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My Favorite Recipes

Nani’s Plank Grilled Salmon

Wood Plank Salmon
Wood Plank Salmon
Wood plank cooking has become popular in the last few years. I am a big fan of this method of cooking. It is simple and adds wonderful smoky flavor to your meats. My husband cuts wood planks for me from 1×6 oak boards. They work superb and are very inexpensive. You can use any type of wood; oak, cherry, cedar or alder. Cut the boards to the length needed for your meat or fish.
One of my favorite foods to make this way is salmon, but this recipe works equally well with halibut.

Ingredients

  • Salmon steaks
  • Olive oil
  • Lemon juice
  • Dill weed
  • Pepper and salt

Directions
Soak boards in water for a minimum of 2 hours. When ready to cook your salmon, coat the board with a thin layer of olive oil. Lay the salmon steaks on the board and brush with olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle with dill weed and salt and pepper. Put boards on charcoal grill at a medium high heat, 400 to 425 degrees. Cook until fish reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees or until it just starts to flake apart. Be careful not to overcook.

Nani Tips

  • Never use any wood that has been treated.
  • Try blue cheese dressing as a condiment with salmon.
  • Try other herbs in place of the dill weed.

Italian Sausage and Wild Mushrooms over Rice

I received this recipe in the Wine Insiders newsletter. I tried it recently and it was a hit with the whole family. It is deliciously different and will become a favorite recipe of mine for sure.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 pound fresh mixed wild mushrooms, sliced (crimini, porcini, portobello or others)
  • 1 pound fresh Italian sausages
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 10 Kalamata olives, chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Cooked rice

Directions

Put a small amount of olive oil in skillet and brown sausages on all sides, then simmer them until done in a small amount of water or other liquid of your choice. In a separate skillet or wok saute garlic and onion until softened, 4 to 5 minutes; transfer to a dish to reserve. Add more olive oil as needed and saute mushrooms until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Return onion and garlic to skillet with mushrooms and add oregano, red wine, vinegar and cooked sausages. Simmer for 4 minutes. Season with the black pepper.
Arrange the mushroom and sausages over the cooked rice in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with the parsley and olives.

 

Salty Nut Bars

Salty Nut Bars
Salty Nut Bars
Nothing beats the sweet and salty combination. These bars will certainly become a favorite recipe. They are similar to the sweet and salty bars that I buy for hiking.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 12 ounce can mixed salted nuts or peanuts
  • 1 12 ounce package butterscotch chips
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup butter wth a pastry blender. Pat into a 9×13 inch buttered pan.
Bake 10 minutes @ 350 degrees. While this is baking, melt the butterscotch chips, corn syrup, 2 Tablespoons butter and vanilla over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove baked crust from oven and sprinkle nuts over that layer. Spread the butterscotch topping over the nuts. Bake for 10 minutes more @ 350 degrees. Cut into squares while still warm.

Reuben Dip

Super Bowl is coming up in a couple of weeks. I have been looking through some of my favorite appetizer recipes and this one is a winner. Everyone loves Reuben’s and they will love this too.

Ingredients

  • 2 packages cream cheese (8 ounce)
  • 1 can of sauerkraut (15 ounce), well drained
  • 1 pound corned beef, shredded
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion

Directions
Put cream cheese in crockpot and allow to soften. After the cream cheese is soft mix in sauerkraut. Now stir in shredded corned beef and onion. Serve warm with your favorite crackers or deli rye bread.

Crockpot Roast Beef with Pepperoncini Pepper

Roast Beef
Roast Beef
Here is a great favorite crockpot roast recipe. It is super easy and deliciously different. Get some good crusty French bread for dipping up the juice.

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 pound boneless beef rump roast
  • 1 jar pepperoncini salad peppers
  • 1 package Good Seasoning dry Italian dressing mix

Directions
Put all ingredients in the crockpot including the juice from the peppers. Cook on high for 2 hours. Turn crockpot to low for 6 hours.

Caramel Bread Pudding

Here is a favorite recipe that a friend of my Mom passed on to us. It is easy and good and a great way to use up that old bread.

Ingredients

  • 6 slices day-old bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 cup hot water
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions
Place bread in a greased 2 quart baking dish. Combine water and brown sugar; pour over bread. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over bread. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold.

Cherry Almond Jello Mold

I thought I had lost this favorite recipe. I recently found it among my Mom’s recipe collection. I used to make it for the Holidays and the kids loved it. I’m not a huge fan of jello, but I do like this salad.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups boiling water or juice
  • 1 package cherry jello (6 ounce)
  • 2 cups sour cream
  • 1 can dark sweet cherries, drained
  • 1/3 cup slivered almonds

Directions
Mix jello with boiling water or juice. Let cool to room temp. Add sour cream and beat until smooth. Chill until almost thick. Add cherries and almonds and pour into jello mold. Chill. Unmold and serve.

Wheat Germ Muffins

Here is a healthy favorite recipe. These muffins are delicious and very filling. You will love them.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup wheat germ
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon soda
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 1/4 cup cooking oil
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions
Mix dry ingredients. Stir well. Add the other ingredients. Pour into muffin tins. Bake 15 to 18 minutes at 400 degrees.

Monica’s Mexican Beans

Mexican Beans
Mexican Beans
My daughter has a friend, Monica, who is from Mexico and cooks totally awesome and authentic Mexican food. She shared her favorite bean recipe with us. It is simple and plain, but delicious. It has taken my daughter and I quite a few attempts to perfect these beans. One of the secrets is using the right kind of beans. You must use Peruano bean (also know as mayo coba). Pinto beans don’t work. You can sometimes find these beans in your local supermarket or at a Mexican market. Another tip is to slightly overcook the beans. This makes them smoother and creamier. (see my updated tips below)

Ingredients

  • 1 bag of Peruano beans (Mayo Coba)
  • 3 serrano chiles, (more or less depending on preference)
  • olive oil
  • salt

Directions
Cook beans according to package, add salt to taste. As mentioned before, slightly overcook beans. Don’t drain them unless you have an excess of water. Remove the stem from the peppers and fry the whole peppers in a skillet in a small amount of oil until they are brown and soft. Add beans to hot pan with chiles and smash together. Add more water if needed to make the beans smooth and creamy. They should be the consistency of apple sauce. Monica recommends mashing them a little in the pan before pouring into the skillet, this helps reduce splattering.

Nani Tip:
I have been cooking my beans in the crock pot. Put the beans in the crock pot and cover with at least 3 inches of water over the top. Add more water as they cook to keep about an inch of water on the top. Cooking time will vary with crockpot. You can use high or low. My crock pot takes about 8 hours on high. Just be sure to cook them til they are very well done. They shouldn’t be hard at all. Do not drain off excess water. I was having trouble getting the beans mashed up, so I have been using my electric mixer and mixing the beans in the crock pot until they are fairly smooth. Then I pour them into the frying pan and mix them with the peppers. Add more water if necessary, they shouldn’t be too thick. They will thicken when they set.

Nani Tip
Cooking peppers in the pan can create some unpleasant fumes, so you can roast them in the oven. I then just add some olive oil to the pan along with the peppers and beans and heat through.

Nani Tip
As mentioned the Mayo Coba beans aren’t sold in all stores. In the midwest Cub Foods carries them and in the Southwest Safeway carries them.