Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is one of my favorite things!  It goes on pretty much everything! Crackers, bagels, sandwiches....and it keeps for about a week in the fridge!  This stuff is packed with protein! It can be scaled to your liking.  Some like a lot of mayo with the chicken salad, others not so much.  So make it how you like it, but this is my basic recipe.

4 chicken breasts, boiled finely shredded
Half jar of sweet or dill pickels...or both!
1/2 cup of mayo
5Tbslps of mustard
6 hard boiled eggs roughly chopped

Boil up your chicken and eggs.  Finely shred and chop the chicken.  I have one of those biscuit cutters with the handles that works really well for this! If not, a pastry blender works great too! Shell the eggs, and chop those up with the chicken.  Add the pickels and chop.  Add mayo and mustard to taste.  This makes a pretty decent sized bowl so its great for lunches for the kids!

Chili

My oh MY do we love us some chili around here! Chili is one of those things that gets better with reheating, am I right? And its a budget friendly meal that can be converted a thousand different ways. 

Chili mac...


Chili dogs.....


Chili cheese burritos.....


Ok enough Bubba Gump.....


You can, as always, take out or add depending on your tastes.  I like it on the spicey side.  I've even tried the Pioneer Woman's version of adding Masa flour to thicken it and give it a sweetness.  You really just can't go wrong with it.  I'll get to the point now.


2lbs of lean ground beef
3cans of kidney beans, strained and rinsed
1 yellow onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
3 jalepeno peppers, seeded and flesh removed to taste
1 green bell pepper, chopped and seeded
1 tomato chopped
3 tsps of cumin
3tsps cayenne pepper
3Tblsps of chili powder
1 can of tomato paste
1 1/2 cups of water

In a large stock pot, combine ground beef, onion, garlic, jalepenos, bell pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper and chili powder.  Brown and crumble ground beef.  The fat should mostly cook off.  You shouldn't have to do much straining if you're using lean beef.  If you're not, then strain the fat.  Its okay if you have some.  Add water, beans, tomato and tomato paste.  Let it come up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Garnish with sour cream, cheese or whatever you're into!

If you would like to try the Pioneer Woman's version, instead of adding just the water.  Place water and a 1/4 cup of Masa flour in a measuring cup.  Whisk it around to get the lumps out.  Then add it to your beef mixture with the rest of the ingredients.  The Masa will give it a sweet flavor. 

Pico and Tacos

I learned to make Pico a long time ago.  Its the most amazing stuff ever.  I prefer it over salsa any day of the week. I use it in tacos, add on top of chicken, even mix it in with some huevos in the morning.  YUM!  Super easy, makes a good size batch and if stored correctly ( I store mine in a glass mason jar) it stays fresh for a couple weeks.

1 red onion, finely chopped
6 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
4 jalepeno peppers, finely chopped
The juice of one lime

Seed and chop your tomatoes.  Place in a bowl.  Add onion, cilantro and peppers.  Mix with hands to get it all incorporated.  Squeeze out the juice of the lime and mix with hands again.  Flavors always depend on the vegetables you're using, depending on the maturity of the vegetables, their breed, the time of year...etc.  So if you want a little more kick...add more pepper.  Not onion-y enough? You know the drill!

I use Pico to flavor the taco meat instead of seasoning from a package.  I think it tastes so much better and has more of an authentic flavor.  So, if you're making tacos, this time I did chicken tacos.  In a large skillet over medium heat, add two tblsps of EVOO with a few spoonfuls of the pico.  I assure you, its all the flavor you'll need! Occasionally, you'll be able to find enchilada queso or queso blanco.  I like to add that onto the tacos instead of the usual cheddar cheese.  Any kind of white queso is going to improve Mexican night at your house.  Guarnteed. 

Tonight I rolled these up and baked them to get all the cheese melted.  Not exactly a burrito, taco or enchilada....still...amazing.

Lasagne

Call me crazy, but I hate the no boil noodles they have for lasagne.  I just don't think they have enough gusto! So, I do it the old school way.  I boil those bad boys! Naughty noodles! Getting sidetracked....

Let's make lasagne!


