Menu of the Week #5

Harper says hi. This week I tried two new recipes, and both will make a return on our menu this year for sure. Cuban Shredded Beef with Rice and Beans, Salmon over Faux Risotto, Old Bay Shrimp Rolls, Chicken Picatta over Egg Noodles, and Pumpkin Pasta with Chicken Sausage.

Menu of the Week

Our menu of the week focused on fairly healthy dinners from Cooking Light. I tried a few new recipes and had to improvise on Wednesday when dinner took a nose dive. Keep reading to find out what dinners we enjoyed.

Lots of Seafood this Week

I neglected to renew my domain name. Ooops! It's gone and I doubt I will play $60 to get it back from the company who is holding it hostage. For the time being you can find my recipe archive at www.homewithmandy.blogspot.com and I may be doing a re-branding later this year. We will see what happens.

Let's get back into the swing of regular blog posts shall we? This was our menu from last week and I mostly appreciated how quickly everything came together each night. There are times when I relish the long list of ingredients I chop and tend to. This was not that week.

Italian Mussels: Mussels are one of our favorite meals to cook and eat on a weekend. I do my grocery shopping on the weekend and this is an item you really don't want sitting in your fridge, it is best to cook it the day you buy them. Mussels are also a fabulous dinner party food because I serve them family style in a big shallow bowl. I have changed up the recipe over the years to keep things interesting, but my standby is posted here. I now add 2-3 sausage links to the pot while I'm softening the vegetables. The way I do it is to squeeze 1/2 inch size balls of meat out of the casings right into the pot. I like how rustic it makes the finished dish in the end.

Menu of the Week + Pork Chops with Kale, Polenta and Anchovy Gravy

This turned out to be a great meal plan, pulling from both my HWM archives and some recipes I’ve previously made with Plated.

The Pork Chops with Kale, creamy Polenta and Anchovy Gravy is a repeat dinner in our house. Jim loves pork chops but I’m kind of indifferent towards this cut of meat. I love polenta however, and by incorporating kale into the meal – this dish is a winner for all. Keep reading for the step by step instructions on how I did it.

Thai-Style Tilapia with Coconut-Curry Broth

This recipe is so "blog worthy" I can't stand it. Super easy to pull together, so full of bold and fresh flavor, this Thai-Style Halibut with Coconut-Curry Broth is going to be a re-occurring dish on our menu board.

 

Thai Style Pork

I've remade the Thai Style Pork Salad with Papaya and Mint from Plated January 2014 several times this year because we just love it. It's "blog worthy" according to Jim and first appeared on my instagram feed in July when it made an appearance on my weekly menu board.

When I made it recently for my MIL I was reminded how quickly it can come together with little effort. It also proved to be a great "prep-ahead" meal that transports well, say if you want to deliver dinner to a friend.

Vietnamese-Style Shaking Beef with Basmati Rice

Basmati rice is a variety of long grain rice traditionally cultivated in South East Asia. Although it is comparable to other white rice, Basmati has a special aroma caused by a chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. In this recipe, I would say that any rice substitution (white long grain, brown rice, etc) would be completely acceptable.

The star of this dinner is definitely the flavorful beef, accented by the bright and spicy herb salad atop the plate. I would not recommend making this dish without the greens. So here is how I did it.

My Plated dinner for two came with the following:

Grilled Mahi Mahi Kabobs

I am on a fish kick lately...have you noticed? Jim isn't quite sure what has gotten into me. It started back when I tried Mussels and absolutely loved them, boy have I been missing out all these years. Maybe I'm making up for lost times. I tried Salmon for the first time recently and thanked Jim for nudging me in that direction.  For this easy dinner I made kabobs of mahi mahi filet, marinated in a green olive tapenade. Inspiration for this easy dinner comes from epicurious. I served the fish kabobs with jasmine rice mixed with chopped roma tomatoes, marinated red bell peppers and avocado. Man did we enjoy this dinner! Here is what I did.

This is half the mahi mahi filet that I purchased. It was only after I cut it in half that I had the thought, "dang, I should take a picture of it right out of the package from the market." It's a big honker, but I was pleased with the price on this filet...It wasn't as expensive as say the Sea Bass or Halibut.

