We had a birthday this past week...Jon turned 32. So in celebration of the upcoming festivity I decided a Sunday dinner would be appropriate. One of jon's favorite meals happens to be chicken enchiladas so sticking with the Mexican theme I entitled the evening Jon's dos quinceanera y dos!
Despite the super creative name, the evening was low key. Joining us to celebrate was Michelle, Kate, Ryan, Maeve, Brian, Jeanne, Kane, & Brady. So happy they could all make it, made it a great time, escpecilly Kane who indulged me with an impromptu dance party!
So to keep things easy I made traditional chicken enchiladas as well as beef ones. I'd never done the beef before but they were really easy and got great reviews so I insist on sharing...
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
1 diced fresh jalapeño pepper, or to taste
1/4 c. Water
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 c. Plain yogurt
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 c. Shredded mozzarella cheese
Corn tortillas
Preheat oven to 350
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef, onion, and jalapeño until beef is evenly browned. Stir in water & taco seasoning. Simmer until water has evaporated.
In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt, soup & cheese.
Divide meat mixture evenly between tortillas. Place a couple Tbsp of cheese mixture over meat and roll up. Place in baking dish, repeat for each tortilla. Spoon remIning cheese mixture over top of tortillas.
Bake for 20-30 minutes
Buen apetito!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Cilantro Shrimp
So the other night I found myself home alone in need of a quick meal. So I threw together this quick meal that I found in Cooking Light. Pretty tasty...unfortunately for Jon I hadn't eaten much that day so I ate his portion as well....oops!
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
3 c. 1-inch slices green onions
2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger (which I left out)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 1/2 tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground fresh chile paste or hot sauce
2 c chopped fresh cilantro
3 c hot cooked brown rice
Heat wok or large stir fry pan over high heat; add oil to pan. Add onions, ginger, & garlic, stir fry 1 minute.
Add shrimp; stir fry 2 minutes
Stir in soy sauce & chile paste; stir fry 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
Remove pan from heat; add cilantro, stirring constantly until it wilts.
Serve over rice
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
3 c. 1-inch slices green onions
2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger (which I left out)
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb large shrimp, peeled & deveined
3 1/2 tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground fresh chile paste or hot sauce
2 c chopped fresh cilantro
3 c hot cooked brown rice
Heat wok or large stir fry pan over high heat; add oil to pan. Add onions, ginger, & garlic, stir fry 1 minute.
Add shrimp; stir fry 2 minutes
Stir in soy sauce & chile paste; stir fry 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
Remove pan from heat; add cilantro, stirring constantly until it wilts.
Serve over rice
Sunday, February 12, 2012
I'm back...
Finally, I've cooked! Let me start by talking about my trip to the grocery store this morning. I was back, a bunch of meals planned for the week (despite the fact that I'm working every night this week, so shopping list was good to go. Generally, if I have a strict grocery list I can stick to it and today was much of the same, I stuck to the list with a few exceptions...somehow while I was at wegmans I got it into my head that I needed a Scottish bagel for lunch. For those who aren't aware of my Graul's obsession this involves an everything bagel, cream cheese, lox, tomato, red onion, and capers....amazing! The one thing that could have made that lunch better would have been a bloody Mary. Seeing as how I have 3 bottles of mix, it's a good thing I didn't think of that until now!
Decided to follow up one good meal with another. Dinner didn't go quite as smoothly though. It was good and no major issues, that's if you don't count almost burning the house down as an issue. So I tried out a new recipe for Tortilla Meatball Soup which I got from the October 2011 Cooking Light. It was very good & surprisingly quite filling. He only kink occurred with the toasted tortilla strips...it took me 3 tries! Attempt 1- in the oven, no timer necessary this will only take me 3 minutes anyways and them ill take them out....why is the smoke detector going off!?! Agh, those are black. Attempt 2- won't make the same mistake twice, let me just stir this, oh sh!t I did it again! A dark brown. Attempt 3 - fool me once...I'm not walking away from this oven this time around, finally, success, a perfectly toasted tortilla strip. Whew, evidently it's hard getting bak into things! So if you dare....
Tortilla Meatball Soup
2 jalapeño peppers
1 red bell pepper
2 cups frozen corn kernels
4 (6 in) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 in thick strips
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
6 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/3 c. Panko
1 lb ground sirloin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 chipotle chile, canned in adobe sauce, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. Chopped onion
2 c. Cubed red potatoes
1 c. Slices carrot
3 c. Chicken broth
2 c. Water
Monterey and Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. Chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat broiler
Cut jalepenos and bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Arrange corn on baking sheet with peppers. Broil 4-6 minutes or until blackened, turning corn once. Place peppers in a paper bag; fold to seal. Let stand 15 minutes; peel. Mince jalepenos and coarsely chop bell bell pepper. Set aside
Place tortilla strips in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat with cooking spray. Broil for 3 minutes.
Combine 1/4 tsp salt, 1 garlic clove, Panko, and the next 3 ingredients (through chipotle chile) in a large bowl & gently mix until just combined. With moist hands, shape into 24 meatballs (about 2 tbsp each)
Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add meatballs to pan; sauté for 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add onion, potatoes, and carrots to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining 5 garlic cloves; cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add peppers, broth, and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Return meatballs to pan. Add remaining 1/2 tsp salt and corn; return to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes or until meatballs are done.
