Friday, January 14, 2011

January Meals

Chicken Noodle Soup and Whole Wheat Bread - Britta

Steak Fajita Salad - Cheryl

Sloppy Joes - Diana

Chicken Taco Soup - Jeana

Pasta Carbonara and Spinach Gorgonzola Corn Bread - Julianne

Panda Express Mandarin Chicken and Noodles and Egg Drop Soup - Julie

Shredded Lime Tacos - Kim

Orange Chicken (Costco) - Kimberly

Red Neck Tacos - Melanie

Red Neck Tacos

CORN CAKES (Emeril Lagasse)

2 TBL olive oil
1 cup sweet corn kernels
2 TBL minced shallots
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup masa harina flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
¾ cup water
2 tsp vegetable oil (I used Pam spray)

Heat olive oil in a medium-size sauté pan over medium heat. Add corn, shallots, ½
tsp of salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until corn and shallots are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine eggs and cream in a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend well. Add cornmeal, flour, masa harina,
baking powder, cayenne, remaining ½ tsp salt, and water. Mix well. Fold in corn and shallot mixture.

Heat ½ tsp of vegetable oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, but not smoking, gently drop the batter (about pancake size) into pan. Cook until cakes are lightly golden on both sides. Repeat until all the oil and batter are used up. Drain cakes on paper towel.

NOTE: Instead of cooking the corn cakes in oil, I just sprayed my griddle with Pam spray. No need to drain cakes on paper towel.

PULLED PORK

Pork Shoulder
1 medium onion
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 cup water

Slice up onion and layer the rings on the bottom of a crock-pot. Season all sides of the pork with salt and fresh ground pepper and put the meat on top of the sliced onions. Add about a cup of water and let cook for 7 hours. Shred port with fork and remove any excess fat.

ULTIMATE COLESLAW (Tyler Florence)

1 cup mayonnaise
1 TBL Dijon mustard
Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
½ lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 TBL red wine vinegar
1 TBL sugar or pinch
1 store bought bag shredded slaw mix

Mix the first 7 ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Poor over slaw mix and toss until well covered. Allow to chill.

NOTE: coleslaw tastes better if made the day before.


To put together your “Red Neck” taco, start with a corn cake. Top with shredded pork and drizzle with BBQ sauce. Then add coleslaw on top of the pork. Or, you can eat each item separately on your plate.

NOTE: I had some left overs, so I made “Red Neck” heuvos rancheros the next morning…. Corn cake, black beans, pork, over easy egg, shredded cheese, green salsa, sour cream, green onions.

Chicken Taco Soup

1 chopped onion
1 (16.5 oz.) can chili beans
1 (15 oz.) can black beans
1 (15 oz.) can corn
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 (10 oz.) cans diced tomatoes w/green chilies
1 packet taco seasoning
3 whole chicken breasts

Place ingredients in slow cooker and stir. Place chicken on top, pressing down until just covered by ingredients. Cook for 5 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Put chicken back into mixture and cook another hour. Top with dollop of sour cream, cheese and crushed tortilla chips prior to serving.

Pasta Carbonara

1/2 lb. prosciutto, bacon, or ham cut into small pieces
4 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup heavy cream at room temperature
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz. dry spaghetti or fettuccine pasta
1/4 cup chopped parsley
ground black pepper to taste

Cook ham/bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. In medium bowl, beat together eggs and cream just until blended. Stir in cheese and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to pan. Toss with bacon and cheese mixture and toss gently until mixed.

Spinach Gorgonzola Corn Bread

2 boxes (8 1/2 oz. each) cornbread mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1 box (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbles
1 tsp. pepper

Mix cornbread mix, eggs, cream, spinach, cheese and pepper in medium bowl. Grease the inside of the crock pot, add batter. Cover. Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

Note: Cook only on HIGH setting for proper crust and texture.

Shredded Lime Tacos

1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breast meat
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix together vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and cilantro. Put in crock pot with chicken and cook on low 6 hours. Shred chicken apart with forks and serve in tacos with toppings of choice.

Sloppy Joes

1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
1 chopped green pepper
1-2 chopped onions
2/3 cup of chopped celery
2 cans of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon garlic
2 Tablespoon venegar
1 Tablespoon worcestersire sauce
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 cup brown sugar
Salsa (optional)

Brown the ground beef with the onion, pepper and celery. Drain. Combine all the ingredients and cook either in a slow cooker for 3-4 hours, or in a skillet for 30 minutes. If it is too runny, you can add potato flakes to thicken it. Serve on toasted buns and top with salsa if you want to.

Egg Drop Soup

2 cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen vegetables
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon chopped green onion

1. In medium saucepan, whisk cornstarch into broth and heat to a full boil. Stirring
constantly.
2. Add frozen vegetables and boil 3 minutes.
3. Beat eggs with a fork and pour slowly into hot soup. Stir once.
4. Continue cooking 1 minute, and then pour into soup bowls.
5. Garnish with green onions.

Panda Express Mandarin Chicken and Noodles

6-8 skinless chicken thigh fillets
Sauce
1 cup sugar
½ cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
½ cup water
2 Tablespoons flour
Noodles
1 package Asian noodles
2-3 stalks baby bok choy (part of the cabbage family)
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil for frying noodles

For sauce; combine sugar, soy sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, garlic and ginger in a
saucepan. Heat until almost a boil. Combine water with flour in a small bowl and stir until flour is dissolved. Once the sauce starts to boil add the flour water mixture. Simmer for 4-6 minutes or until a little thicker.

Grill chicken 4-6 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove from grill and cut into bite sized strips. Place chicken into bowl and pour the sauce over it. Serve over noodles.

To prepare Noodles with Bok Choy
Place noodles in boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. Drain water. Cut stems off bok choy – don’t trim too much, just the end. Rinse well. Chop it all into thin pieces. Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Place drained noodles in frying pan with hot oil and add bok choy. Stir fry until all bok choy is bright green and wilty. Serve with Mandarin chicken.

FROM FROZEN

Defrost chicken and sauce.
Heat chicken in fry pan until hot throughout. Add sauce. Serve over noodles.
For noodles: Use only half the bag and follow instructions above adding Bok Choy.

Steak Fajita Salad

½ cup Italian-style salad dressing
1 tsp ground cumin
1 dash hot pepper sauce
1 lb flank steak, cut into strips
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup black beans, rinsed
½ cup sliced green onion
½ cup shredded cheddar
1 tomato, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
½ cup chopped cilantro
8 cups mixed salad greens
1 cup Caesar salad dressing
1-2 tsp fajita seasoning
Crushed tortilla chips

Combine the cumin, hot pepper sauce and Italian dressing in a small bowl and mix well. Pour over the beef and let marinate for 1 hour. Cook the beef in crock pot on low 5 hours or until tender (or you can pan fry or grill). Allow the beef to cool.

In small bowl, mix Caesar dressing with the fajita seasoning (enough to taste)

In a medium bowl combine the beef with the corn, beans, onions, peppers, cilantro and 1/2 cup of the Caesar dressing mixture. Refrigerate until serving.

To serve, toss the beef and vegetable mixture with the salad greens, tomatoes and shredded cheese. Add the extra dressing if necessary and top with crushed tortilla chips.