Ma What's For Dinner?

This is a take off on a salad that I once saw Rachael Ray make and thought, that is the strangest looking salad I’ve ever heard of, but I made hers and loved it!  I ate it every day for a month.  Then I started to give it a bit of a makeover and ended up with this little delight.  My kids eat around the mushrooms but gobble up the rest of it…

1 bunch washed baby arugula

8 oz package of baby bella mushrooms sliced

3 stalks celery sliced thin

10 basil leaves julienned

handful of italian parsley chopped

parmesan cheese

1 lemon

1 T olive oil

S&P

In a large bowl toss in your arugula, mushrooms, celery, basil, and parsley.  Grate long slices of parmesan cheese on top.  Sprinkle with S&P.  Squeeze the juice of one half of your lemon on top of your salad.  Toss gently.  Season again with S&P if necessary.  Sprinkle with olive oil and toss again.  Serve it up with some crusty bread or alongside your dinner.  SOOOOO GOOD!!!

*Disclaimer I put ranch dressing on the boys version of this.  They just love their ranch!  But if they’re eating salad, who cares?  A lot of you out there have said that you can’t get your kids to eat salad.  My youngest two boys have always loved salad, Keegan, the oldest, not so much.  You know how I got him to eat it????  It’s so easy!!!  You’re not going to believe it!!!  CROUTONS!!!  That’s all it took, croutons!!!  Now the kid eats salad?!?  Go figure.

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What do you do when you have a bunch of stuff clogging up your fridge and freezer drawers?  Toss them in a pot, stir ‘em up and cover them with some straight from the freezer pastry dough!  My Ma used to make stew, I make a creamy version then cover it and bake it till it bubbly good and the hubs and kids are in hog heaven.  Give this one a try.

1 thawed sheet of pastry dough

3 large chicken breasts

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 T butter

4 cups chicken stock

2 yellow onions, chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup medium-diced carrots

1 10 oz package frozen peas

1 10 oz package frozen corn

1 zucchini, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

S&P

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with 1 T olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Cut the chicken into large dice.  Turn up the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and remaining oil and saute the onions over medium low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Toss in carrots, zucchini, and celery and  cook for two more minutes.  Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add S&P and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, peas and corn. Mix well.  Pour into a 13×9 baking dish.  Cover with pastry dough.  Cut a few slits into the dough to allow steam to escape.  I like to sprinkle the top with a bit of fleur de sel (or any other course salt) but you can use whatever you like.  Bake at 375 for 1 hour.  Serve with a side salad.  I dare you not to lick the plate!

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Serves: a big ol’ crowd Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time:  1 hour 25 minutes

3 lbs ground beef

2 medium onions, chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

2 beef bouillion cubes

1 cup hot beef broth

2 (28 oz) cans baked beans with molasses

1 1/2 cups ketchup

1/4 cup prepared mustard

3 garlic cloves minced

S&P

1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 scallions diced

In a dutch oven over medium high heat cook your beef until browned.  Add in your onions and celery and cook until tender.  Drain off excess fat.  Dissolve your bouillon in warmed beef stock and add to meat mixture.  Stir in beans, ketchup, mustard, garlic, and S&P.  Mix well.  

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 60-70 minutes.  Stir and top with bacon and scallions.  Serve alongside corn bread and honey butter.  Mmmm good.

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Big shout out to my girl, Shell over at Things I Can\’t Say !  She blogged about how much her kids liked this dish and it sounded so amazing I had to make it immediately.  Let’s just say we were ALL licking the plates clean.

Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Serves: 4  Prep Time:  5 minutes  Cook time:  20 minutes

1 pound penne

2 t salt

1 ½ t pepper

1 T  garlic powder

1 T Cajun seasoning

1 pound chicken, diced

2 T oil

3 T hot sauce, Frank’s or Tobasco, divided

1 cup mayo

1/2 cup ranch dressing

¾ cup milk

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped scallions

shredded mozzerella

chopped blue cheese

Put on a pot of water to boil and when it does toss in some salt to season it and add in your pasta and cook until al dente.

Season chicken with the spices. You can pour it all into a ziploc bag to shake it all up. Heat oil over med-high heat and cook chicken until it’s cooked, about 5 minutes or so.  Next add 2 T hot sauce and cook for an additional minute or so.  This part always makes me cough, but I use A LOT of hot sauce, I like mine extra spicy!

Combine mayo, ranch, and milk and mix. It will be lumpy, then stir in additional T of hot sauce.  It depends on how hot you want it.  Add this to the skillet with the chicken. Cook a few minutes, until heated.

Pour over pasta and stir to combine.  Top with fresh celery, scallions, mozzarella and crumbled blue cheese.  Sooo good!  Thanks, Shell!  This one is going into permanent rotation!!! 

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