onions – Buen provecho…2022

Seafood Lasagna

“The time has come”, the chicken said. If you have been following Buen Provecho since the beginning, you have access as of today to 500 of my recipes! A few have been there since the beginning in March 2011, which is incredible. Many of you are “newbies” to the site and may not be aware of all of the recipes herein.

Probably FAKE NEWS, but my stats show viewers in 118 countries around the world, with 8,305 in USA, 8,177 in Canada and 3,350 in Mexico. The rest are an A to Z spread, from Australia to Zimbabwe…Thank You all so much!

Looking back, I have had many delicious recipes of which you may or may not have been aware. I encourage you to use the search feature to continue to enjoy the site. Alas, this is the FINAL recipe, which in fact appeared in October 2013. It is and has always been one of my favourites of the 500!

It’s certainly a special occasion recipe and involves lots of preparation, but it remains a very special one which I prepare on special occasions with special people, who obviously must enjoy seafood!

SEAFOOD LASAGNA

8 tbsp. butter
8 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 c. cream
1 c. milk
chicken broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of nutmeg
1 lb. lasagna, “no boil type”
10 oz. frozen spinach, thaw and drain on paper towels
16 oz. ricotta cheese
8 oz. Manchego cheese
8 oz. provolone cheese
1 can sliced mushrooms
2 sliced onions
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tomato, cut and peeled
1 1/2 lb. seafood (shrimp, crabmeat, scallops, white fish)
Parsley and rosemary to taste

To make sauce, melt butter and add flour. Take it off the burner, add cream, milk and broth. Put back on burner. Stir constantly. When everything is mixed, take it off the fire. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. To make lasagna, sauté onions and mushrooms in butter and oil. Add tomato, parsley and rosemary. Add seafood. In a greased lasagna pan, pour some sauce, place some lasagna, seafood, mozzarella, ricotta and chopped spinach mixed, provolone, and press it down before you begin second layer. Follow same order as first layer, ending with lasagna strips and sauce. Be sure to generously cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes.

Buen provecho amigos!!!

Southern Fried Cabbage

I am sure that I am not alone on Pinterest when I find a great recipe, make it, eat it and FORGET TO TAKE A PHOTO!!! Such is the case with me again. Nevertheless, it turned out great! Trust me!!!

Southern Fried Cabbage

Ingredients

6 slices bacon cut in pieces
2 tablespoons bacon grease
1 cup onions chopped
1 1/2 pounds cabbage chopped
1 tablespoon garlic chopped
1/3 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon seasoned salt or more to taste
crushed red pepper flakes optional, to taste

Instructions

Sauté the bacon in a heavy skillet until crispy.

Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside.

Spoon off all but about 2 tablespoons of bacon grease.

Add the onions to the skillet and sauté until they just begin to become translucent.

Add the cabbage and garlic; sauté, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and seasoned salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until it is as tender as you like and the liquid has mostly evaporated.

Stir in the bacon and serve.

Hungarian Goulash

In 2010, we had a great trip to Europe, where we experienced food in several countries. It was in Budapest where we had a wonderful goulash at Paprika Vendeglo restaurant. We had previously been in Prague where we had tasted Czech goulash. Both of us preferred the former for its wonderful goulash, pictured here – served in a small bowl over an open flame with noodles.

Thankfully for Pinterest, I was able to make a tasty Hungarian Goulash recipe which I attempted this week. It brought back memories, sans the noodles/dumplings.

Hungarian Goulash

Ingredients

2 medium onions diced
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons paprika
¼ cup flour
1 ½ pound stewing beef trimmed and cut into 1″ cubes
2 cups beef broth or water
1 cup diced tomatoes canned
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ½ cup carrot diced
3 cups potatoes, diced

1. In a large pot, melt butter and add onion. Cook till translucent. Stir in caraway seeds and paprika and mix well.

2. In a bowl, dredge the stew beef with flour. Add beef to the onion mixture and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Slowly add about ¼ cup of the beef broth to lift the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Then add remaining broth, diced tomatoes (potatoes and carrots if using), salt and pepper.

