Spoiled Rotten November 10, 2009

Yup, that is what I have been lately.  Ross is the best ever and has not only been planning meals, but grocery shopping for them and cooking them as well… and even doing the dishes!  I wonder how long I can make this last after  the baby is born?

This past weekend, Ross made a super delicious home cooked, comfort food meal.  He made homemade mac and cheese and oven fried chicken.  They were both so very delicious.  The baked chicken had a delicious flavor and was so juicy and tender.  The baked mac and cheese was awesome – we have almost cleaned off the 9×13 dish of it that was made only 2 nights ago!  Ross said that after reading the reviews he doubled the amount of evaporated milk (adding 1 cup total) and added an extra egg as well.  It was perfect.  I loved it and can’t wait to make it again.  It is different than my Mom’s mac and cheese - just different enough that it is worth keeping both recipes in our repetoire!

Tonight, Ross made Curried Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole.  We both really, really loved it.  The mixture of the curry, tomatoes, raisins and cinnamon sound so random, but taste so well together.  Ross used chicken thighs instead of breasts and it was so delicious – and according to him, fairly easy to prepare.  I can’t wait to make this one again very soon. 

It’s been forever since I posted last, and with a baby joining our family on Wednesday at the latest, it will probably be awhile again.  These were all just too good not to share!

Ham and Asparagus Strata August 26, 2009

Once again, it’s been awhile!

My sister had a baby shower for me this past weekend and there was a bunch of leftovers, including some leftover ham.  I decided at the last minute today to search for a recipe that I could make to use up the ham.  I went to the Campbell’s website, a place I rarely go, but I thought I’d give it a try.  I found this recipe for Ham and Asparagus Strata and I really loved it. 

Here’s the basic idea:

Chop up ham, add to a casserole dish with 4 cups of dry stuffing, 2 cups of Swiss cheese and about 3/4 lb of asparagus, cooked.  In a separate bowl, whisk together 5 eggs, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, a can of cream of asparagus or cream of mushroom soup, and 2 cups of milk.  Mix it all together and pour it over the ham and stuffing mixture.  Bake (recipe says 45 min but mine was in for over an hour before the eggs seemed cooked through).

 

This was really easy and really tasty.  I love the combination of ham, Swiss, asparagus and mustard.  The stuffing and soup/egg mixture was an added treat.  A great way to use up leftover ham!

As a side note, while looking for recipes, I went to the Kraft website, another place I don’t visit often.  I love it because you can put in a few ingredients that you are craving and it will spit out recipes that contain those.  Brilliant idea!  I’m making 2 recipes this week from that site so I will be sure to share those as well!

Mom’s Mac and Cheese July 9, 2009

This one was in the Herald yesterday, but with a mistake by me.  It’s 16 oz of cheese, not 8.  Sorry!

It’s no secret that food is one of my favorite things in life.  When I plan my meals, I have to make sure it is going to be something really tasty.  One of the biggest disappointments to me is eating a meal that just isn’t that good.  It feels like such a waste to me, a missed opportunity for something I love. 

The thing is, for me it isn’t just about the taste.  Sure, I want it to taste good – but it also has to feel good.  I’m a texture person.  It took me well into my teenage years to be able to stomach peas – not because of how they taste, but how they felt in my mouth.  The pop of the outside followed by the mush on the inside was just more than I could handle.  I’m not sure what made me finally get over it, but I’m fine with peas now. 

Often times when planning meals, I plan more around the texture I am craving than the taste of the food.  One of my favorite textures is smooth and creamy.  Whether it is a dessert made of cool whip and pudding or a pasta dish with a rich creamy sauce, these foods are just as satisfying to the soul as they are to the palate. 

Like most children, mac and cheese was one of my favorites growing up, and it still is.  The good ol’ box will work in a pinch, but Mom’s homemade mac and cheese is better than anything else.  My favorite part has always been the fresh sliced tomatoes layered on top with the crunchy breadcrumb mixture finishing it off.  A bite of warm, creamy pasta with the slight tang of tomato and just a tiny crunch is the perfect texture recipe for me.  And just to top it off, it tastes incredible as well.  This is one that you just can’t go wrong with.

