From Colorado Classique

1 small eggplant, sliced into 1/4 in. thick rounds

6-8 T. olive oil, divided

2 t. salt, divided

1 t. ground black pepper, divided

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 in. slices

1 15 oz. can crushed tomatoes (sauce)

2 6 oz. packages sliced mozzarella cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

1/4 c. lightly packed fresh basil leaves

Preheat broiler. Coat both sides of eggplant rounds with some of the olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange eggplant on a baking sheet and broil about 5 minutes on each side or until browned; set aside. Turn oven to 425 degrees. Heat 1 T. olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper and saute in hot oil. Layer a greased baking dish with half of eggplant, half of chicken, half of tomatoes, half of mozzarella cheese, half of Parmesan cheese, and half of basil leaves. Repeat layers. Drizzle top with 1/2 T. oilve oil. Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 min. Let stand 5 min. before serving.

This recipe further proves my theory that people don’t like vegetables because they insist on boiling all the flavor and texture out of them.  If you haven’t tried roasted cauliflower, do it!  Then try mashed cauliflower…you won’t believe it!

This recipe was pretty good!  The cauliflower part was awesome.  The dressing is good on it, but I think next time I will just roast the cauliflower, squeeze some lime juice over it, and sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top.

Roasted Cauliflower with Cilantro Dressing
Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 small bunch cilantro (leaves and delicate stems), roughly chopped
2 small cloves garlic. roughly chopped

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 425°F with a rack in the center. Wash and thoroughly dry the cauliflower and cut into large florets.

2. In a small bowl, combine the two tablespoons olive oil, chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Place the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and toss well with the oil mixture. Roast for 25 minutes, turning once with a spatula mid-roasting.

3. While the cauliflower roasts, combine the extra-virgin olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, cilantro, garlic, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender. Blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as necessary.

4. Drizzle the roasted cauliflower with the dressing and serve immediately.

I thought this looked like a different type of dinner roll, so I made them this weekend.  I was pleased with the result, even though I added a little too much flour (rookie mistake – dangit!) and I had to buy store-bought pesto.  (Remember how I can’t buy fresh basil here?)  What I didn’t notice in the grocery store is that the cheap folks in the Kroger Private Selection kitchen put SPINACH in their pesto, and I’m sure it’s not to enhance the flavor!  So, I would love to taste this with the real stuff.  Anyway, here’s the recipe.  I followed it to a T.

Pesto Rolls

Sweet Savory Life

Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water (115 degrees F)
1/2 cup warm milk (115 degrees F)
1 egg (room temperature), slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4-5 cups bread flour
1 (.25 ounce) package (2 1/4 tsp) instant dry yeast
1/2 cup pesto (Savory Sweet Life pesto recipe)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
*Dough can be kneaded by hand, bread machine, or KitchenAid Mixer using the dough hook.  However, directions below are written for a KitchenAid.

*You can also use store bought frozen dinner roll dough and pesto to save time!

Directions:

Place water, milk, egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt in a K.A mixing bowl.  Add 4 cups of flour on top of all the liquid mixture sprinkling yeast on top.  Using the dough hook, knead bread mixture on speed 3 until dough is smooth and elastic adding additional flour as needed (approx. 5-7 min.).  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel.  Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour in a warm area.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle slightly larger than a 9×13 pan (rectangle).  Spread surface evenly with pesto and sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese on top.  Beginning with the long side, roll dough pinching the seam to seal.  Cut into 12 equal slices and place them in a greased muffin tin, cut side up.  Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from muffin cups and serve warm. Enjoy!

I made this recipe last night– great Sunday dinner!!! I love Chicken Pot Pie, but always worry about the fat/salt/calorie count. This recipe is better than most I’ve seen.  It’s from Real Simple, with my adaptations!

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 4 carrots, diced
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1.5 cups skim milk
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 10-ounce package frozen peas
• 3/4 tablespoon fresh thyme
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 9-inch store-bought piecrust, thawed if frozen

Here is a great recipe that’s super easy and Will and I love to eat.  If you can’t find Greek yogurt (which I never can), take 1.5 times the amount of yogurt recipe calls for and put on a paper towel inside a sieve.  Let the yogurt drain for 4 hours over a bowl to thickent the yogurt. This will help the consistency of the yogurt.  I can never get the recipe to stay in patty form, so I just cook it like ground beef and we put it into the pitas like that.

