Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today being St. Patrick's Day, I, of course, had to make something somewhat festive. When I was a kid my mom would make everything green. She would make cookies and bread and dye the dough green, so we'd have green sandwiches and green cookies. In the morning she'd dye the milk green (those were the powdered milk days, so it only made the milk even nastier than it already was - why is it that no matter how cold powdered milk is, it always tastes like warm milk? Ug...gross!). Then for dinner we'd always have corned beef and hash. I'm not such a corned beef fan, so I avoid it at all costs (much to my husband's dismay!). So this year I pretty much made the same thing as last year, switching things up a little. The jigglers were green this year and I bought bread rather than made it. I didn't like the Irish Soda bread much, so I was going to attempt some Beer Bread (Sprite works great in replacing the beer!), but didn't end up having the time. So here's my menu:

For Dinner:

• Oven Baked Fish (I used Wild Alaskan Cod this time...mmm)
• Colcannon (via Martha Stewart - see recipe below)
• Green (Lime) Jello Jigglers
• Garlic & Asiago Bread (from T.J.'s)
• Homemade Ginger Ale (See Recipe below)

For Dessert:

• Pistachio pudding with homemade whipped cream

Here's the recipes for Colcannon & Homemade Ginger Ale:

Colcannon

(photo and recipe via Martha Stewart)

• 1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
• 1 savoy cabbage, tripped pale-green leaves finely shredded (4 cups)
• 1 leek, pale-green and white parts only, cut into 1/2" dice
• 1 cup milk
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• Coarse salt

Preheat broiler. Peel and quarter potatoes, and place in a medium saucepan; add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to saucepan. Mash with a potato masher or pass through a ricer; cover pan to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in another saucepan, combine cabbage, leek, milk, 2 Tbsp butter, and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until cabbage and leek is soft but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir into potatoes.

Spread mixture in an 8" square baking dish. Make a small well in the center, and place under the broiler until lightly browned on top, about 5 minutes.

Remove from broiler. Place remaining 2 Tbsp butter in well. Serve immediately, spooning melted butter from well onto each serving, if desired.

Homemade Ginger Ale

(photo & recipe via Berlin's Whimsy)

• 2 cups rough chopped fresh ginger (about 3 large pieces)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• Large bottle of sparkling water
• Fresh limes (each beverage requires one half)

To make the Ginger Syrup Mix:

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the water and ginger pieces until barely simmering. Simmer for five minutes, turn off heat, cover and let steep for one hour. Drain the ginger water over a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup. Discard the ginger pieces. Pour the mixture back into the same saucepan, add the sugar and gently heat this mixture until the sugar dissolves. Let cool and store this Ginger Syrup in the fridge.

To make a Ginger Ale:

In each tall glass, add ice, 2 parts ginger syrup, 1 part fresh-squeezed lime juice, 3 parts sparkling water. Stir and taste. Adjust amounts to your liking (I added more sparkling water).

Veggie Quesadillas

It has been quite a while since I posted last...pregnancy has played quite a roll in my lack of attendance in the kitchen. First it was the 4 months straight of morning sickness, now its the sore back, tailbone, and swollen feet from standing too long. Its a little detouring, but I'll make it back eventually. For now I'm all for quick and easy meals. Ones that don't require too much effort - or at least standing over a hot stove. Tonight I made veggie quesadillas. This is one of those recipes that I make when I have to just make due with what I might have in the kitchen...or when I'm feeling lazy...both of which are the case tonight. You really can add whatever you want to these. I don't think I've ever made it exactly the same every time.

• Flour tortillas
• Bell peppers, julienned
• Grated cheese (preferably Monterey Jack, but mozzarella or cheddar work too)
• Corn (canned, fresh or frozen)
• Black beans
• Lime Juice
• Olive oil
• Cayenne Pepper

Heat oil in pan. Add bell peppers and cook until soft. Add black beans, corn, lime juice, and cayenne pepper (all to taste). Simmer until heated through. Brush one side of tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Top with another tortilla, facing the oil side up (away from the mixture). Cook until browned on each side and cheese has melted.

