Greek Chicken and Vegetables

Greek Chicken and Vegetables

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups fresh or frozen cut green beans or 1 can of cut green beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
• 2 t. dried oregano leaves
• 1 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper
• 4 sheets of aluminum foil approx 12x18"
• 1 pkg crumbled feta cheese

1. Cut chicken in stripes. Toss with beans, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Center 1/4 of mixture on each sheet of foil.
3. Bring up sides of foil to make packets; leave space for heat circulation.
4. Place packets on grill over medium hot heat. Grill 10-14 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender crisp. Open foil packets; and sprinkle with cheese.

Hurry Up and Wait Beef Roast

So titled because you do everything in a flurry of activity and then wait while the slow cooker does all the hard work.

Ingredients:

one 3-pound top round roast, cut into four large pieces
flour
one onion, cut in half and sliced
six carrots cut into one inch chunks
three cloves of garlic, minced
one or two packages of whole mushrooms cleaned
2-3 tbsps vegetable oil
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Thyme
2 Bay leaves
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over high heat.
Dredge the pieces of beef in the flour and brown in the oil. Do not crowd the pan, you will not get good browning that way.

Put the browned meat into your slow cooker. Add bay leaves to slow cooker.

To the same pan add your onions and carrots. Saute 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic. Saute another 3 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper as desired. Add paprika and thyme. Mix all the ingredients well ensuring that you've deglazed all the pan drippings (add a bit of water if you need it) and add to the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
Serve with buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

Hamburger Ratatouille

Or as my daughter calls it: Ratatooty

You need:
1 lb ground beef
5 zucchinis, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 eggplants, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 red peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small white onion, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14 oz) of diced tomatoes, drained
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground thyme
2 tsp dried basil
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

In one pan, brown ground beef
In another larger pan heat up 3 tbsp olive oil. Brown eggplant and zucchini until crisp and lightly browned. (you may need to add extra olive oil, eggplant is a sponge!)

Remove eggplant and zucchini to a large mixing bowl. Add ground beef.

In same pan you used for the vegetables, add 2 tbsp olive oil and onions, garlic and red peppers. Saute until tender, about 5-6 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Add tomatoes and seasonings (salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, basil)to onions/garlic/peppers. Let simmer about 2 minutes.

Add to veggie-beef mix. Stir thoroughly.

Pour mix into 9x13 baking dish (rectangle)
Cover with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Make a tent with foil over the top of the casserole (so the cheese doesn't stick) bake covered at 300 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove the cover, bake another 15 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Raw Gazpacho

This is the most yummy raw soup ever! Whenever I need comfort food, this does it!

Recipe taken from Natalia Rose's book The Raw Food Detox Diet

Ingredients:

• 6 tomatoes


• 1/2 to 1 cup fresh basil or fresh cilantro


• 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar


• 2 T. olive oil


• 1 t. soy sauce


• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped


• 1 to 2 cobs corn, kernals cut off (during winter, I use frozen)


• 1 apple, chopped

In a blender, combine tomatoes, basil or cilantro, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and soy sauce. Process until desired consistency is reached. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour soup base from blender into bowl and mix well. Serve chilled. Tastes even better the next day.

Ridiculously Easy Honey Orange Chicken

This recipe is in violation of the "no fruit and meat" rule at my house. But not only did my husband LIKE this meal, he requested that it go into rotation -- which is a high honor around here.

You will need:

Half a bag of frozen chicken tenderloins
1 cup orange juice
1 orange, zested and sliced
2-3 tbsp honey
1 onion, sliced
three cubes chicken bouillon, crushed (about 2 tsp.)
salt and pepper
paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Arrange still frozen chicken evenly in large baking dish. Yes, still frozen.
Sprinkle with pepper, salt and paprika. Cover with onion slices.

