Salsa

So we all have those nights, nights when you're just too damn lazy to cook an actual dinner.  Usually when I have those nights I make some ramen, but lately I've been trying to eat healthier and all that crap.  When you're having one of those lazy nights and are trying to pick healthy options it can be easier to make an appetizer and pig out till you're full.  This recipe is perfect for one of those nights.  Really it's become my version of "having a salad," especially since I HATE salad.

You will need:
tortilla chips
approx. 3 vine ripened tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1/2 jalapeno
1 garlic clove
1/4 C. cilantro
Juice from 1/2 lime(it tastes better when you use an actual lime instead of the bottled crap, take my word for it)
cumin
salt
pepper

The amounts listed are guidelines.  In my experience different people prefer different ratios.  If you like spicier salsa use more jalapeno and/or use the seeds in your mix.  You can throw most everything in a food processor and let it do the work if you like the quick and easy route.  For some reason I prefer to chop everything myself (I'm weird like that).  Once the veggies are chopped up add the lime juice and season w/cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.  Mix everything together and taste test. 

I posted this recipe after the chicken tortilla recipe as some of the ingredients are the same.  You can use leftovers from one to prepare the other.  Hopefully this keeps your veggies from going bad in the refrigerator before you get around to using them.  I have a tendency to forget that I have veggies, mostly because I usually have to force myself to eat them, I've never liked things that taste like the color green.  I prefer to use the remainder of my lime as a garnish in my margarita.  So get your margarita ready, grab a bag of tortilla chips and make this your dinner!

Megan S

Lasagna

I've mentioned in a previous post what a picky eater I was (still am in some regards) growing up.  My diet consisted mainly of mashed potatoes and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  One day I would love meatloaf and the next I would be screaming I wouldn't touch the stuff.  Perhaps I was exerting my independence at a young age?  Hah! Who am I kidding, I was a brat.

I refused to eat my Mom's tuna noodle casserole unless she blended the cream of mushroom soup first.  I swore not to eat venison, only beef, so before each meal I would ask her which she was using.  90% of the time it was venison, 100% of the time she told me it was beef.  If there was an open jar of pickles on the table, I would insist it be covered and removed to the far end so I wouldn't have to smell it.  The texture of melted cheese on pizza made me gag, so I would remove every shred of it, consuming only the crust, sauce and pepperoni.

I did, however, love my Mom's lasagna.  I'm pretty sure she would prepare it while I wasn't around, so I wouldn't see what was going in it.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion (yellow or white)
1/2 green pepper
1 large can of spaghetti sauce
1 16 oz container of cottage cheese
No-boil lasagna noodles
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
1 cup shredded cheese blend
1 cup spinach
1 egg
Salt and pepper TT
Crushed red pepper TT
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook beef in large skillet along with garlic, onion and pepper until fully cooked.  Drain excess fat, return to pan along with crushed red pepper and can of sauce.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.  While this is cooking, break egg into a medium sized bowl and mix.  Add cottage cheese, Parmesan and salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Tear spinach into bowl and incorporate into mixture.
Once meat mixture is done, place a bit into the bottom of square baking dish and cover with 2 lasagna noodles.  Add half of cottage cheese mixture and spread out so noodles are fully covered.  Layer two more noodles and top with 1/2 of the meat mixture and shredded cheese.  Follow with more noodles and remaining cottage cheese mixture.  Place final noodles atop and the rest of meat mixture and shredded cheese.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes uncovered.  Remove from oven and let it set for about 10 minutes while you prepare any side dishes, a small salad and garlic bread perhaps.
Enjoy.

Sam

Pasta

As a vegetarian. you rely on a few diet staples.  Beans, salads, carrots, potatoes, and pasta.  The trick is to find a way to make it nutritional AND interesting.  It can be fun to go to different restaurants and sample things and try to make it at home.  Often times it's an absolute disgusting disaster and you can't even manage to finish whatever the hell it was you "cooked" and sometimes you get it right.  I remember one of my first few weeks at school in Bozeman I found this fancy Italian restaurant called Johnny Carino's.  Being from a small town that's about 2 1/2 hours from the closest interstate I had never encountered such a place before.  And to me, it was magic.  Now that I'm a little older I realize it's not so great and it's overpriced but at 19 I thought a lot of things were great.  Oh, to be naive again.  I can't for the life of me think of what the hell they called the dish I loved so much but it tasted a little something like this fun pasta I threw together.

