Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Creamy Fettuccine with Shrimp and Bacon

Andrea do you like shrimp? For some reason this recipe made me think of you!

1 pound uncooked fettuccine
2 bacon slices
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 garlic clove, minced
1.5 cups frozen green peas, thawed
1 cup shredded carrot
2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided


Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well; keep warm.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until crips. Remove bacon from the pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, set aside.

Add shrimp and garlic to pan; saute over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Add peas and carro; cook 2 minutes or just until shrimp are done. Transfer shrimp mixture to a large bowl; keep warm.

Combine milk, flour, salt, and pepper, stirring with a shisk. Add milk mixture to pan; cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until thckened and bubbly, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove pan from heat; add cheese, stirring until blended. Add milk mixture to shrimp mixture; stir until combined. Add pasta and 1/4 cup parsley, tossing gently to coat. Transfer pasta mixture to a platter, or divide evenly among each of 8 plates; sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/4 cup parsley and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Jamie's Tips:

- I used frozen shrimp but didn't thaw them before putting them in the pan. It caused a lot of excess liquid, so try to thaw the shrimp before hand. (Or add the shrimp before the garlic, and drain some of the excess liquid once the shrimp are thawed.)
- Also on the shrimp topic, we used medium sized shrimp instead of large. We find that we like smaller shrimp in pasta cuz it's more bite-sized.
- Extra carrots wouldn't hurt

It's very good! Many steps, but pretty simple overall. The recipes suggests pairing it with chardonnay :)

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Stuffed Bell Peppers



For some reason, I have always considered stuffed peppers "out of my league." They have always seemed "fancier" than my usual taste in food. After coming across a few random stuffed pepper recipes the past couple weeks, I decided to go for it. They took about 45 minutes to make (ok ok, maybe an hour and a half, I didn't really pay attention, but the cookbook only said 45 minutes!) and I felt like the final result should win an award for appearance! Perfectly upright peppers, stuffed to the top and topped with JUST the right ammount of sauce and cheese to not run over the edges and give it a pretty little look.

Matt and I sat down with our peppers on our plates... and looked at it, poked at it... and realized we had no idea how to go about eating it. We can fake cooking out of our league, but can't fake eating out of our league! Eventually we decided a knife would be useful and we dug in. Amazingly FILLING meal. The stuffing was made out of rice, ground beef, some onion, diced tomatoes, pepper jack cheese and parsley... honestly the flavors were a little bland. After going back to some of the other stuffed pepper recipes I came across, I think I have a good idea of some different herbs and spices I am going to throw in next time we attempt stuffed peppers. Once it's really delicious, I'll be sure to post the recipe. :)

After we managed to figure out how to eat our stuffed peppers, we learned that for a "light main dish" they are quite filling. So we ended up throwing the two extras away. Such a waste, but they wouldn't have kept well. It wasn't too upsetting because they were fun to make and tasted pretty good! Recipe soon to come :)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

I'd like to dedicate this one to Kari... :)

Well, I am back from my long absence...mostly due to not cooking over the summer! This little treat is courtesy of Wegman's, but you don't have to use the specific Wegman's ingredients if there isn't one of these stores near you. This recipe was given really good reviews and I enjoyed it when I made it!

Cheese Tortellini with Spinach, Roasted Cauliflower and Vodka Blush Sauce

Serves 8

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 40 minutes

1 head cauliflower
Salt and pepper to taste
3 T basting oil
5 oz. baby spinach
24 oz. Vodka blush sauce, warmed
20 oz. cheese tortellini
Grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Toss cauliflower with basting oil in large bowl. Arrange on baking sheet in a single layer; season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast 25-30 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Transfer to large bowl; set aside.

2. Toss baby spinach with cauliflower until wilted; season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Toss veggie mixture with warmed sauce and cooked pasta; sprinkle with cheese.

This is a really good fall dinner.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Schnetka Pioneer Woman Style

Ok, so last night I decided to bake. Don't tell my family, I'm surprising them with my little treat when I see them this weekend! This is a Kansas/Pauls family tradition: Schnetka. Pronounced "snet-cha." Some German raisin pastry. This is what 3 hours of my evening consisted of last night... (and for those of you unfamiliar with the "Pioneer Woman" style, check out http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ it's my, Katie, and Ashley's new obsession)



Work space ready to go. Recipe for the dough from my mom, recipe for the raisins from my great aunt:



Step 1: Prepare the raisins: Add sugar, baking powder and cinnomon to 2 cups of raisins:

Microwave to boiling, approximately 9 minutes in my microwave:



Now, prepare the dough. Use a knife to chop butter fine in flour:


Add other dry ingredients and mix, slowly add in 1 cup of milk until thoroughly mixed and nice and sticky!

Now let it chill for 30 minutes.

Now you will need lots of flour...

Roll out the dough nice and thin

Get the cooled raisins

And make a layer of raisins across the edge of the dough.

Now roll the dough over the raisins and cut into pieces.

Place on baking sheet. Can place them close because they don't expand much.
Now, bake at 475 for 10-15 minutes until dough is golden brown. Mmmm, hello, Kansas!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Here I Go Again On My Own...

Hello, friends who apparently never cook anymore because they never update. Ever. At all. Not once. Have you guys forgotten theres this thing called cooking? And that sometimes its nice to share that with your friends who are struggling to cook? (ie: me)

Maybe it's because it's summer. Maybe everyone is busy with rushing here or there - trying to enjoy as much sun and fun as we can, before we're trapped inside all winter. Thats the only guess I can make. I know I have cooked some things - but none of it has been overly worthwhile, I guess. Or so painful that I just HAD to blog about it so you guys could appreciate my struggles.

Well that will hopefully change soon. You know, minus the painful part.

Change is hard but change is good. Change is needed.

To sum up a really long story that really isn't necessary here - Jason & I broke up, and it was extremely difficult, so I haven't really had a huge desire to cook recently. It's not as fun when you do it alone (or so I've been telling myself.) Plus, its twice the work. And twice the memories. And really, I need to be..supervised most of the time. Honestly. I don't trust myself alone and so the thought of doing so much on my own is kind of... intimidating.

But since the breakup (and the weeks leading up to it) I've decided the wonderful philosophy we all go thru during breakups - where you start to focus fully on yourself. You stop worrying about someone else constantly and you start wondering what YOU need to improve your life.

