Chicken Saltimbocca

Oh my. I just logged onto my "blog" to see that I haven't posted anything since September. Embarrassing! It's amazing how fast life will pass you by if you let it. And we have let it. Now, this doesn't mean that I haven't been cooking. But, it does mean I haven't been cooking much new. Mostly repeat recipes and meals for this family over the last couple of months.

But ladies and gentlemen, after a brief hiatus, I am back! And ready to cook!

My family was just here from Michigan and for our "Christmas dinner", my dad and I cooked a series of small plates. This first post is a modified version of a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca. It's basically thin chicken cutlets rolled up with yummy stuff and then cooked in chicken broth.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4

Chicken Saltimbocca
(6 servings)
6 3-oz chicken cutlets, pounded evenly to flatten
6 super-thin sliced pieces of proscuitto
half bag or so of fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese
About 2 cups of chicken broth (low sodium if possible)
Juice from 1/2 lemon
salt/pepper
olive oil

After pounding out the chicken cutlets to flatten, place them on a workspace, season with salt and pepper, and top with a piece of the proscuitto. In a small saute pan, add 1 Tbl olive oil to pan over medium heat, and saute spinach. Then remove from heat, take spinach and arrange in even lay across each chicken piece, on top of the proscuitto. Sprinkle the Parmesean cheese over the spinach. Then, starting with the small end of the chicken, roll the chicken and toppings, and secure with a toothpick.

Heat 2 Tbl of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Add the chicken broth and the lemon juice, and then using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the browned bits up. Bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes, turning chicken 2-3 times throughout. Transfer the chicken to a platter, and continue to simmer liquid over high heat for 2-3 more minutes. Serve without toothpicks, and drizzled with chicken broth liquid.


Oh this is so yummy. And very salty, I might add, so try and use the low-sodium broth if you can, but if not, don't worry about it.

* NOTE: I'm going to put this in another post, but save the liquid from the pan when done with this dish. Just put it in some tupperware and put in fridge.

It Never Hurts to Smother Your Chicken

This sounds like a self help book or something.... "Don't be afraid to smother your man" or something along those lines. This is a book I would never read for the record, but it IS ok to smother your chicken.

I get very tired of cooking chicken. I just feel like I run out of ways to do it. So I started treating chicken breasts as if they were different types of sandwiches. And I like different "toppings" on my sandwiches, so why not put these on my chicken?!

Cheesy Factory (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): really? a "sandwich" without cheese?? Get serious.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

Smothered Chicken
2-4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (1 per person)
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
Avocado
Bacon
Mango Chutney Aioli (recipe in other blog post)

Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, and cook as desired (grilled, baked, in pan, etc.). Preheat broiler. Spread thin layer of mango chutney aioli on top of chicken, then add thin slice of avocado. Top the avocado with 2 bacon slices, and sprinkle with desired amount of shredded cheese. Place smothered chicken on broiler pan, and broil about 30 seconds (enough to melt cheese). Serve hot, with side of aioli for dipping if desired.

I think the key to this recipe, is to add a thin layer of favorite condiment to the chicken before adding any veggies or bacon, cheese, etc. It keeps the chicken moist when going into the broiler, and adds a little extra flavor. You don't have to make mayo chicken, just a thin layer will do: mayo, mustard, honey, Italian dressing, etc. They will all be good.

Just picture what you like on your sandwiches, or on your salads, and use those toppings on your chicken to create a whole new taste. 

Taco Chicken? Greek Chicken? Red Wine Vinegar Chicken?

I wanted to find a new "Chicken Taco" recipe yesterday, without much luck. I just get sick of the same ol' taco and fajita way I make chicken, and wanted to try something new. I found a chicken soft taco recipe on www.allrecipes.com that sounded like an interesting mix of ingredients, but it was highly rated, so I figured I would give it a whirl.

Let me first say, this is extremely easy, and very tasty, but I can't decided whether it was best for tacos. It almost tasted like Greek food tacos or something. Either way, I served it with Cheesy Corn as a side and it was great.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2.5

Chicken for Greek or Tacos
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
Tortillas
 Olive oil

Heat 1-2 Tbl olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Saute chicken for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic, and oregano, and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve in tortillas with favorite taco condiments OR over salad.

I improvised on the salad thing. I was just thinking that this chicken would probably be so good over salad! Throw in some chopped tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and red onion? You have yourself a nice little Greek Salad.

Like I said, random mix of ingredients. Especially the lime? Weird. Anyway, it all came together quite nicely and tasted very good. 

Zesty Chicken for Newly Engaged and Newly-Weds!

I'm still glowing from the weekend. Or maybe I'm sweating. I can't tell. Either way, I'm happy! Not only are my cousin Kelly and Fabi getting married this weekend:

(I couldn't find a picture of Kelly and Fabi quickly, so I put this funny one up. I'm random today.)

AND one of my best friends, Stephanie, and Matt are engaged:

Seriously, two of the most amazing people I know. And not hard on the eyes either.

But, I got another call from one of my great guy friends, Aaron, and he and his girlfriend just got engaged also!

I stole this picture from facebook. I'm not creepy at all, I swear.

So, for all the newly engaged, and soon to be newly-weds, here is another recipe.

I'm almost mad at myself for putting this recipe up. I almost didn't because, well, to be honest, it's too easy. There is absolutely nothing creative or fun or interesting about cooking this. But, it tastes dang good!

The first time I made this, it was on accident, and because I forgot to make a marinade for chicken skewers I was making for 30 Filipino relatives. Needless to say, I needed to come up with some way to jazz this chicken up before our family BBQ the next day. I went through the pantry and found an unopened bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. BINGO. Amazing amazing chicken was created!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): for the lactose-intolerant
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): this should be like a negative number it's so easy
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): Needs to marinate over night, but then a 1

Zesty Chicken
Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless), cut into 1-1.5 in cubes
Zesty Italian salad dressing
garlic salt
pepper

Season chicken breast cubes with garlic salt and pepper. Put chicken into ziploc bag with salad dressing, making sure there is plenty to soak in. Marinate in refrigerator over-night (or minimum 8 hours). Heat grill to medium-high heat. Take chicken out of bag and skewer, discard remaining dressing in bag. Cook chicken skewers for 5-10 minutes, or until cooked through.

I just realized, as I am writing this, that I suppose you don't have to make skewers. You could just put the whole chicken breast in the bag to marinate. I skewer everything so don't listen to me. I think it's because I am lazy and I like my food in bite-size pieces so that when it's done cooking, I can just shovel it in my mouth without having to worry about cutting it first. Weirdo. 

Mommy's Recovery Beef Stroganoff!