1 box of lasagne noodles....I guess if you really wanted to I'll allow no boils
I used some pureed spaghetti sauce I had canned from the summer, but they do sell crushed tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano that works wonderfully here too!
1/2 pound of ground italian sausage
1/2 pound of ground beef
1 container of ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese has worked well too!)
1lb of shredded mozzerella cheese (or if you can find the combo cheese packs-mozz,provalone, romano and parmesean those are handy!)

Boil up those noodles up.  Brown the sausage and ground beef.  Set aside.  Strain the noodles.  In a 13x9 pan, layer the noodles first, ricotta, meat, sauce then cheese.  I like to use a layer of two noodles, but you can do whatever.  When you have it assembled.  Cover with some foil.  Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Remove foil, check progress.  Yours might be done a littler earlier! If not, let it go for another 15.  Always keep an eye on it, as our ovens most likely run at different temps!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Oh do I love mac and cheese! The good kind, not the box kind.  I could seriously eat a whole pan of this stuff.  I made this to keep in the fridge for the week/weekend.  I'll heat some up in the morning and throw it in the thermoses for the kids to take in their lunches.  Its a nice little break from the soup. So here's what you'll need....

1 box of macaroni ( I use whole grain)
1lb of cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of flour
2 tsp of ground mustard or to taste
some ground black pepper to taste
2 1/2 cups of milk
1 egg, beaten
half stick of butter
1/4 cup of your choice of bread crumbs

Cook your macaroni according to the package.  Strain and set aside.  In a large stock pot on medium heat, place butter and flour in.  Whisk together until butter is melted being sure not to burn the flour.  This will be the thickener for the sauce.  Add milk.  Heat to a low boil, whisking occasionally.  Beat the egg in a separate bowl.  Scoop out about a 1/2 cup of the milk mixture.  Slowly add the half cup to the egg and gently stir.  This makes the egg rise to a warmer temperature, so that when you add it to the pot, you won't have a scrambled egg!  When egg has been tempered, add to the pot.  Add seasoning, then cheese.  Stir  until cheese has melted.  Add macaroni and stir to coat.

Transfer mac and cheese to a buttered 13x9 inch pan.  Top with some bread crumbs(panko works great!).  Transfer to a 400* oven for about 20 minutes. 

Garlic and Parsley Seared Sea Scallops

This can be an extremely elegant meal if you want it to be! Its incredibly simple and can be used as a main dish or appetizer, or even to accompany a steak! I like to pair scallops with honey glazed carrots and a romaine salad.  Glass of Chardonnay? Don't mind if I do! See what I was saying about elegant?

Peel and grate 4 cloves of fresh garlic into a large skillet, drizzle a couple tablespoons of EVOO, 1 tablespoon of butter.  Give it a quick stir over medium heat.  We want the garlic to be evenly distributed.  Finely chop some fresh parsley and sprinkle over the top of the pan.  You'll only need a couple tsps.  No need to be exact here.

I have two lbs of sea scallops.  Those are the big fellas.  You may or may not need to remove the muscle.  I didn't have to remove mine.  Bonus!

Add your scallops to the pan.  Cook on each side about ten minutes, maybe a minute longer or so depending on the size of the scallop.  A good way to tell if your scallops are done cooking, is they should give a slight bounce back when you poke them.  If they feel mushy, keep cooking.  These are phenomenal!

Easy Like Sunday Morning Sausage Gravy

I often make biscuits and gravy when the hubby is home.  I have my own biscuit recipe posted in the blog somewhere that is simply fabulous! I was a slave to the package mix for a long time, until I figured out how incredibly easy it was to make gravy on my own.  So this morning....ok 11am...I finally made myself some breakfast and pulled the recipe out the arsenal.  I like my gravy with lots of pepper and sausage.  So the recipe is totally adjustable, but this is the base.

About 1lb or more of sausage
1/3 cup of flour plus a couple tsps if needed
2 cups of milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, crumble and brown the sausage.  Add flour and gently stir in the milk on medium heat.  Salt and pepper.  Let cook until gravy has reached desired thickness. 

 

Enjoy :)

"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"- Jim Brickman