Sunday Dinner - 10/23/2010

If you read this weekly post on a regular basis, you know my family is obsessed with tomatoes. I am always looking for new tomato based recipes. This recipe while not new is new to my family. Paul Prudhomme's version of chicken big mamou calls for a lot more butter and cayenne/hot sauce. I reduced the butter for health reasons and because my belly can't handle that much butter. If you don't have small children and/or like it spicy, double the cayenne. I decided to double the tomato sauce and seasonings and freeze it to have for a later date. I'm sure it will be tasty with any meat.

Chicken Big Mamou
Ingredients
Seasonings #1
2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp white pepper
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil

Seasonings #2
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp white pepper
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp basil

Other Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken, cubed
1 stick of butter
1 cup onion, minced
1 green pepper, chopped
4 whole garlic cloves
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp worcestershire
1 tsp hot sauce
2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp of honey

Directions
Melt 1/2 the butter in a heavy bottomed pot. Sautee onions, peppers and garlic cloves for 5 minutes.

Mix seasonings #1 in a small bowl and set aside.

Add minced garlic, seasonings #1 stock and worcestershire, simmer for 8 minutes. Add tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add hot sauce and honey.

Simmer for a min of 40 minutes.

Melt the other 1/2 of the butter. Mix seasonings #2 in a small bowl. Roll chicken cubes into seasonings #2 then add to the pan.

 Cook until done then add to the finished sauce.

Serve over rice.

The girlies still thought it was a little too spicy. But they've got to learn to build up their tolerance for hot and spicy Cajun foods.


If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo dot com.

I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as I did. What did y'all have for dinner?

Sunday Dinner - 09/19/2010

Whenever we go to the local farmer's market, I always buy a container of pastalaya (pasta jambalaya) for us to eat at lunch. (Pastalaya is a twist on the traditional Creole dish jambalaya made with pasta instead of rice.) While I'm not a huge fan of jambalaya, I LOVE pastalaya. All the meat, veg and sauce just work so well together. I used meats that are easily found in any NOLA supermarket. You can easily substitute whatever meat you like.

This dish doubles easily and freezes beautiful.You can make it as spicy as you like by how much cayenne or hot sauce you use.

Pastalaya Sauce
Instructions
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups Creole pre chopped veg mix

Or

½ cup onion, diced
1 cup bell pepper, diced
½ cup celery, diced

1 tbsp parsley
2 tbsps garlic, minced
½ tsp basil leaves
1 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp salt
3 bay leaves
¼ cup green onion
2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 (14oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (14oz) cans chicken stock

Directions
Heat oil in heavy sauce pot on med heat. Add Creole mix, parsley, garlic, basil, black peppers, cayenne, salt, and bay leaves.

Cook until the bell pepper turns onions start to become transparent. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and stock. Bring to a boil; then simmer for 45mins – 1hr, stir occasionally.

Pastalaya
Instructions
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb andouille sausage (or any smoked sausage)
1 lb chicken breast meat
1 lb diced tasso (can eliminate/substitute w/ other sausage)
1 onion
1 bell pepper
2 tsp garlic, minced
2 cups sauce (below)
2 lbs pasta, cooked
1 cup provolone cheese
1 cup smoked gouda

Directions
Green onion slivers and crushed red pepper for garnish
Heat oil in large pan on med heat. Slice andouille, chicken and tasso thin. Add meat to oil until the chicken is just cooked.

Slice onion, bell pepper, and garlic thin. Add veg to meat in pan. Cook until garlic is done, about 5mins.

Add Creole sauce and bring to a boil.  Place pasta into a large bowl and cover with the (2 cups) sauce.

  Top the with the cheeses.

I love love love this. But I have made pastalaya in a long time. I'm so glad I made enough for leftovers. Hope y'all enjoy it too.

If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo dot com.

I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as I did. What did y'all have for dinner? 

Sunday Dinner - 08/22/2010

If you read this post every week, you've probably think my family is obsessed with tomatoes. Well, we are. We eat tomato something 6-7 times a week. My oldest might choose tomatoes over candy. (Seriously, it'd be a toss up for her.) So here's another version of tomato sauce with a meat.

I'm partial to this recipe. This is one of the first big girl recipe I taught myself. In fact, I remember the first time I made it. Didn't turn out too shabby that first time. The cacciatore is easy to make, doubles well, and freezes beautifully.

Chicken Cacciatore (8 servings; 4.5pts)
Ingredients
4-5lbs chicken thighs
2tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped 
2 bell peppers, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3.5 cups (28oz can) pureed tomatoes
3cups tomato sauce
1cup red wine
2 celery ribs
6 mushrooms, sliced
1tsp black pepper
1tsp salt
2tbsp parsley
2tbsp basil

2tbsp oregano
3 bay leaves

1tsp thyme

Directions
Trim skin and fat from chicken. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Saute chicken until both sides are browned.

Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Brown lightly. Add celery, tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and seasonings.

Simmer on med-low for 45mins, at minimum. (More is better.) Add wine 5mins before serving.
Serve over pasta (extra points).

 We ate the chicken cacciatore with a fruit salad. Dinner was tasty and healthy.


If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo dot com.

I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as I did. What did y'all have for dinner? 

Sunday Dinner - 08/15/2010

Every week, I post a (some what) elaborate meal I've made on Sunday.  Most Sunday's I start cooking dinner right after lunch. (No exaggeration.) I enjoy doing it. I listen to a pod cast or music and cook. It's my time to myself that day. But like all busy, busy moms of small children I don't have time to cook like that during the week. The recipe below I prepare in the AM before work. And it's ready to serve when the girls and I walk in the door in the evening.

