Quick Post: M requested this for dinner – I am usually appreciative of meal suggestions because that’s less pressure on me. Cobb salad has a lot going on, but it’s super easy to throw together. I made this one a little more flavorful by marinating the chicken “souvlaki style”. For my salad, I added bell pepper and portobello mushrooms to up the veg content! Thanks for reading:o)
I have never cooked with or tasted bulgur before today, but I can now say it’s a great healthy, whole grain to use. My only dilemma now is finding more tasty recipes to use up the rest of the package of bulgur! I’ve been looking through my trusty, stand-by websites for inspiration, but there aren’t a whole lot to choose from. I did however find a ton here, some of which I bookmarked and hopefully will get around to trying soon. I have so many bookmarked recipes…really, way too many! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Bulgur Chili ingredients – adapted from Naturally Ella
Directions –
In a large stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and peppers, saute until they begin to soften. Stir in spices, corn, and tomatoes. Continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil (start with 3 three cups of stock.) Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally.
If the chili begins to thicken too much, continue to add stock until it reaches a chili-like consistency (the bulgur will soak up a good majority of the liquid.) Let simmer for 45 minutes until bulgur has softened. Taste and adjust seasoning.
I was introduced to tomato/cream pastas some time last year…dangerous! I don’t make them very often at all and our favorite so far is Penne al la Betsy via The Pioneer Woman. The first time I made it, I subbed chicken for the shrimp – see that was before I was comfortable cleaning, deveining, and cooking shrimp. My family loves shrimp, even my picky eater loves shrimp. Thankfully, she loves sausage (and bacon) too, and if she knows what’s good for her, she’ll eat some of this too!
I cooked the sauce much longer than what the recipe specified – actually, it doesn’t give a time limit at all. I also thought it best to use 1/2 cup of vodka and about the same amount of heavy cream, because 1 cup of each seemed like over-kill to me!
Verdict: rich, creamy, flavorful, yum! This makes a lot of pasta, so unless you want to deal with all the leftovers, invite some friends over! Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Vodka Cream Pasta with Italian Sausage Ingredients – adapted from Eclectic Recipes
Directions –
Preheat large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and add sausage to pre-heated pan. Brown sausage. Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add tomatoes. Add vodka. Turn heat to a simmer. Break up tomatoes with a spoon or potato masher.
In a separate saucepan, while sauce is simmering, bring water to boil for pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions.
When pasta is done, Add cream to sauce and bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Add basil and stir until just wilted. Serve over pasta, and don’t forget the garlic toast!
Poor M is sick with the flu, but thankfully the fever and headaches haven’t made him nauseated. I asked what he’d like for dinner and of course, he requested chicken noodle soup. “Great” I thought…I always want to go the extra mile (as much as possible) when he requests something, and I really didn’t feel like making stock from scratch…it takes too long. This method I used seemed like a good substitute for it. I took a little help from the store with some stock in a box and doctored it up a bit to cook the chicken, which enriched the flavor and richness. This took more effort than I originally wanted to put into it (the rainy, cloudy weather makes me lazy) but it was so worth it because the whole family enjoyed eating it and the leftovers will taste even better. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Chicken Noodle Soup ingredients – a Mom Makes original recipe
Soup ingredients –
Directions for Stock –
1. In a 8 quart stock pot or larger, place all ingredients and cook for one hour. Be sure to skim fat and scum off the top while cooking. Once the chicken is cooked, carefully remove it from the stock pot and place on a foil lined half sheet pan to cool – at least 40 minutes.
2. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard all vegetables and herbs. Skim the remaining fat off the top of the stock.
3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle shred into uniform pieces.
Directions for Soup –
1. Heat a saute pan to medium and add butter and olive oil. Once the butter melts, add all your diced veggies to the pan. Saute for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, place a soup pot with the 10 – 12 cups of chicken stock to simmer and add the cooked vegetables and shredded chicken to the soup pot. Bring to boil, season to taste and add the egg noodles and peas. Cook until the egg noodles are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Taste again, season if needed – enjoy the soup with a crusty loaf of bread…yum!
