Momo Burns' Salad

Pardon my blogging hiatus, aside from starting a new job with an AMAZING company full of awesome people and partying for a week straight in February while the Super Bowl was in town, my family had a minor set back and I really haven't been in the kitchen for months.  Thank goodness Indy is full of great restaurants and I have an amazing cook for a boyfriend!

Starting about a month ago, my Father had a crazy case of high blood sugar that not only got him a fancy ride on a helicopter, but also landed him in a medically induced coma in the ICU for 8 days, followed by another week of recovery in the hospital. He's made a good recovery, but it was sure scary to watch. Luckily we have large and loyal family who was there every step of the way making sure he was getting the best care possible.  We also have a very loyal extended family of Cousins and an Aunt who drove many hours just to get my Mom and I out of the hospital for a relaxing lunch.  To top it off, we have many great family friends who took good care of my Mom (and I while when I was in town.) 

One of the families (who is made up of awesome cooks!) invited Mom and I over to dinner one of the weekends I was home to spend with Dad at the hospital.  The Burns family has been like a second family to me since I was a kid.  I've spent countless hours on road trips with various members of the family, and they are good people! "Momo" Burns, as she is known to her adoring grand kids, has a knack with making healthy food taste so good, you crave it.  Mom and I had a wonderful dinner with the Burns family and were able to relax and get our mind off of the hospital while eating Momo Burns' delicious meal.  She served a salad that I've now made 3 times since having it.  It is THAT good. It is super easy to throw together, and gets better after sitting in the fridge. (Assuming you don't stand at the counter and eat it with a spoon straight out of the mixing bowl) You can also add or remove any ingredient you like. I would normally add nuts and cranberries, but didn't have any on hand.)

Without further ado, I introduce you to Momo Burns' Salad...

Momo Burns' Salad

4 vine ripened tomatoes (seeded & chopped)

1 large cucumber (seeded & chopped)

1/2 of a medium red onion (thinly sliced & chopped)

1 can chickpeas (drained & rinsed)

1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles

1/3 cup bacon crumbles

2 Tbs. chopped walnuts (not shown)

2 Tbs. dried cranberries (not shown)

Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette Dressing  http://www.briannassaladdressing.com/flavors/french-vinaigrette.html

Mix together in a large bowl and enjoy!  

Friday Night Dinner

Tonight I made two more recipes I had ear marked in Cooking Light.  Blake liked them both, they were right up his alley.  I thought they were both okay.  I'm pretty picky about mashed potatoes, and really only like them with noodles, so I'm biased.  The meat with sauce was good, but very rich.  So if you like rich sauces, meats and potatoes, this recipe is for you! Not to mention it is actually pretty low-cal and low-fat for such a filling dish.

Beef with Rosemary Mushroom Sauce

1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 cup dry red wine
1 pound boneless top sirloin steak (about 3/4 inch thick)
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10 1/2-ounce) can beef consommé
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce

Combine the presliced mushrooms, wine, and steak in a large zip-top plastic bag, and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Remove the steak from bag, reserving marinade. Place a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add steak; cook for 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness, turning after 3 minutes. Remove from pan.

Combine the onions, 2 tablespoons parsley, rosemary, and remaining ingredients. Add onion mixture and reserved marinade to pan. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 2 cups (about 15 minutes), stirring frequently.

Cut the beef diagonally across grain into thin slices. Place beef on a serving platter. Spoon the mushroom sauce over beef. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons parsley.

Rosemary-Roasted Mashed Potatoes

8 cups baking potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
 Cooking spray
3/4 cup hot water
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (8-ounce) container low-fat sour cream

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray; toss well to coat. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until tender.

Combine water and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; add potato mixture. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Serve immediately.

One last week...

I received some wonderful news last week, I was offered a new job by a company with an outstanding reputation as a great place to work.  I'm thrilled to be starting my new adventure on Monday, so I'm trying to make the most of my last few days of my 5 month vacation. 
Since it is the start of the new year, and everyone is on a health kick, I picked a few recipes from Cooking Light to try out.  This one was great, and a very quick dinner to put together because it called for pre-cooked chicken.  I think the next time I make it I'll add some mushrooms, asparagus, or maybe a can of diced tomatoes.  Don't get me wrong, it is delicious just the way the recipe goes, but it would be easy to add extra veggies and make it even more filling and nutritious.

The only major change I made was using 10 oz. of fresh spinach instead of the frozen spinach the recipe called for.  I've never been a huge fan of frozen spinach, but if you like it, by all means.  Otherwise, just add the fresh spinach and let it cook down. 

