Last Minute Stir-Fry

You have my husband to thank for this recipe! We were out of town over the weekend, so I wasn't able to participate in my usual Sunday ritual of planning out dinner for the whole week and going grocery shopping for the week. So that meant that it was Monday and I got home from work with no plans for dinner. As much as I love to cook, I hate the feeling of it being the end of the day and I have no idea what I'm going to fix for dinner. It just puts me in a bad mood. I think it is knowing that I have to go to the grocery store at dinner time on a weeknight that puts me in a bad mood. I hate grocery shopping at dinner time on a week night. This is why I started planning out the entire week on Sunday mornings.

Anyways, I decided to avoid the situation and go for a run instead. Meanwhile, my awesome husband saved the day and came up with this idea for dinner. It is easy to fix, healthy, and delicious! We just had a bottle of Sweet & Sour sauce that we had bought at the store already. That sauce had a really good flavor that paired really well with the shrimp and peppers. It is a simple, yummy meal to throw together that's great for weeknights (or any night) when you're either tired after a long day or just don't have a whole lot of time to spend in the kitchen!

Enjoy!

Last Minute Stir-Fry

Total time: 25 minutes  Yield: 2 servings

2 servings brown rice
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 tomato
2 servings frozen shrimp, defrosted and peeled
Sweet & Sour sauce
olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Cook rice according to package. Meanwhile, slice green and red peppers. Chop tomato.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Saute green and red bell peppers until tender. Add tomato and saute for another minute.
3. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. Add shrimp to skillet and saute until pink and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add Sweet & Sour sauce and mix everything together. Serve rice topped with shrimp and vegetable mixture.

Tuna Patties

My dad used to make tuna patties pretty frequently when I was growing up. It was one of those staple meals that we probably always had the ingredients for. I'm not sure if it is because we had them so much growing up, but I have hardly had them at all since I moved out of my parent's house 8 years ago. I'm so happy I made these! Not only did it bring back memories, but they were delicious!

These patties had a great combination of flavors. The tabasco added a great little kick to them! It wasn't too overpowering, but blended in really well with all of the other flavors and added a nice touch that set these tuna patties apart (although my dad's tuna patties will always be the best). :-)

An easy, healthy, simple recipe, and great to fix when you don't have a lot of time to mess with dinner. Enjoy!

Tuna Patties

Prep time: 10 minutes  Cook time: 10 minutes  Yield: 4 patties

2 6-ounce cans tuna
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup white bread torn into small pieces
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water (or liquid from the cans of tuna)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives, green onions, or shallots
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a couple squirts of Crystal hot sauce or tabasco
1 raw egg
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp butter

1. Drain the liquid from the tuna cans. If you are using tuna packed in water, reserve a tbsp of the tuna water, and add a tsp of olive oil to the tuna mixture in the next step.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, mustard, torn white bread, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, parsley, chives, and hot sauce. Sprinkle on salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste the mixture before adding the egg to see if it needs more seasoning to your taste. Mix in the egg.
3. Divide the mixture into 4 parts. With each part, form into a ball and then flatten into a patty. Place onto a wax paper lined tray and chill for an hour. (You can skip the chilling if you want, chilling just helps the patties stay together when you cook them.)
4. Heat the olive oil and a little butter (for taste) in a cast iron or stick-free skillet on medium high. Gently place the patties in the pan, and cook until nicely browned, 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with wedges of lemon. You can also serve with tartar sauce on slider buns for a tuna burger.

Veggie Tacos

Heck YES these were awesome! This was supposed to be a vegetarian meal, but as you can see we added some leftover sausage to the tacos. I made one with sausage and one without - both excellent options!

I will most definitely be making these again soon!

Veggie Tacos

1 small zucchini, chopped
1 roma tomato, chopped
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup cooked black beans
1/2 cup diced red onion
pinch of salt and pepper
pinch of ground cumin
1 t cooking oil (or a small amount of cooking spray)
1 pepper jack cheese stick, grated (optional)
salsa, sour cream, etc (optional)
tortillas

1. In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 1 minute, until it starts to turn translucent.
2. Add the zucchini, corn, black beans and seasonings, and cook for 2 minutes, so that the zucchini softens a bit but is not mushy. Remove from heat.
3. Heat the tortillas until soft. Spoon equal amounts of veggies onto each one and add the diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with a small amount of grated cheese, add your favorite taco toppings, and enjoy!

Mushroom Stuffed Zucchini with Parmesan Panko Topping

This was a very different recipe. At least different from what we're used to. It wasn't one of my favorites, but it was still good. I can't promise that I'll ever make it again, but I'm glad we gave it a try! It tasted pretty good, but by the end of dinner, I was kind of tired of zucchini.

