Real World Wednesday - The Deacon's Wife's Pasta

A few months ago, we were invited to a liturgical minister's appreciation dinner at church.  I thought the food was delicious, but I like most food, so no surprise there.  It wasn't until Philip said "If you made dinner's where the vegetables actually tasted good, like this one, I'd eat it all the time!," that I knew I HAD to have this recipe.  This is so easy to make, and is definitely a crowd pleaser.  It also makes a lot!  I would halve this if you are making it just for your family.  Otherwise, this would freeze well if you want to freeze half and then reheat in a casserole dish in the oven.

Ingredients
16 oz penne, cooked according to package directions
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb smoked sausage, cut in half lenthwise and then cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 medium zucchini, cut in half lenghtwise and then cut in 1/2 inch slices
1/2 c corn
italian seasonings of choice, to taste
1 24oz jar marinara sauce (or equal of homemade)
Shredded parmesan

Directions
Brown the sausage in a skillet and set aside.  Saute onion, bell pepper, and zucchini in same skillet, adding olive oil if needed, until onion is translucent and veggies are crisp tender.  Return the sausage to the pan, add the corn, seasonings and marinara sauce and toss all.  Top with shredded parmesan and serve!

Real World Wednesday - Frito Pie

I know what you're thinking, but this isn't your idea of frito pie. New Mexican frito pie uses real red chile, not Texas chili. This is so delicious, in my family it is a staple party food. It goes a long way and is a definite crowd pleaser, so give it a try! Halve or quarter the recipe if you are making this for a small family. There are variations at the bottom of the recipe that make the recipe a bit easier.

Ingredients

1 lb beans, prepared according to package directions

12 dried red chile pods, rinsed & stems and seeds removed

36 oz water

1/2 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp oregano

2 T flour

1 lb ground beef

1 clove garlic

1/4 c onion, chopped

vegetable oil

1-2 bags frito chips

16 oz cheese, shredded (cheddar, mexican blend, etc)

1 head lettuce, shredded

1-2 tomatoes, diced

Directions

1. Soak chile pods in warm water until soft (~3 minutes). Rinse of remaining seeds, remove veins, and bring to boil in a saucepan of water. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Place the pods in a blender with half of the cooking liquid. Reserve the rest of the liquid. Add salt, garlic, oregano, and flour. Blend until smooth and set aside.

2. Cook onion and garlic in a skillet with vegetable oil until clear. Add ground beef and cook thoroughly. Drain. Place chile back in saucepan with cooked meat and simmer about 10 minutes or until it becomes a tomato sauce consistency. Add water (or reserved chile liquid if using pods) if needed to reach desired consistency. To assemble frito pies, place chips in a bowl and top with beans, chile, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Easier Variation: Instead of preparing chile as in step one, prepare chile using chile powder according to package instruction.

Easiest Variation: Instead of using chile pods or powder, use frozen prepared red chile sauce. If you are not in an area that sells this, stick to the pods or powder. Whatever you do, DO NOT use enchilada sauce. That is not the same at all!

Real World Wednesday - Avocado & Cucumber Salad

Remember those Quesaninis I made a while back that were inspired by a friend? Well she struck gold again with this delicious salad she made for dinner on the night of our choir practice. I ended up making a dressing out of pureed avocados, which while quite yummy, didn't quite pair as well with this particular salad as the simple vinaigrette that my friend used. Experiment with a dressing of your choice, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients

Avocados, sliced

cucumbers, sliced

dressing of choice

Directions

Toss all ingredients together and serve!

Source

A friend

Real World Wednesday - Bacon & Spinach Beans

This is a delicious side dish that my grandma used to make. I wasn't sure if it would be too spicy for Michaela, but at a friends house earlier that week she had become addicted to salsa so I thought it was worth a try. Apparently she takes after her mama because she loved it!

Ingredients

4 c Pinto Beans, cooked

1/2 c Onions, diced

1/2 package Bacon

2 c Spinach, steamed

1 T Red Chile Powder

Directions

Fry the bacon until crispy, then drain it, crumble it and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings. Saute the onion in the drippings, then add spinach, chile, and beans, mixing together. Sprinkle the top with bacon and serve.

Source

Family Recipe

Real World Wednesday - Calabazitas

This is one of my favorite side dishes to make whenever we have enchiladas. I love squash and that taste mixed with corn and green chile is oh so delicious. Not to mention this is super easy to put together!

