dinner for one

One of the few perks of having an prolonged-MIA hubs is not having to cook meals. My dinners usually consist of yogurt and grapes. Or tortillas and turkey. Or chips and clam dip. And lots of chocolate for dessert. But last night I was in the mood for some substance. I took inventory of the possibilities and made this. Perfect for one. Turned out delicious, if I do say so myself. Just adjust the ingredients for the desired serving.

Portobello Asparagus Pasta

Penne pasta
mini portobello mushrooms, sliced
asparagus tips
garlic
heavy whipping cream
basil
oregano

Boil the pasta and asparagus tips together, remove asparagus after about five min (don't want them to get too soggy).
In a saucepan, saute garlic and mushrooms in butter and olive oil. Add a splash of whipping cream.
Shake in some basil and oregano. Add asparagus. Simmer on low for a few minutes.

Drain pasta, add to sauce. Toss, salt and serve.

(Didn't have any, but a bit of parmesan on top would be delightful).

Lettuce Wraps courtesy of Bountiful Baskets

I recently discovered Bountiful Baskets. If you haven't heard about it, check it out! It. is. AWESOME! In fact, our entire meal tonight was entirely {minus the sauce and canned chicken} made from the produce I received in my basket last week. I wanted to find some way to use the radishes and celery as neither of us like radishes and rarely eat celery by itself. So I googled a whole bunch of lettuce wraps recipes and couldn't find anything I really liked so I improvised. Minus the garlic overload, it was delicious!

Cut up the following (anyway you'd like):

carrots

radishes

celery

onion

garlic

honey roasted peanuts

throw in some canned chicken {what I had on hand} or the real stuff. I also think Chickpeas would be delightful too.

Chop up some parsley and basil, salt and pepper to taste and throw into a skillet to warm through.

For the sauce I threw in some sesame seed oil, soy sauce, tiny bit of honey, and lime juice.

I peeled off the leaves of a head of lettuce and we used these to wrap up the veggie mix.

It was yum-yum-yummy!!!

We also had a fruit melody consisting of mangoes, strawberries, and honeydew {all courtesy of bountiful baskets} and some foccacia bread with olive oil and pepper on the side. Mmm....

Adapted PW Three Cheese Stuffed Shells with Meaty Tomato Sauce

This is definitely a recent Staples favorite. I "accidentally" adapted the recipe since I thought I had certain ingredients on hand when I had none. However, it turned out oh-so-yummy and will continue with my adaptions.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces, weight Jumbo Pasta Shells {I used double the shells and ended up with maybe 1/4 of the shells left}
• 30 ounces, weight Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese {I used cottage cheese and neither of us really care for ricotta}
• 8 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, Grated, Divided
• ½ cups Grated Romano Cheese {I used a combo Parmesan/Romano that comes pre-grated in a tub}
• 1 whole Egg
• 12 leaves Basil, Chiffonade {couldn't find fresh basil so I used dried}
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley {doubled, maybe tripled this}
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ pounds Italian Sausage
• ½ cups Red Wine {okay, Kody totally made fun of me because all we had was red wine VINEGAR so I used it. It was SOOO good}
• 1 whole 28 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 whole 15-ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes {I thought I had both of these tomatoes on hand but nope, so I improvised and found this super tomato-ey salsa on our shelf. It was perfect and actually didn't end up tasting so tomato-ey (which neither of us like)}
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta shells for half the cooking time; make sure not to overcook. Drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add Italian sausage and brown, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Pour in red wine and let it cook for a minute or two.

Pour in cans of crushed tomatoes and stir. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check for seasonings; can add crushed red peppers if you like a little heat.

In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, half the Parmesan, Romano, egg, salt and pepper, basil, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Stir until combined.

To assemble, coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Fill each half-cooked shell with the cheese mixture. Place face down on the sauce. Repeat with shells until cheese mixture is gone. Top shells with remaining sauce. Sprinkle on extra Parmesan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Serve with crusty French bread.

Yum! Yum! Yum! We will definitely be eating this one again and again.

