Dinners Week 5: Family Comfort Food

Spaghetti Pie: recipe adapted from Woody aka Elizabeth Biber
For crust:
8oz cooked spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 tsp dried basil
1 clove minced garlic
 For filling:
1 T olive oil
1 lb lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 (26oz) jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (I use Ragu Traditional)
8oz sour cream (I use light)
8oz shredded mozzarella

Saute onion in olive oil until translucent.  Add ground beef and brown.  Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Combine ingredients for crust and press into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish (I usually melt the butter and let it sit so that it cools a bit and run the noodles under cold water so that the cheese doesn't melt.)  Top that layer with layer of sour cream.  Top that layer with the filling.  Top with shredded mozzarella.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until bubbly.

NOTES:  The picture shown is how much of this was eaten by my family plus one extra 5 year old...I hadn't even eaten yet!!  You could half this recipe and put the other half in the freezer, but I'm glad I didn't do that this time!!  I cooked the noodles in the morning and left them out to cool.  Then, around lunchtime I browned the ground beef and let it simmer with the tomato sauce.  I went ahead and assembled the spaghetti pie so that I could just pop it in the oven around 5:00 (aka witching, I mean happy hour.)   You could make this a couple of days ahead as well, as it's one of those dishes that just gets better over time.

SERVE WITH: Proscuitto Wrapped Asaparagus left oven from the birthday party (by the way, these were the only things left besides a little bit of fruit!)



Chicken Corn Chowder: (Recipe from The Perfect Setting, Aiken, South Carolina)
3 T butter
4 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups half n half
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 (14.75oz) cans creamed style corn
1 (4.5oz) can diced green chiles, undrained
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
2 T chopped cilantro

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add chicken, onion, and garlic, and saute 10 minutes.  Stir in half n half, cheese, corn, green chiles, hot sauce, salt, and cumin; cook over low heat, stirring often for 15 minutes.  Stir in cilantro.  Serve garnished with additional cilantro if you like.

NOTES:  This soup is really pretty quick to make.  I actually made it before school one morning, let it cool a little and popped it in the fridge for later that night. (I am a morning person, so if you are not, I would suggest cutting the chicken, chopping the onion and garlic, and shredding the cheese the night before to make it super fast when it's dinner time.)  You really do have to keep stirring this soup during cooking time, or the cheese will stick to the bottom.  This happened when I was reheating the soup that night because I was distracted chasing kids around :)  My pot is still soaking in the sink 2 days later!!

SERVE WITH: This is a great soup to share with friends, which is exactly what we did (actually the mamas shared it and the kids ate fruit and cheese quesdaillas!,)  so invite some over, and ask them to bring a simple salad to share!!

Mini Shrimp Calzones: Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, found HERE.

NOTES:  If you want to make your own pizza dough like Giada suggests, by all means, go for it! (And bring me some too!!)  I picked up a ball of fresh dough from the Harris Teeter deli section (they also sell it at Trader Joe's and Publix, and I know that most pizza places will sell their dough also.)  I used the whole wheat dough this time, and, I must say, it was good, but it was not nearly as good as the white dough that I've used in the past.  The premade dough will make 4 (4oz) calzones rather than 6, so I kept the recipe the same except for I cut the cheese to 2 cups so that all of the filling would fit into just 4 calzones.  The thing that takes the longest about this recipe is peeling the shrimp, so I would suggest doing that the night before or earlier in the day, so that dinner literally takes less than a half hour to prepare.

SERVE WITH: Your favorite marinara or pizza sauce and Roasted Asparagus:  Cut ends off of a bunch of asparagus, add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.  Roast in 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.




Crockpot Green Chili (from CovCom Cooks!) Tacos

3T oil
2 lbs pork stew meat, cubed (I use boneless country style ribs)
1 (32oz) jar green chile sauce (I use Rick Frontera's Green Chile Enchilada Sauce)
1 (16oz) jar green chile salsa (I use Herdez Salsa Verde)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro for garnish (I omit)

Hard and/or soft shell tacos
Fresh tomatoes - diced
Avocados - diced
Angel Hair Cole Slaw (or shredded cabbage)
Salsa
Whatever else your heart desires for taco/nacho/quesadilla night!

Heat oil in large saute pan.  Brown pork (in batches if necessary - do not crowd) until browned on all sides.  Place in slow cooker.  Add sauce and salsa.  Mix well.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until meat is tender.  Serve garnished with cilantro (optional.)

NOTES:  You can skip browning the meat if you are crunched for time before throwing it the crockpot in the morning, but it will give it a little more flavor if you take the time for the browning step.  This recipe makes a lot of sauce and can be eaten as a stew served over chips and garnished like you would a tortilla soup (sour cream, cheese, etc,) but I use a slotted spoon to serve the meat and serve it as tacos, nachos, or quesadillas.  This is one of my husband's favorite meals, it takes very little effort, it is great as leftovers, and it freezes well.

SERVE WITH:  For the kids, I just made quesadillas using flour tortillas, tomatoes, and shredded Monterrey Jack cheese.  Cook in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes, until cheese melts. (Make sure you put them on a cookie sheet so that the cheese doesn't run down into your oven...that has clearly never happened to me :)) My husband and I had hard tacos with angel hair cole slaw, diced tomatoes, diced avocado and salsa.  YUM!  This makes enough food for our family for two nights.  It is delicious as leftovers for tacos or even better with lots of cheese melted over the meat as nachos!!



