This week's plan is:
Mulligatawny Soup in the Crock Pot
** With the cooler weather I'm already making all of the warmer comfort foods, and this will be my second batch of soup so far! Plus, I'm anticipating Doro Wat (an Ethiopian stew) and Broccoli and Cheese in the next couple of weeks (though I might try to find another recipe for the Broccoli soup...).
** The Hubs is a Seinfeld watcher, I am not. However, I do remember some of the more famous episodes. So, Soup Nazi? Yep, we're having Kramer's favorite soup. Can't wait to try it, Stephanie's crockpotting blog says it's awesome.
** Traditional mulligatawny has chopped apples and coconut milk in it. Some recipes say you can sub cream for the coconut milk, but I found a few recipes that skip it all together, so I'll be doing that. The Hubs is weird about cooked apples, so I'll be grating them instead of chopping them. I want them to disintegrate into the broth. Hopefully he'll fall for it!
** The Verdict? Just ok. What's the awesome part of crockpot cooking? You can be sick on the couch all day and dinner is still made by the time you wake up from your nap! :( Anyway, the apples worked like I wanted them to, so that was nice. But the soup overall was lacking *something.* Couldn't be nutmeg, because that was already in there. Maybe adding bouillon in addition to the broth would have helped add some depth. Overall it was lackluster, and I probably won't make it again. In fact, I'm not looking forward to finishing the leftovers...
Spaghetti & Meatballs with Marinated Mozzarella & Tomatoes
** Simple and satisfying. What more do you need?? Plus, you've probably heard me say The Hubs makes the best spaghetti ever. I'm really looking forward to it!
** Meatballs out of spicy Italian Sausage. I'll mix in some grated Parmesan cheese and minute rice for binder with an egg and the usual garlic and spices.
** The Verdict? Stay tuned!
Oven-Fried Pork Chops with Roasted Broccoli and Baked Sweet Potatoes
** Recipes for the Chops and the Broccoli are from America's Test Kitchen.
** Have you ever tried Roasted Broccoli? It's pretty much the best broccoli ever. The Hubs will tell anybody who will listen about how yummy it is. Here ya go:
Cut it into pieces, stems and everything.
Mix it with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of sugar.
Bake it in a 495 degree preheated oven for 10ish minutes, until it starts to turn black on the edges.
You'll never eat steamed broccoli again. I've recently used this same recipe for Brussels sprouts. They were good, if you love sprouts, you'd probably love them. We love broccoli.
** I plan to use the same exact breading strategy for the pork chops that I recently used to make oven fried chicken since The Hubs said it was the second best chicken he's ever had (next to my Mayonnaise Chicken). If you're GF, try breading your chicken, or chops or anything you're wanting to be crunchy with crushed up rice crackers! They're salty, and stay super crunchy. I've been using a cheese-flavoried variety that I found at Costco. Yum.
** The Verdict? Stay tuned!
General Tso's Chicken with Rice and Broccoli (a.k.a. Chinese Chicken)
** Found an awesome ap called Food Gawker, from there I found an awesome blog called How Sweet It Is. Said blog quickly becoming my favorite food blogger. (She won me over with a Birthday Cake Martini involving cake batter and whipped cream flavored vodkas, the glass rimmed in rainbow sprinkles. Something tells me GF birthdays just. got. better.)
** Haven't had a bad recipe from her yet. Mostly Sweet Eats, cupcakes, milkshakes, and the like. But I'm always excited to see what crazy deliciousness she's come up with next.
** I don't get to eat a lot of Chinese food, so obviously it's the ethnicity of food I crave most often, and have recently become brave enough to try some of the unique spices and ingredients. They're not flavors I'm very comfortable with, nor flavors I stock my pantry with, so I've had to branch out a little.
** This isn't the first time I've made this recipe, and it won't be the last. I follow it to a T, only thickening the sauce to my liking, and adjusting the heat down a little. I've pan fried the chicken with the batter, and will be battering and deep frying this time. Believe it or not, deep fryer is way less mess. It would be just as good with grilled chicken, for a much healthier version. If you do that, I would definitely add a splash of sesame oil to the sauce for that authentic Asian flavor!
** The Verdict? Whoa buddy, this hit the spot. Crunchy, salty, sesame-ey, saucy. Believe me when I tell you: this is as good as takeout. Put down that paper menu. Stop. Make this. You won't regret it.
Bon Appetit!
Showing posts with label menu planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label menu planning. Show all posts
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 11
This week's plan is:
Hot Dogs with Creamy Coleslaw
**I needed a quick dinner for us before I went to meed the BS Girls. Perfecto!
**I will pretty much eat coleslaw any way it comes. Creamy, not creamy, sweet, mustardy, I don't care. I eat it. However... my favorite way to prepare coleslaw is like this: 1 head of cabbage shredded or chopped up (or an equivalent amount from a bag), the juice of 1 lime, enough mayo to make it work (1/2 a cup?), and salt/pepper. Stir the sauce together, and mix it into the cabbage. SO GOOD.
**If I feel like switchin' it up a little, I'll add some green onions and some cilantro. I've also made the "same" recipe using white vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice for the lime juice. All are good, but produce a definitely different slaw.
**GF Side Note: I eat my dogs in a corn tortilla. I heat the tortilla up so its pliable, sometimes I melt cheese in them, stuff them with my dog and toppings, done-zo!
Baked Manicotti (which is actually rolled lasagnas)
**Have you ever seen these? Rolled lasagna? It seems like the perfect way to use up the remaining lasagna noodles that aren't really enough for a full pan.
**I made a traditional filling, stirring the cheeses, egg, herbs together. Smeared it on the cooked lasagna noodles leaving about 1/4 of the noodle open. Rolled them from full end to empty end. Put seam side down into a baking dish, covered with sauce. Bake until done!
**This had a similar number of steps as a traditional lasagna, so I prepped it the night before. But it turned out to be way easier to deal with than a traditional lasanga. On Thursday I just had to take it out of the fridge and throw it in the oven.
**I think this would have benefitted from sitting over night without sauce on it. It was a little mushy, but that could have just been the corn noodles. Overall it was delish!
Grilled Cheeses with French Fries
**Had a nice weekend in Eau Claire, came home to a beautiful Heriloom Tomato. The tomato was so good The Hubs came into the kitchen asking for another bite! He never does that!
**I made us grilled cheese with tomato slices, home made pesto, and fresh mozzarella slices.
**This was a delicious, simple yet satisfying summer twist to a pretty Plain Jane sandwich!
**We ate them so fast I forgot to take pictures.
Bon Appetit!
Hot Dogs with Creamy Coleslaw
**I needed a quick dinner for us before I went to meed the BS Girls. Perfecto!
**I will pretty much eat coleslaw any way it comes. Creamy, not creamy, sweet, mustardy, I don't care. I eat it. However... my favorite way to prepare coleslaw is like this: 1 head of cabbage shredded or chopped up (or an equivalent amount from a bag), the juice of 1 lime, enough mayo to make it work (1/2 a cup?), and salt/pepper. Stir the sauce together, and mix it into the cabbage. SO GOOD.
**If I feel like switchin' it up a little, I'll add some green onions and some cilantro. I've also made the "same" recipe using white vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice for the lime juice. All are good, but produce a definitely different slaw.
**GF Side Note: I eat my dogs in a corn tortilla. I heat the tortilla up so its pliable, sometimes I melt cheese in them, stuff them with my dog and toppings, done-zo!
Baked Manicotti (which is actually rolled lasagnas)**Have you ever seen these? Rolled lasagna? It seems like the perfect way to use up the remaining lasagna noodles that aren't really enough for a full pan.
**I made a traditional filling, stirring the cheeses, egg, herbs together. Smeared it on the cooked lasagna noodles leaving about 1/4 of the noodle open. Rolled them from full end to empty end. Put seam side down into a baking dish, covered with sauce. Bake until done!
**I think this would have benefitted from sitting over night without sauce on it. It was a little mushy, but that could have just been the corn noodles. Overall it was delish!
