My new favorite Food Network Star & Cast-Iron Carrots with Curry

     Amy Thielen, “Heartland Table” is my new favorite Food Network star. She has great recipes, is informative and, is a breath of fresh air.
     This may seem odd but when I ride the exercise bike, I watch cooking shows. Amy made these on today’s show. I fixed them for dinner to accompany Barry’s baked ham and parslied potatoes. They were delish!
    Click on Cast-Iron Carrots for the direct link to Amy’s recipe or check out her entire menu @ Heartland Table.
    Oh, I made half the batch but I'm including the recipe for four serving.

Cast-Iron Carrots with Curry   Yield: 4 servings
Total Time: 35 min / Prep: 25 min / Cook: 10 min
Level:Easy

3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 pounds carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced on the bias 1-inch thick
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
  1. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the coconut oil. When hot, add the carrots in an even layer to maximize contact with the pan.
  2. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and fry the carrots, turning every 3 or 4 minutes, until are they are dark caramelized brown in spots, about 8 to 10 minutes.

  3. Add the curry powder and mix to combine. Scatter the cilantro over the top and serve.
Recipe without photos . . .
Cast-Iron Carrots with Curry   Yield: 4 servings
Total Time: 35 min / Prep: 25 min / Cook: 10 min
Level:Easy

3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 pounds carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced on the bias 1-inch thick
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
¼ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
  1. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add the coconut oil. When hot, add the carrots in an even layer to maximize contact with the pan.
  2. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and fry the carrots, turning every 3 or 4 minutes, until are they are dark caramelized brown in spots, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  3. Add the curry powder and mix to combine. Scatter the cilantro over the top and serve.

Turkey Leg Soup

Shopping at Zey’s (Abilene, KS), we happened to run across a couple of frozen turkey legs and with winter weather still evident in spring, we decided turkey soup would hit the spot.

Turkey Leg Soup
2 turkey legs
About 1 quart water
¾ teaspoon ground sage
¾ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
¾ teaspoon seasoning salt
Additional salt & pepper to taste
¼ to ⅓ cup long grain white rice
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small to medium onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
3 or 4 sliced button mushrooms
About 2 or 3 florets of broccoli, finely chopped (or use chopped spinach leaves)

1.  Place turkey legs, water, sage, rosemary and seasoning salt in slow cooker; cover, set on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours or until turkey meat is falling off the bone.
2.  Cool turkey and then remove meat from bone. Chop into bite-sized piece.
3.  Add chopped turkey and broth to stock pot and bring to a boil. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
4.  Add rice and reduce meat to medium or medium low. Cover pot and cook until rice is tender.
5.  Meanwhile in a skillet heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add diced onions and carrots and sauté until almost tender.
6.  Add mushrooms and continue to saute´ until all vegetables are tender.
7.  Add sautéed vegetables to pot of turkey and rice. Taste and re-season if needed. Add more water or broth if needed.
8.  Add finely chopped broccoli and continue to cook just until broccoli is tender.

Related Recipes:


Recipe without photos . . .
Turkey Leg Soup
2 turkey legs
About 1 quart water
¾ teaspoon ground sage
¾ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
¾ teaspoon seasoning salt
Additional salt & pepper to taste
¼ to ⅓ cup long grain white rice
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small to medium onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and finely diced
3 or 4 sliced button mushrooms
About 2 or 3 florets of broccoli, finely chopped  (or use chopped spinach leaves)

1.  Place turkey legs, water, sage, rosemary and seasoning salt in slow cooker; cover, set on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours or until turkey meat is falling off the bone.
2.  Cool turkey and then remove meat from bone. Chop into bite-sized piece.
3.  Add chopped turkey and broth to stock pot and bring to a boil. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
4.  Add rice and reduce meat to medium or medium low. Cover pot and cook until rice is tender.
5.  Meanwhile in a skillet heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add diced onions and carrots and sauté until almost tender.
6.  Add mushrooms and continue to saute´ until all vegetables are tender.
7.  Add sautéed vegetables to pot of turkey and rice. Taste and re-season if needed. Add more water or broth if needed.
8.  Add finely chopped broccoli and continue to cook just until broccoli is tender.

Pepperoni Pizzaz Pizza with “Go-To” Pizza Dough recipe

Although I’ve posted other pizza recipes and other pizza dough recipes, this post includes my “go-to” pizza dough; the one I’ve made for years. We like very thin crust and instead of using pizza sauce (or seasoned tomato sauce), we are fans of pesto. In this case, I’ve mixed tomato paste with pesto and added some chopped dried tomatoes to the mix.






“Go-To” Pizza Dough    Makes 2 to 3 crusts
About 2 1/2 cups to 3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 (¼ oz.) pkg. or scant 1 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil + extra for oiling bowl for “proofing” dough
1 cup warm water (120 to 130°)
Italian seasoning (about 1 to 2 teaspoons), if desired

1.  Combine absit 2 cups flour, yeast, salt and sugar in mixing bowl and stir.
2.  Add olive oil and water and mix together ingredients. I use the flat blade of my Kitchen Aid mixer for this task but it can also be done by hand. Add additional 1/2 cup flour as needed.
3.  Knead for about 3 minutes. I do this with the dough hook of my mixer but it can be done by hand. I hesitate to say this but if dough is sticky, add just a little more flour; I generally never need more and too much flour will make a dough that won’t roll well!
4.  Round dough up into a bowl and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn dough so the oiled side is up. Cover and let rise in warm place until dough in double in volume—about 30 minutes. At this point I added some Italian seasoning to the dough; I usually add it to the dough as I’m mixing but forgot so just added it at this point.
Dough is ready to cover and place in a warm spot to rise until double in volume.
After 30 minutes, the dough has doubled -- I can tell because when I poked the dough, the imprint from my fingers remained. Note -- you can see that I've sprinkled the dough with Italian seasoning which will be worked in as the dough is rolled out.
5.  Punch down and divide into 2 equal pieces; shape into round ball. HOWEVER, since we prefer thin crust, I weigh out approximate 8 ounce portions – I end up with two 8-oz. portions + have leftover dough for a smaller sized pizza.
6.  Roll out a ball of dough to fit the size of your pizza pan or just create a free form pizza.


