Springtime pasta with bacon

So appropriately named for this time of year don't ya think!? I actually made this dish LAST year when we had some friends over. It looked good and was lighter. Now for some reason it would seem this is a quick fix meal but it always seems to take me 30-45minutes always. Not sure why. In ever case, it's good. Lighter. Fresh. I highly recommend the goat cheese too by the by. It totally makes the dish in my humble opinion. And those sugar snap peas...or snow peas. Yum. Try it. Fresh fruit on the side and you have a meal.

Stir Fry

Blogger now does this nifty little "viewed" thing where I can see how often each post is being looked at... I see that a few people really are looking at this. Even if it's from a google searcher who mis-lands here, hey, I'll take it!  We tried this recipe last night and it was super yummy. Growing up I liked stir-fry, and as I entered my vegetarian phase in college I really liked it. My main problem with it has always been that I've used bottled sauce and either a few fresh or a bag of frozen mixed veggies. Fine, but not stellar. Over the years I've tried a few stir fry recipes thinking they were so-so but not worth the extra effort. My dear mom gave me her copy of Southern Living recently and I came across this recipe. I saw it and thought it looked yummy. It also caught my eye because my 2.5 yr old is on a red pepper kick. I thought she might go for it.

I made it last night and only made a few alterations. Nothing drastic. It was so good. And relatively easy; the recipe says 30 min but I think it took me 45min and that was mainly because I was going back and forth reading the recipe and also trying to contain my 2 children. I really liked how the chicken stayed crispy/crunchy even after being added in with the sauce. And the broccoli was my absolute favorite part of it all! I'll give you my version here and just know that the picture is pretty much what it looked like!

Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinned and boned chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 teaspoon salt(Omitted)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1-2 lbs broccoli crowns chopped into smaller pieces
• 1.5 cup chicken broth, divided
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 small yellow squash, thinly sliced into half moons 
• 1 medium zucchini chopped up in similar fashion to the squash
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips (about 2" long each)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon (or more) Asian chili-garlic sauce (I used sweet chili-garlic sauce I found at the asian food store)
• 1-2 Tbsp mirin vinegar (sweet rice vinegar) --totally optional just added a great flavor
• Hot cooked rice

Preparation

0. chop all veggies and lay aside in groups

00. mix together 2 tsp cornstarch and 1.25 c chicken broth and set aside

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt; toss with 1/4 cup cornstarch.
2. Stir-fry chicken in 3 Tbsp. hot oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown and done. Transfer to a plate, using a slotted spoon; keep warm. Add Broccoli and carrots and 1/4 cup broth and 1-2 Tbsp mirin; cover and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Transfer to plate with chicken, using slotted spoon.
3. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet. Sauté bell pepper, squash, zucchini and green onions in hot oil 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.
4. Toss in the mixture from step 00. Add chicken, and Broccoli (with any accumulated juices) to bell pepper mixture in skillet. Cook, stirring often, 1 minute or until liquid thickens. Stir in lime juice, soy sauce and asian chili sauce. Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy.

Grilled Chicken Tacos

I was recently given a not-so-subtle suggestion to keep posting recipes from my friend, Lindsey. Bless her heart she actually still uses this site for dinner ideas! I was thrilled to know SOMEONE still cared about it and I decided I'd try to do a better job of posting new things we try. We are always trying new things I just don't blog about them as much partially out of laziness and partially because I just figured no one was looking! So here you go, Linds, these recipes are for you!

This particular recipe is so easy I could cry. The first time I found it I thought "Okay, a cute little twist on tacos...whatever...will try". Then I panicked the day we were supposed to have it because it was almost naptime I had realized I had not marinated the chicken the night before!! ACK! All recipes worth their salt require overnight marination, right?! I ran downstairs to look at the recipe again...marinate for 20 min-2 hours!? Could my eyesight be failing me?! Cue the heavens singing. I plopped all the ingredients in a ziplock bag, threw it in the fridge and went upstairs to take a nap with my kids. Then I cooked it on a cast-iron skillet because, for some odd reason we still have not bought a grill. It works like an indoor grill, that cast-iron skillet. And it makes me feel all southern and old-school. Anyways. LOOOOONG story short...these tacos were AMAZING. I don't know if I'll ever cook regular tacos again. And if you serve the chicken with fresh honey/champange mangoes that are in season right now, with a little avocado and fresh crumbling mexican cheese you have yourself a fine feast my friend. Enjoy!!

Grilled Chicken Tacos

3 Tbsp EVOO

2 Tbsp lime juice

4 tsp Montreal Chicken seasoning (we used McCormick’s Grill Mates)

1.5 lb boneless/skinless chicken, I would recommend cutting it up into 1-2" slices

1 8-oz container fresh refrigerated salsa (I buy the kind in the produce section)

1 large mango peeled/chopped (or use thawed frozen mango)

¼ c fresh chopped cilantro

Fajita sized tortillas, warmed

Optional toppings: cheese, lettuce, avocado

Optional side dish: refried beans (you can add 4 oz whipped chive-flavored cream cheese and ½ tsp cumin to the beans) put into a baking dish, top with little bit of finely chopped onion and shredded queso, bake @450F for 20-30 min…Yum.

For chicken: toss EVOO, lime juice, montreal seasoning and chicken tenders into a ziplock bag, marintate in the refrigerator for 30 min; cook in a skillet over med-hi heat or grill them. Serve with all the fixin’s…so quick and delicious!

