Chicken Tikka Masala

Holy shaboley. This was stinkin' amazing. loved it! Definitely a repeater for us.

I got the recipe from My Kitchen Cafe.

1 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger 

1 teaspoon salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients except chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and refrigerate for one hour. Grill or cook chicken in frying pan. Discard marinade.

1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped (I used about 3/4 of the pepper because I didn't want it too spicey for the kids. It turned out just right.)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for one minute. Season with cumin, paprika and salt. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve over hot rice.

Tasty Lentil Soup

Sometimes, there are recipes that just can't be photographed. Or else I don't know how to photograph cooked green lentils. It just won't look good. But will you please just believe me that this is good? And lentils are good for you, so there. Make this sometime.

I first had this soup when an old neighbor/coworker/friend brought us dinner just after I had my 2nd baby. Thanks, Nicole! :)

1½ cups lentils
4 slices bacon
1 onion, chopped
¼ cup chopped carrots
¾ cup chopped bell peppers
1 large can or 3 or 4 fresh tomatoes
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
3 Tbsp flour
2 cubes beef bouillon dissolved in 1 cup hot
water
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vinegar

1. Bring lentils to a boil in 5 cups water in a
large pot. Simmer covered for 1 hour.

2. Cut bacon into small pieces and sauté until
crisp.
3. Add onions, carrots and peppers. Sauté over
low heat 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and set aside
until lentils are done. Add tomato mixture to
lentils.
4. Melt butter in same skillet, remove from
heat, stir in flour and then gradually stir in
bouillon liquid. Add salt and vinegar, stirring all
the time.
5. Pour into lentils and cook over low heat,
stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Morrocan Spaghetti

This surprised me. It is quite the tasty dish. I was unsure about the spices while making it, but the combination is wonderful and it smells absolutely fantastic, I tell you what.

This recipe came from a library vegetarian cookbook: the accidental vegetarian by Simon Rimmer.

10 oz dried spaghetti

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

8 tomatoes, finely chopped (yes, EIGHT.)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch of tumeric

1 cup toasted, slivered almonds (I used sliced, and I think it would be better with the slivered.)

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed if canned

bunch of fresh parsley and cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I HATE HATE parsley. So I left it out. It was still good. But if you like parsley, then yay!)

handful of freshly chopped mint leaves (I also left this out.)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pretty simple procedure:

1. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft.

3. Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, and tumeric and cook over a medium heat for about 20 minutes until the tomatoes break down.

4. Season the sauce and then add the almonds and chickpeas.

5. Drain the pasta and divide between four plates. Fold the herbs into the sauce and mix it with the pasta.

*To save time and spare a screaming child pulling at you while trying to HURRY and make a dang meal, you could ask your husband to chop up all those tomatoes for you the night before! :)

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

First time making this one. I got the recipe from Our Best Bites. They have some great looking recipes on there. The kids loved this and Brian liked it too. Too bad I had some kind of mild stomach flu thing going.

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce (click here to make your own)
2T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1  t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese, diced or grated
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust. 

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package.  Usually it's 400 degrees.  If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8".  You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to.  Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares (bet ya didn't see that one comin' did ya?) 

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.  (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after)  You guys are smart, right?  Just eyeball how much.  You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.  Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.  (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could  substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Keep an eye  on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Mexican Casserole

yes, it's unbaked.

Mexican Casserole! First time making this. I got the recipe from Cooking On Clover Lane. It is extra tasty. Just take it easy on the sour cream. Then it'll be perfect.

1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups salsa 

1 16oz can chili beans, drained
3 cups tortilla chips, crushed
2 cups sour cream [I personally thought this was way too much. Maybe 1 cup? Eyeball it and see.]
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large skillet, brown beef. Stir in salsa, reduce heat, simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 10 minutes depending on how thick your salsa is.) Stir in beans, and heat through.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread crushed chips in a layer on bottom and then add ground beef mixture. Spread sour cream on top. Top with onion, tomato, cilantro and cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Pupusas

Pupusas are a Hispanic dish originating from El Salvador. This is made from corn FLOUR (NOT cornmeal) and water. People put different things in them. For my first try, I thought I'd copycat an old friend's idea of black beans and cheese. We topped it with red enchilada sauce (store-bought) and more cheese. The kids loved them.

