Eating the Alphabet Challenge: Tony's Breakfast Couscous

It's time once again for the Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  Each month we are given a set of letters and are challenged to make a dish using a fruit, vegetable, grain, or legume that begins with one of the letters.  This month's letters were C and D.  Last year I made this Roasted Cauliflower Risotto.  I thought that I'd try for "D" this year but then I found this couscous recipe that looked good, so I ended up making it instead.  The original recipe called for nonfat dry milk but provided substitutions so you could use fat-free milk instead.  Unfortunately, I cannot have dairy in the morning on an empty stomach.  I wouldn't call myself lactose intolerant, but feel the symptoms only if I have dairy in the morning on an empty stomach.  So I used soymilk in this recipe.  I also eliminated the walnuts that the original recipe called for.  I'm not a huge nut fan and walnuts are probably one of my least favorites.  I think pecans might be tasty in this though.  I made this over the weekend and it ended up being more like brunch for me by the time I got up and made it!  I was pleasantly surprised when my son, who is a pretty picky eater, tried this and liked it!  Normally he doesn't eat couscous when I make it.  But the cinnamon, brown sugar, cranberries, and raisins sweetened this up, and he likes sweet! He ended up having this for lunch with a cheese stick and a yogurt!  This was super easy to prepare and can be adapted to any ingredients that you want to add/take out.  This was a breakfast dish that I can see myself making again.  If you're interested in joining the Eating the Alphabet Challenge click here!

Tony's Breakfast Couscous
recipe adapted from Cooking Light, May 2006

Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup uncooked couscous
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Bring water and milk to a boil in a small saucepan; stir in remaining ingredients. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. (Mixture will thicken as it cools.)

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Goat Cheese

Last weekend we went down to NYC to attend a free Kids Food Festival in Bryant Park, which was sponsored in part by Cooking Light and the James Beard Foundation.  We could have bought tickets to see cooking demos, from chefs like Ellie Krieger and Jehangir Mehta.  Unfortunately, at $20 a ticket, I didn't think they were quite old enough to really appreciate seeing the chefs or eat what they were making.....maybe next year!  But we had lots of fun going to different booths and trying different snack foods, getting their booklets stamped, and dancing with "Baby Loves Disco."  I wish the weather was a little warmer because we would have stayed longer.  There were several free demonstrations and performances, but since the festival was outside, it was a bit chilly.  We ended up leaving after about two hours and met up with my brother-in-law, who lives down in the city and went out to lunch.  Before we left, we had watched a demo from cookbook author Katie Workman, who made tacos and edamame. Workman was pointing out that tacos are a great kid-friendly food because kids can help prepare the ingredients and then choose what they want to put on their own tacos.  My go-to quick Mexican type meal though is quesadillas.  There are so many different combos you can make, both with meat or without, like this version. 

I don't know if it's a texture thing or what, but I don't like most types of beans.  Only over the past year or so have I started liking black beans.  But have I mentioned how much I LOVE goat cheese?  I think I'd like these, even if I didn't like black beans, because goat cheese makes everything taste better!  Really though these quesadillas were super tasty!  My son loves all kinds of cheese and black beans....so he liked these.  My daughter on the other hand does not really like cheese.  She's usually really good about eating what she needs to to get a treat, and she ended up eating three pieces of this quesadilla.  I served this with yellow rice and some veggies to complete the meal.

Black Bean Quesadillas with Goat Cheese
recipe from Cooking Light, June 2001

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (19-ounce) can black beans, undrained
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 (4-ounce) package goat cheese, crumbled
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup salsa

Directions:
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa, cumin, and beans, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until thick. Mash the bean mixture slightly with a potato masher. Remove from heat; stir in the cilantro and goat cheese.

Spread the bean mixture evenly over 4 tortillas; top each with 1 tortilla, pressing gently.

Heat 1/4 teaspoon olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 quesadilla, and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Repeat the procedure with the remaining olive oil and quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges. Serve with fat-free sour cream and 1/2 cup salsa.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Foodtastic Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Classic Meatloaf

I enjoy and have made all kinds of meatloaves.  Italian-inspired, asian-inspired, etc.  However, I don't think there's anything like the "classic" meatloaf that we've all grown up with.  Nothing fancy, just some meat and spices.  I hadn't made a classic meatloaf (I don't want to call it "plain" because it's not!) in so long.  I know some people like to add oats to their meatloaf to bump up the health factor.  Growing up, my dad made a meatloaf like that once and I still have bad memories of it!  So that's one ingredient that I will never add to my meatloaf!  Going through some old Cooking Light Annual cookbooks I found this recipe.  Minus the fact that I don't make home-made bread crumbs.....why have to take the food processor down from the upstairs closet and then clean all those parts.....and I buy the pre-packaged meatloaf meat mixture, this recipe seemed pretty "classic" to me.  This was easy to put together and the kids loved it.  When my daughter asks for seconds and my son eats ALL of his dinner, I know I have a winner!  Meatloaf is not a meal that I consider for a busy weeknight meal.  However, this would make a great dish for a lazy weekend, winter dinner!