In a small bowl combine orange juice, honey, chicken bouillon, 1-2 tsp of grated orange peel (you can use a zester or the smallest part of the cheese grater)

Pour the mixture over the chicken. Place dish into oven, bake for 45 minutes to one hour.
Cover the chicken and onions with the orange slices, put back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.

Serve over rice or orzo.

Maple Glazed Salmon with Wild Rice and Asparagus

Don't be turned off by the title of this post! This meal was ridiculously easy and EVERYONE ate it, including the baby!

The menu was Maple Glazed oven baked Salmon, steamed asparagus (now on sale at Safeway!) and Wild Rice (from a mix, also on sale currently.)

First thing, marinate the salmon.
I got a bag of frozen salmon fillets from my local market, very affordable. You will also need....
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Mix all that stuff up in a shallow bowl, throw in the salmon and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, if you have a rice cooker, set it up with the veggie steamer for the asparagus. If not, you can microwave or boil the asparagus, instructions to follow...

Near the end of your 20 minute marination...prepare the wild rice as per instructions on the box. I made Rice a Roni Naturals Wild Rice which takes about a half hour to cook.

If you're steaming the asparagus, start the rice cooker when you start the wild rice, then throw the asparagus into the steamer about 15 minutes later. If you're boiling, wait....boil the water then toss in the asparagus, it takes about 5-7 minutes, same for microwave....

When you have about 15 minutes left on the wild rice, preheat the oven to 450. Let it heat up for five minutes with a shallow baking dish/cookie sheet with a lip INSIDE the oven. (I recommend lining with foil for easy cleanup)

After five minutes, put the salmon on the baking dish/sheet and put into the 450 degree oven for 7-10 minutes until easily flaked with a fork. I had to turn mine halfway since it had no skin on....if you have skin on, put the fish skin up and you won't have to turn it.

Everything should get done all around the same time.

Plate it all up, salt and pepper to taste and drizzle some maple syrup over the salmon, sort of like a toaster strudel.

I'm telling you it's a hit! My husband and kids are NOT fish lovers...they loved this!

Chicken Piccata

Quick and easy.
The finished dish looks fancy and like it took TWICE the time to cook.

You need:
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breast halves pounded to 1/4 inch thickness (or get the fillets, which are usually thinner and sometimes cheaper)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Tbsp dry white wine or water
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon thinly sliced
3 Tbsp capers
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken breasts in flour mixture, shake off excess

In a large frying pan, heat butter AND vegetable oil over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook about three minutes a side, until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.

Add wine to pan and deglaze for about one minute. Make sure to get all the pan drippings scraped up off the bottom of the pan.
Add lemon juice and bring to a low boil. Return chicken to pan cover with lemon slices and capers cook until sauce thickens slightly, about three minutes.
Serve garnished with parsley over hot buttered egg noodles and whole green beans.
Delicious.

Zanzibar Chicken

This totally violates the "no fruit and meat" rule at my house, but seriously, it's sooo good. And raisins are only just barely fruit. In fact, I let my daughter in on the secret that raisins and grapes were exactly the same thing, and she looked at me like "Mom, seriously, you've lost your mind now. For real."

OK. Zanzibar Chicken. Another great recipe for a cheaper cut of chicken, the thigh.

You need:
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or more to taste
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp raisins

I like to combine the chicken, cinnamon, cloves, salt, pepper and oil in a bowl together and let it sit and marinate for awhile first.

Then you heat a skillet, medium high, brown the chicken five minutes a side, until it is golden brown and slightly crusty.

Remove the chicken and keep warm. Add the onions to the skillet. Cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remember to be scraping up those delicious browned bits off the bottom of the pan while you saute those onions.
Add the garlic to the pan, cook one minute.

Return the chicken to the pan, add OJ and raisins. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

I serve this over steamed rice with broccoli or whole green beans on the side. Very nice. We had this for dinner tonight. And though I got a raised eyebrow from the husband, on account of the raisins, it was very well received.