Other toppings include:

Chicharron (cooked pork meat ground into a paste consistency)

Refried beans

Plain cheese

Many also serve pupusas with curtido, which is a fermented cabbage slaw. It may sound gross, but I hear curtido is pretty good.

Recipe:

2 cups corn flour

1 cup warm water

Mix the flour and water and knead dough. Add more water until the dough is soft and moist (but not sticky). The dough shouldn't crack when you push on it.

Shape a bit of dough into a ball, make an indent with your finger and add some filling. Close it back up and shape it into a flat disc. Cook on an ungreased skillet on med-high heat until slightly browned and blistered on both sides. 

Note that the dough gets dry quickly- so work quickly!

This is my first try ever at making these. I probably have a lot to learn about it, so if you're an expert, share the knowledge.

Aromatic Black Beans & Rice

Oh boy did this smell awesome. The spices in the recipe are an incredible combination! And I have to say that Brian is pretty reserved when it comes to dinner compliments. With this dish he said, "Marisa. This is very good." Normally it's a nonchalant, "It's good," or "It's okay."And my kids ate it up! 

Hooray!

Recipe Source: My Kitchen Cafe

*Serves 4-6

4 teaspoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 (16-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4-5 cups hot, cooked white or brown rice

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic and saute, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft and tender. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, bay leaf, oregano and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a tablespoon or two of hot water to thin to desired consistency.

Stir in the fresh cilantro and season with salt and pepper; discard the bay leaf. Serve over the hot rice.

Apple Crisp

One of my friends just asked me for a good apple recipe. This is my favorite thing to make in the autumn time, so I am sharing it because Marisa said I could. ;)

Apple Crisp

4 medium cooking apples, sliced (4 cups)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup butter (softened)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1. Heat oven to 375. Grease bottom and sides of a square pan, (8x8x2) with shortening.

2. Spread apples in the pan. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over apples.

3. Bake about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

*I use about a cup of sugar and a full stick of butter, but that is why I will never be skinny. I have also been able to make this work when I only had 2 apples. (For a Sunday dessert when I couldn't go shopping.)

Orange Chicken

A very tasty meal! We served this with brown rice and asparagus. I did not use a whole 2 pounds of chicken. I thought that was quite a lot of meat. I think I probably used about 3/4 of a lb. for the 4 of us (2 adults and a pittance from 2 kids).

Recipe source:  My Kitchen Cafe

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2″ cubes
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons oil or butter

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.

Pour oil (or melt butter and pour) in a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion and let it come to a boil. Combine cornstarch with water and let it dissolve and add it to the sauce until thickened.

After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.

Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.

Ritz Chicken Fingers

My kids don't eat meat. I mean, rather, they won't. But, this, they ate right up. A miracle, folks.

Recipe source: Cooking on Clover Lane. (I love this woman's blog.)

1 roll of Ritz crackers, crushed
1 cup of mayo
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (or one container...you know what I'm talking about...usually about 1# and 1/2.)
Smoosh the crackers and set in one bowl.
Mix the next 3 ingredients together and set in another.
Cut up chicken in strips or nuggets.
Coat chicken in mayo mixture. (I usually get lazy and just dump all the chicken in the mayo bowl and mix up good.)
Then coat chicken piece by piece in Ritz crackers...be generous...this is the best part.
Set on a WELL OILED cookie sheet. (About 2 TBS.)
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 or till done.

Katie's Kid-Friendly Pad Thai

Uh, so this is my new favorite meal. It is so delicious. And I was excited that it's vegetarian. I first had this at a good friend's baby shower-potluck.

1 Tbsp sesame oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 lb tofu, diced (or shrimp)

2 Tbsp tamari (increase this slightly)

1/3 C peanut butter (decrease this slightly)

1/4 C honey

1/8-1/4 C water

1 1/2 tsp brown rice vinegar (increase this slightly)

1 large sweet red pepper, finely diced

1 small-medium zucchini, finely diced

1/4 C peanuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 lb dry linguine, cooked

optional: chives, lime juice

Saute tofu, with salt and pepper to taste, in sesame oil until brown.  Add garlic towards the end.  (~10 minutes)  Mix tamari, peanut butter, honey, and vinegar.  Add water to thin.  Pour 1/2 of the sauce in pan with tofu, add vegetables and cook 3-5 minutes.  Add to cooked pasta, toss, and add rest of sauce and chopped peanuts.  Sprinkle with chives and fresh lime juice.

