Mom's Simple One Dish Meal

It seems like Russ and I have had a non-stop schedule lately, so we wanted a meal for tonight that would allow us lots of time to relax and catch up on laundry instead of spending most of our time cooking and cleaning up the kitchen. We also wanted something that would have enough for leftovers for tomorrow night since we are going to Thirsty Thursday (yes, dollar beer night at the Baron's), but want to eat at home beforehand. I did some thinking and thought of one of my Mother's recipes that I used to make a lot in grad school when I had little time for cooking, but have not made it since. It is her Italian Chicken and Rice.

This dish is super simple to put together and almost all of the ingredients are ones that I already have on hand. You add the water, rice, tomatoes, seasonings, onion, and mozzarella cheese to a casserole dish and mix it all up. You then place the chicken breasts on top of the rice mixture. Lastly, you add the cheese and seasoning mixture to the top and bake it. What makes this super simple is that the rice and chicken go in uncooked. You basically just dump and layer the ingredients and then bake it. If need be you can put it all together earlier in the day and then bake it later on.

As I mentioned before Russ hasn't had this dish before and he really liked it. He loves comfort food and this definitely falls in that category. The rice and chicken are moist from the water and juice from the tomatoes and the cheese and Italian seasonings give it good flavor. This is a great meal for anyone who is does not enjoy spending time cooking, is new to cooking, doesn't have much time on their hands, or just likes comfort food. It is a very hearty meal, so I served it with just steamed broccoli. Russ rates the meal a 8.

Italian Chicken and Rice (Mom's Recipe)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of water
1 cup long grain white rice (uncooked)
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup (2 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes with garlic and herbs, undrained

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (uncooked)

½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ cup mozzarella cheese
½ cup parmesan cheese (shredded)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine water through canned tomatoes in a 2 quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray.
Arrange chicken on top and push down into the rice mixture.
Sprinkle the top with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
Cover and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the cheese on top is a little brown.

Flank Steak with a Kick

I recently received the July Fine Cooking in the mail and it is filled with lots of yummy looking recipes including many for the grill. Since today is Memorial Day we decided to try out one of the grill recipes. It for a Argentine Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Salsa Criolla. As a confession I had this on the menu for last week and didn't realize it needed lots of marinating time, so that is part of why we ended up using it as our Memorial Day dinner.

For this recipe you create a spice rub that you rub on the flank steak. It includes mashed garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and fresh thyme. You then rub the steak with it and let is sit in the fridge for several hours. The recipe calls for over 4 lbs of meat and I did one smaller steak since it was just for the two of us. You then prepare the salsa which includes a chopped tomato, onion, half a red bell pepper, spices, olive oil, and white wine vinegar. This also needs to marinate in the fridge for several hours. After the marinating is complete you grill the steak for just a few minutes on each side. Russ did a great job with it and ended up with a perfectly grilled steak. After it rests you thinly slice it against the grain and top it with the salsa.

The rub gives the flank steak a very spicy kick. I should have used less of the rub to compensate for the smaller steak and I think this still would have given it the spicy flavor without being a little overpowering. The salsa accompanies it well and helps to cool off some of the heat from the chili powder while adding a fresh flavor and good texture. We served ours with corn and leftover green bean and tomato salad (that Jess made as a side for the rib cook off). We really enjoyed it, but I think if I had cut down on the rub it would have been even better. There was plenty of steak leftover that I think we will use in tacos tomorrow. Russ rates the steak and salsa a 8.