Ingredients*
1/4 c onion
1 clove garlic
1 zuchinni
1 yellow crookneck squash
1/2 c corn (frozen or stripped from the cob)
1/4 c green chile, roasted, peeled, and chopped
1/8 c milk
1/2 c cheese (cheddar or pepperjack)

Directions
Saute the onion, garlic, squashes and green chile in a little bit of olive oil. When tender, add corn & stir. Put in a casserole dish or pyrex bowl, add milk, cover with cheese, and place in 350 oven just until cheese is melted.

*Measurements in this recipe are approximate. I just do it to taste, and adjust the measurements based on how many I'm serving, their tolerance for green chile, etc. Trust me, there's not much you can do too mess up this dish. Any combination of the ingredients would be tasty!

Real World Wednesday - Fried Pineapple Rice

This was one of those "clean your fridge and pantry out" type of meals. I just started throwing things together and hoping they would come out allright. I'm quite proud of how this dish turned out, considering I am usually lost without a recipe. I think the sausage may have been a little out of place, but other than that, this was the perfect middle-of-the-week meal. This would also be a good side dish without the meat.

Ingredients

2 turkey sausage links, sliced

1 chicken breast, diced

1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp ginger

2 tbsp fish sauce

1/4 c onion

1 1/2 c rice, cooked

2 eggs

1/2 c toasted almonds

1/2 c peas

1 c pineapple, chopped

Directions

Slice and brown the sausage and chicken breast in a skillet. Add the remaining ingredients and stir-fry until cooked through and all flavors are nicely mingled.

Real World Wednesday - Meatloaf

I know that everyone has their own special family recipe for meatloaf, but this is mine. It's simple, straightforward, fast, and relatively likeable due to it's use of barbecue sauce instead of ketchup and it's lack of vegetables. I personally don't like veggies in my meatloaf, it's like having veggies in a hamburger. Yuck. If you are looking for ways to sneak veggies in, I think substituting some sort of pureed veggie for the ketchup would do the trick.

Ingredients

1 lb ground meat (I used turkey)

1 egg

3/4 c breadcrumbs

1/4 c ketchup

1/2 c barbecue sauce

Directions

Mix all ingredients together except barbecue sauce, put in a loaf pan, and cover with barbecue sauce. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. To make it more kid friendly, set apart a small amount and cut shapes using cookie cutters. Bake these on a baking sheet for about 15-20 minutes.

Real World Wednesday - Breakfast Casserole

Every once in a while I like to make breakfast for dinner. It's usually less work than dinner, and is something I always know my family will like. I adapted this recipe from one given to me by a friend's mom. She had made this for a brunch baby shower and I instantly fell in love!

Ingredients

15 oz frozen country style hash browns (or fresh grated)

1 lb sausage, cooked and crumbled

8 eggs

1 cup milk

salt and pepper

10 oz cheese, grated & divided (I use cheddar and either Monterrey or Pepper jack)

1/2 cup green chile, roasted, peeled & chopped (optional)

Directions

Mix all ingredients together, except 5 oz of cheese. Pour into an 8 x 8 casserole dish that has lightly been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese and cook in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Notes

• I always have leftovers, and that's OK! Spend an extra couple minutes after dinner putting together burritos with the leftovers and you'll have breakfast for the rest of the week!
• I love making this meal for new moms. Take this, along with some fresh fruit and cinnamon rolls for dessert and this is the perfect meal!

Real World Wednesday - Quesaninis

A few weeks ago we ate delicious gourmet quesadillas made with a George Foreman grill at a friends house. They looked like paninis, so I named them Quesaninis and vowed to recreate them at home. These are so quick and easy to put together, and you can use whatever ingredients you already have on hand.

Ingredients
tortillas or wraps (I used spinach herb wraps)
Sliced turkey breast, or any other meat
Sliced cheddar, or any other cheese
Sliced tomato
Sliced avocado
Sliced mushrooms
cilantro
Any toppings of your choice (Salsa, green chile, and bacon are a few other toppings I want to try.)

Directions
Lay out your tortilla or wrap and place ingredients on one half. Fold the other half over the ingredients and cook in a lightly greased George Foreman for 5 minutes or until warmed through and cheese has melted. If you don't have a George Foreman, cook for 5 minutes on each side in a non-stick skillet.

