Crock-Pot Fajitas

These are oviously not true sizzling Fajitas (which I love) but this is an easy Fajita-style meal.

6 frozen chicken breasts
1 bag frozen, sliced bell peppers
1/2 onion, sliced
1 15.5-oz jar of salsa
Tortillas
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Cheese

Place chicken breasts in crock-pot. Dump bell peppers over chicken. Pour salsa on top. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Fork shred before serving in tortillas with guacamole, sour cream, and cheese.

Monte Cristo in Puff Pastry

A couple of weeks when my parents were in town, we ate at Gadsby's Tavern in Old Town Alexandria. George Washington ate at Gadsby's--a very historical meal! I had a monte cristo wrapped in puff pastry. It was so good. I must say, though, I love all monte cristo sandwiches! I thought I would try to replicate it with our leftover Easter ham. In a sheet of thawed puff pastry, I spread dijon mustard, then layered ham and swiss cheese. I folded the pastry over and sealed it with a fork. I baked it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. It was a good little dinner but not nearly as good as at the restaurant. I needed to use much more ham and cheese so it was a little more substantial. It kind of ended up tasting like one of those ham and cheese filled breakfast croissants. I did serve it with a little raspberry jam on the side--I always love dipping monte cristos into jam. And really, how can puff pastry covered in jam not be good?

Pasta with Spinach, Tomato, and Feta

I wanted to combine these flavors and thought I would just do it with a pasta. I heated olive oil in a pan and added two chopped garlic cloves. Then, I added about two cups of sliced tomatoes and about a half a bag of baby spinach. Once the spinach had wilted, I added cooked angel hair, about a cup of pasta water, then turned off the heat. Then I added feta and parmesan. The feta softened nicely and I liked this simple pasta dish. If I make this again, I will probably use more spinach and feta.

This Week's Menu

Monday 3/24
* Turkey Sloppy Joe's
* Sweet Potato Fries
* Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday 3/25
* Pasta with spinach and feta
* Garlic Bread

Wednesday 3/26
* Puff Pastry Monte Cristo
* Spinach Salad

Thursday 3/27
* Crock Pot Fajitas
* Steamed Mixed Veggies

Friday 3/28
* Cafe Rio Salads

Saturday 3/29
* Dinner with Friends

Sunday 3/30
* Veggie Lasagna
* Garlic Bread

Pasta Bake

A couple of years ago I came across a recipe for a pasta bake that incorporated different vegetables and I've been using the gist of that recipe for this easy pasta dish ever since. This is how I made it last night:

8-oz penne pasta
12 -oz jar artichokes, drained and chopped (I only drain 1/2 the liquid b/c I like the flavor)
12-oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
12 asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozarella cheese

Cook and drain pasta and set aside to cool. In large bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Add pasta to bowl and mix until everything is incorporated. If it seems too dry, you can add a little milk. Pour into greased 8x8 baking dish. Top with breadcrumbs, if desired. Cover with foil and bake for 30 mintues at 350.

The possibilities are endless with this dish. For quite a while I was using broccoli, diced tomatoes, and roasted red peppers. Tomatoes, zuchinni, and onion would be tasty, too. A cooking show once showed this trick for speeding up chopping of canned or jarred vegetables. Just put your kitchen shears in the jar and chop away. So easy!

6-Hour Chili

Thanks to Erin for sending me this really easy chili recipe. Crock pot meals are great! The original recipe is below. I used a 28-oz can of tomatoes and added a can of beans. This was a great hearty weeknight meal. I used Trader Joe's cornbread mix, which is excellent!

6 Hour Chili

1 lb ground beef or turkey
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 (14.5oz) can of chopped tomatoes with juice
3-4 TBS chili powder
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup beef broth
Sour cream, chopped onion, grated cheddar cheese for garnish if desired

Brown meat in pan. Once browned, add meat to crock-pot. Add remaining igredients to crock-pot and stir to combine.Cover and cook for 6 hours on low setting. Serve with garnishes. Serves aprox. 3-4

This Week's Menu

Monday 3/17
* 6-hour Chili
* Cornbread
* Salad

Tuesday 3/18
* Chicken Enchiladas
* Black Beans
* Steamed Carrots

Wednesday 3/19
* Balsamic Chicken
* Mandarin Salad

Thursday 3/20
* Pasta Dish
* Salad

Friday 3/21
* Turkey Loaf
* Sweet Potato Fries

Saturday 3/22
* Pizza
* Salad

Sunday 3/23
* Easter Dinner

Erin's Cranberry Spinach Salad

Isn't that such a pretty salad? Thank you so much, Erin for sending me this great recipe. I loved this salad! I couldn't stop eating it. The dressing is really good. Erin gave me the tip to make the dressing the night before to let the flavors come together and that made it especially tasty. I used olive oil because I was a little low on regular vegetable oil but the olive oil flavor was a little overpowering in the dressing. Next time, I'll use regular vegetable oil like the recipe says, or, a light-flavored olive oil. I also forgot to get blue cheese so I used Feta, which was good. I bet it's even better with blue cheese. I served this along with Trader Joe's frozen breaded chicken breasts (a great TJ's purchase) and some good bread for an easy Friday night dinner.