I cut the fish filet in half, then I sliced into roughly 2x2 pieces and placed them in a small casserole dish covered with olive oil and green olive tapenade.  You can absolutely make an olive tapenade yourself... just chop any kind of olive you like by hand or in the blender and add olive oil . You can make it as chunky as you like or puree it to make a paste. In a pinch, I used a store bought green olive tapenade that I found on the International food aisle.

Laura and Leslie's Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

We LOVE enchiladas! I have at least three versions of enchiladas on HWM already with my favorite being my Chicken Verde Sour Cream Enchiladas.  These are the enchiladas that Jim lovingly refers to as my "Almost Engaged Enchiladas" because he nearly popped the question when I made these just a few short months after we started dating.

Okay, switching gears briefly to explain how this NEW recipe for Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas came into my life. My unexpected gallbladder surgery early this month left me on bed rest for longer than I would have imagined and my sweet friends from church, work and neighbors all pitched in to help provide meals for Jim and I. I cannot stress what a relief this small act of kindness has brought to us during this stressful month. We have dinner delivered every other night and eat on the leftovers for lunch and for dinner on off-nights. If you know someone recovering from surgery, or who recently had a baby, or who needs a little help for a short amount of time, I highly recommend you check out the free web site http://www.carecalendar.com/ where a community can easily rally around a family in need. Find out how it works here.

Lucky for Jim and I, our friend Leslie delivered this awesome dinner to us last week. She packaged the enchiladas in a disposable container (VERY helpful when you are delivered food to someone so they don't have to worry about getting the dishes back to you) and the sauce separately so the tortillas didn't get soggy sitting in the sauce, and she was even thoughtful enough to bring rice and beans to round out our dinner.

Love the directions! Easy enough!!

This recipe from Leslie (right) originally comes from her sister Laura (left). Aren't they beautiful sisters? I'm so happy to know these girls. Laura is also the one who gave me the recipe for the addicting Toffee Apple Dip. Anytime either one of you want to guest blog, let me know - I'm a fan of your recipes and love featuring them on HWM!

I have seen this brand of Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce in the grocery store, but had never tried it before. I actually had just a few leftover Hatch Chiles in my fridge, so I decided to dice them up and add them to the enchilada sauce.

Leslie rolled these beautifully in flour tortillas!

I just had to unroll one before I put them in the oven to see what they were stuffed with. Leslie shredded 3 cups cooked chicken and added 8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (she used the Mexican blend), 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro and 1/2 tsp cumin.

I had a block of cheddar cheese in the fridge, so while the oven heated up I shredded a 1/2 cup of cheese on top of the enchiladas and put these in the oven while I assembled the sauce.

To use up the hatch chiles I had in the fridge, I poured the can of hatch green chile enchilada sauce in a small saucepan and added the chopped hatch chiles to warm the entire mixture through.

When I tasted the sauce, wow was it HOT. So I tried to cut the spiciness a little by adding 3 tablespoons of fat free plain yogurt. This helped a lot and also added a nice thickness to the sauce.

When the oven had reached 350 degrees I pulled the enchiladas out, the cheese had melted and my enchilada sauce was warmed through.

So I topped the enchiladas with all the sauce.

Yum! Then I added a little bit more shredded cheddar cheese on top.

When I pulled them out of the oven after 35 minutes, I topped with fresh cilantro!

We loved the rice that Leslie brought with our dinner, and she shared that it was Mahatma spanish rice. Her secret ingredient... she adds salsa to the rice instead of ketchup. Brilliant!

Here was our delicious meal, thanks Leslie for sharing with us! Your generosity is very much appreciated.

Spicy Sausage over Rice

FINALLY, all my cooking by the book has paid off! I needed a quick and easy lunch so I took a look in the fridge and created something out of nothing based on a previous recipe I made here on HWM. I'm calling this dish Spicy Sausage over Rice, and it was brilliant (if I do say so myself.) Remember the Shrimp and Grits from last year? I took what I learned from that recipe and pulled out the following ingredients.

I used leftover spanish rice as my base which was great because it was already seasoned, but if I didn't have this in the fridge ready to go I could have used another starch like grits, mashed potatoes, white rice, egg noodles or other pasta. We had three brats, butter, diced ham, tomatoes, a carrot, some chives and not pictures are white wine and some seasoning I added while cooking.

 

I started with a tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter melted I added one chopped carrot and 1/4 cup of diced ham. Other veggies that would work great here are celery, garlic (not sure why I didn't think to add garlic to this, I know I had it on hand.)