Grilled Cheeses with French Fries
**Had a nice weekend in Eau Claire, came home to a beautiful Heriloom Tomato. The tomato was so good The Hubs came into the kitchen asking for another bite! He never does that!
**I made us grilled cheese with tomato slices, home made pesto, and fresh mozzarella slices.
**This was a delicious, simple yet satisfying summer twist to a pretty Plain Jane sandwich!
**We ate them so fast I forgot to take pictures.
Bon Appetit!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 10
This week's plan is:
Mayonnaise Chicken with Rice
**The Hubs deemed this the best chicken he's ever had. So, since I had no plan for dinner tonight (usually he climbs on Mondays) I was happy to fulfill his simple request!
**I made this recipe up... 1 T Penzey's Fox Point seasoning, mixed with about 1 T water. Mix that into about 1/2 cup of mayo. Smear it all over your 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Let "marinate" for maybe 15 minutes. Throw into a hot pan, cooking covered for 6 minutes. Flip and cook covered for 6 more. Flip a 3rd time (back to the original side) and cook for 2 more minutes uncovered. Let rest for a few minutes to let the juices redistribute before you cut. Serve with rice and veggies... or, if you're like us, just rice.
**If you don't like mayonnaise, you'll still probably like this. It's super moist, and delicious!
**Fox Point Seasoning is herby. It is made of salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion, green peppercorns. If you're not near a Penzey's find something else you like that's similar, or order it online!
Gazpacho with Grilled Steak Tacos and Avocado
**I'm not going to into great lengths about this. Gazpacho (to me) was not worth the effort, and The Hubs didn't like it because it tasted like cucumbers. It was an America's Test Kitchen recipe; the kind that involves soaked bread and pureeing and straining... Lots of work for just a decent soup.Though the picture is pretty! (And yes... those are tomatoes from my garden! Thanks for asking!)
**My steak tacos were good! I just seared part of a top sirloin steak (about 1" thick?) in a hot pan for about 4 minutes/side for medium rare. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Cut it up, throw it in a tortilla. I topped mine with avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, and green Tabasco. The Hubs had cheese, Ortega sauce, and tomato.
Chip Cheeses
**My friend April (who desperately needs to start a blog...) sent me a link to an article the other day, about Thomas Keller of The French Laundry picking an iconic guy food and telling how he'd make it at home. He chose Grilled Cheese, and this is his recipe. And seriously, who doesn't want to eat what the chef at The French Laundry is eating??
**I don't normally "cook" the nights The Hubs climbs, so this was right up my alley tonight--especially considering it was the longest day ever at work. So, if you know anything about me and my Chip Diet, you'll already know I made the variation that had chips within the grilled cheese, and I used Dill Pickle flavored Lays. And I dipped it in ketchup. And it was amazing. Worth every calorie. :)
**Truth be told, I used half the cheese and double the chips and it was pretty much perfect. So perfect in fact, I made a second one. The only thing I would do differently for my 3rd one, is grill them open-faced so you can add the chips after the cheese is melted and the chips won't get soggy. (Look at me perfecting the chef from The French Laundry's "perfect" grilled cheese. ha!)
**If I'd had all of the stuff to make the pimento cheese grilled cheese (scroll down within link) I would have, because DANG. I have the stuff to make the jalapeno ones... maybe that will be lunch on Saturday?
**And for all you Gluten FREEks out there, don't waste your time with anything other than Udi's. If you don't know where to find it, call me. I will bring you some to make this sandwich.
Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Frittata with Fried Potatoes
**I used Cooking.com for the frittata recipe. I need peppers for 2 of the other 3 recipes I'm making this week, and since Aldi peppers come in a 3 pack... this works perfectly!
**Goat Cheese was sort of a splurge for us this week since we, ya know, bought our groceries and the groceries of some "homeless" man in the parking lot. I use the term "homeless" loosely since I'm pretty sure we were being scammed. Like I said on Monday, "Lets just say shopping at Aldi on University in Saint Paul isn't the same as shopping at Aldi from the comfort of your own suburb."
**For my fried potatoes, I cut red potatoes into 8th's. Put them in a microwave safe bowl, toss with a little EVOO. Cover tight with saran wrap and microwave in 2 minute increments until the potatoes are just soft. Cook in a frying pan in hot oil until golden, flip over and cook until golden on the other side. Remove from oil onto paper towels, and season with salt and pepper while hot.
**These potatoes are awesome for breakfast or as a side dish, and they really only take a few minutes to make!
**This was a pretty tasty dinner! The goat cheese went well with the oregano in the eggs. I used the kind of oregano that comes in the produce section in the squeeze tube. It tasted fine, but it turned the eggs green! I think freshly chopped oregano wouldn't have done that. (That's also why there's no picture. They weren't very pretty!)
**I have a problem getting scrambled eggs out of my pan... definitely use non-stick if you have it!
**I recently read about this project a woman started in her own home to "be more intentional about dating our husbands during this crazy season of life" and though I only have time for The Hubs, it seems like a cool way to make the effort to focus on each other.
**Stay tuned to see what we had!
Bon Appetit!
**The Hubs deemed this the best chicken he's ever had. So, since I had no plan for dinner tonight (usually he climbs on Mondays) I was happy to fulfill his simple request!
**I made this recipe up... 1 T Penzey's Fox Point seasoning, mixed with about 1 T water. Mix that into about 1/2 cup of mayo. Smear it all over your 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Let "marinate" for maybe 15 minutes. Throw into a hot pan, cooking covered for 6 minutes. Flip and cook covered for 6 more. Flip a 3rd time (back to the original side) and cook for 2 more minutes uncovered. Let rest for a few minutes to let the juices redistribute before you cut. Serve with rice and veggies... or, if you're like us, just rice.
**If you don't like mayonnaise, you'll still probably like this. It's super moist, and delicious!
**Fox Point Seasoning is herby. It is made of salt, shallots, chives, garlic, onion, green peppercorns. If you're not near a Penzey's find something else you like that's similar, or order it online!
Gazpacho with Grilled Steak Tacos and Avocado
**My friend April (who desperately needs to start a blog...) sent me a link to an article the other day, about Thomas Keller of The French Laundry picking an iconic guy food and telling how he'd make it at home. He chose Grilled Cheese, and this is his recipe. And seriously, who doesn't want to eat what the chef at The French Laundry is eating??
**I don't normally "cook" the nights The Hubs climbs, so this was right up my alley tonight--especially considering it was the longest day ever at work. So, if you know anything about me and my Chip Diet, you'll already know I made the variation that had chips within the grilled cheese, and I used Dill Pickle flavored Lays. And I dipped it in ketchup. And it was amazing. Worth every calorie. :)
**Truth be told, I used half the cheese and double the chips and it was pretty much perfect. So perfect in fact, I made a second one. The only thing I would do differently for my 3rd one, is grill them open-faced so you can add the chips after the cheese is melted and the chips won't get soggy. (Look at me perfecting the chef from The French Laundry's "perfect" grilled cheese. ha!)
**If I'd had all of the stuff to make the pimento cheese grilled cheese (scroll down within link) I would have, because DANG. I have the stuff to make the jalapeno ones... maybe that will be lunch on Saturday?
**And for all you Gluten FREEks out there, don't waste your time with anything other than Udi's. If you don't know where to find it, call me. I will bring you some to make this sandwich.
Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Frittata with Fried Potatoes
**I used Cooking.com for the frittata recipe. I need peppers for 2 of the other 3 recipes I'm making this week, and since Aldi peppers come in a 3 pack... this works perfectly!
**Goat Cheese was sort of a splurge for us this week since we, ya know, bought our groceries and the groceries of some "homeless" man in the parking lot. I use the term "homeless" loosely since I'm pretty sure we were being scammed. Like I said on Monday, "Lets just say shopping at Aldi on University in Saint Paul isn't the same as shopping at Aldi from the comfort of your own suburb."
