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Category Archives: Main Dishes

Lemon, Garlic & Spinach Spaghetti

24 Thursday Mar 2022

Posted by wrks4me in Main Dishes

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Ingredients

  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 Tablespoons salted butter
  • 4 Cloves garlic, sliced
  • 3 Cups baby spinach
  • 2 Cups grated Parmesan, plus extra for finishing
  • Juice of 2 lemons and zest of 1 lemon

Directions

  1. Prepare pasta according to package directions and save approx. 1 cup of pasta water
  2. Put butter, garlic and red pepper flakes into a large pan and cook over medium heat for approx. 2 minutes.
  3. Divide the spinach, parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest into 4 portions.
  4. Stir into pan one portion at a time and stir until spinach becomes wilted.
  5. Add a bit of pasta water to keep it moist.
  6. Continue to add each remaining portions one at time and continue to add pasta water
  7. Once everything is incorporated add extra parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy

Original recipe

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The Ultimate Turkey/Chicken Burger

11 Friday Mar 2022

Posted by wrks4me in Main Dishes

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Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
  • ½ cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, divided
  • ½ small onion, finely grated and it’s liquid (That’s the secret)
  • 1 egg
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

  1. Mix together with either ground turkey or chicken, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, egg, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.
  2. Divide mixture into 4 patties
  3. Place remaining bread crumbs and put into a flat plate
  4. Roll patties in crumbs to coat them
  5. Heat oil in a pan and cook patties at medium-high heat for about 5-6 minutes
  6. Turn over patties and continue to cook for about 4 minutes

Serve either on a bun or by itself

Enjoy

Dutch Oven Roast Beef

23 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by wrks4me in Main Dishes, wrks4me - Recipes

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Tags

Dutch Oven, Roast Beef

Here is a delicious twist on a classic recipe (family favourite)

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of beef broth
  • 1/4 cup of soya sauce
  • 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar or wine
  • 1 tsp garlic (sliced)
  • 1 large onion (sliced)
  • 2 washed carrots cut into 2 inch slices (peeling is optional)
  • Whole Peppercorns
  • 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional), I don’t use them
  • 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme (optional), I don’t use them
  • 2 to 3 Tbsp of olive oil (or canola, or vegetable oil)

Directions

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is roast-beef-1.jpg
  1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
  2. Put a dutch oven onto of the stove at medium-high heat
  3. Add 2 Tbsp of olive oil into a dutch oven
  4. Add onions and toss til lightly brown and remove and reserve
  5. Add carrots and toss til lightly brown and remove and reserve
  6. If necessary add some more oil and put roast into pot to sear
  7. Sear all sides of roast (about 1-2 minutes per side)
  8. Remove roast beef and add 1 cup of broth to delaze pan by scraping the bottom of the pan
  9. Put the roast beef, onions and carrots back in along with garlic and add enough broth to cover halfway
  10. Sprinkle top of roast beef with peppercorns
  11. Optional: add your herbs at the point
  12. Cover and put into the oven for 2-3 hours
  13. Check the roast, it is ready when it is tender fall-appart

Use stock to make a delicous gravy. Simply add a little corn starch or a heaping Tbsp of flour and 1/2 cup of water mixed together added to stock and heat till thickened. If not thick enough add a little more thickening.

Enjoy

Terrific Tourtière/Casserole

16 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by wrks4me in Baking, Main Dishes

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Tags

Dough, Ground Beef, Ground Pork, onion, Pastry, Pie, Tourtiere

Ingredients

Pastry

  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 cup shortening (Crisco)
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp Cold Water (ice water works best)
  • 1 Tbsp White Vinegar

Spice Blend

  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Filling

  • 1 large russet potato, peeled, quartered
  • 1 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup potato cooking water, plus more as needed
  • Optional: 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, lima beans)

Egg Wash

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1 – Pastry

(If using a food processor or mixer with dough hook)

  1. Put flour, cold shortening, and salt into the processor
  2. Combine egg, water and vinegar together in a cup
  3. Pulse processor and gently pour liquid into the processor
  4. Stop when a dough ball forms (DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH)
  5. Wrap with plastic wrap and put into refrigerator for about 15 minutes, until needed

(If making by hand)

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is pastry-blender.jpg
  1. Put flour, cold shortening, and salt into a bowl
  2. Combine egg, water and vinegar together in a cup
  3. Using a fork or pastry/dough cutter (see right) blend shortening into flour
  4. Add liquid mixture into dry ingredients until moist (DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH)
  5. Form a dough ball
  6. Wrap with plastic wrap and put into refrigerator for about 15 minutes, until needed

