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Recent Recipes

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken and Broccoli Over Rice

Comments (0) | Tuesday, June 28, 2011

This evening was the final incarnation of Blair Cooks for the Family of this week. I have to say, it was definitely a success! As the title of this post would indicate, I made cheesy broccoli chicken yummyness and served it over brown rice. Verra verra good, and pretty dang healthy too. Lots of yummy chicken and broccoli and brown rice nutrients! Food is the absolute best (in my most humble opinion) when it hits all three points on the awesome food triangle - it tastes good; it looks good; it's good for your body!

Another delectable Picky Palate recipe: http://picky-palate.com/2007/12/17/creamy-crockpot-chicken-and-broccoli/

Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 3
Feeds: at least 8

As I said, this was quite tasty. I ended up having to transfer it to a pot on the stove instead of the crock pot when I mixed in the broccoli at the end (our crock pot was just too small!) but really the effect was the same. The recipe given makes LOTS, definitely at least 8 servings.

Suggestions / Changes

I found this to be a little bit salty. Unless you use reduced sodium chicken broth, I would suggest leaving out the extra added salt. Also it is important to know your crock pot. I opted for the three hours on high directions and after four hours my chicken was cooked through but not to the point that it shredded easily per the instructions. Next time I will also add a bit more cajun seasoning and garlic powder.

cook cook cook cook
 My broccolieeeees post steaming.
After mixing everything in together in a big pot!

Recipe property of: Jenny of Picky Palate
(http://picky-palate.com/)


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Lemon Basil Baked Salmon

Comments (0) | Sunday, June 26, 2011

It is a pretty well established fact that I am not a super crazy fan of fish. Unless it is raw or comes in stick form I tend to stay away from it. That said, I am not opposed to cooking it for people who want it themselves.


So, when my mom asked for a dinner of Salmon when I was planning this week's menu I certainly was not afraid to step up to the task. 


15 minutes of intense recipe search (I am a highly skilled recipe searcher) later and I had a winner. 


http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/baked-salmon-ii/detail.aspx


Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 1.5
Feeds: 4


So, I made the salmon and I served it with brown rice. It wasn't even very good brown rice but my parents seemed to like it a lot. I may try to incorporate more of it into what we eat in the future, we'll see. As for the taste rating, since I didn't have any I polled my parents and my sister.


Suggestions / Changes


As per commented suggestions on the recipe site, I reduced the olive oil to 2tbsp and added 1tbsp melted butter. I halved the added salt. I also increased the lemon juice to 3tbsp. I let the fish set in the marinade for about 7-8 hours, but I don't know if that affected the fish positively or negatively. I only cooked it for 35 minutes (the low end of the suggested time) and my mom thought it was a TAD overdone.


Woo!


The fish, post marinade pre oven.


Recipe property of: "Ladyblade"
(allrecipes.com)


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Quesadillas

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I made fish for the family this evening (post on that coming soon) but I don't really like fish much myself. At least, not cooked fish. So anyway, as an alternative I thought I would try a quesadilla recipe that I found recently. 


Summary: good taste poor execution.


I think it probably had a lot to do with the type of tortillas that I used and the small quantity of cheese that I used, but this became SUPER messy and fell apart as I was eating it. Very tasty, but I ended up eating most of it with a fork, and that's kinda the opposite of the point of a quesadilla, right?


So anyway here is my inspiration: http://zestycook.com/super-simple-stunning-quesadillas/

Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 0
Feeds: 2

So yeah this was very tasty and actually quite healthy the way that I made it (right around 600cals and I am STUFFED).Tons of great nutrients in the veggies and chicken. I think it would be more tasty and more structurally successful if done exactly to guidelines in the directions.

Suggestions / Changes

I used low carb tortillas. Mistake. I also only used 1/3 cup of cheese, which I think was definitely not enough to hold the two tortillas together. Definitely looked like a lot less than in the pictures with the directions. SO, my suggestions are basically to just use regular tortillas and more cheese! 

Picturessssssss yay!

Garlic, red onion, and mushrooms 


After adding in the chicken

All assembled and ready for the oven!


