Tag Archives: dinner

Spinach Mushroom Quiche

10 Jan

 

Since pie crusts come 2 in a package, I had 1 crust I left from when I made Sweet Potato Pie at Thanksgiving time.  I wanted to come up with a way to use some of the spinach I got in this week’s Bountiful Baskets, so I decided a quiche would be perfect.  I’ve made quiche a lot of different ways, but also wanted to use up some ingredients in my fridge, so I used parts of a few different recipes I’ve used in the past.  This is a great, versatile dish.  If you feel like adding meat, add in some cooked crumbled bacon, or cooked diced ham.  If you would like to make this gluten-free or don’t like pie crust, omit the crust, lightly grease a deep dish pie pan, and pour filling directly into the pan.  The amount of cook time should remain the same, but you may want to check it earlier just in case.

 

Spinach Mushroom Quiche
Serves 6

What you need:

4 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced mushrooms
2 cups chopped spinach
4 eggs
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 9 in refrigerated pie crust

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large skillet, melt butter.  Add onions and cook until soft and translucent.  Add mushrooms and spinach, cook until mushrooms soften and spinach is wilted.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat eggs.  Stir in cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and spices.  Add the spinach mixture and stir.

Place pie crust in a 9 in deep dish pie pan.  Pour in the filling.  Place in preheated oven and cook for 40-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Copycat Fiesta Lime Chicken

9 Jan

Fiesta Lime Chicken at Applebee’s is my favorite dish to order there.  A while back when I had gotten a bunch of limes from Bountiful Baskets, I decided I would look up how to make this dish online, and found this recipe.  It really tastes very similar, and with a few tweaks to that recipe, it’s fairly easy to make.   The original recipe uses tequila and liquid smoke, but I omit those 2 ingredients.  Tequila isn’t something I have on hand, and I’m not going to get it just for this recipe.  I grill the chicken, so the liquid smoke isn’t necessary.  If you broil the chicken, you may want to add the liquid smoke to get more of a grilled flavor.  Also, the original recipe makes the Mexi-Ranch sauce from scratch, but I cheat and just mix salsa and ranch dressing together to get the same result.  The first time I made this, I used fresh salsa that I had made, but this time used a jar of salsa from the store.  I did find the multi-colored tortilla strips at the grocery store, but I’m too cheap to buy a small bag of them for $2.99, so I just crumbled regular tortilla chips.  Not as pretty as the restaurant version, but tastes just the same!  Tonight, I served it with Spanish rice and black beans.  Some day I’ll get around to making Spanish rice instead of from a package.

Copycat Fiesta Lime Chicken
Serves 4

What you need:

1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon tequila, optional
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Crumbled tortilla chips

How to make it:

In a small bowl, combine chicken broth, teriyaki sauce, lime juice, garlic, salt, ginger, and tequila.  Place chicken in a gallon size zipper bag or large baking dish and pour the marinade over chicken.  Fully coat the chicken in the marinade, seal bag or cover the baking dish, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade, and discard any remaining marinade.  Grill chicken until cooked through juices run clear.  Place cooked chicken in a broiler-safe 9×13 baking dish.

Combine ranch dressing and salsa.  Spoon the ranch/salsa mixture over each piece of chicken.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup shredded cheese on each piece of chicken.

Broil on low heat setting for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

To serve, spread crumbled tortilla chips on each plate, then place a chicken breast onto the chips.

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Pastitsio (Baked Macaroni and Meat)

1 Jan

Last year for New Year’s Day, I cooked a variety of Greek dishes for my family, and continued on with that tradition this year.  It’s the best time to make all this food, lots of hands here to help with the preparations.  I really love Pastitsio.  It’s almost like a lasagna or baked Italian pasta dish would be, just seasoned a little differently.  It’s a little time-consuming to get all the parts done, but worth it in the end.  This can be made up ahead of time and frozen just before baking, then thawed and baked when you are ready to have it.

Pastitsio (Baked Macaroni and Meat)

Filling:
1 lb macaroni (supposed to be long macaroni noodles, but they are hard to find, so elbow macaroni or a noodle like penne or ziti works too)
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
Grated Kefalotiri, Parmesan, or Romano cheese
1 lb ground beef or lamb
1 medium onion
1 12 oz can tomato paste
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Cream sauce (krema):
2-1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
Salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Boil macaroni according to package; drain; return to pan.  Melt the 1/2 cup butter, beat in eggs, and stir in with macaroni.  Spray a 9″ X 13″ X 2″ pan. Add macaroni mixture to pan and press down with a piece of wax paper.  Sprinkle generously with the grated cheese.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, brown onion and ground beef or lamb; add tomato paste and seasonings.  Cook for 5 – 10 minutes.  Spread meat mixture over macaroni noodles in pan and spread evenly.

