Main Dishes

Roasted Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

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This recipe was born when company showed up unexpectedly to a “Cooking Light” reader’s home.  It became a big hit.  It’s easy to prepare and it tastes even better the next day. 

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz) box long-grain and wild rice mix (such as Uncle Ben’s)
1 T. olive oil
1 1/2 c. chopped red onion
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrot
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (8 oz) package mushrooms, halved
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. dried tarragon
1/4 t. dried thyme
2 c. water
2 T. dry sherry (optional)
2 (15.75 oz) cans fat free, less sodium chicken broth
1 (12 oz) can fat free evaporated milk
3 c. shredded roasted skinless chicken

Directions:

1.  Prepare wild rice mix according to package directions; set aside.

2.  Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through mushrooms); saute for 6 minutes or until onion is tender.  Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.  Stir flour, tarragon, and thyme into onion mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.  Add 2 c.
water, sherry, chicken broth, and evaporated milk; bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until slightly thick.

3.  Stir in cooked rice and chicken; cook 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Yield:  8 servings (serving size;  1 1/2 cups).

Source:  Cooking Light

Spaghetti Sauce

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I’m always on the lookout for a better spaghetti sauce recipe.  This one is from the famous “Pioneer Woman—Ree”.

Ingredients:

5 lbs. ground beef
3 T. olive oil
2 large yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. white wine (or low sodium beef broth)
2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can tomato paste
1 jar good store bought spaghetti sauce
1 t. ground oregano
1 t. ground thyme
4 bay leaves
2 T. sugar
2 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. crushed red pepper (optional)
1/4 c. finely minced fresh parsley (or 3 T. parsley flakes)
1 whole rind from one wedge Parmesan (optional)
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Important:  This recipe can be halved!  I just like to make a ton so I can freeze it.

1.  In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef until totally browned.  Remove meat from pot with a slotted spoon and put into a bowl.  Set aside.

2.  Discard any grease in pot, but do not clean the pot.  Drizzle in olive oil.  When it is heated, throw in the diced onion and diced bell pepper.  Stir it around for 1 1/2 minutes, then add the garlic.  Stir and cook for an additional minute.

3. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and marinara sauce.  Stir to combine, then add oregano, thyme, sugar, salt, bay leaves and crushed red pepper (if using).

4.  Stir, then add ground beef and stir to combine.  Place the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Add a little water or some low-sodium broth if it needs more liquid.

5.  After an hour, add the minced parsley and the rind from a wedge of Parmesan (or grated Parmesan if you prefer–or both!).  Stir to combine, then put the lid back on and allow it to simmer for another 30 minutes or so.  Discard bay leaves before serving.

Source:  thepioneerwoman.com

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

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Just as fair warning, the next few posts from me might all have to do with veggies from our garden and/or grilling. Sometimes both. We have soooo much zucchini. My menu this week has zucchini on 4 of the 7 nights. However, it is a great opportunity to try new zucchini recipes. My friend told me to try this recipe from Our Best Bites and it was really tasty. I am not always great at following a recipe perfectly…I like to tweak things here and there. So, I will share with you the way I did it.

Grilled Stuffed Zucchini

3 medium zucchini (about 10″)
8 oz. ground chicken (or turkey) Italian sausage
1/2 C diced red onion
  3cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato (about 1/2 C diced)
2-3 T chopped fresh basil
1 C. Shredded Cheese (I used a combo of Parmesan and Asiago. You can use pre-shredded if you want.)
3 T Italian style panko bread crumbs.
kosher salt
black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

1. Slice zucchini in half length wise, leaving the tops on. Scoop out the centers, saving them in a bowl. Leave at least 1/4 inch around the edges and bottoms. Take the good parts of the zucchini guts you just scooped out and dice up about 3/4 to 1 C. This will go in your filling.

2. Preheat your grill outside. Spray or drizzle olive oil all over the cut zucchini. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Place them on the grill over medium, cut side down. 

3. Start your filling in a skillet on the stovetop. Start by browning the sausage. When you no longer see pink, add the onions, garlic, and diced zucchini. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is tender. Add tomato and basil, a touch of salt and a few cracks of black pepper. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

4. Remove your zucchini from the grill. It should have some nice grill marks and be tender. It takes about 5-7 minutes. Bring them inside.

