Success!

I owe my friend Julie big for our fabulous meal last night. It featured her delish Chicken Enchiladas and her no fail fabulous Mexi-Rice. I'm a huge fan of minute rice. I just suck at regular rice, but this my friends, was a success. It's not only very good, but it's so easy. I made a few modifications and think this would just be great with some chopped red peppers in it too. I can't wait to have leftovers tonight for dinner!

Julie's No Fail Mexi-Rice
Source: Julie



1 Cup uncooked long grain white rice
2 Cup chicken broth
1/2 Cup tomato sauce
1/4 Cup chopped onion
1 can diced green chiles (I used two fresh green chiles - diced)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbs vegetable oil
Cumin, chili powder, salt to taste
Fresh cilantro to taste

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add rice, onion, chiles, and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil.

3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer 25-30 minutes. DO NOT open lid while simmering, or the rice wont come out right. Fluff with a fork. Stir in fresh cilantro.

Simple Salad

Ever since I bought some Arugula at the farmers market last week I've been on the look out for an easy, yummy recipe. When I spotted this on All Recipes, I knew I had a winner. The salad came together in a matter of minutes and even Matt who rarely eats a salad without ranch dressing devoured this. This was perfect as a side salad, but with a little chicken would make a wonderful main dish. I wish I had some more arugula so I could make this for lunch tomorrow!

Easy Arugula Salad
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com



4 cups young arugula leaves, rinsed and dried
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
freshly ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


In a large plastic bowl with a lid, combine arugula, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, oil, vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and shake to mix.

Hot Potato!

There has been quite a buzz on blogs recently regarding The Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes. I came to the conclusion that: #1) they were most likely overrated and #2) I would never bother to make them.

I was wrong. On both accounts.

I got a hell of a deal on some Yukon Gold potatoes at the farmers market last week and this recipe seemed like the perfect way to use them up. They were a perfect companion to steak and a simple arugula salad. This recipe is not only super simple, but it tastes great. It's a nice alternative to a baked potato. I'm positive I'll make these again.


For the recipe visit The Pioneer Woman. The only changes I made were that I used Yukon Gold Potatoes instead of New Potatoes and Chives instead of Rosemary.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Finally... Orzo!

In our quest to save a little money, the hubster and I have been shopping at a Wal*Mart Market store. While I love saving money, the selection of food is annoying. One item I have never seen at the store is Orzo. There are a few recipes I've passed over or adapted that are supposed to have Orzo. Imagine my excitement, when Mr. Hubster told me we had a coupon for 10% off at Hyvee. (Yes, I am lame and get excited over a trip to Hyvee and Yes, I realize the 10% off savings wasn't really worth it. Kudos to you Hyvee Marketing Department, you got us back in the door.)

Anywho, I saw this recipe for Orzo Pilaf with Green Onions and Parmesan Cheese in my google reader and starred it for the day I'd have Orzo. Well my friends, that day has come. I made it tonight, and it was delicious! I served it as a side to pork chops and also sauteed some veggies and garlic in a little bit of EVOO and white wine. This meal was very easy and tasted excellent. This may definitely became a weeknight staple... guess I need to go to Hyvee and stock up on Orzo!

Orzo Pilaf with Green Onions and Parmesan Cheese
found on: The Foodie Fashionista
originally from: Epicurious.com



I read the reviews on the website and quite a few people recommended browning the orzo before cooking it. I decided to go ahead and give it a shot. My adaptations in italics

3 1/4 cups (or more) canned low-salt chicken broth (I used almost 4 cups)
1 pound orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
5 green onions, thinly sliced (I used 3 - 31/2)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
*1/4 cup butter


Melt butter in large skillet, add Orzo and brown. While Orzo is browning, Bring 3 1/4 cups broth to boil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Mix in orzo and simmer uncovered until just tender but still firm to bite and some broth still remains, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Add green onions and cheese and stir to blend. Season pilaf to taste with salt and pepper.

Rewarm over low heat, if necessary, and mix in more broth by 1/4 cupfuls if pilaf is dry. Transfer pilaf to large bowl and serve.

One more thing, next time I make this for just the two of us, I'm going to cut the recipe in half. It serves 6.

3rd Time's A Charm

I've tried to make this guacamole twice before and each time I manage to screw it up. We had tacos last week so I decided I had to try this one last time or I would never try it again. Well... success! I'm so excited, it was delicious.

Holy Guacamole
From my friend Stephanie, courtesy of Emeril Lagasse



Yield: 1/2 to 1 cup
1 avocado, peeled, halved, and seeded
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. minced yellow onion
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. Baby Bam (recipe at bottom)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. green pepper sauce

Chop avocado halves and place in mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mash together until mostly smooth. Stir to evenly distribute ingredients. Serve immediately or store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 day.