So what do I need? To eat healthier. To eat fresher foods. To try to expand my tastebuds towards more veggies and fruits and you know, non-chocolate or Ben & Jerry's type things. But I also have less time (or so it seems) and less helps (how sad!) so that leads to..lack of motivation. So now I introduce to you my new partner:

The Crockpot.

Oh Crockpot. I love you so much. I can pre-cut and slice and arrange everything I need the night before, throw you into the crockpot in the morning before I leave for work, and come home to an apartment filled with amazing smells. You are such a wonderful little worker. Such a help.

My first crockpot meal, with the help of this receipe from my friend Pam, turned out so well I made it again just a couple weeks later. Now presenting...

Yummy Pot Roast!

1 can cr. of mushroom soup
1 pouch dry onion soup mix
6-8 small red potatoes, cut into quarters
1 bag baby carrots
3-4 lb. bottom round or chuck roast

Throw everything in the crock pot and cook for 8-10 hours on low. Ta-da!


And for those of you who don't enjoy a good can of cream of mushroom soup (or mushroom soup in general) this was ACTUALLY the last meal I made for Jason. And he HATES, HATES, HATES mushrooms and finds the thought of "cream of mushroom soup" vomit-worthy. So I may or may not have left out that ingredient when he asked what all was in the crockpot. And let me tell you, he LOVED it. He had no clue. I am just that sneaky. So if that scares you, have no fear - you honestly can't tell. It just helps make a really nice broth with the cry onion soup mix. Promise.

This has since inspired me to want to use my new friend, Crockpot, even more. And while at Barnes & Noble the other day in Morgantown, I stumbled across this little beauty. Which lead me to finding... THIS AMAZING DISCOVERY:



Yes. An entire receipe of healthy crockpot receipes. Including (but not limited to) main dishes featuring chicken, turkey, beef, pork, seafood, bean, soups, veggies, desserts, appetizers, snacks, spreads, beverages, breakfast dishes and breads. I mean, REALLY.

So next time I post (which will hopefully be soon) I will have made at least ONE of these amazing dishes. The hardest part is choosing between them! There is a Hot Crab Dip in there that sounds AMAZING. But I really want to try one of the meals first I think. We'll see!

And hopefully by the time I come back to write again... you all will have written too. Cough, cough, nudge, nudge. :)

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Made Up Creations

Drum roll please, last week I invented my own recipe! haha... As I was driving home from a really long day of work, I was craving a burrito from Chipotle, but couldn't convince myself to do the "fast food dinner." Also being cheap and not wanting to spend the money for a burrito, I started thinking about what I had in my kitchen and realized I may have what I would need to make my own burrito filling, just without the burrito shell. So I started putting things together and it turned out really good!! I like to call it.... Jamie's Mexican Fiesta :)

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken (or beef would work too)
1/2 onion chopped
many shakes cumin (to cover)
a few generous pinches of chili powder
2ish cups of chunky salsa
1 can of black beans, rinsed
about 1 cup frozen korn
heaping tablespoon of sour cream (more or less to taste)
cooked white rice

1. Brown ground meat in skillet with onion and spices. Once cooked, add salsa, black beans, korn, and sour cream. Mix well and let warm through.

2. Mix in, or serve on top of, white rice.

Serving options-
wrap in a burrito shell or if you don't have burrito shells (like me), use tortilla chips to scoop or mix in.

You can probably add red/green bell peppers or jalpeno peppers, hot sauce, garnish with fresh cilantro, mix in some cheese... but like I said, I just used what I happened to have on hand. So if you feel like being inventive, feel free to play around with this idea!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Homemade bithday classics

After much planning and creativity, Matt and I successfully made a homemade pizza and ice cream cake for Matt's birthday last week! For the pizza we got premade pizza dough (unprepared to tackle yeast...) and rolled it out on our pizza stone. I found a recipe for homemade pizza sauce which was easy and so good. We used all of Matt's favorite veggies and baked until golden brown crust perfection!

before:


after!

Following the main course was Matt's favorite type of cake- Ice Cream cake. This was a result of my imagination and it actually turned out good! Inspired by Coldstone cakes, it started with a box of Dark Chocolate cake mix and a carton of while mint chocolate chip ice cream, and ended in a wonderful double decker masterpiece, decorating by me with the chocolate chips, and by Matt with the gummy candies. It took a few days to freeze all the layers and get the whole thing put together, but worked out really well. It tastes really good too which is a bonus because we are STILL eating it one week later! Maybe next year I'll try to figure out how to do a cake just half this size...

before:

after!

middle:

This week is going to be a crazy work week for me, so we are pulling our second batch of Na's Pasta out of the freezer for the week. Such a nice treat! Plus after the climax of the homemade pizza and ice cream cake, I need to not push my luck! ;)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Dessert Idea...

Here's another recipe to try from Real Simple. I will give a disclaimer that I haven't actually made this yet :) but Jamie, if you still are looking for an ice-cream cake recipe, I saw this and thought of you. 

Mint Chip Ice Cream Pie

Serves 8

8 oz. chopped semisweet chocolate, melted
4 cups Rice Krispies
2 pints mint chip ice cream, slightly softened

*In a large bowl, combine the chocolate and cereal until the cereal is completely coated. Transfer to a 9-inch springform pan (I think this is a pan with a removable side, that you would use for cheesecake). Press the mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Freeze until just firm, 5 to 10 minutes.

*Spread the ice cream in the prepared crust and freeze, covered, until firm, for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Let me know if you try it and what you think! :)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Tried and True

Tonight I tried Kari's "Na's Pasta" for dinner. Delish!! The recipe is so huge, Ashley and I estimated it probably makes about 16 servings, you think, Kari?? Everything fit into two big casserole dishes. Matt, Ashley, and I managed to eat about a 1/3 of the one batch. The other 2/3 is waiting to be leftovers for the rest of the week, and the second dish is freezing for a later date :) Definitely a great recipe! It was nice, especially after a couple weeks of frozen pizzas, random stir frys or hot pockets.

Before the frozen-pizza-random-stir-frys-hot-pockets phase, I revisited another recipe that was blog worthy the first time I tried it. Reference: The Domestic Disaster. The 50 minute recipe that took 2 hours, that resulted in theatening with knives, a burnt hand, and using every dish and utensil in the kitchen to make an enormous mess. It was an absolutely awful cooking experience, but the memory of the food tasting good inspired us to try the Lasagna Roll Ups one more time (after all the stressful memories... and burns... faded away).

