Category: PROTEINS

STUFFED SHELLS

STUFFED SHELLS adapted from Weight Watchers
15 large shells, cooked and drained**
1 pound lean ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoon Pampered Chef Italian seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
8 ounces tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Classico tomato pesto
1 cup shredded cheese

  • Brown meat and onion, Drain.
  • Whisk together tomato sauce, water, bouillon, garlic, pesto and seasoning.
  • Stir 1/2 cup of tomato sauce mixture and 1/2 cup of cheese into beef mixture.
  • Stuff shells with meat mixture.
  • Pour 1/2 of remaining sauce on bottom of the baking dish.
  • Put shells on top of sauce.
  • Pour remaining sauce over shells.
  • Top with remaining cheese.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

**If you prefer the shells and beef mixture can be tossed and cooked as a casserole. When I do this I use the smaller shells, but same proportions.

CREAMY CHICKEN SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 stick butter
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
¼ +¼ cup chardonnay
sea salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1-½ cup whole milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup roasted red peppers, minced
1 pound Thin Spaghetti

  • Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. 
  • Add mushrooms, 1/4 cup white wine, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 
  • Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until liquid has totally evaporated. 
  • With a slotted spoon remove mushrooms from skillet. Set aside. 
  • Bring broth to a boil. Break spaghetti into thirds (shorter pieces). Add spaghetti pieces to boiling broth and cook. 
  • Drain when al dente reserving broth.
  • Return large skillet to medium-low heat. 
  • Add 6 tablespoons butter. 
  • Sprinkle flour over butter, whisking to combine until roux turns golden.
  • Add broth gradually and whisk to combine. 
  • Pour in milk, additional 1/4 cup wine, salt and pepper to taste, then cook and bubble until thick. 
  • Turn off heat, add Parmesan cheese, stirring until well blended. 
  • Add in the mushrooms, chicken, and roasted red peppers. 
  • Stir to combine and check seasonings. 
  • Add cooked spaghetti and toss until well blended. 
  • Turn into a 9 x 13 casserole pan. 
  • Bake at 350 degrees or until golden brown and bubbly. 
  • Serve with salad and warm, crusty bread.

CRY BABY BURGERS and ROASTED PAPRIKA POTATOES

CRY BABY BURGERS

1 pound ground chuck

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 small can jalapenos, drained and chopped (save a small amount for the mayo)

1 small can green chiles, drained and chopped

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 slices pepper jack cheese

jalapeno mayo (small amount of minced jalapenos whisked into mayo)

caramelized onions – 1 small Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

  • Combine ground chuck, jalapenos, green chiles, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce until well blended.
  • Form into 3 patties. Refrigerate for several hours.
  • Whisk together mayonnaise and minced jalapenos.  Refrigerate until chilled.
  • Sear and brown patties, turning frequently until cooked through.
  • While cooking the patties, melt a small amount of butter in another pan and caramelize onions to desired doneness.
  • When burgers are done, top with cheese, mayonnaise and caramelized onions.
  • Enjoy!

ROASTED PAPRIKA POTATOES

2 pounds baby red potatoes

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Hungarian paprika

1/4 cup melted butter

  • Scrub potatoes.
  • Boil for 10-15 minutes.
  • Drain the potatoes until cool enough to handle.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Spray a 9×9 shallow baking dish with PURE.
  • Place potatoes on bottom in an even layer.
  • Smash each potato slightly.
  • Evenly sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika.
  • Pour melted butter evenly over top.
  • Bake 30 minutes until crunchy and bubbling.

BLACK BEAN CHICKEN BURRITOS

BLACK BEAN CHICKEN BURRITOS
corn tortillas
black beans, drained well
KNORR creamy rice mix
4 ounce green chiles, drained well
2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
15 ounce can HATCH green enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cojack cheese
sour cream

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Spray a large baking dish.
  • Prepare KNORR rice mix as directed.
  • In a large bowl combine chicken pieces, black beans, green chiles, rice and 1/3 of the cheese.
  • Spread sour cream on each tortilla.
  • Add a scoop of the chicken mixture.
  • Layer in baking dish seam side down.
  • When baking dish is full, evenly pour the enchilada sauce over the enchilads.
  • Sprinkle cheese evenly over all enchiladas.
  • Bake 30 minutes.
  • Enjoy.

CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET

CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
1 pound fat sausages of choice, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, sliced
1/2 pound snap peas, washed and deveined
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
1 14-ounce can petit diced tomatoes, basil, garlic & oregano
1 tablespoon Classico sun-dried tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried
2 +/- cups chicken stock
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs**
salt and ground black pepper

  •  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Brown the bacon until browned and crumbly in Dutch oven casserole dish.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
  • Add chicken and sausages and brown on all sides. Remove from fat and set aside. 
  • Add the onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. 
  • Add the carrots, snap peas and parsley, sauteing 3-4 more minutes.
  • Add tomatoes, tomato puree, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add meat back in.
  • Add enough of the stock to just cover the meat and veggies, you don’t want things swimming around too much.  You can always add more stock during the cooking if needed. 
  • Cover dish and cook 1 hour.
  • Add more stock if necessary. Spread crumbs over the top and cook uncovered for 40 more minutes or until browned. 
  • Try adding other vegetables such as broccoli or white beans for variety.  

**I used crushed ritz crackers today and they worked reallllllllllllllly well as a substitute!

CHICKEN AND SPINACH NOODLE CASSEROLE

Chicken and Spinach Noodle Casserole
1tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
10 ounces package frozen chopped spinach, partially thawed
15 ounces container Ricotta cheese, part skim
3 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 ounces wide noodles, not egg noodles

  • In a small saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon of the butter. 
  • Add the onion and garlic, cover and cook over low heat until the onion is tender, about 8 minutes. 
  • Add the spinach, increase heat to medium, cover and cook until the spinach has completely thawed. 
  • Uncover the spinach and stir it over slightly higher heat until all the excess liquid has evaporated. Let it cool slightly.
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together the spinach mixture, Ricotta and Parmesan. Season with nutmeg and pepper.
  • Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling water. Do not salt water. Do not add oil to water. Season with onion powder and stir in keep from sticking. 
  • Drain and immediately stir into the cheese and spinach mixture.
  • Butter a deep 1 to 1 1/2 quart baking dish with 1 teaspoon of butter and pack in the mixture. 
  • Dot the top with the remaining 1 teaspoon of butter and bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is brown and crusty. Let the casserole stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Modifications:

-I decided at the last minute to add some chicken to this dish so I cut up 2 chicken breasts.
-I used 2 garlic cloves.
-I added a handful of fresh, chopped parsley.
-I used about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.

Here’s what you’ll need:
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles.
  • Chop up an onion and 2 garlic cloves.

  • Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan.
  • Chop up the chicken breasts and brown in the melted butter.
  • Add the onion and garlic cloves and let it all cook for about 7-8 minutes.
  • Add 3 big handfuls of semi-defrosted chopped spinach.
  • Cover it and let it cook for another 6-7 minutes to totally defrost. I then uncovered it and cooked for a couple of more minutes.
  • Put a container of ricotta cheese and about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese in a bowl. 
  • Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente.  I used about 1/2 of a bag of egg noodles. 
  • Uncover the chicken mixture and throw in some fresh chopped parsley.
  • Put the chicken mixture into the same bowl as the cheeses.
  • Drain the noodles and add them in with the chicken and cheese.
  • Spray a 9×9 baking dish (anything this size will work) and put the entire mixture in the dish.
  • Cut up some pads of butter and put them on top.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:
This dish was really good. I’m definitely glad that I added the chicken breasts to this as it made it a little more heartier.  This dish has the potential to be a little dry so add a bit more butter on top and then let it melt down. You could also add maybe 1/2 of a can of cream of chicken soup.  Add a can of artichokes to make it a chicken, spinach and artichoke pasta.

