We made this on Sunday (great crock pot day!). I was wandering around Publix’s website looking for party trays and found a recipe area (Apron's) on their site. It’s actually a really, really good site! If you’ve ever been in the store and seen someone demo-ing quick meals where you buy stuff already cooked or cut, these are the recipes that go along with it. They give you an entire meal, complete with sides and then the grocery list, equipment needed, etc.
The meal called for Osso Buco with saffron risotto. I couldn’t find risotto in the store and was in too much of a hurry to blindly wander around for 10 minutes looking. So, I made saffron rice instead. Just as good and probably easier.
My only recommendation would be to cut up the shanks at the end, when it says to discard the bones and herbs. We used 2 shanks and one was significantly more fatty than the other, so one of us got a bunch of meat, and the other a bunch of fat. If you cut up the meat, discard the fatty parts, and stir it back in, you’ll get a better distribution of meat and avoid the fat.
Verdict – AWESOME! We will definitely be making this again. Neither one of us had ever cooked Osso Buco and it was wonderful!
Osso Buco
Ingredients
1/4 cup flourlarge zip-top bag
2 pounds veal shanks (about 4 shanks)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen seasoning blend (contains diced onions, green/red peppers and celery)
1 (8-ounce) bag shredded carrots
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
1 (12-ounce) jar chicken gravy
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon Maggi seasoning sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4 bay leaves
Steps
1. Preheat large saucepan on high 1–2 minutes. Preheat slow cooker on low. Place flour in zip-top bag. Season veal shanks with salt and pepper; add to bag, seal tightly and shake to coat.
2. Place olive oil in saucepan. Add veal; cook 3 minutes, turning occasionally, to brown. Add seasoning blendand cook 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to boil. Place veal shanks into bottom of slow cooker and top with remaining mixture, covering veal completely. Cover and cook 8 to 10 hours.
4. Skim any excess fat from top. Remove and discard bones, rosemary sprig and bay leaves. Serve. (Makes 6 servings.)
CALORIES (per 1/6 recipe) 317kcal; FAT 10g; CHOL 118mg; SODIUM 736mg; CARB 17g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 34g; VIT A 165%; VIT C 21%; CALC 3%; IRON 10%
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Found a winner tonight! Semi-healthy, though it has mozzarella in it and a small amount of margarine. It was easy to prep and super easy to cook. And it surprisingly, didn’t taste as “Italian” as I thought it might. Probably because it didn’t have any oregano in it. In fact, besides onions, garlic, salt, and pepper, the only flavorings was the fresh flat-leaf parsley. Anyways, we enjoyed how light it tasted and will definitely be making this again.
Verdict – a keeper!
Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Verdict – a keeper!
Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cubed chicken breast (1-inch cubes)
1/2 cup diced onion (about 1/2 a small onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon butter, plus more for buttering the baking dish
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Dot the top with small bits of butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Seared Salmon and Tomato Butter Dill Sauce
This was Fish Night this week. I was looking for salmon and a lemon/dill-type something. But I found this Tomato Butter Dill Sauce instead and it looked good. So all I had to do was find something interesting to do with the salmon and found this Seared Salmon Fillet recipe. Both came from Food Network. I usually start my recipe searches on Food Network and usually find something there, so that’s where it seems that most of my recipes come from.
The searing part of the salmon burned the skin but you don’t eat that anyways. The recipe says “high” heat and “nonstick pan” and “about seven minutes” so that’s what I did. Though it probably should have been closer to 4-5 minutes on the seared side. Then the 3 minutes on the flip side. The only real problem with searing was smoking up the kitchen. The fish itself turned out cooked through, rather than the barely pink center, but it wasn’t overcooked and was still moist and tender.
The tomato dill sauce tasted great with it! It was less saucy and more like warm, diced tomatoes with dill. Because it was just warmed through, the tomatoes kept their fruity flavor and the fresh dill was great. Served it as white rice on the bottom, topped with the seared fish, and topped with the tomato dill sauce.
