Easy Dinner

So obviously I haven't been a round much.  I'm sitting in the hospital waiting room while my Mom has the nerves untwisted.  My work site won't come up because I'm not on a secure network so what's a girl to do?  This girl pulled up her blog and found some drafts from about 3 years ago.  Not my usual step by step photos but you'll get the idea.

The reason that I made this dinner is because Max thought it was perfectly sane to go to Noodles and company and drop $15 on chicken and buttered noodles!  Are you kidding me??

I grabbed a package of chicken tenderloins, salted, peppered and little garlic powder on top, rolled them in some Panco bread crumbs and fried in a pan with olive oil.  You can see from the photo that there is enough oil in the pan to cover half.  You don't need to submerge the entire thing, it's ok to flip:)  Make sure your oil is hot enough before you put chicken in or you'll be disappointed.  Typically takes just a minute or two.  You can test if it's hot enough by putting the handle of a wooden spoon in the middle and if it sizzles up, it's ready.  Or you can be like me and wait 2 minutes and just drop in a small piece and see if it starts sizzling before I add more.  Flip when it starts looking like this, about 2-3 minutes.  Tenderloins are pretty thin so they cook up quick.

Flip and fry for another minute or two. 



 

Remove the chicken and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt.

 



Pick your pasta choice and cook to desired doneness.  You should start your water to boil when you start prepping the chicken so it's all done at the same time.  Make sure you put some salt in the water, a teaspoon or so works.  I used the small package of thin spaghetti because that's what I had but they prefer a more twisty noodle or bow tie. 

 

Drain your choice and toss with 1/2 stick of butter and about 1/2 cup of grated fresh parmesan.  You can go heavier with it but that's how my kids like it.  Sprinkle some garlic powder and pepper on top and serve.  You shouldn't need to add more salt but taste it, if it's a bit flat, sprinkle some on.

Dinner is served in less than 20 minutes!

Pasta Carbonara

True pasta carbonara doesn't have any vegetables but I think they really add something.  Do I think it's making it a tad healthier??  Nah, I just like the way it tastes but I'll eat this with or without vegetables.  You can also tone down the red pepper flakes as I did the last time I made it for the kids but everything else is a MUST.  And, did you notice I said "kids"?!?  Yep, clean plate club for not only my kids but Jake and Serena too!!  Jake was picking around and I said, "that's bacon your skipping" and the picking around stopped.

Spaghetti Carbonara

3/4 box Thin Spaghetti
1/2 lb of Bacon ~ chopped
3 cloves of garlic ~ minced
1/2 T Red Pepper Flakes
1 Pepper ~ chopped ~ I use a variation of colors to equal one just because I think it's prettier
1/2 lb fresh Asparagus ~ broken into pieces
2 Egg Yolks
1 ladle pasta water
1/2 container Shredded Parmesan Cheese ~ I personally prefer Asiago but I had Parmesan handy and NO you canNOT use the grated green can stuff
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Fill a pasta pot with water and a LOT of salt. The water should taste salty, I'm guessing 3 T of salt~I've never measured, sorry.

In a pan, add your bacon, garlic and red pepper flakes. A few cranks of the pepper mill. Cook until bacon is good and crispy and nicely browned. Add peppers and stir around a couple of minutes. You can turn off the heat and wait for the pasta to finish cooking at this point.
The water is boiling, add your pasta and give a stir. Throw your asparagus into the water and boil for about 2 minutes, should still have a little crunch left. Scoop the asparagus out and throw into pan with bacon and peppers, it stays floating on the top so it's not hard to get out with a slotted spoon. Turn the heat back on the bacon pan.

Your egg yolks are in a bowl, scoop out a ladle of water and pour into yolks. Quickly whisk because you don't want to the egg yolks to cook.

Your pasta should be done. Drain your pasta but don't rinse. Add pasta to the bacon, toss. Add egg yolks and toss again. Takes about 1/2-1 minute to thicken. Turn off the heat. Add the cheese. Toss again, taste to see if you need some more pepper and serve.

