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World Tour: The Road to New Orleans Pt. II

March 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The NCAA Division-I Men’s Basketball Final Four is now underway (and to my great disappointment, without the presence of the North Carolina Tar Heels), and everyone is preparing for the big showdown in New Orleans. I thought that I would have the opportunity to attend the big dance, but plans fell through and I’ll be watching the big screen instead with good friends. So, since I won’t be cashing in my American Airlines points to be book a flight to NOLA, I’ll be getting my game-day recipes ready instead. I thought I’d share a recipe for a great dip that I made after a late-night craving.

Monterey Beef* Dip

Monterey Beef Dip Ingredients ©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

Ground Beef
Monterey Jack Queso (I used Medium)
Hot Sauce
Adobo Seasoning
Garlic
Seasoning Salt
Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Brown ground beef. Season with hot sauce, Adobo seasoning, garlic and seasoning salt (Seasoning amounts will be based on personal preference – I tend to go a little heavier on the hot sauce). Drain. Mix seasoned ground beef and queso until ground beef is covered throughout. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top and let melt.

Enjoy!

 

*Archele’s Tip: Feel free to substitute beef for ground turkey.

 

Filed Under: appetizers, dips, Food.Fun.Stuff., World Tour Tagged With: , , , , ,

Product Review: Chicken & Cilantro Wontons

October 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image via CJ Foods

As I learn more and more about food, frozen foods often scare me.  They are like the prepackaged enemy when you learn what goes into most of the food production, but as with most things in life, there are always the exceptions.  When I received the opportunity to try one of CJ Foods new Korean Pantry products, I was curious to see if this would surely change my mind.  I received the mini Chicken & Cilantro wontons which raised my curiosity to a new level where I am a food snob when it comes to these mini delicacies.

Taking on the task of cooking them two ways proved two things:  (1) all frozen foods are not created equally and (2) these are my new winter buddies!  Being the queen of soup du jour, I began visualizing the endless possibilities of the soups that would be concocted with these mini wontons beginning with chicken broth to simple ginger root soups.  Pan fried was the simplest and most appealing way to prepare the wontons where they did not take on the typical tough and rubbery texture that can result from fried frozen wontons.  The pan fried technique sparked my interest in whipping up some chili and soy based sauces for a quick appetizer to serve to friends.

The thing about product reviews are you can end up with something totally boring and useless or you can end up having a new go-to product.  CJ’s Chicken & Cilantro wontons are my new go-to product.  My food life has drastically changed in the past couple of years where two years ago I could whip up a homemade banana pudding in the middle of the week and now I barely have time to warm up a Hot Pocket in my house.  My schedule has taken over and despite the fact that I absolutely love it, I still yearn for quality and flavor from my kitchen (*but quick…) when I do have the down time.  With these wontons on hand, I can toss the Hot Pockets and get ready for some quick, homemade wonton soup this winter.

Filed Under: appetizers, chicken, finger-foods, Product Review, soup, Various Cooking Styles Tagged With: , , , ,

Recipe of the Week: Quick Caesar Salad

February 9, 2011 By 1 Comment

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup grated parmesean cheese

1/3 cup shaved parmesean cheese (for garnish)

3 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. anchovy paste

1-2 anchovies (for garnish)

3 tbsp. olive oil (*or more if you want more liquid)

Fresh black pepper

3 cups freshly chopped romaine lettuce

Croutons:

3 slices Italian bread (*or more, depending on how many croutons you want in the salad)

2 cloves of garlic, cut in half

Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Rub Italian bread with garlic and cut into 1″ squares.  Line a baking sheet with cut up squares and spray with nonstick cooking oil; bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.  In a large bowl, combine the mayo, parmesean cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, anchovy paste and the pepper; mix well.  Add in the romaine lettuce and the croutons and toss to coat.  Garnish with shaved parmesean cheese and an anchovy.  Serve. 

*Johnna’s tip:  Ok, caesar salad is the easiest dish to make and the most common salad in the U.S.  I love it.  And I love it even more when I can make it at home whenever I want.  I added the anchovies as a garnish inspired by a recent visit to a restaurant who adds this to the top of their salads.  Feel free to add or keep out. Enjoy!

Filed Under: appetizers, vegetarian Tagged With: ,

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta

August 30, 2010 By 1 Comment

In the kitchen again!  And this time, I took pictures (*pretty good if I say so myself).  Being a food blogger is more than just cooking and eating…it’s actually visualizing, knowing the right lighting and the perfect camera to buy and the list goes on and on.  Needless to say when I started Johnna Knows Good Food three years ago, I did not know this would be the equivalent of a full-time, part-time job.  I love every minute of it. 

Below is my attack back to the kitchen while also creating my version of the Julie and Julia bruschetta recipe that will hopefully make the cut on Endless Simmer’s 100 Ways to Use a Tomato (*fingers crossed):

16 oz. heirloom tomatoes (*can be found at your local farmers market when in season; I purchased mines from Spring Valley Farm)

1- 24″ French baguette bread (*cut into 1″ slices)

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

1 garlic clove (*peeled and halved)

1/4 cup fresh basil (*chopped)

Truffle Olive Oil (*Suggested:  Olevano Truffle Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

Rinse tomatoes.

Cut all the tomatoes in half.

Chop up the basil.

Toss the tomatoes with the chopped basil, about 2 tbsp. of the truffle olive oil, salt and pepper (*to taste). Set aside.

In a skillet, add the chopped garlic clove and about 2 tbsp. olive oil.  If you need additional olive oil to coat the pan, feel free to add.

Add the sliced french bread to the pan and brown on both sides.

Once browned, rub each side of the bread with the halved garlic cloves.

Spoon on tomato mixture…

And Enjoy!

*Johnna’s tip:  Unless you and your guests are prepared to eat the bruschetta immediately, I suggest keeping the tomato mixture seperate from the bread because it will become soggy.  Serve the tomato mixture in one bowl and the bread on another serving platter. Be prepared to get a little messy!

Filed Under: appetizers, finger-foods, vegetarian

Recipe: Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

January 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

5 large portabello mushrooms
8 oz. fresh crab meat
6-8 green onions (chopped)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. mustard
1 egg
4 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese (*save for end)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the crab meat, green onions, thyme, oregano, pepper and mustard. Add in the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, mayo, bread crumbs and egg; fold in to combine all ingredients. Wipe off the mushrooms with a damp towel and spoon out the gills and the base of the mushroom; discard the gills and stems. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Remove and serve immediately.

*Johnna’s tip: Pure experiment…that turned out good. Cravings always make us throw a few things together and see what comes out, which is what happened here. We had a craving for mushrooms that were stuffed with something. Crab meat and mushrooms are the best couple and make a family when paired with Parmesan cheese and green onions. We used ingredients from a few recipes we liked for crab stuffed mushrooms and twisted our own taste buds in the final recipe. Adjust measurements as you see fit, remember we did this recipe without much help from measurements and are only guesstimating (*Translation: Estimate; guess) what you should include to get the same tasty bite. Serve as an appetizer and Enjoy!
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Filed Under: appetizers, baked, finger-foods, main dish
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