Kielbasa Bundles

Hello foodie friends. Yes, it has been a while. Here is something I made for lunch today with the family. It was fun having the kids help out when they could.

1/2 lb fully cooked kielbasa or Polish Sausage, chopped (I used Polska Kielbasa, 14 oz)
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 C green pepper, chopped (I used 1/4 green pepper, little over 1/4 C)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T butter
1/3 C barbecue sauce (I had Hickory Smoked on hand)
2 tubes (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
4 slices American cheese slices, halved
1 egg white
1 T water
Sesame Seeds

Pre-heat oven to 350 Deg.

In a large skillet (try deep dish), cook sausage for 5 minutes over medium heat. Drain any fat. Add onion, green pepper, garlic, and butter. Cook until vegetables are tender, about another 5 minutes. Stir in barbecue sauce and heat through.

While the vegetables are cooking; unroll crescent dough and separate into four rectangles; seal perforations. Place a cheese slice on half of each rectangle; top with 2 T sausage mixture. Fold dough over filling and pinch sides. Tuck any remaining dough underneath. Beat egg white and water together in a small bowl; brush over dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 bundles.

Julie & Julia

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the movie Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Growing up I liked Meryl Streep but I fell in love with her in the Devil Wears Prada. I find it ironic that I see myself as Andy in the Devil Wears Prada. I also see myself as Julie and just laugh. I find myself as a mix of these two. Here I am, a wife and mom wanting to further my knowledge in the cooking field. I don't mind cooking a meal twice - there are favorites, but I am always wanting to try a new recipe. On the flip side, cooking calms the nerves and I feel a sense of accomplishment and love when I prepare a "Sunday Dinner" for friends and family. Call it a love language. And here, I have a blog. If one (or any) of the Food Network Stars ever told me that my blog was terrible I would be heart broken like Julie in the movie. Then I would get over it and move on. It's my blog. =)

There's nothing more pleasing than going shopping for a specific dinner. Strolling down the isle of the market, picking out the freshest red meat, herbs with aroma that takes you places for a moment in time, the softness of a ripe peach that reminds you of warm mornings in bed.....I should go to cooking school..... Funny....someone with the mind set and previous track of an engineer going to cooking school....

Bon Appetit!

Banquet Dinner

Yes, I love to cook. Yes, I love to try new things. Yes, I want a quick dinner every once in a while that I just don't have to think about.

Dave and I were grocery shopping a couple weeks ago. We saw a dinner in a box deal by Banquet (yes, those instant lunch/dinner deals - but not in the frozen section). Ham and hashbrowns in cheese. Sounds yummy. I didn't think it was that bad. My kids - and it's been over 2 years.....I should know better.... didn't like it. I've cooked my kids meals for them ever since they started solids. They do NOT like any kind of instant dinner/lunch. I can't even get them to eat Chef Boyarde.......

Taco Soup

My neighbor gave me this recpie of her's (among with others which I will share later). Thank you, Maggie!

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 t minced garlic
2 cans navy beans, undrained
1 can sweet corn, undrained
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can diced green chilies
2 packages taco seasoning
sour cream ~dallop per bowl
1 C shredded cheese (your choice)
Tortilla Chips

Brown beef, onion and garlic in large pot. Drain any fat. Add all other items to pot. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve soup in bowls, top with sour cream and cheese if desired (I recommend). We used the tortilla chips as our spoons. Kids LOVED this dish. They thought it was so much fun eating soup with chips.

I used cheddar cheese, you can use mexican blend cheese if you like. After you brown your meat, you can toss everything (except sour cream and cheese) in a slow cooker and let that go, on low, for a few hours in the afternoon.

Dijon Tilapia with Capers

You know what makes me feel terrible? I have tried new recipes and I can't remember to get on here and post them! Well, I guess working OT will do that to a person.

Tonight I didn't want chicken or ground beef. I saw the tilapia again... Yum. Ran out of cheese. Doesn't that put a damper on things? Typically, yes, but not today! My dish below I realized once I plated it was all white. However, you can tweak it, as always! My kiddos ate it, so I'm not complaining. The dijon mustard give it a nice flavor while the sour cream smooths it out.

If you don't know much about fish, or don't really eat it, you'll love tilapia. It is a VERY mild tasting fish. I say that because I like fish and tilapia doesn't taste like fish at all. It almost has no flavor. It's very bland and just cooking it with the pam give it a nice buttery flavor (I love butter). It is a wonderful fish to get to know and learn how to cook with.

