Pub Style Chicken

This is a good meal for the cooler days!

Ingredients

3 Chicken Breasts
1 Onion, sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp oil
Salt 
Pepper
1/2 cup of Jalapeno Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Caesar Dressing
1/4 cup Honey Mustard Dressing







Directions

1. Combine soy sauce, molasses, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Place mixture in bag and add chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 425
3. Place sliced onion in a baking dish, coat with oil, salt and pepper. Add chicken to the dish and cook in the oven for 25 minutes
4. Take out and cover top of chicken with cheese, bake for additional 2 minutes.
5. In a bowl, mix the dressings together. Drizzle dressing mixture over chicken and serve.

Cheesy Hammy Pasta

I was away for the weekend so I apologize for the lack of blog posts. Tonight I made a tasty dish: Cheesy Hammy Pasta!

Ingredients

1 package of diced ham
1 package of sliced mushrooms
1 large onion, diced
1 bag of frozen peas (optional)
1 tbsp of corn starch
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 cups of cooked corkscrew pasta
1/4 cup of parmesian cheese
pepper
salt
cayenne




 
Directions

1. In a good sized pan, heat oil over medium heat, add onions and cook for 3 minutes or until they start to soften. 
2. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 8 minutes, stir often so it does not burn. Reserve mixture in a large bowl.
3. In a small mixing bowl, add milk and corn starch and whisk until it's fluffy.
4. In the same pan, over medium heat bring to a boil and cook for 1 minutes. Continue whisking so it does not burn!
5. Add cheese, salt, pepper, and cayenne to the sauce. Turn off heat.
6. In a bowl, add pasta, onion/mushroom mixture, ham, and peas. Pour sauce over and mix well. Serve and enjoy!

Souper Sunday Series: Zuppa Tuscana

Tonight I made my favorite soup from Olive Garden: Zuppa Tuscana, a creamy potato and sausage soup. My recipe is a bit different from the ones found on Copykat and such.

Ingredients

3 Large Russet Potatoes, sliced
1 lb Italian Sausage
6 slices of Bacon
1 Large Onion, diced
1 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic
2 cups of Baby Spinach
2 cups of Chicken Broth
1 1/2 quarts of Water
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne






Directions

1. Fry bacon until crispy, reserve bacon drippings.
2. Add 1 tsp of bacon fat back into pan, and brown sausage, season with salt and pepper. Store sausage in a bowl.
3. Add 1 tsp of bacon fat back into pan, add onions and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add Potatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 3 minutes or until Potatoes soften.
4. In a soup pot, add chicken broth and water, add sausage and bacon. Heat till simmering. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne (careful!)
5. Add potato/onion/garlic mixture, simmer for 10-15 minutes.
6. Skim the fat the rises to the top, it can discolor the soup but it tastes so good!
7. Turn heat to low, add baby spinach, slowly add in whipping cream, and stir well.
8. Heat through and serve! 

The Olive Garden recipe uses Kale or Swiss Chard but the price and amount you get in the Produce section in my grocery is outrageous!  The spinach is softer and really goes well with the soup!

Stuffed Peppers

What's better than a dinner in an edible bowl. We tend to get a little heavy with the stuffing, but it is so good!

Ingredients

2 Bell Peppers
1 package of Jenny-O Turkey Sausage 
1 can of V-8 (big can)
1 can of Tomato Puree
1 package of Brown Rice
2 Carrots, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 cup of Mushrooms, sliced
1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Oregano
Parsley
Garlic Power
Salt & Pepper
Cayenne


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cut off the tops of the peppers, boil them in salted water for 5 minutes or until soft. Remove from water and allow to cool.
3. Saute carrots, onions, and mushrooms in 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add oregano, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic powder. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes or until soft.
4. In a frying pan, season turkey sausage with salt and pepper. Brown over medium-high heat, strain the meat.
5. In a new pan, over medium-high heat, mix tomato paste and V-8 juice. Add salt, pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce. Allow to heat for 3 minutes. Add a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.
6. Mix meat, rice, and veggies into the sauce and let them simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Spoon the mixture into the boiled peppers, stuff enough to make them stand on their own. Top with mozzarella cheese.
8. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Tonight was special since I got home from work and my wife, Katie, had dinner pretty much ready! She tried some new techniques which were cool. Great meal for the Fall and Winter months!

Souper Sunday Soup Series: Tortellini Soup

Since we are in Fall now, I wanted to do a soup with some nice color and flavor. It's been a few since I made a soup, after getting sick and just been busy I'm ready to continue my series.

Ingredients

4 cups of Vegetable Broth
2 cups of Water 
1 Onion, diced
2 Carrot, diced 
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 can of Diced Tomatoes, w/ garlic, oregano, basil
1 package Tortellini, frozen or fresh
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 handfuls of Baby Spinach
Oregano
Basil
Cayenne





Directions

1. In a soup pot, heat olive oil to medium, add onions (w/ a pinch of salt) and sweat for 4 minutes. Add carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
2. Add vegetable broth, water, and can of tomatoes. Bring to simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and cayenne to taste. 
4. Add Tortellini and continue simmering for 10 minutes.
5. Add Baby Spinach and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

This soup was awesome with a Caesar Salad on the side! Going to save this recipe for a cold day...Winter is Coming :)

Steak Marinated in Beer and Green Onions

This is a recipe we got out of American Heart Associations Cookbook. I've doctored it up a bit since we first tried it. The choice of beer is your favorite but I've found it goes best with a good light beer.

Ingredients (Marinade)

1 1/2 cups light beer (12 ounces)
4 green onions, minced
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp grated gingerroot (ground ginger works)
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 medium garlic cloves, minced, or 1 tbsp of jarred minced garlic
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp vegetable oil









Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, place steaks in a bag and pour in marinade.
2. Marinate 1 to 24 hours, the longer the better.

We used top round sirloin steaks, I typically take out the steaks, wipe them down and allow to rest till they reach room temperature. Preheat grill to medium-high (400+), and grill each side 4-6 minutes depending on how rare you like your meat.

I also boiled the marinade for 5 minutes, which kills any bacteria from the raw meat, and used it as a sauce for our mashed potatoes.

Doctor Sauce

Tonight was an easy night! Ever get tired of regular jar of Tomato Sauce for your pasta? Here's what I typically do to doctor it up a bit:

Ingredients

1 jar of Tomato Sauce 
1/2 tsp of Minced Garlic
1/2 tsp of Everglades Seasoning
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp of Cayenne or Red Pepper Flakes
Sprinkle of Sugar 
Sprinkle of Chopped Parsley











Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Heat a pan to medium-high heat, add the garlic to the pan and stir fry for 1 minute. Be careful not to burn it.
3. Add in sauce, stir well, allow to simmer for 5 minutes
4. Add in everglades, oregano, and cayenne (or red pepper flakes). Mix, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
5. Slowly mix in the pasta to the sauce, reduce heat to low and let it sit for 2 minutes.
6. Plate the pasta, and top with parsley and sugar. Enjoy!

Just started reading Stephen King's new book, Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining, so far it's pretty awesome! Time to go hit the book!!!