Viva Madrid Spanish Chicken

Aye, aye, aye was this delicious!!! Even with all of the onions & dates, P still tried this dish and loved it. It was fun to make and didn't take long at all. I'll definitely be making this again!

Here is the link for the recipe. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/viva-madrid-spanish-chicken/detail.aspx The only changes I made was I didn't mince the garlic, I just pounded it out with a knife and I didn't have thyme. It was still delish!

This is not diet food

Zucchini, Mushrooms and Tagliatelle. Mama Mia!

P-Man (I was asked by him to be called something other than hubby- lol) and I have decided to have 2 vegetarian meals a week. Tonight was veggies with pasta in a rich cream sauce. I don't think this was the right way to go for our first "healthy" meatless night. Oh well, we have one more day this week. I'll try to make it right.

Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Butter

2 Small Zucchini, julienned

1 Small Pkg of your favorite mushrooms, sliced

1/2 Onion, Minced

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream (or use Laughing Cow triangles for a low-fat sauce)

4 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1 Pkg Tagliatelle Pasta, cooked as directed on pkg

Directions:

1. Heat Oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add zucchini and mushrooms and saute until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
2. Add onion and garlic to the pan and saute until golden brown. Stir in Cream and boil until sauce is reduced.
3. Add noodles, zuchhini, 2 tablespoon parmesan cheese, salt & pepper to taste to the cream sauce. Toss until heated through. Serve with additional parmesan cheese.

Enjoy! And be ready for bed afterwards!! :)

Where Have I Been?

Hiya! I'm back! I can't belive it's been 2 years since I've posted. We have just moved to Sevilla, Spain so I KNOW I'll have lots to blog about. Stay tuned!

Cheesy Pork Chops

I can't believe it's almost been a year since I've blogged. There is so much to tell, but that is a whole other blog in itself. In May I officially became a Homemade Gourmet consultant and am loving it! So, of course I will be posting my creations. :)

Cheesy Pork Chops (and I forgot to take a picture!)

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Pork Chops
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 Cup chicken broth
1 Bell pepper, sliced
2 Large potatoes, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons Homemade Gourmet Grandmother's Sunday Roast
1 Cup shredded cheese (colby or whatever you like)

Pre heat oven to 350. Layer potatoes and bell pepper in a large casserole dish. Place pork chops on top of potatoes. In a bowl, mix cream of mushroom, broth and Sunday Roast seasoning. Pour on top of pork chops. Bake for about 45 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top of pork chops and place under the broiler for a few minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Yes, I Love Brussel Sprouts!

This is pork chops with polenta and brussel sprouts on the side. I actually just wanted to give the recipe for the brussel sprouts. They were the best I've ever had! I have NEVER liked brussel sprouts and was quite surprised when I scarfed these down.

Ingredients:
20 big fresh brussel sprouts, cut in half
4 garlic cloves, smashed with a knife
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (or more if you like)
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in medium sized frying pan. Add garlic and cook for around 3 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan. Add sprouts, cut side down. Add salt & pepper to your liking. Top with garlic and cover. Cook for 20 minutes or until the sprouts are tender. These are GREAT!

Roast Beef Sub

I made a pot roast on Sunday. Instead of having the traditional "pot roast dinner", I made hoagies instead. They were so good! I added some provolone on top and melted it before I served them. The pot roast is so juicy that you don't even need condiments.

Ingredients:

Chuck roast- 2.5 lb.

Approx 10 garlic cloves

Olive oil

1 can beef broth

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325. Cut small slits on the chuck roast and slip 1/2 garlic clove into it. I usually make about 10 to 15 slits total (I love garlic!). Rub olive oil all over the roast then add salt & pepper. Brown each side of the roast in a frying pan for about 3 minutes on each side. Once you put the roast in a roast pan, pour the beef broth over it and add additional salt & pepper. Cover and cook for approx. 3 hours on 325.

Some What Cobb Salad

Well, this is just about the only way to get my other half to eat salad. With all of the extra ingredients and dressing, it probably has a TON of calories.... but it's oh so good.