3 Tilapia loins
Pam or some Butter
1/3 C Sour Cream
1 T Milk
1 T Dijon Mustard
2 t capers, drained

1 box scalloped potatoes, cooked according to pkg directions
2 C frozen broccoli and cauliflower, steamed

Spray a cookie sheet with pam. Place tilapia on the sheet. Spray fish with Pam. Bake at 450 deg for 4-6 minutes. Flip and cook another few minutes until cooked through if needed.

While your fish is cooking, mix sour cream, milk and mustard in a small pot over low heat. Do not bring to a boil! Add the capers once it's all mixed.

Plate your fish and pour (yes, it will be thick) the sauce over the fish. Serve with potatoes and veggies. *you could add more milk (careful here) to make it less viscous.

Casserole Surprise

I don't  know if I've posted this before, but I've learned that my kids do not like their dinner plate broken down into meat, veggie, starch, fruit. They pick at it. But.....if I make a casserole, it's gone in 5 minutes. Today's dish is created from a combination of my likes and the kid's likes. You got meat, starch and veggies all in one! Best part - NO ONE knew I put fish in this dish.......

8 oz of noodles - I used mini pinwheels
12 oz velveeta cheese
1/3 c skim milk
1 small frozen pkg of broccoli & cauliflower that you steam in the microwave
S&P to taste
3 tilapia loins
any seasoning you like (see below)
1 C shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 C bread crumbs

Heat oven to 350 deg. Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles are cooking pan sear (cook) tilapia in butter and any seasoning you like (garlic, dill, sage, basil, etc..) Shred tilapia, set aside. Microwave veggies and dice. Drain noodles, dump back in pot. Return the pot to the stove and add milk, cheese. Mix until melted. Add veggies and fish - mix well. Place mixture in rectangle baking dish.Top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Cuban Chicken?

So, I used Cuban seasoning......would one call it Cuban Chicken? If you try the dish, let me know what I should call it! Inspiration from this dish came from Mario Batali, although I only used half of his recipe and changed it from Mediterranean to Cuban...yeah, I do that.

I made the meat part of this last night and put it in the fridge. It takes about an hour and a half to make the meat, so I thought I would do it ahead of time and warm it the next day. Today I made the rice and threw the chicken/stock into a pot over medium heat while the rice cooked. It warmed it up to a nice temperature and the dish was delicious! I will write out what I did and at the end let you know some suggestions that I will try next time. Don't get me wrong, I think the dish is fine as is, but dishes always have room for tweaking and changing to one's liking.

4-6 chicken thighs (boneless if you want), skinless
flour
1/4 C oil (plus a little extra)
1 Lg red onion, you may dice or slice thinly
10 shakes of McCormick Cuban Seasoning ~ okay maybe 2 t?
1 carrot, diced
4 C chicken stock
1C rice, cooked to package directions


Directions:

Dredge chicken in flour. In a deep dish pan (a pan with a lid) heat oil over med-high heat until smoking. Add chicken and brown on both sides, transfer to a plate. Repeat with any remaining thighs.

Turn heat to low. Add onions (and additional oil if necessary) to the dish. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until soft. Add carrot and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Return chicken to dish and cover tightly. Bring temperature to Low and cook for 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook for 10 minutes.

Place rice on plate, top with chicken and sauce. Serve.

That all being said........


Mario's dish called for 1/2 t saffron threads to be added to onions, 1 C small green olives to be added to the carrot, and only add 3 C chicken stock. Also 6 servings of couscous instead of rice. Once you take the chicken out of the pot at the end, add 1/4 C fresh mint leaves. Stir leaves in sauce, then top over chicken.

What I would change to my dish......


I added another C of chicken stock because I wasn't sure if 3 was enough. The dish was DELICIOUS, but if you wanted less salt, try low sodium chicken broth instead of regular broth/stock ~ or homemade stock. I would also add more carrots and possibly celery or another vegetable. I'm sure the green olives would taste nice. I may add some fresh garlic to the onions and saute them together. I will use the McCormick Cuban seasoning again. I like that! I would have used couscous if I had any in my pantry. I think that's it.

Kid's Review:


Scott loved it! My 4 year old gobbled it up within minutes. My 2 year old is not eating much of anything right now, so I wouldn't put too much on him. And my husband hasn't had dinner yet......