This photo shows my preferred pie pans — Perfect Crust Pizza Pans by REMA Bakeware (they have perforations which allows the crust to crisp.
7.  Place dough on pizza pan (or baking sheet) and add sauce and toppings.
8.  Bake on low shelf of oven at 500° for 17 to 20 minutes. I baked our pizzas in our Breville oven on the pizza setting (450°) and since we opt for very thin crust, it bakes in about 12 to 15 minutes.

Note: Extra dough that I did not used was rolled out, placed on pizza pan/baking sheet and partially baked at 350° for about 3 to 4 minutes. I then wrapped and froze them for later use; they could be refrigerated, too. When ready to use, treat them exactly like an unbaked crust but you may need to reduce baking time a few minutes.
This is the small amount of dough I had left which I rolled into a free form shape.
After partially baking for about 4 minutes at 350°. 
Pepperoni Pizzaz Pizza – sauce & toppings
¼ cup basil pesto
¼ cup tomato paste
2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
Pepperoni – as much as you like
Sliced button mushrooms – 3 or 4
Grated Parmesan cheese
About 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
About ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1.  Mix pesto, tomato paste and chopped dried tomatoes together. Spread on pizza dough.
2.  Arrange pepperoni and mushrooms on pizza.
3.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, parsley and black pepper.
4.  Bake as directed in step #8 above.
Recipes without photos . . .
“Go-To” Pizza Dough    Makes 2 to 3 crusts
2  1/2 to 3 cups+ all-purpose flour (begin with smaller amount & add more as needed)
1 (¼ oz.) pkg. or scant 1 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil + extra for oiling bowl for “proofing” dough
1 cup warm water (120 to 130°)
Italian seasoning (about 1 to 2 teaspoons), if desired

1.  Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, salt and sugar in mixing bowl and stir.
2.  Add olive oil and water and mix together ingredients. I use the flat blade of my Kitchen Aid mixer for this task but it can also be done by hand. Add more flour only as needed.
3.  Knead for about 3 minutes. I do this with the dough hook of my mixer but it can be done by hand. I hesitate to say this but if dough is sticky, add just a little more flour; I generally never need more and too much flour will make a dough that won’t roll well!
4.  Round dough up into a bowl and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Turn dough so the oiled side is up. Cover and let rise in warm place until dough in double in volume—about 30 minutes. At this point I added some Italian seasoning to the dough; I usually add it to the dough as I’m mixing but forgot so just added it at this point.
5.  Punch down and divide into 2 equal pieces; shape into round ball. HOWEVER, since we prefer thin crust, I weigh out approximate 8 ounce portions – I end up with two    8-oz. portions + have leftover dough for a smaller sized pizza.
6.  Roll out a ball of dough to fit the size of your pizza pan or just create a free form pizza.
7.  Place on pizza pan (or baking sheet) and add sauce and toppings.
8.  Bake on low shelf of oven at 500° for 17 to 20 minutes. I baked our pizzas in our Breville oven on the pizza setting (450°) and since we opt for very thin crust, it bakes in about 12 to 15 minutes.
Note: Extra dough that I did not used was rolled out, placed on pizza pan/baking sheet and partially baked at 350° for about 3 to 4 minutes. I then wrapped and froze them for later use; they could be refrigerated, too. When ready to use, treat them exactly like an unbaked crust but you may need to reduce baking time a few minutes.

Pepperoni Pizzaz Pizza – sauce & toppings
¼ cup basil pesto
¼ cup tomato paste
2 to 3 tablespoons finely chopped sun dried tomatoes
Pepperoni – as much as you like
Sliced button mushrooms – 3 or 4
Grated Parmesan cheese
About 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
About ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1.  Mix pesto, tomato paste and chopped dried tomatoes together. Spread on pizza dough.
2.  Arrange pepperoni and mushrooms on pizza.
3.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, parsley and black pepper.
4.  Bake as directed in step #8 above.

Unusual Coleslaw — Orange & Cheddar Slaw

It’s not so unusual to add fruit to coleslaw. Waldorf Slaw (with apples and nuts) was a popular side at the Kirby House restaurant so when Barry added oranges (he actually used Cuties or Halos) to our usual coleslaw, I didn’t give it a second thought. As a matter of fact, it was a delicious combination but on further examination, I discovered he had also added finely grated Cheddar cheese. Now that I would never have thought of . . . but it is a winning, if unusual, flavor addition!
 
Orange & Cheddar Slaw
There really are no set amounts . . .
Shredded green cabbage
Orange slices, cut in half – or, use Cuties or Halos
Finely shredded Cheddar Cheese
Celery Seed Dressing — recipe follows

1.  Right before serving, mix shredded green cabbage, a nice proportion of orange slices that have been cut in half and just a little finely shredded Cheddar Cheese.
2.  Add just enough dressing to lightly coat ingredients. Toss.

Celery Seed Dressing
¾ cup white vinegar                                                               
1 cup vegetable oil (canola)                                                                            
1 cup granulated sugar                                                                       
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 cup mayonnaise

1.  Blend vinegar, oil, sugar, pepper, salt and celery seed with a wire whip; add mayonnaise gradually. 
2.  Blend thoroughly.
3.  Pour into quart jar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.