I'm sure by the picture you can see all of the ingredients. There is some avocado in there, just in case you can't see it ;) Delish!

Bow Tie Pasta with Chicken

I know my last post was with bow tie pasta. I just can't get enough!!! I was bored so invented the cream sauce which turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. ;) I don't know how to cook for 1 or 2 people so this recipe made enough for about 6 peeps. lol Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 box bow tie pasta, cooked al dente

1 box frozen spinach, thawed and dried

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pkg lite cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter

1-2 cups milk (I used 2%)

Splash of dry white wine

Juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons dry basil leaves

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute chicken in a bit of olive oil, add garlic and cook until chicken is browned (about 3-4 minutes). Remove chicken from the pan so that you can make the sauce. Add butter to the saucepan. Once it melts add the cream cheese until smooth. Add milk until you get the consistency you would like. Add a splash of wine and the juice of one lemon. Let this simmer for a few minutes. Add the basil leaves and chili flakes. Add spinach and chicken and simmer for a few more minutes to warm the spinach and chicken. Salt & pepper to taste. Once the sauce is done, transfer to the pot with the pasta. Serve with lemon. Delish!

Bow Tie Pasta w/ Turkey Sausage

Since Patrick has been out of town I have been eating all kinds of food with tomato sauce. :) I made this dish last night and it was so delish! It's very easy, took about 20 minutes and I even had left overs for lunch. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 box bow tie pasta, cooked
1 pkg turkey kielbasa sausage, chopped
1 pkg spinach
1 jar marinara sauce
2 garlic cloves, sliced
Parmesan cheese, shredded
Black olives, sliced
A few dashes red pepper flakes

Fry sausage and garlic in a bit of olive oil until sausage has browned. Add spinach and cook for a few minutes. Add marinara sauce and olives and simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix the marinara sauce in with the bow tie pasta, add red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese to taste. Top with additional parm cheese if desired.

Menu Plan Monday

My Mom just left this weekend. We had a wonderful time while she was here. Last week we celebrated our 2nd anniversary. We all got dressed up and went to Anthony's restaurant for a 4-course meal. It's a beautiful restaurant, right by the bay. I had shrimp cocktail, clam chowder, salmon cakes and chocolate mousse. We also went to Olive Garden and had their shrimp risotto. Omgosh, it is sooo good! So.... this week I'm going to try my own version of salmon cakes and I can't believe it- Olive Garden posted their receipe for the shrimp risotto, so I'm making that as well. We are going camping Friday (two weekends in a row) so I will only post until Thursday. If I make anything interesting on our camping trip I'll be sure to post it.

Sunday we had 40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken. Once again it was super! I love Ina Garten's recipes. Well, I hope everyone has a great week!

For more receipes and meal ideas please visit our host Laura at http://www.orgjunkie.com/

Monday
Salmon Cakes*

Tuesday
Cobb Salad

Wednesday
Shrimp & Asparagus Risotto

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
Camping!

*Salmon Cakes

Ingredients:

1/2 red pepper, grated
1/2 cup red onion, grated
1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
juice & zest of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg, beaten
1 cup dry seasoned bread crumbs
2 (6 ounce) cans boneless salmon filet
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
A few dashes tabasco sauce

Directions

In a small mixing bowl, combine red pepper, green onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, lemon zest, seasoned salt and cayenne pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste. Stir in egg, well-drained salmon and 4 T of the bread crumbs. Divide and form mixture into 6 to 8 balls. Roll salmon balls in remaining bread crumbs and flatten into cakes. Fry salmon cakes in olive oil and melted butter in skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with rice and green salad.

