Jambalaya

We had some new friends over tonight for dinner, so I served an old favorite. Few dishes taste more like home than this one:

2 1/2 lbs. peeled shrimp
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut in semi-circles
1 can beef consomme
1 can french onion soup
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
16 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 1/2 cups parboiled or converted rice, uncooked
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp Tony Cachere's Seasoning

Mix all ingredients together in greased roasting pan and cover tightly. Bake at 350 for 2 hours.

To go with this, we had roasted brussel sprouts, bell peppers and green beans in a mustard sauce. I roasted them at 400 for 20-30 minutes in 3/4 cup beef broth. Then I drained the broth, added 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 2 Tbsp dijon mustard.

Hummus, Pita and Veggies

Tonight, I'm looking for something light and easy to balance last night's consumption of pasta, sauce, cheese and bread. While yummy, it wasn't the healthiest fare I offer my family. Here's what I'm thinking:

Hummus from Trader Joe's
Pita bread
Celery sticks
Baby carrots

Surprisingly, this is typically one of my daughters' favorite meals. A & B feel like it's a treat because the hummus is sort of like a dip in their minds (which is clearly a snack food, not a dinner item!) K may object (as she often does), so after one bite, she may be having an apple for dinner... we'll see.

Baked Ziti

My dear friend Misty makes this yummy pasta dish, so I tried out her recipe. Here it is:

• 1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup red, yellow and green bell pepper, chopped
  
• 2 (28 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp basil
  
• 6 ounces sliced provolone cheese
• 6 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a large skillet, brown beef over medium heat. Add onions and peppers; saute until tender. Drain off fat and add spaghetti sauce, sugar and spices; simmer for about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish, place about half of the pasta; top with a layer of provolone and mozzarella cheese slices. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce mixture and sour cream.

Cover with remaining pasta, cheese and sauce; sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese and sauce are bubbly; serve.

We had this with left-over Italian Broccoli from a few nights ago and toasted focaccia bread. I doubled the recipe to take 1/2 to a friend. One recipe's worth was enough to feed our family for at least two nights. Of course, I'll have to wait a night or two to re-introduce the dish because my children refuse to eat the same thing more than one day in a row!

Sweet & Spicy Meatballs

Tonight's a date night for us, so I wanted to put something really easy together that we can eat before heading out to a movie when the sitter arrives.

I concocted the following sauce:
4 oz. cranberry juice/sauce, leftover from making the cran/mango fruit crisp on Saturday
3 T red wine
3-4 T sweet barbecue sauce
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped

I poured this over frozen turkey meatballs and put them in the crockpot on low for 2-4 hours. Turn them to warm after that, so that they don't dry out.

To go with it, we'll have roasted green beans and baked potatoes. I'll throw the potatoes in the oven after dropping A off at ballet and have the green beans ready to throw in for the last 10-15 minutes.

UPDATE: I didn't feel like making baked potatoes, so instead we had fruited rice, which complemented the sweet and spicy meatballs well. I diced an apple and put that in about 5 minutes before the rice finished, along with about 1/4 cup dried cranberries, blueberries and raisins. We also had spinach salad with apples, grapes and feta cheese instead of green beans. Even when I plan ahead, I can't quite stick to the plan!

Thanksgiving Favorite

Cranberry Apple Dressing

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
9 cups bread cubes (about 14 slices of bread)
3 cups apple, diced
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Melt butter in dutch oven. Saute onions and celery until soft. Add apples and cranberries, cooking until apples are soft and cranberries begin to burst. Add broth and spices. Mix in bread cubes. Pour into greased 9 X 13 pan and bake at 325 for 30 minutes covered, 15 minutes uncovered.

Crescent Wraps & Italian Broccoli

Tonight will be simple fare. K is not feeling well and I think early bedtimes are in order for all three girls. In order to get dinner on the table as soon after ballet as possible, here's what's on tap:

Crescent Wraps
Sliced ham and roasted chicken
Shredded cheese

Layer 3-4 pieces of ham and/or chicken.

Top with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Italian Broccoli
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
Shredded mozzarella
Oregano
Basil

Steam broccoli in microwave for 5 minutes.

Add cherry tomatoes and cook 1 minute more.

