Tag Archives: dinner

Hot Pepper Beef

Posted in Recipes by

Who knew flank steak could be so delicious?!   I had heard of flank steak before but I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t actually ever cooked with it until a few months ago when we first tried this recipe.  Now we’re hooked!  In this stir fry, the flank steak takes center stage amidst a variety of green veggies in a sweet and spicy hoisin sauce.  The steak is juicy, tender, and flavorful and is light years beyond the rubbery, tasteless “steak strips” that you see pre-packaged in the supermarket.

This recipe comes from our awesome Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge cookbook by Grace Young.  We tweaked the original recipe to add the fresh green beans and garlic scapes that I picked in our garden earlier this week.  Enjoy!

Hot Pepper Beef Stir Fry with Green Beans and Scapes (serves 2)

You will need…
12 ounces Flank Steak, cut with the grain into 1/4″ thick x 2″ long slices
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Cornstarch
3/4 teaspoons Salt, divided
1/8 teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon Dry Sherry
1 tablespoon Ketchup
2 tablespoons Hoisin Sauce
1/2 cup Red Onion, thinly sliced
3 quarter-sized slices of Ginger, smashed
1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1 Handful Green Beans, trimmed
3 Garlic Scapes, cut into 3-4 inch pieces
Peanut Oil
1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 10 ounce package Jasmine Rice from Trader Joe’s, cooked

Directions:
Combine the steak, garlic, cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, black pepper, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the sherry, and 2 teaspoons cold water.  Stir well to coat the meat.  In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the ketchup, hoisin sauce, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of sherry.  In yet another bowl, combine the red onion, ginger, and crushed red pepper.  Place the green beans and garlic scapes in (yes, another) bowl.

Green beans and garlic scapes from my garden made a nice addition to this recipe.

Heat a wok over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds.  Add a tablespoon of the peanut oil, swirl around the wok, and add the steak to the wok.  Spread the steak evenly over the bottom of the wok and let it sear undisturbed for 1 minute.  Then stir fry the steak for 1 minute and transfer it to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of peanut oil to the wok, swirl, and add the onion mixture.  Stir fry for 30 seconds, then add the green bean/scape mixture and continue to stir fry for 1 minute.  Add the green pepper, stir fry for 30 seconds, then add the steak and any accumulated juices back to the wok.  Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the ketchup mixture and stir fry for 30 seconds until the steak is just cooked through.  Remove from heat and serve over rice.

I’m a Chicken Cutlet Convert!

Posted in Recipes by

For some reason I’ve never been a big fan of chicken.  Maybe I’ll eat a chicken tender here or there, but usually I’ll always pick a vegetarian option over a chicken sandwich or chicken cutlet.  All of that changed last Friday night when I tasted Matt’s version of these perfect, amazing, tender, and flavorful chicken cutlets.  These cutlets were melt-in-your-mouth delicious and I could have eaten every one of them except that I was going out of town the next day and Matt insisted on saving some for his lunch and dinner while I was gone.  🙂

I think what I liked most about these cutlets was that they were extremely tender, moist, and thin.  We ate our cutlets sandwich-style with melted Havarti cheese and roasted red peppers and to me the chicken seemed as delicate and delectable as the soft bun and juicy peppers.  These cutlets are DEFINITELY going into our standard dinner rotation!

Breaded Chicken Cutlets

You will need…
1 1/4 pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (approx. 3 half breasts)
5 egg whites, whisked together in a large bowl (discard the yolks)
1 1/2 cups Breadcrumbs with Italian Seasoning
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to Taste
Olive Oil
1/2 Lemon

Directions:
Cut the chicken breasts into thirds so that you have 8-9 square-ish pieces of chicken.  One at a time, cover each piece of chicken with plastic wrap and flatten by hammering it with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer.  Repeat for all chicken cutlets and set aside.

Combine the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and garlic in a large bowl and mix together.  Dip one chicken cutlet in the egg white mixture and make sure it gets completely coated (this is a messy, hands-on job!).  Allow the excess egg white to drip off then dredge the cutlet in your breadcrumb mixture, again making sure to coat all sides and edges.  Repeat the egg white dip and breadcrumb dredge a second time and then set that cutlet aside.  Repeat the entire double-dipping process with the rest of your chicken cutlets.

Heat a large flat-sided pan over medium high heat and add 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan).  The oil is hot enough when a drop of water sizzles and pops.  Carefully place four of your cutlets into the pan and allow them to cook undisturbed until the bottom is golden brown.  Flip the cutlets over and allow the other side to cook until golden brown.  Remove the cutlets from the pan and set aside on a clean plate.  (For peace of mind, you might want to cut open the fattest of the cutlets at this point to make sure it is cooked through!)  Repeat the cooking process with your remaining cutlets.