Post-baking and about to get NOMMED

Recipe property of: Cory
(http://zestycook.com) 


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Baked Mexican Ravioli (Original Recipe)

Comments (1) | Friday, June 24, 2011

What does Blair do when she is home alone and the kitchen is fully stocked? She cooks!
When I was doing the family grocery shopping today I bought some wanton wrappers on a whim. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with them, but I figured I could come up with something pretty easily some night. Little did I know, that night would be tonight!
I was initially supposed to make Teriyaki Chicken and Garlic Noodles tonight, but those plans were canceled when my parents were invited out to dinner. So I decided to experiment! We had a lot of leftover cheese slices from last weekend’s father’s day sliders, and some ground turkey in the freezer that I had picked up last week but didn’t have any plans for. I was thinking I wanted to try something pot sticker inspired, but baked instead of fried to keep it healthy!
These glorious little guys were the result:
Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 2
Feeds: 5-6
I ended up getting adventurous and making three variations on these. I made meat and cheese, bean and cheese, and meat and bean and cheese. They were all quite good, but my favorites were just meat and just bean. I think the best way to eat these is with a serving of salsa and sour cream to dip them in!
I would say that these are an interesting twist on mexican food night, and definitely worth a try! Kids would probably love them because they’re little enough to be fun, and they are WAY less messy than most other mexican food varieties! Plus if you do bean and cheese only these are a tasty vegetarian meal!
Baked Mexican Ravioli
Ingredients:
One package of wanton wrappers (typically found in the produce section)
1lb ground meat (beef or turkey, dealers choice!)
1 can refried beans (optional)
1 packet taco seasoning
8 cheddar cheese sandwich slices
salsa and sour cream, to garnish
Directions (see accompanying images below):
1. Pre-heat oven to 350, line a baking tray with tinfoil and lightly grease
2. Cook meat through, drain excess fat. Add taco seasoning and cook to seasoning’s specifications
3. Slice cheese into 6-7 triangles
4. Lay out wanton wrappers, top with cheese then a small spoonful meat/beans
5. Wet edges of wanton wrapper, press closed
6. Place on baking tray, repeat until tray is full
7. Bake for 5 minutes, turn raviolis over and bake 5 more minutes
8. Eat with salsa and sour cream! 
Helpful pictures!
STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
STEP 6
STEP 7
yummy yummy yummy!


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Big and Baby Quiches - A Doubly Delicious Post!

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Happy Birthday to my mum today! 
In honor of my mum’s birthday I am writing a double post with not one but TWO recipes! Okay, it really has nothing to do with it being my mom’s birthday, other than that I happened to make one of these dishes this morning and she had some of it. Mostly I just made two quiche dishes recently and instead of doing back to back quiche posts I’m combining them into one Super Post.
Quiche #1 - Potato Crust Veggie Quiche
This is a great healthy meal. Really you can make it into whatever you are feeling at the time it’s so flexible. The recipe calls for 2 cups chopped veggies, but it doesn’t specify what veggies, so really it’s up to you. I love recipes with built in wiggle room in which I get to be creative! I used zucchini and squash as my main veggies. Awesome for breakfast, brunch or lunch.
Ease of preparation: 2.5
Taste: 1
Feeds: 5-8 depending on what else you are serving.
Changes / Suggestions
Definitely play with this! Add different things to your liking. This would be great with some chopped up crispy bacon added into it. Try different veggies out! Next time I might add in some grated carrot. Don’t be afraid of the potato crust browning in the oven, the original poster of this recipe is right, those are some of the tastiest bits. 
Recipe property of: Kate
(http://cleaneatingmachine.blogspot.com) 
Quiche #2 - Canadian Bacon and Scallion Mini Quiches
These are what I made for breakfast this morning. Very tasty and didn’t take very long at all! 10 minutes prep and 20 in the oven. Perfect for either a lazy weekend morning or a busy weekday one (pop them in the oven and finish getting ready for the day!) with little time to spare. I am a HUGE fan of anything you can make miniaturized in a muffin tin, and these little guys are no exception. Three or four bites each and packed with tasty flavor.
Does it even matter what I type here you know what comes next: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/canadian_bacon_scallion_mini_quiches.html
Ease of preparation: 2/5
Taste: 3/5
Feeds: 5-6
Very, very good. And quite cute!
Changes / Suggestions
I would definitely recommend these as-is, but I think some other flavor combos could be bangin’ as well. If you aren’t concerned with the health factor, regular bacon or ground sausage would be delicious as well. These could be made with all veggies and no meat, or some combination of both. Spinach would probably be a wonderful addition. Next time I am going to try chopped spinach and bacon. The only difference between what I did here this time and the recipe was that I used shredded cheddar instead of swiss.
Recipe property of: The EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook
(http://www.eatingwell.com) 
Now for all of my extra pictures!
Look at all of those beeeaauuuuuuuutiful veggies in there!
My piece of the (delicious) pie.
Soooo cute and yummy! I love cute food. Four bites each!


