Recipes

Ingredients
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 (15 ounces each) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups medium salsa (I used salsa fresca.)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin, ground
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2-3 cups cooked rice
10 -12 burrito sized flour tortillas
1 (approximately 30 ounces) can green enchilada sauce
2 cups Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Instructions
1. Place chicken, pineapple, beans and salsa in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours. 

2. Remove chicken and shred.  Mix shredded chicken back into slow cooker.  Stir in oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and cooked rice. 

3. Heat broiler. 

4. Spray 2 13 by 9-inch baking dishes with cooking spray.  Split chicken mixture between burrito shells.  Roll tortillas, folding in sides, to form burritos.  Place burritos in baking dishes.  Pour enchilada sauce evenly over each dish of burritos.  Top with cheese and broil until cheese has melted. 

Comments
This recipe is from Real Mom Kitchen.  I love pineapple which is why this recipe appealed to me.  We all enjoyed it and the guys both agree that the leftovers the second day were even better than dinner the first night.  This seems to be a common trend with slow cooker meals. 

We were, however, all disappointed by the lack of pineapple flavor in the dish.  Next time, I believe I’d add the pineapple in step 2 instead of in step 1 to keep the pineapple from breaking down too much during the cooking.  I might also use smaller tortillas and make the dish more like enchiladas instead of burritos.  This is a delicious dish, it could just use a little bit of tweaking the next time I make it.  There will definitely be a next time!

If you don’t want to make two pans of burritos all at once, you can easily freeze half the filling for a future meal.

Internet - Real Mom Kitchen

Ingredients
1 pound loose sausage (I used sweet Italian.)
2 cups Bisquick
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Combine sausage and Bisquick in mixing bowl on low speed.  Mix until well combined.  Add cheese and continue to mix until fully incorporated. 

3. Place wire rack in rimmed baking sheet.  Cut small holes in a piece of parchment paper and place paper on top of wire rack.  Roll dough into walnut size balls and place on baking sheet.  (I was able to fit all of the balls on one sheet, they don’t spread out much.) 

4. Bake for 15 minutes, or until sausage is completely cooked through. 

Comments
This recipe is from allrecipes.com but it’s also a pretty traditional one both in Art’s family and in the South in general.  I used Italian sausage which were nicely spicy.  The cheddar crisped up on the edges and we gobbled these up.  Cooking these on the rack and parchment paper kept the balls from sticking but also allowed the extra grease to drain through onto the baking sheet. 

I can see these working well with other types of sausage, but they could also end up bland if your sausage isn’t well spiced on its own.  Keep that in mind when making them yourself, you might want to add extra spices if you opt for a less flavorful sausage.

Internet - allrecipes

Ingredients
3 russet potatoes, scrubbed
Olive oil
³⁄₄ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 425*F. 

2. Coat 10-inch  skillet with olive oil, about 1 tablespoon.  Working 1 potato at a time, slice very thin with mandolin.  (Or with a knife, if your skills are amazing.)  Starting from the center, make concentric circles of potato in the bottom of pan.  Brush each layer with olive oil.  Every 2nd or 3rd layer sprinkle with cheese and season with salt.  After finishing with each potato, press down with clean hands so that the layers are compact.  Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

3. Place pan over medium heat and cook until oil begins to sizzle and potatoes start to brown on the bottom, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Transfer skillet to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes. 

4. Remove pan from oven and cover with tight fitting lid.  Drain excess oil out of skillet using lid to keep potatoes in place.  After oil has been drained, flip skillet over so that potatoes are turned onto bottom of lid.  Then slide the potatoes off the lid and into the skillet so that the browned side of the potato cake is now on top. 

5. Return pan to oven and bake until potatoes are fork tender.  Cut into wedges and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from Chef Anne of Food Network fame and was recently featured in an episode of Worst Cooks in America.  It was a bit tricksy with the flipping, but it sounds more difficult than it actually is.  Just be brave and you’ll have no problems.  I think I let my potatoes brown a little too much in step 3, but they were still delicious and I could have gobbled up the entire skillet.  A mandolin makes short work of the prep for this dish and the presentation is quite pretty.  This is the sort of dish to make when you’ve got company you want to impress, but want to keep the flavors nice and simple.  This recipe is definitely a keeper. 

Shown here with Roast Pork Loin with Bacon and Brown Sugar Glaze.

