Chop Chop!

            

           I don’t know how many of you, like me, have friends who seem impossibly perfect.  Maybe this speaks well of the type of people I choose to surround myself with.  No matter how you slice it, however, there are some times when your peers can make you downright insecure.  This is true of my friend Abby and her cooking.  Many months ago she had Chris and I over to her home for dinner.  Let me pause her to tell you it was no ordinary dinner (well, to her it was because I think perhaps she has had a stint at Hogwarts cooking up culinary magic).  It was phenomenal and to top of the experience, her toddler ate it all up without a single request for a chicken nugget.  I should also note here that this meal was created while Abby was finishing law school, raising said toddler, and simultaneously keeping herself up-to date on all the latest pop culture/celeb gossip.

            While Abby has given me the recipes to these dishes, and other amazing cookbooks for a wedding gift, I must admit with shame that I have not tried to re-create her amazing meal out of pure fear it will not work out as well for me.  I even had Abby and my friend Leslie over for lunch prior to the start of this blog, and served….drumroll…Papa John’s pizza…no lie.  Of course, I am incredibly ashamed of this.  The one positive thing of this recollected memory is that it has helped me to reflect on just how far I have come.

            I am also pleased to admit that I didn’t back down from a recipe Abby recommended from another blog called Balsamic Glazed Pork Chops.  It was super easy to make and Chris gave it a rave review of “best pork chops we have had to date.”  Check it out for yourself soon!

            To Abby-thank you for your support of the blog and for sharing recipes and tips.  You are an aspiring home cook, lawyer, mother, wife, and friend!

Slainte!

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/02/pork-chops-with-balsamic-glaze.html

Oh the Pasta-bilities!

So I feel that I have adequately established that I LOVE pasta.  Almost as much as I love my husband, seriously!  We all know a common icebreaker is “what is your favorite food?”  However, most people who have been around me know that my simple response is “pasta!”  To further drive that point home, I will share 3 simple pasta recipes taken from Betty Crocker’s Cooking Basics.  I have had this cookbook for about forever and a day and all of the recipes are super quick and easy!  Consider the following a trifecta of carbohydrate bliss.

Slainte!

Pesto with Pasta *This is Chris’s favorite!

Recipe:

-3 cups uncooked rigatoni pasta (about 8 ounces)

-1 cup fresh basil leaves

-2 cloves garlic

-1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

-1/3 cup olive oil

-2 tablespoons walnuts

Preparation:

-Cook the rigatoni in a Dutch oven according to package directions. During this time, continue with the following steps.

-To measure basil, firmly pack basil leaves into a measuring cup.  Peel the garlic.

-Place the basil leaves, garlic, cheese, oil, and nuts in the blender.  Cover and blend on medium speed about 3 minutes, stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth.

-Drain the pasta, returning to Dutch oven.  Pour pesto over pasta and serve immediately!  Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Stuffed Pasta Shells *This is probably my favorite!

Author’s note: This photo looks a bit nasty, but do note that we waited to eat them until after our God Teens left so they sat for about an hour and a half and that is when I remembered to take the photo!

Recipe:

-12 uncooked jumbo pasta shells

-1 medium onion

-1 pound lean ground beef

-1 ½ tsp chili powder

-1 small package (3 0z). cream cheese at room temp

-1/4 cup taco sauce

-1/2 cup taco sauce

-1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz.)

-1/2 cup crushed corn chips

-4 medium green onions with tops

-1/2 cup sour cream

Preparation:

-Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta is cooking, continue with the recipe.

-Peel and chop the onion.  Cook the ground beef and onion in the skillet over medium high heat 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown, drain.

-Stir in the chili powder, cream cheese, and ¼ cup taco sauce into the beef in the skillet.  Heat over medium-low heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.  Remove the skillet from the heat.

-Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the pan with cooking spray.

-Drain the pasta.  Fill the pasta shells with the beef mixture (about 2 tablespoons for each shell).  Place filled shells in the sprayed pan.  Pour ½ cup taco sauce over the shells.

-Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven.  Sprinkle the Colby-Monterey Jack cheese and corn chips over the shells.  Bake uncovered about 10 more minutes.  Peel and slice the green onions.  Garnish the finished shells with sour cream and green onions.

Quick Lasagna:

*Don’t use too much spaghetti sauce!  I have started “eyeballing” ingredients, and this led to the lasagna being too soupy this time.  It didn’t effect the taste, but was a bit more of a challenge to get out of the pan!  Chris also switched the oven to broil to make the garlic bread and this made the cheese on top nice and crispy.

