Stir Fry and Fried Rice

Last night we had stir fry from a Cooking Light recipe (and yes, their recipes always do taste light to us), and tonight I chopped it all (along with some leftover ham from thanksgiving), and made fried rice. The fried rice was pretty good, but even though it's healthier, I just don't see myself making fried rice out of basmati rice again. But, I loved the chopped up stir fry in it - carrots make me happy!

Stir Fry

Ingredients

Basmati Rice (we just threw it in the rice cooker)

1 lb sirloin, cut into thin strips

1 c broccoli, chopped into florets

3 carrots, chopped diagonally

1 c snow peas

2 tbs canola oil

5 spice powder (I had 4 of the spices, so just used them)

Directions
I'm not even going to include this - it's that un-delicious.

Fried Rice

Ingredients

3-4 c day-old rice

1 c chopped up leftovers (sirloin, ham, broccoli, carrots, and peas)

1 chopped green onion (probably could have added more)

2 eggs, scrambled

4 tbs canola oil

liberal low sodium soy sauce to taste

Directions

Cook eggs until just done in a wok (or large frying pan), then set aside and clean out wok. with 2 tbs oil.

Heat remaining oil in wok, and add in rice. Break up with a wooden spoon.

Add everything else and keep adding soy until it looks/tastes right.

Cook until warmed through.

Serve with teryaki sauce (this is key).

1 chicken - three meals - no pictures

I decided that I really wanted to roast a chicken. The Saturday before thanksgiving. I think it was all the recipe searching getting to me. So... I roasted a chicken with a bunch of veggies (first shout-out to Ina of this post). For TWO. This left us with a ton of chicken and roasted veggies left over, but I was determined not to waste any of it! The chicken got chopped up and turned into chicken salad (Mr. L did the chopping - hooray!). The veggies got thrown in the food processor with chicken broth and turned into soup (thanks Ina, for that great idea!)

I have made a variation of this chicken salad before, but with much larger pieces. This time, we (Mr. L) chopped everything up much smaller, and I think that the result had a much more universal appeal. I still love it both ways, of course; but I think I'll stick with the smaller chunks when I'm sharing it.

There are no pictures today, because the roast and the chicken salad were devoured before we had a chance to take pictures (we were hungry). The may be pictures of the soup after thanksgiving; I blended it all today, and I'll heat it later this week to serve with Thanksgiving dinner.

Perfect Roast Chicken (modified from Ina Garten)

Ingredients

1 (5-6lb) roasting chicken
salt
pepper
bunch (plus 20 sprigs) thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 head of garlic, halved
2 tbs melted butter
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped into large pieces
3 white sweet potatoes, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped
(onions would have been great, but I forgot to added one)
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper
3 zucchini, sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.
Remove chicken giblets. (I saved them for my pup)
Wash chicken inside and out.
Remove any extra fat or pinfeathers.
Pat outside of chicken dry.
Liberally salt and pepper inside of chicken.
Stuff cavity with bunch of thyme, lemon and garlic.
Brush outside of chicken with butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Tie legs together with string (I couldn't find any, so I skewered them together, and tuck wings under chicken.
Place veggies in roasting pan, toss with remaining thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Spread veggies around the bottom of the roasting pan, and place chicken on top.
Roast for 1.5 hours.
Remove from oven, and cover. Let sit for 20 minutes before carving.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients (these measurements are approximate)

2 c chopped chicken
1 tbs relish
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c chopped apple (I think we used red Delicious, and left the skin on)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Directions

Dump everything in a bowl and stir until combined.
Serve with ritz or on a sandwich.


Roasted Veggie Soup

Ingredients

4 c Chicken Stock
2 c Water
4 c Leftover Roasted Veggies
1 Bay Leaf

Directions

Combine half of stock, water and veggies in blender.
Combine other half in blender.
Put both mixtures and bay leaf in a pot.
Bring to gentle simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove bay leaf, and season to taste.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

I had the whole post typed up and ready to go with tonight's dinner - Loaded Baked Potato Soup (from Kraft). But I deleted it. Intentionally. It wasn't worth taking a picture of, and it wasn't worth sharing the recipe. The only good part was the toppings... which were predicable and could be used on a much better potato soup recipe. This one was flavorless, and way too thin for my taste. Bleh.