I like to think of myself as spontaneous, and always able to travel at the last minute. But normally, I associate that scenario with fun things, and vacations, not emergency travel. Last week, my mom had to have a last minute surgery in Ft. Wayne, IN, and I decided the morning of the surgery that I needed to be there. So, at 2pm I bought a plane ticket, and at 8pm I left the house for the airport. It was not necessary the best packing job I have done, but it worked!

My mom's recovery has been going very well, but one of the side effects of being on morphine (yes, morphine) is loss of appetite. So, yesterday we got to take my mom home to Michigan, and my dad asks her what she wants for dinner. She said nothing has been sounding too great, but "maybe steak shishkabobs?" My dad says ok. Then he mentions rice as a side, and she says, "I want noodles". Beef and noodles? If I didn't know any better, I'd say my mom was hanging out with James too much. But I do know better, so I know she isn't talking Asian food, she is just being random.

I learned all my cooking skills from my dad, so I was not surprised when he immediately thought of beef stroganoff for my mom. I guess he makes it from time to time in the slow cooker, and I was curious as to how he was going to get the meat tender in 2 hours time. He didn't disappoint! It was soooooo amazing. I had 3 helpings, and I drank the sauce from my plate. I'm not exaggerating, and it wasn't lady like, but it was delicious and thus, completely necessary.

We all agreed, this was "company worthy", meaning, it's something we would serve if having guests over for dinner. I told my dad, "this was blog worthy".

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): I'm not sure how something so delicious has no cheese
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 6 it's pretty dang long cook time, but not much prep time
Easy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): I didn't cook it, but dad says 4


Beef Stroganoff
2 Tbl olive oil
1.5 Lbs top sirloin steak, cut into 1/2 in pieces and seasoned with fresh ground black pepper
4 strips thick cut bacon, cut into 1/4 in pieces
1/2 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1.5 Tbl seasoned salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
4 cups beef broth
1/3 cup red wine
1 package (8 oz) dry egg noodles
2/3 pkg fresh mushrooms, sliced
1.5 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
1 (8 oz) container sour cream

In large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add cubed meat, brown, then remove from pan. In the same dutch oven, add bacon, onion, celery, and saute until onions and celery are translucent and bacon fully cooked. Then add browned meat back to pan. Stir in seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, red wine, thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer (low to medium-low heat), simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours, until meat is fork tender. When meat is fork tender, take separate large pot, fill with water, season with salt, and bring to boil. Add egg noodles and cook 8-10 minutes, or until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat, add mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes, then add them to the meat mixture. Bring the meat mixture to a boil. In small bowl, whisk/mix together corn starch and water, then stir this into the meat mixture, stirring constantly while adding. Add sour cream slowly, constantly blending sour cream into liquid until creamy. Remove from heat, let stand 1-2 minutes, serve over egg noodles.


Yum yum yum. I just ate breakfast, and typing this is getting me thinking I may need a snack of left over stroganoff.

Grilled Lobster Tails

For those of you that shop at Albertson's, they run a special once in a while on the small lobster tails for like $4.50 each or something. More often, they have them on sale for like $8.00/tail, but either way, it's a smokin' deal if all you want is a little taste of heaven.

I had never grilled lobster before, and it was easiest, and yummier, than I expected.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 2
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2

Grilled Lobster Tails
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground pepper (black or white) 
4 small lobster tails

Mix lemon juice, olive oil, garlic salt, paprika, and pepper in a bowl. Using sharp knife, split lobster tail down the middle, leaving connected the two very ends. Heat grill to medium-high heat. Using basting brush, brush marinade onto flesh-side of lobster. Grill flesh-side down for 5-6 minutes, turn, grill additional 4-5 minutes. Baste again with mixture, then turn once more and grill for 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately. Discard remaining marinade.

The Best Lasagna Uncle Javier Has Ever Had!

Guinness has a special relationship with a couple of our friends. Erin Keller, the dog whisperer, always makes Guinness so excited when she sees her that she pees. Every time. Never fails. But probably her most special relationship is with her Uncle Javier. He often takes her to work with him for the day, and now knows him by name! I think Javier likes her more than us. For my 30th b-day, he brought her a gift, instead of me. It was a teddy bear, and her new favorite toy. Her new game is to try and get the arms of the bear out of the t-shirt. Weirdo.

We recently went on a vacation where we couldn't take our dog, Guinness. She isn't the easiest dog when it comes to sleeping, as she likes to sleep in our bed, instead of her own "big girl bed", so we debated about what to do with her while we were gone. She spends a lot of time with her BFF, Mini Panda, across the street, so we asked our friends the Norton's if they wouldn't mind watching her. They love and treat her like they do Mini, so we knew she would be well taken care of. The other options were a kennel, or her Uncle Javier, but until she sleeps through the night in her own bed, we didn't think Javier would stay sane for 5 days. We did list Javier as her "emergency contact", and when asked what relationship was, I said Godfather. Man, are we cheesy (pun intended). Here's a pic of the besties, Guinness and Mini.

This doesn't have much to do with lasagna. But when I thought about when I made the lasagna, I remembered that Javier had been telling me he made a mean lasagna, and we had invited him and Danielle for dinner when I made it, and I was very nervous. However, after eating it, he said it might be the best lasagna he's ever had! Best. Compliment. Ever. When we left for our vacation a couple of days later, we had tons of lasagna left, and I didn't want such hard work to go to waste, so I sent piles of leftovers with the Norton's when they came to pick up Guinness. James thought it was very strange to give our friends leftovers when they don't ask for them, but I hadn't really thought twice about it. Needless to say, they said they loved the lasagna! Yippee! I'm not a weirdo!

Back to the food: this is a labor of love, I will warn you. But it's worth the 4 hours it takes to make.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): you won't poop for a week
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 6-7
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 7-8 ugh

Palio's Lasagna
1.5 lb mild Italian sausage, ground (optional)
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 leek, white only, finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb (Anise), finely chopped
1.5 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 lb zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/4in thick slices
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1 Tbs fresh basil
1 Tbs flour
1 cup heavy cream
Salt/Pepper
2 eggs
15 lasagna noodles (no-boil type)
2 15oz. containers part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
4 cups mozzarella cheese, grated or shredded
1.5 cups fontina cheese, grated
4 cups tomato sauce (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. In large pan, add Italian sausage with 1/4 cup of water and cook over medium high heat, stirring to break up meat, until cooked through. Drain and set aside. Melt the butter in the pan, and add chopped leek and fennel and saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms and continue to saute until soft. Stir in flour, then add heavy cream, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the chopped spinach and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the sausage, and set aside. Arrange sliced zucchini on non-stick baking sheet (or line sheet with parchment paper), season with salt and pepper, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. In large bowl, beat eggs and mix in ricotta cheese, season with salt and pepper. In separate large bowl, combine remaining cheeses. 

