Category: Main Dish

Spicy Sausage and Penne Casserole with Broccoli Breadcrumbs

Spicy Sausage and Penne Casserole with Broccoli BreadcrumbsTheKitchn, one of my favorite recipe sites featured these broccoli breadcrumbs. In looking for a good casserole to put these on, I found this Spicy Sausage and Penne Casserole. The two were made for each other. A good way to add some veggies to a casserole!

Spicy Sausage and Penne Casserole with Broccoli Breadcrumbs

MealsWeLike.com
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 12 oz Box of whole wheat Penne pasta
  • 1 Package of andouille sausage thinly sliced (about 12 oz)
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1 Red bell pepper chopped
  • 2 Tbs butter
  • 2 Tbs flour
  • 1 1/2 Cups Milk
  • 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 tsp Creole seasoning
  • A good grinding of pepper
  • 2 medium broccoli heads finely chopped
  • 2 Tbs olive oil

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Spray a 2-quart casserole.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions; drain, rinse, and set aside.
  • In a large skillet, cook the sausage with onion and red peppers until things start to brown.
  • Put the mixture on a plate.
  • Melt butter in the same skillet over medium heat
  • Stir in flour.
  • Gradually add the milk
  • Add creole seasoning.
  • Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
  • Add the cheese and stir until melted.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Stir in the drained pasta and sausage mixture.
  • Pour into the prepared casserole dish.
  • Bake for 20 minutes.
  • While that's cooking, chop the broccoli and toss with olive oil.
  • Top the casserole with the broccoli and bake for another 10 minutes.

 

Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onion and BBQ Cheddar Pizza

Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onion PizzaI found this recipe on Once Upon a Cutting Board a while ago and have made it twice already. The first time I made it, I was looking for a potluck dish and had the ingredients on hand. But since I didn’t want to deal with transporting a pizza to a potluck, I rolled out the dough, cut circles out and lined muffin tins with the dough. I added topping and baked. They were a real hit at the party! It was so good that we decided to make for dinner as regular pizzas.

Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onion and BBQ Cheddar Pizza

MealsWeLike.com, adapted from Once Upon A Cutting Board
Delicious pizzas
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main dish
Cuisine Pizza
Servings 4 -6

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Medium sweet potatoes peeled and diced into about ½-inch pieces
  • 2 Large sweet onions peeled, halved and sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 Tbs Olive oil
  • Ground pepper
  • 1 ball of pizza dough or 4 pieces of whole wheat naan bread
  • 4-6 Tbs BBQ sauce
  • 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375--if you are using a pizza stone, put that in now.
  • Dice the sweet potatoes and toss with about 1 Tbs of olive oil.
  • Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes or until nicely browned.
  • While that is cooking, heat the other Tbs of olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions on medium heat stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
  • Add a grinding of pepper and the sugar.
  • Continue sautéing for another 15-20 minutes. The onions should be deeply browned.
  • Once the potatoes are cooked, remove from the oven and bump the temp up to 450 or so to cook the pizza.
  • Combine the sweet potatoes, onions and BBS sauce in a bowl and mix. If you are mixing muffins, add about half of the cheddar cheese here too.
  • For pizzas, roll out the dough, top with the onions and potatoes. Top with cheese and bake.
  • For muffins, roll out the dough, cut rounds big enough to line the muffin cups, and put the dough in the cups. Add the onions and potatoes, top with remaining cheddar and bake.

 

Pepperoni Spinach Quiche

Pepperoni Spinach QuicheThis recipe from Taste of Home was quick and delicious. We even gave in to the kids requests and let them have the leftovers for lunch the next day where they were the envy of the cafeteria. I made a pie crust from scratch rather than use the canned crescent rolls–doesn’t take that long. We also upped the spinach and pepperoni a bit. Definitely a keeper!