**For my fried potatoes, I cut red potatoes into 8th's. Put them in a microwave safe bowl, toss with a little EVOO. Cover tight with saran wrap and microwave in 2 minute increments until the potatoes are just soft. Cook in a frying pan in hot oil until golden, flip over and cook until golden on the other side. Remove from oil onto paper towels, and season with salt and pepper while hot.
**These potatoes are awesome for breakfast or as a side dish, and they really only take a few minutes to make!
**This was a pretty tasty dinner! The goat cheese went well with the oregano in the eggs. I used the kind of oregano that comes in the produce section in the squeeze tube. It tasted fine, but it turned the eggs green! I think freshly chopped oregano wouldn't have done that. (That's also why there's no picture. They weren't very pretty!)
**I have a problem getting scrambled eggs out of my pan... definitely use non-stick if you have it!
**I recently read about this project a woman started in her own home to "be more intentional about dating our husbands during this crazy season of life" and though I only have time for The Hubs, it seems like a cool way to make the effort to focus on each other.
**Stay tuned to see what we had!
Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 9
This week's plan is:
Arugula Salad with White Beans and Italian Sausage
**It's a "salad only" week around our house... too hot to cook!
**This is an America's Test Kitchen recipe for the salad and dressing. My last meal plan was recipes from their 10-year cookbook, this recipe is from their 30-minute meal collection. An online version of the recipe is protected for "members only." Read the gist below, you should be able to wing it from there!
**Cook 4 chicken or pork Italian sausages until done through out. Remove from pan, let rest and then slice. Add a little more oil, sautee 1 red onion until starting to soften. Add 1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed. [Note: I used "white beans" and they ended up being pretty soft even though I added them last. Use your best judgement.] Add 8 oz roasted red peppers cut into 1/2 inch strips. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Add 1 cup of "Bistro Style Mustard Vinniagrette" from the same cookbook. Stir together, and mix into 4 dinner sized servings of arugula, though I used mixed lettuces from my garden.
**I definitely ate 2 servings. You could easily stretch this by adding some cold pasta to the bean mixture, making it somewhere between a lettuce salad and a pasta salad.
Thai Beef Salads with Rice Noodles
**Again with the 30-minute meals collection. I love it! Since this recipe is also hidden from the non-members, I found a pretty similar Martha Stewart recipe here. I'll probably make half a recipe, and add cooked & cooled rice noodles to make it a little more filling.
**I'm going to add sliced radishes to the mix for a little extra color.
**Scharlemann made a similar recipe when we were over for dinner this spring, and I loved it. I was excited to see this recipe in my new cookbook!
Carbo Feed: Pre-Warrior Dash Feasting
**We're having a little shindig at the Meuller's on Friday to help everybody load up for the Warrior Dash on Saturday. I said if they'd host and cook the noodles, I'd bring the sauces!
**Both sauces are enough for 1 lb pasta each.
**The first sauce is a 20-minute marinara: Boil water for pasta. Sautee 3 cloves garlic, and 1/4 t red pepper flakes in 3 T EVOO, stirring frequently until fragrant but not browned (1-2 minutes). Stir in 28 oz crushed tomatoes and and 14 oz diced tomatoes, simmer until slightly thickened (15-20 minutes). Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and return pasta to pot. Remove sauce from heat, stir in 3 T minced fresh basil and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce into pasta adding reserved cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Serve immediately! **The second sauce is a Garlic-Basil Cream Sauce: Boil water for pasta. Blend 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, 1.5 cups half-and-half, 1 cup chicken broth, and 1 T cornstarch in blender until completely smooth (about 30 seconds). Melt 2 T unsalted butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, and 1/4 t salt, cook until softened (about 2 minutes). Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Briefly re-blend basil mixture to dissolve cornstarch, then stir into sauce pan and simmer about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 2 T minced basil, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce into pasta adding reserved cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and return pasta to pot. Stir sauce into pasta adding reserved cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Serve immediately!
That brings us to the weekend...
**I have no plan for the weekend... We'll see what happens! Taco Taco anyone??
Bon Appetit!
**It's a "salad only" week around our house... too hot to cook!
**This is an America's Test Kitchen recipe for the salad and dressing. My last meal plan was recipes from their 10-year cookbook, this recipe is from their 30-minute meal collection. An online version of the recipe is protected for "members only." Read the gist below, you should be able to wing it from there!
**Cook 4 chicken or pork Italian sausages until done through out. Remove from pan, let rest and then slice. Add a little more oil, sautee 1 red onion until starting to soften. Add 1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed. [Note: I used "white beans" and they ended up being pretty soft even though I added them last. Use your best judgement.] Add 8 oz roasted red peppers cut into 1/2 inch strips. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper. Add 1 cup of "Bistro Style Mustard Vinniagrette" from the same cookbook. Stir together, and mix into 4 dinner sized servings of arugula, though I used mixed lettuces from my garden.
**I definitely ate 2 servings. You could easily stretch this by adding some cold pasta to the bean mixture, making it somewhere between a lettuce salad and a pasta salad.
**Again with the 30-minute meals collection. I love it! Since this recipe is also hidden from the non-members, I found a pretty similar Martha Stewart recipe here. I'll probably make half a recipe, and add cooked & cooled rice noodles to make it a little more filling.
**I'm going to add sliced radishes to the mix for a little extra color.
**Scharlemann made a similar recipe when we were over for dinner this spring, and I loved it. I was excited to see this recipe in my new cookbook!
Carbo Feed: Pre-Warrior Dash Feasting
**We're having a little shindig at the Meuller's on Friday to help everybody load up for the Warrior Dash on Saturday. I said if they'd host and cook the noodles, I'd bring the sauces!
**Both sauces are enough for 1 lb pasta each.
**The first sauce is a 20-minute marinara: Boil water for pasta. Sautee 3 cloves garlic, and 1/4 t red pepper flakes in 3 T EVOO, stirring frequently until fragrant but not browned (1-2 minutes). Stir in 28 oz crushed tomatoes and and 14 oz diced tomatoes, simmer until slightly thickened (15-20 minutes). Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and return pasta to pot. Remove sauce from heat, stir in 3 T minced fresh basil and sugar. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce into pasta adding reserved cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Serve immediately! **The second sauce is a Garlic-Basil Cream Sauce: Boil water for pasta. Blend 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, 1.5 cups half-and-half, 1 cup chicken broth, and 1 T cornstarch in blender until completely smooth (about 30 seconds). Melt 2 T unsalted butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot, and 1/4 t salt, cook until softened (about 2 minutes). Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Briefly re-blend basil mixture to dissolve cornstarch, then stir into sauce pan and simmer about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in 2 T minced basil, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce into pasta adding reserved cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water, and return pasta to pot. Stir sauce into pasta adding reserved cooking water as needed to loosen sauce. Serve immediately!
That brings us to the weekend...
**I have no plan for the weekend... We'll see what happens! Taco Taco anyone??
Bon Appetit!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 8
Blogging in the New Year has not been my resolution, but I promise a photo update soon!
This week's plan is:
Chicken Breasts with Au Gratin Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli
**I used the Penzey's Bicentennial spice rub on the chicken, and just cooked them up in a skillet. It was a pretty tasty spice rub!
**The au gratin potatoes were from scratch, but a box mix would do the trick! The recipe I used was from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.
**The America's Test Kitchen cookbook is my new no-fail recipe guide, and favorite book to read. I suggest you get a copy, especially if you're timid in the kitchen. As long as you follow the directions step-by-step, you seriously can't screw them up!
Argentinian-Style Ribeye with Tomato & Avocado Salad and Rice
**We had Matt and Jen over for dinner this week, so I wanted to do something a little special! Plus, the weather's been so cold, I thought something fresh and South American might give the illusion of warmth!
**I used Emeril's recipe for everything, though I skipped the Yucca Fries and made rice instead.
**Also, I used Ribeye instead of Flank Steak, so I only marinated the meat for a few hours after work, instead of overnight--I didn't need to tenderize the steak, just flavor it. And honestly, if I were to do it again I would skip that step completely.
