Mac n' Jack Salad

1 lb elbow macaroni
10 oz frozen corn, defrosted
1 red bell pepper, seeded & chopped
1 red onion, chopped
4 celery ribs, chopped
1 - 8 oz brick pepper jack cheese, diced
s/p
3 TB red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups tomatillo salsa (salsa verde) or chipotle salsa
chopped cilantro or parsley

1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain & rinse with cold water to cool it down. Drain well.
2. While pasta cooks combine corn, red pepper, onion and celery in large bowl with cheese. Season with s/p.
3. Add cooled pasta to vegetable mixture.
4. Whisk together vinegar and oil. Stir in salsa. Pour over pasta & vegetables. Toss to coat evenly. Garnish with cilantro

This makes a lot and I think it was too much pasta, so unless you are making it for a large crowd or potluck or something, just use 1/2 lb or 3/4 lb of pasta. I also only used half a red onion and cut back the oil. Not a bad idea to make ahead and let it chill in the fridge.

Source: Rachael Ray's Book of 10, page 40

Ooey Gooey Crunchy Chewy Brownies

These brownies don't seem to have an official name, but the title describes them well I think. I found them on some old friends' new food blog and put off making them as long as I could, but eventually I caved. I love anything with marshmallows!

1 box brownie mix

1 Tablespoon butter

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups rice krispies

1- 10 oz bag of mini marshmallows

Directions:1. Prepare brownies as directed on box.

2. When brownies are done, spread marshmallows evenly on top of brownies. Put back in oven for 3 minutes.

3. While brownies are in the oven, begin melting the butter, chocolate, and peanut butter in pan over low heat. Once this mixture is melted, stir in the rice krispies.

4. After the marshmallows have been in the oven for 3 minutes, take the pan out of the oven and spread the melted chocolate mixture on top of the marshmallows.

5. Cool in the refrigerator for about 45-60 minutes.

Source: http://www.ftko.blogspot.com/

Smoked Paprika Chicken with Egg Noodles

8 oz extra wide egg noodles
2 TB olive oil
1 1/2 lbs chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp smoked sweet paprika (I used regular paprika)
pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TB butter
1/2 cup sour cream or lite sour cream
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I used dried)

1. Begin cooking the noodles in salted boiling water until tender, but with a little bite left to them.
2. Heat oil in skillet, add chicken. Lightly brown on all sides. Add onions and garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add paprika then season with s/p. Stir in chicken stock and reduce heat to low.
3. Stir in sour cream then remove from heat. When noodles are done, drain them and return them to the warm pot. Add butter and toss to coat. Add half the parsley. Serve noodles with chicken and sauce on top. Garnish with remaining parsley.

Source: Rachael Ray's Book of 10 page 72

Enchilada Suizas and Green Rice

This is a little bit of work, but really good! And don't let all the peppers scare you if you don't like spicy food, just make sure you take all the seeds & ribs out and it will just be a mild spice.

ENCHILADAS:

2 large poblano peppers

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked & shredded

2 TB olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

s/p

8 tomatillos peeled, rinsed, chopped

1/4 cup cilantro

juice of 1 lime

2 tsp honey

8 6-inch flour tortillas

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

1. Heat broiler to high. Place poblanos under broiler and char until blackened on all sides, 10-12 minutes. Leave oven door cracked to allow steam to escape. Place peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to cool to handle, then peel off the charred skin. Chop off the top, slice open and remove seeds. Then coarsely chop what's left.

2. Place tomatillos, cilantro, lime juice and poblanos in food processor. Process about 1 minute until almost smooth.

3. Heat oil in skillet. Add onions, jalapeno and garlic. Cook to soften about 5 minutes. Add smooth mixture from food processor. Stir to combine. Add honey, season with s/p and simmer 10 minutes.

4. Pour a little sauce into the bottom of medium baking dish. Fill tortillas with shredded chicken, roll u and place in baking pan side-by-side. Top with remaining sauce. Dot with sour cream and top with Swiss and jack cheeses. Bake 25-30 minutes at 375 until bubbly and brown on top.

