In the Storm

40 recipes l 18

served up with corn-on-the-cob and spicy sauteed broccoli this baked pesto chicken was amazing! i use pesto in one of our favorite meals, rotisserie chicken, roasted red peppers, pesto and fettuccine dish and this chicken mimicked the yumminess of the pesto-chicken combination. the original recipe called for mozzerella and i suppose that would be good too - and might try that next time but the boys weren't home to help grate the cheese so i stuck with parmasen. this chicken is so quick and easy, and good that the boys suggested we have it regularly. all of us were displaying signs of enjoyment from this chicken.

 

40 recipes l 17

oh my - so good! we still had two boston butts left from the boy scouts last boston butt fundraiser and i'd planned on trying Pioneer Woman's Spicy Pork Sandwiches that she made some time ago. it has been on my 'i want to try that but i'm scared list' - just look at the ingredients - a can of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce!!! and dr. pepper. wow! what a combination they turned out to be. amazing! this would be a great pot luck dish or put on for a crowd or small group gathering.

i made some really good cole slaw to serve with the sandwiches. i loved eating these with mini king hawaiian sweet rolls too! some garlic toast for the sandwiches would be great too.

...another recipe for my kids recipe book too.

40 recipes l 16

one of the vegetables i had to get from the farmer's market last tuesday when the boys and i visited were cherry tomatoes. i knew when i made this salad that i wanted the freshest tomatoes possible. i found this recipe from for the love of cooking and wanted to try it. of course i modified it tremendously but it was wonderfully tasty.

40 recipes l 15

moving right along in my 40 recipes in 2012. this one is number 15. the recipe 'card' looks different because i've begun a recipe book for my kids and decided that it would be easier if recipes i post on my blog are the 'same' 4x6 recipe card i'm going to put in their book. no reason not to give them all the newest recipes too - in addition to all our old recipes that i still need to create cards for.

the New Orleans Muffuletta came from Deep South Dish which i modified. i blended the olive salad, the pepperocini peppers, and the gardenia salad up in a food processor. it made a very think paste rather than a loose salad. hoosier man thought that was brilliant. well - he didn't really say brilliant but we discussed the olive salad mix and he thought he liked the paste over loose olives, cauliflower, etc. in his sandwich.

hoosier man is a real italian battalion lover - that's a type of sub sandwich here in savannah that has deli meats such as genoa hard salami, deli pepperoni, hams, bologna etc. so i knew he'd like the muffaletta. and of course the georgia boys chowed just fine!

next time i'll add some bite to mine: maybe some jalapenos. and i think more onions and some sliced green peppers would taste yummy. this really is a glorified sub sandwich so you pretty much can add what you like. but the olive salad is what makes it a muffaletta i guess.

enjoy!

40 recipes l 14

Baby Red Potatoes and Green Beans

2 pounds baby red potatoes

1 pound green beans

1 teaspoon sugar

½ stick butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly chopped parsley

In a large pot place scrubbed and cleaned potatoes with the sugar, enough salt for cooking potatoes, about 2 teaspoon, and water to cover potatoes plus room for the green beans. Bring the potatoes to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Add the green beans and boil for another 7 minutes until green beans are tender crisp. Drain in a colander and return to pan. Melt the butter with the minced garlic in the microwave. Pour over the potatoes and green beans and gently coat the vegetables. Sprinkle with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, combine. Serve with freshly chopped parsley.

40 recipes l 13

i saw a recipe for stuffed baby peppers awhile back, read the recipe, but wasn't able to save it for some reason - or just didn't - for some reason. i searched again online for the one i had found that i wanted to make and couldn't find it. i did however find a slew of other recipes for stuffed baby peppers, and after finding them, to my delight, in the commissary, i picked up a couple bags ready to try my hand at my own recipe. they turned out yummy! baby bell peppers are sweet so i added a bit of a bite with some garlic and a bit of kick with some crushed red peppers. i will definitely make these again but i might just use some of the ingredients from other recipes that i found, like: ricotta cheese (ooh so creamy), or some spicy crumbled sausage. please enjoy this appetizer or side dish.

Stuffed Baby Peppers

4 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

16 baby bell peppers, red, orange, and yellow

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and set aside. Blend all cheeses together. Season the mix with pepper, garlic, and crushed red pepper. 