Argentine Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Salsa Criolla

Fine Cooking, July 2007

Serves 12

3 cloves garlic, minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt

2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

1 Tbs. freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbs. chili powder

2 tsp. brown sugar

1 and 1/2 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. kosher salt

4 and 1/2 lb. flank steak (about 3 medium steaks), trimmed of excess fat

1 large ripe tomato, cored, seeded, and finely diced (about 1 and 1/4 cup)

1 medium yellow onion, minced (about 1 and 1/3 cups)

1/2 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and minced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 cup white-wine vinegar

In a small bowl, mix about two-thirds of the garlic paste with 1 Tbs. of the thyme, 2 tsp. of the black pepper, the chili powder, brown sugar, and 1 and 1/2 Tbs. of the salt. Arrange the steaks on the rimmed baking sheet and pat the spice rub all over them. Cover and let sit for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day in the refrigerator.

In a 1 quart sealable container, combine the tomato, onion, red pepper, oil, and vinegar with 1/4 cup of water, and the remaining garlic paste, 1 Tbs. thyme, 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. black pepper. Shake well. Refrigerate for up to 1 day before serving.

Heat a gas grill to medium high or prepare a hot charcoal fire. Grill the steak (covered on a gas grill) until it has good grill marks on the first side, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the steak; if using a gas grill, reduce the heat to medium and cover the grill. Continue to cook until done to your liking (make a slit in the steak to take a peek), 4 to 5 minutes more for medium rare; 6 to 7 minutes more for medium.

Let the steak rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes and then slice thinly across the grain. Stir or shake the salsa criolla and serve with the steak.

Breakfast and Dessert

Russ and I were both exhausted from yesterday's rib cook off, so the only cooking that went on in our house today was for a late breakfast and a late night dessert. One of the many perks of being married to Russ is that he makes me coffee on the weekday mornings and frequently makes me breakfast on the weekends. He has been getting into making omelets recently. They started out where they tasted wonderful, but looked like a cross between scrambled eggs and an omelet. However, in the past few weeks they not only taste great, but look perfect too!

For the omelet this morning he used chopped green pepper, onion, and cheese for the filling. He uses whatever we have around which is usually a mix of veggies. However, he has made a few more gourmet omelets that include leftover salmon and feta or leftover steak with peppers and onions. Today's omelet was wonderful and a great, late breakfast! Russ rates the omelet a 8.

The only other "cooking" that took place today is that I made some frozen yogurt. This is a recipe I found online that is adapted from David Lebovitz's book "The Perfect Scoop". This may be one I need to get sometime soon... The one I tried is for Coconut Pinkcherry Yogurt. Russ and I have a bunch of cherries in the fridge, so I decided to put them to good use. I have not made frozen yogurt before, but found it to be fairly simple just involving lots of stages and waiting. You first strain whole milk yogurt in the fridge for 6 hours. Then you put together the mixture and let it cool in the fridge for 1 hour. Then you follow your ice cream maker's instructions for the remainder.

We ended up trying it out as a late night snack! It was very yummy and smooth. We both thought it could have been a little sweeter, but I think this may have been that some of the cherries were a little tart. Russ liked this better than the pineapple sorbet, but I like the pineapple better. We put the leftover back in the freezer and it was very frozen the next day and didn't have the creamy texture it had when it was first made. Russ actually liked the more frozen texture better. Russ rates the cherry frozen yogurt a 8.

Coconut Pinkcherry Yogurt

Adapted from "The Perfect Scoop", David Lebovitz

Makes about 1 quart

3 cups strained yogurt* or Greek-style yogurt

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4 cherries, pits removed and roughly chopped

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, almond extract, cherries, and coconut milk. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

*To make 1 cup of strained yogurt, line a mesh strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth, then scrape 16 ounces or 2 cups of plain whole-milk yogurt into the cheesecloth. Gather the ends and fold them over the yogurt, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

And the winner is....

And the winner of the first annual Rib Cook Off is.... Russ! That's right tonight was the rib cook off and Russ was the overall winner. Scott, Seth, and Russ all did a great job and used different styles and flavors that made it a very tough decision for the judges. More importantly the boys had a fun day of sitting outside barbecuing, drinking, and hanging out with the dogs. All the grills and dogs were brought over to our house, so that the boys and dogs could barbecue together. Meanwhile the wives in their respective kitchens were whipping up some delicious appetizers, sides, and desserts to complement the ribs.

