Mike's Polish Smothered Chicken

I have had this recipe for two years, almost to the date, sitting in my pantry with ALL the other recipes that I have accumulated over the years. I found it on The Food Network and it seemed really good, but I was always too "chicken" to try it. Now that I have gotten a little more gutsy with my flavors and difficulty level I decided to give it a whirl.

We were very pleased with this recipe. Vince got to do his manly thing and man the grill. That is what he does best after all and I did what I did best which was supervise and give orders as to what to do next. This was a fun meal because it was virtually all done on the grill, with the exception of the bacon which I will discuss later.
 The Recipe

Recipe courtesy Mike Knapik

Show: Emeril LiveEpisode: Emeril's Chicken Contest

·  Cook Time: 35 min

·  Level: Easy

·  Yield: 4 servings

Times:

Prep: 30 min

Inactive Prep: 8 hr 0 min

Cook: 35 min

Total: 9 hr 5 min

Ingredients

• Italian dressing or marinade, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Basil, to taste
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• Butter
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 4 large Portobello mushroom caps
• Olive oil
• Cajun seasoning (Didn't have so left it out)
• 4 strips bacon
• Garden vegetable cream cheese
• Sliced mozzarella cheese
• Shredded Monterey Jack
• Cooked dirty rice, for serving

Combine Italian dressing, garlic powder, oregano, and basil into a plastic bag. Add the chicken breasts and mix well. Marinate in refrigerator overnight.

Preheat grill over medium heat.
Make foil pouches of sliced red onion with butter and another pouch of sliced mushrooms with butter. Place onto hot grill and cook until tender. Drizzle Portobello caps with olive oil and place on hot grill to soften. Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Grill chicken breasts until cooked throughout, sprinkling with Cajun seasoning and garlic powder, set to side of grill to keep warm. At same time, grill 4 strips of bacon.
Spread the cooked Portobellos with a thick layer of cream cheese. Place 1 cooked chicken breast onto each, spoon on some of the sliced mushrooms, and finally some of the sliced onions. Place a strip of bacon onto that, and then cover with sliced mozzarella and shredded Monterey Jack cheese, put back on grill to melt cheese, and serve with a side of dirty rice

The Outcome
The recipes was definitely fantastic. The girls likes the chicken and Vince and I really enjoyed everything that was going on in this recipe.  Looking at this recipe, you might think there is a lot going on, but it's all worth it in the end. Mmmmm

Changes:
Assembling the chicken onto the mushrooms was a bit of a chore. I suggest that when you make this meal you actually make sure the "nub" of a stem is completely cut off to make the mushroom cap more level. We used some pretty big chicken breast. They could have been cut in half. The extra mushrooms on top were a little bit of mushroom overload. Many people don't like mushrooms, but give this recipe a try. It may surprise you. Again, just omit the extra mushrooms that go on top.  The onions that were in the pouch with the butter were good but I think if they would have been carmelized with a little whsurprite wine for extra flavor. Vince and I even threw around the idea of cooking the bacon in small pieces in the onions and topping on the chicken. Then like the recipe stated add the cheese and let melt. I know you have read this recipe and saw that you spread cream cheese on the Portobello Mushroom Caps and you may have thought to yourself.... "What? Cream Cheese?" Yes Cream Cheese.... It definitely made the meal complete. Very very good. I think I may even need to use this idea on future chicken dishes.

So back to talking about the bacon... Cooking it on the grill was a disaster because we decided to walk away from the grill. BIG mistake. We came back just 5 minutes laters to find the bacon on fire!!!!! Well bacon is very fatty as we all know, so if you decide to cook it on te grill you have to watch it. I simpy suggest cooking indoors like you always do. Or if you decide to go the carmelized onion with bacon pieces chop it up and throw it in the pan and saute.


