Cajun Pasta

A delicious Pasta Dish!

Fettuccine, prepared according to package directions

1/2 green pepper diced
1 red onion, divided
     mince 1/2 onion
     reserve other half, sliced for garnish
2 Tablespoons celery, minced
2 Tablespoons sliced black olives, for garnish (if desired)
6-8 broccoli florets

6 sea scallops
12 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 link andouille sausage, pan fried  and drained of grease

1 pint heavy cream
butter
Cajun seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Pan fry the sausage until browned, drain and set aside
Cook pasta according to directions
add 1 TBS butter to the pan and saute green pepper, celery and onions for 2 minutes until tender
Return sausage to pan
add sea scallops and shrimp and saute 2 minutes until done
add cream, turn up heat and allow sauce to thicken
Add Cajun seasoning to taste
Once sauce has thickened, add broccoli and pasta
Top with black olives and onion slices. 

Not healthy, but sure is tasty!

Chicken with Gnocchi

I made this at the request of DD2 for dinner on the first day of school yesterday.  It was delicious and not as complicated to make as the recipe may seem

Gnocchi (I used store bought potato gnocchi)

1 chicken breast per person, seasoned with salt and pepper, sliced into think strips

Marinate chicken in
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic, minced,
2 stalks rosemary
Marinate chicken for at least an hour for the best flavor (overnight works too)

Julienne
1 medium zucchini
1 red pepper
1 medium onion cut into large slices and halved

Sauce:
Mix together the following
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup ricotta (I used low fat cottage cheese)
1 pint heavy cream

Prepare gnocchi according to package directions (place in boiling water for about 3 minutes or until the float to the top)

In the mean time,
Saute vegetables in a couple of tablespoons olive oil until tender, do not brown
Add chicken, turn up the heat and allow to cook until browned on all sides
Add cheese sauce and allow to thicken,
add drained gnocchi
Serve immediately!

The family declared this was delicious and I agreed!

Smashed Potatoes and Shrimp

This is a lovely summer dish which is fairly easy to prepare and can be modified to use the produce you have on hand

New potatoes (I prefer red)
mushrooms
asparagus (trimmed)
raw Shrimp, peeled, deveined

bacon grease (or olive oil)
Cayenne
2 (or more) cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1/3 cup white wine

Prepare a skillet with the bacon grease,
Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and add to the skillet.  Add garlic, Cayenne, salt and pepper to taste
Allow potatoes to brown
Add mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes, allow to brown if you desire
add asparagus and allow to cook for an additional 5 minutes
Add shrimp, cook for 3 minutes or until done
deglaze pan with white whine and allow sauce to thicken slightly.  Serve immediately

Marinated Flank Steak

We're heading out of town for a wedding and getting ready to send DD1 back to college early next week so we needed a delicious, quick meal this evening:

Marinated Flank Steak

Score the flank steak for maximum tenderness
Place the meat in a gallon Zip lock bag and add the following
(Measurements are approximate)
2 TBS olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp capers

Allow to marinate overnight (or for at least an hour) and grill as desired.
We're serving this with corn on the cog, marinated cucumbers and fresh red ripe tomatoes!

Taco seasoning mix

Make your own taco seasoning mix to control the ingredients for better nutrition.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup instant minced onion
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. crushed dried red pepper flakes (if desired)
• 1 Tbsp. instant minced garlic
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano (if desired)
• 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram (if desired)
• salt and ground pepper if desired (I don't usually add salt)

Preparation:

I like to use my coffee grinder to reduce all the ingerdients to dust...but this is not necessary.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and blend thoroughly. Place in a tightly sealed container , store in a cool, dry place.

Makes 6 packages (about 2 Tbsp. each) of mix. 2 Tbsp. equals 1.25-oz. pkg. purchased taco seasoning mix.

Use within 6 months.

Walking Tacos

A couple of weeks ago I made dinner for about 40 middle schoolers attending a church event.  We made Walking Tacos at the request of our daughter, Alayna.

Walking Tacos
taco seasoned ground beef
individual bags of corn chips (we used Fritos)
assorted toppings such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, salsa, etc

Each diner opens the bag of chips, spoons in some taco meat and toppings and VIOLA'-a walking taco.

We had a significant amount of the seasoned ground beef left over so I packaged it in a freezer Ziploc bag for use at a later date.  That was last night!  I thawed out the meat, reheated it with a bit of water to "re-sauce" it and had tacos for a quick dinner before another event.

I decided that I am going to purposefully prepare seasoned taco meat and freeze for later use since taco prep seems so laborious when we're in a rush.  I'll use 5 lbs of ground chuck to create 4 packages of seasoned ground beef.  Prepare the meat according to the taco seasoning directions (I'll use 5 packages of  purchased taco seasoning (or look for tomorrows post on making your own seasoning).

Stuffed Chicken Breasts Marsala

Don't let this recipes instructions deter you from making this delicious dish.  It is easy and you can have it ready to cook in about 20 minutes.
I can never get the chicken breasts to be thin enough...so I don't worry about that (I usually slice a standard breast in two and then pound until my arms are tired)
I didn't have any kitchen twine so I used cotton yarn that I use to crochet dishcloths--LOL

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pound thin)
chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
ricotta cheese.
4 slices prosciutto, THINLY sliced
nutmeg, salt, pepper
mushrooms (fresh is best but canned will do)
Marsala Wine
chicken broth
flour for dredging and thickening
kitchen twine
butter, olive oil

Season breasts with salt and pepper, top with about 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese, sprinkle with nutmeg, add a small "handful" of spinach, spreading across the surface of the breast.  Top with a very thin slice of prosciutto. Roll up and tie with kitchen twine, dredge in flour
Set aside

Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter and saute mushrooms until tender.  Remove mushrooms from pan, add chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on all sides (adding more butter or oil as needed)
Remove chicken breasts and keep warm
Deglaze pan with 1/3 cup Marsala wine (or to taste)
add 1 can chicken broth (or 1 1/2 cups) and some flour to thicken.  Heat until bubbling and thickened, stirring occasionally.
Add breasts back to pan to re-heat

Serve with rice, couscous or pasta. 
Enjoy!