Foodie Friday: Pasta ala Todd

Good Morning!

It has a very long time since I posted anything. I don’t know if I’ll become a regular blogger again, but if I have something new to say, I’ll post.

Here is a new Foodie Friday recipe we just enjoyed two nights ago.

There are two restaurants in Tulsa where my hubby enjoys a spicy pasta dish. One place calls it Pasta Yaya, and the other place calls it Pasta Taylaird (with Cajun seasoning). We took a basic vodka sauce recipe and upped the spices, the heat, and added tons of goodies. It’s a thick and hearty meal that’s perfect for those cold nights. We enjoyed the meal with bought Italian bread (I was busy running errands and didn’t plan enough time to make fresh bread).

Don't forget to scroll through Tips and Tricks!

So here is Todd’s version:

 

Pasta ala Todd

AKA Hearty Rigatoni with Vodka-Tomato Sauce

 

2 T olive oil

1 C. finely chopped onions

1 8 oz. pkg mushrooms, sliced

½ t. dried crushed red pepper flakes

½ C. Vodka

1 C. whipping cream

1 C. tomato sauce

1 T. basil

1 T. parsley

½ t. black pepper

Salt to taste

 

½ C. grated Parmesan cheese

 

1 lb. rigatoni pasta

 

1lb. Hot Italian sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled

1 C. pepperoni

1 C. diced cooked chicken

 

 

Turn salted water for pasta on high. While it’s heating up, work on the next few steps.

Heat oil in heavy wok over medium high heat. Add onions, crushed red pepper and mushrooms. Sauté until onions are translucent and water from mushrooms is cooked down, about 5 minutes. Add basil, parsley, and black pepper (I added a touch of salt, but be careful, you don’t want to make it too salty after you add everything else). Stir to incorporate.

Add vodka and ignite. Simmer until flames subside, shaking pan occasionally, about 2 minutes.

Add cream and boil until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, boil until mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add Sausage, chicken, pepperoni, and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.

Turn heat to low while cooking pasta.

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni in salted water until firm to bite (a minute or two below the lower time on package).

Drain pasta. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water in case you need to thin the sauce. Add rigatoni to sauce mixture.

It will be thick and hearty. If it is too thick add some pasta water.

Sprinkle with additional parmesan cheese and a touch of parsley for color.

Enjoy!

 

 Tips and Tricks:

 

·         We were shooting for SPICY. If you do not like SPICY then use mild Italian sausage, and skip or reduce the red pepper flakes.

·         I had bought a rotisserie chicken from Sam’s Club (I prefer them to Costco and Target) and had broken it down. Two pounds were vacuum sealed and frozen. And I cubed one cup for this recipe.

·         I purchase my Italian sausage from a local sausage maker (Seigi’s). Package contains 4 6-7-inch links. I remove the casing and cooked the links. When they are half cooked, I used my tongs to break off small chunks from the links.

·         Vodka flames…AGAIN Vodka FLAMES. When you light it to cook off the alcohol it will flame 1-2 feet. We took care not to light anything on fire. Be sure to keep a lid to your pan nearby to smother the flames if they freak you out.

·         Since this recipe has tons of extra goodies, I had increased the cream and tomato sauce. If it is too thick, then add pasta water to thin it.

·         Have everything ready to go. This recipe cooks and comes together quickly.

·         Turn on your salted water when you start cooking.

·         This recipe makes 6-8 hearty servings.

Over the years since I was given the original recipe for Sour Cream Enchiladas from a co-worker, I’ve made a few changes. I’ve tried some different ingredients. Some worked. Some didn’t work. And depending on your personal, or families, preferences, you might make a few other changes.

My daughter isn’t a fan of chicken enchiladas, but likes the sour cream sauce. I had a cream cheese mixture* in the fridge that I formed into cylinders for the insides of her enchiladas. And yes, I did add more shredded cheese when I rolled them up. I didn’t put jalapenos on her two enchiladas to remind me which ones were hers.  

