Alluring Alfredo

             And talk about alluring! You can feel like this guido after eating this dish!

My husband has taken to not eating all day, and then coming home from work famished. He has turned us into an early bird special family. Not so bad, but I think I'll need to get my hair set this friday though. 

So all of a sudden it was 415 and I had no idea what to make. Hooray, I actually remembered to defrost chicken for the first time in months! But I could've and would've used shrimp since it's way faster. There are so many combos for this dish so I'll make substitution list and a list I used from what I found in my kitchen

Ingredients:

Chicken: sliced, cubed...depends on sharp your knife is. I sauteed the chicken but it seemed to take forever. Leftover chicken would work best i think if you're looking for speed

 

Jar of alfredo sauce: i used this great brand called Victoria. One of the best I've tried. But you can also make your own: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quick-and-easy-alfredo-sauce/

Red peppers: i used frozen cause that's what I had. But fresh is so much better

Onion, garlic and broccoli

    Pasta: any type, but be wary that long noodles (spag, angel hair, etc) will absorb more of the sauce: the longer the greedier

Crushed reds, basil, pepper, salt to taste

Substitutes:

Shrimp, green peppers, different cream sauce, parmesan/butter mix, hot peppers, sausage, peas

What to do:

Saute onion, garlic, peppers, basil in olive oil with crushed reds until onions are translucent and peppers are soft.

Cook chicken, or cut up already prepared chicken

Throw in broccoli. Cook for 2-3 min. Then throw in cooked chicken

Start cooking pasta according to liking

Then add sauce to chicken and cook until warm. I'd say about 5-10 minutes. But test the taste and warmth. I have been adding salt and pepper right before serving

By the time the pasta is done, the sauce mix should be warm and flavors combined. All you have to do next is mix everything together.

Just go with the flow...unless you really burn something, this will taste good.

Gobble Gobble fancy sandwich

From Martha Stewart: mine looks similar to this

So do you have any leftover meat from thanksgiving? A slice or 2 of ripe delicious turkey? A dollop of sweet and sour cranberry?

I have the perfect recipe to put all your extras together for something simple and different. I actually sampled a recipe like this at a local restaurant and figured i could definitely make this at home for way cheaper.

Ingredients:

Turkey: either leftover slices or the deli at any market usually has carved turkey. (deli slices are not as cool in this sandwich)

Cranberry sauce: canned or fresh...whatever you have

Brie: a small triangle is enough for 2 

Mayo: about a 2 tablespoons (depends on if you like mayo, and how much you want to put on)

Ciabatta, or foccacia bread: i usually get the ciabatta rolls

What to do:

Mix mayo with the cranberry sauce to your liking.

Slice the rolls or bread

Grease a skillet, either butter, olive oil or spray...and get hot

Assemble a sandwich of turkey and sliced brie with the bread and place in the skillet. Place another pan or heat proof hard object on top of the sandwich. I think i use a heavy frying pan. This will flatten the sandwich and help to melt the cheese

Let the cheese melt (this is basically like a grilled cheese), don't forget to flip the sandwich at some point

Remove from heat. Apply mayo to taste

The melted brie, cranberry, and turkey are such a fantastic combination. And this dinner is very filling. I tend to make a side salad with mixed greens to accompany this sandwich

Pop's cobby salad

Well as paula abdul would say, i straight up stole this from my father-in-law.  My in-laws graciously host Sunday dinner each and every week. This shrimp cobb salad has become a favored meal in the rotation, esp during the summer when all Pop's veggies are in season! Brendan and I love this salad and make it frequently at our house with whatever salad fixin's are around. As i said before, i love to make meals with leftovers in mind....many times after an amazing bacon and egg breakfast, i'll save some of the bacon for this salad!

Borrowed this image from tumblr.com 

Shrimp Cobb Salad


Ingredients:

Shrimp (i personally grab frozen raw, then saute it. but boiling is fine)

Any lettuce you like

Avocados: diced

Hard-boiled eggs: diced

Bacon: crumbled

Bleu cheese crumbles or can use bleu cheese dressing

Croutons

Cukes, tomates, onion, corn (per preference)

What to Do:

Pop's usually presents all the fixings on top of the lettuce on large trays. This is seriously delicious. The preparation usually takes a little while but it's worth it to have a make-ahead meal when your afternoon seems to have disappeared

Manly steak salad

This is the way to get a dude to eat salad. It is so good, and really not very healthy. But super easy. I always make this dinner during the next day or 2 after making a fancy steak and potatoes dinner.

The key to easy dinner preparation is thinking about the future...what can i make with the leftovers of this dinner? So I'll throw on an extra steak, or most often sacrifice the majority of my steak so i have a super easy prep for the salad. This typically makes enough for 2... it's so romantic

Ingredients:

Leftover Steak sliced thinly (as much or little as you want. one piece can go a long way for this)- usually seasoned from the dinner

2-3 hardboiled eggs

French fries (straight or steak fries)

Cheese (i typically use cheddar, bleu, goat, or feta)

Lettuce (any type...i always use romaine hearts)

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Dressing: can use bleu cheese, but I recommend Brianna's Dijon Honey Mustard: usually on the top shelf or bottom at the grocery store...or another preferred honey mustard


Use as desired: Croutons, Avocados, carrots, peppers


What to do:

Ok i can only assume anyone reading this can put together a salad. As in actually putting all the toppings on lettuce. I usually warm the steak a bit, and the fries are warm too!


