Braciole

Here's my take on this Italian dish - which has many, many versions. All depends on what you like.

Ingredients

• • 2 1/2 lbs round steaks
  • 1/2 lb Italian sausage
  • 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
  • 1/4 cup shredded/grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onions, chopped ( 1 cup)
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
  • 1 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon salt ( again)
  • 1 bay leaves

Directions

1. Trim all fat from steak; cut meat into 8 equal pieces; then pound until very thin with a wooden mallet.
2. Remove casing from Italian sausage.
3. Break up in a medium size bowl; add parsley, Parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning, 1 tsp. salt and the lemon pepper seasoning; mix thoroughly.
4. Spread each steak with 2 heaping tablespoons of the sausage mixture; roll up, jelly-roll fashion; fasten with wooden picks or tie with string.
5. Brown beef rolls, 3 or 4 at a time, in hot oil in a Dutch oven; remove rolls and place on plate or wax paper.
6. Add onion, carrot and pepper to pot; cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
7. Stir in wine, tomatoes, paste and remaining 1 tsp. salt and bay leaf; bring mixture to boiling; lower heat.
8. Add beef rolls; cover and simmer for 1 hour.
9. Remove from heat.
10. Remove the picks or string from braciole before serving.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

This was my quick and easy dinner. I found a recipe on the Campbell's Kitchen website, and this is what I turned it into.

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

veggies (could use a bag of mixed veggies, I used corn and peas)

1 can cream of chicken soup

splash milk

1 package chicken stuffing, prepared according to package instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare stuffing according to the package directions

3. Combine chicken, soup, veggies and a splash of milk (about a 1/4 cup) in an oven safe casserole dish. Toss to coat with the chicken.

4. Top the casserole with the prepared stuffing.

5. Bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on if your chicken was thawed or frozen.

YUM!

Alton Brown's Turkey

This Thanksgiving, with encouragement from the chefs at Modern Bliss, I decided to go for it and brine my turkey. I'm so glad I did. I got so many compliments on the turkey....way more than I ever have before.

Since it's not mine, I'm not going to repost, but instead just post a link. Here is the recipe.

The recipe that revives the blog

I'm midway through making something I've only ever had in a restaurant, Maggiano's in fact. Maggiano's is now closed, so I've been googling my little heart out, trying to find a recipe that looked like what I'd had. What is this? Braciole. Perhaps you remember the Everybody Loves Raymond episode about it. Maybe you've had it at Maggiano's (although it looks like they've taken it off the menu). From what I've found, everyone makes it differently. So I found a recipe I liked and made my changes to it. Tomorrow night at dinner, we'll find out how I did.

In the meantime, I think I may update with some of my other new recipes that I've made. I've been cooking up a storm, and loving it.

Farmers Market Primavera

I have NOT abandoned the blog, I've just been making the same old, same old and been busy with my two mobile children. Time flies!

During the summer, I love to visit the farmers market and see what I can get a deal on, and what just looks super yummy. After today's visit to the Minneapolis Farmers' Market, we got a lot of yummy veggies, so I decided to make a primavera to use them!

1 box enriched pasta (I used MP Penne Plus from Target)
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 jar alfredo or garlic sauce (I used Ragu Roasted Garlic)
1 red pepper cut into bite sized pieces
green beans, cut into pieces
1 cup peas
handful matchstick carrots
drizzle of EVOO
shredded parmesan cheese

(remember, you can use whatever veggies you have, but if they're frozen, you'll need to cook them longer)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Heat EVOO and saute chicken in it until cooked through.
3. When the chicken is fully cooked, add sauce and veggies. Simmer on med-low heat until the pasta is done.
4. After you drain the pasta, add it to the veggie/chicken/sauce mixture and toss to coat.
5. Serve with a little bit of shredded parmesan on top.

Mexican Lasagna

I've found quite a few recipes for this, but decided to make a mish mash of a few of them to make my own version.

1 lb ground beef

1 can rotel

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, drained, OR 2 cups frozen corn

12 tortillas

salsa

1 packet taco seasoning

water

cheddar cheese

1. preheat oven to 350

2. Prepare meat according to the directions on the taco seasoning packet.

3. Add corn, rotel and black beans and simmer.

4. Spray a 9x13 glass dish with cooking spray, layer tortillas so the entire bottom is covered. Spread some salsa on the tortillas.