Mom’s Mac and Cheese

1 box macaroni (elbows or shells are best), cooked al dente or a tiny bit less

1 tomato, sliced

16 ounce box Velveeta, chopped

¼ stick butter

¼ cup flour

2 to 2 ½ cups milk

1 tablespoon minced onion

Parsley to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup breadcrumbs

¼ cup parmesan cheese

 

Over low heat, melt butter.  Whisk flour into it, and then add milk slowly.  Before boiling, add cheese, bring to a slow boil.  Add minced onion, salt, pepper and parsley.  Stir in macaroni.  Place in a 13×9 inch baking dish.  Top with parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and sliced tomatoes.  Bake for 30-45 minutes.

French Onion Tomato Soup July 6, 2009

We just finished the bulk of our kitchen floors!  It was a project that took the entire long weekend, but is well worth it.  We love them!  Now we just have to re-build the energy to do the living room and hallway.  Then we’ll really  be done!

 

I needed to make a dinner that would be quick and easy since I knew we’d be finishing in the evening.  The stove has been in the hallway all weekend, so we haven’t had a real home cooked meal in days.  By the time we’d get the stove back in the kitchen, there wouldn’t be time for a big meal.  We decided grilled cheese and tomato soup would be quick and easy, as well as tasty.

 

Well, since I haven’t cooked in a few days, I was kind of in withdrawal.  I hopped on allrecipes.com to see if I could find a recipe for a homemade tomato soup that was still quick and easy… and tasty.   I found this one and I am so glad I did.  It was delicious!  The base is tomato juice, but the beef bouillon gives it a hint of a French onion-y flavor, along of course with all of the onions.  A touch of brown sugar adds the perfect sweetness, and the dash of red wine that I added brought a nice flavor.  Broiled with a piece of toasted French bread and some melted mozzarella and provolone, this was the perfect side dish for our grilled cheese sandwiches.

 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/French-Onion-Tomato-Soup/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

Swiss Steak – or so it’s called July 3, 2009

This tasted nothing like Swiss Steak to me.  It was delicious – but not Swiss Steak.  But, that’s what they call it in the cookbook, so who am I to change it?  This recipe is from the cookbook Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook.  I don’t really get the title, because I like my mother’s slow cooker recipes, but this has good ones, too! 

The Dr. told me at my last appointment that I need to eat more red meat.  I don’t hate red meat, but I usually make mostly chicken, turkey and pork - and maybe only 1 red meat meal per week.  The past week or so I’ve been trying to eat a lot more.  I found this recipe, and it was also very convenient to have a slow cooker recipe.  Ross is putting new floors in the kitchen this weekend and that limits me to what I can get to.  Having this cook all day and not needing to be in his way in the evening worked out well!

Here’s the recipe.  The chili sauce is what intrigued me – it added a great flavor, with just a hint of sweetness.  We’ll definitely have this again!

Swiss Steak

One 3 pound top round steak, 1 inch thick, edges trimmed, cut into 4 to 5 inch pieces, and blotted dry (OK, that is too much work.  I just got a huge roast and cooked it that way – whole).

1 clove garlic, pressed

2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, to your taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2-4 tablespoons light olive oil

1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped carrots (I just used about 3 large carrots, peeled them and cut them into chunks)

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery (again, about 2 stalks just cut into some smaller chunks)

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup prepared chili sauce

1 cup vegetable broth ( I used chicken because that is what I had)

Rub each piece of meat with the garlic and Worcestershire.  In a zippered-top plastic bag or bowl, combine the flour, thyme, paprika, salt and black pepper.  Toss the meat in the mixture until evenly coated.  With a mallet, pound into both sides of the steak as much of the seasoned flour as the steak will hold (Since I used the whole roast, I coated it with the flour mixture and skipped this part).

