I was going to try out this recipe for mushroom, spinach and goat cheese quesadillas, but I forgot to get spinach. I had to use what I had around the house, and this is what I came up with. They were so good that I could have eaten 10 of them (well, maybe not 10....) I served them with salsa verde and a little sour cream.
Serves: 4
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
8 flour tortillas (soft taco size)
1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/2 red onion sliced thinly
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
2 c. grated monteray jack cheese
In skillet over med. heat cook mushrooms, onions and jalapenos in 2 tbs. olive oil until mushrooms are soft and onions are translucent- about five minutes. Sprinkle 1/4 c. cheese onto one flour tortilla, cover with the cooked mushroom onion mixture, top with 1/4 c. of cheese and another tortilla. Cook both sides over med. heat for 3-4 minutes until cheese is melted and tortillas are lightly browned.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Roasted Red Pepper Cream Sauce
So this is mostly a Pioneer Woman recipe ( I love her so much!!!) with a few tweaks. I love it because it's light and really flavorful.
Serves: 4
Difficulty: fairly easy
Ingredients
3 red peppers
1 med. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 c. shaved Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. half and half ( I use fat free- may as well save those calories for wine!!)
Set oven to broil on high. Place red peppers on baking sheet and place under broiler. Broil 3-5 minutes until side is mostly blackened, turn 1/4 turn and blacken that side, repeat until peppers are blackened all over. Seal in a ziploc bag and let them sweat 15-20 minutes. Saute' onions, garlic and basil in butter until soft. Peel the skin off the peppers and scrape the seeds out of the inside. Puree' the peppers, onions, basil and garlic in a food processor. Pour into med. saucepan and heat over med. heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, Parmesan cheese and half and half. Cook, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted. Serve over pasta with a sprinkling of shaved Parmesan.
Serves: 4
Difficulty: fairly easy
Ingredients
3 red peppers
1 med. onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbs. butter
1/2 c. shaved Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. half and half ( I use fat free- may as well save those calories for wine!!)
Set oven to broil on high. Place red peppers on baking sheet and place under broiler. Broil 3-5 minutes until side is mostly blackened, turn 1/4 turn and blacken that side, repeat until peppers are blackened all over. Seal in a ziploc bag and let them sweat 15-20 minutes. Saute' onions, garlic and basil in butter until soft. Peel the skin off the peppers and scrape the seeds out of the inside. Puree' the peppers, onions, basil and garlic in a food processor. Pour into med. saucepan and heat over med. heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, Parmesan cheese and half and half. Cook, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted. Serve over pasta with a sprinkling of shaved Parmesan.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Maple Glazed Chicken Thighs
This is one of my favorite fall dinners. It's easy and delicious, and combines so many great fall flavors. I think I got it from Good Housekeeping, but I'm not positive. Wherever it came from, I'm grateful to them, because I have yet to meet anyone that didn't love it- including my picky kids!!!!
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
1 package chicken thighs
2 med. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 in. cubes
2 med. onions, sliced thinly
3/4 of a 1 lb. bag of baby carrots
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 c. maple syrup (REAL maple syrup- NO SUBSTITUTES!!!)
Preheat oven to 450*. place sweet potatoes, carrots and onions in 9x13 baking dish. Place chicken thighs on top. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and pepper over everything, then pour maple syrup over. Mix well to distribute seasonings and maple syrup. Chicken thighs should be on top, skin side down. Cook 20 minutes, then flip chicken and give veggies a quick stir. Cook 20 more minutes until chicken skin is golden brown and crispy.
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
1 package chicken thighs
2 med. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 in. cubes
2 med. onions, sliced thinly
3/4 of a 1 lb. bag of baby carrots
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 c. maple syrup (REAL maple syrup- NO SUBSTITUTES!!!)
Preheat oven to 450*. place sweet potatoes, carrots and onions in 9x13 baking dish. Place chicken thighs on top. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt and pepper over everything, then pour maple syrup over. Mix well to distribute seasonings and maple syrup. Chicken thighs should be on top, skin side down. Cook 20 minutes, then flip chicken and give veggies a quick stir. Cook 20 more minutes until chicken skin is golden brown and crispy.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Peanut Chili Pork Loin
This is another recipe from my mother-in-law. It's probably Matt's favorite pork recipe. It's easy, but it takes a while. Cook times will vary from an hour to an hour and a half depending on the size of your pork loin. I recommend using a meat thermometer- the finished product should be between 170-180*.
Serves: 4-6
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
1-3 lb. pork loin
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c. unsalted peanuts (lightly salted also work fine)
Mix the oil, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, sugar, garlic and peanuts in a small bowl. Pour over pork loin and marinate at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350* and cook in baking dish or roasting pan 1 hour- 1 1/2 hours or until internal temp. reaches a minimum of 170. Let pork loin rest 10 minutes before slicing.
*Hint: Toss a few ice cubes in the pan, this will add water to the marinade to keep it from drying out in the dish. Check on it every 30 minutes or so, and add more ice as needed to keep sauce from drying out and sticking to the pan.