**Chimichurri sauce has become my favorite condiment. I ate it the next morning on my eggs. It's almost like a vinegary version of pesto. If you've never had it, you should try it!! It's flavorful enough to stand up to a Ribeye, but also fresh enough that you could use it on chicken or fish too. I also saw quite a few recipes for pork with chimichurri.
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Salad and French Fries
**Buffalo Chicken might be my favorite form of chicken. Just like the Frank's Red Hot commercials say, I would "put that sh!t on everything!" So when Ryan requested Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, I'll definitely accomodate.
**I'm also having a craving for french fries, so I might fry some up from scratch, or bake some in the oven from a bag of frozen, depending on how hard I want to work for my dinner.
**I have an abundance of fresh herbs right now (from making the chimichurri) so I'm going to try homemade ranch dressing for me, and blue cheese dressing for the Hubs.
BBQ Pork Chops with Roasted Broccoli and Rice
**I spent most of Saturday this week reading my America's Test Kitchen cookbook... So I used their recipe for these chops, and holy cow were they good! ...but I pretty much love BBQ anything!
**I also tried a new technique to make Roasted Broccoli, instead of my normal steamed broccoli, and I'll never steam broccoli again!
**Here ya go: Cut up your broccoli, so the florets are about 2 inches across, peel the stalk and cut into 1 inch chunks. Toss with EVOO, Salt, Pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar. Place on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Cook at 500 for roughly 10 minutes, until they're golden on the bottom and starting to crisp on the edges. It was DELICIOUS, and I'll be your kids would eat it!
Tomato Pie (a la Erin)
**Erin's making us dinner tonight before we head to the Ben Folds show at First Ave. This will be the 2nd time she's made this recipe for her family this week!! Can't wait to try it.
**Everybody else will be eating the pie in a regular pie crust, but we're going to load mine onto a GF pizza crust. Sounds good to me!
**Here's the recipe: Tomato Basil Pie
Bon Appetit!
This week's plan is:
Chicken Breasts with Au Gratin Potatoes and Steamed Broccoli
**I used the Penzey's Bicentennial spice rub on the chicken, and just cooked them up in a skillet. It was a pretty tasty spice rub!
**The au gratin potatoes were from scratch, but a box mix would do the trick! The recipe I used was from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.
**The America's Test Kitchen cookbook is my new no-fail recipe guide, and favorite book to read. I suggest you get a copy, especially if you're timid in the kitchen. As long as you follow the directions step-by-step, you seriously can't screw them up!
Argentinian-Style Ribeye with Tomato & Avocado Salad and Rice
**We had Matt and Jen over for dinner this week, so I wanted to do something a little special! Plus, the weather's been so cold, I thought something fresh and South American might give the illusion of warmth!
**I used Emeril's recipe for everything, though I skipped the Yucca Fries and made rice instead.
**Also, I used Ribeye instead of Flank Steak, so I only marinated the meat for a few hours after work, instead of overnight--I didn't need to tenderize the steak, just flavor it. And honestly, if I were to do it again I would skip that step completely.
**Chimichurri sauce has become my favorite condiment. I ate it the next morning on my eggs. It's almost like a vinegary version of pesto. If you've never had it, you should try it!! It's flavorful enough to stand up to a Ribeye, but also fresh enough that you could use it on chicken or fish too. I also saw quite a few recipes for pork with chimichurri.
Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches with Salad and French Fries
**Buffalo Chicken might be my favorite form of chicken. Just like the Frank's Red Hot commercials say, I would "put that sh!t on everything!" So when Ryan requested Buffalo Chicken sandwiches, I'll definitely accomodate.
**I'm also having a craving for french fries, so I might fry some up from scratch, or bake some in the oven from a bag of frozen, depending on how hard I want to work for my dinner.
**I have an abundance of fresh herbs right now (from making the chimichurri) so I'm going to try homemade ranch dressing for me, and blue cheese dressing for the Hubs.
BBQ Pork Chops with Roasted Broccoli and Rice
**I spent most of Saturday this week reading my America's Test Kitchen cookbook... So I used their recipe for these chops, and holy cow were they good! ...but I pretty much love BBQ anything!
**I also tried a new technique to make Roasted Broccoli, instead of my normal steamed broccoli, and I'll never steam broccoli again!
**Here ya go: Cut up your broccoli, so the florets are about 2 inches across, peel the stalk and cut into 1 inch chunks. Toss with EVOO, Salt, Pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar. Place on a baking sheet, cut sides down. Cook at 500 for roughly 10 minutes, until they're golden on the bottom and starting to crisp on the edges. It was DELICIOUS, and I'll be your kids would eat it!
Tomato Pie (a la Erin)
**Erin's making us dinner tonight before we head to the Ben Folds show at First Ave. This will be the 2nd time she's made this recipe for her family this week!! Can't wait to try it.
**Everybody else will be eating the pie in a regular pie crust, but we're going to load mine onto a GF pizza crust. Sounds good to me!
**Here's the recipe: Tomato Basil Pie
1-9" pie crust, baked 4 Roma tomatoes, pat dry with a paper towel 6 cloves garlic, minced 3T chopped basil 1C mayonnaise 1/2 onion, chopped small 1C mozzarella cheese 1C cooked chicken, optional Use pie weights or perforate crust before baking.
Line bottom of crust with sliced tomatoes (make sure they are as dry as possible).
Mix mayo, onions, garlic, basil, S&P to taste and cheese. Spread mixture over tomatoes and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until top is browned. Layer in chicken on top of the tomatoes if desired.
Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 7
This week's plan is:
Beef Tenderloin with Rice and Broccoli and Squash
**We discovered the perfect way to cook thick cut steaks! It's from America's Test Kitchen. We used the same method for cooking a whole tenderloin. Check out the recipe here: Tenderloin. If you can't see the recipe, message me and I'll find it for you.
**The trick is to cook them in an oven at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes (longer for the whole tenderloin) and then finish them by searing them in an oven. It seems backwards, but it's awesome!
**I made the compound butter that is shown on the tenderloin: garlic, shallots, parsley, butter, salt & pepper.
**Doing a whole tenderloin was delicious and much cheaper than individual steaks! I think the whole tenderloin cost $15? if most people in your house like their steaks done to a similar temp. I'd suggest it! A 2 lb. tenderloin would have easily fed 4 of us.
**Squash just sounded good, so I roasted it in the oven with the meat and topped it with butter and brown sugar... Can't get much better than that!
Spicy Pasta with Sweet Potatoes
**This was a recipe i found in Better Homes and Gardens. It looked interesting, so I wanted to try it!
**This pasta was a little weird, but it grew on us as we ate. I think It would be better if you halved the peanut butter, and increased the cream cheese by an equal amount. It was a little like eating spaghetti and peanut butter. It did NOT reheat that well, keep that in mind.
**Here's the recipe...
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp each sugar, chili powder, and cinnamon
8 oz dried rigatoni
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 oz cream cheese, cut into chunks
2 tsp Asian chili sauce (Sriracha)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1. Preheat oven to 450. Oil a rimmed baking pan and set aside. Toss sweet potato cubes in a bowl with 1 T olive oil, sugar, chili powder, and cinnamon. Spread in prepared pan and bake 20 minutes or until tender. (Lauren's note: These were delicious as-is!!)
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water.
3. In a saucepan combine peanut butter, cream cheese, chili sauce, and soy sauce. Whisk in 3/4 cup of the hot pasta water. Stir over medium heat until heated through. If too thick, stir in additional water. Stir in most of the green onions.
4. Serve sauce over pasta with sweet potatoes and remaining onion. Serves 4.
**This pasta was a little weird, but it grew on us as we ate. I think It would be better if you halved the peanut butter, and increased the cream cheese by an equal amount. It was a little like eating spaghetti and peanut butter.
Turkey Burgers with Rosemary Mayo and Chips and Salad
**I love turkey burgers. I'll eat them just about any way they're fixed. I saw this recipe for Chicken Burgers, and just substituted the Turkey Burger patties I had in the freezer.
**Technically we had these for lunch on Saturday before I had to work, but they were delicious! I threw some spinach leaves and a tomato on each one, with the Rosemary Mayo, and they were great!