Salsa

First time I had this, my family and I finished hiking up to and touring Timp Caves (Utah). We were ultra hungry and this hit the spot. Comes from my older sister Janna.

-1 can corn niblets (there is also seasoned corn niblets which is good too)
-1 can black beans (you could add any other type of beans if you want too. I sometimes I add pinto beans)
-2 to 3 diced avocados (adding some lemon juice helps them from turning brown)
-2 to 3 diced tomatoes
 
Drain liquid from corn and beans and mix in a bowl. Dice up avocados and tomatoes and add to the corn and beans. Season with garlic salt and pepper and mix all together. You could serve them with chips or I use this recipe for tostadas. I put a small corn tortilla in the oven on broil until it is lightly brown on both sides, cool for 1 min and then add salsa mix on top of the tortilla and add feta cheese, rancho cheese or mozzarella. Serve up & Enjoy!

Savory Spiral Rolls

I made these a couple weeks ago. They were so delicious! We all decided that we would most definitely make them again. I found them on Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog. Go here to see the recipe! I also used her french bread recipe for the rolls.

Pistachio Salad

Another favorite, it's found on the Jell-O brand of Instant Pistachio pudding, but I use the knock-off brand and it tastes just as good:

1 small box instant pistachio pudding
1 jar crushed pineapple
1 1/2 C cool whip (ish)
1 C mini-marshmallows
1/2 C finely chopped nuts - pistachios work well, but you can use anything

Mix pudding with crushed pineapple (don't drain the juice). Add the marshmallows and nuts and then the cool whip. Make sure it's mixed well, then cover and chill.

Potato Salad

I know, I know. Everyone has a recipe for potato salad. And truthfully I grew up never eating it because I thought it was gross. But when I was asked to bring some to a bbq, I just sort of...winged it. And it turned out so good that there is only about one helping left from a huge bowl full!

Typically I do one big potato or two small ones per adult there, + 1 small one per child.
Eggs, relish, spices, etc. are all in proportion to the potatoes, so...I'll put down what I did here and you can increase/decrease accordingly.

8 small potatoes, boiled till you can stick a fork in them, but they're not so soft you could mash them, then chilled
~8 - 10 boiled eggs, then chilled
sweet relish
small onion, minced
sweet relish
mayo or miracle whip
salt and pepper
garlic powder (optional)

After you've skinned the potatoes, slice them into small bite size pieces. Peel the eggs and put the yolks in a bowl and chop up the whites, putting them in with the potatoes. Mince the onion and add.
Mash the yolks, adding enough mayo to make a soft mush. Add sweet relish - I used to big forkfuls, but it's really how much you would like to add. Add salt and pepper to taste, and garlic powder if you want. Stir it all together then mix it in with the potato/egg mixture. Cover and chill.

Vanilla Bean Slush

Okay, so I know this blog is for dinners, but I was pretty proud of figuring the recipe out on my own. This is actually a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino, but since there is no coffee I have renamed it. It is based on the Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. (Again, no coffee. My brother in law introduced me to them when trying to find something that was not coffee I would enjoy at Starbucks.)

Vanilla Bean Slush

2 c. milk

2 c. ice

2 scoops vanilla bean ice cream

2 Tbs. vanilla creamer

Put it all in a blender and blend.

This makes enough for each member of my family of 5 to have about 8 ounces. When I made it again it had too much ice, so I may mess with that. Also, we use 1% milk, and low-fat ice cream. Our whole family enjoys it.

Creamy White Chili

Found the recipe at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.Oh it is good. Really good. Go HERE to see the recipe. And her picture is prettier and therefore more enticing. :-)

I put way too much chicken in it. I would also add another can of beans. Those great northerns cook down!

Chicken Wings

Made with an orange hoisin sauce. Very tasty. We make these fairly often since Brian is willing to process the wings. Go HERE for the recipe.

Mac 'n Cheese

Ok, ok, I know. Mac 'n Cheese?! But it's one of Ryan's favorite meals, so I scoured the internet looking for a recipe and came up with this from tastespotting.com - a must for anyone that cooks. I noted my changes:

1 pound of pasta cooked and ready to go.
12 oz shredded cheddar ( I used sharp, medium or mild would do better.)
4 oz shredded provolone (I used monterey jack, but I think I'll go with provolone next time to see if it makes a difference.)
1 oz (about 5 - 6 Tab) shredded parmesan - must be the real deal.
1 teaspoon herbes de provence - found at your local grocery store.
3/4 C panko bread crumbs
2 Tab oil
1 quart milk
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 C + 2 Tab flour
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne pepper (I'd have used maybe a 1/4 teaspoon next time.)
2 cloves of garlic - I used powdered, but next time I'd use the real deal.
12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half or fourths.