Classic Meatloaf
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, March 2006

Ingredients:

1 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
approx. 1 1/2  lb. pkg meatloaf mix (or you can use 2/3 lb. lean ground beef, 1/2 lb. ground veal, and 6 oz. lean ground pork)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

In a small frying pan saute heat butter until melted over medium heat.  Add onion and saute approximately 5 minutes until translucent. Let cool. 

Combine breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons ketchup and remaining ingredients except cooking spray.

Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining 6 tablespoons ketchup over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 10 minutes. Cut the loaf into 12 slices.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Simple Clam Chowder

As I mentioned in my last post, I made Apple Cheese Beer Bread to go with this chowder.  Since to me, soup is not a meal, I need to serve it with either a sandwich, grilled cheese, or bread.  My parents have a house in Rhode Island.  Unfortunately, we usually just end up visiting over the summer, even though they live there on and off throughout the year.  Part of every visit to "the beach house" includes a lunch of New England Clam Chowder and an order of clam cakes (a.k.a. clam fritters).  Taking my first spoonful of this soup totally brought back memories of our summer lunches.  This soup was easy to put together and was super tasty!  I was kind of surprised with the recipe coming from Cooking Light. In the past I've tried to make other chowder type recipes from the magazine and have found them to be less creamy tasting to keep them "light."  This recipe totally did not feel like I was sacrificing taste for calories.  I posted the original recipe amounts.  However, I ended up halving everything since the recipe below yields approximately 12 servings.  Just a note that even halved, with 3 cans of chopped clams, resulted in this soup having LOTS of clams.  Not that we were complaining, but it might be a little over-whelming for some people!  This will definitely be a go-to recipe whenever I'm feeling a little nostalgic for Rhode Island!

Simple Clam Chowder
recipe from Cooking Light, January 2008

Yield:  12 (1 cup) servings

Ingredients:
2 bacon slices
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 (6 1/2-ounce) cans chopped clams, undrained
5 cups diced peeled baking potato (about 1 pound)
4 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
1 bay leaf
3 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 teaspoon drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside. Add onion, celery, salt, thyme, and garlic to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Drain clams, reserving liquid. Add clam liquid, potato, clam juice, and bay leaf to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Discard bay leaf.

Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 12 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add clams; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with bacon.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

This post is shared at:
Manic Monday Party @ Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Tempt My Tummyy Tuesdays @ Blessed with Grace

Prosciutto-Mozza Pizza

It's been awhile since I've posted a pizza recipe.  We've still been eating it just about weekly in our house and I'm always on the look out for new recipes!  I had this recipe ripped out of an old Cooking Light Magazine and finally decided to try it.  I don't know why I didn't try it earlier.  It's only five ingredients, including fresh mozarella and prosciutto......yum?!!!  This was really simple but really tasty!  I will definitely be making this pizza again!

Prosciutto-Mozza Pizza
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, June 2012

Ingredients:
1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
2/3 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Directions:
1. Place a pizza stone or heavy baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

2. Roll the dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface, and pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Carefully remove pizza stone from oven and place dough on pizza stone. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border; top with cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 14 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is lightly browned. Remove from oven; brush outer crust with olive oil. Arrange prosciutto over pizza. Cut into 6 large slices.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Might Have Missed Monday: Sweet Potato Chicken Curry

Here's another recipe that you "Might Have Missed."  This is a recipe that my husband, The Weekend Chef, made last November.  From my original post, I remember that I did not read this recipe in its entirety before I had my husband start making this at 6:30 at night.  It takes some time and is not a weeknight meal.  However, it's hearty and tasty! It does have a little "kick" to it and because he started it so late, the kids did not eat this, but we really enjoyed it!

