What's For Dinner Wednesday--Beef Stew

Full disclosure: This wasn't the meal I made this week.  I made a pot roast.  But, part of why I chose the recipe for pot roast that I did was because it looked a lot like this amazing stew I made for A's birthday back in November.  It sort of fell flat on that count, so I'm going to post the beef stew recipe instead.

3 pounds stew meat, cubed

1/4 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

3 T olive oil

1 C baby carrots

4 large potatoes, cubed

1 T parsley

1 tsp black pepper

2 C boiling water

1 package onion soup mix

3 T butter

3 onions sliced

1/4 C red wine (calm down.  It was cooking wine).

1/4 C warm water

2 T flour

1. Place meat in a large plastic bag. Combine 1/4 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt; pour into the bag with the meat, and shake to coat.
   
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add stew meat, and cook until evenly browned on the outside. Transfer to a slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper. In a small bowl, stir together 2 cups of boiling water and dry soup mix; pour into the slow cooker.
   
3. In the same skillet, melt butter and saute onions until softened; remove to the slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to loosen browned bits of food on the bottom. Remove from heat, and pour into the slow cooker.
   
4. Cover, and cook on High for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to Low, and cook for 6 hours, or until meat is fork tender. In a small bowl or cup, mix together 2 tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup warm water. Stir into stew, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, or until thickened.
   
   This definitely had some prep work at the beginning, but it was so worth it.  Kinda wish the pot roast would have tasted like this.  

What's for Dinner Wednesday--Joy Bundles and Rice

Source: Taste of Home Magazine
Difficulty Level: Easy

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
4 green onions
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon or 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
8 turkey bacon strips
1/4 c butter, melted, divided
2 c uncooked long grain rice
2 1/4 c chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c lemon juice
3 T snipped fresh dill or 1 T dill weed
2 tsp grated lemon peel

* Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally (seriously?  I have no idea what that means.  I just sliced them the long way so that they looked fileted). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
*In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese (I used neufchatel cheese, which is the same only with 1/3 the fat), onions, and tarragon; spread over chicken.  Roll up from a short side (jelly roll style); wrap each with a piece of bacon; place seam side down in a greased 13 x 9 inch pan.  Drizzle with 1 T butter.
*Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.
*Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, bring rice, chicken brother and garlic to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.  Stir in the lemon juice, dill, lemon peel, and remaining butter.
*Serve chicken over rice; drizzle with pan juices.

I didn't cover the chicken, nor did I broil it.  That step seemed to completely leave my brain.  I was trying to do three things plus keep tabs on the kids and so I missed it.  Otherwise, I thought it was an amazing dish.  It tasted a little like Chicken Cordon Bleu.  Very tasty and simple to make and Wade, who was not home for the meal, enjoyed the leftovers for lunch.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Ham and Cheese Cannelloni

Oh. My. Heavenly. Goodness.


If I would have omitted the ham, that is.

I found this recipe in my Taste of Home Magazine. I think it was one of those recipes courtesy of a product they are trying to sell. Whatever it was, I LOVED it. And I probably would have loved it more if I would have had the right cheese (again!)

1 C ricotta cheese
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg
1 15 oz jar Classico Light Creamy Alfredo Sauce
8 egg-roll wrappers
8 slices deli ham
1/2 C grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

* Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella and the egg.

* Reserve 3/4 C of the Alfredo sauce and spread the remaining sauce in he bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish

* Arrange an egg roll wrapper on a work surface. Spread 3 T of the ricotta mixture overthe wrapper, cover with a slice of ham, then roll up to form a log, jelly roll style. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and place the cannelloni, seam side down, in a single layer in the baking dish.

*Spoon the reserved Alfredo Sauce over the cannelloni, top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and bake for 20 minute, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Next time, I am definitely omitting the ham. I'm not a huge ham fan, and it was such a distraction from the cannelloni. Also, I need to find me some of that Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese because this is the second meal to be less than stellar because of my substitution with plain ole parmigian. Otherwise, a quick and easy meal that was just as good as a restaurant. And with as many calories as well.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Mozzarella Gnocchi

Source: Easy Vegetarian (cookbook) + Epicurious.com
Surprisingly a lot easier than it looked.

I looked everywhere for prepared gnocchi, but I couldn't find it.  For the uninitiated, gnocchi is a type of pasta made from potatoes.  So I decided to be brave and try making it myself.  And it really wasn't that bad.  It definitely didn't take the time that homemade tortellini took.  Or even ravioli.  It was surprisingly, very simple.

Homemade Gnocchi (from Epicurious.com)

3 large baking (Idaho) potatoes (about 1 3/4 pounds), scrubbed
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 C freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, or as needed


Bake the potatoes in a preheated 400°F oven until tender, about 40 minutes.

