried-Chicken/Detail.aspx

1 (4 pound) chicken, cut into pieces
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour for coating
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
2 quarts vegetable oil for frying

Take your cut up chicken pieces and skin them if you prefer. Put the flour in a large plastic bag (let the amount of chicken you are cooking dictate the amount of flour you use). Season the flour with paprika, salt and pepper to taste (paprika helps to brown the chicken).

Dip chicken pieces in buttermilk then, a few at a time, put them in the bag with the flour, seal the bag and shake to coat well. Place the coated chicken on a cookie sheet or tray, and cover with a clean dish towel or waxed paper. LET SIT UNTIL THE FLOUR IS OF A PASTE-LIKE CONSISTENCY. THIS IS CRUCIAL!

Fill a large skillet (cast iron is best) about 1/3 to 1/2 full with vegetable oil. Heat until VERY hot. Put in as many chicken pieces as the skillet can hold. Brown the chicken in HOT oil on both sides. When browned, reduce heat and cover skillet; let cook for 30 minutes (the chicken will be cooked through but not crispy). Remove cover, raise heat again and continue to fry until crispy.

Drain the fried chicken on paper towels. Depending on how much chicken you have, you may have to fry in a few shifts. Keep the finished chicken in a slightly warm oven while preparing the rest.

I am using thighs and drumsticks and I am brining the chicken first. We are going to have green beans and something else that I haven't decided yet with it.

Tomato Salad, from Jenifer

Tomato salad:
Tomato (We have some from the garden, but cherry tomatoes work well as well), chopped
Fresh chives, chopped
fresh garlic, minced
olive oil
Homemade Ital. Seasoning
fresh ground salt and pepper

~ dry chopped tomatoes and place them in a bowl.
~Add garlic and chives
~season them with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and toss.
~drizzle with olive oil. toss
~chill

~slice mozzarella ball
~dust with just a tiny amount of salt and garlic powder

~slice open roll
~layer mozzarella
~spoon tomato on top
~serve immediately


For my balsamic vinaigrette I use olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard (sometimes brown sugar) fresh minced garlic and salt/pepper to taste. I shake it up in a jar or whisk it in a bowl to combine.

Kid Friendly Variant of Chicken Cordon Bleu, by Jenifer

Kid Friendly variant of Chicken Cordon bleu:

boneless, skinless split chicken breast

white wine
worcestershire
garlic powder
fresh ground pepper
fresh ground salt

Homemade breadcrumbs

organic flour
1 egg
virgina ham
swiss cheese
toothpicks
parmesean
garlic powder
homemade Italian seasoning
fresh ground salt
fresh ground pepper

half and half
corn starch
salt, pepper

I fork pierce the breasts on all sides and place in a bowl. I cover them with white wine and add the worcestershire (I like the one designed for poultry but will use either), garlic powder, salt and pepper. I allow this to marinate all day (if possible).

In a shallow, wide bowl I place some flour. I season this with salt and pepper and sometimes the garlic powder. In another shallow bowl I place my home made breadcrumbs (that I have ground fine for this recipe). I season this with grated parmesean, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a final shallow bowl I lightly beat an egg and add seasoning (sometimes a dash of the wine...always salt and pepper...sometimes garlic and italian seasoning).

~Dredge the breast in flour. This will seal the moisture in while the breast bakes and make a crunchy top coating.
~Drdege floured breast in egg mixture
~coat breast in bread crumb
~place a small rectangle of swiss on breast near narrow end. top with small piece of virginia ham and more swiss cheese
~roll breast and keep closed with toothpick.
~Place seam side downon baking sheet
~Bake at 400-425 (you know your oven best) until cooked through (will vary by oven, but generally 20-30 minutes tops)

While cooking make the sauce for topping each breast:
Exact measurements depend upion how much sauce you want- for the two kids I make a small amount
1/2 c 1/2 and 1/2
1/2 lb swiss cheese, sliced then crumbled
salt
pepper
corn starch

~On LOW heat warm half and half in small saucepan.
~Add crumbled swiss one slice at a time and stir as you add.
~ remove several tlbs of the heated mixture- add to this 1.5 tsp of corn starch and whisk (you do not want any lumps or bumps)
~return cornstarched milk to pan slowly- stirring constantly
mixture will thicken as it heats- stir as you go along or pass the pot

When you plate your breast, cover it with the yummy cheese sauce. I also put some in a small rameken on the side for dipping

Fresh Bread and Breadcrumbs, by Jenifer


It all starts with the bread. I bake our own breads and will use the ends or last slices of any loaf. I really like the recipes from this website:

http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/category.php?cid=1

I have tried MANy of them...but this is my favorite:

http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/detail.php?rid=511

That said, for this recipe we had crumbs from this loaf:

( got this from some website, I think called mealmaster)


Multi Grain Bread:
1/4 oz (2 1/4 tsps) yeast
1 tlb sugar
2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c rye flour
3/4 c wheat germ
3/4 c unprocessed bran
1/2 c dry milk
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 3/4 c boiling water
1/2 c bulgur
1/2 c 7 grain mix (I get this from whole foods- you could use millet or even a 7 grain cereal)
1 tb molasses
1 1/2 tbl oil (original calls for safflower but I have used olive, grape seed, etc)

~Combine boiling water with cracked wheat, 7-grain mixture, molasses and oil. Cool to room temperature.
~Add first 10 ingredients in the order listed to the pan, pour in cooled grain mixture, select white bread and press "Start".
~For a milder taste, use honey instead of molasses.
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted all ingredients should be at room temperature. This can be mixed on manual of the bread machine. After Second kneading, remove dough from machine, divide into to equal portions and place in small loaf pans.
~Cover and let rise to double, about 45 min to 1 hour.
~Bake at 350 f. for 35-40 min.

I do the whole thing in my bread machine.


Once I have the bread (not stale bread- just not FRESH- you want it when it is dry, not stale) if it is not dry I dry it in the oven. You can do this by laying the slices on a baking sheet in a SINGLE layer (leave a bit of room between the pieces) and baking at 300 for 10- 15 minutes. Be sure to flip them over about halfway through for even drying. Be sure to let them cool before you make the crumbs. here is the easy part- tear into small pieces and whir in your food processor (I leave mine in a coarse state- that way if I need them more fine- as I did for this recipe I can regrind at that time- but if I need them coarse (as when I stuff peppers) they are all set ) I do not season them so that they can be seasoned at the time of use. If you do not have a food processor, you can always use a hand grater (or my frriend tells me she put the tasted slices in a ziploc and rolled glass over them until they were crumbs). These can be stored in a jar, a ziploc in the fridge or even frozen....

Homemade Italian Seasoning, by Jenifer

Italian seasoning "recipe"

I have two recipes I use so I will include both- we dry our fresh herbs and usually make this blend after that:

3 tlbs dried basil
3 tlbs dried oregano
3 tsps dried parsley
1 tsps garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

I grind all these in my food processor- though i have been told by my neighbor it would taste better if I would invest in a mortar & pestle setup (maybe I will)- in order to measure the amounts. Once I have the measurements, I shake them all together (with the powdered items) in a small jar or ziploc.


Another one:

1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon savory
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon rosemary
Again- for my fresh dried herbs I use my food processor to get the measurements- then I mix in a jar or ziploc.

I wonder if I could just use the herbs fresh?