Chicken Croissant Rolls

Tonight I needed something quick, easy, and something that I had all the stuff for. So I made Chicken Croissant Rolls. I haven't made them in forever and I forgot how much my kids love them. I thought "Chicken Croissant Rolls" was too boring, so I asked my 6 year old what we should call them. His first response, "Death Balls." Well I supposed they are a heart stopper, but doesnt' sound too appetizing. So he changed it to "Chicken Balls." A little more pleasant I guess, but I think I'll just stick to the original name. This recipe calls for a sort of gravy made of Cream of Mushroom and milk. It's good, but I prefer to go a little more fatty, tasty, and easy. I prefer Country Gravy. I just use the McCormick's Country Gravy pack that you just add water to. Its great for Biscuits and Gravy too (not as good as the homemade stuff, but what packaged food is?). I like it anyway. I don't ever eat more than 1, 'cause they're too rich for me, but my son just downed 2 1/2! I guess he likes 'em!

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 cans chunk chicken)
• 1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, chive & onion (or regular cream cheese and add some chives and chopped onion), softened
• 1 pkg refrigerated croissant rolls
• Seasoned bread crumbs
• Melted butter
• 1 can cream of chicken (or mushroom)
• About 2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 375°. Cook the chicken until tender. Cool and shred. Mix chicken with the softened cream cheese in a small bowl. Roll out the croissant rolls, put a spoonful of chicken mixture at the wide end of the roll, fold over the sides and roll to seal mixture in. Roll in melted butter and then in the breadcrumbs (I like to add a little grated Parmesan to the breadcrumbs). Put in a muffin pan and cook for 20-25 minutes. While chicken rolls are cooking, heat up the cream of chicken (or mushroom) soup and the milk together, adding more milk if you want it runnier and less milk if you want it thicker. To serve, spread the soup mixture over the rolls like gravy.

An Amazing Quesadilla

I just finished an absolutely delicious quesadilla. I couldn't even wait to blog about it! This is one of the new recipes I found on Tasty Kitchen. Its from Red Velvet. Red Velvet, you're the best! Wow, it was good. It has caramelized onions, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and goat cheese...whats not to love? The sweetness of the onions and the tartness of the goat cheese & tomatoes go so great together. And the spinach I didn't even notice, but I know its doing my body good. :) My little sister kringed when I told her I was gonna try it...I'm SO glad I listened to my stomach and not you! Just a little forewarning - be careful when you flip your quesadilla...I almost lost my innards to the frying pan. For those of you who know your kids won't eat it, I just made a plain ol' boring quesadilla for my 6 year old...my 2 year old LOVED it!

• 2 whole tortillas (fat free if desired)
• 1/2 whole sweet onion
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• Few handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 3 Tbsp goat cheese (give or take)
• Cooking spray, olive oil, or butter (depends on how healthy you wanna get)

Slice the onion into long, thin strips. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray (or olive oil, or butter). Add onion and saute until lightly browned (about 10 minutes).

While onions are cooking, spread goat cheese on each tortilla in an even layer.

When done, remove onions from pan. Put onions on top of goat cheese on one tortilla. Add layer of sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Place over tortilla on top (goat cheese facing in). Add more cooking spray to pan (I used the olive oil spray). Put quesadilla in saute pan over medium heat and warm through (about 2-3 minutes per side). Cut into small wedges and enjoy (and boy did I!)!

Makes 1 quesadilla.

Lasagna

There's a lot of lasagna recipes out there...I know, I've tried a LOT of them. I love lasagna, but its gotta be just right for me. Here's a new recipe I tried this weekend. Its adapted from this recipe. One of the beauties of lasagna is its a freezer food - my little family can't successfully eat an entire 9x13 pan of it before we get sick of eating the same food day in and day out, so I make it in 2 8x8 pans - cook 1 and freeze the other. Two meals in 1 - can't beat that! This turned out really good. Its the perfect cheeziness and the sauce was mighty tasty.

