Showing posts with label main course. Show all posts
Showing posts with label main course. Show all posts

Monday, January 24, 2011

Stacia's Steak, Spinach and Pasta Dish

One of my resolutions for this year was to cook healthier food. It's not that I didn't cook healthy before, it was just that "healthy" wasn't on the top of my mind when making dinner. Now, I am putting more effort into thinking dinner through before hand, to try and figure out ways to keep lots of flavor, and make it good for our bodies.
The inspiration for this dish came, like so many other dishes, from watching Food Network. Specifically, Rachael Ray. I think she is fun and has lots of great recipes. This one, however, isn't hers. It's mine. :)
Anyway, she was grilling up portobello mushrooms for sandwiches (yum). I printed the recipe and actually ended up changing the whole marinade up so much it can't even be called the same recipe anymore. I thought it was great on the mushrooms. Well, my husband doesn't really care for mushrooms, so the recipe took another twist with the addition of beef in place of the mushrooms. It's also no longer a sandwich. (I discovered how good it was without the bread when I ate the leftovers the next day).
I am so proud of what I came up with, and I just know that you will love it too! Not to mention, that this recipe is also super versatile. You can switch out the beef for chicken or portobello mushrooms. You could also mix up the veggies to include ones that you like. I usually use whatever is fresh and in the fridge. I have pasta as part of this, to make it work for dinner. If you want to whip it up for lunch, you could certainly leave that out, just don't make as much sauce.





Stacia's Steak, Spinach and Pasta Dish

for the marinade:
1 tbl. veggie oil
2 tbl. mustard (I have been using plain yellow)
2 tbl. worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

1 lb. steak, cut into thin strips (I have also used tri tip and cross rib roast for this- just make sure to cut against the grain)
Veggies of your choice, I like:
1 yellow onion, sliced into half rings
2 med. carrots, sliced 1/4inch thin
1-2 bell peppers, sliced thin
1 stalk celery, sliced thin (I don't really care for the stuff, but it works in this!)
small head of broccoli, cut into bite sized florets
half of a normal sized bag or prewashed baby spinach, or two big handfuls

ingredients for the marinade again, (leave out the chili flakes to keep it less spicy) plus:
1 1/2 tbl. cornstarch
1/3 c. water
salt& pepper to taste
1/2 lb. small pasta (macaroni, shells, rotini)

Mix up all of the ingredients for the marinade and put the sliced up steak in it to marinate for an hour or two.
When you are ready to start making dinner, bring a large pot of water to a boil to prepare the pasta.
In a large pan or skillet, begin cooking your onion, bell pepper and celery in a little bit of oil until the veggies are nice and soft. Should take a few minutes on a medium/med-low heat. Drop the pasta and add the broccoli to the pan of veggies. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes to get a little brown on the broccoli. Pour about 1/4 c of water into the veggies and quickly put a lid on the pan. This will steam the broccoli to make sure it is cooked thoroughly. After a couple minutes have passed, the broccoli should have taken on a lovely broght green color. Move all of the veggies to the outer rim of the pan once the remaining water has evaporated and dump the steak in the middle. Don't move it around too much, we want it to brown nicely. Flip over the meat. It won't take long to cook. Add in your spinach and mix everything together so that the spinach wilts.
Mix together all of the ingredients that you used for the marinade again, plus the cornstarch and water this time. Now you have made the sauce.
Drain the pasta and dump into the veggies, pour the sauce mixture over everything and cook, stirring constantly so that the sauce coats everything as it thickens up. Season to your liking with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Enjoy!


I have linked up here:
Posted by at 8 comments:
Labels:

Monday, August 2, 2010

Thai Green Curry Chicken

I love Thai food. I had two best friends when I was in elementary & primary school that were Thai. With that said, Asian food is one of the scariest things I can think of to try and attempt MYSELF in the kitchen.
But I wanted to try making green curry like I have had in Thai restaurants. It's delicious. Before going to the store, I did what I always do when getting ready to attempt a dish I'm not familiar with- google it. I looked at lots of recipes. But I secretly hoped that the jar of green curry paste at the store would have a recipe. Lots of brands these days have recipes utlizing their products printed on the product or at a website. This was just the case when I found Thai Kitchens green curry paste. There was an oh so simple recipe printed on the jar. Armed with the paste. fish sauce and a can of coconut milk, I headed home.
When I got home, I decided to check out the vendors website. Low and behold, there were lots more recipes there. I ended up doing a mix between the recipe on the curry paste jar and this one.
The final dish was amazing. I thought it tasted just perfect. Hubby didn't care for the jasmine rice it's served on- so next time I'll make some plain rice for him. I feel so much less threatened by Asian cuisine now!
I know I bought the curry paste. But do you know what all is in that stuff? Lots of things I have never seen at my local grocery store, that's for sure. (lemongrass, galangal, and certain chilis just to start) Plus- I wouldn't know how much of what to put in. The premade curry paste is such an easier alternative. Delicious too. :)
*note* The amount of fish sauce and curry paste you will need may vary depending on the brand you choose, as well as the potency desired. Start will a low amount- you can always add more.



Thai Green Curry Chicken serves 4
(adapted from Thai Kitchens)

1 14oz can coconut milk (I used lowfat)
1/3 c. chicken stock
1/4 c. julienned fresh basil leaves
2 tbl. fish sauce (Thai Kitchen brand)
1 tbl. green curry paste (Thai Kitchen brand)
2 tbl. brown sugar
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 large (or 2 small) carrots, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 c. frozen or fresh peas (optional)
1-2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces.
Jasmine rice

Mix together the coconut milk, chicken stock, basil, fish sauce, curry paste and brown sugar in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce down to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add in the chicken and all of the vegetables (whatever combination of veggies you prefer). Simmer the whole mixture over low/medium-low heat until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender. About 10-15 minutes.
Serve over rice. Enjoy!

I have linked up this tasty recipe at:
Posted by at 12 comments:
Labels: ,

Monday, June 14, 2010

Chicken Marsala

Over the weekend I decided to make Chicken Marsala. I've had it before, but have never tried making it. Hubby was all for it, so I began looking at different recipes from the internet, my cookbooks, and even the Marsala bottle. The main ingredients for all were Marsala, chicken broth and chicken that is dredged in flour. Most also had sliced mushrooms. Yum. With so little ingredients, the recipe could be wonderful or a total flop.
Well, I am very happy to say that the recipe I put together was wonderful! The chicken was super tasty and sweet! We ate ours over pasta because that lovely sauce cannot be put to waste. Very good.
This dish is definitely best the first day. Right after it's made, it's wonderful. The next day it's good- but not as good unfortunately.



Chicken Marsala serves 4
recipe by Stacia

2 chicken breasts, halved lengthwise
salt & pepper
1/4 c. flour for dredging
olive oil
8 oz mushrooms, sliced (whatever kind you like- I used button mushrooms)
2 tbl. unsalted butter
1 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 c. sweet Marsala

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and then dredge in the flour. Let them sit while a skillet with enough olive oil to coat the bottom warms up over medium heat.
Cook the chicken, a couple pieces at a time as to not crowd the pan and lower the heat dramatically. This should take about 3-5 minutes per side depending on how thick the pieces are and how hot your burner gets. Go ahread and check the thickest part of each when you think it's done- I almost ALWAYS do that.
Once the chicken is done cooking, add the butter and mushrooms to the pan and lower the heat a little. Cook the mushrooms down until they begin to soften up. If you lose moisture in the pan to cook the mushrooms, add a little of the broth instead of adding more butter or oil.
At this point, I sprinkled a couple tablespoons of the leftover flour over my mushrooms as to thicken up the sauce more in the end, but that is completely optional. If you do add some flour, stir it around to make sure it doesn't just clump to a few mushrooms.
Add the Marsala and the broth, keeping the heat on medium low. Stir everything around and make sure to get all of the good browned bits on the bottom from the chicken.
All that's left is to cook down the broth and mushrooms for a couple minutes, then add the chicken back in while the sauce finishes up. Cook until the sauce reduces by about half and thickens up a little. Enjoy!