STEP 2 – Mix Spices

  1. Blend together all the spices and put aside

STEP 3 – Filling

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is chow-chow.jpg
  1. Cut potato into quarters and put into a enough water to cover and bring to boil
  2. Cook potatoes for about 15 minutes or until a fork can be inserted
  3. Remove potatoes and mash, put aside until needed (KEEP POTATO WATER – DO NOT THROW OUT)
  4. Add some oil to pan and add the onions
  5. Cook until golden
  6. Add both meats and brown the meat
  7. Add spices and garlic, along with about 3/4 cup of “Potato Water” and continue to cook for about 40 minutes or until most of moisture has evaporated. If there is still alot of oil, remove with a spoon. Do not overcook as the meat should remain moist.
  8. Stir in the mashed potatoes and fold in the optional frozen vegetables
  9. Put aside and let cool for about 15-20 minutes before putting into pastry dish
  10. While mixture is cooling, take prepared dough from refrigerator and divide in two. Dust surface and top of dough ball with a little flour and roll out pastry using a rolling pin to fit a 9″ deep dish pie plate (you will need two pieces of rolled out pastry. One for the top and one for the bottom of the dish.
    (If you don’t like so much dough you can put meat mixture into a small casserole dish and just cover the top with a piece of rolled out dough. If you have any dough left over, put into the freezer for next time.)
  11. Spoon mixture into pie plate and cover plate with remaining rolled out pastry dough
  12. Crimp edges of dough together. Trim off excess dough
  13. Combine egg and water together and brush top with egg wash
  14. With a knife, poke a few holes into the top of the dough to let the steam out.
  15. Put into a preheated 375 degree F. or 190 degree C. oven and bake for about 1 hour.
  16. Can be served as is or with “Chow Chow”, tomato relish, ketchup or even beef gravy

Enjoy

Easy “Spanish” Rice

30 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by wrks4me in Main Dishes, Side Dishes

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Tags

Chicken broth, onion, Rie, Salsa

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion (finely diced)
  • 2 Tbs oil
  • 1 1/2 cups of white rice
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup Salsa

Directions

  1. Put oil in fry pan and brown onion and rice
  2. Add chicken broth and salsa
  3. Cover and put in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes
  4. OR bring to a boil, cover with lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring every 5-7 minutes until rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy

Boeuf (Beef) Bourguignon

29 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by wrks4me in Main Dishes

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Tags

Beef, Boeuf, Carrots, Potatoes, Sherry, Wine

INGREDIENTS

  • 250 ml (1 cup) Beef Broth
  • 50 ml (3 Tbsp) All purpose flour
  • 15 ml (1 Tbsp) Tomato Paste
  • 125 g (1/4 lb) Thick bacon or salt port (diced)
  • 1 kg (2 lbs) stewing beef, cubed
  • 250 ml (1 cup) chopped onions
  • 25 ml ( 2 Tbsp) Sherry Wine or Rye (optional)
  • 250 ml (1 cup) dry red wine
  • 5 ml (1 tsp) chopped parsley or dry parsley
  • 3 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
  • 1 ml (1/4 tsp) thyme
  • 1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper
  • 1 ml (1/4 tsp) sugar
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 250 g (1 cup) fresh mushrooms sliced
  • 50 ml (1/4 cup) butter or margarine
  • 2 dozen pearl onions or 2 onions cut in quarter
  • 15 ml (1 Tbsp) butter or margarine
  • 2 large carrots (sliced) optional
  • 10 mini-potatoes (optional)
  • 3 tbsp of soya (optional)
  • 2 tsp of beef concentrate (optional)

DIRECTIONS

“Flour Mixture”

Mix together the broth, tomato paste and flour until blended.

(If using salt pork)

  1. Blanche in boiling water for about 5 minutes and dry
  2. Brown salt pork and when done remove from pan and set aside

(If using bacon)

  1. Brown bacon and remove bacon from pan and set aside.
  2. Drain oil from pan.

For both salt pork or bacon recipes

  1. Brown cubed beef on all sides and remove from pan.
  2. Drain oil from pan.
  3. Add the 1 cup of onions and sherry wine (or rye) and cooked over medium heat until onions are transparent.
  4. Pour “Flour Mixture” into pan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly
  5. Add wine and seasonings (parsley, salt, sugar, thyme, pepper and bay leaf).
  6. Add the brown cubed meat and either bacon or salt pork
  7. Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours on stove top OR put everything into a Dutch Oven and put in oven at 325 degrees F. for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. (You can also put it into a slow cooker for 6 hours, add carrots and potatoes at this time along with soya and beef concentrate).
  8. If using a Dutch Oven add carrots and potatoes and optional soya and beef concentrate 40 minutes before serving.
  9. 15 minutes before serving sauté sliced mushrooms and (15 ml onions or 2 dozen pearl onions) in 50 ml of butter and add to meat mixture

Enjoy

Special Fried Chicken

30 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by wrks4me in Baking, Main Dishes

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Tags

Chicken, Fried

(Check it out against the Colonel’s. Not the same but truly delicious)

This recipe fell out from one of my mom’s recipe books. It’s been there for decades till fate stepped in and fell into my hands. Wasn’t a fan of much of the fried chicken recipes but this one is truly delicious and even better the next day.

