Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

I don't know if this is a genuine Italian recipe or something bastardized by us Americans...but when I fell upon this recipe, I must say that it intrigued me to no end.

INGREDIENTS:

9 oz	Uncooked Spaghetti
	Cooking Spray
1 cup	Frozen Chopped Onion
1 Tbsp bottled	Minced Garlic
2	(14.5-ounce) Cans Stewed Tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 Tbsp	Low-sodium Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp	Dried Italian Seasoning
¼ tsp	Salt
2 cups	(8 Ounces) Shredded Reduced-fat Cheddar Cheese, divided
3 cups	Frozen Chopped Cooked Chicken, thawed

DIRECTIONS:


Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain.

Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Stir in 1 cup cheese, cooked spaghetti, and chicken. Spoon into a 3-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

Helpful Tips:

You can cover and refrigerate the casserole overnight, and sprinkle with cheese before baking. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes until bubbly.


Serve with a white wine-

Enjoy!

Taco Soup

I'm starting the month of March off with something light....How about a nice soup?  Taco soup....


INGREDIENTS:


2 pounds ground beef

2 cups diced onions

2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans

1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles

2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles

1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional

1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional

1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix

1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix

Corn chips, for serving

Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish

Chopped green onions, for garnish

Pickled jalapenos, for garnish


DIRECTIONS:


Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.

To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.

Have for lunch with a cold glass of Lemonade!  Enjoy!

Turkey Stew

Yesterday I talked about a use for ground beef...Today I have a recipe for leftover turkey..I know I should have written this right after Thanksgiving...but I didn't know about this recipe at the time...Anyway..check this out-


Turkey Stew with Root Vegetables Recipe


Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 hours, 30 minutes


Save time by prepping the root vegetables during the first stage of the stew's oven cooking.


INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 lbs turkey thighs (preferred) or legs (skin on, bone in)

1 medium-large yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 stalks celery, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

2 teaspoons salt

1 quart chicken, turkey, or vegetable stock (use gluten-free stock if cooking gluten-free)

2 medium carrots, peeled, 1/4 inch slices (about 1 1 /4 cups)

2-3 medium turnips, peeled, 1/2 inch cubes

1 medium rutabaga, peeled, halved, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 teaspoon herbes de provence

Freshly ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS:

1 Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a Dutch oven on the stove top. Wash and pat dry turkey pieces. Working in batches if necessary, brown turkey pieces, first skin side down, 2-3 minutes on each side. Sprinkle the thighs with a little salt as you brown them.

2 Once the thighs have browned, remove them from the pan and set them in a bowl. Add the onions and celery to the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes or so, until the onions are translucent and starting to brown at the edges.

3 Add 2 teaspoons of salt and half of the stock. Bring to a simmer, remove from the stove top and put in the oven, covered, for an hour and fifteen minutes.

4 After an hour and fifteen minutes, remove from oven and add the rest of the vegetables - carrots, turnips, rutabaga, and potatoes, the herbs, and the rest of the stock. Return to the oven, covered, and cook until tender, another 45 minutes or more.

5 Remove the turkey thighs from the stew and place in a bowl to cool. When cool enough to handle, strip the meat off the bones. Discard the bones and skin. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces (1 1/2-inches or so chunks) and return to the pot.

Season the stew to taste.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8 people....Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Hey Folks, Ground beef is easy on the budget, but it can be hard to come up with new ways to cook it. Here is one of a few recipes that can help!

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup ketchup

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs




DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan
.
2. Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the
ketchup.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

Serve with Mashed Potates and Gravy!

Enjoy!

Asian Beef Skewers

Here is an Oscar party night treat that you could make hours before your friends come over to watch the Oscars.  My friends come over to watch the NBA All star game and we eat Fried Chicken and drink brew...But say you have a different set of friends coming over to watch the Oscars?  Just say? Well here is something you could make for those friends.

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons sherry

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon barbeque sauce

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

1 1/2 pounds flank steak
skewers

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, mix together hoisin sauce, sherry, soy sauce, barbeque sauce, green onions, garlic, and ginger.

2. Cut flank steak across grain on a diagonal into 1/4 inch slices. Place slices in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Pour hoisin sauce mixture over slices, and mix well. Refrigerate 2 hours, or overnight.

3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Discard marinade, and thread steak on skewers.

4. Oil the grill grate. Grill skewers 3 minutes per side, or to desired doneness.

Footnotes:

Hoisin Sauce-also called Peking sauce, is a thick, reddish-brown sauce that is sweet and spicy, and widely used in Chinese cooking. It's a mixture of soybeans, garlic, chile peppers and various spices. It can be found in Asian markets and many large supermarkets. Look in the Asian or ethnic section. If this item is not in stock at your local store, ask your grocer to special order it for you. Most grocers will be happy to do this for their customers.

Enjoy!

Suasage & Shrimp Jambalaya

MMMMM.....I may be visiting New Orleans in  another year and just thinking about going there brings me visions of chowing down on some great jambalaya with sausage and shrimps. In my other blog, Escapades...My  fictional charactor, the soon to be married, Mabel Jenkins would've fixed a hot steaming plate of this for her former lover, Clerow or her current lover, Kerry "88" Moore. (If you don't follow the serialized fiction featured on my other blog, I realize you have no clue as to what or who I'm talking about...I just like to give shameless plugs for my other blogs every now and then...Indulge me!)

Getting back to food though...This is how Mabel would have prepared this.-

INGREDIENTS:

This jambalaya recipe is an easy, delicious version of one of America's great dishes. Jambalaya is soul food at its finest - hearty, satisfying, and deeply comforting. There are many variations of this Creole classic, but this sausage and shrimp version is my favorite jambalaya recipe.

The brown rice adds a great texture and nutty flavor, as well as raising the nutritional level of the dish.

Makes 4 Portions of Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

•2 tbsp butter

•8 oz Andouille sausage, or other spicy smoked sausage, sliced 1/4" thick

•2 tbsp paprika

•1 tbsp ground cumin

•1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

•1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

•1 tsp salt

•1/2 cup diced tomato, fresh or canned

•1 large green bell pepper, diced

•2 ribs celery, sliced 1/4" thick

•4 green onions, sliced thin

•1 cup brown rice

DIRECTIONS:

In a heavy bottomed pot with a lid, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced sausage and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the paprika, cumin, cayenne, black pepper, and salt. Saute the spices for 1 minute, and then add the tomatoes. Cook stirring for a few minutes to let some of the liquid from the tomatoes evaporate. Add the green bell pepper, celery, and most of the green onions (reserve some of the dark green slices of the onions to garnish the top); cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Stir in the rice and mix well. Add the stock, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the lid and check the rice. It should be just tender; if it is still too firm cook longer. When the rice is tender, add the shrimp, stir in, and cook covered for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, and adjust if needed. Serve the jambalaya in bowls with green onions sprinkled on top.

Note: if you decide to substitute white rice in this jambalaya recipe, you will need to check the recipe after 20 minutes, as it cooks much faster than brown rice.

ENJOY!