stuffed shells

oh so yummy! this recipe yields 23 shells (i know, weird number)
boil your shells with kosher salt and olive oil. drain and rinse in cool water and set aside.
in a medium bowl, mix together 1 tub of ricotta cheese (usually about 16oz i think) 2 heaping T of cottage cheese, 1/2 bag of shredded mozarella, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of parmesean cheese, lots of fresh cracked pepper, and 1 t of kosher salt. wilt about 2 handfuls of spinach over medium heat and add to the ricotta mixture.
spoon about a T of mixture into each shell. Place in a casserole pan that is lined with spaghetti sauce.
you can usually fit 10 shells in a 9x9 pan. i like to make 2 sets of shells and freeze one of them for later!
top with some more sauce and more shredded mozz-bake covered at 350 for 25 mins, and uncovered for 10 more.ENJOY!!

chicken marsala

sorry-we ate it so fast-i forgot to take pictures!
alrighty-salt and pepper 4 pounded down (about 1/4-1/2") chicken breasts.
dredge in flour.
on medium/high heat, heat up some olive oil in a pan. saute the chicken, each side for about 5 mins. when cooked-place on a plate.
in the same pan, turn down the heat to medium, and throw in as many mushrooms as you desire. saute the shrooms for about 5 mins, then add some salt and pepper. add 1/2 cup of marsala wine, and cook off the alcohol (around 2 mins)
add 1/2 cup of chicken stock, and simmer for around 5 minutes, and allow to thicken.
whisk in 2T of unsalted butter and allow sauce to thicken nicely.
garnish with fresh parsely.
add the chicken breasts back in so they can reheat a tad.
toss this mixture over a pasta you like (i used bowties) or over mashed potatos.
this was YUMMY!!

meatballs (and spaghetti)

i have always wanted to try this-i think its something from childhood in me speaking out "meatballs!" (like in spaghetti o's, or when we'd go to a fancy italian restaurant and they had meatballs the size of your head)
this was easy. the only thing i didnt like was the sauce-so i wont include that recipe.
alrighty-this yielded 23 meatballs. i'm sure it was supposed to be 25!
mix in a medium bowl:
1 beaten egg
1 lb ground sirloin
a good shake of worteshire sauce
1/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese
2 minced cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
mush around with your hands till totally mixed
olive oil up a cookie sheet
roll the meat into balls 1-1.5" balls.
bake at 425 for 20 mins.
(i did 10 mins, then another 10 mins after i turned the pan 180 degrees)
this was easy!!

chicken kiev

reasonably time consuming-but i think this one is worth it. You can also pre-prep several of these and stick them in the freezer to eat at a later time.
to start-take a stick of butter and put it on the counter so it can become room temperature.
mix the butter with 1 T of tarragon and 1 T of parsely (use dried) 2 pinches of salt and a few dashes of pepper. Mix with a hand mixer or with your table mixer. place this mixture on a piece of wax paper, roll one end over the mixture and roll on the ball of your hand into a log that is about 1" in diameter. stick it in the freezer.
take 4 chicken breasts-and place them, one at a time, inbetween some plastic wrap. and pound them down to no smaller than 1/8".
take the butter out of the freezer and cut into 4 pieces.
get another piece of plastic wrap on the counter-and put a piece of chicken on it-place one of the butters near the most narrow part of the chicken, and begin to roll, tucking in the sides as you go. wrap the rolled up chicken tightly and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. It was recommended that you leave them only up to overnight-but i'm not sure if this is true or not.
now to cook:
in a pie pan-whisk 2 eggs with 1 T of water
in another-place your favorite bread crumbs (i like to use panko with added garlic powder, salt, and pepper)
egg wash your chickens, place in the bread crumbs-pressing them down to adhere, then pan fry with olive oil to brown the crust-then stick in the oven at 375 for about 20-30 mins-until the chicken is fully cooked.
I am serving these with an herbed orzo mixed with corn and peas. i think they would also go really well some yukon mashed potatos!!
enjoy!

up for next week....

this week i want to try all new recipes and see how they go.
1. chicken marsala
2. chicken kiev
2. spaghetti and meatballs (never made meatballs before!)

