Quick Lemony Tuna Toasts with Capers

One of the greatest advantages of toasted bread snacks is it's being quick to prepare. Whether bread, bun or bagel-based, toasted snacks allow for ingenuity and imagination for something that's more than just a bread snack. Try this lemony toasted snack is a winning combination that appeal to young and old. This toasted snack recipe is an international favorite that you can bring into your tables.


You Need:

• 200g ( 7oz) tuna brine, flaked
• 2 teaspoons small capers, rinsed and drained well
• 21/2 teaspoons lemon rind, finely-grated
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• Freshly-milled black pepper
• 10cm (4 in) length cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 slices white bread
• 2 teaspoons softened butter or margarine
• 75g (21/2 oz) Mozarella cheese, sliced
• Lemon balm or parsley, to garnish

Procedure:

Stir flaked tuna in capers, lemon rind and lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toast the bread and spread with butter or margarine. Cover with cucumber slices then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Divide tuna mixture between toast slices then cover centers with mozzarella. Transfer to foil-lined grill pan and heat under a hot grill until cheese melts. Garnish with lemon balm or parsley. Serve right away while cheese is still warm.

Tip: You can pile tuna mixture on slices of toasted French bread, grill as instructed and serve on a bed of mixed salad leaves.

Dutch Oven Chicken and Corn Stew Recipe

I got this new Dutch Oven stew recipe at Texas Cooking Online and thought you might also enjoy it. The corn kernels would be so lovely to chew then.

 

 Chicken and Corn Stew



Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or put through a garlic press
• 2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 large red-skin potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 10-ounce package frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size piece
• 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk
• sweet paprika

Directions

In a dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Sauté the onions, celery, carrots and garlic until softened and onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is incorporated and there are no lumps.

Add the potatoes, chicken stock, salt, white pepper and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Add the corn and chicken, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in half-and-half and simmer just until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. Sprinkle with paprika just before serving.

Check seasonings and add salt and pepper, if desired.

Slow Cooking in a Clay Pot - For the Best Pot Roast

If you enjoy slow roast recipes, have you ever considered using a clay pot cookware? Clay pots allows you to benefit from the wisdom of generations through an ancient method of cooking. Using beer, wine, spices or butter are among the ingredients for the most ancient-tasting dish, but since you can cook without adding any fat or liquid to your dishes if you choose to use a clay pot cookware, your end product still comes out tender and flavorful because of the clay's ability to release moisture into food as it cooks. This process makes it the most perfect for the most flavorful slow roast.

Cooking in clay pot is very much like working with a slow cooker. Modern clay pot cookware is made of various quality materials, including terracotta and sand. You will see some that are glazed while others are not. Whichever clay pot you use, one fail-safe dish to prepare is a pork roast.

Just one word of advice, you don't need to add liquid to the food that you cook in a clay pot. The pot will create enough steam and any additional liquid will cause the food to become soggy, losing its real flavors.

I can remember grandma cooking with a deep and heavy earthenware pot. I saw how clay pots require no special cooking techniques or adaptations of style, it simply sits comfortably on the back-burner seeking but a stir or two every now and then, but only allowing whatever ingredients she happens to have on hand.

Grandma's Clay Pots

 Personally, I have loved these earthy soups and stews. Now that I'm married, I believe it's my turn to take advantage of the comforting warmth they radiate in both your stomach and your kitchen, through my hand me down clay pots and the modern clay pot terracotta. 

Modern Clay Pots

A Terracotta Cookware - Your Smart Kitchen

Piral Terracotta Clay Pot

The flavor, essential nutrients and vitamins retained in food along with the ability of clay pot cookware to render the most natural flavors in foods makes it my most recommended cookware.

Barbecued Short Ribs

We know how popular barbecued short ribs are almost everywhere. Here is a simple but amazing recipe, and although this may sound time consuming, it is very easy to make. Your whole family will be more than pleasantly surprised!

Ingredients:

- 3 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
-1 1/2 cups water
-1 medium onion, sliced
-1 tablespoon vinegar

Sauce:

-1/2 cup ketchup
-1/4 cup chopped onion
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 teaspoon sugar
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1/8 teaspoon pepper

Procedure:

In a Dutch oven, combine ribs, water, onion and vinegar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, turning ribs occasionally. Drain. Arrange ribs in a single layer in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Combine the sauce ingredients and spoon over ribs. Cover and bake at 325 degrees F for 1-1/4 hours, or until meat is tender. Serve over hot rice.

Italian Shredded Beef Sandwiches

Beefy sandwiches couldn't be easier. You can even make your sandwich healthy by choosing the whole grains. A favorite super easy meal to make kids will love.

Ingredients:

- 1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless eye of round beef roast
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 (6 ounce) can Italian flavored tomato paste
- 6 teaspoons HERB-OX beef flavored bouillon granules
- 1/2 cup water
- 12 Kaiser rolls
- 12 (1-ounce) slices provolone cheese

Procedure:

Place the roast in a 31/2-quart slow cooker. Add onion, tomato paste, bouillon granules and water. Cover and cook on HIGH 5-6 hours or until meat is tender. Remove roast from cooker. Using two forks, shred meat. Return meat to cooker, stirring to coat with sauce. Divide meat evenly among Kaiser rolls. Top with cheese. Serves 12.

Wild Rice and Chicken Slow Cooker Casserole

Casseroles are a great addition to your slow-cooked meals, and more than that, they can be safely reheated. You just don't get the same great recipe, but a richer tasting dish where all the flavors have melded together.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 can cream of chicken & mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 (4-ounce) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
• 6 slices HORMEL® Fully Cooked Bacon, crumbled
• 1 cube HERB-OX® chicken bouillon, dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Place in 3 to 4-quart slow-cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 6-7 hours, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Make 6 to 8 servings.

Enjoy hot dinner!