 

After a few minutes, I added about a cup of white wine and the chopped tomatoes and let this simmer down until almost all the liquid was gone.

 

I took the sausage out of the casings and dropped them into a small skillet to brown the sausage balls.

 

Once browned, but not fully cooked through I added the sausage balls to the tomato sauce.

.

I tasted and adjusted seasoning by adding a dash of ground mustard, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

 

I added a lid and let this cook down until the sauce was thick and the sausage was cooked through.

Done!

And the other two brats? Jim grilled them and ate them on a bun. (boring)

I liked my version of these brats much better. Spoon the sausage and tomatoes on top of the leftover spanish rice and finish off with a sprinkling of green onions and voila, a delish meal made from odds and ends. I love cooking!

Steak and Feta Bowl with Tahini Cilantro Dressing

My main man. He's a hard worker and a good husband. When I met Jim in 2006 I wanted to impress him with my culinary skills. Only problem was, I didn't have any. Or at least I didn't think I had any. But I was going to fake it until I made it. I started by trying my moms lasagna recipe - it was the first time Jim came over to my house for a dinner date and we made this dish together. Because of Jim, I got in the kitchen and started learning how to cook and provide for the two of us. Funny thing happened, I really enjoy it and I'm not afraid of cooking and messing up anymore.

I used to be so scared of recipes with odd ingredients, or techniques I wasn't familiar with. What is the worst that could happen? You have to order out for Chinese or pizza? And I always learn something from my messes and successes. My mom has taught me to NOT be afraid, to at least TRY and that's what I'm telling you today. Try something new in the kitchen, you just might surprise yourself, and your main man.

On this particular afternoon, Jim inadvertently reminded me why I started cooking in the first place. I'm a feeder! It sounds odd, but I get a lot of pleasure out of cooking and feeding this man that I love so much. And he totally deserves it too. He remembers to take the trash out every week - and somehow remembers when it's a recycle day or not. I deeply appreciate men who take the garbage out, it's sexy!

Okay, enough being silly I have an adventurous meal to share that I know you and your main squeeze will love. I was so skeptical at first, but I'm glad I took the chance because the contrasting flavors in this Steak and Feta bowl with Tahini Cilantro Dressing will blow your mind.

The recipe is adapted from Mel a fellow food blogger at Bitchincamero who says this is a "magical bowl of goodness." Green onions, golden raisins and carrots stirred into rice, topped with seared steak, and drizzled with a tangy cilantro and tahini dressing.

Ingredient list: rice (I used white rice because that was what I had on hand), vegetable or chicken stock (I used chicken bouillon), skirt steak, carrots, green onions, raisins and feta cheese crumbles.

Bring the stock to a boil in a small pot, then add the rice. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cover. Cook undisturbed for 35 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Alternatively, you could buy the single or double servings of Uncle Ben instant rice that cooks in the microwave - I love that stuff!

Side Note: You know how raisins will plump up if you soak them in a liquid. What if you added the raisins at the same time you add the rice? I didn't think to do this, but I bet the raisins would plump up with chicken stock. I think that sounds really good and will try it next time.

The dressing - it is a very important topping and so easy to whip up. I had tahini in the pantry left over from another dish and its actually how I found this recipe on Mel's site in the first place - I was looking for dishes with tahini in the ingredient list.

What is tahini? It is a thick Middle Eastern paste made from ground sesame seeds. Tahini is often used in making hummus (mashed chickpeas, flavored with lemon juice and garlic), baba ghanoush (a puree of eggplant, lemon juice, garlic, and oil), halvah (a confection that includes honey or cane syrup), and other traditional Middle Eastern dishes.

To make this dressing, use a blender or food processor and blend 2 T tahini, 2 T white wine vinegar, 1/4 C olive oil and 1 C cilantro. Taste and adjust to your liking. I added a splash more of vinegar for tang. Set aside.

The shredded carrots, green onions and raisins are stirred into the rice, and give this dish great texture and flavor.

The term skirt steak refers two cuts of beef steak, one from the plate and one from the flank. Both are long, flat cuts that are prized for flavor rather than tenderness. The types are used interchangeably. Skirt steak is the choice meat for making fajitas and to aid in tenderness and flavor, they are often marinated.

