Chicken Tortilla Soup

We've finally had some cooler weather in Dallas! Coincidentally, I planned to make chicken tortilla soup from P-dub for a dinner with some girls I used to work with. Catching up was good but my pup was not good! She was so overly excited for new people and jumped all over everyone. Hopefully the soup made up for it.

Note: My soup wasn't nearly as dark or brothy looking as hers below... flavor was still good!

(photo from P-dub)

Vegetable Pad Thai (+ Chicken)

I made Martha's vegetable pad thai this weekend for something quick/lighter and to use up extra ingredients we had in the fridge. (I also baked a chicken breast that I marinated in soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and brown sugar so Mike wouldn't starve.)

I'm not an expert on Thai food so I do not know how authentic the recipe or taste is. I thought it was pretty yummy and really simple to make though. I omitted the peanuts from my pasta but otherwise followed the directions. I really liked the green onions and cilantro. And, we got to use our wok for the first time!

Meatball Subs & Italian Fries

During the week, I made a mini-meatball lasagna for a friend and while I had all the ingredients on hand, I made an extra platter of meatballs for Mike and I. Having the already prepared meatballs made it easy to whip up meatball subs and Italian fries for lunch on Saturday.

I used my basic turkey meatball recipe and added frozen chopped spinach to the mixture before baking. Then its all simple... french bread + marinara sauce + meatballs + mozzarella.

For the "Italian" fries... bake your favorite frozen fries. After they are fully cooked, and still hot, toss with salt, pepper, fresh flat leaf Italian parsley, minced garlic and finely grated parmesan.

Here's what you'll get:

Grillin' Sliders

I love sliders! I know, no surprise since I'm partial to small food, but these are fun to make plus you get the opportunity to try lots of flavors instead of one type when its a full size burger.

We grilled 4 types of sliders this weekend for some friends and I think it was a hit! The sliders included beef with tex-joy seasoning, southwestern turkey, pork/chorizo (adapted from here) and buffalo/blue cheese. We also had lots of toppings including cheddar and pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole with bacon, bacon, onions sauteed in bacon fat and others. (See a trend there?)



Other slider recipes:

chili bowl burger sliders (I'm still on the fence about the shaping of meat into a bowl form but I like the idea of chili-like spices in the meat itself)
meatball sliders
lamb sliders (on potato rounds instead of buns)
white castle style sliders
turkey sliders with feta and sun-dried tomatoes

Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs

I love the Cooking Light Way to Cook cookbook. Its got great everyday recipes and also gives the nutritional information (like the fact that these have 63 calories a piece). Its really visual with lots of pictures and explanations of different cooking techniques, what the benefits are of different meats, grains, vegetables, best tools to use in the kitchen and lots of other tips.

I make turkey meatballs for spaghetti on a regular basis and this is one of the recipes I use:

turkey-ricotta meatballs (adapted from cooking light)

ingredients
1/2 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground turkey

directions
Combine all ingredients, do not over mix. Shape mixture into 18 meatballs (I got closer to 2 dozen). Bake in a 375 degree oven (I use a Pam coated pyrex) until golden brown and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes depending on meatball size.

These can also be frozen and stored in the freezer for another day! Just thaw in the refrigerator, bake at 375 for 20 minutes of until heated.

Note: the amount of breadcumbs/ricotta/egg may need to be adjusted depending on the moisture in your turkey.

Orecchiette with Sausage, Broccoli & Caramelized Garlic

After a week of lots of tex-mex, Mike was begging for pasta. I'm kind of tired of the marinara/spaghetti sauce routine so I chose this sauceless pasta (and new recipe for us) from Serious Eats. I made some recipe changes...

1. I increased the ingredients to accommodate a full pound of pasta (which is the full box in most cases; I didn't see the need to leave 4 ounces of pasta in the box).


2. I also think I was short on the amount of broccoli once I cut the majority of the stems off... I'm still learning to like broccoli and just avoid the stems altogether. Bonus point - broccoli was in season (aka better quality/taste) in Texas in March! (We made this just in the nick of time during the first days of April.) Instead of preparing the broccoli as written, I tossed the florets with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted it in a 325 degree oven for about 14 minutes.


3. I also substituted spicy Italian turkey sausage


4. And omitted the thyme.

The only other "change" was that I actually cleaned out the fat rendered from the turkey sausage before proceeding with the rest of the cooking process. It just looked to fatty and not appetizing. If you encounter this, just pour out the fat you don't want in the pan and start with fresh olive oil.
Pretty good! Its a nice method of cooking things too... probably would be easy to use whatever ground meat you have on hand (or go meatless and add some crushed red pepper for spice) and a nice spring vegetable like broccoli, broccolini, asparagus... you get the idea.

Chicken Fajitas (Marinade)

Last weekend I made a quick marinade for chicken fajitas with onions and peppers. The marinade is from Pioneer Woman (!) and was originally meant for beef. It was really good, super easy and I had most things on hand.