This time the cooking experience was a complete 180! Everything went very smooth, no burns, only minimal dishes and utensils were used... It's a complicated recipe with 3 things going on at once at times, and we harmoniously worked on different tasks at the same time and everything came together just how Giada made it look on TV. Just took a little... or a lot... more planning and communication than occurred the first time around!

Other than that there is not much new in the kitchen of Jamie... and there are 2 minutes left in the Pens game right now so I'm too distracted to wrap this up with a real concluding thought... other than GO PENS!!

:)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Chicken Taco Pie. Enough Said.

I know, I know. I haven't posted in a billion years - but it's mainly because I haven't cooked anything new in a billion years. Between generally being unhappy with my current cooking surroundings, J being out of town on business so much, traveling myself, having strep throat, moving into a new apartment... I just haven't had the desire, the reason or the means to make a fun meal. Until last night!

Now that I am all settled into my new apartment (which I LOVE and ADORE), and have purchased several of my own cooking devices & products (I feel so Martha Stewart!) and J is back in town - we had a reason to cook again! Our first meal together in the new apartment with my new fun cooking things and books and ideas!

But the Pens game was on, and he was distracted with that, so I was pretty much left on my own. He kept joking that it was a test - to see what I had learned over our months of cooking together ;)

And so I present...

Chicken Taco Pie!

Ingredients (which we played with a little)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 cup (give or take) medium salsa
1 small bag microwaveable Mexican rice (We just found it was easiest)
1 small package of taco seasoning mix
1 8.5 oz box corn muffin mix
Oil or butter
1 cup water
3/4 cup of milk
1 egg
2 cups shredded Mexican 3-or-4 blend cheese


Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of medium-to-large casserole dish. (But I chose to use a medium size dish that was a little bit deeper for more of a "pie-like" quality.)
2) In a large skillet, brown the chicken using oil or butter for 10 minutes.
3) While the chicken is browning, chop up the green & red pepper & microwave the rice.
4) Once chicken has browned, add the green & red peppers, as well as the water & taco mix. Stir.
5) Add the salsa & rice to the skillet & mix everything together.
6) Stir and continue to simmer everything in the skillet on medium heat for 10 minutes.
(Be careful, the rice tended to stick!)
7) While the chicken is simmering, in a separate bowl, mix the corn muffin mix, the milk and the egg together until smooth. Set aside.
8) Once the chicken/rice/salsa mixture is done, add to bottom of the casserole dish.
9) Layer the Mexican cheese blend over the top.
10) Spoon the corn bread mixture over the cheese, so that it completely covers the entire top of the dish.
11) Bake in center of oven for 20 minutes, or until top of pie is golden brown.
12) Let sit for 5 minutes, cut and enjoy! Serves four.





Sorry the pictures are not too exciting - I took them with my cell phone. :) But trust me, it turned out rather delicious -- and if I am able to do it, basically anyone can! :) It may sound weird but the corn bread actually worked realllllly, really well with the other flavors. And made it extra filling!

Hope you guys can enjoy!

Monday, May 11, 2009

a MUST try!

Oh my ladies, check out this recipe. It must be tried!!

5-minute choclate mug cake
Serving size: ALL FOR YOU*





5-minute chocolate mug cake
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp chocolate chips (optional, but I don't know why not!)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug, microsafe.

Directions:

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil, mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using), and vanilla extract, mix again.
Put mug in microwave for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow it to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate, if desired (otherwise have at it).

*Technically this can serve too if you feel like being generous ;)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Na's Pasta from Kari

Hey Kari! Wanted to ask you a question about your Na's Pasta recipe you posted a while back. We have about a pound of Italian sausage in our freezer we've been looking for something to make with it. So your Na's Pasta recipe sounds wonderful! However I of course have a few questions :)

Do you cut up the sausage before you saute it? Or leave them whole?

When you saute all the ingredients in the pan... how long? Until the veggies are well cooked or not quite well done if they finish cooking in the oven?

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Lost in translation...or thankfully not...

So I was browsing through the cookbook selection at Borders last week as I was waiting to go to my class at the gym (ironic, huh:P) I always seem to be really hungry right after school, and on the days I go to a 5:30 class, I have about an hour to kill. I usually go to Borders and grade, but I just was not in the mood to look at tests that particular day. I found the bargain book stand and there were all these $4.99 cookbooks, so I started browsing. I found one called 30 Minute Meals: A Commonsense Guide. I thought, 30 minutes, great! I flipped through quickly, saw that it had chicken, fish, beef, and pasta recipes, so I bought it.

Well, after I got home that night and was looking at it in detail, I realized the thing was British! The measurements were metric (but had standard ones after them, thank goodness), and there were words like "flavour" and "yoghurt" in the recipes. They also kept referring to this one salad green as "rocket!" Thankfully, there was a handy glossary in the front. And there were pictures if all else failed! 

Yesterday I found one recipe where I recognized all the ingredients and decided to try it out. It was about 90 degrees outside, so I didn't want something with a lot of standing over the stove involved, and this one looked nice and cool. And it tasted pretty good! Here ya go...

Fusilli with Roasted Tomatoes, Tapenade and Bocconcini
(don't be intimidated--there is a translation--and I won't include the metric measurements :)

1 lb 12 oz cherry tomatoes (I just got 2 12-oz bags)
1 lb fusilli (this is the spiral pasta)
About 10 oz (I used a half pound, or 8 oz) bocconcini, a.k.a. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 T chopped thyme

1 1/2 T capers (these are little green things you can find in the Italian section)
2 small garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups sliced black olives
3 T lemon juice
4-5 T extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO for you Rachel Ray fans ;)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray. Season well (they didn't really explain this one so I just dumped some pepper on them!) and roast for 10 min, or until slightly dried.

2. To make the tapenade (fancy word for sauce stuff that goes in the pasta), put the capers, garlic, olives and lemon juice in a food processor and mix together. Gradually add the oil and continue to mix in the processor until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

3. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well and return to the pan to keep warm.

4. Toss the tapenade and mozzarella cheese throughout the pasta. Serve topped with the tomatoes and thyme.

Yum yum! 