• 1 package oven-ready lasagna noodles (or if you prefer, you can use regular ones, just be sure to boil them while you're making your sauce)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb hot Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 (28 oz) can Italian stewed tomatoes, undrained (if not already chopped, chop if you're like me and don't like big chunks of tomato in your lasagna)
• 2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 (15 oz) container ricotta cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• garlic powder, to taste

Cook ground beef, sausage, and onion; drain. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and pepper. If you would like to, now is the time to add cayenne and garlic powder. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes. In a small bowl blend ricotta, egg, parsley, parmesan cheese, and 1/2 tsp salt. Put a layer of noodles in a 9x13 (or 2 8x8s) pan, then a layer of meat sauce, layer of ricotta mixture, and a layer of the cheese. Repeat all layers twice more (3 layers in all). Cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20 more minutes. We like our cheesy top to be nice and chewy and almost crunchy, so for the last 2 minutes I turned the broiler on (make sure you watch it and don't go too long or you'll have a crunchy black top). Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Eggs Benedict

I made eggs benedict! I don't know why it has always seemed like an intimidating dish, but it really isn't. I've never poached an egg before, so this was a first...and it was kinda fun! I screwed up my Hollandaise sauce by adding the entire egg instead of just the yolks (it helps to read the directions FIRST!), but other than being a little runnier than it should, it turned out A-ok. For all of you breakfast lovers (or those who, like I, don't really like breakfast but have a husband and kids who do), I highly recommend trying it!

• Eggs (3 separated eggs or sauce and more as needed for poaching)
• 2 sticks Butter
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp)
• Cayenne pepper, optional
• Canadian bacon
• English muffins

Bring a pot of water to a boil. While water is boiling heat up the Canadian bacon either by frying it in a pan, broiling in the oven for a few minutes, or the microwave.

Make your Hollandaise sauce by first melting 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan until butter starts to sizzle. Be sure not to burn it! Place 3 egg yolks into the blender and turn on low just until the yolks are combined, then slowly add the hot butter while still blending on low. Blend in the lemon juice. If the sauce is too thick, you can add more juice if desired. If desired, add a shake of cayenne pepper.

When water has come to a boil, poach your eggs. To do this, crack your egg into a ramekin or small bowl. Stir the water around with a spoon so as to make a whirlpool. Drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool. Let cook for about 2-2 1/2 minutes (depending really on how cooked you want your yolk to be - we like it runny, so 2 was perfect!). Remove with a slotted spoon.

While eggs are poaching, toast the english muffins (either in a toaster or slightly buttered in the broiler with the Canadian bacon).

Place english muffin on plate (butter if you'd like), top with Canadian bacon, then poached egg. Drizzle (or drench) the top with Hollandaise sauce. Enjoy!

A Feast for the 4th

We had an excellent feast for the 4th of July.  Some friends came up for the weekend and we ate our hearts out (most likely literally...or rather now our arteries are major clogged).  I really wasn't in the creative mood, so I turned to who other than (yes, you guessed right I'm sure) the Pioneer Woman.  She is just the best (if you can find me someone better, let me know).  Here's what was on the menu:

Jalapeno Poppers (I'm SO addicted!)

• fresh jalapenos
• cream cheese, softened
• bacon, sliced in 1/2 or 1/3 depending on size of bacon & jalapenos

Cut jalapenos in half, length-wise.  With a spoon, remove seeds and membranes (if you want it a little hotter, leave a little in).  Smear softened cream cheese into each jalapeno half.  Wrap jalapeno with bacon piece.  Stick toothpick through the middle.  Bake on a pan with a rack in a 375° oven for 20-25 minutes.  You don't want the bacon to shrink too much, but after 20 minutes if the bacon isn't brown enough, turn on the broiler for a couple minutes to finish it off.  

PW's Potato Salad

• 5 pounds potatoes (she uses russet, I used red)
  
• 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
  
• 4 Tbsp prepared mustard
  
• 5 green onions, sliced
  
• 8 small pickles (she uses sweet, I used dill)
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 tsp paprika
  
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
  
• 4 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped

Cut potatoes in halves or thirds, then boil until fork tender. Drain. Mash potatoes or run them through a ricer or food mill to make them extra fluffy.  Fold potatoes together with mayo, mustard, green onions, salt, pepper.  Fold in pickles and eggs, then taste for seasonings, adding more salt, mustard, or mayo as needed.  If need more moisture, can add a little pickle juice from the jar.

