Quick Fix Paella

This is a definite keeper! Not all of the recipes out of this cook-book were home runs but this one sure was!

Quick Fix Paella
From: Make Ahead Meals Made Healthy
Serves 8

4C reduced sodium chicken broth
pinch saffron threads
3T olive oil, divided
8oz hot italian turkey sausage, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise
8 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
1 onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced
1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded, quartered and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1T smoked sweet paprika
2C paella or arborio rice
1 can (14.5 oz) fire roasted tomatoes
2C fresh peas
1/4C fresh chopped parsley
8 oz frozen medium sized shrimp
S&P

Place chicken broth in a saucepan over medium heat. Rub saffron with your fingers, crushing it, as you sprinkle it into the broth.  Stir and bring to a low simmer, reducing heat to low to keep it warm.

Heat 2T olive oil in a paella pan or large wide skillet over medium heat.  Add turkey sausage and cook, stirring often, for 2-3 minutes.. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until chicken is lightly browned.  Season with salt and pepper, stir a few more times, and then removed with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add remaining olive oil to the pan and cook onions and bell peppers, stirring occasionally, until softened.  Add garlic and spring with paprika.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Add rice, stirring to coat with oil and to lightly toast.

Add chicken broth, stirring to combine, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Raise heat to medium and return chicken and sausage to the pay, stirring to combine.  Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer.  Add more brother or water if necessary and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in peas and parsley and simmer for 5 minutes or until rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed and there is a light (not burned) crust on the bottoms of the mixture.  Remove from heat and let cool completely.  Since shrim overcooks so quickly, it's best to add to the paella a few minutes before serving.

Jeff ate the doo out of this

My Notes
Holy frijoles this was really good, there are only 2 things I changed (frozen peas and no shrimp) and almost nothing I would change about it. It would be nice if the rice was a tad less sticky but that is really splitting hairs.

Chicken Spaghetti Pioneer Woman Style

I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's website. I thought it sounded pretty good so why not give it a try. However, Jeff did not really enjoy this and neither did I. The kid thought it was great. I think it needs some more flavor and possibly something with crunch.

Chicken Spaghetti

Added by Ree on September 5, 2009 in Main Courses, Pasta

Ingredients

2 cups Cooked Chicken

3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces

2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup

2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper

¼ cups Finely Diced Onion

1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained

2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot

1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper

Salt And Pepper, to taste

1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

 My Notes

I really didn't deviate from the recipe, except for I only used 2C of cheese total and no seasoned salt. I already had cooked chicken from my stock making earlier in the week. I think it could benefit from some mushrooms, celery, carrot, etc. But that's just me. Bad news for Jeff, I made a double batch of this bad boy and there's a whole other casserole in the deep freeze....


8 pts on WW Points Plus

*Update - I slathered mine in sriracha sauce. It made it better.

Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad

I had some leftover chicken from my stock making the other day. I didn't feel like turning on the oven for a casserole and pasta salad was sounding good. A few key strokes later I stumbled across this recipe and I actually happened to have all the ingredients except Gorgonzola which is ok b/c Jeff doesn't like Gorgonzola.

Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad
From TasteofHome

Ingredients

3 cups uncooked bow tie pasta

4 cups cubed cooked chicken breast

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped red onion

4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water; transfer to a large bowl. Add the chicken, tomatoes, onion, bacon and Gorgonzola cheese.

In a small bowl, whisk the oil, basil, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle over salad and toss to coat; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Yield: 8 servings.

Nutritional Facts 1-1/3 cups equals 408 calories, 20 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 65 mg cholesterol, 323 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 28 g protein.