You will need:
whole wheat pasta, preferably bow tie or angel hair
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp black olives, sliced
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp feta cheese
1/8 cup chopped scallion
1 head garlic
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil, cut into small pieces
A dash of salt and pepper

So, to start you're gonna want to roast your garlic.  You won't be using all of it in this recipe but believe me, you'll eat what you don't put in the pasta.  Seriously, that shit is delicious just spread on crackers.  Or mixed in hummus.  Or just straight.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.Cut the top off the garlic exposing the tops of as many cloves as possible.  Place garlic in foil and pour 1 tablespoon olive oil over the top.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Close the foil all the way around the garlic and pop it into the oven.

So, while that does it's thing you can get to work on the rest of the ingredients.  Cook pasta according to directions.  Just do a small amount.  Whatever you think you can eat.  Take the shallot and cook it on medium heat until it becomes translucent.  Then combine capers, olives, shallots, tomatoes, feta, fresh basil, and artichoke in a bowl.  Hopefully by this time the garlic should be done.  To test it you can pull it out of the oven and poke one of the cloves with a fork or whatever you have handy.  If it's soft, it's done.  If you get resistance, put it back in.  Pull out a few cloves and cut them into bite size pieces and add to the bowl.  Drain pasta and put the last bit of the olive oil in the pot with it.  Side note, but what's the difference between a pot and pan?  This is one of my life's mysteries.  Throw the bowl full of yummy in with the pasta and toss it.

Serve and enjoy!  This would pair well with a nice crisp white wine, perhaps a Sauvignon Blanc.  My faves are from New Zealand as they get a touch of grapefruit flavor to them.

Megan J

Chicken Alfredo

I have always enjoyed alfredo in restaurants and could never figure out why it just wasn't the same when I had it at home with a jar of alfredo sauce.  Then when I was 22 I lived with my friend, Trixie (not her real name).  When we lived together the joke was that we were married, we called eachother wife and we each had certain duties to do at home.  This joke even followed us when we went out.  If one was with out the other our bar friends would inevitably ask, "Hey, where's your wife?"  When we were at home Trixie cooked, I did dishes.  It was during this time that I discovered why alfredo left something to be desired when made at home...it wasn't homemade sauce.  In performing her "wifely" duties one night Trixie made homemade alfredo sauce and with the first bite I was in love!  Then after we went our separate ways I had to learn to make it on my own, I was astonished at how easy it was.

You will need, for the chicken:
1 chicken breast cubed
oregano
basil
1 clove garlic

for the sauce:
the smallest carton of heavy whipping cream you can find (anymore is WAY too much for one person)
approx. 1/4 c. fresh shredded parmesan cheese
at least one clove of garlic
1-2 Tbsps butter
a few dashes of pepper

You will also need:
1/4-1/2 a diced vine-ripened tomato (they're just better)

First start the water for your pasta, I use GF pasta but you can use whatever the hell you have lying around.  Doesn't matter if your noodles are spaghetti, alfredo, penne, it all tastes the same to me and probably to you too.  Cook the pasta according to the instructions.  Mince the garlic for your chicken and sauce.  Throw the butter for your sauce in a skillet with garlic and do the same with your chicken (I use olive oil for the chicken).  Season your chicken with as much basil and oregano as you like and let cook while preparing sauce.  Once the butter for your sauce has melted completely add the heavy whipping cream use a whisk to stir your cream as it heats.  Once the whipping cream has started bubbling add your parmesan cheese.  I do a little bit at a time and let it incorporate into the cream.  The exact amount of parmesan you use will be based on your own tastes.  I generally use the same amount of parm as cream but you might prefer the taste of less or more.  Add pepper to your sauce to taste.  Continue to heat sauce while whisking until it thickens to desired consistency.  I have discovered that this sauce tastes just is good thick or thin so don't concern yourself to much about getting the right consistency.  In fact Trixie has made this recipe with low fat milk and swears it tastes just as good but is much thinner.  I haven't been brave enough to try.   Dice your tomatoes.

When everything is done pour your sauce over the pasta and chicken and add diced tomatoes to the top.  I also garnished my pasta with extra parmesan.  The tomatoes add a touch of diversity to the dish and it is excellent.  As you can see from my picture I also steamed some broccoli with my dinner.  A little butter, salt, and pepper and even I was willing to eat my veggies:).

Now that I know how to make this dish it has quickly become one of my favorites.  I have also found that it is a continuous crowd pleaser when you get the chance to cook for more than just yourself. 
Megan S.

