I am going old school tonight with the proverbial Sunday chicken dinner… except I opted to twist this meal a little. In reality, it does not take a lot of effort, but it does take a little bit of time. Shall we get started making some Smoked Chicken Noodle Soup? Smoked Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients: 1/2 whole fryer chicken 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1/2 onion, divided (1 part large sections, the other diced) 2 carrots (one halved lengthwise, one diced) 3 stalks celery (2 halved lengthwise, 1 diced) 1 clove garlic, minced 2…
With a full day of excellent college football games on today, I opted to snack for dinner instead of cook a full meal. To that end, I made a refried bean dip with chorizo, jalapenos, lime and cheese. This recipe is a great one for a party or a potluck. Also, this recipe can be tweaked in numerous ways – using different types of refried beans and jalapenos, adding nacho jalapeno rings (heck, making nachos with this mix would be awesome!) or even adding a spicy taco or hot sauce to pop the flavor! Give it…
Tonight’s dinner is a big hit with family and friends, but sometimes I just want to enjoy this meal by myself. It does take a bit more planning and preparation than most of my recipes, but the results are worth the effort. Basically, rouladen is a German dish of thin beef steak slathered with stone ground mustard and wrapped around bacon, onions, carrot, and pickle, then seared and braised until tender. The braising liquid is the base for a flavorful gravy – perfect over spaetzle or potatoes as an accompaniment. Don’t be…
Here is a fast and tasty pasta dish that will satisfy completely. It is a simple Italian based red sauce with lots of flavor – and completely open to your own interpretations. Some options are to add red wine, substitute vodka and cream for the tomato sauce, adding oregano, roasted red peppers, or red pepper flakes. Of course, the Italian sausage used will also impact the flavor! Are you ready? Great, then let’s get cooking! Sausage and Mushroom Sauce with Penne Ingredients: 6 oz of Italian sausage 5 – 6 oz penna pasta (cook…
Today was one of those interesting food days. I was hungry for a meal packed with fresh vegetables. And my favorite way to satisfy that hunger? With a stir fry of course! A stir fry is so incredibly easy to make and so open to different ingredients (and amounts!), this recipe will give you the basics for a veggie packed stir fry with a light glaze. Now I’m hungry, so let’s get cooking! Garlic Chicken Stir Fry Ingredients: 8 – 12 oz chicken breast or chicken tenders, cut into 1 inch cubes…
Tonight, it is another recipe I created for the family when my daughters were younger. The beauty of this recipe is that it can be tweaked and twisted to suit whatever is in your pantry or on your taste buds! I made the basic variation, which was delicious! Other variations include using Italian seasoning instead of herbs de provence, substituing broccoli or thinly sliced brussel sprouts for the peas and carrots, etc. Let your imagination run wild or just try the basic… but do give it a try! Kielbasa and Macaroni with Peas and Carrots…
When all that menu planning I discussed in an earlier post gets sidetracked, it is time to improvise. Today I was surveying the refrigerator and found the following items: about 1 cup of kimchi 1 carrot 3 green onions 1 red pepper 2 heads of broccoli Hmmm, that looks like the ingredients for a tasty fried rice. I checked in the freezer and I had a partial bag of medium (51-60) prawns – perfect as the protein in my fried rice plan. So let’s get cooking, shall we? Prawn Kimchi Fried Rice Ingredients…