Once you are done cooking all of the cutlets, spread them out on a plate or (clean) cutting board and squeeze the lemon juice over them evenly.  This will give that garlicky breading a nice fresh “pop” of flavor.

How can you serve your cutlets?

  • The easy way – simply eat them plain with a knife and a fork (you probably won’t even need the knife because they are super tender!)
  • The sandwiched way – melt cheese on your cutlets in the oven and serve on a toasted bun with roasted red peppers (this is how we ate ours for dinner!)
  • The salad way – slice the cutlets into strips or cubes and serve warm over a mixed salad with baby greens, cucumber, red onion, roasted red peppers, and Caesar dressing (this is how Matt ate some of the leftovers)
  • The chicken parm way – we didn’t make these, but you could melt some mozzarella on the cutlets and serve with sauce, yum!

Herbed Pizza with Spinach and Feta

Posted in Adventures at Home, Recipes by

We made these delicious pizzas for dinner a few weeks ago just when the spinach in our garden was at its peak.  I picked about 3 cups of baby spinach leaves (almost wiping out the whole crop but that’s ok… I was making room for pepper plants and basil!) and rinsed and dried them well before using them in this recipe.  Fresh spinach leaves from the garden are juicy and bright green – very different from the bagged stuff you buy in the store!  I’ll definitely be planting more spinach when the weather cools off in the Fall so we can continue to enjoy this delicious leafy green.

Herbed Pizza with Spinach and Feta

View the recipe

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos

Posted in Recipes by

I know that it’s already ocho de Mayo but I’ve been busy at work (and in the garden!) so I’m finally just getting around to posting about our yummy dinner from Saturday night.  Ever since we made BBQ Chicken Quesadillas back in March we’ve been obsessed with La Tortilla Factory’s Green Chile Corn Tortillas and, as a result, we decided to make a meal that utilized these delicious little disks for Cinco de Mayo.  We pulled out our trusty Mexican Everyday cookbook by Rick Bayless and Matt quickly declared that the Pork Tinga Taco recipe sounded like a winner.

After a quick mid-day trip to the grocery store we had the taco filling prepped and in the Crockpot.  Most of the work for this recipe is done during the initial prep stage (6 hours before you eat) which is nice because this means that your dinner is basically sitting their waiting for you once dinnertime rolls around.  In our case we were able to use our “free time” in the evening to enjoy homemade Salsa and Margaritas.  🙂

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos with Avocado and Queso Fresco (from Mexican Everyday)
(serves an army in one sitting or serves two for dinner and provides 4-5 leftover lunches throughout the week)

You will need…
1 lb. Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 lbs. Boneless Pork Shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 – 15 oz. cans Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes, undrained
3 canned Chipotle Chiles en Adobo, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
1 tablespoon Adobo canning sauce from Chipotles
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
3 cloves Garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1 1/4 teaspoons Salt
1 Medium White Onion, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 Mexican Chorizo Sausage, casing removed
16 Corn Tortillas, warmed
1 cup Crumbled Queso Fresco Cheese (substitute feta if you can’t find QF)
2 large Avocados, pitted and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces

Directions:
Approximately 6 hours before you plan to eat dinner, line the bottom of your slow cooker with the potatoes and top with an even layer of the pork.  Combine the next seven ingredients (tomatoes thru salt) in a bowl and mix together.  Pour the tomato mixture over the pork and top with the sliced white onion.  Cook on “high” for 6 hours.

Pork Tinga mixture after slow-cooking for 6 hours. After this photo was taken we poured out the excess liquid, reduced it, and stirred it back into the pork to retain the intense flavor.

When your pork is done, brown and crumble the chorizo, drain the excess fat, and stir it into your pork mixture.  Break up the pork into smaller shredded pieces as you stir.  At this point check to see how much liquid is in your slow cooker.  If yours is anything like ours was, it will be way too watery to spoon onto a tortilla.  Rather than throwing away this excess liquid, pour it into a sauce pan and boil rapidly to reduce.  Stir the syrupy reduced liquid back into the meat for maximum flavor.

Warm your tortillas.  An easy shortcut is to sandwich a tortilla between two damp paper towels and microwave it on high for 30-45 seconds.  This makes the tortillas warm, moist and pliable without dirtying a frying pan.  🙂  To build your Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos, place a few spoonfuls of the pork mixture on the warm tortilla and top with queso fresco and avocado.  Enjoy!