Let the potatoes stand just until cool enough to handle. (The hotter the potatoes are when they are peeled and riced, the lighter the gnocchi will be.) Working quickly and protecting the hand that holds the potatoes with a folded kitchen towel or oven mitt, scrape the skin from the potato with a paring knife. Press the peeled potatoes through a potato ricer. Alternatively, the potatoes can be passed through a food mill fitted with the fine disc, but a ricer makes fluffier potatoes and therefore lighter gnocchi. Spread the riced potatoes into a thin, even layer on the work surface, without pressing them or compacting them. Let them cool completely.

(I didn't have a ricer, so I put it through a food processer and that seemed to do the trick).

In a small bowl, beat the egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg together. Gather the cold potatoes into a mound and form a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Knead the potato and egg mixtures together with both hands, gradually adding the grated cheese and enough of the flour, about 1 1/2 cups, to form a smooth but slightly sticky dough. It should take no longer than 3 minutes to work the flour into the potato mixture; remember, the longer the dough is kneaded, the more flour it will require and the heavier it will become. As you knead the dough, it will stick to your hands and to the work surface: Repeatedly rub this rough dough from your hands and scrape it with a knife or dough scraper from the work surface back into the dough as you knead.

(Warning: This is messy)

Wash and dry your hands. Dust the dough, your hands, and the work surface lightly with some of the remaining flour. Cut the dough into six equal pieces and set off to one side of the work surface. Place one piece of dough in front of you and pat it into a rough oblong. Using both hands, in a smooth back-and-forth motion and exerting light downward pressure, roll the dough into a rope 1/2 inch thick, flouring the dough if necessary as you roll to keep it from sticking. (When you first begin making gnocchi, until your hands get the feel of the dough, you may find it easier to cut each piece of dough in half to roll it.)



Slice the ropes into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Sprinkle the rounds lightly with flour and roll each piece quickly between your palms into a rough ball, flouring the dough and your hands as needed to prevent sticking. Hold the tines of a fork at a 45-degree angle to the table with the concave part facing up. Dip the tip of your thumb in flour. Take one ball of dough and with the tip of your thumb, press the dough lightly against the tines of the fork as you roll it downward toward the tips of the tines. As the dough wraps around the tip of your thumb, it will form into a dumpling with a deep indentation on one side and a ridged surface on the other. Set on a baking sheet lined with a floured kitchen towel and continue forming gnocchi from the remaining dough balls. Repeat the whole process with the remaining pieces of dough. At this point the gnocchi must be cooked immediately or frozen.

Cooking The Gnocchi
Place the fresh (or frozen--but the gnocchi must be 100% frozen, about 3 hours in the freezer) in a pan of boiling, salted water.  The gnocchi is done when it floats to the top, about 3 minutes. 

Mozzarella Gnocchi
Butter for greasing
1 lb potato gnocchi
scant 1 C heavy cream
8 oz Mozzarella Cheese
salt and pepper

Grease an 8 x 8 pan with butter (skipped this step) and add cooked gnocchi.  Season the cream with salt and pepper and drizzle over gnocchi.  Scatter over the cheese and cook under the broiler for a few minutes until the top is browned and bubbling.

Some thoughts:  I really liked this recipe, but Wade wasn't too fond of it.  He said it didn't have much taste.  Which he was right.  I didn't have the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, which is a little hardier than then the regular Parmesan cheese I used, and I don't think I put in enough of that anyways.  So next time, I would definitely use the right cheese.  Also, there was WAY too much cream.  I would drizzle just enough to moisten the pasta.  However, the browned mozzarella made the dish.

Anyways, the meal had a 50% success rate, but since it was me that liked it, I'm putting it here.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Chile Broccoli Pasta

Recipe: Chile Broccoli Pasta
Source: Easy Vegetarian (cookbook)
This was a fast and easy pasta blend that would be superb for a quick summer dinner. 

2 cups dry penne or macaroni
1 medium head broccoli
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 fresh red chiles, seeded and diced
8 cherry tomatoes
small handful of fresh basil or parsley to garnish
salt

* Cook the penne or other pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for about 10 minutes, until tender but still firm to the bite.  Remove from the heat, drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.  Set aside.

*Cut the broccoli into florets and cook in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.

*Heat the olive oil in the pan that the pasta was cooked in. Add the garlic, chiles, and tomatoes.  Cook over high heat for 1 minute.

*Return the broccoli to the pan with the oil and mix well.  Cook for 2 minutes to heat through.  Add the pasta and mix well again.  Cook for 1 minute more.

*Remove the pasta from the heat.  Turn into a large serving bowl, and serve garnished with basil or parsley.

We added mozzarella cheese, and it turned out really good.  Wade took the leftovers to work and put the mozzarrella cheese on the pasta hot so it melted and he said that was excellent.  Beware, though, the red chiles are still hot.  I thought maybe they wouldn't be as hot as jalapenos and popped a piece in with a few seeds on it and it seared my tongue, lips and the corners of my mouth.  I could still feel it the next morning.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Peking Pork with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Peking Pork with Sweet and Sour Sauce

2 C white sugar
1 C distilled vinegar
1 C water
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C ketchup
1/4 tsp sesame oil
2 lb boneless pork loin, cut into 1/4 in. slices
2 T Chinese Rice Wine, Sherry, or Brandy
2/3 C flour
2/3 C cornstarch
4 C peanut oil
Steamed rice

*In a large, deep-sided skillet, bring the water to a boil with the sugar and white vinegar.  Cook for 1 min. stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves.

