Mexican Stuffed Shells

When I saw that a message board to which I belong was doing a recipe swap with the theme of pasta, I figured it was time to give it a try again.  I couldn't possibly have been more thrilled than I was when I received Mexican Stuffed Shells from Jaida at Sweet Beginnings; it looked like it would be perfect for my family and definitely something I'd never have considered making on my own... but should have!

When I went to the store, I looked at the taco sauce ingredients and thought, "Self, you can totally make this at home."  So I went to the internet and came across this taco sauce, which was way cheaper than what I'd have bought at the store.  I also used  taco seasoning I made; no packet!

My husband commented that it tasted much better when he ate it with the sour cream, that he liked the creaminess.  This could have been because of my having used turkey which made it drier than if I'd used beef?

Thank you so much to Sarah for hosting; check out her blog for the Roundup!

Mexican Stuffed Shells Source:  Sweet Beginnings

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 2T taco seasoning 
• 4 oz. Neufchatel cream cheese
• 14-16 jumbo pasta shells
• 1.5 cup salsa
• 1 cup taco sauce (I accidentally used the whole thing)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 3 green onions
• Sour cream
• Black olives

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a frying pan cook ground turkey; add taco seasoning and 1 cup of water and simmer until liquid is almost gone.  Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and cool completely. 
3. While ground turkeyis cooking, cook the pasta shells according to directions; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together.
4. Pour salsa on bottom of 9×13 baking dish.  Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place shells in 9×13 pan open side up. Cover shells with taco sauce.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, add shredded cheese and bake for 10-15 more minutes, with the foil removed.  Top with any condiments you’d like (green onions, black olives, etc.) Serve with sour cream and/or more salsa.

Meal Plan Monday

 We have state testing at work this week.  It should be an easy and a busy week, as a result.


Monday:  Pierogie and Kielbasa Bake (made this before, but never with kielbasa... so smart!)
Tuesday:  Chicken Bruschetta
Wednesday:  Greek Quesadillas with Roasted Cauliflower and Lishie's Tzatiki
Thursday:  Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole
Friday:  Pizza, if I remember to make the dough!
Saturday:  Maybe a mustgo night
Sunday... I'll worry about Sunday next week!

Other things I'm cooking this week:
Cottage Cheese Muffins
Lunch Club is getting Cuban Black Beans, which I might also make into a pureed taco recipe they (Everyday Food) made with the leftovers.
Have a great week, everyone!

Cajun Mac and Cheese

My husband chose this out of the March issue of Food Network Magazine, and upon his first taste, he exclaimed.  Like, yelled out, exclaimed because he liked it so much.  I agreed, this was quite delicious.  The andouille adds a little bit of spice and flavor, without being overwhelmingly spicy.  It was so creamy too, which sort of surprised me.  I used Essence of Emeril, which I had made up for another recipe a few weeks ago.

The bigger boy barely touched his while the littler boy kept coming back for the pasta, but didn't eat any of the rest of it.

Two thumbs up here!!

Cajun Mac and Cheese Source:  Food Network Magazine

• Kosher salt
• 12 ounces wagon-wheel pasta
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces andouille sausage, diced
• 2 bunches scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 bell pepper (red or green), chopped
• 1 tablespoon Cajun spice blend
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 1 minute less than the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, combine the olive oil and sausage in a large skillet over high heat and cook, stirring, until the sausage starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Stir in the scallions and bell pepper and cook until the vegetables are slightly soft, about 3 more minutes. Add the Cajun spice and flour and cook, stirring, 2 more minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and continue whisking until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 5 more minutes.

Add the pasta, cheese and reserved cooking water to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, tossing to coat the pasta in the sauce and melt the cheese, about 1 minute.

Shrimp, Cherry Pepper, and Arugula Linguine

This caught my eye in this month's Woman's Day Magazine, perhaps as a Friday Lenten meal.  It wasn't made on a Friday, but you get the idea.  I had a bit of a hard time finding Peppadew peppers, so it was pushed off by a week.

I don't know if M or I have ever had arugula before, but he definitely didn't like it at all, and I wasn't over the moon about it.  I liked the Peppadew peppers, but he thought they were way too spicy for his liking (they were on the spicy side for me as well, but I kinda liked it.  That said, I can't believe the label suggests popping them as a snack.  Holy fire mouth!)

Shrimp, Cherry Pepper, and Arugula Linguine Source:  Woman's Day Magazine

Ingredients

12 ounce(s) linguine

• 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 2 clove(s) garlic, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup(s) dry white wine
• 1 pound(s) peeled and deveined large shrimp
•  Kosher salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup(s) small sweet red cherry peppers (such as Peppadew), quartered
• 4 cup(s) baby arugula

Directions

1. Cook the linguine according to package directions. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid; drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until light golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a simmer.
3. Season the shrimp with ¼ tsp each salt and pepper, add to the skillet along with the cherry peppers, and cook, turning the shrimp once, until they are opaque throughout, about 2 minutes per side.
4. Toss the pasta with the shrimp mixture and arugula (add the reserved cooking liquid, 1 Tbsp at a time, if the pasta seems dry).