Internet - Anne Burrell

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
¹⁄₃ cup milk
3 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt

Instructions
1. Place potatoes in pot and cover with water.  Bring to boil over high heat.  Boil until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.  Drain potatoes and return to pot. 

2. Add milk, mascarpone, and salt.  Mash or stir to desired consistency. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2011 Cooking Light Annual.  The mascarpone adds a lovely richness to the potatoes which makes up for the lack of the traditional butter and heavy cream. 

Shown here with Roast Chicken with Balsamic Bell Peppers.

Cooking Light 2011

Ingredients
1 boneless pork loin
4 slices bacon, cut in half widthwise
¹⁄₂ teaspoon chili powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoons salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground cumin
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the glaze
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cider vinegar (I used red apple balsamic vinegar.)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon dry mustard

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 350*F. 

2. Cover bottom of roasting pan or baking dish with aluminum foil and place pork loin in prepared dish. 

3. Combine chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, and cinnamon.  Rub spice mixture over pork.  Lay bacon strips over pork loin.  Roast until instant read thermometer reads 125*F.   

4. Meanwhile, combine sugar, flour, vinegar, and mustard in small saucepan.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.  Spoon glaze over pork and return to oven.  Roast until thermometer reads 140*F.  Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before slicing. 

5. Pour accumulated juices from dish into gravy boat (or liquid measuring cup), skim fat from top, and pass sauce at table. 

Comments
This recipe is from The Comfort of Cooking and I picked it because I knew Art would love it.  The bacon on top turns into deliciously sweet candied goodness.   My only complaint is that the temperatures in the original recipe are wrong so my pork loin was overcooked.  The recipe as posted here includes the correct temperatures, I should have double checked before cooking.  The glaze worked very well and, while it was sweet, a mouthful of pork makes it perfect. 

Shown here with Pommes Anna.

Internet - The Comfort of Cooking

Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni or other short pasta
4 slices bacon, cut into small pieces
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 (10 ³⁄₄ ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (I use Healthy Request.)
1 ¹⁄₂ cup Italian cheese blend, shredded
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded

Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

2. Cook bacon in large ovensafe nonstick skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon to paper towel lined plate with slotted spoon, leaving fat in skillet.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Add chicken to skillet and cook until done, about 6 minutes.  Remove chicken to small bowl or plate. 

3. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat.  Add flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Combine milk and soup.  Gradually add milk mixture to skillet, stirring constantly.  Bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes, or until thickened.  Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.  Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill and salt.  Stir until cheese melts.  Stir in pasta and chicken. 

4. Heat broiler. 

5. Sprinkle mac and cheese evenly with reserved bacon and Mexican cheese blend.  Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2011 Cooking Light Annual and the flavors are, indeed, reminiscent of ranch dressing.  I’d say it was a success because both of the guys had seconds while I was still working through my original helping!  The blends of cheeses worked well, the chicken and bacon added nice flavors, and this was a pretty tasty mac and cheese variety.  It was also very easy to bring together – I did everything in the Dutch oven in order to spare my dishwasher. 

If you’re pressed on time, you can always use multiple pans in order to do steps all at the same time.  You can do the pasta in one pot, cook the bacon and chicken in another skillet, and then make the sauce in yet another pot.  It’s entirely up to you.  Just make sure that whatever dish goes in the oven at the end is broiler safe!

Cooking Light 2011

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon black pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried oregano
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups red and yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
¹⁄₂ cup shallot, thinly sliced
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions
1. Heat oven to 450*F.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in  large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, ¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Rub chicken with spice mixture. Cook chicken in skillet 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over; cook 1 minute. Arrange chicken in 9 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until instant read thermometer reaches 160*F when inserted into thickest part of chicken breast.   (If the chicken does not fit in a 9 x 9, use a 12 x 9 instead.)

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in skillet. Add bell peppers, shallots, and rosemary; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in broth, scraping pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in vinegar, remaining ¹⁄₄ teaspoon salt, and remaining ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper, cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until liquid has reduced. Serve bell pepper mixture over chicken. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2011 Cooking Light Annual.  I used orange and yellow bell peppers because the red ones were looking very sad at the store that week.  While it would have been more colorful with red bell peppers, it was just as tasty without them!  I thought this dish was pretty much perfect, especially when paired with the mashed potatoes suggested by the cookbook.  The whole recipe also came together very swiftly, requiring just a small amount of prep work to get the shallot and bell peppers sliced. 

