Sunday Supper: Weeks 8 & 9

Ok, clearly we aren't holding true to our resolution to do this every week but we are still making the effort to try and make new dishes as many weeks as we can. 

Here are the latest:

Week 8

Recipe:  Company Pot Roast

Added to Cookbook?: Yes.

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: This was a wonderful one for a rainy, cold day. AND, who doesn't love a Crock Pot meal?

I stole the picture from the online recipe because mine looked like a gross mess! BUT, it tasted good!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut in half $
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup beef broth $
• 1 (.35-ounce) package dried morel mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
• 2 medium onions (about 3/4 pound), quartered $
• 1 (16-ounce) package carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces $
• 16 small red potatoes (about 2 pounds), halved
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons water

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine roast, soy sauce, and garlic in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator at least 8 hours, turning bag occasionally.
2. Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan; add mushrooms. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Drain mushrooms through a cheesecloth-lines colander over a bowl, reserving broth mixture.
3. Remove roast from bag, reserving marinade. Sprinkle roast with pepper, gently pressing pepper into roast. Combine reserved marinade, mushroom broth mixture, and tomato paste; stir well, and set aside.
4. Place mushrooms, onion, carrot and potato in a 6-quart electric slow cooker; toss gently.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add roast, browing well on all sides. Place roast over vegetables in slow cooker. Pour tomato paste mixture into pan, scraping to loosen browned bits. Pour tomato paste mixture over roast and vegetables. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour. Reduce to low-heat setting, and cook 8 hours or until roast is tender. Place roast and vegetables on a serving platter; keep warm. Reserve liquid in slow cooker; increase to high-heat setting.
6. Place flour in a small bowl. Gradually add water, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add flour mixture to liquid in slow cooker. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Serve gravy with roast and vegetables.

Week 9

Recipe:  Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream

Added to Cookbook?: Definitely!

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: This is a super easy, fast recipe that was delicious. I added a little Monterey Jack cheese to mine :-).

 

Let's be honest, I ate more than two chips ;-)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4-inch strips 
• 3/4 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Cooking spray
• 1/8 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
• 1/4 cup light sour cream
• 2 tablespoons 1% low-fat milk 
• 1/2 ripe peeled avocado, diced 
• 2 cups packaged angel hair slaw
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with chile powder, garlic salt, and cumin. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove chicken from pan.
2. Combine rind, 1 tablespoon juice, and next 3 ingredients (through avocado) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.
3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon juice, slaw, onions, cilantro, oil, and salt, tossing to coat.
4. Heat tortillas according to directions. Divide chicken mixture evenly among tortillas. Top each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon avocado mixture and 1/4 cup slaw mixture.

Sunday Supper: Weeks 6 & 7

Week 6

Recipe:  Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Mozzarella and Pesto (Pasta)

Added to Cookbook?: Definitely!

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: We decided to make a pesto pasta for the side versus the dollop on top of the chicken. It was perfect!

INGREDIENTS

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups balsamic vinegar
• 1 large ball fresh buffalo mozzarella, cut into four thick slices
• Pesto (homemade or store-bought) - Recipe below

DIRECTIONS

1. Place chicken and one cup of balsamic vinegar in a large plastic bag. Seal bag tightly and place in fridge to marinate for one hour. (Don’t marinate this recipe overnight because over a long period of time, the acid in the vinegar may break down the chicken breast, forming a mushy texture.)
2. Place the other cup of balsamic vinegar in a small pot on the stove and bring to simmer. Continue simmering for about 15 minutes, until vinegar has reduced and is thick like syrup. Take off stove and let cool while you cook the chicken breasts.
3. After chicken breasts have finished marinating, preheat grill (or prepare grill pan on the stove). Grill chicken breasts until cooked through, about eight minutes per side. Remove chicken and place on a plate.
4. Turn broiler on high and place one slice of mozzarella on each chicken breast. Place chicken breasts on a foil-covered sheet tray and broil for three-four minutes until cheese melts.
5. Top each chicken breast with a dollop of pesto and drizzle balsamic reduction over top.  

Pesto Recipe:
Makes 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

1/4 c Walnuts

1/4 c pine nuts

3 tbsp diced garlic (9 cloves)

5 c fresh basil leaves, packed

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pepper

1.5 c good olive oil

1 c freshly grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Place walnuts, pine nuts, and garlic in bowl of food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is finely pureed. Add the parmesan and puree for a minute. 

Toss desired amount with cooked pasta and serve.

Week 7 

Recipe:  Grilled Flank Steak with Roasted Corn, Tomatoes and Chimichurri Sauce

Added to Cookbook?: Definitely!

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: The recipe calls for the salad to be arranged with each item placed separately around the plate, we decided just to toss it and place the steak on top. 

