Potato Salad

Ingredients:

·         Red potatoes, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, cut in wedges

·         4 eggs

·         2 stalks thinly sliced celery

·         1 onion, finely chopped

·         2 tablespoons relish

·         3/4 cup mayonnaise

·         ¼ cup mustard

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         1 to 2 Tbs chopped green onions and/or 1 tsp. paprika (optional garnish)

Preparation:

After scrubbing the potatoes and removing any rough spots, I boil them with the eggs in a pot until potatoes are soft (I leave the skin on after scrubbing them).  Once cooled, shell and chop eggs.  Put eggs and potatoes in a large bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine well.  Cover; chill for 2 or more hours for best flavor. Garnish with chopped green onion and/or paprika or even tomato wedges if desired.

Creamy Mexican Chicken Casserole

I haven't been cooking much lately.  Life has a way of slowing you down when you least expect it.
In the meantime, I've been itching to cook again.
Tonight I decided to try a recipe that I got from http://jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com/

I followed the recipe except that I did two layers: I layered tortillas and cheese in between the chicken mixture and was thinking next time to add a can of diced tomatoes.  I served it with ciabatta bread and next time will add a green salad.

This is how mine turned out (excuse the cell phone pic, of course my camera died the minute I tried to take this photo):

This is the recipe from Jenna's Journey:

This is one of my easy, delicious, go to dishes. It's great for a family night in but it's also a great dish that you can take to a friend. Just have everything in the pan ready to go, and finish cooking it there!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon oil

3 chicken breasts, raw, chopped into small cubes

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 large or 2 small bell peppers, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can of yellow corn, rinsed and drained

1 can of low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 Tablespoon cumin

1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 Teaspoon black pepper

1 cup of salsa

1 block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Over medium, saute chicken, onion, peppers, cumin, cayenne and black pepper together, making sure the chicken gets totally cooked. Once chicken is cooked, add garlic, let saute for 1 minute. Next, add salsa, beans and corn. Mix well. Add cream cheese, mix until completely distributed.

Pour into a dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, then top with cheddar cheese and put it back in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving 2011

We're creatures of habit, and on Thanksgiving, I enjoy the traditional turkey and common side dishes, but always like to make a unique or different dish.  Over the years our Thanksgiving menus change very little... but we tend to have an ecclectic mix of dishes with everyone in the house being responsible for one or two of their own favorite dishes. 

Here's our menu this year

I'm always open to trying new dishes and improving upon the classics. What are your most cherished recipes or ideas? I'd love to hear what you serve the ones you love on the day we give thanks.

Lobster July 2011

Yesterday my fiance made me lobster for dinner. 
mmmmmmmmm.

*giggles*
I didn't let him see me but I was snickering when I saw he made the salad in a big pot instead of a bowl
(he must not have been able to find a clean bowl -- how resourceful!)

my plate

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Bruschetta

My honey brings home loaves of french bread but sometimes they get stale before we can finish them and that invites me to make bruschetta!! :)

(I'll be honest, this time the loaf wasn't stale, I was just drooling over the idea of eating it, so I made it. :))

I chopped up 3 ripe tomatos (I like the ones on the vine) and 2 scallion onions:

Then I chopped up some fresh basil leaves:

They come off my pretty little basil plant. Ain't she a beauty? :)

 After adding the basil to the tomatos/scallion, I added a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and olive oil:

Then I toasted slices of french bread that had been rubbed with garlic:

Spread the tomato mixture over the toasted bread and wallah!

(this picture wasn't taken quickly enough... a few slices were already snatched off the tray before I could take a photo, lol!)

Bon Appetit! :)

Chicken Penne Broccoli with Philadelphia Cooking Creme

Today I've decided to post even though I didn't cook from scratch, I sorta cheated, with Philadelphia Cooking Cream (original sauce).   I'm a fan. ☺ They have lots of good recipes on the containers that I've yet to try.  If you try them, let me know how they are!

 Ingredients:

• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 1.5 pound boneless, skinless chicken, cut up into pieces
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 container of Philadelphia Cooking Creme (original flavor was my choice)
• 1 box penne pasta (or any shape pasta you choose)
• Seasonings to taste (I used salt, pepper, Goya's Adobo all purpose seasoning and Goya's Sazon con culantro y achiote (coriander & annatto). 

Directions:

1.  Boil water with a dash of salt/oil, then add pasta.

2.  Cut up broccoli florets and steam (lack of steamer, I use a colander that I place into a big pot that has a small amount of boiling water at the bottom then cover with a lid).

2.  Drizzle oil into pan, add chopped onion (cooking note:  you can prevent tearing up when chopping onions by cutting off the top but not the root - the root contains the most enzymes that produce tear evoking gases).  Stir until translucent then add garlic.

3.  Add cut up chicken and cook, stirring constantly until no longer pink.  Add seasonings.

4.  Stir in Philadelphia Creme Sauce, then drained broccoli and lastly, pasta.  Sprinkle with cheese when serving.  Yumlicious!

American Chop Suey (aka Chili Mac)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 large Onion, chopped
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 small Green Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 pound Ground Beef or Turkey
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 teaspoon each Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano and Pepper
• 1 -2 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 2 cans (14 oz.) diced or Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 can (14 oz.) Tomato Sauce
• 3 cups (1 box uncooked) Elbow Macaroni 

Directions:

In a large pot, cook the pasta until al dente.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until soft.

(I didn't have bell pepper on hand so I chopped up some peperoncini's, which my family is VERY fond of).

Add the ground meat and continue to cook until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain, if necessary.

Sprinkle the meat mixture with chili powder, cumin, oregano and pepper, add salt to taste, and mix well.

Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and the tomato sauce.  Simmer for about 20 minutes (or longer) so all the flavors melt together.

 Mix the the sauce into the macaroni.  Remove from heat and stir to coat pasta evenly. 

Garnish big bowlfuls with shredded cheese and chopped scallions (sorry no picture with scallions).   We used sharp cheddar.

YUM.

Note:  Dish is even better the following day, when the ingredients have had time to mesh together.