Thie versatile dish is a good one for entertaining. I think a dinner party with friends is a great reason to make this scrumsious meal. One tihng I want all my readers to understand is.... Don't be afraid to go out of the norm and try something new. You may surprise yourself. Doing these new recipes week afer week has heped me to learn new ideas and flavors to incorporate. I find that I am happiest in the kitchen cooking away for my family and thinking about their thoughts for the meal ahead. It's a great feeling. I think sitting around the dinner table (TV off) and enjoying each other's time only brings the ones you love closer. With the busy lives that we all lead, on night at  the dinner table makes a world of difference. Sharing your time together with good food and conversation on a Sunday evening is so great that words just can't describe it. So, give it a try and let me know what you made and how everything was.

As always I thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and sharing this experience with me. We are just in month 3 everyone. We got a lot of meals to go.... So stay tuned. Mmmmmmmmm

 

Cowboy Spaghetti

Like stated in my last post I also made Cowboy Spaghetti. I was fortunate enough to have a day off during the week so I made another Rachael Ray recipe for the family. The cowboy spaghetti is another kid friendly meal that you can really play up. Just tell your little one "You get to eat Cowboy/girl Spaghetti. My daughter Tatum was really excited for this one.

A good co-worker pointed this recipe to me and since the start of my Rachael Ray challenge I have been told I MUST make this one... Thanks for the tip Sara :-)

Ingredients

• 1 pound spaghetti
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
• 3 slices smoky bacon, chopped
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, eyeball it
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
• 1/2 cup beer (Original recipe did not have this, but I sure wish I would have looked online instead of the book.)
• 1 (14-ounce) can, chopped or crushed fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounces) can, tomato sauce
• 8 ounces sharp Cheddar
• 4 scallions, chopped (I left out)

Directions

Heat a pot of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and salt the water. Cook to al dente or with a bite to it.
Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and bacon. Brown and crisp bacon, 5 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon. Drain off a little excess fat if necessary. Leave just enough to coat the bottom of the skillet. Add beef and crumble it as it browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions, garlic and stir into meat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Add 1/2 cup beer and deglaze the pan. Cook 5 to 6 minutes more then (I didn't know about this part so I left this out but I suggest you do this because Beer adds a great flavor.)  stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Add hot spaghetti to meat and sauce and combine. Adjust seasonings and serve up pasta in shallow bowls. Grate some cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with scallions. Garnish with crisp bacon

This was good I think I should have added more seasoning though. Also if you are a bacon fan then add a few more slices of bacon. I sure wish I had. I really enjoyed this and so did the kiddos. This makes quite a bit so I had leftovers to take to work. The co-workers enjoyed it too. I want to thank them for their kind words about my cooking. So... hats off to you gang!!

Again I hope you continue to enjoy my updates. Comments are always welcome. I would love to hear from you if/ when you try these yummy meals.

Thanks for reading
-Rachel

Fried Ravioli and Caesar Salad with added Outback Steakhouse Croutons

Got a little behind. Since my last post I have actually made 2 new meals that are all super easy and super good. I am even happy to say they are kid friendly. The first was Fried Ravioli and Caesar Salad. The other was Cowboy Spaghetti. These meals were quick and took not too much effort to create.

Last Sunday I had the Aunt and Uncle over for dinner. Made them Fried Ravioli and Caesar Salad. This recipe is created to take replace the croutons with fried ravioli.... But being the crouton lover that I am I made homemade croutons that tasted just like Outback's croutons and still used the Ravioli. I will also post the steps for making the croutons as well.

Caesar Salad With Fried Ravioli

Ingredients

• 1 pound large ravioli, fresh or frozen (For a heartier meal find Ravioli with meat or mushrooms stuffed inside)
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano for coating ravioli, plus a handful for salad dressing
• Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (Found at Fry's by the Tuna- Do Not Omit!!!)
• A few shots of hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)
• 3 hearts of romaine, chopped (Or Bag too)

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for ravioli. Salt water and cook a minute less than package directions for either fresh or frozen pasta, then drain thoroughly.

Heat about 3 tablespoons EVOO in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Combine cornmeal, 1/2 cup of Parmigiano Reggiano and lots of black pepper on a plate. Coat the drained ravioli in the cornmeal and cheese mixture. Shake off excess and fry the ravioli until golden on each side, 4-5 minutes total. Remove them to a paper-towel lined plate and season with some salt.