Chicken/Turkey and pasta with peanut sauce

6 ounces fettuccine or linguine                 
2 cups fresh pea pods                                                       
1 cup turkey or chicken strips                                              
1 cup pineapple chunks                                                      
1 red pepper sliced                                                         
1/4 cup chicken broth                                                       
2 T creamy peanut butter                                                  
1 T soy sauce                                                             
1 T lime or lemon juice                                                   
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper                                                 
1 clove of garlic minced                                                    


Pre cook turkey or chicken any way you want. I just boiled mine.                                                                           Cook pasta according to package directions.                                                                                                            Place pea pods, chicken and red pepper in a large colander.  Pour hot cooking liquid from pasta over pea pods etc, in colander, drain.               
Return pasta mixture to hot pan.  Add pineapple.                                                                                                       For sauce, in a small saucepan stir chicken broth into peanut butter.                                                                             Heat and stir with a whisk until peanut butter melts.  Stir in soy sauce, lime juice, red pepper, and garlic; heat through. Add sauce to pasta mixture.  Gently stir to coat pasta with sauce.                                                    




Kody got this recipe from a co-worker. It was oh-so-delicious! I quadrupled the sauce because I used a little more pasta then what it called for. However, go easy on the crushed red pepper flakes as it adds a lot of spicy hot. I made the mistake of adding too much. Also, we didn't add the pineapple because neither of us really like 'warmed pineapple'. 

ham & swiss sliders

I know I've posted this recipe on my personal blog but thought it appropriate to post it here too for easier access. I served this at Kody's graduation "party" and when we had some friends over to watch the world cup {meh. don't care for soccer.} both times they were DELICIOUS! The second time I settled for general grocery store rolls, and prepackaged ham slices (i know, i know) but surprisingly they turned out pretty good.

ham & swiss sliders

{courtesy of ourrecipeclub.blogspot.com}
24 good white rolls {shirley's in utah has ooey gooey soft rolls thare yummy}
24 pieces good honey ham {first time I used a maple ham--still yummy}
24 small slices swiss cheese {personally I am a huge cheese fan so I don't skimp on the cheese. ever.}
1/3 mayo
1/3 cup miracle whip

{poppy seed sauce}
1 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds
1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. worschestershire sauce

in a small bowl, mix together mayo & miracle whip. spread into both sides of the center of each roll. place a slice of ham & a slice of swiss inside of each roll. close rolls & place into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. place very close together.

in a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. let sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly. cover with foil & bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes. serve warm.

** sandwiches can me assembled a day ahead & kept in the fridge ready to bake.

yummy simple tomato sauce

Apparently this recipe is all the rage on several foodie blogs. So I had to try it. It did not disappoint. If you are looking for a zesty marinara sauce this is not it, but if you want a simple, delicate, delicious tomato sauce...this is it!

28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)*
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

I did use the San Marzano tomatoes that were suggested in the recipe just to try them but they were expensive...4 bucks at my grocery store...I think next time I'll just use a can of Hunts and see if it makes that big of a difference. Even Quinn liked this and he does not take kindly to change when it comes to his spaghetti.

Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

This is my favorite recipe right now. Delicious. Easy. Low carb (well, except for the part where you pour it over rice...)

Adapted from the ever-handy mykitchencafe.blogspot.com:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 teaspoons curry powder (yellow)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t chili powder
1 medium red onion, cut julienne
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 14-oz can coconut milk (I use "light" when I care about calories)
1 T dried basil
1 t fresh grated/chopped ginger

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place in medium bowl. Stir together curry, salt, pepper and chili powder. Sprinkle over chicken, tossing to coat evenly. Cover and chill for 3o min to an hour.

In a large nonstick frying pan, stir onion, basil, and garlic in hot oil over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes until no longer pink.

Add coconut milk. Cook and stir until bubbly. Stir in ginger. Cook and stir another minute or so. Serve over hot rice.

Super Simple Chicken Tacos

I found this uber simple recipe in the REAL SIMPLE magazine. :0)

Purchase a Rotissiere Chicken and shred the chicken from the bones and skin.
Place shredded chicken in a frying/sauce pan and add about 2 cups of salsa. Heat through.
You can use soft shell (Kodison favorite) or hard shell (which I prefer).
Garnish the taco with slices of avocado, sour cream, cilantro, monterey jack cheese, and several squeezes of lime. Lime is the key and adds the perfect flavor so I prefer not to skimp on the lime. :0) Plus, who doesn't love the flavor of lime. Mmm...

easy chicken recipes

I've been trying to be frugal and only cook with stuff I have on hand so I've needed some easy chicken recipes since they have been having a killer chicken sale here at the local Harris Teeter (yes that is the name of the grocery store here in NC--welcome to the South!) Anyway, here are two I did last week courtesy of My Kitchen Cafe. Both were very easy and quite delicious.

Foil packet dinner with chicken
(This one was soooo easy and quick!)

Foil Packet Chicken with Snow Peas and Carrots
*Makes 4-6 foil packets, depending on how small you make each one*

18-24 baby carrots
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh gingerroot, peeled and grated (I grated mine on my microplane)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pressed through a garlic press
Salt and pepper
4 small chicken breasts ( about 1 ½ pounds), trimmed (with large, thick chicken breasts, I cut them in half by butterflying them and cutting all the way through to make two thinner cuts of chicken - this helps the chicken cook quicker and helps your chicken to go further)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut 4 pieces of aluminum foil (heavy duty) about 12 inches square (if you don't have heavy-duty aluminum foil, use two pieces of regular aluminum foil for each packet). In a small bowl, combine garlic and ginger (I used my fingers to gently mash them together).