This is the recipe that I made last night.

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas v. 2.0

2 cups sour cream

½ cup Herdez Salsa Verde

2-3 cups chicken, shredded or diced

1 Tbls. butter

½ onion, chopped, @ ½ cup

1 4-oz can Hatch chopped green chilies, drained

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

8-10 tortillas

Shredded Mexican cheese

Jalapeno peppers, sliced

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix sour cream and Salsa Verde in bowl.

Spray 9 x 13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread ½ cup sour cream mixture on bottom of pan.

Melt butter in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in chilies and spices. Add chicken. Mix well until chicken is hot. Stir in ½ cup sour cream mixture. Turn off heat while building the enchiladas.

Lay tortilla on flat surface, spoon about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture down one edge of tortilla. Add handful of shredded cheese. Roll tightly. Lay seam side down in baking dish. Continue filling pan or until you run out of chicken mixture.

Spread remaining sour cream mixture over enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese and jalapeno slices.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until bubbly and slightly toasted.

Enjoy!

 

*Cream Cheese Enchilada Filling

8 oz package Philly cream cheese, softened

Garlic powder

Mayo, small amount

Shredded Mexican cheese

Shredded Parmesan cheese

Fresh chives, snipped 

Mix all together. Taste. Add more of whatever, depending on preferences. Also makes a good dip for whole grain tortilla chips, or spread on a bread and broiled until bubbly.

 

Tips & Tricks

·         Use regular sour cream, otherwise it might ‘break’ on you. “Breaking” happens when the product becomes too warm and separates into liquid and solid. The resulting chunks are edible, though unappetizing both visually, and in texture.

·         Feel free to use more or less salsa, depending on your preferences. I use enough to make the sour cream sauce a little more fluid, plus add flavor.

·         This time, I poached 3 large chicken breasts in water with peppercorns, oregano, cumin, garlic, and a bay leaf. When cooked, dice or shred when cool to the touch. I’ve also used rotisserie chicken, but the result varies depending what seasoning the provider uses.

·         When I sauté, I tend to use my flat-bottomed wok. The higher sides keep the potential messes to a minimum.

·         I used Hatch hot chilies. They weren’t as hot as I’d hoped. I’ve also used a fresh chopped poblano chili instead of the canned chilies.

·         Alter the spices to your preference, though I tend to make recipes as written prior to tweaking. The good part about this recipe is that everything is cooked prior to building the enchiladas, so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly.

·         Since my family isn’t a fan of corn tortillas (I am. I like white corn tortillas.), I use flour tortillas fajita-sized.

·         Pour the shredded cheese into a bowl. Digging in and out of the bag is a PIA, plus you’ll be contaminating the remaining cheese with your chicken filling fingers.

 

Foodie Friday--Dad's Favorite Chili

I have been on the lookout for a chili recipe for over thirty years. I've tried many types of recipes, some cooked by the letter of the recipe and some made with my own twist.

 

None of them compare to this recipe.

 

Seven days later we are still eating this chili and enjoying it like we had on the first day.

Plus, this recipe makes A LOT OF CHILI.

 

I had used my regular 5 quart Calphalon pot that I use for everything . . . and it was too small.

 

Fast forward to the chili bubbling and dripping down the sides of the pot and burning on the stove to me hastily scooping the chili into my big ass crock pot--lined with a slow cooker liner because those wonderful heat resistant bags of nylon are the BEST!

 

Two hours later, and a supreme amount of elbow grease to clean the stove and pot, I had a fantastic scoop of chili poured over Fritos, a sprinkling of shredded cheese and a large pinch of bacon crumbles. I was in heaven.

 

My hubby thinks I might give his boss a run for the money when the chili cookoff rolls around.

 

Feel free to take this recipe and put your own spin on it.