For the salad, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, grated garlic, mustard, anchovy paste, hot sauce and Worcestershire then stream in the EVOO, about 5 tablespoons. Coat the romaine in dressing then season with pepper and a handful of grated cheese. Top salad with crispy ravioli and serve.

Thoughts...
When I was frying the Ravioli it got a bit smokey in the house. Be sure to watch out for too high of heat and make sure you put your fan or open a door when cooking. I followed the recipe down to the last word and it came out great. Aunt Leslie and Uncle Johnny enjoyed this on3. Even had seconds.

I was a bit concerned when making the Ravioli because I was concerned it would be too dry but in the salad it was fine and biting into the cheesiness was heaven. MMMmmmm. For added measure I also had some jarred marinara sauce for dipping. That was good too. Vince and Uncle Johnny even added some of the sauce onto the salad and that looked good too. A great summer meal that takes little effort.

As for the croutons.... Very addicting.
Outback Steakhouse Crouton Recipe
Ingredients

• 2 full loafs of bread (remember: just get the cheap stuff)
• 1 lb of real butter (no margarine on this one, sorry)
• 2 ½ Tbsp Cajun seasoning bled
• ½ Cup finely chopped garlic (yes, that’s really the amount) Get the jarred Garlic it makes for easy prep!!

Instructions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350°
2. Cube the bread into about 1 inch square pieces
3. Cut the butter into smaller chunks and place in the microwave for 10 seconds. Stir and return to the microwave for another 5 seconds.  It should have the consistency of mayonnaise.
4. Mix the Cajun seasoning and chopped garlic into the butter blend and let sit while you toast the croutons the first time.
5. Spread the cubes of bread onto a cookie sheet and put into the oven for 10 minutes and then remove and let cool completely before moving on to the next step.
6. Gently mix the cool croutons into the butter mix until completely coated.
7. Place the croutons back onto the cookie sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes at 350°.
8. Check for desired crunchiness and, if needed, toss and return to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes.
9. Let cool and add to your favorite salad recipe.

Making the croutons did take a bit because you have to keep an eye to get them to the right crunchiness. Some of the bread pieces were either coated more than others or were bigger than others so took longer to cook that others. So as the crunched up I took them out and put them on a plate to cool gradually. Definitely make these when you are having a super salad night. You can't go wrong.

Philly Cheese Steak Mac and Cheese- Saturday Feb 12th, 2011

I haven't blogged about my yummy adventures in a few weeks. We ran into Superbowl so I did not cook that weekend. But I did cook this past Saturday for my family. Vince's side had a fmaily get together and I volunteered to cook everything!!! What was I thinking.

Cooking a new meal for a group of people is very stressful. Luckily my mother in law came to my rescue when I goofed a little. Because the meal was for a regular sized family I had to double the recipe to fit our large crowd. Well all was gooing well until I forgot to double the ingredients to make the RUE. OH BOY was that a headache. The cream sauce obviously didn't thicken so when I added the cream sauce and cheese to the noodled the cheese seperated from the sauce and did not combine like mac and cheese should. So the mother in law and I went back and made more cream sauce (the right way- with enough butter and flour to thicken accordingly) until we had enough to make it cheesey and creamy. Then it was beatuiful.

Here is the recipe:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/philly-cheesesteak-mac-cheese/

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced ( Do ahead... Makes life easier)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound cavatappi-shaped pasta  (It's like swirly curly noodles)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded provolone (Found this in the special cheese section near the deli... Also shred ahead to make it easier)
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef, roughly chopped

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Yields: 4 servings

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Preparation

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring it to a boil.

Once the water boils, cook the cavatappi to al dente according to package directions. Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain it and return it to the pot it was cooked in.

While the pasta is cooking, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the onions to the pan and top them with a lid or piece of aluminum foil for 2-3 minutes, just to get them cooking. Remove the lid or aluminum foil and continue cooking the onions until tender and lightly caramelized, 8-10 minutes.

While the onions are caramelizing, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a medium-size pot. Sprinkle the flour over the melted butter and cook the mixture for about 1 minute. Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture slowly and bring up to a bubble to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the shredded cheese. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and reserve.