*In a small bowl, whisk the soy sauce, ketchup, and sesame oil until smooth.  Whisk the soy sauce mixture into the vinegar mixture.  Bring the sauce to  a boil and cook, stirring occassionally, until syrupy, about 5 to 7 minutes, then lower to a simmer.

*Season both sides of the pork slices with salt and pepper.  Pour the rice wine into a bowl and dredge the pork in the wine.  In a shallow bowl, mix the flour and cornstarch until evenly combined.  Dredge the pork in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess.

*In a wok, heat the peanut oil until a pork slice sizzles and rapidly rises to the top when placed in the oil.  When the oil is ready, place 2 pork slices in.  Fry for 1 minute and move to a towel-lined plate.  Repeat with the remaining pork.

*Allow the oil to reheat for 2 minutes and quickly refry the pork slices, 2 at a time,  for 1 more minute and drain on fresh paper towels.  The slices should be crisp and golden on the outside, tender and cooked throughout.

*Transfer the cooked pork slices to thhe pan of simmering sweet and sour sauce, turning them until they are well coated.  Remove the pork  to a serving plate.  Serve with rice.

This was a really good dish that was well received by Wade.  It had a little sweet of a taste and crisped up really nice.  I didn't use 4 C of peanut oil, because that's a lot of oil, Yo, so I just turned the slices over to cook on both sides using tongs.  Caution though, once you started cooking, this cooked FAST.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Brie and Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Remember when you were first married and you would see recipes titled "Brie and Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts" and you'd just skip over it because you knew it would be too complicated?

Oh, that was just me?

Hmmm...

So, anyways, I came across this recipe on Facebook from Sunflower Farmer's Market, my produce mecca, and thought it would be an awesome one to try. 

And it was.  Though, in hindsight, I should have done things a little differently. But more on that later.

So here's the recipe:  (Note: this really isn't a recipe for the health conscious, though you could probably change it up some to make it healthier.  I burned something like 1300 calories today exercising, so I figured I was entitled to a little fat in my dinner tonight).

4 Chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 small apple, cored and thinly sliced
4 T butter
1/2 tsp each, salt and pepper
1-2 T flour
4 slices Brie cheese
2 C apple cider
2 C chicken broth

*Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Warm 1 T butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the apples and saute until softened.  Set the saute pan aside.  Tuck a slice of Brie and several slices of apple into the pocket on the underside of the chicken breasts between the breast and the tenderloin.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Pat a little flour onto both sides of each chicken breast.

Not being very familiar with the anatomy of a chicken breast, I cut a slit into the fattest area of the chicken breast and put my goods there.  However, in hindsight, maybe I should have inspected the breast more.  I couldn't fit very much in the little slit I made.

*In the saute pan, warm 1 T butter over high heat.  When the butter foams add the chicken breasts and brown them on both sides.  Transfer the chickento a sheetpan, stuffed side down and put it into the oven for 12-14 minutes.

If I would have done as above, perhaps I would have understood the part about putting the chicken stuffed side down. 

*While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce.  Pour the cider and the broth into the saute pan and boil it over high heat until reduced to about 1 1/2 cup.  Swirl in the remaining 2 T of butter .  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I would have preferred to have had a thicker sauce and rereading  the recipe, I don't think I let enough boil off.  And I omitted the last two tablespoons of butter.

Spoon sauce over the chicken breasts.

Despite all those things, it still turned out really well.  I used a Rome Apple, and I think I would have chosen a different apple with a little more oomph to it.  But for a recipe that sounds all gourmet-like and stuff and is sure to impress, it was easy peasy.  On the table in 30ish minutes. 

I served it with rice.  It was going to be a risotto, but I ran out of energy and desire, so just plain rice. And sourdough bread, which will probably be my death.  I LOVE sourdough bread. For dessert, we had blueberry cobler. 

Oh. Yeah.

One of these days, I'm just going to pay homage to great desserts.  And this will make it. 

Nutrition for the chicken:

Calories: 465.7
Fat: 22.3
CHO: 2.4 g
Protein: 60.6 g (?)

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Doritos and Animal Crackers

Well, it was bound to happen.  My first true failure on a What's For Dinner entry. :(  The recipe had promise.  It was a chicken dish that was baked in pineapple juice and orange juice and an array of spices.  But, the recipe called for dijon mustard and since I'm not a mustard fan, I just omitted that and that may be why it was an utter fail. 

We suffered through the meal.  Wade said it was good, hesitantly, and then left most of the chicken on his plate.  He's wisening up.  I tried to eat mine, but I only ate about half. 

So for dinner, we each snuck back into the kitchen and snacked on doritos and animal crackers.