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup with Herb and Gruyere Scones

Butternut And Acorn Squash Soup (from tartelette)

Serves 4 hungry people

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes (seeds scooped out & saved)
1 small acorn squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
3 cloves or garlic, peeled and smashed (don't worry about mincing)
4 cups chicken stock
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or less if desired. You can also use some sage)
water
salt and pepper

Optional accompaniments:
chopped Tai chilies
creme fraiche (or sour cream)
sauteed thick cut bacon or salted and cured pork, sliced thin
seeds from one of the squashes (saute in the bacon fat for maximum flavor, and drained on paper towels)

Directions

In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cubed squashes and saute for 2-3 minutes or until they start to get some caramelizing color. Add the garlic and saute one minute, stirring often to prevent it from burning (or it will become bitter). Add the chicken stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, covered for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender. With an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. If using a food processor or blender, let the soup cool a bit before processing. Adjust the consistency to your liking with extra water. Salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish as desired.

Herb and Gruyere Scones (from DesignSponge)

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely ground yellow cornmeal
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ pound Gruyere cheese, grated
½ cup chopped herbs (I like thyme and chives)
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and salt together into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add cornmeal and whisk together.
Add the butter to the dry ingredients, and, using the paddle attachment, beat on low speed until butter is the size of small peas.
Add the Gruyere and herbs and mix just until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Put the buttermilk and cream together in one bowl or liquid measuring cup, and then slowly add to the mixture on low speed until it is just combined and there is a little flour left on the bottom of the bowl. You may not need all of the liquid (I only used about 2/3 of it)!
Empty the contents of the bowl onto a floured surface.
Pat the dough together and work in any pieces of dry dough.
Sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough, and, either using a rolling pin or just your hands, press the dough until it is about 1 ½ inches thick.
Using a circular cookie cutter, dipped in a little flour each time, cut out the scones.
Feel free to roll any scraps together and cut those, too.
(Alternatively, you can shape the mound of dough into a rectangle about 9 by 6 inches, divide the dough in half lengthwise, and then cut each piece into 6 even triangles.)
Place scones onto prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Brush the beaten egg onto the tops of the scones and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, or until light brown on top.

Yields about 12 smaller scones or 6 big scones.

Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken & Bowties

Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken & Bowties (from She's Becoming DoughMessTic)
makes 6 to 8 servings

• Store bought rotisserie chicken, chopped or pulled into pieces
• One standard box Bow Tie Pasta (or, in my case, half a bag of veggie spirals)
• 1 bag shredded cheese (I used taco flavor, but any strong cheese will do)
• 1/2 Sweet onion, diced
• 1 Pepper, any color (I used orange this time)
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom (regular size)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken (regular size)
• 4 Tbsp. Melted Butter
• 1 tsp dried cilantro (I didn't have any in the house, so I used poultry seasoning instead. I realize that it's a completely different spice, but it worked.)
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325.
Cook pasta in water and can of chicken broth until nearly done.
You will be baking this pasta, so take care not to over cook it now.
Reserve a cup of the broth from the pasta to add in to the mixture.
In large bowl, combine the broth, chicken, cheese, peppers, onions, melted butter, both creams, salt, pepper & cilantro.
Stir it well and pour it in a large baking dish.
Bake covered
at 325 for 45 minutes.

We served it with biscuits. I considered adding a ritz topping, but wanted to try the recipe as it was (basically) first. Next time, I'll definitely add a topping for a little extra oomph.

Irish Chicken & Dumplings

I was very pleased with the results on this one. The house smelled irresistible by the time it was nearly ready, and the taste lived up. It was great Sunday evening comfort food. Of course, anything with a stick of butter is pretty much guaranteed to satisfy in our household. We added a little shredded cheese on top too. It wasn't necessary, but it was delicious.

Irish Chicken & Dumplings (from She's Becoming DoughMessTic)

1 large can Cream of Chicken or Mushroom Soup
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts, cut up
1 bag frozen peas & carrot mix
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cans crescent roll dough, butter flavor
1 stick butter
salt & pepper to taste
other seasonings, to taste

Boil chicken and onion until tender, about 30 minutes.
Don't drain. Add cream of chicken and butter, seasonings and potatoes.
Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 20-30 minutes
Add peas & carrots, continue to cook for 10 minutes, then add crescent rolls, torn into medium to large pieces and cook until dough is cooked through (this takes a while -maybe half an hour).

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Creme Fraiche (from Joy of Baking)

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk
Note: If possible, use pasteurized heavy whipping cream, as ultra pasteurized will take longer to thicken. (Mine must hve been ultra-pasturized, because it definitely took it's time!)

Directions

In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the cream to 105 degrees F (40 degrees C).