burgers and fries

sometimes you just want burgers and fries.
for 2 burgers:
3/4lb of ground SIRLOIN
1T worchteshire sauce
salt, pepper, garlic to taste
2T bread crumbs
fold and mash together with your hands, roll into 2 balls, stick between wax paper and pound down to rounds.
on medium high heat-warm up a cast iron skillet with slots. spray with some pam, and fry away.
i grilled some mushrooms and onions, topped the burgers...added some provolone cheese and steamed the burger to completion
i passed on the bun, and so did the boyfriend. i'm thrilled my eating healthy has rubbed off on him!
well here's the real reason there was no bun....
in a deep frying pan-i put 1 1/2 cups of shortening and brought to a semi-sizzling liquid.
i have a handy dandy slicer from williams-sonoma that aided in creating the french fries. i used just one potato for the 2 of us. i deep-fried the potatos for around 12 mins, placed on a cooling rack (with a pan under it to catch the grease) and sprinkled with lawrys seasoning salt.
no worries...we also had a salad. (if that could even possibly make up for the deep fried potatos!!)

chicken stew

this stew was awesome! it should serve 4-6, and you can use it for filling in pot pies, pocket pies, or in a bowl with a spoon.
step 1-making the stock:
i took 2 bone-in chicken breasts and 1 drum stick. i chopped 1/4 onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 t of kosher salt, a dash of white pepper, some ground black pepper, and a dash of paprika, and added enough water to cover the chicken.
bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 hour.
when completed, strain out the chicken, de-skin and de-bone, pull apart to serving sized pieces and add back to the pot with the stock.
step 2-add the goodies:
add 1 peeled and cubed potato and 2 carrots. bring to a boil again and simmer for about 30 mins. take off the head and add as much frozen corn and peas you desire (and any other frozen vegetable of your liking)
step 3-create a roux:
in a medium sauce pan, add 1 stick of butter, cut in thirds, and 1/2 cup of flour. on low/medium heat-combine with a whisk.
step 4-make it work:
i prefer to strain all of the contents out and place in another bowl, and then combine the stock with the roux with a whisk. when combined to a medium thickness-add the contents back, stir-and enjoy!
i used this for filling for my pocket pies i made-and i had just enough left over-so i made myself my own little pot pie. i took the filling and placed them into an oven safe glass bowl, and then topped it with the pie dough, pinched the sides, and baked at 350 for 35 mins. YUM!

Pocket Pies

Thank you, alton brown, for having your Good Eat's tv series teach me how to make these pocket pies!!
These are awesome for kids to do or busy people-who happen to have a few hours to set themselves up for the future.
You can virtually fill these little handheld pies with just about anything you want. to be easy-you can just use a can of pie filling to make desserts.
use leftover beef or chicken stew to make mini handheld pies for a quick dinner later.
you can use eggs, bacon and cheese to make breakfast pies.
i personally made beef stew, and a chicken stew-and used them for my fillings so i could bring some yummy meals to my friend's who just had a baby (and i know have NO time to cook!)
you can also make these in a poptart shape so you can have homemade (and waaaayy better for you) quick breakfasts. he suggested using preserves or homemade preserves for the poptarts. once you make the poptarts-you bake them-place in a sealed bag-and keep at room temperature until you are ready to eat-then pop them in a toaster, and they will brown up and are ready to eat!!
you can pan fry, deep fry, or bake these lovelies!! i am personally freezing them for the future, and will bake them!
i'm literally copy/pasting this recipe since it is written just how i did it!!
Pastry:
• 9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 2 cups
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/2 ounces shortening, approximately 6 tablespoons
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg mixed with 1 to 2 teaspoons water
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Pulse for a few seconds and then pour into a large mixing bowl.
Add the shortening and knead it into the flour with your hands until it is crumbly. Add the milk all at once and mix in with a spatula until it begins to come together. Lightly flour your hands and the countertop and turn the dough out onto the countertop. Knead the dough ball, folding over 10 to 20 times. Using a rolling pin roll the dough to 1/3 to 1/2-inch thickness, then cut into rounds using a 2 1/4-inch ring. Roll each round as thinly as possible or to 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto the dough, brush the edges of half of the dough lightly with the egg wash, fold over and seal the edges together with the tines of a fork, dipping it into flour as needed. Gently press down to flatten and evenly distribute the filling and snip or cut 3 slits in the top of the pie. Dock pies that are going to be deep-fried, instead of snipping or cutting slits.

