Update and Sauteed Mushrooms

I've had a few people ask if I've been sticking with my resolution to make every recipe out of my magazine clipping collection before I have any repeats. The answer is YES! It has been fun, but sometimes Ben gets depressed when I make something he really likes. He says, "You're really not going to make this again until your done trying every recipe?" I suppose I can make a exception here and there but so far I haven't had any repeats. The following posts are a few of my newest finds/favorites.

I've had fun tracking our poll lately. Soup continues to be the winner, so all you Dinner-Belles out there lets post some good soup recipes! Here are the rest of the results to the poll for those who are wondering:

Soup - 25%

Dessert- 14%

Easy Meals (5 Items or less) - 14%

Gluten Free - 14%

Crockpot - 11%

Salads - 7%

Vegetarian - 7%

Steak - 4%

Pork - 4%

Chicken - 0%

Now for the sauteed mushrooms... I was making a salmon dish one night and decided to serve it with mushrooms. Things got a little crazy, I had too many pots going at once so I hollered for Ben to help. He happily took care of the mushrooms. As he was making the mushrooms he was quoting from Julie and Julia, "don't crowd the mushrooms!"

Ben did an excellent job at sauteeing the mushrooms they turned out to be the best thing on the plate that night. The salmon I was making had a white sauce over it and neither of us cared for the sauce, so I won't be posting that one!

These mushrooms are truly tasty and would be a great side kick to any meal, try em out!

Ingredients:

Serves 2

• >1 tsp. EVOO
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms (I got the cheap cremini kind)
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tsp. red wine vinegar

Directions

1. In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms; season with S&P, and cook until tender and lightly browned, 12-13 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar.

Shredded Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbl. tomato paste
• a 2 lb (about) pork shoulder
• 1  28oz. can chopped tomatoes
• 1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from a can) minced
• 8-12 corn tortillas
• shredded cheddar or jack cheese
• 1 c. fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. In your crock pot toss onion, garlic, thyme, oregano, tomato paste, can of chopped tomatoes, chipotle chili. Mix together.  Add pork shoulder and turn in mixture to coat evenly.  Place bay leaves on top, cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
2. Uncover after 8-10 hours and discard bay leaves.  Using tongs transfer meat to a large bowl and shred with two forks, discarding any large pieces of fat.  Return meat to crock pot and mix with sauce. 
3. Spoon pork and onions into tortillas with a slotted spoon.  Top with cheese, cilantro, and Crunchy Slaw.  (See recipe below)

Crunchy Slaw

• 1/3 c. mayo
• 1 1/2 tbl white wine vinegar
• 3 tbl. lime juice
• 1 tbl. sugar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 a Bag of Coleslaw Mix

1. Whisk together mayo, white wine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, and pepper.
2. Pour over coleslaw mix, toss.
3. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve (up to 8 hours)

Chicken Curry

This chicken curry dish a easy to make and you can prepare it in the morning and let it cook in your crockpot all day long!  A great dinner for those nights when there is a lot going on and not enough time to make dinner.

Ingredients:

Serves 8 

I use the same amount of garlic, coconut milk, ginger, and spices, that the recipe calls for even if I am cooking less meat.  (I want the flavors to come out the same.)  So if you are trying to cut this recipe in half my reccomendation is to only reduce the amount of chicken, peas, and onions you use.

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I always use chicken breast just because it is what I have in my freezer.)
• 2 medium onions
• 8 cloves of garlic
• 16 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
• 2 c. unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tbl. curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 packages frozen peas (if you don't love peas you could use brocoli, green beans, zucchini, really any vegetable you like would work great with this dish.)

Directions:

1. In your crockpot, toss chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, coriander, and cumin.  Mix around to make sure chicken is well coated.  Season with salt.  Cover and cook for the amount of time you desire.  Cook on HIGH for 4 hours, MEDIUM for 6 hours, LOW for 8-10 hours.
2. Once your chicken is done uncover and stir in coconut milk, cover and cook for another 20 minutes.  Transfer chicken to a large bowl and shred with forks.  Return to pot; toss with sauce.
3. Heat peas in microwave/stove.
4. Serve chicken and onions with sauce over a bed of rice, top with cooked peas, add cilantro if desired.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread

Got brown bananas?  Toss them in your freezer, once you have 3 or 4 you can thaw and make delicious banana bread!
Ingredients

Makes one regular loaf or 3 mini loaves

• 1/4 c. vegetable oil, plus a little more for your pan(s)
• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, plus a little more for your pan(s)
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 c. mashed bananas (around 3 or 4 medium size whole bananas)
• 3/4 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a loaf pan, I have a large loaf pan that has four mini loaf sections.  (This recipe made enough to fill 3 mini loaf sections.)  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, zest, and salt.  Mix in oil, eggs, and bananas.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.  Pour into pan(s).
2. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 70-80 minutes.  For mini loaves about 40-50 minutes, in my oven.  If the loaf browns too quickly you can tent with foil and continue baking.
3. Cool loaf  10 minutes in pan; then remove from pan and cool completely, right side up, on a rack.

