Scratch Sheppards Pie

So Jake and I have been "trying" to be more money conscious. I'm still amazed that anyone under the age of 50 can put a 20% down payment on a house.. Stupid financial reality of needing to plan ahead set in and this would be us being grown ups and trying not to go out to dinner 173 times a week. So instead of going to Rocklands for the best BBQ in DC that happens to be in walking distance of us (and most likely where the majority of income has gone), I went to the kitchen without a plan and tried out my creative cooking skills. I had some ground beef, a package of mashed potatoes and a can of peas... In comes Sheppard Pie. I had never made it before but it's one of Jake's favorites.

Recipe:

1 package ground lean beef

1 package mashed potatoes

1 can peas

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

1 cup chicken stock

4 tbs light sour cream

4 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1/2 Italian cup bread crumbs

1 tbs minced garlic

1 tbs minced onion

olive oil

salt and pepper

Add beef, garlic, onion, salt and pepper to heated pan and cook until browned. In a separate pan, melt butter and whisk in flour until paste forms. Whisk in chicken stock and simmer until thin gravy forms. Stir in sour cream and pour over cooked beef. Mix in Worcestershire and peas while beef mixture is on low heat. Spread  mashed potatoes over beef mixture trying to cover in single layer. Sprinkle bread crumbs over mashed potatoes and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Place under broiler for about 4 minutes or until bread crumbs are slightly browned.

This recipe turned out pretty delicious and made for some kick butt left overs as well.

You can add also add green beans and carrots if you want a more traditional pie but we were going for the "what ever it takes not to spend money at the grocery store" theme that night.

This is what was left before I went back for thirds....

Jake loved this dinner, but I mean what guy complains about meat and potatoes?

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan

You know those foods that you thought were gross when you were little and now all of a sudden discover that you love them? This is true for the story of me and eggplant. I hated their texture, flavor, chewiness and weird shape. This all changed when I went to an Italian restaurant and mistakenly took a bite of what I thought was chicken Parmesan. I was happily surprised when I found out it was eggplant and so began my mission to make eggplant Parmesan not only from scratch, but healthy.

I think my version of the eggplant Parmesan actually tasted better then the Italian restaurants, but I'm slightly bias.. The eggplant was crispy on the outside and soft inside. It wasn't too chewy and definitely not soggy. Jake still has it in his head that he hates eggplant but he did eat a few pieces :)

The trick to making sure the eggplant doesn't come out soggy is to make sure you "weep it" after you cut it in order to remove some of the moisture. I salted both sides of the eggplant and left them on a paper towel to "weep" for about 20-30 minutes.

Once you see some pools of liquid, wipe off the salt and moisture.

Recipe adapted from Bakin and Eggs:

1 eggplant cut into 1/4 inch rounds

1 1/2 cups Italian panko bread crumbs

1 cup flour

1 egg beat plus a splash of water

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs salt

"Weep" the eggplant for 30 minutes then wipe off salt and moisture. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dredge each piece of eggplant in flour, then transfer to egg wash, and finally coat with a mixture of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Lay on a wire rack that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Brush the tops of eggplants with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes. Flip the eggplants and continue baking for 15 minutes. Top each eggplant with mozzarella cheese and bake until melted (about 3 minutes).

I served mine over spaghetti :)

Winter Cabin Weekend, BBQ Chicken and Pizza Bites

Jake and I spent the weekend in a cabin with some faboulous high school friends.

We drank, played board games, and generally vegged out. We got some skiing in Saturday before the rain but other then that, no physical activity was involved and I loved it :) Now to the good part... the food.

For dinner on Saturday, I volunteered to make some shredded chicken BBQ.

Recipe:

6 chicken breasts

8 oz BBQ sauce

3 tbs chipotle seasoning

Boil chicken breasts in water until cooked through (about 20 minutes). Shred chicken and toss with seasoning. Coat in BBQ sauce and serve.

Joy made her mom's jalopeneo corn bread.

Later on in the night, we popped this home made pizza bites in the oven that Emily, Liz, and Joy had made earlier in the day.

These were made with pizza dough wrapped around mozzarella and pepperoni. They were brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with parmasean cheese, and baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. So freaking addictive!

Balsamic Blue Cheese Chicken

So I feel like I have cheese love affairs sometimes. There are just certain cheeses I can't get enough of for a few months at a time and then once I've had my full, I'll move on to the next. Right now I'm in a Blue Cheese love affair. I've been eating it on salads, on toast with apple slices, etc. I think my low point came when we went to Taco Bell and I covered my taco salad with Blue Cheese.. I found out then that Blue Cheese doesn't belong on everything I eat...

Anyways, Jake is not a fan of this cheese and last week I wanted to make a healthy chicken dinner. I made an easy chicken parm for Jake and I made myself a balsamic chicken dish.