Serves: 4-6
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
1-3 lb. pork loin
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 c. unsalted peanuts (lightly salted also work fine)
Mix the oil, soy sauce, cayenne pepper, sugar, garlic and peanuts in a small bowl. Pour over pork loin and marinate at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350* and cook in baking dish or roasting pan 1 hour- 1 1/2 hours or until internal temp. reaches a minimum of 170. Let pork loin rest 10 minutes before slicing.
*Hint: Toss a few ice cubes in the pan, this will add water to the marinade to keep it from drying out in the dish. Check on it every 30 minutes or so, and add more ice as needed to keep sauce from drying out and sticking to the pan.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Spaghetti Sauce
Since it's been almost a week since I posted, I'm trying to make up for it by doing two posts today! This spaghetti sauce is not much harder than opening a jar of the stuff, but infinitely more delicious!
Serves: 6
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 (15 0z) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 0z) can tomato paste
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. oregano
pepper to taste
2 Tsp. sugar
1/2 c. red wine (optional)
2 bay leaves
In large skillet over med. heat cook onions, mushrooms and bell pepper in 2 Tbs. of olive oil for 2 minutes. Add ground beef and garlic, and brown beef. (If you use lean ground beef, there's no need to drain. If you use ground chuck, drain before adding other ingredients) Add everything else and mix well. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Serves: 6
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, diced
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 bell pepper, seeded and diced (optional)
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 (15 0z) can diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 0z) can tomato paste
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. oregano
pepper to taste
2 Tsp. sugar
1/2 c. red wine (optional)
2 bay leaves
In large skillet over med. heat cook onions, mushrooms and bell pepper in 2 Tbs. of olive oil for 2 minutes. Add ground beef and garlic, and brown beef. (If you use lean ground beef, there's no need to drain. If you use ground chuck, drain before adding other ingredients) Add everything else and mix well. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Chicken Chili
Today's recipe is for the working moms. Some of the recipes I post involve a fair amount of prep work, and that's not so tough if you're a stuck at home, ahem, I mean stay at home mom like me. But when you've worked all day and then come home to start the second shift as the queen of the homefront, I'll bet you'd rather not spend 15-20 minutes chopping vegetables and such! So supermoms, this one's for you. Not only will you have dinner waiting for you when you get home, this one's so simple you can throw it together in the middle of the morning rush. It literally takes less than five minutes!
Serves: 8-10
Difficulty: so easy a monkey could do it (provided you could teach him to open cans)
Ingredients
1 lb. package chicken breasts
2 (15 oz) cans great northern beans
1 (11 oz) can white corn
1 (7 0z) can chopped green chilis
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 package taco seasoning
Throw it all in a crock pot, mix it up, cook 8-10 hours on low and break up chicken with a spoon before serving.
Serves: 8-10
Difficulty: so easy a monkey could do it (provided you could teach him to open cans)
Ingredients
1 lb. package chicken breasts
2 (15 oz) cans great northern beans
1 (11 oz) can white corn
1 (7 0z) can chopped green chilis
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 package taco seasoning
Throw it all in a crock pot, mix it up, cook 8-10 hours on low and break up chicken with a spoon before serving.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Easy Cheesy Manicotti
Pasta tubes filled with cheesy goodness- what could possibly be better than that? Nothing. And this recipe is insanely easy and guaranteed to please even the pickiest kids. You can even fancy it up by adding chopped spinach, sauteed mushrooms, or whatever floats your boat to the cheesy goodness!
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
8-10 manicotti (you can also use jumbo shells)
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
2 c. italian cheese blend
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of pepper
1 egg
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I like the Barilla tomato basil kind)
Preheat oven to 350*. In a med. stockpot, cook manicotti or shells 5-7 minutes. You want them to be al dente, so don't over cook!!! Drain pasta and set aside. Pour 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and spread it around. Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 c. italian cheese, parsley, nutmeg, pepper and egg together in a medium bowl. Spoon cheese mixture into gallon size ziploc bag and snip one corner off the bottom of the bag. (you can skip this step if you're using shells) Using the ziploc like a pastry bag, squeeze the cheese mixture into the manicotti and place it in the baking dish. Once you've filled them all, pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce over it, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 c. italian cheese over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
8-10 manicotti (you can also use jumbo shells)
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
2 c. italian cheese blend
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of pepper
1 egg
1 jar spaghetti sauce (I like the Barilla tomato basil kind)
Preheat oven to 350*. In a med. stockpot, cook manicotti or shells 5-7 minutes. You want them to be al dente, so don't over cook!!! Drain pasta and set aside. Pour 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and spread it around. Mix ricotta, 1 1/2 c. italian cheese, parsley, nutmeg, pepper and egg together in a medium bowl. Spoon cheese mixture into gallon size ziploc bag and snip one corner off the bottom of the bag. (you can skip this step if you're using shells) Using the ziploc like a pastry bag, squeeze the cheese mixture into the manicotti and place it in the baking dish. Once you've filled them all, pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce over it, and sprinkle the remaining 1/2 c. italian cheese over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
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