Fettucine Alfredo with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1/3 +/- cup of margerine (I use a big scoop of spreadable margarine and it looks like 1/3 cup LOL)
bunch of fresh asparagus, the green kind, break off the woody bottoms and then snap into bite size pieces
4 ounces or so of fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced
3/4 c. SHREDDED parmesan cheese, not that fakey stuff
8 ounces of evaporated milk (I use fat free)
italian seasonings to taste
16 oz. fettucine noodles, but anything you have on hand will work.


Directions:

Note- I made this recipe up (based on another recipe, but i changed it all up) and I don't measure ingredients often. So please note that you are free to fiddle with amounts and stuff.

Note again - The sauce appears very thin... let it stand for a minute and it will thicken or just toss noodles with thin sauce.. it is suprisingly tasty and light!


Cook noodles. While noodles are cooking, melt margarine or butter in sauce pan. Add mushrooms and asparagus. Saute for a few minutes until they look yummy. Add shredded parmesan cheese and evaporated milk (If you buy a 12 oz can just eyeball it and pour in 2/3 of the can). Stir until cheese is melted.

Drain cooked noodles. Toss noodles and sauce. YUM!

Uncle Thomas' Chicken Cacciatore

Honestly, I've yet to make this for MY family, but Uncle Tommy makes it for his all the time and it's a bonafide hit. This is his recipe straight from him. He is one of those natural cooks, so he uses hardly any measurements. I will add them in along with notes on what he means by fancy cooking words like "deglaze" and "other seasonings"

You Need:
Olive Oil & Butter (maybe 2tsp of each)
Chicken (a couple lbs cut up, bone in, skin on or off)
Flour (about a quarter to half cup)
Pepper & other seasonings (about 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper and maybe 1/4 tsp of anything else you add)

Note from Jessica: By "other seasonings" I think he means, and I would suggest, using salt, garlic powder, maybe sweet paprika, maybe parsley, thyme, sage. This is mixing in with the flour to make what will be the crust on the chicken. Think like KFC...11 herbs and spices...

Garlic (about 2tsp, minced)
one Red Pepper (seeded & sliced)
one medium Onion (sliced)
(mushrooms, sliced, about four ounces, if you like them, they are NOT in Thomas' recipe)
Tomato Paste (about 1.5 Tbsp or so)
Chicken Stock, white wine or water (1/4 cup or less)
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes (any flavor, I like fire roasted)
Oregano & other seasonings

Note from Jessica: HERE by "other seasonings" he means your standard italian seasonings like basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper. Whatever you like or would normally put in spaghetti sauce. About a tsp or so of anything, or to taste.


Melt butter & olive oil in big, deep fry pan.
Dredge chicken in seasoned flour & brown in butter oil mixture for couple of minutes per side.
Remove chicken from pan and keep warm, add garlic, onion & red pepper to pan. Saute then add tomato paste & fry that up until onions & peppers start to get soft. About five minutes.
Deglaze (see below) pan with liquid of choice, add 2 cans diced tomatoes.
Bring to a bubble then lower to minimal heat. Return chicken to pan and cook over low heat for about 20-30 minutes.
Taste & season sauce to your liking. The meat should almost fall off bone. If you don't like the chunks of veggies in your sauce, blend with a stick blender, food processor or blender. Blending will also thicken sauce. Serve over favorite pasta. You should have a good amount of tasty sauce left over.

Note from Thomas: If you use boneless chicken, cook veggies longer before you add the chicken & reduce cooking time of chicken. This recipe is really meant for less expensive chicken on the bone like thighs, legs, etc. It's a great way to get all the flavor and value out of those cheaper cuts.

Deglaze: Deglazing is a cooking technique for removing bits of food from a pan in order to make a sauce with them. Usually, the meat is removed from the pan. The pan is returned to the heat, and a liquid is added to act as a solvent. This liquid can be plain water, vegetable or meat stock, a spirit, some wine or any other liquid. This allows the cook to scrape the dark spots from the bottom of the pan, and dissolve them creating a rich sauce.