Recipe:

1 chicken breast

1 bag 1/3 full with balsamic vinegar

2 slices Blue Cheese

Olive oil

Rosemary

Parsley

Basil

Let chicken marinate in bag with balsamic vinegar for 2 hours. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle herbs on both sides of chicken and cook in pan until cooked through (about 5 minutes per side). Top with Blue Cheese.

I put my chicken on a bed of spinach, croutons, pecans and balsamic dressing. This was easy to make and definitely satisfied my Blue Cheese craving.

Chicken Lettuce Wrap happiness

Last night I surprised myself, and Jake, when I put together a lettuce wrap dinner. We both had our doubts and PB&Js on hand when I started but were happily satisfied with the results. This meal will definitely be an addition to our week day dinner rotation.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Recipe:

1 package ground chicken

8oz water chestnuts, chopped

1/2 cashews, chopped

1/2 cup shredded carrots

2 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs Chinese 5 spice

1 tbs finely grated ginger

1/2 tbs minced garlic

1/2 tbs salt

3 tbs hoisin sauce

2 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs teriyaki sauce

1 head Boston lettuce

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add chicken, ginger, garlic, and 5 spice and cook until browned. Add hoisin, teriyaki, soy sauce, and salt and combine mixture. Then add carrots, water chestnuts, and cashews and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve with lettuce leaves and enjoy. 

This meal is also great because it can be made in one pan and is pretty easy to throw together.

Yummy... 

Apricot Chicken

This recipe is easy to make and helps mix up "chicken dinner" night. I had some apricot jelly that I had left over from holiday cooking and decided to try to incorporate it into dinner. You can use this recipe with different jellies and cheeses. I'm sure it would be great with pepper jelly and pepper jack cheese, apple jelly and brie, etc.

Recipe:

2 chicken breasts

1 slice swiss cheese

4 tbs apricot jelly

Cayenne Pepper powder

Salt

Pepper

Pat chicken dry and then sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and cayenne powder. Cook in an oiled skillet over medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Top each chicken breast with jelly and half a slice of swiss. Remove from heat and put pan top on to hold in heat to melt the cheese. Serve when cheese has melted.

Jake has been trying to help out in the kitchen and committed to make a side to go along with our apricot chicken and salad. He tackled the Kraft Home Style Mac and Cheese kit :)

Pretty delicious. Can't go wrong with mac and cheese topped with toasted bread crumbs.

Chicken and Dumplings.. and the importance of first-year-o-marriage back ups

So this week I figured out I like the idea of chicken and dumplings way more then I liked the actual dish. I came across an interesting recipe on the Pink Parsley blog. It is a chicken and dumpling dish that uses Salsa Verde which adds a kick and herb cornmeal dumplings which adds more flavor.

It took about an hour to put together but I had been cold all day and had the motivation to make a super comforting food.

        Recipe found here.

The first few bites tasted awesome. It had a lot of flavor, spice, and was incredibly rich. However, it was way too heavy for Jake and I to eat as a meal. We had ate about 1/4 of our plate and agreed that the rest was going to have to go in the fridge for another time.

In came my first-year-o-marriage back up food. Since I like to try new recipes quite a bit, it is crucial I have back up food in case the recipe is a flop. Some of these back ups include hot pockets, chicken pot pies, skillet meals, and of course toasted PB&J.

I think I got way more compliments on my 3 minute PB&Js then the hour long chicken and dumplings with fresh cut herbs, but I'll take what I can get :)

Lemon Pepper Chicken Home Made Crouton Salad and Fresh Bought Ravioli Ridiculousness

One of the things I will miss about my old job is its close location to Eastern Market. They have a large indoor market with all sorts of fresh and hand made foods. I particularly love the home made pasta section. Earlier this week I bought these little beauties:

Hand made cheese ravioli with pretty stripes.

I boiled them for about 3 minutes and they were done! Fresh pasta has so much more flavor then store bought pasta and cooks in about a third of the time. I try to buy it anytime I come across it.

I topped it with my home made marinara sauce and....

Yummmy ridiculousness!

I know Jake doesn't consider food a meal without a meat so I grilled up some easy lemon pepper chicken.

Recipe:

4 chicken strip cuts

Lemon pepper seasoning

2 tbs olive oil

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Remove chicken strips from package and pat dry. Season both sides with the lemon pepper seasoning. Cook for about 8 minutes flipping chicken half way through. Remove once chicken is fully cooked through. Makes 2 servings.

I topped mine with a raspberry walnut light dressing and Jake went with the light ranch. I forgot to buy croutons at the store so I thought I would give home made croutons a shot.

Recipe:

4 pieces of Healthy White or Wheat bread cut into bite sized cubes

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 tbs of salt

1/2 tbs of pepper

1/2 tbs of garlic powder

1 tbs dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss bread cubes with oil. Add seasoning and gently toss again. Arrange on tin foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until bread is golden brown. 

