Chopsticks Optional

For dinner Thursday night we made one of my favorites...Chicken Stir Fry! I don't really have a "recipe" per say since it is not being made from scratch, but it sure is tasty. It is a great way to get in tons of veggies, is an overall healthly meal, and is really quick to prepare. So here is how we make our version of stir fry and a picture for your viewing (and drooling) pleasure.


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts chopped into 1 inch pieces (about 2/3 to 1 pound)
2 bags Birds Eye Steamfresh Asian Vegetable Medley, prepared as directed on package
1/3 bottle House of Tsang Classic Stir Fry Sauce



Spray a wok or other similarly large pan with cooking spray and cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through. Pour in prepared veggies and stir fry sauce. Stir and heat through. Serve over brown rice.

The Wonders of Wonton Wrappers

Friday I decided to finally embark on the new adventure I had been wanting to try so badly...cooking with wonton wrappers. I whipped out my wonton wrappers, had my wonderful husband chop up some baby spinach, and away we went in the name of ravioli creation. This ravioli was quite tasty and really easy to make. Once stuffed they took only 3 minutes to boil and be ready for delicious consumption. We tried 3 different variations on ravioli with these wrappers...your traditional ravioli with filling in the center and a top and bottom sheet of pasta, your purse shaped ravioli using one sheet of pasta, and then your tortellini/wonton shape ravioli, also using just one sheet. We found that the tortellini shape worked best. These are a great way to get in your veggies and the filling makes enough for two hefty batches...we froze half for another time. Enjoy!

Three Cheese Ravioli with Chicken and Spinach

1 cup shredded chicken (I boiled one breast in chicken broth and 5 chopped fresh garlic cloves the night before)
3 cups baby spinach, finely chopped
2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tsp parsley flakes or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 package wonton wrappers

Combine the first nine ingredients in a bowl for the filling. Lay wonton wrappers out on a dry surface. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of the filling in the center of each wonton skin. Using your fingers or a brush, moisten the edges of the wonton wrapper with water. Place another wonton wrapper on top and press the edges all around to seal, pushing the air out around the filling as you go. Repeat to make desired number of ravioli. Working in batches, place ravioli in a pot of boiling, salted water and boil for about 2 min. Remove and drain off excess water. Be careful not to overcook these as they cook very quickly. Serve the ravioli with your favorite marinara sauce (we used Newman's Own Vodka Sauce).


Source: Sweet Savory Southern

Quiche is the word...

Last week we had some ham and some eggs that we needed to use up so I thought what better way to accomplish that than with a quiche. Normally I make a cheese and bacon quiche but saw no reason why I couldn't substitue some ham for the bacon. It turned out great and provided a couple of dinners for us. I didn't take a picture...if you've seen one quiche you've seen them all. Here is the recipe I use:

1 9 inch deep dish pie crust
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I substituted 1-1.5 cups chopped ham this time)
1/2 cup diced onion (raw is fine--I prefer to sautee until soft in a little cooking spray or butter)
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups half & half (I used fat free...you could also use evaporated milk)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (recipe calls for Swiss but I use whatever I have on hand, generally cheddar or a colby and monterey jack blend...always 2% cheese)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix together eggs, half & half and salt. Stir in the bacon or ham and onion. Mix in the cheese and flour. Place pie shell on a baking sheet and pour in the mixture. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Mexican Lasagna...Yumo!

Tonight I made Mexican Lasagna for the second time. We love it and it has turned out great both times that I've made it. It is pretty healthy and doesn't mess up too many dishes, so clean up is pretty quick. If there are only two of you, there will be plenty left over. It rewarms well on the second day. The recipe is from Rachael Ray and I've shown the changes/choices I've made in pink.

Mexican Lasagna

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground chicken breast, available in the packaged meats case (I used 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey breast and I think this is plenty)
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 red onion, chopped (I used a regular sweet onion)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed or fire roasted tomatoes (I used the tomatoes)
1 cup frozen corn kernels (I like more around a cup and a half and I use the fire roasted kernals from Trader Joe's)
Salt (I omitted...trying to watch the sodium)
8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, available on dairy aisle of market
2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack (I use 2% cheese)
2 scallions, finely chopped (I omitted as I'm not a fan)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil - twice around the pan. Add chicken and season with chili powder, cumin, and red onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.
Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining extra-virgin olive oil, about 1 tablespoon oil. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with the scallions and serve.

Source: Rachael Ray from foodnetwork.com

Beans, Beans good for the heart....