I have linked this recipe up at:
Posted by at 14 comments:
Labels: ,

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Crock Pot Chicken Mole

Mole is really good stuff. My mom and I used to like getting it at a local Mexican restaurant near our house until they closed up shop.
Fast forward several years without mole. I have seen recipes for it in books, chefs make it on Food Network, but never got around to making it myself because the ingredient list looked daunting. Not to mention spicy.
My momma would be proud!
Now to the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks we recieved as wedding presents. Two of them have recipes for slow cooker mole. The thing is, the recipes couldn't be more different. One has dried chiles, and the other just spices. One chicken and the other turkey.
I decided to make the recipe without the dried chiles. I didn't want to spend the extra money on them, and the store didn't have the kind I needed anyways. Only one problem, the recipe called for a couple of turkey breasts. I guess it isn't really a problem since I don't have any problem with changing out ingredients for recipes on the first shot. I had 6 more chicken thighs that I didn't use after making the Chicken Tagine.
The spices look like a lot. Believe me, they look like a lot. I measured them all out in the measuring spoon I used to measure the almonds (you'll see) and it seems like a lot. Especially the chili powder. But it really isn't. The cinnamon and cumin balance out the chili powder really nicely. I wouldn't even say that the dish was "spicy". Although next time I would really like to try it with the dried chiles!


Chicken Mole
adapted from Williams-Sonoma

6 chicken thighs, bone-in/skinless
1/4 c. flour for dredging
olive oil
2 small/medium) yellow onions, chopped
1/2 c. slivered almonds (these are different from plain old almonds, they have been blanched)
1 tbl. chili powder (trust me on this one!)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, drained (I like the low sodium kind)
1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate (I had semi-sweet bakers chocolate and it worked just fine! You could also sub chocolate chips, I'm sure)
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 14oz can chicken broth (again, I prefer the low sodium kind)
Cooked rice (optional)

First things first, I like to dredge the chicken in flour and brown it on both sides before adding it to the slow cooker. It's completely optional, but I would like to think it brings another depth of flavor and texture to the party. So, if you want, dredge the chicken in flour and then brown both sides in a skillet over medium/med-high heat and then stick them in the crock pot.
Now, onto making the oh-so-tasty sauce. In a frying pan or saucepan, or whatever you want, put about 3 tbl of olive oil and heat it up over med-high heat. Once the oil has warmed up, add the onion and the almonds. Stir it around and saute until the almonds have browned. Don't let it sit there untouched or the almonds will burn quickly! This step adds a nice toasty-ness to the almonds!
Once the almonds have browned and the onion started to turn translucent, add in your chili powder, cinnamon and cumin. Stir it around until it's nice and fragrant. Now add your diced tomatoes, chocolate, oregano, some salt & pepper and about half of the chicken broth. Stir everything around until the chocolate has melted completely.
In a food processor or blender add your mixture (a little bit at a time, as the mixture is very hot and we don't want to redecorate the walls!) and blend until it's all nice and smooth. This is the part that I really enjoyed having an immersion blender for. It's a beautiful thing, really. Once everything is blended and back in the pan, stir in the rest of the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Stir it all around and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Remember, the sauce won't thicken up much in the slow cooker since the lid is on and no steam can escape.
Add the oh-so-tasty sauce to the slow cooker and move the chicken around a bit so that every bit of it is covered. Cover the slow cooker and turn it on low. This will take about 2 hours to cook. (Maybe longer if you didn't brown your chicken?)
Take the chicken out after the 2 hours and shred it all up. Stir it back into the sauce and serve over cooked rice.
Note: This recipe makes a bunch of mole. It can feed 4, with leftovers. What to do with those leftovers? Roll up some mole in flour tortillas and cover with monterey jack cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and everything has heated through. (375 degrees for 20 min or 350 for about 30)


I liked up this tasty dish at:
Posted by at 10 comments:
Labels: , ,

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Chicken Tagine

Let me start this off by saying how much I enjoy Williams-Sonoma cookbooks. After receiving my first at my bridal shower, I put some on my wedding registry and we received most of them! Awesome!
Also, how awesome are slow cookers? I mean really. Put all the ingredients inside, turn on, and dinner is ready later. It's wonderful.
I made this Chicken Tagine for my parents once when they came over soon after the wedding. Hubby found it to be a bit too lemon-y, so I cut back a little this time and I think it was better.
With a few more tweaks, like the addition of onion and bell pepper because I had them in the fridge and NEEDED to use them soon, the recipe came out great.
I served the whole thing with homemade pita bread (will be my next post), roasted red bell pepper hummus (didn't come out right, unfortunately) and some couscous. Yummy!



