Category: Main Dish

Kale chips

Roasted veggies are a favorite in our house. The kids love roasted broccoli and carrots. We were turned onto kale chips by a neighbor, and we’ve made a few batches and they disappear as fast as they come out of the oven! They are really easy to make too.

Roasted Kale ChipsKale chips

  • One bunch kale washed and dried
  • 1-2 Tbs olive oil
  • Dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 375. Tear the kale into pieces, removing the ribs. Toss with olive oil. Add a sprinkle of salt if desired. Bake until crisp, 15-20 minutes. They cool quickly and are best still slightly warm.

 

Crock-pot pork tenderlion with lentils and bacon

A while back Dinner a Love Story had a post on Monday Night dinners and had note about a coworker’s plan for dinner:Crockpot pork tenderloin with lentils and bacon

This morning, my coworker, who lives and dies by her Slow Cooker during the week, did this: She took one frozen pork tenderloin, an ummeasured bag of lentils (about a cup and a half as she sees it), 1 onion (chopped), 2 cloves garlic (whole, smashed), about 4 sprigs of thyme, 5-10 peppercorns, 1/2 cube of beef bouillon, 2 strips of bacon into her slow cooker. She added water about halfway up the pork and set on the 10-hour setting

Well, that sounded really good, so we made it. It turned out really yummy. It was good on its own, though it would have also done well on a bun or toast. It ended up kind of like carnitas, the lentils more or less disintegrated and the kids never knew they were there. Probably add a little more water as ours dried out in some parts though our crock-pot tends to run hot I think.

Japanese Inspired Quinoa with Chicken and Green Beans

I came across this recipe looking around on, Chocolate and Zucchini, a site I’ve used before. It sounded good at the time, but when I went to prepare it, it seemed a bit too spartan. I had already planned on adding chicken, but need some veggies. We had some green beans in the fridge, so I threw those in. We also didn’t have shallots, sesame oil, or sake, so I ended up doing a lot of improv on this one. The idea was a nice start though and the meal ended up being really good. This recipe takes only about the 20 minutes or so that it takes to cook the quinoa. It could also be made with tofu for a veggie option.

Japanese Inspired Quinoa with Chicken and Green Beans

Inspired by Chocolate and Zucchine

  • 1 cup Quinoa, cookedJapanese quinoa with chicken and green beans
  • about 1 Tbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 lb Chicken breast
  • 1 lb Green beans, ends removed
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • 2-3 Tbs rice vinegar
  • 1 tsb brown sugar
  • Sriracha pepper sauce

Cook the quinoa according to the package. Slice the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in pan over medium high heat, and saute the chicken until cooked through and starting to brown (~5 min). Add the ginger and cook a couple more minutes. Add the green beans, soy sauce, 2 Tbs rice vinegar and brown sugar. Cook until the green beans are the desired tenderness, adding a little more vinegar if needed to keep things from drying out.

Mix in the cooked quinoa and serve with sriracha pepper sauce.Japanese quinoa with chicken and green beans

 

 

Chicken and mushroom pasta

Rondele cheese was on sale last week, so I was looking for a recipe that included that. This Chicken and mushroom fettucini recipe at Just the Recipe looked like a good start. We added some spinach and used whole grain spaghetti instead of fettucini. This is also a fairly fast meal, taking only about 30 minutes or so to prepare.

Chicken and mushroom pastaChicken and mushroom pasta

  • 1 box of pasta, cooked according to box directions
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
  • 5-8 ounces Borsin or Rondele cheese or other creamy herbed cheese
  • 1 package frozen spinach

While preparing the pasta, cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat the oil in a skillet an saute the chicken pieces over medium-high heat until cooked through and starting to brown (5-6 minutes). Remove the chicken and add the mushrooms. Turn the heat down a bit and saute the mushrooms until they have released their water and started to brown (about another 5 minutes). While that is cooking, microwave the spinach to defrost. Drain the spinach in a strainer, using a spoon to press out the water.

Add the cheese, chicken, and spinach to the mushrooms and stir to combine. Continue cooking until heated through. Serve over the pasta.

