Yum Yum Yum

I've made some good recipes of late and just wanted to document so I can remember when I'm looking for something for dinner......(and if you happen to benefit as well, than happy day):

First experience cooking chicken thighs. Hurricane weekend--even though it's pretty rough getting hard liquor in NoVA and we had to do without the jack daniels, this was AWESOME..so much so we served the leftovers to friends the next day.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/08/peach-whiskey-barbecue-chicken/

and I finally figured out how to make some good mashed potatoes that weren't oddly textured.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/perfect-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html

Sometimes I struggle to follow directions but mashed potatoes is one place where it is NECESSARY

Fish tacos we whipped up after church one day and cory couldn't stopped raving. The mango was AWESOME.

http://www.thecookingguy.com/cookbook/recipe.php?id=299

I used tilapia instead of tuna and it was great. Cuz I'm cheap like that.

This was delicious and easy. We used goat cheese instead of gorganzola..cory doesn't like stinky cheeses :( I really could have just eaten the candied pecans all day.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/09/pear-blue-cheese-salad-with-candied-pecans/

Quiche with every possible unhealthy thing ever in it. Very good. Although I think I should have halved it because it's still in our fridge and even good stuff gets old after awhile. I took out about half the cheese, used milk instead of half and half, and only used a little bit of bacon. I also added potatoes and slightly less spinach because I had some I needed to use up. Still good, although with the potatoes it probably is best for breakfast/brunch.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clarks-quiche/detail.aspx

(Harrison refused to eat this until last night on our third round of leftovers...and of course he said it was yummy until I gave him a bite with spinach/mushrooms :))

You know you want a recipe....

You've been dying for a good recipe on here, right?

Well--I made this one two nights ago and then threw the leftover veggies in some pasta with mozzerella cheese last night. YUM.

(adapted slightly from all recipes)

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches (supposed to be grilled but I cooked them in the oven)

1. Cut up one zucchini, one yellow squash, one red bell pepper, and one red onion (sliced)
2. put on cookie sheet and drizzle on some olive oil, salt and pepper, and I used steak seasoning
3. Cook at 425 ish for about 20 minutes...the squash goes fast so you could even take that off first so it's not too soft, the onion will be fine however long, the peppers take the longest.
4. mix one big clove of garlic, chopped, with 1/2 cup of mayo and salt, pepper, whatever else you think would be fun in there (I used hot sauce because I put hot sauce in everything :))
5. Put the mayo on each side of a ciabatta roll and sprinkle feta cheese generously on one side. Stuff the sandwiches with the roasted veggies.
6. Wrap said sandwiches individually in foil and put back in the oven for like 10 minutes or so until the bread is crispy and the feta is slightly melted.
7. Serve with sweet potato fries and canteloupe (if you want to be just like me). Did you know that you can get sweet potato fries in the frozen potato section of the grocery store? Cory commented that these were good and actually crispy unlike all of the other times I've attempted to make sweet potato fries. Yes he thought I crinkle cut those all by myself and had them all ready promptly when he got home. Hahahaha. Thanks honey :)

a forgiving recipe

I know a recipe is a good one when I can mess it up and it's still delicious. Last week I made these turkey burgers with black beans and mushrooms...I was halving to recipe and then didn't half the amount of black beans, I also turned half of the mushrooms and onions to soup in the magic bullet (FYI ONLY good for baby food) before chopping up the rest...and then I put them in before realizing I was supposed to cook them first, so I scooped them out and cooked... most of them...This led to a burger consistency that was really hard to actually cook on the grill. But we managed two to survive the grill and cooked three in the oven. And we put them on toasted ciabata rolls with green salsa, avocado, monterary jack cheese, and arugula...seriously delicious. Cory gave them an 8 or 9 despite the mishaps. If a recipe can survive me you know it's a keeper. I even took a picture of how cute they were but of course don't have it here at work at 6:26 a.m. Oh well, I'll get on that soon. Enjoy!!!

Ultimate Turkey & Black Bean Burgers (from the Family Kitchen)

16 ounces cremini mushrooms
1 clove garlic
1/4 yellow onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup refried black beans
2 pounds turkey
1 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Place mushrooms, garlic, and onion in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely ground. In a large skillet, melt the butter and cook the mushroom mixture until very soft, about 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl, add the refried black beans, ground turkey, salt, and pepper, and mix all together until very well combined.

Split the mixture into 6 even portions. Roll into balls and flatten into thick burgers. Cook in a skillet or on a barbecue grill until cooked through. Serve on ciabatta buns with your favorite fixin’s. My favorites? Avocado, fresh pico de gallo, a touch of grated cheddar jack cheese, lots of mayo, a kiss of mustard.

ALERT!!!!

This is silly, but it's been bothering me, so here you go: IN THE DR PEPPER PORK RECIPE FROM A FEW POSTS BACK....you cook the meat with an onion. Just chop up roughly and put in the pot before it goes in the oven. PHEW--that was close..I hope no one cooked this to disastorous results.

