the ultimate Stir Fry pasta. This was done some time ago when M was staying with us.

Cook the angel hair pasta first-al dente. In a small fry pan(like the pannekokean pan) add olive oil and butter...put in semi frozen pieces of chicken with pesto and garlic. This is an individual serving. Each one is done seperately. Add about a Tablespoon of pesto and a pinch of minced garlic...once the meat is almost done, add fresh tomatos, canned artichoke hearts, and the vege of your choice...D wanted brocoli, M and I had spinach. The Brocoli was semi frozen brocoli pieces and the spinach for M and I was fresh. The next ingredient is adding the pasta. I have a spaghetti ladle so to D's I added two helpings, to M's I added one and to mine I added 1 1/2 servings of angel hair pasta. Stir this around like a stir fry. Add Feta to your liking and another Tablespoon of pesto. M added more olive oil and green onions and who all knows what...D's and mine were the original.

To say it was good would be putting it mildly...D is not a monster fan of pasta...I am. HE devoured it and said it was better than anything he had ever had in a restaurant. The key is to have the individual decide exactly how much they want of all of the core ingredients. I just wanted a few pieces of the bite sized chicken tender meat, D's had more. M wanted more veges. But I have to say...It was unbelievably good. We got the idea from Drive-ins, diners and dives off of The Foodnetwork!

Quick enchiladas for two.

I just made two kinds of enchiladas...yummo

Green Sour Cream Chicken ones...yummm
Okay...recipe request...

easy way...cook the boneless skinless chicken in the Hatch Green Enchilada sauce. Then use the meat to fill the lightly fried corn tortilla(1-2 TBl) and finish filling with a handful of cheese. Roll up. Smother in the green enchilada sauce that has had 2 Tbls sour cream added to it. Cover with Cheese-NUKE.(the chicken had been cooked yesterday)

and Chili Cheese ones...YMMMMMMMMMM

Lightly fried corn tortilla- big ole handful of cheese rolled up in the tortilla. Smother with favorite chili(yes from a can for quick enchiladas-Cattle Drive is an excellent brand with wonderful flavor) and then cover with cheese to your happiness-NUKE

Yes that is how I made dinner tonight and D and I couldn't have been happier if we had gone to a restaurant...This way we could eat in our flannels and stay warm-no tip!!! We both had two of each...oh it was so good and wonderful. NO WAITING FOR A TABLE. Start to finish without cooking the chicken which was cooked yesterday= 10 minutes.

Note: originally posted LJ 1-25-08

Beef Barley Soup

2 leeks(thinly sliced)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 shoot or stem of celery thinly sliced
1/4 of a white onion
2 Tsp of minced garlic
1 cup of baby carrots or thinly sliced carrots
1.5 to 2 lbs of stew meat...small pieces
3/4 c of barley pearls
1 quart box of beef broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 can of diced tomatoes
dash of Uncle Chris Steak seasoning, or Tony Cacheres if you have it...

in large soup pot put in about 2-3 TBL EVOO. heat up. add 1 Leek's worth, the mushrooms, celery, carrots, onion garlic and let it saute in the dish. Salt and pepper and season to taste. Add the beef let it brown up with the veges. add the beef broth and then the barley pearls. Last thing to add is the diced tomatoes and the second leek. let them simmer together until the barley is to a biting stage-in other words you won't break your teeth on them. Serve with rolls or crackers...

Edit:...I made this a 2nd time...except I used meat from my freezer that had been seasoned with TEX MEX Seasoning...it was really good-TexMex seasoning has cumin, chili powder, garlic...Big D loved it!...Oh I also didn't have beef broth and I used chicken broth...and I had stewed tomatoes...Still was very very good.

Shrimp Salad ala Florentine

Half package of frozen Shrimp(2 lb bag)
half package salad macaroni-cooked with chicken boullion
Mayo
dried onions about 2 tblsp
peas- frozen kind/not can kind-about two handfuls
1 small can of sliced black olives
cheese(mix) shredded- about 1/2 cup or more
tzatziki-about 1/4 cup
and two or three handfuls of fresh spinach...

I really liked it. I love the spinach freshness! The way I cook is everything to taste...

Turkey Soup con rice

I made a Turkey dinner on Sunday. Decided to keep the carcass for a Turkey soup. Tonight was the night.

I put the entire turkey carcass in my biggest pot. Chopped up a 1/2 onion, 1 c of celery, 1 cup baby carrots, didn't have garlic so I added a Tbl of granulated garlic instead. I poured in the stock from the turkey pan which was rich with all that I had added to the turkey(including stuffing). Added two more containers of boullion and with warm water. Simmered the whole mess over medium heat for a couple of hours. Added about 3/4 C of barley, 3/4 C of Wild/brown rice and 3/4 cup of red rice. Let it stew for another hour.

It is so tasty.

Pasta Fagioli ala Mento - revisited

I love making Pasta Fagioli. I love making it for soup day at our school. I added a few variations this year. I used a commercial pasta sauce and thinned it with water and a red wine. I also added dried red pepper, a ton of cumin, garlic, basil, celery and onion. I was not happy with the penne pasta and would have felt better with the regular salad macs. I used a 1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage and a half lb of hamburger. Dan loves it. says it is the best and not to lose the recipe. I hardly ever cook anything exactly the same way twice. Sad really. Hope I can re-create this one.

Gosh....I haven't been cooking much

it's time to start again. Today was the day to start. Big D and I bought a Turkey yesterday and I got it thawed and cooked with the help of pre-made cornbread dressing. Thanks Chloe. I had it in the Freezer. Made rolls and fresh brussel sprouts. One thing to be careful of when using a baking bag, which I used today, is to not let it touch the elements when you put it in the oven. So for a cooking tip today...that would be mine to you.