Tag Archives: onion

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

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I saw this on Diners, Drive-In’s, and Dives (and it sounds like a lot of other people did as well because the grocery store had a mad rush on spaghetti squash). It’s a great idea really and it’s so versatile you can add whatever you like and it’ll still be a tasty dish. It even has it’s own little serving bowl (well, mine wasn’t little!). In fact, one squash was enough for two dinners for Earl and I.

I wasn’t planning on posting this, but I had requests for the recipe and this is by far easier than making several paper copies! I couldn’t get a very good picture of it, so don’t hold that against me!

I used ground turkey in this but you could always sub ground beef or make this a vegetarian meal and add no meat!

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I took a spaghetti squash, cut it in half, scraped out the seeds, topped it with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roasted it in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour.

While that was cooling, I cooked 1/2 chopped onion, 1 large chopped zucchini, 1 chopped carrot, and one chopped celery stalk in a couple of tablespoons olive oil until soft. Then crumbled and browned a 1/2 a pound of ground turkey and added about 8 oz of chopped, jarred roasted red peppers.

Then stirred in about 3/4 of a 24 oz jar of marinara sauce, a tablespoon of dried basil, and a tablespoon of dried oregano. Next, scraped the spaghetti squash with a fork into the veggie and meat mixture, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I let that cook until heated through, then spooned the mixture back into the 2 halves of the squash “bowls”. Top with remaining marinara, sliced fresh mozzarella, and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes covered with a piece of foil (not tightly wrapped, just resting on top), then bake for another 15 minutes with foil removed to brown up and melt the cheese.

Goes great with a glass of Pinot Noir , or two!

Cornmeal Crusted Trout With New Year’s Sides

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Happy New Year!

The tradition for New Year’s Day says to “eat poor” for good luck throughout the year. Now, for different people and different parts of the country, that can be a lot of different things. Some people eat pork and sauerkraut (Gross! Sorry, but that’s just not my thing!)

Here in the South, your meal MUST include greens and black-eyed peas. Greens for wealth, and black-eyed peas for luck, I believe. Nothing seems more like a poor mans meal that Southern comfort food, and for me that includes some kind of cornmeal crusted fresh water fish. Catfish would be the standard “Southern” fish, but I think it tastes kinda like dirt (they are bottom feeders after all). My favorite for this is Rainbow Trout.

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Frying fish like this is so easy! I just take trout fillets (check for bones first!) Put them in a ziplock bag with a little flour and toss to coat. Dip the fillets, first in an egg wash, then in a mixture of half cornmeal, half flour. Fry the fillets in light olive oil over medium-high in a skillet until fillets are firm and set on a paper towel lined plate. Now that’s fish!

For the greens this year I used kohlrabi greens instead of collards (trying to use what you have is eating frugally so that counts for extra good luck I hope!) I loosely followed Paula Deen’s Collard recipe. I used a leftover ham bone I saved from our Christmas spiral ham (the leftover ham, I’m going to make deviled ham with later on today). I put that in a stock pot with 4 cups chicken stock and 7 cups water and boil for 1 hour. Then add a washed bunch of greens with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Tabasco sauce to taste. Let that boil about 1 more hour. I’ve also used bacon in this recipe, by frying a few strips of diced bacon in the  stock pot before adding the water and stock and skipped the first boiling.

For the black-eyed peas, I used a recipe that was originally meant for white acre peas ( another common Southern pea related to the black-eyed pea, that I like better by-the-way). I used a pound of fresh black-eyed peas, and about 3/4 of a pound of diced smoked turkey sausage in 4 cups vegetable stock and 4 cups water and heat to boiling in a stock pot. In a small skillet, I cooked a small diced onion with some minced garlic in 1 1/2 tablespoons butter until soft, then added that, along with a fresh thyme sprig with a bay leaf or two, some dried parsley, and dried oregano to the peas and sausage and let that gently boil for about an hour.

What is crazy to me is that since I’ve started using these recipes for greens and black-eyed peas (or more often white acre peas), it doesn’t have to be New Years day for me to eat them anymore! I used to detest this stuff! But now, they’re common side dishes!

Now off to make deviled ham!