4. Stir and bring to a boil, cover, then reduce to a simmer for about 1 ½ -2 hours or until tender. Stir

Serve with noodles or dumplings or just plain as I did.

Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

I know it sounds a little odd, but this is a very good dish served with rice or maybe Costco Ancient Grains. As usual my slow cooker had it ready in three hours on HIGH, contrary to what the recipe says. It seems every time I use my SC I have the same problem. What do the rest of you find? Mine is a Hamilton Beach with setting – High, Low and Warm. I can never go away and leave it even on LOW…grrr. Be aware…

Mongolian Beef

1.5 lb. trimmed flank steak
2 cups sliced onions
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
½ cup water
1 T. quick cooking Tapioca, crushed
1 T. grated fresh ginger
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced (whites and greens separated)
3 cups hot cooked rice (or Ancient Grains)

Cut meat into 6 portions. In a 3.5 cup slow cooker combine meat and sliced onions.
In a medium bowl, mix the next 6 ingredients (through garlic). Pour over the meat. Sprinkle with WHITE portions of the green onions
Cover and cook on LOW 8 to 10 hours…or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. (3 in my case!)
Remove meat, reserving cooking liquid.
Slice meat across the grain or coarsely shred and return to the cooker.
Serve over rice and sprinkle with the GREEN portions of the green onions.

Makes 6 servings.

Greek Moussaka

In the process of cleaning out our freezer and realized I had 500 gm of ground lamb. What to do? I have always liked moussaka in a Greek restaurant, but never made it at home. Good old Pinterest to the rescue, for what appeared to be an easy recipe and without the potatoes on top….less calories. The recipe looks complicated, but I decided to prepare the ground lamb ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator until I was ready to make the complete dish. It gave me time to prepare the eggplant while I was cleaning up from the lamb prep. The dish turned out perfectly, with our guests taking home this recipe! The photo below is from the Pinterest pinner…we got so carried away enjoying the dish that I forgot a photo. Check out Sniff It Out on Pinterest for more tantalizing recipes!

Greek Moussaka

About 500g of lean minced (ground) lamb
2 Aubergines (Eggplants) medium to large in size
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 heaped tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 rounded tablespoons tomato purée
3 fl oz. (75 ml) red wine or more
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the yogurt topping for the Greek Moussaka – I used a large CorningWare casserole dish and ended up doubling the yogurt in order to cover the top.

150ml Greek yogurt (double if necessary)

1 medium egg, beaten

50g feta cheese or more

25g freshly grated parmesan or more

Preparing the Aubergines

Leave the skins on and slice the Aubergines into approximately 10mm thick slices.

Put the slices into a colander and sprinkle them with about 1 level dessertspoon of salt. Stand the colander on a plate to catch the water which comes out of the Aubergines and put another plate on top of the aubergine slices.

You now need to weigh this plate down with something heavy (I find that a couple of tins of soup works quite well) and leave them for about an hour to let the juice come out.

After an hour, squeeze out any of the excess juice from the aubergines and dry them well in a clean cloth.

Spread the aubergine slices on a baking sheet and drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over them tossing them around to get a good coating.

Put the baking sheet in a pre heated oven (around 200 degrees) and roast the aubergines for 30 minutes or until they are browning at the edges.

I usually roast the eggplant simply because the baking tray is much bigger than the frying pan and I can get the slices done all in one go, but, if you would rather sauté the eggplant to use in the moussaka you can do that too.

Preparing the lamb for the Moussaka recipe (I did this step first)

Because the mince can have quite a lot of fat come out of it I usually dry fry the mince until it is nicely browned then remove it from the pan and put it to one side then discard any of the fat which has come out of it before using it to make the moussaka.

Then heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions, garlic and thyme gently, without colouring, for about 10 minutes.