Verdict – pretty good, but there have been other salmon recipes that I like better. The big HOWEVER here was that it was very easy to make and very quick to cook (the rice takes the longest).
Seared Salmon Fillet
Recipe courtesy Robert Bleifer
Show: Sara's Secrets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin on
Salt and pepper
Dill fronds, for garnish
Lemon slices, for garnish
Heat a large non-stick pan over high with olive oil. Liberally season salmon with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Do not move fillets. Allow to cook about 7 minutes or until well browned and cooked about three quarters of the way through. Turn fillets and cook about 3 minutes more, or until still just barely pink in the center. Serve immediately, with the skin side up.
Tomato Butter Dill Sauce
Courtesy of Michele Urvater
2 tablespoons butter
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced dill fronds
Heat butter until golden, saute tomatoes just to warm; add dill off heat, season with salt and pepper. To assemble hot meal: Place a bed of rice on a plate; top with salmon steak and spoon any steaming juices over salmon. Garnish with warm tomato sauce.
The searing part of the salmon burned the skin but you don’t eat that anyways. The recipe says “high” heat and “nonstick pan” and “about seven minutes” so that’s what I did. Though it probably should have been closer to 4-5 minutes on the seared side. Then the 3 minutes on the flip side. The only real problem with searing was smoking up the kitchen. The fish itself turned out cooked through, rather than the barely pink center, but it wasn’t overcooked and was still moist and tender.
The tomato dill sauce tasted great with it! It was less saucy and more like warm, diced tomatoes with dill. Because it was just warmed through, the tomatoes kept their fruity flavor and the fresh dill was great. Served it as white rice on the bottom, topped with the seared fish, and topped with the tomato dill sauce.
Verdict – pretty good, but there have been other salmon recipes that I like better. The big HOWEVER here was that it was very easy to make and very quick to cook (the rice takes the longest).
Seared Salmon Fillet
Recipe courtesy Robert Bleifer
Show: Sara's Secrets
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, skin on
Salt and pepper
Dill fronds, for garnish
Lemon slices, for garnish
Heat a large non-stick pan over high with olive oil. Liberally season salmon with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Do not move fillets. Allow to cook about 7 minutes or until well browned and cooked about three quarters of the way through. Turn fillets and cook about 3 minutes more, or until still just barely pink in the center. Serve immediately, with the skin side up.
Tomato Butter Dill Sauce
Courtesy of Michele Urvater
2 tablespoons butter
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced dill fronds
Heat butter until golden, saute tomatoes just to warm; add dill off heat, season with salt and pepper. To assemble hot meal: Place a bed of rice on a plate; top with salmon steak and spoon any steaming juices over salmon. Garnish with warm tomato sauce.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Chicken Boudine
We made this tonight and it was pretty easy and yummy! Though, in typical Paula Deen fashion, not very healthy. I remember Paula saying that if you’re trying a recipe for the first time, you should make it like it says so you know what it’s supposed to taste like. After that, modify.
If you buy all the ingredients already sliced and diced (like cooked, diced chicken, shredded cheese, etc), it’s even easier. However, I couldn’t stomach spending the money for cooked chicken when boneless, skinless breasts were on sale. So I had to cook the chicken (30 minutes at 350), then boil the noodles. After that, everything else was quick.
Also, I forgot to buy almonds so left those out, which Mapgeek didn’t mind (not a nut fan). I also didn't use dry sherry, though the sherry was probably intended to complement the almonds, which weren’t there. Next time, I’ll probably use white wine or just broth. Probably also try light cheese for the healthier option. Of course, all of this means I broke Paula’s rule (see above), but it still was tasty!
One other consideration is that I did halve the recipe, since it’s just 2.5 of us eating it. I usually make a full casserole recipe, divide it into two Gladware casserole pans and freeze one for a screaming kid day.