Sunday, April 19, 2009

A frightening recipe, beware!

Dinner has been more of a theory than reality this week in the Kozusko apartment. One night we did Cold Stone and a bowl of cereal and called it a night. Another night... pretzels, a little bit of leftovers, some carrots... completely subpar for a real meal. Last night, pizza. I was really just in the mood to make something good tonight, and what I was really craving was a cheeseburger. And not just any cheeseburger, a stuffed cheeseburger. It's a recipe I've had for a long time now from my mom that I had never tried.

You make 2 patties out of ground beef, salt and some pepper, and cover one of them with this sauce mixture of ketschup, dijon mustard and mayo, a slice of cheddar and a slide of provolone, then top it with the second patty and pinch the edges together to make a yummy burger filled in the middle with yummy goodness :) Oh how excited was I.

I had the patties all ready to go, but one problem- I don't have a grill. My recipe suggested if you don't grill the burgers, you can broil them, about 6 inches from the top, for 7-8 minutes on each side. Sounds easy enough, right? DO NOT TRY THIS!! We came sooo close to a grease fire! A little flame popped up in the oven (and went back out), hordenous smoke, sizzling, in less than 3 minutes of them being in there. I was scared to death and am yelling to Matt to come "fix it" lol The fat from the ground beef I guess was the problem... oh my gosh I thought I was going to burn our little apartment to pieces.

So we took the burgers out and I pulled out my handy griddler to finish them off. A MUCH SAFER OPTION! They turned out delicious in the end.

So just a word of warning: beware of broiling burgers in the oven! Frightening experience, my friends, frightening. Chesseburgers, especially stuffed cheeseburgers, are just too good to frighten you!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Quickie!

Ashley, way to blow some dust off the good ol' Domestic Blog! Hi ladies! It's been a while.

Cooking has taken on a whole new dimension now that I am working. It now must fit into TIME. Before I entered this wonderful world of employment (and I truly am loving it), I could go ingredient shopping during the day...chop and measure before hand, then cook at my leisure. If we didn't feel like doing dishes that night, I'd just do them in the morning. Oh not anymore!

Now I'm pretty beat when I get home at 5:30. Tired but STARVING and if we leave pots and pans out overnight, they will remain dirty for the entire week! So what's a hungry ameteur cook to do? Plan ahead, I suppose! The past month or so now Matt and I have figured out a new cooking routine that has been working pretty well. We cook two days a week, usually Monday and Wednesday. Other days consist of leftovers and usually one night of some random thing we decide to make ourselves. It has been working out pretty well! It just takes some planning ahead to get ingredients over the weekends and get things ready as much as possible beforehand.

This is a really simple recipe. And the picture looks really good! And measurements can be eye-balled, depending on preference!

Fast Chicken and Rice

1/2 - 1 cup frozen peas
minute rice- about 4 servings
vegetable oil
about 1 pound chicken breast tenders, halved crosswise (I used chicken breasts and just sliced them)
1/3 cup bottled Stir-fry sauce
Toasted sliced almonds

1. Stir frozen peas into rice and cook rice according to stove top directions.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken to skillet; cook and stir until chicken is no longer pink.
3. Stir in rice/peas mixture. Stir in stir-fry sauce (eyeball it so it's enough). Heat through. Sprinkle with almonds.

Very simple and takes less than 30 minutes! My original thought was to make my own "stir fry sauce".... like a sweet and sour sauce or something (one of my recipe books has several sauce recipes), but when I was at the grocery store I spotted the bottle of "Stir Fry Sauce" and just couldn't pass up the simplicity.

The most creative side dish I could come up with was a salad. You may be able to come up with something more exciting than that, and if so, let me know! :)

Skillet Tamale Pie

Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients: 

10 ounces store-bought cornbread, crumbled (about 2 1/2 cups)
      *You can also use a packaged cornbread mix, like Betty Crocker. It takes a little longer to   bake--just follow the instructions on the package.
3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
Salt and pepper
1 T vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 t minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo (pretty much any canned chopped green chiles work)
1 1/2 lbs 90 percent lean ground beef
2 (15-oz) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 (10-oz) cans Ro-Tel tomatoes, drained, with 1/2 cup juice reserved
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine cornbread, 1 1/2 cups cheese, 1/4 t salt, and 1/2 t pepper in a bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large heatproof skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook onion and chipotle chiles until softened, about 5 minutes. Add beef and cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, tomatoes, and reserved tomato juice and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 T cilantro and remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange cornbread mixture evenly over filling. Bake until cornbread is golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes (or longer if using an unbaked package mix). Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve.

Note: 

This recipe can also be made by combining the ingredients in the skillet and then transferring the beef mixture to a casserole pan, then pouring the cornbread mixture over the top and baking as directed.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Another Crock-Pot delight

Recipe: spiced braised beef with sweet potatoes
Courtesy of Real Simple magazine
www.realsimple.com/slowcooker

Tip: This dish actually seemed to have a better taste and consistency the day after it was cooked. It was a little liquid-y right from the Crock-Pot, but it seemed to set overnight. The flavor is unique and really good served over the couscous!

Serves: 6

1 1/2 lbs. beef chuck, cut into chunks
2 sweet potatoes (about 1 lb), cut into 1/2-inch thick half-moons
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1/2 cup dried apricots
2 t ground cumin
2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
1 10-oz. box couscous
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
2 c baby spinach
1/4 c chopped, roasted almonds

  • In a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker, combine the beef, potatoes, tomatoes (and their juices), onion, apricots, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, 3/4 t salt, and 1/2 c water.
  • Cook, covered, until the meat is tender, on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.
  • Ten minutes before serving, prepare the couscous according to the package directions.
  • Add the chickpeas to the slow cooker and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Serve with the couscous and sprinkle with the almonds.
The beef chuck can take a little while to cut, so plan for this in the time. Otherwise all the preparation goes pretty quickly!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Na's Pasta

Okay, so Jason & I are obsessed with the TV show "Diner's, Drive-ins & Dives" on the Food Network. And the one time, they featured this tiny little hole-in-the-wall bar called "Nadine's" which is in the South Side - just a couple blocks from me!