Stir the minced lamb back in and add the parsley, cinnamon, tomato purée and red wine and stir to combine the ingredients. Season the mixture well and cook gently for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Prepare the topping for the Greek Moussaka recipe
It’s true that Moussaka isn’t the most healthy dish on the planet, that’s why I prefer a yogurt topping for my moussaka recipe because it is a bit lighter than others I have tried but that is purely my preference. Mix the yogurt with half of the cheeses and the beaten egg and season with ground pepper.

Putting everything together for the Greek Moussaka!
Line the bottom of a casserole dish with slices of aubergine, then spoon over some of the meat mixture. Build the layers of the moussaka up until all the meat and aubergine has been used.

Cover with the topping mixture and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºC / 350ºF for about 1 hour until golden and bubbling.

Let the Moussaka stand for about 20 to 30 minutes before cutting and serving and this will ensure that it keeps its shape when you serve it.

Fragrant Fall Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon

This has to be one of my favourite fall recipes and it would be great with your Thanksgiving Dinner! The origin of the recipe was the Dallas News way back in 2008. When I searched online it is nowhere to be found, either on Google or Pinterest as far as I could check. Fortunately I had a copy! You’re going to love serving this fragrant dish with your dinner.

Fragrant Fall Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon

4 slices bacon cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large head red cabbage cored and thinly sliced

1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 apples, halved, cored and sliced

¾ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook the bacon until lightly browned, but NOT crispy, about 4 minutes.

Add the cabbage, onion and apples. Stir well to coat with bacon drippings. Cover and cook until the vegetables and apples are limp, about 15 minutes.

Add the vinegar, maple syrup and spices. Stir well, then season with salt and pepper.

Serves 8 to 10

Lamb Liver and Bacon Casserole

Before you even get started on me, yes I love liver, but not the way my mother overcooked it after dredging it in flour! Quite a few months back we found a lamb store here and we purchased this lamb liver to try. Where else would I turn but Pinterest? The recipe could be made with any liver…well maybe not chicken…cluck cluck. Leftovers were great for breakfast with fried eggs on the top. Trust me!! Let me know if you try it…Chuck? LOL

Lamb Liver and Bacon Casserole

Ingredients:
– 500 g lamb’s liver, trimmed and cut into small pieces ( try baby beef)
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 230 g rind less smoked bacon rashes, cut into pieces
– 2 small onions, chopped
– 2 cups mushrooms, cut into quarters
– 2 tablespoons plain flour
– 150 ml hot water
– 1 teaspoon smoke sweet paprika powder
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a casserole dish and stir-fry the bacon until crisp. Add the onion and continue frying until the onion is soft. Add the mushrooms and fry for another 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon (to make sure that oil and bacon fat will stay in the casserole dish), remove the bacon and vegetables and put aside.
Add the liver to the remaining fat and cook over a medium heat for about 4 minutes, turning so it’s seared and cook all around. Remove from the dish and keep warm.

Classic Scalloped Potatoes

Easter Sunday dinner with 16 friends. Menu of spiral ham (from Costco of course), scalloped potatoes and BBQ green beans. Salads courtesy of our guests along with desserts. Larry was chef for the day. To make life simpler, I put the ham out in its foil for about an hour to warm it up. After uncovering it, I sliced off a fair amount and put the slices in our slow cooker. I added one cup of Fresca soft drink to keep the ham moist and set the timer on low for 1 and 1/2 hours. When the potatoes and beans were ready, so was the ham. A great way to serve ham for a buffet! And now for the potato recipe courtesy of Canadian Living Magazine with Larry’s modifications.

Classic Scalloped Potatoes (Canadian Living Magazine)
• Prep time 25 minutes Total time 2 hours Portion size 8
Ingredients
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or more
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp (5 mL) chopped fresh thyme
• 3/4 tsp (4 mL) salt
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
• 2-1/2 cups (625 mL) milk **
• 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, (about 2 lb./900 g)
• 1 small onion, sliced
• Parmesan and old cheddar cheese shredded to taste
**or use ½ milk and ½ media crema if you are in Mexico!
Preparation
In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; cook garlic, stirring, for 1 minute. Add flour, thyme, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

Gradually whisk in milk; cook, whisking constantly, until boiling and thickened, about 8 minutes.

