Thai Chicken Pizza

I love Thai food. Mostly L2 Chicken Spicy. What? You don't know what that means? Well, what it means, is that I've only ever had Thai cuisine at a restaurant, and that's what I order. I've never dared to make it in my own kitchen, until tonight! The photo looks disgusting, I realize. I made my own dough and it was cold, and too dense, but I'll do better next time. It didn't matter, this tasted awesome! I combined a couple recipes I found, here and here. I'll be back later to discuss that yummy little salad.

Need:

cornmeal, for dusting
Your favorite pizza dough

olive oil for brushing crust

1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded

1 1/2 c. shredded part-skim mozzarella

4 scallions, slivered diagonally

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1/4 c. shredded carrot

3 TBSP peanuts, toasted and chopped

1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
Sweet Chili Thai Sauce (found in the ethnic food aisle)

Do:

1. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees.

2. Dust working surface with cornmeal. Roll out pizza dough and cover with Sweet Chili Thai Sauce- you'll want a nice even coat, you can always add more later which is what I did. Brush uncovered bordered with olive oil. Sprinkle half the cheese over the sauce, then top with chicken. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the chicken, then top with scallion, bean shallot, and carrots.

3. Place pizza on pizza stone using a pizza peel or large spatulas. Bake for 9-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and golden. Remove pizza from oven and top with peanuts and cilantro. Let cool for three minutes, then serve.

Pesto Veggie Manicotti topped with Fire Roasted Marinara

I've mentioned it on here before that I am not a huge fan of meat in my pasta. I am, however, a huge fan of pesto and veggies in my pasta. I saw this dish on foodgawker and it was screaming my name, especially since I had just made some pesto last week. It uses a fresh fire roasted marinara sauce, which is another one of those "why didn't I do this sooner" types of pantry items.

Need:

• 15oz ricotta cheese
• 1 box of manicotti noodles (1/2 box of large shells works too!)
• 1 bag fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1/4 cup of grated carrots
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup shredded parmesan/romano cheese
• 2-4 tbsp of pesto (adjust intensity to suit your tastes!)
• mozzarella cheese for topping (go lean or go cheesy!)
• to taste: black pepper, salt, parsley, oregano, thyme & garlic powder.
• 16 oz fire roasted marinara, or your favorite red sauce (recipe to follow)
  

Do:

Preheat your oven to 350. Gently boil shells for approx 11min or until tender/al dente. Drain & arrange cooked noodles in a glass baking dish with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom. Fun fact: if you roll the noodles in the red sauce it will help prevent them from sticking/wilting! Dice and sauté, onions and garlic together with shredded carrots and 1/2 tsp of olive oil. In a large bowl, fold ricotta, parm/romano cheeses, pesto, and torn spinach together with all your herbs and spices. Next, add your veggies to the mix. You are free to use your fingers, but putting the stuffing in a bag with a hole cut in the corner and squeezing is muuuch easier =) Stuff the noodles gently and pour a generous pile of sauce on top. Top with sliced or grated mozzarella/parm cheese and bake for approx 20-30 minutes at 350F

Fire Roasted Pasta Sauce:

• 
  
• Need:
• 28 oz can diced/crushed tomatoes
  14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  approx 4 oz of tomato paste (controls the thickness)
  1/2 tsp garlic powder
  1/4 tsp salt
  1 tsp dried oregano
  1 tsp dried basil
  1-2 tsp dried parsley
  3 bay leaves
  1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Do:

In a blender or food processor, add tomatoes and blend for just a few seconds, until tomatoes look more crushed than diced. Pour tomatoes into your crockpot, season, and walk away! Set crockpot to low if you'll be leaving the house and high if you'll be around the house. No crock pot? Simply add to a sauce pot and cook at low to medium-low on the stove-top.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

I needed something to pair with the previously posted mushrooms. My original plan was to do some simple lemon, garlic shrimp on the grill, but at the last minute, I changed my tune and wanted to do a scampi of some sort. A quick search brought me to this recipe, Baked Shrimp Scampi. It's an Ina recipe, so, folks, grab your butter! There are a lot of ingredients, but it came together quickly, and would certainly impress your guests! I would love to see this paired with a simple oil and basil spaghetti like I made a few weeks ago. The flavor was so rich that it just needs a simple pairing.

Baked Shrimp Scampi
adapted from Ina Garten, Back to Basics
serves 6 (I cut the recipe in half)

• 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons dry white wine
• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 12 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 1/2 sticks)
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2/3 cup panko
• lemon wedges, for serving

Preheat oven to 425.

Butterfly the shrimp by cutting along the outer curve of each shrimp, and opening like a book. Do not cut all the way through, just deep enough to help them stand up.

Place the shrimp in a large mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, white wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside while you prepare the butter mixture.

In a small bowl, mash together the butter with the remaining ingredients, through the panko. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and mix to thoroughly combine.

Starting from the outside of a gratin dish or pie plate, arrange the shrimp in a single layer, cut side down, curling the tails toward the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Drop the butter mixture over the top by the spoonful, and bake 10-12 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked through. Place under the broiler for 1-2 minutes to brown the top, and serve with lemon wedges.

