Spinach Artichoke Dip

I was dying for some spinach artichoke dip tonight to watch the game. I found this recipe on Food Network and it was so delicious. I've only made it a couple times - this was the best! No mayo. Canned 'chokes. It was SO good dipped in celery. I think I ate half the pan. Even Ethan gobbled it up! (oh, and super easy - the most important part - I was done in a half hour.)

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, softened
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, plus more as needed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
Carrot sticks, celery sticks or baked tortilla strips, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Squeeze all excess liquid from spinach, place in a food processor with sour cream, Parmesan, 1/2 cup of the mozzarella, the cream cheese, garlic, pepper and hot sauce.

Process until just blended but still slightly lumpy. Add artichokes and pulse to form a chunky mixture. Place in a 1-quart baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve with carrot sticks, celery sticks or bread slices.

Pepper Steak Tacos

Extremely Easy to make.

Dry Rub
Cumin
Kosher Salt
Pepper Corns
Garlic Salt

Place dry rub on both sides of skirt of flank steak. Put the steak in the fridge for minimum of one hour. Fire up the grill. Wrap the requisite number of flour tortillas in tinfoil. On the grill create a hot spot and a medium to low spot. Grill the steaks on the hot side of the grill and while the steaks are cooking place the tortillas on the medium to low side of the heat. Cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Turn the steaks and the tinfoil wrapped tortillas once.

Serve with rice, black beans, guaccccccamollllleeeeeee, lettuce, tortilla chips and salad.

Chocolate Caramel Cookie Bars.

Here is my lazy addition:
Go to marthastewart.com and search her recipes for these cookies. They are like eating a caramel...Reisin type yummy-ness on top of a cookie - topped with salt! They seem like they are going to be a big deal, and they really are not. But they are SO DARN TASTY! Plus they are so fun to make because the whole time you feel like you are totally doing some sort of crazy science experiment gone wrong - and then suddenly the blob turns caramelly and MMMMMM....
The worst part is waiting until they set - which overnight really is best. So my only advice is lick the spoon when you are done, because it is a long wait! Don't mock me about Martha either. I got a free subscription to her magazine from Lands' End.

pasta carbonera

1 pkg tortellini
3-4 slices prosciutto
1 small carton whipping cream
fresh Parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks

boil tortellini and drain
slice up prosciutto add to the tortellini

In a mixing bowl whip up the cream until it gets thick and lumpy. Add the egg yolks and stir a little then add to the pasta. Mix it all up. Add as much Parmesan cheese and you would like and enjoy.

You can add the egg yolks to the pasta after you drain it put it back in the pan and stir. While the eggs yolks cook. Or you can add one egg yolk into the cream after it gets mixed.
You have to serve it hot. I have also made it with out the egg yolk and it is fine to.

Super easy and very yummy

Cashew Chicken

2 chicken breasts
1egg white slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce
3/4tsp sugar
1TBSP cornstarch
3/4c chicken broth


1 zucchini
3-4 stalks celery
1pkg mushrooms
1/2 bag spinach
1 garlic clove


3/4c cashews
5tbsp olive oil


cube chicken
dip in egg whites set aside

mix soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, add broth until combined set aside

brown cashews in a little oil set aside
Put chicken in the pan until opaque set aside
add more oil in the pan add vegetables with garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Lower heat stir in sauce and chicken stir until sauce thickens about 5 minutes.

Serve over rice top off with cashews

Rosies Pasta

This is from a cookbook we got in college. We made it for dinner last night and still love it.

4 Chicken Breasts
1 Can Evaporated Milk
1 Shallot or a bunch of Green Onions
half a package of Mushrooms
1/2 cup Peas
Cooking Wine
Red Pepper Flakes
3 cloves garlic
Sundried Tomatoes
Bowtie pasta
Italian Seasoning
Basil

Turn Oven (that's the boxy looking thing that pizza comes out of) to 400 degrees.
season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper and italian seasoning and cook until pink is gone and juices run clear. When the chicken comes out of the oven shred it with a couple of forks or an industrial piece of kitchen equipment. Using the forks will make you feel more like Julia Childs or Emiril Lagassee (take your pick) The kitchen equipment will only drive you to drink.

Put some water on to boil for the pasta. When water is boiling stick your hands in to test it out, than add the pasta.

Put the sundried tomatoes in a bowl and add enough boiling water to the bowl to soak the tomatoes. After the sundried tomatoes have soaked for five minutes slice and set aside.

Add a teaspoon of oil, garlic and 1 tablespoon of flour to a sauce pan. Sautee the garlic and flour for a minute then add the evaporated milk to the saucepan. Add the red pepper flakes to the sauce and keep on medium heat. The red pepper flake amount is up to you - the more you add the greater the kick and the less likely your kids will eat it. Keep stirring the sauce until it boils....this will require a third arm because now you need to multitaskwhile continuing to stir the sauce.

Add the cooking wine - a quarter of a cup - add the peas, mushrooms, shallots and the sun dried tomatoes and sautee over medium high heat for several minutes. Add the shredded chicken. Cover the chicken and vegtables and cover. Keep stirring the sauce with that third arm.

The pasta should be close to being done about now.