So one day back in January, when he had just returned from a trip & we both had the whole frozen-Pittsburgh-weekday off, we went there for lunch. It's SUCH a small place and you actually eat at the bar. But they had the "famous" Na's Pasta...and it was DELISH.

I later googled it and saw they posted the receipe on the website! So I made it for Jason & Gittler over a week ago, the night before Jason left for Chicago for two weeks. I wanted to try and do something COMPLETELY on my own with NO HELP from him & I wouldn't even let him in the kitchen, even tho I did use Gittler to help me pour some of the contents into the baking pan.

Now... this receipe "serves 4-6"... but what they really mean is a small army. This receipe made two big casserole dishes worth of food. It was INSANE how much we had left. It could EASILY have fed 10+ people, especially once you factored in bread/garlic bread/breadsticks etc. Jason even froze one of the casserole dishes' worth of food... we'll see how that turned out in a couple weeks. ha!

But I must warn you... this is a VERY filling/manly meal. Jason & his roomate LOVED it and I really enjoyed it... but its definitely EXTREMELY filling. lol It's a "man's dish" that's for sure.

And I even made Jason run out mid-prep to buy a REALLY large, deep pan, because his were just too small. Though, Im sure you'd be fine if you cut the receipe in half.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds bulk hot Italian sausage (I only used 1lb)
3 slices (1-inch thick) salami
3 slices (1-inch thick) capicolla
3 tomatoes, diced
1 onion
3 red peppers
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds trio pasta (3 different pastas)
3 cups marinara sauce
Asiago cheese, for garnish
Garlic bread or Italian butter bread, for serving

Directions
Saute hot Italian sausage and drain off all of the fat. Cut the salami and capicolla into small cubes and dice the tomatoes. Chop the onion and peppers. Add sausage, salami, capicolla, tomatoes, onion and red peppers to the saute pan and mix well. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large oven-safe dish, add all ingredients together including pasta and marinara sauce and cover. Bake for 30 minutes. (I mixed all of it in J's large pot, because there was just so much I new I couldn't mix it all in the pan)

Plate and top with fresh Asiago cheese. Serve with garlic bread or Italian butter bread.

(Note: I have no idea how long this receipe took from start to finish. I was SO worried about screwing it up and not being able to prove J wrong, that I took my time & was very careful with EVERY step I did. I want to say it took about an hour & a half though, from start to finish.)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Saucy, Spicy, and Special favorites

Here are some recent faves you may enjoy!


1. This recipe reminded Ashley and I of her dad because he always cooks things that are SAUCY:


Saucy Baked Chicken

serves 6


6 chicken cutlets

1 medium onion, sliced

8 oz sliced white mushrooms

1/4 c olive-oil

1.5 cups chicken broth

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1.5 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper


1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour oil into large baking pan (like a brownie pan). Add chicken, onion, and mushrooms, turning to coat with oil. Bake 5 minutes (uncovered); turn chicken over and stir vegetables. Bake an additional 5 minutes.


2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk flour into chicken broth. Add vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, stirring well.


3. When chicken has cooked for total 10 minutes, add broth mixture to pan, cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil; stir vegetables and bake, uncovered, until sauce bubbles and is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.


4. Heat broiler. Turn chicken over. Place pan 6 inches from heat and broil until chicken just starts to turn golden, about 3-5 minutes.


Jamie's Notes:

- I just realized now as I copied the recipe that it calls for chicken "cutlets" I don't know exactly what that means, but I've just used chicken breasts. I've made this a couple times with 2 and 3 pieces of chicken. I just eyeballed the ammount of onions and mushrooms depending on how much chicken I used, and halved the sauce.


-This is SOO tasty. It's a little annoying with having to pull it out of the oven several times, but it's very simple. Takes a total of maybe 30 minutes. Very good with green beans and Andrea's potatoes!


2. SPICY is Matt's favorite description of food, and this recipe is delicious, and I'm not even a huge spicy fan. Honestly so stinkin good. It's a long list of ingredients, but it makes 3 parts- the rice, the salsa, and the shrimp.


Beer Braised Shrimp with Louisiana Salsa and Rice

serves 6

prep time: 20 mins

cook time : 3o mins


4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped (on tv the grated it)

6 to 8 small ribs celery, chopped

1 large or 2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

1 medium-large red onion, chopped

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme, finely chopped

4 tbsp butter

1.5 cups enriched white rice

2.5 cups chicken stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 red jalapeno chile peppers, very thinly sliced (I omitted this)

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, heirloom multi colored, red or yellow, halved (i omitted this also, which lost a lot of the pretty color of the dish, but we dont like tomatoes)

2 limes

2 tbsp evoo

2 lbs large shrimp, deveined, tail on

1 tbsp seafood seasoning (Old Bay, remember, I have a spare of this)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/4 c hot sauce

1 bottle beer (pale ale)

3 tbsp butter

1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced on an angle.


Directions:


In a medium bowl combine the garlic, celery, peppers, onions, and thyme. (You're going to use this for the rice and the salsa)


Rice: Heat a medium pot with 1 tbsp butter over medium head. Add about 1/3 of the vegetables to the pot, saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add rice and toss around for 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in the chicken stock and cover pot, bring to a boil. Simmer rice 15 to 18 minutes until tender, fluff with fork and season with salt and pepper. (*See note!!)


Salsa: Combine remaining vegetables with red chile peppers and tomatoes and dress with the juice of 1 lime. Season with a little salt. Set aside/put in fridge.


Shrimp: Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high to high heat. Add shrimp and season with seafood seasoning, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Toss shrimp for about 2 minutes then add beer, reduce heat to simmer and braise 5 to 6 minutes. Cut butter into small bits and melt into sauce then add in scallions. Squeeze the juice of 1 lime over teh pan.


Serve the shrimp over the rice and top with salsa.


Jamie's Notes:

-Rice: I severely burned this the first time I made it. I think it was the pot, but I also did not reduce the heat as the rice simmered because it didn't say "reduce heat to simmer." Well, reduce the heat to simmer. Otherwise the bottom will turn black!


-Salsa, as I said in the ingredient list, we omitted the jalapeno chile pepper and the tomatoes, but including them is much more pretty. The thyme really makes it amazing.


-Shrimp: When we added the seafood seasoning, worchestershire sauce and the hot sauce, we were coughing because of how strong the flavor/spices was. If this happens to you, don't be alarmed, it's not so spicy you can't eat it. Just the initial blast of seasoning is a lot.