5. Spread half of the meat mixture on top of the tortillas. Top with cheddar cheese.

6. Layer more tortillas on top of the cheese and add some more salsa. Spread the rest of the meat on top of the tortillas.

7. Layer the rest of the tortillas on top then spread more salsa and cheese on top.

8. Bake for 30 minutes.

9. Cut and serve!

Chili Macaroni and Cheese

I've been thinking about making something like this for a while, and it suited my midwestern husband's taste perfectly. I didn't plan to make chili to add to it, and from now on, I think this will only get made if I have some leftovers, since I made entirely too much, but I'll post the recipe and all it made. It's good for some lunches and leftover meals for sure, but I made enough to feed 8 people.

1 lb ground beef

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 T chili powder

1 can tomatoes and green chilis (ro-tel)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp minced garlic

1 small or medium onion, chopped

3 cups elbow macaroni

1 lb velveeta, cut into cubes

1. Cook the macaroni according to the package directions.

2. While cooking the macaroni, brown the ground beef. Drain, then set aside.

3. Saute the onions and garlic together, then add the ground beef back in. When the onions are tender, add tomatoes, chili powder and black beans. Simmer until the macaroni is done.

4. After you drain the macaroni, return it to the pot. Add the chili to the macaroni. Stir.

5. Add the velveeta, stirring occasionally until the cheese is all melted.

This was GREAT the first night, but even better leftover.

Rice and Black Bean Enchiladas

This recipe was posted on Modern Bliss, but it's from Allrecipes. It's fan-freaking-tastic. My husband, who likes Mexican more than me and definitely more spicy than me, really likes this recipe.

I've made some changes to the original, but I'm including my changes below.

• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (I use Ro-tel)
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 - 2 cups meat, cooked (I use leftovers)
• 1/4 cup picante sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 12 flour tortillas, warmed
• 1 cup salsa
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded Cheddar cheese

1. In a large nonstick skillet, saute the green pepper, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the beans, tomatoes, corn, meat, picante sauce, chili powder, and cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until heated through and mixture thickens. Add rice; cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through.

2. Spoon a rounded 1/2 cup down the center of each tortilla. Fold sides over filling and roll up. Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon salsa over each tortilla. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Pigs in a blanket

Ah, comfort food. Not really healthy, but very kid friendly and good for those nights when you don't have a lot of time. And really good if you have a toaster oven. I highly recommend one, especially for the summer. (It doesn't heat the house the way the regular oven does.)

4 hot dogs

1 can refrigerated crescent roll dough

1. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.

2. Open the can of crescent rolls, and separate into four pieces, squares instead of triangles.

3. Wrap the hot dogs in the crescent rolls.

4. Cook according to the package directions of the crescent rolls.

In my house, these are served with macaroni and cheese (usually from a box) and veggies. It's great for those nights when I really need my toddler to eat something. She's super picky but will usually eat hot dogs, even if not the mac and cheese. You can serve it with whatever you usually have hot dogs with.

Scarborough Fair Pork Roast

I did this with a bone in pork shoulder roast, but it could definitely work with a beef roast!! I didn't much care for the veggies, but I prefer steamed veggies in general, but they add SUCH good flavor to the meat.

1 med onion, cut into slices

2 stalks celery coarsely cut

1 cup carrots, cut into one inch pieces (I used baby carrots cut in half)

1 large pork roast....I'd guess mine was about 3 lbs.

3 large potatoes, cut into chunks

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp sage

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chicken broth

Mix the spices together and rub on the outside of the roast. Feel free to use more if you have it. I really just eyeball it on spices and then guesstimate how much I used for the recipe.

After you've rubbed on the spices, throw everything in the crock pot however it will fit. I'd originally had the onions and veggies on the bottom, but there wasn't room for everything else and I have a 7 qt crock pot.

Cook on low all day and enjoy!!

This made WAY too much for my family of 4 (only two adults eat, and one toddler picks), but I'll be having a pulled pork sandwich for lunch. The meet is very flavorful, but not so spiced that it can't be repurposed for other recipes.

