Two Happy Bellies

Cheese Enchilada Stack

Inspired by a recipe found in More Make it Fast, Cook it Slow (9781401310387) or at A Year of Slow Cooking, we made the Cheese Enchilada Stack (with chicken) for dinner this week.

Definitely not the prettiest meal, it really was easy to make. However, we found it to be on the bland side and if we do decide to make it again, we will definitely need to find a way to add some flavor. It is a good base recipe though so here you go:

• 8 corn tortillas
• 4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 (4 oz.) can sliced olives, drained
• 2 C. shredded cooked chicken (optional)
• 2 C. enchilada sauce
• sour cream
• salsa

Put a layer of tortillas into the bottom of a 4 quart slow cooker. Add a handful of cheese and some sliced olives. If you choose to add meat, we added some cooked shredded chicken we had on hand. Scoop some enchilada sauce on top of that. Repeat your layers until you've run out of ingredients, finishing with tortillas on top. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until the cheese is melted and the top layer is beginning to pull away from the sides. Let sit unplugged with the cover off for about 15 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Adding a green salad made this a complete meal . . . although why I chose to plate up an orange recipe on an orange plate confuses me!

Crispy Herbed Shrimp with Chive Aioli with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes

From Cooking Light March 2012, we decided to try their Crispy Herbed Shrimp with Chive Aioli. This is served with Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes. While we did not create the recipe exactly as written (no chives so we used cilantro - good use of ingredients around the house), we still proclaim this one a winner! Using items such as Greek yogurt to create the Aioli sauce and taking advantage of the seasonal nature of the asparagus we happily ate this one up. It also halved very easily which is always lovely as this was not one in which we were looking forward to leftovers. Dinner Tonight? This one is easily ready in the 40 minutes they promise.

Chicken Divan

Last Monday we made dinner for a new mom. We love to help feed others, so volunteer to do this quite frequently. We have several dishes we'll do in rotation and this one is perfect for feeding others. It is (almost) a perfect one dish meal. The only reason it isn't perfect? I can't stand not having something on the side. In this case we made a beautiful fruit salad as the side item and actually hit all the food groups with the main dish and side. Amazing!

While it isn't the prettiest thing on the plate, it sure is tasty! We made a double batch - one 9 by 13 for them and two 8 by 8 for us (one went promptly into the freezer for a future meal). Due to their sensitive palattes, we also made theirs the traditional recipe. Ours? Got doused with sriracha sauce, only our favorite sauce of the moment. We discovered it when we first made spicy chicken wraps. Speaking of them, it is just about time for them to show back up in rotation. Hoping our basil comes in soon!

Anyway, here is our recipe for one 9 by 13 pan:

• 8 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (about 4 cups meat)
• 1 bunch broccoli
• 1 1/2 C. cooked rice
• 1 stick butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 can cheese soup, condensed (this is one ingredient I'd like to swap out)
• 1 can evaporated skim milk
• 1/4 C. slivered almonds, toasted
• 1/2 C. crackers, crushed (the Ritz type, not the Saltine type)

Spray a 9 by 13 pan. Cook broccoli in boiling water for about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, saute onion with 1 T. butter. Add soup and milk to create sauce. Layer bottom of pan with broccoli, then rice, then chicken. Pour sauce over chicken. Don't stir, but jiggle the pan around to make sure sauce seeps through. Melt rest of butter. Scatter crackers across top of pan, then drizzle the butter, and scatter the almonds. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with hot sauce for those who like extra seasoning.

With our fruit salad made of kiwi, cantelope, and watermelon, we had two happy bellies in the house.

Chicken Fajita Medley

I was asked by a friend the other day about our penchant for "makeover" meals. While I don't call them out that often here on the blog, we do try to find a way to change up leftovers whenever possible. One of the easiest ones to share would be our chicken fajitas/fajita rice bowls/chicken quesadillas. The first night of this series we saute up a bunch of peppers and onions

 
and Aaron grills a couple of chicken breasts.

We enjoy these that first night on tortillas and with whatever accompanists we feel like . . . in this case: cheese, sour cream, salsa, and grilled corn.

The next day we make rice and then have those same ingredients of chicken, peppers/onions, salsa, cheese, etc. in a bowl

and then on the last night, we make quesadillas once again using our chicken, pepper/onions, cheese, etc.

There you go, three meals out of one set of ingredients.

Grilled Sirloin with Anchovy-Lemon Butter and Broccoli Rabe

New grill + sirloin steak for our 1/8th of a cow + Super Fast 20 Minute Cooking recipe = Dinner Monday night and leftovers for Tuesday. Tracy eyed this recipe in the March Cooking Light issue. Under the heading of Super Fast 20 Minute Cooking we thought this would be a good one to try on a week day night. This was an easy recipe to make but that 20 minutes does not include the time it takes to gather, measure out or prep all ingredients. From pulling stuff out of the fridge to dinner plate on the table was really about 45 minutes and still not bad for a work night.