Eh, you win some.  You lose some.  Oh well.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Tomato-Herb Focaccia

There's this restaurant--Sweet Tomatoes--that's basically a salad bar, with soups and breads.  Lots and lots of bread.  It's in my list of top five restaurants EVER.  A salad bar is a salad bar and Sweet Tomato doesn't necessarily have anything over any other salad bar EXCEPT for they have focaccia bread.  Very, very tasty focaccia bread.  And I've always wanted to try to make it.  So, fast forward to Monday, when I received my bi-monthly Taste of Home magazine and what should appear on the cover?  An answer to my desires.

At first glance, this looked to be really easy, but turns out it wasn't so much.  For starters, I needed to leave more time for rising because it took a lot longer than I expected.  About 2 hours in total rising time alone.  Also, I have never been able to "shape" my dough--any dough--into anything other than "blob".  I'm not sure how to go about doing this.  I should probably read up on it.  Do other people have a special skill that allows them to "shape" their dough into rectangles and circles?

So without further ado:

1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
1 C warm water (110-115 degrees)
2 T olive oil, divided
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp basil
Dash pepper
2 to 2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 C mozzarella cheese
1 T grated parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.  Add 1 T oil, salt, sugar, garlic powder, herbs, pepper, and 1 1/2 cups flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).

2.  Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

3.  Punch dough down.  Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  Shape(???) into a 13 in. x 9 in. rectangle;  place on a greased baking sheet.  Cover and let rise until doubled,  about 30 minutes.  With fingertips, make several dimples over top of dough.

4.  Brush dough with remaining oil; arrange tomatoes over the top.  Sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes our until golden brown.  Remove to a wire rack.

This turned out really good, but I used beefsteak tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes and it made the top of the bread soggy.  Definitely use plum tomatoes.  Other than that, I think it was another winner.  This would be the perfect summertime meal paired with a pasta salad. 

And the best part was the nutritional data:

Nutritional Data (The loaf I made I cut up into 8 (good sized) portions)
Per serving:
Calories: 233
Total Fat: 5.4 g
Carbohydrates: 38 g
Protein: 7.4 g

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Southern Oven "Fried" Chicken

Yeah, I'm a little behind this week.  No book.  No pictures.  I read a book.  I took pictures.  But, I'm just being lazy.  Probably something having to do with running my 5th (!) half marathon in a year on Saturday down in sunny St. George.  (The first time in the four years I've run this race that it's actually been WARM!!!) I'd give you all the details, but I'm not sure I'm ready to talk about it yet.  Maybe by Friday.  Meanwhile, I did cook up a new recipe though, so I must be feeling a little better about things...

This recipe comes courtesy of the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook I picked up last year.

1/2 C fat-free buttermilk (I couldn't find fat-free, so I used low fat)
1/2 C cornflakes, crushed
3 T flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 pounds chicken parts (Is there anything less appetizing then the phrase "chicken parts"?  Besides, what do chicken parts even look like?  And how do you ask for "chicken parts" at the butcher's counter without sounding like a moron? I just went with chicken breasts).
4 tsp canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees; spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.  (Spray liberally, or all your coating will stick.  Learned that the hard way.)
2. Pour the buttermilk into a large, shallow bowl.  On a sheet of wax paper (or, you know, another large bowl) combine the cornflake crumbs, flour, salt, and pepper.  Dip the chicken in the buttermilk, then dredge in the cornflake mixture, coating completely.  Place the chicken on the baking sheet and drizzle with the oil.  Bake 30 minutes then turn the chicken over.  Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until cooked through.

Seems simple enough, right?  And it was.  Also very tasty, though it was a little dry.  I think I overcooked it because there was an incident involving J. and a toy and the chicken ended up staying in the oven about 7 minutes too long.

I served my chicken parts with green beans, oranges and rice.  Though, A. and Wade wouldn't eat the green beans. Wade didn't eat the oranges, and J. ate nothing, save for a few kernels of rice, at all.  So really, I'm the only one who had a well-balanced meal.

Nutrition
Cal: 229 (for two chicken parts.  I'm not sure what this translates into for a chicken breast, since I have no idea what chicken parts are, but let's say for simplicity sake that one chicken breast = two chicken parts)
Fat: 10 g
  Sat Fat: 2 g
Chol: 64 mg
Sod: 295 mg
Carb: 11 g
Pro: 23 g

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Everyday Cinnamon Rolls

I know, I know.  I'm getting lazy.  But...we actually ate these for dinner (with waffles) and so there you have it.  This is a recipe courtesy of the cookbook my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas, "The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook".

Filling
1/3 C packed dark brown sugar (I only had light brown sugar)
1/3 C granulated sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt

Dough
1 1/2 C All-purpose flour
3/4 C Whole-wheat flour (sneaky, sneaky)
2 T granulated sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 C buttermilk
5 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Glaze
3/4 C confectioner's sugar
1 ounce light cream cheese, softened
1 T buttermilk

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray an 8 x 8 pan with PAM.

