Tag Archives: onions

Pasta Primavera

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Today everyone wanted leftovers… taco leftovers that is, except for me. I wanted my favorite pasta… and since I have decided to only eat bread or pasta like carbs at dinner time, I was CRAVING those carbs! So, I made this!

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Ingredients

8-10 baby carrots cut into thin strips
1 large zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
1 yellow squash, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion sweet yellow onion thinly sliced
4 sweet mini peppers cut into thin strip (remove pith and seeds)
1/4 cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning
1 tsp lemon zest
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 pound small pasta – I used egg noodles – you can use farfalle, or fusilli
Optional: grape tomatoes or sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

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Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a cake pan, or baking sheet toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, and set aside in serving bowl with the 1 TB of butter stirred in to prevent sticking.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixture in a large bowl to combine. If desired, add tomatoes. Add lemon juice and zest at this time to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

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This one hit the SPOT! Lower in calories, a ton if veggies, and just enough pasta to curb that craving. DELISH!

And now… my ongoing problem where I’m the only person who knows where anything is deserves this quote:

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1 Pot Wonder: Sun-dried Tomato and Kielbasa Pasta

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I was at a women’s church conference a lot of the last couple days and wanted something quick and easy when I came home today. This was definitely the answer! I like dishes that I can just toss in 1 single pot, only dirty 1 dish, and then serve from that same dish.
Have you ever gotten done cooking and looked around and seen like an entire sink full worth of dishes to wash?! I definitely have done that. I do try to wash and clean as I go, but in general I like to use as little dishes as possible. When I find one that I like, I have to post it!
Side note: So today our dog had dog training! Good thing, he’s doing really well! Bad thing, he doesn’t show his true colors when the trainer is around… ever. It’s really really annoying! It’s lime children and their babysitter or nanny. ANGELS compared to when they are with you! Ha! Hopefully his true colors will come out when needed.

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Ingredients

3/4 pound spaghetti
1 package all natural nitrate free turkey kielbasa, thinly sliced
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes with some oil from the jar
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Kosher Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Dash (1/8 tsp) cayenne powder
1 TB butter
1 cup grated Parmesan
Garnish with fresh parsley

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INSTRUCTIONS

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, kielbasa, onion, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, cayenne powder and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan.
Serve immediately

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This one was a HIT too! So easy, and everyone went back for seconds and I still has some leftovers! Have a crazy day and need to have something quick to make? This is it! And I purchased all of these ingredients at Aldi! Give it a go!

And now, in honor of the women’s conference I went to this weekend, the quote of the day:

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Beef Stir Fry

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I looked up south american dishes, and this one came up: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2014/06/lomo-saltado-peruvian-beef-stir-fry.html (Lomo Saltado). It was ALMOST exactly what I wanted to make… but I made a few changes… of course.

So, here is my version:

For the Beef:

  • 1 lb lean sirloin tips
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic salt
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/4 medium red onion, sliced into thick strips
  • 2 mini sweet yellow bell peppers or 1 large
  • 1 large jalapeno, ribbed and seeded, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • Handful of whole grape tomatoes (10-15)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (use tamari for gluten free)
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup frozen broccoli
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Directions: 

Meanwhile, season meat with salt, garlic salt, pepper and cumin. Heat a large wok over high heat. When hot add the oil and the steak, cook about 2 minutes, until browned on both sides. Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, soy sauce and vinegar, broccoli and cook 1 more minute. Season with more salt as needed, remove from heat and finish with cilantro. Serve immediately with french fries and white rice and divide evenly between 3-4 plates.

I served mine with Trader Joes Parmesan Garlic French Fries and white rice.

Enjoy!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Cowboy Burgers and Homemade Fries

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So, a nice summer dish… you think burgers, right?? Well, also, do you have some extra guacamole and no chips left?? Onions, and don’t have a recipe to put them in? (Yeah, me neither… lol, but that’s ok). Want a summer meal that won’t take forever, but tastes AMAZING??? Make these cowboy burgers!! I got rave reviews from my brother and husband… and I even loved them!! DELISH!

