Fettuccine Cacciatore

This recipe is from a 2007 Kraft Foods catalog full of recipes. Someone used to give me these and they always had great recipes. If anyone knows if Kraft still makes these or where I can get them, PLEASE let me know!

This recipe only takes about 25 min and is really good! It makes 4, two cup servings.

Ingredients

8 oz fettuccine, uncooked

2 tsp EVOO

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup EACH green pepper strips and sliced mushrooms

1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/2 cup Kraft Zesty Italian OR if you thought you had Italian and didn't you can make this delicious Italian dressing recipe which I've used multiple times (subbing real minced garlic for garlic powder)

1/2 cup Kraft shredded Italian/Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

(Hands down, best Italian dressing, ever. Tastes like a nice Italian restaurant's house dressing)

1. Cook pasta as directed on package.

2. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet, on medium high heat. 

3. Add chicken. Cook and stir until no longer pink. 

4. Add peppers and mushrooms, cook for 3 min.

5. Stir in dressing and tomatoes. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes).

6. Drain pasta, toss with chicken mixture, sprinkle with cheese and basil. 

We also made some garlic pita bread and salad to go with ours :) 

Noodle Stir-Fry

If you're in the mood for some Chinese take-out that you didn't have to go out and get, this is the dish for you. It is AMAZING. I could have eaten a pound of this myself and I know that's disgusting but for someone who never eats Chinese take-out because, well, it's Chinese take-out, this was a good at home treat. It's very simple and requires very few ingredients!

Ingredients

1 package (about 10 oz) flat rice noodles

8 tbsp soy sauce (reduced/low sodium)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4-5 scallions trimmed and sliced

2 tsp rice wine 

7 oz of canned water chestnuts

onion

zucchini 

(both chopped, I added these 2 veggies to the original recipe because that's what I do!)

1. Put the noodles in a large bowl filled with water and bring to a boil. Turn off burner and let stand for 4 min (or cook to package directions) until tender. Drain and rinse.

2. Mix together the soy sauce, lemon juice, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a wok and add ginger and garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Add any other veggies at this time and cook until desired.

4. Add SOME of the scallions and cook for another minute. **The recipe says to add all and stir fry for 3 min but it definitely made them too soft. If you actually like the taste of the scallions, I'd only add a few at first and then add the rest, uncooked, at the end as a garnish.**

5. Add the rice wine and then add the soy sauce mixture to the wok. 

6. Stir in water chestnuts and noodles and cook until heated through and coated with sauce!

I topped mine with cilantro and a little crushed red pepper and a couple dashes of hot sauce.

Ginger Shrimp with Mushrooms

I loved this recipe because it was different. Instead of using regular noodles or rice, I used rice noodles and it definitely worked for this recipe. The recipe called for "oyster mushrooms" and I wasn't sure what that was nor did I care to search for them so I just used regular sliced mushrooms which worked just fine.

Ingredients

2/3 c chicken broth

2 tsp sesame seeds

3 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp hot sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

7 cups of mushrooms

1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 garlic cloves

cooked rice or noodles

1. In a bowl, stir together broth, sesame seeds, ginger, soy sauce, hot sauce and cornstarch until well blended. 

2. Add 2 tbsp of oil to a large wok. Stir fry carrots for 3 min and remove from wok and set aside.

3. Add remaining oil to the wok and stir-fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside. 

4. Add the bell pepper, shrimp and garlic to the wok and stir fry for an additional 3 minutes until shrimp turn pink. 

(I added some really thinly sliced onion that was already in the fridge)

5. Stir in the sauce cook until mixture bubbles and add carrots and mushrooms to the wok. If you cooked rice noodles, toss them in with the sauce to coat, if not, serve the veggies and sauce over rice. 

Paprika Steak Wraps with Horseradish

I can't believe I failed my blog already. I guess I didn't plan for what would happen if I was gone ALL day. Friday, I was literally home 10 minutes and Saturday I slept a lot because of Friday and was the least productive I've been in a LONG time. I'm going to make up for it and do 3 blogs tonight but I'm not sure that actually counts. Hopefully I can make it through the week with a blog a night.