Pepperoni Spinach Quiche

MealsWeLike.com modified from Taste of Home
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Main
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

For the crust

  • 11/2 cups flour we typically use white whole wheat flour
  • 6-8 Tbs butter
  • 8-10 Tbs ice water with some lemon juice

For the filling

  • 1 Red pepper chopped
  • 1 Tbs Olive oil
  • 1 Clove garlic minced
  • 5 Eggs lightly beaten
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 Package Frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry
  • 1/2 Cup Pepperoni slices cut in half
  • 1/4 Cup half-and-half cream
  • 2 Tbs Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tbs Fresh parsley minced
  • 1 Tbs Fresh basil minced or 1 tsp dried basil
  • A grind or two of black pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375˚.

For the Pie crust

  • Cut the butter into the flour
  • Add the ice water--add about 6Tbs at first and then mix and add more as needed to form a nice dough.
  • Roll out the crust on a floured surface
  • Place into a quiche pan

For the filling

  • In a skillet, sauté the red pepper in oil until tender.
  • Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
  • In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients
  • Stir in red pepper mixture.
  • Pour into crust.
  • Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

 

Brown Rice Salad with Grapes

Brown rice salad with grapesSomehow I ended up picking a bunch of rice salads a few weeks ago. I think there were 3 on the menu in a couple of weeks–kind of odd given that we rarely make salad with rice…

But they were yummy and I made a couple of cups of brown rice early in the week and put it in the fridge and dinner was ready in no time! Worked out well. Also no cooking, which is always nice on a hot summer day.

This one came from TheKitchn. We switched out the walnuts for sunflower seeds due to allergies and maybe simplified things a bit here and there. With rice in the fridge, this can be ready in about 10 minutes. It’s a very hearty salad that could be a main dish.

Brown Rice Salad with Grapes

MealsWeLike.com adapted from theKitchn
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Salad
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the salad:

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 bag salad greens
  • 2 cups red grapes sliced in half
  • 1 cup crumbled ricotta salata Trader Joe's has this

For the vinaigrette:

  • 3 Tbs white wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs brown mustard
  • pepper

Instructions
 

  • Cook the rice and cool. I found it easiest to make up a batch of rice in the morning, put it in the fridge for the evening or a day or two later.
  • In a large bowl combine the cold rice, sunflower seeds, salad greens. Toss.
  • In a small bowl mix the vinaigrette, whisking to mix.
  • Pour vinaigrette over the salad and mix.
  • Add the grapes and ricotta salata, toss a bit and serve cold.

 

Sweet Potato Torta Española with Chard

 

Sweet Potato Torta Española

This Torta Española with Rainbow Chard recipe on theKitchn sounded really good, though we tend not to eat regular potatoes. I wondered if it could be made with sweet potatoes and Googled around and ran into this recipe on Well Fed, Flat Broke. So, while I am sure Spaniards would complain that this has no resemblance to a true Torta Española, we mixed and matched between the recipes and came up with the delicious dinner. We increased the chard to 1/2 the bunch, and sautéed the rest with some garlic and served that on the side. Our only regret was that there were no leftovers!IMG_9026

Sweet Potato Torta Española with Chard

MealsWeLike.com adapted from theKitchn and Well Fed, Flat Broke
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Spanish
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Medium sweet potatoes thinly sliced
  • 1 Red onion thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Clove garlic minced
  • 1/2 Bunch of chard sliced into strips
  • 8 Eggs beaten

Instructions
 

  • Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
  • Add the potato and onion slices, stir to mix and coat with oil.
  • Add the garlic and mix in.
  • Cover and let cook until potatoes are soft, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Put the sliced chard on top of the potatoes and cover.
  • Cook another couple of minutes so the chard wilts.
  • Pour the beaten eggs over the chard and cover, cooking another 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are mostly set.
  • Loosen the edges with a spatula and carefully slide the torta onto a plate.
  • Put the pan on top of the plate and invert so that the torta is back in the pan upside-down.
  • Cover and cook a few more minutes, until the eggs are cooked through.
  • Slice and serve.