My Notes:
As I said before I didn't have any Gorgonzola, which is ok b/c Jeff doesn't like it. As I recall Gorgonzola is like blue cheese (I think) and I like blue cheese so I'm pretty sure I like Gorgonzola. Funny side note, anytime I hear Gorgonzola I think of the TV show Bones when they were trying to figure out the who Gormagon mystery and Booth kept calling him Gorgonzola and other silly names... makes me laugh to myself. Anywho, I added more bacon because I thought it could use a little more crunchy goodness and really who doesn't like bacon? I made 6 slices, the cat stole 2 (I'm not kidding) and I ate one. So then I had to cook more, which I then ate a bite or two off of each of those 3 slices. So I really couldn't tell you how much bacon when into the salad. Oh well.
The kid declared this 'delish' which I've never her heard her say before but she wrote it in a note to me. So I guess that's good. Of course there is no telling how much was actually consumed since I wasn't there. She could just be trying to toot my horn.

Spicy Crock pot Jambalaya

I have felt rather uninspired to cook lately. But then Jeff came home and said it was his turn to bring lunch to a team meeting at work. So we tried to think of options. I first thought spaghetti but someone just did that. So I started looking for crock pot recipes and jambalaya popped in my head. This was a huge hit with the meeting, so much so that he informed me there are no left-overs. I liked this recipe because you put the rice in with the rest of the ingredients that made it super simple for transport and prep.

Spicy Crock Pot Jambalaya
From Cajun Delights

 

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup cooked ham or chicken, cubed
1 lb. Andouille sausage, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 cup bell peppers, any color, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1  (14 1/2 oz.) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 small can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1 bunch green onions, sliced thin
1 or 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped, (optional)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
Few shakes Tabasco
1 tbs. or more Cajun seasoning
Salt to taste
1 tsp. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken stock
1 3/4 cups raw rice

First chop the veggies, slice the sausage,  and chop the ham or chicken. Combine ham, sausage, trinity, rice, garlic, chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, jalapenos, and seasonings,  in 5 quart slow cooker. Mix well, cover,  and cook on low for 5 hours. Stir well and add shrimp, parsley, half of green onions, and Tabasco, and cook on high for 30 to 40 more minutes. Discard bay leaves and garnish with remaining green onions before serving.

Serve with a big tossed salad and my Cajun-Style French Bread.

My Notes:
First off, I hate shrimp. Refuse to eat and never buy them. But I do like crawfish and we happened to have a pound of crawfish tails in the freezer. I also had just made chicken stock a few days before. I added carrots to the veggies as I feel like people can never eat enough veggies. I sweat the veggies in my dutch oven with some bacon grease before putting them in the crock pot I'm always up for added flavor. I also upped the rice to 2C and put nearly 16oz of tomato sauce. Jeff took this to work so no pictures :(
Don't tell Jeff but I added 2T of chia seeds to the chicken stock for added fiber.... they didn't notice. Hee Hee

Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

This is another recipe courtesy of Pinterest. I personally enjoyed this lasagna.... I was the only one which is unfortunate because it was tasty. We will chalk this up to a momentary lapse in memory. I forgot that someone does not like artichokes, except in spinach artichoke dip. Which makes no sense to me. But I am taking the entire pan (minus the 2.5 servings that were eaten) over to my parents house tonight so they can enjoy it.

Creamy White Chicken & Artichoke Lasagna 

by: http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com

Ingredients
2 cups boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a Touch of PHILADELPHIA, divided
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup basil, chopped
12 lasagna noodles, cooked

Directions
Heat oven to 350°F. Combine chicken, artichokes, tomatoes, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan. Beat cream cheese, milk, and garlic powder with mixer until well blended; stir in 2 Tbsp. basil. Mix half with the chicken mixture. Spread half of the remaining cream cheese sauce onto bottom of 13×9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining cheese sauce and mozzarella; cover. Bake 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil.

My notes

I was a little hesitant about this whole cream cheese milk thing as the sauce but it turned out good. I added ricotta to the cream cheese, milk mixture mainly because I had it on hand and I love ricotta. I added fresh garlic and dried basil rather than powder and fresh respectively. Unfortunately my basil plant is not producing enough leaves for me to harvest without hindering further production. I also used a tad more mozzarella in the lasagna because I was afraid the chicken layer would be dry.... I was right (it needs something maybe put the ricotta in that mixture rather than the cream cheese). On that note, I also sauteed onions and mushrooms together and added them to the chicken mixture as well. I'd like to play with this recipe but since it was not well received I don't really see the point. If anyone does play with it let me know how it turns out!

