Ma Whats For Dinner?» bacon

CSA Special – Pasta with turkey bacon, peas, and dandelion greens

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:00:25 +0000

I was so excited to see dandelion greens in our Stone Gardens Farm CSA box this week.

I love to pair them up with a pasta.

Then my aunt mentioned her quick go to pasta was with turkey bacon and peas….

Hmmm, sounds like a match made in heaven!

This is a delicious and quick dish that’s good for you and tastes great!

The boys loved the sweetness of the peas and I love the smoky turkey bacon and whole wheat pasta.

Make a big batch and keep it in the fridge…

Makes a great quick lunch with a salad!

Super easy…

Super quick…

Super delicious!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 box whole wheat pasta (I like fusilli)

1 t extra virgin olive oil

4 slices organic turkey bacon (We use Applewood Farms)

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup english peas (you could use frozen, I had fresh on hand)

1 bunch dandelion greens

S&P

1 cup of pasta water (if necessary)

parmesan cheese

WHAT TO DO:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Add your pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions. When you have about 2 minutes left to cook grab a cup of the cooking water and set aside.

While the pasta cooks, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add in your olive oil and then toss in your bacon. Cook til crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Toss in your garlic and let cook for another minute. Add in peas and dandelion greens, and season with S&P. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes and then add in your pasta water.

Drain your pasta and toss in the sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve.

YUM!!!

Kids Fun Food Week – Chicken Surprise Bundles

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:00:03 +0000

I say it all the time…

The easiest way to get a kid to eat,

Is to involve them in the process.

These little bad boys are so much fun to make…

And even better to eat.

Check out our Chicken Surprise Bundles…

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 tube Pillsbury refrigerated dough

1 cup grilled chicken, diced

1 cup shredded swiss, cheddar or mozzarella cheese

8 sliced cooked chopped bacon

1 cup baby spinach

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Spread out your dough on a cutting board.

Cut it into 8 equal squares

Place the rest of your ingredients in an assembly line and call the kids into help.

Let them decide what goes into the center of each of their bundles.

Keegan built his with bacon and cheese and chicken.

Brady and Cooper loaded up on the spinach.

You can get creative and add whatever you think your kids will like!

Next wrap up your bundles.

Take each corner and pull it up towards the center.

Pinch together at the top and place on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes.

Serve with a side salad or soup or veggie sticks. Make a bunch, these bundles go fast!

Bow ties with spring veggies and bacon

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:00:47 +0000

Happy Spring!

Though it’s snowing here today.

Anyway, this will make you feel like spring…

A delicious and quick pasta that the kids will adore!

Mom and Dad too!

Feel free to add grilled chicken or shrimp to make it a heartier dish.

Bow ties with spring veggies & pancetta

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 box bow tie pasta

4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped

1 1/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces

1 scallions, thinly sliced

8 ounces crimini mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 T extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 T lemon zest

1/4 cup italian parsley, chopped

1/4 cup basil, torn

WHAT TO DO:

Heat a large pasta pot over high heat. When boiling add salt and cook pasta until al dente. Drain, but reserve 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Return pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Set aside.

Pour off all but 1 teaspoon drippings from skillet. Add mushrooms to the drippings. Cook for 3 minutes. Add asparagus, scallions, and garlic to the mushrooms in skillet and cook for 3 more minutes minutes. Remove from heat.

Add veggies, 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid, 1/2 cup Parmesan, cream, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, basil, and S&P to pasta.

Mix well. Add more pasta water if necessary. Sprinkle with bacon and more cheese if desired.

Tasty Tidbit – Kids not asparagus fans? Try this dish with frozen peas!

Clam & Corn Chowdah Soup Week

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:00:47 +0000

It’s Soup Week here at Ma, What’s For Dinner.

It’s a cool cloudy day around here.

We’re expecting a boat load of rain this weekend.

This yummy soup will hit the spot!

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 T butter

1 T Olive Oil

4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 T fresh thyme

S&P

2 T flour

2 cups half-and-half

2 cups chicken stock

1 bag diced potato (near the hash browns in the meat section)

2 cans whole clams and their juice

1 10 oz bag frozen corn

WHAT TO DO:

In a medium pot over medium high heat sauté bacon with 1 T olive oil. When just crispy add in butter and onions, celery and thyme. Season with S&P and cook 5-7 minutes. Add flour and cook for two more minutes.

Add half-and-half and stock and bring to a bubble, then stir in potatoes and clams. Season again with S&P. Bring soup back to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and soup has thickened up nicely. Stir in frozen corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 11:00:43 +0000

Surfing around bloggie land a couple weeks back and I happened upon a chicken noodle casserole dish on my girl Anne’s Annie Bakes. It looked so good I knew I had to grab the boys and throw together a version.

If you’ve been following along then you all know how I have recipe OCD so we switched things up a bit, but Anne is the inspiration behind this one…

Thanks Anne!

WHAT YOU NEED:

1/2 T olive oil

1 onion diced

1/2 pound cubed bacon slab

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 cups water

2 cubes beef bouillon

1/2 cup white wine

1 spring thyme

1 package cooked ziti

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup dry sherry

S&P
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 T melted butter

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray 2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan heat olive oil and bacon until bacon is crispy. Add in onions and cook for about 7-9 minutes, until onions are soft. Set aside to cool while your chicken cooks.

Place chicken, water, wine, thyme and bouillon cubes in large saucepan over medium high heat.

Cook 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Drain liquid and discard; cut chicken into cubes.

Combine cooked ziti and chicken in prepared casserole dish.

Combine soup, sour cream, Asiago cheese, mayonnaise, sherry, onion, bacon, and S&P in medium bowl: mix well.

Pour over pasta and chicken; toss lightly.

