Grilled Romaine with Buttermilk Dressing

A few weeks ago I got a text from my friend Rachel.  It was something like "they are grilling lettuce on Food Network."  I think I responded with "I've had that...it is pretty good."  While she sent back "Ew.  Something about warm lettuce..."

I get it.  I love a salad.  But put lettuce on my sandwich or hamburger and I probably will just pass all together.  And if it is shredded lettuce, forget it.  At least the large leafs are easy to remove!  But I have had grilled lettuce.  I remember the first attempt - one of my previous jobs.  The chef thought it would be a great idea to serve a Grilled Caesar Salad.  Only we were serving 600 people, and well, that stuff needs to be served right away.  When moved to a "twenty-person only" menu and served fresh, the lettuce is a little warm, slightly charred, and takes on the smoky grill flavor.  Pair with cold, creamy buttermilk dressing and the contrast makes for a great salad.

The first night I made this, I chopped up tomatoes and threw them on top.  But something wasn't right.  The next evening I decided to roast the tomatoes with some garlic & olive oil until they burst, adding something a little more to the salad.  Holy cow...I see us buying a lot more Romaine in the future and firing up the grill.  Plus, Jason and I both hate chopping up the lettuce for salad.  That would be why it usually goes bad before we eat it.  This makes prep super fast and we're both happy with that.

Grilled Romaine with Buttermilk Dressing adapted from Southern Living

• 2 hearts of Romaine, halved
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add in grape tomatoes, crushed garlic and salt & pepper to taste.  Heat through, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes wilt or burst.  

Heat the grill to a medium-high heat.  Brush the Romaine halves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill, cut side down, for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until wilted.  Remove from the grill, top with tomatoes, dressing and Parmesan cheese.  This is best served just after grilling.

Buttermilk Chive Dressing

• 3/4 cup buttermilk (I make mine with skim milk)
• 1/2 cup light mayo
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onion
• salt & pepper to taste.

Whisk together all of the ingredients; cover and chill until needed.

Pimento Mac & Cheese

I have been hanging on to this recipe for ages.  Like maybe 3 years?  I kept it because I wanted something easy and at the time, I was still looking for the perfect mac & cheese recipe.  Since then, I've realized that I don't think I can commit to one mac & cheese.  But that's ok.  Cooper is a fan of pasta and cheese, so I think he'll help me try a few more.

This did turn out to be a pretty easy recipe, so I think it will turn up on the menu again.  I really like having an option that doesn't have to be baked off in the oven, especially for a weeknight.

Pimento Mac & Cheese from Southern Living

• 8 oz penne pasta (or any small pasta)
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 2oz jar pimentos, drained
• salt & pepper
• pinch of paprika

Boil the pasta in salted water according to the package.  Drain and set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup milk.  Stir in the remaining milk until the mixture is smooth. In a large skillet over med-high heat, bring the milk mixture to a boil while whisking.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, continuing to whisk, for an additional 3-5 minutes.  Add the cheese, pimentos & spices, stirring until the cheese is melted.  Stir in the pasta and cook for another minute, until the pasta is warmed.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I can always tell when my mom is stressed.  She's baking.  I happened to inherit the same gene.  My sister, however, did not.  See where I'm going with this?

A few weeks ago I started flipping through my magazine recipe file looking for the weekly menu plan and came across the following recipe.  I had one banana that was threatening to die on the counter and we were planning a grocery store trip that afternoon, so I could pick up everything else I needed.

The cookies remind me of banana bread...with chocolate chips.  They have a bit of a crunch around the edge, but stay very chewy in the middle.  Cooper loved them - he's not been big on sweet stuff so far, but I think these are perfect since the banana makes up part of the sugar and they aren't overly sweet. 

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cooking Light

• 1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium size banana)
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer.  Add in the egg and beat well.  Whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mix until well blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls on to greased cookie sheets.  Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until they begin to brown on the edges.  Cool slightly on the pans and move to cooling racks to cool completely.