Quick Post: I’m not the most confident when it comes to fish or frying, but I tackled both for tonight’s dinner. Frying makes me nervous because it is pretty dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Instead of deep frying, I only used about 1/3 of an inch of oil in my pan and flipped the fish halfway through the cooking time. Also, I recommend setting your oven to the lowest it will go – (mine was at 150) and placed the fish on a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan and let them hang out in the warm oven. Two pounds of fish is a lot to fry, and I couldn’t put more than 6 or 7 pieces in my pan at a time. These turned out to be really tasty and I would use this recipe again. We enjoyed these with my favorite Mexican “orange” rice and fresh pico de gallo. I would have liked to make the chile mayo because it would have added creaminess to go with the crunch of the fish, but I ran out of mayo the other day. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
The Ultimate Fish Tacos ingredients – adapted from Tyler Florence
Directions –
Prepare the fish. Cut the pieces of fish into 1-ounce strips. Set up a breading station of flour, lightly beaten eggs with water, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Season all with salt and pepper. Dredge the pieces of fish in flour, egg then bread crumbs. Once all the fish is breaded deep-fry in small batches in (375 degrees F) oil. Drain on paper towels and season with salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Pico de Gallo ingredients – adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Direction –
Chop jalapenos, tomatoes and onions into a very small dice. (Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico). Adjust amount of jalapenos to your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Just remove and discard the long leafless stems before chopping. No need to remove the leaves from the stems completely. Place all of these ingredients together in a bowl and give it a good stir.
Squeeze the juice of half of one lime into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir again.
This was really good, and I love that I can easily throw this kind of meal together cause I have such a well stocked pantry and fridge. I was able to use some of the pesto that I made over the weekend, crimini mushrooms, minced onion and some grape tomatoes to create a tasty pasta “sauce”. Today I picked up some quinoa pasta shells because there is way more protein and other good-for-you stuff that regular pasta can’t offer. I would have loved to add some peas to this, but sadly I had no frozen peas! Anyway, I am really happy with how this turned out, and I think having pesto on hand in the fridge or freezer is something I will have more often. It isn’t hard to make and it tastes worlds better than any pre-made pesto with unpronounceable ingredients. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
M requested hamburgers, homemade buns and baked beans (with bacon, of course) for dinner…not health food by any stretch of the imagination! The other day, I saw portobello mushroom caps for sale at Publix which started the wheels turning in my brain…”what could I do with those?” I typed “portobello” in the TasteSpotting search for inspiration – it never fails me! There were several recipes for burgers using marinated caps, some topped with caramelized onions, others with pesto, brie or roasted red bell pepper. I combined a few different ideas to come up with what sounded good to me. Mine will have the roasted (on the grill) red bell pepper, pesto and some traditional burger toppings. I know the hubbs is going to look at me like I have a third eye or something, but I’m not making him eat it!;o)
Anyway, this meal was so tasty and I didn’t feel like I was missing out on the beef. Portobello mushrooms are pretty hardy and it absorbed the marinade perfectly. I would definitely make this again, although I would be the only one eating them next time too. M hates mushrooms and bell peppers, so I don’t think I could pay him enough to try them. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Marinated Portobello Mushroom “Burger” – a Mom Makes Origional
Toppings –
Directions –
Place the mushroom caps in a zip top bag, mix all the remaining ingredients and pour over the caps. Let marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Grill the mushrooms for 2-3 minutes a side add cheese half way through cooking time if desired.
Toast your bun, spread pesto on both sides, add a slice of beefsteak tomato, some salad greens, half a roasted bell pepper then top with your mushroom cap. Enjoy!
Arugula Pesto Ingredients – adapted from Simply Recipes
Directions –
Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.
Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.
Food processor method (the fast way): Combine the arugula, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Cheese Burger Buns – adapted from King Arthur Flour
Directions –
To make the dough: Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, somewhat tacky dough.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or other container large enough to allow it to at least double in bulk, cover, and let it rise for about 60 to 70 minutes, till it’s just about doubled.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into 8 pieces.
Round each piece into a smooth ball, and place on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently flatten the balls to about 3″ diameter
Cover the buns and let them rise till they’ve expanded nicely, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Brush each bun with melted butter.
Bake the buns till they’re a light, golden brown, about 18 minutes.
Remove buns from oven, and brush with melted butter again. Place them on a rack to cool.
Yield – 8 big buns
I was in the mood to cook something and I had some chicken breasts in the fridge that were about to go bad. TasteSpotting is my favorite website for inspiration and it hasn’t let me down yet. I bookmarked this recipe months ago and today I decided to go ahead and try it out. Thankfully, it doesn’t require lots of ingredients or take too much time. It’s nice, light and pretty spicy depending on how much Frank’s Red Hot you put in. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Buffalo Chicken Soup ingredients – adapted from My Fiance Likes It so It Must be Good
Directions –
In a medium bowl, add flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken chunks and set aside.