By the way, have you figured out how this recipe got it's name???

Cheesy Chicken and Hashbrowns

This is one of my crockpot recipes that I've actually gotten raves on from others that have tried it. I appreciate the feedback. This is actually a bastardized version of this recipe from Better Homes & Gardens. I used what I had in the house, and did originally use already cooked chicken, but figured, in the crockpot, it didn't matter if the chicken was cooked yet or not.

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 lb frozen hash browns (about half a bag)

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1. Place all ingredients in the crock pot. Stir and cook all day on low.

I'm sure you could add some veggies to this, since the original recipe calls for potatoes with onions and red peppers, but I prefer just to steam a veggie and serve that on the side.

Loaded mashed potatoes

My husband is Irish and can eat potatoes every day of the week and twice on Sunday. It's been only a very rare occasion when he hasn't liked potatoes I've made in some way, shape or form. I love to experiment with potatoes, be it roasting, mashing, different toppings for baked potatoes. They feel like a perfect cooking canvas at times, because they're hard to screw up.

I also love loaded baked potatoes at restaurants. It's my favorite way to eat them. Heck, I've even been known to order loaded french fries. So I gave it a shot and they turned out great, if I do say so myself.

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut up

2-3 Tbsp sour cream

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

5 slices pre cooked bacon

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 milk

1/4-1/2 cup chicken broth (I eyeball it)

1. Boil potatoes until they're tender and ready to be mashed. Drain and return to pot.

2. Add butter, milk and chicken broth to potatoes and mash by hand.

3. Cook bacon according to package directions and cut up into small pieces

4. Add bacon, cheese and sour cream to mashed potatoes and stir until cheese is melty.

Really easy and really yummy! A great side for steak.

Product Raves

I must say that there are some really good products out there that can make you a fantastic cook, if you just know a little bit of what you're doing.

My husband LOVES to grill. All summer long, it's some sort of meat on the grill. Heck, he'll even grill in the winter if there isn't too much snow. (So not this winter.) For his birthday, his sister gave him a package of grill rubs from William's Sonoma. We didn't even look at them until recently. I used the chili lime rub with chicken to make fajitas. Oh my goodness. YUM. And tonight, I used the Adam's Steak Rub on steak. Fan-freaking-tastic. It was also the first time I didn't overdo the steak in the broiler (I'm still new to that). Even my toddler liked the steak, and she's a horribly picky eater.

I'm sure there are other fantastic companies out there (I know people who swear by Tastefully Simple), but this is what I've used so far. I highly recommend them.

I also have fallen in love with the steam in bag frozen veggies. These are awesome, and a great way to mix up what veggies we have for dinner. Our grocery store currently has them on sale for $1 and I'm tempted to go back and stock up like crazy. I love frozen veggies, but being able to just stick the bag in the microwave for 5 mins while doing other things is great. I hate overdone veggies, and it seems to be impossible to do that with these.

Pseudo Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

So, we just got back from vacation, and I did manage to get groceries, but I wanted something easy and yummy. I adore pasta, in just about any variety, but my husband won't eat just spaghetti and sauce. He wants it heartier. So, I throw this together every once in a while, and I can usually get enough out of it to freeze enough for another dinner.

Please be advised that measurements are approximate. I tend just to toss stuff in, especially with things I make often.

1 lb ground beef

1/2 a large onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

dash black pepper

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 or 3 cups jarred spaghetti sauce (depending on how saucy you like it)

Brown ground beef. Drain and set aside. Saute onions and garlic, then add beef back to the pan. Add the can of tomatoes, spices and sauce. Simmer on low until heated through. Serve over hot pasta.

Black Bean Chicken

I love this meal, it's really versatile and tasty. You can make it on the stove, in the crockpot, make it ahead and freeze it before you cook it, you can serve it as a meal by itself, kind of like a hearty chili, or you can top wrap it up in a tortilla for an easy, hearty burrito. It's also easy to modify to your own tastes. So you can follow this recipe exactly as written, or you can use it as a jumping off point. Have fun and enjoy!

