Kayotic Sausage & Tomatoes

I found this recipe over at Kayotic Kitchen, which you should definitely check out.  Her blog is awesome, and this meal is my personal favorite out of anything I've ever made.

Beef Sausages & Balsamic Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 6 beef sausages
• 2 small red onions
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp oil
• fresh basil
• pepper
• salt

Directions

1. Preheat over to 350.
2. Peel and slice 6 cloves of garlic (she says "normal" sized cloves, I have used less if if they were bigger).
3. Peel & slice onions into wedges.
4. Place sausages in roasting pan and cover with olive oil.
5. Add garlic slices, and generous amounts of salt and pepper (this ensures that the sauce that forms will be properly seasoned- so no holding back!).
6. Shuffle the sausages around in the oil mixture so they are well covered/seasoned and the oil gets all over the pan also.
7. Add the onions and shuffle again, so they're also covered with the oil mixture.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sausages start to brown.
9. Wash your cherry tomatoes, and add to the pan once the sausages have browned.  It will look like red marbles in a track (there are wonderful pictures on the Kayotic blog for this part- well, all the parts actually).
10. Pour the balsamic vinegar into the pan, spreading evenly.
11. Put the pan bake in the oven for about 15 more minutes.  The cherries should be bursting and the sausages fully cooked when you take them out.
12. Tear up the basil leaves and stir them into the pan.
13. Serve with French bread or really thick rolls.  The juice from the sausages and tomatoes mix with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and form what is quite possible the most delectable sauce I've ever had in my life.  It's amazing, and you want a hearty bread that can soak it up to the fullest. 

My notes:

• Make very few changes!  Honestly, this is one of the recipes that is PERFECT.  Sometimes I have switched out grape tomatoes for cherry tomatoes- this does NOT work, stick to the bigger (and more juicy) cherry tomatoes.  The only "changes" I have really made is that it's gotten to the point where I don't have to measure everything out, I can eyeball it...but definitely measure the first time so you get an idea for the proper amount.
• Cook in a smaller pan.  You definitely want all those different juices and oils to be in close proximity so they can mix and make the delicious sauce, a larger pan just doesn't give it the same flavor.  
• I have used dried basil (and also thrown in a tiny bit of dried cilantro), it works when used generously but definitely go for fresh if possible.  I skimp where I can, y'all know that, but buy the ingredients as listed.   It will still be cheaper than going out, probably even to fast food, and the taste will blow your mind.
• I personally like the plain beef sausages.  We've gotten the tomato ones, and some chicken kind...hubs liked them but I prefer the plain kind.  The beauty of this meal comes from it's simplicity and that fancy-shmancy stuff isn't needed here in my opinion.

I love, love, LOVE this recipe.    I want to make it, and my mouth is watering from talking about it.  Stick to this recipe as exactly as possible and you will be amazed, I guarantee it.

Greek Salsa Chicken

Can I just say "Wowza!"  This was amazing and I am definitely going to be adding it to the standard rotation.  Seriously cannot express how wonderful this was.

Greek Salsa Chicken

Ingredients: 

                         for salsa

• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
• 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano

                     for chicken

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (7 ounces each)
• pepper to taste
• kosher salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. In a large bowl, combine feta, tomatoes, olives, parsley, lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil and oregano. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large roasting pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with kosher salt and pepper. Sear chicken, about 1-2 minutes each side; remove from heat.
4. Squeeze lemon wedges over chicken to coat. Place the squeezed lemon wedges around the chicken breasts. Roast until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer chicken and lemons to a large platter. Top with salsa.

My Changes:

• I only used 2 pieces of chicken...big mistake b/c both me & the husband immediately wanted more (we used the excess salsa as a snack with Roasted Garlic Triscuits, delish).
•  I used dried oregano & Italian seasoning rather than fresh parsley & oregano.

Crab Linguine

Even without fresh ingredients, this was quite yummy. Definitely plan on making it again :)

Crab Linguine (with lemon & basil)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. pasta, such as linguine or spaghetti
•  1/3 cup olive oil
•  2 tbsp. butter
•  6 cloves garlic, minced
•  ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
•  1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
•  Salt and pepper, to taste
•  8 oz. fresh crab meat, cooked (or substitute pre-cooked shrimp/prawns)
•  1 lemon, quartered

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.  Drain well; set aside.  
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the olive oil and butter, heating until the butter is completely melted.  
3. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant and bubbling.  Remove the pan from the heat.
4. Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss well until the pasta is well coated with the garlic-oil sauce.  
5. Add the basil and cherry tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  
6. Divide the pasta between warmed serving bowls.  
7. Top each individual serving with the fresh lump crab meat, about 2 ounces each.  
8. Squeeze one quarter of lemon over each serving.  
9. Serve immediately.

