Monthly Archives: January 2012

Chicken, Pasta, pinterest

Pesto Chicken Stuffed Shells

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Ingredients:

12-16 jumbo pasta shells
water for boiling pasta
4oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
3 tablespoons prepared pesto (homemade or store bought)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large pot over high heat, boil water and prepare pasta shells as directed on package. Cook pasta shells only until al dente. The pasta will finish cooking when the dish is baked. Drain the pasta shells and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients, except the 1/4 cup of cheese for the topping. Fill the pasta shells with the filling and place in a baking dish.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over filled shells.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake shells uncovered for 30 minutes or until shells are bubbling hot and cheese melts.

Ref: Joelens Blogspot via Pinterest

Pork

Ribs

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds pork baby back ribs
  • 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce (Sweet Baby Rays)
Directions
  1. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil big enough to enclose each portion of ribs. Spray each piece of foil with vegetable cooking spray. I used my roasting pan lined with foil instead so the juices wouldn’t spill out, sprayed with oil. I used the below rub on the ribs and marinated overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
  3. Bake ribs wrapped tightly in the foil at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours. Remove top foil and brush BBQ sauce on and broil for 15 min
Prepping the ribs with the rubbing spices!

Rubbing Spice:

1/4c. brown sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp. paprika, 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, 1 1/2 Tbsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne red pepper. (Definitely remove the back membrane before rubbing spices on)

the cooked ribs in all their sticky delicious goodness!

Ref: Allrecipes.com

This recipe is one of my favorites for entertaining and the response I got last night after the first bite was “Right on Jami, RIGHT ON”. LOL This rib recipe is incredible, the meat falls right off the bone. A lot of reviewers on allrecipes didn’t feel this qualified for a “recipe” because you’re supposed to just use your favorite BBQ sauce. But those reviewers must not have ever had dried out ribs before. Cooking is key with these babies. But the rib rub I found hunting through the 1000+ reviews is what MAKES this recipe, HOLY COW. Try it. It’s super easy, something you can prep the night before with the rib rub so all you have to do is pop it in the oven the next day so you can enjoy the day with your guests. I kept the sides super simple too. Tossed some asparagus with olive oil and TJ’s 21 seasoning salute (I heart that stuff!!) and threw it on the grill with a salad on the side. 

Soup, Trader Joe's, Turkey

Chipotle Chili

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Ingredients

  • 1 (1.3 lb) package of ground turkey or beef (I used 2 pounds of ground turkey. I like it meaty…hehe)
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 Tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (15 oz) can of black beans (I used two cans. I like black beans)
  • 3/4 cup refried black or pinto beans (or use whole can for thicker chili, I did)
  • 1/2 cup Chipotle salsa (I added more salsa since I had more meat than originally called for)
  • 1/4 cup of BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays and closer to 1/2 cup)
  • sour cream (optional) (duh)
  • shredded cheese (optional) (double duh)

Directions
1. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions 5 min. Add ground turkey and cook until brown, breaking it up as it cooks. Add ground cumin and cook 1 min longer.

2. Add remaining ingredients. Stir in refried beans until broken up and dissolved

Ohhh Sweet Baby Ray’s! (Again note ridiculous amount of recipes I need to try marked by green tags)

3. When chili comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 min

4. Garnish with cheese and sour cream

Ref: Trader Joe’s Cooking Companion

Delicious, delicious, DELICIOUS. Chili always makes me nervous because everyone has that distinct memory of “mom style” home cooking chili that can never be replicated. Well. This will be mine. Minus the mom thing for now since the only kids I have are 4 legged furballs. 😀 Now here’s what I tweaked. I sauteed the onions with some chopped garlic because its only right and I used two packages of ground turkey instead of one. I knew Mike would prefer more meat in his chili. I added an additional can of black beans because it looked like it needed it. And I also decided it needed corn and l magically had a bag in the freezer. I love corn. I up’d the amount of salsa and BBQ sauce because of the amount of meat I put in. I’m always weirded out when there’s not any seasonings really. Cumin? Just cumin? Really? YES really. I forced myself to stick to the recipe in that regard and didn’t add salt and pepper and what ever else on my spice rack and I’m so proud of myself because it really is that delicious without it. I topped it off with cheese and a dollop of sour cream when served and it was uh-maze-ing. If I was scuba diving, there would be a fin high in order. I’m just saying.

Beef, Soup, Trader Joe's, Vegetable

Beef Stew

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Ingredients:

  • 1.5 pounds of beef stew meat or beef chuck cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup of flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup of beef broth
  • 1/4 cup red wine (yes!!!!!!)
  • 2 tsp steak sauce (I used A1 sauce)
  • 2 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 sprigs of fresh thyme or 2 tsp of dried thyme
  • 1 pound small potatoes (I used small red potatoes)
  • 2 carrots (I used 4 because I love carrots in stews!)
  • 1 small onion cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 2 cups of green beans (I forgot them, oops, but I’m sure they would have been great! hehe)
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley (Since my black thumb killed my parsley plant, I went without, LOL)

Directions:

    1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Lightly salt meat and dredge in flour, shaking off excess (omit flour for gluten-free recipe). Sear meat in hot oil until browned, about 1 minute per side. Browning meat seals in juices, for more tender meat. Don’t overcrowd the pot or you’ll steam rather than brown the meat. Cook in 2-3 batches.