Black Bean Chicken

1 lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup salsa

1 can ro-tel

1 - 2 cups frozen corn

1/2 corn regular long grain rice

1. Toss all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook all day.

2. With about an hour left in the cooking time, add the rice.

3. Serve with cheese, sour cream or any other toppings, or on tortillas.

-- OR --

1. Put all ingredients, including rice in a pot on the stove, on medium.

2. Cook for about 45 minutes, until both chicken and rice is cooked.

3. Serve with cheese, sour cream or any other toppings, or on tortillas.

What I did with this recipe recently, was toss all the ingredients, except the rice in a freezer bag. I removed as much air as possible, and then put that bag in another freezer bag. I put the rice in a sandwich bag, and put that in the freezer bag as well. I thawed in the fridge, and tossed in a pot to make for dinner. It's great if you have the ingredients and the time while cooking something else to get it in the freezer for an easy meal another time.

My tips and tricks

There are things I do to make my life easier. They don't all involve convenience food products. Some are just simple things that take a short amount of time up front, but can save you time later.

I like to buy my meat in bulk. If it's fresh, I do as much prep as I can before freezing.

If I buy fresh chicken, I repackage it in 1 lb portions, generally what's needed for a recipe. I will cut up about half the chicken into bite sized pieces since many of my recipes call for that. It's much easier to quick thaw (or microwave thaw) chicken if it's already cut. And, also, many times chicken can be cooked from frozen.

If I buy ground beef, I set aside at least one package of 2 lbs of meat for meatloaf down the road. I've never yet premade a meat loaf. I've discussed this with someone who does freezer cooking and she's never gotten that bit down yet. I'll also brown a lot of it, and portion out 1 lb packages of the browned ground beef. This seriously speeds up weeknight dinners, and is a fast way to pep up jarred spaghetti sauce.

Buy veggies in season if you can, and learn what can and can't be frozen. I like to buy lots of peppers at the farmer's market during the summer, or when I see them on sale at the grocery store. I'll clean and slice up the peppers and freeze them. Add to chopped onions, chicken, taco seasoning and chili powder and voila.....fajitas!

I will add more tricks as I think of them!

Super easy chicken and veggie alfredo

I'm not shy about using convenience products if they taste good, aren't horrible for you and can make my life a little easier. I do like cooking from scratch, but with two kids under the age of 3, a full time job and a hungry husband, it's not possible on a nightly basis.

I threw dinner together tonight, and it was super yummy and super easy.

Easy Chicken and Veggie Alfredo

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1 T butter

1 jar Ragu (or other) Alfredo sauce

1 lb pasta of your choice (I use spaghetti because we usually have it in bulk)

2 cups frozen broccoli

1 cup frozen peas

1 bell pepper (pick a color, I had orange, so I used that) cut into pieces

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Halfway through the cooking time add peas and broccoli. Drain and then return pasta and veggies to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, melt 1 T butter in a skillet. Brown chicken, until cooked through.

3. Reduce heat to low and add jar of alfredo sauce. Stir occasionally. Once the sauce is warm, add the peppers and stir until peppers are tender.

4. Add sauce mixture to pasta and toss to coat.

5. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

I served this with some Texas toast. It was a little much for me. Next time, I think I'd do french bread.

You can use whatever veggies you want/have in this recipe. Try to think of what you've encountered in an alfredo dish in an Italian restaurant, see what's in your fridge and freezer and go from there.

Welcome!

I'm sure it seems like everyone has a recipe blog these days. Yeah, I'm jumping on the bandwagon. But this is way more about me keeping track of what I've made, the recipes I use and modify and even occasionally create. It'll be a family cookbook of sorts, that maybe one day my girls can look back on and use to feed their own families.

I don't have lofty aspirations. You may never see pictures of my dishes on here. I think my husband would laugh at me if he saw me taking pictures of our dinners. And I'm not a good photographer. I take good enough snapshots of my kids, but have no illusions about a talent for photography.

Anyway, I like to eat and love to cook. I feel even better when I make something that my 2.5 year old will eat AND that my husband likes. I even accept constructive criticism about my recipes from my husband. He's the main person besides myself who eats my cooking, so he does get an opinion.

I also want to thank all the awesome ladies at Modern Bliss, who post about their dinner successes, which become mine. I've gotten so many great recipes and jumping off points from them.

Enjoy and bon apetit!