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Archive for the ‘Quick and Easy’ Category

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowl with Tofu

Posted in Asian, Ethnic, Healthy, One Dish, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Soups and Stews, Tofu/Tempeh, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on March 6, 2009| 3 Comments »

One of our favorite vegetarian meals is red coconut curry with tofu. When I saw this recipe on A Year in the Kitchen I thought it would be a fun version to try.

This recipe was originally titled “Spicy Thai Coconut Tofu Soup” but ours ended up being more noodle bowl than soup. It wasn’t very brothy (which was tasty anyway).

I made a few modifications to the original recipe so I’m going to post my version of the recipe. This definitely fits the quick and easy category and it’s very filling and tasty.

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowl with Tofu
(Recipe adapted from A Year in the Kitchen)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely diced (about 1/2 a cup)
3-4 tsp grated fresh ginger
1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken stock (can use vegetable stock to make this meal vegetarian)
1 15 oz can light coconut milk
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup sliced white or baby bello mushrooms
1 cup sliced snap peas
1/2 package thin rice noodles
1 tbsp hot red curry paste
1-2 tbsp fish sauce (optional, can sub soy sauce)
2 tsp honey
1 block extra firm tofu, diced
Directions:
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper and saute for about 1 minute until fragrant. Stir frequently and watch it closely. Don’t let your garlic and red pepper burn.
Add chicken broth, coconut milk and carrots and mushrooms and bring to a gentle boil. Cook for about 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.
Add all the remaining ingredients and cook for another 10 minutes.
I served this in bowls with soy sauce and red chili sauce (like Sriracha) on the table so we could season to taste.

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Buffalo Sloppy Joes

Posted in Chicken/Poultry, Quick and Easy, Sandwiches, tagged , , , on March 4, 2009| 3 Comments »

We had some leftover blue cheese that I wanted to use. I was browsing blue cheese recipes on some of my favorite food blogs and I came across this recipe for Buffalo Sloppy Joe’s on Savory Spicy Sweet. I sent it to Brandon and not surprisingly he said, “Yes! Can we have this tonight?” He looked forward to these all day. I seriously haven’t seen the boy so excited about dinner in a while. Before he even tasted them he asked me to make extra so he could have leftovers for lunch.

These were really easy to put together. Dinner took 20-30 minutes tops from start to finish. These will definitely be going in the make again recipe file and for some reason I have a feeling I’ll get a request to make them again soon 🙂

Buffalo Sloppy Joes
(Recipe source Savory Spicy Sweet)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground chicken
1/2 carrot, peeled and chopped or grated
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8- 1/4 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank’s Red Hot)
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
4 good quality burger rolls, split and toasted
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meat and break it up with wooden spoon, cook about 5 minutes. Add in carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, cook 7 to 8 minutes more. In a bowl combine the vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire, hot sauce, tomato sauce and stock. Pour into the pan and stir to combine. Simmer a few minutes more until sauce thickens. Pile filling onto buns and top with blue cheese.

Yield: 4 servings

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Brie and Apricot Chicken with Almonds

Posted in Cheese, Chicken/Poultry, Quick and Easy, Tried and True, tagged , , on February 23, 2009| 8 Comments »

briechicken

I came across this recipe last year when I had leftover brie and chicken breasts in the fridge. It was a good find! The flavor is great – what’s not to love about warm melty brie, apricot preserves and crunchy almonds? It’s also a fairly simple recipe that comes together quickly. Brandon requested this to be on the menu last week and I was happy to oblige.

Brie and Apricot Chicken with Almonds
(Recipe source cooksrecipes.com – originally from National Chicken Council)

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Extra virgin olive oil
6-8 slices of brie
4 tbsp apricot preserves (we prefer Bon Mamon)
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken between two sheets of wax paper or in a gallon bag and gently pound to 1/4-inch thickness.

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute for about 3 minutes per side, until golden colored.

Remove chicken from pan and place in a greased baking dish. Spread 2 tbsp of preserves on chicken  (I usually don’t measure – just smear it on) and cover with slices of brie. Sprinkle almonds on top.

Cook for about 6-7 minutes until cheese is melted. At this point, I usually turn on the broiler for a minute to get the cheese to get a little more melted and bubbly.

Yield: 2 servings

* Tip – if you don’t have almonds on hand or don’t want to buy a whole bag of sliced almonds buy frozen green beans and almonds (I like Green Giant). Serve the green beans with your dinner and use the almonds for the chicken (they come in a separate packet in the box).

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Nutella Croissants

Posted in Breakfast/Brunch, Chocolate, Quick and Easy, tagged , on February 23, 2009| 5 Comments »

nutellacroissants2

Brandon is a huge Nutella fan. I saw this recipe for Nutella Croissants a few weeks ago and sent the link to Brandon. He pretty much demanded that I get the ingredients for it the next time I was at the grocery.