Real World Wednesday - Chicken Soup with Rice

This is my staple dish whenever I have a leftover turkey or chicken carcass. What I really call it is Carcass Soup, but that doesn't sound very appetizing. If I start this in the morning after breakfast, it is the perfect amount of time to have it finished for dinner. What a perfect meal for a cold day!

Ingredients

Chicken carcass

1 cup rice (I use a wild rice blend)

1 cup carrots, diced

1 cup spinach, torn into small pieces

Directions

Place carcass in a crockpot and cover with water. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or until meat is falling off the bones. Pour through sieve into a bowl and remove all skin, bones and cartilage from the broth, leaving only the meat. Return the broth and meat to the crockpot. Add rice, carrots, spinach and any other desired vegetables. Cook on high for another 3-4 hours.

Real World Wednesday - Baked Potato Bar

Back in my working days, when I wouldn't get home until 7 at night, I used to make a potato bar for dinner quite often. I hadn't made this in awhile but remembered about it last week when I was short on dinner prep time. It's so easy to pull together, and you mostly use ingredients that you already have on hand.

Ingredients
Potatoes
Butter
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream (I use plain yogurt)
Bacon bits
Salsa
Flax Seed
Shredded Chicken
anything else you have on hand

Directions
Clean the potatoes, poke holes in them with a fork and rub them lightly with olive oil. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1-1.5 hours. When finished, let cool and top with desired toppings.

Notes

• This is a great way to get kids involved in meal prep. They'll love choosing their own toppings and making the potatoes to their liking.

Real World Wednesday - Healthy Nachos

This recipe was born from one of those evenings where I had an empty fridge and pantry and had no idea what to make. I whipped this together from what I had on hand and it instantly became a favorite of mine and Philip's. It's too spicy for Michaela, so I usually set apart some non-marinated chicken and make a small quesadilla for her.

Ingredients
Chicken thighs, enough for your family
Salsa, enough to cover chicken
Corn Tortillas, 2-3 per family member
Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Directions
Marinate the chicken in the salsa for at least 1 hour. Cut or tear the corn tortillas into 8 triangles and lightly spray both sides with olive oil cooking spray. Lay out on a baking sheet and bake at 4oo for 7-10 minutes or until crispy. Cook the chicken in a skillet and then cut or shred. Layer the tortilla chips, chicken, and cheese on a plate and serve.

Real World Wednesday - Toddler Milkshakes

If you have a kid who refuses to eat fruits or vegetables, this is a must-have recipe. After I got this idea from my sister-in-law, I started making this every morning for Michaela. It makes me feel good that even if she refuses all other food that day, she is still getting a few servings of fruit, veggies, calcium and fiber.

Ingredients

1 Banana

1/2 cup fresh Spinach

3-4 Strawberries

2 tablespoons ground flax seed and/or wheat germ

1/2-1 cup yogurt, plain or vanilla

2-3 cups Milk

any other fruits or veggies

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

• You can really put anything you want in this shake. I have a friend who uses carrots, something I've been wanting to try. I always use bananas and strawberries, then look for seasonal fruits that are on sale to add in.
• It usually takes Michaela the entire day to finish this. I pull this out first along with any meal or snack, then return it immediately to the refrigerator when she's done.
• You can't taste the spinach because of the overwhelming flavor of the banana, however, it does sometimes turn the shake green. Since this can be off-putting to some kids, I would recommend using a cup that you can't see through. I use The First Years Insulated sippy cups, with the rubber valve on top cut out.
• Adjust the amounts to your own taste. Sometimes I make enough for me to have a glass also.

Egg McDrea's & Real World Wednesdays

The only problem with having a food blog that reviews other people's recipes is that I never get to share my own! So on Wednesdays, I'll be posting recipes of my own creation or that have been passed down from family or friends.

First up? Egg McDrea's.

These are super simple, easy, and delicious. My dad used to make this for my sisters and me growing up, and nowadays these are my go to meal when I don't have much time for anything else.

Ingredients

whole wheat English Muffins or bread

Eggs

Cheddar Cheese

Bacon, Sausage patties, or other breakfast meat

Butter

Salt & Pepper

Directions

Toast bread. Meanwhile, prepare one egg as if preparing over-easy, except use your spatula to break the yolk. Flip the egg and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make sure that all the yolk is cooked, you don't want it dripping out of your sandwich. Butter your toast and sandwich egg, cheese, and cooked meat in between. Enjoy!