This weeks post is an example of a weekday meal I make when the weekend leftovers have run out.  Not only is this meal easy and tasty but it's also healthy. Lots of lean protein and veg. I based this recipe on Skinny Taste's Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken. I added some fresh seasoning veg. Also,I prefer to  used dried beans and fresh corn if I have it.


Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken (serves 8; 3pts)
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp chili pepper
24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
1 can rotel
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 can fat free chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
cayenne pepper, to taste
salt, to taste
1tbsp cilantro

Directions
Combine onion, bell pepper, garlic, chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Stir well.

Season the chicken breasts with salt and place in crock pot on top of other ingredients.

 

Cook on low for 8 hours/ high for 4 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in.

I served the Chicken Santa Fe over rice. Very tasty. Very Easy. Perfect weekday meal.


If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo dot com.

I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as I did. What did y'all have for dinner?

Sunday Dinner - April 11, 2010

Yesterday, when I was thinking about what to cook for dinner tonight I thought I was going to make a stir fry. But then this morning, while laying in bed I realized I had bell peppers that need to be used. So I decided on chicken fajitas.

While not a Cajun/Creole/Italian, this is a family favorite. Growing up my mom would make this as a quick and easy dinner. I doubled this recipe to have leftovers for tomorrow's dinner.

Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients
1lb chicken
1.5cup lime juice
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
chili powder, to taste
2tbsp olive oil
1lg onion, julienned
2 bell peppers, julienned



Directions

Rub with chili powder, salt, & pepper. Slice chicken into 1/2" strips.  Marinade chicken for an hour.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper. Cook until soft about 15mins. Stirring occasionally.

In a separate skillet, cook the chicken over a medium heat until brown, about 10mins. Then turn the heat up to high and cook for 2mins.

When the meat and veg are complete, serve on a tortilla with cheese, salsa, and jalapeños. I served it today a side of black beans and cilantro-lime rice. Just a note, the whole wheat tortilla did not work out well.

We had strawberry short cake with angel food cake for dessert. It's strawberry season here in Louisiana. So I bought a flat (12 pints) and have been looking for ways to use them.  I made the cake myself. Something went horribly wrong. I didn't have a bundt pan so I used a loaf pan. This did not work out too well. At least the whip cream I made was tasty.

If you have any question/comments about this recipe, pls  leave me a comment or email at megmehell at yahoo.

Sunday Dinner - 03/28/10 (Birthday Edition)

Today is my birthday. Usually, the Big Man and I get a babysitter, go to the theater, and eat at fancy restaurant. But yesterday, Nanny Goat got married.

Nanny Goat on her wedding day

 

And after the excitement of that all I wanted to do is hang around the house. I decided to cook us an easy dinner that we all love.

This is not an old family recipe. In fact, I didn't eat Chicken Shawarma until I was in college. But we fell in love at first bite. And of course, what meal of Shawarma would be complete without hummus and dill yogurt dressing.

Chicken Shawarma
Ingredients
10 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground pepper
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions
Make the marinade: In a bowl, mix together the garlic, lemon juice, oil, curry powder, salt,and pepper. 

Whisk to combine. Add chicken and coat with marinade.

Preheat a grill. Remove chicken from marinade. Grill chicken for about 10 minutes on each side or until fully cooked through.


Hummus
Ingredients
1 can chickepeas, drained
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin

Directions
In a food processor, blend all ingredients together until smooth and creamy.

Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
2tbsp lemon juice
1cup Greek yogurt
2tbsp parsley
1tbsp dill
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste

Directions
In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, yogurt, parsley, dill, salt and pepper. Refrigerate, covered in plastic until ready to use.

Serve with pita and a salad of cucumber, tomatoes, and Romain. 

Sunday Dinner - March 14 2010 (Pi Day)

Today, I had one of those days in the kitchen where you're jsut fighting a losing battle. I burned my first batch of roux flour, dirting one pot. Then had to change from the 2nd pot to a 3rd, larger one. Not enough rice for dinner. I didn't pay attention to the amount of spice I was adding and the final product was bland.

But cooking, as in running you learn to adapt. I started a second roux. I moved the sauce to a larger stock pot. I added caynne to the leftover sauce. You recover from an injury. You get over the disapointment of a bad race.

Chicken Sauce Piquante
Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (you can use turkey, sausage, tasso or any boneless meat)
1 cup roux flour
2 tbsp olive oil
6oz tomato paste
1 lg onion, chopped
3 celery rib, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup diced tomatoes
2 cups pureed tomatoes
1 qrt chicken stock
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tbsps Worcestershire Sauce

Directions
In a bowl, stir roux flour into chicken stock. Set aside.

Season chicken breats with salt & pepper. Heat up your George Forman. (When's the last time you used your George.) Cook chicken until golden brown.

In a heavy bottom pot, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook for 5mins. (I used a pre-chopped mix today.)

Add tomato paste, tomatoes and chicken stock/roux mixture. Blend well into the vegetable mixture, bring to a rolling boil and reduce to simmer.

Add chicken, salt, black pepper, cayenne, oregano and Worcestershire. Stir well. Cook for 45mins.

Usually, sauce piquant is served over rice but I didn't have enough for dinner. So I substitued pasta.

Happy Pi Day

Today is March 14th (3/14) or Pi day and when you have a family of engineer dorks, you end up with silly things like an apple pie with Π cut in the top crust.











Birthday Wishes
If you've got a few mins, stop by Meg Runs and get the info to send Jill some birthday love. Jill is very inspiring and a talented runner. Plus she was my bloggy valentine and sent me some really nice swag.