Bacon Wrapped Mushroom Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

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I’m trying to clean out my freezer and do a little experiment in the process. I have this habit of stocking up on food when things go on sale and putting it in the freezer. What makes it a bad habit is that I forget about thawing something out for dinner and wind up buying more items for dinner, even though I have it in the freezer already!

I came up with this after finding a pork tenderloin in the freezer. I had some fresh spinach and bacon in the fridge I needed to use up, and all I needed to buy extra was fresh mushrooms!

I didn’t really spend time measuring this recipe out like I usually do, so adjust where your taste buds see fit.

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  • 2  1 lb pork tenderloins
  • 3.5 oz shitake mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 4 oz baby portabello mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup tightly packed fresh spinach, chopped
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 lb sliced bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium sized skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook 10 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.  Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time, you may need a little more or less depending on the moisture in your onions and mushrooms, and cook until mixture forms a paste like consistency. Remove mixture and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cut a pocket into both tenderloins making sure you don’t cut through the ends of the tenderloin, it helps to hold in the mixture. On a piece of parchment paper lay out bacon, overlapping each piece, with enough pieces to cover the length of the tenderloin. Stuff the pocket with half of the mushroom mixture and roll the tenderloin up with the bacon. Placed on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tenderloin.

Bake tenderloins for 30 to 45 minutes until cooked through. Allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing into medallions. Enjoy!

Chicken Sausage And Roasted Vegetable Pasta

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“Pasta?” you say? “I thought you were gluten-free?” you say?

Well yes, I’m still gluten-free! Thankfully, several companies make gluten-free pasta so I don’t have to give up that which I so adore!

Since I now have to read ingredient labels to make sure I’m not unintentionally “glutened”, I’ve noticed more and more all of the un-natural additives that goes into food to preserve it. Italian sausage is no different! So I went from the pork variety to the all-natural chicken and its just as yummy if not more so!

I have to apologize for the photo! I seemed to have misplaced the battery for my good camera and have been using the good old iPhone to take pictures for the blog. Though I really don’t think this dish would photograph well either way!

Just trust me, it’s delicious!

Oh, and I should mention that I used a quality jarred sauce for this, but if you have the time and energy, using homemade would not be frowned upon!

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  • 1  lb bulk Italian chicken sausage
  • 12 oz gluten-free tri-colored vegetable pasta
  • 24 oz tomato basil sauce
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 large or two small zucchini, chopped
  • 8 oz mushrooms, quartered
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 3 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 beef steak tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • dash crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a baking sheet lined with foil, add onions, peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms with a few drizzles of olive oil and salt & pepper. Toss to coat. Roast veggies  for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.

Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it up with a spatula. While sausage browns, cook pasta to package directions. When sausage is cooked through, stir in tomato sauce. Let heat through, for about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Cook until spinach is slightly wilted, then stir in roasted vegetables, and parmesan cheese. Allow to cook 5 more minutes. Add pasta and stir until well incorporated.

Pour pasta mixture into a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Top with sliced beef steak tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350, for 25 to 30 minutes. Would be great served with a Caesar salad!

**This holds up well in the fridge. For the three of us, I was able to get two dinners out of one pan.

Turkish Red Lentil Balls

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Every now and again, my son will save the “Food” section out of the paper if there’s a recipe he finds interesting or looks good. He saved this recipe almost a year ago from The St. Augustine Record, and I was very surprised he would hold on to a recipe like this one, but he may have been referring to the carrot cake that was pictured right next to this one.

At any rate, this looked challenging as I’ve never done anything with red lentils before and am very limited with my lentil experience period. I’ve also wanted to add a vegetable category so this seemed a good one to start with.

The original recipe calls for bulgur wheat and I replaced that with quinoa to keep it gluten free. I also couldn’t find harissa paste or any kind of chili-garlic paste like the recipe suggests as a substitute, so I made up a concoction of roasted red peppers, sriracha, and garlic for the harissa.

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  • 1  cup cooked red lentils
  • 1/2  cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1  cup water
  • 2  tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle or two
  • 1  medium onion, chopped
  • 1  tbsp ground cumin
  • 2  tbsp finely diced roasted red peppers
  • 1  clove minced garlic
  • 1  tsp sriracha
  • 1  lemon
  • Butter lettuce leaves
  • Parsley

Cook red lentils to package directions.