Remove stems, seeds, and membranes from the peppers.  Fill peppers with a tablespoon of cheese mix.  Rub peppers with olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes.

40 recipes l 12

(Photo credits: Kalyn's Kitchen: because we scarfed up these yummy vegetables before I could get a picture)

 So amazing! This recipe will go on my regularly scheduled vegetable list just as sauteed broccoli, or zucchini is. I scrunched my nose at green beans and mushrooms with balsamic vinegar but tried the recipe anyway. I am glad I did! Perfectly roasted, perfectly done. The green beans had just that hint of crunch with a pretty amazing flavor and the mushrooms weren't wilted and hard - just perfect.

Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms

12 ounces mushrooms, washed, drained, and sliced in ½-inch slices

2 pounds green beans, washed, drained, tips cut off and halved

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon, finely grated parmesan cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, gently stir the mushrooms, green beans, garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar together. Add the salt and pepper and combine.

Arrange vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet with sides, or bar pan. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove pan and toss parmesan cheese with the vegetables. Serve immediately.

 

40 recipes l 11

a side note: my nephew, daniel graduates from marine corp basic training at parris island today - semper fi

WOW! sooo good. i adapted a paula dean recipe i'd found in a magazine and i must say this is going to be a go too recipe. i can see even switching up meat with either chicken or even smoked sausage - both go so well with cajun anything. i loved the hint of sweetness of the Vidalia onion and the crunch of the finely chopped red bell peppers - they are a must for the dish. the garlic was there but not overpowering and the cajun seasoning was just the perfect pop of heat and flavor. you could drop the amount of cajun spice to 1 teaspoon but i thought we could handle two and i was right - it was perfect!

Ragin’ Cajun Fettuccini

(adapted from Paula Dean)

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup finely, chopped onion

3/4 cup finely, chopped red bell pepper

5 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (Slap Your Mama)

2 cups half and half, or 1% milk

2 cups Monterey Jack Jalapeno, shredded

1 pound (16-oz) wild-catch medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and de-tailed

1 (16-oz) box fettuccini, cooked and kept warm

In the same pot the fettuccini was cooked in, over medium high heat, melt butter.  Add onion and red pepper. Sauté for 1 minute, then add garlic, and stir to combine. Stir in flour and Cajun seasoning. It will look like a thick paste.  Pour in half and half (or milk) and cook for 5-6 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.  Turn heat down to low and add cheese, stirring until cheese is melted. Add shrimp and warm through.  Add fettuccini, or serve over fettuccini.

40 recipes l 10

Yep! same photo as below. made three new recipes this day, the quesadillas, the cilantro lime rice, and the pico de gallo. all turned out amazing. we almost always eat white rice, instant, cooked in a microwave served either alone or covered in chicken and vegis, or something like that. i am so glad i ventured out because this rice was amazing!

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup long grain brown rice
1 cup chicken broth

1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup, or 1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Gently stir in the rice to toast, 1 minute. Pour in chicken broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in cilantro; cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Fluff rice with a fork. Stir in lime juice and add salt to taste. Serve.

40 recipes l 09

These were sooo good. Even better served with homemade pico de gallo and a side of cilantro lime rice (both recipes above). I only had burrito-size tortillas on hand so I ended up only making 5, two for Hoosier Man, one for each of the Georgia Boys and I was only able to eat a half. The hardest part to this recipe is shredding the chicken, seriously these were good.

BBQ Chicken Bacon Quesadillas

8 medium-sized flour tortillas

1 pound chicken breasts, about 4

½ cup barbeque sauce

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

8 strips of bacon, chopped

1 avocado, sliced

Lime juice

Shredded Monterey jack/cheddar cheese

Fry bacon in a skillet over medium heat. Set bacon aside to drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1/2 tablespoon of drippings from the pan.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder and add the chicken to the bacon drippings. Brown on both sides. Add the barbeque sauce to the top of each piece of chicken. Allow chicken to cook through, about 15 minutes. Let chicken rest for 3 to 5 minutes, then dice very finely or shred.

Slice avocado and sprinkle with lime juice to preserve color. Top each tortilla with cheese, chicken, bacon, and avocado, on one half. Sprinkle with more cheese and fold over the tortilla. Spray pan with cooking spray. Cook each quesadilla until browned and crispy – on both sides.