My Changes:

1. I used more butter, because I ran out of olive oil.  I personally don't think the amounts above would have been enough, we tend to dislike dry pastas in this house.
2. I ended up only using about 1/2-2/3 of the pasta (see above, with the dryness issue).
3. Instead of fresh basil, I used dried with some Italian seasoning.
4.  I used pre-cooked crab (it's March in a landlocked state, so sue me) and added it to the butter/garlic/basil/tomato sauce to give it some extra flavor- HIGHLY recommend doing this.
5.  Rather than doing everything per serving, I added the sauce to the pasta and stirred it all together.  Just simpler. 

My Chili

I'm sure everyone makes their own chili in their own way, but I made some yesterday and it was pretty freakin' delicious, if I do say so myself.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 large can chili beans (with juice)
• 1 14 oz kidney beans (drained)
• 1 14 oz pinto beans (drained)
• 1 14 oz can Rotel (drained)
• garlic salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

1.   Brown ground beef with onions (and a sprinkle of garlic salt), drain.
2. While browning ground beef, have beans & Rotel simmering.
3. Pour beef mixture into simmering bean mixture (gently!).
4. Season with pepper and garlic salt (or garlic powder & salt) to taste.
5. I highly recommend serving with cheese, sour cream, and yummy garlic bread.

Summer Lasagna

So, I really want to give this recipe rave reviews.  I do.  And it was absolutely delicious.  I mean...it's literally all I can do right now to not go get a second helping because it was THAT good.  But there were some issues in the presentation, and I have to address those.

Summer Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 lasagne noodles, broken into thirds, cooked and drained
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup torn basil leaves

Directions

1. Cook noodles according to the package.
2. Combine ricotta, Parmesan, and olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Refridgerate.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high and add garlic and tomatoes.  Cook until slightly broken down, about 3 minutes.  Transfer to bowl.
4. Add zucchini to skillet (with more oil if needed).  Season with salt & pepper to taste; cook until tender.  Transfer to (yet another) bowl.
5. Scatter a few tomatoes over four plates.  Top with one noodle, a spoonful of ricotta mixture, zucchini and more tomatoes.  Repeat layering twice, ending with noodle & then tomatoes.  Drizzle a little more olive oil on top.  Garnish with basil and serve.

My Changes

• This really was an amazing delicious combination of flavors.  However, it was awkward to put together.  It didn't stay layered because everything was so slippery with the olive oil.  Not a huge deal, but it was especially weird once I realized that it was supposed to be presented plate by plate.  There's only 2 of us here and leftovers are basically guaranteed.  So when I went to put the rest up, I was confused on how to do it.  I ended up just putting all of the tomatoes in a dish, then noodles, then the ricotta mixture, then the zucchini.  I'll try to update after my husband comes home & gets his share of it to let you know how that worked.
• I used only 24 oz of tomatoes (I know, LESS than the recipe called, it's a miracle).  I'm sorry, cherry tomatoes are kind of expensive :-/ Anyway, it worked.  But I may have just added a lot of them to my individual portion...
• I didn't have fresh basil, but I decided to use dried in the ricotta cheese mixture and it worked perfectly.
• Here's what I really think would work best to make this recipe as practical as it is delicious- change out the "lasagna" for shells.  Put the ricotta mixture in shells, and then serve the tomatoes & zucchini mixed on the sides.  It would be easier to maneuver, store, and serve while still keeping the integrity of the dish.

 

Chicken Tostada Upside Down Bake

Okay I relaxed for a bit, but have still been trying new recipes.  Usually I try to type them up in the order I make them, but this one was so delicious that I just have to share it now.  I've made several variations on this theme  of chicken/mexican/corn/casserole/bakes.  To be perfectly honest, none of them have really been worth it for me.  This one, however...delicious.  I'm not sure if it's the addition of cilantro and ranch packets, or using diced tomatoes instead of the typical salsa...but this was surprisingly flavorful and I'll definitely be making it again. I mean, I'll have to rename it...because that's just too long of a name.  But the dish itself probably won't change.

Chicken Tostada Upside Down Bake

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• 3-4 chicken breast (boneless & skinless), shredded
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can black olives, drained
• 1 packet ranch dressing mix
• pinch of salt & pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1.5 tablespoons cumin
• 1 can crescent rolls
• 1 (more) tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 garlic salt with parsley
• 1 cup shredded cheese
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on stove.  Add onions & saute for 5 minutes before adding garlic for 1 additional minute.
3. Add chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, olives, ranch dressing mix, cumin, salt, & pepper.  Cook & stir for 5 minutes or until heated through.
4. Add cilantro.  
5. Pour mixture into baking dish.
6. Place crescent rolls over mixture, keeping as a sheet.  Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil & season with garlic salt.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until rolls begin to brown.
8. Add cheese and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is cooked through. 

