From Karen's Kitchen- Chicken Enchiladas

March 26, 2013
Chicken Enchiladas

Today the weather was mild.  The sun was shining and signs of Spring were popping up all over.  Robins in the front yard, Daffodils just ready to burst open, Crocuses waking up after a long winters nap.
I thought about what to make for dinner.  Spring weather means one thing to me, summer is right around the corner.  When I am at a loss as to what to make for dinner, I think about what is my favorite summer meal.  Our family loves Mexican dishes.  I texted my son to ask if Chicken Enchilada's sounded good and my response was "YES!"  That was easy.

Ingredients

3 -4 chicken breasts
15 white corn tortillas (fajita size) or 15 flour tortillas (fajita size)
3 (10 ounce) cans mild enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso)
3 -4 cups grated Monterrey jack pepper cheese

Boil chicken until it falls apart, then shred.
Mix 1/2 can of sauce and a little cheese with chicken.
Put other 1/2 can on bottom of 11x9 baking dish.
Microwave tortillas until soft.
Roll chicken mixture into tortillas.
Put in pan semi-tightly.
Cover with remaining 2 cans sauce.
Cover top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 until cheese is fully melted (usually about 20-25 min).

Courtesy of Food TV Network

From Karen's Kitchen- Chicken with Lemon Sauce

March 23, 2013
Chicken with Lemon Sauce

It's been a while since I've posted another recipe.  Life gets busy and my energy was needed elsewhere.  Last night we were all home and it was nice to cook my family.  One of their favorite dinners is Chicken with Lemon Sauce.  I notice that I describe most of my dinners as easy and delicious. This one is defintely in that category.  I simply breaded and fried (in canola oil) chicken breast, made a serving of whole grain fettuccine, and the lemon sauce to go with it.

Ingredients for the Chicken
Chicken Breasts
whole grain bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
Directions:
Dip chicken breast into egg mixture, coat with breadcrumbs and fry until cooked through

Ingredients for the Lemon Sauce
 1/2 cup butter
1/2 large yellow onion, minced
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half and half
1 cup milk
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the onion and saute until soft, then add the other ingredients.  Stir until thickened and pour over the chicken.  Garnish with fresh parsley.

Courtesy of Food TV Network

From Karen's Kitchen- Veggies with Goat Cheese over Quinoa

March 12, 2013
Veggies with Goat Cheese over Quinoa

This recipe was passed on to me and sounded delicious so I decided to give it a try.  It was filling and satisfying.  I recommend making this as a meal by itself or it could make a great side dish!

-->

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups broccoli florets

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 cup bottled roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped

1/4 cup chopped, pitted kalamata olives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add broccoli and garlic and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Stir in roasted bell peppers, olives, parsley, green onion, lemon juice, kosher salt, and black pepper. Heat through. Sprinkle with goat cheese.

Quinoa

2 Cups of water

1 Cup of Quinoa

1/4 tsp salt

Bring water  to a boil, add salt and Quinoa

Simmer for 15 minutes until done.

Recipe courtesy of a dear friend who went meatless for a month. :)

From Karen's Kitchen- Vegetable Lasagna

March 7, 2013
Vegetable Lasagna

Today is day two of being a Pescatarian.  A Pescatarian is a type of vegetarian that avoid animal meat  but will eat fish.  My inspiration for doing this?  My mom.  My mother is healthy, vibrant, beautiful and is excellent health.  She has been meatless (with the exception of fish) for 4 years. She enjoys all her holidays, brings her veggie burgers to family picnics and doesn't seem phased at all going without meat.  I am trying to eat this way to improve my health, eat cleaner, increase my fruits and vegetables. I have no idea how long I will be able to do this, but I'm giving it a try.  It's something I've wanted to do for a long time.

