Breaking Out of My Shell

This summer I discovered stuffed jumbo pasta shells.  I've known of their existence for years but always thought they would be too much work to make.  I was wrong - they are so easy and really don't take much time at all to prepare.

Here are a couple more new recipes.  Recipe #19:

Stuffed Beef & Spinach Shells

Table of Contents:
- 1 pkg jumbo pasta shells
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey (I only used about 1/2 that amount)
- 1 pkg frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
- 1 onion, diced
- 8 oz. pkg. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 small can mushroom pieces, drained
- 1/2 - 1 c. Mozerella cheese
- 1 egg
- salt, pepper to taste
- 1 jar of you favorite pasta sauce (I used Ragu Tomato & Basil)

How To:
Cook shells according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water to cool.  Brown meat and diced onion; drain.  In large bowl combine all ingredients (except sauce); season to taste.  Pour about 1/3  jar of the pasta sauce in greased 9x13 baking dish.  Stuff each shell with about 1 T. of the meat and cheese mixture.  Place in baking dish and cover with remaining pasta sauce and additional Mozerella cheese if desired.  Cover  tightly with foil; bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 1 hour.

The Outcome:
These are so good and super-simple to prepare.  The recipe I used said the shells freeze beautifully.  You just stuff and freeze, then add the sauce when ready to cook.  I have not done this yet, but since I am becoming a real fan of a make ahead freezer meal I will probably try it sometime.

Moving on with The Resolution - Recipe #20:

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Table of Contents:
- 12 pasta jumbo stuffing shells, cooked and drained
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef (again only used about 1/2 this amount)
- 1 jar (16 oz.) mild or medium picante sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles, drained
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
- 1 can (2.8 oz) Durkee French fried onions

How To:
Cook pasta shells according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water to cool.  Brown ground beef; drain.  Combine picante sauce, water and tomato sauce.  Stir 1/2 cup of sauce mixture into beef mixture along with the chiles, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and 1/2 can of the French fried onions; mix well.  Pour 1/2 of the remaining sauce mixture in greased medium sized baking dish.  Stuff cook shells with ground beef mixture.  Arrange shells in baking dish; pour remaining sauce over shells.  Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Top with remaining cheese and onions; bake, uncovered 5 minutes longer.


The Outcome:
Love these!!  I have made these several times and The Drummer Guy is enthusiastically in favor of having this dish frequently.  Can do!

Chinese Chicken Fried Rice

I actually have been cooking quite a bit (for me!) over the past month, just not new stuff. I ran across this recipe under the "Dinner In An Instant" tab on Allrecipes.com. I made a few adjustments and here is the recipe I came up with for supper tonight.



Chinese Chicken Fried Rice


Table of Contents:

- 1 Tbsp. EVOO
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 oz. cooked chicken chunks (from the freezer from bulk cooking day!)
- 2 cups cold rice (I used instant brown rice)
- red pepper, diced
- frozen peas, thawed
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce (I used reduced sodium)
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp. water
- salt, pepper to taste
- cashews or peanuts

How To:
In large skillet saute onion in EVOO over medium heat until golden brown; add chicken and stir until warmed. Add rice, diced pepper, soy sauce, and peas - stir fry together for about 5 minutes. Beat egg with water; push rice mixture to sides of skillet and pour egg in middle. When egg starts to set, stir into rice mixture and continue stir frying until egg is done. Season to taste. Stir in nuts, if desired.

The Outcome:
From start to finish, this took about 20 minutes to prepare. I did not have any leftover cold rice, so I just cooked a batch and then rinsed with cold water. The original recipe and several of the recipe comments stressed rice must be cold. My guess is it would be a sticky mess if used hot.

Every time I make something new, I am already thinking ahead to what I would do differently next time. This recipe was no exception. It was very good, but next time I think I would add a little chicken broth for richer flavor and also add some water chestnuts because I like the crunch of them. Also, I used some honey roasted peanuts, because that is what I had. Next time I would use cashews, or maybe just save the fat grams and not use nuts at all.


Overall, a pretty tasty dish in very little time!

Cookin' Up a Storm

This is unbelievable! Not only have I cooked 4 times this week, I have made 4 new recipes. I don't know what has happened to me. Mark is just filling up his plate and not asking any questions.

