Stuffed Bell Pepper and Fried Okra

Made this spur of the moment tonight after picking the okra and bell pepper from the garden and it came out delicious!  No measurements on this because I was originally making dirty rice and decided to steal some of the meat from that before adding the rice and did this last minute.
I made 3 small stuffed peppers.

Stuffed Bell Pepper:
Whole Bell Peppers (stems cut off and cleaned)
Ground Turkey
Diced Onion
Diced Bell Pepper
Minced Garlic
Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasoning
Bread Crumbs
Parmesan Cheese
Feta Cheese


 Preheat oven to 400.  Brown the turkey, add onion, diced bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.  Cook down until veggies are soft.  Mix in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.   Put mixture in bell peppers then top with feta cheese.  Bake until bell peppers are soft (took mine about 25 minutes but they were small).

Fried Okra:
8 fresh okra, diced.  Mine were cut in about 1/4" pieces
Egg wash (1 egg with about 1/4 cup milk)
Corn Meal seasoned with a little salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder
Coconut Oil (you can use any oil you want)

Pour enough oil in a pot to cover bottom about 1/4"
Coat okra in egg wash then corn meal.  Drop in oil.  Cook about 5" then turn and cook another 5".  Take out with slotted spoon and put on paper towel.  Sprinkle right away with a little salt and black pepper. 

Classic Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna so I went to google. Of course, when I saw the 3rd recipe was a Giada recipe I had to make it. Took a little while to prepare (make the tomato sauce first!) but it was pretty good (and I am not a lasagna person). The recipe is C&P from Food Network. Their picture is pretty than mine but I didn't want to steal it too.

Ingredients

Bechamel Sauce:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons for the lasagna
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk at room temperature
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, recipe follows
• Salt and white pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound ground chuck beef
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 pound lasagna sheets, cooked al dente
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bechamel sauce:

In a 2-quart pot, melt 5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When butter has completely melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Continue to simmer and whisk over medium heat until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy, about 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add the nutmeg and tomato sauce. Stir until well combined and check for seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a saute pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat, breaking any large lumps, until it is no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain any excess fat. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix the ricotta and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Into the bottom of a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the pasta sheets side by side, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Evenly spread a layer of all the ricotta mixture and then a layer of all the spinach. Arrange another layer of pasta sheets and spread all the ground beef on top. Sprinkle 1/2 the mozzarella cheese on top of the beef. Spread another 1/3 of the bechamel sauce. Arrange the final layer of pasta sheets and top with remaining bechamel, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into 1/4-inch cubes and top lasagna.

Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place lasagna dish on top, cover and put on the middle rack of the oven and bake until top is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for about 15 minutes.

Simple Tomato Sauce:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

In a large casserole pot or Dutch over, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Italian Pasta Bake

This is very quick and easy if you have some marinara sauce already prepared and frozen.

All measurements approximate

16 oz marinara sauce
1.25 lbs ground sirloin
7 oz ritoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella
7 oz ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 350

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta

Brown ground sirloin in pot large enough to hold that plus sauce

Once meat is cooked, add sauce and mix together

Drain pasta and pour into a casserole dish (oven safe). Pour meat/sauce mix on top. Add ricotta and mix together well. Top with moxxarella cheese and bake approximately 20 minutes.

Chicken Marsala - Very different flavor!

Another Giada recipe, I promise I make my own recipes too but I have been in the mood to try different stuff lately. This one was from "Family Dinners"

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use two big chicken breast)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 tablespoons butter, divided (I didn't use this much, maybe 2 tbsp)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced (I didn't use any mushrooms)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup dry Marsala wine
1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves, plus whole sprigs, for garnish
12 ounces dried fettuccine (I used rotini, I didn't have fettuccine)

Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cool slightly.

While the chicken cools, melt 2 tablespoons of butter to the same skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms are tender and the juices evaporate, about 12 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until it is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in the mascarpone and mustard. Cut the chicken breasts crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped parsley. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Drain. Toss the fettuccine with 3 tablespoons of butter and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Swirl the fettuccine onto serving plates. Spoon the chicken mixture over top. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.

Mini Penne with Parm Chicken

Another Giada recipe from Everyday Pasta. This picture sucks but my Canon battery was dead so I had to use my old Kodak.

3 tbsp EVOO plus 1/2 cup
1 cup buttermilk
1.5 lbs chicken tenders (about 18)
1 lb penne pasta
1 1/4 grated parm cheese
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
Salt and BP
3 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I only use 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 500. Spray a baking pan with olive oil baking spray. Place buttermilk in a large bowl. Add chicken tenders, stir to coat, and let stand for 15-30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to bite.