bake at 350degrees for about 45 mins or until brown and filling is bubbly!

mrs. e's tuna casserole

the boyfriend requested this meal, & since he never requests anything, i pulled up my pants and made the phone call to his mother to get her recipe for this famous tuna casserole.
1/2 bag of wide egg noodlesboil and mix with:
1 large can of chunk light tuna in water
a touch of milk
1 can of stems and pieces mushrooms >(next time i will grill my own fresh ones) :)
16oz of sour cream
then for the topping:
melt 2/3 stick of butter in a sauce pan
add 1/2 bag of croutons
top and stir with 1/4 cup of parmesean cheese
top off the casserole with this buttery goodness and bake at 350 for around 30 mins.
although this is not graciously healthy-it does lack in the processed foods most tuna noodle casseroles have.
to cut some excessive calories and fat:
use dry croutons and top with parm cheese (skip the butter part)
use greek yogurt instead of sour cream
use fresh grilled mushrooms instead of canned.
we added salt and pepper before consuming, but i think it was best to leave them out and allow the consumer to utilize as much of each as they desired.

breaded pork chops

great meal to make right after a pasta night when you have leftover baguette.
oven to 375 please

breadcrumbs:
i cut the baguette into 1inch squares and put in a bag until i need them.
i add some garlic, salt, and pepper with some of the bread squares into my magic bullet, and pulse until the crumbs are coarse.

eggwash:
on a paper plate-add a few T of flour
in a bowl, crack and whisk 2 eggs and a teaspoon of dijon mustard.
on another paper plate-add the bread crumbs

with a mallot, tenderize and get your pork chops even (i like butterflied boneless chops)
dredge the chops in the flour, then the wash, then the crumbs.
in an olive oil heated pan, cook the chops about 1 minute on each side. put on a broiling pan and into the oven until centers reach 170, usually around 20-25 mins.
very tasty, very moist pork chops!

homemade mac n cheese!!

my favorite! i warn you, this is NOT good for you, but oh so tasty!
melt 2 T of butter in a medium sauce pan
add 1 can condensed milk (NOT sweetened)
on low setting, whisk in 2/3 bag of mild cheddar, 2/3 bag of sharp cheddar, and 1/2 cup of parmesean cheese. whisk until melted and blended (yes, keep whisking)
2 pinches of garlic powder, 2 pinches of chili powder, 4 turns of the pepper mill, and salt to taste.
combine with 2/3 box of noodle of your choice (i love medium shells the best!)
for leftover-put in a container with a splash of milk. heat 30 seconds at a time and stir. even better the next day!

miso soup

when there is no one to cook for....apparently, i just don't cook! miso soup is a great breakfast, lunch, and dinner-plus it lasts in your fridge for a while!
you will need to go to an asian market to purchase some of these things. you may find them at a regular store-but you will get ripped off.
3 cups of water-bring to boil
whisk 1 tablespoon of dashi (this is a granule. it is fish stock. it sounds gross-but it really gives it great flavor)
take off the heat and whisk in, 1 T at a time, 3 T of miso. i prefer yellow. (this is soybean paste) yellow is mild, red is a bit more bitter, black is much more bitter.
i personally like to add cubed extra firm tofu , mushrooms, and french fried onions.
stir this up good before you serve.

this soup is also excellent to throw in leftover chicken or turkey-and just about any vegetable. i also like to add in japanese noodles. beansprouts, brocolli, mushrooms, carrots, peapods, etc. you can also purchase wakame from an asian store (this is freeze dried seaweed) i personally don't like this-but it is a classic addition to miso soup!