Dad's Favorite Chili

2 lbs ground chuck

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

3 1-lb can Ranch-style chili beans

1 1-lb can chili beans with spicy sauce

2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 6-oz can tomato paste

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 Poblano chili peppers, chopped

1 Tbls minced garlic

1 Tbls. bacon crumbles

1 Tbls. beef Better Than Bouillon

1 12-ounce Corona beer

1/4 cup chili powder

1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbls oregano

2 tsp. cumin

2 tsp hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)

1 tsp basil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp white sugar

 

In large stock pot (6 quart or larger), brown beef and sausage. Drain grease. Add all ingredients.

Stir to blend. Cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder.

 

Tips & Tricks

 

• I didn't have Italian sausage, so I used bulk sausage. Next time, I'll try spicy bulk breakfast sausage for a different zing.
• I picked up the Ranch-style (black label) beans thinking they were just beans. They aren't. They are in a sauce. I didn't drain them and just tossed them in the pot.
• I think I used 4 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes, but honestly, I think I might have only put in 2 cans. Oops. Do what floats your boat. 2 cans or 4 cans. It really doesn't matter, just make sure you have enough room in your stock pot!
• Recently I bought fresh paprika. It was smoked paprika, because that was all they had. I like the nuance of the flavor.
• Yes, I did have to add more salt. It will all depend on your beans, bouillon, and the sausage you use. Wait until everything cooks down a bit so you don't over season it.

Fritos and shredded Mexican cheese is handy, gooey and makes a great Frito chili pie!

 

Enjoy!

MAGolla  

 

 



Foodie Friday--Magic Christmas Cookies

Sometimes the best surprises happen when one is forced to substitute.
Enjoy!

Magic Christmas Cookies

Soft and sandy texture

Different combinations added to the base cookie makes it magic.

 

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

1 cup salad oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups quick oats

3 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg, mix well, then add salad oil and vanilla, mixing well. Add oats, flour, soda, and salt.  Stir to combine. Cut dough in half.

Mix into ½ batch of dough, either:

Zest from one orange

½ cup craisins

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup chopped walnuts 

OR:

1 tsp. ground chipotle pepper

1/2 cup bacon crumbles, (Kirkland bacon crumbles-1 cup fried until toasty) drain on paper towels.

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted 

OR: 

¾ cup toasted coconut, (1 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted in pan)

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1/3 cup toasted almond slices 

OR:

Zest from one orange

½ cup white chocolate chips

½ cup craisins

½ cup NaturSource salad topper mix (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, craisins)

OR: 

¾ cup Heath toffee bits with milk chocolate

½ cup chopped pecans

1 Tbls. ground cinnamon 

OR: 

½ cup fried bacon crumbles

Large pinch Hickory finishing salt

2/3 cup of mixed chocolate chips (Milk, mini, semi-sweet, butterscotch, white, sea salt caramel, etc) 

Using a cookie scoop (@ 2 Tbls), place balls on parchment lined cookie sheet, lightly flatten. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet for 2-4 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. 

Makes about 60 2-inch cookies.

 

Tips and Tricks:

·         Parchment paper is God’s gift to baking—no muss, no fuss, just toss it in the trash.

·         Some of the combinations were invented simply because I happened to have the ingredients on hand (bacon crumbles, salad topper seeds/craisin combination, oranges to zest).

·         To toast the bacon, coconut, almond slices, or pine nuts, just heat in skillet on the stovetop, tossing until they are as toasted as you want. Do not leave the room. It will seem like the ingredients are taking forever to toast, but as soon as you walk away they will burn. Don’t ask me how I know this…

·         When mixing in strong spice flavors (chipotle, hickory salt, and cinnamon) start with the amount suggested. Bake and taste a small sample cookie. The chipotle has a late burn, but it shouldn’t be an overpowering flavor, just unexpected. Same with the hickory salt. Don’t over do it.