ENJOY

Well i guess they have to eat...: Create Your Own Chili

Well i guess they have to eat...: Create Your Own Chili: Much to my dismay, the snow has started. But some people are happy about this so what better way to celebrate than to make chili. There are ...

Create Your Own Chili

Much to my dismay, the snow has started. But some people are happy about this so what better way to celebrate than to make chili. There are many reasons to add this recipe to your winter dining rotation. To start, chili is so simple. In fact, it is one of the easiest, mistake-free recipes you can make. Another is convenience. You can pretty much create a make-shift chili from salsa and meat if you desired.

Tonight I chose to make a chili with potato in lieu of the beans. So many motivations for this. First, I didn't have any beans. Second, what guy on earth doesn't like meat and potatoes? Next, i believe chili is a popular topping for baked potatoes somewhere in the country, so figured it might be good. Another motivation is the fact that i am nursing a baby...he doesn't appreciate the full on power of gaseous beans. So i gave him a break tonight. Finally, I wanted to shake it up a bit...get a little wacky (not really).

I am making 2 lists. The first is the ingredients I used tonight. The second list contains substitutes to add, subtract, or jazz it  up

List #1: 

-ground beef (i prefer the organic ground from wegmans...it's cheap so why not) 
-a bunch of small red potatoes     
-one large onion 
-one garlic clove 
-cumin, crushed reds, pepper, salt, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder 
-one pickled habanero pepper (or Hungarian hots, or jalapenos)
 -olive oil
 -one large can of Hunt's tomato sauce (it's my fave)
 -one 15 oz can of diced tomato
 -one large green bell pepper
 -half a bottle of beer or all of it (depending on how saucy you feel)
      ~quick note on the beer: use an ale or definitely a darker beer. it makes the chili more rich. but if all you have is Coors light, it'll be OK. But i would advise against any girly beers such as bud light lime~

List #2 Substitutes
   
    ground turkey, ground veal, hot Italian sausage with casing removed
    black beans
    corn
    sweet potatoes
    rice
    red or orange bell peppers
    Wegmans chili mix?
   

What to do:
 
Saute onion, garlic, and peppers of your liking in olive oil. Choose your own measurements. 
Throw in the meat, brown it. At this point, some may want to drain the excess fat. I say no thanks to that. But to be fair, the organic beef is like 93/7 in meat to fat content (not greasy at all). 
Pour in the can of sauce and diced tomatoes. 
Add the potatoes. 
As for the spices, i shake them over the chili to cover in a thin layer. Freely add what you want, but i at least put in a tsp of chili powder. The rest are less than that. Also wait until you are ready to eat to add salt.  
Pour in the desired amount of beer, and drink the rest. Just remember, the more beer you add, the longer you must cook the chili to make it thick.
I cooked my chili for about 1 hour 30 minutes. It was gloriously thick and really spicy. The only thing I'd change is throwing in the potatoes earlier to saute with veggies. Some were a bit too raw. 

Enjoy!

Um guess I gotta post a recipe: Panko crusted Salmon

As a start, I need to mention that i hardly ever use exact (or any) measurements when cooking. So use as much or little as you want. I tend to take several recipes and throw them all together. If you like the taste of something, chances are it'll be good in that particular dish. I would advise against using my recipes, if "winging" will throw you into a tizzy or a full blown panic attack.

Alright. Panko Salmon. Very easy and delicious. I almost always pair this with a vegetable, and jasmine or basmati rice.

Ingredients:
 2 pieces of fresh salmon: the best is alaskan sockeye. That is only a summer specialty if you want fresh. Wegmans does have frozen, but you will run the risk of dry fish. I used farm raised last night

2/3 cup panko

1 tsp lemon zest (or as much as you feel like zesting)

Olive and vegetable oil

crushed red pepper, salt, pepper

thinly sliced tomatoes (or not)

honey (for me)

hot mustard or dijon mustard (for men who don't like sweet meat)

What to do:
1.) Oven to 425 F

2.)  Oil to stainless steel or oven proof skillet (equal parts of both). Let heat up on medium. Don't ask me how long, i have no idea. Just wing it

3.)  Panko, crushed reds, salt, pepper, lemon zest to small bowl

4.)  Place salmon to skillet, skin side down. You may get burned by the bubbling oil. Maybe wear an ove
glove? Then coat the top of salmon with either honey or mustard of choice

5.)  Apply the panko mix to top of salmon. The honey or mustard will prove to be a terrific glue for this whole operation. Once again: CAUTION with the burning oil. I mean I suppose you can apply the topping before placing in oil. But why make things easier?

6.)  Put tomato slices on top. Sear for 4 minutes (an actual calculation for all you type A's)

7.) Place skillet in oven for 6-7 minutes depending on how raw you enjoy your salmon. It's a good idea to let the temp get up to 130 F. Proceed to remove from oven, and cover with foil for about 10 minutes

8.) Dont forget the side dishes!

9.) You are now free to Eat. And receive compliments on the delicious food, and how proud your husband is for not making him any more sweet meat

I wish I had taken a picture of this fantastic dinner last night. But alas, I will post pics in the future. Enjoy!

Well folks it's finally happened

After many, many discussions with gals that i know, I have decided to make this blog, simply to pass along some recipes I make/assemble for dinner each night. Being a mother is THE hardest thing ever SOoooo without sounding like a hippie i just want to make things peaceful and simple. If something turns out delicious I'll share it. And if its gross, ill post pictures of the family eating it with smiles on their faces.

Feel free to post some of your quick dinner recipes. 

Thanks for visiting