Remove from heat and stir in the buttermilk.

Transfer the cream to a large bowl and allow this mixture to stand in a warm place, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until thickened but still of pouring consistency.

Stir and taste every 6 - 8 hours.

This process takes anywhere from 24 to 36 hours, depending on your room temperature.

The creme fraiche is ready when it is thick with a slightly nutty sour taste.

Chill cream, in the refrigerator, for several hours before using.

Creme fraiche may be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Roasted Garlic and Herb Creme Fraiche (from What We're Eating, as are the following recipes)

Ingredients

4 large cloves roasted garlic

1/4 cup creme fraiche

1 tsp fresh tarragon (optional)

1 fresh sage leaf

1/2 cup fresh chives

juice from 1 small lemon

kosher salt

fresh finely ground white pepper (optional)

Directions
Add all ingredients except kosher salt into the bowl of a blender. Blend at a high speed until sauce is completely pulverized to for a silky smooth puree.
Strain herbed creme fraiche through a fine mesh sieve to remove any leftover larger chunks.
Adjust the seasoning of the sauce to taste with kosher salt and, if desired, freshly ground white pepper. Enjoy!

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped in 1" cubes

3 tbsp butter

1/3 cup whole milk, plus extra if necessary (amount will vary as size of the potatoes vary) (I used cream instead... because I had that or skim milk)

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

juice from 1/2 a lemon (I thought this was what made this dish perfect)

Directions

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat.

Once the water has reached a boil, add the sweet potato cubes.

Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.

To test the done-ness, stab a potato with a butter knife - if the potato is easily pierced and slides right off, the potatoes are done.
While the potatoes are boiling, add the milk and butter to a bowl of a stand mixer or to a large mixing bowl.
Drain the potatoes than add them to the bowl with the milk and butter. If using a stand mixer or hand-beater, whip the potatoes at a medium-low speed until smooth and fluffy, adding more milk if necessary to achieve a smooth but moist texture. If using a potato masher, mash until smooth, adding more milk as necessary.
Add lemon juice and a small pinch of salt and pepper to the potatoes.

Stir to combine.

Taste the potatoes. Adjust the seasoning as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Serve immediately.

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

1/3 lb thinly sliced proscuitto ham

4 small chicken breasts

3 tbsp canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack placed in the middle of the oven.
Liberally season all areas of the chicken breasts with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Wrap thin slices of proscuitto around the seasoned breasts, covering nearly all surface area with the ham.
Heat a large oven-safe saute pan over medium high heat.

Add canola oil to the pan.

Let the oil heat for about 2 minutes or until there are small ripples in the oil but before it begins to smoke.
Place the chicken breasts into the pan with the proscuitto seam-side-up.

Allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the proscuitto has released itself from the pan and is evenly browned.

Flip the chicken and place the pan onto the rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
Bake the breasts for approximately 15 minutes or until breast are just cooked through.

Remove from oven and allow breasts to rest for at least 7 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

I added fried okra (I just bought the frozen stuff, already breaded and ready to go) and biscuits (again, I went with the canned stuff, because there were some great coupons last week). Then there were madelines from The Gourmet Cookbook for dessert. As I'm headed out of town for a few days and leaving Mr. L to fend for himself, I thought I should end on a good note. ;)

Stuffed Meatloaf

OMG, I am so psyched about this meatloaf. I've been drooling over it since the first time I saw it. Seriously... everything about this shouts that it MUST be amazing. I have to admit, it more than lived up to my expectations. This was amazing (and used up a huge portion of my overgrown window herb garden)! Mr. L didn't not only didn't complain about having leftovers of this meal, he was excited enough about it to offer to come home for lunch so he could have some then!

Roasted Garlic and Ricotta Stuffed Meatloaf (from What We're Eating)

Ingredients:

For the Loaf:

1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice (I used green instead, since they were on sale)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs ground beef
3/4 lb hot italian sausage, not in casings
1/8 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp sambal oelek
2 1/2 tbsp worcestershire saucekosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the filling:
2 bulbs garlic
drizzle olive oil
8 oz ricotta
3 oz goat cheese, softened
1/8 cup flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
1/8 cup fresh basil ribbons (chiffonade)
1 eggkosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the garlic bulbs to be roasted: cut the ends off of each bulb and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Wrap in alluminum foil and roast at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until just starting to caramelize and completely softened.
Set aside until cool enough to handle.