Spray 13x9 glass baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over bottom of dish. Place 5 noodles over sauce, overlapping them a bit. Spread half of ricotta mixture evenly over noodles, then spread sausage mixture as well. Take half of baked zucchini and spread out over top of sausage mixture. Sprinkle 1/3 of cheeses evenly over zucchini. Repeat layering with 5 noodles, remaining ricotta, sausage mixture, zucchini, and 1/2 the amount of remaining cheeses. Arrange remaining 5 noodles to cover it all. Sprinkle remaining cheeses evenly over lasagna. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until hot and golden on top, about 20-25 minutes. Take out of oven and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Tomato Sauce
3 24oz cans chopped tomatoes, preferably Hunts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 medium size garlic cloves
1/3 cup canned tomato sauce
2 cups fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1.5 Tbs kosher or sea salt
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbs honey

In food processor or blender, puree olive oil and garlic. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and heat over medium heat (don't burn garlic). Stir in chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in honey and fresh basil at end. Serve and freeze unused if desired.


Phew! I'm tired just writing this, let alone cooking it. No notes here. Don't substitute on this one. It's perfection. And don't even think about using jarred sauce to save time. The sauce makes this dish. And you've already committed, so don't skimp out now. You can thank me later.   

NCAA Lip-licking Pork Chops

I don't really follow college basketball during the regular season, except for Michigan, which I just read about as most of their games on not on TV here in California. But there is something....something infectious.....something extremely addicting....about March Madness. It's crazy. I don't understand it. But I would rather miss an episode of my beloved Real Housewives or Top Chef, than miss getting my bracket in on time. Those brackets, man, I don't know what it is?! It's one of my favorite times of year (also because it's usually over St. Patty's Day), where we get all excited the first Thursday, play hookie from work, take your folded up bracket in your back pocket to the local watering hole, and get pissed while watching basketball all day. Not because you care about the teams, but because you care about any chance you have to win your pool!

Ahhh, sweet sweet March Madness. How do I love thee. Having said all of that.....my bracket is officially dust. I can't help but go with my heart on some games and I had the Big Ten doing great things. Unfortunately now, Ohio State is my only chance of redemption. And we all know how much a Michigan fan likes to cheer for a Suck-eye.

Anyway, nothing I wrote about there has anything to do with the food I made last night. So there.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): if by cheese, you mean all meat? then 10. otherwise, if you meant real, actual cheese, then no, there is no cheese.
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 6

Pork Chops
4 pork chops (bone-in or boneless, or combination)
3 Tbl kosher salt
3 Tbl brown sugar
3 branches rosemary (or 1 tsp of your favorite dried herb)
2 Tbl olive oil
2 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp pepper
1 cup hot water
2 cups cold water

In a mixing bowl, add the salt, sugar, and 1 cup of hot water, and whisk to dissolve sugar and salt. Once dissolved, add 2 cups cold water, and the remaining ingredients (except pork chops), and whisk to mix. Pour all of liquid and pork chops into a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. Take bag out of refrigerator, remove pork chops, and set them on a platter (discard liquid and bag). Let pork chops sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes and pre-heat your grill to medium heat. Grill pork chops on direct medium heat for 8-10 minutes (or until center is at 145 deg if using a meat thermometer).


These pork chops are nothing short of fantastic. I'm not even a huge pork chops fan, but we were invited for dinner at the Gardners's house, they made this recipe, and I was immediately hooked. I then made them for the Hudsons last night! Seriously, they look very bland when you take them out of the bag and put them on a platter to rest. You can lightly season them if you wish, but it's not needed. And for me to say that is huge because I am a chronic over-seasoner. These chops are so flavorful and lip-licking.You can thank me later. Or thank the Gardners, really, as I stole this from them.

You Know Who Makes the Best Ribs???

One of my biggest fears in cooking is when someone is eating something I made, and while they are eating it, they say, "you know who makes the best (insert food they are eating here)?? Billy. He makes the best (whatever)! You should get his recipe!". UGH! I cringe at the thought. If I have made my own pasta sauce, they say, "You know who makes AMAZING pasta sauce is Carol! You should really try hers!" Chomp chomp as she chews on my now mediocre sauce. Not only are they not concentrating on MY food, they are insulting it at the same time! And like as if I really made something bad that I would just go ahead and call up Billy or Carol or whoever and tell him I failed and ask him for his recipe so I don't have to fix mine. Right.

For whatever reason, I feel like this feared saying is always used when talking about ribs. Baby-back ribs. I don't know why, but everyone has a a family member, or a buddy, or someone they know, who makes "the best ribs". Who are these people?! And do they all have the same secret recipe for ribs? How do I get it?

There are a million recipes and ways to cook ribs. Literally. I checked. I am not easily intimidated by food and rise to every cooking challenge I have been given (worst so far was the whole chicken, for sure). So I have been avoiding ribs to this day. I've been able to get away with it too, so far, until I met James. My husband LOVES ribs. And everything BBQ for that matter. So, I am already impressed I have been able to make it 3 years without having to make ribs, but the comments were getting worse and worse....

"When are you going to make ribs?"
"Pete makes really good ribs, just get his recipe."
"Why are you so scared? I LOVE ribs."
"You should do them on the grill because I like a little char."
"When are you going to make ribs."
"Ben can help you make ribs."

OMG!!! Enough already! I can't take these comments anymore! I'll make you your damn ribs, now shut the h-ll up!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 9
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4 (shocking, I know)

Abby's BBQ Baby-Back Ribs
1/4 cup celery salt
3 Tbl paprika
3 Tbl dried garlic flakes
1.5 Tbl fresh ground black pepper
Your favorite BBQ sauce
1 rack of baby back pork ribs


Combine the celery salt, paprika, garlic flakes, and pepper in a bowl and mix together. Take ribs out, pat dry, and rub on the mixture to all sides of the ribs. Cover and refrigerate over-night. Take ribs out the next day, and cut the rack into 3-4 sections. Take a piece of tinfoil, large enough to wrap a section of ribs in, and spray with non-stick spray. Place one section of ribs on it, and brush heavily with BBQ sauce (all sides). Wrap the ribs tightly in tinfoil. Repeat with each section of ribs. Place tinfoil packets into fridge and keep there all day (ideal time 6-8 hours). 


Preheat oven to 300 deg. Take packets out of refrigerator, place into oven, and cook for 3 to 3.5 hours (depending on how thick they are). Take out of tin foil, serve.


* Optional: if want slight char on ribs, take ribs out of oven, and then out of tinfoil, and place on baking sheet, brush with additional sauce, and place under broiler or on grill for 3-5 minutes (be careful not to let sauce burn), or until start to bubble slightly. Take out and serve.




