Earl's Macaroni & Tomatoes

This is a post to honor the life of my Papaw Earl. As a kid I can remember having this dish every time I would visit him. This is my comfort food. I still eat this all the time, ask Brett :) I do not have a picture, yet, but since I make this like once a week they will be up. This is a one pot dish and it takes 10-15 minutes. Serves 1-2, depending on how hungry you are :)!

Macaroni & Tomatoes

Ingredients:
-1/2 box (half lb) noodles ( I love either shells or elbows)
- 1 15oz canned tomatoes, diced or petite diced
- 3 tbsp butter (I never said this was healthy)
- 1/2 can water (use tomato can)
- salt and pepper to taste

What to do:
1. Get your pasta water going, add salt.
2. Cook pasta
3. When pasta is done, place in a strainer. Do not rinse the pasta. To keep them from being stick, I add a little olive oil to them.
4. In the same pot you used for the noodles, add butter and get it melted.
5. Add the can of tomatoes, juice and everything.
6. Add 1/2 can of water. You want the juice to be a red orange color. If it's yellow, then too much butter was used. If it's red, add more butter. Believe me, it makes the dish.
7. Stir in noodles and simmer 4-5 minutes. Salt and Pepper.

Ok, so since I make this soooooo much I do change it up. Some times I will add garlic. Other times i will use the tomatoes with basil already added. I haven't even added cheese, but I'm sure it will be good too. You can double the recipe for more people. Usually, it's me that eats it, Brett does not partake.
Enjoy!


6:51 AM | | 0 Comments  

Cilantro Chicken

So on Monday I made Cilantro Chicken and Tex Mex Squash Casserole for dinner. I took a lot of pictures, but did not realize how to work my camera and moved the camera before the picture was taken.

Cilantro Lime Chicken:

Ingredients:




















boned, skinned chicken breast halves (2 lb. total)
1/4 cup lime juice ( I didnt have 1/4 off a cup of lime so I put like half this much and the rest lemon juice and it tasted a lot better then the time I put in the right amount of lime)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon honey ( I ommitt this)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Red onion ( I add this so no real set amount)



Preparation:
1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness (about 1/2 in.) and place in a shallow baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix lime juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour over chicken and turn pieces to coat evenly. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or overnight.
3. Lay chicken on a grill over medium heat (you can hold your hand over the surface only 4 to 5 seconds) and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side.



And the only Pic I have on the Preparation:















Tex Mex Squash Casserole:

So this recipe is one that I made up by myself with a little inspiration/amounts from a recipe:

Ingrediants:
2 pounds yellow summer squash
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chiles, with liquid
2 small jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
8 ounces shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups tortilla chips, crushed ( I dont measure I just see how much will cover)
1 red bell pepper

Preparation: (this i totally made up)
1) Cut up the squash ( i do thin slices)

2) The squash will have a lot of water, so I found that if you boil it with a little bit of water in the pan until all of the squah is mushy, drain the water and pat the squash dry it works well

3) While I am cooking the squash I sautee the onions, bell peppers and jalpenos on the stove until squishy

4) Crunch up the tortilla chips to cover the bottom of you pot ( I use a medium sized corningware dish you will see in the pictures).

5) Mix all ingrediants together
6) Put indgediants in pot and cover with tortilla chips

7) Cook on 350 for about 25 to 30 mins




















Why yes this is squash from my garden boiling



















Sauteeing the oinon and bell peppers


















Everything Mixed together




















All ready to go in the oven




















Dinner Time !!!!

Katie


11:46 AM | Labels: , | 0 Comments  

Spaghetti alla Ceci

This is my second post and of course it's another pasta dish. Spaghetti alla Ceci (chay-chi) literally means "spaghetti with chick peas." Chick peas? The stuff hummus is made from? That's what I thought when I came across this recipe. I honestly never thought about making it until that one night where you have NOTHING TO EAT and it's past dinner time. I had all the ingredients in the pantry so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I made it! It is now a meal that has made it's way into rotation with my other pastas!

Spaghetti alla Ceci

Ingredients:
- 1lb spaghetti
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 can (15 oz) chick peas, drained and fine chopped
- 1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- handful fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Get your pasta water going and add salt to your water.
2. In a large sauce pot* add olive oil (you can circle the pot 3 times if you don't wanna measure) on a medium heat. Add red pepper flakes and garlic.
3. In a food processor add chick peas and pulse to a fine chop. Add them to olive oil/garlic/pepper mixture then season them with thyme, salt, & pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
4. Remember to add the spaghetti to your boiling water!
5. Add chicken stock to chick peas and let it cook down for 30 seconds.
6. Stir in tomatoes. Taste. Adjust seasonings if needed.
7. Drain pasta and add pasta to sauce.
8. Top with parsley
.
Mmmmm... Garlic

Go chick peas! Go!