·         I baked all the cookie combinations and took them to work. ALL cookies were demolished within 4 hours. Not a true taste testing, but many people liked the chipotle-bacon, hickory salt bacon and the coconut macaroon combinations the best. I’m a fan of the orange zest with seeds.

·         If you want to make smaller cookies, then go for it, but bake a few practice ones first to adjust your timing.

 

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday--Savory Meatloaf

I meant to publish this recipe a few weeks ago, but never sat down at the computer to get it accomplished. Oops...

Savory Meatloaf

 

2 lbs. ground beef

1 c. Kirkland bacon crumbles

1 onion, diced

1 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. savory

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground mustard

½ tsp. pepper

1 clove garlic, minced, or ¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup Ciabatta bread, crumbed in Cuisinart

Preheat oven to 350◦F.

Prepare pan with parchment fitted to 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Fry bacon crumbles to render grease. Add onion, and sauté until onions are translucent and lightly browned. Mix spices into onion mixture, and then add milk. Stir to combine.

In large bowl, mix ground beef with egg and onion mixture. Add breadcrumbs to combine. Spread meat mixture in loaf pan.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until meat thermometer reaches 160◦F.

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         My family hates raw onions, which is the reason I sautéed them.

·         Kirkland bacon crumbles were put into the recipe because I needed to use them up. BTW: they are found in the salad topper/condiment aisle.

·         Ciabatta bread because we had some mini ciabatta sandwich rolls that were getting old. Bread crumbs of any type work. If I didn’t have enough ciabatta, I had Panko bread crumbs on standby.

·         Parchment paper is AWESOME! I use it all the time for baking cookies to making fudge to reheating pizza. Just throw it away when you’re finished!

·         Fold a piece of parchment paper to fit into pan, then make a nice sharp edges and corners and staple them to keep the correct form. Keep paper long to use as “handles” when you take the meatloaf out of the pan to cut. This makes cleanup short and sweet. Take care. There is a lot of fat in this meatloaf so remove from pan near the sink in case of spillage.

Foodie Friday -- Beef Stroganoff

I had every intention of trying a Martha Stewart beef stroganoff recipe, but a few things stood in my way. One it was a crockpot meal, which would have forced me to chop onions, mushrooms and meat at 5:30 in the morning prior to work.

Yuck. No thank you. Coffee and I have a special bonding moment at 5:30 in the morning. I'd hate to disrupt that particular ritual.

And two, it had Dijon mustard in it, which my family dislikes. I did think of sneaking it in this recipe, but forgot. Oops.

A few days earlier, I had purchased a 5-lb chuck roast from Costco, which I cut up into both cubes and strips while defatting it. I ended up with about 2-lbs of strips and 2-lbs of 3-inch strips (about 1/4-inch thick and 3/4-inch wide), which I tossed in the freezer. I'll use the cubed meat for chili or some sort of stew next week.

It's 4 PM and time to start cooking dinner...Improvise time!

Beef Stroganoff

 

2 lbs beef, sliced into strips (roughly 3-in long x 1/2-in wide x 1/4-in deep)

2 small onions, or one large onion, diced (or sliced, if you prefer. I think I will slice it next time)

1-lb mushrooms, cubed (sliced, if you prefer)

2 cups beef broth*

oil

salt

pepper

garlic powder

flour

8 oz. lite sour cream

 

1-lb egg noodles

 

1) Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in large Dutch oven pan on medium-high. Add onion and mushrooms, cook until tender about 6-8 minutes. Season lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Remove from pan, leaving juices, and add meat. Brown meat, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a couple Tablespoons of flour. Stir until flour is cooked, about 1 minute.

 

2) Return onions and mushrooms to pan. Add beef broth. Stir.

 

3) Lightly cover (angle lid instead of placing it tightly on), and turn heat down to keep beef at a strong simmer. Cook for 1-2 hours or until broth thickens to a gravy. ** Adjust seasoning at this time, but you probably won't need to add anything. Just saying.

 

4) Cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

 

5) Stir sour cream into beef mixture.

