Recent Favorites in the Kitchen

 Even though I cook for one, I love cooking, love good food & trying new recipes or making some old favorites. I also enjoy sharing the finished product and recipes with others. 

Last night...

Shrimp Creole

From Momma

Alberta George

First measurements are for 1/2 recipe.

2 or 4 Tbsp. Butter

2 or 4 Tbsp. Flour

1 package frozen seasoning blend or for full recipe. ( 1 lg. Onion chopped, 1 bell pepper chopped & 2 stalks celery, diced)

1/4 or 1/2 tsp. Dried oregano

1/4 or 1/2 tsp. Dried basil

1/4 or 1/2 tsp. Parsley flakes

1 or 2 tsp. Zatarain’s Creole seasoning

1/2 to 1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 to 1 tsp. Fresh ground pepper

1/2 to 1 tsp. McCormicks Chipotle & Roasted Garlic seasoning

1 or 2 tsp. Worcestershire

1 or 2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce

1 or 2 cups water

1 or 2 lbs. thawed, peeled & deveined shrimp...I use large or jumbo

Melt butter in large pan, add flour & cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

Add seasoning blend or (onion, pepper, celery mixture) & cook 6-8 minutes.

Add seasonings, tomato sauce & water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer

20 minutes. Add shrimp & continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Serve over rice & garnish with chopped scallions.

Last weekend... LOW CARB JALAPENO POPPER CHICKEN

From: Aunt Bee’s Recipes

Ingredients

• 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

• salt and pepper to taste

• For the Jalapeno Popper Layer

• 5 slices of bacon, diced

• 1/4 cup jalapeno slices, diced (the kind in the jar that you put on nachos)

• 1/4 cup diced onion

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 1/2 cup Kraft grated Parmesan

• For the Topping

• 2 oz bag of Pork Skins, crushed

• 1/2 cup Kraft grated Parmesan Cheese

• 4 TBSP butter, melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place chicken breast in a 13×9 casserole dish and bake until juices run clear. 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the breast.

While chicken is baking, fry bacon pieces until crispy. Remove bacon and add onions and saute until tender.

Remove from heat and add crispy bacon, onions, jalapenos, cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar and Parmesan cheese. Mix until well combined.

Remove chicken from oven and reduce to 350 degrees.

Spread jalapeno popper mixture all over each Chicken breast until well covered.

Bake for 15 more minutes or until topping is starting to get brown and bubbly!

For the Crumb topping: mix together the crushed pork skins, Parmesan cheese and melted butter. Sprinkle on top of jalapeno popper topped chicken and place under broiler for a couple of minutes until pork skins are browned. Careful not to burn it!!! Enjoy!

Corn, Zucchini & Tomatoes with Goat Cheese or Boursin Cheese 

Inspired by Secrets of the Southern Table: A Food Lover's Tour of the Global South by Virginia Willis

Need to the perfect side to jazz up simply grilled chicken, salmon, or steak? This corn, zucchini, and tomato sauté with creamy goat cheese will please all around. 

( My changes are in parentheses below as I used what I had on hand) Paula 

Servings: 4 to 6

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: 30 Minutes

INGREDIENTS


• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup chopped shallots, from 1 to 2 shallots (I used yellow onion) 

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 2-1/4 cups fresh corn kernels, cut from 3 large ears corn

• 1-1/2 cups seeded and diced zucchini, from 2 small zucchini

• 1-1/2 cups seeded and diced tomatoes, from 2 to 3 tomatoes (I used a pint of grape tomatoes, halved) 

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (I omitted) 

• 1 (4-oz) log creamy goat cheese (5.2) ounce Boursin cheese with garlic & herbs. 

• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Do not brown.

• Add the corn and zucchini and increase the heat to medium. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar and continue to cook for about 2 minutes more, until the tomatoes start to break down. Break the goat cheese into chunks and stir it into the vegetables until creamy and well-combined. Off the heat, stir in the fresh basil. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve warm.

Dinner with Friends...my friend, Linda made the gorgeous salad to compliment our meal. 

Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Seasoned and stuffed chicken marsala with mozzarella, parmesan, and sun dried tomatoes, smothered in savory marsala mushroom sauce.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Tiffany

Ingredients

• 4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 8 slices mozzarella cheese

• 1 12-ounce jar julienned sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained (if you can't find them julienned you can buy sun dried tomato halves and thinly slice them yourself)

• 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

• 3 tablespoons oil

• salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Marsala Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups marsala cooking wine (may sub chicken broth)

• 3 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

• grated parmesan cheese and parsley or thyme for topping (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a sharp knife to cut a slit horizontally along one side of the chicken breast, being sure not to cut all the way through the chicken - the goal is to make a "pocket".


• Fill each pocket with 2 slices of mozzarella cheese, 1/4 of the sun dried tomatoes, and 1/4 of the shredded parmesan cheese.


• Pinch together the open side of the chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks. Drizzle chicken with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and Italian seasoning, rubbing in with your fingers.


