Kefta

• 2 TBS chopped parsley
• 3 sprigs mint, chopped
• handful baby spinach, chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• dash of cayenne pepper
• dash of allspice
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 14 oz ground beef

Preheat grill on high.

Mix all ingredients by hand in a bowl.  Shape into 8 patties.

Oil grill pan.  Grill on medium-high 5 minutes on each side.

Serve in pitas (1 patty per pita half) with baby spinach and yogurt sauce or tzatziki.

Beef and barley soup

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 lb beef (london broil or similar), cut into 1" chunks
• 2 quarts water
• bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
• sprinkle of garlic powder
• celery flakes
• carrots, chopped
• 1/2-3/4 c. barley

Saute onion and beef until onion is softened and beef is somewhat browned.  Add all other ingredients except barley.  Simmer for 2 hours.  Add barley.  Cook for 1 hour or until barley is soft.

Tortilla soup

(makes about 4 servings)

Soup:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3/4 serrano pepper, finely chopped (entire pepper should be fine)
• 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
• 32 oz box low salt chicken broth
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 2 c. cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 c. frozen corn (more is fine)

Toppings:

• tortilla strips, toasted in a skillet
• grated cheese
• cilantro
• lime
• avocado would be fine too

Saute onion and pepper until softened.  Add tomatoes and some of the chicken broth.  Blend until somewhat smoother.  Add rest of broth and spices.  Simmer 10 minutes.  Add chicken and corn and heat through.

Serve with desired toppings.

Slow cooker chicken teriyaki

(drastically modified from https://www.framedcooks.com/2015/01/slow-cooker-chicken-teriyaki.html)

• 6 chicken breasts
• 3/4 c. low salt soy sauce
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 1/4 c. mirin
• 1/8 c. shaoxing
• juice of 3 medium oranges
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 3 TBS brown sugar
• 1.5 TBS honey
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tsp corn starch

Put chicken breasts in slow cooker.  Mix together all remaining ingredients except corn starch in a bowl.  Pour over chicken.

Cook on high for 4 hours, stirring and rotating chicken partway through.

Remove chicken from cooker and turn cooker to high.  Mix corn starch with a little cold water and stir into cooking liquid.  Meanwhile, shred cooked chicken with two forks.  Return chicken to cooker.

Notes:
This makes a very large quantity (i.e., a double batch), at least 9 servings.  Halve for a more reasonable size.

This amount of corn starch didn't thicken the sauce much--it was barely noticeable.  Maybe double corn starch next time.

Bourride

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
• EVOO
• white wine (1/2 a small bottle)
• 1 bottle clam juice (8 oz?)
• 2 c. Penzey's seafood broth
• sprinkle of pepper
• sprinkle of salt
• sprinkle of dried parsley
• sprinkle of dried thyme
• diced potatoes
• 0.8 lb cod (more is fine), cut into chunks
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• toast (e.g., French bread), rubbed with a cut garlic clove (1 toast per serving)
• fried or poached eggs (1 per serving)

Saute onion and fennel in olive oil until softened.  Add wine, clam juice, seafood broth, seasonings, and potato.  Cook until potato is softened.  Add fish and cook until done (just a few minutes).  Stir in lemon juice.

Serve each bowl of soup topped with a slice of toast and a fried egg.

Notes:  I could probably increase the wine.  Fresh parsley might be nice.  Consider adding a bay leaf.  Don't use too much potato since this is served with bread.

Saag chicken

(modified from https://slate.com/culture/2013/09/palak-or-saag-paneer-recipe-the-best-way-to-make-spinach-non-watery-and-delicious.html)

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBS fresh ginger, minced
• 5 dried chilis
• 1 TBS coriander powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (not salt-free)
• 16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. heavy cream

Saute onion until soft (about 10 min).  Along the way, salt it lightly, and add and saute cumin seeds, garlic, and ginger.  At the end of sauteing, add chilis, coriander, paprika, and turmeric and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper chicken thighs and fry in a nonstick pan until cooked through.

Add tomatoes to onion and cook for 10 min.  Add spinach and cook for another 10 min.  Add garam masala and cayenne and cook for 2 min.  Stir in yogurt and cream.  Blend somewhat with stick blender.

Cut chicken into chunks and stir into spinach mixture.  Heat thoroughly.

Notes:
I think I used closer to 20 oz spinach.  That was fine.  (A little less might be fine too.)  Cream was closer to 1/2 c.  Next time, try blending onion-tomato mixture before adding spinach, and then blend a little more after the spinach has cooked.  Obviously, dried chilis should be removed before blending.