Ok, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, stirring for a few minutes. Add quart of milk all at once plus the garlic and cayenne pepper and stir until boiling and thickens into a sauce. Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper to taste and the cheddar and provolone. Stir in pasta.
Mix together the parmesan, the oil and the panko crumbs, set aside.
Butter 6 ramekins or 2 -3 bread pans. Fill up with pasta, sprinkle with parmesan mixture and top with tomatoes. Bake at 35o for about 20 mintues or until the parmesan is getting browned and the juices are bubbly.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

I don't know if any of you have been to Zupa's but I LOVE LOVE LOVE their cauliflower soup. We had some cauliflower that was within days of going bad so I did some searching and tried out a recipe that I think comes "kind of" close. They probably use real Wisconsin cheese but I just used sharp chedder.

2 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped (I used a white onion because I felt the flavor of a yellow onion would be too strong)
1/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
2 c milk
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 t dijon mustard
2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1) In a 4 quart saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and cook until golden (about 10 minutes) stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes stirring frequently.

2) Gradually stir in chicken broth, milk, and 1 1/2 c water (add the broth first so you don't scald the milk on the hot saucepan); add cauliflower and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until the cauliflower is tender (about 10 minutes).

3) In a blender, blend the cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth.

(it's smart to do this in small batches so you can remove the center cover of your blender to let some steam escape)

4) Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat until steamy hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard (with a whisk!) and 1 1/2 c cheese until melted and smooth. (if you add the cheese while the saucepan is still over heat it can make the cheese stringy) Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

When I make this again I think I will substitute some of the cheddar cheese with pepperjack cheese to give it some "kick". We ate it with some french bread and it was so so yummy!

Jamie Oliver's Zucchini Carbonara

Made this zucchini carbonara awhile ago. The pieces of bacon and the zucchini is a very tasty combination! Don't be afraid to use all of the bacon in the recipe! Go HERE to check it out.

Gary Beck's Crab Salad

If I had a restaurant, I'd put this on the menu. If you like crab, you're going to love this. We had some leftover crab from another dinner, and Brian asked me to get the recipe of the crab salad my Dad made us once upon a summer day. 

And it is EASY! And fast! And healthy! Yahoo!

Mix your fresh crab meat with:

1-2 T mayo

1-2 T sour cream

1-2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice

1-2 tsp lemon zest

1/2 T crisp celery diced

Mix it up until it looks like the consistency of a tuna salad and the like. Taste before serving to see if you need more of something. Pile on top of a green salad. Oh the goodness.

Chili Lime Shrimp

Sorry - no picture - we ate it too fast!

This is a Weight Watcher's 5 Ingredient Recipe, and it tasted fabulous. Even my toddler could not stop eating it. The only problem is that it wasn't enough for two adults. Which, I guess makes sense since it's Weight Watchers. They probably assume you eat a tiny bowlful of stuff if you're trying to lose weight. So, double it. :)

Chili Lime Shrimp

3/4 C green onions (basically one bunch of green onions chopped up)
1 - 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp (we bought the pre-cooked frozen kind)
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 Tab lime juice (we used lemon, but lime would be even better)
2 Tab butter
1/2 teas salt

Spray your pan with cooking spray and set on medium heat. I used a wok. Cook green onions for about a minute. Add shrimp (thawed if you're doing it our way) and sprinkle chili powder on them. Cook a few minutes until hot through, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat, add the juice, butter and salt and stir. Serve with pasta, rice, bread...something else to fill you up. It would also have been amazing as a shrimp taco filling.

Beef Vegetable Soup

So I did a bit of tweaking on this recipe because it sounded so good but I didn't have all the right ingredients. The original recipe is in black and my "tweaking" is in red. If I didn't make any red notes next to the ingredients then I used the original ingredients. This turned out so yummy and yielded plenty of left overs.