-I halved this recipe which made the shopping list a lot more managable. It was plenty for Matt and I, but if it is for more than 2 of you, you may want to do a little more than half.


-good with green beans.


3. The Snow-Day SPECIAL! This is a crockpot recipe but is not very conducive for working schedules. It only cooks for 3-4 hours. So this is either a weekend meal, or something to make on a snowday, like I did on Monday when we were snowed in!


Pizza-in-a-Pot

makes 6-8 servings


1.5 lbs ground beef, or bulk Italian sausage

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

half a box rigatoni, cooked

7-oz jar sliced mushrooms, drained

3 oz. sliced peperoni

16-oz jar pizza sauce

10 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

10 oz cheddar cheese, shredded


1. Brown ground beef with onions. Drain.


2. Layer half of each of the following, in the order given: ground beef and onions, green pepper, noodles, mushrooms, pepperoni, pizza sauce, cheddar chese, and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers.


3. Cover. Cook on Low 3-4 hours.


Jamie's Notes:

-Keep the rigatoni covered with sauce so they don't become dry and crunchy.


- All the measurements (1.5 lbs ground beef, 7 oz jar of sliced mushrooms, 3 oz pepperoni, 16 oz jar pizza sauce, and 10 oz of the cheeses) is NOT what I found in the store. I used 1lb ground beef, a 4 oz jar of mushrooms (more than enough, but I'm not a huge mushroom fan) I bought a little package of pepporoni and just used about half... the pizza sauce I found was only 14 oz and the cheeses were only 8 oz. I don't know if that bothers you girls, but I can't stand it! But I made do with what I found. I am learning the art of "eye-balling" and it worked out just right!



Bon Appetite!


Saturday, February 21, 2009

My only Mac and Cheese Recipe!

Ok Jame, this one's for you! This is the only macaroni and cheese that I grew up with, the first time I had Kraft in a box was in college. My mom adapted this recipe from my Grams' recipe that took hours to make, this only takes about a half hour.

2 Cups elbow macaroni
1/4 Cup butter (1 stick)
Approximately 1/4 Cup milk
Approximately 2 inches of Velveeta Cheese

Cook the elbow macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Off heat, place the macaroni back in the pot and add the milk and butter. Cut the Velveeta into smaller chunks (to melt more quickly) and add to the macaroni. Place the pot back on the burner with a low heat. Stirring constantly until the cheese is completely melted.

Once it was all melted, my mom and I would do a taste test. If it is too cheesy, add a splash of milk. If it is to bland, add a couple more chunks of cheese. I've never had macaroni and cheese with a crust or breadcrumbs, but I assume you could just put a layer of breadcrumbs on the top and put it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown.

Good luck on your macaroni and cheese mission! I always make this when I need a comfort food or a little piece of "home" so I definately know where you are coming from!

Love,
Andrea

My New Mission

Ok, it's 7:20 on Saturday morning. I am not only awake, but am showered and dressed! Unfortunately I have no place to go until 9:30, which is usually pretty early for a Saturday morning, but in my case today, I have about 2 hours to kill.

So I thought I would inform you all of my new mission: Mac N Cheese. Feel free to join me if you like. For the past month I have been CRAVING Mac N Cheese. No, I'm definitely not pregnant, but went so far as to getting the 9-pack of Easy Mac from Sam's Club last week. They are now stacked all over my little kitchen. Easy Mac is nice and quick, but just doesn't hit the spot. So the past couple times Matt and I have gone out to dinner, I have looked with dissapointment to find no form of Mac N Cheese on the menu. At the Marcaroni Grill I even asked if there was anything like Mac N Cheese. Other than the kid's menu, there was nothing. And the sweet waiter was all ready to sit down at our table and help me create a "custom" entree, which I embarrassingly declined and ordered chicken parmesean instead! But thus began my mission: there has got to be some good recipe for grown-up style Mac N Cheese. You know, elbow macaroni, cheesy, flavorful, breadcrumb topping perhaps?

Last night I pulled out all my recipe books, cards, and did a little internet searching. So I have a list. I have my recipes. And I hope to discover the best grown-up Mac N Cheese out there! I am even prepared to combine aspects from multiple recipes to find the absolute best. Perhaps you know of a great recipe already, that could make my mission very easy :) But if not, I will be sure to share my discoveries with you!

No matter how grown up we are, you are never too grown up to enjoy our childhood favorites, in a more grown up way!

Monday, February 16, 2009

The cooking vacation is over

Well, my cooking vacation is officially over. I guess I should explain. I got a new job for the new year, which is going quite well. My boss mentioned that they had been wanting to do an email newsletter and I said, Oh, that's easy, I can do that for you. Which I did. And she gave me a bonus for it! Which included many restaurant gift cards. Therefore, we ate out (well in, carry out) for the last week or two for free! It was very nice, especially since that time period was also when we got our little guy, Talbot, and he was still adjusting to his new home. So anyways, I went back to cooking this weekend. Saturday I made tried and true chicken parm which always turns out well. Then Sunday, I tried French Onion Soup, which turned out fabulously! Here's the recipe:

Rich and Simple French Onion Soup
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups sliced onions
4 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
2 tablespoons dry sherry (optional)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
4 slices French bread
4 slices provolone cheese
2 slices Swiss cheese, diced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Melt butter with olive oil in an 8 quart stock pot on medium heat. Add onions and continually stir until tender, translucent, and begin to carmelize.
2. Add beef broth, sherry and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Heat the oven broiler.
3. Ladle soup into oven safe serving bowls and place one slice of bread on top of each (bread may be broken into pieces if you prefer). Layer each slice of bread with a slice of provolone, 1/2 slice diced Swiss and 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Place bowls on cookie sheet and broil in the preheated oven until cheese bubbles and browns slightly.