Verdict- I love anchovies so this recipe was up my alley. The combination of butter, lemon, and the anchovy paste could be delicious on just about any meat, not just this grilled sirloin. How was the broccoli rabe? Well… I think this was my first time to be exposed to rabe so my judgment might not be the best. I found them to be bitter. I think I would make this again but substitute the rabe for spinach or some other green. Tracy, on the other hand, loved it just the way it was.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Pesto Butter

Still trying to use up pesto in the house, we adapted a recipe from Don't Panic -- Dinner's in the Freezer (9780800730550).

The authors actually make homemade pesto as part of the recipe, which is great - we do the same. Problem is we're trying to use up already made pesto and just had to guess how much prepared pesto equals their original ingredients. Not sure we guessed correctly, but it worked. Because we made a "half" recipe, I'm just going to describe what we did, rather than give you the recipe as written.

I mixed a generous dollop of pesto with 4 T. of softened butter, made a rectangle, then chilled that until firm.

Next, Aaron pounded three chicken breasts until flat, and passed them off to me. I placed 1/3 of our pesto butter stick inside each breast, wrapped it like an envelope, and flour'd/egg'd/panko'd the breast. Then it was back to Aaron to put in the skillet that had been heating some butter and olive oil.

After they hung out in the skillet for about 15 minutes, turning to brown on all sides, they went into a greased baking dish and baked at 350 degrees for another 45 minutes (or until meat is white all the way through).

We served these lovely chicken breasts with pesto rice (another attempt to use up pesto) and sauteed asparagus.

I'd definitely eat these again!

Split Pea Soup

I haven't had split pea soup in years, my aunt used to make a wonderful one however my cousin no longer remembers the recipe as her husband doesn't like it. Virginia Willis shares another tasty recipe from Basic to Brilliant, Y'all (9781607740094) and now I can once again enjoy Split Pea Soup.

• 2 T. canola oil
• 2 sweet onions, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
• 8 C. chicken stock (preferably homemade)
• 1 1/4 C. green split peas, rinsed
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• bouquet garni (3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley; 2 sprigs thyme; 1 bay leaf; 1 T. whole black peppercorns tied in cheesecloth)
• 1 ham hock or hambone (optional)

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrot; saute until the vegetables begin to soften (4 to 6 minutes). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the chicken stock and split peas; season with salt and pepper. Add the bouquet garni and hambone (if using). Bring to a boil; then decrease the heat to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender, about 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve immediately.

This was her "basic" recipe. Moving it up to "brilliant" she suggest adding Deviled Ham Garlic Toasts. While we did not take the soup up to this level, I look forward to trying this next time.

Cheese Ravioli in Pesto-Tomato Broth

We needed to use up some pesto we had in the fridge and this recipe had caught our eye so we made soup not too long ago. An easy recipe, the only changes we made were to use zucchini (instead of yellow squash as that is what we had) and to add more pesto (we felt it didn't have any pesto flavor as is).

• 28 oz. (or so) chicken broth - we used 4 cups homemade
• 9 oz. pkg cheese ravioli
• 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 C. pesto (which we upped by generous spoonfuls in our bowls)
• 2 C. squash cubed
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. pepper

Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add all remaining ingredients; reduce heat, simmer 8-10 minutes. Makes four servings.

We would probably make this again if we were trying to use up ingredients sitting around. I would not go out and buy the stuff just to make this . . .

Carmelized Onion Grilled Cheese

Originally we planned on grilling out last night (on our new grill purchased because of some crazy birds who do have at least one egg in their nest). However, while the grill has been bought, it is in the process of being built so we had to go to plan B for dinner. Plan B was fantabulous!

We still had some tasty sourdough bread left from Panera, as well as that wonderful white farmhouse cheddar. We sauteed up some onion and splashed it with some balsamic vinegar. Then Aaron layered the cheese and onion on the bread which had been brushed with melted butter. He threw those on to our panini press and about 6 minutes later dinner was served.

We ate these with a fresh fruit salad and enjoyed a light dinner. Yum!

ABC Grilled Cheese

Inspired by this tasty sandwich, and a passing comment by someone about Apple Bacon Cheddar sandwiches, Aaron made this to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day.

He bought some lovely sourdough bread from Panera and had them slice it. Melting some butter, he brushed one side of each of four slices with the butter. Then he thinly sliced a Granny Smith apple and some white farmhouse cheddar, while cooking up four slices of pepper'd bacon. Once our sandwiches were layered (bread, apple, cheese, bacon, bread) he placed them in our panini press and cooked them for about 6 or 7 minutes on medium. We served it right away with a simple salad and the rest of the apple.

Since the cat and dog both got a tiny little bite as well, there are four happy bellies in this house tonight.

I hope you enjoyed this look into our National Grilled Cheese Day Celebration. Don't forget though - the entire month of April does celebrate the Grilled Cheese - there just might be some other tasty variations in our near future (not that I ever need an excuse to enjoy grilled cheese)!