Ingredients:
1 Box of oven ready lasagna sheets
1 jar of Marinara
1 16 oz container of part skim Ricotta
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella
1 bag of frozen chopped Spinach (you can use any vegetable you want. I had Spinach.)
1 egg
Parmesan cheese
Preheat your oven to 350

To make the ricotta filling:  I put one container of Ricotta cheese in a bowl, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  To that, I add a few shakes of Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

 First I layer the bottom of the casserole dish with sauce

 Next I add 3 sheets of lasagna, and spoon ricotta mixture on top

 Then I place 3 more sheets of lasagna sheets

 Then I add more sauce

 Finally, I add a layer of ricotta, topped with spinach and shredded cheese

 Then I repeat each step until I am 3/4 of the way up the casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes covered with foil. 
Take foil off for the next 15 minutes
Let stand for 5 minutes.

Cheesy deliciousness!  Very satisfying too.
Recipe courtesy of my Mom!

From Karen's Kitchen- Peppers, Onions and Chicken Quesadilla's

March 5, 2013
Peppers, Onions and Chicken Quesadilla's

I've been getting into eating more and more vegetables lately.  I especially love peppers and onions when they cook down and become very sweet.  Today the weather was slightly mild so it inspired me to make a summer meal.  I usually keep my Quesadilla's simple but tonight I was ready to pack them with fresh veggies.  When I unloaded my groceries, the produce looked so pretty that I staged them and took a picture.  As you can tell, I love taking pictures of food. I don't know, it makes me happy.

Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts sliced and sauteed
1 large red pepper
1/2 medium sweet onion
Mild Cheddar Cheese
2 Avocados
1 lime
1 bunch of Cilantro
1 Jar of salsa
sour cream (I use low fat)

To make Quesadilla's:
First saute peppers and onions until soft. Then saute and cook chicken.  Put these aside.
Preheat a grill pan. Place one tortilla on the pan, then add salsa,  peppers, onions, chicken, cheese and top with second tortilla.  Grill on medium heat until cheese is melted.

Quick Guacamole:
2 avocado's mashed in a bowl
1/4 cup of cilantro chopped
Juice of half of a lime
salt and pepper to taste

To serve:
I cut the Quesadilla with a pizza cutter, add  sour cream, guacamole and salsa either on the side or on top of the Quesadilla.

This is my own recipe!

From Karen's Kitchen- Patty Melts

March 2, 2013
Patty Melts, Crispy Smashed Potatoes and Marinated Tomatoes

This morning I was watching The Pioneer Woman on Food TV Network. She inspired me to try her menu but I make my patty melt a little different.
My husband and son love this sandwich from this little deli in Norwalk, CT. It's called a Tanner Burger.   I decided to change it up a bit and use caramelized onions instead of coleslaw like the real Tanner burger has.   I made this for my guys tonight.  They absolutely loved this dinner.  This recipe made enough for 4 servings. We are a family of 3 so there is one left over.  My son already has dibs on it.

Ingredients
Patty's
1/2 pound of lean ground beef
1 sweet onion
sliced american cheese
sliced Italian bread
"Lite" Thousand Island dressing

Marinated tomato salad
1 Pint of grape tomatoes
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
Italian seasoning
Iceberg lettuce

Smashed potatoes
6 small Yukon Gold potatoes

To make the patty melts, turn on grill pan and grill hamburger patties.  Place them on a plate. In another pan, slice sweet onion and saute until carmelized.
To assemble the patties, take a slice of Italian bread and spread a small amount of butter on one side and place it face down on the grill pan. put a slice of cheese on the bread, a hamburger patty, onions,  a small amount of lite Thousand Island dressing, one more slice of cheese and then second slice of bread.  Butter the outside of the slice.  Grill until cheese starts to melt, then flip to the other side.

To make the smashed potatoes, boil potatoes until soft. Assemble all the potatoes onto a baking sheet. Take a potato masher and press down on the potato.  Next drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes until crisp.

To make the marinated tomatoes, rinse a pint of tomatoes and slice in half place in a zip lock bag, add a 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and  shake in a little Italian seasonings.  Squeeze out all the air from the bag and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.  To serve, chop up lettuce into medium pieces, pour tomatoes over the lettuce.


Recipe based on an old classic I learned from Friendly's