My kids and I love Chinese food, Matt not quite so much. If I waited for Matt to be in the mood for it, I’d be eating it less than once a year. I really enjoy lemon chicken, but I thought I wouldn’t be able to have it anymore. Then I found Rachael Ray’s Lemon Chicken recipe, and I was suddenly inspired. Why couldn’t I make this a low carb, diabetes friendly dish?
I did, and was told “make it again please!!”. 
Tonight’s another No Recipe Day. Smoked Bratwurst with Peppers and Pasta is really just a fancy way to say sausage and noodles.
1 package smoked bratwurst
1 package frozen three bell pepper and onion mixture
red wine
1 – 28 oz can Italian tomato sauce (Meijer had it on sale)
8 oz. pasta (I’ve got penne and rotini in the cupboard, I’ll just grab whichever one I find first)
First thing, I get a large pot of water boiling to cook the pasta. I don’t add the salt until the water is boiling, then I cook the pasta until al dente. Typically, if a time range is listed for the pasta on the box – say, 8-10 minutes – I pick a time in the middle and it usually comes out perfect for my family’s tastes.
As soon as I turn on the water to cook the pasta, I start assembling the sauce.
The smoked brats are already cooked, so all you really need to do is heat them through. I slice them up, either into rounds or on the bias (depending on how fancy I’m feeling at the time), and fry them up (with a little bit of olive oil) in a pot large enough to hold everything when I’m finished cooking. When the sausage is nicely browned on either side, I take it out of the pot and set it aside. I throw the frozen peppers and onions into the pot, sprinkle them with a little bit of salt, then put the lid on the pot. Turn the heat down to medium, and let cook for about 10 minutes. Take the lid off the pot and, stirring occasionally, cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the onions get a bit of color.
At that point I throw the sausage back into the pot, stir it all up again, and let it cook for another minute or two. I now put in a couple of glugs (yes, a very scientific measurement – usually comes out to about 1/4 cup) of red wine in, and let it cook for a minute or so. Then I pour in the tomato sauce, give it all a really good stir, then set the stove to medium low and let it simmer until the pasta is done.
When the pasta is done, I drain it, put it into the pot with the sauce, mix it all up and then serve.
Pretty simple, really, and one of my kids’ favorite meals.
Another Rachael Ray recipe (http://www.rachaelray.com). It’s part of a rollover meal set, using the leftovers from Spanish-style Beef & Rice. The recipe as I made it is below, followed by my comments.
Serves 4
3 green bell peppers
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1 clove garlic, minced
10 ounces triple-washed baby spinach, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup beef broth or chicken broth
3 cups leftover Spanish-Style Beef and Rice
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, smoked cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the green peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem and seeds. Pierce the skin of each pepper half a couple of times. Place in a 9″x13″ pan (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray) with the cut side up (so they’re like little cups).
Heat a medium to large skillet over medium heat and add oil and garlic. Add spinach, a handful at a time, until it is all wilted and is giving off liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Remove spinach and drain. Set aside.
Defrost beef and rice in microwave oven. Combine broth and defrosted rice in the skillet you cooked the spinach in and reheat over medium flame. Add tomato sauce and heat through.
Pile spinach, hot beef and tomato rice into peppers, mounding them up in the center of each pepper. Top liberally with grated cheese and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
When I made the filling, it turned out really soupy. After reading the recipe through again, I wonder if I made a mistake and added too much broth. We’ll see next time I make it. And I will make it again, as it turned out pretty good.
This is the first recipes in a series of “rollover” meals, by Rachael Ray on her website in her 10 meals for $10 section. You make up a huge batch of jerked chicken and roasted veggies with pineapple. Serve half of it for supper the first night, then use the rest to create two more meals: Jerk Chicken Quesadillas and Sweet and Spicy Noodles with Shredded Chicken.
We liked this meal, but there wasn’t enough kick in the chicken for us. Could be because when I took the seeds out of the jalapenos, I took out most of the veins as well. Next time, I’m going to reduce it to just one jalapeno, but put it in seeds and all. That said, I used chicken thighs this time, as they were on sale when I did the groceries. It made more than enough meat – more, in fact, than I could use in three meals. There’s enough of this chicken to do one more meal, but I labeled it and put it into the freezer to use at some future time.
Serves 4
Make this meal the first night, followed by Sweet and Spicy Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken on the second night and Jerk Chicken Quesadillas with Slaw Salad on the final night.
Ingredients
3 red onions, 1 roughly chopped and 2 sliced
4 cloves garlic
4 scallions
2 limes
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon sweet paprika (a palmful)
1 tablespoon cumin (a palmful)
2 teaspoons allspice (about 2/3 palmful)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (eyeball it in your palm)
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus 2-3 tablespoons for drizzling
8 drumsticks, bone-in, skin on
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
Salt and black pepper
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into chopped into small bite-size pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped or sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped or sliced
Preparation
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
Place one red onion, garlic, scallions, lime juice, jalapeño peppers, red wine vinegar, orange juice, paprika, cumin, allspice, cinnamon and thyme in a food processor and pulse to combine. Turn processor on and stream in about 1/2 cup EVOO to form a thick paste.
Place the chicken pieces in a roasting pan and season generously with salt and pepper. Rub the paste on the chicken and roast 45 minutes.
Pile the pineapple, bell peppers and remaining red onions on a baking sheet, coat them in 2-3 tablespoons of EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Add the tray to the oven after chicken has been in for 15 minutes, roasting the fruit and vegetables for about 30 minutes.
Serve up half the chicken (one drummer and one piece of breast per person) and half of the roasted pineapple, peppers and onions for dinner.
Cool leftovers before you wrap and refrigerate them.
When I packed the extras away, I split it up into the amounts I’d need for the other two recipes and labelled it. That way, I could just grab what I needed, and everyone would know it was off-limits for lunches and snacks.
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