Chicken Fricassee

This works great as a normal meal or as leftovers/served the next day. Letting it sit for a while will let the flavors blend and make it even more tasty.

Ingredients:
3 celery stalks
1 carrot
2 tomatoes
2 leeks
1/2 head of cabbage
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp chopped tarragon
1 tsp celery seed
1 bay leaf
3 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Prepare the veggies. Cut the celery and carrot into 1" pieces; quarter, skin, and seed the tomatoes; wash and trim the leeks, removing the tough green end, split them, then cut into 1/2" pieces; chunk the cabbage into 4-6 pieces.

2. Grease a 5 qt pan with cooking spray and lightly brown the chicken breasts on each side.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper before browning. We used whole breasts this time but will try them with each breast cut into 2-3 pieces next time.

3. Add the leeks, celery, garlic and wine and cook for 5 minutes

4. Add everything else, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and cook, covered, for 30 minutes or until vegetables are done, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Serve in soup bowls and garnish with parsley, cheese, or anything else you would like.

This recipe was based on one in the 501 Recipes for LC Life book.

Taco Spaghetti Squash

This is a fantastic meal idea that we borrowed from a friend of ours and tweaked a bit.

Ingredients:
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 pound ground beef
1 chopped onion
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, chopped
olives - for topping
sour cream - for topping
salsa - for topping
guacamole/avocado - for topping

Directions:
1. Cut the squash in half, scooping out the seeds.
2. Place cut-side down on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about an hour. Bake until the squash is tender and cam be shredded with a fork, but not so much that it is mushy.
3. Brown the ground beef and onion in a medium skillet, draining off the fat if you desire.
4. Remove the squash from the oven and shred with a fork.
5. Stir in the taco seasoning, the shredded squash, and 1/2 of the cheddar cheese with the ground beef/onion mixture.
6. After it is mixed, put it into a greased 2 quart casserole dish and top with the other 1/2 of the cheddar cheese and bake uncovered at 350 for about 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and serve over a bed of lettuce and top with tomatoes, olives, sour cream, guacamole or avocados, and salsa if desired.

Here's the link to my friend Rachel's blog that has the original recipe she made.

Beef Sirloin Salad

Simple salad with some nice grilled beef sirloin.

Ingredients:

8 oz sirloin steak, 1 inch thick

2 cups romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and broken up

1/2 medium ripe tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)

1/8 sweet red onion, thinly sliced (I used scallions)

Salad Dressing of your choice (I use Ranch or Blue Cheese)

Directions:

1. Prepare Steak as desired (Grilled or broiled are best)

2. Arrange lettuce on plate.

3. Cut steak into thin slices across the grain.

4. Put on tomatoes and onions and top with dressing.

Very simple, yet very yummy, especially if the meat is still warm. Can also be done with chicken as well.

Recipe from Dana Carpenders 500 LC Recipes

Shish-Kabobs

I know, this isn't difficult, but figured I'd post it just to give someone the idea. We had not made them in about a year because we just never thought about it.

Ingredients:
Stew Meat or whatever else you want
Red, Yellow, and Green Peppers
Grape Tomatoes
Mushrooms

Directions:
1. Dice everything up.
2. Put on skewers (don't forget to soak the wooden ones first if you use them)
3. Grill on medium heat about 5 minutes per side.

You can use whatever you want to for seasoning on the meat. A marinade would be good. We just use olive oil to coat the meat, then seasoned with black pepper, seasoned salt, blackened seasoning, garlic, coriander, and a bit of paprika. Turned out very good.

Pan Fried Tenderloin Steaks Puttanesca

Ingredients:
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato bits
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (can substitute 1 tsp of dried basil instead)
1/4 cup chopped ripe olives
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp hickory-smoked salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
4 (4-oz) beef tenderloin steaks (or whatever you want to use)

Directions:
1. Combine sun-dried tomato bits and 1/2 cup boiling water in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Drain the sun-dried tomato and add the chopped tomato, wine, basil, olives, and garlic. Mix well and set aside.
3. Brush Worcestershire sauce on the steaks and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. (I didn't have hickory smoked salt, so used regular).
4. Grease a large skillet and cook the steaks as desired. It works well to sear over high heat, then lower the heat to finish to the done-ness you prefer. (As I just used regular salt, I added some liquid smoke to the oil to fry the steaks in to give them a bit of smokey flavor).
5. Remove steaks when finished cooking and let rest while you complete the sauce.
6. Add tomato mixture into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until heated through (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
7. Serve over the steaks. Garnish with basil sprigs if desired.

This was a very good topping and gave the meal a very Mediterranean flair. One thing I think would enhance the meal is some crumbled feta cheese on top of the sauce when serving it over the steak. I think that would give it a very nice touch.

This recipe is from the Gillespe 501 Recipes for a LC Life cookbook.

Middle Eastern Skillet Chicken

Tonight was a very yummy middle eastern flavored chicken dish. There are quite a few ingredients, but it really is a very simple dish to make. It does taste wonderful though.

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (Approx 2 pounds)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions (or 1 medium/large one), chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander (We used Mural of Flavor from Penzeys instead)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp ginger, fresh grated
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken broth

Directions:
1. Dice the chicken breasts.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add in the chicken and onions.
3. Saute for a few minutes then stir in the spices: coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and pepper.
4. Cook until the chicken is white all over.
5. Add ginger, tomatoes, garlic, and broth and stir.
6. Cover and let simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.

Serve in bowls and top with some mozzarella cheese.

Recipe is from Dana Carpender 500 LC Recipes Cookbook