Cafe Manna's Root Vegetable Stir-Fry

Yet another recipe that Jim found in the local paper. This one was interesting. I think it would have been better had some shrimp or chicken been added to it, but the sauce was quite tasty!

1 tbsp. diced ginger

1 green onion

1/4 bunch cilantro

juice of 1/2 orange

1-2 tbsp. parsley

1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1-1/2 tbsp. sesame oil

1/4 cup mirin wine

1 tbsp. olive oil

3/4 cup julienned carrots

3/4 cup julienned parsnips

3.4 cup julienned Daikon radish

3/4 cup julienned yellow beet (couldn't find this so left it out)

3/4 cup julienned celery root

3/4 cup julienned turnip

hot cooked jasmine or basmati rice (we just used regular old white rice)

To prepare the sauce, in a blender (food processor), place the ginger, green onion, cilantro, orange juice, parsley, garlic, sesame oil and mirin and puree until smooth.

In a saute pan, heat the oil over high heat. Add the carrots, parsnips, Daikon radish, yellow beet, celery root and turnip and quickly saute a minute or two, keeping vegetables moving so they don't burn. Add sauce, toss and cook another 2 minutes, keepeing vegetables moving, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Serve with rice.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Jim's been on this kick lately of making a soup every week. It's quite nice since he puts it into a bunch of little bowls and then we can have soup for lunch during the week. So far he's made broccoli cheese, potato, butternut squash soup and now this Chicken Corn Chowder. He added some carrots and celery to the soup too. It was quite tasty!

1 tbsp. butter

6 green onions

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 (10-oz) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed and divided

1 (14 oz.) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (Jim used chicken stock)

2 cups milk

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove green tops from green onions. Chop green onion tops; set aside. Thinly slice white portion of each onion. Add sliced onions to pan; saute 2 minutes. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in chicken, salt, pepper, 1 package of corn and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

While mixture simmers, combine the remaining corn and milk in a blender; process until smooth. Add milk mixture to pan; simmer 2 minutes or until heated through. Ladle into bowls and top with green onions and cheese. Enjoy!

Spice-Rubbed Salmon

Another quick and easy salmon recipe. I don't have any creative chit-chat to add so onto the recipe...

2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. packed brown sugar
4 5-oz. skinless salmon fillets (we only had 2)
1 small cabbage, cut in 6 wedges (I used half a head and cut it into 4 wedges)
2 to 3 Tbsp. cooking oil
1 large carrot (I used baby carrots)
Orange wedges

In small bowl mix chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Rub spice mixture on salmon. Brush cabbage wedges with 1 tablespoon of the oil.

On charcoal grill (we used gas), place salmon and cabbage on greased rack of uncovered grill, directly over medium coals. Grill salmon 4 to 6 minutes for each half-inch of thickness or until it flakes when tested with a fork, turning once halfway through cooking time. Grill cabbage 6 to 8 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, peel carrot and cut in wide strips. Remove fish and cabbage from grill. Coarsely cut cabbage; combine with carrot and 1 to 2 tablespoons remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with oranges. I also added some homegrown tomatoes to my plate. So good!

Sausage and Lentils

I like lentils but don't use them that often. I had taken some spicy turkey sausage out for dinner but wasn't really sure what to do with it. Then it dawned on me that sausage and lentils would be a tasty combination. I've seen a lot of lentil recipes use bay leaf when cooked but I didn't have any. So feel free to add that in if you want. I used a whole package of lentils and I believe the package said to use about 4 cups of water for the entire package. I had to add a little more at the end of the 20-30 minute cooking time because they were still a little hard for my taste, but everything turned out beautifully.

1 package Jennie-O spicy turkey sausage
olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1-2 carrots (or enough bite-size carrots), chopped
1 package lentils
1 bay leaf (optional)
4 cups water
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, chopped

Add a little olive oil to a large skillet and brown sausage on all sides.

In the meantime, in a large saucepan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, celery and carrots and saute until tender. Add in the lentils, bay leaf and water. Cook for about 20-30 minutes.

When the sausage is finished cooking, slice into bite-size pieces. There should now be yummy bits left in the bottom of the skillet. When the lentils are finished cooking, add them to the skillet along with the sliced sausage to mix in the bits of yumminess on the bottom of the pan and to flavor the lentils a little more. Season with salt and pepper, add in the fresh parsley and enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

It was a night where I really didn't feel like putting all that much effort into dinner. Jim was taking his 3-4 hour "nap" after work in order to stay up for a Wings game so I was on my own. This is what I came up with. All the measurements are approximate since I basically just threw a bunch of veggies on a pan and roasted them.

2 handfuls baby carrots

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1-2 cups broccoli florets

1 medium onion, chopped

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 lb. pasta, cooked (I used rotini)

basil

Parmesan chese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and get the water boiling for your pasta. In the meantime, prepare all vegetables and place on a baking sheet. Liberally coat the veggies with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix around to ensure veggies are coated with oil. Place in oven for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is up, stir the veggies around. Place back in oven and cook for another 10-20 minutes, depending on how tender you want your vegetables and exactly which vegetables you used (you can use anything really). Once the vegetables are roasted, add them to the cooked pasta and mix. I added fresh basil and a little Parmesan cheese to mine.

Sweet and Sour Shrimp Stirfry

This turned out way better than I expected, so that's always a good thing. I pretty much followed the recipe for the sauce part of it but I added in way more veggies than it called for and left out the cherries and green onions. I also doubled the sauce since I did add in a lot more veggies. Below is what I used.

