We had two keepers this week, one almost keeper, and a new dish we planned but never got to try. It was busy! My family (the kids especially) love pasta and potatoes, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that those were the main ingredients in both keepers. The first keeper recipe made some fabulous super crispy baked french fries - truly the crispiest french fries I've ever had at home or out to eat. With the first bite everyone voted them to keeper status. The second keeper dish is called Garlic Chicken Rigatoni. This is a quick dinner that we thought was fantastic and will definitely become a regular in our dinner rotation. One way to make it even easier...when you buy chicken breasts in bulk and are freezing them in meal size portions, go the extra step with one or two of the portions and cut them up into bite sized pieces prior to freezing. This way, when you are ready to make stir fry or some other dish that calls for cut up chicken you are already to go! It saves serious prep (and clean up) time!
Our almost keeper was popcorn marshmallow bars. I was in the mood to bring rice kispie treats to our book club meeting this week, but I did not have any cereal on hand. I did, however, have popcorn kernels. I popped some up and mixed it with a marshmallow mixture and they were good. Good, but not yet great, so I'll try again soon and see if I can get it right! And the other dish that didn't get tested this past week will make it on the meal plan again this week...here's hoping that we have time to make it! School, my class, 2 cross country meets, flag football practice, a handful of soccer practice, an out of town business trip...a lot going on this week so we'll see how (and what) meals turn out!
Our youngest has started soccer and is loving it. In fact, when practice was cancelled this week because of the heavy rain he was absolutely bereft. Miss Hannah even offered him an Oreo and he declined. Yikes! He was seriously devastated! Fingers crossed that the rain predicted for tomorrow morning passes us and he gets to play soccer!
Happy Cooking!
New Recipes
Garlic Chicken Rigatoni
Crispy Baked French Fries
Friday, September 12, 2014
Garlic Chicken Rigatoni
Ingredients
* 16 oz uncooked rigatoni or penne pasta
* 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
* 1/2 cup boiling water
* 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
* 1/4 tsp garlic salt
* 2 tbsp AP flour
* 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
* 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
*3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1/2 cup white wine, divided
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
* 1/4 tsp dried basil
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 1/8 tsp pepper
* 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
* grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
1. Cook the pasta according to the box directions.
2. In a small bowl combine the sun-dried tomatoes and the boiling water. Let stand 5 minutes, then drain and chop the tomatoes.
3. Sprinkle the chicken with the garlic salt and then toss with the flour. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.
4. In the now empty skillet heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook and stir until tender, 4-5 minutes. De-glaze the pan with 1/4 cup of wine. Combine the remaining wine, chicken broth, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and tomatoes. Stir this mixture into the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken and heat through.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the chicken mixture. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
We absolutely loved this - all of us! And you cannot believe how easy this was to throw together. I had 3/4 lb of chicken in the freezer so I used that, and I didn't need to adjust any of the ingredients. This is similar to another favorite or ours,chicken, broccoli and sun-dried tomato stir fry, but definitely not the same. The leftovers were delicious the next day; I look forward to making this again!
* 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
* 1/4 tsp dried basil
* 1/8 tsp salt
* 1/8 tsp pepper
* 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
* grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
1. Cook the pasta according to the box directions.
2. In a small bowl combine the sun-dried tomatoes and the boiling water. Let stand 5 minutes, then drain and chop the tomatoes.
3. Sprinkle the chicken with the garlic salt and then toss with the flour. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken; cook and stir for 4-5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm.
4. In the now empty skillet heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook and stir until tender, 4-5 minutes. De-glaze the pan with 1/4 cup of wine. Combine the remaining wine, chicken broth, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and tomatoes. Stir this mixture into the mushrooms and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken and heat through.
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the chicken mixture. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
We absolutely loved this - all of us! And you cannot believe how easy this was to throw together. I had 3/4 lb of chicken in the freezer so I used that, and I didn't need to adjust any of the ingredients. This is similar to another favorite or ours,chicken, broccoli and sun-dried tomato stir fry, but definitely not the same. The leftovers were delicious the next day; I look forward to making this again!
Super Crispy Baked French Fries
Ingredients
* 4-5 russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch thick fries
* 5 tbsp oil, divided
* 1 tbsp cornstarch
* 1 tsp salt
Directions
1. Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. Place the potatoes in a large bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave the potatoes for 2 minutes. Shake the potatoes and then microwave for an additional 2 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to a cooling rack and blot the potatoes dry with paper towels.
3. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with 4 tbsp of oil. Place the baking sheet in the oven to heat the oil, for 4-5 minutes.
4. Mix one tbsp of oil with the cornstarch and salt. Add the potatoes to the oil mixture and toss them to coat.
5. Carefully arrange the potatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
6. When finished baking transfer the potatoes to a towel lined plate and blot with additional paper towels. Move the potatoes to a bowl and serve while hot. Enjoy!
Notes
Wow - these were incredibly crispy! I was hesitant to try these fries out given the amount of oil for them to cook in, but in the end decided to to give the recipe a try. They were such a hit that I am glad I did! In the future I will try with a little less oil and will update this recipe posting if I have success!
