Red Pepper Alfredo with Pan Seared Chicken

I always sit down to write my blog posts absolutely exhausted, but on the upside i have ALWAYS had a tasty meal worth sharing with everyone who looks at these posts :) Life has been crazy busy as usual. I'm looking forward to summer when I can start my internship, although that will likely mean more of a hectic schedule than I am accustomed to now. Probably won't be posting as many recipes come July and August, but I will still try! Right now I'm on "spring break" which is quite the joke compared to the spring breaks I was used to as a high school or college student. Grad school spring break- especially in an excellerated program- is just a tease for 2 weeks. No Florida sun, no frozen drinks in Cancun, nope just me at home livin' the dream. Ah well...I've been promised by my husband that we'll travel at some point when our schedules permit it. We'll see.

Anyway, more to the point here, TASTY FOOD! Found this recipe on Pinterest of course. I'm not the biggest red pepper fan, but I lovvved the way this looked in the picture. I figured it had to be good. It is a recipe adapted from www.laurenslatest.com (a food blog). I have pinned quite a few of her recipes, but this is the first I've tried...and I will definitely be making it again! I was skeptical about goat cheese...its probably the most expensive thing necessary for this dish...but well worth it I must say. I did a few things differently than the recipe called for, but I was happy with the result overall.

Red pepper(s) in the oven for 30 minutes at 500 degrees...

saute onions and garlic for about ten minutes

roasted peppers combined with melted cheeses, milk, onions and garlic...

Sauce should be transferred to a food processor because I don't have a fancy immersion blender like the recipe calls for...blend for a few seconds or as thin as you'd like your sauce...then transfer back into the pan to keep warm before serving...

Served ours over whole grain thin spaghetti, topped with parsley, and pan seared chicken breasts. YUM! It was really really good. I actually liked not using two peppers...I feel the sauce would have been too strong...this way it was still very creamy with a red pepper flavor.

Ingredients

2 whole red bell peppers (only used one)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (used about a tablespoon or more of garlic powder)
1 cup fat free half & half (used 3/4 cup of 2% milk + 1/4 cup of premade alfredo sauce)
4 oz. garlic & herb goat cheese (used regular goat cheese - still really good)
2/3 cup grated parigiano reggiano cheese (I did not go with the fancy stuff..Kraft works!)
1/2 cup artichoke hearts (optional) (didn't use these..blah)
1/2 lb. linguine, cooked to al dente (whole grain spaghetti instead)
salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil 10 minutes.
In the mean time, saute onions and garlic in olive oil 7 minutes or until tender. Pour in half & half, goat cheese, salt & pepper. Stir to melt goat cheese into sauce and keep warm over low heat.
Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces and place into sauce along with parmesan cheese. Stir to melt cheese and remove from heat. Pour sauce into food processor and puree, or use an immersion blender. Place back into hot pan and toss with cooked pasta. Taste and adjust seasonings. Top with more parmesan cheese, pepper, salt and parsley, if desired.

Easy Enchalada Casserole

This week has been horrendously busy already. I vowed to do at least two posts this week. I will post yesterday's recipe tomorrow..hopefully! I think I've found two winner staple dishes from Pinterest this week. This enchilada recipe had me skeptical for a minute because of the corn bread mixed in, but I still really liked it. I seem to be attracted to all things spicy and mexican-ish in nature, no matter what they do to my stomach afterward- don't worry this one is only as spicy as you make it! I end up making something like tacos or fajitas every week or at least think about making it! Anyway- this recipe is surprisingly easy to throw together in about 30 minutes. It turned out really delicious! I made a few adjustments to the blog recipe found at
http://bunsinmyoven.com/2012/03/23/chicken-tamale-casserole/

This was my second helping. I added fresh avocado pieces and chopped green pepper on top. Not the prettiest picture, but it shows how good it was!

Ingredients

4 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
4 ounces Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, grated
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (I used Paprika)
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn (I used Southwest Corn w/ beans n' peppers in it with extra milk)
1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (Jiffy works great)
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
1 pound ground chicken (turkey or beef work just as well) - I used ground lean turkey
salt and pepper, to taste (I seasoned with about 3/4 pkg of taco seasoning)
fresh chopped cilantro or parsley, to taste

Heating the ground turkey prior to baking the casserole...

Bottom of the casserole...the corn, cheese, chilis, cumin, red pepper, egg, and cornbread mix.

After baking for about 15-20 min until set on the bottom, poke holes in the cornbread and top with enchilada sauce, meat, cheese and cilantro. Bake for another 15 minutes. Serve!

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
Combine the cheeses in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the combined cheese, the milk, egg, cumin, red pepper, corn, muffin mix, and the green chiles. Stir until just combined.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes or until just set.
While the cornbread is baking, cook your ground chicken in a skillet over medium heat until cooked completely through. Drain, if necessary, and salt and pepper the chicken.
Remove the cornbread from the oven and pierce all over with a fork.
Pour the enchilada sauce over the corn bread.
Top with the chicken and remaining cheese.
Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro or parsley and serve.

Jerk Chicken con Red Beans and Rice

I admit, I'm making chicken and finding new ways of making chicken like its my JOB. I've started a low carb, low fat diet with some of my co-workers as I'm training for a 10k at the end of May. Therefore, obviously this has affected meal making at home. Austin's not complaining thus far...I've been able to adapt meals to fit my dietary needs as well as his tastes. It works out well for everyone. However, tonight I tried this pinterest inspired recipe for grilled jerk chicken. Can't say it was like the authentic jerk chicken I've had from Jamaica or any other caribbean county BUT it was still a realllly good rub and chicken was delicious! Top it off with red beans and rice and you've got a protien packed meal with very little fat and carbs. This recipe called for Mango Salsa...didn't have any of THAT on hand so I actually drove to Quodoba because they have some amazing mango salsa when its in season for their salads, but unfortunately they weren't promoting that at this time...lame. So I drove home and waited for my hubby to come home to grill up our chicken. I actually grilled some lemon pepper cod too because I only marinated a few small chicken breasts.

This recipe was adapted from the following food blog: http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/06/jerk-chicken-with-mango-cilantro-relish.html

Jerk Chicken with Mango Cilantro Relish
recipe adapted from Bobby Flay

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 onion, coarsely chopped

2 scallion, coarsely chopped

1 large jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed - Instead of pepper, I used about a teaspoon of hot sauce.

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated - ginger powder

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped - garlic powder works just fine

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves - didn't use this...bc frankly I didn't have them.

1 teaspoon ground allspice - also didn't use this

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice - probably used more like 2 table spoons of this

4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in - I used skinless boneless chicken breasts...still good!

4 drumsticks, skin on - did not try this with drumsticks

Serve with Mango Cilantro Relish...or don't, either way :)

Red Beans N' Rice courtesy of Uncle Ben's box brand. Yummy and filling!

Puree all the ingredients, except the chicken, in a food processor until almost smooth. Piece the chicken with a fork to make tiny holes. Place the chicken in a large shallow baking dish and rub the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, depending on how intense you want the flavor to be.

To grill - preheat grill. Grill chicken on each side for 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked through.

To bake - preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken on baking sheet lined with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees.

So good! Served mine with a sweet potato pureed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 TB olive oil based butter.

First step, puree all ingredients for rub...I use my knock off brand, Magic Bullet...works like a charm...especially blending the raw onion up.

Rub onto the chicken...

Cover and marinate for 24-48 hours in fridge...you can also freeze this ahead of time.

Happy Cooking and grilling! Can't wait for more summer recipes to come :) Also love that my hubby helps me out with dinner now...its like a team effort...so should have started doing this before!