Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup

I've been trying to find more slow cooker recipes lately. Everytime I look at All Recipes, I find this recipe and put it on my list to try and then never try it. So finally I decided it was time to give it a try. It's almost more like a mexican chili than it is a soup. Maybe I should have added more liquids. But I liked it being thick. I used chicken broth instead of beer because some of the reviews said the beer gave it a weird aftertaste. I topped it with sour cream, cheese, and a little lime juice which was delicious. The only thing missing was fresh cilantro. I also served it with some buttered and toasted whole wheat french bread because I didn't have tortilla chips. Both Matt and I agreed it probably would have been nice to have a few chips.


Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
• 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
• sour cream (optional)
• lime juice

Directions

1. Place the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, garlic powder, and cumin and stir to blend. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover, and cook for 5 hours.
2. Remove chicken breasts from the soup to shred. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, lime juice, and a dollop of sour cream.

French Onion Steak with Gruyere Sauce & Green Beans

My mom gave me a cookbook recently, Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book. While looking through it I found this recipe and it make my mouth water it looked so good! I had to give it a try. I did my green beans a little differently than her recipe. I roasted them instead of boiling them and then sauteing them. It just seemed like less work. She also has you broil the steak after only seasoning it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. I decided to also add Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. I meant to add garlic powder too but forgot. This meal was so good!! The steak was delicious, the sauce amazing, and the green beans were also very good. It wasn't a very difficult meal to make. It would be perfect for company.


French Onion Steak with Gruyere Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus additional
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon ground dry thyme
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Flank Steak (about 2 to 3 pounds, one that is large enough for 4 people)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese

Directions

1. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO and 2 tablespoons butter. When the butter is melted, add the sliced onions, bay leaf, thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until caramelized, about 15 minutes, or until melted down, brown and sweet.
2. While the onions are cooking, place steak on a broiler pan and generously coat it with EVOO, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Broil under the broiler for 15 minutes, turning once for medium. When done, remove and let the steak rest to let the juices return to the center of the meat, about 5 minutes. (I didn't let mine rest long enough apparently...I had juices everywhere!)
3. In a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add flour to the melted butter and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock and milk and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let it come up to a bubble and thicken then turn off the heat. Add the cheese and stir in a figure-eight motion until mixed.
4. Slice the steak and place on a platter. Pile the onions on top and pour the cheese sauce over the top.

Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1 bag of fresh green beans, trimmed (I think it was about a pound)
• 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Zest from one lemon
• Juice from one lemon

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 9x13 pan, toss green beans with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon zest. I line my pan with foil for easy cleanup. Spread green beans evenly across pan. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
3. When green beans are finished, remove them from the oven and squeeze lemon juice over top. Toss and serve.

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken with Shallots

I found this recipe on Eating Well and thought it sounded delicious. It was very easy to make and definitely pretty good. My only complaint was that I only had 1 small shallot. It definitely could have used more. The flavor of this was really good and Matt really enjoyed it. I'll be making this again!

I served this with asparagus that I roasted at 425 for about 15 minutes with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. It's kind of a staple side dish in our house because it's so good and so easy!


Ingredients

• 3/4 cup seedless all-fruit raspberry jam
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound boneless chicken breasts (I used a pound of chicken tenderloins)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots, (2-3 large)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

Directions

1. Combine jam and vinegar in a small pan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, until the jam is dissolved, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in salt and pepper and let cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the sauce. Place chicken breasts and the rest of the sauce in a large sealable plastic bag. Seal and shake gently to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and thyme and cook, stirring often, until the shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard marinade). Add the chicken to the pan and cook until just beginning to brown, 2 minutes on each side. Add the reserved raspberry sauce; stir to melt the jam and coat the chicken. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center, 6 to 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Mediterranean Tilapia with Corn, Tomato, & Feta Saute

Matt and I went to Disney's Food and Wine Festival a couple of weekends ago. At the festival, I had a Greek salad that was so fresh and delicious that I've been craving it ever since. In the salad was the typical, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, feta, and kalamata olives. I never thought I liked olives but in this salad they were good. So I decided to test my new found like for olives by making a meal with olives.