 

6) Place noodles on plate and spoon beef stroganoff over noodles.

 

Enjoy!

 

Tips and Tricks

• * I never have beef broth, or chicken broth for that matter, in the house . . . ever. But what I always have is Better Than Bouillon, chicken and beef. For this recipe, I used about 1 Tablespoon of beef Better than Bouillon, along with 2 cups of water.  
• ** I cooked my stroganoff about 1 1/2 hours. It just worked out that way. If you use a more marbled cut of beef, it will become less tough the longer it is braised as the fat will break down. My inspiration for this recipe was guided by Paula Deen who cooks her meal for only 45 minutes. Slower = more tender.  
• If you want to cook the beef first, then the onions and mushrooms. Go for it! It doesn't really matter. 



Another totally easy recipe to make. All it takes are the ingredients and some patience . . . and your family with think you are a GOD.

Yeah, it's that good. 

 

Homemade Caramel Sauce

½ cup water

1 ¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In medium-sized sauce pan, combine water, sugar and salt over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar. Slightly increase heat, simmer and swirl mixture until color resembles the color of honey, about 6 minutes. When sugar mixture turns medium amber, add cream and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir constantly until mixture is 225 F on digital candy thermometer, or about 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract and transfer to heat safe container.

Tips & Tricks:

·            The hard part of making caramel (or any sugar based candy: brittle, toffee, hard caramels) is waiting for the color to change. . . and as soon as you think you can walk away . . .

                  It. Will. Burn.

·            Ignore the crap about using a wet pastry brush to wash down sides of pan. Which is why I left that part off the instructions.  Just stir or swirl to heat the sugar droplets into mixture again.

·            I placed my first batch of sauce in a candy squirt bottle. It didn’t have a meltdown.

·            With my second batch, I used a Kerr jelly jar with a fresh lid to heat seal. It sealed with a pop when the caramel cooled down enough.

·            It will thicken as it cools.

·            Store it in the fridge for up to a month.

·            It is freaking delish on ice cream, pies, cakes, or a finger. . .  just saying.

 

Foodie Friday -- Pumpkin Streusel Bread

My first Foodie Friday recipe after a long break.
I had some leftover canned pumpkin and needed to find a way to use it. This recipe is the result.
And it was polished off quite quickly!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Streusel:

¾ cup chopped walnuts

2 T butter

2-3 T sugar

1 T flour

1 t. cinnamon

Mix well, using fingers to break butter into tiny pieces.

Pumpkin batter:

1 2/3 cup flour

1 ½ cup sugar

1 t. baking soda

¼ t. baking powder

¾ t. salt

½ t. ground cloves

½ t. nutmeg

½ t. cinnamon

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cup pure pumpkin

½ cup water

Sift dry ingredients together. Add eggs, oil, pumpkin and water. Beat well. Pour ½ of batter into greased and floured* loaf pan, sprinkle with ½ of streusel mixture. Swirl with knife. Add remaining batter and sprinkle remaining streusel on top. Bake at 325 degrees F. for about 1 hour 20 minutes, or until top springs back. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out of pan and cool completely.

Tips and Tricks:

·         I’ve become a HUGE fan of parchment paper, especially since my loaf pans are the “folded” kind, which means you can never get the corners completely clean.

·         Measure parchment and fold neatly so it fits the bottom of the pan. Flatten the corner edges and staple them into shape Repeat for all corners.

·         I did spray a little Pam on the paper, but probably didn’t need to.

·         Feel free to make more streusel. I only had ¾ cup of walnuts, so I had to make due.

·         To deepen the flavor of the streusel use brown sugar—dark brown sugar will give the deepest flavor.

·         Yes, sift the dry ingredients. I have a battery operated sifter, but any type of mesh wire sieve will work. Use a spoon to work the flour mixture through the sieve.