While lentils are cooking, bring water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until quinoa is soft and most of the water is absorbed. Stir quinoa into the lentils and set aside to cool sightly.

In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook onions 5 minutes, until soft. In a small bowl, combine red peppers, garlic, and sriracha, and mash until well combined. Stir cumin and red pepper mixture into onion, then remove to a mixing bowl.  Add lentils and quinoa to onions, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place lettuce leaves (about 25) on a serving plate, and shape a heaping spoonful of mixture into an oblong shape, and place on a single lettuce leaf. Repeat until all the mixture is used.

Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with lemon juice.

Chicken Cacciatore Over Polenta

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Boneless, skinless chicken thighs with tomatoes and mushrooms served over creamy polenta. This is so easy and inexpensive. The chicken cooks all day in the crock pot so there’s no fuss, and this uses prepared, store-bought polenta that you heat up just before serving. Dinner in no time flat!

I didn’t keep track of the seasoning when I was throwing everything together before work, so adjust to your preference!

  • 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, untrimmed
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 pound mushrooms, quartered
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 1/2 tbsp marjoram
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 24oz tube prepared store-bought polenta
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup reserved sauce from chicken
  • 2 to 3 tbsp shredded Parmesan cheese

The night before, cut up your onions, peppers, and mushrooms, and place in ziplock baggies in the fridge.

In the morning, place onions and peppers in the bottom of the crock pot, then untrimmed chicken thighs, then mushrooms.

In a mixing bowl, combine diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, wine, oregano, basil, marjoram, and salt, mix well.  Pour over ingredients in crock pot and let cook for 8 hours on low.

At dinner time, place polenta in a medium sauce pan and break up with a fork. Heat over medium-low heat. Add butter and stir in milk and Parmesan cheese. Slowly stir in reserved cup of sauce from the chicken. *You may need more or less cooking liquid to get the polenta to your desired consistency.

To serve, place 1/4 of polenta on a plate, top with 2 chicken thighs, and desired amount of sauce. Great with a side salad and steamed green beans!

* If you don’t care for polenta, this can be served over pasta or rice!

Easy Beef Wellington

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A Christmas Eve tradition, (and whenever else I feel like it! ) I’ve tried making traditional Beef Wellington, and I wasn’t very happy with the outcome or the time and effort it took. This recipe uses steaks so everyone gets their own little bundle of goodness, and the internal temperature can be adjusted for those that like their steaks well done, AND it’s easy!

  • 3 tenderloin steaks, cut 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick
  • 2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 3.5 oz shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 large egg, beaten

Bring the steaks to room temperature and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sear the steaks on all sides, about 45 seconds per side (for medium doneness. Adjust searing time for internal temperature preference). Remove from the skillet to a plate. Cover the steaks with foil and set aside.

In the same skillet, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add onions to the skillet and cook until soft. Stir in mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally about 15 minutes, until any liquid has been cooked out of the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Add heavy cream, and cook until mushroom mixture forms a paste. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool while preparing puff pastry.

On a lightly floured suface, roll out a sheet of the thawed puff pastry. Cut away one- third of the puff pastry sheet and set aside. You should have a sheet of pastry in the shape of a rectangle. Place one of the steaks, centered, about 2 inches from the bottom of the puff pastry sheet. Cover the top and sides of the steak with 1/3 of the mushroom mixture. Pull the top of the pastry sheet down firmly so it covers the steak, and cut away any excess dough so it will take the shape of a circle. Press ends together to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with second sheet of puff pastry. Lay the 2 remaining 1/3 pieces of dough together, and press edges together to form another piece of pastry for the remaining steak.

Brush the tops of the “wellingtons” with the beaten egg. Bake in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy with roasted asparagus and a glass of red!

Death-By-Chicken Chili

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This is my most favorite chili of all time! It uses a whopping 4 pounds of chicken! I’m not sure when or how I came up with this recipe, I’ve been making it for so long, but I know I’ve changed it several times and it keeps getting better! The seasoning measurements are approximate, so feel free to adjust to your taste!

I roast Poblano peppers to dice up and throw in there, but if you don’t want to go through the trouble, canned diced green chilies can be substituted, but I think the flavor of the home-roasted Poblanos takes this chili to another level!

