Baked Lemon Shrimp

Posted on May 15, 2013 by jphilo

Isn’t that one of the prettiest main dishes you’ve ever seen? Baked Lemon Shrimp, a recipe passed along by my sister, is as easy to make as it is mouth-wateringly lovely. It’s also very healthy and low-cal. Almost too low-cal for the man of steel who polished off the shrimp, the scones, the roasted potato slices, and the roasted green beans that accompanied the meal. (Hey, when the oven’s on, I fill it!)

Here’s the sis’s recipe, which I cut by half. Considering the lack of left overs after supper, next time I’ll make the full recipe!

Baked Lemon Shrimp

2 pounds raw shrimp, with tails (I removed the tails before baking)
1 lemon, sliced thin*
1/4 cup olive oil
several garlic cloves, minced

Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange lemon slices on bottom of a cookie sheet. Spread the shrimp over the lemon. Pour oil over shrimp. Sprinkle minced garlic over all. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

*We did not eat the lemon, but did scoop the juices onto the shrimp. Yum!

The Best Non-Dairy Egg Bake Ever

Posted on May 8, 2013 by jphilo

Yup, my hunt continues for a really good, non-dairy egg bake–or strata as it’s know in more refined circles. Today’s recipe, a variation the savory vegetable strata featured here in January, is the best one yet.

This time I used Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream in place of the cheese. It’s made with tofu, but unlike most soy-based cheese shreds, it doesn’t taste like soy. It tastes like sour cream and adds a rich, dairy-like creaminess to the dish. The man of steel, who has patiently taste tasted my egg bake attempts, agrees. Even before he thought to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on his portion, he called it the best yet and gave it an unqualified Hiram Seal of Approval. Okay, enough gushing. On to the recipe…

The Best Non-Dairy Egg Bake Ever

1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 pound Italian sausage
3 tablespoons fresh chives cut into small pieces (optional)
cooking spray
5 large slices of whole grain or whole wheat bread, cubed
10 large eggs
2 cups almond or rice milk (or a combination of the two)
1 8 ounce carton Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
10 ounces chopped broccoli, steamed until tender but still firm, or 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

If using fresh broccoli, steam it and set aside to cool. Brown the sausage in a skillet. Drain off fat.

Coat a 9 X 13** baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange bread cubes in the bottom. Arrange sausage on top of bread.

In a large bowl beat the eggs, milk substitute, and sour cream substitute until well-mixed. Add the vegetables and stir. Pour mixture evenly over the bread, so liquid soaks into bread uniformly.

Preheat oven to 350°. Uncover and bake until top forms a light brown crust, 60–70 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 12

Good Enough to Eat

Posted on May 1, 2013 by jphilo

Now that spring’s finally arrived, I’ve been busy saying hello to green grass, new leaves on trees, and the rhubarb patch. All that socializing didn’t leave much time for cooking, so there’s no recipe this week.

Instead, enjoy this photo of something that looks good enough to eat: the magnolia blossom that waved to us this morning from outside our bedroom window.

I wondered if the flowers could be sugared, like violets, violas, and pansies. But an article about edible flowers says magnolia blossoms are best best pickled. Here’s an easy recipe from the UK for pickled magnolia blossoms, in case you have more time for cooking this week than I do.

If you don’t have time for cooking…or aren’t a fan of pickled flowers, enjoy the photo and enjoy spring. Life doesn’t get much prettier than this.

Orange Jalapeno Shrimp with Broccoli

Posted on April 24, 2013 by jphilo

Okay, I admit to being skeptical about how today’s recipe would taste when I first read its title. But when the article accompanying the recipe in USA Weekend Magazine said the recipe was for kids, I decided to put my big girl panties on and give it a try.

This dish is the brain child of Melissa Lanz, creator of TheFresh20.com, a meal-planning service that creates shopping lists comprised of 20 unprocessed ingredients. Amazingly, I had every one of the ingredients on hand and was able to make it exactly as written.

And you know what? It was really, really good–fresh and flavorful, with just enough heat from the jalapeno pepper to make the dish memorable. Here’s the recipe.

Orange Jalapeno Shrimp with Broccoli and Brown Rice

1 pound raw deveined shrimp, tails on (The man of steel likes tails off, so I removed them)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Juice of 3 navel oranges (3/4 cup juice)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (or another light vegetable oil like canola)
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 navel orange, peeled and sectioned
2 cups cooked brown rice

Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Over high heat, boil the orange juice, honey and soy sauce in a small saucepan. Boil until it’s reduced by half, about 8 minutes. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, Toss in the shrimp and cook until it starts to turn opaque (not totally pink) and toss the shrimp with tongs to cook them evenly. Add the orange juice reduction and cook for 3–4 minutes. Lift shrimp out of the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the liquid in the pan, and put shrimp on a plate.

Add the broccoli florets and orange sections to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes, until broccoli is just tender. (Be sure to not cook too long or the orange sections will fall apart. Don’t ask how I know this.) Add the shrimp back into pan. Stir to combine. Serve hot over brown rice.