Stir the parm. cheese and bread crumbs together. Season with S&P. Remove chicken from buttermilk and dredge in mixture. Please on pan. Coat chicken with olive oil and cook until golden brown (about 12 minutes). Transfer to cutting board and cut into 1" pieces (I cut mine up in the beginning before soaking.

Mash garlic with 1 tsp of salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and 1/2 cup of EVOO. Season with 1/4 tsp pepper.

Place drained pasta in a large serving bowl. Drizzle with the vinaigrette, sprinkle with parsley, and top with chicken. Toss and serve.

Italian Turkey Meatballs

(Please excuse the messy table, I have been super busy between Oasis Homes and Cleaning Wizards)

I decided to do meatball subs tonight and I never made meatballs before so here is my little recipe that I made up. I love Italian food so I figured I would do an Italian Meatball.

EVOO
1.3 lbs lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cp Italian Bread Crumbs
1/4 cp grated parm cheese
1 tsp. each of S&P
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 cups of your favorite sauce (I use the mariana from below)

Drizzle a little EVOO in the bottom of a pan (just enough to coat) or spray with EVOO NonStick spray. Combine ingredients 2-6 in a bowl. Once combined, form balls and put into pan with EVOO. Let cook about 15 minutes (turning as needed). Add sauce, making sure to coat all meatballs. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes or until meatballs are done.

Serve on top of spaghetti or on sub rolls. When serving on sub rolls, I add slices of provolone cheese.

The steamed broccoli is super easy. I literally only steam the broccoli for about 6 minutes. I love my fresh veggies when they are hot but still have a crunch to them. I just put a tad bit of butter with a little S&P to season.

Penne with Beef and Arugula

First, I LOVE this dish. It is from "Everyday Pasta" by Giada De Laurentiis.

Here is the recipe from page 182 (my changes next to it). I make this for two.

2 New York Strip Steaks about 8 oz each (I use one pack of Stir Fry Strips or one Top Sirlion)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1 garlic clove, minced (I have also used garlic powder)
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp EVOO
1 lb penne pasta (I use 1/2 box of the organic penne from Winn Dixie)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (I only use one little dash of it)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (if you use dry, use less)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (if you use dry, use less)
2 cups chopped arugula (I ended up planting this-cool weather plant-b/c I couldn't find it anywhere. You can use fresh spinach instead but the arugula makes this dish!)

(This is edited a bit, not directly from her book)
Season steak with S&P, herbs de Provence, and garlic. Heat 3 tbsp EVOO in pan. Cook steak for about 7 minutes per side. Turn off heat and leave in pan covered.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain.

In a small bowl, wisk EVOO, balsamic vinegar, parsley, basil, dijion mustard, 1/2 tsp S&P together.

If you use pre-cut strips of steak, add pasta and sauce to pan with chopped arugula. Toss together and serve. If a whole steak, cut steak in slices the put back into pan and mix all ingredients together.

According to her book, this is also a good party good served at room temp.

Forget to take a picture!

We made homemade pizza last night (and it was yummy) but I was starving and forget to take the picture (I can see this happening often). But I will post the recipe anyway.

Premade 5 Grain Pizza Crust (I got it from Organic Planet)
Homemade marinara Sauce (don't know how much, I have the thin rubbermaid container that fits a sandwich filled)
Lots of cheese (I mix the Italian Blend and Goat Cheese)
Turkey pep.

Thats it, simple and yummy. Only needed to bake for 10 minutes then I broiled on high for about 2 minutes.

Tonight, I am just doing grilled chicken sandwiches on wheat with fries so there won't be a picture (or recipe) of that either. I have the girls coming to sleep over tonight and Saturday night and I have alot to do tomorrow.

Marinara Sauce

I started this blog because I am always sending my newly tried recipes, those that come out good of course, to my mom. Anyway, I figured I could start this blog and if she (or anyone else) tries them, you can let me know what you think (by leaving a comment at the end of that recipe)! It will take a while to get going because I am going to include a picture with each recipe. And, in the past, it wasn't a habit of mine to take pictures at dinner LOL


I have plenty of recipes I would love to post but I am going to try and include a picture with each one. Some I have made up, some are from cookbooks (which I will let you know) and others are from cookbooks or other people and edited a bit.

Well, I am cooking chicken parmesan tonight and there is nothing special about chicken but I made my own marinara sauce. I use this sauce anytime I need a red sauce so mostly pasta or homemade pizza.

Marinara Sauce

½ cup EVOO

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 celery stalks, chopped

½ tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

2 – 28 cans crushed tomatoes

2 dried bay leaves

4 leaves fresh basil

1 tbsp fresh curly parsley

¼ tsp fresh oregano

Heat EVOO in pot, add onion, garlic, celery. Let cook down about 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients. Let cook at least 30 minutes. Freezes well.