My Changes

• I didn't shred my chicken, just used filets and diced them.  I cooked them with garlic salt & pepper before starting.
• I only used 1/2 an onion.  I don't think a whole onion would be bad, but that was fine for us.
• I forgot to pick up olives at the grocery store...and I'm sure that will only add to the deliciousness.
• I didn't drain my chicken, just dumped it straight into the mixture.  At first this seemed a little too soupy for me, but my husband loved it and I think it made it warm up so much better the next day.  
• I didn't have garlic seasoning with parsley, so I just used regular garlic salt.
• I didn't have cumin, so I omitted it.
• I didn't have fresh cilantro (my grocery store has been out of it the past TWO times I shopped) so I used dried flakes...not sure how much, just a moderate sprinkle.  
• We served with sour cream, as suggested.

Garlic Lemon Tuna Burgers

Ingredients

• 2 cans tuna fish (drained)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley/Italian seasoning (I dislike parsley alone)
• 2 cloves garlic (mince)
• 1/4 teaspoon each, salt and pepper 
• juice of half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 egg
• 4 English muffin
• 4 leaves romaine
• 1 tomato

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix tuna, bread crumbs, green onions, parsley/Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, lemon, sour cream, and egg.  Mix well with hands.
3. Form into 4 wet patties.
4. Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
5. Serve on toasted English muffins with lettuce & tomato, extra sour cream if desired.

My Changes

• This was a tad bit mushy in the middle for me, so I would probably add at least 5 minutes to the cooking time...maybe 10.  Just depends.
  
• Horseradish mustard made this amazing.  I may add it to the mixture itself next time instead of just spreading it on the English muffins.

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pasta (
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.), diced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine (I substituted chicken broth)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. 
2. Set a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta, salt, oil and cook thoroughly.  Then drain.
3. Put chicken & oil into a pan and brown chicken.  Add garlic and cook until chicken is done.
4. Add salt, spinach, and white wine to the pan and cook until spinach is wilted down.
5. Add the chicken mixture to the pasta and stir.
6. Place mixture in the casserole dish and cover with cheese.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.

My Changes

• I don't know if it was the subsitution for the white wine, but this was a little dry for me and could have used some extra flavor.  Next time I plan on using either cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup instead of chicken broth (and I'd use an entire can).  I will probably also cook the pasta with butter instead of oil.
• I only had 1 cup of cheese, which worked fine for the topping.  Next time I will add one cup to the mixture so it's throughout the casserole and keep one cup for the topping.

Greek Meatloaf

This was the first recipe I made off of my huge list, and it was a huge hit.  Hubs says it's one of those things that gets better the longer it sits, so every day it tastes better haha.

Greek Meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (or 1/2 cup bread crumbs)
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (reduce to 1/4 cup if using bread crumbs)
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325.
2. Heat oil in saucepan.  Add onions, salt, and pepper.  Heat until translucent.  Add spinach and stir until heated throughout.
3. Mix onion mixture, turkey, flour/breadcrumbs, chicken stock, egg & Worcestershire sauce.  Mix until well combined.
4. Place half of the mixture in a baking sheet and evenly spread flat.
5. Cover with feta cheese.
6. Place the remaining mixture on top of cheese and evenly spread flat.
7. Bake for 1-1.25 hours, or until internal temperature reaches 160.

My Changes

• I used plain breadcrumbs instead of coconut flour...because I don't have coconut flour.  
• I added some Italian seasoning & cilantro because the original poster from the above site suggested that it needed some more seasoning, and I forgot to look for her suggestion of gyro seasoning at the grocery store.  It worked nicely.
• I plan on using more feta next time I make this.  The idea of putting it in the middle instead of mixing it up as in a traditional meatloaf was nice, but for our preference (me & hubs) it could have been stronger.
• I also want to make this using ground lamb.  Hubs LOVES lamb and I feel like that would really take this recipe to the next level.

Stuffed Shells

I have no recipe to link to for this, because I completely & totally made it up.  But it turned out pretty well.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground meat
• 1 box large stuffed shells
• 2 can marinara/spaghetti sauce
• 1 can black olives, sliced
• 1 small can mushrooms (8 oz?)
• 4 oz parmesean cheese
• 2 cups shredded cheese (we used a combo of cheddar, mozzarella, & M. Jack because it's what we had)
• 1 small onion
• Italian seasoning & garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375.
2. Cook shells according to package.
3. Brown ground meat in a skillet with onion, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder
4. Mix 1 can sauce, mushrooms, olives, and Parmesan cheese into meat & onion mixture
5. Once shells are cooked, lay them on a cutting board/in a casserole dish and spoon meat mixture into them.  
6. Pour remaining can of sauce over the shells.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of shells.
7. Bake for 20 minutes.