Chipotle Sloppy Joes

Some days I think God created toddler attitudes so that he could point and laugh.  Monday was a perfect example in my house.  We decided to make Sloppy Joes Monday night, using a recipe I'd found in a Cooking Light magazine.  I wasn't sure if they would be spicy, but after tasting them I just noticed a mild smokey flavor - no spice at all.  Meaning, Cooper would be fine.  He eats Sloppy Joes at school on a regular basis, and we were serving sweet potato fries & green peas as well.

I sat his plate on his tray, handed him the fork and said "try it."  And he gives me this smug look, shakes his head and said "no."  NO?  Again, "try it, baby."  And again, smug look, head shake, "no."  Monday, I wanted to scream.  Today, I'm thinking this was entertainment for the evening.  It is hard to explain how frustrated I was without seeing the look, but holy cow that look was just...smug.  That's the best word to describe it.  And the "no" was very short and woman-you-are-not-getting-me-to-eat-that.  In the end, he ate ketchup and some peas.  I'm still not sure who won this battle.

I think this may have been the first time we made Sloppy Joes from scratch.  I will definately hang on to this recipe and use it again.  I just won't count on Cooper having any.  I also think I'll add the bell pepper earlier to sautee it a little more, since I'm not a huge fan of it.  Oh, and I've aquired a serious addiction to caramelized onions.  Thin sliced, sauteed, almost burnt.  Coming from someone who previously hated onions in any form, this is big.

Chipotle Sloppy Joes adapted from Cooking Light

• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
• 2 chipotle peppers plus 1 t sauce from 1 7oz can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 2 T tomato paste
• salt & pepper
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce

Heat 1 t olive oil in a small sautee pan.  Add onions and cook until golden brown, set aside.  Chop the chipotle peppers and set aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray or olive oil.  Brown the ground beef, and add in the bell pepper, sauteing for an additional two minutes.  Stir in the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste and remaining ingredients.  Cook for another three to four minutes, serving about 1/2 cup on a toasted bun topped with the sauteed onions.

Chicken Gyros

A few weeks ago I started my menu plan like I always do.  Asking Jason for his opinion.  95% of the time this gets me the same results.  Spaghetti, something on a sandwich.  Or in a pita bread.  Every.Single.Week.  This particular week, though, I was shocked to hear him say "gyros."  To which I had to (unfortunately) reply A) I don't like lamb and B) we have a freezer full of beef.  So, no.

I filed it away, though, thinking I would maybe try lamb again.  Instead, I came across this recipe for Chicken Gyros and knew it would be a winner.  This also came together pretty quickly, so that meets my weeknight meal requirement!

Greek Chicken Gyros adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles
Chicken:

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 T olive oil
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1 t sugar
• 2 T fat free plain Greek yogurt
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins

Whisk together the lemon juice, oil, garlic, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper.  Reserve 2 tablespoons, and stir in the yogurt.  Toss the chicken into the mixture, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Heat the grill to a medium heat and cook the chicken until well browned, tossing the leftover marinade.  Remove from the grill and cover with foil, set aside.

Tzatziki:

• 1/2 cucumber, unpeeled & shredded
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 7oz fat free plain Greek yogurt
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/2 t white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pepper

Place the shredded cucumber into a strainer set over a bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to drain.  Place the cucumber into a towel and squeeze dry.  In a medium bowl, combine the cucumber & remaining ingredients.

For the topping, thinly slice 1/2 of an onion (yellow or red).  Toss with the 2 tablespoons of marinade and set aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes before serving.  For additional toppings, slice the remaining half of the cucumber, quarter 1 cup grape tomatoes, and crumble Feta cheese.  Serve the chicken, tzatziki & toppings with warm pita bread.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

A few weeks ago I saw this recipe pop up on the weekly menu post on a message board I frequent.  I clicked over to the recipe and couldn't figure out why I missed it the first time it was posted!  I knew we would love this and it met all of my "weeknight" requirements.  I filed it away knowing it would come up on our rotation soon.  Sure enough, a short work week following vacation was the perfect time.