5. Add the cheese and bread crumbs to filling mixture. Stir to combine and then divide the filling between the zucchini. Sprinkle a bit of bread crumbs over the top of the zucchini. Then give them a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

6. Return the zucchini to the grill, filling side up. Close the grill and cook for another 5-10 minutes. 
Serve! 

Scuderi Fast Fake-Baked Ziti

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      If your family is anything like mine, you will always appreciate a good pasta recipe. It appeals to adults and kids alike. This one is a gem. I think my hubby saw it on Rachael Ray and wanted me to give it a try. Are we glad we did! It is so fresh and springy, which is unusual for a baked pasta dish.  There is something magical about the combination of fresh basil, tomatoes, and fresh mozarella. 
Scuderi Fast Fake-Baked Ziti
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
28 oz. can whole tomatoes
14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
Coarse salt
Handful of fresh basil leaves, rinsed, patted dry, and torn
1 lb. box of ziti rigate or penne pasta
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
Freshly ground black pepper
Generous grating of nutmeg
2 cups whole milk
1/2 C. Asiago cheese, grated
1/2 C. Parmesano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 C. sliced fresh mozarella
Note: I never spend the money for all of the cheeses, I buy the grated parmesan blend and the fresh mozarella, and it is wonderful.
Directions:
Boil pasta water.
Chop whole tomatoes. Heat oil in medium saucepan, add garlic and saute for about 1 minute, watch it carefully, or it will burn. Add chopped tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and salt to pan. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add basil and simmer 10 minutes more.
Cook pasta according to directions, until Al Dente.
Bechamel Sauce:
While pasta is cooking, melt butter in medium saucepan. Whisk in flour and stir to cook for one minute, adding salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Whisk in milk. Cook until bubbly and reduce for about 5 minutes until thick.
Drain pasta. Put in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Pour tomato sauce over pasta and turn to coat. Pour bechamel over already coated pasta. Top with Grated cheeses, then sliced mozarella. Place under hot broiler until cheese is browning and bubbly, 3-5 minutes. 
Adapted from: Rachael Ray

Halibut Burgers

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 So, part of my life was spent in Alaska and my parents still live there. One of the perks to having them there is having an abundance of wild caught halibut, salmon, rock fish, etc. So delicious! Here is one of our favorite and simple recipes for halibut.

Halibut Burgers (or HALIBURGERS)
Ingredients
1-2 lbs. halibut
Salt and Pepper
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Olive oil 
Butter 
Sesame buns (or buns of your choice)
Mayonnaise
Tomato
Lettuce 
Avocado 
1. Cut your halibut into pieces (butterfly them if necessary) Season with salt, pepper and a bit of Montreal steak seasoning 
2. In a frying pan, add a little bit of olive oil and a little bit of butter (about 1 Tbsp each) Cook the fish on both sides, til cooked through.
3. Toast your hamburger buns. You can pop them under the broiler (or if you have an obnoxious broiler that has to heat up for 20 minutes like mine, you can cheat and toast them over your gas burner.)
 4. Then build your burger. Mayo, lettuce, tomato, avocado and halibut. Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Macaroni

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I love recipes that I have all the ingredients to at all times, and this is one of those. This is definitely one of our family’s favorite meals. There is never any leftovers! It is an as “easy as it gets” recipe and so delicious!

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 -14.5 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes
3 cups beef broth
1 -3/4 cup water
1 box of elbow macaroni

Cheese Sauce:
4 TBSP. butter
4 TBSP. a.p. flour
1 -1/2 cups of milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Brown the ground beef and then drain off the grease. Stir in taco seasoning, tomatoes, beef broth, water, macaroni and stir well. Cooking on medium high heat. Continue to stir until it starts to bubble.  Then reduce the heat to simmer and cover the dish, cooking for about 12 minutes or until the macaroni noodles are done to your liking. 

Just as soon as you cover the macaroni, start your cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then just before its completely melted add in your flour. Stir for about 2-3 minutes and then add the milk. Bring this to a boil, continuing to whisk the whole time. Remove from the heat and add the cheese and stir until melted. Salt and pepper.