Ingredients:

Balsamic Sauteed Onions:

1/2 onion cut into large pieces
1/4 tsp minced garlic
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB olive oil

Sautee all above ingredients until onions are caramelized and soft

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Burgers:

1.5 lbs. ground beef (I used 85/15, but you can use a leaner beef if you’d like)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
1/2 TB chili powder
1 TB BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)

Stir all above ingredients together and form into patties (where you make the inside of the burger thinner than the outside… see Rachael Ray’s tutorial on how to shape a burger patty!!) and set aside.

When ready to make, either put onto a hot grill, or do as I do: pop them on a heated up and salted GRILL PAN!!! I just “grilled” them for about 4 min per side, and right before I took them off the grill, I topped them with my cheese of choice, made sure it melted, and then took off and placed onto the bun. Then, I topped that with the onions, guacamole, and placed the 2nd half of the bun and ENJOYED!!!! DELICIOUS!

Ho1memade French Fries:

5 Yukon Gold potatoes cut into THIN fries. I left the skin on
1 tsp. garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
2  TB olive oil (drizzled over potatoes)
1 TB chopped rosemary

After cutting potatoes into small fries, soak in cold water. When ready to bake, drain water, and toss with all above seasonings and put onto a greased pan and toss again. Make sure it’s just a single layer of fries. Bake at 450 in a PREHEATED oven for 15 min. If not crispy enough, put back into the oven for 5-8 min on LOW BROIL to crisp them up! And then ENJOY! (Toss around half way thru)

Guacamole: 

Check out my recipe in this previous post: https://dancinandcookininthekitchen.com/2014/06/02/sunday-lunch/

These burgers turned out so juicy and delicious, and were very quick to put together! I, for some reason, never realized how easy burgers were!!! WINNER!!

And now, for the quote of the day:

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Short Ribs – Served 2 Ways… and mighty good either way!!!

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Short Ribs, served on top of cheesy grits OR garlic, parmesan mashed potatoes…. You choose!!

I was watching one of my favorite cooking shows the other day, and someone made short ribs. I was thinking… short ribs?! I could do that, right? I have GOT to try that if they make it on a cooking show. They must be amazing!!! So, I found a recipe and adapted it to make it my own. And I have found out…. I LOVE short ribs! They were incredibly easy too!!! You could cook a roast the same way! LOVE! You could even do sirloin tips, etc similarly. Easy and quick recipe!

Ingredients (including grits AND potatoes… you can choose either though)

6-8 individual short ribs (or more depending on the size of your crowd! You want about 1-2 per person)
3-4 TB butter (4 if you want to top the ribs after serving with a bit of butter)
1 TB minced garlic
1/4 onion cut roughly (larger pieces)
1 cup red wine (I used an “Old Vine Zinfandel”) this is optional, you can just use beef broth; OR substitute with a dark beer
1 cup low sodium organic beef broth
4 carrots cut into large pieces
salt & pepper
1 TB Worcestershire sauce
3 TB quick cooking white grits (or yellow grits… your preference)
3/4 cup water (for grits)
5-6 red potatoes
2 TB milk
2 TB parmesan cheese

 

Directions:

Place cast iron skillet (or normal skillet) on stove and heat up. Do not put oil in the skillet. While it is heating up, dry the short ribs with a paper towel, and sprinkle sea salt and pepper on all sides of the short ribs. Then, making sure the skillet is hot, sear the short ribs on all sides so they have a nice crust. Only about 30 seconds per side. Then, place into your crock pot. When you remove the short ribs from the pan, DO NOT dump any drippings from the pan. (You can also do this in a dutch oven baking at 350 for 3-4 hours). Put your crock pot on HIGH for cooking for 4-5 hours, put on LOW to cook for 7-8 hours. Add 1/4 cup of the beef broth to the skillet that you just finished searing the meat in. Then add the garlic and the onions to the skillet and stir into the simmering beef broth. Once that’s simmering, add 1/4 cup of the wine and a tsp of the worcestershire sauce and 1 TB of butter. Simmer that until it reduces by half. While that is simmering, add the remaining liquids into the crock pot and place a small amount of the butter onto the top of each of the short ribs. Once the liquid in the skillet has reduced, pour that into the crock pot and place the lid onto the crock pot.