Just a note, one small can of chipotle peppers is probably twice as many as you need for the marinade. I use what I need and then freeze the rest in a freezer friendly tupperware container to use later (maybe in butternut squash enchiladas). Chipotle peppers can be spicy... if you don't like spice but like the smokey taste, just cut the peppers in half from stem to bottom and scrape out the seeds.


(look below at the cool color of the marinade!)

Chicken Piccata

Mike and I made chicken piccata for supper Sunday. It was a quick dish that could be made on a weeknight if you have chicken in the refrigerator. I served it with a thin spaghetti and green beans (for me) and corn (for Mike). (We can't seem to ever agree on one vegetable!)

ingredients
2 thin, boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt &pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup italian bread crumbs
olive oil
3 tbsp butter (divided use)
1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)
1/2 cup of white wine (nothing too sweet)
fresh parsley for topping, optional
1/2 package thin spaghetti

directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place a cookie cooling rack on top of a 13x9 sheet pan.

Set water for noodles boiling. They should be ready just as the sauce is ready.

Sprinkle a small amount of salt & pepper into the flour. Bread your chicken starting with the flour, egg, and then the bread crumbs. Place a shallow saute pan over medium to medium high heat and pour a small amount of olive oil into it, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook the chicken in the saute pan for about a minute on each side, just enough to make the breading golden and crispy. Place the chicken on the cookie cooling rack and place the cookie cooling rack with 13x9 pan into the oven for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

In another small saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add the lemon juice, wine, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and and let reduce by half, 3 to 4 minutes. Lower heat to medium low. Add in the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Stir until incorporated. Add in the cooked noodles and stir, cooking slightly until the sauce and noodles are well incorporated.

Serve noodles with chicken. Top with parsley (optional).

Chinese Chicken Casserole

I made this yummy Chinese chicken casserole over the weekend. I'm not sure what qualifies something as a casserole but whatever you want to call this, its so good!


The recipe was sent in to thekitchn.com during a healthy casserole recipe contest. It is so simple and makes a ton. I did not use the sausage or its substitute called for in the recipe so I substituted boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the breasts to make up for the lost fat which was needed in the recipe.


Everything was really easy and came out with well cooked rice right on time. And it only dirties one pot! Next time I'm going to increase the amount of mushrooms, add chopped spinach and substitute pork tenderloin for the chicken. Mike of course wanted more meat in the dish haha.

photo from thekitchn.com

Tex-Mex Enchiladas

My mom and I have been on a quest for sometime to find a recipe for the brown, almost chili-like sauce that comes on top of tex-mex cheese enchiladas. Enter the "Homesick Texan" blog. I've become slightly obsessed reading through the recipe index and printing out lots of great things to try at home.

Back to the enchiladas. I'm not happy with that red sauce in a can business... although I found one I can tolerate at Central Market... its smoked hatch chile enchilada sauce or something close to that name.

Nothing beats this sauce though. Its smoky and thick. Really easy to make and has no meat (which will come in handy when I need meals on Friday during Lent). I made Mike's half of the pan with ground beef seasoned with chipotle lime seasoning and mine with just mixed mexican cheeses.

I wasn't happy with the photos so check out the Homesick Texan's recipe and photos!

Here are some other recipes on the blog that I have my eye on...

• black eyed pea dip
• chipotle sweet potato soup
• flour tortillas
• jalapeno cheese bun
• migas
• mexican chocolate pralines
• chorizo cream gravy
• jalapeno cheese grits
• brisket tacos

I LOVE Texas cooking and food. My great friend Jen, currently residing in London and missing chips and queso, will be happy that I'm practicing making Texas treats for her to eat on her next visit!

Sausage & Peppers Frittata

I adapted this recipe from my Giada at Home cookbook from the recipe "Baked Provolone and Sausage Frittata." Its super simple to put together and frittatas in general are very versatile. You can put one together with eggs, milk, some kind of cheese and add an whatever leftover veggies or protein suits you.

Ingredients:

Butter for the baking dish
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 pound mild turkey sausage, casings removed
8 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
3 cups shredded provolone cheese
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease 8x8 baking dish. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook for about 3 minutes. Add sausage and cook until brown. Set aside to cool.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and slat until smooth. Add bell pepper, 2 cups of the cheese and 1/4 cup parsley. Add turkey & onions. Pous mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and the eggs are set.

Changes:
I decreased all of the add-ins just a little bit. I like to have a lot of egg to my frittata. I also did not sprinkle the top with any additional cheese... I thought the inside was cheesy enough. I also added a little Italian seasoning to my turkey sausage as it was cooking to make sure the frittata was full of flavor.

crispy parmesan biscuits on the left, frittata on the right

Turkey-Spinach Meatballs

This isn't so much a recipe as it is just a tip. Next time you make meatballs for spaghetti, subs or even mini-meatball lasagna (which is what I used them for) try adding half a box to a whole box (depending on how wild and crazy you are) of frozen spinach to the meat mixture. Its a super simple and cheap way to add veggies to your meal.

