Turkey Reuben

Okay so not the greatest picture, but this was a pretty good sandwich. Dig in!

Turkey Reuben

Toasted wheat bread (or rye)

sauerkraut

sliced turkey from the deli

swiss cheese

thousand island dressing

To make the thousand island dressing mix together mayonnaise and ketchup with either dill relish or chopped dill pickles.

Put the thousand island on both sides of the toasted bread. Then layer on the sauerkraut, turkey and swiss cheese. Wrap the sandwich up in foil and put it in an oven preheated to 350° for about 10 minutes, just to melt the cheese.

Enjoy!

Jen

CEIMB: Pasta Puttanesca

Usually when I'm in desperate need of a trip to the grocery store and I'm wondering what the heck I'm going to feed my family, I make spaghetti. I have everything I need in the pantry and there is usually only minimal grumbling from Max. The good news for the fam is that I think I've found a good replacement for the usual spaghetti in marinara sauce. Last night I made Pasta Puttanesca and it was really good. I think Max liked it. He ate it all, anyway. (I don't know if the cookie bribe had anything to do with it – I like to think that he just loved my pasta that much.) Anyway, I think what I loved most about this dish is that everything can be found in the pantry, and it went together so quickly and easily. And it tasted so much better than regular spaghetti. I loved the olives and capers. Don't be afraid of the anchovy paste; it really adds a lot to the sauce.

I used Ellie Krieger's recipe found here. I will repost the recipe below with the changes that I made. Enjoy!

Pasta Puttanesca

adapted from Ellie Krieger

8 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

between 1/4 and 1/2 c. chopped green and kalamata olives

2 T. capers

1 t. anchovy paste

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried parsley

1 (17.6) box of Italian chopped tomatoes

1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan

Cook pasta according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking , heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and parsley to the skillet and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes.

Whhen the pasta is cooked al dente, add it to the sauce and toss well. Top with the grated cheese.

Bon Appetit!

Jen

Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken

About this time every year I get the itch to have grilled food again. I am burnt out on soups. I have had one too many casseroles. It is time to dust off the grill and fire it up. Even if it is a little bit too cold.

This is one of those "everything but the kitchen sink" kind of marinades. I was looking in my fridge to see what I had and this is what I came up with. It was really good. Much better than I was expecting it to be. My marinades are always kind of lackluster, but this time it was spot on. The amounts are approximations. As always, I threw caution to the wind and just dumped everything in a ziploc bag.

Lemon Herb Grilled Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1-2 T red wine vinegar

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 green onions, roughly chopped (white and green parts)

1 T dried parsley

4 crushed garlic cloves

Put all ingredients in a ziploc bag and let the chicken marinate for at least 6 hours. Before grilling, put salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken.

Bon Appetit!

Jen

Roast Beef Sandwiches with Caramelized Onions and Brie

Generally speaking, I try not to eat a whole lot of red meat. That doesn't mean that I don't like it. In fact, I really love it. That's why I have to limit myself. Otherwise I would eat it all the time. So, when I do eat it, it better be good. I mean really good. And this sandwich is. You should make it. You won't be disappointed.

Central Market has Kobe roast beef that they make in-house. It is insanely good and every time I'm at the deli counter I am trying to think of ways to eat it. Truth be told, I stole this sandwich idea from Central Market. They have a roast beef sandwich in their prepared foods section with brie on it and it is so good that I thought I would try to recreate it at home. I thought I would up the ante a bit and add caramelized onions and serve it warm. Delicious!

Roast Beef Sandwich with Caramelized Onions and Brie

1 lb. roast beef

2 loaves of Italian white bread or ciabatta bread

1/2 lb. brie (a triple cream tastes best)

caramelized onions (recipe below)

Split the bread in half horizontally. First layer brie, then put the roast beef on top. Next, put a layer of caramelized onions and then another layer of brie. (The brie "layer" really ended up being little chunks. The triple cream is hard to slice.) Put the bread lid back on the sandwich and wrap the whole loaf in foil. Repeat with the second loaf of bread. The foil keeps the bread from getting crispy; don't skip this step or you'll be sorry. Place the loaves in an oven preheated to 350&deg. and warm for 15-20min, or until the brie is melted. Slice and serve. (Makes enough for about 5 or 6 sandwiches.)

