Easter Dinner--Fish and Honey

We figured that Jesus ate fish and honey on Easter, so we did too!

Alright, so He probably didn't eat halibut, and I'm fairly sure it wasn't breaded. He certainly didn't add mashed potatoes & gravy, and I believe His honey was in the comb, not on a homemade crescent roll...but the idea was there, right?

Breaded & Baked Halibut
As the oven is pre-heating, melt about 1/4-1/2c butter in the bottom of a glass baking dish.
Rinse off the fish, or dip it in egg, butter, or milk to moisten it, then bread it in a mixture of bread crumbs, salt/other herbs & seasonings, and parmesan cheese (I use about half bread crumbs and half parmesan). Lay fish in the butter and bake at 300 for about 20-30 min, turning over halfway through.

Resurrection Rolls

We make these every Easter, and they're always a big hit.

Supplies:

roll dough (crescent rolls from a can work, or I make homemade...)

large marshmallows

melted butter

cinnamon sugar

1--take the marshmallow (body of Jesus) and dip it in butter (sweet oils)

2--cover it in cinnamon sugar (spices)

3--roll it up in the dough (burial cloths) Make sure you roll it securely, so that there are no little openings.

4--Put in the oven (tomb) bake according to roll directions (usually around 10-15 min).

5--When you take the rolls out of the oven, open the cloths, and you will find that 'Jesus' is gone!

(a word to the wise...be sure those rolls are WELL covering those marshmallows, or else the marshmallows will melt out all over the place, and while you'll still have empty rolls, the magic of it is sortof lost...)

Fudgy Wudgy Brownies

This recipe is listed in my from-mom cookbook as "super rich brownies."
Once you try them, you may throw out your old family recipe.
Consider yourself warned!!

*To make this recipe gluten-free, you will need to substitute the flour with a GF flour blend. I used this one plus 1 tsp xanthan gum. The texture will change a little of course, and it will need to cook for an extra 10-15 minutes. But they were still fudgy and yummy!


1 c butter (yes, that's 2 sticks-I told you this was a good recipe!)
1 1/2 cups sugar (the original recipe called for 2c, but I've been testing lowering it a little at a time, and this is where I'm at)
1/2-3/4 c baking cocoa
4 eggs
1 1/2 c flour

(I make this in a saucepan over low heat, but it can also be done in a regular mixing bowl...)
In a bowl:
Melt butter. Stir in sugar and then eggs, one at a time. Add flour and cocoa and beat until blended.
On the stovetop:
Melt butter. Stir in sugar and cocoa until well dissolved. Remove from heat. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl and add to chocolate mixture all at once. Blend well. Add flour and stir until all mixed.

The original says to use a 9x13 pan, but I find they are fudgier if I do them in an 8x8 or 6x11 pan and adjust the cooking temperature and time...so here are directions for both options.

Grease the pan well (UNLESS you do it on the stove--that releases the oils in the butter and it will be oily enough that you should grease it only lightly!)
Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 20-25min.
OR
Bake in a 6x9 or 8x8 pan at 325 for about 35 min
(Either way it will still look a bit doughy--just let it sit a few minutes!)

Easy Roasted Potatoes

These are very easy to make, although you do have to pay attention to them, as they need to be stirred every 10 minutes during cooking. I like this best with red or gold potatoes, but plain old russets work fine too.
These are what we make when we want "Irish roasted potatoes" 

This batch had white potatoes, blue potatoes, and carrots

4-6 potatoes, peeled if desired (I don't peel red/gold, but I do peel russets), and cut into chunks about 1-2in across
about 1/3 c oil (veg oil or olive oil)
herbs as desired (I like the 'seafood rub' blend from costco, rosemary is popular, or try thyme, marjoram, garlic powder, and salt) (the original recipe says to use an envelope of dry onion soup mix, but I think that unprocessed herbs taste much better)

Preheat oven to 425*
The original recipe says to put the potatoes, herbs, and oil into a plastic ziplock bag and shake them to coat the potatoes, but I find that wasteful (of the plastic bag) and messy, so I just do it in the pan.
Put potato chunks into a 9x13in baking dish--glass is best. Pour oil evenly over the top, and stir until all chunks are coated. Sprinkle herbs evenly over the top, and stir again until the herbs are distributed among the potatoes.
Put in oven to bake. Every 10 minutes stir thoroughly (make sure to unstick everything from the bottom of the pan). Bake for about 40 min.

Semi-Homemade Taco Soup

Alright, so I figure this is a 'cheating' sort of recipe, because it involves almost no real cooking--just a lot of dumping and stirring. On the other hand, it is yummy, and everybody needs an easy meal sometimes, right?

Prep time--about 5 minutes.

Cooking time--oh, another 5-10 minutes...

Meat (1 lb ground beef or 1 can chicken) (optional--lentils make a nice meat substitute too)

1 med onion, chopped

2-4c broth (anything that goes with your meat choice, amount varies by how thick you like your soup!)

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 can tomatoes (diced or stewed)

1 small can diced chilis

1 packet taco seasoning (or chili powder, salt, etc as desired)

(The soup here was made with canned chicken) --------->

If using beef, place in a large saucepan to brown. Saute onions in with the grease. If using chicken, add a Tbs of oil to saute the onions, then add the chicken second. If using lentils, cook them first. Add taco seasoning to the meat. Drain off extra grease as applicable.

Dump in all canned ingredients--do not drain. Stir a bit, then add as much broth as it takes to get the consistency you want.

Let simmer for a few minutes until warmed through.

Serve topped with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, and/or fritos or crumbled corn chips.

Lentil soup

I have to say, in the most serious of tones

"Don't knock it till you try it!!!"

This is one of my favorite soups. I got it from America's Test Kitchen, so I've put their original recipe here, but in the blue are my 'tweaks.'

This takes about an hour to cook, but much of it is just 'let it simmer' time, so it's not actually that labor intensive.

Lentils du Puy, sometimes called French green lentils, are our first choice for this recipe, but brown, black, or regular green lentils are fine, too. I use plain old cheap brown ones and it tastes fine to me! Cooktimes are slightly shorter. Note that cooking times will vary depending on the type of lentils used. Lentils lose flavor with age, and because most packaged lentils do not have expiration dates, try to buy them from a store that specializes in natural foods and grains. Before use, rinse and then carefully sort through the lentils to remove small stones and pebbles. The soup can be made in advance. After adding the lemon juice in step 2, cool the soup to room temperature and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To serve, heat it over medium-low until hot, then stir in the parsley.

INGREDIENTS
3 or 4 or 5 slices bacon cut into 1/4-inch pieces cut it before you cook it!
1 onion, chopped fine (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 carrots , peeled and chopped medium (about 1 cup)
3 cloves /1 Tbs garlic , minced I do about 3Tbs. We like garlic.
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander or cilantro, or nothing (I never have coriander around)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, or chili powder, or double the amount of paprika, or nothing at all
1 can diced tomatoes (14 1/2 ounces), drained
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
1 cup lentils (7 ounces), rinsed and picked over
2 teaspoon salt don't skimp--I usually cut down the salt in recipes, but ths soup needs it.
ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or just a little more broth or water
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or good homemade bone broth that you've frozen or canned
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves or not, cuz I'm just not fancy like that!

Here is my pretty picture of how I cut the bacon (with scissors, over the pan)

Fry bacon in large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Don't drain off that beautiful bacon fat! Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne; cook until fragrant, a
bout 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Another pretty picture! This is usually the part where the smell makes me begin to drool. No need to resist this very natural urge! Simply try to keep said drool out of the soup, and press forward!

Stir in lentils, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8-10minutes.
Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer. Add chicken broth and water; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.
Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth (or dump into a bowl and mix with an electric mixer), then return to pot; stir in lemon juice and heat soup over medium-low until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro and serve, garnishing each bowl with some of remaining cilantro.

By leaving out the bacon and using veggi broth, it would be easy to adapt this to be a vegetarian meal. Please though, use some fat in place of that bacon greast--you'll need it!

Anyberry Streusel Bars

So, this isn't my recipe...but I will give credit to the person I got it from, so I figure it's ok for me to post it here.
I have not actually tried it, but it looks positively drool-worthy!
without further ado, from DomesticGoddess
Anyberry Streusel Bars
(I suspect it would also work with other moist fruits...peaches, cherries, etc)