This recipe comes from a cookbook called "Quick and Easy" and it shows the recipe frame by frame with pictures, kind of like my blog. My co-workers got it for me when I left my old job about a month ago and it has AMAZING recipes. The chorizo, chili & chickpea casserole from the last post is from this book and the next 2 I post after will be from the book as well.

Ingredients

4 sirloin steaks, about 6oz each

1 garlic clove, crushed,

2 tsp paprika

EVOO

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tbsp creamed horseradish

8 small flour tortillas

1/3 c arugula leaves

2 firm, ripe avocados, peeled and sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced 

S&P

I used my Cuisinart Griddler instead of a pan and I used a large piece of sirloin instead of a few smaller ones

1. Spread the garlic, paprika, S&P over the steaks and start to grill until it's cooked how you like it.

2. Mix together the horseradish and sour cream and spread over tortillas. I added extra paprika.

3. Slice the steaks into thin strips and divide among the tortillas. Top with arugula, onion and avocado. 

Chorizo, Chile & Chickpea Casserole

I'm pretty sure this cookbook is from a British author... maybe not, but it can't be an American author because some of the terms confuse me. For instance, as you will see at the end, this isn't a casserole, at least not the way I think of an American casserole. Any thoughts??

This dish was AMAZING. I can't wait to make it again. I made tons of leftovers and took them to work to share. My old co-worker, who is Puerto Rican, loved it. I offered it to other people too but they missed out. I'm not sure why they didn't grab up any because a lot of them said, "who is going to bring in good stuff now that you're leaving?" So, what did I do?? I brought in leftovers and hardly anyone ate...oh well, more for me and Carmen!

Ingredients

2 tbsp EVOO

1 onion, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp chile flakes (crushed red pepper)

8 oz chorizo (Spanish sausage)

14 oz canned chopped tomatoes

14 oz can of chickpeas, drained

1 cup basmati or jasmine rice

large handful of arugula leaves

S&P

4 tbsp fresh chopped basil

(there are extra ingredients because I doubled the recipe)

1. Heat EVOO in a large pot or dutch oven. Saute onion, stir occasionally for 5 minutes.

2. Add bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Chop chorizo in bite sized chunks (or if sausage links, break apart with wooden spoon or potato masher) and add to pot.

4. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and S&P. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. During this time, cook rice. 

5. Stir in arugula until it wilts. Serve over rice and top with chopped basil.

(I like arugula so I added some more on top)

(this meal turned out so pretty AND it tasted amazing!)

Caribbean Pork and Plantain Hash

As I stated before, I didn't take a hiatus from cooking, just blogging about it. I think I have at least 14 recipes stock-piled to show you, plus whatever I cook from here on out. My goal is to do this blog for the next 39 nights, along with cooking, life, work, homework, gym and whatever else is thrown my way. I hope it will kick me into the routine I need to keep this thing going.

Without further ado:

Ingredients

1tbsp low sodium soy sauce

3/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (I probably used 1 tsp...you know how I like SPICE!)

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1 lb pork tenderloin trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 c chopped green pepper

2 large yellow plantains

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used Franks Extra Hot)

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

(obviously these are my attempts at 'great' photography) 

1. In a large freezer bag, combine soy sauce, thyme, ginger, crushed red pepper, allspice and pork. Toss to coat.

2. Heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil in large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add pork mixture and saute 4 minutes or until done. Remove from pan.

3. Add 1 tbsp oil and butter to pan. Add onion, bell pepper, plantains and pepper. Cook for 6 min, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in garlic; saute 2 min or until plantains are tender.

5. Drizzle with hot sauce. Serve (I served mine over jasmine rice) and top with cilantro. 

Serves 4

Calories: 384

Fat: 12.5 g (saturated, 4g)

Protein: 26.8g

Fiber: 4.7g

Cholesterol: 81 mg

Iron: 4.8 mg

Sodium: 674 mg

Calcium: 38 mg

Original recipe