Taco Salad

The Occasion: I had salsa and sour cream leftover from something else. Taco Salad was a perfect use for these things.

The Recipe: Improvised.

How it Went: This is always a smash hit. We love it.

What You Need:
ground turkey (1 lb)
1 packet taco seasoning
lettuce
tortilla chips
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 yellow onion
1 can black olives
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream

Your Turn:
Cook ground turkey. Add taco seasoning as directed on packet.

In the meantime, shred up lettuce and prepare a bowl of tortilla chips.

Prepare a plate of chopped peppers, onion, and olives along with cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

Serve meat hot over a bed of lettuce with desired toppings.

Enjoy!

Easy Tortellini with Chicken Alfredo Sauce

The Occasion: I had leftover cooked chicken from another meal. I also had a jar of alfredo sauce and a package of dried tortellinis. I thought it would all go together pretty well.

The Recipe: From my head.

How it Went: We liked this! Very easy and very tasty. Ideally, you could even make your own alfredo sauce. And I had so much extra sauce, that I cooked up some additional pasta (wagon wheels) and put the sauce with it for a lunch for Husband. It would be excellent with broccoli.

What You Need:
1 & 1/2 cooked chicken breasts
1 packaged dried tortellini (mine was from ALDI, but Barilla makes it too)
1 jar alfredo sauce
splash of milk
Italian seasoning

Your Turn:
Cook pasta as directed on the package.

Warm alfredo sauce in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of milk and a few shakes of Italian seasoning.

Chop cooked chicken into pieces. If you can get it more shredded, that's good too.

Stir chicken into alfredo sauce. Cover and let simmer gently.

Serve chicken alfredo sauce over tortellini.

Start-to-Finish Weekday Chicken Pot Pie

The Occasion: I didn't plan on making pot pie this week, but I seemed to have all the right ingredients and it's a meal that lasts a few days, so it was perfect for a busy week.

The Recipe: Mostly the same as the one I posted here before, from Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2011. But I wanted to share the step-by-steps this time. Not only is it helpful, but I've shared some tips that help you conserve ingredients and make the most of your hard work!

How it Went: I love this pot pie. Husband doesn't like it quite as much, but it's mostly because he doesn't like biscuits like the ones baked into the top of this. I think it's scrumptious!

What You Need:
2 chicken bouillon cubes
3 chicken breasts
dashes of thyme, black pepper, and coriander
2 russet potatoes
1 C baby carrots
4 stalks celery
3/4 C frozen green beans
2 T butter
6 T flour
1 C milk + 1/2 C milk
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 C Bisquick
2/3 C milk

Your Turn:
In the morning, before leaving for work, boil some water. Put two chicken bouillon cubes in a glass measuring cup. When the water boils, pour two cups over the cubes and stir well to dissolve.

Place three raw chicken breasts in a crock pot. Sprinkle with black pepper, thyme, and coriander, or a blend of poultry seasonings. Pour the two cups of chicken broth on top. Set to low.

Peel 2 russet potatoes, rinse off, and cut into small cubes.

Chop 1 C baby carrots into small cubes.

Wash and dice up 4 stalks of celery.

Bring about 2 inches of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan and add the vegetables you chopped, plus 3/4 C frozen green beans.

When these are tender, after about 10-15 minutes, drain the water into the crock pot with your chicken. All the nutrients are in the water, so don't wash it down the drain.

Now, spoon out the veggies into a large dish, cover, and refrigerate.

Go to work.

When you get home, remove your cooked chicken breasts from the crock pot and place them in your upright mixer. With the paddle attachment, turn the mixer on low. The chicken will shred like a dream!

Set aside 1 C of the crock pot chicken broth. You'll need it. Strain the rest of the broth through a cheesecloth over a funnel into a few jars to be saved for a future soup or something.

Melt 2 T butter in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium-low. Add 6 T flour and whisk to blend until smooth and bubbly. Add 1 C milk and the 1 C broth you saved. Whisk constantly until it boils and thickens. You want it pretty thick, but not quite as thick as a cream of chicken soup from a can would be.

Pour the cream base you just made into a large mixing bowl. Add another 1/2 C milk. Also add 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt. Stir well.

To this, add the vegetables you cooked this morning, and 1 and 1/2 C of the shredded chicken. Put the rest away for chicken salad or another casserole or something.

Combine 1 & 1/2 C Bisquick and 2/3 C milk in a bowl and whisk. Distribute evenly in 12 biscuits over the top of the pot pie. 