Meanwhile, make cream sauce. Melt 1/4 cup butter and pour in 1/4 cup flour; brown slowly. Beat 2 eggs with 2-1/2 cups milk, salt, and pepper, and pour into butter and flour mixture very slowly; mix well. Cook over low heat until it thickens. Pour over macaroni/meat mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes, or until golden brown.

Freezes best unbaked, thawed for 1/2 hour, then baked as above.

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Parmesan Garlic Pull Apart Bread Update

29 Dec

You may remember a while back that I posted the recipe for Parmesan Garlic Pull Apart Bread, using Grands biscuits.  Well, tonight I wanted the bread, but didn’t have any Grands biscuits.  I found a great substitute – Bisquick biscuits.  You just make the dough according to the directions on the box, 2 1/4 cups Biquick mixed wtih 2/3 cup milk, then roll the dough into balls to drop in the pan for the pull apart bread.  Yum!

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Macaroni and Cheese

23 Dec

 

My sister first had this at a friend’s house for dinner and found the recipe online for it.  She has made it for us every time we come for a visit, and it’s so delicious.  It’s a little different from a traditional cheddar macaroni and cheese; it uses white cheddar and romano cheeses.  Tonight, we had it with peas and Avanti’s bread.  For those of you not familiar with Avanti’s bread, it’s from a restaurant in Central Illinois that is a sweet bread and is very good.  I may see if I can find a recipe for it some day.  Anyway, back to the macaroni and cheese, it’s a recipe from Martha Stewart Living.  It is a little time consuming to make, but well worth it in the end.

 

Martha Stewart Macaroni and Cheese

What you need:

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
  • 6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
  • 5 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
  • 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni

How to make it:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.

While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.

Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer’s directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well.  Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.

Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

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Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie

19 Dec

 

My Papou (Greek for grandfather) first made this for me many years ago, and I enjoyed it so much, I had to make sure I got the recipe for it. When we get zucchini, this is one of the first things I make with it.  It’s like a quiche, but there is not a whole lot of eggs in it like a quiche, but there is plenty of cheese.  The crescent roll crust is perfect and gives it a nice buttery flavor too.

 

Italian Zucchini Crescent Pie
Serves 6

What you need:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 cups thinly sliced, unpeeled zucchini
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
2 tsp dijon mustard, optional

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Grease or spray a 9″ deep dish pie dish.

In a medium skillet, melt butter or margarine.  Add zucchini and onion, and cook until tender.  Stir in seasonings and remove from heat.  In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and cheese.  Stir in zucchini mixture.

Separate crescent roll dough into the 8 triangles.  Press into the pie dish, covering bottom and sides (see picture below).

 

If using, spread the crust with mustard.  Pour the zucchini/egg mixture evenly pie dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  If crust starts to become too brown while baking, cover the sides with foil.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Cut into 6 wedges.

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Chicken Enchiladas

16 Dec

This is my go-to enchilada recipe.  I love that the sauce is made from scratch, not from a jar or a can.  If you don’t want to make the sauce, you could use a jar or can of sauce, but I really like the way this is made.  It’s a creamy red sauce, and it’s delicious.  This was also a nice way to use up some of the Hatch green chiles I had in the freezer.

Chicken Enchiladas

What you need:

1 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded (I use a rotisserie chicken from the store)
4 oz can diced green chiles, or 1 cup diced fresh roasted, peeled green chiles
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 T chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese, divided
12 small corn tortillas

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Grease a 9×13 pan.

In a medium skillet, melt the 1 Tbsp butter and cook onions until softened.  Remove to a bowl.  Stir in chicken and green chiles.

Meanwhile, melt the 1/4 cup butter.  Blend in flour and seasonings, and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Whisk in chicken broth and tomato sauce, making sure there are no lumps.  Cook, stirring until sauce boils thickens.  Remove from heat.  Stir in sour cream and ½ cup cheese.  Stir ½ cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture.

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat.  Place a tortilla in skillet and heat on each side for a few seconds to make tortilla easier to roll.  Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the chicken and sauce mixture onto one end of the tortilla and roll up.  Place in 9×13 pan.  Repeat for remaining tortillas.  Pour remaining sauce over the rolled tortillas, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool and serve.

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Chicken Taquitos

16 Dec

Oh, these are yummy!  They are pretty easy to put together, just takes some time to get them all fried.  I considered baking them this time instead of frying them, but my oven already had enchiladas cooking, so I decided to stick with frying them.   Maybe next time I will bake them.