Another Recipe?

Maybe I post too many recipes--but I can't help it, I love food and I love cooking. I'm a bit excited because this recipe was mostly was my own creation. I loosely based it on these which I've made many times and are also amazing. I wanted to use ground turkey and green sauce so I switched things up a bit. YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM aroo

ps--don't you hate it when you buy a package of corn tortillas and pretty much ALL of them are broken??? Yeah, that's lame.

Turkey Enchiladas with Green Sauce

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, diced
olive oil
1 can green chilies
10-14 ish corn tortillas
1 can green enchilada sauce (big 28 oz can)
green onions thinly sliced
sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (amount can vary by taste--I used about 3/4 a bag of pre-shredded)
2 cups chicken broth ( I actually used 2 cups of water and 1 bouillon cube)
1 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs veg oil
1/2 can corn
1/2 can black beans
garlic salt
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
saute onion in a little bit of olive oil for a few minutes. Season with pepper and garlic salt. Add turkey and cook til browned. Add corn and beans and stir. Reduce heat.

While this is going on, lightly cook the tortillas in a saucepan with a little veg oil. This requires adding a bit of oil every couple of enchiladas. You could also use cooking spray but it doesn't work as well. You want the tortillas to be a bit crispy. I burned a couple a bit and I think it made them taste even better. Let the tortillas cool on paper towels.

In a third pan, (A large ish saucepan-- I KNOW--make someone else do the dishes please :)) heat the tbs of veg oil. Add cornstarch and wisk. Let cook for about 2 minutes. Add enchilada sauce and chicken broth and let simmer. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble, take tortilla and place in sauce for a couple of seconds (tongs works well for this). Lie tortilla flat. Add a spoonful of meat mixture and sprinkle with cheese and green onion. Roll up and place in greased 13 by 9 pan. Repeat until the pan is full. For me this takes around 12 enchiladas. Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Cook in oven for 30 minutes.

Really good---and doesn't require sour cream and that much cheese to be delicious.

In other news Harrison went to nursery today. HOORAY!!! He did ok as far as I know, he certainly had no freaking out when we dropped him off which we expected. I'm thrilled to now be able to teach primary in peace every other week when Cory teaches Gospel Doctrine. I think my class is thrilled too although they will miss Harrison, who wouldn't?

Saved the Day

For some reason life is ten times harder when Harrison refuses to take an afternoon nap. Such was the case today. By 530 when Cory got home I was just about at the end of my rope running around chasing the whiney, tired, adorable, starving ridiculous, wonderful, accident-prone, crazy, fabulous boy. Plus I was stressed about how to get done all of the things I hadn't done during naptime and still get to bed at a reasonable hour and be ready to go to work tomorrow.

Then my awesome husband agreed to watch monkey face AND put him to bed so I could work out and take a shower.

And then I made this salad (with other, non-life-changing, stuff) for dinner... BLISS....ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD!!!!

so simple and so yummy --I got the idea from an olive oil commercial.

Ingredients:
Baby Arugula
Feta Cheese
Almonds
Sliced Green Onions

Mix ingredients and dress lightly with olive oil and salt and pepper. THAT'S IT. YUM YUM. My new fave!

Au Gratin?

Tonight I asked Cory how he wanted me to cook the potatoes I had planned on having with dinner.
The last time I asked him this question he said mashed and they came out awful ( I think it is because I always forget to start the taters in cold water). Hoping to redeem myself, when he said au gratin I said ok, found a recipe, and made it happen. Despite having to be cooked for AN HOUR AND A HALF it was so worth it. You should make these if you like potatoes swimming in yummy cheese sauce (and who doesn't??).

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Au-Gratin-Potatoes/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

(And it's a good thing they were delicious because the pork tenderloin I made with them was NASTY...oh well, I prefer side dishes anyway.)

A chicken recipe I actually like

I am really not one for big pieces of chicken. Like eating a breast of chicken as the main portion of a meal: gross. Cut up in a casserole or fried in a nugget is more my style. Anyway, last week I made this when I wasn't really in the mood for cooking and LOVED it. It was easy and yummy. I'm not morally opposed to cooking with wine but don't typically traverse the wine aisle so I used chicken broth and it was fine. Also, I had extra stuffing that I threw in with the chicken which ended up in the sauce.

Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup chopped apple
• 2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon Italian-style dried bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Combine apple, cheese, and bread crumbs. Set aside.
2. Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Divide apple mixture between chicken breasts, and roll up each breast. Secure with toothpicks.
3. Melt butter or margarine in a 7 inch skillet over medium heat. Brown stuffed chicken breasts. Add wine and 1/4 cup water. Cover. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.
4. Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch; stir into juices in pan. Cook and stir until thickened. Pour gravy over chicken, and garnish with parsley. Serve.