They turned out pretty good and definitely more healthy then store bought croutons. I might try adding Parmesan cheese next time as well.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Kind Of Night

Our neighbors are moving out soon and they gave us their bedroom set! We are so excited and matching Ikea  furniture is a definite upgrade from our college "set" :) I'll post some pics once the bedroom make over is done.

I knew tonight we would be busy assembling dressers and moving furniture upstairs so I wanted an easy and tasty dinner to make tonight. I came across a Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe and since I've never made this before, thought it would be a good opportunity.

I came across a recipe which looked awesome especially since it included a white wine sauce.

I served it with some brown rice and called it dinner :)

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu-ii/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 6 slices ham
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Jake's Take: Liked it a lot but want to add a bread crumb crust next time. I agree with that as well.

Pepper Jelly On A Mission

Like I said yesterday, my goal was to incorporate delicious pepper jelly into dinner this week. Well tonight was the night :)  The pepper jelly was awesome with the turkey sausage and green beans. It added a nice sweet and spicy flavor that wasn't too strong.

Pepper Jelly Green Beans

Recipe:

Steamed green beans

Salt

Pepper

1 tbs of pepper jelly

1 tsp olive oil

Steam green beans and then toss with remaining ingredients.

Turkey Sausage Pepper Jelly Stuffing

Recipe:

1 package of italian turkey sausage

3 tbs pepper jelly

2 cups of stuffing prepared as directed on package

Remove skin from turkey and place in cooking pan over medium heat.  Add pepper jelly and mix until combined. Break up turkey into bite size peices as it cooks. Remove from heat when turkey is fully cooked. Add turkey mixture to stuffing, toss, and serve.

Jake's Take: Added a sweet taste to dinner and would eat it again.

Emily's Peanut Chicken Noodles

Thanks to Emily for making such a great dinner! This dish makes a great dinner since it has a lot of flavor but is still pretty healthy.

Sorry for the bad picture quality! My real camera was MIA for this meal..

Emily's Recipe:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 T soy sauce
2 t minced garlic
1 1/2 t chile-garlic sauce, or to taste

1 t minced fresh ginger
8 oz whole wheat spaghetti (i used a whole 13 oz box and the ratio still seemed okay...up to you- more for leftovers!)
12 oz bag fresh or frozen vegetable medley, such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas, etc.

Put a large pot of water on to boil for pasta.
Meanwhile, place chicken in a skillet or saucepan and add enough water to cover; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer chicken to cutting board. When cool enough to handle, shred into bite size strips.
Whisk peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chile-garlic sauce and ginger in a large bowl.
Cook pasta in boiling water until not quite tender, about 1 minute less than specified in package directions. Add vegetables and cook until both pasta and vegetables are just tender, 2 minutes more. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Rinse pasta and vegetables with cool water to refresh. Stir reserved cooking liquid into peanut sauce, then add pasta, vegetables, and chicken. Toss well to coat.
Serve warm or chilled.
Makes 6 servings, 1 1/2 cups each

Special Dinners With Free Food

Since I started this blog right before the holiday madness encored, I'm worried I might not be able to update it as much as I would like in the next week or so. Jake and I are headed home to Richmond for Christmas celebrations tomorrow afternoon where luckily both our families live less then a few miles apart! We met at Virginia Tech and had no idea we lived so close to each other.

Anyways, I wanted to try to squeeze in one more post before we left. My previous job as a political media buyer and planner had some awesome perks - one of which was my clients sending me some great cuts of fillet mignon. Jake was having a tough Monday so I decided to whip up his all time favorite dinner which, lucky for me and my wallet, was fillet mignon with roasted asparagus.

This dinner was easy and quick to make, yet tasted very elegant. Needless to say, Jake's Monday got better.

Recipe:

2 Fillet Mignons

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Garlic Powder

2 Tbs Butter

1/2 Tbs of Chives

1/2 Tbs of Parsley

1 pound Asparagus

After the fillets were defrosted and dried, I rubbed them with some olive oil and seasoned both sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I then seared them in a pan over medium heat to brown the top and bottom. They were finished off in the oven at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

While they baked, I made a quick herb butter. I took 2 tbs of room temperature butter and mixed it with garlic powder, salt, pepper, chives, and parsley.

Once the fillets are removed from oven, plate and serve with a scoop of herb butter on top.

As for the sides, I made roasted asparagus with hollandase sauce and mashed potatoes. For the roasted asparagus, I tossed them in olive oil, arranged them on a baking sheet, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Broil them for 15 minutes or until they look crisp.

Not going to lie, I used packaged mashed potatoes and a mix for the hollandaise sauce..  Don't judge me.

Jake's Take: Loved this meal and thought he was being treated to a restaurant night. What man doesn't love meat and potatoes?? Thought the herb butter gave the meat a very luxurious taste. He also ate my left overs which I still have mixed feelings about...