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Spinach, Mushroom and Pesto Lasagna

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SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR.
I know I always like what I cook. Well, usually. If I post it on here that pretty much means I liked it enough to share with people… but let me tell you: this lasagna is A-FREAKING-MAZING. Holy moly, so delish. This was night three of Blair Cooks For The Family (night one being the Scallop and Shrimp Bake with Parmesan Risotto and night two being Asian citrus marinated grilled Mahi Mahi) which is happening pretty much all week long since I got the green light to buy whatever I needed to do so on my Dad’s nickel this past weekend. This is the best result (in my opinion) so far.
Just to get this out of the way so you can stop reading and go make this for yourself: http://www.othersideoffifty.com/2011/03/spinach-mushroom-and-pesto-lasagna.html
image
Ease of preparation: 3.5
Taste: 4.5
Feeds: 6-8 easily
Like any good lasagna this bad boy takes a little bit of preparation and work, but all of that is definitely worth it for the end result. Including prep work and baking time this probably took me 2-2.5 hours, but I’m not really super fast in the kitchen. To be completely fair, I will say that Little Sister described this meal as “palatable” and would have preferred red sauce. I think she’s loony but I like to represent all opinions. Mother seemed to be a fan. Father will be testing later this evening or tomorrow.
Suggestions / Changes
Don’t change this. If you change it I will hurt you. I suppose I can support using an egg substitute as opposed to the egg if you wish to make this morevegetarian, but really that’s it. Perfect as-is.
Prepare for a photoshow!
The filling: spinach and ricotta and onion powder and an egg! 
Starting the sauce: garlic and onion and red pepper and olive oil!
Aerial view: the finished lasagna before the oven!
Finished product! Yummmm.
The inside of the lasagna after I removed the first slice. Yay!
Recipe property of: Maggie L.
(http://www.othersideoffifty.com) 


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Scallop and Shrimp Bake (Original Recipe)

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Ooh ahh, just a little bit… Ooh ahh, little bit more!
Yes, that is what you will say when you finish your serving of this bad boy. Oh man, it is very good. I ventured out of my comfort zone with this meal. I’d never prepared scallops without pasta before, but I have several pasta dishes planned in the next few days so I wanted to mix it up a bit here. I decided to bake them!
Worked out quite well.
Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 3.5
Feeds: 4
Oh baby oh baby. I am not a huge fan of fish (except in sushi), but I loooooove shellfish, and this is one of my favorite ways I have had scallops. This was very, very simple to toss together and throw in the oven while I cooked the side dish. I even liked the shrimp in it, and I’m generally not a huge fan of shrimp, either. Anyway, make this! You will not be disappointed.
Scallop and Shrimp Bake
Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter, melted
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb bay scallops (fresh)
1/2 lb medium shrimp (fresh or thawed frozen)
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
Directions:
1. Combine melted butter and garlic in bottom of a 9x9 baking dish
2. Make sure shrimp and scallops are dry, mix them together and place evenly over the garlic and butter
3. In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients and mix well
4. Top scallops and shrimp evenly with mixed dry ingredients, pat down firmly
5. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 mins until the top starts to brown nicely
OM nom nom nom nom! My bake with the risotto I also made (see previous post).


