Thursday, February 25, 2010

Chicken-Zucchini Fettuccine Alfredo















Hooray for a guilt free fettuccine alfredo recipe!  I pretty much followed this recipe to the letter....I added a little extra pepper at the end, but no major changes.  I think I will try a variation of this with asparagus and blackened cajun chicken.

Here's a link to the recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/chicken-zucchini-alfredo-recipe/index.html

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Shredded Beef Soft Tacos

We had some extra shredded beef leftover from making enchiladas so I decided to make some tacos last night.  Shredded beef, black beans, lettuce, tomato, jack cheese, and some salsa.  Very fast and VERY yummy :)  I love cooking once and eating twice ;)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Shredded Beef Enchiladas















I usually make chicken enchiladas but I wanted to try my hand at making them with shredded beef.  This recipe is a "weekend" recipe for me becayse it's a little time consuming....but it's well worth it. 

Here is a link to the recipe I used....


I ended up using an 8 ounce can of diced green chilies instead of a fresh green chili.  I didn't cook the tortillas in oil before rolling the enchiladas.  My husband found some white corn tortillas that are part corn and part whole grain wheat.  They were really pliable so I was able to skip the oil all together. 

Friday, February 19, 2010

Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad Sandwich

Earl Grey Tea Mannor in Old Sacramento made these great Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad tea sandwiches.  Before I had them I didn't even like chicken salad sandwiches.  Now this is one of my favorites.  When they went out of business I started making them myself.  I've been told they are very tastey...actually I was told I would be kicked very hard if I showed up to a party without them ;)  I think that means they're good...

Two sliced wheat bread
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (see below)
2 TBS chopped walnuts
3 TBS dried cranberries
1 TBS celery, diced very small
3 TBS light mayo
pepper to taste

You can use any cooked chicken for these sandwiches.  If you have leftover roasted chicken or grilled chicken you can shred it up and use it for this sandwich (as long as it isn't seasoned in a way that would clash with the cranberries).  I like to cut up a carrot, celery stalk, and an onion and put them in a pot with a bay leaf and a chicken breast (and some fresh thyme if I have it).  Then I add water to cover everything and bring it to a low boil.  When the chicken is cooked through I remove it from the liquid, shred it, and put it in the fridge.  Once it's cooled I add the chopped walnuts, cranberries, celery, mayo, and pepper.  The amounts listed above will make two sandwiches.  They are pretty filling, very tastey, and a great way to use up leftover chicken.

Chicken & Black Bean Tostadas

This is one of my husbands favorite things to have for dinner :)  They are pretty easy to put together, and you can customize them for everyone in your family.  If your kids are old enough they can even assemble their own.

Tostada shells
Low fat refried black beans
Avocado
Cooked Chicken (see below)
Shredded cheddar cheese
Diced tomatoes
Sour Cream
Cilantro
Salsa

You can use any kind of cooked chicken for this.  I like to put a few chicken breasts in a pot with a chopped carrot, a chopped celery stalk, and a small chopped onion.  Then I bring it to a low boil until the chicken is cooked through.  Then I shredd the chicken.  It's perfect for enchiladas, tacos, pasta shells, chicken salad, tostadad, etc.

Vegetarian Taco Salad

Normally this is a salad I would top with sliced grilled chicken or even some taco meat.  It makes a nice light dinner.  For the dressing you can mix one part salsa with one part ranch dressing (sounds a little odd, but it's good), or you can use a store bought dressing (I like Brianna's Chipoltle Cheddar).

I made this for lunch the other day and decided to skip the chicken.  It was still pretty filling, and took less time to make...

Romaine lettuce
Avocado, diced
Cilantro, chopped
Grape tomatoes
Yellow bell pepper
Red Onion
Whole black beans, drained/rinsed

Pumpkin Spice Muffins















I’ve been planning on making some Pumpkin Spice Muffins for a while now. I had a recipe all picked out and I THOUGHT I had all of the ingredients….turns out I needed more eggs than I had in the house. So I did some searching and found a recipe that I had almost all of the ingredients. Normally I don’t change recipes for baked goods (I’ll add things but not substitute). I ended up changing this one a little based on what I had on hand. The original recipe calls for whole grain pastry flour, unsulphered molasses, canola oil, buttermilk, and pumpkin seeds. I had enriched cake flour, apple sauce, peanut oil, 1% milk, and chopped walnuts. I thought I’d try to make it work with what I had on hand and they turned out great. They’re really moist, and not too sweet. I think I am going to try adding raisins, dried cranberries, or diced apples next time….maybe I’ll divide the batter into three batches and try all three to see which way works best.