Spicy Chicken Pasta

1 (9-ounce) package angel hair pasta

Cooking spray

1 cup vertically sliced onion

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1 teaspoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 (6-ounce) package chicken breast cuts (pre-cooked)

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 tablespoon grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

While pasta cooks, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Add basil, garlic, and crushed red pepper; sauté 1 minute. Combine half-and-half, sour cream, and flour, stirring with a whisk. Add reserved pasta cooking liquid and half-and-half mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Stir in salt, black pepper, chicken, and spinach; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, and cook 1 for minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.

What out Chipotle!

Who doesn't love a ginormous burrito, or a bowl full of burrito filling?  If you are a fan of Chipotle - then you will LOVE this recipe.  I gotta say it is just as good, if not better than the real thing.  If you've never had Chipotle, then make this and let me know what you think.

I like the burrito bowl, which is basically a naked burrito.  Feel free to make actual burritos with these fillings if you prefer. 

First I shall introduce you to the main characters...

Cilantro Lime Rice

Black Beans

Barbacoa (yummy beef!)

Supporting Roles...

Cilantro Lime Rice

Basmati Rice (or any you like)

1 lime

cilantro (as much or little as you like)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp olive oil

Add olive oil to sauce pan, add rice, salt and the juice of one lime.  Add water as directed depending on what your rice calls for.  After cooking, fluff the rice and add the cilantro.

Black Beans

1 can of black beans

Open can, put beans in bowl, cover bowl, microwave for a few minutes.  : )

Barbacoa

5 lb chuck roast

8 cloves garlic, minced (I used a food processor)

1/4 cup ancho chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp black pepper

3 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

Place roast in crock pot, mix all other ingedients together and the pore over the meat.  Cook on high for 6 hours.

Now, layer up all the goodies and toppings you'd like in a bowl and Voila!

Muffins for your Pumpkin

I've become obsessed with the website www.pinterest.com.  Don't click it, it will suck you in and consume a lot of your time!  I came across a recipe for a cake that only takes 2 ingredients, both of which I happened to have on hand, so of course I had to try it!

I decided to make mini muffins with glaze, instead of a cake or cupcakes.  They came out great and were so yummy!

Pumpkin Mini-Muffins with Maple Glaze

Muffins

1 box yellow cakes mix

1 can pumpkin

Bake as directed on cake box.

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

4 TBS maple syrup

4 TBS milk

Stuff it!

I'm not a fan of raw peppers, but I really like them cooked.  I had basically everything to make these on hand, and they were pretty good.  Very easy to assemble ahead of time and bake just before dinner. 

Stuffed Green Peppers

2 medium green bell peppers

1/2 pound ground bee

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, divided

1/4 cup uncooked instant rice (I used brown rice)

3 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1 tablespoon chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 egg, beaten

Cut tops off peppers and discard; remove seeds. Blanch peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside. In a bowl, combine beef, 1/4 cup of tomato sauce, rice, 2 tablespoons of cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and egg; mix well. Stuff the peppers; place in an ungreased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 45-60 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and peppers are tender. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; return to the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.               

Kickin' It up Cajun Style

If you live in Indianapolis, I'm sure you've at least heard of Yats, and if you haven't ever been there, you should go.  Right now.  This post can wait.  Go ahead...

Ok, so now that you are back, I will share with you the recipe for their delicious Chili Cheese Etouffe... the owner was awesome and shared it once in Indianapolis Monthly magazine, and it is pretty darn close to the kind you have at his restaurant.  Don't let the massive list of ingredients scare you away, you have most of them on hand, I promise...

Yats Chili Cheese Etouffee

1 stick butter

½ cup flour

1 cup chopped green onions

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced bell peppers

1 cup diced onions

2 tsp minced garlic

1 can Rotel Original diced tomatoes

½ tsp dried thyme

1 Tbs tomato paste

1 tsp dried basil

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp white pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups shredded aged cheddar

8 oz. half and half or heavy cream

1 tsp. chili powder

Pinch ground coriander

Pinch ground cumin

Pinch ground cloves

Dash Leas and Perrins Worcestershire sauce

Dash Tabasco sauce

1 lb cooked crawfish, shrimp and/or chicken (I used chicken)

Cooked white rice

Make a roux by heating the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat then blending in the flour, consistently stirring and scraping the bottom of the skillet. Cook until the roux is golden color.

Add the green onions, celery, bell peppers, onions, garlic and tomatoes and cook until the onions have browned.

Add the thyme, tomato paste, basil and peppers (black, white, and cayenne).

Add the stock, bring to a boil and simmer until the mixture becomes thick

.

Add the cheese, half and half, chili powder, coriander, cumin, cloves, Lea and Perrins and Tabasco and stir until the cheese and half and half are blended in well.

Gently stir in the crawfish, shrimp and/or chicken and serve with white rice.