Nellie & Phoeb's: Main Dish

Showing posts with label Main Dish. Show all posts

Slow Cooker Beans and Sausage

Northern Beans with Turkey Sausage

It's like 100 degrees in Oklahoma right now, not your typical hot soup weather, but easy 3 ingredient dinners are always in season! It just doesn't get any easier than this.

The slow cooker is the simplest way to cook beans, no soaking required! Dump it in, and let it cook on low for 8-10 hours. Come home to a house filled with the aroma of food and dinner ready. This recipe only has 3 ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to prep, perfect for a workday.

I'm a huge fan of beans, all beans, even Lima beans. If you have a great bean recipe, I would love for you to share it with me!

Northern Beans with Turkey Sausage Recipe

Ingredients:

1 pound dry Northern beans, rinsed and sorted

1 pound turkey polish sausage, sliced

6 cups water

2 teaspoons onion powder

Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Rinse and sort beans, removing any stems or pebbles. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cheers!

Cabbage Roll Casserole

One Pan Cabbage Roll Casserole

I love cabbage rolls, and I had all the ingredients to make them, but they sounded a little to time consuming last night. Using what I had on hand, I came up with this quicker recipe that you can cook all in one pan (bonus that you have less dishes), and then bake in a dish. Easy as pie, cabbage pie, covered in cheese, for the win!

This is full of flavor, and the texture is great too. Not bland, not mushy. My husband thinks he doesn't like cabbage but he went for seconds and took a bowl of leftovers to work for lunch today! My 3 year old thought it tasted like ravioli... okay, whatever, as long as she eats it!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef, onions, garlic, herbs and spices in a large sauté pan. Add salt and pepper.

Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and water, bring to a simmer.

Spray a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add 1/2 of the sliced cabbage to the bottom of the dish.

Stir rice into the tomato and meat mixture.

Add 1/2 of the meat mixture to the baking dish.

Then repeat with another layer of cabbage and the remaining meat and tomato mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Remove foil, top with shredded cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Cabbage Roll Casserole Recipe

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 head of cabbage, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 cup brown rice

1 cup water

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon paprika

salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef, onions, garlic, herbs and spices, salt and pepper in a large sauté pan. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and water, bring to a simmer. Stir rice into the tomato and meat mixture.

Spray a large baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, add 1/2 of the sliced cabbage to the bottom of the dish. Layer on 1/2 of the meat mixture to the baking dish. Then repeat with another layer of cabbage and the remaining meat and tomato mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, top with shredded cheese and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Cheers!

Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

Lighter Chicken Pot Pie with Phyllo Dough

I made a chicken pot pie sometime in the last year and it was too sweet. I was on a mission to find one that was a little more savory and didn't break the calorie bank. Martha Stewart has done it! This version has no canned ingredients, and uses an easy unfold and pop on top phyllo dough from the freezer section. It's creamy, flavorful, and nothing short of tasty Southern comfort food.

Believe it or not, it was surprisingly easy! The most time consuming part was prepping the vegetables. The sauce didn't require a roux, that took out some of the fat, and made it a pinch easier too.

Lighter Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 2 large chicken breast)

3 carrots, cut into 1/4" slices

1 medium onion, diced

1 10 ounce bag of frozen peas, thawed

1 sheet phyllo dough, thawed

2-1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or reduced fat milk)

1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out phyllo dough to thaw on the counter top at room temperature.

Salt and pepper the thighs. Cook thighs on a baking sheet for about 25 minutes, or until the internal temp reads 165 degrees. Shred chicken and set it aside.

While chicken is cooking, heat olive oil in a sauté pan, add carrots, onions and thyme, cook for about 8 minutes, until the vegetables are slightly soft, add salt and pepper. Add flour, stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add milk. Remove from heat, add chicken, peas, and lemon juice to the mixture.

Grease a square baking dish or pie pan, fill with mixture. Unfold phyllo dough and lay it on top of the pan. Use wet fingers to smooth out the folds if they crack.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and puffy.

This recipe was adapted, with a few minor changes. The original recipe can be found here: Martha Stewart

Cheers!

Baked Baby Back Ribs

Low and Slow Baked Baby Back Ribs

I made these, melt in your mouth baby back ribs a few weeks ago and have another slab in the fridge ready to be devoured. But, our air conditioner isn't working at 100 percent (it was 79 degrees in here last night), so it's too hot to heat my house up. Boo.

Any who, for some reason I felt a little intimidated by a large slab of meat, I thought ribs were man food, to be cooked by men. I was wrong, they are super easy, and not near as scary as they look. This recipe is awesome!!!

The secret: The dry rub, and cooking them LOW and SLOW.

The ingredients (BBQ sauce not pictured). Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients together and give both sides of the slab a good coating. I lined my sheet pan with foil for easier clean up. Roast it in the oven for 2-1/2 hours.

Remove it from the oven, and baste both sides with BBQ sauce. Cover it with aluminium foil and put it back in the oven for another 2-1/2 hours.

Remove from the oven, and try to cut them without them falling apart!

Yum!!! Recipe adapted from Sweet Treats and More blog.

Baked Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
3 pound slab of baby back ribs
BBQ sauce (I prefer Head and Country)

Dry Rub:
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a sheet pan with foil. Combine dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Coat both sides of the slab of ribs with the dry rub. Place slab on the prepared pan and roast in the oven for 2.5 hours.
Remove from the oven, slather both sides of the slab with BBQ sauce. Cover with foil, and bake for an additional 2.5 hours.