This is a very easy recipe and a very yummy treat for breakfast or dessert. We had them for breakfast this morning with fresh fruit and cafe au lait. Gotta love Sunday mornings!

nutellacroissants

Nutella Croissants
(Recipe source Vintage Victuals)

Ingredients:

Nutella
Refrigerated croissants (any size, just follow cooking directions on tube)

Directions:

Preheat oven as directed on the tube of croissants.

Pop the tube and unroll the dough. Place a dollop of Nutella in the middle of the wide half of the croissant. Roll up the dough, starting at the wide end and rolling towards the small end. Place on a cookie sheet.

Follow baking instrutions on your tube of croissants. Remove from oven when golden brown.

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Easy Schnitzel (Parmesan Crusted Chicken)

Posted in Chicken/Poultry, Healthy, Quick and Easy, tagged on February 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

schnitzel

A few years ago I came across this recipe in Cooking Light for Easy Schnitzel. The name is a little strange but it’s essentially just parmesan crusted chicken breasts. I make it a couple of times a year and it’s always a hit. It’s pretty simple and quick.

When I make this I only use two chicken breasts but make the full amount for the dredging mixture. I usually just eyeball the flour and breadcrumb amounts and I like to use a mixture of panko and traditional breadcrumbs. I like to serve it with parmesan cous cous and a vegetable or salad.

Unfortunately, Cooking Light is really strict about bloggers posting their recipes so I’m going to have to send you off to their site to get the recipe.

Easy Schnitzel

*Please note that this can be prepared completely in the skillet without having to finish it in the oven. Just increase your cooking time to 4-5 minutes per side and remove from heat when internal temperature has reached 160 degrees.

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Penne a la Betsy

Posted in One Dish, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Shrimp, Tried and True, tagged , , on January 15, 2009| 6 Comments »

pennebetsy

After hearing rave reviews, I’ve been wanting to try Penne a la Betsy from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. If you’re not familiar with the Pioneer Woman, you should definitely check out her site – especially her food blog. You’re in for some serious entertainment and great recipes. Now, I will say that most of her recipes are a bit of a splurge – think Paula Deen-esque. But I’m a firm believer that everyone has to splurge sometimes and we had some leftover heavy cream from a Tres Leches cake I made last week.

This dinner was a hit. Brandon told me several times how delicious it was and requested the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I’m going to do some brainstorming about how to lighten this up a bit so we can add it to the dinner rotation.

Penne a la Betsy
(Recipe source The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

1 lb uncooked shrimp
3/4 lb penne pasta (about 3/4 a box – I used Barilla Plus and Brandon was none the wiser)
Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine (can sub chicken broth)
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I only used about 1/2 a cup and it was plenty)
Fresh parsley, chopped (As always, Publix was sold out on Sunday so I used dried)
Fresh basil, chopped (definitely splurge for the fresh basil – it makes so much difference in the flavor)

Directions:

Follow cooking directions on package for pasta.

In the meantime, peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) shrimp. Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet and add the shrimp. Cook for 3-4 minutes until they turn pink. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp, they cook quickly! Transfer to a cutting board and let cool.

In the same skillet, add a little more olive oil – another tbsp or two. Add the onion and sautee for a few mintues until it starts to become translucent. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two, careful not to let the garlic burn. Add the wine or chicken broth and let simmer for a few minutes, stirring occasionaly. The wine will evaporate.

Add the tomato sauce and stir well. Then stir in the heavy cream and continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer while you chop herbs and shrimp. You want to chop about 1-2 tbsp each of basil and parsley (to taste) and chop the shrimp into bite-sized pieces.

Add shrimp and herbs into tomato cream sauce and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Finally, add cooked pasta and stir until combined. Top with grated parmesan if desired.

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Greek Pasta

Posted in Chicken/Poultry, Ethnic, Greek, One Dish, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Tomato, tagged , , , , on December 1, 2008| 2 Comments »

Greek Pasta

We love anything with Greek flavors and have tried several variations of Greek pasta. Usually we find that something seems to be lacking but I think we’ve finally found one to stick with. This was delicious and came together really quickly. The flavor was great and you can definitely play around with the ingredients and try different substitutions. For example, I forgot to buy kalamata olives at the store and we had green in the fridge. Rather than omit olives, I decided to throw the green in and it worked great.

Greek Pasta
(Loosely adapted from Mediterranean Pasta in Minutes, Tyler Florence)

Ingredients:
1/2 box of penne pasta (or your choice)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
1/2 cup sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 8 1/2 oz can quartered artichoke hearts in water
1/3 kalamata or green olives, pitted and halved
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (divided into 1/4 and 1/4)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Follow cooking instructions on box for pasta.

Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat (depending on your oven). Add olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add chicken strips and cook until they start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add diced onion and garlic and saute for about 3 more minutes, until onion begins to look translucsent. Add in artichoke hearts, olives, diced tomatoes, basil and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce heat and cook on low until heated through. Stir in 1/4 of feta cheese and remove from heat.

Place cooked pasta in a large bowl. Pour chicken mixture over pasta. Top plated dishes with remaining feta cheese.

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