Tag Archives: dinner

30-Minute Fried Rice

March 22, 2016 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

I recently got a full-time job. This means I come home at 5:15 and if my husband and I want some non-kid, sane time I have 45 minutes to get dinner on the table before we start our son’s bedtime routine.

This is not a lot of prep time, I’ve discovered. It takes all my strength to make something nutritious and non-mac & cheesy.

I am realizing that I need to strategize. I can’t expect to chop veggies, thaw chicken, marinate steak, or do all the other simple, yet time-consuming preparatory steps required to make tasty food.

Here’s the first of hopefully many recipes where you can come home from work, make the food, and then spend some quality time with your family, such as watching “Bob’s Burgers” (that’s what we are currently doing).

30-minute fried rice

Serves 4-6

To make delicious fried rice you really need to start with cold, cooked rice. That’s hard to do when you want to cook a meal in 30 minutes. But if you make the rice the night before while you’re binge-watching “The Voice,” and stick it in the fridge, you’re good to go the next day.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked rice, prepared and refrigerated overnight
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, removed from freezer the night before and placed in the fridge (I forgot to do this so we went without today)
vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups frozen vegetable medley (whatever medley you prefer)
4 tablespoons softened butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 an onion, diced
2 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
3 green onions, chopped finely
3 tablespoons soy sauce
pepper to taste

Directions:

Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Combine the butter and garlic in a bowl. Set aside. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Lightly coat the pan with vegetable oil.

Pour the eggs in the pan and let set for a minute before stirring vigorously. Set eggs aside. Wipe pan clean and add a little more oil. Toss in the chicken and sauté till cooked through. Set aside.

Add the chicken stock, veggies and onion to the pan. Sauté until veggies are cooked through. Add the sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of the garlic butter. Start crumbling the rice into the pan with your hands, about a cup at a time. Add a little more butter between handfuls. Add the green onions.

When butter and rice are incorporated in the pan, stir in the eggs and chicken. Add the soy sauce and cook until rice gets a little crispy if you like. Add pepper to taste.

Store the leftovers for lunch or cook up some ham or Spam and have breakfast fried rice.

alaska, Italian, Pasta, recipes

Spaghetti & Chicken with Lemon Thyme Mushroom Sauce

August 10, 2015 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Sometimes I just don’t want to plan dinner. Today was the case as I opened my fridge at 5:10 p.m. to figure out what to prepare for my family. I came up with frozen chicken breasts, frozen broccoli, lemon and fresh thyme. I was uninspired, but decided to put the frozen chicken in the pressure cooker and figure it out as I went along.

Then, when my son called me out to the yard to look at the newest addition to his playhouse, the best thing happened: I found two pristine king bolete mushrooms standing proudly under our large spruce trees.

I’ve been waiting all summer for this moment. King boletes are the most delectable of the mushrooms my family gathers and they happen to grow in my yard every summer from late July to early September. For the past three weeks I’ve been checking the areas under the spruce trees for these meaty, delicious fungi. They pop up overnight and you have to pick them when they are fresh otherwise bugs will lay claim to them.

As soon as I cleaned my two treasures I had formed a supper strategy. Lemon, thyme, mushrooms, broccoli, garlic, chicken and pasta — yeah, that’s a good combination. By 6:15 I had a decent meal that was a real crowd pleaser.

Of course you can use store bought mushrooms, but if you happen to have wild porcini, I encourage you to cook them as soon as you can.

Spaghetti & Chicken in a Lemon Thyme Mushroom Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 lemon, sliced
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
2 cups frozen broccoli florets
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup dry cooking sherry (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. spaghetti
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Place 1/2 cup of chicken stock in a pressure cooker. Line the bottom of the cooker with lemon slices. Add the frozen chicken, zest, thyme and salt and pepper. Set the pressure cooker to 35 minutes. When it’s done, slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set aside and reserve the cooking liquid as well.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, place broccoli and 1/4 cup chicken stock in a large sauté pan. Cover and steam over high heat for 5 minutes or until broccoli is tender. Set broccoli with stock aside.

In the same sauté pan, add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Heat on medium-high and add the mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms have given off their liquid and they begin to brown, about 7 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the sherry and let it evaporate, about 2 minutes.

Create a slurry with the flour and 1/4 cup chicken stock. Add this to the mushrooms and garlic. Once it’s thickened, add some of the stock from the pressure cooker until it’s a sauce-like consistency. Add some more butter if you want it creamier. Add the drained pasta, broccoli and chicken. Toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Cooking, mexican, recipes, soup

White Chili – a simple weeknight meal

June 25, 2015 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

I’ll never stop promoting Costco rotisserie chicken. It’s only $5 and not only is it delicious hot off the shelf (I sometimes don’t even bother with a plate or silverware), but the leftovers can be used for myriad dishes such as pesto lasagna roll ups, quick matzo ball soup and homemade chicken stock.