I stumbled upon this crockpot recipe online late last night while I was looking for something else. I had all of the ingredients and it looked so easy, I decided to give it a try today. Here is Recipe #10. Oh, My!!!

.

SWEET & SPICY CHICKEN

.

Table of Contents:

How To:

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Now, pay close attention to these complicated instructions: Place chicken breasts in crockpot - you don't even have to thaw them. Cover with 1 cup of the salsa. Top with 1 cup of brown sugar (I don't think I used that much - just threw some in.) That's it - turn the crockpot on low and get on with your day.

.

The Outcome:

Did I already say "Oh, My"?!?!? This was so incredibly easy AND soooooo YUM!! I put it together about 10AM. At about 4:30PM it was fall apart when you touch it with a fork done. I shredded it right in the crock pot, stirred it up with the juices, then just let it sit in the pot while I went out and mowed the lawn. I served it on tortillas with refried beans, sour cream, and shredded Mexican blend cheese. I think it would also be really good served over rice or pasta.

You gotta make this. I may have to make this every week!

Delayed Gratification

This evening we dined on the recipe I was planning to serve last night before I was derailed by the words, "cover tightly and refrigerate overnight". But on the up side, it was really fabulous to do nothing more to prepare supper than pop a casserole in the oven after a long day at work. So here it is, Recipe #9:

WAFFLE CASSEROLE

Table of Contents:
-1 pound bulk pork sausage (I used 1/2 pound Jimmy Dean Maple flavored sausage)
-6 frozen waffles, toasted and cubed
-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-6 eggs, lightly beaten (I used Egg Beaters)
-2 cups milk
-1 teaspoon dry mustard (I did not have any of this - I Google it and found that you can sub 1 tablespoon of prepared mustard for 1 teaspoon of dry mustard. Isn't Google great!)
-1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
-Maple-flavored syrup (optional)

How To:
In a large skillet, cook sausage until browned; drain off fat. Arrange 1/2 of the waffles in a 2-quart greased baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the sausage and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, mustard and pepper. Pour over layers in dish. Now, guess what we do next: Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight! Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, drizzle with syrup.

The Outcome:
Mark and I both say this recipe is a keeper. I especially liked the crispier waffles at the edge of the casserole. I drizzled 1/2 of my serving with the syrup and found that it tasted good with or without it. It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake. I've never baked with Egg Beaters before, so I don't know if that was the reason for the extended baking time or not. I will definitely make this again but will change a few things to up the yum-factor. The sausage I used had a very mild flavor, so I would use something with a bit more spice next time. It could also use a little salt.

Overall, it was worth waiting an extra day for!

Calamity in the Kitchen

Today was a good news/bad news day in the kitchen. Maybe "calamity" isn't quite the right word, but it would probably at least qualify for "misadventure".

I had this great plan for the afternoon, which included whipping up a new casserole recipe, sticking it in the oven, and then running out to mail a package. My plan would put me back home just in time to hear the timer go "ding", pull my beautiful dish out of the oven, and have a fabulous supper ready for The Drummer Guy when he walked in the door. Well, I did have supper ready when he got home, but it wasn't quite the way I had it planned.

I was making this sausage & egg dish and had all of the ingredients ready to layer in the casserole dish. I was checking out the recipe one more time to make sure I had everything and that's when I saw it. "Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight." Oh, no!!! I don't remember seeing that before. Now what?!?!?

Instead of mailing my package, now I needed to come up with "plan B" for supper. I had 1/2 pound of sausage left over from my original supper plan and thought I might as well use it. After a quick online recipe search, here's what I came up with:

CHEESY SAUSAGE & RICE SKILLET

Table of Contents:
-1 lb. sausage, cooked and drained (I used 1/2 lb - I rarely put in all of the meat that recipes call for. The sausage I used was Jimmy Dean - maple flavored)
-1 can (14.5 oz.) ready-to-serve chicken broth
-2 cups Minute Rice, uncooked (I used Minute Brown Rice)
-1 pkg (16 oz.) frozen broccoli cuts, thawed and drained
-12 oz. Velveeta (Same as meat - I usually don't use all of the cheese called for - I only used maybe 2-3 oz.)

How To:
Bring broth to a boil in a large nonstick skillet. Stir in rice and broccoli. Top with sausage and Velveeta. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Stir and serve.

