Easy Italian Chicken

This is a great Sunday meal!  Put everything in the pan, take a nap, when you wake up dinner is ready!!  Obviously, I don't have very many green beans, but since I'm the only person who is going to eat them, I didn't see the point of cooking up a ton of them.  My kids are potato eaters, so I made a ton of those instead.  I think next time I make this, I will cut the potatoes smaller, so they don't take as long to cook, but other than that I thought this was an easy, delicious meal!!


Easy Italian Chicken


Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts, cut into halves
8-10 red potatoes, quartered (depending on the size of the potato I would cut these smaller next time)
a bunch of fresh green beans
1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup butter, melted

Place chicken in the middle of a 9x13 pan. Place potatoes on one side and green beans on the other. Sprinkle dressing mix over everything in the pan. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour at 350.  (I had to cook this longer because the potatoes weren't done).

Orange Chicken and Veggies

Today I was in the mood for something not too heavy, some veggies, and of course, my beloved rice.  I would serve rice every single day if I thought Thom would go for it!  This recipe fit the bill perfectly and bonus - everybody loved it!!  Of course, most of the fam didn't eat the vegetables but I'm no nitpicker.  That is a battle I'm not choosing; they will eventually learn to love them, like I did!  And if they don't, then they will be really unhealthy.  Anyway!  This is good, make it!!


Orange Chicken and Veggies
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It up!

4 chicken breasts

3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 large carrots (I am bummed because I forgot to add these)
1 onion
2 bell peppers (red, green or orange...you choose)
6 stalks celery
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
pinch red pepper flakes (I added two pinches and it still wasn't hot enough for us)
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 cup chicken broth

Cut the chicken breasts up into 2 inch cubes. Combine the flour and the 1/4 t salt in a small bowl. Throw the chicken around in it until all of the pieces are covered.

Heat up a large skillet. When it's hot add 1 tbsp. oil and throw your floured chicken into it. Cook your chicken until it is golden all over. (About 10 minutes)  While your chicken is cooking up, chop up your veggies. Make sure they are about the same size. When your chicken is pretty and golden, take it out of the pan and place it on a plate.  Add another tbsp. of oil into the hot skillet. Add your veggies and cook over medium high heat until crisp tender...about another 10 minutes.  While your veggies cook add all sauce ingredients to a medium sized sauce pan. Whisk them together until they are all combined nicely. Bring to a boil. Once it boils it should thicken up.   When your veggies are crisp tender add your thickened sauce and chicken into the pan. Stir it all around and there you have it.  (I personally kept everything seperate, so you could take as much chicken, veggies or sauce as you wanted.)  Serve over rice.

Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Red Pepper

Sometimes I just want a simple meal.  This recipe looked so good to me, I couldn't wait to try it.  I was worried that it would be too plain for Thom, but he loved it.  I wanted to eat about 5 helpings but I exercised some self control.  I sauteed some shrimp in garlic and butter and put it on top of Thom's pasta.  I think next time I make it I would like to saute some veggies and maybe pancetta to add to it.  Then watch out, its 5 helpings time!!

Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil and Red Pepper
Recipe adapted from Yum Sugar

Ingredients:

7 ounces of spaghetti
2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons of chili pepper flakes
1/4 to 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated pecorino romano cheese to taste (this made it SO GOOD)

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to the directions on the package, until it is al dente.  Strain spaghetti and place in a large serving dish.  Add minced garlic, chili pepper flakes, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and mix together well.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Just before serving, top with pecorino romano cheese.

Making it Work

Sometimes your big dinner ambitions don't work out, but you can't give up.  Just make it work somehow!  Tonight I was looking forward to making chicken taquitos.  I tried about 5 times rolling different tortillas up, but they kept falling apart into a million pieces.  Frustration!!  I was about to give up and say "Let's grab some take out!"  when I decided I would see what happened if I tried to make them into tacos instead.   I didn't think it would work, but for whatever reason, they didn't fall apart!  So I fried up a bunch of tacos, and holy yum, I'm pretty sure they were better than the taquitos would have been!  Oh yeah, I'm definitely sure!  I crammed mine full of fresh salsa and avocado slices - taco heaven.  No recipe, I just shredded chicken and seasoned it with salt, pepper, garlic and cumin.  Put some on a tortilla, folded it and fried those babies up in some hot oil.  Delicious!!

Mongolian Beef

I got this recipe from my sister years ago, it is so good.  I just paired it with sticky rice and broccoli and we were good to go!!

