Monthly Archives: January 2011

Salmon Salad

I bought about twice as much salmon as I actually needed to make dinner last night, so we had some leftovers. Turns out leftover salmon makes a pretty good lunch when it’s transformed into a little salad.

Ingredients:
(All ingredient measurements are approximations)
1 cup cold salmon, flaked
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1/4 tsp. celery salt
1 1/2 T mayo
Juice from 1/4 lemon

Instructions:
Mix first four ingredients, sprinkle with lemon juice and enjoy! I had mine on crackers.

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Fish, Lent, Salad, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

Lemon Thyme Salmon

Super easy and tasty, too…

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces, skin removed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 lemons
24 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions:
Heat the broiler. Adjust oven rack to the second position from the top.

Rub the salmon with oil (1/2 tsp. per piece) and season with salt and pepper (1/8 tsp. salt & 3 turns on pepper mill per piece). Slice 2 of the lemons into 12 slices total.

On a sheet pan, arrange the lemon slices into 4 rows of 3. Top each row with 6 sprigs of thyme then with the salmon pieces. Broil until the salmon flakes easily, 8 to 10 minutes (depending on thickness).

Serve with the extra lemon, quartered, for squeezing.

We had this with French green beans with butter and lemon juice and a baguette.

Did I change anything? I think the cooking time on this is really going to vary depending on how thick your fish is, so just watch it to make sure it doesn’t get cooked for too long.

What did the family think? Hubby and I really liked this…so simple and perfect. The kids had fish sticks. Fish is something they really struggle with, but we are getting to the point where we need to just make them eat it. Fish is the only time I ever make them something besides what the hubby and I are eating.

from doitdelicious.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Fish, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

Italian Sloppy Joes

Hubby said this tasted like pizza on a bun.

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Hamburgers buns

Instructions:
Add onions, green pepper and Italian sausage to a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until sausage is cooked through. Add spaghetti sauce and cook until heated through.

Serve in hamburger buns.

We had this with carrot sticks and fruit salad.

What did the family think? I was surprised the kiddos didn’t like it more since it did taste like pizza on a bun and they like pizza. I think it was the green peppers that put them off. Oh well, hubby and I liked it.

from Food Network

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Filed under Easy, Italian, Sandwich, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

Lazy Lasagna

You’re not lazy, just resourceful. 🙂

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup minced onion
2 carrots, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (14-ounce) package frozen cheese ravioli, unthawed
1 (14-ounce) jar marinara sauce
1/2 pound sliced provolone
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, then sauté the onion, carrots, garlic, and herbs until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Transfer the onion mix to a bowl.

Arrange the still-frozen ravioli (breaking them apart if they’re clumped) in one layer in the skillet and sprinkle with the onion mix. Ladle the marinara sauce evenly over the ravioli. Over medium heat, without stirring, cook everything until the ravioli are heated through and beginning to brown on the bottom (gently lift one with a fork to check), about 10 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the heat, then arrange the provolone slices over the sauce and sprinkle the whole thing with Parmesan. Bake the lasagna in the middle of the oven until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Did I change anything? No, but I won’t add the onions next time. I don’t think I have ever said this before, but I think it had too much cheese. I know. “Too much” and “cheese” just don’t go together normally, but I think next time I will used shredded provolone or shredded mozzarella instead.

What did the family think? The boys loved it. Hubby and I could have used less cheese.

from DisneyFamily

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Filed under Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Vegetarian

CrockPot BBQ Brisket Sandwiches

Your house will smell SO good all day long while this is cooking!

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons dark brown sugar, divided
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb. brisket
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 (2 1/2-ounce) submarine rolls, halved
Red onion slices (optional)
Dill pickle slices (optional)

Instructions:
Combine 1 tablespoon brown sugar and pepper; rub over both sides of brisket.

Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, onion, and next 9 ingredients (onion through salt) in an electric slow cooker. Add brisket; turn to coat.

Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting for 1 hour. Reduce heat setting to low; cook for 7 hours.

Remove brisket; reserve sauce. Shred brisket with 2 forks. Return shredded brisket to cooker; stir into sauce. Spoon 1/2 cup brisket mixture onto bottom half of each roll; top with onion and pickles, if desired. Cover with tops of rolls.

We had this with cole slaw and dill pickles on the side.

Did I change anything? I only used 1/2 the onion.

What did the family think? After the children realized that they weren’t going to die from eating BBQ they ate it and I think it would be safe to say that they liked it. Hubby and I thought it was scrumptious.

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Make Ahead of Time, Sandwich

French Onion Split Pea Soup

This little creation was the result of our oldest kiddo asking if he could make up his own recipe and make it for dinner. He did a great job and other than me steering him in the right direction in the spice/herb department, it was all his.

Ingredients:
32 oz. chicken broth
olive oil
1 onion, sliced into rings
3/4 dried split peas
1 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp marjoram

We had this with baked chicken, salad and the rest of last night’s baguette.

Instructions:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onions. Saute onions until they soften.