While the garlic is roasting, saute the veggies for the meatloaf.
Add canola oil to a saute pan over medium heat.
Once the pan and oil are hot, add the diced onions, carrots, and red bell pepper.
Sweat the veggies over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
Add the minced garlic to the pan.
Stir and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once the

garlic has been removed from the oven, begin preparing the rest of the meatloaf.
To a large mixing bowl add the sauteed veggies, ground beef, italian sausage, parsley, bread crumbs, 1 egg, sambal oelek, worcestershire sauce, and a liberal pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Using your hands, mix the ingredients together working the meat as little as possible, the more it gets rough around the tougher it will be.
Stop mixing once all the ingredients are just barely combined.

Make the filling-
In a mixing bowl cream together the softened goat cheese and ricotta.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the bulbs and into the bowl with the cheese.
Also add the parsley, sage, and mint.
Mix until the garlic has broken up and the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
After adjusting seasoning, add one egg into the bowl, mix until the egg has been completely incorporated.

Form the meat loaf.
Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan.
Using about 2/3 of the ground meat mixture form a rectangular "boat" on the parchment paper.
There should be about 1 1/2 inches of meat on all sides and on the bottom with a large valley that will be filled with the cheese.
Next, spoon the ricotta mixture into the bowl of the meatloaf "boat" ;-) .
Not all of the cheese mixture may be necessary.
Carefully take the other 1/3 of the ground meat mixture and press it out into a similar rectangle that will fit over top of the filled meatloaf "boat".
Work the edges of the top piece of meatloaf into the sides of the bottom piece to for a sealed meatloaf.
No filling should be visable.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt.

Place the stuffed meatloaf into a preheated 350 degree oven.
Bake the meatloaf at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Some of the cheese may ooze out during the cooking process but that's okay.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
PS: The leftovers go great cut up and tossed with pasta!

I also roasted a couple carrots and a parsnips with olive oil and honey so there'd be a little something on the side.

baked shrimp

...with pasta and veggies!

I bought a bag of frozen, cooked, shell-on shrimp on a whim a few weeks ago, and only afterward found out that Mr. L doesn't like shrimp cold - only hot (which I think is strange). So, I went on a search for a recipe that used already cooked shrimp. I came across one for baked shrimp on Food Lion's site. I figured I'd throw it on top of some pasta, and add in some veggies to make it a little more healthy (and a little more meal-like). We had a bag steamfresh mixed veggies to use up, and a bag of Wacky Mac corkscrew pasta, so that was that. I tossed some italian dressing

Basically, the shrimp were covered in a mixture of italian dressing, melted butter, lemon juice and salt and pepper and baked. However, the recipe called for doing it at 400 for 20-30 min. I felt that after 20 min, they were already overcooked. Also, the dressing mixture was delicious, so I thought it was wasted on the shrimp shells. Next time, I'd probably shell the shrimp and just saute them long enough to warm up over low heat with the same dressing mixture. (Although I don't know much about cooking shrimp, so that' be an experiment too.)

Amazing Shrimp Glaze

Ingredients

10 1/2 oz Cooked large shrimp

2 1/2 tsp Black pepper, ground

4 1/4 Tbs Classic Italian vinaigrette salad dressing

Juice from 1/2 lemon

4 1/2 Tbs Butter, salted

Directions

Melt butter and then combine all ingredients.

Grilled Chicken And Sweet Potatoes With Orange Glaze

Mr. L has been sick (he thinks it's just a cold, I think it's flu), so I almost made chicken soup with this chicken, but he was feeling well enough to sit down to dinner tonight, so my planned menu was saved! This was pretty quick and easy, but I think I'd stick to the grill for it in the future. Cooking it under the broiler made the house quite smoky (even after I moved it down away from the broiler a touch. I liked the glaze, but I got a couple of bites of the sweet potatoes with overpowering glaze. Still, I think that variations of this will become a regular occurrence in our home.

Grilled Chicken And Sweet Potatoes With Orange Glaze (from Food Lion)

Ingredients
4 chicken leg quarters (I just used thighs... that's what was on sale)
3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1" thick rounds
1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper, divided

Directions
Preheat broiler.

In a small bowl, mix orange juice concentrate, maple syrup, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Place chicken and potatoes on the grill or on a sheetpan under broiler.

Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Grill or broil chicken and potatoes for 25 minutes, turning all pieces at least once.

Brush chicken and potatoes with one half of orange juice mixture, let cook 30 seconds and turn.

Brush second side, cook one minute and turn all pieces again.

Cook for one more minute.

Remove from heat and serve.