Here are some great meatball recipes -

Chicken meatballs (Giada)
Turkey meatballs (Giada)
Pork, beef or lamb meatballs (Smitten Kitchen)
Beef & veal meatballs (BGSK)

The best way to incorporate the spinach is to let it thaw completely and drain and dry it very well. Frozen spinach holds a ton of water so if you don't drain and dry the spinach completely you will have a very wet meat mixture.

Our meatballs turned out great and I can count another vegetable serving (which I definitely need) without having to make a separate dish of veggies :)

Southwest Turkey Burgers

I made these yummy red-meat alternative burgers over the weekend using lean ground turkey breast. I topped whole-wheat buns with the turkey burger patty, mixed Mexican cheeses and a couple of slivers of avocado. We served with them Alexia Sweet Potato Fries (love!) and had great supper cooked on our new cast iron skillet courtesy of Nick and Erica. Thanks guys!

Southwest Turkey Burgers
1.25 pounds ground lean turkey breast
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 egg white

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until incorporated (I use a fork... it easily breaks up the meat and mixes the seasonings in well). Form into 4-6 patties... we made 5 this time. Cook about 5 minutes per side on medium heat or until cooked through. Place patty on warm bun, top with cheese and avocado. This could also be served wrapped in a tortilla!

Other topping ideas: corn or black bean salsa, pepper jack cheese, fresh cilantro, salsa, chipotle mayo

On another note... we are pretty excited about the cast iron pan! There are so many things you can make in them! And it can be used on the stove for indoor grilling, in the oven or on the grill... really versatile.

A weekend's worth of recipes!

Our great friends threw us a luau shower over the weekend (stay tuned for pictures) and we had lots of family in town to celebrate with us. I made lots of yummy things to have on hand for our visitors including classic chocolate chip cookies, salsa, sonoma chicken salad (I actually swapped out 2/3 of the mayo and used low-fat greek yogurt to decrease the fat content), pancetta and green onion tart and finally buttermilk cheddar biscuits made mini-style.








Ok - that sounds (and looks) like a lot. But I planned ahead and got to spend lots of time with the fam while having a kitchen full of goodies. I prepared the cookie dough the weekend before, rolled it into an easily sliceable log and froze it. Thursday night, I sliced the dough into about 3 dozen cookies and baked them. I also made the salsa Thursday night. Saturday morning before our company arrived, I chopped and crisped the pancetta, chopped green onions, grated cheese for both the tart and biscuits and chopped the butter for biscuits. I put all that back in the fridge (all measured and ready to go!) All that planning made Sunday morning much easier on me. I woke up and was able make a great brunch for me and Mike; my parents, sister and her boyfriend; my grandparents; my aunt, cousin and baby G; and Mike's mom and 2 sisters! We definitely had a full house!

Thanks to everyone for coming to visit and making the shower special!

Shoyu Chicken

This week we're having a very Hawaiian dish - Shoyu Chicken. Mike had it often in Hawaii and we saw it mentioned on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives this week while Guy visited a plate lunch place in Hawaii. Mike helped cook too... which was nice since I was also trying to make quesadillas and salsa to have in the fridge this week :)

The recipe is from Aida Mollenkamp and is super simple - basically everything goes into one pot and then is served with rice. Its salty from the soy sauce, sweet from the brown sugar and slightly spicy from the ginger. We made half a recipe since its just the two of us.

Get the full recipe here!

Cooking with Leftovers: Rotisserie Chicken

Mike and I bought a rotisserie chicken for me to eat with my spinach pasta and with a promise that he would eat some as well so we didn't waste half of the chicken. As the week progressed, it became evident that we were not going to finish the whole bird. With that in mind, I shredded the remaining breast and leg then swung by Central Market and picked up a can of hatch chile enchilada sauce (red), yellow corn tortillas and a small container of chihuahua cheese (you could use whatever you like, this just looked interesting). One small assembly line and about 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven later and this is what we had:

Our leftover chicken + minimal ingredients made 6 enchiladas. Fast, easy and delish!

Chicken & Dumplings

I wanted to make some kind of comfort food but still wanted something healthier than the typical comfort foods, like mac & cheese. I made my Mom's chicken and dumplings since the dish has protein and lots of veggies.






Even though it looks (and tastes) rich, there is no butter or cream in the dish. Its the best kind of comfort food!

Chicken Pot Pie

Update! Mike said its good! Just need to tweak the ratio of dry to wet ingredients in the crust so it crisps better on the top.

I've seen about a dozen recipes for chicken pot pie lately. Also watched a recent Bobby Flay Throwdown all about chicken pot pie (against the Casserole Queens in Austin... love them!) So, today I attempted Sweet Potato Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie.

Sweet Potato Biscuit crust: 1. Katie: zero.

I have no idea why I couldn't get the dough over the casserole dish in one piece but let's just say it made a mess! I ended up having to sort of piece/spoon the dough back over the casserole dish to cover the chicken pot pie. Must re-work biscuit recipe a bit.

Here are some pics of the nicer looking aspects of the dish. Mike is going to have it for dinner tonight... I'll update with the verdict!