Chicken Boudine
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show: Paula's Home Cooking
Episode: Fridge Finds
2 cups cooked egg noodles
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups grated sharp cheese, your choice, divided
1 (2 1/4-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup drained, chopped pimentos
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, soup, broth, and sherry. Add the chicken, 2 cups of the cheese, the almonds, pimento, mushrooms, and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss gently to combine. Transfer the mixture to a greased 13 by 9 by 2-inch casserole and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
If you buy all the ingredients already sliced and diced (like cooked, diced chicken, shredded cheese, etc), it’s even easier. However, I couldn’t stomach spending the money for cooked chicken when boneless, skinless breasts were on sale. So I had to cook the chicken (30 minutes at 350), then boil the noodles. After that, everything else was quick.
Also, I forgot to buy almonds so left those out, which Mapgeek didn’t mind (not a nut fan). I also didn't use dry sherry, though the sherry was probably intended to complement the almonds, which weren’t there. Next time, I’ll probably use white wine or just broth. Probably also try light cheese for the healthier option. Of course, all of this means I broke Paula’s rule (see above), but it still was tasty!
One other consideration is that I did halve the recipe, since it’s just 2.5 of us eating it. I usually make a full casserole recipe, divide it into two Gladware casserole pans and freeze one for a screaming kid day.
Chicken Boudine
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen
Show: Paula's Home Cooking
Episode: Fridge Finds
2 cups cooked egg noodles
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups grated sharp cheese, your choice, divided
1 (2 1/4-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup drained, chopped pimentos
1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, soup, broth, and sherry. Add the chicken, 2 cups of the cheese, the almonds, pimento, mushrooms, and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss gently to combine. Transfer the mixture to a greased 13 by 9 by 2-inch casserole and top with the remaining cup of cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Barbecue Roasted Salmon
We've been cooking salmon lately after several years of avoiding it all together (couple bad experiences). Surprisingly, all the recipes we've found have been really good and we've been buying the fish at our local Publix on Mondays and cooking it the same day.
This is the recipe we used last night, courtesy of Food Network. However, it doesn't taste barbecue-like if you're expecting that. It's very citrus with the orange juice and lemon. The sauce carmelizes in the pan. Yum! With some rice and steamed broccoli, the whole meal took about 30 minutes to fix. Gotta love the quick ones!
Barbecue-Roasted Salmon
Copyright, 2005, Robin Miller, All rights reserved
See this recipe on air Thursday May. 17 at 3:30 PM ET/PT.
Show: Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
Episode: To Your Health
Cooking spray
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt Pinch cayenne pepper
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, about 1-inch thick
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, chili powder, lemon zest, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Using tongs, add salmon fillets to the prepared pan. Pour the orange juice mixture over the salmon and turn to coat both sides. Roast for 15 minutes, until a fork can be easily inserted into the salmon.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional Analysis Per Serving
Calories 302
Total fat 16g
Saturated fat 3g
Cholesterol 84mg
Sodium 402mg
Carbohydrates 10g
Protein 29g
Fiber 1g
This is the recipe we used last night, courtesy of Food Network. However, it doesn't taste barbecue-like if you're expecting that. It's very citrus with the orange juice and lemon. The sauce carmelizes in the pan. Yum! With some rice and steamed broccoli, the whole meal took about 30 minutes to fix. Gotta love the quick ones!
Barbecue-Roasted Salmon
Copyright, 2005, Robin Miller, All rights reserved
See this recipe on air Thursday May. 17 at 3:30 PM ET/PT.
Show: Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
Episode: To Your Health
Cooking spray
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt Pinch cayenne pepper
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, about 1-inch thick
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a shallow baking dish with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, chili powder, lemon zest, cumin, salt, and cayenne. Using tongs, add salmon fillets to the prepared pan. Pour the orange juice mixture over the salmon and turn to coat both sides. Roast for 15 minutes, until a fork can be easily inserted into the salmon.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional Analysis Per Serving
Calories 302
Total fat 16g
Saturated fat 3g
Cholesterol 84mg
Sodium 402mg
Carbohydrates 10g
Protein 29g
Fiber 1g
Monday, April 16, 2007
Coq Au Vin Crock Pot Style
To start off this wonderful blog, I've got a great Coq au Vin recipe. It comes from www.crock-pot.com. I was trying to find some good crock pot recipes (I'm not a big fan of pot roast) and remember seeing a great Alton Brown show about Coq au vin. Anyways, this is now one of our favorites! Recommended for picky eaters.