Mongolian Beef
Recipe from Stick of Butter

Sauce:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Steak:
1 cup vegetable oil
1 pound flank steak
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large green onions

Make the sauce by heating 2 teaspoons of vegetable in a medium saucepan over med/low heat. Don't get the oil too hot or you'll get a major spatter when adding the other liquids. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar in the sauce, and then raise the heat to about medium and boil the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Remove it from the heat.
Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4-inch thick bite-size slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a forty-five degree angle to the top of the steak so that you get wider cuts.
Dip the steak pieces into the cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit for about 10 minutes so that the cornstarch sticks.
As the beef sits, heat up one cup of oil in a wok (you may also use a skillet for this step as long as the beef will be mostly covered with oil). Heat the oil over medium heat until it's nice and hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and sauté for just two minutes, or until the beef just begins to darken on the edges. You don't need a thorough cooking here since the beef is going to go back on the heat later. Stir the meat around a little so that it cooks evenly. After a couple minutes, use a large slotted spoon or a spider to take the meat out and onto paper towels, and then pour the oil out of the wok or skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and simmer for one minute. Add the sauce, cook for one minute while stirring, and then add all the green onions. Cook for one more minute, and then remove the beef and onions with tongs or a slotted spoon to a serving plate. Leave the excess sauce behind in the pan. (of course husband and I fought over the extra sauce, it's good stuff).

Mexican Egg Rolls

This was one of those meals where I was secretly glad that most of the kids wouldn't eat it - more for me!!  These are just fantastic!  The only thing I wish I would have done differently is I just can't stop thinking about how much MORE delicious they would have been if I would have stuck some avocado slices inside.  I even had some avocados, I COULD HAVE DONE IT.  Aaaarrrggghhh!  I guess I just have to make them again soon!!  I also was thinking when I was mixing up the filling about how great the filling would be just by itself over rice, I'll try that soon also.  I also whipped up the Cilantro Cream Sauce that I make with flautas to dip them in, holy deliciousness.  Basically, what I'm trying to say is that dinner rocked last night.  You're welcome family.


Mexican Egg Rolls
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons minced green onion

1 red bell pepper, minced

2/3 cup frozen corn kernels

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped up

2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

1 1/2  cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 package egg roll wrappers

1 quart oil for deep frying

Directions:

Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over each chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.                Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.   Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each egg roll wrapper.  (If you haven't made egg rolls before, just follow the directions on the back of the package, it's easy!) This made about 18 egg rolls for me, it would vary according to how much filling you want in your egg rolls.  In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry egg rolls for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Scotcharoos

I had forgotten all about these yummy treats, and honestly, I can't understand why.  These are so good!  I have to make a solemn promise to myself to never make that kind of error again!  Scotcharoos, forever!!!

Scotcharoos
Recipe found all over the internets

Ingredients:

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

6 cups crisp rice cereal

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

Generously butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. Set aside.  In a large pot, mix together corn syrup, sugar, and peanut butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring until peanut butter melts. Bring mixture to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in crisp rice cereal.   Transfer mixture into a well buttered 9x13 inch pan. With your hands well buttered, pat it down into pan.   In a medium saucepan, over medium low heat, melt chocolate chips and butterscotch chips until smooth. Spread over top of bars and let bars cool. Cut into squares.

I never thought I would say this.....

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like Mission tortillas.  Not ALL Mission tortillas mind you, but these new artisan ones are good.  Really good. Good like I keep thinking of reasons to use them because I want to eat more and more of them.  That is crazy to me, because normally, I hate Mission tortillas with a passion.  Now for my Arizona friends, don't go crazy and buy some of these babies instead of running to Carolina's for some amazing fresh ones, but for everybody else, they are definitely worth a try.  Trust me.

Spinach and Apple Salad with White Basalmic Dressing

This salad is heaven.  I am completely in love with it.  Then there's the dressing.  The dressing!  It is just so delicous, I can't explain it.  I could eat this every day, seriously.

Spinach and Apple Salad
Recipe from Becoming Betty

Spinach
Diced apples
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Craisins
Nuts (the recipe called for slivered almonds, I used candied pecans.  Pretty much just use whatever you have)

Just throw all of that together, depending on how you like it.  If you like a lot of crunch, add more apples.  Love craisins?  Dump a ton in then!  Hey, if you like a lot of cheese in your salad, I'm not going to judge you, JUST THROW THAT CHEESE IN!  We're all friends here.