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Parmesan Risotto

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This delish dish (see what I did there?) was something I decided to try as a pairing with some scallops that my dad wanted me to cook. Risotto is something that I have been wanting to try for a while, and this seemed like a good opportunity. After doing a bit of research I found a recipe that seemed relatively simple (which was a must, since I know risotto can be a bit tricky) and paired well with the scallop recipe I was trying (see: upcoming Baked Scallops recipe) so I decided to give it a whirl! I was not disappointed. 
Ease of preparation: 4
Taste: 3.5
Feeds: 8 or so
This was really great. My dad said more than once that he quite liked it and hoped the leftovers would keep well. I only give it a 3.5/5 on taste because it was a LITTLE gummy (which is a common risotto problem) but that really was just operator error I’m sure. With practice on my part it will easily be a 4.5/5 I think. The taste itself is definitely a win.
Suggestions / Changes
The recipe was great, I didn’t venture away from that. Really the only thing that I will do differently in the future is a bit more research beforehand on how to keep it from getting gummy. I might try a higher quality risotto rice as well! The one I used is very common (and really it’s fine), it’s just also more likely to gum up. Yum!
My risotto and the scallop bake I made!
Recipe property of: Unknown
(http://www.myrecipes.com)


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Twice Baked Potatoes (Original Recipe)

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Before my dad left the house today he was talking to me and said that if I was going to be home for dinner I should cook something, like a Tuna Noodle Casserole. Now, don’t get me wrong, Tuna Noodle is delicious and I love it, but I just wasn’t in the mood for it this evening. PLUS, I wanted to make up a new recipe using the potatoes we had in the house. SO tonight I made my yummy meatloaf (previously reviewed) and made up my own (probably not very original, but whatever they were slammin’) recipe for Twice Baked Potatoes!
Ummmmmmmm yeah. I wish I could be buried in a vat of potato filling so I could be forced to eat my way out. Hello Gorgeous…
Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 2
Feeds: 2 per potato that you use, the recipe below will be for 3 potatoes
But yeah, these are pretty good. If we had bacon in the house I would have chopped some of that up and thrown it in, but as it were we just had “Bacon Bits” so I made due. Also I was kind-of just throwing things together in a big bowl so my recipe below is mostly just an estimate of what I did. Great additions in the future would be: different types of cheese, broccoli, real bacon, chives, etc.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients:
3 potatoes
4.5 tbsp butter (1.5 tbsp per potato)
3 heaping spoonfuls of sour cream
1/2 cup + 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup milk
1.5 tbsp parsley
2 tbsp bacon bits + 1 tbsp bacon bits
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
Directions:
1. Bake potatoes at 400 degrees for about 1 hour
2. While potatoes are baking, prep the rest of your meal
3. Let potatoes cool enough to be handled
4. Cut potatoes in half, hot dog style, spoon out the innards creating a “potato boat”
5. Mix in the rest of the ingredients (except that 1/2 cup cheese and 1 tbsp bacon bits) in to the potato guts using a fork or spoon to mash it all together
6. Spoon potato guts evenly back into the potato boats
7. Top potatoes with rest of cheese and bacon bits
8. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees
More delicious pics of my dinnerrrr and the process:
 My taters pre-second baking!
DINNER Y U SO TASTY???


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Spinach and Hummus Wrap (Original Recipe)

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I wasn’t super active today, so when dinner time rolled around I wanted to be healthy about it. The thought of overly processed foods was not sitting well with me so that ruled out most “diet” or “low calorie” options. Therefore, I went with the ACTUALLY healthy option of fresh fruits and veggies (with a little carb and dairy and protein)!
This is a low cal, high nutrient meal which is good for you, makes you feel good, and should leave you full but not stuffed!
Once I realized it was tasty enough for the blog I snapped a quick picture:
Ease of preparation: 1
Taste: 2.5
Feeds: 1
Super quick and easy to make, super tasty, super healthy. I had a banana with about .75 servings of peanut butter on it as my side dish with the meal for some fruit and protein since there was no meat in this. If you want to add meat, I would recommend probably roast beef or maybe turkey.
Spinach and Hummus Wrap
Ingredients:
1 medium tortilla - 110 calories
1 tbsp. hummus (I used garlic hummus which is my favorite) - 45 calories
2-3 slices of tomato - 10 calories
1 reduced fat string cheese - 80 calories
15 spinach leaves - 10 calories
1/4 cup shoestring cut cucumber - 10 calories
total - 265 calories
Directions:
1. Lay tortilla flat
2. Spread hummus evenly across 1/2 of tortilla
3. Lay out spinach leaves evenly across the hummus
4. Peel apart string cheese, put it on the spinach
5. Top with cucumber and tomato (and/or whatever other veggies you like!)
Another picture of the yummy!