While I cannot reveal Russ' secret rib recipes... I can tell you all about the other dishes that the girls made. I have had my eye on a pasta salad of Ina Garten's for a little while now and decided to try it out for tonight. It is called Pasta, Pesto, and Peas and it works great for picnic or rib cook since it can be made earlier in the day and is served at room temperature. To start the dish off you make a homemade pesto sauce that includes walnuts, pine nuts, lots of fresh basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Once the pesto is complete you add frozen spinach (thawed and drained) and mayonnaise. This was a fun way to really put my food processor to work. The end result is a thick, tasty sauce that is tossed with cooked, cooled pasta. Lastly you add peas, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and a little salt and pepper to it.

The pasta salad turned out to be really tasty. Russ who used to claim he didn't like pasta salads was excited that I had doubled the recipe as he knew there would be leftovers for him. When you make the sauce it is very thick, but when tossed with the pasta it covers it in a light layer that keeps it fresh and light tasting. I used a mix of bow tie and penne which worked well with the sauce. The peas add a nice additional flavor bust that keeps it interesting. I think you could make a meal out of it by adding grilled chicken or shrimp to it. However, I think it is truly perfect for picnic style events. I anticipate this showing up again this summer or for football season this Fall.

The pasta salad was only one of many wonderful sides last night. Jess made a really tasty and light Mixed Bean-Cherry Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette from CL. She used both yellow and green beans which mixed with the cherry tomatoes made for a beautiful salad. Elizabeth made two sides for tonight. She repeated her Uncle Richard's Slaw that was such a hit last weekend. It really has become my favorite slaw now. She also made her hash brown (aka "Hassbrown") casserole that was hearty, cheesy, and yummy. I boiled some corn, Mom brought a huge tray of mixed fruits, and Elizabeth's Uncle Richard brought very tasty fresh shrimp on skewers that were marinated, grilled, and served with two homemade sauces, a remoulade and a cocktail sauce.

For dessert I made blondies. This is my first recipe to try out of the "How to Cook Everything" cookbook. This is a cookbook that was a bonus in marrying Russ. He had some great cookbooks books and utensils that I didn't have and wanted which I consider bonuses in marrying him. The blondies were fairly simple to put together and one of the great things about this cookbook is that it gives you the base recipe and then lots of options as to what you can add to it. I chose to add dark and semi-sweet chocolate chips and a dash or two of bourbon. While these seemed to be a well liked by most everyone at the cook off I felt like they came up short on flavor and texture. I think I should have added chopped walnuts to them, but even then I feel like there would still be something missing for me in these. Russ really liked them, so I may make them again or I'll try a different recipe for blondies.

Jess also made a dessert for tonight. She made homemade oreos. We both enjoy reading food blogs and one of our favorite blogs is Smitten Kitchen. The blogger is both an incredible writer, photographer, and cook. She recently made these oreos and Jess and I both drooled over our screens looking at them. Jess did an excellent job with these and they definitely tasted like a wonderful homemade oreo. The only thing that would have made them even better would have been to serve them with a glass of milk instead of a beer.

All in all the rib cook-off was a wonderful time with friends, family, and yummy food! I think that Jess, Scott, Elizabeth, Seth, Russ and I (and all our dogs) had a fun time planning and cooking for tonight. Russ rates the pasta a 7 and the blondies a 8.

(I have included a picture of Russ' grill, The Big Green Egg. I have mentioned it several times previously, so I wanted to finally show what it is in case anyone was curious.)

Blondies, "How to Cook Everything"

8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla or ½ teaspoon almond extract
Pinch salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Butter an 8×8 pan
2. Mix melted butter with brown sugar - beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla.
3. Add salt, stir in flour. Mix in any additions (below).
4. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 20-25 minutes, or until set in the middle. I Cool on rack before cutting them.

