French Dip Sammich

We had company coming over this afternoon to watch the Falcons playoff game, so we were looking for something quick and easy to make for lunch. This was a real crowd pleaser, amonst a group that likes messy sandwiches. Offset with a salad, it was a meal that didn't make us feel too guilty afterwards. It's really easy to make, and I kind of cheated, but it was worth it. I'll leave the meat cooking part of this for a later date when I have a kitchen outfitted with a meat slicer.

Ingredients:
1 lb. good quality roast beef, sliced thin to your preference (I used Boar's Head brand that I got from the grocery store)
3 cups beef broth (or just a box that you can find in the grocery store)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic'
2 tsp corn starch + 1/4 c beef broth, mixed well
1 loaf french bread (or your preference)
4 slices of provolone cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350, cut loaf of bread in half and put cut sides up on a baking sheet. Preheat skillet over medium low heat with butter and olive oil. Add sliced onions and salt. Cook until onions are translucent and soft - about 12 minutes.
2. Add beef broth, with the exception of that mixed with the cornstarch. Add pepper and granulated garlic. Simmer on medium low for 15-20 minutes. Add cornstarch mixture, bring back to simmer and stir until sauce thickens just a little. During this time, put bread in the oven for 5 minutes to toast slightly before serving.
3. Remove skillet from heat. Piece loaf of bread back together, and slice into serving sizes. (My loaf served 4.) Place the desired amount of beef into the skillet to warm beef. With tongs, remove serving sizes of beef from the skillet, let drip a bit, and add to bread. Add a slice of cheese on each sandwich.
4. After all sandwiches have been assembled, pour remaining sauce in skillet into individual serving size ramekins or bowls. Dip sandwich into sauce and enjoy!

Again, this amount served 4, so adjust amount of ingredients accordingly for your party size. This reheats pretty well, too! I recommend serving with side salad above, and large amounts of napkins.

Chicken Cutlets & Spinach

To accompany my black eyed peas and cornbread for New Year's Day, I made some sauteed chicken and spinach to round out the meal. It was pretty good, even for spinach. :)

Ingredients:
4 chicken cutlets
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb baby spinach
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 c white wine
1/2 c chicken stock
2 tsp corn starch + 2 Tbsp chicken stock (mixture)

Instructions:

1. Preheat pan on medium heat with olive oil. Season chicken cutlets on both sides with the salt, pepper, and granulated garlic. Cook chicken 2-3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. (Will depend on thickness of cutlets.)
2. Add minced garlic to pan, and cook for 30-45 seconds. Add white wine, and chicken stock, and bring back to a simmer. Add spinach and cover for 3-4 minutes, or until wilted. Remove spinach from pan and plate with chicken.
3. Add corn starch mixture to pan and bring to simmer, stirring until thickened. Drizzle over chicken and spinach and enjoy!

This is certainly not my most creative dinner, but it was delicious and it did make the spinach edible.

The Best Cornbread

Nothing goes better with cold weather food than cornbread. I am a fan of all variations of cornbread, but today's batch was just plain - to accompany my "not gross" black eyed peas, chicken, and spinach. If you cook it just right, it's moist like a savory cake. I am planning to experiment with adding different things to this basic recipe. So yum!

Ingredients:
1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. cornmeal (I use white, but you can use yellow, or any other)
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. lowfat milk (I used 2%)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c. frozen corn kernals (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9" square pan.
2. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, and egg until moistened. Stir in frozen corn kernals.
3. Pour into pan. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Note: this recipe makes (8) servings of the size I'm showing. You can probably squeeze (9) out of the pan if you cut it carefully. :)

New Year's Black Eyed Peas

Let me start by saying I am generally NOT a fan of black eyed peas. My parents have made them all of my life and I have all but flat out refused to eat them until today. It's time I put on my big girl bib and try them out. After the clock struck 12 last night, I threw all of this in the crock pot, and it was ready by lunch time today. Surprisingly, they were not terrible. Who knew? I'm liking the world of dried beans/peas so far. Next up to try is curried chick peas with stewed tomatoes and butternut squash. I'll let you know how that goes. Hopefully I can make those photos look less gross than these. :)

Ingredients:
1 pkg dried black eyed peas
2 tsp salt
1 box (or 2.5 cans) of chicken broth, low sodium
4 pieces of bacon, sliced
1 vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic


Instructions:

1. Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Pour in dried peas, and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain peas.
2. Add bacon, salt, onion, garlic, and peas to crock pot. Cover with chicken broth.
3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until peas are tender.