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry
recipe from Cooking Light, November 2009

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
3/4 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Diretions:
1. Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add peas; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is being shared at:
Manic Monday @ Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling
The Bulletin Board @ Mrs. Happy Homemaker
Tasty Tuesdays @ 33 Shades of Green
Totally Tasty Tuesdays @ Mandy's Recipe Box
Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home

Might Have Missed Monday: Onion Tart

This was a recipe that I made for my husband and I over a year ago, knowing that the kids wouldn't eat it.  It was really good and I wanted to share it with you in case you might have missed it.

Onion Tart
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, April 2011

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large sweet onions
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, salt, and pepper; cook 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Roll dough out on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle feta cheese in center, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border; top with onion. Sprinkle with Swiss cheese. Fold piecrust border up and over onion mixture, pleating as you go, leaving a 6-inch-wide opening. Combine egg and 2 tablespoons water; brush over dough. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool for 10 minutes.

Mom & Dad rating: 2 thumbs up!

Caramelized-Onion Lasagna with Gorgonzola Sauce

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.  We hosted Christmas with both my family and my husband's family.  I just realized now that with all of the hustle and bustle of trying to get the food ready and on the table at the same time, that I didn't take any pics of the dishes! :(  I also realize that as the holidays wind down now, that many people, including myself, are thinking about eating healthier and lighter fare.  However, maybe you can squeeze this dish in before the end of the year! 

A couple of weekends ago we were home making gingerbread houses with the kids.  I had the time so I thought that I'd make this dish, which I've had bookmarked for awhile.  I love caramelized onions and with the added gorgonzola sauce I thought it sounded really good.....and it was! I was surprised at how well the two ingredients paired together.  Now the original recipe calls for fresh zucchini.  I had sent my husband to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients to make the gingerbread houses and also asked him to pick up a zucchini.  He came home with a cucumber though!  Luckily, I had a bag of zucchini/squash in the freezer and defrosted and used that instead. This was definitely a weekend-type meal, where I wasn't concerned with and also had lots of time to make this.  This also isn't a dish that I'd make often, but it was a tasty dinner for my husband and I.  Onions and gorgonzola....not my children's favorite ingredients!  So for them I just cooked up some extra lasagna noodles and served with butter and cheese. 

Caramelized-Onion Lasagna with Gorgonzola Sauce
Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, April 2001

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter, divided
8 cups thinly sliced onion (about 2 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bag frozen, sliced zucchini and squash, defrosted
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated fat-free milk
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese
Cooking spray
12 cooked lasagna noodles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Melt 2 teaspoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, thyme, salt, and pepper; cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the wine; cook 2 minutes or until wine evaporates. Spoon into a bowl; cool.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the zucchini and squash; cook 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from pan. Add remaining zucchini; cook 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 5 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add Gorgonzola ; stir until cheese melts.

Spread 1/4 cup cheese sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles slightly overlapping over cheese sauce; top with half of onion mixture, half of zucchini, and 1 cup cheese sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread the remaining cheese sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Might Have Missed Monday: Monkey Bars

I have decided to repost some of my favorite/most popular posts from when I first started my blog over a year ago. I've posted almost a new recipe every day since beginning this blog. I've had a lot of new followers recently, so there's sure to be some great recipes you might have missed! I first posted this recipe on November 9, 2011.

Somehow, bananas always seem to get too ripe before being eaten in my house. I usually throw them in a ziploc bag and keep them in the freezer until I need the freezer space or think that they need to be thrown out. After a recent grocery shopping trip my husband, annoyed, after doing the "freezer shuffle" pulled out a bag of ripe bananas and declared that he was, "going to do something with these." I jokingly said, "you mean I will do something with them." But I guess I wasn't joking. I whipped these up on Monday afternoon after searching for a banana recipe that I hadn't tried yet. Overall, these were a hit! I didn't have buttermilk, so I used regular 1% milk. I omitted the walnuts and to make these kid-friendly, I used the apple juice instead of rum. These were delicious and super-moist!

Monkey Bars
recipe from Cooking Light,  October 2001

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum or apple juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
3 tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the raisins and rum in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at high for 1 minute, and set aside. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 3 ingredients (flour through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana and next 3 ingredients (banana through egg whites), beating well. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in raisin mixture and walnuts.

Spread the batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool the bars completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

This post is shared at:
Mangia Mondays @ Delightfully Dowling
The Bulletin Board @ Mrs. Happy HomeMaker

Three Cheese White Pizza with Spinach

Here is another pizza recipe.  This was made a couple of weeks ago. Pizza is made almost every week in our house.....but I don't want to over-do it with the pizza postings!  This is another vegetarian based pizza.  One that I knew the kids wouldn't like since they don't eat spinach. This was made during a week of other recipes that used ricotta.  I hate buying the big container of ricotta for one recipe and then throwing the rest out. I've tried to become more resourceful with ingredients and my cooking throughout the week.  Overall, this wasn't bad.....I don't think any pizza can be!  It wasn't one of our favorites but my husband and I did enjoy it.