PW's Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Salad

Dressing:

• 1 (7 oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Salad

• 16 oz corkscrew pasta
• 1 jar olives (she used Kalamata, I used plain ol' sliced black olives)
• 1 pint ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
• Several basil leaves, chopped or julienne
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare dressing by blending sundried tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and vinegar until tomatoes are chopped.  Blend while drizzling in olive oil; continue blending until mixed together.  Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water until no longer hot.  Pour 2/3 of the dressing over the pasta, add olives, and toss together.  Add remaining ingredients, tossing together and adding more dressing until the salad is coated to your liking.  Serve on a big platter with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

and these Tasty Burgers of My Husbands Own Creation

I really can't tell you exactly what was in the patty.  Basically into the ground beef he mixed in chopped bacon, goat cheese, Worcestershire, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, cayenne, salt, and pepper (he's the mixing king!).  Then grilled them on up on the bar-b.  I topped mine with sliced avocado, fresh tomato, and caramelized onions.  Oh baby, it was tasty!

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

Yay, I'm back online! I apologize for the great lack of posts, but my internet has been down for way too long and I FINALLY have it all sorted out and back up and running again...hip-hip-horray! I'll try to back track and see if there's anything new and delicious I've made in the past few months, so we'll start with this one. It is (again, I know, I know) a Pioneer Woman masterpiece (I can't help it...her stuff is awesome, but I do have to add that my husband has decided he needs to hire her as one of his chefs when he becomes uber rich...but in the mean time I've had to put a limit on PW recipes - 1 a week - our hearts can't handle too much more than that!). So on to the recipes.

I love roasted peppers...my esophagus doesn't always love me for eating them (peppers give me crazy heart burn), but my taste buds rejoice. And of course you can't go wrong with cream, so naturally when I saw this recipe I knew I'd love it (the PW hasn't failed me yet!). I was right. I made it for my hubby for Father's Day 'cause I knew he'd like it too...and oh did he! This pasta has the yumminess of a cream sauce, but the tang and lightness of a red sauce. The only complaint I had was I didn't have orecchiette pasta on hand so I used a fusilli-type pasta which we both agreed was a little too heavy for the sauce...a little too much pasta that is. So next time I will most definitely hunt down some orecchiette. This sauce would even be great drizzled on fish or chicken or something. Try it...it's super yummy!

• 3 red bell peppers
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts (optional)
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• Flat leaf parsley, finely minced
• Fresh Parmesan, shaved or grated
• 1/2 to 1 lb pasta (orecchiette, penne, fusilli, etc.)

Roast red peppers*. Whether its under the broiler or on the grill, you should blacken them for about ten minutes, then remove them and set them on a plate for a few minutes. Next, place them in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then remove seeds & stems. Set aside.

Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium-low heat for about five minutes. Keep them moving by jiggling the pan now and then. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor purée the peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft. Pour in pepper purée and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Just cook the mixture over medium to medium-low heat while the pasta cooks, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.

Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, then stir together. Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.

*Click here if you'd like step-by-step photographic instructions

Carrabbas (Copycat) Chicken Bryon

A long time ago, way back when my husband and I were first married and living in Utah, Carrabba's Italian Grill came to town.  We were dirt poor students, but we gathered our pennies and went to try it out.  I don't know what my hubby had, but I ordered the Chicken Bryon that came with garlic mashed potatoes or something.  Oh man, it was good.  I was able to go one more time before we moved, but have never been back since.  A couple years ago I came across this recipe and was SO excited!  It's like what I remember it tasting like, but to be honest its been like 8 years since I've tried it, so really I don't know if it is like it or not.  But I can tell you this...this recipe is awesome!  I love the buttery sun-dried tomato sauce and the tangy goat cheese...mmm!  Of course it always makes way more sun-dried tomato sauce then I actually use with the chicken, so when I made this last week, my husband put the leftover sauce on EVERYTHING for the rest of the week.  His favorite was frying eggs in the sauce part, then topping it with the tomatoes and goat cheese.  I didn't try it, but I have to admit it smelled and looked really tasty!  Doesn't it just look divine?

For the Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp butter 
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used chicken broth)
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 10 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cup finely sliced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper

Place butter, garlic, and onion in large skillet over medium heat and saute until garlic and onion are tender and transparent.  Add white wine (or chicken broth) and lemon juice.  Increase heat to medium-high and simmer to reduce by half.  Reduce heat to low.  Add cold butter one piece at a time.  Add sun-dried tomatoes, basil, salt, and pepper and stir to blend ingredients.  Set aside.

