Entrees – Page 15 – Feed Your Kids

Chicken Shawarma with Fattoush Salad

Chicken Shawarma with Fattoush Salad Yummy and VERY easy. I didn’t put the tomatoes on our pitas, because we were already having a lot of tomatoes in the salad, in fact, Girl dumped her bowl of salad ONTO her pita and ate it that way. For the fattoush, I adapted a recipe for “chopped vegetable … Continue reading “Chicken Shawarma with Fattoush Salad”

Chicken Shawarma with Fattoush Salad

Yummy and VERY easy. I didn’t put the tomatoes on our pitas, because we were already having a lot of tomatoes in the salad, in fact, Girl dumped her bowl of salad ONTO her pita and ate it that way.

For the fattoush, I adapted a recipe for “chopped vegetable salad” that was in the same issue of Cooking Light, but changed it around so much that it really wasn’t the same, so here’s my version:

Fattoush

2 cups chopped cucumber
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
(The original recipe also called for some chopped green bell pepper, but I didn’t have any on hand. It would have been a nice addition, so I’ll add some next time. Maybe some garlic, too?)

Gently fold all above ingredients to combine. In a small, separate bowl, whisk together:

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Pour over salad and toss gently to combine.

Toss in 2 cups coarsely crushed pita chips (recommended: Stacy’s brand, from Costco) and 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of ground sumac powder (If you can find it. Try Kalustyan’s, if you’re determined to find some.) and toss salad gently again to combine. Sprinkle a little more sumac on top. Serve immediately, before the pita chips get soggy. If you’re not serving it right away, reserve the pita chips separately until ready to serve.

Short Ribs Provencale and Butternut Squash Polenta

Butternut Squash Polenta, topped with (pulled) Short Ribs Provencale This was VERY rich and flavorful. The polenta comes together VERY quickly and the short ribs make your house smell WONDERFUL as you’re cooking. I changed the recipe around a little bit: I used boneless chuck short ribs (6 of them) and added more carrots to … Continue reading “Short Ribs Provencale and Butternut Squash Polenta”

I changed the recipe around a little bit:
I used boneless chuck short ribs (6 of them) and added more carrots to the sauce, but didn’t add the baby carrots later. I added the juice from the tomatoes, rather than draining it, because I used chicken stock (instead of beef) and wanted to add a little extra flavor to compensate for that.

Boy kids enjoyed this and Girl even has some of the leftovers in her lunch today. I’m thinking that I may freeze some of the leftover meat and sauce to serve over pasta at a later date. Hubby and I will probably have some of the leftover meat (without sauce) in a grilled sandwich for lunch today.

browning the short ribs

simmering the short ribs

We had some of these (I made extras) for dessert:

A double batch of chocolate kiss cupcakes that I made for Girl’s choir party today, packed with extra Hershey Kisses to stabilize them and keep them from shifting in the box

40 garlic clove chicken

40-garlic clove chicken with roasted brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. This recipe is from Fine Cooking magazine, which doesn’t allow free access to their online recipe forum, but I did find the recipe on another website here (please ignore the grammar and the hash-smoking references). It was absolutely delicious and will DEFINITELY be made again … Continue reading “40 garlic clove chicken”

40-garlic clove chicken with roasted brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.

This recipe is from Fine Cooking magazine, which doesn’t allow free access to their online recipe forum, but I did find the recipe on another website here (please ignore the grammar and the hash-smoking references).

It was absolutely delicious and will DEFINITELY be made again during the winter. It’s the perfect, savory, comfort food for cooler weather. Mmmm…. The kids weren’t wild about the plain garlic on the baguette (although I thought they would be), so I will probably take the garlic and improvise a simple garlic toast next time (mix the roasted garlic cloves with butter, parmesan and herbs and spread on bread, then lightly toast it).

For dessert, I made Pumpkin Creme Brulees (which were DELICIOUS) with little maple shortbread “leaf” cookies, for garnish, and Ice Cream Sundaes with Pomegranate Caramel Sauce, topped with whipped cream and fresh pomegranate arils (for my little brother, who doesn’t like pumpkin)

Coffee and Spice-Rubbed Beef and Shepherd’s Pie made from the leftovers

I made this using a pre-mixed spice rub from Williams Sonoma, but I can no longer find the blend in their stores or on their website, so I will have to get creative and come up with my own mix when I make this again. That shouldn’t be too hard. Bobby Flay has a good-looking … Continue reading “Coffee and Spice-Rubbed Beef and Shepherd’s Pie made from the leftovers”

The directions were really easy; you just had to rub the meat (I used London Broil) with a little oil and then rub it with the spice mix and grill. It was really good. The coffee added rich flavor without being overwhelming. Will make this again.