My Tips

• I only used one can of sauce, and I wished I had more to cover the shells at the end which is why I said to use 2 in this recipe.
• I used ground turkey, but I'm sure beef or sausage would work just as well.
• The parmesean cheese may need to be adjusted, I just used what I had left from another meal.
• I think adding ricotta cheese to this would be amazing.  Maybe a small spoonful of it and a small spoonful of the meat mix, rather than one big spoonful of meat mix.
• If making for one, or if you don't like leftovers, half this recipe.  This made a TON of shells, we could have eaten it for like 3 days...except hubs bumped one of the casserole dishes onto the floor so we just let the dogs eat like kings and made do with the other half :)

Crockpot Chicken Salsa

This is hands down the easiest receipe I have in my arsenal.  It is quick, simple, and idiot-proof.  Oh, and fairly cheap.  Are there any better words for a busy wannbe chef?

Crockpot Chicken Salsa

Ingredients

• Frozen Chicken Breasts (I use 3 small/medium)
• 2 cans drained corn/1 bag frozen corn
• 2 cans drained black beans
• 1 jar salsa

Directions

1. Dump frozen chicken, corn, beans, and salsa into a crockpot.
2. Cook on high for 5-6 hours (depending on the intensity of your slow cooker).
3. After 5-5.5 hours stir to shred up chicken.
4. I told you it was idiot proof.

My Tips

• I have a 5 qt. slow cooker.  If yours is smaller, adjust ingredient amounts accordingly.
• The original recipe I was given added cream cheese.  I prefer to skip that and add sour cream to individual portions as we please.  We also add cheese, because everything tastes better with cheese.
• I eat this with Spanish rice.  My husband puts it in tortillas.  It can also be served with nachos.  And probably many other ways. 

Enchi-ritos?

Hola!  You are probably wondering WTH an "enchi-rito" is.  I certainly would have been if I were in your shoes.  I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com for "enchiladas," but according to the comments that is very untrue and somewhat offensive since true enchildas are made with corn tortillas, not flour tortillas.  I liked one commentator's description of an "enchi-rito" so I'm choosing to call it that- I can't help it, I have a thing for funny words.

Enchi-ritos

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (1.5 ounce) package dry enchilada sauce mix
• 10 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 (2.25 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium skillet over medium high heat, cook the ground beef and onion until beef is evenly browned and onion is tender.
2. Prepare the enchilada sauce according to package directions. Pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. On each flour tortilla, place an equal portion of the ground beef mixture and about 1 ounce of Cheddar cheese, reserving at least 1/2 cup of cheese. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the baking dish.
4. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and olives.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and cheese is thoroughly melted.

My Changes

• Per comments, I added 1/2 a pack of taco seasoning to the ground beef.
• We used canned enchilada sauce, both regular red mild & green.  B LOVED the green, I preferred the red.
• We also had refried beans and sour cream to add at the end, because that's what we like.
• We used about 1.4 lbs of ground beef to make 4 enchi-ritos, with enough for one more left over.  Maybe we just overstuffed them, because they were HUGE after cooking.  But delicious none the less. 
• I left out the olives, because I accidentally picked up green olives instead of black and that just didn't seem like good substitution.

Shepherds Pie

This is one of the first recipes I found using Allrecipes.com and a favorite in our house.  I've been craving it for several days and tonight is the night!  One of the reasons I like Allrecipes so much is because it allows members to review the recipe and make suggestions on how to improve or tweak it.  For that reason I will be posting the link to the recipes I get from there, as well as the original recipe here in my blog along with my personal changes.

American Shepherds Pie 

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed vegetable soup
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3 cups mashed cooked potatoes
• 1 cup shredded Colby longhorn cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, stir and cook ground beef, onion and celery until juices run clear. Drain. Pour mixture into baking dish with vegetable soup and thyme; stir well. Spread mashed potatoes on top.
3. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top and bake 5 minutes more, or until cheese has melted

My Changes

• I use 1.5-2.0 lbs of ground beef, we like our food meaty.  I also usually add garlic salt to the meat/onion concoction, because my husband thinks garlic belongs on everything.
• I don't use celery or thyme. Just not a favorite of me or the hubs.
• I use cream of mushroom soup instead of vegetable.
• I add a veggie layer on top of the meat layer: almost always corn, but lately I've been adding green beans as well.  Husband likes it when we use green peas, but I hate green peas so that's rare.  That's the beauty of this recipe though, it's SUPER easy to customize to your own preferences.
• We sometimes add biscuits to the top.  I had a revelation the other night when I made upside down pizza though, and I'm thinking of using crescent rolls instead.  I'll come back & update this post after I experiment with it.