12 tbsp. chicken stock
6 tbsp. ketchup
6 tbsp. sugar
6 tbsp. pineapple juice
4 tbsp. vinegar
4 tsp. soy sauce
1.5 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 pound shrimp
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger (I didn't have fresh)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2-3 tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 red bell pepper cut into strips
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup pineapple chunks

To make the sauce, in a bowl, combine 1/2 cup of stock, the ketchup, sugar, juice, vinegar, soy, and 1 teaspoon of the pepper flakes. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with the remaining stock and stir to dissolve. Set aside. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the ginger, garlic, and remaining pepper flakes. Set aside for 10 to 20 minutes.

Heat a large wok over high heat. Add the oil, swirling to coat the sides and bottom of the pan. Add the shrimp, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry until pink, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan. Add the onions, peppers, broccoli and carrots and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add the sauce and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Return the shrimp to the pan and add the pineapples. Cook until the sauce is thick, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and serve over rice.

Roasted Chicken and Veggies

This was a pretty easy dinner. I just threw together some baby carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic and chicken in a dish and baked it. Simple and good!

3 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
2 handfuls baby carrots
3 potatoes, cut in large pieces
2 onions, cut in large pieces
3 cloves garlic, crushed
about 1 cup chicken stock

I wanted to put something more than salt and pepper on the chicken so I found this:

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

I also added olive oil to the rub to make it more of a paste

I rubbed the spice paste underneath the skin as well as on top, put everything in the dish and popped it in a 350 degree oven for about and hour and a half. I had it covered with foil for the first 40 minutes and then removed the foil, but I think if I would have just left the foil on, it wouldn't have taken so long. Either way...it was pretty good.

Ultimate Lasagna

So yesterday was Valentine's Day and I told Jim I'd make him his favorite...lasagna. I found a few recipes online, sent them to him and this is the one he picked. It called for cinnamon, which I was a little hesitant on adding, since I had added it to a meat dish once before and it was horrible. Jim told me to keep the recipe as it was and not change anything. Well it was really good, but you could definitely taste the cinnamon. I think next time I would just leave it out. We also cut the recipe in half since the original uses a 4-inch deep 13x9 pan. I just served this with a salad and some breadsticks.

1 pound dried lasagna noodles
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground Italian sausage - I used the Jennie-O Hot Lean Italian Turkey Style Sausage and removed the casings
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1.5 carrots, chopped
1 stalks celery, chopped
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tbsp. chopped oregano leaves
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup red wine
1 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano)
1.2 tbsp. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 quart ricotta cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
Grated Parmesan and mozzarella, for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of boiling salted water until pliable and barely tender, about 10 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Drain the noodles thoroughly and coat with olive oil to keep them moist and easy to work with.

Coat a large skillet with olive oil, add beef and sausage and brown until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. In a food processor, combine the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, parsley, an oregano. Process until pureed, add to the pan with the ground meat and stir to combine. Stir in the flour. Add the wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes and add the heavy cream and the cinnamon.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta and the parmesan. Stir in the eggs and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble the lasagna: Coat the bottom of a deep 13 by 9-inch pan with olive oil. Arrange 4 noodles lengthwise in a slightly overlapping layer on the sauce. Then, line each end of the pan with a lasagna noodle. This forms a collar that holds in the corners. Dollop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, spread to the edges with a spatula. Spread 1/2 of the meat mixture over the ricotta. Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella on top of the ricotta. Top with a ladle full of sauce, spread evenly. Repeat with the next layer of noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheeses. Top last layer with noodles, sauce, shredded mozzarella and Parmesan. Tap the pan to force out air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let lasagna rest for 30 minutes so the noodles will settle and cut easily.

Easy Shepherd's Pie

This is a really easy shepherd's pie recipe that I like to make when I'm pretty much out of dinner ideas. Plus it's just a nice comfort food.

3-4 cups prepared mashed potatoes either homemade or instant
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 pound ground sirloin
1 can corn, drained
1 can peas, drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
shredded cheese of your choice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the carrots and cook until just tender. Add the onions, garlic and ground beef and cook until beef is browned.


Turn the heat on low and add in the corn, peas and cream of mushroom soup. Stir until heated through, just a couple minutes. Add the salt and pepper to taste.


And beef mixture to a 9x13 dish, cover with the mashed potatoes,

and top with shredded cheese.

Place in preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Let it rest for a few minutes and serve.

Lentil Noodle Soup/Stew

Once again we had forgotten to take any sort of meat out of the freezer, so I had to think of what else we had on hand for dinner. I realize vegetarians eat meat-free meals all the time, but for some reason it's so hard for me to come up with filling meat-free meals. I really would like to try to eat some more vegetarian based meals, so maybe in the future you'll see more of those.

I had bought some lentils awhile ago and really wanted to try using them in a meal so I went on a search on the Internet. I came across this recipe but quickly realized I didn't have any beef broth at home, nor did I have 4 cups of chicken stock. I did have 2 cups of chicken stock and just decided to add some water and more spices to the mix to add more flavor. (I would really recommend trying to use the 4 cups of some sort of broth/stock like the recipe called for). The results were delicious! And it really thickened up so it was really filling. We also had some leftover cooked penne noodles so I added that to the mix as well. Below is what I ended up throwing together.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1-8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fresh spinach
2-3 cups cooked pasta of your choice - I used penne

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the oil, onion, carrots and garlic and saute for 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add the broth/water and bring mixture to a boil. Add the lentils, tomato sauce, ketchup, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Add in the 2 cups of fresh spinach and allow to wilt into the stew. Add the cooked pasta and heat through.



I served this with some really easy cheesy, garlic-butter Bisquick biscuits.

2 cups Original Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Heat oven to 450ºF. Stir Bisquick mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms. Drop dough by 9 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Stir together butter and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits.