Quick Artichoke Casserole

I was searching for this recipe this morning totally sure that I had posted this recipe a long, long time ago... turns out I had stuck in a recipe box long before the blog started.

I got this recipe from a coworker years ago and it's absolutely fantastic paired with some good crusty bread or as a side with pork or chicken

Quick Artichoke Casserole

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 (7 ounce) can pitted black olives, Drained
1 (7 ounce) can button mushrooms, drained
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
oregano, to taste
basil, to taste

pepper, to taste

Directions:


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large, ovenproof casserole dish combine all ingredients.

Mix well.

Cover and bake for about 20 minutes.

Serve hot or cold with Hot garlic bread, pita wedges or tortilla chips.

Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

OK, so technically these are an appetizer, but last night after all the food we ate on Sunday the kid and I were in the mood for a lighter dinner so we had these and a bowl of lentils each for dinner and it was perfect.

Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

These are, in my opinion The best Stuffed mushrooms in the world!

Ingredients:
1 lb medium mushrooms
1/4 cup Finely chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried sage

2 Tbs. parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°f

Remove stems from mushrooms and chop finely (I just toss it all in the mini-prep and call it a day). Cook and stir mushroom stems, green onions and garlic in butter over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat & stir in remaining ingredients.

Fill mushroom caps with stuffing mixture. Place mushrooms, stuffing side up, in greased baking dish.

Bake for 15 minutes, serve hot.

**Notes**
This makes a lot of filling and we had quite a bit leftover afterwards (which did not go to waste) But I think these would also be great with some crab mixed in or even as a meal if made with portobello mushrooms and a salad on the side.

The Hummus experiment

OK, maybe it wasn't so much of an experiment as it was a learning experience. I grabbed some little Sabra hummus snack packs while i was grocery shopping one day, I hadn't had hummus in ages and they were $1, so it was worth trying a few different flavors out and something handy to toss into my bag to snack on at work. Roasted red pepper by far was my favorite, the roasted garlic one tasted like paste to me but the kid liked it.

Over the past few weeks I've tried a few different hummus brands and I've made my own which was pretty darn good too. But as far as the store bought varieties go, Sabra is the best, it's got good flavor and doesn't go overboard in the spice department. I've tried both Tribe and Athenos Hummus brands and both in my opinion were not that good. Athenos was particularly bad as soon as I took the first taste all I tasted was cumin, and that's all I tasted. Tribe was also heavily spiced but with a mixture that I wasn't particularly pleased with.

Yeah, it's easier to make it yourself.. but sometimes you've just gotta have it now.. or, if you happen to know my kid, it's already open as soon as he's sitting down in the car, lol.

Sabra's the store bought winner hands down in my book though.

We’ll start with the Appetizers

The first cookbook I ever got was from my mom, she knew that I loved to experiment in the kitchen and I was always going over to cook with my Gram. I absolutely love this cookbook and in it is the most amazing recipe for stuffed mushrooms and whenever I make then everyone raves about how amazing they are. The second appetizer that I make is one that is The Kid’s absolute favorite! They are Salami cornucopia’s with a horseradish and cream cheese filling. I got this recipe in a packet when I was in college from one of the Chef’s and I’ve made it every year since. It’s very simple, but it makes a really nice presentation on a platter with other things and people always ask what it is. The horseradish and cream cheese mixture is very pleasant and the creaminess of the cream cheese takes a lot of the bite out of the horseradish and you can use store bought or fresh horseradish for this one (of course in school we used the fresh one)


Salami Cornucopia’s with Horseradish cream cheese

Ingredients:

1 lb. Genoa Salami, thinly sliced, cut into halves
1 8oz package cream cheese (whatever kind you like), softened
1 Tbs. Fresh lemon juice
2-3 Tbs Horseradish
1Tbs dried parsley (for this I prefer dried, if you use fresh you have to wash it and squeeze it out in a piece of cheesecloth to remove some of the green color, otherwise it will turn your cream cheese green *yuck*)

Directions

1. Stack your salami nice and neat and cut the circles in half, place in a piece of plastic wrap or a zipper bag and put back in to the refrigerator for now.
2. In a bowl mix together Cream cheese and lemon juice until creamy.
3. Add horseradish, being careful not to add too much of the liquid if you are using jarred.
4. Once it is all combined stir in the parsley.
5. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator about 30 minutes or until firm.
6. Take the salami out of the fridge and on a platter or a piece of parchment paper start rolling up the salami half-circles by taking one corner and turning it towards the center and wrapping the other end around, like a paper cone, setting them seam side down.
7. Remove the cream cheese mixture from the fridge and with a rubber spatula carefully put into a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip. I usually squeeze about a tablespoon of the mix into each salami and it’s perfect.

The Kid will happily eat this spread with salami on bread as a sandwich (Like I’ve said before, he’s not like any other 12 year old I’ve ever known, he is not picky about what he eats and likes things pretty much no other kid I knows likes to eat.)

Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

These are, in my opinion The best Stuffed mushrooms in the world!

Ingredients:
1 lb medium mushrooms
1/4 cup Finely chopped green onions
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°f

Remove stems from mushrooms and chop finely. Cook and stir mushroom stems, green onions and garlic in margarine over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat & stir in remaining ingredients.

Fill mushroom caps with stuffing mixture. Place mushrooms, stuffing side up, in greased baking dish.

Bake for 15 minutes, serve hot.

Dinner tonight, care of Ah Law Kitchen

I was exhausted by the time I picked P. up from camp tonight.. I've been having really bad insomnia and haven't had a full nights sleep all week, I'm getting maybe 4-5 hours (and I generally need at least 7 to be properly functioning, lol) so before we got back on the bus I called our order in because I'm just really too tired to stand in the kitchen and cook (and by that time it was already 6:45) so one order of steamed pork dumplings, one order of cold noodles with sesame sauce and one order of Cheese won ton's (OMG they are sooooo good!)

The dumplings were for me

They are filled perfectly with seasoned pork and steamed to perfection and they come with the most delicious sesame soy dipping sauce.

the sesame noodles were for P

This is really a heaping helping for only $4! It's spicy and sweet and absolutely delicious!

and we shared the cheese won ton's

These are won ton's that are stuffed with cream cheese, scallions and possibly carrot? I'm not too sure what the orange bits are, but it's all good! P. tasted this when they first started making them, the owner gave him a sample and it was love at first bite.

One of the main reasons I go to this place is that none of their food is greasy, you don't feel absolutely horrible after eating it.. just full and happy :) Their prices are great too, we got this all for $13.