White Basalmic Dressing

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
juice of 1 lemon (not a huge one)(I cheated and used 1 tbsp. of bottled lemon juice)
1 tbsp. honey
salt/pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients.  Pour over salad just before serving, to taste.  This makes a lot, so I just put the extra in a decanter in the refrigerator.  It is SO GOOD.  I'm warning you!

Beef and Guinness Stew

(sorry for the horrible picture)

This stew is amazing.  Let me just say this:  my kids knew what the ingredients were the second time I made it and they STILL had seconds, thirds and fourths (this is shocking considering my non vegetable eating children).  After I made it the first time, everyone from the husband on down to the littlest kiddlet begged me to make it again in less than a week.  The only problem I had with the ingredients was the Guinness.  In Utah, you can't buy a single bottle of beer (at least anywhere that I know of) and I'm just way too cheap to buy a whole pack of beer to use one in a stew.  Although, if my family had their way I would make this stew once a week and then we would make short work of the beer in a month in a half.  But I would feel really weird keeping the beer in my refrigerator for that long.  What if a nosy neighbor peeked in there and saw it and didn't believe me that it was for stew?  I'd like to think that I wouldn't care what anyone thought if that happened, but it's probably not worth the drama.  So anyway, I just used beef broth instead of the Guinness.  Oh, and the first time I made it, when the kids were eating it and asking me what the different white things were, I totally lied and told them that the parsnips were white carrots and the turnips were potatoes.  After they fell in love with it, I confessed to them the real identities and everyone was cool with it.

Beef and Guinness Stew

Recipe modified from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 tbsp. butter, divided

1/4 cup flour

2 lb. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 tsp. salt, divided

5 cups chopped onions (obviously Kathee The Onion Hater did no such thing)

1 tbsp. tomato paste

4 cups beef broth

1 (11.2 oz.) bottle Guinness Draught (I just used more beef broth)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 cups diagonal slices carrot

1 1/2 cups diagonal slices parsnip

1 cup cubed peeled turnip

2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add 1 1/2 tsp. butter to pan.  Place flour in a shallow dish.  Sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp. salt; dredge beef in flour.  Add half of beef to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides.  Remove beef from pan with a slotted spoon.  Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tbsp. oil, 1 1 /2 tsp. butter and beef.  Add onion to pan, cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.  Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Stir in broth and beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Return meat to pan.  Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp. salt (or you could go crazy like me and put more salt than that, sheesh, Cooking Light!!) and pepper; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and bring to a boil.  Cook 50 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.  (This is a good time to start cutting up your vegetables.)  Add carrot, parsnip and turnip (I threw a potato in too once).  Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Uncover and bring to a boil; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Sprinkle with parsley.



Beef Daube Provencal

This is all kinds of delicious.  Holy. Moly.  You will lick your bowl, not kidding.

Beef Daube Provencal
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

2 tsp. olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
2 lb. boneless chuck roast, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup red wine (I used cooking wine)
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (ahem)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
dash of ground cloves
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (I used crushed tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
3 cups cooked medium egg noodles (about 3 cups uncooked)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Heat oil in small dutch oven over low heat.  Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside.  Increase heat to medium high.  Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.  Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides.  Remove beef from pan.  Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Add garlic, beef, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients, and bring to a boil.  Cover and bake at 350 for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Serve over noodles.

Thom's Green Smoothie

After some experimenting with all kinds of different recipes, I have come up with a green smoothie recipe that Thom actually likes and will drink.

Thom's Green Smoothie


3 cups spinach
1 cup almond milk
1 cup frozen mixed fruit
1/4 cup vanilla whey
1/4 cup water

Combine all in blender until smooth.  Drink immediately.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

I don't like to brag, but..... this soup was good.  Really good.  Good like it should have been served in a restaurant.  It's ridiculous how easy it was.  I made up the recipe after looking at a couple of similar ones.

Chicken Enchilada Soup
Recipe by Kathee


2 chicken breasts, grilled and shredded (I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and garlic)
1 (29 oz.) can of Macayo's red enchilada sauce
4 (15 oz.) cans of chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup of Masa Harina
Tortilla chips and additional shredded cheese for garnish

Pour the enchilada sauce and chicken broth into a stockpot on medium heat.  Add the black beans.  After the soup is heated through, add the cheddar cheese and let it melt.  Add the masa harina and stir until it's completely incorporated into the soup, this will thicken it.  After the soup has thickened add the chicken.  Serve with tortilla chips and cheese for garnish.  Easy!!