Simple Cooking

Lemon Alfredo

Mandy Burns — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:13:37 +0000

One of our favorite things to eat around here is pasta! I have made so many different recipes of pasta with a white sauce that I couldn’t even begin to count them. Recently, I had a coupon for a jar of Bertolli pasta sauce. I normally prefer some type of homemade alfredo or at the least one made from a dry mix. Something about jarred white sauces aren’t very appetizing to me. It usually taste like a jar. However, I thought this would be a good thing for a quick dinner and I had never tried this brand. Then as I started preparing it, I thought maybe I could add some pizazz to it. I added a little of my own things and I actually loved it! It was also still pretty quick and easy to make.

Ingredients:

13.25 oz of whole wheat linguine (generally this is size of wheat box)

1 jar of Bertolli Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Juice of one lemon

3/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

1 cup of frozen peas

1/2 tsp of italian seasoning

about 2 cups of cooked chicken pieces

Mix the lemon juice, alfredo sauce, parmesan cheese and italian seasoning over medium heat and cook until heated through. Meanwhile be boiling the pasta and the peas as directed on packaging. Mix the sauce with the pasta, peas and chicken. I seasoned the chicken with a little italian seasoning also. You can top with extra parmesan cheese to make it a little more cheesy. This serves 4-5 people.

Chicken Parmigiana

Mandy Burns — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:27:42 +0000

I adapted this recipe from a Sandra Lee recipe for Veal Parmigiana. As with most of Sandra’s recipes it is super simple and it taste amazing. She has the best knack for making an easy meal taste delicious! The gooey cheese mixed with the crunch of the bread crumbs is so tasty. It almost makes me want to forgo the side dishes and eat more chicken…but then I come to my senses and realize a Caesar salad and mashed potatoes would complement the chicken wonderfully.

Ingredients:

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

2 eggs

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese (divided)

2 cups Italian bread crumbs

1 cup marinara sauce (I just used Ragu, because it is really smooth)

4 slices of mozzarella cheese

olive oil

Heat skillet with thin layer of olive oil over medium heat. Mix 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan and with the bread crumbs. Beat eggs in a dish and dip chicken in the eggs, then dip chicken in the bread crumb mixture. Fry breaded chicken until done. Place chicken on greased baking sheet and top each with 1/4 cup of marinara sauce. Place a slice of mozzarella on each chicken breast then top with remaining Parmesan. Place under preheated broiler until cheese melts.

Lemon Pepper and Parsley Chicken

Mandy Burns — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:42:27 +0000

Though the temp is in the 40s here this week, I have been dreaming of summer. Lemon chicken reminds me of summer so last night I made it for dinner and it was delicious! The Parmesan cheese complemented the lemon perfectly. I baked this in the oven…but I am dreaming of a warm winter night where I can go outside and toss this on the grill with some woodchips. :)

Ingredients:

Juice of 1 lemon

1 garlic clove pressed

3/4 tsp parsley flakes

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

4 boneless skinless chicken breast

Mix the first 4 ingredients together and brush onto both sides of chicken breast. Pour remaining lemon mixture over chicken and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Green Beans and Chick Peas

Mandy Burns — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:50:23 +0000

This is an easy side dish that is packed with flavor. On a night when you don’t have much time, but want to add a side dish with a little pizazz this would be a great option! It is as easy as opening a few cans and stirring your spoon around a little. :)

Ingredients:

1 can green beans
1 can chickpeas
1/2 a small onion chopped
1 small garlic clove minced
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in butter or oil for about 3-5 minutes then add chickpeas and green beans. Season and saute until done stirring frequently. This side dish serves about 6.

Bacon Cheeseburger Calzones

Mandy Burns — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:32:07 +0000

This is a dish that we absolutely love at my house. I found it on Pillsbury’s website about a year ago and adapted it slightly to fit my dietary likes and dislikes. This is pretty much a cheeseburger in a flaky crescent roll and it is so yummy! The mixture of pickles, bacon and ranch seems a bit odd to hear, but it is amazing when you bite into it!