Here’s a link to the original recipe…

(http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/pumpkin-muffins-recipe/index.html)

Here is the recipe as I made it…

• Cooking spray (or you can use paper muffin tin liners)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup enriched cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons apple sauce
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup 1% milk
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or use paper lines like I did….what can I say…anything I can do to make clean-up faster;).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, apple sauce, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts (press them into the batter a little bit with your finger tip or the back of a spoon). Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold….unless you liners…then you can just remove them from the muffin tin and let them cool on the rack


Semi-Homemade Mushroom & Meat Marinara















I used to make my own marinara sauce, but I haven’t had as much time lately…what with the toddler and infant and all ;) I tried going back to regular store bought sauce from a jar, but after having the homemade version the store bought version tasted like it was missing something. So this is what I do to make it almost like homemade…


1 lb Lean ground beef
1/2 an onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, diced small
1 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried oregano
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Cup sliced mushrooms
3 TBS red wine (optional)
1 Jar store bought marinara sauce
Your favorite pasta, cooked
In a mixing bowl combine ground beef, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper, salt, and pepper. Mix well to even distribute everything though out the meat. Place in a skillet or large sauté pan. Cook on medium high heat breaking up the ground beef as it browns.  When the meat is browned and onions are translucent drain the fat from the meat and return to stove. Add sliced mushrooms and red wine and stir frequently for two to three minutes (you could also add other veggies here…like zucchini). Add jar of marinara sauce and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for at least ten minutes (I like to let it simmer for about 20 minutes when I have time) stirring occasionally.

Serve sauce over your favorite pasta and enjoy :)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Garlic Ginger Soy Chicken & Not Fried Rice















 
Garlic Ginger Soy Chicken
1 Cup soy sauce
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth (or white wine)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS fresh ginger, grated  (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 thin sliced chicken breasts
Scallions for garnishing (optional)

Pre-Heat oven to 400 degrees

Combine everything but the chicken in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Boil for two minutes then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Place chicken breasts in a baking dish (I lined mine with foil to make clean up easier).  Top with the sauce from the pan.  Place in the oven.  Bake for 20 minutes.  If you are using whole chicken breasts you'll need to increase the cooking time to 45 minutes.

Not Fried Rice
2 Cups Brown Minute Rice
1 Carrot, peeled & diced
1 TBS fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
1 TBS vegetable oil
2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS rice vinegar
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 scallions, sliced thin

Heat oil, carrots, and ginger in a sauce pan until carrots begin to soften.  Add rice, soy sauce, vinegar, and peas.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium low for five minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit for five minutes.  Fluff with fork, stir in scallions, and serve.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Salmon with Lemon, Capers, and Rosemary & Ozo















I wanted to find something that would use up the rest of the capers so I made this salmon.  It's a Food Network recipe, and I pretty much followed it to the letter.  The only difference was that instead of making a foil packet for each filet I lined a pan with foil...then after everything was all put together I placed foil over the top of the pan.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/salmon-with-lemon-capers-and-rosemary-recipe/index.html

This was the first time I ever made orzo.  I thought it turned out great.  I wanted to do something a little different than rice with the salmon.  I needed a bunch of different herbs for other recipes for the week and I HATE wasting the extras.  This was a yummy way to use more fresh herbs.  The recipe calls for parsley and dill.  I used a few tablespoons of parsley, a tablespoon of rosemary, and a tablespoon of basil.  You could really use whatever herbs you like best.  I didn't add parmesan in at the end, but I did top Anthony's with a little shredded cheese :)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/orzo-with-herbs-recipe/index.html

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Chicken Breasts with Roasted Lemons and Capers















I found this recipe on foonetwork.com when I was looking for some healthy recipes....

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/eating-well/chicken-breasts-with-roasted-lemons-recipe/index.html

We eat boneless/skinless chicken breasts a lot, so I am always looking for something different.  I really liked how this turned out.  Roasting the lemons and then adding them to the dish made the sauce less tart than most lemon chicken recipes, but it still had a ton of citrus flavor.  I made some angel hair pasta to go along with it.  I cooked the pasta according to the directions on the package.  Then in a small sauce pan I heated 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium low heat.  I added 3 minced cloves of garlic, a quarter cup of chopped fresh parsley, the zest of two lemons, and salt and pepper to taste.  I let that simmer for about a minute and then added a quarter cup of white wine (you could also use chicken broth).  Then I added the pasta and tossed it to coat it in the sauce.  You could add a pinch of crushed red pepper when you add the garlic if you like a little heat.  You could also top the pasta with some shredded parm :)

The only down side to this meal was that it's not something you can put in theoven or on the stove and then leave.  It doesn't take very long to make, but if you have little ones like I do this is the sort of meal you should make when someone else is home to handle the kids while you concentrate on dinner ;)  If you are flying solo when you make this I suggest doing cutting and chopping ahead of time so they are ready to go when you need them.

Erika's Swiss Chicken















Erika made this for us after we brought Lena home from the hospital, and it was so good I had to try to make it. I didn't make it exactly to her recipe...partly because I made a few changes...and partly because I didn't read the recipe right. I used thin sliced chicken breasts to cut down the cooking time, I added garlic salt and pepper, and I doubled the amount of cheese (because there is no such thing as too much cheese). The original recipe only calls for a cup of stuffing mix...but somehow I read a BOX ;) So the amount of butter had to be increased. Luckily it turned out great. The chicken is really moist, there's a great amount of cheese, and the stuffing has a soft layer and then a crunchy top layer.