Chicken Taquitos
Makes 18-24 taquitos 

What you need:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups Salsa Verde
1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
2 dozen 6 inch corn tortillas
Oil for frying

How to make it:

Place chicken in slow cooker and pour salsa verde over chicken.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4.  If you don’t have a slow cooker, cook chicken by your preferred method and mix with salsa verde.  You could even buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and shred it.  Next, mix cheese in with the chicken and salsa mixture.

Heat oil in deep fryer or a large, heavy pot.  Line a baking sheet with paper towels.

Heat a small skillet over medium low heat.  Place a tortilla in the skillet and heat for a few seconds on each side to make it easier to roll. Put about 2 Tbsp of filling at one end of the tortilla and roll tightly.  Use a toothpick in the center to keep them rolled.  Repeat for remaining tortillas.

Place 5-6 in oil at a time.  Cook for a few minutes, or until golden brown.  I don’t have a deep fryer, so I fry mine in a large pot.  And, of course, I didn’t have enough oil on hand to fully cover the taquitos, so I had to flip them halfway through cooking.

Once they have cooked, remove taquitos from oil and onto the paper towel lined baking sheet.  Allow to cool, then serve.

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Alfredo Sauce

13 Dec

I love pasta, and sometimes I live to take a break from marinara or tomato-based sauces and have a white sauce.  I have played around with this recipe a little, and tonight I think I finally got it how I like it.  I served this tonight with shrimp over linguine, but you could use chicken or keep it meatless, and serve it over a variety of pasta noodles, fettuccini, linguine, small shells, etc, and even add a vegetable like broccoli.  Or, you could serve it over just chicken and vegetables too, leaving out the pasta.  I had problems previously getting this to really thicken, so tonight I added in flour, which got it how I wanted it.  If you want to keep this gluten-free, you can use a GF flour or cornstarch, it’s really just to help thicken the sauce.  You can also leave the flour out, I just find it’s a little runnier than I like.

 

Alfredo Sauce

What you need:

2 Tbsp butter
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp flour, or gluten-free flour, or cornstarch
1 pint half-and-half
12 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley, or 1 Tbsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium low heat.  Add in garlic and cook until garlic is just beginning to brown.  Add in flour and cook for 3-5 minutes, forming a roux.  Pour in the half-and-half, stirring constantly, to make sure the roux is fully mixed in and not lumpy.  Add the Parmesan cheese one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly.  Mix in parsley, salt, and pepper.  Continue to stir frequently until sauce thickens.  Serve as desired.

 

Shrimp Linguine Alfredo variation:

Cook 1 pound linguine according to package directions for al dente.  Drain, and set aside.  Meanwhile, make sauce as above.  After sauce thickens, add in 1 pound fully cooked, peeled, and de-veined shrimp.  Stir and cook just until shrimp turn pink.  Combine the sauce and shrimp with the cooked noodles.  Serve.

Chicken Broccoli Fettuccini variation:

Cook 1 pound fettucini according to package directions for al dente.  Drain, and set aside.  Meanwhile, make sauce as above.  After sauce thickens, add in 1 pound fully cooked, cubed or shredded chicken and 1/2 lb steamed broccoli.  Stir and cook a few minutes.  Combine with pasta and serve.

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Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup

3 Dec

When I saw the broccoli in my Bountiful Baskets this morning, I knew exactly what I wanted to make, Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup.  We’ve had a cold snap in the weather here, and it’s been cloudy and gloomy.  Perfect weather for making soup!  This recipe I got from Lori at My Kinda Rain, which she had gotten from CDKitchen.com.  I did it slightly different, I did not put mine through the blender because I like chunky soup.  I just made sure that I chopped the onion, carrots, and broccoli to smaller sizes.  It’s a nice thick soup, enough that it can be a meal on its own.  It was perfect and well liked by everyone except my oldest daughter, but that’s because she’s not a fan of cheese.  I wish we had some bread bowls to serve this in, but I made some crescent rolls to eat with it instead.

Broccoli Cheddar Cheese Soup
Serves 4 

What you need:

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 cups (approx 1/2 lb) fresh broccoli, chopped finely
1 cup carrots, julienned (I cut baby carrots into fourths lengthwise)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups (8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

How to make it:

Saute onion in the 1 tablespoon of butter.  Set aside.

In a large stock pot, melt 1/4 cup butter.  Mix in the flour using a whisk, forming a thick paste, and cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes (this is called making a roux, for future reference).  Slowly add the milk , stirring constantly with the whisk.  Add the broth, still whisking the whole time.  Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the onions, broccoli, carrots, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender, about 20-25 minutes.  The soup should be thickened by now.  (If desired, pour into the blender in batches and puree. Return to pot.)

Add the shredded cheese; stir until well blended while cooking over low heat.  Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

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