Andrea's Notes
-By carmelizing the onions it makes them very soft, which is how I like them. If you prefer more in-tact onion, just simmer them until translucent.
-I did opt for the sherry. I went to the liquor store (not the beer store, Jamie!) and said I need sherry for a recipe and the guy took me straight to it - only $5.99 for the bottle.
-I forgot about the Parmesan cheese, but didn't miss it.
-I used regualar butter and actually ran out of EVOO the day before and just used vegetable oil. So don't think those made a big difference.
-If you have Corelle bowls, those would be safe to put in the broiler, keep an eye on them! Once the cheese starts to brown, it can go from brown to black pretty quickly!
-It smelled very strong while it was simmering for the thirty minutes, which made me skeptical, but it was sooo good, right up there with Panera and Max and Erma's French Onion soup.
-I bought two large white onion and used almost all of them. This recipe says it serves 4, but it would really only serve 2, since so much of it cooks off while it simmers. If you have hearty eaters, you may have to double the recipe, add a salad, or make it the appetizer.
-Very easy to make, just takes a little time. You have to watch the onions as they cook, but you can pretty much walk away as it simmers.
Happy cooking to all!
Love,
Andrea

How Rachael Ray Ruined My Valentine's Day

Thanks, Rachael Ray. I never even liked you anyway.

She always kind of annoyed me. And by kind of... I mean, I think she's the fakest personality alive. Although, I guess I'd take her over Martha Stewart any day of the week... But this receipe-cooking-distaster was her fault, so I'm on a anti-Rachael Ray kick for the moment.

ANYWAY... lol... Jason & I were looking for a receipe to make for dinner on Valentine's Day, and this sounded delicious: Crispy Chinese Lemony Chicken. See? Sounds yummy, right? :)

http://www.rachaelray.com/recipe.php?recipe_id=2496

Well. It sounds easy... but easy it was not. (grumbles)

For whatever reason, we either cooked it way too little... or it burned. Horrifically. We couldn't get the temp. right at ALL. We tried different levels of heat, different amounts of oil in the pan... everything... and one after another... burned, burned, burned. And I felt so bad for Jason, because he was trying so hard with it... and it just wasn't coming together. So we ate Rachael Ray's Burnt-to-a-Crisp Chinese Lemony Chicken for Valentine's Day Dinner... around 1 a.m.

So I guess, techinically, Rachael Ray didn't ruin Valentine's Day... but rather February 15th. lol Do any of you have any suggestions for pan-frying something? I mean, I may be cooking-challenged, but he definitely is not so I don't know what to make of it!

In other news tho!

My friend, LaLa, has the most AMAZING take-to-work or party-treats you could ever imagine! They are the simpliest things ever and taste amazing. I don't think they have a name, so lets call them...

Rollo-Covered Pretzels!
(I'm doing this from memory so here we go..)

Ingredients:
-- Small pretzel-shaped...pretzels
-- Rollos
(Unwrapped, obviously! Thats the biggest pain of the whole process!)
-- Small pecans

(As far as amounts go, buy as many as you want to make. LaLa & I bought 3 bags of rollos and used them all... one bag of prezels is MORE than enough... and a small to medium bag of pecans is plenty.)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Arrange all of the pretzels on a cookie sheet, and place 1 Rollo in the middle of each pretzel. Once arranged, melt in oven for ~5 minutes. Remove from oven and instanly push 1 pecan into the middle of each rollo. Let cool for a couple hours, as the chocolate/carmel hardens. Place in little baggies to pass out, or in a giant bowl to serve at a party.

Seriously, they are the best things EVER. My coworkers LOVED them, as did hers. She also brought them to the Superbowl Party our friend had and people couldn't stop eating them. So good!

Thursday, February 5, 2009

unusual offer...

I bought a little 6 oz container of Old Bay Seafood Seasoning, only to bring it home to find that I got a 1 lb container of it with a wedding gift. CLEARLY I have enough Old Bay Seafood Spice to last many lifetimes, so if anyone finds themselves with a recipe calling for this, don't buy it! I'd be happy to give my new little container to you :)

That's all!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

It's Never Too Late...

So I realized that I have been the "prodigal" member of the blog...I hope to make up for it with more frequent postings! :) Yes, I am alive and well, but in that season of teaching I fondly refer to as "research season" where the kids are turning in all sorts of writings and I am becoming a familiar face at the local Panera as I sit and grade! But of course, one has to eat, so here are a couple recipes I've done over the past week. The chip dip was served at the Super Bowl Party (yeah Steelers!) and the pork for the tacos can be cooked in a Crock-Pot. Enjoy!

 
Pulled-pork tacos

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves 6

2 cups salsa, plus more for serving (I used about 3 cups total)
2 T (tablespoons) chili powder
2 T dried oregano
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
Kosher salt
2 1/2 lb. boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat (you can pretty much use any selection of boneless pork; I told the guy at the meat counter that I was making pulled pork and he helped me find a cut in the refrigerator section)
18 flour tortillas (the original recipe calls for corn tortillas, but I think they taste different :)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (Jamie, your dad would probably not like this dish :P)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, cut into wedges

Note: you can add Mexican cheese if you like!

  • In a 4-to-6 quart slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder, oregano, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat with sauce.
  • Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.
  • 20  minutes before serving, heat oven to 350 F. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir it into the cooking liquid. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and extra salsa. 
Velveeta Spicy Cheese Dip

1 lb. Velveeta Cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (10 oz.) Ro*Tel diced tomatoes & green chiles, undrained
1 cup Kraft shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
4 green onions, sliced

  • Mix all ingredients except onions in a medium saucepan.
  • Cook on medium heat 5-7 minutes or until Velveeta is melted, stirring frequently.
  • Stir in onions.
  • Serve with crackers, chips, or cut-up vegetables.



Tuesday, February 3, 2009

"the economy...."

At our Superbowl party we all decided that "the economy..." was an acceptable excuse for just about anything. Can't find a job? the economy... Can't afford to join the gym? the economy... don't feel like cleaning?..... Well it's probably because of the economy one way or another, right??

Well I haven't been doing much cooking recently... the economy... Groceries are stinkin expensive! Beyond our recent "football game food" recipes (which I'd be happy to share if anyone is ever in need of some great recipes perfect for the masses and football game watching), we've been going the simple route.

What has been going on in the domestic happenings of your lives? Ashley, can you post that chip dip recipe?

Well hope all is well in your kitchens and lives!!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Practice Makes... More Practicing!

Well... here I am. Making my grand domestic entrance.

I should begin by confessing, I'm a terrible cook. Absolutely... not good. I never saw any interest in it, never wanted to learn and really just enjoyed eating good food and was convinced I'd never be able to produce my own.

