Recipe #11 - Reuben Mac n Cheese

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This one is so simple and tasty! Compared to the last casserole that I made. Which was very good, but it took 2 hours to make. Granted the other one was all fresh cut veggies. I digress...

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente (which I just found out meant "not all of the way cooked").
 
While pasta cooks, toast rye bread in toaster then butter hot bread. Coarsely chop bread and place in food processor. Add parsley and paprika to bread and process into bread crumbs, reserve.

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter to pot and melt, whisk in flour 1 minute then milk. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, thicken sauce 5 to 6 minutes then stir in mustard. Melt 2/3 of the combined cheeses into the sauce.

Preheat broiler.

Drain pasta and return to hot pot. Toss hot pasta with chopped meat and sauerkraut to combine, stir in cheese sauce and coat. Transfer mac n cheese to casserole and top with bread crumbs and remaining cheese. Brown under broiler 3 to 4 minutes, serve.

I'm not a huge sauerkraut fan, but pairing it with the hint of mustard and corned beef - yum! It was really weird because when I opened up the sauerkraut I practically gagged by the smell. I took it over to the sauce to mix it in and the smell of the mustard with the smell of the sauerkraut was so appetizing!

Again... so simple. I would recommend this to a working family that needs a flavorful, quick meal to throw on the table. It would be really easy to pre-make and throw in the oven the next day or later that night as well.

Time: 30 mins
Rating: 8.5
Recipe:
Salt
1 pound cavatappi, hallow corkscrew shaped pasta or, other short cut
2 slices rye bread
3 tablespoons butter plus some for buttering toast
A handful fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup spicy brown deli mustard (recommended: Gulden's)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere
1 cup shredded yellow Cheddar
3/4 pound good quality deli corned beef, sliced as thick as bacon, chopped
1 pound sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained

Recipe #10 - Cranberry & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

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I got this recipe off my fab little sista T. Pretty much winged it.

First, I preheated oven to 400. Then I rinsed and butterflied the chicken breasts (organic, free range, grain fed chicken breast). I had to Google "how to butterfly a chicken breast". Lol. I love Google, it makes me more smart everyday. Then I seasoned the breast with salt and pepper.

I then mixed the cream cheese, goat cheese (I used the kind with chives and onions for extra taste), and dried cranberries together in a medium sized bowl. Spoon the cheese mixture into the middle of the chicken breasts and close like a sandwich.

Place into a baking dish and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until done (which I just learned was 190 degrees inside for chicken).

Something I would have done differently is make some sort of marinade and soaked the chicken in it prior. The chicken was a tad bland and a little dry. The cheese mixture was perfect though, it def made the recipe.

Time: 55 mins
Rating: 6.5
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
6 Free range chicken breast
2/3 cup cream cheese
2/3 cup goat cheese (optional: with chives and onions)
1 cup dried cranberries (or to taste)
Salt and pepper

Recipe #9 - Green Beans w/ Almonds

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To my defense, I was making this the same night as the sliders when the electricity went out. I, fortunately, was able to complete the sliders, but had to stop in the middle of this recipe.

I started by lightly toasting the almond slivers in a dry skillet, stirring constantly because they can burn easily. This takes 3-5 mins. 

Heat butter in skillet over medium-low heat. cook and stir shallots and red bell peppers until softened, about 8 mins. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper to taste and reduce heat to low. Cover, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the shallots caramelize, 5 to 8 minutes.

Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer, and bring the water to a boil. Add the green beans, cover, and steam until just tender enough to pierce with a fork, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the green beans, place them into the skillet with the shallot mixture, mix well, and gently stir in the toasted almonds.

Now, I had to refrigerate the beans and caramelized mixture (due to the power outage) before I could mix them together. So the next day in the daylight, still with no power, thank God for gas stoves, I finished steaming the beans and mixed them together. Topped with the almonds. 

It was surprisingly very bland. I added garlic salt and more pepper once they were on my plate and it helped a bit, but something huge was still missing. I can't tell if it was the two part preparation of the food or if it's lacking more seasoning. Anyways, not my favorite. So the search is still on for a good steamed green bean recipe.