·         If you don’t have all the spices, you could probably make due with McCormick’s pumpkin pie spice. It has ginger and allspice along with the above ingredients.

·         I had to use about ½ cup of pumpkin from a 15 oz. can for a different recipe and this was what I had left. The original recipe called for only 1 cup. If you add more pumpkin (like the entire can) you might want to cut back on the water.

·         I used the convection oven setting for this recipe. I wanted more circulation around the pan due to the longer time in the oven.

·         After removing the bread from the pan, I let it cool for a little longer before removing the parchment paper so the bread could cool completely

Foodie Friday Links Active!

I finished linking and verifying all my Foodie Friday recipe links.

Some recipes will appear in two different places. For example, Flemings mac and cheese, appears under Pasta Entrees and Sides. While it is served as a side at the restaurant, we tend to eat it as our main meal. HELLO, HEART ATTACK! Yep, it's that rich . . . and that good.

Or there might be multiple recipes that might seem like a duplicate, but they aren't. For example: Chili.

I really enjoyed linking these recipes because it gave me a chance to remember some forgotten recipes, along with remembering the people and stories that go along with them.

Please flip through the selection and enjoy!

MAG's

Foodie Friday -- Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

A couple of weeks ago, I had a craving.

Gloomy weather does it to me as I have the urge to bake, and baking is detrimental to my weight loss efforts. So the key is to have the craving on a day when hubby had to go to work the next day and he can take the extras! Which he did.

Anyway, I was thinking how good Craisins were and that they would taste good with white chocolate chips. Lo and Behold! The good folks at Ocean Spray figured it out for me! This recipe was on the back of the mongo bag I had purchased from Sam's Club.

Excellent cookie! But man, it cost so much in WW points that I ate my one and only cookie really, really slowly.

Oatmeal Craisin White Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

2/3 cup butter, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 ½ cup old-fashioned oats

1 ½ cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2/3 cup Craisin Dried Cranberries

2/3 cup white chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 2 ½ dozen cookies.

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         I used a medium cookie scoop and it made only 22 cookies with a diameter of 2-2 ½ inches.

·         I did put this into the WW recipe builder and came up with a whopping 5 WW points per cookie. Yeah . . . I ate one, but sent the remaining cookies to work with the hubby the next day.

·         I’m lazy and prefer to use parchment paper on my cookie sheets. It’s quick. It’s easy. And there is no clean up. Just toss the paper in the trash when you’re finished cooking.

·         My oven tends to be on the hot side, so I baked the cookies between 9-10 minutes.  

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday -- Cubed Steak with Mushrooms

Somewhere I saw a recipe that featured cubed steak and mushrooms. The picture made it look wonderful . . . and then I couldn't figure out where I'd seen the recipe.

And I had already bought the steaks and mushrooms.

I googled it, but every single recipe seemed to use Cream of Mushroom Soup (Yuck!), or some intense form of flour/egg white/flour dredging, so I winged it.

This turned out to be a pretty good recipe.

*When I bought the cube steak, it came in a package of three, weighing in just under one pound.

Cube Steak with Mushrooms

3 cubed steaks

Flour (1/2 cup)

Salt

Pepper

2 Tbls. Vegetable oil

1 cup Beef broth, warmed

1 8-oz package sliced mushrooms 

Place flour, salt and pepper in Ziploc bag. Add one cube steak, toss to coat.

Turn large skillet on high and add oil. When oil is hot, place one cube stake in pan. Repeat dredging steaks in flour mixture, and adding to pan. Do not over crowd.

Cook on high until blood rises to the top of the steaks, turn to cook the other side. When blood rises from second side, turn once more for about 1-2 minutes.

Remove steaks to plate and tent with foil.

Add a little bit of beef broth to pan, scraping up brown bits.

Add mushrooms, allow to toast for 2 minutes. Add rest of broth, boiling until sauce slightly thickens.

 

Add the cube steaks, spooning sauce and mushrooms over top. Allow to cook for 1-2 more minutes until heated up and gravy has thickened.  