Chicken tortilla soup

Ok, I know that Sam just posted a recipe tonight, but I'm going to post mine all the same.  My story is just so much better on New Year's Eve!  I have (almost) never been a fan of New Year's.  It seems like every year I end up alone and sad, don't worry, I'm aware how pathetic this sounds.  I think the reason for my crappy experiences may go all the way back to 1999.  I was 16, sitting in the basement of my parents' house, waiting for my very good-looking boyfriend.  They say that whatever you're doing at the stroke of midnight on New Year's is what you will spend the next year doing.  This supersition would explain the whole kissing thing.  Who doesn't want to spend the next year kissing?  Well for me, on New Year's 1999 as midnight struck for the new millennium, I was still sitting alone in my parents' basement waiting for my boyfriend.  Yes, that's right, I was stood up, on New Year's of the new millennium, no less!  Previously mentioned good-looking boyfriend never showed as previously promised.  So like every girl would, I cried a little, and the next day? Well, he was no longer my boyfriend.  Here comes the problem, if we spend the next year doing what we were doing at the stroke of midnight, where did that leave me?  I wasn't exactly stood up all the time in the year 2000, but I also didn't have a whole lot of luck on the guy front.  Nor have I had much luck on the guy front since then, New Year's or no New Year's.  Apparently the superstition holds a little weight.  So here I am tonight, at home, avoiding any disaster that might befall me by posting an awesome new recipe.

What you will need for this GF recipe:
1 chicken breast
1/2 jalapeno
1/2 bell pepper (red, yellow, green, you decide, I used red, it was pretty)
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup corn (I used frozen so that the remainder would keep for another night)
1/2 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 can diced Rotel tomatoes w/green chilies (feel free to use any diced tomatoes and add green chilies, this is just what I did)
1 can chicken broth (more or less depending on how "soupy" you like your soup)
1 corn tortilla
cumin
garlic powder
chili powder
black pepper
cheese, cilantro, avocado and other garnishments are optional

Start by drizzling chicken breast w/olive oil and then season w/cumin, garlic powder and chili powder.  Use as much or as little as you like, more chili powder creates more heat.  I then baked my chicken for about 25 minutes on 375 degrees.  You can cook yours however you want (baking is healthier though:).  While the chicken is cooking I prepped my other ingredients.  Dice your jalapeno and bell pepper and mince your garlic.  You will want to cut your corn tortilla into strips of about a quarter inch wide and one to two inches long.  If you want to look fancy make them all uniform, if you just want to eat, who gives a shit!  Start sauteeing your veggies in a bit of olive oil if your chicken is still cooking.  I sauteed them in my soup pot to limit the number of dirty dishes.  When your veggies have sauteed for a few minutes add your diced tomatoes, juice and all.  I let this concoction simmer a minute and then added my chicken broth, black beans, and corn.  I left the heat on medium and let my soup boil a bit.  Add black pepper, cumin, garlic powder and chili powder to taste, I did just a dash of each.  When your chicken is ready shred it with 2 forks and add it to your soup.  I let things simmer a bit longer at this point.  Go ahead and dish up whenever you are ready.  Add tortilla strips and other garnishments (cheese, cilantro, avocodo, lime).  Give the soup a minute to cool and enjoy!

So I have to be honest here, there are some times that I cook and I think "meh, that was OK."  This time with this recipe I thought "damn, I'm awesome."  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Now, one last thing, a few options-the chicken in this recipe is great on it's own, try it with the seasoning, you'll love it.  Add the chicken to Megan J's enchiladas if you're not into the whole vegetarian thing, although I'm not a vegetarian and they were still delish as is.  Use left over corn tortillas in Megan J's recipe instead of flour tortillas and you'll have a great GF option (I think).  Drain the broth and throw the rest of the mess on tortilla chips as part of nachos.  As you can tell this recipe is quite versatile, as are the ingredients in it.

I hope your New Year's Eve experience is better than my past experiences!
Megan S

Filet with Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I was recently discussing Dinner for Spinsters with a good friend who told me of a meal she prepared for herself once, a big fat steak.  Her husband was away for the evening and when he returned home he fully expected her dinner would have been along the lines of cauliflower or some such veggie.  Nope! We ladies love a good steak just as much as any fellow.  While she was in town for the holidays we were also talking about her recent trip to Turkey.  What amazing adventures she had!  I don’t know about you, but I have the hardest time saving money.  There always seems to be some expense or such every time I get ahead.  In order to save up for their trip, she and her husband didn’t eat out for several months. 

The more I thought about my habits, I soon realized this was one area I could definitely cut out and save some major bucks. I guess we’ll call it my New Year’s Resolution.  No more eating out, especially since I love to cook and now have this blog to share recipes.  My last meal out was over a week ago with her and another close friend.  It was superb.  We gushed over the house made gnocchi, shared some wine and laughed a whole lot.  A great note to end on.  So this entry goes out to her, for she has been an inspiration to me on many occasions.