Now with added tomatoes and chicken stock


As you now know, I did a little something different with this post; I added more pics. I just thought it would be a nice added bonus. The picture of my ingredients shows a can of petite diced tomatoes instead of the called for crushed tomatoes. All I did was puree them in the food processor.

I love the picture of the garlic; can't you just smell it? All I know is, Brett and I are going to live until the age of 115 with all the garlic we eat. :) The picture of the sauce with tomatoes and chicken stock added is a little soupier than yours will look; I just added a 1/2 can more of tomatoes that I had in the fridge.

This recipe will cook four or two people for two days.

* As I starred above next to the word "pot," I wanted to let you all know that I know nothing about the world of pots and pans. I haven't a clue if I'm using a saucepan, dutch oven, a saute pan, or a frying pan. Please bare with me with my boring-ass descriptions of the "pots" I am cooking with. :)




4:17 PM | | 0 Comments  

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Balsamic Glaze

Thanks April for getting this blog started! I'm always looking for recipe ideas and what better place to look than friends?!

Here are some of my disclaimers:
I've never written a blog.
I've never really cared about food presentation until I started taking some photos for this blog (because what's a blog without pictures?) and it turns out food presentation is important (gasp!) and so are photography skills which I have none of.

With all that said, let me present - Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Balsamic Glaze (and the potatoes and spinach I ate them with on day two.)


Serves 4-6

For the Glaze:
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the Pork:
2 pounds pork tenderloin (unmarinated)
canola oil, for searing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Make the glaze: Put garlic and rosemary in a small bowl. Add the balsamic, honey, olive oil, mustard, salt and pepper (to taste), whisk to combine.

For the pork: Slice tenderloin into 1 inch think medallions. Cover bottom of medium skillet with a light film of canola oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Add the pork slices in 1 layer, season with salt and pepper, sear for 1 minute. Turn and sear for 1 more minute, until lightly browned. Transfer slices in 1 layer to a shallow baking dish. Pour glaze over, turn to coat. Roast for 8-10 minutes, until inserted thermometer reaches 140 degrees F. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.

Comments about this meal -
I always buy lean meats and it just so happens that pork loins come in extra lean! I also cut this recipe in half and it fed Joe and I one evening and me the following evening (he wouldn't be caught dead eating cooked spinach.) I froze the other half of the loin to be used in the future. It grosses me out to work with pork loin but, it was worth it in the end. I also have no knife skills; these don't look like the 'medallions' that I've had at restaurants, but they tasted great all the same.

Thanks for letting me share. Looking forward to reading future posts! ~khn~


4:53 PM | Labels: , | 1 Comments  

American Amatriciana

I love, love, love pasta! I can eat it every day for every meal. I actually got this recipe from Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. I was probably starving when I was watching the show and that's what got me hooked on the idea of making it. Amatriciana is an Italian dish that includes pork, cheese, and tomato. According to Wikipedia, amatriciana is the most popular pasta sauce in Italian cuisine. This is my version.

American Amatriciana
Ingredients:
1lb penne pasta
1 med-sized red onion, chopped
7 slices of peppered bacon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes
handful of fresh chopped parsley

To do:
1. Get your pasta water going and salt your water (this flavors the pasta)
2. Heat oil in a sauce pan, cut bacon into small pieces and add to the pan
3. Cook bacon on med-high heat for 3-4 minutes
4. Add red onion and garlic. Cook for 4-5 more minutes
5. Check water and add pasta
6. When garlic and onion are fragrant, add chicken stock to mixture.
7. Add tomatoes
8. Drain noodles
9. When noodles are done, add parsley to sauce. You do this last so the parsley will not "cook" and turn dark green.
9. Taste the sauce, salt and pepper if needed. The bacon should have given the dish that balance with the salt in the bacon and the peppered outside. So don't blindingly add salt or pepper.
10. Top with cheese if needed.
11. Enjoy!!!

This recipe takes no time, 15-20 minutes tops! I am not very big on leftovers, but this dish is very good leftover. This is my favorite past dish so far.

p.s. most of my recipes will be pasta!!! :)





3:27 PM | | 1 Comments  

This one's for the girls!



This blog is for all the ladies out there who have a circle of friends. Women who are members of The Red Hat Society. Women who have a passion for books. Women who get together for bridge. Women who leave the kids and hubby at home for a girls night out.

This blog is for women who have a passion for good food! It's about the cooking experience; what works and what doesn't. It's about friendship and sharing ideas!

Bun Appetite!




6:55 AM | | 0 Comments  

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)