Serve and enjoy!

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         Cube steak is typically used for Chicken Fried Steak. This is a very tough piece of beef, which is why it’s sliced super thin and it looks like it’s been mutilated by a bunch of knives. This is the only way this piece of meat can become tender.

·         The beef broth is used to deglaze the pan, pulling up all sorts of yummy goodness that seared to the bottom of the pan.

·         I was lazy and bought sliced mushrooms—Baby Bellas—which are a little sturdier than your basic white mushroom. You can slice them yourself, but the price was the same at my store so I bought them sliced

·         I didn’t calculate the WW points, but I don’t think it added up to too many.

·         I served this meal with oven roasted potatoes and green beans.

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday -- Chicken Tortilla Soup

Problem: rotisserie chicken sitting in the fridge. I had deboned it the previous week, but it was time to use it up.

Solution: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found a version, well, actually I found numerous versions of this soup, but I didn't make my own fried tortilla chips--are you kidding me? What kind of nut has the time to do that?

And it looked a little bit boring, so I spiced it up with the peppers. I didn't think about adding zucchini until later in the day after I went to the store, so it didn't get put in there.

BUT if you follow this recipe and add the zucchini, it's pretty darn close to tasting like the Chicken Tortilla Soup that is served at On The Border.

Totally unintentional, but there it is.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 Tbls. oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped

½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ Tbls. cumin

1 Tbls. chili powder

½ tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbls. flour

3 bay leaves

2--14 ½ oz. cans diced tomatoes

8 cups chicken broth

Chicken meat from one rotisserie chicken, cubed

Cooked Wild rice—make according to package directions—it usually takes 30-35 minutes so start rice about the time you start the soup.

Avocados, sliced

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Cheddar cheese, shredded

Tortilla chips, crushed

Sour cream

Heat oil in large pan over high heat. Add onion, peppers, garlic and cilantro; sauté for about 3 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, black pepper, salt and flour; stir and cook for a minute or two.

Add two cans of diced tomatoes and bay leaves.

Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes before adding rotisserie chicken *if you are adding raw chicken, add when soup comes to a boil*.

Adjust seasonings—more salt might be needed.

Cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove bay leaves and enjoy!

 *do not add the rice to the pot of soup--it will turn to mush*

Assembling:

½ cup of wild rice in bowl. Add 8 oz. of soup. Top with crushed tortilla chips, cheese, avocados, etc. Enjoy!

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         Yes, the cumin and chili powder are in TABLESPOONS

·         When chopping the peppers, you might want to wear gloves

·         If you don’t use gloves expect the skin under your nails to tingle. . . jus’ sayin’

·         If you want it hotter, keep the seeds and the membrane inside the peppers

·         Cut the top off the pepper, pull out the seeds, cut them in half and proceed to dice them from the inside as the outside of the skin is tough. Be careful, because it might squirt you with juice as you cut. DO NOT RUB EYES!

·         Again, I use the Better Than Bouillon chicken base. I usually add a bit along with the spices and then add the water later.

·         I used rotisserie chicken because I had it in the fridge and it needed to be used. If you don’t have pre-cooked chicken, simply cut up four boneless, skinless chicken breasts and add after the soup comes to a boil. The chunks will cook in the broth. –just don’t taste test your flavors until after the chicken is cooked.

·         If you want to add zucchini, then slice one zucchini into rounds and half them. Add when you add chicken

·         If you want a thicker soup after it cooks down—mix 1 Tbls of cornstarch with ¼ cup of broth. Add to soup. Depending on your preference, you might need to repeat.

·         To put a healthier spin to the toppers—use 0% plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, --use a reduced fat shredded cheese, --or baked tortilla chips.

·         This recipe is Weight Watcher friendly—roughly 5 points per 8 oz. serving. Rice will cost you extra points, unless you are on the Simply Filling technique.

Enjoy!