 

 

Beef and Watermelon Stir-fry with Brown Rice

Beef and Watermelon Stir-Fry

It’s summer and watermelon is everywhere. I was curious if watermelon could be incorporated into a main dish and started looking around. I came across this recipe at MyRecipes.com (originally from Virginia Willis in Southern Living) and gave it a try. The sweetness of the watermelon is nicely balanced by the salt and spices. The original called for hoisin sauce as one of the main ingredients of the sauce part, but we’ve not found one that we trust as not being made on shared equipment with fish, so I made up something that seemed to work well for the sauce.

Beef and Watermelon Stir-fry with Brown Rice

MealsWeLike.com adapted from MyRecipes.com
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

Marinade

  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tsp cornstarch
  • 2 tsp water
  • 2 tsp Low sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 Tbs white cooking wine

Sauce

  • 2 Tbs water
  • 1 Tbs corn starch
  • 1 Tbs Low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 Tbs molasses
  • 1 Tbs white cooking wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

The rest

  • 1 lb sirloin strip steak cut into thin strips
  • 1 medium sweet onion sliced
  • 1 lb sugar snap peas
  • 1/2 lb carrots sliced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 lb watermelon sliced in long 1/2in square sticks
  • Brown rice

Instructions
 

  • Mix marinade: garlic, cornstarch, water, soy sauce, olive oil and wine and marinate the steak slices for 30 minutes.
  • Meanwhile make the sauce: stir together water, corn starch, soy molasses, wine.
  • Remove steak from marinade, discarding the marinade.
  • Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook half of beef at a time without stirring, 45 seconds or until browned; turn beef, and cook 45 seconds or until browned. Transfer to a warm plate.
  • Stir-fry the onion until tender, about 2 minutes.
  • Add sugar snap peas, carrots, ginger, and crushed red pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes.
  • Add beef and sauce mixture; stir-fry 1 minute or until slightly thickened.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Stir in watermelon.
  • Add black pepper, and red pepper to taste.
  • Serve immediately over brown rice.

 

 

Spinach Quiche

Spinach Quiche with Zucchini Carpaccio Salad This Spinach Quiche recipe from SmittenKitchen was so good, we had it two weeks in a row! I just use my standard pie crust (1 c flour, 1/3 c butter, 6-8 Tbs water). I think making this in a tart pan, rather than a pie plate keeps the quiche a bit shallower and that seems to make it extra yummy. We had gruyere cheese which was delicious, we never did try it with cheddar as the original called for–maybe next time 🙂 ! Everyone in the family was fighting for leftovers. The second time, we basically doubled the recipe to make sure everyone had a delicious lunch the following day.

This goes really well with the Zucchini Carpaccio Salad, also from SmittenKitchen.Spinach Quiche

Spinach Quiche

MealsWeLike.com adapted from SmittenKitchen.com
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Main
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Pie crust
  • 3 oz Cream cheese room temp
  • 1/3 cup Milk cream or 1/2&1/2
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 Package frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
  • 1/2 cup Grated gruyere cheese original called for cheddar)
  • 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 Green onions whites and a little bit of green sliced
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Roll out the pie crust and place into a tart pan (we use one that's about 11 inches across)
  • With a fork, mash up the cream cheese in a medium bowl.
  • Gradually add in the milk and eggs, mixing well.
  • Mix in the remaining ingredients.
  • Pour mixture into uncooked crust.
  • Bake until crust is brown and filling is set, about 25 minutes.
  • Cool a bit before serving.

 

Chicken Bulgur Skillet with Spinach

Chicken Bulgur Skillet with SpinachTrader Joe’s has come to town and, while there’s a LOT of stuff that that is not peanut/tree-nut/fish safe, there are many things that we’ve been able to find there. 10-minute bulgur and sunflower seeds being a couple. Now if only we could get them to be better about labeling! Unfortunately, there’s a bunch of stuff that has CYA labeling…salad greens with shared equipment warnings for all top 8 allergens??? And a lot of stuff that’s not labeled for may contains at all. But it’s a start…

I adapted this from this one on TasteOfHome.com: seemed like it needed some more veggies.