To the skillet with the onions, add the beef stock and the roast beef. Cook to warm through.

Add the cheese sauce and the onion-roast beef mixture to the pot with the drained pasta and toss everything to combine.

My thoughts:
You could pop in the oven for 10 min or so before serving... Completely optional. This recipe was delisous once we got the cream sauce up to par. When you are making the cream sauce be sure to add the salt and pepper so it does not taste bland. Follow the recipe because it it written very well.

The family gave good reviews and most even got a second helping. This mac and cheese is even good for leftovers. It actually tastes like a philly sheese steak without the bread. The onions were not over powering and you could barely tell that they were in the dish.

I think that I will even try making Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches this way. the Roast Beef from the deli was a little pricey but when it is on sale I will be sure to incorporate into my meals for the week. To make the Sandwiches I will carmelize the onions like the recipe states, but also add some peppers and or mushrooms and saute them as well. Then add the beef broth and roast beef like the recipe says. Once everything is cooked through you can add the veggies and roast beef to sub rolles and topped with sliced provolone cheese and put in the oven until the cheese is melted and the sandwhiches have a little crisp to them. The roast beef seriously tastes like it came right out of a Sandwhich shop.

I would like to thank you again for tuning into my blog and I am sorry I did not post these past few weeks. I hope you are continuing to enjoy these blogs as much as I love writting them. Please let me know if you ever try these recipes I am dying to hear how they turn out for you.

Sunday January 30, 2011 French Onion Burgers With French Oven Gravy

This is a real crowd pleaser. It was very good. Had Mom, Step Dad, and brother in law over to try this one. So with the added people I was a little nervous. Well every week I find myself watching those around me eat and watch their reactions when they take a bite. I am my own worst critic. I was harder on myself and I didn't need to be. Everyone was happy with the presentation and flavors of this meal.

French Onion Burger with French Oven Gravy Fries

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/french-onion-burger-french-oven-gravy-fries/

Here is the link to the recipe and a video from the show.

All the best parts of the classic bistro soup ... on top of an all-American burger.

Ingredients

• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds baking potatoes
• 7 cloves garlic, peeled (4 smashed and 3 minced)
• 5 to 6 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1/2 cup dry sherry (Couldn't find Sherry at Sprouts so used a dry Chardonnay)
• 2 pounds ground sirloin
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups store-bought beef stock
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 baguette, fatter in size, cut on a bias into 1-inch slices (about 8 slices) (I used regular buns and some had onion buns- Just as yummy)
• 1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded (Found in the special Cheese section at Sprouts. It's a hard cheese almost like Parmesan Regiano Cheese)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat.

 Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise then cut each half into 4 to 5 long wedges, depending on how big the potatoes are. Place the wedges and smashed garlic cloves on a cookie sheet (I thought I already had the garlic but didn't so I skipped this part and it was just fine), drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of EVOO and toss to coat (Don't skip the coating otherwise the potatoes will stick to the pan). Season the potatoes with salt and pepper, and roast for about 20 minutes, until brown and tender. Flip the potatoes and continue to roast for about 10 minutes, until cooked through. If you like them extra crispy (Keep an eye out it may not take the full time depending on the over and size of the potatoes), cook them a total of 45 minutes.

 While the potatoes are in the oven, place a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat with 4 tablespoons of butter. Once melted, add onions, minced garlic (I keep a jar of minced garlic on hand all the time), bay leaf, ground thyme and some salt and pepper. Cook onions for about 10-12 minutes, until caramelized (You want them to cook a little slow so they don't burn). Add sherry and let the alcohol cook out, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and set the mixture aside to top the burgers.

 In a medium bowl, combine the ground sirloin, Worcestershire, parsley, salt and pepper. (To me I was concerned that there wasn't enough flavor in the meat but you want to be careful. You don't want too much seasoning on the burger so it over powers the beef and the onions on top of the burger) Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions and form 4 patties, each about an inch thick. Drizzle the patties with EVOO and place them on the preheated grill pan (Or outside grill). Cook about 5 minutes per side, until pink in the center.