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until filling is bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

Not only will you have a marvelous pot pie, which is quite a feast, but you've also made yourself about 15 ounces of flavorful chicken broth and a few cups of delicious shredded chicken!

Tilapia: Two Ways

The Occasion: My first two attempts at cooking tilapia. I have never eaten seafood. I mean, I've had fish a few times, but I just have never enjoyed or chosen to eat any seafood. But I'd been starting to feel like there's only so many things I can make with chicken and ham and ground turkey (we don't eat much beef), so I decided to give fish a try. Both of these recipes were quick, very easy, and quite tasty. I'll definitely make both of them again.

The Recipes: The basic cooking instructions were from the back of the tilapia package. I bought the fish, frozen in individual fillets, at ALDI. The flavors and spices were of my own invention.

First, Baked Lemon Dill Tilapia.

How it Went:
This was quite yummy. The flavors blended really nicely and we both really enjoyed it. I served it with rice and veggies sauteed in olive oil and herbs.

What You Need:
tilapia fillets
olive oil
lemon pepper
dried dill

Your Turn:
Defrost your tilapia fillets. I did this in the microwave, but you're not really supposed to do that. It's best to let them come to room temperature in a dish of warm water.

Place fillets in a baking dish and preheat oven to 400.

Drizzled olive oil, maybe 2-3 T, over the fish.

Sprinkle with lemon pepper (mine is in a grinder) and dried dill leaves.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until fillets flake easily when forked.

Second, Fried Tilapia Fillets

How it Went:
I loved this! I'm excited to make it again, actually. My family never thought I'd say this about fish!!

What You Need:
tilapia fillets
flour
salt
pepper
coriander
onion powder
seasoned salt (such as Season-All)

Your Turn:
Defrost your fillets. (Breading below was enough for three fillets.)

Combine about 1/2 C flour with 1/2 tsp each of salt, pepper, coriander, and onion powder. Add a few shakes of seasoned salt.

In a medium skillet, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. 

Toss each fillet in the flour mixture, then fry it in the oil for 1-3 minutes per side, until golden brown.

This is delicious with homemade macaroni and cheese! 

Chicken Fried Rice

The Occasion: Nothing special, but we love Chinese take-out and this looked like a fun alternative to try.

The Recipe: From Cook This; Not That cookbook

How it Went: We both thought this was great. It felt like a much more wholesome version of Chinese take out. And it felt safer, somehow, than the stuff from the white origami box. 

What You Need:

1 T vegetable oil

4 scallions

Dash grated ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 zucchini

1 C baby carrots

1 crown broccoli

1 & 1/2 breasts chicken, cooked

4 C cooked rice (brown or white)

2 T soy sauce

2 eggs

Your Turn:
[Cook the rice and chicken ahead of time.]

Chop the 4 scallions and separate the greens from the whites.

Chop

· 1 zucchini (into disks, then quartered)

· About 1 C baby carrots (quartered lengthwise)

· 1 crown broccoli (into small florets)

In a large skillet, heat 1 T vegetable (or peanut or olive) oil over medium-high heat.

Once it’s hot, add the scallion whites, dash ginger and minced garlic clove.

Cook 30 seconds or so. Then add the zucchini, carrots, and broccoli. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring. Add chicken and stir to blend evenly and warm.

Stir in 4 C rice and 2 T soy sauce. Cook about 5 minutes. Allow the rice to become crispy on the bottom.

Create an empty space in the middle of the pan.

Gently beat 2 eggs, then pour into the space in the skillet. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scramble the eggs in the middle of the pan. Once they’re cooked, stir them together with the rest of the ingredients.

 

Serve, garnished with scallion greens.

Mexican Rice

The Recipe: Paula Deen recipe from foodnetwork.com.

What You Need:

2 T butter

1&1/2 C rice

1/2 C chopped onion

1/2 C chopped green bell pepper

2 C water

1 can Mexican diced tomatoes (with green chiles)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Your Turn:
In a large saucepan, melt 2 T butter over medium heat.

Add

· 1 & 1/2 C rice

· 1/2 C chopped onion

· 1/2 C chopped green pepper

Cook until rice is browned and vegetables are tender.

Stir in

· 2 C water

· 1 can tomatoes with green chiles

· 1 tsp salt

· 1 tsp chili powder (Don't skimp on this. I did that the first time, and it did not have enough flavor.)

Bring to a boil. Then, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 15-17 minutes.

Stir in 1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese. (Feel free to add a little more. Original recipe called for 1 C, but I thought that was too much)

Serve hot with quesadillas or tortilla soup.