Chicken Fried Rice

Posted in Recipes by

Fried Rice is one of the many dishes that Matt and I have wanted to master (or at least become proficient at making) since we got our wok back in November.  We tried a fried rice recipe a few months ago but it was over-seasoned with white pepper (the smell of white pepper still makes me cringe!) and definitely not what we were hoping for.  We were just talking about how we should try making fried rice again when, coincidentally, Danny from Danny’s Kitchen posted a tasty-looking recipe for chicken fried rice.  I immediately decided that we’d try Danny’s recipe and I’m happy to report that it was delicious!

Making fried rice takes some forethought because the rice should be made a few days in advance and then refrigerated.  I don’t have a rice cooker (though it’s sounding more and more like a gadget that I should get… maybe for our wedding?) so I cheated by microwaving some Trader Joe’s frozen jasmine rice on Tuesday and storing it until today.  For the veggies, I used raw carrots instead of frozen ones since that’s all I had.  I cooked the raw carrot with the frozen vegetables which left the carrots fairly crunchy and hard.  If I were to use raw carrots again I would steam them slightly before adding them to the wok to ensure that they ended up with a softer texture.

Chicken Fried Rice (also check out the original recipe on Danny’s Kitchen!)

You will need…
2 – 10 oz. packages frozen Trader Joe’s Jasmine Rice (cooked 2 days prior and stored in a sealed container in the fridge)
Peanut Oil
2 cloves Garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1/2 medium Yellow Onion, finely diced
1 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast, cut into 3/4″ cubes
2 Eggs, whisked together in a small bowl
Approx. 3/4 cup frozen vegetables (I used about 1/4 cup frozen peas, 1/4 cup frozen corn, and 3 chopped carrots since I didn’t have frozen carrots)
1 teaspoon Soy Sauce

Directions:
Heat up your wok over medium-high heat and add about a tablespoon of peanut oil.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onions and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Push the garlic and onions to the perimeter of the wok and add the chicken in one layer in the bottom of the wok.  Allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for 1 minute, then stir fry the chicken until it is cooked through.  Remove the chicken, garlic and onions from the wok and set aside.

Add more oil to the wok if needed, then add the whisked eggs and cook until they are scrambled.  Remove and set aside.  Add more oil again if needed, then add the rice and stir constantly for 5 minutes.  Add the frozen vegetables and the soy sauce, then stir fry for 8 minutes.  Add the egg and chicken back into the wok and stir fry for an additional 3-5 minutes until heated through.  Season with extra soy sauce to taste and enjoy!

Eggplant Parmesan – Trader Joe’s Style!

Posted in Recipes by

Matt has lacrosse practice one evening a week which means that Bailey and I are left to our own devices.  I usually make some kind of simple, vegetarian meal for myself and then Bailey and I snuggle on the couch and watch TV.  My latest guilty pleasure is the NBC show “Smash” which is about the drama and excitement of Broadway.  I’m sure that Matt is very happy that I watch that when he’s at practice rather than subjecting him to it every week!

For tonight’s meal, I wanted to use up some of the Trader Joe’s Ciliegine Mozzarella and fresh basil that we had left over from our Sausage TBM Pizzas.  After rummaging around in the freezer, I discovered half a box of Trader Joe’s Eggplant Cutlets and some frozen tomato sauce that we made back in February.  So… what do you do with eggplant, mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce?  Make Eggplant Parm, of course!  Granted, I’ve never made Eggplant Parm and I never looked up a recipe (or actually used Parmesan cheese…), but those ingredients came together as a very tasty Eggplant Parmesan “Tower” for one.

Quick and Easy Eggplant Parmesan  (serves one)

You will need…
8 Trader Joe’s Breaded Eggplant Cutlets (or make your own!)
3 Small Mozzarella Balls (I used and recommend TJ’s ciliegine mozzarella balls)
1/4 cup Tomato Sauce (I used some smooth tomato sauce that we froze several weeks ago)
2 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced into “chips”
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Handful Fresh Baby Spinach (Mine was straight out of my garden, woohoo!)
Sprig of Basil for garnish

Directions:
Cook the Eggplant according to the package instructions.  For Trader Joe’s Eggplant Cutlets, this involves baking the eggplant slices in a 425° oven for 12-14 minutes.  As soon as the eggplants are done, remove them from the oven and carefully begin to stack them on the baking sheet with the biggest slices at the bottom.  When you get halfway, place one mozzarella ball between the 4th and 5th eggplant, then continue stacking upwards.  Drizzle the stack with a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce then top with a mozzarella ball.  Insert your eggplant tower into the over under the broiler.

