recipe of the week: beefy noodle casserole

i love my schedule. except for one small but important detail.

i'm rarely home before 7. 

which wouldn't be a big deal if

(a) i didn't love to cook

(b) we ate more easy/processed foods

but since neither of those are a truth in our home, i have limited options to getting a healthy and tasty meal on the table. 

thankfully i've discovered a few solutions.

(a) prepping ahead of time, and leaving instructions for anthony to pop something in the oven or mix the last part of a dish together

(b) a husband who doesn't mind cooking start to finish since he gets home first (and who does so at least once every other week or so...and would do it more often if i asked!)

(c) a crock pot that i try to utilize several times a month

and 

(d) quicker but still "real food" recipes.

don't get me wrong. i will always love cooking the more involved and impressive dishes. but they simply aren't practical for a weeknight in our home. hello saturdays :-)

with that longest introduction ever, here's a very basic little recipe that you could adapt to fit your own taste preferences. this is actually originally a taste of home recipe that i adapted quite a bit. it's fairly low-fat, calorie and carb though, so i definitely appreciate it!

beefy noodle casserole

2 cups egg noodles

1/2 pound ground beef

1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)

6 tbsp diced green chiles (standard small can)

2 tbsp diced green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp cream cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper to taste

cook pasta according to package directions

 brown ground beef

 add tomato sauce

 green onions

 green chiles

 and spices. simmer together for about 5-10 minutes

 spoon 1/2 beef mixture into bottom of casserole dish

 top with 1/2 the noodles, then layer the cheeses and sour cream on top

 repeat beef and noodle layers

 bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until it's bubbling nicely

enjoy! 



 

recipe of the week: greek chicken pasta

we love greek food

we love pasta

so when  i found this recipe for greek chicken pasta, i decided to try it.

upon reading the recipe, however, i decided to take what i liked about it (the artichoke hearts and feta cheese, namely) and create a new recipe based loosely on it.

here's what happened

greek chicken pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

salt, freshly ground pepper, greek seasoning, oregano

1 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound of chicken, cut into cubes (i used boneless skinless breasts)

1/2 cup white wine (this is how much was left in the bottle in my fridge...so use more or less depending on your preference)

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 can diced tomatoes with oregano, basil and garlic

1 can artichoke hearts, drained

1 container feta cheese with mediterranean herbs (or reserve a bit for sprinkling on top)

penne or bow-tie pasta, cooked according to package directions

begin by heating your olive oil and spices

 toss in the onions and garlic, saute for 5 minutes

 add the cubed chicken and a second round of spices (including a whole lot of greek seasoning)

 add the white wine, and cook down for about 3 minutes

add the chicken broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts and feta

 simmer sauce together for at least 15 minutes (enough time for the pasta to cook)

 it smells and looks amazing after that time...

 serve up over your warm & freshly cooked penne, sprinkle with reserved feta

 enjoy!

 (assuming 6 servings, pasta included)

*in the future i will likely marinate the chicken first, perhaps in lime juice and greek seasonings. i dislike chicken that is bland, and it just didn't have the great flavor of the sauce to me. however, leftovers were a little better in that regard, so i'll be playing around with this a bit!

(click this button and find more yummy recipes!!)

recipe of the week: bbq chicken (irish) cheddar pitas

anthony found this recipe a few months ago, and we decided to try it

it's definitely an easy recipe, very quick (less than 30 minutes start to finish)

i was pleasantly surprised by how much i liked it the first time!

however, the only way i could think (on the fly) of how to prepare the chicken before shredding was to boil it

and i HATE boiling chicken

so this time i did a couple of things different

barbecue chicken cheddar pitas

2 chicken tenders for each person eating

bbq sauce of your choosing (we have a split household between sweet and spicy, so i always make two batches)

1 cup (or more) shredded cheddar cheese (i used dubliner, so not a true cheddar but even.more.amazing)

3-4 stalks of green onion

1 pita for each person eating

begin by grilling (in a grill pan over med-high heat) your chicken strips in barbecue sauce until they are fully cooked

 shred the cheese (i used all but a small chunk of the package)

 shred the chicken.
(i decided to try what i had seen on pinterest, and found out that it works well!  using the paddle on the kitchenaid, you can perfectly shred chicken in less than a minute!  the exclamation marks just begin to show my excitement about this...)

 place chicken in mixing bowl

 add cheese and green onion

 more bbq sauce if you wish

 and mix together

 cut the pitas in half using kitchen scissors

 and top each half with the chicken mixture

 heat oven to 400゜and bake for 8-10 minutes

 serve up

add more bbq sauce if you like.  smiley face because of your excitement about the dish optional (anthony)

enjoy!

i've linked up with "feed my family friday" again over at farmgirl paints.  go visit her blog (click the button)!

 

EASY recipe of the week: stuffed mushrooms

ready for one of the easiest appetizers EVER?

1 pkg whole mushrooms
1 cup freshly grated mozzarella
4 ounces cream cheese (room temp)
4 ounces sour cream

(1) remove stems from mushrooms and place on baking sheet









(2) mix together mozzarella, cream cheese and sour cream.





(3) fill each mushroom with cheese mixture.









(4) bake at 350* for about 15 minutes

(5) enjoy!

(crappy iphone photo...sorry)