Winter Swiss Vegetable Casserole Recipe

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Swiss Vegetable Casserole Recipe

Ingredients (for 8 servings)

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons margarine (or butter)
• ½ cup green onions cut into small pieces
• 1½ cups milk
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup crushed round buttery crackers
• 1 lb bag frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower, cooked, drained
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• Cooking spray

Vegetable Casserole Directions:

1. Heat your oven to 350°F. Spray a 1 to 1 ½ quart casserole with cooking spray.
2. Take a 2 quart saucepan and melt the butter over medium heat. Now add the onions and cook until tender, stirring, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour, pepper and salt by stirring constantly. Little by little add the milk, stirring constantly. Continue to stir until the mixture is thickened and bubbles appear. Remove from heat.
3. Now add ¾ cup Swiss cheese and stir until it is melted. Finally, it’s time to add the vegetables. Stir so they all are covered by the sauce. Pour the mixture into the casserole and sprinkle the crushed crackers and the left over cheese over it.
4. Bake in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the casserole appears to be bubbly.

If you want to have a more low-fat dish, just replace use skim milk and low fat cheese.

Also, this dish is great to make ahead. Just prepare the dish without adding the crushed crackers and don’t cook. Put it in the refrigerator, covered, for up to a day. When you are ready to cook it, just sprinkle the crackers on top of the casserole and bake it for about 30 to 40 minutes or until it gets golden brown. Enjoy!

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Comfort Food: Cheesy Onion Casserole Recipe

Image via: The Iron You

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Total Time: Preparation 15 minutes. Baking 30 minutes

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients

3 large white sweet onions, sliced

2 tablespoons butter

8 ounces (2 cups) shredded Swiss or mozzarella cheese, divided

Pinch of pepper

1 can condensed, undiluted cream of chicken soup

2/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon soy sauce

8 slices French bread. Properly buttered on both sides

Procedure

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1. In a large sauté pan or a sauce pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until they are transparent and slightly browned. In a 2-quart baking dish, layer onions and two-thirds of cheese. Add pepper to taste.
2. In a small saucepan, mix soup, soy sauce, and milk. Do so until well blended; heat through. Pour over casserole and stir gently. Top with French bread slices. Brush tops of bread with some melted butter.
3. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Gently press toasted bread slices down in the sauce. Top casserole with remaining cheese and bake again for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Comfort foods are stables for those wanting a hearty meal with a little taste of home. If you fall into that category be sure to try this comforting classic tonight. Loaded with flavor, crunch, and chunks of Swiss cheese, this onion casserole recipe would make a great partner with any meat dish. And cheesy leftovers, if any would make for a great breakfast dish the next day-straight from the refrigerator!

Sometimes after a long day of work, there’s nothing better than the promise of filling and satisfying takeout. But, everyone knows that too much takeout will wreak havoc on both your wallet and your waistline. Luckily, this Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wrap recipe is the best of both worlds. The sweet and spicy beef has all the flavor of a restaurant dish, but using the slow cooker helps you keep the calories and time spent in the kitchen to a minimum. It’s a clear winner for your easy recipes file.

Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wraps

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Prep Time: 80 minutes

Cook Time: 120 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

Ingredients:

Marinade:

1½ cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 clove garlic

4 large scallions

½  cup brown sugar or brown sugar substitute

2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For Assembly:

2 pounds sirloin steak

1 large onion

1 bell pepper

1 head lettuce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

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Preparation:

1. Assemble the marinade by mincing the garlic and finely chopping the scallions. Put them into a bowl with the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes and whisk to combine.
2. While the steak is still partially frozen, slice it against the grain into the thin strips.
3. Place the meat and marinade into a sealed plastic bag. Allow it to marinate for at least an hour up to overnight.When ready to cook, slice the onion and bell pepper into thin strips.
4. Put the meat, marinade, onion, and pepper into the slow cooker. Cook everything on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours.
5. When ready to serve, prepare the lettuce cups by cutting the hard core out of the head of lettuce. Turing the core side up, take the knife and cut off the rounded bottom. Then, run the head under cold tap water for about 30 seconds. Afterwards, the leaves should naturally separate into rounded cup shapes.
6. Put a dollop of the Mongolian beef mixture into each lettuce cup and garnish with sesame seeds.

This Mongolian beef recipe offers all the convince of takeout with none of the guilt. The lettuce wraps make this recipe very low in carbohydrates, but to bulk it up a bit more, you could easily serve it alongside some rice or broccoli florets. But whatever side dish you choose, this dish will be on the table in less time than it takes for delivery. This easy recipe is the perfect pick become a Sunday night staple.

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On a snowy winter day, few things offer a better escape from the cold that cooking up comfort food. And, one of the greatest comfort foods is a huge bowl of piping hot soup. This classic take on a New England Clam Chowder recipe is rich and creamy in the best possible way. It can be whipped up in minutes and will warm your family inside and out.