Hot Wings with Chips and Guacamole
**Eric came over for the game on Sunday and brought some chicken wings with. Chicken wings might be my favorite food of all time. We tried some new sauces, but the tried-and-true favorite is still Franks Red Hot. And staying true to the commercial, "I put that sh!t on everything!"
**Can't beat fresh Hot Wings.
**Oh, and I made some guacamole too.
Bon Appetit!
Beef Tenderloin with Rice and Broccoli and Squash
**We discovered the perfect way to cook thick cut steaks! It's from America's Test Kitchen. We used the same method for cooking a whole tenderloin. Check out the recipe here: Tenderloin. If you can't see the recipe, message me and I'll find it for you.
**The trick is to cook them in an oven at 275 degrees for about 30 minutes (longer for the whole tenderloin) and then finish them by searing them in an oven. It seems backwards, but it's awesome!
**I made the compound butter that is shown on the tenderloin: garlic, shallots, parsley, butter, salt & pepper.
**Doing a whole tenderloin was delicious and much cheaper than individual steaks! I think the whole tenderloin cost $15? if most people in your house like their steaks done to a similar temp. I'd suggest it! A 2 lb. tenderloin would have easily fed 4 of us.
**Squash just sounded good, so I roasted it in the oven with the meat and topped it with butter and brown sugar... Can't get much better than that!
Spicy Pasta with Sweet Potatoes
**This was a recipe i found in Better Homes and Gardens. It looked interesting, so I wanted to try it!
**This pasta was a little weird, but it grew on us as we ate. I think It would be better if you halved the peanut butter, and increased the cream cheese by an equal amount. It was a little like eating spaghetti and peanut butter. It did NOT reheat that well, keep that in mind.
**Here's the recipe...
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp each sugar, chili powder, and cinnamon
8 oz dried rigatoni
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 oz cream cheese, cut into chunks
2 tsp Asian chili sauce (Sriracha)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1. Preheat oven to 450. Oil a rimmed baking pan and set aside. Toss sweet potato cubes in a bowl with 1 T olive oil, sugar, chili powder, and cinnamon. Spread in prepared pan and bake 20 minutes or until tender. (Lauren's note: These were delicious as-is!!)
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water.
3. In a saucepan combine peanut butter, cream cheese, chili sauce, and soy sauce. Whisk in 3/4 cup of the hot pasta water. Stir over medium heat until heated through. If too thick, stir in additional water. Stir in most of the green onions.
4. Serve sauce over pasta with sweet potatoes and remaining onion. Serves 4.
**This pasta was a little weird, but it grew on us as we ate. I think It would be better if you halved the peanut butter, and increased the cream cheese by an equal amount. It was a little like eating spaghetti and peanut butter.
Turkey Burgers with Rosemary Mayo and Chips and Salad
**I love turkey burgers. I'll eat them just about any way they're fixed. I saw this recipe for Chicken Burgers, and just substituted the Turkey Burger patties I had in the freezer.
**Technically we had these for lunch on Saturday before I had to work, but they were delicious! I threw some spinach leaves and a tomato on each one, with the Rosemary Mayo, and they were great!
Hot Wings with Chips and Guacamole
**Eric came over for the game on Sunday and brought some chicken wings with. Chicken wings might be my favorite food of all time. We tried some new sauces, but the tried-and-true favorite is still Franks Red Hot. And staying true to the commercial, "I put that sh!t on everything!"
**Can't beat fresh Hot Wings.
**Oh, and I made some guacamole too.
Bon Appetit!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 6
Alright, I know I've been slackin' lately with my meal plans. But thanks to some inspiration from the Totally Together Journal and a pretty decent routine at home, I'm back in the Meal Planning Saddle! My new job has me home in the evenings, so Ryan and I eat dinner together most nights. Here's what we've got going on!
This week's plan is:
Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
**I made a pretty basic Pot Roast in the Crock Pot. I won't lie, I didn't love it. I don't think it was the recipe, I think I just don't love Pot Roast.
**I got 2 roasts in one package, so I think next week I'll cut one up and turn it into Texas Chili.
Apple Raisin Cake for Bible Study
**We alternate who brings dessert to Bible Study. This week I took a Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mix, and added all of the miscellaneous ingredients to make it into an apple spice cake.
**This was my all-time favorite cake recipe back in my gluten full days. I had high hopes for a fall dessert with this GF cake mix!
**Besides the fact it was raw in the middle, it was a huge success! All of the ladies said it was good enough to share with gluten free and gluten full, alike!
Corn Risotto with Rotisserie Chicken
**I hate having frozen vegetables in my freezer. It seems I buy them for a specific purpose, and then never finish the bag, and then they get freezer burned, and you wind up with 6 half-bags of veggies that get thrown away. So in an attempt to use up the corn in my freezer, I stumbled upon this recipe for Corn Risotto.
**You people should know that making risotto is not nearly the pain people make it out to be. I found a great step-by-step tutorial at this blog, and it was well worth the few minutes stirring!
**With the coupon I had for a Rainbow Foods Rotisserie Chicken, this was a pretty simple, well rounded meal!
**I'm excited to try other risotto flavors in the future!!
Homemade Pizzas
**We ended up synchronizing dinner plans with Erin and Richard this night. So it turned into something of a pizza extravaganza.
**We each had our own pizzas with our own toppings on them. We ended up with tons of extra pizza, but nobody was disappointed!
**I love making pizza so much, I think everybody should do it once a month as a family! Talk about a Money-Saving-Family-Fun-Night!
Cabbage Rolls
**I used the filling from the Nye's Pollynaise Room recipe, and the sauce from the Emerill's recipe. And then I changed it a little... these are my thoughts...
**You should know that we REALLY liked these. The flavor is there, but there's some things I would change in the technique.
**I don't want to eat something bad enough to let it cook for 2 hours in the oven, after spending an hour trying to put it all together. That means, the raw rice you used as a binder won't cook all of the way. Next time I will use raw oats (like in the Quaker Oatmeal Meatloaf recipe) and then bake them for just an hour.
**The recipe originally called for a lot of greasy meat: beef, sausage, pork, bacon. I had 3# of frozen beef, 1# of frozen spicy Italian sausage, 1# of frozen ground turkey. I used equal parts of turkey and sausage. There was a lot of flavor and good texture, but it wasn't too greasy since the turkey is so low fat. I'd use a similar mixture again! I do think you could use any combination of ground meat you have, but I think the sausage is key in bringing the flavor.
**They're a little intense to make. You have to mix the filling, and steam the cabbage leaves without tearing them, and then stuff them, and make the sauce, and then bake them. They could easily be made and assembled and then put in the fridge for tomorrow, which is probably how I'll do it next time.
**The last thing I'd do differently, would be to pour 1 cup of chicken stock over them for baking, and reserve the sauce to top them once they're done. The yummy Emerill's sauce got too diluted while baking.
Bon Appetit!
This week's plan is:
Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
**I made a pretty basic Pot Roast in the Crock Pot. I won't lie, I didn't love it. I don't think it was the recipe, I think I just don't love Pot Roast.
**I got 2 roasts in one package, so I think next week I'll cut one up and turn it into Texas Chili.
Apple Raisin Cake for Bible Study
**We alternate who brings dessert to Bible Study. This week I took a Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mix, and added all of the miscellaneous ingredients to make it into an apple spice cake.
**This was my all-time favorite cake recipe back in my gluten full days. I had high hopes for a fall dessert with this GF cake mix!
**Besides the fact it was raw in the middle, it was a huge success! All of the ladies said it was good enough to share with gluten free and gluten full, alike!
Corn Risotto with Rotisserie Chicken
**I hate having frozen vegetables in my freezer. It seems I buy them for a specific purpose, and then never finish the bag, and then they get freezer burned, and you wind up with 6 half-bags of veggies that get thrown away. So in an attempt to use up the corn in my freezer, I stumbled upon this recipe for Corn Risotto.
