Veggies Galore

I've come to the realization we just don't eat enough veggies. I personally could eat veggies all day every day. In fact if I didn't like a good, juicy burger every now and some crunchy bacon from time to time, I could almost be a vegetarian. But my husband, well he's another story. He would eat nothing but meat, bread, potatoes, and pasta if he didn't have a loving wife that insisted he eat other things that are good for him. I don't always bother making all the veggies I like because I would be the only one eating them. But I've become pretty creative at incorporating some veggies into our meals. He's much more willing to eat vegetables if they're in something rather than just piled on a plate screaming "I'm a veggie, I'm good for you!". Ok, so they don't really scream at you but they might as well as far as he's concerned. So tonight for dinner I crammed as many vegetables into our dinner as possible. I made a really yummy veggie rice pilaf to go along with our spicy Cajun shrimp which I just sauteed in some olive oil and garlic, and sprinkled with Cajun spice mix. We also had some steamed yellow squash and broccoli (for me) and corn on the cob (for him). Such a great dinner!

Veggie Rice Pilaf

1/4 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 large green bell pepper,chopped
1/4 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 large clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup brown rice
salt and pepper

Begin by cooking the rice and set aside. Then finely chop all the vegetables. Heat a skillet over medium heat with about 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add chopped veggies to the pan and saute 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and let simmer another 3 minutes or so. Add the pressed garlic and stir. Last, stir in the cooked rice, remaining broth, salt, and pepper. Let cook another 3-5 minutes until some of the broth is absorbed. Serve warm.

Soup for the Soul

You know how sometimes you just get a craving for something and you just have to have it? Well that's what happened to me last week. I don't know what triggered it. Maybe it was the chilly weather we're having or this little cold I've been fighting off for a couple weeks now. Whatever it was, I was really craving chicken and rice soup. It's funny because I don't usually like chicken soup either. I started looking at recipes online and then just pretty much made up my own based on the things I wanted in my soup. It turned out to be a very good and filling soup. We had this tonight for dinner with the rolls in my previous post.

Chicken and Rice Soup

2 chicken breasts, trimmed
5 cups water
1 cup chicken stock (you could use broth instead)
1 tsp thyme
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 large onion, finely chopped
1/4-1/2 cup celery, finely chopped (I'm not a huge fan of celery so you could add more)
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
3/4 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
salt and pepper to taste

Begin by boiling the chicken breasts in a large pot with water and chicken stock. Once the chicken is done, remove from the pot and set aside. Place vegetables, thyme, and chicken bouillon in the pot and simmer for 15-20 until vegetables are tender. Shred the chicken with two forks and return it to the pot. Add the rice and let simmer about 20 min until the rice is done. Add more water as needed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Something's Fishy

I don't usually eat fish...of any kind. But I did as a kid and one of my favorite things that my mom used to make was salmon patties. I haven't had them in years, but when I saw them on a food blog the other day it made me want to try them again. So I decided that's what we would have for dinner tonight along with rice and steamed broccoli. I didn't find out until I was starting dinner that my husband, who loves fish, doesn't like salmon. Great. I told him if I could try them then he had to try them and if he didn't like them he could eat a grilled cheese sandwich. : P They turned out good but I think I've decided I'm just really not a fish person. I have tried and tried to like it but in the end, it's just not one of my favorite foods. It was different and the flavors were good so I guess if I was a fish lover, I'd call this a great meal.

Salmon Patties

1 can pink salmon, flaked, bones and skin removed
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
olive oil


Begin by sauteing the chopped onions in a pan with a little olive oil for about 5 min. Then combine the onions with the salmon, bread crumbs, egg, and seasonings in a bowl. Form into patties. In a skillet, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Place salmon patties in the pan and cook on each side for 3-5 min. They should be golden brown. Drain the excess oil off the patties by placing them on a plate with paper towels.



For the rice I just sauteed 1/2 cup chopped onions and 1/2 a chopped green bell pepper in some olive oil. Then I added cooked brown rice to the pan, 1/2 cup chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Let it heat through for a couple minutes.

Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had never made stuffed bell peppers before tonight and now that I think about it, neither did my mom when I was growing up. But it's always been a dish I really like. I had some ground beef in the freezer and thought this might be a good use for it tonight. So I started pulling spices and things out of the cabinet and sort of made it up as I went. And what I came up with was a very delicious concoction. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, we also had corn bread muffins with dinner tonight that my husband "made". Actually they were Jiffy cornbread muffins from a box, that I mixed together and he spooned into the muffin tin. But he wanted me to be sure to mention that he "makes a mean cornbread." Yes, that was an exact quote.


Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

4 bell peppers (I used green but you could use any color)
1/2 lb ground beef or turkey
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag of quick cooking white rice
1/2-3/4 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup beef broth
3/4 cup shredded mexican cheese (I used the pre-shredded bagged kind)
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

(You can adjust the spices according to your taste to make it more or less spicy)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Begin by prepping all your ingredients (chopping the onions, garlic, cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds). Boil the water for the rice. Once you have the rice cooking, heat a skillet over medium/hi heat and add a little olive oil (about 2 Tbsp). Add the onion to the pan and let cook for about 5 min. Add garlic and ground beef. Cook until the ground beef is done and drain. Put the ground beef mixture back into the skillet and add chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Next add the beef broth. Drain the rice once it's done and add that to the skillet with all other ingredients. Add corn and stir to combine. At this point add the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in mexican cheese until melted. Place your bell peppers on a baking sheet and fill with the beef and rice mixture. Top with a additional cheese if desired. Bake for about 25 min.

Spicin' It Up

I ran across this recipe a week or so ago. I had a few shrimp left in the freezer that I needed to use up so I decided to give it a try tonight. It was good but REALLY spicy! I will admit I coughed and sneezed my head off trying to cook the ginger and red pepper flakes. Even my husband was coughing and he was in the other room. LOL! I made a couple alterations based on the recipe reviews and it was still very hot. So, if you like spicy, you'll like this one. I served it over rice and with some steamed broccoli. It was an easy and fairly healthy dinner.

Honey Ginger Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (I only use 1/2 a tsp and it was very spicy)
  
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 pound medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, ginger and honey; cook and stir until fragrant. Add the shrimp, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring as needed, until shrimp are pink and opaque. Deglaze the pan with chicken broth. Serve immediately.

Original Source: Allrecipes

Pepper Steak over Rice

I was checking out some of my favorite foodie blogs a few weeks ago and came across this recipe on Mary Ellen's Blog. I've had it on my "list to make" for a while now but hadn't gotten around to making it. Well we finally had this for dinner last night and I thought it was fabulous; a very quick but delicious week night meal. My husband liked it too. Thanks Mary Ellen!


Pepper Steak over Rice

Ingredients
- 1 pound lean steak sliced into thin strips
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 red pepper cut into strips
- 1/2 green pepper cut into strips
- 1/2 yellow onion cut into strips
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1 package dry gravy mix, mixed with 1 c cold water



Directions
- Marinate your steak in the soy sauce and Worcestershire for a few hours. If you don't have time to marinate, just add these sauces when cooking.
- Add steak to a hot saute pan. Cook about halfway draining some of the excess fat.
- Add the garlic (pressed), red and green peppers, onions, and red pepper flakes. Cover and let cook for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the gravy, stir, cover, and let simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Serve over rice.

This dinner takes about 25 minutes to cook, about 35 minutes including prep time.

Spicy Shrimp Tacos

A few years ago when we were in New Orleans, Louisiana, we had the best shrimp tacos at this little restaurant in the French Quarter. It was spicy, blackened shrimp and rice inside a tortilla with salsa, lettuce and tomato. Well tonight I made my version of a spicy shrimp taco. I didn't have any blackening seasoning so instead I "kicked it up a notch" with Emeril's Bayou Blast .
It's a quick meal that's great for summer since you don't have to heat up your whole kitchen by turning on your oven. They turned out really great!

Spicy Shrimp Tacos for 2

1/2 lb small frozen shrimp-defrosted and tails removed (you could also use fresh)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 white onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Emeril's Bayou Blast
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
4 tortillas
1 bag white or brown Minute Rice
1/4 cup chicken broth

Cook rice as directed on the package and set aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet over med/hi heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 min. Add shrimp and Bayou Blast seasoning, tossing with shrimp to coat. Cook 3-5 min or until shrimp are pink and heated through. Add chicken broth to deglaze the pan and also to add moisture so the rice doesn't dry out. Add cooked rice to the pan. Add salt and pepper and stir to combine all ingredients.

Serve on warm tortillas with salsa, lettuce, or your favorite taco ingredients.

*You may want to taste the rice when it's combined with the shrimp to be sure it has enough spice for your taste.

Quesadilla Night!

I always end up with a few left over tortillas that I don't know what to do with and usually end up tossing them after a while. Well I found a use for my two left over tortillas by making quesadillas. This was the first time I've made them and if I do say so they turned out great! I also made taco rice from a Cooking Light recipe for taco rice salad to go with them.




Chicken Quesadillas

1 large chicken breast (pre-cooked, seasoned with garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes) shredded-you could really use any left over baked chicken you have
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup mexican blend shredded cheese-I just used the bagged kind
2 large flour tortillas

Spray a pan with non-stick spray and saute peppers and onions until tender, about 5-7 min. Remove from pan and set aside. Again, spray the pan with non-stick spray and place one tortilla in the pan. Add a 1/4 cup of cheese, a layer of shredded chicken, and 1/2 cup of the pepper/onion mixture to one half of the tortilla. Add 1/4 cup cheese on top of that. Fold the other half of the tortilla over. Flip tortilla over once to ensure the cheese melts all the way through. Remove from pan. Repeat with second tortilla. Cut into triangles and serve.

Taco Rice

3 cups cooked yellow rice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook rice as directed on the package. Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Use a fork to fluff rice and mix in seasonings.

Original recipe from Cooking Light-
http://tinyurl.com/32dc5v