Erin's Easy Eats

Deep Dish Hamburger Pie

February 28th, 2008 by Erin

This is another one of those nostalgic dinners that my mother used to make all of the time. It looks like a sloppy mess, as does most of my favorite food. It is good comfort food. The picture doesn’t do it justice, and normally the mashed potatoes are a little bit stiffer, but I think we ran out of cheating potato flakes and just left them a little more runny than normal. Essentially, this is a really easy shepherd’s pie recipe that has cheese on top because where there is cheese, there is sublime happiness.

Oh! I also updated the Chicken with Peppers in Peanut Sauce page to include a loverly photograph. And, as per Dave’s request (which will go unmentioned and be a “need to know” basis only) there won’t be nudity, but there is gonna be one hot mama gracing this page sometime in the near future. And cheesecake.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
• 4 servings mashed potatoes (about 2 cups)
• 5 slices of American cheese (ya know, Kraft singles)
• 1 can tomato soup (I use Campbell’s “Healthy Requests”
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can cut green beans, drained

Preheat oven to 350. Brown meat and onions together in a non-stick pan. (If I’m using turkey, which I always am, I add a few glugs of Worcestershire sauce, too.) When the meat is cooked through, turn off the heat, and add the green beans and tomato soup. Stir to combine. Place in a baking dish (your 8×8 brownie pan will do the trick.) Top with mashed potatoes* and then cheese. (Break up that 5th piece to fill in the gaps.) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. You will want a cookie sheet underneath so you don’t have to clean your oven like I’m going to have to do later.

*I always cheat and use instant mashed potatoes, 4 servings, because that’s what mommy does. If you have real mashed potatoes, or if you’re feeling adventurous/resourceful/anything but lazy, please feel free.

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This week’s menu

February 24th, 2008 by Erin

Takeout Chinese food - the dinner of champions.

Tuna Helper - I know that it is gross and full of salt but it is delicious and no one can convince me otherwise.

Breakfast for dinner - Mmm, sausage and pancakes and eggs, oh my.

Chicken with Red Peppers in Peanut Sauce - I will attempt to remember to get a picture this time.

Deep-Dish Hamburger Pie - This is mostly like shepherd’s pie, because it has mashed potatoes on top. Another throwback to my childhood love of green beans, really.

Chocolate Cheesecake - Mommy’s birthday is on Saturday, so I’m making a cheesecake for her as a birthday cake. I have yet to figure out how to keep the cheesecake from melting from all of the candles (but am entertaining suggestions.) This recipe isn’t particularly “easy” the first time you make it, but I’ve got it down to a science (plus, now I have help.)

We had some friends over the other day and they were curious about how much money I spend on groceries weekly, because they tried to do that “cook good dinner” thing and felt like they were spending too much money. Just FYI then, that for the two of us, I spend between $40 and $60 a week for the two of us, depending on how much meat I need to get, and cheese, which I find to be some of the more expensive items. I also rarely buy separate food for lunch, since like I said before, I pack leftovers. Bulk food is your friend. As Bob says, we have the “Unibomber” freezer - there are so many sad little skinless, boneless chicken breasts in there we should consider opening our own grocery store.

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Mexican Marinated Chicken with Pepper Casserole

February 21st, 2008 by Erin

The pepper casserole is from one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks: Moosewood Cookbook. It’s the 15 year anniversary edition, so things have been lightened up a bit. The pepper casserole is also great on a baked potato (especially if you do a twice baked thing with some salsa and black beans. Mmm…) Maybe I’ll make a potato for leftovers for lunch… I serve it now with some tasty chicken recipe I half invented/half copied, and some warmed tortillas.  (Forgive my lack of burrito rolling skills, as discussed previously.)

Pepper Casserole:

• 2 c. sliced onions
• 6-8 sliced bell peppers - a mix of colors if possible (I use two bags of the tri-color pepper mix from Trader Joe’s, when I can get it)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 tsp. dried coriander
• 2 Tbs flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 c. shredded cheese
• cayenne, salt, and black pepper to taste

Heat a deep pan with a little olive oil. Add onions and saute 5-8 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add peppers, salt, cumin, coriander, mustard, black pepper, and cayenne. Saute an additional 8-10 minutes, then sprinkle with flour. Cook another 5 minutes, until peppers are very tender. Transfer to baking pan. Beat together eggs and sour cream. (If you have some fresh cilantro on hand, some chopped would go very nicely in with that mixture.) Pour over peppers. Top whole shebang with cheese, cook at 375 40-45 minutes until firm in the center.
Mexican Marinated Chicken:  This isn’t really a marinade so much as it is a “schmear” to put on your chicken.  It makes it quite flavorful, though.