Time: Would have been 40 mins.
Rating: 2
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup blanched slivered almonds
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 5 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped

Recipe #8 - Jalapeno Popper Sliders

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We had a lot of ground beef in the frig for some reason, so I needed to make a recipe using ground beef. I was in the mood for hamburgers, but didn't want to do the typical mayo, mustard, pickle, cheese thing. I've never made sliders before and began researching recipes. I found this:

"If you're in the mood for the flavors of the southwest, you'll love this pork and beef burger covered with roasted peppers and an avocado, sour cream, cilantro, Fresno chili and line juice dressing."

That was the tag line that hooked me for this recipe. Avocado! Sour cream! On a burger? Yes, please!

Everything but the Worcestershire sauce. Plus my recipe holder aka iPad.

There were a few things I threw out of the original recipe and a few that I added from others. For example, I didn't use pork, replaced it with more ground beef. It called for Pablano peppers (way too spicy for me), but used red peppers. I used Guinness Extra Stout beer instead of Negra Modelo.

I started out pre-heating the oven to broil. I cut up the the peppers into long thin strips and placed them on a cooking sheet. I then placed the pan into the oven (with the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape) to char them all over. Once charred, I quickly removed the peppers from the pan so that they didn't stick. I threw them into a small bowl to cool. Once cooled, using a food processor, I pureed them. Or as I like to say, "mush them up real good like". That's a technical term... Ha.

While the peppers are cooling before you puree them, cut the red onion into then rings and place in a bowl. Add half of the lime juice, salt, pepper, and drizzle with EVOO to coat. 

In another bowl, mash together the avocado, sour cream, cilantro, fresno chili and the remaining lime juice; season, to taste, with salt. This makes a thick sauce to top the slider with when finished. 

In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, pureed peppers, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, salt and lots of pepper. Mix in the beer and Worcestershire sauce. 

Form the mixture into eight 3-inch patties (a little thinner in the center and thicker at the edges). Drizzle a little EVOO in a large skillet or nonstick griddle over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook, turning once, for about 7 minutes for medium-rare. Top with the pepper jack cheese slice (it's ok if it's much larger, it will melt around the edges of the slider).

Place the burgers on the wheat roll bottoms. Top with the onions and sauce and set the roll tops in place. Wala! You now have fabulous looking and tasting Jalapeno Popper Sliders!

I was impressed by the depth of the flavor. I could pin point the beer and the Worcestershire sauce as well as the broiled peppers. I felt like each item could have been it's own recipe, good enough to be eaten separately. The onions marinated in the spices and EVOO. The avocado, jalapeno and sour cream. Even the cinnamon added to the beef was just superb.

Almost to pretty to eat... almost.

  

Time: ~1 hour

Rating: I'm going to give this a 10. I would def make it again. In fact, I want to make it again right now just writing about them. 
Serves: 4
Ingredients:

2 large red peppers

1 small red onion, thinly sliced into rings

Juice of 2 limes, divided

Salt and pepper

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), for drizzling

1 small ripe avocado

1/2 cup sour cream

A handful of cilantro, finely chopped

1 Fresno or jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped

1.5 pounds ground beef sirloin

1/2 palmful each ground cumin, ground coriander and smoked sweet paprika (about 1 1/2 teaspoons each)

A pinch of ground cinnamon

1/3 cup beer, such as Guinness Extra Stout

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Sliced pepper Jack

8 white, potato or whole wheat slider rolls, split

Recipe #6 & #7 - Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Steamed Broccoli

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This is a box recipe from Macaroni Grill found at any grocery market. It sold me on the simplicity of the recipe after the last few. I added organic, non-cage feed, steroid free chicken. I set aside the provided noodles and added my own organic ones. I also added fresh parsley and tomatoes. And, of course, a side of fresh steamed broccoli.

I began by boiling the water for the noodle (dash or two of salt and a little olive oil to prevent the sticking). While that was warming up, I melted the butter in the frying pan and added the chicken (cut into 1/4 in chunks). Cooked until all sides were white.

Next added the milk and seasoning. Brought to boil, then simmered on medium heat for 6 mins. Then began to chop the tomatoes and parsley.

About this time, start steaming the broccoli. It should be finished the same time you are ready to serve. I added lemon juice, salt and pepper while it was steaming.