Minestrone Soup

Posted on April 17, 2013 by jphilo

The calendar says mid-April, which means grilling season to me, but the weather outdoors says otherwise. Nothing can be done about the unusually cold temperatures this spring, so I’m trying to grin and bear it with a new soup recipe. Turns out, that was a good move because the recipe turned out to be a winner, winning the coveted Hiram seal of approval.

The recipe was featured by author Deborah Vogts at her website, Country At Heart Recipes. My consumption of Italian food, which I love, has been sorely curtailed by this dairy allergy thing. But the Parmesan cheese is added to this soup after it’s ladled into bowls. So it works for both the man of steel, who things Parmesan cheese should be added to everything he eats, and for me, too.

Minestrone Soup

1 pound ground sausage
1 cup onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
14 oz. diced tomatoes
14 oz. Italian style stewed tomatoes, crushed
15 oz red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup elbow macaroni
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Brown sausage in large dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add mixed vegetables, tomatoes, beans, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add macaroni and cook for another 10-12 minutes until pasta is tender. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Serves 6-8.

3 Meat Marinade Faves for the Grill

Posted on April 10, 2013 by jphilo

We were out of town for a long weekend, during which other people did all the cooking. So I didn’t have a chance to try a new recipe. But, thanks to thoughtful hosts and lovely weather, we enjoyed the first grilled meal of the season, and oh, it was good!

Today, the weather turned cold and rainy again. But more sunny days are on the way. In anticipation of grilled meals to come, here are three fave meat marinades previously featured on Down the Gravel Road:

Honey Mustard Marinade: This post includes Honey Mustard Marinade within the recipe for Honey Mustard Stir Fry. So dig your way down to the marinade part of the post and use it to prepare pork or some other meat for the grill. Or make the stir fry once garden season begins. It’s good both ways.
Teriyaki Sauce: This recipe is good with chicken, beef, and shrimp. It’s especially good for marinading meat to go on kabobs with fresh veggies and pineapple. However, the photo shows the sauce used in a stir fry, so just imagine that hodgepodge of veggies on skewers instead.
Savory Marinade: This is our all time favorite grilling marinade. It works well with any kind of meat–chops, roasts, burgers, and kabobs. It does not, however, taste nearly as good in a stir fry. Go figure! The picture below shows beef cut thin, soaked in marinade for an hour or two, grilled briefly and served over plain rice. It doesn’t sound like much, but boy is it good.

Do you have a favorite marinade for food on the grill? Leave a comment about it or even the recipe if you don’t mind divulging your cook’s secrets. Happy grilling to you!

Photo Credit: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Dairy-Free Penne with Meatballs in the Oven

Posted on April 3, 2013 by jphilo

This week’s recipe comes from my daughter-in-law who is a wonderful, inventive, cook who uses fresh, healthy, and nutritious ingredients in everything she makes. She was putting this dish together one morning a few months back as we were saying our good-byes, and it smelled heavenly. On another visit, I copied the recipe from one of her (and my son’s) favorite cook books, Italian Country Cooking by Loukie Werle.

Last weekend, the time came to concoct a dairy-free version of the original recipe. It was delicious! Below is the result of the weekend’s experiment. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Dairy-Free Penne with Meatballs in the Oven

1 pound short dried pasta, such as penne or casareccia
16 ounces of Tofuttie’s Better than Ricotta Cheese
grated paremesan on table for those who want to sprinkle it on top

Sauce:
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 pound pancetta or bacon, coarsely chopped
2–14 oz. cans Italian tomatoes, chopped with juice
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Meatballs:
1 thick slice Italian-type bread, crusts removed
1/3 cup almond, rice, or soy milk
1 pound minced veal (Can also use ground beef)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Make the meatballs first: soak the bread in the milk until the almond milk has been absorbed. Squeeze the bread dry, crumble into a bowl, together with the veal, garlic, egg, and parsley. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Roll into small balls with wet hands. Heat a frying pan over high heat, add oil and when hot, add the balls and brown them on all sides, turning them over carefully so they brown evenly. Set aside.

Combine the oil, garlic, and pancetta/bacon in a frying pan and cook over moderately low heat until the fat runs, about 5 minutes. Drain the fat. Add tomatoes and parsley, bring to a boil, then simmer over moderate heat until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.

Cook the penne in plenty of boiling salted water until nearly al dente. Drain, reserving a small measuring cup of the cooking water. Combine the pasta in a large bowl with the tomato sauce, the meatballs and ricotta. Add enough of the cooking liquid to keep moist.

Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Mexican Rice

Posted on March 27, 2013 by jphilo

Remember the church camp fundraiser mentioned in yesterday’s post? Well, in addition to baking pies for the dessert auction, I was asked to bring either refried beans or Mexican rice for the taco bar that preceded the auction. (The purpose of the taco bar was to make people think they’d eaten something healthy first and could therefore indulge in the desserts they purchased at hugely inflated prices.)