INGREDIENTS:
Kernels from 3 ears of corn
1 flank steak (1.5 lbs)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
Red Onion, cut into wedges (we skipped this)
5 c. lettuce greens of your choice (we used a greens mix from Whole Foods)
2 c. cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 can (14 oz.) black beans, rinsed
1 lime, quartered, for garnish

Chimichurri Sauce:
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. chopped shallots
2 tsp. minced garlic
3/4 c. packed fresh parsley leaves
1/4 c. fresh basil leaves
2/3 c. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients for Chimichurri Sauce in a blender (or food processor). Pulse 3 or 4 times to combine, but leave the mixture slightly chunky. Taste and add/adjust salt and pepper.

2. Preheat oven to 350. Line rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread corn kernels on it in single layer. Spoon 1 or 2 tbsp. of the Chimichirri Sauce over the corn, mix, and roast until cooked (8-10 minutes).

3. Preheat a stovetop grill pan or outdoor grill. Season the steak with salt and pepper on both sides and brush with oil. Grill until meat is medium-rate, 5-7 minutes on each side. Brush onion with olive oil and grill alongside the meat. When steak is done, place it on a cutting board and brush with 1-2 tbsp. of Chimichurri Sauce, then let it rest for at least 5 min. before thinly slicing it diagonally, against the grain.

4. Place greens on a platter. Arrange tomatoes, black beans and corn on different areas of the platter, leaving room in the center for the meat. Place sliced steak and onions on the salad in the center of the plate. Garnish with lime wedges. Pass the Chimichurri Sauce separately to spoon over individual portions.

We missed last week due to pure exhaustion but we plan on getting back on track this week! It is 75 and sunny today so look for something spring inspired! 

Sunday Supper: Week 3, 4 & 5

No, we didn't abandon our Sunday suppers...I have just been less than great about blogging about them. So, without further ado, let's catch up.

 Week 3

Recipe:  Braised Short Ribs, Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, & Best Button Mushrooms

Added to Cookbook?: Yes for ribs and potatoes but need a do-over on the mushrooms. The ribs were divine!

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: We cut the mushroom recipe in half but failed to measure OR cut the portion in half for the lemon so these were not an edible piece of the meal.I bet they would be amazing though! 

The mushrooms look so sad back there. I am anxious to give them another try.

Recipe: Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 4 English cut beef short ribs, trimmed (roughly 8 ounces each)
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 bottle full bodied red wine, such as Cabernet
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on all sides.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ribs and brown on all sides. Transfer the ribs to a plate, then add the garlic and stir until softened but not brown, about 1 minute. Carefully pour in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 1 cup. Add the ribs and any juices they have released back to the pot along with the stock. Reduce the heat and bring to a simmer, then cover the pot and transfer it to the oven, to braise, until the meat easily falls off the bone, about 3 hours.

Transfer the ribs to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Strain the braising liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Simmer the liquid, skimming fat as necessary, until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary. Transfer the ribs and sauce to a serving dish and serve.

Recipe: Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds whole small button mushrooms, wiped clean
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Gray sea salt
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Directions

In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms. Do not move the mushrooms until they have caramelized on the bottom. If you toss them too soon, they will release their liquid and begin to steam. When the bottoms are caramelized, toss them and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the butter. Cook and toss for 5 minutes, until beautifully browned.

Season with salt and add the garlic. Saute another 2 minutes, and add the thyme, lemon juice, and white wine. Cook to evaporate the liquid.
 
Toss in the parsley and serve immediately.

Recipe: Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6 ounces grated Parmesan

Directions

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan, add the salt, and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork. 

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.
Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.

Week 4

Recipe:  Butternut Squash Soup

Added to Cookbook?: If there is ever a dire need for more squash soup we will revisit this recipe.

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: The only reason we made this is that I was feeling a cold coming on and wanted something warm and cozy. We ended up adding a 1/4 cup of half and half and about a 1/4 cup of flour to thicken this up. 

A random picture of some of the ingredients.

Note: need a garnish for yellow soup in a white bowl

 

Ingredients

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock
• Nutmeg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks. In large pot melt butter. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add squash and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in a blender and puree. Return blended squash to pot. Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Serve.

Week 5

Recipe: World's Best Macaroni & Cheese

Added to Cookbook?: Yes, BUT...

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: this should be a side dish. It is so thick, creamy, & heavy that it definitely does not need to be consumed as a meal on its own. It would be great with some BBQ ribs! 

 

Other tip...I used slightly less cheese than the recipe called for and 2% milk instead of whole and it was still plenty creamy to be a heart attack in a bowl. 

It is taking some serious will power not to eat ALL the leftovers for lunch!