On All Recipes, I found a Mediterranean Flounder recipe and I just used tilapia instead. I wanted to make a side dish different from our norm. I found a Tomato and Corn Saute recipe from Eating Well and decided I wanted to add feta since the fish is Mediterranean. While Matt loved the fish, I decided I didn't in fact like olives or capers and therefore was not a big fan of the dish. Now, the corn on the other hand, that was tasty! I ended up taking all the mediterranean topping off the fish and just ate it with the corn.

Mediterranean Tilapia

Ingredients

• 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 Spanish onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pinch Italian seasoning
• 2 Tablespoons white wine
• 12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 leaves fresh basil, chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tilapia fillets
• 3 leaves fresh basil, torn
• 1/4 cup feta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and saute onion until tender. Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning. Stir in tomatoes, and cook until tender. Mix in wine, olives, capers, lemon juice, and 1/2 the basil. Reduce heat, blend in Parmesan cheese, and cook until the mixture is reduced to a thick sauce, about 15 minutes.
3. Place tilapia in a shallow baking dish. Bake for 7 minutes. Cover with the sauce, and top with remaining basil leaves and feta cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes, until fish is easily flaked with a fork.

Corn, Tomato, and Feta Saute

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• Corn Kernals from 3-4 ears of corn
• 1 medium or 2 small shallots, diced
• 1 pound tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Feta

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add corn and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Turn heat to low and stir in tomatoes, basil, feta, and salt until heated through.

Slowcooker Creamy Turkey Dinner

I have been trying to find more recipes to use my Crock-pot lately. I found a wonderful blog with TONS of slow-cooker recipes, A Year of Slow Cooking. The one thing about slow-cooking is that a lot of recipes I have found are not healthy and we try, as much as possible to eat on the healthier side. When I found this recipe, it looked really good and didn't use Cream of ________ soup. It smelled AMAZING while it was cooking. I could tell it was going to be pretty runny, so I decided to make some brown rice to serve with it. The flavor was great! The only thing I did differently than the recipe was added a little more balsamic vinegar while I was cooking. If you haven't been able to tell, I love balsamic vinegar! I'm pretty sure we never make turkey unless it's Christmas or Thanksgiving. This was a nice change from our norm and I will definitely be making it again.

The photo did not do this dish justice. Sorry!

Ingredients

• 3pounds turkey breast, cut in chunks
  3/4 cup beef broth
• 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I used about 12 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoon dried parsley (unless you have fresh, then use about 1/4 cup at the very end)
• 3/4 cup half and half or heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cup frozen green beans

Directions

1. Use a 4 quart slow cooker. Put the turkey into the bottom of your cooker, and pour on the beef broth and balsamic vinegar. Add onion, mushrooms, and dried parsley. Stir a bit to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for about 4. If you only have a 6-quart slow cooker, this will cook much faster, unless you increase the quantities. Remember that slow cookers work the best when they're at least 2/3 of the way full.
2. If you are going to use a 6-quart, check after 4-5 hours on low, or 2-3 on high.
3. If you'd like the turkey super tender and shreddy, cook for a longer period of time on low.
4. Stir in the heavy cream and green beans. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes, or until beans are thawed and heated through. Serve over cooked pasta.

Cincinnati Chili

When my family lived up north, we always ate Skyline chili. After moving here, I decided I had to learn how to make it myself. I looked up several recipes and finally settled on this on from All Recipes. I've made it several times now. It's really good, but it's not the typical chili most people think of. I usually serve it "3-way" which is spaghetti, chili, and cheddar cheese. But you could also add onion to make it 4 way. I cut the original recipe in half. Also the original recipe calls you to saute the beef and onion. However, the real way of make Cincinnati Chili is by boiling the beef and you don't add onion unless you want it raw at the end, the 4-way.


Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1/4 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can beef broth
• 1/2 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Add beef and beef broth to a pot. Bring to a boil and boil until the beef is cooked through. While boiling, stir often. You want the beef to be very small bits not large chunks.
2. Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove bay leaf. Serve now over hot, drained spaghetti, topped with shredded cheddar cheese. Or, you can refrigerate it overnight. Reheat gently over medium heat.