I made the leftovers into a kid-friendly Shepherd’s Pie.

Here’s how:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Chop leftover beef into bite-sized pieces.

Grab some leftover mashed potatoes and mix them with a little milk and one egg yolk to reach a spreadable consistency.

Saute some finely chopped white onion in a tiny bit of oil until softened. Add some diced carrots and cook until they are softened but not mushy. Add some frozen green peas. Cook 2 – 3 more minutes until peas are thawed, but not cooked through.

Pour in some leftover gravy (I used leftover chicken gravy, because that’s what I had on hand and was a little worried that it would be weird, but it worked just fine) and the beef cubes and stir gently to combine.

Pour the veggie-beef-gravy mixture into a shallow baking pan. Spread the mashed potato mixture over the top, to the edges of the pan.

Bake until the potatoes are slightly firmed and the gravy is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Stand back after you serve this. Your kids will be gobbling so quickly that you won’t want to get in their way!

Risotto with Balsamic Glazed Chicken Thighs

This recipe, from Cottage Living magazine, was REALLY yummy and very simple, if you follow the directions closely. Risotto is pretty easy to make, but can’t be rushed and must be served RIGHT AWAY. It doesn’t travel well and leftovers lose a lot in consistency. So, make it when you’re not in a rush and 10 – 15 minutes won’t make a difference in what time your dinner hits the table and plan for the exact amount that you need; don’t make extra to plan for leftovers (although leftover cooked meats and some vegetables are great to use in risotto).

We sliced the chicken thighs up into bite-sized pieces and piled them on top of the risotto, rather than leaving them whole. I also shaved some parmesan (use your vegetable peeler) to make a fun garnish. Look at those lovely little white crispy flakes in the cheese; that’s my FAVORITE part! Love that CRUNCH when you bite.

This had delicious, herby flavor (I used oregano, instead of marjoram, because my marjoram plant is REALLY small) and a delicious, tangy sweetness (from the onions and the balsamic vinegar).

Next time that I make this (and there will be a next time, because it was a hit with everyone), I will add more arugula. If your family doesn’t care for arugula, you could use spinach, instead, but the arugula flavor is very mellow and unobjectionable in this; I think that kids that don’t normally eat arugula when it’s raw (like mine) would still eat this.

Chicken with Gravy, “Good Zucchini” and a Potato Pancake Repeat

I was in a hurry tonight and had some chicken breasts in the freezer, so I went to my ol’ trusty epicurious and did an “advanced search” for a main dish with chicken that was kid-friendly. This recipe from Gourmet magazine (January 1996 – yikes – an oldie!) looked good and said that it could … Continue reading “Chicken with Gravy, “Good Zucchini” and a Potato Pancake Repeat”

I did modify it a bit (some good ones, some not so much)

– I used boneless, skinless breasts (3 fairly large ones), because that’s what I had on hand. I’m not wild about bone-in breasts with skin, unless they’re fried and I can pick them up to eat them. I think they’re too hard to eat with a knife and fork and it wouldn’t be possible to pick them up with the gravy on them, so I adapted.

– I doubled the amount of marinade/sauce ingredients, to make sure that I would have enough for the increased amount of chicken.

– I missed the part about patting the chicken dry, so my chicken went into the skillet, marinade and all. This caused a DEFINITE lemon flavor to the gravy, but we liked it. Not sure I’d do it that way again, but it was good.

– I did overcook the chicken just a bit, so it was a little tough, but I was paranoid that it wouldn’t cook through on a low simmer and that the gravy wouldn’t thicken, so I upped the heat a bit. A bone-in breast probably wouldn’t have been so fast to overcook.

– We sliced the breasts up for serving and then spooned the gravy over the top. We didn’t serve it over rice or pasta, but it would have been good that way (we may do that with the leftovers).

To go with it, I made these potato pancakes again (the kids LOVED these and have been begging to have them again) and this zucchini, which the kids like so much that they are now calling it “the good zucchini”.

