Throwing together Dinner

Having a rough week? Need an easy dinner recipe? How about a "Throw Together Dinner"?
You know when you have a bunch of ingredient in the fridge or cabinet and you put together your own little Chopped Challenge? Sometimes that's all we need to get a Great meal on the table!

Try this one:  Shrimp with Red Bliss Potatoes!

Superbowl Leftovers? Nacho Chili Mac !

Did you enjoy that Superbowl? Now that we are a few days removed from it, I can be less critical of the losing team by just not mentioning it! LOL What a Game! Ok that's enough....
What we should be talking about is that HALFTIME SHOW !!! Bruno Mars is a Rockstar!!
Love Love Loved his performance, Didn't you?? Wanna See it again? Here ya go! Read More...

Winter's Greatest Comfort Food, Red Wine Short Ribs

The Winter can be tough and we need something warm in our tummy to give us the deep down, in our core comfort, to get us through.... Read More  

Refreshing Citrus Fish: Orange Ginger Tilapia with Kale & White Bean Ragout

I'm spicing up the Friday Seafood Menu! An Orange Ginger Tilapia! Love the Sweet of the Orange against the nip of the ginger. When you add in the Ragout's red pepper bite you will love this meal!

Orange Ginger Fish

w/ Kale & White Bean Ragout

Ingredients:

1 lb Sturdy Fish (Haddock, Tilapia, Mahi etc)

1 Cup Orange / Ginger Marinade
(store bought dressing)

1 large Orange

4 cups Fresh Kale

1 can White Beans (12 oz with or without sauce)

1/4 lb Bacon

1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 tsp Garlic (chopped fine)

1/4 cup Onion (chopped fine)

1.5 cups Chicken Stock

Directions:

In a Zip top bag place fish and marinade.

Marinade fish overnight if possible or during the day while you’re at work.

Upon ready to Cook Fish:

Preheat oven to 375° f

Remove fish from Bag and place in a Shallow baking pan.

pour small amount of Marinade over fish, thus letting roll down onto pan.

Oven Roast Fish for 30-40 minutes or until fish is firm to the touch.

While Fish is roasting:

Place bacon in a large Saute pan and saute until crispy.

When bacon is crisp add onion, garlic and red pepper to the pan.

Saute until onions are translucent.

Add Beans with or without sauce.

Combine well.

Once mixture comes to a bubble, Add Kale and 1 cup of stock.

Stir and combine until Kale wilts and stock has been absorbed.

Once Kale wilts, add remaining stock and cover.

Let cook through for 15 additional minutes on Medium Low Heat.

Just before serving Squeeze juice from a Fresh Orange over the Fish.

Enjoy!

Share with your Friends, Pin it!

Italian Wednesday! Stuffed Eggplant Caponata

How great has this week been? Awesome Weather, Brighter Skies...and a Delicious Menu!
Tonight's Easy Dinner is a Vegetarian's delight but so fulfilling every one in the family will love it!

Stuffed Eggplant Caponata

Ingredients:

2 Medium Eggplants

(serves 4)

1 cup diced Yellow Onion

1/2 cup sliced Bell Pepper

1/2 cup sliced Roasted Red Pepper

2 cloves Garlic diced

2 cups cubed Bread

(I used day old french bread)

2-4 tbsp Tomato Paste

1 stalk Celery (diced small)

1./4 cup Olive Oil

1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

4 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp Red Crushed Pepper

2 tbsp Oregano (dry)

2 tbsp Basil (fresh, chopped finely)

Instructions:

Split Eggplant in half lengthwise.

Slice into eggplants as you would an avocado, making cubes within the eggplant.

Remove eggplant from skin, leaving skin shell intact. (leave a little bit of the white, just enough so that the eggplant can retain it's shape).

In a large saute pan at high heat, warm 1/8 cup Olive Oil. Add onions, celery and green pepper. Saute until onions translucent.

Lower heat to medium. Add Red Peppers and Garlic saute until well combined. Add remaining olive oil. Saute until cohesive. Add spices. Saute until well blended.

Add Vinegar and Sugar. Blend until sugar melts through. Add tomato paste. Saute until tomato paste melts into mixture. Add Bread Combine and cover. Simmer on medium low for 5-7 minutes or until bread is softened and heated through.

