Tag Archives: Dinner

Jun 26 2011
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Oven Roasted Red Snapper with Tomatoes and Black Olives

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Ingredients:

Red Snapper Fillets

Can of Crushed Tomatoes

Can of Black Olives

Any seasoning you like such as Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Parsley, Salt, Pepper, and Dried Thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place Red Snapper in a glass baking dish. Season fish, pour can of tomatoes over fish, and add more seasoning. Spread olives over top. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until fish is cooked through.

This is a great fish dish. Very flavorful, and you can season it as much as you want. Serve with rice pilaf and a fresh vegetable for a nice meal. This recipe is very simple and most people will like it because it does not have a strong fishy flavor.

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Jun 26 2011
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Sweet-n-Sour Pork Chops

Ingredients

·         1 tablespoon sesame oil

·         Salt  and ground  black pepper

·         4 (4-ounce) boneless pork loin chops

·         1 cup apricot preserves

·         2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

·         1/4 cup chopped scallions

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season pork chops all over with salt and black pepper and add to hot pan. Cook chops 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Add apricot preserves, soy sauce and ginger and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and simmer 5 minutes, until pork is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in scallions.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/sweet-n-sour-pork-chops-recipe/index.html

Sautéed Bok Choy

1 head of bok choy (baby is better if you can find it)

Soy Sauce

Sesame Oil

Directions

Add a tablespoon or so of oil in a heated skillet. Place bok choy in pan let cook. Add some soy sauce for flavor, and let bok choy brown a little.

The original pork chop recipe called for ginger but I do not like ginger so I left it out. These pork chops are phenomenal! Sweet, juicy, and tender. Depending on how thick the chops are, they will most likely require a longer cooking time than mentioned above. Be careful not to add the apricot preserves too early because it will burn if you let it cook too long. As a side dish I made sautéed bok choy which is really delicious and goes along with the Asian theme. If you want a starch to go along with these meal, some sort of Asian noodles would be a wonderful addition!

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Jun 26 2011
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Old Blog, Recipes

Meatballs

MEATBALLS

Ground meat

Parsley

Oregano

Garlic powder

Basil

Pepper

Italian bread crumbs

Mix together with hands and shape into balls. Place on baking sheet and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

This recipe is simple and delicious! For tender, juicy meatballs, place meatballs in a saucepan with the tomato sauce and let simmer before serving. The meatballs will absorb some of the sauce flavor. This dish is a crowd pleaser!

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Jun 26 2011
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Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

LATKES!!!

Yummy, who doesn’t love a Hannukah treat? This is my own recipe for latkes which is very much a guesstimation. You can easily play with this recipe to make it your own!

1 large onion

8 large russet potatoes

1 or 2 beaten eggs

salt and pepper

vegetable oil

Wash and peel all the potatoes. In a large bowl, grate the potatoes. Peel onion and grate into same large bowl. Add 1 or 2 beaten eggs to help hold together the latkes. Add salt and pepper to taste (don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of salt because you usually can’t taste it very much). Mix it up and taste the mixture, it should taste as it will once fried (so you can adjust the seasoning). In a large skillet, heat up some vegetable oil. Using your hands, take the mixture and make patties about the size of your palm. If you want them crispier, make them thinner. If you want them moister in the middle, make them plumper. Place patties in skillet and fry until golden brown. The longer you leave the the latke in the pan, the crisper it will be. Serve with apple sauce and enjoy!

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Jun 26 2011
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Greek Shrimp & Couscous

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Ingredients

·         1 (10-ounce) package couscous

·         2 teaspoons olive oil

·         1 pound frozen shrimp, thawed, peeled and de-veined

·         1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes  with green pepper and onion, drained

·         1/2 cup Greek black olives, pitted and chopped

·         1 tablespoon dried mint leaves

·         1 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

·         1 teaspoon dried oregano

·         Salt  and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cook couscous according to package directions. In a separate pan, add olive oil and shrimp. Add tomatoes, olives, mint, garlic and herb seasoning, and oregano. Simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes to cook shrimp and heat through. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Pour over couscous and serve.

Recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/greek-shrimp-and-couscous-recipe/index.html

This was very delicious and simple. I made this dinner with my roomate and we both enjoyed it. We used a can of diced tomatoes but not with peppers and onion. As a side dish we had roasted broccoli which is very simple.

Broccoli:

Cut broccoli into small pieces and spread out on a baking sheet. Drizzle EVOO and sea salt or kosher salt over broccoli and put in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until done to your liking (personally, I think it is best when it is slightly burned).

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Jun 26 2011
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Easy Lemon Chicken Pasta

Ingredients

·         1 pound dried penne

·         2 chicken cutlets, cut into fingers

·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         3 cloves garlic, sliced

·         1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

·         2 lemons, juiced

·         1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain well.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large grill pan over medium high and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to a saute pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and turn heat off. Mix all together.

Remove pasta to a large bowl. Add chicken to the warm pasta and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in chopped parsley. Add the juice of 2 lemons and mix. Before serving top with Parmesan.