Poll Update

It was brought to my attention that a few of you were having difficulty voting on the poll.  I don't know what was happening, but I created another poll from a different website.  So we'll see if that helps!  Vote away!  I added a few categories from the comment section, but I had to remove "Seafood" because this poll would only allow 10 options.  I figured since we are in fall, seafood might not be what most people are looking for.  We can poll again in the spring/summer! :)

If you voted on the last poll please vote again.  As your last vote was erased when I changed the poll.

A Dinner-Belle Poll

Hey Dinner-Belles!  Have you noticed the "visitor map" on the right side of our blog?  The map was a suggestion from Jules to track our readers, how many we are getting and where they are from.  

I thought it would be fun to also create a Dinner-Belles Poll.  The poll is to find out what kind of recipes you and our other readers are searching for!  On the right side of the poll vote for whatever kind of recipes you are wanting more of.  The Dinner-Belles can keep their eyes on the poll and have the results in mind when planning meals and reporting/sharing recipes!  Fun huh?  

ANYONE can vote, and you can vote for more than one item!  The poll will end on Halloween!

If there are still other recipes you are looking for that aren't covered in the poll leave a comment and I can add them!

Homemade Chicken Stock

Ok ladies (and Colin!)... now I know what you're thinking... "I'm not Martha Stewart - I cannot possible make my own chicken stock!" Oh but you can! And with all the hype about flu and swine flu and colds and the sniffles there is really no reason not to make your own stock! Homemade stock has some of the best germ fighting-immune system boosting stuff ever! And how is this for a clincher - it's easy and it will stretch your food dollar!

First you need to, need to, need to, start with a whole ORGANIC chicken. If not, you'll be making stock and eating concentrated chemically filled chicken... YUCK! You can get whole organic chickens at Costco for $2.99/lb. - that's a deal in my mind. Especially when I consider the fact that 1 roasted chicken will get me through 2 dinners and then make enough stock for about 3 soup recipes!

Now, I can't claim this recipe as my own but I can tell you it's the one I've followed and it's way easy! Enjoy! (Oh and LEAVE the gelatinous fat on the top of the stock when it's done - it's really good for you too!)

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/?s=chicken+stock

Chicken Stock
1. When the chicken is cooled down enough to handle without burning your fingers, you’ll want to remove the rest of the meat from the bones.

2. Place the chicken carcass (break it up some if you want) and any discarded chicken bones from dinner into a large stockpot. Throw in the "holy trinity of stock veggies" AKA some washed but unpeeled carrots (2-3) - you don't peel them because the good minerals/vitamins are right there under the skin, an onion - sliced in 1/2, and some celery stalks. If I have it, I also throw in some cilantro, parsley, and thyme.

3. Cover the bones and veggies with cold water, cover the pot, and place it on the stove over high heat until it comes to a boil. (For optimum health benefits, you should first soak the bones in a vinegar/water solution for about an hour. This draws the minerals out of the bones. Just add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the pot and let it sit for an hour before you start to boil.) Also, you’re supposed to skim off any junk that rises to the surface as it comes to a boil; supposedly this is full of impurities. I have never noticed anything. I doubt that my chickens are particularly clean; I’m just not that observant.

4. Once the pot is boiling, turn it down to low so that it’s just simmering. You may have to adjust the temperature a few times to get it right. I simmer mine for anywhere from 2-4 hours.

5. When you’re done, drain the stock through a colander set over a large bowl. Discard the pieces of bone and skin and veggies.

6. I usually drain again, this time through a wire mesh strainer, over a big glass liquid measuring cup – the kind with a spout. That gets the little bits out and makes a nice, clear stock. After it cools down a bit, I pour the stock into quart-sized mason jars and store them in the freezer. And I always have stock when a recipe calls for it!

One-Pot (really!) Sausage Lentil Soup

Ciao tutti!

Here is a delicious and souper :) easy Sausage Lentil Soup recipe. Last year a lady in my Bible study brough it for dinner and it was a hit. I am pretty sure it's gluten free too - Julie you'd have to let me know on that one! :) I love it because it literally takes one pot to make this soup. Tonight I made it in about an hour and 20 minutes. 20 minutes to brown sausage & chop veggies and then 1 hour to let it all simmer together into yummy goodness! Great recipe for a momma with young and busy kiddos. Oh, and did I mention the kiddos eat this!?!? :)

Sausage Lentil Soup

1/2 lb. Italian Sausage (tonight I used Trader Joe's "Hoefbrau Brats" - you can use any sweet italian sausage though)
1 onion chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
2 carrots chopped
3 garlic clove pressed
1 bay leaf
1 qt. chicken broth
16 oz. can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 cup water
3/4 dry lentils

Directions:
1. Take sausage out of casings and brown sausage, add veggies and saute for a few minutes.
- If you MUST drain the fat off of the browned sausage you can do so, however, I've found that if I buy a lean sausage there is no need to do so.