When the macaroni mixture is ready, pour in the cheese sauce and stir well to incorporate it.

adapted from Kevinandamanda.com 

Easy Sweet and Sour Catalina Chicken

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Yesterday was busy-busy. Get the SUV washed, go to Sam’s, fill up that SUV with the cheap gas at Sam’s, come home and unload all that bulk stuff from Sam’s.  Put it all away. Take a shower, get dressed, go to doctor’s appointment, go by Walmart on the way home to pick up stuff for the blog post recipe and the other items that I couldn’t get at Sam’s.  Wait for that crazy thunderstorm to clear a little while shopping and enjoy the power flickering and the rain pounding the roof of Walmart.  Drive home and put all that Walmart stuff away and then prepare the recipe for the blog post for Thursday.  Ahhhh…it’s in the oven and I can finally sit down and check my email.  Oh, looky there!  Jen posted a recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken!  What are the odds that we would pick the same type of recipe to post this week?  No worries, though, because they are slightly different.  It’s all good.  No, really it is yummy good.
Ingredients:
1 cup Apricot-Pineapple Preserves
1 small (8-oz.) bottle of Catalina dressing
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 pkg. dry onion soup mix
3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts


1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Heat a large oven-proof skillet or dutch oven to medium-high heat on the stove top.

2.  While pan is heating, place jam, Catalina dressing, vinegar, and 1/2 of the onion soup packet in a bowl and stir to combine.  Set sauce aside.
3.  Sprinkle remaining onion soup mix onto chicken pieces and pat on all sides with clean hands. (I cut my chicken breasts into smaller chunks)
4.  Drizzle olive oil into hot pan to coat bottom of pan.  Place chicken pieces in and cook without moving them for 2 minutes.  Turn chicken to other side and cook for 2 more minutes.
5.  Pour sauce over chicken and spread evenly over the pieces.  Place pan in oven, uncovered, and cook until chicken measures 165 degrees on a meat thermometer.  I let these cook for about 30 minutes, then checked the temperature and cooked them for a few more minutes.
6.  Remove from oven and let cool at least 10 minutes.  Serve chicken and sauce over hot white rice.



Source:  Our Best Bites

Sweet & Sour Chicken

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       I love sweet n’ sour chicken. It is asian inspired cuisine that even my kids will eat (and enjoy!). I found this recipe and it was as good as promised. I also loved that the ingredients were on hand and inexpensive!
Sweet N’ Sour Chicken
 
Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper for seasoning
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup cornstarch
1/4-1/2 cup canola oil
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp garlic salt
Directions:
    1)Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
    2) Cut chicken into bite size pieces, season with salt and pepper
    3) Heat oil in medium sized skillet over medium heat
    4) Place cornstarch in gallon sized ziploc bag. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat.
    5) Whisk eggs in shallow pie pan, dip chicken pieces in egg and place in hot oil.
    6) Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden but not all the way cooked through.
    7) Place cooked pieces in single layer in baking dish. Continue with all pieces.
    8) Mix all sauce ingredients together and pour half of mixture over chicken pieces.
    9) Bake for one hour, turning chicken several times during cooking to coat with sauce.
    10) While chicken is cooking, heat remaining sauce over medium heat until combined and thickened.
 Serve over rice with extra sauce as desired.
Recipe source: Mel’s kitchen cafe
   

Garlic Marinated Chicken Cutlets

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    I have really fallen in love with fresh basil. My problem is, I always have more than I need. This recipe is a great, easy, delicious way to use more of it. You can also use dried, but it is awesome with fresh!  The beautiful thing about this recipe is that you only have to marinade the meat for 10 minutes.

Garlic Marinated Chicken Cutlets

1 Tbsp EVOO
3 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 tsp (or more) dried basil (use more if using fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, butterflied or pounded flat

Mix marinade in a large bowl or baking dish. Add chicken and turn several times to coat each piece. Let marinate at room temp for at least 10 minutes, then grill until browned and cooked through.

Source: Adapted from a recipe in Martha Stewart’s Great Foods Fast cookbook.

Salmon With Mango Chimichurri

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Fruit salsas are the perfect accompaniment to grilled fish.  The absolute best fish to try with this is triggerfish if  you can get it.  Salmon is great too.  As you can tell from the picture I like a lot of salsa with my fish.

Ingredients:

1 mango, peeled, pitted, and diced small
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. oil, plus more for grilling
2 T. lime juice
salt and pepper
6 salmon fillets (2 pounds)

Directions:

1.  Stir together mango, cilantro, red pepper flakes, oil, and lime juice; seaon with salt and pepper.

2.  Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high.  Clean and lightly oil hot grill.  Season salmon with salt and pepper and lightly brush with oil.  Grill until salmon begins to turn opaque, 4 to 6 minutes.  Flip and cook until opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes.  Transfer to a platter, spoon chimichurri over top, and serve.

Source:  Unknown