Top with oregano, basil and cheese.

(This is a favorite with my girls.)

Pork, Potatoes & Pasta

Dinner Tonight:

My brother-in-law and his wife came over for dinner tonight. I found out late last night that they were planning to come and decided to cook a Boston Butt that was in our freezer.

Pulled Pork
3 lb. Boston butt
1 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
1 T worcestershire sauce
2 T bottled barbecue sauce
1 tsp adobo sauce
2 tsp barbecue spice (chili powder, cumin, garlic powder)
1/2 tsp paprika

Mix all ingredients and put frozen or defrosted pork into crockpot on low for 8-12 hours. Shred with fork and serve on hamburger buns with barbecue sauce (a sweet, hot one worked nicely).

Crispy Potatoes
6 baking potatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Wash potatoes well and slice thinly. Place in one layer on greased cookie sheets. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle salt & pepper and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Pasta Salad
Provided by my brother-in-law!

Cranberry Mango Fruit Crisp
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter (or a bit less)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cook cranberries on stove top over medium low heat with 1 cup water, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup sugar until berries start popping. Remove from heat and drain, reserving liquid for use in another recipe.

Mix mango and cranberry and place in greased casserole dish.

Combine other ingredients and sprinkle over fruit.

Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.

This was a really easy Saturday night meal that was somewhat more elaborate because we had others join us. For just our family, I would have skipped dessert and made a green salad instead of pasta salad. The rest was easy enough that I'll probably do it (or something similar) again on a Saturday.

Chicken Pockets

My children are monsters of my own making and don't want to eat left-overs that are just like what they had the previous night. I, too, crave variety in food, so I've really trained them to expect something different every evening for dinner. While that's generally OK, it sometimes feels like a lot of work!

When I made yesterday's pot pies, I had about 1 1/2 cups of pie filling left over. Tonight, I'll put the filling into crescent roll pockets and bake those up for the girls while J and I eat what's left of the original pot pie. Here's what I'll do:

Can of cresent rolls
1 1/2 cups chicken pot pie filling

Smooth perforated line between two crescent rolls to create 4 crescent "squares."

Distribute filling evenly amongst squares.

Fold together by pulling corners together in the center.

Bake as directed on crescent roll package, but for 2-5 minutes longer.

Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight's Dinner

1 medium onion, choppped
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 T butter
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
3/4 cup frozen english peas, thawed
1 large potato, peeled and cut in food processor
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
2 T cornstarch
2 T cold water
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
frozen pie crust

Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter.

Stir in chicken through bay leaf.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 15-30 minutes. (My chicken was pre-cooked and frozen, so I let the mixture simmer for 30+ minutes to make sure the chicken was fully defrosted.)

Remove bay leaf.

Combine cornstarch and cold water & stir until smooth.

Add cornstarch & water to chicken mixture.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add soup, cheese and sour cream.

Place in greased pie plate and cover with defrosted pie crust. Cut slits in pastry to vent.

Bake at 400 for 35 minutes.

It used to be really easy - and rewarding - for me to make a meal for a new mom or someone else who needed a bit of help. I was sharing with my husband this morning that it's a lot more difficult for me to serve in this way now. He asked why and I think the reason is that the hours from 3 to 7 are the busiest time of day for me now. Between art club, ballet and sports, we have activities going on all over the place. While I do still cook, it's a bit more catch as catch can instead of planned in advance and executed completely from scratch. On a day like today, when I am "off" and not working for pay, it's a bit easier to do a meal for someone else. But it still means that I'm not doing other work that needs doing, like laundry and grocery-shopping, which will both have to wait until tomorrow.

It's amazing how different each season of our life is...

Spinach Egg Casserole

Tonight's Dinner:

8 oz. chorizo (1/2 mild, 1/2 hot)
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. chopped spinach (frozen is OK)
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 - 1 cup milk
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded cheese
5 slices of bread, cubed

Spray 9 X 13 pan with non stick spray.

Place bread cubes in pan.

Saute chorizo, onion and peppers until cooked through and veggies are soft.

Mix spinach, eggs, milk and cheeses with chorizo mixture.

Pour mixture over bread cubes.

Cover & refrigerate overnight or for 4+ hours.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes and top with room temperature salsa.