Caramelized Onions

(from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)

2 T. good olive oil

2 T. unsalted butter

2 lb. yellow onions, peeled and sliced in half-rounds

1/2 t. fresh thyme leaves (I omitted this)

2 T. sherry vinegar (I used balsamic)

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large shallow pot, add the onions and thyme, and toss with the oil. Place the lid on top and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes to sweat the onions. Remove the lid and continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and golden brown. If the onions are cooking too fast, lower the heat. Add the vinegar, salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes, scraping the brown bits from the pan. Season to taste (they should be very highly seasoned).

Bon Appetit!

Jen

Happy Birthday Luke!

Saturday was Luke's first birthday and we had a party for him. I can't believe my baby is a toddler now. Wasn't he just born yesterday?

The party was so much fun! We had lots of family and friends there to celebrate with us. And of course, lots of food. We had Green Chile and Cilantro Hummus.

A delicious artichoke and sun dried tomato spread that Jeff's mom made. I think I singlehandedly polished off the bowl. It was so good!

The veggie platter with ranch dip. Can you think of a better way to meet your vegetable requirements for the day?

And frog, pig, and monkey cupcakes!

Sun-dried Tomato and Artichoke Spread

(adapted from Paula Weaver's recipe)

2 pkg. softened cream cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 t. salt

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts

7 green onions, chopped

6 T. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

We served this with pita chips and flat bread crackers. So delish! Thanks for making this Kathy! And, thanks for the recipe Paula!

Ranch Dip

(from allrecipes.com)

1 c. mayo

1/2 c. sour cream

1/2 t. dried chives

1/2 t. dried parsley

1/2 t. dried dill weed

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. onion powder

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

This is best made a few hours before eating. If possible, the day before is even better.

Happy Birthday Luke!

Black Beans and Quinoa

After coming home from Thanksgiving I felt like I needed to fast for a while. I had definitely consumed my calorie quota for about 6 weeks. But, my family didn't feel the same way. They still wanted to eat. The nerve! I figured if I couldn't fast then I would make something healthy. A year or two ago I found this recipe on Allrecipes and I thought it was so good. I think the best thing about it is that it is pretty basic so it lends itself well to lots of different modifications. This time I made it exactly according to the recipe. To serve I put it over raw, shredded cabbage with avocado and cilantro on top. I have also served it with salsa and queso fresco on top, or with pico and shredded cheese on top. The possibilities are endless.

Quinoa and Black Beans

from allrecipes.com

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Bon Appetit!

Jen

Chicken and Dumplings

So many cold-weather dishes, so little time to make them. I love chicken and dumplings, but it just doesn't seem right to make when it is warm outside. So, this is one of those recipes that I get to make during one of our 14 days of cold weather. I think I may have to start making this once a week so I get my fill before it gets hot again. I used this recipe from Food Network, but I made some changes.

Chicken and Dumplings

adapted from Rachel Ray's

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)

1 T olive oil

2 T unsalted butter

2 stalks of celery, diced

3 carrots, diced

1 russet potato, diced

1 onion, diced

1 dried bay leaf

salt and pepper, to taste

2 T flour

1 quart chicken broth

1 c. frozen peas

(dumpling recipe to follow)

Earlier in the day I like to cook my chicken at 375° for about 4o minutes. I cut it up and set it aside to use whenever I make my chicken and dumplings.

In a large pan (I used a 5 qt. saute pan so that I would have lots of room for the dumplings) melt the butter along with the olive oil over medium heat . Add the carrots, celery, potatoes, and onions. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the flour to the pan and cook for a couple of more minutes. Add the broth and simmer until the dumplings are ready to put in the pan.
To make the dumplings: Mix together 1 cup of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of dried dill. Add in 1/2 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Drop the dumplings into the pan by the heaping tablespoonful.

Place the lid on the pan and let the dumplings steam for 10 minutes. Don't peek while they are cooking! Once the dumplings are done, add the peas. Then, voila! A bowl of hot, delicious goodness. And, in true Rachel Ray fashion, this was ready in 30 minutes.

Bon Appetit!

Jen