See all the salt in the bottom of the pan.
Here is your bacon, pepper flakes and garlic. I took this photo like this so you can see how much we're talking about. I also put a few cranks of fresh pepper on top of the bacon. It's about layering the flavors with this dish and I like the peppery taste.
Here's your vegetables ready to go.
The cheese, gotta have the cheese. Lots of cheese..yum!
See how crispy the bacon is, add the peppers and give it a stir.
Add your chicken broth and simmer for a minute or two. You don't want the peppers to get squishy. Remember you can turn off at this point and wait for the pasta to finish up.
See, told you the asparagus would float on top.

The egg yolks have been whisked with the pasta water and is waiting to finish the dish.
Throw your asparagus in.

Add the pasta, give it a toss. Add the egg yolks, give another toss and cook until thickened.
Add the cheese. Don't be cheap with the cheese. A couple more cranks of fresh cracked pepper.
I sprinkled red pepper flakes on mine since I cut down for the kids but if you don't want spicy.  Dig in!!

Vegetable Enchilada Pie

Cinco de Mayo is coming. Do you have your Mexican dinner picked out? This is a good one if you don't and you can add meat if that is your desire.

This came about because Dylan showed up unannouced for dinner, with vegetarian friends in tow. I didn't have much in the house so I just started grabbing.

What you'll need:
1 can Black Beans ~ rinsed
1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis ~ I did HOT
1/2 Green Pepper chopped
1/2 Red Pepper chopped
4 cloves Garlic minced
1 C Frozen Corn
8 oz Spinach
Bag of Rice ~ I used one of those "cook in 90 seconds", I think it was an 8 oz size but they only come in one size so don't stress the details
2 t Chili Powder
2 t Cumin
3 Large Tortillas
1 can Enchilada Sauce
2 1/4 C Cheese shredded ~ I used a Mexican blend

Put your beans, diced tomatoes, garlic and peppers in a pan and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring here and there. Add corn and chopped spinach and cook until Spinach is wilted.

Spray your pie pan. Put a few tablespoons of enchilada sauce. Top with tortilla.

Here's the quick rice I used.

Add rice and seasoning to bean mixture and cook for just a minute or two.

Top Tortilla with bean mixture.

Add Cheese 3/4 C Cheese

Repeat
Last layer should be tortilla. Top with remaining sauce, 3/4 C cheese and bake at 350 for 30 minutes

I apologize that the photos stop here, the boys were starving;). You're only missing the hot out of the oven and a piece being cut.

Scotch Egg

You all know how much I love the state fair. Every year we try at least one new thing. Fifteen years ago that thing was the scotch egg. It was Craig's pick and he LOVED it. Sausage rolled around a hard boiled egg, deep fried. Had his name written ALL over it. You also have the option of sauces to dunk, Craig picked maple syrup.

For those of you who don't know me well, I am a "can I have just a bite girl" AND I truly mean it. Craig would give me a bite of his egg every year and that was plenty for me. Max has developed a liking for them much like his Dad. It has become a yearly tradition for him and now Max.

Since I had the ingredients, I gave it a whirl.

Max said that they were PERFECT.

What you'll need:

1 lb of Pork Sausage
3 hard boiled Eggs
3/4 C Bread Crumbs
Crisco for frying
Maple Syrup for dunking

Pat out a patty of Pork...say that 5 times fast;)

Put your egg in the middle

Wrap the egg with the sausage, essentially making a big meatball.

Wild Rice Hot Dish

Yep, I called it a hot dish because that's what we call it in Minnesota. In his meat eating days, Dylan had this at a potluck and LOVED it. I just came across the recipe so I thought I'd give it a go. It's really rich but has a great flavor. I'll be entering this in the wild rice competition at pow wow this summer.

What you'll need:

1 C "uncooked" Wild Rice = 3 C cooked
3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
1 C Red Pepper diced
1 C Celery chopped
1/2 C Onion minced
8 oz sliced Fresh Mushrooms
1 Can Cream of Chicken soup~I used reduced fat
1/2 C Chicken Broth
1 lb Jimmy Dean Sausage ~ I used a generic pork sausage
1/2 lb Bacon diced
1 t Poultry Seasoning

Cook rice according to package directions but instead of using plain water, throw in a few Chicken Bouillon cubes. It makes the rice taste much better in my opinion. In all honesty you could probably make this with brown rice but the wild rice gives it that extra something of yummy!

Fry the sausage and remove from the pan. Add chopped bacon (I cut mine with my kitchen shears) to the pan and fry. And, no you can't cook it together because the bacon gets lost and doesn't cook right. Yes, I tried it and it was messy fixing my "time saving" trick.