Arrange the carrots and peas on the aluminum foil. Sprinkle with the ginger/garlic mixture (this doesn't sprinkle like salt and pepper so don't worry if you get a clump here and there - the flavors will absorb while baking), and salt and pepper to taste. Brush the chicken on both sides with the hoisin sauce. Top each portion of vegetables with a piece of chicken. Salt lightly.

Bring opposite sides of the foil up to meet over the chicken. Fold the edges together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over 3 more times. Fold the open edges at either end of the packet together in a ¼-inch fold, and then fold over twice again to seal.

Put the foil packets on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes. Transfer the contents of each packet to a dinner plate and serve.


Easy Chicken Tacos

Easy Chicken Tacos
Printable Version


If I had to do this one over I would do my tortillas a-la Uncle Jeff, white corn tortillas, butter, cheese in the middle, etc... The flour tortilla with this underwhelmed me but I thought the meat was extremely tasty.

*Serves 6

3 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (you can find these in the Mexican Foods aisle at most grocery stores)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Salt and pepper
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chipotle and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the orange juice, Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the chicken and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat for 12-13 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway through cooking. When the chicken is done cooking, transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

Increase the heat to medium-high and cook the mixture left in the skillet until the liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the yellow mustard. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to the skillet. Add the remaining cilantro to the skillet and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm with tortillas topped with lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream and avocado.

**To warm the tortillas, wrap them in foil and heat in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes.

Pot Roast

I made a most delicious pot roast today (if I do say so myself). Whenever I'm looking for a recipe I usually browse through several and then just take the parts that I like from all of them and make my own. I made this in the crockpot just because I think it is easier but you could make it in the oven as well. So here it goes.

1 3 pound beef chuck roast
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground pepper
3 T oil
3 carrots sliced thin
1 onion sliced
3 celery stalks sliced thin
4-5 garlic gloves
2 T flour
1 cup beef broth
1 package of onion soup mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup parsley

Rub roast with kosher salt and pepper. I also rubbed about a half a package of onion soup mix onto the roast. Heat pan with oil. When hot, sear the roast (all sides). Remove roast. In same pan, add onion, carrots, celery, and smashed or diced garlic. Salt and pepper as needed. Sautee for about 5-8 minutes. Add more oil if needed. Add 2 T of flour to coat veggies. Mix onion soup mix with water. Add mixture to vegetables. Add beef broth as well. Cook for a few minutes.

With a crockpot set to low, add seared roast. Pour veggie/liquid mixture over roast and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

The last hour, I threw in baby carrots and mushrooms because I had them. Delish.

The roast was so moist and tender. You could make a gravy with the liquid or just spoon over mashed potatoes by itself.

curry chicken

2 cloves of minced garlic
1 white onion
2 T sugar
1 can coconut milk
1/8 c (yellow) curry powder (more or less, depending on your taste for it)
4 large chicken breasts, cubed
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
cashews or peanuts (optional)

In a large saucepan, sautee garlic and onion in butter. Add coconut milk + 3/4 can of water, sugar, and curry powder. When sauce is blended, add potatoes and chicken. Cook for 20 min. or until potatoes are soft and chicken is cooked through. Add nuts for last 5 min or so.

Serve over rice.

Thank you Body for Life

This recipe is delicious and good for you. I make it at least once a week. A link to the recipe can be found here.

Tomato Chicken Fettuccine

This is a great crockpot recipe I gleaned from a friend:

3 chicken breasts (frozen works fine)
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 bunch green onions, chopped
oregano
basil
2 cloves garlic, minced

Cook in crockpot on low for 5-8 hours
During the last hour, combine and add:

1 pint whipping cream
3 eggs
1-2 c. Parmesan cheese

Serve over fettuccine noodles

Four Corners Chicken and Pasta

A BYU Skyroom Restaurant recipe and one we used in RS at last years VT conference.

Serves 4 (so will need to adjust proportions accordingly)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 oz. dry penne pasta
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 large tomato, diced
1 small bunch cilantro

Southwestern Pasta Sauce

5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 1/1 cup half and half cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 ounces processed Swiss cheese slices
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon canned chipotle peppers, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Grill chicken and slice into thin strips. Cook and drain pasta. Slowly cook onion in a little oil until onion is a rich brown.
Prepare the sauce: Melt butter; add flour. Stir until well combined. Add half and half, salt, and pepper. Stir with a whisk and continue cooking over medium low heat until sauce is thickened and bubbly. Add cheese and stir until blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add chipotle peppers (chipotle peppers are hot; add more or less to taste) and chopped cilantro.