Meanwhile, saute the garlic slices in olive oil over medium-high heat until they start to turn golden.  At that point, add the spinach and stir constantly until the spinach wilts.  Remove from heat.

Check on your broiling mozzarella tower.  Once top cheese ball is melted, carefully add another mozzarella ball to the top of the tower and continue to broil until that ball is about 3/4 melted.  Remove the eggplant tower from the oven.

To plate your dish, spoon about 3/4 of your remaining sauce into the center of a plate.  The diameter of your sauce should be slightly larger than your largest “base” eggplant cutlet.  Place your bright green, wilted spinach and garlic chips around the edges of the tomato sauce, then carefully transfer your eggplant tower to the center of your plate.  Spoon the remaining tomato sauce around the top of your eggplant tower so that it drips down the side.  Top with a spring of basil and enjoy!

Another Delicious Pizza!

Posted in Recipes by

Mmm… is there anything better than homemade pizza fresh out of the oven?  Pizza is easy to make, the toppings are fun to experiment with, and the results are tasty and rewarding.  For me, the one problem with pizza is that I only like to use Trader Joe’s fresh pizza dough which means that I can only make pizza once or twice a month after we visit TJ’s.  We used to live within walking distance of a Trader Joe’s but now a 20 minute drive (and bad rush hour traffic!) separates us from my favorite dough.  I have tried the pizza dough from Whole Foods and, although it isn’t bad, it simply can’t compare with the crispy, chewy flavor of the dough from Joe’s.

So, as you might have guessed, we stopped by Trader Joe’s over the weekend and I picked up a bag of dough.  We already had some hot Italian turkey sausage and basil so I decided to make a Sausage Tomato Basil Mozzarella (TBM) pizza for dinner last night.

A note about the cheese… TJ’s was sold out of the marinated mozzarella balls that I typically buy so I tried their Ciliegine mozzarella which is billed as stringier, softer, and more authentic.  More authentic it may be but it also was much more watery and seemed to melt into nothingness on these pizzas.  Next time I’ll hold out for the good mozzarella!

Turkey Sausage T.B.M. Pizza

You will need…
2 Turkey Sausages (we used Shady Brook Farms Hot Italian Turkey Sausage)
1 12 oz. can Diced Tomatoes with Italian Herbs
1 package Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough
Pepper, Parmesan Cheese and Garlic Powder to taste
Approx. 10 Mozzarella Balls (I highly recommend Trader Joe’s Marinated Mozzarella Balls, but for this recipe I used TJ’s Ciliegine Mozzarella Balls)
10-20 Basil Leaves, cut into strips

Directions:
Crumble and brown the turkey sausage in a large frying pan or wok.  When the sausage is nicely browned, remove it from heat and set aside.  Drain the diced tomatoes slightly and then saute over medium heat for 10-15 minutes to reduce.  If you want a smoother tomato base, use a potato masher to slightly crush the tomato chunks.  Meanwhile, stretch out your pizza dough into two rectangular pies on a large cookie sheet (see my Homemade TBM Pizza for instructions on how to do this).

Spoon and spread the reduced diced tomatoes evenly onto the two pizza pies.  Sprinkle the browned sausage over the pizza and top with ground black pepper, Parmesan, and garlic powder.  Next, distribute the mozzarella balls evenly over the pizza.  I like to use a pair of kitchen shears to cut each mozzarella ball into several pieces — this helps to cover the pizza evenly without using an entire container of cheese!  🙂

Bake pizzas in a preheated 350° oven for 12 minutes.  Remove the pizzas from the oven and top with your sliced basil.  Enjoy!

Bucatini with Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

Posted in Recipes by

We have been on a quest for the perfect meatball recipe for several months and I think last weekend we finally found it!  Previously we had made gluten-free meatballs, turkey meatballs, and ground beef meatballs based on recipes we found on the internet.  All of these came out fine but were lacking the wow factor (and yes, now I know that there can be a wow factor when it comes to meatballs!).  Ironically, after all of that searching on the world wide web we found the perfect recipe within the pages of our very own Cooks Illustrated The New Best Recipe book.  Page 253, to be exact.

These meatballs were decadent and were so tender that they were almost creamy.  The combination of ground chuck and ground pork was way better than the turkey (duh) and standard ground beef that we tried in previous attempts and the tomato sauce was tasty and thick.