1 lb ground beef
Picture from Pillsbury's Website
4 slices of bacon
3 tablespoons pickle slices chopped
4 tablespoons ranch dressing
4 slices of American cheese
2 cans of crescent rolls
1 egg beaten

Cut bacon up into bite sized pieces and begin to cook over medium heat in a skillet add the ground beef and cook until done. Drain and add pickles and ranch dressing. Divide crescent rolls into 8 rectangles and put on an ungreased cookie sheet. Top each rectangle with equal amount of meat mixture (about 1/3 cup). Top with 1/2 slice of cheese and fold dough over filling to form mini calzones. Press edges closed brush with egg. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Serves 4.

Lime Vegetable and Noodle Medley

Mandy Burns — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:21:10 +0000

I found myself in the kitchen with half a lime left and trying to decide what to use it on. I love the jump of flavor that lime gives to dishes, but rarely ever think to purchase it. I came up with an easy side dish that would go really well with a fish or chicken main dish. The flavoring is subtle, but it definitely still has that jump of flavor. I used a mixture of frozen corn, peas, carrots and green beans; but your favorite mixture of veggies can be substituted.

pressed garlic clove
1/4 tsp of lime zest
juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 tsp parsley
2 tsp oil
6 oz mac noodles
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

Mix first 5 ingredients together and set aside. Boil noodles and vegetables for about 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Drain water and add lime mixture to noodles and vegetables. Serves 6

Open Faced Mexican Sandwich

Mandy Burns — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:33:30 +0000

Tonight I needed to use up some ingredients in our fridge and came up with an open faced sandwich that was pretty tasty. It seems black beans has been a pretty common thing at our house lately. I didn’t think that I liked black beans, but after giving them a try they are actually pretty good. I tried them in a Sausage and Rice dish last week and have had them several times since then. I feel like I discover something new. :) The taco sauce on this sandwich compliments the black beans and corn. This was done in ten minutes and was very tasty.

4 slices of whole wheat bread
1/4 cup of black beans
3/4 cup of corn
1/2 cup of rotel
1/3 cup of taco sauce

Lightly toast bread and spread a thin layer of taco sauce on each slice. Mix beans, corn and rotel together and scoop onto bread. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 7 minutes or until heated through. Serves 2.

Black Bean and Rice Burrito

Mandy Burns — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:11:36 +0000

It seems I have been on a black bean and rice kick recently. :) My sister mentioned to me that she had just made a black bean and corn chili, which sounded delicious except for the chili part. I took her black bean and corn idea and turned it into a burrito. It was so simple to throw this together. The burrito taste great and is packed with healthy, delicious ingredients. The sweet corn offsets the other food to make a delightful medley of flavors.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of rotel
3/4 cup of black beans (drained)
1 cup of frozen corn
1 cup of rice
7 large whole wheat tortilla shells

Bring the brown rice and 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add the corn, beans and rotel and continue to simmer for 15 more minutes. Scoop onto tortilla shells and serve. Serves 7.

Sausage and Rice

Mandy Burns — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:43:48 +0000

I feel like I have been cooking (and eating) a lot of the same things lately and decided to veer off track a little and try something different. I am usually not a big bean person, but decided last week (I am a little behind on my post due to the holidays) that I should try some black beans. So, I put together a dish that I thought was different (for me at least) and quite tasty. The dijon mustard that I put in the dish was something slightly different that I would normally try, but I thought that I would like it paired with the sausage and I found that I did. Christian said this is a dish that is even better the next day.

Ingredients:

4 smoked turkey sausage links (I used Johnsonville)

1 can of black beans

1 cup of brown rice

2 tsp dijon mustard

Cook the rice according to package adding 1 tsp of dijon mustard. Cook the sausage in a skillet until heated through. Add the black beans (drained) to the sausage and cook over medium heat. Combine sausage mixture with rice. This serves about 4.

Chicken Taco Bake

Mandy Burns — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:43:28 +0000

Some time last week Christian requested one of his favorite dishes. It is a chicken taco bake recipe that I got from his mom and not only is it delicious but it is also simple! This dish has just the right amount of gooey goodness. This really is an all american casserole dish, but the taco seasoning adds a special flair that makes it stand out from the traditional cream of chicken soup casserole.

4 cups bite size chicken pieces
1/4 cup taco seasoning
12 small tortillas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz sour cream
2 cups cheddar cheese

Mix soup, sour cream and taco seasoning in a bowl. Spread half of chicken in a 9×13 casserole dish and top with half of soup mixture. Top that with half of the tortillas (cut into small strips) and half of the cheese. Repeat all the layers and bake about 40 minutes at 350º. This serves about 6.