Chicken Tagine
(recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma Slow Cooker)

1/4 c. flour
salt & pepper
6-8 chicken thighs, bone in & skin removed (the original recipe has the skins on, but they end up all soggy after slow cooking for a couple hours)
olive oil
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 can chicken broth (I prefer low sodium)
1/2 c. chopped parsley (optional, but it brings nice color to the party)
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes, drained
1 onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced (mine were about 3/8 inch wide pieces)
1 lemon, cut into 8ths
1 15oz can garbanzo beans, drained
cooked couscous (optional)
pita bread (optional)

First step is to sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then dredge them in the flour. By doing the salt and pepper first, it ensures even coverage. This recipe makes a lot of sauce, so you can keep it at 6 thighs, or go all the way up to 8.
Heat up a skillet over medium/medium-high with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Brown both sides of the thighs, going a few at a time so the pan doesn't get crowded. We just want some nice color, not to cook them all the way through. Once they are browned, place them in the slow cooker.
Now we make the sauce. Add the rest of the flour you used to dredge (might need to add a little more if you are cooking more thighs) to the warm skillet along with the cumin and cayenne. Stir it around until the flour and spices are fragrant and absorbed into the remaining oil. Add the can of chicken broth to the skillet and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir it around to get up all of those tasty browned bits left in the pan!
Add the broth mixture to the slow cooker along with the parsley, garlic, tomatoes, onion and bell pepper. Swish it all around a bit to get it in between those thighs.
Tuck a few pieces of lemon around in the slow cooker between thighs. If you have a really juicy lemon, add less. If you like the nice tang than citrus brings, add more. I had juicy lemons and added 3 pieces.
Cook on high heat for 1 1/2 hours (or low for 4). Stir in the garbanzos and cook for an additional hour.
Serve over a bed of couscous(top photo). Or, you can take the chicken out, shred it up and mix it with some of those tomatoes and garbanzos and some couscous and stuff it in a pita. talk about TASTY! (photo in middle of page)


This delicious dish is linked up at:
Posted by at 17 comments:
Labels: , ,

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Pork Chop Piccata


I like to follow along with Pioneer Woman's blog, and have my own account over at Tasty Kitchen. One day, Ree submitted a delicious chicken piccata recipe (here). I made it and the hubby and I both really enjoyed it. Recently, however, I had found myself wanting that tasty piccata sauce. Short on chicken, I decided to use some boneless pork chops. Hey, pork is the other white meat, right? So I followed along with the recipe for the most part, changing a couple things here and there to suit our tastes. And voila!
It was delicious! VERY delicious. I made the recipe with only 2 chops, but still made the full amount of sauce, that way I could have it over pasta for lunch the next day!

Pork Chop Piccata
(adapted from Pioneer Woman's Chicken Piccata)

4 boneless pork chops (1/2-3/4inch thick)
1/4 c. flour
salt & pepper
4 tbl. butter 
4 tbl. olive oil
3/4 c. white wine (I like using those cute 4 packs of wine that equal up to a full bottle- use 1 sm. bottle here)
1 can chicken broth
Juice from 1 lemon (I'm used to big and juicy lemons, you may need to use 2 to get more juice)
3/4 c. heavy cream
slurry of 2 tbl. cornstarch and 1/4 c. water (optional)
cooked spaghetti

Sprinkle the chops with salt and pepper, then dredge in the flour.
Heat up a skillet over medium heat along with half of the butter and half of the oil. Cook two of the chops, until browned and cooked all the way through. Then put the rest of the butter and oil in the pan and cook the remaining chops. Set aside someplace to keep warm.
Pour into the skillet the wine, chicken broth and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until it has reduced by half, scraping up all of the tasty browned bits on the bottom. Season with some salt and pepper.
Reduce the heat to low and add in the cream. Cook and stir until the sauce has thickened up a bit.
At this point, if you want the sauce to be more like a gravy, add in the slurry and watch it thicken up!
Taste the sauce and add more lemon juice if you want more tang, more cream if you want less tang.
Serve sauce over the chops and some spaghetti!

This recipe is linked up at:
Posted by at 8 comments:
Labels: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)