CHICKEN MILANO

CHICKEN MILANO
4 tablespoons butter, divided*
2 pounds chicken tenders
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped**
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound fettucini
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped basil

  • In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
  • Add onions and saute until soft.
  • Add tomatoes and 3/4 cup of the chicken broth. Simmer 10minutes.
  • Add the cream and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until sauce is thickened to desired consistency.
  • Meanwhile prepare pasta per package directions.
  • In another skillet melt remaining butter over medium heat.
  • Wash chicken pieces and pat dry.
  • Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper generously.
  • Add chicken to butter and saute on both sides until cooked through.
  • Plate chicken.
  • Toss fettuccini and sauce together until well coated. Add to plated chicken.
  • Sprinkle with basil.
  • Enjoy.

* I use butter or safflower oil

**next time I will probably puree them slightly

CHICKEN MILANO

CHICKEN MILANO
4 tablespoons butter, divided*
2 pounds chicken tenders
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped**
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound fettucini
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped basil

  • In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.
  • Add onions and saute until soft.
  • Add tomatoes and 3/4 cup of the chicken broth. Simmer 10minutes.
  • Add the cream and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until sauce is thickened to desired consistency.
  • Meanwhile prepare pasta per package directions.
  • In another skillet melt remaining butter over medium heat.
  • Wash chicken pieces and pat dry.
  • Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper generously.
  • Add chicken to butter and saute on both sides until cooked through.
  • Plate chicken.
  • Toss fettuccini and sauce together until well coated. Add to plated chicken.
  • Sprinkle with basil.
  • Enjoy.

* I use butter or safflower oil
**next time I will probably puree them slightly

SLOW COOKED BUFFALO CHICKEN WRAPS

You want quick and easy?  You got it!
You want something super, duper tasty!  This is it!
This may be my new favorite meal.  It took very little effort and it was SO good!  I’ve actually made this several times and it seems to get better and better. 
My favorite is Frank’s buffalo wing sauce.  It’s a good flavor and it works perfect in this. 
I spooned a bit of light ranch over mine because I am a condiment junkie.  Hubs thought his was fine as it was.  Blue cheese would be good too.
Buffalo Chicken Wraps Recipe

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
3/4 cup ranch dressing, light
10 – 100 calorie whole wheat tortillas
Lettuce

  • Place chicken and salt in the crock pot.  
  • Cover and cook for 6 – 7 hours on low.  
  • Remove chicken and empty crock pot of water. 
  • Shred the chicken and add back to the slow cooker.  
  • Mix ranch and buffalo wing sauce in a small bowl.  
  • Add the sauce to the chicken and stir.  
  • Serve on tortillas with lettuce.

Total calories = 2755 calories
10 servings = 276 calories per wrap

**I didn’t measure how much meat went on the tortillas but I THINK that we got 10 wraps out of this.

PO’ BOY BEEF WELLINGTON & TASTE and CREATE

Taste and Create was started as a food event by Nicole from For the Love of Food.  The whole purpose of Taste and Create was, and has been, and continues to be to create a community of bloggers who test each others’ recipes and share links. The participants of the event are paired together and try a new recipe from one another’s blog. 
This month my partner is Kat from STUDY FOOD.  She has some really interesting recipes, but I settled on one that my family would eat LOL without asking. “What’s in this?”  I get a bit too creative at times so wanted to treat them to a straight forward home style meal.  So I chose her Po’ Boy Wellingtons because I just loved the irony of students eating beef wellington, a previously reserved for the rich recipe.  Hubby gave them 2 thumbs up!  They were wonderful and I think I’ll make them again using hamburger steaks next time. Even more PO Boy!! LOL
Kat’s recipe in black, my adaptations in red:
Beef: Here, I only had bolar (blade) roast – which I cut a 350g steak from. Because bolar has a reputation of sometimes coming out tough – I marinaded it in the juice of two lemons, a tsp of olive oil, salt and pepper for an hour a side – hoping that the acid in the lemon juice would break down some of the fibres while the oil would stop the meat from drying out too much… If you’re using rump steak, or another, more tender mean you can leave that bit out…  If using Bolar Beef:  Bake your beef, SLOWLY for 45ish minutes @ 150 degrees while wrapped in foil – this’ll make your Beef Wellington a little dryer than strictly desirable (unless you like your meat well done, in which case it’ll be just the same as normal….) but it should also make it somewhat more tender than partially or fast baked Bolar.