Shown here with Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes.

Cooking Light 2011

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter
4 medium onions, sliced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Freshly ground black pepper
³⁄₄ cup beef broth
¹⁄₄ cup red wine
1 ¹⁄₂ cups croutons (Sometimes I just toast bread cubes, other times I use garlic and butter croutons)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 ounces Swiss cheese, shredded or sliced
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Heat broiler. 

2. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Sprinkle flour and pepper over onions, stir to combine.  Stir in broth and red wine, increase heat to high and continue stirring until thickened and bubbly.  Transfer to 8 by 8 inch baking dish. 

3. Toss croutons with 2 tablespoons melted butter and spread over top of onions.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Broil until cheese just melts, about 1 to 2 minutes. 

Comments
This recipe is from my mom and it’s one that I ask her to make every year at Christmas.  The onions are soft and yummy.  This was my gateway into loving French onion soup, something I hadn’t even wanted to try before having this casserole.  We’ve vegetarianized it for my brother by using vegetable broth for the beef broth, or using 1 cup of red wine and omitting the broth all together.  Both methods work well. 

The onions do reduce significantly so you might want to double this is you’re serving more than 4 onion lovers.  If you’re feeling really decadent, cook the onions with the butter on low for forever until they’re caramelized.  I love these onions. 

Shown here with Herb Rubbed Sirloin Tip Roast and Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms.

Person - Mom

Ingredients
6 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 large onions, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
4 cups white rice
4 teaspoons oregano
6 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 teaspoons salt

Instructions
1. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat and cook chicken until done, 5 to 10 minutes depending on size.  Remove chicken from Dutch oven. 

2. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil and add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno.  Sauté until onion is translucent.  Add tomatoes and cook, stirring, 3 minutes.  Sprinkle turmeric, cumin and paprika over vegetables and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.  Add rice and stir well for 2 minutes while rice absorbs flavors. 

3. Add oregano, chicken, chicken broth and pepper.  Season with salt to taste depending on how salty your broth is.  Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 25 minutes.  Turn off heat, stir well, cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Check for seasoning (salt and pepper) before serving. 

Comments
This is a recipe from my favorite Dutch girl’s blog, Kayotic Kitchen.  Sadly, I made it when I was sick so my taste buds weren’t functioning super well.  Even sadder still, the guys were torn on the results.  Art thought it was fantastic, wonderful, amazing, and loved all of the leftovers.  Lance, however, thought it was a bit bland.  I’m honestly not sure how this dish could possibly have been bland, but there you have it.  I’d like to make this again when I’m healthy because it certainly seemed like it should be grand!

As Kay suggested, this was eaten out of big bowls, with spoons, wrapped up in blankets on the couch.  The amounts shown here are for a doubled recipe.  Feel free to halve everything if you don’t want to feed an army or have lots of leftovers.

Internet - Kayotic Kitchen

Ingredients
2 pork tenderloins, 1 ¹⁄₂ to 2 pounds total
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons mustard seeds, cracked
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, cracked
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, cracked
1 teaspoon demerara or turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cornmeal
¹⁄₂ cup cornstarch
2 large egg whites

Instructions
1. Prepare grill.

2. Meanwhile, pat pork dry with paper towels. Combine mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, sugar, salt, and cornmeal on rimmed baking sheet. Place cornstarch in large bowl. Beat egg whites until foamy. One at a time, coat tenderloins lightly with cornstarch, dip in egg whites, and transfer to rimmed baking sheet to coat with spice mixture.

3. Spray tenderloins lightly with cooking spray and grill, covered, over hot side of grill, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 6 to 8 minutes. Slide pork to cooler side of grill and continue to cook, covered, until meat registers 145*F, 6 to 12 minutes longer. Transfer pork to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Slice and serve. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2010 Cook’s Country Annual.  I “cracked” the spices in the spice rub by combining all the rub ingredients in my mini-processor and giving it a few pulses.  This worked very well and might be easier than cracking the spices using another method. 

I also only had one small pork tenderloin, so I used a pork loin as well.  Obviously it took a bit longer to cook, but it was delicious and the method and spice rub worked just as well on the loin as the tenderloin.  If you plan to use this on loin instead of tenderloin, you should double all amounts in the recipe. 

Shown here with Chantilly Potatoes.

Cook’s Country 2010