In a dutch oven over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the chicken and set aside again.
Add remaining tablespoon of butter to pot and add vegetables. Cook until soft and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add back in the chicken, chicken stock, hot sauce, and shells. Cook until noodles becomes soft. The longer you let it sit, the spicier it will get!
Top with blue cheese and dig on in!
Our first ever! Lots of prep, but it’s hopefully well worth it all. I made Greek dressing, tzatziki sauce, and marinated the chicken souvlaki. Oh – and I decided to make the pita bread to eat the chicken like a gyro. I love making bread especially different types like this one. The recipe is super simple with one rise lasting an hour, shaping then a rest of 15 minutes. They baked up really quickly too – just make sure your oven has preheated for at least 20 minutes.
Anyway, this dinner turned out fantastically which is always the desired outcome – especially when it’s my first try! The chicken flavorful, moist and juicy; the tzatziki sauce was creamy, garlicky and perfect with the gyros and the pita bread was a hit too. I bet the leftovers will be even tastier.
Souvlaki Ingredients – adapted from The Eclectic Cook
Whisk together garlic, oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Combine the marinade with the pork in a large freezer bag. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least 24 and up to 48 hours. Rotate the bag to redistribute the marinade at least twice during this time.
Preheat the grill to medium high heat. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water before using, or use metal skewers. Thread about 5 pieces of meat onto each skewer, enough for one serving. Grill the skewers for about 15 minutes, turning two or three times. The chicken will take less time to cook than the pork, so start checking for doneness at about 10 minutes. The meat should register about 150°F for the pork and 160°F for the chicken when you take them off the grill. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Because of the marinade ingredients, the meat (both the pork and the chicken) may still be slightly pinkish inside even when fully cooked.
Tzatziki Sauce Ingredients – adapted from Culinary Cory
Directions –
Shred the cucumber with a grater and squeeze out the excess liquid. Add the dip ingredients to a medium mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Garnish with any remaining dill. Serve with assorted fresh vegetables. Makes approximately 2 cups of dip.
Golden Pita Bread ingredients – adapted from King Arthur Flour
Directions –
1. Combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough.
2. Knead dough, by hand ( 10 minutes ) or by mixer ( 5 minutes ) or by bread machine ( set on the dough cycle ) till it’s smooth.
3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour it’ll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk. If you’ve used a bread machine, simply let the machine complete its cycle.
4. Turn the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 pieces.
5. Roll two to four pieces into 6″ pieces ( the number of pieces depends on how many rolled-out pieces at a time can fit on your baking sheet ).
6. Place the circles on a lightly greased baking sheet and allow them to rest, uncovered for 15 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 500 degrees. ( Keep the unrolled pieces of dough covered. Roll out the next batch while the first batch bakes ).
7. Place the baking sheet on the lowest rack in your oven, and bake the pitas for 5 minutes; they should puff up. ( If they haven’t puffed up, wait a minute or so longer. If they still haven’t puffed, your oven isn’t hot enough; raise the heat for the next batch.)
8. Transfer the baking sheet to your oven’s middle-to-top rack and bake for an additional 2 minutes, or until the pitas have browned.
9. Remove the pitas from the oven, wrap them in a clean dishtowel ( this keeps them soft ), and repeat with remaining dough.
10. Store cooled pitas in an airtight container or plastic bag.
I was contemplating not having the promised pizza night because of my laziness…I needed to roast the chicken, brown the sausage, make a batch of pizza dough in order to have this dinner ready tonight. I promised the family pizza, and I kept that promise. Because the kids already knew it was coming, I decided against the lazy-butt-mom route and did all the extra work anyway. I’m glad I did, cause this pizza was so good. I made two pizzas, but this one is the mom/kid pizza – you see, normally one pizza is the “Mom/Dad” pizza and then there is the “kid” pizza – that way everyone is happy. M gets his BBQ chicken pizza with smoked gouda and the kids get their pepperoni. I thought it best to load up my half with bell pepper, tomato, mushroom and chicken while the kids’ side was sprinkled with Italian sausage…( Publix deli is so slow…I couldn’t pick up the good pepperoni ). Thanks for reading!:o)
Mom-Makes... 