And I am still pretty much... convinced of the same, however I also have learned that there is great joy and fun in cooking - if you are doing it with the right person.

I am beyond lucky to have found a wonderful man... who is also a fantastic cook. And this fantstic man, this wonderfully... delicious man, not only can cook and is not only a perfectionist (to the point where only ONE meal has not turned out DIVINE -- and that was the horrific 3-hour greasy meatloaf disaster)... but kind enough to allow me to cook with him. So I am learning. Slowly and surely, I am learning. I may not be allowed to fly on my own yet (after all, he still wants to have dinner - and isn't quite trusting enough to risk the gamble of my cooking...


So we've begun the tradition of receipe-searching and cooking these meals that usually take a few hours to prepare... because we chop everything and really just make it an event.

It's fun to do and something that sometimes exhausts us so much... that we collapse with full bellies pretty soon after the meals. Which is fitting, considering the cooking barely ever starts before 8 or 9 and usually gets finished up around midnight. lol

Oh well, meals can be especially delish...
Even at midnight.
Especially if your lunch was twelve hours ago.

Here is one of our most recent discoveries, which I absolutely ADORE:

Penne with Sausage, Eggplant & Feta!

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups cubed peeled eggplant (about 1.5-2 pound eggplant)
1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage
(I used Bob Evans Zesty Hot Sausage to add a little kick...so good!)
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
A box of penne - add an extra handful or two if you want.
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Cook eggplant, sausage, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until sausage is browned and eggplant is tender. Add tomato paste and the next 3 ingredients (through tomatoes); cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place pasta in a large bowl. Add tomato mixture, cheese, and parsley; toss well.

Notes
We altered it a bit and cooked the sausage fully first, then added the eggplant & cooked it with the sausage. We also didnt add the feta cheese and once everything was mixed, put it all into a casserole dish and melted mozzarella cheese over it using the oven. Later, we had feta to the side so whoever wanted to eat it with feta could add it to their pasta. Jason ate it without the feta, I ate the bottom part of the casserole and just used the feta, no mozzarella, and his roommate ate it with both. Everybody enjoyed it :)

And it made bunches, so there was enough for seconds & some lunch the next day. Even better reheated!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Thinking Outside the Recipe "Box"

Soooo I realize I'm kind of overwhelming the blog here. I guess we all know who has A LOT of time on her hands, right? :) At least I'm using my hands to cook food and not just twiddling the thumbs, right?! haha Well, I've decided to back off the posting, but at the moment Matt feels the urge to catch up on "Saw 4" and I need a reason to not look at the TV! Everytime I glance up there is something grotesque on the screen. Ew. Boys....

So I decided to tell you all about a momentous milestone in my cooking career that occurred this week. I........ IMPROVISED. Yes, I didn't follow the recipe exactly. It happened with much panic and anxiety, but I altered a recipe. The outcome? Miraculous success! Ok well miraculous for me because I feel like I never know what I'm doing. But this time I felt somewhat knowledgable.

My recipe was for Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon. When I was about to make it I realized that my recipe said that the salmon filets need to be at least 1 1/4 inches thick. Thinner than that and the fish will cook too fast and the glaze won't have enough time carmalize. Well I eye-balled my salmon filets and they were about 1/2 inch thick. I decided to do some investigation into why the thickness was such a neccessary detail. My recipe had me broiling the salmon, which I decided probably cooked the fish faster, and as they noted, would not let the glaze carmalize.

SO in a risky and daring move, I decided not to broil. I decided to BAKE, cook the fish a little slower. I also decided to marinate the salmon, instead of brush it on top. A slight change that made all the difference. The salmon turned out deliciously and my cooking confidence went up approximately half a point. I may be getting the hang of this after all!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Parmesan potatoes

Thankfully I had a small cooking success this week!  I made chicken marsala which turned out well, but I think I should use a different wine to really make it good.  But the shining star of the meal were the parmesan potatoes.  Super easy and so good!  

From the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook 
Parmesan Potato Wedges
6 medium baking potatoes (about 2 pounds)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed

1. Line a 15x10x1 inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil; set aside.  Cut each potato lengthwise into eight wedges.  In a large bowl stir together butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.  Add potato wedges and stir to thoroughly coat.  Place wedges on the prepared baking pan.

2. Bake, uncovered, in a 425 degree oven about 30 minutes or until tender. 

I decided to prep these first (took about 10 minutes).  I had the butter melting in the microwave while i cut up the potatoes (I used Yukon gold potatoes instead of baking potatoes).  Then it was really easy to mix it all up and stick it the oven so I could concentrate on the chicken marsala which was all done on the stove top.  

Friday, January 16, 2009

Skillet Steak Fajitas

Here is my recipe challenge of the week! It actually looks really simple and very tasty. Probably to occur at the Kozusko house on Tuesday night. It is a recipe that can probably easily be made for a group (useful for Ashley!) and I thought it might also be a hit at the Mesko's. :)

As always, from Cook's Illustrated's "The Best 30-Minute Recipes"....

Skillet Steak Fajitas
1 (1 1/2-lb) flank steak
salt and ground pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bell peppers, cored and sliced thin (I bought one red and one green. For spicy, the book suggests adding a sliced jalapeno as well)
1 red onion, sliced thin
2 tbsp water
1 tsp chili powder
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro (I decided to forget this ingredient, not because of my dad's aversion to cilantro, but it seemed like a waste to buy a whole bundle for needing so little!)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp brown sugar

1. Sear Steak: Pat steak dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown steak on first side, about 5 minutes, reducing heat if pan begins to scorch. Flip steak over and continue to cook to desired doneness, 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer steak to clean pate, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.

2. Saute Vegetables: While steak rests, add 1 more tbsp of oil to skillet and return to medium heat until shimmering. Add bell peppers, onion, water, chili powder, adn 1/2 tsp salt and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl.

3. Soften Tortillas: Stack tortillas on plate adn cover with plastic wrap. Heat in microwave until soft and hot, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

4. Make seasoning mixture: Mix remaining tbsp oil, lime juice, cilantro, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt together in large bowl and set aside.

5. Slice and Marinate Steak: Slice steak very thin across grain, and toss with marinade. Arrange beef on platter and serve with tortillas and vegetables.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, chopped avocado, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, and lime wedges (according to the book, this recipe is pretty flexible to accomodate to taste!)