2.  Mix all the ingredients for the filling together in a small bowl and set aside.

3.  For the dough, whisk the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and 4 T of the melted butter together.  Stir the buttermilk mixture into the the flour mixture until the dough comes together but looks shaggy(??), about 30 seconds.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and knead until just smooth and no longer shaggy, 8 to 10 times.

4. Pat the dough into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle with the long side facing you.  Brush the dough with the remaining tablespoon of melted butter, then sprinkle on the filling, leaving a 1/2 inch border along the top edge.  Press on the filling to adhere it to the dough.

5.  Loosen the dough from the counter using  a scraper or a metal spatula and roll it into a tight log.  Pinch the seam closed and roll the log seam-side down.  Pat the ends to even them, then, using a serrated knife, slice the log evenly into 9 rolls.  Slightly flatten each roll with your palm, then arrange,, cut-side down, in the 8 x 8 pan.

6.  Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue to bake until the edges of the rolls are golden brown, 12 to 18 minutes longer.  Remove rolls from pan and let cool for 5 minutes.

7.  Whisk all the ingredients for glaze together in a bowl until smooth.  Drizzle rolls with glaze and serve.

SO easy!  And SO good.  Even if I royally screwed everything up because I was admiring my buttermilk making skills (from the butter last week).  I thought the recipe said to mix everything together for the dough, so I just dumped everything in instead of separating the buttermilk and butter.  And then I thought it said that I needed to knead the dough for 8-10 minutes, and about 4 minutes  into that process I realized my error.  HOWEVER, it all turned out.  YAY.

Nutritional Information per roll
cal: 290
Fat: 7 g
Sat Fat: 5 g
Chol: 20 mg
Carb: 52 g
Protein: 5 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 370 mg

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Homemade Butter

Yeah, that's right.  I ate butter for dinner.

Well, on pieces of bread. 

And it was pretty decent.  Creamy.  Just like the butter you made when you were in elementary school.  And it was pretty cool to see it all come together.  And SO easy.

But why?

Well, I want to make some bread tomorrow that needs buttermilk and I didn't want to go to the store just for buttermilk so I read where you can make buttermilk by making butter and I happened to have a quart of whipping cream in my fridge...

Don't ask...

So I dumped the whipping cream in the Kitchen Aid and turned it on.  I was a little worried at some point because I didn't think it would work and then I'd be known as the person who screwed up homemade butter, but it went from being liquidy to frothy to lumpy and then back to liquidy with lumps in it.  And that was really cool to watch because it was almost instantaneous. 

Once it became lumpy I mixed it a few minutes longer than drained the liquid (the buttermilk) out in a colander.  I rinsed the butter with cold water and rinsed that.  Then I squeezed (squoze?) more liquid out by smashing the glob of butter with a spatula.  Lastly, I spun it around in the mixer for a few more minutes with some salt.

The consensus?  It was pretty good, though it's not very cost effective.  The whipping cream was $2.67 and a pound of butter is $2.78.  So will I be completely switching over to homemade butter any time soon?  Probably not.  However, it was tasty on this sourdough bread that was SO good AND only 50 calories per slice. 

And it's what I made for my dinner.  Everyone else had spaghetti.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Cran-Orange Pork Tenderloin

I cheated this week.  There was no new recipe for the week, BUT a few weeks ago I made this for my brother and sister-in-law and took it up to Primary Children's Hospital while they were there with their daughter after surgery.  They liked it and Wade liked it, so I thought I'd share it because it was super-dooper easy and tasty.

I found it in the Taste of Home magazine my grandma has sent to me as a Christmas present.  They have some really good recipes that use normal every day ingredients.

1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground mustard
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pork tenderloin
CRAN-ORANGE SAUCE:
1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used craisins)
1/4 cup plus 1 T orange juice, divided
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Dash ground cloves
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges
1 T cornstarch

In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients; rub over pork. Place on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.  Bake, uncovered, at 425 or 25-28 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, 1/4 C orange juice, ginger and cloves.  Drain oranges, reserving juice. Set oranges aside. Add reserved juice to cranberry mixture. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Combine cornstarch and remaining orange juice until smooth; stir into saucepan.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Fold in oranges.  Serve with sliced pork.

This was a really nice meal that was quick and tasty.  I spread the sauce over the sliced pork and it was perfect, even if it wasn't as hot as I would have wanted due to the 40 minute drive to the hospital.  My only complaint was that my pork tenderloin took longer to cook then 25-28 minutes.  It was closer to an hour, but it was also a bigger tenderloin (closer to 2 pounds) and it was all I had on hand.

I served this with stuffing, apples and a salad.  Yay for having a complete meal for once.

Nutrition info (on the pork tenderloin, not the sides):
Serving size: 4 ounces cooked pork
Calories: 242
Fat: 4 g (1 g saturated)
Cholesterol: 63 mg
Sodium: 163 mg
Carbohydrate: 29 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 23 g

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Italian Wedding Soup

It's cold.

And when it's cold, I want soup.  So today, that's what I got.

I found this on here.  It's my new favorite website.  She has some AWESOME recipes.  And apparently, she just made this up on the fly.  What I would give to be confident enough to do that.