RICE:

Bring 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and 1 TB butter to a boil. Stir in 1 cup white rice, cover and simmer 15 minutes. While rice is cooking, in food processor process about 1/4 cup chicken stock, 1 cup spinach leaves, 1/2 cup cilantro, 1 jalapeno seeded & roughly chopped, and 3-4 scallions roughly chopped. Process until a thick paste.

After rice has cooked about 15 minutes, stir in spinach mixture, cover and cook 2-3 minutes more. Turn off the heat and let stand 5 minutes.

**I made the rice w/o the spinach since I didn't have any, and I also left out the butter & it was still good

**I keep shredded chicken in the freezer in bags containing 2 cups of shredded chicken. This only got me 6 enchiladas - so you will need 3 or 4 cups of shredded chicken if you want to get 8 enchiladas

Source: from Rachael Ray Show, December 17, 2009

Zesty Ravioli Skillet

1/3 cup whipping cream
4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
6 oz provolone cheese, grated
1 TB olive oil
1 small jalapeno, seeded & chopped (optional)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
2 cans diced tomatoes with onions, undrained
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
24 oz package frozen cheese ravioli, thawed
halved grape tomatoes (optional)

1. Heat oil in skillet, add jalapeno and cook about 1 minute. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. add tomatoes, salt & pepper and heat to a simmer. Add ravioli and cook 4-5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the cream and cook again until simmering.
3. Sprinkle spinach over ravioli and cook, covered, 1 minute or until spinach is wilted.
4. Remove from heat, top with cheese, cover and let stand until cheese is melted. Garnish with grape tomatoes if desired.

This is a Pampered Chef recipe we made at a Pampered Chef party.

Skillet Chili Mac with Corn and Green Chiles

Don't let the title scare you away! It sounds a bit Hamburger Helper-ish, but this is waaay better!

1 TB veg oil

1 lb ground beef

1 onion, minced

3/4 TB chili powder

1/2 TB ground coriander (or ground cumin)

1/2 tsp salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 TB brown sugar

2 8oz cans tomato sauce

2 cups water

2 cups elbow macaroni

1 cup frozen corn

1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles

fresh cilantro, chopped

2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar jack or mexican blend, whatever)

1. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over med heat. Add ground beef, onion, chili powder, coriander or cumin, and salt. Cook until ground beef is no longer pink. Drain off grease.

2. Stir in garlic and brown sugar and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce, water and macaroni. Cover and cook, stirring often and keeping at a steady simmer until macaroni is tender, about 10-12 minutes.

3. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, frozen corn, green chiles and cilantro. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Cover and let sit off the heat until the cheese melts.

So yummy!

Source: http://www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com/

Tortellini Spinach Soup

Heat 6-8 cups of a tomato-based vegetable soup in a large saucepan. Add about 2 cups spinach & cheese tortellini and 4 cups chopped baby spinach. Top with parmesan.

Source: Parenting magazine, October 2009, p. 67 (you'd think I could have thought of this myself)

Open-faced Chicken Parm Sandwich

Slice a loaf of whole grain Italian bread in half, then in half lengthwise. Lay 4 pieces of cooked chicken breast on the 4 slices of bread and top with baby spinach leaves. Pour some jarred marinara on top, then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan. Broil until cheese is bubbly.

Source: Parenting magazine, October 2009, p. 67

Chicken and Corn-Tomato Salad

I chose to make this recipe b/c it sounded healthy and advertised that it was "ready in minutes." I didn't expect much, but we really liked it!

1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
sliced scallions
minced garlic
2 pints halved cherry tomatoes
2 cups corn kernels
lime juice
cilantro
avocado wedges

1. Cook the chicken breasts in a large skillet. (I cut mine into bite-sized pieces instead of leaving whole).
2. Remove the chicken then add sliced scallions and minced garlic, stirring about a minute. Add 2 pints cherry tomatoes and corn kernels and cook a few more minutes. Season with S/P.
3. Serve the chicken on top of the salad with a squeeze of lime, cilantro and avocado wedges.

This was good, but not as quick as I imagined. I did not cook the cherry tomatoes, I just stirred them in at the end b/c I prefer them not to be mushy. Justin added some hot sauce and I served them with potato pancakes made from leftover funeral potatoes (yeah, as if funeral potatoes were not unhealthy enough I added eggs and pan fried them...)

Source: Parenting Magazine, October 2009, p.67