You know who makes the best ribs? I do, b-tches! That's right. I conquered the ribs, and they were wonderful! I don't know why I was so scared. Actually, I just felt a whole lot of pressure because everyone who likes ribs, will be comparing them to their favorite, which are always "the best ribs ever". But these really were the best ribs I have ever had, except perhaps the ones that Outback Steakhouse. Those things must have crack in them or something. 


Abby 1, Billy/Carol: 0


Ha!
 

Spinach Linguini with Lemon-Cream Sauce

James and I go to the movies like once every other week. And often, we make it a full date-night by going to dinner before at the Cheesecake Factory right by the movie theater. Cheesecake Factory is great if you don't know what you want to eat. And it sucks if you don't know what you want to eat because their menu is ginormous.

I have my select go-to dishes there, but my overall favorite is their version of Chicken Piccata. It's soooo amazing, and I've wasted many a meal trying to recreate it and I just flat out can't. But, I will say, I have come across some great sauces, albeit different, along the way.

I learned this trick recently from my good friend, Francoise, and I'm so happy about it. Instead of trying to make my own creamy sauces, you buy a jar of Alfredo sauce, and add your own crap to it! It's genius and I love how easy it is!

So, sadly, there is no real recipe here. Buy some spinach linguini, cook as directed. In a sauce pan, heat Alfredo sauce while adding lemon juice, white wine, salt and pepper to taste. Just add a little bit at a time, stir, taste, repeat.

If you want to get super fancy with it, saute some mushrooms and throw those in there. Add capers to it. Whatever. It's yummy.

Note: the sauce will taste more "lemony/sour" in the pan than it actually will on the pasta, so don't be afraid. Once you think you have the sauce where you want it, take pasta and add it to the sauce, tossing to coat, then take pasta out to serve on plate. It really makes a difference, as opposed to just pouring sauce over the top of your pasta.

Greek Culinary Adventures: Part 2

I have been SUCKING in the cooking department recently. I think all I have been doing is working. I often joke (not joking) that I don't talk to anyone during the week about anything except carpet, other than my husband. Sad.

I don't have too much to report outside of work. Went on a fun family and friends vaca to Colorado skiing. James has been working away, and Guinness is growing like a weed! Looking forward to some summer travels and weddings and that's about it!

I've been thinking about lamb recently. I don't think I had eaten lamb in like 1-2 years, since I made a Guinness stew, and then all of the sudden, I've had lamb like 3-4 times in the last 2 months. Lamb chops at Sandy's Beach Grill, lamb chops at AnQi, lamb chops at Roppongi...craziness. Actually....now that I think about it....I eat lamb all the time, what am I talking about. I get gyro meat often. Oh, well. I'm losing my mind. But I think I will be attempting the Guinness stew again soon in honor of St. Patty's Day next week. Stay tuned for that!

This recipe is a long time coming, considering I cooked it months ago when I made the Shrimp Saganaki. I don't know how I forgot to post it, but better late than never I suppose.


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 3

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers
1/3 lb ground turkey or ground beef
3-4 oz spinach, finely chopped
2/3 cup grated zucchini
1/3 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl bulghur
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, halved lengthwise, remove seeds/cores/veins
2/3 can (14-15oz can) of stewed tomatoes, finely chopped
Crumbled Feta Cheese


Preheat oven to 350 deg. In a mixing bowl, combine turkey, spinach, zucchini, onion, bulghur, 1/3 of the egg, oregano, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix thoroughly. Arrange peppers cut-side up in a baking dish, and stuff with half of the meat mixture. Pour tomatoes over top, then sprinkle with feta cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake for additional 25 minutes or until meat cooked all the way through and peppers tender.




So the only thing about this recipe that was "interesting" was bulghur. What the h-ll is bulghur, you ask? That's exactly what I asked. It's kind a grain of sorts, kind of like wheat. I found it at Whole Foods, but it is not at my normal grocery store. Other than that, this dish is awesome. I made the mistake of thinking it was a side dish, but it's pretty much an entree. We ended up with two entrees that night, and no sides. Oops.
 

Southwestern Salmon Bowl

So I bought a Nook from Barnes and Nobles a year or so ago after they first came out (it's an eReader for those of you who live in a cave), and I've been extremely happy with it. It's great for travel, especially, because if you can read more than one book on a trip, it was a pain to carry 2-3 books in a carry-on or luggage. Now I can have as many books as I please and it takes up very little room. I've been reading on this thing for a while and the books you can buy are way cheaper than hard covers, and still cheaper than paperbacks.

It's been a while since I have purchased a cook-book, but there was one I wanted today so I went to B&N and got it (cook books are not great on the eReader, in my opinion), and a book for my hubby, and a magazine. Well, silly me had forgotten what it was like to pay full prices for books! Holy moly! Even with my B&N membership, which gives you 10%, it was like $40!! For two books! Ridiculous.

So, the cookbook I bought is all about simple food, but good food, and it was kind of the inspiration for our meal last night. The recipe is for 2 people.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 0
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

Southwestern Salmon Bowl
1 cup white rice
2 pieces of salmon (individual portions)
1 can black beans
1/2 small can of whole kernel corn
1/2 small zucchini, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 in pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 in pieces
1 slice of red onion, 1 in thick, then cut into 1/2 in pieces
5-6 mushrooms, sliced
1/2 of carrot, sliced thin
1 small can diced green chilis
3 limes
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbl olive oil
Salsa
Salt/Pepper
Toppings (optional): hot sauce, sour cream 


Add minced garlic, juice from 2 limes, and olive oil to ziploc bag with salmon in it. Mix it all up and let marinate in fridge for 30 min or so. Cook rice as indicated. While salmon is marinating and rice cooking, heat black beans in small pan on stove. In large fry, heat remaining Tbl of olive oil over medium heat. Add all veggies and corn, season with salt and pepper to taste, and start sauteing veggies. While they are cooking, add a Tbl of salsa 2-3 times along with some lime juice, continually stirring into veggies. Heat separate small fry pan over medium heat. Add salmon and cook in pan 8-10 minutes, turning once in middle. Serve in bowl with rice on bottom, then beans, then veggies, then salmon. Top with additional salsa (and sour cream and hot sauce is desired).


This is a pretty simple dish, and very full of veggies, which I love. You can even omit the salmon, and just make a veggie bowl! And if you are so inclined, try a more intricate marinade on the fish. Or buy one of those Lawry's 30 minute marinades they have at grocery store (Tequilla-Lime one is good for this, or the Caribbean Jerk).


Easy. Breezy.


