Moving...

Sorry for the massive delay... We are moving and I get a brand new kitchen!! So give me a few weeks and I promise to have a bunch of new recipes for winter.

Like Chili, chicken soup, chicken tacos, roasted chicken with potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes...

So stop back here about mid November and I promise I will have new recipes for you.

Yellow brown rice

Yellow brown rice
Originally uploaded by mikeysgirl120

Yellow rice... staple in Mexican restaurants. I love it but it is so not healthy. So I tweaked the recipe. Made it with brown rice and my own spices. And honestly.. It even better than the real things. Make it and no one will know its brown rice.

1tbsp of olive oil
1 medium onion - chopped very finely
2 cloves of garlic - chopped very finely
1 cup of brown rice. I like Uncle Ben's Whole grain brown rice that cooks in 10 minutes
1 3/4 cups of chicken stock
1 1/2 tsp of Adobo
2/3 tsp of tumeric
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, add olive oil, onions and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, adding salt and pepper while it is cooking. Add brown rice to the pan, Stir to incorporate. Add chicken stock, Adobo and tumeric. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serves 3-4

Pasta with turkey sausage and peppers

Let me say, this is not a complex or unique recipe. BUT it is a tasty one. I admit it, my last trip to one of those wholesale grocery stores. You know the type of place you can buy 250 pounds of tabasco sauce.. But they had this oversized package of turkey sausage. So on impulse I bought it and boy am I glad. I split them up and froze them and my husband is a happy happy man.

So here it is.




4 links of turkey sausage
1 1/2 cup of chopped mixed bell peppers
1/2 medium onion - chopped small
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
10 grape tomatoes - halved
1/4 cup of chicken stock
1/2 tbsp of parsley
1/2 pound of pasta
2 tbsps of Olive Oil
salt and pepper

Cook pasta per directions on box.




In a saute pan, add Olive Oil and heat. Add the sausage and saute for about 6 minutes. Add onion, garlic, and peppers. Salt and pepper the vegetable. Then add the tomatoes and parsley. Let cook for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Remove sausage and cut into small slices. The sausage may not be cooked fully. Add the sausage back into the pan and cook for 8 -10 minutes.

Serve over pasta.

Makes 4 servings.

Kitchen gadgets

I admit it. I love them. I swear I have become a much better cook now that I have a mini food processor like this one.



















And a wonderful random cheap tool like this pan for grilling veggies, like last nights onions.














Oh and my things like my zester, my garlic press and my nifty grill pan! I mean who doesn't like grilled food in the middle of January. But my main reason for my post is that I talk about these tools without explaining what I mean. So go out and get these wonderful amazing tools.

Balsamic Glazed Grilled Pork Chops and Onions

This recipe comes as a variation of this Rachael Ray recipe But I wanted to be able to make it on the grill in the summer. So I changed it up a bit. And its super yummy now. Oh and I have used many different types of onions with this. Red, Yellow, White, Vidalia, Texas Honey White. All come amazingly good and tasty. But for this photo, I used regular old yellow onions. The ones I always have on hand.

Marinade
¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
½ cup of Olive Oil
2 tbs of honey
4 cloves of garlic - I crush it in my garlic press
½ tsp of rosemary – chopped finely
½ tsp of thyme – chopped finely
½ tsp of parsley – chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste

Wisk ingredients together to incorporate.

4 boneless thin cut pork chops
1 medium onion – sliced into rings

Split the marinade so that ½ of the marinade on the pork chops, ¼ of the marinade on onions and reserve ¼ of the marinade for basting.

On a heated grill, place the pork chops and cook the first side for about 7-8 minutes and the second side for about 5-6 minutes. Basting frequently while cooking.

Then add the marinade onions and cook until onions turn soft and brown.

Serve with rice or couscous.

Serves 3-4

Sausage, onions, peppers, potatoes... Oh my

Oh and sorry for the photo quality. The batteries in my camera died after one photo...

Sausage and peppers... A staple of Italian American homes and street fairs everywhere. Typically they are a oily, mushy mess on a roll. I took the traditional recipe and made healthier and tastier. At least I think so. Of course, next time I am at a street fair, I will probably get the original. But until then, here's my version....





Sausage, peppers, onions and potatoes

1 package of turkey sausage - sweet
5 peeled white potatoes – sliced into thin rounds
Bell peppers – 2 cups – mixed colors
1 large yellow onion – chopped fine
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
1 ½ tsp of paprika
Salt and pepper
Olive oil - about 2 tbsp

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large pan, place a layer of potatoes. Generously cover with salt, pepper and parsley and paprika. Drizzle Olive oil over the potatoes. Place in over and bake for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, place the peppers and onions on top of the potatoes. Add paprika, salt and pepper again. Then place the sausages on top and return to the oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the pan. Take a sauté pan, add a small amount of olive oil and heat on medium high. Place the sausage in the pan and brown on both sides. Remove from the pan, slice into slices and serve on top of potato and peppers.

Serve with crusty Italian bread.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Corn w/ bell peppers

The corn I can not claim as my own. Well not really. The cafeteria at my place of work served a dish like this. I tasted and tried to replicate. I have no idea if this is the way they made it, but it sure tastes similar.




2 cups of frozen sweet corn
1/2 cup of bell peppers - chopped small
2 tbs of margarine
1/8 tsp of Adobo
1/2 tsp of chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, bring corn to a boil w/ water and 1 tbsp of margarine. Allow corn to simmer for about 7 or 8 minutes. Drain corn and add back to sauce pan. Place the pan over medium heat for about 1 minute to remove excess water from corn and pan. Add 1 tbsp of margarine and allow to melt. Add peppers, Adobo and chili powder. Stir throughly and allow flavors to meld. About 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.