Turkey pot pie

Sauce:

• 4 TBS butter
• 1/4 c. onion, minced
• 6 TBS flour
• 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• sprinkle of garlic salt
• 2 c. bouillon

Melt butter and saute onion.  Add seasonings and flour.  Slowly add bouillon and stir while sauce thickens.

Crust:

• 1 c. flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• sprinkle of garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 c. shortening
• 1/3 c. milk

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening and add milk.  Roll out on a floured surface to a 9" square.

Assembly:

• 14-16 oz. package California vegetables, precooked
• 2 c. turkey or chicken

Place turkey and precooked vegetables in a buttered 8" square baking dish.  Pour sauce over turkey and vegetables.  Top with crust.  Prick crust with a fork.

Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Thai drunken noodles (pad kee mao)

Chicken:

• sliced chicken breast, ~8-12 oz
• 1 TBS water
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 2 TBS water
• 3 TBS low sodium soy sauce
• 2.5 TBS oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp sugar

Other:

• 8 oz flat rice noodles
• 1 shallot, minced
• ~3 cloves garlic, minced
• ginger, minced
• 3 bird's eye peppers (Thai peppers), seeds removed, chopped fine
• 2 scallions, green parts only, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 c. Thai basil, loosely packed (or more--just use however much comes in a bundle)
• splash of Shaoxing wine (2 TBS?)

Mix chicken and associated ingredients.  Allow to marinate for up to 20 min.

Heat oil in wok.  Stir fry chicken.  Remove from pan.

Prepare noodles.  Undercook by a bit since they'll cook more in the sauce.

Saute shallot for several minutes until soft.  Add garlic, ginger, and pepper and saute for another minute.  Add scallions, basil, and Shaoxing wine.  Cook for 30 sec.

Add chicken, noodles, and sauce to pan.  Stir fry at high heat until sauce is evenly dispersed.

Notes:
Next time try preparing everything except noodles, so that noodles can be immediately stir fried as soon as they're boiled.

Recipe modified from https://www.recipetineats.com/pad-kee-mao-thai-drunken-noodles/ and https://thewoksoflife.com/2016/03/drunken-noodles-pad-kee-mao/

Kettle corn

• 2 TBS oil
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1/4 c. popcorn
• salt

Heat oil in medium saucepan with a couple popcorn kernels in it.  When they pop, add the rest of the popcorn, sugar, and salt.  Cooking, shaking occasionally, until most of the kernels have popped.

Note:  Last time I tried just sprinkling with salt at the end.  It didn't disperse evenly and wasn't enough.  Next time I would add the salt with the sugar.  Maybe try 1/8 tsp?

Chocolate frosting

(from https://thestayathomechef.com/the-most-amazing-chocolate-cake/)

• 3/4 c butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 3.5-4 c powdered sugar
• about 2 TBS milk (as needed)

Beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add in cocoa powder and vanilla extract.  Beat until combined.  Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add milk as necessary to make a spreadable consistency.

Makes enough to fill and frost a 3 layer (8") cake or to pipe frosting onto most of 2 dozen cupcakes.

Seafood chowder

• 1 shallot, minced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• butter
• splash of sherry
• ~3 medium potatoes, diced
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• salt
• 2 c. Penzey's seafood broth
• 1/2 pkg TJ's cod chunks, thawed
• 1/2 pkg TJ's mixed seafood, still frozen
• cream
• milk

Saute shallot and garlic in butter until soft.  Deglaze pan with sherry.

Add potatoes, seafood broth, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer until potatoes are softened.

Partially mash potatoes and stir.  Add cod and start boiling it.  Add frozen mixed seafood and simmer until just cooked.

Stir in cream and milk.  Reheat to near boiling.

Notes:  When I didn't salt it before boiling the potatoes, there wasn't enough salt.  Since it'll get dilute later, maybe salt it generously.  It seemed otherwise lacking in flavor too, so maybe increase shallot/garlic/sherry quantities.  Possibly thyme could be increased as well.

Pomegranate Christmas punch

• 1 qt seltzer water
• 1 pint pomegranate juice
• 2/3 c. Trader Joe's ginger brew
• 3 TBS simple syrup
• 1 TBS gin with strong juniper flavor

Roasted broccoli and cauliflower

Preheat oven to 425.  On a sheet of foil, drizzle broccoli/cauliflower florets with EVOO and toss with sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Wrap into a packet and bake for 20 minutes.  Open packet and cook until finished (maybe 5-20 minutes more).