campanelle pasta

oh yummy! and easy!
boil some campanelle noodles.
melt 1 T butter and crisp up 3 layers of prosciutto-or bacon. set aside.
in same pan-add 3 more T of butter and some cut up butternut squash. (cut in 1/2" pieces) and sautee for around 4 mins.
add 1 T of fresh thyme until is smells yummy :)
add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce in half (around 4 mins)
add 1 cup of chicken broth and boil for around 5 mins.
toss is your noodles and 3 handfuls of baby spinach. stir, cover and let sit for 2-3 mins. stir again-sprinkle some parmesean cheese and the prosciutto and serve.
i added shrimp to this pasta as well.
we rated it a 9-as we would order, and reorder this from a restaurant easy. it was colorful, semi-creamy, soft, crisp, sweet and salty!!

for next week

man does time get away from you when you go on vacation! we have another short week in my household, so this will be another light one. on the docket:
campanelle, prociutto, butternut squash, spinach and thyme with shrimp. lets call this "campanelle pasta"
balsamic, mozzarella, spinach salad
miso soup
vegetable lasagne

shrimp linguine with RED clam sauce

much the same with the white clam sauce....but not really.
cook the linguine.
in a pan, with olive oil, sweat some chopped onions out. add a can of stewed chopped tomatoes, (no salt added preferred) 1/4 can of V8 juice, some basil, garlic, pepper, and italian seasoning, and a longer splash of dry white wine. (add a 8oz tomato paste if you like a more tomatoey flavor) simmer this all together for mins. add a can of drained clams and a handful of fresh spinach. stir together and simmer again while you cook your shrimp-2 mins each side-in olive oil-seasoned however you like.
combine the fettucini, sauce, and shrimp together-sprinkle some parm cheese and serve. this should serve 4.

chopped salad

ooo yum. one of our household favorites.
chop up some romaine, add a chopped apple, red onion, chopped bacon, julienned turkey meat, dried cranberries, slivered almonds, fresh mozzarella (or gorgonazola-depends on my mood) toss with razberry vinagarette. oh so yummy and great for lunches too!
i have added variations of other things like walnuts, cucumbers, tomato, peppers, etc to make it a tad different.

chicken tortilla soup with roll-ups

last night i steamed 2 chicken breasts. i set aside and shredded one with my quick chop, and the other a made larger shredded chunks by using 2 forks.
i took a recipe off of allrecipes.com for the soup. i would normally NEVER make something with all this processed food in it-however, this was a special request!
1 can of rotel,(10 ounce) can enchilada sauce, 1 medium chopped onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 2 cups water, 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn (i get the fire roasted), 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, i can of strained and drained black beans. combine it all, crock pot on low for 8 hours.
i'm going to top with shredded cheddar, a dollup of sour cream, and tortilla strips.
roll-ups:
in a pan, combine the rest of the shredded chicken, i took 2 ladels of the soup, 1 t of cumin, a few shakes of hot sauce, some salt and pepper. heat up some black beans in a seperate pot. shred some lettuce. place it all out with some tortillas along with some shredded cheddar, sour cream, and salsa. have everyone make up their own roll-ups. if i would of had more time, i would of made some yellow rice as well. enjoy senioritas!

shrimp linguine with white wine clam sauce

oh my oh my. this was a meal we would of paid $25 a plate for at a restaurant! and it was reasonably easy to make and oh so good.
STARCH:
i used the fun linguine noodles i recieved in a gift basket (the type that are made from spinach, beets, squash, etc-the ones that cook up in just a few mins)
boil, strain and set aside.
SAUCE:
i melted 4 T of butter in a my favorite sauce pan and added 1 chopped shallot and 2 cloves of garlic (thank you quick chop)and sweated them out.
i added 1 cup chicken stock and 3/4 cup clam sauce(if you buy the canned clams, just strain the sauce into this mix), 1/2 cup white wine (i used chardonnay) plenty of oregeno, parsley, white and black pepper. i boiled this for around 25 mins to create what they call a white wine reduction sauce (if you like a zesty flavor, add 1 T of lemon juice to this mix)
once reduced (around 1/2 the amount of liquid that you started with...) add 4 more T of butter, 1 T at a time and WHISK!! you are adding oxygen to this mixture and creating a similar buerre blanc sauce-it makes it appear slightly creamy. if you want clams-now's the time to add them.
VEG:
meanwhile, i was steaming some brocolli, and added some peapods in when i took it off the heat and let it set for 5-7 mins. add whatever kinds of veg you prefer. i think cherry tomatoes would of been a good addition.
PROTEIN:
i marinated some deveined, deshelled (still with tails) shrimp in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic for an hour or so. olive oil your pan, get it steamy, and cook 2 mins each side.
add the linguine into the sauce pan, vegetables, and shrimp, toss.....and top off with some shaved parmesean and OH MY YUM!
this meal ended up costing $12 (keeping in mind we already had the noodles, chicken stock, and herbs)