Bring chicken broth to a simmer in a large stockpot or Dutch oven. Add onions, split peas, rosemary, bay leaf, basil and marjoram.

Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until peas soften.

Did we change anything? Our oldest said next time he would leave out the peas. I think you need to add about 12 more oz. of broth, too.

What did the family think? Well, since I am the only person in the house that likes peas in any form, I thought it was kind of strange that he would pick peas as an ingredient. So I think I was the only one who actually ate all of their soup. It was good though.

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Filed under Lent, Side Dish, Stew/Soup, Vegetarian

Poached Cod with Pasta Sauce

This couldn’t get any easier…three ingredients!

Ingredients:
1 lb. cod
1 jar pasta sauce
Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:
Simmer pasta sauce in a skillet; add cod fillets, cover and cook until just firm; top with parmesan.

We had this with green beans and a baguette.

Did I change anything? I didn’t actually use the whole jar of pasta sauce. I probably used about 3/4 of it though. Also, the cod filet I bought was pretty long, so I cut in half so that it would all fit in the pan and cook more evenly.

What did the family think? Hubby and I really liked this. The boys had fish sticks.

from Food Network

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Fish, Italian, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

Italian Sausage, Mozzarella and Spinach Panini

I saw this on Cooking Light’s website; I just added some mozzarella cheese and some pasta sauce to jazz it up a bit.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 Italian sausage links, cut in half crosswise
4 cups baby spinach
4 (1 1/2-ounce) French bread rolls
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Pasta sauce

Instructions:
Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat until hot. Add sausages, and cook 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

Remove sausage from skillet; carefully slice each piece in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through, other side. Open the halves, laying sausage flat. Return sausage to skillet, placing cut sides down; cook 2 minutes or until sausage is done. Remove sausage from skillet; set aside, and keep warm. Add spinach to skillet; cover and cook 2 minutes or until wilted. Remove spinach from skillet; set aside, and keep warm.

Slice each French bread roll in half horizontally. Fill with one sausage, 1/4 of the spinach and 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese.

If you have a panini maker, use it. If not, heat a skillet over medium low heat and spray with cooking spray. Place sandwich in skillet and put a heavy skillet on top of it for a few minutes. Flip the sandwich over, place the skillet on top of it again and cook for a few minutes on that side until cheese is melted.

Serve with heated up pasta sauce in little bowls for dipping your sandwich into.

What did the family think? Everyone loved it. The spinach didn’t even bother the boys because they were too busy dipping their sandwiches in the pasta sauce. Yum!

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Sandwich, Six Ingredients or Less

Pumpkin Ravioli

To help save on time, I made the filling and cut the ravioli circles in the afternoon so that when it was time to make dinner all I had to do was fill them and cook them.

Ingredients:
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium white beans
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 large egg
72 wonton wrappers
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1½ cups jarred marinara sauce

Instructions:
Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil.

Place the beans, pumpkin puree, ricotta, Parmesan, and garlic powder into a food processor. Process until smooth.

In a small bowl, beat the egg.

Set the wonton wrappers on a cutting board. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto a wrapper. Brush the edges of the wonton with the egg wash. Top off with another wonton sheet. To make a round shape, cut around the base of the pumpkin can. Press the edges of the ravioli together firmly, to seal.

As you fill each ravioli, place them on a baking sheet sprinkled with the cornstarch. When you are done filling all the ravioli, carefully place them in the boiling water using a slotted spoon.

As soon as they rise, about 4 minutes, they are done. Lift them out with the slotted spoon and divide between serving bowls. Top with marinara sauce and serve immediately.

Did I change anything? I couldn’t find any wonton wrappers, so I used egg roll wrappers which I think are essentially the same thing, just bigger, which meant I could made two circles out of one wrapper. I also used my Pampered Chef circle cutter to make the circles and then I filled them and then I used the pumpkin can to seal them by just pressing the empty pumpkin can down around the edges of the wrapper to seal the filling in. In other words, I went through way too much work and I should have just left them in square shapes like the picture.

What did the family think? Both the boys loved it and there were enough leftovers to pack in lunches the next day. I thought it was just okay. I think the texture of the “noodles” is what threw me off a little. Hubby was still out of town, so he missed it.

from Jessica Seinfeld’s Double Delicious

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Filed under Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Vegetarian

Santa Maria Chicken

Some friends from church had us over for dinner a few weeks ago and this chicken was so good I had to ask for the recipe. The kids liked it so much that is was almost embarrassing how much they ate. It is so easy, too…four ingredients…it doesn’t get much easier than that.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup catsup
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce

Instructions:
Put all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and marinate for at least four hours.

When you are ready to cook it, heat up grill to medium-high. Throw out marinade and cook chicken on grill until cooked through.

We had this will salad, bread and butter and corn.

What did the family think? Like I said before, the kids ate so much of this at their house that I was embarrassed. I was kind of worried that mine wouldn’t turn out right, but it did and they ate it right up.

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Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Make Ahead of Time, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make