 

Sriracha

Yum

I love Sriracha sauce and I desperately want this book.
 

Of course no one else in my house eats the stuff so this is a purely selfish desire. One of my favorite recipes to put this stuff on is our chicken fried rice. Jeff is generally the cook when it comes to making this dish.

Our Chicken Fried Rice

4 C cooked white rice
1T oil
2 chicken breasts marinated in soy sauce, diced in bite size pieces
1 C carrots, sliced
1 C onion diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2/3 C frozen peas
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stick butter
3 eggs, beaten

In a large non-stick skillet (and I mean LARGE) or a wok, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and allow to cook while stirring for a few minutes. Add carrots, onions, and mushrooms stirring frequently until veggies are tender.
In a small skillet scramble the 3 eggs, chop them up and set aside with the garlic.
Stir in the rice, butter, peas, and eggs. Stir until butter is melted and then serve - with plenty of sriracha of course!

My notes:
I personally do not think an entire stick of butter is necessary but since Jeff is cooking he makes the decision. We usually do not use the entire 4C of rice. We just add until it looks like enough. I think you could put just about any vegetable in this but we generally stick with the carrots, onions, peas, and mushrooms.

Chicken Soup

I went through a cooking frenzy last Sunday. I made BBQ pork in the crock pot, carrot bread, chicken soup with vegetables, and banana pudding.

I knew I wanted to make a chicken soup because I had made chicken stock earlier in the week and had a whole chicken that I needed to use. This soup was not only kid-approved but raved about. Strange since it had onions, tomatoes, and spinach in it.  All of which are considered deadly.

Chicken Soup

4 garlic cloves
1 medium onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 carrots, diced
4C chicken stock
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2C fresh spinach, julienned

1 14oz can of cannelini beans, drained
2 cups cooked chicken
1/2 - 1 tsp thyme
1/2 - 1 tsp oregano
salt
pepper

Cook onion, garlic, carrots, and celery over medium-low heat. Sweat the vegetables, add oregano and thyme; cook until they are tender, stirring occasionally. Add the can of tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then drop down to a simmer. Add the beans and chicken; let simmer for a while. Basically until beans and chicken are heated through and you are ready to eat it. Before serving put the spinach in the soup and allow it to wilt a little.

My notes
This is my own recipe and as usual I butt-numbered this but at least I measured how much chicken stock I used. Like I said before, the kid raved about this soup which was really surprising but I'm not going to complain....
Even Jeff liked it and he says he doesn't really like spinach which I know is a mental thing b/c I put spinach in anything I can sneak it into. My Mom said that she and my Dad enjoyed it and that it was really filling.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Cheesy Chicken Pasta
From EatingWell: November/December 2008

6 servings (1 1/3C) | Active time 35 min | Total time 35 min

Ingredients
8 oz whole-wheat penne
2 C 1/2 in cauliflower florets
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1/2 C dry white wine
3 C low-fat milk
3 T flour
3/4 t salt
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
1 C shredded gruyere or swiss cheese
3 C shredded cooked chicken (12 oz)
1 t dijon mustard
2 T chopped fresh chives or scallions

Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower florets and cook until the pasta and florets are tender, about 4 minutes more.  Drain, rinse, and return to the pot.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring, until tender, 2-3 minutes.  Add wine and cook until reduced slightly, about 1 min. Whisk milk, flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl and add to the pan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.  Cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until smooth.  Stir chicken and mustard into the cheese sauce; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.
Stir the sauce into the drained pasta and cauliflower.  Served sprinkled with chives or scallions.

Nutrition
433 calories, 13 g fat; 5 g sat; 5 g mono; 75 mg cholesterol; 42 g carbs; 34 g protein; 5 g fiber, 491 mg sodium, 483 potassium.