For chicken:

• 6 large chicken breasts
• 1-2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 8 oz goat cheese, softened to room temperature

For grilling:

Reduce charcoal brisquettes to white-hot coals.  Brush chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill chicken over hot coals 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.  

For stove top:

Heat some olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, then place on skillet.  Cook evenly on both sides until cooked through

Divide goat cheese evenly between chicken breasts, placing some on each breast for the last two minutes of cooking.  

To serve place cooked chicken on serving platter and spoon Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce over chicken.

Serves 6.

Mexican Lasagna

A good friend of mine gave me a ton of her favorite recipes for a bridal shower gift way back when my hubby and I were married.  This was one of them.  Its kind of a mix  between enchiladas and lasagna.  The best part is its quick, its easy, and its good!

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef or turkey
  
• 1 pkg taco seasoning (watch out for MSG, especially if you have younger children or are pregnant or nursing)
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 10 corn tortillas
• 2 1/2 cups (10 oz) grated Monterey Jack cheese (or a grated Mexican cheese blend)

Brown beef in a large skillet, drain fat.  Add taco seasoning, seasoned salt, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chilies.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.  In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese and eggs.  in bottom of a 13"x9"x2" baking dish spread 1/2 the meat mixture, top with 1/2 the tortillas, spread with 1/2 cheese mixture, and sprinkle 1/2 the grated cheese over it.  Repeat.  Bake uncovered in 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

Easter Dinner

We had a wonderful Easter feast!  I spent hours cooking the night before, but it was much worth it!  I wanted to share with you 3 of the recipes I made (yes, I made more than this...I'm telling you I was a cooking maniac Saturday night!).  They're not mine, they're the Pioneer Woman's.  I felt a bit like her apprentice or something, but man, can she cook some good comfort food!  I made her Bacon-Wrapped Jalapenos, Twice Baked Potatoes, and Homemade Mac & Cheese.  The potatoes turned out awesome, but I messed up the Mac & Cheese.  First off I doubled the recipe, then I let it sit in the refrigerator all night before I baked it, which wasn't such a good idea.  The noodles soaked in the sauce, so when I baked it, it turned out kind of dry and rather bland.  I will definitely make it again, but do it fresh and right next time!  The Jalepenos were amazing!  I'm addicted!  I can feel myself getting fatter and fatter as I eat them, but I didn't care...not today anyway.  They were just too good not to pop in my mouth!  This is my first time making them, so I was a little paranoid about them being too hot, so I cleaned those suckers out, removing ALL the seeds and membranes.  Next time I'll leave a little, 'cause they didn't have much kick to them, but they were still absolutely heavenly!  Thank you Pioneer Woman (again!) for making our Easter delicious!  Here's the links to the recipes:

Bacon-Wrapped Jalepenos

Twice Baked Potatoes

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Another Delicious Sandwich

Pioneer Woman has done it again!  She has created a most wonderful meal that the entire family enjoyed and has my husband left in awe.  I made this sandwich tonight (knowing perfectly well it was right up my hubby's alley) and, ya know, he said something along the lines of "wow Julie, you have really become such an incredible cook!  I mean, I'm speechless."  Gee-wiz!  Tuning into the Pioneer Woman has certainly not been good for my caloric intake or my arteries, but it has most definitely done wonders for my marriage :)  This really is a delicious sandwich (not for those on diets though)!

(Photo from PW Cooks)

Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

Sauteed Shrimp

My 5-year-old LOVES shrimp.  In fact if you ask him what his favorite food is, every time he'll answer "shrimp."  That SO comes from his father's side, 'cause I am not a shrimp fan at all (unless its a shrimp taco with chipotle cheese sauce from Garibaldi's in Guadalupe, then I like shrimp!).  Whenever he comes with me to Trader Joes and I offer him ONE treat, he doesn't pick cookies or chips or ice cream, he chooses frozen shrimp (and my 2 year old chooses blueberries...what's wrong with these kids?).  Since he's been sick I thought I'd make him something special (and since I haven't been shopping for a while, I didn't have much of a choice), so shrimp it was.  I'm gonna give you 2 recipes - the first the recipe I ended up making and the second the recipe I started following, but got side tracked (me, side tracked?...never!).

