Friday, June 10, 2011

June Meals

Chicken Nuggets and Oven-Roasted Veggies -  Britta

Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl - Cheryl

Salsa Bean Salad with Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken - Julianne

Asian BBQ Chicken with Coconut Rice - Kim Rogers

Beef Stroganoff - Kim Roylance

Baked Camembert Pasta - Kimberly

Italian Meatballs & Marinara Sauce - Tamara

Taco Salad - Tawnee

Beef Stroganoff

1 pound cubed beef stew meat
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Can mushrooms (with juice)
1 - 16 oz container of sour cream
1 package bow tie pasta

In a slow cooker, combine the meat, onion, Worcestershire sauce and mushrooms.

Cook on Low setting for 8 hours, or on High setting for about 5 hours. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Serve over noodles.

Italian Meatballs & Marinara Sauce

*Food Network

2 slices white sandwich bread, stale
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp red cayenne pepper (optional)
1 large egg, beaten
fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil, divided

Grate the bread or pulse crumbs in a food processor. In a small bowl toss the bread crumbs with 1/3 cup cold milk to re-hydrate.

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, pork, beef, parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, cayenne and egg and mix until combined. Using your hands, gently form the meat mixture into slightly larger than golf ball-sized balls (packing the meat tightly together will result in tough meatballs). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Heat half the oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally until well browned on all sizes, about 6 minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Drain the oil and wipe out of the skillet, return to the heat and repeat with the remaining oil and meatballs.

Drain and wipe out the skillet again. Return all the meatballs to the skillet and pour in the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered, swirling the pan occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through about 15 minutes. The cheese in the meatballs will start to melt when the meatballs are ready. Serve immediately with Fettuccine noodles. Toss 1/3 of sauce with the noodles. These meatballs can be stored, covered in the refrigerator for 3 days or frozen for up to six weeks.

Marinara Sauce
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 (28 oz) cans of whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 small bunch fresh basil, leaves chopped
2 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic, stirring until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, the herb springs and basil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minute or until thickened. Remove and discard the her sprig. Stir in the salt and pepper to taste. Serve or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to two months.

Asian BBQ Chicken with Coconut Rice

Asian BBQ Chicken

¼ c packed brown sugar
½ c soy sauce
2 T lime juice
¼ t cayenne pepper
¼ t curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 t grated fresh ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Combine everything but the chicken in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Place marinade and chicken in a zip-lock bag. Pop that bag in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours, or longer if you have it (even overnight)

Preheat a grill (or an indoor grill pan or broiler). Spray cooking surface with cooking spray and place chicken on it to cook. Cook for 5-10 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Optional: garnish with sliced green onions.

Coconut Rice

2 c. white or Jasmine Rice
1 can coconut milk
2 c water
1 tsp Kosher salt
Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture)
2-3 tsp white sugar
Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onions tops for garnish
Black pepper to taste

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.

**we also enjoyed diced mango with the rice!­­­

Baked Camembert Pasta

1 x 8-ounce box of Camembert cheese
2 cloves of garlic
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound dried rigatoni
6 cups (approx. 6 ounces) fresh spinach
4 ounces Parmesan Cheese

To prepare your pasta
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Open the box of cheese and unwrap it. Place it back in
the wooden container. Score a circle into the top of the skin, lift it off and discard.
Peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalk. Lay the
garlic slices on top of the cheese, sprinkle with some pepper and drizzle with a little
extra virgin olive oil. Scatter over the rosemary leaves and gently pat with your
fingers to coat them in the oil.

To cook your pasta
Place the box of cheese on a cookie sheet and put it into the preheated oven for 25
minutes, until golden and melted. Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water
to a boil. When your cheese has 10 minutes left to cook, add the rigatoni to the
pan and cook according to package instructions. When pasta is cooked, add the
spinach to the pan. Drain the pasta and spinach in a colander over a large bowl,
reserving some of the cooking water. Return the pasta and spinach to the pan and
let it wilt. Drizzle with a couple of good lugs of extra virgin olive oil and add the
grated parmesan. If the sauce is too thick for you, add a splash of the reserved
cooking water to thin it out a bit. Season with salt and pepper and give it a good stir.
Remove cheese from oven.

To serve your pasta
Divide the pasta between serving bowls. Drizzle the melted Camembert on top.
Serve with bread.

Balsamic Chicken Noodle Bowl

1 lb Linguine
1 Red pepper, cut into thin strips
4 T Balsamic vinegar
5 Garlic cloves, finely minced
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Black pepper
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 c Fresh basil
2 c Cooked, shredded chicken
1 1/2 c Shredded or cubed mozzarella cheese
½ c Feta cheese

Cook the linguine until just tender according to package directions. Drain.

In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. When combined, slowly whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is completely combined.

While the pasta is boiling, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the bell pepper. Cook briefly until crisp-tender. Add the cooked chicken and cook for 1-2 more minutes, until the chicken is heated through.

Add the cooked noodles to the skillet with the red pepper and chicken and toss. Add the mozzarella and toss quickly to combine before the cheese melts. Pour the dressing over the top and toss with tongs to coat all the ingredients with the dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6-8