Classic New England Clam Chowder

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Ingredients:

4 strips bacon

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 large onion

1 large carrot

4 celery stalks

4 medium russet potatoes

2 (6.5 oz) cans of chopped clams in clam juice

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup white wine

Image Via: Feral Kitchen

Preparation:

1. Prep your ingredients: Chop the bacon into small bits. Mince the garlic. Finely dice the onion, carrot, and celery. Peel the potatoes and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Separate the clams from their juices and set both aside.
2. Set a large stockpot over medium high heat. Cook the bacon until it becomes crispy. Take the bits out and set them on a paper towel to drain.
3. Remove all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the pot. Sauté the carrots and celery in the fat until they start to become tender. Then, add in the onions, garlic and thyme.
4. Once the garlic is fragrant and the onions are translucent, add the wine, reserved clam juice, and potatoes to the pot. Bring the soup to simmer, season everything with salt and pepper, and allow the potatoes to cook for 10-15 minutes or until they are fork tender.
5.  Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the clams and heavy cream, stir to combine, and let everything heat through. If the soup is too thin, add in a tablespoon of flour at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
6. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve warm.

This New England Clam Chowder recipe will serve 4-6, depending on serving size. It should be served with lots of buttery crackers for dipping. Or, consider serving it in bread bowls for an extra decedent twist. This is comfort food at its finest, so don’t be afraid to go all out. Let us know how you enjoy this Winter Favorite: Classic New England Clam Chowder Recipe!

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Here is a savory dish that is minimal fuss one-pot meal that can be enjoyed during busy weekdays or lazy holidays. This easy winter recipe is especially great for busy parents who do not have much time often to make a grand dinner.

Easy Winter Recipe: Shrimp and Vegetable Stew

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Ingredients

This preparation can be served to 4 persons

•    Peeled and deveined medium-sized shrimps (1 pound)
•    Kale with stems removed and leaves roughly chopped (1 bunch)
•    Roughly chopped canned whole plum tomatoes (1 cup) and juice from the can (½ cup)
•    Peeled russet potatoes that are cut into 1-inch chunks (1 pound)
•    Sliced Spanish chorizo with casings removed (4 ounces)
•    1 diced Spanish onion
•    Dried thyme (¼ teaspoon)
•    2 bay leaves
•    Dried oregano (¼ teaspoon)
•    Hot or sweet smoked paprika (2 teaspoons)
•    Smashed garlic (4 cloves)
•    Extra-virgin olive oil (¼ cup)
•    Kosher salt

Image via: Helo Fresh

Preparation

•    Pour the olive oil in a small Dutch oven while keep the heat in the medium level. Add smashed garlic and diced onion to it and cook about 15 minutes. It is done when they turn golden brown.
•    Add paprika, sliced chorizo, and one-teaspoon salt into it and cook for 2 minutes until the oil turns deep red in color.
•    Now, add chopped tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and bay leaves one by one and cook for one minute.
•    Pour two cups of water into the mixture. After that, add potato chunks, the tomato juice, and one-teaspoon salt one after the other.
•    Reduce the heat after it is boiled. Simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add kale and cook for nearly 10 more minutes so that it also becomes tender.
•    Now, stir in the shrimps and simmer for 3 minutes, just until they bend down and turn pink.
•    Discard the bay leaves and serve your stew hot!

Serve right away, with cooking juices coursed over top. This easy winter recipe can be enjoyed with bread. In fact, taking small bites of bread dipped into the stew juice will give you a heavenly feeling

Tips

A few tweaks can make the recipe yummier.

•    If you want more broth and lot of flavor, double the liquid with vegetable and chicken stock and add celery.
•    To make it spicier, add cayenne and thickened sauce a bit with a flour roux. Finally, serve with some freshly chopped parsley and squirted fresh lemon juice over the top.

What easy winter recipe do you love this time of year?

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Does the thought of sweet and spicy ginger candies leave you all warm and fuzzy inside? Not only are ginger candies healthy for the cold winters, these can be paired with a number of desserts to kick them up a notch. Candied ginger works well with pumpkin, chocolate, cranberries and other seasonal flavors.

Christmas Candy Recipe: Homemade Candied Ginger

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Here is an easy recipe to make Candied Ginger at home:

Ingredients:

1 Pound Ginger

1 Pound Sugar

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Directions:

1. Peel the ginger and slice it very thin. Use a chef’s knife to cut thin slices. Thick pieces can get too spicy and chewy
2. Fill a saucepan with water and add the ginger. The water should submerge the ginger pieces
3. Cover the saucepan and boil on medium – low heat
4. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the ginger is tender. The ginger will turn into a deeper shade of yellow
5. Drain the water reserving about 1/4^th cup for use later (Instead of draining the water, you can reserve it to make ginger soda or ginger tea)
6. Return the ginger slices to the saucepan and add the sugar and the reserved 1/4^th cup of water
7. Boil the ginger – sugar mix once on high heat and then turn the heat down to medium – low
8. Simmer the ginger for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir the mix frequently to avoid the sugar from burning the bottom of the pan
9. You can turn off the heat once the sugar begins to crystalize
10. Transfer the ginger- sugar mix to a cooling rack and let it rest until it cools down completely
11. Store your sweet candied ginger in an airtight container

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The recipe will yield about 2 cups of candied ginger. You can store it for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container. Candied ginger will make a great hostess gift for your holiday celebrations. Decorate the container with washi tape and little labels.

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