Greek Pasta With Tomatoes and White Beans

I was looking for some new recipes and I found this one this site. It turned out really well.

2 (14.5 oz) cans of Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (19oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
10oz fresh spinach, washed and chopped
8oz penne pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and beans in a large, non-stick skillet. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Add spinach to the sauce; cook for 2 minutes, or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly.
4. serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with feta.

Orange-sesame Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli, and Asparagus Stir-Fry

This is another recipe from the Best 30-Minute Recipe cook book. It has an entire section for building your own stir-fry, but it would be really really long to put all of the options on here, so I'll just put the one I make.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into small even pieces
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 pound of broccoli (cut into small pieces)
1/2 pound of mushrooms (cut into small pieces)
1/2 pound of asparagus (cut into small pieces)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (using fresh grated ginger is crucial for flavor)

Sauce:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Making the minutes count:
Assemble the sauce while the chicken cooks. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger while the vegetables cook.

1. Stir-fry chicken and prepare sauce:
Toss chicken with soy sauce. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add protein and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up clumps, until lightly browned, 1 1/2 to 5 minutes. (While protein cooks, prepare stir-fry sauce.) Transfer protein to clean bowl.

2. Stir-fry vegetables:
Add 1 more tabelspon of oil to pan and return to high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli to skillet with 1/2 cup water, cover, and steam over high heat for 2 minutes; uncover. Add mushrooms and asparagus and cook, stiring occasionally, until crisp-tenter, 1 to 5 minutes.

3. Combine and simmer:
Clear center of pan and add remaining 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, and ginger. Cook, mashing garlic mixture into pan with back of spatula, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cooked chicken. Whisk sauce to recombine, add to pan, and bring to a simmer. Cook sauce until thickened, 1 to minutes. Serve immediately.

North Pole Toffee Cake

This recipe was given to me by my dear friend Deidre. I made this cake for Vaughn's birthday. It wasn't very pretty, but it tasted really good.

1 (20 oz.) package chocolate cake mix
1 (12 oz.) carton whipped topping
1/3 c. chocolate syrup
7 toffee bars (Heath or Skor) crushed

Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. Prepare and bake cake according to package directions. Cool on wire rack. Freeze cake to harden. Carefully cut each layer horizontally to make 4 layers. In a bowl, mix whipped topping with chocolate syrup and 6 crushed toffee bars. Place 1 layer o cake on serving plate and spread with chocolate mixture. Repeat with remaining 3 layers. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle remaining crushed bar on top of cake. Refrigerate and then serve.

Fish Fillets with Lemon Sauce

This recipe was taken out of the April 2009 Runners World Magazine. I made it tonight for Vaughn's birthday and really liked it. It's also a really healthy meal and well balanced for athletes.

• 1 pound thin fish fillets, such as sole, halibut, or flounder
  
• 1 1/2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground sage
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay (or other Cajun seasoning)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons water
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon curd
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 cups steamed brown rice
• 2 cups steamed broccoli

Pat fish fillets dry with paper towels. Set aside. Mix together bread crumbs, sage and Old Bay. Mix eggs and water in another bowl. Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Dip fillets in the egg mixture; then coat in crumb mixture. Place fish in skillet. Coat the tops of fish with olive oil spray. Flip fillets when brown (about four minutes); brown other side for three minutes. Remove and keep warm. In a small saucepan, gently boil lemon curd and milk over medium heat, stirring frequently. When it forms a slightly thickened sauce, remove from heat (about a minute). Serve the fish over 1/2 cup brown rice, topped with a tablespoon of sauce and a side of broccoli. Serves four.

NOTE: Those are the original instructions. But I did it a little differently. I don't even know what lemon curd is, so I just made the sauce with whole milk, and one lemon zest and juice. It was strong, but really good still. Also, instead of frying the fish, I baked it in the oven at 425 for about 10 minutes. Also, I know fish sometimes sounds intimidating, but you can just buy the raw fillets in the frozen section of the grocery store.

Skillet Jambalaya

This is from the same cookbook that Steph got the skillet lasagna out of. It's my favorite one.

If you can't find andouille, use tasso, chorizo, or linguica sausage. Serve with plenty of Tabasco. We like Old Bay Seasoning in this recipe, but you can use your favorite Creole spice blend instead.

1 pound extra - large (21/25) shrimp, peeled and devined
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 ounces andouille sausage, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 onion minced
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/2 cups instant white rice
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 table spoons minced fresh parsley

Making the minutes count:
While the andouille and vegetables cook, mince the garlic and parsley.

1. Season Shrimp: Season shrimp with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Saute Sausage, Aromatics, and Rice: Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until simmering. Add andouille, onion, bell pepper, Old Bay, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in rice, garlic, and tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add broth and cook rice: Stir in broth and bring to simmer, scraping up browned bits. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
4. Cook Shrimp: Scatter shrimp over rice and continue to cook, covered, until rice is tender and shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Off heat, let rices sit for 2 minutes. Stir in parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Santa Fe Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

Tonight was one of those nights when you flip through all the recipes you have and try and find something that you can make for dinner because you need to go to the store. This one was really good and easy.

Serves: 4

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
1 can corn, drained (we don't eat caned corn in my house, so I just used frozen)
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup salsa
flour tortillas
Cheese
Lettuce
Ranch dressing

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix corn, beans, and salsa together and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When done shred chicken. Place in tortillas with cheese, lettuce and ranch dressing.

Yummy Easy Southwesty Soup

Yummy Easy Southwesty Soup
Jud had me get this recipe from his friends Mom. We all really like it.

2 13 oz. Cans Chicken Breast (2 cups cooked, cubed)
2 Cans White Northern Beans (or do 1 white, 1 black)
1 scant Cup mild or medium salsa
2 Cans 12 oz. chicken broth
3/4 to 1 Tablespoon cumin

2 cups colby jack cheese (cheddar works great too)

Garnish with crushed tortilla chips

Just drain and rinse the beans, and add everything but the cheese and chips. Warm about 1/2 hour on medium-low heat, simmering and stirring occasionally. Turn it down if it starts boiling. Add the cheese at the last, and stir until it is mixed in well. Or you can sprinkle it on top. Then top with chips. Makes 6 generous servings.