When bacon's getting close to done, throw in the pepper, celery, mushrooms and onion together and cook until softened.

Mix everything together (from top of the recipe ingredients to the bottom). Put in a oven safe pot and bake for 30 minutes at 350. Enjoy!

Fry your sausage (don't look at the bacon. That needs to cook by itself). I added a little fresh cracked pepper just because I was feeling sassy;)

Adding in the vegetables

Add the mushrooms

Yummy

Chicken Sandwich

Claire wanted to stop at Wendy's and get a chicken sandwich and I said that I would make it at home. I got the egg face. For those of you unfamiliar with the "egg face", it is a scrunched up, I think I'm going to be sick face that "I" make when I am served eggs that aren't completely cooked. Claire has perfected the egg face when I say something she doesn't want to hear.

However, I am not swayed by the "egg" face so I went home and made these.

What you'll need:

2 Chicken Breasts boneless/skinless
1/2 C Flour
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder
Crisco for frying
Shredded Lettuce
Buns

Cut your chicken breast in half and put on Saran wrap.

Cover with Seran wrap and pound with the soft side of your meat hammer, it probably has a different name, that name escapes me at the moment. You want to make your first hit in the center. Don't hit too hard or you'll break straight through. Pound softly in the center until you flatten out your chicken.

I season the flour with probably a teaspoon of each seasoning but I also sprinkle the actual chicken with them as well.

Flip and cover each side with flour. Shake off excess.

Put it hot grease. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
If you want to know if your grease is hot enough, put the handle of a wooden spoon in and if the oil bubbles up around the handle, you're ready to go. Typically takes about a minute after the Crisco turns to liquid with your heat on an 8.

Put on your bun with lettuce. You can make some french fries from scratch too if you're feeling sassy. Just peel, cut evenly and fry until golden. Both kids said it was better than Wendy's...shocker;)

AND, if you're Claire..you will pour ketchup on top of both and consume. Sorry, no photo of MY egg face when she does that.

Sidebar..she's been doing that since she was old enough to say, "I need Chetchup with my Chitchin"

Quick Burrito

YUMMY, yummy in my tummy. I pretty much love anything Mexican food related but I especially love, cheesy baked Mexican burritos. Unfortunately, the children don't agree. SO..I decided to make a burrito for one.

What you'll need:

1/2 C Taco meat
Tortilla
2 T Queso Cheese Dip ~ that you buy in the chip aisle. I'm partial to the Monterey Jack one.

2 T Mexican blend Cheese
Lettuce
Chopped Tomatoes
Salsa~I like Thick and Chunky, but feel free to use whatever you like
1 t Chili Powder
1/2 t Cumin

Put your taco meat in the middle of your tortilla. Top with Queso Cheese Dip.

Top with couple tablespoons of Salsa

Mexican blend cheese

Tomatoes and Lettuce last or you could throw some beans on if you're feeling sassy.

Fold in each side and fold like an envelope. Place seam side down in sprayed pan

Mix 3/4 C Salsa with 1 t Chili Powder and 1/2 t Cumin and pour on top. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. You can throw some more Mexican cheese on top the last 5 minutes if you want.

Top with sour cream and YUMMY!

Hot Pockets

What was my inspiration for this recipe?

I didn't want to throw another frozen pizza in the oven. Truth be told, I think I was out of them.

I was tired and didn't know what to make for dinner.

I think it's important that my kids have some form of a home cooked meal for dinner.

I had leftover chicken and my kids have developed a taste for things with melted cheese but they won't eat chicken in a quesadilla??

Searched the fridge and found some crescent rolls.

I've made a variation of this before, but it involved more ingredients. Ingredients my children won't eat.

I gave it a name they recognized and gave them a look that they better take a bite. They not only ate what was given to them, Max had seconds.

What you'll need:

Can Crescent Rolls
1 1/2 C chopped Chicken
1/2 C Cheese ~ your favorite shredded
1 t Garlic Powder

Mix Chicken, Cheese and garlic together

Roll out and press the seams together. Cut into 4 rectangles.

Put 1/3-1/2 C of your filling down the middle of one of the rectagles.

Fold over and seal edges. Ready for the oven. Bake at recommended temp on package for about 12 minutes.

Make some fries and dinner is served