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Classic Fettuccine Alfredo

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So once again dinner time was rolling around and the parental units tell me it’s a “forage whatever you want from the ‘fridge” night. Of course I interpret this as “look around at what we have in the ‘fridge and pantry and then make something yummy.” Of course that’s what I then did.
I’d come across this recipe in my internet travels probably a few months ago but never really thought to try it until I found a giant wedge of Parmesan cheese in in the kitchen this evening. I don’t know if I would say it’s the best ever, maybe a little strong on the cheese flavor so next time I’ll use a little less, or a fresher parm.
Ease of preparation: 2
Taste: 1
Feeds: 4-5 or so.
As you can see I made some garlicky steamed veggies to go along with it. This was a good recipe, very very simple and easy to follow. The end results were good and all who had it seemed to like it well enough. The only thing about this that I wasn’t crazy about was that it was juuust a little too buttery for my taste, but then alfredo is supposed to be heavy. 
Suggestions / Changes
As I previously mentioned, next time I’ll use a bit less butter than the recipe indicates. Also I will make sure to use fresher cheese to avoid SUCH a strong flavor. I also think this could be great with a little garlic added in or some fresh broccoli cooked into it. Just some ideas!
An aerial view! Yum.
Recipe property of: Jerry Russell (http://www.cookingbytheseatofmypants.com/)


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Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry (Original Recipe)

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Now that I am all graduated and (temporarily) moved back home with the parental units, I am hoping that I have time to cook more. Possibly to do my own recipe inventing more. At least until I get a job that takes up all of my time and energy!
But anyway, I had some free time this afternoon, so I made some dinner for the fam. We had some good fresh vegetables in the fridge from my dad’s new garden and some chicken in the freezer so I decided to whip up a variation on a stir fry. It turned out pretty well! Plus, even though the veggies weren’t raw it’s still quite good for you! Yum.
Lookit!
Ease of preparation: 3
Taste: 0.5
Feeds: About 4
For a spur of the moment, only using things we already had in the house meal I think it turned out pretty well. My dad seemed to really like it. You could basically add any veggies you want to this, I just used what was on hand. I made a quick little Teriyaki sauce for the veggies as well, because that’s how I roll. Also, you could leave out the chicken for a vegetarian dinner! Next time I will use brown rice to make it even more nutritious. 
Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry
Ingredients:
4 servings of cooked rice
1 big boneless skinless chicken breast (about .65 lbs) all chopped up
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup diced onion
1/2 large cucumber, sliced and halved
3 medium carrots, sliced
3/4 cup peas in pod
3 cloves of garlic
4-5 tablespoons of olive oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsb flour
1 tbsp water
1 tsp coarse ground pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
Recipe:
1. Cook rice according to directions, set aside.
2. Put olive oil in bottom of a large nonstick skillet. Top with all of your veggies and garlic and heat stove to medium heat, cover. Stir occasionally for about 5 mins.
3. Mix flour and water in large measuring cup or bowl. Whisk in vinegar and soy sauce, then mix in sugar, pepper, garlic powder and ginger.
4.  Pour sauce over veggies.
5. Add chicken to veggies and sauce.
6. Stirring occasionally, cook over medium heat about 5-7 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Cook longer for softer vegetables.
7. Eat chicken and veggies over rice! Yay!
My veggies right as they went into the pan! Pretty colorssssss!
Veggies and chicken after it cooked!


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