The meal was good, but it was a bit of poor planning on my part. I don’t usually like to have more than 2 dishes that babysitting on the stove. If I can relegate one to the oven or rice cooker and set a timer on it, that’s my preference. I was pretty busy trying to saute zucchini and simmer chicken and fry potatoes all at the same time. My stove has an interchangeable grill (you can switch between the grill “module” and a two-burner “module”) on one side that I like to keep in place because I use it a lot, but it does mean that I usually only have two burners. It took some planning to pull this dinner off with that hindrance, though. I had to start the chicken on a burner (browning) and then prepare the roux/gravy and then I put the pan on the grill side to simmer while I cooked the potatoes and zucchini. It worked, but it took a little finagling. I’ll do anything I can to not have to change out my grill module (it’s not even that hard – I just LIKE my grill. It also has a griddle that can go on that side that we use for bacon, eggs, pancakes, grilled sandwiches, etc.).

Pork Empanada and Zucchini Basil Soup

These two recipes really don’t “go” together, but they were both delicious. Zucchini Basil Soup from Gourmet magazine (July 2008) This soup was phenomenal and would make an excellent first course or accompaniment for almost anything. Obviously, it would be great with Italian food. It was also VERY easy (I LOVE my immersion blender) and … Continue reading “Pork Empanada and Zucchini Basil Soup”

These two recipes really don’t “go” together, but they were both delicious.

Zucchini Basil Soup from Gourmet magazine (July 2008)

This soup was phenomenal and would make an excellent first course or accompaniment for almost anything. Obviously, it would be great with Italian food. It was also VERY easy (I LOVE my immersion blender) and is quite healthy. I substituted chicken broth for the water, just to take advantage of the opportunity to add a bit more flavor. The hardest part of the soup was figuring out how to make the peel juiliennes. I tried two different methods: a mandoline and a julienne peeler. Neither of them worked well at ALL (I think I need to work on my technique), so I ended up just peeling off wide strips of peel with a paring knife and then slicing them into julienne.

Party-Style Pork Empanada from Southern Living magazine (September 2008)

The empanada was also quite yummy and pretty easy. It reminded me a little bit of our taco ring, but the flavors were more subtle. I actually like this one better and may use the bread dough (instead of “crescent” rolls) the next time that I make “our” taco ring. Girl said that she really liked this (Boy ate dinner at a friend’s house tonight, so didn’t get a chance to weigh in). I did switch the recipe up a tiny bit. Hubby has a pathological fear of raisins. Seriously, it’s just not explainable, but it is not a subtle or remotely ambilavent feeling that he has about them. He says that they taste like dirt. So, to placate Hubby, I substituted black beans for the raisins. The recipe made a TON of filling and I was not able to fit it all into the bread (if you are able to stretch that bread dough out to a 12 by 14 rectangle, you must be a magician!), so I have another entire batch of filling in my freezer now, for future use. I think that it might be good over rice instead. The “picadillo” seasoning is not dissimilar to taco seasoning, but also had some dehydrated raisins (that I had to pick out) and sliced olives in it. Next time, I may try to make my own spice blend instead.

Emeril Lagasse’s Chop Suey

I made this recipe for Chop Suey tonight (from Emeril Lagasse). It was recommended to me by a friend that has kids about the same age as Boy and Girl. Mise en place, crucial for stir-frying. Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose optional Overall, the recipe turned out pretty well and everyone liked it quite a bit … Continue reading “Emeril Lagasse’s Chop Suey”

I made this recipe for Chop Suey tonight (from Emeril Lagasse). It was recommended to me by a friend that has kids about the same age as Boy and Girl.

Mise en place, crucial for stir-frying. Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose optional

Overall, the recipe turned out pretty well and everyone liked it quite a bit (even though Girl turned her nose up at it before she started eating). A did have to make a few modifications:

– My grocery store didn’t have shiitake mushrooms alone (this time, although I’ve found them there in the past), so I bought a “blend” of shiitake, portabella, and a few others. I pulled the portabellas out for a future use (they were big, thick, easily-identifiable slices) and used the rest, because the whole package was bigger than the amount called for in the recipe. I will probably make some kind of mushroom omelet tomorrow.

-I used brown rice to serve with it, instead of white, because, well…I just do that sort of thing.

