Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Zuppa Toscana

INGREDIENTS:
  • 1 pound ground hot* (or mild) Italian sausage
  • 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
  • 4 cups good-quality chicken stock
  • 1 bunch kale, roughly chopped (and stems removed, if desired)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • salt and pepper
  • optional toppings: freshly shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon
DIRECTIONS:
Add Italian sausage and diced onion to the large stockpot or Dutch oven.  Cook over medium-high heat until the sausage is completely browned, stirring occasionally and breaking up the sausage with a spoon.  Drain out as much of the excess grease as possible.
Then add in the chicken stock and diced roasted red peppers, and bring the mixture to a simmer (still over medium-high heat).  Once it reaches a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low and add the kale and gnocchi and stir to combine.  Continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until the gnocchi are cooked through and tender.  Stir in the heavy cream.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  (I used about 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper.)

Label (13): Zuppa Toscana Thaw everything except bag of kale. Place contents of sausage bag along with chicken broth in a large stockpot. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add kale and gnocchi. Cook for 5 minutes, or til gnocchi are cooked through and tender. Stir in cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper (not included). Top with parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon.

Extra parts (included): chicken broth, gnocchi

Tender Grilled Pork Chops and Potato Casserole

Tender Grilled Pork Chops (Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

4 Boneless Pork Loin Chops
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

Mix marinade ingredients in a ziploc bag and add pork chops.  Marinate for about 4 hours (no more than 8).  Grill pork chops until they are no longer pink in the center.  Remove from grill and allow meat to rest.  Slice and serve.

Potato Casserole

2 cups Sour Cream
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1 Tbsp Garlic Salt
1 bag Shredded Hash Browns
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Minced Onion, Salt, and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and pour into an ungreased 9x13 dish.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

LABEL (13):  Tender Grilled Pork Chops: Thaw, allow to marinade for about 4 hours (no longer than 8).  Grill until chops are no longer pink in center.  Remove from grill and allow meat to rest.  Slice and serve.

LABEL (13): Potato Casserole: Thaw.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

The Best Sloppy Joes

The Best Sloppy Joes
The Best Sloppy Joes
(Mel's kitchen cafe)
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, roughly chopped
  • 2 ½ pounds ground beef or lean ground turkey
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2/3 cup smoky BBQ sauce (or this awesome homemade version)
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 to 12 rolls or buns
DIRECTIONS
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the grease off the meat and onions. Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. You can make the sloppy joe meat up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over low heat or in the microwave.
  3. Wrap the rolls in aluminum foil and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve the sloppy joes hot with the warmed rolls.

******I'm going to 2/3 this recipe per the yield size.

Labels (25): The Best Sloppy Joes:  PRECOOKED -  Reheat sloppy joe mixture in pan.  Wrap the rolls/buns in aluminum foil and warm in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Serve the sloppy joes hot with warmed buns/rolls.  5-5-16

Labels (25): The Best Sloppy Joes  5-5-16

Garlic, Herb & Wine Chicken Served with Linguine & Red Potatoes

Instructions:


Labels (13) Garlic, Herb & Wine Chicken: Add Chicken (NOT INCLUDED) in marinade for atleast 4 hours.  Cook chicken on bbq or if prefered bake in oven 5-5-16 (Bag 1 of 2)

Labels (13) Garlice Herb & Wine Chicken:  Empty bag of potatoes into a crockpot on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1 -2 hours 5-5-16 (Bag 2 of 2)

Labels (13)  Garlice Herb & Wine Chicken  5-5-16

Marinated Pork Tenderloin

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs sherry
1 1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs olive oil
1 pinch garlic powder
2 pork tenderloins

Labels (13) Marinated Pork Tenderlon: Thaw marinade and tenderloin. Marinate the meat in marinade for 6-12 hours. Preheat grill for high heat. Oil grate. Place tenderloins on grill, discard marinade. Cook 20 minutes or until internal temp is 140. Tent with tinfoil and rest for 10 minutes. Slice. 5-5-16

Chicken Enchiladas

Preheat overn to 375

Cook 4 large chicken breasts and shred into large bowl
Add 1 cup can green chilies
Add 1 medium onion, finely chopped
Add 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Put a handful of mixture into flour tortillas (10 tortillas)

Arrange in 9x13 dish

On stovetop mix 2 cans cream of chicken soup with 1 1/2 cans milk
Add 1 cup shredded cheese.  Heat thoroughly.

Pour over enchiladas amd bake in oven for 30 minutes (I usually cover with foil)

Take foil off and sprinkle 1/2 - 1 cup of shredded cheese and bake uncovered for about 5- 8 more minutes.

Labels (13):  Chicken Enchiladas:  Thaw in fridge overnight.  Cook at 375 for 30 minutes covered with foil.  Remove foil and sprinkle remaining cheese and bake uncovered for about 5-8 minutes.  5-5-16

Slow cooker chicken fajita soup

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1½ cups water
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon dried cilantro
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


  • Optional Toppings:
  • sour cream
  • diced tomatoes
  • green onions
  • cilantro
  • lettuce
  • diced avocado
  • tortilla strips
Instructions
  1. Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Add chicken to the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix cream of chicken soup, salsa, corn, black beans, water, cumin, and cilantro. Pour over the top of chicken.
  3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Place back into the slow cooker and add shredded cheese. Continue cooking until cheese has melted about 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.


Labels (13): Slow cooker chicken fajita soup:  Add 1 1/2 cup water and add 1 lb chicken.  Cook on low 6 -8 hours in crockpot.  Shred chicken and add cheese.  
Cook 15 more minutes.  NOT INCLUDED:  Can be topped with: sour cream, diced tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, lettuce, diced avocado,tortilla strips 5-5-16