2. Add rest of ingredients. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Serve with dijon mustard (sounds funny but the soup isn't quite as tasty without a little dollop of dijon mustard stirred into each individual bowl!)

Split Pea Soup

This delicious soup takes a little while to cook, but is very easy to prepare and your kitchen will smell wonderful!

5 slices center cut bacon cut into pieces (could use smoked sausage or ham instead)
1 onion chopped
1/2 cu. chopped celery
2 cu. dried split peas (rinsed and drained)
4 cu. water
2 cans chicken broth
1 bay leaf
4 medium carrots sliced and halved
2 potatoes peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 Tsp. smoked paprika (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 Tsp. dried Thyme

In a large pot, saute the bacon, onion, and celery until tender. Add the peas, water, chicken broth, bay leaf, carrot, potato, salt, pepper, thyme and paprika. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat, and cook covered for 11/2 to 2 hours. Stir occasionally. If soup becomes too thick, thin with additional broth or water. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Black Bean & Chicken Enchiladas

This is another variation of a lighter enchilada that we thought turned out very tasty.

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 slices center cut bacon (make split pea soup that week and use the rest of the bacon :)
3 cloves minced garlic
16oz jar of your favorite salsa (divided)
1 15oz. can of black beans, undrained
1 red or green bell pepper chopped (optional)
1 Tsp. ground cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 bunch green onions chopped
8 (6-8-inch) flour tortillas
8 ounces mexican blend or monterey jack shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350
1. Cut chicken into chunks and set aside.
2. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel to soak any excess grease; discard any grease in the skillet.
3. In the same skillet, coated with nonstick cooking spray, saute the chicken and garlic until the chicken is almost done, 5-7min. stir in 1/2 of the jar of salsa, the beans, bell pepper, cumin, salt and pepper. Simmer until thickened, about 5min., stirring occasionally until the chicken is done. Stir in green onions and crumbled bacon.
4. Divide the mixture among the tortillas, topping each with cheese, then rolling and placing seam down in a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Spoon the remaining salsa evenly over the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 15 min or until cheese is melted.

Chicken with Feta Cheese

A super easy and fast dinner, a favorite at our house... 30 minutes start to finish!

Ingredients:
Serves 4

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs. EVOO
• 3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese (I use seasoned feta, with basil)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine feta and oregano, created a pocket in each chicken breast by slicing across the top of the breast. Stuff with feta mixture, season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet, add chicken and cook 6-7 min per side.
3. Cover skillet and continue cooking until chicken is cooked though, or until 160 degrees internal temp.
4. Serve with rice and your favorite vegetable or salad!

Lighter Chicken Enchiladas

I love enchilada's but a lot of time when I make or order them they seem really heavy and saucy.  This "lighter" enchilada recipe is a great alternative to the red sauce usually found in enchilada's.  Everything about this meal is gluten-free except you have to add a little flour to the sauce to thicken it.  I'm wondering you can replace the flour with a little corn starch?  What do you think Julie?

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or I about 8 chicken breast tenders
  
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1 to 2 tablespoons minced canned chipotles in adobo (I used 2 chipotles and our dish was very spicy)
  
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
  
• 8 corn tortillas
  
• 1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese I also used a little Cheddar
  

Directions:

1. In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, bring 1 inch salted water to a boil. Add chicken. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 minutes; remove skillet from heat. Let chicken steam, covered, until opaque throughout, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer chicken to a medium bowl; shred with two forks. Set aside.
   
2. While chicken is cooking, make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add flour, cumin, and chipotles in adobo; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, whisking occasionally, until sauce has thickened slightly, 5 to 8 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 cup sauce to bowl with chicken; toss to combine.
   
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour 1/4 cup sauce into bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in a double layer of damp paper towels; microwave until hot, about 1 minute. Fill each tortilla with chicken mixture; roll up tightly, and arrange, seam side down, in baking dish. Cover with remaining sauce, and top with cheese. Bake until hot and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Ziti with Crunch Garlic Bread

photo from: Everyday Food

This recipe is easy and quick to make and the crunchy garlic bread is a nice addition!  Ben and I are trying to have one meatless meal a week, we've found that it cuts down on our grocery bill and makes us (me) be more creative in meal planning.  I know pasta isn't that crazy of an alternative to meat but this was our meatless for the week.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 8 ounces ziti rigate (I used rigatoni)
  
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta
  
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  
• 3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
  
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
  
• 1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups) I LOVE Classico Brand, Spicy Tomato Basil
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
   
2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
   
3. In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
   
4. Meanwhile, prepare garlic bread: Make deep, even cuts into the bread, about 1/2 inch apart, without cutting through the bottom. In a small bowl, combine butter and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Brush garlic butter between cuts in bread. Wrap bread loosely in aluminum foil, and bake with ziti during last 10 minutes of baking.
   
