' With fall now officially here, my thoughts are turning to comfort foods. Soups, stews and other wonderfully warm meals often fit the bill. My local grocery store (and the market in town where we buy most of our meat when it’s not on sale) now have cider, and when I found this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try. I made a few changes from the original to make it better suit the tastes of my family. It turned out very good, and has been added to the “please make this again” list.
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04Oct
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11Sep
Last night was one of those nights where I didn’t really want to use the recipe I’d picked out when making up the menu, and decided to fly by the seat of my pants. It was a haphazard process, where I flung together what I had in the cupboard. As often happens, to my surprise, it was a great hit. I have been asked to make it again, so I thought I’d better write it down.
Mexican Chicken Pasta Bake
Serves 63 cups rotini twists (Mueller), uncooked
2 cups cooked chicken — shredded
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 1/2 cups salsa (I used Garden Fresh Wild Mild)
6 ounces tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups water
2 cups shredded brick cheesePreheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
Cook the pasta as directed, until al dente.
Combine pasta, chicken, tomatoes and salsa in a large bowl.
In another bowl, combine tomato paste and water, whisking until thoroughly mixed.
Add tomato paste mixture to the pasta mixture and stir well.
Pour mixture into baking pan, then sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 278 Calories; 14g Fat (31.7% calories from fat); 26g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 75mg Cholesterol; 761mg Sodium.
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01Sep
This took me about 15 minutes to put together, including gathering all the equipment, ingredients and cutting up the ham and chicken. I love meals like this. It was a hit with the family too.
Ham & Chicken Marinara
Serves 63/4 pound cooked chicken — diced small
1/4 pound Canadian bacon — diced small
28 ounces marinara sauce
1/2 cup alfredo sauce
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups egg noodles, medium, uncookedPreheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 quart casserole (with a lid) with non-stick cooking spray. (Don’t spray the lid.)
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well combined. Pour into the casserole and bake, covered, for 55 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 309 Calories; 18g Fat (42.5% calories from fat); 28g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 112mg Cholesterol; 1026mg Sodium.
Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Fat.
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24Jun
With the weather getting hot here (high of 91 F today), I’m searching for dishes that don’t involve a lot of cooking, or can be cooked on the grill. This dish certainly fit the bill. It’s based on the Cajun Chicken Salad recipe from 500 Low Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender. It’s ideal, I think, for a picnic or other summer meal, as it’s got an oil and vinegar dressing, rather than mayo, so you don’t have to be quite as concerned abuot it sitting out.
The recipe as I have it below makes the perfect amount for a single meal for my family – two adults and two
monkeyschildren. It tastes great with the chicken fresh off the grill, but we suspect it will be even better if made in the morning and then allowed to chill in the fridge until supper.Summer Chicken Salad
Serves 2 adults and 2 kids3 chicken breast halves
your favorite grill seasoning
1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1/2 a small red onion, sliced thin
2 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp wine vinegar (I used half white wine, half red wine)
2 heaping tsp minced garlic
2 tsp dried tarragon
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to tasteSeason the chicken breast halves with your favorite grill seasoning and grill, broil or saute the chicken until cooked through.
Put the bell peppers and onion in a large bowl.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, garlic and tarragon. Add the oil, whisking so that everything combines.
Slice the chicken into 1/4″ strips and add to the bell peppers and onion. Pour the dressing over everything and mix well.
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07May
The menu for yesterday had “grilled chicken and salad” for supper. So informative and helpful, I know. The salad was easy, as I had a Caesar salad kit in the fridge (got those on sale for half price). I had several different kinds of chicken in the freezer, but I decided to go with the drumsticks. When they were thawed, I sprinkled jerk seasoning on it and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour. That acted as both a quick marinade, plus getting the meat to room temp makes it cook more evenly.
I’ve also kind of been craving potato salad, but I was feeling too lazy to make any. I decided to grill the potatoes instead. I took the potatoes (Klondike Rose – the red skinned yellow-fleshed potatoes) and sliced them about 1/4″ thick. I tossed them in a bowl with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. Then I sliced up a Vidalia onion (those were on sale too last week) into thick rings.
To cook, I just put everything on the grill at high to medium high heat. (This is a brand new grill, and we’re still learning its quirks.) By the time the chicken was cooked, the potatoes and onions were done.
Everything turned out well. I won’t get that brand of jerk seasoning again, as I feel it was more hot than flavorful (and the first ingredient on the list was sugar, which I didn’t realize until I looked to see why the chicken was charring so quickly). I’m also going to put garlic powder in with the potatoes next time, and drizzle a bit of oil on the onions, as they really stuck to the grill.
And there will be a next time for both the onions and the potatoes, and the monkeys gave them two thumbs up.