Three Cheese White Pizza with Spinach
recipe from Cooking Light, June 2012

Ingredients:
1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup)
2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:
1. Remove the dough from refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature, covered, for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat pizza stone in oven to 450°
3. Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and sliced garlic in a large skillet. Heat over medium-high heat 1 1/2 minutes or until the garlic begins to sizzle. Add 6 cups spinach; sauté 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Set aside.

4. Combine cheeses, milk, and minced garlic in a bowl.

5. Roll dough into a 14-inch circle on a lightly floured surface, and pierce entire surface liberally with a fork. Place dough on pizza stone. Spread cheese mixture over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Bake at 500° for 10 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is lightly browned. Top with spinach; bake an additional 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from oven; brush outer crust with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil. Cut into 6 large slices.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Chili-Cheese Mac

I don't like most beans, especially kidney beans.  So even though chili is a perfect slow cooker and fall/winter meal I have rarely, if ever made it.  Then I found this recipe for chili-cheese mac.  Unfortunately, I only realized just now that I don't have a picture of the dish (but you can click on the Cooking Light link below to see). However, the kids enjoyed it a lot so I thought that I'd still post it.  Now this dish had a little kick to it from the chili powder and tomatoes with chiles.  I was afraid the kids weren't going to eat it.  They did notice the spice but just asked for more to drink and continued to eat.  If my son eats his entire dinner it's worthy of a 2 thumbs up rating!  However, I only gave this one 1 1/2 because I didn't think it was too special.  It was definitely quick and easy and it was the second recipe that I've made recently that cookedd the pasta in the same pot as the other ingredients in the dish. 

Chili-Cheese Mac
recipe from Cooking Light, April 2012

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon canola oil
3/4 pound ground round
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium beef broth
1 cup water
1 (10-ounce) can mild diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1/2 cup fat-free milk
4 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
4 1/2 ounces finely shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add beef and next 4 ingredients; cook 3 minutes. Add broth, water, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Stir in macaroni; cover and cook 10 minutes or until macaroni is done.

2. Heat milk and cream cheese in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook 4 minutes or until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in cheddar. Add cheese sauce to macaroni mixture; toss well to coat.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Chicken with Honey-Beer Sauce

Each week I sit and spend too much time planning the weekly dinner menu.  Between my bookmarked favorites from food blogs, cookbooks, and recipes torn out of magazines it can be quite overwhelming!   I try to have one meatless meal, one pasta dish, one chicken dish, etc.  Sometimes, I add in breakfast for dinner and sometimes when I'm really lazy it's leftovers.  Chicken is a weekly staple, mainly because it's cheap and versatile.  I especially like quick chicken dinners and this one fits the bill.  The kids really enjoyed the combination of the honey and the mustard.   And this dish was super quick and easy to make. 

Chicken with Honey-Beer Sauce
recipe from Cooking Light, September 2012

Ingredients:
2 tsps. canola oil
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots
1/2 cup beer
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions:
1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with pepper and salt. Add chicken to pan; sauté 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add shallots to pan; cook 1 minute or until translucent. Combine beer and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add beer mixture to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 3 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Return chicken to pan; turn to coat with sauce. Sprinkle evenly with parsley.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Braised Chicken with Kale

Being a stay-at-home mom allows me to use the dutch oven during the week.  I rarely use it though because our after school schedule is crazy and using the dutch oven often requires hours of supervised cooking time that I don't usually have.  However, a few days ago we had a relaxing Friday afternoon, so I made this dish.  This is a real low-cost meal.  Chicken quarters are so cheap!  Braising makes the chicken really tender and it easily comes off the bone.  I haven't really cooked or eaten kale a lot so this gave me another opportunity to try it out.  Unfortunately, none of us were big fans of this dish.  I liked the sauce that the kale was in, but the chicken didn't end up with a lot of flavor.  Overall, this was only a so-so dish for us.

Braised Chicken with Kale
recipe from Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
4 chicken leg quarters, skinned
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (16-ounce) package cut prewashed kale
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Sprinkle the chicken with black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place flour in a dish, and dredge chicken. Place 2 leg quarters in pan, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining 2 leg quarters. Remove from pan.