 

Greek Culinary Adventures: Part 1

I miss the days when I could sleep sleep sleep and sleep some more. Seems lately that during the week I can't sleep past 7:30am, even when I want to. I know some of you would dream of sleeping in until 7:30am, but I have a strange work schedule sometimes which keeps me working until 10pm (last night), and able to not work until 9-10am (rarely). Even on the weekends, when I can sleep in, 8:30am is when my body tells me it's time to get crackin'.

I don't know why I have been craving Greek food recently, but I can't get enough. So I started doing some research for ideas for Greek dishes and came across something interesting. James had this dish in Santorini at a restaurant called Ochre, called something or other "saganaki". I was googling saganaki and came across a shrimp saganaki dish on foodtv.com. I looked at who the recipe was submitted by, and it was none other than Captain Ted Stathis! He was the Captain on the catamaran boat trip we did on our honeymoon!

Apparently, Giada De Laurentiis did an episode in Santorini and one of the features was Captain Ted and Santorini Sailing. Random!

Captain Ted and his crew were soooo amazing! We did a 6 hour sunset cruise on his boat with like 4 other couples. Sailed, snorkeled, swam, and ate amazing food that I have been craving ever since.

If you ever make it to Santorini, call up Captain Ted at Santorini Sailing (www.santorinisailing.com) and book a trip. It was the highlight of our Greece adventure. (Here's a couple pics of us with Captain Ted and the amazing food!)

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 4 but the cheese could be omitted if 100% life and death necessary
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 6, if you try the Ouzo part, 3 otherwise
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3

Captain Ted's Shrimp Saganaki
1 Tbl olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, chopped
16 medium shrimp, shell on (or 20-24 small shrimp)
Salt/Pepper
Dried Oregano
Dried chili flakes or crushed red pepper flakes
1.5 oz Ouzo
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 small can (16 oz or less) crush tomatoes
1 tsp olive paste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 lemon, sliced

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in saute pan. Add garlic and onions and saute until soft, but not brown. Add shrimp and season with salt, pepper, oregano, and chili flakes, all to taste. Once shrimp about done, remove pan from heat and carefully add Ouzo (will catch on fire so do with caution- or omit). Return to stove and simmer for another minute, then add wine to pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove shrimp from pan with slotted spoon, and place shrimp on dish to cool slightly. When shrimp are cool enough to handle, peel shells off. Add crushed tomatoes (not necessarily whole can) and olive paste to pan, and simmer for about 4-5 minutes. Return the peeled shrimp to the pan, and toss to coat in the sauce. Then sprinkle the feta cheese over the top of the contents of the pan, and force to melt by pushing down with the back of the spoon/spatula. Serve with sliced lemon as garnish.


This dish is actually super simple. The only things you may not have are olive paste and Ouzo (like a Greek vodka but way stronger). Olive paste can be found usually in your grocery store's "international" aisle, under the Mediterranean section. I was very excited to try the flambe with Ouzo part, but was unable to get my hands on Ouzo before making dinner, as they didn't have at my little corner liquor store as I thought, so had to live without. Contrary to popular belief, I don't have a full bar on hand at my house, complete with liquor from around the world. I suppose if you had 151 at your house instead, you could use that?? I just did without because I had to but you do what you like. Also, cooking the shrimp with the shells on was a new experience for me in a pan, but it was great in that it encapsulated all the yumminess from the onion and garlic and seasonings under the shell while the shrimp cooked.

In regards to the tomatoes, I added the whole can, and felt it was too much, so eye ball it and see what consistency of sauce you like. This tomato sauce concoction basically tastes like a Greek version of a spaghetti sauce, and I loved it. The only thing it was lacking for me, that maybe it was supposed to lack, was some sort of sweetness or acidity (in our spaghetti sauce usually have sugar or honey or pineapple)....but like I said, maybe this sauce wasn't supposed to have that. Anyway, that's why I added the sliced lemon garnish, so if you need it, you can squeeze a little lemon out on it.

Grilled Shrimp and Feta Orzo Pasta Salad

Let me tell you, this construction in our house is getting to be a little ridiculous. It was supposed to be completed while we were gone. Instead, they started when we got back and NOW they are telling me won't be completed until next week some time??? How am I supposed to live like that? I can tell you I have now had to microwave my morning eggs not once, but twice. Actually, they didn't turn out too bad but not really what I had in mind for the new year. I seriously feel like this is a cooking challenge and I am failing miserably. I am no whiz with a microwave.

So, I did the obvious thing last night and invited myself and James over to our friend's house to cook for them, so that I could use their kitchen. Ha! Kill two birds with one stone. It's always strange to cook in someone else's kitchen, without your stuff, not knowing where everything is and how their range/stove reacts, etc. But I, fortunately, have cooked over at Javier's house many a time, so I didn't feel too lost.

This dish was interesting for me. It's Bobby Flay recipe I found online. I don't really care for some of the ingredients, but figured I would give it a whirl anyway. It turned out really good. However, I am going to modify the types and quantities of ingredients a little from the original, as it said it was 4 servings, but it was more like 8, and the proportions were off slightly. So this is now my version :)

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 7 very very cheesy
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5

Grilled Shrimp with Feta Orzo Salad
1/2 lb Orzo pasta, cooked al dente
1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, then sliced 
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 Tbl rice vinegar
3 Tbl fresh lemon juice
3 Tbl dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil, plus a little extra for shrimp
Salt and pepper
8 oz crumbled feta cheese
20 medium shrimp, peeled, and de-veined

Cook orzo pasta as directed. In a large bowl, combine cucumber, spinach, and tomatoes. In a blender, add the dill, vinegar, lemon juice, and dijon mustard, and blend. With motor running, slowly add olive oil and continue to blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat grill to high heat. When orzo is finished cooking (remember to cook al dente), drain, and add orzo to cucumber/tomato bowl, and pour the vinaigrette over all and mix well. Then gently fold in all of the feta cheese to the mixture. Skewer your shrimp, brush will olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Then grill over high heat about 2-3 minutes each side. Serve shrimp over the orzo salad on plates.

This dish is super good, actually, and I don't even like shrimp. Or dill very much. But it's a mildly "zesty" dish, and actually, the cheese and dill and mustard actually blend very well together so none of the ingredients are over powering. I know it seems like a lot of cheese too, but don't worry, add it all. I was worried too, but it all worked together in the end.

If you don't have rice vinegar or lemon juice, substitute them both out for white wine vinegar.

But overall, this is a good dish. Something different, not difficult. Don't be scared. I won't like shrimp or dill particularly and I liked it so there. :)

New Year's Resolution: Asian Inspired Dishes Made Easy!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season. And I hope you all aren't as suicidal feeling as I am going back to work after the relaxing break. JK. But it is has definitely been a struggle getting back into the swing of things this morning. Nothing like a little family time, snow, and catching up on sleep to get you back to centered.