Beef Vegetable Soup

1/2 T vegetable oil
3/4 lb beef chuck cut into 3/4" chunks
(I drained 2 cans of canned beef that I had in food storage, omitting the vegetable oil and fresh beef chuck)
1/2 medium onion chopped (I didn't have fresh onion so I used about a teaspoon of dried onion flakes)
2 cans (14.5 oz each) beef broth
1/2 can (28-35 oz) plum tomatoes in juice (I used a jar of tomatoes I canned last summer, if I were to do it again, I would strain a little bit of the juice before dumping it in)
1 c water
1/2 bay leaf
1/8 t dried thyme
1/8 t pepper
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 lb red potatoes, peeled and diced (I used russets as I didn't have red potatoes on hand)
1 1/2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 package (10 oz) frozen peas (I drained a can of peas as I didn't have frozen on hand, though I would have preferred the frozen)
1/2 package (10 oz) frozen corn (I didn't have any corn so I did without but I will most definitely be adding it next time)

Brown beef in oil in large pot. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes and juice, water, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes.
Add carrots, potatoes, and celery; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Add peas and corn and cook 15 minutes.

In a large pot place beef, onion flakes, broth, tomatoes and juice, water, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper; bring to a boil. Add carrots, potatoes, and celery; cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add canned peas and let boil for about 5 minutes. Enjoy with some fresh french bread :)

Honey Garlic Pork Chops & Basil/Parmesan Orzo Pasta

Honey Garlic Pork Chops
1/4 c Honey
3T Soy Sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 pork chops

Mix together honey, soy sauce, and garlic with a wire whisk. Pour most of it over the chops and let sit for about 10 minutes (about 5 on each side). I save a little bit of the sauce so I can pour it over the chops while we BBQ them.

Honestly I've made this marinade so many times I just "Rachel Ray" it (no measuring). If I remember correctly though, 1/4 c of honey seemed a bit too sweet but that's the great thing about marinades, you can make it your own.

Parmesan & Basil Orzo Pasta

2T butter
1 c. uncooked orzo pasta
1 (14.5 oz) can of chicken broth
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo & saute until lightly browned. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper.

During the summer when my garden is in full produce mode, I'll add fresh bell peppers and roma tomatoes to this as well. Soooo yummy!

Thai Ruby Curry (Ganeg Phed Gai Yang)

Behold, my favorite dish. We first had something akin to this at a restaurant in Provo, UT called Thai Ruby (it's their "House Special"). I fell in love with it. The fresh basil with the sweetness of the pineapple and tomato in combination with the delicious coconut curry is wonderful. So Brian did a little research and we adapted some online recipes and came up with this. We've been making it for years. I now share the recipe with you!

Cut up 2 chicken breasts (it really is best NOT to use chicken thighs)

Cut up about 5 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Cut up about 2 tomatoes [we used Romas] into thin wedges

Put a little oil in a pan (not olive oil) and heat it up. Add a teaspoon of red curry paste and fry until fragrant. Then add 1/2 can of coconut milk (shake it up first) and heat it up until a thin film of oil come to the top. Add chicken and cook through. Add 1tsp fish sauce (find in Asian section of your grocery store) and the rest of the coconut milk. 

Add everything else: about 1/2 cup chunked pineapple, about 1/3 cup frozen peas, tomatoes, and fresh basil. Add heaping teaspoon of sugar. Heat until everything is warm and the coconut milk comes back together (shouldn't have to boil). 

Taste to make sure everything is okay. If it needs more curry, ladle out some of the coconut milk into a liquid measuring cup and stir in your curry paste. Once it's dissolved, add it back into the pan.

Serve over white rice.

(Go find an asian market, the red curry paste there is less expensive than the American grocery store's brands. For you Colorado folk, try the Pacific Ocean Marketplace in Broomfield. It's on 6600 West 120th Avenue, Broomfield, CO.)

Baked Manicotti

I made this last week. Or maybe before then. But I got it from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. Wowzers, it was tasty. Especially like the sauce! And I think the no-boil lasagna noodles are great!

Go HERE for the recipe! Try it out!

Lentil Soup & Brown Bread

Ever since I was a teen, I've been making lentil soup. And my mom used to occasionally serve us brown bread, but it came out of a can (go figure, who would think of bread in a tin can?). I found this brown bread recipe, and it is AWESOME! It's not shaped round like a tin can, but it's really yummy. I store it in the fridge, but it doesn't last long because we eat it up! The lentil soup can easily be vegetarian, but I like to add ham or kielbasa.

Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped

1/4 c. olive oil (I didn't use that much)

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. dried basil

1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 cups dry lentils, picked over and rinsed

8 c. water

1/2 c. spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced

2 Tbsp. vinegar

salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

ham bone & diced ham leftovers (optional)

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery; cook and stir until onion is tender. Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil; cook for 2 minutes.