Read more: Shrimp, Cherry Pepper & Arugula Linguine – Pasta Recipes - Woman's Day 

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

I have a problem with breakfast.  The problem is that I love breakfast and that I have not a whole lot of time in the mornings.  So, it's not unlikely that my breakfast is Lucky Charms.  Or cinnamon buns, which, of course, are not homemade.  Totally good for me, and totally going to keep me full from 6 till 11.

So, when I stumbled across this recipe for homemade Egg McMuffins, something I've been wanting to try anyway, I decided the time was right and made them right away.

This seemed like a great and yummy solution to part of my breakfast dilemma.  I've made it three mornings and haven't yet had success following the directions.  Rather than do the prewarming in the whole oven (adding another 10-15 minutes to the morning rush), I made it in the toaster oven.  Our toaster oven is generally wonky, so why I thought this would be successful, I'm not sure.

So, on day 1 I followed Macheesmo's directions exactly.  The result was a rock hard muffin.  On day 2, I dropped the temperature to 325 for 20 minutes, and the muffin was still pretty hard.  Tomorrow I'll try an overnight defrost before putting it into the oven for a little while.

I think part of hte problem was my overcooking the eggs and maybe the muffins from the beginning.  I wonder if the egg should be frozen separately, warmed in the oven with cheese on top, and the muffin toasted separately....

Anyway, here's Macheemo's directions.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches Source:  Macheesmo

6 English muffins
6 eggs
Butter (optional)
Shredded Cheese
Spray oil

1.  Lightly spray a muffin tin with oil.  Crack an egg into each muffin spot.  Bake 10-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven (these should cook out of the oven, which I didn't do and so, overcooked).
2.  Meanwhile, grate your cheese.  Lay slice English muffins on a baking sheet and pop in the oven along with the eggs, about 10 minutes.
3.  Remove the eggs (I used a silicone "Spoonula" with great success).  Top each muffin with an egg, top with cheese, add muffin top.
4.  If eating now, bake another 5-10 minutes.
5.  If freezing, place unwrapped sandwich on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour.  Wrap each in foil and put them all inside a freezer bag.  When you're ready to eat, bake frozen sandwich in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes (watch it... mine was really hard and sorta burned!)

Meal Plan Monday

I'm taking on a Recipe Swap challenge this week, and I'm so excited about what I received!

Here's the meal plan for the week:
Monday:  Mexican Stuffed Shells
Tuesday:  Cajun Mac and Cheese
Wednesday:  Breakfast for dinner (no real plan yet; suggestions welcome...)
Thursday:  Ginger Soy Glazed Tilapia
Friday:  Tempeh Tacos
Saturday:  Baked Chicken Nuggets
Sunday:  Shrimp, Cherry Pepper, and Arugula Linguine

Crab and Avocado Salad

I originally planned the very romantic Pulled Pork dinner for Valentine's Day, but had also added this to the week's menu.  Since this seemed like a much more sophisticated and classy meal, I made the quick switch.

This was an incredibly good and easy to make dinner.  I tried to cut costs a bit by using imitation crab, and my husband didn't notice anything different, so I guess it worked!  We both liked this quite a bit, and the boys of course weren't interested.  I was a bit nervous after reading tepid reviews of it on Food Network's page, but then noticed all those who reviewed it poorly left out anchovies from the dressing; I also noticed that those who rated highly said they definitely HAD used the anchovies, so I made sure to INCLUDE them!

I'm not typically a fan of Caesar salads, but this homemade salad dressing was delicious.

An excellent Friday Lenten meal for you!

Crab and Avocado Salad from Food Network Magazine via Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 1/2 pound haricots verts or green beans, halved
• 2/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 3 anchovy fillets, chopped
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 pound lump or claw crabmeat
• 1 Hass avocado, halved, pitted and diced
• 3 romaine hearts, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat croutons
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the haricots verts and cook until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking.

Puree the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, basil and anchovies in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Toss the crabmeat, half of the avocado and about 1 tablespoon of the yogurt dressing in a small bowl. Toss the romaine, croutons, haricots verts and the remaining avocado with the remaining dressing in a large bowl.
Divide the romaine salad among plates, top with the tomatoes and place some of the crab mixture in the center.

Pineapple Glazed Chicken

It's been a long string of not so great dinners around here. So when I planned dinner, I turned my attention to the good ole folks at America's Test Kitchen, who almost never let me down. I'd bought the ingredients for a dinner a few weeks ago, so it wasn't a problem to put together on the fly in that regard, and since it comes from their Best 30 Minute Recipe book, it wasn't a problem for that rush hour need to get it ready fast kind of dinner.  It took me almost 35 minutes on the nose, which could have to do with a little bit of dawdling on my part.  So it's certainly easy and fast!

