Saturday Salsa Fresca

Those that know me well know that I disdain uncooked tomatoes.  It's something about that smushy, mushy core with the seeds that just kills me.  I don't mind them cooked, and I love them in salsa.  I've never successfully made salsa fresca. I haven't tried in a while, and my last attempt was way too chunky.  I have a food processor now (of course, I've had it for quite a few years now...yes, it's been that long since I made salsa) which should take care of the chunky problem.  I modeled my salsa after my favorite salsa fresca in the world which is found at Carrburritos in Carrboro, NC.  Mine had a few changes (I used lime instead of lemon because I had one here).  I decided to give making salsa another try as a way of using some of the jalapenos that my dad gave me last weekend.  I liked the end product though I think that next time I will use a sweet onion instead of a red onion because it was a wee bit onion-y.  Rick really liked the lime in it, and I agree.  It just adds something that is often missing from most store bought varieties.  A big improvement over my last salsa adventure!

Before

Here's what I did...

Salsa Fresca

Ingredients

5 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and diced

1/2 onion, chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded and minced

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice of 1 lime (or lemon)

Directions

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend together.  Refrigerate and serve.  

Enjoy!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

In an effort to eat better, I've been checking out the Cooking Light recipes at myrecipes.com.  I became a fan of that site because it has recipes from some of my favorite magazines such as Cooking Light, Southern Living, and Real Simple.  For dinner last night, I decided to fix us something that originally appeared in the November 2003 Cooking Light magazine.  Rick wasn't too enthusiastic when I revealed that we were going to be eating turkey sausage, but he was pleasantly surprised when he had his first bite.  I probably could've gotten away with not admitting that it wasn't "real" sausage.  This recipe is extremely easy, and I did alter it a little bit.  Based on some of the reviews on the website, I decided to up the amount of basil used and added an extra can of diced tomatoes.  I also added a little bit of Italian seasoning.  For the tomatoes, I didn't use petite cut, but I did   Here is the original recipe.  Enjoy!!

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

Ingredients

• 3/4 of  a pound package of uncooked ziti
• 1 pound turkey Italian sausage links
• 1 chopped sweet onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon  tomato paste
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 3  (14.5-ounce) cans petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup  chopped fresh basil
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) 6 cheese blend

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the pasta, and set aside.

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Combine cooked pasta, sausage mixture, and basil. Place half of the pasta mixture in a 4-quart casserole dish. Top with half of mozzarella and half of Parmesan. Repeat layers. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly.

A blast from the past....good ole King Ranch Chicken

Way back in the early 90s when I thought cooking consisted of throwing a frozen meal in a microwave and pushing start or making spaghetti with sauce out of a jar, my friend Maria introduced me to one of the first real things that I learned to cook...King Ranch Chicken.  In fact, for a while, I think that it was the only thing that I knew how to cook! I'm sure that she had gotten the recipe from her mother, but for whatever reason, it was never made in my house when I was growing up.  Over the years, I've noticed that King Ranch Chicken has made an appearance in just about every church cookbook that I've ran across (including the one that my church recently put out), and there are quite a few versions out there (Southern Living must have had at least 5 over the years).  Some of them stray away from using condensed soups, and some of them have several layer which makes it some sort of tortilla lasagna.  I'm not a big fan of the layers because the chips end up super soggy.  

Since my cooking repertoire has grown, I honestly don't think that I've made it since the 90s, but I was thinking chicken and casseroles today, and it immediately came to mind.  Something about the cold weather just makes me long for a nice, warm casserole (and a trip to the tanning bed, too!).


What's not to like in King Ranch Chicken?  You've got Doritos (in this version anyway), cheese, and a mixture that my friends and I used to refer to as "barf" since it really does look like it, and not to mention how incredibly easy it is to make this dish that will feed you forever when you are a poor college student.  And well, even though I'm in my 30s now, I am a college student at least for a little while longer!  

Tonight, it's just me and the Tar Heels on TV night since Rick won't be coming over.  I don't blame him, though.  I've got to get up very early in the morning for my last clinical!  I'm going to miss my preceptor, Susan, and all of the wonderful nurses at Roper St. Francis labor and delivery!