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil until very hot.  Add half the meat and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes (or just brown whole roast for a few minutes on each side).  Transfer to the slow cooker.  Repeat with the remaining meat, adding oil as needed.  Add the onion to the skillet and cook, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to the cooker.  Toss the carrots adn celery together in a small bowl adn add them to the slow cooker along with the mushrooms, chili sauce, and broth, making sure the meat is nestled into the sauce mixture.  Cover and cook on low until the meat is tender enough to cut with a fork, 9-10 hours.

At the end of cooking, taste for salt and pepper.  Serve hot with the pan juices.

Pork Chops and Polenta June 24, 2009

We tried a new pork chop recipe tonight which ended up being pretty good.  We also had polenta for the first time, which we both loved!

The pork chops were pretty simple – brown them for a few minutes on each side and place in a baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, squirt some lemon juice on top, and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Mix together a small can of tomato sauce and about a tablespoon of dijon mustard and pour over the top of the chops.  Add about 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes.  They weren’t the best things in the whole world, but they were good and I would make them again.  They were quick and easy to prepare, that is for sure.  Here’s the link to the recipe.  I didn’t do exactly everything it said, but it was close…  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Pork-Chops-II/Detail.aspx?prop31=5

 

We bought polenta on a whim at the grocery store awhile back, but I haven’t made it yet.  I decided to try it tonight.  It was simple to make – I just followed the directions on the back of the bag.  It was very tasty with the sauce from the pork chops over it. 

We had this along with some fresh broccoli that I baked with a little garlic and  a little lemon.

Stuffed Shells June 10, 2009

Tonight’s dinner was made last night, which made it perfect for a night that we were getting home late.  It was also perfect seeing as though Ross has been working on building a fence in our yard all week, so I was able to get all of the other stuff done without feeling too overwhelmed and having to cook, too (ok, well, I still felt overwhelmed all night, but I shouldn’t have!).

Last night, I boiled a box of jumbo shells.  While they were boiling, I sauteed a clove of garlic and about 1/2 onion, diced, in some olive oil.  I added a pound of ground beef and let it brown until cooked through.  I then drained the meat and set it aside. 

Meanwhile, I mixed together a medium sized container of cottage cheese and about 1/2 cup of sour cream.  I’ve used cottage cheese before in baked ziti, but never in stuffed shells.  The cottage cheese/sour cream combo was very tasty.  And I HATE cottage cheese.  Anything with the name curds in it just should not be edible to me.  But I actually really like it baked in Italian meals instead of ricotta.  Adding the sour cream to it made it a little thicker, a little creamier and just a tad richer, while still tasting a little lighter.  Along with the cottage cheese and sour cream I added 1 egg and about a teaspoon of dried basil and a teaspoon of oregano as well as some salt and pepper.  I mixed in a cup of mozzarella cheese and a little Parmesan.  The meat mixture was added to the cheese mixture and all was stirred well. 

I coated the bottom of a 9×13 dish with sauce, stuffed each shell with the cheese mixture and set them down, seam side up, in the pan.  I poured the remainder of the jar of sauce over the shells, sprinkled another cup of mozzarella on top and sprinkled with Parm, salt and pepper.  Last night I just covered it and put it in the fridge.  Tonight when I got home, all I had to do was preheat the oven to 350, uncover it and bake it for about 35-40 minutes (probably only 30 or so if you weren’t just taking it out of the fridge).

We both loved it made this way!  I think this will be my new standard for stuffed shells.  Although, I realized as I was eating them that I forgot to add a dash of nutmeg to the cheese mixture, which my aunt always did and I love that.  I will be sure not to forget it next time, it definitely adds a nice, subtle flavor.  We had our shells with some garlic bread and green beans.

Quick and Easy June 5, 2009

Last night for dinner we wanted something simple.  Every now and then I get a craving for something that one of my college roommates would make often when we lived in our apartment.  We’ve always called it just Chicken in a Bag, which doesn’t sound so appetizing, but it tastes so good.  Make sure you get the country style – it has the creamy, tasty sauce.