First Attempt at Persian Food

My friend, Naji, and her mom make the BEST Persian food! I cannot get enough and there's never been anything I've tried that I haven't liked. I finally decided to give it a try myself. Naji taught me how to make Persian rice with Saffron, beef kabobs called Koobideh Kabob, and a yogurt sauce with cucumbers. While the flavors were great, and for a first try I did pretty good, it definitely wasn't as good as what Naji and her mom make. I like to cook and I'd like to say I'm decent at it, however, rice always gives me a problem so I was nervous about Persian rice. You steam it. Well, I burnt the bottom layer and so when I pulled the lid off, it smelled like smoke. If you just use the top layer, it was alright and didn't taste like smoke. I guess practice makes perfect. The yogurt was good, hard to ruin that. Although, Naji's mom makes her own yogurt which of course is much better. The beef got a little too dark on one side but still tasted great. I just had a hard time flipping it. Oh well, I'll get it or try another cooking method next time. For a first try, I did good. I'll definitely keep trying though. Oh....and I can't BELIEVE I forgot to take a picture!!! Sorry!

I also did some research online before cooking. I found a couple of great websites and Persian cooking blogs which ended up being great resources for the meal. Here's what I found:

Family Spice: This shows different ways of cooking the kabobs.
Tumeric & Saffron Persian cooking blog
My Persian Kitchen Persian cooking blog - There's a great blog on making Persian rice.
Javane's Kitchen Persian cooking blog
I also borrowed a book from Naji called A Taste of Persia.

The recipes below are from Naji. I wrote things down and some of it is from memory. I may have remembered something wrong.

Yogurt and Cucumber (Mast-O-Khiar)
Ingredients

• 2 cups yogurt
• 1 large seedless cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Persian Rice (Polow)

Ingredients

• 3 cups Basmati Rice (1 cup per person, plus 1 extra cup)
• canola oil
• pinch of saffron
• salt

Directions

1. Place rice in a large bowl. Wash rice several times until water is clear. Soak rice in water for at least an hour or even overnight.
2. Boil a large pot of water. Add rice. Dump enough water out so that the water level is about 2 inches above the rice. Bring the water back to a boil and allow it to boil for roughly 7 minutes. The rice should be al dente, soft but still have a little firmness. Drain the rice. (One blog said to have about 3 cups of water per cup of rice.)
3. Add a little oil to the pan and return the rice to the pan. Put a little hole in the center of the rice to allow steam to come through. Add 1/2 cup of water to the rice. Cover the lid with a towel and put the lid on the pot. Cook on low (about 3 or 4) for around 30 minutes.
4. When the rice is finished cooking, heat a few spoonfuls of oil and spoon on rice. 
5. Boil a small amount of water (about 1/4 cup) and add ground saffron. Cover for several minutes. Add about a cup of the cooked rice to the saffron water and stir. You can either add this rice to the rest of the pot and stir it in, or put the white rice on a platter and put the yellow rice on top.

Ground Beef Kabob (Koobideh Kabob)

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground beef 
• 1 egg
• 1 medium onion, grated
• 1 teaspoon Ground Kabob Seasoning
•  salt and pepper
• Canola Oil (about 1 Tablespoon)
• 1  tomato cut into segments

Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet to medium to medium high and add canola oil. 
3. Add beef mixture and form one large patty. Cook for about 10-15 minutes. You want each side to be dark brown but not too dark. 
4. To flip, put the lid on the pan, flip the beef so it's on the lid, and then slide the beef from the lid to the pan. Be careful with this step so you don't burn yourself. You should probably do this over the sink.
5. Once flipped, return to heat. Score the beef into long thin rectangles. Add the tomatoes to the top of the beef. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the bottom side is dark brown. Remove the kabobs from the skillet and serve.

Spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

It's fall, even though it doesn't feel like it in Florida! I've been wanting to make a pumpkin bundt cake for awhile. After looking at several recipes, I finally decided to combine a couple of recipes. The cake recipe is from Martha Stewart and the glaze was found on Heather's Dish. Reviews about the cake on Martha's website said it didn't need a glaze so I debated adding it. However, I'm glad I did. The cake was very spicy. The glaze was delicious and complimented it well, I thought. It was a little thin though, maybe because I used half & half instead of heavy cream or maybe I didn't let it cook long enough. My bundt cake pans must be smaller than normal. This recipe made enough for two cakes, which just meant our neighbors got a little surprise!

Spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
• 4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitue just under 1 cup milk + 1 Tablespoon Vinegar and let rest for 5 minutes)
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 14-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat until just combined. Add pumpkin puree, and beat until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake cake until golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Carefully turn cake onto rack too cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Brown Sugar Glaze

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half & half because it's what I had)

Directions

1. In a saucepan combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved.  When cake is finished baking, poke holes in the top with a toothpick.  Pour glaze over the cake, making sure to cover all surfaces.  Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

Lemon and Dill Orzo Pasta with Chicken

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. This was SO good! It was really easy to make and had great flavor. This will definitely be filed as a recipe to make again. I didn't have fresh dill so I used dried dill. I'm sure it would have been even better with fresh. I think I could have added a little more lemon juice and I added even more dill after cooking. The only thing I didn't love about it was that it was pretty monochromatic with the exception of a few green flakes. I wonder what it would be like to add asparagus or something else to bring in color. The leftovers are just as good if not even better because the flavors have melded even more.


Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound orzo
• 2 cups crumbled feta (4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, bring broth, 3/4 cup water, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil.
3. In a 3-quart baking dish, combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice. Pour broth mixture over orzo and stir once to incorporate. Bake until orzo is tender and cooking liquid is creamy, 40 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 6.

Baked Tilapia with Spinach and Roasted Potatoes

I originally was planning on making a spinach and tomato pasta today and just have a baked seasoned tilapia and potato dish last night. But then I found a recipe for lemon and chicken orzo pasta that I just have to make tonight. So I found a recipe on About.com and used the ingredients I planned on using for the pasta dish for my tilapia. It ended up being an easy and delicious meal. The fish calls for Creole Seasoning, which I didn't have. So I made my own with a recipe from All Recipes. The recipe used white and black pepper, I only had black. I also used just over 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning instead of the oregano, basil, and thyme.


Baked Tilapia and Fresh Spinach
2 Servings


Ingredients

• 2 Tilapia filets
• cooking spray
• 4-6 ounces fresh spinach
• 2 Tablespoons chicken broth
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped
• 1 clove of Garlic, chopped
• 5-6 Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper
• Creole Seasoning (recipe below)
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons Feta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a skillet, heat olive oil and sautee the onion and garlic until tender. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add spinach and cook for about 30 seconds until just slightly wilted. It will continue to wilt in the oven.
3. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add the spinach mixture.
4. Sprinkle spinach with salt and pepper and onion powder; add the chicken broth. Sprinkle tilapia filets lightly with salt, pepper, and Creole seasonings. Arrange the filets over the spinach and sprinkle with chopped tomato. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork. After about 15-20 minutes of baking, add feta.

Creole Seasoning
Recipe yields about 1 Tablespoon.

Ingredients

• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon, heaping, Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine onion powder, garlic powder, Italian Seasoning, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika and salt. Store in an airtight container.

Roasted Red Potatoes
2 Servings


Ingredients

• 6 red potatoes, washed and cut into 4 quarters
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil, about 1 Tablespoon
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon onion flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine red potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion flakes.
3. Spray a square baking pan (or line pan with foil). Add poatoes.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I love fall, especially fall produce. I've tried a lot of the winter squashes, but for some reason, I've never made acorn squash. I found this recipe from Taste of Home and decided to give it a try. It called for rubbed sage which I could have sworn I had. Once I started cooking, I realized I didn't have it so I just used italian seasoning. I thought it turned out good. It's not a difficult recipe to make but it does take a little time. First you have to bake the squash for about an hour, then prep the filling, and then bake the whole thing. Perhaps you could just microwave the squash for a bit until tender to save time. Regardless, I'd probably make this again.



Ingredients

• 2 small (or 1 medium) acorn squash, halved and seeded
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage (I used Italian Seasoning)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Invert squash in an 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. Add water and cover with foil. Bake at 375° for 50-60 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, cook beef, onion and celery over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the flour, salt and sage until blended. Add milk. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in rice.
3. Transfer squash to a baking sheet. Fill cavity with meat mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese and bake 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia with Lemon Asparagus

I've seen this recipe for Parmesan Tilapia on All Recipes and wanted to try it but just haven't. Then I saw it on Annie's Eats and decided it's time to give it a try. I also did the lemon asparagus from the same post. The whole meal was delicious! Matt said the fish tasted like he was eating at Red Lobster. The topping was really good but very rich. Even though there's some mayo, butter, and cheese in the sauce, All Recipes says that there are only 200 calories. I don't know if that is true or not. I only used 1 T of a low fat mayo and then 2 T butter. We will definitely make this again. It was not only delicious, but also very easy to make.