"The barf"

My version of King Ranch Chicken evolved over the years as my cooking knowledge has. It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but it's still a simple, super comfort food. I've attempted to make it not-so-bad-for-you by using reduced fat cheddar cheese and soups.



 King Ranch Chicken


Ingredients
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup (I use Campbell's low fat)

1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use Campbell's low fat)

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 bag of regular Doritos (coarsely crumbled)
2 cups reduced fat (2%) cheddar cheese

Extra Virgin Olive Oil


Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.


Season chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet or heavy pan, heat olive oil and add chicken.  Saute until it is cooked and no longer pink in the middle.  Remove from the pan and place on a towel-covered plate to drain.  Add green pepper, onion, and garlic to the pan and saute until soften. 

While the chicken is cooking, combine the soups, Rotel tomatoes, and cilantro to a pot and heat over medium-low heat.  When the green pepper, onions, and garlic have finished cooking, mix with the soup.

In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, add chicken and then cover with the soup mixture.  Add a layer of Doritos and then top with cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes uncovered or until the mixture is bubbling.
Enjoy!!!

Lovely fun with leftovers

Okay, so my motivation to study for my exam on Thursday may have hit an all-time low because here I am blogging about what I did with some of the leftovers from my Greek Shrimp Pasta meal instead of studying like a good little girl.  Since Rick didn't come over last night, I was left with way more seafood goodness than I can handle.  Yep, I had pasta leftovers for lunch and snacked on the tzatziki with some veggies during the day, and I'll probably have some more pasta tomorrow at my clinical.

Faced with the need to do something fast since I should be studying (instead of blogging) and not looking forward to having the pasta for the second time today, I had an excellent idea pop into my mind....making pita pizzas with the shrimp mixture!  As usual, last night I made more pasta than shrimp mixture so I opted to store them separately which came in handy when I made this super-easy study night meal.  So here's what I did...


Ingredients
1 pita
Feta cheese
Six cheese blend
Cheddar cheese

Shrimp mixture from last night (or if you'd like to make your own, take 4 peeled, deveined shrimp, a little bit of chopped onion, diced tomatoes, and artichoke hearts; season with basil, oregano, and parsley; and saute in a little bit of extra virgin olive oil)


Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.


Place pita on pizza pan.  Add shrimp mixture to pita and top with the cheeses.  Bake in oven until cheese is melted (10-15 minutes).  Enjoy!!!!


Okay, I'm off to go study some more!  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  Hopefully, I'll be back to making meals with Rick this weekend! We have an excellent swordfish dish in mind....

A late entry: Lemon Chicken with Crostini

As my final semester in nursing school speeds forward and NCLEX gets closer and closer, my time to blog gets smaller and smaller. I may end up "creatively" utilizing some time during a certain time period on Thursdays in order to share some of the recipes that Rick and I have been enjoying on Wednesday nights. If you know me, you know that I'm pretty good (for the most part) at making the most of my free time. With two early morning clinicals this semester, Rick and I have learned which nights we can see each other and which ones we can't. Wednesdays and Thursdays have become our week nights together. Last week (yes, I know, I suck ;) ), we used some chicken that Rick had thawed out to make this recipe. Instead of doing the crostini that is included with the lemon chicken, we did a different version. I made the different version again over the weekend when my dad and stepmom were in town. I don't have pictures of these because, well, the chicken didn't look as yummy as it is in real life. Hopefully, however, my dad and stepmom will send me a picture of the stack of meat that we grilled out this past weekend. We used that awesome, awesome, awesome seasoning that Rick got from his parents and took advantage of the great sale that Food Lion had on t-bones!

Cooking has become somewhat dangerous with the kittens playing in the kitchen floor. As I sit here and compose this post, little Ty is "chasing" the little squares in the kitchen tile...and then in a flash, he and Weezy are off to terrorize some other part of the condo. What amazes me about the pets that I have had in my life is that the smell of sauteing garlic can bring them in the kitchen within seconds. Can someone please explain that to me???

Here are the recipes for your culinary enjoyment....

Katie's Crostini
Ingredients

• One baguette of bread (I like to get my cut at Publix, but if your grocery store baker won't do it, cut to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
• olive oil (extra virgin)]
• Parmesan cheese, shredded/grated
• Italian seasoning grinder
• Garlic powder
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Balsamic vinegar
• A splash of white wine
• Cooking spray

Preparations
Add drained can of diced tomatoes, minced garlic, diced onion, fresh basil, three-four twists of the Italian seasoning grinder in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray. In a small plate, pour some olive oil. Add two to three twists of the Italian seasoning and garlic powder to taste and stir.