While the burgers are cooking, place a small sauce pan over medium heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, add the shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the flour to make a roux. Cook the flour-butter mixture for about 3-4 minutes, while stirring constantly, until lightly golden in color. Whisk in the beef stock, a little at a time to avoid lumps. Once all of the stock is added, stir in the Dijon mustard (eyeball it) and season with salt and pepper. Turn heat to low and set aside.

(If you used reg buns skip this part and just toast the buns in the broiler)For the French baguette, you want large round slices: Hold your serrated knife on a 45-degree angle and slice, keeping your knife on that angle; just like slicing a flank steak or London broil. Drizzle bread slices with EVOO and season with salt and pepper.

Place under the broiler for about 30 seconds. Flip to the other side and top four of the slices with the shredded Gruyere cheese. Give them another 20 seconds under the broiler to give them a good melt. Keep a close eye on it, because if you're like me, you've burned one too many loaves of bread!

It's burger assembly time! Place a burger on a piece of non-cheesy bread. Top with the caramelized onion mixture and a slice of the cheesy bread. Place a serving of potatoes on the plate and spoon some of the gravy on top.

The Experience
The recipes is written well. It was very easy to follow. Over the past few weeks of this challenge I have learned how important it is to read the recipe before he trip to the store. It really has helped me to picture the preparation.

With any burgers you would figure you need lettuce, tomatoes, and all the other fixing's, however, there is no need with this burger. The caramelized onions and Cheese make this a good one as is. Mom and I ate ours just as it was. Larry (Step Dad) at his with a little A-1 with the onions and Cheese. Vince (Hubby) and Nate (brother-in-law) had some A-1, and the gravy on the burger too. Either way they had it they loved it.

The potatoes fries were yummy and had a good crunch. It is important that you keep an eye out to make sure you don't burn them. You will be pleasantly surprised by the gravy and the potatoes. The Dijon mustard gives it just a little something that takes the gravy to a whole other level of goodness. I even topped the potatoes and gravy with a little of the Gruyere cheese.

The gravy was so good that we even started dipping the burgers in the gravy :-)

With the burgers you want to make sure that you do not omit the parsley. By keeping the parsley in the burgers it helps to keep the patties from drying out. Even the niece had some burger (without the onions of course). Once you decide to make this meal it is good to have a partner outside grilling so you can make sure to focus on the gravy.  Hubbies will feel like they are doing their part in the meal by doing the grilling. Ha ha

I hope you enjoyed this week's blog. Next week is Super Bowl and we will be taking the weekend off enjoying the game and all the game day food. But the week after we will be right back at it.

Once again I thank each and everyone of you for your support. I write my blogs for you in hopes that this gives you the inspiration to try something new and challenge yourselves. In the end if my blogs inspire you to just try a recipe or two, then I have accomplished my goal. Happy cooking and thanks again.

1/23/2011 Recipe #3 Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

This is a good one for pasta lovers!! Hubby and I were really happy with this one. The only real drawback was it takes concentration or some prep. You are chopping while having to keep an eye out on the cooking chicken, but other than that pretty good. I recommend this dish for date night or even entertaining because it's different yet not too much where someone would be overwhelmed by trying something that is out of the norm. i made a few changes/additions that I think made it better.

Chicken with Wild Mushroom and Balsamic Cream Sauce

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

This recipe is a modern take on the ol' Cream of Mushroom Chicken. This one is more healthful and almost as easy as pouring that condensed, salty mass out of a can. It will heal a long day!

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta (I used bow tie pasta)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 6 ounces
• Pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 12 cremini or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 12 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
• 12 white mushrooms, sliced
• I didn't use that many mushrooms I really only used about 6-8 each)
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped (I always keep a jar of minced garlic- so much easier- Use a few spoon fulls.)
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, a couple of sprigs, chopped (I used dried)
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced (I only used 1 large one)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (For extra flavor I took out 1/4 cup of the stock and replaced with red wine)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, eyeball it
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half, a couple turns of the pan
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a generous handful (Don't skip it really makes the dish pop)