Preheat oven to 375°

On a baking sheet, place Eggplant shells.

Fill Eggplant shells with Sauteed mixture.

Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 20-25 mins, until softened and slightly browned.

Remove from oven.

May serve at this point.

or

Top with Mozzarella cheese

Bake 10-12 minutes until Hot melted and bubbly.

Love it? Share it!!

A Weeknight BBQ: BBQ Rub Bacon Wrapped Chicken

BBQ Rub Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:

1 - 1.5 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Chili Powder

2-4 Chicken Breasts or 4-6 Chicken Thighs (skinless)

3 slices of Smoked Bacon for each piece of Chicken.

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°

Combine Brown Sugar and Chili powder.

Dredge Chicken in Rub mixture.

Wrap each piece of chicken with Bacon Slices

Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into bottom of baking dish to coat

(line baking dish with aluminum foil if you’d like as clean up is kind of messy)

I actually used my Cast iron skillet for this so sticking wouldn't be an issue.

Place chicken in baking dish and Bake for 50-60 minutes

Half-way through, remove pan from oven and drain "juices" from the pan, and then place the chicken back in the oven for remainder of cooking time.

I served this with Buttered Egg Noodle and a Spinach / Seedless Grape Salad.

Beautifully Inspired Lunch, "My Chicken Roulade"

What a wonderful weekend. It was sunny, bright and crisp this weekend in Sunny South Florida. A great time to get things in the oven! I kept thinking of an inspiration I saw this week. A "Chicken Roulade" I saw from a Friend's Blog Posting (Mia's Domain) Please stop by and let her inspire you! She is Fabulous!

I was inspired by her use of "chorizo" with chicken. Portuguese people do this all the time. Although our sausage of choice is "Chourico" (a little texture and spice difference) but the outcomes usually are similar.

I love the thought of those spices as the center for the one note chicken breast, I had in the freezer.

My thoughts though were to make it a little more Italian and maybe a little lighter, in that I didn't want to add another protein to the dish, but wanted to keep the flavor high. My take on the dish is high flavor and high moisture for what can be a doldrum of a protein. Here you have My version of Chicken Roulade

 Sundried Tomato Chicken Roulade

Ingredients

1/4 cup Sundried tomatoes 

(I use the sundried tomatoes that are chopped and kept in olive oil. If you use simply sundried tomatoes, you might want to take the time to reconstitute them in a 1/2 cup of steeping hot water until they seem plumper and malleable for smashing. Once plump add them to 1/4 cup olive oil. Let stand for 30 mins. Then use as directed here.)

2 Large Yellow Onions (sliced)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

2-3 tbsp Olive Oil from the Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 Tbsp Garlic Chopped.

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 cup White Wine

1/2 cup Chicken Stock

4 Boneless Chicken Breasts

Directions:

In a Medium Skillet on Med high heat add Olive Oil, Tomatoes and Garlic.

Reduce heat to Medium.

Saute over medium heat until you can work the tomatoes and garlic. Smash them into a paste like consistency. Add the onions and saute until the onions are translucent. Add Salt and Pepper to taste.

Once the mixture is cohesive add the White Wine and scrape the little flavor pockets up off the bottom of the pan. Once the pan is clear on it's bottom add the chicken stock, lower heat to Medium low and simmer for 10 mins Covered.

Set mixture aside to cool. Best result is if you can do this a night before and leave in the fridge until ready to use. You can make a bunch of this Tomato Relish and it can be used on Bruschetta, Pizza Dough, Pasta etc.... Add some fresh basil or Italian parsley, maybe some capers or Italian olives and Wow! Awesome!

Preheat oven to 375°

When ready to add to chicken:

Place chicken breast flat on a cutting board.

Take a sharp (I used a pointy steak knife) and point it straight into the "thick part of the breast". Cut a slit into that part of the breast dont go all the way to the edges, but delve into the meat of the breast, widening an inner "pocket" for your tomato relish. Once you've made a pocket in each breast, spoon your mixture into each breast. fill to capacity!. (About 2 tbsp)

Place each Breast into a Shallow baking dish.

