FRC - Dinner kits - Any help? Orchid,Barb b, DawnMO, DawnNYS, and Marilyn

C

colleenmomof2

Well-known member
Since Orchid posted the link for two "dinner kit" recipes and Marilyn, our tech whiz, made the gift tags available for editing (see link in image below), I've been trying to "develop" dinner kit recipes to send in my holiday boxes out to 3 sets of seniors who aren't motivated to cook/eat. I've been focusing on recipes with 2 servings using rices and noodles with spices and dried veggies (mushrooms in particular) in a pretty gift package, with a recipe tag specifying the liquid and additional ingredients they can add - leftover meats and veggies - to make a gourmet casserole/one pot meal. Most of the recipes I'm finding are so very "processed" that I might as well send a selection of box mixes. Has anyone found any really tasty (high nutrition) combinations they'd like to share? Colleenhttp://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=773&sid=1518051

http://www.finerkitchens.com/swap/forum1/102337_Hey_orchid_I_just_taught_myself_how_to_edit_those_tags_If_you_want_them_let_m

 
Not T&T, yet - Swiss cheese lentil casserole

3/4 cup uncooked lentils
3/4 cup chopped onion (less sub dried)
1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
1/2 t each dried basil, oregano, and thyme
dash pepper
2 cloves garlic, mashed (less sub dried)
3/4 cup dried tomato halves, snipped into strips

Dinner finishing ingredients
2 2/3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
Leftover cooked chicken, pork or beef, cubed
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese, divided in 1/2

Combine all ingredients except tomatoes and 1/2 cup cheese. Pour into 1 - 1 1/2qt casserole with lid (or heavy-duty foil). Bake covered 350 degrees for 1 1/2-2 hrs until rice and lentils are done, stirring several times. Stir in tomato strips and leftover meat/veggies during last 1/2 hr of baking time. When done, top with 1/2 cup cheese; broil until cheese melts.

 
I'm thinking of using red and brown lentils

I expect the resulting dinner will be pretty, tasty and provide additional nutrition with the lentils.

 
Fruited Rice Curry

FRUITED RICE CURRY

1 cup long grain rice
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 beef bouillon cubes
¼ cup mixed dried fruits (i.e. apricots, prunes, plums), chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons light raisins
¼ cup slivered almonds

Method: Combine all ingredients and package in an airtight container.

When ready to make: Combine rice mix with 2 ½ cups water and 2 tablespoons butter. Cover tightly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Colleen - I have received this as a gift and it is quite good.
Betty

 
Also not T&T: Crusty Rice and Lamb Tagine

adapted from a recipe Ruth AB placed on the old sw*p. This recipe would be divided into 4 baggies - rice (so it can be washed), spices added to rice, spices for cooking meat (or to saute briefly with leftover meat), and fruit/nuts/mint.

“This textured, magnificent one-dish meal has a crisp layer of rice topping fragrant lamb and a soft, steamy rice layer on the bottom. The seasonings are Iranian. The dish can be made ahead of time and reheated before unmolding. You can alter the filling by using ground beef or chicken instead of lamb, from Home for Dinner by Lucy Waverman. Serves 2 to 3.”

1 c basmati rice
salt, to taste
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
2 Tbs fresh coriander, chopped (less sub dry)
1 c onions, chopped (less sub dry)
1 1/2 tsp garlic, chopped (less sub dry)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
1 T fresh mint, chopped (less sub dry)
1/4 c dried apricots, chopped
1/4 c pine nuts

Dinner finishing ingredients:
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 T butter
2 c spinach, sliced
3/4 lb ground lamb, beef or chicken - raw or cooked

Wash rice in cool, running water. Place rice in pot with 1 1/4 c cold water and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 13 to 18 minutes or until rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper; stir in coriander.

Heat 1 T olive oil in 10” non-stick skillet (maybe 8" skillet because recipe has been halved)on medium heat. Add lamb, onions, garlic, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes until lamb is cooked or several minutes to warm leftover meat.

Add spinach to skillet and stir-fry until spinach wilts, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in mint, apricots, pine nuts and lemon juice. Cook for 1 minute and reserve. Wipe out skillet.

Melt butter in same skillet. Remove from heat and add ½ the rice, spreading it evenly over bottom and up sides of skillet. Top with all of lamb mixture. Finish with remaining rice, sealing in lamb mixture. Make hole down through centre of mixture with a wooden spoon.