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I halve mine to make them cook easier)
• 1/2 Tbs. dried oregano
• 1/2 Tbs. cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard (I use country Dijon - I like the flavor better)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed with press
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Throw all of that into a gallon sized zip-lock baggie for about 20 minutes, then remove chicken and either grill, or cook in a non-stick pan for about 6 minutes per side.

I also sometimes make quesadillas with this chicken - there are two kinds I make, and perhaps I will post the recipe sometime soon

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Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage

February 20th, 2008 by Erin

This is a recipe from Cooking Light. The first time I made this, I had a little stomach thing going on, so I didn’t eat but a bowl of it, but let me tell you… you know Popeye’s red beans and rice? And how I’m sure they’re full of gross and disgusting and fattening things? These taste like them, and they’re not at all fattening and gross. Also, smoked turkey sausage is el-cheapo ($2 for 2 links, at my grocery store) so this is quite economical as well. Dried beans round it out at about a dollar a bag…  This recipe makes a ton of food, and it all disappeared quite quickly last time.  (Probably even more now because I’m actually going to be eating it.)  The cook time is long, but the prep is fast and the ingredients are simple and few.

 

Ingredients:

• 2 c. dried red beans (kidney)
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 2 c. chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 10 c. water
• 2 Tbs Cajun seasoning (salt free, preferably)
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 lb. smoked turkey sausage, thinly sliced
• 3 c. cooked rice

Wash and sort beans. Cover with water to 2″ above beans. Let stand 8 hours. Drain beans. Heat oil in a pot (you’ll need a big one) over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, saute for 4 minutes. Add everything else except for rice, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until thickened and beans are cooked through.  Season to taste with salt. Serve over rice.

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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.

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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.)

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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!

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What would you like to see?

February 18th, 2008 by Erin

So I’m forever posting dinner recipes but not a whole lot of anything else on here. Is anyone interested in dessert? Breakfast? What do you all want?

This week’s menu:

• Stuffed Shells
• Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage
• Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
• Mexican Marinated Chicken with Pepper Casserole

Edited because “desert” and “dessert” are not the same thing.  Unless you eat sand as a treat.

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Island Bird: Pineapple-Rum Chicken

February 14th, 2008 by Erin

Yes, another Rachael Ray recipe. When it comes to the land of “easy eats,” her 30 minute skillz cannot be beat. (Oh god that was rhyming? I need to stop teaching poetry. Anyway.) I’m not saying all of her recipes are good (there are lots that aren’t, and some that are just downright AWFUL) but I am not a Rachael hater so much that I can’t eat some of the food in her cookbook.

This one is really good. You can’t taste the rum, honest. I think this would also be equally good cold, over lettuce, instead of rice, for a good summer meal. Also, I love pineapple. And since Survivor is on, I also love Ozzie. <3 <3 <3 I made pie tonight too, a chocolate pie from the Pioneer Woman. It is like French silk pie. It is love.

Ingredients:

• Rice, cooked according to package directions (we use regular rice, and make about 2 cups)
• 1 can pineapple chunks
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 c. spiced rum (forgive me Justin, I used the bottle that’s been sitting on the counter for two months)
• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 1/2 c. chicken broth/stock
• 1/4 c. parsley, shopped
• 2 Tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Either grill, or cook in nonstick pan for about 6 minutes each side or until cooked through. Remove from pan, set aside and keep warm. Wipe out the pan.

Heat pan over medium high. Add 1 tbs. oil, garlic, salt, onions, and crushed red pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add pineapple chunks and some juice (no more than 1/2 c. and stir to combine. Add rum (if you have a gas stove, take your pan off the heat first, then add the rum and put it back, unless you like pyrotechnics in your kitchen. You might, and that would add some “flair” to dinner, no?) Add chicken stock, and cook until it reduces by half.

Slice breasts and return them to the large skillet with the sauce in it. Add parsley and cilantro and turn off the heat. Serve over rice.

Posted in chicken, dinner, recipes, rice || 2 Comments

Bread Pizza Thingie

February 14th, 2008 by Erin

The husband and I were commenting on how great that frozen garlic bread is - you know, the one that comes in a plastic tube? I’m sure this recipe is partly fueled by “ohgoditscoldoutside” taste buds, but who doesn’t like garlic bread? (If you do not, do not eat this, and let us never speak again.)

I cannot even bring myself to list ingredients. We had a bag of frozen garlic bread, put some pizza sauce on it, and put some mozzarella on top of that. We had a small tub of sausage and peppers that we’d made for pizza awhile ago, so we put that on too. You can put on whatever you want. This isn’t even a recipe.

Posted in dinner, fast, recipes || 1 Comment