Recipe:

-1 clove garlic

-1/2 pound ground beef

-1 tsp Italian seasoning

-1 cup spaghetti sauce

-6 purchased precooked or oven-ready lasagna noodles (each about 7x3 inches)

-1 container (12 ounces) reduced fat cottage cheese

-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

-2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Preparation:

-Heat the over to 400 degrees.  Peel and finely chop the garlic.  Cook the beef and garlic until brown; drain.

-Stir the Italian seasoning and spaghetti sauce into the beef.  Spread ¼ cup of the beef mixture in the un-greased square pan.

-Top with 2 noodles, placing them so they do not overlap or touch the sides of the pan because they will expand as they bake.  Spread the remaining ½ of the beef mixture over the noodles.

-spread ½ cup cottage cheese over the beef mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the mozzarella. 

-repeat layering twice more, beginning with 2 more noodles.  Then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

-Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake about 10 minutes longer.  Let stand 10 minutes, so the lasagna will become easier to cut and serve.

Something Fishy Going On!

As summer fades to fall, I feel that one often tries to cling to every last thread of summer memories that they can.  Because few things say summer like a light fish dish (guess I’m a poet and didn’t know it) we have “gone fishing” recently for some of our evening meals.  Today I will share two dishes with you that both landed themselves a spot of the McQuillan “hit list.”

Both recipes are taken from issues of Real Simple magazine.  Are you sensing the trend in what magazines I read/subscribe to?  If I haven’t said this already, I L-O-V-E Real Simple magazine! 

The first recipe was taken from the September issue and is called salmon and zucchini with shallot vinaigrette.  This meal literally takes 20 minutes to prepare, which I am all about these days as my schedule gets tighter and tighter (kinda like my pants after all of this cooking!).  I was completely surprised how tasty something that took so little time to prepare could be!

Recipe:

-1 shallot, finely chopped

-2 tablespoons rice vinegar

-2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

-3 tablespoons plus 1 tsp olive oil

Kosher salt and black pepper

-1 ¼ pounds skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces (I just bought a couple of salmon fillets)

-1 ½ pounds medium zucchini (about 3), cut into thin sticks

Preparation:

-In a small bowl, combine the shallot, vinegar, dill 2 tablespoons of the oil, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper, set aside.

-Heat 1 teaspoon of the remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Season the salmon with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.  Cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

-Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the zucchini and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Cook, tossing frequently, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes.  Serve with the salmon and the vinaigrette.

The second recipe is taken from the October issue and is called roasted tilapia, potatoes, and lemons.  Check out the photos for yourself, but it honestly doesn’t look like something that could have possibly come out of my kitchen.  To top off the picturesque-ness of the dish, it was beyond tasty and took only 45 minutes from start to finish.  The prep time on this thing was about 10 minutes, which, if you are like me (and I hope you aren’t for your sake) means about 35 minutes of multi-tasking! 

Slainte!

Recipe:

-1 pound baby potatoes (about 12) halved

-1 lemon, thinly sliced

-8 sprigs fresh thyme

-2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

-Kosher salt and black pepper

-1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives

-4 6 oz. skinless tilapia fillets

-1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preparation:

-Heat oven to 400 degrees.  On a large, rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes, lemon, thyme, 2 tablespoons of the oil, ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper; arrange in a single layer.  Roast, tossing once, until the potatoes begin to soften, about 20 minutes.

-Toss the olives with the potato mixture.  Drizzle the fish with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and season with the paprika and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Continue to roast until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp and the fish is opaque throughout, 12 to 15 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Girlfriend Gathering

When I was in graduate school, I completed a graduate assistantship in the office of Student Involvement at the University of Nebraska.  During this time, I worked in an office of cubicles with 5 other fantastic girls.  Now, I think that all of us would agree that the work we did there wasn’t where we saw ourselves for the rest of our lives, but I would bet a fairly large sum of money that any of us, if given the opportunity, would go back to that time of friendship, fellowship, and fun in a heartbeat.  It was honestly SO fun.  We would laugh, cry, laugh until we cried, every day.  We would take our lunch breaks together and that was my favorite time of the day.  I swear my abs were rock hard from all of the laughter!

Of course we all know that life moves forward, graduate assistants graduate and become professionals, wives, mothers, or even all of the above.  So when my friend Jeannine suggested that we get together to celebrate Katie being back in town, I was so excited!  It was so fun to catch up and receive all of the updates on where everyone is in life.  One of the best things about this gathering, was that it occurred over a fun potluck lunch.  My contribution was a simple and easy salad, which the girls requested I “put on my blog.”  I even did some research to ensure that the combination would be gluten-free so Katie could enjoy!