Lamb or Chicken Pita Pockets

Recipe Courtesy Rachael Ray, www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• Handful cilantro leaves
• Handful mint leaves
• Handful basil leaves
• 1 cup Greek style plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon cumin, a palm full
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grill seasoning blend, 1 1/3 palm fulls (recommended: McCormick Montreal Seasoning)
• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or ground lamb
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 4 pita pockets
• 1 cup mango chutney
• 8 leaves tender lettuce

Directions

Place the herbs in a food processor and pulse grind them into a fine chop. In a bowl combine the herbs, yogurt, cumin and grill seasoning. Add the meat and mix to combine. Form into 4 large, very thin patties. Wash up and preheat a large nonstick skillet with a couple tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook patties 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Heat a small second skillet over high heat and blister the pitas on each side. Cut tops off the bread and fill pita pockets with patties, lettuce and chutney.

Thai Chicken from the Slow Cooking Cookbook

8 chicken thighs (about 2 lbs. skinned)

3/4 C. hot salsa

1/4 C. peanut butter

2 T. lime juice

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. grated fresh gingerroot

1/4 C. chopped peanuts

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients except peanuts and cilantro; pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat setting 8-9 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from  cooker, using slotted spoon; place pieces on serving platter.

Remove fat from sauce. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro.

(I used 1/2 C. chili sauce, some onions, green peppers and 1 T. Asian chili sauce for the salsa. Also, I used chicken breasts which got pretty dry.)

I married Will, knowing full well that he had one major flaw (okay, maybe more, but I won’t throw him under the bus too much…slow Wilbur). His flaw: adamant claims, “squash is the most inedible vegetable known to man.”  So I made this recipe, which is now one of our favorites (take note of the first two ingredients):

Garden Full of Goodness Lasagna

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, www.foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cups thinly sliced zucchini
• 2 cups thinly sliced yellow squash
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrot
• 1 cup thinly sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cups small cottage cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 8 oven-ready, “no cook,” lasagna noodles
• 12 slices provolone cheese, thinly sliced
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Combine zucchini, squash, carrot, mushrooms, onion and peppers with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain well, and reserve.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, and eggs. Stir together.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce evenly over bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish. Place 4 uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Do not overlap noodles. Spread 1/2 of cream cheese mixture over noodles. Cover cheese mixture with 1/2 the vegetable mixture, more sauce, and top evenly with 6 slices provolone cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers with 4 noodles, rest of the cream cheese mixture, vegetables, sauce, and remaining cheeses. Place in oven for 35 minutes or until lasagna is hot and bubbling

Let lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Now we eat squash often prepared just about any way you can think…except Zucchini Nachos…yuck!!! So last week I had a craving for Spaghetti Squash (strange, I know). I convined Will I thought I could make it really yummy…guess what? He liked it! He even ate seconds! When you doctor it up with a lot of goodness, it can taste really good:

Spaghetti Squash Goodness

Modified from a recipe at allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. To microwave squash, cut in half and seed. Place 1/4-inch water in a microwave safe dish. Place squash in dish, cut sides down — sides will overlap. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high power 13 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm.
3. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

My next quest, butternut squash…

I finally cooked! And I used the simplest recipe I could find. And I didn’t change a thing, except I have a small oven so I have a small baking dish so I had to use less ingredients. I still used 3 apples with my 5 slices of bread and it was nice and appley. I wouldn’t recommend cutting down on the apples. I also didn’t measure the sugar, so I bet I bet I used a bit less than 1 cup. So actually, I did change it, a little. Mine came out nice and mushy and sugar-y, but you gotta really bake it if you want those crusty corners to fight over with your guests. That’s what I intend to do next time.