I think this would be good as a side dish, like, if you had just half of a zucchini as a side. About an hour and half after we were done eating, my stomach was growling, so this just wasn't enough as a main entree. I would give it a try though just to say that you tired something a little different! You might surprise yourself and really like it! And as I said, it was good, just not my most favorite thing I've ever made :-)

Mushroom Stuffed Zucchini with Parmesan Panko Topping

3 zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise, center spooned out
2 tsp olive oil
8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
3 small cloves of garlic, minced
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
fresh basil, chopped
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded (divided)
3 tbsp Italian seasoned panko crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms to the skillet and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the minced garlic, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste then stir constantly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise then slightly scoop out the filling down the center of the zucchini. Add 3 tbsp of Paremesan cheese to the mushroom mixture as well as the chopped basil, mix well. Spoon the mushroom mixture down the center of the zucchini. Mix remaining tbsp of Parmesan cheese with the panko crumbs. Sprinkle the top of each zucchini boat he panko crumbs.
4. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Italian Sausage and Pasta

It doesn't get much easier than this! Just boil some pasta, saute some sausage and veggies and you're done!

The recipe calls for the Johnsonville Three-Cheese Italian Style Sausage, but my husband isn't the biggest cheese fan in the world and I thought that may be too cheesy for him, so I got Johnsonville (already cooked) Smoked Sausage. YUM! I love food that has a smoked flavor to it, and it really came through in this dish. Getting the already cooked sausage cut down on cooking time, and just adjust the measurements depending on how many people you're cooking for. You could really take many different directions with this dish and fix it however you like - different types of pasta, different types of sausage, various veggies or sauces... get creative!

Italian Sausage and Pasta

1 package (16 ounces) penne pasta
1 package 13.5 ounces Johnsonville Three-Cheese Italian Style Sausage, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium green pepper, julienned and cut in half
1 medium sweet red bell pepper, julienned and cut in half
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce, heated

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a skillet, brown sausage in oil for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Add peppers, onion and garlic.
4. Continue to cook until vegetables are tender.
5. Divide prepared pasta in bowls, top with marinara sauce and sausage vegetable mixture.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Burrito

For a vegan burrito, this was pretty good!

It had a great flavor to it. But, if I were to make it again, I would mix the sweet potato and black bean mixture all together and then fill the burrito shell. By putting a layer of sweet potato and then a layer of the black bean mixture, I got a few bites that were just chock-full of sweet potato and it was a little much. However, I should say that I didn't actually measure out how much sweet potato puree I made, so I could have made too much...

But aside from the few mouthfuls of sweet potato (and don't get me wrong, I love sweet potatoes, but I think there is a thing as too much) -- aside from that, the combination of all of the ingredients was excellent! The chipotle powder added a nice touch to the blend of flavors. Like I said, if I could go back and do this over again, I would definitely mix everything together before stuffing the tortillas. You live and you learn!

Make sure to check out the blog that this recipe came from to see how to make the sweet potato puree.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Burrito

Total time: 25 minutes  Yield: 2 servings

2 whole wheat tortillas
1-1 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2-1 tsp chipotle powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
1/2 cup black beans (if using canned, drain)
1 large handful spinach
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

1. Make sweet potato puree and mix in chipotle powder. Taste and adjust the chipotle seasoning - use cautiously, it can be hot! Set aside.
2. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in onions and peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes or until onions become translucent. Stir in black beans and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Finally, add in spinach, cilantro, and lime juice cooking until spinach becomes slightly wilted.
3. To finish the burrito I use my panini press pan. Place 1/2 the sweet potato mixture in the center of the tortilla and add a few spoonfuls of the spinach/black bean mixture on top. Roll and place them seem side down on the heated-up press. Heat for 1-2 minutes, flip, and heat until both sides have slightly browned.

Creamy Skillet Potatoes

Oh how I love potatoes. I know they aren't the most healthy thing in the world to eat mass quantities of, but I so wish they were! That would make me so happy to have an endless supply of potatoes in various forms and just eat them all day.

These potatoes were delicious! I have to say though, that the best ones were the ones that got left in the skillet while we were eating dinner and continued soaking up the creamy ranch sauce. Mmmmm.... SO. GOOD.

This is a fantastic (and super yummy) side dish that was easy to make and can go with all types of meals!

Creamy Skillet Potatoes
Taste of Home: Everyday Light Meals
Published by Reiman Media Group, LLC in 2010.