Ladle in to bowls, top with cheeses, cilantro and tortilla strips.
Decided to follow up one good meal with another. Dinner didn't go quite as smoothly though. It was good and no major issues, that's if you don't count almost burning the house down as an issue. So I tried out a new recipe for Tortilla Meatball Soup which I got from the October 2011 Cooking Light. It was very good & surprisingly quite filling. He only kink occurred with the toasted tortilla strips...it took me 3 tries! Attempt 1- in the oven, no timer necessary this will only take me 3 minutes anyways and them ill take them out....why is the smoke detector going off!?! Agh, those are black. Attempt 2- won't make the same mistake twice, let me just stir this, oh sh!t I did it again! A dark brown. Attempt 3 - fool me once...I'm not walking away from this oven this time around, finally, success, a perfectly toasted tortilla strip. Whew, evidently it's hard getting bak into things! So if you dare....
Tortilla Meatball Soup
2 jalapeño peppers
1 red bell pepper
2 cups frozen corn kernels
4 (6 in) corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 in thick strips
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
6 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1/3 c. Panko
1 lb ground sirloin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 chipotle chile, canned in adobe sauce, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. Chopped onion
2 c. Cubed red potatoes
1 c. Slices carrot
3 c. Chicken broth
2 c. Water
Monterey and Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. Chopped fresh cilantro
Preheat broiler
Cut jalepenos and bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Arrange corn on baking sheet with peppers. Broil 4-6 minutes or until blackened, turning corn once. Place peppers in a paper bag; fold to seal. Let stand 15 minutes; peel. Mince jalepenos and coarsely chop bell bell pepper. Set aside
Place tortilla strips in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat with cooking spray. Broil for 3 minutes.
Combine 1/4 tsp salt, 1 garlic clove, Panko, and the next 3 ingredients (through chipotle chile) in a large bowl & gently mix until just combined. With moist hands, shape into 24 meatballs (about 2 tbsp each)
Place a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add meatballs to pan; sauté for 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Add onion, potatoes, and carrots to pan; sauté 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add remaining 5 garlic cloves; cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Add peppers, broth, and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Return meatballs to pan. Add remaining 1/2 tsp salt and corn; return to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes or until meatballs are done.
Ladle in to bowls, top with cheeses, cilantro and tortilla strips.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Linguine Carbonara
While I haven't been cooking much a few weeks ago I did prepare a linguine carbonara as provided in Southern Living All Time Favorites. The recipe calls for half-&-half which I did not have, so I substituted with cream which made the dish much richer and creamier to Jon's delight...
1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 c. Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. Fresh parsley, chopped
4 oz fontina cheese, cubed
3 oz prosciutto, cut into strips
1 package linguine or spaghetti
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 c. Half-&-half, heated
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1 c. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Cook bacon in a large skillet over med-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Pour off drippings; add oil and onion to skillet; sauté until onion is tender. Set aside.
Combine parsley, fontina cheese, and prosciutto in a small bowl
Cook linguine in a Dutch oven according to package directions; drain. Return hot linguine to Dutch oven; immediately stir in egg yolks. Add bacon, onion
, parsley mixture, heated half-&-half, salt, pepper and 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly; transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese.
1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 c. Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. Fresh parsley, chopped
4 oz fontina cheese, cubed
3 oz prosciutto, cut into strips
1 package linguine or spaghetti
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 c. Half-&-half, heated
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1 c. Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Cook bacon in a large skillet over med-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Pour off drippings; add oil and onion to skillet; sauté until onion is tender. Set aside.
Combine parsley, fontina cheese, and prosciutto in a small bowl
Cook linguine in a Dutch oven according to package directions; drain. Return hot linguine to Dutch oven; immediately stir in egg yolks. Add bacon, onion
, parsley mixture, heated half-&-half, salt, pepper and 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese. Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly; transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
My bad...
So, it's been awhile. This was bound to happen, karma for my constant harassment of others for not updating their own blogs as frequently as I wanted. What can I say, I've been busy with work and le me just say, it's hard to write a food blog when you don't have time to cook!
So I'll briefly let you know what's been goin on in life...I work, Jon's busy with high school basketball and we evidently haven't been eating! We did have a super bowl party this past weekend which was a great time. I must say, I bit quite a bit of work in it despite being reassured several times that it wasn't my party and I don't have to do anything for it...such is life! The most exciting aspect of the party was my face turning bright red for the majority of it. No, it wasn't from the booze...evidently I had some sort of allergic reaction to something I ate. Fortunately, Benadryl is a miracle drug!
Not much else, here's hoping I improve at my blogging.
So I'll briefly let you know what's been goin on in life...I work, Jon's busy with high school basketball and we evidently haven't been eating! We did have a super bowl party this past weekend which was a great time. I must say, I bit quite a bit of work in it despite being reassured several times that it wasn't my party and I don't have to do anything for it...such is life! The most exciting aspect of the party was my face turning bright red for the majority of it. No, it wasn't from the booze...evidently I had some sort of allergic reaction to something I ate. Fortunately, Benadryl is a miracle drug!
Not much else, here's hoping I improve at my blogging.
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