Erin's Easy Eats

Chicken and Pesto Pasta Salad

June 19th, 2008 by Erin

I’ve finally succeeded in growing basil in my backyard. I have never been able to grow basil, but the vegetables are loving the summer weather, even if I’m not.  I made this before “Great Tomato Scare 2008″ but would easily be able to make it again soon with the amount of cherry tomatoes that are appearing in our garden too.  Use whatever veggies you like.

• 3/4 lb. pasta of your choice, cooked to package directions
• 1 lb. chicken breasts
• Basil Walnut Pesto (recipe below)
• Veggies of your choosing - I used mushrooms, sugar snap peas, and tomatoes
• 1/3 c. mayo
• 3-4 Tbs milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Basil Walnut Pesto

• 2 c. packed basil leaves
• 1/2 c. walnuts
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Posted in chicken, pasta, recipes, salad || No Comments

Mac ‘n Cheese with Spicy Things

May 19th, 2008 by Erin

The bulk of this recipe was stolen from my favorite foodblog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I will admit to making very few changes, but I wanted to share this with you because it is not at all like mac ‘n cheese, but more like… well, everything I ate in Scotland, meaning it has corn in it. And as you all should know by now, corn makes things better.

Coming down the pipe in the next week or so: another coconut shrimp recipe (I can never find one I really like,) ice cream cake (a really lazy version that you can only make if you have connections, people, connections are important) and perhaps, just maybe, some secret things. That I can’t talk about here. Even though I don’t think Rick reads this. Shhh…

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless chicken breasts, cut into medium sized, cookable pieces (I’ll explain in a minute)
• Chipolte chili powder (optional, I imagine, but I used it)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalepeno, seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped (are you noticing a pattern?)
• 1 1/2 c. shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1 c. cream (I used light cream)
• 1 4oz. can chopped green chilies (there’s chopped again!)
• 1 c. corn (frozen and thawed, if you like, or from a can, if you’re feeling the laze)
• 4 cups cooked curly pasta (somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of a pound)

Set your water to boil for your pasta - the rest of this will be done faster than you think. Boil as soon as the water is ready, and cook it until just al dente, because it’s gonna hang out with some cream and some sauce and get soft but you don’t want it to get squishy.

I cook my chicken in large chunks rather than to chop it all up at first because I find the texture to be better. By this, I mean cutting a breast into thirds, seasoning it, cooking it, and then slicing it after it has a chance to rest. By all means, do it the other way, cutting into bite sized pieces and then cooking, if you like.

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of chipolte powder. Cook about 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through. Set aside and let rest.

Over medium heat, add jalepeno, garlic, red pepper, and onion with a little olive oil, and sautee until just soft. Add corn and diced chilies. Let it hang out while you cut your chicken into bite sized pieces. Throw the chicken in there. Add the pasta, cream, and cheese. Stir until it is all melty. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Posted in chicken, dinner, fast, mexican, pasta, recipes || 1 Comment

Rice Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce

May 7th, 2008 by Erin

I made this as an accompaniment to the tofu and red peppers.  Correct me if I’m mistaken (and I know the peanut butter could potentially be an issue) but I believe this is my first vegan meal.  Vegan!  This sauce is really simple, and adds a good flavor.  I added some more after I took this photo because I found the noodles were sticking together too much.

Super zoom on broccoli!!!

For sauce:

• 1/3 c. lime juice
• 1 1/2 Tbs grated ginger (hello microplane, my love)
• 3 Tbs water
• 3 Tbs soy sauce
• 3 Tbs peanut butter (being the PB fiend that I am, I may have added more… shhh)
• 1 1/2 Tbs honey
• 2 tsp chili paste (wowza! this stuff is awesome!)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.  I cooked a pound of rice vermicelli, added some steamed veggies, and sauteed it all together in the sauce for about 2 minutes.  Lovely!  (The whole recipe of sauce is enough for 1 lb. of noodles.)

Posted in fast, pasta, recipes || No Comments

Shrimp and Ravioli in Lemon Cream Sauce

April 9th, 2008 by Erin

This meal is all about cheating. It is so good though, that no one cares. It’d make a great dinner if you were trying to impress guests and didn’t really have time…  It took just long enough for me to boil the water and cook the ravioli through.  Because I totally cheated and used pre-made Alfredo sauce, the shrimp and cream sauce were done in about 10 minutes total.

• 1 package refrigerated 4 cheese ravioli
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 10 oz. Alfredo sauce (either make your own, or buy refrigerated or jarred… depending on how much time you want to invest here)
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
• Chopped fresh parsley
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press (or chop it finely but then go to the store and buy a garlic press the next day, really)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter in a non stick pan. Add shrimp and garlic and peppers, turning until shrimp are just cooked through. Add Alfredo, lemon juice and peel, parsley, and cooked pasta. Stir to combine, serve.  (My Alfredo sauce was a little thick, so I added some cream, because I haven’t used enough cream in the last two days.)