CRANBERRY SPINACH SALAD
SERVES: 8

DRESSING:
2 TBS SESAME SEEDS
½ CUP WHITE SUGAR
2 TSP MINCED ONION
¼ TSP PAPRIKA
¼ CUP WHITE VINEGAR
¼ CUP CIDER VINEGAR
½ CUP VEGTABLE OIL

SALAD:
¾ CUP SLIVERED ALMONDS
1 CUP DRIED CRANBERRIES
BLUE CHEESE TO TASTE
1 LB BABY SPINACH LEAVES

DIRECTIONS: PLACE ALL DRESSING INGREDIENTS IN POURABLE CONTAINER. SHAKE TO COMBINE. PLACE IN FRIDGE OVERNIGHT.

COMBINE ALMONDS AND CRANBERRIES IN ZIPLOC AND SET ASIDE.

TOSS DRESSING WITH SPINACH THEN TOP WITH ALMONDS AND CRANBERRIES WHEN READY TO EAT.

Chicken Chilaquiles

I was determined to make this dish exactly according to the recipe. But, I had some trouble finding canned tomatillos. So, instead of making the sauce, I ended up using a can of green chile enchilada sauce, which I think is the flavor they were going for. I couldn't find Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers either. I used the Mexican blend cheese I already had but I'd like to try it with just the Monterey Jack. I really like the corn tortillas in this dish (I normally use flour for most Mexican dishes) and this is a good change from regular enchiladas. The next time I make this, I will add sauce to the middle layer (it seemed a little dry) and use more cheese. Here is the original recipe:

Chicken Chilaquiles
from Cooking Light Magazine

2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 11-oz can tomatillos, drained
1 4.5-oz can chopped green chiles, drained
12 6-inch corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 375
Combine chicken, green onions, 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese, Parmesan, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Place milk and next three ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Heat tortillas according to package directions. Pour 1/3 cup tomatillo mixture into bottom of an 11x7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 corn tortillas in dish, and top with half of chicken mixture. Repeat layer with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture, ending with tortillas.
Pour remaining 1 1/2 cups tomatillo mixture over tortillas; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Joelle's Chicken and Pasta

Thank you so much Joelle, for making us such a yummy meal and then sharing the recipe with me! The combinations of flavors is so good in this recipe that Joelle came up with:

Saute:

1/4 C olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 T pine nuts

Add:

4 sliced chicken breasts

1/4 C balsamic vinegar

1 t basil

1 t oregano

sundried tomatoes

Simmer at a medium to low temperature until chicken is cooked. Serve over angel hair pasta. Sprinkle with shredded parmesan cheese.

I used just half an onion and about four of the chopped sundried tomatoes. I think next time I'll use the full onion and even more sundried tomatoes. This is delicious!

This Week's Menu

Monday 3/3
* Chicken Biscuit Dish
* Baked acorn squash

Tuesday 3/4
* Turkey Tacos
* Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday 3/4
* Joelle's Chicken & Pasta
* Salad

Thursday 3/4
* Chicken Chilaquiles
* Black Beans
* Steamed Carrots

Friday 3/5
* Erin's Cranberry Spinach Salad
* Trader Joe's Breaded Chicken Breasts

Saturday 3/6
* Dinner out (My mom's arriving in town!)

Sunday 3/7
* Vegetable Lasagna
* Garlic Bread
* Salad

Country Captain Chicken

I love the flavors of this dish. The house smells so good while it's baking. My favorite part is the dried cranberries. The original recipe calls for raisins or currants but once all I had was cranberries and they add such great color and flavor. Lately I've been using my favorite dried cranberries, Trader Joe's orange flavored dried cranberries. I can't tell you how good they are. I snack on them all the time but they are also wonderful in this dish. The orange flavor makes the dish even more tasty! In the picture, you can hardly see the chicken because it's just covered with the delicious vegetable mixture. Yum!

Country Captain Chicken
(adapted from a recipe in The Ulitmate Southern Living Cookbook)

6 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinammon
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Combine first 3 ingredients. Dredge chicken in flour mixture. Heat oil in skillet and fry chicken in hot oil, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side. Drain chicken and arrange in baking dish. Saute onion, green pepper, and garlic in skillet (with pan drippings) until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and next 6 ingredients. Stir well and spoon over chicken. Bake for 30 minutes at 350, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice.

Sloppy Joes

This cafeteria staple always seems satisfying and quick! My mom gave me this recipe and the only thing I've changed is using ground turkey and adding the zucchini. I served these with sweet potato fries, one of my favorite sides.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground turkey or beef

1/2 onion, diced

1 zucchini, grated and drained

1 12-oz bottle chili sauce

1 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1 Tbsp prepared mustard

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp white vinegar

8 hamburger buns

Cook turkey, onion, and zucchini in a large skillet over medium-high heat 5 to 6 minutes, stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and return to skillet (With turkey, there is hardly anything to drain). Stir in chili sauce and next 6 ingredients. Cook over medium-high heat, sitrring often, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve on buns.