Some Old...Some New

I'm mixing it up a bit this week. I'm making a few "usuals" and trying some new recipes from Cooking Light Magazine. Cooking Light combines all their recipes from each year and puts them into a giant cookbook. I checked out Cooking Light 2005 from the library last week. I love me some library cookbooks.

Cooking Light is a really neat magazine...lots of simple and healthy ideas. I like all the tips they include with their recipes, too. Good stuff.

Well, ground turkey was on sale at Giant this week...and you know how excited I get about ground turkey. I make all sorts of things with it. Like turkey bolognese sauce, and humble shepherd's pie, and of course turkey chili. So when I saw that it was on sale for 3 lbs for about $5.oo, I grabbed a 3 lb package to make meatloaf.

Monday: Turkey Meatloaf (click on the link, scroll down to find the recipe) So easy: So awesome.

Tuesday: Turkey Meatloaf sandwiches (because you can't make meatloaf and not make sandwiches with the leftovers) I heat up slices of leftover meatloaf with some provolone cheese on top. Then I put them onto ciabatta rolls from the freezer that I defrost in the toaster oven.

Wednesday: New Recipe!

Lemon Chicken and Rice with Artichokes
~This was very quick and easy~

• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch strips
• 2 1/4 cups chopped onions*
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 2 cups instant rice
• 1/4 fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 (14 oz.) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• Parmesan or Romano cheese

1. Heat a Dutch oven (I used a medium pot that has a tight fitting lid) with cooking spray or olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add chicken, chopped onion, and red bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in rice, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and broth. Bring to a boil.
4. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes (or until rice is tender).
   
5. Stir in artichokes and cook 1 minute until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese to serve.

*I chopped up the onions and pepper on Monday because I was already chopping onion and other things for the meatloaf. I do this a lot...prepping ahead means that you do less later in the week when you are more tired.

Recipe taken from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2005

Thursday: Another New Recipe!

Shrimp in Green Sauce*
~I always keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer~

• 3 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 cup coarsely chopped green onions
• 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I'm only going to use a lb and a half)
  
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• Sourdough or Fresh bread, torn into pieces

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place olive oil and garlic in a food processor and process until garlic is finely chopped, scrapping the sides of the bowl occasionally.
3. Add green onions and parsley in food processor; pulse until minced.
4. Spoon garlic mixture into a large bowl. Add salt, pepper, red pepper, and shrimp to garlic mixture and toss well to coat.
5. Spoon shrimp mixture into a shallow roasting pan, and add wine. Bake at 500 degrees for 7 minutes or until shrimp are done (stirring once).
6. Serve with bread to soak up the rich sauce.

*I haven't made this yet (being that it's only Tuesday as I'm writing this) but I have high hopes for it. How bad can garlic, shrimp, and herbs be?? I will add a note about its success after I try it. Maybe I'll even add a picture...ohhh, ahhhh...

**Update: I made this recipe and it was very very good. I've added a picture above. I will make this again for sure**

Recipe taken from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2005

Friday: Roast Chicken with Green Beans

Easy Green Beans
~The best of both worlds*~

• Fresh Green Beans (ends snapped/trimmed off)
  
• Olive Oil or a bit of butter
  
• Salt

1. Fill a large pot with water and let it come to a boil.
2. Add the green beans to the boiling water and let it come back to a boil.
3. Boil the beans for a few minutes (4-5). Dump them into a strainer/colander and then immediately rinse them under very cold water. This stops the cooking and lets them retain their bright green color.
4. Heat up some olive oil in a skillet and saute the green beans with a sprinkle of salt. I even add some minced garlic in there sometimes.
   

*I like making green beans this way because boiling them is quick and easy...and then sauteing them adds so much flavor.
If you just want to boil them (which is called blanching) then increase the time they are boiling until they are crisp tender. If you just want to saute them, just increase that time as well. I personally like to do both to get the best of both worlds.

Saturday: We'll go out to eat and I will prepare Sunday's dinner during the afternoon

Sunday: We're having my family over for dinner and I'm doing a Mexican theme.

Fresh Guacamole and Chips
Chicken Enchiladas
Tortilla Pie
Rice
Cornbread
Flan (I've never made this...if it's a success, I'll post the recipe)

Finally, I also prepared a meal for someone at my church that just had twins. I sent a batch of turkey chili their way with some chopped up scallions, tortilla chips, and sour cream for toppings. I made up a batch of Cranberry Orange Scones for a sweet treat.