If using not Bolar Beef:  Before browning the meat I  like to rub a little more olive oil, salt and pepper into each side – just to add flavour.  Brown the meat on all sides over LOW heat. You are only browning the beef NOT cooking it – so don’t leave it on the heat for too long! Once all sides of the steak are browned wrap it in foil and leave it to cool before shrouding in pate, mushrooms and pastry…
The purpose of browning the meat first is not only to add flavour but also to prevent it from leaking onto the pastry later.


LOL Kat didn’t quite know what my flank steak was all about and I really didn’t know what her Bolar beef was about, but I did google it and then set off to buy my meat, but was distracted by the wonderful manager’s special markdowns that were going on at the end of my local store’s meat counter.  OOH, top sirloin at rock bottom prices – SOLD!

Duxelles: hubs won’t eat mushrooms so I had to get creative here.  I had some left over roasted carrots and some sauteed brussels sprouts.  I was making dinner for 3 so opted to make each one a different flavor, but boy did I mess up the kitchen!!
10 grams butter
1 teaspoons oil
1/2 a tiny onion (or shallot, I guess…) diced as fine as you can
3 cloves garlic, minced or very finely diced
80 grams mushrooms – chopped into the finest dice you can manage
1 teaspoons dried, mixed herbs
2 tablespoons milk

  • Melt the butter in a frying pan with the teaspoon of oil over LOW heat…
  • Briefly fry the onion and garlic until fragrant before adding the finely chopped ‘shrooms. When cooking the mushrooms you may notice that they soak up all the butter pretty quickly – keep stirin’ ’em over low until they release the butter again and begin to brown. At this point add the dried herbs.
  • Continue to fry the mushrooms/onions etc until the pan starts to dry out a little – now pour in the two tablespoons of milk. Cook until as much of the milk has evapourated as you think will happen and the mixture is a dry-ish paste.
  • I tip mine out of the frying pan and into a sieve over a bowl – just in case there’s anymore liquid to drip off…
Crepes: (Kat advises against cooking these in a bowed pan – it makes life very difficult) I skipped this as I used Pepperidge Farm Puff pastry and this was just more than we needed.
1/4 cup flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon oil
  • Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl and allow to sit for and hour or so. The mix will be fairly liquid – but it will thicken over time.
  • Once rested, fry 1/2 of the mix at a time in a non-stick frying pan until cooked through on both sides. Set aside to cool.
Pate: I skipped this too – just more than we needed.
Kat borrowed some homemade pate from a flatmate – she loosely followed this recipe for Chicken Liver Pate from this month’s Foodtown Magazine.

Pastry:
Kat used shop bought pastry – because that’s what she had! And so did I!

Final Assembly:

  • Cut cooked steak into two. I cut them before cooking. 
  • Cut pre-rolled pastry square into two.
  • Butter, egg or water the edges of your pastry with whatever you have handy… I used egg
  • Lay your pancakes on each of the pastry pieces and cut to fit. I omitted.
  • Spread half of the pate (I omitted) and half of the duxelles over each of the pastry/pancake halves.
  • Plonk steak pieces in the middle and wrap pastry over it sealing all edges/gaps… 
  • Place on a cookie rack on a baking tray – seam side down. 
  • Make slits half-way through the pastry (purely aesthetical) and brush with egg or butter or milk… I used a butter egg mixture
  • Bake @ 220 for 20-30 minutes, until pastry is golden and crispy. I used 400 F.
This recipe was a raving success!! Tasty, yummy and well worth the time and effort to make the 3 different veggies!