Well, Hiram doesn’t care for refried beans all that much, and since I didn’t want to be in charge of eating musical fruit leftovers by myself, I decided to give Mexican rice a shot. Of course, once I found the recipe at The Pioneer Woman Cooks website, it was too late to go to the store for the exact ingredients, so my version was full of substitutions. Despite the substitutions and the use of brown rice, which needs more cooking time than the Pioneer Woman’s recipe required, the dish turned out very well. Good enough that I want to try it again with the right ingredients, especially the cumin and cilantro. Yum!

Mexican Rice

Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cups brown rice
2 cans Rotell tomatoes, undrained
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Heat a little olive oil in large skillet. Add onions and saute for a few minutes. Add rice and stir well. Add garlic and continue to stir until rice starts to turn golden-brown. Add tomatoes and stir. Add broth, bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer. Cover and cook for 30-35 minutes. Stir every ten minutes or so. Add more broth or water if needed, until rice is cooked and tender and liquid is absorbed. Serve hot.

Macaroni Risotto with Peas & Bacon

Posted on March 20, 2013 by jphilo

Driving on our gravel road has been an adventure late, thanks to the ruts created by the double whammy of a winter snowstorm and the spring thaw happening at the same time. The ruts kept me out of both the bars (which I don’t frequent), and the grocery store (which I visit on a pretty regular basis.) So meals this week have been an exercise in creative substitutions. Some dishes did not receive the coveted Hiram seal of approval, but the one featured today was a rousing success.

The original recipe, Pasta Risotto with Peas and Pancetta, was published in the March 8–10, 2013 issue of USA Weekend Magazine. The recipe below is the substitute version, but you can click on the link to see the original. It was very easy to make and took less than a half hour to prepare.

Macaroni Risotto with Peas and Bacon

1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
1 1/4 cups frozen peas
8 ounces uncooked macaroni (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon soft butter substitute
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Brown bacon in a heavy frying pan or Dutch oven. When it is bronze and crisp, use a slotted spoon to place it on a plate lined with paper toweling. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of grease. Add peeled, quartered garlic clove to grease and cook until golden; discard garlic.

Add peas and stir for a moment, until the frozen look leaves them. Add macaroni and stir, then add the boiling water. Turn down the heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to stop it from sticking. If needed, add a little more boiling water.

When it’s ready, the macaroni should be soft and starchy and the water absorbed. Add the butter substitute and Parmesan* and beat until well mixed. Add the bacon and stir until mixed. Serve immediately.

*The amount of Parmesan was so small, it didn’t bother my allergies. But if you’re worried, just leave it out and let diners sprinkle cheese on individual helpings…or not!

Round Steak Roll-Ups

Posted on March 13, 2013 by jphilo

Last Friday was Hiram’s birthday, and as is the tradition at our house, the birthday person chose the menu. So what did the birthday boy choose? Round Steak Roll-Ups, a dish I made for him when we were dating in college, and we looked like this:

Instead of like this:

I haven’t made the dish in at least 20 years, probably longer. After a diligent search of my old cookbooks, it seemed the recipe, like Hiram’s hair and my unlined face, was long gone. Today’s recipe is my best recollection of the original, and it received the coveted Hiram seal of approval…though neither of us could eat quite as much of it as we did the first time it graced our table.

Round Steak Roll-Ups

1 1/2 pounds tenderized round steak
1 4 ounce can mushroom pieces, finely minced
1/2 cup onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons sweet pepper, finely minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cut round steak into 4, roughly rectangular pieces. Put a couple teaspoons of sweet pepper, onion, and mushroom on each piece. Roll each piece up, from the long side, and secure with toothpicks.

Heat oil in frying pan on medium-high heat. Put rolled up steak pieces in pan and brown, turning periodically until all sides are brown. Add remaining onion near the end of browning process, and continue cooking until they begin to caramelize. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to boil. Add any remaining mushrooms and pepper. Turn down heat until liquid simmers gently. Put lid on pan and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Check liquid level in pan every 15 minutes, and add water if needed. After 2 hours, remove meat to serving platter and cover.

Gravy: Measure remaining liquid and add enough water to make 1 1/2 cups. (You can use potato water for this.) Return liquid to pan and bring to slow boil. Put 1/4 cup flour and 1/2 cup water in a jar or gravy shaker and shake until all lumps are gone. Slowly add flour/water mixture to liquid in frying pan, stirring constantly. Return to a slow boil and continue cooking for 2–3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with meat and mashed potatoes.

Down the Gravel Road www.jolenephilo.com

Category Archives: Recipes

Baked Lemon Shrimp

The Best Non-Dairy Egg Bake Ever

Good Enough to Eat

Orange Jalapeno Shrimp with Broccoli

Minestrone Soup

3 Meat Marinade Faves for the Grill

Dairy-Free Penne with Meatballs in the Oven

Dairy-Free Penne with Meatballs in the Oven

Mexican Rice

Macaroni Risotto with Peas & Bacon

Round Steak Roll-Ups