Further additions, use one or a combination of:

• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts, toasting them first for even better flavor
• 1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon mint extract in addition to or in place of the vanilla
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas
• 1/4 cup bourbon, scotch or other whiskey; increase the flour by one tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons of espresso powder with the vanilla
• Stir 1/2 cup dried fruit, especially dried cherries, into the prepared batter


• Top with a vanilla butter cream or chocolate peanut butter cream frosting

Drumroll please.... the first 10!

After a weekend full of eating I wanted to go with a light and fresh dinner tonight. This for Russ and me usually means some type of fish and tonight it was tuna. We haven’t made anything out of the May issue of CL, so we decided to crack it open and try the cover recipe since it is both light and fresh. It is Grilled Tuna with White Bean and Charred Onion Salad.

To start the dish you make an easy marinade for the tuna and let it marinate for 30 minutes. While it is marinating you put together the bean salad portion. First you grill the onion slices. We used a Vidalia and it had great flavor! Next you whisk together a few ingredients to make a light vinaigrette for the salad. Then you rinse the beans, peel and chop half a cucumber, chop fresh Italian parsley, add the capers, and chop the onion once it has cooled. You then toss everything in the vinaigrette. Once the tuna has marinated you grill it for just a couple minutes on each side. This is all plated over a bed of spring greens. Even with the tuna marinating for 30 minutes this meal comes together very quickly and easily.

It was not only light and fresh, but also very tasty! The white bean and charred onion salad had an incredible flavor that we both loved. I had bought crumbled feta to add to it, but I forgot to add it. It certainly doesn’t need anything as it was wonderful as is, but I do think I may try the addition of feta next time to see if it makes it even better. The tuna had a great citrus flavor to it from the lemon juice and zest. The salad, greens, and tuna all complemented each other perfectly. I do think if you don’t like fish that you could use grilled chicken instead. This will definitely be repeated at our house this summer.

This was a wonderful summer meal that has earned the first 10 for the blog. Russ rates the white bean and charred onion salad a 10! The dish as a whole receives a 9 from Russ.

Preparing our Victory Dance!

This coming weekend is the FIRST ANNUAL RIB COOK OFF! That’s right, Seth, Scott, and Russ have challenged each other to rib cook off which will take place this Saturday afternoon. They will each be making both dry and wet ribs. There will be judges, score cards, beer, friends, family, ribs, sides, and lots of fun.

So, tonight for dinner we did a practice run with our dry and wet rib recipes. There will be no pictures or recipes posted since this is for a major competition. All I have to say is that they were very tasty, so get ready Scott and Seth!

Jess, Elizabeth and I are going to do sides to go with the ribs and probably a dessert too. We haven’t talked yet about specifics, but I bet there will tons of yummy food on Saturday! Russ, Cash and I are all looking forward to it. Don’t worry… even if you aren’t going to be here to taste the ribs and sides it will be covered on the blog!

As promised I have included some pictures from Do Dah Day!

A Crazy Cajun Weekend!

Tonight Russ and I decided to have a few friends over for a crawfish boil. We’ll we actually decided this several days ago, but it happened tonight. Russ and I both love crawfish and last year we ate them on several occasions during the season, however, this year we have barely eaten any of them. So, we decided we would solve this by having a crawfish boil in our backyard.

I made two dips for appetizers. The first is Sumner’s Salsa which is super easy to make and very tasty. It includes two chopped tomatoes, black beans, green chiles, black and green olives, shredded monetary jack cheese, fresh cilantro, and fat free Italian dressing. I made it as soon as we got home from Do Dah Day (see below) to let it have time to marinate. The other dip I made is a new recipe for me from Ina Garten. It is her Sun-Dried Tomato Dip. It is also fairly simple to make with the help of a food processor. It is a creamy dip with cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise. It also as the name states includes sun-dried tomatoes and a few seasonings. I thought it turned out pretty well, but wished it had been a little more flavorful. Next time I think I will add a few more sun-dried tomatoes. I also think that in the future I will limit myself to one dip per party and do other non-dip appetizers to go with it. I love dips, but there are so many other good pick up appetizers out there that I should try.