Baby Bam

Yield: about 3/4 cup
3 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. celery salt

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well to combine, using a wooden spoon. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Perfect Sunday Evening Meal

I was so excited it was light til after 7:00 last night. As much as I hate losing an hour, I love the fact it's going to stay lighter longer. That also means an extra hour to try and take a good picture of my food! Well of course we didn't end up eating last night until it was dark out so I wasn't able to get a good picture. Oh well. Our dinner was delicious. We had:


Cornmeal crusted chicken with cheddar, green and red peppers
Green beans with warm bacon dressing
Trish's Smashed Potatoes.




The recipes for all those are below....

Green Beans with Warm Bacon Dressing

I found this recipe in the March 2008 Cooking Light. This was my first time ever using fresh green beans. We loved this so much I'm planning on making it again later this week.

1 pound fresh green beans - trimmed
2 strips of bacon
1/4 cup chopped shallots omitted
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
S&P to taste.

Cook green beans in boiling water for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Cook 2 strips bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add shallots to drippings in pan; cook for 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add garlic and green beans; toss to coat. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and salt and pepper.

Trish's Smashed Taters

This recipe is from my friend Trish. My husband is really picky when it comes to mashed potatoes but he loved these. I cut the recipe down because it was just the 2 of us. There aren't exact amounts... just eye ball everything

5lb bag red potatoes
1 1/2 sticks butter
4 oz cream cheese
Lowry's Seasoning Salt
Minced Garlic
Onion Powder
Green onion
Black Pepper

Partially peel potatoes, boil until soft - Drain.


Combine 1 1/2 sticks of butter, 4 oz. of cream cheese (more if desired), Lowry's seasoning salt, minced garlic, onion powder, chopped green onion, black pepper, just enough milk or cream and potatoes. Mix until it reaches desired consistency.

Corn Muffins with a Kick

Lately I've become a big fan of corn bread. When I saw this recipe on cooking light I knew I had to try it. It was the perfect companion to the black bean soup and would also be excellent with chilli. If you don't like peppers or onions, these would still be good.

Whole Grain Corn Muffins
from cookinglight


3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/3 cup minced red onion I used white onion
2 tablespoons minced jalapeño pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, oil, honey, and egg. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in corn, onion, and jalapeño.

Coat muffin tin with cooking spray. Spoon batter into pan. Bake at 425° for 1oish minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately; serve warm.

CALORIES 120( calories from fat 27%); FAT 3.6g ( SATFAT 0.8g, MONOFAT 2.1g, POLYFAT 0.4g ); protein 4g; carbohydrate 19g; fiber 2g; cholesterol 19mg; iron 0.7mg; sodium 325mg; calcium 96mg;

Hosting My First Turkey Day

It went smoothly enough. I'm not going to blog about everything I made, it was pretty traditional. One thing I do want to blog about is Caramel Apple Salad. I couldn't get a good picture of this to save my life. I even looked on google image for a pic but couldn't find one. I'll admit it looks gross in RL but tastes just like a caramel apple.

Caramel Apple Salad
Recipe from a co-irker

3 cups unpeeled, chopped apples
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 cup mini marshmallows
1- 8 oz can crushed pineapple, undrained
1- 3.5 oz, package instant butterscotch pudding
8 oz Cool Whip, thawed

Mix all ingredients in large bowl, refrigerate for at least 3 hours

Regrets

I was slightly hungover today which ended up being nice in the fact that I didn't feel like going to the gym (Bad Stacey, Bad!), did some blog updates, painted all day, planned my meals for the week, and had a pretty good dinner tonight. It was a very lazy day. I don't have many of those kind of days. What sucks though is that I didn't go to the gym, didn't do anything school related, and now have to get up early tomorrow and be super productive. Oh well...

For dinner tonight it was grilled steaks, steamed broccoli, carrots, and red peppers with grated Parmesan Cheese, and I wanted to make homemade fries. I perused the net for a while and found 2 recipes. I ended up going with the oven baked rather than fried recipe and kind of regret it. Why did I choose oven baked you ask? Well, it was simpler and that went along with my lazy day theme. The oven baked were good but, just didn't hit the spot. I'll post both of the recipes.

Spicy Country Fries
From http://www.grouprecipes.com/ user: jo_jo_ba


3 medium potatoes
1 egg white
1 tsp each paprika, black pepper and salt



Preheat oven to 500F.
Coat a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Cut potatoes into 36 wedges, place in bowl of cold water.
Whisk egg white, paprika, pepper, and salt in a large bowl until frothy.
Dry potato wedges, add to egg white and toss to coat.
Spread on baking sheet and bake on bottom rack 25 minutes, turning half way through.

Serves: 4

Anddd now for the fries I should have made.....

Homemade Crispy Seasoned French Fries
Found on allrecipes.com

1-1/4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup water, or as needed
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying

1) Slice potatoes into French fries, and place into cold water so they won't turn brown while you prepare the oil.

2) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating, sift the flour, garlic salt, onion salt, (regular) salt, and paprika into a large bowl. Gradually stir in enough water so that the mixture can be drizzled from a spoon.