This recipe did not call for a marinade, but next time I will make a marinade for the steak and let it sit overnight. I do not like tough steak, and I think the meat (the star ingredient) can be been done better. Skirt steaks are either grilled or pan-seared very quickly or cooked very slowly, typically braised. Because of their strong graining, skirt steak is sliced across the grain for maximum tenderness.

The recipe calls for seasoning the steak with salt and grilling. I seasoned the steak with a special spice blend created by Bobby Flay consisting of ancho chili powder, ground cinnamon , ground cumin , light brown sugar, kosher salt and black pepper. Then I grilled the steak on a grill pan indoors.

Stir the carrots, green onions and raisins into the rice. Top with grilled steak, drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with feta cheese crumbles. The result is this wonderful rice bowl filled with lots of bold flavors. It didn't take long to prepare and was a very filling meal. Next time you have leftover fajitas, I suggest you recreate this meal with your leftovers.  

 {Steak and Feta Bowl with Tahini Cilantro Dressing}

Chicken Enchilada Unwrapped

If you missed my first wedding post, be sure to go back and read part one of wedding week.

Before I move onto part two of wedding week I wanted to squeeze in another recipe first.

This was our "last supper" before we left for our honeymoon. We went to Italy, and knowing that we would have lots and lots of pasta, I made up this Mexican inspired meal before we boarded the airplane. It was created on a whim, based on what we had left in the pantry.

I gave it a really cute name at the time, but I couldn't remember after two weeks of traveling what I called it so I sent Jim a text to see if he could recall the dishes title. His response "Yumm!"

There you have it folks, Jim says this recipe is a keeper. He doesn't realize what a cinch it is to make, so I will keep it in my back pocket for an evening when I don't feel like thinking, and I want to cook something nice and easy.

I've since named the dish, Chicken Enchilada Unwrapped because it has most of the ingredients you would find in a chicken and cheese enchilada, but without the tortilla.

If by chance you want to make real enchiladas, I highly recommend these: HWM Enchiladas

My all time FAVORITE enchilada recipe is the Chicken Verde Sour Cream Enchiladas, which Jim refers to as the "Almost Engaged Enchiladas" because I cooked them while we were dating and they made him want to propose.
Maybe I should rename then "Engaged and then Married Enchiladas."

Okay, on to the Unwrapped Chicken Enchiladas I made earlier this month...

I started by baking chicken the old fashioned way. Dust the chicken breast with SPOG (salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder), then dust with flour. You could also use a "glue" like egg and then flour, but we were leaving on a trip and I had nothing "fresh" in the house like eggs or milk. To help the flour really crust in the oven, I drizzled the chix with some olive oil. You could also add a pat of butter to each chicken breast before placing in the oven.

While the chicken cooked in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes I made the sauce. It was as simple as a block of velvetta cheese and a can of rotel. I tell you, rotel is an indispensable kitchen item. I've used it in so many different ways, and in all types of cuisine. Fresh is best, but in a pinch this is really great stuff.

In a small pot over medium-low heat I melted half the block of cheese and added in the can of rotel, juice and all. Stir until it melts and heat through. Taste and add whatever you think is missing. I had literally nothing in the kitchen to add to it, but I imagine if I had a fresh jalapeno I would have chopped it up and added it in. Or if I had an onion I would have started by sauteing a chopped onion in a little olive oil, maybe added a pinch of minced garlic, then added the cheese and rotel.

When the chix have cooked for 30 minutes, I flipped the breasts over and then poured on the spicy cheese sauce.

Back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

I wanted the cheese on top to be more brown than this, so I put it in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Oh yeah, the cheese on the chicken is browned and bubbly. The sauce has thickened, and it smells divine.

I served our unwrapped chicken and cheese enchiladas with some white rice. If I had cilantro, that would be great stirred into the rice. Or a side of black beans would have helped round out the meal. Be creative, and use whatever you have on hand... that's the point here.

Here you go, our last meal before we left for Italy. Chicken topped with spicy queso accompanied by rice. Very easy to prepare, filling and yummy!

And I couldn't pass up the chance to post a picture of my sidekick in the kitchen. She doesn't help out that much, mostly gets in my way by laying right at my feet like this, but she brings a smile to my face! My sweet baby Madeline.

NEW! NEW! NEW!

Printable recipes are finally here at Home With Mandy.

Click here for the printable recipe for Chicken Enchiladas Unwrapped.

It will take some time, but I will go back and add printable recipes to each post.


 

Enjoy!