Side dishes…veggies, potatoes, grains – Page 6

Herb Butter Baked Chicken, Herb Skillet Potatoes, and Wine Braised Mushrooms

Chicken, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

So happy the weekend is almost near! This has been a crazy week! Yesterday, I stayed home with a sick kiddo, so I had time to make a pretty nice dinner for the family. I bought some chicken breasts that were on sale last weekend, and I have been trying to think of a new way to make them. I feel like sometimes I get in a rut with chicken, so I started researching some ideas on Pinterest, cooking blogs, magazines, and cookbooks. Then I was watching The Chew and I saw a recipe where they made herb butter and rubbed it under the skin of the chicken. Well, I had skinless chicken breasts, but I decided to rub the chicken breast with the herb butter, add a little white wine and olive oil to the pan and bake it in the oven. Then I found about half a bag of small yellow potatoes, so decided to cook those in my cast iron skillet with the rest of the herb butter. I needed another veggie, so I sliced up some onions and mushrooms and braised them in a bit of red wine and worcestershire sauce. There were no more potatoes or mushrooms leftover, but we do have a couple pieces of chicken leftover. I bet they will be great in a pita with some veggies. Yum!

Herb and Lemon Compound Butter
a bunch of fresh herbs- sage, rosemary, thyme, etc. – You can use one of a combo- I used basil and rosemary
2 sticks of room temperature butter
1-2 lemons- juiced and zested
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic
Put in your food processor to combine

Herb Butter Baked Chicken-
salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts
Rub both side of the chicken with the butter. Put in an oiled pan and pour a little bit of white wine in the bottom of the pan. Cook at 350 for about 45 minutes

Herb Skillet Potatoes
half some small yellow or red potatoes
Heat a skillet and put in a couple of tablespoons of the compound butter
put the potatoes in cut side down
cook until crispy on one side then flip occasionally
add salt and pepper to taste
add any extra herbs you may have- I added rosemary
you could also add chopped onions or garlic if you wish

Wine Braised Mushrooms
slice a container of mushrooms and 1 onion (next time I would double the recipe)
put in a hot skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil and one tablespoon of butter
Cook down for about 5 minutes on med heat
turn the heat down to med-low or low
add 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce and 1 glass of red wine
Cook at least 30-45 minutes- The longer the better =)

Creamy Tomato Chicken with Garlic Rosemary Skillet Potatoes

Chicken, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pantry Raid, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

It seems like forever since I have blogged. It actually has been about a week, and last week kinda was a blur. I cooked dinner a few nights, but nothing was really anything new or blog worthy. Tonight, I was feeling like I had a lot of random ingredients, so I decided to do a pantry raid. Here is what I found…

Proteins- Chicken breasts, chicken sausage, Black Beans, eggs

Pantry- Tomato paste- 2 cans, Diced Tomatoes- 2 cans, baked beans, chili, corn, 3 potatoes

Frozen- Variety Steamfresh Veggies, garlic bread

Fridge- cheese ravioli, alfredo sauce, half and half, fresh herbs- rosemary, thyme, and sage, white wine, 1/2 onion

So here is what I used and created…

Creamy Tomato Chicken

Ingredients

2-4 chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
1/2- 1 onion chopped
1/4 cup white wine
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 pint of half and half
Chopped fresh herbs- I had rosemary, thyme, and sage.
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Make sure you get your pan screaming hot!!! After 5 minutes of heating your pan, add your oil; 1 tablespoon or so to coat the bottom of the pan. When you see steam rising from the oil, add your chicken. Cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes until it is golden brown.

Once they are brown, take them out. Turn heat down to med heat and add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant. Do not burn the garlic! Pour in about 1/4 cup of white wine… just enough to deglaze the pan. Add in 2 cans diced tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce. I mashed up the diced tomatoes a bit, because my girls don’t like tomato chunks. Skip this step if you wish.

Then I added the half and half and the chopped herbs. I mixed together and added the chicken back in until the chicken was cooked through. A total of around 45 minutes for browning and cooking the chicken. …

I have some of the leftover creamy tomato sauce…I am thinking some good uses for leftovers this week!!!

Garlic Rosemary Skillet Potatoes

Ingredients

3 potatoes thinly sliced with a knife. You could use a mandolin, but make sure they are not too this. They need a bit of thickness to absorb all the delicious butter and cream.
1 stick of butter…yes, that is correct!
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup of half and half
parmesan cheese- wild abandon
chopped rosemary

Directions

Heat your oven to 400
Heat your skillet with 1/2 a stick of butter
Add your garlic and rosemary- cook for about 5 minutes…ummmm, rosemary garlic butter =) Sprinkle in just a bit of parmesan cheese. Mix together.
Add your sliced potatoes in a pretty circular pattern. Add the rest of the butter in chunks all over the top.
Cook for 40 minutes.

Take out and sprinkle more parmesan and rosemary. Turn your oven to broil. Brown the top of your potatoes and prepare to be wowed!!!

I added a side of Steamed Fresh Green Beans and Garlic toast. Dinner was a BIG HIT!