Place pieces of baguette on the sprayed pan (you may have several pieces left over). Brush pieces of bread with olive oil mixture and place back on the pan. Toast bread for 4-5 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven.

Change oven setting to broil.

Spoon a little bit of balsamic vinegar on each piece of baguette toast. Next, add a spoonful of the tomato-onion mixture to each piece of baguette toast. Sprinkle each piece with Parmesan cheese. Broil until cheese melts about 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.



Here is the original recipe for Lemon Chicken with Parmesan Crostini
IngredientsFor crostini

• 12 1/4-inch-thick French bread baguette slices, toasted
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 12 thin slices plum tomato
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For chicken

• 4 4-ounce skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (white and pale green parts only)
• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Directions
Make crostini:
Place bread on baking sheet. Spread tomato paste over. Top each with 1 tomato slice. Sprinkle cheese atop.
Make chicken:
Pound each chicken breast between sheets of plastic to 1/4-inch-thickness. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place flour in bowl. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Lightly coat 2 chicken with flour; shake off excess. Transfer to skillet and cook until brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate and tent with foil. Repeat with 1 teaspoon oil, flour and remaining chicken.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in same skillet over low heat. Add green onions and garlic; sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and wine scraping up any browned bits in skillet. Add lemon juice and 2 tablespoons parsley. Increase heat to high; boil until liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Mix in lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken to skillet; simmer until heated through, turning to coat.
Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Broil crostini until cheese melts, watching closely, about 1 minute.
Transfer chicken to plates. Spoon pan juices over chicken. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Serve with crostini.



The only change that I made was breading the chicken in my favorite mix: Parmesan cheese, panko, and Italian bread crumbs.

Tomato-Basil Crab Bisque and Grilled Cheese

Looking for something that wouldn't aggravate the dental work that Rick had this week, I chose to make us soup this evening. Rick readily admitted that he isn't much of a soup person, but I was hopeful that this delicious Tomato-Basil Crab Bisque from epicurious.com. I was excited because I was going to get to use some of the crab stock that I made a while back. In this recipe, I substitute it for the bottled clam juice and also mix a little bit in with tomato juice in place of the Clamato juice required by the recipe. Instead of using crackers, I decided to make cheese crisps to go with the soup. The meal wouldn't be complete with out a yummy multi-cheese grilled cheese sandwiches!!! Because he had dental work done today, he did want to take any chances with the cheese crisps after he had half of one. He confesssed, though, that if circumstances were different, there wouldn't have been any left. He did enjoy a grilled cheese and a little soup, though.

Here are the recipes:

3-Cheese Cheese Crisps

Ingredients
1/2 container of 3-cheese blend
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with Pam Cooking Spray, or grease the pan, or cover with parchment paper. Mix cheese and pepper in a small bowl. Place one tablespoon of the mixture on the baking sheet and space about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until golden and crisp (around 3-5 minutes).



Multi-Cheese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients
Bread, two slices per sandwich
Butter
American cheese slices
Six-cheese blend
Cheddar cheese

Directions
Butter one side of two slices of bread, and repeat for desired number of sandwiches. In a small bowl, mix a handful of cheddar and a handful of six cheese blend together. Place one piece of bread buttered side down in a pan that is heated over medium heat. Cover the top bread with the cheese mixture and let the cheese begin to melt. Add a slice of America cheese and the other piece of bread. As the cheese continues to melt, flip the sandwich. Continue to flip until the sandwich is lightly browned on both sides. Repeat steps for each sandwich.


Tomato-Basil Crab Bisque

The following recipe is my adaptation of the epicurious.com recipe.
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 cans (6 oz) crabmeat
• 1 can diced tomatoes
  
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups tomato juice
• 1 cup crab stock
  
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup white wine
  
• 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add crabmeat, tomato, 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes. Whisk in flour; stir 2 minutes. Whisk in tomato juice, 1/2 cup crab stock and next 5 ingredients. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Divide soup among 6 bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 3 tablespoons basil and serve. Serves 6 as a first course.