So first up, I made the soup part.  Her directions tell you to use a Dutch Oven, but I was lazy and didn't want to unearth mine from the garage.  So I just used my regular soup pot.

Heat 1/2 to 1 tsp olive oil in the bottom.
Cook one yellow onion, finely chopped, 3 carrots, diced, and 2 stalks of celery, diced for about 3-4 minutes.  Add in 2-3 cloves of minced garlic and cook for another 60 seconds while stirring constantly. 

Now this is the part the screws me up every time.  The recipe next says to add all these spices, but I don't have them out or measured or anything so then I have to take the pot off the stove and find all my spices and measure them out.  I should just do that all beforehand right?  This is not the first time I've had this thought either.

Add 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, salt and pepper, 1/2-1 tsp chicken bouillion granules, and 9-10 cups chicken broth. 

Let this simmer for 45 minutes on low.

MEANWHILE:

Make these cutesy little meatballs by combining:

1 lb ground beef
2 tsp yellow onion, finely diced
2 T parmesan cheese
2 T fresh parsley (didn't have that, so I used dried, which is like 1 tsp of dried = 1 T of fresh)
1 egg
1/4 C bread crumbs
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
pinch of crush red pepper flakes

(incidently, I forgot the last three ingredients.  I think that would have pepped the meatballs up a little bit)

Mush everything together and roll into little balls.  I made probably about 24 meatballs.  Preheat the oven to 350 and put the meatballs on a cookie sheet covered in foil that had been sprayed with PAM.  Bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.  You don't want crunchy meatballs.

Last thing is to make the star pasta.  There is a pasta out there shaped like a star.  It's a little tiny  pasta, but I couldn't find it at the store, so I just used Acini de pepe (Frog eye salad pasta.)  Cook that according to the package.  Drain.

Add the pasta and the meatballs to the soup and cook on medium for 10 minutes longer.  Add 10 oz of spinach (Spinach isn't my favorite vegetable to eat, so I just added a few leaves to each of the bowls) And voila!

Wade was a little skeptical of the meal because of the strong onion smell, but it turned out to be really good.  Even he said it was.  The meatballs needed some more zip in my opinion, but I think if I would have put in all the ingredients, it would not have been an issue. 

This would have been a great meal to have with a hard crusty bread, but I wasn't on the ball enough to make it.  Or buy it.  So we just ate our soup.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Lasagna Cupcakes

Think portion control.

On my rotating menu schedule, I have a recipe that calls for wonton wrappers.  Each package comes with 50 wontons, and my recipe only uses 12 of them.  I will sometimes make cream cheese wontons, but more often than not, I put the wonton wrappers back in the refrigerator and forget about them until I notice that they've turned green.  (Surprisingly, they turn green really fast).

This time, I vowed to be different.  So I looked up different things you could make using the wonton wrappers and came across Lasagna Cupcakes.

Seriously, how did my grandmas and my mom cook without the internet?

Recipe
18 wonton wrappers (found in the produce section of the grocery store)
8 oz ground turkey (or beef, whatever you prefer)
Favorite pasta sauce
8 oz Mozzarella cheese
4 oz Ricotta Cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Brown your ground meat.  I added an onion and garlic to it.  Next, make your pasta sauce (if you're of the homemade pasta sauce persuasion).  I put two cans of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, oregano and basil into a pan and heated it up.  If you go the canned pasta sauce route, you're good to go.

Cut your wonton wrappers into circles by either tracing a cup with a sharp knife or using a round cookie cutter.

Spray a six-tin muffin pan with PAM.  Place one wonton circle in the bottom.  Layer in a pinch of mozzarella cheese, some ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese (You don't want too much in the first layer because there will be three layers all together).  Next, layer your ground meat followed by a dallop of sauce--about a spoonful.  I combined my meat and sauce before I started scooping it in.  Place another wonton circle on top of that layer and repeat the cheeses layer, the meat layer and the sauce layer.  Place one more wonton circle and repeat again.  Top the last layer of sauce with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.

Cook at 375 for 20 minutes

Notes
I thought these were PERFECT.  For starters, it didn't take nearly as much time as making a full pan and we didn't have all those leftovers that would eventually be thrown away because everyone was tired of eating lasagna.  And, as it has been theorized before, anything in cupcake form is cuter than it's original counterpart.  Bonus was that it was built in portion control.  Served with a salad (didn't get that made before Wade had to leave for Scouts) and you have a nice, balanced dinner.

Wade hesitated when I asked if he liked it, which is a pretty clear sign that he wasn't thrilled.  I think it's because he's not a huge lasagna fan like I am.  A. couldn't get enough and that's a better indicator of dinner being a success or not.

For those keeping score, I had ALL the ingredients on hand this time, so no substitutions.

The remaining 20 wonton wrappers I had, I made into cinnamon crisps.  Lay the wrappers in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tsp cinnamon sugar.  Bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.  An easy 30 calorie treat.