All you do is put the about 2 pounds of chicken in a bag (we usually do breasts and/or thighs), mix the seasoning with some flour and water, pour it over the chicken, seal the bag and bake for an hour.  It is so tender and has a great flavor.  And it just doesn’t get much easier than that.  If you’ve never had it, buy a packet (they’re about $2) and keep it on hand for one of those nights when you just don’t feel like cooking much.

We had some rice with it to pour the extra sauce over (it calls for 2 1/2 pounds of chicken but we never use that much, so we just have lots of extra sauce) and some fresh green beans.  Delish.

Creamy Dijon Chicken June 3, 2009

I was really wanting something mustardy for dinner tonight, and I needed to use the chicken that I had thawed.  Being on the fresh veggie kick that I am, I wanted lots of veggies, too.  So, this is what I came up with.  We both really loved it.  I have to warn you, I didn’t measure a blessed thing while I was concocting it, so the measurements are all guesses.  When you make the sauce, just keep tasting it until you like the flavor.  Add other stuff if you want, or use different veggies.  This one was totally made up as I went, so there are no rules!  (The basic cream sauce I do measure, just to be sure to get the right consistency, but all of the “flavor” stuff I don’t measure).

Creamy Dijon Chicken

1 lb chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 crown broccoli, chopped into bite sized chunks

1/3 head of cauliflower, chopped into bite sized chunks

2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced

4-6 oz fresh mushrooms

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

6 strips bacon

 

Heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Brown chicken, about 4-5 minutes on each side.  Set chicken aside, add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet, add raw veggies.  Saute until crisp-tender, about 7-8 minutes.  While veggies are cooking, cut chicken into strips and cook bacon.  Set bacon aside on paper towel to absorb grease.  Prepare sauce by melting 3 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour, slowly add milk until thickened.  Add cheese, stir until melted.  Add salt, pepper and onion powder.  Add chicken, veggies and sauce to a casserole dish.  Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.  Add crumbled bacon on top, bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. 

 

We served this with some rice pilaf, which was perfect because we could pour some of the tasty sauce over it!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup February 20, 2009

Oh my goodness, this was delicious.  I haven’t written in forever.  This is due to many reasons, one of which is that I just haven’t been all that inspired.  Life has been very hectic, so we haven’t been testing out as many new recipes.  The ones that we’ve had recently that seemed worth writing about were ones that I had already written about!  One of the great things about this blog is that I can easily go back and find recipes that we loved and make them again.

 

Tonight, I wanted to try something new, I was in the mood to cook!  I went to allrecipes.com and the recipe for Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup was the main recipe on the front page.  It had 5 stars with almost 500 reviews, so I figured it must be good.  The ingredients seemed simple enough and it sounded tasty.

 

Well, it wasn’t just tasty, it was super delicious.  I already can’t wait for lunch tomorrow so that I can fill up all over again on the leftovers.    Below is the recipe, in italics is what I did differently.  Many of these changes are ones that I read in the reviews for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 4 cups chicken broth (I added 2 extra because I used a lot of chicken)
• 2 cups water (I added an extra 3/4 cup to balance out the extra broth)
• 2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded (We had a huge pack, so we used 3 large breasts, which I simmered in chicken broth to cook before shredding)
• 1 (4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet  (I used Uncle Bens 6 oz box)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups heavy cream (I used 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup skim milk)
• 1 carrot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 8 oz fresh mushrooms

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
2. Saute garlic, onion, carrots and mushrooms until tender.  Add to broth mixture just before removing it from the heat.
3. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream/milk mixture, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.
4. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10 to 15 minutes.

Even though I added more liquid, I didn’t add more flour because it was thickened due to the extra vegetables.  While it was finishing cooking, I wasn’t sure it would be thick enough, but once I removed it from the heat and let it cool a bit it thickend up just perfectly.

This was fairly simple and well worth the little effort it did take. This was such a good soup, definitely going into my favorites!  We served it with a Caesar salad.