Directions

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add orzo (bow tie) pasta. Cook to al dente. (You can wait a little bit since the pasta cooks faster than the orzo) About 5-10 minutes into cookingh the chicken)
Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper and add to the hot skillet. Cook the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
Return the skillet to the heat, turn heat back a bit, and add the butter. Once the butter melts add the mushrooms and brown stirring occasionally for about 4 to 5 minutes. Once the mushrooms are brown season with salt and pepper then add the garlic, thyme and shallots. Cook stirring occasionally for about 2 minutes or until the shallots are wilted. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and cook 2 minutes more. Whisk in the stock, balsamic vinegar and the cream. Turn the heat up to high and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice the chicken on an angle. Add the parsley and the chicken back to the skillet to heat up, about 1 minute.
To serve, pile orzo (bow tie pasta) on dinner plates and top with the sliced chicken and sauce.

It's that easy! really was good. Some advice... Be liberal with your seasoning. Although yummy I still though that it could have used something more. My husband salted with garlic salt on his and I sprinkled a little shredded parmesean cheese. Even the kids gobbled it up. Something about pasta is always good foyou them :-) This dish is so versatile that you can really do whatever you want with it. Some thoughts for next time... Add a little bite of sun dried tomoates, add parmesean while finishing the simmer part of the recipe.

Prepping for the meal:
Not much to it. Vince did the shopping this week and had trouble finding the Shitake Mushrooms at our grocery store. Sprouts had them. It was funny... Vince told me he couldn't find any "Skelatore" mushrooms. Huh?!?! Hahaha It was finny to hear him try to remember what they were called. We both got a kick out of that. Vince was really into it this week. He wanted to see what I was doing and even helped keep an eye onthe chickedn to make sure it was cooking just right. He got the chicked to have the yummiest looking crust on the outside. I was scared it would burn but he did good.

So another success! I suggest serving with a nice red wine. Some toasted french bread and a cesar salad is a fantastic addition to this meal. I hope you all give this one a try on that special someone in your life. I mean Valentine's Day is around the corner, you know. Happy Cooking and Thanks again for tuning in.

Sunday January 16th- Mexican Lasagna

This week was a total turn around for me. I decided on Mexican Lasagna. This is a quick and easy recipe. I definitely will be making this again. Prep was easy as I had several ingredients already in my fridge or pantry.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case  (I used ground beef that I already had on hand)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 red onion, chopped (I had a regular onion that I already had on hand)
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes  (I used medium Pace Chunky Salsa)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• Salt
• 8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market
• 2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack
• 2 scallions, finely chopped (Omitted due to lazienss) :-)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - twice around the pan. (No need if you have a non stick pan) Add chicken (beef) and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes (or salsa). Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. (Don't skip this step as it makes clean up much easier) Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.(Omitted)

Making the Masterpiece:
Everything in the recipe is as it says. Sooooo Easy. Very yummy. When I made the meat mixture (meat, beans, and corn) I thought it was going to be dry, but surprisingly it wasn't. The lasagna part was easy to make and construct to the point that I thought I was doing it wrong. LOL.

I took just 15 minutes in the oven to heat through. I basicaly waited for the cheese on top to melt and bubble. I took a metal spatual (It is sturdy and easier than plastic to serve) and plated it up. As a side dish we simply had left over salad from Sister's bday get together the prior night. Dinner is DONE!

Kids may like this meal if you are careful not to add too hot of salsa. It has a small (but great) bite to it. I simply made cheese crisps instead with the left over tortillas for the kids and they were just as happy.

This week when prepping my mindset to cook, I made sure to read the recipe throughly and shopped the day before to make sure I wasn't stressing myself out incase I couldn't find something or ran out of time. Anyone who wants to challenge themselves to cook something new must do it with the right mind frame and clear their head first. Defineitly don't rush yourrself.

When I searched for the recipe I found the video from  when Rachael Ray made it on her show and that helped because I knew what it was supposed to look like. I posted the video on my facebook so check it out if you haven't already done so.

Thanks again to all my readers for their support. I would be lost without you. Keep sending your ideas and recipes that you have used. I am always open to suggestions. Also... Please share my blog with everyone you know. Everyone could use a little more FLAVOR in their lives.

Happy Cooking
Rach