Pepper and mushroom quinoa

I was planning on making chicken marsala for dinner tonight last night, however I forgot to buy some cream. So I went in a different direction. This is what I came up with.

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts

1 onion, chopped

1 pkg mushrooms, sliced

Peppers, I used baby mixed peppers (I cut them in rings)

S&P to taste

A couple sprinkles of italian seasoning

Feta crumbles (not too much)

1 head of roasted garlic (see below)

1 cup quinoa cooked as directed

• add butter and olive oil to large non-stick skillet, turn heat to med-high
• place chicken breasts in pan
• chop onions, peppers and mushrooms
• when chicken is browned (10 mins), turn & add onions and peppers
• DON'T stir it up, let the veggies get caramelized
• when chicken is browned on the other side, remove and set aside
• add mushrooms, you can give the veggies a stir at this point
• add some S&P to taste and the italian seasoning

At this point, the quinoa should be about done. When it's done, add the whole head of roasted garlic, just squish it all in there! Don't forget to mix it up!

• Dice up the chicken and add back into pan. 
• Scoop out some quinoa on a plate and top with veggies and chicken, sprinkle with feta

You could probably mix it all together too. I love it when healthy tastes good! 

Oh dear! I almost forgot to tell you about roasting garlic!

• Take 1 head of fresh garlic (or 5 or however many you want) 
• Chop off the tips, about 1/3 of the top
• sprinkle with olive oil
• wrap in foil, top side up and stick them in the oven on the rack
• roast in oven @ 400 degrees for about 40 minutes

You can use them right away or stick in the fridge, make roasted garlic butter.... THe possibilities are endless!

bbq beef pie

This is seriously so easy. It's so easy that you really can't mess it up... Well I guess you could if you really tried. You could make them in muffin pans too. If you wanted individual sizes. Or mini muffin tins to make for appetizers.

1 pkg biscuits
1 lb ground beef or sirloin
olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pkg or can of sliced mushrooms (I didn't have any on hand)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
1 C bbq sauce, I use Sweet Baby Rays Hickory and Brown Sugar (it's our fave!)
1-2 C shredded cheddar cheese (say that 10x fast)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• place biscuits in bottom of pan and press or roll to cover the bottom of the pan

See my cute little helper!

• In a pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and onion (and fresh mushrooms if you want) and sauté for 5-10 minutes. 
• Add garlic, S&P and ground beef (and canned mushrooms) , cook until no longer pink
• Add bbq sauce and mix well
• Pour mixture over biscuits
• Sprinkle cheese over top

• Bake at 350 for however long it tells you on the biscuit package. I used Grands, so the pkg tells me 14-17 minutes. 

sausage and mushroom pasta

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes that I have come up with. It's simple and delicious!

1 box of pasta
1 lb of italian sausage (remove from casings)
1 onion (I like sliced to match the pasta)
1 pkg of mushrooms, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bag of baby spinach
olive oil
salt and pepper
pasta water
parmesan cheese

• Start the water boiling for the pasta, add salt and cook pasta according to box directions
• heat another pan to med high heat, drizzle with olive oil
• saute the onions for about 5-10 minutes
• add mushrooms and cook about 5 more minutes
• add spinach and garlic and cook until spinach starts to wilt
• add sausage, cook until sausage is no longer pink, turn to low and cover
• add the pasta when it is done cooking, add some pasta water to make a nice sauce
• serve and sprinkle with parmesan

I had a friend substitute with ground pork, and it is not the same. The sausage gives it all the flavor. 

eggplant parmesan

I LOVE this meal. Adam likes it OK, but he prefers meals that contain meat. 

This is easy, but it does take time. What I like is that after you fry it, you can freeze it for later. 

egg wash - eggs and water, the amount depends on how much you are making. 

eggplant - peeled and sliced (either in circles or lengthwise)

breadcrumbs

oil

Dip the eggplant in the egg wash and then press into breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a pan and let it get to temp while you are breading the eggplant plant. 

Fry until browned on both sides and drain. 

You can serve this over spaghetti with sauce and cheese, or however you want. This time I put some marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella. Bake or broil to melt the cheese. 

chicken fajitas

You can add more if you want.

1 - onion, sliced (I used a red onion this time, but whatever works)
1 - green bell pepper
1- red bell pepper
1- orange or yellow bell pepper
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into strips (you could use other meats)
Goya Adobo seasoning to taste
vegetable oil

In a bowl, mix the onion and peppers together. Drizzle with some oil and Adobo seasoning.
In a bag, mix the chicken, oil and Adobo seasoning.

In a non-stick skillet (I used a long rectangular one), drizzle with oil, heat to med-high. Add veggies to one side and chicken to the other. I usually sprinkle a little more Adobo seasoning on at this time. I fight my OCD and let the fajitas cook. If you can resist the urge to toss them around with tongs, then the peppers and chicken with have some time to get nice and brown. But be careful, you don't want them to burn. Cook until the chicken is cook through and the peppers and chicken are browned evenly.

Serve with warm tortilla, cheese, sour cream, or whatever you like.