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes and ham bone (optional). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, stir in spinach and cook until it wilts. Add chopped ham, or strip ham from ham bone, or add kielbasa. Heat until warm. Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Boston Brown Bread

2 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2/3 c. packed brown sugar (I used dark)

1/4 c. molasses (I used the mild flavor)

2 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, and brown sugar. Mix in molasses and buttermilk until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for one hour (I baked mine for probably 45 min. and covered the top with some foil part way through baking so it didn't darken on the top too much). Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, and then remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing.

Boboli

A frequent around our home. It's very easy.

Dough:
4 cups flour
1 T yeast (I use instant)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
warm water-- just enough so that it makes a smooth, soft dough. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, there's not enough flour.

Mix/knead for a few minutes and let rise for 30 minutes or so.
Roll out and sprinkle garlic powder on the dough. Then add grated parmesan cheese. Also add cheddar, jack, or mozzarella cheese. Bake in 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Slice it up and top it with a slice of tomato and seasoned salt. That last part is what defines this dish! Gotta have the tomato and seasoned salt.


Want a little history on this? Okay, well since you asked. I went to Portland, OR to meet Brian's parents for the first time and Jill made this for us one night. I was like, "Wow. Hey, that's really good!" I've been making it like 3 times every month since then.

Easter Dinner

I don't have a picture of the roast, but it's SO easy and very yummy.

Pork or Beef Roast, almost any size will work
1 jar of sliced pepperoncinis
1 onion soup mix - Liptons works well.

Put all together in a crockpot and cook on high about 3 or 4 hours depending on roast size. It turns out best with pork.



This is Russell Stover Pie
Basically just layer a graham cracker crust (pre-cooked), chocolate pudding and coconut cream pudding. Top with whipped cream. I homemade all the puddings, but I'm sure a mix would be fine.




Potato Rolls - so good that no one can stop eating them

2 C warm water
2 Tab yeast
6 tab sugar
1/2 C oil
1 egg
1/2 C warm mashed potatoes prepared with milk and butter - instant flakes or pearls work just as well.
1 1/2 teas salt
1 teas baking powder
1/2 teas baking soda
2/3 C powdered milk
1/2 C whole wheat flour
~ 5 C white flour

Proof yeast in water and add sugar. Mix ingredients in order given. If you don't have whole wheat flour, you can use all white. Don't add too much flour, it should be pretty soft. Knead for 6 - 8 minutes and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour or so. Punch down and divide in half. Each half makes ~ 16 balls. Place an inch or two apart on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 375º for 15 - 18 minutes. In Colorado it took 12. Brush with butter if desired.



And Huckleberry salad. This stuff is amazing and Ryan says it's basically dessert. You can substitute blackberries or blueberries for huckleberries if you need to. My grandma says she's also done cherries with it and they were great.

1 1/2 C huckleberries
1/2 C water
4 teas sugar
8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
15 oz crushed pineapple
1 C huckleberries
8 oz cool whip
2 C mini marshmallows

Place 1 1/2 C huckleberries with water and sugar in bowl and microwave for about 4 minutes or until it's boiled a bit. Cool in fridge or freezer. Mix with cream cheese making sure not to get any clumps of cream cheese. A mixer works fine, but we've done it by hand. Add pineapple and 1 C huckleberries, slowly stirring them in. Gently stir in cool whip and marshmallows. Chill. It'll set up a bit after an hour or so.

Artichoke Pasta

Artichoke Pasta

2 T. lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1/4 c. butter (or margarine)

1/4 c. olive oil

1 pkg. linguine

1 jar (about 1 c.) sun dried tomatoes (drained)

1 jar (13. oz) artichoke hearts (cut to bite size)

1 small can sliced olives

Slowly heat olive oil and butter in skillet to medium hot. Add lemon juice and garlic. Add artichoke hearts with juices, stirring until tender. Add sun dried tomatoes stirring until tender. Pour over pasta. Add olives. Serve immediately.

(I added parmesan cheese to the top. My kids picked it all out and just ate the pasta. Except Anneke. She ate the olives.) I got the recipe here and tweaked it slightly.

April Fools Dinner

I love to do something fun for any holiday. I remembered seeing these a few years ago in Family Fun. So, I decided to try it last night.