Friday, September 5, 2014
Septemeber 5, 2014
Oh my...I almost missed posting this week! That is one of the good parts about the fall...getting back on a regular schedule. Certainly it is tough to get back in the swing of things - athletic schedules resume, homework piles up, the sunlight fades quicker and quicker each evening. But a schedule and some organization...that helps the whole house run smoother. Typically I draft the keeper recipes as they are found and then on Fridays I write my musing and it is easy to post. But when I get behind I feel the pressure to get it published...it is "due" Friday evening. Ha!
In any case, this week we had one keeper: crispy potatoes. We had them with dinner and everyone enjoyed them. As I mentioned in an earlier post all the kids discovered breakfast potatoes while we vacationed out east. These potatoes were outstanding and would be good for both breakfast or dinner.
Soccer gets underway this weekend, and our little Lima Bean is playing on a team for the first time! It should be really fun to watch and the weather is predicted to be fantastic! The O-man also has his first game, and Miss Banana is reffing a rec game tomorrow. We'll be at the fields all morning!
Not sure what we're cooking this week, but hopefully we'll get at least one keeper!
Happy Cooking!
New Recipe
Crispy Potatoes
In any case, this week we had one keeper: crispy potatoes. We had them with dinner and everyone enjoyed them. As I mentioned in an earlier post all the kids discovered breakfast potatoes while we vacationed out east. These potatoes were outstanding and would be good for both breakfast or dinner.
Soccer gets underway this weekend, and our little Lima Bean is playing on a team for the first time! It should be really fun to watch and the weather is predicted to be fantastic! The O-man also has his first game, and Miss Banana is reffing a rec game tomorrow. We'll be at the fields all morning!
Not sure what we're cooking this week, but hopefully we'll get at least one keeper!
Happy Cooking!
New Recipe
Crispy Potatoes
Crispy Potatoes
Ingredients
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 4-6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
* 1 small onion, finely diced
* kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 3 tbsp water
* 1 tbsp unsalted butter
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. In a large saute pan heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the potato cubes and onion and season with salt and pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
3. Turn up the heat to high and add the water. Stir and then cover with a lid. Steam the potatoes until the water evaporates about 4 minutes. TO ensue that the potatoes don't stick (or don't stick too much) open the lid and quickly stir every minute or two while the water is evaporating.
4. Lower the heat to medium, remove the lid and allow all, or nearly all, the remaining water the evaporate.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter to the potatoes. Toss to coat. Spread the potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 25-40 minutes, checking to see when they have reached your desired level of color and crispness. Transfer the potatoes to a serving bowl and enjoy!
Notes
These were outstanding potatoes. I did think they were a bit messy when I turned them onto the baking sheet - definitely not all of the potatoes had retained their cube shape during the course of this cooking, but they were all fabulous when it was time to eat! So while they were a little involved, I do believe they were worth the effort as they were so incredibly scrumptious!)
Friday, August 29, 2014
August 29, 2014
Another week, another taste test! You know me...I love to try out several versions of a recipe and try to find the best. Because our garden is producing so many tomatoes this year that I decided to make 3 fresh tomato sauce recipes. One was based on our usual sauce, one was from Giada, and one was based on a quick marinara that we make. Hmmm...we didn't really love them; no keepers among them. But, we still have more tomatoes coming so perhaps we'll still find one.
We did make scratch meatballs to use with the sauce taste test dinner, and they were an amazing hit, voted to unanimous keeper status. They are made the way my mom makes them, though I had never made them this way before. Now I doubt I'll make them any other way again! Super easy, and super delicious. They are fall apart tender without falling apart...you'll have to make them to see what I mean!
A few new recipes in the works for the week ahead...we'll see what pans out!
Happy Cooking
New Recipe
Mom's Meatballs
We did make scratch meatballs to use with the sauce taste test dinner, and they were an amazing hit, voted to unanimous keeper status. They are made the way my mom makes them, though I had never made them this way before. Now I doubt I'll make them any other way again! Super easy, and super delicious. They are fall apart tender without falling apart...you'll have to make them to see what I mean!
A few new recipes in the works for the week ahead...we'll see what pans out!
Happy Cooking
New Recipe
Mom's Meatballs
Mom's Meatballs
Ingredients
* 1 lb ground beef
* 1/4 cup tomato sauce
* 1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
* 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
* salt and pepper
Directions
1. Place a piece of tinfoil on a cookie sheet and then place a rack on top. Spray the rack with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Form small meatballs from the mixture and place them on the rack. Bake the meatballs for approximately 12 minutes or until browned and coked through.
4. Use with your favorite pasta sauce or for meatball subs, or however you want to!
Notes
Talk about easy and delicious! The absence of egg in the meat mixture creates a more tender texture to the finished meatball. The breadcrumbs and cheese help bind the meat, and cooking them in the oven ensures they get cooked through. Add more or less of the ingredients as you desire, or change the ground beef to chicken, turkey or venison. This recipe can be your jumping off point! Enjoy!
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