Pour four cups of the pasta sauce into a heated saute pan. Add pasta and chicken; toss to coat.

After mixture is heated through, pour into a serving bowl. Garnish with chopped tomatoes, caramelized onions, and cilantro.

BBQ Ribs

This is a simple way to cook ribs. My fam likes them this way and some of them don't usually like ribs. These ribs are seasoned, boiled until tender, then baked with your favorite barbeque sauce. That's it. Soooo simple.

Serves 4 (you'll have to double recipe if serving more people)

2 1/2 pounds country style pork ribs ( I like baby back)
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup barbeque sauce

Place ribs in a large pot with enough water to cover. Season with garlic powder, black pepper and salt (and onion wedges, if you like. Sometimes I use 1/2 cup soy sauce, too). Bring water to a boil, and cook ribs until tender (about 45 min). Turn off heat, cover pan and let ribs marinate in the broth for several hours (about 4-5 hours). But you don't have to let them marinate if you are in a hurry, just will have more flavor if they sit.

Preheat oven to 325. Remove ribs from pot, and place them in a 9 x 13 dish. Pour barbeque sauce over ribs. Cover dish with aluminum foil, and bake in the oven for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Note: I usually put more BBQ sauce on the tops about 20 minutes before I take them out of the oven. These ribs come out incredibly tender and falling off the bone, but still with some tug.

Cheesy Chicken Rolls

Ingredients:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (4)
Mushrooms (6 or 7 large)
Green onion (4)
Sour cream (approx 1 1/2 Cup)
Mozarella Cheese (approx 3/4 cup)



Directions:

Place chicken breast between two pieces of saran wrap. Pound flat (approx 1"). Set aside. Cut up mushrooms and green onion. Combine all ingredients into a bowl


Place a spoonful of mixture in the middle of chicken. Roll and place seam side down onto a 9x12 baking dish. Once all chicken has been placed put remaining mixture on top

Bake at 350 degrees for between 1 hour and 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Moroccan-style Brisket

A while back I posted this on my blog. I have since made it several times and it is always a huge hit that I thought it needed to become a permanent resident of the Arnett cooking blog. I promise you your house will smell so divine with this simmering away in the crockpot. Please don't be scared of the recipe it really is so easy and so good!

Moroccan Brisket
recipe: Robin Miller but adapted by Devry

1 large red onion, sliced into thin wedges
2 parsnips, chopped
2 pound boneless beef brisket
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch nutmeg
1 cup whole dried apricots
2/3 cup grape juice
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Arrange onion wedges and parsnips in bottom of slow cooker. Season beef all over with salt and black pepper. In a small bowl, combine coriander, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, and nutmeg. Rub spice mixture all over beef. Arrange beef (fat side up) over onions and parsnips in slow cooker. Arrange apricots around beef (I find that adding the apricots in just for the last couple of hours is best, if you put them in right at the beginning then they get too mushy).

In a small bowl, whisk together juice, vinegar, broth and honey. Pour mixture over beef and vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.

Cook couscous according to package directions. Serve beef, vegetables and apricots over couscous. Pour over extra sauce from slow cooker and top with cilantro.

Honey-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry

Honey-Glazed Chicken Stir-Fry

Start to Finish: 25 Min. Makes: 4 Servings

• 12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves or thighs
• 2 T honey
• 2 T vinegar
• 2 T Orange Juice
• 4 t soy sauce
• 1 1/2 t Corn Starch
• 2 T cooking oil
• 4 C cut up veggies (ie. broccoli, sweet pepper, onion, and or/ mushrooms)
• 2 C Hot cooked rice

1. Cut chicken into bite sized strips, set aside. For sauce, in a small bowl stir together honey, vinegar, OJ, Soy, and corn starch, set aside.
2. Pour oil into wok or large skillet. Heat over med. heat. Add veggies to wok; cook and stir for 3-4 min. or until veggies are crisp-tender. Remove veggies from wok. Add chicken, cook and stir for 3-4 min or until chicken is no longer pink. Push chicken from the center of the wok. Stir sauce, add to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
3. Return veggies and stir about 1 min. or until heated. Serve over rice!!

That is it! So simply and yummy. Okay just in case you don't use the same abbreviations.

T = Table spoons

t = teaspoons

C = cups

OJ = orange juice

Try it and let me know how you like it. Feel free to share easy recipe's with me too. Just so you know I don't eat pork, lamb, sausage, veil, ferret, pigeon, etc. I stick with Chicken and beef.