Cover skillet. Place on very low heat and cook for 20-35 minutes. Loosen sides of rice. Set bottom skillet in cold water for 2 minutes to help loosen crust. Uncover, place a serving plate on top of rice and unmold mixture onto plate, crusty side up.

 
I've been swaying my mom over to "bean & starch" dishes. High protein (vegetarian), easy (pantry)

brown rice you can boil in a bag...plus it recalls the "poorer" food that she grew up with during the Depression. Mom's not a big meat eater--she'd be content with a pot of fresh coffee and a loaf of Hawaiian bread for the whole day.

By suggesting various combination of peas, beans, rice, lentils, cous-cous, barley, etc I know she's getting protein in some form. Meat is a complete protein; beans need some form of starch to make them a "complete protein."

What she needs is the spices to enliven it. Mom has salt, pepper, garlic and cinnamon. That's it. Anything else in the house was brought there by me. So spice combinations for various dishes would be good.

And explaining how to use broth pastes....she was over-doing it and making everything too salty, which meant she didn't eat it. I taught her how to add more liquids to reduce the saltiness and reduce the amount she starts out with.

 
Hi Colleen, I was really interested in the package tag, that Mar was able to send for me.

I am thinking of...(I should really get started!) of candy's this year. So thought that the label would be a nice addition.

Regards,
Barb

 
Colleen, I am putting together some gifts for friends so I am so thrilled that Marilyn

was able to make that tag thing editable. I just googled "food gifts in a bag" and I hit a treasure trove. We have the most wonderful young couple next door that are Fire Fighters (EMT's actually)that I wanted to do something special and different for. He brought over a bag of gifts he had gotten for her for Christmas to put in our garage because she is just to nosy and I saw there is a popcorn maker. So along with some soup bags I found a great idea for Caramel Popcorn. Here's that recipe but I've linked to one site I found that you might be able to use. Love the tags. Thanks Marilyn!

Caramel Popcorn Kit in a Jar

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/3 cups un-popped Popcorn
1 cup Sugar
1 cup packed Brown Sugar

Set aside can of milk. Layer sugar and brown sugar in a one quart canning jar. Next, place popcorn into a small zip baggie. Seal baggie and place on top of sugar. Place lid on jar, then using clear packaging tape, attach the can of milk to the bottom of jar so they are firmly connected for storage purposes & store in a cool dry place until ready to use. Attach the following instructions for later use, or for gift giving:

Caramel Popcorn
Remove popcorn from jar and using your preferred method, pop corn until you have about 12 cups or 3 quarts of popped corn. Remove un-popped kernels from corn, and set aside. In a large saucepan, mix sugar from jar with 1/2 cup butter or margarine and the can of sweetened condensed milk. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil. Boil for one minute and remove from heat. Working quickly, pour mixture over popped corn, coating as much as possible while pouring, then using a large wooden spoon, mix popped corn and caramel until all corn is well coated. Spread onto cookie sheets which have been prepared with non-stick cooking spray, or eat directly from bowl.

http://www.recipelink.com/holiday/merrygifts.html

 
I am making my way through FK T&T

and practicing dishes this weekend - I bought big bags of rice and noodles yesterday. I have until Monday to get the holiday packages ready to mail. Thank-you for your suggestion!

 
These are great tags - thanks Marilyn!

I plan to use them for all of the packages we send out to our relatives and friends. A quick cut and paste and you have a very beautiful tag.

 
Caramel Popcorn Kit in a Jar - this looks good and a question

This reply should have been posted in the following thread. Sorry!

Orchid, thanks for posting this recipe. Is it relatively easy to distribute the coating over the popcorn - how quickly do you need to work and should the popcorn be on a cookie sheet or in a widemouth bowl? Colleen

 
Caramel Popcorn Kit in a Jar recipe is here - and a ?

Orchid, thanks for sharing your recipe and link to "gifts from the kitchen." Have you made this recipe? How quickly do you need to work with the hot syrup and is it better to place the popcorn on a cookie sheet or into a widemouth bowl? Colleen

 
I haven't made it Colleen and I think I would put it in a big bowl and

slowly drizzle the caramel over the popcorn while tossing. I put it together yesterday and it looks really nice. Those tags are great.

 
Good ol' kitchen link! I used to post there. Colleen, if you still need more ideas, let

me know here. I'll try and think of some, and if you need more, I can post them.

What a nice idea. I'm sure the recipients will be thrilled!

Yes, the tags did come out very nice, didn't they. I missed the conversation when it first came out, but the finished product is perfect!

 
Colleen, I just saw this thread. Let me look through my recipes

and see if I can find any that would work.

 
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