My Sauteed Shrimp

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 to 1 1/2 pound bag pre-cooked shrimp, peeled and de-veined
  
• Pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Italian seasoning

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, and cook until soft but not browned, 1-2 minutes.  Add shrimp, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning; cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp is heated through.  Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.  Serve hot.

Original Recipe for Sauteed Shrimp

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, tails on, peeled, and de-veined
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• Pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic, and cook until soft but not browned, 1-2 minutes.  Add shrimp, parsley, oregano, and red-pepper flakes; cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp are bright pink and opaque, about 2 minutes.  Raise heat to medium-high and add wine.  Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.  Serve hot, with lemon wedges on the side.

Tastiest Spaghetti EVER!

Last night my hubby decided to help me cook and what we created was a masterpiece...no really, it was!  I just had some leftovers for lunch and, oh man, it was even  better than last night...incredible!  Its those deliciously wonderful caramelized onions again (I really could eat just a bowl of these alone!)!  We made this as we went, so I'm sorry the directions aren't exact, but hopefully it will get you on the right track to improving your spaghetti.

• Noodles (we used angel hair, but any kind of your liking is good)
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (we used T.J.'s)
• sweet onions, sliced
• butter
• olive oil
• 1/2 jar roasted red peppers
• Italian sausage (the good stuff from the butcher!)
• salt to taste
• cayenne pepper if you want to give it a little more kick

Start your water boiling for the noodles.  In the meantime cook up the Italian sausage in a little bit of olive oil.  In another heated pan, poor some olive oil and melt some butter.  Add onions and saute until nice and soft; add a little salt (taste them and if they don't have a slight sweet taste, you can add a little spoonful of sugar).  When sausage and onions are cooked, drain fat from sausage and add jar of spaghetti sauce (in the meantime, if your water boils, add noodles and cook until done).  Add desired amount of peppers and onions to sausage sauce.  Cook on medium heat until starts to bubble, then reduce to a simmer and simmer for a little bit just to let the flavors mesh.  Serve on noodles and enjoy!

Salsa Enchiladas

I made these this weekend.  They're one of my favorite "quick and easy" meals.  They're easy to have the ingredients on hand and so fast to make!  This is a great recipe to to make when you're in a hurry or don't feel like cooking, but need to make something for your poor starving family.  Or if you need to bring someone a meal, these are great too.

• 1-2 lbs ground beef or turkey
• 4 cups salsa (more or less)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I use the Mexican blend)
• 1 (12 count) pkg corn tortillas (white corn are the best!)
• 1 (19 oz) or 2 (10 oz) cans enchilada sauce (preferably Verde/green sauce)

Heat oven to 375°.  Brown ground beef or turkey over medium-high heat until thoroughly cooked, drain.  Stir in salsa and 1 cup cheese.  Spoon enchilada filling into tortillas.  Roll up and place seam-side down in lightly greased 9x13" baking dish.  Pour enchilada sauce over top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Serves 6.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Other than wearing green so I wouldn't get pinched, I've never been big on celebrating St. Patrick's day.  My mom used to bake green bread and die our milk green and all that fun stuff, but thats about it.  I guess I just never really knew why we celebrated it in the first place.  Now that I have kids old enough to care, I'm big on holiday celebrations, so today I thought I'd find the real reason why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day (and since I'm not Catholic or a beer drinker, it might be a good idea).  Here's a few of the facts I found, so I'll pass them on to you.  You can go here or here or even here.  There's fun facts like the color of St. Patrick used to be blue not green (I personally think the green came from Ireland being so green...took a lot to figure that one out!) or that the shamrock was St. Patrick's way of teaching the people about the holy Trinity or that St. Patrick was said to have rid Ireland of all snakes (did you know that Ireland has NO snakes?), but really they think that the snakes meant Druids, who's symbol was the snake.  Anyhow, St. Patricks Day is (obviously) big in Ireland, but it seems that it came to the good ol' USA with the Irish settlers here.  I guess its a good thing I've got some Irish in me (I think) and that I like Ireland - I'd really LOVE to visit there some day and even though I can't understand 1/2 of what they say, I LOVE their accents! ;)

Alright, enough of the trivia and on with the food.  Of course I had to throw in some green food for the kids, but I wanted to make some good ol' Irish food.  I opted out of the Corned Beef & Cabbage because (gasp) I can't stand corned beef.  I know, I know.  My husband loves it, but everything about it just grosses me out.  Soooo, instead we had the following (oh and I didn't mention that we had green eggs for breakfast):

• Oven Baked Fish
• Colcannon - a traditional Irish potato dish.
• Pot O' Gold Jello - lemon (yellow) jello jigglers made in ice cube trays and stacked like gold bars.
• Irish Soda Bread
• Ginger Beer for my hubby (I can't stand the stuff).  It's not Irish, in fact its Caribbean, but the bottle was green and it gave us the feel for the Irish beer tradition without actually drinking beer...silly us!
• Sprite for the kiddies - those mini green cans were perfect!