Chile Relleno

This is my FAVORITE dish to bring to people's houses or serve when we have guests. It's SUPER easy and quick and always quite the crowd-pleaser. Leftovers are delicious too and it reheats beautifully.

Big can of Ortega green chiles
About 2-3 cups shredded cheese
1/2 package queso fresca
1/2 can of evaporated milk
4 eggs
A few dashes of cumin

Rinse the green chiles to rid them of any seeds and make them not too strong. In a glass dish, make the first layer by laying half the green chiles flat (no need to grease or spray the dish). Cover with half the shredded cheese (You can use as much as you want. I use a ton.) Crumble the queso fresca by smushing it with a fork, and cover the shredded cheese with half of it. Repeat these three layers. Mix (I use a blender) 4 eggs, evaporated milk, and cumin. Pour mixture evenly all over, making sure to go right to the edges. I sprinkle some more cheese on top for a nice golden look. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Delish!

Green Chili Burritos

This one is quick & easy! Serves several & you can experiment with it if you want.


Ingredients:

1 lb of Lean Hamburger Meat

1 can of green chili's

1 to 2 cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup (more or less for thickness)

Flour Tortillas

Pepper Jack Cheese (shredded)

Colby Cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Brown hamburger meat in pan, then add can of green chili's and cook with meat for a bit, then add cream of mushroom soup. Warm until desired temp. Serve in your favorite flour tortillas with Pepper Jack & Colby cheeses.

Meatloaf

Serves: 4

1 lb ~ Lean Hamburger Meat

1/2 to 1 ~ Onion (Chopped)

2 ~ Eggs

half can of Tomato sauce

15 or so Saltine Crackers (as desired)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. ~ Sage

Catsup Sauce

Catsup Sauce:

6 TBSP. ~ Brown Sugar

1/2 cup ~ Ketchup

1/2 tsp. ~ Nutmeg

2 tsp. ~ Dijon Mustard



Mix all ingredients, except Catsup Sauce, in small casserole dish then pour Catsup Sauce over it and put it in the oven. Bake it at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until meat is cook thoroughly. Serve & Enjoy!

Tuscan Noodle Bake

Modified from the Favorite Brand Name One Dish Recipes cookbook....

This is something I have made many times and it's always gobbled up...pun intended (it's a turkey recipe!)

1 package ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can tomato sauce (I use my own recipe)
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1 tsp each, dried parsley, dried oregano, dried basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 16 oz package of wide egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In large Dutch oven or large stock pot brown turkey with onion and garlic until no longer pink. Drain off fat.
Add remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese, noodles and mozzarella cheese. Simmer 5 minutes.
Stir in Parmesan and noodles. Blend well and pour into buttered baking dish.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella over top and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Baked Potato Soup

I found this recipe on a random blog and have made it mine :D

Ingredients:
6 large potatoes, cleaned and stabbed with a fork a few times
1/2 c butter
4 cloves garlic
1/2 c flour
2 cans chicken broth (4 c)
24 oz evaporated milk, I use fat free or skim
dill
shredded cheese and other potato toppings

Prep:
Microwave taters until done
Melt butter in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour and stir until it gets all thick like. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and broth. Chop cooked potatoes into various sizes, some big, some small, and toss into the soup. Add salt, pepper, and dill to taste. Heat through :D
Add cheese or other toppings to your bowl!

Serve with fresh bread. YUM!

this soup does not store very well... it turns into a big gelatinous mush after a while.. does okay on reheat but is much thicker the second time.

Chicken Enchiladas

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 50 minutes


Ingredients


4 portions chicken breast (about 1 lb.)
4 green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Jalapeno, seeded & minced
3 cans (10 oz each) green enchilada sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup cheese, shredded
2 cups lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tomato, diced
1 can (2 oz) ripe olives, sliced

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Place chicken breasts in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Shred cooked chicken by pulling apart with 2 forks; set aside.

