Food Glorious Food.....

I was thinking of making a weekly feature on the blog......what were cooking?.  For example yesterday Emily had her year check up.  The appointment was in the early afternoon so I wanted to do something quick and easy since we would be in and out of the house.

I decided on chicken patties from Morning Star Farms  ( we get the big pack at our local BJ wholesaler) as a side I was going to do french fries but alas we had none in the freezer.  I decided to make a quick bean salad.  In making it I utilized some left overs we had in the fridge.  I was pleasantly surprised in the end result........

Anything you got bean salad....

1 can red kidney beans

1 can chick peas

** utilize any beans you have on hand**

1 cup mozzarella cubed

1 cup cooked elbow macaroni or any small pasta you have on hand

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1-2 minced garlic cloves.  I love to use the pre minced jar garlic from Goya.  If using this use 1tsp

1/2 small onion chopped/diced

1 table spoon of Italian seasoning or your favorite herb combination.

salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything into a bowl and mix well.  I actually forgot to add salt and pepper and still found it came out tasty.  We don't use a lot of salt when we cook so for me it doesn't make a difference.  For best results let it marinate for at least an hour in the fridge so the flavors marry.  It's really good the next day.  

Let me know what you think!

XO.

K

Chicken Zucchini and Potatoes

We eat a lot of chicken in our house.  Sometimes it can get boring making the same things and hard to find something new. I mean how many different ways can you make it?  I also like to try and make things in either my crock pot or the oven, you know all in one dishes.  It's so much easier when you have a little one.  A little one who's determined to walk.  Crawling and pulling herself up on everything but that's a story for another day.

I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com  it's my go to site.  I always find a great recipe.  Haven't had a flop yet.  It didn't call for chicken and really is a side dish, but I plumped it up with chicken to make it a main dish.  You really could make it with a bunch of different veggies for a vegetarian main dish.

 

Chicken, zucchini, potatoe bake........

NGREDIENTS:

2 medium zucchini, quartered and cut into large pieces 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 clove garlic, sliced 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup olive oil paprika to taste salt to taste ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2.	In a medium baking pan, toss together the zucchini, potatoes, red bell pepper, garlic, bread crumbs, and olive oil. Season with paprika, salt, and pepper.
3.	Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender and lightly brown.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Servings: 6

I omitted the paprika also added....

2 skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into chunks

3 Italian long green peppers instead of red peppers because I didn't have any

1 cup of parmesan cheese

Other suggestions which I may try next time is 

1 packet of dry onion soup mix

variety of seasonal veggies 

sweet potatoe mixed with the white potatoes.

My husband and I really enjoyed it.  Nice flavor not too bland and not over powering.  Great fall/winter dish.  The zucchini almost takes on a cheesy texture.  Really yummy.  This one will be in the recipe rotation.

How do you keep dinner exciting?

Have a great weekend, 

K

Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken and Rice

I'm terrible at taking pictures while I cook but I wanted to share this really simple and delicious recipe I got from All Recipies.com

I'm all about the crock pot in the winter oh heck anytime really.  You just dump your ingredients in set the clock and forget about it!

Luckily I had all ingredients on hand.  Here we go....

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups chicken broth 1 1/2 cups converted long-grain white rice 1/2 large white onion, sliced 1 (24 ounce) jar salsa

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies 1 (1 ounce) packet dry taco seasoning mix, divided 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Pour the chicken stock into a slow cooker, and stir in the rice, onion, salsa, green chilies, and half the taco seasoning. Rub the remaining taco seasoning over the chicken breasts, and place into the cooker. Place the lid on the cooker, and set to high setting.
2.	Cook until the rice is thickened and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 3 hours. About 20 minutes before serving time, turn the cooker to warm setting. Remove the chicken breasts, and slice them. Stir the chicken and the black beans into the slow cooker. Return lid to cooker, allow the beans to heat, and serve.

I did do a few substitutions.  I didn't have taco seasoning but I had fajita seasoning.  I also omitted the green chilies as I didn't have any and even if I did I would probably have left them out.  I used 3 chicken breast we get them from BJ's or Cost Co.  They come individual package great for quick meal.

I cooked mine for 6 hours on high.  About an 1 1/2 before it was ready I took the chicken out, shredded it then put it back in the pot.  At that time I also added the rice.