The Outcome:
Mark said, "I like it! You could make this again." It really was pretty good, especially for something I came up with at the last minute. The only thing I would do differently is cut the rice by about 1/2 cup.

(I was in such a hurry, forgot to take any pictures of this dish.)

So here's the good news/bad news tally for this little spin in the kitchen:

-Bad news: Not the meal I was planning and was kind of looking forward to.
-Good news: Found another new recipe that was quick and easy to make, and was really quite tasty.
-Bad news: Didn't get my package mailed.
-Good news: Supper for tomorrow is made and ready to pop in the oven after a day at work.
-Good news: Instead of making 2 new recipes this week, I ended up with 3 new recipes!

I guess overall, it turned out to be a pretty good day in the kitchen!

Recipe #5 - Crunchy Beef Bake

I got home from work early today so thought I would try a new recipe. I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine.

CRUNCHY BEEF BAKE

Table of Contents:
2 cups uncooked spiral pasta
1 pound ground beef
¾ cup chopped green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14 ½ ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (1 ¾ ounces) cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (2.8 ounces) French-fried onions

(Forgot to take pictures before I whipped this up!)

How To:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, brown beef, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink and green pepper is tender; drain fat. Drain pasta; add to the beef mixture with tomatoes, soup, cheese and salt. Transfer to a greased 2qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with onions and bake 5 minutes longer.

The Result:
I have been searching for a “knock your socks off, wow, this is so good" recipe. This was not it. It was very easy to make but I’m glad I did not expend a lot on energy on it. Mark’s comment: “Well, it’s edible.”

The search continues.

(It wasn't a total bust. The low-fat package mix blueberry muffins were delicious!)

The Resolution

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the LORD . . ." Colossians 3:23

Here it is mid-February, and I have finally decided that I need to have a resolution. Maybe since I'm not declaring it at the "normal" time we generally think of resolutions (and I've stated it in writing) I will actually carry it out this year!

I've decided we are in a rut as far as what we eat. Anyone who knows me well is aware that I'm not known for my cooking. Lucky for me, Mark's mom did not like to cook either so he ate a lot of TV dinners growing up. As a result he isn't very picky about what I feed him and he thinks any home cooked meal is fantastic. But the downside of that is he tends not to be very helpful when I ask for dinner ideas. He usually will say something like, "Anything you make is great." So I have fallen into the routine of making the same stuff over and over, or we eat out, or we just pour a bowl of Cheerios!

The fact is that cooking is not my favorite activity. I would rather vacuum than cook and I usually only vacuum if I can't sweet-talk Mark into doing it for me! But anyway, back to the resolution. I have decided that I am going to make a minimum of 2 new recipes a month for the rest of this year - that's 22 new recipes! I'm not crazy, like the "Julie & Julia" thing; I just want something new for dinner once in awhile.

Criteria for the recipe:

· I have to be able to pronounce it (and the ingredients).
· The ingredients need to be items that real people might actually find in their pantry.
· If the ingredient list includes items such as “2 sticks butter” or "1 cup heavy cream” (except possibly for baked goods that won’t be staying in our house) it’s not going to happen.
· If the instructions start out with “8-10 hours prior to serving . . .” and it’s not going in a crock pot – forget it!
· The less dicing, slicing, and chopping called for, the better.


So . . . . . here we go - Recipe #1:
SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN

The Ingredients:
2 cup instant white rice, uncooked
1 can (20 oz) pineapple chunks
2 Tbsps. EVOO
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
½ cup mushrooms, sliced (I used canned)
1 can sliced water chestnuts
Chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used a 6 oz. pre-cooked pkg.)
1 cup sweet & sour sauce
2 Tbsps. less sodium soy sauce

(Don’t forget to recycle the cans!)

The Directions:
Prepare rice according to package directions.
Drain pineapple; reserve 2Tbsps. juice.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until golden, add peppers and mushrooms. Cook until tender crisp. Add chicken, sweet & sour sauce, soy sauce, pineapple chunks and reserved juice. Heat through and let simmer approx 5 minutes to blend flavors. Serve over cooked rice.

The Results:
This was really good and I would definitely make this again. Including chopping veggies, it took only about 20 minutes to prepare – my kind of recipe!!!