So, I pretty much don't like Chinese food. Or most of it at least. And I have been trying to figure out why. I love the flavor combos but HATE the rubbery, chewy meat that is used in most dishes. And that most of it is fried. And then there are usually all these random ingredients and weird crap in them. I just wrote it off pretty much. However, I do like Pei Wei, and PF Changs, so I figured there is hope for me yet. Plus, I am married to a Filipino, so I decided it was time to start learning how to make my own "asian-inspired" dishes.

My first attempt was a HUGE success. This recipe is super good, and very easy, and uses things you most likely already have in your kitchen and pantry. I highly recommend you give it a whirl!

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1 BOOOOO!
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2- a monkey could make this
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3


Beef and Broccoli
3 Tbl soy sauce
3 Tbl Fat-Free (or light) Italian Dressing
1.5 tsp cornstarch
1.5 Tbl minced garlic
1.5 tsp ground ginger
3/4 lb. steak (I used Rib-Eye, but round works also), cut into strips
1/2 cup fat-free (or light/low-sodium) beef broth
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup green onions, sliced (or pearl onions, halved)
1 lb broccoli florets

6 cups water
5 beef bouillon cubes
4 oz linguine or spinach fettucini pasta

In bowl, whisk together soy, Italian dressing, cornstarch, garlic, and ginger. In a shallow dish or bowl, pour mixture over beef strips, toss to coat, and let marinate about 15 minutes or so. While beef is marinating, boil water and bouillon cubes, add pasta, and cook until al dente. Drain. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove beef from marinade with slotted spoon, and add to hot skillet (discard marinade). Stir constantly, cooking beef for 2-3 minutes, or until browned. Stir in beef broth, mushrooms, and onions. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add broccoli and continue to cook until broccoli is bright green and tender, but still crisp. Add pasta, toss, and serve.

The other option on this is to omit the pasta, and just serve the beef mixture over white sticky rice. Both are really really good, but if you or your eaters like more traditional asian food, eat it over rice of course.

The flavors in this are spot on. And the key is to cook the meat a little less than you think you should, so still tender and not chewy. And also the broccoli is to be crisp, not mushy.

This recipe makes enough for 2 pretty big servings, so if you have more people, make sure to adjust accordingly.

BBQ Bible Strikes Again! The Pork Loin!

I'm not sure if they have these in every grocery store or not but we have these pre-marinated pork tenderloins that are vacuum sealed with some sort of wonderfulness. They are fantastic. Especially, if you add a little sumthin' sumthin' to it while grilling!

My maid of honor and her husband (my fiance's best friend) came over for an impromptu dinner tonight. Impromptu only because I worked all day and then when I stopped at the store, decided to have a brain-fart and only buy what sounded good at the time: wine, fresh mozzarella, a red onion, a couple red skin potatoes, and greek salad dressing. Random, much???

So I get home and just start pulling out whatever meat and veggies I had in the fridge. And since I have been honeymoon planning for Santorini the last 3 days, I had Greece on my mind.

Chicken + pork + veggies + BBQ Bible = Greek goodness!

And the best part: James had given me a little patio garden for my birthday this year, which I fully took advantage of my fresh herbs this evening and used fresh oregano in everything! (Can you hear me salivating???)

I found another BBQ Bible gem: the Greek Baste! If you haven't already bought this book, do it. Seriously, it's life changing.



Cheesy Factory (0 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 0 Sorry!
Time Factor (0 shortest, 10 longest): 5 (It shouldn't take this long, but it did for me. No idea why.)
Dummy Factor (0 easiest, 10 hardest): 2

Greek-ish Pre-Marinated Pork Tenderloin With Extras!
1 pre-packaged, pre-marinated pork tenderloin (for this recipe, get the Lemon Garlic flavor)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried oregano)
2-3 garlic gloves, minced

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk (except pork, of course). Grill the pork tenderloin while continually basting with "baste", but be careful not to let too much drip off, as it will set on fire, and cause a soot taste. Grill tenderloin until center is 145 deg (just use a meat thermometer, I don't have any eye-ball tricks for this). Let pork then rest inside for 5 minutes or so before slicing, to let juices set in.

This is really mouth watering. And I don't care what your meat thermometer says is a good temperature for pork. Don't go below or above 145 deg. If you let it sit after taking off the grill, for just a couple of minutes, it will be the absolute perfect taste. Not dry, not dangerous. Trust me. Or trust your thermometer, however you want to look at it.

Eat Palio Anywhere!

First: my friend Spencer from U of Mich started a little side biz that has to do with food and cooking. Since those happen to be 2 of my 3 favorite things (wine), I thought I would share this info with you in case you wanted to check out some of his stuff:

www.chefsuspence.com

He is making some great things with local fresh ingredients. Not sure if he can ship anywhere at this point, but check back with him.

On to the important stuff: Palio. Palio is my favorite restaurant. Located in downtown Ann Arbor. I have traveled a lot, ate at some amazing restaurants, and Palio still ranks up there on my list (I didn't mean for that to sound like I am obnoxiously bragging. But I am :) Ha!) They have tons of fresh pasta dishes, Tuscan style entrees, Italian wines....it's great. (* Also note: if you took my advice and purchased the Main Street Ventures cookbook, you will find many great Palio recipes in it!)

They have this dish at Palio called the Fileto Di Manzo which is a filet of beef on top of goat cheese, on top of a slice of tomato, on top of a portobello mushroom! It's delicious. Then it has some fancy sides. But I wanted to recreate this dish, Abby style, to easily make at home. It is an awesome dish to do when having company over that you want to impress.

P.S.: there is no way to make this vegetarian so don't even as me. And it's not low-fat. So, you dieters can just wait until the next post for something magical. And for the lactose intolerant, I suppose you could take out the cheese. But I suppose you could eat garbage too.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 3
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 7

Abby's Fileto Di Manzo
4 6oz. beef tenderloins (filet)
4 small portobello mushrooms, stems removed
4 goat cheese slices (or package of softened goat cheese, plain flavor)
1 large tomato, sliced thickly
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
bag of yellow pearl onions (or 16 total if can buy individually)
8-10 yellow dutch creamer potatoes (or baby yukon golds), cut in half length wise
16 stalks of asparagus 
Fresh Thyme, chopped
12 whole cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 400 deg. On a sheet on tinfoil, put the potato halves, pearl onions, and garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive oil, season heavily with salt and pepper, and sprinkled with chopped fresh thyme. Toss to coat. Fold tinfoil over ingredients to make a "packet" and seal. Put in oven for 50 min. While potatoes are cooking, preheat grill. Over cutting board, loosely snap a piece of asparagus. Where ever the asparagus breaks, cut all other asparagus stalks at that point. Then spread the top portion over a piece of tinfoil. Drizzle with olive oil, and heavy salt and pepper. Toss to coat, and set aside.