Russ was in charge of the boil and crawfish. So, he ordered 35 lbs of crawfish and made a grocery list of everything else he needed. He includes fresh corn on the cob, red potatoes, garlic, lemons, and various seasonings in his boil. I think he did a great job and by the small number of crawfish left after everyone was done eating I would say that everyone else agreed. The crawfish were super moist and everything had great flavor. Russ thinks he can improve on it by getting the crawfish a little spicier. Next year he will up certain seasonings to accomplish this. The only other side we served with it was a wonderful slaw that Elizabeth made. It is her uncle’s recipe and it was the perfect side for the spicy boil.

For dessert I made Ina’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies. I made them in my beloved Kitchen Aid mixer. I still get excited using it and think it is a very fun kitchen tool. I am considering naming it…. Anyway, the cookies have peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, and a couple other things. You cream the butter with the brown sugar, then add the eggs, then add the dry mixture. Last you fold in the chocolate chips. You bake these for 17 minutes and take them out when they look not quite done yet. They finish baking once you have taken them out. I think this is the key to this recipe as the cookies that were a little more done than the others were not as good. The ones that were done perfectly were very tasty! Russ and I both thought they were yummy. Sumner made brownies which were a very moist and tasty. I think that both desserts were well received.

I think that all the food turned out very well. This may just mean that we’ll have to do a crawfish boil again next year. Next time we will try to get the crawfish a little spicier and I’ll do the appetizers a little differently. However, this is not the last of the crawfish for Russ and me for this season. I will be making some etouffee soon with the leftover crawfish. Russ rates the boil a 6, the appetizers a 8, and the cookies a 9. I think Russ is being a little a little tough on himself with the 6 for the boil as I would give it a higher rating.

As I mentioned before we went to Do Dah Day today with Scott, Jess, Hugo, Allen, Blue, and of course Sweet Baby Cash. It is a super fun annual dog festival that takes place in a couple of the parks off of Highlands. It is always fun, but was especially fun this year as it was Cash’s first time. He had a blast! All the dogs had a fun time seeing all the other dogs, eating treats, and hanging out. Cash was worn out afterwards, but rallied for the crawfish boil in order to play with Thomas. Cash will be sleeping and resting for most of tomorrow!

(*Do Dah Day pictures will be posted with tomorrow's post since no food pictures or recipes will be posted... are we not cooking tomorrow night or is there something bigger going on...?)

Food Processor Slaw

(Uncle Richard's Recipe)

1 head green cabbage
1 head red cabbage
3 green onions
2 carrots
16 oz + of T. Marzetti's Slaw Dressing

Finely chop all ingredients and mix well. (You can use the food processor with the grating disk for the cabbage.) Add slaw dressing and mix well. Add more dressing to taste.

Sumner's Salsa

1/4 lb monetary jack cheese, shredded
2 (4 oz) cans of sliced black olives, drained
2 (4 oz) cans of chopped green chiles
2 large chopped tomatoes
2 green onions chopped (green and white parts)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup fat free Italian dressing

Put it all together in a bowl and let it sit for a couple hours or overnight in the fridge to marinate.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies (Ina Garten, "Barefoot Contessa, Parties!")
Makes 36 to 40 cookies

1/2 lb. unsalted butter at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup good smooth peanut butter
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (my notes: next time I think I will cut this in half or possibly eliminate it, with the peanut butter I am not sure additional salt is needed)
1 pound good semisweet chocolate chunks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter, and mix. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the batter, mixing only until combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Drop the cookie dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using either a 1 and 3/4 inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands, flatten the dough lightly, then press the tines of a wet fork in both directions. Bake for exactly 17 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Do not over bake. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.