For the "cupcakes" just use your favorite meatloaf recipe and fill foil baking cups 2/3 full. (It needs to be foil because of the grease.) Cook at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Make mashed potatoes and then add whatever food color you desire. (There is fighting at our house unless the color is gender neutral.)

For the grilled cheese I used a loaf of angel food cake and toasted it then added orange buttercream frosting (3 cups powdered sugar, 1/3 c. butter and about 1 Tbs of milk) I made. It was a fun meal. We did have broccoli for the veggie but it didn't fit the theme.

Stuffed Shells

Not the best picture, I apologize. I load it with sauce so you can't really see how pretty the "insides" of the pasta shells are.

This is one of our favorite dishes to make but I only make it every-so-often because Jared's not a fan of forking out the cash for the ricotta cheese and sausage...I guess it just makes it that much more special. Not to mention since it's just the two of us, we have left-overs for about 3 nights.

1 Jar of red sauce
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
1/2 chopped onion
1 c part skim ricotta cheese
1 1/4 c mozzarella cheese
3/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 t pepper
2 T chopped basil leaves (this is if you're using fresh basil, you won't want to use as much if your using dried basil)
1 box of large shell pasta

Cut sausage out of the skins. Cook sausage with onions until brown, drain.
While sausage is cooling, stir ricotta, 1 c mozzarella, 1/2 c Parmesan, pepper and basil together in a large bowl. After the sausage is cooled, mix with the cheese mixture.
Cook about 25 - 30 shells (you can only fit about 25 shells in a 9x13 but I always cook extra just in case some break during the cooking process).
Pour some sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 to prevent the pasta from sticking.
Fill shells with cheese mixture and place in the pan.
Pour sauce on top.
Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees until the sauce is bubbling.
Mix remainder of cheese and put on top. Bake five more minutes.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

By the hand of Brian. Unfortunately the crust of this pizza was bland. BUT! The toppings were AMAZING. So I suggest making this with regular pizza dough (this particular recipe used cornmeal and no salt) and squish it into a round cake pan. Maybe use this recipe. We topped the dough with SLICES of mozzarella (yes! FIRST!), then some diced tomatoes (from a can, drained), coarse salt, fresh basil, and 1 clove minced garlic. The other pan had some pepperoni added. Deep dish style takes extra time to cook, by the way. This version was baked for about 25 minutes at 475 F.

I have  yet to post my favorite homemade dish. We call it "Thai Ruby curry." Yes, a la Thai Ruby in Provo, UT. The house special. Oh my it is good. Look for it soon!

Pigs-In-A-Blanket. Sort of.

So, this is SO not how mine turned out. But pretend that I'm a culinary genius that makes all my food look palatable.

Mine are a little simpler because I just buy the 'lil smokies from the store and then wrap biscuit dough around them. If you want them to be pretty you can roll out the dough and do fancy shapes, but usually I make a double batch of biscuits, half plain and half with the smokies. I use about half a biscuit's worth of dough around them.

Biscuits (Eggless!)

2 C flour
1 Tab baking powder
1 Tab sugar
1/2 teas cream of tartar
1/4 teas salt
1/2 C butter or margarine at room temp, although I have been known to slightly melt mine when in a hurry. Ok, confession. I've sometimes accidentally melted them all the way and whoop-dee-doo, they still turn out fine.
2/3 C milk

Preheat oven to 400º.

Put dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk with fork. Cut in butter, although if it's slightly melted it's more like mixing. In the end it should look like cornmeal. Add milk. Fold a few times on a floured board. Cut out.

Place fairly close together on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 - 12 minutes. I'm in Colorado and it usually takes about 13.

Stromboli

This is sorta like Jenny's Stuffed Bread. Only I use pizza/pasta sauce, ground beef (I actually used ground bison), and lots of mozzarella cheese. Just use your favorite yeast bread recipe and spread on the pasta sauce, then the ground beef, then the cheese. Fold up the ends and roll it up. When it's done I brush on melted butter and sprinkle McCormick's Salad Supreme seasoning on it. Gosh, I like that seasoning! You could just use anything though, I think. Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or just leave it plain on top. Bake on a greased baking sheet at 375 F for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

If you want a dough recipe, here's one I used last night. Not sophisticated... I didn't have a lot of time.

