The Funky Oven

Red lentil sausage soup

This soup is a perfect weeknight meal because it cooks in about 30 minutes. It goes really fast if the vegetables have been cut up ahead of time. It is thick and rich and has a real Italian flavor.
1 pound Italian sausage

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 leek, cleaned and sliced whites only

1 can rotel tomatoes

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 cups water (more if desired thinner soup)

1 large chicken bouillion cube

1 cup dried red lentils

1 tablespoon sweet basil

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1 12 ounce can tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon mexican oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Add olive oil to a large soup pot. Bring the oil to medium heat. Add the veggies and cook 10 minutes stirring often. Add the sausage. Continue to stir often cooking until browned. Add the water, rotel, tomato sauce and all of the spices. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lentils and stir. Cook for an additional 15 minutes.

Savory leek and shallot brown rice

Side dishes

Even if you do not like brown rice, you will likely enjoy this dish. We ate it with grilled chicken. It was easy, fast, and very tasty.

1 shallot, sliced

2 ribs celery, sliced

1 cup brown rice uncooked

1 leek (white part only), sliced

1 cup frozen peas

3 tablespoons butter

1 Knorr extra large chicken bouillon

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup water

Cook the brown rice according to the package directions.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the leeks, celery, and shallots. Sauté for 5-6 minutes on medium heat. Add the peas. Cook 3-5 minutes. Add the brown rice. Add 1/2 cup water and black pepper. Cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until just warm. Stir often.

Cottage cheese dill dip

Side dishes

1 large container cottage cheese

1 tablespoon dill

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon crush red pepper flakes

Place all into a blender or food processor. Pulse until a smooth creamy consistency. Let sit at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before eating.

This dip is very good on vegetables as well as crackers and tortilla chips. It is a great lower calorie alternative to the typical mayonnaise and sour cream dips.

Banana crumb muffins

Breakfast, Dessert

Muffins:

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

Crumble topping:

2 tablespoons flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mash the bananas. Add in the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly mix the remaining ingredients while stirring fully between ingredients. Pour batter into 6 prepare jumbo muffin cups. Mix the crumb topping until all ingredients at the same time. Sprinkle topping equally on all the muffins. Bake 18-20 minutes. Or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove immediately from the pan.

Homemade rice a roni

Side dishes

This makes enough rice to feed a crowd. It is very good and tastes better than the boxed mix.
1/3 cup orzo pasta

1 cup long grain rice

2 tablespoons butter

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

2 3/4 cups water

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the rice and orzo. Stir constantly until browned.

Add in the seasonings and water. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for 20 minutes or until all moisture is absorbed.

Salmon cakes

Dinner

These freeze so well. Frozen patties make an absolutely easy weeknight dinner. We always buy a half salmon for grilling. We use whatever is left for patties the next day. 1-1.5 cup of cooked salmon makes about 4 patties. I also use any extra bread from the week to make these. The taste varies a bit based on the type of bread. My favorite is leftover french bread. I do not even always dry the bread out. Often, I just make crumbs in the food processor and use it as is.

1.5 cups cooked leftover salmon

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

3-4 chopped green onions

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Mix all ingredients together. Form into patties about the size of the palm on your hand. Freeze on a silicone mat for 1-2 hours. Place a layer of parchment paper between the patties and transfer them to a freezer safe bag.

When ready to cook:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Warm 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Cook the patties in the skilled for 2-4 minutes per side or until just browned. They will not be fully cooked. Place the patties on a raised grate and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. My raised grate is a cooling rack placed inside of a cookie sheet.

Easy yellow loaf cake

Dessert

Seriously, this is a simple way to make those delicious cakes from the bakeries of grocery stores.

1 box yellow cake mix

1 box vanilla instant pudding

the ingredients listed on the back of the cake mix

Mix the cake as directed on the back of the box. Add one box of vanilla pudding mix (without adding the recommended ingredients).

Divide the batter in half and place each half into a prepare loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of each pain comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans before removal.

Chicken and okra creole

Dinner, Garden creations, jalapeno

This happens to be one of the times where I want the tastiest chicken possible. Sometimes when chicken is braised in sauce or made in a crock pot, it turns rubbery or over cooks to mush and cannot be identified as chicken. For that reason, I prefer grilling the chicken breast first and adding it at very end. Also, you could use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken.

This recipe also allows me to use all the okra we grow in the garden.

1 cup sliced okra

1 can corn, drained

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

1 jalapeño, sliced

1 large (1 pound) chicken breast, grilled and sliced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon paprika

3 large tomatoes, rough chopped

1/4-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

2 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

green onions, diced for garnish

cooked white rice to serve with

Heat the oil in a wok or pot on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and peppers. Sauté for 5 minutes or until tender. Add the chicken broth, cayenne, bay leaf, tomatoes, paprika, thyme, corn and okra. Simmer on low uncovered for about 10-15 minutes stirring often. Add in chicken. Cook another 3-5 minutes until chicken is just heated. Add salt and pepper as needed to taste. Serve over rice and top with green onions.

Broccoli and bacon pasta salad

Side dishes

6 slices bacon – sliced small and cooked

2 cups broccoli – cleaned and trimmed small

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

4 green onions – cleaned and sliced thin

2 teaspoons dry yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup champagne vinaigrette or similar

8 ounces elbow macaroni

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse the pasta fully with cold water.

Slice the bacon into small pieces. Cook in skillet until crisp. Drain well.

Prepare the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, vinaigrette, salt, pepper, and dry mustard.

In a large bowl, combine the green onions, cheese, raw broccoli, bacon, and cold pasta. Toss with dressing until fully coated. Allow salad to sit in refrigerator at least 1-3 hours before eating. Add additional dressing if salad becomes dry while waiting.

Standing rib roast – prime rib

Dinner

This recipe cooks a perfect rare toast beef. I use it on both boneless and bone in ribeye roast. In fact… I have used it on other cuts such as bottom round roast. It works just as well but that cut if meat is not as marbled and a bit more dry. I would never cook a chuck roast this way as it has too much fat.

Garlic powder

salt

pepper

4-5 pound ribeye roast

Mix the garlic powder and pepper in equal amounts. Add about 3 times that amount in salt. This is the base seasoning rub. Cover all areas of the roast with this seasoning mixture. As you can see in my photo, I make a thicker crust of seasoning on the roast. Allow the roast to set out after seasoning it. The roast must be room temperature prior to cooking. It must set out for 2-3 hours before baking.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the roast rib side down and fat side up in a roasting pan or foil lined baking dish. Place the pan in the preheated oven. Roast uncovered for one hour with no water in the pan. From here on do NOT open the oven door for any reason. Turn the oven off for 3-5 hours. Do not leave it off for more than 5 hours.

After the 3-5 hour wait, turn the oven back on to 375 degrees. Again do NOT open the oven. Roast for 35-40 minutes. 35 minutes is for a rare roast. 40 minutes is for medium rare roast. Add 10 more minutes (50 minutes) for more well done. Now open the oven.

Allow the roast to rest out of the oven for 10 minutes before slicing.

This recipe will work for a roast up to 10 pounds.

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