January 31, 2011
Happy 4th Blogaversary to Me! (One Day Late)
Four years ago yesterday I started Dianne's Dishes to move my recipes and food things from my personal blog Daffodil Lane. On the first day I posted a welcome, a recipe for sushi and What's For Dinner and we went from there.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I love not only sharing my ideas with you, but you sharing your ideas with me as well. Dianne's Dishes just wouldn't be the same without all of you here with me.
I've really enjoyed the past four years. I've enjoyed coming up with new recipes, trying out theories, getting to know many of you blog readers, going back to fresh, whole foods for the most part and most importantly bringing Alexis in to the kitchen with me as my sous chef. It's been quite the ride!
May the next four years be just as fun!
Posted by Dianne at 3:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 27, 2011
Chicken and Tortelloni Soup
Recently I was writing a story and the main character invented this soup. I started thinking about the soup and thought "Hey I want to make that!" so I did. I was really pleased with the end result!
This recipe takes a basic chicken soup and kicks it up a notch. With the addition of heavy cream or half and half, along with tortelloni, you take the soup to a whole other level. This soup is slightly creamy, hearty and just perfect for a cold winter day!
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 cups of sliced mushrooms (Note: You can use any variety of mushroom that you like or a mix of varieties.)
1 leek, chopped
Sea salt
Finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of dried thyme
2 cups of frozen corn kernels
1 - 10 ounce package of frozen lima beans
1 quart of diced tomatoes (Note: I used some I had canned myself. You could also use two cans of diced tomatoes instead.)
5 cups of chicken broth (Note: I make my own and store it in the freezer in wide mouth glass canning jars and then thaw when I'm ready to use it. You can use store bought broth instead.)
2 cups of chicken chunks
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream or half and half
1 - 8 ounce pacakge of tortelloni (Note: I used a variety with spinach and ricotta. You could also use the stuffed pastas that you find in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.)
In a large stock pot saute red onion, carrots, celery and leeks, along with a generous pinch of sea salt and finely ground pepper, as well as the thyme until just tender.
Next add frozen corn and lima beans and stir to mix. Cook for about 2 minutes to knock the chill out of the vegetables.
After the vegetables are in the pot add diced tomatoes, chicken broth and chicken. Stir and then bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes bring the soup back to a slow boil. Add heavy cream and tortelloni and cook for an additional 10-13 minutes until tortelloni is tender and then serve.
Notes: As with any soup you can easily mix this up a bit. You could add different types of frozen vegetables. Peas or edamame would be a good addition. You could use a different kind of onion or shallots instead. The possibilities are endless.
Posted by Dianne at 10:53 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 24, 2011
Sausage Balls
Over the Christmas holidays I was inspired to make some sausage balls. I've made them before, once with real sausage and once with a vegetarian sausage, but this time I wanted to make them completely from scratch. I started out with the dry mixture I make when I make buttermilk biscuits and went from there. They turned out perfect!
These sausage balls are a great appetizer. They also make a nice addition to breakfast or a pot luck dinner. They're simple, which is always a plus, not to mention delicious. You can't ask for more than that!
What You'll Need:
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of shredded buttermilk cheese
1 pound of sausage
2-4 tablespoons of butter, softened
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In the bowl of your mixer mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until incorporated.
Next add cheese and mix until the cheese is throughout the flour mixture.
Next add the sausage and 2 tablespoons of butter. Mix until mixture is crumbly:
If the mixture is too dry and you seem to be having trouble getting the mixture to look like the picture above add another tablespoon of butter. If that still doesn't do the trick add the last tablespoon. The amount of butter you use depends on the fattiness of the sausage. I use the same type of sausage each time and sometimes you need more butter regardless because the fat consistency is different from one batch of sausage to the next.
Shape mixture into walnut sized balls and place on a baking sheet that has been lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper:
Once you have them shaped bake for 30-35 minutes until slightly golden and done through.
Makes 40-50 sausage balls.
Notes: You can use any type of cheese you like. Colby would work. Monterrey Jack would be fabulous too. I like to use a hot variety of sausage, but that is up to you too. You could also use an Italian sausage and use Mozzarella and Parmesan for a different twist.
Posted by Dianne at 1:53 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 20, 2011
Blueberry Cheesecake Pie
I love blueberries. I also love cheesecake. If you've been around Dianne's Dishes for a while you've seen those phrases played out here before. What happens when you have blueberries you need to use, a pie crust that needs to be used as well, along with a block of cream cheese? You make Blueberry Cheesecake Pie!
This is an extremely simple pie to make, though it looks like it might not be. Remember though that look can be deceiving! A few simple steps, a nice bake in the oven and voila...The perfect dessert for the blueberry and/or cheesecake lover in your midst!
What You'll Need:
1 unbaked pie crust (Note: You can make one yourself, or buy one at the store.)
18 ounces of fresh blueberries
1/3 cup of organic can sugar
The zest of one lemon
The juice of one lemon
1/3 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar
2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Press pie shell in to an ungreased pie dish:
Set aside.
Add blueberries, 1/3 cup of organic cane sugar, lemon zest and juice to a medium sized pot. Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until blueberry sauce forms. This usually takes 5-8 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for an additional minute until slightly thickened:
Set aside and let cool.
In a mixing bowl blend together cream cheese, 1/2 cup of organic cane sugar and eggs until smooth. Pour into your prepared pie shell:
Pour cooled blueberry mixture into the center of the cream cheese mixture:
Place pie dish on to a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until crust is lightly golden and the cheesecake layer is set:
Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature (at least 4 hours) and then serve.
Notes: No notes for this one.
Posted by Dianne at 1:28 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 18, 2011
We're Back Up And Running!
It appears we've gotten the comment problem sorted out and we appear to be able to comment once again. Captcha was added by the request of my host company. Hopefully this will cut down on spam!
Back with recipes soon.
Posted by Dianne at 9:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 17, 2011
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everyone!
I had intended to jump right back in to blogging in the new year, but then again you know what they say about the best of good intentions. Also I wanted to let you know that the comment issue has still not been alleviated. Hopefully that will be taken care of soon.
I have some recipes to share, but I'm not sure when I will. I'm around, just frantically playing catch up. If you want to ask me anything you can always e-mail me at diannesdishes at gmail dot com since comments are not working.
Hopefully I'll be around soon!
Posted by Dianne at 12:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