I love black beans. I never had them until our Cuban friend cooked us black beans and rice one night when I was in my early 20s. I loved his black beans and rice and would always beg him to make them when we had potluck dinners. Sadly, he has moved north and is not around for me to get my fix. So I've learned to make a version pretty close to his through trial and error and we either eat them on just plain brown rice or we turn them into black bean and rice burritos. We had planned to cook this meal on Friday night but some friends called and wanted to go out so we postponed this until tonight. We love to do this meal not only because it is very tasty, but also because it is quick. I can easily have dinner on the table in 30 minutes and it is pretty healthy. If I'm doing burritos, I season the brown rice with some Old El Paso Cheesy taco seasoning. The amount I use depends on the amount of rice I'm cooking...about a half package works well for the amount that results from 2 cups of uncooked rice. Mix it in after the rice is done.

Black Beans

1 can La Costena whole black beans (these are a personal preference...you can use any brand)

1 can Bush's Seasoned recipe black beans (again, personal preference)

1/4 medium green pepper, diced

1/4 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon of cumin (I just eyeball it so this is a guess)

2-4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped or pressed (depends on how much garlic you like...I always press it using one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, my Pampered Chef Garlic Press)

1-2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sautee onion and pepper in olive oil until soft, generally 5-8 minutes or so. You can just do this in your saucepan. Dump your two cans of black beans into the pot, partially draining them first (you don't want to completely drain or your black beans will be dry). Press your garlic into the pot, toss in your cumin and stir (you could sautee the garlic with the pepper and onion if you prefer the chopping route). Add a little extra olive oil if you feel it needs to be saucier. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the flavors have melded, it is heated through, and the sauciness has reduced down a bit.

If doing burritos, we always put slices of Cabot's 50% light pepperjack down the middle of either a wheat or a spinach tortilla and microwave this for 30 seconds to melt the cheese and heat the tortilla. Then we put some rice and beans on the tortilla and dress it up with some low fat or fat free sour cream and some lettuce. So yummy!

After dinner, my husband reminded me that I needed to make a loaf of banana bread for his coworker. We had done loaves for his team and a few others at his office for Christmas, but one coworker isn't in the office much due to the nature of his job, so we couldn't do his bread when we did the others. He will be back in the office tomorrow, so late Christmas baking ensued. I love this recipe because it is quick to put together but always turns out perfectly.

Janet's Rich Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 medium bananas, sliced (I mash mine instead)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until smooth. Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: Allrecipes.com

New Year's Recipes

Here are the two recipes I mentioned in my post yesterday regarding our New Year's meal:

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
2 cups uncooked elbow mac (7 oz)
1/4 c butter
1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups milk
2 c shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (8 oz)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Cook & drain mac as directed on package
3. Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard, & Worc sauce. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth & bubly. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil & stir 1 minute, remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted.
4. Gently stir mac into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole dish.
5. Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

Source: Beth Anne's blog...thanks Beth Anne!


Angus Barn Sour Cream Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x4 inch loaf pan or any other 6 cup loaf pan; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter, and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated before adding the next. Sift together cake flour and baking powder, the add, a little at a time, to the sugar and butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Add vanilla and beat to combine thoroughly. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a tester inserted into center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto a greased wire rack. Makes 12 servings.

Per serving: 250 calories, 11 grams fat, 79 milligrams cholesterol, 25 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, 120 milligrams sodium

Note: I always use low fat sour cream and it works great. You could also lighten it by using egg substitute.

Source: The Angus Barn as printed in the News & Observer's Specialty of the House column on May 15, 2002.

Happy New Year!

New Year's is always a nice time...time to make resolutions and try to transform your life. Sometimes the resolutions stick...more often they don't. It is also a time for a good, traditional Southern meal. I grew up having the traditional meal on New Year's Day and now when we are in town for New Years, I always cook up the usual New Year's menu, with a little help from my "friends". This year I got a ham from Honeybaked and collards and biscuits from a local restaurant that specializes in Southern cooking. This is the only time of year I really eat collards, so I've never learned how to cook them. Therefore I outsource. Also, I'd normally do cornbread but I had a New Year's hankering for a biscuit. I did however do my own black eye peas, green beans, and macaroni and cheese. You must eat foods that swell so you can swell your fortune for the year and greens, like collards, are to be eaten so you will be prosperous. I served it with fresh strawberries and whipped cream on homemade poundcake. It was yummy and really hit the spot. I got my macaroni and cheese recipe from Beth Anne, who has some other great recipes in her blog, The Domestic Diva. The key to it is definitely real cheese...I found that using the pre-shredded 2% cheese gave it a kind of grainy consistency. Skim milk works OK but I generally use low fat half and half. The pound cake recipe is from a famous local restaurant, The Angus Barn. I winged the rest!

So we've started the new year with some not so healthy food but hey, who really starts their resolutions on January 1st anyway!

It has begun

It's happened. I've been sucked in. I've enjoyed reading so many other people's blogs that I've decided to start one of my own. My blog will primarily be devoted to food and fashion...hence the name Style and Sustenance. They are two of my greatest loves. Welcome to Style and Sustenance! Let the games begin!