Slainte!

To make:

Mix Spinach leaves, dried cranberries, walnuts, and feta cheese.  In a bowl or dressing mixer (which can be found at Target), combine Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette and Brianna’s Poppy Seed dressings.  Serve immediately topped with dressing mixture, and enjoy!

Runz-ahhhhh

There are few things that when said cause an instant train of thought “track-jump” from whatever it is you are pondering, to our great state.  Such things include mention of cows, football, the Cornhuskers or even “The Good Life.”  One food item that always makes me instantly think of home is, of course, the Runza.

Now some of you, who are not native Nebraskans, might inquire “what IS a Runza?”  To which, I might reply “Well, my friend, it is pure awesomeness, packing a punch of midwestern hospitality in your mouth, if you will.  In fact, I pity you for not having this served in your rural school lunchroom as a child.”  To which you might reply something to the effect of “What is rural school?”  Well friends, rural school is where yours truly attained her elementary education with 3 (no this is not a typo) other students in her grade.  Seriously.  And, no we didn’t ride horses to school, wear bonnets, or help the school cook milk cows for our lunches.

Anyway, because our school was so small (you do the math on an average of 3-5 kids per grade, and 8 grades) our school lunches were typically pretty awesome.  One tasty staple on the school lunch menu was, of course, the Runza.  In high school, I probably went years without eating a single Runza.  It wasn’t until college, when my BFFAEAE Ashley enabled my current addiction.  The good news is they are still legal and sold in Memorial Stadium!

So, does it go without saying that I was super pumped when my friend Emily gave me a recipe for Runza Casserole at my bridal shower?  What I can’t believe, is that it has taken me so long to get around to making it!

See below as the recipe is incredibly easy and tasty.  Make it for your family today and be a Nebraskan at heart.

Slainte!

Recipe:

-2 tubes of crescent rolls

-2lbs. beef

-1 Tablespoon Worcestershire

-1 pkg. taco seasoning

-1 pkg. coleslaw mixture

-1 onion

-12 slices American cheese

-1 can cream of mushroom soup

Preparation:

-brown the hamburger, season with the taco seasoning, mix in the onion and coleslaw mixture

-Grease the baking dish, line the bottom with 1 tube of the crescent rolls

-Top with cheese, hamburger mixture, cheese, and top with remaining tube of crescent rolls.

Enjoy!

BFFAEAE Breakfast!

After a weekend of football, family, and friends a gal can find herself in need of a go to breakfast casserole.  So, when my BFFAEAE (Best Friend Forever And Ever And Ever) came to town, I decided to check out a quick and easy recipe I found online.  The ingredients are minimal, you mix them all together, bake the casserole for an hour (during which time I would recommend either enjoying a cup of coffee, napping/snuggling with your husband, or chatting with said BFFAEAE if she is awake).  What I did not do during this hour of bake time is put on makeup, as evidenced by my striking appearance in the attached photo.

What I appreciate most about this breakfast casserole, is that it is different because it doesn’t involve eggs.  Not that I have a problem with eggs, but this was certainly nice for a change!  Check out the link below to try it for yourself!

Slainte!

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/cheesy-ham-and-hash-brown-casserole/Detail.aspx

Enjoy!

Back for Seconds!!

Does anyone remember the other evening when I had my brother and his friends over and he made fun of me for “attempting” to cook?  Well, I must report the little sucker came back for more!  That’s right, one week later he was back at my place for dinner and a little football watching.  Now, if you ask him, he would probably say that he came to watch football with Chris, but I suspect he recognized a great thing when he tasted it and came back for more!

I nearly struck out with the Spaghetti with roasted tomatoes and herbs I prepared, as apparently he hates tomatoes!  How did I never learn this?  After thinking about it, I suppose I have never watched a tomato pass his lips…Luckily, he was able to push them to the side!  Kaylie and Chris really enjoyed it, and I was surprised how light it seemed for a pasta entrée.  It was really pretty simple, so I would recommend trying it for yourself!        

Now, I don’t know if all wives are like me, hopefully they are not, but I attempt to be “cool” and not too much of a drag to my husband and his friends.  I think sisters always try to be this way for their brothers too.  So, when Chris told me that he and Ethan were going to watch some football together, I decided to prepare a special dish for them to enjoy while they were yelling at the TV. 