Keep stirring, just keep stirring, stirring, stirring.....and did I mention that it is best that if you use a whisk for this sauce.

Drian the pasta, add the chicken and vegtable mixture, then mix the sauce into the pasta. Garnish with fresh chopped basil and serve with crusty bread. Take an ibuprofen for your sore arm. Next time get the kids involved to stir the sauce while you are finishing your Diet Coke.

8 layer salad

Ok this salad is sooooo good. It even competes with the almond orange one. Simple basic ingredients but all together is just yummy.



Spinach
strawberries
avocado
cucumber
red onion
feta
walnuts (extra extra good with the sugar ones. you can buy them already like that with the salad accesories)
Brianna's blush vinagrette dressing

super super good. Try it.

Chicken Cacciatore Subs

Four Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (We use the frozen ones from Wal Mart)
Two cans of diced tomatoes
1/2 onion chopped
Three cloves of garlic chopped
One green pepper chopped
one handful of mushrooms sliced
Oregano
sliced provolone cheese
hoagie buns

Turn on your broiler
Slice the chicken breasts into thin strips and brown them with olive or canola oil
remove the chicken breasts from the pan
add the garlic, onion, mushrooms and pepper - brown for several minutes
add the chicken back into the pan
add the diced tomatoes to the pan
add oregano
bring to a boil and then down to simmer
spoon the chicken to the hoagie buns, top with the provolone and then put the subs into the broiler for five to ten minutes until the cheese is melted and the buns are browned

(This is a total rip-off from Rachel Ray - I saw on her 30 Minute Meals) - but it turned out so well that it is a staple in our house now that the dumb neanderthal man (that would be me) can cook without help.

Super Easy Brownies

6 TBS cocoa
2 Cupbs Sugar
1 Cup Vegtbable Oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 Cups Self Rising Flour -or all purpose flour and add 1 tbs baking power
1 tsp vanilla

beat all ingredients except for flour - then add flour.
bake at 325 for 20 minutes.

Add walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips if desired (or if your wife will let you...don't get me started about walnuts and how I love them)

Servie with Ice Cream - but that just goes without saying

Coke Pulled Pork

Everyone always asks me for this one...So I thought I would just post it here...and be done.
Buy the pork roasts from Costco that are vacuum sealed, and they come three or four hooked together. They are very low fat and it seems like it is sirloin tip or something like that. I just put the pork roasts in the crock pot and pour coke over them and cook them forever. They just fall apart when you are pulling them out of the crock pot.
I usually cook three together in my big crock pot - for around 6-8 hours. Then I just pull it apart. Obviously, that makes a ton of meat, but I just put the leftovers in freezer bags and it is fantastic.

Then you can use the meat for whatever.
We always use this sauce:

1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 1/2 Tbsp. Worchestershire
1 Tbsp mustard
1Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup ketchup
thick slice of onion and lemon

Reduce 1/2 hour - or until desired thickness.

Honestly, I rarely put all of the water in. Because I am usually in a rush, and don't have a ton of time for it to reduce. You can also do less butter if you are worried about that sort of thing.
Depending on what you are doing with it, if you want the sauce really thick/really sticking to the meat, you can use a little cornstarch to thicken it a lot more.

We use the pork to make quesadillas on the fresh tortillas from Costco and it is SO good. You can add cumin or chili powder to the sauce to make it a little more mexican - ish. We just do it plain, and we love it.

If you are doing sandwiches, it is so yummy to caramelize some onions, and just add a couple tablespoons of the sauce and a little butter to the pan when you are cooking the onions - it just gets all toasty and delicious.

Coleslaw with orange-cilantro vinaigrette

1/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/4 cup light mayonaise
1/4 cup 100% orange juice. Preferably freshly squeezed or not from concentrate
3 TBSP white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp honey
7c shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup slivered red onions (i used about 1/4)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
Sat and pepper to taste


In a large, resealable plastic container whisk together the yougurt, mayo, juice, vinegar, and honey. Add the cabbage, carrots, onion and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Cover refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days.

This was so good. it came from the biggest loser family cook book. It is so good and the kids loved it.

Samoan Coconut Salmon

This salmon is one of my favorite things in the world.


Salmon
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
coconut milk
sweet onions (vidalia, Mayan, Maui)

Put the salmon in a baking dish. (I have found that it is best to use those aluminum throw away kind. for some reason it come out best that way. ) sprinkle generously with sea salt. (I think this makes or breaks the dish. lots of salt but not too much. Just make sure it is all covered. sorry no actual measurements. ) Then sprinkle with pepper. slice up onions in thick slices and spread out across fish. Pour coconut milk over the top. Then cover with tin foil and let bake on 500 for one hour.

Yes you heard that right 500 for one hour. The fish just melts in your mouth it is soooo good. As a disclaimer Rich and April did not love this fish but they are the only ones I know who have not gone crazy for it. :)

Mom's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

We all love these. Everyone I know loves these. Emma just melted into a pile of goo when she walked in and smelled them today. Ahhh. Home.

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter
Whip together.
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
Add a half cup at a time and blend till fluffy-ish.
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Mix.
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix.
3-3 1/2 cups flour
Mix just until incorporated.
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Mix

Bake at 375 degrees 8-10 minutes.