3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add green onion, cilantro & jalapeno; saute for 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken & 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

4. Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce in a medium bowl and microwave until warm, about 2 minutes. Dip each tortilla in the heated sauce and fill with about 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in prepared baking dish.

5. Pour remaining heated sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

6. Top with desired toppings lettuce, tomato, olives, salsa, & sour cream. Serve & enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

Being a half mexican family, we love to eat mexican food. We are also in love with Italian food after our stay there, so what could be better than noodles and mexican flavor??

Ingredients:
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1/4 c milk
1 1/4 t cumin
1/2 t garlic powder
3 c cubed cooked chicken
1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chilies, undrained
1/2 c sliced green onions (approx. 9)
1.2 c fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
3 c shredded mexican style cheese blend (I use whatever cheese i have on hand... cheddar, jack, pepper jack etc. I am too cheap to buy preshredded), 12 oz.
1 large red bell pepper
1 small can sliced black olives

Prep:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish with cookin spray. Cook and drain noodles according to package directions.

In a large bowl, mix soup, sour cream, milk, cumin, garlic powder, chicken, chilies.

Spread about 1 1/4 c of chicken mixture in baking dish. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 1/4 c chicken mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with onions, cilantro and 1 c. of cheese.

Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 1/4 c chicken mixture over noodles. Sprinkle bell peppers and olives. Sprinkle with 1 c. cheese. Top with 4 noodles. Spread with remaining chicken mixture.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 15 to 30 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot in center. Sprinkle with additional cilantro. Let stand for 15 min. before cutting.

Serves 8

Harvest Vegetable and Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 cans vegetable broth
  
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  
• 3 med. carrots, chopped
  
• 3 small zucchini, chopped
  
• 1 med. yellow bell pepper, chopped
  
• 8 med. green onions, sliced
  
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
• 2 c. shredded cabbage
  
• 2 t dried marjoram leaves
  
• 1 t salt
  
• 1/4 t pepper
  
• 1 c. uncooked instant rice
  
• 1/4 c chopped fresh basil leaves

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients except rice and basil in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6 to 8 hours or vegetables are tender. Stir in rice. Cover and cook on low heat setting about 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in basil.

Serves 7

3 Cheese Rigatoni

This quick and easy meal is loved by all of the kids! Last night, the kids wanted me to make another "batch" so they could have thirds!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb rigatoni noodles, uncooked
  
• 8 oz. sour cream
  
• 8 ounces mexican blend shredded cheese
  
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese (I use real must-shred parmesan, not the kind that comes in a can, however, that would do in a pinch.)
  
• 1/4 c. milk
  
• 1 T chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 t dried basil leaves
  
• 1/4 t salt
  
• 1/2 t pepper
  
• 1/4 c. seasoned dry bread crumbs
  
• 1 T butter or margarine, melted

Prep:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Mix pasta and remaining ingredients except bread crumbs and butter. Place pasta mixture in ungreased 2 quart casserole. Mix bread crumbs and butter; sprinkle around edges of casserole. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Serves 6 (but leaves you wanting more!)

Pair with brown sugar carrots and a salad for a full meal!

Crunchy Taco Salad

This is easy & yummy & healthy...a great combination!
Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 20 minutes



Ingredients

4 portions of lean ground turkey (about 1 lb)

1 can (15 oz) chili beans in chili sauce

5 cups romaine lettuce, chopped

1 cup of salsa

1/2 cup of reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

1 tomato, diced

4 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup light sour cream

4 oz baked tortilla chips



Directions


1. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey & cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in chili beans and simmer until heated through and slightly thickened, about 10 more minutes.

3. Evenly divide lettuce onto 4 plates. Spoon a portion of turkey mixture over lettuce. Then top with salsa, cheddar cheese, tomato, green onion and sour cream.

4. Crumble about a fourth of the tortilla chips over each salad. Serve & Enjoy!