I decided to try Buffalo Chicken Dip, which I had tried this summer at a friend’s party.  Let me tell you, it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!  Chris and Ethan enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I fear I may have a permanent houseguest!  If nothing else, I have a permanent tailgate/football party staple!  I am already planning to bring it to my office tailgating potluck next Wednesday, and can’t wait to taste it again.  So yummy!

Slainte!

Spaghetti with Roasted Tomatoes and Herbs taken from Real Simple Magazine-Sept.

Recipe:

-12 oz. spaghetti (3/4 box)

-2 pounds cherry tomatoes (about 6 cups)

-6 cloves garlic, smashed

-3 tablespoons olive oil

-kosher salt and black pepper

-1/2 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as basil, parsley, and chives)

-parmesan for serving          

Preparation:

-Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and return to the pot.

-Meanwhile, on a rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the oil, salt and pepper.  Roast, tossing once until the tomatoes begin to burst (20-25 minutes).

-Toss the pasta with the tomatoes, herbs, and the remaining oil.  Serve with parmasean, and additional oil if desired.

Buffalo Chicken Dip:

*I found this recipe online.  To access it click the link below!  Be prepared for it to blow you away!

http://hubpages.com/hub/The-best-buffalo-chicken-dip-recipe

Enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Eww

            

           I have been reflecting some recently, and it seems that cooking has very nicely become a part of my everyday life.  As you can see from the date of my last post, blogging about my culinary adventures, however, has not.  It seems my assertion in my first post regarding how my life had really “slowed down” was code for “I really have a lot of free time right now so I’m going to fill it with this blog and anything else I can try to squeeze into my free moments.”  My schedule is like a super tight pair of pants, you know, the kind that you have to lay on your bed to get up all the way…or maybe even do a little hopping around your bedroom to get over your butt?  Certainly you have never done this, I mean I unquestionably have not, but this is how my schedule is.  It is so tight, I know it doesn’t fit, but it sure feels good when I pull it off!  Anyway, this is my excuse for being delayed with my posts, and I promise to find a way to be more consistent.

            The next recipe is one that was given to me at a bridal shower called “Chicken Cordon Blue Simplified”.  While I know the title of this post might deter many from running out to the store to purchase ingredients to re-create this, I will explain how to make this easy recipe and where I went wrong.  Where I went wrong, is in the simple first step of cooking the chicken breasts.  I overestimated the amount the chicken would cook while baking with the entire mixture, and DID NOT cook them thoroughly enough.  This resulted in us cutting into the breasts on our plates and finding the center to be, well, not cooked which led to the chicken breasts earning themselves a one way ticket to the microwave.

            To help you to understand why I just could not enjoy this meal after that, I will now proceed with a bit of self-disclosure.  First and foremost, my mind is crazy.  As a provisionally licensed mental health practitioner in the state of Nebraska, I feel I can say this about myself.  I use the term “crazy” pretty loosely, and in this occasion I use it to describe how my mind can begin with a small little idea or detail and grow into an absolute monstrosity of thoughts.  For example, if I am home alone and hear a noise outside, I might first think it is the neighbor’s cat…or maybe that was a footstep I heard…a heavy footstep in fact…probably a 350 pound killer…didn’t I hear a killer escaped in New Mexico recently?...OMG yes!...I bet its him…and the neighbor’s cat…because my neighbor is probably dead in her kitchen, but the cat escaped!…you get the drift.

            So, I feel I do not need to expand more to help you to understand how the mere sight of this undercooked chicken breast caused me to believe that I would contract every poultry-related illness known to mankind.  I even packed it for lunch the next day, cooked it a bit more in the microwave, and still couldn’t enjoy it.  I think it was pretty good though!  Chris, who doesn’t have the problem of the “crazy mind,” enjoyed this meal quite a bit. 

            Please make this meal, thoroughly cook the chicken breasts prior to baking, and convince me to try it again!

Slainte!

Recipe:

-4 chicken breasts

-4 slices honey ham

-1 can cream of mushroom soup

-1 Cup sour cream

-2 cups cooked rice

-4 slices Swiss cheese

-paprika

Preparation:

-Season chicken breasts with Lemon pepper and partially cook (until almost done, they will bake for another 20 minutes) Apparently I can’t read…Mix the mushroom soup and sour cream.

-Spread the cooked rice in the bottom of a casserole dish, then layer the following: ham, chicken breast, soup mixture, cheese, and sprinkle with paprika.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!