 

SAUCE
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
7 ounces Flagship cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 ounce Just Jack cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
PASTA
6 ounces penne pasta (about 3 ¼ cups)
1 ounce (1/4 cup) Flagship cheese, grated
1 ounce (1/4 cup) Just Jack cheese, grated
¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder Instructions

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish. Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.
Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Sunday Supper: Week 1 & 2

Week 1

Recipe: Roasted Chicken over Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Added to Cookbook?: Yes

Thoughts, Tips & Tricks: First, Noah and asparagus don't mix so we will be holding off on this until after I finish nursing. 

He does look cute as a helper though!

We really enjoyed making this meal. I didn't think the amount of asparagus that was called for was going to be enough but it did the trick. I was also wondering if it needed to be cooked before we put it in the food processor but there was no need, it pureed perfectly.

Showing off my cute apron "Santa" brought me in my stocking.

Scott was in charge of chopping up the full chicken. I was impressed with his butchering skills.

We didn't have a cast iron pan so we went with our Le Creuset dutch oven.

The asparagus beautifully pureed.

After baking. We probably added more spices than it called for but we wanted to make sure it was flavored and it was perfect!

Next time the only thing we would change is to go with 2 cloves of garlic instead of 3. Otherwise we were happy with the end result. 

The finished product.

Recipe:

Roasted Chicken over Creamy Asparagus Pasta

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken cut up

2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)

2 sprigs fresh oregano

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

juice from half a lemon

1 pound brown rice spaghetti (or whatever you have on hand)

1/2 bunch asparagus

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet with a little oil, along with coating all sides of the chicken. 

Nestle the chicken pieces in the pan. Pour the wine over the chicken. Top with the fresh oregano and thyme leaves, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast for 40 minutes. Change the oven to broil, and broil 5 more minutes. Bring it out of the oven and spritz with lemon. Let rest for 5 minutes.

In the meantime, give the asparagus a rough chop and throw it into a food processor. Add the garlic and blitz until finely chopped. Add the cream, broth, a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz a bit more until everything is combined and creamy.

Pour sauce into a small saucepan and simmer lightly while the pasta cooks.

Cook the pasta until it reaches al dente. Drain and add to the saucepan. Toss to coat with the cream sauce. Toss in the sun-dried tomatoes. 

Serve creamy asparagus pasta topped with a piece of roasted chicken.

**click on recipe name to be directed to original recipe source.

Week 2

Recipe: BBQ Pulled Chicken, Asian Slaw & Cornbread

Added to recipe book?: Yes on the Asian Slaw, not necessarily on the chicken and cornbread.

Thoughts, tips and tricks: We made this because I wanted pulled pork but it was Sunday so that wasn't allowed since we needed to try a new recipe. The reason we aren't adding this to the recipe book is because we prefer the pork over the chicken but it was quite tasty. 

The Asian slaw took home the gold medal in my opinion. Crick & Kyle had made this for us once before and I am happy we took it on for Sunday Supper.

I don't eat cornbread (it's a texture thing) but I hear it was just ok.

Bon Appetit!

Recipes:

Barbecue Pulled Chicken

Serves 4-6

1 and 1/2 lbs. skinned and deboned chicken thighs (use dark meat here for most flavor!)
1 T olive oil
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T cider vinegar
1 T yellow mustard
1 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Directions:
Brown chicken for four minutes on each side in one tablespoon of hot oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Remove from heat and place in a slow cooker.

Combine ketchup and next six ingredients. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on high for one hour. Reduce heat to low, and cook five to six hours.

Remove chicken from sauce and then shred it into a large bowl, using your hands. Stir shredded chicken into the sauce. Spoon mixture onto buns, serve over a salad, or coleslaw.

Green Chili Cheddar Cheese Cornbread (we didn't use the chilies since spicy + breastfeeding aren't always a good mix).

Adapted from Epicurious.com

serves 10-12 

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 (heaping) cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 4-oz can diced green chilies

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, cheese, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the chilies, buttermilk, eggs and melted butter and mix well to combine.

Pour batter into a greased 9 inch casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Serve warm with honey.

Red Cabbage Slaw with Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette (from Raising the Salad Bar cookbook)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (approx. 1/2 head)

1 red bell pepper cut into very thin strips

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded or cut into matchsticks

1 cup snow peas, strings removed

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger

4 teaspoons maple syrup

3 tablespoons canola oil (we used Smart Balance oil)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Directions:

In a serving bowl combine the cabbage, red bell pepper and carrots. 

Blanch snow peas in boiling water for one minute then run under cold water to stop the cooking (we missed this step and it was still delicious). Slice each snow pea lengthwise into 3 thin strips and add to bowl.

In small bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients. Dress salad just before serving and add sesame seeds for garnish.