where the secret ingredient is love
Week of August 23
Monday: Lemon-Herb Grilled Chicken
Tuesday: Spicy Avocado Soup by How Sweet Eats
Wednesday: out to dinner
Friday: spaghetti & meatballs à la The Pioneer Woman
Saturday: leftovers
Sunday: KD dinner & meeting for me/leftovers or man meals [read: Hamburger Helper] for Ben 😉
Last night for dinner I made taco casserole. I don’t really like the word casserole (though I do like casseroles… what can I say, I’m from the Midwest), but I don’t have a better name for this dish. Anyway… it’s not so pretty but it is pretty tasty. It kinda looks like a mash of dough and meat and sauce on a plate. Appetizing, huh?
My husband says it was good in his tum tum. He likes the flavor of it, especially the crust of biscuits and spicy taco sauce. The taco sauce gave it a distinct Mexican flavor, since we don’t use it in normal tacos. It would also give Sheba distinct Mexican flavor too. [Note: we don’t give our kitty taco sauce, but we’re considering getting her a kitty-sized sombrero. Any ideas where one could get one of those?] And on the kitty front, she just bit Ben in the stomach… maybe because it was filled with taco goodness?
On that note… the recipe.
from Taste and Tell
Ingredients:
Directions:
Grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread taco sauce out over bottom of the pan. Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces, then place biscuits in sauce. Toss biscuit pieces to coat. Top with half of the cheese. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until biscuits are cooked through.
Meanwhile, in a skillet, brown ground beef. Meanwhile, heat canola oil in another skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and green pepper and cook until soft. Once ground beef is cooked through, drain and return to pan. Stir in water, chili powder, and cumin, then add green pepper/garlic mixture.
After biscuits have cooked, top with ground beef mixture and the rest of the cheese. Return to oven and bake for 5-7 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with sour cream and hot sauce.
Week of August 16
Monday: back from Nashville in the afternoon=freezer leftovers 🙂
Tuesday: Taco Casserole
Wednesday: pork chops with a special “mancipe” marinade by Ben 😉
Thursday: Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Friday-Saturday: out of town
Sunday: leftovers
Whoa… that’s a mouthful.
Both the name… and…
I love scones because they are a dessert, a breakfast, and a healthy, filling snack all rolled into one! These scones are light and fluffy, not tough like some scones can be, and they’re even made with whole wheat flour, oats, and nuts, which is an extra bonus. I’ve made some rock-hard scones [or other baked goods] in my day with whole wheat flour, so it’s always great when a recipe with whole wheat flour turns out well. I enjoy all the flavors in this scone… they really marry well when made the night before, so they are perfect for breakfast or brunch. But just watch out… these will not last very long!
from Eating Well
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet with cooking spray, and set aside. In one bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flours, oats, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender [or 2 table knives], cut in the butter and cream cheese. Swirl in oil [i.e. don’t just dump it all in] and toss with a fork to mix in. Swirl in pear and 1/4 cup nuts and toss again to coat. In a small bowl, mix buttermilk and maple extract and then swirl into dough, always stirring, until coated. Scone dough will be sticky… it always is, and that is good!
Turn dough out onto a floured counter-top or large cutting board and knead slightly, then form into a ball and press down into a large circle. Using a table knife [grease and flour it, if it sticks], cut dough in half and then cut each side into 6 wedges, for a total of 12 scones. Place scones on baking sheet, then make the egg glaze.
In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and add water. In a second small bowl, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 1/4 cup nuts. Then, using a pastry brush, glaze top of each scone with a generous amount of egg mixture, and top with nut mixture, pressing in gently to set. Bake the scones until golden, about 15-20 minutes.
My little sister, Kathleen, [who is not so little anymore… she’s a junior in college!] just got home from a study abroad trip this summer to India. I love traveling, so I was so jealous she got to go there! But I’ve loved looking at her pictures and I can’t wait to see all the cool clothes and souvenirs she brought back.
In honor of Kathleen’s return home, I made us some at home Indian food this week. I’m sure this isn’t authentic at all, but it sure was good! Spicy yet sweet, smooth and creamy. We loved the various textures and tastes of the chicken, sweet mango and sauce. It did take a little time to make, but it is so worth it!
very very slight adaptations from Simply Recipes
Ingredients:
Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, then cook onions in pan until soft and browned, about 5-6 minutes. Add a dash more oil along with the red bell pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add curry powder, cumin, and ginger, and cook for 2 minutes more. The oil will be absorbed by the spices, so add a dash more oil as needed. Throw garlic in the pan and cook for an additional minute or two, until the garlic begins to cook through. Then, add 3/4 cup mango, vinegar, and water to the pan. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes, constantly stirring. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.
[The recipe can be made until this point the night before, or earlier in the day before you plan to serve this dish. Be sure to do this if you don’t have time to wait for the sauce to cool- a hot liquid in a blender/food processor can be disastrous, not to mention dangerous!]
Once sauce has cooled substantially, spoon into a food processor and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Return to pan.
Add chicken to sauce, and simmer, covered, until cooked. This should take between 10-15 minutes. Be sure to check the largest piece of chicken for doneness.
Add the rest of the mango to the pan, along with the coconut milk. Cook until heated through, and serve with rice.
Notes:
There are additional suggestions with the original recipe that I did not try, such as adding extra vinegar at the end if it is too sweet, or adding sugar if it is not sweet enough. I did add about 1/8 cup of extra coconut milk to make it creamier. Feel free to adjust the seasonings depending on the level of spice or garnish with cilantro, salt, and pepper to taste. I think this could have been even better if I had marinated the chicken beforehand, but it was still good.
The Pajama Chef 