But who really cares about easy and fast if it's not tasty?   This, is definitely tasty!  How could you go wrong with pineapple and chicken, along with a few other spices you might not expect?  I discovered the cupboards were bare when it came to soy sauce, so found a substitution to use 4T Worcestershire sauce with 1T of water and halved it--this substitution was pretty delicious or at least not noticed as being a substitution.

If you're in a hurry, give this one a try!

Pineapple Glazed Chicken Cook's Illustrated's Best 30 Minute Recipe

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks in juice (not syrup)
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sliced almonds , toasted (see note)

Directions:

1. Lightly pound chicken so it's roughly the same thickness.  Season with salt and pepper.  Heat 1T olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown the chicken, about 4 minutes per side.
2. Meanwhile, drain pineapple chunks, reserving 1/2 cup juice. Whisk pineapple juice, honey, soy sauce, curry powder, and cayenne together.  Add this mixture, along with the pineapple chunks, to the skillet with the chicken and bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer about 8-12 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and an instant read thermometer through the thickest part of the chicken reads 160 degrees F, 
3. Transfer chicken to a plate, cover with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Return glaze to simmer and cook, uncovered, until thickened slightly and glossy, about 8 minutes.
4. Add accumulated chicken juices to glaze. Whisk cornstarch and vinegar together until smooth, then whisk into glaze. Continue to simmer glaze until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour glaze over chicken, sprinkle with toasted almonds, and serve.
5. Note: To toast the 1/4 cup almonds, put them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Shake the skillet occasionally to prevent scorching and toast until they are lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 8 minutes.

Recipe found online at: http://www.food.com/recipe/pineapple-glazed-chicken-284226#ixzz1nLok6TAh

Latin Rice

A few weeks ago, I made Low Fat Chicken Enchiladas and also made the Skinnytaste recipe for Latin Rice.  This recipe calls for Sazon, which is a seasoning.  At the store, I looked at it, was shocked at the price tag and turned to the internet to find a make at home version.  I found it here.

Latin Yellow Rice 
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 3/4 cup • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 193.2 • Fat: 2.1 g • Protein: 3.8 g • Carb: 38.8 g • Fiber: 1 g  


Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked long grain rice
• 4 tsp canola oil
• 1 chicken bullion cube
• 5 medium scallions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 cups water
• 1 packet Sazón
• 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)

Directions: 

In a medium heavy pot with a tight fitting lid, heat oil on medium heat and sautescallions, cilantro and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and saute another minute. Add rice and saute 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Add water, bullion cube and sazón. Taste the water for salt and add more to taste. Let water boil on a high flame stirring once.

As the water boils down and just barely skims the top of the rice, turn the flame to very low and cover 15 minutes. The steam will cook the rice so do not open. After 15 minutes, shut the flame off and let it sit at least 5 more minutes. This will finish cooking the rice without burning the bottom.




Sazon recipe:
Combine 1T of each:  salt, ground black pepper, granulated garlic or garlic powder, dried ground coriander seed, cumin, oregano and paprika.  Mix well and use 1-1/2 t for a packet of Sazon.

BBQ "Beef" and Mashed Potato Pie

Please pardon the horrible cell phone picture, worse than my normal regular camera food photography.

I thought this was really cool because the mashed potatoes used no milk or butter, and my husband didn't even notice.  I made a few modifications, reflected below, but accidentally used too much Dijon mustard, which gave it a little more tang than I'd have liked.

My boys wouldn't try it.  My husband ate it, a little begrudgingly.  But you should try this nonetheless.  I really enjoyed it, even with too much Dijon.  Since I won't be making this for my husband, I think this would be delicious with some kidney beans inside.  Or some green veggies would be good in with the meat too.  Cheese on top!  Garlic!  It seems like a really adaptable recipe, which would really change the flavors.

BBQ Beef and Mashed Potato Pie, No Beef, All Turkey Source:  Adapted from Woman's Day March 2012

2lb potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" pieces

4T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1lb ground turkey

2 cans diced tomatoes, drained

1/2c ketchup

2T cider vinegar

1T Dijon mustard

1T molasses

1T Worcestershire sauce

1.  Boil a pot of salted water.  Add potatoes and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.  Reserve a cup of the water, then drain the potatoes and return to the pot.  Mash with 3T oil, 1/4t salt, black pepper, and 2T of the cooking liquid (more if needed!).

2.  Meanwhile, heat 1T oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and some pepper and cook until onions are tender, about 8 minutes.

3.  Heat broiler.  Add turkey to the onion and cook until brown, breaking it up with a spoon, about 5 minutes.  Drain grease.  Add tomatoes, stirring occasionally, and cook for about 4 minutes.  Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk.  Add to the mixture and cook for about 1 minute.

4.  Transfer the beef and onions to a 2qt broiler proof dish and top with mashed potatoes.  Broil until starting to brown, about 4 minutes.