Cheers to a saucy Summer!

Chicken Enchiladas with a Green Chile Cream Cheese Sauce

Christy's Chicken Enchiladas

with a Green Chile Cream Cheese Sauce

Okay, these are seriously so delicious that I had to stick my name on them! I totally winged the cream cheese sauce the first time I made it, then wrote the recipe down after my first mouthwatering bite, so I wouldn't forget. These beat any restaurant enchiladas I've ever had. I used a corn/flour combo tortilla I got from Sprout's, but they would work great with a traditional flour or corn too.

Christy's Chicken Enchiladas with a Green Chile Cream Cheese Sauce Recipe

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

6-8 flour or corn tortillas

2 chicken breasts

1-1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, divided

1-1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup diced onion

4 oz can chopped green chilies

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon corn starch (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Season chicken breast with garlic slat, oregano, and cumin. In a medium saute pan, cook chicken and diced onions over low heat until the juices run clear.

Remove chicken and set aside, do not drain juices. Add chicken stock, green chilies, and cream cheese to the saute pan. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken. Stir in corn starch as for a creamier consistency.

Shred the chicken and mix in 1/2 cup of jack cheese. If using corn tortillas, warm each one on a heated pan, about 10 seconds on each side (this will keep them from breaking apart when you roll them.) Add a scoop of the meat and cheese mixture to the center of each tortilla and roll them up. Line them up in a baking dish, sides touching. Pour the cream cheese sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with remaining jack cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, then broil on high for 3 minutes to brown cheese topping.

ENJOY!!!

Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed Peppers with Mozzarella

Just look at them, enough said.

My husband said they taste like a mix between spaghetti, goulash, and lasagna, he loved them. I just fed my kids the inside filling topped with cheese and they were big fans too!

Stuffed Peppers with Mozzarella Recipe
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
4 bell peppers
1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
3- 8 ounce cans tomato sauce
3/4 cup water, divided
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 diced onion
1/2 cup instant brown rice
1/2 teaspon garlic salt
salt and pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a stock pot full of salted water to a boil.

Season ground meat with garlic salt, and saute it with the onions in a medium saute pan, drain the grease. Add two 8 oz cans of tomato sauce, rice, and 1/2 cup water to the cooked meat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cover until the rice has absorbed the water, and the mixture has thickened.

Slice the top off the bell peppers, remove the seeds from the insides. Boil the peppers whole for 5 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup water and one can of tomato sauce to the bottom of a baking dish.

Fill the peppers with the meat and rice mixture, top each with 1/4 cup of mozzarella, place them in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes (I used extra foil to make a tent so the foil didn't touch the tops of the peppers). Broil on high for 3 minutes to brown the cheese.

*To make them a little more 'clean', you can use lean ground turkey, and omit or reduce the amount of mozzarella. You can also use a regular brown rice, cook it first and then add it to the meat mixture, but omit the 1/2 cup of water.

Homemade Meatballs

My Homeamade Meatball Recipe

Get the recipe here: Moms of Tulsa

Ciao!

Grilled Zucchini, Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Panini

Grilled Zucchini, Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Panini Recipe

Sometimes when it's Mother's Day Out and you have the house to yourself, you just need to make yourself a fabulous, slightly time consuming, mouthwatering lunch. I knew this was going to be good, so I took pictures, BUT... it was even better than I thought it would be! SERIOUSLY, DELICIOUS. I didn't have any fresh Basil so I used dried, if you have fresh, use it! I recommend you eat it slowly, and savor it, not cram it down your throat like I did.

I'm a big fan of vegetarian sandwiches, you really don't miss the meat if you have enough flavor happening on the inside! This would be a good one to save this for a meatless Monday.

(Please ignore the baking spray, I grabbed the wrong can! And, insert basil.)

Heat an oiled grill pan, add 1/4" sliced zucchini, add a dash of garlic salt and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side.

This is a fantastic way to cook zucchini as a side dish. You can use a grill pan, or put it directly on your grill outside. zucchini can sometimes taste bland, this really helps brings out the flavor!

Butter the outside side of your bread, and layer on the mozzarella, zucchini and tomatoes.

Top with salt and pepper, and a dash of dried basil (fresh leaves if you have them).

Heat your panini press to medium. With the buttered sides of your bread facing out, press your sandwich until the bread is golden and crusty, and the cheese is gooey.

Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini, Tomato, Basil and Mozzarella Panini RecipeServes: 2

Ingredients:

4 slices good quality bread

1 zucchini, 1/4" slices

1 vine ripe tomato

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tablespoon butter, divided

pinch of dried basil or a few leaves of fresh basil

garlic salt

salt and pepper

non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:

Slice zucchini in half, then into 1/4' slices, sprinkle with garlic salt. Spray a grill pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat it over medium heat. Grill zucchini for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Top 2 of the non-buttered sides of bread, each with 1/4 cup of mozzarella. Add a layer zucchini then tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay the remaining bread pieces on top, buttered side up.

Preheat panini press to medium heat. Place sandwiches in press. Cook until the bread is golden and crusty, with nice grill marks, and the cheese has melted.

Cheers!