Four Course Meal: Crab Cakes, Vegetable Gratin, Poached Salmon with Pesto, and Chocolate

Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Seafood, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Tonight I had a date night with myself. My husband went to hockey, and I made the girls Sloppy Joe’s at 5:00. I wasn’t ready to eat yet, so I just made their food and prepped my food while they ate. I made myself a 4 course meal… 1- Crab Cake with a smear of my pistachio arugula avocado pesto 2- Veggie Gratin 3- Poached Salmon with more of my pesto 4- Chocolate

1- Crab cakes- I got one of those already assembled in the seafood case. I knew it was just me eating, and I only wanted one. I cooked it on both sides for about 3 minutes. Then I added my pesto… Swoon!!!!

Normally pesto is made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, and olive oil. Instead, I used arugula, garlic, pistachios, and olive oil. DIVINE!!!! I actually saw Alton Brown make a pesto today with pistachios, but he kept the basil. I wanted to try the arugula, and I am glad I did. So delicious! Don’t be afraid to experiment! I have plenty of leftovers for later!!!

2- Veggie Gratin
I had a yellow squash, a zucchini, a container of mushrooms, and 2 small tomatoes. I sliced them pretty thin, covered with olive oil, parm./romano mix, mozzarella, and italian breadcrumbs. So very tasty!

3- Salmon poached in Seafood Stock, Lemons, and Dill
If you read my blog last night, you know I made seafood stock. https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/01/19/seafood-stock-2/

I used it tonight to poach my beautiful salmon. I added some lemon and dill for freshness and acidity. YUM!!!! I cooked each side about 5-6 minutes. I put it on a bed of arugula and topped with my pesto. You could add a side of some healthy grain like orzo, risotto, or quinoa. This would be amazing. But since I already ate the crab cake and veggie gratin, a grain would be overkill. Even though salmon is a healthy light meal, it is very rich and fatty (good fats). Same for the pesto. A little bit goes a long way.

4- As for the chocolate- It was a square of dark chocolate, and it was glorious!

Porterhouse Steak, Slow Cooked Mushrooms and Onions, and Steak Butter Mashed Potatoes

Beef, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Good evening guys! Publix had a sale on steak, so you know I’m going to buy that! We got 2, so naturally we have a bit leftover. Hmmmm… I am already thinking of tomorrow’s breakfast…
But on to tonight first!

Slow Cooked Mushroom and Onions
I took an onion and thinly sliced it. I smashed and chopped 3 cloves of garlic. Lastly, I took whole white mushrooms that were on sale and quartered them. I cooked on medium heat in 3 tablespoons of butter in my dutch oven for 15 minutes. Then I added about a cup or more of red wine and 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce.
***when I say about, that means I don’t use measuring spoons/cups
I cook it for at least 1 1/2 hours. To die for!!!!

Steak
The main star was the Porterhouse. For the perfect med.rare you need to follow these instructions. Get your cast iron pan to screaming hot smokiness. Then salt and pepper your steak on both sides. Cook until the first side is nice and crusty, about 6 minutes. Then turn and cook 5 minutes. Take off the heat and tent in aluminum foil for at least 10 minutes. YUM!

Steak Buttered Mashed Potatoes
Once you take you steak out of the pan, melt 2 sticks of butter (yes- 2) in your pan. Add that to your cooked potatoes (peeled and boiled or microwaved and peeled) in your mixer. Add in your milk until desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste. Steak butter is LIFE CHANGING!!!

Steakhouse Dinner at Home

Beef, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

Happy Friday! So tonight, we had a Family Date Night! All 5 of us had a nice steakhouse dinner at home! Publix had some beautiful New York Strip on sale, so of course I had to buy it! I envisioned some wine soaked mushrooms and onions, broccoli, potatoes, and of course some crusty bread to go with it!

First, I made some delicious slow cooked wine soaked mushrooms and onions. I started them with 2 pats of butter and a turn of olive oil (about 2 tablespoons). Then I put thinly sliced onions and mushrooms in the hot pan. I added salt and pepper, cooked it for about 10 minutes on med. heat, then added about 1/3 of your bottle of red wine. Always use a wine you would drink to cook with. Take a couple of sips first for quality control. Here is the one I used…
Once I put in the wine, I turned the heat down to low. Cook for 3-4 hours. Yes…you heard me right. It looks like a lot of wine. It will cook down over the course of the of the 3 hours. This is an easy delicious recipe, but it does take time. Stir every 30 minutes or so. It is worth the wait!

Next, I made the potatoes. I made a sweet potato and 2 regular potatoes. My husband does not like sweet potatoes, and I thought my girls would not like them. I was wrong. They all devoured at least 1/2 of my sweet potato. I also put some cut up broccoli in some salted water and brought it up to a boil and cooked until tender. My girls are crazy for broccoli! Is that normal?

Last, I cooked the steak in a cast iron pan. I actually used the same one as the mushrooms and onions once they were done. Lots of flavor left in that pan! Salt and pepper then cook on both sides just until it is brown and crusty. Take it out and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Perfect med. rare! Add some crusty bread and a nice glass of red wine!

Just enough for my leftovers tomorrow. Well, that is until my girls steal some food off my plate!

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