Posted in fast, pasta, shrimp || No Comments

Chicken Parmesean

March 20th, 2008 by Erin

This is one of those foods where everyone’s mom does it best, I think. My mom never made chicken parm, and I sort of just invented this process… So now she makes it the best and I love it because it is mine. (Although I’m not sure I’ve ever had hers… normally when I eat this at her house it’s because I’ve made it.)

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 1 c. seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 c. grated Parmesan (Really, Kraft works best for this particular step)
• 1/2 c. flour for dredging
• 1/3 c. milk
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbs butter + 1 Tbs olive oil
• Sauce (I use jarred, but you can feel superior and make your own)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Beat egg into milk. Mix Parmesan into bread crumbs. Set up a three part “dunking station” for your chicken - flour, milk/egg, and cheese/breadcrumbs. Dip first into flour, then milk, then breadcrumbs. Cover completely at each step. Heat a nonstick pan at medium heat (enough for a sizzle when you put the chicken down,) add olive oil and butter. Cook until browned on both sides, flipping after about 3 minutes.

Now, I do this part a little weirdly because I want my chicken coating to stay mostly crispy. Turn down the heat really low and put a lid on the chicken, and let it cook for another 7 minutes or so. Then, remove it from the pan, put the sauce in, and add the chicken back. Top with cheese, and cook for another 5 minutes at medium-low or until sauce is bubbly and chicken is cooked through. Serve over pasta.

Posted in chicken, dinner, pasta, recipes || No Comments

Shrimp with Tomato Cream Sauce

March 18th, 2008 by Erin

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. I have yet to make food from her blog that is bad. Really. Her chocolate cake alone convinced my husband to marry me (although he’ll say otherwise) so um, yes!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 3 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
• 3/4 lb. penne, cooked to package directions

Sautee shrimp in about 1/2 Tbs butter and 1/2 Tbs olive oil until opaque. Remove from pan. Add onion and garlic to pan, add another Tbs or so of butter and olive oil, and cook until onions are just soft. Add wine. Let cook for just a second, and add tomato sauce. Turn heat down, add cream. Chop shrimp into bite sized pieces, add back to sauce. Add salt and black pepper to taste, add parsley and basil. Stir in pasta, and devour.

Posted in dinner, pasta, recipes, shrimp || No Comments

Chicken in Red Wine Sauce

March 1st, 2008 by Erin

For her birthday, mom also happily obliged to my offer to cook dinner.  Although this recipe is really for chicken Marsala, I’m not a big fan of Marsala wine (even though I love sherry, I dunno, just not for me.)  So I make it with red wine instead.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 chicken breasts, halved
• 1/2 c. flour for dredging
• 1 1/2 Tbs Italian seasoning, divided
• 3 Tbs butter
• 4 c. sliced baby bella mushrooms (button mushrooms would work fine too, I guess)
• 1/4 c. chopped sun dried tomatoes
• 3 Tbs. flour
• 1 can chicken broth (14 oz.)
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 c. wine (we use Shiraz, but if you want Chicken Marsala, use Marsala wine)

Preheat a non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Add 1 Tbs butter, allow to melt.  Combine flour and 1/2 Tbs. Italian seasoning.  Dredge chicken in flour mixture.  Add 1/2 of chicken to pan, brown on both sides, about 3 minutes each side.  Repeat with another tablespoon of butter and remaining chicken.  Set chicken aside (it won’t be cooked through at this point.) Add last Tbs of butter, shallots, garlic and remaining Italian seasoning to pan.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes and allow to brown for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add wine, allow to cook for 2 minutes.  Combine broth with flour and whisk to combine (no lumps, please!)  Add to pan.  Add chicken back in, and cover pan.  Allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve over pasta.

The man was complaining that during all of my obsessive picture taking, I had neglected to take a picture of the pasta.  So I did this to annoy him.

Posted in chicken, dinner, pasta || 1 Comment

Stuffed Shells

February 19th, 2008 by Erin

I would love to tell you that this dish went over with great fanfare and celebration, but it did not because the husband does not like ricotta or spinach. But I do, and if this is your bag (baby) you’ll like it too. I was eating the filling out of the bowl and it was wonderful all by itself. I’m trying to think of a way to preserve that flavor - perhaps just mixing some pasta with ricotta cheese instead of adding marinara and baking. Anyway, this one certainly is one for presentation - a bunch of stuffed shells looks impressive but it took just under 5 minutes to fill the suckers.