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Portobellas

I've been doing a lot of gawking. Foodgawking that is. I saw some bright green goodness in these Spinach & Cheese Portobella Mushrooms and wanted to give them a try. It calls to grill them, but I wanted to do all my cooking indoors, so I cooked them stove top in a skillet on low heat, turned out great! Need:

• 2 large Portobella Mushroom Caps
• 3 wedges Laughing Cow Cheese (or ~2.5oz other soft, spreadable cheese)
• 10 oz package frozen Spinach, thawed and drained (I actually sauteed some fresh spinach in just a touch of olive oil)
  
• S&P
• Olive Oil

Do:

Warm grill on medium-high or warm some olive oil in a skillet on medium low.

Wipe down the mushroom caps to clean and scrape out the gills and stem.

Defrost the spinach, and mix together with the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide the spinach mixture in half and fill the mushroom caps.

Brush olive oil on the bottoms and sides of the mushrooms, and place stuffed side up on the grill. Cover and cook until the mushrooms are softened and the spinach is hot and bubbly, about 15-20 minutes. Or cook on the stove 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the grill and serve while hot.

Thanks to Ketchup & Chutney for the recipe and detailed instructions!

Fresh Roasted Salsa

You know when you figure something out that is ridiculously easy, or just kind of a no-brainer and you question your own intelligence? Enter homemade salsa.

I got the basic recipe from a fellow January Mom, but tweaked it just a bit from my own experience.

Need:

• 7-8 tomatoes- I use on the vine, Roma would work too
• 2 Jalapenos
• 1/2 Onion- I use one small
• 2 Tbsp of cilantro- use 1 Tbsp if you aren't a huge fan
• 1 Tbsp of salt- use a little less if you aren't a salt fan, but that's a weird thing not to like...
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lime (roll the lime on the counter a bit before cutting to loosen up the juices)
  

Do:
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the tomatoes, jalapenos and onion in half. If you want a spicier salsa, leave a good portion of the jalapeno insides alone, if you want it milder, pull the seeds and rib meat out. I do a happy medium there. Prep a baking sheet with a little olive oil. Place your veggies, cut side down, on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

Let the veggies cool a bit, then put the jalapeno and onion in a food processor. Pulse a few times. For a watery style salsa, add the tomatoes and pulse a few more times. For a heartier salsa, press down on the tomato pieces to drain some of the liquid out, then place them in the processor and pulse a few more times.

Mix together the lime juice, cumin, garlic, salt and cilantro. Pour over the veggies, and pulse a few more times to mix. Yields about 3 cups of deliciousness.

Fall Apart Slow Cooker Cube Steak with Gravy

I have said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it again, but I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl. I had bought some cube steak at the market this weekend, and made this recipe. I was pretty disappointed in the outcome to say the least. So when I realized I had about twice the amount I actually needed for that recipe, I knew I would have to try something else this week with the remainder. I decided to go with a classic cube steak recipe, however when I was searching around the Internet, I was consistently missing one key ingredient from each one. So, I decided to make up my own thing.

Ingredients:

1lb or so cube steak cut into individual portions
1/2 packet of onion mushroom mix (or whatever mix you prefer)
1 packet of gravy mix (I used Au Jus)
4 cups water, divided
Flour for dredging
Canola oil

Directions:

Heat 2-3Tbsp oil in a skillet on medium-high. Dredge the steaks in flour and let sit for a few minutes. Brown the steaks for 1-2 minutes per side. Place in a slow cooker on low. Mix 2 cups of water with the onion mushroom mix and pour over the steaks. Cook for approximately 7 hours. Mix the remaining 2 cups of water with the gravy mix and pour into the slow cooker. Allow to cook for another 30 minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes.

*I made my mashed potatoes with buttermilk, butter, salt and pepper- ah ma goodness. Highly recommend that!

Fiesta Orzo Salad with Spicy Buttermilk Dressing

I've made a Mediterranean orzo salad before, and Carl adored it! It's a pretty time consuming side dish, so when I saw this fiesta style orzo salad that seemed a little simpler for a weeknight, I knew I had to try it. Good move Molly, good move. Delicious, easy, weeknight winner.

P.S. My picture sucks. Please don't judge this recipe by it's photo.

The Ingredients:
1 Cup Cooked Orzo
1 Cup Frozen Whole-Kernel Corn- I used a can of corn because I needed it to come together quickly and had originally planned on grilling some corn on the cob
12 Cherry Tomatoes – quartered – I had a bunch of on the vine, so I just diced 2 of those those
3 Green Onions – sliced
1 Can Black Beans (15 oz.) – rinse and drained
1/4 Cup Low Fat Buttermilk
3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro – divided
3 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice
2 Tablespoons Light Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Canola Mayonnaise
1 Teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Red Pepper
2 Garlic Cloves – crushed
1 Peeled Avocado – cut into 8 wedges- I omitted
1 Tablespoon Chopped Fresh Parsley- I omitted...not on purpose. I forgot.

Directions:
Cook orzo according to package directions – don’t add salt or oil to the water. Drain and rinse. Place orzo, corn, tomatoes, green onions, and black beans into a large bowl and toss.

Whisk together buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of the cilantro, fresh lime juice light sour cream, mayo, chili powder, salt, pepper, ground red pepper, and garlic.

Drizzle dressing over salad and mix to coat. You can eat it immediately, or refrigerate it up to a couple days.