Nacho Slide-Size Burgers

Nacho Slide-Size Burgers from Rachel Ray
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 15-ounce can lard-free spicy re-fried beans
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1/4 cup grated onion
2 large cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
1 tablespoon ancho or other medium-heat chile powder (about a palmful)
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin (about 1/2 palmful)
1/2 tablespoon ground coriander (about 1/2 palmful)
1/2 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika or sweet paprika (about 1/2 palmful)
Salt and pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) or vegetable oil, for drizzling
24 tortilla chips
2 cups shredded yellow sharp cheddar, smoked cheddar or pepper jack cheese
1 heart romaine lettuce or 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Pickled sliced jalapeño chile rings, drained, for serving

  • In a medium saucepan, bring about 1/2 cup water to a boil. In a small cup, mix the tomato paste with a few spoonfuls of the boiling water to thin the paste. Add the re-fried beans to the pan, stirring with the water in the pan to thin out a bit while they heat through. Lower the heat and keep the beans warm.
  • Place the beef in a bowl and add the reconstituted tomato paste, onion, garlic, chile powder, cumin, coriander and paprika; season with salt and pepper. Form the meat into 8 small patties (thinner at the center than at the edges). Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle the patties with EVOO, add to the griddle and cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
  • Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the broiler. Place the burgers on a rack-covered baking sheet and top each with about 2 tablespoons beans. Spread 3 chips with some of the remaining refried beans and pile on a burger (the beans are the glue between the chips). Repeat with the remaining chips, beans and sliders. Top the chips with the cheese and broil for a minute to melt.
  • Scatter the lettuce on plates or a platter and top with the sliders, tomatoes and pickled Jalapeños.
Here’s what I started with:

  • Measure out some tomato paste.  Put 1/2 cup of water on to boil.  Once it is boiling, put a few spoonfuls of hot water into the tomato paste.
  • Put some re-fried beans in with the remainder of the boiling water.
  • Put 1 1/2 pounds of ground sirloin into a bowl and add 2 grated garlic cloves in with the meat. 
  • Add 1/4 cup of onion, the reconstituted tomato paste, and all of the spices.
  • Shape the burgers and put them into a medium-high cast-iron skillet.
  • Turn on the broiler.
  • Pull the burgers out of the skillet and put them on a baking sheet.  The burgers did fall apart a bit.  Next comes a couple of tablespoons of the re-fried beans onto the burger with some tortilla chips and cheese.
  • Into the broiler for a couple of minutes.
Here’s what you’ll end up with:
These little sliders are perfect for Sunday football and they give you the taste of two favorite tailgating foods; nachos and burgers.  They did fall apart a bit while in the skillet but I was able to form them back together on the baking sheet and then “glue” them together with the re-fried beans.  The actual ground sirloin and herbs could definitely be used in tacos and would taste great!
I served them on a bed of lettuce with some tomatoes, jalapenos, sour cream and salsa on the side.  I ended up just tearing my burger all apart and basically made a “nacho/taco” salad out of mine.

CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET

CHICKEN COUNTRY CASSOULET
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
1 pound fat sausages of choice, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons butter
1 large Vidalia onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, sliced
1/2 pound snap peas, washed and deveined
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley
1 14-ounce can petit diced tomatoes, basil, garlic & oregano
1 tablespoon Classico sun-dried tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried
2 +/- cups chicken stock
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs**
salt and ground black pepper

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Brown the bacon until browned and crumbly in Dutch oven casserole dish.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
  • Add chicken and sausages and brown on all sides. Remove from fat and set aside. 
  • Add the onions and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. 
  • Add the carrots, snap peas and parsley, sauteing 3-4 more minutes.
  • Add tomatoes, tomato puree, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add meat back in.
  • Add enough of the stock to just cover the meat and veggies, you don’t want things swimming around too much.  You can always add more stock during the cooking if needed. 
  • Cover dish and cook 1 hour.
  • Add more stock if necessary. Spread crumbs over the top and cook uncovered for 40 more minutes or until browned. 

**Try adding other vegetables such as broccoli or white beans for variety.   I used crushed Ritz crackers today and they worked reallllllllllllllly well as a substitute!