To begin with, find yourself a nice cut of meat, not too large.  I chose a filet which was about 6 oz.  In future recipes you will be seeing a lot of beef.  I would like for you to meet Fred, the freezer cow.  I have been quite fortunate and have access to an entire cow now residing in my parent’s freezer.  Locally raised and quite delicious! Go ahead and remove fat from steak, as desired.  I prefer it fairly lean.  Sear the steak with salt and pepper and oil in a very hot skillet. Set aside.

For the Gnocchi:

1 large sweet potato

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ - 2 cups flour

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste

Bake sweet potato at 350 deg for 30-45 minutes or until fully cooked.  Let cool.  Peel skin from potato and mash in a medium sized bowl.  Add remainder of ingredients and mix well.  You want your gnocchi to be like dough, so add flour until you reach this consistency.   Roll dough out onto a floured surface and section into 4 pieces.  This is a lot of gnocchi, you may be thinking.  About 4-5 servings so I went ahead and froze 3 individually wrapped dough balls for later.

On your floured surface form sections of remaining dough into thin rolls and cut into 1 inch pieces.  You may need to reshape your pieces a bit before placing into a pot of boiling water.  Once gnocchi floats to top remove from water.

For the Sauce:

¼ roasted red pepper

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup Gouda (or favorite shredded cheese)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or whatever is on hand)

Salt and pepper to taste

I went ahead and roasted an entire red pepper for this recipe and saved the remainder.  Rub pepper with a bit of olive oil and place in pre-heated oven (I did mine the same time as the sweet potato).  Bake until skin of pepper is dark and bubbly.  Remove from oven and place in a saran covered bowl until cool.  Remove skin and dice up about a quarter for sauce.

In a small sauce pan over med-high heat, place the heavy cream.  Let the edges of the cream start to simmer and add your cheese just before it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and whisk until cheese is fully incorporated.  Add salt and pepper, seasoning and roasted red pepper.  Add gnocchi and set aside.

Before you start the sauce, bake your seared steak at 350 deg until desired doneness.  I prefer medium rare which only took about 12 minutes.

Plate your meal and enjoy! I topped mine off with a bit of sautéed spinach, oh so yummy.

Sam

Quinoa enchiladas!

Isn't it funny how quickly life changes?  One day you're living in some bullshit apartment that has absolutely no counter space and neither a cupboard nor a drawer and the next you own your own home.  Three bedrooms and all.  It's funny like that.  Or you can go from having a wild party animal friend who constantly regales you with her exploits and sometimes draws you into them too to having a friend who is knocked up.  Or riding with a side car, as she calls it.  Quickly all conversation changes from unsavory nights in Whitefish with unsavory men to the advantage of Fuzzibuns cloth diapers versus GrowVia.  Or recipes.  And why we make the food choices we do and the similarities.  Those conversations are what lead to following recipe:


You will need:
1/4 cup quinoa (buy bulk, bitches!)
1/2 cup water
taco seasoning
1/4 of a pepper (your choice which color), chopped
1/4 of an onion, chopped
1/4 cup cashews (bulk...)
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup raw kale
1 clove garlic, minced
couple teaspoons olive oil
two flour tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce - either red or green
1 can beans - maybe some blacks or kidneys, whichever you prefer.
cheese (optional)

Sam will be disgusted to see the word optional after cheese.

Hokay, so first you want to preheat your oven to 350.  And combine the quinoa and water and let it soak for about 5 or 10 mins.  Then take your kale and rip it into small pieces (1 inch or so) and put on a baking sheet.  Add cashews and sunflower seeds.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the top.  You really don't need much.  Bake for 15-20 mins or until the kale gets crispy.

In the meantime, put a little bit of olive oil in a pan on medium heat.  Add onions and garlic.  Cook for 3 mins, stirring frequently.  Add peppers and cook for an additional two minutes.  Set aside.  Now you're ready to start cooking your quinoa.  It can be a little finicky (but hey, so can I!) so you want to make sure that you've given it adequate time to soak.  This helps it fluff up and be delicious.  Now you can put it on medium heat.  Add taco seasoning.  Cover and cook for 20 mins or until all liquid is absorbed.  Once the quinoa is done cooking add pepper mixture and the beans to the pan.  Pull out your nuts and kale and add this to the quinoa too.  This is your filling!

Take each tortilla and scoop about half into each.  Roll up and put in baking pan.  Take the can of sauce and pour over the top.  If you want cheese, add it now.  Bake for 20 mins or until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy with a nice (or cheap!) glass of red!

Megan J