Cook as directed above until the meat is about falling off of the bone…. And… if you want some gravy, just take about 1 cup of the drippings, place into a sauce pan, add a TB or a bit more of flour… Simmer and WHISK vigorously until thickened!

When it’s about time to serve the short ribs, you’ll want to make your sides. The wilted spinach in the above picture, all I did was sautee it in some of the “au jus” from the crock pot for about 2-3 min. Done. The carrots I also sauteed in the au jus, just for about 5-10 min until starting to soften.

The mashed potatoes was a version of a previous recipe of mine: https://dancinandcookininthekitchen.com/2014/06/08/crispy-coconut-encrusted-chicken-with-mashed-potatoes/

The grits, I just followed the instructions on the package for quick cooking grits. Once they were done, I removed from the heat and stirred in about 2 TB of shredded cheddar cheese. That’s it!

Serve up, and ENJOY!!! My hubby said “I’d order this in a restaurant, develop a craving for it, and then have to keep going back just to order it!”. So, I’d say it was a major success!!!

And, for the quote of the day:

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Leftover “Crustless Pot Pie”

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Wasn’t even sure what to call this… It started out as me trying to use up leftovers and extra veggies unused in my refrigerator before I go grocery shopping again. Then, as I sat down to eat it… it tasted like pot pie filling… but no crust… and the pieces of chicken were still full tenderloins. Hmmm…. Well? Why not!?

LeftoverCrustlessPotPie

(This will make 3 servings or 4 small servings)

Ingredients:

1/2 bag of fingerling potatoes
1 lg carrot
3 chicken tenderloins
1 cup low sodium free range chicken broth
1 TB olive oil
1/4 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash
salt&pepper to taste
1/2 onion chopped
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cob of corn (I used leftover) with kernels removed from cob
1/2 of a zucchini
Grated Parmesan Cheese (sprinkled on top at the end)

Start out by putting the potatoes in a skillet w/the olive oil and carrots chopped. Stir, and add onions and garlic. After about 5 min add the chicken broth, lemon zest and juice, and seasonings. Drop in the chicken. (Mine was still frozen, but yours can be frozen or thawed). Simmer with lid on for about 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are soft and easily cut through with a fork. Sprinkle in the zucchini and corn, stir and put lid back on pan, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 min. Remove lid, sprinkle with cheese and stir. Add any salt&pepper to taste.

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ENJOY!

I also made a quick little dessert. I used cherries, brown sugar, raw organic sugar, lemon juice, oatmeal, flax meal and butter. Stirred it all together and baked covered w/tin foil for 30 min. Voila! 🙂

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Chicken Fajitas!!

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Yeah yeah yeah… sensing a theme here?? We LOVE Mexican food!! Tex-Mex especially. I’m gonna try to get better at cooking it to!!

This one was quick and easy… start to finish: 20 minutes! Easy right??

Fajitas Ingredients:

Seasoning:

1 TB chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder

(mix in a small ramekin or bowl)

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Other ingredients:

4 chicken tenderloins (I cooked for 2 people, add to this as needed)
2 Bell peppers (or 5 mini sweet peppers)
1/2 onion
4 small taco size tortillas

Heat your grill pan (or grill??) and salt. While the pan is heating up, take chicken (or other meat… doesn’t really matter) and drizzle w/light amount of oil. I used olive oil… it’s my favorite.. but you can use canola also. Then, cover with 3/4 of the seasoning, until thoroughly covered each piece of chicken. Put onto grill pan, cook for approximately 6-8 minutes per side, until when you cut it open, there is no pink. Should still be tender and juicy.

While the chicken is cooking, cut up your onion and peppers into thick slices and put into skillet w/1 TB of oil. Sautee. When almost done, sprinkle with the remaining fajita seasoning. Sautee until the peppers start to soften, and the onions are translucent. (If needed, put about 1 TB water into skillet, and cover for 3 min.)

Serve! I served it with leftover rice and corn (from Copy Cat Chipotle bowls made over the weekend) and some sour cream… YUM!

Copy-Cat Chipotle Burrito Bowls! (With quick chips)

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These were AMAZING!!! I will most likely be repeating this recipe in my kitchen again!! Oh man, they were GOOD!