Toss Panko, Parmesan cheese and butter in small bowl. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake 30 to 45 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Serve with crusty bread and a big ol’ salad and everyone is happy!

Superbowl Countdown – Fitzpatrick Irish Nachos

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:00:34 +0000

How do you make nachos Fitz style?

With potatoes of course!

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried

1/2 T olive oil

S&P

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 lb bacon bits, cooked and drained on paper towels

scallions, chopped

jalapenos, sliced (optional)

sour cream

I like to think of this as a healthier version of potato skins, since you bake them and not fry them, but round these parts we just like to call them good! Here’s how you make Fitzpatrick Irish Nachos….

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Slice your potatoes into either round disks or long planks depending on what your favorite shape is. Just make sure the slices are about 1/4-1/2 an inch thick.

Put the slices on a sheet pan and douse with olive oil, and S&P. Mix with your hands to coat well.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese.

Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Top with bacon, scallions, jalapenos, and sour cream.

Enjoy at kick off!

These are soooo easy and sooo good!

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:00:26 +0000

Enjoy this little blast from the past…I had to repost it since I can sum it up in one word…Yummy!!!

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes

For the meatloaf:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground veal

1/2 lb ground pork

2 T water

1 egg, bean

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ c bread crumbs

2 T Worcestershire sauce

¾ c chili sauce (you can use ketchup too)

½ c onions, finely chopped

½ c mushrooms, finely chopped

8 strips cooked bacon roughly chopped

6 oz cubed sharp cheddar cheese

½ c canned fried onion strips

S&P

for the topping:

1/4 cup ketcup

2 T mustard

1 T mayonnaise

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Place all the ingredients for the meatloaf in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix the ingredients gently until well combined being sure not to overhandle it, you don’t want to end up with tough meatloaf!

Place the meat into a baking dish and shape into a loaf. Some people place the meatloaf on top of sliced bread to catch all the grease but I look at that as a waste of bread! I mean that’s a sandwich or two for the kids right?

In a small bowl mix the ketchup, mustard and mayo. Spoon it out on top of the meatloaf. This will create a yummy crust on top, and you like this on your bacon cheeseburger right?

Bake at 375 for an hour and 10 minutes then allow to rest on the counter for 10 minutes before serving.

Bacon, Potato, and Onion Torte

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:00:59 +0000

Melissa d’Arabian makes a version of this a feel good fill your belly dinner…I added a few things to her recipe, you all know about my recipe OCD and it turned out pretty lip smacking! Give it a try. The kids will love it!

By Melissa d’Arabian with some Fitz tweaks by me

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 45 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes

6 strips bacon

1 medium onion, chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 cup heavy cream

2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows

3 medium baking potatoes, peeled

S&P

1 cup grated Gruyere cheese

1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch. Saute chopped onion in reserved bacon drippings over medium low heat until soft, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and some of your cheese and crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with a layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices.

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes. Serve with a side salad.

Pie Crust:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Corn glorious corn!

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:37:43 +0000

Oh it’s that time of year!

The corn is absolutely amazing!

We’ve been eating a ton of it.

We’ve grilled it…

We’ve steamed it…

We’ve sauteed it…

Ok, can’t find my sauteed corn pic but just go with me…we have…

And now we’re making some chowder….or chowdah depending on who you’re talking to.

The kids love it, the hubs loves it, I love it…the whole neighborhood loves it. It’s sweet, easy, and chock full of good for you veggies. And it warms the belly and makes it feel like fall. We serve it up with some crusty garlic bread and a nice salad. Gotta make the most of this glorious corn season!

Ma’s Glorious Corn Chowder

1/2 pound thick cut bacon
2 cups diced sweet onion
2 large carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced
1 large russet potato diced
S&P
dash of hot sauce
1/4 cup wine
4 cups chicken stock
2 fresh thyme sprigs
3 cups corn about 6 ears, kernels removed
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Cook bacon in a wide heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Set aside. Add onion, carrots and celery to bacon fat and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with S&P.

When the veggies are cooked toss in your white wine and scrape up all that good stuff stuck to the bottom of your pan. Then toss in your potatoes, stock, thyme and hot sauce and let it simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Next add in your corn and cream and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes. Season with more S&P. Stir in your bacon and serve!

What’s your favorite corn recipe?

Chicken Divine

Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:19:16 +0000

Yes yes yes, I know that most people call this one chicken divan but this casserole is just so darn good that you just have to call it divine. I love casseroles. I love the fact that you can make them in advance, I love that you can throw anything leftover in the fridge into them, I love that dinner is ready by the time you get home from soccer practice!

I love that the weather has been cooler the last few days here in the northeast. It’s going to be our first fall here and that is my favorite time of year. It’s almost here and the kids are starting school next week. This is great recipe for your arsenal when you need to get dinner on the table fast and homework done.

Serves: 8 Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 40 minutes

10 ounces steamed broccoli

3 large boneless chicken breasts

1 T olive oil

1 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

8 ounces buttom mushrooms, halved

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 t. fresh lemon juice

1/2 t. curry powder

1 can sliced water chestnuts

S&P

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup french fried onions

4 strips bacon chopped

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Season your chicken breasts with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add your chopped bacon and saute until crisp. Remove and allow to drain on a paper towel.

While your chicken cooks, assemble your casserole. In a 13×9 pan arrange your broccoli on the bottom. In a large bowl combine soup, milk, mayo, sour cream, mushrooms, lemon juice, curry powder, water chestnuts. Stir to mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Once your chicken has finished cooking remove it from the oven and slice it into thin strips. Arrange the chicken over the broccoli. Pour the soup mixture over the top of the chicken and broccoli. Top with cheddar cheese and fried onions. Cover with foil and bake on 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with bacon and cook uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. Serve with brown or white rice and enjoy!