As a note, these were pretty good with some hot sauce as well. Enjoy!

Fresh Pasta Carbonara

 

In the spirit of destroying a perfectly clean kitchen, I decided to get out my pasta maker tonight to practice my technique a little. I found a recipe online for pasta carbonara, and modified it to make it suit my tastes. The pasta was much better than my maiden voyage!

 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 slices slab bacon, diced
2 cloves diced garlic
2 tablespoons white wine
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken stock 
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh linguini
1 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 eggs, separated
1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into cutlets

Directions

1.  Put salted water in a large pasta pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat.
2. Add the oil and bacon to a large saute pan over low heat. Cook the bacon until crisp, being careful not to burn it, about 5 minutes.Remove bacon temporarily on onto a paper towel to drain.
3. Season the chicken breast cutlets with salt and pepper, then cook for 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through. (Will depend on thickness of cutlets.) Remove from pan, to rest.
4. Add the garlic and stir for 5 seconds. Add the drained bacon, wine, milk, stock and black pepper. Cook until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
5. Drop the fresh linguini into water and stir to separate strands. When pasta is just undercooked remove it from the water and add it to the pan with the sauce. Gently stir for 1 minute.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, add 1/2 the cheese and the egg white and stir, being careful not to break the noodles. Add the egg yolk and lightly toss. Slice chicken thinly and toss in with pasta. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl or platter and garnish with the remaining cheese.

Enjoy!

Curry Chicken Pasta

After our second viewing of A Christmas Story this evening, we decided we wanted a snack, so I raided the fridge and pantry in search of leftovers that could be made into something more. The key ingredient here is the chicken tenders that were left over from asian chicken salads earlier this week. This actually turned out to taste pretty good! And I got to use some of the other items I had in the pantry already.

Ingredients:

• 1 c chicken broth, give or take
• 1 cup leftover chicken, chopped or shredded
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
• 1/3 c almond butter (or peanut butter, but I just happened to have almond)
• 1/2 a box of pasta - I happened to have ziti, but you could use whatever
• 1/2 c frozen peas.

Instructions:

1. Prepare a pot of salted water, and cook pasta - drain.
2. In a pan, sautee the garlic in the sesame oil on medium low, for 2-3 minutes. Add almond butter, and stir until it is melted into the pan. Add chicken broth little by little, and stir until sauce loosens to the point of being able to coat the back of a spoon. Add soy sauce, peas, red pepper, and curry powder. Stir to combine. Keep on low heat.
3. Shred left over chicken and add to pasta pot. Add pasta on top of chicken. Add sauce over top of pasta and chicken and combine until all is coated. Enjoy!

This made enough for about 4 servings, but we enjoyed it as a late night snack.

Chocolate Banana Souffle

I was looking for a reason to use my new ramekins for something, and I did some internet research for souffle recipes based on some random ingredients I had laying around. I give you: chocolate banana souffle! Yes, it should probably be fluffier, but it tasted delicious and I'll perfect my technique with practice. Definitely worth a try!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for preparing souffle dishes
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana, (1 large)
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup low-fat milk
• 5 large egg whites
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil six 6-ounce (3/4-cup) individual souffle dishes or ramekins or coat them with nonstick spray. Dust with sugar, turning to coat, and tapping out the excess. Set aside.
2. Melt chocolate over barely simmering water or in the microwave. Dissolve espresso powder (or instant coffee) in vanilla in a small bowl.
3. Sift cocoa, cornstarch and salt into a large bowl. Add banana, brown sugar and milk, whisking to blend. Add melted chocolate and the coffee mixture and blend well.
4. Place egg whites in a clean, grease-free mixing bowl. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer until frothy. Add cream of tartar; increase the speed to medium and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and beat on medium-high until the whites hold stiff, but not dry, peaks.
5. Whisk one-fourth of the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Gently but quickly, fold in the remaining whites with a rubber spatula. Spoon into the prepared souffle dishes or ramekins.
6. Bake until souffles are well puffed and browned, but still jiggle slightly when shaken, 15 to 25 minutes, or. Remove from the oven and sift a little confectioners' sugar over the top. Serve immediately.

*recipe adapted from www.eatingwell.com