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Archives for March 2012

The perfect 50 degree meal.

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After our unexpected wave of summer weather we have settled back down into the lower 50’s/60’s. Cooking went from outside on the grill to inside on the stove the other evening when I decided to make this cozy skillet meal. It’s perfect for those not too cold yet not too warm nights. A lighter comfort meal, if you would.

This meal was inspired from a ‘Real Simple’ recipe (love) yet once I got into it I ended up changing quite a bit for some reason…apparently I was in a creative mood. Cooking a meal all in a skillet can do that to me. I tend to get oddly giddy over one pot meals…hello easy clean up!

Anyways, the end result turned out awesome. We inhaled it. My only complaint? Nothing leftover for lunch the next day.

Skillet Sausage
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 1 TBS olive oil, plus 1 TSP olive oil
  2. 1 lbs Italian Sausage (or chicken Italian sausage, my preference)
  3. 1/2 onion, chopped
  4. 3 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  5. 3 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  6. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  7. 2 bunches swiss chard, or kale
  8. 2 15.5 ounce cans cannelloni beans, rinsed and mostly drained
  9. kosher salt & black pepper
  10. 1/2 cup or so panko bread crumbs (use as many as you'd like)
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Cut your sausages into large chunks (roughly 3-4 inches) if not already linked. Add them to the warmed skillet and brown on all sides for 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  3. Lower your heat to medium and add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until softened. Add in your garlic at the end and give it a good stir. Add in your chard or kale and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.
  4. Add the beans, 1/2 cup water, and 1/4 tsp of pepper and salt to the skillet. Nestle the sausages back in the beans and bring to a boil.
  5. In a small bowl combine your panko bread crumbs with the remaining tsp of so of olive oil. Sprinkle over the skillet. Add a few more for good measure and extra crunch!
  6. Transfer the skillet to your oven and bake until golden, 25 - 30 minutes.
Adapted from Real Simple
Adapted from Real Simple
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Makes 50 degrees totally doable, right?
Courtney

The secret’s in the sauce.

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If you’ve been reading my blog for some time now, you’ll know I tend to take a laid back approach when it comes to cooking. Yes, I have my over the top moments, but in general I’m all about shortcuts and finding great staple recipes for those evening rushes.

I set out to make homemade enchiladas yesterday afternoon to bring over to M’s dad’s for dinner together. I found that a lot of the recipes called for enchilada sauce ‘from the can.’ After a bit of reading I found this homemade enchilada sauce and knew I stumbled upon something special. This was not the time for short cuts!

If you start with this rockstar sauce and purchase some really good tortillas, you’re set up for one heck of a dinner. Use your imagination from there. As M’s parents had chicken the night before I choose a lean ground beef with lots of veggies. You could use shredded chicken or even go vegetarian by using only cheese or simply veggies. The choice is yours.

Once you get the routine down these came together pretty quickly. Make sure you make all 12 – or even more if you can squeeze them in your dish. There was not a spec left after dinner. A true sign of blog worthy recipe!

Homemade Enchiladas
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Ingredients
  1. You’ll need about 2.5 cups enchilada sauce, homemade or from a can
  2. 2 TBS canola oil
  3. 1 lbs lean ground beef
  4. 1 large onion, small dice
  5. 1 zucchini, small dice
  6. 1 cup corn
  7. 12 corn tortillas (find ones that contain wheat, as they are easier to roll)
  8. 2-3 good handfuls of shredded cheddar
  9. shredded ice berg lettuce, for serving
  10. avocado, sliced, for serving
  11. sour cream, for serving
Instructions
  1. Make your sauce, if you are choosing to make it homemade.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the ground beef until lightly browned. Drain off the excess fat.
  4. Add your veggies to the mix and sauté until softened, just 3-4 minutes.
  5. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with non stick spray. Spoon in ½ cup or so of the sauce along the bottom of the baking dish and spread around evenly with a spoon.
  6. Take a tortilla, fill it with a small amount of your meat and veggie mixture, a sprinkle of cheese, and a TBS or so of your sauce. Roll up tightly and place seam side down in your baking dish. Repeat with your remaining tortillas.
  7. Top your rolled enchiladas with the remaining sauce and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven. Take off the foil, add a few handfuls of cheese, and bake for 5 minutes more to melt the cheese.
  8. To keep things a bit lighter, I served them a top shredded ice berg lettuce, sliced avocado, and a small dollop of sour cream. Yet of course you could go the traditional route of beans and rice, no one is judging you.
Notes
  1. Homemade enchilada sauce recipe: http://www.recipegirl.com/2006/05/01/enchilada-sauce/
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

 

Hey, I’ll admit it – I ate 3 and wanted more!
Courtney

A sidekick for grilled meat.

