Fall is knocking on our door...

Well Southern Illinois is cooling off.  Yesterday the high was 93 degrees.  Today the high was 63 and the low tonight is predicted to be in the 40's....YES, I think FALL has arrived.
Since it was cool and rainy, something hot was necessary for dinner.

3 cups of diced cooked chicken  (this time I sauteed 3 boneless breasts and cubed them)
3 cups of chicken broth/stock
4 cups of Great Northern Beans (canned and rinsed or dried and soaked)
1 onion diced
2-3 cloves of garlic diced
1/4 cup green chilies (canned works fine, throw in juice also)
paprika, cumin, salt, pepper (to taste)
1 diced jalapeno


Combine all ingredients. Cook in crock pot on low for 5 or 6 hours. Or cook on stove top for 2 or 3 hours on low.
ENJOY!!

A spin on Stuffed Peppers

Peppers are popping out all over around here.  Our Cayenne's are all turning red, jalapenos, big jims and bells, they all did fabulous this year.  I think with the extreme heat we had the peppers thrived.  Anyway, I made good use of a few for dinner.  I hope you give it a try, it's delish and a super easy weeknight meal.

These are the measurements for two Stuffed Peppers. 

1/2 pound ground beef cooked
Saute:
1 onion diced
1 cayenne pepper diced
2 cloves of garlic diced
cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt to taste
Combine all ingredients
Stuff peppers.

Cook at 350 for 15 minutes.  Add shredded cheddar cheese to the top of each stuffed pepper and let cook about 10 more minutes. 

I served on rice that was cooked with two diced chili's and 2 small diced tomatoes and their juice.

This was delish!!  ENJOY!!

Rice cooking with tomatoes, green chilies, salt, pepper.

Saute onions, garlic and cayenne in a little olive oil.

Mix ground beef, sauteed veggies and spices and stuff peppers.

An AWESOME Pot Roast

When it's really hot outside my Crock Pot is a life saver. 

Carrots, garlic, sliced onion, sliced green pepper, balsamic vinegar, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper.

Place your roast in the crock pot, add 1/2 cup of beef stock, vinegar and all herbs and veggies.  Cook on low for 6 hours.
 ENJOY!!

Recipe for left over chicken #2



Every time I fire up the grill I try to cook enough meat for more than just that one meal.  Sunday night I made black beans and rice and when I grilled a steak and tilapia to go with it I threw a couple of boneless chicken breasts on for tonight.
So tonight I just made a pot of rice.
Heated up the black beans and spooned some over the rice.
Warmed up the chicken breasts in the oven while the cornbread was cooking then sliced it over the beans and rice.
Topped with a little fresh cilantro and it was a fantastic dinner.

ENJOY!!



A Great Summer Sunday Dinner

Tilapia marinating in lemon, red pepper fakes, paprika, oregano and black pepper.



Tilapia grilling on cedar plank for 10 minutes.

Grilled steak and black beans and rice for me.

Grilled Tilapia with black beans and rice for my husband.

Black Beans and Rice

Saute in olive oil half a diced onion, 1 jalapeno minced, 1/2 diced green pepper, 1 or two cloves of garlic minced.  Cook until a little tender.

Add in two cups of black beans.  Either canned or beans that were soaked over night work well.

Add two cups of diced tomatoes.

Mix in...1 tsp oregano

dash of red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper to taste

and about 1 tsp of lemon juice.

Bring to a boil then turn heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 1 hour.

Make favorite rice to spoon beans and rice over and garnish with fresh cilantro.

ENJOY!!!

Recipe for left over Chicken #1

We eat a lot of chicken.  Definitely at least once a week, but usually more.  There are just SO many wonderful things that you can do with left over chicken.  It makes perfect sense that if you are going to cook some chicken, whether you bake it, grill it, fry it, roast it, saute it, however you decide to cook it...make a little extra for another meal.

Starting with this post, I have decided to keep track and write down all the different options that I can come up with for Chicken.  Now I'm not going to go crazy with this and start eating chicken every day or soliciting for all the chicken recipes I can find.  I won't even guarantee a weekly post. This is just a record for myself and maybe a little inspiration for you.

Yesterday we grilled Balsamic Chicken strips and I grilled extra for tonight.  It was cheap, fast, easy and SO delish.  ANY type of cooked chicken works for these. 