Spaghetti Carbonara

Ingredients:

1 pkg diced proscuitto

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Dash or two of crushed red peppers

1 cup chicken stock

2 large egg yolks

1 cup pasta water

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1 Zuchinni

Parsley, chopped

Salt & Pepper to taste

Noodles of your choice (I use linguini)

Directions:Cook noodles as per package. Saute zuchinni in a bit of olive oil for about a minute. Add proscuitto and let it brown. Add additional olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for around 2 minutes. Add stock to the pan and reduce the liquid by half. Beat egg yolks then stirl in ladle of pasta water. Drain pasta, and add to pan with proscuitto and garlic. Remove from heat. Add egg mixture, cheese, parsley, salt & pepper and toss until sacue is absorbed. Adjust to taste and serve immediately.

Saucy Chicken

Oh my goodness- this chicken was so good! It only took around 15 minutes to make. I will definitely make this again soon. I even snuck some veggies in there- the P man ate every bite. :)

Saucy chicken
Courtesy: Nicole

Ingredients:
4 Chicken breasts, pounded
1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 garlic cloves, minced
handful of chives, chopped
1 tomato, chopped

Directions:
Mix cream of mushroom, sour cream and chicken broth together. Brown chicken breasts on each side for about 2 minutes each side. (Add garlic when you flip the chicken) Add sauce- thin if needed using chicken broth. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, add chives and tomatoes. Salt & pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

I've been out of the loop with menu planning. I never realized how much money planning saves! Anyhoo- my Mom is coming to visit for a week and a half. I can't wait to see her! (smile) Here is our menu for the week. This weekend we will be in Seattle and the San Juan Islands so I will post some restaurant reviews too. Have a good week! For more menu plans and recipes visit our host Laura at http://www.orgjunkie.com/.

Monday
Spaghetti a la Carbonara*

Tuesday
Chicken with vegetables*

Wednesday
Hamburger helper (that's right- dinner from a box!)

Thursday
Enchiladas and rice

Friday
Taco night

Saturday
Seattle

Sunday
San Juan Islands

Spaghetti a la Carbonara

Ingredients:
1 pkg diced proscuitto
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Dash or two of crushed red peppers
1 cup chicken stock
2 large egg yolks
1 cup pasta water
1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Parsley, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
Noodles of your choice (I use linguini)

Directions:
Cook noodles as per package.
Saute proscuitto in a drizzle of oil until it browns. Add additional olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for around 2 minutes. Add stock to the pan and reduce the liquid by half. Beat egg yolks then stirl in ladle of pasta water. Drain pasta, and add to pan with proscuitto and garlic. Remove from heat. Add egg mixture, cheese, parsley, salt & pepper and toss until sacue is absorbed. Adjust to taste and serve immediately.

Crockpot Creation

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted. I promise I'm getting back into the swing of things. I've made a dish kind of similar to this before, but we both liked this one much better. It's easy and delish!

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts, cubed

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can cream of chicken

1 pkg. cream cheese

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 pkg italian dressing mix

1 pkg egg noodles

chopped parsley (i'll add this next time)

Add all ingredients (except cream cheese and egg noodles) in crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours. Add cream cheese and cook for an additional 30 min - 1 hour. Serve over egg noodles. I sauteed spinach with garlic and served it on the side. :)

Heaven in a bowl

A good friend of mine gave me this recipe years back. I was going through my recipe cards the other day and found it. I was so excited to make it for Patrick. This, my friends, is just about the easiest and yummiest dessert ever! You can make it as low-fat as possible and it still has tons of flavor. Enjoy!

Chocolate Eclair Cake

1 Box graham crackers

1 Squeeze bottle Chocolate Syrup (low fat)

1 Package White Chocolate Pudding (fat free)

2 Tubs Cool Whip (low fat or fat free)

Make pudding and chill for 30 minutes. Layer in a pan; Graham Crackers, hershey's syrup, pudding, cool whip until the top of the pan. Cover and refridgerate over night. Before serving cover the top with cool whip and serve. YUMMO!

Pineapple Pork Roast

I'm not a big fan of pork. Actually, I can't stand the taste of it sometimes. I found a pork roast on sale at the grocery store. What to do with it? I had heard of people making pineapple roasts, so I gave it a go. We had a back up plan- give leftovers to the dogs over the week and head for Arby's if it turned out gross. BUT- to my surprise, it was heavenly. The meat just fell apart (as you can see). I tried to slice it so it would make a pretty picture, but no luck. Anyway, below is the recipe. You have to try this roast. It is so good and super easy!