Chicken Bulgur Skillet with Spinach

MealsWeLike.com adapted from TasteOfHome.com
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 2 Tsps olive oil
  • 2 Carrots diced
  • 2/3 Cup Onion diced
  • 1 bag 10 oz Fresh spinach leaves
  • 3 Tbs Sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Caraway seeds
  • 1/4 tsp Ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 Cups Bulgur
  • 2 Cups Reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 2 Tbs Raisins
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions
 

  • Heat large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add the oil and then the chicken.
  • Cook until meat is cooked through.
  • Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm.
  • Add the carrots and onions.
  • Add the sunflower seeds, caraway, and ground cumin.
  • Cook until the onions start to brown.
  • Stir in the bulgur
  • Add the broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat
  • Add the raisins, cinnamon and the cooked chicken.
  • Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the bulgar is tender.
  • Stir in the spinach leaves and serve.

 

Coriander-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Sweet and Spicy Roasted Vegetables and Rice with Golden Raisens

 

Coriander-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Sweet and Spicy Roasted Vegetables and Rice with Golden Raisens

My wife found this delicious meal on FineCooking.com. Any one of these would be a great dish on it’s own, but the three together made an outstanding meal. It was also relatively quick and easy given that there’s three different recipes.

Coriander-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Sweet and Spicy Roasted Vegetables

MealsWeLike.com adapted from FineCooking.com
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Main
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

For the Pork

  • One package pork tenderloin--with 2 ~1lb tenderloins
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbs coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 Tbs olive oil

For the Roasted Vegetables

  • About 1-1/2 cups baby carrots
  • 1 red onion cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 red bell peppers seeded and cut into 11/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
  • 1-1/2 lb. butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
  • 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme

For the Rice:

  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion diced
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • Kosher salt
  • 4 Tbs golden raisins
  • 4 Tbs finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
 

For the Pork:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 450°F.
  • Crush the coriander seeds, peppercorns and salt with a mortar and pestle.
  • Spread the mustard over the pork
  • Sprinkle with the coriander, peppercorns, and salt, pressing them on.
  • Heat the oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Cook the pork until well browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per side.
  • Put the skillet in the oven and roast until the thick end of the pork registers 155°F, 18 to 20 minutes.
  • Let rest for 5 minutes.
  • Slice and serve.

For the Roasted Vegetables:

  • Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven, and heat the oven to 450°F.
  • In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with 1 Tbs of the oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Spread on the hot baking sheet in a single layer and roast until tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Heat the remaining 1 Tbs. oil in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat.
  • Add the spices and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Stir in the honey and thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper.
  • Pour the spice mixture over the roasted vegetables and toss to coat.

For the Rice:

  • Heat the oil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 2 minutes.
  • Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil. Add 2-1/4 cups water.
  • Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 35 minutes.
  • Let sit for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
  • Meanwhile, put the raisins in a small bowl and add enough boiling water to cover. Allow them to plump for 10 minutes; then drain.
  • Stir the raisins and parsley into the cooked rice

 

 

Italian Tortellini Soup

Italian Tortellini SoupFlorida doesn’t have much in the way of winter, but there are a few weeks when a nice, hearty soup makes a great dinner. This was fast to throw together and everyone ate it up. I adapted this from SparklePeople. You could use hot Italian Sausage for a spicier version.

Italian Tortellini Soup

MealsWeLike.com adapted from FoodieWife on SparkPeople
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 package Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage casings removed
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 can 14-1/2 oz diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 package cheese and meat tortellini
  • 1 package 9 oz fresh baby spinach
  • 2 tsp minced fresh basil or 3/4 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper
  • Shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

  • Crumble sausage into a Dutch oven over medium-high heat
  • Add the onion.
  • Cook stirring now and then until meat is no longer pink.
  • Add garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes
  • Add the broth and tomatoes.
  • Bring to a boil.
  • Stir in tortellini; return to a boil.
  • Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-8 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
  • Add the spinach, basil, peppers.
  • Cook 2-3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.
  • Serve topped with Parmesan.