For dessert we enjoyed:

• Shamrock Truffles from Bakerella of course!  I couldn't find Double Stuffed Mint Oreos, so I just used Mint Joe-Joes from Trader Joes and they turned out excellent!
• Leprechaun Pudding - Pistachio pudding topped with homemade whip cream.

I hope all of you had as tasty of a St. Patrick's day as we did!  

Spiral Stromboli

I don't know if I've posted a stromboli recipe before (and I'm too lazy to check), but I made this tasty meal (from Taste of Home) the other night and man was it a hit! My son (again) asked if I could make this every day. It was a hit with my other 2 boys as well (yeah, I'm on a roll lately!). It didn't turn out very big, so next time I'll probably make 2, but it was yummy. I think the peppers made it! If you want you can serve it with a side of marinara sauce. These are great for parties, baby showers, etc. My sister-in-law is like the queen of stromboli. She fills them with all sorts of stuff. For example you can go traditional pizza with pepperoni, sauce, and mozzarella or you can use pesto and turkey slices with cheese and spinach. You can even make a veggy one with spinach, peppers, mushrooms, etc. There are so many possibilities!

• 1 tube (11 oz) refrigerated crusty French loaf
• 3/4 to 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 lb thinly sliced deli salami
• 1/4 lb thinly sliced salami
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers or 1 jar (2 oz) pimientos, drained
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• 2 to 3 Tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese

Unroll the dough and pat into a 14-in. x 12-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with mozzarella and cheddar cheese to within 1/2 in. of edges; top with meat and red peppers. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; seal seam and tuck ends under. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with butter; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Slice with a serrated knife.

Serves 4.

Julie R.

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

This is another recipe from the Pioneer Woman (you really should check her blog out if you haven't already.  I can't get enough of her.  She's so spunky!)  I made it with the mindset of it being something quick and easy.  That it was, but I had no idea how yummy it really would be.  My 5 year old son started eating it and said, "Mommy, this is the best chicken I've ever had!  Can you make this for me every day?"  He ate 2 whole fillets himself!  My 2 year old even downed it (which is a rarity when it comes to chicken).  The only weird thing about the recipe is it says to use "2 sun-dried tomatoes, jarred."  Well I bought a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, but they were julienned, so I just used have a jar.  You can pretty much add as much or as little tomatoes as you want.  I'm not a big mayo fan, but to its credit, it certainly does make the chicken nice and moist (it works well with fish as well) and you can't taste it when its all mixed together and baked.  This took me maybe 5 minutes to make (other than the cook time) and it goes great with Baked Asparagus!

(photo from Kayotic Kitchen)

Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

Julie R.

Leftover Steak Sandwich

Leftover steak?  Who has leftover steak? I know, but actually I do. I never can finish a whole steak at a restaurant no matter how small it might be. In this case we went out to eat and my son chose the steak kids meal. He ate one bite and was done, so we doggy bagged it. Next day he didn't want it, so for lunch I had a scrumptious leftover steak sandwich. The pictures are horrible. My camera stinks. In fact both pictures are of the same sandwich, but you wouldn't know it by just looking at it (and the avocado in the first looks like mustard, but it really is avocado).  The Naan was excellent for a sandwich - I'll have to remember to use it more often!  Chalk up another for a really great sandwich!

• Leftover steak
• Avocado
• Naan (Indian bread - I used Whole Wheat Tandori Naan from T.J.'s)
• Mayo
• Mustard

Slice avocados.  Slice steak into thin slices.  Reheat in microwave if desired (I did!).  Cut slice of Naan in half.  Slightly toast.  Spread mayo and mustard as desired on one side of each half of Naan.  Place slices of steak and avocado on one 1/2 of Naan, then place remaining slice over.  Enjoy!