Broiled Parmesan Tilapia
Ingredients

• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp. butter, softened
• 1 tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp. dried basil
• 1/8 tsp. celery seed
• 1/8 tsp. garlic powder
  
• 1/8 tsp. onion salt
  
• ground black pepper, to taste
  
• 1 lb. tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion salt and celery seed. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon
Ingredients

• 1 lb. asparagus
• 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• ½ lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Position a rack in the upper third of an oven and preheat to 450°F.
2. Snap off the tough stem ends from the asparagus spears and discard. Arrange the spears in a baking dish.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and lemon zest. Brush the asparagus evenly with the oil, turning the spears to coat well, and season generously with salt and pepper. Arrange the lemon wedges around the asparagus.
4. Bake until the asparagus is tender and just turning golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the asparagus to a warmed serving platter and drizzle with the pan juices.

Balsamic Chicken Pasta

I love balsamic vinegar so when planning this week's meals, I searched for a chicken recipe than used it. This recipe was on All Recipes. I made a couple of changes. I used rigatoni pasta instead of penne just because that's what I had, added some parmesan cheese, and onion. The original recipe called for raw tomatoes, and cold olive oil and balsamic vinegar to be added to the warm chicken and pasta. Instead, while the pasta and chicken were cooking, I sauteed the onion and then added the oil, vinegar, tomatoes, and basil so they'd be warm. It turned out to be pretty good. I wonder what it'd be like with feta instead of parmesan.



Ingredients

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ounce fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4-1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Mince garlic cloves in food processor or blender. Add 1/3 of the basil leaves to the processor, and chop until fine. Pour in 1/2 cup of olive oil, and continue to process until mixture turns light yellow with flecks of basil. Add the balsamic vinegar; process just until combined. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Marinate chicken for 2 hours, or up to overnight, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
3. Brown chicken in a large skillet over high heat, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a large baking dish, and place in the oven until cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove chicken from oven, slice into 1/4 inch strips, and return to baking dish to absorb cooking juices. Keep warm.
4. While chicken is baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Boil the pasta until cooked through, but still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well. Stir the chicken and the juices from the baking dish into the hot pasta.
5. Thinly slice the remaining basil leaves.
6. Saute onions in 1 Tablespoon of oil.
7. Add remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper. Cook for several minutes until ingredients are warmed through. Add the chicken, pasta, and cheese; toss to combine.

Burrito Bowls

I love Chipotle's burrito bowls. Awhile back I found the recipe for the rice, my favorite part, from Chiptole Fan. In the past I have made my own rice, beans, salsa, guacamole, and meat. While REALLY good it takes awhile. This time I made rice, chicken and beans and bought the rest of the ingredients. I usually use canned black beans but decided to try using a bag of beans. They turned out really good and I had LOTS of leftovers that I froze.The rice is great, as always, and the chicken was also really good.

Cilantro Lime Rice
Recipe from Chipotle Fan
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. fresh cilantro
• 2/3 cup white basmati rice
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 Lime
• Butter

Directions

1. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil or butter over low heat, stirring occasionally until melted. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. 
2. Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in cilantro.

Black Beans
Recipe adapted from Eating Well

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried beans, such as cannellini beans, black beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, great northern beans or pinto beans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cups boiling water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
•  Cayenne Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Soak beans in enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches for 6 hours or overnight. (Alternatively, use the quick-soak method: Place beans in a large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.)
2. Drain the beans and place them in a slow cooker. Add onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Pour in boiling water. Cook, covered, on high until beans are tender, 2 to 3 1/2 hours. Add salt and cayenne pepper, cover, and cook for 15 minutes more.

Chili Lime Chicken Marinade
Recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sauce, and stir to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. 

*Note: The Rouse House, I tried responding to your comment but it never published. I updated the recipes. For the rice, I added the cilantro after the rice is finished cooking. For the marinade I used a pound of chicken. I hope you like it if you try it!