3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add garlic; cook for 20 seconds. Add half of kale; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining half of kale; cook 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; stir in vinegar. Serve chicken over kale mixture.

Family Rating: So-so.

Turkey Apple Swiss Melt

I have a feeling that sandwiches are going to be a go-to dinner for us soon.  They are usually really quick to make and I can serve them with soup, since I can't eat just soup for dinner.  Cold fall and winter nights are perfect for a soup and sandwich dinner combo.  I haven't made any soup yet, but I recently made this sandwich.  When I was growing up grilled cheese involved the yellow american cheese slices in the plastic wrapper, which was never my favorite.  There are so many types of cheese/bread combos out there the choices are endless!  Unfortunately, I have a daughter who doesn't really like cheese....unless it's on pizza.  She does like turkey and apples and that's why I made this recipe.  I made hers without the cheeese and the rest of us had it as the recipe directed. I even had mine without the honey mustard sauce since I don't like mustard very much.  Sandwiches = easy customization!  The flavors of this sandwich worked well together.  The tart apple, sweet turkey, and tangy swiss.  This was an easy and tasty sandwich perfect for a quick weeknight dinner.

Turkey Apple Swiss Melt
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, September 2012

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
8 (1-ounce) slices bread
4 (1-ounce) slices Swiss cheese
5 ounces thinly sliced Granny Smith apple (about 1 small)
8 ounces thinly sliced maple turkey breast
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Combine mustard and honey in a small bowl. Spread one side of each of 4 bread slices with 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard mixture. Place one cheese slice on dressed side of bread slices; top each with 5 apple slices and 2 ounces turkey. Top sandwiches with remaining 4 bread slices. Coat both sides of sandwiches with cooking spray. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sandwiches to pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until bread is browned and cheese melts.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Recipe Repeat: Border-Style Shrimp

I have always loved trying new recipes.  I have kept track of the recipes I have made in a notebook since 2008!  I have the date, recipe, and the source.  And by most of the recipes I have a star rating.  I have decided to go back to some of the recipes that I gave high star ratings to see if my tastes have changed and if the kids enjoy the recipes (since my 4 year old son wasn't even born for some of these recipes!).  I'm not sure where this particular recipe is in the notebook, but I had kept it in a folder of "recipe repeats"......meaning it was good enough when I first made it that I wanted to keep it to make again.  My kids enjoy shrimp and I hadn't made it in awhile.  The thing I like about shrimp is that I can buy a 2lb. frozen bag at the grocery store.  They are easy to defrost (although the de-shelling can take some time) and super quick to cook.  I served these shrimp with this Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa.  The kids enjoyed the shrimp and it was super-easy.

Border-Style Shrimp
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, December 2003

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups chopped white onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

Preparation:
Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, shrimp, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and add butter. Stir until the butter melts. Stir in lime juice and green onions.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Banana Chocolate French Toast

My daughter started 1st grade in the beginning of September.  I made her Snickerdoodle Brownies as a special snack for after school.  But I also wanted to make her a special dinner to celebrate.  The kids love breakfast for dinner so I decided to make this recipe that I had torn out of Cooking Light a few months ago.  Of course they loved it!  Bananas and chocolate....for dinner?!!  I did opt not to add the powdered sugar to these. The recipe is from Cooking Light so it can't be that bad for you, right?!  I served these with some breakfast sausage and fruit.  Of course the kids ate everything on their plates!

Banana Chocolate French Toast
recipe from Cooking Light, May 2012

Ingredients:
1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole-grain bread
4 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)
1 cup thinly sliced banana (about 8 ounces)
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar

Directions:
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish.

2. Spread each of 3 bread slices with 1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread; arrange 1/3 cup banana slices over each bread slice. Top sandwiches with remaining 3 bread slices.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working with 1 sandwich at a time, place into milk mixture, turning gently to coat both sides. Carefully place coated sandwiches into pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Meatless Monday: Baked Ziti and Summer Veggies

I can spend hours looking for, sorting, and organizing my recipes.  I have pages and pages of ripped out recipes from the various food and cooking magazines that I've subscribed to over the years.  I have most of them organized my dish (appetizer, dessert, main course, etc.) in labeled manila folders.  However, I recently took it one step further and organized the main dish recipes into spring/summer and fall/winter.  This is how I came upon this recipe that I tore out of Cooking Light from last July!  Summer veggies.....August.....perfect!  Unfortunately, my kids are not summer veggie eaters.  But after their mandatory try a bite, they were easily able to pick out the veggies from this dish.  My husband really enjoyed this, while I thought it was okay.  Meaning, I won't be making it again!  If you have a bounty of leftover veggies from the garden this is a good dish to use some of them in.  

Baked Ziti and Summer Veggies
recipe from Cooking Light, July 2011

Ingredients:
4 ounces uncooked ziti
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups chopped tomato
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup (2 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Directions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan. Add squash, zucchini, and onion; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomato and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, herbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

4. Combine ricotta, remaining salt, and egg. Stir into pasta mixture. Spoon into an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and browned.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza

My children love fruit.  I love the summer when they can eat their fill of peaches, plums, watermelon, and berries.  Although I always give them fruit at breakfast, I've been trying to incorporate it into dinner too.....since they're not the biggest veggie eaters.  Our family loves pizza and I'm always trying out new pizza recipes.  I can't remember the last time that I had a pizzeria slice of pizza!  My son enjoyed this pizza but he loves cheese of all kinds.  I made half of a plain pizza for my daughter, my non-cheese loving child.  My husband and I loved this pizza!  The tang of the gorgonzola with the sweetness of the peaches and balsamic reduction was delicious!  I'm definitely going to be making this again.  I only had one piece of the pizza and my husband "accidentally" took the piece I was saving for lunch the next day to work with him for his lunch. 
 

Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza
recipe from Cooking Light, May 2011

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pizza dough
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 medium unpeeled peach, thinly sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:
1. Preheat pizza stone in oven to 400°.

2. Shape pizza dough to desired shape and thickness. Place on heated pizza stone Brush 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil evenly over crust. Top evenly with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and peach slices. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 11 minutes or until crust browns.

3. Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 5 minutes). Drizzle balsamic reduction evenly over pizza.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

The Weekend Chef: Honey-Molasses Chicken Drumsticks

This was a recipe that I was planning on making later in the week but the weekend came, we got busy, and my husband thought that he had time to make homemade steamed pork buns.  Needless to say, I had all the ingredients for this recipe and told him to just make it. I'd figure something else out for dinner the night I had planned to make this.  Now, I know this dish doesn't look like much from the picture below.  I'm not a big chicken on the bone eater and my husband was nice enough to take all the chicken off the bones, as seen below.  The sauce was super tasty and we all really enjoyed it!  This recipe was meant to be served cold, picnic-style.  However, we enjoyed it warm. I'm thinking this recipe can be adapted for a slow cooker.....hmm, may have to try it out again!

Honey-Molasses Chicken Drumsticks
recipe from Cooking Light, March 2005

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 chicken drumsticks, skinned
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine first 7 ingredients, stirring with a whisk.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan, browning on all sides. Add honey mixture to pan, turning chicken to coat. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until chicken is done, turning chicken every 5 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 1 minute or until mixture is thick and a mahogany color, and chicken is well coated. Remove from heat; cool 15 minutes. Cover and chill.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Pepper Jack Chicken and Peach Quesadillas

My parents love to buy me small kitchen appliances that take up a lot of space.  We have a waffle maker, a quesadilla maker, and a chocolate fountain among many that are taking up real estate in our cabinets and closets!  Although many of the gadgets are rarely, if ever used, we do use our quesadilla maker a lot......or we did.  After I made this recipe, my husband was cleaning the quesadilla maker and ended up dropping it and it broke.  Quesadillas aren't too difficult to make in a pan, so I posted the original recipe with directions on making them in a pan.  This is the way I'll have to make them in the future because the kids love quesadillas!  They loved this recipe too!  The sour cream sauce was so tasty! Who knew that a little lime and honey could add so much flavor!  Quesadillas are a really quick and easy dinner to make.  Although the ingredient list is simple, these were really tasty.  I would definitely make these again since everyone love them so much.  I served them with yellow rice, which my son loves so much!

Pepper Jack Chicken and Peach Quesadillas
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, August 2010

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup chopped skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1 cup thinly sliced peeled firm ripe peaches
4 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. Combine honey and lime juice in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir sour cream into honey mixture; cover and chill until ready to serve.

2. Place tortillas flat on a work surface. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons cheese over half of each tortilla; top each tortilla with 1/4 cup chicken, 1/4 cup peaches, and 1 teaspoon cilantro. Fold tortillas in half.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 2 quesadillas in the pan, and top quesadillas with a cast-iron or other heavy skillet. Cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until tortillas are crisp and lightly browned (leave cast-iron skillet on quesadillas as they cook). Remove quesadillas from pan; set aside, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into wedges. Serve with sauce.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!