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If your weather has been like our weather (literally high 80’s) then I hope your grill is fired up. We have been grilling veggies, chicken, burgers, and sausages non stop. I forgot how much I love food fresh off the grill and how easy suddenly meal time becomes.

We entertained some great friends Sunday night. Going along with the theme of the weather almost everything was made on the grill (including cheese…stay tuned!) aside from this one side dish. It’s served cool though, so it’s the perfect sidekick to sit along your hot from the grill meat. I like to make it early in the day so it has a looooong time to hang out and chill in the fridge.

This recipe came from one of my mother in laws (yes, I am blessed to have 2 – and if you’re counting yes, that is 3 moms total). I tweaked it a little bit for the mayo hater that lives in my home so when you omit that and check out everything left you are looking at not only one satisfying dish that’ll cool you off – but, it’s also pretty healthy!

Rice Salad
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Ingredients
  1. 1 package of chicken rice-a-roni
  2. 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  3. 2 jars marinated artichokes, drained and saved the marinade
  4. 1 can sliced black olives
  5. 1/2 green pepper, chopped
  6. use your discretion here. Recipe calls for 1/3 cup of mayo. I believe the marinade from the artichokes is enough flavor for the dish. If you want a creamier texture (who doesn't) Fresh Market sells this amazing all natural product called 'Lemonaise.' New York Times rated it #1 in taste. It's creamy. It's lemony. It's zingy. It works.
Instructions
  1. Cook rice according to package directions and bring to room temp. Mix everything together using some of the marinade and mayo/lemonaise if you prefer.
  2. Chill and serve!
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

 

I ate this with 5 meals in 3 days.
Courtney

Well, hello there summer.

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Is this not insane weather? I don’t know how else to explain it other than it’s crazy. And much appreciated, of course. Seeing my car temperature read 84 degrees, flowers bloom, and L run through the sprinkler mid March? Not something I was expecting but hey – I will take it with open arms!

I hope dishes like this have been popping up at your dinner table…

If not, and you need a super quick and easy marinade for your fired up grill go with this one. It’s got minimal ingredients, doesn’t require a long (or any) marinading time, and tastes like summer.

Honey BBQ Chicken
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Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup ketchup
  2. 2 TBS honey
  3. 1 TBS worchestershire sauce
  4. your chicken, however you like it - cutlets, tenders, breasts
Instructions
  1. Mix the ingredients together and slather on the chicken. Marinade if you have the time, throw it on the grill if you don't. Cook until chicken is done.
Adapted from Real Simple
Adapted from Real Simple
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

 

It will be oh so cruel if this weather goes away…
Courtney

You can do this in your sleep.

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Ahem, lately I have had a hard time making it past 9PM. Not sure if it was all the travel (stay tuned) or what, but the other night I conked out at 8:25PM. Wow.

I proceeded to wake up 10 hours later, make my breakfast, and make dinner. Yep, it was another crock pot meal and while I was completely refreshed from my obscenely long nights sleep, this is a meal you can do with very little to no sleep. No problem.

M grew up eating these, and I grew up eating this. What is it? Chicken in a crock pot. That’s all my mom had to say and I knew I’d be gobbling up a plate of gooey falling apart chicken, rice, and some type of green vegetable that night. All perfectly balanced of course. We probably ate this at least twice a month – maybe more, which makes perfect sense. 5 minute prep for dinner? My mother is smart woman.

Chicken in a Crock Pot
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Ingredients
  1. boneless chicken breasts, as many as you need. Recipe calls for 5, I typically use 3
  2. salt&pepper
  3. paprika
  4. 1/2 cup dry white wine
  5. 1 cup freshly sliced mushrooms
  6. 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  7. 1 cup sour cream
  8. 1/4 cup flour
Instructions
  1. Season your chicken with salt, pepper, and sprinkle paprika on top. Put in your crock pot and top with the wine, mushrooms, and soup.
  2. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5.
  3. The last half hour of cooking, stir together the sour cream and flour and add to the crock pot.
  4. You must serve this with a green vegetable, try these, and rice (use brown to up the health factor).
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

And yes…those are cookies cooling on the counter in the background…

Courtney

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