I used my lazy crockpot recipe for the chicken filling, since I wanted to have extra chicken for lunches and even used some on a Mexican pizza one night.  But the chicken isn't what makes this dish.  It is the sauce.  The sauce...was just fantastic.  I used light sour cream, so I didn't feel quite as bad about wanting to lick the spoon.  Fortunately, half of the sauce went into the freezer meaning I'll be making these again soon.

Baked Chicken Chimichangas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce adapted from So Tasty, So Yummy

• 2 lbs chicken tenders
• 2 packages taco seasoning
• 2 cans Ro-Tel
• burrito size flour tortillas
• shredded Mexican style cheese (about 1/2 cup per serving needed)
• 1 28oz can tomatillos, drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 t cumin
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 T cliantro, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded & diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t sugar
• 1 cup light sour cream

In a crockpot, combine the chicken, taco seasoning & Ro-Tel (you may need to add an additional can of water).  Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.  Shred the chicken and stir until combined.

Spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chicken on to each tortilla.  Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese and roll up, burrito style.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, place the burrito on the sheet & spray with cooking spray.  Bake in a 425 degree oven, for about 20 minutes.

In a large Dutch oven, combine the tomatillos, broth, garlic, cliantro, jalapeno, lime juice & spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to puree the mixture.  Return to a low heat and stir in the sour cream.

Serve each chimichanga with about 1/3 cup of tomatillo sauce.

Italian Sausage Ravioli

Ever since my first attempt at making pasta I knew I wanted to get my hands on a pasta roller.  Rolling it by hand is hard work!  And it never really got thin enough.  Fortunately, my mom gave me a pasta roller for my birthday and I knew ravioli was on the menu.  Jason requested ravioli with meat in the filling.  I couldn't really find a recipe I loved, but I knew starting with one from Annie's Eats would be the way to go.

I made this recipe a few months ago, minus the mushrooms.  I took a gamble and swapped out the mushrooms for some sweet Italian sausage.  We were really happy with the end result and even more thrilled that we put half in the freezer!  My only issue at this point is trying to figure out a perfect pasta to filling ratio.  I had a little bit of filling left, but solved the problem by mixing it with some penne and baking it for Cooper's dinner.

Italian Sausage Ravioli in a Spinach Cream Sauce adapted from Annie's Eats


Pasta:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups flour

Filling:

• 1/2 pound Sweet Italian Sausage, removed from casings
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup part skim ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 t dried basil
• 1/4 t dried oregano
• 5oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained

Sauce:

• 1 T unsalted butter
• 1 T flour
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup half & half
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 5oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed & drained
• salt & pepper

Pour the flour into the bowl of a stand mixer and make a well in the center.  Add the eggs, and mix using the dough hook.  Begin mixing on low, increasing speed until the dough is well blended.  On a floured surface, continue kneading the dough until it is no longer tacky.  Divide the dough into smaller pieces, keeping it covered with a damp cloth.  Roll out the dough with a rolling pin, then run the pieces through the pasta roller until it is barely translucent.  Keep under a damp towel until used.

Cook the Italian sausage over medium high heat, until browned.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.  In a large bowl, combine the cheeses & eggs stirring well.  Add in the spices, spinach & sausage, mixing well.

On a floured surface, lay out the pasta one sheet at a time.  Use a pasta stamp or cookie cutter to create indentations to use as a guide.  Spoon a few teaspoons into each space, and place another sheet of pasta on the top.  Stretch the top sheet to completely cover the filling, pressing out the air before sealing.  Cut the ravioli & place on a floured cookie sheet to dry for about 30-60 minutes.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for about 3 to 5 minutes, drain well.

In a medium size sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the flour until incorporated.  Add the garlic and continue whisking until the mixture reaches a golden-brown color.  Whisk in the cream & milk, reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to bubble.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese & spinach.  Gently toss the pasta with the sauce before serving.