Welcome to My Kitchen

A place for me to document my culinary successes and to share some good food.

Monday

Tilapia Fish Tacos

Love love love!!!
I use frozen tilapia steaks (thawed), a little olive oil and taco seasoning. I mix and grill those three ingredients in a small pan on stove. Then place it in a soft tortilla and top with my homemade chipotle ranch dressing...YUM!!! You should try it out!!

Sunday

Chicken Pasta Fra Diavolo

We modified this a tad by not adding in the lobster base and substituting chicken bouillon. It turned out super yummy. I think we'll keep trying this recipe until we get it exactly like we like it. This reminds us of one of our favorite restaurant dishes from Brio Tuscan Grill - also reminds us of some really great date nights!

Better have some bread and butter ready, this dish is hot! Bread and butter will help balance that delicious heat!


Here's how you do it -

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, grilled and sliced into bite-size pieces (shrimp can be substituted)
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes or more to taste
1 1/2 cups prepared Alfredo sauce
3 cups prepared marinara sauce
2 tablespoons lobster base (see note)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound penne, cooked al dente and drained
Salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 cup sliced green onions Preparation:
In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, chicken and pepper flakes, and sauté 1 minute. Add Alfredo and marinara sauces and simmer for 2 minutes. Add lobster base and whisk until dissolved; stir in butter and hot pasta. Continue to simmer 3 minutes, stirring until butter has melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper; garnish with green onions.

Note: Lobster base is a paste-like, concentrated bouillon, usually found near the soups at gourmet markets.

Thursday

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup-when you're in a hurry

Organic Chicken Broth
Egg Noodles
1 Carrot, sliced
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
2 large cans of Swanson's Shredded Chicken

Boil broth with carrots garlic and onion powder. Cook noodles until done in broth. Add chicken and heat for another 10 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!!

Friday

Another Favorite - Ham and Pea Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) package shell pasta
1/2 pound cubed ham
1/4 cup Parmesan
1 pkg frozen sweet peas
8 oz. zesty Italian salad dressing

Instructions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.
When pasta is cooked, pour over frozen peas.
Add ham and Parmesan and stir.
Pour dressing over mixture and mix again.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Note: If you'll be refrigerating this salad for more than 1 hour, reserve 1/2 cup dressing to stir into the salad just before serving.

Summer is almost here - Sombrero Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) package spiral pasta
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup water
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 (8-ounce) cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
2 (2-1/4 ounce) cans sliced ripe olives, drained
1 (16-ounce) bottle Catalina or Western salad dressing (I used Catalina)

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Add water and taco seasoning; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Rinse pasta in cold water and drain; place in a large bowl.
Add beef mixture, cheese, green pepper, onion, tomato and olives; mix well.
Add the dressing and toss to coat.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Note: If you'll be refrigerating this salad for more than 1 hour, reserve 1/2 cup dressing to stir into the salad just before serving.

Thursday

Rosemary Garlic Roasted Chicken

4lb roasting whole chicken rubbed and stuffed with minced garlic, fresh rosemary, onion and EVOO. Roasted at 350 degrees for 3 hours. Yum!!!

Saturday

Grilled Chicken with the help of Lawry's

This was a big hit....although I felt like I was cheating by not making my own marinade from scratch....who said a little help was wrong?! This was so good!!!

Sunday

Noodleburger Casserole


For Christmas, our good friend, Talt, gave me a great old cookbook he found through his search for other cool old books. He knew I had a weakness for cookbooks...as I've said before, I'm kind of a "cookbook addict" (if there is such a thing). So I thought I would try out one of the recipes that seemed pretty kid-friendly. It looked like one of the original "hamburger helper" casseroles.

This recipe is from the first edition of "Through Our Kitchen Door" that was published by The Guild, Dallas County Heritage Society, Inc. in 1978. I'm really not sure if there are other editions, but having this one in my possession is pretty darn cool, don't ya think....

As it is written in the introduction, "Through Our Kitchen Door represents a collection of some of the most fondly remembered dishes which have been passed down through many generations of the families of the Heritage Society and our many friends." I'm excited to share this first recipe with you all.

Hubby rated it 3 bananas out of 5 and would recommend we remake it with a few tweaks. JB2 liked it, LB didn't so much care for it but she is going through a phase of making sure her different kinds of food do not touch (sounds familiar). Overall, we will enjoy it again later this week on "leftover night" and will definitely remake it. Hope you enjoy!!



Sunday

New Years Dinner: Poor Mans Spaghetti

In many A sian countries (yes, we are not Asian but love Asian food), long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: You can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth. So we are having noodles done up Papa John's way...it sure is yumm y!!! And Baby C approves!!!

Oh and the noodles are homemade, I might add. JB has really perfected his noodling!!!

New Year's Day Lunch: Sweet & Sour Beans


We enjoyed this new dish with corn bread. Yes, it was made with some delicious black eyed peas, like my mother always taught me!!

New Year's Day Breakfast: French Toast ala JB2

We started the year off right....JB2 (our boy) made us some great French Toast, the way Nana makes it!! Getting started on one of our "revolutions" - eating as a family together!