Bucatini with Meatballs and Tomato Sauce

You will need:
For the meatballs…
2 slices White Bread, crust removed and slices torn into small pieces
6 tablespoons Plain Yogurt thinned with 2 tablespoons fat free Half and Half
3/4 pound Ground Chuck
1/4 pound Ground Pork
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (or Parmesan/Romano Blend)
2 tablespoon minced Parsley Leaves
1 Egg Yolk
1 Garlic Clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon Salt
Pepper, to taste
1 cup Canola Oil, for pan-frying

For the tomato sauce…
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 28 oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced Basil Leaves
Salt and Pepper

1 pound Bucatini Pasta, cooked according to package instructions

Directions:
Combine the bread and yogurt mixture in a small bowl.  Mash together with a fork and let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until a paste forms.

Place the next eight ingredients (ground chuck through pepper) in a small bowl and add the bread-yogurt paste.  Mix together very gently (just as was the case with the guacamole-chipotle burgers, the lighter your touch, the more tender your end product will be!) and form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch diameter meatballs.  Press the meatballs together somewhat firmly to make sure they hold togethery during the cooking process. (Some of our very gently-formed meatballs fell apart but they were still delicious!)  You should end up with 10-14 meatballs.

Pan-Frying the Meatballs

Pour the canola oil into a large straight-sided skillet so that it is approximately 1/4″ deep.  Heat the pan over medium-high heat until the edge of a meatball browns if it is inserted into the oil.  Once the oil is hot enough, place the meatballs in the pan in a single layer.  Fry, turning several times, until the meatballs are evenly browned and slightly crispy on all sides (approx. 10 minutes).  Remove the meatballs from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels.  Set aside.

Meatballs warming up in the Tomato Sauce

Discard the oil in the skillet but retain any browned bits of meatball.  Add the olive oil and garlic and saute until garlic becomes golden, approx. 30 seconds.  Add the crushed tomatoes, stir, and simmer until sauce thickens, approx. 10 minutes.  Stir in the basil, salt and pepper, then carefully add the meatballs.  Stir gently to coat the meatballs and then allow to simmer for about 5 minutes to reheat meatballs.

Spoon several spoonfuls of the sauce over your cooked Bucatini and stir well to coat the pasta.  Serve the pasta and top with meatballs and sauce.  Enjoy!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Posted in Recipes by

This healthy, colorful salad is easy to make and the combination of rice vinegar, lime juice and cilantro give it a great, fresh flavor.  Because you can make it several hours ahead of time, this has been a go-to side dish for us when we’re having people over for dinner.  The leftovers (if there are any!) keep well and are delicious either alone or as a chunky salsa/dip with tortilla chips.  We found the original recipe on Whole Food’s blog.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

You will need…
2 – 15 oz. cans of Black Beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. frozen Corn, rinsed (if using canned corn boil it for 1 minute and then drain)
1 small Red Onion, chopped and rinsed
1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Lime Juice
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup Cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Rinse the beans, corn and red onion in a large colander.  Allow to drain thoroughly, then add the red bell pepper.

Meanwhile, combine the rice vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Mix well, then add the bean, corn, onion, and pepper mixture from the colander.  Add the chopped cilantro.  Mix the entire salad well and then cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill.  Stir again before serving.

Baked Tortellini with Peas and Ham in Cream Sauce

Posted in Recipes by

Happy Easter!  We spent our holiday weekend eating delicious, rich meals including my mom’s asparagus strata, Matt’s sister’s homemade strawberry shortcakes, and our very own scalloped potatoes with artichoke hearts and fontina cheese.  We decided to keep the heavy food trend going today by using some leftover ham to make baked tortellini with peas and ham in a cream sauce.  I used this recipe from the Food Network as a guide but made some of my own changes such as lightening the sauce a bit with fat-free half and half, subbing in the Easter ham for prosciutto, and broiling the individual-sized entrees in the oven just before serving.

Baked Tortellini with Peas and Ham in Cream Sauce

You will need…
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of leftover ham (or you can use prosciutto), thinly sliced in 1″ strips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fat-free half and half
Approx. 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Approx. 1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup peas
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese (or Parmesan/Romano blend)
12 oz. Tortellini, cooked according to package instructions
1/4 cup reserved pasta liquid

Directions:
Melt the butter in a dutch oven.  When butter is melted, add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add the ham and saute for an additional 4 minutes or until the ham starts to brown slightly.  Add the heavy cream, half and half, salt and pepper and stir.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until cream mixture is reduced by half.

After mixture is reduced, mix in the peas and cheese, then add the tortellini and reserved liquid.  Stir well to combine, then transfer tortellini into two small baking dishes.  Broil for 4-5 minutes until top begins to brown, then remove from oven and enjoy!