Rub the steaks with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Grill steaks to order (I use a meat thermometer or the finger test- will elaborate more later). While steaks are grilling, heat 2 Tbl olive oil and 2 Tbl Balsamic vinegar in large fry/saute pan over low heat. Season portobello mushrooms with salt/pepper and cook in pan until somewhat soft, but cooked through. If they finish soon, cover pan and remove from heat, but try to keep them warm.

When potatoes are soft (stick fork in them to make sure before taking out of oven completely), take out, keep sealed and set aside. Set oven to broil, and broil asparagus for 8 minutes (10 minutes if thick pieces). Take out immediately.

Arrangement on plate:
       Middle of plate: place the portobella mushroom, top down, then spread thick layer of goat cheese on top of it. Place tomato slice on top of goat cheese, followed by filet on top of tomato.
       Surrounding filet/mushroom: on the outside of the plate, place a potato half, pearl onion, and garlic clove, alternating them in the circle around the filet. Then place a piece of asparagus on each side of plate, making a square around everything. (So each plate should get 4 potato halves, 4 pearl onions, 3 garlic cloves, and 4 pieces of asparagus).

The key to this dish is timing everything out so that nothing is done super early and gets cold, and nothing is done super late so everything gets cold (especially if you don't have a separate oven and broiler). Plus, the presentation is awesome. But keep this in mind:

Potatoes: roughly an hour
Steaks: roughly 15-20 min
Mushrooms: roughly 10 minutes
Asparagus: less than 10 minutes
Assembly: 5 minutes

But other than the timing, it's an easy dish as far as the cooking goes. If you aren't a whiz in the kitchen yet, and you want to make this meal, I would write out a schedule with times next to the steps above so you can make sure to stay on track and don't get flustered.

For the steak finger test, here is a little trick: touch your thumb to your pinky finger. Then with your other hand, press down on large, lower portion of your thumb. That's what well-done steaks would feel like if you pressed down on them while they are on the grill. Thumb to ring finger would be medium-well, thumb to middle finger would be medium. Thumb to fore finger is medium-rare to rare.

I wish I had a picture of this dish as it is super impressive....hey, Gallas, can you post a pic on here from your phone???

Fix It and Forget It Pot Roast: 3 meals in 1

This is fairly long-winded. But it all comes together in the end so sack up and read it.

My good friend Gina had a tragic turn of events this week when her 50 year old mom died in her sleep, out of the blue. I can not even come close to imagining what she is going through, but it hits close to home, as James lost his mom a few years ago as well. I want to do something for Gina and Craig (her boyfriend and one of James's best friends), if nothing else than to make her life easier right now and have been racking my brain on what to do. I think, next week, after things have calmed down, I will take her some pre-made or pre-prepped food that can last a couple of meals with just warming up or whatever, so she doesn't have to think about anything but her family.

While thinking about what I wanted to make for Gina and crew, I instantly realized I haven't even been cooking for myself recently. I am not sure why I thought when we got back from the honeymoon and wedding and weekend travels that life would calm down a little. Silly, Abby. There is always so much going on. And it seems like our friends are the same way! In addition to Gina's trials, my best friend, Jessica, is just a few short weeks away from having her first baby AND has 3 events coming up for work AND just moved into a new house. And even though her hormones want to get the best of her, she still manages to seem cool, calm, and collected at all times. It baffles me.

Between Jessica and baby and Gina and family, I got motivated, and got out the slow-cooker recipe box. Inspired by my friends who actually are too busy to cook, I dedicate this 3 in 1 meal to them.....I don't want people to forget to eat. Or just eat to sustain (even worse). A good, healthy, tasty meal is only a few short minutes away.

I have to say, one of my favorite things about pot roast is what you can do with the leftovers! This recipe is fantastic, especially because it makes 2-3 different meals, all at once! The full recipe, listed below, is for 12 "servings"......riiiiiight. 12 servings for mini-people. About 8 servings for regular people, I've found. So, if you want to take advantage of the 3 meals in 1, make the whole recipe (and don't worry, chuck roast is cheap, so you won't be breaking the bank).

For the other two meals you can make with leftovers: fajitas and BBQ sandwiches!


Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1 for pot roast, 1 or 5 for fajitas, 1 or 5 for sandwiches
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 1
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 7 for initial slow-cooking, 1 for everything else


Slow-cooker Pot Roast
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 and 1/4 cup water
5.5 lbs pot roast (chuck roast)

In slow cooker, mix soup cans, onion mix, and water. Place pot roast in slow-cooker and coat with soup mix. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

Seriously, it's that easy. I also like to season the meat, and sear it before placing it in slow-cooker. But if you are trying to keep it super simple, just follow the above recipe. I would serve it with some sort of potatoes, as the soup mix turns into a gravy while it cooks with the meat juices! It's genius! Boiling some redskins is probably the easiest, as you don't have to peel them, or mash them, or do anything but boil water and you have an awesome side that will go great with the pot roast and gravy.



Fajitas
Tortillas
Fajita toppings (shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc.)
Green Bell Pepper
Red Bell Pepper
Yellow or Sweet Onion 
1 TBL butter
Leftover pot roast meat, shredded

Slice the green pepper, red pepper, and onion thinly. Heat butter in saute pan over medium heat, saute peppers and onions until desired tenderness. Add shredded meat to pan to heat through. Serve with warm tortillas and toppings as fajitas.

If you want to get super fancy on this, I suggest serving with some sort of rice and beans. I, personally, love the ones in the grocery store that come in that little black bag. I forget the brand, but it's like $2.50, and they have other flavors (mexican, spanish, yellow, etc.) but I think the black beans and rice mix is suuuuper good and goes great with this.


BBQ Beef Sandwiches
4 Buns
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
4 slices gouda or cheddar cheese (optional)
Leftover pot roast meat, shredded

In small saute pan or pot, heat pot roast meat and BBQ sauce (as much sauce as you like), continually stirring, and continually adding sauce. If desired, heat buns in oven, or under broiler for a few minutes so a little toasty. Place 1 slice of cheese on half of bun, add BBQ meat, then top with other half of bun. 

Yes, I really just explained to you how to make a sandwich. You never know with people sometimes. Maybe they think the cheese slice will melt itself so I felt the need to explain the meat would melt it. It's been a long morning.


Disclaimers for my picky friends:
* For those of you who don't eat cheese, just don't add the cheese. It's not that difficult to figure out. Commies.