Nutrition Breakdown for the Lasagna Cupcakes

Serving Size: 1 Cupcake

Calories: 264
Total Fat: 8.7 g
   Saturated Fat: 6.0 g
   Polyunsaturated Fat: .3 g
   Monounsaturated Fat: 1.6 g
Cholesterol: 45.7 mg
Sodium: 815.8 mg
Potassium: 58.9 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 25.3 g
   Dietary Fiber: 3.5 g
   Sugars: 7.0 g
Protein: 26.8 g

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Pork Chops with Peppers and Onions

Confession:  I'm sorta obsessed with Rachael Ray right now.  Hence why the third meal in a row is from her.  But...she makes everything look SO good and SO easy that I can't help it.  I actually DVR her show and then fast forward to the end so I can write down the recipe while she's cooking it.  I know.  I know.  I could just go to her website and get it, but it's not the same.  There's something...magical...about actually watching her cook the meal.

So this week, I tried her Pork Chops with Peppers and Onions.  As always, I didn't have all the ingredients, so I had to improvise a little bit, but I think it turned out good anyways.  And bonus, I typed everything into this cool nutritional counter (who knew I'd have to diet AFTER the marathon, but say hello to seven (7!!!!) extra pounds put on during the training.  Including the two I put on immediately after running the marathon.  Life is so unfair.  And a burning question that I was contemplating in the dentist office this morning...why did God give us a vessel that requires so much upkeep?  But that's for another day...I digress...) that will calculate all the nutrition for each serving of the meal.  YAY for me and my cleverness.

Without further ado...

Source: Rachael Ray
Prep: <10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes

4 pork chops, bone-in
2 tsp fennel seeds (I didn't have these, so I did some research and swapped in Tarragon in their place.  Tasted alright to me.)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flake (I missed this in my notes, so I didn't put any in.  If you like heat, then add this.)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp paprika
Salt and Pepper

Salt and pepper both sides of the pork chops.  Combine the remaining seasonings and rub the pork chops with it.  Cook in 4 T olive oil on the stove.

2 Cubanelle Peppers, seeded and thinly sliced.  (I didn't have these either.  They're red peppers that I believe have some heat to them.  Wade's not big on spicy foods, so I just omitted these.  If you do use them, make sure you seed them because that's where the heat is).
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 onions, quartered lengthwise then thinly sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, grated
2 T tomato paste
1 C Chicken Stock

In another pan, cook the peppers, onions, garlic, and tomato paste in the chicken stock until the peppers are soft and the onions are browned. 

Deglaze (fancy word that I'm not sure what means.  Rachael Ray just put some white wine in the pork chop pan and swished it around.  I used chicken stock because I didn't have any white wine handy (the cooking stuff for those about to make a comment)) the pork chop pan.  Put the peppers and onions mixture on the plate and lay a pork chop on top and Voila!  You have dinner.

So, sometimes I wonder if Wade just says he likes it because it's easier than saying he doesn't, but tonight he actually asked me what was in the sauce because he liked it.  So I'll take it as a thumbs up.  I liked it too.  I think if I would've put in the hot things, it would've tasted more like what Rachael Ray was aiming for--an alternative to sausage and peppers and onions, an apparently popular meal on the east coast that I don't think I've ever seen here on a menu.  However, my alterations made it tasty and I was happy with it.

Nutritional Breakdown

Serving Size: 1 pork chop

Calories: 168.8
Total Fat: 6.2 g
   Saturated Fat: 2.2 g
   Polyunsaturated Fat: .9 g
   Monounsaturated Fat: 2.9 g
Cholesterol: 49.6 mg
Sodium: 324.3 mg
Potassium: 687.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 7.4 g
    Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
    Sugars: 3.1 g
Protein: 21.0 g

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Muffin Tin Pop Pies

Source: Rachael Ray
Prep: about 30 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

(put out one sheet of puff pastry to defrost)

1.  Poach chicken
I wasn't exactly sure what this meant, so I just boiled two chicken breasts in water with half of an onion and a bay leaf.
2.  Sautee mushrooms, other half of onion, chopped and celery in olive oil.  Brown the mushrooms first
I don't like mushrooms so I omitted those. 
3.  Put in frozen peas and carrots.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook
I don't think I cooked these long enough
4.  Use forks to shred chicken
I tried to shred the chicken, but I ended up just putting it in the food chopper
5.  Add dill and thyme to vegetables and then add vegetables to the chicken
I needed more dill and thyme for seasoning

Gravy
Combine butter and flour in the pan you cooked the vegetables in.  I didn't have any exact amounts, so I just guestimated on 3 T butter and 1/4 C flour.

Add chicken stock.  I used about 2 cups.

Season with salt and pepper and put a splash of half and half in.

A squirt of dijon mustard (I would omit this next time because I don't like mustard and the taste was pretty prominent)

Pour gravy into chicken/vegetable mixture

Pot Pies
Cut one puff pastry sheet into sixths.  Put each sixth into a muffin tin (in a six-muffin tin).  Fill with mixture.  Pinch all four corners and brush with an egg wash.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

These were really good, but made A LOT of filling.  I ended up freezing the rest of the filling to use next time I make them.  Wade even thought they were good and he's not a pot pie fan.