This is a keeper.  My husband loved it so much he took left overs to work for lunch!

Enjoy!

Xo,
K

Crock Pot Pepper Steak

I made pepper steak in the crock pot today, however I substituted pork chops for the steak.  You really can probably sub chicken too.

I used this recipe from allrecipes.com.  It came out great.  I have to remember to take pictures while I'm making something but I can honestly say this is a keeper.  Absolutely no leftovers.  I served it over rice.

Try it out!

Crock Pot Pepper Steak ( or pork or chicken)

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch strips garlic powder to taste 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 cube beef bouillon 1/4 cup hot water 1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup chopped onion 2 large green bell peppers, roughly chopped 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Sprinkle strips of sirloin with garlic powder to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the vegetable oil and brown the seasoned beef strips. Transfer to a slow cooker.
2.	Mix bouillon cube with hot water until dissolved, then mix in cornstarch until dissolved. Pour into the slow cooker with meat. Stir in onion, green peppers, stewed tomatoes, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
3.	Cover, and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours, or on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

XO,

K

Easy Crock pot Sausage and Peppers

Earlier this week I made sausage and peppers in our crock pot (love that thing)  I actually used chicken sausage but you can use your favorite regular sausage.  It's super easy and delicious!  Sausage and peppers is pretty easy not really requiring a recipe but I did follow this one from Preventionrd.com

Here we go.......

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 1/2 lbs hot turkey Italian sausage (about 10 links, cut into 4 pieces each)
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
2 large yellow onions, halved and sliced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1-15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth ( I like low sodium )

Directions:

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet and add half the sausage. Cook until brown on all sides, set aside. Repeat with remaining teaspoon of oil and sausage.

Place onions and bell peppers into the crock pot. Top with sausage and remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 5-7 hours. Serve with pasta or bread.

Yield: 7 servings (~6 pieces of turkey sausage with 1/2 cup peppers and onions).

Nutrition Information (per serving): 259 calories; 12.7 g. fat; 79 mg. cholesterol; 647 mg. sodium; 11.7 g. carbohydrate; 2.9 g. fiber; 23.7 g. protein

** SIDE NOTES***

1.  After I browned my sausage I cut it into bite size pieces before putting in the crock pot

2.  Theres a lot of liquid once the dish is finished cooking.  If you like a thicker "sauce" add a      table spoon of the last 10 min of cooking to thicken it up a bit or if it's too much liquid for you omit the wine/chicken broth

3.  Add some potatoes diced up for a hearty meal

4.  I think the 5-7 hour cooking time is too long.  I would suggest 2-3 hours on high

5. If you don't have a crock pot you can cook this in a casserole dish in the oven.  Put the oven on 350 and cook for about 2 hours or until sausage is cook through and peppers and onions are soft.

BON APPETIT!

K

My Favorite Pasta Salad

Yesterday for dinner Joe grilled some salmon burgers.  Yum!  To accompany the burgers I decided to make my favorite pasta salad.  It's so simple to make and a great summer time side to any dish.

Red onions chopped

Pasta cooked.  I used tiny shells but I prefer any try-color

pasta.

Finished Dish!

Zoey watching..... Pst!  Her Birthday is today!

Happy Birthday my little girl....

Thank you for being the best buddy for the past 7 years

Simple Summer Pasta Salad

1 small - med red onion chopped

1 package/block of your favorite cheese ( Provolone, Monterey Jack, Swiss work well) cubed

1 can black olives sliced

1/2  to 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 

1 cup salami diced (optional)

1 box (1lb) of your favorite tricolor pasta or any macaroni type pasta you may have on hand

1 - 8oz bottle of your favorite Italian dressing.  If you only have a larger bottle on hand only use half of the bottle.

Cook pasta according to direction on package.   Drain and let cool.  Cut red onion, cheese, olives and optional salami set aside.  Once the pasta is cool add red onion, cheese, olives and salami and dressing.  Mix well.  Then slowly add parmigiano-reggiano cheese.  Start with a 1/2 cup and mix.  Taste.  Slowly add more if you feel it needs it.   Cover and refrigerate approx 1-2 hours.  

This tastes even better the next day!  

Enjoy!

XO,

K