After the 6 or so mins. I added the tomatoes, parsley, and creamy sauce provided. Let simmer for another 6 mins and drain the noodles.

Add noodles to chicken and shiz. Mix and top with grated parmesan cheese. Add the broccoli with light butter and addition salt and pepper to taste. 

This one is extremely simple. By substituting a couple of the boxed ingredients and adding your own, you can make it more healthy than the original Macaroni Grill recipe.

Rating: 7

Time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

Adjusted Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup milk

3 cups linguini pasta (substituted)

1 package provided seasoning

1 package provided creamy sauce

1 package provided sun dried tomatoes (can be substituted for organic sun dried tomatoes)

2 fresh roman tomatoes 

1/3 cup fresh parsley 

Salt and pepper
Grated parmesan cheese

Broccoli recipe:
3 heads organic broccoli
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Butter

Recipe #5 - Taco Chili

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I originally planned to make Taco Soup, but every recipe I found seemed to be missing something. I looked from Rachel Ray to Paula Dean and even just Googled "Taco Soup". So I decided last minute to make huge changes to the recipe.

I started out browning the Angus ground beef with the two onions over medium heat in a stockpot (apparently those are the tall ones). Since my parents still haven't replaced the automatic can opener, I made dad earn his dinner by opening up ALL the cans for me by hand. Lol. He didn't seem to mind.

Drained excess fat. Then added both types of kidney beans, Mexican tomatoes, niblet corn (frozen then thawed), tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, Rotel, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing seasoning, to the stockpot.

Simmer over low heat for at least an hour.  Then top with sour cream, cheese and Fritos.

I really didn't think it looked like soup at all. It looked more like chili. So instead of calling this "Taco Soup" I've rightfully renamed it "Taco Chili". I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'm not a huge soup fan to begin. I'd much prefer a thicker chili type dish than a soupy one. I think it's the broth. I don't think I'm a broth person if that makes any sense. Lol.

How I made mine.

How Dad made his.... oh dad...

Time: 1 hour, 15 mins
Rating: 8.5 (I'd def make this one again)
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 chopped onion
1 (15 1/2 ounces) cans Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 (15 1/2 ounces) cans Light Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 (15 1/2 ounces each) cans Mexican Tomatoes
1 (15 1/2 ounces) can or frozen Niblet Corn, drained
1 (14 1/2 ounces) can diced Tomatoes
2 (4 ounces each) cans diced Green Chilies
1 small can Black Olives, drained
1/2 cup Green Olives, sliced
2 cans Rotel - original 1 package Taco Seasoning Mix
1 package Ranch Salad Dressing Mix Sour Cream
Grated Cheese
Chopped Onions
Fritos (corn chips)

Recipe #4 - Green Pastitsio

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"Pastitsio is a Greek baked pasta dish traditionally made with ground lamb or beef, often with bits of spiced or cured meat mixed in – this is a heavy Greek alternative to Lasagna Bolognese. In this make-ahead recipe, Rach uses an equally traditional phyllo tart filling to lighten up the end result. Though it remains rich, it's not heavy – envision a well-made spinach or vegetable lasagna."

I wanted to make a vegetarian dish this time and I found this recipe off the Rachel Ray website. I bought all the ingredients from Whole Food Market and everything was organic except for the milk and butter. I substituted the Ziti noodles for whole wheat Ziti noodles (which I, personally, like better).

This one took me a lot longer than I was expecting to make. The prep alone took close to two hours. I think that since all the veggies were fresh and I had to cut them all up individually, it made the process a little more difficult. I had three pans going at once: one for the sauce, one for the noodles, and one for the veggies. Then I throw it all together in a casserole dish.

Put all together - before baked in the oven

Since this is a make ahead recipe, I put it all together tonight and will throw it in the oven for lunch tomorrow. Will letcha know the results!

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The Result:

Put it in for lunch today. Delicious! I had two servings. 

Rating: 8
Time: ~2 hours
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1 pound ziti or long, hollow pasta tubes, such as Buon Italia or Greek macaroni #2*
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped
1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
1 large or 2 medium bundles chard, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill leaves
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 brick Greek feta in water, drained (about 1 cup crumbled feta)
1 cup freshly shredded or grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Salt