Tuscan Bean Soup

Rev up your crock pot and clean up your kitchen beacuse I am about to unload a large bounty of crock pot recipes for you! My mom had purchased this slow cooker recipe book a while back and every time I went to her house it was sitting on the same spot on the coffee table. I perused it multiple times always thinking I should write a few of the recipes down and try them. But the idea of typing them out or writing them was offensive to my lazy side and I didn't do it. Then, I finally just took the dang book because she obvioulsy wasn't using it. I told her I'd give it back after I'd previewed some of the recipes for her. She didn't seem too upset.

I went through and marked about 30 recipes we could try. For almost 3 weeks we did nothing but crockpot cooking. I am a believer. I had used my crockpot exactly 3 times in the last 3 years...until last month. What a wonderful contraption! I will pass along our successes and spare you the failures. We have only come across one recipe so far we didn't like. It had good flavor but just wasn't working for us.

My personal favorite by far was this unsuspecting White Tuscan Bean Soup. I remember as a kid my mom would occasionally cook a huge vat of white beans and then we would be expected to eat it. I distinctly remember sitting there staring at my bowl and not taking a single bite. My brothers would douse the stuff with ketchup (the kid comfort condiment) and would eat a few bites. It was always a painful dinner night. Not this dish. Even my 2 year old ate it! Glorious day!

Here ya go...
2 Tbsp EVOO
6 oz pancetta, minced*
3 onions, chopped**
8 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes***
3 c low-sodium chicken broth
3 c water
1 lb dried great northern or cannellini beans, picked over, salt-soaked and rinsed
1 parmesan cheese rind (optional...I have not used one in my soups)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig of rosemary (I haven't done this either)
salt/pepper
grated parmesan cheese

0. Soak beans overnight, rinse

1. Heat oil in skillet over med-hi heat add pancetta and cook until lightly brown and crisp. Stir in onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and cook until onions are softened and lightly brown. Stir in 1 c broth, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer all to the slow cooker.

2. Stir in remaining 2 c broth, water, soaked beans, parmesan rind, bay leaves into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 9-11 hrs or high 5-7 hours.

3. Add rosemary, cover and cook on high until fragrant. Discard rosemary, bayleaves, and parmesan cheese rind. Season with salt/pepper. Add additional EVOO as needed

* I didn't have pancetta on hand and forgot to buy it so I used bacon just fine
**I used frozen chopped onion (approx 1 c per onion)
***I used only 1/2 the amt of red pepper called for for fear of being spicy and I think it was about right...so use your own judgement. It does add a nice kick.

I have not used the parmesan cheese rind or rosemary any time I've made this and I don't feel like it's lacking anything. Add some good bread, maybe some green beans or salad and you have yourself a great meal! (And a clean kitchen!!!)

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

Senor LOVES curry. Pretty much anything with curry he is all about it. So when I was perusing this slow cooker recipe book one of the first things that caught my eye was all the dairy-free, curry recipes. PERFECT!

This one is good. It's not my favorite curry but it is good and keeps all the goodness in one pot; and cooks itself while you live your life. Win-win.

2 onions, chopped (I used frozen...2 c)
2 jalepeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and chopped (be careful, wash your hands!!)
3 Tbsp vegetable oil (pretty sure I used EVOO)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (I used the squirt tube stuff from the fresh herb section)
2 Tbsp curry powder...or more
1 Tbsp tomato paste (don't you hate when recipes require such a small amt of this stuff?!)
1 tsp of garam masala
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 c water
1 (14-oz) can coconut milk (the fattier the better!!)
3 Tbsp minute tapioca
3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (I used breasts...can't stand thigh meat)
12 oz plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
1/2 c golden raisins
1 c frozen peas
1/4 c minced fresh cilantro

1. Microwave onions, jalepenos, oil, garlic, ginger, curry, tomato paste, and garam masala in bowl. Stir occasionally. Cook until onions are softened...maybe 5 minutes? Transfer to slow cooker.
2. Stir in everything else EXCEPT tomatoes, raisins, peas and cilantro. Cook on low 4-6 hours...until chicken is done and tender
3. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Remove the fat from the surface of the broth stuff with a large spoon.
4. Put cut up chicken back into the now leaner broth and add in tomatoes, raisins. Cook on high for about 10-15 min. Add in peas nad let sit until heated through...5 min? Stir in cilantro at the end. Serve with lime wedges.

We ate this over rice. I would have added sweet potato chunks I think. Overall a good dish.

BBQ

My brother Adam has actually introduced this one to me and I love it! I was intimidated to try it myself for some reason. Sort of like meatloaf or spaghetti sauce...seems so easy I worry I'll forget something.

And this makes a lot of food. And it's a beautiful crockpot keeper.

BBQ.
5 lb Boston Butt pork roast with bone-in
spicy mustard
apple-cider vinegar
BBQ sauce of your choice (I used KC Masterpiece original)

1. Throw about 1/4-1/2" vinegar into the bottom of your crockpot.
2. Toss in the pig
3. Squirt a fair amt of mustard on top. You can also sprinkle on some cumin, paprika, chili powder...whatever you desire.
4. Cook on low overnight.
5. Next day (maybe mid-morning or at least by like 2-3p) remove pig and place on a cutting board. Dump out the liquids from the crockpot...save some if you want a juicier BBQ. I don't like it very juicy so I tossed all of it.
6. Remove the bones from your pig and shred the meat from the pig. Toss the shredded meat back into the crockpot. Douse it with BBQ sauce, spicy mustard, vinegar and any other seasonings you wish until it's the way you like it...allow to cook on low and heat through for about an hour or so.
Serve it up on buns with some pickles, deviled eggs, baked beans... the fixin's! So yummy!