I think I might try a dairy free version of this with no cheese and golden mushroom soup instead of the cream of chicken.

4 Thin sliced skinless, boneless chicken breasts
Garlic salt & Pepper to taste
8 slices swiss cheese
1/2 can (10.75 oz) can of condensed cream of chicken soup
2 tablespoons milk
1 Box chicken Stove Top Stuffing mix
5 tablespoons butter, melted


Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Arrange chicken in a greased 12x8x2 baking dish. Season to taste with garlic salt and pepper. Top with swiss cheese slices (two per chicken breast).

Combine soup and milk and stir well. Spoon mixture over chicken and sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle butter over crumbs.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes! Enjoy! :)

Accidentally Vegetarian Chili















Normally the first step to making this chili would be browning one pound of lean ground beef.  I guess I had a senior moment when writting my shopping list because I forgot the ground beef.  Soooooo I decided that if this was going to be vegetarian I would add a few veggies to make it a little heartier.  Normally (in the recipe that includes meat) there would be no olive oil, carrot, or celery.

2 TBS Olive oil
1 Small onion
2 Cloves of garlic, diced
1 Carrot, peeled and diced
1 Celery stalk diced
1 (28 oz) Can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5 oz) Can diced tomateos with green chilies
1  (4 oz) Can diced green chilies
1 (15 oz) Can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Can Pinquitos (pinto beans seasoned with cumin, garlic, etc.), undrained
2 (15 oz) Cans Black beans, drained and rinsed
1 to 3 tsp Chili powder (depending on how spicy you like your chili)
1 tsp Ground cumin
1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
2 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1/3 Cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add diced onion, garlic, carrot, and celery.  Cook until onions are translucent and carrots start to soften.  Add all remaining ingredients except for the cilanto.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 30-45 minutes.  Add chopped cilantro a few minutes before serving.  Top with shedded cheese and/or sour cream, eat it plain, or put it on top of a plain hot dog in a bun.

Crispy Potato Skins















This was another Super Bowl treat for the hubby...

2 Medium sized potatoes
2 Cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
4 Strips of pepper bacon
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Sour cream
Chives

Pre-Heat Oven to 425 degrees. 

Wash the potatoes and dry them off.  Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork or a knife.  Rub the potatoes with olive oil and then sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes (or until cooked through). 

While the potatoes are baking cook the bacon until crispy and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them sit until they are cool enough to handle (about 10-15 minutes).  Slice the potatoes in half length wise.  Use a spoon to scoop out the middle of the potato leaving about a 1/4 inch of potato on the skins.  Fill the potatoes with cheese.  Crumble the bacon and place it on top of the cheese.  Put the potatoes back in the oven for about ten minutes (or until all the cheese has melted).  They will be really hot so let them sit for five to ten minutes.  Then you can top them with sour cream and chives. 

Pepperoni Twists















I made these for my hubby on Super Bowl Sunday. Very simple and oh so yummy :)



1 Can refrigerated pizza dough
2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
4 oz. sliced pepperoni
Garlic powder (optional)
Shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
Your favorite marinara sauce or pizza sauce for dipping.

I lined a baking sheet with foil and then sprayed it with cooking spray. Then I unrolled the pizza dough and covered half of it with a cup of shredded mozzarella. Then I layered sliced pepperoni on top of the cheese. Then I covered the pepperoni with the remaining cheese. Then I folded the half without any toppings over the half with toppings. I pressed down on the dough a little so everything would stay put. Then I used a pizza cutter to cut 1 inch strips. Then I twisted the strips and placed them on the baking sheet. Then I dusted them with garlic powder. If I had some shredded parm I would have sprinkled that on too. I followed the baking instructions from the dough (425 degrees for 13 minutes). I warmed up some pizza sauce for dipping and they were ready to go. This made 8 twists which was enough for two or three people to share. If I was making these for a party I would probably cut the strips in half to make smaller twists.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Lemon Pepper Chicken Club Sandwiches

This is a really simple dinner or lunch for two.....two thin sliced chiken breasts (boneless/skinless) marinated in the juice of two lemons and one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil.  Season with garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Grill or sautee the chicken.  Lightly toast four slices of sourdough bread.  To put the sandwich together just use light mayo, dijon mustard, baby salad greens, tomato, avocado, and cooked bacon.  I like to "smoosh" the avodaco instead of putting on the sandwich in slices.  It kind of acts as the glue to keep the tomato and bacon in place ;) 

Monday, February 1, 2010

Blackened Cajun Salmon

I think this is one of my favorite ways to have salmon....and we have salmon two or three times a month so it's nice to have a few different options. It's not too spicy, but it has a lot of flavor. You can use a premixed Cajun seasoning or make your own blend. Season the salmon filets liberally with Cajun seasoning. Heat two tablespoons of butter in a skillet over high heat. Cook salmon skin side up for about five minutes. Flip salmon, reduce heat to medium high and cook for another five minutes (or until cooked through)