  • 1 12 oz bottle low-sodium garlic and lime marinade
  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 2 lbs ground chicken
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
  • 3 Poblano peppers, roasted, seeded, and chopped (See Below)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp oregano
  • 2 tbsp cilantro
  • 2 tsp white pepper
  • 2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 15 oz cans Cannellini beans
  • 1 recipe for Salsa Verde (Click Here) or, 1 16 oz jar store bought Salsa Verde
  • 32 oz low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Place chicken breasts in a ziplock bag and pour in marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours up to overnight.

To roast peppers, place on a foil lined baking sheet, and place under the broiler in the oven, turning to char on all sides. Remove peppers from the oven and place in a paper bag. Close bag, and let peppers rest 20 minutes. Peel skin from peppers, remove seeds and stems. Rinse peppers, and pat dry. Chop peppers, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place marinaded chicken breasts on a greased, foil lined baking sheet, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

In a large stockpot, crumble ground chicken, and cook, stirring occasionally,  over medium-high heat, until chicken is cooked through. Drain any fat from the pan. Add onions, jalapenos, chopped Poblanos, and garlic. Continue to cook for 5 minutes until onions are soft. Add cumin, oregano, cilantro, white pepper, and cayenne pepper, and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in beans, salsa verde, and chicken broth. Reduce heat, cover and simmer.
Remove chicken breasts from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Cut into bite size pieces and stir in to chili. Let chili simmer for an additional 15 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Stir in shredded cheese until well blended. Serve with additional cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips!

Mexican Meatball Soup (Albondigas Soup)

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That’s it! I’m done! No more turkey for a year! After a full week of turkey salad sandwiches and turkey alfredo, it’s time for something beefy! I love this soup! It’s great comfort food! I call it Mexican Meatball Soup, so if anyone asks what I’m cooking for dinner, they’ve got an idea of what’s in it. Look on the internet and you’ll find many versions of this recipe, but like my other dishes, this one is as simple as you can get!  I like to serve this with cheese quesadillas to scoop up the chunks of tomato!

For the meatballs:

  • 1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup cornmeal
  • 1 tsp minced onion
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • salt
  • pepper

For the soup:

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp cilantro
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 64 oz beef broth
  • 16 oz medium Picante sauce
  • 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • 3/4 cup white uncooked rice

To make the soup, heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook 10 minutes. Stir in basil, oregano, cilantro, salt and pepper, beef broth, tomatoes, and Picante sauce. Bring to just a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer while making meatballs.

To make the meatballs, combine all of the ingredients listed above in a large mixing bowl, and mix well. Shape into bite size meatballs, about a 1/2 inch in diameter. The easiest way to do this is by rolling them out into a log then cut that into even pieces, then roll up. Drop meatballs into simmering broth and stir. Cover and let simmer 15 minutes. Stir in rice, then continue cooking for 25 more minutes, stirring occasionally, so rice doesn’t stick. Serve with quesadillas! Enjoy!

Beef, Lentil, And Noodle Stew

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I had some celery, carrots, and mushrooms in the fridge I needed to use up, and had some stew beef in the freezer, so I came up with this tasty concoction. I was going to serve it over egg noodles, then decided I didn’t feel like dirtying up any more pots to wash, so I threw the egg noodles in with the stew and it came out great! This is one instance where laziness paid off! 😉

  • 1 lb beef tenderloin or top sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • 4 oz cremini (baby Portobello) mushrooms, sliced
  • 1/2 large onion, chopped
  • 4 tbsp butter, divided
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 15 oz can lentils
  • 1 cup Pinot Noir or Zinfandel
  • 1 15 oz can beef broth
  • 6 oz egg noodles
  • salt
  • pepper

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large sauce pan or stock pot over medium-high heat, and sear beef, stirring constantly, for about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove beef from pan, and place in an oven safe bowl. Cover and keep warm in unheated oven.

Reduce heat to medium and melt remaining butter in the same pan. Add carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms, and cook about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, and cook until reduced by half. Stir in broth, thyme sprigs, rosemary, and oregano. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. ( I use grinders, so I used 3 turns of the salt, and 2 turns pepper.) Stir in lentils. Heat until mixture starts to bubble.

Return beef to the pot; cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs, and stir in egg noodles. Cook, covered 20 minutes more, until noodles are soft.

Enjoy!