**You people should know that making risotto is not nearly the pain people make it out to be. I found a great step-by-step tutorial at this blog, and it was well worth the few minutes stirring!
**With the coupon I had for a Rainbow Foods Rotisserie Chicken, this was a pretty simple, well rounded meal!
**I'm excited to try other risotto flavors in the future!!
Homemade Pizzas
**We ended up synchronizing dinner plans with Erin and Richard this night. So it turned into something of a pizza extravaganza.
**We each had our own pizzas with our own toppings on them. We ended up with tons of extra pizza, but nobody was disappointed!
**I love making pizza so much, I think everybody should do it once a month as a family! Talk about a Money-Saving-Family-Fun-Night!
Cabbage Rolls
**I used the filling from the Nye's Pollynaise Room recipe, and the sauce from the Emerill's recipe. And then I changed it a little... these are my thoughts...
**You should know that we REALLY liked these. The flavor is there, but there's some things I would change in the technique.
**I don't want to eat something bad enough to let it cook for 2 hours in the oven, after spending an hour trying to put it all together. That means, the raw rice you used as a binder won't cook all of the way. Next time I will use raw oats (like in the Quaker Oatmeal Meatloaf recipe) and then bake them for just an hour.
**The recipe originally called for a lot of greasy meat: beef, sausage, pork, bacon. I had 3# of frozen beef, 1# of frozen spicy Italian sausage, 1# of frozen ground turkey. I used equal parts of turkey and sausage. There was a lot of flavor and good texture, but it wasn't too greasy since the turkey is so low fat. I'd use a similar mixture again! I do think you could use any combination of ground meat you have, but I think the sausage is key in bringing the flavor.
**They're a little intense to make. You have to mix the filling, and steam the cabbage leaves without tearing them, and then stuff them, and make the sauce, and then bake them. They could easily be made and assembled and then put in the fridge for tomorrow, which is probably how I'll do it next time.
**The last thing I'd do differently, would be to pour 1 cup of chicken stock over them for baking, and reserve the sauce to top them once they're done. The yummy Emerill's sauce got too diluted while baking.
Bon Appetit!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 5
This week's plan (and last week's plan too) is:
Michigan Dogs with Creamy Coleslaw
**This was a recipe straight off the Rachel Ray show. Ryan and I watched her make it, salivating the whole time! Try them, you won't be disappointed. Michigan Dogs
**We topped them with shredded cheddar and mustard, instead of the cheese sauce. They were sooo good!
Salmon Kabobs with Rice and Tomato-Onion Salad
** Last week I saw salmon kabobs at Rainbow at the seafood counter, I went back this week to buy them. They were spendy, but delish! Three of them were enough for our dinner, plus Ryan's lunch.
**Rainbow also usually has steak and chicken kabobs pre-assembled, and with the salmon kabobs were also tuna kabobs. 'Bobs for everybody!
**I might have mentioned it before, but Ryan and I like to eat BBQ sauce on our rice--I know, weird--but we do! So we sauced our rice with our salmon. Try BBQ salmon filets with rice sometime!
**I made a tomato and onion salad, with olive oil and salt and pepper. It was similar to that mozzarella salad, but no mozzarella.
GF Potato Gnocchi and Peasto, and Grilled Chicken
** My old roommate Bia used to eat cheese perogies with sauteed peas and onions--that's what this meal is like.
**A while back I found a recipe for "pesto" made out of frozen/fresh peas (ahem, PEA-sto). I can't find the same recipe online, but when I get home I'll note where it came from. But I had some in the freezer, so we're eating it up!
**I modified a potato gnocchi recipe t be gluten free (subbing rice/garbanzo flour for wheat flour). So we'll see how they turn out. The substitutions were based on some GF recipes I found as well. The original recipe I found was at King Arthur Flour.
**I'll probably par-boil the gnocchi (about 60 seconds) and then fry them in oil to finish cooking for a (hopefully) crisp outside
**I'll also probably throw some sauteed onions into the mix, because I like them, and add grilled chicken breasts to make it more substantial.
Special Request: Steak with Rice and Asparagus
** Ryan wanted steak for dinner. I asked if he wanted anything special with it, or any sauce. NOPE.
**What does Ryan want with his steak? RICE. Always rice.
**Ryan likes all green veggies, so we're having asparagus with butter and lemon.
**He's an easy man to please.
Crock-Pot Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
**I wanted something to throw in the crock-pot to be ready for him after work, since I was at work into the evening.
**I used this recipe, but substituted cream cheese for the sour cream (because I wanted something more luxurious), and added fresh mushrooms and onion. I also mixed together the sauce and tasted/seasoned it before I put it in. You never know what you're gonna get flavor-wise with those canned soups!
**It was exactly what beef stroganoff would be if you used chicken.
**Neither Ryan or I loved it, but it wasn't bad. He ate it over rice, and I ate the leftovers.
Bon Appetit!
Michigan Dogs with Creamy Coleslaw
**This was a recipe straight off the Rachel Ray show. Ryan and I watched her make it, salivating the whole time! Try them, you won't be disappointed. Michigan Dogs
**We topped them with shredded cheddar and mustard, instead of the cheese sauce. They were sooo good!
Salmon Kabobs with Rice and Tomato-Onion Salad
** Last week I saw salmon kabobs at Rainbow at the seafood counter, I went back this week to buy them. They were spendy, but delish! Three of them were enough for our dinner, plus Ryan's lunch.
**Rainbow also usually has steak and chicken kabobs pre-assembled, and with the salmon kabobs were also tuna kabobs. 'Bobs for everybody!
**I might have mentioned it before, but Ryan and I like to eat BBQ sauce on our rice--I know, weird--but we do! So we sauced our rice with our salmon. Try BBQ salmon filets with rice sometime!
**I made a tomato and onion salad, with olive oil and salt and pepper. It was similar to that mozzarella salad, but no mozzarella.
GF Potato Gnocchi and Peasto, and Grilled Chicken
** My old roommate Bia used to eat cheese perogies with sauteed peas and onions--that's what this meal is like.
**A while back I found a recipe for "pesto" made out of frozen/fresh peas (ahem, PEA-sto). I can't find the same recipe online, but when I get home I'll note where it came from. But I had some in the freezer, so we're eating it up!
**I modified a potato gnocchi recipe t be gluten free (subbing rice/garbanzo flour for wheat flour). So we'll see how they turn out. The substitutions were based on some GF recipes I found as well. The original recipe I found was at King Arthur Flour.
**I'll probably par-boil the gnocchi (about 60 seconds) and then fry them in oil to finish cooking for a (hopefully) crisp outside
**I'll also probably throw some sauteed onions into the mix, because I like them, and add grilled chicken breasts to make it more substantial.
Special Request: Steak with Rice and Asparagus
** Ryan wanted steak for dinner. I asked if he wanted anything special with it, or any sauce. NOPE.
**What does Ryan want with his steak? RICE. Always rice.
**Ryan likes all green veggies, so we're having asparagus with butter and lemon.
**He's an easy man to please.
Crock-Pot Chicken with Mushroom Sauce
**I wanted something to throw in the crock-pot to be ready for him after work, since I was at work into the evening.
**I used this recipe, but substituted cream cheese for the sour cream (because I wanted something more luxurious), and added fresh mushrooms and onion. I also mixed together the sauce and tasted/seasoned it before I put it in. You never know what you're gonna get flavor-wise with those canned soups!
**It was exactly what beef stroganoff would be if you used chicken.
**Neither Ryan or I loved it, but it wasn't bad. He ate it over rice, and I ate the leftovers.
Bon Appetit!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 4
This week's plan is:
BBQ Short Ribs with Creamy Coleslaw and Oven-Baked Fries
**I feel so terrible leaving Ryan home on nights I work with nothing but a frozen pizza to eat! So Erin let me borrow her crock pot until we maybe get one from our wedding registry.
**Though I don't work tomorrow, I will be gone all day so I'm going to put our ribs in the pot with some BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is GF) and let them go! When I get home I'll just throw together some coleslaw and some potatoes seasoned and baked in the oven.
**Easy and delicious!
Lebanese Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken
** I was mentioning at work needing some ideas for dinner, and one of my coworkers suggested this salad:
DRESSING: Crushed garlic, salt, mint, vegetable oil, cider vinegar.
SALAD: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell pepper
**I will be adapting it into a pasta salad, and serving it with grilled chicken to make a more complete meal.
**Note, if you use GF rice pasta, let the noodles cool in the colander, but don't refrigerate them, or save the leftovers for later. Rice pasta does NOT refrigerate well and gets really hard and gross. I will make just enough pasta for my own dinner, and nothing more for extras.
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Meatballs
** We're meeting Ryan's family for dinner this week, and since I'm the one that needs accommodation, I suggested something easy like spaghetti.
**I'll be bringing my own noodles, and bread crumbs for the mix.
**I like to add grated or shredded parmesan cheese to the mix for some easily added deliciousness.
Homemade Sausage and Mushroom Pizza
** It's possible I've mentioned it before... But one of my biggest cravings in my new GF lifestyle is pizza! Last time Ryan and I went out for GF pizza it cost us $70! So we've started making our own. Not only does it satisfy a serious craving of mine, it's GOOD, and it's CHEAP!!
**I use Udi's Foods crusts for me (2 for $6), and Betty Crocker just-add-water-type crust for Ryan ($0.70 for a decent sized pizza). We always switch up the toppings and we both get what we want.
**I'm using turkey Italian sausage this time, so it won't be as greasy as traditional Italian Sausage.
**I will sautee the fresh mushrooms before I put them on the pizza so they're done all of the way, and because I'm weird about mushrooms.
**And what really makes this pizza the awesome, is that we use thin slices of fresh mozzarella all over it instead of shredded mozzarella. This is something I experienced in NY with Heather at Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn. Trust me, once you try it, you'll never eat shredded mozzarella on a pizza again!
LARA-style bars
** Recently I've found myself at work with nothing to eat--and that makes for a long day. After discussing my gluten issues with a coworker she suggested LARA bars, and said she found a good recipe for homemade LARA bars online. I did my own search and found a recipe here at Enlightened Cooking. (They're very similar to the Sugar Plums I make at Christmas time.)
**I made 3 flavors of them and they have been SUCH a lifesaver at work!
**Ryan doesn't love them, but he's not a huge fan of nuts.
**You can get a variety of dried fruit and nuts at Sam's Club, which makes the cost of these bars a fraction of what you'd pay for them in the store!
**Next time I make them, I'll probably chop the nuts in the food processor until they're about 3/4 done, and add the fruit right to the same bowl, and process until well combined, thus eliminating the need for an additional bow; the food processor does the mixing for you!
Bon Appetit!
BBQ Short Ribs with Creamy Coleslaw and Oven-Baked Fries
**I feel so terrible leaving Ryan home on nights I work with nothing but a frozen pizza to eat! So Erin let me borrow her crock pot until we maybe get one from our wedding registry.
**Though I don't work tomorrow, I will be gone all day so I'm going to put our ribs in the pot with some BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's is GF) and let them go! When I get home I'll just throw together some coleslaw and some potatoes seasoned and baked in the oven.
**Easy and delicious!
Lebanese Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken
** I was mentioning at work needing some ideas for dinner, and one of my coworkers suggested this salad:
DRESSING: Crushed garlic, salt, mint, vegetable oil, cider vinegar.
SALAD: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, bell pepper
**I will be adapting it into a pasta salad, and serving it with grilled chicken to make a more complete meal.
**Note, if you use GF rice pasta, let the noodles cool in the colander, but don't refrigerate them, or save the leftovers for later. Rice pasta does NOT refrigerate well and gets really hard and gross. I will make just enough pasta for my own dinner, and nothing more for extras.
Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Meatballs
** We're meeting Ryan's family for dinner this week, and since I'm the one that needs accommodation, I suggested something easy like spaghetti.
**I'll be bringing my own noodles, and bread crumbs for the mix.
**I like to add grated or shredded parmesan cheese to the mix for some easily added deliciousness.
Homemade Sausage and Mushroom Pizza
** It's possible I've mentioned it before... But one of my biggest cravings in my new GF lifestyle is pizza! Last time Ryan and I went out for GF pizza it cost us $70! So we've started making our own. Not only does it satisfy a serious craving of mine, it's GOOD, and it's CHEAP!!
**I use Udi's Foods crusts for me (2 for $6), and Betty Crocker just-add-water-type crust for Ryan ($0.70 for a decent sized pizza). We always switch up the toppings and we both get what we want.
**I'm using turkey Italian sausage this time, so it won't be as greasy as traditional Italian Sausage.
**I will sautee the fresh mushrooms before I put them on the pizza so they're done all of the way, and because I'm weird about mushrooms.
**And what really makes this pizza the awesome, is that we use thin slices of fresh mozzarella all over it instead of shredded mozzarella. This is something I experienced in NY with Heather at Grimaldi's Pizza in Brooklyn. Trust me, once you try it, you'll never eat shredded mozzarella on a pizza again!
LARA-style bars
** Recently I've found myself at work with nothing to eat--and that makes for a long day. After discussing my gluten issues with a coworker she suggested LARA bars, and said she found a good recipe for homemade LARA bars online. I did my own search and found a recipe here at Enlightened Cooking. (They're very similar to the Sugar Plums I make at Christmas time.)
**I made 3 flavors of them and they have been SUCH a lifesaver at work!
**Ryan doesn't love them, but he's not a huge fan of nuts.
**You can get a variety of dried fruit and nuts at Sam's Club, which makes the cost of these bars a fraction of what you'd pay for them in the store!
**Next time I make them, I'll probably chop the nuts in the food processor until they're about 3/4 done, and add the fruit right to the same bowl, and process until well combined, thus eliminating the need for an additional bow; the food processor does the mixing for you!
Bon Appetit!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 3
This week's plan is: Eat what we have!
Chicken Enchiladas with Rice
**I acquired some chicken from work this week (already cooked) and I'd like to use it up, and there's rice in the freezer from Cinco de Mayo to reheat.
** I'm making my own sauce for this, because it's hard to find GF enchilada sauce in the stores, and I'm trying to use up our canned goods! I found a recipe for Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas and Red Sauce here and the same woman has a green sauce on another blog here.
**The enchilada recipe I'm using is very similar to the one above, but I will also be adding green onion and cilantro to the filling. I will make and assemble them tonight to sauce and pop in the oven tomorrow when I get home from work--dinner in a FLASH!
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese and Salad
** This dinner is a tribute to my Dad who recently told me his cooking skills extend only as far as soup and crock-pot recipes. He recently made homemade tomato soup from a recipe on All Recipes which is an awesome website! I think my Better Homes and Gardens classic cookbook has great old fashioned soup recipes too, and I will be using their basic Cream of Vegetable soup recipe and canned tomatoes to make Creamy Tomato Soup.
**For creamed soups, or other dishes you want to feel very luxurious, but want to skip the calories and fat, try using canned evaporated milk instead of half & half. It has a much richer feel and taste than regular milk, but the same amount of calories and fat!
**I'll serve Ryan's with a Grilled Cheese to make it a little more filling, and a salad on the side for both of us with a light vinaigrette.
Spicy Tomato Braised Pork Chops with Butter & Parsley New Potatoes and Peas
** I have Pork Shoulder Chops in the freezer left over from our Cinco de Mayo taco meat. I'm going to brown them quickly to sear in the juices, and also add in some bell pepper and onions, and then simmer them in tomato puree and red pepper flakes, until they fall of the bones.
**Normally this is the sort of thing I'd serve over rice, to soak up the sauce, but we got baby new potatoes at the Farmer's Market, so I'll quarter them and boil them until done, then toss them with butter, garlic salt, and chopped fresh parsley.
**Since my creamed peas failed last week I will give Ryan plain buttered peas this week. :)
Chorizo, Peppers and Onions with Creamy Coleslaw
** For our celebration of I'm-Glad-I'm-Not-A-Mother's Day on Sunday we had breakfast nachos with chorizo sausage, eggs, cheese, salsa etc. I'm going to grill the left over sausages until cooked through and slice them on the bias (aka diagonal) and sautee up some peppers and onions to go with.
**Since chorizo sausage is so spicy I'll serve it with a cool, creamy coleslaw. For a little Mexican influence, I'll use lime juice in my slaw instead of vinegar.
Erin requested that I list more recipes that involve things most people already have in their pantry. My staples are usually: Rice, pasta, tortillas, potatoes, onions, canned tomatoes, random canned veggies, frozen veggies, oils & vinegars, TONS of dried spices, and other condiments. We don't have a ton of room to keep lots of things on-hand. However, for these 4 meals my grocery list is very, very short, I will be buying some fresh produce and herbs but that's pretty much it. Lots of the ingredients are left overs being turned into something new. You don't need a lot of crazy stuff to make a delicious meal! Check out Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade on the Food Network for more store-bought shortcuts to homemade praises from the Fam.
Bon Appetit!
Chicken Enchiladas with Rice
**I acquired some chicken from work this week (already cooked) and I'd like to use it up, and there's rice in the freezer from Cinco de Mayo to reheat.
** I'm making my own sauce for this, because it's hard to find GF enchilada sauce in the stores, and I'm trying to use up our canned goods! I found a recipe for Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas and Red Sauce here and the same woman has a green sauce on another blog here.
**The enchilada recipe I'm using is very similar to the one above, but I will also be adding green onion and cilantro to the filling. I will make and assemble them tonight to sauce and pop in the oven tomorrow when I get home from work--dinner in a FLASH!
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese and Salad
** This dinner is a tribute to my Dad who recently told me his cooking skills extend only as far as soup and crock-pot recipes. He recently made homemade tomato soup from a recipe on All Recipes which is an awesome website! I think my Better Homes and Gardens classic cookbook has great old fashioned soup recipes too, and I will be using their basic Cream of Vegetable soup recipe and canned tomatoes to make Creamy Tomato Soup.
**For creamed soups, or other dishes you want to feel very luxurious, but want to skip the calories and fat, try using canned evaporated milk instead of half & half. It has a much richer feel and taste than regular milk, but the same amount of calories and fat!
**I'll serve Ryan's with a Grilled Cheese to make it a little more filling, and a salad on the side for both of us with a light vinaigrette.
Spicy Tomato Braised Pork Chops with Butter & Parsley New Potatoes and Peas
** I have Pork Shoulder Chops in the freezer left over from our Cinco de Mayo taco meat. I'm going to brown them quickly to sear in the juices, and also add in some bell pepper and onions, and then simmer them in tomato puree and red pepper flakes, until they fall of the bones.
**Normally this is the sort of thing I'd serve over rice, to soak up the sauce, but we got baby new potatoes at the Farmer's Market, so I'll quarter them and boil them until done, then toss them with butter, garlic salt, and chopped fresh parsley.
**Since my creamed peas failed last week I will give Ryan plain buttered peas this week. :)
Chorizo, Peppers and Onions with Creamy Coleslaw
** For our celebration of I'm-Glad-I'm-Not-A-Mother's Day on Sunday we had breakfast nachos with chorizo sausage, eggs, cheese, salsa etc. I'm going to grill the left over sausages until cooked through and slice them on the bias (aka diagonal) and sautee up some peppers and onions to go with.
**Since chorizo sausage is so spicy I'll serve it with a cool, creamy coleslaw. For a little Mexican influence, I'll use lime juice in my slaw instead of vinegar.
Erin requested that I list more recipes that involve things most people already have in their pantry. My staples are usually: Rice, pasta, tortillas, potatoes, onions, canned tomatoes, random canned veggies, frozen veggies, oils & vinegars, TONS of dried spices, and other condiments. We don't have a ton of room to keep lots of things on-hand. However, for these 4 meals my grocery list is very, very short, I will be buying some fresh produce and herbs but that's pretty much it. Lots of the ingredients are left overs being turned into something new. You don't need a lot of crazy stuff to make a delicious meal! Check out Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade on the Food Network for more store-bought shortcuts to homemade praises from the Fam.
Bon Appetit!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Makin' Magic Outta Canned Goods - 2
This week's plan is:
Chicken Caesar Salads
** I'm making my own dressing for this, because I don't trust the bottled dressings to be GF. But obviously this meal could be made with store-bought dressing OR a complete salad kit in a bag, just add grilled chicken.
**I used a combination of Alton Brown's recipe and Tyler Florence's recipe. I skipped the anchovies, though I will admit I think that's what the recipe was "missing." Also, I used an extra virgin olive oil, and it was pretty olivey tasting--which I don't like. Next time I might do half EVOO and half veggie or canola oil. I also almost doubled the parmesan and used a coarse ground black pepper. Overall, it was pretty tasty for my first attempt!
Spaghetti
** Ryan climbs on Monday nights so I try to make something quick and energy filled for him before he goes.
**I acquired some pesto from work this week, so I'll probably use that up instead of a red sauce. Pesto is so cheap and quick, especially with the farmers market around! A huge bunch of fresh basil is only $1, and if you sub walnuts for pine nuts this is super cheap and fresh for summer! Also, if you leave the parmesan cheese out pesto freezes really well. Just thaw it and add the cheese when you're ready to use it!
BBQ Chicken with Rice and Creamed Peas
** Try Sweet Baby Ray's Original for a GF sauce.
** Ryan loves both rice and peas, so we usually have these on hand. The recipe tagged calls for canned peas, but I will be using frozen, and also subbing the flour for cornstarch as noted in a previous Magic Meal post.
Tacos with Salsa and Guacamole
** Can't have Cinco de Mayo without tacos!!
**Ryan likes a salsa called Salsa Lisa, I fell in love recently with one called Snappy Dogs, which is produced in Woodbury. You can buy both at Whole Foods.
** My favorite Guac. recipe is by Dave Lieberman (in his book Young and Hungry) but there are millions of recipes out there, so find one you like!
** Check out www.foodnetwork.com for more awesome Cinco de Mayo recioes!
Bon Appetit!
Chicken Caesar Salads
** I'm making my own dressing for this, because I don't trust the bottled dressings to be GF. But obviously this meal could be made with store-bought dressing OR a complete salad kit in a bag, just add grilled chicken.
**I used a combination of Alton Brown's recipe and Tyler Florence's recipe. I skipped the anchovies, though I will admit I think that's what the recipe was "missing." Also, I used an extra virgin olive oil, and it was pretty olivey tasting--which I don't like. Next time I might do half EVOO and half veggie or canola oil. I also almost doubled the parmesan and used a coarse ground black pepper. Overall, it was pretty tasty for my first attempt!
Spaghetti
** Ryan climbs on Monday nights so I try to make something quick and energy filled for him before he goes.
**I acquired some pesto from work this week, so I'll probably use that up instead of a red sauce. Pesto is so cheap and quick, especially with the farmers market around! A huge bunch of fresh basil is only $1, and if you sub walnuts for pine nuts this is super cheap and fresh for summer! Also, if you leave the parmesan cheese out pesto freezes really well. Just thaw it and add the cheese when you're ready to use it!
BBQ Chicken with Rice and Creamed Peas
** Try Sweet Baby Ray's Original for a GF sauce.
** Ryan loves both rice and peas, so we usually have these on hand. The recipe tagged calls for canned peas, but I will be using frozen, and also subbing the flour for cornstarch as noted in a previous Magic Meal post.
Tacos with Salsa and Guacamole
** Can't have Cinco de Mayo without tacos!!
**Ryan likes a salsa called Salsa Lisa, I fell in love recently with one called Snappy Dogs, which is produced in Woodbury. You can buy both at Whole Foods.
** My favorite Guac. recipe is by Dave Lieberman (in his book Young and Hungry) but there are millions of recipes out there, so find one you like!
** Check out www.foodnetwork.com for more awesome Cinco de Mayo recioes!
Bon Appetit!
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