If you have some remaining olive oil from your tomato mixture you can spoon a little over the top of the breast as it sets in the baking pan.

Bake Chicken for approx 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

When checking chicken for "doneness" you can spoon any pan drippings over the chicken to add the "flavor" to the chicken on the outside. It also lends to better coloring of the chicken.

When chicken is done, Let rest 5 minutes.

Slice chicken across the width of breast to show the "stuffed" appearance as show in this photo.

Serve over a bed of fresh baby spinach or alongside your favorite pasta!

Enjoy!!!

Rellenas Malanga

Rellenas Malanga is a dish that 's inception came from pure curiosity. Have you ever done that? Said "Hmmm..I wonder how this would taste with that?" and then gone on to develop the recipe and find one of two things; 1.) Yuck..definitely not! or 2.) Wow, It actually is good! Score!!! This recipe is in the "2" category. 

My significant other brings home some Cuban traditional foods sometimes that I have to admit are quite intimidating at first blush. For this dish he brought home " Malanga. " 

Malanga is lightly described as a root vegetable that resembles Taro root in appearance, but similar to potato in texture and taste. My Hunny had been asking me if I would try to make his Mother's signature Papa Rellenas for months and I would not even think of it, for fear of not doing it justice. You know how it is to make your "Mother in Law's" signature dish...? It will never be "as good" as hers...no matter what you do. I was not in the mood for trudging along the path of never good enough with this dish. So when he brought the Malanga home I asked him, had his mother ever made Papa Rellena with Malanga, and he said "No". ~Lightbulb~

Even playing field!! Now I can do this. 

Papa Rellena is basically a Potato Ball stuffed with a Cuban Ground Beef mixture called Picadillo.

Picadillo is ground beef, slow cooked with Latin spices and tomato. It's good for lots of things besides this dish. Try it in a taco shell, or over white rice, or even in an enchilada...Yummy!

Now to swap out the potato for malanga I had to boil the malanga and check the texture. It was comparable. Even after adding the butter and cream..held up pretty well. So it was on like Donkey Kong.

On a day that my Significant Other went fishing...I decided to pop into it, and here is the resulting recipe!

The look on his face when he came home was priceless!!!  Give it a try!! 

Rellena de Malanga

Ingredients

2 lbs Malenga or Potatoes (peeled and cubed)

2 cloves Garlic (chopped)

1 cup Cream

1 Stick Butter

2 cups Cuban Crackers (crushed to crumbs)

*may substitute breading of your choice ie: Panko, Bread Crumbs etc

1/2 cup Seasoned Flour

3 lg Eggs (beaten)

2 Quarts Vegetable oil

Picadillo

1 1/2 lb Ground Beef (80/20)

2 tbsp Olive Oil

4 cloves Garlic chopped finely

1 cup chopped Onion

1 Green Pepper chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Salt

Pepper

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Cloves

1 tsp Cumin

2 Bay Leaves

1/4 tsp Hot Sauce

1/4 cup Vinegar

4 cups chopped Tomatoes (may use canned)

In a Medium Saute Pan Warm Olive Oil on Medium-High Heat, Add Onion and Gr Pepper.

Saute until translucent and softened. Add Garlic and Ground Beef. Saute until Ground beef starts to caramelize. Add spices. Saute until spices are combined. Add tomatoes and vinegar, combine well. Lower heat to Medium-Low. Simmer for 1 hour. Remove Bay Leaves before Serving.

Preparing Rellenas (Balls)

Peel and chop Malanga (or potatoes) into cubes. Boil in Large Pot with garlic until fork tender.

While boiling Malanga, heat Cream and butter in a small pan.

Drain Malanga and toss back in warm pot. Mash.

Add enough cream and butter mixture to bring Malanga to nice thick mash texture. No lumps.

Set aside to cool. Can even be done night before or morning of.

**If you have leftover Mash...it is perfect here.

Once mash is cooled to stiff, Use an ice cream scoop to obtain a 1/2 ball of the mash.

Pack scoop well.. 

Once 1/2 Ball is made, poke center of ball with straight end of a Wooden spoon.

Using fingers widen center to leave "pocket for the Picadillo". 

Fill center of the Malanga/Potato ball with picadillo.