Pineapple Pork Roast

1 pork roast
salt & pepper
1 (16 ounce) can crushed pineapple
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil

Set crockpot to low. Place the pork roast in crockpot. Combine all ingredients and pour over roast. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Delish!

Menu Plan Monday

I've taken a break from blogging lately. Not because of my so called busy life, just cause I haven't really felt like being on the computer after work. Anyway- I'm back on track and excited about the new receipes I'll be making in the next few weeks. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week! For more recipe ideas please visit our host Laura at www.orgjunkie.com.

Monday
Salmon with artichoke hearts

Tuesday
Parmesan Pork chops

Wednesday
Italian sausage with Polenta

Thursday
Grilled chicken breast sandwich with brie

Friday
Date night

Saturday
Ham & cheese paninis

Sunday
"Thick Thighs"*

Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs........
Courtesy Rachael Ray

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt & pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock or broth
3 medium to small red bliss potatoes, cut in half and then thinly sliced
1 cup frozen peas
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Crusty bread

Preheat a large skillet or wide soup pot over medium-high heat and add the EVOO. Season the chicken thighs liberally with salt & pepper. Add the chicken in the skillet and brown on both sides for 3 minutes. Scoot the browned thights to the edges of thepan, making some space in the center of the skillet. Add the onions, garlic, thyme, salt & pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.

Add the wine and chicken stock, turn the heat up to high, and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Add the potatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pan with a lid or a piece of aluminium foil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add the peas, lemon juice, lemon zest, and parsley, and cook for 1 more minute to just head the peas through. Serve with crusty bread.

Seafood Alfredo

This Seafood Alfredo recipe is a lighter verison and honestly I prefer it made this way. It was a super easy dish to make and the P man kept coming back for more! The only ingredient I substituted was the lump crabmeat. I used the canned crabmeat which was just as tasty to us!

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped green onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled
1 pound sea scallops
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
3/4 cup (3 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
8 cups hot cooked fettuccine (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
Melt butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté 1 minute or until tender. Add shrimp and scallops; sauté 3 minutes or until done. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add half-and-half, salt, pepper, and crabmeat; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly (do not boil). Gradually sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over seafood mixture, stirring constantly; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Combine pasta and seafood mixture in a large bowl. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese and 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley.

Yield
8 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
writeNutrient();
Nutritional Information
CALORIES 438(30% from fat); FAT 14.8g (sat 7.7g,mono 3.6g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 38.5g; CHOLESTEROL 160mg; CALCIUM 257mg; SODIUM 747mg; FIBER 2.2g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 38g
writePublicationAppearance();
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

Menu Plan Monday

I'm not quite sure what happened last week but I ended vearing off of the menu plan. Well, I do know. I was kind of lazy and didn't make it to the store until Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the new recipes for this week. I hope everyone has a great week!

For more menu plans please visit our host Laura at www.orgjunkie.com.

Monday
SOS (from last week)

Tuesday
Potatoes n' Kielbasa

Wednesday
Angel Hair Pasta Chicken

Thursday
Baked Salmon

Friday
Date Night

Saturday
Bourbon Chicken

Sunday
Roast Beef Sandwiches

Menu Plan Monday

Last week was filled with great recipes. I created a cheesy meatloaf, made some herbed pork chops from an Ordinary Mom and even ventured out into the baking world. This week will be a little bit more low key. For some reason I'm worn out and am down in the dumps. I think I'm just home sick. Anyway, I hope everyone has a great week! Eat Well!

For more menu ideas please visit our hostess Laura at www.orgjunkie.com.

Monday

Soft tacos

Tuesday

Herbed cornish hens

Wednesday

Fried Chicken* family recipe

towards the end frying, sprinkle a bit of sugar on top

Thursday

Sour cream chicken

Friday

Date night

Saturday

Warm steak & potato salad

Sunday

USMC SOS