Corn Tortilla Chips
Slice or cube Chicken 
Salsa
Cheddar Cheese
Layer and Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until cheese is melted and chicken is warm.

Layer nacho chips with sliced chicken, salsa and cheese.

Bake at 350 for approx. 15 minutes.  Add sour cream and ENJOY!!

Chicken Flautas

I had never made this before but I will again.  This is a simple recipe and a great way to use up left over chicken.
I followed the recipe in Food Networks May issue all except for the radishes that I forgot to pick up.  It was really good though and we didn't even miss them.  We did however miss the cilantro which I forgot to put on. 

1 avocado, halved and pitted
1/2 cup sour cream
1 lime
Salt
6 Radishes thinly sliced
3 Cups shredded chicken
1 1/2 cups fresh salsa
Corn tortillas
Vegetable Oil for frying
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Scoop the avocado into processor/blender.  Add the sour cream and the juice of 1/2 lime and pulse until smooth.  Season with salt.

Squeeze the remaining 1/2 lime over the radishes in a small bowl and sprinkle with salt. 

Toss the chicken with 3/4 cup salsa.

Wrap the tortillas in paper towels and microwave until soft, about 45 minutes.  Or if you're like me and don't use a microwave, I heated them in the oven on 300 for about 2 or 3 minutes.  Spoon the chicken mixture down the middle of the tortillas.  Fold in the ends and roll up like a burrito and secure with toothpicks.

Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until approximately 375.  Fry the flautas, turning as needed, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove with tongs, set on paper towels and remove the toothpicks.  Serve with the avocado cream, radishes, cilantro, lime wedge and the remaining salsa.

I served with a little plain white rice.

ENJOY!!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is enjoying their day. It's been raining here off and on all day but that's OK, it's been a nice and relaxing day.

For our dinner I brined Cornish Hens all night and WOW it payed off. They
were delicious. Add in the mashed potatos, garlic green beans, deviled eggs and rolls and we had a pretty great meal. Dessert...Chocolate Cake with Strawberry cream cheese frosting between the layers and plain cream cheese frosting on the outside. YUM!

Hope everyone else enjoyed the day with good food and good company like I did.

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf...

Tonight I tried Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf. I used pastured ground beef and local bacon so it was very juicy not greasy. This is a very tasty twist to meatloaf.

1 pound ground beef
8 or 9 slices of bacon
1 egg
1/2 cup panko
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
Red pepper flakes to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste

I mixed all ingredients and let rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 375
Shape meatloaf on your baking dish
Wrap the two ends with two slices and tuck under
Wrap the rest of the meatloaf.

Bake with foil tent for about 30 minutes. Remove foil and back for another 15 or 20 minutes until bacon is desired crispness.

Stuffed Burgers

We haven't had a burger probably since the last time we grilled which was in October. We still have a couple of weeks before I start grilling outside here so I pan fried up a couple of stuffed burgers to cure our craving until then.

I stuffed them with diced jalapeno, diced onion and local farmers cheese. Toasted the buns and topped with homemade mayo, purple leaf lettuce and a big slice of raw onion for me.

I served them with olive oil and thyme potato wedges and now I'm stuffed.

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend.

A simple Sunday dinner

Oven baked spicy chicken wings, baked potatoes, salad and deviled eggs. A tasty meal that doesn't have you in the kitchen for long.
We enjoyed this yesterday while watching the playoffs. Sad that the Bears didn't win but the food was good.

You can go your own way...

My husband and I spent the day relaxing a little more before picking back up our busy schedules that will kick back in on Monday. I have learned a few relaxing tips over this holiday season though that I plan to continue throughout the year.

I am not making any New Year's resolutions this year, not in the traditional sense anyway. I did pretty well with most of the resolutions that I made last year but I have decided to continue on the path I have decided upon and remind myself frequently to be AWARE. Aware of my blessings, aware of my surroundings, aware of everything going on in and around me. I believe this will help me stay centered and focused on the 'right now' and let the past and the future go their own ways. The present is what I have and what I need to be spending all of my energy on.

Dinner tonight was Low and Slow Italian sausages, roasted brusells sprouts and sweet potato fries. My none veggie lover husband even enjoyed it.

What was your first dinner of the new year? Any resolutions?