I like the flavor of the Adobo seasoning instead of the fajita packets you can buy. It tastes better to me.

pot roast

I don't make pot roast that often because to be honest, the meat is too expensive for me. I bought this one for $10. I can get multiple chicken meals for that price. Anyway, I decided it was time so I bought one. I have 2 stories to share about this. First I would spend weekends with my Grandma (Dad's mom) and she would always make a pot roast on Sunday. I would help her cook. What I took from those moments was this: She would always put onions in the roast pan first to set the meat on. Then she would add a couple beef bouillon cubes in. I don't remember everything else. 

My Mom and Dad had a Deli when I was in high school and of course I worked there after school and on the weekends. My parents would make their own roast beef that they would cool and then slice. I remember it being a HUGE piece of meat that they would roast for hours. Everyone that came in would smell it in the morning and then come back later and try to get my mom to slice them off a piece as it was cooling. OK, not everyone, but some of our regulars/friends. The ingredient that I have on hand is Maggi seasoning. It makes it yummy. 

So back to what I did. First I pulled out the crockpot. I forgot to take the meat out of the freezer until that morning.... so I put the crock pot on high and hoped for the best. No worries though, it came out great. 

2 - onions, I wedged mine

2 - beef bouillon cubes

2 - bay leaves

3 - cloves of garlic cut into 2 or 3 pieces each

1-2 Cups of water

1 - roast

S&P to taste

8 - red potatoes (I left mine whole)

4 - carrots, peeled and cut into big pieces

3 - celery stalks cut into big pieces

Maggi

I put the onion wedges on the bottom with the garlic and bouillon cubes and bay leaves. I place the roast on top and sprinkle with S&P. I add the water. I then covered it and let it cook on high for a few hours. We have afternoon church, so right before I left, I threw in all the veggies around and on top of the roast. I doused it with Maggi and re-covered it and then left for church. 

Because I started with a frozen block, I cooked this on HIGH for 8 hours. If it was thawed, I would have done LOW for about the same amount of time. 

After I took the meat and veggies out and placed them on a platter and covered with foil. I strained the drippings because Adam wanted gravy. There are many ways to make gravy... flour and water, cornstarch, or a rue. I decided to make a rue. 

1/4 C- butter/oil

1/4 C- flour

3C - broth

S&P to taste

Melt the butter in the pan, add the flour and whisk until smooth. It should be creamy. Slowly add the broth and whisk, whisk, whisk until it is well blended. I used about 4 C of broth, but I didn't measure. Cook on med-high heat and keep whisking until it reaches the thickness you want. Mine wasn't that thick, but I added a lot of broth. S&P to taste. 

cauliflower soup

This is a puree'd soup, so you will need an immersion blender or food processor. I got the basics from Giada, but made some changes to make it my own. 

Start off by browning a few slices of bacon, drain and set aside. Save the drippings.

• 1 tbsp bacon drippings
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, diced (can use shallots)
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, cut up 
• thyme (fresh or dried)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 pint cream

Brown celery and onion in drippings and butter over medium heat. 

Add garlic and cook until it becomes aromatic.

Stir in broth, cauliflower, thyme, and S&P. 

Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower is soft.

Puree the soup in food processor until smooth. I add the cream at this time. 

Put the puree'd soup back into the pan. Check the seasoning and add more s&p as needed. 

Cut up the bacon and serve on top. 

chicken adobo

This is a philipino dish that I first had after my first son. It was so good. I tried to get my friend to write down the recipe for me, but it never happened. And I wanted to have it again. Bad! So I did some research online and then got the ingredient I was missing from her. It is super easy, you just need to remember to leave enough time to marinate... 3 hours. Double all the ingredients and that will make up to 12 chicken thighs. 

4 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed (this serves our little family)

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar (you can use white vinegar, but it is not as good)

2-3 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 onion diced

2-3 garlic cloves, pressed

3-4 bay leaves

1/2 can black olives

black pepper

• mix all together and add chicken, press chicken down so it is as covered as you can get it and let marinate for 3 hours
• dump all ingredients into a pan and cook on medium-low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours
• remove bay leaves
• serve over rice

roasted chicken

Let me introduce you to herbes de provence! It is a blend of herbs that they supposedly use in the south of France. It really adds something different and delicious to whatever you are making. I have used it in marinara sauces and on roasted chicken.

I buy a roaster chicken with a pop-up timer. To get that beautiful golden color the secret is butter! Grab about a tablespoon of soft butter in your hand and spread under the skin of the breast all the way to the other side, repeat on the other side. Sprinkle the herbes de provence, a little lavender, salt and pepper and cook at the recommended temperature until the timer pops. Start basting every 15-20 minutes after the first 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

eggplant lasagna

1 eggplant, peeled, sliced and put under the broiler until brown

8 lasagna noodles, cooked a few minutes less than package instructions

16 oz ricotta cheese (part skim or whole) mixed with 1 egg, s&p, parsley, parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese (lots, I don't think there can be too much cheese, but an 8 oz package will probably do)

1 quantity of marinara sauce with spinach (some times I use a jar of Classico tomato and basil sauce)

layering the ingredients

preheat oven to 350

a little bit of sauce on the bottom

noodles (this is a little smaller than 9x13

ricotta cheese mixture

mozzarella

eggplant

sauce

repeat once more, ending with the sauce layer on top (I don't like noodles on top, it dries them out) and parmesan cheese

cook for 30-40 minutes until bubbly

before going into the oven, sprinkle some parmesan cheese on  top

enjoy!