Julie R.

Emergency Preparedness

(Image found on Google Images from here)

I mentioned  a week or 2 ago about this Emergency Preparedness Experiment we agreed to participate in. Basically starting at the moment we were asked, we could not shop for a whole week (unless absolutely positively necessary). I'll admit that I was willing, just not necessarily thrilled to do it.  I will also admit that I did go to the store the very next day to buy milk (yes, just milk!) for my son.  I do, however have powdered milk in case of an emergency, but I just didn't find it fair to have to make him suffer like that (or me, for that matter...I really didn't want to deal with a VERY cranky boy who didn't get his milk...yes, he knows the difference!).  

I thought it might be fun to share with you what we ate over the past week, so maybe it might help you stock up your pantry or freezer, I don't know.  I found that I had more of a challenge then I normally would, because we were out of town for a week and were only home for 3 days before we were put up to the challenge (in which I did NOT go shopping!), so I really had to go 3 weeks or more without shopping!  Well I guess I know we'll be okay for a couple weeks in case of a disaster, right?  Here are a few of the things that we ate.  We had leftovers 1 night and a free for all, choose what you want another night.  

• Soup & Grilled Cheese Sandwiches - We had T.J.'s Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup (a great alternative to canned, but unfortunately doesn't last as long in your pantry!).  We already had bread, but I always keep a loaf in the freezer - when I run out, I take the frozen loaf out and buy a new loaf and put it in the freezer, that way I'm always rotating and never out!)
• Spaghetti & broccoli (frozen) - I always keep extra pasta in the pantry, as well as a can or more of spaghetti sauce.  I used Trader Joe's sauce, which I added seasoned cooked ground beef to, as well as some other seasonings including cayenne pepper (which really made it yummy!).  I also almost always have fresh, frozen broccoli on hand in my freezer.
• Taco Soup & Corn Bread - This is a great pantry soup that makes a ton and is a great way to use up (or rather rotate) your beans.  For the corn bread, I used a box of Jiffy corn bread mix I had in the freezer.
• Frozen Pizza (the yummy Margarita kind from Costco) with spinach salad.
• Chicken Nuggets with mashed potatoes (the powdered kind) and frozen (or canned) corn.

Two key things that I always make sure that I do with my food storage is rotate and replenish.  Make sure that you store only food that you'll actually eat.  There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to eat much different then you do normally.  Utilize your freezer and pantry (if you're like me and don't have a real pantry, make one!  Put up a shelf in your laundry room or a closet designated only for food.)  I almost never am without my non-perishable or freezable food items.  I always have one in my pantry while one is being used.  When the one being used runs out, I buy a new one as if there wasn't any in storage, then place the new one in storage and use the one that was already there (hopefully that made sense).  It doesn't cost any more than your normal grocery visits (except of course the very first time you buy an extra one, but do things one at a time if needed!), in fact you would be replenishing them anyway.  Make sure that you do the same thing with non-food items such as toilet paper, fem. supplies, diapers, wipers, toothpaste, deo., soap, laundry soup, etc.  For example I buy my diapers in big boxes from Costco.  When I am 1/2 way through the box, I buy a new box, so I never even get close to running out.  

Why should YOU prepare?  So many people think that they don't need to prepare because "there hasn't ever been a natural disaster here!"  Well being prepared is more than just for natural disasters (which by the way you never do know if one might hit!).  With our country being in the financial trouble that it is in right now, I believe everyone should prepare for hard times!  Who knows when we will have to dig into our food supply.  Hard times doesn't just mean financial trouble....what if there is a transportation strike and no food can be shipped into your area...I'll tell ya what, I don't want to be the one who's family starves because there is no food in the stores! Or what if we become unemployed and have no money coming in?  The list really could go on and on.  My husband and I have lived off of food storage MANY times - thankfully we had it.  So that, my friends, is why emergency preparedness is important!

You don't have to start big, just start with what you have.  Good luck!  

One last thing, then I'll be done going off on my tangent.  I don't know if I would necessarily recommend doing this, but I would recommend maybe going through your pantry and freezer and make a mock menu to see if you actually have the right kinds of foods needed to live off of for a week or weeks at a time.

I'm done...lets get back to REAL food now! :)