Prep/Total time: 30 minutes  Yield: 8 servings

7 cups cubed uncooked red potatoes
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 envelope (1 ounces) ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 cups fat-free milk

1. Place 1 in. of water and potatoes in a large nonstick skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Coat skillet with nonstick cooking spray; add potatoes and onion. Cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.
2. In a saucepan, combine the flour, salad dressing mix, parsley and salt. Stir in the sour cream. Gradually add the milk, stirring until blended. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Pour over potatoes; toss to coat.

Spinach Turkey Roll

Mmm this was pretty tasty! Mostly easy, good flavor... I say mostly easy because I had a little trouble rolling everything up. The recipe calls for you to "roll up jellyroll style." I just thought that sounded a little silly. I've never had to roll anything up "jellyroll style." But, it didn't seem so silly when it came time to do it - that wasn't the easiest thing I've ever had to do! It was definitely a two-person effort. My husband had to help me, but we got it done and it turned out great! Those potatoes you see in the second photo were paired with this recipe in my cookbook - I'll post that recipe next!

Spinach Turkey Roll
Taste of Home: Everyday Light Meals
Published by Reiman Media Group, LLC in 2010.

Prep time: 25 minutes  Bake time: 50 minutes  Yield: 6 servings

1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, divided
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground mustard
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. In a bowl, combine 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce, eggs, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, basil, oregano and mustard. Combine turkey over mixture and mix well.
2. On a sheet of waxed paper, pat turkey mixture into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle with spinach and cheese. Roll up jellyroll style, starting with a short side and peeling waxed paper away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray.
3. Bake, uncovered, at 350°F for 50-60 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165°F. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Heat remaining spaghetti sauce; serve over turkey.

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizzas

Ok, I'm going to be honest with you guys. I've been on a bit of a blog hiatus for the past 3 weeks. I have still been cooking new recipes, but I haven't been posting them in the blog. Therefore, I'm about 8 recipes behind in my posting. So what I'm going to do for the next 8 posts is just post the pictures and the recipes and maybe a few comments. My hope is that once I catch up today, then I'll get back into the swing of things and give you guys some posts worth reading. :-) Enjoy.

I was first drawn to this particular recipe because it is a Julia Child recipe and I'm pretty much in love with her. It was very good! Not super filling though, so you definitely need to fix something on the side to go with it, or just make more of it. I had one (large) eggplant for four people and it just wasn't quite enough.

Julia Child's Eggplant Pizzas

Yield: 3-4 servings or 6-8 appetizer servings

1 globe eggplant, about 8 ounces and 9-10 inches long
about 1 tbsp salt, for drawing water out of eggplant
about 2 tbsp olive oil, for brushing eggplant before roasting
about 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning, for sprinkling on eggplant before roasting
10 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonade strips (optional)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/3 cup finely grated low-fat mozzarella blend
hot red pepper flakes for sprinkling finished pizza (optional)

Sauce Ingredients:
2-3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 can good quality petite diced tomatoes with liquid (or use 3 cups peeled and diced fresh tomatoes)
1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning blend
1/4 tsp dried oregano

1. Cut off both ends of the eggplant; then cut it into 3/4 inch thick slices (trying to make them the same thickness). Put the eggplant pieces on a double layer of paper towels and sprinkle both sides generously with salt. Let the eggplant sit with the salt on it for about 30 minutes to draw out the liquid. (After the eggplant sits for 15 minutes, turn on the oven to 375°F)
2. While the eggplant sits, make the sauce. Heat 2-3 tsp olive oil (depending on your pan) and saute the finely chopped garlic just until it becomes fragrant. (Don't let it brown.) Add the petite diced tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning, and dried oregano and let the sauce cook at a low simmer until it's thickened, breaking up the tomatoes with a fork as it cooks. (Add water as needed, a few tbsp at a time as the sauce cooks, keeping it hot by simmering at very low heat until it's needed for the eggplant slices.)
3. After 30 minutes, wipe the eggplant dry with paper towels (this also removes most of the salt.) Spray a roasting sheet with olive oil or non-stick spray, lay eggplant slices on; brush the tops of the eggplant with olive oil, and sprinkle with dried Italian seasoning. Roast the eggplant about 25 minutes (but "not so long that the slices become mushy and lose their shape" as Julia says.)
4. While the eggplant roasts, thinly slice the fresh basil leaves (if using) and combined freshly grated Parmesan and low-fat mozzarella blend. After 25 minutes or when eggplant pieces are done, remove eggplant from the oven and turn oven setting to broil. Spread a few tbsp of sauce on the top of each eggplant slice, sprinkle with thin basil slices (if using) and top with a generous amount of cheese. Put pizzas under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned. Serve hot, with red pepper flakes to sprinkle on pizza if desired.