Thursday, May 13, 2010

Italian Sloppy Joe's

This is my third version of sloppy joe's. They have become a favorite in this house. They are quick, easy and filling with not to many ingredients. Good for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:
2 italian sausages
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic glove, chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
8 pieces provolone cheese
4 ciabatta rolls, sliced in half
salt and pepper to taste


Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add ground beef to pot, cook breaking up and stirring. Once browned drain off grease. Add italian sausage to pan, squeeze out of lining into pot, add bell peppers and onion to pot. Cook and stir, using a spoon to break up italian sausage, until sausage is browned and veggies are tender. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in spaghetti sauce, bring to a low simmer and cover, let cook for 5 minutes. Uncover add salt and pepper to taste and basil, stir to combine. Let cook for 5 more minutes. Put one piece of cheese on bottom piece of each roll. Spoon 1/4 of the meat mixture onto the cheese, place a second piece of cheese onto top of meat, continue with next 3 rolls. Place on a baking sheet, put under a broiler set to low. Broil until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Place top of rolls onto sandwiches. Enjoy!



 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Creamy Italian Sausage Spaghetti

This is a fast one should take about 30 minutes. So nice to have fresh seasonal tomatoes again. I used spicy italian sausage but mild could be substituted if you do not like spice.

Ingredients:
3 italian sausage
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
7 oz. spaghetti
1/2 cup chardonnay
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 garlic gloves, chopped
1/4 cup shredded parmesan


Make It:
Fill a large pot with water and place over high heat, cover, once boiling add spaghetti noodles, cook for 11 minutes. While spaghetti noodles are cooking, heat a large pot over medium high heat. Put italian sausage in pan by squeezing sausage out of lining. Break up sausage using a spoon, add bell pepper and onion to pan, stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes until sausage is not pink and veggies are tender. Drain of any excess oil. Add garlic and tomato to pan, stir to combine. Add wine to pan, cook for 5 minutes until wine is reduced to almost gone. Drain pasta, do not rinse. stir seasonings and cream and parmesan into pan. Allow to cook for a couple minutes till thickened slightly. Pour noodles into sauce and toss to combine. Enjoy!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Menu for May 10th - May 16th

So I have had a cough for a week now, ugh. I'm hoping it goes away soon. Mothers day was fantastic, I wish it happened more than once a year! We got Kili's last book report done and turned in this week, and I can see the end of school coming. I'm very excited to have a break for a couple months. Going on this week we have Kili's open house at her school, and a birthday party. We finally made it back to the farmers market this week and it was wonderful. Sweet tomatoes, blueberries, cherries and white peaches. We also picked up snow peas, broccoli and a huge bunch of basil for a dollar. The kids were so excited, all I heard was mom can we have this mom can we have that. I have a dehydrater this season so I will be able to preserve fruit for winter, this week i'm making strawberry slices. I must have been craving italian food when I made this weeks menu. Except for tacos its all italian!

Monday- Creamy Italian Sausage Spaghetti, snow peas
Tuesday- Italian Sloppy Joe's, green salad
Wednesday- Chicken Piccata, masshed potatoes. peas
Thursday- Shredded Beef Tacos, carrot sticks
Friday- Ham and Veggie Calzone, broccoli
Saturday- Chicken and Sausage Lasagna, green salad
Sunday- Birthday Party


Dessert of the Week: Triple Chocolate Brownies

Friday, May 7, 2010

Leah's Slow Cooked Chicken

My new friend Leah e-mailed this recipe to me a couple weeks ago. I was so excited to put it on the menu. I used chicken thighs because I prefer them in the crock pot, but you can use breasts or a whole chicken cut up. I also used bone in thighs to give the sauce more flavor, when its done cooking you can just pull the bones out and throw them away. I used sun dried tomatoes that were in olive oil, next time I will rinse the oil off of them. I thought it tasted a little oily. Serve this over rice or noodles.



Ingredients:
8 skinless chicken thighs
3 oz sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons water



Make It:
Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray. Put chicken thighs in first, then tomatoes, onion, olives, and basil. Pour chicken broth over top and stir lightly. Set on low for 8 hours. Turn crock pot on high and stir in cornstarch water mixture, recover for 10-20 minutes, till thickened. Taste and salt to your preference. Serve over noodles or rice and sprinkle with basil and parmesan. Enjoy!

Tortellini Toss

This is adapted from a pampered chef recipe. They do their's in the microwave. I just can't cook a dinner in the microwave. If you don't care for spinach, switch it out with broccoli or asparagus. You can use chicken instead of ham if you prefer. This is also a very quick dinner, if you make the sauce while the tortellini cooks, this will take 30 minutes.



Ingredients:
1 ham steak cut into cubes
1 container tortellini noodles, cooked
2/3 cup shredded parmesan
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped garlic
8 oz. spinach, cooked
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk


Make It:
Heat a large pot over medium high heat, add butter. Once butter is melted add garlic, cook for a minute. Add flour to pan, stir, cook for another minute. Pour milk in whisking to combine. Cook for a minute or two until thickened. Turn heat to low. Add ham and tortellini, stir to combine. Add spinach, cover pot for 2 minutes to wilt spinach. Stir in parmesan. Enjoy!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Shredded Beef with Onions

I made this beef in the crock pot so it is so easy. Perfect for sandwiches. Feel free to add more ingredients if you like. We put the beef on french rolls with cheese and dipped them in the au jus. Super Yummy!

Ingredients:
1 top sirloin roast, trimmed
3 small sweet onions, sliced
4 cups beef broth
salt and pepper to taste


Make It:
Put beef in crock pot first, then onions over the top of the beef. Add salt and pepper. Cover with beef broth, set on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Pull out meat and some onions and shred meat with forks. Add a little broth to the meat if it needs it. Now put on bread and eat as a sandwich or eat alone whatever you prefer.

To make au jus pour rest of broth and onions into a pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add a little worcesterchire  sauce, a little sherry wine, a little apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. Allow to reduce by a little more than half. Serve next to sandwiches as a dip. Enjoy!

Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy

This recipe along with all my meatball recipes can be made with premade frozen meatballs, if you don't want to make your own. Also these meatballs can be made ahead and frozen, to use for a quick weeknight meal. You can also use more mushrooms if you prefer.




Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped italian parsley
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 container mushrooms, sliced
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1/4 to 1/2 cup low fat milk

Make It:
Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl mix together beef, parsley, 1 tablespoon salt, 2 teaspoons pepper, red pepper, parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic and egg. Stir until completely mixed together. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Meanwhile using a small scoop, put mixture into the palm of your hand and shape into a tight ball. Add to pan continue until pan is full. Brown meatballs on all sides. Move to a baking sheet. Continue with the rest of the mixture. Move baking sheet to oven. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until meatballs are cooked through. While meatballs are in the oven, heat a large pot over medium heat. Add butter to pan, once melted add mushrooms to pan. Once mushrooms are softened add flour to pan, stir to combine. Allow flour to cook for 1 minute add beef broth to pan, whisk to combine. Allow to cook and thicken, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Stir in milk, season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Remove meatballs from oven and add to gravy, stir lightly to combine. Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles. Enjoy!