Ingredients

  • 2 small frying chickens (cup up)
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tbsp salt*
  • 1/2 tbsp celery salt*
  • 1 tbsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 1/2 tbsp garlic salt*
  • 1 1/2 tbsp meat tenderizer (I think this is actually MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) which I didn’t use)
  • 2 tbsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tbsp thyme
  • 1/4 tbsp basil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk

Directions

  1. Mix dry ingredients together and put half each into two plastic bags.
  2. Beat 2 eggs and milk together in a bowl
  3. Put pieces in one of the plastic bags and toss
  4. Dip the coasted chicken in the egg mixture
  5. Put one piece of chicken at a time in other plastic bag and toss to coat
  6. Fry 2 or 3 pieces of coasted chicken until lightly brown (3 or 5 minutes)
  7. When all the chicken are fried, put on a rack in the oven at 325 for 1 hour or until done.

*(If using garlic powder and celery seeds, you can can use the salt, but if using garlic salt and celery salt you might want to use eliminate the extra salt)

Enjoy

Curry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

12 Saturday Sep 2020

Posted by wrks4me in Appetizers, Main Dishes

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Ingredients

  • 4 cups cubed cooked chicken breast (or dark meat blend)
  • 1-1/2 cups dried cranberries
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced (or use 2 Tablespoons of chives or sweet onion)
  • 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
  • 1 cup fat-free mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup chopped sweet pickles
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
  • 16 dinner rolls (Brioche or soft rolls
  • Butter

Directions

  1. Put chicken, cranberries, celery, green onions, pickles into a bowl
  2. Mix honey, curry powder and mayonnaise together in a separate bowl
  3. Blend together the mayonnaise and chicken mixture
  4. Butter the split rolls and spoon the blended chicken mixture onto the rolls

Enjoy

Note: you can also serve this chicken salad mixture on top of a salad instead

Curry Comfort

05 Sunday Jul 2020

Posted by wrks4me in International Dishes, Main Dishes

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Tags

Beef, Chicken, Curry

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs (.907 kg) beef or chicken
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic (finely diced)
  • 1 medium onion (diced)
  • 3 inch piece of ginger (finely diced) or 1-2 tsps
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how “hot” you want it)
  • 2-3 Tbsp curry powder
  • 2 (13 oz.) cans of unsweetened coconut milk (or use beef or chicken broth)
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

  1. Add oil, beef or chicken to a skillet and season with salt and pepper
  2. Cook meat on medium heat until golden brown and both sides
  3. Remove meat and set aside
  4. Add onion and cook til transparent
  5. Add ginger, garlic and spices and cook to release fragrance (1 minute)
  6. Add coconut milk or broth and simmer.
  7. Return meat to skillet and simmer for about an hour
  8. Serve topped with yogurt and a slice of naan bread

Enjoy

Beef Wellington Tapenade

28 Saturday Sep 2019

Posted by wrks4me in Main Dishes, wrks4me - Recipes

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Tags

Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington 3

Ingredientswrks4me_terry_tested-11

  • Caramelized fried onions (you can also buy them already made)
  • Olive Tapenade (Olives minced with a little garlic and olive oil added) p.s. You can make it or buy it already made
  • Honey Mustard (or your choice)
  • Individual Beef tenderloin steak (or a tender boneless steak)
  • Ready-made puff pastry or frozen pie shells (I pop the pie shells out of their tins and put them on a plate in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Enough to soften them up a bit.
  • Egg Wash for tops of pastry

Directions:

  1. Put steaks in an oiled pan and sear on both sides
  2. Remove from pan and let rest 5 minutes
  3. Brush mustard over both sides of steaks
  4. In the center of the pastry spoon on the caramelized onions
  5. Place steak on top and spoon on some Olive Tapenade
  6. Fold pastry over and around the steak and brush the tops and sides with egg wash. Remember to make some vent holes with a knife
  7. Place pastry onto a silicon baking pad layered on a cookie sheet
  8. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-40 minutes depending on doneness desired (if the pastry gets too golden, tent with foil. Make sure to slice some vent holes.)
  9. When cooked, remove from oven and serve

Enjoy

 

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