Yay for another success.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Balsamic Glazed Chicken Sammies

Look at me!  I'm finally back on the cooking wagon after taking most of the summer off.

Source: Rachael Ray
Prep Time: <10 minutes
Cook Time (plus marinading time): 45 minutes

(1) Oven roast tomatoes
  (a)  Slice tomatoes and place them on a cooling rack inside a cookie sheet.  (Spray cooling rack.  Forgot to do that and the tomatoes stuck)
  (b)  Salt and pepper tomatoes
  (c)  Put in oven at 425 for 20 minutes

(2) Marinade for chicken
  (a)  In a ziploc bag, combine 1/3 C Balsamic vinegar, grated (or minced) garlic, some rosemary, 2 T olive oil, 1 tsp oregano, and a couple pinches of crushed red pepper flakes.
  (b)  Drop in chicken and let sit for 20 minutes

(3)  Grill Chicken
   I love my grill pan I picked up from Wal-mart for $15.  It cooks like the grill without the hassle of turning on the grill.  Though the grill itself is much better for steaks or hamburgers, this pan works great for bad weather days or quick makes.

(4)  Slice the grilled chicken and place pieces of sliced mozzarella in between the sliced chicken. 

(5)  Cut a loaf of ciabatta bread in half the short way.  Then slice each half into half the long way so you have sandwich halves.  Then slice each of those into half.  Got it?  Good.  You should have four sandwiches.  I put mine in the still-warm oven from the tomatoes and let them crisp up a little bit.

(6)  Put the sandwiches together with a bottom bread, a piece of romaine lettuce (we didn't have any lettuce on hand, so I just omitted that part), the chicken and mozzarella and a few tomatoes.  Rachael Ray put some oil and vinegar on her sandwich, but I'm not a big fan of that, so I just left it dry.

SO good.  Even Wade liked it and the chicken and mozzarella would've been good by itself too.  It was a great marinade.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Ranch Crispy Chicken

Yay I'm back!


Ranch Crispy Chicken

1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1/4 C bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs (I had neither, so I used Special K)
Chicken

Combine the ranch dressing mix and the crumbs.  Dip the chicken in.  Bake at 375 for 50ish minutes or until the juice runs clear.

So insanely easy and yet so delicious.  Probably would've been even better if it was warm, but seeing as I was waiting for Wade and then too hungry to heat it back up when I gave up waiting, it was cold.  I served it with fried zucchini, which is SO good yet SO time consuming to make. Oh, and an Israeli melon and corn that I picked up at a roadside produce stand yesterday.

Quick, easy, and tasty.

What's For Dinner Wednesday--Cafe Rio Salad (homemade)

Note:  I made my second batch of yogurt yesterday and have some more tips: I bought 100 coffee filters for $3 and those worked a lot better than cheesecloth.  Plus, they were A LOT cheaper.  Just use one filter in a strainer when draining the yogurt.  Also, I let it drain for 2 1/2 hours.  That thickened it up big time. 

Okay, for my friend, Em, who's in Germany, I made the Cafe Rio Salad.  I hope that (a) she likes Cafe Rio salads.  I don't think I asked her.  And (b) she can find the ingredients.

Salad
Romaine lettuce.  This was the best lettuce to use, plus leftover leaves make a great lettuce wrap for lunch the next day.  I just put veggies, bacon bits, cheese, a dallop of salad dressing and sunflower seeds, fold it up and yum.

This pork and rice.  I squirted some lime juice in the rice to give it a kick. 

Black beans. (or pinto beans.  Whatever you fancy).

Cheese, if you please.

Salad Dressing
homemade ranch dressing packet (get the packet from the store and mix it with milk or mayonnaise.  I used mayonnaise because it's thicker then I put it in the refrigerator to let it set up for a little bit.)

1 jalapeno (don't scrape the seeds out with your thumb and then rub your ear/nose/mouth/eyes or it will burn for DAYS, or so I've been told).

2 tomatillos (they look like little baby green tomatoes wrapped in paper.)

a sprig of cilantro (I don't really like cilantro, so I used very little)

Juice from one lime

Mix everything in the blender, then Viola!  There you have it.

*Clarification: Mix everything for the salad dressing NOT the salad in the blender.  If you put the stuff for the salad in the blender then you'll get something less than Viola!

I cooked up a tortilla and melted cheese on it.  Then I put it in an oven proof glass bowl and baked it for a little bit do it'd hold it's shape.  Then I layered the salad with the rice on the bottom, the sweet pork, the greens, beans and cheese.  Then drizzled the salad dressing on top.

Oh and I made those cool crispy things, but they didn't turn out as good as Cafe Rios.  I need to work on those.

So, overall, very tasty.  Maybe not EXACTLY like Cafe Rio's, but really, really close and will get you by if, say, you're in a foreign country whose menus rely heavily on bratwursts and sauerkraut.