Chicken Enchilada with Lime Cilantro Rice

Tonight we had Chicken Enchiladas. I decided to try something new. I found this recipe with good reviews. It was okay. I won't make it that way again. I will stick with my own made up version. (Chicken from a can, 1 can cream of chicken, sour cream--maybe 3/4 cup, 1 can green chilies, then season to taste with garlic salt, pepper, cumin (a must in my book) and chili powder.)

Then I made the Rice recipe found here (scroll down). We love the combination of these two flavors together. (for best results, don't leave your rice sitting in your rice cooker for a long time--like 2 hours--time it better than me and you'll be happier with it.)

My weekly menu said that I was to serve this asparagus with the stuffed onions the other day, but I forgot to consult my menu. . . . So when I found it in the fridge today, I made it tonight even though it wasn't the best mix of flavors. We love this asparagus recipe. It calls for white asparagus, which is good, but it is just as good with green. And of course I never have the right kind of crumbs. I just blend up a slice of my white bread and call it good. Cut back on the butter and add some flax seed if you want.

Stuffed Onions

You may think I have a thing for stuffing vegetables. . . it's not really true, I've just been on a kick lately. Tonight we had this recipe. Pretty good, although I prefer stuffed peppers over stuffed onions. I also made this salad. We love it. I've made it numerous times with bok choy, Napa cabbage and regular cabbage. All are good, but I prefer it with Napa cabbage. Also, I cook the seasoning packet with the Ramen and omit the soy sauce in the dressing. Gives it a better flavor. I also use red onions instead of green. Tonight I didn't have any sesame seeds. . . it was okay, but they add a lot of flavor to this salad. Oh, and I cut way back on the butter, it doesn't need that much. We also had cantaloupe and homemade lemonade (with left over lemons from Sunday's fish).

Sausage and Pasta, Monday Night

Last night we had this:

(I got this recipe during my two week free membership at America's Test Kitchen--it has served me well!)

Creamy Skillet Penne with Sausage and Broccoli
1 lb. hot sausage
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thin
8 oz. penne pasta (about 2 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup beef broth
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. broccoli florets
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP basil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet, breaking into pieces until no longer pink. Remove from pan onto a paper towel-lined plate.

Cook onion and bell pepper in sausage fat until softened (if there is a lot, I remove some). Add penne and cook, stirring often, until pasta is lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broths and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer stirring occasionally until pasta begins to soften. (8-10 mins.)

Arrange broccoli on top of pasta and continue to cook, covered until broccoli is bright green and tender and pasta is al dente. (about 8 minutes) Remove from heat and add cheese, basil and vinegar. (Yum!)

Everyone loves this (a rare thing at my house. . . ).

FHE treat: Casco 2nds

Sunday's Meal--Pecan Crusted Tilapia (yum!)

This is from a Betty Crocker cook book:

Pecan-Crusted Fish Fillets

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

2 tsp grated lemon peel (we like a little more)

1 egg

1 TBSP milk

1 lb. fish--we always use Tilapia

salt and pepper

butter

Mix pecans, bread crumbs and lemon peel on a plate. Combine milk and egg, whisk until blended. Sprinkle both sides of fish with salt and pepper. Dip fish in egg mixture then press into pecan mixture. Cook in buttered fry pan until pecans are lightly toasted. Tent foil over fish to speed cooking time if needed (or use a lid if your skillet has a lid!). It is done when fish flakes easily with fork.

We also had rice, corn on the cob, rolls and fresh strawberries with this meal.

Last week's meals

I was pretty sick of cooking last week so we ate very simply. I did try one new recipe. It was a Romaine lettuce salad. It was okay. I didn't put the broccoli in it because I was using my broccoli for something else. A week off of experimenting was nice and boring for a change!