 

 

Sweet potato biscuit ham and cheese sandwiches

Sweet potato biscuit ham and cheese sandwichBella eats had these delicious sweet potato biscuits, and one of the photos featured some ham and cheese, which made me think that that would be a yummy dinner. The biscuits were fairly easy to make and were delicious…though having a stick of butter in them may have helped with that! I am sure you could cut the butter in half and still have a darned good biscuit. The ham and cheese sandwich idea was also a good idea, especially with everything warm and the cheese melting…

Zucchini and Ricotta Galette

This recipe from Smitten Kitchen was really good. Even though I cut the butter in the dough recipe by half (the full 1/2 cup seemed a bit too decadent), with the sour cream it turned out wonderfully. I also skipped freezing the flour and it was probably only in the fridge for 30 minutes. The only problem with the recipe is that our family of 4 finished it all off with no leftovers for lunch–make 2 next time!

Spicy Sunflower Seed Noodles with Veggies and Chicken

Pink Parsley had this yummy sounding recipe with peanuts, to which our son is allergic. So we substituted SunButter in the recipe. I also had imagined this more like a stir fry than a salad, so we stir fried the veggies a bit and added the dressing and put it on top of soba noodles. It turned out great!
Spicy Sunflower Seed Noodles with Veggies and Chicken
adapted from Pink Parsley, adapted from Pinch of Yum, originally from Food Nouveau

For the dressing:

  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • 2 Tbs water
  • 2 Tbs Crunchy SunButter
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs rice wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
  • 1/2 Tbs honey
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp sugar

For the stir fry (or don’t cook it and make it a salad…)

  • 1 cup julienne yellow pepper
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 medium shredded zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions
  • 1 cup chopped or shredded cooked chicken breast
  • 8 oz. cooked soba noodles or linguine
  • 2-3 Tbs minced fresh basil
  • 2-3 Tbs minced fresh cilantro
  • crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Mix all the dressing ingredients. Stir fry the veggies. Add the dressing and serve on top of the soba noodles.

Portabella and Cheese “Burgers” on focaccia

Portabella, tomato and basil focaccia burgerThese Portabella and Halloumi “Burgers” looked really good, but I wasn’t able to find Halloumi cheese, which is apparently a cheese that can be grilled on its own…Plus I had a craving for some focaccia. I made the focaccia recipe many years ago when it came out in Fine Cooking, and it is really good…though I had forgotten how long it takes. I was able to squeeze it into a day in the fridge, and one evening after work letting it warm up, rest a bit and cook, but it probably could have used more time to rest (the recipe calls for about 5hrs between taking it out of the fridge and cooking it!). But, it was still really good.

 

For the burgers we used:

  • 4 Portabella mushrooms
  • 3 1/2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • Tomato slices
  • Basil leaves
  • We topped it with either some smoked gouda or feta cheese (didn’t have enough gouda for everyone)

Bee-Bim Bop

Bee-Bim-Bop, Bip Bim Bap, Bibimbap…Maybe there is a difference, but they all seem to be a tasty mix of veggies, especially cabbage, meat and eggs. I had originally planned on using this which more a guideline than a recipe, but we also had the recipe from the Bee-Bim Bop book our youngest read in class. We also couldn’t find any safe Hoisin sauce, so we made something with soy sauce, molasses, sugar and corn starch…

As we tend to do, we made a bit of a mashup and came up with a yummy meal.

B.B.B.

  • ~1 lb Skirt steak
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 Tbs soy sauce
  • 2 Tbs molasses
  • 1 Tbs sugar
  • 1 Tbs corn starch
  • rice wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbs Olive oil
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 2-3 green onions sliced
  • 1/2 cabbage sliced
  • 2 carrots sliced
  • 2 cups bean sprouts
  • Handfull or two of spinach
  • rice cooked
  • sriracha sauce

In a large bowl mix the ingredients from garlic through vinegar. Grill the steak a few minutes on each side until cooked as desired. Slice across the grain into bite sized pieces. Add the steak to the sauce in the bowl while it is still warm and set aside.

Add 1 Tbs oil to a pan and heat over medium heat. Cook the egg like an omelet. When it’s cooked through remove from the pan and slice into strips.

Add the other Tbs oil to a pan and heat over med-high heat. Add the green onions and then cabbage and stir fry. Add the carrots and cook for a bit. Add the bean sprouts and cook stirring. Add the meat with the sauce and cook until the sauce has thickened a bit.

Serve over rice with sriracha sauce.