    I added TJ’s 21 seasoning Salute to the flour before dredging

    2. Return seared meat to pot. Add remaining ingredients (except green beans and parsley) and stir. When liquid is boiling, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 2 hours. If you prefer to bake, place covered pot in oven for 1.5-2 hours, making sure to use an oven-proof pot.

    3. Add green beans during last 15 minutes of cooking to preserve crispness. For softer green beans, add during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

    4. Remove from heat and remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Sprinkle on fresh parsley right before serving.

    See all those green tags on my TJ cookbook? Eventually stopped marking pages because I want to make everything. haha

    Ref: Cooking with Trader Joe’s Cookbook Companion

    First recipe out of my Trader Joe’s cookbook companion and it was UH-MAZE-ING. Nice thick hearty stew full of flavor and hits the spot after a long day on a chilly night. Few things I tweaked because you all know how well I listen and follow directions… hehe. Dredging the beef through just flour seemed boring to me so I added the Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning Salute blend to the flour to coat the meat. The seasoning just smelled so good! I totally smoked out the kitchen searing the meat… Maybe I’ll get that kitchen remodel sooner than later with a new fan vent. 😀 It was worth it though in the end and nothing a few table fans couldn’t remedy. :) I was of course, super excited about the red wine ingredient. Not that I need an excuse to open a bottle of wine, but its just more fun. 😀 The only other thing I added was a a little cornstarch diluted in water at the end to thicken up the sauce. Probably about a teaspoon of cornstarch and 3 teaspoons of water. No idea where I got that combo, I just winged it. :) I taste tested it from there adding a little salt and pepper and 21 seasonings salute till I was happy with it. Didn’t need much, just a little bit

    I’m dedicated this year to taking pictures as I go so enjoy. Now that I Mike and I live together I’m finally publicly expressing my dislike for his ugly chili pepper dish set you see in the photos and I’m currently looking for new pretty ones. I’ll keep you posted. :)

    pinterest, Sides, Vegetable, Vegetarian

    Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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    Whole Living

     

    Ingredients

    • 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
    • 2 red Bartlett pears, cored and cut into wedges
    • 6 shallots, quartered
    • 10 fresh thy me sprigs
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • Coarse salt and ground pepper
    • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On two large rimmed baking sheets, toss Brussels sprouts, pears, shallots, thyme, and oil; season with salt and pepper.
    2. Roast until Brussels sprouts are tender and browned, 30 to 35 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Toss with lemon juice and serve warm.

      Ref: Whole Living

      I made this as my side to the quinoa crusted chicken breasts and I LOVED it. Amy never had brussel sprouts before and Mike had previously expressed his dislike for them earlier but I made them anyway. And you know what? They both liked it! I’ll admit I also threw in some roasted red potatoes to this mix just in case my brussel sprout rebellion backfired. Since I didn’t have thyme on hand I used my Herbs de Provence spices which has thyme in it. 😀 But the pears really gave it that something extra, that sweet to the bitter taste of the brussel sprouts. It was so good!

    Chicken, pinterest

    Quinoa Crusted Chicken Fingers

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    The Skinny Chef

    Ingredients

    2 pound chicken tenders or skinless boneless breasts, sliced into 3-inch long tenders
    1/2 teaspoon of salt
    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    1/4 teaspoon paprika
    2 cups cooked red or white quinoa
    1/2 cup whole wheat or seasoned breadcrumbs
    2 egg whites
    2 tablespoons olive oil

    Directions

    Spread out the quinoa on a piece of wax paper or aluminum foil. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the quinoa. With your fingers tips, squeeze the quinoa and breadcrumbs together until the moisture of the quinoa is absorbed Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the chicken with salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika.
    Place the egg whites in a shallow bowl. Dip the chicken in the egg and then into the quinoa mixture. Place onto a plate. Warm the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and reduce the heat to medium. Cook each side 4-5 minutes, turning once, until the crust begins to brown, and the chicken is not longer translucent. Transfer fingers to a plate and serve immediately.

    Ref: Skinny Chef 

    First BFF dinner of the year and I so failed at this recipe. LOL The idea was good. I totally dig quinoa, but I could not get that stuff to stick to the chicken if my life depended on it. So mine didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as the Skinny Chef’s picture did so I’ll show you hers. I made my quinoa in a rice cooker. I find if I don’t, I always undercook it. :/ It might be just me being special. Anyways, the taste was yummy it just was more in crumbles next to the chicken. haha