• Transfer chicken to a large oven-safe skillet and brown chicken over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Place chicken on a plate while you prepare the marsala sauce.


• In the same pan (don't clean it) add marsala cooking wine, garlic, mushrooms, salt and pepper, and heavy cream. Stir and bring to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes. Return chicken pan and spoon some of the sauce over the chicken.


• Transfer skillet to preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through and cheeses are melted. Spoon sauce over the chicken, top with grated parmesan cheese and parsley or thyme if desired, and serve.


Notes

I use sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained

Last week, weeknight dinner...

Firecracker Enchiladas 

Rachael Ray 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 1 29 ounce can tomato sauce (no salt added) 

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1 2 pound rotisserie chicken, meat shredded

• 1 pound muenster cheese, grated

• 3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped

• 12 6 inches corn tortillas

•

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add two-thirds of the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups water and the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin and salt; bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes; set aside.

Preheat the broiler. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, two-thirds of the cheese and the chiles.

Spread 1 cup of the enchilada sauce in a large casserole dish. Dip 1 tortilla in the remaining sauce to coat both sides and transfer to a plate. Fill with chicken mixture, roll up and transfer to the casserole dish, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling. Top with the remaining onion, sauce and cheese; broil until golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off the broiler and leave the enchiladas in the oven until heated through, about 5 minutes.

My Note: 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

When finished making enchiladas, top with the remaining onion, sauce & cheese. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly & cheese is melted. 

And, then sometimes there is a recipe that doesn’t appeal to me as it progresses & I adjust/revamp to suit my tastes. Such as this one, I ended up with 3 batches of sauce in the freezer to use for the Spaghetti a La Bruzzi when friends or family are here. I actually had the final meat sauce on Bucatini. 

Revised: Spaghetti a La Bruzzi 

By: Paula aka Mecookin ***

Carolyn's Spaghetti a La Bruzzi

Carolyn South

***Per Paula...I did not like the sauce at all so I have changed the recipe entirely. Original recipe was a tomato overload! IMO  All of my changes are in parentheses. I also noticed online that the Spaghetti a La Bruzzi description by Mom & Dad’s Italian Restaurant includes 3 cheeses, hence, I added Pecorino Romano to the sauce. 

The sauce will make enough for two ***(or more) 9X13 inch pans. I always freeze the remaining sauce for another day.

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 pounds ground round.  ***(3 lbs. ground sirloin)

1 large onion or 2 small onions, chopped ***(2 large onions) 

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

***( 1 cup red wine) 

***(1 cup beef broth) 

2 28-ounce cans Whole Peeled Italian Tomato's

1 28-ounce can Italian Tomato Puree

1 12-ounce can Tomato Paste ***(1/4 cup tomato paste) 

1 tablespoon oregano, dried

1 tablespoon basil, dried ***( 2 Tbsp. Fresh julienned basil at end of cooking) 

1 teaspoon thyme, dried ***(2 teaspoons dried thyme) 

***(1 teaspoon kosher salt) 

***(1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper)

***(1 teaspoon crushed red pepper) 

1 Bay Leaf

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup Parmesan cheese

***(1 cup grated Pecorino Romano) 

1 pound Baby Portobello Mushrooms,sliced ***(cremini mushrooms) 

2 tablespoons butter, unsalted

a little olive oil

1 pound Linguine ***( 1 pound Bucatini cooked al dente) 

1/2 pound good mozzarella, grated

In a 5 quart heavy pot on medium heat brown ground round and onions in olive oil until meat is brown and onions are tender. Add garlic and saute for about two minutes. ***(Add tomato paste & cook 1 minute) . ***( add red wine & cook down 1 minute, add beef broth). Add tomato puree and liquid from the whole peeled tomato's. Lower the heat to simmer.

In a blender ***(or with immersion blender) puree the whole tomato's one can at a time and then add to beef mixture. Next add the oregano, basil, thyme, bay leaf, sugar and ***(S& P, crushed red pepper, Pecorino Romano ) Parmesan cheese. Mix well and simmer for about two hours on a very low heat.

In the meantime, saute the ***(Cremini mushrooms) Portobello Mushrooms in two tablespoons of butter with a little added olive oil.

Using a 5 quart pot,season the pasta water with salt .I use a French Herbed Sea Salt. and a little olive oil. Cook the pound of Linguine ***(Bucatini) until al dente and drain completely in a colander. Do not run water over the pasta.

In a very large bowl mix all of the above ingredients, only 1/2 of the meat sauce, mushrooms, and pound of Linguine. Mix well.

Place in a 9X13 inch dish. Top with grated mozzarella cheese and bake at 350* until the cheese is browned.

Serve with a salad and crusty bread.

I use a 5-quart Le Crueset cast iron pot.

***Per Paula: My notes are in parentheses. Probably a bit less than 1/2 of the sauce is would be sufficient for a 13x9 pan. Froze the  remaining sauce in 3 batches.