3) Dip potato slices into the batter one at a time, and place in the hot oil so they are not touching at first. The fries must be placed into the skillet one at a time, or they will clump together. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Serves: 4

Simply Delicious!

M and I made this meal last Tuesday night and it was delicious. The whole night was great. We cooked together and polished off a couple bottles of wine. It was so much fun. I really wish I could have taken better pictures that expressed how great the food tasted.

Peppered Beef Filets with

Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes

Low Cholesterol and Low Calorie

Mashed Potatoes
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1 tsp 70% vegetable oil spread
1 tsp sugar
1 pond unpeeled red or russet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ cup fat-free evaporated milk
2 tbsp snipped fresh parsley (I used dried)
¾ tsp prepared horseradish ½ tsp salt

Beef Filets
2 large garlic cloves, pressed
4 beef tenderloin steaks, cut 1 inch think (5 oz each)
1 tsp coarsely ground tri-colored peppercorns or black pepper corns
¼ tsp salt

1. For mashed potatoes, coarsely chop onion. Melt vegetable oil spread in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sure; cook and stir 8 – 10 minutes or until onion is tender and deep golden brown. Remove from skillet; set aside.

2. Place potatoes and enough water to cover in a small saucepan. Cover; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cook 8 – 10 min or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes in small colander; return to saucepan. Using a masher, mash until no lumps remain. Add evaporated milk; stir until well-blended Add cooked onion, parsley, horseradish ands alt; mix well. Cover; keep warm.

3. Meanwhile, for beef filets, press garlic into small bowl. Spread garlic evenly over both sides of steaks. Sprinkle tri-colored pepper and salt evenly over both sides of steaks.

4. Heat same skillet over medium heat 5 minutes or until hot. Place steaks in skillet. Cook 10 – 13 min for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally. Serve with mashed potatoes

Yield: 4 Servings
Calories: 360, Total Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol 90 mg, Carbohydrate 28g, Protein 34g, Sodium, 580mg, Fiber 3g

Always a Crowd Pleaser

Today at work we had a food day! I love and hate food days. Love 'em because they give me something to look forward to at work. Hate 'em because I sa-wear I gain 5lbs by the end of the day. We always have fabulous food and today was no exception. I've really been craving my aunt's taco salad lately and today was the perfect excuse to make it.

Aunt Kathy's Taco Salad
(the pictures suck because I took them at work in the land of fluorescent lights, cubicles, and fugly yellow and blue walls.)


1 pound of ground beef or turkey.
1 bag of crushed tortilla chips
1 pack of taco seasoning/ salt and pepper to taste
1 8oz Wishbone Italian Dressing
1 can 16 oz kidney beans Rinsed and drained
1 4 oz jar of taco sauce/salsa
1 head of lettuce
1-2 large tomato sliced into wedges
1 large red onion sliced in rings
1 bag of cheddar cheese

1) Cook meat as you were making tacos. Drain and set aside.
2) Rinse and drain beans. Set aside.
3)Make your salad with all the above ingredients except for the chips, Wishbone and the taco sauce.
4)Right before serving crush tortilla chips and put on salad mix with the Wishbone and taco sauce.



Since this was for work I prepped everything the night before and combined the lettuce, tomato, and onion. I kept the beans and meat separate and added them the next day at work. (Instead of one can of red kidney beans I added 1 can of white kidney beans and 1 can of red beans, it's what I had on hand) After that I crushed my chips, and added my Wishbone and Salsa. This makes a ridiculous amount of salad and I only recommend making it if you are going to be serving it to a large group.

Favorite Summer Dish

I know we are only a week and a half into summer but this has become my favorite summer dish. You can add meat and make this as the main course or it is great as a side dish too. The first time I made this I put in cubed ham as the recipe calls for. I'm not a fan of cubed ham but, my husband really liked it. Luckily, I could just pick the ham out.

Rainbow Veggie Salad


Salad
1.5 cups uncooked rainbow or plain rotini pasta (4.5 oz)*
2 cups cubed cooked ham**
1 cup thinly sliced carrots (2 med)
1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes (4 med)
1/4 cup sliced green onions (4 med)
1 Large cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, sliced
½ or 1 cup of red pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley


Dressing
3/4 cup reduced- fat mayo or salad dressing****
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper


1) Cook Pasta as directed on package. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well
2) Meanwhile, in large bowl, mix remaining salad ingredients.
In small bowl mix dressing ingredients until well blended
3) Gently stir cooled cooked pasta into salad. Pour dressing over salad; stir gently to coat. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until serving time. Top with Parmesan Cheese.

* There is usually plenty of dressing so I just cook the whole bag of pasta. I don't use it all in the salad, I just eyeball it.
**I think cubed ham is kinda gross. Turkey Pepperoni is delicious in the salad. Chicken would be good too.
***I use light Italian dressing

This is delicious when served right away but, tastes even better the next day.