Peel and thinly slice potatoes. Layer one-third in greased 8-inch (2 L) square baking dish or casserole dish; spread half of the onion over top. Spread some of the cheese over each layer. Repeat layers. Arrange remaining potatoes over top. Pour sauce over top, using back of knife to ease sauce between layers. Top with any remaining cheese.

Cover and bake in 350F (180C) oven for 1 hour. Uncover and bake until lightly browned and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. If necessary cover with foil to keep warm.

Pan Roasted Pork with Rosemary Applesauce

Michael Dixon Smith is a Canadian chef and writer, host of The Inn Chef, Chef at Home, Chef at Large, Chef Michael’s Kitchen, Chef Abroad, and Chopped: Canada (all of which have appeared on the Canadian Food Network). Some of Michael’s recipes have been used by me for many years. One of his best is the French Onion Soup which was posted on this site in January 2012. For more of his great recipes, follow the link below.

http://chefmichaelsmith.com/

And now here is today’s great fall recipe!

Pan Roasted Pork with Rosemary Applesauce
Ingredients
for the applesauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
4 of your favourite apples, cored and cut into chunks (I used Granny Smith)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
a sprinkle or two sea salt and freshly ground pepper
For the pan-roasted pork chops
4 thick centre-loin pork chops
2 tablespoons Butter
1 tablespoon any vegetable oil
a sprinkle or two sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Procedure
For the applesauce, heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the onions and patiently cook them, stirring occasionally until they are caramelized and turn golden brown. Add the apple chunks, apple cider vinegar, rosemary and salt and pepper. Stir well. Simmer until the apples are very soft. Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.The applesauce will keep for several days.
For the pork chops, preheat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Splash in the oil and toss the butter into the centre of the oil. This will help keep the butter from burning. Pause until the butter begins to brown.
Meanwhile, pat the chops dry using paper towels, then season them with salt and pepper and carefully place them into the hot pan. Sear for 2 minutes or so on each side. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with the warmed applesauce.

Traditional Flemish Waterzooi

Dont you just love that word, waterzooi ? We came across this on our trip to Brugges in 2010 when we ate at De Halve Maan Brewery and again at a very nice little restaurant called Vlaamsche Pot. Its traditionally a fish soup/stew.

Since I had some mussels and clams left over from a meal the day before, I sought out a recipe. Behold…Pinterest again. Their recipe called for several types of fish. I like fish but did not want to search out different fish, so I altered their recipe as I usually do to some extent. My version is below.

Flemish Waterzooi
Ingredients
• 10,5 oz. (300 g) potatoes, peeled
• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
• 1 celery stalk, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely sliced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 leek, finely sliced
• 7/8 cup (7 fl oz./200 ml) fish stock (I used chicken stock)
• 1 fish filet of your choice (I used tilapia) cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3,5 oz. (100 g) mussels, cleaned
• 1 egg yolk
• 2/5 cup (3,5 fl oz./100 ml) cream
• 3,5 oz. (100 gm ) peeled shrimp
• 1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
• Salt & freshly cracked pepper
Heat the butter in a frying pan. Add the celery, carrot and onion and cook the vegetables for 3-5 minutes, or until they are soft and glazed. Now add the leeks and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the stock to the vegetable mixture and allow it to infuse for 3 minutes.
Gently poach the fish fillets in the broth for 3-5 minutes. Add the mussels after 1 minute.
Remove the seafood from the pan once the mussels have opened and set aside. Strain the stock into a saucepan. Set the vegetables aside to use later.
Whisk the egg yolk with the cream in a bowl.
Put the stock back on the heat and, once it reaches boiling point, add the cream and egg mixture to thicken the stock and create a sauce. Now mix well with a whisk and make sure the sauce does not come to the boil again. Add the peeled shrimp and half the chives and stir.
Place the fish pieces and seafood in a serving bowl along with the vegetables and potatoes. Pour the sauce over it. Garnish with the remaining chives.

Serve with a crusty bread and cold beer…preferably Belgian.