(I used a teaspoon for this) 

Then take a Teaspoon more of the mash and cover over the open area of the ball.

Release the ball from the scoop and shape the ball with your hands into a closed ball.

Place on a Parchment lined cookie sheet and repeat until all balls are complete.

Refrigerate Balls for 30 mins minimum.

*Seasoned Flour: Salt, Pepper, Dry Garlic, Oregano, Cumin (1/2 tsp)

Prepare "Coating" Station:

First platter is your Flour platter.

Next is the bowl of beaten Eggs

Final one is the bowl or platter of breading (I used crushed cuban crackers)

Remove ball from fridge and coat in Flour, then Egg, then Breading.

Set aside.
Complete all balls through the "coating process"

Heat Vegetable Oil in "Deep Fryer" or on Stove Top with Dutch Oven.

Fry Balls in vegetable oil until golden brown.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!

A meal remembered...Cube Steak

In the 7 Facts Post, I was prodded to go back in my Blog to review and answer a few questions about my blog. In doing so I found a dish that I remember being a big splash, but hadn't made it lately...I'm reviving it! I hope you like it as much s I do. I call it Cubed Steak, but some of you may call it "Swiss Steak" either way...It's always a hit at my house!

Enjoy!

Cubed Steak

Portuguese Braised Favas

An enchanting recipe steeped in tradition in my family is Favas. It is a little bean (actually big bean) that is lovingly braised for hours and hours in an Azorean customary marinade. This marinade is the base for thousands of Azorean dishes.

Vinho de Alhos is a delightful and smart combination of spice, acid, and olive oil that can compliment anything from a heavy Pot Roast to the lightest of Cod Fish. It's a cook's "liquid gold".

Vinho de Alhos consists of a few tablespoons of a good olive oil (portuguese or spanish). One with a very fragrant tone. To that you add minced or chopped onion and garlic (depending on the texture of the dish), a tsp or so of Saffroa (portuguese equivalent of saffron. Extracted from Safflowers, instead of crocus) a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar. The combination of the sweet from the apple and the acid of the vinegar permeates the protein and breaks it down to tender, but doesn't macerate to where it's bitter. The Pièce de résistance ingredient is a wet red hot pepper marmalade or paste called "pimenta moída". This is Vinho de Alhos.

The combination of flavors when sauteeing in a pan will automatically send you to an Azorean seaside.

Once you have mastered Vinho de Alhos. You can master almost any Portuguese (Azorean) dish. Let's make Braised Favas!

Braised Favas

Ingredients:

1 lb Dried or Fresh Fava Beans

3 tblsp Olive Oil

1/4 lb Chourico diced (optional)

1 Onion (yellow, halved and sliced)

3 Garlic cloves (chopped)

1 tsp Pimenta Muida (may sub 1 tsp dry red pepper flakes)

1 tsp Saffroa (may sub Paprika or 1/2 amt of Saffron)

1 Tblsp Tomato Paste

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 cups Chicken Stock

2 cups Red Wine

Instructions:

If using Dry Favas: Soak favas in water overnight before braising.

If using Fresh Favas: Peel and remove outer shell revealing whole beans.

On day of preparation: 

Heat 3 Tblsp Olive Oil in Large Dutch Oven.

Add chourico. 

Saute chourico, until golden brown and renderings release their flavor.

Remove chourico, set aside.

Add onion. Saute until translucent. 

Add garlic, pimenta muida, vinegar and saffroa.

Stir until combined.

Add back chourico.

Add favas.

Saute until favas well seasoned.

Add Wine. 

Scrape bottom of pan to deglaze.

Add tomato paste. Stir until combined.

Add Chicken Stock.

Cover and Braise for 3 hours, or until beans are tender.

As liquid evaporates, add 2 cups of water to maintain liquid level.

The finished product is a fantastic side dish or buffet nosh. You can even add it to a catering menu as a very Rustic Appetizer. It is served with a crusty bread as seen above. Absolutely delicious! Comfort Food Heaven!

Hearty Beef Stew Recipe

I love beef stew on a cold day! Its a hearty comfort food I wouldn't want to do without!

Stop by the website for the

  Recipe :)