-The recipe says “Heat wok…add oil…”, but doesn’t mention oil in the recipe list and doesn’t specify what kind of oil or how much, so I used peanut oil, about 2 Tbsp.

– I don’t have a wok, so I used the biggest, widest skillet that I have. It’s pretty darn big and heavy, so it retains and conducts heat pretty well, but not well enough. I’ll be asking Santa for a wok. This modification made the biggest (negative) impact on the finished dish.

So, the deal is…the dish was good, but the pork wasn’t browned enough (because I didn’t have a wok) and the vegetables got a little mushy and watery (because I didn’t have a wok) and the sauce was a little wan looking (because I didn’t have a wok). The flavors were still good, but would have been better and the vegetables would have been more crisp….guess what…if I had used a wok. The good news: the pork was VERY tender, not overcooked or chewy at all.

I served this with some steamed edamame, which both kids love. Girl also loves red peppers and water chestnuts, so she liked this pretty well, even though it contained…(ewww!)….meat. Boy liked it pretty well, because it contained….(yum!)….meat. He tolerated the mushrooms and liberally used sriracha and ate his weight in edamame.

Tarragon Roast Chicken, Potato Pancakes and Asparagus with Hollandaise

Although being able to make a good roast chicken is supposed to be the sign of a great cook (or maybe BECAUSE of this), I have been intimidated by roasting a whole chicken. The kids are usually a little frightened of meat that actually LOOKS like meat and prefer, boneless, skinless little portions of protein. In spite of all this, I decided to give roast chicken a try. I made this chicken by fusing together two roast chicken recipes:
the first one was included on the back of Colorado Spice Company’s Tarragon Chicken Rub and the second one is Ruth Reichl’s Roast Chicken recipe from her book Garlic and Sapphires (all three of her books are fabulous and you should read them NOW, if you haven’t already).

Basically, I followed the rub directions, but doubled the olive oil, because I was roasting two chickens, instead of one (as specified in the recipe), and then added the lemon and followed the time and temperature instructions in the Ruth Reichl recipe. My oven has a thermometer (as most ovens now do) that can be inserted into meat and then plugged into the side of the oven that will alert you when the interior of the meat has reached a certain, programmable temperature. I LOOOOVE this feature ~~because I’m lazy and forgetful~~ because it’s very helpful and convenient. The chicken turned out beautiful and juicy (although my camera flash makes it looks bland and pale). I will definitely be roasting chicken this way again.

For the potato pancakes, I used this recipe from epicurious. They were delicious, but when they tell you to press the moisture out of the potatoes, they aren’t kidding. Don’t try to save time on that step; you’ll regret it. We served them with sour cream on the side.

The hollandaise was left over from Boy’s special birthday breakfast and was delicious over some simple steamed asparagus.

We ate this dinner last night with my little brother and his wife, who announced to Boy and Girl (Hubby and I already knew) that they were going to have a new baby cousin in May! Little Brother has started a “New Dad” blog that you can check out here:
Little Brother’s “The New Dad” blog

It will be VERY exciting to have another little sprout around next year and Little Bro and his wife (who is a teacher) will make wonderful parents. We are VERY excited and plan to spoil this child rotten.

Spiced Chicken Thighs with Yogurt Sauce

Spiced Chicken Thighs with Yogurt Sauce from Cooking Light magazine Just re-created the broken glass-ruined chicken for today’s lunch. We didn’t feel like having the whole piece of meat and weren’t in the mood for couscous, so we sliced the chicken up really thin and then we wrapped it (with the yogurt sauce and some … Continue reading “Spiced Chicken Thighs with Yogurt Sauce”

Spiced Chicken Thighs with Yogurt Sauce from Cooking Light magazine

Just re-created the broken glass-ruined chicken for today’s lunch. We didn’t feel like having the whole piece of meat and weren’t in the mood for couscous, so we sliced the chicken up really thin and then we wrapped it (with the yogurt sauce and some steamed broccoli) in some flatbread and ate it that way. Pretty yummy, but you definitely don’t want to mess with turmeric right after a manicure. My fingertips are going to be stained yellow for the rest of the day. 🙁

If I do this again, I would use romaine lettuce, or even spinach, in place of the broccoli. I just used what I had on hand, but something leafier (and without such a strong flavor) would have been better.