5. Serve with your favorite salad!
   

 

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Acorn Squash

I'm sticking with my challenge to make every recipe I have cut out of magazines before I have any repeats.  I haven't posted in a while because I had a few "misses"... namely, chicken cheese steak sandwiches that were very bland, a spaghetti frittata (an Italian omelet) that was so heavy Ben and I were sick afterwards, and an attempted spaghetti sauce that turned out to be just O.K. (not worth posting)

This Roast Pork Tenderloin ended the streak of bad dinners.  The pork was so tender and smelled delicious while it was roasting in the oven.  My only complaint with the recipe is I wasn't impressed with the acorn squash.  It was a little bitter and dry, maybe I didn't cook it long enough?  If any of you Dinner-Belles out there have suggestions on: 

1. How to select a squash at the grocery store.
2. Your favorite kind of squash.
3. How long to cook a squash and what texture it should be when it's done.

I'd welcome them.  I rarely make squash so I know one the reason why I didn't like the acorn squash in the this recipe very well could be how I selected/prepared it.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 1 acorn squash (2 pounds)
  
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
  
• 2 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each)
  
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (found in the Asian food's section at the grocery store)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut and spoon out the seeds inside your squash.
   
2. Scatter squash and garlic in a large roasting pan. Mix rosemary, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; rub into pork. Place in pan with vegetables; drizzle with oil.
   
3. Roast 25 minutes. Brush pork with hoisin. Continue roasting, about 15 minutes, until pork reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees.
   
4. Let meat stand 5 minutes before slicing.
5. Serve with the acorn squash and whole cloves of garlic. 

Tip O' The Day

Okay, so here goes my first official post on the wonderful Dinner-Belles Blog. This idea was shared with me at a women's retreat I attended a couple of weeks ago and I decided to give it a try. This will work with any ground meat and really is a time saver. To eliminate the "oh no, I forgot to take the meat out of the freezer" problem, try this...
Step 1 - Buy meat (especially in bulk on sale)
Step 2 - When you get home, do not freeze the meat. If you are not able to move on to step three right away, put it in the fridge (but don't forget about it)
Step 3 - Get 1 - 2 large skillets ready for cooking (or more depending on the amount of meat you bought)
Step 4 - Divide meat into skillets and begin browning (feel free to take this time to tidy up the kitchen, or something, just keep an eye on it)
Step 5 - Drain meat really well
Step 6 - Add onion and garlic and a little salt or pepper and any additional spices you may like
Step 7 - Let meat cool a bit and divide into individual freezer bags
Step 8 - Store meat in the freezer and pull them out when you need them
Make sure you get as much air as possible out of the bags to prevent freezer burned meat. If you know you will be using the meat ahead of time, pull it out and put it in the fridge to thaw out. Otherwise it comes out very easily from the freezer storage bags and can be heated on the stove top or in the microwave.
Okay now, my mom told me this was a lot of steps but if you read through it you will see they are really easy and fast and so far it has saved me a lot of time for some of my dinners. I used it to make Bree's Taco Soup and was able to put it together in less than 5 minutes.
Hope this little tip can be helpful! Happy Cooking :)

Ham Fried Rice

I have tried to make chinese at home before but it never quite turns out right, this time it worked pretty well with a little help from Simply Asian sauce and spice packets. Kerry said it was better than our local chinese and tasted fresher! They have packets for about 6 different dishes- they have recipes on the back, but I made up my own.

4cu. short grain rice cooked (I used Minute Rice Brown rice to save time)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 eggs beaten
2 carrots diced
2 cu. bean sprouts
2 cu. frozen peas (defrosted)
1 tsp. minced garlic
5 green onions sliced
6 oz. diced ham
2 Tb. canola oil
1 packet Simply Asian Fried Rice spice Mix (optional-works well without it too- I don't think it's gluten free)


1. Heat canola oil and sesame oil in large skillet or wok on med/high heat. Add ham carrots and garlic stirring constantly for 2-3min.
2. Add onion, bean sprouts, and peas, stirring constantly and cook for 2-4 min.
3. Push mixture to side of pan and scramble egg in the middle, once egg begins to set, stir in with other ingredients. Add rice, soy sauce, and spice packet and continue to stir until warmed through.