Dreaming of Thanksgiving Dinner...

I LOVE Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays because it centers around food, fun and family. It's a day to relax, enjoy and appreciate all that you have to be thankful for.

Our menu this year...
Roasted Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Corn
Deviled Eggs
Parker House Rolls
Pumpkin Pie

The only new recipe that I'm doing this year is the parker house rolls. I found a recipe in this months Food Network Magazine. I'm not the best bread baker, especially with a new recipe soooo wish me luck. I'll let you know how they turn out.

What's on your menu for the Holiday?

Fajita Seasoning Mix

After checking the package of Fajita Seasoning that I normally buy and seeing many ingredients that I didn't want to ingest, I came up with my own and it is very good.



Mix together-

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic



Even if you're not eating meat, this is great on sauteed or grilled veggies.

Biggest Loser White House Salad

Wanted to share this recipe from the obamafoodorama food blog.
We tried this salad tonight and the simple dressing is delicious. We did add some left over baked chicken breast to the salad and it made a wonderful, light meal.


Biggest Loser White House Salad

Ingredients1 head of fresh lettuce, wash, dry and cut into bite size pieces
1 cucumber peeled, and cut into bite sized pieces
2 fresh in season tomatoes, wash and cut into bite size pieces
¼ red onion, peel and cut as thinly as possible
1 bunch fresh basil, wash and chop into big pieces
4 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp honey
Salt and pepper to taste


Combine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions in large mixing bowl.

In sealable container, combine oil, lemon juice, honey and salt and pepper. Cover container and shake vigorously. Add dressing to salad and serve immediately.

Great New Kitchen Helpers

The weekend I got two great new kitchen helpers.
The first is a Wilton loaf pan that has a meatloaf insert so that while cooking the meatloaf all the grease goes down to the pan underneath instead of sitting there soaking your meat. The two pans are a really good weight and quality. I had been wanting a deeper loaf pan and while looking at Target Saturday found this one. Well I can tell you, it is awesome and it works. I have been fixing meatloaf various ways for many, many years and my hubby and I both agree...the one I cooked Sunday in my new pan was the BEST one yet.

The second is a Kitchen Aid processor...in red (favorite color), a great surprise from my Mom. I hadn't told her I wanted on but yes it was on my with list. I LOVE it!! I have already been planning all the wonderful things I can make with it. I used it Sunday night to help in the meatloaf prep and last night while making salsa and it does a fantastic job.

I make all kinds of different meatloaf depending on what I have on hand and what I feel like that particular day. Here's what I did this time. Simple but really delicious.

1 pound ground beef
12 Ritz crackers
1 Egg
1 small onion
1 whole cayenne pepper
1 or two sprigs of fresh oregano
3-4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce

I used the Kitchen Aid to make the cracker crumbs, dice the onion, pepper and oregano and then added all ingredients in a bowl and mixed by hand. Bake at 350 for about an hour.
ENJOY!!

Meatless Meal Idea

We are trying to eat less meat. That is a HARD thing for two meat lovers to do.

I love a good center cut pork chop but did manage to give pork up over three years ago. We primarily now eat chicken, a little ground beef here and there, fish and seafood with a steak thrown in from time to time for myself.

My goal is to limit meat to two or three nights a week, so any time I find a good meatless recipe I am excited.

I came across this recipe in Energy Times. The mushrooms will fool even dedicated meat lovers.

MLT WRAP

4 large portobello mushrooms sliced (or 8 oz white button mushrooms, quartered)

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp salt free steak seasoning salt to taste

4 wraps

1 tsp fresh minced ginger

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cups fresh baby spinach

2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced

1. Brush mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning

2. If grilling: Preheat grill. Once grill is hot, cook mushroom strips until deep brown, about 10

minutes. Turn and grill until golden, about another 6 minutes.

3. If sauteing: Heat olive oil in large non stick skillet, over medium high heat. Add a single

layer of mushrooms and cook without stirring for about 5 minutes or until mushrooms

become red-brown on one side. Flip mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes more, until

other side is the same color.

4. Warm wraps on the grill in foil or in a dry skillet or oven. Mix ginger and mayo together

and divide among wraps; top with spinach and tomatoes. When mushrooms are done, slice

them into thinner strips, sprinkle with more seasoning if desired and place in wraps.