I am writing these recipes out a little earlier than usual because I am heading to see my precious, pregnant sister tomorrow for the weekend (and my brother-in-law and my dad and a few of my best friends)...if we make something fun, I'll add the recipes toward the end of the weekend :)

Happy Cooking!!

Dinners Week 4: Parmesan, Pumpkin, and a PINK Party

Baked Veal Parmesan: (Recipe found in Open House, A Culinary Tour, The Junior League of Murfreesboro)
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 eggs
4 veal cutlets
1/2 cup butter
2 (8oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp oregano
dash of onion salt
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Angel Hair pasta noodles (cooked according to package; about 1/2 of a regular sized box)

Combine the cornflake crumbs, Parmesan cheese, slat, and pepper in shallow dish.  Lightly beat eggs in another shallow dish.  Dip the veal cutlets in the eggs and then the crumb mixture to coat.  Melt the butter in a 9x13 in baking dish in a 400 degree oven.  Place the cutlets in the dish.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Turn the cutlets over.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Combine the tomato sauce, sugar, oregano, and onion salt in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Pour over the baked cutlets.  Top with the mozzarella cheese.  Bake until the cheese melts.  Serve over noodles

SERVE WITH: Arugula salad with simple lemon vinaigrette

NOTES: Don't let the "baked" part fool you.  This is really not a healthier version of veal Parmesan, but it is a lot simpler than frying the veal in a pan.  Basically the warmed melted butter in the bottom of the baking dish allows the veal to be fried in the oven.  I went ahead and prepared vinaigrette for the salad and the veal (actually I used thinly sliced chicken breasts this week because our grocery store didn't have veal, and I just can't do more than one store at this stage of my life) with the breadcrumb and Parmesan mixture in the morning so that I'd be ready to roll when the butter was melted.  DO NOT use the powdered Parmesan cheese.  Use the grated or shredded Parm in the refrigerated section.  I started boiling the water for the noodles and making the sauce when I flipped the chicken, and everything was done at about the same time.  My guys love this, but the sauce is a little sweet for me, so just beware that if you want a saltier marinara sauce, you may want to cut the sugar by about half.

  

Flaky Tomato & Mozzarella Tart: (Adapted from CovCom Cooks!)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and cut in half
1 yellow tomato, thinly sliced
1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  On a lightly floured surface, roll each 1/2 of the puff pastry into a 9x6 inch rectangle.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.  Prick all over with a fork and top each half with 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/4 cup of the basil, and half of each tomato.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper.  Bake for 10 minutes or until edges are beginning to brown. 

SERVE WITH:  Leftover arugula salad from night before.

NOTES:  This is like pizza taken up a notch.  It is totally delicious and super easy.  You do have to make sure that you set the dough out to thaw (which takes about 40 minutes) and allow the dough to set after you roll it (another 30 minutes,) so this is definitely a recipe to start earlier in the day.  This week I used the yellow and Roma tomatoes, but you can also use grape tomatoes, or heirloom tomatoes (these make it really pretty!.)  I usually cheat the recipe a little and just refrigerate it after I put all of my toppings on it.  Cook time is only 10 minutes, so it is a super simply, slightly fancy dinner to prepare on a busy night.


Black Bean Pumpkin Soup: (Recipe found in Open House, A Culinary Tour, The Junior League of Murfreesboro)
3 (15oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup minced shallot
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 T plus 2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 cups beef broth
1 (15oz) can pumpkin
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 pound ham, diced
3 to 4 T sherry vinegar
FOR GARNISH: sour cream, toasted pumpkin seeds

Combine 2 cans of the beans and the tomatoes in a food processor and process until coarsely pureed; set aside.  Melt the butter in a heavy, 6 qt pot over medium heat.  Add onions, shallot, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.  Cook until onions are tender and starting to brown, stirring constantly.  Stir in the pureed bean mixture, the remaining 1 can of whole beans, broth, pumpkin, and sherry.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 25 minutes or until the soup is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, stirring occasionally.  (May be prepped in advanced to this point and chilled.)

Just before serving, stir in the ham and vinegar.  Simmer until heated through, stirring frequently.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve garnished with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

SERVE WITH: Sister Schubert's Rolls!

NOTES: This is such a fun, fall soup.  It is delicious and pretty and is fun to serve on a week night for my family or for a dinner party in a fun pumpkin soup terrine.  I do not normally have sherry just hanging around, so I purchase cooking sherry at the grocery store (or substitute white wine.)  Sherry vinegar is not easy to find, so you can substitute white wine vinegar if you have that on hand.  This is great to make after Thanksgiving and use leftover ham.  If you don't like ham, you can substitute shrimp, chicken, or sausage. 


Pinterest Inspired 1st Birthday Party!!!

I found all of these recipes on Pinterest, so here they are (with their pinned images) to share :)

 
Easy Ham and Cheese Appetizer Sandwiches



Brie and Cranberry Tartlets


 
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus



Perfect Boiled Shrimp with Ken's Steakhouse Cocktail Sauce

This is the actual smash cake!!!

Smash Cake and Mini Cupcakes made with yellow cake mix and frosted with Classic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

 NOTES:  I LOVE a good party, and this was such a fun party to plan for.  The only theme to the party was PINK!  After having two boys, I thought I would go all out with the pink food, pink beverages, pink flowers, pink outfits, everything.  Along with the items above, I served watermelon (not the best idea for this time of year!!,) sliced strawberries and grapes, ChickFilA nuggets, and pink lemonade for the kids.  I could not have pulled it off without my family helping, especially my sweet mama, who is a party planner extraordinaire.