Tortellini soup

• EVOO
• 3 cloves garlic (or more), minced
• ~1/4 c. white wine
• 2 qt. chicken broth
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• pepper
• 8 oz can tomato sauce
• ~10 oz cheese tortellini
• ~1/2 bag baby spinach
• parmesan

Saute garlic in olive oil.  Add white wine.  Add broth, seasonings, and tomato sauce.  Simmer for about 10-20 minutes and add more seasonings to taste as needed.  Add tortellini and cook according to package directions.  In the last minute, add spinach.  Serve topped with grated parmesan if desired.

Miso chicken

Modified from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017699-miso-chicken

• 2 largish boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 TBS butter, softened
• 1/4 c white miso
• 1 TBS honey
• 1/2 TBS rice vinegar
• pepper

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix sauce ingredients in a large bowl.  Dump chicken breasts into bowl and coat on all sides with miso mixture.  Put chicken in a foil-lined casserole dish.  Spoon remaining miso mixture over chicken.

Bake 10-13 minutes on each side.  When flipping, spoon glaze runoff over the chicken.

Serve with rice.

Overnight steel cut oats

• 1 tsp butter
• 1 c. steel cut oats
• 1 c. milk
• 2 c. water
• pinch of salt
• handful of dried cranberries
• splash of vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Toast oats in butter for a few minutes.  Add water, milk, salt, and cranberries.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in vanilla.  Remove pan from heat, cover, and let sit overnight.

French bread

(Makes 2 loaves)

• 1 packet yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
• 1/4 c water
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 c water
• 4 1/2 c flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 TBS melted butter
• 1 TBS sugar

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 c warm water (following temperature directions on yeast package).

While the yeast rests, mix milk and 1 c water and heat to appropriate temperature for yeast.

Mix together flour, salt, and 2 tsp sugar.

Add butter, 1 TBS sugar, and yeast mixture to milk-water mixture.  Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and stir thoroughly.

Cover bowl of dough with a damp cloth and put in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.  (I like to put it in the oven with the oven light on for a little warmth.)

Grease French bread pan very thoroughly.  Generously flour counter surface.  Pour dough onto floured surface.  It will be very goopy.  Divide dough in half.  Mix enough flour into each half that it can be patted flat without sticking.  Pat or stretch each half into an oblong.  Roll oblong into a roughly cylindrical loaf and place in greased pan.  Make sure the bottom of the loaf has a good amount of flour on it to minimize sticking.

Return dough to warm place to rise until again doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Put a pan of water in the bottom rack of the oven.  Preheat oven to 400.

Put bread pan in hot oven above pan of water and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 and bake about 30 minutes more until done.

Loosen bread from pan promptly after removing from oven.

Cranberry bread

1 1/2 cup cranberry sauce, divided

1/3 c. oil (canola, vegetable, or olive)

1/2 c. white sugar

1/4 c. brown sugar

1 large egg

2 teas. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 teas. kosher salt

1 teas. baking soda

1 teas. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350; grease 9" loaf pan.

Beat 1 c. cranberry with oil, sugars, egg and vanilla.  Combine dry ingredients and add to cranberry mixture.  Stir until evenly combined. Spread into prepared pan.  Dollop remaining cranberry sauce on top.  Bake 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Raspberry lime punch

• 2/3 c. ginger simple syrup, plus more to taste
• 2/3 c. fresh lime juice (about 1 bag of limes), or more
• 18 oz. fresh raspberries
• 2 2L bottles of seltzer water, chilled
• raspberry ice cubes
• 2 more limes, sliced

Blend raspberries in blender until smooth.  Use a spatula to press raspberry puree through a sieve to remove seeds.  (Alternately, and preferably, use a food mill.)

Mix ginger simple syrup, lime juice, and raspberry puree in a container and refrigerate overnight for the flavors to blend.

Put raspberry mix in punch bowl.  Carefully add a 2L bottle of seltzer water.  (It will fizz violently.)  Add seltzer water from second bottle to top off.  Add more ginger simple syrup to taste.  Add raspberry ice cubes and lime slices.

For raspberry ice cubes:  Fill one ice cube tray with water and 1 fresh raspberry per cube.  Freeze.

For ginger simple syrup:  Put into a small saucepan 1 c. water, 1 c. sugar, and peeled, sliced ginger (at least half a cup, most of a Trader Joe's pkg).  Bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and steep for a while.  Strain out solids.

Hot chocolate

• 1 Trader Joe's 70% dark pound plus bar
• 8 c. (1/2 gal) whole milk

Chop chocolate.  Put milk and chocolate in slow cooker on low for 2 hours.  Stir occasionally while heating.  Sweeten to taste if desired.

Note:  Even at its best, chocolate wasn't fully smooth and incorporated.  Next time try the immersion blender after it's heated.

Note:  Remaining hot chocolate kind of congealed after several hours in the slow cooker and after most of it had been drunk.