Tonight on the menu is white chili. My friend Danielle introduced me to the notion of non-tomato chili about eight years ago and when I thought of the dish for tonight I was surprised I hadn’t blogged about it yet.

This one-pot wonder has similar flavors to traditional chili. With the addition of salsa verde and sour cream you give chili night a new twist.

White chili with chicken

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
1 can diced green chiles
leftover rotisserie chicken meat, shredded
1, 16-oz. jar salsa verde
1.5 cups chicken stock
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 cans great white northern beans, drained
1 cup sour cream

Directions:

Heat oil in a dutch oven. Sauté the onions and peppers till onions are soft, about 7 minutes. Add the chiles, chicken, salsa, stock and spices. Bring to a simmer, turn to low and simmer one hour.

Add the beans and cook another 10 minutes. Add the sour cream just before serving. Top with cilantro sprigs and shredded cheddar cheese.

Cooking, Italian, recipes

Lazy Lasagna

May 12, 2015 alaskaknitnat 4 Comments

**2025 UPDATE***

In an effort to spiff up some of my past recipes, I made this winner dinner tonight and have decided it shouldn’t be called “Lazy Lasagna” but rather, “Skillet Lasagna.” It is much easier to break up the lasagna noodles and not deal with slippery, boiling hot noodles and layering and all that, but it still takes some time to make this recipe and it’s still totally worth it!

***

My family requested lasagna for dinner yesterday, but I didn’t get home till 5 p.m. so it would have been a mad dash to get lasagna on the table by 6:30.

Here’s what I made instead. Although it’s about the same ingredients as lasagna I didn’t have to take the time to layer everything out. I just threw it all together, topped it with cheese and stuck it in the oven. Easy peasy.

Skillet Lasagna

From start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients:

12 ounces lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces button or crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound loose Italian sausage
6 ounces baby spinach, roughly chopped
3 cups marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided, plus more for serving

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water boils break up the lasagna noodles into irregular pieces and add to the pot. Cook according to box instructions, about 12 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While the water boils and the noodles cook, heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add the mushrooms and salt and sauté until some of the liquid has evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, another couple of minutes. Transfer mushrooms and spinach to a bowl and set aside.

Without cleaning the pan, add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until sausage bits start to brown. Add the sauce, mushrooms and spinach. Combine well.

Add the noodles, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan and stir till the noodles are well coated. Top with the remaining cheeses, cover and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Slice up like a pie and serve with additional grated parmesan cheese.

Cooking, recipes, side dishes

Our Thanksgiving Plans — A step-by-step guide to avoiding a festive failure

November 20, 2014 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

About nine years ago I had the honor of roasting the turkey for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Until that dinner my father was always the main chef during this holiday meal, but that year I had learned a turkey tip from a friend that I really wanted to try, so I took the responsibility from him. I remember his taking a bite of my bird and formally announcing he was passing the turkey scepter on to me; he could not make a better turkey.

This was, of course, before Alton Brown made famous the technique of brining a turkey. Now my father claims it’s the only decent way to prepare a Thanksgiving feast. I tried brining once, but it was too much effort for me. I don’t even like turkey!

So this year my parents are arriving home from Mexico on Thanksgiving Day. What with their being old and tired (no offense mom and dad!) I don’t want them to have to cook anything, so I’m taking on the entire meal, fixings and all. I’m even going to try to decorate — but we’ll see how it goes.

I thought I would share my plans for next week in case you are feeling completely uninspired (which I am currently feeling).

Continue reading Our Thanksgiving Plans — A step-by-step guide to avoiding a festive failure →

Cooking, recipes

Shepherd’s Pie — Comfort Food at its Best

July 11, 2013 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I love easy recipes, especially if I can use leftovers. Shepherd’s pie is no exception. If you have ground meat and leftover mashed potatoes, you are just a few steps away from a delicious, filling dinner the whole family will love.

Ingredients:

1 lb. combo of ground beef, pork, veal or lamb
4 cups or so of leftover mashed potatoes (or make some fresh)
1 egg yolk
1 tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 tbs. flour
2 tbs. red wine
3 Tbs. fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme and rosemary, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 Tbs. tomato paste
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen peas

Shepherd’s pie is versatile. Throw in whatever veggies you love. Use whatever meat you prefer.

Directions:

Season your mashed potatoes to your liking with milk, butter, salt and pepper. Heat up in the microwave if cold. Stir in the egg yolk. This makes the pie have a nice crust.

Preheat oven to 375. In a sauté pan, heat some oil and add the meat, onion and carrot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook till meat is browned, about 10 minutes. Drain fat and sprinkle in the flour, cooking for about 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste. Deglaze with red wine and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, tomato paste, herbs and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the peas.

Grease a casserole dish and add the meat filling. Top with dollops of mashed potatoes. Spread the potatoes across the top, trying to create a seal around the edges. I recommend putting a cookie sheet under the dish when you bake it in case anything bubbles over.
Bake for 30-45 minutes, until potatoes start to brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.