Here’s the recipe courtesy of Pioneer Woman:

Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8

Ingredients
3 whole Apples, Preferably Granny Smith
7 slices Wheat Bread
¾ cups Regular Salted Butter
1-½ cup Packed Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons (to 4 Tablespoons) Water
Preparation Instructions
Peel and thinly slice 3 apples. Slice bread into a small dice, or tear into very small pieces.
Coat a small baking dish or pie plate with butter. Then add 1/3 of the brown sugar, 1/3 of the apple slices, and 1/3 of the breadcrumbs. Repeat these layers twice more, ending with breadcrumbs.
Slice butter and lay slices all over the top of the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle dish with water and a little more brown sugar, and bake in a 375-degree oven, covered in foil, until done – about 45 minutes. Remove foil in last few minutes of baking to brown the top.

Betsy and I enjoyed some queso this afternoon and she encouraged me to post it on here. I give credit to my mom for this simple recipe.

What you need:

1 can Rotel

1/2 block Velveeta

1 can evaporated milk (this keeps the queso nice and creamy)

1 tbsp butter

1 clove of garlic

Dice up the 1/2 block of Velveeta into about 1 cm squares. Mince the garlic and saute it with the butter in a saucepan for a few minutes. Open up the can of Rotel and drain out the liquid. Now put the diced Velveeta, can of drained rotel, and the whole can of the evaporated milk into the saucepan and set the heat to medium. Constantly stir the mixture until all of the Velveeta squares are melted. Enjoy!

This queso is extremely addictive so be sure to only pour as much as you really intend on eating into a bowl and eat it from there. If you put too big of a bowl in front of you, you WILL end up eating it all 🙂

Make Your Man Happy, Meal 3

I’ve made three meals that have gone into the Matthew Parker “Chicken Parmesan Hall of Fame.” Chicken Parmesan is the first, obviously. Tortellini Soup was the second, and last night’s was the third.

Matt had suggested teriyaki chicken, so I got to work. I found this recipe from my ex-boyfriend Tyler Florence. (We had a long relationship in the early days of Food Network, but we had to part ways when he started shilling for Applebee’s.) Anyway, this teriyaki sauce served as a great marinade, and I saved half, added a little more orange juice, and cooked it down to more of a glaze. My only change might be to use less soy sauce because it was bit salty for the Wilhelm palate. I think the chicken was in a 375 oven for about 45 minutes, covered for half the time, with the marinade in the dish to keep in moist.

Fried rice was the side dish, modified from the blog Steamy Kitchen. I didn’t use the crab or the sausage, and just started by cooking the eggs, then adding ginger, oil, frying the onions, then rice, then veggies. It has fish sauce in it, but don’t tell Matt! Using day-old rice was the key here! It was great, and super easy.

Here are the recipes! Enjoy!

Teriyaki Sauce

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup soy sauce
* 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
* 2 oranges, juiced
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
* 1/2 cup scallion, chopped
* 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour. May also be used as a great marinade for chicken, shrimp or beef.

Fried Rice
1 can crab (6-8oz)
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (grate on rasp grater)
1 teaspoon cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt & Pepper
2 Eggs, beaten
3 cups cooked rice, break up the chunks
2 stalks green onions minced
1/2 cup frozen vegetable mixture (peas/corn/carrot) – defrosted for 15 min
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 cup diced Chinese sausage
1 teasp cooking wine

1. Marinate the Crab: Drain all the water from the can of crab meat. Marinate the grated fresh ginger, cooking wine, sesame oil.

2. Fry Sausage, Crab & Eggs: Heat up your wok to medium-high. Add the Chinese sausage to the wok, turn the heat down to med-low. Cook until the sausage releases its fat – about 5 minutes. Remove sausage, leaving as much oil in wok as possible. Turn heat to med-high. Add eggs to wok. Add crab to wok. Fry the mixture gently until eggs cooked through but still very soft. Remove, leaving as much oil in wok as possible.

3. Fry Rice: You should have about 1T of oil in the wok. If not, add cooking oil to the wok. Turn heat to high. Once the wok is very, very hot, add green onions, stir fry for 15 seconds. Add the rice – breaking up as many chunks at possible. Let the rice heat up in the wok. Add vegetables. Stir-fry until all is hot. Add fish sauce, soy, salt & pepper Add the Chinese sausage, egg/crab mixture. Stir fry until all ingredients are combined and steaming hot.