Coq Au Vin (Chicken braised in wine)
Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, diced
2/3 cup green onions, sliced
3 1/2 lb broiler, cut up (or 6 chicken breast halves) - we used skinless chicken thighs
4 - 6 small boiling onions, peeled
1/4 lb whole mushrooms
6 - 8 small new potatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Burgundy wine
Chopped parsley
Directions:
In large skillet, saute diced bacon and green onions until bacon is crisp. Remove and drain well. Add chicken pieces to skillet and brown well on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside. Put peeled onion, mushrooms, potatoes, and garlic in stoneware. Add browned chicken pieces, bacon and green onions, salt pepper, thyme and chicken broth. Cover and cook on Low 8 to 10 hours or on High 4 to 5 hours. Add Burgundy wine during last hour of cooking.
Coq Au Vin (Chicken braised in wine)
Ingredients:
5 slices bacon, diced
2/3 cup green onions, sliced
3 1/2 lb broiler, cut up (or 6 chicken breast halves) - we used skinless chicken thighs
4 - 6 small boiling onions, peeled
1/4 lb whole mushrooms
6 - 8 small new potatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup Burgundy wine
Chopped parsley
Directions:
In large skillet, saute diced bacon and green onions until bacon is crisp. Remove and drain well. Add chicken pieces to skillet and brown well on all sides. Remove chicken and set aside. Put peeled onion, mushrooms, potatoes, and garlic in stoneware. Add browned chicken pieces, bacon and green onions, salt pepper, thyme and chicken broth. Cover and cook on Low 8 to 10 hours or on High 4 to 5 hours. Add Burgundy wine during last hour of cooking.
Welcome to Food of the Gods!
I posted recently on Curleygirl Days about the Food of the Gods...casseroles! Now that we have two little Curleygirls, I'm having to greatly minimize our grocery store adventures, which means one trip per week, usually during preschool hours (don't know what I'm gonna do this summer!).
Every week, usually on Saturdays, I put together the menu for the week (Sundays through Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are for grilling or eating out). This usually means scouring the web, starting with the Food Network site, and gathering recipes. I gather everything electronically and then create my grocery list from the ingredients lists. Then I add the staples such as milk, and anything else we need. Then I do the supernerd thing and organize the grocery list according to my store to maximize shopping efficiency. I only have one morning of shopping freedom ya know...don't need to spend it all in Publix!
Anyways, I've run across some great recipes that I wanted to share. I want to post them here and let you know what we thought. Also, please let me know if you've got any good recipes. I'm always on the lookout!
Just for informational purposes, our schedule requires the following:
Easy night - Mapgeek's softball night usually
Casserole night - day Mapgeek works late and I'll have dinner ready when he gets home without a lot of effort
Crockpot night - my day off, so dinner is ready on time
Fish night - trying to eat healthier!
Experiment night - usually Sundays, when we're both home and have more time for involved cooking
Every week, usually on Saturdays, I put together the menu for the week (Sundays through Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are for grilling or eating out). This usually means scouring the web, starting with the Food Network site, and gathering recipes. I gather everything electronically and then create my grocery list from the ingredients lists. Then I add the staples such as milk, and anything else we need. Then I do the supernerd thing and organize the grocery list according to my store to maximize shopping efficiency. I only have one morning of shopping freedom ya know...don't need to spend it all in Publix!
Anyways, I've run across some great recipes that I wanted to share. I want to post them here and let you know what we thought. Also, please let me know if you've got any good recipes. I'm always on the lookout!
Just for informational purposes, our schedule requires the following:
Easy night - Mapgeek's softball night usually
Casserole night - day Mapgeek works late and I'll have dinner ready when he gets home without a lot of effort
Crockpot night - my day off, so dinner is ready on time
Fish night - trying to eat healthier!
Experiment night - usually Sundays, when we're both home and have more time for involved cooking
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