Found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/easy-lemon-pasta-with-chicken-recipe/index.html

By far this recipe is one of the easiest I have ever made. I did a few things differently than the recipe calls for. First off, I sliced the chicken before cooking it so each individual piece would cook a bit faster. I also used a few tablespoons of EVOO to cook the chicken. I did not have any garlic cloves so I used some garlic powder, which worked fine. On the same note I did not have any fresh parsley so I used dry parsley. Using dry seasonings makes this an easy dish to pull together without having to go to the grocery store. A nice way to make this dish a little healthier is to use whole wheat penne which also adds a nice flavor. Lastly, I added a package of frozen spinach to add some green to the dish. Microwave a package of frozen spinach, wring out any water, and add to the olive oil mixture before adding the pasta. Overall this was a super delicious and easy dish to make!

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Jun 26 2011
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Old Blog, Recipes

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Very rich and delicious, baked shrimp scampi is a treat. This recipe has a lot of butter in it, so if you prefer you can substitute half of the butter with olive oil (which is what I did). Also, save yourself the trouble of peeling the shrimp and buy already peeled and de-veined shrimp. This dish was very delicious and can be served with pasta or rice.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
  • 3 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
  • 1/4 cup minced shallots
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 extra-large egg yolk
  • 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

I found this recipe at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/baked-shrimp-scampi-recipe/index.html

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Jun 26 2011
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Old Blog, Recipes

Flank Steak with Red Wine Sauce

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup tomato paste

2 1/2 cups dry red wine

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 (2 pound) flank steak or tri-tip steaks

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the wine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces by half, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Keep the sauce warm

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the steak generously with salt and pepper. Cook the steak to desired doneness, about 8 minutes per side for medium-rare (the steak will shrink as it cooks). Remove the skillet from the heat and let the steak rest in the skillet for 10 minutes.

Transfer the steak to a cutting board and slice it thinly across the grain. Divide the steak slices among 6 plates, drizzle the sauce over the steak, and serve.

This recipe can be found in Giada De Laurentiis book Giada’s Family Dinners. It was somewhat time consuming because of the various steps, but well worth it. I made this recipe with one of my roommates, and we decided we did not want to discard the solids in the sauce. Rather than having a thin au jus type of sauce, we had a chunky sauce. Though the sauce was thicker, it was still very delicious (and if you like onions it is worth saving the solids!). Flank steak is a treat, and this recipe is a wonderful way to prepare it!

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Jun 26 2011
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Old Blog, Recipes

Chicken Baked with Red Onions, Potatoes, and Rosemary


2 red onions, each cut into 10 wedges

1 1/4 lbs new potatoes, not peeled

2 bulbs garlic, separated into cloves, but not peeled

salt and pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

about 5 sprigs rosemary

1 (4lb) roasting chicken, cut into 8 pieces, or 8 chicken thighs, rubbed with sea salt to crisp the skin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the vegetables and garlic in a single layer over the bottom of a huge roasting pan so that they will crisp and brown beautifully. Season with salt and pepper, pour over the oil and balsamic vinegar, and add the rosemary, leaving some sprigs whole and stripping the leaves off the rest. Toss the vegetables with your hand and tuck the chicken pieces in among them. Bake for 45 minutes, until cooked through

This recipe comes from the cookbook Pure Simple Cooking by Diana Henry. The recipe is extremely delicious and flavorful. It was very easy to prepare because everything cooks together in one pan. This recipe is also great because it goes with most vegetables. For this dinner I made sautéed spinach and roasted asparagus. I used chicken thighs which were very moist, and rubbing salt on the skin made it perfectly crispy. I highly recommend this recipe, as I am sure my friends who I prepared it for would agree!

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Jun 26 2011
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Old Blog, Recipes

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

·          4 slices whole-wheat bread (1-ounce each)

·         1 teaspoon dried oregano

·         1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

·         4 teaspoons paprika

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         2 egg whites

·         1/2 cup skim milk

·         1/2 cup all-purpose flour

·         4 (6 ounce) skinless boneless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2-inch thickness

·         Olive oil cooking spray

·         1 jar good-quality marinara sauce (about 3 1/2 cups)

·         3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

·         2 tablespoons (1/2-ounce) shredded Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the bread in the bowl of a food processor and process until fine crumbs are formed, about 25 to 30 seconds. Put the crumbs on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes, until golden. (You will wind up with about 1 1/3 cups toasted crumbs.)

In a medium bowl, toss the crumbs with oregano, garlic powder, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and milk together. In a third bowl stir together the flour, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Dip each piece of chicken, 1 piece at a time, in flour, shaking off excess, then egg, then bread crumbs, shaking off excess.

Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place breaded breasts in a glass baking dish and spray on each side with cooking spray, about 5 seconds total per side. Bake breasts until cooked though and crumbs are browned, about 15 minutes. Top with marinara sauce, mozzarella and parmesan and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbling.

This recipe was WONDERFUL! I honestly think this is one of the most delicious dinners I have ever made! It was simple and so rewarding. To make things simpler, rather than making my own bread crumbs I bought Italian style Panko bread crumbs. Though they are seasoned I still added the seasoning from the recipe. A tip for breading the chicken: use one hand as a wet hand, and the other as a dry hand. This means only touch the egg with one and the flour and bread crumbs with the other. Also, I did not add milk to the egg mixture. Lastly, I used 2 cups of shredded mozzarella rather than the amount in the recipe. Highly recommended, this is a must-make recipe!

Recipe found at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/chicken-parmesan-recipe/index.html

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