Chicken and bean Burritos

I came across this recipe in another blog and decided to give it a try...actually I made Jim give it a try since I was getting home kind of late. We didn't have cilantro (not really a huge fan of it anyway) or black beans, so he skipped the cilantro and used dark red kidney beans instead. We added some cheese (everything's better with cheese) sour cream, and a little hot sauce. I think it turned out quite yummy.

Chimichurri Chicken

I was browsing through all the recipes I've ripped out of magazines over the past few months and I came across this one. Seemed easy enough for a weekday meal...plus it was quite yummy. You must like garlic to like this dish. I also made some roasted potatoes to go with it.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3 tbsp. cooking oil (I used olive oil)
12 oz. fresh young green beans
3/4 cup packed Italian parsley
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, halved
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 lemon, peel and juice

Brush chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil; sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. On charcoal grill, cook chicken on rack directly over medium coals for 12-15 minutes (we used a gas grill, and you could also use a broiler) or until no longer pink, turning once halfway through grilling time.

Place beans in microwave-safe 1 1/2 quart dish. Add 1 tablespoon water. Cover with vented plastic wrap. Cook on high 3 minutes; drain.

For Chimichurri sauce, in small food processor bowl combine parsley, the remaining oil, the vinegar, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and red pepper. Process until nearly smooth. Serve chicken and beans topped with Chimichurri sauce, lemon peel, and juice.

Penne with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

I found this on All Recipes and Jim really likes this one, so that's a good thing! Instead of using 2 links of sweet sausage, I used 5 links of hot turkey sausage. We like it spicy and meaty!

1 pound uncooked penne pasta

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. vodka

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 (3.5 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Remove casing from sausage and add to skillet. Cook, breaking up the meat, until brown. Add garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring until garlic is golden brown. Add tomatoes and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add vodka and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and add pasta, toss for 1 minute. Stir in fresh parsley and serve!

Good Eats Meatloaf

This is quite the yummy meatloaf. I didn't use ground chuck though. I used one pound of ground sirloin and one pound of ground pork. With a side of mashed potatoes and corn...mmmm mmmm.

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled and broken

3 whole cloves garlic

1/2 red bell pepper

18 ounces ground chuck

18 ounces ground sirloin

1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 egg

For the glaze:

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tsp. ground cumin

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Dash hot pepper sauce

1 tablespoon honey

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a food processor, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.

Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. Insert a temperature probe at a 45 degree angle into the top of the meatloaf. Avoid touching the bottom of the tray with the probe. Set the probe for 155 degrees (160-165 if using ground pork).

Combine the ketchup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.

Lemon Glazed Cake

I had a lemon cake mix sitting around and felt like baking. So I took to the Internet and started searching. I came across this recipe, and decided to go for it. Of course I didn't have lemon gelatin, so I used vanilla pudding instead...turned out great.

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3 ounce) package lemon flavored gelatin mix, (lemon or vanilla pudding will work too)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 eggs
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. I set my oven to 325 degrees since I was using a non-stick bundt pan. I did grease and flour it though. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and gelatin (or pudding) mix. Make a well in the center and pour in the oil, water and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and then continue to beat on medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

For the glaze, in a bowl combine the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar. At this point you would add the melted butter and water, but I didn't find it necessary. Poke holes in the top of the cake and pour the glaze over.

Broiled Tilapia

I was looking for something different to do with Tilapia and I came across this recipe on All Recipes. I didn't necessarily want the taco part of it, just the fish. So here's what I did:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. lime zest
1 1/2 tsp. honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. seafood season, such as Old Bay
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. hot pepper sauce, or to taste
2-4 fillets tilapia

To make marinade, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, lime zest, honey, garlic, cumin, chili powder, seafood seasoning, black pepper, and hot sauce in a bowl until blended. Place the tilapia in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the fish. Cover and refrigerate anywhere from 2-8 hours.

To cook, set broiler to high (if you have this setting), place fillets on broiler pan, and place broiler pan in oven about 4 inches from broiler. Let cook 5 minutes on one side. Flip fillets over, spoon more of the marinade over the fish, place back in oven and let cook another 4-5 minutes, or until flaky.

Skillet Corn Bread

I bought some corn meal, but the recipe on there just wasn't what I remembered eating at my parents' house. I mentioned it to my dad, and he gave me this recipe.

1 1/2 cups Enriched White or Yellow Corn Meal

3 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp. vegetable oil or bacon grease

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Use a medium size cast iron skillet (7-9 inches) and place on stove burner. Add the vegetable oil or bacon grease to the skillet (I use bacon grease). Turn the burner to high and let the oil/grease melt and get really hot. While the oil/grease is heating up, put all other ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Once the oil/grease is hot, pour the prepared mix into the skillet, then immediately place the pan in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, and enjoy. I like to eat mine with honey.

Black Bean Salad

I found this recipe on the Food Network website, but I didn't have all the ingredients I needed. I made do of course, and it turned out quite delicious.

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups of frozen corn
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. hot sauce
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together in a bowl. If making this right before dinner, let it sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes as to let the corn defrost. The frozen corn will keep a chill on the salad. I made it a few hours in advance so I just popped it in the fridge and the corn defrosted in there.

The two ingredients I didn't have were the bell pepper and the red onion. I left the bell pepper out completely, but used a vidalia onion instead of the red. The sweet vidalia worked just fine. Enjoy!