Tips & Notes
To poach chicken breasts, place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan.  Add lightly salted water to cover and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until chicken is cooked through and no longer pick in the middle, 10-12 minutes.

Notes from me!
Jeff thought this needed more seasoning. I thought it was pretty tasty, I'm thinking maybe he wanted more salt. I would not dump all the cheese in the sauce at once, slowly stir in small amounts. I also did 1/2 C gruyere and 1/2 C swiss. On a side note this dish was not appetizing to look at. See:

Yum?

So I will have to do something to make this more appealing to the eye. Maybe corn, bell pepper, carrots, spinach, mushrooms? We will have to see.

Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup

I decided it would be easier for archiving if I put each recipe in a separate post. So here is recipe number 2 from me. Initially this recipe was written for 2 services. I changed it to serve 4.









Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup
From EatingWell: December 2006

4 servings (2C each) | Active time: 35 minutes | Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb chicken tenders
1 t Italian seasoning blend
1/4 t salt
1/4 dry white wine
2 small zucchini, sliced
2 shallots, diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 C orzo
3 C packed baby spinach

Preparation
Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add zucchini, shallot, carrot, Italian seasoning and salt and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are slightly softened, 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth, wine, and orzo (or other tiny pasta); increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the pasta is tender, about 8 minutes, or according to package directions.  Stir in spinach, the cooked chicken and any accumulated juices from the chicken; cook, stirring, until the chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes.

Nutrition per serving:
261 calories; 8 g fat; 1 g sat fat; 5 g mono; 72 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbs; 31 g protein; 2 g fiber; 335 mg sodium; 483 mg potassium.

Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days of freeze up to 3 months.

My notes!
I think this would be good with mushrooms added.  I also added carrots to this recipe. I happen to love spinach so I'm pretty sure I put more than 3C but I can't be sure because I didn't measure it.

Hi

Howdy,
This should be a fun experience! I hope everyone enjoys the recipes and foods that I make here. Please feel free to send me your recipes to try as well. I am particularly interested in discovering new recipes that I can freeze. Most of the recipes that I have found so far aren't the healthiest and they rely on a lot of cream of... soups. Don't get me wrong. I like those soups but you can only eat so many combinations before you get tired of them.

Tonight I made 3 new recipes that I found on eatingwell.com. I made Chile & Beer Braised Brisket, Vegetable Lover's Chicken Soup, and Tortellini Primavera. I am particularly fond of eatingwell because the include health information with all the recipes as well as tips and notes.

Chile & Beer Braised Brisket
From EatingWell: March/April 2008
8 servings (3/4 c each) | Active time 30 minutes | Total time 3 1/2 hours

Ingredients
6 dried New Mexico, Anaheim or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
1 large onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 T plus 1 t chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1 t salt
1 C Mexican beer
1 T canola oil
2 lbs trimmed flat, first cut brisket
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed

Prep
Tear the chiles into 1-in pieces and place in a large bowl.  Cover with hot water and let sit until softened, at least 20 minutes. Drain.
Preheat the oven to 350. Please the tomatoes and their juices, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, and the drained chile pieces in a food processor.  Process until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in the beer.
 Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add brisket and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total.  Pour the chile sauce over the meat and bring to a simmer.
Cover, transfer to the oven and bake for 2 hours.  Stir in the beans and continue baking until the meat is fall apart tender, 45 min - 1 hr.
Transfer meat to a cutting board and pull apart into long shreds using two fords.  Stir the shredded meat back into the sauce.

Nutrition per serving:
282 Calories, 9 g fat, 2 g sat fat, 4 g mono; 78 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbs; 30 g protein; 6 g fiber; 528 mg sodium; 664 mg potassium.

This can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.


Notes from me!
I will probably serve this over rice, I am a fan of brown rice personally. I did not have a Mexican beer in my fridge so I used Shiner. I also had a 3lb brisket so I put the whole bottle of beer in for some extra liquid. Before I put the meat back in the sauce I put it on the stove and brought it to a boil and reduced it. Then I added 1T corn starch and water to thicken the sauce. Then I added the meat.