Unrelated to this dinner, a commenter (Steve) asked what I normally eat for lunch.  To be honest, I typically go for leftovers.  I got my fill of eating sandwiches as a student, and I can’t stand to eat another PBJ for lunch (unless I’m at home and there is marmalade.)  I find lunch meat to be expensive (and salty) and bread to go moldy, and I don’t really like soup all that much.  So leftovers is it.   With just two of us eating, I normally have enough to last me until the next day.  Some things don’t make it (pizza bread, well, any type of pizza) but most pasta things or rice things will get me through.  I do have some good spreads I’ll share one day, but there’s your lunch answer!

Ingredients:

• 1 package jumbo shells, cooked according to package directions
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (or go crazy and make your own) - you only need half a jar
• 10 oz. ricotta
• 2 c. shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• 1 egg
• 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• pinch nutmeg

Squeeze your spinach to drain it. (I typed train. “C’mere spinach! Good boy!”) Mix with ricotta, egg, pinch of nutmeg, Parmesan,, and 1 c. mozzarella. Fill shells with about 2 Tbs of mixture each. (Maybe a little more, if you can cram it in there without ripping them.) Arrange in a casserole dish, and cover with 1/2 jar sauce and remaining mozzarella. Bake at 350 for half an hour. (Covered for the first 20 minutes.) I was going to make a salad and pretend this could be healthy, but we had garlic bread instead because it is delicious.

Posted in dinner, fast, pasta, vegetarian || No Comments

Chicken Spaghetti

February 18th, 2008 by Erin

This is another recipe from The Pioneer Woman. It is fantastic. I think my husband would eat only this for weeks on end if given the opportunity. It is another one of those meals that looks like a sloppy mess. I think I’m beginning to notice that the messy looking things are in fact, more delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1-4 oz jar diced pimentos, drained
• 3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces
• 2 cups reserved chicken broth from pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 additional cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Put cold water in a large saucepot. Add chicken, and cook over medium high heat until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, then put lid on and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove chicken and reserve broth. Shred chicken. Cook spaghetti in same water as chicken. When spaghetti is done, combine with all other remaining ingredients except for extra cheese. Place into casserole dish, top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (put a cookie sheet under the casserole, trust me.)

Posted in chicken, dinner, pasta || No Comments

Chicken Soup

February 18th, 2008 by Erin

Remember the lovely roast chicken we made the other day? Well, now, it’s chicken soup.

Pick all of the chicken off the carcass (well most of it.) Did you know that when I was little, I would run screaming if I heard the word carcass? I think my parents did it when they wanted to talk about something I wasn’t supposed to hear, and I was beyond the age that they could just spell it out. “CARCASS CARCASS CARCASS!” and off I would go. It is a gross word. But it has lovely chicken bits on it…

Anyway, I digress. After you’ve picked the chicken mostly clean (and made sure to empty out the cavity which I stuffed with lemons which would probably make weird tasting soup) put it in a big stock pan with some carrots and celery, a quartered onion, and maybe a bay leaf or two. Cover with water, and let simmer (do not boil or it will be icky) for about 3 hours, longer if you have the time. Add some salt so it actually tastes like something. Skim the stuff off the top occasionally. Set aside and let cool, so you can get the chicken fat off the top, too. (And probably all the butter we added to it the other day.) My chicken dissolved in there and I had just a pile of bones and skin with a little bit of meat hanging around for giggles. I love my strainer, because it meant I didn’t have to do any work.

And this is where things got funny. I had never made chicken stock like this before, and I was alarmed at 1) how easy it really is (hello, cover a chicken in water and simmer until it tastes like soup) 2) how good the stock tasted and 3) how panicked you can get when food does things you don’t expect. Case and point: I put my lovely, steaming bowl of stock into the fridge, and expect it to come out again in the morning looking like, well, like chicken soup. But it has turned to aspic covered in fat. Ew? But I am assured that is actually a *good* thing, so off I went. First, I skimmed off the layer of fat that had accumulated on top of the “chicken jelly.” I dumped my aspicy soup blob into a saucepot, added a little water to thin it out, and as soon as it got hot again, it became soup once more.

Now, chicken soup is personal. I like mine to be very simple, so I’m going to add some finely chopped carrots, onions, and celery (about 1 cup of each) and let them hang out in the stock for a bit. (Once it’s simmering, about 15 minutes) Mine was seeming to not be salty enough, so at this point, I also added about 1/4 packet of “onion and mushroom” Lipton soup mix, which felt like cheating but tasted really good. Throw in your noodles and let them cook in the broth (egg noodles today) and add some of that shredded chicken back in that you picked off the bird earlier. Let it hang out in there for just a few minutes while you wait for the noodles to cook. Add some chopped parsley for pretty, if you like. All done!

Posted in chicken, pasta, recipes || No Comments