4 cups flour

2 T instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

about 2 cups of warm-hot water

Just mix the flour, salt, and yeast together and then pour just enough warm-hot water into your mixer until the dough is not longer sticky, but smooth and elastic. Knead for a few minutes then let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Broccoli Cheese Soup & Italian Bread Bowls

I followed the recipe found on My Kitchen Cafe. Find the soup here. Find the bread bowls here.

Folks, it was good. Oh, wow it was good. And FILLING. Oh, and do yourself a favor and don't try to make the bread bowls and the soup at the same time, okay... ? ;-)

Recipe Swap

Go here to find great recipes and swap favorites. The idea is to see everyone's 'staples' in their recipe boxes.

Hot Dogs in homemade rolls

I know these look huge, but...they're not. I made them hot dog sized to go with the package of hot dogs I got. I used my french bread recipe, and cooked them for about the same amount of time 20 - 25 minutes, but it WAS raining. Anyway, a good fix for when you haven't got any hamburger or hot dog buns but have a frozen pack of something in the freezer.

Cafe Rio Pork

Sorry - no picture, we ate it all too fast. This is the closest recipe I have found to Cafe Rio's Pork Barbacoa. It's fabulous. FABULOUS.

Stick your pork roast in your crock pot and enough water to go about half to 3/4 of the way up. It can be up to 6 pounds, but I had a 2 pounder. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.
Cook on high 3 -4 hours, then drain out water.
Pour in 12 oz La Victoria Red Taco Sauce (almost the whole container), 1 C loosely packed brown sugar, and 12 oz of Coke. Cook for about an hour or so, then shred the pork and let it simmer in its juices in the crockpot for another hour or so.

Serve Cafe Rio style by layering: Tortilla, beans and rice, pork, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, tortilla chips, guacamole, etc. A quesadilla with it is fabulous as well.
For the dressing, there's a whole lot of recipes out there, but I just take ranch dressing, add some lemon or lime juice and some fresh cut up cilantro and it tastes great.

Greek Flatbread Sandwiches

We used to just call them chicken pitas. But since we've found this flatbread, we prefer it to the pitas. Hence the new name.

We pile them with homemade hummus, lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, greek-seasoned chicken, feta cheese and sometimes ranch dressing (some do not like dressing).

Homemade Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans, drain but reserve about 1/4 liquid
2-3 garlic cloves (depends on how much you like garlic, I guess)
about 1/3 c peanut butter
a little water
about 1 tsp salt

Put all this into a food processor and puree. I sometimes add a little water to finish off the hummus to make it smooth. Here's a different recipe for hummus I got in college. It's a little more ethnic style:

2 cups canned garbanzo beans, drained
1/3 cup tahini
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 T olive oil
1 pinch paprika
1 tsp minced fresh parsley

Place garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, salt, parsley, and garlic into a blend or food processor. Blend until smooth. Transfer mixture to bowl. Drizzle olive oil over the hummus. Sprinkle with paprika.

Chicken Chalupas

A Beck Family classic. Always a hit. The missionaries came over for dinner on Sunday and I made chalupas and they loved them. There was only half a chalupa left. I think they left it alone because no one likes to be the one to finish a dish!

2-3 large chicken breasts (cook in butter. Season with salt, pepper, onion powder)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pt. sour cream (the 16 oz container)
1 small can diced green chili peppers
1 small can sliced black olives
3-4 green onions diced
2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
10 flour tortillas
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Cook chicken, dice and set aside. Combine in a medium bowl soup, sour cream, peppers, olives, and onions. Add jack cheese.
Take a small amount of the mixture to cover the bottom of baking dish (to prevent the bottom of the tortillas being too hard).
Remove 2+ cups of mixture and add to diced chicken. Place chicken-soup mixture into tortillas, not too full, and roll up.
Place in a 9x13 baking dish.
Spoon remaining mixture over top.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until hot & bubbly.

Mexican Lasagna

A favorite. We brought it to some friends after they had their baby, and they said they loved it too. Recipe comes from Brian's Mom, Jill.

Ingredients:
corn tortillas (about 12)
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each: cumin, oregano, garlic powder, chili powder, cayenne, onion powder
1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup salsa
2 8 oz cans plain tomato sauce
16 oz. container cottage cheese
2 c. mozzarella
2 eggs

Directions:
Brown beef. Add salt, spices, tomatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, and warm. In separate bowl mix cottage cheese, mozzarella, and eggs. Put half meat sauce in baking dish. Top with a layer of tortillas. Top with half the cheese mix. Repeat.

Bake 350 for 1 hour. Serves 8-10.