up for next week....

on the board for next week:
slow cooker chicken tortilla soup with black bean roll-ups (doubles as great lunches)
beef tenderloin with (shh) cauliflower/potato mash and asparagus
shrimp linguine (this is a first for me!)

pork and cabbage stew

crock pot day!!
1.5 lbs of pork butt salt and peppered up...
3-4 small red poatoes per person, 1/3 cabbage cut up, 1/2 onion, some carrots, salt, and 1 cup chicken stock.
layer all that up and lay down 2 slices of bacon, put the pork butt on top.
on low for 8 hours.
the last hour, add another 1/4 of the cabbage.
the meat just falls right apart, portion it out equally with the other vegetable, pour some liquid on top and enjoy!

wraps and leftovers :)

leftover ziti tonight, sorry.
however, for lunch. YUM YUM
bought some whole wheat lavash, threw on some turkey, romaine, tomato, fresh buffalo mozzarella, and balsamic. YUM easy, cheapish and filling.

baked ziti

oh thank you, thank you to my vacuum sealer, dinner took about 4 mins prep time tonight.
in the freezer, i had my meat sauce already made, and i put it in the fridge last night to thaw.
i cooked some ziti noodles, poured the sauce, put in a 9x9 pan, tossed some mozz on top and baked covered 375 for 20 mins, and broil for about 2 uptop for a nice crust.
easy, simple, yummy, and enough for leftovers.

in case you wanted to know, my spag sauce (made on a lazy sunday by the quart) :
3 lbs of ground beef
1 large and one small jar of Prego traditional sauce
carton of mush
i whole purple onion
(sautee these with 2 cloves of garlic before adding to sauce)
2 tablespoons of Frankenmuth's Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
awesome to vacuum seal in portions that feed 2 or 4

cashew chicken with parsely potatoes and corn

so sick of eating boring chicken.
first, in my handy dandy quick chop, i ground up some cashews. i added 1/4 cupish of bread crumbs, some salt, garlic, pepper and put it on a paper plate.
in a bowl, i whisked an egg, 2 good squirts of Korean Sesame Sauce (in the asian aisle)
on another paper plate-some flour
i pounded the chicken down to 1/2inch, dredged it in the flour, next the egg mix, next the cashew crumb mix-patted it good and got 'er coated.
heated up some sesame oil with a bit of olive oil on med/high till it was steamy-cooked the chicken 6 mins on each side.
potatoes:
boil up some mini red potatoes cut in half....(about 4 whole per person)
in a dish-put together (3/4cupish)plain yogurt, some garlic powder, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley
when the potatoes are done, drain, and mash slightly. add the yogurt mix and serve right away
corn-bah. steamable. 5 mins in the microwave. easy and good. (not organic, i know blah blah)
jason really liked this meal, and so did i. in all, it took about 30 mins to cook-and i didnt really have to specifically shop for anything-as most of the items are staples in my home.

why oh why?

i tend to need organized thoughts (in writing or verbal form) and i wanted something positive to look forward to. a "project" persay that was full of something that i'm interested in (talking & cooking) so here we go. i'll go ahead and makes entries when i cook. i'm a pretty good cook-so if you want to go ahead and try them-please do!
head's up. ALL the meat i buy IS free-range. i try and purchase as much organic produce as possible, but being in michigan-the winter is difficult. also, ALL dairy i purchase is also organic