*** For those of you who want a lower-fat version, use fat-free cream of mushroom soup for pot roast.
**** For those of you who don't eat potatoes, I'm done talking to you.


I now feel better about myself. I have been slacking on cooking, blogging, and thanks to this overly long blog post, slacking on working this morning....I just made 3 meals in 1, blogged about it, and hopefully gave inspiration to those who think they are "too busy" to cook.

Why are there 3 chicken breasts in a package when I only need 2 ??? The story of Creamy Chicken Pasta

So I have given myself the nickname of the "Leftover Queen". And the Leftover Queen strikes again! All too often I wait until about 6:30pm, when I am starving, to try and decide what to make for dinner. Going to the store sounds like a giant feat. But I am hungry. And don't want take out. What do I do?!?!

Answer: Use whatever you have in your fridge and pantry and come up with something magical! I'd say my "experiments" have about a 80% success rate. This one was a success.

Last week we made some chicken one night for dinner. I don't know where you all buy your chicken from, but riddle me this: why are there 3 chicken breasts to a package??? How many people do you know that cook for 3 adults? I know approximately ZERO. Most people I know, without children or with children under the age of 10, cook for 2 adults. Maybe 4 adults if having people over for dinner. So then you either have a leftover chicken breast, OR you have to buy another package, and then you have 2 leftover chicken breasts. So what do I do? Cook all three chicken breasts, eat 2, and leave one in the fridge for whatever random creation I can come up with for it.

And don't even get me started on ground turkey. 1.25lbs??? What the h-ll and I supposed to do with the leftover 0.25lbs (since most recipes call for 1 lb)??? Someone failed business school as far as I am concerned. Or the business people and the cooks are not communicating very well. 0.25lbs? C'mon. That's one burger. Stupid. At least make your packages 1.5 lbs if you are going over the industry standard of 1 lb!

So, anyway, last week, I happen to have a leftover chicken breast and 0.25lbs ground turkey, both in my fridge about to expire the next day. Interesting situation when trying to come up with dinner plans. So I improvised, and came up with a pasta that turned out to be delicious! It just so happened that my pantry had pasta noodles, canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, and some random ingredients in fridge, which all led to a surprisingly good pasta.

Seriously, don't worry about your "experiments" not turning out. They won't all the time. And when they don't, you will end up laughing about it. But you have to try. What's the worst thing that could happen? You fail and you get take-out. Big deal. You were probably contemplating take-out anyway if you are resorting to "experimentation" in the kitchen.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 5
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 4
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4


Creamy Chicken and Turkey Pasta for Two
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
0.25lbs ground turkey, cooked (or ground beef)
Spaghetti noodles, cooked (or whatever pasta you have will work)
1 can diced, stewed, or crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices yellow or sweet onion, chopped
1 TBL honey, (or sugar or crush pineapple)
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp dried basil
3 TBL cream cheese
Salt/Pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Cook enough pasta for 2 people in boiling water. In small saute pan, warm up (or cook) shredded chicken and ground turkey. In large saute/frying pan, saute garlic and onion in olive oil until soft. Add drained can of tomatoes and can of tomato sauce, honey, salt/pepper to taste, oregano, and basil. Stir and taste often, adjust seasonings to taste. After sauce has simmered for 15-20 min, add cream cheese one tablespoon at a time, stirring in to make creamy. Continue until have creaminess desired. Stir in shredded chicken and ground meat to sauce. Serve over pasta and top with a little sprinkled crushed red pepper.

Optional veggies to add to sauce (do so at time of sauteing garlic and onion): chopped green peppers, sliced mushrooms, sliced zucchini, whatever you have in fridge.


This is not fancy. But it was pretty dang good. AND you feel good about yourself at the end of the day because you didn't let the one random chicken breast go to waste. If you are making chicken earlier that week, just cook all 3 breasts at once, eat your 2, then the 3rd could be for this and then it's already cooked, cutting down on your cooking time.

* Although I never condone buying jarred spaghetti sauce instead of making your own, if you happen to have some Prego, you can skip making the sauce and simply warm it up in a pot, add the chicken and cream cheese and call it a night. Bingo. Bango. Cream Sauce.

Not gonna lie: not my strongest of cooking efforts on this one. But I hate wasting food. Especially uncooked food. So don't be surprised if you see more "leftover" recipes.

Outback take-out? No, thanks. I'll make Abby-Springs Chicken

I LOVE Outback Steakhouse. And it's one of the few restaurants where I don't get the same thing every single time I go there. One of my go-to favorites, however, is Alice Springs Chicken. Chicken smothered in bacon, mushrooms, cheese, and deliciousness.

So what if it isn't good for you?! I mean, it's smothered in cheese! What's not to love?!

Granted, this is my interpretation. And I ate it when I was absolutely starving. Which is often the case when we eat a late dinner and I can barely contain myself. But this was pretty dang good and a nice substitute if you are too lazy to even get take-out, but still have the craving for cheese and bacon.

I convince myself it isn't bad for me because it is chicken. And I suggest you do the same.

Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 7
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 4
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 5


Abby-Springs Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 oz Worcestershire Sauce
8 slices bacon
2 Tbl butter
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
8 oz (1 bag) shredded cheese (mild cheddar, Monterrey jack, colby jack, etc.)
Honey-mustard dressing (optional)

Poke holes in chicken breasts with knife or fork. Place chicken breasts in shallow glass dish, or plastic bag, with Worcestershire sauce, toss to coat, and try to get into the holes. Cover and refrigerate for an hour at least. In frying pan, cook bacon, set aside. Drain grease from frying pan, then return pan to stove and add butter and mushrooms. Saute mushrooms, then set aside. Preheat oven to broil. Take chicken out and place on baking sheet, season with salt and pepper. Cook under broiler 5 minutes each side (or until juices are clear, not pink). Take out of broiler, put 2 sliced on bacon, then mushrooms, on each chicken breast, then cover with cheese. Place back under broiler until cheese is melted (about 1 minute). Serve with dressing (optional).

So for the dressing, your guess is as good as mine. I don't normally keep honey-mustard dressing on hand, so for this, I just made my own quick-fix style. I'm sure there are better recipes, but I took 1 TBL cider vinegar, 2.5 teaspoons dijon mustard, 2 TBL mayo, and 1.5 TBL honey, and whisked away. It was ok. Not great, but it did the trick, considering it was lazy, and I simply used the ingredients I already had.

This is one of those recipes that is not quite as good as the original, but pretty darn close. And will probably prevent me from getting take-out here and there. If you want to go for a "healthier" version, for some unknown reason, try turkey-bacon. And saute the mushrooms in olive oil instead of butter and bacon grease. And I don't condone this whatsoever, but you could even try a lower-fat cheese. Why, oh why, would you do this? I have no idea.