I did make pizza for our graduation company. I just use my French bread recipe for the dough, mix some spices in plain tomato sauce (garlic salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, pizza seasoning to taste--I add a little at a time and then taste and add more as needed.) I always make one pizza with pepperoni, onion, green pepper and mushroom and the other Canadian bacon, onion and pineapple. I use a pastry brush to brush a very thin layer of olive oil on the bottom of my pans (I just use cookie sheets) then I lightly sprinkle with course corn meal. This gives the crust a nice crunch. If I'm feeling especially skinny when I make it, I brush the edges with butter. (I've brushed with butter maybe once in my life!) Then I poke holes in the dough with a fork and let rise 10 minutes or so, (or not. . . if I'm rushed for time, I skip that part). Then I bake just the dough (no toppies) for 8-10 minutes. I find that if I give it a head start, I don't have doughy crusts. Then I load the toppies and bake for another 8-10 minutes, or until edges are browned and cheese is melted. I'm a pretty popular mom when I make pizza. Everyone likes it. I should do it more often. . . .

Cache's birthday meal--grilled shrimp

This is a favorite of ours and tonight we experienced why once again:

Cilantro Lime Grilled Shrimp

2 cloves garlic

2 TBSP chopped cilantro

zest and juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup oil

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 lbs large shrimp

Combine first six ingredients in food processor (or chop finely yourself if your processor is kaput). Marinate shrimp for 30 minutes. Thread on skewers and grill for about 5 minutes. (unless you have a *very* old junky grill like ours then grill them-rotating often for heat distribution-until they turn pink--about 20 mins.)

With this meal we also had white rice, rolls and asparagus with the following recipe.

Baked Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce
1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed
cooking spray
salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce

Arrange asparagus on baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
Bake for 12 minutes at 400 degrees or until tender.

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Brown slightly. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and soy sauce. Pour over asparagus.

Then I served his favorite cake--carrot. We love the yummy recipe found on this post. I've made it WAY too many times!

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Just a note about this meal. . . I accidentally purchased and thawed a package of precooked shrimp ($6.98/2 lb. bag). So Tom ran and got me some thawed, uncooked shrimp; it was quite a bit more pricey at $13.98/2 lbs. When I spend that much on an item for a meal I start calculating the price of the entire meal to make myself feel better. I figured that with the dessert the whole meal, including the price of shrimp, for a family of 7 was $20. Tom and I had eaten out earlier that day at The Lion House (which is considered quite cheap for that type of meal) and the two of us ate for $16. (And it wasn't even very good, I left very dissatisfied that I had spent that much money on not very good food.) Since I can usually feed my family for $4-$10 a meal, this was a more expensive meal--but not that much. It was WAY cheaper than eating out, even if you added the cost of the shrimp I didn't use this meal. (By the way, other plans were made to use the other shrimp.)

Waffles--Cache's birthday breakfast

I learned something about waffles in preparation for this. I wanted to know if I could make the batter up the night before and have it still be good the next day. I found out that you probably could (although in the end, I opted not to mix everything together, but got everything measured and set out so assembly would be quick.) While reading about batters, I read the difference between waffle and pancake batters. I knew that waffle batters always had more oil in them and often more sugar but I never knew why. I thought it was to prevent sticking so I always have used only half the oil in waffles. But the reason why waffles have more oil in them is to help them become crispy (the extra sugar helps that a little too). It said that waffle batter could pass as a pancake batter, but not vice versa. So I decided that for a birthday meal I would make the real thing. YUM!!! I don't know that I've ever had the real thing on waffles. I don't believe I will make them like that every time, but every once in a while I think I will. Here is the recipe I used. It is from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

Waffles

2 large eggs (I separated them per some things I read online)

2 cups flour

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup oil

1 TBSP sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

In large bowl beat eggs until fluffy. (If you let your eggs sit out for 20 minutes or warm them up in warm water, they whip up VERY quickly.) Add remaining ingredients and stir just until smooth. (I like a wire whisk to mix quick breads because they get most of the lumps out quickly without much stirring. And I never worry about all of the lumps--just the big ones.) Cook in waffle iron.