Ingredients: 

1 large chicken breast, “butterflied” (cut in half, and layed out flat)
2 TB of adobo sauce from a can of Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 TB olive oil

this is for 1 chicken breast, if you cook more, to make food for more than 3-4 people, double or triple the recipe. My recipe fed 4 people.

Combine the seasonings and sauce together with a spoon, and spread over both sides of the chicken breast. Put into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour “marinating”. You can marinate it for as little as 15 minutes, or overnight if you wish. After 

While the chicken is marinating, get the rice going.

After the chicken is done marinating, place on grill, or like me… use your trusty cast iron grill pan! Grill for 7-8 minutes per side, and cut a slice in the thickest part to make sure it’s cooked through and not translucent. Then, cut into 2 inch chunks for on the burrito bowl. ENJOY!

Build a Bowl ingredients: 

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Cilantro Lime Copy-cat rice: http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Chipotle-Cilantro-Lime-Rice-Copycat/step2/Chop-squeeze-mix-and-enjoy/

This recipe for rice that I found on this blog… PERFECT!!

1 cup rice
juice from 1/2 lime plus zest
1/2 TB olive oil (just a drizzle)
salt and pepper seasoning to taste
1/4 cup chopped FRESH cilantro

I cook my rice in a rice cooker. Take the 1 cup of Jasmine Rice, and place into a mesh colander. Wash the rice until it runs clean. Then, put into the rice cooker, and cover with water, just over the top, until if you put your finger to rest on top of the rice, the water will come just to the first “knuckle” on your pointer finger. Then, press cook and forget it! After the rice is done, you take out, fluff, and add the cilantro, lime juice and zest, add a bit of oil and salt and pepper. AMAZING!

Guacamole recipe is listed here: https://dancinandcookininthekitchen.com/2014/06/02/sunday-lunch/

Peppers & Onions: I just sliced up 1/4 of a yellow onion, and half of a red bell pepper, and sauteed in a tiny bit of olive oil until soft.

Scallion: I just sliced up 1 green onion.

Corn: The corn is just a bag of steamed frozen corn. You could also slice leftover grilled corn off of the cob… I imagine that would be AWESOME!

Lettuce: The lettuce is just romaine lettuce cut up.

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CHIPS:

I just took 4 flour tortillas, cut into 6 pieces each, sprayed the cookie sheet w/coconut oil cooking spray, and then the other side of the tortilla w/the cooking spray. Then, I sprinkled fine sea salt onto the one side of the chip. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Voila!

 

 

Steak and Potatoes Revisited

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Steak:

I marinated the steak in the following: (I only marinated it in the fridge for an hour, over night would be best!

Marinade
  • 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  •  3 Tb honey
  • 1 scallion (green onion), thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbls Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic, minced
  • fresh ground pepper to taste
  • sea salt ground – approx 1/2 tsp

After the steak has been marinating the the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, place on grill, OR the grill pan. Grill for 7.5 to 8 minutes per side for a medium temperature steak. Enjoy!!!

(If you use the grill pan, drain all marinade extra marinade off of steak, and place onto HOT grill pan that has been sprinkled with sea salt)

Let your steak rest for 8-10 minutes on a plate before you cut into it.

Potatoes, Onions & Carrots

Wash and cut 8 potatoes into 8 pieces each. Then peel and cut carrots into large chunks. Then, cut up onion into large pieces. Put them onto a tin foil-lined cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. spread them out on the cookie sheet and cover with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and fresh rosemary. (about 1/2 tsp of each). Then cut up 2 TB of butter into small pieces and put over the vegetables. Put into the oven at 425 degrees for 40 minutes. Do this BEFORE the steak!!!!! (or as it finishes marinating!)
Take out when the carrots and potatoes fall apart from the fork.

Enjoy!

30-minute Southwest Chili

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My recipe is adapted from this original recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/southwestern-beef-chili-corn-00000000006977/index.html

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion, garlic and bell pepper and 1/4 cup rotel and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.
  2. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is slightly darkened, 1 minute.
  4. Stir in the beans, chili powder, 3 cups water, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Then add the corn. (I used 1/2 cup of frozen sweet white corn)
  5. Simmer over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the corn.
  6. Divide the chili among bowls and top with the Cheddar and scallions.