Not your grandma's meat sauce...

Last week I met a woman who had told me about a recipe she made for her family. I tried that recipe tonight. It is similar to a meat sauce, but spicier.

Ingredients:
1 onion, sliced
2 T margarine or butter
2 T olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (beef would work too)
a handful of peperoncini pepper slices
2 cans condensed tomato soup

In a large skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat. Add olive oil and onions. Simmer at medium heat until onions carmelize. Add ground turkey and cook until it is no longer pink. Add peperoncini and soup. Simmer five to ten minutes (to combine flavors). Serve over pasta.

My husband said that this recipe is a "keeper."

When I don't have plans on a Saturday night...

Well, today my husband and I took his parents out to a late lunch/early dinner, so I didn't end up cooking dinner tonight. However, I did make a few desserts, something I don't make very often. I made apple pie squares. Basically, its apple pie filling with pie crust on the top and on the bottom, but not on the side. I also made cepets (not sure of the spelling, pronounced see-pets) with the extra pie dough. This is a tradition in my family. You take the extra pie dough and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Then you cut it into strips and roll it up like a cinnamon bun. Bake in the oven with your pie (or in this case with the bars).

The apple pie recipe I had used crisped rice cereal in it, and I didn't want the rest to go to waste. So...I made rice krispie treats. Can I just say, my apartment smells so good right now!
These are the apple pie bars fresh from the oven, before they are cut into bars. Once they have cooled, they will receive a drizzle of icing also.
And these are the cepets. I turned a couple around so you can see the rings of cinnamon. These are awesome! However, if you are not a cinnamon roll fan (can't think of why anyone wouldn't be, but just in case) You could also use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of extra dough and use the shapes as accents on the bars.

Okay, so its been a few days since I posted last. On Tuesday, I had my first choir practice, which I had forgotten about. Because of my poor time management, we had leftovers for dinner. On Wednesdays I give my mom a piano lesson, and in return she cooks dinner for my husband and I. Finally, on Thursdays I have a looong day at work, so I usually make a pre-packaged easy meal (this week it was DiGiorno pizza). So, tonight was the first time I made a meal since Monday.

Tonight I made french onion crusted chicken with peas and sliced potatoes. The chicken was made using the French Onion, Pepper, and Herb flavor McCormick Crusting Blend. (http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Herbs-and-Spices/Blends/Crusting-Blends.aspx) There are no real directions on the container (at least, I didn't see any) so this is what I did: I dredged the chicken (thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breast) in egg then in the crusting blend. I then cooked them in a skillet with a little olive oil over medium heat for about 4 minutes per side. This chicken was a hit with my husband and sister-in-law. I served it with canned peas (which my husband prefers to frozen) and a Swiss sliced potato dish that came in a box which I absolutely hated and will probably never make again.

So, I forgot to take a picture right away, and this is the last lonely piece of french onion chicken. Oddly enough, this is also the chicken that was shaped like the continental USA.

Tuesday's Meatloaf

Okay, so tonight we had the previously mentioned Barbecue meatloaf. It was delicious as always, however it was so moist from the onions that it fell apart when I tried to take it out of the pan. I served it with au gratin potatoes (from a box) and steamed corn (from the freezer).

This is the meatloaf just out of the oven (the stuff on the top is barbecue sauce).

And the finished plate. Like I said, the meatloaf fell apart coming out of the pan, so it looks more like hash than a slice of meatloaf in this picture. But, it was delicious and that's what really counts.

Tomorrow night's plan: light homemade jalapeno poppers and buffalo chicken casserole!

First dinner

So, I've decided to do a blog about what I make for dinner. Cooking is one of my passions, and I usually end up telling everyone what I've made anyway, so this way I can possibly reach an even bigger audience.

Tonight for dinner I made cheese-stuffed chicken, which is much more sophisticated than it sounds, and almost nothing like chicken cordon bleu. I adapted it from a recipe that I found in a magazine, and I think I've changed it enough to be able to post it here.

Ingredients:
- 1 lb chicken breasts (I buy the thin-sliced, which cost more. If you're more concerned with cost, you can buy the regular breasts and just pound them until they are about a quarter inch thick.)
- 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 c. crumbled feta
- 2 slices of bacon (It costs more, but its easier in this recipe to buy the ready-cooked bacon that only needs to be heated in the microwave.)
- 1/4 c. peanuts, chopped (I used dry-roasted, salted peanuts.)
- seasonings

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cook bacon
- If using ready-cooked bacon: heat per package directions in the microwave, then crumble into pieces.
- If using regular bacon: Cut bacon into small pieces before cooking in small skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Combine bacon, mozzarella, feta, and peanuts
4. Place about 1/4 c. of cheese mixture in the middle of each chicken breast, then roll the chicken. Place in glass casserole dish, seam side down to keep from unrolling. Sprinkle remaining cheese mixture on top of chicken.
5. Sprinkle tops of chicken with seasoning of choice (I use white pepper which adds a subtle heat. I would not recommend using salt, as there is plenty in the bacon and peanuts. If you don't like heat, rotisserie chicken seasoning would complement the recipe nicely.)
6. Bake in oven about 45 minutes.

I love this recipe. The peanuts add a little crunchy texture, the bacon flavor is subtle, and I absolutely love how salty and tangy the feta tastes.

After dinner, I decided to get a jumpstart on tomorrow's night dinner. Tomorrow, we are having barbecue meatloaf. I put it together tonight, so tomorrow I can come home from work and just pop it in the oven. This meatloaf is a little different, as it has barbecue sauce, chili powder, and mustard in it. I'm not going to just copy the recipe here (you know, copyright infringement and all that) but here is a link to the recipe:

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1160599

I make mine with ground turkey (you can't tell the difference in this flavorful recipe) and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.